Your 2008 Pac-10 Preview: UCLA Bruins

College football commences on Thursday, August 28th, which makes us very happy.  Pac-10 play also opens up that same night, with Oregon State visiting Stanford.  So from now until then, we'll break down every Pac-10 team, their strengths, weaknesses, and what we generally think of them and their chances for the upcoming season.  Stay tuned to see what we think of your team.

UCLA BRUINS: FINISHED 6-7 IN 2007

The UCLA Bruins may very well be the most interesting team in the entire Pac-10 this season.  First of all, I hate em.  Cannot.  Stand.  Them.  Not sure why, but I just always have.  I think it's partially Troy Aikman's fault and partially the sheer ugliness of those powder blue jerseys that they've been rocking for, like, ever.  But this year, I'm actually interested in what happens to the Bruins.  

First of all, as you can see above, they aren't backing down from cross-town rivals USC Trojans in the least.  Pretty ballsy stuff.  Actually, it's absolutely nuts.  But whatever gets them going and ready for the season.  Whatever works.  I just won't feel as bad for them when USC unloads a beatdown on them on December 6th.  Can anyone say 30 point win?  35?

ANALYSIS

UCLA kind of has a huge, enormous problem.  They don't have a quarterback.  After losing Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson to injuries, they are now stuck (a very good way to put it) with community college transfer Kevin Craft.  Let me say that again.  Community college.  Yeah, the one below junior college.  Although Rick Neuheisel and the rest of the coaches are putting their best confidence face forward, Craft hasn't exactly convinced everyone that he's the guy for the job.  

Say what you want about the quarterback position and it's importance, but the truth remains.  Teams that don't have a solid number one quarterback usually don't finish in the top three spots of a major football conference.  They just don't.  And if they do, it's usually because the rest of the depth chart is packed with above-average talent.  That helps to make up for the weakness at QB (see 2006 Chicago Bears super bowl team as a model of what I'm referring to).  

The Bruins defense is decent.  And by decent, I mean fast and athletic.  But when your defense is obviously better than your offense, you run into a problem.  It's the same no matter where you go.  What happens is that your defense keeps the games close at first, but then they are on the field for such a long time, that eventually they wear down and you lose every time.  I have a feeling this is going to be the script for the Bruins in 2008.

PREDICTION: 4-8 (4-5 in conference)

Wins: Arizona, Washington State, Oregon State, California

Losses: Washington, Stanford, Tennessee, BYU, Oregon, USC, Arizona State, Fresno State

Other previews:

7. Arizona

8. Stanford

9. Washington

10. Washington State

Have You Ever Wanted To Do This?

In case you're at work, you might want to bust out the headphones or play this very softly.

Rudy Watch: USA 118, Spain 107

Final "Rudy Watch" here people.  Yeah, yeah I know it's a little bit late, right?  But just as the Oregon Department of Revenue told me the other day about my 2006 taxes, "better late than never."  ("And if you don't pay, we're coming after you...")

So the USA won gold.  We all know that.  But the Spanish fared much better against them than they did in the previous 37-point beatdown.  Along with the rest of his teammates, Rudy performed much, much better, leading the team with 22 points, hitting 5 of 9 threes and dunking over Dwight Howard in what might have been the dunk/play of the entire Olympics. (Video here.)

Generally speaking, I believe that Rudy is going to be a great addition for the Blazers.  Looking at how he performed in the Olympics, it seems as though he'll be able to adapt to life in the NBA quite well.  Maybe not at first, but I don't think Rudy is going to come over here and fall completely on his face.  A nice, solid 6th man-type role will do the Blazers just fine.

Rudy's stat line: 22 pts, 5-9 3-pt, 2 reb, 2 stl in 17 minutes

Your 2008 Pac-10 Preview: Arizona Wildcats

College football commences on Thursday, August 28th, which makes us very happy.  Pac-10 play also opens up that same night, with Oregon State visiting Stanford.  So from now until then, we'll break down every Pac-10 team, their strengths, weaknesses, and what we generally think of them and their chances for the upcoming season.  Stay tuned to see what we think of your team.

ARIZONA WILDCATS: FINISHED 5-7 IN 2007

It's been a pretty rough go for football in Tucson for a long time now.  Last time the Wildcat faithful saw any sort of success in football was 1998, where they somehow, inexplicably pulled a 12-1 record out of their cactus-loving asses.  

I tried a few Google searches to figure out what players they had on the team in '98, maybe to pin down how they were that good, but after about three minutes, it wasn't worth the effort.  Suffice it to say, there is a reason the top two must-see sports in Tucson are 1) men's basketball and 2) women's softball.  You won't find that scenario at very many other schools.

ANALYSIS

Last season was a semi-breakout season for Arizona.  While there was nothing particularly stellar about their record of 5-7, but the greatest leap seemed to come with their offense.  Senior QB Willie Tuitama finally "arrived" on the scene (more or less) last season and the offense improved considerably from the previous year.  Last year, Zona's offense averaged 28.0 points per game, which was leaps and bounds better than the 16.6 ppg they averaged in the year before.  Wideout Mike Thomas was one of the best receivers in the conference last year, and should make Arizona's passing attack one of the most feared in the Pac-10.  

Word out of Tucson is that the offensive improvement is all the work of new offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes.  Still, head coach Mike Stoops is said to be on the hot seat and must reach a bowl game to firm up his job security outlook.  So if the Wildcats don't manage to sneak into a late December bowl game, both Stoops and Dykes will both be gone.

As with previewing any team in any sport before any season starts, it's nearly impossible to pick who upsets who and when.  So when we look down Arizona's schedule, we just don't see them doing anything too spectacular.  

PREDICTION: 6-6 (3-6 in conference)

Wins: Washington, Stanford, Idaho, Toledo, New Mexico, Washington State

Losses: UCLA, California, USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State

Other previews:

8. Stanford

9. Washington

10. Washington State

Thanks For The Memories, Duck

In case you haven't already heard, Kevin Duckworth passed away last night in Lincoln City, Oregon.

In no way did I know him personally or anything like that.  But Kevin Duckworth and the Portland Trailblazer teams of the early-to-mid 90's provided many of the happiest moments of my youth.  And I had a damned good childhood people.  I absolutely loved those Blazers teams, as did everyone in the state of Oregon.  I can still remember watching the Blazers beating the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix in game 5 to advance to the Western Conference finals.  Me, my mom and my dad were yelling so loud with excitement that we made my little sister break into tears.  It was truly a great moment.

