DUDE REPORT: Beer List

In a previous blog post I discussed how lucky we feel about the neighbors we have. Ross, who lives directly behind us, and I enjoy chatting over a beer whenever possible. They have three kids who are close in age to our girls. All five of the kids get along very well. The two main questions that we typically have to sort out when we are both outside are: 1) Are the kids going to play in our yard or your? 2) What beer are we drinking? (Assuming it is past noon and neither of us have work, a public appearance, etc. later that day.)

These two questions are usually answered quickly. The kids get along so well they don’t care where they play together and Ross and I like beer so much that we don’t care what we drink.
Ross and I both look for new beers to try. It is fun to discuss what we have each tried and debate our likes and dislikes. Ross has even ventured into brewing his own beer. He has created a couple good batches recently and I have been fortunate enough to sample a few.

Earlier this month we can across the American Homebrewers Association 2011 Best Beers in America poll. Over the course of future neighborhood grill outs, poker nights, and afternoon play dates we are hoping to try as many of these beers as possible.

The picture is of Ross and I are trying #2: Bell’s Two Hearted Ale and #20: Left Hand Milk Stout. (Sorry for the blurry picture. Camera lady(Libby) was drinking some wine that night too!?!?!?)

Although we have previously had some of the other beers listed, officially the two pictured beers brings us to 2 of 50 tried. In otherwords, we are early in our mission to try all 50.

The ale was good and was something we would both consider drinking more of in the future. The stout is more of a winter beer, so an 80-plus degree summer evening wasn’t quite a fit.

The full list is linked above. I would love to hear if you have tried/enjoyed/liked/disliked any of the listed beers. We will keep you posted on our progress through the list and we welcome additional participants anytime!

Dude Report: Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

Yelling Mayday three times as the title of this blog isn't to show my excitement for the calendar reading May 1st today. Rather it is to let out a distress signal in reference to the Minnesota Twins. My favorite baseball team is currently 9-18 (worst record in the majors) and they just got swept by the Kansas City Royals!?!?!?!?

The distress signal Mayday is derived from the French words venez m'aider, meaning 'come help me'. (I read all the way to the second sentence of Wikipedia's definition of Mayday to learn that.) Fellow Twins fans...I am here to help.

With my 5'9" frame, slow bat speed, and weak arm, unfortunately there isn't much I can do on the field. Rather, my attempt to help is by boosting the morale of us fans. Below I have laid out why despite the ugly start all will be right in Twins Territory by September.

• Still Early: It sure has been painful watching the Twins lose 2 out of every 3 games. We are only 15% of the way into the season. 154 games is a lot left to be played.
  



• Win Rate: I love the line "If the Twins just win the rest of the games this year they will be the best team in baseball" as much as anyone. Of course no team will win 154 in a row to finish the season. More realistically, if the Twins win 55% of their remaining games (roughly 85-69) they will finish with 94 wins. It is quite a jump to assume the team with the worst record in baseball can finish 16 games over 500 the rest of the way. The point is if they can just start playing some slightly over 500 ball they will work their way back into contention.
  




• Weak division: Currently the Indians are leading the division with a 19-8 record. Despite being very jealous of their current record, they don't seem like a division champ to me. The White Sox, Royals, and Tigers don't scare me much either. In a weak Central division their is room for a 9-18 start.
  




• Favorable September schedule: From the department of "Getting way too far ahead of myself"...during the final month of the season the Twins play the Royal 5 times, White Sox 3, Detroit 3, Cleveland 6, Seattle 3, and the LA Angels 3. Other then the Angels in LA these are all very winnable series. If they are in contention when the calendar turns to September they could realistically win 16 of their last 23.
  




• Get healthy: Justin Morneau has missed 5 games, Mauer 16, Young 10, and Nishioka 20. Morneau is back, Young is close, Mauer is a mystery, and Nichioka is starting to plays some baseball in Florida. Getting Mauer back is a big question, but he will provide a large boost when he does return to the lineup.
  




• Return to average: Cuddy is hitting 40 points below his career average. Morneau is 60 points below is career batting average and has 1 HR and 9 RBIs. Young is 60 points off his career average and has only 6 RBIs after driving in over 100 last year. These three and Mauer represent the heart of the order. If they simply return to their career averages the Twins will start scoring enough runs to win.





