Closing Time: The Wire - HAIM

Awww yeah, here's a new song to fall in love with on a fine Wednesday night.  HAIM features three women and I would like to think they might find themselves on Top 40 at some point of this year. HAIM has an interesting sound because it is definitely pop but it reminds me more of the mid-80's pop with actual instrument use instead of using production. Dougy was all over these three sisters in April which should surprise no one. I really enjoyed it and watch out for their album in September. Tomorrow starts our NFL series as well as other things. I am excited for it. Good night Tappers.

Charlie.

Read More

MANCHESTER UNITED THIRD OFFER FOR FC BARCELONA CESC FABREGAS

Third time lucky,  perhaps ? News out of England comment that Manchester United will put on the table of FC Barcelona a third offer for Spanish International midfielder Cesc Fabregas. The offers have been rising from 30M€ to 35M€ to a now & last 40M€ that would be a record for the English Club. The English Football giant considers Fabregas a priority for the new season & in their future plans &

Read More

SnoTap 12-Pack: Beers with College Football Coaches

At least for the next two days, the SnoTap 12-Pack will be a thing. I have no idea if it will continue weekly, monthly or whenever I feel like it. I also understand there are so, so many good players left off this list, I would love to hear your list on Twitter or in the comments section. 

Some may find it weird, but I always judge coaches and then their teams on 'Would I like to have a beer with that guy?' You can find that odd, but honestly, it is a good barometer on how I feel about this particular person.  This is my 12-pack of coaches, some would probably be for one beer, others we would be knocking them back until bar close or beyond.  

12.) Urban Meyer, Ohio State Head Coach - Look I do not think this would be the greatest time in my life, hell it would probably be like pulling teeth but there is so much about Meyer's coaching career that is fascinating from turning down Notre Dame to Tebow to his time at Ohio State thus far. Gotta think this is a one or two beer conversation though, nothing more than that.  

11.) Bret Bielema, Arkansas Head Coach - I do not fancy myself as the biggest Wisconsin football fan out there, but I still like the team. Bielema would be interesting to talk to just as to why he left Wisconsin. I have my personal opinions but I would love to hear it straight from the former coach's mouth.  Yes, this beer drinking session would be done in Las Vegas and only Las Vegas because we all know Bret loves to get after it.  

10.) Mike Leach, Washington State Head Coach - No brainer here. Is he too low on the list?  Probably, but I feel like he could be someone that might be a little less bombastic when the cameras are not on. There is a strong chance I could be completely wrong about, and yes the topics with him are endless given everything in his career.

9.) David Shaw, Stanford Head Coach - The Goofy Tree's head ball coach inspired to make this list after an interview he did last week. The interview was with Dan Le Batard and Bomani Jones and found him to be very refreshing and also pretty funny. One thing that people forget about Shaw is he spent nine years as a scout in the National Football League so the assumption is he would have a lot of stories to tell about that profession as well as his current one.

8.) Dabo Sweeney, Clemson Head Coach - There is something about him that makes me think he would electric about two beers in. Sweeney really does seem to care about his players and that he is enjoying being a head football coach. Of course, I would ask him questions about South Carolina and what it is like going up against them head-to-head and in recruiting. I would have to keep my lips sealed about what Sweeney says when we get later down in the list.

7.) Art Briles, Baylor Head Coach - If you read this fantastic interview by Spencer Hall on Baylor's head coach, you can see why he would be someone to have a beer with and talk shop. Topics from how he ascended to be one of the top coaches in college football, Robert Griffin III, recruiting athletes to Waco, Texas and BBQ. Hopefully, we become good enough friends that I get a nickname.  

6.) Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M Head Coach - YESSIR. He might be most sought after coach at this very moment.  One thing I would love to talk to him about is being an African-American coach in the Southeastern Conference. I believe he is only the fourth one in the entire history of the conference. Obviously, I would ask some Johnny Manziel questions but I would be curious to know about other players as well.

5.) Brady Hoke, Michigan Head Coach - Truth be told, I hated Michigan growing up because I could not stand Lloyd Carr. I always felt like he had a smug arrogance about Michigan football and himself. When Hoke came to Michigan, I started to change my opinion about team. They are still B1G rivals to the team I cheer for regularly, but I still would like to swap stories with him. Although if we did have beers, I would probably ask him to say 'not....GOOD!' about 20 times.

4.) Les Miles, LSU Head Coach - For the longest time, I have been a fan of Coach Miles. The reason being is I feel like he is having fun coaching, not taking himself too seriously. He kept his eating grass ritual even after so many gave him shit. Miles is still a wild card on the field as well. I would love to know about the Honey Badger, Jordan Jefferson and what it is like to be the coach of one of the more rabid fanbases in the country.  

3.) Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech Head Coach - Without question, he would be the best coach for wing man purposes. We can all admit, Kingsbury is a good looking dude. If there were ever a movie on him, Ryan Gosling is a shoe-in. Kingsbury would be fun to talk to about Johnny Manziel, if he actually dated Britney Spears which would lead down an entirely different rabbit hole and how he broke into coaching at such a young age.  

2.) Steve Spurrier, South Carolina Head Coach - The question is where would this one take place? Probably on the boat and hopefully, the Ole Ball Coach decides to wear his best Hawaiian shirt. Recently, Spurrier said of his 50th high school reunion, 'It was disappointing how many people went home early.'  He would have some great stories ranging from his own playing career to Dan Snyder to meetings with Stephen Garcia. I assume all would be great.  

1.) Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia Head Coach - This is an absolute no-brainer at number one. Holgo is known for red bulls, gambling and seems like a guy that gets completely after it. This is more from a get drunk standpoint versus actually wanting to talk to him although I am sure he would be fascinating. We would definitely do it in Morgantown versus my home town because it seems like Morgantown knows how to get after it.

Charlie.

Read More

SnoTap Buzz: Wednesday July 31st

Action Bronson performs 'Stricly 4 My Jeeps' at an old folks home. Action Bronson is the absolute best. (Noisey, @runthedive) 

Oregon Football has a brand spanking new facility and I would live to live there for the rest of my life. Just fantastic. (The Big Lead) 

The NCAA is letting Eddie Vanderdoes, a five-star defensive lineman freshman, play at UCLA after transferring from Notre Dame in April. Brian Kelly is not pleased. I would not be either, bad precedent. (Chicago Tribune) 

NBCSN is adding a couple new shows featuring prominent sports writers. I have no idea if it is going to work because writers are always different with the camera in front of them. Pat Forde is usually a good interview though. (Awful Announcing) 

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton greets a fan in the stands rocking a six-pack in his beard. This is a must-see, what a visionary (Deadspin) 

Read More

Brandt Wins Canada; Firestone Hosts an Elite Group

I spent my weekend relaxing in the Northwoods meaning my attention was not completely on the RBC Canadian Open, The players in Canada did not disappoint in a surprisingly loaded field. Hunter Mahan got off to a hot start and held the 36-hole lead but withdrew for reasons beyond his control, somewhat. Mahan’s wife went into labor with their firstborn and he did what most anyone would do, and left the tournament to be by her side. People in the media have been overstating his departure and saying he gave up a tournament that was his to lose; I disagree. Hunter still had two rounds to get through and he would have had the incredible, consistent play of Brandt Snedeker to compete with.

I tracked and listened to a majority of the final round, which was mostly highlighted by Mr. Snedeker doing what he had to do to bring home his second victory of the 2013 season. Interestingly enough, with three holes to play on Sunday, Dustin Johnson found himself with a one shot lead. This did not last for long though, as he went on to triple bogey his next hole. Johnson continues to show that he does not have what it takes to pull through in the clutch, even in these ‘small’ tournaments. I am starting to doubt he will ever bust through for a major title.

This week’s main PGA event is not a major, but it might as well be. Besides The Players Championship, the World Golf Championships have provided some of the finest fields to accompany their outstanding tournaments. The Bridgestone Invitational will be the final WGC event on the calendar for the year, and it looks to provide just as much excitement as the first two. Earlier in the year, we saw Matt Kuchar take the WGC Match Play in Arizona and Tiger Woods win the Cadillac Championship at Blue Monster. Firestone CC in Akron, OH will play host again this year as Keegan Bradley looks to defend his 2012 title and try to notch his first victory on tour this season.

