Sports fodder for a Friday morning ... Has there ever been a World Series champion who has received less respect than the San Francisco Giants? The Giants were forgotten long before the last spray of champagne evaporated from Brian Wilson's beard last fall. And now hardly anyone east of Vallejo, north of Petaluma and south of Santa Clara is picking them to win again this year. Can the Giants' repeat? Why not? If Butler can get to consecutive Final Fours, the Giants can win two World Series in a row. Don't bet against that pitching staff. And the everyday lineup is better this year. They deserve at least that much respect for now.
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The other three National League playoff teams will be the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies (wild card). The American League playoff teams will be the Boston Red Sox, Oakland A's (surprise, surprise), Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers (wild card). Giants over Red Sox in seven in the Series.
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Is there anyone who didn't attend Kentucky, Connecticut and Virginia Commonwealth that isn't rooting for Butler this weekend in the NCAA Tournament? Butler came within an inch or two of pulling off the most dramatic, unforgettable, I-can't-believe-what-I-just-saw victory in the tournament's history a year ago. The basketball Gods owe them one.
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Virginia Commonwealth came to Lawlor Events Center just two years ago and lost to the Nevada Wolf Pack, 71-70, in an ESPN BracketBusters game. And that VCU team in February 2009, with Eric Maynor and Larry Sanders, might have been even better than the Rams' team this year. Just two years later, though, the Rams are in the Final Four and the Pack, well, wait 'till next year. Then again, if Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson had just stayed another year, there just might be a Silver & Blue Cinderella in Houston this weekend.
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College football coaching salaries are becoming a joke. The country is falling apart economically, colleges and universities are dropping academic programs left and right and the average American can't afford to send their kids to college anymore. But, still, Brady Hoke is going to average over $3 million a year for six years at Michigan. Hoke gets a $1.5 million bonus if he stays past his third year, a $500,000 bonus if he wins the Big Ten Conference and a $75,000-$175,000 bonus if he merely finishes above .500 and gets to a bowl game. And, oh yeah, he gets to fly first class on every flight. Who, exactly, is Brady Hoke? Well, he's been the head coach at mighty San Diego State and Ball State. And he has a 47-50 career record. In eight years as a head coach he's had a record of two or more games over .500 just twice. He's won one bowl game. Yeah, that Brady Hoke. What would Bo Schembechler be worth today? About $2 million per syllable in his last name per season?
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Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who could be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft next month, is the answer to a Nevada Wolf Pack football trivia question. Gabbert is the last starting quarterback to beat the Wolf Pack at Mackay Stadium. Gabbert tossed three touchdowns and passed for 414 yards in a 31-21 Missouri victory over the Pack on Sept. 25, 2009. The Pack has gone 12-0 at home since that warm evening.
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Wolf Pack players Colin Kaepernick, Dontay Moch, Vai Taua and Virgil Green all have their weaknesses, according to most NFL mock draft analysts floating about the world wide web these days. To summarize, Kaepernick has an elongated throwing motion with a full hitch in his motion, Moch is too stiff in the hips and doesn't have a wide assortment of pass rushing moves, Taua lacks an elite top gear and Green is more wideout than tight end at the next level, lacks sand in his pants and doesn't finish his blocks. All of them except Taua, though, will likely get drafted somewhere between the third and sixth rounds. Third round money can buy you a lot of sand to put in your pants.
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Tell me again why ESPN hasn't fired Jalen Rose? He makes a documentary (for ESPN, by the way) about his Fab Five days at Michigan and states that as a young man he thought all black players who played for Duke were "Uncle Toms." And just this month he is cited for drunken driving (he admitted this week that his blood alcohol content was over the limit) after driving his car off the road. Maybe ESPN needs Rose to play point guard for their weekend city league basketball team.