Saturday Trends and Indexes 5/9 (NBA, MLB, NHL, Misc.)

[Udog]

Saturday six-pack

-- Curtis Granderson pulled back a Grady Sizemore hit from going over the fence in ninth inning Friday, changing a walk-off HR into a key out, as Detroit won 1-0 in Cleveland behind Verlander.

-- Bronx 3rd basemen were hitting .202 with 10 RBI before Friday, then Alex Rodriguez hit first pitch he saw this season for three-run homer, and all that was forgotten.

-- Wandy Rodriguez is much-improved pitcher, he is an especially tough guy to score upon at home.

-- White Sox got rained out Wednesday, then got shut out on both Thursday-Friday, so its been a crummy week for them.

-- Washington Nationals won four of their last five games.

-- Anaheim is scrambling to stay in contention until three injured pitchers get back in the rotation-- this guy Palmer is 3-0 in his four starts for Halos. He'll likely be back in Salt Lake City when regular pitchers return, but he's really helped out early this season.

[Udog]

Saturday's List of 13: Random thoughts for a spring Saturday

13) ESPN hired Matt Millen as a football studio analyst, so there it is, further proof that ESPN has no clue-- why would you go out and sign the most inept executive in NFL history? It makes no sense.

12) Someone has to explain to me how, in the space of 72 hours, the price of gas went from $2.23 a gallon to $2.35. Anyone?

11) Employers cut 549,000 jobs in April, and that was seen as good news-- it was lower than expected and the least amount of jobs lost in any month since last October. Yikes.

10) McDonald's sales went up 6.9% in April, so as people have less money, guess their eating habits go in the ashcan, too.

9) Rams drafted a kid named Null in 6th round-- in his last collegiate game, a D-II playoff loss to Abilene Christian, Null was 42-63 for a whopping 595 yards and seven TDs. Too bad his team lost 93-68.

8) Was it wise of the Mets to let Francisco Rodriguez pitch on four consecutive days this week? Its a long season after all.

7) Hofstra is looking to get of the Colonial, and into the Atlantic 10, but problem is, the A-10 is really the A-14, so not lot of room for a new team, unless they add two teams. Wise move geographically is a switch between Hofstra and Charlotte of the A-14.

6) No doubt in my mind Washington's Ryan Zimmerman is the best fielding third baseman in the NL. Can he win a Gold Glove playing on a bad team? Reputation means a lot in these things.

5) OK, Manny Ramirez comes back July 3, about 10 days before the All-Star Game. What happens if the goofy fans vote him in as one of the starting outfielders in the All-Star Game? Should he be allowed to play? Why anyone would vote for him is totally different question.

4) Not sure what Tampa Bay is wating for as far as bringing back its prime pitching prospect (David Price) to major leagues. Seems bored in the minor leagues-- Price is 1-4, 4.74 in six AA starts this year.

3) Wouldn't baseball be better if no one was allowed to sign anyone to longer than a 2-year contract? Would there be less guys on DL?

2) Sad note, as the great Chuck Daly passed away; he led Pistons to pair of NBA titles and also won an Olympic gold medal in '92. When he was on TV, he always seemed like a really good guy.

1) A doctor in New York City wanted prime tickets to see a game in Bronx when the Mariners came to town; when he found out what it would cost him, he figured out it would cost 56% as much to fly to Seattle for a weekend, staying in a 4-star hotel. Yes, he saves 44% by flying cross country, renting a car and staying in a hotel. Wow.