With this tournament coming on the eve of the year’s final major, I feel it is important to look back to pre-major tournaments this year to see who could rise to the top this week. In my mind, there are four tournaments worth looking at here; Valero Texas Open (Pre-Masters), St. Jude Classic (Pre-U.S. Open), John Deere Classic (Pre-Open Championship), and The Scottish Open (Pre-Open Championship).

Phil Mickelson has been no stranger to the top of these leaderboards. As we all know, this is Mickelson's first tournament back since his impressive victory in The Open Championship. Phil has no trouble getting it rolling pre-major. He won the Scottish Open, which is a non-PGA Tour event, and he took second to Harris English at the rainy St. Jude Classic. I have given up on predicting winners every week, but I am pretty confident Phil will be right up there.

Billy Horschel is another guy that just refuses to be anywhere but in contention. Billy already notched one victory this year and is coming off a rough showing in Scotland. Horschel finished in the top five at Valero and placed top 10 at St. Jude. He has been incredibly consistent most of the 2013 campaign and I am believe he can get back on track at Firestone.

Although he is not a big name, I would keep an eye on Martin Laird to be in contention. He won the Valero going into the Masters and stuck right with Phil to finish fifth in the Scottish Open before The Open. He may need the help of a birdie ridden round but that is never out of the question with how talented Laird is with the putter.

There will be a small, yet electric field playing this weekend, all looking to get some momentum going into Oak Hill. Tiger Woods remains the only multi-time champion here, with seven victories overall. Although he didn’t win in 2012, everyone will be chasing him, as always when Tiger is playing in a tournament.

-Bryan Reynolds   

Read More

The Challenge Power Rankings Week 3

When The Challenge cast decided act out others personalities, I knew right away we were about to see some true fireworks.  All of these people are complete headcases, and any of them could say something completely out of line.

 After the cast found out about Marlon's bisexuality, Knight decided to take it to another level by doing an oral sex motion in charades after Derek and Marlon had hooked up.  He took offense to this and a fracas broke out between the two. Knight always seems to have a 'Gives zero f---s' attitude, but he really seems to relishing being the bad guy. What a toolbag move by Knight though at the end trying to tell a former linebacker from Texas Tech how to fight just because he played semi-pro hockey, get outta here with that.

(H/T Crushable.com) 

The fights did not stop there. Aneesa and Trishelle looked like they should have been teammates because they went at each others throats. Trishelle making fun of Aneesa for stripping is like Barry Bonds criticizing Alex Rodriguez. I feel like this is the end of Trishelle. She quit and really is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things when it comes to The Challenge. I wish she would have announced her retirement because there is nothing left.

12. Cooke & Cara Maria:  Last Week 12.) - This might be the next team on the chopping block. I nearly called it last week before Preston/Knight went into army crawl for the win. Cara Maria and Cooke do not really have many friends in Thailand plus they do not play the game very well. They are done.

11. Jasmine & Theresa:  LW 13.) - Man this team has been almost as disappointing as the next one. Jasmine has not freaked out once?  They have one of her witty/snarky quotes cued up and that's about it. Theresa chirped a bit in the first episode but nothing dramatic at all. I expected much more from this team, but it is still very early.

10. Leroy & Ty: LW 9.) - I realize The Challenge producers set up the season with different focal points and so far I am disappointed they have ignored this team. Ty is completely unpredictable and Roy Lee is a fun dude. It appears judging by what I remember from the various previews that will change this evening, hope that's true.

9. Preston & Knight: LW 14.) - What the hell?  Knight, a Wisconsin-bred kid showed off his ignorance as we mentioned above, but here's the part I do not understand Miss Lippy... Preston is very proud of his homosexuality and how can he just be okay with what Knight did?  I understand the dude is your teammate, but it still does not excuse it.

8. Nany & Jonna: LW 10.) - Ah Nany got herself involved with a hookup at the end of the episode with Marlon whom hooked up with Derek at the beginning of the episode. I loved how Nany just shook off the whole bisexual notion. While it is not a big deal, it would still be something major to wrap your head around at least for me if it were a woman.  She clearly wanted some of the love that is flowing in Thailand. Three episodes in  and three episodes have ended with a hookup, I believe that has not been done before.

7. Jordan & Marlon: LW 11.) - Big time episode for the newcomers.  Marlon is the first person to hook up with both sexes in the same episode (I do not know if this is accurate, but it feels right). No man or woman are safe. In the non-hookup division, they competed really well in the last Challenge and they look like a group here to stay for awhile.

6. Camila & Jemmye: LW 7.) - I suggest the next hookup should be Zach or Trey and Camila because I feel like the three of them are the only ones caring about the actual Challenge. Most people just want to get drunk and have a good time. But these three want to win everything and start yelling at everyone. The latter is more for Camila, love you girl.

5. Aneesa & Diem: LW 5.) - They have stayed steadily at five for the entire year and that's okay with me. They are a major part of the season and I am not sure if that's a good thing or not.  I assume we will see less of them in the coming weeks.

4. Zach & Trey: LW 3.) - Both of these guys probably tried too hard in intramurals. Although Zach had the line of the night when Aneesa and Trishelle were fighting, 'It is like watching a twisted version of two Golden Girls fight.'  

3. Johnny Bananas & Frank: LW 4.) - They notched their first win of the year. I have full confidence in saying they will be there in the end. JB plays the game so well he almost always avoids going in The Jungle (We know what happens when he ends up going... Getting dragged by CT) and Frank will probably ride his coattails. I believe I called Bananas, the Michael Jordan of the game last time around.

2. CT & Wes: LW 2.) - For the first episode, CT remained quiet. That does not mean he is not an assassin.  They also seem to be out of the crosshairs of the people wanting to send them to the Challenge. This is a good thing.

1. Emily & Paula: LW 1.) - WHO GON STOP ME, WHO GON STOP ME, WHO GON STOP ME... Emily is probably saying that right now, she is like Kanye and Paula is basically Cyhi the Prince riding the coattails of a great one.

Charlie.

Read More

Addition by Subtraction: Bucks trade BJ3 to Detroit

Late yesterday afternoon, Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski and ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that the Bucks and Pistons had moved on a deal that would send the Bucks' first round pick from the 2009 NBA Draft, the enigmatic Brandon Jennings, to Detroit for a package centered around Detroit's eighth overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft.

The other players coming over from Detroit are Khris Middleton and Ukrainian center Slava Kravtsov.

I'd say about 90 percent of the reaction to this trade in Milwaukee is extremely positive. If the Bucks RealGM board is mostly happy about it, you know that Bucks GM John Hammond might have actually won a trade for once.

One Pistons RealGM poster came over to the Bucks trade thread and said that Milwaukee got their Tobias Harris. I'm guessing by that he means he's a forward that looked very good in limited playing time. Apparently, he's shown good ability to knock down threes and can defend pretty well. Hopefully he can develop into the all important 3 and D man.

My personal reaction is I'm thrilled for multiple reasons:

The first is that Brandon Jennings needed to go. He was becoming a cancer to the organization year in and year out with his on/off switch (meaning if he gets criticized for not being a passing PG, he'll go out and collect 15+ assists for three or four games in a row then go back to chucking) and him quitting on the team after every All-Star after not making it each year.

It seems like the fans in Wisconsin absolutely will not put up with that kind of attitude and why should they?

The second reason is that not only did the Bucks not extend Jennings for multiple years like many fans had feared they traded him for three guys that are young and seem to have some good upside. As I mentioned Knight was the eighth overall pick in the 2011 draft and is only 21 years old. He was one of the top prospects in the draft that year but dropped to eighth for one reason or another. He hasn't been anything to write home about in his first two years in the NBA but I'm intrigued to see what Larry Drew and Nick Van Exel can do for his development. From everything I've read, Knight is a high character, hard-worker that spends a lot of time in the gym working to get better.

I've already mentioned that I'm happy with Middleton being included in the deal. As far as Kravtsov, I'm not even sure he'll make the team as the Bucks are now one over the maximum roster limit and somebody has to go. I'm guessing he'll battle it out with fellow newly acquired Euro center Miroslav Raduljica. PG Ish Smith should also be on alert because the Bucks now have Knight, Luke Ridnour, and Nate Wolters to run the point.

