CFB Preseason Rankings - No. 24

With the College Football season now less than 30 days away from getting started, GDB's resident expert Young Swole will begin unleashing his preseason top 25. Today we look at the Illinois Fighting Illini

Last year, the Illini were the revelation of the Big 10. By taking a bunch of young kids with SEC-caliber speed and combining them with all-world running back Rashad Mendenhall, the Illini ran all the way past the rest of the plodding Big 10 into the Rose Bowl. With so much young talent being brought in thanks to Ron Zook (who recruits like Michael and coaches like Tito), there is hope that the Illinois will become one of the premier programs in the Big 10. How does this year's version stack up with last years, lets take a look and find out.

Offense: No player meant more to their team than Mendenhall was to the Illini last year. His exceptional talent made up for the fact that quarterback Juice Williams struggled to throw the ball accurately to anyone on the team. But now with Mendenhall in the Steel City, Juice is going to have to be reliable for the Illini, because no one knows who is going to be starting behind him at running back. Thankfully for Williams he will be throwing to quite possibly the best wide reciever in the conference in Arrelious Benn. This sophomore came out guns blazing last year and could be virtually uncoverable this year, if only Juice can get him the ball consistently.

Defense: The Illini also lost their leader on defense, when linebacker J Leman graduated this spring. However, there is a lot of talent left over to compensate. Cornerback Vontae Davis should be first-team Big 10 along with Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins, and people are saying that Martez Wilson has the chance to be the best Illini defender since Simeon Rice was roaming the sidelines at Player U. Furthermore, Zook has taken the SEC philosophy of stockpiling defensive linemen with him to Champaign and while many of his d-linemen are young, they have the talent to dominate. The D will have to step up this year, especially early because its likely the offense is going to be lagging behind while adjusting to life without Mendenhall.

Coaching: Other than Pete Carroll, there may be no better recruiter in college football than Ron Zook. He was the one who signed the players that led Florida to a national championship, and the fact that he can get top-notch prospects to a middle-of-the-road Big 10 team shows that wherever he goes, excellent players will follow. Unfortunately for Zook, recruiting coordinators don't win titles, head coaches do. Zook isn't exactly a mensa member when it comes to football strategy, and many of his teams have struggled from a lack of on-field discipline. This year will be a good test to see if he's learned anything since fleeing The Swamp, because his team is still very young and will need experienced guidance to lead them through a much tougher schedule then they faced last year.

Schedule and Predicted Outcomes:

Missouri - L

E. Illinois - W

La-Lafayette - W

@ Penn State - L

@ Michigan - L

Minnesota - W

Indiana - W

@ Wisconsin - L

Iowa - W

Western Michigan - W

Ohio State - W

@ Northwestern - W

I feel that Illinois is going to struggle out of the blocks but get much better as the young players gain experience over the course of the season. You may think Sweezy is drunk when you see that I picked them to beat Ohio State, but we all see how the Buckeyes struggle with fast and aggressive defenses, which is exactly what the Illini are going to have. The late season push and big win over OSU will launch Illinois towards a possible top-10 ranking in 2009, but they'll have to settle for no better than 8-4 in 2008

College Football Preseason Rankings

With the College Football season now less than 30 days away from getting started, GDB's resident expert Young Swole will begin unleashing his preseason top 25. Today we look at the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

For pretty much the entire time Wake Forest has existed, it has been considered a basketball school. The school has provided the NBA with players like Tim Duncan and Chris Paul, and has imfamously provided CBS viewers with resident curmudgeon Billy Packer. An odd thing has happened in recent years though. Since Jim Grobe arrived at the school, the football team has been transformed from an ACC cupcake to one of the most successful teams in the league. This has been as unlikely as Duke becoming a consistent team, yet Grobe has built a program that now has to be considered one of the best in the ACC, even ahead of powerhouses like Florida State and Miami. This year should be no different, as Wake returns a solid team that could possibly push for a berth in the ACC title game if things fall right.

Offense: Wake is led on offense by senior quarterback Riley Skinner. Very quietly, he has been the best and most consistent quarterback in the ACC for two years running. His experience will help offset a young group of players around him who have talent but not a lot of game experience. The offensive line has lost some starters, but Skinner should be good enough to succeed even if they aren't up to last year's level. This offense won't remind anyone of the Gators in terms of speed and explosiveness, but they will also be really hard to stop for a whole game.

Defense: Wake has created a fast, ball-hawking defense by recruiting extensively in Florida. If you know Florida, you know that means speed. So what you get is a defense full of ballers with dreads flying around and trying to make huge plays. While other teams may still get the cream of the crop from the Sunshine State, Wake has done great at collecting their leftovers and turning those hungry players into solid college starters. Standouts include Alphonso Smith, Aaron Curry and Brandon Ghee. Overall, Wake's defense should allow them to stay in every game they play in, and will give all the young quarterback's in the ACC a really tough time.

Coaching: Its not easy to create a football winner at Wake Forest, but Jim Grobe has done just that. He almost jumped ship and left to Arkansas, but decided to stay at the program he has created out of thin air. Grobe is a great tactician of the game and watching Wake play it is very obvious that they are one of the most well coached teams in the conference, if not the country.

Schedule: Here's how Sweezy is predicting Wake's season to go.

@Baylor - W

Ole Miss - L

@Florida State - W

Navy - W

Clemson - W

@Maryland - L

@Miami - W

Duke - W

Virginia - W

@NC State - L

Boston College - W

Vanderbilt - W

Look for Wake to finish around 9-3. Their highlight of the season will be beating Clemson, and if things fall right they could match up with the Tigers again in the ACC Championship. The schedule has some tricky teams on it, but no one good enough to blow this team out.

MLB Power Poll

The sands in the MLB trade deadline hourglass are just about to dissapear and surprisingly, it has been a busy one. Normally, when the deadline is done, there's a lot more chatter than actual movement, but this time around, baseball has become exciting again (for non-fantasy players) during the dog days of summer. How much will these deals actually benefit the teams? We won't know until October when one team is pouring the champagne. Right now the winners look to be the Yankees and Angels, but in the future, it looks like the Pirates have stashed away a wealthy booty. Still, knowing Pittsburgh's luck, these guys will all turn out to be epic busts. Let's take a look at a poll that has never been called a bust.

1.) (1) LA Angels of Anaheim- The Angels were already at the top of the poll last week and they already owned baseball's best record. Many teams would be content with that, but LA is looking to put this whole World Series thing out of reach. They traded for Mark "Sexy Texy" Texeira (as the ladies call him) without giving up the farm (Casey Kotchman is but a large cornish game hen in the grand scheme of things). It's just what the Halos needed. Their pitching has been outstanding all year and while their lineup features big names, it hasn't produced like Mike Scioscia was expecting it to. Right now you have to consider these guys the favorite to take home the hardware.

2.) (2) Chicago Cubs- The Cubbies already made their deadline deal when they traded for Rich Harden a week and a half ago. The former Oakland A hurler has given up just 2 ER and struck out 30 (!!!!) in 3 starts with the North siders, but has an 0-1 record to show for it. C'mon Chicago, stop wasting this man's hard work. Harden pitches tonight with the Cubs looking for the sweep over the Brewers. This series has been a huge statement for the Cubbies so far as their offense has blown apart Milwaukee's 3 best pitchers (Sheets, Sabathia, and Parra). If this is a preview of things to come, then this division might not be as close as we once thought.