I don't think anything will ever compare to those childhood days of Blazermania.  I can honestly say that I don't think anything like that is going to happen ever again.  Even now, with Oden and the great, young team we have here in Portland right now, it still doesn't compare.  I just don't know if it ever will.  I guess the only thing that can top those "good old" days of "Blazermania" would be an NBA title for Roy, Oden, Outlaw and the boys.

Those teams were something else though.  Interesting thought from Ball Don't Lie blog: "Those Portland teams were brilliant.  I'm having a hard time coming up with a recent team that played as well without actually ending the season with the crown, because modern almost-there's like the Suns and Mavericks weren't even in Portland's league."

Wow.  Amen to that.  More thoughts on Duckworth and those Blazer teams here.

A Different Kind of Fantasy Football

I don't know which kind of fantasy football I would prefer, if given the choice.  It's a close call.  Sure, Braylon Edwards is pretty dreamy, but I think I would rather play fantasy football with any one of these fine ladies instead of Edwards.  

ABC, You Now Have Our Attention

Now I'll admit, in my lifetime, I have watched more than my fair share of crappy and/or sappy movies solely because there was a hot chick in said movie. And for no other reason whatsoever. None at all. Just a hot (or at least decent looking) girl. That's it.

Movies that come to mind where this has happened:

-Elecktra (Jennifer Garner)

-Dukes of Hazzard (Jessica Simpson)

-Don't Mess With the Zohan (Emmanuelle Chriqui)

-Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (April Scott, Trishelle Cannatella, others...)

-Made of Honor (Michelle Monaghan)

-Stuck on You (Eva Mendes)

-The Holiday (Cameron Diaz)

-Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Blake Lively)

-Pretty much every single chick flick I've ever seen.

Obviously, there are more, but they aren't coming to mind right now. And yes, it's true that pretty much all dudes are just like me, in the fact that yes, we all like hot girls. No surprise there.  In fact, you can make anything interesting to guys if you just add hot chicks. No joke. Anything. That topic is surely another post for another day. So I'm not saying anything original by any means. I'm just saying.

Anyway, ABC has finally nabbed my attention. First of all, I hate Dancing With The Stars. I just don't get "it", okay? I don't like dancing and I don't have a lot of interest in watching other people dancing. Don't wanna hear or see it. But apparently, ABC has gone the extra mile in working to get me to pay attention. Saw this article on Yahoo a couple days ago. This could defintely get my attention. I've gotta give them credit. Brooke Burke, Kim Kardashian, Misty May-Treanor, Susan Lucci and Toni Braxton are more than reasons enough to tune in. At least a couple times, right?

I may have to check into getting a DVR again.

Scratch that. I'm definitely going to be checking into getting that DVR back...

Your 2008 Pac-10 Preview: Stanford Cardinal

College football commences on Thursday, August 28th, which makes us very happy.  Pac-10 play also opens up that same night, with Oregon State visiting Stanford.  So from now until then, we'll break down every Pac-10 team, their strengths, weaknesses, and what we generally think of them and their chances for the upcoming season.  Stay tuned to see what we think of your team.

STANFORD CARDINAL: FINISHED 4-8 IN 2007

After looking at a few other previews to gauge what kind of expectations there are for Stanford this coming year...well there are none.  None of the previews I saw gave Stanford much of a chance of winning more than two games.  Geez, I didn't know that picking Stanford to finish third from the bottom in the conference would make me feel like such a homer.

ANALYSIS

Well first of all, if you can tell me anything of merit that Stanford accomplished last season, besides upsetting USC, and I'll give you $20 bucks.  Or however much is in my wallet right now, which ever is more.  Anyway, all the hype last season was about this guy Tavita Pritchard.  One lucky pass and the guy's getting all the credit.  Well, he ain't even that good.  He's in a QB battle with two other quarterbacks, with Harbaugh leaning towards any of them.

Their offensive was pretty crappy last year, ranking in the triple digits nationally.  And it never helps a bottom-feeding offense when you lose your two best receivers, as Stanford after last year.  Evan Moore and Mark Bradford have both gone, so the receiving duties rest solely with Richard Sherman, who is the only WR with any sort of experience.

The Cardinal and coach Jim Harbaugh want this team to be a defense-first type team.  That is where they have the most promise heading into this next season.  Unfortunately, they play in the Pac-10 and not the Mountain West, so winning very many games isn't going to come easy at all.

We've actually marked them down for a couple upset games, and if those don't happen, Stanford will most likely find themselves in the basement of the conference.

PREDICTION: 3-9 (2-7 in conference)

Wins: San Jose State, UCLA, Washington State

Losses: Washington, Oregon State, Arizona State, USC, California, Arizona, Oregon, Notre Dame, TCU 

Other previews:

9. Washington

10. Washington State

Your 2008 Pac-10 Preview: Washington Huskies

College football commences on Thursday, August 28th, which makes us very happy.  Pac-10 play also opens up that same night, with Oregon State visiting Stanford.  So from now until then, we'll break down every Pac-10 team, their strengths, weaknesses, and what we generally think of them and their chances for the upcoming season.  Stay tuned to see what we think of your team.

WASHINGTON HUSKIES: FINISHED 4-9 IN 2007

First, a confession of sorts: We grew up loving the Washington Huskies.  I mean, absolutely loved them.  They were the favorite team by far of our young lives.  We were both born and raised in Oregon, but the success of the Huskies from up north captured our 8 year old hearts.  It didn't help that both Oregon and Oregon State were pretty sucky at the time.  

Growing up, Dad would take us out to a college football game about once a year, either in Eugene or in Corvallis.  One of our earliest memories of actually being at a big time college football game was watching this happen at Autzen Stadium on October 22 of 1994.  After witnessing that play, I'm afraid that I was never the same.  (You freaking idiot Jim Lambright!  What the hell man?  You were on the SEVEN YARD LINE!!  Give the damned ball to Napoleon Kaufman!  Give it to Kaufman, you retard!  Kaufman!  He's your f-ing running back!)  You may be wondering, and the answer is yes.  We got over the bitterness of that day a very long time ago.

Anyway, I have to admit that ever since that day, my Washington Husky fandom changed a bit.  It was more than just your typical jumping from the bandwagon move.  The Huskies continued to be a pretty good team, at least for a few more years.  I think they just broke my heart.  Thanks a lot Damon Huard.  I don't know if you can hear it on the video clip, but if you listen closely, you can hear my 13 year old heart breaking in two.  "Kenny Wheaton" is practically a four letter word in my parents household to this day.