• Keep doing what you are doing: Kubel, Span, Duensing, Baker, and for the most part Capps are proof that it isn't all bad for the Twins. If those 5 can keep playing at their current level it would be greatly appreciated. Kubel, I understand batting 354 for the rest of the year might be a bit too much to expect, so we can live with 325!?!?!
  




• Give them time: I am not sure if I am reassuring myself or trying to convince myself, but I believe that if Thome, Pavano, and Blackburn are given more time they will figure things out. Thome needs to start putting the ball over the fence and Pavano and Blackburn need to start having consistent quality starts.

Winning and losing can both become habits. I hope the Twins quickly change their habits and give us some more to cheer about soon. I also hope that this post gives you a couple reasons for optimism. WIN TWINS!

My final prediction is that the Twins finish with 88 wins and another division title!

Dude Report: March Madness Preparation

Two dude reports in a row! I will get back to posting about being a stay at home dad soon. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is one of my favorite sporting events of the year. Now that we are over half way through February the countdown to March is really heating up.

This weekend is BracketBuster Weekend . A select group of mid-major teams hoping to improve their chances of making the NCAA tournament play each other. To celebrate this weekend I wanted to post my current throughts about the fast approaching NCAA tournament.

The Mountain West is for real. Both San Diego St and BYU will make the Elite Eight and one will make the final four.

I want to predict that Duke is an early upset target, but Nolan Smith and Coach K will not let it happen. They will be beat by a better team in the third or fourth round.

The ACC and is very weak this season. Duke and North Carolina are the only teams worthy of making it out of the first round.

The Big East will put 10 teams into the NCAA tournament. As a Wisconsin native I hope the tenth team is Marquette, but it is more likely to be Cincinnati.

Notre Dame has quietly had a very, very good season. They have earned a 2 or 3 seed and if they shoot well could make a deep run in the tournament.

It will take a very good performance by any team in the tournament to eliminate Pittsburgh. West Virginia and Syracuse on the other hand will likely eliminate themselves because they can’t put the ball in the bucket enough.

Upsets very much depend on matchups but Florida, UConn, Kentucky, and Louisville are four teams that should earn a four seed or better that could lose first round.

My final four for this year’s “tournament darlings” are: George Mason, Old Dominion, Wichita State, and Cleveland State. With two teams coming from the Colonial Athletic Association, you could say I am a fan of the conference. This also this means that George Mason or Old Dominion will need to get an at large bid.

Living in Big Ten country I have to believe Ohio State and Wisconsin are equip to make a deep tourney run. With that said, Purdue is the team to watch. Many wrote them off when Robbie Hummel went down again, but they have NBA talent and have beaten many good teams.
Some of the toughest teams to bracket include Tennessee, St. John’s, and Kansas St. These three teams have proven they can beat and lose to anyone on any night.

The final net of the season will be cut down by Texas. They will win the tournament with defense.

In the words of Mike Tice, "Enjoy the season!"

In the words of Andy Williams, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Warm up Week: Dude Report: Grilling

In honor of the unseasonably warm weather we have been having this week I wanted to do a post about grilling. With highs of 39 degrees or above from last Sunday through tomorrow, with tomorrow topping out at 49 degrees, everyone in our house is looking forward to Spring. Unfortunately with the calendar still reading February and our address reading Minnesota, we know we have more winter ahead. We will take the warm weather when we can get it and continue to daydream about the summer days of grilling in shorts while consuming cool beverages.

Libby's company as a holiday gift sent all of their employees a Omaha Steak combo package. The package included steaks, pork, chicken, burgers, gourmet hot dogs, potatoes, and even cheese cake. I almost send Lib's boss a thank you note myself! Also, included was book called Great Gathering Guide & Cookbook. To get everyone thinking about the approaching grilling season I wanted to pass along Omaha Steak's 10 Tips For Perfect Grilling.

1. Clean and preheat grill on high.
2. Lightly oil food before putting on the grill. This helps the searing process and prevents sticking.
3. Season food as desired before grilling.
4. High, direct heat from the grill sears the surface of food and searing contributes to the ultimate flavor and juiciness of the food.
5. Use tongs/spatula to flip food on the grill, as forks damage the food.
6. Keep the lid on the grill as much as possible as this helps regulate the temperature and prevents flare-ups.
7. Keep a spray bottle of water handy to tame any unexpected flare-ups.
8. Use the 60/40 grilling method. Grill for 60% of the time on the first side, then flip food product and grill 40% of the time on the second side. This will evenly cook the product.
9. Place cooked food on a clean place. Do not use the same plate for raw and cooked foods to prevent cross contamination.
10. Allow food to rest for 5 minutes between cooking and consuming. This will help the food to retain moisture before cutting.

