I wrote my plea for the NFL to change the Blackout rule, because it’s robbing the fans of seeing the home teams play, and further detaches the fair weather fans and people that happen to move to a new area that features a franchise. The NFL is holding it’s cards close as they insist they aren’t in bad shape financially, and are recession proof. A report from Forbes came out today that showed the NFL was telling a half truth, as they are okay, but the future is fairly uncertain. Their $1 billion in equity plus debt average among the teams has not changed. The bad part of the report was that eight franchises declined in value for the first time in 10 years! Not surprisingly my Raiders were the worst on the list decreasing 7% from last season, and as of now the Lions are even worth more than them. There were good playoff teams on the list that declined as well including the Colts(-5%), Dolphins(-3%), and Falcons (-2%). The factors that the findings were derived from were; the decline in people who could afford to purchase or invest a franchise, lowered revenues and lower revenue expectations, and the tightened credit markets.
The all powerful NFL isn’t too worried that a quarter of their franchises that have dropped in value as they get huge revenues in the $7 ½ billion range for all their assets. Their TV deals with ESPN, NBC, CBS, FOX, and Sunday Ticket on DirecTV alone give teams a whopping $116 million per year. Facing obvious challenges in the near future the NFL extended their TV contracts recently for two more years through 2013. The drawback to the agreement was that there was a very low 2% increase per season. The real problem for the NFL looks to be the new collective bargaining agreement that was supposed to go through 2012, but the owners voted unanimously to opt out at the conclusion of the 2010 season. Many owners have complained that they’ve had to spend over half their revenues to pay the players, and when there are jackass’s like Michael Crabtree out there squabbling over his contract it all becomes clear why their gripes are justified. Who knows by the time Crabtree gets a contract there could be a lockout, one more bad reason for players to holdout. I still can’t fathom how players are worth millions before they take one snap as a pro. Next year for the first time since 1993, the NFL will play without a salary cap. This sounds like an instant lockout by the owners, if this is allowed to happen. I doubt too many owners will be thrilled to compete for players against teams that turn the most profit like the Redskins ($90 million), Patriots ($70 million), and Buccaneers ($68 million). I guess Tampa might fall off this list as they are due to be one of the teams this season that could not sell a home game out, and fall under the retarded blackout rule. They once had a 100,000 person waiting list to get season tickets, but those days are long gone as they hope to fill up the stadium for eight weeks out of the year.
We will see what happens, but you can bet that the NFL isn’t ready for what is coming. I have a feeling that they are under estimating their worst case scenario, and shouldn’t be telling the public that everything is all good and happy times. Goodell is good at doing the PR through as his sleazy car salesman act has fooled me from time to time. I hope it doesn’t stoop to the NBA’s depths, which I wrote about a couple months back. If teams are close to bankruptcy, and are having to borrow money I’ll be the first to say I told you so. I know with the recession comes cutbacks by everyone feeling the wrath of the mighty economy, and that translates to a lot more empty seats, which keeps snowballing as a lot less concessions are being bought. I’m sure that in these unforgiving times less people are willing to pony up the money for that ridiculous DirecTV Sunday Ticket package. If people can’t afford tickets, then we can’t even watch our favorite teams on TV from the blackouts. Looks like we’ll have to suffer as we watch the Giants, Jets, Patriots, Redskins, and Cowboys during our blacked out games. I’m already depressed thinking about having to watch Romo and Eli more than they were regularly scheduled!
If this ends up being the final season for the Kid, it will be the same way many stars end their careers, on the down slide. Junior returned to Seattle in hopes of regaining that effortless swing that bashed back to back 56 home run seasons in 97 and 98, and consistently played gold glove defense robbing homers regularly, but that wasn’t meant to be in this chapter of his career. Junior is hitting .221 with 14 homers and 43 RBI’s in his return season to the great northwest. His smile is still the same, and his body looks relatively the same, except maybe a extra spare tire around his gut that he didn’t have in his first tour with Seattle. He was my favorite non-A’s player growing up, and you couldn’t ask for a better role model. He showed us how dominating a game can be made to look easy from defense to that perfectly smooth swing.
