Is It Baseball Season Yet?

Seriously. Opening day cannot come soon enough for me. Good thing I only have to wait until Wednesday! While I'm disappointed in the news about Carpenter for my Cardinals, I still am very excited about their season. And baseball in general.

Speaking of which, congratulations to Guggenheim Partners, or as everyone in LA keeps referring to it, Magic Johnson's group, on winning the bid on buying the LA Dodgers. Now that the sale is done, they can focus on the team and making it the franchise that it should be.

No, I'm not becoming a Dodgers fan. But this whole debacle with Frank McCourt - the divorce, the bankruptcy...it hasn't allowed for good development and growth for the Dodgers franchise. I may be a Cardinals fan, but at the core I love good baseball. It's good to have competition in the league. If there's no competition and the same team keeps winning and winning over and over again, people lose interest.

So hope the Dodgers are able to overcome this and I look forward to seeing the Dodgers-Cardinals matchup live at Dodger Stadium this season.

NCAA Final Four was this weekend and the only real surprise? Kansas upset Ohio State by coming back from behind at the half to win by 2 points. I guess I understand now why Mizzou had problems beating KU this season. They are one tough team.

Kentucky beat Louisville, so that means tomorrow night's championship game is Kentucky vs Kansas. As a Mizzou fan, I just find it so difficult to root for KU, even if they are in the Big 12. Kentucky's been the #1 since the beginning of the tourney, so KU's the underdog. I think I may just have to say this: I look forward to watching a good game.

The Tebow-Sanchez drama has really gotten...well for lack of better words, quite ridiculous. Every sports pundit is reporting on their thoughts about whether this was a good move for the Jets, whether Sanchez should feel like his job is on the line, and so forth.

Okay, yes. The move brings up a lot of questions. But it's April. NFL season doesn't start until September. The draft hasn't even happened yet. A lot of things will change between now and then. I don't have any clue what the reasoning is for the Jets picking up Tebow but Tebow doesn't seem to sound like he's going to be a back-up. He clearly wants to fight for the starting QB job. Well, I guess one thing's for certain. Hard Knocks shouldn't even question what team to choose for their show this season.

In NBA news...honestly, other than Jeremy Lin being out for the season with injury, I haven't kept up with it much. I told you, the NBA is not my forte. Kobe had a rough week this week, but he's Kobe. He's picked it up and in today's game was the leading scorer.

In NHL news my St. Louis Blues clinched the Central Division Title, albeit not exactly in the fashion that they had hoped as they lost to the Blue Jackets 5-2 last night. As the NHL season starts to wind down, it'll be interesting to see how the playoff picture turns out. None of the national sports peeps (at least in LA) seem to care about hockey, but I imagine once the playoffs come around it'll be "oh, did you hear about this?"

Growing up in St. Louis, had no clue how little respect the NHL gets on a national scale. Now that I'm in LA, who has 2 NHL hockey teams? Wow, yeah I get it. The NHL gets such little coverage on a national scale. In LA, when it comes to sports talk on the radio in the morning, I have Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, or the San Diego sports station. It is uncanny how often Dan and Colin are talking about the same thing...at the same time!

If I had to guess, I think that most national sports coverage focuses on the following primarily: NFL, MLB and NBA. Everything beyond that is included because it's topical. We aren't hearing much news about NCAA football, are we? Nope. We're hearing about NCAA basketball because the tourney is still going on. But what about after? No.

The NHL should get more coverage, but they don't. It's a shame. I'm not just saying that because The Blues are doing well. The LA Kings are doing well too, and no one out here seems to care. It's sad.

And...that's all I've got for tonight folks. More updates soon on my thoughts on the world of sports.

Black Monday, NFL Final Regular Season Thoughts

First off, Happy New Year 2012! If you were like me, you probably spent most of New Year's Day enjoying the last regular season games of the NFL. While we still have the playoffs to look forward to, I always get sad at the end of the NFL season. At least now I can close the door on the horrible seasons of my Rams and Colts and hope that next season will be better for both. Both teams had some major "Black Monday" firings today.

The Rams announced that HC Steve Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney have been let go. This was not a surprise, most of us expected this to happen. I really like Spagnuolo as a person, but I think he is much better off in a coordinator position than head coach. Rams are reportedly looking to hire former Titans HC Jeff Fisher, but so is Miami. Plus Tampa fired HC Raheem Morris so who knows if they'll throw their hat in the ring. The thing that I like about Fisher is that he has a history of being successful as a head coach. It seems to me that the Rams could use a coach that has some sort of history and is proven. Sam Bradford can be the quarterback the Rams hope he will be, but there needs to be some strong coaching and better draft and trade moves to build this team to the success it can be. Will be interesting to see what the Rams choose to do with their #2 pick.

