Ocho Cinco

Chad Johnson in 2006 took up the nickname "Ocho Cinco" because his number was 85 and 85 in Spanish is ocho cinco. Well Mr. Ocho Cinco is about to be sitting in the freezing cold for 16 or more games.

Chad declared that he must be traded and he said, "I will not lose this battle [to Marvin Lewis, the head coach]." Marvin told the press there hasn't been a single trade offer since the Redskins offer and if he wants to skip training camp, go right ahead but he will be sitting the season. It hasn't been figured out why Chad wants to leave Cincinnati but why wouldn't a team want a Pro Bowl wide receiver besides the fact that he's nuts.

How could the Bengals get two first-round picks for Chad Johnson in that proposal by the Redskins and turn it down? The first-round pick, No. 21 overall in this year's draft, would have been amazing. Next year's third-rounder would have escalated to a second-rounder if Johnson caught 80 passes in 2008 and a first-rounder in '09 if he caught 95 passes. Those achievements are not impossible because Johnson would be well used.

Will a Pro Bowler not be doing his dances from the end zone this year because they are going on in the locker room?

The 2008 NFL Mock Draft

Could New Orleans move up to get Glenn Dorsey, and will Matt Ryan, right, fall to the Ravens?

The NFL Draft is a hard thing to predict like the winner of the West. I am going to put my reputation on the line picking where college stars will go. A Heisman Hopeful can drop to pick 22, does that ring a bell. Hopefully I chose better then Mel Kiper.

Here is the first 15 picks. As the first pick of the NFL Draft the Miami Dolphins select... Michigan Offensive Tackle, Jake Long.
I think Long is tied for best player in the draft with Dorsey and McFadden.

St Louis Rams: Chris Long, Virginia

Atlanta Falcons: Glen Dorsey, LSU
You may think this is another mistake by Atlanta but expect if they pass on Ryan they could get Colt Brennan, Brian Brohm, and even Chad Henne later in the draft.

Oakland Raiders: (sadly) Darren McFadden, Arkansas
I am a Jets fan and we wanted D-Mac. He is a great player who just got picked by a really bad team when it comes to EVERYTHING.

Kansas City Chiefs: Sedrick Ellis, USC

New York Jets: Vernon Gholston, Ohio State
Don't be surprised if they get Matt Ryan.

New England Patriots: Leodis McKelvin, Troy

Baltimore Ravens: Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, Tenn. St.

Cincinnati Bengals: Phillip Merling, Clemson

New Orleans Saints: Keith Rivers, USC

Buffalo Bills: Brandon Flowers, Virginia Tech

Denver Broncos: Chris Williams, Vandy

Carolina Panthers: Ryan Clady, Boise St.

Chicago Bears: Rashard Medenhall, Illinois

Detroit Lions: Jeff Otah, Pitt.

Don't forget about Colt Brennan, Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Mario Manningham, Aqib Talib, Johnathan Stewart, and Derrick Harvey.

36 Innings, 8 Runs and a Wild Pitch

The next great shortstop of baseball, Troy Tulowitzki

Troy Tulowitzki doubled in Willy Taveras in the 22nd inning to give Colorado a marathon 2-1 win over the San Diego Padres. The Rockies won the game in part to a costly error from shortstop Khalil Greene, whose high throw to first base allowed Taveras to beat out a grounder with two down in the 22nd.

With the bases loaded after walking David Wright and Carlos Delgado Brian Schneider had an RBI on a Joel Hanrahan's wild pitch. The ex-Yankee catcher, Wil Nieves turned around to retrieve the ball he crashed into the home plate umpire and the Mets won in 14 innings, 3-2. I would know because I was there.



The Rockies vs. Padres game took 6 hours and 16 minutes and the Mets game ended at 11:55 making it 4 hours and 45 minutes. The longest game in MLB history is 26 innings, on May 1, 1920, and that turned out to be a 1-1 tie between Brooklyn and Boston. The Padres/Rockies game was the longest extra-inning game for both teams and lengthiest in the majors since Minnesota beat Cleveland in 22 innings on August 31, 1993. The Rockies ended up with 2 runs, 14 hits, and 1 error and the Padres 1 run, 11 hits, and 2 errors including one that cost them the game. The Nats/Mets game didn't have as much hits. Washington had 2 runs, 6 hits, and 3 gaudy errors and the Metropolitan's had 3 runs, 9 hits, and ZERO errors but 8 walks. In a total of 36 innings in 2 games there were 26 walks and both winning teams gave up 5 and received 8.



