No Pity for Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling had been uncharacteristically quiet after the demise of 38 Studios, even taking a leave of absence from appearing on ESPN's Baseball Tonight. This morning, he decided to give his side of the story.

Of course, he did so with two people who are big admirers of his. I'd even go so far as to call WEEI's Dennis & Callahan shills for Curt Schilling.

I do have to give Dennis & Callahan credit. Their knees must be scraped, their jaws sore, and their tongues dry after washing Curt Schilling's balls for over an hour. They really worked their mouths off this morning.

And give credit to Curt Schilling for being willing to take on members of the media who would ask him tough questions such as "You didn't walk away with anything, did you?" or "How much of your own money did you lose?" or "Did the comment about solvency change the landscape?"

These weren't softball questions. It was tee-ball.

When asked why his video game company failed, Schilling blamed a "lack of capital." In other words, not enough people were investing in it. Schilling then blamed Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chaffee for scaring off an investor that would have helped keep the company afloat with a $35 million investment.

But if the company wasn't making sufficient money on its own and was supported by a combination of private investments and public tax credits, then there was something already wrong with the company.

Imagine if a restaurant is struggling to pay its bills. It looks for investors, but nobody wants to buy into it. Then it shuts down. The cause of death isn't lack of capital, it's lack of sufficient profit. The capital could have staved off death, but a lack of it didn't cause death.

Schilling refused to admit this. And Dennis & Callahan refused to call him on it. They still love Curt in the Car.

Schilling claims he lost about $50 million investing in this company, and is now "tapped-out." I feel no sympathy for him. Only an idiot would risk everything he had on a business without putting a little bit away. He's made his bed.

Schilling accused Governor Chaffee of deliberately undermining the venture by making public remarks about the company's solvency and ability to pay bills. But the Governor spoke the truth. 38 Studios was dependent on tax credits and needed more capital just to survive.

And when you get involved with Government funds, you have to deal with the Government. That's the deal you make when you deal with the Government.

And that's why conservatives who have a brain don't like Government programs such as the one Schilling took advantage of. They don't help businesses that much, and any potentially successful business should be able to attract private investment based on its own merits. If a business needs Government money to survive, it's much less likely to be a successful one.

Schilling feels as though he fell prey to a politician's agenda. But he put himself in that position. The Government and the Mafia are the same (that's not a joke abour Rhode Island). You ask them for a favor, and then you're in their pocket.

Speaking of politics, Dennis & Callahan asked this hard-hitting question:

"Did you know that loan guarantees were just for liberals?"

Schilling responded with "I'm not sure where my stance and opinion in that we need a smaller government, I don't know how that correlates to this."

How does advocating for less Government spending correlate with taking advantage of Government spending? Does he really not see the connection?

Schilling argued that he just took advantage of an opportunity. And if he didn't take the tax credit offer, it would have just gone to waste. Nobody else had applied for it.

As an actual conservative, this logic pisses me off. I'd probably take some Government cash if it were offered to me, but if I were starting a business, I'd try to avoid getting involved with the Government. Especially if it were a high profile business. Government money is conditional money, and that money is controlled by politicians who are very conditional people.

Actual conservatives know this. But Schilling is just a loudmouth, opinionated collection of uneducated thoughts.

Schilling did say that he is mostly responsible for the failure of 38 Studios. But that statement was always qualified. As I mentioned earlier, he blamed Governor Chaffee for scaring an investor away. He blamed lack of capital for the company's downfall. He blamed people with an "agenda" for initiating that downfall.

Maybe it was just a poorly managed company. They sold a decent amount of their first game (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning), but EA got a sizable chunk of the money from that. And their business model seems antiquated, very cartridge-era for a gaming company. They sold copies of their game to people. Very basic. Too basic. So many games are available for free out there. Then companies make money off subscriptions, or sell stuff in the game that opens new levels or characters or weapons. And then that way the keep spending as they're playing.

And Schilling admittedly spent very freely. He created an impressive office, and paid his young employees $86,000 plus full benefits.

That's one thing true conservatives hate about Government funded companies. So long as the money is flowing, the company spends freely. It doesn't seem like Schilling ever asked "could I get a programmer 90% as good for 50% the pay?" It doesn't seem like he was worried with spending at all.

