It's Time for Some College Football

Beginning this Thursday, the NCAA Division I Football Teams will begin to take the field. The question that everyone seems to have on their minds is who is going to the BCS Championship Game which will be at the Orange Bowl this Year?

I am not sold on a few of the front runners this year just yet, but I do have a guess as to who will be the last eight teams standing this coming January. They are in no particular order.....maybe.


Oklahoma: This team may be Bob Stoops best team since he has began his tenure there. Quarterback and receiver play will determine their success. Oh....by the way the Big 12 is loaded this year. Please see Texas Tech.

Ohio St.: I am not a big Buckeye fan to say the least, but they are returning 18 starters, that has to hold some weight in a not so talent ladened Big 10.

USC: Yes the perennial powerhouse is back. I know when it is all said in done, the Trojans will be in the mix for sure. We have to see how Mr. Sanchez runs the offense, because the defense will be one of the best in the country.

Pittsburgh: Yes, I said Pitt. I know they have been off of the BCS radar for a while, but it looks as though they might make a run as well. The only other competition from the Big East this year will be West Virginia, and Rutgers. Other than that, the Panthers look primed for a good season.

Clemson: The Tigers are loaded, and they are not afraid of anyone in the ACC. We shall see, but they are going to bring a charge to the fans of the friendly confines of Death Valley.

Florida: Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow will be back at the helm of one heck of a offense. It looks as though they can actually be better than last year. Tebow's ability to run without fear thanks to his size makes him even more dangerous than the average bear. They will be a factor for sure.

Georgia: Last year's juggernaut returns a great deal of starters, but we shall see if they can endure an always tough SEC schedule. Their schedule includes six games against top 25 teams including an interesting game at Arizona State on Sept. 20.

My last pick is a wild card. I think that BYU will be the non-BCS conference winner that will sneak it's way into the national championship picture. If they make it, I am hopeful that they will make a better showing than Hawaii did against a strong Georgia team last year.


Tap the keg, and grab a lawn chair, this college football season will be filled with fun and surprises.


Ahhh................. the beauty of 20 highly energized co-eds strolling the sidelines while watching your favorite college team matriculate the ball down the field.

"One Butt Chuck"

This is too easy. There have been a few articles about the story that Charles Barkley is going to have his colonoscopy broadcast by all three major networks on Sept. 5. I love and respect Chuck a great deal, but I have no choice to chime in my two cents.

There was a quote printed that was made by one of Chuck's friends (Fred Lauder). When they asked Fred what they thought about what Chuck was going to do, he was quoted as saying that " they were probably just looking for the celebrity with the biggest ass". Ouch.

About the show, it will air on Sept. 5, check your local listings, but the charity is called "Stand up to Cancer". I am so happy that they are going to bring awareness to this devastating disease. While the colonoscopy may be a less than comfortable test, it sure beats the heck out of finding out when it's too late. Any male over the age of 40 should have this test once a year, especially if there is a family history of this dreaded disease.

Now to Chuck. This event may actually be more entertaining then when Geraldo went into Capon'e vault. Do you remember that disaster that was also telecast over the air waves live? The only thing that Geraldo came out of the vault with was his package in his hand.

What will the Dr. find? I heard that Musgy Bogues has been missing for a couple of days. Could Capone's treasure be found in the dark depths of Chuck's butt? Come to think of it, I haven't seem my care keys in a while. Perhaps it wasn't Richard Gere that had the hamster in his dumpster. Should Chuck's true nickname be the " round mound of items found"? We shall see.

In all seriousness, this is why Charles is one of the greatest humans I can think of. While he has his flaws, he is the first one to point them out, and when it comes to being a lesson for all of us, he is the first to volunteer. This matter is very serious, and I hope that all of you will tune in to learn more about this tragic disease. While Chuck never wanted to be a role model, he failed in his endeavor. We should all recognize and learn from what he has been through......as well as what his colon has been through.

