Ten Things JJ Thinks He Thinks

No time for chit chat. The Ten Things begin now.


1. Georgia Thoughts

The more this season goes by the happier I am that I am not envolved with UGA Baseball this season. The saying goes it is darkest before the dawn and I hope that is the case with the UGA baseball team this season.

Below you will find a list of some stadiums I hope to visit sometime in the near future (MLB, NCAA and NFL) and along that same theme here are some programs I would not mind Georgia playing to expand the brand of UGA Football Nationally.

Army and Navy-I think a two for one would be appropriate with our east coast Military institutions. I would love for the away game to be played in the opponent home stadium but that is probably not feasible so playing Army at either Yankee Stadium or the New Meadowlands makes the most since. In the Navy game I think playing the midshipmen at either Baltimore's BB&T stadium or Washington's Fed Ex field is feasible.

Another series that would interest me is a game in the Chick-fil-a Classic against Florida State or Miami (Both programs create interesting story lines with CMR (Coach Mark Richt)). If playing in Atlanta is out of the picture I believe a visit to Dallas to play in Jerry Jones kickoff event to play Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Nebraska, or Texas could be fun.

If the Giants or Jets need to pay additional debt on the New Meadowlands they could look to have a kickoff game of some sort and the idea of playing Penn State, Syracuse, UCONN, or maybe even a Rutgers could be beneficial for the program. I know Notre Dame is looking at the New York market as they have games scheduled at both Yankee Stadium and the New Meadowlands next fall.

Please note it would be a while or ever before any of these ever come to fruition. In 2011 UGA begins a home and home with Louisville that we need to desperately get out of. In 2013 Clemson rotates on the schedule for two years. In 2015 and 2016 the Oregon Ducks find their way onto Georgia's schedule.

2. NFL Draft Thoughts

a. The first few stats will create a lot of discussion in the office tomorrow. The SEC had 49 players selected in the 2010 NFL Draft. The number represents the most SEC players ever taken in the NFL Draft. The SEC had the most players taken among conferences in the draft. Behind the SEC’s 49 selections were the Big Ten (34), ACC (31), Big 12 (30) and Pac-10 (29).

b. Since 1990, the SEC has had 782 total selections in the NFL Draft, an average of 37.2 selections per year. The Big Ten is second with 672 selections. Since 1997, the SEC has had 552 total selections in the NFL Draft, an average of 39.4 selections per year. The SEC has now led or tied for the most selections in the NFL Draft for 11 of the last 13 seasons and the last four drafts.
c. Since 2004, the SEC has had 32 players taken in the first 18 picks of the first round. In the last eight NFL drafts, 11 of 12 SEC teams had at least one player go in the top 11 of the first round. The SEC has had 3 of the top 8 picks in NFL draft for 4th straight year and 5 of last 6 years.

d. As for teams whose drafts I liked I would go with Oakland, Washington, Carolina, New England, Philly and the New York Jets.
e. For the first time in along time or ever has some of my Jet fan friends would say it looks like they have a plan and they have one of the best coaches in the league to execute the plan. The AFC East could be fun next season with the Jets, Phins and Pats.
f. Drew Rosenhaus might get all the publicity but Tom Condon and his agency had six first round picks. Mr. Rosenhaus...one first round pick.
g. I wonder if any correlation between the Patriots spending three picks on Florida Gators and Captain Hoodie and Coach Meyers hanging out during the off-season?
h. I still am not sure what to make on the Dez Bryant "Is your mom a prostitute" question with Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland. I know I could not ask that question if I was GM but if I were a team owner would I allow my GM to ask that question? I can not answer that question.
i.How does Oklahoma have three of the first four picks and play in the Sun Bowl last season? Not acceptable.
j.I am very intrigued with the Denver at Jacksonville week 1 matchup.


