From the weird to the odd, from ythe very old to the last month there are some really odd stats. I grabbed some from all over the map looking through baseball stats through out history. I may have left out some of the best because they aren’t stats that everyone has heard before. These can get you some knowledge points at work or amongst your friends. Most of these are from pitchers.

 -In 2006 pitcher Scott Mathieson threw just 6 pitches before leaving the game with an arm injury. The odd stat is the box score. 0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

 

 -This July (2008) the San Diego Padres had only one stolen base for the entire month. That stolen base came from recently traded Greg Maddox.

-C.C. Sabathia won his 8th game in a row for the Milwaukee Brewers. He is 8-0 and only one win from matching Doyle Alexander's 9-0 run for the 1987 Tigers as the best start by a pitcher who switched teams midseason in the last 90 years. The Tigers traded minor leaguer John Smoltz to make a run only to lose to the Twins in the ALCS.

-In over 140 years of baseball there have been zero players to play on two sides of two cities. In other words, no player has played for the Mets, Yankees, White Sox, and Cubs in their career.

-In almost every season since 1872 there have been at least one 20 game loser until 1980. After 1980 it took until Mike Maroth accomplished the feat in 2003. The best 20 game losing season (record wise) was by pitcher Bill Hutchinson in 1890. He pitched for the Cubs that season compiling a record of 42-25 with a 2.70 ERA. In 1890 there were exactly 20 pitchers who had 20 or more losses.

-In 1879 pitcher Will White of Cincinnati pitched 75 complete games in one season. He went 43-31completing every game started with an ERA of only 1.99 pitching a whopping 680 innings. Six pitchers have completed 70 or more games in one season, however they all did it before 1885. In 1885 the president of the United States Grover Cleveland was elected to the white house for his first term. The weird stat for Cleveland is he is the only President elected to two non-consecutive terms.

-It has happened every season this decade, but not yet this year. In 2008, no pitcher has come into a game, thrown 1 pitch and earned a loss. However 18 pitchers have done it since 2000. In 2006 it didn’t happen until August 29. With the exception of Jimmy Gobble and Ray King all of the others apear to be walk-off homeruns.

-Former Cubs, A's, and Pirates hitter Matt Alexander or should I say runner played nine seasons. In all of his nine seasons he only had more at bats than games played just once! In 1974 he played in 45 games and had 54 at bats. In 1978 he didn’t even get an at bat in the seven games he played in. Alexander had 103 career stolen bases and only 168 at bats. He played in 374 games for his career. From 1978 to 1980 he played in 88 games only batting 16 times.

 

Mathieson only faced one hitter and struck him out -- but still gave up an earned run and, according to the box-score gods, recorded more strikeouts (one) than outs (zero).

  Yes, now you have heard of them all. Diets are as American as Credit Cards. Most Americans try at least one diet every year. Some seem to try a new one every month. From counting calories to counting points all diets have a system.

  Unfortunately the part of the diet most leave out is the most important one. That would be the exercise portion. There is a diet out there that doesn’t work without it. Well except the "Hollywood diet". That diet is a liquid you drink for 48 hours to drop 10 pounds in two days. Too bad that liquid comes back out violently!

The 12,000 calorie diet consists of these meals:

 Breakfast- three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayo, one five-egg omelet,  a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast with powdered sugar, and three chocolate chip pancakes washed down with two cups of coffee.

 Lunch-a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

Dinner- another pound of pasta, an entire pizza with another 1,000 calories of energy drinks.

This diet works! It only works though if you are training for the Olympics. This is the diet of the greatest Olympic Champion of all-time, Michael Phelps. However if you aren’t training you would actually gain four pounds per day. This is also equal to 20 Big Macs. Phelps burn approximately 1,000 calories per hour when he is training.

The next time you want to try a new diet, go for it. I would recommend swimming for the exercise portion of your diet though. That must be why I was so skinny as a kid!

Getting ready for your fantasy draft can be confusing and overwhelming. There are a few things to remember before making your picks. First you must qualify the player for each round. The old rule of thumb was to take two running backs in the first two rounds. However things have changed. Things have changed but fantasy owner draft strategies really haven’t. Until this year.

