It's time for a change

The Minnesota wild are in a tailspin. It's time for a change. I don't think it's crazy to say it's time for J. Lemaire to go. I know, I know he's won 1 million Stanley cups as a player and a coach. But the one Stanley cup he did win he also had Scott Stevens and Martin Broduer. Last time I checked we don't have them. We don't even have Neil Broten. Obviously Gaborik coming back will add a spark, but how much. Will he play the rest of the season with us? Doug Risebourgh needs to be criticised along with our other fav GM Kevin McHale. Doug brought in James Sheppard whose terrible. He's kept Stephan Veilloux whose even worse. And he signed Pierre Marc Bouchard to a long term contract. Look at their numbers. These guys are NHL players??? Meanwhile you could put together and entire line of forwards and defensemen from the University of Minnesota better than any line we can produce. I'd take Vanek, Wheeler, and Kessel as my forwards, and Goligowski and Martin as my defensemen. But we have the moronic Canadians thinking they know better. Hey hop on 94W and watch a few games at Mariucii. You might see some forwards that actually score once in a while. But let's keep talking about how many cups they won in Montreal. This isn't 1970, the NHL has changed a bit. We're playing pre lockout hockey after the lock out. Here is the perfect example that they don't know what they're doing. Andrew Brunette was on our team for 3 years, 2001-2004, then the lockout happened. Mr. Risebourough didn't think he'd succeed after the lockout. So we let him go to Colorado where he amassed 200 points in 3 seasons. And then we bring him back now that he's 35. Oh yeah by the way PMB is on pace for 41 points this season, James Sheppard is on pace for 16, and Veilloux is on pace for 11. These are the players the Doug and Jaque want to put on the ice for a fan base that has sold out every single pre season, regular season, and post season game in the history of the franchise.

Optimism

When you're a sports fan in Minnesota optimism is tough to hang on too. Especially since it's like 5 below outside. But I want to talk about the NFL right now. The Minnesota Vikings are playing really well. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself right now, but let's take a look around the NFC and see where we stand. Right now we are the 3rd seed in the conference with a chance at the 2 seed. At the same time we have yet to make the playoffs, and could still end up on the outside looking in. But let's be optimists here. Let's say we win out. And let's say the Giants lose to the Panthers next weekend in Carolina. We would be the 2 seed. Carolina would be the 1, the Giants would be the 3 and the Cardinals would be the 4. And some sort of Atlanta, Philidelphia, Tampa, Dallas combination would be the 2 wild cards. Hopefully it is Atlanta and Tampa in my opinion. If that ended up being the case we would have a 4-1 record against the NFC playoff teams, and we would be riding a 6 game winning streak. So who would you pick to beat us in the playoffs? Maybe we are who we thought we were?

"Chilly"

I'm going out of town for a while, so I won't be around for a week, and I couldn't let my last article be about something as boring as the economy. So I'll let you know how I feel about the head coach of my favorite team. Mr. Brad Childress.
We've been way to Minnesota "Nice" to this imbossul. This guy has done nothing in his tenure to impress anybody. We have an owner in this market that wants to win and is willing to spend the money to do it. Whis is rare here in Minny. So let's just skim off of the top and compare apples to apples, and some oranges to see if we can figure out why he's still here.
Exhibit A.) I think you have to give coaches time to develop what they're trying to do. It's hard in any sport to turn around a team, and make them competitive in a short period of time. So it's fair to give a guy the right amount of time to do it.
Chilly's first year he went 6-10 after taking over a 9-7 team???
His second year he went 8-8, so maybe he's starting to improve.
His third year he is currently .500 with a team that many expected to be a force in the NFC>
Exhibit B.) Working with the talent you have. Ziggy Wilf as poured as much money and resources into this team as possible. Whatever we need, he goes out and goes after the best available at that position. So it's not as if he is coaching a bunch of bums. We have 3 pro bowl offensive lineman, 3 pro bowl defensive lineman. The best running back in the league, and a pro bowl safety, and a soon to be pro bowl cornerback. And again we're currently .500.
Exhibit C.) As a coach you need to be observant, and aware of what works and what doesn't. You also have to know where your strengths of your team are. So 2 weeks ago we need a touchdown to beat the packers. We have 1 series to do it. So he gave the ball to Adrian Peterson 6 out of 7 times, and we won the game. That was good coaching. So now we're in the same situation 1 week later in Tampa Bay. We are down 3 to Tampa Bay. Tampa kicks off and Maurice Hicks fumbles. O.K. maybe not Chilly's fault. O.K. the defense which is not coached by Childress holds the Bucs to a field goal. We're still alive. After that we get 2 more series, and 7 plays to get a touchdown to win the game. He didn't give the ball to Adrian Peterson once???
Exhibit D.) He is 1-5 against the Packers!

So I guess I can't figure out why he still is our head coach. There are a bunch of others that feel the same way I do. If you agree here is a link to sign a petition to fire Chilly, "http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/fire-brad-childress.html"

Economy

Now I don't know or understand a lot about the economy. But I've been hearing bits and pieces of stuff about the economy, and also being observant, and knowledgeable as to what's going on in our world. But I really don't understand the idea behind bailout's. Is that our best solution for our entire population. Maybe it is, and if that's the case then someone needs to explain it me. But the way I see it is it's the corporate big wigs who have created these problems. It then trickles down and effect us, the ordinary people.
So we bailout the housing market. This is a problem created by over zealous builders, and banks that worked outside of their means. So why do we bail them out.
So we are thinking about bailing out the automobile market because of the overspending and enormous amounts of debts that they have accrued.
Why do these industry big wigs have such control over the way our country works. Why don't we hold these people accountable. If bailouts are our best option, which it might be. Then I don't want one person who was part of the problem to be there anymore. Nobody in the banking industry, the automobile industry, or the housing industry who had any part of the problem should have their jobs anymore. Instead it's the blue collar workers who lose their jobs. How does this make sense. So Fred the Framer is doing what his company asked him to do, and build houses, well due to bad decision the housing market crashed. Now Fred the Framer is out of work, and ready to accept any $10/hour job out there just to try and make ends meet. But Owen the Owner, Cecil the CEO, or Barry the Banker are starting to struggle too, and we're going to be bailed out. Obviously it's do to the poor decisions that the big wigs made that everyone is struggling. So why is Fred going to be the one who continues to struggle.
Why is is that accountability only goes so high. If I can't pay my bills due to poor planning, and budgeting, is someone going to bail me out? Absolutely not.
So I want each and every greedy big wig to have the same problems as the people who their poor decisions effected. Until that is fixed you can bailout these morons all you want. Look our country did that exact thing. I don't know if the Democrats can fix the problem or not. But we do know that the republicans can't. I'm assuming they'll have to work together to make any waves.
I just want people to be held accountable. Hey cut these CEO's salary. Do they need to make 10 Million a year. Would 5 million cover their cost of living?
Don't get me wrong I'm all for capitalism. It's the American dream. And for those out there that have weathered the stormy economy, and thrived, congratulations you deserve everything you've achieved. But for those of you who have had their hand in the economic failures, then you've had your chance and you failed. They shouldn't be around for the bailouts. They should be down here with us.

