KRAC Blog

John Elway made Mike Shanahan a genius, but I'd still love to see him coaching in Buffalo. Apparently it isn't going to happen, and we'll have Dick Jauron for another year. I don't get it. If you want an 8-8 coach, why not take a run at a guy who has won something once?

Here's a useful tool that I will be using to fill out my NCAA Pool in March: the 2008 NCAA Graduation Success Rate chart.

One of the cool things about being a baseball fan is that just about every day there is an interesting obit documenting the life and times of a former player. The Hall-of-Fame guys are fine, but where it really gets interesting is when you spot the name of someone you haven't thought of in years. We should all pause for a moment and recall the career of Dock Ellis, who pitched the only LSD laced no-hitter we know about, and who died last week. KRAC should name an award for Dock, who walked eight batters and hit one on his way to immortality. I've never seen a no-hitter in person-- imagine what it must have been like to have been in the stands in San Diego, and then, years later, when the story came out, learning that you'd witnessed a guy who was tripping shut your team down. If you were the sort of person who kept score you'd probably still have that scorecard. Imagine pulling it out of a dusty box in the garage and going over it again. The Bucks were a powerhouse back in 1970: these were the Pirates of Clemente, Alou, and Stargell. You'd think they'd have drawn more than 9,903 for the first half of a twi-night doubleheader.

Dock had a 12 year career, 138-119 with a 3.46 ERA, mostly with the Pirates. In 1976 he was 17-8 with the Yankees (3 and 7 with the Mets two years later, in his penultimate season). He was a solid starter on some pretty great teams.

Watching the Bills get pasted by the Jets a few weeks ago it would have been reasonable for anyone to doubt that the Jets were still the Jets, but I had faith. The New York media are saying that it's the coaching, and when you consider that the Peagreens had the talent to beat the Titans and the Patriots this season, perhaps there is something to this evaluation. The Bills haven't beat anyone good all year (probably the best team they've beaten is Denver, actually), but I'd say that coaching is probably the root explanation for the Bills' season as well. Coaching is why they lost to the Jets. Indeed, swap "Jauron" for Mangini, and this quote might be a macro on Jerry Sullivan's computer:

"And all the while, Eric Mangini has taken exquisite pains to betray no sense of alarm or urgency. As has been his wont since day one, he has remained the very picture of outward calm, tirelessly repeating his ever-familiar mantra about avoiding mistakes and moving forward. To witness his manicured media persona is to think him as always in control, never given to the whims and folly that mark the behavior of many other coaches around the league. But the bottom line belies the façade."

There is a difference between the two teams: the Jets are in the largest media market in the country. Their owner is under 100 years old. They are moving into a new stadium, and will continue to sell it out. They will always be able to do stufff like signing Brett Favre. They will also always suck-- this is an article of faith with me-- but they won't suck in Toronto.

It gets so crazy around the holidays. Keef's birthday was Thursday and I didn't send a card or nothin'.

Interesting article about how the Kenyans get to town. "Kenyans and Eritreans and Ethiopians are no longer coming over only for the big, prestigious races in New York and Boston. They come to stay for years at a time—some permanently—and they don't just want to break the tape at the races covered by media. They want to come and take your club medal away, too, weekend warrior."

Motivational Posters. (Via Making Light.)

It is not at all obvious to me that K-Rod was the best reliever on the market, but the Mets needed somebody, and Rodriguez was available. I'm certainly not complaining.

Not to be missed: a gallery of actual romance novel covers. (Via Flutterby.)