"One thing is pretty certain: The NFL's next champion will be crowned on Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, site of Super Bowl XLIII. Beyond that, there are plenty of unanswered possibilities to ponder as the NFL's 89th season begins. USA TODAY tackles 10 questions … albeit without the help of a crystal ball. "





Aaron Rodgers during the 2008 preseason




Who will win more games in 2008? Jets QB Brett Favre, left, or his replacement in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers?

Read USA Today's

What lies ahead in the NFL: Ten questions to answer in 2008


HERE






 

I’ll admit, I don’t know much anything about the Cincinnati Bengal's Chad Johnson #85 except for what I heard today, and that just made me say, whoa!

He has officially changed his name to Ocho Cinco?  I had to see what was up with that and found an article saying he had been trying to wear the "name" on his jersey.  He would pay massive fines if he continued to do so.  The only official way to get by with that would be to legally change his name. 

Well, he did just that.


Meet Mr. Ocho Cinco

"A lot of people look at Chad Johnson and say he's crazy and he does a lot of stuff, but I don't think people really understand how smart I really am," Johnson said. "So come Sept. 7, I believe when we play the Baltimore Ravens, I think that's the game, there's a surprise for everybody -- for everybody. When I say something, it is what it is, just enjoy it. Because it's going to last 16 weeks, plus some more."

Read the article HERE

Major League Baseball changes as we know it tomorrow.

It’s called Instant Replay….

Granted, it will be used on a limited basis, and that’s a good thing.

Baseball is not quite the same as other sports that use instant replay.

The umpire is making his call at the plate.

And yes, he has made some bad calls.

What’s a baseball game without a few boos and catcalls aimed at the ump, anyway?

It’s the American way at a baseball game…as American as apple pie.

The Boston Globe’s Nick Carardo has this to say…


“An old major league umpire friend feels that, with instant replay off and running in Major League Baseball as of tomorrow, momentum will mount so that everything in dispute eventually is reviewed. He thinks that once this thing starts, it's going to be a runaway freight train. The first time a bad call is made in a World Series game on a bang-bang play at the plate, what do you think will happen?

Manager X will cry, "We have the technology; why didn't we review it and get the call right?"

And he'd be correct.

It's like saying we have a cure for the common cold, but we're only going to use part of it on sniffles. Coughs and sore throats will not be cured. Fact of the matter is, none of this should have been introduced in the first place. Have umpires done that poor a job in the history of baseball that we have to introduce technology to do part of their jobs? And why does it have to be introduced in late August? Was there a hue and cry for replay that I missed somewhere?”

With the announcement by commissioner Bud Selig yesterday that a replay system will be implemented - for "boundary calls" only - all of a sudden the game is dramatically changing with a little more than a month of the regular season left.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but not all aspects of life and sport are better off with it.Pretty soon robots will replace umpires.

The ball will have a device in it that beeps when it's thrown out of the strike zone. The strike zone will be defined by lasers that paint a box for the pitcher. Runners will have tracking devices on their uniforms to detect whether they've reached the base before the ball.

There are all sorts of possibilities, I suppose. But before this technology was introduced, those crazy things weren't remotely possible. Now who knows?”
 

Me?

I’m still miffed about instant replay being allowed in the Little League World Series, whether it was used or not. 

I don’t want to see it in Major League Baseball. 

But I’m not the one making the calls.

Read the Boston Globe article HERE

 

 

If you had to name the greatest Olympic track and field athletes of all time, who would you choose?  Of course you would have to do some research.  But I'm sure you have a few great moments in Olympic history that come to mind.  And I'm sure you have a few sports that are your favorites. 

I prefer the Pole Vault, Shot Put and Marathon for individual events.

