First Post in Awhile

Good news for the blog...we've added a potential writer over the past week, confirming our economic expansion and helping the country get out of the recent recession. But anyways, nothing is confirmed until the first post is in (bmal has come up with exactly zero posts in the few months that this blog has existed).

Back to the actual news, not that there is much anyways. But first and foremost, if all is true, Brett Favre is finally fucking retired...for now. Seriously, I'll never buy a retirement from this guy. He's retired when he's 6 feet under. The day after he announced his retirement, ESPN hadddddddd to report that the Vikings were offering him more money to stick around for another season. ESPN literally must have nothing better to do besides cover Favre, Lebron, and occasionally Lane Kiffin. What was supposed to be the leader in sports news is now the leader in sports "speculation," for lack of a better word. The only thing they care about is ratings and image, but we knew that. So, instead of covering a historical moment (Arod's 600th bomb), they would rather get on their knees for Favre and the NBA. Now, this may seem like a simple bias against both #4 and the all-diva league, but it's not, it's the truth! Back to Favre's retirement situation. If there is a more narcissistic person in sports than Lebron, it's Favre. The guy is constantly begging for attention. Rather than retiring at an appropriate time (pre-draft) and giving his team a chance to plan for the future, he decides to retire on the dawn of training camp! Well, I guess it's not a problem, since he'll undoubtedly use the Vikings "more money" excuse to turn another retirement into a fakey. Jesus christ Favre, just fucking leave the sport! You ruin it!

Now onto Arod's 600th homer. I know, steroids have obviously played a huge part in Arod's success, whether you like to admit that the sport is flawed or not. But what people need to consider is that probably 75% of the players in Major League Baseball were on some sort of performance enhancing drug, yet Arod still has managed to stand far above at least 74% of those (maybe only Bonds and Griffey are more accomplished from this generation). Whether or not you hate Arod or view his accomplishments as tarnished, there is no denying that his number are astounding and he's helped a team to a championship (finally). Arod's a first ballot HOFer, with or without the 'roids.

Bruins time! First off, Seguin is coming aboard. They signed him to a 3-year, Entry-level contract that will likely put Tyler into the mix for next season. In addition, they've brought Blake Wheeler back on a 1-year agreement. So the B's have basically penciled in their starting lineup for October, the problem remains the salary cap. Now, it isn't as bad as it seems. Marco Sturm's injury is a blessing in disguise in this situation (maybe not even in disguise, because he fucking stinks!). But the injury will allow the Bruins to place him on long-term IR, taking his salary off the books until the 2nd or 3rd month of the season. It doesn't completely solve their problems, but it does give them time to decide what they'll do after November. My guess is that they either trade Savard/Thomas, or bury Mike Ryder's and his $4 mil in Providence. Either way, the Bruins are set for October after locking up Seguin and Wheeler. It doesn't mean they're done for the offseason, but it does mean they are that much closer to locking-in their lineup.

Second hockey part....and it involves the Blackhawks continued terribleness. They had already let go of Byfuglien, Ladd, Versteeg, Sopel, and Ben Eager earlier in the offseason, and they continued to let their horrible cap management effect the future of the team when they let Anti Niemi walk this past week. No, Niemi isn't a future stud on Tuukka or Carey Price's level, but he did just win a Cup! In addition to that, he had the same amount of shutouts (7) this past season as he did losses! The Blackhawks obviously didn't learn a lesson from the Tampa and Ottawa franchises after they made trips to the Finals. The Sens mishandled Ray Emery, leading him to bolt for Russia, and the Lightning let Nik Khabibulin slip away to...Chicago! Not only did they let a good, young netminder go, but they brought in an aging and over-the-hill goalie in Marty Turco. I've never been a huge fan of Turco, mostly because he has never been that good. Yes, his stats were absurd prior to the lockout, but which goalie wasn't dominant during that period? Turco is a middle of the road guy who will be asked to come in and perform at an elite level for the reigning Cup-champs. Poor move by Chicago, and their horrific management of the cap will hurt them for years to come.

