Trick Or Treat

With it being Halloween I thought I would pose some trick or treat comparisons to the sports world. I will be talking about the surprise athletes in sports, treats, and the disappointing athletes in sports, tricks.

So let's start with the treats right now in sports. First being Darren Sharper of the New Orleans Saints. Guy was left for dead and now will probably win the NFC Defensive player of the year award. Next would be Kevin Garnett, who looks like he might finally be healed from his knee surgery over the summer. Finally would be Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies, who was cast off by the Cleveland Indians in July and has looked like Cy Young ever since.

Now for the tricks, and boy there are many. First off would be Shaquille O'Neil of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Has anyone ever needed to retire more than him? Next up would be Jake Delhome. Wow, did he become color-blind, because he seems to mix up what players are on his team and who are on the opositions. This is evident by the thirteen interseptions he has thrown so far this season. Finally would be Nick Swisher, who thought the season ended in September because his 3-for-23 can only mean that he thinks he is on winter vacation already.

So there you have it. Now write back with your picks for tricks or treats and we should have a nice discussion.

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Alright, I Give Up

So I'm finally giving in after all of these years as a baseball purist. I was pissed when the wild card was added. I hate the DH rule. And I can't stand these small ass stadiums that are made just for the homerun to excite the casual fan. But now something I never thought I would want to happen needs to happen. Major League Baseball needs to have instant replay for any call or play during a game!

Now I don't consider myself to be Bob Costas-esk when it comes to being a purist. The wild card has grown on me. Even the replay system as it is didn't bother me until the playoffs, but now it is time for a change. With the unbelievably bad umpiring during these playoffs, MLB needs to realize that they are old and they are in third place behind the NFL and NBA and those leagues have adapted and continue to do so in many areas, including instant replay.

I mean, come on. The umps in MLB are the biggest , out off shape officials in professional sports and we expect them to be able to run down the line to see if a ball hit the line? Also you have replay for everything in the NFL and a majority of things in the NBA and neither sport has a ball flying around at over 90 mph!

So let's just have MLB and the umpire's union just chill out and stop pumping their chests out and realize that it's ok to ask for help. Or they cold continue to look crappy with their calls. What do you think they should do?

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Don't Say The Word "Hate", Unless....

So I have a six year old girl and I'm trying to instill her withthe foundation of being a good person. You know, "love everyone" and "don't lie". Well the other day I found myself in a perplexing position of teaching my daughter that it is ok not to like someone or something. And that person was Kobe Bryant and the team was the Los Angeles Lakers.

I know, I know. I'm going to hell for this one. Someone call CPS on me. But I feel that there are important facts in life that I need to share with my daughter as she is growing up. I DO need to let her know that we hate the Lakers. I DO need to let her know that the Raiders suck. It IS my responsibility to let her know that Manny is a bum because he used to be a Red Sox.

Don't think I'm the only parent who does this. I was at a friends house the other day and we were watching a football game with the kids. My daughter told her friend that she liked the Eagles and asked her what team did she like. Her friend replied I like every team, except the University of Utah. She's five and her Dad is a BYU fan. I couldn't have been prouder of her Dad and his parenting methods at that moment. It made we want to be as good of a father as he is.

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Broncos...Best Team In Football?

Don't call the men with straight jackets just yet. I'm not ready to go to the funny farm this week. But I will say that I am drinking the kool-aid when it comes to the Denver Broncos and after six weeks into the NFL season I ask you to find me a more complete team then them. Not as easy as you would have thought. Well, pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass and I will elaborate more on why I think the Broncos are the best team in the NFL.

First off they can run the ball like nobody's business. They have a hard nosed veteran running back in Corell Buckhalter togo along with the quick-hitting rookie out of Georgia, Knowshon Moreno. Their offensive line is just sick and everyone is still trying to copy how the Broncos run block so effectively.

Next, their recieving core is out of this world. They have a stud in Brandon Marshall, a great possesion-all world special teamer(just ask the Chargers) in Eddie Royal, a crafty, always in the right place at the right time (just askthe Bengals) receiver in Brandon Stokley and two pass-catching stud tightends in Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham.

Sure they don't have Jay Cutler anymore, but do you think Denver really misses him? They have Kyle Orton, who was part of the Cutler trade, starting at quarterback and they are quite pleased with him. As a matter of fact you would have been laughed out of the Rocky Mountains last spring if after the trade you would have said that six weeks into the season the Broncos would be happier with Orton as their quarterback than they would have been with Cutler still under center.

As for the other side of the ball, the Broncos lead the NFL in scoring defense and have a mind-boggling stat that through six games they have only allowed ten second half points. If you don't have a lead at halftime against them forget about it. Lights out, the party's over. And with Eddie Royal returning punts and kicks as he does, while Matt Prater keeps kicking them from long distance, the special teams looks to be in good hands.

Finally it comes down to coaching and call me crazy, but Josh McDaniels seems like he just has "it". I know it's easy to say at 6-0, but even in some of the tight games they have, he just seems to make the right moves. Well, I know nobody expected Denver to be where they are at now, but soon the league will take notice and I along with Bronco fans won't Bethesda onlyone's saying they are the best team in football. The rest of the NFL will have to admit it also!

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Oh No She Didn't!

Alright, I'm sure I'm going to get a whole lot of crap from my women readers on this one, but it is something that has been bugging me for a long time. Alright, I'm just going to say it...Women sports announcers should not exist! I'm not talking about sideline reporters or the sportscasters on ESPN. I'm talking about the play by play or color commentators. I'll give you my reasons why I think this and they are not as sexist as you would think and if you really want to wipe away the pc bs, you'll probably agree with what I have to say.

I'm going to clear the air up front and say that there are a lot of crappy male sports announcers too, like the ones that say,"we're going to the third quarter" for a hockey game or the ones that say "we are going to the fourth period" of a basketball game. In this sense being stupid is not limited to one sex or the other. It just seems to happen more when females are announcing games. As a matter of fact there is only one famous play by play female announcer, ESPN's Pam Ward (who?) and she is one step short or nails on a chalk board when she is calling a game.

While we are at it, don't you think that it is condisending to women to have them as sideline reporters? I mean every sideline reporter has model level beauty (has there ever been a bigger internet search for pictures online then when the public heard there were naked pictures of Erin Andrews in her hotel room?) To me it is kind of a slap in the face of women telling them that thy can't work in the booth but they can work in the locker room or the sidelines. Sure, you might be pissed off at me for my view on their announcing abbilities, but why not take out your frustrations on greedy network executives that feel that sex sells but on only the field and not in the press box. Hey, I'm just saying, they are the sexist pigs you want to be upset at, not me. I'm just a fan wanting to hear the game like it should be heard, by people that know what they are talking about.

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Don't Get Raidered!

Well with about a third of the season just about done, we take a look back at what has happened so far. We will take a peak at the good, the bad and the Raiders, because let's face it, nobody does ugly like the Raiders do!

Let start off with the good and no better place to start off then in Denver. Did you see the Broncos starting off 5-0 and I'm not talking when you play as them in Madden. What about Bengals being a tipped, craziest play I've ever seen, ball away from 5-0? Remember that ex-Texas Longhorn running back that got arrested for drinking and driving while on his boat? I can hear Cedric Bensen now, "How ya like them apples Chicago?"

Now the bad! You know things have gone so wrong when your fans are chanting for Vince Young to be your starting quarterback. Things are going so bad that Titans fans need another off field murder-suicide to take their minds of the homicides that happen when the Titans take the field on Sundays because they are getting killed out there! The help lines are open in Washington and Tampa as well as they look as good as Obama at a Nobel Peace Award Ceremony.

Finally that leaves us with Raiders. Not just the team but the new adjective that is their name. You've got the Emperor, with his member only jump suit on while sadleback leather skinned senior groupies are at his side shaking their junk while he is making the football decisions like it's still the 60's. They've got a quarterback that can throw the ball seventy yards while on one knee but he can't throw the ball five yards while he is up on both feet. You've got coachs breaking other coach's jaws and the Raiders are the only team that probably wishes there was a camera on their crowd instead of on them because there is more action in the stands then there is on the field. So next time someone at work messes up tell them they just got Raidered. It's the new Munsoned.

There have been some good things that have happened so far this season. There have been some bad things that have happened so far this season. And yes, there have been some Raider things that have happened so far this season. So here's to the next third of the season, let's hope nobody else gets Raidered!

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Enough Already!

I'm so tired of it. We live with it and have to deal with it on a daily basis. Can't we just stop worrying about this crap and just move on? When will enough be enough? When will one or two people stop trying to influence millions and let the people start to think for themselves? I'm talking about race relations and more directly their relationship in sports.

Race was once again brought to the forefront this week when Rush Limbaugh officially threw his name in the hat to be a co-owner of the St. Louis Rams. No, Rush didn't put his foot in his mouth again, ala 2003 when he made cooments about Philadelphia Eagle's quarterback Donovan Mcnabb. But you would have thought he had with the media exposure he is getting. Back in 2003 Limbaugh was at his new job at ESPN on the Monday Night crew. He stated, he thought that Mcnabb was overrated as a quarterback and he only got labled as a good quarterback because he was black.

