Jordan getting hitched, Ramirez fleeing country, NFL action, and this and more in this weeks edition of….

They finished 10^th, with a 6-10 record in the Big South Conference, and 15-20 overall, but since they torched the favorite, Charleston Southern to win the conference, Liberty has made it to the dance. Is it right? It sure is. They got hot when they needed to by winning the conference tournament. Who knows, they might even beat my team, Syracuse, in the tourney. One never knows.

Air Jordan looks like he will be coming back to earth. It seems the only person who could guard Jordan is Yvette Prieto, a Cuban-American model.

Is this a case of Manny being Manny?

Manny Ramirez signed a contract to play with the EDA Rhinos in Taiwan. Rumors are he will make about $12,000 per month.

NFL is heating up before the official free agent frenzy started. Monday, the Vikings traded Percy Harvin to the Seahawks for draft picks, and its only official if Harvin signs a new contract with Seattle.

In the meantime, the 49ers traded for Anquan Boldin to the 49ers for a 6^th round pick.

Dolphins made some noise signing Mike Wallace and Dannell Ellerbe.

With Wes Welker and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are going to the Broncos are they the team to beat?

Bet the Kansas City Chiefs are saying DAMN, as they tought they were catching up to Denver with the signings of Dunta Robinson, Anthony Fasano, Mike DeVito, and Donnie Avery.

Baltimore has released strong safety Bernard Pollard and guard Bobbie Williams, wide receiver Anguan Boldin was traded, lost linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger in free agency, while Ray Lewis and center Matt Birk retired. One and done for the former Super Bowl Champs.

David Wright has been carrying the USA Team in the World Baseball Classic. Will he have anything left to give the Mets??

Is there any college basketball team that will dominate the field? There could be as many as 8 teams that have a chance for the NCCA Title.

I would love to see Gonzaga take it all.

This is what I love about college basketball. Once the tournament starts anyone has a chance to win. It usually ends up being the team in the top 15, but still there are upsets that can happen along the way, and that makes it exciting.

With college football the SEC doesn’t want to share the $$$ with anyone that that they feel doesn’t deserve to be there.

Do you get the feeling I am not a fan of the SEC???

95,000 people watched Barcelona beat AC Milan. Wow.

Til Next time

Scott

Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. Did you hear the news? Paul Tagliabue vacated the suspensions for all of the New Orleans players. This of course does nothing to help the lost season of the Saints. Although Tagliabue found in the player’s favor, he upheld the suspension for Sean Payton and the other coaches. It is clear that Gregg Williams was behind Bountygate and Payton was punished for allowing and then attempting to cover up the pay for pain program. There are no winners in this decision. The Saints organization, players and Goodell all played the wrong cards throughout this ordeal. To be honest, this sort of reminds me of the movie “A Few Good Men”…when a code red was ordered, the soldiers carried out orders. The players are paid to follow directions, but just as the Marines were punished for following orders, so were the players. Tabliabue said that fines should have been levied instead of suspensions and I think he is exactly right. For those of you that think talent alone can win games, this Saint’s season is proof that coaching does indeed make a difference. Vilma’s reputation will never be the same, but at least this decision should provide some vindication for him. He apparently plans to move forward with his lawsuit against Goodell. Hopefully he reconsiders as there is really nothing good that can come from this.

So, who would you choose for your NFL comeback player of the year? There are two obvious choices in Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson. I really don’t think you could go wrong with choosing either one. A few weeks ago, I would say that Peyton Manning was a lock… but as Peterson continues to approach 2000 yards rushing, the race has grown much tighter. Both of these guys are great stories. Less than a year after a rebuilt knee, Peterson is way ahead of normal for this injury. Peyton Manning could win just because there was so much speculation that he might never play again. The neck is also a very dicey injury to come back from. The Broncos are also winning, which could work against Peterson. I suppose if I had to vote today, it would be for Manning. It really is amazing how improved the Broncos are with a real QB.

We were reminded Monday night just how good of a QB Tom Brady is. The Texans came swaggering into Boston wearing varsity jackets. Brady and Coach Bill quickly gave the Texans a big slice of humble pie. Funny thing, I got the feeling that if you put Brady on the Texans squad that the score might have been the exact opposite. Those red zone interceptions that Schaub threw just killed the Texans chance at a victory. It is very important for the Texans to retain that home field advantage if they want to do anything in the playoffs. I read with interest a few weeks back a comment from a Pats fan. It was a simple statement…Houston has not beat a team this year with an elite QB. They have played two…Rodgers in Houston and Brady on Monday night. Hmmm…this is a very interesting point. In fairness, the Texans defense is very banged up and was just not ready for Brady and the Pats offense. The Patriots cannot celebrate too long as they have a short week to get ready for the 49ers. That should be a very interesting game. By the way...if you expect to see more from Stallworth, I have bad news. He has suffered a high ankle sprain on the long TD and was placed on the IR on Tuesday. Don't forget to watch the entire Pats game next week...you never know how the Harbaugh handshake will go!

