New Music for the Afternoon Show

So, one of the jobs that I have as afternoon show producer is to come up with the bump music to get in and out of the different segments....admittedly, I relied mostly on music beds that we came up with for "The Late Crew" when we were still doing the late show on the Team, but I made it a point of making plenty of different music beds for the show coming this season....

It's hard to imagine that the summer has gone by so fast, but Lloydie and Yorkie are back starting the day after Labour Day....and of course, I procrastinated so terribly (as I do basically every summer), so I just started coming up with some of these beds with only a week to go before we're back on again....

Anyways, I wanted to give you guys a little preview of some of the music that I'm coming up with for the show....tell me what you think and give me your suggestions at afternoons@team1200.com

NFL Preseason: One of My Biggest Pet Peeves

First off, just wanted to talk a little about my picks for last night's fight card....The only thing that really surprised me was the Chris Leben loss to Jake Rosholt....That's a good win for Rosholt 'cause Leben has now taken the role of gatekeeper in the UFC, meaning that if you can get past him, you've got a chance to go far up the ladder....

I just wish that I had the cojones to trust my gut and plunk some money down on Nogueira, but like I said, it was a toss-up....I was able to find the knockout bet on the Jardine/Silva fight, so I didn't care who won, just as long as it ended up as a KO for someone....that's a good win for Thiago Silva considering people like myself were writing him off after a big loss to Lyoto Machida...

Wow, I feel like complete garbage as I recover from a great birthday bash for my good buddy Jordan last night....so I'll say one last time, Happy Birthday Jordan! Went to the Crazy Horse in Kanata and pretended to be a cowboy for a night....but it was from that party that I got the idea to write early on a Sunday afternoon....

We were sitting and having birthday dinner when one of the TV's was switched over to the Kansas City/Seattle pre-season game....so inevitably, the talk turned how each of our teams is doing in the pre-season.....when it came to talking about the Bills, everyone gave me some grief, but I don't really have a problem with it because the pre-season doesn't mean anything....

The vast majority of people will base how their team is improving in the pre-season on the few drives that the first-stringers have against other first-stringers, but really, it's not the way you should judge your team....the only way you can really gauge improvement is if you were able to attend daily practice and scrimmage....

The true chemistry is built through hundreds of repetitions on the practice field that the average fan would never have access to.....the perfect example is someone cheering on the Vikings....Vikings fan cannot possible judge how the team is going to this season based on a couple of drives led by Brett Favre....

And please, for the love of God, never point to the pre-season standings to prove that your team is going to improve from last season....if you run into this guy or gal, all you have to do to shoot them down is point to the Detroit Lions of last season....4-0 in the pre-season and 0-16 when it actually counted...

Looking at the standings right now, the NFC East has all four teams at 1-2 so far.....but trust me when I say this, it's going to be the toughest division in all of football.....you can make cases for the Cowboys, Giants and the Eagles all having a chance to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl this year....

And another request, DO NOT base some of your fantasy picks on pre-season results....I see this all the time when I'm doing fantasy drafts and it's simply foolish.....looking quickly at the stats, Matt Leinart is leading quarterbacks in passing yards.....it doesn't mean that he's gonna challenge Kurt Warner at any point for the starting job....you can't find a diamond in the rough based on pre-season results.....don't bother trying!

The season starts on September 10th and until then, leave the dissecting of pre-season games to the degenerates who bet on these meaningless games....

Picks for UFC 102

Didn't think I would get so business-like on you guys....to be honest, my initial post on the fight card tonight was going to be mainly about my picks and only a couple of blurbs on the economic aspect of the card itself, but once I got going, I didn't really wanna stop until my full point was made....

Anyways, there's five fights on the main card tonight and I'll give you my picks for all five, but I will preface it by saying that I'm only confident enough for two of the picks where I will actually plunk some money down on those fighters tonight....I'll highlight those fights in bold for you just in case you want to go with my picks.....

I will say that I was 2-2 for picks in UFC 101 by picking B.J Penn over Kenny Florian by submission in the 4th and Silva by KO over Griffin (http://showkiller.blogspot.com/2009/08/why-is-it-soooo-cold.html) ...I can't do any better than that folks

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Minotauro Nogueira

So tough to call because everyone is unsure about where their bodies are at this point in their respective careers.....How much does Randy Couture have left in the tank at the age of 46 and how much does Nogueira have left in the tank after numerous wars in Pride and UFC in only a small number of years?

