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

 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!

  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 season in MLB there is one new rule that is making at least one coach upset.  The new "Mike Coolbaugh" rule that all basepath coaches must wear helmets when they're on the field has been set.  Dodgers third-base coach Larry Bowa it against it.

 Mike Coolbaugh was killed while coaching first base for Colorado's Double-A Tulsa affiliate last July 22. In a game at Arkansas, Coolbaugh was hit below the ear and knocked unconscious by a line drive. Coolbaugh was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died. He was 35. In 2008 a new rule makes it mandatory for all coaches on the base paths to wear helmets.

  Dodgers 3rd sack coach said in a story on MLB.com "That's not for me," said Bowa, a former player and manager in the Major Leagues in his first year with the Dodgers. "My question is, how can I be in the league 40 years and the league says who wears a helmet and who doesn't? One guy got killed and I'm sorry it happened. But bats break and they can be a deadly weapon. Do something about bats.

"Umpires get hit with line drives. I've probably seen 50 of them get hit. If coaches have to wear helmets, umpires should. I'll sign a waiver. And there should be a grandfather clause. These are very cumbersome. They talk about delay of game, and when the helmet falls off, you'll have to stop the game. It should be an option. I know I'm talking for a lot of guys who won't say anything. I'll write a check for 162 games if I have to not wear it."

I am not surprised the new rule had a complaint against it.  I am sure many more coaches didn't like it either.  The chances of getting hit and killed by a ball are so small that there isn't another case in the 120 plus year history of MLB. 

  Bowa has actually worn a helmet in the spring but he may just take a little more getting used to it than others.  It could be something much worse to have to deal with at your job like many other Americans are dealing with right now, not having one!

  Begin Rant-  Larry suck it up and forget about it.  Hockey players got used to it real quick and it was a good thing they did.  What he should be upset about is having to wear a full blown uniform with hat and cleats!  How about to add to the coaches looking so much like players they give the base coaches gloves to look like foul 1st and 3rd baseman!  I don't think putting on a batting helmet is going to hurt you!

  Maybe I am completely off base here (pun intended).  Maybe the NFL should make the coaches wear shoulder pads ,cleats, and helmets.  NFL coaches have more of a chance getting hit by someone or something that could severly hurt them than any other coach.  Maybe the NBA should have the coaches wear shorts and tank tops as well!

If you are a member at FANIQ.com than I have a poll in which you can vote on this topic.  FANIQ members can vote here.  If you would like to sign up you can sign up here.

 

10. Ray Bourque won the Stanley Cup.........In Colorado. This was a media thing to promote hockey wasn’t it? Maybe I am biased because I am in Hockeytown. Although I was happy for Joe Sakic. But for Bourque to win a cup anywhere but Boston was very empty in feeling.

9. Army vs. Navy every year. Maybe if someone put a highlight or three together before the week of the game the rest of the nation would know a little bit about the actual game. If it is going to be a national TV game how about a little lead in on it.

8. The Pro Bowl from Hawaii is the most anticlimactic sporting events of the year. Most players that played in the Super Bowl get sudden injuries and don’t play in it. Every player on the field just wants to enjoy the off-season with out being injured. Let them do it by not even playing the game and just name the Pro Bowlers like they do in college as the All-Americans.

7. Any Mike Tyson fight ever. He made millions per minute with some of the "joke-of-the-day" type fights with nobodies like Peter McNeely and 90 second fights against Leon Spinx. For the money per pay-per-view Tyson should have had to fight at least four fighters in a row with a minimum of 3 full rounds fought. That wasn’t a problem late in his career. Going to jail was very detrimental to his career.

6. Billy Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in a battle of the sexes match in 1973 in tennis. The match was held in front of a record audience at the Houston Astrodome. Had Bobby Riggs been a top ranked player in at least the top 10,000 in the world the match would have been ok. Billy Jean King was the best woman tennis player in the world. Bobby Riggs was just the hype machine used to promote tennis. Tennis just happens to be one of the few sports and really the only womens sport that compete with the male counterpart in revenue.

5. Roger Bannister breaking the four minute mile in 1954 is a moment ranked in the top ten as a great sports moment. If this happened in 2008 this would be the next doping scandal of the next 3-4 years. Guilty or innocent, too many athletes have lied and been caught to get treated fairly and individually in media today. Regarding Bannister it is just running really fast, lets not make this more than it was.

