The Cincinnati Reds have a very interesting young pitcher in their minor league system. His name is Aroldis Chapman and the kid has one of the best arms ever. While he’s yet to pitch in a MLB game yet; his stuff is clearly ready for the professional batters. There have already been articles written up about him for his 100 mph fast ball. He’s even been known to click the 103 mph mark from time to time. Now a scout in the stands clocked him at 105 mph and so did the radar gun in the stadium. These are two different radar systems and both showed Chapman’s arm throwing a blistering 105 miles per hour!

After seeing MLB not let one of their best pitchers in 2010 compete in the All Star Game and now that same pitcher will need Tommy John surgery; you would hope the Reds baseball team would go ahead and call up the young phenom on the mound. The injured pitcher is Stephen Strasburg and it was a pity he didn’t get to pitch in the 2010 All Star Game. Many felt like he would have many more years to pitch in the A.S. Games; since he is so young and talented. Now that an injury has him sidelined and he will never be a top-tier pitcher in the Majors again. We can now see how the National League manager Charlie Manual of the Philadelphia Phillies made such a huge mistake. He is the one that will have to go to bed at night, knowing he was the NL manager who kept Washington Nationals pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg out of the Mid-Summer Classic.

The Reds need to avoid a Strasburg situation and give Chapman his time to shine in the Majors right now. Life is too short in general and it’s a lot shorter for a MLB pitcher. I hope to see this kid with the 105 mph fastball in a Major League ballpark soon. No MLB batters can consistently catch up to heat like that. Judging by some of his latest stats, the kid isn’t wild either. He knows where that 105 mph baseball is going and he’s pitching it over the plate to hitters. Let’s get a glimpse of him, before his career comes to a sudden end like it did for the 22 year-old Washington Nationals pitcher.

Atlanta Braves Trade for Gold Glove 1B Derrek Lee

The Atlanta Braves have made 3 key trades this year in the 2010 Major League Baseball Season. The team’s MVP last year was shortstop Yunel Escobar. After a slow start to the season this year and getting in the doghouse of manage Bobby Cox, the tensions grew high inside the Braves locker room. Players like Tommy Hanson and Troy Glaus publicly made scenes on the baseball diamond; when they felt Yunel Escobar wasn’t focusing enough. What has become funny is that Troy Glaus got sent to the minors recently to see if he can play third base again. Glaus is an automatic out in the line up and commits way too many errors on routine plays at first base. So basically his skills are not MLB level anymore, so the Braves traded for first basemen Derrek Lee from the Chicago Cubs. For Tommy Hanson’s uncalled stare down, toward the Braves former shortstop Yunel Escobar, for a dropped fly ball,  he can’t buy a win. He continues to rack up loses or no decisions and isn’t even an average pitcher coming down the stretch. Both Tommy Hanson and Troy Glaus are facing the Yunel Escobar curse! This is a real curse and you can just ask Glaus and Hanson if they believe it exists. They asked for it and now they are both getting exactly what they deserve. You have to stick up for your players in the club house and these two failed to do it. So they are dealing with the Yunel Escobar curse.

Now turn to the Braves new shortstop Alex Gonzalez. Who is making a lot of fans in Braves Country miss their beloved SS Yunel Escobar. Gonzalez has been a direct cause for 2 Braves loses this year. He has done it with his glove too and he has without a doubt cost the Braves 2 wins and probably could make a case he has cause the Braves team 6 to 8 loses already. Alex Gonzalez is not producing at the plate, making errors at short stop, running into his left fielder and causing him pain in a collision, and just a lot of other silly and dumb plays. No one on the airwaves is calling the Gonzalez trade a bad move (yet), but clearly he doesn’t stack up to Yunel Escobar.

Each error Escobar committed in his last few weeks for the Braves team got hightlighted way too much. Joe Simpson has been the one spear-heading this campaign against Yunel Escobar. Now after bragging so much on Alex Gonzalez’s  glove work in practice and Simpson even going so far to say “I could just watch him all day long in practice at how quick his glove and hands are at shortstop“; he’s put his own self in a bad situation. His beliefs in how he is a better shortstop than Yunel Escobar couldn’t be further from the truth. Remember fans, the Atlanta Braves were cruising in the NL East Race; when the Escobar/Gonzalez trade went down. Escobar was helping the team to win with his glove and even the times Glaus and Hanson highlighted Escobar’s errors, they were not ones that lead to the team losing. Like Alex Gonzalez has already did 2 times and his errors resulted in direct loses for the team.

The Atlanta Braves did very little in their attempts to win a 15th straight N.L. East Pennant a few years back. They was unable to put any trades or jockey any guys around that year, so the Braves went out losers that year without even giving it their best try. Not the case this year, after the first place Braves traded away the team’s 2009 MVP in Yunel Escobar. The Braves front office knew they made a mistake for trading Yunel Escobar to the Toronto Blue Jays. So in order to cover up their mistake, they have made 2 more other trades. They are now sacrificing the future and giving away our minor league talent, for players like Rick Ankiel, Kyle Farnsworth, and now Derreck Lee. This first place team made a lot of changes and they didn’t even need to. Now our new GM has created a poor team in the ATL and over half of our regular starters wasn’t even with us last year or a true farm product of the Atlanta Braves minor league system. Check out this long list of people we are counting on to win games for us in the last 5 weeks of the season and just how long they been with the team:

*Eric Hinske

*Troy Glaus

*Derreck Lee

*Melky Cabrera

*Rick Ankiel

*Jason Heyward

*Alex Gonzalez

*Diory Hernandez

These players with 2 key rookie pitchers in Jonny Venters and Mike Minor; who are both expected to start games (Minor) for us now or pitch in critical innings late in the game (Venters). Bobby Cox is taking this cast of new comers and trying to mke them mesh; while he continues to bat our line-up out of order. Those line-up cards he submits before games need to be torn up and burned for good measure. Just by fixing the batting order, this team could have kept all their original players from the start of the season and would have 8 to 12 more wins already under their belt.

