tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27183414538240173402011-11-27T18:23:05.731-05:00Random thoughts and musings on sports, politics, and the world at large from a Cali kid living in New York.AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-21094482037459107322008-04-02T21:33:00.002-04:002008-04-02T22:18:39.707-04:00

Today I went to the Washington Post's website to check out the latest news about the campaign. The first story there:"Does Obama's exchange with autograph seeker raise broader questions about candidacy?"Next I checked the New York Times Politics section. The first article there:"A Tirade from Bill Clinton."Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the two most respected newspapers in the country, at

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-55895435457767382542008-03-31T23:05:00.003-04:002008-03-31T23:13:43.028-04:00

Yeah, I know, I only moved to this site about a month ago, but I'm once again revamping my blogging. For now on all my sports commentary will appear on my new blog: Nickel and Dime. I want to focus a lot more on daily sports writing, and I'm going to try to post at least once every weekday about Bay Area Sports on this new blog. Playstation Numbers was just a little too crazy and lacked any sort

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-3275296147168802732008-03-30T18:52:00.003-04:002008-03-30T19:09:20.738-04:00

While in the liquor store the other day an amazing product caught my eye. This product:Personally I've been bemoaning the inconvenience of having to enjoy my daily clam juice and crappy light beer fixes separately for years, so I'm incredibly pleased that Anheuser Busch has answered my prayers by combining these two horrific liquids into something that looks like Sunny Delight and probably

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-72624383639666005522008-03-22T17:31:00.004-04:002008-03-23T16:33:13.304-04:00

Before beginning my series of MLB division previews, I'd like to highlight my incredibly bad NCAA tourney predictions (yep, no way uconn was losing, and that 13 point UNLV win was a real barnburner). Serves me right for writing about college basketball when I've been mostly following baseball and the NBA for the last few months. Anyway on to the NL East Preview:1st Place: New York Mets.Why?

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-87835493121918500452008-03-17T21:01:00.004-04:002008-03-17T22:10:27.602-04:00

Some thoughts on the upcoming NCAA tournament.Best first round matchup: Eight seed UNLV (27-7) vs. Nine seed Kent State (28-6), Midwest regional. Horizon League champion Kent State won the solid Horizon League and has wins over Illinois State (second highest RPI of teams that didn't make the tournament), George Mason, and St. Mary's. Mountain West champ UNLV has wins over San Diego, BYU...twice,

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-74348369706133037582008-03-12T14:36:00.002-04:002008-03-12T15:07:24.389-04:00

On March 4th Senator Hilary Clinton gained a total of 6 pledged delegates on Barack Obama despite winning the popular vote in both Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island. Six. Yesterday Barack Obama won the Mississippi primary, gaining a total of 5 delegates on Clinton and putting Hilary at a total of +1 in the month of March. But wait, I'm forgetting something...what about Wyoming? Obama won 7

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-50510533949570174002008-03-11T11:52:00.005-04:002008-03-11T12:20:54.934-04:00

If you follow the news at all (or just happened to pass a TV yesterday) you've heard the news about New York governor Eliot Spitzer being implicated as a client of an extremely pricey prostitution ring that featured "7-diamond" rated hookers. The news didn't exactly surprise me, in the sense that politicians are getting caught for this type of thing relatively frequently (see Vitter, David ).

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-19944923843063731762008-03-06T15:08:00.003-05:002008-03-06T15:33:35.132-05:00

I watched some of the Knicks Cavs game last night and saw Lebron absolutely SERVE New York...you know your playing well when fans in an opponent's arena start an MVP chant for you at the end of the game. I still think the Cavs will probably not get past the finals in the east, especially with Boston and Detroit looming large, but if one of the Celtics big three goes down, or the Pistons suffer

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-38993622480378865272008-03-04T11:47:00.003-05:002008-03-04T12:41:27.253-05:00

Huge day for the political campaigns, by tomorrow morning the race for both nominations could be completely wrapped up if Obama pulls out victories in both Ohio and Texas, or Hilary could have risen from the dead once again. The late polling numbers are not looking good for Obama in either state: he's still barely ahead in most polls in Texas and only a few points behind in Ohio, but the trend

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-55842914834883442472008-03-01T16:51:00.002-05:002008-03-01T17:16:04.572-05:00

Some random thoughts to round out the week.Watched the Jazz Hornets game the other night, and was amazed at how good Chris Paul is. It doesn't really show up in the stat line but Paul schooled Deron Williams, especially in crunch time in the 4th quarter: he made the big plays when they really counted. There is no question that Williams is one of the top 5 point guards in the NBA, and an argument

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-20069709168263521052008-02-27T16:01:00.001-05:002008-05-08T16:25:10.851-04:00

Okay, I'll admit my title is cliched. But today Barack Obama announced that one million individuals had donated money to his presidential campaign. Unbelievable.Today I had a bit of an epiphany about why exactly Obama has run such an effective campaign: his supporters directly refute Hilary's main line of attack against him.Hilary has staked her entire campaign on the idea that she is experienced

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-4592376044548293992008-02-26T14:09:00.001-05:002008-02-26T15:37:20.584-05:00

Various media outlets are reporting that Rockets center Yao Ming is out for the rest of the season season. This is great news for the Warriors and every other team in the western conference. I find it really hard to see how the Rockets are going to make the playoffs without the big guy...even when healthy McGrady is probably not enough to carry this team, and he's inevitably going to miss a few

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-30691749467673886132008-02-25T12:18:00.000-05:002008-02-27T16:59:34.642-05:00

