Playoffs

Well boys and girls, err, taken from Tony on Pardon the Interuption. Looks like the fat lady is starting to clear her vocal cords. I really believe that both league's will go seven games. But I don't think the Phillies or the Giants can handle either the Yankees or the Rangers. The Yankees lost their first baseman, but he wasn't hitting anyway. He 0 for a lot. But what will hurt the Yankees is his glove.UC157 Larry

Tampa Bay Rays-2010

Oops, the fat lady has finished her song. Now all this writer can do is hope that the Texas Rangers open up a big and I mean big can of whip ass. uc157Larry

The Rays

Good morning. There has been a lot of comments on the sports radio shows concerning what is wrong with the Rays.Some good points one being the hitting coach. Seems to me he is not doing his job. They are taking too many pitches. The first pitch from the Texas pitchers have been in the strike zone. They know that the Rays are taking the first pitch, might as well throw it in the zone. They are going to take it anyway. They have scored 800 runs but most of them were before they started looking for walks. When you are behind 0-1 or 0-2 than the opposing pitcher can play around with you and let you swing at crap in the dirt or way out of the zone, they you have to protect the plate. That being said, I will still pull for them, but I am sorry, just as my Dodgers were in the habit of saying every time the dreaded Yankees would beat them in the World Series, "Wait till next year", but I am afraid that next year for the Rays will be long time cominig. They are going to lose Carl Crawford and their set up guy for Soranio. Have a nice day.UC157Larry

Tampa Bay Rays

I have been thinking about what you say about the Rays. How can a team that has won 96 games look so bad. The first game of the playoffs against Texas, Maddon had the favorite Rocco playing. What??? Played it 10 games all year. He is a great guy however, great personalities don't win playoff games. What about James Shields as the game two starter, he has not had a good season, let alone a good second half. Yeah Garza should have started the second game. But even if he had started brings to mind what happened happened to the Dodgers years ago, Don Drysdale was told that Koufax pitched a no hitter, Don said "yeah, did he win?" Why aren't the Rays hitting. Could be they are thinking about what the owner said about cutting the payroll next year. Have a good weekend, ye ole baseball fans.UC157Larry

The Rays

I blame 95% of Monday nites loss on Joe Maddon. He did what he has been doing of late, leaving the starting pitcher in too long. On Monday Wade Davis had 6 strong innnings. He only gave up one run. The Rays bullpen is one of the best in the league. It is a lot easier to get one run than it is to get four. But no he starts Davis in the 7th and when Choate does come in he has two on already, rather than letting him or Quails start with the bases empty. If you have 9 outs to get one to tie you can do different things. Now regarding the number of folks that came to the game, 12,000+. Before the homestand I believe that it was announced that the payroll was going to be cut for 2011. Now that is a great way to get fans to go to the remaining games. Now I think that it is known that I am not a Yankee fan but at least the owner of THAT TEAM puts money into the team so that they have a good 25 players to represent the city.UC157Larry

Tampa Bay Rays

It seems to me that neither the Rays or that other team, the Yankees want to win the Eastern Division of the American League. I am not sure that Maddon wants to win the division. Granted Longo is hurt a little, but I think he should play the guys who are hitting. Navarro is not hitting his hat size. In the game yesterday, Wilson is a dead fastball hitter. Shields was doing very well with his change. Kelly calls a fast ball, bam! game over. Not only that he is a first ball hitter. I blame not in this order, Shields, the catcher and Maddon. Seven games to righten the ship. UC157 Larry

Tampa Bay Rays

I have been a fan of the Rays forever. I have heard manager Joe Maddon say quite a few times that no lead is safe in the American League East. However the last few games that the Rays were getting blown out he pulled some of the starters. I recall in 2008 they were a exciting team as they came from behind a lot. Last night why did he wait so long to come out and get Jeff Nieman. He pitched well for 5 innings. Considering what happened his last start manager Joe should have been watching him closely. Would the outcome have been different. Hard to say, but don't let him get pounded like that. As it could carry over to his next start. The head of a pitcher is a strange bird. There are a lot of pitcher can forget about a bad outting and go on with the next game some can't. I am not a bandwagon type fan, win or lose, they are mine. UC 157 Larry

New kid on the block

Major league debuts are always a good time, and we've had a whole lot of exciting ones this season. Enter, Jeremy Hellickson. The 23-year-old right-hander has been clamoring for a shot at the big leagues all season while posting some rather gaudy numbers at Triple-A Durham. On Monday against the Twins, he got that shot. Hellickson fired seven innings of two-run ball and struck out six batters to earn a win in his first appearance with the Rays. He was optioned back to Durham immediately after the start and will only be recalled as a reliever -- if he's recalled at all -- but keeper league owners got their first taste of what's to come and it sure went down smoothly. Like most of Tampa's youngsters, he will be a major factor in fantasy leagues for a long time to come.

I watched this game, for being only 23 years old he seems to have a lot of poise. The really good part is that he is not afraid to go inside and challenge the big boys. Add this kid to the Rays already great young staff in the years to come they will be tough.UC157Larry

Thriple Crown????

Elite sluggers racing toward Triple Crown

It's been 43 years since a hitter claimed the Triple Crown -- will 2010 be the year to end the drought? With the 81st All-Star Game in the books and the second half under way, four sluggers remain in contention to lead their respective league in batting average, home runs and RBIs. It's no surprise that each plays on a team making a serious playoff push. Amid a monster offensive campaign, first baseman Miguel Cabrera is perhaps the strongest candidate, driving in runs in bunches and batting well above his .313 career mark as the Tigers battle the Twins and White Sox for AL Central supremacy. Left fielder Josh Hamilton's unbelievable June -- during which he compiled a .454 average, nine homers and 31 RBIs -- propelled the Rangers to a sizable lead in the AL West, and little has changed since. Albert Pujols is once again posting MVP-caliber numbers in St. Louis, but he may not even be the best first baseman in his division this year; the Reds' Joey Votto has emerged as an elite player, hitting for both average and power as Cincinnati and the Pujols' Cardinals slug it out down the stretch. UC157Larry

Home Run Derby

last week's action is any indication of how tonight's Home Run Derby is going to go, then the action should be spectacular -- even without the likes of Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Josh Hamilton.

Provided you turn the volume down on the remote, of course.

Why do I say so? A total of 243 homers were hit across the majors last week. The Chicago White Sox hit 16, with Carlos Quentin hitting six. The Blue Jays also hit 16 homers, which should come as no surprise.

Four other players hit five homers last week, including Adam Dunn, Matt Holliday, Buster Posey and Jayson Nix.

As a result, some outrageous totals could be seen across H2H leagues. My team hit a season-high 19 homers (thanks to Dunn and Posey). Senior Editor George Winkler went up against a 29-homer barrage (thanks to Dunn, Holliday and Lance Berkman).

It serves as another reminder that we're not totally re-visiting the "Dead-Ball Era" quite yet. It has always been my belief that home runs and RBIs are the keys to a fantasy championship. Now is the right time to make sure you have enough power reserved for the second half.

