Sportscaster goes nuts?? Army Vet plays football?? Humphries better than Phelps as a swimmer?? This and more in this weeks edition of….

Kris Humphries was a better swimmer than Michael Phelps. Yep you read it right. It seems that in the mid-90’s, as 10 year olds, the biggest rival for Phelps was Kris. If you look up swimming records for 10 year olds, Kris Humphries holds the record in the 50 and 100 meter free-style (both records still stand), while Phelps holds the record for the 100 meter butterfly.

An Army Veteran has been cleared to play football for Clemson this year. In doing so he will fulfill a pledge he made to a follow army soldier who passed away.

Daniel Rodriguez played high school football in Stafford, Va., but do to personal problems he joined the Army four days after graduation. Daniel was in Iraq during the surge of 2007 and again went to Iraq for another tour. During his second tour, he was in the line of fire in one of the bloodiest fights, the battle of Kamdesh in October 2009. There were fewer than 40 U.S. soldiers when they were overwhelmed by approximately 400 Taliban. Rodriguez’s friend Pfc. Kevin Thompson died in the battle. A few days earlier Daniel and Kevin shared their visions of what they would do after returning home. Daniel wanted to play college football and he promised Kevin he would chase his goal.

With shrapnel in his left leg and neck, and a bullet fragment through his shoulder, Rodriguez left Kamdesh and returned home. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor and a Purple Heart. Daniel was also promoted to Staff Sergeant when he honorably discharge in 2010.

Daniel started getting into football shape with punishing workouts lasting up to 6 hours a day. A friend of his place his workout on YouTube and it went viral. Fifty schools inquired including Clemson and their coach Dabo Swinney, a former walk-on at Alabama and eventually he became a scholarship receiver. Dabo gave Rodriguez a chance and filled out the necessary paper work with the NCCA and the ACC.

"He is getting the opportunity to follow his dream," the coach said. "We are excited to have him join our program. I have no doubt that he will become a great leader for us."

They play in two different leagues, but on August 3^rd they played as one, as Justin Upton and his brother, B.J. Upton, each hit their 100^th homerun and hour apart. They are the first brothers to hit their 100^th homerun on the same night.

My condolences go out to coach Andy Reid and his family on the passing of his oldest son Garrett Reid.

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate’s sports reporter ranted on the 11 o’clock (shown live at 12:07) news last week. He had it out for Bob Costas. Here it is.

I can tell you he has been reprimanded by NBC and he is not allowed to say anything about his little rant. He won’t lose his job because he is a very popular sportscaster in Jacksonville, Fl.

It’s that time of year when all teams think they have a chance to win the Super Bowl. Some teams are delusional while other teams have a valid chance to win it all.

According to ScottJax77 this is what will happen:

Those without a chance are the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

Those that have a chance are New York Jets, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons,

Those that could win the Super Bowl are the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers.

Do the Gabbers have a choice for the Super Bowl Champs?

It is three weeks away until my fantasy football draft and I pick 5^th. I have not decided what position I want to take with that pick. I would like to take Newton, but two thing are preventing me from doing so, I never pick a QB in the first round and Newton is listed in a lot of books as a 2^nd or 3^rd rounder. I will probably go with Megatron with my first pick and follow that up with a RB and then another WR. I pick 5th, 15th, 20, etc.

Any suggestions?

NASA’s Curiosity landed on Mars early Monday Morning. Here is the first image from Curiosity:

Til Next Time

Scott

UFO’s invading NFL games?? Manager Retires?? Update on ScottJax77 This plus a mean hit during a punt return, and more in this edition of Random Thoughts.

Watch it, wow almost got us…As I was saying, let’s go to this edition of Random Thoughts.

ScottJax is doing well. He is now going to outpatient therapy. I got a hotty of a therapist. No, the girl above, is not her. I am driving and using a cane to get around. Before you know it, its almost time to go back to work. That will happen in December.

For those that did not see it, last week Vanderbilt’s punt returner, Jonathan Krause got his bell rung by Arkansas receiver Marquel Wade. The clip speaks for itself.　

Wade was ejected from the game.

All Krause seen after he got up was….

Tony La Russa, one of the greatest managers ever, announced his retirement. He goes down as the manager who created the ninth inning reliever when he used Dennis Eckersley as his “shutdown” closer for the Oakland Athletics. Tony won 3 World Series, 2 with the Cardinals and 1 with the A’s, as well as finishing 3^rd on the all-time wins list with 2,728.

Does this mean Albert Pujols doesn’t re-sign with the Cardinals??　

Now my son’s first marriage lasted only 34 days, but I for one really thought Kim Kardashian found true love when she married Kris Humphries of the Nets. But boy, was I wrong. As Kim said "I had hoped this marriage was forever but sometimes things don't work out as planned." In a made-for-TV wedding, that lasted only 72 days, rumors say Kim made money on the deal, Kardashian’s hardly paid anything for their wedding.