Key points Bobby Cox must be willing to do, if he expects to break the Yunel Escobar Curse and manage a NL Pennant East Title or wildcard birth in the 2010 baseball post-season.

1. Bat Matt Diaz 4th in every game for the rest of the year. He is the most “Barry Bonds” type of player we got, in terms of clutch hitting and just overall hard hits; where the ball finds the sweet part on his bat the most often.

2. All Star MVP Catcher Brian McCann must be guaranteed an at-bat in the first inning of every game. He’s a clutch hitter and batting him 5th is too far back. Let him hit 3rd the rest of the year.

3. Get your rookie right fielder Jason Heyward out of those top 3 spots. He’s just turned 21 years old and this pennant race is way too much pressure for the kid. Move him down.

4. Martin Prado is almost Superman, but struggles in clutch situations. He could help the team in the 2nd hole.

5. If your starting pitcher is leading off an inning in the 5th inning or later in a game that you are losing on the scoreboard; YOU MUST PINCH HIT! Letting Tommy Hanson lead off the 5th inning against the Cubs; while trailing by 5 runs is NOT acceptable. Especially in a tight pennant race in a game that is in the final 6 weeks of the season!

6. Must understand now, that there is no more tomorrows. Quit saving players (hitters and pitchers) for later in the game. It doesn’t get any later than this Bobby Cox. Our backs are against the wall and now we must play every game and every inning like it’s our last. Letting Eric Hinske pinch hit for Matt Diaz is a mistake in general, but doing this move with Brian McCann on your bench is not a smart decision! Yes B. Mac did get to swing in that 9th inning against the Cubs, but if Alez Gonzalez would have grounded into a double play, you would have lost a game, where you selected Eric Hinske over Brian McCann. That was a terrible decision to let Hinske bat and someone should have called you out for that one!

Bobby Cox has been slow to get Martin Prado and Omar Infante at-bats or high places in the batting order over the last couple of seasons. It has taken both of these guys way too long to get up in the proper places. If Chipper is still playing; then Infante is probably still riding the bench. You must bat these guys 1 and 2 in the batting order each game. The Braves top 6 spots in the line-up must remain the same from here on out!

Braves Final Batting Order for Post-Season Push 2010

1. Omar Infante

2. Martin Prado

3. Brian McCann

4. Matt Diaz

5. Derreck Lee / Jason Heyward (platoon situation based on starting pitcher being a Righty or Lefty)

6. Jason Heyward / Derreck Lee (platoon situation)

If Bobby Cox can not see this obvious 6 player batting order for his team right now. He deserves to be at home on the couch watching October baseball. No room for errors now, win or go home Braves Team!!!

The basketball team that will be representing the United States this year in Turkey is almost completed. Currently there are 13 names attached to this year’s 2010 Men’s USA Basketball Team. The U.S. coaches will need to cut 1 more player before the games begin in Turkey at the end of August and will continue into the early part of September. The final cut must take place within 48 hours of the start of this year’s world basketball tournament. The top 24 countries in the World will be on display in Turkey; where each country will be playing for a gold, silver, or bronze medal. The current 13 USA basketball players are:

1. Chauncey Billups

2. Tyson Chandler

3. Stephen Curry

4. Kevin Durant

5. Rudy Gay

6. Eric Gordon

7. Danny Granger

8. Andre Iguodala

9. Kevin Love

10. Lamar Odom

11. Rajon Rondo

12. Derrick Rose

13. Russell Westbrook

A very young group of players who will be representing the teams from Group B in Turkey. A lot of these players are getting their tune-ups for the 2012 Olympic Team; which we will probably see about 5 to 8 of these players on the 2012 Olympic USA Basketball Team.

This group has only one true super star and that is Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder. He led the entire NBA last year in scoring with over 30 points per game. He set an NBA record as the youngest player to have even won a scoring title. He was 21 years-old and will not turn 22 until later this fall. To put that in perspective, you can look at Jason Heyward for the Atlanta Braves who recently had a birthday and turned 21 years-old. Heyward hasn’t even completed his first season as a professional; while Durant has completed 3 seasons and already has a scoring title under his belt. The future is very bright for Kevin Durant and he will have many more future opportunities with the USA basketball program.

After you acknowledge Kevin Durant as the best player on this year’s 2010 basketball team, it’s hard to choose which player might be next on the list. No clear-cut choice for which other players are the best or will be the most valuable in Turkey this year. Not many big men make up this U.S. team this year and that could prove to be a problem against the bigger teams in this year’s world basketball games in Turkey.

All of the guys on the roster do have some college basketball experience, with the exception of Tyson Chandler, who never played college basketball. During college is when most of these guys learn the fundamentals of the game and this comes up big in International Basketball. It should be interesting to see if this team can win gold and if they can come back with a perfect record.

