I remember the exact day that I became a Cal Ripken, Jr. fan. I was about 6 years old in my living room and my dad was watching baseball. I see Ripken running to his right near third base territory and sling a rocket to first for an out. Ever since then, I was hooked. Not just on Ripken, but on the sport.

Cal was truly one of the first of his kind. He was drafted a pitcher but got his start at the hot corner. Then, manager Earl Weaver decided to give him a shot at SS, and that's where his legacy began. Other than that, he was 6'4". Most considered him too tall and lanky to be able to control the middle infield. His ability to hit for power (First AL shortstop to hit for 30 HRs in a season) opened the gateway for the players that awe us today, like Derek Jeter for one. Hell, even A-Rod in Seattle was a thrill to watch.

His first season (he was called up midway through the 82 season), first at bat, Cal hits his first career big league homerun. He also won the AL rookie of the year while leading all rookies in every offensive category. The next year in 83, he became the second player in MLB history to win the rookie of the year, and MVP honors in back to back seasons.

Honestly, I could go on and on about his achievements as a defensive player. How he holds records for fewest errors in a season, or how multiple times he led the league in assists. But we know he has these accomplishments because if he didn't, we wouldn't know he was a sure bet for the Hall. I already touched on some of his offensive feats.

I'm not going to turn this into a biography about Ripken, though. I have never seen a player play with so much passion for the game. In this day of free agency bidding, egos, and alledged steroid use, seeing a player play in his home state for 21 seasons is outstanding. Tony Gwynn stayed with the padres his entire career as well.

What would a Cal Ripken post be without talking about the streak? What kills me is that some people think that the only reason he will get in is because of the streak and it #### me off that ignorant people think this way. True, he set a record that probably will not be broken ever. That's not a biased opinion, it's fact. So many players think they "deserve" days off, and that fact alone is what will keep this record intact.

The streak started May 30, 1982 and was summed up September 20, 1998. The streak was great to watch, and if you look at my avatar, you can see the emotion built up in him when he broke it. I remember to this day, watching the game on TV with my family. When the game was official, the game paused and Ripken ran a "victory lap" around the field and shook hands with anyone in reach. I taped that game...I don't know what happened to it, but I wish I could find it. I'd love to sit around and watch it again sometime. The only sound you could hear was the fans cheering for their hero, the Iron Man.

I'm sorry Flying Pig...but again, Alan Trammel did not get in. A week 08 class should help his cause.

Gwynn and Ripken came closer to a unanimous decision than anyone in the history of HOF voting. The only reason they didn't, I believe, is that some sports writers do not vote for first time HOF nominees. Whatever, I don't mind. As long as he is in, I'm happy.

Another thing that drew me to Cal was his love for the game and the fans. He was a fan of the fans and that's why he was so well loved and respected in Baltimore. Hell, he's the reason why I watch the Orioles to this day, and you guys know we haven't had much to brag about over the past 10-12 seasons...I'm talking to you Jeff Mayer!

I would have loved to have been alive to see him win a championship. His only ring came before my time. However, I have had the pleasure of watching him play in the inaugural year of Camden Yards. It was amazing. I was young and had never been to a ball game bigger than the local high school's. It was the O's vs. A's. I got to see Ripken, Mussina, Henderson, Canseco (before controversies), along with McGwire.

The man of 1,000 stances was an inspiration to all of us that enjoy the sport. If not for his passion, I may have never decided to pick up a glove and tell my dad I wanted to play shortstop for the local league. I may have never decided to give my all in every sport I played. I may have never learned that it is more than a game, it's an experience that we all share together, 9 on each side.

This is a great thing to me, but more importantly, it is a great day for baseball. One of the classiest guys to play the game, one that gave so much back to Baltimore and it's youth, will forever be remembered in a Hall of Fame, no, Hall of Greats.

Now, I salute you, Mr. Ripken, for your 21 years of dedication, determination, and love for the game!

I apologize in advance for spamming, but I just wanted everyone to see this. 

Rec out

*Most of the stats were taken from Wikipedia.org

These are the events I would love to see before I die.

