Final NFL Picks

Now that we know who is in, tell everyone how you think the playoffs will pan out.

Super Bowl, Homeboy.

Ryan Longwell is Comin'.

Apparently Chili was confident in his abilities because there didn't seem to be much of an urge to gain a couple more yards before he kicked the game winning field goal...

Comin'

Yankees made a common sense signing today, by finally reeling in big Mark Teixeira. After buying out the Giambino, they picked up Swisher who is better suited for the slow yankee outfield. While this may not be popular, it made sense. Is Manny next? I hope not.

Fumblerooski....

"You've got to be kidding me!" of the game: Adrian 'Butterfingers' Peterson

Shiancoe is pissed he didn't win his first "We're Comin'" award..

T-Jack is officially off the bench...

Original NFL picks revisited...

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6338280913919106488&postID=4640529846442373411

Here's the link to our original NFL picks from last August. Some interesting picks. Enjoy.

"The Cardinals have knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs!" . . . OR NOT

Tarvaris Jackson is Comin!!!

Winter Meetings Thoughts...

-The Mets may have the best bullpen in the league next year. As an Angel fan I always thought he was overrated, but now with him and Putz the Metropolitans will only really be playing 7 inning games this season.

-The Yankess overpaid for Burnett, but they still got a solid #2 starter, which will go well with Sabathia. They'll be tough, but not invincible. Sabathia is back in the American Leage, Burnett is injury prone, Joba is overrated, and Mussina is gone. I predict the Yankess will have zero starting pitchers in the All-Star game next year.

-The A's think they want to compete next season. Is Holliday the answer? I love the guy, but they're still the A's.

-I can't wait to post a message to TheRiot when the Halos make a better offer to the Pads then the Cubs. Its only a short commute from Peavy's new home in Southern California to Angel Stadium...

-Rumor has it that the Angels made Teixeira a 7-year $160 million deal. Thats the same amount of years the Red Sox offered, but $10 million more total. As of today, the offer from the Angels has been bumped up to 8 years. Kinda thinkin he might stick around in Anaheim...

-With the Yanks throwing money all over the place, it would make sense for the Red Sox to spend a retarded amount of money on something they don't need. Kinda makes me nevevous, to be honest.

-No one is offering Manny much. They must all be worried that he's going to beat up the manager and quit running out ground balls...I love it.

Guess Who's Back...

Lead piranha and big fish of the Twins free-agent waters Nick Punto will be wearing the TC hat for the next two years.

Quarterbacks beware....

Jared Allen is Comin'...

Have I mentioned that I love this guy?

NFL Predictions

Lets have your predictions for remainder of the NFL seasons...division champs, wildcards, superbowl matchup and league MVP.

What Would Chili Do?

Let's ask ourselves: What Would Chili Do?

Order your motivational WWCD bracelets now.
But really, if you were a Vikings coach how do you counter having two Pro Bowl linemen suspended?

They have some guy named Wyms and some guy named Evans. They also signed some Schmo today. It sounds like they're going to be without Brian Robison, as well.

Can the Vikes stop the run with those guys? Do they need to have more run-stopping help from the secondary?

Do they just let Gus get into an offensive shootout? (read with sarcasm)

Do you try a 3-4 defense? Can you even do that in the NFL halfway through the season?

And second, are the Vikes screwed? Can they still win the division? Are the Giants going to tank that last game of the year? Could the Vikes beat the Lions with Garrett Mills and John David Booty at defensive tackle?

Williams wall suspension...

Pat and Kevin Williams have officially been suspened for the remaining 4 games of the regular season for testing positive for a banned diruretic that masks steroid use. The issue here is that the illegal diuretic is found in a weight loss pill that both Williams claim to have been using to make weight requirements. The weight loss pill, however, does not state in the ingredients that this illegal substance is contained in the product. The Williams claim they were unaware that they had taken the illegal substance. While the suspension is official, the Williams may file for an injuction to delay the suspensions, possibly until the beginning of next year which obviously would help the Vikings chances of making the playoffs.

My question is...Do you believe the Williams were taking the illegal diruetic to mask steroid use or to cut weight? If the latter, do you feel 4 games is the appropriate punishment for unknowingly taking an illegal subtance (which mind you has absolutely no affect on performance)?

BCS Thread

If you got hate in your heart...let it out.

Along with every other sports media outlet, let's begin this year's BCS debate. I'm sure it won't be much different than last year's...or any other year's, but it's still fun.

FIRST PLACE

Jared Allen is comin!!!

Turkey Day Boredum

So I sat on my ass yesterday, pigged out like a glutton, and watched three terrible football games. Every year we see Detroit get romped, and their fans are booing midway through the first quarter. (I was laughing out loud to myself when Dante threw the INT to the defensive lineman.) Is it time to do away with the traditional Detriot and Dallas games and have a "flex" schedule that they decide 3 weeks before Thanksgiving to decide who plays? Or is there too much going on during turkey day that the football games are just background noise? Post your comments.

Jacksonville...not a tough guy town.

The Williams Boys are Comin' - 2.5 sacks combined between the two of them (and we may not have many more opportunities to celebrate their contributions to the team).

Squnts is getting called out...again

Does anyone remember a while back when I said Donovan McNabb sucks and everyone (Squints) hated on me for it. Well HA!!! What do you think of me now bitches!

Last 2 games: 1 TD, 5 INTs, 2 Fumbles, 47% completion. And he was just benched today for some guy nobody, including his own team has ever heard of. Good call Squints, McNabb is definately 'great'.

And lets not forget these last two games were against Cincinatti and their 9 losses and Baltimore and their banged up secondary.

What do you have to say for yourself Mr. know-it-all sports reporter? Looks like RedDawg isn't so REDiculous after all.

Vikes offseason moves revisited

Its looking more and more like the Vikings won't be firing Chili anytime this season...

With that said, who should they go after for head coach and for quarterback during the offseason?

Looks like Warner, Matt Cassel and Derek Anderson might be available through a trade or free agency. Assuming Brady Quinn holds on to the starting job in Cleveland, I think Anderson is a terrific fit with the Vikings. KillahCraig also had an interesting idea with Michael Vick.

Head coach, I'd love to see Bill Cowher in Minnesota.

SHOOTOUT!

No, I'm not talking hockey. However, if there is a game to introduce somebody to college football, its gonna be on Saturday night. Nearly 80,000 cheering on two teams that will probably put over a hundred total points on the board. Plus this game isn't for any trophy or championship. We play to win the game.

Duke it out?

Troy "couldn't catcha cold" Williamson has challenged Brad "my only mistake is this mustache" Childress to a fight at the 50 yard line. Who would win? Williamson does have stone hands. Will Williams have a catch this Sunday? Did anyone know Willamson was still in the league?

Great News for Vikings Fans

Artis Hicks will replace Ryan Cook (aka Todd Steussie) at right tackle. The referee says Cook's number at least 2 times a game, and the announcers say his name at least twice more for allowing a sack.

On another note, how much money have Vikings players donated to charity this year due to fines? We have to be approaching 1 mil.

