As some of you know my wife passed away last October from a severe case of COPD which curtailed my interest in the blog. Recently some of my friends have encouraged me to continue although I have many additional obligations that keep me busy almost everyday. I have found commenting on the Giants especially and other sports has been good therapy and an convenient way to keep in touch with many friends.
The Sharks -
The San Jose team made the Stanley Cup Finals last year. This year they have been a solid hockey team and the last time I looked they were leading the Pacific Division by a couple of points. They will make the Stanley Cup playoffs again this year but it will be very difficult for them to make it to the finials two years in row. The Sharks remain the only California NHL team without the big cup.
The Warriors -
Golden State now has 44 wins which is more then enough to qualify for the playoffs.
The starters should be cut back to between 25-28 minutes a game to keep sharp then increase their minutes back up to 35 or so during the last couple weeks of the season Many of the teams in the NBA are lousy so that the blue, gold, black. white and even red glad Warriors will still win most of their games and end up either the first or second best record in the league. It is most important that they are fresh and healthy for the 8 week playoff grind. Last year the team was injured and very tired at the end losing their final three games and the championship which was the consequences for working so hard to break all kinds of NBA records that in the end meant nothing. Hopefully they have learned their lesson and follow the good advise given on this blog.
This year's team although extremely talented and very exciting at times, can also be very boring since they seem to lack the personality of the last two teams. The NBA Championship should return to Oakland.
The 49ers and the NFL -
It's hard to believe but someone could make the strong case that the 49ers are part of Sacred Scripture. Matthew 15:14 'the blind leading the blind' reminded me so much of York and the 49er search for a coach and general manager. However, somebody must have spit in Jed's eyes one night as illustrated in Matthew 8: 22-25 which cured a blind man's sight because the 49ers made some excellent choices to run the team. Now if only York would pack up and live in Ohio.
I have always been of fan of the new GM John Lynch and I remember that I was extremely upset when the 49ers fail to draft him out of Stanford. He is smart and knows the NFL and I look for Kyle Shanahan to eventually bring the 49ers back to respectability. The 49ers will not look like Atlanta next year because they do not have nearly the talent of the Falcons because of some very poor drafts exercised by people with experience. Kyle's big help in the draft will be in the later rounds when he will know the type of talent the 49ers need to make them winners again.
Back a few years ago when the 49ers lost the New Orleans Super Bowl I wrote that they would not recover. They didn't and either will the Falcons after blowing the Super Bowl. I felt like a genius for three quarters because I predicted that Atlanta would win the Super Bowl by 3 or 4 touchdowns. Oh well! Can't be right all the time. I am looking for Atlanta to go 6-10 next year then they hired Steve Sarkisian and I changed my mind and believe they will be 5-11.
The Giants and Spring Training
The Giants will play their first exhibition game on February 24th which is ridiculously early because of the World Baseball Congress which will feature three Giants, Posey, Crawford and Cueto. Cueto came from the Twins last year and I lost count of how many times he was on the DL. He has lots of talent and potential but doesn't always use his head. Chances are he will start the season on the DL. Giant fans know that both Posey and Crawford perform at their best with some day offs but it would be a PR nightmare if they had to miss opening day.
During the winter the Giants signed Marc Melancon the pitcher they wanted to be their closer and strengthen their catching by signing Nick Hudley who I like. We will review the Giants in detail and comment on their chances for the coming season a littler later in the spring.
The Giants also signed 88 year old Jimmy Rollins to be their backup shortstop and the tragic part was he was put on the 40 man roster. This meant the loss of Adrianza who was picked up by the Twins. Rollins who is really only 78 years of age will be on the DL by May 15 and Adrianza will be having an all star season for the Twins and Giants will be searching for a back up shortstop. There is only one way to describe this move...STUPID!
Who was the big surprise for the Giants during the playoffs last year? Connor Gillaspie for his big triple off of Chambers the great left hander of the Reds, Yankess and finally Cubs. Connnor is a left handed batter and did not face a left hander until September when he got a single against Atlanta. If he would start they would pinch hit for him as early as the 5th inning if he had to face a lefty. Now the Giants are touting their new hero. They blew it with Connor and kept a very good talent on the bench most of the season. As I wrote last year the lousy job Bochy did with his relievers you can ad the decision to keep Connor on the bench to a year that the future Hall of Fame manager will want to forget. I thought he did a horrible job and so did Romo who paid the price and became a Dodger.
Stale Plain Donuts
What better Valentine's gift then stale plain donut? They are the rage of the North Lake in Irvine. To take full advantage of this delicacy cut the donut to look like two small tires. Toast well then cover with butter. They are best when at least three or four days stale. Now what to do with all those chocolate covered strawberries.
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