Does John Daly Make Golf Fun?

Golfer John Daly teamed up with buddy Kid Rock to put on an 18-hole party that featured cigars, crazed fans, a variety of beverages, free concert tickets and a beer can as a golf tee at the Buick Open Pro-Am in Michigan. The thing about Daly is that people either love or hate him. He doesn’t really make golfing fun but he makes it interesting with the same curiosity that we view horrific car accidents. The purists say that he makes a mockery of the sport but be doesn’t really play golf as much as he entertains in it.

Going To The Pros From High School Still A Possibility For Basketball Stars

Brandon Jennings is an amazing athlete. He is one of the top five high school basketball players and is committed to play this coming season for the Arizona Wildcats. The problem is that he doesn’t necessarily want to play college ball. He wants to get paid and considers the new rule making kids wait a year after high school to be eligible for the NBA draft a disadvantage.

For those reasons Jennings is also a pioneer. There are loopholes to almost everything and Jennings may have found a whopper. Playing basketball overseas would give him the opportunity to develop his skills for another year while getting paid at the same time. The thought is simple yet almost genius. Why haven’t more people pursued this option?

PopBandit Starting A New Trend

With online communities more and more becoming the norm the new trend is to focus on a specific niche. While some focus on sports and yet others news and politics one of the best ideas I’ve seen out there is PopBandit’s focus on the pop culture.

The concept of this site is genius and the method could not be easier. Create your profile, listing the things that you are interested in, things you want, things you hate or just things that make you laugh. Then sit back and watch PopBandit do its thing!

In no time at all you’ll begin to receive recommendations on the things you’ve listed. In the sites own words they want to be, “your personal event planner-shopper-matchmaker-coolhunter.” Find out the latest news and updates on shows you are interested in like where you can purchase Showtimes’ Weeds Season 3 DVD.

If music or movies are your interest then you can find info on new releases, videos, trailers and much more. Find out the latest on Tom Petty. Read reviews or even write your own on the latest movies like Get Smart. Shop, talk, read, interact and learn. It is all waiting for you on PopBandit. Get started!

Shawn Chacon Declares It “Throw Your GM Around” Month

Things are pretty frustrating in the Houston Astros clubhouse these days. Flirting with last place in the division as the season reaches the All-Star Break General Manager Ed Wade has decided to shake things up. Apparently Shawn Chacon isn’t a huge fan of Wade or his decisions (Chacon had been demoted to the bullpen with a 5.04 ERA and only 2 wins in 15 starts) and things came to blows on Wednesday.

“He started yelling and cussing,” Chacon said of Wade, according to a story on the Chronicle’s Web site. “I’m sitting there and I said to him very calmly, ‘Ed, you need to stop yelling at me. Then I stood up and said, ‘You better stop yelling at me.’ I stood up. He continued and was basically yelling.”

“So at that point I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him,” he said. “Words were exchanged.”

No video was available of Chacon’s meltdown but if he worked in an office it might have looked like this.

Regardless of how bad you season is or how verbally abusive your GM is I would thing that pulling an MMA move that results in you landing on top of the GM is a bad career move. Even worse than a 5.04 ERA!

Sherriff Shaq Loses His Credentials

If you get pulled over for speeding in Maricopa County, Arizona you don’t have to worry about a seven foot NBA All-Star writing the ticket. Apparently stupidity is enough to be de-deputized by Sherriff Joe Arpaio who is taking away Shaquille O’Neal’s special deputy’s badge because of Shaq’s profanity laced “freestyle” rap that slams Kobe Bryant and his failed attempt to win an NBA Championship without him.

“I want his two badges back,” Arpaio told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “Because if any one of my deputies did something like this, they’re fired. I don’t condone this type of racial conduct.”

Shaq gets slapped by sheriff for rap about Bryant

Use Your Computer To Shop For Furniture

Maybe it is a lack of time or perhaps location or even selections but when it comes to shopping for furniture we tend to make it more difficult than it should be. Then there are those who enjoy driving everywhere and looking at every single piece of Bedroom Furniture in the county before deciding on a purchase.

