Fwamp Sports Talk

the all star game... who are the stars

2010-07-13T17:38:00.000-07:00

The all star game in baseball is not the same to me as it was when I was a kid. The players don't evoke the same majesty today as they once did. I used to stay up and see what Reggie did or what Ken Griffey Jr.did. When I moved out here, I would check on Bonds. They did not always want to participate in the festivities at the all star game but did out of loyalty to the fans. The players today have de-valued the game. If you are not hurt, you should be there and play. One inning is not going to kill you. The best players used to participate in the Home run derby and we would look forward to the match ups of certain great players against the great pitcher. Inter league play has deprived us that and there are not as many great players in baseball anymore. When a player is asked what player were they intimidated to meet or see at the game and they all say Ken Griffey Jr. that should tell you all you need to know about today's game. If players are not in awe of Mariano Rivera, Pujols or Jeter or Big Papi, then I don't know what a great player is. Most players tend to dislike Alex Rodriguez and Roy Halliday should have everyone by his locker trying to pick his brain about pitching. think about it, who are the legendary players playing in this game tonight other than the guys i mentioned? Vlad Guererro would be another guy I would be in awe of talking to. He was a five tool super stud player or three teams and if he hadn't suffered so many injuries, he would be in the class with A-rod, Big Papi and Manny. Jim Thome too. Instead we have a game tonight of new stars and new legends and hopefully ten years from now, we will look back on tonight and say that some of these new stars are legends. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are not as anonymous as they were two years ago. Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford will be in this game forever. David Price and UBaldo Jimenez are making debuts. In fact that is what the problem is, too many players are here today and gone tomorrow. Where is Nelson Cruz? Prince Fielder this year? I hope that all of you make the team again next year and then we can really talk about true all stars. Longevity is what separates the men from the boys!!!!

a lot to write about so here we go...

2010-07-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

George M. Steinbrenner died today and I am shocked!!! The man was and is the most important sports figure in the last 50 plus years and it is funny because I am sure that so many have other people in mind when referring to that claim to fame, but there really is no denying what I just said. Huh? He taught the sports world that the only reason to play sports is to win. He opened up his pocket book and gave his Yankee teams a chance to win. Many people my say that he failed his constituents in the 80's, I am sure that if he knew then what he knew later on in life, he would not have hung his players and managers out to dry. He would have built his teams around the stars that he had in the 80's and this dynasty would have had more titles than he had. I find it funny that he was being praised today by Dave Winfield and Yogi Berra who had epic and near "fatal" disagreements with the "BOSS". Many people today do not remember that he was once banned from baseball and was convicted of crimes in a crazy affiliation with Richard Nixon in 1974. He was a football guy too!!! He loved Ohio St. and it became ironic that his greatest player in years as a Yankee was a Michigan guy!!! He tried to help every Yankee that he could. Darryl Strawberry will always be a Met to me and I find it ironic that Mr. Steinbrenner did what he could to help him, Canseco, Doc, Steve Howe, Tim Raines, just to name a few. How funny is that? Think if the Yankees had spent money in the 80's like it did in the 90's till today how many more titles would they have won. He was a mentor to many owners and his impact in all sports will never be forgotten. Jerry Jones says that "the Boss" is his role model. He is one Ohio guy that has made his state proud and it is because of him that Yankees are what the are today. On January 3rd, 1920 the Yankees got Babe Ruth. On January 3rd, 1973 the Yankees were bought by Mr. Steinbrenner. I was born on January 3rd. So am I going to something insanely incredible and become famous? I think Hawaii was sold to us on January 3rd, 1959..
Now he and Billy Martin can have a normal conversation without Billy getting fired....

so long Cleveland...

2010-07-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Damn!!! Just when I thought that I knew everything to know about sports, Lebron James leaves Cleveland. He is no Joe Mauer. He is no Micheal Jordan or Magic Johnson. This move is not about money. This move is about a change of scenery and so many other innuendoed other issues that I had to say something about it today. Firts he should have stayed in Cleveland. He does not owe anything to them but he was a schoolboy legend that has put that franchise on the map and now it will quietly disappear. Cleveland has not won a championship since Jim Brown led them to a football title in the 60's and though the Browns and Indians have made strong attempts at winning in the 80's and 90's, this city claim to fame is the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. This city's other claim is that they cannot win the big one and have had some of the most gut wrenching losses in sports. Whether it is the Marlins winning game 7 in the world series, the Drive, the Fumble, the Shot twice, the fans of this sports town most be the toughest anywhere. Lebron was just going through the progression as all of the superstars do and with the addition of a superstar player, he may have won something there. Oh Well!!!
The Owner of the Cavs posted a letter that I think is worse than sour grapes. He clowns Lebron as the self proclaimed "king" and believe that Lebron quit on his teammates in the playoffs. He has even called him a coward. Dan Gilbert is not pulling any punches and I am sure he would like to punch Lebron.
Here is where it gets wacky. There is this rumor that one of his teammates slept with Lebron James' mother. Lebron found out apparently in game 4 of the series and was too distraught to play with his teammates. Calvin Murphy goes on ESPN radio in Houston and tells everyone who is listening that the rumor is true and is confirmed by multiple sources. For what it is worth, the James camp denies the rumor. True or not, I would not be able to play with any player that is alleged to have had intercourse with my mother. I would kill him if it was true. Now they are both consenting adults but that would mess me up for a long time. I would 25 to life to think about it that is for sure. This divorce with the Cavaliers and Lebron is about to get ugly and with owner already slandering Lebron's name I can only imagine what is going to happen when Cleveland and Miami play.
The Knicks have gutted there team for two years and got Amare Stoudamire and a couple of fringe players from Golden St. for David Lee. Lebron supposedly was looking at real estate in New York. Who does he think he is? Tom Brady.. Brady has rings and diplomat status. James has M.V.P. trophies and is still only 25 and has a career ahead of him to surpass almost all N.B.A. records. He would have been the King of New York as Jeter is heading towards his twilight. The Knicks have a plan to thwart the big three in Miami next year.. IT BETTER WORK!!!
I wonder what we are all witnesses to....

a lot to say today...

2010-06-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

I had all of this vim and pent up energy to blog about the world of sports today and I still will but without the conviction that i was going to. I just saw over the news wire that Randall Cunningham's 2 year old son was found dead in a hot tub. He was not at home and the adult supervising the child was also watching other children and I am just wrecked at the moment. Obviously being a father of a child who is approaching 2 I am visualizing myself being in his position and I am fighting tears right now. As the summer progresses let this be a reminder to all of us to make sure our children are safe at all times possible. I am really struggling with this thought. For one most of you know that I am a poor swimmer and as it gets hotter out here we will be looking to find a place to cool off during the days and evenings. I don't want to let my child out of my sight ever again after reading that article. Not even to a babysitter.... I am rally shaken right now.. Hug your child extra tight tonight... I sure will

Free agency starts in 7 hours and I hope that it is ant-climactic. I hope Lebron stays in Cleveland and Bosh and Johnson come to New York and then next year we get Carmelo Anthony. He wants to be in New York so his wife can continue to pursue her entertainment goals and he wants to be on the east coast. The NBA is gearing up for a crazy summer and everyone is getting paid somehow. Lebron needs to be somewhere where he can create his own legend. Cleveland should have never fired their coach and should have never let Danny Ferry go. They did not win the title but they are moving in the right direction and quite simply lost to better teams in the last two playoffs. Lebron needs Amare Stoudamire who would give him the low post presence on offense that they need and a point guard who is not afraid to compete in the big games. All of these comparisons to Jordan need to stop. Jordan got lucky to have a guy in Pippen and Rodman,and Paxson, Kerr, who all accepted their roles and did them without complaint. He was lucky. The Celtics have that now. They believe had Perkins not gotten injured they win game 7 against the Lakers. They were out rebounded by over 20 in that game so i tend to give that statement some credit. I cannot wait to see what happens and maybe I will begin to sport my Knick colors again. I am wearing them today.
Roger Federer lost today at Wimbeldon and I think that he is beginning to break down. He still is going to be a threat to win every tournament he enters for the next few years and it is sad the he is being eulogized at age 29. He still has game and I guarantee hat he will be a finalist at the U.S. Open in the fall. It is so sad that we wait for our heroes to fall. He will be back and he will silence his critics.
FIFA is a joke. The world cup is a joke and it deserves to be addressed in small case letters than caps. I hate technology as much as the next old man on the street but if it is something that can help the game and make the games more appropriately called why not use it. This not the 1900's any more. I am so sick of hear about Presidents of powerful organizations saying how human error is a part of the lore of the game. We can accept offsides in soccer because it can happen so so fast and if you are out of position and can not make the call that is on the referee. But when a goal is disallowed or a perfect game is prevented because an umpire blatantly misses a call and replay would solve the problem, then it should be used to make it right. I would hate to see a championship determined because of a call that replay could fix. Ireland was denied a chance to play in the world cup because of two hand balls. Getting the calls right is the most important thing isn't it?
Edwin Jackson threw 149 pitches the other day to get a no-hitter. The ex Dodger, Ray,and Tiger has been solid for those teams and had not pitched well for the Diamondbacks this season. Hopefully he can keep being consistent. Can you believe that there are only 4 African American starting pitchers in the major leagues today? Where are the black pitchers these days? I think that they are Price, Sabathia, Willis and Jackson. That is crazy. Blacks have a great pedigree of great pitchers in baseball history and to only have off the top of my head four pitching right now in baseball, it is illogical. I am surprised by how the influence of football and basketball has completely vanquished the talent pool of my people. The thing that makes no sense to me is that there are more opportunities in baseball than in any sport. You would think that young kids are playing more golf or tennis because of the prowess of the Williams sisters and Tiger Woods. NOT!!! Why is that? Serena and Venus are from Compton so if they are being treated as sellouts then people are stupid. Tiger went a great college and he may talk like a white guy but so what he is the only black face you see in golf. His niece is supposed to be a phenom but that only makes two. What has happened is that young blacks see how uncomplicated it is to succeed in other mediums and don't want to play certain sports that would flourish because of them. Yes it would be difficult to fill Tiger or Serena shoes but one never knows till he tries!!! The success of Jay-Z, Lil Flip, Biggie, 50 Cent,Drake and others buy selling music out of their cars and making the industry come to them has so many believing that they don't need to go through the nonsense that other business people have to. I tried to do a clothing line without any financing or serious support and I have found it quite difficult. A few friends have been great but you need more than a few. If you think about baseball, every era has had a superior black pitcher since Jackie came in in the late forties and and early fifties. I hope that it is a phase and who knows maybe i can coach a few and turn them into major leaguers..
I will talk about more tomorrow as I need to get my blogger legs going..

College Basketball has finally died....

2010-06-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

First we lose the greatest coach to ever grace a college basketball sideline this month. John Wooden is probably so disgusted with the sport that he made popular in the 60's and 70's. How can anybody be happy with what just transpired last night? I know for the past few years now any child 19 years and older has gone pro. Most of them have been ready to go and have succeeded. Kevin Durant is about to re-write the record books and become a championship caliber player. Greg Oden is going to be a star one day. Even if it is for one season, he is going to lead a team to a title. Tarik Evans and Derek Rose will be all stars one day and if Micheal Beasley can get his head right, he will be great too. College basketball has become a joke. Every high school kid who has talent to play in the NBA will go to college for one semester and then play his season and then go pro. They will take basic English and Math and in the second semester they will take a hike for they know that they are not going to back to school under any circumstance. Everyone knows this and i am probably the last one to comment on this topic. Last night all of the top 10 players drafted I believe are under the age of 21. In fact none of the players were even pre-season all americans before last season. The saddest thing that happened is when the Utah Jazz drafted that kid from Butler, he was booed. This kid helped lead his team to the final game and within 2 points of winning a national championship and the crowd booed him? There are sooooo many things wrong with that i am saddened too comment. First when a mid major school has a lottery pick, we should all be rejoicing and hopeful that he is going to stay in college for four years. Instead he opted to go pro as a sophomore. That is telling since no mid major players ever are lottery picks. I think that Wally Sczerbiak is the only one in recent years. Micheal Olawakandi could be considered one too. (and we know what kind of career he had). If you look at the draft there are players from Fresno St., Baylor, and Butler all drafted in the first round. Where are the Dukies? Only one Tar Heel? Kansas had a couple and so did Kentucky but does anybody know any of these players? I am okay with new people, i am okay with the cycles of talent and the talent pool being pretty shallow, but don't tell me that these players are the future of the NBA. John Wall is a special talent but he wasn't even his leagues most valuable player or freshman.
So what is my outrage if we expect all of these thing you may ask? My outrage is why do we let these kids go to college if they are only going to go to class for a semester? The Universities are all being punished for poor graduation rates and losing scholarship money for other programs within the school. we know that most universities these days are getting richer because of their sport teams and not because of academics. So why not let a kid go pro out of high school and be done with it. Many people cannot afford to go to college or cannot make three point shots. Why not create more full scholarships for academics and not only for athletics? I am shocked that that practice has not been screamed at by schools across the country. I know that people will say that without the success of the teams, the schools would not have the money for scholarships for anybody, but these kids are going to class for a semester and earning 10-20 million dollars for the school so no one is going to complain because it is free money!!!! Now the Mid Majors are doing it. I think a guy from Nevada went in the 1st round. Pretty soon there will be a 15 year old prodigy who is both athletic and smart and is 7'1. They are telling kids even now that if you don't want to go to class, go play in Europe.
So good bye Dickie V. You are the last of a dying breed. No more diaper dandies and ptper's. I will still watch March Madness. They are already expanding the tournament so there is no special teams anymore. Actually, now that I think of it I think I much rather play basketball myself...

what a day..

2010-06-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Now i cherish my sleep as much as the next guy but today I had to get up and boy I am glad that I did... First off the soccer matches between USA and Algeria and England and Slovenia were compelling to the very end. I allowed my wife to have to have T.V. privilege so we watched the English match and when it concluded we turned to see if the U.S. could get the game winning goal and boom.. Landon Donavan cleans up the rebound and we are on to the second round. So is England. My home is at peace.
i have come to realize just how hated Americans are when it comes to sports. When in two separate games the referees made horrible calls that nearly cost us a chance to make it to the second round this World Cup. FIFA thinks that it is a god like organization and they love telling other countries to stop whining and grow up. Why should we stop whining? Get the fricken calls right and then we will shut up. When Ireland was denied their right to play in the Cup because of the hand ball by Thierry Henry FIFA listened to the protests but did nothing to alleviate the problem. It must make them feel so powerful. No wonder why we don't care about European sports. Yes we just had an umpire screw up a perfect game, but at least he admitted his mistake and felt like he let down his sport. Bud Selig could have declared the game a perfect game but felt that for the lore of the game he will keep it as it ended. People around the world talk about how salaries in our sports are ridiculous and that the skill level in traditional European sports warrant more praise for what they are able to achieve. Their athletes play for country and honor and we play for dollars and dollars. The irony is that soccer players around the world make outrageous amounts of money and so do the coaches. Teams literally go into other countries and buy players for just as much dollars as the Yankees do when they are seeking the best talent out there. They love basketball and are starting to come around on football and baseball. They don't respect us in Hockey but tolerate us because the Canadians need a money market.
Then there is tennis!!! Are you hooked on this Mahut and Isner match? 59-59 in the fifth set. I could not believe what I was seeing. They have combined for 193 aces. That is sick. Isner is a serving machine and at 6 feet 10 inches is probably imposing at the net. Mahut is a moving machine and holding his own with his serve as well. I hope they can go one more day without a winner. I cannot wait to see tomorrow. All of you tennis players out there can you imagine holding your serve 50 consecutive games? Federer the great and Nadal have gone through tournaments without being broken but 50 straight games? Nadal just went through the French without losing a set. To me that is difficult. Holding serve 50 plus times is insane...
Then i had a physical. Now I am all for a ethnic group looking out for his brethren but some of these Mexicanos take it too far. Now this is the second time that I have gone in to see a doctor and be in the waiting room for hours and someone just show up and be seen. Now when i was a bouncer i took care of my friends an so maybe this is retribution for all of those years. All I saw was cash baby and I let anybody in that could put some dough in my pocket. Everybody was my friend. Black, white, asian, latin, persian, i spoke all of the languages for some c.a.s.h. At children's hospital when this happened i warned a group of sistas that they better speak up or they will be here all day. The were and my wife had to remind them of what they needed to do before she was therefor an extra hour. Needless to say when they took my blood pressure it was elevated. We need to get some people working in these clinics. Next time me and jefe are going to throw hands..

Magic is still the man!!!

2010-06-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night, Kobe Bryant attempts to become a 5 time NBA champion. Every pundant is already writing about if the Lakers win the title Kobe will go down as the greatest Laker that has ever lived. I think that winning five titles makes him an all time great but he will never supplant Magic as the greatest Laker. Magic was a revolutionary. He rejuvenated a franchise that needed oxygen. He made going to the Forum and watching Laker games an event. He made his contemporaries better and because of the style of basketball that was played, he made many people money. He as a rookie defeated the 76ers in arguably the greatest game ever played by a person under the age of 21. He played all 5 positions in that game and scored 42 points, grabbed a boat load of rebounds and had many assists. He did everything except sell popcorn and announce the game that night. That game alone makes anything thing that Kobe has done in the playoffs obsolete. Magic was the man. He had great players on his team and two of them are in the Hall of Fame. Even they defer to Magic. Kareem is in a class by himself, but he did a lot of damage as pro as a Milwaukee Buck. Jerry West was Mr. Clutch and the NBA logo bears his silhouette. James Worthy was a great finisher of Magic's passes. Magic carried the Lakers on his back for years. Magic went 9 NBA finals. He was a three time NBA Finals MVP. He was league MVP 3 times as well. He was 1st team all league 9 times. I could go on and on about his accomplishments.
Kobe has been all league 8 times, he has been all star game MVP 3 times. He scored 81 points in a game, 8 time all defensive team. He has a great resume too and he is still writing his history. However 3 of his rings, he was just a sidekick. Shaq got all of the awards. Kobe was great against Indiana, but Shaq carried them to victory against New Jersey and Philadelphia. In the last three years, Kobe has stepped out of the shadow of Shaq and led his team to three straight finals. As impressive as that is think about how many times Magic did it for the Lakers. In the decade of the 80's they went to finals I believe every year but 2. Magic got injured in the finals against Detroit in 88 or the Lakers would have won 6 titles. When he was forced into retirement he had just come from leading the Lakers to his 9 ninth finals appearance. Also lets factor in that the NBA was 100 better in Magic's day than it has been over the last 10 years that Kobe has dominated. I think that this is the final hurrah for Kobe and the Lakers and if they do not win tomorrow they won't get back here again for a few years. This summer is going to destroy the NBA as we know it. I will discuss that on July1st.
Kobe is great, but Magic will always be the greatest Laker for me. He changed west coast basketball and his legacy is still being felt to me. Kobe is unoriginal. He copies every move from Micheal Jordan and we have been there and done that. I love them both and no one has to take a backseat to anyone.

why re-align?

2010-06-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get my flow back so hang in there with my blogs. Today i will talk about my thoughts about all of these teams moving conferences. What ever happened to tradition? Over the past decade, college football has used tradition for the reason that we don't have a playoff system. They wanted to keep the bowls in tact and make them as important as conference championships. They talk so much about the tradition of college football. Well so much of the tradition of college football is based on the match ups of teams that are moving to different conferences. Oklahoma and Nebraska was the biggest match up of two super programs when i was a child. Nebraska going to the Big Ten makes sense since they are located in the Mid west. I think that Missouri, Kansas, Kansas St., and Iowa St. should follow them there. Missouri plays Illinois every year in a border war game. Iowa and Iowa St. play each other too. The Kansas schools could give Big Ten basketball more of a lift with its top flight programs. To me it is a win win situation for the conference.
The crazy conference is the Pac-10. I will not address the USC probation but why do they need to add Texas schools and Oklahoma schools. I can understand Colorado because it is at least in a different time zone. They recruit the west coast and they are more Pacific than southern. Don't get me wrong. I think adding the Texas schools and Oklahoma schools puts this conference ina different atmosphere, but shouldn't the Pac-10 go after Fresno St. and Boise St.? Even Hawaii before they raid the Big 12. How about San Diego St.? I know these schools are not juggernauts in grand scheme of things but wouldn't it been cool to have Boise St. play these Pac-10 schools on a regular basis and get invited to the big party like everyone else? Notre Dame was special back in the day and when they got their own television contract a lot of schools felt slapped in the face. I remember that Kansas decided to cancel playing basketball against the Irish because they felt that Notre Dame was acting to high and mighty. Now I have lived out here for 14 years and yes there are more Texans here than any other state. They are happy I am sure. I am sure that USC wants a shot at Texas again. But to me the landscape of college football has been destroyed. What is next? The ACC goes after Virginia Tech, Florida St. and Miami? This is all about MONEY!!! The success of the Big Ten network and has piqued the interest of all of the major conferences. The SEC Network is working out its kinks and I expect that it will try to add some teams to grow its market and constituents. Directv and the other cable networks are about to make crazy loot. I wonder what ESPN will do if all of the games are played on the conference network channels. At Adirondack camp, the slogan is " The traditions are set and the memories are waiting".. For 106 years that has been very true. College football has realigned before and it survived.. I wonder what would happen if Harvard did not play Yale...Lehigh did not play Lafayette.. Duke and North Carolina did not play. A few years ago, there was talk that the Yankees and the Red Sox were going to be split up. Money talks... Bullsh** plays in the WAC conference or Conference USA..

at the quarter pole in baseball

2010-06-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

What have we learned? I keep hearing that the pitching has caught up to the hitting and now it has surpassed it. "Four" no-hitters. Three perfect games and 1 no hitter by the most dominant pitcher in the game not named Halladay. Jimenez in Colorado is putting up numbers that no one in this generation has seen. I did not see Gibson pitch so I can not comment about a season when a guy has a 1.12 e.r.a. for the entire year. This season has been shocking because the teams that are winning mainly due to pitching. San Diego has pitchers that no one has ever heard of and they have won over 30 games. The Mets may be at .500 but their pitching has been outstanding. The Braves have Tim Hudson putting together a comeback player of the year type season. Roy Oswalt has had 12 straight quality starts on the worst team in the game. Tampa and David Price is having a great start to a season. Phil Hughes and Andy Petitte are carrying the Yankees. Clay Buchholz is doing the same for the Red Sox. I heard something today that really angered me. Buster Olney from ESPN said that the pitching is dominating because of the steroid testing. He believes that players are not digging in as much and not wearing armor and therefore the pitchers are taking full advantage of hitters fears. I could not disagree more. The one thing from the steroid era that I cannot agree with is that steroids made every player better and they hit for a higher average and made players eyes for some reason better equipped at hitting a baseball. Yes players were stronger and yes they hit balls farther, but why did the steroids not work for everybody? Why did Randy Velarde not 70 homeruns. Why didn't Fernando Vina or Marvin Bernard win any batting titles? Why is it so hard to say that baseball is a cyclical game and things just eventually even out? when all of the players of winning teams in the 80's were all doing cocaine allegedly, how come no one ever came out then and said anything about the effect cocaine on baseball players? Tim "rock" Raines stealing bases with drugs allegedly on him during games. I ranting too much but the point is I just wish that sportwriters would just once shut up and enjoy the game for what it is. Isn't it funny how the post season still comes down to pitching and umpiring and defense.
What is happening today is a simple case of great timing and young teams being exploited for their weaknesses. Cleveland is a minor league team. The Rays, Braves and Marlins may have more established players and are playing well so when they were no hit it was definitely a surprise. Steroids would not have prevented no-hitters on those days. So I wish that we can just drop that word form the baseball vocabulary.
Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Howard, have been very quiet so far. Adrian Gonzales, Miguel Cabrera have been quite great for their teams. Robinson Cano is having a season to remember for the Yankees. Troy Glaus just won player of the month for the month of May. Big Papi is quieting his critics in Boston. Ryan Zimmerman is keeping the Nationals afloat in the east.The Reds and Joey Votto are hanging tough. We will see what happens as the weather heats up what happens. Joe Mauer and the Twins need to avoid the Yankees and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen when baseball games are postponed because of snow. The Phillies cannot score more than 1 run a game. Before the season started all of the media was saying that the Phillies were the best team that the national league has seen in 30 years. I wonder who is saying that now. The Dodgers have finally woken up. Manny is still not the same since the suspension. Texas has a strong offense but they tend to wilt in the heat or get freakish injuries that will disrupt their season. The Angels usually start to come alive now. I will report back in 40 games....

Here is your NBA finals preview

2010-06-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

With an hour to go before game 1 of the NBA finals to go I will tell you all you need to know about this series between the Celtics and the Lakers. Did you see the baseball game last night where the umpire blew the perfect game for the pitcher from the Tigers? This series will be determined by the officiating. Both team are equally old, equally stout on defense, and have players who get calls from the referees. Kobe may be the most lethal shooter with the game on the line since Jordan but he gets calls. Paul Pierce gets calls. This is the first series that the Lakers are in where they have to be concerned about a player that is unstoppable. The Lakers are used to having match up advantages all over the floor. This is the first series where all of their players will look eye to eye with its opponent an actually be more than challenged. Ron Artest has matched up with both Pierce and Allen before so they are not expecting anything that they have not seen. Gasol and Garnett have met up several times in their careers too. The Lakers seem to think that wanting revenge or playing with revenge on their minds will motivate them to victory. If you believe that then you don't know Kobe well. He wants a ring to match Magic and then wants another to tie and then get another to pass his idol Micheal Jordan.
The match up of this series Rajon Rondo against the Lakers. If he is allowed to do what he did to Cleveland the Celtics will win this in 6 games. The difference between Nash and Rondo is Nash falls in love with the three point shot. He does not attack the rim as often as Rondo does. Rondo is like that annoying moth that is in your home that no one can seem to catch and the only thing to do is open a window and let him out. The Lakers have people to chase him around all night but if he is creating foul trouble for their big men, that is where they may have problems. The Lakers have faced more dynamic guards than Rondo. Deron Williams was on the Dream Team. Rondo plays more an attacking style than the other guards the Lakers have faced. If he is averaging close to triple double a game this series, the Celtics will win in six.
In short, this series comes down to how physical the referees will allow it to be and whether or not Rajon Rondo is allowed to control the games. The Celtics have faced Lebron and Dwight and made them not matter much in the series. Can they do the same to Kobe? I also fear that the Celtics allow teams to come back to easily against them. Orlando and Cleveland nearly made come backs in games when they were down by large margins. If you let Kobe get a chance to make a shot to win a game he will get it done. So with that being said, I think the Lakers will win in 7 games. I have been wrong with every prediction I have made in 2010. So lets see what happens here!!!!

Ken Griffey Jr......

2010-06-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

I just read over the news wire that my favorite baseball player over the past 30 years has retired. I am devastated because this man needs an N.B.A. style send off. He needs to be hailed as a hero and needs to be paraded around all of the major league parks on everyone's shoulder. Ken Griffey Jr. had a legendary career that should have been "Ruthian" and "Jordanian". He was as great a baseball player as Jordan was on the basketball court and as big as Babe Ruth in baseball. When he left Seattle the first time, I was so certain that he was coming to New York and was going to lead the Mets to titles. Instead he went home to Cincinnati and the baseball gods were not kind to him. He never cheated the game. Some of his greatest moments were moments when he crashed into walls catching balls breaking his wrist. He robbed home runs, he ran the bases well, and his swing is still the prettiest swing I have ever seen. When McGwire and Sosa were going nuts with home runs in 98, he sat back and simply gave the spotlight to them.. He watched in awe as Barry Bonds supplanted him as the premier left handed hitter in the game. He never criticized those guys for what they were doing. He just couldn't stay healthy. If he would have stayed healthy, he would no doubt would have passed Aaron and more importantly Mays and Ruth. Every player wants Mays because, most people believe that Mays is the greatest player of all time. Ruth is the goal for most as well because he is considered to be either the second best or the best of all time. Plus Ruth was left Handed and his legend and status in the game dwarfs everyone. Griffey had that talent. He made watching west coast baseball a happening. I cannot count how may times I would stay up just to watch a Griffey Jr. Highlight. He had so many.
I could list his achievements and they are so many. His proudest achievement was hitting a home run in the same game as his father in back to back at bats. Kirk Mccaskill gave up a shot to both dad and Jr. He scored the biggest run in Mariner History when he dashed home on a double hit by Edgar Martinez that scored both A-Rod and Griffey eliminating the Yankees in a divisional series in 1995. He also at that time had hit 5 or 6 home runs in that 5 game series that were epic and announced to the world that he was not afraid of the big stage. He hit a home run that many people don't know about when he promised a family of the Gulf war who had lost their father in combat that he would hit a home run in a game to his son. I met him once at a night club and he was pretty quiet. I did not ask him for an autograph because I was in awe. He was not big or anything special so when i saw him I could not believe that he was the guy hitting all of these home runs. I will never forget how mad I was when I went to see the Angels play the Mariners and he hit a ball into the mountains that the Angels had in center field and no one to this date has ever found that ball. One of the two bad memories I have in sports. I went to see Gretzsky play against the Kings in his first game out here as a Ranger and he scored 10 seconds before we arrived to our seats. I missed Griffey hitting that monstrous home run in Angel stadium.
I could write about people criticizing him for wearing his hat properly or that he did not like to sign autographs and some players did not like that. I could talk about how he did not succumb to the steroid or H.G.H demon of his generation. To me that is not important. If you polled players who have played baseball since 1995 most of them will tell you that he was their favorite player. He mentored Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Not Bonds.. All of the players may have loved Sammy Sosa, but Ken Griffey Jr. was the player that everyone tried to be. I am choked up a little because I feel today that my generation of baseball may finally have come to an end. I ha three posters in my room when I got my first single place here in L.a. Micheal Jordan was two of the posters and Ken Griffey Jr. was the other. I may have loved Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden more because they were on my team, but other than Tiger(who calls Griffey his big brother), Ali, Jordan, and Bonds, Agassi, no one made me pay attention to ports like Griffey. Boy I wish that his career could have ended with the fan fare that it deserved. He is the most complete baseball player I have ever seen. The photo of the pose and swing says it all!!! Today is a sad day....

