Unluck of the Irish

While this is still in the rumor stage, the readers of YCS would be interested in knowing that Colin Falls's status with Notre Dame is in serious jeopardy. Apparently Falls committed a Du-Lac violation, with Vinnie speculating he used the wrong fork for salad at dinner one night. Seriously, ND's luck in 2006 continues to go down the crapper as Falls would have been their leading returning scorer. For a team that likely would have been an NIT team anyway, this ensures that they will struggle to make the Big East Tournament, let alone the Big Dance. Keep tuned to YCS for continuing information on this story.

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The All-Star Break: What a casual fan can watch for

With this past week's matches having been completed, the league will take a rest as we head into the All-Star break. With the season at its 2/3 mark, the final race to the finish of the MLS league campaign is about to begin. For those who haven't been watching during the previous part of this season, the final leg contains several storylines that are worth following.

1.) MLS Success against the World's Best
While the US National team may not have fared well at the World Cup, MLS clubs are still hanging right with and at times beating the world's best, and most of these visiting teams have furnished most of their starters. DC United's reserves beat Celtic FC's starters 4-0. New England played Celtic to a 1-1 draw. Columbus tied Everton 1-1, Chivas USA beat North American champion Club America, and FC Dallas beat elite Mexican club Tigres in a two-leg exhibition series. Earlier in the season, Red Bull New York beat Bayern Munich 4-2, but the German champions furnished a reserve team with many starters on World Cup duty.

Still to come, DC United will play Real Madrid in Seattle, and Madrid will then play against Real Salt Lake in Utah. European Champion FC Barcelona visits Red Bull New York, and English champion Chelsea takes on the MLS All-Stars on Saturday. Even in losses, no MLS side has been embarassed or outclassed, which shows how the quality of competition in the league has grown, even in the last five years.

2.) DC Dominance
DC United has more or less locked up the Eastern Conference regular season championship with a record of 13-2-6. United recently had a 14-game unbeaten streak broken, and the 2006 United team could break the record for best regular season performance, currently held by the 1998 Los Angeles Galaxy who finished with a record of 24-8 (22-6-4 in today's scorekeeping with no OT). With a relatively easy draw in the US Open Cup, the possibility of United becoming the first team to complete the domestic treble (Open Cup, Regular Season Champs, MLS Cup Champs) is on the minds of the faithful on East Capitol Street. Anything short of an MLS Cup title will be a colossal dissappointment.

3.) The Wild Wild East
After DC, the rest of the East is up for grabs. Only 6 points separate 2nd place New England from 6th-place Columbus. Chicago has some advantage in this stretch because they have already played most of their road games, and have a match in hand. Five teams will fight for three playoff spots.

4.) Who's going to Europe, and when?
The FIFA summer transfer window is closing, and many US stars stayed put, likely as the result of a lackluster World Cup. However, Chelsea has shown interest in DC United playmaker Freddy Adu, and Clint Dempsey appears to be the next American to cross the pond. Dempsey has said that he wants to win MLS Cup to atone for his poor performance in Germany, despite the fact that he was the only American to register a goal. Jean-Phillippe Peguero has also attracted European interest.

5.) The Coaching Carousel
Anyone who said that MLS is a "no-pressure" league was sorely mistaken. Three coaches have gotten the ax already, and all three of their teams were in playoff contention. Frank Yallop (Los Angeles), Seth Stammler (Kansas City) and Bruce Arena (New York) have all been charged with the task of bringing their clubs to the promised land. Arena takes over RBNY on August 12. The Red Bulls are currently on a 5-game unbeaten streak, and have climbed out of the cellar and into 3rd place in the East. Dave Sarachan in Chicago is also on the hot seat. The Fire are on a 4-match winless streak and have looked lifeless in several outings.