From Times Online ~Calvin Schulman

Four years ago for Games in Athens, I devised a points system to rank the leading track and field athletes in the history of the Olympics. This year, the list has been updated and revised to include all the discontinued events that were left out in 2004. The inclusion of such events as the standing long jump and 56-pound weight throw has made a dramatic impact on the top 100 rankings and produced a surprise athlete in the No 1 position. Of course, it is impossible to compare the athletes of the early Games against the professionals of the modern era and such legends as Dick Fosbury and Bob Beamon, who made such dramatic impacts on the sport, are missing because they appeared in only one Games. But that's the beauty of a list - it gets people talking ... and fuming. The points system

All top-eight finishers in track and field events have been awarded points according to the following scale: 1st 12pts; 2nd 9pts; 3rd 7pts; 4th 5pts; 5th 4pts; 6th 3pts; 7th 2pts; 8th 1pt.

Competitors in relays and team events are given half the points: 1st 6pts; 2nd 4.5pts; 3rd 3.5pts; 4th 2.5pts; 5th 2pts; 6th 1.5pts; 7th 1pt; 8th 0.5pt.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


One of my favorites?  "Babe" Didrikson  #74.  She was some athlete.

Mildred Didrikson (United States) 33pts
born 1911 Port Arthur, Texas; died 1956 Galveston, Texas

Gold 80m hurdles 1932; javelin 1932
Silver high jump 1932

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See if any of your favorites are included here in pages and in a picture slide show:

Top 100 Olympic Athletes

 

Yeah, it's really getting tiring.

Not only that, it's a distraction to other teams now....

Does that seem right?

It doesn't seem right to me.

You retired Brett...now you're back...just get on with your life...

Photo by Mark Cunningham/Getty Images



Hip-Joint Degeneration

Modern Comeback: Jason Isringhausen
Hip resurfacing before the 2007 season allowed the St. Louis Cardinals’ relief pitcher go from “couldn’t stand” to “elite closer” in six months.

Future Fix: In nearly every sport, a hip injury has been the kiss of death for an athlete. Stem cells offer the best (if distant) hope for fixing hobbled hips, but advances in minimally invasive surgery have made the once-complex hip replacement almost routine. Stronger materials and improvements to MRI scanners and 3-D computer modeling have also led to better-fitting, stronger prosthetics. The biggest advance for quicker recoveries is a patch-job procedure called resurfacing, in which doctors use tiny tools to smooth rough spots in the joint and coat it with a low-friction ceramic substance. In the lab, researchers are developing and testing motor-oil-like lubricants that doctors will inject into the hip post-surgery to reduce pain from friction and further speed recovery.


Visit POP SCI for Beyond Repair

How new medical tech gets injured stars off the disabled list and onto the field

and eleven more athletes stories....

HERE



Also check out POP SCI Field for info on cutting edge stadiums of tommorow

POP SCI Field - HERE

A black bear makes his way across the 13th fairway during the second round of the
U.S. Senior Open on Friday. Nobody was harmed, and neither was the bear.
John Mummert / AP


Talk about getting back to nature!  If you go golfing in the Denver area, be prepared for just about any type of local wildlife to grace you with its presence.  Worrisome enough would have been watching out of the corner of your eye for a mountain lion to come charging out of the woods.  Now golfers in Colorado need to be on the alert for black bears.


"Although tournament officials were prepared to tranquilize the animal and stop play were it to become aggressive or spooked, after several minutes the bear crawled through a drainage pipe on the ninth hole that leads to the West Course, then went through another drainage pipe and into the wilderness, leaving unnerved galleries and golfers behind.USGA spokesman Pete Kowalski said wildlife experts were called in and would be on the course throughout the rest of the tournament in case the bear or its chums decide to return for another look around."

Black Bear Plays Through At U.S. Senior Open

 

Okay, so we’re really supposed to believe the U.S. government on this one?  Lead…even small amounts of it are “safe” for small children?  It’s dust that’s being emitted from the artificial turf.  That means it is being breathed in by the kids  - who are closer to the ground.

"Back in April, the New Jersey Department of Health put in a request that the agency [The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission] take a closer look at artificial turf fields.

This came after they found that many of the older fields began to emit levels of lead which they believed could have posed a health risk.

The commission followed up by studying the artificial fields and the amount of lead."