Shopping for furniture doesn’t have to be time consuming, difficult or tedious. You can find a new modern dining room set from the comfort of your own home just by using your computer. You can research the different styles of Living Room Furniture, make your selections and pay with all the ease of the click of a mouse.

The way the world shops is changing and with the cost of fuel continuing to rise long shopping excursions are going to become fewer and fewer.

MLB Stock Report: Don’t Count The Yankees Out Yet!

If you were reveling in the demise of the New York Yankees I guess its time to remind you that we haven’t even reached the All-Star break yet. The Yankees are currently 5.5 games out of first place but have been on a six game winning streak and are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Jason Giambi leads the Yankees with 17 homeruns with 40 RBI’s as well. Only Detroit can match the Yankees 8-2 mark over the last 10 games but they can only boast of a two game winning streak rather than New York’s six.

Here’s how the rest of Major League Baseball grades out in my latest stock report.

Teams With Rising Stock
Team	Last 10 Games	Record	Player to Watch
Detroit	8-2	34-38	Plácido Polanco .316 B.A. 25 RBI’s
Boston Red Sox	7-3	46-29	Manny Ramírez .295 B.A. 15 HR’s, 49 RBI’s

Teams Holding Steady
Team	Last 10 Games	Record	Player to Watch
Tampa Bay	6-4	42-29	B.J. Upton .293 B.A. 39 RBI’s, 22 SB
Baltimore	6-4	36-34	Aubrey Huff .261 B.A. 11 HR’s, 38 RBI’s
Kansas City	6-4	30-42	David DeJesús .308 B.A. 8 HR’s, 35 RBI’s
Oakland	6-4	39-32	Emil Brown .241 B.A. 37 RBI’s
Chicago Cubs	6-4	45-27	Ryan Dempster 8-2, 2.76 ERA, 81 K’s
St. Louis	6-4	42-31	Albert Pujols .347 B.A. 16 HR’s, 42 RBI’s
Milwaukee	6-4	38-33	Ryan Braun .287 B.A. 20 HR’s, 55 RBI’s
Colorado	6-4	30-42	.308 B.A. 9 HR’s, 40 RBI’s
Chicago White Sox	5-5	40-31	Bobby Jenks 2-0, 1.91 ERA, 17 K’s, 16 Saves
Minnesota	5-5	36-36	Joe Mauer .332 B.A. 27 RBI’s
Cleveland	5-5	33-39	Cliff Lee 10-1, 2.55 ERA, 76 K’s
Texas	5-5	36-37	Milton Bradley .330 B.A. 15 HR’s, 48 RBI’s
Florida	5-5	39-33	Dan Uggla .288 B.A. 21 HR’s, 52 RBI’s
New York Mets	5-5	35-36	David Wright .278 B.A. 12 HR’s, 54 RBI’s
Pittsburgh	5-5	34-38	Nate McLouth .292 B.A. 15 HR’s, 48 RBI’s
San Diego	5-5	31-42	Brian Giles .301 B.A. 5 HR’s, 27 RBI’s

Teams With Stock That Is Falling
Team	Last 10 Games	Record	Player to Watch
LA Angels	4-6	22-28	Joe Saunders 10-3, 3.06 ERA, 46 K’s
Philadelphia	4-6	42-32	Chase Utley .294 B.A., 22 H.R.’s, 62 RBI’s
Atlanta	4-6	36-37	Chipper Jones .400 B.A. 16 HR, 45 RBI’s
Washington	4-6	29-45	Cristian Guzmán .316 B.A. 5 HR’s 25 RBI’s
Arizona	4-6	38-34	Mark Reynolds .253 ERA, 15 HR’s, 45 RBI’s
LA Dodgers	4-6	33-38	Russell Martin .306 B.A. 6 HR’s, 32 RBI’s
Toronto	3-7	35-38	Álex Ríos .267 B.A. 3 HR’s, 26 RBI’s
Seattle	3-7	25-47	Ichiro Suzuki .291 B.A. 3 HR’s, 19 RBI’s, 30 SB
Cincinnati	3-7	33-41	Edinson Vólquez 9-2, 1.64 ERA, 105 K’s
San Francisco	3-7	31-42	Tim Lincecum 8-1, 2.21 ERA, 95 K’s
Houston	1-9	33-39	Lance Berkman .362 B.A. 20 HR, 58 RBI’s

