Views From the Sidelines

I played two games with the aforementioned pitching matchups, both night games at Miller Park. One was good for most of the game, and the other was good from the first pitch to the last.

In the first game, Albert Pujols hit two home runs (having gone 2 for 4 in the game). Entering the bottom of the 8th, the score was 5-3 with the Redbirds on top. However, Trever Miller and Jason Motte would make the score a little worse.

Miller entered to pitch to Prince Fielder and Jim Edmonds. Fielder led off with a single and Jimmy followed with a single himself. So, in comes Jason Motte with two on and no outs. Uh oh.

Motte ended up giving four runs to the Brewers in the bottom of the 8th, with the Cards unable to score any runs in the top of the 9th. Milwaukee won the game 7-5 because of the four-run bottom of the 8th.

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Game two, on the other hand, was a different story. Adam Wainwright was dominant throughout, and Randy Wolf got lit up. Wolf exited the game after 4 2/3 innings, giving up 6 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), a walk and 4 K's. Adam Wainwright pitched a great 7 innings: 8 hits, no runs, two walks and 10 K's. It also included a Waino 2 RBI triple. That's right, TRIPLE.

If the player of the game was not Wainwright, it would be Yadier Molina. Molina had a night in which he went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Albert Pujols, on the other hand, went 0 for 3 in this game, managing a walk in one of his first at-bats.

In case you're wondering, Jason Motte and Trever Miller never entered game two. Dennys Reyes and Kyle McClellan pitched the 8th, getting a hit between them, but no more. Blake Hawksworth pitched a good ninth inning, and the Cards won this game 5-0.

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It's likely that no one will care about this, but I felt that I had to write about these two games, because they had such opposite endings and, in Albert's case, different games.

This fits how the Cardinals currently are right now, at times hitting really well and at times struggling to find the bat on the ball. It also fits their shaky bullpen. Some nights they have it, and some nights they don't. And hey, they hit Randy Wolf - a soft-tossing lefty!!!

Sorry I haven't posted much this week. I've been busy applying to colleges and things of that nature.

St. Louis Rams being sold

Yep, that's right. My favorite NFL team is being sold, but thankfully they are staying in St. Louis. Owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, who inherited the team from their late mother Georgia Frontiere, sold their 60% stake in the team. The new majority owner is Shahid Khan, a 55 year old who is the president of Flex-N-Gate Corp., an auto parts manufacturer that is based in Urbana, Illinois. Sources describe Khan as an avid Rams fan who has attended games at the Edward Jones Dome and intends on keeping the team in St. Louis. The other owner is Stan Kroenke, the owner of the NBA's Denver Nuggets and NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Kroenke owns the other 40%.

30+ athletes banned from Olympics for positive drug tests

More than 30 athletes will be banned from this year's Olympic Games in Vancouver. Each athlete failed pre-Games testing. This is less than double of the 70 athletes that were banned from Beijing in 2008, and the good news is that Americans are not believed to be any of the 30 banned.

San Francisco Giants, pitcher Tim Lincecum not close to contract

The San Francisco Giants and pitcher Tim Lincecum are not close to a contract agreement, according to several sources. Lincecum, who won a Cy Young last season, was 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA. Lincecum made $650,000 in 2009, and wanted a deal for $13 million. The Giants offered $8 million, but Lincecum did not accept. The Giants have made an offer for a three-year, $37 million contract, with proposed salaries of $9.5M in 2010, $12.5M in 2011 and $15M in 2012. Lincecum reportedly wants a contract worth more than $40M. His arbitration hearing is scheduled for Friday in Florida.

It was the New Orleans' Saints first time in the Super Bowl, and they took advantage of their opportunity. New Orleans beat their opposition in the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17. The Saints became the eighth first-time team to win the Big Game (the other seven: the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

First quarter: The Colts were the only team to score in the first, starting off with a Matt Stover 38 yard field goal (with 7:29 to go in the quarter). It would be just less than seven minutes later that the Colts scored again, a Peyton Manning 19 yard pass to Pierre Garcon (0:36), with Indianapolis going up 10-0.

Second quarter: The quarter would not have much in the way of scoring, just two New Orleans field goals by kicker Garrett Hartley (46 yards at 9:34 at 44 yards as time expired). At the half, Indianapolis led New Orleans 10-6.

