Margin Of Victory among the 64 Tomo Lazovich Harvard Sports Analysis

http://harvardsportsanalysis.org/2015/03/that-was-a-close-one-margin-of-victory-in-the-ncaa-tournament-round-of-64/

Notes from The Founder WWS Grows into Acess Media Global.com

Hello, Everyone, It has been some time since I have communicated  via Post but there are good things coming that I hope you will enjoy. I will emphasize some main Points to look for in the coming months. 1. Viewers will have a new domain that will redirect to the new site.
2. Expanded coverage of all things sports related. This means some of the same features and info
you have come to expect will be retained. A lot of information is going to be consolidated
for ease of viewing and some new features added . 3. At this time the new domain will be advertisement free. but I reserve the right to petition site appropriate advertising when that time comes. 4. I say so long to Google and the blogger platform. I shall retain creative control
but avoid  unwanted  promotional ads. 5. Those that use the Content management system and a Word Press platform will enjoy the new site as this  platform  will allow for the growth and expansion and therefore media branding that will be needed later. The prototype is being created at this time and all new site info has been submitted. I would like to thank all of you for your support in the transition to Access Media Global in the coming days Special thanks to Webmaster Chase Reiner for his expertise and  input in this new launch.

Mark Alan Janisch WWS and Access Media Global

Peter Gammons Gammons Daily

Gammons Notes: New generation of young shortstops, Dodgers, Pirates and more

March 20, 2015 by Peter Gammons 0 Comments

“A few years ago,” says one scouting director, “we were wondering if we’d ever see young shortstops coming to the major leagues from this country. Now we look around and see the game loaded with potential impact star shortstops. And look at the draft. There might be six college shortstops taken in the first 50 picks.”
Indeed, one of the storylines of spring training has been this generation of multi-dimensional young shortstops. Anyone and everyone who passes by the Dodgers is drawn to 20-year-old Corey Seager, 6-4, 220, with the John Olerud swing, great hands and exchange and big arm on defense and what players, coaches and the manager describe as “a unique internal clock.”
And with Jimmy Rollins clearly the heartbeat of this renovated Dodger team, Seager is going to triple-A for a year. “There’s no doubt in my mind he can stay at short,” says Don Mattingly.
The minor leagues will also be the immediate destination of 21-year-old Addison Russell of the Cubs, although that could be a half-season thing. The Cubs got Russell last season from Oakland in the Jeff Samardzija deal, and this spring he has been eye-opening. “His junior year in high school he was being compared to Juan Uribe because of his body,” says one scout. “We came back for his senior year and the comps suddenly were to Barry Larkin.” And still are. “I asked his mother what he did,” says a scouting director. “She replied, ‘cut out McDonald’s.”
Houston’s 20-year-old Carlos Correa will be back this season, as well. One pro scouting director calls Correa “A Rod with authenticity,” perhaps an unfair shot at Rodriguez, but at 6-4, 210, one gets the image.
The Royals have a young team and a loaded system, but they watch 19-year-old Raul Mondesi this spring, call him the best they have, and could start him in double-A. The 6-1, 165 pounder needs to grow. He needs to learn the strike zone. “But one can tell being around him that he grew up in a major league clubhouse with his dad,” says Dayton Moore.
And Xander Bogaerts is 22 and making advanced progress both defensively and offensively.
That group does not yet include Oakland’s Marcus Semien, who also came in the Samardzija deal and has looked really good this spring. And Trea Turner, who will be handed over from the Padres to Nationals. Willy Adames with Tampa. Franklin Barreto with Oakland. J.P. Crawford with Philadelphia. Deven Marrero with Boston.
Then turn to the draft. Vanderbilt’s Dansby Swanson is almost certainly a top ten pick, although Houston likely would move him back to second. LSU’s Alex Bregman will be in the first half of the first round, and Florida’s Richie Martin and Arizona’s Kevin Newman among the half-dozen college shortstops in the first 50 picks.
