That's So 2003

Today the media got all hyped up and was ready to lynch someone who dared offend them. They posted their 'questions they would have asked' and demanded answers. And today, Alex Rodriguez gave a bunch of answers. Answers that in my opinion are plausible and a demeanor that seemed believable. He claims that he stopped taking something 6 years ago.

If this press conference was held 6 years ago, 500% more fans would care and 5000% more average joes would care. The fact of the matter is that I, like most people, am over it. I have other things to worry about right now (job, savings, a house, grad school, work...). I may have given an impassioned response in the past, but not these days. I think a lot of people have reached this point. Let's move on.

Back when ARod quit using banned substances...

50 Cent and Evanescence had successful debut albums with Outkast's Hey Ya being the most downloaded song of the year.

The Lord of the Rings movies finally closed, Pirates of the Caribbean came out, 2 Matrix films hit the theaters, and Finding Nemo defined a 12 step program for sharks.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl over the Oakland Raiders... yes the very same joke of a team that we have today.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California.

I was in college that year.

I wasn't even engaged to be married until the end of that year...

Caring about juiced players is sooo 2003.

Thoughts from Panera Bread

Free WiFi is awesome. It allows you to get out of the house and do the exact same thing as always, but with scenery. Panera Bread has given me the opportunity today and I am grateful. Obviously I am a little busy these days if I am posting from here, so let me throw some quick shots out today.

Sports
I am about footballed out right now. Being in Dallas, the Cowboys occupy 75% of the airwaves this time of year at a minimum. This team has done its best to take my little interest and step on it. The high school feuds that exist or are trumped up by the talking heads have me wishing for sports talk in place of the tabloid gossip.

The Ranger's off season so far has been non-dramatic which makes me somewhat happy. We sold on the down tick with Gerald Laird. His five tool player status along with his experience merits more than a high school kid and a slow to mature AA player. I don't think the return was horrid, but it was underwhelming. So far they have yet to sign a blockbuster player. Thank Goodness! Kerry Wood and his permanent spot on the disabled list went for over 10 million a year. Thankfully we are not weighing down our future with such contracts. I don't care how good you are (Teixeira, CC, etc.), 6+ year contracts are nuts in this league. It guaranteed... results are anything but. I for one would love to see contracts have a consistent base league-wide based on experience and then having significant bonuses tied to performance. 55 home runs one year brings in 8 million extra, the slump the next year to 21 homers only brings in 2 million. How much drama could we eliminate with such a system. How much easier to keep franchise players that build a fan base. Most likely it is too simple to actually happen.

Church
I have a structural engineer teaching our Young Marrieds class at church this quarter. This bodes well for both my excitement and my comprehension. I have a subtle feeling that some us may have to be translators if he gets too technical, but I bet his lessons won't be hard to understand.

Cinema
Once again the holidays are here and movies that technical have not been released are being considered for yearly honors. Just sad. I wish they would have awards that require 100 million in sales to get be eligible. No more artsy films that are only released in 17 theaters. I am not saying that all of these films stink, but at least talk about films that people have heard of. Using my new eligibility rules from above, here are the best films of the year based upon the buzz generated by the common man:


Roundhouse to the Oscars
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Wall-E
Get Smart
Kung Fu Panda
Indiana Jones
High School Musical 3

Not the list that you will see anywhere near the Academy Awards, but certainly the list of movies that I have been hearing about.

New Laptop
I got a new laptop about a week ago. I am so pumped. The last computer purchase that I made was before I started college in the summer of 2000. I went with an Asus that I got off of NewEgg. It has an Intel Core2Duo P8600 processor, 4 Gigs of RAM, a 320 Gig Hard Drive, and a huge 1 Gig NVidia GeForce 9650 GT graphics card. The best games from my old system look like an Atari on an HD TV. Oh, and I got this since I started grad school this fall...

Heard While Making This Post
Weezer - Possibilities
The Calling - Wherever You Will Go
Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness

The Lighter Side

It is time for a post on the lighter side of things. I have noticed that Baseball has slipped to #2 on my topics list, so today I am going to help it and other topics get more recognition.

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It's Hot Stove Season in Baseball Land
Oh boy am I excited. Possible blockbuster deals and team upgrades make this time of year a fun time to keep up with the great game. Being in Texas, I don't see many of the big names coming here. I would love to trade Salty for a pitcher. Greinke appears to be a possibility that I would go for. Any trade must be for a promising pitcher. We don't need anything else right now.