In other "Black Monday" news Jim Irsay fired the Polians today, which came as somewhat of a shock though many sports analysts in Indy have been behind this for some time such as Bob Kravitz. No word on the status of HC Caldwell yet, but I can't imagine that Irsay would can the Polians and keep Caldwell. It sounds like Irsay's looking to clean house.

Irsay also said that he can't say for certain that Peyton will be back. "I've always said that, first and foremost, it's a medical situation, a health situation," Irsay said during a news conference Monday. "Is it safe for him to go on the field? Is it something that he's healthy enough to resume his career? "That to me has always been the most important decision. That's something we're continuing to see where we're at." I would love to see Peyton play again, but his health has to be first and foremost. I hope he's healthy and we're able to see another 3-4 years out of him, win another Super Bowl, etc. But he has to decide whether it's worth the risk. 3 neck surgeries in one year is a huge deal. One bad hit and Peyton could permanently injure himself seriously, including potential paralysis. He's going to have to take it slow and The Colts organization will have some big decisions to make come draft time this spring. Do they take Luck? Unless they have absolute certainty that Peyton is a go, I don't see how they don't draft him. Not sure if the Colts can keep both Luck and Manning. If Manning can play, he'll want to play. That may not be for the Colts if they choose Luck.

The last week of the regular season finally gave us the pieces to finalize the playoff puzzle. The Broncos lost to KC, but still won their division title at 8-8 due to San Diego beating Oakland. I thought the NFC Worst I mean West was bad but wow, the AFC West was crazy! 3 teams finished 8-8 and one at 7-9. The Broncos will face the Steelers this weekend in the Wild Card matchup, which should be interesting. The 49'ers secured a first round bye with their win against the Rams, though the Saints tried with their trouncing of Carolina. Though they tied with San Fran at 13-3, San Fran had the better conference record. Aaron Rodgers didn't start for Green Bay, but it didn't matter in the track meet against the Detroit Lions. Get used to hearing the name Matt Flynn folks, because he is a free agent at the end of the season. I don't know if both offenses were just THAT good in this game or if the defeneses were THAT bad. Green Bay won 45-41, Stafford threw for 520 yards and 5 TD's, Flynn threw for 480 yards and 6 TD's. That's 1,000 passing yards between the 2 QB's. Wow. So is Rodgers really that good or is Green Bay's offensive line that good? I guess we'll find out how great Matt Flynn is without it as there's no way he's still in Green Bay next year after that. He'll be a starter somewhere.

Sunday Night Football featured the Cowboys and the Giants, fighting for the NFC East title. If Brees and Rodgers weren't already so high on the MVP list I'd say Manning should be in contention. Or maybe Victor Cruz. Manning-Cruz have pretty much lifted the Giants to the postseason, and Manning now had the most 4th quarter touchdown passes in history. When I think about the talent on the Packers, the Saints and the Giants...I'd say Manning is pulling his team with far less talent than the other 2. Matt Flynn certainly showed that the Packers can win without Rodgers. Not sure the Saints win without Brees but the Giants definitely don't without Manning.

I just don't understand the Cowboys. They have talent, they just can't seem to get to the playoffs as of late. I know many want to blame Romo, but I don't know that Romo alone is the problem. Romo has the 4th highest quarterback rating this season. The 3 ahead of him? Rodgers, Brees and Brady. Not bad company to be in. So what is it about the Cowboys? I don't know the answer but Jerry Jones will have to figure out something because Dallas fans are most certainly not happy.

This weekend's wild card matchups are: Cincinnati vs Houston, Pittsburgh vs Denver, Atlanta vs New York, and Detroit vs New Orleans. All should be good games, though Houston will be playing Yates at QB but they still have Foster. The Steelers still have a banged up Big Ben and Mendenhall is out for the season due to injury. Denver could have a shot at beating the Steelers if Ben can't get the offense rolling.

However, my picks for this weekend are: Cincinnati over Houston (Foster will be big, but I like Dalton and Green more), Denver over Pittsburgh (I think it will be close, but I think the lack of offense on both sides will hurt and Tebow will pull off his last amazing win of the season), Giants over the Falcons (I wouldn't bet against that Giants team right now, they are on fire), and the Saints over Detroit. It will be a track meet, but the Saints are explosive at home and I think they will be able to pull off this win.