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The Value of Offensive Lineman

After a discussion Friday night involving Reggie Bush, someone stated that he was unquestionably the top prospect in the 2006 draft. Immediately, I objected as LT D'Brickishaw Ferguson holds that distinction in my opinion. Soon after that proclaimation, the response came that no offensive lineman is really that valuable. Not an uncommon thought, as I vividly remember a certain New Yorker's disgust to when the Jets drafted Ferguson ahead of Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler. He stated that you should never draft a lineman with a top-five pick. Adding to the irony of this situation is that the Jets drafted another lineman, C/G Nick Mangold with their other first round pick. However, I believe that the Jets now have a strong offensive foundation for the next few years, and would not be shocked if both guys end up in Canton, especially Ferguson. For an example of what a strong offensive line can do, just look at season's NFC Champions, the Seattle Seahawks. With Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson anchoring the left side of their line, Shaun Alexander has become a dominant running back. Matt Hasselbeck emerged as a top-tier quarterback even with receivers who couldn't catch a cold. The Denver Broncos continually contend in the AFC because of their offensive line, in spite of the fact they have had Jake Plummer and Brian Griese under center and a rotating door of running backs that George Steinbrenner envies. Hell, when Reuben Droughns and Mike Anderson on a surgically repaired knee can rush for 1,200 yards, you see what a strong offensive line can do for a team. Even a single stud lineman can turn the tide, with Orlando Pace being a main cog of the Greatest Show on Turf all these years despite never having a consistent line next to him. On the other end of the spectrum, the Detroit Lions have continually struggled to score points despite a heavy emphasis on skill positions the last few drafts. While many people blame Joey Harrington and their WR's work ethic, a major root of the problem has been an awful offensive line. With only Jeff Backus as a legitimate anchor, they have watched their skill position guys consistently underachieve despite the talent of guys like Roy Williams and Kevin Jones. Their offense will continue to struggle until that line is improved. With the acquisition of Steve Hutchinson and return of Matt Birk, watch the improvement of the Vikings offense, especially their running game. They will make Chester Taylor look much better than the career back-up he has been. In turn, look for the high-octane Seahwaks offense to come back to the pack without Hutchinson. While they may not be the sexiest draft picks, the long-term impact Ferguson and Mangold make will be just as significant as star skill position players.

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¡Olé!

Ladies and gentlemen, the motherfuckin' Chorizo!

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ESPN Needs to Correct Their Headlines Regarding Floyd Landis Immediately

For the past 12 hours, ESPN has reported the allegations from Tour de France officials regarding Floyd Landis' testosterone levels during stage 17 of the Tour (The stage of his dramatic comeback). ESPN reported that Landis' "A" sample tested positive for abnormally high levels of testosterone when in fact it has been made quite clear by many that his "A" sample was shown to have abnormally low levels of testosterone. ESPN has even had Tour officials and other scientists on air whom have stated this fact, yet ESPN has failed to correct themselves.

Because of the blatant use of this misinformation, Floyd Landis' career has been cracked and obscured because of the continuing American medias fallacy. Nevermind that it has NEVER been absolutely proven that testosterone increases performance and nevermind that his "abnormally high levels of testosterone" reported by the American media was only slightly over 1200 ng. / dl. Certainly these levels would make one suspicious, but disastrous levels over 1200 ng. / dl. have been reported for decades in cycling. It is not that abnormal. But, since Landis' test showed LOW levels of testosterone, one might wonder as to how this could effect performance.

In simple words, it wouldn't and there are plenty of reasons for his "A" sample to test the way it did.

A.) Landis had an exemption from Tour officials to take cortisone shots for his degenerative hip.
Now, as everyone should know, the largest amounts of testosterone is produced by the testes (Leydig cells) in men, and also produced in synthesized form by the adrenal cortex. Synthetic cortisone, which could be delivered by simple substances such as rash cream, etc essentially decreases the output of protein-based hormones, such as testosterone.

B.) Landis was also taking oral medicine for his hyperthyroidism...I am not sure what medication he was taking, but iot is certainly possible that those could have effected his blood sample.

C.) Landis and his teammates all consumed alcohol the night before (Whisky). It again has been proven that alcohol decreases one's testosterone levels.

