Will See You On The Flip Side

Friends,

After tonight's Chargers loss to the Raiders, I have decided to take a leave of absence from sports.

I will see you all again soon.

Best,

Bormo

Carson Palmer Versus The Bolts

As you know by now, the Raiders went ahead and traded for Carson Palmer yesterday, giving up two high draft picks for the aged but talented quarterback in a clear attempt to "win now."

The move concerns me as a Bolts fan. The Raiders were a difficult matchup for the Bolts before they picked up Palmer - the power run game, the improving Heyward-Bey, the steady defense that can apply pressure - but now they add a veteran QB who's had success against the Bolts in the past. He hasn't always beaten the Bolts - he's had a less talented team, even in Bengals playoff years - but his passing numbers have been very good, and the games have always been close.

Let's look back at the full history of Palmer v. the Bolts.

Game 1: November 12, 2006, at Cincinnati, Bolts win 49-41

One of the more epic games in Bolts history. The Bungles went up 21-0 and went into halftime with a 28-7 lead behind a pure blitzkrieg led by Palmer and his minions Chad Ochocinco, TJ Houshmandzadeh, and Chris Henry. And remember, this was a dominant Bolts team that would finish 14-2 on the season, and had probably the best defense of the Bolts' recent successful run from 2004 to present. Merriman was in his dominant prime (17.5 sacks), Donnie Edwards was still ably patrolling the middle of the defense, Quentin Jammer was a young ballhawk, and Shaun Phillips, Luis Castillo, and Randall Godfrey got after the quarterback. I mean Luis Castillo had 7 sacks on the season. He hasn't had more than 2.5 since.

Yet despite all that defensive firepower, Carson Palmer carved up the Bolts. He went 31-42 for 440 yards and 3 TDs with no picks. It was the first 400-yard game of Palmer's career (it may also be the last, I didn't go that far in the resaerch). He did fumble on a big sack in the second half that led directly to an LT touchdown run, but he can't be blamed for a Bungles defense that allowed the Bolts to score 42 second-half points en route to a stunning 49-41 victory. Palmer in fact responded after the Bolts pulled to 31-28 in the third quarter by tossing a 74-yard bomb to Ochocinco, and he drove the Bungles to the Bolts 15 with a chance to tie the game late, but just missed a 4th down completion that closed out the game.

He came up a bit short, but no one except Palmer put up more than 30 points on the Bolts in 2006.

Game 2: December 20, 2009, at San Diego, Bolts win 27-24

A matchup of playoff teams, this game was typical of the type of glorious victory the Bolts pulled off time and again during the '09 season, right up until they were bounced rudely out of the playoffs by the New York Yets.

Despite the Bengals loss in this game, which was their first game following the untimely death of Chris Henry, Palmer was again solid against the Chargers defense. He completed 27 of 40 passes for 314 yards with two TDs and a pick. Not an epic day, and the Bungles only scored one touchdown in four red zone trips, but it was enough to keep pace with the AFC's #1 seed on their home turf. Palmer also showed some grit by blocking downfield on a screen pass to Chad Ochocinco on a big 4th quarter play, and, a few plays later, scored a big 2 pt conversion on a sneaky QB draw. He also drove the Bungles 90-plus yards in 6 minutes for a tying field goal with less than a minute to play (including recovering a fumble to save the drive along the way). The Bolts didn't put the game away until Nate Kaeding hit a 52-yard field goal with three seconds to play.

Game 3: December 26, 2010, at Cincinnati, Bengals win 34-20

One of the worst games I've ever watched. The day after Christmas last year, the Bolts merely needed to beat the 2-11 Bungles to maintain their playoff chances. A win at Cincy, and then a win the next week against the just-as-lowly Broncos, would give the Bolts their fifth straight playoff appearance and a home game during Wild Card weekend.