D. McNabb

Is he an absolute idiot? He says he didn't know that you can tie in the NFL. Does this idiot live under a rock. How does a player in the NFL not fully understand the rules. The last tie game prior to yesterday in the NFL was in 2002. He wasn't aware of that happening. He played one of the teams that tied in the playoffs that year. He didn't know what their record was. It just shows that some of these guys are just complete morons. How is it that every single fan sitting at home is well aware of the fact that a tie can happen.
McNabb attended and graduated from Syracuse University. Now I would have thought that through 16 years of schooling he would have developed the ability to think critically. But apparently that isn't something the star QB needs to do.
I think most average sports fans could give you the game ending procedures for each of the four major sports, and NCAA football and basketball as well. I would think that being a part of the NFL you might want to know the rules. Especially when the referee explains them at the beginning of overtime. I assume Donovan McNabb is a captain, what was he doing out there?

Veterans Day

After watching "Saving Private Ryan" the other day I felt compelled to write this article. I am not sure how accurate the movie is on every detail. But it really doesn't matter. I live in a generation that didn't have to fight for what we have. We've been very lucky in that sense. We're in some sort of bitch fight now, but that's more of a propaganda issue than an actual Wars war. But think about it for a second. Think about storming the beaches of Normandy. There was high percentage that you would die before leaving the water, and you KNEW that. But they did it anyway.
What is it like to do something where there is a high percentage you will die. What is it like to defend our country from actual threats. These are things that I'm having a hard time understanding. I don't think my generation could do it.
Basically if you were born anywhere from 1930 to 1955 you served in either, WWII, Korea, or Vietnam. So these generations had to fight, had to be tough. They lost friends, the lost family members they lost their innocence. I had a friend move away in second grade and I cried for days. What would happen if I was in a boat with 35 friends and coworkers, and when we pulled up to the beach, 12 of us walked off, only 4 of us made it to the beach, and only 2 of us made it home?
Our country was built off wars. First we fought a war with our parents to be free. Then we fought a war with our brothers to set them straight. Then we fought in a succession of world wars to defend ourselves, and our friends. What do we do know? We've had essentially 2 attacks on American soil. Pearl Harbor was a cheap shot, the japs sneaking up on us and attacking a military base. What did we do? We dropped 2 atomic bombs on the Japs, wiping out two entire cities. Flying planes in to the World Trade Towers was a sucker punch. They took our planes with our people, and flew them in to our buildings. What did we do? We attacked a different country and killed their leader, who yes was a bad guy, but no didn't have anything to do with it.
It makes me think if 9/11 would have happened in 1960 what would have happened. Something tells me Bin Laden wouldn't be alive still.
My point is that in honor of veterans day remember how lucky all of us are. I don't know if our generation has the mentality to do what was done before us. I think we've taken a lot of things for granted. We don't know what's it like to fight for what's right. Maybe we're lucky we don't have to. Maybe it's because there aren't the same conflict there was, because our past generations solved them. I'm not quite sure. I don't have a grandpa or parent who fought in the war. But for those of you who do. Thank them. We have been able to bunker up and play "Men of Honor" instead of walking through France trying to find private Ryan.

World Series Nuetral Field/Bill Plaschke

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times, and a frequent guest on "Around The Horn" thinks it's preposterous that baseball does not play in a warm neutral site for the world series.(http://www.latimes.com/sports/columnists/la-sp-plaschke22-2008oct22,0,2135305.column) Hey Bill do you ever think like a fan instead of a pompous annoying sportswriter. So what we had to suspend a game for the first time in 100+ years. Where should we play Bill? California, what about earthquakes. Florida, Texas, what about hurricanes. Baseball is a game. It is played in each and every U.S. state. Hey Bill those people in Alaska playing baseball, what a bunch of nuts huh. Believe it or not weather is part of the game. It's a sport that's supposed to be played outdoors.
Rewarding the fans, now that's a novel concept. I'm pretty sure that Phillies fans aren't sitting here this morning wishing that the games were in Corpus Christi. Hey Bill if covering the world series is too cold and wet, stick with the PGA tour then. Leave Baseball to us, the fans. You know what we're not sitting in the lavish press boxes with catered food. We're sitting in seats that are too small, and paying $7 a beer.
The world series isn't the super bowl. It's America's game and it should be played in America's cities.

$100 Bills

I love when guys come into the pro shop and ask loudly in front of their buddies, "Do you have change for $100." We're a golf course that charges $55.00 for golf and a cart. What do you think. If you want your buddies to know that you have a $100 bill just tell them.

Prime

What is your prime. In sports it occurs at different times.
Baseball - You reach your prime somewhere in the 27-31 range. You become smarter as a player, and kind of figure things out. Baseball isn't necessarily based on pure athleticism so knowledge of the game combined with athletic ability is when you reach that point.
Ken Griffey Jr. best years were between the ages of 26-29.
Football - Football it varies by position. I think that it's well known that for Running Backs the age of 30 has proven almost without exception that is the beginning of the end. But for lineman and QB's it's kind of the baseball thing. Where running backs have to rely on instinct alone most other position need that "knowledge of the game"
Marshal Faulk best years were between 25-28
Steve Young, Joe Montana, and John Elway's best years were all after the age of 30
Basketball - Basketball really depends upon the position. Point Guards rely more on instinct and athletic ability so they peak at a much earlier age. Centers have throughout history have peaked in their late 20's and haven't done much later in their careers. I think obviously that has a lot to do with their size, and the bodies ability to handle the stress. Forwards peak in that coveted 27-30 range because their games need that mental ability to match their athletic ability.
Shaquille Oneal had his best years in his late 20's
Kevin Garnett was dominate from 27-30
John Stockton and Jason Kidd really got good when they were 25.
Hockey - I think Hockey players have the longest prime. Because I think the good ones can get by on athleticism early in their careers, and meanwhile they are figuring out the ins and outs of the game. By the time they've lost a step they figure out better angles, they figure out when and where to spend their energy. They don't waste time going around people, they set up the plays more.
If you look at Mark Messier which is one of the greats I know, he found a way to sustain a point per game avg. for 15 years with one exception. But even that year he averaged .98.

What about other sports
Tennis you're done when you reach your mid 20's
Gymanstic's you're best years are when you're a teenager.
Golf you're in your prime throughout your 30's unless you're Vijay Siingh

What about us average folks. When is our prime? My best years athletically were in high school. I'm not a gymnast. So why did that happen. Obviously it's the lack of being forced to work out, and eat healthier. So what are our best years. I think it's different for each person. Some of us it was high school. Some of us it's when you become a parent. Some of us it's when you are working your way up the corporate ladder. I think each person has a different prime. We're not all meant to be athletes, students, parents, spouses, coworkers. So whens your prime?