If this is in fact his final season, why isn’t there more chatter about him? I find it odder than Rafael Nadal’s freakishly smaller right arm that Griffey, one of baseball’s golden boys in the steroid era, isn’t being paraded around like a hero during his last tour of duty. He is Pujols clean from a PED standpoint, so shouldn’t the MLB be kicking up a mini campaign to celebrate his career as it comes to a close. It’s not like he’s going to be like Barry Bonds, and be able to play three more seasons averaging 45 home runs a season. Which is a shame since we all were so sure he’d be past the all time and season home run records by now. I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to continue to play as all stars like to hang on, unless you’re weird like Barry Sanders. His return to Seattle mirrored many stars that are past their prime trying to hang on. It may not have looked good numbers wise for The Kid this year, but Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times really believes his time there this year has been worthwhile. It’s good to see a player end their career where it started, even if he never had the chance to play in a world series. He’s going out like Hank Aaron going back to Milwakee and Willie Mays going back to New York. He is undeniably a first ballot hall of famer with his 625 home runs (and counting). It’s a shame, that not even The Kid can fight off the old age…
His Airness will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on September 11 in Springfield Mass, and he is undoubtedly the head of this class. He’s probably the greatest competitor and basketball player we’ll see in our lifetime. I don’t think I fully appreciated until I was about 12 years old around the time of his first retirement. Growing up a Warriors fan, I probably didn’t even realize the importance of the playoffs. I honestly couldn’t stand Jordan in my youthful days. I did like his shoes, commercials (Jordan and Bird playing H-O-R-S-E was my favorite), and of course Gatorade. I just despised him because he always won. Maybe that’s why I’ve never really been a Tiger fan, but I would and do watch whenever a great player is displaying their talents. I can’t even fathom how hard they work to be that good.
By the time he was on his way to his second three-peat I started to become a fan, and realized that this was a type of player that we’d never see again. He was such a competitor that he didn’t let business and pleasure ever come together. He never really befriended his teammates calling them “co-workers”. He decided against playing in a second Olympics, for what many felt were selfish reasons. Jordan showed Barkley in the 92 Olympics how a player works so hard on a daily basis to be at the level he was. Jordan let out some of his secrets that showed other guys in the league what made him great. He payed for it, as Barkley had his best year following those Olympic games. MJ showed Chuck too much of what he did to prepare himself, and Barkley must’ve taken notes winning the MVP over Jordan in that 92-93 season. Never again would Jordan play in the Olympic games. You have to admire a man who goes out of his way to not get to close to teammates or play for a gold medal to avoid showing them what makes him tick.
I looked through his stats awhile back when comparing him to Kobe through the first part of his career, so if you double those that’s about what he ended with. Here’s a few random ones that you don’t always see 30.1 PPG (highest average of all time), 32,292 points (Kareem and Malone had more), 2,514 steals (2nd to Stockton), and the best shoes in the game. We all know about his MVP’s and Championships as well, that dubbed him the greatest of all time. There’s still youtube clips of him tearing it up. It almost looks like he could still play in the NBA. Good thing they don’t count your post career to get into the Hall of Fame, because he is not a good GM or Owner. I guess it would be hard when you expect your players to be as good as you or possibly just doesn’t care.
Also joining him in the very good class of 2009 is John Stockton, David Robinson, and Jerry Sloan. Once again Stockton will be in the shadows of Jordan even being enshrined into basketball immortality. Tough break for short shorts. The Admiral won a couple championships and gold medals. Stockton won gold medals, but unfortunately he played his prime in the Jordan era. Jerry Sloan is being inducted, but is still coaching. I never understood this, why induct a coach for coaching if they are still roaming the sidelines?!? I think they should have to wait until 3 or so years pass after they coached their last game to be eligible. It makes so much more sense!
College football season is here, and not a day too soon! Nine games are on the docket, but one is clearly the main attraction. #16 Oregon will visit the blue turf to take on the #14 Boise State Broncos in a west coast showdown. Both teams are known for their electric offense, not to mention their vibrant color schemes. It will be a test of wills on the field, and a test of retinas on the TV screen. Oregon is coming off a 9-3 season and looks to challenge USC and Cal for the Pac-10 title this year. Boise State, a perennial WAC favorite, is coming off what seemed like another ho-hum undefeated season. Fans can expect fireworks as these two teams duke it out in front of a national audience. Thursday night’s matchup should have a bowl game feel to it.
