Update 2011

Yes, blogging has been slow......nonexistent to be more exact!  But, after a resounding victory on the golf course on Memorial Day, I feel rejuvinated!  Alive!  Excited.....and $2.00 richer!

Based on the first half of 2011, here are some of my views regarding the sporting world:

1. Jim Tressel should have been fired.....and fired long ago by THEEEE Ohio State University. It's not so much that I have a problem with players selling equipment that has been given to them, but it is clearly against the rules. I could care less if they value their Fiesta Bowl rings so little as to sell for a few bucks, but it's against the rules.....and Tressel knew this.   He knew it when he found out. He knew it when he signed the clear to play form required by every coach before a season starts. He knew it when the story first broke. He knew it when he finally had to come clean before news leaked that he knew it.   The NCAA has a problem with rules and enforcement to begin with...they have a big problem when it come to punishing one of the "big" programs...you know the ones who sell tickets and tv ads.
2. We've all seen athletes take the "juice" and when they go off of it their performance drops as well as their bodies start to break down.  Which leads me to ask the following.......Is Tiger's demise the result of weaning off performance enhancement drugs?????     Let's see,  he's no where near the longest hitter on Tour anymore.....some say he's not even as long as he used to be........two years in a row now his body has broken down to injury.    Just asking........
3. Pro Football is a joke.            As you tremble to open your monthly electric bill, keep in mind that millionaires are fighting billionaires and expect you to suffer.                Do they care that the guy selling beers in the stands during games relies on that job to feed his family?   Answer: NO!           I love college football and quite frankly at this point could care less if the NFL plays or not this year!                Oh and by the way,  if you ever want to take your wife, girlfriend, etc. and kids to a game keep saving!   Tickets $125 each, Parking $25, Gas $40, Hotdogs and sodas for 4 $48.......you get the picture!   Oh don't you just feel sorry for the poor guy unable to make his Bentley payment!
4. The Orioles...............................yes, the record is much better than last year, but here's a few of my observations and suggestions:  I like the rotation of Matusz, Guthrie, Britton, and Arieta.  Glad to see Bergensen and Tillman sent down to Norfolk.  They have got to throw strikes! enuff said!............... The current line-up is too full of streaky hitters with low on-base percentages. We need a couple more players who are consistent, not streaky, and get on base!....................Markakis is drinking the Vlad kool-aid!  He is swinging at way too many 1st and 2nd pitches. He has only 4 doubles and 4 HRs to date, with a .250 average!  He is getting paid superstar money and has underperformed for 2 years now.  He has either to be a singles hitter (see Icharo) batting .300 or develop more power.  Yes. his defense is great, but the bat is a killer in the top of the order.                         Brian Roberts is 32 and looking 42. (Still young to me!)  For two years now he has been out due to injury. Without him the O's have no true leadoff hitter. AND, I don't see the organization developing one to take over anytime soon.   We can't keep floundering around with no leadoff evertime Roberts is out.                          Felix Pie needs more at bats.......Can he play 1st?                 Mark Reynolds......good "D"..........must be because of the all the engery he saves from not having to run around the bases!                          How's Josh Bell doing?  Again, is the organization developing a future 3rd baseman?                At this point Reynolds is well on his way to over 200 strikeouts with only maybe 28 HRs.                  Weiters is the best defensive catcher in the American League.  His average is slowly rising. I do wish he would develop just a tad more power.                         Again, the choice to patch work together a bullpen with castoffs has hurt. Gregg is terrible as a closer.....Mike Gonzalez is awful!   Leaving the O's with no lefthanded specialist.   This has been part of their problem for years.....at what point will they get serious about putting together a solid bullpen?
5. There will be a TOTW Golf Tourney.   Finding a suitable date is impossible!

The shake weight

Mike Gonzalez is a p*ssy!

I will see about scheduling a rematch

Kobe Bryant is a P*ssy

Ok my title has nothing to do with what i want to talk about i just felt it needed to be said. Since the blog seems to be dead and the commish has become a facebook stalker(not my words). I would like to officially ask for a rematch against team FIGJAM. Dont know if everyone will be in that was in the original but im sure we can get enough.

The long awaited "Franks preview of the Orioles"

Good day fellow bloggers,

I know the action has been hot and heavy so far this year on the blog so I figured at the request of some of my fellow bloggers, I would give you my list of Franks 10 bold predictions for the upcoming season.

Let me first start out by saying that I think Dandy Andy has done a pretty tgood job of assembling what has pretty good chance of being a competitive team this year. The additions of guys like Vlad, Lee, and Reynolds adds depth to the lineup as well as some potential pop. The additions also should help players like Jones, Wieters, and Markakis take a step foward this year.

The biggest key to whether or not this team will be competitive or not lies not in the lineup, but the pitching. Will the starters pitch like they did at the beginning of the year or like they did when Buck took over. I would settle for somewhere in between. Also, will the bullpen hold up. Can Koji withstand the heat of summer and stay healthy? Can Berken, Johnson, and Gonzalez put the arm troubles they had last year behind them? Will Gregg be able to close games?

So with all that said, I now presnt to you Frank's 10 bold predictions:

1. Brian Matusz and Jeremy Guthrie will combine to make more starts than Brian Roberts

2. The Orioles, disppointed with Lee's production at first, make a deadline trade with the Pirates for Garret Atkins, Frank's breakout pick from last year.

3. For the first time in a loing time, the Orioles will have two players in their lineup with 30+ bombs on the year, Vlad and Reynolds

4. Scott, Jones hit 25 HR's a piece, and Kakes and Wieters both break the 20 HR barrier with solo shots in the last game of the year

5. Britton makes his major league debut May 25 against the Royals and and holds them to 0 runs and 4 hits thru 8 but Gregg come on in the 9th and gives up a 2-run homer to Billy Butler and the O's lose 2-1.

6. Brain Matusz comes very close to winning 20 games, he carries a 3-2 lead in the 9th against the Red Sox in his last start but Gregg blows the save in the 9th and the O's lose and down goes Matusz's chances of winning 20

7. Jeremy Guthrie does not finish the year in an Orioles uniform, he gets traded to the Cardinals at the deadline

8. After Britton gets called up in May, he wins 12 games, second most to Matusz

9. Jake Fox leads the league in pinch hit HR's with 8 on the year, 3 of them are walk offs

10. The O's will finish the year with a record of 80-82 after Kevin Gregg blows his league leading 10th save to the Red Sox, who actually need the win to clinch a spot in the playoffs

Wells folks, there you have it, Franks bold predictions guaranteed to go wrong.

Favre: Rise - "What should I do?"