No, this time Limbaugh was quiet about his attempts to buy the Rams. The two people that are bringing up the past issue are Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. They both are against the sale to Limbaugh with Jackson stating that it is a privelage to own a team. Hmmm, doesn't sound like they are
into giving people second chances or are they? Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that these guys were backing Michael Vick? Oops, did I let that secret out of the bag? Aren't these the two guys that you could get 1-5 odds will ALWAYS be at the center of anything race related! I mean if you were sitting around tonight and you saw the news teaser about a race situation in sports and that there were going to be two people that commented on the story earlier, wouldn't you bet your kids school fund that it would be Sharpton and Jackson?

How about we stop worrying about how people were in the past and start focussing on how they are today! People change and everyone deserves a second chance. Everyone except Sharpton and Jackson. We are tired of who you were, who you are and who you will be tommorow. It will be the same damn thing we have been hearing and we are ready to move on. You hear that, America is ready for a change and since you are not part of the solution, realize what you really are apart of!

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Revenge Is A Dish....

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was about six years old and I wasn't really sure what it meant, but it sounded good. "Revenge is a dish, best served cold", were the words that Khan uttered to Kirk in Star Trek II. I thought to myself, revenge isn't a meal that I've ever heard of and I like my food to be hot. Well, over twenty-five years later (yea, it makes me cry too), I still like my food hot but I understand about revenge being ruthless, heartless and pretty much frigid. And starting on Friday, I'm wanting my revenge on the Los Angeles, Anaheim, California, Disney Angels of who gives a crap!

I want revenge so bad I can taste it! Revenge for knocking us out of the playoffs in 2002 and 2005. Revenge for being the only team to have a winning record against us while Joe Torre was the manager. Revenge for allowing grown men to wear a frickin red monkey around their necks and think that they look cool. Revenge for thinking you were ever as good as us, The New York Yankees. I want revenge for not letting us play steroid-boy, Barry Bonds, in 2002 in the World Series. I want revenge for knocking us out in 2005 when we would have killed either Chicago or St. Louis in the playoffs. I want revenge for all of those times I had to look up on the scoreboard and see a dumb ass monkey jumping up and down in order to get the crowd excited.

I want revenge for having to hear from all of my friends about who has a World Series title more recently, Anaheim or New York? I want revenge for Giants fans, who have had to wait much longer than Angel fans for a World Series title. I want revenge for Twins fans who had a chance to go to the World Series after almost being retracted a few years prior, man that would have pissed Bud Selig off. I want revenge because the Angels might have been the team to prevent the Yankees from getting one more World Series title at the "House that Ruth Built." I want revenge, because George isn't doing well and he needs one more title before he goes to the luxury box in the sky.

As you can tell, I have some deep-seeded passion, hate, admiration, irritation, anger, frustration, rage, hostility and utter-dislike for the Angels and the way they have played against my Yankees. I'm ready for the series to begin. I'm ready to see the Yanks come to Anaheim and kick Mickey in the butt. I'm ready to see the "Rally Monkeys" crawl off and die. I'm ready to see this Yankee team assert themselves as the dominate team once again in baseball. I'm ready for the ALCS!

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Yea, I Think I Have A Problem

Well at least I think I do. MLB playoffs started today and my favorite team, the Yankees were playing at 3:00 pm and I was on the couch ready to go, but I couldn't get something ot of my mind. It's like that bad song you can't get out of your head after someone has been singing it all day. Only, it wasn't a bad song, it was actually music to my ears. The Celtics were playing in their first pre-season game at 5:30 pm. What was I going to do? Which one would I watch?

The choice should be obvious, I know. Playoff game or pre-season game, playoff game or pre-season game, playoff ga... You get the point and hopefully my dilema. So I'm watching the Yanks play and my thought process goes like this,"ok, the Twins just won am emotional one game playoff to get the chance to play in the post-season and the game had gone twelve innings.... Maybe I'll just luck out and the Yanks will get up big early and I won't have to worry about my horrifying decision that I may have to make." Be strong Chris!

4:00 comes along and the Yanks are losing 2-0 Great, now not only do I have this huge decision to make, but my team is going to lose to a team that it beat seven out of seven times this year. Time to drink the nyquil and play in traffic. 4:30, alright, were getting better, Derek Jeter has hit a two-run homer and Nick Swisher added an RBI double a few innings later and we are up 3-2. Quick side note, has Jeter ever had a bad post-season? He just seems to always get the big hits unlike some people who will remain, cough Arod, nameless. Side note two, I feel strange for wanting to reach through the screen to hug Jeter after his homer. Not that strange though...anyway, moving on.

5:00, Celtics pre-game show is starting. Am I actually watching a pre-game show of a pre-season game over a one-run playoff game? You're damn right I am! Come on Yanks, break it open, end my anguish! 5:30, yes, wheels falling off the feelgood story that is the Twins, Yanks go up 6-2 and just in time for the Celts game.

Of course I switch over on commercials to make sure the Yanks don't blow it. Thankfully they don't. Can't say that much for the Celts since they lose 96-90 to Houston. Am I really that upset over a pre-season game where the starters play like six minutes in the first and third quarters? Again, you're damn right I am! And that's why I have a problem.

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Let The Games Begin!

Here we are and October's real games have started. That is baseball playoffs at its finest. With the amazing 6-5, 12-inning victory by the Minnesota Twins over the Detroit Tigers, baseball's second season has finally begun. We are down to the final eight teams to determine who will be the World Champions of baseball and the playoffs officially begin tomorrow with six of the eight teams opening up their division round series. Now the question remains, who will be the last team standing?

Sure there are plenty of story lines out there. Wouldn't it be great to see Pedro return to Fenway and pitch against the Sox? What about revisiting what used to be the greatest rivalry in baseball, 28 years later since they last met in the fall classic, and have the New York Yankees take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the winner-takes-all-match? How about the first team to come back from three games down with four games to go, Twins, against the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, and the series nobody would watch? Sure all of those sound great, but let me break down what I think is going to happen.

To win in a short series of either five or seven games, you need to have a few things on your side. Anyone can win ninety games in the regular season, but winning eleven games over three series is that much tougher to do. First off, you need two stud starting pitchers. OK, so that just eliminated the Twins, Dodgers, Rockies and Angels. Sorry guys, but the jet is ready to take you off to the vacation destination of your choice. That leaves us with the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Cardinals.

Next you have to have an awesome closer that won't make you wet yourself or reach for the bottle every time he starts to warm up in the bullpen. Bye, Bye Phillies, thanks for playing. Next you have to have a good defensive team from a catcher that can throw out runners, to outfielders that can cover the gaps. Aww, bummer Red Sox, better luck next year. That leaves us with the Phillies and the Yankees as the two remaining teams, but there is one more thing that you have to look at when it comes to picking the winning team.

That would be the skipper on the bench. This is the guy that is the glue for the team. He is the one to yell at you for missing the steal sign in the third inning and he is the same guy to give you a hug when you go deep twice in a game. You need someone that has been there before as a manager and has been successful. You need someone who has won a World Series as a manager and not just a player. In this final item, you need to have Charlie Manuel and the Yankees don't have him on their bench, the Phillies do and they will be World Champions when it is all said and done. And you know it is killing me to say this being a Yankees fan!

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Monday Night Magic!

I'm not sure if I have ever been as excited for a Monday Night Football game as I was for tonight's game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Favre's, err I mean Vikings! And boy did it not disappoint!

You know how you look forward to a great movie that you been so excited to see since you first saw the trailer and then it sucks worse then Al Davis running the Raiders. Or how about a game seven that is about to take place and it turns into more of blowout than Regan-Carter in 1980? That is the fear I carried into Monday night's game on TV. Thankfully the game produced more than A-Rod does in October.

Brett Favre played in his final game as a thirty-something, he turns forty this week. But he was still able to throw for three touchdowns and lead the Vikings to a 30-23 victory over the Packers, Favre's former team. Aaron Rodgers, the Packer quarterback that replaced Favre, played well, throwing for a career high 384 yards in the loss.

I'm just the glad it wasn't a dud like Crystal Pepsi or the last thirty years as a Clippers fan. The game lived up to the hype and so did Favre. But living up to the hype hasn't been a problem for Favre, so we shouldn't be surprised!

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How Do They Do It?

So I'm sitting here on a Saturday night fighting a stomach flu. I can barely move around. Eating anything? Forget about it! Alright, I know I'm a big puss, but it got me thinking how can pro athletes play nightly with injuries and illnesses and heartburn has sidelined me.

So MJ was able to puke up a lung and beat the Jazz. Kirk Gibson couldn't even walk and he was able to beat the A's. Byron Leftwich had to be carried by his linemen in college between plays. And me, I'm writting this article from the crapper and I'm having a hard time concentrating. How do they do it?