Unfortunately the team came out sloppy and Carson Palmer took advantage. He managed an excellent game, going 16-21 for 269 yards and throwing 4 touchdown passes, including a dagger 59-yard bomb to Jerome Simpson early in the 4th quarter on a dastardly quick snap that caught Antoine Cason unawares and unready. He didn't throw his first incomplete pass until the third quarter, and didn't throw any picks at all. He was also missing the corpses of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens who both sat out the game with injuries (that actually may have helped him), but still got the job done. In short, it was exactly the kind of game that I'm scared he'll be able to pull off against the Bolts this season. Mixing in a strong running game (Ced Benson and Bernard Scott ran a combined 33 times for a 102 yards in last season's game, doesn't that sound at least like something McFadden and Michael Bush could do) he only needed to pick his spots and pass 21 times, and the results were devastating to the Bolts.

Bottom line: I'm scared of the Raiders and Carson Palmer. And I'm not afraid to admit it.

The Illini Versus The Buckeyes

First, great photo of Whitney "Nine Piece" Mercilus by John Dixon of the News-Gazette.

Second, the Illini have only defeated the Buckeyes 12 times in Champaign. The teams have played there 46 times since their first meeting in 1902. I'd like to have more victories at home against any team, especially a bitter Big Ten foe, but that low win total will help to make today's victory - and I'm sure it will be a victory - even more special.

Here's a quick list of the Illini victories against Ohio St. in Champaign:

October 12, 1991: Illini 10 - Buckeyes 7
October 7, 1989: Illini 24 - Buckeyes 14
October 5, 1985: Illini 31 - Buckeyes 28
October 15, 1983: Illini 17 - Buckeyes 13
October 8, 1966: Illini 10 - Buckeyes 9
November 18, 1950: Illini 14 - Buckeyes 7
November 16, 1946: Illini 16 - Buckeyes 7
October 13, 1934: Illini 14 - Buckeyes 13
November 24, 1928: Illini 8 - Buckeyes 0
November 22, 1924: Illini 7 - Buckeyes 0
November 16, 1918: Illini 13 - Buckeyes 0
October 17, 1914: Illini 37 - Buckeyes 0

My conclusion from this list: the Illini are due for a win. Against Ohio St. In Champaign.

Who Would Dare Match Wits With The Zooker? (My Second Try To Finish The Post)

Yesterday I celebrated the beginning of the Illini football season by starting a blog post looking at the 12 coaches Ron Zook will stare down - and no doubt intimidate - on the opposite sideline this season. Unexpected fatherly duties prevented me from finishing that post before the start of yesterday's game.

Today I'll complete the post, starting with the third game of the season.

3. Sept. 17 v. Arizona St. - Dennis Erickson

Erickson likely needs no introduction. He's twice coached in the NFL (for the Seahawks and the Niners) but hasn't done all that well (40-56). His greatest stretch came as the head coach for Miami (so dirty) in the early '90s where he won two national championships. Still, as anyone who watched The U knows, those were really Jimmy Johnson's teams. His more impressive accomplishment is turning around the Oregon St. Beavers in the late '90s-early '00s, leading them to a top 5 finish in the 2000 season. He has ASU clicking on many cylinders at the moment and will present a strong challenge to the Zooker. In dispatching Erickson, the Zooker might actually break a sweat.

4. Sept. 24 v. Western Michigan - Bill Cubit

Cubit played WR for Delaware in the '70s before starting his coaching career in the mid-80s as defensive backs coach at Central Florida. He bounced around for awhile, eventually rising to offensive coordinator for several D-1 schools (Mizzou, Rutgers, Stanford) before taking the head job at Western Michigan in 2005. Cubit has been a nemesis of Zook's in the past, drawing blood with a victory over the Illini in 2008. No doubt Zook is now wise to Cubit's non-BCS guerilla tactics, and can counter them with the might of his BCS-bred heavy cavalry (Ford, Young, Ferguson, Prosch, Pocic, Thornton, Cornell).

5. Oct. 1 v. Northwestern - Pat Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald, the second-youngest coach in all of D-1 football, rose to fame as a stud LB for Northwestern in the mid-90s. After serving 5 seasons as Northwestern LB coach, he was promoted to head coach in 2006 following the sad death of Randy Walker. He's had marginal success at Northwestern, primarily the result of cupcake non-conference scheduling. He suffered a near-mortal wound at Zook's hands last November at Wrigley Field, as Zook's boys ran up over 300 yards rushing in a dominant Illini victory. With that beatdown fresh in his mind, I wouldn't be surprised if Fitzgerald doesn't even show up for this season's game.