REDidculous Statements

1) Shooter: "Wouldn't trade 1 Al Jefferson for 2 Kevin Garnetts"
2) PA: "Would trade a 3rd rounder and Dwight Smith for Donovan McNabb"
3) Paul Allen: "Should move the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl"
4) Some Magazine: "Minneapolis is skinny because Mayor RT Rybak sets a good example with a regular exercise regimen"
5) Jim Petersen: "The Timberwolves can go 6 or 7 deep off the bench"
6) Doug Risebrough: "Chris Simon deserves a 2nd chance"
7) Some Packer fan: "Packers designed plays for Brett Favre to block"
8) Common: "Denard Span will win American League Rookie of the Year"
9) Rick Anderson: "Mark my words...this pitching staff is gonna be good"
10) Lavelle E. Neal: Twins Outfielder Michael Cuddyer is a "moving clinic on the basepaths"
11) Al Jefferson: "wants to be physically fit for the playoffs next year"
12) Gary Player: Compared Trevor Immelman's ball striking to Ben Hogan
13) Jared Allen: "I can go to a team that's competing for a championship right now"
14) PA: Daunte Culpepper's success in Minnesota was due to having Gus Frerotte as his backup
15) Greg Coleman: Because of the Jared Allen signing, DE Ray Edwards will have 'double digit sacks' next season
16) Mark Rosen: 98% of the businesses in this town could learn something from the way Brad Childress runs his meetings"
17) Shooter: "By no means is Brooks Bollinger out as backup quarterback"
18) Shooter: "Twins catcher Joe Mauer probably could hit 30 home runs a season with a minor swing adjustment, but that also could result in 100 strikeouts a season."
19) Dick Bremer: speaking on Carlos Gomez, "If he puts the ball on the ground, he has a 50/50 chance of getting a hit."
20) Some horse racing analyst: on Big Brown being the greatest horse ever, "the other owners now have to seriously consider whether they want to even run their horses in the Belmont and the Preakness, because it's demoralizing for a horse to go out there and get beat so convincingly, and that can affect their performance in other races."
21) Ray Edwards: "This year I definitely plan on going out here and breaking Strahan's record of 22 1/2 sacks this season."
22) Caller on the Paul Allen show: "Foye and Mayo would make a dominant backcourt."
23) Wolves Sr. VP of Marketing-Ted Johnson (on Wolves and KFAN back together): "We think this speaks volumes to where [KFAN] thinks our product is going or our team is going."
24) ESPN Analyst Mark Jackson: Thinks Kobe Bryant is 'as good, if not better than Michael Jordan."
25) Ron Gardenhire (on Mauer's 1st HR): "He'll probably turn on 14 more of those, 15 for the year."
26) ESPN Baseball Analyst Steve Phillips: Called 290 lbs. Livan Hernandez a 'tremendous athlete' after fielding a comebacker to the mound.
27) Tenna-B (with the Red Wings up 2-0): "It's over. Not only is it over, but we won't even see a game 5 in Detroit. Detroit will sweep"
28) Some Rube on the Paul Allen show: "Torii Hunter's success as a Twins was due to watching Joe Mauer's approach at the plate."
29) PA: on Scottie Pippen when making MJ vs. Kobe comparison, "was widely considered back in the day to be the 2nd best player in the game."
30) Common (to Tenna-B): "I think I'm going to learn how to check my own email"
31) Ron Coomer: "Jason Kubel, when he's going, has one of the best swings in baseball. If he could put it all together, he'd be one of the best in the game."
32) Jeff Van Gundy & Mark Jackson: Reacting to Phil Jackson calling a timeout after Paul Pierce had returned to the game after what had looked like a devastating injury, JVG: "I think he's the best timeout taker in the NBA", MJ: "That may have been one of the best ever", JVG: "He is unbelieveable at that", MJ: "That may be the best I've ever seen", JVG: "And I'm tellin' you, not one other guy calls that timeout."
33) Fred Hoiberg: "With a lineup of Foye, Miller, Gomes, Love and Jefferson, teams can't double team Jefferson leaving others open, it's pick your poison."
34) Kevin McHale: referring to Target Center, "I've spent too much time down there."
35) Common: "Tarvaris Jackson is better than Brett Favre."
36) Amir Pinnix: on Gophers football in '08, "I think they'll be pretty good. They'll make a bowl run."
37) Joe Christensen: on Twins' 2nd half of season, "Bold Prediction: They won't make an impact trade."
38) Ron Gardenhire: "Right now, I've got five no. 1 starters."
39) Vikings WR Coach George Stewart: comparing Bernard Berrian to Jerry Rice, "He reminds me a lot movement-wise of Jerry. He's faster, but movement, he reminds me a lot of Jerry."
40) PA: "Jim Kleinsasser is one of the most important pieces on the team."
41) Dick Bremer: "People like to see triples more than homeruns."
42) PA: "Opposing special teams coaches plan their schemes around Heath Farwell."
43) Tim Brewster: "Eric Decker is truly one of the best college football players in the country."
44) Lions Coach Rod Marinelli: on Jon Kitna, "To me, there's not a better quarterback in the NFC."
45) KFAN College Football Analyst Justin Conzemius: expects Minnesota to "compete for a Big Ten title in (Coach Tim Brewster's) fourth season (2010)."
46) Greg Coleman: "Sydney Rice will make people forget about Randy Moss."
47) Bert Blyleven: said Carlos Gomez is a "future All-Star" and once again made comparisons to Ricky Henderson.
48) Sid Hartman: "I believe that in Gus Frerotte, the team has the NFL's best back quarterback."
49) Jim Souhan: "The Twins are actually playing Joe Mauer too much."
50) Tim Brewster: on Florida Atlantic, "They've got some players that can play at Ohio St., that is very similar to Ohio St., a physical football team. To be quite honest with ya, they're somewhat similar."
51) Tim Brewster: "Florida Atlantic might be the best 1-2 team in the country."
52) Roy Williams: "We still have a realistic chance to make the playoffs"
53) Greg Coleman: compared Antoine Winfield's performance vs. the Saints to Kirby Puckett's peformance in game 6 of the 1991 World Series.
54) Justin Conzemius: "the Gophers' defense is Minnesota's version of the Steel Curtain."
55) Chad Greenway: "The Lions can put up 40-50 points with those Receivers."
56) Jared Allen: "0-4 Detroit Lions are a dangerous team right now."
57) Sid Hartman: "The Vikings have lost the best linebacker in football in E.J. Henderson."
58) Sid Hartman: "The Vikings could easily be 5-1 or 4-2 with a break or two."
59) PA: "With E.J. Henderson, it's like having 2 players on the field."
60) Randy Foye: "On a nightly basis, you can count on me for between 7 and 11 assists and between 16 and 22 points, easy. And also rebound and guard the best point guard on the other team."
61) Greg Coleman: "Punters have the best hands on the team."
62) Visanthe Shiancoe: "I'm just glad that the defense is game-planning me a little bit and taking pressure off of other people like Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian and Bobby Wade."
63) Randy Wittman: previewing 0-3 Spurs vs. his 1-2 Wolves, "This is going to be like game 7 of the playoffs."
64) Tom Hanneman: during Spurs/Wolves game, the 4th game of the season, said it's like a "playoff atmosphere."
65) Justin Conzemius: "Mike Kafka (Northwestern QB) had runs of 50, 37, 32 and 22. If you take away those runs it's a completely different game and the Gophers get the win."
66) Sid Hartman: On Vikings 4-sack performance on Aaron Rodgers, "when [Jared] Allen went to work, he and the Vikings defense wound up putting more pressure on an opposing quarterback than I have seen, even including they days of the purple people eaters."
67) Norm Coleman: on if he would have asked for a recount had he lost, "I would, I would step back. I just think the healing process is so important, the possibility of any change of this magnitude in the voting system we have is so remote, but that would be my judgement."

Feel free to vent...and I don't mean have a couple Coors Lights.

"You've got to be kidding me!" of the game: You tell me - too many options...

The Lakers are 7-0

Both other times Phil Jackson's teams have been 7-0 or better he has won an NBA title...

Final Predictions...

Ok, a little late on this one, but who ya got for MLB awards?

Finally.

Adrian Peterson is Comin. Big time.

Hockey isn't interesting.

Tell us why here...

Anyone else liking the NBA?

They're still not playing defense. They're still traveling. But I'm liking it.
Everyone rips on the NBA. Everyone is waiting for college basketball to start cause kids try and defense is played, ya da ya da ya da.
It's about time it was cool to like the NBA. Cause I'm drinking the Kool-aid.

• You've got Boston and LA good again. Can the Celtics repeat? Can the Lakers improve with Andrew Bynum?
• You've got the Pistons. They got AI now.
• You've got Cleveland. They've got LeBron and the King's finally got someone to pass to (Mo Williams). And no, not the Moe Williams that was a third down back for the Vikings.
• You've got the Hornets and Chris Paul, who is maybe the second best player in the league right now.
• You've got Phoenix with The Big Aristotle, Steve Nash, Amare, Grant Hill, Raja.
• You've got Mark Cuban and Dirk in big D.
• You've got D-Wade, Chris Bosh, the young Blazers, the upstart Timberwolves and the New York Knicks (who haven't played Eddy Curry or Stephon Marbury this year).

That's a lot of interesting crap. And it's way sweeter in HD now too. You guys watching this stuff?

This is a kick ass offense when executed properly...

Who's comin'? You tell me...

I don't know much about the NBA...

But I'll try to get something going here.

