Friday, November 30, 2007

Dils Musings Expands, Win or Die Picks

We have some big Dils Musings news.

Starting right after New Year's, Dils Musings is taking the magic to another medium. We are going to be producing a weekly podcast that will be available both on the blog and on itunes (you woll even be able to subscribe on itunes).

The best news of all: we need your help.

We are going to go with a format as follows: each week, the show will have a moderator, myself and two guests (YOU!!!). We will probably have repreat guests and tweak the format as we go. We will discuss a few topics each week that fit the guests area of expertise and have smart, witty dialog (i.e., diagreements but not typical sports talk show yelling…Stephen A Smith is not a likely guest). We will all be linked up via phone (i.e, you will not have to travel).

If you are interested in being a part of the Dils Musings podcast, please email my producer, Ted Price, at tedprice@mac.com (please cc… me). Please give Ted the following information:

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email
  • 5-6 areas of "expertise"
  • Times of day that are best for you/impossible for you to do show

Now for the week's win or die picks....

Pick Breakdown:

  • Dallas 1
  • Denver 1
  • Indianapolis 3
  • Minnesota 1
  • New England 9
  • Pitsburgh 3
  • San Diego 5
  • Washington 9

Individual Picks:

Angel New England
Chris Nangle 1 New England
Coltndarby Washington
CP 2 San Diego
D Froney 1 Pittsburgh
Dan/Steve Gold 6 San Diego
Dave Bryla Washington
David Louis Stitzer Minnesota
Ed Ramirez 2 Indianapolis
Eric Meyers 3 New England
Gary Jonas 1 New England
Greg Marks Washington
Gregg 2 San Diego
How Goldberg…NOW BYRON New England
Joe Pucillo 2 New England
Juice 4 Washington
LZHBBS 1 Washington
M Lacerenza JPS Indianapolis
May Lee 6 Pittsburgh
Mizerny 2 Washington
Nina K Denver
Pierre Brown 1 New England
Raivetz 1 Washington
Ray Attiyah 1 San Diego
Ryan Carey 2 New England
Ryan Doheny 7 Dallas
Steven Immergut 1 Indianapolis
Stuart Erickson 2 New England
Todd & Regan 4 Pittsburgh
Todd Turchin 1 Washington
Von 3 Washington
WJO 4 San Diego

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Sean Taylor and the Media, Eagles close call, other NFL thoughts, My Heisman winner, college Hoops, and More

I am feeling a little guilty and surprised at myself today. Normally, when tragedy hits, I am saddened and dejected by the loss, even if I am not personally affected. I am sensitive, and my mother always told me that was a good trait. Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins Pro Bowl Safety, died this morning. And, while I certainly felt a little sad that someone with such talent and so much to look forward to was taken so young, I was not overly sentimental or surprised. In fact, I asked a couple people in the office today if I should feel bad that my overriding reaction was that "trouble finds trouble."

Predictably, the media painted all kinds of stories about how wonderful a young person Sean Taylor had blossomed into. James Thrash, who has never made a four yard catch without praising the Lord, praised Taylor's maturity and growth. Others remarked how great a person he was. Well, if you ask me, the media cannot have it both ways. Sean Taylor, since he came into the league, has been portrayed by the same media as a selfish, brooding loner who has been in trouble repeatedly both on and off the field. He missed a mandatory rookie symposium, was fined for seven late hits, and almost went to jail when he got into a fight during which he threatened another man with a gun. Hence, when I heard that Taylor had been shot, and that his house was robbed just over a week ago in what could possibly be a related crime, I thought to myself "trouble finds trouble."

But the bottom line is that my takeaway is that the media is one big hypocritical bunch of swine. Yes, I realize that anybody that follows sports or politics could have already told me this. But this is ridiculous. They beat this guy up to the point where his public perception is that of a derelict and a hooligan, and then when he is the victim, they paint a contradictory portrait in which they show what a great person has been lost. Anything to sell another paper or attract another viewer. Sensationalism at its finest. Just remember, media, that "trouble finds trouble, and you are starting to be the definition of the word...

The Eagles, as everybody saw on Sunday night, gave the Patriots a legitimate scare. In fact, they made a couple of boneheaded mistakes, otherwise they would have won this game (and they should have won this game). A couple observations from the game:
  • Great coaching job by Andy Reid and Jim Johnson, who have not had a good year as has been mentioned here on more than one occasion. They went to things they simply don't do (3-4 defense) in order to put themselves in the best position to win this specific game.
  • This loss exemplifies what it is like to be a Philadelphia sports fan. They rose up out of nowhere, and then fell just short at the end when victory could have been theirs. A microcosm of life in the City of Brotherly Shove.
  • This game in general just shows how horrible the Birds performance has been this year. To go to Foxboro against a team that has simply crushed everyone, with a backup QB no less, and give the Pats everything they wanted and maybe more, just proves that this team has underachieved immensely in putting a 5-6 record on the board to date.
  • There is no bigger Donovan McNabb fan that me, and I truly believe that he has a lot of good football left in him, but it is time for both the Eagles and McNabb to get a fresh start. This offense has never been right for his skill set, and he cannot thrive in this system without at least one start receiver. It is time for him to go home to Chicago and win a Super Bowl with the Bears in 2008. I look forward to purchasing a Bears #5 jersey next year!
Speaking of New England, there does not seem to be any team in the league that is even remotely in their league (besides the Eagles!!!). The Colts have taken a major step back in the last couple weeks due to injuries, and Pittsburgh has lost some of its luster with two straight dreadful performances (yes, I recognize the weather factor last night, but they lost to the JETS of all teams last week). Dallas and Green Bay have had nice years but they both have major holes. It is all New England this year.....

If I had a vote for the Heisman trophy, I would vote as follows:
  • 5th: Todd Reesing, QB, Kansas. OK, so maybe they did not play the best competition in the non conference, but this is an 11-1 Big 12 team. Reesing had 30 TDs and 4 INTs going into last week's showdown with Missouri, and he showed the heart of a champion by never giving up and leading the Hawks to TDs on their last four possessions of the game.
  • 4th: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas. D-Mac is a marvelous player who will probably be the #1 overall pick in the draft and a perennial All-Pro. But he has been too up and down this year to win the Heisman with three games of less than 100 yards and lower than a 3.3 ypc in those games.
  • 3rd, Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii. You may say it's the system. I say this guy is about the most accurate college QB I have seen in a long time. He completed 70% of his throws this year, and is about the same for his career.
  • 2nd, Tim Tebow, Florida. Tebow is a great talent, has accounts for over 50 total TD's this year, and is the first player ever to run and throw for over 20 TDs in a season. But I believe at times he is too selfish with the ball, and as a QB does not elevate the play of the people around him, at least as much as my winner.
  • THE WINNER. Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri. Team ranked first in the country, a true leader, and a great college QB. Throw in 3500+ yards, 33 TDs and only 9 picks, and how could you vote for anyone else?
Duke fired football coach Ted Roof this week after a 6-45 tenure. The sad thing about the state of Duke football is that I had one friend tell me they should have kept Roof because he improved Duke's competitiveness. That is when you know your program has hit bottom. When you have the least successful team of all BCS conference schools and someone can make the argument that the coach is doing a good enough job to keep it. My first choice was to hire Houston Nutt to instill some fun and confidence in the program along with some credibility, but Ole Miss must have picked my brain as they hired him immediately. Ugh.