Baseball has no salary cap and neither did Schilling.

He tried very hard in the interview to sound like he knew what he was talking about. He injected business-speak jargon at every opportunity. "Senior position of debt," "Transient companies," "Payables," "A staff ramp," "A neutral burn," "domiciled."

He even said "things" when referring to Government programs, then corrected himself with the word "mechanisms."

He explained what this jargon meant as he went along. But the point of jargon is to be understood by fellow speakers of the language. If you have to explain it, you shouldn't use it.

Just say "First to get paid back" instead of "Senior position of debt." Say "located" instead of "domiciled."

Curt Schilling wanted to sound like he knows what he's talking about. But it seemed like he'd taken a 30 minute course on how to sound like a businessman, and that's it.

Throughout the interview, Schilling never apologized to the people of Rhode Island who paid for his failure. He frequently mentioned his own family's troubles, usually at the prodding of Dennis & Callahan.

A caller stated to him that she would never try to do business in Rhode Island because the politicians make it so difficult.

"That would have been good advice three years ago, hun," Schilling quipped. He then became serious and almost sincere "I also understand the anger. The anger, though... it's as much about... the misinformation that people believe to be true than about the actual facts that happened."

So there you have it. Curt Schilling is blameless for what he did. The anti-Government spending, so-called conservative who took advantage of government spending, is merely a victim of misinformation and political agendas. The spending on facilities, the high salaries, and the mediocre products weren't to blame for 38 Studios' downfall, it was a lack of investment and a politician scaring investors away.

With all this complaining, all this passing the buck, Schilling would fit in nicely with the 2011 Red Sox.

Portugal 1, Czech Republic 0*

Portugal hadn't won an elimination game in a major tournament since the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup. Part of the reason for that had been the disappointing play of star forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

But Ronaldo has caught fire. He scored twice against the Dutch to secure a spot for Portugal in the quarterfinals, and he scored in the 79th minute yesterday to send Portugal to the semifinals.

Portugal have never won a major tournament, but they're only two wins away.

They'll have to play the winner of the match between Spain and France. That winner will probably be Spain. And the Spaniards will not want to lose to their Iberian neighbor.

Germany faces Greece this afternoon. Germany has looked fast, although they've also had defensive lapses. Greece advanced to this stage dramatically and has the support of a struggling nation that probably took the day off from "work" to drink Ouzo, watch the game, and count the money that the Greek government pays them to be lazy.

Coping With LeBron Being a Champion

It's tough. For several years now, we've all been able to dismiss LeBron James as a choker, a failure, a joke. Not anymore.

It's very tough.

This isn't like A-Rod winning with the Yankees. This isn't an athlete we hated hitch-hiking his way to a title. LeBron led the Heat to this victory. And last night's triple-double was the icing on the cake of a very respectable postseason.

But just because the performance was respectable, doesn't mean the man is. We all hate LeBron for reasons other than his choking. The choking was just something funny to laugh at him about. He has a ring now, but he's still a douchebag.

Let's look at the facts. He couldn't carry Cleveland to a title. It wasn't until the Heat became a fantasy team that he made it all the way, and only after a few tries. And it's not as if the refs, and the way the NBA is structured didn't help him along the way. The NBA is designed for people like LeBron James to be successful, and it still took him 9 seasons to achieve success.

He won, though. Fair and square. You can give him that and still hate him. He's still a douchebag. And I doubt after this title that the value of his shares in the Douchebag Stock Exchange will go down. If anything, he'll be cockier now.

We've enjoyed some fun Schadenfreude moments thanks to LeBron. The Celtics only won 1 title in the 2000s, but every time LeBron was knocked out of the playoffs, it was almost as good.

But all good things come to an end. A-Rod has a World Series ring. Peyton Manning has a Super Bowl MVP. LeBron James has his ring. But you never know what will occur down the road to allow you to once again mock the athletes you hate. We discovered that A-Rod took roids. And now Peyton is inferior to Eli. It all works out. People never fail to find ways to mock those they hate.

ESPN will be insufferable for some time. But when is ESPN not insufferable?

