Hello friends,

This Thursday is the annual NBA draft for all the great young players hopeful of making it into the NBA. They're all talented and about to make an enormous amount of money for themselves and their families. So why wouldn't and shouldn't they go take advantage of their special talent  immediatly out of high school and play basketball?

Only a few special ones over the years like current NBA superstars Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James are in this category. In the past there were fewer players who made the jump from high school to the pros but there were a few like Moses Malone and Darryl Dawkins in the 1970's.

So why shouldn't these great and talented individuals make the jump straight to the NBA if they have the enormous talent they do and believe me I understand the money issues for them and their families. But are they really ready to make the jump on or off the court? Remember we are talking about 18 or 19 year old young men who can't even legally buy a drink until 21. Yes they can vote, drive and go to war besides work.

But why should they wait when they are so talented. First let's look at the social and educational factor. Socially how will these younger men fit in with the older players who can live a more adult lifestyle after 21, and are these young players ready to intract with them both off the court and on the court experience wise. They may be talented but they need to learn the lifestyle of the NBA players and human beings that can handle the pressure no matter how mature they think they are.

Secondly education wise how may students go straight from high school to become a lawyer, doctor or engineer among many established professions that take many years of school or training. Now I'm not trying to compare basketball to school although they are often unfortunately tied erroneously when describing the true student athlete  But as I said they should get some type of schooling both on basketball court and socially.

The NBA and NFL don't have a true minor league other than college sports unlike baseball or hockey where they have a choice of the minor leagues or college for their training. There have been leagues like the CBA or USBL and others in basketball but they have not been specifically affiliated with individual NBA teams. That I think is part of the problem with no NBA affiliated minor leagues.

So if there is a one or two year wait after high school and the players don't go to college or take school seriously then what can they do? Talks of a developmental league for the NBA ould be nice, but why haven't we seen that? Play overseas internationally. This is a culture shock against older players and a style of international basketball American's usually only see in the Olympics and we saw in 2004 how much trouble they had with that when America only won the bronze medal.

Another factor people don't mention when it comes to college basketball and football where there is a three year wait after high school,  is they are big revenue sports for the NCAA and television that are long standing traditions in this country. It isn't quite so much that way with college baseball and hockey.  That's why there's not as much of a complaint when a Sidney Crosby or Wayne Gretzky starts out younger.

In closing I don't want  these great players to not have the opportunity necessarily to have success. I just want to see them go through a little more of a process to get there. As I said if lawyers and doctors can't make the jump to their professions right away then why should basketball players?. I'm being somewhat facetious in the comparison, but also serious in that they need the training both socially and on the basketball court. Kobe, Lebon and Kevin Garnett took several years before growing their way into the league and getting to the finals and a championship. So enjoy the draft and I hope your team gets better. Also let me know what you think about the NBA age limit  and process as well. Take care friends and have a great and productive day. Best wishes. fenfan

HELLO FRIENDS,

Today as I write my 141st blog on here over the last two years since starting to write in June 2006, I want to say thank you to all the friendship and support I have gotten from all of you here at foxsportsblogs. There are a lot of you I could mention but I don't want to forget or leave anyone out so I'll just thank all of you for your great support of my blogs and others here in this fine sportswriting community.

This is a wonderful tool for aspiring sportswriters like me and for passionate sports fans also like me who want to vent their opinions and feelings. It gives most of a chance to give our opinions and feel like we are being seen or heard no matter what the national media says about blogging. If you have an opinion and are credible and factual then you are relevant  here as a sports blogger.

I do want to give special thanks to a friend of mine on here known as fishrmn because he knows my passion of sports and writing and he found foxsportsblogs for me and thought it would be a good outlet for my sportswriting and passion of sports. Thank you fishrmn!!

As for the timing of this blog I wanted to write it after the NBA Finals because that goes with the timeline of my two year blogging anniversary and it also starts the period of sports which I call Summer Vacation which was the title of one of my first blogs back in June 2006. Summer Vacation is the period of time after the NBA Finals in mid June until regular season football starts in September. During this time I think you should enjoy your summer sports but also take a break and enjoy the summertime and try to relax somewhat and enjoy the things that make life wonderful and important. Yes we all have work and other responsibilities, but summer vacation is also a time to step back and focus on what is truly important in life. We should be doing this all year of course, but for us sports fanatics summer is a time to step back take a breath and get ready before the next full season of sports when football starts in September. So enjoy your summer friends.

Congratulations to Tiger Woods for winning the US Open golf tournament in a 19 hole playoff over 45 year old Rocco Mediate who performed valiantly as an underdog against Tiger and almost won and for Tiger Woods winning his 14th major golf tournament two months after having knee surgery. As great as he is that was a valiant effort and victory as well.

Also congratulations to the Boston Celtics for restorinfg their proud franchise in winning their 17th NBA title. Led by the superstar trio of 10 year Celtic and NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce and first year Celtics Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, the rest of the Celtics and coach Doc Rivers. It was a great finals for the NBA as the Celtics beat their long time nemesis the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2.

Finally a short note about New York Mets manager Willie Randolph getting fired at 3:15 am on a West Coast trip. I know the firing had long been rumored because of the Mets struggles and it's New York with the biggest salaries and media market, but it could have been handled a lot better because Willie Randolph is a classy and honorable baseball man and deserved better, but that's my opinion and sports is a cold bottom line business sometimes.

