Well this is it. Likely my last post in this bloody contest. I've been doing some travel - that cultural crossroads, York, PA - and lots of work, so unfortunately, the posts have been few and far between. And that's unfortunate. Because I have what it takes to become a big-time blogger! I'm not quite a nerd, but I'm not that cool. Sure, you may find a picture of me and Jessica Alba floating around the net, but so what? So I've got a firm grip on the NBA. So what? Baseball tends to bore me, and my NFL gambling losses are mounting, forcing me to give out fewer Christmas presents. I haven't watched any bowls yet, mostly because they are all meaningless. I'm not holding out hope for the tournament that everyone wants because of greed at universities and at the NCAA. Fifteen years ago, I'd wake up on New Year's morning with Dick Clark still on the mind, and break out a pen and paper and track bowl games. Yes I did. What will happen this year? Crappy, meaningless NFL regular season games? What a bore. Might as well go out and get hammered on Goldschlager tomorrow night. So let's see ... final sports talk on the blog (because let's face it, the Final 16 ain't happening. I never get any comments, I've never been among the 'most read blogs,' and I haven't used my best material): -I used to love the Lakers, but on Christmas Day, I rooted for the Heat. Blame Kobe. Watching Kobe go against Wade and Shaq, I felt like that guy in Anchorman who started crying and ran out of the room after Ron Burgandy cursed on the air. -Speaking of Kobe, the only comparison I can think of for somebody who had so much, and lost it all so quickly because of something stupid involving sex: Pee Wee Herman -Anyone else fascinated by the show LOST? I have felt lost without it over the last few weeks. Fortunately, I have been surviving on sugarfree Shortbread cookies, and cake. -My brother had a classic quote this week. "I burn DVDs. That's what I do." I'll be asking for a DVD burner next month. One of the first things I want to burn: Notre Dame vs. USC, which is currently saved on TiVo. Might be the greatest athletic contest I saw in 2005. -I hope these athletes go far, far away, and don't return in 2006, because frankly, I'm sick of them: Roger Clemens, Latrell Sprewell, and Michael Irvin. -Runaway winner for greatest athletic achievment in 2005 is simple. It's not Lance Armstrong, either. It's the Minnesota Vikings - or, rather, the Minnesota Vikings who enjoyed the boat trip on Lake Minnetonka. In the immortal words of Ryan Seacrest, I'm out!

Left the office (52 and 6th ave) at 610 pm Wednesday. Destination: Brooklyn. Specifically Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill. It was a hike, but hey, I've been going to the gym. I'm vain enough to take off my shirt and try to lean into the right light in hopes of seeing the beginnings of a six pack, so had bad could this walk be? Attempting to not stop at any lights and keep moving (and stay warm), I dart down 6th ave, bobbing and weaving among other walkers. It's not really THAT cold. The i-pod mini is in my pocket, but between the gloves and winter hat, it'd be too much of a hassle to fire it up. And I hate hassles. Clad in sneakers (new!), jeans, long johns, three shirts, my winter jacket, winter gloves, and winter hat, I'm actually warm. I would arrive home with three wet shirts - but strangely I didn't know they were wet while walking home. By the team I had reached Houston (pronounced HOW-ston - it's a New York thing, don't ask) and 2nd ave, I was still moving. Occasionally clock-watching, I was feeling it. I had made it here in well under an hour. I got the impression I could actually make this walk on a nice spring day. In fact, for a moment, I grew angry that I had moved from 29th and 3rd to Brooklyn (blame the girlfriend). That's only a 30-minute walk from my office! The biggest problem is I sweat. Bad. In the summer, I dread rolling out in just a t-shirt because I'll start to sweat and it's sort of humiliating. Then, the struggle began. It seemingly took forever to reach the Brooklyn Bridge. I must have asked 3-4 cops how much further it was, just out of sheer desperation. Still not cold, but now cramping up in my hammys, I decide to dip into the bottle of water I had yet unopened. Also, my shoulder bag was starting to make my back sore. Neck wasn't feeling great, but hey, I only had 10 more blocks to go. I refueled on a small snack at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge - without stopping, of course - my favorite candy in the world, Haribo gummi bears. I didn't chew them up, but rather sucked on them to prolong the taste. Seeeing homeless bums on the streets, I wondered how on earth they could deal