3.) (6) Tampa Bay Rays- It seems like every week, we go back and forth on who the best team in the AL East is. Right now, it looks like Tampa has taken the throne back by playing slightly above average baseball while the Red Sox flounder. While they have no sweeps since the All-star break, they have yet to lose a series either. They need to play better baseball if they want to keep their lead (it stands at 3 games right now) because the Yanks are coming on very strong and the Sawx are bound to get out of their slump eventually (right?!)

4.) (5) Chicago White Sox- Welcome to the Windy City Junior. The White Sox made, in my opinion, a rather unneccessary trade by acquiring Ken Griffey Jr. from the Reds. They've already got a stacked OF, but I guess it can't hurt. It seems like every new series that begins, I say to myself..."This is when the White Sox are going to come back to earth". Every time though, they prove me wrong by lighting up the scoreboard. On their recent 6 game road against the Tigers and Twins, they're split 3-3. I would think they've gotta be happy with that considering the way the other two teams have been playing over the past month. With a win tonight, Ozzie's Club will build a 2.5 game cushion on the Twins heading into lowly KC tommorow.

5.) (7) New York Yankees- It's hard to argue that the Yanks are one of the most dangerous teams in baseball right now. Not only are they playing at a high caliber, but they just made two huge trades that could pay dividends for them if they make the playoffs. They tackled 3 needs without giving up a lot. By trading with the Pirates for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, the Pinstripes shore up their bullpen to make it even with Boston's and set their OF for the rest of the year. Thanks to some delusional minds in Detroit's front office, the Bombers were able to replace the injured Jorge Posada with arguably the greatest postseason catcher ever in Pudge Rodriguez. It was also addition by subtraction and they parted ways with perennial douchebag Kyle Farnsworth. Watch out for the Yankees!

6.) (3) Boston Red Sox- The Red Sox have to be in panic mode right now. After getting swept by the Juggernaut known as the Angels, they're 3 back of Tampa Bay, and only a game ahead of their arch nemesis in New York. The pitching seems to be fine, the bullpen is solid, the hitting is alright. So what gives? Mediocre adjectives shouldn't be describing this team. They are as talented as any other in the majors and need to start playing like they did in the playoffs last year. It's the same club, so if they want to pull ahead they need to play up to their potential.
UPDATE: The Red Sox moved Manny Ramirez, OF Brandon Moss, and RP Craig Hansen and got Jason Bay in return. On paper, it looks like they got ripped, but maybe without Manny's distractions they can start playing up to potential.

7.) (9) St. Louis Cardinals- The Red Birds are somehow still lurking close in the division race. With a 3 game win streak (coupled with the Brew Crew's 4 game slide) they're tied with Milwaukee once again. The return of former Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter makes this team one to watch down the stretch. I don't quite understand why they haven't made any moves to bolster their lineup, but I guess they don't want to mortgage the future just yet. All I'm saying is, don't count out the Cards. They're feisty, and right now they're tied for the wild card lead.

8.) (4) Milwaukee Brewers- Last week, this was the hottest team in baseball. They had a chance to take the lead in the NL Central, but it's tough when you're matching up with a team that's just smidge better. It doesn't help that this team is directly above you in the standings. Still there are no excuses for possibly getting swept by the Cubs. The Cheese heads may be content with just locking down the wild card, but that may not be good enough in the end if they don't start winning meaningful series'. They've got 7 more games with Chicago, including 3 at home to close out the regular season.

9.) (-) Minnesota Twins - The Twinkies return to the poll after capturing 4 of their last 5 games to close to within a game and a half of division leading Chicago. Minny is in a great position to take over that lead if they can take out the White Sox tonight. Their next 3 series come against bottom dwellers Cleveland, Seattle, and Kansas City. Management has been great in the Twin Cities all year, but the only question I have is: Where the hell is Francisco Liriano!?!

10.) (10) Philadelphia Phillies- Just when it looked like the Mets had a stranglehold on the division by taking 2 of 3 from the Phils, New York lays an egg against 3rd place Florida. This makes way for Philadelphia to regain the NL East lead once again via a 4 game win streak. During that stretch, they've scored 22 runs, albeit against the soft tossing Nats and Braves. Still, when it comes down to it, wins are wins, and with the ever-consistent Brad Lidge closing out games, a lead in the 9th is all they need. A very exciting series in St. Louis looms tommorow.

Honorable Mention: New York Mets, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers

ESPN - Where Racist Hypocrisy Lives

If you are a sports fan, its pretty much impossible to avoid ESPN. Therefore, if you watch ESPN during the summer months you are forced to endure manufactured stories and features that are in no way meant to inform, but instead used to drum up completely unfounded and wholly unnecessary controversy. In 2008, ESPN is using a combination of Brett Favre's retirement status and their own "Titletown" series to take up most of their airtime. Sure, lip service is paid to baseball and other sports, but if you take any time watching the channel you can easily see what their focus is upon.

I bring up this present day programming to illustrate the racist and hypocritical coverage that ESPN creates. It was a short three years ago that the network did the same thing to Terrell Owens that it has now done to Brett Favre. Thanks in part to ESPN's coverage, TO became public enemy #1 for contract demands he was making towards the Philadelphia Eagles. As is par with the course, meaningless events became overblown news stories, such as TO's agent holding a press conference or a fight in preseason training camp. Furthermore, virtually every talking head on ESPN went well out of their way to convict Owens in the court of public opinion before the entire story even played itself out. So thanks to ESPN's willingness to create controversy in Owens' contract dispute and their incredible pull they have in shaping public opinion on such issues thanks to the sports coverage monopoly they have, Terrell Owens career was forever changed. Nevermind the fact that Owens obviously loves the spotlight, the true crime in this entire saga from three years ago was in that TO is now commonly portrayed as a greedy thug who cares more about himself than any team he has ever been on. This depiction has become so engrained in public thinking that all of TO's ensuing accomplishments have taken a backseat to his perceived nature. Forget that Owens has scored double-digit touchdowns since joining Dallas, or that he has never had an issue with the law, or even that he has been a model teammate for his new team, the bottom line is that he will always be better known for the description that ESPN created for him three years ago.

Now fast forward to the present day. Its painfully obvious that ESPN is desperate for another publicity horse to ride during the slow days of summer. You'd think that they'd jump at a chance for any mention of a story involving Terrell Owens, considering how obsessed they have been to crucify the man during any of their television shows or game coverage, especially if the story possibly involved one of their own writers. Therefore, it brought a smile to my face to read the following account from ESPN writer Sam Alipour, and then the overwhelming lack of mention of the event in the following days from the network.

"Terrell Owens was standing over me. I'm told he was the first do-gooder on the scene of the accident. That he helped me to my feet and off the street to safe ground. That he didn't leave my side. It seems the mercurial Dallas Cowboys receiver is my hero. But my hero looks scared, and this scares me."Wow, you all right, man?" Owens kept asking me, but in a manner that would suggest there is no possible way that I, in fact, could be all right. "Don't move. Just sit there. Breathe. Don't move."It's now that I noticed the car's jacked windshield, which sports a hole the size of, well, my upper torso.[...]"That was crazy. Crazy," Owens confirmed. "You all right, man?"