It looks like the Cubs would be willing to trade Mark Prior. Out of curiosity, I would love to know the asking price. On behalf of the Philllies, let me be the first to offer the following package:
  • Geoff Geary
  • 2 season tickets to Citizen Bank Park
  • One Year Supply of Dollar Dogs
  • A Six Pack of Heineken
College Hoops is off to a sensational start. Some early thoughts:
  • Trent Plaisted of BYU is really good (like potentially first team Al America good). Look for the Cougars to be a potential sweet 16 team this year with the inside out tandem of Plaisted and point guard Sam Burgess.
  • Ummm, USC with OJ Mayo and Taj Gibson may be better than expected. They blew out a really good Southern Illinois team the other night.
  • Anyone who things Tyler Hansbrough won't be a good NBA player because he doesn't have the prototypical NBA body is insane. This guy will average 14+/8+ for a decade or more in the league.
  • My Dukies are much better than most people thought. DeMarcus Nelson has improved tremendously and provides senior leadership, Gerald Henderson is showing flashes, and Kyle Singler is as good as any freshman in the country (really!). Throw in a healthy Paulus, and depth that enables Scheyer to come off the bench, and you have a legit Final Four contender. It will be interesting to see how they do tonight against a Wisconsin team with tremdous size and skill on the front line. This well coached team could give the Dukies all it can handle, but will be good prep for the UNC's and the NC St's of the ACC.
  • Villanova looks like they will be a solid squad this year, as Cory Fisher looks like he will provide a great complement to Scottie Reynolds on the perimeter.
  • NC St, while they havea ton of talent, will miss their point guard from last year, Engin Atsur. This showed up early against Villanova the other night when token pressure gave the Wolfpack fits.
That is all for now, but I will be back later this week with more tidbits....

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Win or Die Week 12 Picks

Happy Thanksgiving to all and good luck to the survivors. Here we go:

Pick Breakdown:
Arizona 22
Dallas 13
Indianapolis 9
Jacksonville 2
New England 1
New York Giants 2
Pittsburgh 7

Individual Picks:
Abela 2 Arizona
Angel Dallas
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI Arizona
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Arizona
Bill Webster Arizona
Brian Silverio Arizona
Chris Nangle 1 Indianapolis
Coltndarby Pittsburgh
CP 2 Pittsburgh
D Froney 1 Dallas
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Pittsburgh
Dave Bryla Indianapolis
David Louis Stitzer Jacksonville
Dunlavy 1 Arizona
Ed Ramirez 2 Dallas
Ed Samocki 2 Arizona
Ed Welsh 3 Arizona
Eric Meyers 3 Pittsburgh
Gary Jonas 1 Dallas
Greg Marks Pittsburgh
Gregg 2 Dallas
Howard Goldberg Indianapolis
Iceman 5 Arizona
Jeff Saito 2 Arizona
Joe Pucillo 2 Pittsburgh
Juice 4 Indianapolis
Keller 3 Arizona
KP NY Giants
LZHBBS 1 Indianapolis
M Lacerenza JPS Indianapolis
M Lacerenza M Arizona
May Lee 6 Pittsburgh
May Lee 8 Arizona
Mizerny 2 Dallas
Nina K Indianapolis
Nitin Singhal 1 Arizona
Pierre Brown 1 Indianapolis
Raivetz 1 Indianapolis
Randy/Randy C Arizona
Ray Attiyah 1 Dallas
Ritter 3 Arizona
Ron Mexico 1 Arizona
Rudo 2 Arizona
Ryan Carey 2 Dallas
Ryan Doheny 1 Arizona
Ryan Doheny 7 New England
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Arizona
Sonnenberg 2 NY Giants
Sozbolt Arizona
Steven Immergut 1 Dallas
Stuart Erickson 2 Dallas
The Bandits Arizona
Todd & Regan 4 Dallas
Todd Turchin 1 Jacksonville
Von 3 Dallas
WJO 4 Dallas

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Congrats to J-Roll, Stanford/Cal 25 Years Later

Congratulations to Jimmy Rollins, who was awarded the National League MVP award today. As I have mentioned several times on this blog, I believe this award went to the right guy, as J-Roll provided the best mix of offensive firepower, gold glove defense, and tremendous leadership of any player in the league. Nothing against Matt Holiday, who had a tremendous year, but Rollins was sensational throughout 2007. Now hopefully he can lead them to some playoff WINS next year.

The most famous play arguably in college football history was the last play of the Stanford-Cal game 25 years ago today. JPL, I am sorry to have to do this to you, but I just watched a show on that play, and the refs made not one but two bad calls that gave the game to Cal. One of the players had a knee on the ground before he pitched the ball, which should have ended the game. Then the last lateral was actually a forward lateral. Still an awesome play, but I cannot stand when refs determine the outcome of games, so in the Dils official records, I am going to have to give Stanford a 20-19 win.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Quick Hitters

Once again Bill Belichick showed what a jackass he is by going for it on 4th down when his team was up 42-10. I really do hope somebody cheap shots Brady and takes him out. Maybe my man Brian Dawkins is the guy to do it next week!

The Birds looked awful for most of the game yesterday and needed AJ Feeley to rally the squad to a victory after McNabb left was a sprained ankle. They were playing an 0-9 team at home, it should not be that hard. They are in for a long game when they travel to play the Patriots next week.

Boston continues to make the rest of the country sick, as the Sox won the series, the Patriots are 10-0, the Celts have the best record in the NBA and even the Bruins are playing better than .500 hockey.

For all you tens of Duke fans, just a reminder that Duke is on TV tonight, tomorrow, and Wednesday from Hawaii. Look for a great battle in a revenge game against Marquette Wednesday night if everything holds to form.

Speaking of Duke, we are so bad in football that even Notre Dame can cruise to an easy victory. Ugh!

Oklahoma was the latest team to take itself out of National Championship contention with an awful effort against Texas Tech. Two more this past week as Oregon lost its QB and a heisman trophy to go along with their lost title hopes.

If the Kansas/Missouri winner does not beat Oklahoma (or Texas) in the Big 12 Championship, Ohio State could be back into the championship game. Personally, I would much rather see a one-loss West Virginia team play for the title instead of the Buckeyes. But, in the meantime, I am rooting for the Jayhawks to win it all. What a story that would be!

Speaking of the Heisman, I guess Tim Tebow will win it by process of elimination. I doubt his season (as a sophomore on a three loss team) would be good enough to win in other seasons but this season everyone else has either gotten himself hurt of played himself out of contention. I personally would vote for either Todd Reesing of Kansas or Chase Daniel of Missouri (whoever wins this week) but I can't see either winning because most voters never heard of these guys before about a month ago.

Jimmy Johnson capped a dominant season with the NASCAR title. He was so good he overshadowed Jeff Gordon, who was almost as good and would have won the title in almost every other season. Most importantly, I won my NASCAR fantasy league. Pay up fellas...

