Neubie's First Half Nuggets

As the second half is set to begin tonight, there are some interesting storylines to keep an eye on in the upcoming months leading up to the playoffs. Some have been beat to death already: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays coming out party and their pursuit of their first playoff spot in franchise history, Josh Hamilton becoming the player that everyone thought he could be,(Only a few years later than expected) and the Cubs having the best shot to finally win the World Series and end the stupidity that is the Curse of the Billy Goat. Along with the storylines for the second half, there were somethings that happened in the first half that I feel need elaboration. With all the things that you hear about on ESPN, things that don't involve the Yankees, Red Sox, or Brett Farve usually get little or no air time. But there are some more than intriguing things that have flown under the radar. Here are a just a few:

The Best Trade of the Last Ten Years...
In the off-season, the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers agreed to swap a raw, super talented kid pitcher for another super talented outfielder with a more than checkered past. Not many people made anything out of it at the time, but looking back, it may have been one of the best trades in recent memory; one that worked out amazingly for both teams. I'm talking about the Edison Volquez for Josh Hamilton swap. When I first saw this trade, I kind of shook my head. I decided that the Rangers have officially given up on having an semblance of a functioning starting rotation. They always field one of the best offenses in the game, and they are very exciting to watch because they score a ton of runs, but they never have to pitching to come close to contending. Having the story of Josh Hamilton beaten into me over the past All-Star weekend, I have kind of soured on the whole thing. Nonetheless the story is amazing. What this guy has done is awe-striking. Have only had a handful of at-bats, ever, in a minor league uniform and to be doing these kinds of things in the pros. For once, the scouts who touted him saying that he would be one of the best in the game someday, based on the skills of a high school kid, weren't wrong. In half a season, Hamilton is leading the league in RBI with 95 and is on pace for over 170 for the year. The show that he put on at the Home Run Derby was something that even brought me to my feet sitting at home in front of the TV. I can't imagine what the fans inside Yankee Stadium felt like. As for that raw, young talented pitcher that was sent the way of the Reds? He has only been one of the best pitchers in baseball for the first half of this year. Compiling a 12-3 record with a sub 2.50 era. In his first 13 starts, he hadn't given up more than 2 earned runs. So for he has been an aberration. A pitcher that does well in Cincinnati's Great American BallPark, the very definition of a hitter's park. It's not supposed to happen. He is making that possible.

Trades aren't supposed to work this well for both teams. I know, thats the premise of a trade, for it to work amazingly for both teams, but they rarely do. Usually one team gets a proven commodity and the other gets some random prospects that no one has ever heard of that you wont see in the big leagues for the next three years. This is the epitome of a fantastic trade and other teams should take note. This will be interesting to see if both these players can keep up their torrid starts. These are two of the brightest young stars in the game today and I'm personally rooting for both of them to keep amazing us as they have thus far.

Speaking of bright young stars. Tim Lincecum certainly doesn't look like a baseball player. He looks more like the guy you goofed around with in band practice during high school. I can imagine there is plenty of band members that stand 5 foot 11 and weigh 170 pounds. But I can venture to guess there aren't many who throw 99 miles an hour and have a breaking ball that buckles knees. Not many people are like Tim Lincecum. He may be one of a kind, actually. Little guys like this aren't supposed to do the things that he does. He's a truly scientific marvel. Sports Illustrated recently published an article on Lincecum breaking down and explaining the reasons why he could do such things with such a diminutive figure. They explained that it's his windup and his delivery that generates all his power. They described it as his body generating such energy and torque that, basically, his arm just comes along for the ride. This greatly reduces his propensity to injury and will, in turn, make sure we see this Marvel for years to come. The article kept making comparisons between Lincecum and Mark Prior, the oft-injured former future star of the Chicago Cubs, now with the San Diego Padres. Mark Prior was the picture-esqe prospect. Big, strong, strapping young lad with an arsenal of pitches. The Twins were even thinking the same thing when they were deciding between whether to select Prior and Joe Mauer with the 1st pick in the 2001 Amateur Draft. Maybe the Twins saw something that the rest of us did not. The article pointed out that there was obvious mechanical flaws with Priors delivery that everyone seemed to ignore, as they were clearly blinded by his somewhat more obvious frame and stature.

The ultimate quandary.. How does the 5 foot nothing outlast and outshine a 6'5" ideal pitching prospect? Another amazing storyline, although most have never heard of this flamethrower. That might be because of the fact that he plays for one of the worst teams in baseball, the San Fransisco Giants. But anyone who bothers to look at his stats so far this season won't be able to look past him anymore. So far he has an 11-2 record, a 2.57 Earned Run Average, and 135 strikeouts in a 127 innings. Thats 11-2 on one of the two or three worst teams in Major League Baseball! Impressive. Even more impressive than his stats is actually watching him pitch. It's something that I suggest everyone see for themselves. I can tell you, you won't be disappointed.

Lastly, something closer to home.




The Twins are surprising a lot of people with the way they have been playing so far this season. What I hope people aren't forgetting about is that we have a not-so-secret weapon waiting in Triple-A. Fransisco Liriano is officially back. After undergoing Tommy John Surgery over a year and a half ago, people were wondering is what they saw in 2006 was a thing of the past. That the glimpse of greatness and dominance was just a flash of light that faded away. From the sounds of things, that isn't how its going to go. From multiple reports I've come across, Liriano is back to form, maybe even more so then before. One report had him hitting 99 Mph on the radar gun, higher than I ever remember him throwing before. This can only be music to Twins' fans ears. Another problem that he had when he came back from his surgery was his command. That apparently is no more, either. Over his last 21 innings, he has only walked 3 batters, while striking out 24, and over the entire minor league season, spanning 16 starts, he has walked only 28 batters in 97 innings. Fransisco is back to his old self and one can't help but smile at that. In 2006, baseball fans saw greatness and if you are a fan of baseball whatsoever, you have to be rooting for this young man to succeed. The question now is when will we see him in a Twins uniform? The Twins current staff has been pitching very well over the past couple months, with the exception being Livan Hernandez. There doesn't seem to be a spot for Liriano in the current rotation and from what I've read, the Twins seem content with leaving Livan in there, despite his 5+ ERA and leading the league in hits allowed. Apparently there have also been talks about moving him to the bullpen as a late reliever/set up man for Joe Nathan. I couldn't care less how you get him up here, but get him up here. At first I would recommend putting him in the bullpen to get him re-accustomed to major league hitters. If he still has the talent I like to think he does, he will find his way into the rotation sooner than later. He's young and there's no rush. I want to see this kid dominate like we know he can, and if that means waiting a while before throwing him to the wolves, I'm all for it.