36 innings, 8 runs, and a wild pitch...WHOA! But that is only 2 games on a long, tiring night for baseball.

In or Out and Right or Wrong

After Lebron James set the tone for young students to go pro it has been horrible. Amazing players who may not be ready for the big show leave quick out of college. Last year Kevin Durant and Greg Oden declared for the NBA Draft as wonderful freshman's and look at the results. Durant is close to winning Rookie of the Year and Oden was out for the year with knee surgery. Greg Oden played one basketball game this season, it was at a 24 hour fitness gym as part of a pick-up game.

Some players have declared officially and some are 50/50 and some youngsters are going to stay in school. Here are some definite names in the NBA Draft: Joe Alexander, WVU (Junior), Michael Beasley, KSU (Freshman), Chase Budinger, Arizona (Sophomore), Eric Gordon, Indiana (Freshman), Brook and Robin Lopez, Stanford (Sophomore), OJ Mayo, USC (Freshman), and Derrick Rose, Memphis (Freshman). There are a lot more freshman's and sophomore's who might go out including Kevin Love, Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Stephen Curry dominated the 2008 NCAA tournament and his stock has never been higher. He decided to stay in school. Another great year at Davidson is ahead , this time playing point guard, could make him a lock for the first round in 2009.

The NCAA is planning to make an age requirement to be able to go pro. If you think they should or shouldn't put the age requirement into session answer my poll or leave a comment. I would love to hear your opinion anytime.

Let's Skip To Day 5

Trevor Immelman is one of the best golf drivers on the tour. You may ask why people don't name him as one of the elite players on tour. It is because before coming to Augusta he was a horrible putter. Now he has shown how good he is, while wearing a beautiful green jacket.



Trevor went 11 under defeating these stars in this order: the comeback star, Tiger Woods,Brandt Snedeker, the 2007 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, and Stewart Cink. Immelman and Snedeker will go on to great careers. It seems funny to me that Trevor Immelman putted the best of his career at Augusta. It proves you can't predict the winner to The Masters.



Immelman is a South African golfer who was born on December 16, 1979 (my birthday's December 18). Immelman was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He took up golf at the age of five. He turned pro in 1999 and joined the PGA in '06. He has won a total of 10 golf championships. You may not know that Immelman tied for 5th place in the 2005 Masters and tied for 6th in last years PGA Championships. Lately Trevor is not new to the top ten.



I know it shocked me that Immelman pulled it off. I told people Tiger would fall and that Mickelson or Poulter would win but no one could predict. 0.10% of ESPN SportsNation chose Immelman to win. Whomever chose Immelman to win, even if they were fooling around should take the next flight to Vegas.

How Awesome Was Augusta?:Day 1 & 2

Sunny weather in Augusta, Georgia. The smiling little children caddying for their parents and a hole and 1.

Wednesday:Par 3 Contest: 12 years ago children of golfers began to caddy and it has made this event so fun. Even watching the idols of some of the golfers play again including Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus is fantastic. This is the only sport where a 65 year old, hall of famer can play a great game. The winner, Rory Sabbatini, is continuing the jinx of that the Par 3 champ doesn't win the big event. He on day 1 of The Masters ended 3 over with a total of 75.



Thursday:Ian Poulter was the luckiest man on earth when on a par 3 hit a 170 yard hole an one and ended the day 2 under at a 70. Ian is now tied for 4th.

To watch Pulter's ace go to: http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3339932&n8pe6c=2

Last years winner Zach Johnson is playing good enough to be part of the 6 way tie for 4th.
Justin Rose is in the lead at Augusta.


Justin Rose (below)


To get action online and live go onto:http://www.masters.org/en_US/realtime/lb.html?ts=1207859237203&db=false&ref=www.masters.org/en_US/scores/index.html

NHL Playoffs

The NHL Playoffs begin on Wednesday. There are some great match-ups and here are the top two.

