But it’s hard to think that this just might be North Carolina’s year.

The Tar Heels are the first unanimous preseason number one team, in The Associated Press poll.

If anyone saw the hyped-up game against Michigan State last night, which analyst predicted would be a hard-fought buzzer-beater, the result pretty much speaks for itself.

Tyler Hansbrough led the Heels with 23 points and 11 rebounds, catapulting his team to a 98-63 trounce of the Spartans.

At 8 – 0, I’m starting to wonder who in the field can give this team a run for its money. Michigan State was supposed to do that and look what happened.

I guess I’ll wait patiently for the Duke/UNC match-up while the rest of you basketball nuts check out Hoops Fantasy for info, insight and advice on your basketball fantasy leagues. Photo provided by Newscom

Share This

Image credit: splashnewsonline.com.

LeBron James are Charles Barkley seem to be having a little tiff. Of course, Charles likes to speak his mind and sometimes that means other people take offense. (Remember his “ass wupping” comments from the Olympics a few years back?)

Apparently Charles doesn’t like the fact that LeBron is talking about his future plans for free agency. He said LeBron should “just shut the hell up” and:

“I’m a big LeBron fan. He’s a stud. You gotta give him his props. I’m getting so annoyed he’s talking about what he’s going to do in two years. I think it’s disrespectful to the game. I think it’s disrespectful to the Cavaliers.”

LeBron, for his part said that Charles was in turn “stupid and, like Forrest Gump said: “That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”

~source

Charles knows what he’s talking about. I mean, it’s not like HE ever ran his mouth during his playing days. Right?

Share This

Well the bad economy has hurt everyone these days. Even super-rich golfers.

Have you heard that Tiger Woods isn’t doing anymore car ads? His deal with General Motors is now kaput. As a result he’s decided that ~ GASP ~ he won’t be a spokesperson anymore for car companies because “there’s too much uncertainty in the industry, too volatile right now.” ~source

So what’s a Tiger to do? Will he EVER find another endorsement deal?

(Methinks he’ll probably be okay.)

Share This

Meal 1 6 whole eggs

Meal 2 8 oz. Chicken Breast or Turkey breast 1/2 cup Cashews or Almonds

Meal 3 50 grams 100% Whey 2 tbsp Natty Penut Butter

Meal 4 Same as meal 2

Meal 5 8 oz. Steak (doesnt have to be super lean) Green salad or green vege’s with 1 tbsp olive oil

Meal 6 Same as meal 3 or 6 whole egg.

This is the Offseason Diet Program:

Meal 1 6 whole eggs 1 cup oatmeal

Meal 2 8 oz. Chicken Breast or Turkey breast 1 cup White rice or 1 medium potatoe 1/2 cup cashews or almonds

Meal 3 50 gram Whey protein (ON ofcourse) 2 tbsp Natty PB 50 grams of Waxy Maize Starch (or Glycomaize) But the new Whey and Oats would be perfect for this diet !!!

Meal 4 same as meal 2

meal 5 (post workout meal) 50 grams of Whey protein 1 huge serving of Glycomaize (no fats this meal)

Meal 6 8-10 oz Steak 1 cup white rice or 1 medium potatoe large green salad with dressing (1 tbsp olive oil)

Meal 7 (if up late) 50 grams Whey protein 2 tbsp Natty PB

My take is that it has great success & many top notch IFBB Pro & NPC athletes are using it. If you want to see how many people use his diet, Check out: www.davepalumbo.com/gallery.htm

Wow.  This situation gets worse by the minute.  People are pissed and I know some people think he shouldn’t have been suspended for his actions but I’m sorry - I hope Sean Avery is done. 

I’m reading articles/blog posts where people say it’s unreasonable for Avery to have been suspended indefinitely for referring to Calgary Flames defenseman, Dion Phaneuf’s girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert as “sloppy seconds.”  I’m sorry but it’s about more than that. 

He’s gotten away with so much crap over the years and this is my personal list of things that you shouldn’t do if you want to be taken seriously in the NHL:

I have watched a lot of coverage on this tonight and one thing that stands out are the comments from Dallas Stars GM, Brett Hull, who said:

“There’s probably deeper issues that need to be dealt with as a person and forget being a hockey player.  Um… you know I think there might be, uh.. you know, some sort of medical help that he can get… you know there comes a point where you have to put everything together and go look at maybe this just isn’t gonna work.”

