Around the Arena (Championship Game ... Winner: ApolloSmieGirl)

Sell. Even though the NHL is on the right track. there is yound talent like Crosby and Ovechkin. The playoffs have been pretty good so far. The final four is 4 good hockey cities and the Staley Cup finals ought to be good. The problem is that Hockey is rarely on TV. ESPN should start braocasting the NHL again and maybe then it would get some more viewers and gain popularity. and even If you don't follow hockey, if you are a sports fan than you should know who Sidney Croasby is Juliet, he has been all over Sportsecenter when the NHL is covered.

 

The deal with Versus goes through the 2010-11 season, so ESPN won't be able to broadcast the games for several more years yet. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they chose not to make a big bid, as hockey would have been out of the national limelight for so long that it might not be worth the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. Versus would cling to whatever sport they could, needing something else besides bull riding and cycling, so ESPN could well choose to save their cash for other games.

 

Let's score the arguments that round ...

Onoto: Love the facts (+2), love the LeBron comparison (+2), and I love the placement of blame (+1). Good job.
RX_Sith: Love referencing the lockout as a reason (+2), and I agree ... hockey isn't hockey if it's in Tampa Bay (+2)
Juliet: Great points about TV (+2), and about Gretzky (+1). And if you don't even know Crosby, that says a lot (+2)
reched: Good info on the teams remaining (+2), and more blame on TV, where it belongs (+2)

Scoreboard

This Round

Onoto: 5
Juliet: 5
RX_Sith: 4
reched: 4

Overall

Onoto: 19
Juliet316: 16
RX_Sith: 8
rechedelphar: 6

Another round of Buy or Sell is next ...

 

<img src="http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/writers/jon_heyman/07/13/daily.scoop/t1_smoltz.jpg">

John Smoltz sent an interesting text message, saying he is planning on coming back as a reliever, and probably staying there the rest of the year. The Braves are floundering, and part of the reason is their inability to win close games and hold late leads. Do you Buy or Sell Smoltz as a reliever being the best thing for the Braves?

Let's go Around the Arena and find out ...

 

I'm buying it. With the exception of Chuck James, every Brave to start this season has an ERA of 4.00 or better. The Braves pitching staff has the second-best Hits/Game average, the third-best Home Runs Against figure, and the fifth-best ERA in the majors, so the pitching filling up the majority of those innings, the starting rotation, isn't in tremendous need. Their bullpen is shakier, so rather than sticking the aforementioned Chuck James in the bullpen, or bringing up a guy from AAA Richmond, they'd be wise to use a guy who saved 55 games and finished third in the Cy Young voting in his very first season as a pure reliever.

Smoltz is more than just a future Hall of Famer; he's still one of the game's top pitchers. But he's turning 41 in two weeks, which alters the situation significantly. The Braves should use him in relief, which will preserve his health and solve some of their problems at the same time. The fact that he's made it clear it's what he wants helps, as they don't have to worry about him becoming disgruntled if they do decide to move him. It seems to be a good scenario for everyone involved.


(All stats, of course, are as of April 30.)

 

Buy. As a Brave fan i would say that Smoltz would be immensely more valuable in the Bullpen. In the starting rotation he may go 7 good innings but the team could produce few runs and his efforts would be frivolous. In the bullpen he could be used almost every night when the Braves have a 1 or 2 run lead and his value would not be put to waste as he would get the save most of the time. Let's not forget that we are not very far removed from when he and Gagne battled it out with 50 plus saves each. so he couls still be a very very valuable reliever or closer.

 

Well, if the 2008 Smoltz and Gagne are going to be as similar as the 2002 Smoltz and Gagne were, I say the Braves should cut him.

 

Buy. Smoltz said he wants to come back, he's wanting to come back as relief so as has been pointed out, there's little chance of disgruntlement in being put in the relief role at 41. He's a future HOFer. Plus given the way the Braves have been with pitching as of late they need to start somewhere.

 

Or rather, they need to close somewhere.

 

*mutes Onoto for the bad pun*

 

I am currently going to SELL this because Bobby Cox, for one, believes Smoltz should start.

"In order to win big, John needs to be in the rotation," Cox said.

