Tuesday Grab Bag: The USWNT claims their third star in resounding fashion

I'm off on vacation this week, so there's little time left to dally on ephemera.  Straight to the action!

Today in the bag, I'm talking the Women's World Cup final, The Basketball Tournament, and some baseball thoughts.

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Tuesday Grab Bag: You really should be watching the Women's World Cup right now...

I'm still in a little shaken by the Xavier Johnson news -- this photo of him on a scooter is especially awkward. With XJ now out of the mix (at least for the rest of 2015), the Buffs are pegged to start the season without four of the six best players from a year ago, when before they were only expecting to be without one.  Ugh!

Ski's graduation is (obviously) not a surprise, but the twist transfers of Jaron Hopkins and Dustin Thomas loom even larger now that Xavier is hurt.  Those are veteran performers that could've been counted on to eat up extra minutes.  Now, the roster is left with a number of questions that we were not expecting them to have to answer.  I still believe that the program is in store for a bounce-back season, but I'm starting to wonder how high that bounce will be...

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the Women's World Cup, the NBA Draft, and Top Gear's melancholic farewell.

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Tuesday Grab Bag: Summer has arrived

Summer has finally started to heat up the Boulder Valley, leaving me, much like Morbo, pleased, but sticky. I know!  How bout trying to stay cool with some extra cool basketball links!  Friend of the blog Adam Butler has a write-up on the new basketball rules that is well worth your time. Still not enough?  The New York Times has a fascinating piece up on the Triangle Offense.  That'll kill some time as the sun slowly slips down behind the mountains. Both best enjoyed with a Manhattan and some shade; you're welcome.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking Josh Tupou, the Women's World Cup, and The US Open.

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Tuesday Grab Bag: *repeated blasts from the hockey horn*

I'm not going to lie, it's been a little rough in the wake of last night's celebrations. So, without further adieu, it's straight to the action.  In today's bag, I'm talking My Blackhawks securing yet another crown, the Warriors closing in on one of their own, and the US Women in the World Cup.

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Monday Grab Bag: The return of the worst week in sports

Welcome, once again, to the worst week in sports.  The Major League Baseball All-Star game, annually, announces itself as deserving of an entire week of focus, and then proceeds to bore the nation to tears through a glorified round of batting practice and a main event no more important than a random spring training game.  Even for me, a devout follower of the religion of baseball, this week is impossibly difficult to get through.

The question that I've been hearing more and more over the past few years is "how do we fix it?"  You can't, stop trying.  The reasons behind the existence of this non-event were: 1) to create a new source of revenue for the league during the Depression, which eventually evolved into 2) provide a showcase for out-of-town stars that fans rarely got to see.  80 years later, baseball no longer needs the revenue, and fans can see out-of-town stars whenever they want, thanks to nationalized television packages.  There's no longer a point. Just name a team, hand out some bonus checks, and keep the season moving.

But, that's too logical and forward thinking for baseball, so expect them continue to wring the stone in search of water.  Meanwhile, more and more fans of the game will stop watching, and the sport's infrastructure will become more and more irrelevant. *sigh*  Baseball, as always, is timeless to a fault.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the conclusion of the World Cup, NBA free agency, and fundraising at CU.

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Monday Grab Bag: #TargetSale

Apologies for the lateness, but I'm a little distracted today.  The MLB All-Star rosters were announced over the weekend, which, in and of themselves, usually warrants little more than a yawn from yours truly.  This year, however, the AL has decided to wade into battle without their single greatest pitching asset: White Sox ace Chris Sale.

Yes, that Chris Sale.  He of the 8-1 record on a sub-.500 team, who just happens to lead the league in ERA+ (188) after posting a 96/16 K/BB ratio and a .87 WHIP over the first half. "Oh, but he missed a month on the DL!"  Who cares?  No one has been as dominant in the AL, even having missed five or so starts.  Chris Sale strikes FEAR into the hearts of AL hitters, in a way no one since Randy Johnson has. But, sure, let's make everyone vote to get him to Minneapolis.  *sigh*

This shit is so dumb.  The old line from pundits is always "well, who would you send home, then?" Anyone, everyone.  If Chris Sale is not a clear All-Star, then there is no longer a need to have an All-Star game.  The mere idea that this testament to all that is good with professional pitching is being forced to pander for votes is offensive.  The American League should be so lucky to have Chris Sale represent them. (Yes, I'm crafting the statue now.  It will be bronze, and no one will be able to get hits off of it, either).

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the USMNT's loss to Belgium, the quarter final results from Brazil, and the possible end of an era in the NBA.

