Trades

First I want to talk about the trades that have already happened. Like the Oswalt, Haren, and Jackson trades. Then I will talk about potential ones.
Okay first Dan Haren. I think that the Angels had to make a move because if they didn't everybody would think they were crazy. So they made a move and got a good pitcher. The person I thought was the best pitcher on the market this year. Then he got hurt. He will not miss any starts, but it just seemed fitting with the way the whole angels season is going. I thought that trade was very smart.
Then, the trade that Philly did to get Roy Oswalt. They pushed so hard for this pitcher. He isn't even, in my opinion, the best pitcher on the market this year. They could have done better, but they could have done worse. I think that Roy Oswalt and the fact that they went out and got somebody will help this team get to the playoffs. I don't think that they will win their division, but I think they will win the wild card.
Edwin Jackson is the trade that I am really confused about. First, why trade a pitcher for a pitcher that both are in the major leagues and about even. Then, your only going to have this pitcher for this year because next year Jake Peavy will be back. So you are spending more money now on this guy for only one year where he might not make a big difference.
Other smaller deals were like Tejada moving from the Orioles.

Now onto the trades that might or might not happen, but have not happened yet.
First, Adam Dunn. He has been the guy that people have been talking about. Everybody keeps saying that he is going to move no matter what. Where to is the big question. The favorite was the White Sox, but they bowed out. Now it could be the Yankees or the Rays. We all know that the Nationals want to trade him. The fact is that they want someone who is a really good prospect. That is why I think he will go to the Yankees, because the Rays aren't going to give up their prospects. Prospects is how they get better, not trading.
Then, there is talk about Lance Berkman possibly moving to the White Sox. There is one problem, getting Lance away from Houston is going to be hard. He loves playing there and doesn't want to leave. This makes sense and might be a huge difference maker for the white sox if they can get him. I'm about 20% sure that this trade will happen.
There was also talk about another Astros player leaving. This is Brett Meyers, but he won't be moving.

Tebow.

If there was one thing that Tim Tebow wanted the most out of his rookie season was that he didn't miss a day of practice. That happened and I think Tebow was very upset about that. Because he was so upset he made sure that deal happened today. He wasn't going to miss another day. If people think that he has changed or something because he is pro and now he is holding out, that is not true. It is hard to make contracts and for both sides to agree on everything in it. It's not just what it sounds like. We are going to give you this much money over this many years and sign. That's not the only thing involved. There are many other technical things. Even Tebow understood there was this but he was pretty upset about how long it was taking to work it out. To add to the problem Josh McDaniels lashed out at him a little, saying that when you miss even one day of practice there is so many things that you miss learning. He said that as a young quarterback new to the system he needs to be at every practice. Basically he is blaming Tebow. This isn't Tebow's fault. You're telling me that you think that Tim Tebow didn't do everything he could to get out on that field for the first practice. He wanted that so bad. Now he doesn't have it so don't yell at him he is already upset. Now you might be saying well he signed today anyway so it doesn't matter anymore. Tim Tebow is a guy with great confidence and has leadership and everything else that it takes to be a quarterback. There is one thing that he lacks. He needs to work on mechanics. He is going to work as hard as he can work his arm without it falling off. He wants to be an NFL quarterback so bad it hurts, so let him do that. Yes, he missed practice he was still working out at home and working on his throwing motion. Even when Tebow might miss a practice, trust me he is still practicing, because he knows that he has so much more to work on. That is why Tebow is going to be a good quarterback and that is why people just seem to like him. He is one of the most like-able guys there is because he has so much respect for everybody and all he wants to do is play and improve. You better believe that he will be carrying somebody's shoulder pads when he reports tomorrow and not complaining.

Strasburg out.

Almost everyone that pays any attention to sports or baseball knows that Stephen Strasburg is out for 15 days on the DL. He has an inflamed shoulder. That is not the big news. He is only going to be out for about three starts. Or is he? People are speculating whether or not they should just sit him for the rest of the year. They were already worried about innings and him getting injured. I understand that if he is injured now putting him back in too early could just ruin the rest of his career. But, the Nationals are desperate. Their ratings were up, when Strasburg pitched at home they sold tickets. Everybody wanted to see him. Their organization was on the rise finally, then you take away the reason and you are the same low team you were before. Ya, it may be wrong that people only go to Nationals games because he is pitching, but wouldn't you. They are doing whatever that can to bring people in. Strasburg is the savior of this team. If you don't let him pitch at all the rest of the year you are going to have a lot of mad people because they were going to go to Washington and see a Nationals game because they are on the rise and now Strasburg is out. They are the bottom again. I'm not saying that in 15 days to the date he should start. I'm saying maybe the last 2 weeks you give him a couple starts to make sure the shoulder is still okay. Just don't take him out for the rest of the season.