The third reason I'm excited is (assuming the Bucks don't make a mediocre splash move and acquire a decent small forward) it would appear that the stealth tank is on. That, or Hammond and coach Drew have finally caught Herb slippin' and he agreed to letting youth play this year, allowing the Bucks to play for a good draft pick in the vaunted 2014 NBA Draft.

I really won't get my hopes up and truly believe this is the case. I mean, we all know better than that.

Yet another reason I'm excited is that the Bucks now should have rid themselves of their large egos and seem to have nothing but high character, hard-working guys. They've gone out and acquired some blue collar guys that Milwaukee can enjoy watching. Guys like Knight, Ridnour, Zaza Pachulia and even Gary Neal, who can bring some San Antonio Spurs class with him...hopefully.

My only worry is OJ Mayo may have some cockiness to him but I'll wait to see him play a few games before I judge. Also, I've read some rumblings that LARRY SANDERS! became "uncoachable"  and his head got big after he became an impact player for the Bucks.

Most fans refuse to believe this, myself included. I think it comes down to Larry being a competitor and got sick of Jennings and Ellis playing selfish/average ball every night. He's the leader of this team...at least I hope he steps up and becomes the leader because he seems to have some great leadership qualities. He wants to "revitalize the culture" in Milwaukee and he apparently wants to stay here for his entire career. The Bucks never hear that. Make it happen, Johnny.

Above all, this trade signals a changing of the guard for Milwaukee basketball and I'm pretty excited to see what happens in the next few seasons.

Read More

Tap's Tweet of the Day: Ian Desmond

By now, you know how this works.... I find athlete tweets, pictures, Instagrams or Vines that I find funny/cool and we put them on our site. Sometimes they are late because I see multiple good ones in the same day. Yes I realize that ruins the purpose of instant social media... shut up already. Follow me on Twitter here

Sources: ......... I got nothing but sure did feel good to say sources. I love the trade deadline. Seriously, the suspense.
— Ian Desmond (@IanDesmond20) July 30, 2013

Ah yes the Major League Baseball trade deadline. Not much has happened yet besides the Jake Peavy trade which might get covered in a blog post and definitely will get talked about on the Tapping The Keg episode. Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond loves the rumors because he was never involved whatsoever because Desmond is too damn good and the Nationals would look like idiots if they traded Desmond. Sources is not the best part though Ian, the best part is when people start making up fake Twitter accounts of real journalists.

Charlie.

Read More

Tap's Trailers: Gravity

It is about time we showed this trailer. We tend to be a bit behind with them unless we have good reason to play them in advance because it will be that popular of a movie. We did our Fantasy Box Office and I am deeply regretting not getting Gravity in the first round. This looks like an amazing movie. The graphics alone sold me then add the pieces of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney even if he will do his best Syriana impression plus Alfonso Cuaron as the director in his first movie since Children of Men, this movie will have some Oscar buzz to it.

Charlie.  

Read More

First Taste: Iowa Gurl Rock (Music Video) - Toussaint Morrison

TOSAAAAAAAAAA. I am from Wauwatosa and it got mentioned in a song by local hip-hop artist Toussaint Morrison. TJ Matzen posted the video on his Facebook and I liked it from the first 30 seconds as Wauwatosa gets mentioned right away. But the song itself is pretty awesome as well as the video. Honestly, we do not enough with local music so it is always nice to showcase some true talent right in the good ole 414. If you like the song, it is available for free download and you can name your price for his album.

Charlie.

Read More

NEYMAR DEBUTS WITH FC BARCELONA

It is the photo that FC Barcelona fans have been waiting all year. The debut of Brazilian Football sensation Neymar with his new Spanish Football Club. 




The forward came on late , around the 77th min mark, to replace Alexis in a pre-season match against Polish Club Gdansk which ended 2 - 2. The Brazilian was fiercely followed & one may say was welcomed to European Football with some "rough"

Read More

Closing Time: Chad Qualls Invents the Barrel Roll Fist Pump

You have to love the emotion from Miami Marlins reliever Chad Qualls. He plays on the worst team in baseball and still gets fired up for getting big outs. Qualls finished his fist pump by falling down and doing a barrel roll in fantastic fashion. I can relate with Chad as I am known klutz. If I ever were to get a Wikipedia page, there would be a section where klutzy moments have reign supreme. One of my more famous ones took place in Minneapolis where I went to see the Brewers play the Twins in the old Metrodome. After Saturday's game and some adult beverages, I began to taunt Twins fans from across the way.  All the sudden I fell down because they were filling a piece of sidewalk and I completely bypassed the orange sign.  Good night Tappers. (H/T @AnswerDave)

Charlie.

Read More

SnoTap 12-Pack: College Football Players to Watch

At least for the next two days, the SnoTap 12-Pack will be a thing. I have no idea if it will continue weekly, monthly or whenever I feel like it. I also understand there are so, so many good players left off this list, I would love to hear your list on Twitter or in the comments section. 

12.) Marqise Lee, Wide Receiver, USC, Junior - One of the most electrifying receivers in college football. Lee will definitely put up some big numbers when it comes to grabbing all ball thrown to him looking like no Pac-12 opposing secondary can stop him. Lee had seven games where he had 10 or more catches and only had five games where he did not have 100 yards of receiving. He always has breakaway speed making him a threat for the deep ball. Now, he does need a quarterback to throw him the ball.

11.) Duke Johnson, Running Back, Miami, Sophomore - This man is an absolute beast in the making. He might not be familiar with casual college football fans, but he definitely could be the next in the long linage of Miami running backs. Johnson is an absolute threat to score every single time he touches the football and cuts like the sharpest knife in the drawer. Johnson is one of the reasons why there will be articles from ESPN, Sports Illustrated and others on why 'The U is back.'

10.) Taylor Lewan, Offensive Lineman, Michigan, Senior - Many people would not put a lineman in their 12 players to watch, but most people do not watch the position. I did more so when I still played to learn more about the position, but now and again, I will watch the lineman versus the play happening. Lewan will be the player to watch this year as he might be a top five pick in the NFL Draft next year.  He also has a finger mustache tattoo which is a just a fantastic side note.  

SnoTap 12-Pack Wisconsin Special 
Melvin Gordon, Running Back, Wisconsin, Sophomore - While he will not even start this year for the Badgers, he has to be the most exciting player coming back to the roster right?  Gordon has SEC speed and can catch the ball out of the backfield making him a versatile player. James White is not a bruising back by any means, but Gordon and him could be a thunder/lightening duo on the year wearing down opposing teams. Not outrageous to think Gordon might have Heisman consideration in years to come.

9.) Anthony Barr, Linebacker, UCLA 


Other than the bad man in Columbia, South Carolina, there is not a player in college football who will inflict more pain than Barr.  He is a machine in Jim Mora's 3-4 defense and projected to be a top pick in next year's draft.  Barr is more famously known for his punishing hit on former USC quarterback Matt Barkley, but he is so much more than just one single hit. Barr has fantastic closing speed and can truly get off the ball. He is one of two linebackers (Kyle Van Noy says hello) to really keep a close eye on all Fall.  

8.) Braxton Miller, Quarterback, Ohio State, Junior - When the rumors started about Urban Meyer going to Ohio State, I told my old roommate Seth that 'Braxton Miller might be a Heisman by his junior year.' Miller will definitely have that chance this year. This is his second year in Urban Meyer's system which tends to be the golden ticket...  Alex Smith threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 32 touchdowns along with 600 yards of rushing in year 2 in Meyer's system leading them to an undefeated record. Tim Tebow had over 2,800 yards passing and almost 900 yards rushing to go along with 55 total touchdowns; Tebow won the Heisman and a National Championship. It should be expected that Miller will be excellent.

7.) Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Oregon, Sophomore - In my opinion, he is the most underrated player in all of college football. People love to talk about Manziel, Miller, Boyd but somehow Mariotta gets forgotten. Why is that?  In part, he is on the west coast and players not in Los Angeles tend to get a little less love than your SEC/B1G players even though Oregon is an extremely public team, some of their games are on when people are sleeping or attempting to get black out drunk. The other might be the system. I am telling you Mariotta is far from a system quarterback and he will be a contender to be one of the best quarterbacks all year.