Eastern Conference Best Match-up: New Jersey Devils .vs. New York Rangers

The rivalry is back again in a classic 4 and 5 seed series. The Devils have home-ice advantage by only 1 game but that won't pay any part in the turnout. The Devils can't sell out a playoff game and 40% of the fans at the beautiful new arena are Ranger fans. I know Marty Brodeur is wonderful but the Rangers are to dangerous all game long. Jagr, Drury, Gomez, Shanahan, and Henrik Lundqvist are the game time leaders and then the great Nigel Dawes kills in a shootout. The Devils used to be the kings of playoff hockey but it is time for a new giant in town. Turnout: Rangers 3 to the Devils 2.

Western Conference Best Match-up: Detroit Red Wings .vs. Nashville Predators

Nashville has so much momentum sneaking into the playoffs on the last day. Nashville is a feisty team. Nashville will give Detroit lots of trouble. The season record was 5-3 in favor of Detroit. Detroit will sneak away in 5.

The Week of the A-Rod

What a week for A-Rod's around the world. Between 13 year old girl Alexa Rodriguez, to Alex Rodriguez,and Andy Roddick.

13 (Alex Rodriguez's number) year old girl touring Fenway Park on a school trip was attacked by a red-tailed hawk that drew blood from her scalp Thursday. The Fenway Hawk coincidentally struck a girl nicknamed A-Rod in a town that hates Alex Rodriguez.

Speaking of Alex Rodriguez who in the series at Yankee Stadium against Toronto hit .273 with 1 home run and 3 RBI"s. Don't forget how clutch A-Rod is. He struck out looking with the bases loaded off Dustin McGowan.

Andy Roddick, the best A-Rod of the week. Roddick got engaged to swimsuit model, Brooklyn Decker and after being 0-11 against Roger Federer beat him in 3 sets at the Sony Ericsson Open. he also had the company at the match with trash talking superstar Terrell Owens.

Cueto Who?

Johnny Cueto, the 22 year old rookie who was ranked 48 best prospect has lit up Dusty Baker's Reds. On his MLB debut Cueto pitched againest a difficult Arizona Diamondbacks who reached the NLCS last season. Cueto struck out 10 D'Backs in 7 innings and allowed only 1 hit and 1 run.

Cincinatti has decent talented as much as I love Dusty Baker I don't think this is the year for him to make the playoffs but if Cueto keeps it up and becomes the ace in a couple of seasons we have 5 contending teams in the NL Central. The Reds have a good lineup and pitching staff and the other prospects Homer Bailey and Joey Votto who I have a good feeling about. The Reds have Griffey, Dunn, and Phillips in the lineup and also Aaron Harang, Fransico Cordero, and Bronson Arroyo.

Will Dusty and Cueto go to the postseason?

You never know!

Bend It Like A BUST

David Beckham, former Real Madrid superstar last year signed a contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy for 250 million dollars for 5 years. Last season Beckham sprained his medial collateral ligament and was out for the season and the Galaxy's star hasn't started off well. He did nothing in 90 minutes on the 2008 opening day.

Beckham has began his MLS career as a billionaire BUST. He sells out the stadium with his popularity and is an endorsement company's dream but has lost his amazing ability. If you put his face on a product it will sell. David Beckham has to step up and show how deserving he his of his salary or it will be, "Bye, Bye, Beckham", selling out on Broadway.

Baseballl 2008

Get ready for the 2008 baseball seasons. Here are my pedictions fort the year.

AL East-New York Yankees

AL Central-Detroit Tigers

AL West-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

AL Wildcard-Boston Red Sox

Team Left Out-Cleveland Indians

NL East-New York Mets

NL Central-Chicago Cubs

NL West-Los Angeles Dodgers

NL Wildcard-Philadelphia Phillies

Team left Out-Arizona Diamondbacks

AL MVP-Alex Rodriguez-A-Rod will repeat his MVP award as the last Yankee to win MVP at the old stadium. A-Rod will leed the Bronx Bombers over the Red Sox.