Oh, and while I'm at it. I'll go ahead and make my prediction for the Super Bowl: Baltimore vs Giants. You heard me. I'm not discounting the Saints/Green Bay but never underestimate the power of a team that basically played a playoff game just to get there. They will be a tough team to beat.

I've rambled on enough. More updates in the world of sports soon!

NBA Season Begins, NFL Season Winding Down

Sports fans, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I personally enjoyed myself over the weekend. After all, what could be better than Christmas Eve NFL and Christmas Day NBA and SNF? It was a good sports weekend.

I'm the first to admit that I've never really followed the NBA much. There isn't a team in my hometown of St. Louis so I tended to follow college basketball more than the NBA.

The big talk around here is of course, the Lakers and the Clippers. The Clippers are now suddenly a real threat with the addition of Chris Paul. There's a lot of bandwagoning going on in LA. Suddenly all of these people are Clippers fans even though they probably couldn't tell you the last time they a) watched a Clippers game or b) went to a Clippers game.

The Lakers are having a shaky start to the season. Not sure if it's time to start panicking if you're a Lakers fan, but they are definitely not the same Lakers team that won the championship 2 years ago. They tried to trade for Paul first, but the NBA rejected the trade, which of course has a LOT of people upset because the NBA approved the deal for the Clippers. I guess I see where the NBA is coming from they are trying to prevent teams from being able to hoard all of the top players on one team. They need to do this, to keep the league competitive. If every NBA player wanted to play for the Lakers and all of the good ones went there and the Lakers won the championship by a landslide every year it would be boring, and fans would stop following the league. Except for Lakers fans of course.

So I get it. Paul definitely seems to be helping the Clippers quite a bit. They've started the season 2-0 and beat the Lakers in their preseason opener. Will be interesting to see how this shortened season unfolds.

As the NBA season starts to heat up, the NFL season is coming to an end, which makes me sad. I know I still have a month of playoffs still but I hate when the NFL season ends.

Tim Tebow's storybook season has had a major reality check the past 2 weeks. If anyone really thought the Broncos would beat the Pats, well, they were proven wrong. Because as bad as the Pats defense is, the Pats offense is just too explosive for Tebow and co to try and overcome all of those points. And then this past weekend Buffalo just crushed the Broncos 40-14. Guess the Disney story is over. However, the Broncos can still make the playoffs. They play Kansas City this weekend and they are beatable (though Green Bay may beg to differ). It looks like it'll either be the Broncos or Oakland.

In the "suck for Luck" race, the Colts won another game this past weekend under Dan Orlovsky. The Rams, Vikings and Colts are all tied for that worst in the league title with only 2 wins, however, the Colts are in the lead due to schedule (the Rams and Vikes had much harder schedules, whereas the Colts had many more winnable games).

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. The Rams play the 49'ers this weekend. Sam Bradford won't play. The Rams aren't going to win this game. The 49'ers are fighting for that playoff bye week and I don't think they will have too much trouble winning this game (but I could be wrong, the Rams did beat the Saints).

The Colts play the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are just awful. A very winnable game for the Colts. So if you're Bill Pollian and Jim Isray, do you tell the team to basically kind of throw the game to ensure you keep the #1 pick? If the Colts win, they will lose out on that opportunity and it will go to the Rams (unless the Rams win). The Rams won't draft Luck, they already have a franchise quarterback in Bradford. But they can get a lot for that pick, and the Rams need all of the help they can get.

If the Colts win this weekend they may well indeed pass up an opportunity of a lifetime. We all hope that Peyton is able to play again but there are no guarantees. And even if he does play he probably has 3-4 good years left? I think you have to take the opportunity to get Luck. If Peyton turns out to be healthy and good to go then you deal from there, but the Colts have to look to the future. And that's tough for me to say because I really love Peyton and hope he plays and retires with the Colts but we just don't know if that's going to happen or not.

Pro Bowl players were announced today. Tebow didn't make the list, so sad. Honestly? The Pro Bowl is the biggest joke of a game. MLB, NBA, NHL all seem to make their all star games have some sort of meaning or are at least entertaining. The Pro Bowl is a complete joke. Truly. It means nothing, the players just want the honor because it can be added to their resume, and the game just seems to lack any sort of heart. I've tried to watch it but I usually end up tuning it out and it just becomes background noise.