ANALYSIS

(Wow, how off-topic have we started this post off???)  I have a feeling that this Washington Husky team is going to be a lot like last year's team.  Last year's team was something of a mystery, with experts all over the place with their picks.  Some thought the Huskies would surprise everyone, finishing in the top half of the conference.  Others never bought into the hype.  Turns out they weren't really that good, finishing 4-9.  They only won one game that was considered as impressive, beating Boise State in Seattle, 24-10.

I think the Huskies are pretty much the same exact team as last year.  Sure, Jake Locker is still one of the more (maybe the most) dangerous QBs in the conference, but I'm afraid Ty Willingham is going to need more than just Locker's performance to keep his job after this season.  Sadly, we don't see that happening.

PREDICTION: 3-9 (2-7 in conference)

Wins: Stanford, Notre Dame, UCLA

Losses: Oregon, BYU, Oklahoma, Arizona, Oregon State, USC, Arizona State, Washington State, California

Other previews:

10. Washington State

ESPN's Stacey Dales: Jammin' at the 2008 Little League World Series

Just stumbled upon this interesting and very poorly lit video of ESPN reporter, and former WNBA-er, Stacey Dales.  This is what there is to do in the town of Williamsport, PA, when you're not busy sideline-reporting at the Little League World Series.  I have no clue who the dude is that is responsible for the awesome (?) singing.  His name is Cody Coe, whoever the hell that is.  

The funny thing about Mr. Coe's singing, is that is actually sounds a lot like the actual song.  I don't know what exactly that is saying about the original song, come to think of it.  As for Miss Dales' moves, we say they're actually pretty decent.  We wouldn't mind bustin' a move out on the dance floor with Miss Dales ourselves.  Wait, what's that you say?  How tall did you say she was? (Answer from the back: "about 6 feet tall")  6 feet? (!) Dammmmmmnn.  Oh, well then nevermind.  That is way, way, way too tall for us.

(Side: we need more photos of Stacey Dales not playing basketball on the internet, dammit.  I spent literally at least 9 whole minutes trying to find some decent photo, and that one up there is all I could come up with.)

Happy Friday: All Things Fantasy Football

The fantasy football draft is tomorrow, and I'm feverishly pouring over rankings from all corners of the net.  Yahoo, ESPN, SI.com, RotoWorld, Drudge Report, Maxim Online...you know, all the usual websites. I'm half prepared and half panicked at this point.  

The thought of potentially being forced to choose between Brian Westbrook and Joseph Addai at the 4th pick haunted my dreams last night.  Or an even worse thought: getting the 7th or 8th pick, or as I like to call it, the "sh*t pick."  Getting the 8th pick ("sh*t pick") will haunt your dreams for the entire season.

We've got lots of questions playing over and over in our minds today.  I mean, is Marshawn Lynch really the 11th best fantasy pick on the board?  Really?  I know he's gotta be ranked number one in the Fantasy Hit-and-Run rankings, but is he going to be that good on the football field?  Is Frank Gore going to make it through the entire season without an injury?  You see, if I pick him, he'll go down in week one and be out for at least 8 weeks.  If someone else gets him, he'll stay injury-free and dominate.  That's just how the fantasy football cookie crumbles for me in most cases.    

Do you think I am over-thinking this a little bit? (Yeah, just a tad right?)  Anyway, no matter how my fantasy draft may potentially go tomorrow, a little Vanessa Minillo will always make it a little bit better.

A Nation Collectively Weeps...I Collectively Weep Also: Leryn Franco Loses

(And folks, I am totally speechless.  This is why there are no formal writings here on this post.  We're really gonna miss you, Leryn.)

Your 2008 Pac-10 Preview: Washington State Cougars

College football commences on Thursday, August 28th, which makes us very happy.  Pac-10 play also opens up that same night, with Oregon State visiting Stanford.  So from now until then, we'll break down every Pac-10 team, their strengths, weaknesses, and what we generally think of them and their chances for the upcoming season.  Stay tuned to see what we think of your team.

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS: FINISHED 5-7 IN 2007

We are going to start picking the Pac-10 teams apart, going from the bottom up.  And since the 2003 season, Wazzu has been near or in the Pac-10's basement.  From 2001-2003, they went 30-8 and went to the Sun Bowl, the Rose Bowl (!) and the Holiday Bowl.  Since then, just a meager record of 20-28 with no bowl appearances.  

The Cougars haven't really seen much in the way of consistent success since the days of Ryan Leaf, if you can believe that.  Say what you will about Leaf and his fall from grace, but he was a real good college QB.

"ANALYSIS"*

I guess I have to put something here right?  Well he was still in college, QB Alex Brink was considered their only real strength of the past couple years.  He is now gone and playing for the Houston Texans.  This year, Senior wideout Brandon Gibson returns and ranks as one of the best in the entire Pac-10.  Last year, he was actually the only wide receiver in the conference to average over 100 yards receiving per game.  He was pretty much the only bright spot last season, and seems to be the only projected bright spot for the upcoming season.

Washington State's new coach, Paul Wulff, will have his boys running a new up-tempo, no huddle spread offense, pretty much like every other team in the Pac-10 runs these days.  As we know though, it's pretty hard to take over a team, insert a brand new offensive scheme, and have any sort of success in the first year or two.  It's even harder when your team sucks like the Cougars do.

In 2007, Wazzu had six games where they gave up 34 points or more.  Five of those games they actually gave up 40 or more.  Tell you what, I probably could have suited up and played corner for the defense, and they would have done just as good.  It ain't very good.      

PREDICTION: 3-10 (1-8 in conference)

Wins: Baylor, Portland State, Washington

Losses: Oklahoma State, California, Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State, USC, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Hawaii

(* You may ask why the word 'analysis' is in quotation marks?  Well, it's because I pretty much have no idea what in the hell I'm talking about when it comes to being an "analyst.")

Countdown to Fantasy Football 08: 2 days, 20 hours and 56 minutes

Today, a video plus a little bit of knowledge for ya.  Because I care so much about you all, I'm going to reveal some of my fantasy football secrets.  These are things that I've learned over the past few years or so, things that I have put to the test and have found success with.  I call them "guidelines", you may call them rules if you like.  But here you go.

I am going to divulge to you, the top 5 players that you want to stay away from and not draft.  Pay attention, because other owners in fantasy football leagues all over this fine nation will be gobbling these players up in the early rounds, and you may feel left out.  But stick with me people.  After these players all turn out to be draft day busts, you can just sit back and laugh at them all the day long, because you didn't get fooled like they did.  And trust me, you will be on top of your league, or at least over .500.  Wait.  On second thought, I can guarantee that you won't be in last place?  How's that for ya?