One last thing before I close I want to give my condolonces to the families of long time political commentator Tim Russert of NBC's Meet the Press and also longtime NBC sportscaster Charlie Jones. Both died of heart related problems and will be greatly missed. The presidential election this fall won't be the same without Tim Russert and Charlie Jones was a longtime football announcer back to the days of the 1960's AFL and he also broadcast the Colorado Rockies baseball team as well.

Once again thanks so much for your support and friendship. I always try to give my opinions to the best of my knowledge and what I think and believe. I appreciate your feedback so much as well. Take care and best wishes and we'll talk soon again friends. Have a great and productive day. fenfan 

 P.S. BREAKING NEWS: ESPN reported that Tiger Woods will be out for the rest of the golf season including the majors the British Open and PGA Tournament. Good luck with your recovery Tiger and we hope to see you at the Masters next April as you continue to pursue Jack Nickalus's record of 18 majors.

Hello friends,

It's the NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Lakers which is one of the most popular matchups in sports especially for Celtics and Lakers fans, the media and anyone who is looking back for the 1980's in these finals. You probably won't find it or be disappointed unless you turn on ESPN Classic.

So I thought I'd ask what are your dream finals in different sports? It can be two teams you love but have trouble deciding with or it can be love vs a team you love to hate. Whatever I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. When it's not my team or teams I'm really interested I always dream of different finals matchups I'd like. What are yours? I'll tell you some I would like and why.

Since we're in the NBA finals now  I'll start with that. I'm a San Antonio Spurs fan and I grew up in Milwaukee liking the Bucks so while the networks would hate this small market matchup I would find it interesting because both have passionate basketball towns. If you want to throw in the Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, 76ers or Mavericks as rivals I have no problem with that.

Next I'll go to the NFL. My favorite team since my childhood in the 1970s has been the Pittsburgh Steelers because they were the best then an continue a standard of excellence on and off the field today. Another class and historic franchise in the NFL is the Green Bay Packers .  I have a lot of family and friends in Wisconsin who I have had a friendly rivalry with over this team and I would like to decide it once and for all in a Super Bowl. It almost happened a couple times in the 1990s and there will be no Brett Favre this time but I think America would love this Super Bowl matchup between the Steelers and the Packers. If not I wouldn't mind playing the Dallas Cowboys again. I think their last Super Bowl in the 1990s was the highest rated ever I believe.

In major league baseball you know fenwayfanatic is a Red Sox fan and wouldn't it be neat this fall if they finally played the Chicago Cubs in the World Series and give most of America the dream World Series they want. I might even root for the Cubs since the Red Sox already have a couple championships now.  That doesn't mean I wouldn't root for the Red Sox as well. Also if my old hometown Milwaukee Brewers ever got back to the playoffs or World Seriies I would love to see them take on the Red Sox or Yankees. Small vs big market. In the late 1950s they called it Bushville when Henry Aaron's Milwaukee Braves split two World Series with Mickey Mantle's Yankees.

In the NHL Stanley Cup hockey finals we had a dream matchup this year between the Original Six Detroit Red Wings and the upstart Piittsburgh Penguins led by 20 year old superstar Sidney the Kid Crosby. In this years finals I was actually hoping for a matchup between the Dallas Stars who I follow in Texas vs the Pittsburgh Penguins. It would be a reversal of the matchup for me between Dallas and Pittsburgh  because in football I like the Steelers over the Cowboys but in hockey I'd like the Stars over the Penguins unless they played the Toronto Maple Leafs who are my favorite team in hockey because they are a Canadian team with one of the biggest hockey traditions  but they havent won a Stanley Cup or been to the finals since 1967. Canada vs the United States or Canada vs a Canadian team. Not the greatest for US ratings but Ii want to see matchups where hockey is loved most.

Finally my college matchup would be between the state I grew up in Wisconsin and the state I now live Texas. How about that for a BCS National Championship Game or Final Four Matchup? Two strong athletic programs in a lot of sports. Texas is also good in baseball and Wisconsin has won 6 NCAA hockey championships. Anyway this would be my dream NCAA matchup.

Those are my favorite matchups in sports. So what are yours? Please let me know and we'll discuss them further soon. Take care and best wishes and have a great and productive day friends. Always, fenfan

Hi friends,

It's been a busy week in sports with shining moments, championship retirements and a big horse whose Triple Crown dream went down and out.

First the shining moments and how about Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics getting off to a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals at this writing. We all saw him get injured and then make his Larry Bird type return. I forget the year he came back on the court to lead the Celtics to victory. Anyway with the help of Celtics teammate Leon Powe and others the Celtics are off to a good start and coach Phil Jackson of the LA Lakers is getting the frustrations Pat Riley had with the games in Boston in the NBA finals.

Last week the  Detroit Red Wings won their fourth Stanley Cup in the last 11 years. The young Pittsburgh Penguins with Sidney Crosby played well in defeat and never gave up, but they were outmatched experience wise in the end. And as I posted here a few weeks ago the Red Wings won in six games and Henrik Zetterberg as I also predicted won the Conn Smythe trophy. Chris Osgood was oustanding in goal for the Red Wings and he helped to send out fellow 43 year old goaltender Dominik Hasek to retirement with another Stanley Cup. Congratulations to Dominik and the Red Wings.