4. BCS Title Game every year just feels hollow. Letting people who don’t play football decide who will, is just wrong. Let the teams play it out in a small playoff of 8 teams. Let them settle it on the field. Divisions 2 and 3 NCAA football have playoffs. Have they ever looked at the money the college basketball March Madness tournament rakes in each year? It is Billions with a capital B! What do you think that would be in football? That’s right Kajillions with a capital K!

3. The Indianapolis 500 race is the only open wheel race most sports fans even hear about during the racing season. With all the hype the race gets ever year, can you name last years winner? What about 2006?

2. The Heisman Trophy Award and ceremony. It is getting out of hand. Way too much is being made of the award. How many of these great college football players have ever done anything after winning the award. They are very few and far between. Besides, almost half of the time many think that the wrong player won. Why not put all the awards on one show from college football.

1.The Daytona 500 is called the Super Bowl of Nascar, only it is at the beginning of the season? Not even close! They have more than one race at the track every year as well. The night race at mid-season is better esthetically. The cars look way better at night. Does the Daytona 500 get you more points for the Nextel Cup Series? Does it win the Championship in the first week of the season? How many teams are in it again? Well it seams it is nothing at all and actually the opposite of the Super Bowl! It may be the most exciting race of the year because it is opening weekend. It is my favorite track and the only one I have ever been on and in the pit area. However it is not the Super Bowl of anything.

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A man attending a game in a rainbow afro wig and holds a sign that says John 3:16. Also known as "Rainbow Man," the born-again Rollen Stewart and his John 3:16 signs were fixtures at major events in the 1970s and 80s. Mostly behind the uprights in football games.

He brought his sign to the World Series, Super Bowl, Olympics, and World Cup. He was outside Buckingham Palace when Di & Charles wed; he went to see the Pope in Alaska. But he was known as more religious fanatic than sports fan.

In Detroit one sign has become just the same but on a smaller yet growing scale. In Detroit there is the "Fire Millen" sign. If it is seen at Ford Field it is taken and usually taken to the exits. I heard a person say the other day they they have had fourteen Fire Millen signs taken away at Ford Field in Detroit.

But recently it has been popping up all around the country. Some are Motowners on the road at a sporting event and try to get it on Tv and succeed. It is fully endorsed by me to anyone who wants to take a sign to a sporting event and is not sure what to put on it, write Fire Millen on it. You are sure to get some laughs and you will be helping a suffering Lions fan somewhere.

Coming soon I will share with you the most recognizable Lions fan. He is known as the Pilgrim. He is to Lions fan what The Big Dawg & the Bone lady from Cleveland, the Hoggetts from Washington, Spike & Raider Ron from Oakland.

 

Al Davis is at it again.  He is looking to bring in yet another new coach to the Raiders.  After only one season in Oakland, Raiders owner Al Davis wants Lane Kiffin to resign.  Davis would like to bring in former Cardinals and Vikings head coach Dennis Green.

  In a story from ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen:

"Davis has gone so far as to draft a letter of resignation for Kiffin to sign, a source said. Kiffin has refused to do so but has dared Davis to fire him instead. The letter, the source said, was sent to Kiffin two weeks ago.

Kiffin, who was 4-12 in his first season as coach, has two years remaining on his contract at an estimated $2 million per year.

In the letter sent to Kiffin's legal representatives, Davis stated that only he would have control over his staff and full personnel decisions, sources said. According to a source close to Kiffin, Davis had promised Kiffin when he hired him that he would have more control over staff and personnel matters than recent Raiders coaches. Kiffin was allowed five offensive assistants and to name his own staff when he took the job after the 2006 season."


This would be the fourth head coach in four years for the Raiders and fifth coach in six years.  The secret to success is not instability.  Maybe Al's last face lift was a little to tight and it has since impaired his judgement. 

Kiffin had more than just being a rookie head coach against him last season.  He had no stability in many important positions.  He started three different QBs in McCown, Culpepper, and #1 pick JaMarcus Russell.  He also had three different starting RBs as well in Fargas, Jordan, and Rhodes.  Lets not forget that there was a reason why Oakland had the number one overall pick in the first place.  Kiffeen took over the worst team in the NFL.

Lane Kiffin like many coaches should be given at least one more year.  That way Oakland could bring in Bill Cower, a proven winner and hard nosed coach.  Just what the Raiders need.  Besides with Dennis Green, HE IS WHAT WE THOUGHT HE WAS!  Is this really the task that Dennis Green wants or needs to take on at this point of his life?

