Tids and Bits

Written for your enjoyment by: Raff



Watched more baseball yesterday than I have all season....A couple of observations....

Barry Zito is back. He's been back for awhile. But the lefthander who moved across the Bay a couple of seasons ago, in a big offseason free agency move, and then essentially stole money from the Giants for the first few years is top-notch right now. Last night he outdueled Adam Wainwright to earn a very nice win.

The AL East might be the best division in baseball, but the NL West is probably the most competitive - top to bottom. Most expected the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies to compete for the title this year. But three short weeks into the season and the Padres lead the Division. A few folks thought the Friars would be improved this year - but I don't think many thought they'd be be a true contender. And maybe in the long run they won't be. But they've got the early advantage....and I don't think anybody is going to run away and hide in that Division.

The Dana Altman move to Oregon sort of surprises me. Personally, I think it is a good move by the Ducks. Altman has proven he can win. Creighton basketball has been solid under his direction, however they haven't been great the last part of this decade. After making the Big Dance five straight years, the Blue Jays had only been there two out of the last seven years. Consequently, Altman hasn't been on a lot of upper level coaching searches. That and of course, the issue that occurred at Arkansas. Altman took that job a few years ago, only to change his mind the next day and return to Creighton. Maybe that is what took Oregon so long, they were waiting for Altman to be sure.

Not much news on the Mount coaching search. The process is ongoing. The administration isn't saying anything - and they shouldn't be. The information that comes out usually comes from other sources. Jamion Christian, who it has been rumored was on campus and interviewed last week, tweeted that writing thank you notes is always hard - or something of the sort. You see things like that and you immediately think he is writing thank you notes to the MSM admins who he spoke with on campus. The reality is, it could have been for birthday gifts. You don't know. However, I still feel confident that the Mount will land a top notch new coach. They have several candidates with direct ties to the University - and the overwhelming response from others has shown that the job projects as one, enough people want more details of.

Is anybody with me that its time to kill this WhiteOut thing? You can't turn on the TV these days, without there being the entire crowd decked out in white. Unless its a Caps game, then you've got to Rock the Red. At least that is a bit creative. The White Out dates back to 1987 with the Winnipeg Jets - and I've got to admit I liked it then. But I was young and impressionable then. And it wasn't overblown and overdone. Oklahoma City and Charlotte both had whiteouts in the NBA playoffs yesterday - and it seems like almost every NHL game is that way.