Next on Monday June 9, 2008 for history Ken Griffey Jr became the fifth player in major league baseball history to hit his 600th home run and with all the steroid controversy involving Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and others, it was nice and refreshing to see someone achieve the milestone clean of controversy in this era and it's only too bad Griffey was injured often the last few years or we could have seen him appraoch the numbers of Bonds, Henry Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

As I said in the previous paragraph Dominik Hasek retired after being a part of another championship team and on Monday Michael Strahan retied after a great career with the New York Giants and he went out a champion as well and as the all time sack leader. That is great as an athlete and competitor to go out a champion. Athletes in different sports like Bill Russell, John Elway, David Robinson, Ray Bourque and Jerome Bettis have gone out with championship rings in their hands. I couldn't think of a specific baseball player but I'm sure there were manty especially with all the Yankees championships over the years.

Finally Big Brown and his Triple Crown dreams went down at the Belmont and like 11 others before him since 1978 when Affirmed last won a Triple Crown in horse racing, Big Brown came up short and actually finished last in the race. Big Brown was the big favorite to win the race and Triple Crown. He had a cracked hoof but the horse trainers and doctors said he was ok and good shape. There were the tragedies of horses like Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby Barbaro last year and even as far back as the filly Ruffian in the 1970's. Anyway Big Brown's jockey Kent Desormeux sp? pulled up Big Brown in the stretch when it was apparent he wouldn't win so he wouldn't get hurt and there wouldn't be controversy. So what went wrong if he wasn't injured?  I think you have to remember Big Brown is a horse and he might not have liked to feel of the track or another horse possibly on that day. It doesn't diminish his performance as a great racehorse. Belmont is a longer track and shows how much credit you have to give past Triple Crown winners like Secretariat who won by 31 lengths at the Belmont in 1973 and the last two Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978. Besides great race horses it also takes some luck and perhaps that's when we'll see a Triple Crown winner again when we least expect it. Until then it's been 30 years and counting for this the longest Triple Crown drought in horse racing.

We'll it's been an exciting and historic week in sports and we'll see what happens next. That's the most exciting part of sports and finally in closing the sports world lost a legendary broadcaster in Jim McKay who was most famous for being a part of the start of ABC's Wide World of Sports in 1961. He also covered several Olympics including the tragic 1972 Munich Olympics was 11 Isreali athletes were killed and McKay sadly said eloquently "They're all gone." He also did several golf tournaments, horse racing and other sporting events. It's sad to see the Jim McKay's of the world die because the under 30 pre cable, pre internet and cell phone crowd of instant gratification don't remember what it was like to grow up with four tv stations and a radio. So all our condolones to Jim McKay's family, friends and colleagues. As for me it's been my pleasure to talk with you as always and we'll talk soon again. Until then best wishes and have a great and productive day friends.

Hello friends,

Now that all your other teams in my case the Spurs and lottery bound Bucks and the rest of the NBA teams are out of the way we have the NBA Finals America really wants the Los Angeles Lakers vs the Boston Celtics. One of the questions though are we truly enjoying this series for its current paricipating players such as Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom and coach Phil Jackson going for his 10th NBA title as a head coach against the Big 3 of Boston with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen led by their head coach Glenn Doc Rivers.

Or are we watching ESPN Classic and for anyone over 30 lets be realistic 20 somethings and younger you don't really remember. The 1980's the Golden Age of Basketball in my opinion. Yes the players wore short shorts but at least they didn't go down to their knees and on the basketball court you had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdual Jabbar Byron Scott and James Worthy led by head coach Pat Riley against Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, the late Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge and their great coach KC Jones.

Games were on prime time and on Sunday aftenoons in the old unairconditioned Boston Garden built in the first half of the 20th century with the old wood parquet floor which truly constituted a true home court for all the visting teams that rarely won there. And you had the old Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles which was one of the best arenas which wasn't as old as the Boston Garden and old Chicago Stadium but before the brand new arenas like the Staples Center which are a  little biger and even more brand new . But I liked watching the games that were on at the Forum. But that was through a tv set for me.

Anyway those were the best teams of the 1980s as the Milwaukee Bucks the team I followed and won seven division championships back then found out. The Bucks had the fourth best record in basketball but they could never get to the finals because they couldn't beat the Celtics or 76ers in the Eastern Finals and then of course the East winner mostly played the Lakers and a couple times the Houston Rockets when they got there.

So you watched the Lakers and Celtics or Sixers and Rockets. From 1980 to 1987 these were the only four teams to make the NBA  Finals and then at the end of the decade the Pistons arrived and won a few titles before Michael Jordan and the Bulls took over in the 1990s.

Now to you youngsters under 30. This basketball era or even Lakers -Celtics rivalry isn't the same. If it is why aren't they focusing more on this series than the 1980s or Bill Russell vs Wilt Chamberlin and Jerry West before that.

As I said I'm not old I don't think at 40 but I like a little more old school memories from the 1980s because that is when I was growing up. Pepole under 30 have been growing up now or the last decade or so so I understand that we remember what we are familiar with from our youth.

As I said in a previous blog I don't like new school basketball as much where the players wear longer shorts that look too long for basketball shorts and they don't go to college as often or at all sorry Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Lebron James in last years finals.  I wish you would go to school at least a little bit.

And why can't I get the Big Fella Shaquille O Neal out of my mind in this series even though he's not playing for the Lakers anymore?  Is it because Kobe Bryant is trying to prove he can win a NBA title without him?