10.  Indy 500.  I think these drivers have amazing talent to drive a car 200 mph and keep it on the track...usually.

9.  Kentucky Derby.  This race has so much around it.  Animals worth more than my house and car running for two minutes and people betting on it...great environment.

8.  Michigan vs. Ohio State at Michigan.  The Michigan atmosphere is amazing and screams football as soon as you go into the gates.

7. NBA Finals.  I'm not a big NBA fan, but I do watch the playoffs...and the finals are in the playoffs.

6.  Yankees/Red Sox at Fenway.  There can't be much better than watching the most historic rivalry in baseball sitting atop the monster at fenway.

5.  NCAA (Football) Championship.  Watching young men play at peak physical condition while playing on pure emotion is one of the greatest things to watch.

4.  NCAA (Basketball) Championship.  I love college basketball.  These young men are playing for the love of the game, and for the trophy.

3.  Super Bowl.  Shouldn't have to explain this one.

2.  World Series Game 7.  I want to see a memorable game seven and watch as someone belts a walk-off homer to win the ring.

I know what you're thinking.  "Rec, what could be number one?  You have it all listed here, so what else is there?"  Well, I'm glad you asked.  I want to see the best college rivalry in history play at one of the most notorious stadiums...that's right...

1.  DUKE vs. CAROLINA at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Growing up under 2 hours away from either school, plus being a huge Duke fan has drawn me into this game like a tractor beam.

There it is.  I know I might have left something off, but hey, it's my top 10.  If you have something you want to share, feel free to comment.

I want to apologize for the shortness, I lost this post twice already because of my stupid ISP. 

Also, I know this is not an original idea, however, the top 10 are my top 10, not recreated from another site or anything.  I googled the pictures, and I do not take credit for any of the aforementioned pictures.

Rec out. 

Ok guys, this is only my second experience with fantasy football and I would like some input on my team.  I have a spot I'm worried about, but I think all-in-all, I should be ok.  Here goes...

QB - P. Manning (Ind)

QP - M. Hasselbeck (Sea)

QB - M. Brunell (He's still playing?) (Was)

WR - S. Smith (Car)

WR - K. Johnson (Car)

WR - K. McCardell (SD)

WR - Jurevicous (Cle)

WR - Mi. Clayton (TB)

RB - Westbrook (Phi)

RB - R. Brown (Mia)

RB - J. Jones (Dal)

TE - A. Gates (SD)

TE - Crumpler (Atl)

K - Rackers (Ari)

Def - Chicago

Def - NY

This is a very point-friendly league.  It seems we have quite a few starters in each position, I don't know if that's normal or not.  I'll try to give you a rundown of what the league entails.

2 QB's, 3 WR's, 2 RB's, 1 TE, 2 W/T (WR/TE?), 1 K, 2 Def.

Will having Smith and Johnson hurt me?  I know I'll have a majority of Carolina's passing touchdowns.  I am worried about the bye week.  Are my backups good enough to cover them? 

Like I said, I am fairly new to this, so I don't really know if I have a good team.  It seems like everyone I have had good years last year, but I'm not sure how that translates to fantasy.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

As I waited for an extremely ugly Cubs-Mets game to end so I could watch the ESPY's, I couldn't help but go through the nominees and try to figure out who would win what award.  Was David Wright's diving-barehanded grab going to be as good as Tyrone Prothro's TD catch on the back of his defender?

I didn't know what to expect because I always enjoy the ESPY's.  It's practically the only awards show I watch. 

One award came up that I didn't think about.  Best Moment.  Then I saw the nominees and thought, "This is going to be a tough one."

I thought the award only came down to two recipients off the bat.

1)  Jason McElwain - Great story.  An autistic (sp) high school basketball player finally gets a chance to play.  Out of nowhere he hits six 3-pointers for a total of 20 points in under 4 minutes.  I think the most amazing part of the story was the crowd.  He hit his first one and the gym absolutely erupted.  Fans were halfway on the court, people cheering, students with a cutout of McElwain's face waving it around.  It was absolutely amazing.

