They Call Him the Streak

I know that it is a day late for this post, but I thought that I would go ahead and get the info in before the next set of games start. I am torn this week between my favorite sport and the sport that my entire city is talking about. Since it is the playoffs, my favorite sport gets my top nod.

The Major League Baseball playoffs have in recent years become more of a "who is hot right now" contest than a "who is the best team" challenge in my opinion. This year I think that it would be hard to argue that the NL is anywhere near as close to the AL in overall competitiveness. However, just like last year, a hot NL team could run the table.

The Red Sox have been scary all year; their problem has been getting everyone on the same page at the same time. And oh my have they clicked at the right time. Their firepower at the plate seems quite superior to me in the ALCS and that should take them through to the next round. Fausto Carmona is throwing for Cleveland tonight and gives them their best shot to take a game. Sabathia has as good a chance as any player to take the Cy Young award, but his performance last night was not good at all. Pitching, like it does so many years in baseball, made the difference yesterday.
Boston 4 games - Cleveland 2 games

The Colorado Rockies have quite an explosive lineup and their pitching the past month has been good enough, if not excellent. Taking out Brandon Webb in game 1 was the key to this series an basically spoiled the Diamondbacks chances. With their lineup, the Rockies streak is even scarier than a typical hot team. This team has some sustainability. It all rests on their pitchers to see how far they can go.
Colorado 4 games - Arizona 1 game

Now to the granddaddy of them all, the NFL. Nothing has stirred Dallas in quite a while like this Cowboys team. I predicted a good year, but nothing this solid. I am personally pumped that they had their screw-up game last week vs. the Bills. The Patriots however are a different beast. I think we match up quite well against them except for our pass coverage. I think our running game is better, but in the end we will get burned too many times. So I will have to go against my beloved team overall, but I think they will cover the spread.
New England Patriots 31 - Dallas Cowboys 27

Overall record on outright winners, 3-0

The New Revolution

Every time that I turn around, another stock with the word China in its title is going nuts. It is hard to go a single day without seeing a different stock go up double digits percentage wise. This sort of reminds me of '97 or '98 when anything tech would seem to jump like nuts. However, this new wave of stock mayhem stems from a billion people strong country that is unleashing companies out of communism. This could easily be the basis of major economic growth across the globe for years to come. Here are just a few examples of recent movers:

• China Mobile Limited [CHL] has moved from 51 to 87 in the past 2 months
• China Life Insurance [LFC] is up from 52 to 98 since August
• China Petroleum & Chemical [SNP] is up from 90 to 146 since August
• China Telecom Corporation [CHA] is up from 46 to 84 since August
• Aluminum Corp. of China [ACH] is up from 37 to 77 since August

That is an average return of 82% over the past 2 months. All that I would have had to pretty much do is pick a random stock with the word China in it, and I would be set. And too bad that I didn't. Now the current question is whether this has true merit or is just a bubble of hype. For that, we will have to wait and see.

Practicality

I have been recently studying for the Java 1.5 certification exam. The book that I am using is over to the right of this page. It is over 800 pages, but I am making it through. It is also quite thorough and good for preparing for the exam. I know enough to pass the exam, but not enough to do it all perfect afterwards.

Therefore I am for the first time since college, seriously studying for a test. It is at this point that I realize several things. First and foremost, it is really hard to create a programming competency test. It is far too easy to say that you know a language or concept. Resumes are filled with supposed knowledge, but applying it to a job is entirely different. So after 3 years of applying my knowledge, I find it hard to translate that knowledge back to the academic realm. It is not that the information needed for the test is pointless, but the hypothetical situations that the test turns into 'gotchas' just drive me batty. Who on earth sets up a polymorphic tree with 17 levels and every access modifier in the book? I have not seen the situation arise in my line of work, and I write enterprise level software. At the same time, I don't know that if someone completed this certification they would be ready for real life work.

So today is my day to rant about the large gap between learning syntax and knowledge that can only be gained with experience. I certainly don't know a solution off the top of my head, but it seems near impossible to tell on paper is someone is worth a hill of beans in real life situations.

The Big Weekend

This is an excellent weekend to be a pro sports fan. The college lineup is a little week, but the MLB and NFL are as exciting as ever. Here once again on record are the things that I know will most likely happen if everything goes my way.

Let's start with baseball and the exciting pennant races that are going on right now. Being an American League fan, I have long since figured that everything was aligned back in August. However the National League is up for grabs. So a couple of notes...

• I predicted the AL standings to a T 6 months ago
• I am always modest
• The Cubs will win at least 1 game and the Brewers will lose at least 1 game, therefore clinching the playoff berth for the Cubs.
• The Padres and Diamondbacks will tie for the top of the NL West and spoil the Rockies feel good story.
• This will cause the following rule to be invoked:
  In the event of a tie in the standings at the close of the regular season, league rules provide for a one-game playoff (with the home field determined by coin flip) to determine which of two teams participate in the Division Series. If three teams are involved in a tie, a two-game playoff may be played. If two teams are tied, but a tiebreaker would result in both participating in the Division Series anyway (due to one being division champion and the other being wild card), then no playoff is played and seedings are determined by head-to-head record.
• I want the Phillies to win the East, but I think the Mets will not choke enough to make it happen. (And yes I know that is not the popular consensus)

Since I am a big Dallas Cowboys fan, I will always make a prediction for their game and at least 2 other games. So for week 4 of the NFL:

• This is an obvious pick for a Cowboys win, which is exactly why many people are scared of this game. I would be too, but I think the lack of Steven Jackson will allow the defense to really attack the quarterback. I expect the secondary to give up a couple of big pass plays, but overall contain the Rams. I see the boys putting up pretty good number on them so this game should go well.
  Dallas Cowboys 34, St. Louis Rams 17
• The big game of the week is the Vikings vs. the Packers. This is definitely a battle of good defenses. This game should come down to who has more sacks, interceptions, and big stops. I would personally rank Minnesota slightly higher than the Packers on the defensive depth chart. However, Green Bay has a definite offensive advantage. If they can contain the Viking running game, as I expect them to do well enough, than they take this game.
  Green Bay Packers 24, Minnesota Vikings 13
• And finally, I have to check out the Colts and Broncos. This has the most intriguing match ups with the wide receivers of Indianapolis going against the defensive backs of Denver. This game should highlight how well Joseph Addai really is. Watch for the Colts starting out with a strong running game and then exploiting holes in the Denver defense when they try to plug up the line of scrimmage. The status of John Lynch will have a huge impact upon the game. The Broncos will have to utilize their potent air attack to best the Colts in this game.
  Indianapolis Colts 23, Denver Broncos 20

View From the Political Sidelines

Its been a while since I threw out any political observations, but I will attempt to keep this current.

• I watched a News Radio episode the other day from 1998. Bill McNeil (Phil Hartman) sings political songs from the day and mentions that Fred Thompson thinks its bunk that Bill Clinton had the Lincoln Bedroom up for rent.


• Sometimes we take our freedom for granted in America. Its scenes like the one in Burma of monks protesting that remind us that not everyone enjoys the simple basics of life.


• As of this morning the UAW and GM are back on speaking terms. You hardly need to spend much time with me to know that I think 99% of unions are out-dated and corrupt. The UAW and its hold on the industry here are why foreign car companies are easily beating out our national brands. It is sad to see these 2 entities entwined so tightly, because I fear that it will be the downfall of both groups.


• Since we are still over a year away from a presidential election, I will not call this race a done deal. I frankly think people are starting to get "election weary" already. Even if you like the person, they have been out there too long at this point.