I know they have private chefs, massage therapist and groupies to nurse them back to health and keep them fit and I have gingerale, a heating pad and skinamax to keep me going, but I still don't know how they do it.

With that in mind, the next time you are looking like the exorsist or feel like Linda Blair and you are laying on the couch moaning and groaning, remember somewhere someone is playing hurt or sick and you are just being a big puss. Like Ferris Bueller once said,"Be a man and take some Pepto Bismol and come on over!"

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Somebody Needs To Be Burped!

I love it when the new guy at the firm comes in at a higher salary than the guy who has been working there for ten years. Or how about the guy who gets promoted to the same position as you and gets paid more than you? Well, that's what happens in the NFL. There is no official rookie pay-scale as there is the NBA, but usually the way the system works is that when someone gets drafted at a certain spot in the draft, the team and player agree on what the slot was paid last year plus a little bump up. Well, someone forgot to pass the memo to Mr. Michael Crabtree.

Crabtree, by all accounts, was considered one of the top talents in last years drafts. Many expected him to go in the top five and potentially top three. Well, one injury and no-40-yard-dash-in-the-combine-later, he fell to the tenth slot and in the laps of the San Fransisco 49ers. Can you imagine what scene of bedlam was taking place in the 49ers draft room when he fell in their laps? I can see it now, grown men hugging, young girls dancing, prank phone calls to Al Davis congratulating him on passing on Crabtree and taking Darius Hayward Bay a few picks earlier. All was well in the front office, until the negotiating started to take place.

You see, Crabtree was drafted tenth, but he thinks he is better then those drafted ahead of him so he wants top five money. What he doesn't understand is that it doesn't quite work that way, but you try telling him that. He wants somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 million over four years. This just in, that would make him the highest paid wide-out in the NFL, for a guy that hasn't even taking a snap in the NFL coming off a knee injury. Of course the 49ers were not going to be pushed around and pay that type of money for the tenth pick. If he were the third pick they would pay him what the third pick should be paid. But, being the tenth pick they are going to pay him what the tenth pick should be paid. I'm curious, shouldn't Crabtree be grateful for the money he is about to be paid? I mean, with the guaranteed money he is going to get at the 10th pick he is set even if he were to break a leg on the first day of practice.

Well, November 17th is the date that we will see if someone is going to blink. That is the day the 49ers have to have him signed by or he will go back into the draft and this fiasco will start all over again, probably with another team though. And no, the 49ers can't just trade him right now, they have to sign him and then trade him on or after March 3rd. Well, I know if I were a player in the NFL, I'd be pissed. Here is someone just coming into the league and trying to get paid more than I am. Perhaps one day there will be a rookie salary structure. Maybe the players that actually have shed the blood, sweat and tears in the league will be the ones being paid what they deserve. If not, then the NFL should really stop calling themselves the National Football League and refer to themselves as what they truly represent, No F***ing Loyalty!

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You Have The Right To Remain Silent!

You knew it was coming. You knew that it was too good to be true. First the NFL said that you couldn't have excessive celebrations after touchdowns. Then there were the rules that the PGA put out that you couldn't ride around the course in a golf cart. And now this. On Wednesday, the NBA officially released it's social media guidelines regarding NBA players, personnel and coaches and their use of PDAs, cellphones and mobile sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Are you kidding me? What's next Mr. Stern? Are you going to have cameras in the bathrooms to make sure that nobody is tweeting while they are dropping the kids off?

Usually Stern is hip to the trends. Stern was the first commissioner to really embrace the international market and its potentially unlimitless revenue stream. Stern was great about getting games going four nights a week and getting the league's own TV channel, NBATV, up and running. But now, I'm starting to doubt the motives behind this latest ruling. Everyone knows the rule went into effect for two reasons. Last year during the regular season, then Milwaukee Buck, Charlie Villanueva tweeted at halftime during an NBA game. And the other incident occurred during the playoffs when Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban tweeted about a call he perceived to be incorrect during a game.

What I'm finally starting to realize about not only Stern but all the other schmucks that are running professional sports, is that they have really three main concerns about their respective sports and their place in it. First, they worry about their product and how it is going to make money. Secondly, they don't want anyone to talk poorly about their product or suggest that it is anything short of perfection. And finally, they don't want anyone to say anything negative about them as commissioner of their league.

This was really an opportunity to even bring the fans closer to the games. I mean its not like the NBA is stepping over the boundary with their ten minute interviews that they have with coaches between quarters, when the coaches should actually be doing their job. Who gives a crap that players are tweeting at halftime? Should they be listening? Of course they should, but let the team handle it. Someone is tweeting and not paying attention, bye bye phone. Sure, it sounds a little childish and something you would see happen during high school. Well so are these rules and Principal Stern will be there to enforce them. Shhh, don't tell him I said that. Time to go update my status!

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Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?

Another week of college football done another wave of serious injuries to potential NFL players. Tim Tebow was knocked out of the game against Kentucky with a concussion. USC's Stafon Johnson didn't even step onto the practice field and he was severely hurt, weight lifting accident. And we all know about Sam Bradford and the injury he sustained in Oklahoma's season opening loss to BYU. So now I find myself wondering why are these kids putting their careers at jeopardy by coming back to play for their junior or senior season?

You hear about injuries all the time to athletes in college that either have them drop in draft rankings, i.e. Frank Gore and (his knee) coming out of the University of Miami, or hinder their growth process which effects their draft status, i.e. Patty Mills coming out (after his knee injury) at St. Mary's. Both of these are examples of players getting injured in college and then rushing out because they are scared of getting another major injury. Both of these players were underclassmen.

Then you have someone like Tebow or Bradford who elect to come back for their senior seasons and they are paying the price for it. I wish I had the answer as to what the thought process was for these players and the decisions that they have to make. I can't imagine the dilemmas that must being running through their mind. Perhaps they make the choice to return for their senior season because they are from families that can afford to send them to school and don't have to rely on their children to get a big payday. Perhaps the other players that tend to rush, out or don't stay long enough, do so out of a financial obligations to their families?

It's a tough call. I understand why players would stay. You have your friends and teammates and your draft status to improve and that's why you would stay. I can understand why the people that decide to go a bit early do. They have had an issue with an injury which causes them to be a bit scared and they also have to take care of their family financially. Those two groups I have figured out. The ones that don't have to worry about money and haven't had an injury to deal with, those are the ones I don't get. Because in a blink of an eye, your hopes of having a career as a professional athlete could be gone!

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Hey Busdriver! What Did We Just Run Over?

Whatever happened to airing out your differences behind closed doors? Remember when baseball players used to have the "kangaroo court" and if you made an error or something else detrimental to the team, they would handle it internally? How about the criticism that comes down on a player like T.O. when he publicly criticises the coach or the quarterback for not getting him the ball? Well, on Sunday a situation arose that was a first for me. So let me ask you this one. How about a coach criticizing his kicker for missing two field goals in a game that his team lost by six points? Sounds straight forward enough, but oh, there is so much more to the story.

On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks were hosting the Chicago Bears in a game where both teams were 1-1 and you wanted to make sure you didn't get on the wrong side of that record. The teams were battling back and forth all day and on two occasions, the Seahawks got into field goal range only to see their kicker, Olindo Mare miss two field goal attempts from inside 43 yards. I know, I know what a goat. How could he dare miss those field goals? That is what Seahawk coach Jim Mora thought after the game. "You've got make those kicks...Not acceptable....We'll look at making a change everywhere....We're not going to play our asses off and have a field goal kicker go out there and miss two field goals and lose a game!"

Hmmm, I take exception at that last remark. I agree, field goal kickers should make field goals when they are less than 45 yards away. I agree that the difference in the game was six points and the two field goals missed add up to six points. What I don't agree with is the fact that Mare lost the game for them. Last time I looked there were 52 other people on the active roster, not to mention 15 or so coaches. The final score of the game was 25-19 and Mare had FOUR field goals totaling 12 of the 19 points for his team, oh and the one touchdown that Seattle did score, Mare kicked the extra point. That is a total of 13 points for Mare, 6 points for the other 52 guys.

Guess what Mora, don't be pissed off because your kicker scored more points then the rest of your team. Sure it is easy to pick on him because he missed two field goals. It is easier to deflect blame off yourself and put it on a kicker that never gets time in front of a camera to defend himself. What ever happened to there's no "I" in team? You know what though there is an "I" in idiot and Mora, you just redefined the word!

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Sick To My Stomach

Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Isn't getting blindsided the worst? Like when you go in for your annual review expecting to get that well deserved raise and instead you get a pink slip, a box for your crap and a police escort out of the building. How about when you have been hanging at the bar for awhile and that girl at the end of the bar keeps looking over at you and you finally get the courage to stumble on over to her and then you see that she has a bigger Adam's Apple then you do. My favorite blindside though has to be when your favorite team is winning a game that you didn't expect them to win against a team everyone expects to go to the Super Bowl against a quarterback that makes the Emperor from Star Wars look young and you lose.