2010 USA Basketball Schedule

Saturday August 28th – USA vs Croatia

Sunday August 29th – USA vs Slovenia

Monday August 30th – USA vs Brazil

Wednesday September 1st – USA vs Iran

Thursday September 2nd – USA vs Tunisia

This is the current schedule for USA Basketball and the teams who will be playing the USA from Group B. All of these basketball games will be teams from Group B playing against other Group B teams. There are 4 groups and each group has 6 basketball teams in each group. The USA basketball team does have a couple of more games fans can see on TV before they start the games up for real. So be sure to check the U.S. basketball schedule for these tune up games to get a glimpse of the Americans; before they start playing for real in Turkey later this month.

Atlanta Motor Speedway

In a shocking display from the people who make up and run the sport of Nascar, they are taking away the spring races in Atlanta, Georgia. In a move to create a race date in Kentucky, the sport of Nacar has turned its back on the state that lies in the middle of Nascar country. In terms of land size, the state of Georgia is larger than any other U.S. state; which is located east of the Mississippi River. I guess NASCAR didn’t take the growth factor of the state’s population size in to account, when they decided to pull 1 of its two race dates in Atlanta, Georgia.

Popular movies about racing or just running moonshine in the South like the popular series of Smokey and the Bandit movies, all owe a little place in their heart to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for its contributions to Hollywood over the years.

Kenny Roger’s movie Six Pack and a resident of Georgia knows the value of the Nascar track located just south of Atlanta, Georgia. Residents in Georgia have taken great pride in their state’s reputation; which Atlanta Motor Speedway played a big role. Those classic movies like Six Pack and the Smokey & the Bandit movie with Burt Reynolds have represented a form of southern hospitality. Atlanta was there for Nascar; when the sport needed them. Now as the sport has grown in popularity, the current guys running Nascar sports have blindly turned away from the racing fans in Georgia.

All the rich history of Nascar racing in Georgia is no longer needed. At least this is the way Mike Helton, who is the President of Nascar sees it. This was a Helton led decision, to pull Nascar racing away from the Peach State of Georgia. By pulling the spring race from Nascar fans in Georgia and centrally located to the South, has decided the poor-economic state of Kentucky is where Nascar can flourish next. Well that is great news for the state of Kentucky, but you have spit on the families in Georgia who pushed your sport into the 21st century.

Nascar was not around and no where to be found, when a tornado struck the Speedway in Hampton, Georgia just a few years back. The residents of Georgia paid the bill, so the tornado couldn’t stop Nascar from performing on its stage in Atlanta, Georgia. The tax payers of Georgia should now be reimbursed for their contributions to Nascar, since Nascar has left Atlanta. The racing fans in Georgia only got 2 races each year to show their support and boy did they! More money went to Nascar from the pockets of sports fans in Georgia; than went into the pockets of the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Braves, and the Atlanta Falcons combined! These 3 sport’s teams get about 130 combined home games each year, for the fans to spend their hard-working dollars on. If you figured the Braves get 81 home games, the Hawks get 41 home games, and the NFL franchise Atlanta Falcons get 8 home games per year; the sport of Nascar still beat all 3 of these teams combined in total revenue generated, from only 2 races in Atlanta each year.

It wasn’t too long ago, when every fan, driver, and Nascar owner couldn’t wait for the fall race in Atlanta. This was because Atlanta was traditionally the last race on the Nascar season. There have been many Nascar champions crowned in Atlanta and many who secured their championships at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, on that very special Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, Georgia. Mike Helton or some Nascar executive suddenly decided Atlanta wasn’t the best place for the last race of the year and took that away. Now once again, the fans in Atlanta are facing another decision from Nascar to pull one more step away from the sport of Nascar racing in Georgia.

Well Nascar doesn’t need to do nothing else and now they can’t pull away from Georgia any longer. That’s because Georgia is now officially not recognizing the sport of professional auto racing that goes under the name of Nascar. The fertile racing track that lies in the heart of Nascar country, is pulling the plug on the sport and no one in Georgia is claiming any association to Nascar racing and their drivers.

Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, better known as Bill Elliot, was the first winner of the Nascar million dollar chase. Only Jeff Gordon has been the only other driver to do this and no one since. The deep racing roots of Bill Elliot and his contribution to the sport of Nascar, all went down the drain in 2010. As a result, from the decision to pull a race from the fans and residents of Georgia.

Any other states who would like a race in their state, feel free to take the fall race from Atlanta too. The fans in Georgia are not accepting Nacasr as a professional sport any longer. Georgia can supply their own professional racing and can work on resowing the roots; which modern Nascar has destroyed, in a move to cash in on a southern tradition and taking the sport to places where it doesn’t belong. The New York Yankees are who they’re, because they play in New York. A traveling road show for them would not work like the Harlem Globetrotters have perfected. The same is true for Nascar racing. It’s a southern sport with southern traditions and people who want to get the real experience of southern racing; needs to visit a southern state. Going to California or Chicago to watch a Nascar event, is nothing like a racing party in Georgia, Alabama, or Florida. The fans outside of the south don’t get it, but are willing to spend money on a manufactured product of the traveling circus; which Mike Helton and others have now created.

Nascar isn’t American, it’s Southern! The 2010 officials in Nascar or associated with the sport of auto racing doesn’t quite understand what that means. No discrimination is meant by the sport being a southern tradition. It’s just that people who know, are the ones who know and others outside will never know. For Nascar fans in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and the Carolinas; this could have easily been a race taken away from you guys too. Please stand up and show your support with your bordering Nascar state Georgia, so we can prevent other races from leaving the South. If enough Nascar fans will turn their back on the sport in 2011; we can get our race given back to us in Georgia and prevent other cash-hungry executives from making poor decisions, about this great geographical sport we know as Nascar.