The major league baseball draft.. not a sure thing

2010-06-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a discussion about why the number 1 overall pick in baseball amateur never seems to pan out the other day and I was quite surprised to find how true the statement may be. There are a lot of position players who were drafted number 1 overall and some of them have been simply outstanding and most of them have been have been busts. Darryl Strawberry could have a hall of fame player. He and Bob Horner are the only first overall picks and make the all star game and be rookie of year. Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, and Alex Rodriguez are probably first ballot Hall of Famers. Chipper may be borderline. Harold Baines had a great career but probably won't get unless the veterans committee will vote him in in a few years from now. Darryl should have been a hall of fame guy. Drug addiction killed his career. Joe Mauer is the future of baseball. If he stays healthy, the sky is the limit. Playing a catcher may make it difficult because the body can only take so much punishment. That is the good of the list of number 1 players.
Pitchers however are a different story. David Clyde was drafted and he was supposed to be the future of baseball. He threw in the high 90's and touched 100. He went straight to the major leagues and he got his brains beat out. Brien Taylor was supposed to be the Yankees answer to the Mets Dwight Gooden. He has never once pitched in a major league game. Ben McDonald led LSU to the college world series and was the stud pitcher that was supposed to bring back memories of the Baltimore pitchers of the 70's. He was often injured. Andy Benes was supposed to be the guy in San Diego and his brother was better in the end. Tim Belcher got a ring with the Dodgers in 88, but he never was the horse that they needed. That was Orel Hersheiser. Floyd Bannister and Mike Moore were supposed to be big pieces to help teams that had already established pitchers and injuries hurt their careers and so did inconsistency. Paul Wilson was supposed to be the Mets front man of a dream rotation that never materialized. Kris Benson was supposed to be the Pirates savior and he has bounced around the league in recent years. David Price is impressive but it is early. He like Benson were stars on teams that did not have enough to win the college world series but had enough stuff to get everyone's attention. Just like the new stud on the block Mr. Steven Strasburg. I am sure I am botching his last name but pretty soon he is coming to a park near me and I cannot wait to see how he matures. He has been awesome in triple A and the Nationals are playing pretty good baseball this year. Livan Hernandez and Ryan Zimmerman are leading the way and they look like a team that is on the rise. We shall see..
It is interesting the comparison between players who go the college route and the ones who go to the minor leagues. The same applies to tennis. I think that going to college hurts young players in these sports because they are not playing against the best competition or getting the best training at most Universities and colleges. I could be wrong here but I think that John McEnroe is the last collegian to become number 1 in the world in tennis. Andy Roddick nor James Blake have in recent years. Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras did not go to college. Jim Courier I don't think went to college either. Micheal Chang I believe went to Stanford like McEnroe. The point being most of the great players in the last 30 years all got their "education" playing professionally. Serena, Venus, Lindsay, Monica, Steffi, Justine, Kim, all played pro at a young age and got their brains beat out and then got better and became stars. Jennifer Capriati too. Most of the number 1 draft picks that went to college first have not materialized into stars. Chipper, Alex Rodriguez, Darryl Strawberry, Joe Mauer, Ken Griffey Jr., all went to the minor leagues first then college. Dont get me wrong, there are great players who went to college first and the major leagues. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Albert Belle, Robin Ventura, Will Clark, and Rafael Palmeiro are just a few off of the top of my head. Fred Lynn was M.V.P. and rookie of the year in the same year. I just think that if that is what you know that is what you want to do for a living and have the ability t do it and can afford it, the go for it. Injuries are a son of bitch...

The Super Bowl is coming to the New york and New Jersey area?

2010-05-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Please tell me that I am not accurate!!!! Why the heck would the NFL allow the Super Bowl to go to a stadium that will be affected by the weather is beyond my comprehension. My wife like to tease me and criticize the American Football players for wearing pads instead basically playing rugby. She has commented on why the game has to be played in a climate control setting for the Super Bowl. Now that the game is going to be played in the coldest month of the year in a outdoor stadium I feel that next stop is Europe and we will have football teams over there soon. Why can't we leave things alone in sports. Do you have any idea how much tickets are going to cost much less scalped tickets are going to be? Can you imagine if the Giants or the Jets make it to the game what the price for a ticket will be? I know that Dallas is hosting the super bowl this year and the Cowboys have a chance to be in the game too, but at least their stadium has a retractable roof. This makes about as much since as the Minnesota Twins opening an outdoor stadium for baseball. I cannot wait to see what happens when the Twins are playing the Rays or Yankees in the playoffs and the game is called due to snow flurries. Or at game time the temperature is -10. "Hello sports fans, we are live at Giant Stadium with the temperature is -12 and with the wind chill it is -34 on a blustery and frigid day for football. It is so cold in the booth that I am wearing four shirts, three thermal underwear bottoms and I cannot feel my let leg. Lets go down to the field and get a report from Michele Tafoya. OOps she is frozen solid and her microphone is stuck to her chin. we will hear from her later after she thaws out..." The Halftime show has been canceled because the strings in Bruce Springsteen's guitar break each time he plucks them. Bon Jovi can not comb his hair because the hair product has also frozen so they refuse to go on. But wait, wait, I believe that Amy WineHouse who has nothing to do with New York or New Jersey is going to perform. Once again a British import will be performing at our big game and she is so high that she cannot feel the cold. They should play the game in Buffalo. That would be cool. In fact the Super features the Arizona Cardinals and the San Diego Chargers. Two teams that have no cold weather games all season and meet today in the Super Bowl.
If you are a New Yorker or a Tri-Stater this is good news to you why? This may create more jobs in the area. It may create and rejuvenate the economy in the N.Y.and N.J. area but if you don't have a job in sports or are not rich, this does nothing for you except raise the terrorist warning flag level to off the charts. I hope by 2014 to be living in New York. I can't wait to see this debacle unfold...
That logo is not the actual logo for Super Bowl 48 or whatever the number will be in 2014...

online poker.. good or bad

2010-05-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

I like to play poker when I am at work and I am bored. Texas Hold 'em is my game and I think that I am pretty good at playing. I was playing the other day and I never realized how mentally disturbed people are around the world. The arguments had on Poker Stars.com are absolutely priceless. People get upset if you take to long to play or if you don't speak English or the language that the table predominantly speaks. When I say upset, I mean upset. People literally will curse you out over any type of comment or if your computer freezes or if you beat them consistently. I have to admit, it is pretty frustrating and you want to play a hand and person is debating whether or not to fold or bet. Some people do take forever. My only problem with that is you are playing for free. I currently have 180,00 plus in my account and as much as i want this money to be real, it is not. I know that there are speed games and those games are even wilder with the commentary. The funny thing is that there is supposed to be a person who monitors all of the conversations and they admonish people for speaking in another language and those who curse. People are smarter than they think. Currently there is an argument going right now as i blog to you. A player named Twinkle eyes is upset because she or he was cursed at in Spanish for winning on the river. So now every one is writing all of their messages in Spanish and she or he is responding in English with profanity. To write the word shit for example, she has typed it as s.h.i.t. The computer allows that.
Yesterday there was a debate whether playing online poker can make you a better player. I said it does because it helps you get familiar with so many types of hands and maybe it helps you develop your own style. Yes there are people who play every hand and go all in on every hand and you just want to slap them. Yes there are people out there who think that they know everything and you just want to strangle them. But there is no better feeling of satisfaction when you beat them. I love it when a person goes in on every hand annoys everyone at the table and then I get a hand and go all in with them and they have nothing. My only weakness is betting. I never know how to bet. Most times i under bet and instead of burying my opponents out of hands I give them the opportunity to stay in them. Sometimes it works because I have a great hand but sometimes it backfires. By the way a table moderator just stopped the game because the table is speaking too much in Spanish. That happens from time to time. I just had a hand that I am sure I was winning and since I did not blow up the pot, someone just hit a club flush. I am quitting now because the moderator has done it again because these idiots starting cursing again in Spanish.
Poker is a cruel game. I have had so many bad beats and tilt moments that I wonder why I still play the game. Online poker is a drug because there are no consequences for your actions. If you lose all of you money, the give you a thousand dollars three times an hour. I prefer to play in the 5 to 10 dollar game. The money tends to last a bit longer and the cards seem to be more friendly. I play the 100 to 200 game when I have had a good few days of winning. I do pretty well on those tables and the dialogue is pretty wacky. Plus once in a while a real pro will play and he or she will spend the entire time guessing your hands and they are usually right. I played with Daniel Negraneau once and after beating him twice in a row on river beats he began telling me every card that i was getting. It was weird that he guessing my hands correctly. Everyone is a genius. I think that the only difference between online and real poker is money pressure. The skill of body reading is over rated. Yes everyone has some kind of tell but you really have to know what you are looking for. I admit I get nervous when I play for real money and you can tell it in my conversation. The very first hand I ever played at a real table I hit three jacks and won a good pot. For the rest of the night I was real quiet. I was so scared that in the next hand when i got a king ten I mucked it and the table flopped a king and a ten. I would have won because the next card was another 10. A full house and because i was scared I let it go. I was out within five hands after because i started chasing bad hands. I have grown into being a better player but I will never forget that night.
Anyways, if you do play online poker, play each hand like you would if you were playing for real stakes. Who knows maybe it will make you a better player. Don't get mad at your opponents if they criticize your ability. Then again you will never see them so talk as much s.h.i.t. as you can.

Just a few observations worth mentioning..

2010-05-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

I really have become less of a fan of inter league baseball than I used to be. I know some will say it is because the Mets can't beat the Yankees(which is a lie), but I really think that it has lost something for me. Plus the match ups really are unbalanced. The Royals play St. Louis six times which helps St. Louis. Washington and Baltimore should be the game of the week. Detroit and Los Angeles is a real rivalry that I cannot wait to watch. The Colorado and Kansas City game should be ESPN sunday night baseball. Why do the Boston Red Sox one year play the Braves and then the next year play the Phillies? Did you know that the Florida Marlins for years had the most wins in Inter league play. Who cares right!!!! I think that when the same teams play each other year in and out, if they met in the World Series, the surprise element is gone!!! Plus these days so many players have changed teams that everyone has faced everyone somewhere down the line. With the All star game possibly expanding to get more pitchers in the game and both leagues trying to make sure that the starting nine players play longer the speculation or wonder of how Roy Oswalt would do against Derek Jeter in a real game goes away. I almost said Halliday but i remembered that he is a Philly and he has faced Jeter hundreds of times. The only games worth watching was Phillies and the Blue Jays but the games have been moved out of Toronto because of a G-8 Summit. In short I will still watch them all if I can but I really think that I prefer watching teams play each other for a purpose.
Why is it so difficult to play on clay in Tennis? Every year some unknown male or female makes a name for themselves based on how well they do on the dirt. The French Open is upon us and i wonder how many top players will not make it beyond the first week. Is it conditioning? The rallies are longer, the ball is easier to get to, slicing and side spins tend to win while playing on this surface. Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick never won on this surface because they can not over power an opponent. Serve and volley style tennis works but only in right situation. Serena and Venus use the tactic when they are in trouble and when they are serving well. Rafa uses his spins to move his opponent on and off the baseline and when he is serving well, he is impossible to beat. Federer just makes you hit one more shot and if you miss it he usually makes you pay. We shall see what happens.
A quick observation about Lebron James. He is going to get paid no matter where he goes. He should stay in Cleveland and become a hometown legend bigger than anyone since ..... no one. The city of Cleveland has had some of the worst luck in sports. Micheal Jordan, Edgar Renteria, John Elway are people who have killed the city's hope of winning a title. Think about it,what superstar has been a superstar in his hometown. Joe Mauer is the only one I can think of. He has not won a title there yet and probably will never. Lebron needs to stay home. He can be a Yankee fan anywhere. Cleveland needs you!!!!

Athletes really need to give us a break..

2010-05-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

I am not one of these sports junkies that believe in conspiracy theories or one of those guys who point the finger at anyone who can do something better than I can. I believe firmly that just because someone has done P.E.D.'s, it doesn't make them super man or woman just because they took the drugs. They still have perform and sometimes the drugs don't make that much of a difference. My question and my blog today is why do these guys lie after they have been caught or why do athletes go through this period of denial. Are they trying to sample public opinion and see who has their back or who is against them? Are they hoping to stay on the front and back page of the newspaper so society does not forget them? Is what they are involved in so laden with trouble that it keeps them from telling as to protect themselves and their families from violence? Pete Rose lied for twenty years before admitting he bet on baseball. He went to jail and maintained while he was in jail that he was innocent of betting on baseball. Marion Jones denied ever meeting Victor Conte and then Conte supplies ESPN with a photo of him and Jones that he has in his office. She also denied using drugs. Mark McGwire lied for years about steroid use. Now we have Floyd Landis who went to arbitration, went to court, went to all media outlets and proclaimed his innocence. Yesterday he all of sudden is a singing like a canary. Do they all miss the attention? Winning the Tour de France is a huge deal. Pete Rose is one the 15 greatest players ever to play the game of baseball and he did not want to get banned from the game so he lied. Mark McGwire has hit 583 home runs which is in the top 10 in that category and that would have put him in the Hall of Fame. Marion Jones won Olympic Medals and was clearly one of the greatest 10 women sprinters in Track and Field History. It is easy to say you got caught, now come clean. We know that there has to be more to the entire saga than people are letting on. Plus nowadays people are keeping DNA samples around just in case they have to testify and save their own ass. Monica Lewinsky kept President Clinton's sperm on a dress. Roger Clemens is up a creek because his trainer has kept his DNA to cover his ass in Clemens HGH case. What is going to happen next. O.J. is going to admit to killing Nicole and Ron on his deathbed. Robert Blake is too. Still waiting for someone to admit that they killed Kennedy...

hello my friends...

2010-05-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

It has been two weeks since I last blogged and a ton of things have happened good and bad in my life and in the sports world. The NHL playoffs have gone mad with a team losing the first three games of a series and comes back to win four straight. They were even down 3-0 in the first period of game seven. OUCH!!! Sorry Bruins fans!!!! I actually like the Bruins and lost a bet that they would still win the series. No Sid the Kid or Alex the great trying to win the Stanley cup. Lebron is "gone fishing" as the Celtics took him over their knees and spanked him and the Cavaliers. Tiger did not make a cut and withdrew from a tournament. Lawrence Taylor is being accused of rape of a 16 year old girl. The Mets went from first to worst in that time period. My baseball team finished its season unceremoniously and we will not have a triple crown winner in horse racing this year. I may touch on those topics later this week but today I am sounding off about this Arizona law.
It is sad that we have as a premise in this country that tells the world to bring us your tired, weary, and poor. No one is from this country. We all came from somewhere and it is disturbing how racist and short sided we are all becoming. Racial profiling is everywhere. I have tanned white friends who tell me that they get pulled over because they are thought to be Latino. I have been lucky that I have not had it happen to me and I think that being 280 pounds and and well spoken may have something to do with it. Arizonans are nice people. Every person that I have met from Arizona has been the nicest person that i have ever been around. This state just has a lot of backwards thinking. They did not have a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and I wonder if they still don't. I cannot understand why a state on the border of foreign country want to anger so many from that foreign country. I live in Los Angeles and we too live on the Mexican border. We took this land just like the land in Arizona was taken and set aside for people to live in. People often wonder why the Mexican Federali's rob almost every American they can. It is due to the stupid laws that discriminate against their people. The funny thing is that right now, the Phoenix Suns are led by a foreigner named Steve Nash. The Arizona Diamondback have a few players from outside the U.S., the Arizona Cardinals do as well, and the Phoenix Coyotes do as well. Many baseball teams have spring training in Arizona and all of these teams have players from all over the world. The money generated from spring training is in the millions and for the legislature to ignore that fact is crazy. Yes the point is that if these athletes are legal to be here then there is no problem, but we all know that they are not. For Phil Jackson to say something supportive of this law shows his ignorance of his own team. There are a few Lakers who are foreign and I wonder if they have their papers in order. The immigration argument in this country is a foolish one because this country was built on the backs of people who were not citizens or natives to this land. I say we tax them all and make some money off of them because that is why most immigrants are here. They are here to get a better life. Do you know how much it costs to go through immigration in this country? The hurdles that my wife and I are going through because I don't make a ton of money is ridiculous. We actually have to find a second sponsor and the second sponsor would be responsible to take care of my family until she became legal if something happened to me. The process takes from 3 months to 10 years!!!! So until you are involved in the situation, I think people should just shut up on the topic. Yes I don't want to live in a world where every criminal around the world comes here and gets asylum or can hide here because we did not protect our border, but how we say to the world to bring us your tired, weary and poor, and expect to tell who is really tired, weary and poor. This country is supposed to be a land of opportunity, and instead it is becoming a land of jealousy and bitterness. I run a youth Hostel and the guests often ask can they leave their passports with us in the office because they don't want to lose them. Can you imagine traveling around world with that fear of losing your identification knowing that at any moment if you lose it in Arizona, you are going to be detained in a prison cell until they can figure out who you are? I tell all of my guest to take their passports everywhere they go in this country... You never know...

this past weekend in sports

2010-05-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend in sports remind me why I love watching every sporting event there is to see. I wish that I did not pay the 64.99 to watch that fight but both fighters are two of my favorite people to watch. I just wish that Moseley had developed a jab over the years because if he had that fight could have been interesting. Plus over his career, he would have never lost. He is a great two handed fighter but he has never had a jab and that is why some of his losses have been surprises and some of his wins have been as well. He should now retire and become a promoter and develop a young champion because now more than ever boxing needs a new face.
I blogged a while ago that I preferred boxing over the mixed martial arts and I still do. However, boxing needs to get some more prize fighters and say goodbye to some of the veteran fighters. Bernard Hopkins, Shane Moseley, Roy Jones Jr., all served admirably as ambassadors for this sport. Oscar De La Hoya has become a great promoter and should stay retired and help the sport find a new star. The Russian brothers need to fight and give us a universal heavyweight champion. Why participate in a sport if you don't want to be the true champion. Brother or not, they owe the people who spend hundreds of dollars to watch them fight a night to remember.
Now we wait to see if Manny and Floyd can get it on in the fall or by Christmas. I think that they will. I just hope that I have a job and can afford to watch it!!!
I finally get to see the Mets play and both games they lit up like a Christmas tree. Santana is not the pitcher I thought he was. He is so inconsistent with his location. He had a curve ball and a change-up. Now he has confidence in neither. David Wright is hitting for power but he is not hitting for average. Neither is Reyes. The Mets will go as far as those two guys will take them. I like the starting pitching and the bullpen so far, but when Beltran returns can we contend? I think so, but Santana needs to become the horse I know he can be. Bay is finally starting to wake up and the rookie is impressive. The Phillies are really good!!!If they stay healthy, they can score a million runs. They have only one starter though and that might be their undoing.
Golf this weekend had three amazing feats. Rory Mcilroy shot a course record 62 to win a tournament yesterday, Ryijo Ishikawa shot a 58 to win a tournament in Japan and Tiger Woods shot a 79 and did not make the cut for the 6th time in his career. Lorena Ochoa retired after her event this weekend and Justine Henin won her first tournament since she retired to become a mom and a wife. I did not watch the derby. I thought that it was canceled due to the weather. The NBA playoffs are here and I am off to a bad start. Denver and Dallas are gone. I miss the days when the Knicks were in the show.. I will write about that tomorrow. Pray for my team..

what about us?

2010-04-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night 32 men are going to have their dreams come true. They will chosen by a team and become wealthy beyond their imagination. The first 10 picks are going to command at least 400 million dollars in bonuses, salary, and most importantly guaranteed money. The top pick in this draft will be given at least 70 million dollars and about 50 million of that will be guaranteed. The Rams have that selection and they someone who is ready to step on the field tomorrow and deliver. But like I said yesterday I will not about the draft. Today I want to talk about a topic that just seems to get swept under the table. Women professional athletes really have it rough. Can you imagine that you are in your athletic prime and dominating a sport and have to make a biological decision to determine whether or not to end your career or keep it going or to put it on hold so that you can start a family. Over the past four years there have been four women at the top of their profession who have retired so they can start a family. Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Annika Sorenstam, Lindsay Davenport are the four that come to mind. Lisa Leslie did it a couple of years ago and her teammate Candace Parker had a baby last season and came back during the year. So as all of these young are getting rich based on potential, what do these established women have to get some respect. On Friday, Lorena Ochoa is going to announce her retirement from professional golf. She is the number 1 player in the world and she is deciding to leave the game for a awhile so she can focus on a family. The only reason why I am shocked about this decision is that the women's golf tour is struggling and it needs a superstar like her to keep the sport relevant. When Candace Parker had her daughter the WNBA absolutely panicked because its league M.V.P was going to be gone and not the same player when she returned because she was getting used to her body changes. She is also only 22 or 23 so they are lucky that they have many years with her to return to form. Especially now that Lisa Leslie has retired the WNBA needs Parker to be back in Los Angeles ready to dominate again. Most people will agree that if the Williams sisters were not involved with tennis the game would have crumbled when the three ladies mentioned before retired for a bit. Now that Henin is back and so is Clijsters the women's game will be back in the forefront of tennis in general. Ochoa is probably the quietest and most unrecognizable best player in the world than any athlete out there. In fact more people probably know who Ashley Force is than Ochoa and her sport is only on one day a week. ( she is a drag racer who is a lot like Danica Patrick, but wins more).
The women's pro golf tour has had problems over the past years keeping sponsors and networks. ESPN has been covering most of their events and NBC and CBS only doing their majors. Everyone is waiting for an American woman to take this sport over so that the interest level in this country will grow. Whether it is Michelle Wie or Paula Creamer or Megan Pressl, the networks will not put money in this sport until one of them can take it over like Serena has women's tennis.It is sad because Ochoa is a great champion, but she is Mexican and because her English is not very good, she has not made it big time here in the states. Now her departure may open doors for these American girls to fulfill that role but right now they are too inconsistent. Plus the players from Asia are beginning to take over women's golf. Every week there is a new Korean or Japanese player that is challenging for title and though that is great for the expansion of the sport globally, no U.S. company cares. Lorena is a probably going to get some flack for retiring now, but I support her decision to be a woman first and then a golfer second.
Unfortunately in this crazy world we live in you not be both....

here comes the draft..

2010-04-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

I am pretty damn mad at the NFL. For the past two months all we have heard is the draft is coming and now that it is 48 hours away, I am sick of the NFL. This off- season has been a disaster for this league. Players getting arrested for domestic violence and battery. Sexual assault, gun possession, public intoxication are the headlines. Trades have also stained this league his off season as many great players have changed uniforms. Mcnabb is in Washington, Marshall is in Miami, they Jets seem to make a smart move every day. Even the Giants signed a decent defensive back. The Cardinals lost Kurt Warner to retirement and the Browns gave Derek Anderson to them. They also traded away Brady Quinn. Thomas Jones is no longer a Jet because they signed L.T. Mike Shanahan is coaching in Washington. The schedule comes out today and i feel like last season never ended. I love football don't get me wrong but the NFL has absolutely pushed every sport off of the back page. Pete Carroll is in Seattle. He signed Mike Williams hoping to rejuvenate his underachieving career. The 49ers have gotten Ted Ginn Jr. to go with Crabtree and the great young tight end. Combine that with Gore and they have a great team coming back this year. The Eagles have so much offensive talent that is Kevin Kolb cannot do the job, Vick will. We haven't even mentioned the super participants and Brett Favre. So many questions and so much mystery going into this season. There will not be an undefeated team this year. The talent has been spread all over the league this off season. There are teams that have made interesting moves to give players a chance. Carolina and Miami are going to trust their weapons to young qb's. Chris Johnson and Vince Young will have a year together and can Houston defense help out their offense?
I will not do a draft preview because the first round has so many stories and I have a feeling that all of the trading has not concluded. I think the Browns want Bradford and want the first spot. I think that they are stupid. They got rid of Brady Quinn so I guess they think that someone in this draft has a better upside. Think about what the Browns have done since they made the playoffs. Edwards gone. Winslow gone. Anderson gone. Mike Holmgren is inheriting a catastrophe. I don't want to comment about the Steelers. They used to be my second favorite team. Perhaps their owner should stop being an ambassador to Ireland and take care of his football team. I heard today that McNabb wants T.O. in Washington. I guess the filmed an episode of the Spike T.v. show when fans compete against pros( Pros Vs Joes) and made peace. Shanahan loves T.O. and wanted him in Denver. I would not be shocked if T.O. does not play a down all season. Then there is Tim Tebow!!! Colt McCoy, Jimmy Clausen. Dez Bryant should be a top 10 pick. C.J.Spiller is going to give teams headaches all season. He is soooooooo fast.
I really hate talking football don't I....

the playoffs are here

2010-04-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

The NBA and NHL playoffs are here and normally I am somewhat excited to watch them. The Hockey playoffs are the best playoffs of all of the sports because every night is a different game. One night the goalies can "stand on their head". One Oveckin and Crosby can get a hat trick and dominate. One night the defense of the Devils can be difficult to penetrate. Vancouver can hit and physically beat up teams. Chicago and San Jose can too. The NBA unless you are a fan of west coast basketball, you are bored. The Heat and Celtics are interesting because we want to see if Wade can play like Jordan. We also want to see if this is the end of the Celtics re-emergence or are they about to fade out to oblivion. Lebron is a god. He has Shaquille Oneal and Antawn Jamison on his team. They are going to be a tough out. He needs to win this year and erase Kobe Bryant from out of our conscience. The west has great match ups and on any night any of the teams can beat each other. Kevin Durant is in his first post season and everyone is waiting to see how he handles the pressure. Unfortunately he has to go up against the "black Mamba" who is looking to repeat as a champ. The Spurs and Mavericks should go all seven games. Both teams are on their last legs and want to give their two hall of fame players a proper send off. Jason Kidd has been to the finals twice and this may be his last hurrah. Tim Duncan is finally slowing down and the Spurs defense has not been the same this year. The team on the rise could be the Blazers!!! They are so athletic and with Andre Miller running the point, they have a better identity than they have in years past. Can You imagine how good the would be if they had Greg Oden and Brandon Roy healthy? Phoenix is very nervous about this match up because Portland is very long and quick. They will be a headache to eliminate. Utah should be an easy out but Deron Williams is a beast. Denver should have a 2-0 lead but let their lack of concentration get the best of them the other night. Can they contain Boozer and Williams? We shall see because they have only one mission and that is to beat the Lakers in the western conference finals. We hope that George Karl is getting healthy and that his cancer will not be an excuse why his team lost.
The NHL has some intriguing match ups leading up to the game that we all want to see. For some strange reason Detroit has forgotten how to play defense. The Coyotes have shown great puck movement and have exploited the Red Wings defensively. The Bruins have done the same to Buffalo. The Sabres are supposed to have superior goal tending and the Bruins have shown no fear. Montreal has to start playing better defense or they will be going home real soon. Brodeur has not been sharp yet. The Kings have shown me some moxie that I did not think they had. They are young and show no fear. The Blackhawks have been a shock to me all season. I thought that last year was a fluke but they can really play. Nashville is not impressed. San Jose better start taking Colorado seriously or they may be home for the summer sooner than they want to be. Sid the Kid was awesome the other night and they are ready to make a run. They have to avoid the Devils after what they did against them this season. Should be a fun spring eh?

the people's champion

2010-04-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Every Monday, I have so much to write about and then I get to the computer and I lose what I want to say. I had this whole piece about why America loves Phil Mickelson and I just lost my train of thought. Phil is Joe Frazier. He is the people's champion. Is that a compliment? Joe Frazier was the guy who represented the little guy and when he beat Muhammad Ali his victory was supposed to make all of the little people feel great for one day. (or until the rematch).. Actually Joe Frazier then fought the big bad George Foreman and got knocked around and out after a couple of rounds. Then he and Ali had a rematch and Ali they both nearly killed each other before Frazier's corner threw in the towel. Phil is being portrayed as the family man. The man who would never cheat on his wife. He is being portrayed as the man who would take care of his sick wife and mom and take care of his kids. I remember when Brett Favre's wife had cancer and Brett shaved his head so she would not be bald alone. He became America's dad, brother and friend. I respected him more for doing that than being a football player. I respect Phil Mickelson for winning golf tournaments. If he had won a tournament while Tiger was away, everyone would have minimized his results and tried to take away his joy. He is the people's champion because he does so many bone headed things to lose tournaments and people pity him. I would hate to be called the people's champion if every one only roots for me because I have a "Tin Cup" moments. He is not the anti Tiger that world wants him to be. He loves Tiger and Tiger loves him. They buy each other lavish and fun gifts for each other on their birthdays. Their wives are friends. Phil knows that he could have had the career that Tiger has had had he not made so many mistakes at winning time. He has actually outplayed Tiger head to head in final groups lately.
My entire point of his blog was to say that I want the world to stop calling Phil the peoples champion because he did not cheat on his wife. Phil is a great player but he is only the people champion because he plays golf at times like he is one of us instead of way better than all of us. Joe Frazier was only called the people's champ because he did not speak out against the war like Ali did. I will root for both of them this season and hope that they will be paired together in a final round in a major and settle it on the course...
And today i hear that Mickelson may be a baby daddy.... when will it end

I have come to realize that you cannot work in media if you like people

2010-04-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have to come to realize that if you like people, you cannot work in the media. You cannot like or be positive about anything. No one is ever sincere. No one tells the truth. No one is redeemable. No one is right. No one can make mistakes. I am sure that there are people in media who can find a way to hate Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, Lebron James, Roger Federer. Hell, remember when Keri Strugg broke her foot winning the Olympics for this country and the flack that was caused because she was not in the team and that Bela had carried her and was showing her favoritism? Remember when Oksana Baiul won the gold and Nancy Kerrigan was being accused of showing bad sportsmanship and some of the criticism she took from that. Every one in the media is a critic and they find a way to create ways to hate you. Ever since I was child, for some crazy reason I have always had a stronger affinity for players who the public dislikes. I love Barry Bonds. I love Mike Tyson. I love Terrell Owens. I loved Reggie Jackson. I am becoming a big Alex Rodriguez fan. I hated the Eagles but I always root for Donovan McNabb. I am a big fan of Bernard Hopkins. Serena Williams, John McEnroe, Marty McSorley too. I had the pleasure of having a beer with Marty McSorley after he got banned from hockey after hitting Donald Brashere in the head with his stick. One of the nicest guys I have ever met. Dennis Rodman, one of the nicest people I have ever met.
So Tiger Woods puts out this commercial that everyone either hates or finds creepy. People are shocked today that he got a warm reception. I listened to the reaction of the media after he apologized for not be a person without flaw. Why do they want us to hate these people. Remember the woman on the soccer team that got caught playing a bit too aggressively in the soccer game. Everybody jumped on her for her actions. She should have been arrested. The reason they want you to hate them is each individual media thinks the world is their oyster and that if you don't like them, you don't belong in their oyster. Creating bad guys sells newspapers and keeps you watching. Why else Rush Limbaugh criticize Donovan McNabb or make statements about black quarterbacks when he is new to the sports genre. The media wants to keep reminding us that athletes make millions of dollars so that we can not aspire to be like them, no they want us to remind them that we are paying their salaries dammit and you better sign my piece of paper. To me that is silly. If the New York times paid 252 million dollars to their reporters for every story that they wrote, there would not be any negative stories to write about because they would be on a equal playing field as the athletes. I am tired of being told who I should love or hate. I will tell you all someone to hate. This woman in Florida gave her daughter drugs so she could go out is disgraceful to me. This poor 2 year old is now gone because mommy wanted to go an party. I don't want to hear that she needs compassion or mental health. She deserves to be stoned publicly. I am sorry but she actually has done something to be hated for. Why should we hate Tiger Woods? He did not cheat on me. I do not look to him or any athlete for my morality. Stop trying to make me hate him...

Many topics to touch on today..