* All stats as of 6/18/2008

Boston Massacre

I wrote yesterday that the NBA Finals were going to go the way of the Boston Celtics but even I couldn’t have imagined a 39 point blowout. I suggested that a great team is better than a great player not a great team beats great player like a drum. In the aftermath many have been apologetic for Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant but there are some serious issues that should be addressed.

How does a team fall flat on its face like that in the biggest game of the season? Yes, Boston was better but 39 points better, come on. The Lakers were deemed by many as the favorites to win the championship when the Finals began but were instead spanked four games to two and didn’t live up to their end of the of the renewal of the rivalry.

The logical explanation is that the Lakers knew they were beat and they quit. That shows lack of both character and leadership. This is the highest level of competitive basketball on the face of the planet and these guys quit. There isn’t a bigger stage than the NBA Finals and L.A. was booed off of it last night.

Teams that tank in on the Finals don’t often make a habit of returning. Anyone seen the Dallas Mavericks lately? L.A. has talent and potential but they have to overcome character and leadership flaws first.

Celtics Are The Better Team, Period

This post isn’t one of those where does Kobe Bryant rank all time posts. Truth be told those are about as over rated as Bryant himself. While he may be the best player in the NBA Finals he’s up against the seemingly insurmountable task of knocking off the best team in professional basketball.

One thing that the NBA Finals has shown us this year is the team beats individual. Going back to June 5th had you told me that a team would be in position to close out the series in Game 5 then I would have surely bet on the Lakers. Bryant had been phenomenal in the playoffs while the Celtics had struggled on the road. However, reality was just the opposite and Boston is poised to finish tonight what they were a turnover away from doing Sunday night.

Has Boston bought a World Championship? Well, sure they have but in today’s sports scene that’s the way it is done. L.A. could just as easily been given a championship when the Grizzlies sent Pau Gasol to the Lakers for a box of Cracker Jacks. The difference is that this Boston team has been playing together since the season started.

Gasol and Kobe hooking up may have fanned the flames of an NBA Championship in L.A. but by that time Boston was already a raging inferno. The Celtics have been noticeably hungrier than the Lakers. They’ve been more physical and aggressive and are winning on hustle points. They’ve confused and frustrated L.A. to the point where we’ve seen five players on the floor at times for the Lakers that even make the cotton candy vender scratch his head in wonder. I mean seriously, who knew until Sunday that Chris Mihm was still on the roster for L.A.?

The main difference in the Finals to this point has been that the Lakers entered hoping to win another championship while Boston entered knowing that they would. It’s the kind of confidence that comes with knowing that your team is better than one great player.

Finally!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had been on a 76-race winless streak that seemed to last about 76 years. It all stopped on Sunday when he used logic and luck more than driving skill to win the LifeLock 400 at the Michigan International Speedway.

Running low on fuel the decision was made to stay on the track and not pit for fuel over the final 55 laps. It’s a strategy that would allow him to take the lead and literally coast to the finish. To save fuel Earnhardt would turn off his car and coast during the caution flags and while other drivers stopped for fuel Junior slid into first place.

As he walked into the post race winner’s interview Junior had one word to sum up the day, “Finally!”

“I can understand how it might look, especially if you’re not Dale Jr. fans,” he said. “I know exactly what they’re going to say Monday.