Ocho and T.O together?

Prepare for one of the most entertaining seasons. Now that the Bengals have two of the most interesting and entertaining receivers in the game, they will be very exciting and entertaining. Not only are they entertaining, but they are still elite receivers. T.O is old but he still has game for one more season. Ocho is also an elite receiver. When they are together they can either make a great tandem or they will fight and give Palmer a ton of problems. I already feel bad for Palmer that he has to just play or even be on the same team as both Ocho and T.O but then if they were fighting and both getting mad at Palmer this next season might be hell for him. While everybody else is hating on the team I think that it might work. They both think that they are the best, so when you do that and they are both excited to play with each other maybe T.O will finally mature this year and this team might work. T.O texted Ocho last night saying that he went to the Bengals for one reason. He is going to go all the way. I don't really think that will happen, but I do think that they will make the playoffs. This team is good even without T.O and I think that he will really help this team. The fact that there are so many haters out there will help this team a lot. They feed off the attention and so when they get all this attention they will be a very good pair and will want to prove everybody wrong. I'm getting most of this information because I watched Chad's ustream last night. He was so excited when T.O signed that when he screamed it almost broke my speakers. That is how I know what T.O texted to chad. When both players are this excited about playing together it is probably going to work. Batman and Robin.

Central news. centrally

Today since I had nothing else really to talk about I decided that I would talk about baseball because somebody really needs to because baseball has been no news this year. So I'm going to talk about the two divisions that I know best. The NL and AL central. First I'll do the NL.
NL Central
who will win this division?
I said at the all-star break when I did a blog about the second half predictions that I thought the Cardinals would win. Since then the Cardinals have taken first place. So now what people thought was stupid of me to say because Cinci was playing so well. Now Stl is playing better. Everybody was so caught up in the Joey Votto thing. He really is only as good as an average player having a really good year. St. Louis has a better hitter, Albert Pujols, because you are crazy if you think that Votto is better than Pujols. The Cardinals also have better and more experienced pitching. That is why I thought all along that the Cards would win this division. They are more experienced. I think that the Reds can win in a few years but right now is not their time. Then there are the cubs. I think that they have a pretty good team. Their manager is leaving, but if Sandberg replaces him then the Cubs also have a chance to win in a few years.
AL Central
I always love to talk about this division, because it is my favorite. There is no question who I want to win. I also think that that team can win. Right now the White Sox are ahead of the Twins by one game. They are also four games ahead of the Tigers. I think that both the Tigers and the Twins have a chance to win this division. Right now it is up for grabs. Detroit is just have a rough time now, but they will get hot soon. The Twins are also very dangerous. Lately they have been playing some of the worst teams in baseball. So its a little easier for them. But this division is about to get interesting. In August the White Sox play the Twins and Tigers so much you will be sick of watching the same two teams playing. This division will be decided in August, no doubt. But in the last two years the division has been decided by a playoff game after the regular season. I think that there is a huge possibility that the AL Central will make it three in a row.

Headlines!

First I want to say that I am writing this because there was so much that was worth writing about in the headlines today so I'm gonna touch em all.
Last night Matt Garza threw a no-hitter. It was the 5Th no no this year. It should have been the 6Th, but we won't bring up that Gallaraga thing again. It was a typical no-hitter. It wasn't like the terrible no-hitter that Edwin Jackson got. It was legit lights out pitching. Maybe this is what the Rays needed to get a spark to push and beat the Yankees in the division. The thing that is just odd is that all the no-hitters except for Halladay and Jimenez were by pitchers who were relatively unknown up until that point. But mostly I am writing this little section just to say Congrats to Matt Garza on a no-hitter.

It seems like everyday some kind of source says that T.O is going to go to a certain place. Yesterday it was the Rams which was the stupidest idea ever. Today its the Jets which is almost as stupid. In both situations there is a young quarterback that will probably lose all self esteem because of T.O. Even worse in New York Mark Sanchez has already shown he is shaky. Getting T.O is not going to help. I think that the perfect fit is with the Vikings. They obviously don't agree with me because they are not going after him. He will end up in Cincinnati that is my ultimate prediction. But its not like that is the smartest idea ever. It just seems like wherever T.O goes there is going to be something bad.