Well as I've said these are my opinions and I like the old school NBA from the 1980s and the current team oriented less flashy some would call them boring Spurs who have won 4 NBA titles the last decade. Before that I admired Michael Jordan"s Bulls and Magic Johnson's Lakers who I rooted for back then against Larry Bird's Celtics who I didn't like but admired.

Kind of funny but I think I like the Celtics now. As I said I still can't get Shaq out of my mind and never really like his slow methodical bruising style and the way he missed free throws and strangely as I said he still has a presence here because he played and won 3 titles with Kobe and then left to win a title with Dwayne Wade in Miami. And then the thing with Kobe, Garnett and Lebron not going to school.

The Celtics still kind of seem old school maybe it's the plain old Celtic uniforms and they have home court in this series. But the Lakers have a younger athletic team and could be better longer. So I'll pick the Lakers to win in 6 games in the new Boston Garden but don't be surprised if it goes seven and the Celtics win. That's just the way it was between these two old rivals kind of like Cowboys Steelers in football or Yankees Dodgers in baseball, the big market winners whether you like them or not you were fascinated to see them play when they were on. As I said Boston is a little older so these next few years may be their time and the Lakers look to be a good young veteran team so we'll see where they can go the next few years. So enjoy this series and the nostalgia as well. Maybe 20 years from now we'll be talking about a Lakers -Cetics series or two from this time period. If only the late Celtics president and former coach Red Auerbach had lived to see this again.  Light up a victory cigar Red  and enjoy your popcorn friends.  Talk soon,. best wishes and have a great and productive day. fenfan 

Hello friends,

While once again the NBA or professional sports league has apologized for another blown call after the fact. In this case it was Brent Barry being bumped and foulled at the end of Game 4 against the Lakers. The Spurs were down 93-91 with 2.1 seconds left . The pass went into Barry who some say traveled. Then he got bumped by Derek Fisher, threw the ball towards the basket before the buzzer about a 23 foot jumper, mised and then looked to the referee for the foul. Later classily Barry and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said a foul wasn't likely to be called and while upset and disappointed there was acceptance UNTIL NOW! The NBA has issued another after the fact apology but in this case they could still do something that could still change the series.

I suggest before Game 5 tonight in Los Angeles in an empty arena with no competitive advantage to consitute San Antonio as the home team ha ha, Then have Brent Barry shoot the two free throws. If he makes them then overtime on an empty court so no Lakers crowd advantage ha ha to decide Game 4 before tonights Game 5. If the NBA is serious about it's apology then I want to see it. Remember when the Yankees and Royals came back to New York for a 12 minute game in the 1983 George Brett pine tar home run incident. Seriously though shooting these free throws is the best thing the NBA could do if they're sincere. But they WONT DO IT so all I as a diappointed Spurs and sports fan can do is talk about it. Let me know your thoughts friends and talk soon. Have a great and productive day. Best wishes. fenfan

Hello friends,

Well it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Red Wings could be celebrating titles and re-establishing their long time dynasties again. The Lakers much to my chagrin as a San Antonio Spurs fan have proven to be the younger and more athletic team and they are gaining experience fast in this series and while it is only the Western Conference Finals they are on the way to dethroning the defebding champion Spurs and should be favored in the East against the PIstons or Celtics although they are good teams as well. They just havent beaten teams like the ones that the Lakers and Spurs face in the Western Conference. Kobe Bryant with help from Pal Gasol, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom has reestablished this as his team and Phil Jackson is once again the ringleader as coach though he is brilliant as well.

The Detroit Red Wings are on their way to winning a fourth Stanley Cup in the last 11 years. This was supposed to be a dream matchup with Sidney Crosby and the young and upstart Pittsburgh Penguins. In a few years it might be once the Penguins get a little more experience. To this point it is a nice story for them and hockey but the Wings are also too dominant at this point. Of course at the time of this writing it is not over for either the Lakers or Red Wings but I look for both to be having championship parades in June. As always we'll see what happens. As for now it's almost time for a changing of the guard and watching the re-established champions in Detroit and Los Angeles come back to take their throne. Take care and best wishes friends. Have a great and productive day. fenfan

P.S. That being said I also give credit to the refs for the non call on the Brent Barry shot and possible foul at the end of Game 4 against the Lakers. There is always to much speculations with calls by referees in the NBA . Barry got bumped by Derek Fisher and then shot the ball afterward hoping it would go in to win the game or at the very least get the call. To Brent Barry's credit he said while he looked for the call as a player he didn't expect to get it and took it respectfully. I as a Spurs fan don't want to win cheaply and if the Lakers win the series as I said I'll be satisfied with the way the outcome happened and say congratulations.

Hello friends,

Happy Memorial Day Weekend early and I'd like to honor and thank those who have served and continue to serve our country in the name of freedom. God bless you and thank you.

As for the rest of the week and weekend it will be a great sports weekend as we head into late spring and early summer. There is news or action in almost every major sport so lets begin and review.

In the NFL the owners choode to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement and there may be labor unrest and a lockout by 2011, but lets let that one play out, see what happens and enjoy our football in the  popular NFL the next few years. I'm sure it will work out.