On the Ducks’ side, the main story is the departure of 14 year head coach, Mike Belotti. Belotti made the jump to the Athletic Director’s office, leaving former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly at the helm. The player to watch will be RB LeGarrette Blount, who gained 1,000+ yards last season splitting carries with Jeremiah Johnson. With Johnson gone, Blount figures to be the feature back for Oregon.
For the Broncos, the key to their attack will likely be the passing game. Kellen Moore returns at QB and has two weapons at the wideout spots in Austin Pettis and Titus Young, who was suspended for the majority of last season, but figures to be a deep threat for the Boise State offense. It will be on the defensive side of the ball where Boise’s fate will lie. If the Broncos can stifle the Oregon offensive attack, they should find a way to put enough points on the board to outlast the Ducks.
This is a huge season opener for both teams, as one loss typically will take a team out of the national championship picture. The winner, on the other hand, will likely vault into the top twelve, on the strength of the season’s biggest victory of Week 1. Grab your popcorn, as T.O. would say, because these two teams from the Northwest are sure to put on a show!
First thing I think everyone should do in the morning tomorrow is put this in the f*#%in suggestion box. Who knows, maybe you could have a keg’s worth of money by the end of the week!
What the hell is it with boxers and the pre fight stare down, followed one of them going in for the kiss? Holy crap, if I got into a stare down with a dude in a pickup basketball game the last thing on my mind would be trying to kissing the guy! By the way, can we even say the dude threw a punch here? I’m going to call this a savage girly slap. Which might I add, if you can’t take, maybe you should be in a different line of work, you obviously weren’t ready to do real battle.
The Rockies started off slow just as anybody would start off an ice cold Coors in April, but just after the All-Star break the Rockies have powered their way close to a .700 record turning that blue bottle label white hot indicating it’s time to pound! The Rockies have pounded the ball and surprised us with some decent pitching as well. The Rockies took the wild card lead back by one game today, and they truly look like the force they were in their last playoff run in 2007. The Rox 2.0 just picked up Jason Giambi, who arrived in Colorado today. They have added him as a pinch hitter plus a sub for Helton to keep that always troublesome back of his from acting up. Giambino made his first NL atbat of his career tonight that netted a bases loaded RBI walk. He knows he’s not a major piece, but feels he can help them out with his experience saying “There is no small role when you’re in a pennant race.” The Rockies also added Jose Contreras from the White Sox for a minor league pitcher yesterday who should fill in nicely for injured starter Aaron Cook. He should get his first start this Saturday. The move from AL to NL has been very kind to many pitchers that were performing at a much lower level (See Smoltz).
Their closest competitors are the Giants, which I unfortunately don’t see them hanging in there. I hope they can pull it out, because they have great pitching that would be fun to see in the playoffs. They still can’t consistently score runs though. They never really filled that hitting void that everyone was talking about for the months leading up to the trade deadline. It feels like they just have big holes in their lineup where you decide, they won’t score this inning before they even bat. They were shut out tonight, which could have been Hamels brilliance, but it could just as easily been that they don’t have that many good hitters. Freddy Sanchez and his continually delayed return could help a little, but they need some more power. He wasn’t the guy they should’ve gone for at the trade deadline. Penny just signed with SF, and just like the cases mentioned earlier going from the AL to the NL should treat him well or at least descent. Zito is quietly throwing up lots of zeros on the scoreboard. It’s unfortunate that he hasn’t pitched to the level of his contract, but this is a start.
The Braves and Marlins are the next closest teams to them, but seem to have trouble playing any better than .500 ball as both teams have been just above or below there all season. I think the Wild Card winner should be a good 8 games over .500, at least we’ll hope that’s the case! Tim Hudson made his return tonight for Atlanta, and pitched pretty well. That has to help the Braves chances if he can stay healthy. He’s always been a big competitor, and should give them everything he can. I do like the makeup of the Braves, but they’ll need their pitching to step up especially Lowe. I just saw that Hanley left the game tonight in Florida with some more of that hamstring tightness he seems to have a lot of. They can ill afford to lose him, and if they do you can kiss goodbye to the wild card spot.