As for tonight's derby, I'll take Holliday. As for Tuesday's game I will take the American League winning it in the ninth with David Price the winning pitcher and Evan Longoria the MVP. With the exception of the comments on the All Star Game the rest is from Fantasy Source. UC157 Larry

All Star game fast approaching

Lost in the shuffle of a billion All-Star snub articles, Rays closer Rafael Soriano has quietly put together a fantastic first half this season. Through 32 appearances and 22 save opportunities, the Dominican-born rigthy has a 1.42 ERA, a 0.76 WHIP and 21 successful saves. He's not fanning batters at the ridiculous rate that we saw last year in Atlanta, but 28 strikeouts against 5 walks is not half-bad. Soriano was traded to Tampa Bay this offseason after controversially accepting arbitration from the Braves and has been a lightning bolt at the back end of the second-place Rays' bullpen.

Suspended Carlos Zambrano should take some of the big bucks and enroll in a anger mangement class. Or better yet look for a different line of work. I hope that your favorite teams have done well the first half of the baseball season. Strange game has been on TV, everyone kicking a white ball around, some games going for 90 minutes without a score. I have been told golf is boring. Take care out there. UC157Larry

Rays problems

On the front page of AOL this morning it showed B.J. Upton being held back when he was confronted by Evan Longoria. This was regarding his trotting to get the ball hit in the gap in the Sundays game against the Diamondbacks. This writer thinks it is about time that one of the players put him in his place. It isn't the first time that he has loafed. There have been numerous times that he may have beat out a grounder hit it the infield. Granted he makes some nice catchs in centerfield. But only because he plays so shawllow. He is not hitting his hat size. For you old time Yankee fans, does anyone remember Billy Martin. It would have been shame on Upton. I think it is about time for Joe Maddon to realize that changing the lineup every day is not getting it done. I don't think Jackson would have gotton that no-hitter if Crawford had of been in the line-up. Yeah yeah I know he was in the lineup when that guy from Oakland, Dallas something or other. What a strange name for a man, much less a baseball player. Ha, ha I am outta of here. UC157 Larry

The Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays socked it to the San Diego Padres 5-3 Thursday afternoon with a cadre of players who earned their stripes – and a manager who found a most creative way to fire up his team in getting the boot.

Prior to the game, skipper Joe Maddon and five of his starting players donned ’70s-style striped stirrup socks of navy, light blue and white ordered by equipment manager Chris “Westy” Westmoreland – anything to change their recent run of misfortune and six losses in the previous seven games. I can recall wearing this type of leggings. Except mine were cut higher on the back of the heel. Does anyone remember the big long white socks that went on before the outer socks with the strips. If this catches on with the Rays maybe it will have the same effect that the mohawk had when it seemed to put them on a roll. However nothing can replace the Dodger Blue. Now if my Dodgers could now put a whippin on the ole pin stripsUc157 Larry

How about this for a "tip"

(June 16) -- Taxi driver Don Pratt said he took it with "a pinch of salt" when a longtime customer said she would "look after" him in her will. But the salt took on a very sweet taste when he learned she meant exactly what she said -- to the tune of $370,000.

Pratt, 65, spent 20 years taking Mary Watson on countless shopping trips around her home in Cornwall, England, and she had always been a good tipper.

But he said he couldn't believe it when a call from Watson's lawyer confirmed she had left him the biggest tip possible: her entire estate, including her house and her savings.

"She was a very nice lady, always very generous. We would always have a good chat while I ferried her around," Pratt said, the British media reported today.

And although she had told him, "When I pass on I'll look after you," Pratt said he had "no idea she was going to leave me a fortune."

Watson, who died this year at age 86, moved into a home for the elderly a few years ago in Northampton, in the English Midlands.

The two "lost contact completely," Pratt was quoted as saying in London's Daily Mail, but Watson stayed true to her word.

Pratt, a cab driver for 30 years and a father of four, said the money will enable him to retire, but he won't stop driving.

"We want to go around England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland -- to start with, anyway."

Pratt said he was not sure how Watson's family felt about the will, but a spokeswoman for the care home in Northampton said, "She didn't have any close family to speak of," and that "there was a whole side to her life we didn't know about."

She added: "It's a very generous thing to do and he obviously had a great impact on her life. He must have been a very good driver."

Good, and now able to take as many cab rides as he might like.

Oh my!!!

Today is the first time in 51 days that the Tampa Bay Rays have not had sole possion of first place in the Eastern division of the American League. Also the Celtic's have taken a commanding lead in the NBA Finals. They are going back to Los Angeles for game's 6 and 7. No folks it is not a typo, I said 6 and 7. In closing this is the first time that my Los Angeles Dodgers have been swept by the Angels at Dodger Stadium. I do believe that is a long time. Also does anyone care to respond on the crappy umpiring that has been going on in the MLB. Jim Joyce at least admintted he made a mistake. UC157 Larry

Only in LA

This writer has probably been in this parking lot if it is near the bars in Santa Monica, CA. When I was young that is.
Most drivers have experienced the downer that is discovering a parking ticket on their windshields.

But a quick burst of four parking tickets? You'll have to ask KTLA reporter Gayle Anderson how that feels.

Anderson was doing a segment on the best cars for summer road trips from a Santa Monica parking lot. The cars were lined up, and, according the folks who work at the lot, the television station hadn't paid for the spaces like they said they would.

So they called in the Santa Monica Police Department, which ticketed the cars, one by one, as the live TV cameras continued to roll.

Bemoaning this heavy-handed treatment, a KTLA station official told Asylum that the news team had "done this type of shot at that parking lot before and always settled up before they left."

He added that the station would have had no problem paying the parking fees -- or the parking tickets -- but was baffled as to why the parking attendant decided to call the cops, and then the police decided to issue the tickets on live television. UC Larry

Fun Time

Hi folks. Just a little information about the sporting news of Tampa Bay. My Rays, yes my Rays have a 4 game lead in the Eastern division. Over that other team, the New York Yankees My Dodgers got there steak stopped at 9 last night. The Rays hitting attack had been slowed down but seem to have come out of their drought, even thought they have been winning. Pitching and defense. But unless you have been under a rock they whipped up on the Yankees last night 10-6. That was surprising considering that they played at the new Stadium in New York. I have to admit it is a very nice place to play. But for over a billion it should be. Oh yeah the Los Angeles Lakers are up 2-0 in the Western conference finals. Stodimire of the Suns maybe shouldn't have run his mouth so much in calling them "lucky". Who was that who being lucky is just as good as being good. I can't think of anyone who would care but my co-writers team, the Boston Celtics are up 2-0 in the Eastern conference finals. Have a fun day and be careful out there.

Sports update

Low and behold the Dodgers have won 7 in a row and the Rays have retained the best record in baseball (26-11) to go along with the best road record. To the tune of 15-4. Granted the Yankees are only 2 game behind at 24-13 but they suck on the road at 12-10. I was swiching between the Rays game and the Yankees game. When the lights out Revera came in with a 3-1 lead he walked in a run in the 9th. Can you believe the first time this has happened since 2005. No boys and girls that is not a misprint, since 2005. That has to be a record. But than again this is his 16th year. Right along with Jeter and Posada. Andy Pettite was with them but he did like so many do with where the money was with Houston. But Andy came back to the Yankees where the powerhourse is. The Rays haven't been hitting of late, however, they are winning with pitching and defense. Seems like if one guy doesn't have a big hit than someone else will. The only sad part of the weekend was that the Celtics held on for a win Sunday. Nite.