This is being labeled a dude report not because I don't think "dudettes" can't rock the grill, but because I admittedly feel manly when I grill.

I hope you are enjoying the weather in your neck of the woods and I look forward to grilling with you soon!

DUDE REPORT: Twins off season requests

Major League Baseball is holding their annual winter meetings in Orlando. I wanted to take a moment to discuss two requests from the Tale from the Homefront. These two requests are understandably not the organizations top priorities. The organization should be focusing on pitching (specifically the bullpen) and the middle infield. As a fan my two requests are to have Jim Thome brought back and Todd Coffey added to the bullpen.

I really enjoyed watch Jim Thome hit for the Twins this year. After years of watching him hurt the Twins as a Cleveland Indian and Chicago White Sox, it was enjoyable to see him put 25 over the fence as a Twins. During a game I attended with my father-in-law he hit a ball that bounced off the flag pole in right field. He certainly outperformed my preseason projections ("If Thome hits 10 HR’s and drives in 35 in 130 AB’s I will be ecstatic.") and I would love to see him resigned.

From all accounts he is a very nice person and seems to be a good fit in the clubhouse. He is originally from Peoria, IL. Libby and I, with my sister and brother-in-law, completed a memorial seven hour road trip to Peoria for a family wedding. Having memories of that trip brought up by thinking of Thome is a bonus.

The White Sox were rumored to be interested in bring him back. They have since signed Adam Dunn and expressed interest in bringing Paul Konerko back. I am optimistic they are out of the Thome running. The Twins picked up Jason Kubel’s option for $5.25 this year. While I don’t disagree with that decision I am concerned that too many lefty bats could lead the Twins to tapering their pursuit of Thome.

Bill Smith and others are paid the big bucks to make the tough decisions and they certainly know better than me. A “Thome is my Homey” t-shirt is on my Christmas list and I will be a fan of his next season where ever he plays (except Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland or Kansas City) I just really hope it is Minnesota.

My second request is for the Twins to add Todd Coffey to their bullpen. Like the Thome request it is from the heart of a fan, not the head of a front office member. With that said Coffey does have fastball in the mid-90’s and a good slider. I want him for non-pitching reasons. I want him because it is simply difficult to put a price on seeing a 6’4” 240 pound man sprints from the bullpen to the mound. Some of my family members are Milwaukee Brewer fans and I know they looked forward to Todd Coffey appearances.

Just thinking of the green grass of the major league ballparks and having a beer outside on a summer evening makes me smile!

DUDE REPORT: Fantasy Football review and predictions

On September 5th I posted some fantasy football predictions for the upcoming season. Now that we are 10 weeks into the season, I wanted to analyze my preseason predictions and apologize to anyone who followed them. The predictions were pretty bad.

As an attempt to make up for my numerous incorrect predictions I have listed some players to watch for the stretch run of the season. My league has three weeks left in its regular season and then three weeks of playoffs. It is definitely crunch time, but if your league is like mine there is a lot left to be determined. I hope some of these players can help you out.

To breakdown my preseason predictions I will assign a win or loss to each prediction.

Booms: players who I predicted would exceed expectations.
QB: Tony Romo: Loss. This is a tough loss because he was playing as a top 5 QB before his injury. Rumors are floating around that he may try to return this season. Stay tune.

RB: DeAngelo Williams & Jonathan Stewart: 2 BIG losses. The Carolina offense has been terrible. In the preseason I thought Matt Moore, would be good enough to keep defenses honest and allow Williams and Stewart to run. It is embarrassing to type that last sentence!??!?!

RB: Michael Turner: Loss. He was predicted to be a top seven running back. He has been good this year, but not top seven. I am optimistic based on Turners schedule that he could finish the season as a boom. To date it must go down as a loss.

WR: Greg Jennings: Loss. Jennings has been a top 20 WR this season due to a strong last four weeks. This prediction is a loss to date because he needs to push toward top 5 to be considered a boom.

