The Andrew Robinson Era Begins In...

WNYO Sports will be at the Carrier Dome tonight for the starting debut of Andrew Robinson. Blog to come following tonight's game.

Bring Me the Finest Meats and Cheeses...

Kenny Mayne has updated his blog over at KennyMayneis WritingaBook.com:

Hello, this is Kenny Mayne, author. I've now written 10 chapters but I need the weekend off before I file Chapter 11.

On TV right now is another story about that Idaho senator who went to the bathroom in Minneapolis. I don't think he's going to run for president now.

My book will go an entirely different direction than all those other books that go on and on about Idaho senators who aren't running for president in bathrooms. My book will concentrate on sports, but not so much so that I'll lose readers who don't like sports that much. It will have a bunch of words, but not so many that I'll lose readers who cannot read.

Also, if anyone has good seats to Stevie Wonder in Boston—let me know.

The Next Rick Ankiel?

Joba Chamberlain came out for the 9th (why, Joe...why?), retired David Ortiz, and threw two pitches right at the head of Kevin Youkilis. Both balls bounced off the backstop without making contact with Youkilis.

Umpire Angel Hernandez ejected Chamberlain immediately after the second errant throw. Chamberlain looked stunned, as though both pitches had gotten away from him. Joba, this is the man who once ejected an organ player in AAA Omaha for playing the Mickey Mouse Club theme during an umpire-manager argument. He was initially going to toss you for coming out to Tim McGraw's "Indian Outlaw."

Yankee fans had better pray that Joba was trying to decapitate Youkilis, otherwise we might be looking at the dreaded "Steve Blass" disease. Of course, Yankee fans (and Keith Olbermann's mom) are no stranger to this affliction.

Ryan Maloney

It's Okay...He's a Hockey Player

This is the fearless leader of your 2007 National Champion Oswego Lakers hockey squad. The now-graduated Ryan Woodward took a slash to the face requiring 12 stitches. It's almost hockey season!

Joba Does it Again

The no-hitter was broken up in the 7th, but Joba Chamberlain stretched his career-starting scoreless streak to 9 games (11 innings). He threw 12 pitches in the 8th (allowing one hit) to get to Mariano Rivera. It's 2-0 yanks heading into the home half of the 8th.

(Can't Say It) Thru 5 & 2/3

Chien-Ming Wang is all over the BoSox today. I'm not going to say what is special about today's start, but I will say there are a lot of 0-for's in the BoSox lineup.

The Revolution Will Be Webcast!

The Oswego State field hockey team opens the 2007 season in New Jersey as a participant in the Stevens Tech Tournament on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Fans that are unable to attend the game will be able to follow it online. Empire 8 will provide a live video webcast (which is subscription-based) on their web site. Additionally, Stevens Tech will provide live statistics during the game on their Web site.

A computer with high-speed cable or DSL internet connection is required in order to watch the webcast. Also, users must have the latest version of Windows Media Player or a media player capable of streaming Windows video installed. The game will be available at a price of $2. Registration through PennAtlantic.com is required in order to purchase the webcast.The Lakers will take on the host Stevens Tech Ducks at 5:30 p.m.

The Lakers will take on the host Stevens Tech Ducks at 5:30 p.m.

Video Webcast and Registration

Live Stats

Hot Off the Press: SUNYAC Pre-Season Soccer

Men's SUNYAC Pre-Season Poll

1. Plattsburgh (3)
2. Fredonia (3)
3. Geneseo (3)
4. Oneonta*(1)
5. Cortland (1)
6. Brockport
7. Oswego
8. New Paltz
9. Buffalo State
10. Potsdam
11. SUNYIT
12. Morrisville*

* - Not eligible for post-season play

Women's Pre-Season Poll

1. Oneonta (7)
2. Brockport (2)
3. Cortland (1)
4. Geneseo (2)
5. Plattsburgh
6. Fredonia
7. Buffalo State
8. New Paltz
9. Oswego
10. Potsdam
11. SUNYIT
12. Morrisville*