Over the past year, I have seen my love for baseball return. These young stars are part of the reason why. With all the steriod talk clouding over the game in recent years, the future still looks brighter than ever. How can that be? These are the reasons why. This is why I still tune in, night after night to seemingly meaningless games in the heart of July. To see things that amaze me. That is why I will keep tuning in.

Milton Bradley... Still Bl@%pin' Crazy!

Oh, Milton..

Texas Rangers Outfielder/Journeyman Milton Bradley is having by far his best season as a pro. It comes as no surprise that that season is happening in Arlington, where the Rangers routinely field a fantastic offense. Coming into today, he leads the American League in Batting Average at .333, while also leading it in On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage. He is killing the ball. I probably shouldn't say "killing" too loud around Milton, though, because it appears he may have been trying to do that Kansas City TV broadcast announcer Ryan Lefebvre last night during an 11-5 Rangers win in Kansas City. Lefebvre, a former Twins and Gophers broadcaster, is a regular guest on the PA and Dubay Show on KFAN AM 1130, to talk baseball. Here is the story:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Milton Bradley stormed out of the Texas Rangers clubhouse after an 11-5 victory Wednesday night over Kansas City and bounded up four flights of stairs looking for Royals television announcer Ryan Lefebvre.

Bradley, who was the designated hitter, heard what he considered derogative remarks made by Lefebvre on a TV in the Rangers clubhouse.

General manager Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington were close behind and intercepted Bradley before he reached Lefebvre.

Bradley never reached Lefebvre, although he was within about 20 feet of him in the TV booth before being led back down to the clubhouse.

Upon returning to the clubhouse, Bradley screamed at teammates and broke down in tears.

"I'm tired of people bringing me down," Bradley said. "It wears on you. I love you guys, all you guys. I'm strong, but I'm not that strong. All I want to do is play baseball and make a better life for my kid than I had."

Several of Bradley's teammates consoled him after he calmed down.

Lefebvre, who is the son of former major league manager Jim Lefebvre, said he met with Daniels and Washington about his on-the-air comments, but did not talk to Bradley. Lefebvre said the comments were intended to praise Josh Hamilton, who missed nearly four years of professional baseball with cocaine and alcohol additions, rather than tear down Bradley.

"It was a conversation about how Josh Hamilton has turned his life around and has been accountable for his mistakes," Lefebvre told The Associated Press. "Right now, it seems like the baseball world and fans are rooting for him. ... It doesn't seem like Milton Bradley has done the same thing in his life."

The oft-injured Bradley has a history of losing his temper.

No shit?! To say that Milton has character issues would be like saying Darryl Strawberry liked to occasionally do cocaine. Or saying that Charles Barkley occasionally gambles. Or like saying that Shawn Kemp occasionally has unprotected sex.


One has to wonder what's going on inside Milton's mind. He is so incredibly talented on the field when he can control it and stay healthy. But that has always been a problem. With his baseball ability alone, he would be a perennial all star for years, if he could only settle down. He's an implosion waiting to happen. Milton just needs to work on getting out of Milton's way, and maybe some of those things that can happen, actually will.


On that note, I have to go. I have to lock my door and hide in the corner with a 9 Iron. Just in case Milton happens to see this, I wanna be prepared.

The Celtics Are Who We Thought They Were

The NBA finals are two games in and so far its been as one sided as it can get. Put aside the 4th quarter comeback in Game 2, because that game was a complete blowout until then. If anything, that comeback was good for the Celtics, a strong reminder that they can't get complacent when the get a lead against this Lakers team. Tonight Game 3 shifts to Los Angeles where the Lakers will no doubt play better than they did in Boston, because in my mind, they can't play a whole lot worse. The Lakers will win one, maybe two at home and the Celtics will finish this series off in 5 or 6 games. I've had the pleasure of watching the first two games in entirety and I have taken a couple things from doing so.

When the season started, everyone picked the Celtics to win the title after they got Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen via trade. During the regular season, the Celtics did nothing but enforce people's thinking, with the Celts compiling a 66-16 regular season record. They had the biggest one year turnaround in NBA history. And everyone was drooling over this team.

Then the NBA playoffs began. The Celtics first match-up seemed harmless enough, the Atlanta Hawks. Harmless enough to look past that is. The Celtics played brilliantly at home, and brutally bad on the road. The Hawks brought the Celtics to the brink, to which Boston responded with a 34 point blowout in Game 7. This is when everybody started to question the Celtics. Were they tough enough? Was this the team that we thought they were? Was this team built for the playoffs, or just a fantastic regular season? After 3 losses...

Second round brought more of the same. Three great games at home. Three horrible games on the road. And the doubts grew louder. For me, the only game that got me worried was Game 6 in Cleveland in which the Celts only scored 69 points and failed to score more than 20 points in any quarter. Despite Boston coming back in Game 7 for the series win behind Paul Pierce's 41 point masterful performance. But by then, most people outside of Boston were off the bandwagon. Most analysts I heard predicted the Pistons would beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. I think this doubt may have crept into the Celtics mind and instead created a new motivation; to prove people wrong. The KG's showed marked improvement and even won two road games along the way in advancing to the NBA Finals for the 1st time since 1987. But still, people weren't drinking the kool-aid.

This time, they may have had good reasoning, the Celtics opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers had breezed through the Western Conference playoffs, including a 4-1 whoopin' of the usually formidable San Antonio Spurs. They had the newly named MVP of the league in Kobe Bryant. All but about two people I saw picked the Lakers to win, some in 5 games, some in 6 games. Were these people watching the same team I was watching all year long?? The best defensive team in the league. The team with the best FG% against defense. The team with 3 future hall of famers. The team with the best home record in the NBA. The team with the best road record in the NBA. The team that had beat the Lakers twice during the regular season, albeit without Pau Gasol. I guess they weren't. The first two games in Boston were defined by brutal bad defense by the Lakers and brutally good defense by the Celtics. Boston held the best player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant, to around 40 % shooting, after limiting him to 33% shooting during the regular season. Pau Gasol has been greatly outplayed by Kevin Garnett. Gasol looks as soft as freshly baked bread. Lamar Odom, having his best overall season of his career, looks completely lost. Boston has out-hustled, out-rebounded, and out-worked this Lakers squad. After the last game, the Zen-Master, Phil Jackson, complained that Leon Powe, a little used reserve who went off in Game 2 for 21 points, went to the free throw line more than his entire team did. There's a simple reason. The more aggressive team ALWAYS gets the calls. Its that way in every form of basketball at every level. Anyone who watches this series can see that, so far, his team is settling for jump shots and getting beat to every loose ball.

