Bleacher Report - Articles by Timmy Shea

Tampa Bay Rays Analysis

Timmy Shea — Sat, 09 May 2009 22:22:53 -0400

The 2009 Tampa Bay Rays as of right now aren’t bad, but they also aren’t that great yet. They are improving themselves now very nicely. They beat the division rivals Boston Red Sox 14-5 today.

Their bull pen has started improving, but they weren’t as bad as they were years before ‘08.

The Rays offense has been amazing with Carlos Pena leading the league in home runs, Evan Longoria leading the league in Evan Longoria leading the league in RBI’s, and Carl Crawford leading the league in steals. I think the Rays can win the ALCS again.

The A.L. East Division is the toughest division in the Major League, and the most teams the East can send to the playoffs in two, so I think the Rays should be allowed to move to the West Division because they’d have easier teams to play, and they could be in the playoffs with a good record. The Yankees and Red Sox are known as good teams, but they are the biggest rivals in sports, so they need to stay together to be big rivals, and the Blue Jays should join the N.L. East Division, and the Pirates should be in the A.L. East so Pennsylvania has one American League team and one National League team. I’d like to see a 2010 MLB realignment like the NFL had in 2002. West Coast teams have been so terrible in the past, and that goes back and forth in my head. Leagues always have teams spotted in a region they shouldn’t be in.

Did you know that the Tampa Bay Rays scored 15 less runs in ‘08 than they did in ‘07? But look at how much better the Rays were in ‘08. The Rays were so much better in ‘08 because of their defense, pitching, and teamwork.

I’ve been a Rays fan since 2004, and it is great to being a fan of a team that was the laughingstock of baseball, then their first playoff appearance, they beat the Red Sox in the ALCS.

The Rays are the third out-of-nowhere team to go to the World Series. I also think they are the fastest expansion game since 1960 to make it to the World Series.

Go Rays, let’s win it all.

Thoughts on Minnesota and the Sports Media

Timmy Shea — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:55:57 -0400

The StarTribune is the most-read newspaper in Minnesota.

I live in Minnesota, so I’ll be writing about the Minnesota sports media.

I like the sports reporters in Minnesota, but they talk about teams I’m not such a big fan of. I’m not a huge Minnesota sports fan, but I will cheer for the Timberwolves (NBA) and Wild (NHL).

Minnesota is known as “The State of Hockey.” The Wild get the most fans out of every team in Minnesota.

Minnesota is known for having bandwagon fans for the Vikings, Twins, and Timberwolves when they do well, but many people will cheer for the Wild no matter what happens.

Every football season, when the Vikings are doing well, people say how much they love their Vikings, but when they are doing badly, people are always saying how bad the Vikings are. However, the sports reporters are always positive about their teams. That’s pretty good.

The Metrodome houses many of the state's teams. The University of Minnesota used to play football there, but they have their own stadium now. The Twins are playing there for one more season, then they will switch to Target Field. The Vikings are also planning on leaving the Metrodome.

According to most fans, the Metrodome isn’t that nice of a stadium. It is very cramped there because of its narrow hallways.

I’m sure the sports reporters in Minnesota will be chronicling a lot of rain and snow delays when the Twins switch to their outdoor stadium Target Field. There should be some interesting baseball games in ‘09.

If you are a Minnesota sports fan, I hope you liked this article.

April: The Best Sports Month of the Year

Timmy Shea — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:38:29 -0400

I think April is the best sports month of the year. April has the NCAA Final Four, start of MLB season, NFL Draft, NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, The Masters, and Wrestle Mania. That is all in a span of 30 days.

Baseball is America's past time, and people get really excited when baseball season is starting. Baseball is one exciting sport to watch.

Men's and women's college basketball season ends in April, and teams that are in get really excited—fans, gamblers, students, etc. People fill out brackets and enter pools, and they try to see who gets the most games right, and win money or some other prize.

The Final Four and the National Championship is usually played in a football dome, to get as many fans as possible to attend.

The NFL Draft can be exciting because people love to see what players their team gets. The team that had the worst record from the previous season gets the first pick in the draft, and the team that wins the Super Bowl picks last in each round.