* - Not eligible for post-season play
(Onenota due their recent transition from D1 to D3, Morrisville due to their recent transition from NJCAA to NCAA)

Coming Soon: Idol Story

Just got back from Philadelphia where FOX held the largest "American Idol" audition ever. More than 17,000 hopefuls took a shot at becoming the next Jordin Sparks. The whole process took more than 16 hours. The full recap of my trip is coming soon, but this little gem should hold you over for now:

Greetings From Philly

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Restless tonight/this morning at the Comfort Inn lounge room. Somewhere in this town a weary Ryan Seacrest is arriving jet-lagged and dreary-eyed from his acceptance speech at the Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards in LA (he won Choice Movie: Hissy Fit for his scene in "Knocked Up"). He is probably staying somewhere more lavish than a Choice-brand hotel.

I also presume, at this moment, that Paula Abdul is being helped down off a table-top at a nearby hot spot. She is not above the Comfort Inn. I am still anticipating her arrival at the lounge to scout for the next Corey Clark (and guess who is wearing a contestant bracelet? Hint: starts with 'T', ends with 'his guy.').

Yes, it is that time. "American Idol" is back in production, already hitting their last stop of the season seven audition process (San Diego, Dallas, Omaha, Atlanta, Charleston and Miami were the other stops). Why am I here? Fantastic question, not sure. Apparently an Idol-hopeful I know thought I would make the best companion for this trip. Her boyriend disagrees.

We are approximately four hours away from checking out, packing up the car, driving to the Wachovia Center (where Allen Iverson plays approximately 40 games a year according to our hotel city guide) and lining up alongside some 15,000 dreamers and their loved ones (or male mistresses).

For those who are unaware, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula only see a few hundred of the "talent" pool. The rest are ushered away by producers as they line up a dozen at a time and sing in front of a long table on the arena floor. Registration begins 50 hours prior to auditions. People were lined up at 6 AM Saturday morning to sign up.

We left Syracuse at 11 PM, drove straight to the arena and were able to sign up at 4 AM Sunday with no line. Today my friend will get 15 seconds to impress these "American Idol" producers. Four-and-a-half hours in a car for 15 seconds. If she does not make it, there is a 100% chance of percipiation pouring out of here tear ducts. This will be an extremely uncomfortable moment for yours truly as I don't like sobbing and I don't like people who prevent me from making a Brian Dunkleman reference to Ryan Seacrest. Should she make it, then my next blog will be a first-hand account of Ryan Seacrest's right hook. A full account of my Philadelphia trip will soon follow.

Oh..and for those thinking 'I thought this was a sports blog'...YouTube Sports' Kige Ramsey is reporting that gymnastics, figure skating and skateboarding are sports. Hot dog-eating, checkers and Scrabble are not.

Kige on the Bubble

Kige Ramsey is on the ballot for the second annual Deadspin Hall of Fame Induction. Polls close Monday morning, and Kige needs 75% of the vote to get in. He is currently at 71.1%. Should Kige fall short he will join the ranks of Stephen A. Smith, Darren Prince (Dennis Rodman's agent) and burritos in the Deadspin HOF rejection club. Follow the link and get America's favorite fake internet sports reporter/analyst/celeb gossiper into the shrine. I just hope the Nazi's over at YouTube Sports will give Kige the time off to accept his plaque. They've got him cranking out three, sometimes four video blogs a day from their wood-panelled palacial studios.

This Goddamn Quarterback Gets It

Andrew Robinson, the first Greg Robinson-recruited Syracuse QB, has a Facebook profile. He has this little gem from Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday" in his quote section:

"You're a goddamn quarterback! You know what that means? It's the top spot, kid. It's the guy who takes the fall. It's the guy everybody's looking at first - the leader of a team - who will support you when they understand you. Who will break their ribs and their noses and their necks for you, because they believe. 'Cause you make them believe. That's a quarterback."