Here we go.  Here is the list.

#5)  You will not want to draft Dwayne Wright, (pictured) running back for the Buffalo Bills.  He is rated by ESPN as the 99th best RB on the board, so it's gonna be tempting to snag Mr. Wright in your league's draft, I know.  But you have to resist this temptation.  He is projected to accumulate a mass of 107 yards rushing and 1 touchdown for the year, and I know those stats jump out and scream "I'm going to be the steal of the draft as a 5th round pick", but stay strong.

#4) The next player you will not want to draft is Redskin's WR Anthony Mix.  Despite the large amount of publicity this guy has received since going undrafted out of Auburn back in some year, unfortunately for fantasy owners everywhere, this guy isn't going to be in the Mix.  (See what I did there?)  I know, it's pretty disappointing to see Mix tumble down the depth chart after showing so much promise back in the local Rec League when he was 13.  Trust me, there are about 132 other WR's that will be a better pick than this guy.  

#3) Next up is Tyler Palko, QB for the New Orleans Saints.  With him in the same QB group as Drew Brees and Mark Brunell, you're pretty amazed this guy isn't going to be competing for the starting QB job, huh?  Admit it.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but trust me, don't draft Palko.  He's going to seem like such a steal sitting there at the 50th overall pick, but you will thank me later for not taking Palko.  

#2) Readers have been emailing me non-stop about this next guy.  Vinsanthe Shiancoe of the Minnesota Vikings.  My inbox has been overflowing with questions about this dude's upside, sticky finger hands, and potential fantasy value.  In fact, Larry in Terre Haute, IN writes in, "The Vikings signed this guy and are paying him a guaranteed $7 million bucks, so he's gotta be a good fantasy pick, right?"  Wrongo, wrongo there Larry.  It's true he's getting paid that $7 million, but if you draft him, it's going to hurt you in the standings.  You can quote me on that, buddy.

#1) And the number one player that I am telling you not to draft and to stay as far away as possible is...Plaxico Burress.  Two reasons.  1. He is injury prone.  His ankle is apparently attached to his women parts.  And 2. Did you hear me?  He has f-ing women parts.

That is all.  Hope it helped you out.  Here is your video.  (Again, you probably wanna earmuff the kids and old people.)

Chinese Baseball Players Are Real Classy

This is a couple days old, but the USA beat China on Monday, 9-1. And by international baseball standards and especially any type of baseball standards, it was quite the physical game.

As an American, I know that Americans aren't always the most gracious of athletes. I know that we are seen as just a bunch of cocky blowhards to everyone else in the world. Yeah, yeah I get it. And I'm not denying that sometimes we aren't perfect competitors. But when did the Chinese decide to try to out-jerk the Americans? Because they did it quite well on Monday.

China's one run came via home run hit by backup catcher Yang Yang. His home run came in the top of the 9th inning. Earlier in the game, Yang was taken out at home plate by the USA's Nate Schierholtz. Yang was pretty pissed off about getting barreled over, and had to be held back by teammates from going after Schierholtz. While pitching in the 7th inning, China seemed to "get their payback" for Yang getting punked. They straight up took out (he had to actually leave the game) Matt LaPorta with a heater to the side of the head.

Still, after all that went down, Yang Yang must have felt the need to take his one home run in the top of the 9th inning, that had no real effect on the outcome of the game, and rub it in the faces of the US players. (Ooooooo, your one tiny home run really hurts us, Yang.  You sure got us there.) Here is the visual of him running around the bases. Note: he had his hand raised like that the entire way around the bases. Truly an act of complete douchebag-ery, I don't care what country your from.

So, to recap:

1. Knocking a catcher out at the plate? A normal, although very physical part of the game.

2. Headhunting by your pitcher in response to said home plate collision (no matter what Roger Clemens will tell you)?  In baseball circles, usually considered as bush league.

3. Hitting one single non-game-changing home run at the end of the game, when it doesn't matter in the least, and the proceeding to over-the-top celebrate it the entire time you're running around the bases?  Earning a total beat down the very next time you put on your tiny littlt baseball jersey for being such an a$$hole.

I Guess I Don't Hate Everything About The Stupid, Idiot Miami Dolphins

Case in point:  Whoever this is.

Countdown to Fantasy Football 08: 3 Days, 18 Hours And 56 Minutes To Go

Listen up folks: Fantasy football is coming and it's coming soon, and we are EXCITED for it.  That's right, not just lower-case excited...we're upper-case excited dammit.  We are fresh off of one amazing 2nd place finish, coupled with having our ass handed to us in the playoffs by the 6th seed (thanks a lot Dave!).  However, we have moved on from that disappointment (we don't cry every day, okay?) and we are ready for 2008.  

But before we give up any of our secrets, here's a little video to get us all in the mood.  I know what you're saying.  "Hey Drew, isn't this going to get me in the mood, you jerk.  It's old and outdated.  It's from last season, for crying out loud."  First of all, that's what she said.  And secondly, it's still funny, alright??

(There are a couple of choice words, so be sure to earmuff the kiddies.)

Rudy Watch: USA 119, Spain 82

That's it.  Rudy is getting benched as soon as he gets over here.

He needs to do better than this, dammit.  8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, that's it dude?  The hype has officially died.  Or if it hasn't, I would like to kindly kill it as of this moment.  It's really for Rudy's own good.  We learned a little bit more about Rudy from America's thumping of the Spanish.  We learned, at least in part, how Rudy may stack up against some of the premier NBA talent night in and night out.

Of course, he won't be facing the likes of Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant every single night.  But the NBA is still a step up from international play (this is obvious, I know, I'm just saying).  But still, how Rudy did in this game is at least a tiny bit revealing.  We learned something.  We learned that Rudy Fernandez isn't going to come straight over and immediately average 18 points per game, shoot 80% 3-point percentage and start in next year's All-Star game.  Sounds a little over-the-top, but if you ask around town, this seems to be what some people are expecting.  In fact, judging by all the hype here in P-Town, anything less than those numbers (18 pts per and an All Star bid) is going to break Blazers' fans hearts.  We, as Blazer fans, have definitely waited a long time for success to come our way, but it hasn't been that long.

So games like the one Rudy played against the Americans are good though.  Now we here in Portland can lower our expectations just a tad.  We should lower them.  Notice I said should.  It's doesn't mean that will actually happen.  