And as Jason Segel's character points out in the video clip, Jordan has 6 rings. LeBron is on 1, and he got it just barely. Bird has 3. Kobe has 5. Bill Russell has 11.

LeBron might not be a choker or a loser anymore. But until winning becomes more persistent for him, he's not a true winner. Winners win more than just once in a lifetime. He's shed the loser label, but he's not among the NBA's winners. Not until winning becomes more regular.

Red Sox Complete Sweep of Marlins

If Daisuke Matsuzaka could pitch a simulated inning out on Yawkey Way, then come into the ballpark at the start of the real game, his stat lines would look a lot better. He once again struggled at the outset last night, but finished strong. And it's more promising for a starter returning from injury to have difficulty getting warmed up, then to fade away as the game progresses.

Although predictably, he did get that pitch-count up there. And he did allow a homerun in the 6th that gave Miami the lead.

Will Middlebrooks saved the day for Daisuke and the Sox. He had an RBI double in 4th. An RBI single in the 5th. And he tied the game with a 2 run homer in the 8th. He's 6th on the Sox with 31 RBI, but he's also about 30 games behind everyone else. His RBIs are coming at a slightly faster rate than David Ortiz's.

It's still too early to tell with Matsuzaka. He's not a complete mess, which is a good sign. And he's able to throw 100 pitches. As always, the problem is that he reaches 100 pitches very early. How do you gauge the recovery of a guy who was difficult to gauge even when healthy?

He pitched good enough for the Sox to have a chance, though. And thanks to Middlebrooks, the Sox took advantage of the opportunity.

Speaking of opportunities, I wrote a post a few days ago about the Sox playing 16 straight games against teams hovering around .500, and how much of an opportunity it was for them to win before the schedule toughened. So far, so good. 3-0 against the floundering Marlins.

The Sox host the Braves next. Jon Lester faces Jair Jurrjens. This guy is destined to wind up with the Sox one day so people can mispronounce his name. He's 0-2 in 4 starts with a 9.37 ERA. He's gone 5 innings in only 1 of those starts. No excuse to not knock this Netherlands Antilles kid around.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Zdeno Chara and Shea Weber Robbed of Norris Trophy

It's not easy to take something from someone who is 6' 4" and 234 pounds. It's even harder to take something from someone who is 6' 9" and 255 pounds. But that's what the Professional Hockey Writers' Association did last night to Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara. They stole the Norris Trophy from them and gave it to Erik Karlsson, a 175 pound Swede known more for his offense than his defense.

The Norris Trophy is given to the NHL's top "defense player [defenseman] who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position." Frequently, however, it is given to the defenseman with the most points.

There's no denying Karlsson's offensive prowess. He led all defensemen with 78 points (25 more than 2nd place). He scored 19 goals, which tied with Weber for tops among defensemen. And he had 59 assists, 10 more than any other defenseman.

But if you were starting an NHL team, who would be the first defenseman you'd take? For me, I'd take Chara. Shea Weber would be my second choice. As talented as Karlsson is, I would rather have a defenseman that can play defense first, then contribute on offense. And maybe the 22 year old Karlsson will one day be that all-around player. But not today.

Karlsson was a +16, which isn't bad, but Chara was +33. Weber was +21. And to those who might argue that +/- is a team stat, so are assists. And assists are what gave Karlsson the offensive edge over Weber. They both scored 19 goals.

A good defenseman should be a good penalty-killer. After all, that's the most defensively minded part of the game. Weber averaged 2:16 of shorthanded time per game, and over 176 minutes total. Chara averaged 2:43 per game, and over 214 total. Karlsson averaged 0:33 per game, and totalled about 45 and a half minutes. That's the lowest among Ottawa defensemen. 166 NHL defensemen had more shorthanded ice-time than Karlsson. That's more than 27 teams worth of defensemen.

How does someone who doesn't kill penalties be deemed the best defenseman in the NHL?

Maybe Chara and Weber split the old school vote. Anyone who voted for Chara would probably pick Weber in a head-to-head contest against Karlsson. Weber lost to Karlsson by a slim margin. 1,069 to 1,057.

Maybe Karlsson's nationality helped. Swedes dominated the awards this year. Lundqvist won the Vezina, a Swede was the top rookie, Alfredsson won the King Clancy Trophy.

