So many names fly under the radar in everyday conversation. The main reason could be that the names aren’t spelled exactly the way they sound. Another reason is that the names are in sports so the association isn’t made when saying the names. This is by far not the type of work I am most proud of but I just had to say something didn’t I?

Below is a list of names. They are separated by starters and bench players from all type of sports. The starters are the athletes with the best names most likely to have robes and special colognes off of the field. The bench players are close but should be happy to be on the team. The list could have been called pitchers and catchers but that may have been to much innuendo.

All the names below are current athletes and their names are real. I know I missed someone so let me know by commenting below. I would hate to leave anyone out.  You may also have to click on some of the names to allow the names to show up.  The names are in no particular order.

Starters:

 

 

"The Big Unit" Randy Johnson

Kerry Wood

Grady Sizemore

Albert Pujols

John David Booty

Kosuke Fukudome

B.J. Upton

Chase Headly

Reggie Bush

The Bench:

Pudge Rodriguez

Nick Swisher

Rich Harden

Jake Long

James Hardy

Nick Harden

Johnny Dingle

Dominique Foxworth

 Assistant coaches are very important too. Which is why the list has former MLB players Rollie Fingers, Rusty Kuntz, and #### Pole along with former "baller" Magic Johnson. #### Butkus is the assitant to the traveling secretary.

Head coach is former NBA coach #### Harter

You have heard it for years.  The Cowboys are America's team.  You may have even heard the Yankees were America's team in baseball.  I wanted to find out what America thinks about this.  One factor I used to determine this is that the team could qualify in its particular sport if they have an equal or greater approval rating than the President of the United States.  According to Pollreporting.com the president's approval rating is right around 30%.

One thing needed to determine this was a lot of input from fans all across America.  I was able to gather over 700 responses to put this list together.  Most sports actually have what would be considered America's team.  Some sports were close but didn't have enough support.  Whether you like it or not America has spoken and here are their teams.

NFL-  Lets start with the most talked about and most obvious team.  In the NFL the Dallas Cowboys wear the crown of being America's team.  It has been said for years but with a 30% vote for, it was confirmed.  Only one other team even registered a number higher than 3% and that was the New England Patriots with 17%. 

MLB-  Here is another team that really was no surprise.  In MLB the New York Yankees were anointed America's team with 33% of the vote.  I thought maybe the Chicago Cubs might have a shot in this category but this one wasn't even close.  The Yankees winning ways have given so many fans a reason to keep watching.  They are a franchise that has been capable of putting together back-to-back Championships in almost every era.

The Yankees like the Cowboys have a love hate relationship with America.  Fans either love them or hate them.  There is always one or the other with these two storied franchises.

Now when you think of other sports they may not be as obvious but they are completely legitimate.  Who do you think of as America's teams in College football and basketball?  What about NHL and NBA?  Upon further review it is the usual suspects.  The teams we always see on nationally televised games because they get the best ratings.

NHL-  Currently the NHL has fallen almost completely off the sports map in most cities.  The NHL has its team though.  That team is none other than the Detroit Red Wings.  The Red Wings received the highest percentage of any team throughout the entire poll.  The Wings garnered 37% of the vote to be crowed America's hockey team.  The Wings were the team of the 90's and were able to put together Three Stanley Cups under "the Captain" Steve Yzerman.  They also play in "HockeyTown" which may help too.

NBA- well in the NBA this was a little bit of a surprise.  It was a huge 50% vote in this lopsided win that there is actually NO America's team in the NBA.  The only team that even registered a double digit number was the Los Angeles Lakers with 27% of the vote.  The Pistons were the only other team to get mentioned with 9% of the vote.  So in the NBA there is actually no team but we know who gets the most ratings when they are on TV.  That is why the NBA needs a Laker/Piston finals in 2008!

College sports the BIG 2-

College Football-   You know America's college football team isn't going to be a team from the Big Ten or the SEC.  You also know it isn't a team from the Pac 10 or the Big 12 right?  It is the team with its own network.  This was a no brainer.  Notre Dame is America's college football team with 37% of the vote.  This wasn't close at all with no other team getting more than Michigan's 9% total.  Notre Dame has every game as a Nationally televised game.  NBC is called the Notre Dame Network, if the games aren't on NBC they are on ABC.

College Basketball- This was somewhat of a surprise to me because I thought this team would be most hated.  That is also why so many of the other America's teams are thought of this way.  Duke Basketball is America's team in a landslide.  No other team even registered more than 5% of the vote.

If you didn't know, now yo know.  America claims a team for almost every sport.  It isn't just the Cowboys either.  Now when you see these teams on TV next time you will know why they are on, because they are America's Teams, Like it or Not!