WR: Hakeem Nicks: Win. Finally on the board with a win! Nicks started the season with a 3 TD game and has hardly looked back.

TE: Jason Witten: Win. I am going to mark this a win, but it is questionable. Witten had a 1000 yards receiving last year, but only 2 TDs. I listed him as a boom because I thought he would get into the end zone more this year. He only has three 3 TDs after 10 weeks, but has outscored Tony Gonzalez, Brent Celek, and the injured Dallas Clark and Jermicheal Finley.

K: Matt Prater: Loss. He is a kicker. This prediction was like throwing darts.

DEF: San Francisco: Loss. Like kickers this is kind of like throwing darts. With that said I threw a couple of duds at kicker and defense. 49ers have only one defensive TD and single digit interceptions.

BUSTS: players I predicted would underperform expectations.
QB: Eli Manning: Loss. Giants offense has been clicking all season. Eli has thrown 3 TDs in three games and 4 TDs once.

RB: Rashard Mendenhall: Loss. Mendenhall has been a top ten RB all season. Over the last month his carries have started to be limited. If he gets less than 20 carries in future games and fall out of the top 15 I could mark this bust a win.

RB: Ryan Grant: Win. Hurt in the season opener.

WR: Larry Fitzgerald: Win. Predicted to be a top five WR, but QB issues have him performing closer to the 20th best WR.

WR: Mike Sims-Walker: Win. Over 800 yards and 7 TDs last year had many people optimistic about him coming into this season. Mike has had two good games this year, but otherwise he has been a dud.

TE: Owen Daniels: Win. Daniels has been even slower than expected in his return from last season ACL injury. Predicted to be top 15, but has hardly been on the field.

K: Jay Feely: Win. Throwing darts, but Feely has been bad. ESPN preseason predicted Feely would be top ten.

DEF: Denver Broncos: Win. ESPN predicted they would be the 11th best defense, but with only one defensive TD and 5 interceptions they have underachieved.

Sleepers: late rounds picks no one was talking about
QB: Kevin Kolb, PHI: Loss. Lost starting job after a week one injury. He ranks as one of the highest scoring back up QBs if that counts for anything.

RB: Arian Foster, HOU: Win. Big win with Foster. He has been the top RB in fantasy football this season.

RB: Cadillac Williams, TB: Loss. Not sure what I was thinking here. Williams has lost his starting job to LeGarrette Blount.

WR: Jeremy Maclin, PHI: Win. Vick looks poised to have a historic finish to the fantasy season.

WR: Jacoby Jones, HOU: Loss. Potential does not earn any fantasy points.

TE: Jermaine Gresham, CIN: Loss. I remain optimist this will be a win before the season is over.

K: Neil Rackers, HOU: Win. Again, throwing darts, but Rackers has been a top ten kicker behind the high powered Texans offense.

DEF: Cincinnati Bengals: Loss. Below average defense.

Summary
Booms: 2-7: That is embarrassing!
Busts: 6-2: I guess I know a bad player when I see one!?!?
Sleepers: 3-5
Total: 11-14

Stretch run predictions
• Donavan McNabb has looked pretty bad lately, but he will be a top twelve QB the remainder of the season.
• Josh Freeman will also be a top 12 QB going forward.
• Aaron Rodgers and Michael Vick will be the two most common QBs to play in fantasy football super bowls.
• Felix Jones will finally reach his potential and be a top 20 RB.
• Knowshon Moreno is now health and will prove it by being a top 15 RB in the stretch run.
• Frank Gore will finish the season as the second highest scoring RB behind Arian Foster.
• Peyton Hillis will remain in the top 5 RBs the rest of the season.
• Mike Tolbert will finish the season with 12 TDs.
• Jamaal Charles will help many fantasy owners make the playoffs over the next three weeks.
• If Carolina plays an NFL QB at all this season Steve Smith has a good chance of having a fantasy impact before seasons end.
• Tampa Bay Mike Williams will have a strong finish to the season and end as a top 15 WR for the year.
• Marques Colston will play the rest of the season like the top 12 WR we predicted he would be before the season.
• If Todd Heap stays health (which is a big if) he will finish the season as a top 5 TE.