Third quarter: The Saints decided to start the second half a little different than normal. New Orleans decided to kick an onside kick and recovered the ball, a move that was gutsy and turned out to be good for them. New Orleans finally scored their first team touchdown about three and a half minutes into the third, a 16 yard pass from Drew Brees to Pierre Thomas (11:41). New Orleans also took their first lead, going up 13-10. Indianapolis would not be down for long, after Colts running back Joseph Addai ran for a four yard score that put them back on top 17-13 (6:15). Hartley kicked a field goal for New Orleans with just a little more than two minutes to go in the quarter (2:01) that put the Saints down by a point, 17-16. The Saints would trail by that score going into the fourth.

Fourth quarter: The fourth quarter was one in which the Saints went to work. Brees threw his second touchdown of the game to tight end Jeremy Shockey to help the Saints go up 22-17. Brees and Co. went for a two point conversion instead of the traditional extra point to try to go up by one possession, and got it by a matter of inches. Receiver Lance Moore caught a pass from Brees and managed to have possession of the ball and get it across the goal line before it was knocked out by a Colts defender (the play had to go under review and was initially ruled an incomplete pass). After the ruling was reversed, and the two points were good, the Saints were up 24-17.

The clincher came with just over three minutes to go in the ballgame. Saints cornerback Tracy Porter, a Louisiana native, picked off a pass from Peyton Manning and ran it back 74 yards to put the Saints up 31-17 and have the Super Bowl essentially clinched. The Colts tried to score again, but failed to after driving down the field. With one last heave, Peyton Manning failed to complete the pass to receiver Reggie Wayne that could have been a touchdown and kept the Colts in the game. With one final kneel-down at 44 seconds, the Saints would run out the clock and win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees was the Super Bowl MVP, throwing 32 for 39 with 288 yards and two touchdowns. Brees also tied the Super Bowl record for most completed passes in one game.

Reaction: Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints. I was pulling for them and I am very happy for them. They are a city that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and found strength in the Saints to pull through. You deserve it - and basque in the glory!

Today, I believe, will be one of the better Super Bowls in the last few years. I think both the Saints and Colts will have a great day offensively, as they are two of the best offensive powerhouses in the NFL. I believe the game will be close the entire time and come down to the last possession.

I think that the Colts' chances may depend on the health of Dwight Freeney. It sounds like Freeney will play today, but it's unknown as to how much. The more snaps the Colts have with Freeney on the line, the better.

I think the Colts defense will have a hard time defending the Saints' many weapons (Bush, P. Thomas, Colston, Moore, Shockey, Henderson...), but I think the Saints will also have a hard time defending the Colts' weapons (Addai, Garcon, Collie, D. Clark).

I personally want the Saints to win because they are in the same conference as my favorite team, the St. Louis Rams (NFC). I also am not a big fan of Peyton Manning.

Prediction: Saints 35, Colts 31

WHO DAT! GEAUX SAINTS!

Note: This game was simulated by a feature on the PS2 game called SuperSim, which is where you can simulate anything from one play to a whole game and get what happens on each play. I simulated the whole game with 15 minute quarters (the norm for an NFL game, I normally play five minute quarters) and did not play. This is not the Wheaties Bowl (the mock Super Bowl that my dad and I play), which will be played tomorrow afternoon and not tonight. Also to note, the following "news article" of this game is fictional.

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In a game that saw players like Peyton Manning, Joseph Addai, Donald Brown and Reggie Wayne out for most of it, the Colts still managed to fight. However, their efforts fell short, as New Orleans beat Indianapolis 27-26.

First quarter: The Colts were the only team to score in the opening quarter of Super Bowl 44. Matt Stover started it off with a 38 yard field goal, just less than five minutes after the game started (10:02 to go in the first quarter). Donald Brown, the backup to starting running back Joseph Addai, scored about five and a half minutes later, on a one yard touchdown run (4:29). The extra point after Brown's TD run was missed by kicker Matt Stover. After a quarter, the Colts led 9-0.

Second quarter: The Saints seemed to suddenly wake up in the second. Chris McAllister began the scoring by returning a 29 yard interception for a score (11:35), making the score 9-7. It would be slightly less than six minutes before a team scored again. The Colts had a four yard TD pass from Manning backup Jim Sorgi to offensive lineman Ryan Lilja, who lined up at tight end on the play (5:42), extending the team's lead to 16-7. Garrett Hartley kicked a 50 yard field goal with two seconds in the half remaining. The Colts led at halftime, 16-10.

Third quarter: The Saints managed to score first, a 34 yard field goal by Hartley (9:14), but that would be the only time that New Orleans scored in the quarter. Even so, the Saints minimized the Colts' lead to 16-13. Less than five minutes later, Sorgi threw a 20 yard pass to Roy Hall, extending Indianapolis' lead yet again (to 23-10; 4:51). Indianapolis would round out the third quarter scoring, with a 19 yard field goal by Stover (1:11). With one quarter to decide the winner of Super Bowl 44, the Colts led New Orleans, 26-13. 