Sorry there is not more meat today. I will try to post again later this week....

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Week 11 Win or Die Picks

Sorry for the delay. Remote server problems. Thank you to an assist from my cousin Tommy or this stuff would not have gotten done on time!

Pick Breakdown:
  • Dallas 4
  • EAGLES 27
  • Green Bay 13
  • Indianapolis 12
  • Pittsburgh 1

Interesting note: Last year in week 11, 12 of 22 survivors had the Eagles only to watch the Birds fall to Tennessee and McNabb tear his ACL. Better luck this year to those backing the Birds, the Birds themselves, and Donovan's knee!

Individual Picks:

Abela 2 EAGLES
Angel Green Bay
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI EAGLES
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Green Bay
Bill Webster EAGLES
Brian Silverio Green Bay
Chris Nangle 1 EAGLES
Coltndarby EAGLES
CP 2 Green Bay
D Froney 1 Green Bay
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Green Bay
Dave Bryla EAGLES
David Louis Stitzer Dallas
Dunlavy 1 EAGLES
Ed Ramirez 2 Dallas
Ed Samocki 2 EAGLES
Ed Welsh 3 EAGLES
Eric Meyers3 EAGLES
Gary Jonas 1 EAGLES
Greg Marks Indianapolis
Gregg 2 Indianapolis
Howard Goldberg EAGLES
Iceman 5 EAGLES
Jeff Saito 2 EAGLES
Joe Pucillo 2 Green Bay
Juice 4 EAGLES
Keller 3 Dallas
KP Indianapolis
LML Pittsburgh
LZHBBS 1 Dallas
M Lacerenza JPS Green Bay
M Lacerenza M EAGLES
May Lee 6 EAGLES
May Lee 8 Indianapolis
Mizerny 2 EAGLES
Nina K Green Bay
Nitin Singhal 1 EAGLES
Pierre Brown 1 EAGLES
Raivetz 1 Green Bay
Randy/Randy C Indianapolis
Ray Attiyah 1 Indianapolis
Ritter 3 EAGLES
Ron Mexico 1 EAGLES
Rudo 2 EAGLES
Ryan Carey 2 Indianapolis
Ryan Doheny 1 Green Bay
Ryan Doheny 7 EAGLES
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Indianapolis
Sonnenberg 2 Green Bay
Sozbolt Indianapolis
Steven Immergut 1 EAGLES
Stuart Erickson 2 EAGLES
The Bandits EAGLES
Todd & Regan 4 Indianapolis
Todd Turchin 1 Green Bay
Von 3 Indianapolis
WJO 4 Indianapolis

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Baseball Awards, College Hoops, Athlete Whores, and A-Fraud

And you guys thought I can't prognosticate effectively when it comes to baseball! AT the end of the season, I said the NL Manager of the Year should go o Bob Melvin, with Jolly Chollie as the least talented runner-up in history and Hurdle third. I also said Wedge shuold win in the AL. And I said Carmona shuold win CY Yound over Beckett and Lackey, with Pedroia winning the AL Rookie of the Year. Bam. Got em all. The only one I missed so far was when Ryan Bruan was scandalously given the NL Rookie of the Year after turning in 2/3 of a one dimensional season nistead of the two way star Troy Tulowitzky.

The evil empire (not the Yankees, the Tar Heels!) barely escaped with a win over a really good Davidson team last night. Bob McKillop and his Wildcats were in a position to knock off Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year before fading late (and only pushing a 7 ponit spread, ugh!), and they look to be even better this year. They hung right with the alleged #1 Tar Heels the entire game before coming up just short in the end. Stephen Curry, son of Dell, is the real deal, and the 'Cats could get over the hump and win at least a game in this year's dance.

Overall in college hoops, there seems to be great talent and great parity this year. And how about the Atlantic Sun conference! Gardner Webb beat Kentucky in Rupp by 16, Belmont beat Cincinnati (which may not end up being that big a deal) in the Bearcats home opener, and Mercer (yes, Mercer!) ruining O.J. Mayo's impressive debut by beat the Ttrojans of USC. And, by the way, none of those teams were favored to win the league in the preseason forecasts. East Tennessee St. is supposed to be teh team to beat, while Gardner Webb was picked at or near the bottom of the pecking order. Good times! Unless you are Billy Gillespie...

There should be some great college basketball all week next week, as there are the traditional tournaments in Alaska, Hawaii (go Duke), Puerto Rico, etc. It will be wall to wall college sports on ESPN next week. Treee-men-dous....

My friend AJ sent this list to me. Click here to see a blog posting devoted to athletes that have spawned illigitimate children. Funny and fascinating.

The only thing good about A-Rod besides his regular season performance is that he finally seemed to realize that his agent Scott "Bore-us" is an ass and put him on the back burner. Why he doesn't fire him I am not sure. Anyway, A-Rod went crawling back to the Yankees, who unfortunately are eagerly talking about a new $275 million deal. My buddy Kevin New described this situation best:
I guess all that matters is that ARod has not delivered in the playoffs
for the Yankees. Period. He's not alone, and does not deserve all the blame,
but I would rather see the team go in another direction, knowing full well
that you can't replace his regular season numbers.

I've never met him either but you have to be living under a rock, or
outside NY, to not want to throw up every time you hear the guy talk. Everything
is so scripted, nothing seems genuine. He clearly isn't liked in the clubhouse
and I think that the chemistry has been off since he got here. Could blame Jeter
for that b/c I think he could have made it a lot easier on Arod but chose not
to, I think that speaks volumes.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Origin of the "Win or Die" name

Last night ESPN featured a one hour documentary on Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, the pride of Youngstown, OH (no matter how much Ron Jaworski and Al Bundy might dispute the claim). Most of the hour long show centered around the fight for which Mancini is best remembered, the epic battle with the tragic ending against the South Korean warrior, Duk Koo Kim. The fight took place 25 years ago yesterday, was witnessed live on National television, and changed boxing forever.

Mancini was a real life Rocky Balboa. His father was a great fighter whose career was cut short when he was called to duty to serve in World War II. Mancini fought because he loved the sport, and to honor his father and give him the title that he never had a chance to earn on his own. Mancini's rise to greatness was swift, aided by his immense popularity and a network in CBS that was more than happy to publicize and produce this real life fairy tale.

Mancini fought a war with the more experienced and talented Champion Alexis Arguello, fighting valiantly before being knocked out by the champ in the 14th round. However, the disappointment did not last long, as Mancini soon fought and destroyed champion Arturo Frias in a single round to win the WBA Championship at the age of 21. It is possibly the most action packed round in the history of boxing, just fantastic action.

In his second title defense, Mancini fought unheralded and huge underdog Duk (also Deuk) Koo Kim. The 23 year old from South Korea was 17-1-1 in his brief career, but had fought nobody of substance and had never fought outside of Asia. In addition, Kim had to struggle to make weight, leaving him dehydrated for the fight.

When the bell rang, however, Kim proved himself to be a worthy challenger. He fought with incredible valor and courage, never backing up from the barrage of punches that Mancini unleashed. Kim threw back with similar ferocity and inflicted powerful blows on Mancini as well. Many ringside observers would later say that the pace and type of battle that took place suggested that these two warriors would keep throwing until one could take no more.