On Sunday afternoon about 1:05, I sat in silence. If I had a cat, I would have punted it across the room. "Emperor" Favre with two seconds left (that's right two!!!) threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis. Yes, that Greg Lewis who couldn't get run in Philly. Yes that Greg Lewis who was only in the game because Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin had just ran seven straight go routes and was on life support on the sidelines sucking on oxygen. That Greg Lewis who caught the ball and got his feet in like he was imitating an actual NFL receiver.

I didn't even know that Favre could still throw the ball 15 yards, let alone 32. Then I saw everyone mugging Brett and all I could think was why isn't he still in some Sears deciding on which TV to get. I mean, the guy has retired twenty times over the past three years. He has developed a friendship with the Crypt Keeper from Tales From the Crypt and they are picking out caskets. I mean he shouldn't even be out there and yet he was. I'm not a complete hater. I will say that it was an amazing throw and catch, but it was as if after Lewis got out from being mobbed, he broke off the end of the football to reveal a sharp razor and he reached through the TV, Ala "The Ring", and stabbed me right through the heart.

It may take me awhile to get over this one. I know, I know Niner fans, we are becoming a better team. I know nobody expected us to be 2-1 right now. I know that our defence and running game is getting better and better (oh yea, Frank Gore went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter, but I'm not even going to open that can of worms). None of that matters. When you are not expected to do something and then you are on the verge of doing it and it gets ripped away from you it hurts even more. Well, I guess it's time to go play in traffic!

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The Art Of A Good Fantasy Trade

There are many times in life that you need to negotiate deals. When you are accepting a job offer would be a time that you might try to get a higher salary. When you are getting a car and have been there for 18 hours you might try to squeeze an extra five bucks out of the dealer. What about buying a house? Oh my goodness, if they don't replace the carpet and lamanent flooring the deal is going to fall through. Another moment in your life that you have to negotiate a good deal is when you are making a fantasy football trade. It is crucial you know how to negotiate and get fair value in return. Please don't be the guy that trades Tampa Special Teams for Tom Brady. Don't start panicking, I will give you a couple of tips on how to avoid being that guy, or gal (hey girls are playing too)!

Alright, so your cell phone rings at 10:30 on a Thursday night and you are in the middle of watching Glee with your wife (hey we all need to earn extra credit with the wife). You look down and notice that it is a buddy of yours from one of your fantasy football leagues, remember we all have multiple leagues that we are apart of. If you aren't in at least two leagues it will be harder for you to understand the rest of the article. Anyway, you answer the phone and the conversation goes something like this. You, "Hey buddy how ya doing?" Him, "Oh, I'm doing good. Just hanging out with the wife, you know, watching Grey's Anatomy (remember extra credit). What are you up to?" You, "You know, watching Sportscenter." Now that you haven't admitted to watching a show with your wife you have the position of power. Don't lose it.

Him, "Hey I was wondering. You know I'm 1-1 (all fantasy football owners overreact by the end of week 2 and look to make a trade) and I was thinking about seeing if you were interested in working out some kind of trade?" You, "Sure, but I kind of like my team right now (again, maintain the aura of power) and I'm not sure that I want to shake things up." Him, "Oh, OK, well I'll let you go relax then." You, "Well, why we're on the phone, what did you have in mind?" Him, "Um, I have a lot of running backs, but I'm not too crazy about my receivers and I noticed that you have a lot of receivers and not so many running backs. What do you think about Julius Jones for Reggie Wayne?" You (after five minutes of laughing) "I needed a good laugh, thanks. But seriously, If you want Reggie Wayne, I'm going to need Frank Gore." Him (after making fun of you, the trade proposal and your Mom) "Yea, I don't think I like that trade either.

45 minutes of trade proposal after trade proposal, 100 Mom jokes and 3 hang-ups later....

You, "OK, finally we have a deal right?" Him, "Yea, I think so. So let me get this straight. I'm giving you Frank Gore in exchange for Brandon Stokley?" You, "Yea, let me think about it for a sec (you want to make him think that you are not royally screwing him and that the deal is causing you some kind of anguish). OK, I'll do it." Now is your cue to get off the phone as fast as you can. Don't keep chatting, don't engage in small talk. It's OK for you to even fake that your cell phone signal is fading. Your main objective is to get the comish of the league on the phone right away. It's like buying a car. You don't want the buyer to have anymore cooling off time than necessary.

Well, that's it. Let's review what we have learned today. First, always keep a position of power. Next, always make the first offer, again position of power. Finally, when the deal is greatly in your favor, get the guy off the phone as fast as you can and make the call to seal the deal. Oh yea, one other thing. Don't be the guy getting screwed!

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The Guy You Love To Hate

How long have you been at your current job? How about the industry that your career is in? Some might say five years, some might say fifteen and the really tenured guys would say thirty or more. Well, Bobby Cox has you all beat. He is going to celebrate his fiftieth year in baseball next season and it will be his last, at least as a manager. On top of that, Cox has been with the same team, the Atlanta Braves, for the past twenty seasons. Most of us haven't even had relationships that long, let alone jobs. But it still kills me to hear how Cox and the Braves were such underachievers and that they should have won more titles. Tisk, tisk.

I suppose that five National League Pennants, fourteen straight divisional titles (a record by the way) and one World Series title is underachieving. Wow, what black and white thinking. Those of you out there that think this, probably think the Buffalo Bills were underachievers too. Probably think that Patrick Ewing didn't live up to his potential either. How about that glass over there? Does it look half empty to you too!

Trust me, do I think the Braves could have won more titles, sure. But let's look at the teams they lost to. In 1991, they went up against the Minnesota Twins who were loaded and the Braves had just gone from worst to first so they were still wiping their noses and sleeping with the night-lights on. The next year they came roaring back, went through a brutal seven game NLCS series against the Pirates and would have lost if not for a weak throw from Pittsburgh Pirate left fielder, Barry Bonds. I mean come on, Sid Bream beat the throw, seriously. Anyway after that they got to go up against the Toronto Blue Jays. Nobody was beating the Blue Jays that year. Just take a look at that roster and you will tear up like you do when you look at a beautiful painting.

Next would be the most impressive, and only World Series victory in 1995 against the heavily favored Cleveland Indians. I mean the Indians had Albert Belle, Carlos Baerga, Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar and on and on. But the Braves pitching got the better of them and they won the title that year. Their next two World Series appearances were in 1996 and 1999 against the New York Yankees. Sure they probably should have won the 1996 World Series, especially taking the first two games in New York, but then again, nobody expected journey man Jim Leyritz to take ace closer Mark Wohlers deep for a three run homer in game 4 either. 1999 was not a contest anyone was going to win, it was the middle of the Yankees dynasty and the middle title for them in their three-peat.

So I say that we need to stop hating on the Braves and especially on Bobby Cox. The man was there when Atlanta was horrible and old Fulton County Stadium looked like Dolphins Stadium does today when the Florida Marlins play. Of course Cox will be a first ballet Hall of Fame inductee, but lets take the time to remember what he did for Atlanta and for the game of baseball. I'll start by tipping my cap to him!

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It's About Time!

Am I the only person that is actually excited about the possibility of replacement referees being in place when the NBA's pre-season starts, with the possibility of going into the regular season like that? Now my bitterness and anger is pointed at anyone that wants more money when they don't deserve it. Sure, the current contract between the officials and the NBA expired on September 1st. Sure the officials have the opportunity and the ability to negotiate new contracts. But what I don't get, and I never will, is why do people wait until the deadline to get the negotiations started?

So now we might actually have some officials who give a damn. Some officials who realize that the people came to the arena and paid good money to watch the players, not the refs. Maybe we will actually get some time away from Dick Baveta and Joey Crawford. Both of these guys are like 90 and they are still trying to showboat with every call they make to placate to the crowd. Also, doesn't Baveta remind you of the rich guy that Hanibal Lecter ate in the movie Hannibal? What about Crawford, he looks like the 90 year old version of Bruce Willis trying to make Die Hard 20. These guys are worthless and honestly can't keep up anymore.

What about grudges that they hold on to? Like Crawford and his love affair with Tim Duncan and just this past season when Billy Kennedy and Doc Rivers got into it and the next time Kennedy officiated a game the Celtics, they were called for fouls three times the amount then the other team was called for. Now I'm also not trying to say that the NBA doesn't have their role to play in this foul up. I mean, why would Kennedy coach 3 of the first round playoff series games that involved the Celtics? Why would Crawford be officiating Spurs playoff games still? And don't even get me started on Tim Donaghy. That was a royal fubar for the NBA as well.

So, while I empathise with the officials, especially in light of the economic times, I won't lose any sleep over them and their situation. Hey I haven't gotten a raise in two years because my company couldn't afford to do it. The NBA is willing to give them a raise in year two of a two year deal and keep the same salaries this year. NBA officials better watch out. You never know how good your replacements are going to be if you let them take your job. Just ask Wall Pipp how that went!

