Even Retired It's Clear, Tony LaRussa A Douche

Don't care who likes him or why, don't give a Rats
A$$ how many rings he has, it doesn't make him a
good person, human being, man, etc. His links have
always been questionable at best, and the only thing
I would give him credit for is being able to handle
other douches like Canseco, McGwire, Carpenter and
Pujols in order to manipulate trophies out of their
"skills".

Canseco has admitted to being an out and out cheat,
Mark McGwire's face doesn't even deserve to be on a
$3 bill he's so phony, and anyone who believes that
Mr. Holy Roller himself Albert Pujols is beyond
cheating is clearly a borderline crackhead themselves.
Even his personal life has some Swiss cheese size
holes in it, should have stuck with his first
profession, because lawyers are more know for being
manipulative creeps than baseball managers are.

Now he decides that a guy who is 9-3, Matt Cain, with
a 2.62 era is more worthy of starting the All-Star
game than the guy who is 12-1, R.A. Dickey, with a
2.40 era and has dominated for the better part of his
season. Disgruntled Met fan am I? Maybe, but it's
clear that if you've followed LaRussa as long as I
have, he's STILL a douchebag.

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Pitchers & Catchers Are Ready To Roll

(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

I'm sure the the upcoming baseball season will have
have many more story lines than I can possibly put
together here in this little article, but here are
a few questions that are bound to come up.

Manny Ramirez is trying to make a comeback, do you
or anyone else care?, and doesn't he have to suit
out 100 games to serve his suspension first?

How does adding Bobby Valentine to the mix affect
the Red Sox Yankees rivalry? Is it still going to
be just those two teams in the AL East in 2012 or
does Tampa pull it out of a hat again?

Do you like the fact that the new wild card rules add
an extra wild card team and essentially make it harder
for any wild card team to win the World Series?

Is the pressure of winning both the MVP & the Cy Young
going to be so much that Justin Verlander is bound to
have a bad season this year, or can he sustain what he
accomplished in 2012 and benefit with the addition of
Prince Fielder?

Will the Wilpons still be owners of the New York Mets
for the rest of 2012 or in 2013?

If Johnny Damon plays this season does he help or hurt
his chances of being considered for the Hall of Fame?
Here are some of his numbers: 2,723 Hits, almost 1,000
walks, over 400 stolen bases, 200+ HR's and at least
two rings.

What will the St. Louis Cardinals look like without Tony
LaRussa running the show?, and will they get the chance
to repeat?

Are the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles/Sacramento/Beverly
Hills/San Bernadino/Compton the team to beat in the AL
with the additions of Albert Pujols, and C.J. Wilson?

Can Josh Hamilton stay clean?

Will the whispers begin about whether Albert Pujols
is lying about his age? or whether he has used PED's?

Can Don Mattingly and the Dodgers surprise the NL and
make their way to the World Series under new ownership?

Are the Phillies a real threat without Ryan Howard for
a large chunk of the start of the season?

What now for Ryan Braun?

Will the Miami Marlins draw more than 15,000 a game
once the new stadium luster wears off?, can they compete
for the NL East with the Phillies and Braves?

Bonus question? Will Jeremy Lin be asked to toss out
ceremonial first pitch at any baseball game this year?

Thoughts and Prayers out to Tony Gywnn, get well soon !

Their will be many more were these came from.
Play Ball !


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Mad Stork Sports Podcast 1-26-12

In case you missed the show Wednesday night, we
have all the festivities right here. Listen to
the Giants 49ers talk, my ripping into Tim Thomas
as well as my take on the Prince Fielder signing,
and of course other details that slip into the
conversation. Make sure to join us next week, so
you can participate for yourself.



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Mad Stork Sports with Nick Rizzo Replay 12-16-11

If you missed the show, you can get the podcast here,
and listen to the Tebow chatter, as well as what is
up with the Ryan Braun situation, Deidre Pujols tries
to explain why Albert left St. Louis, and why Derek
Jeter has been handing out gift baskets. Click away
and listen to what you may have missed.





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Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Ryan Braun A Cheat? Who's Next Albert Pujols?

Jeff Roberson -- Associated Press

I can say with total honesty that I would have gone out
of my way to tell you that before A-Rod was outed for
taking any sort of performance enhancing drugs, I was
beyond certain he was clean. I was wrong.

When Manny was being Manny, and got caught for PED's
I once again was a fool for feeling that in no way
could Manny have cheated like that, no way. Yes way,
I was wrong yet again. Well there's an old expression
that goes like this: "Fool me once shame on you, fool
me twice, shame on me". Well I let it get too far,
and I'm sure that many of you feel just about the same
way: No ONE is above suspicion, NO ONE.

Small market, large market, no matter, and Ryan Braun
is a gleaming example of that. How many MVP's in the
last 25 years have had their names shamed in this way?
The answer, far too many. Even one is far too many.
The Ryan Braun is just a nice Jewish kid who didn't
know what he was taking is what Spin Doctors will be
working overtime will say in order to try and get this
under control, but what I will say to you is just this:
Ryan Braun will either get caught again, like Manny, or
his numbers will fall off a cliff, not too much unlike
A-Rod's.