Ultimately I think it’s the Rockies spot to lose, since they have been consistently playing better than the other teams in the hunt over the second half of the season. I don’t care if the Giants swept them in a series, and they lost a couple more. They could have broken the spirits of the Giants, but now I believe it’s just a minor stumble as they are now back in first. Another reason I attach myself to the Rockies, is because they have some former A’s players on their team. With the addition of Giambi, it’s too hard to resist picking them. Carlos Gonzalez homered tonight, and he’s heated to white label hot over the last month! I hate second guessing things, but I wonder if we should have kept him over trading for Holliday. We’ll have to see how Brett Wallace turns out to answer that one, on another post.
We here at Doin-Work would like to spread the word of the gospel. No, this isn’t religious website; we didn’t sell out and join a Christian blog network overnight. The greater gospel that we speak of is sports, and divine right to hate the notorious d-bags who play the GAMES we love. With that in mind we would like to post Brett Favre’s serious p**sy chop block last night in the Vikings PRESEASON game against the Texans. You’ve probably already seen this by now, but this post is intended to make sure the gospel of Brett Favre’s “douchieness” is spread far and wide.
Back in the first week of August, I wrote my piece about the Michael Crabtree holdout. I honestly didn’t expect it to still be going on nearly a month later. I spoke of the comparison between Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, and now Michael Crabtree. I ultimately concluded that Crabtree isn’t worthy of lining up on the same hash mark as Rice. I couldn’t help but wonder, WWJS? Today, the greatest wide receiver in the history of the game spoke out, largely about Brandon Marshall’s shenanigans, but also about Crabtree ridiculous holdout, and even went on about the sad state of the wide receiver population in general.
I’m glad Rice said something about this subject. The idea of rookie holdouts is still preposterous to me, and I often wonder where the retired greats are to keep these kids in line. Problem is, I’m sure Crabtree will go on thinking he’s in the right, and Jerry Rice doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’d even go so far as to guess that Crabtree – if he does ever sign with the 49ers – will approach Rice about wearing his #80. I hope it does happen, so Jerry can tell him not in a million years.
I’m not gonna lie, I’ve watched more than my share of Wife Swap in the past. Now, I didn’t see this episode air, but there’s a handful of videos of this kid on youtube, and it’s quite entertaining. This kid is pretty funny, and kinda smart, in a way, but I’m guessing if I had to spend a day with him I’d probably end up hanging him from the coatrack by his underwear… little chubby son-of-a-bitch.
It’s looking like the NFL is about to see some hard times of their own due to the economy. Everybody knew it was coming, and we are seeing the first signs of it as there are 10 to 12 teams that may not sell out every game. This would mean mass local blackouts on TV broadcasts for many supportive fans. Last season there were only three teams that didn’t sell out games and not surprisingly the list was Oakland, Detroit, and St. Louis. They combined for a total of nine blacked out games last season. I can’t blame any of the fans for not going to those games though, especially since I’m a Raiders fan and value paying to see them as much as going to see “Thunder from Down Under” for a bachelor party in Vegas. Despite the fact that there are about one third of teams finding it difficult to sell out, the blackout rule will stay in effect for it’s 37th straight year. The Jaguars have stated that they may not even sell out one home game all season. Sorry Jacksonville fans, you have to sign up for Direct TV and pay an extra $200 just to watch your local team for those eight games.
Tim Keown explored the reasons why the blackouts are out dated, and only hurt the league. I fully agree, as it deters possible fans that would have to watch the locally televised games. Many times a casual fan that lives in the area is exposed to the local team to the point where they start to follow them. I’ve had that transformation since my move to Southern California about three years ago. I used to root mildly for the Giants as a Northern California resident, but without being able to watch them, I now root for the Dodgers since I see them on TV nearly every day. I definitely never thought that I’d say four years ago when I was living in Northern California surrounded by that media market. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fair weather fan, I’ll always be a fan of the A’s, Raiders, and Warriors which sholuld say enough looking at their track records this past decade. I’ll root for all the Oakland teams no matter where I live, but every sports fan has “other teams” or man crushes on a certain players so we follow them. If they’re in the local media market, they are certainly going to be watched. That won’t happen if eight of a teams games are being blacked out. How can anyone get attached to a player or team that isn’t shoved down your throat? It won’t happen, and that’s why this rule that’s older than Al Davis needs to be changed.