GTMI (get the man in)

This taken from the Rays web site.

ANAHEIM -- Baseball number crunchers have to be scratching their heads these days when examining Rays hitters.

On the one hand, the Rays entered Thursday leading the Major Leagues with a .310 average with runners in scoring position. On the other, they ranked 19th in the Major Leagues in hitting at .253. What gives?

"We seem to be clutch hitting, getting hits when we need them," Carl Crawford said. "When times come up where we have runners in scoring position, we find a way to get it done. Remember how the hitting was in '08? It was all about timely hitting."

In 2008, the Rays never seemed to strand a runner, even though few, if any, players on the team had career seasons. In contrast, several Tampa Bay players experienced career seasons in '09 and the club set a franchise record by scoring 803 runs. So the team didn't have any trouble scoring runs, it just had difficulty bringing the runs home when it mattered most.

"I think [what we are doing this season is] unusual a little bit," Ben Zobrist said. "If you look at our individual stats, a lot of guys were having better years last year at this point. So you look at the ability to be able to score some runs, a lot of that has to do with guys just stepping up.

"A guy like John Jaso for example, coming in here and getting as many hits as he has, as many RBIs as he has very quickly -- that's boosted our offense. And you've always got [Evan Longoria], who comes through in the clutch. I think you need to have the right mindset with guys in scoring position. And that was a decided thing during Spring Training that we were working on."

Zobrist pointed to another facet of this year's team: the selfless style of play.

"I think overall the hitting has really concentrated on doing whatever you need to do to get the run in," Zobrist said. "If you have to give yourself up a little bit, we're willing to do that as a team right now. I don't know necessarily if we did that as much last year."

The Rays wear T-shirts around the clubhouse with the initials "GTMI" written across the front. The meaning is simple, but hardly easy: Get the man in.

The Rays have embraced the concept. And even though several hitters are struggling, they still manage to get the hits when needed. Even Pat Burrell, whose entire tenure with Tampa Bay can be judged a struggle, has come through with two of the team's biggest hits this season, with homers against the Red Sox and A's that gave the Rays the lead.

"We have done a great job with runners in scoring position," manager Joe Maddon said. "That was a major emphasis during Spring Training. Some of the guys just have not hit to their level yet. And the only thing I can really think about that is we've been playing in a lot of cold weather, and that has a lot to do from a hitter's perspective offensively.

"I think as it warms up, you're going to start seeing some of our guys start swinging the bat better in regards to actual batting-average numbers. But I'm more concerned with working good at-bats, seeing pitches, maintaining our slugging percentage, our OPS ... and that's why we've been so successful to this point."

Prior to the start of every series, the Rays conduct what could best be described as a reminder session.

"We throw out the little mantras we created during Spring Training to make sure that all these little things we're trying to emphasize are being kept up on," Maddon said. "[Hitting coach Derek Shelton will] talk about that, and we'll talk about our baserunning issues and different things like that. So that's always addressed prior to the first game of the series."

Count Carlos Pena among those struggling to get into a groove this season, but he isn't panicking and he believes there's a reason why the Rays have become good in the clutch.

"It goes back to that maturity thing," Pena said. "Like [Monday night's 5-4 loss]. We were getting pitched well, we were hitting balls right at people and things weren't going our way. All the way until that last out, we thought we had a chance to win that ballgame."

Even though the Rays lost the game in extra innings, they mounted a successful three-run comeback in the ninth inning to tie the game.

"We kept plugging away and look what happened," Pena said. "And it happened against their closer. That's what we expected to happen. So we weren't surprised. It was like finally we've got it.

"I think all of that goes hand in hand with maturity. When we see a situation, we try to capitalize. We relax and focus on the task at hand to get it done. So it goes back to that maturity level. We're more mature than we were in the past. We try to seize the moment. It goes back to this team growing."

With so many at-bats during the season, the question regarding whether hitters could actually treat one at-bat more importantly than another seemed to hold some significance. Zobrist managed to differentiate between hitting with runners in scoring position and otherwise.

"I think the way you treat it is just with a little more focus [when runners are in scoring position]," Zobrist said. "And the pitcher does, too, because he's trying to bear down.

"If you have a man on third, you want to get it out there to the outfield where he can't throw him out on a sac fly. In that kind of situation, it's more you pull back on your own approach a little bit to get the runner in. Getting the runner in is the most important thing in that situation."

And when nobody's on base?

"It's kind of just between you and the pitcher, where you're battling to drive the ball somewhere," Zobrist said. "Get the ball to the gap, whatever."

Crawford said the Rays seem to focus better in important situations.

"So maybe we need to bring that kind of focus to the other [at-bats]," Crawford said. "Do something like that. Maybe we'll be better off."

Shelton didn't seem too caught up in the odd numbers put up by his hitters, because he is not a big believer in the statistic of batting average.

"I can honestly say statistically, batting average is probably one of the least important stats I look at," Shelton said. "I'm looking at getting on base -- if we're having good at-bats, if we're doing a good job with runners in scoring position. I'm looking at those things.

"I don't place a large emphasis on what the actual batting average on the club is. I honestly think it's kind of an old-school stat. If we're making pitchers work and we're drawing walks and we're getting runners on base -- we're getting runners in -- I think that's what I look at."

However, Shelton does believe in the concept of clutch hitting.

"I think guys can have better at-bats, yes, and I think it's a focus," Shelton said. "And I think it's why you have to talk about it and make it a focus, where they realize that those at-bats are extremely important. And the outcome of those at-bats affect whether you win or lose games."

No matter how the Rays' hitting numbers are interpreted at this juncture, there is one thing everybody can agree on, and that is their reflection on winning.

This girl could be special

PLANT CITY, Fla. -- As an organ donor, pitching great Joe Niekro left his eyes behind so another man could see. He left his liver, kidneys and heart so three others could live today.

He left a unique and special gift -- his famed knuckleball -- to a precocious little girl who could be on the verge of inspiring a whole new generation of baseball players.

Chelsea Baker, only 12, has learned to make that pitch dance, to magically make it move like a butterfly on its way to home plate, baffling and befuddling young hitters. Like Joe taught her, shortly before his death in 2006 (the two are seen in the photo above).

"Joe would be so proud, so really proud,'' said Debbie Niekro, Joe's widow who has watched Chelsea pitch several times. "He really liked Chelsea. He loved the way she listened, and learned at that age. He knew she was going to be something special.''



Share Niekro was 61 when he died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. At the time, he was helping coach a Little League team on which Chelsea and his own son played in his adopted hometown of Plant City.

Chelsea was 8 when he died, too young to quite understand how final death would be, but old enough to understand the gift that Niekro had left her. It gave her a passion for the game, and specifically for the pitch.

"I bugged him to teach me because I never could hit that knuckleball when he would throw it to me in batting practice. He always said it was a secret, but he finally taught me, and we worked on it a lot,'' Chelsea told FanHouse last week after a game. "I love throwing it. My catcher says it's so nasty.''

And the batters can't touch it. Although there are many young girls peppered across America now playing Little League Baseball with the boys, there are only a few who can dominate as Chelsea does.