Here's the reality of what Rudy is going to bring to the Blazers: I heard on the radio a couple days ago that Rudy will probably be a "6th man" type of player.  8 or 9 points per game, 4 or 5 rebounds and some solid shooting from downtown coming off the bench.  Portland fans, listen up: 6th man type numbers is all we should really expect from Rudy.  Let's not kill this guy with overwhelming expectations.

Rudy's stat line: 8 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl in 19 minutes

Lefebvre Must Be One of Those Rather Uncommon Chinese Last Names

This is just weird.  To each their own, I guess.  But how does an old white guy named Jim Lefebvre stumble into managing the Chinese baseball team?  I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with it, but I thought to compete in the Olympics for a particular country, you had to have some sort of ancestral attachment in that country.

Oh and not to mention the assistant coach, Mr. Ontiveros.  Do you think any of their baseball coaches are actually from China?  Is that too much to ask?  Is there some sort of 'Mercenary Baseball Coaches Association That Will Coach Anywhere At Anytime' that I haven't heard about or something?

So if the Chinese baseball team wins a medal of some sort and the Americans don't, I am blaming Mr. Lefebvre.  I mean, what better way to show you're American pride than to try to beat the tar out of American players in the Olympic games.

Those Darn Spanish Olympic Teams Are At It Again

This time it's the Spanish swimming team doing the honors.  And it's still pretty offensive too.

Your Olympic Moment of The Day

Happy Friday: 105 Degree Heat Edition

I'm coming to you live from the Columbia River this morning.  Stayed here at the in-laws place last night, because our place...uhh...let's just say the heat likes to stick around.  It's pretty much insufferable.  So I'm enjoying this cool river breeze while I can, which probably isn't going to be very long.

Here's a little Minka Kelly to make your day just a tad bit hotter.  She's good at that sort of thing.

On my mind today:

James Blake loses to Chile's Fernando Rodriguez, and apparently Rodriguez cheated.  Pretty lame when you have to cheat to have a chance at the gold medal.  I mean, c'mon, it's the freakin Olympics dude.  The funny thing about the whole thing is that, for once, it's not just another case of a losing athlete just being a poor sport.  Apparently, all the replays confirmed that Blake was right all along.  Oh well.  I didn't even know they played anything other than soccer in Chile anyway.  Maybe he cheated for the good of the sport in his home country.  In that case, we'll let it slide.

Bolt breezes to 100 meter semifinals.  After Michael Phelps racing, the matchup between Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell is going to be the one thing I make sure I am watching.  The term must-see TV is thrown around much too often, but if anything would be considered must-see, it will be this race.  It's going to be nuts.  Hopefully Gay can bring it home for the USA.  It will surely be considered a huge upset if he does, though.

Phelps mere strokes from history.  This is the point where the paranoid-sports-guy part of me is getting nervous for Phelps.  Mainly because of all the talk surrounding the guy and him getting his 8 gold medals.  You know, all that knock-on-wood type stuff and what not.  I also cannot even imagine being Michael Phelps right now.  How can the dude stand this much pressure for this long?  Don't know how he does it.

Hand over the gold, China.  Yeah that's right, you heard me right.  I didn't stutter.  Part of me can't blame the Chinese for marching out 12 and 13-year gymnasts, because if I was a huge Communist regime and I was hosting the Olympics, I would do whatever the hell I wanted to do also.  But this is the ridiculously awesome thing about having the Olympics in a freaking.  Communist.  Country.  This is probably only the tip of the corruption iceberg.  I say let's put North Korea on the short list for 2016.  Let's go Communism.

Rivals.com Preseason College Football Rankings.  We can hardly wait until the college football season starts.  We're going to do some previewing and breaking down the Pac-10 next week, but this link should give you a good overview of what the college football landscape is going to look like this next season.  We have a feeling that the BCS champ is going to be neither Georgia or USC, like everyone is saying so far.  Not sure who it might be, if not the Trojans or the Bulldogs.  We need more time to think about it.  It's just a hunch at this point.

Are Americans qualified to discuss Spanish racism?  I agree with this post, at least in part.  I get the overall point of what it's trying to say.  But I still think that we, as Americans, can condemn racism or something that is considered racist, even with our country's checkered racial past.  It's not like Jason Kidd or the American media is saying "Hey, we're perfect and those Spanish basketball players are horrible, horrible people."  No one is saying that, at least, that I know of.  What the Spanish basketball team did was racist.  Even though America is far from perfect, why can't Jason Kidd or any other American call what they did unacceptable?

Rudy Watch: Spain 72, Germany 59

Does the Spanish basketball team have an official mascot?  If not, I want to offer up the mascot of "Racists" for consideration.  Not meaning to sound so hardcore, but I would like to see the Spain Racists lose every game from here on out.  It's would serve karma well, I think.  But not to worry, we still have love left for Rudy here at the LOD.

Anyway, it looks as though Rudy was feeling a bit guilty about being part of such a racist team.  Because he sucked a big one in the game against Germany on Wednesday.  He only took 7 shots, only made one of them.  A 3-pointer.  Not very impressive.  

This game was never really close after the half.  Spain was in control for the entire 2nd half.  Loddy-frickin-dah.  We are puzzled here: How in the world is Nowitzki not the leading scorer in every game for the Germans?  Who is this Hamann guy to be scoring more than Dirk Freaking Nowitzki dammit?  He obviously doesn't know that his role on the team is playing second or third fiddle.  (Dirk and Chris Kaman are fiddles number one and two.)

Rudy's stat line: 3 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl in 22 minutes

Crazy Photo Of The Day

This photo has been floating around the internets for a few days now.  Obviously, it's from the Google website where you can actually follow your preferred route like you're actually on the street.

Apparently, the Google camera caught some random Aussie guy completely passed out drunk/taking a quick nap on the sidewalk when it was driving by.  Either it's freaking awesome and funny or completely staged and fake.  We are thinking it's a phony.  This photo has to be fake, right?  It's just too good to be real...

Spain's Basketball Team Is Just A Little Misunderstood, That's All. Riiiiiiight.

Isn't that the phrase you use when someone says or does something completely racist and they don't want to be labeled 'racist'? Misunderstood, right? Well, in that case, Spain's basketball team is very, very misunderstood.