In MLB what a great feel good story it was to see Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox pitch a no hitter a few years after having a form of cancer. Now contrary to others opinions I don't care how early or detectable or treatable the cancer is. It's a great story when any person and or athlete recovers from cancer or any illness and goes on to do something successful in their lives. That is definitely heroic to me..

 In the NBA we have a great final four teams as the San Antonio Spurs face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference where we'll see the up and coming Lakers try to regain championship glory against the established champion Spurs who are trying to win their 5th title in 10 years and first back to back titles. I'll say the Spurs win in 6 games.

And in the Eastern Conference the Boston Celtics renew another old rivarlry with the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics won Game 1 88-79 and it will be interesting to see if the Celtics can win on the road or the Pistons can win in Boston. If not I have to go with the pattern we've seen and that's the Celtics in seven games. Remember 20 years ago the 1988 Lakers won three seventh games against the Jazz, Mavericks and Pistons so that route can be done the hard way but it can be done. We'll see.

In the NHL Stanley Cup Finals we have a good matchup for hockey and curious sports fans as the Pittsburgh Penguins led by their young 20 year old star Sidney Crosby, possibly the best player since Wayne Gretzky retired and his great young team against the established Detroit Red Wings who are going for their fourth Stanley Cup in the last 11 years. A very good matchup for those who choose to watch and care. And get off Versus and NBC's back for their coverage. At least Versus especially gives hockey it's main focus while ESPN-ABC just had hockey as another sport in it's sports coverage. Now you can love a sport like hockey or not and you can be critical of the way it's covered but at least Versus gave hockey fans a network and hopefully more people are getting to see it on their cable systems.  Thank you at least for covering hockey Versus. As for my pick I'll say the Red Wings win the Cup in 6 games and Henrik Zetterberg wins the Conn Smythe trophy for most valuable player.

Besides the major team sports there is the Indianapolis 500 this weekend and I'm sure besides all the great male drivers a lot of the focus and attention will be on Danica Patrick and any other female drivers who qualified for the race this year. It was really nice to see Danica Patrick win her first race in Japan a few weeks ago and I hope that she can continue to prove the women can race equally with men. There is no physical advantage in the sport of auto racing so I don't see why a talented woman like Danica Patrick can not only compete but beat the other racers. Good luck Danica. That would be a great story and accomplishment for her and women as well.

Finally there is a soccer game today between two English teams Manchester United and Chelsea in Moscow Russia. It is for a club or world championship I think and while I don't know or follow soccer much it is a big game worldwide and soccer/ futbol is an athletic and popular game worldwide so I think those who are interested and the curious fans as well should check it out .

Also next week the tennis Grand Slam the French Open will start and we'll see if Roger Federer can finally beat his rival  Rafeal Nadal on Nadal's main surface clay. As for the women it will be interesting to see who wins since Justine Henin suddenly and surprisingly retired. Maybe Maria Sharapova or Venus or Serena Williams if they are healthy.

Anyway it should be a great weekend of sports to check out. So fire up those barbecues and pay tribute to our veterans and have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend friends. Have a great and productive day and best wishes. Talk soon. fenfan

Hello friends,

I  wanted to write my thoughts about Robert Horry and it pretty much is a judgement call depending how you look at his plays both last night when he slightly gave a legal bump to an already injured David West and last year when it looked like he closelined Steve Nash, but Nash who is from Canada and apparently had some good hockey exposure took a dive and acted appropriately as well.

Yes friends I am a Spurs fan and want them to win but I also have a lot of respect for Robert Horry who has made big shots earning him the name Big Shot Bob and teams he has been on have won seven championships and could be eight if the Spurs come back this year.

But his hard play shouldn't be mistaken for cheap shots. If you go back to the game in the 1970's when Maurice Lucas, Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld played you saw basketball that was more like football/hockey fights. Remember Kermit Washington's sucker punch of Rudy Tomjonovich? When you look at those kinds of players and cheap shots you will see that Robert Horry's play is a lot softer. No that doesn't mean Robert Horry is soft. It just shows that the NBA doesn't quite have the enforcers it used to have and the action is more cleaned up although events like the brawl at the Palace between the PIstons and Pacers or the Knicks Nuggets melee with Carmelo Anthony can happen.

So as I said before we jump down Robert Horry's back for hard fouls and play and/or cheap shots, lets just take a look at the NBA's past history of hard.cheap play and then we'll make a judgement. In conclusion I want the Spurs to win but I also want fair and clean play, but unforunately sometimes that's a judgement call that will always be debated and makes good media coverage and sports talk like we're having here friends. Let me know your thoughts and we'll be in touch friends. Have a great and productive day and best wishes. fenfan

Hello friends,

You know from my writing that I am a great lover of sports and I write about my opinions with fact and passion. I'm starting to get a little older as we all are and I guess sometimes that we fondly remember our youth and younger years more that we do now. I'm in my 40s now and I grew up in the 1970s and 80s before they had cell phones, I PoDs and MP3 players and yes the Internet that we all love and write on.

Even my love of sports has changed sort of. I still have a great passion of most sports,  but there is one sport basketball which I still like and follow but the love has kind of gone away and I don't know how to get it back. You see the Celtics and Lakers rise back to the top of the NBA in the regular season has people thinking about the old days back in the 1980's and before when Magic, Kareem, Bird, Mchale and others performed and dominated the game and the popularity the game had back then. There seemed to be more of a love of the game and passion and commitment that you don't always see today when players seem to think about absurd amounts of money and themselves. They forget somewhat about the roots of the game and where previous players came from and their history of the game. 