The playoff picture will be complete after this weekend. Looking forward to the final games of the season and the chance to put the Rams and the Colts horrendous seasons behind them and look forward to next year. How about a Colts-Rams Super Bowl in 2013? Hey, it could happen!

Tebow Time

It seems that everywhere you turn someone is talking about Tim Tebow. Every sports talk station I listened to this past week was talking about Tebow. Every interview with coaches, former NFL players, etc. all talked about Tebow.

The Tebow phenomena has seemed to take the country by storm. It is a nice story, very Disney-esqe. In fact, my opening to my fantasty football recap last week was "Coming soon to a theater near you, by Walt Disney Pictures 'Angels in the Endzone' starring Tim Tebow and the 2011 Denver Broncos."

It's so true, right? Hollywood has written this script over and over again. They guy no one thought could have the talent. The team everyone dismissed. Then all of the sudden they have a miracle year and prove everyone wrong.

And it's hard not to like Tebow. He's a very religious guy, but I don't feel like he shoves it in anyone's face. He just is very devout, and in a league that's full of players who accidentally shoot themselves in the foot with a gun in a club (see Buresss, Plaxico), or run a dog fighting ring (see Vick, Michael) or kill someone in a drunk driving incident (see Little, Leonard) it is refreshing to see someone who really seems to have good ideals and values. Someone that we would actually be okay with our kids looking up to and admiring.

Tebow's luck ran out today against the Patriots, but honestly, did anyone really believe that the Broncos could outlast Brady and co? The Pats defense has been atrocious, but the reason the Pats are still able to win is because their offense is so explosive. And while the Broncos defense is pretty solid, after about 3 quarters they started to get tired, and Tebow and co. just couldn't keep up with the Pats explosive offense.

Of course, we knew they would lose. Jesus took the day off. At least, according to SNL he did:

The Broncos still look poised to make the playoffs. Their last 2 games are against Buffalo and Kansas City. Both winnable games (although KC just ended Green Bay's winning streak today so don't count the Chiefs out. Fortunately for Denver they will be playing at home).

Odds are, Denver will make the playoffs. Will they may it to the Super Bowl? Never say never, but it would be a tough road. They'd have to beat the Patriots, Ravens or Steelers. Not an easy feat. But Tebow has God on his side, right?

One thing is for sure, the Broncos are fun to watch and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season turns out.

Free Agency Madness

It was certainly interesting to see all of the moves that were quickly made once a deal was made and the NFL was up and running again. On top of that, the trade deadline for MLB was on July 31st and with the NFL back and running free agency signings seemed to happen every hour. I'll admit, it does make me VERY excited about the NFL season this year.

Quick baseball update...so the Cardinals traded Rasmus, which only time will tell if it's a good deal or not. On top of that, Cards signed former Dodger Rafael Furcal. Furcal is certainly an upgrade at shortstop. I was trying to think of the last time the Cardinals really had a strong shortstop. David Eckstein was really more of a 2B guy than a shortstop (though he does get an A+ for effort. There is a reason why he won MVP in the 2006 World Series), and Edgar Renteria was decent. It was probably back to Royce Clayton, who took over after Ozzie Smith retired in the mid 90's. Wow.

We'll see how he does, if he stays healthy, he can be a big benefit to the team through the end of this season. Would be surprised to see him re-signed next year though. Think he is a short term fix.

Cardinals are currently 3 games behind Milwaukee. They are hanging in there, but I'd really like to see the Cards take the division. It's August, so the time to buckle down and really play like you're playoff potential is now. The Cards have a shot at a wild card spot but I'd rather see them win the division. I'll be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out.

So much craziness in the NFL. Where even to start?

The Colts signed Peyton. I have to admit, I've always had a lot of respect and admiration for Peyton, but he really upped the ante with how he handled his signing. He made it clear he wanted to stay with the Colts but also wanted the team to have the money to keep the team competitive. After signing Manning the team was quick to sign Joseph Addai (who, IMO isn't the best running back out there but he is a great blocker on the field) and get some other players set. The Colts haven't made a ton of moves in free agency, so I'm not sure how they are going to fare this season. The biggest problem is their run defense. They'll have to figure out some way to get the defense together to stay competitive. I still think the Colts are the best in their division, but Houston may end up giving them a good run for the division title.