6. Oct. 8 at Indiana - Kevin Wilson

The long-time assistant at several schools, Wilson is in his first year as head coach at Indiana. He apprenticed for 19 years at various schools under the now-deceased former Miami (OH) and Northwestern coach, Randy Walker, and more recently worked under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. In his short tenure at Indiana he has shown both steely resolve (winning the recruiting battle for Gunnar Kiel) and total ineptitude (losing yesterday to Ball St.). Knowing Zook, he will not show any mercy on Wilson, even if it is the guy's first season at the Hoosier helm. I wish Wilson luck.

7. Oct. 15 v. Ohio St. - Luke Fickell

I won't deny this fact: Fickell looked impressive on the sideline Saturday during the Buckeyes win over Akron. Fickell played nose guard for the Buckeyes in the mid-90s, starting 50 consecutive games, including the '97 Rose Bowl where he played despite having a torn pectoral muscle. Not only that, he seems to be handling the current adversity in Columbus with aplomb. The Zooker may have his hands full with this young warrior from the Land of Buckeye.

8. Oct. 22 at Purdue - Danny Hope

Hope spent several years jumping around as an offensive line coach (including time at Purdue) and then five years as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky before joining the Boilermakers for the 2008 season as Joe Tiller's assistant head coach. He took over for Tiller a year later and now, in his third season, has basically run the program into the ground. Yes, that is an exaggeration, but the Zooker should have little trouble with Hope this season.

9. Oct. 29 at Penn St. - Joe Paterno

Who? I don't think I've heard of this guy. And I can't find anything written about him online or elsewhere in the press. This guy is a total unknown.

10. Nov. 12 vs. Michigan - Brady Hoke

A round, pudgy-looking guy, Hoke has never coached a game for Michigan (at least as the head coach) that wasn't called due to severe weather. Hoke is an old school guy who spent 8 years as a Michigan defensive assistant before taking head coaching jobs at Ball St., San Diego St., and now Michigan. I've said from day one that this was a good hire for Michigan, and nothing I saw yesterday changed that fact. Except for the fact he apparently can't control lightning. Zook can control lightning. Advantage Zooker.

11. Nov. 19 vs. Wisconsin - Bret Bielema

I'm going to go ahead and announce Bielema as the Zooker's archnemesis. Bielema played LB for Iowa, and then joined the Hawkeyes as an assistant coach for nine years. He spent one year as the co-DC at Kansas St. before joining Wisconsin as the DC in 2004. Barry Alvarez named Bielema as his successor in 2005, and Bielema has been riding the coattails of Alavarez's work for the past five years. Bielema may be an okay coach, but he has no business running a program as successful as Wisconsin has been the past few years. It's time for Bielema's wake up call and the Zooker is just the man to do it.

12. Nov. 26 at Minnesota - Jerry Kill

This guy won at Saginaw Valley St., he won at Southern Illinois, he won at Northern Illinois, and he almost pulled the upset in his debut game for Minnesota on the road at Southern Cal. He also beat kidney cancer. And his last name is "Kill." I like this guy. I may feel the slightest bit of remorse when Zook steps on his neck this coming Thanksgiving weekend.

It's going to be a great season.

Who Would Dare Match Wits Against The Zooker?

Today begins another season of Illini football. To mark this momentous occasion, I thought I would look at the twelve coaches who would dare take the opposite sideline against Ron Zook this season. These gentlemen must be very brave, or very stupid, to challenge our Champion - the Zooker - in pitched battle. So who are these guys?

1. Sept. 3 v. Arkansas St. - Hugh Freeze

First-year college head coach, better known as the guy who coached Michael Oher in high school. I don't know much about Freeze's coaching philosophy, but if he is anything like how the actor Ray McKinnon portrayed him in The Blind Side movie ("Hold it in here, between the tits!"), I like Zook's chances.

2. Sept. 10 v. South Dakota St. - John Stiegelmaier

Like Freeze, Stiegelmaier was a former high school coach before becoming a graduate assistant at Wisconsin, and eventually moving on to South Dakota St. He became the head coach in 1997 and has a career 83-60 record. But whatever his merits as a coach, you have to question the decisionmaking of a man would spend 14 years coaching a team called the Jackrabbits. It's safe to say Zook can handle this guy.