She has thrown two perfect games within the past year, including one in an All-Star Game. She is unbeaten this season in nine starts, throwing 54 innings and striking out 103 batters while allowing only four runs. She also is hitting .569, playing third base when she doesn't pitch.

"When she first came to me for instruction, I was thinking 'OK, here is a girl I can help,'' said Keith Maxwell, a hitting instructor who played 12 years of professional baseball, including five with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. "But after two weeks with her, I was like 'wow.' She has an incredible pop in her bat. She isn't just a pitcher. I thought, 'This is probably going to be the first girl to play Major League Baseball.' And I don't say that lightly.''

She already is being recruited to play for the Sparks, a girls baseball team based in the Northeast that tours nationally playing against the best boys teams in the country.

Chelsea, average size for a 12-year-old girl, is unusually athletic with a powerful arm and a fastball that comes close to 70 mph. Yet it's Niekro's knuckleball, and the passion he sparked, that makes her so special.

It's why in the fall, when her sixth-grade history assignment was to do a project on "Someone Who Changed The World,'' she selected Joe Niekro as her topic. She already had all his old baseball cards. She had several pictures of her and him on the baseball field together.

"I got an A on the project. The teacher told us it had to be about someone you felt strongly about,'' she said. "And I knew how famous Coach Joe was. I miss him. I remember before every game I pitched, I had to give him a kiss on the cheek before he'd give me the ball.''

Niekro pitched 22 seasons in the major leagues for seven different teams. He won 221 games. He and his brother Phil Niekro combined for 539 wins, the most of any brother tandem in history. Chelsea knows all those numbers now.

She is the one who wrote the moving passage that was used as part of Niekro's obituary tribute. It brought friends and family members to tears.

"Coach Joe taught me so much in the few short years I new (sic) him. He taught me how to have pride in myself, and to be humble. Most of all, he taught me to throw his famous knuckle ball. . . . . I miss seeing him . . . . . . and his happy face at the ballpark. I will always remember and love you. – CHELSEA BAKER.''

It was also Chelsea who came to the funeral viewing services and left a baseball in Niekro's open casket. And it wasn't just any baseball, either. It was a scuffed baseball, with four tiny and barely visible fingernail marks along the seams, exactly where he taught her to grip it.

"He taught me how to hold it like this,'' she demonstrated last week. "I usually wait until I have two strikes. They can't hit it. He told me that's how it would be.''

She is merely a seventh-grader, but watching her pitch or watching her play, or hearing her speak about Niekro, she seems much older. For all her accomplishments -- she will make her sixth consecutive All-Star team in Plant City -- she is surprisingly humble.

Some of her teachers at Turkey Creek Middle School don't even know she plays baseball. Most of the boys do, because they've been playing against her for several years, accepting her as one of the best. It's when she travels, as the only girl in her league, that occasionally she hears remarks about her being a girl. Mostly it's from the grandstands, from other parents.

"I still hear parents from other teams say, 'When is she going to start playing softball?' '' said stepfather Rod Mason, who helps coach her team now. "And it kind of ticks me off. So I usually just say, 'When she stops striking out your little Johnny.' ''

Mason and wife Missy have followed Chelsea's baseball from the start. She started with baseball because that's what Mason's sons played. And she just happened to be so good at it.

"I've had other parents tell me now that they couldn't get their girls to practice until they saw Chelsea play,'' Mason said. "I think her success will help other girls. She's just so unbelievably focused. I never ask her to practice. But she always comes to me.''

Home-plate umpires often come to Steve Gude, manager of her team now, and apologize for missing calls when Chelsea pitches. Her knuckleball often darts out and back into the strike zone when she keeps it low -- like Coach Joe taught her.

Joe never taught her this trick, but it's one she can do if you ask. She can stand out in center field -- and her arm is so strong -- she can throw a knuckleball all the way to home plate, giggling as it flutters through the air.

"Joe was really good to her,'' Mason said. "He went out of his way to help her. He was such a giving guy with all the kids, always willing to help. But I think he knew Chelsea was kind of special."

Rays new hitting coach

This was taken from the St.Pete Times. Strange but the "Animal" named Steve from WDAE 620 was talking about this just yesterday on his show. Situational hitting hs been stressed since high school. Anyway Rays fans here it is.Derek Shelton figures this is a good situation.


Shelton was announced Wednesday as the Rays' hitting coach and already has plans to address one of their primary shortcomings: lack of success in situational hitting.

"It's important, and it's something that's going to be stressed from Day 1 in spring training," Shelton said. "The big thing we're going to try to talk about and be consistent with is making sure our approach stays consistent.''

Among the concepts he'll stress: pitch selection, making more use of the middle of the field, and "team offense."

Shelton, 39, spent the past five seasons as the Indians' hitting coach then was let go along with manager Eric Wedge and the rest of the staff.

A former minor-league coach with the Indians and Yankees, he has lived in Wesley Chapel the past 15 years and is excited about joining the Rays, where he'll replace Steve Henderson.

Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman praised Shelton's attention to detail and communication skills and called him "one of the better minds in baseball when it comes to hitting." Manager Joe Maddon said he and Shelton have similar philosophies and hiring him was "an easy decision."

They needed him tonight

Basketball College Careers of Greatest NBA Players of All Time: Jerry West Jerry West was born in West Virginia in 1938. In his high school years, he would dominate his opponents as he would throughout his career. In his senior year of high school he was named an All-American after becoming the first high school player in West Virginia to ever score 900 points in a single season. Staying close to home, West would become a West Virginia University Mountaineer. As a sophomore, West would start all 28 games, shoot near 50% for the season from the field, and average a double-double. As impressive as his sophomore campaign was, as a junior, things only got better. He would improve to 26.6 points per game, 12.3 rebounds per game, and 51.8% shooting percentage. West would obtain two impressive college highs during this season, blazing for 44 points versus Tennessee and 31 rebounds versus George Washington University. In his final collegiate season, amazingly the improvements continued. West averaged 29.3 points and 16.5 rebounds per game. He was an all-American selection and Southern Conference tournament in every season he played for West Virginia. He managed a trip to the NCAA tournament finals once, where the Mountaineers lost. West’s individual efforts throughout college would lead him to becoming the second overall pick in the 1960 NBA entry draft. As a Los Angeles Laker, West’s seemingly unlimited potential would turn him into a legend around the league and a staple of the franchise for decades to come.

Woman calls 911 on police...from jail

This is something new, after being arrested for refusing to pay her cab fare she then calls 911.

This dame is from a different world, other wise known as not from the blue planet, she tells the 911 dispatchers I am trapped in a detention facility, and got a charge of making a false 911 report, this on top of not paying her cab fare which got her
theft of labor or services, criminal trespass to land and disorderly conduct.

I am not sure about the other charges as we have seen here, you nearly have to kill a cab driver to get more then just probation, this 911 thingy may just stick, story from UPI below.


NAPERVILLE, Ill., March 23 (UPI) -- Police in Illinois said a woman arrested after an altercation with a taxi driver called 911 from jail to say she was "trapped" in the facility.