3. Stadium's I Want To See-College

Everything is given in order

College Football
1. The Big House - Michigan
2. Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame
3. Doak Campbell Stadium - Florida State
4. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum- USC
5. Tiger Stadium - LSU
6. Bryant-Denny Stadium - Alabama
7. Beaver Stadium - Penn State
8. Michie Stadium - Army
9. Rose Bowl - UCLA
10.Folsom Field - Colorado

Notes: I have taken showers inside Bryant-Denny and Tiger Stadium but have yet to attend games inside the two SEC shrines. I am really intrigued by Beaver Stadium when they have a "White Out." How nice is it that Colorado is on my top ten list and UGA plays at Colorado this year but I cannot attend. Michie Stadium should probably be higher on the list. Other places that did not crack the Top Ten but were close include Kyle Field at Texas A&M, Lavelle Edwards Stadium at BYU, Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech, The Horseshoe at Ohio State and Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin.

College Basketball
1.Rupp Arena-Kentucky
2. Cameron Indoor Stadium-Duke
3.Carrier Dome-Syracuse
4. Pauley Pavilion-UCLA
5.Memorial Gymnasium - Vanderbilt
6. Hinkle Fieldhouse - Butler
7. Allen Fieldhouse- Kansas
8. Assembly Hall-Indiana
9.The Palestra- Penn
10.Gallagher-Iba Arena - Oklahoma St


The reason the Dean Dome does not appear is that I have been to a game inside that storied building. I have been inside Rupp Arena but they were setting up for an arena football event. I think UGA's trip to Rupp this season needs to be a must visit especially if it falls on a weekend.The Pit in Alburqurque almost made the Top Ten. For those that do not realize UGA has a basketball team and there are those people out there, The Pit is where UGA advanced to it's only Final Four only to lose to eventual champion NC State. Here is video of a young Brent Musburger interviewing Jimmy V after his Wolfpack beat the Dawgs in 1983.

4. Stadiums I Want To See-Professional

MLB
1. New Yankee Stadium
2. Dodger Stadium
3. AT&T Ballpark
4. Petco Park
5. Coors Field
6. New Comiskey Park
7. Busch Stadium
8. Kaufmann Stadium
9. Coors Field
10. Target Field

I have been to the Big Three of Wrigley, Fenway, and Old Yankee Stadium. In addition I have been to every team's home ballpark in the AL and NL East except for Toronto. It has to be noted that I have been to Dolphins Stadium for football, not baseball. It has been my goal to visit a new stadium every year and since 03 I have accomplished that goal every year. 03-Yankee Stadium, 04-Camden Yards, 05-RFK Stadium, Citizens Bank Ballpark, Fenway Park, and Shea Stadium; 06-PNC Park and Wrigley Field 07-Great American Ballpark 08-Nationals Ballpark (In 08 I did see games at Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Turner Field, Nationals Ballpark and Tropicana Field) 09-Citi Field

NFL
1.Lambeau Field
2.Lucas Oil Stadium
3.New Meadowlands Stadium
4. New Cowboys Stadium
5. Heinz Field
6. Ralph Wilson Stadium
7. Gillette Stadium
8. Arrowhead Stadium
9. Soldier Field
10. Lincoln Financial Field


I think Lambeau is a must. Lucas Oil is probably a little high on the list but I did work for the Colts and do cheer for them every Sunday. If I ever attended a game at Ralph Wilson or Gillette I think a cold December day would be the only time to attend plus snow would be a must. I have heard for years and from multiple people that Kansas City and Buffalo's have the best tailgates and fun crowds. I have to see if my sources are correct.