I don't know much about Andrew Robinson, other than the fact that only one of his first five collegiate passes were caught - for an interception. He is, however, supposed to be the prototypical QB for the Syracuse west-coast scheme, which enters its third season. He also understands what it means to be a quarterback, as it was so eloquently illustrated by Al Pacino's Tony D'Amato. That, and the fact that Robinson went 3-for-3 with a TD toss and 31 rushing yards in the season finale at Rutgers, is reason for hope. Syracuse opens the 2007 season Aug. 31 against Washington at the loud house.



Ryan Maloney

Good Lord! Ravens' D Was Off Tonight

The bar has been set you Dallas Cowboys! You had better average more points than the baseball team in town!

This is the same Texas Rangers team that was no-hit by Mark Buehrle earlier in the season. No, wait, that team had Mark Teixeria. No matter how many games MLB ends up playing, you will always see something you've never seen before.

The Rangers ended up scoring a mere 9 runs in the 2nd game of the doubleheader to drop their run average on the day to 19.5. Think the Baltimore Orioles are second guessing giving Dave Trembley that extension? You'd think Bud Selig would have called Camden Yards and imposed a 25-run mercy rule. Guess it was possible the O-Birds could have hit 7 grand slams in the bottom of the 9th.

I was kind of disappointed though, I thought the O's would put one of their position players in to pitch once it got crazy. Remember Mark Grace coming in for the D-Backs when they trailed 17-0 to the Dodgers a few years back. Grace only gave up two more runs, so, really, he did better than the actual pitchers. Maybe Trembley was afraid if he did that, the Rangers may have scored 50.

Anyway, I was pretty sure I didn't smoke anything today, but I was quite confused when I saw that score. Maybe someone injected something into me on the bus today? Wait, I don't take the bus. Well, maybe that waitress dropped something in my Dr. Pepper? Wait, I didn't eat out. I must be smoking up in my sleep! No other explanation. Oh well, that score is insane!

Pat Morgan (I think)

It's Painful to Realize You Suck

Former major league baseball player, Jose Offerman, decided to take matters into his own hands and go postal on a pitcher and catcher. Obviously pissed he no longer plays in the bigs, Offerman assumed it was ok to try and tenderize two Bridgeport Bluefish with his bat. Offerman now plays for the Atlantic Independent League's Long Island Ducks, home of MLB rejects like John Rocker and Carl Everett. With those great role models on the team, it is kind of surprising Offerman would react in such a harsh matter. Bluefish pitcher, Matt Beech suffered a broken middle finger on his non-throwing hand, and catcher, John Nathans suffered a concussion on the back swing when Offerman attempted to strike Beech again. Even Delmon Young chimed in when he heard of the altercation and said, "that aint right!" Offerman was charged with second-degree assault and released from the Connecticut jail on $10,000 bond. I hope he doesn't show up for his court appearance. It would make for a tremendous episode of Dog the Bounty Hunter!

~Pat Morgan

Collins' Successor Named

Tracy Bruno is the new head coach of the Oswego State women's basketball team. She replaces Michelle Collins who departed after seven seasons to join the coaching staff at her alma mater, Division I Siena College. Bruno was an assistant at Division II Hillsdale College from 1998-2001 and again during the 2006-07 season. She is a 1994 graduate of Saginaw Valley State University where she was an All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection. This is Bruno's first head coaching job.

#502, #503: WNYO Was There

A-Rod went yard twice tonight (I believe someone predicted he'd homer off of Paul Byrd) in the Yankees 11-2 victory. He now has 39 HRs on the season to go along with 114 RBI. This concludes my stay in Cleveland. I got to see two Yankee blow-out wins, three Alex Rodriguez bombs, Mike Mussina's 100th Yankee win, and a returning Jason Giambi take one deep to right. Below is a video of my terrific call for blast #503. Loo closely and you can see the shame in my dad's eyes:

Sober & Ready For Round 2

Last night, I made the bold prediction that A-Rod would leave Cleveland with 40 HRs on the year. Less than a minute after I made the statement, Alex blasted #37 to dead center. He was sudsequently walked twice and hit by a pitch in his following at bats. However, I still stand by my guy. A-Rod will go yard tonight and twice on Sunday!

