Adam Rosales signs with the A's

Adam Rosales is a capable middle infield-utility type player. Through his career, he has posted a pedestrian .227 batting average with an OPS of .665. He's an OK fielder with flexibility across several different positions. He's reaching his mid-30s at this point, so this is a depth move, and perhaps one to bring in a veteran voice to the turbulent Oakland A's clubhouse.
Oh, and also, Adam Rosales gets moved to the A's all the time.

This is the third time Rosales has been added by Oakland. It's just a matter of time until he ends up with the Rangers again. Hopefully the A's never leave Oakland, otherwise Adam Rosales won't know where home is.

The war with the snooze button

For some reason, in the last few days, I've heard a pair of debates regarding the snooze button, once on local radio station MyTalk, and one among coworkers at Real Job Inc. There are two sides to this debate, if you have never been involved in it. Half of the populace enjoys hitting the snooze once or twice, and those that can't figure out why you would do that. Just get up when it goes off! Better yet, set the alarm 9 minutes later.
I'll admit that I'm team "no snooze" but that might be because of how my life has gone. I never needed one at my last job, because I had a shift that started at 2pm, and simply woke up whenever I felt like it. Now, I have two dogs that get up with my early rising wife, and I'm up when they come back from their walk. I don't have a choice.
But I can definitely understand the other side of the argument as well. The most common response is that it just takes the person in question a while to wake up. I will say that there is no better feeling than waking up, looking at the clock and realizing you still have 20 minutes left. Maybe my inability to be cheery in the morning stems from the fact that I wake up too darn fast.
Of course, my wife is also a "no snoozer" and she is irrepressibly chipper in the early morning. And then there is the science, that says it's just better for you to just get up. Set the alarm later, if you are going to stay in bed for an extra 20 minutes every day. So what do you think? How does your day start?

News and Notes from across the internet

This isn't going to be a daily feature here at the revitalized Rhino and Compass, but here are a few quick items from around the World Wide Web that intrigue me but aren't enough to write a post about.

The FA Cup replays were today. Sutton United and Lincoln City were the two lower tier teams with limited historical success that made it through to the next round. It's been 41 years since Lincoln City made it this far. 

The MLB Hall of Fame voting results are officially going to be announced tomorrow. It looks like Jeff Bagwell and Tim Raines are definitely in, while Pudge Rodriguez will be close. Some of the more controversial candidates will be close enough to remain on the ballot, to be considered again next year. 

Edinson Volquez' brother, Brandy, was stabbed to death in the Dominican Republic on Monday. Volquez tragically lost his father shortly before he started Game 1 of the 2015 World Series, so this is another terrible time for the pitcher, who has signed with Miami over the offseason. 

One of the trades the White Sox made this offseason was the one that sent Chris Sale to Boston. Part of their return was Michael Kopech, who just hit 110mph on the gun. Yikes.

Minnesota United continues to build their team in preparation for their MLS debut in a couple of March. The Superdraft just concluded, and they grabbed 4 new players, including the first pick in the draft, Abu Danladi, a forward. 

The Timberwolves aren't even as close to as good as they were supposed to be. As a result, they feel comfortable paring down the roster mid-season as they look to the future. Ricky Rubio and Shabazz Muhammad appear to be on the block. 

The Cubs won the World Series, so before the President from Chicago left the White House, they had to go visit him. Of course, Obama is a Sox fan, so it was probably just to rub it in.

The game between Siena and Rider got testy, and Rider declined to do the post game hand shakes. That didn't stop Siena coach Jimmy Patsos from trying to be sportsmanlike. 

This is how good Kansas is

Kansas State is ranked number 24 or 25 in the country, depending on the poll that you subscribe to. They jumped into the polls for the first time this season. What were the results that pushed them over the edge?

That's right, last week, the Wildcats won at home against the unsurpassed worst team in the Big 12, but was ranked on the back of their road loss to Kansas. Not many teams can cause their opponents to move up in the rankings by beating them, but the Jayhawks have that effect.

Minnesota moves to the big time

That was quite the roller coaster the Minnesota Gophers took us on, wasn't it? First, there was the suspension of 10 players, and the resulting protest. The players realized quickly the error of their ways, but not before they left their coach out to dry. Tracy Claeys was terminated, and the University hired Western Michgan's PJ Fleck.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers hired a coach coming off of a berth in a BCS game. The University of Minnesota hired the most sought after coach of the offseason. How in the heck did that happen??
There are two factors, even though they weren't necessarily working in concert. First was the stability Jerry Kill brought to the program. Whether or not you are pleased with how Kill backed his way into bowl games in order to earn extra practices, or didn't appreciate Claeys' play calling and low energy, you must admit that the Gophers are no longer a laughing stock. They are a competitive team in one of the top conferences in the country.
Then, there is the school itself. Finally, after so many coaches have come and gone, and so many people (nobody louder than Tubby Smith) clamored for the help, the U is investing in their athletics program. They have a huge student body, a great alumni association and no competition in state. They finally decided to lean on their advantages. New AD Mark Coyle seems to have convinced the administration that they can make a lot of money on their football team if they finally decided to invest in it. They've always been able to afford it.
I have to believe that Coyle and the administration knew that Fleck would be interested in the position before Claeys was let go. It's pretty gutsy to get rid of a coach who just won 9 games, and it takes some moxie to assume the top choice for the job will take it. The only way that it make sense to have that attitude is if you are a top flight program. I never would have believed it even a couple of years ago, but it appears that the University of Minnesota has forced their way into the upper crust.

Step number 3 is on the court

mattclapp: KU ONIONS ESPN 2 NFL Live https://t.co/g9YVDmaHVW pic.twitter.com/lNg6yBrcBv

— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) January 4, 2017

There are two incredible things about this video that go beyond the missed call.

1)      There is a human being on planet earth named Svi Mykhailiuk

2)      He made the danged shot