Why can’t Kim be truthful and say she just didn’t want to “put-out” so to speak.

On October 23^rd, during the Saints manhandling of the Colts 62-7, NBC cameras focused on the historic, St. Louis Cathedral in the Big Easy, when all-of-a-sudden objects streaked across the sky. It does look like a UFO, as you can see in the above picture and the article and video I posted below, yet no one has identified it yet.

Viewed in real-time, it's hard to see much more than something flashing across the screen. But a frame-by-frame scrutiny of the video reveals a rod-shaped object topped with brightly lit dots.

Here is the website it was taken from:

http://www.aol.com/2011/11/01/ufo-nfl-game_n_1069148.html?test=latestnews

Here is a you tube clip of it. As you can tell its taken from the aol website above

What happens if the NBA season started and no one showed up??

Til Next Time

Scott

Thumbs up to the new background, Net player getting married, Danica, The Stow family, Gary Carter and a Thug are in this weeks edition of Rants and Raves.

I want to thank all the Gabbers for the kind words while I was kneeling to the porcelain gods. I must have lost 12 pounds. Still can’t figure if it was food poisoning or a virus. All I know is that I had to leave work without having an accident, which was a miracle in its own right.

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I like the background design at YouGabSports. As a retired Navy man, I feel like I have to salute every time I go onto the website. Great job folks!!

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Nothing personal, but this is the way I perfer to see Dani!!

Danica Patrick got bumped from the #2 position for failing an engine inspection. She ended up requalifying 26^th. Does anyone think she will be a good NASCAR racer? Does anyone really care?

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I can’t understand why anyone would be the living crap against a fan just because he was wearing a uniform shirt of his favorite team. I hope the judicial system throws the book on this low-life piece of crap….

Giovanni Ramirez, was arrested and held on $1 million dollar bail for the bruttle beating of Bryan Stow. Ramirez, 31, who has two prior felony convictions, was booked Sunday evening on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He was apprehended in an early-morning raid by LAPD SWAT officers at an East Hollywood apartment complex after an intense, seven-week manhunt. Police said that a tip from Ramirez's parole officer was the key break in the case. Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck said Sunday that Ramirez is believed to be the "primary aggressor" in the Stow beating. However police are still looking for the other suspect in the attack, and a woman wearing an Andre Ethier jersey who helped the suspects flee in a white Mitsubishi or Acura after the attack. Witnesses have described her as a 5-foot-2 or 5-foot-3 Latina in her 20s with brown or dyed hair in a ponytail.

Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic and father of two, remains in critical condition since suffering brain damage, but has since been moved from the Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center to San Francisco General Hospital.

I am happy that the Stow family has filed a lawsuit against the Dodgers. The suit seeks unspecified damages to cover Stow's future medical care and as compensation for the economic damages to Stow and his two children. It alleges that Stow was "inappropriately exposed to the aggressive acts of third parties" because the Dodgers "failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the attack on Stow."

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Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter announced that doctors found four “very small” brain tumors after an MRI was performed. Always a fan favorite, Carter led the Mets to a World Series win in 1986. He had 24 homers and 105 RBIs that year, then drove in 11 runs in the postseason. Carter hit .262 with 324 homers and 1,225 RBIs in 19 seasons in the majors. The 11-time All-Star played his last game with the Montreal Expos in 1992 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

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Ray “The Murderer” Lewis said the following:

“Do this research if we don't have a season -- watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game," Lewis told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio. That's because, Lewis said, the NFL lockout affects "way more than us" -- the owners and the players. "There's too many people that live through us, people live through us," he said. "Yeah, walk in the streets, the way I walk the streets, and I'm not talking about the people you see all the time." When asked why he thought crime would increase if the NFL doesn't play games this year, Lewis said: "There's nothing else to do Sal."

He didn’t mention if the crime would be committed by NFL players or fans. Him saying “too many people live through us” could mean the players too.

But, he should know from past experience.

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People magazine reports Wednesday that Kim Kardashian is engaged to her boyfriend of six months, Kris Humphries. Kardashian told People that she was in "shock" when she entered her Beverly Hills, home last week to discover Humphries on bended knee with "will you marry me" spelled out in rose petals. She said yes. Humphries, 26, gave Kardashian, 30, a 20.5-carat Lorraine Schwartz diamond ring, worth $2.5 million. "I just knew I wanted it to be big," says Humphries, who, with the help of Kardashian's mom Kris Jenner, planned an intimate family celebration later that evening

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Some random things:

Syracuse Orange plays the Florida Gators, in a SEC/Big East basketball game on December 2 in the Carrier Dome. I watched these two teams play two years ago in Tampa. It was a close game until 2 minutes to go and then the Cuse dominated and won by 7. Go Orange!!