“I mean, my fans are happy and I’m happy for them. The other half are going to tear this apart on how we won this race. But I got the trophy and I got the points. I got to see my team and my owner and my family tonight as happy as they’ve been in a long time. … It’s a pretty big day for me.”

Earnhardt has absolutely nothing to apologize for nor to be ashamed of, understanding that he took the biggest risk of any driver on the track by choosing not to stop even though he knew that he was going to be short on fuel.

“We came in on that last stop and we were going to be about six laps short, and I saved six laps of gas,” Earnhardt said. “So, (we were) just real lucky. I have to hand it to Tony Jr. for being a risk-taker. … He’s done a good job this year getting us good finishes, better finishes than we should probably have.”

Now the question begs as to where Junior ranks among NASCARS elite drivers. Already the fan favorite many felt that the winless streak took away from his status as one of the sports top drivers despite numerous top five finishes. Only time will tell if this win will solidify him as one of those drivers but one thing is for sure, it puts him in the heart of the championship chase!

See Your World Clearly This Summer

It is summer time and people are traveling all around the world vacationing. Most people pick their vacations based on things that are of interest to them and many destinations require proper equipment to be fully enjoyed. For example if you enjoy going to the mountains for star gazing then you’ll need an adequate telescope. If bird watching is your fetish then binoculars are a must. Better yet a pair of digital camera binoculars!

Maybe you just need something simple like a flashlight or a tripod. Maybe your hobby spot is in the back yard, down the street or just across town. Where ever the location and whatever the need Optics Planet can be your source for visual equipment. They offer the best name brands and, of course, carry a large selection of the number one piece of vacationing equipment there is, Sunglasses.

MLB’s Version of Fight Night

You have to give Tampa Bay credit for hanging in and being ultra competitive in the AL East this season. It has literally brought the Red Sox/Rays rivalry to new heights as these two teams are not only competing for the top spot they genuinely hate each other as was demonstrated in their series this week.

Couple of questions here after watching the video.

• I understand why Crisp took off his batters helmet but why did Shields (the Rays pitcher) throw off his hat?
• Why did Crisp’s teammates allow him to get mauled by what seemed to be the entire Rays infield?
• How many man cards were revoked for throwing punches at Crisp after he was already down and dog piled?

Winning Wasn’t Enough For Flip Saunders

I guess living in the shadow of Larry Brown is more difficult than originally thought. Flip Saunders only made it a year longer than Brown did in Detroit but is leaving under totally different circumstances. Saunders 3rd highest winning percentage and 30-21 playoff record during his tenure in Detroit weren’t enough.

Instead it was the fact that Saunders has coached more conference finals games (24) without reaching the NBA Finals than any coach since 1971. He also led the Pistons to becoming just the second NBA team to lose in the conference finals for three consecutive seasons. Those are streaks that Joe Dumars wants to see end and now he most likely will but not in the way he is expecting.

The Pistons aren’t necessarily proud of the fact that Detroit is the first team to make their conference finals six consecutive since Magic’s Showtime Lakers of the 1980. It isn’t eastern conference finals appearances that Dumars wants though. He wants NBA Championships in Detroit and only one in the last six years is way off the mark.

“There are 25,26 teams that would love to be where we are but good has not been good enough,” Dumars said. “I appreciate everything that Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Flip Saunders have done, but I also know they were handed some great teams.”

“It’s not like they had to take bad teams and make them good. The next coach is going to inherit a good team.”

Flip Saunders will resurface again somewhere, almost all NBA coaches do, and he’ll lead another team back into the playoffs and most likely on to the conference finals. As for the Pistons, their third coach in the last six seasons is gone and at least one of their stars (most likely Rasheed Wallace) will be traded if not more. Dumars is definitely shaking things up and I just hope that for his sake he isn’t shaking it up too much.

It only takes a few years of first and second round playoff exits for fans to begin wondering, what was wrong with going to the Eastern Conference Finals every year?