2010-04-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

What is an impressive streak in your mind? Joe Dimaggio's streak of 56 hits is unbelievable. Rocky Marciano won 49 straight fights without a loss. How about Don Mattingly, Ken Griffey Jr., hitting a home run in 8 straight games. The U.C.L.A. streak and the UCONN women's streak are very impressive but some might say that they had an advantage over every team they played against. The men's game in the 70's was way watered down. Most of the great players went to a handful of schools and the talent pool only started to expand in the 80's and 90's. Some will argue that the same schools in the women's game get the great players so you are only competing with 15 schools a year for a championship and if you are doing it regionally, you are only competing against 4 schools. It seems that every year Tennessee and Connecticut get the blue chip recruit and the other schools get the left overs. Duke, North Carolina, Stanford, Rutgers, Oklahoma, Baylor, Maryland, Notre Dame, are the cream of the crop. Nebraska had a great season only to be knocked out of the tournament early in both the conference and the NCAA tourneys. The women's game is good for have an anomaly team come from out of no where. I can name Texas Tech, Villanova from a few years ago, Louisiana Tech and Vanderbilt were good when I was younger, and USC had the greatest player of all times in Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie play there. So anytime you win more than 20 games in a row it is impressive, anyone one who says differently has never played sports. The amount of pressure that these youngsters have been under over the past two seasons to win is crazy. Herm Edwards said it best,"you Play to Win the Game!" Don't you forget it!!! I salute the Connecticut Huskies women's team because they have truly earned my respect. Coach Geno is 7-0 in championship games. That is an amazing streak. They have 77 out of 78 games by double digits. That is outrageous. Next year they have tough games to start the season and it will be awesome to see if Maya Moore can lead them to another perfect season. I hope she can..
Another topic of discussion is Tiger Woods. I have spoken on his situation and it is time for the world to move on. If he wins the tournament this weekend, it would be the greatest and worse thing in the world. It would be bad because the entire golfing community should retire if he wins because he cannot be that much better than all of these players. The confidence of every player will be crushed and he will ascend higher up in the pantheon of earthly mortals. It becomes a good thing if he wins because in my opinion he needs a hug. He needs someone to hug him and say we love you and move forward with your life and whatever happens happens. Anything is possible...
The start of the baseball season always is exciting and exhilarating until your team loses or someone gets hurt. There so many teams missing key players and already some players are snapping at the media. Don't you love the analysts and their predictions. If Pujols stays on this pace he will hit 330 home runs. Roy Halliday may win 30 games this year. Tim Lincecum may strike out 300. Matt Cain too!!!
Finally, football players need to leave women alone. If you go to a club, ask your security to ask the bouncer to get you some ladies and screen the ladies and whoever does not give you the time of day, let them walk away. When I was a bouncer, I had several athletes ask me to let women in V.I.P room or area and usually the athlete would buy thousands of dollars of alcohol and find one girl he liked and everyone played nice and went about their business. Now recently, this making it rain crap has created havoc in clubs and needs to stop. Some one has already been paralyzed already and if you want to throw money up in the air at least do it in a hotel room where you can control what happens. Also stop touching women. If they want to be touched they will let you know. Women. Don't cheapen yourself to be with a star player. If you don't want to be hit or touched, walk away from trouble. Don't take the free alcohol unless you are ready to entertain what is coming next. Every year it is the same story. When will both sexes learn?

Growing up..

2010-04-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

Growing up in a single parent home for most of my childhood, I was left to decide whether or not I wanted to play sports. I played in a recreation league in football, basketball and baseball. My father nor my mother forced me to play any sports. They did not want me staying at home all day either, but they never made me go out for teams in any sport. I was influenced by the players on the television, my brother, and I liked talking sports with my father. My friends that I grew up with were older than me and they influenced me as well. Sports was a good thing and being a fan of brash and cocky players was okay too because they were usually the best players on the field or court. Reggie Jackson comes to mind. Micheal Jordan, the 86 Mets, Lawrence Taylor, Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes and of course the Greatest! Jon McEnroe is another. The point is I loved playing sports because of what it gave me. It gave me pride, it made me feel important, it made me feel like I was a part of something, it increased my self esteem. Sports also has been a huge reason for some of the jobs I have gotten. I was on a sports trivia show because of my knowledge and I have been on other sports shows because of my passion.
The point of my self serving monologue is I don't know what has happened to our youth today. They would rather play video games or skateboard that pick up a basketball or baseball. These kids are so disinterested in playing sports. they have no passion to play or even learn about the game. One of the biggest reason why kids are so fat today is that they don't want to leave their homes and play sports at all. They will go to a friends home and play video games but break a sweat, you must be crazy. Now today there are games where kids can break a sweat and most kids will play those games when they are younger, but our youths today would rather learn how to get girls, buy drugs, or shoot someone than learn how to throw a baseball or play football. It is sad that young black kids don't even bother playing baseball anymore. When a sport has to go out and purchase fields with the hope of having kids playing on them, that is a problem. The funny thing is that baseball can provide more opportunities than bot football and basketball. Football may 47 to 53 roster spots on a team, but most of the jobs are race specific. Although that may be changing, I don't recall counting more than 3 white running backs and maybe 5 or 6 white wide receivers in the NFL who are actually doing anything. Don't get me started on other positions. The point is why has baseball been so forgotten. Barry Bonds cannot be blamed for kids not wanting to play baseball. Steroids is not a reason either. There is more money in baseball than any sport in this country. Soccer makes more money globally but the money is in baseball. Tiger isn't taking kids away from baseball. People may want to watch golf on a Sunday when Tiger is in contention before they watch a baseball game, but no one I grew up with can afford golf clubs. Lebron and Kobe are taking kids away from baseball, but they are only continuing what Jordan, and Dr.J did before them. I wrote a blog a while ago about how kids think that if they can dunk, they are good players. Well that is only true if you can make the dunk or get to the rim and be able to dunk.
My baseball team cares about as much about playing baseball as I do about eating my favorite sausage and pepper sandwich ten times a day. My job is to get them to play better and catch the ball. That is it. My job is to motivate them to want to win. I don't know what else I can do...

What the he** are eagles doing?

2010-04-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the crazy things form the weekend.. What the He** did the Eagles just do? They gave away not only their franchise greatest player, but they gave him a division rival. Ever since Donovan McNabb has been an Eagle he has been treated with little to no respect. The fans wanted Ricky Williams and on Draft day he was booed. Ricky Williams smoked his career away and probably would have been killed if he wen to Philly. He has taken the team to five NFC title games and one Super Bowl. He is not the reason they have not won the big game but he gets blame when they lose and never gets credit when they win. He once threw four touchdown passes in a game on a broken ankle. He completed a fourth and 26 against Green Bay in a playoff game. He has battled Warner, Favre, Brady, Mannings,( Eli and Peyton), Vick, and Rothlisberger just to name a few. He should be a Philadelphia icon. He should be revered like Iverson, but because he never won the Super Bowl, he will never get the love that he deserved. He is not Dr. J, Moses, Mike Schmidt, Ron Hextall, or Pete Rose. He is the most disrespected superstar of my generation. He has done nothing wrong to anyone. Terrell Owens threw him under a bus. He just led this team to the playoffs despite not have one of their key running backs. The Eagles released him too. The team just drafted several talented receivers in the last two seasons for him to play with. Kevin Kolb may be the second coming of Brett Favre but he is no Donovan McNabb. Now McNabb goes to Washington to be tutored by Mike Shanahan. Shannahan has had John Elway, Steve Young, and now gets a hungry McNabb. He gets a hungry Clinton Portis, and a young receiving corp that has under achieved. They have great tight ends who can stretch the field. Chris Cooley is already a pro bowl tight end. Fred Davis is a budding star. I am scratching my head. Micheal Vick and Kevin Kolb will battle for the job. Kolb was great in college and can throw the ball through a wall if needed. Vick has been compared to McNabb his entire life. He was supposed to go to Syracuse and replace McNabb there, but chose Virginia Tech. He has to be wondering what his future holds.
The Eagles also could have had Albert Haynesworth but chose a second round pick instead. Whoever this pick is, he better be ready to have his life scrutinized for the next 15 years...

What a great and crazy weekend.

2010-04-05T16:37:00.001-07:00

What a great and crazy weekend!!! I could blog about 10 things today!!! So I will take on a bunch of topics this week because so much has happened in 24 hrs. So let's get started.
Tonight is the finals of the NCAA tournament. Two teams are there that only 0.3% of the country predicted would be the match up. The two teams are vastly different but are the same in so many ways. Butler University is a "Mid Major" who has been building towards this moment over the past 5 years. They don't have a super star or a player who is a one and done guy. They play great defense. They have beaten Syracuse, Michigan St. and Kansas St. en route to this game and have not allowed a team to score more than 60 points in any games this tournament. This team plays together and does not care who is the hero. This team should be praised for what they stand for.
Their opponent is Duke University. Duke has been to 12 final fours and has a lineage of great teams and players and have won the National Championship 3 times under Coach K. This team is the only number 1 seed left in the tournament and have played great in this tournament. They can shoot the three, make free throws and defend. They have a couple blue chip players, but no one and done players. This team is unlike any of Coach K's great teams of years past. They rely on three players to score and the rest of the team must rebound and defend. If you give their guards an inch the will bury you with the three. Duke should win tonight by double digits.
The College basketball world should be excited for this game because this what the game needs. Kentucky, Kansas, and Syracuse ought to be ashamed of how they finished this season. Most of the country had them in the final four. Maybe Villanova too. Tonight's game pits two teams that have not sold out to their boosters or teams that have gotten caught up in the hype of winning at all costs. Duke used to get at least two or three top players a year. In the most recent McDonald's All American game I believe they only had 1 player committed to the school. Kids today want to go to a program where they can get to the league faster. Coach Cal seems to get all of those players. He is the premier recruiter in the land. He gets you on probation though, but schools don't care because of the money he generates. He built UMASS into a national program, only to see it destroyed these days. He Built Memphis and Memphis is about to get some sanctions put on them. Butler University probably does not have a first round player on their team and I certain they did not have any high school all- Americans there this season. Duke has refused to sell out as well. They have every excuse to sell out but I admire Coach K for sticking to what he knows. He says that coaching the Olympic team has made him a better coach. If he wins this title, most people will say that this is his best coaching job. I just don't want to see him crying on the floor. I have read his book and I have always felt that he was a great coach, just ran into bad match ups in the tournament.
So tonight while we are all watching of listening to this game,applaud for both teams. These kids are what is right with amateur athletics. I am all for people doing jobs just to get paid as long as it is honest and fair. Most of these kids will not be playing in the NBA any time soon. These are the young men that you want your daughter to marry some day. These are the future leaders of the country. These are the kids who go to class and get good grades and believe in themselves and the premise that hard work will get the results that you put into it. I hope that the game is an overtime thriller...

now i am going to tell how the east coast rocks

2010-04-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

The eastern division in both National and American Leagues are pretty solid once all of the pieces are put together. I keep hearing about how this Phillie team is the best National League team that anyone has seen in 30 years. They are trying to get to the World series three years in a row. We haven't seen this type of dominance in the N.L. since the Braves of the 90's. The Big Red Machine of the 70's is the team that this Phillies' team is being compared to and I find it laughable. They signed Roy Halliday and people automatically put them in the world series. They are good but Halliday is going to find out that ball park gives up way too many home runs. Plus their closer Brad Lidge is coming off a horrible season and injuries that limited his performance. Yes they will hit a ton of home runs and they added the best number 2 hitter in the game Placido Polanco, but they will also strikeout a bunch too. This division is not a slam dunk like people think.
The New York Mets when healthy can play with any team in this league. They have power, speed, and excellent hitting but, the big question mark is their pitching. Who is healthy on this team? Beltran, Reyes, Perez, Murphy, Maine, Pelphrey, are all coming off injuries and David Wright had sorry numbers last year as a slugger. This team needs an infusion of positive energy and belief. If they get it and with the positive addition of Jason Bay, this team will be tough to beat come July and August. If they get of to the horrible start everyone thinks they are, then this team will explode. I am hoping for the best.
The Atlanta Braves are the talk of the spring. If they get Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus to stay healthy and get numbers from this behemoth of a rookie, they will be difficult to compete against this season. They have added depth to their rotation and bullpen and if healthy, the Braves will do whatever it takes to get Bobby Cox a chance to play in the Post Season. Cox has been a star as a manager since he took this job in the 90's and I am sure that these players will sacrifice everything to make sure his last year is successful. Quietly I am too.
The Florida Marlins have talent at every position and will be a menace to the N.l. society this season. They will score runs by power or running the bases and have a stud pitcher who can go toe to toe against anyone. This team rives me nuts. Uggla and Ramirez can do everything on the field you need and they will not let this team be pushed around by no one. We shall see...
The Washington Nationals have a great pitcher that everyone wants to see and a couple of good players that would stars if they were on better teams. Ryan Zimmerman is a star in the making and I hope he hits 40 home runs this year to prove my point. Adam Dunn will if he does not. This team is waiting for Steven St to come a calling. They are building and one day they will have a finished product.
The American League East is loaded for bear. The Phillies only want to play the Yankees in the World Series because they want revenge for last season. They may get what they want because the Yankees are hungrier than ever. A-rod does not have a monkey on his back. Girardi does not have the pressure to win since he did it last year. Jeter is going for 3000 hits. They spend money to be in the big game and by gum that is what they want to do.
The Red Sox have a lot to prove this season. No Jason Bay, Daisuke Matsuka has to prove he is worth something. Big Papi has to prove that he is not a steroid player. John Lackey has to prove that he has something in his tank since the Angels released him. Prove it, Prove it, Prove it. This either be a great season for them or a disaster. Is Jon Lester ready to be a number 1. How is Josh Beckett's head coming into this season? Can anyone play third base over there?
The Tampa Rays took a major step back last year and looking to redeem themselves this year. The pitching is solid. the lineup on paper is as well. But B.J. Upton cannot have a bad year like he did last year. Evan Longoria is a superstar and a stat machine. Carl Crawford got his contract and now he must produce. The starting rotation is solid but the bullpen needs to step up and deliver. This team is very scary.
The Toronto Blue Jays decided to destroy their team by getting younger and inexperienced. How do they expect to compete against the big boys in the A.L. if they don't have any proven talent with Vernon Wells? They got great talent in the Halliday trade but these kids are going to get their brains bashed in.. Reminds me of my team..
Baltimore Orioles have Brian Roberts and a great young catcher in Matt Wieters. They brought back Miguel Tejada but he is no where near the player he once was. This could get ugly...

So now you have seen my previews and I have objectively decided that this is how it is all going to turn out:
Yankees Phillies
Red Sox Mets(just Kidding) Braves
Tampa Marlins
Toronto Mets
Baltimore Nationals
Overall the playoff teams will be in the National League the Phillies, Cards, Dodgers and Braves
In the American League they will be New York, Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Boston
The World Series will be St. Louis vs. New york... Yankees in 6

the central divisions have chaos...

2010-04-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

In both leagues the Central Divisions have one super team, one team that must win now or they are going to implode, one team that has a ton a questions, one team that flat out can't win, and then there are the Cubs. In the American League Central Division the Minnesota Twins are the Super team. They have a star player, a good starting lineup, good starting pitching, a great manager and a new ballpark. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau can flat out hit, defend and lead. They have Jim Thome to learn from. The only missing piece is their closer Joe Nathan is out for the season. He has been in the top 5 in closers in the A.L. over the last 5 years. They need to sort out that situation before they can challenge the big boys in the east.
The Chicago White needs to win now or Ozzie is going to implode. They have good pitching, a good lineup, a good closer, but the starters are getting old and coming off injuries. Can Jake Peavy pitch in the league? How many more years does Mark Buerhle have in him? Freddy Garcia has not been the same in years. This team is old and needs to win now or forever hold their peace.
Cleveland Indians have good players and have left me questioning what they are doing. Grady Sizemore can play as well as anyone. Travis Hafner was out of the lineup a lot last year and needs to bounce back to regain his stature. Jhonny Peralta has great talent but he hasn't lived up to it. Fausto Carmona must lead this pitching staff or they are done. Kerry Wood must improve on last year. This team could be dangerous.
The Detroit Tigers can play and pitch but they are a station to station team. They have no speed. They have Justin Verlander who can pitch with the best of them. They have Miguel Cabrera who is an M.V.P. candidate every year. Johnny Damon brings veteran leadership. But Dontrelle Willis is a bust. Magglio Ordonez has been invisible. What is Jim Leyland to do?
The Kansas City Royals have a great pitcher and a great young player. Zach Greinke and Alex Gordon need a miracle.....
In the National League Central, the Cards are the great team. They have the super player, the super pitcher, the super manager but no closer. They have "the Machine", the Natural and Chris Carpenter. They have Ryan Ludwick, Yadier Molina, Wainwright, the right chemistry, and Mark Mcgwire. If they don't win 100 games it will be shocking..
The Milwaukee Brewers can score a thousand runs and give up a thousand runs. They need to win now or they are going to implode. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun have to have big years for this team to succeed. Corey Hart must contribute as well. Trevor Hoffman is 100 year old and still gets people out with that change up. They don't have enough pitching to win and that is sad because they are going to end up breaking this team up.
The Cubbies have talent to win but who is going to step up for this team. They have star players and for some reason they suffer an injury or someone loses confidence and Lou Pinella never lets them forget who is boss. Derrick Lee and Alfonso Soriano have to lead this team to end their drought. They have Big Z, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster can pitch but they seem to lack the marathon ability to carry a team to a title. They have way too many peak and valleys. They can win if they stay healthy. I can't wait to see...
The Reds and Pirates have the same team. They have one good starter, one star player and whole lot of young players. The Reds signed this pitcher from Cuba who can throw 100 miles an hour, left handed, and filthy. They have Aaron Harang who can give innings but can only win 12 games. The Piartes have Zach Duke and Paul Maholm. They traded away Freddy Sanchez and Jason Bay over the last two years and have not improved themselves. Will be a long year...

it is time to preview the baseball season..

2010-03-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

This baseball season is less than one week away and I am very excited. All of the talk surrounds 5 teams positively and 3 teams negatively. The positive 5 are the Yankees, Phillies, Cardinal, Red Sox, and Brewers. These teams have tons of talent and have the best shot at contending for a title. The three negative teams may surprise some but their fans understand. They are the Mets, Cubs, and Angels. The Mets are on this list because they start the season minus key players and the pitchers from last season that were hurt have not come back to for so far in the spring. The Cubs have more talent than the Brewers and the Cards and because of internal strife, most people feel that that they won't do much this season. The Angels got rid of three very important cogs to their recent domination in the off-season. They also got rid of players last season and got older instead of better. They have lost Lackey, Escobar, Vlad, Kotchman, and K-rod over the last two seasons. Hard to replace these guys... Today i will start with the previews of both western divisions and you will see why they are not on the big 5 list.
The National League West has the most questions of any of the divisions in baseball this year. You have four teams that have more players injured or in new places that you need a thomas guide to find where they are playing. The best team in the division is the Dodgers. The Dodgers have a great nucleus of players that have been together since the minor leagues. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin and James Loney have been playing together it seems forever. If Manny comes back and play like we all know he can the Dodgers will be tough to be. The Pitching is the weakness and if Vincente Padilla is your opening day starter, you got trouble. He has a world of talent but he loses focus too easily. The bullpen is solid but the starting pitching is what will either make them or break them.
The San Francisco Giants have two problems. They play way too many close games and they do not score a lot of runs. They can flat out pitch. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are beasts but the rest of the staff is old and unproven. Barry Zito has not delivered. Their bullpen last year was overused and this year I don't not see anything changing.
The Colorado Rockies have great young starting pitching and very little else. They have lost quality players but can stay in games with the pitching of Cook and De Los Santos. Todd Helton is continuing his march towards 3000 hits so he and Troy Tulo.. have to lead this team towards a title. They have a lot of promise in their outfield. This team always seems to suffer a bad injury and then they are done for a while, then they get hot and contend for the remainder of the season. Should be fun...
The Arizona Diamondbacks might be the scariest team in this division. If Brandon Webb is back to form and Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren pitch like they can, this team will be in every game. They have a team of gamers!!! They will grind out victories and if you are not careful one day you look up and they are in the playoffs. They need big years from Conner Jackson, Scott Drew and others. They are a year away.
The Padres have to pray and take advantage of getting the number 1 0r 2 pick in the draft and rebuild. The built this beautiful stadium and have one great player in Adrian Gonzales and the rest should be in the minor leagues. Good luck Padre fans. I don't have a clue what to say about you.
In the American League west, offense will reign supreme, despite the Mariners deep pitching staff. The Angels may have lost a lot of talent and that has evened the playing field, but they still have more than the rest of the division. The pitchers Weaver and Saunders can match up with anyone. Adding Kazmir last season gives them an extra number 1 arm.. He needs to stay healthy. The offense is led by Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu. The stud is Kendry Morales. If he puts up numbers like he did last season, the angels will be fine. The bullpen gets Scot Shields back and Brian Fuentes is awesome. They will be challenged but they will some how get it done. I just don't understand the moves they have made. I know their farm system is good so I guess they are expecting Howie Kendrick to be a star. We shall see..
The Seattle Mariners have Cliff Lee and King Felix Hernandez. They will be a pain to every team they face. They have Ichiro who can still rake, but have a lot of young players trying to find their way. I want to see if Griffey has something left in his bat.Chone Figgins leaves the Angels and joins this team. Milton Bradley yikes..
The Texas Rangers improved their pitching last year and look forward to being better this year. They added Vlad and with him, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, and Josh Hamilton, they may strike out a bunch but when put the ball in play, look out. They are going to be a nightmare to pitch to. Bring your abacus and your best summer hat to watch them play...
The Oakland A's only added CoCo Crisp to their team this off season. nuff said..
My predictions:
Dodgers Angels
Giants Rangers
Rockies Mariners
Diamondbacks A's
Padres

Congrats to Joe Mauer

2010-03-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Joe Mauer!!! You have made an entire state very happy and made other people very confused. You are a Minnesotan and you are going be there for life. The Twins are known for having players for life. Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Tony Oliva, just to name a few. Roy Smalley and Butch Wynegar were there for a bunch years before they became Yankees. The Twins have won the World Series twice in my lifetime so the opportunity to win there is possible. They have Justin Morneau and a rejuvenated Francisco Liriano. They have young talent in the outfield, and despite losing Joe Nathan for the season, I think their bullpen is solid. But come on Joe, you could have really broke the bank if he had become a free agent. He could have been the first 300 million baseball player. The Mets and Yankees would have broken the bank to pay him. The Red Sox and Angels would have as well. Plus he would have a greater chance of winning a championship with those teams than he will with the Twins. I know money isn't everything but winning is and the Twins have a lot of holes that need to be filled. Orlando Hudson is a great player but he is in his 30's and I wonder how healthy he can be for a season. Last year with the Dodgers he was great in the first half of the season but really struggled in the second half. They need him to just hold the fort because they have some minor league players ready to jump in. I applaud Joe Mauer for his loyalty but in this day and age of sports players need to understand that that they need to get paid because get voided or players get released. Plus there is a strike looming and players need to understand that the owners are not going to budge on their demands.
I saw the other day that Sports Illustrated was talking about the 100 million dollar baseball players in the history of the game. They had Mike Hampton, Kevin Brown, Carlos Beltran on the list. In fact most of the list consisted of Yankees or former Yankees, a few former Mets and for some strange reason, the Colorado Rockies have players on the list. The funny thing about the list is that had the Yankees not won the title last year, this list would have exposed that being a 100 million dollar type talent is not a guarantee for a title. Manny, Pujols, Jeter, may all have rings, but Giambi given a ton of money and won nothing with the "bombers". Griffey did not win when he could have broken the bank and gave the Reds a home town discount. Todd Helton may be the greatest Rockie to ever live but one world series appearance is not enough. Didn't the Angels sign Vlad for over 100 million too? He got one ring so I guess that was okay. In other words teams win titles. The Marlins won the series with tiny payrolls. So in conclusion, I root for you Joe Mauer because of your loyalty, but you are never going to bring a title to the Twin Cities. Justin Morneau will be a Met or Red Sox in the next two years and then where will the Twins be. It is a Yankees universe and you better spend more money if you want to be in that constellation...

i usually pride myself on being right

2010-03-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

I usually pride myself on being the smartest guy in the room when it comes to sports. I speak with such conviction and confidence and I am usually pretty persuasive. After watching the NCAA tournament games this weekend I find myself keeping very quiet because i cannot comprehend what happened. How does Georgetown lose to Ohio. Kansas and Villanova lose their games to lesser opponents respectively. How does Xavier every year beat a team that they have no business matching up with. I picked Cornell go to the Sweet 16 and get beaten by Kentucky. I have Kentucky winning the entire thing so I am okay there. Why do upsets happen? Is it pressure? Is it lack of preparation? Is it that these kids are 18-21 and make mistakes that no one can understand? I think that the answer is pressure. I try to explain to my players that sports is more mental than physical. That kid in the Northern Iowa-Kansas game took that 3 point shot and everyone in America but him was screaming what the he..... and when he made everyone said, what a great shot!! In the Villanova loss, the kid banked in a 3 with under a minute to go and created the margin for victory. Belief is stronger than ability. My high school had smallish players playing football but they had heart and belief that they could block anyone big or take down anyone larger than they were. One of the big reasons why we succeeded was a great quote by one of our coaches when he said that it wasn't the size of the dog in the fight but it was fight inside of the dog that won the fight. In other words the one who wants it more will always win. You got to make plays, make shots and when the ball leaves your hand, you got to believe that it is going in. Dan Patrick asked Reggie Miller today whether or not he would rather be known as a scorer or a shooter. He said shooter because he knew that if he missed a shot, the next one was going in. I agree. I would rather be known as a shooter because I would know that that every time I got the ball, I know that if i can get a shot off, I am going to make it. When those kids hit those 3 point daggers this weekend, that is why they shot the ball. They believed that they were going to make that shot. Belief is a Mother...shut your mouth..
So as the journey to find a champion goes the team with the most pressure on them has to be the UConn women's team. They have won 73 games in a row and looked awesome yesterday. Remember belief is a mother... shut your mouth...

i am losing my edge..

2010-03-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

I am losing my edge blogging these days because the sports world seems to have hit a lull. I know that there are stories galore out there but nothing has really grasped my attention. March is supposed to be filled with "madness" and I just don't see how this years tournament is going to have any magic moments. The Big East and Big 12 conference had the best teams playing this season and most people expect the champion to be from one of those conferences. Kentucky is the other team that people are picking to win it all but an early encounter with Texas could derail them.
In the women's game there appears to be limited obstacles to the Uconn march to greatness. They have won 73 games in a row and if the win the title they will be only 1o games away from tying U.C.L.A's mark of 88 straight games. They may have to play Tennessee in the national semi-finals but if they are clicking on all cylinders they will be tough to beat.
Did you see in spring training the other day that Cliff Lee threw at a player and now he is suspended for 5 games!!! Barry Zito hit Prince Fielder and it was swept under the rug but everyone knows that it was retribution for the great celebration from last year when Fielder and the Brewers walked off against the Giants. Lee was getting rocked so he did it out of frustration. He is going to struggle I think this year. Seattle has a good team and if he has any kind of season they may overtake the Angels. (baseball preview coming soon)
Tiger is coming back at the Masters and I have to tell you I am a bit surprised. I thought he would play Bayhill first and get a round in in competition. Maybe he feels that since he has played the Masters so many times the course changes won't affect his game. We shall see and I hope that he, Ernie, and Geoff Ogilvy are in a group together and they get into a brawl. Jesper Parnevik sucks so he won't be a factor.
Derek Anderson signed today with the Cardinals. I hope he does well and that the Browns and Cards meet so they can boo him. Matt Leinart better be ready to fight for his job. Speaking of the N.F.L. some of these off season moves are quite comical to me. The Bears need a receiver and they think that they can get him in the draft. T.O. may be past his prime, but he is still a threat and they should sign him. The Bengals took Antonio Bryant over Owens. No wonder why they lost to the Jets in the first round. Speaking of the Jets, they get rid of Thomas Jones and bring in L.T. They are the same type of back. The Redskins signed Larry Johnson I think because they are paranoid about the health of Clinton Portis. Mike Shanahan had Portis in Denver and traded him after a 1500 yard season. The Giants signed Antrel Rolle. He was a stud in college and I think he has underachieved since being in the league. We needed defensive back help so he could be a blessing in disguise. I am interested in seeing what unfolds with other contending teams. The draft has a lot of talented players coming out and i hope the my team signs someone who can impact the team right away.
I got to say that I wish this was 10 years ago. I had lost about 50 pounds and had game to back up what i say to people. My team is so talented and lack confidence. They don't play with a chip on their shoulder like they should. No one believes in them. I know this school is not a sports oriented school, but for no seniors to come out for the team says a lot. I respect that these young men aspire to be something in life, but one should never take the field or court unless you believe that you are going to succeed. In all my of years of working with kids, i have never heard a kid say what one of my kids said after we won 16-5. He was asked why his parents were not at the game, and he said that he thought that we were going to lose. I was needless to say hurt and disturbed. Now that game 2 is approaching we have not practiced well at all. We need to win and maybe that will make them feel that they can win. I hope so...

this is my 101st blog..

2010-03-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

This is my 101st blog and I am proud of of myself that I have been sticking to it. Today I am writing to talk about why players don't express their true feelings. Derek Andersen was cut by the Cleveland Browns the other day and blasted the fans after he was released. Today he retracted his statement but why did he not stand firm on his true beliefs? If the fans treated him as badly as he says then he should have said what he said and move on. I think that LaDanian Tomilson should do the same thing with the Chargers. He should say that it is messed up that he got hurt over the last few years and therefore his numbers dropped and that the Chargers should kiss his ass for letting him go. He gave his body and soul to that team and both of his feet and they release him? Jamal Williams should do the same. He was the best nose tackle in the game for the past five years and the Chargers get rid of him. Milton Bradley goes on ESPN and says that the Cubs may have sent him racial letters and that the people of Chicago are racist against black players who don't perform. They love Jordan, Ernie Banks, Derrick Lee, but hate other blacks that under achieve. Whether he is right or not, I feel that is what he truly believes. I respect him for saying that. I think that Tiger Woods should not shake the hands of any sponsor that released him when he wins their tournament. Accenture dropped him as a sponsor and he should take their check when he wins his next Accenture tournament and wipe his ass with it and not shake the tournament directors hand. I think that players who get cut from teams that suck should not be allowed to say a word to anyone. Guys like Greg Ellis, Terrell Owens who got cut from Oakland and Buffalo respectively need to stay out of the press and let us concentrate on the players who will be big contributors to their next team. Football is a cruel game. They take every bit of your blood, sweat, soul and tears and then release you when they feel that they have gotten enough from you. 30 is not old. I wish I was 30. These guys sign these long term deals and need to realize that getting the money early is wiser than allowing a team to restructure your deal later. The Eagles want to get rid of Donovan Mcnabb instead of paying him 12 million a season. The Panthers cut Jake Delhomme because he was owed a large salary this year. The Saints may be cutting Reggie Bush because they owe him 9 million this year. So speak out my brothers and sisters. Let the world know what you really feel. Serena Williams told that line judge that she wanted to take that ball and shove down her throat. Carl Edwards said that if you are going to mess with him on the track, he will wreck you and feel bad about it only if you are hurt. I am paraphrasing of course. That is awesome. Hockey may have fights and the goons settle things for the star players. I think that is wrong. That is another whole topic...Free Speech...

What a wacky year so far in college basketball

2010-03-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

The NCAA selection show is a week away and some of the usual suspect may not be "dancing" this year. Connecticut Huskies lost in the first round of the Big East Tournament and don't have the resume to make the tourney this year. I think that Coach Calhoun needs to take some time off and get healthy. The Connecticut Huskies women's team are going for history and maybe the men's team needs to go watch them practice and learn what team work is all about. Coach Calhoun may need to watch so he can regain his smile and swagger back. It is so sad to see him looking so sad and yelling at every player because they have made a bad play. He will be back and so will the Huskies!!!
The Pac-10 is way down this year too. I have to say that this may be the worst division 1 conference I have ever seen. Not one team out here has any quality wins to speak of this season. UCLA, Stanford, Arizona, and Oregon have been perennials in the tournament for years and they may not make the tourney this year. When the Washington schools are the "bell cow" of your conference, you know you have trouble. With St. Marys winning their tournament last night, that is going to take away spots from the Pac-10. This conference is taking it on the chin, but they will be back next year because there are way to many good ball players out here for this to last a long time.
The North Carolina Tar Heels may not make the tournament either. They win the title a year ago and thought they had a top ten recruiting class this year and the walls have crashed down on them. They not only look lost but they look beleaguered. Coach Williams has probably aged 10 years this season because he cannot believe that his system is not working. I have never seen him so frustrated.
Billy Donovan down in Florida must be wondering what happened to his magic too. He led the Gators to two straight titles and since he had that great class he has gone the in the opposite direction. They may make the tournament but only if they can get to the finals of the S.E.C. tourney.
The point of all of this is the that mighty have fallen and they cannot get up. Signing too many one and done kids have hurt great programs like Arizona, and some of these other schools seem to get caught with the wrong players filling in for great talent. UNC and Uconn fit that description. Even though the top of the country this year is filled with one and done players, next looks promising for some of the schools that are struggling. All of these coaches can recruit, so no one should be panicking. We really should be focusing on the Uconn women's team and to see if Nebraska can meet them in the title game. We have not had two unbeaten teams play each other in a title game in a long time and maybe this is what the women's game needs. I hope it happens. I also hope that Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, and Duke make the final four...
Short but sweet today..

ya missed me?