Look out Kentucky Derby, the Nascar sport is on the hunt for your spring dollars in the Blue Grass State. Horse racing belongs to Kentucky and auto racing belongs to Georgia.

Dong Feng 21D Missile Eyes U.S. Naval Ships

There are ships the USA has in their military arsenal and then THERE ARE SHIPS THE USA HAS IN THEIR MILITARY FLEET. If you go on the latter part of U.S. ships traveling the World’s oceans, you don’t have to look no further than the USS George Washington; which is in a class of its own. Able to carry more than 6,000 sailors, crewmen, pilots, and other military personnel is just the starting point. This super carrier can also hold up to 70 airplanes and is routinely carrying about 4 million pounds of bombs and other explosives on board; which can be delivered in a variety of ways. Not to mention all of the other military ships and under water submarines, that would be traveling along the side the USS George Washington; if she was ever used in a offensive strike or having to defend from the forces of a brave enemy. This supercarrier is a permanent fixture in the Asian-Pacific Ocean and is normally docked on the shores of Japan.

In a recent military exercise with the country of Vietnam, the USS George Washington left its docks in Japan and participated in the friendly military maneuvers with the Vietnamese Army. This move by the U.S. to use the super carrier for such an action has raised a few eyebrows around the world and no one seems more concerned than the Chinese Government.

China is now going public about a missile they have in their arsenal; which is capable of taking down a super carrier like the USS George Washington. This Dong Feng 21D Missile is said to be very accurate and can bring down a U.S. Carrier from as far away as 900 miles. This latest announcement is a clear sign that the Chinese Government and their military officials do not want the George Washington hanging around their waters. It’s still uncertain if the guidance system on board this new Chinese Missile would be accurate enough from such a long range, but even if it were, would they really want to fire a shot at the USS George Washington?

USS George Washington Super Carrier

Taking a shot at this ship would be like taking a shot at an American city. Since this super carrier is so large and is like a floating city in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. has called China bluffs and their carrier did perform military duties with the Vietnam forces. The United States do have allies in the region with the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. All of these countries are sending the homeland of China a clear message, about their attempts to control the entire South China Sea.

Just this past weekend, there were many naval ships from China that was shadowing the USS George Washington from a long distance. Especially along the border of Vietnam; which is in the South China Sea. This region of the sea is being highly disputed now and we can’t forget China’s desire to reclaim Taiwan at some point. It was President Bill Clinton who signed a Peace Treaty with Taiwan in which the USA would help to defend them; if China or any other foreign invader tried to take over the tiny island known as Taiwan.

If China ever does make the call to shoot off one of these high-tech weapons at a U.S. ship, the Chinese people might have a little trouble in communicating with the rest of their armies. The USA would quickly deploy a communications break-up all over the country of China and would make it very difficult for the Chinese Government and their military commanders to proceed with any other steps in a USA/China war. They would have very little luck with communications outside the Chinese borders, but would likely face the same communication failures inside the country too. Advanced U.S. weapons are now designed to break up communication signals on a foreign soil or to any nation they consider to be hostile.

The George Washington doesn’t appear to be leaving the area anytime soon and just how many other carriers and U.S. military supplies are now on their way to this region is something we all want to know. We may now be looking at the beginnings of a major U.S. build up in the Asian-Pacific Ocean; if China doesn’t begin to back down from their threats and their own military build-up in the Southern China Seas.

The new season of professional football is almost here. The new NFL season will be kicking off in less than 2 months. Most NFL teams will start their preseason games in the next 10 days or so. The NFL Preseason lasts for about 4 weeks or 4 games for each team. After these 4 preseason games are played, it will be the real thing, as 32 teams will be trying to play their way to the 2011 Super Bowl.

I know there is a lot of fans excited about the new NFL season that is fast approaching. Will Brett Favre play for the Minnesota Vikings or retire? How will the wide receiver combination (Ochocinco & Owens) in Cincinnati play out? Is Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints capable of winning back to back Super Bowls? A lot of these NFL questions and more will be heavily discussed this preseason.

One way NFL fans can quench their thirst for some of this hype; that is building up for the upcoming season, is by buying football cards. A lot of football card companies have already printed up their football cards for the 2010/2011 season. All the new rookies from the 2010 spring draft are currently appearing on these new NFL football cards. I personally like the older cards better and  I know of a great way to get your favorite NFL stars with an authentic NFL football cards memorabilia collection. This collection of cards will contain 15 factory sealed packs at less than $2 a pack. That is, if you consider the rest of this trading card collection as free! I haven’t mentioned the best part yet. Each set will contain those 15 packs of football trading cards, but you will also be guaranteed to get a real piece of the NFL game action! This is because these sets will contain a piece of NFL jersey from one of the big NFL stars and this alone is worth the price for this special collectors set. However, there is still more! Believe it or not, each collection sold will also contain an authentic piece of an officially licensed NFL football, along with a matching card and a display holder. You don’t have to buy multiple memorabilia collections to increase your odds of getting a piece of the jersey or NFL football. That’s because every single collection will contain this very rare and authentic jersey from an NFL player, plus a piece of the ball. The display holder itself is an attractive item that also comes along with every collection sold.

So where can I pick up one of these great football collection sets?