Ouch.  I respect Brett Hull for all he has given to the game and I have to agree with him. 

image: TSN

Considering he has only three years of experience, this is one of the biggest contracts ever given out to a player who wasn’t arbitration eligible yet. But with his career trajectory heading north, the Red Sox thought it’d be a good time to lock Pedroia into a long-term deal.

The big years of the contract come in 2013 and 2014 when he’ll make $10 million each season. However, if he wins an MVP before those years, he’ll make $12 million each of those seasons. He also has other bonuses that could raise the overall value of the contract.

A seventh year on the deal gives the Red Sox an option to pay him $11 million in 2015 or to buy him out for under $1 million. If he stays near his current playing level, he’ll obviously be a members of the Red Sox for a long, long time.

Share This

If you want to see more of Flex Lewis, stay tune.

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams stop running backs for a living. Today, they stopped the National Football League from suspending them — at least temporarily. To follow up yesterday’s post on the suspension of six NFL players for violating the league’s anti-doping policy, both Vikings DTs — Pat and Kevin Williams — were issued a temporary restraining order by a Minneapolis judge today, blocking the NFL’s four-game suspension. Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson issued the temporary restraining order at the players’ request, saying he wanted more time to hear arguments in the case. No further hearing date immediately was set and I still don’t know if the “Williams Wall” will be uniform against Detroit Sunday. This ruling didn’t sit well with the NFL. League spokesman Greg Aiello said:

“The NFL Policy on Steroids and Related Substances is a collectively bargained program between the league and the NFL Players Association. The program and the Collective Bargaining Agreement expressly bar precisely this kind of lawsuit. All of the steroid program’s rules and procedures are established in agreement with the players’ union. In other words, the players have agreed to the rules and the procedures that they are now challenging.”

Judge Larson said he would make himself available to reconsider the issue. He also said he expected lawyers for the NFL, who participated in this hearing by phone, would take the issue to federal court in Minneapolis to get the suspensions reinstated. It appears this case is far from over.

I’m going to side with the players on this one. The league knew that a banned substance (Bumetanide) was present in the product StarCaps but chose not to share that information with the players. That’s wrong. Yes, ultimately the players are responsible for what they put into their bodies. I understand that. But if the product they are taking does not list a banned substance — like Bumetanide — as an ingredient, it’s fair to assume the product is OK to use. And if the league knows about this product being tainted and doesn’t share that information, it’s almost as if they are purposely working against the players. Sure, my advice would be to take EAS supplements and nothing else. Those products are certified as OK to use by the NFL. But if the rule says not to ingest specific ingredients and a player is taking a product that doesn’t list any of those ingredients, I believe there has to be some leniency.

Source: NFL.com

Share This

With all of the big graded races in California, Kentucky, and New York last week, I fell behind in my Fair Grounds blogs, so we have alot to talk about in this update.

Fast and firm on Thaksgiving day. Main track played fair, and stalkers/closers remain strong on the sod.

Hat trick for James Graham, including a pair with trainer Michael Stidham. Corey Lanerie booted home two winners, and Mark Casse saddled a pair of winners.

Sok Sok rallied strongly to take the 83rd running of the $60k Thanksgiving Handicap by 3-1/4 lengths. The Steve Asmussen trainee stopped the clock in 1:09.98 and paid $12.40.

Friday (11-28-08) Fair Grounds recap

Five wire jobs on the sloppy main track.

Two wins for Brian Hernandez Jr. and Francisco Torres.

Classic Campaign (Hernandez) rallied from last in the compact 4-horse field to take the 3rd running of the $60k Buddy Dilberto Memorial Handicap…another stakes winner for trainer Bill Mott. Post time fav Wise River (Torres) set the pace and finished a clear 2nd in the originally scheduled for the turf contest.

Saturday (11-29-08) Fair Grounds recap

Sloppy main track and off the turf again. Main track seemed to play fair.

Hat trick for Francisco Torres. Brian Hernandez Jr. booted home a pair, and James Graham/Michael Stidham teamed up for two wins on the card. Morris Nicks saddled a pair of winners.