2010-03-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

It has been about two weeks since i last blogged. A lot has happened in the world of sports and I hope to talk about everything. The Olympics are over and I have to say i watched only three events. I watched the women's ice skating because one of my friends did a documentary on the woman who won the gold. So i am excited for him and hopefully this will open doors for his career. I watched hockey and learned why I prefer Olympics over the NHL. Fighting is boring and i think that the NHL needs to ban it so we can see the true artistry of the game. The other event I watched was curling and I have to say that I really don't know why that is a sport. Speed skating is a crazy sport when they all get bunched up and I enjoyed watching the relays. I am proud that America won the most medals and happy that Canada won the most gold medals. The winter Olympics is geared for people who love the wild and outdoors so i am glad that the host country represented themselves well. We should won both hockey matches but in Russia we will get out revenge. I am happy for Bode Miller and Apollo Anton Ono. Lindsey Vonn we will never know how great this Olympics could have been for you. So onwards and upwards.....
The Oscars' happened last night and can you believe that they forgot Farrah Fawcett in the memoriam section? They put Britney Murphy up twice. Same with David Carradine and Dom Deluise. Even Micheal Jackson got recognized. Very strange. I watched the Hurt Locker and thought that the message of the movie was better than the movie. I look forward to seeing the other pictures. I met Sandra Bullock and danced with her at a club once. She was cool so I am glad she won. I met Mo'nique at a club once and she gave me her drink to put down because she was walking out the club with the drink. She came to apologize for giving me the drink and tipped me 20 bucks...
The sports Illustrated swimsuit edition came out during my recess and I have to tell you that the issue is getting tackier every year. Brooklyn Decker is a pretty girl but some of the other girls in the issue leave me wondering they were selected. I only saw about five pages of it so I can not comment on what I did not see. I think that people who are offended by the magazine have reason to be offended. I do think that the magazine is pushing the line between taste and tasteless. I think that Victoria Secret is a better option. At least we know what they are trying to sell.
Tiger Woods gave a press conference and I could not believe the reaction by certain media. He does not owe us anything. He just needs to get back to playing golf and working on his marriage. He needs no advice from me or anyone who is not qualified to offer him advice. Just play golf and win some tournaments and the public will embrace you even more. The crazy porn lady who has hired Gloria Allred need therapy. I cannot believe that she hired a high profile attorney. What did she think she would get out of this situation. What can she sue Tiger Woods for? Crazy world we live in. Ernie Els needs to shut his trap too.
The NBA is in their final push for the playoffs and I am tired of hearing about Kobe Bryant being better than Micheal Jordan. He makes game winning shots against bad teams and he is the greatest player in the world. Phil Jackson needs to nip this all in the butt. Micheal Jordan did not play badly against bad teams and have to make miraculous shots to win games. The Bulls rolled everyone they played and beat the teams that they were supposed to beat. I won a lot of money betting on the Bulls. The Lakers are a weird team. They look like world beaters one night and then the next night they can't beat Milwaukee. The Celtics are old. They have one more run in them. We shall see. Lebron better seize the moment...I do have one question to ask all of the Kobe lovers.. could Kobe Bryant retire from basketball now and come back and win three titles in a row after taking a year and a half off? If you believe he can then he is better than Jordan.
Spring Training is underway.. The Mess I mean the Mets are a mess already.
I am the coach of St. Genevieve High School's baseball team. We need work. We will get ready and we will succeed... First game March 12th... check us out

What a disastrous weekend...

2010-02-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

I am the kind of person who gets up for everything. I get excited to watch Television shows, movies, sporting events, going to the park with my little angel. I make a big deal about everything. So when I have a weekend that has the Daytona 500, the NBA All star weekend and the start of the Winter Olympics, I am expecting a weekend of good eats, wrastling with my daughter and my wife wondering when can she get to watch her programs. It was over 75 on Sunday here and in the 70's on Saturday so I figured that she and my daughter would disappear like they do but they did not so we had a barbecue and was let down by what we saw.
First, the Winter Olympics needs to have its head examined. The IOC is bunch of old idiots who should be taken behind the wood shed and spanked for all of the things it has said this weekend. The show must go on. I understand that mentality, but blaming an athlete for a tragedy is lunacy. I know that Dick Ebersol gets criticized for putting his foot down for making sure events are on that is going to make money for NBC sports but the Luge is not one of those sports. That is another topic. If the athlete is the cause for his own death then why change the course? The Canadians allegedly did not allow any one other than their own people to practice on this track months ago and get a gauge for the speed then and now the world suffers. In fact the best Luger in the world had crashed the day earlier and warned that the track was too fast. We are now learning that other people had crashed too. For the committee to say it was his fault and then change the course shows you how gutless they are. Then for NBC and the Olympic committee to keep the event going now and not postpone it to later is a joke. Now the other Luger's are complaining that course is too short and to slow. The Georgian team deserves better than this and so does the memory of the Luger.
Did you see how angry Wayne Gretzky looked waiting to light the torch? How the portion of the of the indoor torch not lighting. A beautiful ceremony though. Then Canada beats Slovenia 16-0 in a game. They don't want Olympic women's ski jumping because not enough women do it and because "a woman's body cannot take the punishment of competing a sport like that".I think that if people can watch a 16-0 hockey game or a 12-1 hockey game i think that they would watch women ski jump even if they were 6 women doing it. The IOC is a joke!!! They are sexist and foolish. They take away women sports because they can't see progress. They are still living in the caveman period..
LET'S hope that things will get better. We will never forget how it has started...
Did the Daytona 500 end? How can you not re-pave a track every year that a race is held on it? I think I aged 10 years on Sunday. I was watching golf and 3 guys shot a 9 on the 14th hole at Pebble and I was like did i just see that? The I turn back to the race and they were waiting for a pothole to be fixed. This event is supposed to be the Super Bowl of the sport!!!! Can you imagine the Super Bowl being played and the field sinking in like a black hole during the game? Then Dale Earnhart jr. almost steals the race. I am baffled that they don't re-pave the course every year. I heard that used to race on the actual beach back in the 60's and 70's. Can you imagine driving in a circle and then the Atlantic ocean pops a hole through the course.. I better stop..
The NBA All Star game itself was entertaining and at least they played hard in the 4th quarter. Unlike the Pro bowl when they did not try at all, the players in this game gave us something to smile about. Seeing Chris Bosh play well made me happy because he is often forgotten in the 2005 draft class. Drawing 108,000 people to the game is awesome for the league. They need some positive news because they look like they are going to have a lockout next year. The reports that the owners tore up the proposal is scary and bold. The other events of the weekend were poor as well. Paul Pierce winning the 3-point championship is shocking. Nate Robinson winning 3 straight slam dunk titles is laughable. I have finally been convinced that the dunk contest is dead. The only way it works is if the best players participate. I think they should have it be the street legends versus the NBA players in that contest then you will see something. The Pros don't want to risk injury so I understand they won't participate. That is why I don't vote for none of this stuff.
All in All the weekend was a let down. I did see a great movie called "the Great Raid". It is about American p.o.w.'s in the Philippines during World War 2. Starring Ben Brat, Joesph Fiennes James Franco. A must see...

Remember when the NBA all star game ...

2010-02-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

Remember when the NBA all star weekend was spectacular? Jordan, Magic, Dominique, Larry Legend, Dr. J? Today's players may be more athletic but if they played these legends in a game in their primes, It would not be close. Today's stars are great but everyone says that the NBA is garbage. I love Lebron, Kobe, D-Wade, Carmelo. I wish that they partook in the events other than the skills competition. They should sell the game the same way as Jordan, Bird and Dominique did. Magic may not have done any of the skills competitions, but he was everywhere. Shaquille Oneal needs to be there some how. He needs to have a microphone in his hands or coaching the Rookies or doing something for the league. TNT needs to have him in the booth or roving around with a a microphone. He is a class clown. Plus this is the last time he may be at an all star affair. He is from the Dallas area. This all star game Kobe is not playing. Neither is Iverson. So it is up to Dirk and Timmy to lead the West against Lebron. Good Luck!!
The Dunk contest used to be must see t.v. Do you realize that Jordan and Dominique did the contest 4 or 5 times. Vince Carter the greatest dunker of this generation only did it once. Kobe did it once. Lebron did it once. That is a joke. The players in the 80's and 90's did not get paid as much money as these guys did so that bonus check at the all star game came in handy. Jordan did not start getting paid until later in his career. Dominique was never really appreciated. He was the "human highlight film" and he in my opinion defeated Jordan in that epic dunking contest in Chicago. I watched it the other night and it was no contest. The power in which he dunked the ball is still unmatched. He did a lot of similar dunks and that cost him. Remember when Bird won the three point contest and did not take off his warm-up jacket? He told all of the players that the check already had his name on it. The NBA does have a great weekend of fun with the games and bringing back the legends. The celebrities show up all glamorous as ever. I just wish that the stars participated in the marquee events. They could learn something from the old guard.. .. I will watch

The winter olympics is upon us..

2010-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

There are two events that happen in the world that most people in this country don't care as much about as they should. The World Cup of Soccer and the Winter Olympics. Now before anyone jumps on me about how Figure Skating is watched by everyone in the country, I will say that is true but that is one event. Olympic Hockey is great to watch and we have a great team this time around but I doubt that will get most Americans off their routine of shows like Figure Skating will. The skiing and speed skating is great but if our two favorites don't win, the press really will pile on them. Remember Bode Miller? He was supposed to be the guy last time around and the press absolutely killed him. Apollo Ono and Lindsay Vonn have the weight of the country around their necks. Lindsay Vonn is injured and yet she is still expected to perform this weekend. She has been the best skier male or female this season. I hope she delivers the goods and puts the U.S. on the map in Olympic skiing. Not since Picabo Street has there been such high expectations. Ono has a chance to make some history. NBC is hoping for a bonanza with both athletes and hope that Sascha Cohen can deliver in figure skating. The Hockey team has its hands full because the world is pretty good. Russia and Canada are the favorites but usually the Fins, the Swedes, the Czechs, do damage in the tournament. It should be fun, but the Canadians are under so much pressure to win since the games are being held on their soil. Sid the kid can achieve Gretzky like status with a gold medal. His Russian counterpart Alex the great has pressure on him to deliver too. Russia has not been the same since the Miracle on ice. They need this as badly as Canada. That is my Olympic preview folks.
Now let me speak from the heart. What kills the Winter Games for me is the X games. ESPN has decided that the traditional winter sports are antiquated and therefore creating an event for extreme/ crazy athletes would be better for the country. And guess what they were right. don't you want to see people riding downhill on bikes in the snow racing? How about snowboarders going so high that they can touch the sky and then crush their faces when the hit the snow bank? Shawn White is more famous than Apollo Anton Ono. Now I know the Olympics have added some of the extreme/crazy events and Shawn White has a gold medal, but the X games have already stolen the thunder of these games. We hear about the X games athletes all year and every year. We only hear about the "normal" winter Olympic athlete every 2 -4 years. It is sad. I will watch what I can. Plus this weekend you got the NBA all star game and Daytona 500. And Danica going for history... Great timing for an Olympics huh...

what has happened to UNC

2010-02-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Remember when the Duke-Carolina game was must see television? One year ago the Tar Heels were cutting down the nets down and were on top of the college basketball universe. Duke has not been to a final four in years and people are doubting Coach K's ability to win the big game. Both Coach K and Coach Williams have stayed away from the one and done players it has killed Duke but the Tar Heels have thrived in this recent era. Duke was the college that every one loved to beat because Dick Vitale was always touting them. I once watched an interview with Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun and he could not say a sentence without mentioning Duke and Coach K. Charlie Rose asked him question after question and he continued to gush about the "Dukies". Early in his career, Duke defeated them in big games all the time. Recent years Connecticut has turned the table. Earlier this year Duke finally beat UConn and ever since then Coach Calhoun has been sick. Connecticut has struggled this year too, but we will save them for another day. Duke has been bullied over the past 5 years by the Tar Heels. Tonight The Dukies played horribly and won by ten. They have a decent team but will struggle against a team that has good guard play and a big man who can get his own shot. The positive of Duke is that they can shoot and make free throws. So if they are making their threes they will be a tough out for anyone.
The Tar Heels have fallen and can't get up. They have lost several games in a row and have losses at teams that defy logic. They have played a tough non-conference schedule but ever since they lost to Texas(another team that is struggling) they have not been the same team that many people thought would contend for a title. I think the problem is that they don't know who they are. No one's roles are defined and they don't know who the go to person is. They have very skilled interior players but the guards do not know how to get the ball in scoring position enough. The guards cant shoot. They miss several wide open looks and miss layups way to often. Coach Williams must be wondering where Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough are because they lack leadership. Someone needs to grab the ball and take games over for them. John Wall is a freshman at Kentucky and he makes sure everyone knows that the ball is his and he will give it to you when you deserve it.
I look around at College basketball and that to me seems to be the overriding problem for most teams. Texas, Uconn, and Carolina have all of these super star players who are not used to being benched or not getting 20 shots a game. Teamwork is not just two words put together, coaches need to design plays that make their players feel a sense of responsibility. Texas looked like world beaters when I saw them beat UNC. Carolina looked good too in that game. Both teams need a leader to say "follow me" and lead them to the promise land. It is already going to be a weird tournament. The Pac-10 conference teams are all sorry and UConn and UNC not playing well is making the tournament become about a few teams and unknowns. (like New Mexico and Butler) I am hoping that this an anomaly and that next year we will look forward to this game. Coach Roy will get it fixed. Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins are not walking through that door any time soon....

The Hall of Fame needs help...

2010-02-09T17:19:00.000-08:00

Last fall I was asked to be on a show that talked about the upcoming class of the NFL hall of fame. The Obvious two players Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith were going in no matter what. They have hardware and records that will never be touched. They have rings and performances in the biggest games that make them true Hall of Famers. There are at least ten guys that deserve to be in the Hall of Fame that seem to be no brainer's if people are basing their vote on performance. Plus there are a couple of guys who deserving because they were integral parts of teams that won titles. Jerry Kramer was voted to the all half century team and is not in Hall for some crazy reason. His center Forrest Gregg is in and maybe some voters feel that he was the reason that the Packers was so successful. Offensive lines are hard to gauge unless you really standout. The funny thing s that if you watch NFL films you never see any highlights of Forrest Gregg blocking for Taylor, Hornung or Starr. You always see Kramer. John Hannah is an example of a blocker that stood out on his own and is a Hall of Famer. Mike Webster was the center for all of the great Steeler teams in the 70's and he stood out. Gen Upshaw and Reggie Mckenzie stood out. Every highlight of O.J. Simpson showed Mckenzie blocking and creating holes for the juice. Who the hell did Dermonti Dawson block for? Barry Foster, Jerome Bettis? Russ Grimm blocked for John Riggins. He did not stand out more than Joe Jacoby or George Starks did? These guys were not better than Mark Stepnoski from the Cowboys or Bart Otes from the Giants!!!! What the hell is going on?
Charles Haley should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. He was a major contributor to 5 championship teams. Since Lawrence Taylor and Mike Singletary were 1 and 2 as far best defenders of there generation, guess who was in top 5? Haley, Lott, White. You can argue Derek Thomas, but (may he rest in peace) he never played in a super bowl. Teams game planned around Haley. Ask Steve Young Phil Simms what player would drive them crazy aside from the other big three. Rickey Jackson was not even the best defensive player on his team. Pat Swilling and Sam Mills would be way over Jackson. Haley was better than John Randle too!!! Now they are saying that he was a prick to interview and that is why he is not getting the support. That is a joke. He was a star on both Dallas and San Francisco and should be in to the Hall.
Chris Carter, Tim Brown and Shannon Sharpe are getting no support because the voters feel that the 16 game schedule has helped their numbers. Also they think that Sharpe was more of a receiver than a tight end. Sharpe is the all time leading receiver for tight ends and he has three rings. He was a major contributor to both Denver and Baltimore's title run. He had that 96 yard catch to defeat the Raiders in the championship game for the Ravens. Andre Reed is another sad story. He was the third cog in the threesome of the Bills. He played in four losing super bowls but it was not his fault they lost. Yes against Redskins he had the unsportsmanlike penalty that hurt his team, but come on he was the best receiver in the AFC. Tim Brown was the second best. Steve Largent was great but he never played in a super bowl. Reed has more catches and yards than him. So did Tim Brown. Maybe they wanted Rice to go in as the exemplary player and gauge every one after this ballot.
Floyd Little was a great Bronco for 7 years. He was the franchise and played hard deserves to be in the Broncos ring of honor but not the Hall of Fame. The two greatest Broncos are John Elway and Terrell Davis and Davis is not getting in the Hall unless there is a public outcry for him. Little played when there was 14 games and not many great backs. O.J. was just becoming a star and Jim Brown had just retired to be an actor. Leroy Kelly and Larry Brown were good too. Calvin Hill and Larry Csonka were leading teams to titles. I am so confused on what it takes to get in the Hall. I think the voters are too......

I could toot my own horn but..

2010-02-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

I could toot my own horn but I actually did not play yesterday. I did not call a play or drop a key pass. I was actually surprised that the Saints won. I thought the would win but I did not think they way the game was going that the Saints were playing smart. I thought the Saints were lifeless in the first half. They dropped passes and they did not seem to have energy or emotion. Then the on-sides kick re- energized the team and the rest is history. I thought that Peyton Manning was brilliant. He got let down by his receivers in the second quarter and they went over an hour without the ball. They were running the ball well and gave the Saints life when they went three and out just before the half after they just stopped the Saints on the goal line. The game just fell apart for the Colts after that. They did have one great drive after halftime.
This game does not affect Manning's legacy either. He did not lay an egg. He threw for over 300 yards. He had one turnover and did not try to make a tackle on an interception. The Colts defense could not get off the field. Freeney had one sack and looked great in the first half, but the second half, Brees had all day to survey the field and the three headed running back crew of the Saints chewed up clock.. Manning is still an all-timer and with the game being played in Indianapolis in 2012 he will be expected to be there and win then. I find it funny that people today are saying that Manning is 9-9 in the post season and he is not in the same class as Montana, Elway, Brady, Bradshaw. Manning is going to have every record known to man when he is done. Manning will have more chances to win more titles as his owner is committed to making him the richest player ever to play in the league. He deserves it and I hope that next year they address the defense in the draft. Bob Sanders will be back and they will have one mission.
As far as Bress is concerned is he ready to be in the discussion of great qb's? The emphatic answer is yes!! He is going to have a chance to play in the Super Bowl for the next 5 years. The NFC is good but lets face facts. Romo, Mcnabb, Eli, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and maybe Favre as competition. The NFC west does not have a real contending team now that Warner has retired. The Saints play 10 games a year in either great weather or domes!!! The only way they don't win is if Brees gets hurt or players start defecting to other teams. Next year the pressure is on Dallas to play in their stadium that is hosting the Super Bowl. Brees is from Texas and would love to play in that game more than anything. So would Romo. The Saints are very young and probably need to address their defense too. Brees will get better and the offense will become more diverse as time goes on. I am rooting for them and hope that the city of New Orleans gets the financial boom that they need.
As far as the other parts of the Super Bowl I was not impressed with the Who. Why did we not have Gloria Estefan or Jon Secada perform? When the Colts and Dolphins played earlier this year on Monday night, they did a Latin themed night and Hank William sang the theme song in Spanish. I know that the Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake fiasco has the NFL afraid to put pop stars on stage but the old non American acts need to stop. In Dallas next year they will have country i am certain of that. They may even have some Mariachi play too. I look forward to that. The commercials I thought were very very sexist and stupid. I thought Doritos was funny but I agree with Jim Rome when he said that companies paid 3 million dollars to put Megan Fox, Danica Patrick, Kim Kardashian in nude scenes and Go Daddy.com should just make a porno. I thought that the e-trade commercial was funny but the dove commercials were stupid. Bud Light commercials were stupid and even the coke commercials were foolish. I need 3million dollars if a company wants to throw away money. Sex sells we all know but the Super Bowl does not need to attract more of audience. They had 105 million viewers and if the people were not all partying on Burbon street, they may have had more. I enjoyed my ribs and had great company but I was disappointed in the ads.
Now on to more topics in 2010. My wife is happy the season is over and I look forward to baseball season as well as the rest of the NBA and college basketball season. This week I have great topics to blog on so until then... and oh if i helped you win some money this weekend my address is ....

reason 5 the Saints will win... Intangibles

2010-02-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

What is an Intangible? An in tangible is something that is undefined. It is that certain "je ne c'est pas" that a team or a player has. An intangible is something that one cannot explain but some how or some way we all know what a person is talking about. The Colts are a very up front in your face type of team.. They win because Peyton Manning. That is it. They have no running game, a defense that bends but does not break, and a non existent special team. They have won 7 games in the fourth quarter due to Manning and his ability to finish. That is why he won league M.V.P. over Brees and Favre. When you play the Colts, you know what you are going to get and you must find a way to stop them. The Jets had the plan but played way too conservative to keep the plan going. If the Saints have an 11 point lead in the game, I guarantee you they will go for more. They wont turn around and give ball to the back and try not to lose the game. The Saints are explosive in any quarter and in any game. Think back to the Dolphin game this season. Brees threw interceptions and the Saints were down by 18 points at one point in the first half. They outscored the Dolphins 43-14 from the 2 minute warning till the end of the game!!!! That is insane!!!In the game against the Redskins they were down big as well and it looked like they were finished and then they come back to win the game when the kicker misses a 20 plus yard field goal!!! The Cowboy game though they lost, the kicker from the Cowboys missed a chip shot kick and gave the Saints the ball and a chance. They are built for this moment. They put 4 guys over 6 feet and say split the seams and force your safeties to cover them. Bill Bellichick, the defensive guru of the league said that this team is unstoppable. They could have scored 50 on the Patriots if he hadn't called off the dogs. Look at the Vikings game, the Saints did not play a great offensive game but forced 5 turnovers and found a way to win against the Vikings. The only reason the Saints are not favored is that they played poorly in the Championship game. Had they won 44-21 the would have been favored in this game. They make plays to win games and they will show that on Sunday.
I am amazed at how much the world loves Peyton Manning. It reminds of something that I heard throughout the college football season. Every week we kept hearing about how great Tim Tebow was. How he is the greatest college player ever and that if he has the ball in the fourth quarter, the Gators would be unbeatable. Then Alabama shut all of that nonsense up with tough defense and a running attack that the unbeatable Gators could not stop. Tebow and Manning have a ton in common in terms of leadership. Just as the 'Bama players got sick hearing about Tebow, the saints players are probably sick of hearing about Peyton Manning. The Saints scored 510 points this year. Not the Colts. The Saints played six similar opponents to the Colts and beat all of them by double digits except the Rams!!!! Think about that for a second. They defeated the Jets, Dolphins, Bills, Patriots, Cardinals, and Rams. The Colts are a great team and should have gone for the perfect season. They ended up getting hurt in the playoffs anyway. Freeney is not going to be a factor in this game for a full four quarters. If I was the Saints I would run the ball right at him and make sure that he spends the entire game on his ass looking up at the sky.
The City of New Orleans is owed a day other than Fat Tuesday to celebrate. Saints 41- Colts 28.

reason 4.. the running attack of the Saints is

2010-02-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Saints rushing attack is quite scary. They have three running backs that can take it the distance from anywhere on the field. They catch the ball out of back field better than most and Reggie Bush is due to show his USC prowess on the big stage. When the Saints were 13-0 they had two games where the offense could not throw the ball at all. The Bills and the Jets did a great job at limiting the passing attack of the Saints. The Saints still won both games by double digits is because they ran the ball down the throat of both of those teams. If you add the dimension of Bush in the return game, this team comes at you in waves. They were 6th in the NFL in total rushing yards. They did not Bell, Bush and Thomas in all 16 regular season games and yet kept defense coordinators up all night trying to figure out how to stop them. The Saints rush defense is average but they play in a run happy conference. They face Carolina and Atlanta twice a year so they are used to facing good ground attacks. However, not many teams are used to facing what they can do on the field. The Colts linebackers are not very good in space and I am positive that the saints will try to take advantage of the lack of cover speed of the Colts backers. Plus if the Colts are not getting a rush on Brees, Brees will have his choice of plays to call.
The Colts did not discover their running game until the playoffs. The Colts ranked dead last during the regular season in rushing only averaging 80 yards a game. Both Donald Brown and Joseph Addai have had injuries this season that have hampered the attack but allowed Peyton Manning to win his 4th M.V.P. award. In the Jet game, the Colts ran the ball better than the Jets and once they were able to control the Jets pass rush and defeat the Jets pass defense, they ran the ball quite well. The Colts really need to run the ball to control the score and tempo of the game. They can shoot it out with the Saints but prefer to do it at their own pace. If Addai can avoid getting hurt or can find some running room, this will make the game quite competitive. In my opinion he is the most important person on the field Sunday. If the Colts feel that they can control the game they will and they will win going away.
In short whoever runs the ball best will win. I think the Saints will be allowed to run the ball because the Colts will want to shorten the game rather than play in a shootout. The only problem with that is the Saints backs make a lot of big plays in games. They don't run 10 yards here, 7 yards here. They run 10 yards and then 30, then 60 and then the game is over!!

reason 3..is the defense

2010-02-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

The Saints defense is pretty damn good. I know that they have given up a lot of yards. I think that is only due to the fact that teams are trying to catch them. The Saints defense was soooo impressive against the Cardinals and Patriots that I have to keep mentioning what they did in both of those games. In the patriot game, they did not blitz Tom Brady as much as they have any other quarterback this season. They covered his receivers like a blanket and shut down the run. The Cardinals had some things working but once Warner got hit and they started turning the ball over, it was over. The Saints defense forced 41 turnovers people!!! They had 39 sacks and basically beat the hell out of Warner and Favre in the playoffs. The reason why the Colts are favored is the Saints did not light up the Vikings in the playoff game. The Vikings were able to move the ball up and down the field but the Saints defense did not crack and forced 5 turnovers. They made the Cardinals turn the ball over as well which killed the momentum that the Cards had in the first quarter. Darren Sharper is a wily veteran who has seen it all and has faced Manning several times in his career. The defense coordinator Greg William has faced Manning a lot too. Manning has had success against Williams defenses over the years but Williams has not had the talent like he has in New Orleans. The Saints don't have a lot of marquee players but have just as fast a defense as the Colts. The ball hawk like no other team and they seem to don't hang their heads when they fail. Once again, lets look at who the Saints played in the playoffs and who the Colts played. The Saints faced two hall of famers and found a way to defeat them. They hit Favre so many times legally and illegally that it forced him into that bad decision at the end. That is their game plan. they want to hit your quarterback and stop the run. I believe only a handful of teams this year ran for 100 yards against both defenses. The Colts offense makes the best adjustments of any team in the league. if the Saints are ahead, they tend to get more energized on defense because they want to score like their offensive brethren.
The Colts can not turn the ball over and they must establish a rushing attack. If they fail to either or both of these things, they will lose badly. The Saints have everything to gain and NOTHING to lose. If the refs let them be physical with the Colts receivers and Dallas Clark this will be a long evening in Miami. Also if it rains, both teams will be limited on offense. I believe that Saints defense will be more at an advantage because the Colts don't like to run the ball. Joesph Addai is often injured and his manhood will be tested in this game. The Saints have three running backs to attack the Colts. Should be fun....
If you want me to say anything about the Colts defense I will say this, they also bend but don't break. They have not faced anything like this this season. If they want success they should watch the Cowboy tape and hope that Brock, Mathis and Freeney can disrupt the Saints attack. Not out of the question but if the Saints can run the ball, this game is over!!! So pick your poison. Stop the run or the big plays over the top... Good Luck

Reason 2 why I like the Saints over the Colts

2010-02-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

What teams did the Colts play this season? They went 14-2 against one of the easiest schedules in the league. They played the NFC west, AFC east and Baltimore and Denver and the AFC south that all under achieved this year. Houston, Tennessee and Jacksonville all had high aspirations this season and neither of the three teams had a good year. Tennessee changed quarterbacks after losing their first six games and Jacksonville had a horrible year. Houston is a team on the rise. They gave the Colts a run for their money and we just saw how good Schaub can be in the based on his performance in the joke Pro Bowl. The Colts played six teams that the Saints did. They went 4-2 and I know the 2 losses were at the end of the season. They both struggled with Miami for a half and rallied to beat them in Miami with unbelievable fourth quarter performances. The Colts did not have the ball much against the Dolphins and found a way to win on a Manning magical drive. The Saints trailed at the half in this game 24-6 I believe and Brees was getting hit and throwing intercepted all over the yard. Then in the third and fourth quarter the Saints scored40 unanswered points and won the game 46-34. The saints also went 6-0 against like opponents. The Rams gave the Saints fits but the Colts destroyed them. The Saints defeated the other five Opponents by more than 12 points in each game. They absolutely crushed the Patriots in the statement game of the year for them. The Colts benefited from a bobble by Kevin Faulk and won in dramatic fashion against the Pats 35-34. Also in the game against the Patriots, the Saints held Wes Welker to one catch and Randy Moss to four meaningless receptions. They confused Brady and forced a couple of interceptions. The Colts know that they got a break in the game against the Pats. Lets also look at the Saints schedule. They played the NFC east and AFC east. Romo and the boys got them in week 14, but the went to Philly and destroyed the Eagles and crushed the Giants at home. They also defeated the Jets when the Jets were 3-0 and the talk of the league. Also they play Atlanta who was playoff team twice and won both games. Both teams are not the same playing on the road or on grass. The Saints apparently played poorly last weekend and scored 31 points. They also on grass this year averaged only 32 points a game. The Colts play on grass a lot and scored 29 points a game.
So ask yourself how is it that a team that has played weaker opponents is favored over a more battle tested team. The Raven and the Jets had great years but did not win their divisions. The Saints had to beat a great Cardinal team that was in the Super Bowl last year and a Viking team that won its division with a hall of fame quarterback. In fact both teams had hall of fame qb's. The Colts also had the benefit of playing both opponents twice this year. They had an idea of what to attack in each game. The edge goes to the Saints in the strength of schedule folks. Yes there are Detroits and Tampa bay on the schedule but they played all ofthe division winners and defeated all but Dallas. The Colts did not play San Diego or Cincinnati.

five reasons why i like the saints..