A lot of people are picking Couture by decision and I keep hearing the basis for their pick is on how Nogueira performed against Mir a couple months ago....however, a lot of people do not realize that Nogueira went into that fight still fighting the effects of a staph infection and also dealing with a bum knee that was not fully healed despite surgery in February 2009....

I don't mind taking Nogueira as a slight underdog here....he's +150 for the fight tonight as of right now on bet365....

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

If you can find a bet where you don't have to necessarily pick a winner, but you can bet on the fight ending via knockout, then try to get some money down on that....the odds on bet365 have this as a virutal toss-up with Jardine as a very slight favourite.....I like Jardine's experience to win out here and get the win over Silva, but it should be the fight of the night...

Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia

Another toss-up fight because both of these guys are so talented.....Maia is known for his submissions since he's won every fight by submission and Marquardt can beat his opponent in every way possible....but Maia has problems with the striking game and Marquardt seems to excel at that....Marquardt is the favourite at -175 and I'll take him to win here....

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

This smells like a fight where the matchmaker allows for the hometown boy (Chris Leben) to get himself a good-looking win in front of the hometown faithful....As long as Leben keeps the fight standing up, he can neutralize the three-time NCAA wrestling champion and pound him out for a good victory....

Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

As much as I want Soszynski to represent Canada well, I think he's in over his head against a very talented fighter in Vera....For a guy that can alternate between fighting at light heavyweight and heavyweight, Vera is very quick and agile....and it's those traits that should get him to the pay window tonight....Vera is the biggest favourite on the main-card tonight at -200

Enjoy the fights!

Enjoy the UFC, Portland! You probably won't see it again....

It's almost getting to the point that we see a UFC event every couple of weeks now, but they're back at it with another fight card tonight from Portland, Oregon.....but before I get to my picks for the card tonight, I did want to talk about the location and the subsequent lack of ticket sales for the event tonight...

Having had a chance to hang out in Portland for a couple of days during my trip of the baseball stadiums, it was my favourite smaller city of all 35 that I went to....it reminded me a lot of Ottawa in the sense that it was a city with about 500 thousand people in the downtown core, but it had such a small town feel that you felt like you knew everyone after only a couple of days....

So, on the surface, I was excited to hear that Portland was getting a chance to be put on the map, but after thinking about it for a couple of minutes, my excitement turned to worry because I quickly realized that this event could end up being a flop and the city may never get a chance again....

There's a couple of things that are working against the city of Portland here....first off, as much as Randy Couture and Minotauro Nogueira are liked in MMA circles, there just isn't the kind of excitment as there was for a Mir/Lesnar or Silva/Griffin fight....if there was some hatred, at least there would be a selling point, but it's simply two veterans going at it....not very exciting...

The second problem is that the high-income population of Portland doesn't fit the mold of a typical MMA fan.....the people with money in Portland would be more inclined to take in an opera or a play (and then maybe head to one of many strip clubs in the area.... :-p ), instead of seeing two guys duke it out inside a cage.....

I've heard that if the card doesn't draw well, the blame will be put on the economy, and to be fair, it's the easy answer, but simply put, it's not the correct one....Yes, the slumping economy has had its effects just like it has everywhere else around the world, but it's nowhere near as bad in Portland as some people would suggest....

Much like the phrases, "the war on insert word here" and "it is what it is" (although I'm hearing it less and less now, which is a good sign for humanity), they simply represent crutches that people just hide behind when they want to sound more intelligent than they really are or they don't want to look for the real answer....

Dana White says he's happy with the fact that there have been about 10 thousand tickets sold....In his mind, Portland has done well 'cause, "There's baseball and basketball and all these other big major sports that are hurting. People aren't buying tickets and people aren't spending money."

Well, here's the problem with his theory.....last time I checked, the city of Portland only has one major professional sports franchise and the Portland Trail Blazers haven't played a game in several months, so the Portland sports fan has had plenty of time to save some of their hard earned money for an event like this....

But if you look even further, you can see that the UFC has had no problem selling the card to the typical Portland sports fan....the upper level of the Rose Garden for tonight's card has sold well since those tickets only went for about 50 dollars, but it's been the lower bowl that they've had trouble selling for 300-400 dollars...