No…no, thank you.  If I am the parent of small children, I will not let them play on artificial turf.  Let the guinea pigs they use for testing purposes be the real thing.  After all, we all know how the results of these so-called studies end up flip-flopping down the road.  And I’m sure you would rather have a healthy child who doesn’t have any disabilities due to lead poisoning rather than a law suit, right?

I thought so.


Lead In Artifical Turf Posed No Health Risk




 moneytimes

Remember when Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs?  I liked it better then…especially when it came to team sports.  The Olympics gave you a chance to see athletes you normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to see.  But everything has its time and place.  And since most athletes in the Olympics participated in sports as part of their normal life, rules changed.

Now, everything has its time and place.  And that goes for Instant Replay in sports.  The Little League World Series has announced it is going to use Instant Replay on a limited basis in its series.  You’ve got to be kidding me.  This is Little League!  Is there Instant Replay in Major League baseball?  Not yet, anyway.  So, what’s going on here?

Read the rest at at Rightyblog  HERE

"It was a big brawl," said Ben Means, 25, a fan from New Carlisle. "I like that kind of enthusiasm. It was sweet. We're excited. It's cool."

That regardingthe Peoria, Dayton Dragons and the Peoria Chiefs 10-minute melee between players and managers on July 24th.  It happened in the first innining of the game. 

Watch a slideshow HERE  

Watch a video HERE



photo by Dave Munch Dayton Daily News

"Before the first inning was finished Thursday, July 24, at Fifth Third Field, three were hit by pitches.

The victims included:

• Dayton shortstop Zack Cozart, who left when hit in the head.

• Peoria's second baseman, who suffered a broken leg.

• Spectator Chris McCarthy, 44 of Middletown, who was hit by a ball thrown by Peoria starter Julio Castillo. He was treated and released from Miami Valley Hospital."

Read the article HERE


Who's at fault here


Umpires?

Managers?

Castillo?


Is this really what fans want to see at baseball games?

If you are planning on attending the Olympics in Beijing...be warned...streaking will not be tolerated.

But you probably knew that already.

Beijing has advised spectators of a list of items that should not be brought to the Olympics, and high on the list is banners.

Even a banner such as Go, China! will not be permitted ...

"We advise that you do not bring banners of any kind to the Games because we must create a fair play environment for the athletes from all countries," Huang Keying, deputy director of spectator services division at the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), told a news conference.

"The kind of banner with "Go China!" on it would be unfair for athletes from other countries."

Umbrellas will be permitted as the Chinese are not particularly fond of sun bathing.

Personally, if I were attending the Olympics in China, I would read all of the rules very carefully....

Read the story from Reuters    í  here

Epoch Times

Well, I'm sure your holiday was interrupted by the news that the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest was like no other! 

Come on...after ten minutes of shoving 59 hot dogs and buns in their faces, you get a tie?!

A tie???

So what's a hot dog lover to do?

A face off...between USA's Chestnut and Japan's Kobayashi.

Bring out six more hot dogs each please.

And the winner?

Burp!

Joey Chestnut....by a foot long.


Champ Retains NY City Hot dog Eating Title In Over-Time 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Will he retire?

Did he retire?

He won't retire.

He retired.

Is he coming back?

"It's a rumor"     


Get over it...

This is much more important news!







Takeru Kobayashi poses for pictures after winning Nathan's Famous Hot Dog
Eating Competition in Coney Island, in this July 4, 2006 file photo, in New York.
(Seth Wenig/AP Photo)





It wouldn’t be July 4^th without the battle over who can down the most hot dogs in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

And Kobayashi wants his title back.



From Fox News:

        

Former Hot Dog Eating Champ Ready to Regain His Crown July 4





Also, revisit: 

The toughest - Joey Chestnut #25    



 

 

 

My son and his wife are home visiting from Colorado, and yesterday we watched the Euro 2008 Soccer Championship match between Germany and Spain.  It was a pretty cool match…Spain won, 1-0.  It had been 44 years since their last significant title.