So wait. The same TO that has been portrayed as a menace to society actually helped someone? And furthermore, the same man who had been drawn through the mud more than anyone else in the history of the network actually made sure an employee of that network was OK after suffering a severe car crash? Wow, that sure makes TO sound like a normal human to me, not the fire-breathing monster that hates his teammates as much as he loves money, which is after all what ESPN led us to believe. This whole revelation was way too much for ESPN to report, after all their little lab creation had turned human right before their eyes. So ESPN decided to make no mention of the accident and TO's response anywhere on their site or on their network, even though the event involved one of their own employees. The only show that even paid lip-service to the event was "ESPN First Take" on which Skip Bayless opined that TO didn't help the man out of the car out of goodness of heart, but instead implied that his actions were staged so that he'd become more of a good guy in the eyes of public perception. Basically it came down to ESPN having a chance to apologize to a man they did their best to destroy, but instead they came off as too prideful to acknowledge even one good thing that Terrell Owens did in his life.

I'll complete this commentary by comparing the Terrell Owens coverage to that of which ESPN has given to Brett Favre. For two athletes that are much more similar than you would think, ESPN has clearly taken sides based untrue racial beliefs and our society's hidden fear to accept black people the same way we accept whites. Lets take a look and see how similar Owens and Favre really are. Both won Super Bowl titles early in their career and have failed to since. Owens has come closest recently, putting in a legendary performance on a broken foot against the Patriots, while Favre interceptions have led to the two most recent Packer losses in NFC Championship games. Both men have achieved NFL records during their career. Favre has virtually every passing record in the league, and Owens may very well have a chance at wide reciever career records if he maintains his current pace. Both men are fearsome competitors willing to play through pain in order to win. On the opposite end of things, both men also have enormous ego's that have led to similar events in their careers, although the media has treated them very differently. Whereas Owens' confrontations with quarterbacks Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb have turned him into a egotistical manaic, Favre's confrontations with star receiver Javon Walker and understudy Aaron Rodgers have been blown over time after time. And while Owens' desire to play for a different team made him selfish, Favre's obvious intention to play for the Minnesota Vikings is fine and dandy in the eyes of the media. In fact, if you look at the play of both men in recent years, it can be argued that it is Owens who deserves the benefit of the doubt more than Favre. While Owens is still a top-5 receiver in the NFL, Favre's play has been falling off greatly in recent years. (And for those buffoons who think Favre had a great year last year, the reason he was better was because defenses had to focus on the Packers running game which allowed Favre more time to find his two excellent recievers on the outside against single coverage). It was Favre who threw the interception in overtime against the Giants, yet he is still glorified and exempted from any sort of blame.

So after looking at every angle in this comparison, its easy to see that the difference between Brett Favre and Terrell Owens comes down to one constrast that is as easy to see as black and white. Favre for almost 20 years has been the white hero of America, the kind of guy that we can look up to and admire. Substance abuse, illegitimate children, greed, selfishness, and bad play have all been ignored while ESPN and the rest of the media focus more on the fact that Favre "has fun" when he plays, "seems like a nice guy to be around", and "only cares about winning". On the other hand, Owens has become the black boogeyman for our society, a figure who becomes the straw man for white Americans to implicity state the racist beliefs they still have towards blacks. He is the greedy black thug who cares about money more than his teammates. He is a publicity whore who is destroying our country's moral fabric. He is the player who parents refuse to allow their son's to pretend to be in backyard football games. He may even be gay. Nevermind the fact that he is one of the best wide receivers in NFL history who has played injured in the biggest games and still produced, who has become an excellent teammate since joining the Dallas Cowboys, and even helps out people involved in car crashes, that side of TO doesn't help further ESPN's racial agenda, which is all about glorifying white men while crucifying similar black men and forcing its viewers to agree with this perception.

MLB Power Poll

This blog needs an injection as no one has posted in a over a week. I've been busy at work while I'm sure my colleagues have just been lazy. Last week the poll took a hiatus for the All-star game so we have a lot to catch up on here. Let's take a look at how much the rankings changed since then. A new addition is the Number in Perentheses before the team name. It represents that team's previous ranking. A dash means they were absent from the last edition.

1.) (4) LA Angels of Anaheim (62-39)- LA regains the top slot for the second time. They've somehow took over the top record in baseball by quietly playing error free baseball over the past 2 weeks. The Halos have won 7 of 8 and something that's been missing all year (the offense) is finally starting to get into gear. They've scored 11+ runs twice since the all-star break. It's starting to look like K Rod is gonna set the record for saves in a season. He's 15 away from tying Bobby Thigpen with 2 months to go in the season.

2.) (3) Chicago Cubs (60-42)- The Cubbies make their highest appearance on the Poll since hitting #1 four weeks ago. They've got the top record in the NL, but are only 1 up on the streaking Brewers. It's important that they start taking a page from Milwaukee and start a streak of their own. They go for their 3rd in a row tonight against the Marlins, but haven't won more than 3 straight in a month and a half.

3.) (5) Boston Red Sox (60-43)- The Red Sox will get a Huge boost tonight in their lineup when David Ortiz returns against the Yankees. Big Papi has been MIA since the beginning of June and he couldn't have picked a better time to return. The Red Sox are tied atop the NL East and will need to put on a good show this weekend if they don't want to be in a 3 way war with the Yanks and Rays. It's been awhile since a Boston/New York matchup has actually been as important as the media is making it out to be. Tonight it's a battle of the aces and J. Chamberlain faces J. Beckett.

4.) (6) Milwaukee Brewers (59-43)- The Brew Crew is by far the hottest team in baseball right now. With 8 straight wins under their belts, Milwaukee is just a game back of the Cubs in the NL Central and have a 3 game lead over STL in the Wild Card race (the team they just swept). The CC Sabathia trade has give the Brewers an enormous advantage in pitching depth over the rest of the league. He's 4-0 with CG in his past 3 games. A spectacular series looms next week as Chicago travels to Wisconsin for a 4 game set.

5.) (1) Chicago White Sox (57-43)- Big drop for the Chi Sox this week. Their record isn't awful in their last 10 (4-6), but they've been past by teams that are just superior right now. At one point it looked like the White Sox were going to run away with the NL Central, but a combination of their lackluster play and the resurgence of Minnesota and Detroit has left their title in the balance.

6.) (2) Tampa Bay Rays (59-42)- The Rays are playing themselves out of contention with just a 4-10 record since the second week of July. Their schedule hasn't even been difficult. Their last 4 series have been against the A's, Brew Jays, Royals, and Indians. They're gonna need to turn things around quickly if they want to stay afloat in the ultra competitive AL East (3 teams in the Top 7 of this Poll).

7.) (9) New York Yankees (56-45)- The Yanks are on a sizzling 6 game win streak and could be tied atop the AL East with a sweep of the BoSox and 3 straight losses by the Rays. Early on it didn't look like New York would be able to overcome the loss of Chien Ming Wang, but Joba Chamberlain has filled in admirably and has become the new ace of a surprisingly durable staff that includes vets Mike Mussina and Andy Pettite. "The Hut" has much to prove tonight against last year's Cy Young Runner Up Josh Beckett.