And it goes back to the population and the overall tone of the city that I talked about before....the high-income players of Portland probably have plans to go see the opera followed by some wine and cheese tasting....the key all along for Dana White was to try and get these people to buy and it looks as though he failed and because of that, the city of Portland will suffer....

It can't be slam-dunks in every city (like it was in Philly last time out) and the sport of MMA is only going to grow more and more, but the Portland experiment represents the rare bump in the road for the UFC.....Enjoy the card tonight, Portland 'cause the chances of you seeing the octagon again are not looking good....

Team Canada Orientation Camp - Part 3: Forwards

So, we've put together half of the team from the back end out and now we get to the forwards....When you look at the talent available at forward for Team Canada, all you can really do is shake your head because there's just so much depth and talent....the problem with choosing is: how much grit and character do you put on the team ahead of skill?

Alright, let's just name the players that are locks to make the team (barring injury) and get that out of the way: Sidney Crosby, Rick Nash, Jarome Iginla and Joe Thornton....Some people might balk at the last pick because of his inability to perform as well in the playoffs, but he's so talented, you have to continue to give him chances to prove himself....

So, we have 9 more spots to fill.....there are two that are also locks to make the team (barring injury), but more because of their character and grit....those players are Shane Doan and Brenden Morrow....they have offensive talent, but they seem to be the two that can easily make the adjustment to checking roles....

So, we're down to 7 spots.....These four represent a big part of the main core that will lead Team Canada for years to come...Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, Eric Staal and Jeff Carter are all players with a valuable combination of youth and skill....all of them are also 25 years old or younger...

Carter, Getzlaf and Staal all have great offensive skills to go with their size and Mike Richards represents the heir apparent to Morrow and Doan when it comes to grit and determination.....his checking ability and skills on the penalty kill are very much under-appreciated, but will come up big in the tournament at some point...

So, we're down to 3 spots left with 1 of them being the alternate....I'm definitely gonna save a spot for Vincent Lecavalier....it's almost like he's become lost among the chaos that has become the Tampa Bay Lightning....yes, I realize he's coming off a tough year, but that whole team had a tough year....I still love the individual skill he possesses....

Now I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for this next pick, but I truly believe that he's going to get a chance with this team.....and that's public enemy number 1: Dany Heatley! I know, it's blasphemy for me to even suggest that considering the way he's treated Sens fans with his actions over the summer....

The problem for Heatley haters is that he still possesses a great ability to put the puck in the net and can be very valuable in a power-play situation (as long as he doesn't put up a stink about being on the 2nd power play unit like he did here)....he also had great success with Team Canada in the past...

So, one spot left for an alternate and I'll give that to someone with a ton of offensive potential, but someone who can't seem to shake the injury bug away: Simon Gagne.....When he's fully healthy, he's still a very dynamic player, but the key will be whether he can stay healthy enough to get to Vancouver.....

Alright, so the full team looks like this:

Goaltenders

Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
Marc-Andre Fleury

Defencemen

Scott Niedermayer
Chris Pronger
Jay Bouwmeester
Robyn Regehr
Shea Weber
Duncan Keith
Dan Boyle

Forwards

Sidney Crosby
Rick Nash
Jarome Iginla
Joe Thornton
Shane Doan
Brenden Morrow
Mike Richards
Ryan Getzlaf
Eric Staal
Jeff Carter
Vincent Lecavalier
Dany Heatley
Simon Gagne

But hey, we still have six months still to talk about this...... :-)

Team Canada Orientation Camp - Part 2: Defencemen

Alright, we chose three goaltenders yesterday with Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury getting the nod for Team Canada.....Now, let's look at the defence....With only 7 spots up for grabs among a very talented group, the margin for error among the candidates is nil.....All will be looking to have a great start to the year and make the best impression....

Let's start with the former dynamic duo of Anaheim, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger....Both have had hall-of-fame careers and both have had plenty of success in their international careers....At 36 and 35 respectively, both have managed to win the Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal and a World Championship....

Of course, there is the concern that both are past their prime, but despite their age and the mileage on their bodies, they represent arguably 2 of the top 10 defencemen in the league....Their experience will be highly valuable for a defence core that is full of talent, but has a lack of experience on the biggest stages...

