With that being said, it all also a great weekend for sports and there have been some unbelievable performances on Memorial Day to say the least.  So we decided to roll them up in to our “Top 5 Memorial Day Performances of All Time”.

Here we go…

• #5.  MAY 27, 1985 –  NBA:  FINALS, GAME 1 – CELTICS 148 VS. LAKERS 114

• #4.  MAY 28, 1973 –  MLB:  WILBUR WOOD, 2 WINS VS. CLEVELAND INDIANS

• #3.  MAY 27, 1996 –  NBA: EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS – MICHAEL JORDAN, 45 PTS VS. ORLANDO

• #2.  MAY 30, 1977 – MLB:  DENNIS ECKERSLEY, NO-HITTER VS. CLEVELAND INDIANS

Hall-of-Fame hurler, Dennis Eckersley threw the 200th no-no in Major League Baseball history for the Indians on Memorial Day, 1977.  Cleveland beat the Angels 1-0 as Eck walked only one batter while striking out 12 in the victory.

• #1.  MAY 31, 1993 –  NBA: EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS – MICHAEL JORDAN, 54 PTS VS. NEW YORK

• 1B Paul Konerko- Konerko leads the AL in hitting at .396 and OBP at .473 by a wide margin.  He lead AL first baseman in WAR (2.6), hits (63) home runs (10), RBI (29), SLG (.667) and OPS (1.140).  Right now, you would have to call Konerko the MVP of the AL.  Other Options: Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers; Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
• DH Adam Dunn- Dunn is expiriencing a big bounce back season.  He is hitting .244/.384/.579 with an OPS of .963 with 15 home runs and 35 RBI. Other Options: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox; Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays
• C AJ Pierzynski- AJ is currently having maybe his best offensive season with the White Sox.  Hitting .312/.352/.539 with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs and 32 RBI.  He has an OPS of .891 and has thrown out 35% of the baserunners so far this season.  Other Options: None
• SP Jake Peavy- Peavy is currently 6-1 with a 3.07 ERA in 70.1 inning pitched.  He also has a 5/1 K/BB ratio.  Peavy really has only had two bad innings lately that has made his ERA jump up just above 3. Other Options: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers; Jered Weaver, LA Angels; Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
• SP Chris Sale- This is Sale’s first season in the rotation and he is taking full advantage of it.  He is currently 5-2 with a 2.55 ERA.  He is becoming an ace right before our eyes. Other Options: Same as Peavy

Hopefully all five of these guys can keep there strong seasons going and all make it to the All Star game.

This season Jon Lester has been reasonably effective at times and struggled at other times. On May 14, he pitchedhis best game this season, a one run complete game. He scattered eight hits and walked none. However, even in this game, Lester failed to the one thing that has made him a force on the mound. He failed to get a high number of strike outs. He struck out six hitters in those nine innings, a reasonable number for some pitchers, but a startlingly low total for Jon Lester.

This season Jon Lester is not getting the Ks he needs to if he is going to be an ace. His career 8.26 K/9 is well over two strikeouts more than his current 6.05 rate. You have to go all the way back to June 2008, when Lester was in his first full year to find a lower rate in any single month. In his entire professional career he has only had two months with lower K/9 than his current mark. From 2009-2011, Lester was among the top strike out pitchers in the game, with a 9.43 K/9. This year, he isn’t even close to average (7.2 K/9).

Unfortunately, nothing else has changed in Lester’s game. He is just a hair below his career average 3.39 BB/9 with a 3.25 rate and while his 49.7% ground ball rate is above his career average, it is an insignificant amount below his rate from last year. Without an accompanying drop in his walks or a groundball rate of unprecedented levels, Jon Lester cannot be an ace without a strikeout rate well above average.  Essentially he gonefrom being CJ Wilson to being Chris Volstad between 2011 and 2012.

Jon Lester has not lost any velocity at all and it appears the cause of this declining strikeout rate may be a result of a shift in his pitch selection. The only noticeable difference in Jon Lester this season is an increased reliance on his sinker at the expense of his cutter. Lester is throwing the sinker 27.5% of the time after using it just 16.7% in 2011 and 11.7% in 2012. There is some chance that Pitch F/X classification errors are exaggerating the differences, but even if that is true, it does appear that Lester favors the sinker more than ever before. His cutter is one of his best pitches for inducting whiffs with hitters missing on 9.1% of all swings at the pitch. His sinker gets just 3.6% whiffs. That is more than enough to explain the dramatic drop in swing strikes. On his career, Jon Lester has gotten swing strikes on 9.2% of his pitches, now he is get them on just 7%.