Secret Getaway (Graham/Stidham) stalked and pounced his way to a good looking tally in the 44th running of the $60k Tenacious Handicap. Good And Lucky was a clear 2nd under Torres, and heavy fav Mambo In Seattle rallied to finish a clear 3rd in the field of eight. Sunday (11-30-08) Fair Grounds recap

Fast track and off the turf. Main track played fair.

Four-bagger for trainer Bret Calhoun, and he used four different riders.

Dragum (Perrodin/Mouton) rallied from last to upset the originally scheduled for the turf optional claiming feature. Pick 6 was not hit this week.

Francisco Torres leads the jockey colony with 15 wins. James Graham is 2nd with 11, followed by Brian Hernandez Jr. with 9. The trainer race is tight with Cody Autrey’s 8 wins leading the way over Steve Asmussen (7) and Bret Calhoun (7). Michael Stidham is next with 6, followed by Tom Amoss (5).

Thursday (12-04-08) Fair Grounds preview

Thursday’s 10-race card features a Pick 6 carryover of $5,341.

Race 4: The first of four turf races scheduled. Note that there is an 80% chance of AM Thunderstorms on Thursday. The remainder of the week looks sunny and dry.

Race 5: Pick 6 starts here with aforementioned carryover of $5,341. Recently hot trainer Bret Calhoun has Trip Tease (6-1) breaking from the rail. Note that Churchill Downs wrapped up their fall meet last weekend, and this event marks the New Orleans return of jockey Robby Albarado. He is slated to ride morning line fav Jane’s Baby (3-1) for trainer Walter Binder Jr.

Race 9: My racingonthenet free selection of the day.

Photo Credit: Newscom

Share This

Chris Paul, New Orleans Although he turns the ball over more than three times a game, he easily makes up for it by posting more than 11 assists per game. In fact, Paul is the only player in the NBA who is currently averaging double-digits in assists. At 11.8 assists per game, there’s little to suggest that Paul will slow down anytime soon.

Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors Not only is Calderon second in the league in assists at 9.5, he amazingly turns the ball over only 1.9 times per game. Last year he put up a similar ratio for the entire season, so this stretch is definitely not a fluke for Calderon. The Raptors point guard knows how to create shots without turning the ball over.

Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets Billups went to the run-and-gun Nuggets and has turned around their whole culture. Now Denver takes good shots each possession and they don’t make nearly as many mistakes. Billups averages 7.2 assists and only 1.6 turnovers to give him an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 4-to-1.

Chris Duhon, New York Knicks Don’t look now but Chris Duhon is doing his best Steve Nash impersonation in New York. Playing for Mike D’Antoni, Duhon has been asked to create as many shot opportunities as possible. In his last five games, Duhon is averaging more than ten assists per game — including games of 23 assists and 13 assists in back-to-back affairs.

Share This

Joe Talamo booted home a pair.

Porto Santo (FR) got back on the beam in the grassy 4th, and he was surely helped by the scratch of Liberian Freighter.

Belmont Cat (NZ) was always traveling well en route to a smart one-length tally under Mike Smith in the turf feature. John Sadler has yet another talented runner in his barn.

Thursday (12-04-08) Hollywood Park preview Thursday’s 8-race card features a Pick 6 (races 3-8) carryover of $88,094.

My MySpace free selection of the day is the 8th race from Hollywood Park.

The 6th race, a state bred special weight sprint, is featured below.

Hollywood Park race 6 (MSW, CA-bred f&m 3up, 6.5f) (1) Dulce Madero (20-1) - Mulhall 2-82 FTS.

(2) Call Me Rhett (30-1) - Nothing in a pair of turf starts.

(3) Just Charmed (2-1) - Even 4th in 7-1 bow. Barn 1-23 at current meet.

(4) Second Hand Lion (6-1) - Improved effort versus maiden claimers 2nd time out.

(5) Raise the River (5-2) - Highly regarded in 2007. Working well for return.

(6) Drake Lake (3-1) - In Excess 17% debut sire, but Sadler only 8% with FTS.

(7) Buck’s Bro (6-1) - Blinkers on after okay 5th in July.

(8) Arrogant Carson (20-1) - Speed/fade in longshot bow.