The next two could be a new duo in Calgary starting in October with Jay Bouwmeeser and Robyn Regehr....Both of these players represent intelligence and steadiness that will be paramount with so much pressure to win Gold....While Regehr offers more of a physical game, Bouwmeester offers more of an offensive threat....

The final two that I'm going to choose are not the sexiest of picks, but they represent the long-term future of the Canadian hockey program and could easily be a third pair when everything starts in February.....Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators...

People around these parts probably don't know too much about Shea Weber because they aren't rushing home to watch the Preds on the Centre Ice package, but combined with Ryan Suter and Dan Hamhuis, the Preds have arguably the best young core of defencemen in the NHL and Weber leads the pack....

Weber possesses not only great offensive ability, having scored 23 goals and 53 points all with an average of 24 minutes a game for the Preds a year ago, but he also offers a dangerous physical aspect where forwards always have to have their head up....Even though he's only 24, he plays with the poise of someone 10 years older...

Duncan Keith came out of nowhere last year with his impressive performance for Chicago in the playoffs in order to put himself in the mix for a spot on this team....there's a chance that he could regress, but I believe he's only going to get better....this pick is the only one out of the 6 that is dependent on continuing improvement over the first three months of the year....

The seventh defencemen was a choice between either Mike Green or Dan Boyle, but at the end of the day, I had to take experience and the local boy, Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks....Green offers more offensive upside, but proved last season that he could be a defensive liability...mistakes are not an option at this level, so we'll choose the steadier option...

So, our team looks like this right now...

Goaltenders:

Roberto Luongo
Martin Brodeur
Marc-Andre Fleury

Defencemen:

Scott Niedermayer
Chris Pronger
Jay Bouwmeester
Robyn Regehr
Shea Weber
Duncan Keith
Dan Boyle

All we need is 13 forwards tomorrow and we've got ourselves a team.....

Team Canada Orientation Camp - Part 1: Goalies

I made the quip earlier in the week that it's late August and yet, our country is so hockey-starved, we're talking about a pretty meaningless Team Canada orientation camp....well, we're not talking about the camp itself, but we're using it to get a head start on debating who should be on Team Canada men's hockey team when the Olympics start six months from now....

I tried desperately to stay away from the topic because like many of you, I hate the idea of media hyping things out of proportion (even though I'm a member of it)....I really didn't want to add to it, but you can't get away from it.....whether you're having drinks with the boys or sitting in the dressing room before hockey, the conversations are already happening....

So, instead of trying to fight it, I've decided to jump in....But before I do, let's just preface everything by saying that things can change overnight....injuries may happen, slumps may happen or sleepers that have name-recognition and have struggled in the past could find that magic touch again in the first couple months of the year....

What I've said in a roundabout way is that the team that you or I choose will most likely be different than the one that suits up in Vancouver for that first game six months from now....but as the rise in popularity in fantasy sports would suggest, people love the idea of being armchair GM's, so let's step into Stevie Y's shoes and come up with a gold medal team....

We'll start with the goaltenders today mainly because I'm lazy and I only have to worry about filling three roster spots and talking about five goaltenders instead of filling 13 spots for the forwards or 7 spots for the defenseman in entries I'll have to do in the next couple of days....the defencemen will be tomorrow....

Alright, I think everyone is in agreement that the top two spots are going to go to Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur, but the debate for the next six months will be about who's the top dog when we get to February....as I just said and as you probably realize, it's going to come down to production in the first three months of the year and/or injury concerns....

Brodeur comes with so much success in NHL and international play that he has to be pencilled in....of course, everyone is concerned with how he's going to bounce back from the bicep injury that sidelined him for most of the year, but before last year, he showed great durability by playing no less than 67 games each year since 1994-95....I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in bouncing back....

Roberto Luongo has a couple of things working in his favour.....he's the hometown boy and more importantly, he's put himself in a position to at least make it a debate on who the best Canadian goaltender is....the problem he faces is a reputation for not being able to bring himself up in the biggest of situations....

But, who would I take at number 3? I've read articles that pick either Cam Ward, Steve Mason or Marc-Andre Fleury, but I will choose Fleury to be number 3....again, it all depends on how all three of these play in the first months of the year, but with Fleury now showing off some bling after the Pens cup win, it signifies that he's excelled in the biggest of must-save situations....