6.) T.J. Yeldon, Running Back, Alabama, Sophomore - Want the next Adrian Peterson? This might be your answer. We have talked about Johnson and Gordon plus countless other great ones but Yeldon might be the best running back of the year when it is all said and done. Yeldon has the rare combination of size and speed that is unmatched by most in college football. After being in the shadows of Eddie Lacy, he will be ready to shine this season. We all saw a glimpse of Yeldon's potential late last season when he broke out for over 150 yards against Georgia and followed it up with another 100 yard performance against a tough Notre Dame run defense.

 5.) Louis Nix, Defensive Tackle, Notre Dame, Senior - There are some players I am happy to see stay in school because I get to watch them dominate for another year. Louis Nix is one of those players. He is the definition of a space eater but he also has feet like a ballerina. The size and speed Nix brings to the table is a sight to see on a weekly basis. Nix can make plays to disrupt both the pass and the rush as well as clear pathways for linebackers.  Much of Manti Te'o's success in stopping the run and getting through on blitzes is due to Nix and Stephon Tuitt.

4.) Tajh Boyd, Quarterback, Clemson, Senior - Maybe I am alone on an island, but I feel like he could be a hell of an NFL quarterback. I hope we have gotten past 'Well he's too short for the position' because Russell Wilson would love to have a word with you. Clemson is known for their car crash finishes to their season, and Boyd is the type of player that could change things. In the last two years, Boyd's yardage is near 4,000 yards with 35+ touchdowns and last year he increased his running yardage from 200 to 500 yards. What he will do for his final encore could be truly special.  

3.) Teddy Bridgewater, Quarterback, Louisville, Junior - I can still remember watching Louisville-Cincinnati with the Bellevue boys on a Friday night. I kept telling them about the potential Bridgewater possessed; many had not heard of him yet as he was a virtual unknown to casual fans in late October.  I told them I believe he will be a top pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and could make Louisville a National Championship contender. I have no idea why I started so high on Bridgewater, but I love everything about his game. Every single positive adjective used to describe a quarterback can be used for Bridgewater.

2.) Jadeveon Clowney, Defensive End, South Carolina, Junior - Hate to keep going down memory road, but I still recall seeing Clowney commit to college. I worked out early that morning and wondered 'Is this kid really worth the hype?' My self-asked question would be answered quickly and swiftly in the first year Clowney played at South Carolina. He is a beast, freak, and any other word to describe someone whom seems like a superhero in football pads. For his short career, he has 21 sacks, eight forced fumbles, 35.5 tackles for losses and probably many more assists for South Carolina linebackers. He is must-see TV every week.

1.) Johnny Manziel, Quarterback Texas A&M, Sophomore


 He is the number one and maybe not for the reason stated above. Right now, Manziel is the most-talked about college athlete and probably top three most talked about athlete in all sports. If Dirk Notwitzki read ESPN's Wright Thompson's piece on Manziel, he would be shutting it down and going home, it's that good.  Manziel will drive the ratings of the Alabama-Texas A&M to astronomical numbers for the second game of the season.  None of this currently has to do with football, but truthfully, he is one of the most fun players to watch in college football. Let's hope there is no sophomore slump.

Charlie.  

Read More

SnoTap Buzz: Tuesday July 30th

Nirvana is going to release a reissue of In Uetro, their third and final album celebrating its 20th year anniversary. It will also include a complete live set. (Rolling Stone) 

Texas A&M defensive lineman Polo Manukainiu and Utah defensive end Gaius Vaenuku passed away in a car accident early Tuesday morning.  Extremely sad, RIP to both as well as the other passenger whom lost his life. (SB Nation) 

Mark Attanasio apologizes to the fans in his heartfelt letter. I personally did not need this, but a majority of people in Milwaukee did. Braun will definitely feel an outcast come 2014 and that's a bummer. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) 

Zach Lowe not surprisingly hits this one out of the park about Oklahoma City Thunder and their finances including the Harden deal. (Grantland) 

Kentucky running backs coach tweets a rap lyric about money and giving people money then deletes it within 10 seconds. But like peeing your pants in the 6th grade, people do not forget on the Internet. (Lost Letterman) 

DMX owes 1.24 million dollars in child support. Not good at all. Yesterday at the gym, 'X Gon' Give It To Ya' came on and I thought 'I wonder how many high school/college athletes still use DMX in their warmup mixes?' I hope a lot of them. (Wall Street Journal) 

Read More

Five in, Five Out: The NFL Playoff Complex

The 2012 NFL season was madness. Things happened that we have never seen happened before while that could be said every year, it seems like last year had a unique feel to it. For the first time in over a decade, the National Football League did not get five new playoff teams. This is weird quirk in the league and truly showing the depth of the NFL. Instead they got four, but we here at SnoTap believes that is a blip in the trend.

Three of new playoff teams last year had rookie quarterbacks and the other one had a one-year quarterback with a freak running back. We are bound to get this wrong just like last year when we gave Indianapolis, Seattle and Minnesota no shot.

This year seems to be very hard again to predict given they're so many teams that could be in the playoffs. The NFC has two teams in each division worthy of a playoff spot if not more while the AFC does not have that much depth yet they still have very good teams on the cusp of the playoffs.

The Vince McMahon No Chance in Hell Group

Oakland Raiders - The quarterback situation is a complete mess. They seem to have too many missing pieces at this very moment. In my opinion, this will be the worst team in the National Football League. I cannot see them being very successful.   

Jacksonville Jaguars - I like the direction the Jaguars are heading because they will be back in the playoffs in the next three to five years without question.  They have nothing going for them at quarterback, but their defense is not shabby plus Maurice Jones-Drew is still a monster.  

San Diego Chargers - This is a team no one is circling as a squad who might pick in the first five picks in the 2014 NFL Draft. Phillip Rivers is not a good quarterback anymore and even though Mike McCoy is an upgrade from Norv Turner, I feel confident in saying Rivers' goose is cooked. 

New York Jets - Another team in freefall. They will be the most talked about 4-12 team of all-time. I cannot see Mark Sanchez or Geno Smith reviving this team with the wide receiving core and their running game although that part could be improved versus last year.  

Maybe a chance, but the same chance as I have of getting gold toilets unless I'm Kanye 

St. Louis Rams - I think the Rams have the best chance out of this group. They are a good team playing in a tough division. If the Rams were in the AFC West, they might be a playoff team, but the fact they play in NFC West is a death blow to this team's chances playing San Francisco and Seattle twice a year. 

Buffalo Bills - I just do not see it this year. I thought the Bills had a great draft and as we learned last year, rookie classes can make all the difference. I think they are a couple years away from being a playoff contender, but their window is more open than ever before. 

Tennessee Titans - They really could be in the Vince McMahon category. Jake Locker does not seem like an NFL quarterback. Chris Johnson could be truly hit or miss. They added some more on the line and defense, but that does not feel like it would be enough. 

Carolina Panthers - I would love to put the Panthers in the sleepers category and this will be something we touch on in our 32 in 31 series in August but their schedule is absolutely ridiculous for a team that drafted in the first 16 picks. Poor Cam Newton.  

Sleepers That Aren't Sleepers 

Philadelphia Eagles - A team where the hype is way bigger than what this team will actually be this year. They still need a year or two to really formulate a team for Chip Kelly. He will not have all the pieces there this year which will lead people will make wild opinions about this team that are unjust.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - I wish I could trust this team more. I love Josh Freeman but he is so inconsistent. If he hits, this team could be a playoff contender without question with their running game and their offensive line plus their talented receivers.  The offense is there, the defense is there, but is their quarterback going to be along with them?  That question remains unanswered.   

Cleveland Browns - People are high on the Browns because they have some true talent there with Trent Richardson and Joe Haden as well as a blue-chip player like Joe Thomas. Cleveland will definitely win some games, but the fact they have one of the worst quarterback groups in the NFL will bite them hard.  