As for the NFC Worst, I mean West...like a lot of the changes the Rams have made, and think they are definitely positioned to be a better team, though they are going to have a tough time this season. They do not have the easiest schedule. Their home opener is against the Eagles and boy are the Eagles looking scary.

The Rams have signed Walker as a receiver, who I like and just recently signed Cadillac Williams as a potential back-up running back to Steven Jackson, which is a move I also like. Seattle managed to grab Rice, but who is going to throw to him? The Cardinals got Kolb, which means Fitzgerald will have someone to throw to him but the Cards also lost some key players. And the 49er's? Well, they didn't do much. So who do I think has the best chance of winning the NFC West? The Rams. The Rams have amped up their defense and offensive line, they have Bradford coming off of a pretty amazing rookie season, and quite frankly, the competition in the NFC West, as it has been, is still not that high.

There were a lot of interesting moves, of course. Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson is a Patriot. I suppose of all people to possible keep Chad in line, Bill Belichick is the one. They also picked up Albert Haynesworth, 'nuff said. Randy Moss decided to retire (or at least, that's the last I heard). Plaxico signed with the Jets. Personally, I'm just glad he's not in St. Louis. Plax can see if he can find a rhythm with the Jets but he was too much of a gamble. I like that the Rams signed Sims-Walker, he's young and I think he could be great with Bradford.

Other important news? My second favorite NFL player of all time, Marshall Faulk, was entered into the NFL Hall of Fame this weekend. What an amazing and humble athlete he is. He's had an amazing career, and I'll admit, until Marshall came around, I couldn't name a Rams running back. Quarterback? Wide Receiver? Of course. RB? Nope. Faulk made me appreciate the skill and importance of a RB and boy, was he fun to watch. He deserves this honor, so happy for him. He's the first St. Louis Ram to enter the hall (I said St. Louis, not Ram) and I know he's going to be followed by other greats like Bruce, Warner and Holt. I have so much respect for him. Thank you Marshall, for what you brought to the game, and for being an awesome person inside and out.

I'd talk about Tiger Woods golf news but I honestly don't care. Is that bad? Perhaps. I'm anxious for NFL to start and for the Cardinals to gain some games on the Brewers so they can get back into first place.

And that's it for now sports fans. More of my thoughts on the sports world to come soon!

Talkin' Baseball...

The All Star Break is over, so we are more than half way through baseball season. The Cardinals are still hanging in there, right now it's a 3 way race for the NL Central between the Cardinals, the Pirates and the Brewers. However, pitching is still a major problem.

The Kyles, Lohse and McClellan have struggled lately. The last 14 games started by either Kyle? Cards are 1-13. Ouch. Bernie Miklasz has a great article about this here.

As the trade deadline looms it is clear that Mozeliak needs to focus on finding some pitching or else the Cardinals are really going to struggle down the stretch and any hope of playoff contention may be out the window.

There has been lots of talk about the possibility of trading Colby Rasmus. I have mixed feelings about this. For one, the Cards have invested a lot in him and it would be a shame to trade him only to see him succeed elsewhere. On the other hand, there is the drama of the Tonys. Tony Rasmus, Colby's dad, and Tony LaRussa, Cards manager. Colby has been struggling lately at bat, certainly not at the level that Cards staff or fans hoped. Bernie thinks that it might be wise to send him back to AAA Memphis for awhile, if the Cards decide to keep him. Perhaps that may help. They have to do something. Can't let him continue to slump and just watch him fail.

If they do trade, they can't trade low, it would have to be a great deal, and my personal opinion is unless there's some top notch pitcher out there that we can get and possibly sign at the end of the season to a longer term deal, I don't know if trading him is the best idea. I'd hate to see Colby traded for a short term fix that may or may not pan out.

Many professional players are sent back to the minors to help them focus on things they are having problems with and they come back stronger and better players. So that is my hope for Colby. If the Cards really want to keep him, then let's find a way to help him get back on track so he can be the player we all know he can be.

NFL news...the owners have come to an agreement to end the lockout. Now, the players have to come to a decision. That's going to take a lot longer, and it looks like the opening preseason game featuring the Rams and the Bears is going to be cancelled, which is a total shame. I was really looking forward to the Rams getting some high profile coverage, it being the first game of the NFL season (and televised nationally) but things were going to be postponed or cancelled, we all knew it.

I just hope a deal is put in place soon. I don't know how I would survive the fall without NFL football. I'm already reading to start planning my fantasy football teams.