I won't make you guys suffer, but I'm going to add a little blurb here on the Celtics...and how they've become like the Sox and Patriots. The motto in Boston (aside from the Bruins) seems to have moved toward the "add aging, former-superstars to your team." I'm not saying the Sox have followed this necessarily, because Mike Cameron was never really a superstar, but you get the point. The Patriots, though, have added Derrick Burgess, Deltha O'neal (formerly a very good corner), Shawn Springs, Torry Holt, and Fred Taylor in the last two years (Taylor remains one of my favorite NFL players of All Time, but he was clearly over-the-hill when he came aboard, despite playing very well). But the Celtics have brought the two O'Neals into the mix, and how much can these two actually contribute? Shaq, while the best personality in sports, can barely move these days and hasn't been a relevant player in years. Jermaine O'Neal, on the other hand, might be less-removed from his prime, but he's still a far-cry from the all-star he used to be. What do the Celtics expect from these guys? They brought 'Sheed in last year, and he was largely a flop! Why do they continue to add aging guys!? I don't really care, because I dislike the NBA more than anything and could care less about the C's, but it doesn't seem like they have a plan to compete with the Magic, Heat, or Bulls in the long-run.

That's it for now. Hopefully we'll get a new blogger into the mix over the coming days. And, who knows, maybe Bmal will step up to the plate once Fantasy Football gets under way and he has some football to write about. We'll see...

Detroit Bound and Down

After 20 seasons in a stars uniform, it appears the Michigan native and all-time scoring and points leader amongst American-born players is heading for Detroit. At 40 years old it is no secret that Mike Modano is close to retirement and in an effort to hoist the Stanley Cup one more time, Modano is leaving Dallas who finished 12th in the Western Conference last season, for a much more talented Red Wings team. Adding Modano certainly will do nothing but improve an already star powered Detroit team. Yes it's not 1999 anymore but seeing how the Wings have so much talent from top to bottom, Modano doesn't have to be the guy in Detroit like he was in Dallas, most likely being more of the play maker than the goal scorer. It is definately going to be strange not seeing him in a Stars uni, but many can understand his reasoning and cheer on one of the best to play the game. Although he has hoisted the cup before, perhaps this could be a similar ending to that of Ray Bourque's career and Modano will get to raise the best trophy in all of sports over his head to cap off a hall of fame career. However it should be noted that anyone who makes a half Stars half Wings jersey should be shot.

The Trade Deadline Blog

As much as baseball in Boston has been a downer this year, it's still hard to ignore the trade deadline. With the exception of the NFL, deadline day is one of the most exciting in all of professional sports. The best part of the deadline is that it appeals to buyers as well as sellers. For teams in the hunt, it's a day for the organization and their fans to anticipate what piece they will add to improve their championship run. If your team is out of it, it's still nice to see what prospects (or in the NHL, draft picks also) your team will come up with for the future. Now I haven't paid nearly as much attention to baseball or the Red Sox as I have in past years, but today is still a fun day for me.

The Trade Deadline is somewhat mis-labeled as a one day event. As we saw in the NHL this past year, the Devils made the biggest move of the "deadline" when they acquired Ilya Kovalchuk about a month prior to the cutoff. It's similar in all sports, so here's what we've already seen:

Lee to the Rangers: Despite being on the verge of bankruptcy, the Rangers made a proactive move and acquired the World Series "almost-hero" from last year. Lee goes to the Rangers and immediately becomes the first actual "ace" that the Texas organization has had in years, if not decades. Justin Smoak was the big piece heading to Seattle, and he is expected to be an elite first baseman in the future. But with the Rangers' current situation and roster, they made the right move in playing for the present.

Haren to the Angels: I applaud the Angels organization for this move. They haven't really been as competitive this year as they have over the last decade, but they are still trying to make a push to get back to the postseason. They let Vlad go in the offseason and Kendry Morales breaking his leg was a huge loss for the Halo's. But when the opportunity to acquire a bona-fide ace presented itself, the Angels jumped all over it. The best part of this deal for LA/Anaheim is that they got Haren for relatively little. The only MLB asset they parted with was mediocre lefty Joe Saunders! Yea, nice haul Arizona!