Analysis: Just Charmed can improve for 21% 2nd timer trainer Craig Dollase, but he’s uncharacteristically cold at the current meet. Drake Lake could be a runner for the 33% Bejarano/Sadler team. Second Hand Lion earned a quality speed rating despit breaking slow from the rail last time. He’s up from the maiden claiming ranks and could surprise for decent connections. Raise the River is a dangerous returnee for Carla Gaines. She was favored in her three long ago starts.

The $20 Play:

$8 to win Second Hand Lion $6 quinella Second Hand Lion/Raise the River $1 trifecta Second Hand Lion, Raise the River with Just Charmed, Drake Lake, Buck’s Bro with Second Hand Lion, Raise the River ($6)

Daily Wager recap

Wednesday (12-03-08): Liberian Freighter scratched.

Overall: (-91) through 26 days of the Hollywood Park fall meet.

Share This

RB Thomas Jones, New York Jets After a relatively slow start to the season, Thomas Jones has been on fire recently and now is atop the running back standings for 2008. In the last six weeks, he has scored at least one time in each week. He already has nearly 1100 yards and 13 total touchdowns on the season. His closest competitors on the season are Michael Turner and Brian Westbrook.

WR Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals Although he missed a few weeks after taking a vicious hit and breaking bones in his face, Anquan Boldin has been a beast when healthy. He has far and away been the best fantasy football wide receiver in 2008. His closest competition is his own teammate Larry Fitzgerald.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs A lot of fantasy football owners got bored of labeling Tony Gonzalez as the best fantasy football tight end — but he’s atop the tight end rankings once again in 2008. Even though the Chiefs have used three different starting quarterbacks, Gonzalez has thrived no matter who has been throwing the passes. Gonzalez’s closest competition is Antonio Gates and Jason Witten.

Share This

1. CC Sabathia Great pitcher. Great appetite. If Sabathia signs a mega contract that pays him about $150 million, can you imagine what his circumference will be come 2012? He might have to be rolled out to the mound every fifth day.

2. Manny Ramirez No doubt Ramirez was awesome to end the 2008 baseball season. But it’d be foolish to think he wasn’t playing for a contract. With his final contract signed, sealed and delivered, he’ll be back to his typical “Manny” ways.

3. AJ Burnett Everyone is waiting for AJ Burnett to turn into a stud pitcher. Newsflash: It’s just not going to happen. He’ll cash in and flash some potential every now and then but he’ll remain a pitcher who has no chance of being an ace.

4. Milton Bradley In case people haven’t figured it out, everyone hits while with the Rangers. If another team outside of Arlington signs Bradley thinking he’ll give that team similar production, they’d be hugely mistaken. Instead, their more likely to get the malcontent he’s been for his entire career.

5. Oliver Perez Perez is a good pitcher on paper but once the lights shine bright and he’s asked to extend himself for the good of the team, he either can’t or won’t do it. He’s a pitcher who is fine going five innings each and every time out.

Share This

Why is it so interesting?

For one, watching a magician like Daniel Negreanu is incredible.  He is the best I’ve seen at putting his opponents hands together.  Just an incredible feel for the game.  Besides the card players, you also have the prestige of the events.  The WSOP is a huge event and knowing the enormity makes viewing an even better draw.  And you can’t forget about the insane amount of money at stake.  It’s also interesting to see all the various people who play poker and how there styles differ  Along those lines, there is as much gamesmanship as you’re going to see in anything.

Poker’s appeal has also manifested because of all the drama.  This has probably caught a lot of the non-afficianado fans.  Some of us enjoy poker for poker.  Others need something more to draw them in and the blowups of all varieties do just that.  Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth are the standards for ill behavior.  Others like Jean-Robert Belland and Shawn Sheikan walk a fine line around irritating opponents and repulsiveness.  The names continue.  I still remember young punk Eric Molena serving as an embarrassment to the parents who raised him in the 2007 WSOP.  Recently, the Prince of Poker, Scotty Nguyen, had a drawn out tirade at the final table of the HORSE tournament.  Alcohol was definitely in play, but drinks or not, one’s actions are one’s actions.