To start the 13th round, Mancini hit Kim with what must have been 60 or 70 straight punches without Kim throwing any punches in return. But somehow Kim responded by taking the action right back at Mancini.

But it all proved too much for Kim. Mancini knocked him out about 10 seconds into the 14th round. Kim somehow struggled to his feet, but the referee stopped the fight. Minutes later, Kim slipped out of consciousness, and was pronounced dead five days later. As a result of this tragedy, boxing changed the limit of its fights from 15 rounds to 12, and also added an extra rope around the ring to provide fighters with more support as they fall.

Kim's mother could not deal with the tragedy, and committed suicide a couple months later. A few months after that, the referee from the fight, Richard Greene, also took his own life. Just a horrible tragedy all the way around.

When people went back to Kim's hotel room, he had taped the words "win or die" to his lamp shade. For him, this fight was so important that he was willing to win, or to die trying to do so. Just amazing, the heart of a champion that would somehow allow his body to keep going when about anybody else would have wilted earlier (but lived).

Duk Koo Kim was a more valiant warrior than any I have ever witnessed as a sports fan my whole life. His determination and strength propelled him to get every ounce of potential from his somewhat limited skills. His courage fueled him to never give up, and in the end, it cost him his own life.

When I started the Win or Die pool in 1995, I named it as such in honor of Duk Koo Kim, the fallen warrior who had given his life in search of his dreams. Kim's spirit will live on for as long as the pool continues.

The 25th anniversary of this tragic fight has provided more exposure to Mancini, who has battled the demons of this event constantly for the past quarter century, and to the memory of Duk Koo Kim. If you are interested in seeing the documentary, it is airing this Friday night at 9:00 pm eastern time on ESPN Classic. If you want to see the end of the fight, click here.

Thanks for letting me share....

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Week 10 Column: Real Estate Plea, College Hoops, NL Rookie of the Year, MLB Free Agency, BCS, and an NFL Round-up

As anybody who does not live in a cave knows, the real estate market is as bad as it has ever been with no signs of getting better. For me, this sucks! We have three communities actively for sale, and there are just no buyers out there. We have tried every promotion in the book, including a 10% off sale at one point. No bites. Consumer confidence is low, many people that want to buy can no longer qualify for mortgages with the overly stringent requirements now in place, and people that do qualify still don't buy because of fears that they cannot sell their existing home. We have a great promotion in place to combat the latter: Live Free for a Year. If you buy a Dilsheimer home, we will pay your mortgage for the first year (principal and interest). If you have any interest in buying a home in Coastal North Carolina (half hour North of Wilmington or halfway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach) or Delaware, click here for more information on our company and these jobs. Or tell your friends. PLEASE! We need some sales.

Now back to our regularly scheduled column....

College hoops is back and it looks like this season will be great. While last year was dominated by Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, this year looks to have a more talented and deeper freshman class. Michael Beasley at Kansas State has averaged 31 points and 18 boards in his first two games as a collegian), O.J. Mayo is the real deal at USC, and Kevin Love a monster cross town for the Bruins. Across the country, Derrick Rose may be as good as any of them for Memphis, while Kyle Singler is the best freshman to call Cameron Indoor home in a long time (probably since the Laettner/Hurley/Hill days). Eric Gordon looks to be the real deal in Bloomington, while Ohio State and Syracuse are also getting big boosts from the dandies. Bottom line is that college basketball has great depth and talent this year, and there should be as many as 8 to 10 teams with legitimate shots to go to the Final 4.

The Dukies look like they are back this year. They have three freshman who all bring different skill sets to the table. Nolan Smith is a combination guard who plays defense as well as any freshman perimeter player to come along in a while. Taylor King brings J.J. Redick-like range to Cameron since #4 left for the NBA (although not quite the consistency yet), and Kyle Singler brings an incredibly sound overall game in which he excels at the fundamentals. Combine that with the returning talent, and Coach K goes 11 deep. This is a huge change from the past few years when he has used a 6 or 7 man rotation (we will see if he can keep using this depth all season), and will enable the Devils to run and pressure the basketball with much more frequency and success. Greg Paulus is healthy and seems to be playing at a higher level both defensively and as a distributor of the basketball than was the case last season. One of the keys to Duke this year is the play of Brian Zoubek, who provides Duke's only real post presence, and will be a key factor in Duke's ability to handle teams like North Carolina with talented bigs. It appears that despite missing most of the summer, Zoubek has increased strength and better footwork than a year ago. In my warped opinion, Duke has a legitimate chance to compete this year, but we will know more in the next several weeks as the Devils will get tough tests from Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, and likely Marquette before the ACC schedule starts.

Ryan Braun won the NL Rookie of the Year in a close vote over Troy Tulowitzky. Braun had a nice season, putting up great numbers (.324-34-97) in only 113 games. However, Braun is a horrible fielder, making 26 errors in the 2/3 of a season he played, and having a fielding percentage of below 90% (that is awful!). In contrast, Tulo had strong offensive numbers (.291-24-99), but plays a magnificent shortstop, with only 11 errors in 155 games at a much more demanding position. His fielding percentage was 98.7%. Finally, Tulowitzky was clearly a huge leader and clubhouse presence for the Rocks despite his youth and was a big reason they made the playoffs. To me, Braun had a very nice season and will be a force for years to come, but voting for him over the Rockies SS just shows how many media people that vote for these award do not truly understand the game. Because Tulowitzky should have been Rookie of the Year. And it should not have been close.

Speaking of baseball, free agents are really free agents today, and can sign with any team. Look for several starting pitchers to get way, way, way more money than they deserve (notably Carlos Silva, Kyle Lohse, Josh Fogg, Livan Hernandez). These guys are all 4th or 5th starters, but because of the dearth of pitching talent, someone will pay them close to $10 million per year each. Ugh. Why couldn't I have thrown a curve ball for strikes? The Phillies, who need pitching help, made a bold move by trading for the talented but enigmatic Brad Lidge as their new closer, and moved Brett Myers back to the rotation. I, and most people, believe that Myers could be a great closer. However, this move was a good one, as Lidge, if he can keep his head straight, can do fine, and Myers, while not as dominant as a starter as he could be as a closer, is a better starter than any of the free agents out there. Look for the Phillies to try to add more bullpen deprth (Rno Mahay?) and a 4th outfielder behind Burrell, Victorino, and Werth. They should make a run at Mike Lowell but won't, and Aaron Rowand's career in Philly is over.

As for A-Fraud, he will get his money, continue to pile up stats, and never win anything except a bankbook contest. Look for the Angels to waste their money on him, and Artie Moreno should then officially be known as this decade's Peter Angelos.