Oh my. Just spent the last couple hours on unexpected Dad duty. Didn't get a chance to finish this before heading out to watch the Illini game. I'll finish this post before next week.

Go Illini!

A Midsummer Visit To The Baseball Hall of Fame

On the Friday that started July 4 weekend this year I took a trip to Cooperstown to visit the venerable National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. I traveled with one of my advisors, and noted beer aficionado, Tom Teatro. In addition to the Hall, we toured the excellent Ommegang Brewery, taking not one, but two tasting tours. And drinking several other of their fine Belgian-inspired beers at the bar on premises.

But as good as the Ommegang visit was, we were really there to see the Hall of Fame; as always, it did not disappoint. A few photos follow.

One of the things we wanted to accomplish over the weekend was to play catch on Doubleday Field. We gave it our best shot - eventually making it onto the field and throwing the ball back and forth for a few minutes - but then the Assistant Groundskeeper threatened to call the Cooperstown PD if we didn't exit the premises immediately. He even whipped out a walkie-talkie and pretended to radio the cops, a move he's no doubt honed by booting legions of teenagers ... and anyone who just spent the day drinking at Ommegang.

Before we "trespassed" onto the field, we caught the end of this game. We couldn't tell what level it was, but it appeared to be a Babe Ruth League game (does that still exist?) - maybe 14 to 16 year olds. They didn't look like varsity high-schoolers. I think this kid made the final out of the game when the ump called strike three on a ball a foot off the plate. Surprisingly, my drunken calls of "Blue, what are you doin'!" didn't change the call.

One of the great things about visiting Cooperstown is perusing all the memorabilia shops. They have some incredible stuff in these stores, often juxtaposing old jerseys and other memorabilia of stars of different eras in cool ways. For example, this store window showed off one of the greatest baseball players of all time. And Derek Jeter.

Like I said, I love the random groupings of gear from great players that otherwise wouldn't be grouped together. Here you have jerseys for Koufax, Clemente, and Musial, three of my top 5 favorite players of all time, hanging on the wall side-by-side. Unless you happened to be touring the locker room of the Ryan's Favorite Player All Stars, I don't know where else you'd see these jerseys hanging together. Except here, in Cooperstown.

The first World Series I remember watching was the 1982 Series between the Cardinals and Brewers. For that reason, even though I'm no fan of either franchise, I've always had a fondness for those two particular teams. These Cardinal colors worn by the '82 team - a team that featured former Padres Ozzie Smith, Gene Tenace, George Hendrick, and Steve Mura in prominent roles - are colors I'll always associate with early 80s baseball, a great, but often underrated time to grow up and learn about the game.

Really liked this Gwynn jersey except for one thing: when did the Padres ever wear a black jersey? Was this from an All Star Game? Was Tony secretly on the Pirates for awhile? Am I colorblind? Neither Teatro nor I could figure it out. Granted, we'd had 8 beers each at Ommegang, but still ...

Respect.

Another choice grouping. What's fun about these groupings, other than just being cool to look at, is that you can imagine these guys playing together. For example, let's say I get Mantle, Koufax, and Schmidt on my team. Then I let you go ahead and pick your entire team and you take, oh I don't know, Bench, Gehrig, Morgan, Ozzie, Brooks Robinson, Teddy Ballgame, Mays, and Aaron. And Bob Gibson to pitch. But then I fill out my team with Bill Dickey, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby, Robin Yount, Barry Bonds, and Babe Ruth. I don't know who wins that game, but I'd probably buy a ticket to watch it.

High comedy. You know I love Tony, but I'm not paying $149 for his signed anything (okay, maybe that's too far; I could see buying a game-worn jersey from the '84 Series or one of his game-used bats maybe). But that's obviously not the funny part. $99.95 for an Ozzie Guillen signature? $69.95 for Travis Hafner? I mean you couldn't make this up.

The next day we started early at the Hall of Fame. I didn't take photos of everything; no one could. There's just too much good stuff. I did take some photos of things that caught my eye, or that had special meaning to me, and it started with this Christy Mathewson jersey. Christy has always been one of my favorite players based on his exploits in the 1905 World Series, and he wore this jersey, if I remember correctly, during a tour of Japan.