2010-02-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

I will spend the next 5 days giving you a reason a day why the Saints will win the Super Bowl. I cannot believe how many people like the Colts. No one on television gives the Saints a chance to win. I know how great Peyton Manning is, but last time I checked, he does not play any defense. So lets get into this.
Reason 1).
The Colts have benefited this post season by not having to play any team with a two dimensional attach. The Ravens and the Jets had great running attacks but average passing attacks. Each quarterback, Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez had one purpose i their games against the Colts, "don't turn the ball over and don't be the reason we lose". Neither Sanchez or Flacco played the game like they were supposed to win the game. They both only threw the ball after their teams trailed in the game and if the Jets had explored that option more, I think they would have won the game. The Saints are not going to be afraid of Peyton Manning and what he is capable of. They have an incredible assortment of receivers who are reason 1 why I think they will win the game. They are all big, physical players who will attack the Colts defensive backfield. . The strength of the secondary of the Colts are the play of their safeties. Bullitt and Bethea are great run supporters and can play the pass pretty well. One of the corners of the Colts is rookie and he was burned by Braylon Edwards on the 80 yard touchdown pass in the championship game. The Saints throw the ball to everyone. The running backs are great screen backs, the receivers love to run deep and in the seams of the Colts zone defenses and the tight end Shockey can get deep and make it difficult for the Colts to cove him. How do you stop this assortment of talent? The Patriots played the Saints and Colts this year and was in awe of what the Saints can throw at you. They had a grasp of the Colts offense and should have won the game if not for a bobble by Kevin Faulk. The Saints had both Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick watching them run the offense and both conceded that on that particular day they had no answers for all of the weaponry. If the Saints have a running game going they will score over 40 points in the game. They are a three dimensional team who can beat you on special teams too. They had 10 different players score touchdowns on offense via the pass. They averaged 31.9 a game and over 400 yard of offense a game which were both the best in the entire league. The Colts do not have Bob Sanders and are going to rely on a rookie to understand what the Saints receivers are doing. To the Colts credit, they have a pretty good scheme and are rated in the top half of the league against the pass. That is due to the great pass rush generated by Freeney and Mathis. Freeney is hampered with an ankle sprain and he is not going to be affective as he normally would be. They played one game on this field in the regular season and rallied from a 24-3 deficit and scored 43 points including I believe 40 points in the second half to defeat the Dolphins. They average 37.6 points a game on grass this year. They don't slow down on grass like a lot of turf teams do. The Eagles, Redskins, Dolphins and Buccaneers can tell you more about that. They all gave up over 30 points in the games because the relentless passing attack by Brees. Shockey, Meachem, Colston, Thomas, Bush, Henderson are a scary bunch and will have ample opportunities to light up the scoreboard on Sunday.
Tomorrow will be reason 2......

i dont know how to say this but...

2010-01-28T16:18:00.000-08:00

I know I have done a blog in the past talking about pressure. I think I need to revisit the topic. I know I need a hobby but like analyze the reason why we feel pressure when we play a sport. A lot of people say that it is not life or death, but I don't think that is fair. It is life in death to the people participating ( and may be those who have put their families rent on it). Now yes there are players who are unflappable. They make shots and miss shots so to them they don't see it as life or death. Kobe Bryant comes to mind. He takes all of the buzzer beating shots for the Lakers. Even as a rookie against Utah he took the shots as an 18 year old and missed them. Obviously now he has the nickname as the "black Mamba" because he is lethal when the game is on the line. Golfers have to move on from putts that cost them major championships or defensive backs have to forget touchdowns they allow. Quarterbacks have to forget interceptions and of course kickers have to forget kicks they miss. I heard today the Nate Kaeding from the Chargers continues to have nightmares about missing the kicks that would have allowed the Chargers to defeat the Jets. The other night I was watching Serena play Azarenka and could not believe that she won. Serena was spraying balls allover the place and was 2 games away from being embarrassed. She wins 12 out of the next 14 games and is now poised to defend her title. Now I know that Serena would have cried after the match had she lost but she would be ready to go in the next tourney. Azarenka must be devastated and distraught. Her fellow country woman Dinara Safina is famous for melt downs in big matches. She is consistently in the finals or semi finals and when the going gets tough she collapses. It seems like women's tennis takes a big hit on this topic because of the many collapses of the player have had in matches. Remember Jana Novotna? She was poised to win her first Wimbeldon with a 5-2 lead in the third set, and Graf beat her. The queen of Finland had to console her. I remember watching Serena do this to Davenport once and Clijsters at the Australian Open. The realization of winning is very daunting to most people.
When Scott Norwood missed the field goal against the Giants or when Donnie Moore gave up the home run to Dave Henderson both of those men's lives have been affected forever. Moore committed suicide and his wife tried to sue baseball for ruining his life. Norwood went into hiding for a while and was out of football rather quickly after the kick. Mitch Williams disappeared for a little bit and was out of baseball due to injury shortly after the home run by Joe Carter. Bill Buckner who was a great player prior to the error that allowed the Mets to win game 6 disappeared from baseball for years until the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. So when someone tells me that sports aren't life or death I laugh. Steve Bartman had to leave Chicago because his life was in jeopardy after he interfered with Cubs Moises Alou in the 8th inning of the baseball game. Choking is a bad term that society uses when a person fails. Unfortunately we all do it and use that phrase to describe a person who fails. I think that we should use that word when it is appropriate as opposed to anytime one fails in a big moment. For example, if you are winning a Golf tournament by 5 shots and Tiger or Phil pass you that is not choking. They are probably shooting a low enough score that enables them to win. If Serena is down by a set and 2 breaks and comes back to win, her opponent is not choking, Serena is just being Serena. If Brett Favre throws an interception that causes you to lose a game he is not choking, he is just the final nail in a coffin. I think that when you fumble 6 times and blow several opportunities to win games you cant blame the loss on a quarterback who throws a pick at the end of the game. The Vikings had several fortuitous things happen to them in the game and should be playing in the Super Bowl. However, if you haven't missed a kick under 40 yards in 60 plus attempts and you miss one then two in a playoff game, that is choking. If you have made 38 straight kicks in a season and the kick that is going to put you in the super bowl you miss that is a choke. If a baseball player strikes out or makes an out with the game on the line, that is not a choke. Same goes if a pitcher gives up a big hit to lose a game not a choke. But if you drop a ground ball that would end the game, that is a choke. If you drop a pop up at Yankee stadium with two outs in the 9th inning and allow the winning run to score, that is a choke. Sorry, having flash backs of the Luis Castillo..... I guess everything is subject to interpretation...To me being in the situation to choke is enough. I would love to have had the ability to be in that arena....

S.O.S. call for the Knicks...

2010-01-26T19:37:00.000-08:00

The worse New York sports franchise by far is the New York Knicks. Tonight they must have anticipated that I was going to slag them off to the world and beat the hell out of the Timberwolves, but after the effort they put out on Sunday they had only one way to go..One of the reasons they stink is that they don't know how to draft. We have more no name players than anyone in the league. If you look at the Knicks history in the last 40 years, they have been comprised of great players from other teams and a handful of solid draft choices. Think about who the Knicks have drafted in the past 15 years and think about where are they now. The greatest Knick draft pick of course was Patrick Ewing and ever since Ewing, who have they drafted worth a damn since. Charlie Ward was a good player. Mark Jackson was a rookie of the year and then the Knick compound the problem by drafting Rod Strickland. Remember Kenny Sky Walker? How about Fredric Weis? The Knicks have had several years where they did not have a first round pick. When the Knicks were good they drafted late and it did not matter because they had a solid nucleus of players. Think about how many players the got in trades over the past 4 decades. Bernard King was my favorite Knick and he was a Golden st. Warrior I believe. Larry Johnson was a Hornet. John Starks was Golden St. Warrior. Charles Smith was a Clipper. Charles Oakley was a Bull. The point is we never drafted anyone worth anything except Ewing. Sprewell and Camby were Raptors and Warriors. This is a New York franchise. We charge over 100,00 dollars for front row seats. We have the best street ball courts in the world. What has happened to this proud franchise. The way the pushed Ewing out the door is a disgrace. No free agent worth a damn wants to come there. This summer there are so many great young talent out there and no one is talking about playing in New York. Do you really believe that Lebron is going to end up a Knick? D-wade? Stoudamire or Bosh? The Knicks need to have their management spend a baseball season with the Yankees and learn how to manage New York pressure. What ever happened to Mike Sweetney? Eddie Curry? Jon Wallace? These guys were supposed to take the Knicks into the future. They draft these European players that are supposed to do what? They play defense in Europe!!! They had NeNe and he is playing on playoff teams in Denver. Antonio Mcdyess was supposed to be another great star that was in this franchise. Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Jerome Williams, players who did what for the Knicks. The Knicks need to show that they have a plan. They think that they could just put anyone on the court and then they have a team. I remember when they got Allen Houston. He was the best player that fit into what they were doing. Then they get Sprewell to make things complicated for Houston. They played in the Finals against the Spurs and were too small to compete. S.O.S. Some one save the Knicks from themselves. At least we know why the Nets stink. They have no star players and just traded away Kidd, Carter and Jefferson. The Giants and Mets may not spend a lot of money on free agents in every year but at least the try. In the last 10 years what have the Knicks done? They have brought in high price coaches who cant figure this mess out either. We are in a new decade. I want a change and I want results...

this is why i love sports...

2010-01-25T19:12:00.000-08:00

When I was a quarterback at ol' country day back in the day, I had three games in which My team had a fourth quarter comeback. I threw a touchdown pass to defeat Fordham Prep in the fourth quarter and we ran around the field like we were maniacs. Now I am not comparing my extensive football accomplishments with Brett Favre but how perfect a scenario was he given. He came back for one reason. He had the ball with under 3:00 to go in the game. How many times do we ask god for the perfect scenario or perfect result and we don't notice it when it is right in front of our faces? It is like that person believes that God is going to rescue him from a flood. He keeps refusing a lift from a helicopter, a ladder and a boat. He questions god and asks him why has he forsaken him. And god replies that he sent a boat, a ladder and a helicopter.. Brett Favre had Adrian Peterson, and a cast of receivers who could not lead him to the promise land. He had the ball in position to win the game and we will never understand what happened.
First and ten on the 33 and they run off tackle left for a loss. They just hit a big pass and had been afraid to run the ball because of all of the fumbling. If Peterson is the best running back in football why is he on the sidelines? It reminded me of Reggie Bush and why USC had him on the sideline and gave the ball to Lendale White. Taylor was the main guy before Peterson arrived there but Peterson could have broken one off for a game winning touchdown. He also could have fumbled too. The clock is running now. Second down, the whistle blows for too many men in the huddle. 5 yard penalty and now they are close to being out of field goal range. Instead of calling a timeout to re group third down happens and Brett Favre will never forget it for the rest of his life. When he has done inexplicable things in the playoffs before, the weather could be blamed or miscommunication. The Eagle game was crazy. Yes he threw a pick late in the game, but the Eagles had to complete a 4th and 26 to force that game to go to overtime. They did and won in overtime. The Giants defense was pretty tough on Favre that day a couple of years ago and he threw a ball that just floated on him and the Giants got it. Kicked a field goal and won the Super Bowl. Third down. they probably need about 5 yards to be in make able field goal range. He roll right and throws the ball across his body and he is intercepted. I could not believe it. Joe Buck the announcer lost his desire to call the game after that throw. If you listen to him after that play you think that he had a dime on the Vikings money line. The perfect ending to the best season in Favre illustrious career gone because of one play. God gave him his rope. He could have run, hell fallen down and they would have had a chance to kick the game winning field goal. The people of Green Bay had to die with that play too. No matter what anyone felt about Favre before this season, he proved that he is worthy of all of the coverage that he received this year. He is everyman. He has flaws. He has amazing skills. He is humble. He is Human. Retire Brett. You are the 7th greatest quarterback in the history of the game. ( Montana, Unitas, Brady, Marino, Elway, Peyton) Big Ben may pass you if he keeps winning super bowls. God only gives us what we can handle. Brett has endured pain killer addiction, the death of his father, and a cancer scare from his wife. Go in peace Brett...
New Orleans, you owe the country a victory. Finish what you have started. Your people deserve it.

what is going to be more compelling

2010-01-22T20:22:00.000-08:00

what is going to be more compelling to follow over the next five years? Following the rivalry of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony, Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan,or Juan Del Portro and Rafael Nadal. We live in a world where we are captivated by rivalries. Whether it is Magic and Larry, Jack and Tom Watson, Montana and Marino, Ali and Frazier, as sports fans we tend to enjoy the game more when the games seem personal. Magic has confessed that he would look at the Box scores to see how Larry fared that evening. He confessed to disliking Larry Bird for years until they both got old and the game belonged to Micheal. These players wont say that they hate the other one but Crosby has admitted to disliking Ovechkin and Ovechkin does not care too much for Crosby either. They have squared off on occasion and Ovechkin is is little too tough for Sid the Kid. I enjoy their battles right now more than the others because each player comes to play and usually scores or does something that impacts the game. Crosby scored early last night but Ovechkin took over late. Hockey rivalries tend to be more personal because usually each team has a player that the goons are told to go after and to protect. I remember when Bill Romanowski spit in J.J. Stokes face. No on the 49ers defended Stokes. Most people did not see it happen until the replay but no line man or back had his back. If you breathe on Sidney Crosby, his teammates will kill you. Ovechkin's teammates love the fact that he is big enough to fight his battles but they will protect him too. Both of these players if they stay healthy are going to be great for hockey for years to come. Whether in the Olympics, World Cup, or in the NHL, these two athletes will shape the direction of the sport for the next 15 years. The big wish of course is to have one of them play on the west coast so that we can have Stanley cup match ups the same way as the N.B.A. had Bird and Magic. Last year they played in the Eastern Conference playoffs and Crosby's team stunned the Caps on their home ice en route to winning their first cup since Super Mario. With Olympic's approaching, I am sure that Canada and Russia can not wait to meet and settle this score on the ice. I can't wait...
Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco may have started something that the N.F.L. really wants to happen. The sport needs young stars and to have two Quarterbacks lead teams to the playoffs last year has made this rivalry interesting. Ryan and Flacco have not played against one another but they will attached by the hip for the next 10 years. Any time you take a team to the playoffs as a rookie that gets every one's attention. Now Ryan's second year he suffered injuries that limited his teams performance. Flacco made it back to the Playoffs and must think that this playoff thing is easy. Mark Sanchez this year is the only rookie quarterback to start a playoff game. He will be lumped together with Mathew Stafford forever. Stafford obviously needs to improve his team in order to be in this conversation. He will and he will be a star. Next year there are a ton of quarterbacks coming out but we will wait to discuss them next year. Flacco and Ryan will play each other in the near future so remember the game and be ready for the two to meet in the super bowl one day.
The two latin sensations have a lot of competition with Murray and Djokovic still pretty young. Federer says he is not retiring for at least another six years so winning is not going to be easy for any of them. Del Portro is a freak with a wicked forehand and can move like a cat. Nadal is a grinder who never gives up on a point and has the most wicked top spin in the game. Every player who plays Nadal says that it takes a set or two to get used to his slice and spin. Plus he chases down every ball that is hit. Both players are coming off of good years last year but DelPotro won the last major. Nadal was on pace last year to do something special but a knee injury and a shocking loss to Soderling ruined his year. Del Potro may be the best hard court player on the planet. He may have the patience on the red clay but he could be a nightmare on grass with his big serve and volley. He does have injuries too which could keep this rivalry more on paper than on the courts. Spain and Argentina should be excited though that it has two really solid players who will battle for years over the top spot in tennis.
Lebron and Melo like each other too much. They have been friends since high school and the only thing that either player is envious of about each other is that Carmelo has a NCAA title. Lebron will always make more money. Most people don't view Carmelo like they do Lebron. Carmelo is a better shooter but he can't defend like Lebron. He is not as spectacular as Lebron and where he plays now in Denver does not get as much ink as Cleveland. Carmelo is a 27 point 8 rebound guy who could 40 any night and make the Hall of fame and be happy type player. Lebron is a 27 point 8 rebound, 8 assist, 3 steals, 2 blocks and sell you a bag of popcorn type player. The league would absolutely go through the roof if the both ever played in a NBA final. The funny thing is that Dwayne Wade may have a better career than both of them. Next year wade will probably be a teammate of one them and then we shall see what happens then.
In short Crosby and Ovechkin is the rivalry that the world wants to see. We just need ESPN to get hockey back and then America will have a place to watch these men square off. Last night Kobe and Lebron played opposite the Ovechkin and Crosby match up and people are talking about both so that is not good for the NBA. The next meeting for the Crosby and Ovechkin duel is Super Bowl Sunday. Maybe Hockey is on to something...

should i play or should I go

2010-01-21T17:49:00.000-08:00

Rain Rain go away, Come again another day. I have seen enough rain over the past four days that I am ready for some snow. No rainy day schedule for me and unfortunately no Borg Ball. This week has been pretty odd in the world of sports. The Australian Open Tennis tourney began and to me this tournament is the least popular of all of the majors. It is summer time down under so it is hot as hell, but for some reason the other three majors have more prestige than this tournament. Australians have been a huge part of the history of professional tennis in both men and women. Margaret Court and Rod Laver are legends of the sport. The Aussies are a fun group of people so if it is the travel I can understand but other than that I don't understand. Maybe it lacks History and that will happen over time. I have seen some epic matches played there so I will continue to watch and root for the Americans and hope for the best.
The purpose of my blog today is an interesting comparison of two sports. Allen Iverson was voted in as starter for the NBA all star game. Tracy McGrady was second in the voting till today and was going to play in the all star game. I wish he had won because he has been through a lot with the Rockets. Iverson and Mcgrady have played very limited minutes this season. McGrady has been basically told to go home by his team because they are persevering without him. Iverson started the season on the Memphis Grizzlies, retired after he basically told them that he cant come off the bench, went home for ten days, re-signed with the Philadelpia 76ers and has been injured and has not had a big impact on his team. Both men want to play in the all star game because the fans voted them in and maybe this might be the last time they will be all stars. I think that for the integrity of the game, they both should play because, the all star game is the fans game and unlike baseball this game is not for home court advantage and the players like to play in the game. The players like the weekend. The attend the rookie and sophomore game, the skills challenges and everyone is there for the dunk contest. This is premier all star weekend in all of the sports. The rappers, actors, musicians, politicians, all show up for this weekend. So Iverson and McGrady knock your self out and treat the weekend as a farewell from us to you because we know that injuries is what is keep you from really being there.
The NFL is a joke. The fans vote the players in too but their vote is only a fraction of who gets to go. Now with this moronic game before the Super Bowl everyone is begging off of the game. I heard Ron Jaworski say today that players should want to play in this game because it is an honor to represent you team. I think he is right and unless you have a serious injury or are playing in the super bowl you should be there. All of these players negotiate contracts that say that if the make the pro bowl they get salary bonuses. Well maybe it is not such an accomplishment to make the Pro bowl. The NFL has tried to make it more fan friendly by having competitions during the weekend but unfortunately player have gotten injured participating them. Remember Robert Edwards? I want to see Chris Johnson race all of the fast players in the league. He is a freak. I remember Micheal Irvin talking about how he would go to the Pro Bowl and watch how Jerry Rice prepares for a game. I remember him talking about how in practice to prove to Deion Sanders that he could beat him running a route that Deion got away with pass interference in the NFC championship game. He ran the route in practice and beat Deion. It seems like the past players cared more. Plus with the tragedy in Haiti this could be an opportunity for these wealthy men to auction off stuff, donate money to help those people suffering. New Orleans needs help still. I think it is a joke that these people don't appreciate what they have. What is the point of negotiating contracts that say if you make the Pro Bowl when you don't really want to play in the game?

Blowout weekend turns crazy....

2010-01-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

First of all let me say that football is almost over so all of you who have spouses that are sick of watching football on the weekends tell them that it is almost over. I think that having the Pro bowl a week before the super bowl is stupid because all of the players involved are not going to play. Now I know that even if the Pro Bowl was played at the right time some of the players still don't play so why does that matter. It matters because the right players should be playing in the game not the after thoughts. Don't you want to see Peyton Manning play? If he loses this weekend, He is going hunting not to Miami. Same with Brett Favre. So I don't understand the logic behind this decision.
What ever happened to competition? The Cardinals and Cowboys were as good as the Vikings and Saints. They got "Molly whopped". I know I should not talk smack about teams that went farther than my team but those were some weird games. After Arizona scored on the first play of the game I was buckling up to watch a wild shoot out. When Urban got stripped after making the catch and run, I still thought that the Cards had a chance. They got taken behind the woodshed after that and I think Kurt Warner should retire. He is a first ballot Hall of Famer and has nothing left to prove. If Matt Leinart has not learned anything from Warner, he should quit. Arizona has a great nucleus of young talent. They just need to get better on defense. I can understand why Warner wants to come back. The division they play in stinks so he will always be in the playoffs, plus he has sick weapons to throw to and hand the ball off too. One more Super Bowl run and then ride off into the sunset with your 7 kids and beautiful wife and enjoy life.
Dallas should not fire Wade Phillips. He has Dallas poised for a championship run. I completely agree with Eric Allen. They are going to be a beast next year if they stay healthy. Plus the stadium that Cowboys play in is hosting the Superbowl next year. Jerry Jones has a lot of wet dreams and that is the ultimate wet dream for him. They need to get a receiver to compliment Austin and then they will be unstoppable. The secondary needs a little work too but that can be addressed in the draft. Dallas will be in the Super Bowl next year or Wade Phillips will be fired.
The story of the weekend is the Jets. I told you on Friday that the Chargers had the most pressure on them. They have major problems to figure out about the teams future. They have all of the pieces to win a but for some reason they just cannot win the big one. The Jets did what they do. K.I.S.S. isn't the prettiest thing to watch but when it works you sit back and say did that just happen? The Jets were awful in the first quarter and shut the Chargers down when it mattered most. i hope that people are not thinking that the Jets played great on defense because lets face it Rivers still threw for a boat load of yards and the field goal kicker missed 2 makeable kicks that Matt Stover or Adam Vinitieri will not miss. Antonio Gates dropped passes all over the place and we know that Dallas Clark is not going to do that. The Jets better knock Peyton Manning on his ass every chance they get or they will get shredded. I hope they don't. I want Minnesota and the Jets to play for the title. Farve played for the Jets last year and I think the football gods would be wise to make this happen. Plus Minnesota has never won a title despite playing in four super bowls. If the Colts play the Saints, that would be cool too because of the connections between the Manning family and both teams. Obviously Archie would root for his son but I am sure he would be happy if the Saints won too. So would Peyton. The people of New Orleans haven't rejoiced in along time and Mardi Gras is going on at that time so that place will be rocking if it happened. You know who is hating life right now is Eric Mangini. He had Favre and the Jets last year and now he is coaching the woeful Browns.

who is the pressure on this weekend?

2010-01-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

I know that the word pressure is in poor taste due to recent catastrophic events. We pray for the people of Haiti and hope that every day things get better for them. I still can't believe that Pat Robertson said what he said. I am sickened sometimes by people in power..
I feel the team that has to win in order of importance goes, San Diego, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Dallas, New Orleans, Arizona, Baltimore and then the Jets. This post season is about San Diego and Minnesota. I will explain why for all of the teams.
The Jets win and Mark Sanchez is going to have so many expectations put on him for years to come. I am sure he will welcome it and grow into the best quarter back in Jets history. The Jets have the perfect team to win a title. They can run the ball against anyone and their defense does not get exposed as much as people think. San Diego may have these tall receivers and the great tight end but if Rivers is on his back, he cannot throw the ball. Better yet, If Rivers is on the sideline more than on the field, the Jets will win outright. The Chargers don't have a great running defense. The Jets are playing with house money. Nothing to lose...
The Ravens also have nothing to lose. Last year they were in the Championship game and Pittsburgh just had their number last year. The Ravens can run the ball too and need to stay out of 3rd and long situations. If the do that and keep Manning on the sidelines too they will win the game. The Colts are not a difficult team to stop. They have run the same plays for years. What kills the Colts is once in a while someone makes a mental mistake and for some crazy reason it always seems to happen in the playoffs. Baltimore has to match up with Clark better and maybe they can pull off the upset.
Arizona is only playing to keep Kurt Warner's career going. They have nothing to lose. They know that they can go on the road anywhere and play anyone tough. They present so many match up problems for any team. Warner has no fear throwing the ball to anyone and if their defense chips in they will roll all the way to the Super Bowl just like last year. Their opponent The Saints have been struggling to stop people lately and stopping the Cardinals is going to be a difficult task. If the Cards run the ball, they will win with ease against anyone. This game is going to be epic.
The only pressure that the Saints feel is that they had this great season going and would really hate to see it end without playing for a title. The Saints ambushed every team they played until the Cowboys showed them that they are the kings of the south. The Saints want a re-match with Dallas very badly. Ever since Katrina, the Saints have been playing for these people to give them something to smile about. Beating Arizona would be a start, but getting to the Super Bowl would be monumental.
Dallas is the scariest team in the playoffs. They can do it all on both sides of the ball. If they win against Minnesota Tony Romo will be exulted as a god. Wade Phillips has never won a super bowl in all of his years coaching in the league and he needs validation. He has had great teams and always seems to get a a point and then fades away. He had San Diego and could not get to the big party. This game is more important for him than Romo. Romo is just learning his core of players now. Next year will be Dallas's year. Unless....
Indianapolis rested their players for the playoffs. They could have gone for history. If they lose this game, the public will never let them forget it. They MUST win or everyone is going to ridicule the ownership, the coaches, the players and anyone who wears a Colts jersey. The players don't care because they did what they were told. Peyton already has his ring. They have lost the last three times they have had a bye in the playoff round. Cannot wait to see how this unfolds..
Minnesota every year gets to this game and then gets beat. They went out and got Brett Favre off of the farm to lead this team to a championship. Tavaris Jackson was the quarterback last year when they lost to the Eagles. The bad thing for the Vikings is Favre has a horrible history against the Cowboys. Remember Reggie White standing on the sideline yelling at his teammates because he was sick of the Cowboys kicking their tails. Favre does not play badly against the Cowboys, they just don't score enough points. This game will vindicate the Vikings or destroy them for a few years. Adrian Petersen has to have over 100 yards and 30 touches. Brad Childress better be ready to eat crow if they lose.
The San Diego Chargers have the most "pressure" to win this weekend. They have been the best team not to win a ring over the last 6 years. Every year they have some kind of excuse. Injuries to L.T. and Rivers one year. Field goal Kicker missing easy kick. No calls against opposing teams defensive backs for interference. They are the hottest team in the league right now. They have won 11 games in a row. They have beaten good teams, playoff teams and seem poised to become a champion. Phillip Rivers is having so much fun throwing the ball down the field to his NBA sized receivers. The Jets have a great defense. If the Chargers lose, Norv Turner will be fired. Turner and Phillips have lead the Chargers to great records. Now it is time for Norv to get through that door and win a title for the football crazy Charger fans. No predictions but I think all 4 games will be decided by a touchdown or less....

K.I.S.S.

2010-01-13T17:13:00.000-08:00

How many of you out there know what those four letters mean? I can assure that it is not the rock band. I can also assure you that it is something we all wish that we could do to our lives. The K.I.S.S. phrase means Keep It Simple Stupid. I like to say Keep It Simple Sucka but the other way will do for now. If we all understood how to apply that our lives, none of us would ever have any problems. As I watched the Jets, Ravens and Cowboys destroy their opponents last weekend they showed me how simple a game pro football can be. As a Giant fan and watching us win 3 super Bowls by keeping the game simple, I know that it can be done if you have the right formula. The key to all three teams victories last weekend was that they scored touchdowns by keeping it simple. So many times teams would run up and down the field on opponents but have to settle for field goals and then the opposing team would have Joe Montana throw an 80 yard touchdown pass to rice and they would lose. The Jets, Ravens and Cowboys scored on long touchdown runs and kept drives alive by running on their opponents defense no matter the down and distance. The funny thing is that Flacco and Sanchez threw fewer than 20 passes to win games on the road. Sanchez completed 12 out of 15 passes and should have had a 13th completion but Edwards dropped a touchdown pass. Flacco only completed 4 passes and threw for less than 100 yards. The Ravens really surprised me. The Patriots never lose at home in the Brady era and to be manhandled by the Ravens on defense is one thing but to allow their offense to run all over them that was pretty surprising. I knew the Jets would beat Cincinnati just because I felt that the Bengals seem to play a similar game to the Jets so the Jets just have better players. The Eagles can play with any team in the league except Dallas. Dallas is really clicking right now. Very scary team that has no fear of any team or style they play. Arizona can shoot it out with anyone.
As far as this weekend games are concerned, if the Jets, Ravens, and Cowboys can K.I.S.S. again, they all could come out victorious. The only problem is their opponents have all of the same components that they have. Minnesota, San Diego and Indy, can run and throw the ball very well. Minnesota has the games best back and the one of the toughest defenses to run on. The Chargers have L.T. and he is due to have a big playoff moment. Defensively, they are not as strong as the Jets so the Jets have to play 4 solid quarters to pull off this victory. The Colts have Addai and Brown and Peyton Manning. He just won the league M.V.P. so the Ravens are going to have to score touchdowns and not settle for field goals. They played earlier this season and the Colt won 17-15. The game I am looking forward to is the Saints and Cardinals. Both teams can run it, throw it and give it up. I hope that it is 63-60 final score. The Saints really want a rematch with the Cowboys. Dallas talked a lot of smack when they played earlier this season and left the Saints hoping for a second chance. Brett Favre came back to win a super Bowl. He definitely needs to keep it simple. We shall see....