Actual Sleepers 

Detroit Lions - With a team with four wins, the assumption would be they have an easy schedule for the season. That is inaccurate as they have to play the NFC East and AFC North, both tough divisions. The Lions added some pieces, but they will need to be better in the secondary to be a playoff team. If they are, they could get back to the playoffs.      

Arizona Cardinals - They would have to catch a ton of breaks in the NFC West, but they have a strong defense plus quality special teams with Patrick Patterson and the Honey Badger. They added Carson Palmer giving Larry Fitzgerald is first true quarterback in awhile. I am not saying Palmer is an elite quarterback, but he is an upgrade from the John Skelton's of the world.

Miami Dolphins - I could really buy this team into the playoffs. They have a solid defense and play in a weak division that could be weaker with the unknown ceiling of the New England Patriots. Ryan Tannehill's second year could be great. Yes the same guy I completely shitted on all throughout last year and during the NFL Draft, but hear me out. He had a pretty good season and could take his game to another level.    

The Great Five 

Dallas Cowboys - It is put up or shut up time for this team. The NFC East is a very tough division to break through yet the Cowboys seem to be putting it all together to make a playoff run. Dez Bryant looks like he might be the superstar wide receiver, their defense is tougher than people give it credit for and I feel more confident that their line can protect Tony Romo than ever before.   

New Orleans Saints - If I were heading to Vegas, I would put a lot of money on this team making the playoffs plus hitting their over in terms. Sean Payton being back for this team is a huge boost for this team and will help them immediately. They also added some talent all over the field. While Drew Brees interceptions totals scared me last year, he is still a hell of a quarterback and someone whom can wins games on his own.  

Pittsburgh Steelers - A team that did a great job at rebuilding for a year and they should be ready to contend again. Big Ben was not healthy for the entire season and for what seems to be the sixth straight year, the offensive line could not have been more of a disaster. Big Ben is healthy, line looks better and their defense will be top notch again as well.  

Kansas City Chiefs - Andy Reid has only three seasons where his team did not have at least eight wins. The Chiefs were plagued by injuries last season with Eric Berry and others. Adding Eric Fischer to their offensive line will help them out big time along with Brandon Albert. Add to the fact, they are playing in the weak AFC West.  This might be a playoff team.   

Chicago Bears - It feels like the Bears will be a playoff team. They should have been last year. Their schedule is not easy by any means, but I feel Jay Cutler plays at another level this year among other things they improve on.  Their defensive front seven worries me a bit, but they still have many playmakers that can force turnovers, something the Bears pride themselves on.

Charlie. 

Read More

Tap's Tweet of the Day: Ervin Santana

By now, you know how this works.... I find athlete tweets, pictures, Instagrams or Vines that I find funny/cool and we put them on our site. Sometimes they are late because I see multiple good ones in the same day. Yes I realize that ruins the purpose of instant social media... shut up already. Follow me on Twitter here

Still @Target of #traderumors #Pitching at #TargetField tomorrow Here's video I made about being a #target https://t.co/LV1dFL97tw #mlb
— Ervin Santana (@ErvinSantana_54) July 29, 2013

This might be the greatest athlete tweet ever. I do not mean that seriously, but Ervin Santana really knows what he's doing with video production. Odds he paid someone in the Royals staff to do it for him? Probably pretty high, but who knows, maybe the guy knows his way around Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro. Maybe even iMovie might work for this video. It is still very funny and I love all the different mentions and hashtags he uses in his tweet. Well done, Ervin, well done.

Charlie.

Read More

Tap's Trailers: The Counselor

Fun story for those who watch Bar Rescue, the DJ Blue Steel from Raleigh recently followed me on Twitter and then unfollowed him when I did not follow back. Sorry bud, don't play #Teamfollowback with a DJ from Raleigh, North Carolina.  This is not a major accomplishment as he follows a lot of people, but his trademark phrase is ALL IN. I am ALL IN on this movie. No questions asked. I will go see it and enjoy it. Ridley Scott can be hit or miss for sure, but it seems like this cast is too good for it to fail plus the plot from the minute eight of viewing looks entertaining. It stars Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Bitt. I am there on opening night.

Charlie.

Read More

First Taste: Idol - Smith Westerns

I do not even try to figure out what's going on in skinny jean rock music videos. I know I have over-analyzed far too many of them on this very website so I have decided to give up on that dream.  I believe Dougy has told me something about the Smith Westerns, but maybe I am wrong. Anyways, their song 'Idol' is pretty enjoyable. If you are curious what the video you are about to watch is, they are basically sitting there the entire time in what seems to be a lifeless state and everyone else around them is having a great time. Maybe the people have fun these days are not the famous people but the people whom attach themselves to them? NAILED IT... Oh shit wasn't supposed to analyze, sorry.

Charlie.

Read More

REAL MADRID - GARETH BALE | APPROACHING A NEW WORLD RECORD TRANSFER ?

The news from the BBC ( UK ) is that Tottenham Hotspurs has knocked back an incredible 98M€ offer from Real Madrid for its player Gareth Bale. According to the English news sources Bale is not impressed at all as he desires to move over to Spain this season. Apparently the player ( & his family ) has began to pressure the Club & its "tough" President Daniel Levy to negotiate to let him go.




As

Read More

Closing Time: Fire - Big Sean

Big Sean is coming back with a new album soon. It will be his sophomore album, and there is definitely not the same excitement people had for the first one. Who knows if it were because of his mixtape, Detroit was sort of average, or his music started blending together too much.  But it is not like Sean has disappeared. He delivered the opening verse on the sensational song 'Clique' with heavy hitters Kanye West and Jay Z as well as other features around the hip-hop world and songs off the upcoming 'Hall of Fame' album have been out for the entire year. The album is set to drop on August 27th, and this is the song, 'Fire'. I apologize for the Kazaa version where we get the edited version, but it is still pretty solid nonetheless. Have a good night Tappers.

Charlie.

Read More

Eddie Lacy Did Not Spend His Summer Eating Cake.

Sometimes on Twitter, people really do not have anything better to do. They get bored whether they are at work, home or running around doing God knows what. But people like to make overgeneralizing statements that sometimes can catch on like wildfire and lead to a hell storm of people overreacting. I know because I have done both parts of this many a time. Today's topic was Eddie Lacy's weight.  Lacy, the rookie running back for the Green Bay Packers, is under the microscope because he played on the best, most public team in college football and he plays on one of the top three most public NFL teams. Here's the picture in question.

This took off like a wildfire. NFL Twitter looked like the pages of US Weekly or In Touch where they are reacting to some actor or actress with an out of control weight gain (Another thing totally warped about our society, but I digress). Whether it was the Internet being cynical, or people being smarter than just judging one picture, the investigation was on to debunk the theory that Eddie Lacy was a fatass.  Andy Hutchins of Deadspin gave us this two images (Here & here) and also provided a video where he looked very trim. Also Curt Hogg of Reviewing The Brew saw Lacy with his own eyes and talked to him too.

I saw (and talked to) Eddie Lacy like three days ago. He's not fat. That is all.
— Curt Hogg (@YouAStupidHogg) July 29, 2013

 Other sleuths pointed to ESPN Wisconsin's Jason Wilde's Vine account which featured Lacy in a passing drill featured here.



As you can see Lacy is not packing on the pounds like an actor refusing to wear a fat suit. In fact, he looks good. In fact, I hope he creates a virtual bulletin board like Carrie Mathison will probably do at some point in the future Homeland season so he can dedicate every truck stick to the people whom called him fat. Hell I know I would.

Charlie.  