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The Best Stadium?
Today on the lovely Ticket, the broadcasters boldly predicted that the new Dallas Cowboys stadium was so expensive, so luxurious, and so innovating that it would be the best sports stadium for at least 10 years. They justify this position by claiming that Jerry Jones is more ambitious and has more money to spend than anyone else.

I am going to boldly take the opposite side of this argument. I think it will be less than 5 years (probably 3) before some new stadium takes over the title. I can't count how many new stadiums were hailed as the best ever and would never be topped, all have since been dethroned. I guarantee that this one will be topped and saying otherwise is not a wise stance to take.

Now don't get me wrong, I think that it will be a great place for many years to see a game. But the best? I tend to think it will be outdone by someone and in the not-so-distant future.

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How To Cut In Line
Check out this article on the best ways to cut in line. A quick look:

researchers have tried to unpick the psychology of the queue, though most work has focused on reducing consumer frustration. However, one classic study found that New Yorkers were more likely to react to people who cut in front of them in a subway queue than behind.

Yankee fans only care about who is in front of them (Red Sox), they never see it coming from behind (Rays).

A cheap shot and off topic... you bet. Thoroughly satisfying... definitely.

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A Smart Choice
I rented Get Smart the other night and it exceeded my expectations. It had plenty of witty comedy, but kept from being downright silly. I give it a solid 4 out of 5.

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Too Long?
People often complain about the length of the Baseball season. 162 games is a long season. But now that both Hockey and Basketball have started up, I suggest that they feel longer. Baseball goes roughly from March through October, or about 8 months. Basketball and Hockey go from roughly November through June, or about 8 months. The difference to me is that at least in baseball, my team is playing every day or two, not every three to four. All of the down time combined with the length of the playoffs make the 'Winter' sports drag on and on.

I think that we might need to take the schedules down a notch, but let's apply it to several sports.

Chizzeled in Stone

I promised a while back that I would lay out my predictions for the upcoming season, so here they are:

Dallas Cowboys: 12-4

1. @Cleveland - W
2. Philadelphia - W
3. @Green Bay - L
4. Washington - W
5. Cincinnati - W
6. @Arizona - W
7. @St. Louis - W
8. Tampa Bay - W
9. @NY Giants - L
10. @Washington - W
11. San Francisco - W
12. Seattle - W
13. @Pittsburgh - L
14. NY Giants - W
15. Baltimore - W
16. @Philadelphia - L

Standings
AFC
East

1. New England Patriots 14-2
2. Buffalo Bils 8-8
3. New York Jets 8-8
4. Miami Dolphins 3-13

North

1. Cleveland Browns 10-6
2. Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
3. Cincinnati Bengals 8-8
4. Baltimore Ravens 4-12

South

1. Jacksonville Jaguars 13-3
2. Indianapolis Colts 11-5
3. Houston Texans 10-6
4. Tennessee Titans 6-10

West

1. San Diego Chargers 13-3
2. Denver Broncos 9-7
3. Kansas City Chiefs 4-12
4. Oakland Raiders 3-13

NFC
East

1. Dallas Cowboys 12-4
2. NY Giants 11-5
3. Philadelphia Eagles 10-6
4. Washington Redskins 7-9

North

1. Green Bay Packers 11-5
2. Minnesota Vikings - 10-6
3. Detroit Lions 8-8
4. Chicago Bears 5-11

South

1. Carolina Panthers 9-7
2. New Orleans Saints 8-8
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7-9
4. Atlanta 2-14

West

1. Arizona Cardinals 9-7
2. Seattle Seahawks 7-9
3. San Francisco 49s - 6-10
4. St. Louis Rams 3-13

Super Bowl - Jacksonville over Dallas

Scatter Shooting

• I am re-reading a book that was once a college assignment. Because of the nature of required reading, I gave it the minimal amount of attention. I am really enjoying the second and more thoughtful look at Milton Friedman's Free to Choose. Friedman is a Nobel Prize winner for economics and applies his theories to just about everything in this book. The political implications are especially striking. This book was written in the late 1970's, but it quite relevant in its discussion of oil prices and other trends that seem to be affecting us again. Some of the quotes that struck me so far are:

  We have shifted from a expectation of equality of opportunity to the expectation of equality of results

  Experience shows that that once government undertakes an activity, it is seldom terminated.