The NFL Draft impacts different teams' chances at winning the Super Bowl, and whether a team is good or not. The draft tries to help the bad teams get better.

The NBA and NHL playoffs are big to basketball and hockey fans. Every round, the team that wins four games in a series advances to the next round. Eight teams per conference make it to the playoffs.

I think April is the best sports month in America.

Rays 2009 Season Introduction

Timmy Shea — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:11:34 -0400

The Tampa Bay Rays are looking forward to the 2009 season starting, and they are hoping to win the ALCS and World Series this year. The American League East Division will be very tough this year. The New York Yankees added key free agents such as CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Tiexeira. The Red Sox added some pitchers such as Brad Penny and John Smoltz, and they added outfielder Rocco Baldelli. The Rays added Jeff Niemann, Pat Burrell, Joe Nelson, etc. The Blue Jay’s and O’s have made moves, but not as key.

David Price will start the season in the minors, but is expected to come up to the Rays by May. Price came up in September of 2008, and helped the Rays get to the World Series by earning a win against the Red Sox in Game Two and getting a save against the Red Sox in Game Seven. Price won a playoff game before winning a regular season game. Price will be very important when he comes up in May.

Carl Crawford is determined to have a good year this year. He was off last year, but was still good enough to have on the team. He feels more confident about the season because people aren’t doubting him and the Rays anymore.

I think the Rays should be good for 2009. B.J. Upton will be ready for the home opener of the season. I hope you loyal Rays fans enjoy the 2009 season. Go Rays!

Why Fans Are So Important

Timmy Shea — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:45:24 -0500

Fans are the most important part to the team because they’re the reason why the players, staff, and coaches make money.

They give the players confidence, and whoever their favorite team is, they really love that team.

There is a difference between loyal fans and bandwagon fans. Loyal fans like their team during good or bad seasons, support them in the big games, and always stay on top of how they’re doing by watching on T.V., listening on the radio, being at the game, checking the Internet, having messages being sent to their phones, etc. Some fans travel to see their team play when they're away because they really love that team.

Bandwagon fans are terrible fans because they only like the team that’s good. If a team isn’t doing well, they say they hate that team, or they’re not gonna do it. The Tampa Bay Rays had a lot of bandwagon fans because Tropicana Field was crowded the year the Rays were really good, but when they were bad most people wouldn’t go support them. Bandwagon fans aren’t real fans.

Every team has loyal or bandwagon fans. New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Boston are known for having super fans, but there are a lot of places with loyal fans.

If a team had absolutely no fans, they would go out of business. Fans are really that important.

Some fans have been known to bother the fans of the opponent or rival of their favorite teams. Also, some fans only care about their team and nothing else (including family, special services, etc.). That’s not good. It’s good to have big fans, but not fans who bother other people for what jersey, hat, t-shirt, etc. they have on.

The Many Curses of the Chicago Cubs

Timmy Shea — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:44:11 -0500

After the 2008 season, the Chicago Cubs are still without a World Series title since their last in 1908. Impressive!

They last appeared in the World Series in 1945, and they blamed their loss on a goat (aka "The Curse of the Billy Goat").

There was a rain delay in Game 4 of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, and a man named William Sianis brought his pet goat to the game.

Late in the game, Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley forced William and his goat to leave because he said the goat stunks, but after the World Series was over and the Tigers won, William said, "Who stinks now?"

He said the Cubs would never win the World Series again.

And then there was "The Black Cat Curse".

The Cubs had a commanding 9.5 game lead over the New York Mets in 1969, but shockingly, the Mets came back into contention.

In a super important series against the Mets, a black cat ran circles around Cubs's Ron Santo in the on-deck circle, then disappeared under the stands.

And most recently, the Cubs were again "cursed" by fan Steve Bartman.

In the 2003 NLCS, the Cubs had a 3-1 lead over the Florida Marlins, but the Marlins ended up winning the series 4-3. The Marlins won three games in Chicago and only one in Miami.

