30 Things I Wanna Get At

In honor of my 30th birthday today....here are just 30 things I wanna get out there.  With such a hectic month...my blogging has lacked a bit of pizzazz.  And, for some reason, I'm feeling a tad froggy right now...so there will be a sting in some of these.

                   

*Ricky Williams.  Franco Harris called.  He wants his face back.

*Or...is it Earl Campell??

*Or Bill Cosby in "Uptown Saturday Night"??

*Why do the Redskins even bother drafting in the 1st round??  Other than the lucky draft of 2000 when we had the #2 and #3 overall picks [thanks Ricky Williams!]....our first round has been wafted away.  Carlos Rogers and Jason Campbell are new Skins via the 1st round, but for how long?  Last year's top pick, Sean Taylor, is in a heap of trouble with some ATV gun thang.  Patrick Ramsey [2002] has been thrown around like a rag doll...then pretty much given an ultimatum to be great this year or else.  Rod Gardner [2001] was just dealt to the Carolina Panthers.  Champ Bailey [1999] was quite a catch...but dealt off for Clinton Portis last summer.  This after a decade of Kenard Lang [1997], Andre Johnson [1996], Michael Westbrook [1995], Heath Shuler [1994], Tom Carter [1993], Desmond Howard [1992] and Bobby Wilson [1991].  Howard went on to win the Super Bowl MVP with the Packers a few years later; Westbrook is now a boxer or something; Shuler is running for Congress in North Carolina.  All this comes after the Skins dealt 20 of the 23 first round selections from 1969-1990.  The only three the actually drafted????  Art Monk, Mark May and Darrell Green.

*If there is anything in baseball I'd wish for...it would be the Yankees not making the playoffs.  I'm not a Yankee hater by any stretch, but I'm sick and tired of seeing them in the postseason.  Sick of having to hear announcers spank it about how great and majestic Yankee Stadium is and the history and the words "Joe Torre".  Actually...they can make the playoffs as long as they don't have to face the Red Sox.  God am I tired of being told that these are the only two franchises that have ever existed in Major League Baseball history.  And while I am at it....let the Braves stay home as well.  Nothing is as tired as seeing the Bravos tank another postseason while the Marlins are winning titles.  Nothing would bring me more glee than a Washington-Minnesota World Series.  Hey...I might actually stay up until 1 am to watch it.

                                        

*I am glad the NHL is coming back....but what is this deal with having 20 playoff teams???  I know the Stanley Cup playoffs are probably the most exciting in pro sports...but 67% of your league in the playoffs??  C'mon!  Remember the good ol' 1980s when the NHL had 16 of its 21 teams in the playoffs?  Now the league is looking at it again.  Look, why doesn't the NHL just add two more franchises [to make it 32] and just have a six month playoff to get the cup?  Might as well.

*Why doesn't somebody do something about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  What is the point of this franchise?  So no one threatens to move their anymore?  I christen the Rays as the worst franchise in sports.  They have always blown and will continue to blow when playing in a division with the rich Sox, Yanks and O's.  They play in Florida, yet play in a freakin' dome!!!!!  And what an ugly dome it is.  Honestly, the only people that go to the games are there to see the teams they left behind when they moved to Florida. 

*Congrats to Jamie Mottram on his recent nuptials! 

                                             

*Ah....so T.O. is actually gonna report to training camp.  Good.  While I am notopposed to NFL players holding out since their contracts are unguaranteed.....Owens IS the 4th highest paid WR and shouldn't really get so bent about his deal.  I mean, the Eagles DID make it to 3 straight NFC Title games without you and managed to weave thru the 2004 postseason without you.  Get to camp.  Catch some passes.

*The NBA needs to get their crap together and end this moriatorium.  Yeah, I understand that they are drafting the officialagreement...but it already feels like a freakin' lockout. 

                                  

*If there is any show that I am pretty sure I won't watch it is the new Stephen A Smith show.  I don't hate him.  He just annoys me.  I mean...I wish I was a smart as he is about everything in the world.  I wish I could stretch out my comments by inserting "at the end of the day" and "quite frankly".  If there is one thing that this blogging stuff has taught me is that everyone has an opinion and it really doesn't take much to voice it. 

*Congrats to Yannis for getting the Rookie Blogger of the Month award....and YCSJ winning the Rookie Blogger of the Week.  With three award winning bloggers in our "ring"...no wonder it is the best chatting experience anyone could ask for. 

*I will pick USC as my 2005 National Champion....but Tennessee may actually be the better team.  Too bad the Vols murderous schedule will prevent them from possibly meeting the Trojans in January.  And that is what chaps my hide about College Football and no playoff.  It rewards USC for winning a very ordinary conference while a school like Tennessee faces landmines throughout their sked.

                                      

*I love the new ACC.  But I hate the new logo and I hate the "Atlantic" and "Coastal" divisions.  I was happy with A and B. 

*I still have no idea what happened between the Pistons and Larry Brown. 

*You may have missed it...but the Kings, Jazz and Grizzlies swung a 3-team deal that essentially sent Bonzi Wells to Sacrmento....scaps to Memphis....and Greg Ostertag to Utah.  Huh?  Tag back in Utah!!  Um...why?  I didn't hear ONE Jazz fan that was sad to see the Big Oh leave a year ago.  Now they trade 3 bench warmers to bring him back in.  Dang!

*My wife and I just saw two movies this weekend.  "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Wedding Crashers".  Uh...this is a sports blog so, uh, "Crashers" had a game of touch football in it and, uh, "Charlie" had Violet the trophy winning competitive freak.  Anyways...we loved both movies and recommend them to anyone who is wondering about seeing them.