EuroTrecker: Spain claims its greatest-ever glory   ×




Vincenzo Pinto/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Spain celebrates their victory over Germany to win the Euro 2008 final. Spain’s Fernando Torres scored the winning goal in the 33rd minute



Spain scored their goal about 30 minutes into the match.  Germany got increasingly frustrated as time went on, and the match got more physical.  There were bruised and bleeding eye sockets and blatant head butts going on, among many other injuries and fouls.  The eye injury, as with other injuries, just got stitched right on field.  Then the player headed back out to play. 

I’m always amazed at the physical shape of soccer players.  Their speed and stamina is unbelievable.  And the crowd of fans was amazing.  They never stopped cheering the entire time.  All of this combined is what makes soccer the most popular sport in the world.

The kids pointed out to me that in the semi-final match between Germany and Turkey, a Turkish player, Ayhan Akman, had a collision with another player and was bleeding profusely from his scalp.  Forget the stitches…this time, out comes the surgical stapler.  No anesthetic…just pop in a staple or two and the player is sent back on the field.  

No pain, no gain.

And most of you reading this probably say soccer is boring...





Turkey's Ayhan Akman, let trainers staple up gushing head wounds so that he can get back
into the gamesemi-final game against Germany.


See a Video of Akman’s injury:

  Soccer injuries Can Be Awesome   ×

 

 

A grand slam in the sixth inning was just part of Carlos Delgado’s big game; he also hit a two-run double and a
three-run homer.                                                                                                Josh Haner/The New York Times

Okay baseball fans….

No matter what teams you love, or what teams you hate, or what teams you love to hate, you can't deny that Carlos Delgado, knocking in a club-record nine runs in the Mets’ 15-6 victory against the NY Yankees wasn't amazing.

The guy is 36-years old and he's nearing the end of his career!  He normaly gets booed by his own fans.  This should have been a wonderful moment of glory for Delgado.  His reaction, according to reports, was one of him just reflecting on it and saying he is "happy."

Well, then deep inside he must be tired, or he's happy he still has his career. 

He's only had 9 RBI'sin his last 20 games put together! 

He deserves to be more than just happy. 

Maybe that's a signal to the Met's that it's time for him to go.


Read about it from News Day

Delgado's big day a mere aberration   ç here

Cincinnati Reds' Ken Griffey Jr., waves to the
crowd after he hit his 600th home run during the
first inning of a baseball game against the Florida
Marlins Monday, June 9, 2008 at Dolphin Stadium
in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)





“Griffey's name never has appeared on a police blotter, has never been listed among those who cheated to gain an unfair advantage, has never been listed on any delinquent tax lists or bankruptcy lists for flushing his money away on drugs.”


 I just think Ken Griffey, Jr. has class, and he always has.  And he says he doesn’t remember touching the bases as he went around…just like a kid in all his glory….loving every moment of it.   I've always enjoyed watching Ken Griffey, Jr. play baseball.

One of our autographed baseballs includes one signed by both Ken Griffey, Jr. and his father. 


Read about the 600th home run from the  Associated Press    ç  here


And another take on Griffey, about what might have been….he's been plagued with injuries and could have had so much more......

MVN.com      ç   here

 

 
Jason Giambi falls into the stands after
catching a pop foul ball.



Jason Giambi has a deep, dark secret. Deeper than his compulsion to sleep on the side of the bed nearest the door, and darker than his dream of growing up to be a heavy-metal musician.
    
The deepest, darkest secret harbored by the New York Yankees first baseman is that whenever he is in a prolonged hitting funk, he wears a gold lamé, tiger-stripe thong under his uniform. "I only put it on when I'm desperate to get out of a big slump," he confides.
   
Over Giambi's checkered career in the Bronx, he has left the "golden thong" in the lockers of slumping teammates Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, Robin Ventura, and Robinson Cano. "All of them wore it and got hits," he reports. "The thong works every time."
   