Things may change a great deal tonight in Game 3 in Los Angeles. I will not be surprised if the Lakers win this game. The crowd will be going crazy and its enough to help them win one. But they just can't win this series after the performance they showed in the first two games of the series. They wont be able to beat the Celtics 4 out of 5, of which two of those games are in Boston. I'm not just saying this because as many know, we have a rooting interest in seeing Kev win his first title. And I'm not saying this because the Lakers are a bad team, because they aren't by any stretch of the imagination. The Lakers are probably the best passing team that I have seen in the NBA since I have been old enough to understand these kinds of things. But you can't get past a team that, right now, refuses to lose. You can't get past Paul Pierce's will to win. And you can't get past KG's heart. All that, plus a 2-0 lead, adds up to a parade down the middle of downtown Boston in about a week and a half.

Notes from the Foreskin Vol. 3

Man, the resemblance is uncanny..

The Bears make me laugh. Every day, it seems, some other example of questionable decision making within the franchise comes to fruition. Just like 30 is the new 20, the Bears are the new Vikings. Going all the way back to the Lance Briggs situation, this has been a pretty comical series of events. Let's see, in the past three weeks, Brian Urlacher is threatening to sit out mini camps and part of the season if he doesn't get a better contract. Cedric Benson decided to add some resisting arrest to his drunken boating on Lake Travis in Texas. They failed to address the quarterback position in the draft, indicating once more, to everyone's astonishment, that they are committed to Rex Grossman. That's a laundry list of troubles that only the Vikings and Bengals are capable of duplicating. But wait, we're not done.. The best is yet to come. In their refusal to pay studs like Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher, who have earned their just due, they have chosen to make their kicker, Robbie Gould, the highest paid kicker in NFL history, edging out Adam Vinatari of the Indianapolis Colts. Hmmm let's see, kicking immortality who has made 3 Super Bowl winning kicks and countless other playoff boots that, along with some clever camera placement, helped the New England Patriots win 3 out of 4 Super Bowls.. Or a 3rd year kicker who hasn't proven anything. As a Vikings fan, this makes me smile. Since appearing in the Super Bowl just two short years ago, the Bears have succeeded in becoming one of the worst teams in the NFL. Sure, they will win a few games this year, (5 by Neubiedamus' count) but that's only because their pissed off, underpaid (relatively) defense is good for 2 games and Devon Hester is will win the other 3 for them. This team was the 3rd worst rushing team in the league last year and their top running back is now in serious danger of being cut. The hits just keep on coming. But at least they have their kicker locked up long term... Move over Detriot. Chicago is here to take the "Worst and most idiotic franchise in the NFL title" from ya. You held the reigns long enough.





In another shocker of a news story, the NCAA is investigating whether or not O.J. Mayo took gifts, in the form of cash and vehicles, while in high school and in college at USC. If you could actually here my tone of voice you might sense just a wee bit of sarcasm directed at that last statement. The story goes like this. Some sleazeball talked a poor, super talented black kid into accepting all this money to verbally agree to a contract with a sports marketing agency when he chooses to go to the NBA. Sound familiar?? Does Reggie Bush ring a bell? Same idea. Same school even. I think the moral of the story is. If you want money, no matter the consequence, go to USC. It seems like their athletic department is either too blind to see what the rest of us understand as commonplace, or they are just being enablers to the situation. Either way, I have a strong inkling that the NCAA is gonna come down hard on USC to make an example. Can you smell that? That's the can of worms just being cracked open. Just what America needs, another OJ causing a ruckus in Southern California. (I know its a really bad joke, but it was coming at me like an 83 mph fastball down the heart of the plate)

As for OJ Mayo, I don't think I've wanted a soon to be professional athlete fail more than I do this guy. Since I first heard the story of him walking into USC coach Tim Floyd's office and recruiting himself to the school, I have wished for his demise. It only got worse on hearing about and seeing the tape of him throwing an alley-oop to himself towards the end of a 40 point State Championship Game blowout and then getting ejected from his final game for chucking the ball into the stands. This might even be tolerable, if not excusable, but then he walked around the court, hands held high, basking in the cascading cheers of the crowd like some Roman Gladiator just having defeated a wildebeest. Only this is a high school kid, and it just proves what kind of cocky, attention hogging idiot this guy really is. The sad thing is, he has sick basketball talent and that will land him in a high spot in the upcoming NBA draft and probably some endorsement deals with Sunny D and Hellman's.


A note to PETA: As much as you would like Horses to speak, feel, talk and act like humans, they are not humans. Mr. Ed was just a TV show.

As you have probably heard about by now, two weeks ago at the Kentucky Derby, the second place finisher, 8 Belles, broke both ankles in a post race trot and had to be euthanized on the spot. When word got around about the happenings, PETA got on the horn and started spewing blame at everyone. The jockey was to be fined and fired. The trainer was to be held responsible. The entire horse racing industry is immoral. Please.
This was a fluke accident that could have happened to any horse at any time in any place. In our society, we are so quick to want to assign blame for everything, because that's what makes news and that's what people seem to want. Its like if a kid holding a baseball bat in the batter's box gets struck by lightning, and people want to blame the coach, the parents, and the baseball bat company for not making a more lightning-friendly bat for the kid to hold. This is sickening and PETA needs to go away. These horses get treated better than a majority of human beings do and they need to stop taking one incident and extrapolating it for the entire horse racing and training industry. Just stick to dealing with some lady who has 400 cats in her 1 bedroom apartment or Michael Vick's ignant ass, and leave the rest of us alone.

On a side tangent, horse racing in general sucks and the only people who care about it are the 80 or so people that actually raise horses. And no, the millions of people who bet on the Kentucky Derby and other horse races don't count. Just don't inform my current employer that I just said that.



