Welcome to the tantrums where Uncle B.O.B. believes that we spend a lot of time thanking the Military but we always seemingly forget to spread a lot of love and respect to firefighters.  Where am I going with this you ask?  Last Tuesday, we were celebrating yet another life - my Uncle Walter who passed away at age 76 from Alzheimer's.  While it sucked, we had a great time hearing some interesting tales for the first time that rivaled Sailors and their sea stories.  All funny!

My Uncle Walter was a huge man with a great sense of humor who loved to make kids smile.  He was a lifelong firefighter for the California Division of Forestry (CDF) and that was his life.  He hung out with his buddies at the local coffee shops and CDF houses to talk shop and relive memories of the job he loved so dearly.  He dressed up as Smokey the Bear for many an event.  He loved going camping and hunting and always told my kids about his upcoming trips to the mountains for what he called “Bible Study”.  Yeah, it was code and we always got a good laugh out of it. 

Later this Spring, his ashes will be spread over a lake in a beautiful alpine setting where he loved to camp and hunt.  RIP Uncle Walter.   

Rant #1 – Los Angeles Lakers.  Can somebody PLEASE explain to me how the NBA hasn't come down on this team full of cheap-shot artists?  Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Artest, Matt Barnes and at the time Lamar Odom ALL have had questionable hits, yet not one talking head is discussing this.  What is it going to take for somebody to get these jerk-offs under control?  It’s this simple – THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS ARE THE NBA’S DIRTIEST TEAM and have been for quite awhile. There’s nobody out there who can argue that, and if you try to argue the point with me, I’m not listening! Kobe Bryant flailing his elbows yet again yesterday, Bynum, Odom had a bad cheap shot at the end of last season, and now Ron Artest had a flashback.

First off Dyan Cannon, never interrupt an interview again – when the hell was this thing last relevant, the 1970’s?  Secondly, you and Jack Nicholson's shriveled up 75 year old ass need to go away.

I read some comments about Harden flopping, but to those who said that, he has a freaking concussion – ARGUMENT OVER!!!  Artest needs to be suspended for ten games minimum, but because it’s the Lakers, David $tern and his little discipline puppet Stu Jackson don’t have the balls to do what’s right.  Guaranteed that if Artest was playing for anybody else, he’d be suspended far more than he’s gonna get.

LA Laker fans are straight up PIECES OF SHIT!  Booing the call and then cheering when Artest left the floor?  You suck!

Rant #2 – Minnesota Vikings.  I don’t know if Zygi Wilf reads the Gab (he should), but I want to tell him something – Don’t move the Vikes to LA!  This isn’t another anti-LA rant, this is actually business.  Now Doug might want to disagree with this, but I don’t remember the Rams and Raiders getting such a fervent following down in Botox-land.  Did they sell tickets?  Yep, but remember LA is a front-runner town and if you’re not winning, people will find something better with their discretionary income, and it certainly won’t be to watch a losing product on the field.

I understand that “the Hefty Dome” is BS and you need a place of your own, but from what I gather from my spy back there (Jerry), the Vikes have a HUGE following not only in Minnesota, but in South Dakota and Iowa as well, and probably North Dakota too.  Those fans have supported that franchise BIG time, you’ll never get that in LA, I promise you that.  

Rant #3 – Oakland A’s.  Last week, I ranted on lack of stick for the A’s.  They must read the Gab.  This isn’t so much of a rant as it is a surprise.  The A’s struggled with the Mariners in what seemed like a forever long series, but did they go down to Halo-land and take three of four from the Angels?  Bartolo Colon is pitching damn good?  What the heck is going on here? 

And then this gem on Twitter.  Brandon McCarthy tweet that he goes in for his pee test with his shirt off and the tester laughs and says “Never mind man.  I think you’re good.”    

Rant #4 – Texas Rangers.  Just as I was bragging on how the Rangers couldn't be beat, karma kicked me square in the butt.  Of course, on the day the Rangers honor Ivan Rodriguez, the Yankees come to Arlington and bust out the whooping sticks.  Damn Texas, you can smoke everybody in the AL, but you lay an egg for the NY Sewer Rats?  Damn... 

Rant #5 – NFL Draft.  Could you imagine the joy Jud might have felt this week? 

Lots of chatter about many teams wanting to trade down in the draft.  Far more so than teams willing to move up.

I’m a huge fan of the draft, it gives a renewed sense of hope to fans of many teams.  Hell, out here it gives Raider fans another excuse to party (as if they need another one) and talk crap about playing ball in February.  But what I’m not a fan of is the First Round on Thursdays, a few rounds on Friday, and finishing up with scrub Saturday.  It doesn’t make sense.

The upcoming draft turns on what the Vikings do at #3.  Should be interesting because I believe that the Vikings are distracted, and that only benefits Cleveland at #4.  PREDICTION:  Watch New England be heavily involved, perhaps sneaking up the draft board.  Hey Cleveland, is that opportunity knocking?

Dolphin fan, it sucks to be you and have no hope.  An owner who could be the worst in the NFL and maybe all of sports, a clueless GM who can't sell his team to free agents, and a very predictable outcome in the draft.  How did it all go so wrong in Miami, a place tailor-made for football?

While I'm ranting, hey 49ers, feel free to draft a WR/KR specialist.  Do I really need to explain why?

Rant #6 – Penn State.  Well lookie whose back in the news.  These douche bags at Penn State offered the Paterno family to rename Beaver stadium in honor of Joe Paterno.  One catch – the family couldn’t sue the university.  What is Penn State so afraid of?

San Francisco 49ers.  For the first time in many moons in California a pro sport franchise (the 49ers) broke ground on their new state-of-the-art stadium down in Santa Clara.  Everybody knows Candlestick Park outlived its usefulness long ago, but there was a definite home field advantage there between the soft turf and incredibly weird weather that rolls through. 

Candlestick still has probably three years left, but there are lots of memories of the old joint.   The 1960’s Giants, those early 1970’s 49er teams, that incredible Giant run in 1978, the 49ers dynasty, and just last year the most incredible and improbable 49er run of all.

Deion Sanders.  Damn this fool was a Seminole?  Look Prime Time, it’s bad form to be tweeting about a domestic violence issue (especially your own) while you're in hangin' out at the po-po filling out reports.   

OK Gabbers, it's your turn to rant - get there!!!