These sets are currently on sale; which you can buy online at Buy.com. This website always offers some really low prices on just about everything you can think of to buy online. People who love to collect sports cards, will want to check here on their wish lists for trading cards. I was amazed to see this NFL football card collection and just how cheap it was at Buy.com. Normally you only have a chance to get an authentic piece of a sports jersey and the odds are normally very low. This NFL item at Buy.com promises to offer each football card collector the following:

*15 Factory Sealed Packs of Football Cards from the NFL

*1 Authentic Piece of Game Jersey from an NFL Player

*1 Authentic Piece of a Real NFL Football

*1 Display Holder

If you buy this for the kids, you might just have to explain how awesome these authentic pieces of jersey and pig skin really are. This football collection of trading cards is something every young NFL fan would love to own. I’m sure there are a lot of adults (like me); who would love to buy a few of these collections and try to get as many of their favorite NFL players as possible. To order a memorabilia football set like this online, would get me more excited for the mailman to arrive; than the excitement I would have for the week 1 kick-off in the 2010/2011 NFL season!

The thing no one wants to say or talk about is usually right in front of us and no one will speak up. There is usually a good reason why you or others won’t say anything. It’s usually because your beliefs or thoughts will buck the trend or more popular views. So sometimes we just keep quiet and let things materialize on their own. In some rare occasions we do have people speak up and lend new ideas or views to a subject. These people become trend setters and are glorified for their unique words, views, or ways they go about getting something done. Or they go down another path and become a outcast to society.

The drug rehabilitation programs exist in our society today, because a lot of people over look the big elephant that is sitting right in the middle of their homes. These programs are great for anyone who wants to escape the addictions to drugs and alcohol. If someone wants to get clean, there is help for them. Sometimes it is up to family members and friends to convince their loved ones they do need help. They have to go out of their way to prove that drugs or alcohol is destroying their lives and the people around them. The information is available online or at some of these rehab facilities, for those seeking the professional help they need to stop their addictive patterns.

While we deal with these problems at one end of the spectrum, we need to also focus on the other end. These prescription drug companies and alcohol companies make a lot of money selling their products. If used properly or in moderation, they are acceptable by our laws and main stream society. It seems these companies don’t do enough to fund the drug rehab centers and the alcohol rehab centers; that have to deal with their products when people do abuse them. If more would be done to fight the battle on the production side of these products, we would have less people with drug and alcohol abuse problems.

I’m not blaming the doctors or the big alcohol and drug companies. They are all within their legal rights to be doing what they’re doing. If the laws and regulations need to be changed; then that is a topic for another discussion. Perhaps we are all guilty of letting the big elephant roam around in our society. I believe the future will be quiet different from what it is today. It’s just going to take someone powerful enough to stand up and speak their mind on these very difficult issues. Money is a big factor and don’t think this doesn’t involve you or your family. Just making a short trip down the street could change your lives forever. If you cross paths with someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. We can and must improve these statistics; which show very clearly the problems our society and families face each day.

Does the Cincinnati Bengals have enough to make it to the next Super Bowl in 2011? I think they have added a very important piece to their puzzle and Bengal fans and NFL fans will have to watch these guys play. If you haven’t heard the news yet, the former San Francisco 49ers, Cowboys, Bills, Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens is headed for the Cincinnati Bengals NFL team. This is the perfect piece to add to Ochocinco or player formerly known as Chad Johnson. Most won’t agree with me, but Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson and Terrell Owens are two of the top 5 wide receivers in the game today. No NFL team in years or possibly ever has ever had a tandem like this on one National Football League team. Perhaps the Minnesota Vikings with Randy Moss and Cris Carter was close to the new Bengal tandem of Johnson and Owens, but that team only set the NFL scoring record in points, back in the late 1990′s. How many points can the Cincinnati Bengals put up in the 2010/2011 NFL year?

I bet  the orders for the Sunday Ticket; which can only be purchased through the DIRECTV packages , will be a hot seller in Ohio this year. Fans of the Bengals NFL team will be lining up to change their existing cable or satellite television providers, to the Direct TVsatellite packages. This is the only way to get all of the Sunday afternoon NFL games. You must have DirectTV and then you can purchase the NFL Sunday Ticket through their services. A lot of NFL fans choose to have these Dish packages, because of the Sunday Ticket from Direct TV.

Bengal Tragedy – WR Chris Henry

It was a very sad day; when Chris Henry loss his life in a freak accident in his home state of North Carolina. It appears after an argument with his girlfriend, Chris Henry fell out of a pick up truck, which was speeding very fast. The whole Bengal organization has had to cope with the loss of this talented young receiver, who could have been the next Randy Moss by some NFL scouts notes and thoughts.

Now the Bengals have a chance to replace the talents of a young Chris Henry with an older and more veteran wide receiver in Terrell Owens. Owens who is from Georgia is one of the great football talents that the Atlanta Falcons let get away from their back yard. Not many NFL teams want to touch a player like Owens; when you factor in all the off the field comments and actions he brings. You can’t deny his talent and even his mid 30′s age is not enough to scare away the Cinncy Team and they will be rewarded for their gamble.

Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho Cinco will be the highlight film of every Sunday’s games in the NFL. These two will attract other talented free agents; which will make them a serious contender for the Super Bowl. I’m willing to pencil in the Cincinnati Bengals as my choice to represent the AFC in this year’s Super Bowl. Go ahead and laugh if you will, but no other team in the league will be able to match up with these two. Carson Palmer is one of the better passing quarterbacks in the league today and I believe he can lead this team to a Super Bowl to face off against the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 Super Bowl.

Which NFL team has two good corners with one-on-one skills to cover Ochocinco and Owens? The answer is a simple one and no NFL team has two one-on-one corners who can match up. I expect Owens to capitalize big time with his new NFL team and will probably have his best season ever; if he can stay healthy and play in all 16 games this year.