In the top of the eighth inning in Game 6, Luis Castillo hit a foul ball towards the stands and Chicago left fielder Moises Alou gave chase, but it was out of reach. He said a fan (Steve Bartman) interfered with him, but 4.5 years later, he said he wouldn't have caught the ball. What a selfish Moises Alou.

Does anyone think the Cubs will ever win the World Series?

Notre Dame Struggling Badly

Timmy Shea — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:03:08 -0500

After Notre Dame’s 71-64 loss against No. 10 Marquette, they continue to fall back in the rankings. The Irish have lost two straight at home after winning 45 in a row and are 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the Big East.

Things are looking really bad for the Irish as head to No. 3 Pittsburgh on Saturday. Head coach Mike Brey held a 6 a.m. practice on Tuesday to hopefully get the players to start playing better.

Ryan Ayers needs to finish better, and Zach Hillesland needs to shoot better. Luke Harangody is going to try to get everyone to start doing their jobs on the court.

The Irish have been playing very solid defense in this slump, but the offense has been shooting under 50 percent. The best defense is a high-scoring offense, so that means the Irish have got to start shooting better, or they might not make the Big East Tournament.

Tyrone Nash, Zach Hillesland, and Ryan Ayers all went scoreless against Marquette on Monday. That is very hard to believe!

Do you Irish fans still believe?

Outback Bowl 2009: Iowa Vs South Carolina

Timmy Shea — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:21:09 -0500

On Thursday, January 1, 2009, the Iowa Hawkeyes play the South Carolina Gamecocks at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, FL.

Iowa has the best running back in the nation, Shonn Greene. Greene has had 100+ rushing yards in every game this year. Greene won the Doak Walker Award for his great runs.

Iowa has won three straight games, including a 24-23 upset over no. 3 Penn State.

South Carolina has lost two straight being blown out by Florida 56-6 and Clemson 31-14. They’ll be focused on Greene.

The solutions Iowa will need if South Carolina is mainly concentrating on Shonn Greene is quarterback Ricky Stanzi to step up like he has this whole season, and have the wide receivers hold on to the ball. Defense will have to play really hard.

This game is an early one because it starts at 11:00

AM et.

Iowa should have been in the Alamo Bowl because Northwestern beat them in the tiebreaker, but because Iowa has more fans that’s how Iowa made it. More fans means more money so the people in charge want more money. That’s okay because Northwestern did finish ahead in the standings.

Have fun watching this game, and go Hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eagles-Browns: Cleveland Heads to Philly for a Monday Night Showdown

Timmy Shea — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:00:00 -0500

Tomorrow night is a huge game for the Philadelphia Eagles, who play the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. The Eagles are 7-5-1 and the Cleveland Browns are 4-9. The Eagles are currently in third place in the NFC East Division, but they'll move to second with a win and Cowboys loss to Giants.

The Eagles have won two straight games against the Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. Donovan McNabb is back and healthy, and Andy Reid is happier with himself now.

The Browns have lost three straight games and quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson are out for the season, leaving Coach Romeo Crennel going to Glen Dorsey. Braylon Edwards has dropped the ball a lot this year.

Both teams are very poorly behaved fans. The Eagles fans are probably the roughest fans in the NFL, but the Browns fans throw beer bottles a lot. Both fans swear like crazy. The Eagles have very loyal fans, unlike the Vikings fair-weather fans.

The Eagles rely on Brian Westbrook way too much. They have to use their other weapons which they've been getting better at. If Donovan McNabb chokes this week, the fans will want him gone. I see why.

The Eagles should have a lot of confidence coming into this game with a huge upset win against the New York Giants at Giants Stadium.

The Eagles big problems this year has been clock management, too much Westbrook, injuries, penalties, McNabb getting into slow starts, and field goals getting blocked for touchdowns at the last play of the second quarter.

Trent Cole is the Eagles sack leader with seven sacks. The Eagles have a good defense, and they will put a lot of pressure on Glen Dorsey.

Do you Eagles fans believe???

The Eagles Just Upset The New York Giants

Timmy Shea — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:34:48 -0500

Today in East Rutherford, NJ, the Philadelphia Eagles just shocked the New York Giants 20-14. That is a huge win for the Eagles (7-5-1), and they play the Cleveland Browns on Monday, December 15.