Read More

SnoTap Buzz: Monday July 29th

The Philadelphia Phillies are talking about giving Chase Utley an extension. Utley has not played more than 150 games in a season since 2009 BUT HEY LETS GIVE HIM MONEY!!!! (SB Nation) 

Scott Boras worries there could be precedence set with the Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez that could harm baseball. Charlie Tritschler worries he agrees with Scott Boras and fears the consequences, he expects to get struck by lightening. (FOX Sports) 

Milwaukee Brewers announce 10 dollar voucher for food, drink and merchandise during the month of August to apologize for the bad season and the whole Ryan Braun fiasco. I think I am going Sunday so maybe we need a post on what I should spend my 10 dollars on... Hmm.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) 

Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald wants yellow cards for targeting instead of ejections. I think this is a brilliant way to do things because really if they do it twice and they are both egregious they should not be playing plus it can atone for a dumb referee mistake. (Bleacher Report) 

Stanford head coach David Shaw wants to see improvement on grad rates versus increasing the stipends for college players. Personally, they should be concerned with getting both improved. Players do need more money and they should graduate more often. It is not a 'Let's worry about this bad thing instead of this one.' (CBS Sports) 

Houston Astros traded Jose Veras to Detroit for a prospect and player to be named later. After his year with the Brewers, I thought he would never be a guy a team trades for. Can't wait for Veras to blow a game in October. (ESPN) 

Charlie.

Read More

SPAIN 1 FRANCE 2 | U-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINAL RESULT

So close yet so far. Spain lost with extra-time 1 - 2 against France in the UEFA U-19 European Championships semi-final being held in Lithuania. A double Spanish defensive mistake in the 105th min of extra-time allowed Frenchman Conte to get onto a ball to score what would be the eventual winner.

A shame really for Spain as they were overall the better playing team, but mistakes are paid for

Read More

U.S. Soccer's Hot Streak Turns to Gold

I am very happy Charlie brought me on board to be SnoTap’s soccer writer.  I will be writing once or twice a week mostly about the Premier League and USA Soccer but you will also see Champions League and other National team soccer from me. If you have not given soccer a chance yet, you really should but that is a different post for a different time.

Last night capped of an incredible run for the United States Men’s National team beating Panama 1-0 to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament. Although this team considered generally a “B squad” made up largely of young up and coming players, they carried the U.S team to victory and kept the now 11 game winning streak intact.

The streak started with a surprising win over Germany at the beginning of June in a friendly match and has continued all the way to now. Three straight wins in World Cup Qualifying by the “A squad” has the U.S all but guaranteed a spot in Rio for the 2014 World Cup. Following that, the team took to the Gold Cup tournament which is held every two years and helps determine CONCACAF’s representative in the Confederations Cup.

In the Gold Cup, the team continued its hot streak winning every game and having an insane +16 goal differential in the tournament. The run was capped off with a thrilling win over Panama last night at Soldier Field in Chicago. The U.S beat a very good Panama team in the final on Brek Shea’s tap-in goal from Landon Donovan. Donovan took home the tournament Most Valuable Player award and showed enough to U.S manager Jurgen Klinsmann for there to be a “high probability” Donovan is included in the U.S World Cup Qualifying team in September. (The idea that he would not be is ludicrous so don’t worry Landon’s on the team)

The hot streak has confidence at an all time high and the U.S playing some of its best soccer in years. With a spot in the 2014 World Cup essentially secured and a spot in the playoff to represent CONCACAF in the Confederations Cup, USA fans have a lot to be excited about going forward in 2013.

The U.S has a few weeks off until they head over to Europe to play Bosnia-Herzegovina in a friendly match. They return for two crucial World Cup Qualifying matches against Costa Rica and Mexico.  A win over Costa Rica would put the U.S five points clear of second place and basically secure their spot in Rio. This will not be an easy task as the U.S. will be playing in Costa Rica, a country where they have struggled to win games. The game against a struggling Mexico team would also help solidify the U.S’s spot in Rio and they will be playing in front of their home fans in Columbus, Ohio in what will be an electrifying crowd given the U.S.-Mexico soccer rivalry.  

The way this team is playing right now and with Landon Donovan coming back up to the “A squad” it is hard to see this team not winning one of those two games. The key is for the U.S players to stay healthy during their club seasons and this team should continue their streak come September.

Jackson. 

Read More

Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs Preview (7/29-7/31)

From now on, we are previewing the upcoming series with a variety of things. The pitching matchups with the TV times, five things to watch, notable musician from the opposing team's area, Twitter follows from the opposition and a prediction. 

Pitching Matchups and Start Times
Monday:                 Kyle Lohse (7-7 3.37) v. Jeff Samardzija (6-9 3.94) 7:05 pm FSNWI
Tuesday: Game 1 - Yovani Gallardo (8-9 4.88) v. Carlos Villanueva (2-7 4.23) 1:20 pm FSNWI
               Game 2 - TBD                                   v.  Jake Arrieta (0-0 0.00) 7:05 pm FSNWI
Wednesday:            Wily Peralta (7-10 4.57) v. Edwin Jackson (6-11 4.89) 7:05 pm  FSNWI

Five Things To Watch
1.) Will we see some #DugoutHugs? - The Cubs have already traded three players from their team, Scott Feldman, Alfonso Soriano and Matt Garza, can anymore be one the move? There has been some talk about Kevin Gregg, but that's probably the last player to be on the block for Chicago. Milwaukee does not seem like they are moving Lohse and Gallardo, but there is still a chance they could send off Jim Henderson and John Axford. We will be on the lookout for #DugoutHugs in the coming days.

2.) Yovani's bad July continue? - For me, he is the biggest disappointment of this dumpster fire season. Gallardo has been absolutely terrible of late.  He did pitch well against Miami, but that's about it plus I could pitch scoreless against the Marlins for at least three innings. For the month, Yovani's ERA is 7.56 and he has given up 21 runs with 12 walks and only 20 strikeouts. It seems like his confidence is completely shook and hopefully, the Chicago winds are not blowing out Tuesday afternoon.

3.) Guessing the TBD - I will put half of my fake money on Tyler Thornburg. He seems like the logical decision here or Alfredo Figaro. Either one would be great to deliver a spot start. I might be alone here, but I have really enjoyed year two of Thornburg. I think he's pitched really well for the Brewers. Hopefully Thorny gets a chance at starting this week. Figaro would be a fine option. He really has not pitched much since being back on the team last Wednesday, but he did well for his short time as a starter.

4.) Jean Segura's forearm - He did not play on Sunday, and honestly as much as I love watching Mean Jean, there is no need for him to push himself to play. The Brewers are a sparkling 18 games under .500, he can seriously take his time to get back. My assumption would be either he plays today and one game in the doubleheader, or just a single game in the doubleheader. It would be completely illogical for him to play all four games of this series, but then again Ron Roenicke is a robot so who knows.

5.)  Cubs are a little bit hot - They pitched awesome over the weekend in a sweep of San Francisco basically holding the Giants to only a total of three runs and they got no more than five hits in any of the three games. Do you know the Cubs are only seven games under .500?  Do you also know the Cubs have won five of their last seven games?  They are playing good baseball, and I honestly think this team is a year away from actually contending for a playoff spot. Good news for the Brewers!

Music from Chicago


I could really be standard and go with Kanye West, and this one is still pretty basic. Eddie Vedder is the choice. While Pearl Jam started out of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest as most of grunge music did, Vedder is from Evanston, Illinois and he is a massive Chicago sports fan. Pearl Jam recently played a concert at Wrigley.

Cubs' Tweeters  
Justin Jabs and Sean Powell are both great follows if you need Cub news and baseball in general. I am not just saying that because they are Cubs fans whom put up with my Brewer nonsense either.

Prediction
Hoping for a split, but I feel like this is a three out of four for Chicago.

Charlie.

Read More

Highlights & Lowlights: Brewers at Rockies

While the Brewers are struggling this year, there are still good and bad things about each series, this is why we created Highlights & Lowlights to praise and criticize at the same damn time. 

Highlights
Caleb Gindl - When the Ryan Braun story came out, one of the optimist parts of it were to see the worth of the young Brewers playing in his place. Gindl played great over the weekend with two big games. He had three extra-base hits in his last two games along with runs scored in both of them as well. Right now, he is currently leading in competition against Logan Schafer and providing a little pop to the Brewers lineup probably helps things. It is disappointing to see him batting fifth in the order though, but that's how the Brewers season is going.  

Nori Aoki - Pretty solid stretch for Mr. Aoki right now as he is on a nine game hitting streak including two straight games with a home run. He is normally not known for his power and it probably has something to do with playing in Colorado. It does not appear Aoki will be traded in the upcoming week although with the Biogenesis suspensions looming, there might be more interested teams who would want Aoki. It is a great time for him to be hot.  