DUDE REPORT: Beer and Beards

As parents we have learned the importance of being a step a head of your kids. Having a plan for a snack or nap can be very important to avoid a meltdown. While we of course want to teach our girls to be flexible too, a hungry 3 year old is hungry or tired 7 month old is simply no fun.

With this DUDE REPORT (the first non-sports DUDE REPORT) I want to list two examples of where I applied the proactive attitube to two aspects of my "dude life".

First, I started buying and drinking Octoberfest beer in early September. Octoberfest beer is my favorite seasonal beer. I anticipated my need, and was successful in being a step ahead. I analysis Octoberfest beer further later in this post.

Secondly, I started growing my beard for what I like to call “No Shave November” in early October. Again, if that doesn’t speak of being proactive, I don’t know what does. Don’t look now, but I just might have my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving!?!?!?

The "No Shave November" tradition started a couple years ago when I started deer hunting with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your feelings on beards, I plan to discuss my beard at least two more times during the month of November. Some many remember that I got some support with the beard last year. (The circus was in town)

Octoberfest Beer
As I mentioned, Octoberfest beer is my favorite season beer. Now that the calendar has turned to November, I wanted to reflect back on my favorite Octoberfest beers. Please let me know which ones I am missing and which are your favorites. Then together we can count down the days to next years “Octoberfest season”!

1) Hoptoberfest-New Belgium Brewing Company: From the makers of Fat Tire this seasonal beer took top honors for me this season. As you can see from the name it may be too Hoppy for the Octoberfest purist. In addition to not 100% knowing what “too hoppy” tastes like, Hoptoberfest was spot on for me.

2) Spaten OctoberFest Beer: Originally made on Munich, drinking this make me think that I was in Germany for Octoberfest. Going to Germany for Octoberfest is definitely on my bucket list. Buying it at my local Sam’s Club reminded me that I was clearly in America!?!?!?

3) Sam Adam’s OctoberFest: Sam Adam’s is always a favorite of mine. I wasn’t able to muster up the courage to buy or try their Harvest Pumpkin Ale, but it sounds intriguing and perfect for Halloween. Sammy’s Octoberfest were shared by a neighbor buddy who ranks this beer number one.

4) Leinenkugel’s Octoberfest: Pains me to have a Wisconsin beer earning a 4th place rank. I am always open to retesting, and I think the Leine’s many have fallen victim to my high expectations. I love the Sunset Wheat and Summer Shandy and the Octoberfest was a slight step back.

Octoberfest I would like to try: Lakefront Oktoberfest Lager Beer, Milwaukee, WI, Beck’s Oktoberfest, Germany, and Ayinger Oktoberfest, Germany to name a few!

Who knew being proactive could taste so good!?!?!?

DUDE REPORT: Fantasy Football

This is my fifth dude report and it is the fifth that is about sports. This serves as evidence that I am a sports nut. Basketball, baseball, football…I like it all. To take the “nuttiness” to a higher level I enjoy playing fantasy football. Those of you who don’t like football particularly fantasy football, because you think it is something sports nerds use as an extra excuse to analysis stats, because it makes your spouse cheer for odd players on odd teams, or because it make for a frantic hour on the computer before Sunday’s noon kickoff to make sure the lineup is set…you are right on all accounts.

With that all said, my two sports fan highlights of the year are filling out my NCAA March Madness bracket and drafting my fantasy football team. Nutty, nerdy, over the top…guilty on all charges!??! Below are my predictions for this year’s fantasy football season.

If after all that ranting you are interested in giving fantasy football a try or looking to join another league, I would love to offer ESPN’s Gridiron Challenge. It is free, fun, and not too time consuming. I have started a group: Winneconne, etc with the password: packers. (Background: Winneconne is the name of my home town in Wisconsin. I am a Packer fan.)

Before we dive into more sports, I wanted confirm that I still have plans to take the DUDE REPORT into dude topics beyond sports. Grilling, landscaping, and why we all should demand Hollywood make Anchorman 2 to list a few future topic examples!?!?