That was the Giants second loss of the season, and first at home. They didn't score an offensive touchdown until 15 seconds left in the game. They still can clinch the NFC East with the Cowboys loss to Pittsburgh.

McNabb is really trying to prove to people that he can do it. He was 19 for 30 with 191 yards and one touchdown. Brian Westbrook rushed for 131 yards and one touchdown.

The Eagles defense stopped the Giants on three 4th down attempts, and the even blocked a field goal. The Eagles did struggle with those fouls again, but did come up big. Brandon Jacobs got hurt in the second half.

The Eagles have now won two in a row. They're still trying to make the playoffs.

Do any of you Eagles fans believe that the Eagles can do it????

Rays 2009 Season

Timmy Shea — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:42:19 -0500

The Rays are looking forward to the 2009 Season, and they want to have the success again like they did in 2008. So what do you think the Rays need most in 2009?

Notre Dame: Should They Fire Charlie Weis?

Timmy Shea — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:08:37 -0500

Should Notre Dame fire Charlie Weis this off season?

Here is a look at his four Irish seasons:

2005: 9-3 Lost Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State
2006: 10-3 Lost to LSU in the Sugar Bowl
2007: 3-9 Notre Dame's worst season in school history
2008: 6-5 The season is not yet over, but he lost to Syracuse, and has blown games against Pitt, Navy, and UNC.

Rays Lose World Series

Timmy Shea — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:28:11 -0400

Hey Tampa Bay Rays fans, we are all sad that we lost the World Series in five games. It has been a great season. We won the A.L. East and the A.L. Pennant. Hopefully, next year will be a better year, but feel great about this season.

Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena really struggled in this series but finally came up with RBI base hits. B.J. Upton played well, but the Philadelphia Phillies were too much to overcome, so the Rays lost Game five, 4-3.

The Phillies won the series, 4-1.

Joe Maddon did a great job managing the Rays this year. However, I think he made several mistakes tonight.

First, David Price should have been the pitcher to open the sixth. The Rays relievers did not look comfortable in an unusual role, while Price was extremely effective.

Second, Maddon should have had B.J. Upton bunt in attempt to move Carl Crawford to second base. Instead, Upton hit into a double play, and the Rays ran out of time to come back.

It was great to see Rocco Baldelli hit a home run that tied the game. Given all he has been through, his contributions were significant.

Still, it was a tremendous season that only die-hard Rays could have envisioned. Wait until next year.

My dad, Nick, helped with this article.

Phillies-Rays: Phillies Pour It On

Timmy Shea — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:53:07 -0400

After last night's 10-2 loss to the Phillies, the Tampa Bay Rays will be facing elimination in Philadelphia tonight. Pitchers Scott Kazmir (Rays) and Cole Hamels (Phillies) will be dueling tonight.

The Rays have surprised everyone this year. The Rays were expected to be 22 games better than last year, but they finished the regular season with a 97-65 record, winning the American League East Division.

The Rays won the American League pennant, beating the hated Boston Red Sox 4-3 in the ALCS. Those teams have been in big fights in the past, including a huge one this year at Fenway Park.

I hope the Rays can start a comeback, but if they get eliminated, it has still been a great season. The young players played their hearts out so much.

I had a rough 2008, so I'm happy with the Rays making it better for me. Go Rays.

I Wish I Were in Philadelphia on Sunday

Timmy Shea — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 04:46:26 -0400

My favorite NFL team is the Eagles, and my favorite MLB team is the Rays. Since the Rays and Eagles are both in Philly today, I wish I were there.

I started liking both those teams in 2004, and I was sad to see the Eagles lose Super Bowl XXXIX. I went to both Tropicana Field and Lincoln Financial Field in 2006. Both trips were fun.

Philadelphia is one of my favorite cities. I have to stay in Minneapolis this week because my family is busy, but I'll be watching both games. I will never be a fair weather fan. I stay loyal to my teams.

My next article will be "Reasons Why I Picked My Favorite Teams."