The problem with the world today

2010-01-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

The problem with the world today in particular America is that there is no universality in any topic in the country. We cannot agree on racism, sexism, or capitalism. We cannot come up with a health care initiative that helps everyone. We cannot elect leaders in this country that everyone agrees with no matter what party one belongs to. We have a political system that says that in order for laws to be passed it must be approved by the bodies of elected officials before the President signs off on it. We wont allow people who have a different sexual orientation the right to marry because of the bible and because of antiquated beliefs that people have today. We are afraid of everything and don't trust anyone. Why do we behave, adjudicate, legislate, fear, the way we do? I wish I could tell you. I wish I could explain to you why whenever an athlete apologizes for his or her sins, no one believes them. Since when did the media become the morality police? They are the blame for inflated salaries and egos. What does contrite really mean? When a politician messes up, he parades his wife and family in front of the world and every seems to forgive him or her. The reason I say this is that as soon as he or she gets in impeached they run for office a few years later and they are back in same position. Or Bill Maher, Fox and CNN news comes calling and they have a new career and are allowed to rehab their image. Some athletes and coaches get that right too. But why do we want athletes or politicians to apologize when we all are going to judge them for what they say, how they say it, and if they seemed contrite?
Another aspect of this lack of universality is in law. How is it that Plaxico Burress shoots himself in the leg and gets 20 months in jail and Jayson Williams gets 18 months for killing somebody. Leonard Little killed someone and did less than a year for his negligence. Dany Heatly was involved in an accident that killed a teammate and is playing hockey every day for the Sharks. Jim Brown went to jail because he refused to admit that he hit his wife. Remember Latrell Sprewell? He choked his coach and got suspended from the league for 68 games and was treated like he was a thug. Then it comes out after wards that his coach uses language that a lot of players found offensive and wanted to do the same thing to the coach. Then later on that year Kevin Greene chokes his coach and he is forgiven because football is a violent sport and in the heat of battles emotions get the best of people. The coach from South Florida was fired because he hit a player allegedly during half time of a game. Mark Mangino was fired for his language and his treatment of his players. Just the other day the coach at Kansas st. hit one of his players twice and nothing has happened to him yet. Why don't we have universality in how all these things are handled? I know that this not communism but why is there so much gray area and interpretation to all of these incidents? Jayson Williams has been to trial twice and decided that life is too tough for him right now and going to jail may save him. He was just arrested for DUI. He is about be divorced and his father died two months ago. I would be going crazy too if all these thing had happened to me in a short period of time. Dany Heatly lost control of his vehicle and killed his teammate and only got 3 years probation and a judge who chooses his vehicle. He wasn't drunk legally but someone did die. So I guess if Plaxico had killed someone he would have gotten house arrest.
My entire point in all of this is that we are a starving society that needs a miracle. Not my daughter but someone or something to believe in. In 40's, 50's, and some of the 60's many people were brainwashed into the beliefs that the government and the media allowed us to see and believe. If we thought different we were "communists", we were rebels without a cause, we were anti- American. Free thought was frowned upon until the many movements of the 60's and 70's but all of those leaders were assassinated or imprisoned. I love free thought and I am lucky to be able to blog as I do. But we need a universality in this country other than poverty. We are all struggling and fighting to find that door that opens us up to something new and good. Sports needs that more than ever. We need a sports world where it really is about the athletes and the games they play. We need a world where we all have one idea and gives us harmony and peace. He who is without sin may he cast the first stone...

this weekend had everything

2010-01-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

This weekend had everything!!! Blowouts!!! Shocking results!!! Shocking moves!!! And the Monday happens and Mark McGwire blows up the universe!!! Why do these guys wait ten years later or longer to come clean about what the public already knows? Pete rose lies for 14 years and then says "okay you got me" and acts like we are supposed to feel sorry for him. Does Mark think this is going to put him in the Hall of Fame or give him a better public profile? Neither things are going to happen. He was an average first baseman who hit home runs. His numbers are not so spectacular that makes him a Hall of Famer. In fact the year that he hit 70 home runs, he did not even win the M.V.P. award. Sammy Sosa did!!! He is going to be the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals this season. He can teach hitting. He will have the ear of his players and respect of all ballplayers because he finally confessed. Big deal!!! Taking steroids does not make you a better baseball player or hitter period. I have already argued this so I will end this rant by saying, Mark McGwire was not a Hall of Fame player. He was never better than Frank Thomas or any of the other first baseman of his generation. Rafael Palmeiro who is unfortunately on the steroid list was a better player than Big Mac. So I wish him well in what ever he is trying accomplish with this admission. It changes nothing for me!!!
On a even crazier note, Can you believe what happened in Arizona Sunday? They say defense wins championships. Well yes a defensive play won the game for the Cards, but I have to say watching a track meet like that is bad for a person with a bad ticker.. I am not going slam the referees for missing a blatant face mask and getting caught up in the frenzy of the game, but I cant believe that I missed it all. My daughter turns 1 only once so I am sorry that I missed the madness. I am sorry that that I missed Aaron Rodgers showing me that he is ready for prime time and that Packers should stop getting grief for losing Brett Favre. Yes Rodgers had a chance to connect with Jennings for a game winning play and he over threw him.He is the future of the league and hopefully he will stay healthy. God save us if he ever went to play in a city with good weather all the time. He would re-write the record books like no one other. He has become my second favorite player in the game. Behind only the player that defeated him. Kurt Warner is the greatest post season player I have ever seen. Brady may have the rings. Manning, Montana, Bradshaw may have the historic records and accomplishments. Kurt Warner has to be the poster child for under achiever to over achiever. How does a guy go from being Brett Favre fourth string back-up to grocery bag man to Arena League stud to the best quarterback I have ever seen. He has 31 touchdown passes in 12 post season games!!!!! Let me say that again. He has 31 touchdown passes in 12 post season games. He is the worse nightmare for a team that blitzes him. He only had 4 incomplete passes yesterday. 29-33 is scary. He plays the Saints this Saturday and the game may have over 100 points this week. How do you stop them when he is on like this? I also read that he wants to retire after this season. Why? If he wins the Super Bowl with this team, he should go down as biggest savior since .... Jesus. He resurrected the Rams. He trained Eli Manning. If he did not have thumb problems he would have had a better stint with the Giants I believe. The Cardinals, like the Rams, were the laughing stock of the league for years. Hell decades.. Warner makes every team scared because we all know that if he is on, the only thing that will stop him is the end of the game. Brees vs. Warner Saturday I can't wait...
The next crazy thing is Pete Carroll. First of all if some offered me 7 million dollars a year to run a team that plays in a weak division and majority control over decisions for the team, I am on the first thing smoking tomorrow. He has been a legend at USC and he deserves the right to pursue other opportunities. Is USC under some scrutiny right now and this looks fishy that he is leaving right now? Yeah! But he did nothing wrong and if his players have done some things without his knowledge why is he to blame? The Joe McKnight thing is going to blow over. The Reggie Bush investigation is going to prove to be nothing. Because if it was something then somebody would have done something about it already. USC needs to hire a coach to keep the ball rolling there and I am sure that any impending sanctions isn't going to scare away any coach. This is a top flight job and whoever gets it will take all the good and blow away the bad. Seattle needs everything. He has some of his former players there and will probably draft a few more. This will be fun. He has an okay football record in the pros. Good luck Pete..

Tonight as we

2010-01-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight as we say goodbye to another college football season, we are sad to see it go. I love College Football. I wished i played it and i wish I went to a school that had a major football program. UMASS did win the championship a few years ago I think and played for the title three years ago but when I was there they were average. I was there for a decade so I have credibility in commenting on them. This season has left me wanting more because for the second year in a row I feel that the championship game does not represent a true champion. Alabama and Texas has earned the right to play in the big game but Boise St., Cincinnati, and TCU was undefeated until the bowl games. Boise St. is still unbeaten and we will never know what could have happened if they played either Texas or Alabama. Utah last season smacked Alabama around in a game that no one for see happening so I don't discount the possibility that Boise could have done the same thing to either Texas or Alabama. I would like to give a few shout outs before I conclude the season.
A big shout out goes to the Big Ten. They have been laughed at for the past 6 or 7 years because of failures in big games. Penn St., Ohio State and Iowa winning games in the is bowl season have definitely silenced a lot of critics. Wisconsin defeating Miami was big too. Although Michigan St. and Northwestern lost hotly contested games and Minnesota lost by a point to Iowa St. the Big ten showed that they have figured out what they need to compete nationally. Next year Ohio St. will probably ranked in the top three to start the year and their quarterback will be a Heisman front Runner. Michigan will not have another losing season for the return a bunch of players next year. Same for Purdue, Michigan St. Wisconsin. Penn St. may take a step backwards but Joe Paterno will have them ready to play each week. Should be fun....
I would like to shout out to the Wac. They beat convincingly two Pac-10 schools and were impressive in other games. I would like to shout out to Tim Tebow. He showed pro scouts that he can simply play football and if given an opportunity he will prove everyone wrong. I am rooting for him and I hope he will get the chance on the right team and become a star. I want to give a shout to Dez Bryant, this poor guy had his college season cut short because he lied to the NCAA about having lunch with Deion Sanders. Now he will get a chance to amaze scouts in the combine and individual workout day. Hopefully he will be on the board when the Giants draft and become a Giant. He is a star and the world will see.I would like to give Toby Gerhardt a shout as well. He wants to play football so he took 21 credits in the fall so he could finish in time to prepare for the NFL combine. I hope it will pay off for him as well. I would finally like to give two shout outs to Legarrette Blount and Sam Bradford. Mr. Blount hopefully you will get a chance to show the country that that night against Boise St. was not the true you and prove to a NFL team that you are a man and not a boy. Sam hopefully that your shoulder will allow you to live up to your potential and lead an NFL team successfully in the future. Just don't torch the Giants and I will be happy.
We say goodbye to Charlie Weis and Bobby Bowden. Two good men that basically deserved a better fate. If Weis had not been sooooo cocky he probably would have gotten another chance. Coach Bowden should have had the ability to leave when he wanted to. I think that he should have donated a million dollars to his school like Paterno and FSU would have left him alone. Next year there will be BLACK HEAD COACHES AT BCS SCHOOLS!!!! Randy Shannon was the only one this past season and now there are 5. The head coach at TexasTech could 6 if the school wants to step up. That would be cool.
Now tonight's game. I think that Alabama is a better team. Texas is going to win. I will tell you why. Alabama has a knack of not scoring touchdowns. They were 92nd in red zone offense this year I think and when you play against Texas you have to score touchdowns because they will eventually figure what you are doing on defense. Texas over the past 5 years has been the best second half team in College football. I can think of several games where they played horribly in the first half and found ways to come back and win. The Alabama defense does not put pressure on quarterbacks and that is going to kill them late in the game as Texas wins 21-17.
Finally we still need a playoff system. I just think that common sense has got to start to seep into the minds of people involved in the decisions for college football. I think that we live in a world where "out of chaos does not bring order, it brings more chaos." People seem to like chaos. Everyone should have access to free health care too but the powers that be want to fight over semantics and instead of just getting a plan approved and done. Dont get me started on politics in this country and world...

i am going combine these two..

2010-01-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

I am going to combine these two because they are about the same city. or District. First the good. Mike Shanahan was hired by the Washington Redskins. As a Giant fan I am scared because Shanahan has rings and can coach. This division now has four top notch coaches and competition in the division will be heated. If you asked me who I would root for other than the Giants in this division I would say Washington. The Redskins have always had a proud tradition of putting out quality football teams and memorable players. I really dislike Dallas and I really abhor Philly. The Redskins are a real mess though. They spend soooo much money every year and don win a thing. The defense is good but the offense needs help at quarterback position. He has weapons to throw to and if Clinton Portis can stay healthy they have players to do damage. Portis played for Shanahan so he is familiar with his system. The owner Daniel Snyder has tried every thing to get the Redskins back on track. The Redskins played in a super bowl in the 70's, 80's and 90's and were one of the elite organizations of that 30 year period. They have had some bad luck with draft picks and coaches who could not get it done. The Redskins are going to need time and I wish them well.
The other news is something that I cannot truly believe. I watched in horror as Gilbert Arenas last night did his pre game introduction mocking shooting a gun. I am stunned that a man that might forfeit his 111 million dollar salary would be poking fun at something that isn't funny. The team changed its name from the bullets to the wizards because the owner was embarrassed because his district was known for being the murder capitol of the world. I cannot believe that in lieu of what happened with Plaxico Burress that any professional athlete would even touch a gun. I heard that some one said that 75% of NBA player have or carry a gun does not disturb me because basketball players still hang out with their boys from back in the day and love to go to clubs. The difference between Baseball players and Basketball players is usually the baseball player has a game in the early afternoon and cannot stay out all night and party. Don't get me wrong, I know several that do but a NBA player does not usually have to report to the arena until later in the day. (I digress)..The point is NBA players tend to hangout in environments that may require them to need protection. So I understand why they have guns. I even understand Gilbert bringing his gun to the arena to store it away from his kids. Nothing more sad than hearing about kids who find their parents gun and accidentally kill someone or themselves. But for Gilbert taunting people in his blogs or making fun of the situation, I don't think we would be caring so much about the topic. He really thought that by telling the police and D.A. that it was over and a load off of his mind? To do what he did last night and his teammates doing it to was sickening. He will never play in the league again. He will probably go to jail and forfeit his contract because so many people are speaking out against him. Even Reverend Sharpton spoke out against Arenas and in turn Gilbert went off on him!!!! The absolute sad part about this is that there is not a person who does not like Gilbert Arenas. He is so funny, agreeable, approachable, articulate. I can not believe that this is happening to him. When he hurt his knee i felt horribly for him and his family. This guy was what the NBA is all about. He earned the right to have that kind of salary. He played his way into a big contract with his performances on the court. He is ruined.....and today is his birthday...

A littany of things to blog about today..

2010-01-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

January 6th, 2010 is a day that may finally get the juices flowing with my blogging in 2010. So let's get it started:
How is Roberto Alomar not in the Hall of fame on the first ballot? If the reason is he spit on that umpire and some of the media feels that he should be punished for that then they should have their ability to vote revoked. If he is not in the Hall of fame because he is not such a big name player like say, Randy Johnson or Tony Gwynn, then the people who voted should have their privilege to vote revoke. If he is not in because his last years as a Met were forgettable then the people voting should have their privileges taken away. Why do sportswriters want attention? They criticize every athlete for every crime or act that they commit and when it comes time for a writer to show his or her intelligence they make up some stupid reason for their actions. What second baseman is better? Joe Morgan, Rogers Hornsby played in different era and I would not argue against them. Ryne Sandberg? Jeff Kent? Don't make me laugh!!! Both Kent and Sandberg did win league M.V.P's and are more known for hitting home runs. Sandberg is a Cub "legend". Kent is a journey man player who had a ton of great moments but got swallowed up in the Barry Bonds menagerie. Nothing that either Sandberg or Kent could top Robbie Alomar. He was the gold ' hell platinum standard for his position. He had range, arm strength and ask the A's and the Phillies what kind of player he was. Ask the Red Sox and Yankees about his prowess. A player with 2700 plus hits, 12 all star appearances, 10 gold gloves, two time world champion and the main reason they won both titles is not a first ballot hall of famer is a blatant misuse of privilege that millions of people would love to have. For five voters not to vote for anyone shows me that these writers just want attention and to be on every sports show explaining their foolish position. This notion that keeping players out of the hall on the first ballot is soooooo juvenile and someone should ask the hall to rid itself of these morons. Can you believe that there have never been a player voted in on 100 percent of the ballots? Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Reggie Jackson, Cy Young. Cy freaking young has 511 victories!!!! Hank Aaron and Willie Mays were 20 plus time all stars. Whitey Ford was the star pitcher for all of the Yankee teams.
Randy Johnson retired yesterday. He is the most imposing pitcher in the history of the game. He is probably the best left handed pitcher ever to play. Sandy Koufax usually gets that title but he did not play very long. Johnson had every award that a pitcher wants. He won 5 Cy young awards won a championship with Arizona in 2001. He threw a perfect game in his forties and a no hitter early in his career. He battled back injuries his entire career or he really could have put up better numbers. He is second all time in strike outs. He will be a first ballot Hall of fame guy and should have 100% approval. He dominated in the Steroid era. Although, Manny, Barry, and Big Mac hit some serious prodigious home runs off of him. I remember McGwire hit one in Seattle that I swear is still traveling. Johnson was known for his passion and his wicked slider that absolutely ate up right handed hitters. The All star game in 1992 when John Kruk freaked out when Johnson threw one over his head is still a classic baseball moment. The only place where he did not live up to his potential was when he played in New York. He was always facing the opposing teams best pitcher in post season games so his post season record is not too impressive. Although against the Yankees he pitched very well in world series in 2001 and with Seattle in 1996. He was the "big Unit" and should be showered today with praise for all that he went through in his career. He is clearly the prime example of why baseball is the hardest sport to win a title in. Think about how many 2-1, 1-0, 3-2 games that he pitched in and lost. He once pitched against a pitcher from the Cardinals who threw a no-hitter against him 1-0. Johnson only allowed a few hits. The pitcher Jimenez had a career losing record and became a closer later on that season. Remember when he hit that bird with a pitch and the bird exploded?
Congrats to the Hawk. Is he a Hall of Fame player? Maybe. He got injured a lot and we will never know what kind of player he could have been. He is one of three players with 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases (Bonds and Mays). He was a league M.V.P. once and definitely had he stayed healthy would have been a automatic hall of fame guy. 9 years waiting though makes me think that other people may have better than he. He is in and that is all that matters.
Bert Blyeleven was 5 votes short of getting in today. He should be in based on his stats alone. was he a dominant pitcher . NO. He was just consistent. 288 wins and over 3000 strike outs is automatic in for me.

talking trash

2010-01-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

Many of you can attest i talk trash no matter what i am doing. Playing hearts, pool, basketball, etc. I will say something that usually gets someone mad. In pro sports today trash talking has been silenced in every way. Players get fined for taunting or excessively celebrating accomplishments in all sports. Now some players go over the top with their mannerism and I can understand why the rule was put in place. Deion Sanders high steppin' down the side lines and dancing was fun to watch. The alleged story of him screaming at the Clemson sideline telling them that he was going to take a punt back for a touchdown and then doing it is hilarious. Muhammad Ali coming up with colorful jabs at his opponents was cool too. Even the Mutumbo finger wave was funny because when he got dunked on they did back to him. Vince Carter and Micheal Jordan waved their finger after posterizing Mutumbo. Chad Ocho Cinco became famous because he would talk trash about his opponent before games, during games and after. He made a list one year of all of the defensive backs he was to face and called them the week of the games an told them what he going to do to them. This ear he sent mustard to an opponent basically telling the Ravens that "they couldn't cut the mustard. " Very funny and to his teams credit, they defeated the Ravens twice this year. He apparently is the only player in the NFL that talks trash. Bart Scott of the Jets talks a little smack,so does Joey Porter of the Dolphins. I think that players who do do the talking are all so respected and feared that no one says anything back to them anymore. Ray Lewis talks during games a lot and I have never heard any one say anything back to him. Teams all say that they want to knock Hines Ward out but every week he is the one laying out players. I remember when T.O. mocked Ray Lewis' dance after scoring a touchdown against the Ravens. I am still waiting for retribution on that one. In Baseball the way players taunt others is the home run pose. Ken Griffey Jr. has been doing the same pose for 20 seasons. Barry Bonds did the pose too. Albert Pujols even poses and chucks his bat away. A-rod does the pose and chuck too. Manny does the strut. The pitchers retaliate by throwing at the next hitter or even sometimes at the home run hot dog. Relief pitcher get real pumped up and do their little dance after a save or big out. K-rod does his thing and then points at the sky. I think that if he did not point to the sky after wards he would have some problems. Randy Johnson used to get very excited after a big strikeout. Players would not complain because they had that fear that he would put one behind their head if they did. Tiger Woods does the fist pump when he gets on a roll. At first that angered some of the purest but when the guy kept winning all the time they just accepted it. Lleyton Hewitt used to drive opponents crazy when he would yell come on after winning points in tennis. No one said anything to him because he was always winning when he did this. Roger Federer does a little bit of that now. No one says anything back because he always wins. Floyd Mayweather talks a lot of trash but he wins all of his fights. He even answers questions during fights that the announcers are raising. I wish I had court side seats to a Bulls game back in the day or Celtic game. They used to say that Larry Bird talk so much trash that opposing players would hide their faces so not to laugh at their team mate who was being taunted. He would literally tell you how we was going to hit shots and when to jump and all kinds of crazy stuff. Remember when he won the 3 point shooting contest and did not take his warm up jacket off? He was telling other players that his name already had the check on it. Gary Payton talked a lot of trash. He would lock up his opponent and then post them up on the other end to add insult to what he would be saying at the other end. Could you imagine someone talking smack to Jordan? I am sure that Rodman and Payton did talk smack to Micheal. He once said after a Bulls win in the finals that he may need to take Payton to a playground somewhere and remind him that he was Micheal Jordan. Earlier that season Payton stripped Jordan preserving a victory for the Sonics. The next game Jordan scored 31 points in the first half and Payton was silenced.
I guess the point of this rant is that I miss the trash talkers of sport. Charles Barkeley and his contemporaries made trash talking fun. I think the reason that we don't hear about trash talking anymore is that guys today will fight you in the parking lot, night club or go to your dressing room and confront you about what you had to say. Also I think that today seems to have too many star players in different sports that are so much better than everyone else that it makes most sense not to say a word. I wonder if some one taunted Tiger or Roger or Usain Bolt, what would happen. Can you imagine taunting Micheal Phelps? Lance Armstrong? Mike Tyson? Kobe Bryant? Lebron James? I guess if you can't back it up, it is best to shut it up!!! Chad Ocho cinco trashed talked Darrell Revis from the Jets last week and got silenced in a big way. Ocho cinco had zero catches, this week he gets a second chance. We shall see....

Tis the season..

2010-01-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

First I want to thank all of you for the birthday wish. I cannot believe that I am 42 and I hope to live another 420 years. I hope that my writing style will improve and that I will attract more readers to my blog. With that being said, let us move on to a better and happy 2010.
Tis the season when every arm chair quarterback sits at home and evaluates their teams and comes up with solutions that either makes sense or shocks the world. To no one's surprise Jim Zorn was fired today by the Redskins. The Buffalo Bills cleaned out its coaching staff, the Gutless Giants fired their defensive coordinator and more moves coming. Other teams contemplating moves are Jacksonville, Chicago, Cleveland Tampa Bay, and Houston. Jeff Fisher is the longest tenured coach in the NFL. Andy Reid of the Eagles is the second longest tenured coach in the league. Fisher's team for a while was the biggest loser of the season but found a way to get a .500 record. Many people think that he has been in Tennessee too long and that a change may be necessary because he has only one super bowl appearance in his tenure and he was reluctant to start Vince Young whilst the team was on a 6 game losing streak. The owner actually demanded that Young play and the team went 8-2 with him at the helm. The two losses were to San Diego and Indianapolis, the two teams with the best records in the conference. Jeff Fisher has been great as a coach. I think that he will get one more year and if they do not win anything, he will be fired. This day is like the end of the baseball season's last day. It is a day where you don't care about anything other than finding out who got fired and who is being allowed one more year.
Yesterday, most people clammed up about resting players after 5 very important players suffered injuries. Wes Welker of the Patriots may be done for two years. The three Arizona Cardinals players are still waiting for results and Chad Ochocinco and Charles Woodson declare that they will play no matter what. The Colts are still a mystery to me. It was snowing like crazy in Buffalo yesterday and played their players in the snow. You are more likely to get injured playing in those conditions than any others not to mention what if someone gets the flu? The said that they did not care about individual accomplishments but kept Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark in the game to catch their 100th receptions of the season. I am really rooting for the Chargers and the Saints to make it to the big game. Drew Brees was drafted by the Chargers and went to the Saints so the Phillip Rivers could have his chance. Reggie Bush is from San Diego so playing against his home town team would be cool. The Jets surprised me yesterday. The Cowboys did too. I remember the last time the Jets played the Bengals in the playoffs. Didn't Freeman Mcneil run for 200 plus yards in a Jets victory? Mark Sanchez is probably wondering "what is wrong with this picture". He is the only quarterback playing in this years playoff with no experience. Romo's only appearance didn't he drop the field goal attempt and Seattle won? The ball was too slick I think they said. The Eagles really did not show up yesterday. I just cant believe that the Giants went from 5-0 to 8-8 in a blink of an eye. If they did not win the Super Bowl a few years ago they would have fired Coughlin. Everyone has injuries. Very disappointed. Anyways, just warming up today. Tomorrow will be back with more vim and vigor..

its a new decade

2010-01-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

Its a new decade and we already have scandals brewing around the sports world. Allegedly Gilbert Arenas and Jarvis Chrittenden got into an argument over an unpaid bet and guns were drawn in the locker room. Don't these guys read the newspaper or watch Sportscenter? If this is true they are bot going to jail. Plaxico Burress went and I suspect that these two guys are going to be in serious trouble too. Especially doing this in Washington D.C where they have so much crime in that area. Gilbert Arenas has to be the most confusing person in the world. He signed this enormous contract a few years ago and has not done a thing to legitimize the deal at all. He tells the team when he wants to play and rehab and if he is ready to play. I know the Wizards don't matter in world of sports, I mean they fired Micheal Jordan and they have not done a thing in years. In fact this story is even crazier when you find out that Arenas brought his guns to his locker to keep them away from his kids. I don't have a gun and I am not rich either. But a player having an unloaded hand gun in his locker is scary enough. I am sure he would like to shoot the media and the embarrassment this kind of attention brings to a team that is sorry anyway is crazy. I hope that these men are vindicated in the end and that I never have to hear about teammates pulling guns on each other. What a way to start the year.
Then there is Mike Leach down at Texas Tech. Allegedly he told a player to go stand in a closet against his will because he had a concussion instead keeping him in the trainers room or on a hospital table. The school fired him because they did not believe he would do such a thing number 1 and the school did not want to pay him the 800,000 dollars that they owed him if he made it to new years eve. Leach says that the player Adam James is retaliating against him because of lack of playing time and that his father who is ESPN analyst Craig James is wielding his national influence to expose a situation that is blown way out of proportion. If it is true that he locked a player with a concussion in a closet he should be arrested, much less left in charge of our children. Leach has not denied the story but says that doctors agree with what he did so he does not understand why he is being fired. All Leach has done is put Texas Tech on the football map over the decade he was the coach. The school did not want to retain him last year but reluctantly signed him early last year. He is too good a coach not be hired but if he committed this offense i have reservations about him. He has the trainer defending him so I guess this is a wait and see story.
The Next one is the supposed super fight between Mayweather and Manny P. Pacquaio is now suing the Golden Boy Production and Mayweather for slander and defamation. All of this due to the fact that Pacquaio won't talk a blood test that is recognized by the world. Allegedly Golden boy and Pretty boy have said that Pacquiao is on the juice because he has jumped so many weight classes and is knocking out too many bigger fighters. He knocked out Dela Hoya in their fight. What the hell is going on here. Just take the blood test and beat Mayweather and retire as the greatest fighter we have ever seen. What is the problem with that. Unless you have something to hide take the test. This is crazy. No one wants to watch you fight Paul Maliaggi or Shane Mosely. Take the test and if are a blood doper you are a fraud. If you are clean then move on. Simple.
The last one cracks me up. The NFL allegedly may be under investigation because of the Colts not playing their starters in a football game. Apparently in 2005 the league itself looked into creating a policy that would force teams to play their players in all games. The league decided then that they couldn't because you can't make a team play players. In fact this latest investigation isn't going do anything either. The only way that all players will play all the time is if money is tied to performance. The only other way to make players play is if the fans stop showing up to games then there is no money to be made. So if fans know ahead of time that Peyton Manning is not going to play maybe they would not show up. I would show up no matter. Getting NFL tickets are hard enough and Die hard fans may boo but they will still show up. So in other words the NFL is screwed and should leave this subject alone.

And finally...

2009-12-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

Baseball.. No longer America's past time, Baseball has been ruined by innuendo and rhetoric this decade. Steroids have been a bigger story than the play on the field. Great, Great players have been be destroyed by allegations of illicit use of performance enhancement drug. Barry Bonds, in my opinion the best player over the last 25 years is the poster man of this era. If he won a championship, the pundants would not know what to do with themselves. He won four M.V.P. awards and would have put records out of reach had teams pitched to him over the decade. He set records for walks, runs scored, home runs, that are hard to believe. I still contend that steroids can't help you hit a baseball and the amazing ability he showed this decade will not be forgotten by me. Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Andy Petitte had their names dragged in this steroid argument. Rafael Palmeiro and Jason Giambi too. Jose Canseco wrote a book the blew the lid off of the steroid epidemic in Baseball. f you stopped for a second and look at the names I have mentioned, that is baseball's royalty. Former M.V.P.'s, 500 club home run members, world champions in almost all cases. The game is looked through a skeptical eye by the public. It is a shame because baseball is still a beautiful game to watch. So on the field lets honor those for their work over the decade.
The team of the Decade is the New York Yankees. They played in 4 world series and won 2. They have the most wins. They deserve the award. The Red Sox are a close second with two wins. St. Louis was probably the best team in the National League. This decade had the curse of the Bambino end and the White Sox win a ring. The Marlins won again and then blew up the team. Arizona Diamondbacks won in an epic seven game series with the Yankees. St. Louis and Philadelphia won one each. The Anaheim Angels won one giving the American league a 6-4 advantage in championships. The trades and free agent signings of this decade left a mark on the game. The rich got richer and the poor got weaker. The Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, Cardinals, and Phillies spent and the Royals, Brewers, Padres, Twins grew from within. Almost every team got brand new stadiums. Only the Mets did not take full advantage of their new digs. Houston, Detroit, St.Louis, Anaheim, Philly, Chicago White Sox got new stadiums and attendance grew in all of those cities. The Tampa Rays made it to the World Series despite having one of the lowest payrolls in sports history.
The player of the decade is going to be debated for years to come. Albert Pujols is the man most would say is the winner although Barry Bonds fans would beg to differ. Alex Rodriguez fans would chime in too. So would David Ortiz fans. Pujols does not have any steroid links to him but I am sure someone is going through his trash can as we speak. Curt Schilling is the Pitcher of the decade. He was apart of 3 world championship teams and the main reason that his teams won Championships. Greg Maddux and Roger Clemens got their win totals up to over 350. Rickey Henderson finally retired. Joe Torre quit working for the evil empire and joined the Dodgers. Mannywood is opened in L.A. and he leads the Dodgers to the Post Season. Pujols won 3 M.V.P.'s in the decade. He was runner up in two other years. Derek Jeter is still man in New York. He is on pace to get his 3000 hits in the next 2 years and continue to be a model citizen. Todd Helton is another great player who is on pace to get 3000 hits in the near future. The best hitter in this decade has to be Ichiro Suzuki. He came to America and has taken baseball by storm. He already has 2000 hits in less than a decade. He uses speed and an awkward hitting style that gets him on base better than we have ever seen. The Yankees had Godzilla who culminated his Yankees career with an incredible world Series. Randy Johnson pitched for several teams this decade. He won a couple of Cy Youngs and got his 300th win. Tom Glavine did as well. Rot Halliday and Brandon Webb are the future of baseball. C.C. Sabathia got paid in New York and Cliff Lee got jobbed in Philly. The Phillies had a run of M.V.P.'s with Howard and Rollins. Injuries caused Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez their chances but they have a formidable team going into the next decade. The Mets have been like the stock market this decade. Either really up or really down. Jose Reyes and David Wright and Johan Santana need to grow up and achieve their destiny. 2010 we will win the series.. I guarantee it!!! The Braves dominance came to an end in the decade and Bobby Cox and Chipper Jones are still going strong. The Cubs still have not won a world series. They had a chance in 2003 but Bartman caused them a chance with his interference in the 8th inning of a playoff game.
The All Star game determines who gets home field advantage.. How stupid is that? They want the players to care so much about a an exhibition game, it makes no sense. The Home run derby is still cool. Chicks do love the long ball. They love it so much that Instant replay was added to baseball only on Home Runs. The Umps went on strike and half of them got fired. One ump died at a game in Cincinnati on opening day. They still screw up calls but still are the best of all refs in all sports. They keep talking about speeding up the game and raising the mound. I say leave the game alone. Every thing averages out in baseball. The "Boss" finally stepped down. Espn and their scandals. Harold Reynolds and Steve Phillips are naughty. Fernando Vina took HGH allegedly. How about the F.B.I. going after Bonds and trying to get Jason Grimsley to give info about Bonds. Bud Selig becoming Commissioner has not been a bad thing. He really cares about the game and really loves Hank Aaron. Hell we all do. We lost Jack Buck and said goodbye to Harry Kalas and Ernie Harwell. Kalas died at the stadium in Philly. I loved his voice. He used to do NFL highlights after John Facenda died. Will baseball get its place back in America in the next decade? We shall see. I love baseball and hopefully they are doing all of the right things to clean up the sport. I still think that football will remain king but they have a labor situation approaching soon so we shall see if we will still love it after the strike. The 21st century started with the Yankees and Mets in the series. Maybe 2010 will too. I root for the Royals and Brewers to get back to being what they once were. The Orioles have so much history that needs to be rekindled. Pittsburgh Pirates too. You got two great teams in the Penguins and Steelers you got to find a way to match them. We look forward to more spending by the haves and more complaining by the have nots. The Minnesota Twins don't have a lot but with Mauer and Morneau they have a future. The Brewers could be the team of the next decade if the spend and don't break them up. Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton have started a renaissance in Tampa and the Marlins win because they play the game the right way. Then there is the Nationals.. Cleveland has to stop letting Cy Young talent go and stay healthy and win. We love OZZIE.. Keep it real OZ.

and now basketball

2009-12-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

What happened to the NBA and College Basketball? I remember as a youngster being a Bernard King fan and caring about everything that was going on on the court. Every game was in the 100's and NBA action was fantastic. College Basketball had Jordan, Ewing, Bias, Sampson, Olajawon, Kenny Anderson, Chris Mullin, Mark Price, Wayman Tisdale. Dick Vitale hooting and hollering about the "diaper dandies" and "windex " man. This decade basketball has been killed. No one goes to college to play anymore. Players are going to Europe for a year to avoid going to college. Players skipped college all together and went pro. Every team has a high school or European player on it. The coaches in college are more famous than the players. Schools are still getting caught in scandals but they are surviving. College coaches are millionaires and the NCAA tournament is thinking about expanding. The NBA has had two main dynasties in this decade. The Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs led by Tim Duncan and The Lakers led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille Oneal. The Lakers won 4 rings this decade. The Spurs won three. Shaquille won another ring with the Miami Heat. The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons won a ring each. The Lakers are the team of the decade because they played in 6 NBA finals. In fact the balance of power shifted back to the western conference in this decade. The east probably had better stars but the west had better teams. We were introduced to a young phenom named Lebron. Who played in a Final series only a few years into his career. Dwayne Wade won a title and has made a great name for himself this decade. Steve Nash won two M.V.P.'s which has shocked the league but he deserved them. Kevin Garnett in Celtic Green is still wild to see. The Knicks have not been the same since Patrick Ewing was sent out to pasture. The NBA created a rule at first that a high school senior could enter the league. Now I believe you have to be 19 or older. Remember Darko? Yao Ming becomes first chinese player in theleague and he is 7'6 inches tall. Kobe and Shaq feud and then break-up and then become friends and then Shaq disses Kobe after winning a title and after the Lakers lose to Celtics, Phil Retires and then comes back. Micheal Jordan plays for the Wizards and becomes part owner of team and then is unceremoniously fired, has bitter Hall of Fame speech. Rasheed Wallace gets a technical almost everyday. Ron Artest and the Malice at the Palace. Tim Donaghy gets busted for betting on NBA games and other nonsense. Mark Cuban becomes Maverick owner. Robert Horry is big shot Bob. Kobe and Shaq are the co-players of the decade in my opinion. Detroit takes Darko over Bosh, Carmelo, Stoudamire and Wade. Nate Robinson ruins the slam dunk contest. Vince Carter's unbelievable performance in the slam dunk contest. White chocolate and C-Webb make Sacramento relevant.Jason Kidd makes New Jersey relevant. Nelly own a piece of the Cavaliers. Jay-z owns a piece of the Nets. NBA TV debuts. Stephen A. Smith. We say good bye to The Mailman and Stockton, Isaiah and the Mess in the big Apple. David Stern is still in control.. Games in the 70's.. 60's.... 50? What a decade...