Sometimes we’ve been saved from these blackouts by local companies that will buy up the rest of the tickets, so that the game can be televised. In these uncertain economic times it’s much less likely that companies are going to open up their wallets to get a game televised. Teams that have had no problem selling out all their tickets in the past like the Cheifs, Dolphins, and Jets are struggling to sell tickets, and have noticeably ramped up the promotions to get people out to the games. San Diego, Miami, and Minnesota are on the list of teams that might not sell out all their tickets, and they were all playoff teams last season. If I was jobless, and couldn’t watch my team play on their way to a playoff run I’d be mad. The NFL is still in great shape either way financially, so why not give the fans a break. It’s bad enough that the fans are asked to spend taxpayer money on the ridiculously large stadiums, and they expect people to be okay with them not being on their local programming!
Goodell is too smooth of a talker to be able to trust!
This quote pretty much sums up how much Goodell and the NFL care about the fans that support the game and teams of their home towns.
Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports and CBS News, said last week that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told him that “he is not going to make any major adjustment to a rule that has lasted a long time just because of a short-term economic problem.”
When asked if CBS had concerns about blacked-out games, McManus said, “I don’t think there is any way they are going to change it, so it is pointless to talk to them about it.”
New York City, Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington were at South Street Seaport for a block party put on by their sneaker company Protege. One of the MCs at the event asked Stack Jack in front of the crowd whether he thought the Warriors were going to make the playoffs. Jackson paused then smiled before responding, “Um…I don’t think I’ll be a Warrior next year. I’m looking to leave.”
Dime: You made a big declaration earlier today by saying you wanted out of Golden State. When did you decide this?
Stephen Jackson: It’s not about a decision I made. It’s just things are in the air right now. I really can’t get too much into it right now, but I’m just looking to go somewhere where I can go and win a championship.
Dime: Are the Warriors aware of this?
SJ: Yeah they all know.
Dime: Is there anywhere specifically you want to go?
SJ: Either Cleveland, anywhere in Texas or out here with Al in New York.
As if the Warriors didn’t have enough problems in the locker room with Don Nelson’s sometimes stubborn methods. Jackson is the on, and off court captain of the team. He wants out of Oakland for a chance to join a contending team. Not that the Warriors are strangers to conflict as there seems to be some kind of negative off season drama every year in the front office or with players. Last year it was both as Harrington and Ellis had their disagreements with management, and it was enough of a distraction to keep them out of the playoff hunt. The news today about SJax worries me. He seemed to be the guy that held the team together no matter what the circumstances were. He went to Robert Rowell last year and asked for his contract extension, which basically told me he wanted to spend the rest of his prime in Oakland. If he truly wasn’t happy, why wouldn’t he just wait until his contract was up and sign somewhere else? It’s not like he signed his extension when they were competitive. I have a feeling if the Warriors do get rid of him, they’ll get a draft pick that they’ll blow or a player that doesn’t help the team nearly as much as Jackson. I hope he stays, we need at least one veteran leader! Cmon SJax, don’t you want to see the beginning of the Randolph era!
Okay, so I guess he never went anywhere, but a friend recently pulled this one out of nowhere. I hadn’t seen it in probably 6 or 7 years, but it’s timeless! Needless to say, I’ve watched it no less than 10 times already today. I even researched the history of “Benny Lava”. Seriously…. who put a goat in there?!?!
I like these kids. Just when I thought we were gonna see a bunch of trick shots and dunks, these kids served a changeup! I love the overuse of editing effects, often times before the shot is even taken! Add to that the sweet aliases – those can’t be their real names – and the fact that it stars Chunk from The Goonies, and you’ve got an instant classic. Ok, so it’s not a classic, but it’s a solid minute of entertainment.
I caught a few innings of the Sacramento River Cats vs. the Fresno Grizzlies last night – I can only take so much since I spend my entire day here as well. Here’s a few things I noticed….
