ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

I know I am fueling the flames here but I would like to add to the number of blogs out there that cannot stand the thought of Favre having another comeback. Are we kidding right now? He "officially" retired at the end of last year when he finished off his mediocre year with the New York Jets. After his whole charade last year of retiring, not retiring, you would think Favre would not try the same act all over again. It gets old. So when the same rumor resurfaces this year, with the Vikings as the team Favre will go to, I just wish that the Bills were playing the Vikings this year so they could physically beat up the QB.

However, I don't know if Favre would really go to the Vikings. First of all, aren't the Vikings a huge rival of Green Bay? That shows how much he cared for his old franchise and fans, though I'm not sure they care much about him anymore anyway. And second, why would the Vikings want Favre in the first place? Didn't they hear or see how he completely lost it with the Jets? Don't they have a new rookie QB that led them a helluva lot farther last season then they had been for a few years?

Regardless of what happens, I would like to quote MJD from his Shutdown Corner: " I expect SportsCenter to lead with this story for the next 57 days."

Jaclyn Kahn

GOODBYE PRISON, HELLO ALBANY...?

As many of you sports fans know, Michael Vick will soon be out of his Alcatraz down south.

The big buzz is all about whether or not the NFL will reinstate Vick so that he can come back to play some football. There are a lot of people arguing both sides of this not-so-exciting news. I don't exactly know where I stand on the subject, but I think that's because I don't really care. If Vick is allowed to play in the NFL then any convict would be allowed to play. However, look at how many football players are getting into trouble with the law. Burress. Lynch. Whitner. And that's just recently The list goes on and on. So if Vick is allowed to come back, it doesn't really change what has is currently going on.

To get back to Vick, apparently there is already a team that wants him as their quarterback. And that team is the Albany Firebirds. Although it isn't an NFL team, Vick would need to be reinstated to be able to make the $200 paycheck with a $50 bonus for every game won in area football. After a season he might be able to have enough money to buy a new dog. Though I find it kind of ironic that the first place Vick would go is to Albany, NY. He would fit right in, crime-wise.

Jaclyn Kahn

GOOD RIDDANCE

And I mean it. The Buffalo Bills have officially struck a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles to trade left tackle Jason Peters.

Over the past couple of years, Peters has been causing problems for the Bills, not showing up to practice or games due to holding out for more money. No offense Peters, but you aren't that good to be paying millions of dollars for, even if there is a pay limit in the NFL. And now that the Bills have acquired T.O. (yes it came up, don't have a cow man) they already chose the man they are giving the big bucks up to. But I think it's more to do with the fact that Peters thinks he's better than he really is, and continues to hold out for more dough. I don't understand why he keeps getting chosen as a Pro Bowler. Just because he's one of the biggest guys in the NFL doesn't mean he's the best at what he does. How many times in one game do we Bill fans hear, "False Start. Number 71." Then the depressing amount of yard loss.

Philadelphia Eagles took Peters in return for their 28th pick in the NFL draft, as well as their fourth round draft pick. When this was just a rumor, it was said that the Bills would be seeking the first and third round draft picks. Though the Bills got one of the picks they were looking for, I guess they thought Peters was better than he actually is too. At least in trading terms. Maybe Peters will take over for Dawkins as the leader of the Eagles song, dancing and flapping around. Somehow, I have a feeling it just wouldn't look the same.

Jaclyn Kahn

NEW YORK JETS ARE ANTI-SEMITES?

Nah, just having horrible scheduling issues that affects their Jewish fan base.

To keep this story short and sweet, unlike the Jets games themselves, the issue comes down to their first two home games. These two home games have been scheduled on the same days Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur begin. This really can effect Jewish ticket holders, who, if observe these holidays, would miss 25% of the home games. This is a lot considering how much one pays for tickets. Although apparently the Jets did try to make these two games be away games, however, so did the New York Giants. Oh the joys of sharing a stadium. So guess which team has away games those weeks? If only the Jets were the better of the two games, maybe they would be able to satisfy all of their fans.

So the Jets can't really be blamed for this schedule faux pas, but the team and the league should have looked a a calendar and realized this mistake before the schedules were announced, since New York has the greatest number of Jews in the entire country. And of course not all Jews are smart enough to avoid rooting for the Jets, but we all can't be perfect, can we?

To read the whole dilemma, click here.

Jaclyn Kahn

FAN BOOTED FOR WANTING TO TINKLE SUES

Last August, Bradford Campeau-Laurion, was booted from Yankee Stadium for leaving his seat in hopes of using the bathroom during the 7th inning stretch singing of God Bless America. According to Laurion, he was met by a police officer who told him to return to his seat for the duration of the song. When he refused, he was promptly ejected from the building. I was unaware of this, but apparently, there was a policy that restricted movement in Yankee Stadium (I assume it is still in effect at the new building) during the song. Well, Laurion has taken it to the courts and is suing the New York Yankees for religious and political discrimination.