So the question becomes is this good for the game?  Unfortunately it might be - at least for the immediate proliferation of the game.  Drama sells in our current society and poker is proffering plenty of it.  Like it or not, bad behavior “puts asses in the seats.”  The act does grow old though.  Eventually, more will be repugnated by the disappointing actions.

I saved a clip of Tony G. for the end.  If anything epitomizes embarrassing, ugly, and unsportsmanlike it’s this.  Watch it and ask yourself, is there a need for poker players to initiate some sort of minimal, self imposed code of conduct.

Share This

Vegetables help your body digest food because fresh vegetables have enzymes that are used by your body to help break down food to be absorbed into the body at various points on the digestive tract.

Another wonderful benefit of eating vegetables is that they boost your body’s metabolism. A raised metabolism helps burn off fat.

If you must eat sugary carbohydrates, eat them for breakfast. Then you have all day to work off that stuff.

Truthfully, don’t eat that stuff.

So what are the big stories?

No Plax and still the Giants are first. Solid offensive and defensive lines.

The Titans, rock solid, with LenDale White and Chris Johnson and an awesome defense, they had to hold back on my Lions to keep from doubling their season stats. They are number 2.

Number 3 is the Steelers. If you get a chance to watch their defense, you must do it. They are downright mean and physical! Roethlisberger has a knack for not getting sacked, too.

But the biggest surprise has to be the turnaround in Atlanta. Young Matt Ryan is playing some great quarterback for a rookie and who would have thought that Michael Turner would be this good of a running back?

It’s December, and only three teams in the NFC own more victories than the Falcons. That’s why no matter what happens the rest of the way, Atlanta’s season will be remembered as one of the franchise’s sweetest ever. You could make the case that the Falcons this year have the Coach of the Year (Mike Smith), the NFL Executive of the Year (general manager Thomas Dimitroff), the Offensive Rookie of the Year — or even the MVP in quarterback Matt Ryan — and the free-agent signee of the year (running back Michael Turner).

source

Oh, and my Lions are dead last!

Photo source Newscom

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

Share This

When I got home it was 7:45 PM. I don’t like to eat late, but knew I had to eat something. Because, if I didn’t, I’d sleep restless all night.  Then, I recalled how milk helps repair the muscles while you sleep. It’s not an easy protein to digest. But, it digests slowly and repairs the muscles. 

So, I fixed myself a bowl of low fat cottage cheese, went to bed two hours later and slept like a baby.  In the morning, my body felt completely refreshed.

Champ Miguel Torres  vs. Manny Tapia

Round one showed that man, fast and long left jab that Torres has. He threw a few good kicks as well. Tapia threw a lot of body shots but overall Torres is showing much more control. Torres caught Tapia with a lot of hard hits in the second round and rocked him with a straight right. Manny Tapia never fully recovered from that and Torres catches him again and continues with them on the ground and the ref stops the fight. Miguel Torres wins by tko ref stoppage and retains his Bantam Weight title in the second round.

Wagnney Fabiano  vs. Akitoshi Tamura

A lot of grappling going on here and it starts off kind of boring and neither fighter really making much progress. Same thing in the second round. A lot of boring groundwork going nowhere. Fabiano tries to go for an arm bar unsuccessfully in the last 3 seconds of the round. Third round Tamura almost gets Fabiano in a guillotine but Fabiano doesn’t let him get it tight enough. Fabiano gets Tamura in a head and arm choke. Wagnney Fabiano wins by submission late in the third round.

Brian Bowles  vs. Will Ribeiro

Both Ribeiro and Bowles were throwing some great combos and Ribeiro landed some good kicks. Bowles catches Ribeiro with a tight guillotine as Ribeiro shoots in for a take down in the third round. Brian Bowles wins by Submission.

Joseph Benavidez  vs. Danny Martinez

Benavidez was throwing a lot of good combos and kicks during this fight but not landing anything square enough to do any real damage. Martinez was trying to take the fight to the ground but with no success and rarely throwing any good set up punches. Benavidez set a good pace in both offense and defense throughout the fight. Martinez was trying to throw a lot of left hooks but not following it up with the right. Benavidez caught Martinez with a good knee to the head and a kick to the face shortly after in the third round but Martinez still stood pretty strong. After three round the decision goes to the judges. All three judges score the bout 30-27 in favor of Joseph Benavidez.

Share This