Weak Society

How come there are so many babies out there. It seems like a lot of people these days are just products of a weak society. I see it at work, I see it amongst friends. I'd say that most people can't do anything that isn't easy.
Here's a small example. A guy is asked to work at 1 job at night. The problem is he needs to work at his other job in the morning, at 9:00 AM. So he tells the night job he can't work past 9:00 PM. What a baby, does said person really need the opportunity for 10 hours of sleep? Maybe that's the reason he's working 2 jobs at $10/hour. Now according to time magazine
Studies show that people who sleep between 6.5 hr. and 7.5 hr. a night, as they report, live the longest. And people who sleep 8 hr. or more, or less than 6.5 hr., they don't live quite as long. There is just as much risk associated with sleeping too long as with sleeping too short. The big surprise is that long sleep seems to start at 8 hr. Sleeping 8.5 hr. might really be a little worse than sleeping 5 hr.
There are just so many people out there that all they do is just bitch and whine. Instead of taking it amongst themselves to fix or solve a problem they just continue to bitch about it. Another issue in our lack of society is intelligence. I think a lot of this is just all tied together, which in turn makes our society weak. There are not enough go getter's out there. We'd all just rather sit on our asses and bitch about it. We don't go outside because it's too cold, or too warm, or too windy, etc.
I had a good conversation the other day with a friend, and we came to realize that we could not survive 100 years ago. We started thinking that everything we had done that day to that point, we used something that would not have been available 100 years ago.
Maybe it's just where I'm from. Maybe we're just products of the suburbs. We've always had everything we need, so hard work is not something that is instilled in us. Now when I talk about work, I'm not talking about being a bricklayer, or building houses. I'm talking about staying the course even thought there might be a few bumps in the way. Not always taking the easy road.
There are a lot of ways to define hard work. Hard work is getting your masters. Hard work is starting your own company. Hard work is saving money. Hard work is keeping in touch with your friends. Hard work is a lot of things to a lot of different people. I just think that a lot of us don't know what that means anymore. Hard work is not getting as much sleep each and every night.
We've got everything we need from the insides of our houses. We can have anything delivered, we can watch any movie, and show, listen to any song at any time. We can find out everything we need to know about our friends with out ever having to talk to them thanks to Facebook and Myspace. We can take virtual tours of the Grand Canyon so why do we need to go. We would never want to hurt any one's feelings. We can't tell jokes about people.
The overall lack of intelligence out there is unnerving too. We all have the right to vote. But is it right for us all to vote. If somebody doesn't take the time to research the candidates to find out what they stand for then why do they have a say in it? This isn't the NCAA basketball tournament where you want everyone to participate. I guarantee you that you can randomly ask any group of people 18-30 who the Vice President is and you wouldn't get more than 60% that get it right. So some people just are smart enough to make decisions for themselves even. I just think that my generation for the most part is pathetic. There are always exceptions, and I do know some truly smart and successful people. But to me those people are the true minorities.

At Work.

I am at work right now. I work at a golf course. It is 40 degrees outside, and it has been sprinkling all day. Needless to say it is not golfing conditions. I have 3 groups out there today. I group just came in on the turn. 5 guys all in the 25-40 age range. First guy walks in and says, "It's hot out there, do you have any ice cream?" The other 4 all burst out in laughter.

I think to myself, nothing about what you said is funny. It's not creative, it's not witty, it doesn't have a good set up or punch line. Everyone knows it's cold out. So why did these 4 other guys laugh?

They laughed because they are all extremely stupid, and haven't had enough truly fun and exciting experiences in their lives to understand the difference between actual humor, and just stupid pointless comments.

These guys are golfing just so they can tell their buddies, that they love golf so much that they golf when it's 40 and raining. They all have bags and clubs that are worth much more than $1000/set. But these guys think that they should golf because that's what men do. They tell jokes because they think that's what men do. In the long run their just a bunch of idiots. But they did tip me $5.

Media Ratings

Every time there is a major championship we hear about and talk about the ratings. We say things like, "I bet you FOX is hoping it's Boston vs. LA in the world series." But who cares. It's fun and interesting to talk about. If the Twins made it to the world series, I wouldn't care if they played the Benson & Orth softball team, and nobody watched the damn games. I mean Philadelphia is the 4th largest market, and Tampa's in the top 15. So how much better do you want it. As a sports fan I think it might add a little interest if it's Chicago vs. Chicago, or New York vs. Boston. But at the end of the day, I'm going to tune in to the World Series regardless of who's playing. I think that is what the NBA does such a good job of is marketing the players and match ups rather than the teams. I'd love to see Lebron vs. Carmelo. That sounds so much better than Cleveland vs. Denver.
Last year the NHL had what I'd assume was their dream match up. Crosby and Malkin vs. The Detroit Red Wings. And they did a good job marketing it, and the ratings were up for the first time in years.
I just thing far to much time is spent talking about ratings, when all the fans want is a good match up. I think if it's a competitive World Series the rating will be fine, they're a lot of exciting players on both teams that are fun to watch, and it shouldn't make a difference how big their home cities are.

Fighting in the NHL

Who doesn't like fighting in the NHL??? I'll tell you who. It's the same people who don't like to keep score. There are debates each year as to whether or not fighting has a place in hockey. The answer is YES!
Fighting is a way for players to govern themselves. If you take a run a star player you better do it knowing you'll have to pay for your actions. It's as simple as that. Football kind of has it worked in through the non stop physicallity that goes along with it. Baseball kind of does this, by pitchers throwing at batters, then in turn batters retailiating by charging the mound. Basketball, well they don't fight each other, they just fight the fans.
But why shouldn't there be fighting in hockey? The fans love it, the players like it, and the coaches mostly regulate it. So who are those who don't like it?
It's the little momma's boy's running around out there. They don't want to keep score at their kids little league games because they don't want anyone to be losers. Well here's a solution . . . Win. They want the Principal to talk to bullies so they don't pick on their kids anymore. Well here's a solution . . . stand up to them. They don't want to see violence at hockey games. Well here's a solution. . . don't go. Why is it that people have to get involved with everything? If you don't like something bug off!
Some people feel like they have to try and change things. Hockey has been around for over 100 years (with the exception of the lockout). These NHL players are getting paid a lot of money, and they willingly get into fights, and we should stop them. Who are we to tell them they can't do there job. I don't see Derek Boogard going out to a construction sight, and screaming at some guy working on a high beam on the 70th floor, that he needs to stop doing his job, because it's too dangerous.
What we need is for everyone to just mind their own business. If you enjoy something, enjoy it. If you don't like something, don't like, but just don't try and change it.