Recently we have heard Jeff Fisher talk about Lane Kiffen and get mad at him. Saying that there are certain rules that must be followed. The reason that Fisher said this. Lane Kiffen looked at and hired one of Fisher's coordinators without even telling Fisher that they were looking around at him. You are supposed to tell him so that he can find somebody to cover if that guy leaves. He doesn't want to end up one day with the coordinator and the next day have him gone. Now the Titans have made more of a push. They are going to sue Kiffen and USC for just stealing their coach. Its not something to be taken lightly. This is the kind of thing that we expected Lane Kiffen would do eventually. So far the year was going well he wasn't making any unrealistic predictions, wasn't claiming other coaches had recruiting violations. Overall the year was quiet until this surfaced. Now we see that Kiffen is the same Kiffen that he always was. He is so arrogant. He has a head the size of Alaska. If he just doesn't try to make headlines and think he is something special so he can do whatever he wants he is going to continue to be hated.

The final story of this blog is about Chris Paul. Recently there were trade rumors. He wanted to be anywhere but New Orleans before the beginning of the season. Then he has a meeting with the owner GM and coach. He comes out and says that he wants to stay in New Orleans as long as possible. The other people in the meeting say that he didn't even ask for a trade in the meeting. Apparently Paul was pleased with the way that they wanted the team to head. Could this mean that the Hornets are going to make some big moves this summer or next summer? I guess that's a possibility. But really when you think about it. What is Paul supposed to say when he asked. Is he supposed to be like ya i want a trade this place sucks. So I think that Paul might still get traded and I think that if he doesn't don't act surprised when the hornets sign a couple really good players and start to make a team out of themselves.

Dez Bryant doesn't carry pads. OH NO!

Recently a story has been a little blown out of proportion. But since I have nothing else important to write about I will comment on this. At first when I saw this I was on the side of Dez Bryant. Then, I went a little deeper and found out more than just what the headline said. First it just said that he wouldn't carry Roy Williams pads. I wouldn't carry the pads of some veteran at my position that I was competing with either. I would if I had no chance of getting that job, but if I was competing for the same job that it basically Roy Williams saying I'm going to win this competition because I am a veteran and you are a rookie, never forget that. Then I found out that Dez said he wouldn't carry any other veterans pads. Then I didn't agree with him anymore. I can understand if you are competing with someone you don't want to be treated by dirt by the other person. But in the NFL when you are a rookie the veterans are going to haze you because they were once hazed. Its a continuous cycle. Someday Dez Bryant might ask a rookie to carry his pads. When he does that we might have to bring this little incident up. I would carry the pads of a guy who is a veteran if he isn't playing the same position as me. There are a few exceptions though. Such as I get drafted to the Colts hypothetically and I'm behind Peyton Manning and he asks me to carry his pads. I would carry them because it would be an honor to carry them. If I were Dez I would say no to Roy and go grab a lineman's pads to show his appreciation but also to send Roy a message saying that he isn't going to back down just because he is a rookie and Roy is a veteran.

Does anybody really want T.O?

Lately in the headlines there has been teams rejecting T.O. The next team on the list that T.O might possibly go to is the Rams. I don't think this is a good fit. You are basically asking for Sam Bradford to be ruined. T.O has to find the perfect fit in order for him to be as successful. I don't think that playing with a rookie quarterback who actually is a good teammate is the perfect fit. Sure the Rams need receivers, but if they get T.O they might not have a quarterback for very long. He is like what I talked about in previous blogs with the Cubs managing job. Nobody wants it. Its a pretty good job but nobody wants it. It has too many questions and problems previously. Now if you think about that and relate it to T.O then it makes sense. T.O is a good receiver a little old now but still good. There is one problem he has brought problems to every team he has played for. Some teams took longer or shorter to destroy, but he still did it. He might not have totally ruined the quarterback's career but he left a big dent in their self-esteem. If you put him with a rookie it might lead to huge problems even though Sam Bradford is a very confident and wholesome person. I think that T.O might end up going somewhere but the Rams is not the best fit. To end on a funny note I'll tell you about the tweet I saw by Chris Mortenson. it said. NFL: Rams going after Terrell Owens. First they have to make sure his head can fit through the Gateway Arch > measuring now.

A-rod's chase for 600

So far A-rod's chase for his 600th home run hasn't really been publicized. Now its on ESPN.com, but only because he hit 599 last night. When Griffey was chasing it the last five was publicized. Is it because A-rod took steroids? I don't think so. I think that maybe if they don't over do this before its real news, then when it is real news they will over do it. I have been 50-50 with my opinion on A-rod for his whole career. Sometimes I like him and think that he has the potential to be a great. Then there are times when I hate him because he is a little overrated. I think that because this hasn't been very publicized it might get rid of a little bit of the opinion that A-rod is overrated. I really don't think that he is overrated anymore. Now we realize he is human because he did steroids. And now he is a better player because he has been able to finish in the playoffs. Last year was the first time A-rod actually played well in the playoffs and the end of the regular season. Now I think that A-rod has earned all the publicity he gets. I think that doing steroids might have been the best thing that happened to him. Let me explain. People got over the steroids thing pretty quickly because almost everybody else did it at that time. Now he doesn't get as much tv time. So people think a little better of him. Now he is better because he wants to prove himself without steroids. So now A-rod is a lot better and viewed better all basically because he did steroids.