Fourth quarter: This was for all the marbles, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, greatness. This is for world recognition. This is the mecca of NFL football. All on the line, with 15 minutes to decide the fate of two teams. The winner is forever remembered, the loser goes home disappointed. And when it mattered most, New Orleans shined.

New Orleans finally threw a touchdown pass, having not done so up to this point in the game. Drew Brees threw a 17 yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey, and the Colts' lead was down to six (26-20; 13:56). The Saints would score again just a little over seven minutes later, a four yard run by Pierre Thomas (6:16) - and New Orleans took their first lead of the game, 27-26. Indianapolis tried to score several times after that, but never could. The touchdown by Thomas would be the last of the game, and the winner ended up being New Orleans by a point.

All this was after the Colts had 186 more offensive yards than the Saints (541 to 355).

Reaction: To go from battered (Hurricane Katrina) to this is simply amazing. Not only that, but the facts that New Orleans started the season 13-0 and arguably had their best season in franchise history make it that much better. New Orleans became the eighth first-time Super Bowl team to win the game (the other seven: Packers, Jets, Steelers, 49ers, Bears, Giants and Buccaneers).

This is a great story for a great city, considering where they were five years ago and where they are now. Enjoy it, Saints. Take it all in. This is something that every NFL player dreams of, and today, you're getting to experience that dream. Congratulations!

Game Stats (Colts in blue, Saints in gold)

Peyton Manning: 4-6, 66 yds

Jim Sorgi: 22-42, 242 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

Donald Brown: 25 car, 102 yds, TD

Mike Hart: 18 car, 71 yds

Joseph Addai: 3 car, 14 yds

Reggie Wayne: 7 rec, 83 yds

Austin Collie: 6 rec, 75 yds

Dallas Clark: 3 rec, 33 yds

Roy Hall: 2 rec, 28 yds, TD

Drew Brees: 17-39, 173 yds, TD, INT

Pierre Thomas: 26 car, 63 yds, TD

Reggie Bush: 14 car, 51 yds

Marques Colston: 8 rec, 79 yds

Jeremy Shockey: 3 rec, 31 yds, TD

USC has been the center of controversy this college football offseason, from Joe McKnight to other violations to hiring Lane Kiffin. Now, they've got something else under their belt: signing a seventh-grader.

David Sills is just 13, a seventh-grader in Delaware. He's probably the most talked-about college recruit, for obvious reasons. He verbally committed to USC - even though he won't be able to sign his letter of intent until 2015. Sills' personal quarterback coach Steve Clarkson has also coached Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley, and has USC memorabilia throughout his office - wouldn't that explain part of the reason? And get this - according to Sills father, the process took just three hours when it normally takes two years.

Reaction: USC's gone off the plank. Signing a 13 year old, seriously? I've heard of some crazy things, but never something like this. Time will tell if the decision will pay off, but this kid will have to deal with all the talk until then - and that's going to be five years of it.

Super Bowl to have decent weather

Maybe there won't be rain in Miami like there was in 2005. That day four years ago was the first time that rain was part of a Super Bowl, and hopefully it won't be that way for a while. The projected temperature at kickoff (6:25 PM Eastern) is 66 degrees. By the game's end, temps should be in the 50s.

Erik Bedard re-ups with Mariners

Erik Bedard, the lefty pitcher who has struggled in two years with Seattle, re-signed with the team on a one-year contract. The Mariners declined arbitration with Bedard, who they paid $14.75 million over the last two seasons. In those two years, Bedard won just 11 games in 30 starts. The contract, in which the terms have not been released, is expected to pay Bedard a fraction of the $7.75M he got last year.

Not much in the way of news, but I'll pick the best of what there is.

Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice lead 17 NFL Hall of Fame candidates: Former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith and ex-San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice are just two of 17 NFL Hall of Fame candidates. They are both in their first year of HOF eligibility. Others include former Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter, former Oakland Raiders wideout Tim Brown, and ex-Denver Bronco tight end Shannon Sharpe. 

Reaction: This year's HOF class is one of the better ones in recent years. I remember watching most of the players on the list and know the majority of the names.

Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne hurts knee: Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne hurt his knee in practice today and left 20 minutes early. He apparently aggrevated a right knee injury. There is good news, however - he walked on his own to the trainer's room. He is listed as probable for Sunday's Super Bowl. Teammate Dwight Freeney, who tore a ligament in his right ankle in the game against the Jets, is listed as questionable.