8.) (-) New York Mets (55-47)- The Mets have been arguably just as good as their cross-town rivals. After a 10 game win sreak, the Amazin's just won their last 2 against their division foes to the south. They just passed Philly with the last win to take a 1 game lead in the NL East. They've got another big series against the next team in the poll with the fresh faced Mike Pelfrey taking the hill tonight. He had won 6 in a row before imploding in his last start at Cincy.

9.) (8) St. Louis Cardinals (57-47)- The red birds were looking to make a statement in their series with the Brewers this week. They made a statement alright, but it wasn't the one they were looking for. Milwaukee swept the Cards in the Lou to go pull 3 ahead in the standings. The Cardinals now get to look forward to an 11 game stretch against NL East division contenders starting with the Mets tonight.

10.) (10) Philadelphia Phillies (54-48)- The Phillies got a taste of their own medicine this week. Last season, it was Philly sneaking up on the Mets to take the division lead and snag a playoff spot, but this year the tables were turned, albeit a lot earlier in the year. Philadelphia still has plenty of time to regain control, but they absolutely must trade for a pitcher if they want to feel better about their chances of taking the NL East crown.

Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins

Another reason why tennis is amazing

Yup, she's from Georgia.

MLB 2nd Half Predictions

The All-Star game has come and gone. Thanks to Fox starting the game at damn near 9pm on the east coast, I couldn't even make it to the end of the game. It turns out the AL won for the 11th year in a row in the 15th inning, yet I doubt anyone who was watching at the beginning made it all the way to the end. Now that the fitting tribute to Yankee Stadium has passed, its time to look forward to the 2nd half of the season with shocking predictions that are guaranteed to come true...

3 General Predictions:

1. George Steinbrenner will not outlive Yankee Stadium. Yeah it was sad seeing him golf-carted around the stadium, but quite honestly I'm not going to feel sorry for one of the most epic dickheads in baseball history.

2. Both Chicago teams will make the playoffs, and neither New York team will. It comes down to pitching folks, and while the Cubs and White Sox have among the strongest staffs in baseball, the New York teams are mediocre and inconsistent at best.

3. Barry Bonds will get signed by someone. Just wait until a major team falls behind in the stadium and needs a jumpstart. As Grady once said "Desperation is a stinky cologne", but someone will trade the funky stink of Bonds for postseason hope.

Award Predictions:

AL MVP: Justin Morneau

AL Cy Young: John Lackey

AL Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Madden

NL MVP: Chase Utley

AL Cy Young: Ben Sheets

NL Rookie of the Year: Hiroki Kuroda

NL Manager of the Year: Lou Piniella

Division Predictions:

AL East: Boston

AL Central: Chicago

AL West: Anaheim

AL Wild Card: Minnesota

We've already seen the Rays start to weaken in the division race, and while they have been awesome so far I just can't see how they can keep up this level for the entire season playing in such a tough division. Boston has the most complete team and should continue to pull away while the Yankees inconsistencies and injury concerns will greatly hinder them. Chicago has the pitching and Minnesota is the most exciting young team in the AL and could possibly get Francisco Liriano back in the 2nd half too. Anaheim should run away with the AL West with their awesome staff.

NL East: Philadelphia

NL Central: Chicago

NL West: LA Dodgers

NL Wild Card: Milwaukee

The Phillies are by far and away the most mentally tough team in the NL East, and also have the best lineup and bullpen. If they can add a starter at the deadline they should be good to go. The Cubs and Brewers have to be considered the 2 best teams in the entire NL, and their excellent starting pitching will prevent them from having long slumps. St. Louis has been a good story but unless they make a big trade it will be hard for them to keep up with these guys in their division. Out west is anyone's guess, they all suck out there, but I'll give the edge to the Dodgers because of their manager and young players.

World Series Prediction:

Anaheim -vs- Chicago, Angels win in 6.

Baseball Advertising Blows

Baseball is my favorite sport, but as far as marketing goes, they are a distant third behind the NFL and the NBA. Why can't baseball have good commercials too? Maybe it's Fox (my employer), or maybe it's the MLB, but it's clear they need to hire a better ad agency (or maybe steal some away from the NBA/NFL).

The past few years, shit's been weak for the MLB. Dane Cook last year??!
C'mon. Can't you guys do better than the most overrated/annoying comedian on the planet. This year, they've got some no-name blogger as their spokesman for the playoffs. This is a terrible marketing ploy. I'm a blogger, and I love writing, but let's be for real. That's not going to make me or anyone else more interested in watching the playoffs. It's all about the big names (and I'm not talking about obnoxious Dane Cook).

The NBA has won it's way back into America's hearts with great ad campaigns. Last year they had prime timers hyping up the playoffs including Jeremy Piven (Entourage's Ari Gold), Will Smith and other "now" actors. This year they had the slogan "There's Only One" and "Where _____ Happens". Both were very successful. The Super Bowl is known as having unquestionably the best commercials of any sporting event. Football has been strong for years and is so far ahead of every other american sport that it can just stay consistent and keep it's crown.

So MLB, if you want to avoid becoming a joke, get some new Ad Guru's. PS: If I see another ad for FrankTV I'm going to kill someone (most likely Joe Buck).

Shut Up Papelbon

Classy guys like Justin Morneau rarely get the headlines. It's usually idiots spouting off bullshit that get their names on ESPN.com. Well that's the case once again with one of the most annoying players in the game right now. Jonathon Papelbon is known for taunting opposing teams and talking shit after he strikes anyone out.

Yesterday he said that he should close the All-star game tonight instead of Mariano Rivera, despite the fact that the game is in Yankee Stadium and Rivera has better stats than him this year and is light years ahead of him on the career scale.

"We've both earned that right; us, by winning the World Series and having the opportunity of having our manager there and our team being represented, and Mariano by what he's done for this role, we're in Yankee Stadium and blah, blah, blah," Papelbon said. "It's not that easy. Everybody thinks it's a cut and dry answer, but it's not. If I was managing the team, I would close, I'm not managing the team, so it don't matter."

He backed off his comments a little bit today saying that he thinks Rivera will get the nod, but who does this chump think he is. He's been in the league for less than 3 years and already thinks he's God's gift. This isn't the first time this year that he's talked shit.

He ran his mouth about the Rays a month ago saying that "it wasn't over between them" and that "they were going to get what was coming to them" after a brawl between the two teams in their previous series (the Rays went on to sweep the Red Sox). Paps has even hated on his own teammates saying pitcher Manny Delcarmen couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. The young pole smoker needs to know his place.

Sure he's a great closer right now, but how many just like him have come along. Remember when Eric Gagne won the Cy young a couple of years ago...where's he at now? Learn some respect you tool bag and shut your mouth.

Feel the Power

Tonight as I go to bed I cannot help but think I've just witnessed what will be one of the enduring baseball memories of my lifetime: Josh Hamilton absolutely CRUSHING baseball after baseball in the 2008 Home Run Derby.

The mere fact that he hit 28 home runs is enough to make it a memorable performance, but far more impressive than the number of dingers he hit is the distance he hit them. He hit at least three of those balls more than 500 ft. Granted it might not be as masterful a hitting display as this, but it sure comes close (pardon my sarcasm).




And it was nice to see him give credit to Jesus, since after Barack Obama is elected we will all have to worship his god. Unfortunately Indiana Jones will be too old to save us this time around.