If you listen carefully enough, you can practically hear the folks in Eugene, OR (led by Phil Knight and Dils blog reader Duckboy) getting very antsy about how this BCS is shaking out. While Oregon is sitting in the coveted #2 spot as of now, they do not play any more glamour games, and could easily be passed in the BCS standings by the Big 12 champ (Kansas, Oklahoma or possibly even Missouri). Bottom line is this: about 80% of the time, the BCS has enough controversy to PROVE that we NEED a playoff system (8 teams). That way the best can settle it on the field. If Kansas runs the table, how can you leave them out? LSU, Oregon, West Virginia, Ohio State (if they beat Michigan), and Notre Dame (just kidding!) can all make a completely valid case that they belong. Why is this so hard. It will generate money for the schools and the NCAA, the fans would love it. Every other NCAA sport is settled with a tournament. The time has come. Otherwise, people in places like Eugene will continue to get screwed unnecessarily.

Last week, the Vikings beat the Chargers handily. This week, the Chargers beat the Colts, one of the league's two best teams, and the Vikings lost by 34 to the Packers. This just shows that the league is weird and that truly any team can beat any other on any given day (except, apparently, the Dolphins and 49ers, who may never win again). Another thing: clearly the Packers are better than I think they are, or there is a whole lot of money to be made by betting against them down the stretch and in the playoffs. Clearly I am rooting for the latter.

In Cleveland, the Browns look like they really may be a young and improving team, with a nice offense and really good special teams. I guess we can officially remove Romeo Crennel from the hot seat that he was burning his bottom on after the debacle in week 1. It will be interesting to watch what happens next season. The brownies clearly have invested their future in Brady Quinn, but Derek Anderson is proving himself as a better than average (as Larry David might say, Pretty...PRETTY GOOD) quarterback, and they will likely take a step back when in all likelihood they hand the reigns to Quinn after this season. If I am Crennel, I fight like hell to keep Anderson as my guy as long as this team continues to progess.

The Eagles are in no man's land. They won Sunday just as I was ready to begin rooting for draft position. The problem is that the Eagles are not good enough to go to and/or win the Super Bowl, so limping to an 8-8 season really does them no good. They get to play the hapless Dolophins at home, which should bring them back to .500 if they can win 2 in a row for the first time this season. Whoop-ee! Being mediocre I think sometimes is worse than being pitiful.

On that note, I am going to get my hair cut....

Friday, November 09, 2007

Dils Win or Die Week 10

Dils Win or Die Week 10


Abela 2 Seattle
A-Hole Jets Fan 1 New Orleans
Akshon Barclay 3 New Orleans
Alberto Escobedo 2 New Orleans
Alistair Campbell New Orleans
Angel Pittsburgh
Anthony Albanese 4 New Orleans
Bailey/Holstad 1 New Orleans
Bakke 3 New Orleans
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI Seattle
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Seattle
Bill Webster Seattle
Bob Van Nortwick New Orleans
BP 1 New Orleans
Brian McAndrews New Orleans
Brian Silverio Seattle
Buck/Kent New Orleans
CAM New Orleans
Charlie Piccirillo 2 New Orleans
Chris Dopp 4 New Orleans
Chris Nangle 1 Green Bay
Chris Parliman New Orleans
Clark/Joffe 2 New Orleans
Coltndarby Pittsburgh
Connvac 2 New Orleans
CP 2 Seattle
Cronin 1 New Orleans
D Bank 1 New Orleans
D Froney 1 Seattle
Dan/Steve Gold 5 New Orleans
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Seattle
Dave Bryla Pittsburgh
Dave Mehall 3 New Orleans
David Louis Stitzer Seattle
Dick A 1 New Orleans
DSG 1 New Orleans
Duckboy 2 New Orleans
Dunlavy 1 Seattle
Ed Ramirez 2 Seattle
Ed Samocki 2 Pittsburgh
Ed Welsh 3 Seattle
Eric Meyers 3 Seattle
Gabe Bodhi 2 New Orleans
Gary Jonas 1 Seattle
Gatorswonitall 2 New Orleans
Greg Marks Seattle
Gregg 2 Seattle
Howard Goldberg Seattle
Iceman 5 Seattle
Ike Royster New Orleans
J Taylor 2 New Orleans
Jaco 8 New Orleans
Jay Soroko 2 New Orleans
Jeff Resnick 2…NOW C-Money New Orleans
Jeff Rich 1 New Orleans
Jeff Saito 2 Seattle
Jim Foo 2 New Orleans
Jim Rudofker 1 New Orleans
Jimbo Conbo 2 New Orleans
Joe Cavucci 2 New Orleans
Joe Hochauser 3 New Orleans
Joe Pucillo 2 Seattle
Joe Pucillo 4 New Orleans
Joseph Beedon 2 New Orleans
Juice 2 New Orleans
Juice 3 New Orleans
Juice 4 Seattle
K New 1 New Orleans
Keller 3 Seattle
Kim P 2 New Orleans
KP Seattle
Larry Levin 1 New Orleans
Littman 5 New Orleans
LML Green Bay
Lou Cerota 2 New Orleans
LZHBBS 1 Seattle
M Lacerenza JPS Seattle
M Lacerenza M Seattle
Marshall Dostal 3 New Orleans
Matt Biskner 4 New Orleans
May Lee 6 Green Bay
May Lee 7 New Orleans
May Lee 8 Seattle
Mic Koffler…NOW HOCHHAUSER New Orleans
Mike Ryan 2 New Orleans
Mizerny 2 Pittsburgh
Nelson Ranco New Orleans
Niemeyer 1…NOW Axia3 #3 Carolina
Nina K Seattle
Nitin Singhal 1 Seattle
Nomanerz Too Kansas City
Norm Cooper New Orleans
Nussbaum/Schmolka 2 New Orleans
PA 1 New Orleans
Paul Stitzer New Orleans
Phil Hollrah Detroit
Pierre Brown 1 Seattle
Raivetz 1 Seattle
Randy/Randy C Seattle
Ray Attiyah 1 Seattle
Rick L 6 New Orleans
Rick Woods 2 New Orleans
Ritter 3 Seattle
Rob Kaiser 1…NOW Axia3 Carolina
Roger Levine 2 New Orleans
Ron Mexico 1 Seattle
Ron Mexico 5 New Orleans
Rudo 2 Green Bay
Ryan Carey 2 Seattle
Ryan Doheny 1 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 6 New Orleans
Ryan Doheny 7 Pittsburgh
Scherby 8 New Orleans
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Seattle
Sonnenberg 2 Seattle
Sozbolt Seattle
Steven Immergut 1 Seattle
Stuart Erickson 2 Seattle
Susan Walters New Orleans
T'down Tommy..NOW Randy/Gene Carolina
The Bandits Seattle
Todd & Regan 1 New Orleans
Todd & Regan 4 Pittsburgh
Todd Turchin 1 Seattle
Todd Turchin 4 New Orleans
Tom H 1 New Orleans
Tony Sollenbarger New Orleans
Val Brochard 4 New Orleans
Von 3 Buffalo
Wayne Kimmel 1 New Orleans
WJO 2 New Orleans
WJO 4 Seattle
Yacker 1 New Orleans

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Grossy's Take: Eric, We Hardly Knew Ye

The retirement of Eric Lindros from the NHL today begs the following question: has there ever been a more overrated and over hyped athlete in the history of professional sports in Philadelphia than the man who donned 88 for the orange and black from 1992-2000?