Here's a stretched animal hide commemorating the Red Sox 1915 World Series victory. Why don't teams issue commeorative animal hides anymore? Baseball should really get back to that.

Look at Babe load his swing. If you're like me, even though you've read all the stories and seen all the numbers, you still look at the old Babe footage and wonder sometimes how he could have been as good as he was. But then I see a photo like this and realize it was probably because he had ridiculous hand-eye coordination, a ton of strength, very quick hands through the zone, and perhaps most of all, loaded his swing like a slingshot. I know he's just messing around here, but wasn't he always?

Musial's stirrups. Now I can say I saw them.

The Hall of Fame celebrates moments as much as it does individual players. Here you have George Brett's bat from the pine tar incident. I thought the presentation was done well because they included Brett's jersey - the classy Royals blue and white - and his glove, and didn't just make it about the bat. Brett was a monster whose career was memorable for so much more than that one moment.

A jersey Dave Winfield wore with the Padres. It must have been one of his last seasons in San Diego because I didn't know the Padres had moved to this lettering until after Winfield left town. But more importantly, you should have seen what other items shared space in this glass showcase. There was a Red Sox jersey that Pudge Fisk wore in '76, the bat and ball Jim Rice used to get his 400th total base in '78, the glove Gary Carter wore in his NL record-breaking 1,862nd game behind the plate, Wade Boggs' bat and batting glove from '89, his 7th consecutive year tallying 200+ hits, the bat Cal Ripken used to hit a bomb in the '91 All Star Game, the jersey and helmet Robin Yount wore when he got his 3000th hit, and the hat, glove and ticket stub from Nolan Ryan's 5000th strikeout game.

I'm just a humble baseball fan, but I'd say that's one heck of a glass showcase.

Here is the uniform Eddie Gaedel wore during his famous at bat for Bill Veeck's St. Louis Browns in 1951. I took the photo in honor of Kyle Gaedele, Eddie's grand-nephew, who the Padres had drafted a few weeks earlier. Incidentally, I'm currently reading Bill Veeck's autobiography - Veeck: As In Wreck - and the opening chapter is a solid firsthand account of the events leading up to the Gaedel at bat. I hightly recommend it.

After touring the museum upstairs, we went downstairs to the Plaque Gallery. As good as the presentation is upstairs, I still love the plaques the best. You could read these all day long, literally. Goose's plaque is great. I loved this line: "Incredibly durable, posted 52 saves of at least seven outs." From the vantage point of being a fan in 2011, that's an incredible statistic.

"An artisan with a bat ...."

The Artisan in close up.

I'd either forgotten or never knew that Clemente led the NL in batting four times, and finished his career with a .317 average. There really was nothing he couldn't do on a ball field.

I'd grin like a goofball too if my nickname was "The Man."

And the end of the hallway housing the Plaque Gallery is a place of honor for the First Five Hall of Fame inductees: Ruth, Mathewson, Wagner, Cobb, and Walter Johnson. It's all very well done.

Here's a wide view of the First Five and some of the more recent inductees that surround them. Tony Gwynn's plaque is to the left of the First Five.

Here's the glass ceiling that lets in sunlight on the First Five and other recent inductees. The sky that day was perfect. Look at how the clouds are reflected in the marble.

Two lefties that would have no trouble hitting at Petco.

This was genius. In the gift shop you have to pass through to leave the Hall they have these sets of 50 random cards for each team. They cost $9.50 each so obviously I purchased a Padres set without even hesitating.

Finally, I couldn't leave the Hall without snapping a photo of these three statues honoring Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and Roberto Clemente. The statues are placed so they greet you when you enter the Hall, and wish you well on your way out. There probably aren't three better ballplayers they could have chosen for this duty. Again, well done.

The Kevin Quackenbush/Colin Rea/Matt Andriese All Stars: A Look At The Padres 2011 Draft

The Padres drafted 53 young ballplayers in June.

Where are they and what are they doing as of today, August 13, 2011, three days prior to the signing deadline?