-Oden is out for 3-4 weeks. Sam Bowie anyone?
-"Four more years" for Andrew Bynum.
-Houston Rockets anyone??? If they stay healthy and Ron Artest keeps his mouth shut, things might be looking up.
-Any major sleepers this year? Anyone a little overrated?
-Who's the favorite? Who's gonna take it?

Please, opine!

Everyone else is criticizing Selig's decision the other night...

so why don't we?

The Worst Damn Sports Newtork Period

So Squints' last post got me thinking...

What could make FOX any worse? Even better, what would it take to put together the worst television station in sports history?

Just a few suggestions:

-Steve Phillips

-John Madden

-FOX technology

-ESPN's east coast bias

-Shannon Sharpe and Keyshawn Johnson hosting their rendition of PTI

-Strictly female game broadcasters

FOX sucks

Here are my top reasons for hating FOX

1. Terry, Howie and Jimmy

2. They don't have an HD channel in GF

3. They constantly show all fans who nervously cover their face between pitches in MLB

4. They use a robot during football coverage

5. Joe Buck didn't like Randy Moss' celebration.

P.S. I secretly just made this post so I didn't have to see all those ugly mustaches at the top of the screen when I go to this site.

Inspiring

don't ask how i stumbled across this site, but it gives new appreciation for stasche and how important it has been to the game

http://www.thephatphree.com/features.asp?StoryID=445&sectionID=2

Free Philly Cheese Steaks at Subway!

Subway said they will be giving away free Philly Cheese Steak subs in honor of every World Series win the Phillies pull off this year! I guess I know what I'm having for lunch tomorrow.

Alright, maybe not so much. I don't even really like Subway. But the Phils took game one.

Thoughts?

P.A. and Dub...

Cocaine's a hell of a drug...

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/tv/31980739.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aUg:oaEQDUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Parody in Sports - Salary Cap.

What's everyone's thoughts on having a salary cap in baseball like they do in all the other major sports? The parody in football is unreal, but the same teams year after year after year do well and the same teams do poorly in baseball. There are the few well managed small market teams that manage to compete most years such as the Twins, A's, Marlins and maybe a couple of others, which makes for good stories. Naps is right about the Rays, they are one of the best sports stories in recent memory, but they're season probably wouldn't be so impressive if there was a salary cap. There's no doubt that ESPN would hate having a cap (they're east coast boners might become half chubs), but I'd like to know what you guys think.

Red Sox...Dead.

Baseball fans outside of Chowder Head Nation can breathe easy once again. This may be one of the poorest rated World Series in recent history, but to true baseball fans around the world, it will consist of one of the greatest team sports stories in years. What the Rays have done this year is an unbelievable achievement and I will be behind my American League bretheren throughout this series.

Props to my boy, Joe Madden, who spent just about his entire MLB career in the Angels organization before getting the Tampa Bay job.

Having trouble concentrating? Have you suffered any major head injuries throughout your career?

"You've got to be kidding me!" of the game: Gus Frerotte

Please, Lord, Not Again...

I am praying to the Almighty that last night was not a preview of things to come in the ALCS. The Chowds pulled off another miracle post-season victory against the Rays, scoring 8 runs in the last two innings to win the game 8-7.

If the Red Sox make another playoff comeback, I may not see November.

QB Solution

So, as many Vikings are fed up with the Chili Dynasty, I got to wondering where this team is going in the next two or three years. It is obvious that this team is not a playoff contender, and if they somehow back their way into the playoffs (Playoffs!?!?!?), it is likely that they will be one and done. We still will not have an answer at the quarterback position, AP will be one year older, and the chances of this team becoming a Super Bowl force seems very unlikely with our inept coach.

I do not see how Zigi Wilf can keep Chili on after this year considering the fans' outcry for a change. If we speculate that a new coach comes to town, the Vikings will still be a QB away from being a serious contender. T-jack is not the answer, Gus is not the answer, and JDB is not the answer in the short term and will never be the answer in my opinion. No free agents QB's come to mind and it will most likely take 2 or 3 years to develop a rookie which would waste the prime of many of our players.

But wait a minute, there is a free agent out there. He led his team to a playoff victory at Lambeau Field. He is considered one of the greatest athletes to ever play the quarterback position.

Having trouble figuring it out?? The Vikings answer to the QB question is simple. MIKE VICK. Call me crazy, but to me, he is the best chance that this team has to win a Super Bowl in the next two or three years. I think he is going to come out of prison with something to prove. You cannot defend him for dogfighting, but the penalty was harsh and he did not deserve 2 years in jail. The public usually forgives a guy who admits his mistakes, and Vick has already admitted he was wrong, and he has more than paid for his crime. Give him a chance. The Vikings don't have anything to lose. They will be able to sign him for cheap, and if he doesn't return at the same skill level, they can easily cut him.

With so many good players on this Vikings roster, in the prime of their careers, the window for this team to win a Super Bowl is closing as we speek. If you guys can see a better solution, please post your arguments.

Short-Term Vikes Outlook

Alright, while it hasn't been pretty, the Vikes have clawed there way back to .500 and are tied a top the NFC North standings. I'm not going to jump the gun and start talking about how they will finish the season, so let's talk short term.

The next four weeks look like this:
Week 7 at Chicago
Week 8 Bye
Week 9 vs Houston
Week 10 vs Green Bay

Where will Chili and the boys be sitting in a month? Please, opine.

A Terrible Team from a Terrible City with a Terrible Coaching Staff and Terrible Jerseys...

Who is Comin'? You tell me. I didn't get to see much of the second half.

Fantasy Hockey Update

I know, I know, calm down. I just wanted to brag up my team a little. Some team highlights:

Zach Parisie
Jason Blake
Drew Stafford
Ryan Potulney
Mike Commodore
Matt Green
TJ Oshie
Kyle Okposo

I will hopefully pick up Chris Porter on waivers tomorrow and am looking to trade for John Toews. How jealous are you? Fantasy Hockey glory, here I come!

Oh, and also, my team name is "Hockey is Weak."

Snapshots

With hockey season approaching (the puck drops on the NHL tomorrow night), I figured I'd practice my snapshots. Just a couple quick thoughts that don't fit in our conversations, that I like, but you probably won't.

Wanna feel old? The second line defensman of the St. Louis Blues was born on 1-18-90.

If I were Cole Hamels, I'd buzz one past Manny's head in his third AB tomorrow, then yell at him.

This probably isn't going to be a busy offseason for the cubs after the fukudome bust.

How dominant is Jimmie Johnson right now? So consistant.

I don't like The Red River Shootout being played at the state fair every year. They need to man up and play in the home stadiums, alternating years like everybody else.

The only sports on the schedule today is NBA preseason. Depressing.

On a More Positive Note

Now that every team that anyone cares about around here is done, let's think back to some of those moments this season that made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside....in other words, the moments that convinced us that we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.

What were your favorite Twins/Cubs/Angels moments of 2008?

Well that was a Brees...

Antoine Winfield is Comin!!!

Baseball Realignment

Reddog's point got me to thinkin' about what I consider a pretty interesting topic - how division alignment could be shuffled to make six divisions of five teams. I agree it is dumb to have four teams in the AL West and six in the NL Central. So how would you fix it? My thoughts:

1. Move Kansas City from the AL Central to the AL West

2. Switch Milwaukee back to an AL team

Resulting in:

AL West:
LAA, TEX, SEA, OAK, KC
AL Central:
MIN, CHW, CLE, DET, MIL
AL East:
NYY, BOS, TOR, BAL, TB

NL West:
LAD, ARI, COL, SF, SD
NL Central:
STL, CHC, PIT, HOU, CIN
NL East:
NYM, PHI, FLA, WAS, ATL

This seems to make the most sense geographically. I also considered moving Houston to the AL West, but I think it makes more sense to have both an AL and NL team in Texas.

Most Hated Things in Baseball

1. The Red Sox
2. The Yankees
3. The Dodgers
4. Manny Ramirez
5. The division series five game format
6. Scott Boras
7. Replay
8. The White Sox
9. A.J. Pierzynski
10. Steve Phillips

Keep the list going...

Manny

Pretty good read here if you have some time. A little perspective as to why the Red Sox dealt Manny at the deadline.

A Little Twins Talk

...just to make you feel important around here during the playoffs.