 
There was a bit of rumbling last week as the MLB winter meeting did not result in much deal making. Well since then, we have had a bit of fireworks. Michael Young is now a Philly. James Shields and Wade Davis are Royals. Stranger yet…Youk is now a Yankee, which can’t be a welcome thought for Red Sox fans. There was a blockbuster trade on Tuesday that involved the Indians, DBacks and Reds. The big names were Shin-Shoo Chu to the Reds, Drew Stubbs to the Indians along with pitcher Trevor Bauer. The DBacks also got a top short stop prospect named Didi Gregorius. The thing about the winter meeting that we forget is that deals begun do not always culminate in the three days of the meetings. My guess is that these deals were germinated in Nashville…

I have to agree with BOB regarding Bob Costas. I thought that Costas made a mistake by bringing up gun control during a football game. A mistake is what it was…let it go and move on. We all make mistakes, right? Why do so many want blood in cases like this? To use BOB’s words…why is our society suddenly so intolerant of differing views? The first amendment is just as important as the second amendment. Speaking of the second amendment…saw this on the news late last week and wanted to share. I have to say, it is pretty damn common for folks to have guns in Texas. Breaking into a home with “bad intentions” will get you shot. I would have no problem discharging my shotgun to protect my family. This guy was lucky…

That’s all I have today, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey:

"How come the dove gets to be the peace symbol? How about the pillow? It has more feathers than the dove, and it doesn't have that dangerous beak."

"I'd rather be rich than stupid."

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own…

​As my final vacation comes to an end, I can say it has been filled with some interesting sports news. Gonzo, Beckett and Crawford are headlining a possible trade to the Dodgers this weekend. Armstrong receives a life-time ban, and this. Really do you think I am going to buy this reasoning? I think not.........

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8300808/roger-rocket-clemens-relaunch-50-houston-astros-owner-open-it

​Go ahead if you please and listen to this story and all the crap, and decide to yourself, would you be this foolish and let yourself be suckered into this? I am not saying that the Rocket can no longer pitch, but everyone in the world is aware that he is desperate and broke from all his legal battles. I guess if I was re-building a team, I might want big-name to surround my franchise's move to the American League and Roger at 50 still may be able to do this.......

​People have acquired their own opinions on this issue, but if he wants to pitch or is capable of pitching then I guess we should let him go. If the Astros are willing to run the huge risk, in order to mentor their young staff, then so be it........

​Football season is nearing, and everyone will make their own predictions. Unfortunately I will not be able to be at our fantasy draft because of work obligations that day which will have me working until midnight. I thought I would share a few of my pre-season predictions...

​NFC North - Green Bay Packers. I would have picked the Lions, but their defense and lack of maturity all around leads me to think they will be a wild card pick again. Plus their inability to consistently beat the Packers is another reason.....

​NFC South - New Orleans Saints - They do not need a coach, they have Brees enough said. Both Tampa and Carolina are not ready to challenge yet, so it should pretty much be a one team race unless the Saints have a total team meltdown. There is a potential for the wild card also to come out this division, if the Falcons play up to their capabilities......

​NFC East - NY Giants - I would love to say the Washington Redskins, but I just do not buy into the whole RGIII thing right now.

​NFC West - San Francisco 49ers - Once again unless there is a total meltdown, they should win their division. The Arizona Cardinals will be the other wildcard team, in the NFC. Sorry Cowboy and Bears fans you just are not consistent enough and have too many team issues mainly at quarterback to make the playoffs again......

​The 49ers will have the best home record, and will beat the Packers at home this year and go to the Super Bowl....Sorry to all the rest, Harbaugh has them playing above the rest it should have been them in the Super Bowl instead of the Giants.....

​AFC North- This should be the most competitive of all of the divisions, maybe both wild cards will come out of here. I like the Ravens in this division, with the Steelers and Bengals making it as Wild Cards.....

​AFC South - Houston Texans. There will be growing pains concerning the other teams starting inexperienced quarterbacks, so they should walk through their division.

​AFC East - New England Patriots. Even though I apparently took a shot at them this past week, they are the best team in their division and should win it easily, unless they are ravaged by injuries......