I understand that Cam Ward has shown himself in the postseason before and has a Stanley Cup ring of his own, but for whatever reason, everyone seems to expect the world of Fleury and it's never good enough for us....there aren't those expectations on Ward, so we look at him more favourably....

Out of the three of them, I think Steve Mason has the most upside of all of them, but one year does not make a career....we've seen the same potential from goaltenders such as Andrew Raycroft (former rookie of the year) and Jim Carey (former Vezina trophy winner)....let him give us multiple seasons like the one he had last year and he'll have a chance for Team Canada in no time....

So, three sports are set...the goaltenders are:

Martin Brodeur
Roberto Luongo
Marc-Andre Fleury

We'll look at the defencemen tomorrow....7 more spots to fill

Who to take at Number 2?

Yesterday, I talked about the CTVGlobemedia football draft coming up in a couple of weeks and how I'm going to use the first overall pick of the draft to take Adrian Peterson from the Minnesota Vikings ('cause there is another Adrian Peterson in the league that plays for the Bears)

So, my good buddy, JT the Brick has the second pick of the draft and is having a lot of trouble trying to figure out which of the three running backs he's going to take with the second pick....now normally, I wouldn't offer advice to my competition on what to do, but I'm sort of curious myself as to who I would choose....

Alright, without further ado, let's take a look at the three choices:

1) Michael Turner, RB - Atlanta Falcons

He had a terrific season last year running for 1699 yards last season and scoring 17 touchdowns....but most importantly for fantasy owners, he had 377 carries during the season, which averages to about 24 carries a game....the offense will be a year older and have an extra year of experience.....but can he take that much of a workload two years in a row?

2) Matt Forte, RB - Chicago Bears

He has all the tools since he can run the ball, catch it out of the backfield and block as well....so he has several ways of scoring points for you....the problem is that he doesn't have the big-play capability that the other elite running backs have....there's also the Jay Cutler factor....that should make the Bears more of a passing team, so will that affect Forte positively or negatively?

3) Maurice Jones-Drew, RB - Jacksonville Jaguars

If you just look at the numbers from last year, you would wonder why a running back that only ran for 824 yards last year would be so highly regarded, but there's a couple reasons for his high stature....he's got the job all to himself now instead of sharing with Fred Taylor....and he's unbelievable in the red zone, especially near the goal line despite his small stature...the only problem is whether the small back can handle a full load for a full season....

Alright, so, we've looked at the pros and cons of all three of the running backs, but I have a favourite of the three and it's Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars....I've always been a fan of the small running back and I've waited to see what this guy could do when he wasn't sharing the workload....

I, for one, do not think that he's going to have problems with the increased workload....I perfer him over Turner because of his ability to catch passes out of the backfield and I prefer him over Forte because of his experience edge.....Forte was great last year, but it was only one year and there still is the danger of a sophmore jinx for Forte...

Luckily, I don't have this debate to run through....have fun with this one, JT! :-)

I'm picking first in the CHUM NFL Draft....who do I take?

As the title says, the Dirty One himself had the draft lottery from his home last night and out of 12 choices, yours truly got the Number 1 overall pick in the CHUM, errrrr, CTVGlobemedia NFL Draft, so now I have two weeks to decide who I'm going to take with that pick.....and it took me all of 5 seconds to decide who I was going to take....

So, with the first pick overall at the draft, I will take......Adrian Peterson from the Minnesota Vikings! This one is really a no-brainer......He was already a phenom when he was in a one-dimensional offense and everyone was expecting him to run the ball.....now with the signing of Brett Favre and the potential emergence of Percy Harvin to create a pass threat, he could be an even bigger monster.....

Alright, so, the next time I pick will be at the number 24 and 25 spots as we're doing a traditional snake draft....In this position, it's so important that I get these two picks right or else my chances at winning the league are shot....so I'm looking at these options....I'm assuming that half of these guys will be gone, but if I can get two of these 4 guys, I'll be happy....

Reggie Wayne, WR - Indianapolis Colts

Reggie Wayne emerged as the number one receiver last year, but Marvin Harrison was still there and commanded some throws and looks from Peyton Manning....this year, Harrison is gone and Wayne will be the number one guy....it's not a sexy pick, but it's a really safe pick and I don't mind the fact that he's durable and will get his touches and scores...