  Remember Al Davis is the same man who said John Gruden couldn't win the big game.  After trading Gruden to Tampa Bay Gruden then proiceeded to spank the Raiders in the BIG GAME the very first year.  That should have been his first clue that he has lost his touch.

  Every sport has its die hard fan base.  Yes even the NHL.  If you don't live in a state you can play outdoor hockey or Canada you may not believe that.  That is also another argument in my long line of arguments that the NHL should only be in those area I just mentioned.

I was bumping around youtube for a video I saw on another website of an NHL fan caught on the big screen.  It was on Break.com. 

I have put all three videos up against each other in a poll on FANIQ.com.  You can vote here if you are a member, or sign up here.  FANIQ.com is a website that tracks your predictions and opinions on sports topics and games.  Of coarse it if free as well.

I wanted to post the videos here on this blog but apparently Fox sports doesn't have the ability to use embeded objects.  Just click the links below that will get you to the videos on Youtube.com and Break.com

So here is the quetion I pose to you.  In each video you be the judge.  Is is a die hard NHL fan or just another Jacka$$?

Video #1-  an NHL fan gives it all he has to help out his team.  You be the judge.


Video#2-  a fan gets caught on the big screen for his big moment


Video #3- I call this one poetic justice and you will see why. 


Video number three to me is the best because the player doesnt let him off the hook, even after he scores.

Of coarse, that is the question! It has happened so many times recently that someone gets on T.V. and adamantly denied something. It has also been the exact opposite every time! Someone goes on T.V. and points their finger, screams, or cries and it turns out to be a complete fallacy.

So when Roger Clemens goes on 60 Minutes and says he didn’t inject steroids or HGH, I think he did. No one has any credibility or "an inch or respect" (Roger Clemens) because all the credibility was used up by prior allegations on American Icons that got on many cameras and lied right to our T.V. screen.

I remember where I was when President Bill Clinton came into that press conference and started it off by saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky" as he tapped his pointing hand on the press table. Well we all know what happened there. He did have sexual relations with that woman Miss Lewinsky! If you do not believe #### sex is a sexual relation than ask your wife/girlfriend or both if she would care if you got #### sex from someone else. Or better yet. Would you care if she gave #### sex because it isn’t a sexual relation?

I don’t remember where I was when Marion Jones said she had not violated and anti-doping rules. "They" have been after her for so many years that when they finally figured out that she really had, I didn’t care anymore. However, she was stripped of all medals years later. Many say the price of success is paid in advance. But in Jones’ case her past took her to the top and dropped her right back off.

Barry Bonds said for so many years that he didn’t do steroids. People would always say "look at his head". It is huge! That is from steroids! Actually that is not from steroids. That is what happens as you get older. My head has grown almost ½ inch since my first fitted Tigers hat back in 1991. Look around you. Older people have bigger heads. Look at T.V. star George Lopez. He says it all the time that he has a really big head and he does. It is also why you occasionally see much older people that have oversized facial features.

Barry Bonds always said he had just taken flack seed oil "the cream" "the clear" I don’t know. He has a Federal Grand Jury indictment against him for perjury on this and Tiger outfielder Gary Sheffield said that he and Bonds had shot steroids into their butts. As it turns out he is just another person lying to all of our faces.

Michael Vick is sitting in prison right now over dogfighting after he had to tell the truth. Too bad he didn’t start with it. He may not have a suspension when he gets out of prison. He may have even garnered a much shorter sentence.

Now Roger Clemens says he only injected B-12 and lidocaine I don’t believe him. I also took a one week coarse on Neurolinguistic programming about ten years ago. Neurolinguistic programming is the study of the neurological processes underlying the development and use of language. Or how to tell if people are telling the truth, lying, or just making stuff up.

He does so much reflecting the blame on other people to start off. He is aggressive as well which says to me that he can’t be caught so don’t even try. Then he releases this weird cell phone conversation he just had with Brian McNamee? McNamee, questioned by federal prosecutors, told them last year he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Prosecutors had him repeat those charges to Mitchell. Since the report was issued, Clemens has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations.Also invovled in this was Andy Pettitte. He has admitted McNamee injected him twice with HGH. Pettitte coming clean has really had no heat at all from this.