No, but seriously. I have an inside source telling me that the Twins might be looking to make a deal for a third baseman in a deal that might include Delmon Young.

Soooooooo, Twins fans, would you be willing to part ways with DY? What would you be willing to give up for that big right-handed bat you've all been looking for? Please, opine...

Cubs DEAD!!

It's October, and the Cubbies are playing their typical style of October baseball. Very, very comical.

Feel that chill

Its October! Mike and Mike did it this morning, and I do basically whatever they do. So, who ya got?

Twins officially DEAD.

White Sox Suck

Well, at least we can devote all of our energy to the Halos now.

The Twins are Dead.....Again

I really have a terrible feeling about this game tomorrow. I don't like the Twins chances. Blackburn has been pitching on fumes since August and the Twins are a dismal 2-7 in Chicago this year. Doesn't seem promising. I hope I'm wrong. Maybe I am. After all this Minnesota team isn't the Vikings who always seem to manage to choke down the stretch in some absolutely heart breaking way.

But hey, either way, still an increadible year and the future seems very bright with a young, talented starting rotation and outfield with a couple of perrenial all-stars / MVP candidates leading the way.

Lets hope they can pull it off tomorrow night, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up. But I will say that my hopes are sky hight for next year and the years to come.

New Head Coach Talk

So if this guy actually does end up getting fired....

Who would you like to see brought in? We're talking realistic guys on the market for head coaching jobs.

Like Monkeys F***ing a Football

"You've got to be kidding me!" of the game: Brad Childress

Playoff Picture

Here are the possibilities (assuming the Rays win the East):

(WC)Red Sox @ (W)Angels
(C)Twins/White Sox @ (E)Rays

(WC)Mets @ (C)Cubs
(W) Dodgers @ (E) Phillies
or
(WC)Brewers @ (E) Phillies
(W) Dodgers @ (C) Cubs

White Sox....Dead.

Call 'em what you want...

Stained, run through the wash with the reds, in the dirty clothes hamper, smelly, sweaty, got a couple holes in them, your mom mismatched them with a different pair, hard and crusty from sitting in your gym locker for a month, whatever...

The White Sox are Dead.

Celebrity Look-alikes

Watching the game last night, I realized that Grant Satrom could be Justin Morneau's long lost brother. Then, just now, i was on cubs.com and saw that Rich Harden is pitching tonight. His profile picture might as well be Marty Johnson. Anybody got any others?

THE TWINS ARE COMIN!!!!!!!!!!

1/2 GAME, HOMEBOY!

WHITE SOX.....STAINED!
RED SOX......BLEACHED!
RAYS.......STUNG!

WE'RE COMIN!!!

MNF crew

Me and Naps are sitting around ripping on Tony Kornheiser or however you spell that jackass' name. And I felt this would be an appropriate blog topic.
Why does Monday Night Football feel they need to have this "common man" feel to the booth?
I think it's almost insulting. Like we "need" Kornheiser to dumb football down enough for all of us to understand it.
Before him it was Dennis Miller, John Madden, Dan Deer Dork (or Deirdorf) and Boomer Esiason. All douche bags. The comedy is forced (Miller) or the commentators are just bumbling idiots (Madden, Deer Dork).
I've rarely had a problem with the play-by-play guy whether it was Al Michaels or Mike Torico. I also like the "football mind" guys. Jaws, Dan Fouts, Joe Theismann.
It's the "funny" guy who I always hate.
So I pose this: Who would you like to see in the booth with Torico and Jaws? Or would you just like two guys? Or are you frickin retarded enough to like Tony Kornhole? Weigh in, friends, weigh in.

Easy as Ping Pong

Gus Frerotte is Comin!!!

Since we've already dipped into the topic...

Let's play the free agent game!

I'll give you the future free agent, you tell me who he's going to play for next year.

Pudge Rodriguez
Jason Varitek
Nomar Garciaparra
Mark Teixeira
Orlando Hudson
Orlando Cabrera
Casey Blake
Joe Crede
Milton Bradley
Pat Burrell
Adam Dunn
Raul Ibanez
Manny Ramirez
Juan Rivera
Rocco Baldelli
Bobby Abreu
Ryan Dempster
John Garland
Derek Lowe
Andy Pettite
C.C. Sabathia
Ben Sheets
Frankie Rodriguez
Kerry Wood

*List does not include anyone with a club option, nor does it include middle relievers.
**I also just picked the guys I felt were worth the discussion.

David Ortiz

I'm watching the morning Sportscenter and Mike & Mike in the Morning, and they just showed the highlights from last nights Red Sox beat down at the hands of the Rays. In a 6-2 game in the third inning, Gabe Gross knubs one back toward pitcher Javier Lopez. He can't control it, and Willie Aybar scores giving the Rays seven runs with two outs in the bottom of the third. The next camera shot is of David Ortiz shaking his head in disgust as his pitcher couldn't make the play. David Ortiz is so bad that he is yet to take the field this season! How is some big ogre that has started less games in the field than Ryan Braun fit to judge anybodys fielding ability? Go down the tunnel and get in the cage or else get on the phone and call Fred McGriff, maybe he has an old Tom Emanski video lying around for you.

Big Z's no-no

Sunday night when Zambrano blanked the astros, he became the third venezuelan to throw a no-hitter. American-born pitchers have thrown the most no-nos. The dominican republic have also had three pitchers not allow a hit in a game. Can you name the two countries that have had two pithers throw no-hitters?

BREAKING NEWS

T-Jack is benched, and Gus will be the starter barring injuries for the rest of the season. Thoughts and comments...

Twins...DEAD!!

After suffering another superbly frustrating defeat, the Twins find themselves 2.5 games back of the ChiSox with 11 games to go. Really tough one to swallow, but even if the Twins found a way to make the playoffs, they wouldn't have been a factor anyway. So, I propose to you guys, what off season moves should the Twins make to be better next year?? Does Punto stay or go? What to do with Cuddyer?? Which scrub veterans are we going to bring in for "leadership"?? Do we need another quality arm?? Are we ever going to find a power hitting 3rd basemen?? Have at it...

Fire Brad Childress

Let's see everyone's prediction as to when Chili will be fired.

Rams

St. Louis has to be considered in the poll for worst team in the NFL. They've been pathetic in the first two. They made Donovan McNabb look like a capable QB in the first game.

I'm back

I'm going to reannounce my presence with authority.
Typical Minnesota Vikings ineptitude has brought me out of temporary retirement.
The Minnesota Vikings would lose this way. A bad team, a normal bad team, say the St. Louis Rams, would have lost 35-14 to Peyton Manning's Colts. They would have rolled over and taken their whooping like a real bad team does.
Not the Vikings. The Vikings have to torture you for a little bit. THey have to give you that little bit of hope that they can actually pull this off. The Vikings are the worst kind of bad team. They lose, and they make it sting a little while they're at it.
Once again, it was T-Joke leading the charge. It's real damn bad sign in the NFL when you're a better quarterback outside of the pocket than in it. That means the only way you're any fricking good is if you're running for your life. You have the best running back in the world behind you to free up space for the passing game, and you still can't throw a touchdown pass.
I'll give Jackson this, though: He doesn't have a whole lot of receiving targets to pick from. Bernard Berrian is the field-stretcher? Yikes. Visanthe Shiancoe is your red-zone option? crap. Then again, let's get real. Jackson would find a way to screw up the 1998 corps of Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Jake Reed.
This Viking team would have to go 8-6 now the rest of the way just to finish at. 500. They might do that. They might rattle a few wins off solely on the play of their defense. They'll have people in the Twin Cities drinking the purple Kool-Aid.
But don't forget; this is the kind of bad team that likes to bait its fans into hope just to make the failure sting a little more.

Cooked, Steamed, Simmered

"You've got to be kidding me" of the game: Brad Childress

Go ahead, let it out...

College Football

College football is gay.

Simple question...

If the Bucs are looking to get rid of Garcia, should the Vikes go after him?

Ya, I'm calling YOU out Squints

So Mr. big bad Herald sports writer gets his own blog, and now he doesn't have to post on here any more?? What the hey?? How hard is it to write a high school football story any way?? Stop creepin out the high school girls at the volleyball matches and get back on We're comin, we're comin.

The final stretch...

