TOP SECRET...just handed to me!

So I just received by an anonymous person the pairings for the Midland Invitational Tourney that is being held at Pablo's working grounds the Annex. Though, it took some time but the field looks primed and ready for another great tourney of Beer-die. The field to me looks strong, to quite strong, pairings for the most part are very equal, but someone has to make a prediction and who better than this guy!

With the 10 teams that I have been givin, it's hard to say how the tourney will be run so I will give you my top 6 that I think should advance with my pair of championship game teams.

NOT ADVANCING

MIF/OX- Mif needs a great, and I mean great defensive player along side of him. And even though I have heard great things about the man named Ox, Mif will have to dress in red and bring an extra set of horns to advance.

RICK/CAT- I haven't picked Rick since I got back, nor will I now. I hate this kid so much, he plays big when I am not on his team. If I was Cat I would change teammates and get an extra set of paws.

KEV/JESSE- These guys won't have a chance. They'll be playing with their phones attached to the ears and pickum sheets all over the table, this will be a distraction from the getgo. I'll take Michigan in the over and Kev/Jesse in the under...(5 points)

HECK/TOAD- Love this team but someone has to go. I hear great things about the Heckler, and Toad finally joining a beer-die tourney should be tons of fun. Howie Hewitt won't be in attendance but the reason for this team not advancing is because he is always on their mind!

NARROWING IT DOWN TO TWO

PABLO/DOCTOR- I told The Doctor that I wouldn't pick against him but being a blogger I lied. Pablo will be playing on his turf where him and I have some great memories of being teammates. But, this is as far as they go as the Doctor will be looking the whole tourney for a Pitbull armed with some Jameson to come and save the day.

JJ/FREDDIE- JJ tends to step up his game in tourneys like this especially with a rookie on his team. The competition will get tighter as they advance and as Freddie starts to struggle, JJ will remember when Freddie sold to an underager at the packy and it'll get him fired up and they will start to falter.

KO/SAUCE- I told Keith that I wouldn't pick him to go to the finals anymore, but this is not the reason. Sauce got to pick his partner for this tourney and the jinx is on for Keith. Like Sauce has said in the comments, "Too many players, means I'll get too drunk!". And he will and so will you Keith, so with this I give you both a goodnight to the start of a long weekend.

HEAVY/BRI G- Very interest combo! A couple of Irishman fighting for the crown. So Heavy I give you this as a Labor Day present....N O T T O D A Y!!!!!! Bounced, your rain has dried up!

CHAMPIONSHIP

JOE JOE/KELVIN vs. SHORTY/GIBBY- Wow, love this match up! Two players that own a basketball court and two that would like to own one in their backyard. Joe had a tough outing in his last tournament and Shorty is showing signs of stepping it up into Hall of Fame status. My sleeper player in this tourney is going to be Kel who is finally going to get the hang of this game and who better to be on your side than Maloney's all-time leading scorer. This game won't even be close as Joe-Joe gets back into beer-die form and Kel hits the walk off for their first beer-die title. But, the real match is after the game, when Gibby and Shorty are so full of beer muscles that they really challenge each other to a game of basketball. As this happens they are doing so much talking and less putting the ball in the hole that they start to duke it out and the game ends in a 0-0 tie. The fight breaks up and as both players are cross eyed they decide to apologize for being stupid and Gibby's wedding next month is canceled as the two kiss and make-up, literally. LOL!

Miss y'll too much! Have a safe Labor Day weekend and I'll be see most of you shortly and some of you this Sunday on Webcam at the SFL Draft.