Troy Tulowitzki - I know we call people Brewer Killers all the time, but honestly, Tulo is the biggest one of them all. He homered twice in the series and had multi-hit games as well on Saturday and Sunday. For the season, he is hitting .400 against the Brewers and for the last three years, Tulowitzki has hit .328 which is the fourth highest average against an opposing team (Cincinnati is in the lead with a .395 average). I love Tulo, he's one of my favorite players when he's healthy, but I would drink heavily if he ended up playing for a National League Central team.

Ryan Braun drama has 'died down' a bit - Is it still in the news? Yes. But it does not really seem to have the same traction as it did at the beginning of the week. Braun will probably reappear in the news sometime when he talks to the media which I believe will happen next week. I know nothing but I feel like at some point he will be forced to speak to the media. I myself do not need it, but a lot of people want it so damn bad for whatever reason.

Lowlights
Wily Peralta - When I was going to do my Brewers preview that never happened because of work, I wondered if Peralta would struggle in Colorado because it is place of shattered dreams for pitchers. He did not pitch well at all.  Is it a blip in the radar or is Peralta coming back down to earth? I think it is a blip and he will do just fine.

John Axford - Not a great weekend for the Ax man. He gave up a homer to the Brewer Killer Tulowitzki on Saturday and then on Sunday, he gave up the lead with back-to-back doubles from Tulo (SHOCKER) and Michael Cuddyer. This is the first time Axford has gave up runs in consecutive appearances since the beginning of April. Odds there are Brewer fans wondering if he is trying to implode his trade stock? Unfortunately, too many of them to count because people are idiots. Ax should be fine, just a bad series.

Ninth Inning Rain Delays - This could be one of the worst things in the world. I watched the game as I went from bar to bar on Saturday night. I saw it was in a rain delay and most of the televisions at the bars turned it to SportsCenter instead of watching Sophia-Craig-Jerry talking from the Wisconsin Dells. Also if the Rockies were up 7-5 in the top of the ninth, this game would have been 100 percent have been called in the first 30 minutes, that's a fact.

Rickie Weeks - Anyone notice his July has not been great?  Weeks is currently hitting .184 for the month with two home runs and 23 strikeouts. I have no real idea what to make of Weeks season. He had one good month and it has been shit for the rest of them. I do not know if he is hurt, or if he is mailing it in. I like Weeks, but he is not having a good year whatsoever. Might be one of the bigger disappointments to the season.

Charlie.

Read More

Tap's Tweet of the Day: Johnny Manziel

By now, you know how this works.... I find athlete tweets, pictures, Instagrams or Vines that I find funny/cool and we put them on our site. Sometimes they are late because I see multiple good ones in the same day. Yes I realize that ruins the purpose of instant social media... shut up already. Follow me on Twitter here

You're exactly right @YahooForde latter half of that tweet is unfinished fortunately for me I have THREE years of eligibility left #gigem
— Johnny Manziel (@JManziel2) July 28, 2013

Usually we do the Tap's Tweets of the Day with the unknown athletes. I am not talking like minor leaguers, but more so, athletes whom go unnoticed on the Twitter machine. But sometimes, the big Twitter stars need to be covered as well. Johnny Manziel is having a whirlwind offseason. Everyone seems to care way too much about the 20-year-old superstar.  This weekend, Johnny Football got kicked out of a frat party at the University of Texas. Everyone did their normal thing about getting all angry at what Manziel did and he went off on Twitter taking shots at journalists and normal trolls. I do not care what Manziel does because we all did at 20, but I love how he just keeps his chin up and not let anyone get to him.

Charlie.  

Read More

Tap's Trailers: I Declare War

People, my age, love to shit on the younger generation. They make a big deal about how 'These kids do not have any imagination and all they do is hang out on the computer.'  Well this movie is set to prove that theory wrong. The movie involves all kids, but it is not really a kid's movie. It definitely has war movie themes to it, but it is all completely pretend and not real. It looks pretty interesting. I am not going to see it in theaters, but I would definitely check it out if it made it to On-Demand.

Charlie.

Read More

First Taste: Water Sports - Action Bronson

Action Bronson is having a pretty good summer. He really seemed to find his groove with his hip-hop music. I always thought Bronson did great work before this three month stretch, but everything he is putting out right now is great.  A lot of it might have to do with Harry Fraud, the producer Bronson has been working with almost exclusively lately. Water Sports brings the noise and it is a nice, relaxing song to start your week. In the coming weeks, big things for Sports News on Tap, new writers, NFL and college football previews and much more. Let's get it.

Charlie.

Read More

REAL MADRID HAS SEVILLA FC YOUNGSTER MORENO AS ALTERNATIVE

Real Madrid left back Portuguese Coentrao has a foot out the exit door of Real Madrid. The player is negotiating his future away from Real Madrid as he does not wish to continue at the Club. Real Madrid knows of his desires & has given the defender permission to look for other options.Meanwhile Real Madrid is already working to find a substitute & according to Spanish media the Spanish U-21

Read More

TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS ABOUT TO SIGN VALENCIA CF ROBERTO SOLDADO

Everything indicates that Spanish Football is about to export another asset to the English Premier League. English Club Tottenham Hotspurs has indicated to Valencia CF that they will pay the 30M€ contract release clause of Spanish International & Valencia forward Roberto Soldado. The deal is so close that it is said that the only thing needed is to come to an agreement on the forms ( manner ) of

Read More

Fishing Report

July 28, 2013

Fishing has been okay.  Not great, but they are getting some to make it worth the while.  Walleye are in about 15 to 20 feet, off the breaks and bars.  Try for them along the weedline in the evening.  We are hearing some success with the pan fish, northern and bass.  It's just that time of the fishing season. 

Weather has been really nice though, so it is still good to get out and getting fish is a bonus.

Froggy's oldest son, Jerimiah, is home on leave from Fort Hood, so we are spending as much time with him as we can.  He has so many friends and family to spend time with and so few days here at home.  It sure is nice to have him home for a few days.

Gramma Froggy and Auntie Mitz made a trip to Buffalo, for the Yonak family reunion on Saturday.  We had a great time and lots of good food to eat.  It's surprising how time gets away from you and we have so many cousins to catch up with.  So glad we made the trip down and got to see everyone.

Froggy is still working in Grafton, but will be taking a few days off to spend with Mia while he is home.

Hope you can get a chance to enjoy this weather and spend some time out on the lake.  Fishing might be a little slow, but it's better then working!

See you out on the water.

Good fishing!

Froggy and the gang

Read More

SPANISH FOOTBALL MARKETING & TREND - SETTERS

Hi guys, been out on a "mini summer break" this weekend. There was three "big" matches played yesterday - Saturday - that saw Real Madrid defeat PSG, FC Barcelona won Valerenga & Atletico de Madrid lost overseas to Estudiantes. All were pre-season matches & you would have seen the results & scorers already.To get things back & rolling today's post is about two Football Players that look like they

Read More

Google Adwords for Beginners [Infographics]

Few years back I had tried using Google AdWords for promoting our products especially our Timesheet.

But I stopped running AdWords campaigns as the money got from timesheet sales was much more lower that the money spent for running the Adword campaigns.

Recently I am getting very low adsense income from Google. I always try to find the opportunity in any negative situation. Similarly, lower adsense income made me to think about running the adWords campaigns again. i-e I assume that I can get good traffic/conversion by spending less on AdWords. My assumption will be wrong if the reduction in Google AdSense is driven by Google's greediness of taking majore share from Adsense income. I believe that Google won't be greedy, therefore I had decided that it is the right time for running adWords campaigns again.

So, Today I have started running the Google Adwords again. This time, I am planning to run the PPC campaigns by applying the lessons learnt from my previous campaigns.

And, I am trying to study more tips for running Google Adwords effectively. While searching for Adwords tips I got a chance to see this infographics. It seems this infographics is very useful for running adwords. So, I am sharing it with my blog readers also.



28 Tips For AdWords Beginners – An infographic by the team at WhiteSharkMedia.com AdWords Blog




You can subscribe to our Email posts, and you can bookmark this blog for further reading, or you can subscribe to our blog feed.