Terrell Owens is just what the doctor ordered and other NFL teams will be sorry they passed on this guy. Who cares about the celebrations and off-field conduct. Do you really think the locker room talk is what makes or breaks champions in the NFL? The game is always played and decided on the field and Terrell Owens can play the game. His talents will replace the ones this Bengal team lost with the unexpected passing of Chris Henry. I believe all other AFC teams will be looking up to the Bengals this upcoming season; as Terrell Owens and Ocho Cinco will be the hottest NFL ticket in town.

Do you see the Bengals making the playoffs this year? Fans in Ohio who currently have the cable packages at home, may want to switch to satellite before the NFL games start up. Finding tickets to the home games will be tough in Cincinnati this year. A lot of fans will have to watch the games from their living rooms, so now is the time to get your system hooked up. If I lived in the Cincinnati area, I believe I would go ahead and fork out the extra money for a giant HDTV, so I could watch my home team win on the big screen. I do see this new receiver duo in Bengal country as unstoppable and a guaranteed playoff team this year!

Our neighborhood is known by a different name today, but many of the old timers still know what my neighborhood use to be called. I live in Owl Holler and there are no street signs or home address plaques that will carry this name. Most people only know my neighborhood by the name that is on the street sign now. From time to time, I can still find someone who recognizes the old name of Owl Holler.

I have a lot of childhood memories of my old neighborhood. It’s been a little hard for me to let go of these memories, so I still continue to live in Owl Holler today. That and plus the fact I still live at home with my parents; which makes it a lot cheaper on the wallet if you know what I mean.

I could order an address sign online with the name Owl Holler on it. It really wouldn’t serve much of a purpose. It wouldn’t help any postal workers or pizza delivery boys find my house any easier. They would only know how to find me by the official street name and number of my home and would be clueless to the name old timers gave this area many years ago.

I’m really not sure how they came up with the name. My neighborhood is in a holler, but in the 30+ years I have lived here, I could count on one hand to the number of owls I have seen here. Maybe a long time ago, there was a much bigger population of these feathered birds we refer to as owls or the common barn owl. Perhaps a series of barns were around and the population of barn owls was high in my neighborhood. We have a building on my property now we call a barn, but there are no owls making a home in it. At least none I have seen are trying to make a home in our barn.

As of today, I am one of the very few people still around which knows this area of North Georgia as Owl Holler. If I did decide to make up a few address plaques to carry the name of my old neighborhood, it would be more of a symbolic purpose than one that would serve any real meaning. I wonder if any of my current neighbors have thought about trying to bring back the old name of my neighborhood; which seems to be getting lost in history.

Have you ever heard the term “have your cake and eat it too“? You could certainly apply this to the Atlanta Braves announcer Joe Simpson. He’s a former major league baseball player that just runs in circles constantly; as the Braves Nation hears his poor views during their baseball games. I can’t believe he’s been with the team so long and his poor knowledge of the game doesn’t go unnoticed. I could give reasons all day long on why Joe Simpson is trying to have his cake and eat it too, but I think there are some more things I want to touch on too.

I will give you one example of how this MLB announcer runs in circles. Earlier this year we saw an incident in Tampa Bay, where all-star third baseman Evan Longoria took it upon his self to call out one of his teammates in the outfield for not hustling. Joe Simpson was against the actions of Longoria and basically told him to play ball, because that is what he gets paid for and let the coaches handle team issues, like a player not hustling. Now fast forward a few weeks into the future and see how the Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar is in Bobby Cox’s doghouse. Cox shows favoritism and he either likes you or he doesn’t. The out-dated coach in Atlanta doesn’t understand or get the body language of his former shortstop Yunel Escobar, so the Braves team did get rid of him. During some of these final days, Joe Simpson had no problems in players like Tommy Hanson and Troy Glaus deciding to put Escobar in their doghouse too. Mr. Simpson also chose to speak negatively of Escobar and put the Braves shortstop in his doghouse like the players were doing. It seems Evan Longoria can not show emotion for a player he doesn’t see helping his team, but it is ok in Braves country when Yunel Escobar is the target.

The whole Atlanta Braves organization should be ashamed at the way they treated their shortstop this year. The MVP (most valuable player) on the team last year was Yunel Escobar. How did manager Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves award him? By placing him in the 6th and 7th spots of the line up. While Chipper Jones hit for a .260 batting average last year and was given the 3rd hole in our line up again. Jones continues to struggle and there are no signs of improvement. Yet Cox keeps writing his name in the 3rd batting slot in the line up each night.

Chipper Jones made two mistakes Friday night against Milwaukee and each time it costed the Atlanta Braves a run, in a game they got beat in poorly. There was never a mention of his lack of focus (which Escobar has been accused of) or his selfishness (which Escobar has not been accused of). The lack of focus came with Chipper on first base and a runner at 3rd base with less than 2 outs. Glaus hit a shallow fly ball to right field; which was easily going to be caught. Chipper had time, if he would have hustled, to go back to 1st base and put him self in a tag up situation. Instead he just walks back toward first and the right fielder had to throw the ball in hard toward the plate, so the runner at 3rd base would not score. This throw skirted under the legs of the catcher and caused the pitcher to come up with the ball, who was backing up the play. If Chipper would have put his self in a tag-up position, he could have easily made it to 2nd base; when the throw got past the Brewers catcher. Next batter up was Brian McCann and he singles in the run at 3rd base and could have had an extra RBI, if Chipper would have been focused. Yunel Escobar does this, Cox and Simpson both would have jumped him good. The selfish act came later on when Chipper swung hard in a bases loaded situation and pulled his hamstring. He got hurt and continued his at-bat; while trying to hide the pain at the plate. He failed to get a hit and more importantly, he failed to get the runner home from 3rd base with less than 2 outs. Yunel Escobar does this and Joe Simpson would have pointed out this at-bat in the game and how Escobar hurt the team, by trying to stay in and finish the at-bat. Since it was Larry Jones that did this; all was forgiven and life goes on.