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Monday Grab Bag: CU football lands major recruit

In what has become an semiannual right of passage for the Board of Regents, basketball coaches Tad Boyle (praise be his name) and Linda Lappe received a contract extension.  Through a vote on Friday, the respective contracts were extended to the end of the '18-'19 season, without an increase in salary.

I don't mean to undersell this move, since it is important for the coaches to continue to enjoy a sense of job security, but I'm not kidding when I say that this has become a common occurrence.  The contracts for Boyle and Lappe have been repeatedly extended tweaked over the previous two years, including the following instances:

February 2012
November 2012
April 2013
June 2013
July 2013

I've become accustomed to the idea that, in sports, contracts are barely worth the paper they're printed on. Coaches can be fired or quit at the drop of a hat, so all of this is mostly for posturing.  Anyone who is familiar with the programs in Boulder knows that Boyle and Lappe are here until they no longer want to be. Still, simply the idea that both the coaching eras we're currently enjoying would continue through 2019 is a welcome one.  I'll take it.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking about the US sneaking through to the knockout rounds, the first games of the World Cup's sweet sixteen, and a big-time recruit in football

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Tuesday Grab Bag: Can the US Rebound to Advance to the Sweet 16?

Before I get to the soccer, allow me to submit a friendly reminder that the NBA draft is this Thursday.  The Mayor, Spencer Dinwiddie, figures to prove the doubters wrong by having his name called at some point.  I'll have a teaser up in a few days, but, until then, let me simply point out that more and more mock drafts have been including the point guard in spite of his ongoing recovery from an ACL tear.  Echoing Andre Roberson's shock call last summer, I'm expecting a pleasant surprise on Thursday.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the USMNT's last second letdown against Portugal, their chances at advancement, and the landscape of the World Cup as group play concludes.

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Monday Grab Bag: Champions crowned as the World Cup begins

OK, so it seems I was just a little off base in my pronouncement last week that the Heat were set to roll to their third-straight NBA title.  It turns out that their LeBron-fueled Game 2 victory, which I took as a declaration of intent, was actually more of a reflexive yip from a wounded animal getting ready to die quietly in a corner.  Instead of it being 3-1 Miami headed back to Texas, the Spurs ran the table in South Beach, and comfortably claimed the title last night in the home of the Alamo.  Whoops, my bad.

Wait, that's not LeBron...

It was brutal watching Miami flop around harmlessly against San Antonio through three straight defeats. Culminating in yesterday's 104-87 Spurs triumph, the average margin of victory for San Antonio over their four victories in the series was 18 points per game.  It was utter domination.

While I can't help but wonder just how broken the Heat are, it would be criminal to take anything away from the triumphant Spurs, who clearly deserved the 5th title of the Tim Duncan era.  They were fantastic, putting on a display of team-oriented, fluid basketball that comes as a salve to any true basketball fan yearning for glimpses of the beautiful game we first fell in love with.  Honestly, it may have been the most impressive championship performance of the recent era.  Congrats, San Antonio!

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Today in the bag, I'm taking an extended look at World Cup soccer, before acknowledging the crowned Kings in Los Angeles.

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Monday Grab Bag: On the eve of the World Cup

Straight to the action...

Today in the bag, I'm talking Stanley Cup Final, NBA Finals, and the World Cup.

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Monday Grab Bag: Let the Finals begin

You can tell I'm bored when I click on an article like this one that offers ESPN's list of the top-50 college basketball coaches.  For a second, just a second, I'll even allow myself to become invest in the drivel of meaningless offseason arguments, and spend time and energy getting worked up over the fact that the Worldwide Leader's panel of 'experts' slotted the likes of Tim Miles and Mick Cronin ahead of Coach Tad Boyle (may his name be praised).  Then I catch myself, reminded of the fact that none of that crap matters, and turn back to the far-too-slow melting of this site's countdown clock towards November.  Soon. November will be here soon...

(Although, for fucks sake, I challenge anyone to actually watch Cincinnati play without wanting to rip their eyes out.  Cronin should not get rewarded for playing negative, bruising basketball!  ... *deep breaths*)

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Today in the bag, I'm talking My Hawks going down in Game 7, a repeat Finals in the NBA, and Team USA's preparation for the World Cup.

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Monday Grab Bag: The return of normal service

Now that the most boring week ever is behind us (a week so devoid of anything useful to watch that the country actually started paying attention to womens soccer and non-Tiger golf), we're back onto the summer grind for the next seven weeks.  Baseball!  Labor Disputes! Recruiting News!

Well, 1 out of 3 aint bad.

Today in the bag I'll be looking at what the hell happened to "Our Girls" in Germany yesterday afternoon, more shocking recruiting developments out of Texas, community roster updates for NCAA 12, and the light at the end of the NFL labor dispute tunnel.

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