This season, the 37-year-old Giambi could stand a good thonging or two. He is in the final guaranteed season of a seven-year, $120 million contract, and through Wednesday was batting an obscenely low .188 with seven homers and 20 R.B.I.'s in 33 games for the sputtering Yanks. Though he can still swat long flies and work bases on balls, against power pitchers-those who strike out or walk more than 28 percent of batters faced-he has often looked outmatched.

"I never hear the boos because I'm too busy booing myself," he says. "No critic is worse on me than me: I can beat myself up pretty good."




Read the complete article from The Wind Up


The Bronx Cheer   ç here



Hey, Jason...ever here of a lucky rabbit's foot?

Or even "Jobu" the bat?




Maybe this is the tiger thong you should be wearing for good luck....

Noted for her accuracy and powerful command of the game, American
tennis player Chris Evert swings for a forehand shot in 1985. Winner of
a total of 157 tournaments, Evert collected 18 grand slam singles titles
during her prolific career. She turned professional as a teenager in 1972
and helped popularize the sport of women’s tennis. One of the pioneers
of the two-handed backhand shot, Evert retired from competitive play in
1989 and became a television sports commentator.
UPI/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE



Are you interested in women’s tennis?

Who's your pick for all-time greatest female tennis player?

I guess I was always most interested in Chris Evert...she's my age and was popular when I lived in Florida.

But I still remember the big battle of the sexes with Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.


ESPN has reported 25-year old Justine Henin is retiring. 

They say she's an all-time great.


They invite you to rank the

Women's Tennis Greats       í  here

David Witthoft

 

Come on…talk about indulging your child.

David Witthoft, 12, wore the same Brett Favre jersey every day for over four years.

That's since he was 8 years old!

And now, all of a sudden he's "concerned about his appearance?"

The jersey's a little short?

It ought to be a little short.

I guess it's a good thing Brett Favre retired after all, or David might have had to get a job to buy a new jersey.

Otherwise he'd be wearing a midriff top by the time he entered high school.

Sounds like David is headed for a career that involves a uniform....


Read the article on the Associated Press   í here

The "Madden Curse" in Green Bay?

No way....

 From The Bleacher Report:

"Duck and cover, Cheeseheads!  

 Brett Farve - who retired but may not have actually RETIRED retired but has said he will retire although cryptically hinted to David Letterman he may UNretire -  will this year grace the cover of Madden NFL 09. 

You poor, fake cheesehat wearing b*st*rds, you have no idea what's about to hit your fair city.

Hardcore gamers and NFL tinfoil-hat wearing fans know what happens when a star NFLer gets the cover of the most coveted sports video game.  

The Madden Curse! "





Read the article  NFL:  Will the Madden Curse Strike Green Bay?    í  here






           Cover art courtesy EA Sports



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


And this from the Associated Press:


"Maybe the best proof that Brett Favre is the football icon of his generation came Friday when he became the cover boy for Madden NFL '09.

Favre is the first retired player to have his visage on the video game. And yes, he is retired, despite the rumblings that nothing is final — the Packers filed papers with the league to make it official on Friday."

Read the rest


Favre not contemplating comeback to NFL    í  here

 

 

Well, we might not agree with Sports Illustrated as to just who should be considered an "athlete," but so be it. 

They've listed their picks for the 25 TOUGHEST ATHLETES. 

Here's #25:


Joey Chestnut 

What makes him tough: Intestinal fortitude of the highest order. Aptly nicknamed "Jaws", this dynamo of competitive eating last year ingested -- among other things -- 8.6 pounds of asparagus in 10 minutes, 182 chicken wings in half an hour, 47 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes, and 103 Krystal hamburgers in eight minutes, living to tell each time.

Defining moment: Ending Kobayashi's six-year hold on the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island last year. Only one month after setting a world record of 59 ½ tubes of beef, sodium, fat and nitrates in 12 minutes, Chestnut inhaled 66 in the same span without reviewing any of them.

Old school match: Babe Ruth, who was renowned for gargantuan appetites that moved a teammate to say, "If you cut that fat slob open, half the concessions at Yankee Stadium would come pouring out."


Find out the rest of Sports Illustrateds 25 Toughest Athletes on SI.com   ç  here