PSoTD

In honor of the start of the season.

A real ball player

Coach Danny’s Rules of T-Ball

Andrew T-ball

First Tee-Ball Game

Invincible

Tee Ball Time!

When I was a kid, I don't believe there was anything called "tee ball". Now it's somewhat of an institution, although many leagues now call it "instructional league".

They aren't general managers, so let Petrie do the job.

Musselman fired by the Sacramento Kings.

Now, if we can somehow work it that we pick up Mike Conley Jr. in the draft...

The old saw about sex draining energy from athletes - unless, of course, it's right before a game - doesn't have much scientific evidence.

On the other hand, it may be more illuminating if they measure for aggressiveness and sex-deprivation.

Of course, it's about the Chicago Bears:

The Bears are not convinced Rex Grossman will improve simply by continuing to add maturity. They are installing some shotgun plays for him to use this fall. He worked extensively from the gun at Florida and is extremely comfortable in that alignment. Coordinator Ron Turner is not a fan of the shotgun, but good coaching means incorporating strengths of players, which is what the Bears are doing with Grossman....

Thank you. This is going to make a big difference on passing downs.

Just a blurb that shows how the weather has been the past month.

Tonight our daughter had softball practice. Practices started almost a month ago, supposedly, although this was only their third practice on a softball field. Their game season starts next week. Her coach has been coaching sports for a long time, and he told us that he was relatively satisfied with how the girls are doing, but that it would likely be a rough starting season, because he's never even been close to having as few practices before the season starts.

I'm expecting three inning games, in our allotted 1 and a quarter hour time periods, with maximum run scoring.

So here's the poll in the Allentown Morning Call:

When do you think Phillies manager Charlie Manuel will get fired?

Less than 14% of those responding said he won't be fired. The correct answer should have been: After last season.

Dear Major League Baseball:

"The Natural" is not a motion picture classic, even within the limited category of "baseball movies".

Horrible piece.

Bleh.

Sincerely,

PSoTD

Of course Billy Donovan is staying in Florida.

It never made any sense to me that Billy Donovan would leave the Florida men's basketball coaching job for Kentucky. Why? He's building a program for the ages there. What can Kentucky really offer him that's better? In 20 years, when people talk about the great college basketball programs, and Florida is mentioned, Donovan's name will be synonymous with it. His star as a sports hero in Florida is in ascent. He's going to be set for life. Kentucky couldn't offer that. In fact, Kentucky can only offer high expectations and a historical construct to be compared to, while at Florida, Donovan creates those expectations himself and is in charge of his remaining history.

College basketball isn't like football, recruiting dozens of players per season to the school. You need a team of 10 or a few more. You don't need 40 or 60 men. So the institutional benefits to recruiting are less, and coaches can recruit based on their history, rather than the school's. Kentucky wasn't going to help Donovan's recruiting, but Donovan could have helped Kentucky's.

Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, Indiana - these are the "elite" NCAA Men's Basketball programs, and surprise, surprise, they are all inextricably linked to a head coach that "made" each program. And once that head coach leaves, the school's luster diminishes over time. And so, Kentucky needed Billy Donovan a lot more than Donovan needed Kentucky, and once Donovan reviewed how much more Florida served his needs, the decision was easy.

Billy Donovan is bright about his career, but this was a no-brainer.

That's a GREAT NCAA basketball championship team. I'd take this team versus almost any other NCAA champion of the past. Except maybe that 1982 North Carolina team.