Jon Lester’s new strategy is inexplicable. He has throw his cutter for strikes more often than his sinker, gotten more swings at his cutter and missed more bats. As of yet, there has been no significant rise in his groundball rate accompanying the increased use of the sinker. Simply put, he depending on his sinker has just made Jon Lester more hittable with absolutely no benefit. He needs to abandon this new strategy and rely on his cutter far more. Until he does, Jon Lester cannot and will not be the ace the Boston Red Sox need.

Going into this year’s race, Jimmie Johnson is the favorite after coming off an impressive All-Star win last weekend and winning at Darlington the week before. His success at Charlotte is amazing but his dominance has faded as of late with the competition catching up to him.

This season has been clean and green for the most part and that should carry into this weekend as well. The one thing that fans should look for this weekend is the engines. The extra 100 miles is a big toll on the engines which will have teams on edge throughout the race.

Drivers to watch

Jimmie Johnson- It was already mentioned that he would be a threat this weekend after his recent surge. Johnson is a threat no matter where he goes and can never be overlooked. He knows what it takes to win a 600-mile race and has the patience and the stamina to get through the race and put himself in position at the end.

Matt Kenseth- The Daytona 500 winner qualified 20th and will have to work his way to the front which shouldn’t be a problem for Kenseth. He is known for not being the best qualifier and has come from mid-pack and beyond plenty of times in his career. Kenseth was seventh in final practice and should be threat this weekend. He had a strong run at the All-Star Race before spinning his tires on the final restart.

Marcos Ambrose- The driver from down under is still looking for his first career win on an oval. After qualifying second to his RPM teammate Aric Almirola, Ambrose showed more speed by posting solid times in practice. Last season, Ambrose posted a sixth place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 and followed that up with a fifth place fun during the fall race. Look for Ambrose to take the lead early in the race.

Prediction

The Roush-Fenway cars have been strong at the 1.5 mile tracks for the past couple years and this weekend’s race should be no different. He may not show his hand early, but I expect Matt Kenseth to take the victory tonight. The Yates engines have shown to be reliable, besides for last week when experiments were being tried, and he has the speed to get it done.

Top 5

1. Matt Kenseth

2. Jimmie Johnson

3. Greg Biffle

4. Mark Martin

5. Marcos Ambrose

Follow me on Twitter @kevin_vanpelt10

Bourque, the son of Bruins legend Ray Bourque, played with the Capitals’ AHL team the Hershey Bears this season, playing 73 games, putting up 27 goals and 66 assists for 93 points. The Bears made the Calder Cup playoffs and Bourque contributed a goal and three assists in the team’s five-game run. He was drafted 33rd overall in 2004 by the Capitals and has spent much of his time with the Bears, though recently he played for a KHL team and a Swiss team too.

Like Bourque, Hamill spent most of his time this season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, appearing in 41 games, scoring eight goals and adding 13 assists. He’s played in 20 games with the Boston Bruins, putting up just four assists.

In an issue of The Hockey News that previews the 2012 NHL draft and analyzes each team’s draft picks since the 2004-05 lockout, Hamill was labeled one of the few “not so shrewd” picks by the Bruins. He was drafted eighth overall in 2007.

He also recently created controversy on his Twitter page, which has since been protected, for calling out “girl hockey fans” on expressing what he felt was an apparent lack of knowledge about the hockey season:

This was met with many cogent, thought-out and properly punctuated Twitter responses from female hockey fans, some of whom said they had been watching hockey before Hamill was even born, so of course they know there is a season.

But all of that aside, Bourque will most likely spend the bulk of his time in Rhode Island attempting to make the Providence Bruins more of a Calder Cup contender. However, if the parent club is in need, they might be well-served by calling up the son of Ray. It certainly would make it fun to see another Bourque take to the ice in Boston.

Dexter Pittman, Miami Heat

Dexter, bro.  Why the wink?!  Lance Stephenson gives LeBron James the “choke” sign and a hit was put out on Lance’s head.  That’s fine.  You execute the hit, which is also fine.  But Dex, the wink!  Its 2012.  High-definition is already boarderline old.  You had to have known the world was going to see that wink.  I know you weren’t winking to some broad in the stands.  I’m not sure who is more of a muppet, you or Lance Stephenson in this case, which brings me to….

Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers

Who are you to give the three-time MVP LeBron James a “choke” gesture?  Apparently you played at Cincinatti for a year, and average 0.3 assists a game.  A third of an assist!  Lance, you drop a dime one in every three games, if your lucky!  Sure you were trending on Twitter for 15 minutes after you did it, but how did that big a** elbow feel from Dexter Pittman?  Man, stay on the bench and fill gatorade cups for David West.

Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals prodigy decided to smash his bat in frustration in the dugout after some rough at-bats.  Result, ten stitches above his left eye.  Bryce, brother, you could be signing a mega-deal worth real paper down the line if you can keep that vision intact.  I don’t care if you grounded out.  There is no need to smash your bat against a dugout wall.  Relax young buck.

Titus Young, Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions wide-receiver, Titus Young, a former Boise State Bronco, decided to sucker punch the Lions pro-bowl safety Louis Delmas, a former Western Michigan Bronco.  Not only are you both former broncos, your currently teammates Titus! Damn.  Sure things get heated during early off-season practices, but safeties are generally buck dudes.  Especially the ones that invite contact from Adrian Peterson, like Louis Delmas does.

Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers

Man, this kid just does not want to mature.  If Bynum put forth effort, like, a little bit of effort, he would be the most dominant big-man in the league.  This kid just doesn’t care.  Whether its throwing lil’ JJ Barea through the air last year, or chucking up three-balls, or even something small like neglecting to pluck the nine grey hairs on that head, Bynum just cant shed muppet-like activity.

According to a strong source of mine, Bynum sent a test message minutes after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, to a marketing director for Aria nightclub saying “I need a table this weekend, I heard you got Fabulous Saturday…Lock me up with a dance floor table boi!!!”

You Andy, are the first “Muppet of the Week.”

Paul Bentley is a contributor to Rant Sports

Follow Bentley on Twitter at @KKingBentley

Read more work from BENTLEY

Ahh, Bob Saget! Just a couple days after Snoop Dogg throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago White Sox game, we get Full House star Bob Saget singing the National Anthem. If you want a better video, here’s MLB’s non-embeddable one here. I have no words to express the randomness of this occurrence. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad after all. I didn’t expect Sinatra or anything, but he definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought he would be. Well done, Danny Tanner.

In all actuality, Bob Saget is about as vulgar as a human being can be. If you aren’t familar with his stand-up, you need to Youtube some stuff, especially the “Aristocrats” joke. The wholesome family man we saw on Full House is nothing like the man on stage doing stand-up.

Outside of Bob Saget rocking the Anthem, the Chicago White Sox rocked the Cleveland Indians 14-7, moving only 1.5 games back of Cleveland for the American League Central division lead. In the last three games, all home wins, the White Sox have scored a total of 34 runs in 24 innings, aided by Paul Konerko hitting everything in sight.

This game also would have featured a cycle from Alex Rios if Michael Brantley and Shin-Soo Choo weren’t jerks about it. Rios was robbed of a 3-run homer in the first inning after Michael Brantley perfectly timed the ball to make the catch. Then, Choo robbed Rios of what probably would have been a triple if the ball went by him. Even with the bad luck, Rios finished the game 3-5, with a home run and 3 RBI.

I would like to thank Bob Saget for the good luck!

Bryan is a featured writer for Rant Sports. Although he concentrates mostly on the game of baseball, you can find him covering things all over the Rant Sports Network.

2012 will be a season of challenged for Steve Addazio‘s team as they return a limited number of starters on both sides of the ball and re-enter the Big East Conference. There’s no doubt, however, that Addazio has Temple alumni and fans in Philadelphia firmly in his corner regardless of how the Owls finish this fall.

Impact Players

Offense

Dual-threat quarterback Chris Coyer will lead the offense for the Owls in 2012. Coyer’s elusiveness and ability to throw on the run are both vital to his continued success in igniting a Temple offense that will be looking for playmakers this fall to maintain momentum.  Throwing on the run and escaping the pocket will be something Coyer will certainly be forced to do given the loss of four offensive linemen from 2011′s 9-4 squad.

Coyer will be surrounded by a solid strength and speed duo of running backs in Matt Brown and Kenny Harper. At 5’5′, Brown is a shifty and fleet speed back with great ability to hit holes and pick up a solid yards per carry average. Harper, on the other hand, is the bruiser who made a strong impression during spring practice and could in fact turn out to be a workhorse for the Owls this fall.

There also remains a slight possibility that Boston College transfer Montel Harris could get eligibility issues worked out in time to be able to suit up this fall, but there doesn’t really appear to be a consensus among Temple media that this is a certainty.

Coyer will look toward junior Deon Miller as his primary target in the passing game, but only by default, given that Miller is the leading receiver with 18 catches from 2011.

Temple’s offensive line concerns, however, outweigh all others that Steve Addazio will be forced to deal with as fall practice rolls around. Young, inexperienced players will be forced to step up and play serious minutes at a high level for any facet of the Owls’ potentially powerful offense to be successful.

Defense

The Temple defense will be looking for plenty of new faces to step in and fill holes left by multiple players who are no longer a part of the program. Up front, the Owls lose five players who made a major impact not only in terms of their percentage of the overall number of tackles, but also in unquestioned leadership.