In essence, what American reporters have been trying to say is that his ratio from testosterone to epitestosterone was high. Normally, the ratio for a normal individual is 1:1, but 4:1 is the new limit before investigations are to begin. Reports are that Landis tested at a 5:1 ratio, which would have been "normal" one year ago.

If Landis had been a user of synthetic testosterone, earlier urine tests would have also been affected. "One-time" use which has been suggested by many, would cause an abnormal result, but it would have no effect on performance whatsoever.

In all, these reports by the American media are completely erroneous and should be ignored until the "B" sample has been fully tested and analyzed by United States Doping Committee. The tests performed were done in a French laboratory and there have been growing frustrations about the American dominance in the Tour. Landis may indeed be guilty, but one must remember that Lance Armstrong tested positive in the 1999 Tour for the exact same thing. Only, Armstrong was sly enough to present a doctor's note for saddle sore cream (which contains slightly levels of cortisone) immediately prior to his blood test. In my mind, Landis is not guilty simply because the facts do not match up. Unfortunately, this stigma will never go away.

Stay Classy

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Current notice on baseball-reference.com:

The site will be down very briefly sometime between 2-5am EDT the morning of Friday July 28th for a quick server upgrade. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Up until about two months ago, this would have proved a huge inconvenience for me. But alas, I am now in the "real world" and spend the hours of 2-5am EDT asleep in my bed (not even on the couch!). Funny, graduating from college didn't make me wistful, but that notice really hits home.

Maybe I'm just going through hormonal changes; I'll let you all know if I start getting hot flashes.

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Flushhhhh...

...gurggle gurggle gurggle

Seriously--when will this outrageous rookie contract madness end? Get your act together, NFL.

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Both of these thoughts are sort of related to porn (and by having the word porn in this title, we're sure to draw a lot more readers)

After watching the Yankees/Rangers game in which the lead changed three half-innings in a row, I was left with one thought: Thank God someone is taking full advantage of The Boss' mustache exception for facial hair. Sadly, he had to trim it up a bit when he was traded to the Yankees, but I saw him tonight, and the stache' is still looking pretty good. (Of course, by "good" I mean it looks like he should be in a porno).




Also, in case you haven't heard Harold Reynolds was fired for sexual harassment. He claims it was a "misinterpreted hug" and I actually tend to believe him. In a sports environment, which has largely been synonymous with a testosterone-filled environment, it is pretty easy to imagine (a) men feeling threatened by the presence of females, and (b) a female jumping the gun with sexual harassment decisions. Of course, I have no idea what happened.

Besides, come on, would you turn down a hug from Harold Reynolds?

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Eric Karros seems to have a good handle on the A-Rod bunk

In addition to being a fellow handsome Mediterranean ethnic, Eric Karros knows the score when it comes to Alex Rodriguez.

A few minutes ago during tonight’s ESPN broadcast of the Yankees-Rangers game, PBP guy Dave O’Brien and Karros talked about Yankee fans booing ARod, despite his well-above-average offensive production.

After O'Brien attributed much of the booing to ARod's defensive struggles, Karros broached the "clutch hitting" subject with such appropriate disgust that I think he stopped just short of saying, "Yankees fans are retards."

Karros followed up with (what I thought) was a very eloquent synopsis: [paraphrased] "It makes you wonder if Yankees fans care more about their team winning than criticizing the play of Alex Rodriguez."

Very well put, my Greek brother.

(And now I must atone for this compliment with twenty anti-ESPN posts.)

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Man, Derek Jeter's Having A Kickass Season And A-Rod Really Sucks A Lot

I'm sick and fucking tired of all the bullshit that everyone continues giving Alex Rodriguez. One last statistic for everyone to consider: A-Rod's OPS is .001 lower than Yankee God Derek Jeter. That's right, one one thousandth of a point. Also, A-Rod has more home runs, RBI and even runs scored than Derek Jeter. So please, give me a fucking break.

Look for one post coming soon from me on this topic.

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