Worst job in baseball.

Lou Piniella announced a few days ago that he would be retiring after this season. He had a job when he came to Chicago. His job was to get them a World Series title. He didn't do his job. Now he either thinks he won't ever be able to do it or he thinks that he is just too old. He had some of the best teams in baseball the last few years and he couldn't get it done in the playoffs. Now its time for somebody else to take the role with that job in mind. When you become the Cubs manager you have to win a title. If you don't you are a failure. Going to the Cubs could ruin anybody's career. Lou Piniella could have won more and been a better manager somewhere else. In Chicago looking at his playoff record he was terrible. This job ruins managers. The best thing to do would be hire someone from the team previously and then if they fail, the people in Chicago still love them and their managing career is a failure but that doesn't matter. The one person I can think of that fits that description is Ryne Sandberg. He said he was ready to be the manager, which is him basically saying that he is volunteering. He is loved by the people in Chicago already. If he leads them to a World Series win, then he will be more loved. If he doesn't that has become the norm and the people in Chicago still love him for the player that he was. If you hire any other manager you could ruin them. If I were the Cubs management I wouldn't want to do that to some poor guy who could have become a great manager if he didn't go to the cubs. So I think they should choose Sandberg. The likeliness of that happening is slim.

Favre Talk

Recently Brad Childress visited Favre in Hattisburg. They talked, but apparently did not talk about a deadline for Favre to come back. My feelings on Favre is that he will come back after training camp. He is a veteran that gets whatever he wants because he is the best. He doesn't want to have to go through training camp. I knew last year that he was coming back, but he just didn't want to do training camp. Now he knows the offense even better than he did last year and he just doesn't feel the need for training camp. He is fine practicing with players from his high school in Mississippi. I think that after his visit Brad Childress knows he is coming back. He might not know when, but if he is smart its not that hard to figure out. The Vikings need Favre to compete in this division. With well known QBs in all 3 of the other teams the Vikings need the best if they want to win again. This year might be the last for Favre, but he is going to have to go all out if he wants to win another championship. I think the Vikings have a great team, but I'm not sure if they can live up to what they are expected. Favre will be back next year.

Rivalries.

Recently I heard on the radio that someone said that rivalries are basically dead in professional sports now. I'm going to write this blog about my opinion on that statement.
First, they made a good point by saying that the big one everyone mentions is the Red Sox and the Yankees, but that's not a rivalry between the players, its more between the fans. I agree with that.
BUT, if I were a yankees player I would still want to beat the Red Sox because they are in my division and so I would hate their guts when on the field. I could still be their friend off the field, but when that game starts I want to beat them soo bad.
I do know of one rivalry that is still intact between the players and the coaches. The Bears and the Packers are huge. Coach Lovie Smith came in saying I am going to make sure that this team beats the packers. Thats what the fans wanted from a coach. The players when that kickoff happens hate the players on the other team. So rivalries are still true today. They may not be true in baseball or basketball, but in football the most physical sport there are still rivalries. They still want to hit each other as hard as they can because they hate the other team.

Another bust in NCAA

About a month or so ago, USC was busted for giving Reggi Bush a bunch of perks for playing with the team as well as he did. They got many penalties, but neither the coach, Pete Carrol, or the player, Bush, are with the team. This is punishing a team and players committed to the team for some mistake that people that are gone now did. Now Florida is possibly going to get busted for giving money to one of their players, but in this scenario the agent is the one giving money to the player. All because the NCAA decided to bust USC and they got a lot of problems. Now rival schools are telling on other schools so that they will get busted. Is it possible that every team does this? Its like steroids in baseball. At one point, almost every player did steroids. It was the thing to do. Now players getting payed and getting perks from the team that wants them the most. If you can get stuff for playing or if you can play for nothing, what would you choose? Its hard to be an honest player and person in the NCAA and the NFL. This might not be the end of teams getting busted for paying players.