They bypass college and go straight to the pros or spend a year as the rule states before the best players go off to make their money in the NBA. Now I don't begrudge these players the opportunity to make money. They are great players in a fortunate situation because of their great talent, but it takes away from the love and tradition of the game especially for us fans who grew up 10-20 years or more ago. I know pro sports is a business, it always has been but it has skyrocketed out of control in recent times and I don't know how we get it back to the way it was and it most likely probably never will. That's fine and understandable, but I wish we could get more of a love of the game back the way it was then.

The game is good today and hard to explain if you didn't live back then but basketball went through sort o####olden age of popularity in the 1980s  with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Dr J- Julius Erving and others who brought the game to a popularity that's hard to match even with todays stars like Kobe Shaq, Lebron, Garnett and Dwayne Wade.

As I said it's a good game today and I have my favorite teams and players in both pro and college basketball. I just don't have the love of the game the way I once did. Perhaps that's partly my fault. I watched and participated in basketball more than anty other sport and pronably got burned out. But I also saw the game and the players in it change and sometimes when you get nostalgic or love the game and other things that we loved and remembered in the world when we were younger.  Life wasn't always better, but to those who are younger than me the memories of your youth are what you remember most and it is up to you to adjust to the changing times of life and the world and sometimes it can be tough. Perhaps that's the way it is with me and my love of basketball. I still love to watch games and shoot baskets in my spare time.. I just hope I can find a way to enjoy basketball and sports in general the way I once did, but only time will only tell. Thanks for listening to my latest sports rant as I explore my thoughts of the games. Best wishes and as always have a great and productive day friends. Talk soon. fenfan

Hello friends,

From time to time I like to get a little personal here and talk about some of my favorite teams and who and what I like as a sports fan. Hopefully you're not bored and if you'd like to comment please do so as usual. As fanatic sports fans we all have our teams that we like and teams that we don't like and I thought it would be fun to take stock of what my favorite teams have done in the last several years. I'll specifically talk about five teams that have won in recent years and five that I would like to see win one day.

My favorite teams that have won in recent years include the Pittsburgh Steelers who won their 5th Super Bowl championship and first in 26 years in 2005. Then I'd pick the Boston Red Sox who after 86 years of championship failure have now won 2 World Series in 2004 and 2007. Next the San Antonio Spurs from my current living state of Texas have won 4 championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. We'll see if this is the year they can finally REPEAT AS CHAMPIONS in 2008. The Dallas Stars one of my favorite hockey teams won the Stanley Cup championship in 1999 before I moved here and I still question their no goal in the crease against the Buffalo Sabres to win the Cup but that's the way it happened. And for my friends and family back in my native state of Wisconsin I was happy to see the Green Bay Packers finally end a 29 year old championship drought in 1996 behind quarterback Brett Favre, and coming up to the present I'd wish he'd make up his mind about signing his retirement papers if that's what he wants and so be it.

Now those are the main five teams I like that have won and now I'll look at the championship droughts of teams that I like and would like to see win and what better place to start than the north side of Chicago at Wrigley Field where the Chicago Cubs have now not won for at least a century yes 100 years. Hopefully as sports fans we'll all get to see them win one one day before its too late. Another baseball team Ilike and unfortunately for me in the same division as the Cubs,  the NLCentral and National League since 1998. I'm talking about the Milwaukee Brewers my hometown team that I have been rooting for and watching games since 1977. The Brewers were formed in 1970 when they moved from Seattle where they were formed as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 before moving to Milwaukee. As for the city the Brewers went to the World Series in 1982 and the previous Milwaukee baseball team the then Milwaukee Braves won Milwaukee's only World Championship in 1957 so it's been a long time for Milwaukee Baseball as far as making the playoffs or winning a campionship. Not far behind in championship futility is the Milwaukee basketball team the Milwaukee Bucks which hasn't won a championship since 1971 when Kareem Abdual-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson played for the Bucks. The Bucks haven't had a lot of success the last 20 years or so especially either. In hockey my favorite old time team overall is the Toronto Maple Leafs. They are a Canadian team where hockey is most popular and they haven't won or been to the Stanley Cup finals since 1967 the year I was born. They along with the Chicago Blackhawks have kind of become the Cubs of hockey since the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings ended long championship droughts in the last 15 years. Finally the Minnesota Vikings. I never felt more sorry for a great stae and fans as when they lost 4 Super Bowls in the 1970s well except for Super Bowl 9 against the Steelers but along with the Buffalo Bills they deserve a championship team more than anybody .

Anyway thanks for reading along with me as I talk about some of my favorite teams in sports.Other teams I like include the Chicago Bears,  the Texas and other small market baseball teams in baseball that have little chance to win realistically without a salary cap in baseball, and the Canadian and Original Six teams in hockey and a few other northern areas where hockey's heartbeat beats the strongest. Nothing against the Sun Belt teams I like the Dallas Stars after all but I am a traditionalist in sports and like to see where it's heart beats the strongest. Where does your heart beat  and how have your favorite teams done lately?  Please let me know and keep in touch friends and thanks as always for letting me rant on with you today. Best wishes and have a great and productive day always. fenfan

Hello friends,

Sorry I haven't talked to you in a couple weeks. Part of it has been the computer's fault. The last couple times I have tried to post my blog it said "Service Unavailable" which is really really frustrating when you put your hard work into the blogs, but enough ranting.