In the past most tight ends get drafted in rounds 4 and 5. Hopefully for you this will hold true. This year there are enough tight ends available in the same points range that you may be able to hold off until rounds 7 and 8, maybe later.

Also In the past few years tight ends Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzales were drafted early and often. This year there are at least 10 players available that are worthy of being a top pick at tight end. Also keep in mind that Gates had foot surgery in February.

Here is this years top ten picks for your tight end position. Keep in mind that tight ends are capable of having big weeks any week but could also be a no-show for a week or two. A defense that is a good fit for tight ends to play against is the cover two or Tampa 2 scheme a few teams are running this year.

The Top Ten:

1. Kellen Winslow- Browns- Kellen had a wide receiver type of season last year having caught 82 balls. He is coming into his own as a player and is part of a up and coming Browns offense that could finally do some real damage in 2008. He is certified fantasy stud.

2. Jason Witten- Cowboys- Witten has a top tier fantasy quarterback throwing to him. Romo found him often last year and both are looking to take the Cowboys all the way this season.  Witten can score big points in a given week.

3. Dallas Clark – Colts- Clark is a vital cog in the Colts offense. With Marvin Harrison a question mark for 2008 Clark will be looking for another big year in Indianapolis.  However Manning needs to get healthy before he is really worthy of #3.  Clark could actually fall out of the top ten and is a very shaky #3.

4. Antonio Gates- Chargers- Although he did have off-season surgery he may be a slow starter. However he still has the same quarterback and runningback lined up with him so he will be a big time threat no matter what.

5. Tony Gonzalez- Chiefs- Tony may not be the tight end he once was, he is probably the best receiving option the Chiefs have. Gonzalez needs runningback Larry Johnson to have a big year to open up the passing game.

6. Jeremy Shockey- Saints- Shockey will be looking to silence all the critics who said the Giants were a better team without him. They may have been, but Shockey has upside to his fantasy potential being in New Orleans. Drew Brees passes as much as any quarterback in the league and he will be looking to make Shockey a Pro-Bowl caliber tight end.

7. Chris Cooley- Redskins- Cooley is now part of the west coast offense with Jason Campbell leading the charge. Campbell had his biggest year in college under the WCO and is looking to have another huge year. Cooley was already a top tight end but in the WCO many tight ends have turned in their best years.

8. Heath Miller- Steelers- Miller has been a solid tight end most of his career. Ben Rothlisberger had arguably his best season last year as well. Look for Miller to put up solid numbers once again.

9. Owen Daniels- Texans- Daniels is a vital cog in the Texans attack. He had the highest rating of first downs per catch last season and quarterback Matt Shaub is poised to have a solid second season in Houston.

10. Alge Crumpler – Titans- No longer a fantasy stud Falcon he finds himself the target of another mobile quarterback that likes to hit the tight end on the run. Crumpler has a knack for getting open in spots to help out a scrambling QB. Crumpler may have a huge year in Tennessee.

The NFL has an abundance of good tight ends. Some of the better tight ends you may be able to snag would be Bears end Greg Olsen, Denver’s Tony Schefler, Patriot Ben Watson, and Rams tight end Randy McMichael. All of these players would be good late round picks.

One tight end that will be drafted high in many leagues to stay away from is the 49er’s Vernon Davis. He is a very good tight end. He may be one of the best in the league. However he is now under new offensive guru/knucklehead Mike Martz. In Detroit Martz’ offense made the tight end/H-back position nonexistent. Not to mention the QB battle has come down to former NFL Europe and back up Lions QB J.T. O’Sullivan ahead of a struggling Alex Smith.  Also don't forget, there is areason why Mike Martz has been fired from his last two jobs, and it wasn't because he was an offensive guru. 

Another set of TE that may fall into waiver wires after the draft is Jets TE Chris Baker and Dustin Keller. Either may be a very good player with Brett Favre now running the show. It is a camp battle worth looking at. In 2007 Baker almost averaged (71%) a first down per catch.

One last item is that on average per week the difference between the top TE and the bottom is not always that great. The main thing to look for is consistency. But hey, maybe I am wrong about everyone of these guys. Opinions are like behinds, everyone has one and most of the really stink!