Chris Carter, who was the main reason for my attending the game, did not disappoint. I missed his first at-bat, where he flew out to right field. In his second at-bat, however, he came to the plate with the bases loaded, after a Matt Carson single, and back to back walks to Brett Wallace and Aaron Cunningham. Perhaps the most important note is Carter’s music. He walked to the plate to the tune of E-40 and Keak the Sneak. Gotta love that! Anyway, with the River Cats holding a 1-0 lead, he pulled a Ryan Sadowski fastball down the left field line for a bases-clearing, 3 run double that rolled all the way to the fence. In his next AB, he roped a broken bat RBI single to left for his 4th RBI of the night. I made my departure before his next plate appearance, but he finished the night 3-5 with 4 RBI. Not bad at all for his AAA debut. Let’s just hope he finishes out the year here, as opposed to being rushed to the majors for the pointless final month of the season.
On the Giants’ side, Buster Posey looked TERRIBLE. In the only AB I remember, he hit a very weak grounder up the middle, but he did manage to beat it out for an infield single. Behind the plate, there were three plays that stood out to me. First, he caught a Sadowski fastball, with his facemask. The batter didn’t even swing, so he must’ve been expecting a breaking ball. Either way, it was NOT pretty. Next, he tried to gun down Eric Patterson stealing second. No catcher will have much chance catching him, but Posey bounced one in front of the bag that rolled into center field, allowing Patterson to advance to third, and a run to score. The next inning, Posey did it again. With Carson on the move – not exactly Usain Bolt on the basepaths – Posey rushed the throw and sailed it into center field, again allowing the runner to take third as well.
Lastly, Ryan Sadowski, who impressed earlier this year with the Giants, was tagged for 9 runs, but on the bright side, only 6 of them were earned!
With the win, the River Cats can clinch yet another division title tonight, either by getting a victory, or a Reno Aces loss to the Las Vegas 51s.
This sounds like an instant lockout by the owners, if this is allowed to happen. I doubt too many owners will be thrilled to compete for players against teams that turn the most profit like the Redskins ($90 million), Patriots ($70 million), and Buccaneers ($68 million). I guess Tampa might fall off this list as they are due to be one of the teams this season that could not sell a home game out, and fall under the retarded blackout rule. They once had a 100,000 person waiting list to get season tickets, but those days are long gone as they hope to fill up the stadium for eight weeks out of the year.
Junior is hitting .221 with 14 homers and 43 RBI’s in his return season to the great northwest. His smile is still the same, and his body looks relatively the same, except maybe a extra spare tire around his gut that he didn’t have in his first tour with Seattle. He was my favorite non-A’s player growing up, and you couldn’t ask for a better role model. He showed us how dominating a game can be made to look easy from defense to that perfectly smooth swing.
I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to continue to play as all stars like to hang on, unless you’re weird like Barry Sanders. His return to Seattle mirrored many stars that are past their prime trying to hang on. It may not have looked good numbers wise for The Kid this year, but Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times really believes his time there this year has been 
He was such a competitor that he didn’t let business and pleasure ever come together. He never really befriended his teammates calling them “co-workers”. He decided against playing in a second Olympics, for what many felt were selfish reasons. Jordan showed Barkley in the 92 Olympics how a player works so hard on a daily basis to be at the level he was. Jordan let out some of his secrets that showed other guys in the league what made him great. He payed for it, as Barkley had his best year following those Olympic games. MJ showed Chuck too much of what he did to prepare himself, and Barkley must’ve taken notes winning the MVP over Jordan in that 92-93 season. Never again would Jordan play in the Olympic games. You have to admire a man who goes out of his way to not get to close to teammates or play for a gold medal to avoid showing them what makes him tick.
The Admiral won a couple championships and gold medals. Stockton won gold medals, but unfortunately he played his prime in the Jordan era. Jerry Sloan is being inducted, but is still coaching. I never understood this, why induct a coach for coaching if they are still roaming the sidelines?!? I think they should have to wait until 3 or so years pass after they coached their last game to be eligible. It makes so much more sense!