Baseball 2nd half predictions

This blog is going to tell what I think each division will do. And maybe at the end some predictions on personal awards, like triple crown, cy young, and mvp. So lets start with the National League.
NL East
This division is going to be a close one. First you have the Braves who are a great team with Bobby Cox in his last year they want him to win it with them. They have a great core of hitters and they are mostly unknown lately until this year. Then the Phillies are always dangerous. Right now they are down, but they can come back up at any point and start playing the way they should be playing. But then you add in the Mets who are having a good year for the first time in a few years. And the Marlins who won the division last year, which surprised everyone, still have a chance to win it lead by the great pitching of Josh Johnson. In the end my prediction is: the braves.
NL Central
Right now the Reds are in first place by a slightly small margin. The Cardinals are in second and I think they can take first place if all the members of their team play as well as they should and can they might be able to pass the Reds. They may need a good 6 game winning streak at some point to put them over the top and give them a comfortable lead. Just because the Cardinals can win first place doesn't mean that the Reds can't keep it. They have Joey Votto and good pitching. They can keep this lead, but in the end my prediction is the Cardinals, because the Reds just haven't had to be good in the second half for years.
NL West
This is the most hectic division. Right now lead by the Padres. The dodgers are always a threat. The Rockies have Ubaldo Jimenez. The Giants are having a good year. That is all just making this race so much more exciting. This is the division in the NL you are going to want to watch and pay attention to. Any one of these teams can win it. San Diego has not been in this situation for years. The Rockies are a usually underated team. The Dodgers are always expected to win. The Giants are having their first really good year in a while. This is the hardest division to predict. I'm going to go out on a whim and say that the Padres will keep their lead and win this division.
Now the American League
AL East
This division is always an interesting one. Probably because it is the division you see the most on TV. Ever since 2008 when the Rays became a contender this division has become more than just the Yankees and the Red Sox rivalry. Now three teams have a chance. The Yankees are in the lead right now. The Rays can win this but I don't think they will. The Red Sox are behind, but so many of their big stars and good players are injured. When all those players come back the Red Sox are a force to be reckoned with. I can tell you who I want to win this division, but I'm not so sure that they will win it. But, I'm going to go with them. I thin the Red Sox will win.
AL Cenral
The division my team is in. Right now the leader is the White sox. The Tigers are only a half game behind and the twins are only 2.5 games behind. This division is going to be down to the wire. The last two years the AL Central has had to be decided by a playoff game. This year might continue that streak. The White Sox were blazing hot coming into the All-star break, if they can continue that Detroit and Minnisota won't be able to keep up. The White Sox have a ton of games against both those teams at the end of the year. If they win many of those series' they will win. But Detroit is a great team with a lot of good players. They can win anytime, too. So this will be a close one. But I will go with my team, the White Sox.
AL West
This is the race that is the least close. The Rangers have dominated. Not many of the other teams have played well, so this division seems easy to me. The Rangers were already hot and then they picked up Cliff Lee to add to their pitching. Now they are going to win this divsion a lot easier. so I pick the Rangers.
Personal Awards
triple crown-right now Miguel Cabrera has a chance to win the triple crown. I don't think he will. There is a reason why not many people have done it and nobody recently has done it. so I think that Cabrera is a great player and a really good hitter, but he won't win this.
cy young- it looks like its obviously going to be Ubaldo Jimenez in the NL. But the AL could change. Right now a lot of people are saying David Price, but now that Cliff Lee is on a good team, he might pick up a lot of wins and just be a better pitcher. So for the AL I just can't say right now.
MVP- this is so hard to pick at the All-star break, because what makes an MVP is the second half, but I think that so far the AL mvp has been Miguel Cabrera and I think the NL should go to Joey Votto. He has the best stats and it would be great to see a guy from a team not really known until this year.

Steinbrenner. My opinion on him

Most of my dad's opinions have gotten stuck into my head and made into my own opinions. One of these opinions is the opinion that George Steinbrenner ruined professional sports. At first, it was just me agreeing with my dad, then I formed my own opinion on it. I found it true that he did sort of ruin sports. He made it so that teams try to buy championships. This made the fact that usually the team with the most money will win a championship. This is true for the Yankees 27 times. You might say to yourself, the Yankees are always the richest team and they don't always win, but they have the most. Nobody is even close to the Yankees. It's not because the Yankees have some magic power that they are the best all the time. The reason is they are willing to spend millions on players when spending hundred thousands was spending a lot. Of course the good players are going to go there. Now if you are a professional athlete if you don't get paid millions you are considered a 2nd or 3rd tier team. My dad told me this was because Steinbrenner spent a lot of money on players to get them to come to the Yankees. He put a little seed of hatred for the Yankees and Steinbrenner in my heart and since then it has grown from my brain. Now, I'm not saying that I'm glad the guy is dead. The damage is done, and it is sad for the Yankees to lose a person with such a big impact on their team. I don't wish any bad things on the family. He did do good things for the game, but he also ruined it. R.I.P George Steinbrenner

