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After watching the Phils fall short of the playoffs (I just wanted to cheer Moyer on in his quest to finally earn a ring), I wasn’t sure who to cheer for this October. I thought maybe the Twins, but Oakland was kind enough to squash that idea rather quickly.

And then I saw the way Detroit raced back onto the field to share their celebration with the fans after they beat New York and I instatly knew who I wanted to go all the way. Most teams jump around on the field for a minute, then run in the locker room and celebrate by themselves, leaving the fans cheering in the stands until they get tired and finally leave to go party at the bars. But Detroit got inside, looked at each other, and said to hell with this, let’s go celebrate with the fans. And before you knew it, 25 guys were racing around the stadium, high fiving every average joe they saw and pouring champagne over anybody who got close enough.

It took all of 30 seconds for the entire nation to go from “Who are these guys?” to “Man, I wish I was a Tigers fan.”

Go Tigers!!!

I hate basketball. I usually can’t stomach watching or playing basketball for more than 20 seconds at a time. Although, to be fair, I’m a huge fan of Mark Cuban and if there’s anything that will get me to watch a game, it’s him. Pro sports in general need more owners like him. You can argue whether his heart on the sleeve type attitude is good or bad for the sport or whether he’s vastly annoying or not, but you’d be hard pressed to find a Dallas Mavericks fan (or simply any basketball fan for that matter) who didn’t like him. Why? Because he actually cares about his team and of all things, wants to win and make the league better while he’s at it. You don’t think fans of the Minnesota Twins or Oakland A’s would kill to have an owner who actually wanted to win and was willing to spend in order to do so? Exactly.

Hockey is alright. I love watching Olympic hockey, where the rinks are wider and the play is much more fluid, but for the most part I haven’t been a fan of American hockey for the better part of the past eight years. Soccer? Ok, I’ll admit, I’m a big fan. Maybe it was all the years of playing soccer as a kid or maybe it was watching Brandy Chastain strip on the field after making her shot against the Chinese, but somewhere along the line I fell in love with watching a good game of soccer. And I think we all know my thoughts and feelings on baseball.

So with that said, how in the hell did June 2006 morph into one of the best all around months for sports?

Seriously, I can’t think of another month where five major sporting events took place that I was fully invested in. If I liked golf, that number could have been six, but who in their right mind can watch a bunch of guys play golf?

Six games of the basketball finals? I watched each one. Seven Stanly Cup finals games? Ditto. World Cup? College World Series? Mariners baseball? I haven’t missed a beat.

The basketball finals were great to watch simply because I didn’t know Gary Payton was still in the league on Miami’s roster. I remember back in 1996 when Payton led the SuperSonics to the finals against Jordan and trust me, that feat alone almost sucked me into the basketball world. Needless to say, I was damn happy to finally see him win a ring this year. As for hockey, man oh man was that a good series. I found it oddly pleasing that the Carolina’s first pro championship came in hockey. That’s right, in a place where football, baseball, and basketball rule the land and where a grand total of 19 people have ever played ice hockey, the freaking Carolina Hurricanes are the first to bring home a championship. Suck on that, Panthers.

Despite America’s performance, the World Cup’s been a beauty to watch. Sure, the usual suspects are the only teams remaining and it isn’t over yet, but up to now anybody who’s watched a game can’t admit it hasn’t been entertaining. Okay, I take that back, there are plenty of Americans who will whine it’s been boring, but they just don’t get the sport. The College World Series was also great, even if the Gamecocks were eliminated far too early. I started cheering for Oregon State when I saw the stat flash across the screen that the school’s only other championship came back in the 1970s in the oh-so riveting sport of Cross Country. Hell, I ran CC for a few years and even I would be disappointed if that was my school’s only championship. Luckily for those Beavers, however, they beat UNC in resounding fashion to claim the title.

But to be completely honest, the best event of all has been the entire past month of Seattle Mariners’ baseball. On May 30th they were 22-32. Now? 40-39, an improvement of eleven games. I’ll be the first to admit it might not last and that on July 29th, I might be lamenting of what could have been. But the pure fact that they are currently only two games out of first place and that I haven’t seen the Mariners win like this in over three years translates into me watching and enjoying every damn game recently. MLB.tv is a great asset in moments like these and I would like to take this time to personally thank the NL West for all the hospitality they’ve shown the Mariners over the course of this season. It’s not every year an entire division rolls over and plays dead just so Seattle can get some much needed wins. God, if you’re listening, I’ll order a few more 17-7 months for the Mariners, if you don’t mind.