If you haven't already heard, Spain's basketball team posed for a team publicity photo back before the Olympics started. If you have not seen the actual photo, here it is:

Needless to say, people are kind of, sort of offended about this. Gee, I wonder why. Personally, I think people in society are way, way, way too sensitive, but even I think this photo is of pretty horrible taste. Here is what Pau Gasol had to say when asked about what we're supposed to think about this photo: "It was something like supposed to be funny or something but never offensive in any way...I'm sorry if anybody thought or took it the wrong way and thought it was offensive."

Wow, Pau, buddy. You seem real sorry there. He just dropped the "I'm sorry you took it the wrong way" passing-off-the-blame technique. Highly annoying, especially if you've ever been the one who's fault it was to "take things the wrong way." Basically, Pau is saying, "I'm sorry you're so sensitive, Chinese people. You need to toughen up. We meant no harm."

So those aren't Pau's exact words, but you get the point. Even better! Pau's equally racist teammate Jose Caulderon, said this about it, please try to hold your laughter until after the quote is done being typed: "We felt it was something appropriate, and that it would be interpreted as an affectionate gesture."

Umm, what? Who exactly thought it would be appropriate or even thought it would be seen as an affectionate gesture??? Your teammates and Hitler, who was standing over your shoulder at the time?!? What a stupid and dumb thing to say. Pretty naive as well.

Anyway, here's a good read about it from Martin Rogers at Yahoo! Sports.

My Favorite Olympic Moment So Far

If you haven't been able to tell, I have Olympic fever quite badly. I've been staying up late every night, mainly to catch Phelps and the swimming. But I am almost to the point where I don't mind watching a few minutes of women's gymnastics or beach volleyball. It's very, very odd and quite amazing all at the same time.

There have been many, many highlights from the Olympics so far. I have only complained twice about being forced to watch an Olympic sport, and they both came on day one. One was soccer. The other was something that I've already forgotten, maybe badminton? I can't remember, that's how crappy it was. Anyway, I'm amazing even myself with the amount of Olympic coverage I find myself craving.

Going back to the first night with all the Opening Ceremony hooplah. Not sure if anyone else saw the Paraguayans enter the stadium, but I did. Boy, did I. I saw this particular Paraguayan, as a matter of fact. And maybe that is the moment when the Olympics hooked me. I can't be sure. But I had no clue who she was. None of the announcers mentioned a word about her. As a viewer, I almost was offended. I mean, it is the duty of NBC to tell me, as the average viewer, is to let me know who it is that I'm looking at when they show them on the screen. And especially when they're a hot little number from an exotic country!

So I went to bed a troubled man. I needed to know who this girl was. I don't know why, I just did. The next morning, I even emailed the Yahoo! Olympic coverage people. Later that same day, the mystery had been solved. My mind could finally rest.  Which was great, because you know how hot girls can trouble your mind, right fellas?? It turns out that her name is Leryn Franco (wow!) and she throws javelin for Paraguay.

Anyway, she's hot. Very hot. And she is a model (obviously). And she is also a javelin thrower. I threw javelin as a freshman & sophomore in high school, so we've already got something in common there. To put it shortly, we're practically BFFs. I was already planning on tuning into see most of the track & field portion of the Games, but now I may just have to Tivo every track moment of the week just so I don't miss anything "important." (And by "important", I am really only referring to Leryn Franco and her javelin-tossing abilities.)

People Who Piss Me Off: Gary Sheffield

Geez, we didn't think we'd be throwing down another PWPMO segment on the show already, but here it is.  This stuff just happens people.  Out of nowhere, it just pops up and I have to comment on it.

Breaking news: Gary Sheffield is angry.  At everything.

Now I know what you're thinking.  "Drew, Sheffield isn't the type of guy to get mad."  "Drew, Gary Sheffield is a nice guy, he can't be mad, can he?"  Well folks, it's true.  He's pissed.  And he's sad too.  For the first time this season, Gary Sheffield has gone into full-scale 'pouting' mode.

Here, care of Freep.com, "I can be in the outfield and play every day. (Waaaaaaaaaa!) I don't want to DH. (Waaaaaaaaa!) I don't feel like a baseball player when I DH." (Waaaaaaaa!)  Please excuse all the crying in that last quote, I just wanted to make it as real as possible for you when reading it.  

It seems as though the Tigers are sick of all the crying, too, as they released him today.  I think it's hilarious.  Obviously, Gary is just crying so much because the Tigers aren't looking very good in terms of their playoff chances this season.  And like all the other sports divas that we have these days, he wants to play for a "contender" so he can win a championship.  And since Gary doesn't seem to have any chance of being a decent fielder any time soon, Gary would like to win another championship without actually "contributing."  

This whole drama queen act that players like Sheffield are always pulling are why players like Sheffield piss me off so much.  Sheffield is in the same boat as Richie Sexson, among others.  He may actually be driving that boat for Sexson and the others.

Probably won't happen, but I'd love to see Shef get picked up by a Cincinnati or Seattle.  Good times.

Rudy Watch: Spain 85, China 75 OT

How do you translate "Damn that was a close one" into Spanish?  Uhhhhhh that wasn't as easy as we thought it was going to go.  Or at least as easy as Spain thought it was going to go.

Our beloved boy Rudy Fernandez contributed well for the Spaniards with 21 pts.  Pau Gasol carried the team though, scoring 29 points, pulling down 8 boards and blocking 3 shots.  This game was almost put out of reach for Spain, when they found themselves trailing the Chinese by a surprising 14 points entering the 4th quarter.  It took a huge Spanish rally to even send the game into overtime, where Spain was finally able to pull away.

This brings up a very important question though.  Is this a sign of how well the USA and Spain are playing at the moment.  Everyone can have a bad day on the court, and maybe that's what happened to Gasol and Spain.  But the Americans just put the beat down on China by 31 points a couple of days ago.  And Spain barely tops the Chinese team in OT.

Raises an interesting point.  And it also makes the storyline that much better as the Americans and Spanish keep advancing forward.

Rudy's stat line: 21 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk in 35 minutes

French Swimmers Talk a Bunch of Trash. Then Proceed To Get Punked.

USA! USA! USA!

We sure do love me a good talk-a-bunch-of-trash-and-then-get-crushed-by-your-rivals Olympic storyline, don't you?  Add the fact that the story involves the French getting absolutely, positively punked, and we love it even more.

Back on August 7th, Frenchie swimmer Alain Bernard had this to say, regarding the upcoming Olympic games and swimming against the USA: "The Americans?  We're going to smash them.  That's what we came here for."