with this weather all the time, and then thought to myself, 'hey, I don't have it that bad. Quit complaining and tough it out.' So here I was at the Brooklyn Bridge one hour after starting my trek. I pulled the hood up anticipating wind on the Bridge, but the gusts never came. I was at my slowest pace heading uphill on the bridge, but really, it wasn't terrible. I occasionally turned around to check out the magnificient downtown skyline. I've always fancied the skyline ... back in the day, when I had a car, and I'd drive down the FDR and gawk at the skyline. So nice. Big buildings rock. At the end of the bridge, I enjoyed a tiny free cup of hot chocolate (pretty darn good), and even though I spilt some on my new gloves, it didn't matter. I started saying to myself, 'and down the stretch they come!' in the voice of a sports announcer and tried to pick up the pace. I finally reached home at approximately 8 p.m. Just in time to watch the utterly lame yet hypnotic 'Deal or no Deal.' I checked the distance on mapquest and it said 8 miles ... but I can't imagine that's right. I didn't walk down the FDR, so I'd chop off three miles and say my total was about five. I know I'll sleep well tonight, and as for tomorrow, well, let's just say I'll be taking a cab part of the way to work.

Just reading on some other guy's blog about how badly Toronto needs the #1 pick. I previously wrote about Atlanta and how the Hawks are in good shape for the future ... the Raptors, well, yeah, they need help. I've read plenty in the Toronto papers about how impressive the Raptors COULD be in three years when all the cap room is cleared away ... but if Toronto is on the three year plan, that's pathetic. This is a professional franchise (granted, they are in Canada); it should be able to compete now AND build for the future. Here's the blueprint: 1. Jalen Rose is a lost cause. Nobody's taking him at $15 mil, and he doesn't want to play in Toronto. If you've seen "About a Boy" (great flick), you know about being on an island. Jalen Rose is on an island. I love his game - smooth lefty, co-creator of the long baggy-pants, Fab 5 member, and in his prime, a scoring machine. 2. Let's lay off Araujo. He's been a bust, yeah, but at least you don't have Kwame Brown. Araujo doesn't appear to be a 10-10 guy - hell, he barely seems like a 6-6 guy. If he could learn to play defense without fouling, if he could box out and rebound, then he'd be at least marginally useful. Is that too much to ask of him? 3. It appears the guys you can build around - based on this year and last - are Bosh, Charlie V, Calderon (gotta re-sign this guy), Mike James, and MoPete. I think James is a SG trapped in a PG's body, and he'd help the team more if he'd look to distribute. If he wants to walk, I've got no problem with that. It'd be nice to have him, but I wouldn't overpay for him, especially with pass-first Calderon playing well. There are a few other players who should see PT this year to see what they've got: Joey Graham, Matt Bonner, and reluctantly, Araujo. 4. That leaves the Raptors with needs. They are desperate at center. Fortunately, there are some decent bigs coming out in the draft. The Raptors are also in dire need of a sweet-shooting two. They're in fairly good shape at PF, SF, and PG. 5. LaMarcus Aldridge is definitely coming out. Problem is, he's not a polished post-player. But a frontline with Aldridge, Bosh, and Charlie V is 6-10 across the board, and fairly agile. It'd instantly be one of the more promising frontlines in the NBA. Shelden Williams seems like a reach at 1 or 2 ... regardless of how he progresses, I'm not seeing him being an offensive force (20 a night). Plus, he's only 6-9, so he'd be better suited for the 4. Rudy Gay is oozing potential, but he's a 3, and I don't think he's of the LeBron/Kobe/T-Mac caliber that you must draft him at 6. For the second year in a row, the Raptors have two first-round picks. Why not go with JJ Redick? He's creating his own shot, he can fill it up from downtown, and even if he's a bit weak on the defensive end (although I'd say Adam Morrison is worst), you now have a shot-blocking backline of Charlie V, Bosh, and Aldridge that should make up for it. Maurice Ager (Michigan State) fits well here, too; and I suppose Taquan Dean could get a look, but I'm not sure about him (slight frame, more of a set shooter than off the dribble). 7. In free agency, the Raptors could make a run at Peja, but he's getting up there in years, and it seems like a longshot at best that he'd join a rebuilding effort at 28. There's aging Voshon Lenard; and Dermarr Johnson seems to be healthy and much-improved. But after Peja, it's awfully slim pickings. You're welcome, Mr. Babcock.