Like so many Cup-starved Flyers fans, the signing of Lindros (in which we edged out the dreaded Rangers because the Nordiques received our faxed offer first—let’s hear it for what passed for high-tech in the early ‘90s) seemed to signal the promise of Lord Stanley’s imminent return to Broad and Pattison. Sure there were some critics out there carping that Russ Farwell and Ed Snider gave up too much money ($15 million) and talent (Forsberg, Hextall, Steve Duschesne, Mike Ricci and others who later represented the core of the twice-over Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche) to land the junior hockey sensation Lindros. But it was a bold move for a franchise that was desperate for new life having recently fired the beloved Bob Clarke as GM and finishing in the cellar of the Patrick Division with just 32 wins in 1991-92.

Initially Lindros did not disappoint. Flyers fans immediately loved Lindros in equal parts for his smash-mouth physical style of play that complemented his scoring ability and undeniable natural hockey skills. First centering the “Crazy 8s” line and later the “Legion of Doom” with LeClair and Mikael Renberg, Lindros improved with every passing year, winning the Hart MVP trophy in the strike-shortened seasons of 1994-95 and scoring 115 points during the 1995-1996 season. 88 jerseys were ubiquitous in every corner of Philadelphia. The Flyers said goodbye to the Spectrum in 1996, led across the street to their gleaming new palace, “Spectrum II” ( I mean Core States Center, I mean First Union Center, I mean Wachovia Center) by our savior on ice, #88.

So where did it all go wrong? Lindros did not endear himself to any Flyers fans by missing the first 30 games of the 1996-97 season due to an off-season groin injury he sustained while playing for Team Canada. Nevertheless, Lindros came back on fire and scored 79 points goals while leading the Flyers to the Stanley Cup championship against the Red Wings. With Billy Penn atop City Hall donning a massive orange and black jersey, the Flyers seemed poised to deliver to Philadelphia its first professional sports championship in 14 years. And then something horrible happened: in what coach Terry Murray would infamously label “basically a choking situation” Lindros failed to show up in the most important games of his career with the Flyers getting swept in 4 games and outscored 16-6 in the series. Fans were horrified that Lindros could only muster a single goal in the final game of the Stanley Cup Championship. Even worse, his ability to lead the team as Captain was immediately called into question.

It was essentially all downhill from there. The first of many concussions leveled on Lindros in 1998 causing him to miss 18 games. Constant public feuding with GM Bob Clarke who so obviously and painfully defended his position on the throne as All Time Greatest Flyer, even to the detriment of his players. A collapsed lung and allegations against team doctors that they’d nearly cost Lindros his life. His mother Bonnie’s public criticism of the way the Flyers and Philadelphia treated her son. A lawsuit against WIP for defamation on the grounds that he missed an important game against the Penguins because of a raging hangover. And the final insult: the public stripping of his captaincy.

Lindros played his final game for the Flyers in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals in which the Flyers coughed up a 3-1 series lead to the Devils. Eric the Great’s last moment as a Flyer: being on the receiving end of a hit by Scott Stevens which left him with another concussion. The Devils went on to win the Cup and Lindros would sit out the next season, before resuming his shattered career with the Rangers, Leafs and Stars. Needless to say, we’re still waiting for our Cup.


Despite his physical and intimidating style of play, Lindros never lived up to the hype he generated. In addition to his frequent and multiple injuries, Lindros never seemed comfortable in the spotlight. Perhaps more than any other sport, the captaincy in hockey carries real meaning and instantly connotes leadership and respect, not unlike the QB of an NFL team. Yet Lindros was never able or willing to step up and be vocal leader of the team, especially in the biggest games of his career (the 1997 Cup finals). In that regard, it is hard not to draw uncanny parallels between McNabb and Lindros: Two athletically gifted yet seemingly aloof, oft-injured leaders of their teams who couldn’t quite deliver us to the promised land.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Fios Reviews, Eagles Truly Stink & the Colts and Patriots are the Class of the League

First of all, thank you very much to all the people who responded to my question regarding Fios. Many of you expressed a similar desire to know what people thought about the service, so here are some snippets from the people who responded to me (in a nutshell, 80% very positive and a big improvement over cable company products, with some exceptions):
  • In regards to their internet service, I absolutely love it. A million times better than RCN/Comcast/Time Warner, etc. Never glitches, never stops working due to service problems, etc. (N.S., NYC)
  • I have had FIOS for about 6 months. I'm a former Cox customer and couldn't be happier when comparing to what I had with Cox. I have the telephone, Internet and FIOS TV, and did with Cox too (HD Digital). And hands down Verizon is better. At least my experience has been. Overall, the price is roughly the same. The FIOS TV is a little less than Cox's price, but the phone is more. Also have a multi-room DVR (FYI, the multi-room DRV if on a HD-TV records on the HD-TV and can be played on that TV and other none HD-TV's, I can't play on my other HD). Internet a virtual tie. And that includes customer service which is far superior than Cox. (E.Y., Virginia)
  • we just switched over to FIOS internet & TV .. bottom line ... good or better channel lineup, less cost (but not much) ... it's fine. we haven't had any problems. (A.C., Philly)
  • Switched from DirecTV about three months ago. Overall it's ok. The on demand features seems pretty good, but I don't get the HBO or other premium channels, so not sure how their on demand features normally are. Anyway, the interface as compared to DTV is a little strange, but ok. The set top box deal is cool because you just need one DVR, but can view anything on there from any TV. We also got it bundled with phone and internet, which I guess is fine -- no real difference from the other service. The only issue we had is with the install. They had to come back a couple of times because either the set top box was bad, or the DVR was bad -- depending on which TV. When they came over to hook it up and upgrade my internet, the guy accidentally took my wireless router (thought it was a verizon replacement). They never found it, so gave me a $120 gift card for comp usa. Not bad considering the router he took cost me $80 when I bought it over a year ago. Long story short -- I had comcast once and hated it. I had direct tv, and thought it was pretty good. I think the fios thing is pretty damn good, but I also think they are going through some growth pains with rolling it out across the country. (K.K.)
  • I Like it. The HD TV is good alot more channels than cablevision. Telephone has no problems, sounds the same as all others and the internet is a little faster than optonline. (Barely noticeable) There are other fees that they charge. My fees are 6 bucks taxes on phone. Starz and showtime About 30 channels 3HD is 12.99, HBO 10 + 1HD 15.99, Reg Box 4.99 ea, DVR HD box12.99, I think it is 9.99 hd only with no DVR and 15.99 HD box with DVR to watch recordings in each rrom that you have a box in. The picture is great in HD, good on big screen with regular channels and sound is much better. I have a sony 32 inch tube TV with simulated surround sound and that sounds alot better and looks just as almost as good as HD on my big screen. Any other questions just let me know. (T.N., Long Island)
  • Well, good friends of mine in Radnor got it over a year ago and love it. But my sister who lives in Berwyn got it about 6 months ago, had nothing but problems and horrible customer service problems with Verizon and got rid of it and went back to Comcast. You'll probably love it or hate it, no in between. (S.H., Philly)
  • We had Fios. The price for the same service was about $40 less a month....two phone lines, 3 boxes (2 were DVR, the multimedia didn't work for us since there were nights we would tape 3 shows in the same time slot) and wireless. It was around $222 a month with Verizon. TV was def. better but not a HUGE diff. I didn't like the box said PLA when watching a taped show instead of giving the time but not the end of the world either. I did like that you could search a program by title and type in the letters for quicker access. On Cablevision, we can only search by first letter then need to scroll through all the programs. I found out internet was MUCH slower and inconsistent. Verizon had me run all kinds of tests and sometimes I was running around 20,000 but other times only 4000. They said it was most likely a defective router. I canceled service b/c if I waited longer than the 15 day trial period, I would have to pay $199 service fee. When I switched back to cable, my bill went down lower than Verizon. When I did try to cancel, Cable tried to keep me by offering a lower bill so you can always call and tell them you are switching and see what they do. (S.M., New York)

Now back to some sports....