Oswalt to the Phils: Oswalt isn't the pitcher he was five years ago, but he is still amongst the top 20 or 30 in the game today. He voiced his opinion on the Astros' organizational direction earlier in the year, and it was no secret that he wanted out of Houston. The Astros gave him his wish, and the Phillies jumped all over the opportunity to add a great #2 starter behind ace Roy Halladay. With their offensive struggles and injuries this year, the Phillies are going to need to get to the playoffs with pitching, and they made a great move in getting Oswalt. Similarly, the 'Stros got J.A Happ and Brett Wallace in the deal, a very good package compared to what the D-backs got for their ace.

Berkman to the Yanks: The Astros garage sale continued on Saturday when they shipped Big Puma off to the Bronx. This is a classic trade that will make Sox fans furious. The Yankees are mostly healthy and can already slug with the best of them, and they still went out and added one of the best bats available! Berkman will be a part of a lineup already featuring Arod, Teixeira, Jeter, and Robinson Cano! That's scary, flat out scary. The Sox could have used Berkman's bat (where would you put him, though?), but they were silent in talks with Houston, and that might make fans jump-ship.

Jackson to the White Sox: Edwin Jackson didn't even last a full year with Arizona, despite throwing a no-hitter earlier in the year. Instead, he was shipped back to the AL Central. The White Sox made a fairly good deal here. Daniel Hudson has the upside of a good #2 or 3 starter, but he isn't pennant-race ready.


Those deals were the big ones that were either in-place or completed prior to the actual day of the deadline. Of course, there is plenty of action that goes on throughout the last day of July as well. Some of the deals that have gone through today:

Lilly to the Dodgers: The Dodgers have been a very disappointing team this year, with the exception of Chad Billingsley and Andre Ethier (prior to his finger injury). Lilly is exactly what the Dodgers need to recover and make the playoffs. They've had rotation struggles outside of Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, so this move should help out.

Capps to the Twins: Some...most...expected that Joe Nathan's injury would be a disaster for the Twins. Well, it's July 31st and they are still within 1.5 games of the AL Central lead, so they've managed just fine. Adding Capps, an All-Star this year, should really give them a needed boost down the stretch.

Busy Padres: They went out and got Miguel Tejada yesterday, and today they've gone out and acquired Ryan Ludwick. It looks like San Diego really believes that they can continue to play division-leading baseball, and who's to say they can't.

Reliever movement: The Yankees just went out and added a much needed bullpen arm in Kerry Wood, and the Rays added to their back-end by acquiring Chad Qualls. The Bronx Bombers are just adding pieces left and right and doing a good job of acting instead of reacting. Qualls is a good pitcher if in a setup role, but if the Rays want to keep pace with New York, they'll have to do more than just this.


Those are some of the deals that have surfaced in recent hours. As you may have noticed...the Red Sox, as of 3:45 pm ET, have been completely dormant. Would fans like to see them go out and add an Adam Dunn, a Cody Ross, or maybe a guy like Matt Lindstrom or Scott Downs? Yes, I'm sure fans would love that. I'm not saying that the Sox should overpay for a "medium-asset," but to sit around with your thumb up your ass and not show fans that you want to win is absurd. The biggest reason, I think, for fans ditching the Sox this year is their laughable offseason. Two years ago they watched the Yankees swoop in and steal Teixeira. This offseason, they watched the Yankees get Curtis Granderson and countered with Mike Cameron and Bill Hall. Yes, Beltre has worked out better than anyone imagined and Lackey was a big-money signing, but their general strategy of "value" and "defense" has worn Sox fans' patience thin. In a market like Boston, you can't preach value to your fans when they help you sell-out Fenway park for hundreds of games in a row (I'm not sure about the actual number). Fans dish out thousands of dollars a year (casual fans!) to watch the Sox, and they have been rewarded with 37-year old defensive specialists. Bill Simmons nailed it on the head the other day (for once, because Bill Simmons sucks and is retarded), but the Sox are boring! The don't have a goofball like Manny or Pedro anymore. Papi is no longer in his prime, Pedroia's hurt, Ellsbury is a pussy, and Papelbon, Dice K, Beckett, and JD Drew have all worn out their welcomes to various extents.