So the question is To Believe or Not to Believe. I do not believe Roger Clemens. I really don’t care that he did it. After all he was pitching to hitters that were juicing as well. In fact players at all positions and ages were doing it.

Roger Clemens is still a first ballot Hall of Fame player based on his career, including 1998, 2000, and 2001. He has been dominant his entire career and is one of the few 300 game winners all-time. He has six 20 + winning seasons along with a span from 1997 to 2005 with 13 or more wins. His best season was way back in 1986. His first breakout season. It was his third year in the league. The Rocket was 24-4 with a 2.48 ERA. He also had 238 strikeouts that year as well.

When looking back at the year of 2007 there are so many memories and big storiesin sports. It is unbelievable how many huge stories there were. What is being attempted here is three lists. Three lists that are putting all these stories front and center once again.

Some will spark fond memories, some not so much. Some stories we had this year were and still are very painful to many people but great to many others. Some of these stories were so unbelievable that we had to check several sources just to believe they were true. Unfortunately there were many deaths as well.

It was yet another great year in sports. Here are the top 10 stories for the Good the Bad and the Ugly.

 Top Ten Good from 2007-

 

10. U.S. wins team World Championships for Greco Roman Wrestling in Baku, Azerbaijan. This was the first time the U.S. has ever won this as a team. Maybe if this victory didn’t take place in Azerbaijan you would have heard about this one.

9. David Beckham signs with the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS. The MLS is so far off the map that many Americans didn’t know that there was still an MLS for him to sign in.

8. Jimmie Johnson wins Nascar’s Nextel Cup for second season in a row! Johnson beat out Jeff Gordon who also had an amazing year.

7. Big Boston deals. The Celtics became a relevant team agin in 2007 by acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics went from worst to first and are now legitimate contenders not only in the NBA’s Eastern Conference but for a NBA Championship.

6. Rockies Roll to the World Series. The Rockies won 21 of 22 in a remarkable run to the World Series. Unfortunately they had an 8 day lay off that may have cooled the teams momentum as the were beat by the Red Sox.

5. Boise State goes undefeated and beat Oklahoma on two incredible plays to win. Boise State was the underdog in the Fiesta Bowl and won in overtime 43-42 in one of the best football games ever. It capped off an undefeated season.

4. Florida’s big year. After winning the NCAA basketball Championship and football Championship the football team had the Heisman trophy winner. Tim Tebow won the trophy as an underclassman and is poised to be the second two-time winner if all goes well in 2008. Tebow had 51 total touchdowns (29 passing, 22 rushing) as only a sophomore!

3. The Spurs won the NBA Championship and the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup. These were two under the radar type Championships for different reasons. The Spurs won with defense and overall team play headed by possibly the best overall player in the league in Tim Duncan. The Ducks won in similar fashion but since bowling gets higher ratings than hockey most people didn’t even see the Ducks play on their amazing run.

2. Indianapolis wins the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning gets off the snide. Manning who was riddled with big game losses through college and pro football. But not in 2007. Manning led the Colts past the Patriots and then the Bears.

1. Appalachian State beats Michigan at the Big House in the biggest upset in college football history. By beating the number five ranked Wolverines Appalachian State won their 3rd straight Division 1 National Championship.

 Top Ten Bad from 2007-

 

 10. West Virginia coaches bolt for Michigan. West Virginia lost three coaches overall. Gone to Michigan are the women’s soccer coach, men’s head basketball coach, and most recently the head football coach. I think it is time for Michigan and West Virginia to start playing every year.

9. Marion Jones doping scandal. Marion Jones was included in the Balco steroids scandal this year which in turn wiped out all the Olympic gold medals and Olympic records. This story has been in the making for years but was confirmed this year.

8. Kevin Everett’s spinal injury in week one of the NFL season was a very scary one. Some players on the field didn’t think he would live, let alone walk again.

7. Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five employees at his ranch in Venezuela. The ranch hands were using the family’s pool without permission so Urbina decided to pour gas on them and attempted to light them on fire.

6. Joe Kennedy’s death. Kennedy died mysteriously the day before being a best man in a wedding. He last pitched for Toronto but was better known for his days in Oakland. He was the father of a 1 year old son.

5. Cardinals lose another pitcher in a tragic death. First it was Pitcher Daryl Kile in 2002 and then Josh Hancock, a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, had died in an automobile accident. Josh was intoxicated and hit a tow truck on the highway.