College Basketball suffered more than any sport. North Carolina won two titles. Kansas won one finally for Bill Self, Not Roy Williams. He just went to North Carolina and won. We learned about Pat Summit and Geno Auriema in the women's game. Duke, Syracuse, Connecticut, Michigan St., and Maryland won titles. University of Florida won back to back championships. It is tough to say who is the team of the decade. What Florida did was very special. North Carolina and Connecticut seemed to always be in the final 8 or four. U.C.L.A. played in.a few final fours as well. we learned words like Mid-Major. We were introduced to a school from the state of Washington called Gonzaga. George Mason made the Final Four. Calipari takes Memphis to final game. Pitino coached the Celtics and then came back to College. Calipari coached the Nets and came back to college. Coaches are more recognizable than players. Kevin Durant lights up Big twelve conference. so does Micheal Beasley. One and done hurts the game. We love Dick Vitale. Coach K. continues his legacy at Duke. Coach Knight gets the boot from Indiana because he allegedly strikes a student for lack of respect. Then a video surfaces of him striking Neil Reid and all hell breaks loose. Jim Harrick is confronted by ESPN about scandal and he loses job at Georgia. Pitno in his sex scandal. Coach Calhoun gets paid more money than anyone in the state and angers people of Connecticut. Uconn and Tennessee women's teams dominate the women's game. Holdsclaw and Taurasi lead teams to historic seasons. Sue Bird and Candace Parker also dominate the college scene. Parker dunks in a game and in the NCAA tournament. We lose Kay Yow. John Wooden turns 99. Isn't it sad? The decade had great games but too few to recollect. The six overtime game between Connecticut and Syracuse is legendary. The shot made by Chalmers forcing overtime in the title game against Memphis. Illinois and North Carolina title game was good. The Illini was undefeated for most of the season. Decades prior, we could name the stars of the decade. The stars this decade were coaches. Billy Donovan at Florida was a genius 4 years ago. I haven't heard his name since. Ben Howland recruits these guys who just win. They cant shoot to save their lives but somehow they win at the schools he has been at. Bobby Knight coached at Texas Tech and did a good job. Mike Montgomery coached both Cal and Stanford. Lute Olson saga at Arizona. The one and done players go pro and do well thus guaranteeing that it is not going to stop. Brandon Jennings goes overseas to learn to play. John Wall is the new star of the game but he will be gone next year. Carmelo Anthony leads Syracuse to a title as a freshman. Greg Oden breaks his hand. Tyler Hansbrough stays 4 years and wins a title. I used to love college basketball, now I only wait for the tournament games..

The indiviual sports and

2009-12-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

The individual sports and basketball are next on my list. The decade in individual sports were dominated by famous one named celebrities. Tiger, Annika, Serena, Venus, Lance, Petty boy Floyd, Roger, Rafa, Usain, Phelps, J.J. just to name a few. I will add Oscar, Manny, Lennox to this list as well. We have seen the greatest performances by these individuals in all types of competitions. Lance overcame cancer and steroid allegations to win the Tour de France several Times. Usain Bolt ran a 9.69 in the 100 meters. He could have run faster if he did not turn around to see how far ahead he was. Micheal Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the most recent Olympic games. Roger Federer broke Pete Sampras' record for grand slams in a career. Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 in a final round in a tournament and retired with 10 major championships won. She absolutely dominated her sport at a level that no one has in years in women's golf. Lennox Lewis reigned over the heavyweight division in Boxing, retired as a champion and defeated every fighter that he fought. Manny P. and Pretty Boy Floyd end the decade as pound for pound the two best fighters in the world. They are slated to fight next year and hopefully it will be memorable. I will take this stand though that the boxer of the decade is Oscar De la Hoya!!!! He is the most significant fighter in the world even though now he is retired. He has carried the sport on his back for the entire decade. As Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones did before him, De La Hoya fought everyone. He may have lost some fights but he did not back down from anyone. He is in my pantheon of the greatest athletes of all time. I admire him as much as I admire Micheal Jordan. His promotional corporation is what is keeping boxing alive today. As Mixed Martial Arts is growing in popularity, De La Hoya has put his name, money, reputation up to try and save a sport that needs a true star. It is a shame that the Klitscho brother are heavy weight champs now because they will never fight each other. Thank You Oscar for what you have done and been to a sport that needs a super hero.
Jimmie Johnson has had an incredible decade. Winning four straight cup titles to finish the decade is a feat that may never be matched. He is setting his sights on doing it again next year. Venus and Serena Williams ruled the tennis court in women's tennis over the decade. Martina Hingis, Kim Clisters, Lindsey davenport, and Justine Henin, gave the Williams sisters a fun decade of great competition. Maria Sharapova deserves mention too. Steffi Graf came back and won another major then married Andre Agassi. So much history was lost when Agassi and Sampras retired this decade. It opened the doors for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to take the mantle to the next generation. Federer was a machine. Vanquishing opponents like they were puppets. Nadal was a god on the clay courts. A knee injury lately has hampered his play but we look forward to another five years of dominance by both of the men. The athlete of the decade is Tiger Woods. He won 12 majors this decade. He is the only golfer to be defending champion in all four majors. He is the record holder in lowest score to par in all of the major tournaments or has the record for the largest victory margin in all of the major tournaments. He played the British open one year that 131 bunkers and did not put a ball in a bunker once in all four days. He is a dog off the course and recent events are portraying him in that light. He became the first billionaire athlete. Nuff said...
I am sure that I am missing a lot of people. Dara Torres, Appollo Anton Ono, Tony Hawk, Shaun White, Jeff Gordon, Sarah Hughes, Micheal Schumacher, all had great decades. We lost Dale Earnhardt which is still being felt in NASCAR. The Rise of MMA fighting. Pro Wrestling is still going strong. Bode Miller and the rise of African Americans in winter Olympic sports. Joel Calzeghe was undefeated as a boxer and defeated living legends, Hopkins and Jones Jr. The next decade will be interesting to see who replaces these stars as they age...

so here is how we summarize..

2009-12-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

So over the next three days I will summarize the first decade in all of the major sports that I follow. Today's group is the easiest to discuss. So here we go:
The decade in pro football and college football can be summarized with one word: parity. Though both entities had several champions, the diversity in the champions makes you feel good that the sport is going in the right direction. In college football, the decade started outwith Miami being the team to beat. Everyone started calling the school the "U" and it did not need any explanation. The next few years belonged to USC. They were in three consecutive championship games winning two of them. Then the SEC took over the decade. LSU won two titles(shared one with USC) and Florida won two. Ohio St. won one title and Texas won the game of the decade over USC. The decade will be known for two sophomores winning the Heisman. Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram. Tebow was a finalist three times. Two Oklahoma quarterbacks winning the award. Sam Bradford and Jason White. Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and Reggie Bush won it for USC. Troy Smith from Ohio St. Chris Weinke and Eric Crouch round out the list. In other words eight quarterbacks and two running backs. I think that Leinart is the player of the decade because he played in 3 straight championship games and ended the Heisman jinx. USC and Florida were the two best teams in the decade. USC won 7 straight conference championships. I give Pete Carroll the slight nod over Urban Meyer although Mack Brown and Jim Tressel deserve credit for putting their teams in championship contention every year.Same with Bob Stoops. Boise St. is the most under appreciated team of the decade. Michigan only defeated Ohio State once this decade which cost Coach Carr his job. We say goodbye to Coach Bowden. Coach Paterno is still going strong. Coach Fullmer at Tennessee is out of coaching too. So is Charlie Weis. This decade will be known for the creation of the spread offense and the wildcat. Every team ran some form of single back set. Coach Meyer and Coach Rodriguez deserves credit for making the offense so unstoppable. Great games of the decade. Michigan and Ohio State 3 years ago, Mississippi and Auburn going 8 overtimes. USC vs Texas. Kentucky and Florida. Oklahoma and Boise St. Miam and Florida St this year. Kentucky and LSU when LSU hit a 70 yard hail mary pass while Kentucky's crowd was running on the field in the back round. A crazy decade and hopefully in the new decade we will have a playoff to settle the championship. Having 5 teams undefeated at the end of a season is a joke. What the hell is the B.C.S.?
The NFL has had the same growth as College football. There were several champions but the decade was dominated by a few teams. The New England Patriots are the team of the decade with three championships and an unblemished regular season that was almost matched this past season. The decade started off with the St. Louis Rams as the dominant team. The rams were the second worse team in the decade of the 90's and started the 21st century like they were going to be around for entire decade. The Tampa Buccaneers won title which is crazy too. Seattle, Arizona and Chicago also played for rings. The Eagles played in 5 NFC championship games. winning only 1. The New York Giants played in two super Bowls, stunning New England in one and being trounced by Baltimore Ravens in the other. The Tennessee Titans played in a Super Bowl and so did the Oakland Raiders. Hard to believe that the Cowboy and Redskins did not play in the big game since they have played in a Super Bowl in every decade since the 70's. The 49ers were absent from the big game too. The Steelers won two rings in the decade. Indianapolis won one as well. We had great players in this decade. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were the top two. Donovan Mcnabb and Ladanian Tomlinson are up there as well. Ray Lewis was the man on defense. Micheal Strahan was legendary. Brett Favre retired and came back and then retired and now is trying to lead another team to a title. Instant Replay became a part of all games in both college and pro football. We play a game in London every year now and the Cowboy opened up a super stadium that has a scoreboard that is enormous. Bill Bellicheck is the coach of the decade. Playing in four super bowls is a really great accomplishment. We lost Steve Mcnair which is horrible because he was the face of the south. Sean Taylor is another tragedy. Gene Upshaw and the NFL's Player's Union battles over the decade is what is creating a possible lockout in 2 years. A new Commissioner who does not take any crap. Chris Henry tragedy lately. Upshaw also dying days after finding out he had Cancer. The "tuck" rule that helped the Patriots win a playoff game. Bad officiating and players getting clocked when not looking on punts and turnovers. what a decade...more to come tomorrow

You play to win the game....

2009-12-28T18:34:00.000-08:00

Herm Edwards is known to New York Giants fans as the guy that stuck a meat cleaver in our chests in the play that I hate to refer as a miracle. When he coached the Jets He boldly and angrily stood up in front of the media and said" YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME, YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME, HELLO!!!" Most of us laughed at what he said and the clip is used in several different capacities all over the sports world. For some reason, NFL players and announcers don't like to play football or talk about football. In the summer, the pre-season is too long. Even though some teams don't decide on who their starting players are until the last moment, some teams need more practice than other, and some teams just plain suck. Every year we hear the same rants about pre-season football as a waste of time. The other time of year when football players don't want to play football is in December when they feel that everything is wrapped up and they can magically turn on this magic switch and begin to play again and win a championship. Resting players is a relative new phenomenon and I can't understand. What the Colts did yesterday disgraced football and all sports.
The Indianapolis Colts are 14-1 because they disgraced all sports yesterday. They had a 5 point lead in a game that "meant nothing to them"but meant the world to 7 other teams. The Jets offense had not done a thing and their defense was hanging in but they were losing. The Colts last week became the third team in NFL history to become 14-0 and were a shoe in to finish the regular season undefeated. So instead of playing the game for 60 minutes, the Coach of the Colts decided to pull his starters and the Jets got hot and won the game by 2 touchdowns. I am disgusted. I am appalled and cannot believe that in this day and age of gambling and fantasy football leagues, no one has gone to the coaches house and slapped him around. I can't believe that people are defending what they did. Ron Artest got injured in his home "allegedly" he slipped and fell. People get injured all of the time doing simple tasks. I wish I remembered the name of that baseball player ( I think it was Torii Hunter) who got injured playing play station. I remember the Niners would rest Montana for games, but they had Steve Young and most of the regulars played. I know that football is not life and death but what they did yesterday makes no sense especially since fans paid money to watch them play. Plus they were going for history. Can you imagine Tiger Woods playing in the Players Championship and saying well I am up by three with nine holes to play, Stevie you finish for me, I only want to win the U.S. open next week. I don't want to win any tournament that is not going to allow me pass Jack Nicklaus. You play the other tournaments to make sure that you have the fortitude to stand in there and make a putt with all of the pressure on the line. You play a 16 game season knowing that you are going to have peaks and valleys.How many teams get the opportunity to go undefeated. Remember when the Bulls broke the record for 70 wins in a season. They played all of the games out that year and won 72 total. When Bonds passed McGwire he wanted to put the record so no one could touch it. Tony Dungy said for weeks that this would happen. We thought that Peyton Manning would want to be known for something that his father wasn't known for. His father quarterbacked the Saints back in the day when they would lose in the most ridiculous ways. Look at the Saints. They have lost two games in a row and for some reason, their defense can not stop anyone after killing everyone. They have beaten the Giants, Eagles, Patriots in big blowout games and now they cannot beat the Buccaneers? I hope they lose in the second round of the playoffs. I hope that Patriots get the 4 seed and play the Colts in the second round and beat the hell out of the Colts. GO Chargers!!!!!

hold on here...

2009-12-23T19:04:00.000-08:00

We are in the time of the year where every sports network and sports geek like me is giving out awards for the year and for the decade. There are three really interesting races. College football player of the decade and NBA team and player of the decade. I will deal with the college football player of the decade because it is bowl season. There are only two people in this category. Matt Leinart and Tim Tebow. Every one will pick Tebow because he is the poster boy for college football. He has two titles, a Heisman Trophy, a sparkling g.p.a , he has no drinking pictures of him on line anywhere, he has broken records at Florida of people like Emmitt Smith and Herschel Walker, and he has done more for college athletes off the field than anyone to my knowledge. Sounds like an open and shut case. His pledge is written on a wall at the school and I am certain a statue is going to erected of him some day. If the Jags draft him, the entire state of Florida might collapse into the Atlantic Ocean. He is a living legend. I wish him well in the N.F.L.
Matt Leinart had a better career than Tim Tebow. He played 3 years at USC and all three years as a starter, he played for the National Championship. He also won the Heisman Trophy and set conference records and University records. He won two "national championships" and lost in his third attempt in arguably the greatest college game ever played. In that game he threw for 386 yards and three touchdowns. It took the greatest individual performance by a college football player to beat his team that night. Vince Young got it done. USC that night did things out of character including blowing a 19 point lead in the fourth quarter. Tebow as a freshman played in the Florida and Ohio State game and had some impact plays. Leinart torched Oklahoma, Michigan, and Texas in all of his title games. USC lost in Leinart's first year at Cal in triple overtime. When USC opened the season that year against Auburn, no one even heard of Matt Leinart. All he did was go to Jordan Hare stadium and beat the Tigers that day and never look back. believe his record at USC as a starter was 37-2. Tebow's record as a starter is 34-6 but he has an unbelievable amount of touchdowns. 84 passing touchdowns and 56 rushing touchdowns. Leinart had 99 passing touchdowns and only 9 rushing touchdowns. Obviously they had two different styles of play. But think about it, Leinart's only losses were in a championship game by 3 points and in triple overtime on the road against a quality opponent. Yes he had Reggie Bush and a hellacious defense. Florida has a ton of pro prospects as well. Percy Harvin may not have won the Heisman like Bush but he was just as spectacular for the Gators.
In my analysis I take 37-2 over 34-6 any day of the week. Matt Leinart wasn't even expected to be anything as a player. He was holding the job for John David Booty one year, the year he won the Heisman. His first year he was supposed to be behind two quarterbacks. Tebow was a High School all American and was supposed to be as great as he was. Leinart wins in a close one!!

so who's better?

2009-12-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I do not follow hockey until the playoffs. I watch the highlights of the sick hits and impressive goals and saves. This season I have seen some crazy stuff in hockey and some gross stuff too. The player who hit his own teammate in the helmet after allowing a goal tops the list. Speaking of goal play today I have a rhetorical question to ask. Who is better Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek or Martin Brodeur? Conventional wisdom says it is Roy. He took two teams to the Stanley Cup and was great as a young layer and great as an elder statesman. My lasting memory of Roy in Montreal is the game when he allowed 9 goals and the coach did not take him out because he was allegedly showing up Roy. He was a great player and 4 Stanley Cups to his credit and countless records gives him the credibility to be called the greatest goalie of all times. He was known for his butterfly style in the net and definitely influenced the goalies that came after him. I think his days in Colorado were overshadowed because he was on an all-star team and he was not the savior that he was in Montreal. Also I think that he tried to be involved in the game more than any goalie I have ever seen. I will explain that in comparing him to the others. I could list his records but they seem to daily get broken by Brodeur.
Martin Brodeur in my opinion is the best long tenured player in the history of all sports. He is the New Jersey Devils. No player in any sport represents his team any better than he. Peyton Manning comes close but I don't think he will have 16 years with the Colts that Brodeur has had with the Devils. Every year it seems that the Devils are playing in the eastern conference title game or in the Stanley Cup. He has faced better competition the Roy has. The Avalanche and Red Wings were the only real teams in the west during Roy's career out west. Dallas, San Jose, Calgary, Chicago did not have the consistency that the teams in the East had. Philadelphia, Boston, Buffalo, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, every year put out clubs that have what it takes to win a cup. For Brodeur to do what he has done going up against, Lindross, Lemiuex, Messier and Gretzky, and now Ovechkin, and Crosby is pretty sick. He will own every record in goal tending before he is done. He is the most unknown superstar in all of sports. Unlike Roy, Brodeur just did his job. He had no need to get in fights or take risks that were not necessary. Yes Team Canada played Roy over him in the Olympics, but I have read where a lot of players wanted Brodeur to play over Roy. He is a living legend and will never be appreciated for what he has meant to hockey. If he wins one more cup, I think that he will get the nod over Roy.
Then there is Hasek. If he does not get injured or played in a better market, he would be the guy. He only has one ring I think but he has done things that no other goalie has. He has been a league M.V.P. back to back seasons I believe and he is the European goal tender to win the Stanley cup. He is the European goalie to do a lot of things in hockey. His feat in the Olympics is legendary. He simply just does not allow goals. If he had the support cast that the Devils had or what he had in Detroit later in his career, this discussion would be closed. The Dallas and Buffalo series was epic because of Hasek's brilliance. His career does not compare to Brodeur because the Devils system was really tough to beat. Buffalo had decent defenders usually left it up to Hask to clean up their messes. He is treated with such high regard in his Czech Nation. His nickname says all you need to know about how great a player he was. If he had more cups he would win hands down but only one title hurts him in the argument.
In the end, I am taking Brodeur because he is the best player no one outside of hockey has ever heard. Now that he is an American citizen, I wonder if he will player for us in the Olympics or will he finally lead Canada to reach the glory that they feel they should have every time they lace 'em up.

After another weekend of..

2009-12-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

After another weekend of intense football and college basketball, I have come to realize that I am a sports addict. I wonder if they prescribe anything for my disease. I watch everything. My wife thinks I am crazy and I haven't done anything to prove her wrong. I get up at 9am and the television stayed on until the final play in the Rutgers and Central Florida game. I have two days a week to watch all I can and I don't miss a thing. My daughter and I play in her play yard during the games and she has an idea of who i like and what. The best(worse) part of living on the west coast is that I can watch every game and still be able to go out afterward. My wife takes Miracle to a mommy and me workshop on Saturdays and on Sunday Miracle is all mine as I explain to her the nuances of the spread offense. I eat grits and cheese and she has cereal and fruit. I cant imagine life being any better.
Yesterday in the NFL there was 7 games that were decided in the final 2 minutes. If you count the shocking Cowboy victory on Saturday and the unbelievable Colts victory on Thursday 9 games were actually decided in the final minutes. To me that is why the NFL is king. The NBA has Kobe and Lebron who do spectacular things to make me want to watch. Kobe's game winning shot on Friday night against Milwaukee is why I watch the Lakers. I am waiting for Lebron to take over the east but maybe that will happen in a Knick uniform next year. Tiger keeps me riveted on the golf course. Federer and Nadal , Serena and Venus, keep me watching tennis. Jimmie Johnson on the track, Manny and Floyd in the ring, and the Mets!!! Nothing to say about them other than they better sign a power hitting outfielder and get healthy this off season. The NFL is king because even the bad teams are capable of having one shining moment. Did you watch the Cleveland and Kansas City game. 75 points, over 600 yards of offense, record breaking performances by Harrison and Cribbs. Kansas City which usually boasts about having the best fans in football did not sell out yesterday and the game was blacked out in the city. So they missed the game too. Cleveland and Detroit played a similar game earlier this year. I am sure the betting public made a killing taking the over. After this weekend's slate of games, there are several teams in the AFC that are still alive for the playoffs. The great thing is that all of the teams have a tough opponent this weekend. The Jets play the Colts. The Steelers play the Ravens. The Broncos play the Eagles. The Jags play the Patriots. I can't wait.

Coach Knight got me thinking..

2009-12-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

Usually these days when Coach Bobby Knight speaks, most of us half-heartedly listen. I feel that he is a great encyclopedia for college basketball and could coach the hell out of the motion offense, but he needs to keep his opinion to himself on topics especially when talking about other people. He is the last person who should be criticizing anyone with his track record. Now that he is a media person I guess he feel it is his turn to rebuke college basketball for all it has done to him. A couple of days ago he made a comment about Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari that has stunned the nation. He wondered aloud how a coach that has had two programs get probation after he leaves because of what has happened during his tenure gets jobs in major college basketball. That is about as low a blow as one can give another without actually doing it. True Memphis and my Alma mater UMASS received sanctions for things that happened during Cal's tenure. If the NCAA knew what the basketball players were doing during his tenure there he probably would be arrested and banned from the state of Massachusetts. He can coach, recruit and win. Period. But his statement upset me because Coach Cal isn't the only coach that gets jobs. Jerry Tarkanian did the same things at Long Beach st. and UNLV didn't he? I am not trying to slam these coaches but my point is in all sports the hiring of coaches is a joke. It is incestuous and some may say racist. The NFL has decided to put in the Rooney rule that makes every team that is looking for a coach, interview a black one first then go ahead and hire whoever you want after. At least they are trying to include us in the process but come on haven't we seen the same re-tread coaches around the league? Any coach that has coached under Bill Walsh or Mike Holmgren or Andy Reid seem to get all of the NFL jobs. Major League baseball has a similar system as the NFL and the same managers get jobs all over the league. I love Joe Torre don't get me wrong but how many teams has he managed? Jim Rigelman has managed I believe three teams and does not have a winning record anywhere.Only a handful of managers have job that were their first and only jobs. Mike Scosia has been the Angels manager for a boat load years. Terry Francona has been the Red Sox for a few years too. Ozzie Guillen and Tony La Russa have been with their teams for a awhile too. My point in mentioning all of this is that there are a lot of bad coaches and managers getting hired on all levels of sports and there does not seem like new faces get a chance to show what they can do. Next year already Mike Shananhan and Mike Holmgren will be back coaching in the NFL. Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher refuse to be interviewed for jobs but every year their name comes up for every job. So I am calling on all new coaches around the globe to succeed and build a name for yourself quickly. I am tired of seeing the same people getting the same jobs and keeping you down.. Brian Kelly did it the right way. Turner Gill did it the right way too. Tom Crean is swimming upstream at Indiana but at least he is swimming.... Over the next few months lets see how many new faces get a shot at the big time. Coach Knight you have opened Pandora's Box. Let's see if the world is listening.. If not you could always throw a chair......

Do we like our sports...

2009-12-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

Do we like our sports with controversy or without? I am really torn on this topic because a very large part of me really does not care about an athlete does off the field unless it is a new training method or whether or not he or she has donated time, money or resources to help others. Today's news about Bengal Receiver Chris Henry is horrible to hear because three years ago so many people would have said that he was heading down this road. Whether he is a bad person or has just been in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong things, I wonder what the public perception of him would be if we did not know the things we know about him. From all accounts of him this year, he was turning his life around. If you watched the HBO show "Hard Knocks" you got to see his kids and see him off the field in a different light. Controversy or not his kids are without a daddy a week before Christmas. Controversy or not this man had a broken arm and was out for the season and now a team mourns. A city mourns.. A family mourns. This is why I am torn on controversy.
We all have issues in our home. Whether small or large, no one is perfect so why do we care so much? Is it money? Do we all think that rich people live that much better than the rest of us? Dont they eat, shit, walk, run, laugh, cry the same we do? They may do it in a nicer home or nicer bedroom, but we all do the same things. This year we seem to be known as the infidelity nation. Jon and Kate, Steve Mcnair, Tiger, Rick Pitino, just to name a few. I cannot remember the name of this L.a. City Council guy who was overheard on camera bragging about his exploits a couple of months ago. I don't care about any of this crap. I watch my sports because I love sports. If a couple of players get into a fight after a game, I want to know about it. If a referee blows a call during a game and it costs a team a victory, I want to see it and debate the merits of it. I don't care that A-rod is dating Kate Hudson and all of sudden he is a great player in the post season because of her. She is not hitting, pitching, or fielding so i don't need to know this stuff. If they are taking drugs to make them better athletes, I want to know this information. I have read a lot of articles of steroids and I am interested in trying to understand how and why athletes would do these things. If Matt Leinart is out partying and getting drunk I don't care about that crap. He is of age to drink so more power to him. If a college or university is taken underage boys to strip clubs or setting them up with female companionship I dont care because every school does it. So it is not news. ASK ANY BOUNCER IN THIS COUNTRY AND HE CAN TELL YOU STORIES.. Floyd Mayweather said the other day on the Joe Buck show that he has won 1.3 million dollars betting Colt games this year. Not one report was written about him. Charles Barkely loses 400 large and the world is ready to kill him. WHO CARES!!! If I had 400 large to gamble and lost it I would be pissed but I am sure that if I had it I would have another 400 large to replace it!!!Why are we so damn nosy. 24hr new cycles have destroyed this country. CNN, FoxNews, Espn, have absolutely destroyed this country. The President is in Copenhagen trying to get a deal signed to get other countries to give more money in helping to slow down global warming. That is news.. If a player beats his wife that is news too. The tabloid stuff is just pure garbage. What tears me up is that despite saying all of what I said, I wont turn the tabloid crap off. I will not let it define what I think of certain people but if I hate an athlete then I am just like everyone else clamoring for more. When Micheal Irvin was going through his travails in the 90's I was like give me more... I am Pathetic...

Say What????

2009-12-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

Many years ago I got into a debate with great mentor Jeff Howe about the comparative value of athletics at a university and the normal student. He pointed out to me that even though athletics generate millions of dollars to a school, do not dismiss the value of what non athletes bring to colleges and universities. I told him that College athletes should be paid because even though their education is paid the money that they bring in allows for the average college student to have microscopes and things that on may need over a college career. He did not fully disagree but he again spoke of the value of the scientist who is doing research that brings money to a university or other majors that do research to help society. I agreed with his position but I concluded by saying that a Biology student is not getting his name in the paper because he failed his classes or if he dropped a beaker in class as opposed to an athlete who is slammed because he dropped a first down pass or failed human studies because he cannot read. Now 18 years later I feel the same on the topic but even stronger.
College coaches make a sick amount of money in most sports. Football and Basketball generate so much money for universities and colleges. In some schools like Miami, LSU, Syracuse, USC, North Carolina, they have incredible sport programs in more than two fields. North Carolina may have the best programs in the country. They have great men and women sports and even though the football team has not competed for a championship in years, the soccer, baseball, lacrosse program make serious money for the schools as well. Texas has the big three. When Coach Mack Brown was awarded a contract extension and a raise, some of the teachers complained that the timing is not right and that the raise was excessive. All he has done is played or competed for a championship every yer that he has been in Texas. In fact just for getting his team to the championship game alone this year the school will receive in excess of 25 million dollars. what people don't know is that every team that goes to a bowl game gets a boat load of money. The students get to wear cool apparel and get a small stipend to feed themselves for a week since they cannot find a job. In fact at most Universities around the country, college coaches in the school biggest bread winning sports make more money than the governors and other important people in the state. Coach Jim Calhoun was in the news last year when Connecticut gave him a raise in the millions. Pete Carroll at USC makes 4.4 million a year here in L.A. Bob Stoops and Nick Saban 4 million and Charlie Weis just got paid a ridiculous amount of money in a settlement with Notre Dame. The reason I still support the student athlete is most represented in the Brian Kelly situation. His players over the last two years have won over 20 games and played in 2 B.C.S. games. Cincinnati does not have a rich football history and because of the success of the football team, Brian Kelly "earned" the Notre Dame job, got paid a king's ransom and his players got nothing left but memories. So if the coaches are getting "broken off" why can't the players?
So this what college age athletes are doing now. Most of them are going to school for one year in basketball or over seas to play in Europe and getting hands on training. A couple of them have unsuccessfully petitioned leagues to play pro early in football. Maurice Clarett is the saddest athlete in the world. He has gone from a national champion and super freshman to fresh meat in a prison cell. All due to the fact that he wanted to go pro before they put out an age requirement in football. He did get drafted but was so unprepared and disillusioned that his fall is tragic. Mike Williams has not had any career to speak of. He was drafted by the Lions and then he was picked up by Oakland and he seems to not be able to stay healthy enough to play in the league. In baseball, the athletes are going to the minor leagues and honing their skills there, although college baseball still gets great prospects. Most schools have two baseball seasons so those athletes don't have a chance to get jobs either. In the other sports that don't have professional careers, prepare for careers in other fields or hope for Olympic glory and hope to get sponsorships to further their pursuits. I say pay them all and let the chips fall wall they may. Coaches are making way to much money. They get too much credit and too much blame. These two athletes probably would have stayed in college if they got paid. Please don't feed me that nonsense about perks and hush money from boosters that some of the families get. When they get busted and have to pay it back or ruin programs for schools is not a prevalent today as it was in the 80's. If an athlete is good enough these days they usually figure out a way to go pro. "Blue Chips" was a great movie though....

we have two teams with a dilemma

2009-12-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

We have two teams with a serious dilemma. Do I play or do I rest the players for the championship run. The Colts and Saints have been the most impressive teams this year in the NFL. Their 13-0 records are the stuff of legend so far and now they have to decide if making history is more important than winning a championship. We have been here before with the 2007 Patriots. They did not suffer any injuries and were a late Plaxico Burress touchdown away from joining the 1972 Dolphins as the leagues unbeaten teams in the Super Bowl era. The 72 Dolphins did suffer a major injury to Bob Greise and were lucky to have a veteran backup in Earl Morrall. Most people of this generation don't know that. Another crazy thing to do with the Dolphins of 1972 is that they were an underdog in the Super Bowl to the Redskins. How crazy is that? You win all of your games and you are an underdog in the biggest game of the year. The Saints do have Mark Brunnell as a backup but he has thrown one pass since 2006. (last Sunday against the Redskins).. The Colts had Jim Sorgi but he is hurt and the third guy hasn't played in an NFL game in his career. What a dilemma indeed.
So what do I do? I play my guys to the very end. Athletes only know one way to be and to play. "Hard"!!! In professional football any relaxed movements can end a career or season. The Colts and Saints play on turf and strange injuries seem to occur on turf. Whether it is a guy standing by a pile and getting rolled under by mistake or a cleat getting stuck in the carpet turf injuries used to be a serious epidemic in the league. The advantage that the Saints have over the Colts is that they so many players contributing to their success. They use 4 running backs and 5 receivers and tight ends. Most of the scoring from the Colts comes from the same six players. They use 2 running backs and 4 main receivers. The Saints have lost players during this win streak and they continue to win. The Colts have had limited injuries on offense but their defense is missing a key cog. The Saints have to keep playing because Minnesota is only 2 games behind them. The home field advantage that the Saints have is unlike no one's in the N.F.L. They are also trying to win for a city that has been decimated with destruction from Hurricane Katrina. If the Saints make it to the Super Bowl the city of New Orleans will get such a boost from their success. Financially and emotionally it would uplift those people and bring the necessary attention to a city that still needs help. If they play the Colts that would outstanding because of the history that Peyton Manning has with city and of course Peyton's dad's legacy. I usually don't support other teams than the Giants during the season but if this match up could happen I will be more convinced that the world is going in the right direction. The Colts are known for resting players. Having this great record is nothing new to them. They seem to be 10-0 every year. I hope they will give the fans what they want. Which is an unbeaten season and a championship. We shall see....

will donovan Mcnabb do it this this year?