​AFC West - Denver Broncos - PEYTON MANNING, enough said.......

​This is the toughest division to decide who is going to face the 49ers in the Super Bowl, because outside of Houston and the Bengals all are legitimate Super Bowl Contenders. There are several possibilities from Patriots-Ravens, Broncos-Steelers, they are endless....I am choosing the Ravens to face the 49ers, with the 49ers winning another Super Bowl. It will be the battle of two great defenses, so it ought to be interesting.

​And now it is the time of year where we start bantering about who has the best college football team. I would like to say it is Michigan, but even I have a hard time buying into them beating Alabama next weekend.

​With this I will close, please leave your thoughts about the trade between the Red Sox and Dodgers. How do you think this trade will change the way management approaches signing free agents and then dumping their salaries to avoid paying them over the life of their contract? I believe this trade will have a trickle down effect on all professional sports teams, and could change the way management thinks about free agency in general.......

Party over for the Phillies?? Oh its hot across the Nation?? All this and more in this weeks edition of…..

This is my sweetheart, Kathy Ireland. She graced the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 3 times.

This is the weather for the past week in Phoenix, AZ. Its it hot there Harry?

It's not this hot in Jacksonville. Just the low 90's, but when your outside doing something it feels a whole lot warmer.

It was sad to read that Tennessee Titans receiver O.J. Murdock died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Tampa, Florida.

What a way to make a first impression. Two rookies who were recently called up made quite an impression.

New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey struck out 11 Arizona batters in 5.1 innings on his way to a 3-1 victory. But, what was more impressive was that he went 2-2 and a double as a hitter.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Pirates Outfielder, Starling Marte was nothing short of sterling as he hit a homerun in his first major league at bat leading off for Pittsburgh. He ended up going 2-4.

I know that Los Angeles Angels Mike Trout is going to win the AL Rookie of the Year, but if it can be given to a team I would give it to the Oakland A’s. They are loaded with promising young pitchers and a rising outfielder.

We moan and groan about the announcers on ESPN, or about how the network messes up a sporting event. I for one would take ESPN over any other company with the exception of CBS. Every network has its vices, but at least ESPN gives sports every day. No one can say that.

I thought Howard Cosell was annoying as an announcer, but I can’t seem to stomach Bob Costas. Sometimes Costas doesn’t know when to keep quiet. Kind of like my wife when I am watching a Yankee game.

MLB trade deadline has come and gone and the dust has settled.

Cleaning house in Philadelphia as they traded Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants and Shane Victorino to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gaby Sanchez is now with the Pittsburg Pirates. The Pirates also acquired pitchers Kyle Kaminska, Chad Qualls and Wendy Rodriquez. Plus they got Travis Snider. It is refreshing to see the Pirates trading for need in a run for the playoffs rather than cleaning house.

Ryan Dempster is playing for the Texas Rangers. He will be pitching to his former catcher Geovany Soto.

Yankees get infielder Casey McGehee from the Pirates.

Red Sox traded for pitchers Craig Breslow and Steven Wright.

St. Louis got pitcher Edward Mujica from the Marlins.

The Brewers traded Zack Greinke to the Angels for two Double-A pitchers and shortstop Jean Segura.

Til next time

Scott

Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. Monday night, I watched the Angels obliterate Roy Oswalt. It is clear that RoyO is not the pitcher he once was. I am sure other Ranger fans that watched the Angels offensive explosion, hoped a deal for another arm was in the works. As the clock ticked down on the trade deadline, it appeared that the Rangers would miss out on a deal. But, with just a few minutes remaining, the Rangers pulled off a deal for Ryan Dempster. I was pleasantly surprised with the deal for Dempster as I figured that Texas would have to pull Ogando from the pen to fill a spot in the rotation. The other move the Rangers made was to grab Geovany Soto from the Cubs. Soto is a definite upgrade defensively from Torrealba and Napoli and of course is very familiar with Demptster. The Rangers are clinging to a 3 game lead over the Angels, but watching the Angels this week, it is clear that the Rangers must step up their play if they want to stay in first place. Did you notice that Albert Pujols hit his 19^th and 20^th HR of the season on Tuesday? Anyone want to bet that he does not end up with 35 for the season? Another safe bet is Mike Trout winning the AL MVP and the AL ROY. The rookie scored 32 runs in July to go with 10 HRs for the month. The runs scored ties the rookie record and the HRs is a new record. To be honest, unless Josh Hamilton gets very hot, the Rangers just don’t appear to have the firepower to match the Angels. But, as we have seen…hot streaks come and go. With all of the trading activity in this division, what did the A’s do to keep up with the leaders? Nothing…We will soon see if the A’s have enough to talent to snag a playoff spot. The AL West is playing great baseball and this race will be very interesting to watch.