4. Darrent Williams death after a New Years eve party was shocking to many as he was hit in a limo that was leaving a party. This all happened just hours after the team was eliminated from the playoffs.

3. Sean Taylor’s death was another tragedy in the NFL this season as he was gunned down in his own home in Miami. Taylor was recently elected to the Pro Bowl and is mourned by many as he was a man who had just decided to turn his life around in recent years. He was an impact player in the NFL and becoming an impact citizen in life.

2. Michal Vick’s dog fighting scandal was alomost as big as it got in sports stories for 2007. The Vick scandal rocked two communities and also headed the demise of the Atlanta Falcons organization. The Falcons have used four Qbs and also had head coach Bobby Petrino bolt for Arkansas. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in jail and could face more time in Virginia for the same case.

1. Chris Benoit was the most shocking story of the year. The WWE Superstar had recently lost best friend and fellow WWE Superstar Eddie Guerrero the year before. This year he killed his son, his wife, and then himself in a span of two days at his home in Georgia. The story had more twists and turns than any story in many years.

 Top Ten Ugly from 2007-

 

10. The Miami Dolphins (1-14 at the time this was written) having their worst season ever and threatened to go winless in the same season the undefeated record set by the 72' Dolphins is threatened by New England.

9. The Chicago Bears went all the way to the Super Bowl in 2007 but ended up having to rely on Wrecks Grossman in the Big Game. Everything that got the Bears to the Super Bowl was absent from the Super Bowl. They got there with special teams, defense, and key turnovers. Three things they couldn’t manage to get in a rain soaked Super Bowl. Since the big game they have slid all the way into last place in the NFC Central getting swept by the Detroit Lions of all teams.

8. Travis Henry had a drug problem. It manifested into a positive test that was appealed and over ruled which not only kept him in football this season it also revealed his child support payments to his 9 children with 9 women. Better known as "baby mamas". Two more and he has an entire football squad, if they played both ways!

7. Marty Schottenheimer was fired after leading the Chargers to a 14-2 season. That is unheard of in football. It didn’t look good as the Chargers started slowly under new coach Norv Turner. The Chargers did turn it around and won the AFC West this season.

6. Cleveland and the state of Ohio were denied in many sports in 2007. Ohio State lost in the college basketball and football championships, both to Florida, the Cavaliers lost in the NBA Finals to the Spurs, and the Indians lost to the Red Sox in the ALCS. I guess it could be worse, all those teams could be terrible. This does not mention the great season the Browns are having either. They should make the playoffs but I think most fans in Ohio are not expecting them to go to the Super Bowl. Although the mind of a Browns fan is a sick an twisted place!

5. Pacman Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 season for all the arrests he had in a one year period. There was a point where sports highlights shows didn’t ever show him in a uniform, it was usually county jail orange. He then signed up with TNA Wrestling. What a fitting move.

4. Imus fired for remarks towards Rutgers womens basketball. Imus initially was given a two-week suspension for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team "nappy-headed ####" which was way out of line. Most of those girls aren’t "####"! They are too ugly for that. Actually there aren’t a whole lot of good looking college athletes in any sport. The Comments were backed up by comedian D.L. Hughley which in turn sparked the debates even further. Somehow I don’t think these girls have not been called worse in person. But they are college girls and it wasn’t fair to them. It didn’t help that the comments came from one of the worst radio hosts who is so ugly that if his ugliness was represented by bricks he would be the Great Wall of China.

3. Barry Bonds broke the all-time home run record this year and then was indicted by a federal grand jury for perjury all in the same year. It was rather strange though how the indictments didn’t come down until after the season was over.

2. The NBA ref scandal with Tim Donaghy. NBA referee Tim Donaghy allegedly bet on NBA games, including contests that he officiated. Could NBA playoff games have been compromised? What does this betting scandal do to the credibility of NBA games? It all seamed so obvious when looking back at some of the glaring calls he made. The problem is, many have thought this in the past already with the way some games are called in such a lopsided fashion. This only put more fuel on the fire.

1. The Mitchell report. Only Bud Selig would spend $40 Million to find out what he and every breathing person in America already knew. Many players did steroids in baseball. The report only named 90 players after a 20 month investigation. Why didn’t they spend 1/100th of that and implant a solid steroids testing policy more like the Olympics use or the Tour De France! Besides it was steroids that brought the game back in 1998 after the lockout.