Peace

US Open

Today, I came home from work and was flipping through the channels and I found the US Open on USA Network. Then, something came over me. I forgot that we will not be seeing Andre Agassi at The Open again. Agassi would be one of the only reason I would even consider watching tennis. His stardom and charisma out on the court was something magical. He would win the crowd over the moment the match begun. Men's tennis, United States tennis, needs another Agassi. So I thought while watching Andy Roddick this afternoon, when is this guy going to step it up and be that guy. I realize that Roger Federer is an amazing tennis player, but us Americans need Roddick to start taking his game to the next level. With only the US Open as his only Grand Slam title, back in 2003, and a runner up in 2006, we need him to stay more and more consistent with his play and start pushing the top dogs and give us Americans something to cheer about in tennis again. I realize that I might be picking on the kid a little since he is currently ranked 5th in the world rankings, but I am looking for more. Maybe its that I want someone from the United States to start making a push at the Europeans that are dominating the sport. At least when Agassi wasn't winning it was another American that was in Pete Sampras. So by the way, Happy 25th Birthday Mr. Roddick, I will be pushing for you again in another tournament, because you are the only American hope for now.

Did the Best Team Win?

After Dalton Carriker (above left) hit the game-winning shot over the right field fence to give the gritty team from Warner Robins, Georgia the Little League World Series crown, I looked over at my brother and I said this was not one of the best teams this year. I was wondering if this was the worst Little League World Champ ever. As much drama there was during pool play this year, the coaching and the errors were making me sick throughout this tourney. A lot of the kids from this Georgia team were not baseball players, some weren't even athletic. If it hadn't been for Carriker this team would have never gotten out of pool play. The kid hit over .700 in the tournament and I'm not sure but I think that his game winner was his third homer. The best two teams in this tournament I thought was Texas and Venezuela who both had coaching mishaps. Georgia's manager, Mickey Lay, I was scrutinizing throughout for his inability to manage a pitching staff throughout this tourney and allow the hopes of a world title in the hands of a 12-year-old who hadn't pitched in four and a half weeks was ridiculous. Also, finally in the bottom of the forth inning he figures he'd tell is team to move closer in the box because the pitcher kept pitching outside. "Hey coach, you didn't notice that in the first inning!?" I just thought that I would voice my opinion that the play and coaching in this World Series was sub par at best and I really didn't think going into the championship game that these were the two best teams in the world. But, I still love the Little League drama and if we forget the name Garrett Williams (above right) that's because the kid had to have Tommy John surgery at the age of 14!

He's done some things right!!!

This weekend I have been trying to decide what to write to you about this week. With the great wild card races going on and with the AL East being the only division with the second place team more that 5 games out, I thought that I would like to thank somebody for allowing me to enjoy these races!

Bud Selig, many of us dislike him. Many of us think that he just some idiot that got thrown into the commissioners job after the Executive Council of Major League Baseball basically enforced the resignation of Fay Vincient because of the committee having no confidence in him. Selig has made some tough and crazy decisions during his tenure, but the one that I really commend him for and that he stuck too saying that it'll being great for the game and would keep the fans interested later in the season was instituting the Wild Card and Divisional play back in 1994(didn't start up until 1995 because of the strike shortened 1994 season). Now needless to say that he was ridiculed by the baseball purist that this would kill the importance of a pennant race while the others in favor thought that this gave an opportunity to the team(s) that would not win their division but would still have a shot at the post-season. With this Wild Card race that we now have, the importance of August through September is unreal. I get a chance of seeing more baseball being played at a higher level and the games meaning so much down the stretch than if there was still two divisions and one division being over and sitting waiting for the postseason to start. Hey, without divisional play the Red Sox would have never won the World Series. This is great for baseball, what Selig did, and I just want to take this opportunity and say thanks!

Notable changes to Major League Baseball Bud Selig helped introduce to Major League Baseball:
Interleague play

The wild card

Abolition of the National and American League offices and presidencies, and combining all umpiring crews into a common pool for both AL and NL games, instead of having separate pools per league

The Major League Baseball performance-enhancing drug testing policy

The World Baseball Classic

The league that wins the All Star Game will have homefield advantage in the World Series that year.

30 runs?