Another team was busy at the trade deadline…the Pittsburgh Pirates grabbed Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins  and Chad Qualls from the Yankees for Casey McGehee. Sanchez and Qualls join Travis Snider and Wandy Rodriguez representing talent obtained on the cheap to help the Pirates make a postseason run. I am not sure if these moves will be pivotal for the Pirates, but I am sure that fans in Oakland and Cleveland would have enjoyed seeing their ownership make some attempt to improve their team’s chances for playing after the regular season. AJ Burnett looks ready for the postseason after throwing a one hitter Tuesday night. This Pirate team is fun to watch and really has a chance to do something this year. For the record, I think that Travis Snider will help Pittsburgh this season.

I like Snider and think his hard working approach will serve him will with the Pirates. His twitter handle is: Travis Snider @lunchboxhero45

The other big trade news was in the NL West. The Giants acquired Hunter Pence from the Phillies. I got a kick out of reading Philly fan’s reaction to this trade. “Pence’s offensive numbers are hollow.”  “Pence is a terrible outfielder”. “Good riddance to Pence, he was not worth the money.” I know it has been a tough year in Philly, but to blame the team’s struggles on Pence seems just a bit unfair. Without Utley and Howard for most of the year, Pence simply did not have enough help. The good news for Philly fan…one of the players obtained in the Pence deal is a very good player. Tommy Joseph is a AA catcher that is actually the nephew of a buddy of mine. Joseph is considered one of the best catching prospects in the minors. He had 22 HR’s last year and I suspect he will be very happy to hitting in Philly vs the cavernous Giant home park.

Here is a write up on Joseph: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1279701-tommy-joseph-full-scouting-report-on-prospect-dealt-for-hunter-pence

 If you take a look at the results of the Pence trade, the Giants finally have a lineup that can score runs. With Melky Cabrera, Buster Posey, Pence and the Panda…this can work. If Lincecum can figure out his issues, The Giants will be a tough team to beat. Of course, the Dodgers will have something to say about this race. Although the Dodgers were unable to grab an additional arm, they still are much improved with Greinke added to their rotation and Hanley at 3B and Victorino in the OF. Of course, Harvey would want me to point out that the DBacks dominated the Dodgers Tuesday night. Although the Snakes did not do much to upgrade their team, they did add a quality young bat in Chris Johnson.  This looks like another three team race, but my guess is the added offense in San Francisco will be tough to beat. Of course, it would be better for the Giants if the bearded one was healthy…

It is no secret that I am a Cowboys fan. It has been frustrating to see talented teams in Dallas underachieve each year. I was hoping that this might the year that things quietly came together for my team. I should have known better…Jerry Jones is on record of telling a group of fans at training camp that he looks forward to beating the Giants’ ass this year. I understand that Jerry was probably responding to former Cowboy TE Bennett that is now a Giant…Bennett announced last week that he just wanted to “kick those guys’ asses”. He apparently has some “ill feelings” from his time in Dallas. Well, Martellus, there are plenty of Cowboy fans that have some ill feeling toward you as well. Great things were expected of the former Aggie, but Bennett was a major disappointment…which brings me back to Jerry. If I was the owner of the Cowboys, the last thing I would want to do is poke the Giants. I have tried to forget most of last year, but didn’t the Giants beat the Cowboys twice and win the Super Bowl? Hey Jerry, just lay low and take it one game at a time…

I have been enjoying the bits and pieces of the Olympics that I have watched…but am curious what is going on with the athletes in badminton. I admit that this is not really a sport that I would normally pay much attention to…but what the hell? How do you show up for a once in a lifetime opportunity and try to lose a match so your pairing is more favorable? The ideals of the Olympics are pretty straight forward. Honor and integrity are assumed requirements for all involved. To intentionally lose is beyond poor form…it is idiotic. Formal complaints have been filed against 8 athletes and new single elimination rules will undoubtedly be instituted in the future.

Now...this guy is crazy!

That is all I have today, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey:

“My young son asked me what happens after we die. I told him we get buried under a bunch of dirt and worms eat our bodies. I guess I should have told him the truth - that most of us go to Hell and burn eternally - but I didn't want to upset him.”

“There's nothing so tragic as seeing a family pulled apart by something as simple as a pack of wolves.”

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own...