As for Justin Morneau, it was truly refreshing to see a professional athlete with the self-awareness and presence of mind to realize that while he held the victor's trophy, something more special had taken place tonight. Morneau humbly accepted his trophy before quickly redirecting the spotlight on the evening's star: Josh Hamilton. Morneau, a player who I've always respected for his quiet yet successful approach to the game, not to mention his MVP-level talent, took a huge jump in my book. He's a true class act.

Hamilton's story is an inspiration to anyone who is struggling with personal problems of their own. He created for himself a hellish reality of life fraught with drug addiction and substance abuse, and then, with the help of his faith and his family, pulled himself up to become a favorite for the AL MVP, a starter for the All-Star Game, and the 2008 Home Run Derby Champion in everything but the offical records. Bravo Mr. Hamilton.

Thursday Night Observations

Time for Sweezy to get on the soapbox and opine on some of the events of our time...

- In the final year of Yankee Stadium, its fitting that it hosts the All-Star game. I am hoping though that this is the last great moment in the stadium. I'd find it hilarious if there was no October baseball in The Bronx this year so that we could avoid all the sob stories about Yankee Nostalgia. Hopefully the stadium and the Yanks will go out in the most painful way possible, and I can't think of a better way than a meaningless game between a Red Sox team that has already clinched the division and a Yankees team with no postseason hope.

- On the subject of the All-Star game, its time for fans to be eliminated from voting for the starters. Their idiocy is one of the major factors ruining the Summertime Classic. Simply put, marginal players like Dustin Pedroia and Kosuke Fukudome do not deserve to even be in the stadium, let alone starting for their respective leagues. MLB should do something like allow fans to keep voting, but rig the votes so that more deserving players get the nod, such as Ian Kinsler or Carlos Lee.

- Could it also be the All-Star game has been losing ratings because of the deplorable announcers in charge of calling the events? First up you have Chris Berman saying the same hideously annoying catchphrases he has for the last 20 years during the Home Run Derby, and then you have the smug Joe Buck and senile Tim McCarver calling the actual game. If MLB was serious about making the All-Star game relevant, it would replace these hacks with people who are actually interested in describing the game instead of hearing their own voices and reveling in their bloated sense of self-importance.

- Its amazing how Todd Jones is still a closer. Thats all i'm going to say after today's performance. He better not be seen in Athens, Georgia tonight or he's gonna get got.

- Another banner day for the NFL as another player, Matt Jones, gets arrested for felony possession of cocaine. I'd argue that this charge is much more serious than anything Michael Vick or Adam Jones have been convicted of, but racism still doesn't exist in sports right?

- If breaking news is considered to be Brett Favre sending a text message, then its going to be a long hot summer full of worthless Favre speculation. I don't know whats more unbelievable about this; the fact that news sources deemed this important enough to smother with coverage, or the fact that supposed country yokel Favre even knew how to text message. Maybe he learned how to in rehab.

- I'm calling it right now, Sixers in the NBA Finals next year. People are about to learn just how good Elton Brand is.

- This whole Brandon Jennings to Europe thing is pretty interesting, I'm just shocked someone hasn't done it before. There's really no language barrier in large European cities, the players will get paid handsomely for their services, and European poon is no joke (though still not close to SEC Poon).

- Its pretty hilarious to hear the things that Charlie Weis says. Earlier this week he commented that its possible for Notre Dame to be 11-0 heading into a game with USC in November, and in regards to winning that game Weis said "Anything's possible." This is coming from the (gaping) mouth of a man who could possibly be the most incompetent head coach in Notre Dame history. Seriously this man makes Bob Davie look like Tom Osborne. Weis has used every excuse in the book for his lackluster career record, I'm just waiting for the day that someone actually calls him out on the bullshit that is his coaching prowess and overall just his worth as a human being. At least it keeps Notre Dame a laughingstock for the entire country, which I guess is a gift i should be more thankful for.

- Its been a pretty good week for viewing entertainment in the life of the Sweezic One. First I saw Wall-E on Tuesday which was absolutely incredible. Its good to see creative and innovative movies get shine at the expense of the formulaic tripe that Hollywood has overdosed upon in recent years. Tonight is also the 2nd season premiere of Burn Notice. If you've never seen the show, you are missing out. Not only is it fun and entertaining, but it also provided awesome tips if you ever have the need to blow shit up, escape from evil people or just be a menace to society in general. Finally, next weekend will be the opening of The Dark Knight. This movie is getting a ton of hype, and with the actors and producers involved I have a feeling its going to be beyond justified after all is said and done.

Alright I feel sick to my stomach for including that disgusting picture of Charlie Weis. So I will leave you now with a glorious picture of SEC Poon to cleanse your mind with.

MLB Power Poll All Star Edition

We're just 5 days away from the 2008 All-Star game and I've got some opinions on the big week at Yankee Stadium. From the looks of it, the NL is more stacked than the AL. Year after year, it always appears that the National League has the bigger name players going into the game, but every All-Star game since 1996 has ended the same way...a Big W for the American League (save for the tie game in 2002). Could this be the year that the NL finally breaks through? My guess is no. I'm going with 7-5 AL with my boy Justin Morneau hitting a 2 run double to break the tie in the 7th inning. Many people think that it would be most meaningful to have Mariano Rivera start the game, but I think he should finish off the contest in the 9th. He's been a closer pretty much his whole career and it only makes sense that he's in there at the end while the Yankee Stadium crowd gives him a standing ovation.

As for the actual rosters, I think that for the most part they are pretty legit. I'm glad Matt Holliday will be starting for the NL. Even though he's missed 3 weeks this year, he's still been arguably a top 5 player in the game and already deserved the spot over Kosuke Fukudome (highly overrated). Carlos Lee, Brandon Phillips, Garrett Atkins and a trio of Mets (David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Jose Reyes) all got the shaft. On the AL side I think the roster is pretty much as it should be, although Ian Kinsler should be starting over Dustin Pedroia, but I'm sure he'll get a chance to shine. I also think Justin Morneau should have gotten the starting nod over Kevin Youkilis, but it's all good. Evan Longoria deservedly gets a slot on the team through the last chance fan vote. Alright, I'm off my soap box. Let's check out the poll.

1.) Chicago White Sox (53-37)- Are you kidding me, another new number 1 team? You better believe it! For the third week in a row we've got first timer holding down the top spot. The White Sox may not have the best record in baseball, but they are playing better than anyone in the game right now. It's the same formula they used when they won the world series in 2005 with a full team effort every game. They're currently on a 4 game winning streak including a huge come from behind 7-6 W over the Royals last night. With the division starting to get better, the Chi Sox have upped their play to counter the Twins and Tigers.

2.) Tampa Bay Rays (55-35)- The Rays fall off the top after getting swept by the Yankees. It looked like they couldn't be stopped after the sweep of the Red Sox, but since then they've looked mediocre at best. I'm still not worried about this team and in the end I think they are still gonna make the playoffs, but they can't afford to get complacent with the defending champs and the red hot Yanks in their rear view mirror.