President

Now I don't claim to be a great political mind, but why can't we find a good president to lead this great country. I don't know who'll be better of the two candidates now, I don't think anyone does. Why don't we make this job appealing to our more promising young leaders of America. Ndudi Ebi get's drafted by the Timberwolves, scores 40 career points in 3 season. He's made over $3,000,000! He's played a total of 86 career minutes. That works out to be $2,097,902/hour
Now the president of the United States. The leader of the free world makes a pedestrian $400,000 a year. So let's compare and that works out to be
$192/hour.
This is assuming that the president works an average of 40 hours a week. Which I'm assuming he does more, but that's all right. So Ndudi Ebi makes
$2,097,710 more per hour than the president of the United States. That makes a lot of sense. What are the benefits of becoming president? You are grossly underpaid. You and your family are in danger of losing your life for every second of every day from the moment you start campaigning until the moment you die. You get mocked and ridiculed around the world and in your own country daily. Your entire life of normalcy completely disappears.
This is why we can't find a great president. The job sucks. You have every single NBA player in the league making more money than George W. Bush. I understand about people coming to watch the athletes play, and buying jersey's and tv contracts. But come on, we can't find a way to attract some great candidates?
Here's what you do. You need to completely revamp the entire system. It will be like sports. Now let's pretend like Governors are AAA, Senators are AA, and Congress is A. Each politician starts out in A, now you only get one term. While in congress you either move up or you move out. You need to beat out what's above you to show that you're worthy. What this does is keep things fresh. I think they're congressman and senators who've been in office for decades. Correct me if I'm wrong but if you were in office when disco was cool, you do not relate to today's issues. Now if you've made it to become a senator same thing applies, you've shown you've got potential. But you either move up, stay the same, or you're gone. You can't go back to congress. We can't waste our time hoping someday you'll make it. We're looking for prospects that can succeed under all situations. Now if you make it through the ranks you become 1 of 50 governors. Being governor is more closely related to President anyway. You actually have to make executive decisions. So now we have a election between 25 states. States alternate terms so that we can get to know our 25 candidates better. We can then look at each governor's body of work. We'll be comparing apples to apples. Let's see how Arkansas was when he got there and how is it doing now. They will no longer be a 2 party system. We'll vote for the man, not the party. I assume that they're be some statehood bias which I haven't solved yet. But I think this process gives us an opportunity to get candidates that have executive experience, and we can compare similar issues. If you can't run Kansas we know you can't run America.
This salary for this will be $1,000,000/year, with incentives. If you leave with a better financial position than when you started you get an additional $1,000,000. You can do many more incentives too, it's very similar to what large corporations do.
I'm sure there are flaws in this system, just like our current system. But I really think that the job of president just isn't that appealing to people. If you are Yale graduate Theo Epstein would you rather become the Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, and be worshiped in your home town making 1.5 million/year, or would you rather be George Bush?

Today

Contrary to popular beliefs, but there are more than just the day before and after the baseball all star that don't have any sports. Take today for example, no MLB, NFL, NHL, or NBA.

Randoms

Why do people that use their credit/check cards a lot think they are special. I've noticed it at the golf course and amongst my friends. But it's viewed upon almost like a status symbol. I just had a customer use a card. When I commented that I could barely read the "ask for picture ID" on the back of the card, he commented, "Ha Ha Ha it's seen it's fair share of credit card machines Ha Ha Ha." Or when people pull out their card they often times comment on the condition of their card, and how much they use it. I just don't get it. It's not interesting to ANYBODY!!!

People that wear bluetooth earpieces regularly should have the ability to reproduce taken away.

Why do Minnesotans say that our state fair is second only to Texas? Second in what? Size, profit, length, funness, fried food, what???

How much money would you need to go out to the part of the ocean that is farthest away from any land, and get dropped off for 24 hours? One stipulation is that you will not be in any danger from animals. You'd only have to fight the mental struggle with being in the most remote location on earth.

I would like to know more about meter readers. Where do they live, and how do they do there job. Is there job just basically walking house to house every day of the month. And then do it all over again? I think there is some stuff we don't know.

Charlie from "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is the new and improved Kramer.

Tara Reids boyfriend for Van Wilder, and Sac from wedding crashers should be friends.

Who is the leader of ducks and geese that decides it's time to go south, and then come back north? Why don't they just stay South. And is there just a lot of ducks and geese in like Oklahoma in the winter?

Manny Ramirez

My favorite non MN Twins baseball player for years has been Manny Ramirez. My favorite sports writer is Bill Simmons. Much to my pleasure Simmons did a feature article on Manny! I think Manny Ramirez is the type of player everyone wishes they had on their team. Manny has been the best hitter of our lifetimes. You can also debate where he ranks all time, and you wouldn't go very far down the list before you got to Manny. Manny has played for three teams now in his career. Those three teams have one thing in common, they win. Cleveland hadn't been to the playoffs for forty years until many got there. Boston which hadn't won a world series in 90+ years, won 2 world series with Manny. The Dodgers were going nowhere until Manny got there, and now they're world series contenders.
Manny is the player who has fun when he plays. He's not the cocky self promoter that a lot of athletes are these days. Manny is in a group with Ozzie Guillen and Randy Moss. This group of guys are far to honest. Most fans and media don't like honesty in their athletes and coaches. They want cliches and lies. They want to be told every thing's all right even when it's not. Sure Manny has made his mistakes, and doesn't do everything right. But who does. I understand that he has millions upon millions of dollars in his career, but is that his fault. Manny is the guy you work with that has fun while at work. He is the guy at your job, that doesn't put in 100% each and everyday, but it doesn't really matter because in the long run he is one of the better workers. Manny is the guy who doesn't clean everything perfect because he knows it's just going to get dirty again right away. It's not Manny's fault that some owner is willing to pay him 20 million a year. It's not his fault that 45,000 people pay money to watch him do his job everyday. In football Brett Favre had this mentality, and is worshiped for it.
Manny Ramirez is a kid playing baseball. When I play softball each week, and I hit a slow grounder to second (which is often) I don't go 100%. When I'm at work I don't always want to be there, I don't always do my best. I think we'd all be lying to ourselves if we said we did. So don't hate on a guy because he does the same thing at his job.
People talk about his fielding, I think we can look across the league and find many players nearly as bad as Manny and none of them can hit like him.
All the guy has ever done is win, and hit. So I wouldn't mind having the guy on my team.

MN Fan

Being a 26 year old sports fan in Minnesota has never been easy. We were 6 years old and 10 years old when the Twins won their two world series. Not quite old enough to really understand it or enjoy it. Since that time we've had to endure;
1991 North Stars being shut down by Pittsburgh.
1992 - 2001 Twins era which include Kirby Pucket getting Glacouma.
1997 Gophers final four that did not happen
1998 MN Vikings loss at home to Atlanta in the NFC championship game.
2000 MN Vikings 41-0 loss to the Giants in the NFC championship game
2002 MN Twins surprising Oakland in the first round of the playoffs only to be beaten by the also surprising Angels.
2003 MN Wild shocking upsets of both Colorado and Vancouver only to lose to Aneheim in the conference finals.
1996 - 2003 MN Timberwolves who couldn't advance past the first round of the playoffs.
2005 MN Timberwolves who were the heavy favorites going into the season and didn't even make the playoffs.
2003-2005 MN Twins who couldn't get to the world series, although have a lead against the Yankees in the playoffs.
2006 MN Twins have a miracle finish to the season only to get beat in the first round of the playoffs
2007 MN Wild lose to Colorado in the first round of the playoffs after winning the division and having a 2-1 series advantage in the playoffs.

The sad part is this is our list of accomplishments. There is another list where Minnesota teams failed to even make the playoffs. Those teams weren't even good enough to let us down. I never even touched on the Gopher football team which hasn't been relevant in my lifetime. Our only taste of a championship is our beloved Gopher hockey team which won back to back national championships. But in recent years they have also let us down. They were the first #1 overall to lost in the first round to a #16 team in the NCAA hockey tournament.