                  

*It is weird how things turn out.  Ronny Turiaf entered the 2004 draft before pulling his name out so he could finish getting his degree.  When he did so...he left behind a pretty good shot at be selected in the 1st round.  He went back to Gonzaga, got his degree, and had a so-so season for the Zags.  So, entering the 2005 draft...Turiaf wasn't selected until the 2nd round and costing him a ton of money.  During his physical with the Lakers...it was found that he had an enlarged aorta and he will have to undergo open heart surgery.  The surgery puts his career in jeopardy.  So, really, his decision turned into a blessing on two counts.  One, the fact that he got his degree means that ifhe can no longer play basketball...he will be able to get a good job in the workforce.  And, two, if he left early...who knows if his heart problem would have been noticed in time.  His life...in more ways than one....was saved by decided to Stay In School.

*One of the dumbest things I have heard is Kentucky Speedway suing NASCAR so they can get a Nextel Cup race.  Huh?  You are suing them to give you a race?  Isn't that like suing some chick so she will date you???  Um, you BETTER hope you win...or I'm sure the Busch and Craftsman races may be pulled from your track.  Then you have a huge track in the middle of nowhere that has really nothing to show for it.

*Is the MLS still around?? 

*Oh, and why you are checking....see if the WNBA is still cooking?

*It is nice to see that Al Michaels is NOT defecting to NBC with John Madden to call Sunday Night Football for the peacock.  Instead, Michaels will host Monday Night Football on ESPN....along with Joe Theismann.  I like that.  Michaels belongs in the ABC/ESPN family.  I really have enjoyed his work on the NBA the lastcouple of years....and he still is one of the finest play-by-play guys in football [I wish he'd call a few baseball games as well].  With John Madden now heading to his FOURTH major network [CBS, Fox, ABC, NBC], it is refreshing to see the same face and hear the same voice on the same network. 

                       

*Why do we need a Poinsetta Bowl???  Is that the new thing??  Having a big bowl that hosts a smaller bowl...kinda like a "pre-bowl"??  The Citrus.....er, Capital One Bowl has the Tangerine...er, Champs Sports Bowl.  The Sugar Bowl has the New Orleans Bowl. 

*Speaking of bowls...I've lived in Charlotte for 13 years and didn't realize what kind a car place it is.  First, we had the Continental Tire Bowl.  Now the name is the Mienike Car Care Bowl.  Ugh. 

*And still on that topic...here are your great sponsors for the 2005-2006 bowl season:  Maybe you'll get some INSIGHT about what to buy at CHAMPS SPORTS.  Checking my MPC COMPUTER, I booked a trip to the ALAMO for my HOLIDAY in my EMERALD car made by GMAC in the MOTOR CITY that you just bailed out of MEINIKE.  The INDEPENDENCE and LIBERTY of having the SUN beam down on you while cruising thru MUSIC CITY, eating a PEACH or an ORANGE, thru the COTTON fields of the Florida OUTBACK.  Go down GATOR alley [make sure you have your CAPITAL ONE card to buy a ROSE or a POINSETTA for your SUGAR-pie] for a little FIESTA.   

                                      

*The sore thumb in the 2003 NBA Draft is Darko Milicic.  While LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh get major run....the #2 pick has yet to make a dent.  Now, with Larry Brown out in Detroit, rumor is that the Pistons are openly shopping Darko...possibly to Atlanta for Al Harrington.  This would give the Hawks the #2 pick in the 2003 and 2005 drafts.  What really is puzzling is why the Pistons would do this.  They knew that Darko was a project....much more so than the guys selected around him.  So why bailon him now??  My thinking is that Detroit did the smart thing if they choose to develop him.  Then, when the Pistons frontcourt stars start phasing out....Milicic will be ready to step in. 

*Word justin....the WNBA and MLS ARE still around.  I will say this about NBC [who I found out is still around, too]....they did a heck of a job promoting the WNBA.  Since the league has moved to ABC, I really haven't seen or heard much about them [don't blame ESPN, since they've had games for a while].   Oh, and do they have their games on Lifetime anymore??  And...when will the Charlotte Sting be moved somewhere else?

*Speaking of the Charlotte Sting...owner Robert Johnson [the guy who owns the Bobcats] folded his one-year old regional sports network C-SET.  It was a disaster from the start.  Not only was it rushed....there was no programming to make you watch it outside of game night.  Oh...and no one in the Carolinas even GOT the channel.  I got the games up here in Cincinnati with my NBA League Pass...but my mom, in Charlotte, could never find the games.  No one could.  So what is the point having most of the televised games on a channel no one got??? 

                             

*I am very angry with my Lakers right now.  I do not like the deal that will bring Kwame Brown into LA.  Alright, we got Kobe Bryant.  I love to watch Kobe play...but dude is a jerk.  And if Kwame Brown was razzled by Michael Jordan...it won't get too much better with Kobe [he sent the Zen Master to a shrink].  You never can tell where Lamar Odom's head is at.  We drafted a 17-yr old kid to be the next in a line that includesWilt, Kareem, Vlade and Shaq.  And there are rumors swirling about possibly taking a chance on either Gary Payton [who blasted LA last year] or Damon Stoudamire ["um, that ain't my weed!"].  Maybe we should give Latrell Sprewell a look as well.  Or Shawn Un-Kemp-t. 

*Chad Ford is leaving ESPN.com to become a professor at BYU-Hawaii.  Ford arrived to ESPN.com when they took over the ol' SPORTSTALK.com.  God...I remember SportsTalk.com.  Back in the day....I constantly hit up their site for every rumor imaginable.  I mean, it isn't like it is now where rumor sites are as common as porn sites.  Good luck Chad!!