  Major wars aside, government spending from 1800 to 1929 did not exceed about 12 percent of the national income. Two-thirds of that was spent by state and local governments, mostly for schools and roads. As late as 1928, federal government spending amounted to about 3 percent of the national income.

  (Today the federal government spend 6 times that, about 18% of national income)

  Sincerity is a much overrated virtue.

  (In other words, being convinced that something is correct does not make it so)

  We refer to ourselves as a free private enterprise society, as a capitalist society. Yet in terms of the ownership of corporate enterprise, we are about 46% socialist... The federal government is entitled to 46 cents out of every dollar... The federal government therefore owns 46% of every corporation.

  (This was using the 1979 high tax rate. Change the # to the current standards. It is quite a thought.)


• Fred Thompson's speech last night at the Republican National Convention reminded me of why I liked him so much during the primary race. No, he is not the most polished public speaker. He does however have a keen sense of how to break apart the issues in a way that is easily understandable. He knows how to refute the other side in a clear concise way. He is very good on policy, just not flashy enough.


• I recently watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The 1977 Spielberg film that shows aliens and such. One of the biggest questions was how well the graphics would hold up. For the vast majority of the movie they did a very good job. The aliens at the end felt somewhat more like claymation than a modern movie would present them, but that was my only main complaint. Richard Dreyfuss does a great job of playing a lunatic. His ability to play that role sometimes scares me. Is he really acting? I was surprised at the novelty of the film. In recent years we had the film Signs. A lot of the ways in which they show you alien interaction were just copied from Close Encounters I think. They were very similar. Communicating with colored tones... ok. I guess that is one way we could do it. I would give it a 3 out of 5. Some of the crazy scenes went on a bit long for me.


• Our small group at church is reading Everyday Christianity by Grumpy Smith this quarter. So far it seems like an enjoyable read. Since I go to church with his daughter Miranda, it is even more fun to laugh at his stories. His ordinary man approach looks promising.


• Preseason College Poll - Is there anything more worthless?

On the Edge of My Seat

The Carrot Has Been Dangled
Today is the 20th of August, 2008. The show's big star has all of the contestants lined up. There is silence among them. A grimace from one who can not handle the pressure. A look of quiet confidence from another. Who will be picked? Who will be deemed worthy of the prize? They have all courted in one way or another. The star has spent time with all of them, but now it all comes down to this special point in time. Bom, bom, bom! ...And we go to commercial. Come on! Just tell me already. Am I talking about the TV show the Bachelor? Not a chance. I am talking about the Veepstakes. Who is going to be the running mate in the election? Just tell me already! The anticipation is killing me...

Yes, It Was Me
You may be wondering who jinxed the Texas Rangers, that would be me. In my previous blog, I warned the Dallas Cowboys to watch out and put the region on notice. Since that time, they have gone 2-10, lost Ian Kinsler, thrown poor stand-ins up against major league hitters, and basically lost all interest from the city. Way to go guys!

and Yes, I am still Watching
According to Forbes magazine, the Texas Rangers have the most loyal fans in baseball.

No team's attendance is less tied to its on the field performance than the Rangers', and nowhere else in the country do fans peel off at a slower rate when the club has thin years.

I am not sure that is something to brag about. But yes, count me in that hapless group.

Where's the Passion?
The Cowboys are tanking the pre-season. Fine, the Indianapolis Colts do it every year. But this assumed Super Bowl contender needs to find motivation. My fear is that the Cowboys are going to take 2-4 weeks in the regular season to find that special something. You can't afford to do that in today's NFL. I am not sold on this team yet...

This Just In
Poll results change more often than the weather. McCain is up by 5! Obama is up by 5! Its a toss up, but I think Obama has it! Not only that, all of these results are at the exact same time. I am personally part of that swing 10% of voters that flips a coin before a pollster gets an answer out of me.

My Hero
Josh Howard apparently went off on a reporter for asking him at a youth event whether or not he is a good role model. I guess the admitted drug use, street racing, and not showing up for his team could be emulated. Of course, that lifestyle doesn't lend itself to being successful in life. Someone please get this joker out of my town...