So it's been tough being a fan. We've had to endure Brett Favre and the Packers. We've had to watch Wisconsin go to rose bowls. Our hockey team left us for Dallas? Our baseball team tried to get out of the league completely. We've watched Kevin McHale prove time and time again that he does not know how to run a basketball team. We've watched Boston become the city of winners with our players (David Ortiz, Randy Moss, and Kevin Garnett) The Vikings have proven time and time again that they know how to build up your hopes only to watch them shatter. We're the state that traded away;
Stephon Marbury
Ray Allen
Randy Foye
Kevin Garnett
Johan Santana
Jason Bartlett
Matt Garza
Randy Moss
Duante Culpepper
Not to mention basically giving Dallas their building blocks for their 1990's dynasty.

So there hasn't been a whole lot to grab onto and really take pride in. If you compare us to other cities that have 3-4 major sports teams we have gone the longest without making it to the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, or Stanley Cup Finals. If you look at the Minnesota sports history, we've essentially played in roughly 140 professional seasons and have 2 championships, and 9 appearances in the championship games. We don't get the national coverage of our misery like other cities do. But we've suffered as much as anybody. We don't have curses associated with our losing, no famous plays to define the futility. We just managed to find ways to lose on our own. We don't have any real villains in the story just a bunch of likable players who just couldn't get the job done. It has been tough being a sports fan in Minnesota.

NFL Week #3

The NFL was interesting again this past week, for numerous reasons. One being the COLTS and the PATRIOTS lost in the same week. But lets go through it division by division again and see if we can get a handle on what is going on.

The NFC NORTH was more of what I expected going into the season. The BEARS are who we thought they were. They almost snuck in and beat the BUCS but in the end they still have Kyle Orton "The legend Killer" at QB. The packers thank god came back down to earth a little bit. And now with the news that Al Harris is most likely out for the year, the division looks like it might be competitive again. It's nice to see that Ryan Grant was potentially the most overrated player in the league last year. The LIONS are the most embarrassing team in the league. Matt Millen must have pictures of the owner driving a chevy or something. Because there is no rhyme or reason why he still has his job. Now let's talk about the VIKES. The have a defense full of rock stars. E.J. Henderson is a top 5 middle linebacker in the NFL. It's fun to watch them work, I just hope they continue to get better and better as the season goes on. They'll get Madieu Williams back in a couple of weeks too. They also played last game without their #2 receiver Sid Rice. It was nice to see them win a game without AP having to rush for 150 yards. I think once this team gets clicking on all cylinders they'll be tough to beat.

The NFC EAST has some beasts in it. All four teams are playoff caliber, and a couple of them might be Super Bowl caliber. Again DALLAS looked every bit the NFC playoffs by teaching us all that Aaron Rogers is not Brett Favre. The EAGLES went in and shut down my eventual super bowl champions. The GIANTS continue to beat the teams they should be beating. They have a bye week this week and then they should be 6-0 when they have to play at Pittsburgh, home against Dallas, and at Philadelphia. So let's judge them after 9 games. The REDSKINS have figured something out because they're playing much better too. That Jason Campbell might be a decent quarterback in this league for a while.

The NFC SOUTH has 3 teams with winning records and none of them are NEW ORLEANS. The saints which I still think are the class of the division are the only ones who aren't above .500. So this could be an interesting season for this division. I think the FALCONS will eventually stop being the fantasy equivalent of the 98 Vikings and cool off. I still think Michael Turner is overrated. But the other 3 teams could all finish 9-7, 8-8, 7-9 and I have no idea who finishes on top. I think this division is like the AL Central. Some body's got to make the playoffs, but nobody cares. The Bucs barely beat Chicago, the Panthers lost to the Vikes, and the Saints couldn't handle Denver so I'd say this is one of the bottom 2 or 3 divisions in football.

Speaking of the worst division in football let's talk about the NFC WEST. There isn't one team in this division I would ever be afraid to see in the playoffs. You have the RAMS who are in fact the worst team in football. You have the SEAHAWKS who I think are at the end of their run of dominance in this division. The 49eERS are plucky but I don't think it's their time yet, although I think I'm prepared to pick them to win this division. Then you have the CARDINALS who have some absolute fire power on offense. But when you've only won 1 post season game in 50 years you don't become relevant until you do win something.

NFC PLAYOFFS
#1 Dallas
#2 Minnesota
#3 San Francisco
#4 New Orleans
#5 Philadelphia
#6 New York

The AFC EAST is still the PATRIOTS division. I think the Pats will win 10 games still. They need to find a way to get Randy Moss involved before he completely shuts down. We learned last night that the JETS are still just a bad team with an old quarterback. The DOLPHINS are better than last year, but it's hard not to be when you only win 1 game. What's with Ronnie Brown anyway. The BILLS I think are the only team that gives the Patriots any real trouble. They've got good young players at QB, RB, and WR. I think teams that have those positions covered by guys similar in age gel better. I think they'll be a playoff team too.

The AFC NORTH is another bad division. I still have the STEELERS a entire level above the rest of these teams, so I think they'll get fat on wins by beating the teams within the division. The Steeler also have to play the NFC EAST so they're will be some good games this season involving Pitt. The RAVENS are avg. of avg. the will win some, they'll lose some. In the long run it won't be enough to matter. The BROWNS I think are about 1 bad Anderson halve away from the Brady Quinn ERA starting. They came to close last year to lose it all in 4 games. The BENGALS need to completely gut their team and start over.

THE AFC SOUTH is surprising, who would have thought the TITANS would be on top at this point, especially with Vince Young going down. But I think that team is legit. I also think this is not going to be the COLTS year. I said it before the season and I'll say it again, it's tough to do what the Colts have done for as long as they've done it. I also do not think that Joseph Adieu is a premier running back in the NFL. I don't know what to think about the JAGUERS. I do know that I'm glad the Vikings never got Matt Shaub because he's terrible for the TEXANS.

THE AFC WEST has 2 really good teams and 2 really bad teams. The RAIDERS and CHIEFS are terrible, and I'm not wasting anymore of my life thinking or writing about them. On the other hand I think you have 2 teams that could potentially win the AFC with the CHARGERS and the BRONCOS. I think the Chargers need to start playing some of their guys in the preseason so they don't start every year digging their way out of a hole. Brandon Marshall is really good, he'll be a top 3 receiver taken in fantasy leagues next year.