Well, talk like that will get some attention, which I assume is why douchebag Bernard even opened his mouth about it.  I don't know if Bernard was planning to fall into the "typical French guy" mold, but he sure achieved that status.  Now the Americans have done this before too, so I'm not claiming that we're the poster boys for 'humility' and 'class'.  But Phelps and the rest of the relay team didn't respond publicly to the Frenchie's boasting, which was probably a good move on our part.  It made us beating them in the actual race that much sweeter.

If you didn't watch the actual race, it was amazing.  Simply. A. Maze. Ing.  It was awesome.  I was glued to the TV, even though I had already seen on Yahoo! that the Americans had pulled it out.  But I had to actually see how it was done.  It's one thing to read about something, and something entirely different to watch it happen.  Did the French choke?  Uh yeah, just a tad.

So to sum it all up--eat it you mustard-loving, crepe-eating, armpit-shaving Frenchies.  Suck on that.  Go get another hip tattoo or something.  (How bi-curious looking is a dude with a freaking hip tattoo of a shark anyway?!?) Just shut up and swim.  Rumor on the street is that Bernard broke into tears after losing.  I don't blame the guy.  If I was made to look like that big of a fool, I may have shed a few tears myself.  

President Bush Loves the Olympics

Rudy Watch: Spain 81, Greece 66

That's ol' Rodolpho Fernandez there on the right.  The real lanky looking dude sporting matching black wristbands, that's him.  (We didn't realize he was that skinny, dang.) Team Spain commenced their Olympic journey by knocking off the Greeks in rather easy fashion, 81-66.  It was good to see that our boy Rudy led the way for Spain with 16 pts.  He also made a few 3-pointers in the game too.

So far, Team USA looked a little bit more impressive in beating the Chinese by 31.  We think that the Spaniards may just be waiting to turn up the heat for the later rounds.  Who knows.   

Rudy's stat line: 16 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl in 22 minutes.

Rudy Watch: Day One

If you've been living here in Portland, Oregon recently or if you follow closely the doings of the Portland Trailblazers, there have been three names that have dominated pretty much every bit of NBA news.  Those names are: Oden, Jarryd Bayless, and Rudy...as in Rudy Fernandez.

So to maintain all the hype that Rudy is getting here, since he's agreed to join the team for this upcoming season, we're going to be tracking Rudy and the Spanish basketball team as they set out to destroy the US of A.  The Spanish team is stacked and are pretty much considered the favorites to take home the gold medal.  We think at the end of the day, the USA is going to get the job done and win the gold, but we shall see.

First game for Rudy and the Spaniards in Sunday against Greece.  

Happy Friday: Olympic Edition

In case you haven't been watching TV at all lately or have been living in a cave or something of the like, the 2008 Olympic Games officially start tonight.  Actually, as of right now, I believe they've already started.  You can blame the fact that the Games are taking place on the other side of the world for that.  I don't get it though, photos and news articles are plastered all over the internet today, so the surprise factor is going to be about 4 out of 10, I would guess.

It's likely that I will still will take some of the festivities in.  It will probably be limited to swimming, basketball and track and field.  And maybe some Jennie Finch here and there if possible.  (If they're even going to televise any softball 

But does the Olympics matter as much as they used to?  To me, they don't.  I remember in my youth, getting to stay up really, really late to watch some of the live events.  It was like Christmas everyday to me as a little kid.  I loved it.  Maybe it was because I got to stay up late.  Little kids love any excuse to stay up late.  I am not sure the exact reason.  But the Olympics were something special to me as a 11 year old kid.  Maybe the Olympics will never have the same luster that it had, to me, in my youth.

Maybe that's just it.  Either way, I would say my interest level for the '08 Games would be about a 6 out of 10 on the scale.  However, my interest in the hot Brazilian synchronized swimming twins pictured above is like, an 16 out of 10. (Unfortunately, they are not competing in Beijing...they wanted to hang out with me instead.  Pretty thoughtful, huh?)

Anyway, here are a few Olympic stories that I found to be interesting, good reads.  Enjoy.

1. An outlook on the "Redeem" Team's gold medal chances  

2. A great read about American runner Lopez Lomong

3. A nice rundown of the highlights of the opening ceremonies

Where I'm planning on getting most of my Olympic coverage: 

1. Yahoo! Sports Beijing Olympics

2. Yahoo's Fourth Place Medal Blog

3. AOL FanHouse Olympics

4. SI.com Beijing 2008 Olympics

Our Nation Rejoices Collectively: ESPN Can Finally Shut Up About Brett Favre

Don't get me wrong, I like Brett Favre.  I really do.  But Brett, duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude.  Enough already.  Couldn't you have worked most of this mess out say, I don't know, 20 days ago??

That's pretty much all I have to say actually. I like Favre, but wouldn't say I'm a 'fan' of Brett Favre.  I still don't get why he didn't just stay the hell home and collect millions upon millions of dollars.  What could possibly be wrong with that deal, huh Brett?  I get the fact that you might get bored just sitting around at home.  I get feeling like that every couple days or so, being unemployed and what not.

But here's the thing.  Sure, sitting at home and doing nothing can get pretty old.  But, sitting at home and doing nothing and being filthy rich?  Waaaaaaaay different.  Way, way different story.

So in the spirit of closure, Brett you are frickin crazy and you couldn't have picked a more annoying, stupid team to come back to play for than the stupid, stupid Jets.  

Breaking News: This Just Happened

I have no clue what happened, but this was the scene out my back door about 15 minutes ago.  From what I could gather, some meth head chick was locked up in her house and wouldn't come out.  She probably had a gun because the lady cop kept announcing "Come out with your hands empty and your hands up" very loudly.  

Ahh, the joys of living in Vancouver, Washington.  Doesn't it look like fun?  Let me tell ya, I just love it!  Like I said, I don't know what all went down but I was here 'on the scene' reporting first.  So suck on that KOIN.com, KATU.com, KPTV.com and KGW.com.  Who's the most trusted name in news now, beotch?

(Above: photos from the scene.  That house with the flag was where the crazy lady came out of.  Would have tried to get some closer pics but cops wouldn't let me get that close.  Plus I didn't want to get shot by some crazy crack head, so staying safe on my back porch was fine by me.)

Couldn't They Find Some Hotter Chicks To Welcome Manny to Los Angeles?

Maybe, sure why not, no, no, no.  Was that picture even taken in southern California??  If you're Manny Ramirez, are you appreciative of this gesture?  Or are you extremely offended?

People Who Piss Me Off: Richmond Lockwood Sexson

This might become a regular segment or post here on the blog.  What good are blogs for if you can't ramble on and on about who and what pisses you off?  It's exactly what the blog was invented for, actually.  