Basically, the Red Sox have a thin bullpen, they're hurt on offense, and their rotation (while good) has struggled with consistency and injuries...yet the Sox are just standing by and watching the Yankees go get the guys that we should be pursuing. Theo and company will make a move by the end of the day, I'm sure of that, but it'll most likely be with the addition of a cheap utility guy or a 6th inning bullpen guy...and that's almost worse than standing pat. Why not just rid yourself and your frustrated fans of a guy like Ellsbury? Package Jacoby, Ramon Ramirez, and a few prospects and go get yourself a prime-time guy! It's a stretch, but why not make a run at a guy like Hanley Ramirez or Carlos Beltran? Why not pull the trigger on Adam Dunn? Would it kill the Sox to get Prince Fielder? Why are they putting such high value in Jacoby and ending all talks when he's brought up? Send him out! Bring in a Hanley or a Prince! If you do that, you'll gain back a lot of those fans who have either given up or just flat out stopped caring.

Again, they won't do it, because they've turned into a boring organization with a poor strategy. So, Sox fans, prepare for a whole lot of mediocre down the stretch!

What Did The Five Fingers Say To The Face?

Fantasy football officially became available on many websites and so I thought it might be a good idea to rank my top 5 players at each position for the start of the 10'-11' season. Let's get right to it...

Quarterback

1. Peyton Manning
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Drew Brees
4. Matt Schaub
5. Phil Rivers

Running Back

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Chris Johnson
3. Ray Rice
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Frank Gore

Wide Receiver

1. Andre Johnson
2. Roddy White
3. Reggie Wayne
4. Greg Jennings
5. Calvin Johnson

Tight End

1. Dallas Clark
2. Antonio Gates
3. Vernon Davis
4. Owen Daniels
5. Jermichael Finley

Defense

1. Minnesota Vikings
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. New York Jets
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Green Bay Packers

Note: Please send all complaints to: Idontgiveashit@aol.com/creedthoughts

The Lunch Hour

If you told me that you didn't expect Stephen Strasburg to "wear down" this year or next due to arm fatigue or being over-hyped, I would have kicked you in the nuts and called you stupid...and there are probably several people I owe the nut-kick to. The Nationals decided it was of tremendous urgency in early June to promote their future-ace to boost them from a 58-win season to a 64-win season. Thank god they made the move! Fact: Strasburg has been every bit as good as advertised since the recall. Fact: The Nationals have a better chance of winning whenever he toes the slab. But, Fact #3: The Nationals were and are going nowhere fast with or without their budding star. Washington hasn't been a baseball hot-bead by any stretch of the imagination, so you knew the hype was real when all of the sudden a Nats-Pirates game was on ESPN during primetime hours. I mean, really ESPN? You tabbed those two teams for the nightcap? Guy must be good! But what the Nationals failed to take into consideration was the fact that he's still young, and he's now got a ton of pressure thrown onto his shoulders. With all the hype surrounding him, Strasburg probably came into the league figuring he had to ring-up every batter he faced, which he basically succeeded in doing. Well, all that hype, all that pressure, and all those 100 mph heaters have now landed Strasburg on the Disabled List for the first time...already....yikes. I'm not trying to take away from the pitcher that Strasburg is (because he is already one of the tops in the game talent-wise), but I said then and I say now...you shoulda let him get his innings in the minors, Washington!

Moving on...I saw an article today on NESN.com that said Michael Ryder could be the next cap-casualty for the Bruins. Now, Ryder stinks, I don't like him at all as a player and don't think he is worth the $4 million he gets. BUT, the guy has produced in the past and remains mostly the same player he was when he potted 27 goals two years ago. More importantly...he doesn't struggle with injuries! What baffles me, is that amongst all the cap-hit talk, Marco Sturm is NEVER mentioned. Sturm is almost as frustrating to watch as Ryder. He has zero stick skills! Sure, he's fast, but he's going to be coming off of his second MAJOR knee surgery in the last two years! Now he's got no speed to go with the no stick skills. He carries a similar cap-hit to Ryder ($3.5 mil), yet he won't be on the ice until November, and even then he'll be a shell of what he used to be. Keep in mind, what he "used to be" wasn't all that special either. If the Bruins are desperate to move money around, get rid of Sturm...I don't care how, just find a god damn way.