I have watched more hockey playoff games this year, than I have in the past 6 years. I finally found the versus station on my remote.

I am a season ticket holder of the Jackson Jaguars, and I never got a phone call from the NFL commissioner. Did he really call random season ticket holders??

It figures there would be an NFL lockout. I have the #1 pick in this years fantasy football draft. I was going to take Houston’s Foster, but now I don’t know? Too much time to think.

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Pictures by: Ray Lewis mug shot - nndb.com, Danica Patrick beach - api.ning.com, Gary Carter - media.philly.com, kim kardashian and kris Humphries - cdn02.cdnwp.celebuzz.com 

I love the USA, The Middleton’s, Atlanta Braves, Lacrosse and more in this edition of Rants and Raves.

I want to congratulate President Obama for having the balls to pull off the operation that killed Usama Bin Laden. As a retired Navy man nothing makes me prouder that is was the Navy Seals who carried out the attack. Of course I would have been proud if the Marines or Army pulled it off too. Its just a little better that it was Seals!!

A friend of mine came up with a very good idea. He stated that maybe there should be a 30 minute documentary of the killing of Usama Bin Laden, with the whole attack being shown at movie theaters. No one under the age of 18 can be admitted and the theaters should charge $5 to see the documentary. All proceeds would then go to the families of 9/11.

I want to get the last say on Kate and Pippa Middleton.

Okay the Prince of England got Kate Middleton as a wife. But me,

I want Pippa Middleton.

She young, rich and beautiful. I won’t have to work again!! LOL

What’s up with a Judicial System?? Red’s pitcher Mike Leake pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. He was originally charged with theft, has now been reduced to unauthorized use of property after Leake stated that he was trying to exchange T-shirts he purchased which were too small. The 23-year-old was sentenced to counseling and 30 hours of community service. Come on now!! Trying to exchange shirts, please. We try that with a judge and the judge would laugh at us and sentence us to some time in jail or a financial fine. It is time the courts start coming down hard on our “so-called role models!!”

I would never have thought that any player/coach from the Braves would get into trouble. But in the span of a week two such people did.

Derek Lowe was charged with drunken driving. The Atlanta pitcher was racing another down and Atlanta street when he was stopped by the Georgia State Patrol. A trooper detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage and administered a field sobriety test which led in Lowe’s arrest. Derek declined to to take a breath test. Lowe was charged with DUI, reckless driving and improper lane change.

Then on top of the Derek Lowe DUI, comes Major League Baseball’s suspension of Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell for two weeks without pay. His suspension was for inappropriate homophobic comments and gestures he made toward fans before a game in San Francisco. McDowell is also accused of using a baseball bat to threaten a fan objecting to his actions. The altercation occurred at AT&T Park in San Francisco during pre-game batting practice. Justin Quinn was in the stands with his wife and 9-year-old twin daughters when he noticed McDowell hectoring three men and asking them, "Are you guys a homo couple or a threesome?" After the coach made crude sexual gestures with his hips and a bat, Quinn said he shouted, "Hey, there are kids out here." According to Quinn, McDowell said kids don't belong at a baseball park, picked up a bat, walked up to Quinn and asked him, "How much are your teeth worth?" Quinn said he felt threatened and was unsure whether McDowell intended to hit him. "My kids are in panic mode ... they're like grabbing onto me," Quinn said during a news conference at the office of prominent Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred. "I'm talking to him, trying to calm him down and the kids are screaming." Some parents who were in the stands with their children began to boo at McDowell and came down to retrieve their kids. Quinn said that eventually McDowell walked away. "I am deeply sorry that I responded to the heckling fans in San Francisco," McDowell said in a statement, his only public comment on the matter. "I apologize to everyone for my actions." McDowell will be required to complete sensitivity training and will have to apologize directly to the fans involved, Justin Quinn and his family. Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement that insensitivity to others "simply cannot and will not be tolerated."

I hope the New Jersey/Brooklyn/Bklyn Nets resign free agent players Kris Humphries and Sasha Vujacic. Their “main squeeze” would bring beauty to the Net’s new home in Brooklyn. So far the Barclay Center (the name for the new arena) is a head of schedule. It is to be ready for the 2012-2013 season.

This has to be the lacrosse goal of the year by Syracuse attackman Stephen Keogh versus the Fighting Irish

Syracuse beat the #1 ranked Notre Dame. Hopefully this will vault the Orange back into the #1 spot.

Pictures by: Kate Middleton - mystylebell.com, Pippa Middleton - 1.bp.blogspot.com, Mike Leake - ology.com, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries - edwhatson.com, Sasha Vujacic and Maria Sharapova - zimbio.com, Derek Lowe - knotholeclub.webs.com, Roger McDowell - blog.prorumors.com, I love the USA - punjabigraphics.com, American Flag - unknown

You Tube video by: Steven Keough - wolverineme119