5. Baseball Thoughts
a. I was shocked to see how much Ryan Howard received in his five year extension last Monday. Howard was paid $125 million over 5 years or $25 a season. This makes one wonder what the contract situation for Prince will be and now his request of $200M for 8 doesn't sound so crazy as Prince is 5 years younger than Howard. I think negotiations begin at $30 million for Pujols.
b. Over first 10 years of Howard's career, he'll earn $190.5 million. Who else has done that? Nobody in the history of baseball.
c. Speaking of big home run hitters, 90 years ago Saturday Babe Ruth hit his first home run with the Yankees. However the one difference between Ruth and Howard is that Ruth also hit for an average and in that same year he debuted as a Yankee his average was .376. The Babe also walked 150 times that season while striking out only 80 times.
d. How about this season that Ruth had in 1916 as a pitcher...He had a record of 24-13 while starting 41 games for a total of 323.2 innings. He pitched a complete game 23 times. 9 of those games were shutouts.
e. Jason Heyward is 4 for 41 (.098) w/ 3 RBI, 17 strikeouts in 14 Braves losses, 18 for 40 (.450) w/ 20 RBI, 9 Ks in 11 wins.
f. The Braves have scored 46 runs in Lowe's 4 starts (7.7 per game). In their other 19 games, they've totaled 56 runs (2.9 per game).
g. Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren now has nine hits in his last 12 AB along with a five-game hitting streak. Not many position players go 9 for 12.
h. After the Brewers beat the Pirates on Monday it was the Brewers 22nd straight win at home against the Bucs. That stat is crazy.
i. Brewer pitcher Yovani Gallardo hit a HR Saturday night in San Diego to give his team a 1-0 lead in a game that they won 2-1. Last season on Apr 29, 2009 Gallardo homered vs. Pittsburgh and won 1-0.
j. The Red Sox have played in 6 extra inning games this season which is the most in MLB. The Red Sox ae 1-5 in those games.
k. The O's swept a four-game set in 1998, but this weekends 3 game sweep of the Red Sox was the first home sweep of the Sox since 1974.
l. On Friday night J.D. Drew went 14 straight pitches without swinging before hitting 2d homer of night
m. Mark Teixeira of the Yankees has batted .237 with 24 HR in April during his career, but .301 with 39 HR in May (he's 6 for 9 in May of 2010)
n. The Angels were swept by the Tigers in Detroit, the 1st time they've been swept in Detroit (3+ game series) since 7/30-8/1/1996
Now some stats from Billy Ball
o. How is AJ Burnett 3-0 for the first time in his career? With his win on Thursday against the O's he improved to 10-2 lifetime against the Orioles and 5-0 at Camden Yards.
p. From 2007 to 2009, among batters with at least 1,200 at-bats and an OPS of .850+, no one drove in fewer runs than J.D. Drew, who had 196 RBIs.
q. Over the 2008-09 seasons, Jorge Cantu had 195 RBIs, which was more than Hanley Ramirez (173), Joe Mauer (181), or Lance Berkman (186), so his success this season should be no surprise.
r. On Thursday Jason Heyward had two hits, including the first homer allowed by Cardinals pitching in 10 homes games this season. St. Louis’ string of not allowing a homer at home was the majors’ longest to start the season since the Chicago White Sox also did it the first nine games of 1972.Both streaks lasted 98 innings.
s. On Thursday Ian Kennedy won a major league game as Arizona decimated the Cubs, 13-5. The time before that was a member of the Yankees on September 1, 2007, in his major league debut. How does this happen? It should be noted that former roomdog Micky Westphal outdueled Ian Kennedy in 2006 when Kennedy was still a USC Trojan.


Halftime:
This weeks song that Smoak and myself used to rock out to in the Bronco includes Jay-Z's It's A Hard Knock Life. Last weeks trivia question was answered by law school Dan, Goat, Shepp, Vandy Pants, The Good Doctor and Wes Withrow. Law-school Dan was the first to answer the question and everyone is proud of him. This week's question in 100 seasons of Major League baseball from 1901-2000, which National League team never changed their name?


6. MLB Power 5
1. Tampa Bay Rays-Not only the best team in MLB but one of the best to watch with Crawford, Longoria, and Ben Zobrist.
2. New York Yankees-When Javy Vazquez is your only question mark, you are good, real good.
3. Minnesota Twins-The injury to Mauer might be the only thing to hold them down for a while
4. St. Louis Cardinals-I am very intrgued about the Red Birds visit to Philly this week
5. San Diego Padres-Gonzalez ain't going nowhere as long as the Padres play .640 baseball. .640 baseball is 104 wins.



7. Derby Thoughts

a. Super Saver won the derby on Saturday as a 9-1 favorite. Ice Box finished second while Paddy O'Prado finished third. A $2 Exacta (Win and Place) paid $152.40. A $2 Trifecta (Win, Place and Show) paid $2337.40. A $2 Super (first four horses) paid $202,569.20.
b. I am a sucker for the $2 trifecta and super's. One day I will hot one and things will be nice, real nice. 
c. I wished I had some foresight last fall when Super Saver opened 275-1 in the Wynn future book last Sept. 9.
d. How good has Cavin Borel been at Churchill Downs? If you'd bet just $2 across the board on Calvin in each of the past four Derbies -- an investment of $24 -- you would have pocketed $250.20.
e. It was also neat to see Todd Pletcher finally win the Derby as trainer after going 0-24. I even liked how he watched the Run For The Roses by himself in the horseman's lounge at Churchill Downs.