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Rooting For The Good Guys

The other day I was watching a Chicago White Sox game and in the 3rd inning Paul Konerko hit a mammoth home run to left field and the announcers for the game on WGN started to cheer wildly. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson was announcing the game and he along with the other announcer screamed their normal saying after a White Sox player hits a home run, "You can put it on the board....Yes!" It got me thinking about announcers and the teams they announce for. I understand if you are announcing a nationally covered game and you have no ties to the teams that you need to stay neutral, but I have never understood why a team's play by play guy can't be a homer. I'll tell you what I would do if I were a play by play guy for the team that is paying my salary.

First off, I would be a walking billboard for my team. I would have on a team polo, team hat, team glasses, team watch, team boxers, team pants, team shoes, team gold teeth. I mean nobody would have to guess which team my support was for. I would also refer to myself and my attire throughout the game and plug where fans could by the accessories, hey I'm a salesman and the team needs me to sell merchandise.

Next I would only talk about the team that I was employed by. I would give straight forward information about the team we were facing, but I would find a way to tear the other team down. For instance if I was a Yankees announcer and we were doing a game at Fenway, I would find a way to tell a story about Ted Williams peeing his pants before a big game (Somewhere there is a Sox fan that is angry for me making such acquisitions. Just think if I had a bigger audience). I would point out all of their weaknesses and none of their strengths. I would be the ultimate homer.

The last thing I would do is mis-pronounce their team's players last names all night. I wouldn't care if the other team's play by play guy was covering his mic just to correct me, I would keep doing it all night. And I'm not talking about the hard names that are 17 letters long and don't consist of a signal vowel. I'm talking about easy names. If the guys last name was Bush he would be Brush to me the rest of the night. See where I'm going with this?

So, I think I have convinced myself that it is OK for the team's announcer to be biased and the old wives tale about being unbiased is garbage. Wouldn't you root for your company to do good? OK, bad example but just imagine you were with a team you actually liked. Then you wouldn't mind so much, would ya?

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Remember Our Lost Love

The other night I watched a movie that I haven't seen in years. "For The Love Of The Game" came out in 1999. I was 22 at the time and had just started dating my future wife. I went to the movie expecting it to be as good as "Field Of Dreams" and I remember leaving the theater disappointed. But, 10 years later, I thought I would give it another chance and see if the movie was as bad as I remembered. The movie was good on so many levels, it got me to think about the love I had playing baseball as a kid. I think that somewhere between the ages of 16 and 32 we forget how much we loved playing sports. At least I did and so I wanted to reminisce about some of the memories that I had as a kid growing up playing baseball and just maybe it will help take you back in time to remember what it was like when you played for the love of the game.

The thing I remember most about the game was the environment and the sounds and smells that came along with the game. I loved when I first walked out onto the field and could smell the grass. To this day, I can lay down in a park, close my eyes and smell the grass and it takes me back to when I was a boy. I loved the crack or ping of the bat. I loved hearing the chatter we would make to support our pitcher and distract the hitter. I loved the breeze against my face. I loved playing in weather so hot that you could see the sweat stains on your cap and every inning you would come back to the dugout, the stains were going higher and higher up the cap. I loved getting a reason to slide in the first inning so I could look down and see dirt all over my uniform for the rest of the day. I loved sitting in the batters box and watching while everything went into slow motion. I loved the feeling of my heart pounding when the pitcher was about to release the ball. I loved sliding into second base to break up a double play. I loved the snacks we used to get after the game, win or lose.

I often wonder if people that used to love doing something so much take time to remember what it was like. I know that our lives get so busy and our responsibilities have grown. I know that our time is short and our to-do list is long. I just encourage you to go to your local park, lay down in the grass and close your eyes. Lay there for a moment and remember back to when it was just a game to you. Can you see him coming? The little boy running up to you with open arms. Can you see him now? Do you recognize him? You should. It's you when you were little and still had a love for the game.

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A Loss Is A Loss, Right?

We had another classic Saturday of College Football with close games, blowouts and upsets. It was a day when sportscasters were able to be coroners and pronounce teams dead. "Well, BYU, yea they are done." "Wow, I was really hoping USC could do something, but they're dead." Chalk outlines are going up in cities across the nation as we speak, but I'm wondering are they a little premature? Sure, perhaps a non-BCS team might not be able to handle a loss to their resume and still expect to be playing in January, but what about teams from the power conferences? Do they get a pass on being dropped out of BCS title consideration? Also, why are losses in September not as damning as losses in November? Well, let's try to answer some of these questions, shall we?

I hate it. I know you hate it too. The lack of respect teams from non-BCS conferences get, but it will never change. Here's why, first the Mountain West Conference has a moron for a commissioner and he is going about it the wrong way trying to get his conference included into the BCS. Secondly, with the teams from the Mountain West, Conference USA and MAAC doing so well the past few years, what major conference team would be dumb enough to travel to play them much less schedule them. Wins are all that matters. We will continue to see teams schedule cream puffs and bowl subdivision teams because no losses has you in the title game and one loss could still have you playing in January.

The other thing that kills me about college football, no I'm not taking sides on the whole BCS playoff thing, is that a loss in September is not the same as a loss in November. Also, some teams have extra games, i.e. Conference Championship Games, that either help or hinder a team. Let me give you an example. So let's say USC gets hot and runs the table to finish 11-1 and you have Texas go 11-0 in the regular season and then they lose in the Big 12 Conference Championship game to Kansas. Who do you choose to go to the title game? I know crappy huh? I would say USC too, but they shouldn't. USC was beaten by a team that was winless last year while Texas lost to a BCS team from a year ago in Kansas. However, since USC lost their game in September they have nine games to make voters forget about it and move back up the rankings. In Texas' case, they have no more games to make up and so they will drop down in the rankings. The opposite could be said if Texas is going into that game at 11-1 and they beat a ranked Kansas team and now because they had that extra game they get the nod over USC.

Pretty crazy stuff if you ask me. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There doesn't necessarily need to be a college playoff, but their needs to be an even playing field. Every conference needs to have a Conference Title Game. Some of the so called lesser conferences could then be apart of the BCS Bowl Series. Get rid of some of the meaningless games that happen after January 1st, I know it's complete crap that the games are spread out like that. Also, freeze votings before the final week of the season and then after Championship Games, allow the voting to resume. This will allow voters time to reflect on the play of the team for the entire year, not just a game. But, you know, I could be wrong!

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What Is A Sport?

Well, I was over at a friend's house the other night and while flipping through the channels we eventually landed on ESPN and started to watch the World Series Of Poker. It amuses me to watch grown men wine and cry like babies while throwing around chips that are worth more than I make in a year. However, between whinings over "bad beats" and "horrible plays", mostly by Phil Hellmuth of course, a question popped into my head. Is poker a sport? For that matter, what constitutes something being recognized as a sport?

Immediately I start to collect my thoughts and try to ponder on what makes something a sport? First I was thinking competition between two people or more than two people, i.e. a team. Competition means to compete for something. I usually think about competition as a way to separate the winners from the losers. OK, well poker falls into that. So poker is a sport right? Mmmm, I'm not ready to make that leap just yet.

Then I was contemplating that if a sport is competition and there must be winners and losers, then are hockey and football not sports? Both of those "sports" have a chance to end in a tie and then how would you know who the winner or loser was? And for that matter, does that mean that poker really is a sport? They don't have ties for the gold bracelet at the WSOP. I know, I'm getting confused too.

OK, I got it. For something to be a sport there has to be physical exertion. What does that mean, physical exertion? When race car drivers are going round and round for 500 miles, one might argue that they are just sitting there like I am when I'm watching them on TV go round and round. However, some might argue that the endurance needed to pay attention that long and using their brains to create strategy through, gulp, thought, might be physical exertion. So if auto racing is a sport and the athletes just sit around, does that mean that poker is a sport because they are sitting down for hours on end, enduring to the end of the match or tournament.

Well, I don't know if I have answered the question I set out to answer, or just confused the hell out of you and me. One final thought though, I know that football, hockey and auto racing are sports, at least I think I do, but I still haven't figured out what badminton is. It is a sport, not a sport???

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NFL RedZone Channel...Where Have You Been All My Life?

Alright, so the most impossible thing happened to me on Sunday. No I didn't actually get up on time for church. You should have known that from my article on Sunday. And no, I didn't all of a sudden decide to stop drinking sodas (anyone that knows me would know that would be a miracle). No, I actually found something that made me like the NFL more than I did before Sunday. I know, shocking. What is it, you ask? What could this unbelievable, shocking thing be??? Well, it is the NFL's newest television channel...NFL RedZone!

Now let me start by saying that there will those out there that can sympathies with me on this next comment. I am in a sports market that has to be forced to watch a horrible team without any control over it. I cheer when they are on a bye week. I'm kind of excited when they get a Saturday or Thursday game, because that means I will be free to watch another game that Sunday. Alright, I'll tell you what the team is. It's the Raiders.