My take: I think Wayne will play. I believe that his injury is not too serious, but I am sure that the Colts will want to take caution. I am less optimistic about Freeney, as an ankle is key to what a defensive player (like him) does.

Justin Verlander agrees to extension with Tigers: Justin Verlander signed a 5 year, $80 million extension with the Detroit Tigers. Under the deal, Verlander would earn $6.75 million this season, $12.75 million in 2011 and $20 million in each of the last three years. Verlander had 19 wins in 2009, along with 269 strikeouts and a 3.45 ERA in 35 starts and 240 innings pitched.

Reaction: It was a great deal for Detroit. The team, who traded Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson as well as not re-signing Placido Polanco and Fernando Rodney, had upset some fans by making those moves. This contract should ease some of the angst against the team.

Twins sign Orlando Hudson: Second baseman Orlando Hudson has signed a one year, $5 million contract with the Minnesota Twins. Hudson played for the LA Dodgers last season, batting .283 with nine homers and 62 RBIs (hitting 35 doubles and six triples).

Reaction: I'm surprised that not many teams were after Hudson, and I am also surprised that he signed for just $5M. I figured that he would get a better contract than that.

We all know that Super Bowl 44 is going to be played in Miami on Sunday, and that the New Orleans Saints are taking on the Indianapolis Colts. We all know that the last time the Colts were in the Super Bowl (number 41) in 2005, they played in Miami and beat the Chicago Bears 29-17.

EA Sports runs a simulation of the Super Bowl with their Madden NFL video-games, and have done so since 2004. As a matter of fact, EA has correctly predicted five of the six Super Bowls since they have run their simulation, the only exception being the New York Giants over the New England Patriots in 2008's Super Bowl 42. EA has simmed the winner of Super Bowl 44, with the Saints beating the Colts 35-31. The crew also has a life-like newscast that they run with the game.

Inspired by EA's simulation, I started up a mock Super Bowl (playing against my dad) on Madden in 2005. It would be run the night before the Super Bowl (or, in the case of Wheaties Bowl 4/Super Bowl 42 and this year's game, on Super Bowl Sunday). I didn't know what to call the event, and I came up with the first thing that popped into my head (and no, it was not Mr. Staypuft). The game would be known as the Wheaties Bowl (since Wheaties is the breakfast of champions). To this day, there is no trophy (or, as it may seem more appropriate, a Wheaties box).

Here's a comparison of the Wheaties Bowl scores with the actual ones (I am the team in bold, my dad is the team that is underlined):

WB 1: New England Patriots 20, Philadelphia Eagles 17 - OT (SB 39: Pats 24, Eagles 21)

WB 2: Seattle Seahawks 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 30 (SB 40: Steelers 21, Seahawks 10)

WB 3: Chicago Bears 35, Indianapolis Colts 28 (SB 41: Colts 29, Bears 17)

WB 4: New York Giants 24, New England Patriots 14 (SB 42: Giants 17, Pats 14)

WB 5: Pittsburgh Steelers 44, Arizona Cardinals 34 (SB 43: Steelers 27, Cards 23)

This year, I will be the Saints and my dad will be the Colts. Results (and some stats) will be posted either after the game Sunday.

I love playing golf. It's one of the few things I can do because of my disability. My cerebral palsy pretty much takes me out of all contact sports. I tried baseball, and was a decent hitter, but couldn't field very well. I have played golf since I was six years old and learned the game when I was three.

I have played on my high school golf team the last three years, being on varsity the last two. I am going to play again in my senior year, and will be one of three seniors to have played all four years of high school. I will also be team captain, a privilege I am honored to have.

Luckily for me, golf is not a very physically-demanding sport (although walking can be a challenge at times). I am right-handed, but I am forced to be because of my cerebral palsy. I naturally hit a draw (a shot that fades from right to left) because of my CP - I cannot put the weight on my left side very well and cannot follow through to my left side very well. I have learned how to hit a cut (a shot from left to right), but my right arm has to "let go" - I have to let my left arm "take over". It is a work in progress, but I am proud of how it's going.

Golf is a mental game, and I have struggled with that side of the game the last three years.

Freshman year: My freshman year was disappointing. I was on JV that year (as there were eight seniors and a sophomore rotating between six spots) and averaged around 50 that fall (when I was averaging around 45 that summer). I found myself disappointed. One of my highlights, on the other hand, was being a foot away from a hole in one during a match. My team made it to regionals for the first time in school history that fall, and while I was not a part of it, I am proud to say that I was on that team. The guys were committed to the team and were great people to be around. I cannot say enough of how much that made me a better person.