Please take a look at the pictures above. One is of the procedure, the second is of a healthy colon, the third is of a cancerous colon. Hopefully Chuck will be healthy as an ox, so we can admire him as a national treasure as he should be for a long time to come.

Rest in peace

Today is a sad day in the world. Not in the sporting world or headline news nor political world, but the human world. Today John Challis died at the age of eighteen. I hope you have read my blog back in late April about John, and the fact the He was diagnosed with liver, lung and brain cancer two years ago.

I also hope that you read the part that John refused to let the fact that he had terminal cancer deter him in anyway from realizing his goal while he was a human. That was to have an at bat as a high school senior on his high school's baseball team. What did John do? He only had an RBI single and finished his illustrious career a with a 1.00 batting average, and a slugging percentage of .500. Not bad for a person with cancer.

I want to write to John, to let him know that I personally will not forget his credo that got he and his family through the tough times. BELIEF + COURAGE=LIFE. While you left us as a human at the age of eighteen, it is easy to see that the lives you have touched and the manner in which you did so, were that of an old and well versed individual.

While they will lay you to rest on Saturday in your hometown in Pennsylvania, please know that you and your memory will live forever in our hearts.

God bless you John, may you rest in peace, may you continue your hitting streak in heaven.

There is no beauty in a life lost so young.....I wish God would stop being so selfish. If there were more people like John in the world, it just might be a better and stronger place.

MLB Update

Hi there, If you have read my blog with any kind of consistency, you will know that my pick for the World Series this year was to be the Tigers and the Mets with the Tigers winning in 7 games.

Well, since that blog, reality has set in. The Mets have kept their part of the bargain by being in first place by two games as we speak. The Tigers, on the other hand have been a bit of a disappointment.

So what do I say now? With only 40 games left? I DON'T KNOW!!!!
Here is what I think.

AL East: Rays get the job done.
AL Central: I love the Twins here.
AL West: Anaheim Angels.
Wild Card: Red Sox

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: Brewers

World Series: This pick sucks because of the way the NL first round shapes up. The Cubs would get the Brewers, and the Mets would get the D-Backs. The D-Backs pitching with Webb, Haren, Johnson, and either Davis or Pettit would make for a formidable opponent for the Mets. I know the Mets have Santana, Martinez, Maine and Oliver Perez. The problem I have with the Mets, is the bullpen. Aaron Heilman absolutely sucks balls. If it weren't for him, the Amazin's would be in first place by a larger margin. The Mets would probably lose in a very close series. I think the Cubs would take care of the Brewers.

AL: I couldn't be happier that the Spankees are out of the playoff picture. I think that the Angels are a well oiled machine. Their starters are awesome, their bullpen has K-Rod. I think that if they win the Divisional Series, it's all over but the shouting.

World Series: Cubs/Angels
Winner: Angels in seven games.

We shall see.

Ahh......the beauty of the MLB post season, and the specualtion that comes along with it.

What does it mean to love a sport?

With all that is going on in sports these days, it is easy to see why people may say that they love a sport, but yet, as in life, do we really know what love is? I hope that I will be able to articulate what a love for a sport is in the following statement of how I feel about baseball. Thanks for reading.

Baseball:

Why is baseball so great, it has so many players that we love to hate.

Why do we love baseball indeed, we all think baseball is filled with greed.

We love it because there are players that care, the fielder that snags the ball out of the air.

We love baseball because we wish, we can in our dreams face "The Big Unit as we stand at the dish.

We love the feel of the dew on our feet, we love the feel of the that midsummer sun's searing heat.

We love how the ball sounds as it makes contact with the bat, we love the feel of the sweat on our hat.

We love the feel of the win, we hate the feel of the loss, we'll all make fun of the Yankee's BOSS.

We all want to be what they are, we all want to be a Major League Star.

As we watch the games, we hope and pray, that we'll all have to chance to play the game someday.