Cmdr. Mike Anders of the Naperville police said Carly Houston, 29, of Chicago, was arrested early Sunday morning after her taxi driver asked her for specific directions to her intended destination and she allegedly "yelled, screamed, cursed and extended (both) middle fingers at the cab driver and threatened bodily harm" against him, the Naperville (Ill.) Sun reported Tuesday.

The driver pulled over at a BP gas station, where witnesses were "alarmed and disturbed" by the passenger's behavior, Anders said.

Houston was arrested after police arrived and she refused to pay the taxi fare.

However, Anders said Houston incurred further charges at the police station when she used an allowed phone call to dial 911 and report she was "trapped inside the detention facility."

She was charged with misdemeanor charges of making a false 911 report, theft of labor or services, criminal trespass to land and disorderly conduct.

The year of the upset at the big dance

This has been a very unusual year for the NCAA Tournament, its been one upset after the other.

In the East regional number 12 Cornell beating number 5 Temple and then number 4 Wisconsin before getting trampled by Kentucky. Number 11 Washington beat number 6 Marquette and New Mexico then beaten by Eastern Regional winner West Virginia.

Number 7 Clemson was another 1st round upset victim losing to Missouri, who
turned around and gave West Virginia a tough game before fading late 69-59.

The East seemed to calm down until last night when the number 1 seed
Kentucky lost to West Virginia 73-66. In a game that the Wildcats
made several runs but poor 3 point shooting through out the game
and lack of clutch foul shooting sealed the deal for Kentucky.

The Midwest region had its upsets and has the 2 lowest ranked teams in the
Great 8 Michigan State and Tennessee, its biggest upset was of number 1 Kansas
by number 9 Northern Iowa in the second round.

The first two rounds where friendly to the favorites in the West, with only
number 13 Murry State winning a squeaker over number 4Vanderbilt 66-65,
the second rounds only upset was Xavier over Pit 89-66.

It was in the Sweet Sixteen when things changed, the number 5 Butler Bulldogs
beat the number 1 seed in the West, Syracuse 63-59 and followed that up
with beating the number 2 seed Kansas State 63-56, and have made it to
the final four.

The South has had only 3 upsets throughout, number 11 Old Dominion in a
close one over Notre Dame 51-50 and the 2 upsets by every one's favorite of the
tournament St Mary's.

St Mary turned the table's on Gonzaga in there conference tourney after getting
beat twice in the regular season, they then faced number 7 Richmond in the
first round of the big dance, the number 10 St Mary's surprised the South's
number 2 seed Villanova.

Today we have four more teams trying to punch there ticket to Indy, the first
game is 5 Michigan v 6 Tennessee and 1 Duke v 3 Baylor.

Buckle your seat belt it should be one heck of a ride, through next weekend.

Words from Charlie Daniels, country western star

He may proudly sing patriotic songs, including 'This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag' and 'My Beautiful America,' but now Charlie Daniels says he's angry and disappointed by leadership in his home country. Speaking out against the recent health-care reform bill, Charlie says America is on a fast downward spiral.

"We no longer have a representative government; we essentially have a dictatorship that is willing to force their will on us regardless of what we want," he says in a March 22 post on his website's "Soapbox and Message Board" titled 'Black Monday.' "This is the most despicable act ever perpetrated on the American public by the most dishonorable congress we've ever had."

But most of the blame, the musician continues, falls on the Commander-in-Chief. "[President] Obama claims this program will actually cut the budget, but anybody with a brain in their heads knows that it will not only not cut the budget, but will cost trillions of dollars that we just don't have, adding catastrophic amounts to the national debt."

He continues, "I have always had unfailing faith in the American ability to persevere, to bounce back and overcome almost anything, but people, this health care bill will change America into something that will resemble a police state."

He then closes the post by issuing a bleak preview of where he believes the country is heading. "America is on it's way to becoming the largest banana republic on earth," he warns. "Pray for our troops, and for our country."

The Grand Ole Opry member, who recently returned to stage after recovering from a mild stroke he suffered earlier this year, is already back on the road with his band. (He also hints that skydiving may be in his future!)

Hot off the press a teen punch's a cab driver and rob's him of $78

Yeah what else in news another teen punch's a cab driver and rob's him of $78, this happend in a fairly affluent town of Somerset, NJ.

More then likely he was bored out of his head and needed something to do, so he goes off to a nearby motel where he calls a cab, and as they say the rest is history.

I think we all know whats next, a trip to the courthouse with a high priced mouthpiece and the judge says probation, big surprise, and on a on we go, again.

So where does it stop, I am not the violent type but there should be a pay back of some kind, and I am not talking cash here which would come from Mommy and Daddy.

The story is from NJ's Star Ledger, enjoy.

Somerset teen is accused of punching, stealing $78 from cab driver
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — A Somerset County teenager allegedly punched a cab driver and swiped $78 from him during an early morning attack Monday, according to court papers.

Timothy Lewis, 18, of Arden Street in Franklin Township, was charged with second-degree robbery, according to court papers. Bail was set at $75,000.

The incident occurred at 2:09 a.m., and the driver did not require medical attention, said Capt. Jack Bennett, a spokesman for the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

The victim told police that Lewis reached over the front seat and punched him in the face, causing his nose to bleed, according to the affidavit Franklin police Detective Brian Stillwell filed in Superior Court in Somerville.

Uniform patrol officers arrested Lewis after they identified him through known associates, Stillwell wrote. Lewis allegedly told police that he had someone else call Amigo Taxi for a driver to pick him up at the Quality Inn on Easton Avenue, and the driver took him to Phillips Road, where he ultimately reached over and took the money, the affidavit says.
Authorities found the money at Lewis’ residence, court papers say.

The diva gets away with it, again

Miodrag Mejdina the New York City taxi driver assaulted by top supermodel Naomi Campbell, , has said he wont press charges after his run in the with feisty fashion diva.

I wonder how much it cost for him to drop the charges, and yeah I get it he has to pay his bills, but the diva gets away again.

I mean it was not like she just slapped him, she hit him hard enough to cause his head to hit the steering wheel.

And its not like its her first offence, if you read my post of 2 days ago you know she has a violent history.

It seems the super model wants to put this behind her let me translate, hey it over with so lets just forget about it, after all he was only a cab driver and I am a super model.

I think this quote she gave to the Times of India just 13 hours ago says it all, "I've worked very hard on correcting my previous wrongdoings and I won't be held hostage by my past behaviour. I always try to treat people with respect, she added", sounds like a new spin on an old line of shit.

It's like the old line given by jock's or celebrity's who get caught doing something wrong and the universal line is "I want to put all this behind me", what about the people you have hurt or worse.

I have written about jock's and celebrity's violence against cab drivers on this blog, and its always the same sorry tale, at worst they get a slap on the wrist, and then they give the big press conference where they are so sorry and want to put this behind them.

Take it easy out there and stay safe!

Could hard times be hitting Santa and Mrs Claus?

This story comes from Fairbanks, Alaska where the police have arested a woman from the North Pole for stealing TV's for the second time, and using taxi's as her get away car.

She was last arrested in December, I wonder what holiday is in December, am I the only person with a grin from ear to ear?

The story below is from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Police said a North Pole woman accused in December of stealing televisions and hiring a cabbie as her getaway driver is now accused of trying it again.