3.) Chicago Cubs (55-37)- The Cubs continue to dominate the National League and it's not really even close between them and the next best teams (Brewers/Cardinals). It looked like they were going to have some major trouble in their quest to win the NL Central after Milwaukee picked up CC Sabathia. So what do the North Siders do? They go and pick up an equally dominant starter in Rich Harden. The fragile flame thrower will be a huge assett for the Cubs down the stretch if he can stay healthy. It looks like Carlos Zambrano has put his injury issues behind him as he's allowed just 1 run in each of last two starts after coming off the DL last week.

4.) LA Angels of Anaheim (54-37)- The Angels are still rolling along under the radar, but they could be in the public eye more if they could start putting a winning streak together. They're allowing the A's to stay right behind them because they can't put any kind of momentum together. They just dropped their past 2 to the Rangers both by 1 run. As good as the pitching has been, the offense has dissapointed big time. Poor Jered Weaver has gotten robbed of wins in his last 2 starts, pitching a 6 inning no hitter last week and giving up just 1 ER yesterday...both Angels losses. In the long run, I think they'll be alright considering the A's just gave up their best pitcher, but don't sleep on the high octane Rangers.

5.) Boston Red Sox (55-39)- It looked like the Red Sox were just about to go into tailspin mode after dropping 7 of 9 coming into this week, but they've bounced back in a big way with a sweep over the smokin' Twins. Tommorow they welcome back a fresh face in Clay Bucholtz. He'll be facing the team he no-hit last year, the Baltimore Orioles. This team is going to be scary once again when David Ortiz comes back.

6.) Milwaukee Brewers (50-41)- Milwaukee made the first big splash of trading period with their recent acquisition of CC "The Hamburglar" Sabathia. He looked very good in his first start with the cheese heads and should be a big piece of the puzzle for the Brewers if they end up going deep into the playoffs. He becomes a part of the 3 headed monster on the pitching staff with Ben Sheets and Manny Parra and in a playoff series, they are going to be quite a handful for their opponents.

7.) Minnesota Twins (51-41)- After getting swept by the Red Sox, the Twinkies just stuck a dagger in the heart of my Tigers with an 11th inning Homer off the bat of Justin Morneau. Big Poppa Canada went 5 for 5 in the game and has been on a tear lately with 11 hits in his last 4 games including 2 bombs. Like I said earlier, he should be starting in the All-star game and I hope he gets a slot in the Home Run Derby. Another plus for the Twins is the impending return of Francisco Liriano. He's been tearing up Triple A pitching and give a boost to a weak Twins pitching staff in need some fire for the second half.

8.) St. Louis Cardinals (51-42)- The Cards have yet to win a series this month after dropping two straight to the Phillies. They're still in the race in the NL Central, but for how long? If the red birds are serious about making the playoffs, they need to make a move. I suggest snagging AJ Burnett from the Blue Jays. As they say, birds of a feather flock together. I know it'd be kind of reactionary, but at this point, they are definitely trailing the Brewers and the Cubs in the talent department and with Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter doubtfully making an impact this year, it's going to be a necessity to add another arm if they don't want to get left by the wayside.

9.) New York Yankees (49-42)- Just when it looked like the Yankees were dead, they go and sweep the team with the best record in baseball. They're on a 4 game win streak and will look to make it 5 in a row against the hapless Pirates in a make-up game tonight. It's the last interleague play game of the year and I'd love to make the 3 hour trip down to PNC park to see it, but alas I've got work tonight. Has anyone ever been to the ballpark in Pittsburgh? I heard it's absolutely beautiful. Back to the Yanks, it's kind of surprising to see them only get 3 players into the All-star game considering it's at their park, but the quality of the trio (A Rod, Jeter, and Rivera) is hard to surpass. They combine for 30 appearances all time in the All-star game...that's more than the total of the rest of the AL Pitching Roster (11 players).

10.) Philadelphia Phillies (50-43)- The Phillies sneak back into the poll after a 2 game win streak. Chase Utley is back on top of the baseball world with 25 HR. I think it's safe to say he's the front runner for the NL MVP. Amazingly, they're still barely hanging on in the NL East after the Mets recent surge to crawl to within a game and a half in the division. They've gotta pick up the pace and a perfect way to do it is with a 3 game home sweep over somehow also division leading Arizona Diamondbacks (44-45) this weekend.

Also Receiving Votes: NY Mets, Oakland A's, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers

Don't Get Hosed

Tennis Wasn't Invented Yesterday....

While my venerable colleague Young Swole might have a man-crush on Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer that's even bigger than Serena Williams' booty, he and others might be surprised to find out that there was such a thing as tennis before 2003. While many people, from the Swolemeister to Brad "I love myself more than anyone" Gilbert, were quick to annoint the Federer/Nadal Wimbledon final the Greatest Match of All Time...that simply is not the case. And even if it does somehow prove to be, saying so is reactionary at best, and fails to respect the illustrious history of this gentlemans game, at worst.

It's true that Federer has dominated the ATP for the past 232 weeks or so, but I would make the case that he has done so without a true rival to challenge him. Sure, Nadal won one Slam final against Roger the Great, but until last year he was little more than a clay-court specialist, the next Gustavo Kuerten, if you will. So while so many out there are eager to annoint him "The Greatest Player of All Time," I don't think that is the case. True champions become known as such because they elevate their game to a new level in the face of equally talented competition. Let's look at a few examples...

-Pete Sampras & Andre Agassi
Swole would make you think that the game has been dominated by one-dimensional players...hard servers with few other weapons. But that is simply not the case. Unless your memory has been burned by Amy Winehouse-esque drug use, you shouldn't have forgotten these two giants of the game just yet. Sampras might have had the best serve of all time (you don't get the nickname "Pistol Pete" for your Bukakke skills) but he could also play at the net and volley like no other. And as any true tennis afficionado knows, serve-and-volley is the purest playing strategy in the game. Little known fact: Sampras did all this with a racquet measuring only 85 sq/in, 10 less than any racquet used by today's players, and it was strung tighter than a...well there's too many good jokes there. Let's just say it was strung hella tight. And that is why Agassi was a supreme foil to the King of Swing...he had the best groundstrokes of his era. He was one of the only players in history who you could sense was MORE confident when returning serve than serving. Sampras and Agassi truly defined the game from the mid-90's to early 00's. Oh by the way....Agassi is the only man to win the "Golden Slam," by winning every Grand Slam tournament and an Olympic Gold medal in his career. (The only woman to do so just happens to be his wife Stefi Graf, a pretty good player you also might have heard of).

And let's not forget the epic matches these guys provided. Sampras' final match, the '01 U.S. Open final, was one of the most epic and emotional matches of all time. It was the final Grand Slam title won by the man who has won more than any other. There wasn't a single break of serve in any of the five sets.

What about Sampras v. Roddick in the semi's of the same tournament?
Agassi winning the Australian Open when he had been all but retired by the media and so-called tennis "experts?"
Sampras, unable to keep his lunch in his stomach due to the flu, yaking all over the court and STILL defeating Alex Corretja?

-Bjorn Borg & John McEnroe
The definative rivalry of the 1980's. Borg was an appropriate name for the big Swede. His approach to the game was just like the Star Trek machine: cold, methodical, and ruthless. He won five French Opens and five Wimbledons, an amazing feat when you consider the stark contrasts between clay and grass. He was only stopped from winning a sixth Wimbledon by the emergence of a complete contrast in styles: John McEnroe. The Brat was part of a new era of athletes, who lived their lives off the court with as much flash and noise as they did on it. Their 1981 Wimbledon final signaled the end of Borg's dominance and the dawn of a new era in tennis.









