Happy Thanksgiving!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!! 

The Year 2005 has been a great one.  My health and happiness are better than ever!!  My wife and our family are all doing well!

My Carolina Tar Heels won the NCAA tournament.  Four Heels were lottery picks in the NBA Draft.  My hometown, Charlotte, debuted their new NBA team.  My Redskins have suddenly become relevant again.  The Reds are being sold. 

There was no shortage of sports stories to blog about.  New blogging friends were made....as well as older ones growing stronger. 

I give thanks to all those out there that (a) read this blog, (b) read all my other blogs, (c) supports my blogs and (d) comment yea or nea about the content put there.   Thanks to AOL Sports for keeping this thing rolling.  Thanks to the Mottrams and the rest of the SBL crew who keep pimpin' my blog whenever they get a chance.  Thanks to my Bloggers in arms who not only provide excellent things to read...but force me to bring my A game.  And thanks to everyone out there.

Here are a few questions that I am taking from my readership...that I thought I'd share with everyone.

WARNER FROM LONG BEACH, CA:  "ON SBL THIS MONDAY, SETH DAVIS ESSENTIALLY SAID THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT IN REGARDS TO JJ REDICK.  ANY REPLY??" 
Sure.  First off, I am correct, Seth Davis is wrong.  The stats speak for themselves. 
Feb 5, 2003:  6 of 12 [first game against Carolina]
Mar 9, 2003:  4 for 13
Feb 5, 2004:  3 for 12
Mar 6, 2004:  3 for 9
Feb 9, 2005:  4 for 12 [10 of those shots were 3s]
Mar 6, 2005:  5 for 13
In his 3 years at Dook...Redick is 25 for 71 from the field against UNC, which is 36%.  
Or his 10 for 38 shooting [27%] during last year's NCAA Tournament???
Or his 18 for 64 shooting [29%] during his last 5 NCAA Tournament games???
I'm not going so far as to say that Redick sucks.  Far from it.  But it has been shown that if you can stay in his face [which is tough] and follow him around...he's gonna have a bad time. 

KENT FROM NASHVILLE, TN:  "WHO IS GOING TO WIN THE THANKSGIVING GAMES??"
I am going road on both games.  If Denver had closed out the G-men....they'd be 9-1 right now and an NFL darling along with Indy.  In the other game...Atlanta has lost 2 in a row...but I feel they'll hold Harrington up a bit and squeak out a victory. 

CLIFF FROM POTTSTOWN, PA:  "DO YOU THINK THE ARBITRATOR WAS RIGHT FOR UPHOLDING THE EAGLES SUSPENSION OF TERRELL OWENS??"
Yes.  Well, that's his job.  In the grand scheme of things....it puts closure on this particular issue.  Neither side will really be bothered by the other.  Now...should the Eagles have done this??  Well, the fact that they did goes to show you that want nothing to do with him.  In Owens' defense, the Eagles 4-game suspension was solely about the money.  If not, they'd just de-activate him and keep paying his salary. 

MARK FROM SALEM, NJ:  "SO WHAT'S NEXT FOR TO??" 
I say he ends up in Denver.  The Broncos have a spot for his talent.  They have a QB that can get him the ball and a coach that can handle some tough personalities.  They also have a veteran team...one that won't let his crap get a hold of them like Philly did.  But Owens' big payday that he so desperately wanted [I mean, that's what this whole mess was about] will never come.  He screwed that up.  From here on out...he'll get, at max, a 3-yr deal....but one that would most likely have an out clause after each year.  But he has the talent to still be in this league. 

SCOTT FROM BOISE:  "WHAT DO YOU LIKE BETTER...NCAA HOOPS OR NCAA FOOTBALL??"
I have to say hoops.  The makeup of the postseason dictates a much better regular season than football has.  In hoops, getting in the NCAA tournament is key.  To do so, you must schedule some pretty good teams to face....and you can afford to take a loss.  I mean, a loss to a good team is better than beating a horrible one.  In football, the key is to schedule well enough that it helps your BCS rankings....but not too tough that it may cost you a loss.  But I think you see much greater regular season games in hoops.  Just look at this week!  Gonzaga-UConn.  Michigan State-Arizona.  That's why everyone got all giddy when Ohio State faced Texas early thispigskin season. 

AURORA FROM SHERMAN, TX:  "WHO IS YOUR NBA'S EARLY SURPRISE??"
For me, it has to be the LA Clippers.  I mean, the Clips have won of the NBA's top records....with a team with quite a bit of turnover and some injury woes.  That new backcourt of Cassell and Mobley has performed very well...and the emergence of Chris Kaman on both ends of the court has been a huge key. 

MALIK FROM BROOKLYN:  "THE CLIPPS WINNING???  DOES THIS MEAN THAT THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR??"
Maybe.  I mean, the Red Sox and White Sox have just won World Series.  The Buccaneers won a Super Bowl a few years ago and the Bengals are good again.  Phil Mickelson is winning majors.  Now the Clips!  This is getting scary!

HANK FROM CORAL SPRINGS, FL:  "WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON THE MARLINS' FIRE SALE??"
It is very unfortunate.  Sure, the Marlins' 13 year reign in Miami has been marred by smallish crowds and playing in a football facility.  But this has been a very successful franchise.  I mean, they have TWO World Series championships....which equal the same amount the Cubs, Phillies, Padres, Astros, Expos/Nats, Rangers and Angels have acheived in a combined 375+ seasons.  The issue I have is that this team won a title a few years ago and were very competitive the past few seasons.  They were sooo active in the free agent market a year ago....only to fold and dump the team to the point that Miami will turn their backs on them.  Which is what they want, so they can be in Vegas or Portland in several year. 

FREDRICK FROM ATLANTA:  "SPORTZ, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE......SPORT??"
Depends on the season.  Right now...I am ALL NFL.  In a few months...I'll be ALL BASKETBALL.  After that, I will be....well, waiting for football.  So are the stages of my life.  When I was a youngster...I loved baseball.  I played in Little League, won an MVP trophy and was on All Star teams.  About the age of 10...I started playing basketball....and I loved it.  I played for my school, for the YMCA, for a church [that I didn't even go to], in tournaments and in various rec leagues.  Then I got a bit older and the soreness from hooping took it's toll.  I played football for my school and on the streets.  I have a love for them all....so it is hard to pick my fave.

DEUCE FROM CHARLOTTE:  "FROM 2005, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BLOG ENTRY??"
Well...I have two.  MIKE TYSON'S PUNCH OUT was one of my favorites since it took me back to my teenage days.  Not just me...but people wrote to me about how much they loved that take and how many memories it brought back to them.  The one that I really think is my favorite may have to be Sportz Tribute To Carl Lewis.  To this day...I will go back to that take and just start crying laughing.  I can click onto the link for his music video and just laugh and cry to sleep.  The guy is one of the greatest athletes in my lifetime...but dude thinks too highly of himself.

                                
                      "We will never break it up.....break it up....break it up!!!"