Of the four major pro sports Hockey, Baseball, Football, Basketball in the United States and Canada only eight teams actually have a color as part of the mascot. Soccer was not included because it is lower than bowling and poker on the sports food chain in America. Simply looking at the four sports and the 122 pro sports teams there is one thing obvious, if you are a team of color you better have "red" in the name.

  Teams with the name "red" include the Redskins, Red Wings, Red Sox, and Reds. These teams comprise 50% of the list known as the "A list". The Browns, White Sox, and Blue Jays represent the other 50% of the list known as the "B list".

  The Red teams have a combined 27 Championships between them. The Red Wings have won 11 Stanley Cups, the Red Sox have won 6 World Series, the Reds have won 5 World Series, and the Redskins have won 5 Super Bowls. This is why they are the "A list".

  The other #### teams have only 12 combined Championships. That is why they are on the "B list". They are not new franchises either. These teams have been around a long time. In fact every team of color has been around a long time. The newest team on the list is the Toronto Blue Jays whose franchise began in 1977 which is relatively young in comparison to the other teams on the list.

Teams of color are old school. You will probably never see another team name including a color as part of the name. But if your city gets one, they better make the name have "Red" in it!

 The entire list of most championships by pro teams of color:

Red Wings 11

Red Sox 6

Reds 5

Redskins 5

Browns 4

White soxs 3

Blackhawks 3

Blue Jays 2


The Breakdown:

4 teams were from MLB

Zero teams were from the NBA

Chicago has 2 teams on the list

2 teams with Indian names on the list and 2 about colors of Sox.

2 teams of color left off the list the St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets have never won a Championship.

Of all teams "Blue" only a combined 2 Championships

Comebacks can come in all shapes and forms and I am about to take you through some that have come to mind. Comebacks are what we love about sports, among other things, but what does it take to have a comeback? Well lets see.

With a player it takes a complete turn of events from recent history, such as injuries or appearing to be finished as an athlete. In a game, it takes all the players on a team to stay focused and battle through all adversities that may come there way until the end when they comeback. I will show you some examples of comebacks and would like you to comment on one of your best/favorite comebacks. It can be recent, past, or most memorable.

Baseball- comeback players/team of the year

1. Magglio Ordonez - Maggs has comeback from a knee injury that ended his days in Chicago the season before they won the World Series. Magglio only played 52 games in 2004 and 82 games last year for Detroit. Not only is Magglio Ordonez tearing it up this season, he returned to the All-Star game as well as leading his team to the best record in baseball to this point with a whopping 10 game lead on any team in baseball. This year Maggs is hitting .298 with 16 hr and 79 rbi.

2. Jim Thome - He is somewhat similar to Maggs in the fact he making his comeback from an injury in which he only played in 59 games last year in Philly. Although the Phillies didn’t just let their star walk, they were able to trade him and get Aaron Rowand. This year he has been crushing the ball. He currently is hitting .304 with 34 hr and 85 rbi. Last season was the first season since 1995 in which Thome did not hit at least thirty home runs, last season he only hit seven. This year he has comeback to form.

3. Nomar Garciaparra - Nomar was going to be considered but he yet again has been sidelined with injuries again in 2006. When he has been in this year he has been lights out hitting .327 with 12 hr and 57 rbi. But the problem with Nomar, he hasn’t played in more than 81 games for anyone since 2003 in Boston. Will Nomar ever comeback?

4. Detroit Tigers - this is an epic comeback! The tigers were 43-119 in 2003, this year they have the best record in baseball by a full 10 games at this point. This is also the best start to any season for Detroit in the entire history of the franchise. In 1984(way back when Uncle Rico could still throw a football over those mountains, and still reeling from his coach not putting him in and his team not winning the state championship) the Tigers had their highest win total of 104. Right now they are on pace to win around 110 games.

 

NFL players and teams -

Terrell Owens - can he comeback healthy enough in body and mind and put together an actual season this year. He has Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells but he can always find a way to blow that too. He may have been right every time he exploded on the sidelines or ran his mouth to the media and other players with the words he was saying. But hey, if you can dish it out you better be ready to eat some too. If those players and offensive coordinators were so bad at making mistakes, you don’t call them out in front of the world. Because that is being a bad teamate. Terrell, comeback to reality and show the world who is the best receiver in football, not the worst teammate.

Jon Kitna - Jon gets another chance to finish off his career on a good note. When he was in Cincinnati he was part of the building block for the foundation they don’t call the "Bunguls" anymore. He was to hold down the team until Heisman trophy winning first round pick Carson Palmer was ready. Now he gets to run a new offense in Detroit led by Mike Martz as the coordinator. He was the comeback player of the year in the NFL in 2004. And if you don’t think he can get the best out of Kitna you don’t know anything about Mike Martz.

Javon Walker - He gets his shot this year in Denver to be the man. After blowing out his knee in the season opener last year in Detroit, Javon was sidelined for the whole season. Now he is going to comeback and he is ready to go. We just don’t know where he is going to go with Jake Plummer at quarterback.