The Fairbanks Dail News-Miner reported that a 27-year-old woman was charged with second-degree felony robbery and misdemeanor theft in the Friday incident, which occurred just one week after she posted bail in the similar case last year.

The newspaper said the woman was arrested Friday after police were called to a Fred Meyer store on a report of a woman walking out without paying for a TV and trying to leave in a cab.

Court records said the woman was arrested late last year for going into a Sam's Club on two occasions and allegedly stealing $6,000 worth of televisions, then loading them into a taxi.

More crap done to cab drivers, part 2

Hi Everyone, yeah its been a while since my last post.

Between cab drivers getting robed, beat up and worse, plus the fact finding any funny or positive news story's about cab drivers is next to impossible I just gave up.

I don't know if this is a one time thing, if I can find something on a regular basis but here goes

This is a story about a model named Naomi Campbell, miss Campbell seems to have a problem keeping her hands or what ever is handy from hitting people.

The latest is a NYC cab driver, this despite recently going through an anger management class, I guess it has worked as well as probation has with this Deva.

The news article does not say what started the fight, maybe the drivers outfit matched hers or he had the same color cell phone,but she started beat down on the driver from the back seat, then bailed when the driver pulled to the curb and called 911.

Police are now looking to interview Campbell, I wish them good luck I hope they wear a helmet.

The British runway diva has a violent streak that dates back to at least the late 90s. In 2000, she pleaded guilty in a Toronto court to a 1998 assault on Georgina Galanis, her then assistant. Campbell had allegedly assaulted Galanis with a telephone in a hotel room and threatened to throw her out of a moving Peugeot.

In March 2005, Campbell allegedly slapped assistant Amanda Brack and beat her with a BlackBerry.

Also that year, Italian actress Yvonne Sciò claimed Campbell left her “covered in blood” after an altercation at a Rome hotel, allegedly because Sciò had worn the same dress as Campbell.

In March 2006 in New York City, Campbell was arrested for assaulting another housekeeper with a jewel-encrusted cell phone, resulting in a bloody head that required several stitches.

On October 25 of that year, Campbell was arrested in London on suspicion of assault. Two months later, another former Campbell housekeeper, Gaby Gibson, began a new court case against the model seeking unspecified damages, and accusing her ex-employer of being a “violent super-bigot.”

On January 16, 2007, Campbell pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless assault against her housekeeper Ana Scolavino. She was sentenced to five days community service and ordered to attend two days of an anger management course.

On April 3, 2008, Campbell was arrested inside Heathrow Airport on suspicion of assaulting a police officer after one of her bags had been lost.

Campbell was subsequently banned from flying globally with British Airways by the airline.

She was charged with three counts of assaulting a constable, one count of disorderly conduct likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, and one count of using threatening, abusive words or behavior towards cabin crew.

Campbell pleaded guilty to four of the six charges against her.

It looks like another round of anger management and more probation for the Deva, one more joke heard from!

Paddy's Day

The Chicago River flows green once every year. Credit: Wallula Junction, Flickr
The global urge to "go green" may have reached a fever pitch in the past few years, but it was the push to protect our waterways that gave Chicago one of its best-known traditions.

The Chicago Journeyman Plumbers Local 130 call it the eighth wonder of the world: Dyeing the Chicago River green on the morning of every St. Patrick's Day Parade.

"Plumbers, they can do anything they want to do," jokes Kevin Sherlock, parade coordinator for the plumbers union, which has been putting on one of the world's biggest St. Pat's celebrations for more than fifty years. The Chicago River once flowed into Lake Michigan, the lake that provided drinking water for all of Chicago, Sherlock tells Holidash. Thanks to the plumbers, the river was re-routed more than a century ago to prevent pollution of the water source. These days, the lake flows into the river, keeping the polluted water away from the potable water.

What does that have to do with dyeing the river green for St. Patrick's Day? Well, it was the plumbers who set out to determine exactly how the river was being polluted in the 1960s, a job that heralded the introduction of the first batch of green dye to the 156-mile waterway.

"The plumbers were testing plumbing systems to see if anything was being illegally dumped into the river," Sherlock explains. "They were putting a green dye into the systems of each building." If the dye ended up in the river, they'd know whose system needed an overhaul.

The idea of adding massive amounts of green dye to the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day, however, came from a plumber working on the project, who mentioned it to his co-workers when he stopped off at the offices of Local 130 to pay his dues. What better tribute to the Emerald Isle, after all, than a bit of Irish green in the river? The first time the plumbers tried it, the people of Chicago observed the bright green water flowing by their buildings for three days.

Today it's more like three hours before the green stuff dissipates naturally. The process begins at 10:45 a.m. on Columbus Drive on the morning of the Chicago parade. Men in giant white suits and masks throw an orange powder -- one of three colors, along with white and green, on the Irish flag -- that Sherlock likens to Tang into the river. Boats churn the water to turn it a perfect emerald green, and the current carries the color along the parade route just in time for step off at noon.

The river-dyeing festivities alone attract anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 people -- two-thirds of whom traditionally stick around and join the even bigger crowd at the parade. "You don't need to be Irish to appreciate it!" explains former resident Karen Reilly. "Every time I saw the green water it made me smile."

So what's inside those buckets of "Tang"? Some say it's fluorescent, the same dye used by crime scene investigators to find latent blood stains, but Sherlock won't say.

"It's like the McDonald's Big Mac sauce, it's a secret," he tells Holidash with a laugh. "We can't tell you -- this is very unique to Chicago."

Even when the city of Dublin, Ireland came calling with a request for help in dyeing the storied River Liffey green, the folks at the plumber's union would only agree to assist if it was their crew who did the job -- the same group who has been making the magic happen in Illinois since the 1960s.

So what can Sherlock say about the powder? Don't worry about those white suits and masks -- it's 100 percent safe. After all, a project born of an effort to clean up the rivers would hardly be appropriate if it were toxic.

"As plumbers, we're here to protect the water," Sherlock says. "What's going in there does not harm the fish, does not harm the plant life." It's even been tested by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to ensure there's only fun -- and nothing funky -- about this St. Pat's tradition

Stephen Strasburg

Well, that didn't take long. Hey, be happy we're learning about this now, as opposed to four weeks from now. Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman tipped his hand Tuesday -- and I think certainly helped fantasy baseball owners in the process -- when discussing the April destination for everyone's favorite pitching prospect, Stephen Strasburg.

"Spring training is great, but even as opposed to Double-A or Triple-A pitching, it's just not the same. When everything counts, records count and statistics count, regular season is just a different animal with a guy to go out there with the adrenaline throwing on both sides and the other team is trying to get you."

Got that? It's almost assured the kid with the 100 mph fastball will be starting the 2010 season in the minor leagues. This is hardly a surprise. It's the right move, and I applaud the Nationals when they officially make it. I've been discussing this for a few months, and getting odd stares and angry e-mails in the process, but this is yet another reason rookies are very dangerous and often trip people up in fantasy baseball drafts. See Matt Wieters from last season. You want Wieters now, but how many owners still feel burned by him? I for one took him on one of my fantasy teams. I think he will be up sooner than most folks think. Now if he was owned by a team with a slam dunk picthing staff or a team like, God Forbid the Yankees, than maybe it would be next year or the end of the season. But Washington, come on, give the kid a shot. You fantasy buffs have a great year.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are everything that most small-market teams strive to be. They aren't loaded from top to bottom with billboard-recognizable names, and they boast a core group of young, cheaper players that are putting up enviable numbers.