Training Camp Fun

Let's Move On
Since I am a Cowboys fan and remember the rivalry of the 90s, I have always treated Brett Favre as a enemy to be booed. This off season has turned that sport's rivalry distaste into a full on personal dislike for him. I don't believe for a moment that in the past 2 months he has had any desire to be a Packer. His actions and comments to me seem all about getting to play wherever he wanted. In the process he dragged his old team and teammates through his mess. That irks me. His constant shenanigans have wasted both their time and my sports viewing time. He tried to squish an I into TEAM and it just doesn't fit. I am thrilled that the Packers did not just give him whatever he wanted. The small town country boy rolling in on his private jet and making demands was not given the silver spoon in this case. Trading him and more importantly getting back anything of value was a great move. I hope the Packers go to the NFC championship and lose to the Cowboys while the Jets sit at home in January. Sorry Jets fans, but I can't root for you this year.

Saying the Right Things
I am always somewhat irked and very leery of the how the Cowboys treat their team as a rehab center for people who have messed up but have talent. Do I want a headcase on my team? No. Do the Cowboys care? Apparently Not. This years special project is Adam Pacman Jones and so far, he is staying clean. Do I like this guy at all as a person? From what I can tell from the past, no. Will I cheer for him if he stays clean? Yes. For what its worth, I am very skeptical that he stays clean once he gets back to the big city.

The Spurs of the NFL?
I wonder about the Patriots this year. For many years in the NBA, the Spurs have been the model franchise, aka the dynasty. How have they done this? By blowing off most of the regular season, shoring up their playoff position, and dominating the playoffs. Did the rush to the perfect season drain the Patriots last year? Many might say yes. Do the Patriots try to pull a Spurs this year? Maybe. I can see the question "What is it all for if we don't win the Super Bowl?" being asked. I can also see the Bill Belichick of last year running up the score in every game. This will be an interesting story to watch.

On The Record
I thought about doing my season predictions here, but I figured that I should wait until at least another couple of weeks. Baseball is all that I have really been following, so my official prediction would be like throwing darts at win numbers.

Lonely At The Top ?
We are constantly told about the NFL is the number 1 sport by far in America. Since the Rangers have surged in Dallas, I don't sense the full scale bull rush to the football world like I have in previous years. This city used to switch entirely to football in mid-July. Baseball is winning over fans; maybe not in attendance just yet, but in the consciousness of fans. Watch out football, here we come...

What a Difference a Year Makes

Dallas - Fort Worth is abuzz right now with sports talk. It was last year too, but the subject has changed. Within a year, the Rangers have leapfrogged past the Mavericks into #2 in this sports town. It is 1 week from Cowboys training camp and I haven't heard too much talk about it other than station promos. Last year, training camp talk started in June. One year ago today I had half my fantasy football draft list done; this year I have no clue about that league. What a great time this is. The Cowboys are preseason NFC favorites and the Rangers are showing us a glimpse of a fun future. What makes this even more fun is that the guys involved are fun to root for. We aren't looking at overpaid ringers on the Rangers, we are looking are young talents trying to prove themselves. Its a great time to be a sports fan and I am just soaking up every minute of it.

An Alternative Choice

This week has been a hard week for Dallas. Our Cowboys, who we hoped in the summer would make the playoffs, did not win the Super Bowl. In fact, they didn't even win a single playoff game. For most of my life, football has been 3rd on list of sports to follow. For professional teams it always was ordered Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, and then the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Stars made a brief run up the charts in 99 and 2000, but that was short lived. This year I got caught up in Cowboys mania and they hopped over the disappointing Mavericks. Now though, they are back down to their normal third.

I say all of that to set up the fact that I did not watch the playoff game last Sunday. In fact, I didn't listen to much of it. Now most of the city was enthralled with the game. I was in fact curious. However, it was the weekend and my wife was craving my attention. This is a dilemma for men everywhere, and one that I think we too often choose incorrectly. I decided for one day, to give up my sports and spend time with her. I could have done this bitterly and with many snide comments, but I think I kept them to a minimum. Our afternoon involved the oh so exciting grocery shopping and other errands. In between shops I caught snippets of the game. While we were driving to get some chips and salsa for dinner, I decided to turn off the radio for a bit and just drive. We drove in silence for probably 10 minutes holding hands and it was pleasant to say the least. When I got to the restaurant and the nostril-clearing salsa, I saw on the television that the Cowboys were about to throw away the game in the 4th quarter. On my way back to the car I had an epiphany that I was so glad that I had not stressed about the game, but rather enjoyed so much just sitting in silence with her. Coincidentally, the next morning I flipped to I John and read chapter 2 verses 15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

I think for once I chose the right thing, and I am really happy that it was the Cowboys and not the Rangers in the playoffs. I needed a warm up round.