Lastly, I came across a story earlier that made me do a double take. Clay Buchholz, a young pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, who just got lit up by our favorite club only a few days ago, was put on the Disabled List with a broken fingernail. Yep, I said it. A broken fingernail. Now, I've heard of some really comical injuries over the years in major league baseball, like pitchers having tired arms or Sammy Sosa throwing out his back during a sneeze, but this is absolutely unbelievable. Words couldn't describe the laugh that came out of my mouth after seeing this roll across the ESPN Bottom Line. What's next? A Yankees pitcher goes down for 6 weeks with an allergic reaction to a tampon? Or maybe, the oft-injured Rich Harden's next injury could be cornea strain caused by make up run-off. I don't know what the next one will be for sure, but I just don't want anyone to tell Joe Mauer about this story, because then he might conjure up a reason to sit out night games after night games, instead of just day games after night games, like usual.

Useless Post #257

A man with an extremely vague dream started this blog 257 posts ago. That dream became even more unfocused as he allowed a handful of friends to add their musings. About that time Mr. Bez began keeping track of the visits. In the year since the counter began functioning we've had 45,000 plus visits. I'd say that’s pretty good, but I'd also place the blame on the abundance of traffic squarely on the succulent shoulders of Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel. Unfortunately, these women have fallen out of my favor... not because they are not beautiful, but because Ms. Alba is pregnant and may not be a Ms. for too much longer and because Ms. Biel is dating one Mr. Justin Timberlake. I can't dream if Timberlake is messing with my kool-aid. I can't dream if a lady be growing something inside of her.

The question is, how do we get the unsuspecting public to stumble across SPK? We've seen growth. In fact, I believe that some of you people who stop by during the week and actually looking at our content may not even know me personally. You may not even know Bez personally. I want to know in the comments section if you do exist. Let your typing be read!

Regardless of whether or not this is true I've decided to dump Alba and Biel as the unofficial ladies of Some People's Kids and start all over with two new ones. The first is Megan Fox, goddess of robots movies with tattoos and eyes that will pierce your soul. The second is Rachel Bilson, uber sexy girl next door. I absolutely hate admitting that I watched the O.C. my first two years of college, but I've come to terms with it citing the fact that it was always a coed event. Then I saw Bilson on Chuck before the writers refused to be fleeced by the AMPTP anymore and I fell in love all over again. If we have another month where 16,000 people show up it will be their fault and I will know that I am not the only man who has moved on.

Remember to let us know if you enjoy our site in the comments section. Thank you, that is all.

This Kid Looks Hungry

Seriously, someone get Corey Brewer a sandwich. I haven't been watching many Timberwolves' games this season, with good reason, but I tuned in recently. It blew my damn mind when I took a closer look at Mr. Brewer. This guy looks like a recovering crackhead. I mean no disrespect, as I'm sure he's a very nice fella, but he's 6'9" and 185 pounds. Someone that size should be about about 220-230. He makes a certain "Bez" look like a steroid-poppin' meathead.

Anyways, that random thought was not why I chose to come out of hiding and post.

It was Rick Pitino that said it best.. "All the negativity in this town sucks."
I think in some weird way, he was talking about the Twin-Cities. This has been a record year for suckage in Minnesota. We just had a nice little capper the other day with the worst trade I've ever seen... Ever. I'm referring to the Johan Santana trade of course. Anyone who tries to spin this in the Twins favor is completely nuts. The best pitcher in Major League Baseball for a bunch of "B" players and 3rd or 4th starters is the kind of stuff that should make a Twins' fan so god-damn angry. The hits just keep on coming for Minnesota sports fans. But I ask, when will it end? This negative trend needs to stop. It's making it really hard to be a fan. I think it was more just talk the last time I said this, but with every passing day it gets more and more real. I'm seriously going to start looking for other teams to root for if this keeps up. Some prospects could be the New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Colorado Rockies, or maybe the Philadelphia Phillies. I will defect to the highest bidder.





In the ounce of positivity that I have left for the Minnesota clubs, I look to whats happening down at 600 First Avenue. It looks like we have actually have a player in Al Jefferson. I used to think that his nickname, "Big Al" was a bit premature, with him having proved nothing yet. Now, he's starting to live up to it by playing Big and holding his own against the League's best big men. Amare Stoudamire got "his" against the Wolves, (and trust me, he got plenty) but Jefferson got even more and had, arguably, the most dominant game in Wolves history with a 41 point, 19 Rebound explosion which went a long way in helping the Wolves beat Phoenix for the second time in three games. Then he proceeded to make Ben Wallace and some fool named Noah look like his charlie biatchs in back to backs against the Chicago Bulls the last couple days, while totaling 46 points and 32 rebounds in the two games. I was among the many who were very skeptical about Al (We got a good vibe) when he came via the Garnett trade this summer, but he's starting to make me a believer over the past couple weeks. Along with being the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, he should also be representing the Timberwolves in the All-Star Game. He wont even sniff the game though because he currently ranks behind the likes of Luis Scola of the Rockets, Shane Battier, again of the Rockets, and Mehmet Okur from the Utah Jazz at the Forward and Center positions. Man, I sure am glad they let Asia vote for the NBA All-Stars... That's working out swimmingly. That said though, I think hes on the right path, and maybe it wont happen for a couple years but I think he will get his due if he keeps this tear up. If he wants to fast track that recognition, he could maybe think about working on a face up game and 17-18 foot jumpers. He would be pretty scary if he mastered one, or both of those. Keep this up, big fella, and I promise we will trade you to someone who actually wants you to play for their team. Your time will come. That's a certainty.

The Wolves still suck something awful, but I'm doing my best to cling to the shred of light that still exists with them. I do have one request though... Please start losing again! You were doing such a good job of it earlier in the year, but now are being lapped in ineptitude by the Miamis and Seattles of the world. Keep this up and you watch, you'll end up getting screwed by the NBA again in the draft.(circa 1992)

In closing, you know that things have gotten bad in Minnesota sports when the people at "Some People's Kids" turn our collective back's on your ass. We are about as homer as it gets.

This Kid Looks Hungry

Lets feed him. Seriously.

I was searching the internets today after work when I came across With Leather's power rankings (I just wanted to see a picture of Scarlett Johanson) when I found their link to Freerice.com. This is super cool... All you do is choose the best definition for the word and the UN (and the multinational corperations whose logos appear on the bottom of each screen) will donate 10 grains of rice towards world hunger. I got to vocab level 30 before I decided to share this with you and aside from the fact that the rice I won was probably big enough to give that little guy up there a malnourished baby sized portion of a meal some of the words started getting tough to define. Kids studying for the SATs, ACTs and maybe even the GRE could learn a thing or two while feeding the kids.

Since October 7th people playing the game have donated 589,305,670 grains of rice to those in need. Crazy. And its kind of fun.I need to start one of these where every time someone solves a math equation I get a penny. Maybe not math... people hate that shit.