Now don't everyone come give me a hug just yet. A little backstory on how much I can't stand the Raiders and also the Rams. When I lived in Southern California, I was forced to watch their games. The Raiders played in the L.A. Coliseum and the Rams played at the Big A in Anaheim. Neither team would sell out games so guess what I ended up watching on Sundays? A lovely black screen. Then a miracle happened. Both teams realized that nobody gave a crap about them and they decided to move to St. Louis and Oakland respectively. So then I get excited and guess what? The NFL thinks that Southern California still likes them and makes us watch them on Sundays. There were times that I would have rather watched the black screen.

So the NFL was 15 years to late, but they debuted their newest channel the NFL RedZone and it comes on the air at 9:55 AM PST and goes off the air at 4:30 PM PST. Guess how many commercials happen in the six hours and thirty-five minutes it is on the air? Zero! Zip! Nada! So it starts off at 9:55 with a countdown clock on the screen. As I'm staring at the screen, my heart started to pump and a weird thought crossed my mind. What if the countdown was for a bomb in my TV and it was about to blow up? Who cares, this countdown idea was brilliant and made me want to go tackle my neighbor mowing his lawn next door.

The next six hours and thirty-five minutes of commercial free football are probably the most exciting six hours and thirty-five minutes of sports I have ever watched straight. Don't give me that I have never watched that much sports straight. Hello, I'll give you two examples. New Year's Day football and any major that Tiger Woods has a chance to win on Sunday. As I was saying. This channel never leaves the action.

As you can probably guess, you get to see when a team reaches the RedZone. I'm not talking about the team that is in your sports market. I'm talking about any team playing on Sunday. That's right, who needs the Sunday Ticket package anymore? Guess what? You also get to see every touchdown scored, either live or 30 seconds after it happens. I encourage all people with epilepsy to take caution before watching it though because it sounds something like this....Let's go to Cleveland and touchdown Adrian Peterson...next let's go to Cincinnati and touchdown Brandon Stokley....next let's go to Atlanta and touchdown Tony Gonzalez...next let's go to Houston and touchdown Thomas Jones. It's that intense!

So that's it. The NFL has finally answered my prayers that I made 15 years ago. With some therapy I'm finally getting over my fear of blackouts and watching the Raiders and Rams play. The twitch is almost gone. When you watch the channel on Sunday and you pause to go take a leak, try to think about the poor announcer that has to talk for six hours and thirty-minutes straight during commercial free sports bliss. Now try not to laugh and miss the toilet.

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What A Job Interview Is Like For An Athlete

Well, I have a job interview this week and it dawned on me that athletes probably have to go on job interviews too. Sure there are probably some athletes that could take a poop on the GM's desk while negotiating a contract with that team and the GM would still be drooling to sign them. Of course there are those athletes that don't have to go out and look for new teams or new jobs, the teams and jobs come to them and then there is a bidding war to see who gets to pay their new #4 starting pitcher $13 million dollars next season. I just was wondering what if these big time athletes actually had to interview for their new team, what would it be like? I have some thoughts on the matter.

So imagine that you are a fly on the wall down in Tampa, Florida at Legends Field, home of the spring training facility for the New York Yankees. Let's take it one step further and imagine that it was early February of 2004. I can just imagine it now. George Steinbrenner and Alex Rodriguez sitting at a table. Both have lit up a couple of stogies and are having a good laugh. Finally the laughter has turned into a complete silence. George grabs the paper that was sitting in front of him and starts to look it over. "Well Alex, this is an impressive resume. However I have one concern. First being here in work history, it doesn't say anything about your workout regime or the supplements you take. I know we as owners and players don't care what you put in your body, but I need to be able to have plausible deniability should anything come up. So, would be OK with taking a pee in a cup?" Alex responds, "Boss, I don't even know what they put in me. All I know is that my numbers were good and then they went through the roof. I don't care if they are injecting me with anti-freeze as long as I put butts in the seats and cash in your wallet!" George joyfully replies, "You're hired!" The laughter resumes.

What about if you were a dust mite on the lamp in one of the offices at the United Center, just outside Chicago, IL. How about we say it is late summer in 1995. You are watching Jerry Krause and Dennis Rodman sitting down for a face to face. Rodman has brought a couple of groupies with him and a buddy of his, wait a minute, is that Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam? Finally Krause pushes aside the scantly clad Rodman assistants and takes hold of the paper in front of him. "Dennis, I'm pleased that we are having this chance to talk. There is a rumor that I would like to find out the validity on before we consider you for employment. Have you really dated Madonna and Carmen Electra?" Rodman replies, "Actually I just hooked up with Madonna and I married Carmen!"Krause leaps up out of his chair and yells out, "You're hired!" Rodman replies with, "Que the groupies!" Both men start laughing.

You could also be that person who doesn't get the interview opportunity at all. It would go something like this. "Hi, I'd like to speak with Joe Torre." Receptionist, "May I ask who's calling?" "Um, yea, this is Barry Bonds." CLICK! "Hello, hello, Bonds cries out. "Great, not again!"

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It's Christmas In September!

Remember how hard it was when you were a kid to fall asleep on Christmas Eve? You would lay down around 8:00, toss and turn until midnight and then wake up at like 4:30 and try to convince your parents that it was time to get up and open presents. Of course they would have you go back to bed and you would come in every half hour until finally your Mom and Dad caved in and got up at like 6:00. Well, there is another type of event that stirs up these emotions and actions and it is the night before the first Sunday of NFL football.

So last night I was up until about midnight and then I went to lay down and go to sleep. Two hours passed while tossing and turning with questions in my head like, "How is my fantasy team going to do tomorrow?" and "I hope the 49ers go to Arizona and kick the Cardinals butts tomorrow." Finally after falling asleep, I found myself waking up at 4:30 and then again every half hour until finally I got up at 6:30.

Now when I would finally have gotten my parents out of bed, I always had to wait until they made their coffee and had cup in hand before I could open any presents. Never has four minutes ever taken longer. Well, waking up finally at 7:30 this morning it dawned on me. I have to wait two and a half hours until kickoff!?! How am I going to make it? I can't make the time go any faster. When I was younger I got to the point I knew how to make a pot of coffee at like five years of age. I know I shouldn't complain, I mean I could be on the east coast and have to wait until 1:00 in the afternoon for the games to start.

Well, at least the games start today for real. No more pre-season and the waiting game for regular season games. Today is like Christmas day, I just don't know if I have the patience today to wait to open my presents.

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An Amazing Evening In Springfield!

I have never watched a Hall of Fame induction ceremony for any sport. This coming from the guy who grew up watching Larry Bird and Joe Montana like they were mythical beings. Nope, never watched any of them be inducted into their respective Hall of Fame's. To be honest, I wasn't going to watch this one either. I was a little interested in it due to the magnitude of the induction class. I mean, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, John Stockton, Vivian Stringer and Jerry Sloan are probably as good as it gets, but still, I was more interested in watching Colorado get smoked by Toledo. Then I got a text message from a friend.

The text came in after I had sent over a lovely remark about my Buffalo's getting murdered in Ohio. Thankfully, he was kind and said that their play was unexpected. I love when friends are nice to you. Like if you were a girl trying on dresses and you asked someone how it looks on you. Yea, you are always nice to your friends even when the news is bad. But I digress. My buddy asked me if I had a chance to see the HOF induction ceremony and how unbelievable it was. I told him that I was turning off a horror movie (I get to bag on my team if I want!) and I was looking for something to watch. As luck would have it, I flipped up to NBATV and they were showing a re-broadcast of it and David Robinson was walking up to the podium.

You know, I knew David Robinson was a nice guy and that he was heavily involved in church activities and other charitable endeavours. However, after watching his induction speech I was left pondering a few questions. First, how has this guy never ran for Governor of Texas. Is it just me or would he win by a landslide? And secondly, why can't NBA commissioner David Stern have Robinson meet with all rookies before they report to their first training camp and just speak to them about respect and values? Wouldn't the league be a better place if that happened? I'm just saying.

Next up was John Stockton. Something about watching grown men cry during retirement ceremonies always bugged me. I know they are sad that they are leaving their sport that they love....blah blah blah. But when Stockton was talking about his mom and that she should have been there and that he tries to mirror his dad every day of his life, I almost started to ball. I was this close to calling my mom and dad to tell them how much I loved them. All joking aside, the way that Stockton spoke about his hometown and also about how the city of Salt Lake took him in, it was inspiring. Also, when his speech began I was wondering who invited Chewbacca to the ceremony and then it dawned on me. Holy crap, that's Mark Eaton. Anyway, Stockton was just as humble as Robinson had been and I was impressed with the first two inductees of the night.