For anyone who hasn't seen it already, check out this video of Gary Busey putting in a Joe Namath-esque performance in creeping the shit out of Jennifer Garner and Ryan Seacrest before the Oscars last night. I don't even want to get started on how ridiculous red carpet shows are: many other people have smugly critiqued or angrily attacked the celebrity-obsessed culture we live in with far more

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-26975992545903001462008-02-21T15:35:00.000-05:002008-02-27T17:00:09.002-05:00

"Playstation Numbers"I had never seen this phrase until BP (that's Baseball Prospectus for those of you aren't huge baseball dorks) writer Kevin Goldstein used it to describe a Padres prospect in his column today.Anyway I instantly took a liking to the phrase, because I get tired of using the same few adjectives to describe an athlete putting up great stats: my go-to is usually ridiculous, though

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-37618551775235666062008-02-20T13:00:00.000-05:002008-02-27T17:00:51.536-05:00

Spin it however you will, but Obama just drained that killer three. Hilary needs a miracle to get back in the race...not only does she need to win both Ohio and Texas, but she needs to win them by relatively large (we're talking at least 10%) margins, and even doing that she will probably still be behind Obama in delegates. Barring a huge scandal or some other sort of catastrophic collapse on

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-14697298946739138232008-02-13T14:17:00.000-05:002008-02-13T15:46:21.119-05:00

There can be no mistaking the fact that Obama laid an absolute smackdown on Hilary last night. He certainly does not have the nomination wrapped up, but for him to win Virginia and Maryland by the margins he did (and do as well as he did among women, whites, older people, stoned hippies, independent business owners making between 50,000 and 52,000 dollars a year, and just about every other group

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-6914378204506779922008-02-11T12:55:00.001-05:002008-03-20T15:38:57.153-04:00

Sportscenter sucks. So does Baseball Tonight. These things should be blatantly obvious to anyone who has watched either show for more than the past couple of years: they used to give you highlights with occasionally funny and insightful commentary. Now both shows give you the occasional highlight with a heaping serving of crappy features, retarded running segments that serve only to give the

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-48706652435369126012008-02-06T21:36:00.001-05:002008-02-28T12:29:26.618-05:00

I would give analysis of the Shaq-Marion trade, but i think my buddy Aaron summed it up best when I was talking to him earlier today: the Suns gave every basketball writer in the country the opportunity to write their easiest story of the year. As the AP story proclaimed:Phoenix, the NBA's fastest team, acquires slow, once-mighty giant -- Shaquille O'Neal You know this trade is terrible when

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-24671850014196792192008-02-06T12:12:00.001-05:002008-02-06T14:12:02.799-05:00

Election Predictions Review: I'm actually pretty proud of my results, final totals aren't in but in terms of statewide winners I nailed 19-22 on the Democratic side, only missing California (which I screwed up badly), Missouri, and New Mexico (both of which I picked for Clinton but which went very narrowly for Obama. I screwed up pretty badly on some of the margins but all in all I did better

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-30202302769189213002008-02-05T16:03:00.000-05:002008-02-05T16:31:58.515-05:00

I'm taking a day off from sports to talk about Super Tuesday and the presidential primaries. In the interest of disclosure I'm an Obama supporter, so my already dubious predictions are going to be that much more skewed, but here's a shot at what I think is going to happen today. General Storyline: Obama surpasses expectations, especially in the west, Clinton wins enough states to fight on.Obama

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-67529460110228135832008-02-04T15:19:00.000-05:002008-02-04T16:19:18.333-05:00

Some general thoughts on Super Bowl 42, the Santana trade, the Gasol tradePoint differential and why this is the biggest upset in NFL History: Everyone is (correctly) highlighting the fact that it seems incredible that the 16-0 Patriots could lose to a 10-6 Giants team that most people didn't expect to get past the first round of the playoffs. But I like to look at point differential as a true

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-51104679917411259922008-01-30T11:04:00.000-05:002008-01-30T11:27:35.646-05:00

Before i get to the ridiculous highway robbery that was the Johan Santana Trade (no one offered the Twins anything better than that? Really???) I need to put in a word about the only tv show I've ever watched religiously: Lost. I know its a show that really divides people, most viewers either cant get enough of it or think the ridiculous plot twists are retarded and that investing anytime at all

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-82634003851507960262008-01-29T11:17:00.000-05:002008-01-29T12:01:32.755-05:00

Looks like Warriors fans are going a chance to see Webber back in the bay by the end of the week: possibly for Friday's home game in Oakland against the Charlotte Bobcats (already an interesting matchup because J-Rich returns to Oakland for the first time).From ESPN: "I'll be there tomorrow," Webber said via email. "It's a done deal."http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3219421As mentioned

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-33194780914849091702008-01-28T13:35:00.000-05:002008-01-28T14:35:38.825-05:00

Various sources are reporting that the Warriors (or at least Don Nelson) are pushing hard to try and sign Chris Webber for the remainder of the season. Reaction to this possibility from local sports columnists seems to range from cautiously enthusiastic (hey, the Warriors need front-court depth and who wouldn't want to join one of the feel-good stories of the NBA right now) to the overwhelmingly

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2718341453824017340.post-34637940521204771782008-01-26T19:34:00.000-05:002008-01-26T19:56:19.906-05:00

For those of you who knew me in college, this blog is sort of a continuation of the sports column I was writing for the Echo, except it gives me more space and a greater ability to write about whatever the fuck I feel like (see, already busting out from the oppressive bonds of college journalism). If you don't know me and somehow stumbled onto this blog, then awesome, I'm probably doing something

AJ Herrmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11837793154348902903noreply@blogger.com0