-Rod Laver & John Newcombe
This is going way back to dudes who played with wooden racquets. However, Laver won all four Grand Slams multiple times, once winning all four in a calendar year. His 11 Slam titles were a record for thirty years until Sampras topped the number. If you ever are lucky enough to catch footage of his game do not pass up the opportunity to watch the man who has what is universally agreed to be the most complete and technically flawless game in history. His longtime foe Newcombe was no slouch either, winning seven Slam's of his own (although, like Sampras, never capturing a French title). He, like Sampras, probably never won at Roland Garros because his game revolved around a huge serve and then volleying, which is difficult to do effectively on slow-bouncing clay. However, on hard surface and grass his cannon of an arm allowed him to hit second-serve aces with amazing regularity. The rivalry between these two was the first premeir rivalry of the Grand Slam Era.




And anyone thinking that these are the only great matchups or players, or that I've had to reach back to the 70's for examples, is sorely mistaken. Tennis has never been devoid of great champions.



-Gustavo Kuerten, who dominated the clay courts in the earlier part of this decade similar to the way Nadal now does.






-The early career of Vitas Gerulaitis, who never reached his full potential but could cover the court like no other.
-Ivan Lendl, the most perfectly-conditioned player ever to roam the baseline.
-Richard Kreijeck winning the '96 Wimbledon title with his arm held on by duct tape.
-Goran Ivanisevic winning Wimbledon in '01 as a freakin' wild card.
-People sometimes forget, but Lleyton Hewitt was supposed to be the next unstoppable champion around 2001-02, until he lost his mind on the court (but found it off the court, when he ditched ugly-ass Kim Clijsters).
-A fella named Arthur Ashe.
-Boris Becker, who won six Grand Slams and was the youngest-ever Wimbledon champ at age 17!
-Mats Wilander, another '80s powerhouse with 7 Slam Titles to his name.
-Jim Courier and Jimmy Connors, two of the most colorful and successful American men ever to play the sport.

While I could type till my fingers fall off about epic matches, I've already mentioned a few (Borg/McEnroe at '81 Wimbledon, Sampras/Agassi at '01 US Open, etc.), I will give you two of my all time favorites that everyone who calls himself a tennis fan must see:
-Andy Roddick v. Younes El Aynaoui at the 2003 Aussie Open (Roddick wins 5th set 21-19, no typo)
-Jimmy Connors v. Aaron Krickstein at the 1991 U.S. Open. Connors, at the ripe age of 39, came back from two sets down against the much younger Krickstein to win. Some of the insults he screams at the chair umpire would make McEnroe blush.

So for everyone so eager to get swept up by the Nadal bandwagon, first rub your ass because you probably just fell off of Federer's, then realize you are not seeing the greatest players ever. Someone has to win these tournaments, and these guys just happen to be the best players around right now. There are always two finalists and there is always a winner. And there always will be.

In the Midst of Greatness

A couple of weeks ago, ESPN sportswriter Bill Simmons wrote a piece basically saying that the sport of tennis is dead (http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3446552). He argued that the sport is no longer fun to watch, that there are no players who can compete with the greats of yesterday and that the rules and scoring of the sport were beyond arcane. To him, it is more exciting to watch an episode of "A shot at love with Tila Tequila (who is ugly as shit btw)" than it is to watch a tennis match.

Well as a fan of tennis and a witness to today's men's final at Wimbledon, I can happily say that Bill Simmons is a complete idiot.

I've seen a lot of great sports moments in my life time. I remember Tiger's first win at the Masters, all the great Michael Jordan moments, Michael Johnson at the 1996 Olympics and last year's Super Bowl. I can now add today's match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to the list. What I saw was two of the greatest tennis players of all time playing an epic 5 set match to the best of their abilities. There was action, there was drama, there was everything you could ever ask for in a sporting event. At times it seemed as if both players were so evenly matched that the match would continue on forever. There were no breaks of serve for over 40 games of tennis despite outrageous shotmaking from both players. Even when Roger Federer faced break and match points, he somehow found a way to continue on and force a final 5th set. And as the light faded at Wimbledon and Nadal finally broke Federer's serve and held on for the win, I knew I had witnessed greatness. In the awards ceremony, it was obvious how physically and emotionally spent both competitors were from the match. It was completely inarguable that both men had given all they could to try and win the match.

As the hours have passed since Nadal finally won the match, I've been thinking about how much tennis has going for it, and how stupid America is for ignoring such an exciting sport. Just in the past 2 days we've seen Americans Venus and Serena Williams vie for the women's title, and then today we saw possibly the greatest player of all time defeated by possibly the greatest clay court player of all time on his best surface. We've seen other incredible matches this year already, including Lleyton Hewitt against Marcos Baghdatis that lasted until 5am in the morning in Australia. The quality of play has also risen to a height not seen in a long time. For many years, losers who could simply serve hard had the rule of the game, which eliminated rallies from the game and basically made it a contest to see who could serve it hardest. Now we have players with vastly different styles in Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal forging the greatest rivalry in the sport since McEnroe and Borg in the 80's. There are also many great young players coming into the game, such as Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils, who have the talent to challenge the top two titans of men's tennis.

Women's tennis has also become much more exciting in recent years. We have amazing competitors in Venus and Serena Williams, brilliant young players rising through the ranks, and wide-open grand slam fields that promise tons of excitement and unpredictability at every tournament. It also doesn't hurt that so many of the women's tennis players are banging hot. I personally think Maria Sharapova isn't all that and a bag of chips, but i'm not booing those legs at all. As my boy El Drunko used to say, "She could wrap those things around me twice." Other babes in the women's ranks include Nicole Vaidisova, Maria Kirilenko, Elena Vesnina and Ashley Harkleroad, who is gonna get naked in Playboy next month which makes her even more awesome. So even if you think women's tennis blows, you should still watch just for aesthetic quality alone. First of all, if you turn off hot babes playing sports that is wild homo. And at GDB, we are No Homo. Tennis also has no fat chicks.

At the completion of the match, we could hear John McEnroe exalting Nadal and Federer for their performances as well as basically pleading with America to pay more attention to such an exciting sports. Unfortunately, a lot of America has some sport of phobia towards more international sports. We shun soccer despite its worldwide popularity and excitement (See Euro 2008), and we shun tennis because it is somehow boring and predictable and is being dominated by Non-Americans. Well if today's match was boring and predictable, then sign me up for that. And if people are scared to root for foreign athletes then its time to grow the fuck up and realize that the sporting universe does not revolve around America. I feel bad for Joe Sports Fan who decided to watch a meaningless July baseball game, or a golf tournament without Tiger Woods and missed today's classic battle. For everyone who missed today's match because they feel tennis is past its prime, you took a biiiiiiiiig L today.

And Bill Simmons. If you can still say tennis is boring and antiquated after today's events, then you need to hang up your title as a sports guy, because you obviously missed the entire point of competition and sport when it being explained to you. But since you were probably busy jerking off instead to busted Asian whores on "A Shot at Love" anyway, we should probably take your opinion with guarded caution as it is.