AFC PLAYOFFS
#1 Pittsburgh
#2 San Diego
#3 Tennessee
#4 New England
#5 Denver
#6 Buffalo

Super Bowl
Pittsburgh 24, Dallas 21

Thats the only why in the NFL

Week #2 was a fun week to watch football. As fun as any week I can remember especially when the Vikes lose. Lets start with the Vikings. What is going on? I mean with any other quarterback in the league they would be at least 1-1, maybe even 2-0. So I hope they don't waste and entire season trying to prove that T. Jackson is a NFL quarterback. Call up Tampa Bay, and see what it'll take to get Jeff Garcia. The vikings have as much talent at every position other than QB as anybody in their division. If they want to factor into the division race they better figure it out and quick.
The NFC north looks like it might be better than expected. The Bears are kind of the the mystery. The blew a game against the Panthers that might come back and bite them later in the year. How could anyone ever be a Detroit Lions fan. That team has more problems than Carter has pills. I mean how many high draft picks do they need before they build a decent team. The fact that Matt Millen has kept his job this long is almost as surprising as Isiah Thomas keeping his job for all those seasons. I will buy into the packers this far. Aaron Rogers has looked good, but just too good. Let's not forget he played against the Vikings pass defense and the Lions, so I'll wait until I make a judgement on him.
The NFC east looks really strong. I think you have 3 playoff teams coming out of that division. The Redskins looked a lot better last week too. So that division will be fun to watch. Last nights Monday night game between Philly and Dallas was a lot of fun to watch. Donavan McNabb is a great QB again, now that he's healthy. I kind of wish I was a Dallas fan. They're like rock stars. You have the Pro Bowl quarterback who dates "A" list Blondes, and the controversial receiver who makes play after play. Not to mention a running back they call the "Barbarian." The rest of the team includes Demarcus Ware, and Pac-Man Jones, and a D-Back who's married to Kelly Rowland. So they are a fun team to follow.
The NFC west is the worst division in the league. I called it before the season and said this would be a bad year for the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams might be the worst team in the league. They should trade bulger to the Vikes. It looks like the 49ers might be improving a little bit, but it would be hard not to with as bad as they've been. I think Frank Gore healthy is a pretty good running back. That team might be good if they ever find a quarterback and receivers. They got Patrick Willis at linebacker that isn't a bad bad man.
The NFC south is another competitive division, with the exception of Atlanta. As far as fantasy goes I'm glad that Michael Turner slowed down in week 2. That way all of the morons who were bragging that they drafted him will shut up. Week #1 will be Michael Turner's best fantasy week of the season. But the Panthers are sneaky, especially now that Steve Smith is back. I think that Tampa will show that last year was a bit of a mirage, so I think this division comes down to, the Saints and the Panthers.
NFC PLAYOFF TEAMS(seed)
#1 Dallas
#2 Vikings
#3 Carolina
#4 Arizona
#5 Philly
#6 NY Giants
The AFC witch as a whole I think has lost ground to the NFC which it's dominated for the past 6-7 years. But lets start with the AFC North.
Pittsburgh might be the best team in the NFL. I wondered aloud why everyone was looking past them going into the year. They have a proven 26 year old quarterback entering his prime. Who by the way has already won a Super Bowl. If he didn't drive a motorcycle into a car, might be in the same sentences as Tom Brady. They also have a 27 year old year old running back who has rushed for over 1200 yard in each of the past 3 season. They have Santonio Holmes who is only 24 years old. Pittsburgh's Defense is generally regarded as one of the better defenses in the league too. So they are my super bowl pick at this point. The rest of that division is O.K. at best. The Bengals are an absolute embarrassment. They can't win a game, have only made the playoffs once in the last 5 years, and have a receiver who changed his name to Spanish numbers.
The AFC south I think will again belong to the Patriots regardless of Brady's injury. They have too many good players on that team to not be good. Remember before last year Brady was never putting up insane numbers. So they basically need Cassell to be Brady from 2-3-4 years ago, not last year. I like the Bills too they're the sneaky pick I think in the AFC, their young talent is starting to play well too.
The AFC south will have Indy on top again this year for the 100th year in a row. Houston will be bad, and Tennessee and Jacksonville will both be around .500. That division is the same year after year. Although I do like seeing Jacksonville struggle to start the year after all the hype the got. Remember last year, they were the one team that could beat the Patriots.
The AFC west will be won by Denver. The have the "iceman" at QB. Cutler looks so comfortable dropping back to pass. San Diego will be fine, they've become the Yankees of the NFL they start out terrible, everyone says they're done, and then they make the playoffs. Jamarcus Russell might be the only QB worse than T. Jackson. but McFadden also looks a lot like AP too.
AFC PLAYOFF TEAMS (seeds)
#1 Pittsburgh
#2 New England
#3 Denver
#4 Indy
#5 San Diego
#6 Buffalo

SUPER BOWL 43 = Pittsburgh 28 Dallas 24

Football Announcers

Football announcers really think they're something special. I'm watching the vikes game and Dan Deirdorf is criticizing the fans for booing. Who the hell is Dan Dierdorf to tell 60,000 people what they can and can't do. If you pay $75 to go to a game, and you want to boo that is your right to do so. John Buck once said that when Moss fake mooned the Green Bay fans it was disgusting. What the hell is the big deal. These guys are announcing football games. It's not life or death. If I didn't know any better I'd say that Tony Kornheiser is in love with Brett Favre. It would have to be a pretty big bed to fit Kornheiser, Favre, and John Madden. If you've never had an opportunity to listen to KFAN's Paul Allen announce a football game, then you're really missing something fun. He does a great job of putting some energy into it without acting as if he's the second coming. Some of these guys just need to step back and remember they're just announcing a game.

Tom Brady

I don't like seeing guys suffer season long injuries. But the city of Boston is one fan base I'm glad something like this happened too. How many times have they been victorious in the recent past?
Red Sox 2 world series.
Patriots 3 super bowls
Celtics 1 NBA championship
Boston College 1 NCAA hockey championship
So it really couldn't have happened to a better city actually. What I find annoying is all the Boston fans that live amongst us. I don't remember seeing Red Sox, Celtics, or Patriot gear 10 years ago. But now every Dan McHeyer out there supports these teams. What is the fascination? The Red Sox are supposed to be the Anti-Yankees. They spend second most in the MLB. What about the Celtics who went out and bought a NBA championship. Or you have the Patriots who cheated to get there. Why is their bandwagon so full? To me these people are complete sell out idiots. Yeah the first Red Sox world series was cute. But it's over now, the Boston teams are just rich and greedy bitches, who are just New York north.

"Slug Life"

My friend came up with the term "Slug Life." I am going to try and describe the meaning to you. It is used in the same way "thug life" is used. It describes a way of life for people. The meaning of Thug Life according to the urban dictionary is the opposite of someone having all he needs to succeed. Thug life is when you have nothing, and succeed, when you have overcome all obstacles to reach your aim.

Spinning off of that meaning,the meaning of Slug Life is as follows. It is when you have the means, resources, and opportunity to live a fulfilling, fun, and successful life, and you choose not to based on laziness, and lack of motivation. When your only obstacle is yourself.

Now I know that that can mean a lot of different things for a lot of different people. When I was in high school we had to make up prophecies. I came up with this saying and I think it still rings true today. You can be dead when you're alive, but you can't be alive when you're dead. I am at the age now where people are at a major junction in life. Do I get married, do I have kids, those kinds of major questions. Every body handles it differently. Some want to start a family, and settle down right away, and that is fine. Some want to enjoy the freedom while they can, and that is fine too. I think what happens far to often is people don't know how to balance both sides. So their solution is to live the "Slug Life." I think these are the same people that are going to have these mid life crisis in 15-20 years because of all they wanted to do and didn't do it when they had the opportunity. They settle on a routine and do the same thing over and over just because it's what they've done for so long. They stay with a partner who is not who they want to spend the rest of their life with, just because that's how it's been for so long. They completely change their personality to match that of their partner because it's just that much easier.