Booms: (Players who will exceed expectations this year)
QB: Tony Romo, DAL
RB: DeAngelo Williams, CAR & Jonathan Stewart, CAR
RB: Michael Turner, ATL
WR: Greg Jennings, GB
WR: Hakeem Nicks, NYG
TE: Jason Witten, DAL
K: Matt Prater, DEN
DEF: San Francisco 49ers

Busts: (Players that may still have good years, but will underperform to expectations)
QB: Eli Manning, NYG
RB: Rashard Mendenhall, PIT
RB: Ryan Grant, GB
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
WR: Mike Sims-Walker, JAC
TE: Owen Daniels, HOU
K: Jay Feely, ARI
DEF: Denver Broncos

Sleepers: (Late round picks or players no one is talking about that will make an impact)
QB: Kevin Kolb, PHI
RB: Arian Foster, HOU
RB: Cadillac Williams, TB
WR: Jeremy Maclin, PHI
WR: Jacoby Jones, HOU
TE: Jermaine Gresham, CIN
K: Neil Rackers, HOU
DEF: Cincinnati Bengals

DUDE REPORT: Correction

I wanted to briefly post a correct to my "Let's hear it for Nellie" post. Although it worked well for my story, Nellie (the rapper) did not sing The Thong Song.

I want to first apologize to Sisqo, the real artist of The Thong Song. I also want to apologize to the readers of this blog, for posting incorrect information and for mentioning The Thong Song in multiple blog posts!?!?!!?

DUDE REPORT: Let’s hear it for Nellie

It is ok to admit it that if after reading the headline to this post that you started humming the Thong Song. Although I am still trying to recover from having that song stuck in my head from early 2000 through 2001, I do like Nelly the rapper. Although Cornell Haynes, Jr. (Nelly’s real name) isn’t the focus of this DUDE REPORT he does have some athletic ties. Not only did he make a great catch and hit a monster homerun in the 2009 Legends and Celebrities Softball game at the MLB All Star game, he is also part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. (In the hyperlinked clips Nelly’s highlights both happen around 2:35. I would be remised if I didn’t mention Rena Walker appearing in the softball game. Spoiler Alert: It was a rough episode of 24 for her last night, and I was sad to see her go.)

Another area where I appreciate Nelly the rapper is when I am running. When I get tired on a run, Nelly’s Heart of a Championship is one of the two songs I use to get pumped back up. The other is Stronger by Kanye West. I would love any suggestions that you have for songs that pump you up. I haven’t gone for a run for over a month (not a coincidence that Paige is one month old today), and when I do get back out there I am sure I will have a lot of these out of energy moments.

The other Nellie, Don Nelson, is the current head coach of the Golden State Warriors and on April 7th, with little fanfare, he became the winningest coach in NBA history. Ironically, it took me four paragraphs to mention his name in a post where my goal is to communicate that his story was unjustly lost in the shuffle!?!?!?

Before I go any further I should point out that Chris Ballard on the back page of the April 5th Sports Illustrated in an article titled, “Genius of the Mad Scientist” wrote about Nelson approaching the wins record. I point this article out for two reasons. The first reason is in case anyone from SI is reading by blog (I wish) I wanted to make sure I gave credit where credit is due. The other reason that I am mentioned Ballard’s article is because, although I consider myself someone who follows sports closely, if I wouldn’t have read this article I would have missed Nelson's milestone accomplishment.

Some argument this accomplishment means less because Nelson has never won a championship as a coach (he did win 5 as a player), or because his Golden State team is terrible this year, or because he has coached for so long many say he should have accrued 1333 wins much sooner.

All of these arguments fall along the wayside when the magnitude of the accomplishment is considered. Also when you consider the coverage that records such as Favre breaking Marino’s career passing yard record, Eric Gange’s pursuit of the consecutive saves record, and the extremely overhyped coverage of McGuire, Sosa and Bond's pursuit of the single season homerun record. While all of these records have their merits, having the most wins ever in a major sport like basketball seems to deserve more attention.

Nellie, you can rest a sure that after today’s post the handful of readers of my blog will now know what you have achieved. Congrats from the 8 of us!?!?!

The media’s current coverage of sports is to blame for Nelson’s achievement being overlooked. First the media, much like the NBA, NFL, and MLB themselves, has a disproportionate focus on large markets. I get it that the money is in New York and LA, but do we need to spend the first 20 minutes of every SportsCenter breaking down Kobe’s ankle injury, the Red Sox’s bullpen, and playing "Can you name which New York Giant got arrested this weekend?". This leaves little time to discuss what else is going on in the sports world. While Nelson’s Warriors do play in California, I still feel this 25 win team with no stars and a legendary coach is marginalized by a disproportionately large amount of coverage given to a handful of other teams.