Now while I don't agree with different policies and things that have been going on in Washington this last decade (i.e. The Bush administration), I do thank God for allowing me to grow up in this country. Think of all the places we could have been born! So, I respect the gesture of rising, removing your cap, and honoring America for a couple minutes. I think on a personal level, it's probably the right thing to wait to move around till these patriotic songs are over. They are only a couple minutes long.

However, that's on a personal level, and there are no laws saying you have to acknowledge these songs. So, unless Laurion was drunk (as the Yankees claim) and cursed out the cop, I hope he wins his lawsuit against the team that thinks they are all high and mighty. I have a major problem with the Yankees taking the law into their own hands. There is no reason to eject a fan who gets up during God Bless America. It is your first amendment right to protest these songs if you'd like. I'm sure the cop was irrated by Laurion's response, but the cops are there to enforce the law, not to abuse their power on someone who doesn't have the same views.

Also, I think the Yankees are the only team that plays the song on a nightly basis, and most of the time they play a very impersonal recording from the 1930s. If you pay your hard earned money to get to a game (and it is really hard earned if you can afford Yankee games), you should be able to roam around whenever you feel. I'm surprised incidents like this haven't happened before to be honest. I'm sure 99% of people aren't even protesting the song. They just want to get up in between innings. So I ask, who do the Yankees think they are trying to keep 50,000 people locked into their seats during the song?

Pat Morgan

SHAWN HAS NO LOVE FOR BOMBAY'S DUCKS

When asked about his Sharks impending playoff series with the Anaheim Ducks, Shawn not only said the Sharks would breeze right through them, but he bashed their movie brethren as well.

sakoswego86: this is so corny
sakoswego86: hahahah
sakoswego86: lets ditch the usa uniforms
sakoswego86: for anaheim duck uniforms

I for one don't mind if Shawn has no love for the actual Ducks, but going after the movie is just below the belt. It's personal now! Lets go Quackers!

Pat Morgan

MADDEN COVER TO BE SHARED?

Normally, I could care less about something like this, unless a Buffalo Bills player was put on the cover of the new Madden NFL video game. Everyone believes that there's some curse that goes along with being on this cover, and I don't doubt it. Though, then again, it may just be a "curse" set on the public's mind because they now will pay more attention to that player. Anyway, I care because the article about it at MJD's Shutdown Corner is hysterical.

The two who are supposedly going to share the cover of the new Madden game are (drum roll please) Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu. According to this article at Yahoo! Sports, "It would mark the first time that the two have shared a cover since they appeared together on the October 2007 cover of 'We Wear Our Hair Like Pretty Girls Monthly.'" Furthermore, "And it would all play very nicely into the hot new feature in Madden this year, 'Let's Brush Each Other's Hair Mode.'"

But enough with the hair jokes. It's sad that there really isn't much going on in the football news that I chose this story to report on. But a lot of people talk about the Madden curse, so why not. I was thinking, maybe there should be a vote for who should be on the cover of Madden. I mean, why not vote for the most popular bad guy in football? It would be one non-violent way to hope that someone goes down to the Madden curse. Why, I'll even begin and nominate Tom Brady to be on the cover of this year's Madden. Gisele can be on it too, I'm sure they could give her some fashionable Patriot's outfit. Or should could be a cheerleader in the background. Either way, it would be nice to get Brady wiped out for another entire season. But getting back to the point, I'm sure there are a lot of fans who, when they find out about their star player being on the cover of Madden, A: freak out, and B: buy the game. It would be even funnier if NFL players were the only ones allowed to vote for the person who makes the cover. Then we'd really see who hates who. The Madden player of the year could actually be Madden's bitch... (i.e. picture... sorry Pat). Maybe Madden reveals the poster child for injury and shame. Or maybe the shame is for the people who spend all their time playing the game...

Jaclyn Kahn

NFL CLASS ACT: BRIAN DAWKINS

Since I had lost my faith in the Buffalo Bills last season, I began to root for the Philadelphia Eagles, especially once they made it to the playoffs. Since I haven't really rooted for a team in the playoffs before, it was exciting until they got beat out by the Cards. There are many reasons why I chose to root for Philadelphia, such as McNabb, but I also liked Brian Dawkins. I liked how he played, and I liked how he revved up the crowed, dancing around enthusiastically to their theme/fight song.

Earlier in the year, Brian Dawkins was traded to the Denver Broncos. This caused a minor uproar within the Eagles community, and led to one part time worker being fired over what he said about the Eagles letting Dawkins go. I understand that if you work for a company or whatnot, that you probably shouldn't say anything bad about them, especially on Facebook where they can actually read it. However, it shows how much of a fan the man, Dan Leone, was to the team he worked for. I honestly was a little surprised to hear that the Eagles let Dawkins go, but at the same time, I can see how they might think he is getting old and might not be performing up to the standard they need to win any championship in the future.