I'll be brief on Carey Price, but that situation is just an absolute mess up in Montreal. Price has worn-out his welcome with Montreal fans already. He's been approached in the locker room for his "lack of effort" and "childishness," yet he is ready to hold-out because he isn't seeing the money Jaro Halak got from the Blues? Hmmm. Lets think here for a second. Last year, Price was unable to find any form of consistency, leading to choruses of booes from the Hab-faithful, and he was replaced midseason by Halak as the teams starter. Halak proceeded to get the Habs to the Playoffs (nearly single-handedly) and then he (single handedly) beat the Capitals and Penguins. Well, earth to Carey...you don't get the same money for sitting on the bench as you do for single handedly carrying a team back to relevancy! Pierre Gauthier alraedy fucked up once by keeping Price over Halak, and now he's realizing his catostrophic mistake. Yea, Price may have the better upside of the two, but his resume is less impressive than that of Halak. Good luck Canadiens figuring that mess out.

More to come later...maybe

I'm Sorry Maybe I'll Think of Something Soon That Will Excite Me Enough To Blog About

I just put up a blog post 2 weeks ago so I don't understand what all the fuss is about. Anyway since I don't want to put up another bruins related post at the moment, I don't care about the NBA, Lebron James, College sports, NFL training camp, Brett Favre, Terrel Owens, or watching the latenight sox games, I will follow this run on sentence up with a rare commercial featuring Drew Bledsoe. Who knows, maybe I'll use one of those brain storm diagrams like in middle school, to come up with something. Enjoy....

One Man Show

It'd be nice if a few of my "blog-mates" would chip in here and there. It's been a bare-bone establishment for the month of July, and nobody seems willing to step up to the plate. I've been told over the past week by "brian" that there could be "three clogs on the Patriots" (direct quote). Yea, my ass brian. Nobody seems willing to step up to the plate in my "absence," leading me to feel like I'm playing the role of El Pres...only less retarded. Well, due to the lack of effort on the part of my many colleagues, I'll provide the loyal readers with a fucking post.

Alright, I'm gonna start with Dan Haren. How is it possible that the Angels have managed to outbid the Yankees in this sweepstakes? The Yankees reportedly turned down the D-backs because Joba Chamberlain was part of the package that Arizona asked for. HAHAHAHA. Seriously, Cashman? You're keeping a career setup man rather than deal him for a guaranteed repeat? Is that a joke? Well, anyways, sucks for Yankees fans to see the Angels swoop in and nab Haren for.........wait for it!.....JOE SAUNDERS!!!!!!!!!! [Insert here many more HA HA's than in the previous line]. Our sister blog (I say "sister" because JMO and Aloy gave up on us) had a column regarding the D-backs being snake-bitten, but JMO might have been wrong. Maybe they are snake bitten because they deal an annual Cy Young candidate for a marginal fourth or fifth starter! I mean, seriously? Joe fucking Saunders? What a joke! You have the most valuable asset on the trade market (maybe other than Prince Fielder or Roy Oswalt) and you make a "panic move" like that? Yea, no wonder you can't fucking win with the best young lineup in baseball.

Anyways, I'd rather not spend my first blog in a week rambling about a meaningless franchise out in the desert...

On to a meaningful team...the Bruins. And yes, I say "meaningful" with a shitload of confidence. News alert to you Bruin-haters (plentiful in number)...the B's just sold out season tickets in a matter of fucking hours. Can you say Stanley Cup parade next year? I might be getting ahead of myself a little bit, but if the Wheeler and Mark Stuart for Kaberle rumors are true...sign me up for front row of the fucking parade! Yea, viewership of the Boston Pawsox is down this year (I mean Red Sox for all you retards who think they are any better than a Triple-A team), but the Bruins are fucking taking over! Yea, go ahead, jump on the bandwagon, welcome to a real sport. For you basketball fans....nice league, go lick Lebron's asshole and get on with your stupid stage-show.

I'll probably give you fellas (all 3 of you, if that...) more to read tomorrow. For now, I'm just tired and flat-out gassed.