Read More

FC BARCELONA THINKS IN VERGINI OF NEWELL S

FC Barcelona needs a Central Defender. The Spanish Football Club has been scouting the market & the prime candidate the Brazilian & Paris St Germain player Thiago has been discarded while the other alternative Marquinhos of AC Roma goes an signs with Paris St Germain. The name of Chelsea FC defender David Luiz sounded but nothing has come of it. 

Now with the arrival of new Coach Gerardo Martino

Read More

SPAIN WINS 3 - 2 HOLLAND FOR SEMI FINALS | EURO U-19

Spain has qualified itself at the Top of the Group for a semi finals berth in the U-19 European Championships being held in Lithuania. The 2 - 3 victory over Holland puts the Spanish U-19 Football Team into their fourth consecutive U-19 Euro semi-final where they will meet France next Monday.

Spain made an excellent comeback to turn things around in the latter part of the second half. It was

Read More

Highlights & Lowlights: Padres-Brewers (7/22-7/25)

While the Brewers are struggling this year, there are still good and bad things about each series, this is why we created Highlights & Lowlights to praise and criticize at the same damn time. 

Highlights
Carlos Gomez - It is fair to say Gomez broke out of his slump on Wednesday night. He put the team on his back in a 3-1 victory with a 4 for 4 night with two doubles and two RBIs along with a stolen base. He followed it up with a 3 for 5 day on Thursday with a home run.  Gomez's average dipped to .289 on Tuesday and now it is back to .301.

Kyle Lohse - Fun facts abou.t Lohse's recent run... The last time he had two walks in a game was June 19th. Loshe has struck out five batters or more in the last three outings. Lohse's ERA is down to 3.37. He is dominating out there. Lohse is the ace of this staff. Now I say ace in a very rough sense but he's the best pitcher on the team. It is crazy there are not more teams wanting him for the playoff run.

Nori Aoki's Walk-up Song - Mike Vassallo, the Senior Director of Media Relations, is a big WWE fan. He talks about it from time-to-time on Twitter when not talking about the Brewers. He is a big fan of Fandango whom has an extremely catchy theme music. It is now Aoki's walk-up music. Love it.



Jim Henderson - After the Milwaukee Brewers traded away Francisco Rodriguez, they had a void at the closer position. People wondered whether it would be Henderson or John Axford. Ron Roenicke said it would be a closer tag team and it started with Henderson. He pitched well in the two appearances against San Diego this week.  

Lowlights
Juan Francisco - I promise I will leave Francisco off the next one as he was a highlight and now a lowlight, but this one has to do with his overall performance this week after being told he will be the primary starter at first base. In his last eight games, Francisco has six games where he had more than one strikeout. He needs to be a little more discipline at the plate. I like Francisco and could see him having a future with this team, but he needs to hit better with runners in scoring position.

Lohse & Gallardo Trade Value - FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal reported both players will likely not be going anywhere. Every indication says both of them are safe from leaving. The Lohse one does not make sense because he could be real valuable to a lot of teams right now and I believe if the Brewers could take some money from Lohse's deal, they could get some big time prospects. The Gallardo one does only because he's been awful in the last month.

Mike Gonzalez - Just leave the team. There is no reason for you.

Jean Segura Hitting Third - Another one of Roenicke's moves this week is saying Segura would be hitting third for the rest of the year.  This has not been going well at all.  Segura went 0-13 in the last three games all hitting from the third hole. Maybe it is a good idea to move him back to the second spot in the order? or something else?

Charlie.

Read More

Tap's Trailers: Runner, Runner

This could really been the 'Year of Timberlake'.  I declared the 'Year of Pharrell' but it looks like Justin Timberlake might have found himself his first hit movie. I do not know if the movie itself will be good in terms of the plot, just I feel like a lot of people will see this movie. Ben Affleck in his first major role since Argo and he plays an asshole villain, not always seen from him. I think this movie will be successful, but I do not know how good it will actually be. I am big fan of both actors and you could convince me easily into seeing this one.

Charlie.

Read More

First Taste: Awkward - FIDLAR

If you have not had a FIDLAR experience, I recommend doing that immediately. Dougy, our estranged but loved music writer sent me their album and I fell it love with it. They are great and in a whole genre of rock that I do not thinks exist. They put out a song today that I think we can all relate to; making things more awkward than they need to be. I have been there countless times in my life as the story of it is a pretty big awkward mess.  This also works perfectly for Friday because I know you degenerate will be awkward this weekend.

Charlie.

Read More

REAL MADRID | TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS PRICES BALE AT 120M€

Tottenham Hotspurs 24 year old player Gareth Bale still is grabbing headlines on Spanish Sports papers. Most are contradictory, in that he will not be leaving his Club this season while others insist that players wishes to transfer to Real Madrid.The Welshman is definitely the signing objective of Real Madrid President Florentino Perez but not at any price. 



Today local media publish that

Read More

Closing Time: Byegone (Music Video) - Volcano Choir

Interesting article from Piet Levy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Justin Vernon. I have grown to really enjoy Levy's work as of late. Vernon said in the article he might not return to Bon Iver, and instead focus on The Shouting Matches and Volcano Choir, his two side project bands. He put an album for The Shouting Matches and they will be here in Milwaukee next Thursday (Someone go with me) and this is the first single from Volcano Choir's second album. It is greatness as you would expect with Mr. Vernon. Good night Tappers.

Charlie.

Read More

Braun Will Never Lose 2011 MVP Award

Whenever a player wins an award, people always consider him or her in a higher class than the other athletes in his or her sport.  But if the athlete is caught doing something consider wrong, people are outraged they even won the award in the first place. Naturally with Ryan Braun's PED but not PED suspension, people are banging the drum for the Brewers slugger to give back the 2011 MVP and give it to runner up Matt Kemp, or vacated it all together. The first suggestion could not be more stupid and the second one is just as dumb as the first.

The reason why Kemp getting the MVP gained traction is Kemp made comments about thinking he should be given the 2011 MVP award. Here's the weird thing, Matty, you should have been!  In all honesty, Kemp's year was better than Braun's all together except for one thing, winning baseball games. While the last thing should be a frivolous thing when it comes to MVP voting, it matters every damn year.  The other problem is writers would have trouble having the MVP and Cy Young (Clayton Kershaw) on the same team who only won 81 games. Kemp definitely has all the right to feel robbed, but at the same time, this whole notion is ridiculous.  

Kemp had a great year, but he did not win. This is not some eighth-year-old soccer league where everyone gets a trophy, a juice box and some orange slices at the end of year. Kemp should have another season that will earn himself MVP consideration. He is talented enough for multiple MVP's honestly and I do not believe Kemp fully meant his comments about getting the MVP.  Look at his body language, he is laughing it off trying to get the reporters away and he knew this would be the kicker.  Kemp even mentioned he felt 'uncomfortable' talking about it. Additionally, Skip Schumaker being on his team, a weird coincidence or something to do with it? 

Schumaker is the King of Mt. Pious right now, and he is coming out of the woodwork getting national attention for comments about Braun. Schumaker took Braun's jersey down in his living room and said he should be banned for life. There is no question in my mind Schumaker influences the clubhouse about this issue.  He must have forgotten their hitting coach had Andro in his locker room. The National League West is a popular place to lead the charge against Braun with both the Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks speaking out. All it takes is one player, person or coach to develop a groupthink about a certain topic.  

The idea the MVP should be vacated is something that will not happen either because they would have to vacate a shit ton of MVP awards if they do with Braun. Just looking at the National League, they have Ken Caminiti, the first admitted steroid, not PED, user as a UNIAMINOUS winner in 1996. Barry Bonds won four straight from 2000-2004. Sammy Sosa won in 1998. The MVP award is littered with steroid users and Braun, a supposed PED user (There is a difference) on the list.  Anyone calling for the MVP to be vacated should just look at the list of MVP winners in the last thirty years. Do not give me Schumaker's shit about it being a 'Different time', because that does not fly when talking about awards.  

Ryan Braun's 2011 MVP trophy will stay with him until the end of time unless Braun, himself, chooses to give it up. But Braun should look at that list and know, nobody is perfect in baseball no matter what anyone tries to say to the media.

Charlie.  

Read More