1s. Cory Spangenberg - 2B crushed Eugene, coming around at FW
1. Joseph Ross - RHP, a UCLA commit, still has not signed
1s. Michael Kelly - RHP, a Florida commit, still has not signed
1s. Brett Austin - C, an N.C. St. commit, still has not signed
1s. Jace Peterson - .246/.362/.325 at Eugene
2. Austin Hedges - C, a UCLA commit, still has not signed
3. Matthew Andriese - 1.59 ERA in 8 starts for Eugene
4. Cody Hebner - 4.15 ERA in 7 apps (3 starts) for Eugene
5. Mark Pope - 4.24 ERA in 6 relief apps for Eugene
6. Kyle Gaedele - OF hitting .213/.340/.279 for Eugene
7. Matthew Wisler - signed last week, first appy disaster for AZL
8. Kevin Quackenbush - 0.32 ERA, 14.3 K/9 in 24 apps for Ems/FW
9. Justin Hancock - 7 apps, 4 starts, 5.50 ERA for AZL
10. Robert Kral - C, nice start (.424 OBP) in first 33 PAs for AZL
11. Casey McElroy - 5 hits (2 2Bs) in first 13 PAs for AZL
12. Colin Rea - 0.88 ERA in 11 starts for Eugene
13. Lee Orr - .231/.381/.410 as primary RF in Eugene
14. Burch Smith - Junior RHP from OU is unsigned
15. Greg Gonzalez -1.42 ERA in 12 relief apps for Eugene
16. Jeremy Rodriguez - 26 walks, only 14 Ks (.413 OBP), C at Eugene
17. Matthew Stites - 1.33 ERA in 16 relief apps for AZL and Eugene
18. Mike Gallic - OF raked with Eugene, now struggling with FW
19. Jeremy Gigliotti - 3.68 ERA, 12.3 K/BB, 19 relief apps for Eugene
20. Christopher Haney - shelled in 12 relief apps for Eugene/FW
21. Zach Kometani - mediocre start for 1B w/ Ems (.258/.342/.375)
22. Matthew Colantonio - part-time C at Eugene, more BBs than Ks
23. Robert Eisenbach - 2.62 ERA in 13 apps (3 starts) for AZL
24. Erick Fedde - Vegas high schooler, UNLV commit, not signed
25. Paul Karmas - 1B, mediocre start at AZL (.263/.368/.394)
26. Roberto Suppa - Canadian RHP, Cornell commit, not signed
27. Arby Fields - JC OF prospect, LSU commit, not signed
28. Rashad Ingram - .257/.373/.329 for 2B/SS at AZL/Ems
29. Vimael Machin - P.R. high-school SS, VCU commit, not signed
30. Justin Miller - 2B, crushing ball at AZL/Eugene (.388/.463/.526)
31. Clint Moore - Army grad, 3B, avg start for Ems (.226/.317/.434)
32. Kyle Brule - pitched well in AZL, RHP not doing well at Eugene
33. James Jones - primary closer for AZL, 3.80 ERA 5 saves 20 appys
34. Dennis O'Grady - Duke grad, 4.50 ERA in 8 starts at AZL/FW
35. Travis Whitmore - Eugene 3B/DH hitting well (.306/.398/.408)
36. Andrew Rash - draft-eligible soph at VA Tech, not signed
37. Cody Semler - Texas high-school SS, not signed
38. Patrick Connaughton - baseball/hoops schollies to ND, not signed
39. Josh Pond - Junior RHP Cal St. San Bernardino, not signed
40. Taylor Murphy - IF Torrey Pines H.S., Pacific commit, unsigned
41. Dante Flores - high-school 2B, and USC commit, has not signed
42. Garrett Boulware - H.S. C, Clemson commit, not signed
43. Cody Gabella - 2B, rocky start at AZL (.111/.220/.358)
44. Spenser Linney - LHP, Stanford commit, not signed
45. William Goss - CF from Tupelo, no college commit, not signed
46. Eddie Salomon - H.S. 2B, may have signed in July, no stats
47. Vincent Voiro - rising Senior RHP from UPenn has not signed
48. Kent Rollins - H.S. from GA, going to Air Force to play football
49. Ryan Hutchison - Junior RF from W. Ky, not signed

The deadline approaches. Deals must get done.