Hanley Ramirez’s outfield workout last summer
Mattingly says he worked Hanley Ramirez out in the outfield last summer and “he really looked good. He could go get the ball in center, he was very good in left. I wanted him to think about moving off shortstop to the outfield, but at the time he didn’t want to do it. I think he just wasn’t ready to give up short. But now that he is ready, I think he’ll be a very good outfielder. And he can really hit. No question about that. Not making the quick, short moves at shortstop will help him stay healthy.”
Kapler’s organic initiative with Dodgers
The dining facility in the Dodger complex is fascinating. It is created and overseen by farm director Gabe Kapler. All organic. Lots of quinoas and kale and fruit and vegetables, even “bulletproof coffee,” which is organic coffee with a teaspoon of coconut oil and butter mixed in a blender to reduce acidity and some extra jolt.
Kapler refers to the development system he and Nick Francona oversee as “human development.”
This is a long way from the old visiting clubhouse at Tiger Stadium, where the postgame spread every day consisted of pizza and potato chips.
Pirates’ new-found major league depth
By now, the Pittsburgh organization is one of the most respected in the game. But their willingness to overturn boulders to find major league depth is remarkable.
Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang has looked like a legitimate power addition, for any way Clint Hurdle chooses to employ him. Then there’s righthanded pitcher Radhames Liz. He will be 32 in June. He had a 7.50 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Orioles, pitched three full years in Korea—where he was 25-38—and came back to make 12 starts in Buffalo last season.
Liz went to the Dominican, where he pitched for Pirates triple-A manager Dave Treanor, who recommended him to Neal Huntington. The Bucs sent several evaluators to watch him, signed him, and one club executive says, “he looks like someone who can make a major contribution. The Pirates did great work.”
Chin-hui Tsao returns with the Dodgers
Speaking of mysterious returns, there is Chin-hui Tsao with the Dodgers. There was a time more than a decade ago when he was one of Baseball America’s best prospects with Colorado. In 2003, he earned a recall by the Rockies after going 11-4, 2.46 with 125 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings in double-A, but had arm problems, returned home to Taiwan, got involved in some gambling scandal and stopped pitching. And now he’s back in Glendale, Arizona, throwing in the 90’s. “He’s very interesting,” says one Dodger official.
Cubs’ young pieces
Add Jorge Soler to the official roster of Cuban beasts. The late Jim Fregosi scouted Soler for the Braves and called him “one of the best hitters I’ve seen in the last 25 years.” Theo Epstein says, “his hit tool is underrated.” In one game this week, he took a touch pitch down and away into right for a base hit, then got his hands in and drove a bomb to left on an inside fastball.
Now there’s an increasing feeling that last year’s number one pick, Kyle Schwarber, can stay behind the plate and catch. Speaking of beasts who can mash.
Obviously the Kris Bryant “controversy” is hyperbole. If the Cubs take this talent to build a team that sustains success, having Kris Bryant for seven years, not six, is an issue that the Cubs would be insane—which they are not—to insure rather than bow to silly tantrums. Scott Boras has a job. He wants Bryant on the market after six years at the age of 28, for Bryant and the fees. The Cubs aren’t going to trade the smiley faces of his being in the opening day lineup and two weeks of this season for a full season at his prime age of 29.
That’s just the way it is. Ask the Marlins. Jose Fernandez was put on the opening day roster in 2013 because it seemed like a great thing for fans. For one start—which is what he made in the time he could have been in the minors—he will be a free agent after six years, not seven, in his prime.
Boras has a job, and with Bryant and Fernandez, part of that job is not to do long-term deals before hitting the market. Marcell Ozuna is a Boras client, so he’s not doing a Christian Yelich deal.

