Intro

I love the idea of this blog because there is very little doubt in my mind that my opinions are going to greatly differ from everyone else's on this blog. Unlike the rest of you, I did not grow up in New York City. I grew up in the South - Dallas to be exact. At the age of 18 I moved to LA to go to USC. I have graduated and still live in the Los Angeles area. I root for the Cowboys, Rangers, Stars, and Mavericks. And those are not the same Rangers you guys root for.

Before I start ranting, and I must warn all, I am prone to rant, I would also like to say that I am a numbers guy. I love numbers and I try to analyze them as much as I can. Saying that, I am not a supporter of Billy Beane. I think the time to tell whether he is a great GM or not is from today on. My thinking on that is the reasons the A's have been winning for the last 5 years is because of the Big Three - Mulder, Hudson, and Zito. He drafted none of them. So why doesn't the guy who drafted them go no credit? My guess is as good as yours. In my mind Beane inherited what made the A's win. Now is the time to really judge him. Not after a book where he made himself seem like a God. Nonetheless, his theories interest me and I do agree with a lot of them. I love what Depodesta did when he signed Derek Lowe. He straight up said, I signed Lowe because his numbers are perfect for Dodgers Stadium. Lowe is a pitcher who doesn't walk people and does not give up a lot of doubles and triples. He does give up a lot of home runs. Dodger Stadium is a doubles and triples park that takes away the home runs. This signing was pure off the numbers and I want to see how it turns out. Lowe may fail, or he might give up more doubles and triples than before, but it will be interesting to see his numbers at the end of the season compared to his numbers in past years.

I'm white and I believe that race no longer has much of an impact on anything, especially in the sports world.

Barry Bonds constantly digs himself into holes. He says stupid shit that angers others. His quote from Wed. when he said, "I'm 40 years old. I'm not 20 or 30 anymore." was absolutely ridiculous. Yeah, your 40 but you were 39 last year and 38 the year before that. Does it really surprise anyone, that the year he stops using steroids he gets hurt. Doesn't surprise me. I was kind of expecting it. And then shifting blame to the media. That's baloney - it's his own damn fault. I don't think him or McGwire or anyone other steroid user should make the Hall of Fame. And while I'm at it, I think Bonds, both Giambi's, Sheffield, and any other steroid user should be banned from baseball the way Pete Rose was banned from baseball, the way Joe Jackson and the other Black Sox were banned from baseball. I think that Canseco and Caminitti and Giambi and Bonds and Sheffield should lose any award they have previously won, including MVP's. This is a little of a side note, but college basketball did this once in the '70's taking away a Final Four MVP from someone. I believe Roger Maris should hold the single season home run record. I hate the argument that it wasn't cheating because steroids weren't made illegal by baseball back then. They were made illegal by the government of the United States of America, the government we all abide to. And my argument is far from a racist one against Bonds. You must remember, I graduated from USC as did Big Mac and I have always been a supporter of his, but after what he did at the hearings he should punished. What McGwire said was a disgrace. I'm not trying to punish just Bonds, I won't any and every baseball player who has used steroids banned from the game. I think if anyone other than Bud Selig was the commissioner of baseball these men would have been banned long ago.

Regarding the best athlete of all time argument, I first would like to say I have never seen a lot of those people play. But as I said earlier, I am a numbers person. Because of this I believe that Babe Ruth is the best athlete of all time. One number can explain my thinking - 60 home runs. That was more home runs that year than every other team (not player, but team) in the Major Leagues. That's right, he outhomered every team in the majors.

I love watching games on TV, but I have a soft spot for the radio. I used to sneak a radio to bed with me so I could listen to the end of Ranger games when I was little. I loved it when a game would go to extra innings - that was my childhood dream, that all games would go to extra innings and I could listen to baseball all night. I have bought the baseball package and have had it for the last two years. I love it, and I think I can fairly say I watch about 6 hours of baseball every day. But I still think there is nothing like going to a ballgame. My senior year I went to every USC football game (the first year we won a national championship). That included trips to Notre Dame and Auburn. I have now been to the Orange Bowl twice and the Rose Bowl once. I got lucky this year and the LA Angels start the year against the Rangers and I will be in attendance on opening day and the subsequent two games. There is nothing like being at a ballgame.

Regarding point guards - and I'm not a big basketball person, i think Steve Nash is the best point guard in the league. I think Jason Kidd is a great point guard, but he needs to work on his shot. I have no love for Stephon Marbury or anyone who proclaims themselves to be the best at something. Marbury, as much talent as the man has, is a loser. He has always been a loser and historically when he has left a team, they have gotten a lot better. Case in point - Timberwolves, Nets, and Suns. I know that's not the greatest argument but it's a good one. The only one it doesn't really work for is the Suns because they turned around and got Nash and Richardson. But the Nets improved over night when they swapped him for Kidd and Wolves improved over night when they shipped off Marbury for Terrell Brandon.

I'm done for now and I'm open to criticism on anything I write so feel free to attack if you wish to do so.