Kevin Love at Practice

The Daily Greaser is well aware that Kansas and Memphis will play for the National Championship tomorrow night.  However, Final Four loss or not, we must give Kevin Love some, well...love.  Seriously...this is plain dirty.  Take a look.

Another Favorite Past-time of a Gator Fan

Don't Blame it on Bartman?

Four-and-a-half years have passed on since the 2003 NLCS and the infamous fly ball that escaped the glove of Moises Alou.  The mishap was blamed on Steve Bartman, the overly zealous Cubs fan who reached up to catch the foul ball.  

Sure, every fan with a functioning brain would have let Alou make a stab at the ball, but let's also remember that Bartman was most likely sucking down copious quantities of over-priced beer that night and had an outrageously goofy set of headphones on.  Couple that with his allegiance to the Cubs, a pure indication that he lacks brain activity, and you can see why Bartman may have "interfered" with the Cubs' left fielder.  (Never mind he and 20 other drunk fans were reaching for the same ball)

You're probably scratching your head and asking, why bring this up now?  

Well on Wednesday, Moises Alou told the Associated Press that he probably wouldn't have made the catch, regardless of Bartman.  

Hold up.  Are you kidding me?  Moises, you wait four-and-a-half years to come clean?  This poor man has been run clear out of the Windy City and his seat at Wrigley is now a tourist attraction.  

Seriously, Moises Alou, you're a turd.  

A huge, colossal turd.  

Considering your huge temper tantrum in left field following the play, most would assume Bartman stole your glove, caught the ball and then bashed your face in with it.  

But no, it turns out that you're just a giant turd, and did what most giant turds do: cry in left field when they get out-muscled by a miniscule fan for a foul ball and then exonerate the scapegoat almost five years after the fact.

Touché, Moses, touché. 

I hope Billy Sianis' goat comes back to life and eats you; then you'll have something to cry about.

What Florida Gators Fans Do In Their Spare Time.

Say it ain't so Tom Crean

Tom Crean is an idiot. There I said it, everything is cleared up now. ESPN and several other news agencies are reporting that Crean has taken the Indiana University job. Now most of you will say, "Oh good for him, I hope he succeeds." Me? I hope he fails, I hope he fails miserably. I hope his stint at Indiana resembles Doug Gottlieb at the free throw line. With that I mean downright ugly and as effective as bowling with cinder blocks. He is leaving a program, Marquette, that he has essentially built up after the program to a level not seen in Milwaukee since legendary coach Al McGuire roamed courtside. Crean took an underachieving Conference USA program and turned it into an annual contender in the Big East. Crean took Marquette to its first Final Four in over 25 years in 2003 and is throwing that away to take the head job at Indiana. 

The talking heads will say its a step up but I don't care what they say, it is a step down. Indiana is an old elephant carcass. It was once a great program but hasn't been a real contender since the 1980's. Even though they proclaim themselves to be the pride of the Hoosier state, they have signed a grand total of one 5 star rated homegrown high school player since Rivals.com started handing out star ratings. If you were wondering who that player is, it's the infamous Eric Gordon, and let's just say that if Kelvin Sampson weren't running up his phone bill, IU would have had the same chance of signing Gordon as I would have at tackling "the runaway beer truck" Owen Schmitt. 

Crean is making a grandiose mistake and as much as The Daily Greaser likes the guy, I won't be able to help myself from giggling like a schoolgirl when Crean is shipped out of the door after finding out what a rotten job Indiana really is.

Former Albemarle Patriot Shines in College

Here at The Daily Greaser, we like to give credit where credit is due.  For instance, if you're an insanely obese individual choking down a cheeseburger that's at least three times the size of a normal human head, we'll gladly display your face below our blog name.  And if you're a former Albemarle Patriot shaking things up in Division I Lacrosse, we'll give you props as well.  

Enter Stephen Murray.  

The 6-4 midfielder entered the Carrier Dome with the rest of his Loyola Greyhound teammates this past Saturday and fought one of the nation's premiere lacrosse programs: the Syracuse Orange.  