So we all made our pre-season and mid-season predictions as to how we thought the mlb season would pan out. Well now its time for a quick rundown of where the teams are actually at and your chance to give a final home-stretch analysis of what you think is going to happen.

AL East:
Tampa Bay has a 1.5 game lead over the Sawx going with about three weeks to play, while Toronto has taken a lead over the Yankees for third in the division (they've won 10 in a row). Boston seems to be closing in fast...can the Rays fight them off for the division???

AL Central:
Chicago has a single game lead over the Twins, which is both lucky for them and ridiculous for Minnesota. Chicago has sustained injuries to Contreras, Quentin, and now Konerko, and has been giving the Twins about every opportunity in the world to take the lead in the division by a few games. Unfortunately, Minnesota's bullpen had their own agenda, which consisted of blowing what seems like 10 late game leads in the past two weeks.

AL West:
Angels failed to reduce the magic number to 1 last night. Lead division by 16.5. Nuff said. The only thing giving them any sort of motivation at this point is the fight for the best record in baseball and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

NL East:
The Mets are holding on to a 2.5 game lead over the Phils and are hoping the don't duplicate their monumental choke job from last year. For some reason, I don't think they are going to let that happen again, but then again, they are the Mets.

NL Central:
Chicago has been struggling of late, but still maintains a 4.5 game lead over the Brewers. If they maintain their division lead, they have pretty much sealed home field for the first couple rounds of the playoffs. Milwaukee, on the other hand, is fighting for a playoff spot for the first time in, like, 20 years with about a 3 game lead over the Phillys in the wild card. This could be an interesting race...

NL West:
The Common Man's division: the best of the lousy, and the lousiest of the best. The Dodgers have opened up a 2.5 game lead over the D-Backs recently and are looking to steal some of the Angels thunder, being LA's other team in the playoffs. Its probably going to come down to pitching out west, being that both offenses (other than Dunn and Ramirez) pretty much suck. This one could be a toss up, as there is no real clear favorite. One would have to give the Dodgers the upper hand right now, simply because of their lead with time running out.

Alright, your turn. How is the playoff race going to play out? Who makes it? Who just misses is? Who wins it all?

TARvarisED and FEATHERED

"You've got to be kidding me" of the game: Tarvaris Jackson

LA Angels Front Office PG

the best hitler parody i've seen to date.

Twins Rant

Some things i'm sick of seeing:
Alexi Casilla softly foul out to 3rd or 1st. He did it twice in the game last night. His swing is "looping" which causes him to make terrible contact. He has not been what he was earlier since coming off the DL.

3rd basemen make trowing errors to 1st. I know, i know this might sound very hypocritical considering my struggles playing third, but c'mon, these guys are big leaguers. Tolbert last night and Buscher consistently make great stops and proceed to lob the ball over to 1st. Throw the ball hard!! Morneau is above average defensively and a big freakin Canadian. At least give him a chance to dig it out of the dirt...

Joe Nathan blowing saves. Not for sure, but has he blown three in a row?? He is by far our most rested arm in the bullpen, so why is he struggling so much against the M's, the A's, and the Jays? In the game last night he was facing a rookie with 10 MLB at bats for the 3rd out. He gets ahead of the guy 1-2 and proceeds to try to fool him on off speed pitches. Blow this rook away with the heater!!!!!!!!!!! One of the best closers in baseball is trying to fool a rookie!?!?!? Throw the cheese and challenge him!!! AH!!!!!!!!

At least the Chi-Sox are faltering as well, but the Twins better figure it out or they will be golfing in October.

Team Name and Logo Ranking

Alright, I want to hear your top five favorite professional sports team names and your top five professional sports team logos. Two separate lists. You must stick to baseball, basketball, football, and hockey.

If you're feeling up to it go ahead and give your top three NCAA team mascots and logos.

I hate bonzer

Twins Batting Stances

This guy is impressive.

McKinnie Suspended

Out for first 4 games of the season for clubbin' and brawlin'. I think he had made 85 consecutive starts before this....

New Member Update!

Piranhas is in the building!!!

Welcome, amigo. The rules of the blog are on the right toolbar...check them out.

Always feel free to hate on RedDog 20/20.

Feel free to invite more people.

And try not to get too distracted from all that reading about THE LAW.

Steroids? Hall?

Right now, there are 7 'active' players with 500 or more home runs. Here is the list:

Barry Bonds 762
Sammy Sosa 609
Ken Griffey Jr. 609
Alex Rodriguez 546
Jim Thome 535
Frank Thomas 521
Manny Ramirez 517

Bonds and Sosa are not technically acitve, but neither has officially retired and are still looking for jobs. My question is, who on this list do you believe took steroids and who do you believe is a hall of famer?

Your 2008 Most Hated Starting Lineup

Your personal most hated players....all on one hateful team! Fill in the blanks...
C___________
1b___________
2b___________
3b___________
ss___________
lf___________
cf___________
rf___________

sp___________
rp___________
cl___________

mgr___________

MLB Awards

Pick your award winners for this season: MVP, Cy Young

Eddie to the rescue...maybe

Finally, we get some good news about the Twins bullpen...the team aquired Eddie Guardado for a 'Hamgurger'. Anyways, with the Twins up 2-1 in the 8th last night Guardado came on and looks great, inducing three weak popups in a quick 1-2-3 half inning. Then, the usually automatic, Joe Nathan comes on to blow the save in the 9th. Twins end up losing when Crain gives up 2 runs in the bottom of the 11th. I still hate our f'n bullpen.

Vikings / NFL Predictions

With the NFL preseason well under way, what are everyone's predictions for how the Vikings will do this season? Pick your division and wildcard winners and also you superbowl matchup and champ as well.

Fantasy Football

Next Sunday at 2:15 we will be having a fantasy football draft. Details:

League - Bonzers Pub
Password - schooner
Website - espn.com
Red Dawg - gay

Twins over Angels in Series Opener

Nick Punto hit a lead off triple in the top of the 12th inning and was later driven in by a Denard Span single to give the Twins a 2-1 lead. Joe Nathan came on in the bottom to shut the door for the Twins. The Twins are now tied for the Wild Card and only a half game behind the Sox.

Booyah Naps!

GF Update

So, i've been gone for about a week and a half and was wondering whats happenin' up north. I hear we got swept the last softball game..figures since I wasn't there. Any good hook up stories? How was WeFest? Has our apartment become the North end Southgate? And why haven't you guys got Jay on here? Get on it

Who is your MVP?

you guys saw through my other one, so heres a new one:

Candidate 1: .292/.410/.514
25HR, 95R, 116RBI, 43SB
team record: 98-64, playoffs
gold glove, silver slugger

Candidate 2: .319/.363/.519
22HR, 94R, 86RBI, 10SB
team record: 94-68, playoffs
batting champ
Candidate 3: .302/.391/.492
18HR, 102R, 100RBI, 2SB
team record: 98-64, playoffs
silver slugger, all-star

Casilla off DL

Casilla took Bass's spot on the roster today after going 4-7 in a rehad stint in the minors. This should be a big boost for the Twinks, especially offensively, where Nick Punto is looking more and more like his 2007 self. With Casilla in the 2 hole playing 2B and Everett, Harris, Buscher and Punto alternating starts on the left side of the infield, I feel much better about our chances to make a run and do something in the playoffs.

I called it...

Anyone see 1st and 10 lately? Our boy, Skip, said Bolt's performance in the Olympics is more impressive than Phelps'. No further comment necessary.

Olympic Sports

Naps and I got in a drunken argument about this the other night (I know, weird). Anyways, my feeling is that the only sports that should be played in the olympics are the ones where winning a gold medal is the pinnacle of your sport. So, that means, basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, (golf) should NOT be olympic sports. Just my opinion, and Naps, I already know yours.

What does everyone else think?

Lightning Bolt

Apparently 12% of ESPN viewers believe that Usain Bolt's world record in the 100 m dash was more impressive than Michael Phelp's 8 gold medals.