The second critic of the media goes beyond the coverage of sports. Fox News, CNN, and all the others spend more time covering which Senators yelled “You lie” or “baby killer” in the Senate, then providing us with substance and factual information about real issues. SportsCenter and other sports shows, when not talking about the Yankees or Red Soxs, fill up their time discussing Tim Tebow’s arm angle, Ben Rothlisberger’s latest night club incident, and the Dallas Cowboys old stadium blowing up. While all of these issues are related to sports and could have an impact, they are all off the field topics. I think a sports purist would rather know if the NBA wins record is about to be broken versus hearing 18 analyst’s reaction to the latest Tiger Woods press conference.

My solution is to have Nelly the rapper make a song about Nellie the coach as catchy at the Thong Song. Then none of us would ever be able to forget who the winningest coach in NBA history is!?!?!?!?!?!?


_________________________________________________

Wade Philips: While Don Nelson has just become the winningest coach in NBA history, Wade gets the award for most confused looking coach in NFL history.

DUDE REPORT: Twins Spring Training Opener

When I participated in Nick Punto Day I mentioned that I had hopes of doing some more “dude stuff” posts. I contemplated starting a different blog to discuss those issues, but I opted to keep everything on Tales from the Homefront. I will label any non-stay at home dad posts accordingly (to give those who aren’t interested a heads up) and then add folders on the side to breakdown past posts by topic. As my new month’s resolution, in addition to the DUDE REPORT, I hope to open a book review folder and an Admiring for the Homefront folder to honor peeps we think deserve a shout out (because nothing says nice work then having a post written about you on a blog that has a daily circulation of under 20!?!?!?)

Tomorrow, March 4th, is the Twins first spring training game. While the outcome of the game means nothing, as long as no one gets hurt, it is a symbol of the beginning of another season of Twins baseball. I love the start of the baseball season and I love the Twins chances this season. I took the opportunity to list my predictions for the season.

1. Matt Guerrier will improve on his great 2009 season. This will be made possible by the depth of this years’ bullpen, including the return of Pat Neshek and the signing of veteran Clay Condrey, who don’t know anything about. This depth should allow Guerrier to keep is appearances at a healthy number of 70 versus the 79 of last season.

2. My negative starting pitching predictions (which I hope I am wrong about) are that Liriano will make some positive strides and win 10 games, but not yet return to the 2006 Liriano we remember. Secondly, I don’t think Slowey will make it through the season health. Not sure why, but I don’t see him pitching over 130 innings.

3. On the positive side, Baker and Blackburn will combine to win 30 games. Neither is considered an ace, but I love their consistency. What the Twins lack in an ace they will make up with depth. The resigning of Pavano as well as having Duensing, Perkins, and even Manship around will help.

4. The 6’11”, 290 pound reliever, Jon Rauch, will be put in charge of the teaching the 5’9”, 190 pound Nick Punto and 5’9”, 178 Alexi Casilla how to run the bases. This appointment will be based on intimidation alone, because watching Jon run the bases would not be a pretty sight. In the end, Rauch will need to squish Casilla like a grape and mail him back to triple A after Alexi tries to go from first to third on a one out pop fly to short. Gardy will insulate Punto from any criticism Rauch has for him. Ultimately Jon will get a new tattoo to remember the experience.

5. I have two Delmon Young confessions I need to make. First, I have to admit whenever I think of him the first thing that comes to mind is when he chucked his bat at a minor league umpire after striking out. I hope to move past that this year. Secondly, I have to admit that like my brother-in-law and father-in-law I am a Young fan. I heard he lost 30 pounds this offseason and I am optimistic that this will help him defensively. Offensively, I also predict an improvement. Young struggled against right handed pitchers last year, batted only 271 and having 61 of his 92 strikeouts against them. If Thome takes 100 of the righty at bats this year, I expect Young to bat near 295, with 75 RBI’s and 80 Ks (assuming he still gets around 400 ABs).

6. If Denard Span gets hurt or needs a day off the Twins will have to play five infielders and two outfielders because we don’t have a backup centerfielder. Please don’t get hurt Denard, I am not real excited about Brandon Harris as our everyday third baseman and Nick Punto as our every day centerfielder. Also, I don’t think Jacque Jones is the answer, who when I heard they signed him I assumed it was as a coach.