Ok, so your telling me that the Baltimore Orioles were leading 3-0 over the Texas Rangers in the top of the forth inning and then the game was over. How was it over? Well, the Rangers scored 5 runs in the top of the forth inning, 9 times in the 6th, a touchdown and a field-goal in the 8th, and scored 6 more in the 9th to finish with an astonishing 30 runs in a major league game. David Murphy tallied 5 of the 29 hits for the visiting Texas squad. Thirty runs scored has not been done since the Chicago Colt(Cubs) scored 36 against Louisville in a National League game played on June 29th, 1897, yes 110 years ago. Down the street from Camden Yards is the Baltimore Ravens home and they haven't given up 30 points in a games since 2005! The same day that the Orioles Manager, Dave Trembley was told that he was wanted back for the '08 season to manage the squad. I invite all of you to check out David Schoenfield's page 2 article on espn.go.com about the top 100 beatdowns in the history of sports. I will not forget this day, because when my brother came in to tell me that the Texas beat Baltimore 30-3 today, I was like, "Their called the Texans you idiot, and why are they playing a preseason game during the day?"

Trying Something New...

If you haven't noticed I been trying to make my blog look a little better and will be doing more to make my blog readable. So last night I posted a new look on the right side of the page featuring "DVD of the Week". Since the closest movie cinema is about 25 minutes away I decided that it was time to join the rest of the world and subscribe to Netflix. Being a part of Netflix now allows me to watch the new releases that just came out and see the ones that I have missed in the past year or so. So now each week you will see my dvd of the week and if I really enjoyed it, I will give my review. This week's first "DVD of the Week" is the movie Wild Hogs, starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. At first at was a little suspect of the movie and while I was at my uncle's house he told me that I have to see it. So I went to Walmart and purchased the movie (another reason why I got Netflix, $20 a movie is driving me crazy). I thought that this was a great comedy, when I saw that Macy was in it I thought that that was odd, but his character was absolutely hilarious! Dvd of the week will include past movies that I decided for some reason to watch and new releases that I ordered on Netflix. Each dvd that I post will be a recommended watch from me!

My Bargains

The best bargains in my book this season in fantasy football consists of players that you will be getting more bang for your buck. These bargains are players that you will be drafting early or late, it's just when I look at these players I see them drafted low and putting up some nice numbers this year that you will be satisfied with.

QUARTERBACK- Jon Kitna, with having Mike Martz with him for a second year I really feel that Kitna will have a career year this season. With the running backs getting more catches last season and the drafting of college phenom Calvin Johnson, this years offense could average 35 points a game this year. Not to mention that moving a guy that was second in the league in receptions in Mike Furrey, to the slot this offense looks dangerous. As long as Kitna stays healthy and stays away from interceptions.

RUNNING BACK- Staying healthy for these two players is very important this season and they both might fall just because of worried owners not taking a chance. Clinton Portis and Thomas Jones are both going to have huge years if they stay healthy. Portis is a top 5 back but the injury-shortened season he had last year is a major concern. Jones is a little banged up right now but should be ready to go by week 1. If the Jets use Jones like they did with Curtis Martin, Jones will be a star this season. Might be close to having 50 receptions this season with Chad Pennington at the helm. Just stay healthy guys, especially you Clinton!

WIDE RECEIVER- Reggie Brown caught 8 touchdown passes last season and ran in for another. With Donte Stallworth gone, Brown will be the featured wide out. Has good speed and decent hands. Averaged over 17 yards per catch last year and I really am looking to see Brown emerge into a star in Donovan McNabb's offense. Predicting double-digit touchdowns for Brown this season.

TIGHT END- Randy McMichael moved on to a very different type of offense this season from Miami to St. Louis. The Rams have been looking for a guy to catch passes over the middle and McMichael is their guy to do just that. We are still looking for his great breakout season after a great 2004 season where he caught 73 passes for close to 800 yards. Now he is reunited with former Dolphins coach Scott Linehan and the coach has gone on record of saying that McMichael will rarely sit with his great blocking ability as well. Also, a key note, he has started all 80 games of his career!