Runner-Up-Miguel Cabrera

NL MVP-Prince Fielder-Fielder will bomb the NL including his fathers Astors. Fielder hit 50 home runs and 119 RBI's and was deverving of winning last eyar and this us the year he does.

Runner-Up-Ryan Howard

AL Cy Young Contenders-CC Sabtathia and Erik Bedard

NL Cy Young Contenders-Brandon Webb,Jake Peavy, and Johan Santana

Isiah, You're Fired

A New Yorker's favorite day of the year is the day when James Dolan gives Isiah Thomas, Basketball Hall of Famer, the pink slip. Thomas may be a great player but he deserves the induction to the Coaching Hall of Infamy.Thomas has now coached two treacherous years to be a fan. He's had five years of experience as a coach and his record is 184-216 and as the Knicks coach so far the record is 53-101 and hasn't gotten to the playoffs (and never will).Isiah isn’t much better as a general manager.

He has brought in ATROCIOUS chemistry, HORRIBLE players, and zero people who actually come to the game to watch the Knicks, not their opponents. It is a waste of time and money. If you haven't realized James Dolan is the only one who likes him. His players he brought in don't even respect him.

Indiana Pacers Donnie Walsh and Rick Carlisle could become the new head coach. If Dolan's smart he should fire Isiah and not get another head coach from the Pacers organization because last time it didn't work out so well.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESas0SvOcj8

Battle of the West

While the Eastern Conference has became a one man show, Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics, the best turnaround team ever.
All eyes lately have been on the west. A couple of MVP candidates and fantastic squads. This year even the 9th seed is still alive, the Denver Nuggets. The "Race To First Place" has been insane as the red hot Spurs are tied with Hornets who have the best point guard in the NBA,

Chris Paul. The Rockets, Lakers, Jazz, and Suns combine just 5 games back of first all together. The closest is the remarkable, Cinderella story, the Houston Rockets.
As soon as Yao Ming went down, the Rockets began a wonderful winning streak of 22 games which ended against Boston. The Rockets at 49 and 23 are just a half game off the tie for first. The Rockets led by Tracy McGrady led a show with no superstars, just pure teamwork and effort. The 41 year old number 4 pick out of Georgetown, Dikembe Mutombo, has taken Yao''s spot and has played wonderful leading the Rockets to this remarkable run.
Always remember Shaq, Nash, and Amare are still well alive in the race. Phoenix only 1 and a half games out have to hope that Nash plays phenomenal over course of the rest of the season.

Take your pick by leaving a comment with who you think will win the West.

Elite Eight of '08

MIDWEST. 10 Davidson .vs. 1 Kansas
As you all know Davidson's Stephen Curry has scored 103 points. He has demolished his opponents lately. Davidson has reminded me of George Mason's miraculous run a couple of years ago. If Davidson wants to have any chance they need to play run and gun down the court and get the ball off to Curry. Stephen Curry is the son of NBA sharpshooter Del Curry. We all would love to see Kansas lose but Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, and Darell Arthur are way to dangerous. Bill Self has gotten only as far as the Elite Eight as coach of Kansas. Is this the year for Kansas or will Cinderella continue the run?

SOUTH. 1 Memphis.vs.2 Texas A wonderful match-up between Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose vs DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams. Texas has been tested in the tournament (Stanford) and lost a wonderful game to Kansas before the tournament. If DJ Augustin can get hot and stay in the game I have the feeling the Texas is going to the Final Four.

WEST. 3 Xavier .vs. 1 UCLA This game I don't think this will even be close. UCLA right now is the biggest threat in the country. Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook, and an insane superstar Kevin Love will demolish Xavier.

EAST. 1 UNC .vs. 3 Louisville
Wow! Rick Pitino .vs. Roy Williams. The best coaching match-up since Coach K .vs. Roy Williams. I think that UNC as big of a threat as UCLA. This game won't be as good as it looks. UNC will go to San Antonio!

I think that the title matchup is Love and Company .vs. Hansbrough, Ellington, and Lawson in San Antonio.It will be an interesting turnout.

Tell me your picks on a comment.