Maybe the voters wanted first-time winners. Chara was a distant 3rd in the voting, but I think he should have won. He won the Norris in 2009 and these awards seemed to be about new faces. Every other trophy was won by a first-timer.

I think the NHL needs an additional trophy. They need a reverse Selke, which is awarded to the best defensive forward. They need a trophy for the best offensive defenseman. Call it the Orr Trophy. Then guys like Karlsson can get recognition for their offensive contribution without siphoning accolades from all-around defensemen like Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara.

To Chara's credit, he had this to say about Karlsson:

"Well, he's obviously having a great year and very productive. He's got unbelievable skills so I would like to congratulate him."

And also said this about Bergeron winning the Selke:

"Tonight’s about Patrice. I'm happy, I'm extremely happy for him and, honestly, I almost screamed when he won. He deserves it, he's been such a great teammate and friend and I'm extremely happy for him."

Is it too late to nominate Chara for the 2013 Lady Byng?

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Patrice Bergeron Wins Selke Trophy

The NHL awards the Frank J. Selke Trophy to the "forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game." It's an unsung trophy for the unsung hero. It's given to guys who can kill penalties, who don't make mistakes with the puck, who disrupt the neutral zone, who do the "little things."

Patrice Bergeron was awarded the Selke Trophy last night, beating David Backes and Pavel Datsyuk (who's won the Selke three times) by a significant voting margin.

As Jack Edwards reminded you a million times this season, Bergeron is one of the best two-way players in the game. He was a +36 this season which led the NHL. He led Bruins forwards in shorthanded time on ice per game.

He's a team player. He's glue. He brings it all together. And up until last night, his big awards have been won by the teams he's been on. He has an Olympic gold medal and his name on the Stanley Cup. But now he has something that he's won as an individual: an award for how good of a team player he is.

Bergeron is only the second Bruin to win the Selke Trophy. Steve Kasper won it in 1982.

Centers have won the last 8 Selke Trophies. Twenty-five of the 34 recipients have been centers.

It's hard to believe that Bergeron will turn 27 in a month. He's been around forever. And his story is one of the few feel-good concussion recovery stories the NHL has seen recently.

He wasn't the only first-time trophy winner last night. Evgeni Malkin won both the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and Ted Lyndsay Award (players' MVP). Henrik Lundqvist won the Vezina as the League's best goalie. Gabriel Landeskog of the Avalanche won the Calder Trophy as top rookie. Daniel Alfredsson won the King Clancy Trophy for leadership. Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship.

And Erik Karlsson won the Norris for best defenseman.  A post detailing my outrage at that decision is soon to come.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Red Sox Squish the Fish

The Sox scored 12 times in the first 4 innings, pummeling Ricky Nolasco (his name makes me think of Oreos) and the Marlins.

David Ortiz only had 1 hit, but it was a big one: a Grand Slam in the 4th that busted open a 7-4 game, turning it into an 11-4 blowout. It was his 10th Grand Slam in a Sox uniform, which is 2nd in team history. Ted Williams has the most with 17. Ted Williams was pretty good.

Ortiz is the only star on this team that seems like a different player than he was last year. He's in much better shape, and he's trying to be a leader. Last year he was chubby and passive. He's only 11 HR and 53 RBI away from matching his totals of last season.

There's no way to scientifically measure how well he's doing as a clubhouse leader, but as a leader on the field, the evidence is clear and overwhelming. He leads the Sox in Average, OBP, Hits, Homeruns, RBI, Runs, Total Bases, Walks, SLG, and OPS. That's leadership.

Mike Aviles hit a 3 run homer, Will Middlebrooks hit a 2 run shot, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a solo blast. He now has 13, which is 2nd most on the team, and 8 more than Adrian Gonzalez.

Daniel Nava was 4 for 5 and scored twice. Ryan Kalish was 2 for 5. Cody Ross was 1 for 4 with a bases loaded, 3 run double in the 3rd. Kevin Youkilis was 2 for 3 with a double and a walk.

Felix Doubront cruised to his 8th victory of the season behind the offensive onslaught. He allowed 4 runs in 6 innings. It wasn't his best start, but it was good enough.