Brett Favre - If Brett is poised for this honor. If anyone can be a comeback player it is him. He is a legend for a reason. The legends and true champions always find a way to come back in the end so it wouldnt suprise me to see Brett have one last comeback.

Seattle and Philadelphia, will they both comeback to the NFC Championship game this year and contend for the Super Bowl. Philly was absent after the whole T.O. debacle and Seattle is poised to make another run for the title. Seattle may comeback, Philly, they need to learn how to run the ball before they comeback.

     Three quarterback making a comeback or sorts. Carson Palmer, Daunte Culpepper, and Ben Roethlisberger are all coming back from serious injuries. NFL fans around the leaguwill be anxious to have their star players on the field. Everyone knows how much of a factor injuries are in the NFL.

Cycling -

Floyd Landis’ comeback at the Tour De France this year was epic after the kind of crash he had. It was almost as if he were helped in some way. Not really, knowing what little I do about testosterone, it takes a long time for you to get any results from what ever it is you are using. Floyd, stay strong if you are innocent because this whole thing is fishy year after year and it has already gotten old accusing so many of doping and the testing system having so many bad tests.

Comeback lines of the day -

Yo mama is so fat, when I yelled into her belly button I heard an echo!

Yo mama so stupid that she sold her car for gas money!

How about some go aways!

  How about all the NFL players getting in trouble on the Bengals and Bears. Daven Holly of the Bears and Chris Henry of the Bengals got arrested on weapons charges, Henry didn’t stop there though. Henry managed to get picked up for drunk driving, posseision of marijuans, and giving alcohol to underage women. This between these two teams is so long and you have probably heard all about it. Not to mention Barrett Brooks (OL) for the Steelers tried to out run cops on a motorcycle and got caught, after trying to ditch his bike, and then get back on and run again. Sean Taylor of the Redskins who recently was sentenced on gun charges was fined by the NFL $71,000 and has community service until he is of retirement age.

Do you think you know more about sports than I do?  Lets see, go to http://www.faniq.com/index.php?id=24942  



The changes made to foxblogs have cramped my blogging style the way you post pictures and links.  If anyone will give me insight into this change it will be appreciated, thank you!

     Major League Baseball has made the error. The MLB having the All-Star (exhibition) game decide home field advantage in the World Series is absurd. Next year they need to put a stop to this. Now I am happy that MLB tries to be innovative. However they need to just say that the All-Star game will only be played in nine innings or maybe even ten. But to have an All-Star game decide who have home field advantage is just terrible. It is like deciding a world wide tournament that only happens every four years be decided by a shoot out........oh wait.

     If MLB is so intent on bringing meaning to the All-Star game they need to forget about it. This is supposed to be a fun game and teams do NOT want their guys getting hurt. They wouldn’t even be in this predicament had the All-Star game in Milwaukee had not been called a tie in the 11^th inning. Bud Selig getting on that microphone to tell the crowd they were going to end the game was surreal to say the least. It did cause quite an uproar by fans everywhere. That is when it was decided that they will try to make the All-Star game have more meaning.

                                              
      Could you imagine any other sport letting their respective All-Star game decide this. I am guessing that the NBA isn’t going to do this anytime soon. If they want to have the players play harder and the game to mean something, give them another payday. That is what gets these guys going is money. They could have each player on the winning team get 500K and the losing team get 50K. I think you would then see both teams having fun and playing hard. There is also just something about players deciding where the World Series will be played at that won't even be in it. But hey what do I know?

 

Both the Red Sox and the Yankees have both been a staple of the playoffs the last few years. One team will win the American League East and the other gets in via the Wild Card. This year it looks as if only one of them have a shot. But to be that team they are going to have to win their division because right now the White Sox have a seven game lead on New York in the Wild Card standings. The two teams (Yankees and White Sox) play each other right out of the box following the All-Star Break in a three game series at Yankee Stadium. This has the potential to either move closer and almost put out in July. If the Yankees were swept they would be possibly ten or more out in July depending on how both teams finish going into the All-Star break. They would then need to solely focus on catching Boston.

 
 As for Boston coming out of the break and the rest of July. They get a steady diet of west coast teams in a eight game home stand that includes Oakland, Seattle, Kansas City, and Texas before going out west for six games back in Oakland and Seattle.

  The White Sox also have a huge July. After playing in New York for three games, they then head to Detroit, the best team in baseball right now, the team they are also only one game back of currently for a three game home stand.  They play a three game series with Boston this weekend as well.  So July is going to be a big month this season and the trade deadline is getting closer as well.

  Detroit will be playing the divisional teams all month with the exception of a three game home stand with the Athlectics, a team that just took 2 of 3 from the Tigers. With Detroit playing divisional teams they may just separate the teams a little more or bring it a little closer. They need to take advantage of Chicago in by winning the series with them. Chicago has already taken 5 of 6 on the season.  Detroit really needs to win that series, they aren't must wins, but they need to prove they can beat the White Sox in a series.  They may have to steal Bobby Abreu from Philadelphia to do it though.

  This seasons trade deadline in Major League Baseball will have yet again, several big names trading uniforms.  One move I always hate to see is when any player gets traded during the All-Star break from his team.  The Royals Mark Redman may be that guy this season, a player who has seen more locker rooms than Lisa Guerrero has given her phone number out in.