 

It has become very apparent that ESPN has officially "jumped-the-shark". The term comes from the TV show Happy Days when the Fonz jumped a shark and many fans said that was the point of no return and that the show had run its course.

Now look at ESPN and Sportscenter. If you are a fan of the show and channell you know what I am talking about. Each night it is all Favre all the time. If they aren’t talking about Favre they are talking about Manny Ramirez. The empire known as ESPN has dumbed it coverage down severely.

Look at the amount of coverage teams get. The coverage has gone down to just a few teams IE: the Yankees, the Mets, the Red Sox, the Packers, and the Giants.

As a fantasy football owner I need a certain amount of equal coverage throughout the NFL and well as the MLB. In the golden years of ESPN they actually gave you stats of each game and covered almost every team.

Now as I try to watch all I get is where Favre is, what the Packers said today, what they will do tomorrow, what Brett ate last night, what kind of plane he flew in, video of it taking off and landing, three reporters breaking it down, and then a Manny Ramirez highlight.

Now is the time Fox Sports should be making their move. Fox needs to assemble the old crew to have a full hour long nightly highlight show with details of all the games and stats. Fox should also incorporate a nightly football show. They have the rights to almost every local baseball game because of them being on Fox Sports Net and are the home of the NFC in football.

ESPN has dropped the ball of sports and should completely revamp now before they lose all of us forever. I have not seen any news out of 25 or more NFL teams, news about the Minnesota Twins rolling into first place without any big names, Olympics coming up (other than USA basketball), and the lack of balanced coverage through each league.

I don’t expect ESPN to cover my Lions for 10 minutes every night, but at least tell me about training camp battles around the NFL!

 ESPN isn’t the only all-Favre-all-the-time station. Try listening to national sports radio. If you flip fast enough through each chanell you would think it was the same conversation. Enough is enough. I am embarrassed for you that all you have is another take on the same topics regurgitated over and over.

Part one of seven

The most common draft strategy used by many fantasy team owners is to draft running backs in round one and two. Some even take backs in the first three rounds. But if everyone does this how would anyone separate their team from other teams besides injuries? This year there are four QBs you should consider in the first round as well. This doesn’t mean to skip RBs all together, but consider other options.

This year is the year you can finally get an edge. This doesn’t mean you need to draft a kicker in round three, you still should be drafting your kicker dead last. What you may need is a new strategy. If everyone is using the same strategies usually the only thing that separates your team from theirs is dumb luck.

The era of the three down back is over. In 2007 the NFL saw it lowest total of 300 carry backs (6) since 1999. There are a lot of quality backs you can get after the RB draft frenzy is over. In fact there are only a few backs worthy of round one status. Lets break it down.

Round 1 RBs

1. LaDanian Tomlinson – he is healthy and a fantasy stud, he is worthy of a number one overall pick.

2. Adrian Peterson – Peterson is unstoppable at times and can rack up monstrous fantasy numbers against any team any week. Worthy of a top 5 pick.

3. Steven Jackson – Jackson was injured in 2007 and the Ram offense was a non-factor. In 2008 big things are expected from Jackson and unless he holds out for a long period of time he is worthy of your round one pick in the 4-8 range.

4. Joseph Addai- The Colts offense is predicated on the ability of Peyton Manning to be able to run play action passes. This makes Addai’s role very important again in 2008 and he should deliver as well. Addai is a "inside the 5 guy" as well (see below)He is worthy of your round one pick in the 4-8 range.

5. Brian Westbrook – Westbrook does it all in Philly. He runs well, catches the ball, and blocks. Westbrook and McNabb should both have good years, but Westbrook is the key to it all and they will use him as such. He is also worthy of your round one pick between 5-10.

Round 2 RBs

Frank Gore had a bit of a down year after his breakout season in 2006. But with a new offense coordinated by Mike Martz Gore should flourish once again. Gore could be yours at pick 10-13.
Larry Johnson is back and ready to go. He is rated low this year based off of last years stats. Last season he held out almost all of camp and then was injured. The Chief’s offense has a bright spot and it shines on Johnson. He may fall all the way to the end of round 2 or even into round 3.

Clinton Portis is now under the West Coast offense in Washington. Portis will get more catches and should be better in 2008 with a healthy shoulder. He should go early in the 2nd round.