If you want to breakdown guys on the Atlanta Braves, you will see Chipper Jones has been the weaker player over the last 2 seasons; compared to former shortstop Yunel Escobar. Joe Simpson and Ernie Johnson both failed to “thank” the former shortstop for his services in Atlanta and for the great season he had last year for the team. Instead, Joe Simpson made it a point to tell the Braves viewers, that the whole team stood up and gave a big applause to Alex Gonzalez, when he first arrived in the locker room for his first day with the team.

Joe, you have some issues going on and they do not reflect the majority of Braves fans. You have brainwashed a few out there into believing your thoughts on the team, but you had no right to shine the spotlight on Escobar. It really got sad in these last few weeks; when you highlighted each mistake Escobar made and never pointing out the ones Chipper was doing.

Tommy Hanson is a over rated pitcher and has average stuff at best. His stare toward Escobar was wrong and he showed up Escobar for dropping that fly ball. The very next night Chipper Jones lets a grounder go through his legs and Tim Hudson didn’t show him up. Troy Glaus failed many times over, when he was given opportunity after opportunity, to produce runs with a runner at 3rd base and no outs, early on in the season. He blames Escobar for a throw, in which his hand got hurt by a runner hustling down the line. Yet against Milwaukee on Friday night, you missed a simple throw and got an error, to help the Brewers get another base runner on board.

The real Braves Nation can see with our own eyes who is to really blame. We also know this is a team sport and we win as a team and we lose as a team. Our team is going to have players that stick up for each other and play together. Bobby Cox and Joe Simpson pointing fingers at mistakes is just wrong. Especially when you choose to do it one-sided and don’t hold other players accountable for their mistakes and troubles too. I’m glad Escobar didn’t provide any home runs and gave poor offensive numbers this season. It just goes to prove how a number 7 hitter in the line up gets replaced after 1/2 of a season for poor performance; while the number 3 guy in the line up has gotten away with it for 1 year longer and still continues to hurt our team.

Bobby Cox and the Braves brass made a poor call on Escobar. It only made things worse when Escobar was given no thanks for his time in Atlanta and all of the big hits and great defensive plays he provided us with. His glitches were mild compared to the ones Chipper provides on most nights. Tommy Hanson and Troy Glaus are now worthless pieces of trash in my book, for adding salt to the wounds created by Bobby Cox and Joe Simpson. Both should have been punished and benched for the way they showed up Yunel Escobar on the field.

Hey Yunel? If you’re out there buddy, then my best wishes go to you and your new team. I was very glad to have you on my baseball team and I remember just how much you gave to the team. I’m sorry you got a raw deal and had to leave the Braves in the manner you did. I’m not alone and Joe Simpson and Bobby Cox has less support in the ATL; than they think. You never did beat your wife like Bobby Cox did. And you certainly didn’t complain and lay blame after a mistake was made, like Joe Simpson continues to do. Cox and Simpson will both get what’s coming to them and I plan to execute revenge on a much bigger scale!

Have you ever sought out a diet plan that worked with Mother Nature and not against her? Perhaps for those that have had trouble in the past with staying on a diet or getting positive results, can look for a more natural approach to their weight loss desires. Trying to use all natural diet supplements in your diet could be the difference you have been lacking in the past. Our bodies in most cases did become over weight in a natural sense of not eating and exercising properly. We can turn this around with the same natural patterns that got us here. Ignore the modern weight loss pills and other supplements that offer the bold claims to dieters. Try the natural diet first and see if this method works best for you. Good luck and try your best to stay committed to any new diet plan you decide to do in 2010. All the work you put in this year, will be rewarded in 2011 and that’s something we can all look forward to.

The BP Oil Spill continues to wash trash up on all of the beaches in the Gulf States. Even though the main leak is hundreds of miles away from the Florida coast, the people in Florida are having to deal with it. Now another expensive piece of waste has washed up in the South Beach area of Florida we know as Miami. This piece of trash was actually invited and even cheered on his arrival, but it is still trash.

LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers is the piece of trash I am talking about. He has destroyed everything he built in Ohio and did this all with winning back to back MVP awards and wasn’t even the best player in the league. I don’t think he’s even close to a top 5 player in the league. The Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo clearly out played James in a 6 game series with the Cavs this past post season. Where do you rank Rondo in the NBA for the best overall player? Where ever you put the PG for the Celtics on the list, you have to put LeBron James below him. The proof is in the pudding and it wasn’t even close to which player was the best; when they met in the 2010 NBA playoffs.

Dwayne Wade is a top 5 player in the league and is the head of the 3 headed monster in Miami. No way should this team be favored to win a NBA title. Chris Bosh was simply a descent player on a bad team. If Chris Bosh played with the Chicago Bulls during the Jordan and Pippen Era, we would still know that Bulls team as Batman (Michael Jordan) and Robin (Scottie Pippen). Bosh would not be remembered for his role on that team, like he will sink into the crevices in Miami.