The pitching staff in Tampa could lead this team back to a playoff run. All five projected starters have the talent to put up win totals in the 'teens and stay below four in the ERA department. If healthy, the new closer in town could shine in his role as the sole ninth-inning hurler.

The batting order is a pleasant mix of power, speed and upside potential that could pressure the upper portion of the division come September and October. With two hitters easily taken among the first 20 picks on fantasy draft day, one being a potential MVP candidate, 2010 looks like it could be a great season for the Rays.

Base season is fast coming

I am quoting from Mike Schmidt, hall of famer. He wrote this in the March issue of the Sporting New. The following is just the tail end of his comments. This concerns one of my favorite baseball players. PETE ROSE "One the surface, it would seem Pete Rose's crime is no worse that that of Mark McGwire's. If baseball can forgive McGwire and ALL of his contemporaries,why not Pete? Gambling on the game vs.cheating in the game--one gets you banned for life, the other makes you famous."

Dodger Blue

Last week, Ned Colletti signed Brian Giles to a Minor League contract. At 39, Giles seeks an opportunity to show what he can do after having an off-year with knee surgery. The Dodgers need more outfield depth than in the recent past.
After Manny Ramirez's offensive decline last year, people realized he was aging. Though Joe Torre blames the 50-game suspension for Ramirez's decline, Ramirez should have improved as the season went on, but the opposite was true. I think being hit on the wrist in the middle of July affected his swing, although the Dodgers deny this. Anyway, Ramirez's offensive performance disappointed most Dodgers fans and made it more difficult for the Dodgers to win their division than it should have been.
Immediately after the season ended, Ramirez reportedly told some teammates that he should be a designated hitter in the American League. His legs were exhausted. The guaranteed $20 million salary proved too much for Ramirez to walk away from. However, Torre has said that he must rest him more days this season.
I can see by July that unless Ramirez turns into the hitter similar to what he was in 2008 when he joined the Dodgers, that he will become a pinch-hitter. Although he doesn't have to hit over .350 to keep his everyday starting outfield job, he needs to hit more than he did in 2009 after his suspension. Everyone knows that the Dodgers didn't obtain Ramirez for his defensive abilities. They wanted a player who could hit for a high batting average and had some power. When Ramirez's offensive production tailed off, he became a defensive liability in left field.
Everyone understands that the Dodgers have a weaker starting rotation than they did in 2009. With a weaker rotation, the Dodgers must have good defense to prevent runs. I think we will see Ramirez being replaced more for defensive purposes than we have in the past.
The Dodgers lost a possible leadoff hitter when they traded Juan Pierre. Although Rafael Furcal will lead off most of the time, the Dodgers need to have a reserve leadoff hitter for when Furcal needs to rest or if he gets injured. If Giles doesn't make the team, the most logical choice for a leadoff hitter for the Dodgers is Russell Martin. Although Martin is coming off of a poor offensive year, his on-base percentage was still decent. I don't want to waste Matt Kemp's power in the leadoff position. Casey Blake is too slow to be a leadoff hitter.
Putting a catcher in the leadoff position would tax his stamina. To me, Martin's offensive problems are caused by playing so many games. He gets tired, but he won't admit it.
Without any doubt, the Dodgers have a shortage of depth in players who can lead off. In the National League, teams who don't have a good leadoff hitter usually don't go to the playoffs. Giles always has had an excellent on-base percentage. Over his 14-year career, Giles has had a .400 on-base percentage, and this is outstanding. Though he hasn't stolen bases during his career, he has been a smart runner. I know he had knee surgery last season, but if the knee has healed properly, he should be a decent runner.
In the recent past, the Dodgers have carried only four outfielders because they wanted to carry more pitchers. To me, it was a risky decision. Over the years, many outfielders have collided and injured themselves seriously. I know the Dodgers thought they had players like Blake who can play in the outfield in an emergency until the team could promote a Minor League outfielder. I hope the Dodgers will carry five outfielders, especially with Ramirez's questionable legs. I know this will diminish the number of pitchers that they can carry, and with their weakened starting rotation, the Dodgers will need more relievers than usual because their starters probably won't go as long in games as the Dodgers need. However, having an extra outfielder could make a big difference.
The acquisition of Reed Johnson will help the Dodgers. Although he isn't the caliber of Pierre, he can play three outfield positions. He is a decent hitter. I think Dodgers fans will see much of Johnson over the 2010 season.
With the growing concern about Ramirez holding up for the entire season, the Dodgers must have two reserve outfielders. I know that Colletti has signed many players to Minor League contracts to develop greater competition during Spring Training and create more depth. Most of these names can be ignored by the common Dodgers fan.
Obtaining Giles could be a huge boost for the Dodgers. None of the people who follow the Dodgers seriously are comfortable with either Jason Repko or Xavier Paul as reserve outfielders. If Giles is healthy, he can provide the Dodgers with an experienced reserve outfielder and leadoff hitter.

a short post

This post is in reference to Tampa Taxi Shots. The writer is complaining how the city police are ruining the city. Why because they are giving out tickets for running traffic lights. Damn don't run the lights. I mentioned this when I commented on his post. My co-author, got T-boned on Hillsboro because someone ran a light. The shit head had no insurance. As United Cab does nothing for us when a thing like this happens shit out of luck. Too bad the guy wasn't stopped before he hit Tom, oh but I forgot too many cops making this a police state. Or that is what the guy who writes Tampa Taxi Shots said. One out of thirty-one men in Florida are in jail. Not sure about that figure. But I wonder how many derserve to be there. I know of one that was there and yes he deserved to be there.

Feel Gutsey

There are men, there are brave men, and then there's an Austrian skydiving expert named Felix Baumgartner, who later this year will take a flight in a stratospheric balloon more than 120,000 feet up and attempt to become the first person to break the sound barrier (approximately 690 mph) in a freefall.On January 22, Baumgartner and several members of the Red Bull Stratos team publicly unveiled for the first time the details of their "Mission to the Edge of Space," for which Baumgartner is the Test Jump Pilot. According to the company, "This is very much a step into the unknown; no freefall -- let alone a supersonic one -- has been successfully completed from the target altitude." The goal is obvious -- get Baumgartner safely back to Earth. But the challenges are innumerable. Keep reading for more details about the incredible mission."The main challenges," says Art Thompson, the team's Technical Project Director, "concern pressure, thermal -- hot and cold temperatures, and acceleration and deceleration through three layers of space." Baumgartner will wear a pressurized suit and helmet along with his parachute and chest pack with data recorders, but even the equipment presents a challenge."It's NOT comfortable being in a pressure suit," says Thompson. "People get antsy wearing it ... we wanted to see if Felix freaked out in the suit, but he was fine."Baumgartner is an accomplished BASE jumper and he's set records before which include a flight across the English Channel with a carbon wing. But he's never done anything like this. When asked if he was nervous, he answered in the affirmative. "Yes, there's fear," says Baumgarter. "But I use fear to my advantage, to keep focused."Joe Kittinger, a retired United States Air Force colonel, is the only person who knows exactly what Baumgartner will feel when he opens the capsule and prepares to jump; he set the record that Baumgartner will attempt to break 50 years ago when he made a parachute jump from 102,800 feet in Aug. 1960, nine years before the Apollo mission. Kittinger will also be the voice from the ground inside Baumgartner's helmet when the Austrian will otherwise be all alone at 23 miles above the Earth. Asked if he hesitated before he made his epic jump, Kittinger responded, "Hell no, I didn't hesitate. I was happy as hell to go back to a friendly place. Space is a hostile environment." Baumgartner will be there soon. The rest of us can watch live images of the incredible mission online, from the comfort of home. Pajamas are optional.
One more thought, I have to believe that Bret Favre will relive the last pass that threw that was picketed off. As Jim Nantz said he had a clear shot for about 15 yards if he ran instead of throwing. Of course I was watching the game. If he wold have ran, it would have been a chip shot for a game winning field, than the other guys prediction would have been mote. The only quarterback who could have made that pass, across his body and across the field would have been John Elway