Roddy White, WR - Atlanta Falcons

White emerged as one of the top receivers in the NFL a year ago as he was able to mesh so well with rookie quarterback Matt Ryan.....you have to think that the duo can only get better in their second year together....sure, White will have more attention payed to him, but with Michael Turner as a threat at the RB position, White will still get his touches....

Anquan Boldin, WR - Arizona Cardinals

Everyone knows how good Larry Fitzgerald is, but that's allowed for Anquan Boldin to become the forgotten one in the desert.....he missed four games last year for various injuries, including the brutal hit by Eric Smith of the Jets that left him concussed, but he still managed to catch the ball 89 times for 1038 yards in only 12 games.....not bad for a number 2 option!

Ronnie Brown, RB - Miami Dolphins

It's tempting to take a running back in this position to solidify my RB position since we start two running backs every week.....even without the Wildcat formation, Brown always had big-play potential....he was hobbled last year by a lingering injury to his ACL from 2007, but reports suggest he's motivated to return to form....the fact that it's a contract year for him too also helps in the motivation department....

Like I said, I think at least 2 of these 4 guys will be gone by the time it gets back to me for my 2nd and 3rd round picks, but these are guys that aren't really being talked about....so hopefully I can swoop in....I guess it makes it a bit harder to do though when I'm basically telling everyone what my strategy is heading into the draft.... :-)

Just looking at the top 100 lists of the different football outlets online and there are a couple of surprises to me.....first off, there really isn't that big-name quarterback that might make you think about reaching.....Peyton Manning isn't as valuable anymore 'cause he doesn't have as many weapons and Tom Brady has a ton of question marks because of the injury factor from a year ago....

Secondly, there are as many as 7 tight ends in the Top 100 to choose from, so in a 12-team league like ours, the tight end position could be a big difference this year.....if I choose someone like a Jason Witten and end up going against someone with a lesser tight end, that could be the difference between winning and losing this year....

Adrian Peterson is chosen....Pick Number 2 is now officially on the clock!

What do you prefer? Episode 1

Deep down inside, I love people calling into the afternoon show....let's face it, without the callers and e-mailers, it would be like we were talking to ourselves.....but when I say I love callers, it's more 'cause most of them make me laugh with their goofy and uneducated comments more than useful ones....

Ask any producer or show host in the business and they'll tell you that in the evolution of a good show, every show has its go-to callers or e-mailers that help the show get to that next level, but more often than not, the memorable ones tend to be ones that call once, say something really stupid and become the subject of ridicule....

One caller in particular today made a comment that just couldn't get out of my head....he was actually making a good comment about the fact that Jim Balsillie would be one of the most stable owners the league could have, but he then hurt his credibility by claiming that hockey has worse ratings in the U.S. than truck pulling....

I agree that ratings for hockey are nowhere near as good in the U.S. as it would be in Canada....it's just not a part of their culture.....Americans would much rather watch baseball, football and basketball.....However, would they really be worse than a truck pulling weight for a maximum of 300 feet?

So, here's what I've decided to do.....I'm gonna allow each and every one of you to make the decision on what you would rather watch on a weeknight by putting a video of each sport/activity back to back.....I won't be able to give you exact numbers on what the general public decides on what.... :-)

I've chosen each video by heading to everyone's favourite virla video site, Youtube, then typed in "classic hockey" and "classic truck pulling" and chose the best video out of the options that are given in the first page of each search.....both videos are nice and short and I think represent the best that each sport has to offer.....so, here are your options:

Option 1 - Classic Hockey



Option 2 - Classic Truck Pulling



Of course, I put my first pick up on the blog last night and Ana Ivanovic squashes the pick by losing the first set of the match.....LOL.....So, I'll try and make it up by putting up another pick less than 24 hours later.....What can I say? I'm chasing some dead money here.....We'll look to baseball for this one...

New York Yankees (-1.5) over Oakland (-150)

C.C. Sabathia should be able to handle a light-hitting Oakland lineup and the Yanks will be looking to avenge a shutout loss to the A's last night

That's it! I'm back into Fantasy Sports again....

It's only a couple of weeks from now and we're already into September.....I'm sure that I'm in the same boat as a lot of you.....you're starting to get the calls or the e-mails to be in various NFL pools for another upcoming season and there's the small portion of you that have already gameplanned how you're gonna win the league this year....