Tonight's victim is Paul Byrd (10-4, 4.13 ERA). A-Rod is 3-for-13 in his career against Byrd with no dingers. Byrd has struck out Rodriguez on six occasions. This marks Byrd's first 2007 start against the Bombers, it is also Mike Mussina's first 2007 start against Cleveland. Jorge Posada sat last night with a sore neck, no word on his status for tonight.

Yankee Lineup vs. Byrd
Damon 2-17, 0 K, BB
Jeter 10-25, 3 RBI, 6 K, BB
Abreu 1-3, 2 BB
A-Rod 3-13, 2 RBI, 6 K
Matsui 0-3
Cano 1-7, HR, RBI, K
Betimit 1-4, 2B, K
Molina 0-2
Cabrera 3-5, HR, 5 RBI, K

Ryan Maloney

#501: WNYO Was There

Alex Rodriguez blasted career HR #501 (37 on the year) in the second inning. Phil Hughes pitched six masterful innings. The Yankees won, the Tigers and Red Sox lost. Tonight was perfect. I am drunk right now. I will stop this post right here.

Ryan Maloney

Dateline Cleveland

I am in the heart of rock and roll, Cleveland, Ohio (take it up with Huey Lewis) for the first two of a three-game set between the Yanks & Indians. This is a huge series with both teams fighting for playoff spots as we embark on the home stretch of the 2007 MLB regular season. The Yanks are 42-22 since finding themselves eight games under .500 on May 29. They trail the Red Sox by six games in the AL East and the Tigers by a game in the wild card chase. Cleveland leads the AL Central by a game over Detroit. With the Red Sox looking like a solid lock for postseason play, the door will eventually close on either the Tigrs, Indians or Yankees some point prior to October. In summation, LET'S EFFIN' GO YANKS!

P.S. Since the break the Yanks lead the majors in batting average, HRs, hits, runs, RBI, OBP and slugging.

P.P.S. I have Adam Wodon-like journalistic integrity as I am actually in Independece, OH. It's close enough!

Ryan Maloney

Tonight: Gettin' Tanked at The Jake

I am hours away from embarking on my journey to Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Tonight marks the beginning of a three-game set between my Yankees and the Tribe. The series has major AL wild card implications and should be a blast. I get to see Phil Hughes in action for the first time. I plan on blogging soon after tonight's game, I anticipate many grammatical errors. New term, drunk blogging = drogging.

Ryan Maloney

Bonds Breaks The Record*

Well, there it is. Home run number 756*. Bonds lifted a 3-2 pitch off of Washington's Mike Bacsik to "break" Henry Aaron's all-time home run record. Or did he?

Controversy will continue to surround Bonds on this fabled quest for what Bud Selig has called "the hardest record in professional sports" (I vehemently disagree, but will leave that to another post). Has he really broken the record? I personally say no. To me, Hank Aaron still owns the all-time home run record and Roger Maris as the single season home run king. There are many who will disagree with me, of course, namely Cardinals and Giants fans. But when we examine the plethora of evidence in front of us, I doubt how we will come to any other conclusion once Bonds finally does retire.

A sign held up during this home run chase has struck home with me. It said, "Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer." Come to think of it, so did Aaron. So did Maris. But Bonds? No. A guy doesn't go from a size 7 hat size to a size 8 this late in your career (even Alex Rodriguez hasn't done that), your show size doesn't magically grow, you don't go from looking like a stick to a bouncer. Not this late in your career, not this fast.

Unfortunately, we all know that this record will stay Bond's until he retires, and for a time after that. Hopefully, though, after all the hoopla and celebrations, San Francisco fans will wake up and realize they've been conned. Hopefully baseball will wake up and realize they've been conned. And hopefully Aaron and Maris get their records back.

Until then, a nice, fat asterisk will have to do.

P.S. It should also be duly noted that right after Bonds hit his 756th*, Yahoo! Sports had it as their main story with an asterisk next to the number 756. Minutes later, the asterisk was removed.