Marshawn #### is the number one back in Buffalo and could have another good season. He was a surprise as a rookie and should be able to build on that to haveyet a n even bigger 2008. #### should go in the 2nd round for sure.

Marion Barber is now the featured back in Dallas. With an offense like the Cowboys have he could have yet his biggest season yet. He hasn’t been at his best as the featured back in the past when Julius Jones was out, but Jones is gone now and Barber doesn’t have a choice but to be the man. Barber may go early in round 2 but he would be better late in round 2 or early round three.

Best of the Rest

Jamal Lewis is part of a very potent Cleveland attack. He was one of the better RBs last season but is still ranked too low in pre-draft rankings. You could snag him as late as round 5!

Matt forte is a rookie in Chicago this year and is going to be the featured back. First Cedric Benson was arrested twice and then swiftly cut. Then the Bears brought in former Lion Kevin Jones but he is still hurt yet again from last season. Forte may slip under the radar onto your roster in round 4 or later.

One-Two Punch

These are the players that if you draft one you need to get the other.

Willie Parker is still the one in the one-two punch in Pittsburgh. Parker will get the bulk of the load ahead of rookie Rashard Mendenhall.

Kevin Smith is a rookie in Detroit where they team has changed from a pass happy offense to a run oriented zone blocking scheme used in Denver. Tatum Bell is the veteran of the duo. Bell started the first 5 games last year until Kevin Jones returned. However once Jones did return, Bell was deactivated in all 11 weeks after.

Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor may actually have better numbers as a duo in 2008 with the additions to the already stout defense. The offense should be on the field even more so they will be solid picks once again.
Don’t Forget Backs

Brandon Jacobs, Darren McFadden, Edgerin James, Rudi Johnson, Ronnie Brown, Thomas Jones, Julius Jones, TJ Duckett, Reggie Bush, and Michael Turner should all be available after you have filled your other starters at every other position.

RBs to Stay Away from Early


Laurence Maroney- The Patriots use so many backs and Maroney has been injured so many times that you should pick him with caution. He should be a late round find instead of an early round buster without the rhymes.

Willis McGahee is highly ranked and lowly productive. The Ravens offense is terrible and the QB situation may change every week making Willis a weak pick. Hope that another fantasy owner goes bananas and drafts him in the 2nd round.



Handy Dandy Chart

Here is another way to look for a RB late in your draft that can have an impact on your season. With so many teams running by committee it is very important to have the back that teams go to in the red zone. Although some of the players didn’t rack up a ton of points last year that doesn’t mean they won’t in 2008. You should seriously consider these numbers when determining one player ahead of another.


Here are the top ten go to backs when it matters. They may not be your franchise back but they each had at least 200 carries.

Player                              carries                inside the 5

Jamal Lewis                    298                      
    22

Joseph Addai                  261                           18

Clinton Portis                  324                           17

LaDanian Tomlinson    315                           17

Thomas Jones               310                           15

Willis McGahee              294                           14

Earnest Graham            222                           14

LenDale White                304                          13

Marion Barber                 201                          13

Edgerin James              323                           11

 

NFL camps open soon.  Here is a preview of what to look for throughout camp and preseason for the Detroit Lions.  In no particular order.

10 days until the Lions realize Drew Stanton can't play in the NFL.

14 days until the Lions find out the O-line and D-line still dream of being mediocre.  Everyone knows games are won in the trenches.  This has been the secret to Matt Millen's failures.

8 days until John Kitna says something crazy again about the Lions winning in Green Bay or making the playoffs then looks at everyone else like they are crazy.

20 days until the Lions remember why they deactivated Tatum Bell for 11 straight games. Although they resigned him anyway.  New zone blocking scheme doesn't give Tatum bigger hands to hold on to the freaking rock!

4 months before the Lions defense figures out who is going where and covering which areas. Likeley to happen two weeks after they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

15 days until Roy Williams says something weird or reveals he doesn't tip at restaurants either.  Look for him to be serving coney dogs later in November.

8 days until Rod starts cranking up the cliches about clawing walls and smashing mouths.

12 days until Kitna accidentally says "in Rod we trust"

1 month before "Fire Millen" chants, articles, blogs, songs, books, commercials, rallyies, and websites get going again in full swing!