Alright, the next two people were Vivan Stringer and Jerry Sloan....I hit the fast forward button on the dvr and moved right on to his airness. I know, I suck and I probably should have listened to them because they deserve the right to be heard. Yea, but it was MJ time. You would have done the same thing if you had taped it too. You know if you watched it live you were like, "Dude is she done yet? And, come on already Sloan, we know you love Stockton and Malone."

No was MJ time. After watching an awesome video with some career highlights (although my favorite dunk was missing, the one where MJ goes baseline and dunks on Patrick Ewing) and having my second holy crap is that who I think it is (this time it was Toni Kukoc) they panned in on Jordan. My first thought was wow MJ looks good, man I'm such a liar. Actually, my first thought was who is the girl sitting next to him? Is that his girlfriend, wife or hooker? I mean hired escort for the evening. Next was his speech.

Of course I expected this to be the highlight of the evening. It was....sort of. I mean I expected the speech to be along the same lines as Robinson's and Stockton's. They were humble, appreciative and inspiring. It started off like that with Jordan saying that he never won a championship without Scottie Pippen as his teammate. But then, after some other thank yous, he starts to bag on former Bulls GM Jerry Krause, who he never got along with anyway. Then he starts talking about how great he was, at one point he is talking to his kids and telling them that he wouldn't want to be in their shoes with the kind of pressure they are going to have to endure.

He continues on to thank more people, none of who is the mysterious girl by his side. He then gives a nice story about a time that he and Pat Riley met up in Hawaii. Riley was staying in a suite at a hotel and Jordan was coming in the day that Riley was supposed to leave. Jordan convinces him to stay, but Riley was in Jordan's room and as Jordan put it, "Oh yea, he left my suite." Finally he says he wasn't going to say anything about this person, but he starts to talk about Bryon Russell and how Russell had talked trash to him when he was retired the first time and how Jordan was going to retaliate.

My first HOF induction ceremony was a good one. It was cool to see all the HOFers up on stage and to see the individual speeches. I enjoyed the highlight reels and the jokes and stories. Robinson and Stockton were my favorite speakers of the night. Jordan wasn't bad, but he wasn't great. I guess I expected something different from him. Well, he still is the best player to ever play the game, just not the best at giving speeches!

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A Day That Sports Didn't Matter!

It's funny when you reflect back on memories in your life and remember some of the monumental days you have lived through. I remember that Tuesday morning probably more clearly than any other morning that I can remember. Sure I remember the morning of my wedding and the morning that my daughter was born, but those were days that I knew were coming. I was prepared for them. I was not at all prepared for September 11, 2001. Nobody was. It was probably the only day in my life that I can honestly say I didn't think about sports once.

I was in Tampa, Florida because a few days earlier my grandmother had been rushed to the hospital and she had just had heart surgery. They had put in a pacemaker and she was going to make it. I flew in on Thursday, September 6 from Ontario, California. When I landed I wasn't sure if I was arriving to see my grandmother alive and well or if I was flying out to see her funeral. Thankfully by Sunday, my grandmother was out of the hospital and it appeared that she was going to be alright. I was scheduled to fly home on September 11, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. EST in the afternoon. It was a flight that I never got to take.

I was sleeping on the floor on an air mattress when my father's wife came running in saying, "Hurry, hurry. Turn on the T.V." It was exactly 9:00 a.m. EST. when I reached for and grabbed my glasses and turned on the television. It must have taken me a minute or two to wipe away the cobwebs and focus on the building that was burning before my eyes, when all of a sudden I saw a plane flying into the picture and into another building. Immediately I was awake and stunned at what I had just seen. I'll never forget what my father's wife said next, "Looks like you're not going home today."

I remember that it was the middle of the pennant chases and that the Yankees were going for their fourth World Series title. I remember that it was my second season of fantasy football. I remember that I had just been married two and a half months earlier. I remember that the only thing I cared about that day was getting home to my wife. I could care less about anything else, including sports.

As you all know, days passed and sports resumed. Fantasy football went on. The Yankees actually became the team that everyone rooted for that year. Firefighters were finally acknowledged as being the bravest, most selfless individuals that God has ever created. Sports did help lead the healing. On this the eighth anniversary of that fateful day, I realize that we are still healing. Sports is still part of my life but I have gained perspective on it's place in my life. And finally, that I was, in fact, going to Florida for a funeral, it just wasn't for who I expected it to be for.

God bless all of the families of all the people that died on that tragic day.

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A Well Deserved Applause

I found myself thinking the other day about athletes who don't do it right. I was thinking about athletes like Barry Bonds and Ben Johnson. I remembered how I felt when Ron Artest ran into the crowd or how Steve Howe looked when he failed another drug test. It's really nice though when I can think of an athlete and a smile comes to my face. Derrek Jeter has done that for many years. On Wednesday night, Jeter went 3-for-4 and tied Lou Gehrig for first on the all-time hits list as a New York Yankee with 2721.

Sure, the Yankees are probably the most polarizing team in organized sports (Sorry Cowboys and Fighting Irish fans, it's true). They are easy to hate, easy to love and are a team that is looked up to and admired. Jeter falls into that category as well. I'm sure A's fans hate him for the toss. I'm sure Braves fans hate him for how he torched them in two World Series. Here's the thing though, anyone can and could hate him,but the day he gets traded to your team the first thing you are doing is running to the local Foot Locker to get his jersey. That's what makes him so special. You hate him because he's good and you hate him because you aren't him!

Jeter was made for New York and for the Yankees. He is clean cut, comes from a good family, plays the game with integrity and grit. He looks like he is floating on air when he goes to the hole and does a 180 while jumping and throwing the runner out at first. Jeter plays like he is a construction worker but does it looking like a GQ model. He was dating "A" list actresses before any athletes were. I mean who else could be linked to Madonna, Mariah Carey, Jessica Biel and Jordana Brewster? I know...I'm pissed too!

I think we need to all take a moment to realize that we are watching one of the greatest players of all time. He will be the first Yankee to ever get to 3000 hits, shocking, I can't believe it either. He will have his number retired in Monument Park behind the center field fence at Yankee Stadium and he will be enshrined in Cooperstown one day. Do me a favor though. Next time you think of Derek Jeter, don't be mad that your pinstripe suit isn't the same as his, just think about who will be the next "A" list actress he is going to date and you aren't!

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Thank You For Freedom CU!

Don't you love it when your favorite college football team loses it's first game of the season? I know you might think I'm crazy, but hear me out. Why wait until there is more on the line to lose your first game. Wouldn't you rather have your team lose now then in November when it means more? Of course I never want my team to lose, but if they are going to lose, lose the first game. Then, I won't have to stress out or even care anymore about how the season goes. Fortunately for me, the Colorado Buffaloes were more than happy to oblige my little request when they fell to their in-state rivals, the Colorado State Rams, Sunday evening, 23-17.

As you can tell, I'm being a bit sarcastic in my comments about this lovely event that happened tonight. Even better than losing their first game was losing to CSU the same weekend that a lot my friends favorite team (BYU) pulled off an upset of #3 Oklahoma. Oh, but wait, the weekend was completed when our buddies from the mid-west, Nebraska decided to win their opening game as well. I wish I could have just been standing in front of Ralphie (real buffalo mascot) when they opened the gates for him to run onto Folsom Field. He could have trampled me and put me out of my misery.

While I'm watching the game, if you want to call it that, I find myself coming up with some strange thoughts. First I was wondering if a coach ever got fired during half-time? If it was ever to happen, tonight should have been the night. CU looked very out-played, out-hustled, out-hearted, out-coached and any other out-blank you can think of. Next I was thinking, hmmm, well the son of our coach is the quarterback and he is in his third year of starting and we are 13-23 under Cody Hawkins and his father, Dan. If Dan doesn't pull his son soon, the T.V. may go flying across the room. Finally, later in the evening, I checked on the score from my phone, hey it's my daughter's birthday and we took her to a movie so cut me some slack "Mr. I watch my team no matter how crappy they look", and we had lost.

I really thought I was going to be mad. I imagined myself throwing the popcorn tub all over the people that were sitting in front of me while starting to yell out profanities, I was at a kids movie by the way - remember daughter's birthday? Then something strange happened. I was calm and relaxed. Was I losing my edge? No, it finally hit me that losing the first game of the season was great. Now, I will still root for my team, but I don't have that pressure of will we lose a game and mess up our National Title hopes, not that we had any but lets not focus on the negatives. Finally I can root for us to upset some teams and play, gulp, spoiler? I can't believe I just said that. Somebody please grab a gun and put me out of my misery. Just make sure that Dan and Cody are there with me!

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Always Listen To Your Friends!

So it was Friday night and I was just about to head off to bed when I decided to check out Facebook one last time. A friend of mine was posting about how waiting for football season was like waiting nine months for your child to be born. For him his baby is BYU. I joked with him and said that both would keep him up at night. He reminded me that 25 years ago, BYU played the #3 team in the nation and that worked out pretty well for them then and he felt confident going into this season. I blew it off thinking it was another fan just loving his team. Well after Saturday's huge upset over #3 Oklahoma, I just may have to listen to my friends more often.