2) The Dowd family.  This was a truely inspirational story as well.  Dakota Dowd, 13, was a golf prodigy.  She was very good at what she did, needless to say.  Her mother, Kelly-Jo, came down with bone and liver cancer looked on.  If I remember correctly, Kelly-Jo was told she only had a certain amount of time to live and that she always wanted to watch Dakota play in an LPGA event.  Well Dakota was willing to fulfill her mother's wish.  She qualified for an event (sorry, I can't remember the event or the location).  And in a Disney-like ending, birdied her first hole of her LPGA career.

I think the real moment for me came when they announced the Arthur Ashe Courage Award Recipients.  It was a highschool in New Orleans named Ehret High School.  These were kids who lost a lot during Hurricane Katrina.  But a single coach wanted to get a group of boys together to play a game they love, to give hope to the community.  These boys were from different areas around the state, coming together to bring a little light after a very dark storm.  Some of these kids, young men, had to sleep on friends' couches just to have a warm place to sleep throughout the school year.  These bright young faces were all these communities had amidst the tragedy.  They gave everyone a release from all the pain.  They brought people together through one common interest, and it involved a little orange ball.  In another Disney-like ending, this team of young men went on to win the state championship.  At this point I had already teared up a little, not so much for the fairy tale ending, but because not one young man in the interview complained about how bad it was.  They were all smiles and told us that sometimes you have to make some lemonade.

This showed that there are some things out there that aren't about money, politics, etc.  These three all deserved recognition.  Dakota Dowd definitely deserved an award, but she was up against pretty strong competition.  As long the "Best Moment" left with one of them, I was happy.  Kobe's good and all, but 81 points in a game fails in comparison to these two.

Those young men and the young lady did this for the love of the game.  McElwain got to play for his dedication all season long.  With most athletes today, he would've complained or quit before that game was even close to being played.  The men at Ehret High School wanted to play, they didn't care with who or where, they wanted to focus on something besides the tragedy that struck their family and friends.  Dakota did it for Mom.

It's stories like this that make me believe, one day, it will stop being about money, and start to be about the game.

I believe that in order to bash someone's opinion, whether it be truthful or humorous, you should have had to post your own blog first.  I'm sick and tired of seeing people blast someone else's opinion and not have anything written in their own blog.

I think it's only fair that if you get to step on my opinions, I should have the opportunity to step on yours.  Eye for an eye. 

BEFORE I CONTINUE, I MUST SAY THAT THIS IS NOT A SOCCER-BASHING BLOG!!

ok, now that's out of the way.  The main reason I decided to say something about this is because whenever I read a soccer post, there is someone without a blog bashing the author.  True, sometimes the author may deserve a good bashing, but that's not always the case.  It seems some people throw maturity out the window and blurt things out without giving it some sort of thought.

I believe that I have a right to disagree with you, and you have a right to do the same to me.  However, as soon as your arguments result in immature name-calling, I'm done.  It's not worth it.  I'm a pretty civil guy and I accept the fact that I can be wrong about things (took me 22 years to figure that one out).  I will listen/read what you have to say as long as you say it respectfully and maturely.  That's all I require.  I will have a civilized argument back and forth and if I lose the argument, I'll usually retreat and tell you that I lose, you win all that.  A lot of the times, it only takes one good point for me to realize that I might have to readjust my stance on a topic.

But for some reason, if you can't come back with a reasonable rebuttle, don't spit out "Stupid American!", etc.  That's just how I feel about it.  If you have a debate, start and finish with dignity.  So what if you lose the argument, so what if you win the argument.  You will probably never see these guys again, so is it for bragging rights?  Is it to remind them later that you beat them in one argument?

When I first started blogging, I thought I knew a lot about sports, but the opinions I had reflected the Southeastern US where I was from.  We all felt about the same way, but ever since I came here, I've heard different reasons for different situations I never would've heard of any other way.

Anyways, that was more of a rant that I thought it would be.

Take it easy.

P.S. - Your and you're are two different words.  You're is a contraction!