The sound of the throw, the slide, and the catch, through all of these feelings our dreams will hatch.

Why is baseball so great? A good question for sure, we all love baseball, because this game is so pure.

Thanks for your time. I hope you have found love in your lives as I have in the game of baseball.

Take care and God Bless.

Ahh...... the beauty of true love.

"NFL" National Favre League

This is going to be a tough one. Do my favorite team in the NFL need Brett Favre to lead them to the promise land?

I honestly don't know. My fiance' bought me tickets to the game between the Chargers and the Jets in week two of the regular season as a birthday present. At first I thought it was the greatest gift in the world, but now that Brett is going to be at the helm, I would just as soon sell the tickets for a nice and tidy profit. This trade can go either way. Brett can be awesome, and utilize Jerricho and Laveranues the way they should be, which would be down field, but can the newly formed Jet's offensive line do what they need to do which is protect the greatest QB the game has ever known.

Two things are certain...at my Monday Night game, I am going to have a nice tall cold one, and I will be rooting for my beloved JETS. Buckle up, because this NFL season is going to be fun.

Prediction: NY Jets 12-4 winners the AFC East Division.


Ahhh...... the beauty of I don't know.

Why do we always hurt the people we love?

There are many times when a family should keep their respective businesses within the household, but every now and then, the feuds spill out to the public eye. The latest family feuds have been between the Carolina Panther's Steve Smith and Ken Lucas, and the Milwaukee Brewer's Prince Fielder and Manny Parra. I am sure that the most of you have witnessed the carnage of both stories. I am here to try to explain why this stuff happens.

For those of you that have siblings, I am sure that there have been times where you wanted to kick his or her butt. You may have even done so. Does the fact that you are family make it right? That's a great question. In sports, in this case male dominated sports, there are so many emotions that take control. We have all experienced road rage, does it make it right to track down the offender and kick their collective ass? Maybe. If their actions threatened my family, I would find them and politely let them know that that was the case. Well, that's kinda what happened the past few days in sports. We have a bunch of athletes that are all hyped up in the moment, and sometimes our bodies react faster than our minds.

The question is do these actions help or hurt a team. In my humble opinion, I believe it helps. If a team has too many "enablers" the team is destined to fail. If the team or family has a focal point of discipline, the team may be destined to succeed or to redefine greatness. Only time will tell. Go Brew Crew and Go Panthers. Let's see if you can walk the walk. We have already seen the talk...ahem and punches.

Ahhh.......... the beauty of testerone.

MLB Trade "DUD"line

The fuse on the MLB trade fireworks has yet to be lit. Yes there were some big names traded in the past 72 hours, but I guarantee after all of the teams place their players on waivers, and they are cleared, the fun will really get started. My take on the "big" trades that transpired are as follows:

Manny to the Dodgers: Who cares. This is like Michael Jordan going to the Wizards. MJ will get what he is going to get, but there is no one else in the LA lineup that scares me enough to say that this trade gives the Dodgers the NL West title.

Ken Griffey Jr. to the White Sox: The team has to make an accommodation for the sure fire Hall of Famer. They are going to bring Nick Swisher into the infield, and place KG Jr. in center field. Seven or eight years ago, I would have wow, this is huge, but at Griffey's age, He may make a great catch or two, but in the long run, can he stay healthy?

Pudge to the Spankees: Does it fill a need? It depends on what the need is that you are talking about. Another first ballot Hall of Famer in a clubhouse filled with a slew of the same, can only bring so many dividends. Trust me I love Pudge, but are you telling me that he is going to control a clubhouse with Derek, A-Rod, Mariano, and the Giambino? I doubt it. Jose Molina was doing just fine behind the dish, but it's not my money.

Once all of the players pass though waivers over the next few days, that's when I am going to heat up the Jiffy Pop, because I guarantee you this, there will be last ditch effort trades made out there that will make these last few look like nothing ever happened.


Ahhh............................. the beauty of divisional races in August.