On a side note: Apparently 12% of ESPN viewers are complete retards.

add fox to the list of hated networks

i hate fox saturday baseball.

if you're going to steal three games a week, at least give people the option of which one they want to watch.

because fox needs to show three regional games, and not allow anyone else to broadcast those games, i am not able to watch the angels because they aren't in my region. and because fox owns the rights to those games, the mlb package that i pay for "to see every game in the country whenever i want" isn't allowed to show the game either.

could it get any worse? yes.

so they decide to show the twins game this week, not allowing me to watch it on fsn, where at least the booth guys know how to pronounce the players' names. (if i hear punto pronounced 'punt-o' one more time, i'm going to throw my laptop through the damn television).

oh yeah, let's not forget fox's sound issues. the one time the angels were on, there was no sound until the 7th inning. now, as i write this, my television volume is set to 60 so i can hear the god forsaken broadcast. 60? what's the big deal you say? well, i usually have the volume set somewhere around 18, so now when i change the channel, my ear drums just about explode if my thumb isn't quick enough to the volume button.

mlb network!!!! where are you!?!?!?!

How boring is South Dakota...

...you tell me!?

I'm calling it right now...

Skip Brainless and a number of other ESPN "journalists" will take away from Phelps' accomplishment by saying that he didn't break a world record in all of his races. True, but swimming is much deeper around the world than it was 36 years ago.

And those youtube videos below, well, I tried to post them literally about 3 weeks ago and the just popped up now.

Would you rather...?

...see Aaron Rogers suck it up this season or Brett Favre tear it up?

...see Adrian Peterson have a horrible season but stay healthy or have 3 great games then suffer a season-ending injury?

...watch the Twins lose to the Angels in the ALCS or the Cubs in the World Series?

...have your eyeballs glued open while a never-ending Dale Jr. interview with Tim Cowlishaw was on TV or while Woody Paige continuously kept modeling each wig/outfit he's worn on Around the Horn in his career?

...give Steve Phillips a Cleveland Steamer or John Kruk a Cincinnati Bowtie?

Who had top year?

Candidate 1: .321/.375/.559
34HR, 97R, 130RBI, 3SB
team record: 96-66, playoffs
Silver Slugger

Candidate 2: .287/.413/.636
54HR, 115R, 137RBI, 1SB
team record: 86-76
Silver Slugger, All-Star

Candidate 3: .315/.385/.622
44HR, 103R, 120RBI, 7SB
team record: 90-72
Silver Slugger, All-Star

Candidate 4: .270/.381/.545
39HR, 77R, 114RBI, 0SB
team record: 93-69, playoffs
about 100 less ABs than the rest,

Candidate 5: .343/.414/.483
14HR, 118R, 97RBI, 34SB
team record: 97-65, playoffs
Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, Hank Aaron Award, All-Star

Candidate 6: .277ERA, .997WHIP
233.7IP, 245K, 47BB, 1CG
team record: 96-66, playoffs
Cy Young Award, Triple Crown, All-Star

Thought some of you might appreciate this...

Guess who?

Stretch Run

We're Comin!...to the stretch run of this baseball season. Midway through August and division battles are heating up. What's everyone's opinion on how things will shape up? Tight races in the AL East and Central, and all of the NL divisions....

I think that the injuries to Longoria and Crawford are really going to hurt the Rays and expect them to fade coming down the stretch. I expect the Red Sox to leap frog them in the division and then the Twins to do the same in the Wild Card, which would lead to a very ugly week at apt. 215 with the Angels and Twins going at it in the ALDS.

As for the NL, which I really don't care about because they are a second rate league...I think the struggling Mets bullpen will cause them to lose ground to the Phils and Fish, and I pick the Marlins (who would have guessed they would be in the race this late??) Central goes to the Cubbies with the Brew Crew winning the Wild Card. The addition of Manny is going to push the Dodgers to the playoffs.

he's comin...

Phelps vs. Thorpedo

Phelps is REDiclulously good. He absolutely murured the field in the 200 Free yesterday and lowered his own world record. This with Ian Thorpe in the stands watching. Thorpe was quoted as saything that he doubts Phelps' ability to even match Spitz's 7 golds, much less pass him. We'll c about that Mr. Thorpe. If you want to talk shit, come out of retirement so you can get "smashed" just like the dirty French.

Already tied for the most golf medals of all time, Phelps is 3 for 3 this year with his toughest race, the 4 X 100 free relay, (in terms of winning the gold) out of the way. He is favored in all of his remaining races. The only questionable race might be the 100 butterfly, where fellow American Ian Crocker could present some competition, but I don't see it happening for Crocker. This seems to be history in the making here and we are all privlileged to witness it.

I hate the French

How sweet was it watching the anchor from the American relay team chase down the dirty French bastard that said their team was going to "crush" the Americans? That last 50 meters has to go down as one of the best swimming performances of all-time. Please comment, especially the ex-swimmers.

Favre Trade Details

link - to - report

Deatails of what the Packers get in return for Favre.

P.S. The weather is pretty nice our here in SoCal, in case you all were wondering...

Already agitated by football announcers

I've only seen two preseason football games so far this season, but I'm already sick of Tony Kornheiser in a football booth.
Who is the genius who says we need an "Ordinary Joe" in the booth to offset the play by play (Mike Torico) and the boring football mind (Ron Jaworski)?
They tried it with Dennis Miller. I don't like it.
Kornheiser is not funny. He's not a great football mind. What's he bringing to the table here?
It almost makes me yearn for the third-rate FOX announcers the Vikings always draw? Curt Menefee and Joe Blow Baldinger or whatever their names are.
Fuck I hate bad announcers. And Brett Favre.

Coincidence???

Liriano gets called up and Twins take over sole position of first place in the Central in his first start. Coincidence??

Well probably, but Liriano looked pretty good, pitching 6 scoreless innings with 5 Ks, 3 hits, and 3 walks. Maybe I was wrong about the rag tag infield, maybe we can still win this way. But I'm still worried about that bullpen, hopefully we can pick someone up off waivers.

Trade Deadline Passed

3:13 pm. With the trade deadline passed, I've been scowering the internet trying to find any news or rumors about a twins deal, but I've found nothing. So unless a deal gets announced later or we pick someone up off waivers, we're gonna have to play it out with the rag tag infield of buscher/harris, everett and punto. YAY!

Twins don't make a move at the trade deadline even though the White Sox and Tigers are making big moves? Big suprise there. The Twins do it every year. They better at least find a way to bring up Liriano.

Pudge to Yanks

Pudge for Farnsworth straight up. Gives the Yankees ANOTHER big bat and Detroit gets bullpen help. The Tigers are kind of treading water right now in 3rd place in the Central, and now we will see Brandon Inge behind the plate most of the time. I think the Tigers are DEAD for this year, and this move may push the Yankees to the top of the East.

Why ESPN is Garbage

So after the trade of the year went down, ESPN finally decided to shed some light on the Halos for the first time this season. The problem was, they didn't know what they hell they were talking about.

I have now heard about ten different times, all from ESPN reports, that this was a great trade because Kotchman was having a bad year. Yes, the same Kotch that was voted by Halo fans as the first half team MVP. Not to mention that last year was his first ever full season! How can you call this an off year if the player only has one season to base it on??? Last year he hit .296, this year he is at .287. Last year he hit 11 home runs, this year he already has 12. Last year he hit 68 rbi's, this year he has 54 so far. Let's not forget that his strikeouts to at bats ratio is the best in the majors. Hey, ESPN, get it together.

Then they try to break down the Angels lineup, now with Teixeira joining the squad. Here's what they said it will be:

c-Mathis
1b-Tex
2b-hk47
3b-figgy
ss-aybar
lf-gmj
cf-torii
rf-vlad
dh-g.a.

Izzy will be our starting shortstop, gmj has been benched (not to mention he's injured) for the likes of Juan Rivera (a.k.a. Johnny Rivers), G.A. plays in the field most of the time, and Juan will DH. Ugh. Brutal.

That's like saying the Twins start Killah Craig in the outfield regularly, Everett is their most used DH, and Casilla will be in the starting lineup tonight. WTF.

Casilla to 15-day DL

Alexi Casilla was placed on the 15-day DL this morning due to a torn ligament in his right thumb suffered sliding into second base monday night against the White Sox. This is terrible news for the surging twinkies. The surprising Casilla is most definately liked with the Twins success over the last few months. His patience and speed offensively have made him an outstanding number 2 hitter and his defense has been very steady and spectacular at times. I'm hearing this could be a season ending injury, but I really hope that's not the case...would be a huge loss.

In the mean time, the Twins have activated Adam Everett and are saying he will play short with Punto moving over to second. Buscher and Harris will alternate at third.