All-Star Game

Tonight is the all-star game. In about 30 minutes it will start. Right now I'm still at work. I will be watching the game here. I have a few predictions on how this all-star game might go. But don't hate if I'm wrong.
First, the National League has not won for 13 years. This could be good or bad for the NL. It depends on how they handle the pressure and whether or not they think about ending the streak. If the NL just plays their game and each player plays his best they can win. The NL has better pitching and they have a good starting lineup for hitting both home-runs and base-hits.
Second, the American League has either won or tied the last 13 years. This could be good or bad for the AL. If they go into the game thinking that they are automatically going to win just because they have not lost in the last 13 years. There is a fine line between confidence and cockiness. If the American League goes past that line they may be in for their first lost in 13 years. They have a pretty good pitching staff with actual relievers, not just a bunch of starting pitchers that are put in every one or two innings. They also have a good hitting corps. If the American League can stay under the line between confidence and cockiness they will win.
The American League is my pick to win, but if they don't watch out they will lose for the first time in 13 years. The National League can easily win this game, but they can also easily lose. I think that the latter will happen, but I could be wrong.
Now its 20 minutes until the game and I think I will go see what is going on with it. So adios and bye bye.

Three is a magic number

It seems like in the recent years of big free agents, teams are going for three stars. The Celtics did it with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnet, and Ray Allen. Now LeBron James, Dewayne Wade, and Chris Bosh are together. The team still needs to get some players around. I believe in this team a little. The Celtics found a way to make it work and so that says that it can happen but also makes it seem like it might not happen twice. The Celtics got lucky that the guys around the big three adapted well, the people in Miami might not do so. I would just laugh if Miami didn't even make the playoffs or if they lost in the first round. This team is so popular now they are the favorites by most of the media now. Not this person, though. I pick Celtics over them. The big three in Boston is going to just be better because they work together well than the big three in Miami. So i guess three is just a magic number. (I'm number 3)

2018 or 2022 World Cup possibly in USA

Certain celebrities in America such as Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, Brad Pitt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Spike Lee are trying to make a push to get the world cup to America as soon as possible. The 2014 world cup is already set for Brazil. America has a chance at the 2018 cup, but a European country is expected to get that, most likely England. So, we are pursuing the 2022 world cup. Maybe by then we will have won a world cup of our own or maybe gotten to at least the semi-finals or finals. The worry of FIFA is that America does not have enough excitement for the sport to have the most important tournament for the sport in this country. If in the next one or two world cup that we have an excitement for soccer and that the people are wanting to play and win. If say, we win or get close and show that people in America care we might get the cup. Besides from the way people in America are about soccer, we are one of the best countries to have it. We have many major cities with plenty of hotels, stadiums and other accommodations. If we do get the cup I think that people will get more excited because its in our country. I know that if there is a game near wherever I am I will try to get tickets and go see it. In America there are people who will be fans of every team that is playing so each game will be important to someone in America. Maybe this blog will help, but..I doubt it.

All-Star Game (cont.)

This is a longer version of the blog before about the All-Star game. (I may repeat some things but its been like 3 days. so i think you'll get over it)
10 thoughts and/or problems with the all-star game.

1. The way that they incorporate fans in the vote makes it so that tons of Yankees and Red Sox players are in and some deserving players are not. Players on teams like the White Sox, Royals, Mariners, Orioles. Just because their team may not be the most popular or the best team, doesn't mean that they are bad players. So many people are fans of the Yankees or the Red Sox that all the players from those teams always get voted in. If we have the fans vote, which I like because I can vote then the all-star game shouldn't have such big implications as home field advantage in the World Series. They should do the World Series like all other sports and have the best team getting the home field advantage. The all-star game will still be important and publicized, but the fans won't be voting blindly to have home field advantage.

2. I love the idea of the final vote. Sometimes there is a player that maybe was voted for a lot that deserved to get in, but they didn't. So, you give the fans another chance to get them in. Now in the American League there is always a yankee and a Red Sox player, but the other players have just as much of a chance. I think that even if you do take the fan vote away that they should keep the final vote in for fans. That way they don't feel completely left out in the all-star game.

3. Joe Girardi is kind of getting some crap from people for picking A-rod as his one pick over Kevin Youkalis. But, what do you think would have happened to Girardi if he had picked a Red Sox player over A-rod? Plus, A-rod had a good second half, and other than winning a championship there wasn't much reward to that. This is his reward for having a great post-season for the first time in his career. I think that Joe Girardi understood that and that is why he picked him. He probably also picked him because he didn't want to be mobbed by fans in New York.