Rays help Haiti

Brandon, Florida - Baseball after baseball, jersey after jersey, bat after bat. Carlos Pena signed and signed and signed.
Afterall, if he could help generate donations for the Red Cross for those in his neighboring country of Haiti, he'd do whatever he could.
Pena was just getting ready for spring training, working out in his native Dominican Republic when the earthquake hit Haiti. He was on the 4th floor of the gym and felt the tremors and the building sway. It lasted less than a minute. But it was a minute he will never forget.
Now Pena is back in the U.S., trying to help generate donations and giving his own. In addition to signing autographs at Brandon Town Center Tuesday, he has opened his own wallet, donating $15,000 of the Rays Foundation $50,000 gift to disaster relief. While still in the Dominican Republic, Pena and his wife Pamela donated supplies to herd across the border.
The Rays will also donate proceeds from their annual Fanfest on Feb. 20th at Tropicana Field. All of the professional players in this great country of ours should open up their wallet too. I believe that I just read where a well known relief pitcher, ( 9 million / one year ) just signed. Come on pro guys give some of the green. Tax deductagle to boot

Come back player of the year

the beginning there was hope. How much, though, is hard to say. The Bucs had been through this once before, after all, and few among us will ever forget the way that turned out - with Cadillac Williams curled up near the sideline pounding the ground with his fist and saying to no one in particular, "Not again, not again.''
Yes, again. Another knee injury, his second in as many seasons. Neither, of course, was of the minor variety. In both instances, Williams tore his patellar tendon, first the left, then the right. For any athlete, but especially for a running back, that's about as major as it gets.
Worse than torn ACLs, patellar tendon tears have been known to stop careers dead in their tracks. But nothing, it seems, can stop Cadillac's career.
A year removed from what many thought was his second career-ending injury in as many seasons, Cadillac's career is back on track and progressing better than anyone, perhaps even Williams himself, could have imagined.
With only today's game against the Falcons left to play, Williams is guaranteed to finish the season as the Bucs leading rusher.
Certainly no one saw that coming. Williams did, after all, start the season as, at best, the third back in what was supposed to be a two-pronged power running attack featuring Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham.
Fifteen games later, though, Williams has more carries (191), more yards (781) and more touchdowns (four) than Ward and Graham combined.
You could, in fact, make the argument - though you very well may lose it to supporters for tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. - Williams has been the Bucs' most valuable player this year.
One argument you probably can't lose, though, is to suggest Williams is the NFL's comeback player of the year.
No one else's comeback seems to compare to Williams' this year. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's certainly doesn't. He's only coming back from one knee injury, and it wasn't a torn patellar tendon.
Titans quarterback Vince Young might warrant some votes. But Young came back from his knee injury last year after a few weeks and didn't play much thereafter because he just wasn't as good as Kerry Collins.
Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer could certainly challenge Williams for comeback player honors. He blew his elbow out a few games into 2008 and has bounced back to have one of his best seasons ever.
The same, though, can be said for Williams, who actually seems to have come back this year as a slightly better and more versatile player than he was before he was injured.
During his breakout rookie season, for example, Williams touched the ball 310 times and gained 1,259 yards for an average gain of 4.0 yards per touch. He also scored six touchdowns, all on the run.
This year, Williams has touched the ball 216 times and gained 965 yards, for an average gain of 4.5 yards per touch. His seven touchdowns, meanwhile, are a career high and that number includes three as a pass catcher.
Williams hasn't fumbled the ball yet this year either, and that's an improvement as well. Prior to this season Williams had fumbled the ball nine times in his career and lost seven of those fumbles.
So not only has Williams come back from two devastating and potentially career-ending knee injuries, he's come back a better player, one who seems far more adept as a pass catcher and even a leader.
Williams used to be a very soft-spoken man of few words. Now, if he senses that everyone isn't on the same page or someone isn't pulling his weight, he says so, bluntly.
Maybe it's a result of having lost the better part of two years to knee injuries. Maybe it's a result of facing the prospect of never being able to play again. Whatever it is, Williams has changed.
When he came back to the Bucs this year, he came back better, stronger, more mature and more productive than ever before. That's about as complete a comeback as any player will ever have.

GPS

All we hear about these days is the little box on top of the dash board called GPS, some people let it run there life.

I have never liked these things and here is another good reason why.

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a holiday hurry, Jeramie Griffin piled his family into the car and asked his new GPS for the quickest way from his home in the Willamette Valley across the Cascade Range.
It said he could shave 40 minutes off the time of the roundabout route he usually takes to his future in-laws' place.
Following the directions, he and his fiancee headed east on Christmas Eve and into the mountains, turning off a state highway onto local roads and finally getting stuck in the snow.
They had no cell phone service and ran short on formula for their 11-month-old daughter. After taking exploratory hikes, trying to dig out and spending the night in their car, the distraught couple filmed a goodbye video.
Like two other parties of holiday travelers who followed GPS directions smack into Oregon snowbanks, Griffin and family were eventually rescued. But their peril left law enforcement officers and travel advisers perplexed about drivers who occasionally set aside common sense when their GPS systems suggest a shortcut.
"Did everybody just get these for Christmas?" asked Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger, leader of one rescue effort.
In Griffin's case, in fact, the GPS device was a Christmas gift, from his parents. He used it for the first time to plan the trip to Central Oregon.
It's one he'd made many times before, following a route travelers have found reliable since at least the days of the Oregon Trail. But, he said, a shortcut the GPS device suggested was attractive.
"We were in such a hurry to get over there, we programmed it in the driveway and went ahead," he said.
In hindsight, he said, he should have double checked the route against a paper map — and packed extra formula for the baby. "We would be better prepared for the unknown," he said.
The AAA and the National Association for Search and Rescue say they don't sense a surge in trips that go amiss because of a blind reliance on GPS directions, but they hear about them from time to time.
"It's usually about every other month," said Christie Hyde of the national travel association AAA. It's a small number compared with the millions of GPS units in service, she said.
She's heard, she said, of one driver who made a right turn as directed and had to be towed off railroad tracks, and another party led near the edge of a cliff. I am a firm believer in the good ole fashion map and use your brain should handle it.