Ben Amey

Kige Ramsey: The Never Before Seen Clips

YouTube Sports' Kige Ramsey has been uploading "Facebook Exclusive" clips featuring bloopers and a must-see behind-the-scenes feature. These clips were uploaded to Facebook.com and therefore kept from his legions of YouTube fans...until now. WNYOsports.com presents Kige Ramsey, as you've never seen him before:

Pat Morgan on Bonds

Since Barry Bonds is one home run away from overtaking Hank Aaron, I figure this is the best time to give my take on it. I am someone who is tired of hearing about Bonds and everything that he is doing. ESPN's Pedro Gomez reports Bonds was seen eating a sandwich around 3:35 p.m., but the contents of the meal are unclear at this time. You know what I mean. That's what ESPN has become, but that is a post for another day. Bonds, before everyone believes he started steroids, was a clear cut hall-of-famer. Without the 'roids he would have easily reached 500, perhaps 600 home runs. Put that with his 500+ stolen bases he would be a first-ballot lock.

Is it fair that he should be the posterboy for the steroid era? Probably not, but he did cheat and he deserves all the public scrutiny he has received. Bonds is the one going for the record, no one cares about Jason Grimsley or Guillermo Mota. Only Rafael Palmeiro and Jason Giambi, to an extent, have diverted the attention from Bonds. Again, it is not fair Bonds gets most of the spotlight for the steroid scandal, but remember he cheated the game first. So, I do not feel bad for him, AT ALL. It's too bad the most cherished record in all of sports will be broken by a cheater. Those who say he hasn't been proven guilty need to look at the facts (and the picture below).

Numerous reports have come out about his use. His trainer won't testify and has been in and out of jail for that. His head is about the size of a globe now, and this is a guy who was a stick when he came on the scene. If I were Bud Selig, I'd try as hard as I could to get him to talk with George Mitchell, who is running the steroid investigation, but that's if this entire investigation is going to actually amount to something. It's been going on two years and nothing has come from it. Plus the players' union for baseball is perhaps the strongest union in the world. They'd never allow Selig to do anything like that, unless Bonds slips like Giambi did. That is as likely as Jaleel White finding some kind of main stream work again.

Sadly, the MLB players' union thinks they are above the law. Look at the Tour de France. They just removed their overall leader during the event because he took and illegal blood transfusion. I would love to see Barry Bonds break the homerun record in Los Angeles this week. Wow! That chorus of booes would be so fitting.

Pat Morgan

Visit Reveals Grim State of The Boss

Portrait.com writer Franz Lidz, formerly of Sports Illustrated, recently paid a visit to George Steinbrenner at his Tampa home in an attempt to find out who will be the heir to the Yankee throne. Steinbrenner's son-in-law Steve Swindal had been the favorite until he divorced The Boss's daughter. Now, the Yankees appear to be up for grabs after Steinbrenner's reign ends. Judging by Lidz's account of his visit, that time may come sooner rather than later.

He doesn’t look all right. In fact, he looks dreadful. His body is bloated; his jawline has slackened into a triple chin; his skin looks as if a dry-cleaner bag has been stretched over it. Steinbrenner’s face, pale and swollen, has a curiously undefined look. His features seem frozen in a permanent rictus of careworn disbelief.

Lidz also notes that the 77-year-old Steinbrenner often repeats himself and is seldom responsive to questions. He has not made a public appearance since opening day on Apr. 2 (pictured). If this is indeed the end of the road for The Boss, he leaves behind a fanchise that he single-handedly resurrected. He purchased the club in 1973 at a price of $10 million. They are currently worth more than $1.2 billion. During the CBS ownership from 1965-1972, the Yanks had 0 division titles, 4 sub-.500 seasons and a dwindling fan base. Steinbrenner guided them to an AL pennant in his fourth season of ownership followed by back-to-back World Series titles in his fifth and sixth. All told, the Yankees have won 15 division titles (not including the strike-shortened 1994 season), 10 pennants, and 6 World Series under the watchful eye of George Steinbrenner.

Ryan Maloney

In Case You Were Curious...

Yep, thats the little slice of hell that occurs in the WCBS booth after every Yankee win. Thankfully, they paired him up with someone who can balance out the annoyance factor: