Thoughts Since the Start of Baseball Season

Well my preseason baseball predictions are about 50% accurate -- par for the course. Even though they're fighting with the Cardinals for the AL Central division like I predicted, the Cubs are struggling. They probably will make the playoffs, but they don't look anywhere near a team capable of making the World Series this year.

Reading the press articles on the Cyclone football during summer camp team leaves me feeling cautiously optimistic about their upcoming season. Five wins are not out of the question in Paul Rhoads' inaugural season. The players' goal this season is to win a bowl game; that maybe a little premature this year. Even so, I feel the 2009 edition of the ISU Cyclone football team will be far more competitive.

Reading about Kevin Jackson's hire as ISU's head wrestling coach seems an excellent fit. His passion seems to mirror that exhibited by Tom Brands the Hawkeye wrestling coach. That ardour can only bode well for the Cyclone wrestling program.

The Brett Favre -- Minnesota Viking saga has finally reached an end. Looks like Favre will be wearing purple this year. With that excellent Viking offensive line and having Adrian Peterson in the backfield, Favre should do very well and lead the Vikes deep into the playoffs; perhaps one more Super Bowl. Should Favre get hurt, Rosenfels and Jackson are able to capably take the reins at QB. I'm sure all Packer fans feel betrayed right now and probably making comparisons to the likes of Benedict Arnold among other infamous people from history. Unfortunate to be a Packer fan this year. ;-)

Until my next posting, in which, I hope, will be a shorter span of time than that from my last posting, TTFN.

Cael Sanderson Leaving ISU

Sanderson left ISU for Penn State. Why? The reasons he cited don't make sense. His salary is quadrupled and money is not the issue? Yeah, right. I can only think of only two other reasons as to why Sanderson left ISU.

1. Facilities -- if Penn State completed a major upgrade to their wrestling training facilities, I can see why Cael would state that winning a national championship would be easier. Having cutting edge facilities would make recruiting much easier. So, Penn State may have better facilities than ISU.

2. Jamie Pollard (the AD) and Cael had a falling out -- maybe, over what, facilities, or something else?

Well, this is another coaching re-hire Pollard must make; his record on coach retention is not good so far. It's giving ISU a bad rep on the recruiting trail. The replacement candidates I've heard about so far are eminently qualified and would be good hires. Hopefully, the next wrestling head coach will "dovetail" with Pollard better. ISU fans can only hope.

My Major League Baseball Forecast

Opening day is here (Hoo-Rah)! . Since almost everyone else is doing it, I'll make my baseball forecast as to which teams make the post-season:

AL East:

1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. New York Yankees
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central:

1. Minnesota Twins
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers

AL West

1. LA Angels
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. New York Mets
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Houston Astros
5. Cincinnati Reds
   
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

1. LA Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. SF Giants
4. SD Padres
5. Colorado Rockies

Playoff Teams

AL

• Rays
• Twins
• Angels
• Yankees (Wild Card)

NL

• Phillies
• Cubs
• Dodgers
• Mets (Wild Card)

AL Champion -- Twins
NL Champion -- Cubs

World Series Champion -- Cubs (after 101 years)

Yeah, I know I'm letting sentiment come over me, but my predictions are as good as the any other average Joe's.

How I see the races shaking out:

AL East -- A dog fight between the Rays and Yankees with the Rays edging the Bronx Bombers by three games, or less.

AL Central -- A three team race between the Twins, Indians and White Sox. The Twins squeak by, by a game or two.

AL West -- The Angels have no real competition here. They will run away with the division crown by ten plus games.

NL East -- Another tight race between the Phillies and Mets with the Phillies winning the crown by three games, or less.

NL Central -- The rivalry between the Cubs and Cards will glow to white hot as these teams slug it out for the division title. The Cubs win out by one, or two games over the Cards. This contest is the NL's answer to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry this year.

NL West -- The Dodgers will win this division comfortably by seven plus games. The only races here are for second place between the Giants and Diamondbacks (neither team will make the playoffs this year), and the Padres and Rockies for fourth place (who cares).

AL Wild Card -- This race will be a battle between the Yankees and the Indians. The Yanks win by one or two games.

NL Wild Card -- A race between the Mets and Cards, and the Mets win by one, or two games as well.

Well there you have it, my MLB predictions for this year. Will I be Sammy Swami, Blind Bertie, or Half-blind Hattie this year? Only time will tell, but it will be a fun baseball season watching six close races in 2009.

TTFN.

Well, Maybe Next Year...

The 08/09 basketball season for the ISU men's basketball team can only be described as disappointing. I was expecting a record slightly above .500 and now their record is going to be slightly below that mark. I hate to say this, but I'm not seeing a whole lot of improvement over last Head Men's Basketball Coach's (Wayne Morgan's) record so far. I know Coach McDermott had to start pretty much from scratch, but after the third year, we should be seeing a won-loss record trending above .500, not stagnating just below that benchmark. Next season is the time when Coach McDemott's future at ISU will be determined. Nothing less than a significant improvement in the won-loss record will save Coach from being fired.

One thing this basketball team needs are guards who can handle "the rock" no matter what defense an opponent may throw at them. Allowing twenty-plus points off of steals is absolutely unacceptable. Turnovers due to mistakes must end. Along with handling the ball, having tough-minded guards are a must as well. There were too many games in which the team broke down at the end of the game snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Right now, the ISU Men's Basketball team is not mentally tough enough to win anything. Will the incoming recruiting class change the mental make up of this team? We're hoping so for Coach McDermott's sake. Otherwise, it's hasta la vista, baby. TTFN.

A Successful First Recruiting Effort for Coach Rhoads

ISU Head Football Coach, Paul Rhoads somehow retained sixteen of Gene Chisik's nineteen recruits for the 2009 season. A remarkable recruiting accomplishment even if Coach Rhoads wasn't able to add any recruits of his own, which he did by the way. Of Coach Rhoads' own recruits, there is a quarterback prospect from Pennsylvania who seems to be very highly regarded. Sounds like Coach's time at Pitt is paying off. Paul Rhoads initial recruiting class can only be regarded as an unqualified success.

GO CYCLONES!

All Pollard's "Rhoads" to a New Head Football Coach Lead to Paul

Paul Rhoades hire as ISU's new Head Football Coach is old news now.

Here's what I like about this guy:

• Seven years as Defensive Coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh. Paul was the only coach there to survive a coaching change which gives me a positive feeling about his commitment to a program.
• That time at Pitt should give him an inside edge in recruiting the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. Cold weather states that routinely produce stellar football recruits. It'll be nice to have good football players that won't balk at playing in our climate: "Ten below zero? No problem, feels just like home."
• The passion he has demonstrated so far closely resembles that of Dan McCarney. Who, by the way, is laughing all the way to the bank this year after obtaining a national championship ring with the University of Florida. I don't think Coach Mac was truly finished at ISU when Pollard ran him off.

With the positives, come some questions:

• Will his time at Pitt help him bring in stellar recruits from the northeastern states?
• After only one season at Auburn, are his recruiting ties in the southeastern states strong enough to help bolster ISU's moribund football program?
• Will his passion translate to retaining Chizik's recruits?

Only time can answer these questions, but I like his chances. One thing is for certain, as Coach Rhoades' success at ISU goes, so goes Pollard's standing as AD. Jamie Pollard and Paul Rhoades are attached at the hip so to speak. Let's hope this hire turns out the way we want it to.