The hard part is to go out and enjoy life. That alone can mean a lot of different things too. But I think for a lot of people it requires entirely to much effort to find out what else is out there. I think a lot of people are going to wish they spent the time with their friends when they could because as you get older it gets harder and harder to do. I think they also will wish they could have done some different things when they had to opportunity to just get up an go. I'm not talking about flying to Italy on a whim, but maybe just getting away for a weekend, or planning something fun like a short vacation with a group of people. Or going golfing, or just basically anything that gets you off of your ass. TV is great I love it, but there is more to life. Life will pitch you some curve balls, it might even hit you once in while. But when Life's pitching straight meat, you might as well hit it out of the park while you can.

Asian Drivers

What about being Asian makes you a bad driver? This isn't a racist angle either. I have a cousin who is full blooded Japanese, so please don't take it that way. But when it comes to driving on American roads this portion of our population comes up below the curve. I mean who is doing the driving tests, Helen Keller? I was driving down a a 8 lane highway the other day, and there was an Asian man in front of me and he was completely oblivious to the dozens of cars near him. Does it have to do with their lack of visibility? I mean these people are supposed to extremely intelligent. If you asked me what would be more shocking, a women vice president, a black president, or an Asian driver in NASCAR, without hesitation I'd pick the Asian. I mean it's great what Danica Patrick is doing for women racers, but to my knowledge there hasn't ever been an Asian driver on any major racing tour. They must be great planners or late to a lot of things, because they've never come near the speed limit. They must not know about their mirrors. Maybe someone should point those out, so they stop with the kamikaze lane changes. Everyone's so worried about immigrants having visas and green cards. Screw that I want to know who's passing out drivers licenses!

Magazines

Magazines are stupid. What makes sense about not numbering all of the pages. I mean is it a marketing ploy, or just the editor trying to annoy every possible reader? They shouldn't even put a table of contents in the front, because if you want to read an article on page 78 you have to search between 42 and 118 because for some odd reason numbering the pages in between there is not something they do.

9 year old little leaguer

I don't know if you've read the story of this nine year old little leaguer but it's pathetic. What is wrong with people these days. No one wants to win or be the best anymore. I heard a good quote from the Olympics. "You don't win silver, you lose gold." America was built with the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to succeed to the fullest of their abilities. But some 9 year old kid is to good, so they won't let him play. I can assure you that the people making these decisions have never excelled at anything in their lives. They don't know what it's like to win or be good at something because they never have. They are the ones who consistently tell their kids that everyone is created equal. What is wrong with a 9 year old who dominates everyone in their league. Every youth sport has one, the kid is either living through his sports prime now and everyone will catch up in 3-4 years, or he is the next Johan Santana. I'd bet on the latter. So what's the problem, I had a kid in my little league who would make guys cry at the plate he through so hard. He went on to pitch on a division I baseball team. But you know what we're all still alive. I don't think the problem is the kids on the opposing teams, but it's the loser parents who need to be too involved. The kids need to learn this lesson. There will always be someone better than you, so you have to continue to work hard and try to put yourself in a position to succeed. But noooooo the parents are going to disband the team, and forfeit games. What a bunch of pussies. The dads in this group of pussy parents have smaller testicles than any of the kids. These are the same dads, that didn't touch, see or smell a real pussy until they paid for it. These dads, when they were kids had to be sent to summer camps because they couldn't make friends in their own neighborhoods, and their parents would just rather not have them around. Sam Cassell said "Some guys run their house, some guys run around their house." These guys definitely run around their houses. Now let's focus on the these psychopathic mom's. Oh boy I can't imagine these bitches. These are the types of women who put the fear of god in their own husbands. They aren't going to let anything bad happen to their little angels. All the while little Johnny's in the garage snorting blow, getting a BJ from Sarah down the block. These women create imaginary worlds for their families. They think they are just so perfect. But all they are doing is draining the testosterone from every man they come in contact with. I've seen it a thousand times.

What happened to competition. It's the co-ed sports theory that is ruining the competitive world. Instead of going out and trying to beat your opposition, you'd rather have fun with them. It's all of these guys that play co-ed sports because their girlfriends/wives/masters, want them too. I'm not saying you shouldn't have fun and compete at the same time, but the competition is lost in translation. And it's showing on our youth. If the revolutionary war was fought today, ol Molly Pitcher would be serving drinks to both sides. The red coats are coming, the red coats are coming. . . . . . don't worry they're just coming to play co-ed war. This way no one get's the feelings hurt, and no one will die. I'm just glad that my dad's generation and the one's before it had enough stones to make this country what it is, I just hope we don't ruin it.

Unhappy Athletes

What if everyone complained about there jobs like athletes do? Arizona Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin wants to be traded because he doesn't feel like he is getting enough money, and doesn't have a good enough relationship with his coach. Boldin is making 4 million dollars a year. How about these chumps just deal with the contract they signed. You know what I don't feel like me and my boss are getting along well enough so please trade me to Majestic Oaks. Also why do we feel like all of the good players deserve to play for a championship team. Fuck off Garnett win one here you unclutch piece of shit. These athletes have no idea what it's like to work. I wish the fans had the same options, I'd have traded the timberwolves years ago. Why don't we get a chance to be a part of a championship team. Minnesota fans bought Garnett jersey's and bought tickets to watch him play for 10 years, and he gets to go get a championship???

Olympics

I go into the Olympics I think like everyone else. I just think of it as a bunch of stupid sports that don't really matter. It's almost like a your elementary school track and field day. I assume I'd rather be the best football player, than the best at the high jump. But I found out yesterday that, that is what makes the Olympics great. I love watching sports on TV. I watch as much of the local teams as possible, I watch the vast majority of the big games, and often times find myself watching the irrelevant out of town games too. But what's nice about the Olympics is that we're all cheering for the same team. Well all of us Americans at least. I'm assuming that since only about 6 of my friends read this I don't have many international readers. We all want to see the American(s) win. I've grown up hating the French. I've never even known a french person. I have been close enough however to smell one. What is it with Europeans and their utter lack of hygiene? Anyway last night the Frenchies were trash talking our 4x100 swimming relay team, which included Michael Phelps. I was watching the Olympics and listened to Bob Costas tell us how they said "They were going to smash the Americans." Then closer to the race I had to listen to announcer guy tell me that they're was basically no way the Americans could be the French. Then after 3 of 4 laps I found out what everyone was talking about because those dirty smelly Frenchies had an almost full body lead. Then came the fourth and final lap. The American who I've never heard of still trailed by 1/2 a body length, started to catch up. I've watched about a dozen swimming races in my life and didn't think there was any way he could catch up. But apparently no one told him that. He must have shared the American feeling towards the French too. Because he caught him. It was one of the rare times in my life that I actually cheered watching a sporting event. Partly because I'm a Minnesota fan and we've won 2 professional championships in nearly 140 seasons. But mainly because of the emotion that I saw in these four individuals who were competing as a team, and as a country. The reporter afterwards immediately asked Michael Phelps about his dream of 8 golf medals. He ignored that question and talked about winning the team event. My favorite quote was when Lesak just said, "He was tired of losing to them." You don't see that kind of joy or excitement when teams win the big professional championships often. This I found out is what the Olympics are all about. I fell into the trap of wondering why trap shooters can be Olympians. What I forgot about is the competitive fire these athletes have because for the most part they aren't going home to million dollar mansions. Let's be honest how heart broken was Dwayne Wade after the Miami Heat didn't make the playoffs. Let's see he is a 25 year old living in Miami making 10+ million dollars a year. But these Olympians have one shot, and for some that's all they'll have then they'll go back to being average citizens like the rest of us. I've had as much fun watching 3 sporting events this year than any others in my life. They are Nadal vs. Federer, Tiger vs. Rocco, and the 4x100 swimming relay race. I know 5 0f those 8 people are multi millionaires and maybe the other 3 are too, but it has a lot to do with the moment, the stakes, the history. These guys can't change teams or get traded, because they either play for themselves or play for our country. So that's what makes it great. It is the same feeling that all of us had when we played sports. Some played on bigger stages than others. But when we all played in high school or even before that we all wanted to win. Not because Nike was going to sponsor us, not because it was a contract year, but because we wanted to win so bad for ourselves or our team.