He and Buchholz are tied with the team lead at 8 wins. While Buchholz has been the beneficiary of good fortune and ample run support, Doubront has truly earned his 8-3 record. By the way, 8 is the amount of wins that Lester and Beckett have combined.

The Sox go for the sweep tonight as Daisuke Matsuzaka faces Carlos Zambrano. The Venezuelan giant has failed to make it out of the 3rd inning in his last 2 starts. Walks have been a major issue for him so if the Sox can be patient, get on base, then get those RISP hits, they should continue to score runs in bunches.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Roger Clemens Was Not "Proven Innocent"

The U.S. Judicial System does not determine innocence. It determines guilt, or insufficient proof of guilt. That's why when people are acquitted, they're declared "not guilty" instead of "innocent." The court is essentially saying that it hasn't found you guilty, so you're free to go.

It does NOT declare people to be innocent, at least not until you get into the Appeals process.

Proving innocence is difficult because it's nearly impossible to prove a negative. Think how hard it would be to prove that you've never done something.

I've never eaten rhubarb. But proving that is difficult because it's a negative statement. I'd have to get witnesses from every meal I've ever consumed to say they've never seen me eat it, samples of my bowel movements to show it's never been in my system, and then I'd have to prove somehow that I never snacked on it by myself.

So when people say that Roger Clemens has been "proven innocent," then back that argument up by pointing out how high an authority the U.S. Judicial System is, I get a little pissed. Because it's the wrong word.

The court did not declare Clemens innocent. Being deemed "not guilty" is not proof of innocence. The prosecution failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. There is a difference.

I think Clemens took PEDs. Jose Canseco says Clemens demonstrated an intricate knowledge of PEDs. Brian McNamee said he gave PEDs to Clemens. And Andy Pettitte testified that Clemens admitted to him that he took HGH.

Pettitte retracted his statements, but I don't think it's mere coincidence that he did so once the heat was off him. Andy Pettitte has repeatedly lied about his own HGH use, at first claiming only 2-4 doses and only during 2002, then later admitted to doing some in 2004.

When Pettitte was under pressure, he named Clemens. When the pressure eased off and Pettitte was no longer afraid of consequences, he recanted his Clemens story.

The story was Clemens told Pettitte about taking HGH. Clemens claimed that he told Pettitte about his wife taking HGH. But earlier in Clemens' testimony, Clemens claims his wife never took HGH. So, which is it?

Maybe Pettitte, under pressure to save his own skin, was compelled to name names, even if those people were innocent. But then why name one of his best friends?

In the end, it doesn't matter much. There is no absolute proof that Clemens' career was artificially extended by PEDs. That lack of proof was why he was acquitted.

But I know what my gut tells me. I see more than just smoke. I see scorched earth, burnt wood, an ashy haze, and a number of people saying "there was a fire here."

Clemens might get into the Hall of Fame. And I don't care. The Hall of Fame is already full of scumbags. Ty Cobb was a racist who probably killed a guy. Charles Comiskey was a cheap, money-grubbing bastard. Joe DiMaggio was a jerk. Babe Ruth was a glutton, an alcoholic, and a horrible father. What damage could be done by including Clemens?

I don't know why we get so emotional about who is in the baseball Hall of Fame and who isn't. Maybe it's because when we're kids, we learn about the great players. And the words "Hall of Famer" are the athletic equivalent of "Saint."

So put Clemens in the Hall. Give him a brass face on a plaque with some numbers and words on it. I know those final 4 Cy Youngs are meaningless. I know his final 150 wins were thanks to HGH. I know he's scum, he's a sociopath, he's not the best pitcher of his generation or any other generation. He's artificial.

But if you're going to put him in, don't say it's because he's been "proven innocent." I heard Peter Gammons say that on NESN yesterday and it's a complete misunderstanding of how our system works.

Roger Clemens hasn't been proven to be anything. So maybe voters should give him the benefit of the doubt and vote him in. As I said, I don't care.

And as much as these clowns repeat the wrong word, I for one know that he isn't innocent. I see no proof of innocence. Only a haze of guilt. You can't convict someone on a haze, but there is no way he's been "proven innocent."