Best Tennis Commercial Ever

In honor of Roger Federer's rampage to another Wimbeldon Title (a victory would make it 6 in a row) here's a commercial that will make even the biggest Tennis haters excited for some hard core volleying. It's Federer vs. Murray from Flight of the Conchords (A must see). Enjoy!!!!

Truth Hurts...But Honesty Is The Best Policy

MLB Power Poll

Interleague play was just what the doctor ordered. I felt that this year's matchups were the best as a whole in several seasons. One thing that I find interesting is that from a fantasy and All-star perspective, the NL dominates. Clearly, the premier players in the game right now are located in the Senior Circuit. However, you've gotta believe that the team to beat in the All-star game is the AL. They completely dominated in interleague play and top to bottom the league is much stronger overall. This is especially apparent in this week's Power Poll.

1.) Tampa Bay Rays (51-32)- A new number 1 graces our presence. They are the 5th individual team to take over the Numba One Spot since the start of the poll and the third different club in three weeks to be on top. In one of the most hyped series of the year, the Rays have dominated the Red Sox in 2 straight to take a 2.5 game lead in the AL East. It's going to be a fight between Scott Kazmir (7-3, 2.23 ERA, 72 K's in 11 starts this year) and the ace of the next team for the AL Starting Pitcher in the All-Star game in my opinion.

2.) LA Angels (50-34)- This is probably the most balanced team in baseball at this point. They've got depth like nobody's business, especially in the Rotation and the Outfield. That's why I think the Angels are poised to make a deep run in the playoffs because they won't get tired in a 7 game series. This could be the best rotation in baseball right now, with three possible 20 game winners on the roster (Swervin Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders already have a combined 20 between them) led by the always swole John Lackey, the league leader in ERA at 1.44 and sporting a 6-1 record on the season. I didn't even mention young Jered Weaver who took that bizzare L against the Dodgers last week even though he no-hit them.

3.) Chicago White Sox (48-35)- This marks the peak for the Chi Sox and the first time they've ever been above their cross-town rivals. Well this was a long time coming, especially after they just swept the Cubbies this weekend and are now on a 6 game winning streak. The White Sox are the anti-Cubs. They don't have the big names, but they squeeze every ounce of talent out of their players. For as insane as Ozzy Guillen can be sometimes, he's a genius manager and really knows how to motivate his players. Unfortuantely, he can't let his team slack at all as the Twins and Tigers are going to make things interesting all year long.

4.) Chicago Cubs (50-34)- That last statement wasn't meant to be too much of a jab on the Cubs. They aren't wasting their talent by any means, but they are paying a lot more for their players and therefore are expected to always perform well. The good news for the North-siders is that they're about to welcome back arguably their two biggest names. Carlos Zambrano is expected to come off the DL to take the hill in a huge series against the Cardinals on Friday and Alfonso Soriano shouldn't be out too much longer after that. Regardless, the Cubs should be able to breath a litte as they've got three series against pathetic teams over the next two weeks (Reds and Giants).

5.) Boston Red Sox (50-36)- Boston is on a 4 game losing streak, but all of those losses have been close. 3 were by just one run and they are playing the raging Rays so they can't be too dissapointed with themselves. On the other hand, Tampa is starting to create a little distance and this should be a minor concern. I think Boston will be alright in the end, but they don't want to get too complacent. They've gotta be thankful for the resurgent JD Drew who has staved off injury to become the biggest producer in the majors over the last month (12 HR, 27 RBI since the beggining of June).

6.) Minnesota Twins (47-38)- The Twins have been the hottest team in baseball for about 2 weeks now and don't show any signs of letting up. Just when it looked like the Tigers were back on track, the Twinkies pounded them two days in a row. It's really kind of a mystery how this team has plowed their way into the playoff hunt. They lost their best two players (Johan Santana and Torii Hunter) and yet are stronger than ever. Their pitching really isn't that impressive and they've been doing it without Francisco Liriano. Unfortunately for Minnesota they haven't been able to gain any ground on the White Sox who refuse to lose. Something has to give eventually.

7.) St. Louis Cardinals (48-37)- The Cards finally got revenge on the Royals by taking two of three from them last week to polish off their interleague play schedule. They should be happy to be back playing in the Senior Circuit because they didn't really perform up to snuff against the AL (7-8). After they're done with the Mets in a couple days, their biggest rivalry heats up again against the Cubs. This time, they're in the Lou looking to chip away more at the 2.5game divisional defecit.

8.) Milwaukee Brewers (45-38)- The Brew Crew represents the final NL team this week. There's only three and they're all from the Central. The East and West have both been pathetic so I can't justify giving any of those teams a spot. Milwaukee isn't playing inspired baseball right now and need to step it up if they want to stay in the highly competitive divisional race. They were hotter than any other team in the NL a week ago, but haven't taken advantage of other team's follies. With the talent on that team, there's no excuse for them not to contend till the end.

9.) Oakland Athletics (45-38)- The A's have been holding steady playing .500 ball over their last 10, yet they're still somehow just 4.5 back of the Angels. With the second lowest payroll in the game, it's a wonder that they're in the position they are right now. A lot of the success can be attributed to Rich Harden who's finally been able to keep it together and stay healthy for basically the whole year. He has yet to lose (5-0) and sports a 2.25 era. He's still behind his teammate Justin Duchscherer (1.91), but he's pitching as well as anyone in baseball right now.

10.) New York Yankees (44-40)- The Yanks were on a strong run for awhile, but this week they've taken a step backward. They've lost 3 in a row and scored just 4 runs during that span against sub-par pitching tossed out by the Rangers and Mets. It's terrible timing too as they've got a ridiculously hard divisional schedule coming up over the next week at Yankee Stadium against the Rays and Red Sox. Will they survive and drop further behind the leaders in the AL East?

Also Receiving Votes: Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins

The Dwight Knight

I couldn't resist putting this video on. It combines two of my current favorites. The Office is one of the most hilarious and innovative shows on television, while the Dark Knight is definitely my most anticipated summer blockbuster in quite a while. Put the two together, and you get pure genius. Bottom line: Don't fuck with Dwight.

R.I.P. UGA VI - by Dr. Burns

On Saturday Young Swole and I bid farewell to Uga VI, the University of Georgia's English bulldog mascot, who died of heart failure at his home in Savannah. Let us all take a minute to pay our respects and look back on the career of this damn fine dawg:
- In 2007, Uga VI became the winningest mascot in UGA school history with a record of 87-27. The mark surpassed that of Uga IV, who ended his career with a record of 77-24-4.
- During Uga VI's reign, the Dawgs captured the 2002 and 2005 SEC championships.
- Georgia has been to a bowl game each of Uga VI's eight seasons as mascot, and won six of the bowl games in that span.
- Both a local and national celebrity, Uga VI was featured in Sports Illustrated, a 2001 Emmy-winning episode of Turner South's Liars and Legends, has been a part of a college football segment on NBC Nightly News, and was the special guest at a reception for the Georgia Congressmen in Washington D.C. in 2002.

Uga VI will be buried in a marble vault in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium with his ancestors this week. His owner said Saturday that the dynasty's "lineage is secure" and a successor will be announced soon. In the meantime, let all the Bulldawg faithful rally behind the men who wear the red and black with two words--two simple words that express the sentiments of the entire Bulldawg Nation--GO DAWGS!