7. Of the new offensive acquisitions I remain cautiously optimistic about Orlando Hudson. I was very excited when they signed him, but I am concerned about his age. If Thome hits 10 HR’s and drives in 35 in 130 AB’s I will be ecstatic. My hope for JJ Hardy is that he is our starting shortstop for many years to come. If he performs to his career averages of 21 HRs, 75 RBIs, and hits .262 I will be satisfied for his first year as a Twin.

8. In a dream world Mauer and Morneau would figure out a way to share $350 million over the next 10 years and both finish their careers as Twins. I would also love to see Kubel make the all-star team.

9. When all is said and done I see the Twins winning 90 games. That feels like a big number, but is only three more then last year. They will win the division by 8 games over the Tigers.

I would love to hear any predictions you may have for the the Twins this year, from the number of snow outs the Twins may have to the number of time Gardy will get ejected this year. GO TWINS!

DUDE REPORT: Nick Punto Day

There are a variety of Minnesota Twins blogs that since joining the blog world I have enjoyed reading. The Twins blogs that I frequent include: AaronGleeman.com, Over the Baggy, and Twins Geek. These blogs and others have been discussing a Nick Punto Day. For you non-Twins fans Nick Punto is a utility player who has been with the Twins since 2004. The reason for the Nick Punto Day is because analysts and fans have a wide variety of opinions on him. This day would allow everyone who wants to sounds off.

Before I dive into my good, bad and odd breakdown of Nick Punto I want to take this opportunity to announce I am hoping to add a “dude” section to the blog. With March Madness right around the corner, then the Twins, and of course grilling season, I think this is a good time to kick off a Dude Section. As soon as I acquire the technical knowhow (or more likely technical assistance) I will add a link to this new section.

What I like about Punto:

• First and above all else I like his defense. This is also what Manager Ron Gardenhire loves about him. The Twins historically have been a good defensive team, and Punto fits this mold. While a stat does exist about the number of runs any one defender saves per season (I don’t know if I buy the math they use for this stat), I prefer to add up the number of appearances any one player has on ESPN Baseball Tonight’s Web Gems! Punto is a web gem waiting to happen and has made numerous jaw dropping plays over his career.

• His ability to play multiple positions is valuable. This year it sounds like 3rd base will be his spot with Brandon Harris. He is a great option to give shortstop JJ Hardy and 32 year old Orlando Hudson a day off.

• His offense during even year. In 2006 he batted 290 and in 2008 he batted 284. The good news is this is an even year!

• The final thing that I like about Punto is that he seems to be a good clubhouse guy. He is always very energetic and seems to really fit the Twins way of doing things.

What I don’t like about Punto:

• His offense is very frustrating to watch. I will give him credit for having some good at bats down the stretch last season, but overall I do not like watching him bat. I would love to see him hit 260 or better this year. I can live with an average around 245, but below that I feel that he cannot be a member of the everyday lineup.

• More specifically I do not like his hitting in odd year. He hit 210 in 2007 and 228 last year. Both seasons were well below is career average of 248, which is low bar to have to jump over to raise your career average.

• I hate that he slides in to first. This item should possible appear in the odd section, but he has been sliding into first for year. It doesn’t get you there fast, please stop.

• Punto made $4M last season. I don’t completely hate that amount, but any higher without improved offense numbers and I start to get uncomfortable.

Odd things about Punto:

• A friend of a friend attended Justin Morneau’s wedding and said that Punto was a good dancer. I am a fan of anyone who can cut a rug, especially at a wedding reception. This individual also reported that Kevin Slowey had some good moves, which was a bit surprising to me.

• I heard a pun about Punto that although adult in it's humor I can’t resist passing on. The individual was speaking about the Twins lineup before Orlando Hudson was signed. (Hudson will likely bat second.) He mentioned that the top of the order will likely be Span, Punto, Mauer, Morneau, etc. He went on to say that the lineup looks good except Punto, who offensively can be a real pain in the two hole!?!?!

I am glad Punto is on the Twins and I am very excited about the Twins chances this year. I believe Nick Punto wound best be deployed as a utility man who gets 300 at bats while playing various positions. It would be best to see him hitting in the 8th or 9th spot as much as possible. GO TWINS!