On the Ducks’ side, the main story is the departure of 14 year head coach, Mike Belotti. Belotti made the jump to the Athletic Director’s office, leaving former offensive coordinator Chip Kelly at the helm. The player to watch will be RB LeGarrette Blount, who gained 1,000+ yards last season splitting carries with Jeremiah Johnson. With Johnson gone, Blount figures to be the feature back for Oregon.
For the Broncos, the key to their attack will likely be the passing game. Kellen Moore returns at QB and has two weapons at the wideout spots in Austin Pettis and Titus Young, who was suspended for the majority of last season, but figures to be a deep threat for the Boise State offense. It will be on the defensive side of the ball where Boise’s fate will lie. If the Broncos can stifle the Oregon offensive attack, they should find a way to put enough points on the board to outlast the Ducks.
They have added him as a pinch hitter plus a sub for Helton to keep that always troublesome back of his from acting up. Giambino made his first NL atbat of his career tonight that netted a bases loaded RBI walk. He knows he’s not a major piece, but feels he can help them out with his experience saying “There is no small role when you’re in a pennant race.” The Rockies also added Jose Contreras from the White Sox for a minor league pitcher yesterday who should fill in nicely for injured starter Aaron Cook. He should get his first start this Saturday. The move from AL to NL has been very kind to many pitchers that were performing at a much lower level (See Smoltz).
Zito is quietly throwing up lots of zeros on the scoreboard. It’s unfortunate that he hasn’t 
They could have broken the spirits of the Giants, but now I believe it’s just a minor stumble as they are now back in first. Another reason I attach myself to the Rockies, is because they have some former A’s players on their team. With the addition of Giambi, it’s too hard to resist picking them. Carlos Gonzalez homered tonight, and he’s heated to white label hot over the last month! I hate second guessing things, but I wonder if we should have kept him over trading for Holliday. We’ll have to see how Brett Wallace turns out to answer that one, on another post.
Back in the first week of August, I wrote 
Last season there were only three teams that didn’t sell out games and not surprisingly the list was Oakland, Detroit, and St. Louis. They combined for a total of nine blacked out games last season. I can’t blame any of the fans for not going to those games though, especially since I’m a Raiders fan and value paying to see them as much as going to see “
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fair weather fan, I’ll always be a fan of the A’s, Raiders, and Warriors which sholuld say enough looking at their track records this past decade. I’ll root for all the Oakland teams no matter where I live, but every sports fan has “other teams” or man crushes on a certain players so we follow them. If they’re in the local media market, they are certainly going to be watched. That won’t happen if eight of a teams games are being blacked out. How can anyone get attached to a player or team that isn’t shoved down your throat? It won’t happen, and that’s why this rule that’s older than Al Davis needs to be changed.
Chris Carter, who was the main reason for my attending the game, did not disappoint. I missed his first at-bat, where he flew out to right field. In his second at-bat, however, he came to the plate with the bases loaded, after a Matt Carson single, and back to back walks to Brett Wallace and Aaron Cunningham. Perhaps the most important note is Carter’s music. He walked to the plate to the tune of E-40 and Keak the Sneak. Gotta love that! Anyway, with the River Cats holding a 1-0 lead, he pulled a Ryan Sadowski fastball down the left field line for a bases-clearing, 3 run double that rolled all the way to the fence. In his next AB, he roped a broken bat RBI single to left for his 4th RBI of the night. I made my departure before his next plate appearance, but he finished the night 3-5 with 4 RBI. Not bad at all for his AAA debut. Let’s just hope he finishes out the year here, as opposed to being rushed to the majors for the pointless final month of the season. 
On the Giants’ side, Buster Posey looked TERRIBLE. In the only AB I remember, he hit a very weak grounder up the middle, but he did manage to beat it out for an infield single. Behind the plate, there were three plays that stood out to me. First, he caught a Sadowski fastball, with his facemask. The batter didn’t even swing, so he must’ve been expecting a breaking ball. Either way, it was NOT pretty. Next, he tried to gun down Eric Patterson stealing second. No catcher will have much chance catching him, but Posey bounced one in front of the bag that rolled into center field, allowing Patterson to advance to third, and a run to score. The next inning, Posey did it again. With Carson on the move – not exactly Usain Bolt on the basepaths – Posey rushed the throw and sailed it into center field, again allowing the runner to take third as well.
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cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 