And now to my headline, who's next Albert Pujols?
Let me put it to you this way, I know nothing, have no
facts, and am making no accusations, but would not be
the least bit surprised if Pujols is caught or oughted
sooner rather than later. Not the least bit surprised.
One thing that this latest cheater made me consider is
that if Albert Pujols was totally and unequivocally
clean, he would have stayed in St. Louis. Theory? Yes.
What do I mean by that? He was hell bent on a 10 year
deal. He was adamant on a full no trade, and to me
money isn't always the answer to guys like Pujols.
Guys like him stay where they have the most comfort,
even for a little less money. The difference was only
$32 million dollars, money that he could have easily
made up in some other way in St. Louis. Being the
villain in St. Louis was a chance he can't take, with
the Angels there is no loyalty, so less shame. Now
this is all theory, nothing more, but I'm willing to
bet that Pujols isn't the only STAR that has a shot
at being caught. It finally looks like MLB might just
be getting it right. Now let's see if they are willing
to take down a really BIG fish, not just a small town
MVP. That is if their guilty of course.


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Pujols, LaRussa, The Packers & More Random Thoughts

AP/Photo

Usually this posting on Saturday has alot to do with
the college football games on tap for the day, but
today there is only one game, as it should be.
Army - Navy, and these men and women deserve to be
center stage. Let's Support them, thank them, and
show them that we appreciate our freedom thanks to
THEM. Here are some more random thoughts from around
the world of sports this week.

Only Mike Scioscia is capable of not being involved in
any rumors that Tony LaRussa would eventually come out
of retirement if the Angels hiccup this year now that
Albert Pujols is on the team. Scioscia isn't going
anywhere.

Octavio Dotel just signed a free agent contract with
the Detroit Tigers. This is his 13th team !, talk
about frequent flier program.

How soon before some attaches any sort of Dream Team
moniker to either the Angels or Marlins?

Early pick for NFC representative in the Super Bowl
this year: NY Giants, yup I'm nuts, but I feel it

My vote for the Heisman tonight, and no it's not an
official vote, I don't have that level of importance
yet. Robert Griffin III, or RG3 if you prefer, the
kid is impressive, and If I had a ballot it would go
like this: 1. RG3 2. Monte Ball 3. Andrew Luck
Just Sayon'

Jim Mora Jr to coach UCLA is a bad choice, Tom Cable
would have been a better choice.

Arizona St fans making of a stink about the hiring of
June Jones made an even worse choice by making sure the
never went through with it. You could have actually
won some games for a change.

Charlie Weiss to coach at Kansas is a good choice.
Low expectations, but they will get a bigger return,
and this is Notre Dame, so the rules on academics may
be a little lighter, maybe.

I agree with Alan Hahn of NY Newsday on his Tweet earlier
today: "He (Tyson Chandler) and Amar'e may be the fittest
PF/C combo in NBA", I also think they may be the best trio
hen you add Carmelo as well. Now they need a PG, lol

Brandon Roy retiring is a shame, but bad knees are bad news.
Portland loses a good one, a real good one.

Did Dwight Howard really say he wanted to go to the NJ Nets?
Wow, Brooklyn Baby !


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MLB & The LA Anaheim Angels Get Their First $30 Million Player

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Yes, you read correctly, Thirty Million Dollars, and if
you do the math you will be quick to say that a 10 year
$260 million contract only works out to $26 million per
year. Yes I know that too, but you need to do the hidden
math when looking at deals like this, and then you will
see that if Albert Pujols does not retire before the end
of this monster deal, it will be worth thirty million per
year to him.

Albert Pujols will be 32 at the start of this contract,
and no matter how great a hitter you want to tell me or
anyone else he his, just look at him. He has no foot
speed, he used to have "some". He looks like he limps
most of the time, and don't tell me it's because his
legs are soooooo muscular. There is no way that even
in a DH friendly American League Albert Pujols is
going to be the player he was last year at the age of
42, but with at least 2-3 years remaining when he will
truly start to hit the wall of his productivity, do you
think he's going to retire? With almost $100 million
at stake would you? This is essentially a 7 year
contract if everything breaks well for the Angels, and
I mean everything. Now if you break down the contract
and say $260 million over 7 good years, that works out
to $37,142,857.00 per year, remove the excess over the
30 million, and he gets more than he will be worth for
the last three years of his contract $49,999,999.99 or
almost $17 million per year to hit about 17hrs per year,
drive in about 75 runs and maybe appear in 135 games at
the most if he isn't on the DL too often.