World Soccer Talk March 16-20 2015 Podcast

http://worldsoccertalk.com/podcasts/2015/soccer-morning-3-16-15-kyle-mccarthy-and-rafael-noboa-y-rivera-133691/     16th


http://worldsoccertalk.com/podcasts/2015/soccer-morning-3-17-15-kris-heneage-and-jonathan-johnson-133810/   17th


http://worldsoccertalk.com/podcasts/2015/soccer-morning-3-18-15-janusz-michallik-and-brian-quarstad-133901/    18th

http://worldsoccertalk.com/podcasts/2015/soccer-morning-3-20-15-jake-edwards-and-matthew-rappo-134092/  20th      

March 19th Episode available  Via Stitcher radio

apologies for the inconvienience

GTC Mike and Tom Kresic Cleveland Ohio Sports Review NFL Free Agency

http://www.same3guys.com/2015/03/18/gtc222-nfl-free-agency/

Buster Olney Baseball Podcast March 16-20 2015

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12493587   16th   

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12500289     17th   

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12507127      18th   

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12513498        19th

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12521118         20th

MLS Extra Time Podcasts March 12-19

http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/extratime-radio-soccer-podcast/e/extratime-radio-third-rail-president-chance-michaels-nycfc-37278459       March 12th


http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/extratime-radio-soccer-podcast/e/extratime-radio-chris-seitz-fc-dallas-olivier-trembaly-mlssoccercom-37318305     March 16th


http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/extratime-radio-soccer-podcast/e/extratime-radio-chris-seitz-fc-dallas-olivier-trembaly-mlssoccercom-37318305      March 19th

Ollie Connolly Steven Edwards NL Central Preview Call to the Bullpen Podcast

http://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HnTNHR2K

Harvard Sports Analysis Odds your NCAA Favorite Knocks off Kentucky

http://harvardsportsanalysis.org/2015/03/what-are-the-chances-your-team-knocks-off-kentucky/