And with that, tonight’s first pitch was four minutes ago and I’ll be damned if I’m missing more Mariners baseball. Adios folks.

Am I the only person who doesn’t like the Rolling Stones?

And even at halftime, I can’t figure out who I want to win this game. I love Bill Cowher and the Steelers are fun to watch, but I can’t help but hope the Seahawks win as well - if for no other reason than to bring my many fellow Mariners fans some joy. Seattle has been a city of sports futility over the past thirty years and maybe if the Hawks can win, some of the winning spirit will rub back off on the M’s. God knows they could use it.

Then again, maybe I’m just pulling that out of my ass and reaching for straws since the upcoming season doesn’t look too promising.

For their Christmas presents from me this year, I bought Waynus and Clay tickets to go see the Packers - Ravens game tonight so that they can one day tell their children they had the privilege to see Brett Favre play in person. We’re heading out the door armed with plenty of Packers gear and three signs, so be sure to look for us on MNF!

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[deleted due to being against Google TOS]

In fact, there are so many things that I would love to buy for Shyzer (like, say, renew my Tag-Board license that is about to expire, get an advanced stat tracker, upgrade my hosting plan so that I can host more videos and pictures, and buy some discounted advertising space on a few big sites through my connections) but don’t have the extra money to spend. Which is why advertising is a helpful tool. I’d never want to rely on donations to Shyzer or force people to pay for the drivel I put on here, because I’m not even sure I would pay myself to write for a living.

And now, in keeping with my recent theme of jumping from one topic to the next, how about some baseball related news. It looks like I’ll get a chance to play 2nd and 1st grade this weekend since hardly anybody is here over the break. Any good luck sent my way will definitely be appreciated, because I sucked it up at the plate last weekend. I liked to blame it on the fact that we use wooden bats, but I can’t really pull that argument off since I didn’t keep my head down or take any pitches. They say that hitting is a skill that must be practiced year round. The general rule of thumb is if you take over a month off from baseball or hitting, you loose 6 months worth of progress and unfortunately for me, it’s been over a year since I’ve faced live pitching. The batting cages are about to become the next character added to the Aussie Cast section.

And speaking of baseball, it’s been ten days and I’ve somehow not talked about the Mariners. I had somebody actually ask me in a recent e-mail if I followed the Mariners anymore and I was stunned. As I wrote them back, I let them know that while I sat there typing to them, I was wearing a Mariners hat and T-shirt while tossing a baseball to myself in-between paragraphs. Just because they had an off year (if you can even call 99 losses an off year) does not warrant dropping ten years of blind allegiance. How can one not be excited about a team that signed Beltre and Sexson this past off season? Sure, Sexson brings with him health risks, but we got the best 3B in Beltre when you consider the fact that he’s only 25 and has been playing in the majors since he was 19. Oh yeah, and he led the league in homeruns last year. You know, just a fun little stat that some people follow. Sure, the Mariners will be lucky if they can win more games than they lose this year, but Seattle was clearly in rebuilding mode after last season. And I’m not talking about one of those Cleveland Indians 5 year rebuild modes either, I’m talking about the 1-year speed rebuild. The hitting is finally there. Grab a pitcher this off season, move Moyer and Boone off the books, bring up King Felix (#1 minor league pitching prospect whose currently in AAA…AND NINETEEN), and make a race for the playoffs.

But does that mean I’m not interested in this season since they have no shot at the playoffs? God no. I sat on MLB.com yesterday for a good five minutes watching the same video clip over and over. Listening to the crack of the bat as Sexson hit a double into the gap against Texas sent chills down my back. Watching the ball fly off this bat and drop between two helpless fielders was like was staring at my version of Van Gogh. Baseball is finally back and I can’t wait to be in Seattle with Chong this July to see a game. It’s been too long since I’ve been to Safeco.