In the third quarter, Murray was being pressed by the Orange defense and, while positioned slightly left of the net, ripped a shot into the back of the cage.  SU goalie John Galloway had no chance.  

Murray's second goal of the season sent the small group of Greyhound faithful into a frenzy and brought Loyola within striking distance.  The Orange, however, pulled away and now sits a top the national polls.  

Still, The Daily Greaser gives credit where credit is due, and tonight, we give a shout out to a kid that carried a stick of deodorant and a plastic spoon around with him in high school.  

Here's to you Stevie, you make us proud.

NL Prediction Time

Big time names switched affiliations over the winter and now find themselves floating around the National League. Who you ask? Well if you've been living under the proverbial rock or simply engaged in uncontrollable laughter after hearing a reference to Doug Gottlieb, you might have missed Johan Santana's move to Queens, Dan Haren's venture to the desert, or even Joe Torre's move to LA.  Don't worry though, The Daily Greaser's been keeping tabs on the Hot Stove while you were enjoying college basketball.  So, without further a due, here's a look at what you can expect from the National League in 2008.

National League

East: New York Mets

Tough call this year in the East with both New York in Philadelphia.  Last year we saw the Mets' catastrophic meltdown and watched as the Phillies swept in to snatch up the division crown.  This year, I give the edge back to the Mets.  The off-season acquisition of Johan Santana cannot be overstated--he's the best pitcher in baseball, hands down.  Plus, he's switching to the NL where, let's be honest, they only send up 8 legitimate hitters at a time.  The race will be a tight one, but New York's got a tough pitching staff, especially if Pedro Martinez comes back strong.  Jose Reyes is one of the most exciting players in all of baseball and David Wright is an absolute stud over in the hot corner.  Expect a close race.  Edge: Metropolitans 

Central: Chicago Cubs

Let's face it, the Central last  year was horrid.  I know the race got interesting with the Brewers' hot

start and late Cardinals' run, but nobody likes to watch baseball's version of the NBA playoff chase.  I happen to like my playoff teams well above .500.  Moving on, the Cubs have the edge this season.  Kerry Wood finally seems to be healthy, knock on wood.  But don't really knock on wood, because knowing Wood, in some taboo-ish way, he'll get injured again and The Daily Greaser will get lumped in the same category as Steve Bartman and that stupid goat.  And although he got mauled in his first save opportunity, I'd be willing to bet he's going to be fine this season.  Factor in Carlos Zambrano actually living up to his potential and winning the 20 games he should each season along with Derrick Lee playing the role of lumberjack, I'll go out on a limb and say Chicago will take the Central.

West: Arizona Diamondbacks

The West should be a pretty intriguing division to watch this season.  The Giants finally cut the tie with Barry Bonds and the Diamondbacks added a stud in Dan Haren.  The question is, will the D-backs repeat as division champs in 2008?  The answer: yes.  Brandon Webb followed up his 2006 Cy Young campaign with 18 wins in 2007.  Plus, Webb's a Wildcat.  Yes, 6-2 right-hander hails from Ashland, KY and played his college ball at the University of Kentucky--that ALWAYS gives you an edge.  But the race should be tough.  After all, the Rockies mustered up some postseason magic and made it to the World Series last year and the Padres still sport last year's CY Young winner in Jake Peavy.  The Dodgers could make some noise too with the addition of Andruw Jones in center and Joe Torre on the bench.  Still, Brandon Webb pitched in Lexington--edge: Arizona.

Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies

The Wild Card will most certainly come out of the East or West once again this season.

I like the Phillies this year.  Ryan Howard is an absolute machine and is good for at least 40 bombs and the consumption of 3 small children.  Add in shortstop Jimmy Rollins who quietly took home an MVP award and Gold Glove, and you've got yourself a contending lineup.  Cole Hamels is a star in the making and Jamie Moyer is well...well, he's old for one...but he'll still get even the youngest of guns off balance with that filthy change up.  Look for Philly to edge out San Diego and Colorado.

Recap

NL East: New York

NL Central: Chicago

NL West: Arizona

Wild Card: Philadelphia

Notes: Sadly, the Nationals do not complete the first undefeated season of all time--I lied; April Fools?