4. Stephen Strasburg does NOT belong in this years all star game. I think that maybe next year if he plays well enough to get in he will deserve to get in. This year he just doesn't deserve to be in after only pitching six games. If he had started at the beginning of the year and kept the same pace, I think he would have been in the game, but he is new. He has only pitched SIX TIMES. Ubaldo Jimenez has more than twice as many wins as Strasburg has just starts. The point that some people try to make is that people will watch if Strasburg plays. People are going to watch anyway! They want to see the best players in the league whether or not Strasburg is there makes no difference. Yes, he is an amazing pitcher and probably exciting to watch. But, so is Jimenez. Just because Strasburg had tons of hype around him just suddenly makes him more exciting and a better pitcher. I admit that he has lived up to the hype, but that doesn't mean that he is better than Jimenez. So final answer he does not belong in the all-star game. this year. Next year is a different story.

5. Joey Votto. Yes, he is good. Yes, he got snubbed. That doesn't mean that everybody should freak out. At least he is on the final vote ballet. There is a guy that I can name that didn't make it to the all-star game and he isn't even on the final vote ballet. That is Alex Rios (more about him later). So everyone that freaked out when he didn't make it, just relax. He got so many final votes that he made it anyway. I personally did not vote for him. Not because I don't think that he is a great player. I didn't vote for him, because I picked someone who I thought deserved it.

6. This may not have that much to do with the all-star game, but the guy I'm talking about is in it. Miguel Cabrera. Yes, he is leading the AL in all three triple crown categories, but there is a reason that nobody has won the triple crown since 1967. (Jake Peavy won the pitching triple crown in 2007). Right now he is one of the best hitters, but it is hard to keep up that pace the whole year. If Albert Pujols one of the greatest hitters in this era couldn't do it, then I don't think that Miguel Cabrera will do it. He will probably get some kind of award, but I don't think that the triple crown is going to happen. If it does well then I'm an idiot, but we already knew that anyway.

7. Pauliewood. By now you cannot vote the final vote anymore, but I want to thank anyway that read my previous blog or saw my tweets and voted for Konerko. It means a lot to me. He is my favorite player and I really wanted him to get in. He deserved to get in. He carries the team and led them through a time when they were 10 games back to now they are only half a game back. Paulie is my favorite player of all-time maybe. I have a signed helmet, a bobble head, signed picture, a picture of his grand slam in the 2005 world series and a Jersey of his. Him getting into this all-star game would be just amazing to see that the white sox fans can really push their guy in if they have to. go paulie! and go white sox!!

8. The National League seems to have less controversy than the American League. They don't really have that many teams that are the "popular teams" that get all the votes and then people who's guys don't get the vote are upset. This year, though the whole Votto situation seems to be a little troubling for a usually calm National League all-star team.

9. Alex Rios snubbed! This was the biggest snub I have seen with the all-star game. Not only was he not on the original team, even though he deserved it, he also was not put on the final vote ballet. Instead, Matt Thornton, and Paul Konerko both either are on the team or have their chance. Alex Rios has been the best hitter on our team almost the whole year. He is probably going to win the comeback player of the year award. Yet, he didn't get a chance to play in the all-star game like he should have a chance. It makes me even more mad because he is on the White Sox. That would be like if I were a reds fan and Joey Votto didn't even get on the final vote ballet. It seems just ridiculous.

10. I don't really know what to say. I didn't really plan out each point. I just kind of aimed for 10 and made it, so ya. But I guess all that needs to be said now is that I'm going to watch the game, even though Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching. Number 10 is full of nothing. Yet, couldn't end on 9 because that is such a weird number with no significance. Ten is always a normal benchmark number. So, now I'm rambling just to make number 10 look like I'm talking about something important. By now you are probably bored because this is long. So you don't care anyway. So WATCH THE GAME!!

All Star Game

I have a few things to say about the selections in this year's all star game. First, lots of Yankees and Red Sox in the lineup like usual. Second, people are making a big deal that Stephen Strasburg should be in the All Star game. That idea is stupid, he has only pitched 6 games. There are guys out there who have won more than double that amount of games. I also think there were a few snubs in the AL, but I don't have time to write about that now so I will just say in the final vote, please vote for Paul Konerko he is deserving. One of his teammates not in the all star game is also deserving but won't get in. Do something good and VOTE FOR KONERKO!!

4th of July

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! Today is the fourth of july and i thought that i would just write a blog about it. I thought I would just say. happy 4th. Nothin about sports today other then the fact that baseball is going on today. I saw the Yankees on TBS today. They just seem to be on any network they can get their hands on. This really annoys me. They should make each team equal. There are fans that want to see their team but all they see are the yankees. ESPN is like the yankees network. Baseball is a pretty big deal, though today. Today is independence day. Celebration of our nation. Did you like the rhyme? I know I am so creative.