LeBron will have to play 2nd fiddle to a player that is better than him. It will be Wade with the explosive nightly numbers and James character won’t be able to handle being 2nd best player on the team. Many still think LeBron is the best player in the league, even though he wasn’t the best player in the Celtics/Cavaliers playoff series and now not even the best player on his team. No need to even mention the Black Mamba in L.A., because it isn’t even a fair comparison to put his name and LeBron in the same sentence.

The Heat will be a better team next year. Can they beat the Celtics, Magic, and Hawks in the East? Absolutely not! All 3 of those teams have a clear-edge advantage over this group of guys who won’t be a good mix of talent on the floor. James will try to take over in some of these games; while limiting Wade’s touches on the floor and this will be when the seams start to unravel. Don’t forget injuries either! One twisted ankle and the Big 3 in Miami will be the clueless 2 in South Florida.

Mark my words now and you can take this to the bank. Dan Gilbert from Cleveland was right on the money with his comments about the former King LeBron James. There will be many NBA teams to win a championship before LBJ will, because he does not understand the game, how to play it, or what team work means. He did a quick study of the history of the NBA and was sure to point that out. He thinks by knowing championship teams from the 1980′s and up is important. He thinks he impressed some folks with his Pat Riley playing in Kentucky comment. After his comment about Riley from Kentucky playing with him and Wade on the basketball court, he expects NBA commentators and announcers to brag about his knowledge of the NBA game. He has no idea about the NBA and his lack of respect will be in the spotlight; when the Heat has the whole world watching just how good Lebron ain’t at basketball. Kevin Garnett does understand the history of the NBA and LBJ looks up a few things online and considers his self a professor with the history of this game.

I really feel bad for the residents in Florida, who have to deal with the BP Oil Spill and clean up efforts. Now they have another big piece of trash to deal with in Miami Beach and it may take 6 years to clean up this mess. Dwayne Wade is a very good player and has my up most respect as an NBA player. Even he has no idea to the limits his new teammates have in basketball ability and IQ. No matter what he says about his friendship with the two and what he thinks he knows. Bosh is a product of a descent player on a bad team. Chris Bosh quit in games this year with Toronto and everyone knows Lebron quits in basketball games too. Should be interesting to see how Dwayne Wade reacts to these two quitters he has just accepted to his team and the fact that both of them will be making more money than him. Not just nickels and dimes either. We are talking about 3 million dollars more, is what the numbers add up to over a 6 year period. Most U.S. families could live a lifetime on 3,000,000 dollars and James and Bosh will earn this amount in just 6 years and will be money that D. Wade will never see in his pockets or bank account.

I have yet to ever bowl a 300 game or even come close to it. It’s a lot like a golfer hitting a hole in one. I think I would come closer to doing that; than pulling off a perfect game in bowling. A hole in one just takes 1 lucky stroke and you have achieved fame. In bowling, it’s not really hard to get a strike and anyone can do it. The hard part comes with consistency and you have to bowl 12 strikes in a row to get a perfect 300 game in bowling. Have you or someone you know ever bowled a perfect 300 game? I have never been in a bowling alley and seen someone going for the perfect game before. Only a few stories of how someone bowled a perfect game.

I’m not sure what my strikes record is, but starting from the first frame, I have never put together 6 strikes in a row. I would just like to do that, so I could say I have bowled a half perfect game. I have put 6 strikes together in one game before, but it really doesn’t count the same. I could settle for my last 4 frames to have 6 strikes, but would prefer to have 6 strikes in my first 6 frames of a game. Just so I could have a descent shot at the perfect game in bowling. Not many have bowled a perfect 300 score before and for the ones who have done it, they have usually did it more than once.

If the nights have been a bit restless lately; it might be time for a night time change of clothing. Most men usually have one set of pajamas they wear in summer or winter time. It’s a bit different when it comes to the womens pajamas. Hopefully most of the ladies have made the switch already and aren’t still wearing long pants or long sleeve shirts during these hot summer nights.

If the men are reading this blog post right now and the woman in their life is still going to bed with those winter time pajamas, you could sure surprise her with a gift. Finding the exact size isn’t too hard for any men who want to buy women’s pajamas for their better half. You probably already have a general idea of her size of clothing and a lot of these pajamas are pretty versatile. Go a little big when in doubt. It would be much better if they were a little too big; than a little too tight. Since we all want to be as comfortable as possible when we go to bed at night.

Those really hot nights haven’t came yet, so there is still plenty of time to get your pajama shopping done. You may even be able to find a nice pair of summer pajamas online and can avoid having to do it in public. I know some people are not that comfortable shopping for under garments or night time wear in a department store. Ordering women’s pajamas online could help to avoid those public shopping fears; if you do have them. The month of June has been a little hotter than normal or at least it has seemed that way to me. The real dog days of summer are those in July and August. While there may not be much relief for these scorching days, we can help the summer nights with a cool pair of summer pajamas.

Even if you don’t actually go in the water, you can still get pretty wet from gold panning. We have set up a place by the river and it never fails for me to get soaking wet on these gold prospecting outings. I always like to carry my cigarettes in my front pocket. I usually will take a couple of aspirin too, in case I get a headache. On more than one occasion already, I have gotten my cigs and the aspirin wet, from the water soaking through my jeans and into my front pockets. You certainly would not want to have a cell phone nearby; while you was panning for gold. Any electronic equipment would be something you would want to keep far away from the creeks or rivers; where you were panning. I guess buying some form of iphone insurance would be the safe way to go, for those that like to hunt for gold like I do. Finding gold can be very rewarding, but it is a hard, dirty, and wet job to do. There’s just no way to find gold without getting wet or dirty, so keep this in mind before you go out seeking those big gold nuggets.