The New Year is looking up

The sports world in Dallas is on an upswing right now. Bolstered by the return of the Cowboys, 2008 looks to be a good year.

Cowboys
With a first round bye, we are set to win our playoff game in years. This is by far our best team in quite some time and the offense will most likely explode in January. We have been beat up and injured in December and the extra week off should really boost our team. Look for Romo to keep showing off the ice water that runs through his veins. Look for Marion Barber to emerge as the running leader of this team and stiff arm the competition. And look for whichever receiver that the defense forgets to cover (TO, Terry Glenn, Jason Witten, or even Patrick Crayton) to become a local hero. Demarcus Ware is going to trounce the other team as well. To the right is our office mascot. The tortoise is an adaptation of the Marion Barber stiff arm. Because of course, that is what we do to the competition.

Mavericks
This has been a weird season for the boys so far. However, after listening to last night's trouncing of the Golden State Spoilers, I think they might be coming together finally. While not performing well, this team has stepped up for some big games and I think that Avery will have them playing quite fluidly come playoff time. Watch out for the Brandon Bass squad. If Dirk gets his head straight, this team could take off really quick.

Rangers
Being a long term Rangers fan, I am excited about the next year. According to Baseball America we have improved our farm system from 28th to 4th in the league. That is a big jump. We no longer have to put all of our hopes in 2 or 3 prospects. This bodes well for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Now I know that won't get most fans excited, but I am all about doing things the right way. I have lived through the era where we brought in every old has been that the league could offer. I am ready to have some home grown talent. Meanwhile, I think that the lineup that they will put out in Arlington will actually be decent. I think the outfield looks a lot better. The main concern as usual is pitching, but I am not over eager and ready to sell the farm for this year. So lets hope players like Taylor Teagarden and others develop further this year.

They Call Him the Streak

I know that it is a day late for this post, but I thought that I would go ahead and get the info in before the next set of games start. I am torn this week between my favorite sport and the sport that my entire city is talking about. Since it is the playoffs, my favorite sport gets my top nod.

The Major League Baseball playoffs have in recent years become more of a "who is hot right now" contest than a "who is the best team" challenge in my opinion. This year I think that it would be hard to argue that the NL is anywhere near as close to the AL in overall competitiveness. However, just like last year, a hot NL team could run the table.

The Red Sox have been scary all year; their problem has been getting everyone on the same page at the same time. And oh my have they clicked at the right time. Their firepower at the plate seems quite superior to me in the ALCS and that should take them through to the next round. Fausto Carmona is throwing for Cleveland tonight and gives them their best shot to take a game. Sabathia has as good a chance as any player to take the Cy Young award, but his performance last night was not good at all. Pitching, like it does so many years in baseball, made the difference yesterday.
Boston 4 games - Cleveland 2 games

The Colorado Rockies have quite an explosive lineup and their pitching the past month has been good enough, if not excellent. Taking out Brandon Webb in game 1 was the key to this series an basically spoiled the Diamondbacks chances. With their lineup, the Rockies streak is even scarier than a typical hot team. This team has some sustainability. It all rests on their pitchers to see how far they can go.
Colorado 4 games - Arizona 1 game

Now to the granddaddy of them all, the NFL. Nothing has stirred Dallas in quite a while like this Cowboys team. I predicted a good year, but nothing this solid. I am personally pumped that they had their screw-up game last week vs. the Bills. The Patriots however are a different beast. I think we match up quite well against them except for our pass coverage. I think our running game is better, but in the end we will get burned too many times. So I will have to go against my beloved team overall, but I think they will cover the spread.
New England Patriots 31 - Dallas Cowboys 27

Overall record on outright winners, 3-0

The Big Weekend

This is an excellent weekend to be a pro sports fan. The college lineup is a little week, but the MLB and NFL are as exciting as ever. Here once again on record are the things that I know will most likely happen if everything goes my way.