2009-12-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

I "hate" few things in the world. I actually don't hate anything but I dislike a ton of things. I dislike the Cowboys and Cowboy fans. I despise the Atlanta Braves and Brave fans. I abhor the Boston Celtics and Celtic fans. I do not eat carrots although I like carrot cake without the chunks of carrots in them. I detest raisins, okra, and string beans. As much as I prefer watching the New York Giants and Eli Manning over the Philadelphia Eagles, I am embarrassed to say that I am Donovan Mcnabb fan even though I literally hate the Eagles. When the Eagles drafted him and the crowd booed lustfully I felt in my heart that these people were idiots. I knew this guy was going to be a Giant killer and he has not let me down in that respect. In the last four games against the Giants he has a perfect record and has absolutely torched the secondary up. I wish sometimes that the eagles had drafted Ricky Williams but I know in my heart that he would have killed us like Emmitt Smith did or Ricky Waters did back in the day. The strange thing about McNabb's career is that he is soooo under appreciated. He has been to 5 championship games and only one Super Bowl. Not everyone can be like Terry Bradshaw or Joe Montana but playing in 5 championship games is pretty damn special. He has been the biggest influence on black quarterback in the past decade of football. Mike Vick, Vince Young, Tavares Jackson, Daunte Culpepper, and Steve Mcnair all credit Donovan for being the guy that they look to as the leader. Doug Williams is still the only black quarterback to win a super bowl but Mcnabb's day could be coming sooner than one may think.. This is the best talent that the eagles have had on offense in years. They are fast, physical and explosive. They score from anywhere on the field. Whether by punt returns, deep throws or running the ball, the Eagles can compete with anyone. They did lose to the Saints badly this year just like everyone has, but the playoff are a different animal. Last season, the Eagles came from out of nowhere and made it to the Championship game only to lose in a shootout with the Cards. If you look at the 6 potential playoff teams in the NFC this year you will notice the one thing they have in common. They all have explosive offenses and opportunistic defenses. When someone says that your defense is opportunistic they are saying that your defense is good but not great and that you create a lot of turnovers that helps your offense. Only the Vikings defense is good against the run and pass. The great thing for the NFC this year too is that the two teams with the best records play in a dome so that means fast paced games and shootouts. The first team to play defense will win the NFC. The Eagles lost the great Jim Johnson before the season started and their new coordinator hasnt figured out who he is yet. McNabb is ready to take on Brees, Warner, Favre, Rodgers, Romo in any environment. He has lost to Warner and Favre in championship games before but i think he is ready to finally get his ring this time. When he does I will be happy for him and then i will start to hate him...

I love listening to people debate..

2009-12-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

I love listening to people debate about Tim Tebow and whether or not he is going to be a player in the N.F.L.. This guy knows how to play the game one way. He is the epitome of a winner in every sense of the word. I feel badly for him. He has the one of the best college football players we have ever seen. He has played in the National championship game twice. Won both times. Won a Heisman Trophy. Broke every scoring record in the S.E.C. Graduated with a 3.6 g.p.a. He has traveled to other countries as a missionary and ambassador. He is the prototypical perfect face for any franchise. The rumors that Jacksonville Jaguars want him is great for the N.F.L. He is the kind of guy that you want running your corporation. Does he have suspect skills? Who are we to say. His arm is not as strong as Ryan Mallets or Case Keenum but he has been playing with pro prospects for 4 years. He runs the 40 in 4.5 but he likes to run people over instead of around them. Alex Smith is a bad representation of what the Urban Meyer system can do to a quarterback. Smith came into the N.F.L. the leader of an undefeated Utah team and was this flawless prodigy. He got chosen way before Aaron Rodgers and I bet you a ton of teams including the Niners are regretting that decision. Rodgers waited his turn and now he is a top 10 quarterback. Meyer is a great coach, don't confuse what I am saying. I just think that he is great for college and has not prepared any quarterbacks for the N.F. L. I don't think that he feels that is his job. If he felt that way then he would run plays that showed off his quarterbacks talents. I think Tebow is going to be a great pro. He will adapt to the N.F.L. game and show everyone that doubts him that he can really play this game. He will sit for a couple of years and learn the game and mark my words on this, he will be a star. He is not going to win the Heisman this year because he really did not have a good year. He may scored a bunch of touchdowns against a watered down schedule. They really played no one all year except Alabama. Over half the teams they faced this year had new quarterbacks and they did not face Ole Miss or Auburn. I wish him well...
Not much to say today... Notre Dame got its coach and Tiger is going on a sabbatical. Both are well needed and hopefully both will get out it what it wants. Kelly did leave his players hanging and I feel bad for them. You have this huge opportunity to play Florida to legitimize your season and you bail on your players. Money talks!!!! Bullshit walks!!! I am rooting for Cincinnati because if the impressively beat Florida, we may get a split champion. Kelly says he is a hands on coach and will address the defense. The Notre Dame schedule next year is quite favorable if some of the teams lose undergraduate key players. 9 home games is a huge plus. However, Notre Dame is basically starting over themselves. A brand new quarterback is the first challenge and creating an identity is the second. I wish him well. Charlie Weis I wish you well too. Dont be so cocky in your next hire and people will allow you to fail. Tiger get your wife back and raise your children with pride and integrity. If you cant be together, then be like Jeter and keep your affairs in order and out of the papers. I wish you well too..

today december 10th, 2009

2009-12-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today, December 10, 2009 Barry Lamar Bonds retired from baseball. Most of you probably thought he already did. He is the poster boy for the "steroid era" in baseball and also the first athlete that I can honestly say has been "blackballed" by his sport. Do I think Bonds took steroids, honestly yes. Do I think he knowingly knew that he was taking steroids, maybe. Maybe he was doing something that at the time was not considered a steroid. Mark Mcgwire took a substance that was sold over the counter and at the time was not a banned substance from his sport. Maybe Bonds was doing Creatine or Thermadrene. I took those and got my weight up to 315 but I looked 250. I am sad that he retired today for a bunch of reasons. We will get to those in a minute. So no parade, no motorcade, no ceremony by his final team, no plaque with his name on it or tip of the cap to and adoring crowd. Bonds last days as a Giant they did that for him. Two years ago!!! He still in his last season hit more home runs than any Giant did last season. It is a disgrace that he has been kicked to the curb by major league baseball.
Lets talk steroids briefly. I like everyone else don't have a clue what the effect of taking steroids has on a baseball player. People keep saying that it makes you hit the ball farther and obviously it makes you stronger. Then why did other players not have the success that Bonds and A-rod had with the drug. Hitting a baseball is not as easy as the media and sporting press has made it out to be. Plus the crazy thing about Bonds is that his batting average improved during the alleged times that he was doing steroids. I don't want to argue semantics but that should not have happened. He walked like a thousand plus times and did not hit a ton of doubles or triples. In most games he got one at bat and if he got a hit that was it. It is a shame that we will only remember him for the last 10 years of his career instead of the great player that he was. 23 years encompasses a long time in sports. So many highlights are all wasted because no one trusts his accomplishments of the last 10 years.
Greg Anderson must have done something terrible in a previous life or he must have done something to Barry Bonds. This man has been in jail for over 3 years in total protecting information that he has about Bonds and steroids. People say that this is the ultimate loyalty. I wonder if Bonds is paying his bills at home or his lawyers fees. My theory is that Anderson gave Bonds steroids and Bonds did not have a clue what he was taking. I think Bonds found out and it was too late to stop and he just kept doing them until the cycle finished. The rationale behind my crazy theory is why the hell would anyone go to jail to protect a multi-million dollar athlete? The most time Bonds would get in jail would not even a year and he would pay a fine and be done with this. Lets say Bonds would get 5 years for taking steroids he probably would get out in 2 and he would still be rich. Greg Anderson has lost 3 years of his life protecting his name!!! Protecting Bonds has destroyed Greg Anderson. Greg Anderson may have destroyed Barry Bonds. Spending Christmas in jail for a crime that you have not committed really sucks. Bond to my knowledge is not mobbed up so I don't understand the sacrifice being made by Anderson.
So a great ball player career ended today!!! He should have been put on a pedestal and appreciated. Barry was his own worst enemy. He would not let the press control him and now it seems like the new mission is to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. McGwire is about to become a hitting instructor for the Cardinals next season.. Sosa has bleached his skin. A great era of baseball has been tossed aside because of these men. None of these men won championships so why do we care. Don't they say that" if you ain't cheating' you ain't trying'?" The final stat line for Bonds:2935 hits 1996 runs batted in 514 stolen bases
762 home runs 2558 walks 2227 runs scored
What a career that will be forgotten!!!!

What is Image?

2009-12-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

Remember over 20 years ago, Charles Barkley did a commercial telling the world that he is not a role model.. He doesn't want to raise your kids and basically the fact that he can bounce a basketball and dunk it doesn't make him a role model. His "image" at first was ridiculed because most people thought that he was just running his mouth. Then more came out that he was saying that parents should be a role model more than athletes. A few years later Andre Agassi came out with the image is everything commercial commercials. The commercials were cool, but the media and other players came out saying that "winning is everything" mocking Agassi's inability to win the big tournaments. Most rap music of the 80's and early 90's talked about looking "fly"or stylish with hair cuts and hair styles. How one dressed determined if they were cool or "down". Black men would go out and by the African neck chains to show people that they were representing the mother land. What is Image? Do your clothing, language, attitude, wealth, success or failure make up an image? Is image created by the person? Is image created by the society one lives in? Lets dissect this a bit.
Andre Agassi is the perfect example of this question, especially now knowing what we know about him. He was always criticized for being more concerned about looking good than winning matches. He wore cutoff shorts and had long hair. The public loved him for his looks, flair and his"hair". He was a renegade because he refused to go to Wimbledon and wear the white shirt and shorts. Then of course the greatest irony is that winning Wimbledon is what legitimized his career shot holes through that image crap. He played to win. He just did not do it much as a young player when the American Tennis Federation wanted an American player to be like Connors or McEnroe. Now we learn that he had fake hair, hated tennis and a meth head. Can you imagine what the reaction would have been if his hair piece had fallen off his head? When he won the U.S. Open and Barbara Streisand was mentoring him and he cried and carried on like he did America cried too. Can you imagine if at that time we would have found out he was kicking his meth habit at the time? What would we have done? No one knew that the drug was prevalent then as it is today. He would have been destroyed you think. Listening to the excerpts from his book though he would have been relieved so he would not have to play tennis again. The image of Agassi was that he was tapping as much ass as he could get and did not care if he won matches or not. He was flashy and excitable and we loved it all. The reality was he was as miserable as a teething baby. We created his image so that now that he has confessed so much to us, that we look stupid for rooting for a guy who could careless about what we feel. When you win, it is not enough. Pete Sampras would win matches answer questions with as many one word answers he could think of and go running or just go home. Barry Sanders would just give the ball to the referee and he was deemed as "aloof" or indifferent because he did not celebrate like Emmit Smith or others. Agassi was our puppet. I wonder if he acted bratty or at the time when he was reeling if he said that he hated tennis would the public love him as they do now. I wonder if he never won a major if people would revere him like I do.
I keep hearing that Tiger's image is destroyed and he needs to go on Oprah or 60 minutes and explain his sins to save his image. Again what is Tigers image? I think that most people thought he was a "square" and that he was a robot. All he cared about was winning golf. "Second Sucks" is a quote that is attributed to him. I remember when he first came on the scene other golfers hated him because they did not want to answer questions about him. They did not at the time understand what kind of force he was about to be. When he won the Masters in record fashion, everyone stopped talking and started climbing on the Tiger express. When he "stuffed" that tee shot in a playoff to get his first win, everyone went crazy. Unlike Agassi Tiger won early and often and all of the players at the time got angry and not motivated to beat him. Hell David Duval fell apart. Justin and Phil took a bunch of years before they got their majors. How do we explain Tigers image? He did not have one in my opinion. I have seen every major athlete of the past 25 years at night club or bar and I have never seen Tiger. (any Golfer for that matter). I have been a bouncer for 14 years of my life and I find that hard to believe that I have not seen Tiger. I seen Jordan, Carl Lewis, Lance Armstrong, Tyson, Micheal Irvin, Magic, Kobe, De La Hoya, Danica, Serena, Roy Jones, Elway, McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Jeter, no Tiger. I even worked on a Tom Cruise movie. Danced with Sandra Bullock. Body guarded Hef's table for a bunch of nights.. No Tiger. His situation is so unique and amazing at the same time. He is 33 years old and basically still the best player in the world. He is chasing history. This coming season, he needs 4 wins to pass Nicklaus for second o the all time wins list. He still needs 4 majors to pass Jack for all time for that. He is only 13 or 14 behind Sam Snead for all time wins. In other words, how many companies are going to abandon him and how many companies are still going to try and sign him? This will die down and if he wins the Masters and Elin is standing there holding their children and he gets hug, the world press will make it the world's moment and everything will be okay.. So once again I ask what is Tigers Image? Time will tell if he has one. Right now his image is that he is a horny bastard. If Elin leaves him she would get half his worth right? 500 million dollars... He would make that back in what 2 years? 3 years after he breaks all of the records. The difference between Agassi and Tiger to me is that I never knew Tiger. We only what he allows to see and hear about him. Agassi has been in my face for 25 years and I can chronicle his life and understand his rise and fall now. I was duped by him before and I did not care because he made me watch tennis. Tiger makes me watch golf because I he teaches me not to give up. I still don't know what image is.. O.J. Simpson had a great "image" too...

isn't it about time?

2009-12-08T18:57:00.001-08:00

Isn't about time that the Heisman Trophy be called the Most Outstanding Offensive Player Award? Charles Woodson is the only Heisman Trophy winner that primarily played defense. He was spectacular on special teams and came into games and made catches and scored touchdowns. If defense wins championships, why can't the win the Heisman too? Did you see the Texas and Nebraska tilt on Saturday? Ndamukong Suh put a performance that would make Mean Joe Greene proud. He is the best college lineman I have seen since Steve Emtmann from the University of Washington. 4 and 1/2 sacks in a championship game with the world watching is L.T. like. The Rams and Bucs are currently in the sweepstakes for his services next year. He is the best player in the country by far. This is the first time that I can remember that the actual number 1 pick in the draft is the best player in college. He plays the run, the pass, defends screen passes. He can run sideline to sideline to make plays. He basically beat the crap out of the guy who is going to win the award on Saturday. Jimmy Clausen had a better season than Colt MCcoy. Case Keenum did too. Ndamukong is getting a lot of national support though. The reason that defenders won't win the award is touchdowns. I am certain that any college football fan can remember a defensive player that is as good as the winner of the award without hesitation. Emtmann was that guy for me. He never played many games in the NFL but he is the highest rated prospect in the history of the draft. Derrick Brooks was awesome also. Hugh Greene back in the day came in second and he was worthy of the award. Brian Bosworth was as well. Levar Arrington and Roy Williams made plays every week. I know i take this stuff too seriously but these men put their uniform on the same way as a quarterback does. a receiver and a running back. Can you believe that there are only two receivers that has won the Heisman Trophy. Desmond Howard and Tim Brown. How crazy is that? If Peter Warrick had not gotten in trouble stealing he would have won the award. Crazy award that means so much in college but not a damn thing in the pros.
Isn't it about time that the NBA admit that the league is superstar driven and they do give the stars calls and that their is some legitimacy to the claims of Tim Donaghy!!! I remember wondering why everyone kept saying that Dr. J. used to walk with the ball and never get called for it. Or why the Celtics always seemed to get calls in the fourth quarter of games when they were losing. Or why the Lakers never played back to back games when they won titles in 2000-2003 in the playoffs like everyone else.!!!Why Jordan, Magic, Isaiah, Bird, Kareem, Akeem, never fouled out but Ewing did? I will watch the games no matter what but at least tell me that if Lebron or Duncan take an extra step we are not going to call it okay... or that if Wade and Kobe are about to shoot the game winning shot, if my defender sneezes on them that a foul will be called. (except in the finals against Duncan's team).
Isn't about time that BCS disband and stop this insanity. For the TCU and Boise State's of the world, this system sucks and to show them how bad it sucks they put them against each other to create more controversy. They could have matched either of these teams against Florida or Georgia Tech or Cincinnati. Making them play each other did nothing to change what people think about the little guy in college football. What a slap in the face. They played last year in an epic 17-16 classic. If Texas had lost, Iowa would have been watching the BCS games instead of playing one. Isn't it funny that everyone criticized the Big Ten and they have two teams playing in the big money games!!!
Isn't it about time that we recognize that College Basketball is more about the coaches than the schools and the players!!! Rick Pitino, Coach K., Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, Jim Calhoun and Boeheim, Geno and Pat are all institutions. They make more money than God. They get the schools the sneaker contracts and the television contracts. I know that kids are only there for a short period of time but I have never seen Coach Calipari make a three point shot to beat Kansas. Television is only interested in what the coaches do. Who cares about who wins. When Wisconsin beat Duke last week ESPN showed the coaches shaking hands amidst all of the chaos on the court. When Geno and Pat get together they spend more time showing the coaches then the action on the floor. C. Vivian, Tara, Gail, only get recognized if the are playing Pat and Geno. I think it is funny!! I usually could name the best players in the games in both men and women games.
Don't get me going about Pete Rose!!! another day for that isn't it about time!!!

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good...

2009-12-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

I don't care what anyone says about skill, talent, or ability. I would rather be lucky than good. I am sure that we have all had one of those day when everything you do or touch just seems to go your way and I am sure that you have the opposite as well. After watching what I saw this weekend, I am convinced that being lucky is better than being good because you never know when luck is going to strike. For example, the Miami Heat played their best game on the road Friday night, only to have Kobe Bryant bank a three-point shot in and defeat them. After the game Kobe said that he knew the shot was long and when it went in all he could do is lift his arms above his head in triumph.
How about college football on Saturday. The University of Pittsburgh played their hearts out only to have a kicker miss an extra point that proved to be the margin of victory for Cincinnati. He must be the sickest man on earth. That kick is practiced a thousand times a season and for some reason it is missed more frequently than one might imagine. Then the University of Texas gets the luckiest break of the weekend. Their Heisman winning Quarterback Colt MCcoy throws a ball that was in the air forever out of bounds and the clock expired. The referees ruled that there was 1 second on the clock and allowed Texas an opportunity to kick a 46 yard field goal to win the game. The messed up thing about that play is that I was always taught that when the clock hits double zero, the game is over. Notre Dame and Michigan earlier this season had a similar play where the game clock should have given the Irish 1 second and allowed them to have one more play. The referee did not review the clock and ran off the field and Michigan won. Did Texas receive some"home cooking" with the call? Probably because I feel that when the clock goes "00" the game is over. I remember the Superbowl between the Patriots and the Rams and after Vinitieri made the kick, there was still 2 seconds on the clock. The Patriots ran on the field and celebrated, the confetti came down and the refs did not even try to stop the celebration.
Then of course the NFL game of the day. The New Orleans Saints got three unbelievable breaks yesterday. The kicker of the Redskins missed a 23 yard field goal that would have "iced" the game for the 'Skins. The receiver Meachem stole the ball from a defender who had intercepted a pass from Brees and returned it for a touchdown. In overtime, the Saints recovered a fumble even though the ruling on the field was down by contact. The replay booth over ruled the call and the Saints marched on to keep their unblemished record. Some may say that the Giants got lucky yesterday too. Tony Romo throws for 392 yards and basically carved the Giants up like the turkeys they are and lost the game because of a punt return and allowing a 265lb. running back to scamper down the sideline for a 70 plus yard touchdown on a short pass. As a Giant fan, I will take it as luck and look forward to he Eagles this weekend. Now the Cowboys have to answer the questions about always losing in December. Ya gotta love it!!!
The sad story of "bad" luck this weekend goes to Greg Oden of the Portland Trailblazers. This guy has been injured in all of his seasons in the NBA and now he is out for the season. He just jumped up in the air and landed and his knee is gone.. Portland must feel cursed. This the third high profile center that have drafted and their careers plagued by injuries. Bill Walton, Sam Bowie, Arvydis Sabonis could not stay healthy enough to sustain legendary careers while in Blazer uniforms. Walton, won three rings despite foot problems. He is in the Hall of fame. Sabonis is arguably the greatest international player that we never got to see. In his prime he was compared to Bird for his crafty ability with ball and shooting touch. When he came to the NBA he was still very good but injured too often with back and other issues. Bowie is a sad story because he was drafted ahead of Micheal Jordan and never did anything for the Blazers. A cup of coffee with the Nets is his only positive claim to fame in the NBA. Greg Oden from all accounts is a really good kid. I am sad for him and his family. He is only 22 so he has time but "unlucky" accidents happen all the time..

who determines what cities teams go to?

2009-12-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

I often wonder a lot of foolish things when it comes to sports. Today's random thought is who chooses what cities to have pro sport teams in? I know that the owners and the commissioner's of each of the major sports look at expanding their leagues and usually have to vote on cities that get added to their sport. I am just wondering what is the criteria and who picked some of the cities that have teams now? Let me give you some examples.
The New Jersey Nets may be the worse drawing team in the NBA this year and maybe in history. Ever since they got rid of Jason Kidd they have not been the same team. In fact when they had Jason Kidd they did not draw fans and two of those teams went to the NBA finals. Now they have two things against them. Actually three. The Knicks across the river draw fans no matter how good they are. There are New Yorkers everywhere and we will pay top dollar to see the Knicks even if they are playing the Clippers. The Giants and the Jets hurt the Nets because since there is no football team in metropolitan N.Y. fans from New York will commute to Jersey to watch their teams play. No fan from New York is going to commute to see the Nets play especially if they have Giant or Jet tickets. Those tickets already cost too much and adding a basketball game would be foolish especially for the product being shown this year. Lastly, New Jersey is a Devils town. They have championship banners to give them legitimacy. The Nets haven't won sine they had Dr. J. Now I hear they are moving to Brooklyn in the next three years. Jay-z has his hands full now with this mess. They are not going to get Lebron so this franchise is doomed. For all that New Jersey has to offer, I wonder why it is not a destination that free agents want to go. They have Atlantic City, great colleges and Universities, and great places for amusement parks. They have the best view of New York and great little affluent towns where a lot of celebs live. Basketball is King in in all places Connecticut. They should put a pro team there. The Hartford Civic Center could be the place for the games to be played.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are not drawing crowds either. Each week I keep hearing that their games are being "blacked out" and that is a disaster for the NFL. They have a couple of great players and have been a pretty consistent contending team over the past decade. Who chose that city? What is the big sport there? They have a University there but they have nothing else. Jai Alai? A friend of mine was an assistant coach of the soccer team. I am sure they could have gone to Orlando if they were smart. DisneyWorld is there. Tim Tebow is from Jacksonville so the rumor now is that the owner of the team wants to draft him next year. What a coup? The people of Jacksonville have not supported the team as well as they should have. The funny thing is that the N.F.L needs a team in Los Angeles and settles for city like Jacksonville. There is a team in Sacramento. They just decided to disband their womens pro team. Seattle just lost its N.B.A. team. There are great college cities in the country that would love to have an N.F.L. team. Lincoln, Nebraska, Norman, Oklahoma off the top of my head. The fact that San Diego is not drawing this year is sad too. The have a great product. Maybe the players rub the people there the wrong way. Prices may be too high for tickets but the average N.F.L fan would pay no matter the price if the really want to see a game. The Lions went 0-16 last year and still drew crowds.
What we don't want to happen is already happening in sports. Teams are dumping salaries to clear space for once in a lifetime players. The Knicks, Nets, think they are going to attract Lebron James. In baseball, the owner of the Red Sox made a great point yesterday that highest taxed teams are giving way too much money other teams. For example, the Yankees and Red Sox pay this luxury tax and the money is getting divided up amongst the teams that don't spend money and those owners are just pocketing the money and not spending the money on players. They Royals had a payroll a couple of years ago that was less than A-rod and Jeter's salary combined. The Florida Marlins payroll in 2007 was less than A-rod's salary that year. We don't want a system where teams just let their best players go to the richest teams and instead of the owners getting players, they are pocketing the money.. That would destroy all sports. I find the N.F.L.'s system most interesting because the trade deadline just is another day not like it is in baseball. Free agency usually gets figured out in the off season in football and the players don't always work out. Washing Redskins spend money like it is on fire and they haven't won a thing in 18 years. They signed Deion, Bruce Smith, Jason Taylor, and have no rings to show for it. This off season in the N.F. L will not have a salary cap. The best draft in the N.B.A. in the past 15 years all have contracts ending this year. What is going to happen.. Wade, Bosh, Anthony, James, Stoudamire all free agents. This baseball off season is going to be quiet just because everyone knows that the Yankees will let you know when the market is open. With Roy Halliday already proclaiming that New York is where he wants to go, why have a season. Matt Holliday could be a Yankee too.
In short, I think that teams should be in place where they have an infrastructure of great fans who will support their teams through thick and then. If teams are going to start dumping salaries just to get unrealistic players no league will survive. I saw today that Hofstra dropped its football team after being in business since 1937. Where is Wayne Chrebet when you need him...

Buttercup...

2009-12-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

"Why do you build me up, Buttercup baby just to let me down..." Many people are asking themselves that question today. The world first billionaire athlete has been a bad boy and I am shocked and outraged that people are surprised. I think that most people thought that Mr. Woods was a "square, a dork, a geek," and did not have it in him to be a playa.. Wrong!!! He has a model wife, a great self made career, two children, beautiful homes, in short he has it all. The question isnt why, either. The question is when.. If he did his cheating while his wife was pregnant most people in the world will lose a little respect for him. Some will say cheating is cheating no matter when, how or what a person does it. He is not the first and won't be the last. Is his action unforgivable? That is up to his wife. He has done enough for me. He has apologized and I agree with everything that he said. So my rant today addresses a broader topic.
What has happened to us as a culture that we have absolutely little to no faith in anyone. Whether it is a politician, police officer, iconic actor, actress, athlete, priest, doctor, lawyer, mother, father, WE AS A PEOPLE DO NOT TRUST ANYONE. WE BELIEVE EVERY STORY TO BE TRUE NO MATTER HOW SALACIOUS, CRAZY, UNFATHOMABLE, OR RIDICULOUS. We get mad at the media because we think that they exploit our intelligence or the exploit the people being accused. The reality is we need them to keep pointing out to us that no one is perfect. I blogged a while ago about how in the 40's, 50's, 60's the media seemed to have a code of honor and silence. We have all heard of stories of President Kennedy and Marylin Monroe. We have heard of stories of Muhammad Ali and his many mistresses. We have heard of stories of J.Edgar Hoover, and the Yankees and athletes of that era. Hell Wilt Chamberlain said he slept with over 20,000 women. I am willing to bet you today that there are bouncers and security guards around the country that know things about people that may stun you. The media isn't the one committing the bad act, they just get the story in a crazy manner and that incites people even more. The part that scares me is that I am scared to watch the news. I am waiting for bad news more than I am waiting for good news. To me that is wrong. I don't want to live in a world where I can't tell my daughter not to have heroes. Sure every parent wants their child to look to them and say that they are their hero. But the reality is that most kids look to leaders outside of the home for their inspirations. In the last 10 years I have heard that Dr. J had a child out of wedlock and was a pro tennis player. Micheal Jordan divorced, Janet Jones Gretzky was apart of a gambling operation, Roger Clemens wife was allegedly taking HGH to look good in a photo shoot, Marion Jones took steroids, there are people who sole job is to fix soccer games in Europe and the world, just to name a few. Marv Albert is a biter. Shawn Kemp and Jason Caffey had 10 kids out of wedlock different women. Evander Holyfield has a bunch too. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his mom fighting over his father's legacy.
Do we hold people in to high of esteem? I think those days are long over. I worked a party out here for NBC's 75th anniversary and there was a crowd of people across the street screaming at the stars going in to the party. I couldn't believe it. I asked one of the members of the crowd why he was saying what he was saying, and went on about some anti-Semitic stuff and I had to walk away because I was disgusted. As I walked away, he asked me why do I like them so much. I told him that they give me something to aspire to and they give me a relief when I have somethings that are bugging me. I said to him that there is nothing wrong with being a fan. I said that he does not have to be a fan, but being a racist made him look stupid. Then the cops shooed him and the crowd away. The point is I don't want my daughter to grow up in a world where she is told not to have heroes. If Tiger wins the first three tournaments out the block next year, this story will go away. In fact i think this story will be out of sight unless more women come out with proof or he goes on Oprah, or if Elin files for divorce. I guess we all sit and wait and see who is next. Derek Jeter has been dating starlets his entire Yankee career. I have never heard a bad word said by any of the ladies after he moves on. He is never in the tabloids. Then again neither was O.J......