It's time for a re-cap

Hello all, I have missed you this past week, but my dad came into town, and I wanted to make sure he had some fun while he was here. That being said here is where I stand.

The World Series: Bud Selig made the right call to suspend the 5th game after Tampa Bay scored their second run. Why? Because if the World Championship had been decided due to a rain shortened game, it would have been a worse decision than the All Star Game tie debacle. Congrats to the Phillies as much as it hurts me to say that, they looked very good.

The Breeder's Cup: I really don't care too much about horse racing, but the good news for the colts is that they are going to be put out to stud. It has to be tough to eat hay and get laid all day.

Nascar: Jimmie Johnson is going to win his third Nextel cup series in a row. Where is the parity in stock car racing? Is Johnson now to be mentioned in the same breath as Petty, Foyt and Andretti as one of the greatest drivers that ever lived? We shall see.

I am not going to give my NFL power rankings until after this Sunday. I want all teams to have at least eight decisions before I rank them. The match up of the week as far as I am concerned is the Cowboys against the New York football Giants. ( Giants win by two TD's).

College Football: It was great to see Penn State beat Ohio State. The thing that sucks is that computers still have a major say in what is going on with regard to rankings. This is a shambles, but I will get into that at a later date.

I think that covers it. The one last guess I would like to make this week is that Texas Tech will beat Texas by a field goal. This should be a great game if you look at the numbers. The other two big match ups are Penn St. @ Iowa and Georgia @Florida. I can't wait for this weekend.


Light up the grills and hold on for the thrills........

Has anyone seen my jello shot??????

A True Maverick

Webster defines a Maverick as a lone or orphaned calf or cow. It also has a secondary definition of someone that is independent. I am fairly certain that Trevor Wikre is a Maverick in every sense of the word.

Trevor is an offensive lineman at my Alma Mater, Mesa State College in Grand Junction, CO. It seems as though Trevor sustained an injury on one of his pinkies during a practice, and he was told that he was going to require season-ending surgery. Once he heard that, what do you think the Senior lineman that measures in at 6'3", 280lbs. said? Screw that, cut it off. That's right, instead of letting his last season of organized football go down the drain, he made the sacrifice, and had half of the finger removed.

Of course this story conjures up memories of the time that Ronnie Lott, the Hall of Fame Safety also has a portion of his pinkie removed because there was no way that he was going to miss the playoffs.

That being said, Ronnie was getting paid million of dollars to play, and what is Trevor getting for his efforts and sacrifice? Satisfaction. That's right satisfaction. Knowing that he will have a chance to play in the playoffs for his college and his teammates is all that Trevor needs.

If that isn't a Maverick, I don't know what is. GO MAVS!!!!!!!!!

The Diamondbacks of 2009

It's very easy t o see why Diamondback's Manger Bob Melvin has 25 guys on his roster that want to play for him.

I had the pleasure to speak with the D-Back's skipper yesterday, and I have to say that if I were still playing, I would want him to be my boss. He is honest, humble and quite engaging. If you have something to say, he actually listens which is quite an impressive character trait considering that there are some managers in MLB that think because you are a writer, you must not have ever played the game.

That being said, I thank Bob Melvin for his time and candor. I will not relay to you the things that we discussed, but I will tell you what I think the D-Back's roster should look like in '09 for them to win the division.

Starting Lineup by position:

1st Base; Connor Jackson: Connor had an excellent season. He showed that he not only has a great eye at the plate, but that he has the ability to hit .300 every year.

2nd base; Orlando Hudson: I am well aware that O-Dog is a free agent this year, but a second basemen that can hit .300 and win a gold glove at his position deserves at least another three years at about $9 million per year. Pay him, and keep a strong leader in the clubhouse that the young players on this squad need to be successful.

Shortstop; Stephen Drew: Stephen had an All-Star campaign and he has many more ahead of him. He is as solid as it gets at his position.

3rd Base; Mark Reynolds: If you look up raw talent in the dictionary, you will find his picture. I think that the D-Backs may have rushed him into the bigs, but they had no choice. He just oozes power with his swing. I want him to cut down on his swing with two strikes. If he does that, he will probably hit 35 HRS and have 125 RBI's per year for quite a while.

Left Field; Eric Byrnes: If his hammy's did not give him such problems this year, the fate of the team may have been different. All I can say is that when he dresses up for a game, he is always at 100% effort.

Center Field; Chris Young: CY is without question one of the next big superstars at his position. He has great speed, he has a good knowledge of how to run the outfield and he has the power and speed to be a perennial 30/30 guy.

Right Field; Justin Upton: Man, is this kid talented. He has speed, a cannon of an arm and the ability to hit the ball out of the park to all fields. He needs to work on being a better defensive outfielder, and I believe that will come in time. He will not be 22 until August of 2009.