Just a little primer by the numbers to get you ready for Lions training camp and preseason. The serious season preview will be published just before the season starts.

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

  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

 Here is a the rest of the story. He was raised in a small town in Michigan. He was the all American kid. He served his country during Vietnam. He later married, helped raise two kids, and worked a lot of hours. He believes in doing things right and doing the right thing. He cares about other people and loves to talk to people every where he goes.

 As his son got older and started getting into sports he supported him all the way. He went out of his way to be involved with his son and his teams. He coached him in almost every sport. He usually spent most of his free time throwing a ball around the yard with his boy than anything else. One time he tore his ACL. It happened in the 80's when arthroscopic surgery was still somewhat new. During October, football season for his son and for NFL, his son’s birthday fell on a beautiful October Saturday. He spent almost the entire day playing all time QB and throwing passes to all his son’s party guests as they played two hand touch football, all while having a cast from his foot to his hip on. It is these days that are always remembered so fondly.

 His son was a wrestler as well. He wrestled for so many years it was a second family. In wrestling there is a lot of travel involved much like hockey parents. The weigh-in times are always very early so it meant getting up even earlier on Saturday’s and Sunday mornings. The thing was he was a truck driver who had difficult hours. He was very low in seniority so he had the toughest of everything. Some days on call he would go back 8 hours after his last shift. This means he somehow found a way.

 He went to the practices, went to every tournament, and coached all the other kids as well. He made it so many times without any sleep but never complained once. He was very vocal and passionate as a coach as well. All the other wrestlers liked him. Almost twenty years later his son still gets asked how his dad is doing every time he runs into someone from the past. He has left an impact on so many lives and doesn’t really know it directly.

 Earlier this year he was diagnosed with Cancer. But like the man he has always been he kept his head up. Instead of saying "why me!" he said "Why not me?". He had insurance, some money, a good job, a supporting wife, a supporting family, and he isn’t very old. He has chemotherapy every other week and they only get harder as they go. The chemicals really impact the body. The numbness in the fingers and extreme sensitivity to the cold and touching colder objects along with the laundry list of other side effects. 

He has always been there for smart advice, coaching his son, keeping his class clown of a son in line, supporting his family, and is now a very proud grandpa!  He is my father Dan Green!  I wanted to put this out for Fathers Day because I go to wrestling camp on fathers day and I know I will be thinking of many fond memories on the mats as I now take his place in kids lives through coaching. Thank you dad for making me the man I am today!

Happy Fathers Day Dad!

  In the fews years I have been writing I have never written off sports topics.  But with the extreme prices in gas these days I have unearthed some information that will help you and everyone you know get the most out of every gallon you pump.  Make sure you read it all because this all should make a big impact!

  It isn't what you know but who you know.  This is just another example of that simple life lesson.  The information was passed along from someone who works in the business of gasoline and oil.  Here is what they said:

"Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose , CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.
                 
Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.
                 
A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.                     
                 
When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some other liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.                     
                 
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount. 
                 
Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being
delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.
                 
DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!
                 
WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON
                 
Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor.
                 
An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.
                 
Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.
                 
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.
                 
I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle Eastern oil.
                 
These companies import Middle Eastern oil:   
Shell...........................205,742,000 barrels   
Chevron/Texaco.........144,332,000 barrels   
Exxon /Mobil...............130,082,000 barrels   
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco............................62,231,000 barrels
                 
Citgo gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel
                 
Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
                 
Sunoco..................0 barrels
Conoco..................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
B P/Phillips............0 barrels
Hess.......................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels   

If you go to Sunoco.com, you will get a list of the station locations near you. All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state
where they get their oil and how much they are importing. But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.


pass this page along to everyone you know so they too can get the most out of the pump and to try to reverse trend of dependence on middle eastern oil.

One subject that many, including myself, have done for so long is give top ten lists of pretty much everything under the sun. Sports fans really like to make these lists. But what many readers don’t realize, unfortunately, is that 99% of top ten lists are nothing more than an opinion.  Some of the writers don't realize it either though.

Some of the more popular lists I have done would include the top ten baseball players of all time, top ten hottest WNBA players, and the big one, the top ten most overrated sports moments which I wrote earlier this year.