Peter Gammons A Pearl Jam Oct. In Seattle Peter Gammons Gammons Daily

Peter Gammons: A Pearl Jam October

March 13, 2015 by Peter Gammons 1 Comment

PEORIA, Arizona—The season had been one of stops and starts, of constant reminders from the runaway Orioles that the Mariners really did once trade Adam Jones and Chris Tillman for Erik Bedard. On the one hand, they’d given up fewer runs than any team in the American League, yet they’d had losing streaks of eight, six and five games, and through all that, were still there on the final day of the regular season September 28 a game behind Oakland.
Both teams prepared for the possibility, that with Felix Hernandez pitching for the Mariners, they could end up in a tie and they could play a playoff game the next day. And the Athletics knew what one of their advance scouts had written in his report: “We’d better get in before this game, because Taijuan Walker will start.”
They did not want to see Taijuan Walker.
Sonny Gray won that final day, so while King Felix also won, the A’s were off to face the Royals in the play-in game and for the 13th straight year, the Mariners were not in the post-season.
But now we are zeroing in on the Ides of March, 2015, and Walker is, in the words of Lloyd McClendon, “blowing people away. It’s scary how athletic he is.” One scout I know saw him play hoops in high school, recalled him taking off at the foul line for a one hand slam and saying “that’s where ‘SkyWalker’ comes from.” James Paxton will be ready to open the season, and where last season their two big young arms made 18 starts, this year they’re expected to make 50 to 65 behind Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma. In a great place to mature as a pitcher, Safeco Field.
To a lineup McClendon admits “had a tough time in the one, two and four holes,” they have Austin Jackson leading off and returning to his game, slapping the ball instead of thinking RBIs, stealing bases and scoring runs out of the leadoff spot, where the M’s had a .287 OBP.
They acquired Seth Smith and Justin Ruggiano to split right field and the two hole; last year, Seattle was .225/.260/.345 in the two hole, where Smith was .270/.359/.455 against righthanders, Ruggiano .305/.333/.532 against lefties.
And in the cleanup position, behind Robinson Cano, where they slugged .319, they signed Nelson Cruz, 40 homers. And added Rickie Weeks to split left field with Dustin Ackley. “It is a very different feel,” says Cano. “We’re just a very different team. Look, I am very thankful to be here in Seattle. To get a ten year deal has given me peace of mind, and made me a big part of Seattle, as the Mariners are a big part of me. But now what I want is to win championships for the team and the city and, to be honest, for myself. That’s what it’s about. I know what it means to win (as he did with the 2009 Yankees). I know what it means to play beside Derek Jeter, and what he meant to the New York Yankees.
“I want it to be that way in Seattle. I think it can happen.”
Cruz, as well, has the money his career has earned him. “I loved it in Baltimore, and thank them for the opportunity,” he says. “But what I want is to win a World Series. That opportunity is here. I know what it’s like to be really close, but close isn’t enough.” Close, to Nelson Cruz, means being one strike away from it all twice in the 2011 World Series.
These Mariners are a fascinating team. “I think about what might have been had we beaten out Oakland and played Kansas City in a one game playoff and where they went,” says Cano. “Get into the playoffs and a lot of things can happen. I give the Royals a lot of credit.”
Get around the Mariners and one is quickly reminded that this is not a team built around Cano and Cruz, period. “Kyle (Seager) has made himself into one of the best players in the league,” says shortstop Brad Miller. “His will, his determination is fierce.” Coaches refer to Seager’s drive as “a monumental chip on his shoulder,” although he happens to be one of the game’s nicest persons. At North Carolina, he was a very good player who lingered in the shadow of Ackley and pitcher Alex White, who went second and seventh in his draft, while Seager was a third rounder. He has the great lift swing, his production has improved every year, his 5.5 WAR actually topped Cano’s 5.2. He won the Gold Glove.
While hitting coach Howard Johnson believes if he played in Yankee Stadium he’d be Graig Nettles, McClendon just says “he comes every day to beat somebody. He’s really tough.” Must be something in the genes, because when Kyle talks about growing up with two younger brothers (Justin, in the Seattle system, and Corey, the Dodgers’ 20-year-old prodigy), he remembers they were so competitive Justin and Corey fought one another in every basketball and football game they ever played, and Corey says their father banned them from basketball at one point.
One looks at Mike Zunino behind the plate, Ackley, Seager, and what they hope will be a breakout year from either Miller or Chris Taylor at short, and there is the combination of experience and youth.
And, after the starting pitching, down at the end is a bullpen in the league’s Big Three with the Royals and Yankees.
Fernando Rodney is the closer, but they run out one 95-98 guy after another. Tom Wilhelmsen, Dominic Leone (with the Mariano cutter), Danny Farquhar and Yoervis Medina from the right side. Charlie Furbush from the left. “At times, Lloyd had eight relievers down there,” says Furbush, 81 strikeouts in 71 innings. “But he handled that bullpen brilliantly. No one got worn down or tired. Ask McClendon, and he says he learned from coaching for Jim Leyland, whom he calls, “the best.” And now they have two more 95-98 MPH lefties in Rule V pick David Rollins and rookie Tyler Olson.
It will be different this year, because with platoons at two positions, the Mariners cannot carry an eight man bullpen.
Those of us who love the Pike Place Market and the Dungeness crabs and the salmon and Elliot Bay and the Hendrix Museum and remember what it was like in the Kingdome when Junior Griffey scored on Edgar Martinez’s shot down the line to beat the Yankees in the ’95 ALDS, what it was like when they won 116 games, the All-star Game. It’s been awhile, a long 13 years, but as Seager and Cano and the first group of hitters were taking BP Friday morning, Pearl Jam’s “Better Man” was playing over the PA system, and it got me starting to think about a Safeco October, and the Mariners thumbing their way back home.

CBT Podcast NL East Preview Steven Edwards Ollie Conolly Episode33

http://www.hipcast.com/podcast/Hg41B8FK

MLS Seattle 2 San Jose 3 Highlights Extra time Podcast

http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2015-03-14-seattle-sounders-fc-vs-san-jose-earthquakes/recap    Highlights


http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime   

Podcast Thursday March 12th 2015

Call to the Bullpen Hitting Statistics MLB

http://ctbpod.com/2015/03/15/getting-to-know-stats-hitting/