Let's start with baseball and the exciting pennant races that are going on right now. Being an American League fan, I have long since figured that everything was aligned back in August. However the National League is up for grabs. So a couple of notes...

• I predicted the AL standings to a T 6 months ago
• I am always modest
• The Cubs will win at least 1 game and the Brewers will lose at least 1 game, therefore clinching the playoff berth for the Cubs.
• The Padres and Diamondbacks will tie for the top of the NL West and spoil the Rockies feel good story.
• This will cause the following rule to be invoked:
  In the event of a tie in the standings at the close of the regular season, league rules provide for a one-game playoff (with the home field determined by coin flip) to determine which of two teams participate in the Division Series. If three teams are involved in a tie, a two-game playoff may be played. If two teams are tied, but a tiebreaker would result in both participating in the Division Series anyway (due to one being division champion and the other being wild card), then no playoff is played and seedings are determined by head-to-head record.
• I want the Phillies to win the East, but I think the Mets will not choke enough to make it happen. (And yes I know that is not the popular consensus)

Since I am a big Dallas Cowboys fan, I will always make a prediction for their game and at least 2 other games. So for week 4 of the NFL:

• This is an obvious pick for a Cowboys win, which is exactly why many people are scared of this game. I would be too, but I think the lack of Steven Jackson will allow the defense to really attack the quarterback. I expect the secondary to give up a couple of big pass plays, but overall contain the Rams. I see the boys putting up pretty good number on them so this game should go well.
  Dallas Cowboys 34, St. Louis Rams 17
• The big game of the week is the Vikings vs. the Packers. This is definitely a battle of good defenses. This game should come down to who has more sacks, interceptions, and big stops. I would personally rank Minnesota slightly higher than the Packers on the defensive depth chart. However, Green Bay has a definite offensive advantage. If they can contain the Viking running game, as I expect them to do well enough, than they take this game.
  Green Bay Packers 24, Minnesota Vikings 13
• And finally, I have to check out the Colts and Broncos. This has the most intriguing match ups with the wide receivers of Indianapolis going against the defensive backs of Denver. This game should highlight how well Joseph Addai really is. Watch for the Colts starting out with a strong running game and then exploiting holes in the Denver defense when they try to plug up the line of scrimmage. The status of John Lynch will have a huge impact upon the game. The Broncos will have to utilize their potent air attack to best the Colts in this game.
  Indianapolis Colts 23, Denver Broncos 20

Round Up

. : Sports : .


It's time for the Cowboys to kick it in to high gear. It is once again football season and the spirit around town is that it is about time. Saturday night kicked off a new season that is already full of controversial water cooler topics. The Tony Romo debate is in full swing and I for one am on his side. I am ready for a new franchise quarterback, but I am not sure how ready Jerry Jones is.


Baseball has been dragging on, and with a team constantly doing its best not to be in first place, most people have given up on the season. The Rangers are only about 5 games out, but I would be surprised to see them make that up. They have had several good signs of late and I think that the team looks promising for next year.

The PGA Championship starts on Thursday and should be pretty good. The fact that Tiger is back on his game makes it even more appealing to watch. I am going to be one of the < 1% of America that thinks a guy not named Tiger or Phil will win it... we will see how that pans out.

Back in the Saddle Again

. : Sports : .

It looks like Rangers are once again trying to play themselves out of a championship. The AL West is still up for grabs and they just can't seem to take the leap and claim it. Pitching as usual has been spotty, but so have the bats.

The first NFL game kicked into gear and brought about football excitement for the first time in a while. I am ready to see the Cowboys light up some people. The big story around here has been Oklahoma dumping its quarterback because he got caught taking money on the side. He is getting railed for getting caught... that's about it.

I am not sure who to pull for in the college ranks. It seems like there is a void at the top that unfortunately strength of schedule will decide. I am certainly hearing it from the Notre Dame media blitz, but I will believe it when I see it. Their schedule is brutal and they just haven't shown me much in many many years. Let me know who you want me to root for, although make sure that they have a tangible mascot.

Tiger has pulled out of what I thought was a really bad hole. I thought this would be an off year and had written him off until next season, but he keeps on proving me wrong on that one and keeping up his high standards.