Tuesday, April 13, 2010

From a Fan Cost Index (FCI) standpoint, the Atlanta Braves are one of the biggest bargains in all of Major League Baseball. The FCI takes into account everything from the price of a ticket, parking, beer, soft drinks, hot dogs and everything else you might imagine. A family of four attending a Braves’ game can expect to spend $157.69. There are only six teams in the majors with a lower cost. The lowest is the Arizona Diamondbacks at $115.24. The highest is the Boston Red Sox, with an average cost of $334.74.

According to reports coming out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama may have a quarterback battle on its hands going into the fall. Backup QB A.J. McCarron outplayed returning starter Greg McElroy during a recent scrimmage. McCarron hit 17 of 30 passes for 215 yards and three scores with no interceptions. McElroy completed 17 of 27 for 156 yards, one score and two interceptions.

Looking ahead of the 2010 college football season, there are only three teams in Division I that have eight home games - Auburn, Minnesota and Ohio State. . . And don’t look for the PAC-10 to step out and take on all-comers. As far as the Big Six conferences go, the ACC has played 48 Big Six out-of-league games, which leads all conferences. By contrast, the SEC has played a total of 40 while the Pac-10 is last with only 15 non-league games against the big boys.

What we saw at the end of this year’s Master’s golf tournament was an interesting psychological phenomenon. We saw good (Phil Mickelson) and evil (Tiger Woods), and I’m not talking about on-course performances. Mickelson, with the stroke of his putter, became the anti-Tiger in our lives. And that’s not a bad thing to be. I guess the word is ‘class.’

New Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is having to readjust the Irish’s football mind set as well as install new plays and new terminology. Kelly says he think the words "selfishness" and "entitlement" describe how the players were when he arrived.

I don’t know the solution, but I can point to the problem. As of this moment, 39 college underclassmen have made themselves available for the NBA draft. It’s difficult to see how the sport can sustain itself with that kind of annual defection.

And finally, there was an announcement coming out of Chapel Hill that you don’t ordinarily see. Tar Heel point guard Larry Drew announced that he will return next year. No, Drew wasn’t considering leaving for the NBA - word is he was just considering leaving, period. Drew received the lion’s share of the blame for UNC’s horrible year. I think he just wanted to get away from his many critics. Sorry, there’s no where to hide when you’re playing point for one of the biggest names in college basketball.

This is Norman Arey and I became a huge fan of Phil Mickelson over the weekend.