Die Hard is on, so I'm a little tied up ... but let's just toss this out there "Story": Ron Artest wants to be traded. Truth: If prodded, I'm sure about 33% of athletes would say they too would like to be traded. Why should anyone care that Ron wants out? This story gets more laughable by the minute. The Pacers claimed they were through with him, so they put him on the trading block. Indians claims that 20 teams had inquired. Strangely, nothing is done, or even close to being done. Here's the secret: Nothing is getting done. Artest is too a player making too little money to be dealt. Why would the Pacers - an Eastern Conference contender at the start of the season - want to get ripped off and jeopardize the future of the franchise because some petulant punk wants out? What happened was that Pacers brass got in touch with Artest's agent and said, "This isn't happening, we're not getting ripped off. Ron can shape up or sit out." So Artest's agent sat Ron Ron down, told him that he wasn't getting traded, and that the best strategy would be to make up with his team and teammates. Good luck, Ronnie. "Story": Roger Clemens may be on the Red Sox in 2006. Truth: Or it could be the Yankees. Or the Astros. Or the Rangers. Any way you slice it, all we've got is speculation - for something five months away. That may or may not happen. Clemens may just retire. He may play. Anything he says now will be meaningless, since we are talking about a man who has "retired" once already. Wake me when he signs something. "Story": Fred Smoot wants to clean up his imagine. Truth: This is like saying Paris Hilton wants to be a serious actress. Smooth was among the ringleaders in the party boat scandal. If memory serves, he proclaimed himself such a great trash talker in college, it spawned a website. I suppose he can only improve his image, but telling it to the media? Why? What's the point?

So after two days of pondering just what the heck I was doing entering this wretched thing, I came up with this: I won't win. I can't. Because I'm simply not putting in the time and effort it takes to win something like this. But I can, however, offer my valuable advice on what a successful blog on Fox Sports might look like! You'd have to be merciless. Any and everyone would be fair game. That includes Fox sideline reporters we'd like to see follow Lisa Guerrero into the pages of Playboy. That includes national sports columnists; the President, your mom, and even your girlfriend (let's face it, they don't read blogs, much less sports ones). Sports fans rarely agree - I recently got into a pissing contest with a good friend over whether or not the Houston Texans should draft Reggie Bush (duh, don't be stupid!) or trade down and stock up on a meek offensive line; we haven't spoken in days - but this much is true: We loves sports, drinking, and women. So naturally, those three are essentially to a prominent blog. Nobody cares that I got wrecked on Beast lite last night and professed my love to Drew Barrymore before getting kicked out of a bar - BUT, if Drew Barrymore was canoodling with Derek Jeter (she wasn't, just sayin), and they were drinking Beast lite, well, that's a story. And not just women and athletes - but celebrities, promiscious reality stars, and playboy playmates. Kyle Boller and Tara Reid? We care. Quentin Richardson and Brandy? Yup. Tony Gonzalez and the hot bartender downstairs at Suede, whose name we don't quite know? Not really. And finally, we have to decide early on who we'll love to hate. We will mock them endlessly - all in good fun, natch - and then when they get the bright idea to write us (because they will) and attempt to win us over, we'll play nice - but it's not going to impact our blog's intentions and goal. Do you want to read more about Ron Mexico, or the success of the Colts cover-2 defense? Would you rather read about Derek Jeter dating Jessica Alba, or what might happen with Roger Clemens (a massive non-story until something actually happens)? Sure, they'll be some serious sports news - Drew Rosenhaus is a douche (can we use that word?), Rafael Palmeiro is a cheat, Adam Morrison has a sweet jumper but the mustache of a sex-offender, JJ Redick is the greatest pure shooter in the history of college basketball (not a stretch), and Tony Dungy is a great coach, not just a great black coach.