Tuesday Morning Grab Bag

1. Nice start to the season. 9-4, scoring a lot of runs despite being 3-19 with the bases loaded. Assuming that returns to the mean, we'll be putting up even more. Early good signs: Delmon's hitting the ball with authority and not flapping at the first pitch every time; Liriano 7IP, 93 pitches, 0 runs, 8Ks vs. BoSox; Baker outdueling Greinke; Span getting really good at-bats; stealing some bases; occasional Thome dingers; bullpen performance other than Mijares. Early disconcerting items: Mijares; consecutive blowups by Blackburn and Pavano over the weekend; Slowey's control seems a little off so far; Hudson not getting on base too often; Morneau struggling with RISP a bit; Punto starting too many games.

2. I know the rea$on$ behind it, but can I just get it off my chest how much I dislike the idea of the Big Ten expanding to include schools like Rutgers and Syracuse? This is apparently now not just a possibility, but exceedingly likely. I'll shed no tears for the Big East collapsing, but I wish it would reconstitute as something else instead of diluting all the other conferences. The Big Ten is the Midwest Conference. Adding a school in New Jersey is just wrong for so many reasons. Any reason that does not involve dollars, as a matter of fact. And even then, you're not going to "tap the New York market" by including them. Like Manhattan's going to stop and pay attention to Wisconsin vs. Ohio State now just because Rutgers is in the same conference? I don't like oversized conferences, and I don't like conferences with no regional identity where rivalries can't be fostered.

3. I heard there are playoffs occurring now in the NBA. Perhaps LH, if he's still alive, can give us some insight.

4. It's amazing to me how quickly my feelings on the Cubs have changed now that I live more than two miles from Wrigley. I used to think of them as my "sort of second team." Now I really don't give a hoot about the team or franchise. It's a joke. They suck.

5. Ben Roethlisberger: d-bag or collossal d-bag? Discuss.

6. Are the Vikings looking to draft a QB this year? I see we signed T-Jack to an extension. Obviously, we've got some age issues at various positions that probably need to be addressed, in addition to longterm QB. I'd prefer they not take Jimmy Clausen if they do choose a QB. He strikes me as lacking gravitas. His actions and words lead me to think he's basically still a 7th grader emotionally. Guys who lead NFL teams need to be serious, accountable, and mature. I'd rather have Colt McCoy, but think we could probably get someone with just as much likelihood of becoming a really good NFL QB in the 2nd or 3rd round. After Bradford, I'm not convinced anyone else is so close to a sure thing, in terms of pure physical ability and mental makeup, that they're worth a first round pick.