Several young men will have the chance to step up into much more extensive roles this season and make a mark on the defensive side of the football. Linebackers Ahkeem Smith and Nate D. Smith will be depended upon to be the second line of defense behind the inexperienced defensive line. The “Smiths” have the type of impact ability to change a game, and their collective ability to get pressure in the backfield and disrupt opposing offenses will go a long way towards Temple’s defensive success in 2012.

Safeties Nate Smith and Justin Gildea will anchor a secondary which will be challenged consistently unless the new defensive front can beat opposing offensive lines off the snap.

In general, young players will need to step up for the Owls to have a substantial defensive presence and allow their clock-control, run-focused offense to stay on the field as long as possible to control possession and the flow of games.

Schedule

The first five games of the Owls’ season will certainly set the tone for the team’s finish in 2012. Home contests to start the season against the Villanova Wildcats and Maryland Terrapins are both winnable, but could be more of a test than they appear to be on paper. Weeks 3 and 4, however, are the true test. Games against Penn State in Happy Valley and at home against the deceptive South Florida Bulls could show how prepared Addazio’s young troops are to take on 2012 and return to another first-tier bowl game.

In short, the young Temple Owls certainly will not be the 9-4 team of 2011 in terms of experience, but talent is not lacking. How well this talent translates to execution will tell the tale at Lincoln Financial this fall.

—

Kris Hughes is the College Football Network Manager for Rant Sports. If you enjoy his takes, you can follow Kris on Twitter, check out his personal Facebook page, or stop by his personal Tumblr page. 

In regards to Braun, Raines said that simply, “the juries still out.” You don’t want to miss these comments regarding one of the darkest times in baseball history.

As everyone in the sporting world knows, Braun tested positive for high levels of testosterone in early December and on Janury 19-20, 2011, a three-person panel held a meeting to hear Braun’s case. Then in February, Braun became the first player to successfully challenge a drug-related suspension and appeal it.

The appeal was settled by arbitration, and Braun’s lawyers were able to get his 50-game suspension lifted due to a part-time urine tester, Shyam Das, failing to abide by the MLB guidelines.

The lawyers presented the fact that Braun’s sample was not properly contained. It had sat on the desk of this man for two days, rather than being properly cooled in a secure location.

The reason for this? FedEx was closed when the man went to ship the sample.

This was yet another asterix that is MLB’s steroid history, which includes the likes of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

Take a listen to Raines, as he explains what he feels happened with Braun, and the history of baseball’s steroid era.

In unofficial twitter polling, most responded that they would rather bank the scholly then bring the Illinois State transfer on board. I can see both sides to this debate and I think Matt Painter is honestly still mulling it over. No media outlets have reported that Purdue has offered…yet. Even moreso, there hasn’t even been news that Moore has visited anywhere so far.

Let’s weigh the pros and cons:

Cons: Moore can’t play next year. After transferring, he will only have 3 years of eligibility left. Painter evaluated Nic Moore very closely when Moore played at Warsaw High School. He ultimately passed on the 5-9 guard, and he probably made that decision because of Moore’s small stature. Being only 5-9, Moore’s versatility is limited. He can really only guard the point and if he’s forced to guard a shooting guard, he’ll often be giving up 5+ inches. Moore would have been a more attractive option for Purdue if Painter had offered him out of high school. That way, Purdue would have had him last season gaining experience under Lewis Jackson. In hindsight, he would have been a good fit after Kelsey Barlow and John Hart transferred. His assist to turnover ratio could improve: 3.9 to 2.4. In all honesty, Moore is not a true point. He’s more of a combo guard that likes to score.

Pros: Even though he can’t play in games next season, Moore would serve as a valuable practice player.  What would Purdue be getting with Moore in 2013? A competitive, smart, and sneakily good player that isn’t afraid of the big stage. In fact, he might be one of those guys that performs better in the limelight. Against BCS or ranked opponents, here are Moore’s scoring totals: Stanford, 25 pts; Ole Miss, 24 pts; Creighton, 20 pts; and Wichita State, 12 pts. Moore was especially strong at the end of the year. And maybe I’m making too much out of his height. He’s a strong built 5-9 guy and when he’s playing out on the perimeter, height differential doesn’t mean as much. Moore is also a good outside shooter: 39% from behind the arc as just a freshman, including a 6 of 6 performance against Ole Miss.

Bottom line: If Painter offers Moore and Purdue gets his commitment, they’ll be getting a gritty guard that won’t back down from anyone. Sure, he may be undersized. But good teams need competitive players like Moore to will the team to victory. Painter passed on Moore the first time around. I don’t think he passes the second time around.