I know I’m a few weeks late on this, but my vacationing led to a very erratic and unpredictable Internet connections, which meant that I only had a few minutes at best to type up a post for Shyzer recently and this seemed to warrant a little more than just a “Hey, doesn’t this suck?” type of gloss over. I simply wanted to say Farewell to Reggie White. Reggie was easily one of my most favorite football player of all time. Being a huge Packers fan might have had a little something to do with it, but Reggie was loved far and wide by almost every football fan. There was no way you could hate the guy, even if he was sacking your teams quarterback at that very moment. He, together with Favre, restored Green Bay to respectability and glory by unexpectedly signing with the Packers when they were among the league’s laughing stocks. But more importantly, Reggie was one of the greatest men off the field. His community service and support was second to none and I know I speak for thousands of people out there when I say you will be missed Reggie. I’ll never forget what you did for the Packers and for that, I thank you dearly.

Boston Red Sox. 2004 World Champions

10 days ago you were three outs from being eliminated. So you decided to win eight games in a row. The Marlins last year were just scrappy and took advantages of other teams mistakes. You guys were simply pure heart who willed yourself to victory.

Congratulations Boston. I think you’ve earned this one.

*VOTING ENDS FRIDAY!! Be sure you go vote for the Best of Shyzer soon! Anybody and Everybody is asked to vote, especially those who have been reading my site for over a month or two! For more information on what the heck I am talking about, please read this post I made a few weeks ago! Thanks!! *

Just a few things to get off my chest.

1. Yes, the Red Sox just completed the biggest comeback ever in the history of baseball. Yes, Curt Schilling performed one of the most amazing feats in sports I have ever witnessed. But please, don’t try and say this was one of the best series ever. The comeback was historic, the Yankees’ meltdown was momentous, but for all of that, it didn’t have the drama and excitement that the 2001 World Series had. I’m sorry, but that series still reigns high atop the “Best Series Ever” category. People seem to forget that back then, the Yankees had never fallen. They were still the powerful giant of old who didn’t lost close games and who knew it. Out of all seven games in that series, not a single one of them was a blowout and the entire series went back and forth and back and forth…that series, my friends, was of epic proportions. This series was just fun to watch.
2. And no, these have not been the “Best Playoffs Ever.” Do people not remember last year? Or 2002 for that matter?? In order to win this title, the entire playoffs as a whole have to be amazing. There wasn’t even a riveting series out of the four divisional series this year, especially compared to last year! Last year we had the Marlins-Giants, the Bosox-Athletics, and even the Braves-Cubs. This year, we had a bunch of boring, flat series. And people are calling this the best ever? Oh how quickly we forget.
3. “The Curse” hasn’t been lifted just yet folks. I’m telling you this, if Houston makes the World Series, they will win it like I said at the start of these playoffs. There is a serious possibility that Roger Clemens could pitch and win the decisive game against his former Boston team almost 10 years after they traded him away since he was “washed up.” If that doesn’t have “The Curse” written all over it, I don’t know what does.
4. And finally, why has nobody seemed to care about the NLCS? Tomorrow night we’re heading into a game 7 for Christ sake and people don’t even know it’s going on!

And after reading all that, it almost sounds as if I wasn’t in my living room each and every night telling Fellner “So what if a professional sports team in any sport has never overcome an 0-3 deficit in 238 attempts? There’s a first time for everything.” It sounds as if I didn’t stay up every night to watch every inning of every game. It sounds as if I didn’t jump on IM and send a message to every single person who was on-line telling them how exciting this series was to watch. I. Hate. The. Yankees. Case closed. So thank you Boston for giving me even more reason to smile tomorrow. Look, I’ll put these playoffs in the top 10 ever for sure and I won’t argue with anybody who tries to say this was one of the top series they have ever seen, but people just toss around the title “Best Playoffs Ever” and “Best Series Ever” far too generously.

But seriously, go Astros =)

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*Note #2. I typed this before any of the playoff games started so as not to influence my prediction*

It has begun. The ever so sweet, succulent, fulfilling joy of playoff baseball has finally come full circle and I for one couldn’t be happier. October truly is the best month of them all when it comes to sports, for not only do you have playoff baseball, but you also begin to separate the men from the boys in football.