The Yankees and Mariners are just two teams of many looking to make a change for the better before the trade deadline.  The fact that the Yankees make more moves than anyone is the reason why any team that trades with them should make sure they aren't giving the Yankees anyone.  If the Yanks had stood pat on many occasions they would't be looking to add $12 - $15 million in payroll again this season just to finish second to the Red Sox.   The Yankees have been rumored to be trying to acquire Washington's Alfonso Soriano and José Guillen, Milwaukee's Carlos Lee, and Philadelphia's Bobby Abreu.  The move the Yankees need to make is getting healthy.  Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui are on the 15 day DL along with second baseman Robinson Cano and pitcher Carl Pavano.  That is four players they will have back but may not be able to contribute in time to make the playoffs.  It may be time for the Yankees to actually keep some of their prospects and see them come to fruition in the big leagues.   If they kept players longer it may them not the White Sox enjoying a 17 game winning streak by Jose Contreras.  They traded Contreras for Estoban Loaiza WITH CASH to the White Sox and it was also right after his family got here from Cuba.

The Seattle Mariners are trying to recoup a pitcher this season in a deadline trade.  They have been rumored to be looking for a starting pitcher.  It is kind of funny since just two seasons ago it was them who traded Freddy Garcia with Ben Davis to the White Sox for Jeremy Reed, Miguel Olivo, and Michael Morse.  It may be Karma but it is just aother case of a team making a move when they had zero patience and zero thought of actually being a contender in another year or two.  They should only be so lucky to get a pitcher like him back in the fold after botching that trade so badly.

 

For some teams in baseball right now they are looking to make a significant move via trade to make a playoff run.  Some teams need and will acquire starting pitching, or a big bat.  Some teams really truely need to make a move, but for some teams, no move may be the right move.

I am not going to go through all the teams but here are a few that need a new face in the clubhouse and a few that no move may be the best move.

Chicago Cubs - With the Cubs struggling all season long now it is time to make some moves.  They have several players they can trade and if they want to have a better future it is time to move some players and stock up some younger players.  They have starting pitching and several veteran players they can move.  Kerry Wood and Mark Prior however should not be traded, they should be rested.  This is not the season they hoped to have but next season at least they could start over.  Any baseball franchise needs a solid 1-2 punch to start the rotation, with Wood and Prior they have that when they are healthy.  If they can make any trades they need to get as many players in return as possible.

Washington Senators - They are in great position to trade Alphonso Soriano and possibly Nick Johnson.  They also are a team who needs to get as much in return as possible.  Getting cash back for these players is not a smart option.  They can't afford to make a deal to get a prospect and cash for Soriano.  They should be looking for several players in return even if they are all prospects.  Cash does not win you games, look at the Yankees, they pay over $200 million for a team in second place in the AL East and 6.5 games back of the wild card.

Cincinnati Reds - Staring pitching is needed most.  They have also been very streaky this season as well.  Every time they have been counted out they put a string of wins together like as of late.  They now lead the wild card race for the National league.  The Reds should not be looking to move Griffey either.  With Dunn and Griffey in the line up in gives them two solid left handed hitters that most teams only dream of.

Florida Marlins - if they have another fire sale they may as well move this franchise.  No team in baseball has let more talent go than them.  It is a shame that baseball fans in south Florida have had to be a part of a team that has won two World Series and traded away any player that remotely has a fan base.  Maybe baseball should have a minimun cap as well to prevent teams like the Marlins from selling out on their fans as many times as they already have.  Have they ever thought about trying to win back to back championships?

Chicago White Sox - No move may be best for them.  They won the World Series last year and have only the Tigers in front of them in all of baseball.   Bullpen help may be the only move they make.

Detroit Tigers - Rumored to be trying to work out a deal with Philadelphis for Bobby Abreu to add a left handed hitter to an already potent line up one through nine.  They have also been rumored to be involved with a John Smoltz for Joel Zumaya trade.  To trade Zumaya for anyone would be a mistake they would regret for many seasons to come.  He is the future closer and has three pitchs already in his arsenal.  It would be ironic if they did make that move since it was Detroit who traded Smoltz for a veteran pitcher in the first place when they traded him to Atlanta for Doyle Alexander in 1987.  As for a left handed bat, they have Dmitri Young rehabing in the minors and he is a switch hitter.  He has been almost the only force in the line up the Tigers had in years past.  He may be just what they need and they already have him.  No move may be the best move.  They have the best record in baseball, they should go with what has gotten them there.

Milwaukee Brewers - If they can trade Carlos Lee they must.  They have been fading fast and Lee makes a lot of dough.  He will be a free agent at the end of the season and they need to get something for him. Lee will be in high demand but his impending free agency may hinder what they get in return.

New York Yankees - Starting pitching is imperative to acquire for the Yanks.  They have had injuries and weak pitching all season.  They need to look to National league to get what they need as American League teams will be less willing to trade with them.  They will get their star outfilders back before the playoffs.  Pitching wins anyway.  And if they really want to win that is the direction they need to go.