YEA OR NAY FOR APRIL 11TH

Hope you are all feeling better today than Tampa’s Al Reyes who started a bar brawl late last night and had to be tased by police. I guess that’s what happens when you lose your job to Troy Percival.

Okay, test time.

What big time college basketball coach said this about his team’s free throw shooting problems in mid-March?

“It’s not something we spend a lot of time with.”

John Calipari learned a bitter lesson this week when his team gave away the national championship, because they couldn’t make a foul shot.

Calipari kind of reminds me of that mom you hear about who gets busted for providing beer to her 14 year old son and his friends. She wants to be the cool mom, not the mom who makes her kid do the stuff he’s supposed to.

Rather than have his team actually work on free throw shooting, Calipari chose to ignore the problem and assume it would never bite him in the butt.

We really didn’t need Calipari to tell us his team didn’t spend a lot of time with free throws. The entire world saw it on Monday night.

Mario Chalmers’ game tying three at the end of regulation was a terrific shot, but I won’t remember it the way I remember Keith Smart’s winning shot for Indiana. Or the play at the end of the NC State win over Houston.

This game will be remembered for the Memphis collapse. Not only at the free throw line, but for the brainfart that allowed Chalmers to even attempt the three. Memphis could have fouled, forcing Kansas to the line to shoot just two free throws, eliminating any chance of a tie.

Argue it all you want, but the Tigers choked. Put this one in the books with Chris Webber calling a timeout when he didn’t have any left. The game was lost, rather than one.

On a completely different note, isn’t it amazing how much fun history is when you get to watch it on television compared to sitting in a classroom listening to Mr. Weinberg? I couldn’t give a rat’s bum about John Adams until the HBO mini-series came about. Now I want to start wearing a powdered wig and I’m not even going bald.

How about that Ben Franklin. What a giant a**. Who knew that? I always wondered how a guy got to be on the hundred dollar bill, but didn’t get to be President.

Sure, he tied a key to a kite string and figured out something about electricity…blah, blah, blah. I discovered the same thing when I was 6 and I stuck my tongue in an electrical socket.

Ben did set the mold for the modern day politician. And if you think that is a good thing, you are a nincompoop.

Next time I see him roaming the streets of Philadelphia, I think I’ll give him a kick in the groin. I don’t care if it’s just an actor….he deserves it.

And three cheers for modern medicine, because my delicate sensibilities would not have been able to handle the whole pox thing. I feel bad for the actor who played the patient in the back of the doctor’s cart. His resume must read:

Mike Smith got his big break by appearing in ‘John Adams’ as the guy infected with the pox who had infected puss scraped from his open sores.

They could have at least thrown the guy a bone and given him a line….like ‘Am I getting paid for this?’ or ‘Can’t we find a less disgusting way to cure people?’

On to the weekly Yea or Nay.

YEA: To my man Joe Crede. Joe has been bruised and battered this spring by pundits calling for him to step aside for prospect Josh Fields. Coming off major back surgery, the White Sox could not find any takers on the trade market, so they were stuck(?) with Crede and forced to send Fields to the minors. But why all the negativity surrounding Joe?

2007 was a washout for the third baseman. Joe broke his back or something and didn’t even reach 150 at bats. But in 2006, his last full year, he was a stud….30 homers, 94 RBI and a decent average, .283.

So far this year, Crede looks like he’s saying ‘bleep you’ to all those naysayers. He’s killing the ball and he’s also giving the White Sox a headache. I’m sure they still want to deal him, but now what is his true value? Aaron Rowand told the Giants brass to trade for Crede in spring training, but the Giants are too cheap. It will now take more than Dan Ortmeier to get him out of Chicago, you can count on that.

I still say good for Joe.

NAY: I’ve got to go back on a yea from last week, because Joe Torre is messing things all up in the Dodgers outfield. The most overrated manager of our generation has created a fantasy quagmire with the trio of Andre Ethier, Juan Pierre and Matt Kemp. Each could make an impact if given a starting job, but with each missing a handful of games every week, who do you start?

They are all too good, so you can’t bail on any of them. You just have to ride it out and hope somebody blows out an achilles. Or we could all just root for Andruw Jones to retire.

YEA: To Rich Harden. Those were two sweet starts Dick. See you in August.

NAY: To all the guys out there like Harden, Howie Kendrick, Cliff Floyd, Rocco Baldelli, Jeremy Hermida, Carl Pavano, Dave Roberts.

Ever think that these guys just don’t want it? That every little ache and pain is just too much to bear. Haven’t these guys ever heard of gutting it out?

Chronic fatigue syndrome. That’s what they say Rocco now has. I think he’s just lazy. Take some stinking vitamins and go get paid to play a game!!!

YEA: To Edwin Jackson. The longtime prospect seems to have finally figured it out and has been lights out so far in Tampa. He showed some flashes last season, but I can almost guarantee the guy is available in your league.

NAY: To my NL only pitching staff. Here is who I left the draft with: Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Chad Billingsley, Tom Gorzelanny, Matt Cain, Hiroki Kuroda, Jair Jurrjens and Edinson Volquez. So far, I’ve gotten 2 wins and 1 quality start out of the bunch. LOSERS!!

YEA: To Keith Foulke. A year after retiring, Foulke has turned into a workhorse for the A’s, appearing in 7 of the teams first 10 games. Last year it was Troy Percival unretiring, this year Foulke….next year I want to see Rod Beck back on the mound. Oh wait…

NAY: To all the people who are predicting the Braves can make a run in the East. Smoltz and Hudson are nice, but 3-5 the Braves have problems. Rafael Soriano is now on the DL. And the lineup, while decent, can’t compare to that of the Mets or Phils. I know all the talking heads want to have Bobby Cox’s baby, but give me a break.

YEA: To A-Rod. Way to come through with that meaningless home run in the 9th inning of a game well in hand off of Hideo Nomo. Yeah, that Hideo Nomo. Who says your stats are hollow? Now go home and massage Derek’s pulled groin.

YEA: To CJ Wilson. How great is it to have a closer get two saves in the same day?

NAY: To Nelson Figueroa. This nay actually belongs to the Mets for having the audacity to put Figueroa in a uniform and on the mound. It’s been four years since Figueroa even sniffed a major league ballpark. He was bad then, so guess what?

YEA: To Pirates manager John Russell. The former Phillies catcher has been playing Ryan Doumit more than Ronny Paulino, which is good for those of us in fantasy. Doumit, as far as catchers go, can be a help, instead of being an albatross like so many others we know (yeah, I’m pointing at you Chris Ianetta).

YEA: To me. I told you before the season started about Dana Eveland. Hope you listened.

NAY: If you are desparate for saves, take a chance on Jason Bulger. He could be the guy getting the opportunities in Anaheim. This is listed as a nay because this is not an official endorsement. I said if you are desparate. The dudes thrown 21 innings total in the big leagues and he’s pushing 30 years old. If you pick him up and he serves up 8 runs in 2/3 of an inning, don’t cry to me. But saves are saves.

YEA: Finally, let’s go out on a good note. Philly sports is alive and thriving. Enjoy it while we can. The Flyers and Sixers are both back in the playoffs and could both make some noise. The Phillies will be in the hunt all year, despite the efforts of Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer. And the Eagles have a big draft coming up. It’s rare that you can talk about all four sports at once, but for the next couple weeks we can. Live it up.