So, if the manager says he's going to be a starter, then that is what Smoltz will be. Smoltz will do whatever he can (including eventually maybe relieving) to help the Braves. But, for now, with the Braves' pitching a humongous mess; especially their starting pitching; Smoltz will be a starter.

Now, once they get everyone to produce (or acquire other pitching before the trading deadline), then and only then, will Cox consider putting Smoltz in the bullpen. Yes, he is getting old. But for now, Cox needs him for those five to seven innings of work that he can provide the Braves. For now, this is what is going to happen.

 

Time to once again score the arguments:

Onoto: Good stats on the starters (+2), and mentioning third in the Cy, too (+1)
reched: Good stuff on the possible increased value (+2)
Juliet: Good stuff all around (+2)
RX: Great point about what Bobby Cox said (+2) ... way to put stock in the manager, and for being the only one to do so ... (+3)

And, of course, Onoto gets a (-1) for that mute

Scoreboard:

This Round:

RX: 5
Juliet: 2
reched: 2
Onoto: 2

Overall:


Onoto: 21
Juliet316: 18
RX_Sith: 13
rechedelphar: 8

The final round of Buy or Sell is next ...

 

We turn our eyes, now to the cover of Sports Illustrated:

<img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d42/DarthIntegral/Picture1.png">

Cubs fans have to either love the optimism, or dread the SI cover jinx.

Are you Buying or Selling the Cubs being further jinxed by having Fukudome on the cover of Sports Illustrated?

Let's go Around the Arena and find out ...

 

Nah, I will Sell this one. Cubbies fans may think themselves as jinxed but really it's just the way things happen. Heck BoSox fans were complaining not too long ago about being jinxed as well and now look what's happened; two World Series rings.

So, no, the Cubs aren't jinxed. And yes, I believe Cubs fans should be optimistic. Every team has a chance to win the World Series; even Chicago. It will eventually happen and then what will Chicagoans do then; probably complain about other things.

 

Selling. I think the Boston Red Sox have pretty much demolished the SI jinx. I do think however that Chicago buys into a self - fullfilling prophecy when it comes to being jinxed and cursed. So something will probably happen during the season that causes some monumental collapse and Chi - Town will blame the goat or SI or Bartman.

Something.

 

I'll sell this one, too, as their luck is already goat-urine poor and their team is good enough to overcome most anything the jinx throws their way. Fukodome has started off the season with a picture perfect batting line of .353/.455/.500, comparable numbers to his Japanese career figures of .305/.397/.543 and his 2006 MVP season's .351/.438/.653. His lack of home run pop is understandable - Hideki Matsui, a better home run hitter than Fukodome in Japan, went through a similar rut during his rookie season - and he's on pace for about 40 doubles and double-digit triples. He's been a great player for them so far, and his patience at the plate, evidenced by his team-leading 19 walks through only 27 games, tells us that he should continue to have success.

But the Cubbies as a team have done well, too, and they are in a good position. They are only half a game back despite Soriano's rough start (one bit of good news: they activated him from the 15-day DL list on Thursday) and a questionable bullpen, as Zambrano has pitched like Cy Young contender and they've found many productive bats (7 of the 11 players with at least 45 at-bats have an on-base percentage over .400!). With Soriano hopefully getting back to his usual self, there's no legitimate reason to think that the can't overtake the Cardinals, a team dependent on an overachieving pitching staff (a rotation of Lohse, Looper, Wellemeyer, Wainwright, and Pineiro is not going to maintain the top-end numbers that have thus far been posted), and win the Central. I still like the Mets to represent the National League in the Fall Classic, but Chicago is a strong contender and should manage to surpass whatever obstacle the cover places in their already cursed lives.

 

sell. There is no jinx, there are just 30 other MLB teams that also want to win a title. In the long absence of no world series, most of the years they didn't have the talent to win a world series not because of some stupid curse. This year they have the talent to win but so do many other teams so if they fail than its because of the many good teams in the MLB.

 

Whoops, sorry guys. Weekend stole my time. Let's score the last round or arguments

RX: +2
Juliet: +3
Onoto: +3
reched: +2

Scoreboard

Overall:


Onoto: 24
Juliet316: 21
RX_Sith: 15
rechedelphar: 10

And so reched doesn't have the points to move on so .... he gone!