So how has your March been especially in sports? The NCAA Mens Tournament is exciting as always and I have my Final Four of North Carolina, UCLA, Wisconsin and Texas alive going into the Sweet 16 with North Carolina as my national champion. It has been a nice mix of upsets and favored teams winning and losing in the tournament. Sorry Duke and Georgetown, but hello Davidson, Villanova and Western Kentucky.

Baseball has started EARLY IN JAPAN the last couple of days at 6 am Eastern Time and the defending champion Red Sox split a two game series with the Oakland A's. A little time consuming for the teams participating and early to rise for the US fans but I think it is good for the global aspect in the baseball community to have a few of these games overseas. Maybe have some in the future in Latin American countries or other popular baseball areas around the world. Even though there is somewhat of an inconvienience to those participating and watching I think it is good for the fans of baseball around the world to see some real live major league games like when the former Montreal Expos played some of their games in San Juan, Puerto Rico a few years ago..

In the NBA and NHL the races are tightening up and getting exciting as usual as teams fight for playoff posiitioning. I'm also looking forward to the Masters in golf in April and seeing if Tiger Woods can win another green jacket, continue his great year and pursue a possible Grand Slam and a continued run at Jack Nickalus's career record of 18 majors which are the only really important tournaments that most sports fan non golf junkies follow.

Anyway, keep in touch and hopefully I won't have many computer problems for awhile. Keep following sports friends and enjoy and remember the most important things in life. Take care and talk soon and have a great and productive day friends. Best wishes fenfan

Hello friends,

Well some troubling news was reported this week by all of us fans who love the competitive everyone can win NFL which is widely considered to be the fairest competition and most popular sport in pro sports.

According to a report there is a good chance that  NFL ownership will opt out of the current labor agreement with the NFL Players Association by a November deadline. 24 of 32 owners votes are needed to keep the current collective bargaining agreement in place.

What that means is there will be a salary cap in place for the next three seasons followed by an uncapped season in 2011. After that  according to NFLPA president Gene Upshaw it is unlikely that a salary cap would ever return.

What exactly does that means fans. Well you know how big market teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox dominate economically and often on the field with the best and highest priced players. Of course baseball with a very strong players union has refused a salary cap and while competition has improved there is still a wide gap between the haves and have nots in baseball.

That's what it would become like in the NFL. Big market teams with rich owners like the Dallas Cowboys.  Washington Redskins and New England Patriots among others would dominate the league ecomically while smaller markets like the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars would struggle greatly and have a huge disadvatage economically to compete on the field.

Now I don't care who you root for, a big market or smaller market team, the victories are somewhat less meaningful when it is accomplished against smaller market competition that has little or no chance. That has been the way it has been in major league baseball for the last decade or so where the best players often go to the highest paid teams eventually and  they have the best chance economically to win. True there are examples of teams like the Florida Marlins who have found a way to get high priced players and win for a year or so before dumping their salaries and becoming terrible teams again.

Or you can look at a small market success like the San Antonio Spurs who in the NBA continue to pursue championship dreams with 4 championships in the last 9 years and still possibly going even though they play in one of the league's smallest markets. You see with a salary cap as they have in the NBA, NHL and currently the NFL all teams are able to compete fairly and equally no matter what their market size.

If the NFL gets rid of it's salary cap the Green Bay Packers one of the oldest and most loved and respected franchises would be in deep trouble and at a huge competitive disadvantage without a salary cap system. In the the  NFL for several years they have had revenue sharing and shared the same television contract  which has helped to keep the game fair and enjoyable for fans of all teams no matter what the market size. As I've said then without a salary cap the big market teams will have the competitive advantage and the best chance to win. Small market teams like the Packers will become competitive fodder and have little chance to win.

I as a fan cannot accept this but we as fans often have no choice unless we stop attending or following the games. That is unlikely so the next thing I ask is for fair and competitive competition for every team in every sport especially the professional ones. We all want a chance to dream and a chance for our teams to win.

So please NFL owners and those of all sports leagues. Please keep your games competitive, clean and fair. The rest is left to team ownership, coaches and players. Let me know what you think and we'll talk soon again friends. Best wishes always and have a great and productive day friends. fenfan

hELLO FRIENDS,

How have you been. I've been doing well but like a lot of sports fans I seem to have trouble finding excitement in the sports world after the Super Bowl in Febuary. Oh there's always news and games and other topics to keep us busy talking, but it may or may not be your favorite sports or topics. Let's talk about what's been happening in sports this Febuary.

The biggest story in sports has been off the field with the congressional hearing for Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee.. While I think all of us would like to see cheating with performance enhancing drugs stopped in baseball and sports, and yes perjury is also involved,  they are still not likely to find anything definitive to satisfy the public and truth and it just keeps going around with Clemens vs McNamee's word and I'm sick of it. Just let the steroid era go by  they cant change it, clean up the game and make notations in the record book that cerain records like Barry Bonds single season and career home run records happened mostly in the steroid era. If they must be punished so be it but let's get  on with the game of baseball and try to start a new and cleaner era although it will never be controversy free.