Things that Suck

In honor of Bez's Michael Jordanesk return to the Blog, I have come up with a couple things, not that make me happy, but that really make me upset. Not in a "throw things against the wall" way, but in a "shake my head in your general direction" type of way. Here goes...





Kids on Leashes

Whoever came up with this has got to be the dumbest Mo Fo out there. I'm aware that these have been around a while, but I saw them for the first time this summer at the Minnesota State Fair. I tell ya, it blew my damn mind.. Listen, for all those who are confused, Kids are not Animals! Is it that hard for your lazy ass to walk hand and hand with your child. If you can't pay enough attention to them to keep an eye on them, don't bring them with. Its that simple. Having your kid on a leash since birth is the stuff Mental Hospitals are made of. These are probably the kids that are gonna grow up and pull a Columbine on us. Do the rest of us a favor and stop being an idiot.


Stewart Scott's "Spoken Word" Poetry on Sportscenter

Last night on Sportscenter, Stew broke down the Celtics-Timberwolves highlight by doing a very poor impression of Mos Def or Maya Angelo. I tried to follow some of it, but then, when it didn't rhyme or sound good, it lost me. I know SC is trying to mix things up and not give us the same show every night, and thats all well and good, but please put a stop to this madness. We get it, Stew's black. You don't have to do your best to remind us every night. I want to hear the sports and see the highlights. You have done an excellent job for almost 30 years. Just keep it simple, stupid. I'll take your "Bou-Ya"s and "Cool as the other side of the pillow" lines, and I'm not standing for anymore of this..


MLB Free Agency

This is further proof why the Twins will always be mediocre. There's no stopping it. When you hear that Carlos Silva and Kyle Louse are going to be commanding big contracts this year, the world has officially ended. The free agent market keeps getting crazier and crazier, and when our favorite club refuses to catch up with the times, it seals its own fate. I read somewhere that if ARod opts out of his contract, his agent, Scott Boras, hopes to command somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 million for his next contract. At first, it blew my mind, but then I realized, this is what we have come to. When does it stop? Teams can build all they want through the minor leagues, but its only short lived. When their young studs hit free agency, its over, because only a few clubs out there can afford them, or are willing to spend the money to keep them. Parity is what makes the NFL so great. Free Agency in Major league Baseball with no Salary Cap will make damn sure that "parity" isn't ever even mentioned in the same sentence.


NFL "Timeout Rule"

It was clever the first time someone did it. It was crafty the next time someone did it. Now, its become downright bad for the game. You know the rule, team lines up for Field Goal. Right before the snap, other team calls a timeout at the very second before the team gets the play off, effectively ruining what might be a game-winning, tear jerking moment. Its happened to the Raiders, the Browns, the Auburn Tigers, and this past Monday night to the Dallas Cowboys. Sometimes it works out the same way, as the team still makes the kick. But other times, the team misses on the second try.. I know that the object of the game is to win, but not like that. I think this rule will be short lived as there is already talks in place to change it starting next year. And good riddance, although this wont be the last time we see this this year.




Combo Platter: Sunglasses indoors/ Popped Collars



You know who you are. If you wear sunglasses when its 40 degrees, cloudy, and raining. If you popped your polo shirt collar in any weather. You are what we in the "biz" like to refer to as a DBAG. You aren't Tom Cruise or Puffy. Even though you do some drugs, you aren't Lindsey Lohan. You're Joe Smo. You don't look good. You look like a moron. Its not a fashion statement when people know you are doing for that reason. There is a kid in one of my classes that commits both these fashion faux pas at once.. It takes every ounce of me, not to beat him. Enough said.

Runner up: Men wearing Pink, Dog Purses, Trucker Hats


Kevin Garnett in a Celtics' Uniform.



Not Cool. Big time Suck. Tear.


Skip Bayless, ESPN's "1st and 10" show

It happened a couple years back, with the emergence of shows like "PTI" and "Around the Horn," long time sports writers being thrust into the limelight of television. These writers, working mostly behind the scenes for their entire careers, are now household names. Most of them are knowledgeable and some are even humorous at times. But one thing they all have in common is that they are all old. No where on any of these shows do you see a young, upbeat sports writer come on to discuss sports, with the exception of maybe Michael Smith. For the most part its crotchety old men. None of which is more so then Skip Bayless. I get annoyed hearing this guy talk, let alone actually listening to what he has to say. Sometimes I think he just says things for the shock value of it all, and not because he has a real opinion on something. He is the epitome of what is wrong with these shows. That someone like this clown is famous. And he is suddenly everywhere. He is a regular on the aforementioned "1st and 10" as well as being a guest on recent Sportcenters and on talk radio stations. For the love of god, get this grumpy, old, stuck in the 70's man off the screen, and back where he belongs. Writing in boring newspapers. And dump that show, nobody watches it and its horrible.

Blog, I forgot all about you

Blog,
I'm sorry I have been gone for so long. You have been neglected. It's just that things haven't gone well in my sports universe lately. It has been hard, Iowa football sucks (some may say they always have (I won't be one of them)), The Twins sucked the season away, not that I care, but the Vikings blow (actually that's funny), and The Wild are just getting going (they got some help from drunk me, and friends Saturday).

I know I have made promises before to come back more often, and that usually is short lived, so this time I'm not making any promises, but I will try. I may need some motivations so here are a list of things a few things that make me happy:

1. The Yankee's season was only 4 games longer then the Twins. Go Indians.
2. I don't live in Chicago, suck it Bears, bring back Rexy already.
3. Ozzie Guillen will back next year.
4. Lists.
5. The Wild.
6. The NBA is back soon, which seems to give me plenty to write about.

That was short and sweet.

Anyway, If one doesn't work tomorrow afternoon, I suggest in tuning into ESPN2. Timberwolves vs Celtics in preseason play from Italy.

Is this a Great Game or What?

After months and months of waiting, we have finally come back to the start of the best time of the year for sports fans. Its a period of time every year starting from the start of Football season to the end of football season, culminating with the Super Bowl in early February. During this wonderful time, we see the start of football season, both college and pro, the start of basketball season, both college and pro, and the end of a 7 month long baseball season. Baseball's postseason is by far the best of all the four major sports. Every pitch means so much, coaching really shows up, and runs are at a premium. Not to mention that stadiums get uber crazy. Usually there are a few meaningful games come the last weekend of the regular season, but for the most part, the playoff spots are already filled or just a mere formality. Again, I emphasize, usually.