I hope this injury doesn't kill the Twins momentum.

Ugliest Starting Lineup...EVER.

link - to - story

Titletown my ass

How wicked retarded could ESPN's Titletown series get?
If you said EXTREMELY WICKED RETARDED you are correct.
First off, Green Bay has always been known as "Titletown". Yet, ESPN thinks it can flex its muscle regardless and hold a completely ubsurd competition and time-sucking series to determine its very own "Titletown."
I don't give a crap if you're the world wide leader in sports. I want my damn highlights without the crappy series. I'd rather listen to Skip Bayless.
Ok, scratch that. But really this sucks.
Now don't get me wrong. I love taking it to Green Bay. I hate Green Bay more than I hate X Games commericals, Pedi-eggs, NASCAR and Carlos Silva.
But this is dumb. ESPN just named Valdosta, Ga. "Titletown."
Valdosta, Ga.? You know the most famous athlete to come out of Valdosta, Ga.? Keep guessing.
I'll give you a hint. It's a journeyman Major League Baseball infielder. .............. If you guessed Denny Hocking or Mark McLemore or Bip Roberts, you grossly overestimated Valdosta, Ga.
No, the salty .243 lifetime hitter, Desi Relaford, is the greatest athlete to ever come out of Valdosta, Ga.
But hey, Desi hit 40 bombs . .. . .. . . . IN 11 FREAKING SEASONS.
The good news is the Titletown series is over. Now give me a shit ton of highlights, ESPN, and leave out Brett Favre, Terrell Owens and anyone on Cold Pizza or whatever the hell they call that dog shit show these days.

The Brickyard

How disappointed were you with yesterday's NASCAR race? At least my boy, Big Jimmy J, came through with the victory. I know this is going to be a busy thread, so I'll open a new one if it gets too long. Don't hesitate to grab a Budweiser while you're posting.

Anyone else see this guy in the stands?

Olympics Gear Up Thread

What are you looking forward to most in this year's Olympic Games? Or maybe there is a weak ass sport you don't think deserves to be part of the Olympics? Discuss...

While we're at it...

Name your coaching staff.

Manager
Bench Coach
1B Coach
3B Coach
Hitting Coach
Pitching Coach
Bullpen Coach
Bullpen Catcher

First to 60

The Angels are the first team in baseball to make it to 60 wins this season, after sweeping the Chowder Heads at home weekend. In the past four seasons, the teams that have reached this "magic number" first have all made the World Series (two eventually losing and two winning it all). All of this known, the boys over at ESPN are still on the Chowda' Wagon. They aren't even leading their division! They have a mere 1.0 game lead over the Twins for the wild card! The Yanks are comin'! The Rays aren't goin' (yet...)! Will this insanity ever stop!?!?

Fuck you guys im in

It is T. Batista

Alright, I said I'd do it...

So put together your ideal 25 man roster. Any major league player in history is eligible. We'll go AL rules, so you get a DH. Starters, closers, bench players, the whole bit. Have at it. This might take me a week, so don't hurry.

Survey Says:

Who are the top five position ball players of all-time?
I'll be back with the answer later.

What I think about all this damn Brett Favre crap...

All Star Game Bitchfest Thread

A thread completely devoted to bitching about things that went down in last nights game.

Joe Buck and Tim McCarver completely annoy the hell out of you? Bitch on...

Dan Uggla's performance make you sick? Bitch on...

The over-abundance of Yanks and Sawx make you cringe? Bitch on...

The complete ineptitude of nearly all hitters with RISP make you a little frustrated? Bitch on...

John Kruk's pick of Jason Varitek (who had no plate appearances) for MVP make you wanna punch someone in the face with ESPN rage? Bitch on...

Enjoy my friends!

All Star Game Thread/Pics

If anyone else is on here, join in...

i'm picking the AL to win 6-5
winning pitcher papelbon
mvp joe mauer

p.s. kruk picked the .218/.299/.354 with an ops+ 71 varitek to win mvp....

i was inspired...

mmmmm.........

Justin Morneau beats the crack head

So last night, Justin Morneau won the home run derby in the final against Texas' Josh Hamilton. Hamilton was the propensitive favorite going into the final after his rediculous show of a record 28 bombs in the first round. Damn that was impressive. Anyways, after Morneau beat Hamilton in the final, 5-3, who do you think was interviewed first? Of course it wasn't the WINNER of the competion Justified Morneau, but it was the LOSER of the competition Josh Hamilton. I realize that Hamilton's first round was amazing, as is his life story, but come on now, the winner has to be interviewed first.

Oh yeah, and fuck you Rick Reilly for doggin Justin sayin he didn't deserve to be there even before the competion started. Good call there Ricky boy.

On a side note, I love hot sideline reporters like Erin Andrews and Kenny Mayne is a tool.

A look at the first half...

Alright, we're at the All-Star break and there have been a few surprises so far this year.

In the AL East Boston has a 0.5 game lead over the first-time contender Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees are in third at 6 games back and the high-expectation Blue Jays are a game under .500.

In the AL Central Chicago is leading the division, more or less as expected, and thats about the only predictable thing going on in that division. The Twins are only 1.5 back, the Tigers are playing .500 baseball, and The Roy-Roys are taking some time off of last place, as they are a game ahead of many people's pick to win the division, Cleveland Indians.

The Angels have a strong lead in the West, but to many people's surprise, Oakland has been putting up a bit of a fight. Seattle, an early favorite to take the division, is battling Washington and San Diego for the worst record in baseball. In fact, K-Rod has more saves (38) than the Mariners have wins (37) so far this year.

As for AAAA, I mean the NL, Philly, Chicago, and Arizona are leading thier divisions. Blah, blah, blah, no one really cares.

Now, in an effort to be cool like all those awesome guys at Baseball Tonight, I'm going to tell you how I think the second half will play out. Feel free to do the same...

Red Sox win the East easily, Yankees have a late surge and finish second, just missing the playoffs. The Rays will fizzle out slowly as the season goes on, but hold on to third.

The Twins will win the Central in another strong second half run. Chicago will hold on to edge out the Yanks for the wild card. Detroit will be stronger than they were in the first half, but not strong enough.

The Angels will win the West easily. Texas will hover around .500 to finish second. The A's will cool off. The Mariners set a team record for losses in a season.

The NL will look similar to what it does now at the end of the season. Philly, Chicago, Arizona win their divisions. The Brew Crew takes the wild card because of the addition of C.C.'s bat.

Angels v. Cubs in the Series. Angels in 6.

I wish I grew up in the 80's

Imagine getting coked out and dancing to this song...unreal

Rules

To whoever made up the gay "rules of the blog" - I'll write whatever I damn well please.

so true

The Future Mrs. Paladoris

a little girl at a press conference involving the packers and The Boys & Girls Club of America just asked the big wigs "Is Brett Favre Coming Back?"

...but what was the first highlight they showed after the question? Brooks Bollinger getting swarmed by the packers tenacious D. Nice editing.

Lundby's Tavern of Love??

"Hey guys, can we change the name on our jerseys to Lundbys? I can hit last in the order and get out every time too." --Tanner talking about his dominating pitching performance and our lack of need for Lawrence on our team. So funny.

Blacksketball Discussion

Who is the best white American basketball in the NBA today? Discuss...

Jason Varitek?

Are MLB players as stupid as the fans? Jason Varitek made the all-star team? Are you shitting me? .215/.297/.354 (avg/OBP/slug) with seven HR. Thats awful. Feel shame, everybody.

You want better options aside from Mauer (who was nearly out-vote by Varitek)? Here:
Pierzynski, Navarro, Suzuki, Rodgriguez, Hernandez, etc.

He bats seventh in the lineup while playing four out of five days because he is unable to catch a knuckle ball. It's called practice.

He is such a good catcher? Wrong. 83%. Thats the percentage of base runners success whilest stealing. Take that "C" off your jersey. It now stands for "Cweer"

Mike Lamb?

Wow, I just watched Mike Lamb try to hit against a lefty. What a joke...no chance. I think he's hitting like .086 against leftys this season and he had two hits all of June. I'll repeat that...TWO HITS DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH OF JUNE. Wow, that's all I can say.

Livan blows!