A marketing firm compiled data and fan feedback from all 122 pro sports franchises. With this list it is based on many items. This list is not my list. This list was done by two companies as well.

The list is called the "Ultimate Standings" by Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon and Markitecture INC. The list was published in the May issue of ESPN the Magazine.

The data used to figure all this out was put together with these factors included. Most of these factors included: Ownership, Coaching, Players, Fan Relations, Affordability Stadium Experience, and ####-for-the-Buck.

So who are the Top Ten Franchises and who are the Bottom Feeders? Here are the lists.

Top Ten Sports Franchises:

10. Arizona Diamondbacks

9. Jacksonville Jaguars

8. Detroit Pistons

7.Detroit Tigers

6.Los Angeles Angels

5. Anaheim Ducks

4. Green Bay Packers

3.New Orleans Hornets

2. San Antonio Spurs

1. Indianapolis Colts

 
The Bottom Feeders:

113. Memphis Grizzlies

114. Baltimore Orioles

115. Cincinnati Bengals

116. Seattle Supersonics

117. Oakland Raiders

118. Minnesota Timberwolves

119. Atlanta Falcons

120. Detroit Lions

121. Toronto Maple Leafs

122. New York Knicks

 Notables and other numbers:

The city of Detroit had three teams in the top 12 and one in the bottom. The Detroit Red Wings came in at 12th.

No New York team ranked higher than the Giants at number 48. New York has seven pro sports franchises which is more than any other city.

The New England Patriots were ranked as the 11th best franchise.

The Chicago Cubs were ranked 95th. I guess without any living fans from the last World Series it is hard to rank higher. The Cubs have only won two World Series’ and they were back-toback in 1907-08.

The number 100 team is the New Jersey Nets.

The Indiana Pacers just missed the Bottom Feeder list at number 112

In MLB the Boston Red Sox ranked 89th while the New York Yankees ranked 65th. The Tampa Bay Rays ranked 75th while the Toronto Blue Jays ranked 67th and the Baltimore Orioles were ranked 114th. The AL East is not a good franchise division apparently.

Surprises on the list were the Milwaukee Brewers who were 13th and the St. Louis Blues were 14th.

  The NFL has operated far too long with the current type of Collective Bargaining Agreement. The most obvious problems involve guaranteed contracts and ridiculous rookie contracts. These two issues will be at the forefront of the next contract as negotiations at a snail pace toward 2011 as well as revenue sharing between players and owners.

  As it stands now NFL owners can pull out of the present collective bargaining agreement with the players on November 8, and it appears that the owners are heading in that direction. If the owners pull out of the CBA, there is no salary cap the final year of the agreement (which is in 2010). If the players pull out, players would only receive free agency after six years of service — not four. In 2010 the NFL could operate without a cap. But that would not remain for long. Teams looking for one year success could reap big rewards if they target that year for a run. It would be a big year for one year contracts and the best teams would have the advantage because they would already have the incentive for veteran players looking to win a Super Bowl.

  The first obstacle is a must for NFL players. Get guaranteed contracts. It is amazing in a league that has the highest revenue and has the highest risk of injury that there are not guaranteed contracts. What the owners may want in place to cover the expenses is two more regular season games. They would likely change two preseason games into regular season games. Every other sport has guaranteed contracts why doesn’t the NFL?

  The second change is another glaring need in the NFL. A rookie salary cap like the NBA has. The guaranteed money to top tier rookies has been insane for a number of years now but has taken an even bigger jump over the last four years. Teams with high draft picks are already bad teams, they don’t need to pay top dollar to players that have not even played yet. If a player is a bust it cripples teams for many years. Matt Millen is an easy target for this issue.

Some other needs in this deal are better pension plans with health insurance for former players. How can a league discard the players that made the league what it is today.

According to a story from ESPN.com there is a lot more to what the owners want as well-"Beneath the surface of this increasingly rancorous dispute is the bargain the players and the owners made in March 2006, an agreement that provided significant increases for players in salaries and bonuses. Instead of 55.5 percent of NFL revenues, the players now are entitled to 60 percent. The salary cap has jumped from $85.5 million per team in 2005 to an expected $123 million per team in 2009, an increase of 43 percent.