All Star games are terrible.  They have become a popularity contest and have been for some time now.  Current proof, Steve Nash, may be on his way to his 3rd straight MVP award, is not even in the starting line up for the Western Conference at this point!  Maybe it is because he has such bad haircuts sometimes, I don't know.  Dominik Hasek who had the best GAA in the Western Conference for the Detroit Red Wings was 24-7-3 with six shut outs wasn't even on the All Star team!  Every year in all of the sports we hear about and see players getting "snubbed" based on numbers.  Would it be better if it wasn't voted on by fans?  I think so.  Besides the only All Star game that is watchable in the MLB All Star game, unless they tie.  The NFL has thiers after the season is over.  This may be the worst of all.  How about sports change to just an All Star list?  Just name the All Stars with out even having a game.  What could happen as well is they could use the best players based on stats.  Now there is a concept.

The Phoenix Suns are doing it all this year with two tremendous winning streaks.  There are truly firing on all cylinders right now with Amare Stoudemire.  They are currently on a 17 game winning streak.  Amare may be the missing piece they were lacking last year when they just couldn't get past the Mavs.  They all look fresh and energetic and they need to be to carry on through the playoffs.  The Pistons were tearing up the league like this last year and got burnt out in the playoffs by the Heat last year.  The Pistons after the last playoff game last season had played 82 playoff games in three years.  That was equivalent of an entire extra season, like playing four seasons in three years.

The Super Bowl does not seem to have the hype in it this year than it has in the past.  I have heard WAY too much about the Patriots getting screwed by the refs in the AFC Championship.  Patriot fan is definitely crying.  Patriots fan Shut up about the refs.  This is what happens.  Try being a Lions fan and seeing how many times a year this happens.  I wrote about the NFL ref staying out of my life back in August.  How about you think about Raiders fan as well when you got the benefit of the biggest scam call I have ever seen with the "tuck rule" garbage they pulled out which led to Vinateri's field goal and later getting you into the Super Bowl in which you won.  What goes around comes around so get ready for the balance to tip the scale back the other way a little.

 

      Things you see and thoughts you have are based on what type of perspective you have on life.  It is easy to pick apart people for slipping in the slightest way on a daily basis.  It can be seen any where at almost anytime of the day.  We all complain and over react.  But a simple apology can make the difference for being to harsh on someone, or being to hasty toward some ones opinion.  It isn't about being right, it is about getting it right.

     In sports, sometimes what one general manager see in his players or future players can be much different from what other GM's and fans may think.  The one factor is that it is their decision to make.  It is so easy to sit back and criticize each team or GM for draft picks this weekend or trades made in baseball this summer.  There are so many factors into what makes great players great anyway. 

     The fact is, millions of fans play fantasy sports every year.  If you are a fantasy manager of any of the sports leagues out there, how many have you ever won.  I follow every sport I can digest in a day and I have never won any league.  I always think it is funny to see how quick people can throw out hate but are absent when they stand corrected.  Ghandi once said "you must be the change you want to see in the world".   why is it everyone so afraid to show some love to people for the great things they have accomplished, big or small, even if they don't like them as a person. 

      Barry Bonds has had a syringe thrown at him, he is booed every at bat on the road, and fans yell at him every chance they get.  The thing that bothers me most about this is that Bonds has never tested positive for anything.  Steroids weren't even illegal in MLB at the time and I have seen multiple men use steroids in my life that don't even play sports!  People have even said that the stats he has should have asterisks next to them.  Isn't this America?  We have found him guilty without even testing him positive?  Raphael Palmero tested positive after testifying to congress and pointing at them while he said he never took steroids. 

     What about all the current players that have tested positive, including pitchers?  No one really ever talks about it.  The U.S. Government launched an investigation into Bonds and steroids in baseball.  This is actually being lead by Senator George Mitchell.  I have an idea, how about we launch an investigation into why gas is almost $3.00 a gallon now.  How about why we are still in Iraq.  I would like to see money they spend on this investigation (which could be hundreds of thousands) put into our school systems!  How about an investigation into why we have cut backs in education year after year or why so many jobs keep going over seas day after day with out any hope that will change.  "Nothing is more important to me than the integrity of the game of baseball," said Selig, commenting on the investigation after the publication Game of Shadows, a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters that details alleged steroid use by Bonds and others.

     Matt Millen in Detroit has been highly criticized for the down fall of the Detroit Lions for the past five seasons.  The fans had a fire Millen rally before the last home game last year.  In his defense most fans agreed with all his top draft picks and locally the Lions receive high grades for their drafts (we call it cornbread).  The thing is the Lions have never really been a great drafting team anyway.  For every Barry Sanders they drafted, they have an Andre Ware and Chuck Long draft pick to match it.  If they had been a good drafting team over the years, they would have had more than one playoff win since the 1957 NFL championship.  Best advice on all of this, never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.