Catcher; Chris Snyder: He had the mother of all injuries last year, but he nutted up.....Ahem...sorry Chris, and played his balls.....Ahem...sorry again Chris... off. He has shown signs of great power, he calls a great game, and his pitching staff love him. He has a chance to be an All Star some day.

Starting Pitchers:

Brandon Webb: Best ace in the NL

Dan Haren: Best pitcher that is not the ace in the NL

Max Scherzer: 23 year old phenom that has a fastball in the upper 90's and a change up that when is kept low in the strike zone is un-hittable. If he develops a major league breaking ball, and learns to pace himself for the long and tough MLB season, he will be 1AA in the starting staff.

Doug Davis: If he stays 4th in the rotation, he will win 15 games.

Randy Johnson: Per my calculation, Randy should have 302 wins right now. He had the misfortune of way too many no decisions this past year. If the " Big Unit" is your 5th starter, look out rest of the NL.

Bullpen:

Edgar Gonzalez: I am not sure how much longer Edgar would be willing to come out of the pen, but if he is willing, the team just got that much stronger. He would be a number 3 starter anywhere else in the majors.

Yusmeiro Petit: He and Edgar can both be bonafied starters elsewhere, but with them both here, the NL West is the D-Backs for the taking. Keep in mind that The Big Unit's decision effects both of them equally.

Chad Qualls: He was named closer for the team after Brandon Lyon showed that he was not cut out for the job since Jose Valverde left for the Astros. I have no problem with this choice. Everything Chad throws is hard. We just have to see if he can really be trusted for 65-70 appearances per year.

John Rauch: Yes I know he got lit up during the second half of the season, but I believe that he can be a major contributor next year. He also seems like a good clubhouse guy.

Wil Ledezma: Good left handed hitter specialist. Slaten needs to shape up or ship out.

Juan Cruz: Strong arm and he chews up innings. I wish the rest of his teammates would stop stealing his meal money so he can put on a few extra pounds.

Reserves: This without question is where GM Josh Byrnes is going to have to earn his money.

Chris Burke: Great experienced player, but a .186 batting average is just not going to cut it.

Augie Ojeda: A no-brainer, I love him as a player, and he will do whatever it takes to help his team win.

Miguel Montero: A nice second choice at catcher. I wish he could put up better offensive numbers, but when he catches, he is in the number eight slot. No harm, no foul.

Adam Dunn: He is listed as a reserve because at $10-$14 million, there is no way the D-Backs are going to resign him.

Jeff Salazar: Great off the bench guy that can provide occasional power. He is a keeper.

Chad Tracy: He showed signs of greatness this year, maybe it would be best for him if e cold land with a team that could use his skills on a daily basis.

Jamie D'Antona: This kid can hit with the best of them, the trouble is, the team has no place to put him. He should be a keeper, we shall see.

Alex Romero: Yet another prospect that can hit with some power, and is not afraid to make the tough plays in the outfield.

Biggest concerns: This team does not have a bonafied leader in the clubhouse. There is so much good raw talent, if they don't win the division next year, it will be a surprise.

Variables: Does the "Unit" return to get 300 wins? Do the D-backs package some young major league ready talent to get a seasoned veteran?

We shall see what happens during the off season, but I think this good core of young talented players could be the Rays of 2009.


Ahhhhh.....the beauty of the hot stove.

The Cow-Pokes are Cow-"Jokes"

Not only did the Dallas Cowboys lose to a much better team on Sunday,they also lost their starting quarterback for the next four weeks.

Dallas was outplayed on both sides of the ball as well as on special teams. That being said, they still had a chance to win the game. I will give them credit for that.

Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt almost gave the game away with his god awful timeout call trying to "ice" the Cowboy's placekicker (Polk) after his team blocked the FG try. The timeout gave the "Jokes" another crack at a 51 yd attempt. The kick was retried, and made, sending the game into overtime. During that OT when Tony "Romeo" broke the pinkie finger on his throwing hand. The Cardinals held the "Jokes" on defense, and blocked the ensuing punt and returned it for a game winning touchdown.

We shall see how Brad Johnson handles the offense for the next month. Luckily for the Cowboys, their upcoming schedule is not that imposing. They have the Rams next week, then the Bucs at home, then they are at the NY football Giants. After that the bye week follows next. Romeo's next game should be against the Redskins in the Nation's Capitol. From what I can see, the Cowboy's would be lucky to get to 10 wins. That being said, the playoffs may be out of reach.

Let's see how TO handles a new QB as well. He is on pace to catch 65 balls, which would be the second lowest total of his career. He caught 60 balls one year with the 49ers. It's a good thing he signed that big contract extension last year. Boo hoo, the petulant TO will not have his baby sitting QB throwing to him for a month. Let the side show begin.

Ahhh...the beauty of turmoil in Big "D"

Sorry I have been away......

Hello all, I have been away for the past week. I will be posting tomorrow. I have some fun things to talk about. Thanks for being patient. Talk to you soon.