Although the owners agreed to those increases, they are not happy about their decision. A number of owners claim their profits have dropped from 10 percent each year to only 4 percent since the 2006 bargain was struck." - Lester Munson ESPN.com

Also of note from the ESPN.com article from Lester Munson: "Upshaw and others involved in NFL labor issues expect the owners to announce that the players will be locked out of training camps, putting the 2011 season in jeopardy. An NFL lockout would come six years after the National Hockey League locked out its players, which killed the 2005-06 NHL season.

The NFL's union, according to Upshaw, will counter with decertification, which means it will give up its role as the official labor organization of NFL players and become a trade association.

"How can they lock us out if we are not a union?" Upshaw said.

Jeffrey Kessler, a union attorney who was a leader of the court fight that led to the 1993 restructuring of the NFL, added: "If you lock out players who do not have a union, it is an antitrust violation."

The battle will lead to the same kind of litigation that began after the players' unsuccessful strike in 1987 and led to the 1993 settlement that allowed owners and players alike to prosper for 15 years. It will be a high-stakes struggle, as the players will seek to duplicate their triumphs in the early '90s with demands for triple damages and injunctions."

This does not look like it will be pretty if this is already starting. With all the egos involved the only real losers will be the fans who are treated to court room drama, lawyer speak, and replacement players. There really isn’t anything like Billionaires arguing with Millionaires!  It doesn't look good but there is still hope that this can be taken care of before doomsday in the NFL.  This may come down to the final hour.  There are a lot of layers to this and one can only hope that they will make sense of all this and get the new deal done.

 

  For the first time in years the Lions are going to go defense first in the NFL draft.  The last time they did they drafted LB Ernie Sims.  It has worked out well so far.  This year it appears that Florida DE Derrick Harvey will be the Lions pick at no. 15.  If Harvey is drafted before the Lions pick, Tennessee LB Jerrod Mayo will be the pick.

  The Lions have signed veterans at CB and S in Brian Kelly and Dwight Smith.  They also traded for Cleveland CB Leigh Bodden.  The Lions biggest defensive needs are at DE and LB.  The Lions need a DE opposite of DeWayne White.  White played very well when he wasn't hurt and made a lot of big plays in 2007.  The Lions need a DE opposite of White to help him out, something Kalimbust Edwards never could do.

  If both Harvey and Mayo and drafted before the Lions get to pick at 15, then it may be one of two RBs.  The Lions released Kevin Jones in the off season so they will be looking at a RB anyway.  The plan may be to wait until the 2nd or 3rd round for a RB.  If the Lions are forced to draft a RB in the first round it will be either Oregon's Jonathan Stewart or Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall had a freakish 9 yards per rush last year.

  Next up on Matt Millen's to do list is logic!  The logic that every "football guy" has.  "You win games in the trenches"  Something the Lions have not done since Matt Millen has taken over.  Matt Millen has not drafted an offensive lineman in the first two rounds of any draft since 2001!  That year he drafted LT Jeff Backus and C Dominic Raiola and both have been starters since 2001.  Logic tells me that lineman drafted after the first two rounds is not Millen's expertise and he should refrain from doing it again.

Since the 2002 draft the Lions only have two starters from their 1st and 2nd round picks.  Six of the 12 picks aren't even on the team any more and two aren't even in the league at all!  This is just since 2002.  Two starters from 6 drafts.

Those in the know in football and in most sports know the real deal is that you free agency is used to cover mistakes you have made in the draft.  Well the Lions have made so many mistakes in the draft that the salary cap wouldn't even really allow them to do that.

 

This time of year Hockey could change its name to Goalie. Playoff success is generally predicated on a teams goalie play through out the playoffs. Goalie play with a healthy dose of shut down defense is the key to almost every Stanley Cup winner. Pretty much every team in the playoffs this year has a goalie that is capable of leading their team to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Lets look at each series and take an educated guess on which teams can emerge into round two.

 

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadiens vs 8. Boston Bruins- Montreal one of the world premier hockey cities is juiced for the first round this year as the Habs have a number one seed. Montreal should sweep this series as they did the season series 8-0. Boston may get one win in this series but with as many injuries as they have had this season and right now, it just isn’t their time.