I’m still not sold on any one team though. Last year, I knew the Marlins were going to win it from the beginning. They had the perfect mixture of skill, hunger, depth to pull off the upset and I honestly think I was the happiest non-Marlins fan to see them win it all last year. You could just sense from the aura they gave off that they wanted it and by God they were going to get it, just like you could with the Angels the year before. I think I was the only person in the country rooting for them to beat the Cubs and it was funny to see how everybody thought the Yankees were going to win since they “only” had to beat the Marlins. Oh how they were wrong. (And side note, I’m so damn happy the Cubs didn’t make the playoffs. Is there any other team that seems to have less fun playing ball or play with less intensity then the Cubs? You know, it wouldn’t hurt to smile here and there guys. You are playing baseball, remember? Maybe not going to the playoffs this year will teach ya a thing or two…)

But this year is a bit different. Out of the eight teams, I’ve only been able to narrow it to three. The Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, and Boston Red Sox. The Yankees are too flaky and are on the verge of collapse, the Angels aren’t that strong offensively after Vlad, the Dodgers need more hitting and lots of it, the Cardinals pitching won’t be able to win a 7-game series, and the Braves just…well, suck. They always lose. Always.

The Bo Sox are trying to ride two dominate pitchers to win it all in Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez. It’s worked before (ie, the 2001 Diamondbacks with Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson in what has been voted as one of the best World Series of all time) so there is some precedent for this method being able to work. But my problem is this…it’s the Red Sox. They always find a way to lose. I’m not trying to kick them while their down, but hey, it has been 86 years. So until they prove otherwise, I have to rule them out. I think they’ll knock out Anaheim with relative ease, but win the World Series? I don’t know…(But God, how awesome would that be if I was wrong?!)

The Twins are easily the “worst” team in the playoffs, yet they have probably the best pitcher, Johan Santana. This guy went 13-0 after the All-Star break. He didn’t lose a game. Not one. Oh yeah, and that’s never been done before. Not once. The man is a beast and I think it will be because of him alone that Minnesota knocks off New York in the first round and face Boston in the ALCS, but I question whether or not they have the depth to win a best-of-7 series. So I think Boston knocks them off and advances to the World Series.

And enter, The Houston Astros. See, here’s why I’m going with Houston. They’ve got a little mixture of the 2003 Marlins AND the 2001 Diamondbacks. A month ago, nobody, and I mean NOBODY thought they would be in the playoffs. And then out of freaking nowhere, they win something like 18 out of 20 games, come roaring back from the dead, and snatch the Wild Card! That is extremely Marlin-esque. But they also have the players needed to win a championship. Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt are a pretty damn good 1-2 pitching lineup and their offense with Beltran, Berkman, Bagwell, and Biggio is killer.

So here’s how I see it all playing out. In the AL, Minnesota beats NY in 5 games. Boston beats Anaheim in 4 games. Boston beats Minnesota in 6 games.

In the NL, Houston beats Atlanta in 5, St. Louis beats Los Angeles in 3. Houston then beats St. Louis in 6 and to wrap it all up, Houston wins the World Series in 7 games.

Now let’s have some fun and see how this baby turns out.

After the Packers strode out onto the field and began to loosen up, it was the Panthers turn to jog out one by one as the PA announced their names. I will give Charlotte this: They spared no expenses when it came to dramatic effects to emphasize each and every individual player. Every time a player would run out onto the field, huge flares and flames of fire would jettison out of two pillars next to them. Meanwhile, a huge fireworks display was being launched from downtown Charlotte that continued nonstop until the entire team had been announced.

The team captains were called out for the coin toss and the Packers won the toss. They opted to receive and before I knew it, the game was underway!

Their first drive of the game actually resulted in a punt, but you could tell they were happy with the results nonetheless. The drive lasted for over five minutes and they had virtually run straight at the Panthers’ defense the entire drive, proving that their D was in fact weaker then many had expected. They ended up being only five or ten yards shy of field goal range. Green Bay’s defense trotted out onto the field, managing to hold Carolina to only one first down and forcing them to punt. As Green Bay took possession of the ball again, they again went back to pounding the defense with the run. However, this drive led to one of the wackiest plays of the night.