Out of Bounds is next ...

 

<img src="http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/05/large_bellesworkout.jpg">

The horse racing world rocked as filly Eight Belles collapses after a second place finish at the Kentucky Derby. Two broken ankles later, she was euthanized.

Calls from PETA to stop whipping horses and to suspend the jockey are being met with mixed reactions. Others with voices, but perhaps not points, have called for other actions.

I ask our panel of experts ... what should the horse racing world do in response to this?

Let's go Around the Arena and find out ...

 

Well, as long as the owners and trainers keep stretching the ways that they get their horses ready for each race, then in the big scope of things not too much will be really done to curb their questioned abuse here.

As far as the jockey goes, did he realize the horse had broken ankles during the race or not? I watched the race live, and Eight Belles raced really well for a horse that had two broken ankles (he finished second!). So, when did it happen? That's the real question. If it happened just as the horse crossed the finish line, then really there's not much to do to him. But, if it occurred sometime during the race, then he should be suspended.

If I am right, all trainers are instructed to pull the horse up if it is injured during a race. So, again, if it's proved that the horse was injured during the race, then the jockey purposely injured the horse so much that it had to be euthanized.

It's a sad occurrence, there is no doubt about that. Hopefully, a good resolution will come out of this. I guess we'll see if people besides PETA really care or not about what happened.

 

In the short term, there's nothing that the horse racing world either can or should do about the horses. Eight Belles was not the favorite, and although the odds were only 8-1 against her at one point, that was due to people betting on her because she was a filly, not because she was considered a legitimate threat to win the race (odds previously had been in the teens and even twenties). No jockey, no owner, would intentionally subject any horse to a grueling race with two legs injured, much less a horse with only a slim chance of winning. The people calling for Gabriel Saez's punishment are the same ones who unjustly blamed Edgar Prado for Barbaro's injury. Whipping is also guaranteed to stay around. It doesn't hurt the animals (consider the size difference between the jockey and the horse - I know from experience that even a direct punch in the nose doesn't do more than make a horse blink), and its a valuable tool for the jockeys. The biggest reason horses get hurt doing this is that they are still babies, still so young. Unfortunately, it's necessary to run the horses at an early age because otherwise the stallions become impossible to ride after a certain point, and the racing industry isn't willing to cut its champions out of the breeding mix.

In the long term, the most important thing the racing community can do is change the breeding practices. Thoroughbreds are too big for their spindly legs, and the owners have to expand the gene pool to introduce stronger legs into the thoroughbred lines. They have to expand what a thoroughbred is periodically anyway, so as to avoid excessive in-breeding and the continuation of hereditary faults, so it's not a stretch.

 

Having gotten a crash course in horse breeding and racing practices as a result of this hopefully my half - formed thoughts are clear on this.

I do agree with Onoto. There needs to be more horses brought into the breeding system. A lot of the breakdown is coming from the fact that the gene pool has gotten so small that according to Outside the Lines, all of this year's Derby horses came from the same horse; the last Triple Crown winner. There's got to be an expansion of the lines to make the horses built for durablity as well as speed. Otherwise horses are going to continue to breakdown as a result of hereditary faults.

As for the suspension call: Only if it could be proven that the jockey knew the horse was injured during the race (and honestly I don't know how he could short of feeling the horse's ankles break during the race but when it's going that fast, I'm not sure how the jockey could feel that), and still kept going, deliberately injuring it to the point of death. However from everything I've heard in the media most trainers and doctors are more or less in agreement that it happened after the race, so unless it's proven otherwise, then there's nothing to punish the jockey with in this case.

Truth be told I think Peta are a bunch of crackpots (and puppy killers themselves), so I take their call to action against anybody with a grain of salt, but like I said, if it can be proven that the Jockey knew the horse was injured and did further injury to it then yes, suspend in and contemplate criminal action against him. If as everybody says, he did nothing wrong, then Peta can go back to it's little cave.

 

Well .. when I want my horse information, I go to s65horsey. She's going to pinch-hit here and judge/score this round.


So, take it away ...