Montreal Sweep 4-0

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs 7. Ottawa Senators - Ottawa started as one of the leagues best. But the last three months have been unkind in Ottawa. Pittsburgh has so much offense and Sidney Crosby may just be healthy. Ottawa ousted the Penguins in just five games last spring. That plays big in a team motivation to seek revenge.

Penguins in 5 4-1

3. Washington Capitals vs 6. Philadelphia Flyers- Both teams finished the season strong and both have top notch goalies. The Capitals boast an attack lead by scoring sensation Alexander Ovechkin and back him up with solid goaltending from trade deadline pick up Christabol Huet. Philly on the other hand finished the season 7-1-1 and have Martin Biron who will be a factor in net for the flyers. However I feel the Capitals have too much momentum going into the playoffs and will win a very tough series.

Washington 4-3

4. New Jersey Devils 5. New York Rangers. New York dominated to season series winning the first seven of eight. Both have strong goalies but the Rangers have the match ups that are going to stifle a Devils team that has made too many lateral moves with their roster over the last two years. It takes more than Martin Broduer to win a series, or does it?

New York 4-2

Western Conference-

1. Detroit Red Wings vs 8. Nashville Predators- The Wings get lucky having a first round series without west coast travel. The Wings being in the Eastern time zone often have series travel issues this time of year. Nashville is yet to win a playoff series and they are due. However they aren’t going to get this one. The series may get stretched to six games due to the massive injury list the Wings have but they have the best goalie tandem in the league. They will start Dominik Hasek and have back up Chris Osgood who actually lead the league in GAA percentage and started the All-Star game this season.

Detroit 4-2

2. San Jose Sharks and 7. Calgary Flames- This series may be a little tight than most have anticipated.The Sharks have been one of the leagues hottest teams but Calgary is one of the hardest working teams. Here is where the multiple over time games will come in . Both teams goalies are among the leagues best. The goalie match up of Nabokov and Kiprusoff shoudl carry this series at least 6 gams.

San Jose 4-2

3.Minnesota Wild vs 6. Colorado Avalanche- Minnesota is facing a very different Colorado team with the addition of many former players they acquired late in the season. Colorado needs to show that they are the Avalanche of old and not and Old Avalanche team. Minnesota may have enough to get to round two but I don’t see it happening. The only way the Wild move on is if the defense they have dominated with can hold up with a revamped Colorado team.

Colorado 4-2

4. Anaheim Ducks vs 5. Dallas Stars. Dallas just lost leader and defensemen Zubov and deadline acquisition Brad Richards finished very mediocre. Anaheim is the defending Stanley Cup Champs and they are for a reason. They boast four top tier defenseman and know what it takes to win a cup. They also have a very solid goalie in Jean-Sebastian Giguere.

Anaheim in five 4-1

This is it for round one. What do you think will happen? I think I made my case but series aren’t played on paper/blogs. If you are a NHL fan this is the best time of year. Every goal is huge.

What I did was put my email address over to the right. I wrote that you can send me a question about your team and I will answer it. well a lot more took me up on it that I thought would.

Lets get right into it,, Also if you have a sports related question and are looking for a non biased opinion shoot me an email to Here we go starting out in Arizona:

Do you think the Arizona Cardinals will make the playoffs finally thin 2008?

Jaun - Phoenix

RG: It may be yet another year. The recent signing of Clark Haggans is a step in the right direction. They need Matt Leinert to really turn out tp be the QB they want him to be and what they need him to be. He can be special.

Do you think Justin Verlander can throw another no hitter this year?

Brent - Livonia, Michigan

RG: maybe not this year but he has the best stuff in the AL. He could later in his career but in back-to back years is asking a ton out of a very young pitcher.

Do you think Matt Millen will get fired after this season?

Rick, Florida

RG: No, I think he will have to resign after 15 years or so. All I want to know is how do I get a job working for the Lions front office. I would feel very secure. Actually former Lions head coach Daryll Rogers once said after a game in which the Lions had lost eight straight said "What does a guy have to do to get fired around here!

Can the Dodgers make the playoffs?

Julio, LA

RG -hey can if they make a move early in the seaso