Ahmad Green (Green Bay’s RB) carried the ball up the middle on a 3rd and 1. As he was tackled and thrown to the bottom of the heap, the ball popped out of the pile unbeknownst to any of the Panthers’ players. Green Bay’s Javon Walker fell out of the pile and saw the ball sitting on the ground, so he knelt to pick it up, glanced to his right and left twice to make sure nobody saw him, and then started sprinting down the field. It dawned on the Carolina secondary that “hey, this play might actually still be live,” so the caught up with Walker about 11 yards down the field and brought him down. Alex and I were going absolutely nuts. All of the Panthers fans around us were screaming bloody murder saying that Green was down and that the refs sucked, blah, blah, blah.

Carolina decided to challenge the run and say that Green hadn’t fumbled the ball, which meant that the head ref had to go check out the peep show instant replay box and see what actually happened. After a few minutes, he jogged back into the middle of the field, turned on his microphone, and proceeded to shove all the whining down the Panthers fan’s throats. The ruling on the field stood, Carolina was charged with a timeout, and somewhere along here Alex and I embraced in what might have been a questionably too long of a hug. However, we were soon screaming at Green Bay’s head coach Mike Sherman in anger as he opted to kick the field goal in a 4th and inches situation!

Let’s see, the Panthers have been unable to stop the run all night. Ahmad Green has yet to run up the left or right side without gaining at least five yards. The Panthers’ defense is being held together with duct tape and piano wiring. It’s still early in the game and you’re on the Carolina 26 already. Idiot…

At least the Packers drew first blood. Heading into the second quarter, the Packers still clung to a 3-0 lead, but this was all about to suddenly change. After a few more futile possessions by both sides, the Panthers finally remembered that they were the defending NFC champions and that they were supposed to still be at least halfway decent this year. The Packers on the other hand decided that they would help Carolina out by being penalized twice on 3rd down; both of which the Panthers failed to gain the first down on their own. Carolina QB Jack Delhomme finally started not sucking and made a few passes, which combined with the GB penalties, earned Carolina a TD. 7-3 Carolina. Uh-oh.

My phone started ringing off the hook. Panthers and Packers fans alike started calling me:

“HAHAH! Your team sucks!”
“Dude, we’re LOSING!”
“I bet you feel stupid for spending all that money just to watch your Packers lose!”
“I can’t find the bananas I bought this morning!!! Oh, and I see the Packers are losing. Bummer.”

But it was all-good. Never once did I lose faith. Never. I swear. For you see, the moment I had been waiting for my entire life occurred. Brett Favre sprang into action. 5 yard pass here. 13 yard pass there. They only reached 3rd down once and that was a 3rd and 1. Then, BOOM, 24 yard pass followed immediately by Green running it up the middle. Favre seemed to have all the time in the world back there too. Green Bay’s offensive line easily manhandled the Panthers and only once or twice did Favre have to roll out of the pocket and fire on the run. He was saving that for later =)

Before Carolina knew what hit them, they were down 10-7 again. It was around this point that Green Bay decided they were threw toying around with Carolina. Carolina had about 3:30 left on the clock to try and score before the half and they decided to go for the Packers’ weak spot…the pass. Green Bay was weak against the pass last year. I’ll admit it, they’ll admit it, everybody’ll admit it. But during the off season, they beefed up their secondary with high draft picks and it was during this drive that Carolina decided to test them. Delhomme had a few long passes swatted down, but after that, he found a rhythm in completing those little dump passes for seven or eight yards. Green Bay let them march down most of the field before finally stopping them and preserving their 10-7 lead going into the half.

Lee met Alex and me down at the concession stands and once we had grabbed some refreshments and high-fived every Packers fan we saw, we went back up to our seats. Lee came and joined us this time since there were some open spaces next to me and since the Carolina fans around him were dicks. Like I said before, Green Bay had already decided they were going to win this game. Now it was time to prove it. They kicked off the ball to Carolina, let them run two plays, and then all hell broke loose.

On the ensuing play, Green Bay brought upon Delhomme the wraths of hell as they rushed him from all sides. Carolina’s O-line collapsed faster then a house of cards and within seconds, Delhomme realized he was screwed. He tried to turn and tuck the ball, but Green Bay was far too fast for him as two players converged on him at the same time, forcing a fumble. Aaron Kampman of the Packers dove on the ball for the first turnover of the game.