The individual who is pissing me off: Yankees 1B/DH Richie Sexson

Why he is pissing me off: Because he sucks and he is still actively playing baseball.

First of all, Richmond Lockwood?  Uhh, yeah I would just change my name to Pete or something.  I just love it how in the sports world we live in today, athletes get rewarded for consistently whining and crying like babies.  Grown ass men, by the way.  This happens all the time now and you can find it in any different sport and any type of situation.  But my favorite is Richie Sexson.  Sexson's career in Seattle started off, by all accounts, pretty nicely.

But it didn't really last.  I remember attending a game between the Mariners and the Red Sox two years ago up at SafeCo Field (great stadium to see a baseball game at, by the way).  Top of the 9th inning, the Sox were down two runs.  I was rooting for the Sox, of course, so I was pretty bummed.  Anyway, Jason Varitek hits a two-run homer to tie the game and the place erupts.  The place could have been called Fenway Park Jr., that's how loud it was.  And I thought I was finally going to get to see the Sox finally beat Seattle.  But ol' Richmond Lockwood Sexson had a different idea.  

He comes up 2nd in the 9th, and bombs a walk off homer to send the Sox home as losers.  That, ladies and gentlemen, was the last time Richie Sexson was any bit of good at all.

Since then, he's done nothing but suck it up and cry like a baby.  Rumors are that he was quite the jerk to the media as well as his teammates.  Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times puts it like this in his article: "But Sexson's attitude was bad.  He became more and more aloof with most of his teammates.  He always seemed to have an excuse for his problems, and he often confronted writers, who were only reporting the truth."  Translation: he was a big A-hole and bi*ched a lot.

His last newsworthy act as a Seattle Mariner?  Starting a bench-clearing brawl for no reason and throwing his batting helmet at the pitcher.  Classy stuff.  

Sexson sucked so hard that the Mariners had to finally released him.  I mean, they had no choice.  He was batting .218 and had 11 HR for the year.  Very much worth the $14 million plus he is getting paid this year, no doubt.  Anyway, he's a Yankee now.  The sick world we live in wouldn't have it any other way.  And it's like Sexson isn't even phased by his long past of suckiness.  One of his first quotes as a Yankee was this: "It felt good to kind of get off the schneid, get out and going.  That's my role, to come in and get some hits off of lefties."  

Uhh, actually your goal is to suck it up some more and shutup, you big loser.  By the way, "schneid" isn't a word, you jerk, what the hell are you talking about?  Anyway, you piss me off Richie Sexson.  I'm done with you.

By the way, this is a must read.  Hilarious stuff.

"Get In The Hole!"

This is great stuff from Romey.  I don't really see any reason to yell anything while attending a golf tournament of any kind.  I guess that's a crazy golf die-hard for ya.  Funny related thought: on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, there is a dude who yells "You da man!" or something very similar when you hit your drive.  It's actually pretty hilarious.

Blazer Fans Wonder: Are We Going To See The Playoffs This Season?

With all the Brett Favre mess and all the baseball trades that just happened, it seems like the NBA season and the Blazers are far from my mind.  But once the summer starts to wind down, there is no doubt the buzz will start up about the Blazers and the upcoming NBA season.

About one year ago, it seemed as though the old notion of 'Rip City' had finally returned to Portland.  It had definitely been building for two or three years (since drafting Brandon Roy) and it was supposed to officially begin last season.  Drafting Greg Oden kinda helped the whole process along.  But wait--Oden had the operation on his knee, and alas, the official start to 'Rip City' was put on hold.  

Even with Oden missing the entire season, the Blazers still had what was generally considered to be a rather successful campaign last year.  By any standards, it was a good year.  Didn't really come close to making the playoffs, but then again, they play in the Western Conference.  Their record of 41-41 would have been good enough for a tie with the Toronto Raptors, who finished in sole possession of the East's 6th seed in the playoffs.

The team saw a pleasantly surprising 13 game winning streak early on in the season, which got the notice of the whole league and seemed to raise the question as to if the Blazers were "for real" or not?  You know, 'contenders or pretenders' type stuff.  We also saw, finally, the semi-emergence of Travis Outlaw, who the Blazers had been waiting on since they drafted him out of high school back in 2003.  And Brandon Roy made the Western conference All Star team, being voted in by the coaches, rather than being "voted in" by the fans (which is usually a joke).

This year the team has gotten even better and deeper.  Already in place is a very solid nucleus of Roy, Aldridge and Outlaw.  Add to that Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Jarryd Bayless (steal of the entire draft??), and it's hard not to drool over this team, at least on paper.  The best news of it all is that Oden won't have to come in right away and be "the man", like what happens with so many other rookies with too many expectations heaped on them.  He can just sit back and block shots all day long if he really wants to.  We'd be fine and happy with just that.

So putting last year behind us, let's look at this year.  Playoffs?  Maybe.  ESPN's Chris Broussard thinks so.  And so does local beat writer Sean Meagher over at OregonLive.  We have to agree with both of them.  We're thinking a modest 7th or 8th seed though, compared to the 6th seed that Meagher says the Blazers are going to contend for.  Either way, things are looking up for the team as we prepare for the upcoming season.

Thoughts?  Discuss.

Sure, It's The Same Ol' Schtick, But It's Still Pretty Funny

Funniest lines in our opinion: 

1. "We wanna party with Roger Clemens...and we want him to remember it."

2. "At the next Dodgers game I wanna throw out the first pitch, and I wanna throw out the last pitch."

Happy Friday

Woke up this morning still reeling from the Manny trade that went down yesterday.  We don't want to get back into it here.  Let's just say that we're still a little baffled about it all.  This article didn't make us feel any better about the whole thing.  Looking back, the Red Sox probably should have just waited out the storm, like they have done every year.  I don't know actually, and it doesn't matter now, right?  

In an effort to distract my mind from anything to do with baseball, I just watched Drillbit Taylor.  No surprise all the critics hate it, but it wasn't horrible if you ask me.  It was surprisingly enjoyable.  Actually, I think people sometimes expect too much from movies.  Especially comedies.  Drillbit Taylor wasn't the funniest movie I've ever seen, but it had it's fair share of humor and I enjoyed it.  There were 3 or 4 times when I LOL'd and one scene (when the two kids are preparing for the big fight by punching each other) where I was practically rolling on the floor.  It was hilarious.

But maybe everything is funnier when you wake up at 6:30 in the morning, I'm not sure.