Receiving a vote for every category of the lists were the New England Patriots. They pulled off a trade to get Randy Moss for only a forth round pick, lost their first round pick in 2008 to "Spygate" and coach Belichick was fined an additional $500,000! The Patriots were then labeled as cheaters for many other incidents as well as some from 2006. All this and the Patriots are still undefeated at 14-0 at the time this was written and hold possibly the 5th overall pick in a trade from San Francisco(4-10).

Do’s and don’ts for both callers and hosts. Sports talk radio is one of the most popular ways for fans to talk and listen about sports these days, well besides the internet. It gives "Joe Fan" a chance to sound off on what they think about their favorite teams and upcoming games. I have come up with some things that need to be addressed for this format to grow or keep growing.

Do’s

First one, bring "it"when you call. Have a point, make it, and hang up.

Speak up! Act like you mean what you say and know what you are talking about. This goes back to number one also.

Don’ts

Don’t be such a tough guy. Sports talk is just that.......talk. It is all subjective, so don’t get offended when someone doesn’t agree with your opinion. This goes for hosts as well.

Don’t just call a radio station just to hear your own voice on the radio. You do nothing but slow down an already commercially plagued program. And turn down your radio before you go on too!

Also by the way, you didn’t have "Thunder" to be stolen!!!!! Has there ever been a caller in talk radio history that had so many great points and was such a strong caller that the host and all the listeners thought "WOW that guy had thunder!"

 

Radio hosts, here is your list. Stick to it or at least give it a shot if you plan on sticking around.

Do’s

Have an opinion an get ready to accept arguments for each one of them. Just because you host a show does not mean you are an expert. If you were you would be an executive for an organization on some level.

Let each caller make their point. You get the other three to four hours of show time let the caller get their two minutes in. Besides, as long as you keep some people on hold you should even have an option to talk over them.

Don’ts

Don’t recap the show after each commercial break, we know what is going on, we have been listening.

Why is everyone so negative?  It is just sports.  It really will not have any impact on your life what so ever if you team wins or loses.  Trust me.  I have had almost every team in Michigan win a championship of some kind and it hasn't changed my life one bit!

Chill out on the commercial breaks!!! Quality over quantity! What you need to do is charge more money for less air time! I change the channel if there are too many commercial breaks. One show that does this just has less breaks but the breaks are really long. But at least I know when they come back, they may go for 20-25 minutes! If I think you aren’t coming back for 4-6 minutes I wont either. I may not even come back to your show because I found another one with less commercials. Some shows have almost an equal ratio of commercial to actual show time. Seriously.

We really do NOT need sports updates every 20 minutes, especially at 3 a.m. All this does is cut off the program from any thoughts and adds yet two more commercial breaks for the same exact things we just heard.

The new format for many radio programs has become something like this example:

6:56 commercials lead to sports update at 7:00

7:00-7:02 sports update with sponsor mention

7:02-7:06 commercials

7:06-7:11 talk about what is coming up on the show

7:12-7:15 commercials

7:15-7:20 recap what will be talked about/start a subject

7:20-7:22 commercials

7:22 sports update

7:24-7:28 back to commercials

7:28-7:37 talking sports for longest period of the hour

7:37-7:40 commercials

7:40-7:42 sports update

7:42-7:46 commercials

7:46-7:56 sports talk and one or two callers

7:56 start the cycle over

for hosts for callers for callers

  Well it isn't like the Vikings organization is known as the example of the class of the league.  With all the publicity the "Sexboat Scandal" received in 2005, the organization was forced to rebuild. 

  In 2007 the Vikings don't have another boat scandal, they have another image problem.  The Vikings have lowered the bar again. 

  Last Sunday WR Troy Williamson missed the Vikings win over the Chargers that saw Adrian Peterson break the NFL record for rushing yards (296) in a game and surpass 1,000 yards after only eight games.  Williamson was in South Carolina attending his maternal Grandmother's funeral.

from Twincities.com:

After the death last week of his maternal grandmother, Williamson rejoined the Vikings on Wednesday and participated in practice. But he lamented that he could not spend more time with his family, particularly his brother Carlton, who is still in a coma after a car accident, even after the club withheld his paycheck.

"I don't care if (the Vikings) would have took my pay for the rest of the year, I was going home," Williamson said. "It wouldn't have mattered to me. No matter what (Brad Childress) would have said, if I had to stay up here or not, I would have been at my house (in South Carolina) for that week."