Ecstatic screaming doesn’t even come close to what was occurring in section 538, row 34. I swear, I thought I was going to fall over the concrete wall behind us because I was jumping so high. We were going CRAZY! And the best part was that the Panthers fans were silent. Not a single noise could be heard out of them at all, which kind of leads me to my next point.

Carolina fans are just too…fickle? I mean, sure, the place was roaring as the Panthers were entering the stadium, but after Green Bay took that 3-0 lead, at least 50% of them sat down never to stand again. By the second half, Packers fans could smell the blood and I am not exaggerating one bit when I say they easily began to out cheer the Panther fans. And I don’t mean in the sense that the Packers fans were loud enough to make the Panther fan’s cheers inaudible. I mean the entire stadium was ringing with the Packers classic “GO PACK GO” chant. Every time we cheered that, however, the Packers had a horrible play, but that’s beside the point. It just did not feel like an away game. There were so many Packers fans around that I could have honestly guessed this game was being played at like a neutral site in Denver and there just happened to be a 50 / 50 of Panthers / Packers fans. Not once did I see Panthers fans just stand up and start cheering. The jumbotron had to tell them on 3rd downs to stand and support their team. It just felt as if they didn’t even care.

Anyways, Green Bay went on to score another touchdown led by Ahmad Green and suddenly the Packers have a nice 17-7 lead! After Carolina received the ball back, they were pretty much held in check before Delhomme finally found a receiver deep and connected with him for a 34 yard pass. Suddenly, the Panthers were back in scoring range and threatening to make this a game yet again. In steps The Defense.

On the very next play, Delhomme dropped back and found what he thought was a smart pass to make. He launched the ball to one of his receivers, but the ball was a little behind the guy, so he had to turn to try and make the catch. He bobbled the ball a time or two and before he knew what hit him, Nick Barnett swooped in and stole the ball from him for an interception! By now my voice was gone from all the screaming I had done so far and yet here I was still hollering as loud as my voice would go for the Packers. The atmosphere was just unbelievable. Panthers fans started leaving and Packers fans were just tearing the place up!

The Packers yet again drove back down the field, but this time, Favre decided to showcase one of his patented plays just for us since he knew we were there watching. They reached the 3 yard line before the Panthers finally started to play some defense and before we knew it, it was 3rd and goal. Favre called a timeout because he didn’t like what he saw, had a little meeting with the guys, and pulled out one of the sweetest plays I have grown accustomed to him making. Favre took the ball and dropped back, faking a handoff to Green and settling into the pocket. As the play around him quickly began to fall apart, he turned to his left only to find a defensive player coming straight towards him. He quickly rolled back to his right and began streaking sideways looking for anybody open in the end zone. As he soon ran out of real estate, he noticed that even though Green, being covered by three defenders, he was open just a little bit since both he and Favre were running in the same direction. While sprinting to his right with two defenders only a step behind him, Favre threw a bullet to Green in the corner of the end zone as all three defenders covering him just stood there stunned. TD Packers, 24-7, Game Over, Nice try Carolina.

I didn’t even scream or cheer. I just stood there in awe, hands clasped together in front of my face, trying to fuse that play somewhere in my mind where it would never be erased. Here I was, watching the single greatest reason I am a football fan perform a play that only a handful of people on this Earth could pull off. Here I was, watching Favre be Favre and all I could say was “Wow.”

Green Bay went on to win the game 24-14 (they gave up a late TD that they didn’t really care about since their defensive replacements were in) and took away the victory. Jubilation and celebration quickly ensued there in Ericsson Stadium since about 75% of the Panthers fans had left while almost all of the Packers fans had stayed. Lee, Alex, and myself could be found screaming and cheering all the way back to our cars as we ran up to drivers and passengers with Packers hats, exchanged embraces with complete strangers, and chanted many upon many random cheers.

The drive home wasn’t too bad and I was in bed by 4 AM, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care at all about the two exams I had the next day that I had yet to study for (I earned an A and a B on them by the way, so I don’t want to hear any lip out of anybody). I didn’t care that I had just spent a ton of money for a football game. Hell, I even think that was the first night that none of the other problems and worries I’ve been having over the past few months popped in my head.

I had just seen the Packers kick the living crap out of the Panthers with one of the biggest Packers fans I know and my oldest and best friend. There was no time for worrying =)