This year.... not so much. Coming into the last weekend, there were about 9 teams still alive for playoff spots, mostly all of them residing in the National League. I've never really been a baseball buff in the past, mainly because I would get bored during the doldrums of summer, when it seems that the season will never end. Again, this year was different. I've become more of a fan now than ever before. I never thought in a million years, I would be glued to the TV, watching a Padres/Brewers game on ESPN, hanging on every at bat. The end of this season has been the by far the craziest I've ever seen. Let me take a moment and try to break it down the best I can from my perspective. This season has seen everything. From a complete and utterly unfathomable collapse, to some teams left for dead showing everyone that they are very much alive.

In an earlier post, I said "That thud you hear is Rick Ankiel." I must apologize. I was very wrong on that one. That thud you hear is the New York Mets. If you realize what has happened to this team in the last month, you have to stand in amazement. Leading the NL East by a seemingly insurmountable 7 games in mid September, the Mets slowly dribbled it down their leg. With every loss to teams that had nothing to play for, the Mets showed us new ways to lose baseball games. They built 5+ run leads, only to have a Guillermo Mota led bullpen blow up in front of their eyes. They lost to teams that were eliminated from playoff contention in spring training. They had people who were brought in to prevent these kind of things from happening, namely Billy Wagner, blow lead after lead in uncharacteristic fashion after being solid all year. As much as I like this team and the players on it, I couldn't help but smile at the magnitude of that collapse. With the loss on the last day of season to the Florida Marlins, in which stallwart Tom Glavine gave up 7 earned runs in 1/3 of an inning, the boys from Flushing completed their fall and lost the division to their rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies. Twins fans know this situation all too well. This sounds like the Detroit Tigers team losing a 13 game lead last year to the benefit of our favorite club. The only difference was, those Tigers still made the playoffs, these Mets will not.


The Phillies, along with the Colorado Rockies, were the aforementioned teams left for dead earlier this season. These two clubs, although alot alike, went about their comebacks in different ways. The Phils kept coming all year. They weathered many key injuries and somehow kept their head above water, until their steady pace caught up with the tanking Mets. They are one of the most exciting teams to watch in the league. From the top of the order to the bottom, these Phils have people that will make you sit on the edge of your seat every time they step to the plate. Whether its Jimmy Rollins leading off with his unique combination of speed and power, or Ryan Howard abusing baseballs into the upper deck on a regular basis, these Phils always keep things interesting. Not to mention that Chase Utley may be one of the purest hitters that there is in the league. This team has style, and swagger, and damn, are they easy to like...

The Rockies however, chose a different route to a possible postseason appearance. They just chose to win almost every game since mid September. The Rockies took 13 of their last 14 games including a franchise-record 11 straight, finishing like gang busters to force a one-game playoff for the NL wild card with the (yawn) San Diego Padres. These aren't your cool older brother's Colorado Rockies either. These Rockies do it with both hitting AND pitching. With players that most people have never heard of, they have surprised everyone by winning in the rarefied air of Colorado. Although, you may have no clue who these players are yet, it won't be long until you do. Led not the Killer "B"s, of Houston Astros fame, but the Killer "H"s of Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, and the possible MVP of the league Matt Holliday, these Rockies can really do damage to any pitching staff. They all can hit for average. They all can hit for power. Its really, really scary actually.

The best thing about these teams, and the reason that you can feel really good rooting for them, is that they were both built through the Minor Leagues, not some flash in the pan, big free agent signing. No one would come to Colorado to pitch, causing them to vastly overpay for very sub par pitchers like Denny Naegle and Mike Hampton. When that didn't work, they just developed their own pitchers. No one wanted to pitch in Philly either, so they developed one of the best young left handers in the league in Cole Hamels. Even their Murderer's Row lineups were built through the Minor Leagues, proving to Twins fans that maybe there is hope after all.

The greatest thing of all though, is that if the Rockies win their one game playoff on Monday, these two teams will play each other in a first round best-of-five series. I'm already smiling about that prospect.

Baseball's postseason this year has so many stories to watch. So many players to watch. With every new series, there will be more intriguing things to watch then the series before it. You need to tune in. Trust me, you won't regret it.

I'd like you to meet my new love. Major League Baseball.

How to Save a Life... and Then Kill a Career

Okay, that may be a bit over the top. Okay, so its a lot over the top.

Its almost never heard of. Babe Ruth was the only one who did it sucessfully. Go from Pitcher to Position Player. The story itself is just plain amazing. Major League Baseball's best pitching prospect. The world at his finger tips. Then suddenly, to the bewilderment of everyone, he loses it. And not only does he lose it, but he loses it in the playoffs, on national television, when his Cardinal teammates are counting on him the most. In one brutal series of events, he goes from King to Goat, including a major league record for wild pitches in one inning with 5. And these pitches aren't just wild, they would make Yao Ming duck for cover. Then he seemingly falls off the face of the earth, only to emerge again with one main difference, hes holding a bat instead of holding a ball. Hes become an outfielder, and a damn good one at that. He makes his way back through the Cardinals farm system, and because of a couple unfortunate injuries, lands on the big stage once again. That in itself has got to be the story of the year. But it gets better. First game back, he hits a home run in front of a ruckus home crowd. Now thats the stuff that dreams are made of.

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past 3 months, you know this is the story of Rick Ankiel, The St. Louis Cardinals newest right fielder. This guy has all the tools. A powerful bat. A rocket arm(he was a pitcher, for shit's sake). He can probably run well. And he could probably name all the capitol cities of the US. This guy is that good. Some people went so far as to call him, "The Natural", referencing the popular 1984 Robert Redford movie. And who could argue? Through his first 22 games in the Big Leagues(the 2nd time), Ankiel had been abusing opposing pitchers to the tune of a .358 average, 9 Home runs, 29 RBI, and 22 Runs. That is the definition of abuse. Not to mention that he had provided the Cardinals with the "pep" in their step that they had so desperately needed to propel them back into the race in the National League Central.

Storybook.

But, as we've learned before, all good things must come to an end. Some people cant just leave well enough alone. There will always be people out there, for whatever reason, that want to drudge up old things and try to bring people down. Especially with a story like this. I'm sure people were lining up from all over the country to rain on this parade. Well, someone finally did. The story broke sometime early last week. Sometime before 2005, when the league banned the drug, Ankiel had taken HGH, human growth hormone. Now, while not against the rules at the time, MLB can now suspend you based on evidence that you took it. Pretty weak rule if you ask me, but its how it is. Within the span of a couple days, this was all over the news. With names being thrown out left and right, it seemed that everybody who ever picked up a bat had cheated. The news reporters lined up to grill Ankiel with questions about his past. And unlike, Mark Mcgwire, he was here to talk about the past. Whether he had something to hide, or whether he was just shook up by everyone under the sun now calling him a CHEATER, this controversy has had a serious effect on his play. And its a pretty blatant effect too.