f. It was the third victory for Borel in the past four Derbies, something never before done in the 136-year history of the race. Oh, and the year he didn't win it, he finished third on 27-1 shot Denis of Cork.
g. Safe to say whatever horse Borel is on next year will be a part of my trifect and super bets.
h. Super Saver was sired by the late stallion Maria's Mon, who also gave the world Monarchos, winner of the 2001 Kentucky Derby. I also read where there is class and stamina all over Super Saver's pedigree, indicating that the horse has the genes to go the classic distances. He entered the Derby with questions about how well he could do going 1¼ miles and I think he answered those.
i. The favorite was Lookin at Lucky and he was unlucky enough to draw the rail as his post position. No horse has won from the rail since Ferdinand in 1986, and no horse beginning from the rail has finished in the money since Risen Star was third in 1988.Those streaks continued this year.
j. The horse that drew my most attention was Noble's Promise. He was purchased for $10,000 as a weanling. His owners are made up of a small syndicate called Chasing Dreams Racing. The 24-member ownership group is made up of working-class owners, from postal workers to bank employees.The group turned down a $4 million offer to sell Noble’s Promise in February. Marsha Springate, one of the owners, says the opportunity to run in the Derby is priceless. Hopefully this is the story Evan and I will tell in a couple of years.
k.The interview with Costas and Joe Torre a couple of hours before the race was classic. Torre was a co-owner of Homeboykris. Homeboykris finished 16th. Before we pick on Homeboykris, ask yourself what place did your horse come in on Saturday.
l. While watching on television on Sunday I was stunned at how many people braved the rain. In fact the official attendance at Kentucky Derby is 155,804 which was up 1.46% from last year. Also, more people watched yesterday than in 09 as the Derby gets its highest rating in 18 years.
m. I was talking with Evan who was on his way home from the Derby on Sunday and he told me he really likes Ice Box at either Pimlico or the Belmont in June. In fact he went as far to say Ice Box wins the Belmont.



8. Seinfeld Derby Horse Names

This week Twitter had a trending topic that was titled Seinfeld Derby Horse names and I decided to give everyone the list of my potential Derby Horse that is named after a moment in the hit television show. Here are some rules for naming a horse.

• Names consisting of more than 18 letters (spaces and punctuation marks count as letters);
• Initials such as C.O.D., F.O.B., etc.;
• Names ending in "filly," "colt," "stud," "mare," "stallion," or any similar horse-related term.
• Names consisting entirely of numbers. Numbers above thirty may be used if they are spelled out.

If you want a full list...click the link.

My list
1. "Assman"
2. "Mulva"

3. "Giddy Up"
4. "IndependentGeorge"
5. "SheHadManHands"
6. "SecondSpitter"
7. "MasterOfMyDomain"
8. "JerkStore"
9. "NoSoupForYou"
10. "FestivusMiracle"

What are your Seinfeld Derby Horse Names? Let me know and we can compile a nice list next week.

9. What I Read Last Week

Couple of good reads this week. The first comes from Tommy Craggs and Slate magaizine. Craggs currently is the Senior Editor for deadspin.com. In the article from 2006 he argues that the Kentucky Derby is America's Most Misunderstood Sporting Event. I do not always agree with Craggs but his points are fair. Click me for the Link.

The second read of the week comes from the New York Times magazine and takes a look at the twenty-somethings that work inside the Barack Obama administration. It might be me but I find it fascinating that Daniel Meltzer (58, White House General Counsel) and David Axelrod  (55, Senior Advisor to Obama) will crash keggers with younger White House staff. I also love how Obama finds it acceptable if one has to leave mid day to get a workout or a game of hoops. Furthermore, I loved how Obama invited his staff back to the White House on the Sunday when health care passed for a champagne toast. As Mrs. Obama was out of town the President started giving tours of the private residence. Whether you agree with healthcare or not, or Obama or not I think that is a cool story. Long story that is definitely worth a printout and read while on the treadmill or stationary bike.