BYU won the National Title in 1984. Their first game was against #3 ranked Pittsburgh. Then in the Holiday Bowl, they defeated Michigan, who had been ranked as high as #2 that season. So on Saturday, with their 14-13 victory of # 3 Oklahoma, could we see a possible repeat of that magical season? Or is it just a weird case of deja vu? If they do repeat that season, Texas better watch out. They are ranked #2 right now.

There are those that will say that well, it doesn't mean anything because of QB Sam Bradford getting hurt right before the first half and not returning for the rest of the game. Well BYU didn't have their starting running back , Harvey Unga, for the entire game. People will say that the quarterback is more important then the running back. True, Iwould probably agree with them, but I have two arguments for this paticular occasion. First, Oklahoma was TIED with BYU before Bradford got hurt. Secondly, how many players from BYU will go to the NFL, a handful, maybe? How many will go from the Sooners? Yea, seems like they were on level playing fields too.

Upcoming for BYU next week is a trip to New Orleans to play Tulane and then they return home to face #18 Florida State. If they get by both of those teams, two games that would stand between BYU and a possible shot at the National Championship or at least a BCS berth would be Saturday, October 24 against #17 ranked TCU and then the regular season finale on Saturday, November 28 vs. #19 ranked Utah. Crazier things do and have happened 25 years ago. I know, because my friend told me.

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I'm Older Than ESPN...Really?

So guess who has a birthday coming up on Sunday? You got it, ESPN and it's Emmy winning program Sportscenter turns 30 on Sunday. What? Sportscenter has been around 30 years? Yes it has. To celebrate this moment, the 11:30 est/8:30 pst Sportcenter will be co-hosted by Chris Berman, John Saunders and Bob Ley. Let's look back at some of the highlights from the past 30 years. There have been hosts like Berman, Dan Patrick, Robin Roberts, Keith Oblermann, Craig Kilborn and Leslie Visser to name a few. I'll give you my top three favorite anchors and favorite moments from them on Sportscenter.

First and foremost is Chris Berman. He has been there since the start. I met him once in Anaheim, CA and he had been signing autographs for like 30 minutes before a Yankees-Angels game in 1989 and at the time I was playing little league and wearing a San Fransisco Giants hat. He was all done and had to go upstairs to call the game and he stopped and signed one more autograph. We all know what a big S.F. fan he is. I mean come on he picked 49ers vs. Bills in the Super Bowl for like 15 straight years. My favorite moment watching him on Sportscenter had to be him remembering the 1981 NFC Championship Game and "The Catch". Wow, Berman looked young!

Next is Dan Patrick. Patrick joined ESPN in 1989 and was there until leaving his radio program in 2007. I met Patrick at an ESPN Club in Orlando, Florida back in 1998. He was very friendly and approachable. He coined his famous phrase, "En Fuego" and he and Keith Olberman were co-hosts of Sunday night Sportscenter which they called "The Big Show". Favorite Dan Patrick moment actually came on a commercial when he and Kenny Mayne were in German-style overalls and you can tell Patrick is trying to hold it together.

The final anchor that I selected is a bit more obscure but it is none other then Charlie Steinner. Steinner was great and joined ESPN in 1988 and was there until 2002. If you have ever seen his bloopers outtakes, they are hilarious. But his greatest moment also came on a commercial when ESPN was trying to find out what they would do with the year 2000 coming and the dreaded "Y2K" bug. I can still here him yell out, "Follow me! Follow me to freedom!"

Well those are just a few of the moments that I remember from growing up and watching Sportscenter. I'm sure that there will be great moments to come and some that I have forgotten. Let me know what you favorite moments are!

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The A.L. West Race Is Over...Someone Forgot To Tell Texas

Well, the American League Playoff matchups have been set. New York will host Detroit and Anaheim will host Boston. Wait a minute. Didn't someone pass the news on to the Texas Rangers? Don't they know they don't need to play anymore? That their season is done? Obviously not because the Rangers are only 3 1/2 games back after their 6-4 win over Toronto in Arlington on Wednesday night. Couple that with the Angels 3-0 loss up in Seattle and we have a pennant race. And guess what? The city of Dallas may have more to cheer for in October other then the Cowboys.
The Rangers have 29 games remaining. Three games vs. Baltimore, six games vs. Seattle, seven games vs. Oakland, three games vs. Cleveland, three games vs. Tampa Bay and seven games vs. Anaheim. The Angels have 30 games left. Four games vs. Kansas City, three games vs. Seattle, three vs. Chicago, four games vs. New York, three games vs. Boston, seven games vs. Texas and six games vs. Oakland. The Rangers have won nine out of twelve games vs. the Angels this year and they are 24-13 vs. the A.L. West while the Angels are 18-23 vs. the A.L. West.

The Angels have had an unbelievable amount of bad luck with injuries this year and even though they are starting to get healthy and just added pitcher Scott Kazmir, something just doesn't seem right. Usually the Angels have good sticks on the field and this year isn't any different, but it's the durability of the starting pitching and the performance they are getting from their staff as a whole. They are hitting .289 as a team but their batting average against their pitching is an unusually high .279. Their team pitching ERA is an absurd 4.79 and doesn't Brian Fuentes scare the crap out of you as your closer with an ERA of 4.09? As for the Rangers, true they are only hitting .260 as a team, but they have slugged 197 homeruns while the Angels have put up a pedestrian 149. Texas' pitching staff has a half run better ERA at 4.29 and their closer, Frank Francisco has an ERA that is actually below 4.00, 3.32 to be exact.

Here are two intangibles that will separate Texas from Anaheim when it is all said and done. Number one is that guy, you remember his name, Josh Hamilton? Yea he is starting to hit homeruns again and when he gets hot, he hits them in bunches. Number two is that the Rangers are hungrier then the Angels. While the Angels make the playoffs every year it seems like for the past decade, the Rangers have not made the postseason since 1999 when they lost to the eventual World Champion Yankees. They have an influx of young players and veterans that want one more shot at winning a pennant.

We will know for sure by October 4th and don't be surprised if the Texas Rangers have surpassed the Anaheim Angels for the American League West crown. Remember, you heard it hear first!

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The Next King Of Kings?

On Tuesday, Ricky Rubio, the 18 year-old phenom guard from Spain decided to stay overseas for at least two more years instead of signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The tears that you heard were probably coming from up state Minnesota, but that huge sigh of relief you heard was coming from up state California, Sacramento to be exact. That's because the Sacramento Kings made the right choice.

Rubio was taken by Minnesota with the fifth pick in the draft. The Kings had the worst record in the NBA last season, as well as in their franchise history, at 17-65. They had just lost the number one pick in the upcoming draft, thanks David Stern for that great lottery system you have in place. They were without a coach, they had fired Reggie Theus earlier in the season and did not retain interim head coach Kenny Natt. They slid all the way down to the number four pick in the draft and you would have thought the city had just been socked in the gut by a Mike Tyson cross. Then draft night came.

The first pick went to the Los Angeles Clippers and of course they selected PF Blake Griffin. Next, the Memphis Grizzlies selected C Hasheem Thabeet with the number two pick. A surprise at the third pick was made by Oklahoma City Thunder, who selected SG Jason Harden. So now the Kings aresitting there with the fourth pick. What is the Kings biggest weakness right now? Point GUARD! That was all of Sacramento shouting in unison. So who was available for the Kings? Well, there was PG Johnny Flynn out of Syracuse and SG (might play PG in the NBA) Steph Curry out of Davidson sitting there. But oh boy, all of the River City's prayers have been answered. Ricky Rubio is still on the board. I swear I thought I was going to hear about Chris Webber giving out free drinks at his restaurant, Center Court, and then everyone streaking to Arco Arena like the running of the bulls.

"And with the fourth pick, the Sacramento Kings select, Tyreke Evans, shooting guard, University of Memphis." Those were the words that came out of David Stern's mouth that night. My next thought was that Weber was going to kick everyone out of the building, grab a bottle of Jack and start talking New York Giants football with Grant Napier (Play by Play announcer for the Kings). Strange thing happened though. People liked the pick. I mean, Kings fans did at least. The media butchered the Kings, giving draft grades as low as "D" for their pick of Evans. Thing is, nobody outside of Memphis really knew what the Kings were getting.

The Kings knew and more importantly Geoff Petrie knew, Kings GM. "We think he is a great-great prospect. He could become a star." Evans played at Memphis for only one year but in that year he showed the poise to not only play the point guard position but the shooting guard as well. Think Dwayne Wade, but stronger and younger. If Evans can step into an already descent starting five with Evans, Kevin Martin, Andres Nocioni, Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes, that gives Kings fans something to be excited about for not only this season but seasons to come. Perhaps one day Weber really will lead the fans streaking towards Arco . If so, it will be because Tyreke Evans took the reigns and became the new King of Kings.