That "THUD" you hear is Rick Ankiel.

Since the day when he sliced and diced the Pirates for 2 Home runs, 7 Rbi, and 4 Runs scored, he has gone 2-22 with no Rbi and two runs scored. He also has 8 strikeouts in that span. Coincidence? I think its pretty damn obvious. Now the best story in baseball this year has become one of its worst. We haven't seen a collapse like this since the statue of Saddam fell. With Ankiel, so to went the Cardinals. From 1/2 game back a week ago, to where they stand now 4 1/2 games back.

Its kind of sad really. When you think about how much negative stuff is out there... Then you find a great feel good story for everyone to sink their teeth into... And boom. No mas. I, for one, am getting really sick of it. Memo to MLB, this steroids witch hunt needs to stop. What are they going to accomplish by digging up dirt from the past? All they would do is hurt their sport. Bring about more negative connotations about the nature of baseball in the Major Leagues. I've got news for ya... The fans, they don't give a shit! Its the media that is bringing down your sport. Baseball has drawn more fans this year than ever before, beating the record set last year, and the year before that. People love baseball. Your sport is great right now. Keep it that way. Yes, plenty of people took steroids in the past. We get it. We also get that people scuffed and vasolined balls. We get that people corked bats. We get that people used HGH. We Just DON'T CARE.
Just hit home runs, steal bases, throw some balls around a bit and Smile and things will be all good.

As for Rick Ankiel, who knows what will become of him.. He obviously has the talent to be a fixture in the league for a long time, but will this pass quietly or have we really seen the beginning of the end? What we do know, thanks to the media, is that he may not be so "Natural" anymore.

Congratulations Mike Bacsik!

You've just become immortalized as the answer to a Trivial Pursuit question that I'll never get correct.

Barry Bonds has hit his record breaking 756th home run and now stands atop the record books. I think he was cheating... I bet that bat was corked. I couldn't find a video of it on YouTube so here is a link to the Evil Empire if you want to see the monstrous swing.

As we all expected Bud Selig was not around to celebrate the achievement. Whether or not the man was on steroids I think the Commish should have been there to acknowledge the moment in time. This innocent until proven guilty thing should stand in sports as well as courts. I've seen his stats, hat size and rookie card and yes it all looks bad but people need to be given the benefit of the doubt.

Plus A-Rod is going to kill that record in a few years unless he gets caught with another boo-a-licious stripper and his wife kills him. Even if A-Rod doesn't it will be Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder or someone else who came out of the minors at an early age and began swinging for the fences immediately.
At least ESPN won't have to cut into another exciting installment of "Who's Now" every time Bonds comes to the plate.

In Theaters Tomorrow…

Its probably a good thing that Lindsay Lohan learned how to work the pole for her film that’s releasing this Friday cause I’ve got a feeling that skill will come in handy very shortly. Big Boi tries to redo CADDY SHACK, but comes up short with no gopher to lean on. THE SIMPSONS MOVIE is finally released after years of speculation and ratings decline. Finally, the biggest farce to hit the screen this week has Catherine Zeta-Jones playing the role of chef… I got 5 bucks says she can’t make scrambled eggs.

Ms. Lohan should probably get contract negations started with VH1 for the 2021 reality show “Lindsay Lohan is 35 and still a crack whore” because her career is over. I KNOW WHO KILLED ME follows two identical twins that are played by Lohan and are very unlike THE PARENT TRAP characters of yesteryear. One is a stripper (Not too far of a stretch) the other is a promising college student (this is where the acting lessons kicked in). The stripper may just be a figment of the college student’s mind, which has been disturbed after a run-in with a serial killer… Catch all of that? Didn’t think so. All you need to know is that it was given an R rating for Gory images, Adult content, Nudity and language. This is probably your first and last chance to catch Lindsay Lohan naked until she gets out of jail and Playboy comes knocking. Please, for the love of god, don’t put more money in this girl’s hands… we all know its just going to end up somewhere in Columbia.

WHO’S YOUR CADDY? Angers me and makes me think that Big Boi has not thought out the rest of his career as well as Andre 3000 has. I truly thought that IDLEWILD had elevated the Outkast duo beyond the shitty rapper/actor stage and into the almost uncharted waters of multitalented artists. Big Boi plays a famous rapper (weird) who is not admitted to a country club. This is totally not like Al Czervik whose loudmouth antics almost got him kicked out of his country club. C-Note (Big Boi) and his entourage (Terry Crews- WHITE GIRLS, Andy Milonakis- WAITING, Lil’ Wayne, Bruce Bruce and Tony Cox- BAD SANTA) terrorize Jeffery Jones’ (BEETLE JUICE, THE PEST HOW HIGH) Cummings, basically role of Judge Smails. Boo this film; just about the only thing its got going for it is an appearance by Terry Tate, office linebacker.

I know absolutely nothing about the new SIMPSONS MOVIE. Homer ends up polluting the river that was already polluted- see Blinky. This causes him to lose his job and forces all of Springfield to evacuate. Somehow a pig is involved. I’d like to applaud them for their marketing as it has gotten me interested in a show that I have not watched since Clinton was in office. I’d also like to ask why Malt-O-Meal, which is about 45 minutes away from me, is only selling Krusty-O’s at the 7-Eleven’s that have been remade into Kwik-E-Marts, the closest of which is in Chicago.

NO RESERVATIONS is about a fantastic chef who is forced to take niece after her sister dies, and cope with a new sous chef. Catherine Zeta- Jones plays the chef who believes that she is perfect in every way and if you disagree you are obviously stupid. The problem is that she can’t even cook her niece (Abigail Breslin) macaroni and cheese. It’s ok because Aaron Eckhart makes one hell of a macaroni and cheese and eventually the two will fall in love. This is a remake of the 2001 German film MOSTLY MARTHA, and apparently it’s a sad attempt.

Box Office should be #1 THE SIMPSONS MOVIE #2 HARRY POTTER #3 CHUCK AND LARRY #4 HAIRSPRAY #5 I KNOW WHO KILLED ME or TRANSFORMERS LILO’s boobs get the benefit of the doubt.