10. Non Football or Baseball Thoughts
a. My breakdown on the Women of Country Music will have to wait another week. For that I am sorry. I ran out of time and I only have ten things.
b. Amazing Race is down to the final three and the Cowboys have to be the favorite. They complete task so quickly. However, anything can happen and will happen. One thing for certain, I will have to rent the dvd's of early seasons that I missed because I am fascinated by this show.
c. We were two weeks behind on The Office and we (the roomdog and myself) watched the last two episodes Thursday night. Both were very good and caused lots of laughs.
d. For some reason I can not get this song out of my mind the past couple of weeks. Before the last couple of weeks I think it has been years since I have heard this song.
e. I said what about "Breakfast at Tiffany's?
She said, "I think I remember the film,
And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it."
And I said, "Well, that's the one thing we've got."

Sometimes it only takes one thing.

f. I am totally enjoying MLB Extra Innings. Not only do I get to see every game I get to see every game in HD without an extra cost something NFL Sunday Ticket does not allow.
g. Another item with the Extra Innings are the local commercials. There are a lot of fast food places in southern California that I need to pay a visit.
h.The best part of my day is around 9:15-10:30 every night as games start to go final and we have some big time strategy and managerial decisions being made. Lots of channel flipping and the MLB HD Game Mix gets a good workout. Is there anything better than the Game Mix? If you can find it please tell me.
i. The softball team won its second game of the season. Your truly had an RBI single that he turned into a double with aggressiveness and above average foot speed. I also made a couple of nice plays at the hot corner. I have always been below average going to my left at the hot corner and that skill has not gotten better the last couple of years.
j. Due to my complaining about playing time or lack there of I am given the responsibility of filling out the lineup card Wednesday. If you want to hit leadoff and play short, buy me lunch and consider it done. Just saying.
k.If you find your self in the metro Lindbergh, Peachtree Hills area Wednesday stop by at 7:35 as we will play our last regular season game. We play a team called Glove them and leave them and not only is that the best team name in the league they are undefeated. No wonder Coach Mitchell is letting me fill out the lineup card.
l. It is almost summertime and that fact alone is awesome and kind of random.

m. For the summer I am going to take a six week vacation (Peter King style) from the Ten Things. Before you get all upset we will have 6 guests that will share their ten things. We will need some volunteers. The last 10 Things will be on Memorial Day and the next Ten Things I will write will be July 18/19th as baseball begins its second half and NFL training camp is about to start.
n. Some of the things we will look at in the last few weeks include summer concerts, summer reading and potential summer travel. Let me know if you have any other topics you want me to dive into.(How about that play on words summer=pool time=dive into)....I am awesome.
o. Yes we will need some volunteers. No you do not have to go in-depth like I do. Something like my 10 Things last week were perfect. Who is up to the challenge?
p. I will still try to add what I learned every week as well as the Quote, Text, Tweet and Photo of the week.

Quote of The Week I
From Cubs Manager Lou Piniella when asked how he work himself out of slumps when he was a player.

"I would play a little extra in the plate on Sunday's"

Quote of The Week II
Comes from the catcher in Holy Innocents-Lambert game played Tuesday afternoon at the Ted. Miley Cyrus party in the USA was playing when I was taking the umpire some water....

"Oh yeah...I love this song!"

Text of The Week I
Comes from The Admiral about 5 minutes before we were to leave for the Dwarf House

Don't leave me....don't leave me. (Pooping)

Text of The Week II
Comes from good buddy Goat...those uni's were awful

Watching uga vs tech at turner field. No damn wonder uga can't win a game...They got ugly ass white red uni top that is bleach white while pants are dingy yellow in comparison. Who is that clubby and does he not know what bleach is?

Tweet of The Week I
Comes from @JustinStangel- A writer for Letterman and brother of the last two weeks (and this weeks) Tweet of The Week Eric Stangel

If aliens can watch tv in space, based on #kentuckyderby they'll think everyone on Earth is white and dresses like an asshole

Tweet of The Week II
@EricStangel

Chris Brown sings National Anthem at Mayweather vs Mosley. He will take on the winner...


Picture of The Week
The pic of the week is of DP and Dave Matthews. Both look sober.