Meet the Users: Coreyisarealboy
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by The Beast and Coreyisarealboy
1. How did you learn about AGM?
I am probably one of the only users not to have been recruited by Dan, and I'm very proud of that fact.
I actually found the site by accident. As a testament to my immaturity, I was surfing CollegeHumor.com one day in May of 2006 and stumbled across this little article (no, I was not one of the annoying anons). Clearly fate was on this site's side that day.
Being a writing major in college, I figured I could use it to help hone my skills. I was still writing for my college paper and had so many other ideas other than the stuff I was writing, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I signed up, wrote a bunch of articles, took an extended hiatus, and now I'm back and better than ever, in my opinion at least.
2. With the winter meetings just around the corner, what do the Brewers need to do to get into the playoffs?
A lot, to say the least. I'm not confident in Derrick Turnbow as the closer, though he actually gave up less hits in more innings pitched than Francisco Cordero. The problem was he gave up so many walks, which is why I'm not confident in him.
So, in my mind, they need a closer, or at the very least several options. Sometime within the next few days they will finalize a deal with David Riske, which gives them an additional arm in the latter end of the bullpen. I expect them to offer arbitration to Brian Shouse, but he will probably not be an option to close.
I've heard some rumors about Joe Nathan and Brian Fuentes but the Brewers don't want to give up any of their young studs or prospects, so trading is incredibly difficult for this team. What they do have to offer is starting pitching. The only people off limits are Carlos Villanueva, Yovani Gallardo, and Jeff Suppan. Chris Capuano, Dave Bush, and Claudio Vargas are all arbitration eligible, and at least one will be dealt next week, unless GM Doug Melvin wants to keep them around for long relief.
They also need a left fielder or third basemen that can hit in the five spot. Melvin is keeping his options open about which position he goes after now that Ryan Braun is willing to consider a move to left field. The biggest rumor is a deal that would bring Scott Rolen to Milwaukee, but his contract is huge (by Brewers standards) and the results have been minimal lately. When healthy, however, Rolen's still a guy that can hit 25-30 home runs with 90-plus RBIs, and that would be huge for that lineup.
The deal I like best is a deal for Pirates' outfielder Jason Bay. His price is low with a year left on his contract and an option for 2009. He can hit for some power and provide some extra run support behind Prince Fielder in the five spot. The Brewers need someone to hold down the fort until Matt LaPorta is ready for the bigs. This is why I think moving Ryan Braun into left is a bad idea at this point. His defense could still improve, and moving him could create a logjam in left.
3. Prior to the start of the College Football season, Wisconsin was ranked in the top ten. However, they did not meet those lofty expectations. Was the season a sucess or failure?
I had high expectations for this Badger team. They're defense was great last year, but this year it was miserable, and that ultimately ruined the season.
The Badgers have never been a team to rely on a high-powered offense. They rely on a strong running game to control the clock and a defense that is at least serviceable enough to stop their opponents when they are on the field.
Well, P.J. Hill was hampered by injuries and his two main backups were either ineligible or suspended. At the end of the season, they found another back (Wisconsin always seems to do that) in true freshman Zach Brown, who rushed for 358 yards in the final two games of the season (and he wasn't even supposed to be the best freshman back on the team). Guess what happened? They won those two games.
But the defense hasn't shown up consistently all season. They had two magnificent weeks where they outscored Northern Illinois and Indiana by a combined 77-6 score. But that was it.
If they beat Tennessee in the bowl and make it to 10 wins I'll consider calling it a successful season, but right now it was a disappointment.
Looking ahead to next year, if Travis Beckum, Jonathan Casillas and Jack Ikegwuonu all return, this is a dangerous team that only loses one man from the defense, and less than a handful from the offense.
If the defense learns from its mistakes and grows as a unit, they have the potential to be one of the best defenses in the country, and with a steady offense that should only get better next year, they could be a contender. But then again, I said that this year and look what happened. Although, three losses is still only one loss out of the National Championship Game.
4. Are you worried about Brett Favre and company after that loss to Dallas?
Not entirely. The things that I saw that worried me were 1) the officiating, 2) the pass rush, 3) pass protection, and 4) the amount of ass-kissing the NFL Network did to the Cowboys in that game.
I can't do much about Nos. 1 and 4, but the Packers were without Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Charles Woodson, and with them it could've been a different story. I don't think Tony Romo and the receivers have nearly as much success as they did if those two are playing.
The pass protection got better as the game went on, whether it was due to Aaron Rodgers' mobility or a change it Mike McCarthy's game plan I'm not sure, but something was clicking for awhile and they adapted to the situation and almost came back to win it.
This was a game where I saw Aaron Rodgers rally the team from a huge deficit. I don't think there's too much to be worried about, although I did kind of see this coming. Not to mention the Packers have Oakland and St. Louis the next two weeks.
I'm still calling for Favre as MVP and McCarthy as Coach of the Year so nothing has changed. They're at 10-2 still. There's no reason to panic.
5. You have been known to do some editing in the College Football section. What is your favorite thing about College Football? Bowl games, rivalries, tailgating?
I love the tradition of college football. I love the bowls. I love the awards. I love the rivalries. I love the stories that go along with all of it, like the time when Woody Hayes allegedly ran out of gas in Michigan near the border once and pushed his car across the border because he refused to fill up with gas in Michigan.
There's nothing better than a rivalry in college football, even at small schools like the one I went to. One year, after Friday practice, the football coach at Lakeland had the team "practice" their post game celebration so they could visualize them winning the rivalry game. They won, 17-14, the next day.
But I'm a huge Wisconsin Badger fan, and not just because I live in Wisconsin. Growing up I had a really good friend whose grandpa was donned the original Bucky Badger outfit at the football games. Bill Sagal from Plymouth, Wisconsin. I remember going over to his house for a Super Bowl party once and he still had the papier mache Bucky head in his basement with a host of other Badger memorabilia.
Tradition is what led me to reject the idea of a playoff at first. I really would hate to see the significance of the bowl games be wasted. I like seeing the Big Ten and Pac-10 every year, but if a playoff were instated it wouldn't be that way anymore.
But I fear that's what it's come to. Even I can't argue for the BCS anymore. The last time it was successful, I think, was in 2002 with the University of Miami-Ohio State National Championship. Perhaps it's the onset of parity that's creating such a stir, but at some point you have to change with the times, and I believe a playoff is the best way of sorting through parity.
I'm almost starting to believe some of these games would be even more memorable if they were played in playoff format, like the Boise State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl or the Michigan-Nebraska "near-Play" Alamo Bowl. I think it would certainly have higher ratings if each game had that win-or-go-home feel to it. Hell, a playoff format may even boost that "tradition" ideal I keep yammering about.
Besides, could you imagine an Iron Bowl quarterfinal or a Michigan-Ohio State semifinal? We'd get the chance to see rivalry games twice a year. How can you not dig that?