Good lord I am sick of Livan Hernandez. I can't watch him give up hit after hit after hit after hit anymore. Just consider his season stats: 5.2 era, 116 ip, 162 hits, 67 ER, 243 TB, 1.59 WHIP, .504 SLG, .363 OBA, .336 AVG. This while still having a decent record of 9-5. .336 AVG against?! come on, that's insane...how is he a major leaguer? We have Liriano waiting in AAA, I think its about time we gave him another shot. He can't possibly be worse than Livan is now.

Best Ever Available

"The outfielder, who turns 44 on July 24, has been offered by Borris to all 30 teams for a prorated share of the $390,000 minimum. Borris said Bonds even would play for free — offering to donate whatever salary he receives to purchase tickets for children."

.276/.480/.565 (avg/OBP/slug) with 28 HR and 5 SB last season. Third highest OPS among regulars last year. Who can use him? at that price? every team in baseball.

Imagine: Gomez, Casilla, Mauer, Bonds, Morneau, Cuddyer, Young, Buscher, Punto
or: Figgins, Matthews Jr., Vlad, Bonds, Torii, Kotchman, Kendrick, Napoli, Aybar
or: Soriano, Fukudome, Lee, Bonds, Ramirez, Soto, Edmonds, Theriot, Zambrano.............wow

When you thought the X Games couldn't get gayer...

Are you kidding me with this new X Games commercial with the Darth Vader-looking spaz screaming while I'm simply trying to catch some Baseball Tonight.
I thought dodging the Zo G2 commercial was bad.
This X Games spokesfreak is more annoying than the guy with the question marks on his tie and funky glasses giving stuff away.
Not only does it not make me want to watch skateboarding tatted tools but it makes me want to punch every Blink 182-loving douche I see.

Sabathia to Brew Crew

I am so excited by a few things this year in baseball. A couple of them revolve around the failures of the Yankees and Red Sox up to this point in the season. Not only are both of them possibly going to miss the playoffs, but neither could get the biggest player on the trading block, CC Sabathia. No, instead, Sabathia went to the small-market Brewers. Maybe Parody in baseball isn't such a crazy idea after all.

GO RAYS, beat those fucking Yanks and Sox!!!

M-O-DOUBLE S

Randy Moss isn't driving cars into police officers, anymore.
But close. He's sponsoring a NASCAR truck team.
Our boy Randy apparently spent too much time in West Virginia.
It's six million bucks to sponsor for a year. One can only imagine how he paid.......

My boy...talkin about my boys.

link to video

how can you not love this guy?

Twins Scrubs

Year after year, the Twins try to get by signing broken ass, washed up vets in the off season. The short list includes Rondell White, Ramon Ortiz, Sir Sidney Ponson, Tony Batista, Mike Lamb, and Adam Everett. True Twins fans even remember the mid-season acquisition of steroids user Bret Boone which lasted all of 14 games in 2005. I am as cynical as a Twins fan can get, but I really like my boy Craig Monroe. He is something the Twins have never had in an off season acquisition, which is a guy that has a chance to hit a home run in every at-bat. Here are his stats for this year, and they aren't terrible. He doesn't hit for a high average, which isn't his game, but he drives the ball out of the ballpark. Now if we can get 12 wins out of Livan Hernandez, we don't have to lump him with the all the other Twins scrubs...

Killah Killin!

Last night: KillahCraig 2-3 with a bomb and 3 rbi. DY: 0-3.
Post.

We need to be cheaper

The news (boring NFL offseason news but news none-the-less) came today that the Minnesota Vikins are near the bottom of the NFL when it comes to personal fouls called against since the 2001 season, according to ESPN. The Queens have had 85 personal-foul penalties in the past seven seasons, ranking 29th of the 32 teams.

This got me to wonder: How does a team full of drunk drivers, creepers, beaters, ass-kickers and fake-penis wearers not rack up personal fouls. That's bullshit.

Plus, we had Dewayne Rudd.

Nice work Crain

So, in yesterday's Twins game, Scotty Ulger pulled Perkins after 7 1/3 good innnings with a runner on 1st and 1 out and a 4-1 lead. It looked to me that he could've kept goin at the time. Anyways, Jesse Crain comes in and procedes to walk the first batter in 5 pitches and then give up a single to score the Tigers second run of the game, leaving runners at 1st and 3rd 1 out. Denny Reyes and Matt Gurrier proceded to blow the Twins lead, who eventually lost 5-4. I hate the fact that Perkins gets charged for a full run because Jesse Crain sucked. If anything, Perkins should get charged for 1/4 run and Crain 3/4 run. Crain allowed the runner to move from 1st to home (3/4 of the way). Baseball purists would hate this idea, but I just don't think its fair the way the rule is set up now. Call me what you like, Naps, Craig ....etc, but Perkins got screwed because Crain blew it.

The future of the lynx is in this guys hands?

Last week both me and leering enjoyed a celebratory drink down at the local watering hole when we heard that south dakota's greatest basketball player of all time aka...skinny miller...was coming home....I can only imagine what kelo-land news has been saying about all of these shenanigans down in sioux falls cause they pretty much suck skinny's cock (kinda funny) with anything he has done....I will keep you posted on any upcoming autograph signings at the corn palace in mitchell, SD where his dreams of growing his hair out and joining the WNBA some day with the lynx all started....oh and side note....I think the kubes hecklers really got to him....cause he had shaved his beard last night...he probably thought they wouldn't recognize him now.....peace

Kubel heckling

masher hatin'...

RedDog, Naps big win on the golf course

In the weekend matchup on the golf course between the heavily favored KillahCraig and Tony Batista vs. RedDog and Naps, RedDog and Naps pulled off the upset with a 5 up win, shooting 72, even par, over 18 holes of scramble golf and Kings Walk on Sunday afternoon. The pivitol hole was the par 3 8th, where Naps hit a beautiful 5 wood off the tee to 15 feet and sank the put, while the eventual losers, KillahCrag and Batista, could only manage a bogey. The two shot swing gave RedDog and Naps a one shot lead which they never relinquished. A final 8 foot put on number 18 by RedDog gave the team a birdie and an even par round of 72. Dairy Queen blizzards were enjoyed by both teams after the match. Check back for information on future matches.

This might be the greatest Straightcashhomey.net I've seen in some time.

Fuckin Shinjo.
I hate Shinjo.

This was the cutline at straightcashhomey.net:

Tsuyoshi Shinjo, New York Mets: It appears this guy is writing a text. “Dude, show up in ur Kaz Matsui jer-z or I’ll look 2 stupid without u.” (Found by Greg outside Shea Stadium.)

In this guy's defense, I'd rather wear a Shinjo jersey than a Hideki Matsui jersey.

RedDawwwwwg

Click the title to check out my career stats. Pretty damn lucky to have me as a back up I'd say.

Comin' wit it

I've been telling Gardy all year that I need to get some ABs so I can mash like I did last night. I have 151 fewer ABs than your boy DY and have 2 fewer RBI and 6 more HR. I only have 29 AB in June...what have I done to deserve this? Remember when I basically won the game with the 3 run bomb against the Roy-Roys? DH or LF, get me in the damn game.

Gay Rod for gayest man in baseball!

Everyone needs to quit voting for Lew Ford for the gayest player in baseball. There is absolutely zero question that Alex Rodriguez is the gayest player in baseball. Any by gay, I mean suck cock, get done in the ass. Lew Ford might be the biggest douche in the league, but that is not the poll question. A-Rod is by far the biggest queer in the league.

Intelligent baseball conversation...

I think this must be what RedDawwwwwg and I sound like after about 19 beers when we start discussing sports.

Something else is official

Brian Buscher is a MASHER

Big Ticket finally wins something

Ya know, as pissed as I was when the T-Wolves traded away Ticket to the Celtics, I gotta say I'm happy for him. I've been saying for years that Garnett has been the best power forward in the league, but everyone laughs at me and says its Tim Duncan. I'm telling you, if they had traded situations, it would be Garnett with all the championships. I know that Naps is gonna disagree with me on this one--but judging a player's individual talents on TEAM achievements (i.e. winning championships) is wrong. Yes Tim Duncan is a great player, albeit the most boring player in NBA history (Fuck good fundamentals--he's boring), but Kevin Garnett now needs to be ranked right up there with him as he should have been all along. Congrats Ticket.