P.S. Wes Anderson has a new film coming out in September. Here is the Trailer for THE DARJEELING LIMITED... Just thought you'd like to know

In Theaters Tomorrow…

There are three films releasing this week (July 20^th) that are worth mentioning. The musical HAIRSPRAY is a remake/ rewrite of John Waters’ 1988 film of the same name. Adam Sandler and Kevin James get all gay on us with the help of one of SPK’s favorite hottie - one Ms. Jessica Biel. The final film, SUNSHINE, come out in limited release but about 7 months ago you couldn’t go to movie without seeing the trailer.

Apparently the new HAIRSPRAY is based off of the Broadway show that is based off of the original, so it has some new material to go along with the new cast. Waters fans should not be too worried about the new stuff because he signed on to produce the thing. I never thought that Waters’ work would be remade… I’m not a huge fan of his but I just feel that nobody makes a film quite like him outside of possibly a young Pedro Almodovar. The film is of course set in Baltimore, set in the 60’s and revolves around a young, bigger girl who dreams of landing a spot on one of those old dance shows. Eventually the issue of race and segregation gets involved (there are two shows; one white, the other black). This ain’t exactly my cup of tea, but the film has a stellar cast including John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer and former Nickelodeon star and current girl next-door type hottie Amanda Bynes.

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY is more my style of film, big fan of comedies and there have been few occasions where Adam Sandler has done me wrong but this may be the one. I mostly blame CBS for my thinking that Kevin James is not funny. Chuck (Sandler) is a bachelor and Larry (James) is a widower, they are both firemen. Larry finds out that his pension will not go to his children unless he is married… his best friend Chuck owes him for saving his life in a fire and is forced to go through with the marriage. Someone checks into the whole thing Biel is their lawyer, she takes off her clothes, Sandler’s friends do a cameo and we’re done. Rent it.

SUNSHINE is set 50 years in the future when our sun is dying and a crew of astronauts is sent out to re-ignite it (suspend reality people). Michelle Yeoh (CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON) is the only actress of note in the film; the guy who played Pablo Escobar in BLOW is also in the film. I wanted to mention this film because the film is directed by Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING, 28 DAYS LATER, THE BEACH). I dig Boyle, he’s got range and he makes a beautiful film. Those looking for a film involving aliens will be disappointed- this film deals with the psychological effects of seeing the same 8 people for over a year and knowing that you are humanity’s last hope. Some stuff blows up, too.

B.O. should look like this #1 HP and the OOTP #2 TRANSFORMERS #3 CHUCK AND LARRY #4 HAIRSPRAY #5 RATATOUILLE

Does Anyone See What This Guy is Doing??

I know, I know. Everyone in Minnesota is automatically supposed to hate the Yankees. The Evil Empire. Everything the Twins aren't, basically. I also get the everyone is supposed to hate Alex Rodriguez as well. Being the highest paid player in the league, it just comes with the territory. So why am I writing something about a player so loathed that he gets booed regularly at his home ballpark?? Well, while everyone in baseball has been captivated on the Barry Bonds home run chase or (yawn) the steroids investigation, I don't think people have really come to appreciate exactly whats been going on in the Bronx. Now, you might say... What the hell is this kid talking about? Everyone knows that ESPN pimps the Yankees everyday of every week. Whether its the Clemens travesty or them being 3 games under .500, etc,etc, etc.. Trust me, I've almost had enough too..

Little has been made though of exactly what A-Rod is accomplishing. If you take a look at his stats, I dont see how you can't like this guy, even with everything I stated earlier. One of the most dependable players over the span of his 13 year major league career, Rodriguez has been the model of consistency over that span. This year has been no different. In April, he only hit .360 and only a 6 game drought at the end of the month prevented him from breaking the record for the most home runs in April, ever, with 14. This year he has by far been the best player in the Majors, compiling 28 home runs and 77 RBI, not to mention hitting .333. A serious Triple Crown threat. He is as locked in as Barry Bonds was during the 2001 season, and thats scary. All this while also playing Gold Glove defense at Third base.

Aside from this year, though, the historical perspective that A-Rod is approaching needs to be touched on also. Before the age of 32, he has amassed 492 home runs. 492 Home runs! Frank Thomas can barely walk and is just now getting to 500 homers. Rafael Palmero apparently juice up for years, and just made it to 500. Before he turns 32 on July 27th, Arod will have hit his 500th, making him the youngest player to accomplish that milestone, beating Jimmie Foxx by 10 months, or more than a full season sooner. I feel like no one is even taking notice to how unbelievable this is.
While people have been consumed lately with all the negativity surrounding baseball and the "steroid Era", they may have overlooked that we may be witnessing the best baseball player ever... And yes, Im not crazy when I say, EVER. How can you not like a player like that?

Thinking long term, if Alex plays until he is 40 years old and taking into account his average number of 41 home runs hit per full major league season, he will have hit more than 850 home runs in his career! That will obviously shatter the current home run mark soon to be Barry Bonds'. Thats assuming, too, that he only plays until hes 40. I think he could actually go longer considering that over his entire career hes been so durable that he hasn't played in less than 129 games in any season... and that was only one year. The rest of the years have hovered around 150 or so... Maybe around age 40 he moves to DH to save his body.

And forget about any steroids bullshit to cop out on.. Since coming into the majors, he has done almost anything to help his team win. His first year in the league, he hit .360. One year, along with hitting 42 home runs, he also stole 46 bases. Not to mention that he has now hit 35+ homers for 10.. wait, 11 straight years. There has been no spike in production like you have seen with others. Just a natural progression of a great ball player.


I know that he might have his slight drawbacks from time to time that might make it easy for some people to dislike him. His shenanigans in Toronto a month ago were a little bush league. And, I meant his shenanigans ON the baseball field.



There was that incident with the very boob-a-licious stripper while in Toronto too. Lets be honest though, who hasn't wanted to bang a hot stripper at one point or another in their life??

But aside from all that, one has to appreciate what we get to watch. The best offensive player in the game is also one of its better defensive players too. ARod can opt out of his contract at the end of this year and become a free agent. Even though hes making 22 million this year and more next year, I do believe he will opt out and test the market. The people in New York have never appreciated him and never will. There will be so many teams salivating at the chance to sign him, and if this year is any preview of things to come, he will make comparable money as well. A Rod is already a two-time MVP and will add another one by the time this year is done. Its time for people to weed through all the somewhat negative, and start to really appreciate just how good this guy is..