Long story short, what does Dawkins do? As a Bronco now, he will actually be facing the Eagles in Philly. Because players receive 2 tickets for away games, Dawkins decided to give his tickets to Dan Leone. Obviously Dan cannot see the games anymore as part of his job since he was newly fired, and I think that Dawkins is a class act. He would be an even bigger class act if he could get that guy's job back, but he wasn't the one who publicly made statements about the team. Dawkins could have just forgotten about the guy who had his fifteen minutes of fame on Facebook that left him without a job. But he didn't. So cheers to Brian Dawkins, and I hope he has a good career at the Broncos (even though I'm not a fan).

Jaclyn Kahn

GERBIL'S 2009 MLB FEARLESS FORECAST

After what felt like a 5 month Spring Training, the regular season is set to start on Sunday night when the Braves head to Philadelphia to take on the defending champion, Phillies. So, here are my 2009 MLB predictions (with over/unders)!

American League
East- Yankees (O 94.5), Red Sox* (U 94.5), Rays (U 87.5), Blue Jays (O 80.5), Orioles (U 73.5)
Central- White Sox (O 79.5), Twins (O 83.5), Indians (U 85.5), Royals (U 75.5), Tigers (U 82.5)
West- Angels (O 89.5), Athletics (O 81.5), Rangers (O 73.5), Mariners (U 72.5)

National League
East- Mets (O 88.5), Phillies* (U 87.5), Braves (O 83.5), Marlins (O 76.5), Nationals (U 71.5)
Central- Cubs (O 91.5), Cardinals (O 83.5), Brewers (O 80.5), Astros (O 74.5), Reds (U 80.5), Pirates (U 69.5)
West- Dodgers (O 82.5), Diamondbacks (U 86.5), Giants (U 80.5), Rockies (U 77.5), Padres (U 71.5)

ALDS
Yankees 3, White Sox 1
Red Sox 3, Angels 2

NLDS
Mets 3, Dodgers 1
Cubs 3, Phillies 2

ALCS
Red Sox 4, Yankees 2

NLCS
Cubs 4, Mets 3

World Series
Cubs 4, Red Sox 1 (IT'S OUR YEAR... HOPEFULLY)

AL Awards
Rookie- Matt Wieters, BAL
Manager- Mike Scioscia, LAA
Cy Young- Josh Beckett, BOS
MVP- Carlos Quentin, CWS

NL Awards
Rookie- Jason Motte, STL
Manager- Tony LaRussa, STL
Cy Young- Johan Santana, NYM
MVP- Carlos Beltran, NYM

Well, enjoy the season!

Pat Morgan

HUG OR RECEIVE PENALTY...?!

You read that correctly. The NFL keeps making up rules for the upcoming 2009 football season, and I must say that these rules are getting a little bit ridiculous.

The latest rule, which you can read more about here, deals with violent acts on the field, and how they will now be dealt with on the field. I'm not talking about the "Brady (pansy)" rule, or intentional violence against a player just to cause injury. No, I'm talking about tackles and other allowable actions of the NFL. The most recent rule states that "all plays that end with a tackle or other form of physical contact must be followed by an immediate hug."

WHAT?

I'm sorry, I know that violence isn't a positive attribute in life, but isn't there a reason why football players wear so much equipment? Fans of football, similar to hockey, expect some sort of degree of pain and injury involved with the game. That's one of the reasons why people watch. Spectacular plays, which include tackles, are now going to have to end in hugging, or the failure to do so will "result in a 15-yard penalty."

How much time is it going to take to hug? Does one pat on the back count? I have a feeling hugging isn't going to be the answer to the violence seen in football. They might as well make a rule that players can't touch each other, or look at each other. This rule was decided upon after recent studies suggested that a reduction of violent anger occurs before or after hugging. You know what is going to happen out on the field now. After players tackle each other, they are going to "hug" which really means they are going to fly insults and insinuations at one another while pretending to be partaking in brotherly love.

There are a number of NFL players who are definitely not for this hugging rule to be inserted into their ball games. Even former NFL players thinks this idea is idiotic. When asked for his opinion, former NFL star linebacker Bill Romanowski said: ""Hm. Hugging guys after plays. You know, I'd really prefer to spit on them. I'd have to think about it. Oh, wait, you know what I'd do? I'd wrap my arms in razor wire and then hug the hell out of a guy's throat. That's what I'd do."

Exactly. After these players hug, if one goes down right after, the referees should be looking to see what the hell happened during that hug.

I can't help but chuckle when I read this: "If you think I'm hugging Terrell Owens, you're out of your damn mind," said approximately 800 NFL players.

Cheers NFL huggers!

Jaclyn Kahn