Free Agency. i promise the last blog about it....i think

Free agency frenzy has been getting a little out of hand for me. The media is confusing. They say for like a whole week before free agency that its going to be the bulls that LeBron James and Chris Bosh will go to. Then, one day Miami comes up and that is where LeBron is going to go. Then the next day everyone is saying that he will stay with the Cavs. I think the media is just saying all the options so that they can say they were right at some point. I think I might be getting whiplash from where or where not he is going and what everyone is saying. I thought from the beginning that it would be either the Cavs or the Bulls, I did get a little influenced and thought it might be the Heat, but I am sticking to my original point. He will either stay in Cleveland or go to Chicago. Something that I don't understand is that there are maybe 10 really good, maybe max contract players out there that are free agents, and yet the only thing we can talk about is LeBron and where he will go and who he will be with. If this doesn't prove that the league loves and the media loves LeBron, what will? Kobe never had this much coverage over his free agency and Kobe didn't even have as much competition for coverage as LeBron does this year. Yes, people have talked about other guys, but only because either they might be going with the king or they will be going to a team because they do not sign James. If you really think about it the only free agent that anyone has cared a lot about was LeBron James. I think that it is unfair to the players that are great players in the league and they don't get any publicity because they just happened to have free agency the same year as James. Earlier before free agency started I made a list of about 7 guys that I thought were important free agents. I put them on paper and put a team that I thought they would go to. As they sign I will put who they signed with and see how many I got right. With some of the bigger names that I thought were important I didn't know what to say because most of the media hadn't said much about where they would go. I don't pay that much attention to the NBA, I needed help to write about this topic and yet the media wasn't helping me, because all they could talk about was LeBron, and here I am talking about him. When I write a blog and put labels on the post they count how many times I have used each one. I have used LeBron James so many times that it seems like that is all I care about. I'm not even that big of a fan of him and until this years final I didn't even pay any attention to the NBA at all. Suddenly all I can talk about is the NBA or LeBron. It's getting ridiculous. I went from someone who didn't believe in the NBA to someone who wrote about it constantly, almost everyday. The same with soccer and the world cup. Going in I cared about 10% about the world cup and I seemed to be writing about it whenever nothing new was going on with the NBA. I became a freak. I was writing about sports I didn't care about. Meanwhile a sport I love to watch and have been a fan of all my life is going on and I don't even write about it. I really need to change something.

Boring time.

Right now in sports there are a few things going on. and it seems like in my blogs and other things all anyone ever talks about is the world cup or NBA free agency. Not very many people are even talking about baseball but i guess that is a little important.

There have been 4 no-hitters this year. The pitchers have totally taken over the game. The better pitching you have the better team you have. There have also been some teams to have winning streak of 11 such as the Rangers and White Sox. Yet, thats not what anyone is talking about.
They talk about the free agency of many NBA stars. Leading all these stars is LeBron James. Then there is Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire, and others. This is what people are talking about. But how much can you talk about the same people and where they might go. Eventually the people listening get less interested or they want to hear about something else.

The fact that there may be a super team in Miami. They might have LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Wade. That just seems rediculous, but now it seems like the top option. I think that the better thing to do would be to wait it out, but i don't think that many sportswriters or reporters would agree with me.
Then there is the fact that we almost had a super conference in college football built this year. That would have made this summer sooo crazy that i might now have been able to handle it. But that did not happen and the college football landscape is not completely different.
Finally, the world cup. The USA had made a good run and many Americans were very excited about this years world cup. We won our group and got to the next round and we lost. But, the action continued. Many Americans are still watching. This is the most watched world cup so far. There is a sudden interest in the world cup, but in recent cups there has been little participation from the American people. Now we have many fans. Maybe this will start a little surge for people who want to play soccer well and be in the world cup. Maybe someday America will win a world cup.

Brazil was my favorite team left after the United States lost. Today they suffered a close but not so close loss. They had a good first half, but the second half was too much and they ended up losing. It was too bad. The only team that i like that is left is Argentina. They seem to be on a good path and have been winning games, but I hope i don't jinx them.

the world cup continues. without usa

The United States was knocked out when they lost against Ghana in the round of 16. They had a great and easy path to the semi-finals, but instead they lost and the story was over. Now the world cup continues. Still on ESPN an American network. With no team that many Americans cheer for left. Yet the world cup fever does not seem to be over the United States. People are still watching the world cup and want to see who wins. What is the cause of this? Probably the fact that now you don't have to search all over your tv package to find the games, instead anyone with cable gets to see the games on ESPN. People are forced to watch and then they get interested and start cheering for a team. And then when that team isn't playing they find another team. The thing is people in America like to join the bandwagon. Cheer for the best team. So this gives us a chance to do that with a sport that not many people in America thinks matters. It is one person's little getaway. So now the world cup has actually become respectable in the USA.