Williamson regretted that he could not spend more time with Carlton after his car accident two months ago. But when his grandmother Celestine, who helped raise him and taught him to cook and drive, died, Williamson said he had to go home.

"I feel like the thing with my brother, I let that slide," Williamson said. "This is something I couldn't put on the back burner. But when this came up, I had to get up out of here."

Williamson declined to comment, when asked if Childress was understanding.

"It's really been hard for me," Williamson said. "I was glad to go home and see my family. It was something that really helped me. I just got to push through the season." 


I guess they don't have Bereavement pay, they have a death tax.  How is it that an organization can do this to someone who has "play" in his job title.  When you play football or any other sport, keeping perspective on life is getting dimmer it seems.  Even our armed forces come back from a real war for something like this.  They don't get docked a weeks pay do they?
 

11/11/07 Change of heart by the Vikings.   Mike OHara of the Detroit News commented in his blog-

" The Minnesota Vikings are reacting to public pressure -- and public embarassment -- by giving back a game check to wide receiver Troy Williamson for missing a game to attend his grandmother's funeral. The Vikings probably were within their rights not to pay a player who did not participate in a game. But that doesn't make it right. As I once heard when I covered horse racing, somebody who'd gotten the shaft said: "That may be correct, but it ain't right." The Vikings need a director of common sense."

The NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award has been given out after every season since 1972, except for 1985 when no winner was selected. The player named Comeback Player of the Year shows perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previous year, a severe injury, or simply poor performance. Garrison Hearst is the only player to have won the award twice (1995 and 2001).

So here we are in 2007 and there a few choices emerging already. The early favorite in many eyes is Randy Moss. He went from a dreaded situation in Oakland to one of the best teams in the league in New England.

Randy Moss has been lighting it up this year with the accurate passing of Tom Brady. The last time Moss was this effective was when he last played with Daunte Culpepper in Minnesota. Ironically the Oakland Raiders traded Moss shortly before signing Culpepper in Oakland. Maybe Al Davis wants to try to get another top 5 pick in next years draft.

Randy Moss so far in 2007 is leading the league in receiving yards with 779. Moss has already surpassed his 2006 total in only eight games. Moss has 11 TDs already which ties his last two seasons combined. Moss is one of the biggest reasons the Patriots are smashing every opponent on the way to their 8-0 record heading into Indianapolis. Randy Moss has become relevant again.

One other candidate that comes to mind is Kevin Jones of the Detroit Lions. He is coming back from a serious foot injury known as the Lis Franc injury. This injury is said to have a one year rehabilitation and Jones returned almost three months early. It was said he would go on the PUP list (physically unable to perform) to start the season, thus missing the first six weeks. The Lions decided to keep him off the list and let him come back and to get into game shape week-by-week.

Kevin Jones so far has started two games for the Lions and played in five. Jones has rushed 62 times for 272 yards averaging 4.4 yards per carry with four TDs. The workload keeps getting bigger each week for Jones and it only helps his team more. The Lions are currently 5-2.

Another player on the radar for comeback player of the year is Brett Favre who everyone said needs-to-retire two years ago and is now leading his team to a 6-1 start.

 Different reasons come up every year.  In the NCAA they still go with the BCS Championship.  Every year we all have arguments on who should be in the big game.  Last year many thought Michigan should rematch with Ohio State for the title.  We all know what happened though.  The polls came out and Florida got voted into the game against Ohio State and crushed them.

 That is the problem.  We rely on votes for game participants like it's American Idol?  It has got to go.  Is it really that hard to have a four or eight team tournament to see who really is the best?  Do we really trust all who actually vote on this to make a sound decision?

  Well look at this year.  This week LSU played at Auburn.  LSU is ranked #4.  LSU also got beat last week by Kentucky who moved up to #7 after beating LSU.  How is it that a team beats another and is still ranked lower?  We just saw them beat LSU.  Doesn't that make them better?  How bad does that loss look now that Kentucky followed up that win with a 45-37 loss to Florida?  Didn't Florida just lose to LSU?

Look at all the top 25 teams that have been not only beaten but have been embarrassed this season.  Every week the top 25 teams and even the top 10 teams change more than ever.

Besides, this could be the biggest money maker for the NCAA since the NCAA basketball tournament.  There aren't nearly as many college hoops fanatics as college football junkies.  It isn't like they don't have a month of open schedule anyway.  Last year the two teams in the Championship game had over 50 days off, that is way to long.