At least, I know for sure, college football will be in full gear shortly.

Apparently keeping up a blog is harder than I thought. If football season was in gear I'd be posting at least once a week. I love baseball, but it's a long season and it hard for me since my team is in St. Louis and I'm in LA, so I hear a lot more about the Dodgers and Angels.

The Mavs on the NBA championship. Well deserved. Dirk is a beast. What an amazing player to watch. I would have liked to see the Lakers do a 3-peat, but they just were not on it this year. The Mavs played hard and in the end LeBron just could not lead Miami to the win. Which makes me happy, as I'm not a huge fan of LeBron. Is he talented? Most definitely. But as a person? Don't really care for him.

Speaking of the NBA, what in the world is up with my bro Ron Artest changing his name? Ron explains the name change here, but still. Metta World Peace? Ochocinco I can understand, even if it is incorrect Spanish (ocho = 8 cinco = 5. 85 = ochenta y cinco). I just...well, good luck getting people to call you that Ron.

The NHL finals came down to a grueling battle between Vancouver and Boston and in the end, the Boston Bruins pulled off the win. So what did fans in Vancouver do? Riot. The Bulls won the NBA championship in 1992 and which resulted in riots in the city. They WON. Vancouver LOSES and riots ensue. Really Vancouver? So not classy. Makes you wonder what would have happened had they won. Yikes.

Baseball, baseball. Pujols got injured, came back and the Cardinals still have no bullpen. Yet they are tied for 1st at the All Star Break. Though right now the NL Central is pretty much up for grabs among the Cards, Brewers, Reds and...the Pirates? Wow. First time in a long time I can recall them being in the running. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out. The Cardinals organization is going to have to do something on the pitching issue, because even though they are hanging in there in the NL Central, there's no way they'll get further than a division title without some help.

Speaking of the All Star Game, for the second year in a row the NL won. I'll admit, I only watched bits and pieces of the game (although to my credit, the game started at 5pm my time. I didn't even get home until 6:30). I'm glad to see the NL dominating after so many years of the AL winning. I still hate that the All Star Game determines home field advantage. I understand why Selig did it, I just don't agree with it. Home field should go to the team with the best record, just like the NFL.

Oh yes, the NFL. Talks have resumed and today the top players said "we want a deal." Please football gods, let's end this. Players should be reporting to camp any moment now. We're a month away from preseason. Just settle it before things get even uglier than they already are.

Okay, promise to post more and resurrect this blog. More of my thoughts on the world of sports soon!

Sports Madness

The NCAA Championship Game was on Monday, and unfortunately, my Butler Bulldogs did not pull off the win. They had a very tough opponent in UConn, and in the end, UConn was able to break through Butler's defense and once they had a 10 point lead, Butler had no chance.

Both teams played hard, and in the beginning the defense on both teams was very strong. But Butler kept missing shots that they shouldn't. Matt Howard had an awful day, and when he has a bad day that is not good for Butler.

Congratulations to UConn, they played a great game. And congrats to Butler and coach Brad Stevens. They made it to the championship game 2 years in a row. They didn't win, but that's still impressive to get to the final game both years. I think Butler will be a contender for a long time as long as Stevens is still around.

Baseball season has begun and the Cardinals look...well, scary. They had a chance to win the home opener and our closer, Ryan Franklin, gives up a home run with 2 outs in the 9th. *Head desk* It's going to be a long season, I'm afraid.

A lot can happen, there's many more months to go. I'm going to a Cardinals-Dodgers game next week, it may be the only chance I get to see the Cards live this season. Hope they look stronger next week than they have so far. Of course, it would help to get Matt Holliday back in the lineup. Word is, he is not going to be placed on the DL. Hope he heals fast and is back on the field soon.

In Lakers news, they have been on fire since the All Star game. They have already clinched their division, so playoffs are inevitable. Can they three-peat? I think they have a solid chance. Not sure what exactly changed after the All Star game but the Lakers need to keep at it. I'm happy to see them doing well and would love to see them three-peat.

What else...I've sort of lost interest in hockey since the Blues aren't going anywhere. The NFL is still on lockdown and we have the draft coming up. That should be interesting. Not sure what's going to happen here. Teams will make their picks but won't be able to sign them until a deal is done. With this in mind, it'll be interesting to see how teams approach their picks. As it looks right now, a ruling may not happen before the draft.

One thing's for sure, the world of sports is never dull!