Make no mistake, the Angels did their homework here,
this wasn't an impulsive decision. Again do the math,
if you take into account that ten years ago $20 million
was worth what about $25.5 is worth today, then there
you have a similar contract to the one that A-Rod signed.
More? Yes, but similar, and "LA"/Anaheim is a much bigger
market than Arlington, Texas was. So do you overpay to
get the prize free agent? Who doesn't? Pujols will be
able to DH in his senior years, which I will go on record
as to say that they will happen sooner rather than later.
The Angels will market the crap out of him and get back
most of their investment as well as probably see a World
Series appearance at least within the next fives years,
and make wonderful PR headlines all the while.

By the time this contract is over, we may even get to
find out if he is 32 in 2012 or he is 35, but hey,
today they made headlines, so why would anyone think that
this will be the end of that. It's all in the numbers.


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Mad Stork Sports with Nick Rizzo - Live

More on the Syracuse Saga, and there are lots of
other things going on in the world of sports as
well, so join me for a fun filled hour of banter
on Mad Stork Sports with Nick Rizzo live
tonight and every Wednesday on Scatterradio.
Call in and be a part of the show.



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Are The Miami Marlins Really Fishing, Or Are They Nuts?

Courtesy: Ball Park Chasers

The question here is pretty simple: Are they serious?
About what they have done, and offered these past few
days I mean, or is it simply just to drum up publicity?

In the last few days they have made offers to Jose Reyes
for 6 years at 90 million, which is not crazy by any
means, but a number the New York Mets can easily match,
and may match. They have offered Albert Pujols a 9 year
deal at about a little under 200 million, which again is
a number St. Louis would gladly match and has been tied
to in the past, and they have met with Chicago White Sox
free agent starting pitcher Mark Buehrle twice, and are
rumored to be making a strong push for him as well.

This is a team that at one point last year during a single
admission doubleheader drew approximately 250 people,
and they don't normally do much better at other times
either. They have actually had bad attendance numbers
even in years after they have won the World Series if
memory serves me correctly. So where do they think the
people are going to come from? Is this all smoke and
mirrors or do they really thin that a new stadium is
going to make people magically appear?

"If you build it they will come?" Maybe, but if you
suck, they will stop. They may not suck if they sign
all three of these players, but it's no guarantee they
will win either (See the Miami Heat, Philadelphia Eagles)



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Ranting With Rizzo Replay 10-31-11

Happy Halloween, hope this podcast fits in to
your day somehow. On this show we talk much
about the Cards and Rangers World Series, and
look at the Steelers and Patriots matchup, as
well as the usual minutia, so listen in and
write in at rizzo@wdisam.com
Thanks !




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Would You Give Albert Pujols 300 Million Dollars

Photo: RedBirdRants

Well if you want him on your team, that's probably
what he and his agent are going to be looking for.
Keep in mind that he turned down a nine year 200
million dollar contract at the beginning of this
season. Also keep in mind that he turns 32 in
January, coupled by the fact that his numbers have
all dropped in the last three years. His numbers
were great this year after a miserable start, and
yet what will they be in three more years at the
advanced age of 35? He has shown his glove to be
a detriment, and it couldn't have been more glaring
than it was in the 2011 World Series. His home
run numbers have dropped by an average of five per
year in the last three seasons (47, 42, 37), his
rbi numbers have dropped by an average of 18 in
that same span (135, 118, 99), and his average over
the past four seasons has seen a tumble of 58 points
(.357, .327, .312, .299) to fall below .300
I can hear many of you now shouting "I'll take that!"

Yankees fans might be the first to say we want him,
but their memories are short, and only need to look
as far as A-Rod who will struggle to perform to the
size of his contract for the remaining 6 seasons
at an average of about 28 million per year.
A-Rod is 36 years of age, and though many will say
that the reason for his bad numbers are injuries,
injuries are just another way to say "AGE".

Enjoy the World Series victory Cardinals fans, you've
won two with Pujols, and been to three, you got your
moneys worth out of him now don't be stupid and
grossly overpay for past performance. I'm a big fan
of giving a player a little extra for what he's done
for you in the past, but what Albert his people will
be asking is just plain insanity. Step back, think
it over, and use your head, don't make a foolish and
rash decision. With all that said, someone will do
it anyway, and it will give me more to write about
and you more to biatch about. Mark this down, this
is a bad idea, Period.



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Ranting With Rizzo Replay 10-24-11

Last weeks show gets posted early in case you
missed it. Email the show to have your question
or comment read on the air at rizzo@wdisam.com
Enjoy the show!




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World Series Sees The Cardinals Return

This World Series birth for the St. Louis Cardinals
is eerily similar to when they won it all in 2006.
The Cardinals had no real business be in it then,
and in a way if it wasn't for the collapsing Braves,
and the under achieving Phillies, they would have
no business being in it now. This is their third
appearance in 8 years, and Tony LaRussa just keeps
finding ways to stick his foot in it. There is no
way they get away from paying Albert Pujols now.
The Rangers better pull out all the stops, this
isn't going to be easy, only Francona and Piniella
have had much luck against LaRussa teams, and they
had to make sure and sweep em to make it stick.


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