Sophomore year: The state of Michigan, before my sophomore year, changed seasons around with several sports - including boys golf. I would now be playing in the spring - and I was not happy about it. My first spring tournament had the kind of weather that any average golfer would hate to play in - cold, wind, rain, and 40 degrees. I also remember one round later that year, but not for good reasons. I started on the 4th or 5th hole of the course that day, and had a birdie putt on the 10th hole from six feet. I missed it and the following par putt, walking away with bogey. I wouldn't recover for several holes - I had 28 putts on the back nine and shot 48 on that side. I somehow managed to finish strong, shooting 39 on the front and 87 on the day. I would struggle putting for the rest of the season, and as a result, shot anywhere from 85 to over 100. Let me remind you that I hadn't shot over 100 in three years before that. It was not a good year to say the least.

Junior year: My junior year was both exciting and disappointing. I was still struggling, with the exception of one round in early May. That round, I had tried a different approach - I would try to stay in the moment and not let bad shots get to me. It worked - I shot 78 that day and helped my team to a third-place finish in that tournament. But, that was only one round. I tried to remember what worked for me in the '78' round but found myself pressing and trying too hard again, and as a result, was the same golfer I'd been the past two seasons. On the bright side, the team made it to regionals for only the second time in school history - and while I didn't play well (shooting 99 that day), I was happy to be going to regionals and back to my old stomping grounds of Marshall, Mich. I shot 86 at Marshall Country Club, which was not good enough to make it to states - and I would've liked to shoot better -, but I was happy just to make it to regionals.

Now: I'm not going to lie - I miss playing baseball sometimes. I haven't played since 4th grade but I find myself wanting to play again sometimes. I have walked away after every golf season disappointed and discouraged. I have thought about playing baseball again this year, but I don't think that it would be the right thing to do - since it's my senior year and last shot at glory. Plus, I'm trying to play with a purpose this time around: I am a surviving identical twin. I want to go to states (and hopefully win it) for Eddy. I know that he would be proud of me whether I win or not. I would also like to play in college, and the odds right now are against me from doing that. I think that going to states for Eddy would help me be a stronger person and be more focused on the course. A friend of mine made it to states and finished second this past fall. That inspired me as well. This year, I'm playing with a little inspiration - both from on and off the course.

I was just a seven-year-old first grader on January 30, 2000. The Tennessee Titans were playing the St. Louis Rams that night in Super Bowl 34. I don't remember if I watched that game live, as it was so long ago, but I do remember asking my dad who won that game. And, for whatever reason, I decided to be a St. Louis Rams fan from that day forward.

I was just beginning to grasp football and its rules at that time. I think before then I was a Pittsburgh Steelers follower just because I liked their black-and-yellow colors (at one time, I had a Steelers football). I still don't honestly know why I chose to be a Rams fan to this day, and why it wasn't another team or the Kansas City Chiefs (my dad's favorite team).

The Rams had a miracle season that year. Their starting quarterback, Trent Green, was out for the year with an injury, and an unknown named Kurt Warner was their new starter. Warner played in college at Northern Iowa and was working at a grocery store before being the Rams' QB. Somehow, Warner led a team with Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce (just to name a few) to the Super Bowl as a rookie, and the Rams managed to win that game.

I still remember "The Tackle" to this day - Rams linebacker Mike Jones taking down Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson at the one yardline, the play that ended a great Super Bowl. It is something that I will never forget. I also have an SI cover of the Rams and Kurt Warner framed (the top right cover in this picture), and I will always remember the Rams' Cinderella story.

I watched the Rams in awe, and as the years passed, I appreciated their talent and was beginning to understand football and its rules (in part because of the Madden NFL video games, which I religiously played in those days).

I was disappointed when they lost two years later to the New England Patriots. I was in fourth grade then, a 10 year old who had just had leg surgery two months before. I didn't know then that the Rams would begin going downhill after that, and that Super Bowl 36 would be the last time the Rams would be a good team.

I remember going to my only NFL game (at this time) in 2003, when I was 11. My dad got tickets for him and I to a game against the Lions, and I remember watching in delight as the Rams had a 20-10 lead at half, but lost it in the second half and wound up losing the game 30-20.

The Rams were never the same after 2003. That would be their last winning season (at 12-4), and the Rams had a .500 record (8-8) in 2004. Since then, they have not had a winning season or .500 record, bottoming out this season at a measly 1-15. Regardless, I am grateful, and while they are not very good now (minus running back Steven Jackson), I will always be able to remember the days of the Greatest Show on Turf.