Prince Fielder

Prince Fielder is a thug athlete. These guys are complete morons. It is so fitting that he resides in the state of Wisconsin. Any person that decides to either live or work in that state should lose all ability to reproduce. Prince thinks shoving the pitcher the dugout is kosher. Just like Michael Vick thought dogfighting was on the up and up. Do these guys lose all ability to use their brain. This has nothing to do with race either. It has to do with the lifestyle some of these morons choose to live. Ron Artest said the other day that he would give up his millions before he'd give up the "ghetto." What goes through their ignorant tiny minds. "Hi I'm Shaq, I've played in the NBA for 10+ years and have a clean image. People blame Kobe, not me for the demise of the Lakers. I have several honorary badges from different police departments due to my good deeds, but you know what I'm going to lay down this profanity laced rap about Kobe." Good idea douche bag. "Hi I'm Chris Henry I have the ability to play WR in the NFL, but I'm going to be a thug bitch." Hey Chris come work at the golf course for a while. Hey Kobe rape a bitch in Denver we'll all forget about that in 5 years. The problem is that these thugs get millions and second chances. What do you expect them to do? Hey Mr. 19 college freshman whose never played in the NBA. What if I give you a 30 million dollar deal over the next 5-6 years. When I was 19 I weed whipped for 40 hours a week. So maybe the real problem is the greedy owners. Look at Jerry Jones, his face looks like my anus after a night of jag bombs, and busch light. But he can afford to give second chances to Adam "pacman" Jones. Dallas might as well be a workhouse for all the convicts and lunatics that play there. But whose to stop any of this from happening. The greedy owners, the thug athletes, or the greedy fans who'll take a win at all costs. I am guilty as charged, because I would take sunshine on my god damn shoulders Brett Favre if it meant winning a super bowl.

Manny and Brett

Brett Favre
He was offered 20 Million dollars today to stay retired. And he turned it down. What is this guy's deal. I have a sneeky feeling that he'll end up playing quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. I don't know how I'd feel about it if it happened. It's similar to Adam Banks going from the hated Hawks to the overachieving Ducks. (Here is a link to a Adam Banks Fan Club I found http://yzak.nu/fan/banks/index.php.) Brett Favre is the guy who plays you in something and then won't quit until he wins. I admire that side of him, but just the fact that he was a cheesehead really turns me off. So stay tuned to see where this goes.

Manny Ramirez
I love Manny Ramirez. In some ways he and Brett Favre are very similar. They both are one of the best to ever play their sport. They both have had their own personal failures along the way. But they both find a way to connect to the everyday fan. You either love Manny or you hate him. But I do not understand how anyone can hate a guy that doesn't take a game too seriously. And at the same time all the while not taking it too seriously he's become one of the best hitters in the history of the game. Manny has done in it all in a way that some don't agree with. I personally love the way he goes about his business. And the thing is nobody does anything about it because the guy has averaged 40 HR, 132 RBI's and a 312 Avg. throughout his career. Along with 24HR and 64 RBI in the post season. He is now playing for his third team, the dodgers. So he has another fan base to root for him, and hopefully this time the front office will appreciate this future hall of famer.

A little about me.

Let me tell you a little about me. That's the thing, there is nothing little about me. (Insert funny penis joke) I am a overweight 26 caucasion male. I was just notified that I was pig-headed. And this was from my best friend, so that tells you a little bit. I am very confident in myself. I am married, and live in a house with my wife, and 3 guys. I work at a golf course, so expect a few posts about women golfers. Sports are my passion, and I know more about sports than any of you.
I live in the suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul. I love the Vikings, Twins, and Wild. I bleed Maroon and Gold, and hop on the Timberwolves bandwagon whenever their good. Based on their history I've only had one ride. Besides sports I have opinions on everything. I am not afraid to discuss any subject. I love a good arguement, but I hate when people don't back up their arguements. If you can prove me wrong or change my opinion based on facts than so be it.
I am a very demanding person. At the same time I hope that most people have the same expectations of me. I have been known to have a temper, and the thing is I don't care. I am a man, and I act like one, and if you don't like it, f off. I don't have time for moody/whiny bitches.
I love to compete, and I love to win. I have never had fun losing anything in my entire life. I don't make excuses. I just want to play again, and this time let's raise the stakes.
I like things my way, because I feel like that is most often the best way.
With this blog I intend to point out the subtle things in life that need to be brought to the forefront. I like pushing buttons, and I am good at it. So feel free to chime in at anytime and let your opinion know, because I wll.

Fast Food

Why is it so god damned hard to get your order correct from a fast food place? Why do the people that work at these establishments find it so hard to do their job right? I look at these people and I think to myself what do you want to be when you're older. Because whatever it is forget about it and start thinking about something else. If you can't handle the responsibility of putting my honey mustard with my 5 piece nugget what are you prepared for?

Motorcyclists and 4 Way Stops

Why is it that whenever you come to a four way stop at the same time as a motorcycle they assume the have the right of way. It doesn't really matter in their minds who gets there first. If I had my druthers I'd stop seeing motorcycles.

MN Vikings

I tried to be as objective as I could about the Vikes, and I scoured the schedule but I could only find 3 losses. I figure they'll start out 1-1, and then they'll lose to either Tennessee or New Orleans on the road, and then they'll lose to either New Orleans or Jacksonville on the road. The Vikings are going to be just straight mean. They are going to come in and beat the shit out of teams. They'll run it right down the other teams throats.

As far as defense goes it's time to start thinking of cool nicknames for the squad. Has anyone ever held every team scoreless???

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are heating up. I think this team is building a team that will be superior to the 2002 crew we had. If you look at the outfield, the new version of the "Soul Patrol" with Young, Gomez, and Span has a lot of upside. I think the infield will be fine too. I have no problem letting Buscher play 3rd as long as he is hitting the ball. Although having Hank Blaylock playing third batting after Morneausie would be all that bad either. The pitching staff looks like the start of good things to come. The only downside is you know we won't be able to afford Justin's contract in 4-5 years, and if Liriano comes back like he was 2 years ago, we'll only have him for a handful of years as well.