KICKER- Here's your kicker bargain, take a kicker late that kicks in a roofed stadium.

Move over Freddie Adu...

This kid's name is Rhain Davis from Britain, and to compete with Bad Choice Milk's white Reggie Bush posted not to long ago I figured that this kid needed to be posted as well. Just last month, Davis signed with the Manchester United team in Europe. Oh, only 9 years old! Enjoy!

Bargains and Busts

With the SFL Fantasy Draft closing in I thought that I would give you a little passage about my bargains and busts this NFL season. Since I have never made it to the postseason in the SFL yet, my hopes are that "This is the year!". If there was a word for my face in the picture above then that is the word to describe my fantasy football career. Not that any of you would actually take my predictions seriously being the biggest curse in fantasy football history, but I am doing this for my own amusement. Today, I will start with my busts. I will pick one player from each position and give my reasons for being a bust this coming season. A fantasy football bust is someone that you are considering very high this year on your draft board but will ultimately do nothing this year and it won't be just because of an injury. Enjoy...

QUARTERBACK- Vince Young, I love this kid as a football player. He is a born winner, and he looks to me that he knows how to orchestrate an offense. If I had him in a keeper league, he would be kept, for the record. But, I am not so sure that he will be able to put up good fantasy numbers this year. There just doesn't seem to be a lot around him this season. The Titans still don't have a starting running back yet and can anyone tell me who their number one receiver is? Don't give me Brandon Jones either because if he is, he is going to have to play huge this year for them to be successful. Like I said, I love Vince Young but this won't be a good fantasy year for him. It might be the only bad fantasy year for him though.

RUNNING BACK- Julius Jones, your time is over. I do not care that your yards have gone up in each of the last three seasons. That is only because you finally played a full season last year. Marion Barber will put up more points fantasy this season and here is why. Barber never fumbles, for this reason he will eat up the clock and yards at the end of the game if the Cowboys are up. Inside the 20 yard line will be where Jones will be sent back to the sidelines. Bearing injury Jones will probably get his 1,000 yards on the ground this year but that is all I see.

WIDE RECEIVER- I really don't have one this year, i could settle for any of the top 20 wide outs for my #1 this season. So how about this, I am going to stay away from Dolphin, Titan, Raven, and Falcon receivers. There it is!

TIGHT END- Let's put it this way if you don't one of the top 7 tight ends in the league your basically hoping on a miracle with the other ones that you select. Can anyone tell me why I see Vernon Davis so high on every ones rank list. The kid is a freak of nature body size, but he played in 10 games last season and only came up with 265 receiving yards. Sorry, not buying it! Wouldn't even think of drafting this guy until I have my 4 running backs.

KICKER- Who cares right! Well, when you live with a kicker it's really hard to ignore them. So here you go I have two. Stephen Gostowski and Martin Grammatica, one will rarely see the field because his team will be scoring touchdowns and the other will rarely see the field because some defender will crush him when his is jumping around like an idiot after hitting a 24 yard field goal!


biggest bargains coming tomorrow!

sorry...

I know that it has been a while for a post but there has been nothing good to write about lately and my boy the pitbull was around keeping me company. But, I had to write about how much I love Little League baseball. When your at my age you can remember, or make up, everything about your Little League experience. I can still to this day remember Scott Palmer throwing gas at my eyeballs. Or, the late Ralph Carey coaching another stacked squad to another league title. I can remember guys that I see every now and then and tell you what team they played for and how good they were. I was fortunate enough to play in all three leagues in Meriden and I have seen the best of the best of my era, ok now I sound old! But, watching todays opening game today was absolutely amazing! I will be pulling for the team from Massachusetts the whole way now after today. There is nothing more pure then Little League Baseball unless you come across a Danny Almonte. Well, I just wanted to finally post something that was well deserved and I really hope that you all have seen the last inning of the Massachusetts/Ohio opener. My pick opening the tourney is Texas, but my heart is with Mass....enjoy!!!