After that story we have college basketball while still exciting doesn't grab me as much as it used to. There are about 200 games on tv a week or so it seems and that's way too much even for the hoops junkie I  think. I remember the days before cable when there was a game or two of the week that everyone looked forward to, but ESPN and Fox among other cable networks changed that and there's just too much for me to watch now. In March I won't  mind as much but that's March Madness. I also don't like the one and done college rule where players can play one year and then get drafted bt the NBA. I would like to see it two years so you can get to know players especially the superstars we're talking about here who leave early. I't  would just give a little more sense of  familiarity back to the game of college basketball when players used to stay three or four years. I know it's about the money and security of life in the NBA but it takes away from the love of the game for college sports fans, but we all know it's a business as well. I still like the game of basketball and watch it but I wouldn't call myself a hoops junkie anymore for these reasons.

In the pro sports world we have the regular season for basketball and hockey and there are the all star games in the NHL, the Pro Bowl in the NFL and finally last night the NBA All Star Games. These are nothing more than glamorous exhibitions. Why don't they give the players some time off so a guy like Kobe Bryant can rest his finger for a few days. It won't happen but these leagues feel the need to provide oversaturated amounts excitement to us. Dwight Howard in a Superman Cape in the Dunk Contest. How about him against the Phoenix #### on a trampoiine?! Anyway it's either All Star Games endless trade talk will Jason Kidd ever get traded yet and will Shaq play with the Suns yet. It just goes on and on in the dog days of the regular season in these sports until the playoffs start in April. And I love hockey but I know a lot of you besides hockey fans and media don't so what's to talk about there. Finally congatulations to Ryan Newman the winner of NASCAR'S signature opening event the so called Super Bowl of Racing the Daytona 500. I really don't follow or like the auto racing sports. Dale Earnhardt's tragic death in the 2001 Daytona 500 turned me off of the sport in a lot of ways,  but that's everyone's own personal preference.

Anyway enjoy your sports watching and we'll look forward to March with spring training in baseball and March Madness and plenty of other NFL and sports news. Until then thanks for reading, keep up the great comments and wish me well as I go bowling this Friday Night to support Junior Achievement for local kids. Take care and best wishes friends and have a great and productive day always. fenfan.

Hello friends,

Well another NBA season is starting this week. The San Antonio Spurs are trying to repeat and win 5 titles in 10 seasons and there are Kobe Bryant trade rumors especially with the Chicago Bulls which would bring another Michael Jordan type player back to Chicago.

But what intrigues me most about this new season is a trade that brought a couple very talented players Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to a former dynasty team the Boston Celtics to join another great player Paul Pierce who was already in Boston and the three players along with others and their coach Doc Rivers hope to restore the proud tradition of this once great franchise back to glory and I'll show you how he is a connection to the team that Rivers played for in the prime of his career the 1980's Atlanta Hawks and why I think these teams the current Celtics and the 80's Hawks are both comparable and different and I'd also like to hear what you think as well.

The Hawks of the 1980's played in what was arguably the best era of the game from 1979 to 1992 which was really the Larry, Magic, Michael and Dr J era among others and if you need to know their last names then you're really not a diehard basketball or sports fan for that matter. Anyway the Atlanta Hawks of the 1980's had a very talented team led by players like slam dunk champion superstars Dominique Wilkins aka The Human Highlight film and Spud Webb who was 5'6" but also a great dunker despite his size. Other great players included Doc Rivers as I mentioned who now coaches the Celtics, Kevin Willis, Jon Koncack and a few others who I'll mention in a minute.

Now one thing about this team is they had great, unbelievable athletic talent but they never seemed to have the complete chemistry to tke them past teams like the Celtics, 76ers, Bucks and Pistons in the Eastern Conference. Dominique Wilkins and Larry Bird once had a great scoring duel in a Game 7 in the playoffs once but the Celtics won and the Hawks never advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals much less win an NBA title.

Now what got me thinking about these Hawks and their comparison to the current Celtics was a basketball magazine cover I saw back then when they had superstar Dominique Wilkins and brought in a couple other great players Moses Malone and Reggie Theus to add to their already talented cast to try to win that elusive NBA title which never ended up happening as I said. Now this year the Celtics brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce as their big ####. One thing I don't think these Celtics have is great role players and they don't have an All Star point guard or center and their bench is lacking big names so the aren't as talented as thiose Hawks on paper either. But can Doc Rivers the connection as the Celtics coach now and Hawks player back then find a way to make these superstar pieces and others fit into the chemistry that that 1980's Atlanta Hawks team ultimately did not have in their quest for an NBA title?

Boston unlike Atlanta in sports no disrespect is a proud championship town. The Red Sox and Patriots have recently won several championships and the Boston Bruins have been a great hockey franchise as well. As for the Boston Celtics, they have won 16 NBA Championships the most in NBA history but none since 1986 which is a long time for a great franchise which has had 20 down years and is looking for a way back to the top. Of course we know about the Len Bias tragedy after they drafted him and how they weren't able to sign Tim Duncan who went on to great success in San Antonio. So now it's time to see if the Celtics can come back to NBA prosperity with their three great new players and if they can find a way to make it work. Perhaps coach Doc Rivers can take a page from his past and learn the lessons he had as a player with his underachievements as a part of the 1980's Atlanta Hawks perhaps one of the most talented NBA teams never to win an NBA title. What do you think friends? Let me know and we'll talk soon as always. Best wishes and have a great and productive day. fenfan