The Eagles are not a good team. I think most of us knew this before Sunday, and I have probably alluded to it in this space before, but Sunday night proved beyond a reasonable doubt that this team cannot compete with the better teams in the league at this point. The personnel is not at a level that can line-up and beat the best teams in the league. That is Andy Reid's fault as the General Manager. In addition, the gameplans, preparation and execution are all terrible, and that is Andy Reid's fault as the General Manager. The tea leaves, if I am reading them correctly, say that Donovan McNabb's days as the quarterback in this town are coming to a rapid close. I will go on record by saying I think this is a mistake and that if we get rid of McNabb, some other team will be very lucky to have him. He is still less than a year removed from surgery on his knee, and has NOBODY that can get open on a consistent basis. It was doubly irritating watching the Cowboys and watching T.O. (who was here) and Jason Witten (who was passed over by the Birds for L.J. Smith) run around freely because the Birds have nobody who can cover them. We should all pray that Andy Reid steps down after this season and that the Eagles can start to rebuild in earnest.

Much more interesting was the Patriots vs. Colts game. These two teams are so far above everybody else it is ridiculous. And the Colts, who were rightfully maligned for years because their defense was light years behind their offense, has put together a defensive squad with enough speed and talent to slow down Tom Brady, who had 30 TDs and 2 INTs coming into Sunday's game. In my opinion, the Colts proved that they are every bit as good as the Patriots. They were in a position to win despite playing without Marvin Harrison, who should be good to go for the rematch. Of course it would be ideal for Indy if the rematch were in the warm friendly confines of the dome in January, but this team has the ability to go into Foxboro and beat New England in January.

Pittsburgh looks like a legitimate 3rd best team in the league after just demolishing a Baltimore team that just cannot play away from home. Dallas is probably the best the NFC has to offer but no better than the 4th best team in the NFL at this team. Personally, I still do not believe in Green Bay despite the lofty record, and look for them to slump a bit down the stretch before making a much earlier than expected exit in the playoffs.

The college basketball regular season started last night with Memphis, a true National Championship contender, debuting in the Coaches vs, Cancer first round game. Derrick Rose looks like the real deal for the Tigers.

I will be back tomorrow or Thursday with a preview of the mighty 2007-08 Duke Blue Devils, along with a few other college hoops tidbits...

Friday, November 02, 2007

Andy Reid, Pats/Colts, Oregon/ASU, Michigan State debacle, and Dils Win or Die Week 9

The Drug Emporium was a discount drug store corporation founded in 1977 in Columbus, OH. After some good years, Drug Emporium was unable to effectively compete with the Walgreens and CVS' of the world, and in 2001 it sold some stores to Snyders and the company declared bankruptcy. It has been defunct since that time until Thursday, when a judge declared Andy Reid's house as the new Drug Emporium. Drugs, needles, syringes, guns were all found at Reid's home. It is quite a healthy environment over there in Villanova.

Reid's older son is such an addict that when he went to prison, he smuggled 89 pills into prison by storing them up his butt. That should be good practice for the workout his backside will endure over the next two to 23 months in prison.

People are calling on Reid to quit or take a leave to tend to family matters. But, from where I am sitting, it seems that the judge took care of that for him and took over the problem by giving both of his buffoon sons up to 23 months in the big house (and not the one in Ann Arbor either).

It will be interesting to see how the Birds respond. They have their biggest game of the year (they will keep having these each week as long as they win) just three days after the sentencing so it will be interesting to see how they respond against their most hated rival, T.O & the 'Pokes.

Of course, this is not the best game of the weekend is the mighty Patriots storming into the RCA Dome to play the 7-0, undefeated, Super Bowl Champs. Everybody thinks the Pats will win and win big (based on the Pats being favored by 5.5 and 90% of the action in Vegas going toward the Patsies). I use an old Lee Corso favorite and say...not so fast my friend. This game may come down to which team can stop the other...once. I favor the Colts because I think they have two huge advantages: 1) the home crowd that will be loud and juiced for this one and 2) I think the Colts offense is better equipped to have more long, extended ball control drives, keeping the Patriots defense on the field for a majority of the game. Should be a great one.

A great college game on tap this weekend. If you have not seen Oregon and Arizona State play, I urge you to watch these guys duke it out. Dennis Erickson certainly knows what it takes to win in Outzen Stadium from his days in Corvalis coaching Oregon State, and he has a good team with a very good but banged up QB in Rudy Carpenter and a really underrated defense. But Oregon is the real deal this year, and has an even better QB in Dennis Dixon, who should win the Heisman. Combine that with the great home environment, and I think the Quack Attack gets it done and it may not be that close of a game.

We will get into more college hoops next week, but Michigan State, who is allegedly a top 10 team, lost an exhibition to Division II Grand Valley State. Nice work by Tom Izzo, Drew Neitzel, and Raymarr Morgan. Bryla, they need you in there to right the ship immediately!

Now onto the Win or Die picks. We have had calm waters for the last few weeks. Will it continue, or will we shed some blood this week. We will know soon. Enjoy the football weekend....

Pick Breakdown:


Individual Picks:

4 Rings 1 San Diego
Abela 2 Washington
A-Hole Jets Fan 1 Tennessee
AJ Fratoni 1 San Diego
Akshon Barclay 1 San Diego
Akshon Barclay 3 Pittsburgh
Alberto Escobedo 2 Pittsburgh
Alistair Campbell Pittsburgh
Angel Tennessee
Anthony Albanese 3 Oakland
Anthony Albanese 4 Pittsburgh
Bailey/Holstad 1 Pittsburgh
Bakke 3 Washington
Bambi 2…NOW LUPETTI Tampa Bay
Ben Stewart…NOW McDONALD Tampa Bay
Bill D'Elia San Diego
Bill Webster Pittsburgh
Bob Landow San Diego
Bob Van Nortwick Pittsburgh
BP 1 New Orleans
Brad Stuart 2 San Diego
Brian McAndrews Pittsburgh
Brian Silverio Pittsburgh
Bryan Sullivan San Diego
Buck/Kent Pittsburgh
CAM Pittsburgh
Charlie Piccirillo 2 Pittsburgh
Chris Bassi 2 San Diego
Chris Dopp 4 Pittsburgh
Chris Nangle 1 Pittsburgh
Chris Parliman Pittsburgh
Clark/Joffe 2 Pittsburgh
Coltndarby Washington
Connvac 2 Tennessee
Connvac 3 San Diego
CP 2 Washington
Craig Borgen San Diego
Cronin 1 Pittsburgh
D Bank 1 Pittsburgh
D Froney 1 Tennessee
Dan/Steve Gold 5 Tampa Bay
Dan/Steve Gold 6 Pittsburgh
Daniel Hopson 2 San Diego
Darren Dahlman 2…NOW Axia3 #2 San Diego
Dave Bryla Tampa Bay
Dave Kay 1 San Diego
Dave Mehall 3 Pittsburgh
Dave Silbert San Diego
David Louis Stitzer New Orleans
Denver Brown 1 San Diego
Dick A 1 Pittsburgh
Doug Sargeant 2 San Diego
DSG 1 Pittsburgh
Duckboy 2 Pittsburgh
Dunlavy 1 Tampa Bay
Ed Ramirez 1 San Diego
Ed Ramirez 2 Pittsburgh
Ed Samocki 2 Tampa Bay
Ed Welsh 3 Pittsburgh
Ellis NYC 3 San Diego
Enio Bencosme 2 Oakland
Eric Heuerman 2 San Diego
Eric Meyers 3 Pittsburgh
Gabe Bodhi 1 San Diego
Gabe Bodhi 2 Pittsburgh
Gary Jonas 1 Tampa Bay
Gatorswonitall 2 Pittsburgh
Getson 1 San Diego
Goldstein - Levine San Diego
Greg Heff 3 San Diego
Greg Marks New Orleans
Gregg 2 Pittsburgh
Gretchen Liersaph 1 San Diego
Griffin et al…NOW HOCHHAUSER Kansas City
Griffin/Richmond/Gibbs 1 San Diego
Howard Goldberg Pittsburgh
Iceman 5 Pittsburgh
Iceman 6 San Diego
Ike Royster Tampa Bay
J Taylor 2 Pittsburgh
Jaco 1 San Diego
Jaco 8 Pittsburgh
Jay Soroko 1 San Diego
Jay Soroko 2 Pittsburgh
JD 1 San Diego
Jeff Resnick 1…NOW KRUG San Diego
Jeff Resnick 2…NOW C-Money Pittsburgh
Jeff Rich 1 Pittsburgh
Jeff Saito 2 Pittsburgh
Jim Foo 2 Tampa Bay
Jim Rudofker 1 Tampa Bay
Jimbo Conbo 2 Tennessee
Jimmy Bredt…NOW FALCON San Diego
Joe Cavucci 2 Washington
Joe David 5…NOW BP San Diego
Joe Hochauser 3 Tampa Bay
Joe Pucillo 2 Washington
Joe Pucillo 4 Pittsburgh
Joseph Beedon 2 Cleveland
Juice 2 Pittsburgh
Juice 3 Pittsburgh
Juice 4 Pittsburgh
Juice 5 San Diego
Juice 6 San Diego
Juice 7 San Diego
K New 1 Pittsburgh
Kay Lee San Diego
Keith Berger 1 San Diego
Keith Heier…NOW McNUTT San Diego
Keller 2 San Diego
Keller 3 Tennessee
Kim P 1 San Diego
Kim P 2 Pittsburgh
KP New Orleans
Kris Wagoner San Diego
Larry Levin 1 Pittsburgh
Larry Levin 2 San Diego
Littman 5 Pittsburgh
LML Pittsburgh
Lou Cerota 2 Pittsburgh
Lubart 3 San Diego
Lulu Cheng 2 San Diego
LZHBBS 1 Pittsburgh
M Lacerenza JPS Pittsburgh
M Lacerenza M Pittsburgh
Marshall Dostal 3 Pittsburgh
Matt Biskner 2 San Diego
Matt Biskner 4 Washington
Matt Wilson 2…NOW MAROLE Oakland
Max 23 San Diego
Max Haber 7 San Diego
May Lee 6 Tampa Bay
May Lee 7 Tennessee
May Lee 8 Pittsburgh
Michael Koffler 1 Pittsburgh
Michael Koffler 2 San Diego
Mike Ferry 2 San Diego
Mike Hovermann San Diego
Mike Ryan 2 Washington
Mike Tynan 1 San Diego
Mizerny 2 Pittsburgh
1 Kansas City
Nelson Ranco Pittsburgh
Newsome 1 San Diego
Nicola Espie 1 San Diego
Niemeyer 1…NOW Axia3 #3 Pittsburgh
Niemeyer 3 San Diego
Nina K Tennessee
Nitin Singhal 1 Washington
Nomanerz Too Tennessee
Norm Cooper Tennessee
Nussbaum/Schmolka 1 San Diego
Nussbaum/Schmolka 2 Pittsburgh
PA 1 Washington
PA 3 San Diego
Paul Stitzer Pittsburgh
Phil Hollrah Washington
Pierre Brown 1 Washington
Raivetz 1 Pittsburgh
Randy/Randy C Tampa Bay
Ray Attiyah 1 Tennessee
Richard Stanley 3 San Diego
Rick L 5 San Diego
Rick L 6 New Orleans
Rick Woods 2 Pittsburgh
Ritter 3 Pittsburgh
Ritter 6 San Diego
Rob Kaiser 1…NOW Axia3 Tennessee
Rob Kaiser 2 San Diego
Roger Levine 2 Washington
Ron Mexico 1 Tampa Bay
Ron Mexico 5 Tampa Bay
Rudo 2 New Orleans
Ryan Carey 2 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 1 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 5 San Diego
Ryan Doheny 6 Pittsburgh
Ryan Doheny 7 Tennessee
Scherby 8 Pittsburgh
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 1 San Diego
Scott & Jay Goldsleger 4 Washington
Silver Fox 2…NOW MONKS San Diego
Sonnenberg 2 Pittsburgh
Sozbolt Pittsburgh
Stacey Tracton 1 San Diego
Stephen Moss 1 San Diego
Steve Stovall 2 San Diego
Steven Immergut 1 Washington
Streetsmart San Diego
Stuart Chase 1…NOW TJ San Diego
Stuart Erickson 2 Washington
Susan Walters Pittsburgh
T'down Tommy..NOW Randy/Gene Pittsburgh
The Bandits Tampa Bay
The Hanford Dixon Experience San Diego
The Hanford Dixon Redux San Diego
Todd & Regan 1 Pittsburgh
Todd & Regan 3 San Diego
Todd & Regan 4 New Orleans
Todd Turchin 1 New Orleans
Todd Turchin 4 Detroit
Tom H 1 Pittsburgh
Tom Huang 4 San Diego
Tony Sollenbarger Pittsburgh
True Dat 1 San Diego
True Dat 2…NOW Axia3 #4 San Diego
Val Brochard 4 Tampa Bay
Von 3 New Orleans
Wayne Kimmel 1 Pittsburgh
Wells/Bartos/Sudman 1 San Diego
WJO 2 Dallas
WJO 4 Pittsburgh
Yacker 1 Pittsburgh