That's cool and I must admit, I used to be one of those people who not only would get the calls and e-mails, but I would planning on how I was going to make this year the year that I finally break through and win my various leagues....I figure that I had the knowledge, so I should have a leg-up on most people....

The problem came with the fact that there's a massive amount of luck that comes with winning a fantasy league....you could have all the knowledge in the world and you can prepare yourself for every scenario imaginable, but sometimes, you can't avoid the situations like Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg at a nightclub or Tom Brady injuring himself in the first quarter of the first game and missing the rest of the season....

So many times, I would research my brains out, and yet, I would find myself in the situation of being on the receiving end of terrible luck....the first time it happened, it was just a shrug of the shoulders.....the second time, I started to get a little annoyed......and the third and fourth and fifth time, I just got more and more annoyed....

I guess I've always been one to be pretty lucky when it comes to things in life, such as having a chance to be in sports media and get paid to do it or finding myself surrounded by great friends and family like I am right now, but when it came to anything to do with fantasy sports, my luck was nowhere to be found....

I was jaded and became pretty sour after yet another season filled with bad luck.....it got to the point that I was seriously considering not entering myself in any fantasy leagues or pools this year, but as the invites come in and the commercials start to play on the NFL Network and the various pre-season broadcasts.....I've been convinced to go at it again for another year....

The only difference is that I'm gonna share my thoughts with you this year as I go through the ups and downs of any fantasy team....and it won't be just for football 'cause I plan on signing up for some hockey leagues as well and even some NBA basketball.....I'll have a little bit for everyone....

Heck, I'm even in a NASCAR fantasy pool, but I'm at the bottom because the season started before I went on the 9 week trip for all the baseball stadiums.....and in that nine weeks, I forgot to pick my drivers for the week, so of course, I found myself at the bottom of the standings once I got back to check.....lol.....ah well, only 20 bucks.....who cares....

As most of you know as well, I like to dabble in some sports wagering as well, so I'll also be putting up some of my picks from here on in....and just to warn you, I'll give you picks for sports that you probably have no interest in, but to me, I have knowledge of all sports and I just like the idea of making money, so I'm not immune to betting on tennis or soccer or any other fringe betting sport....

Anyways, here's my favourite selection of the day for Tuesday (odds presented by our good friends at bet365)

Ana Ivanovic to beat Magdalena Rybarikova in straight sets (-150)

A former number one in the world only has to win in straight sets against someone ranked 46th in the world that I've never heard of and I get a return of 67 cents on the dollar....I'll take that.... :-)

Question Period

Just watching the Bills/Titans game from last night that I recorded on the PVR.......so good to see football again and the Bills have been my team since I was a kid, so I was interested to see Terrell Owens in a Bills uniform for the first time.....a couple of catches on the drive.....that's as much as I could ask for.....

Yes Yes, I do realize that the CFL has been on since July 1st, but for me, I just can't get myself excited about the league....I don't care if it's Canada's game or not, I just can't get into a league that lacks any star power....the biggest problem is that anyone who shows talent is quickly on the next plane down south to make more money and prove themselves in the NFL.....

Anyways, I don't really have anything specific I want to talk about, so I'll just give you a bunch of random thoughts in question form:

- Did Patrick Kane and his cousin really beat up a cabbie over 20 cents? Did a multi-millionnaire really ask a cabbie for 20 cents back? Could the cabbie have possibly made up as ridiculous of a story as that one?
- Did Anderson Silva really knock out Forrest Griffin with a right jab as he was backing up? Has Forrest Griffin stopped running from the ring yet? Is there any doubt that Silva is the pound-for-pound king now?
- Can the Toronto media get a do-over for calling Justin Pogge "the future of the Leafs" only to see him get traded to Anaheim only a mere 8 months later?
- Has Tiger already won 70 times on the PGA Tour?
- Uh oh, are the Red Sox even going to make the playoffs? Have you checked out the standing in the American League lately?
- Why would the Blue Jays keep Alex Rios? Can you believe the White Sox actually made a claim for him?

Why is it soooo cold?!?!?

Why am I up so early on a Saturday morning? Oh yeah, I know why....I couldn't really enjoy a summer night in Ottawa since I forgot to bring my parka and gloves....it's just not cool that I would have to blow my hands for heat on August 7th......so I got a chance to turn in early last night....

Went on Sparks St. last night as I tried to sit on a patio and have a couple of Coronas and smoke some shisha from the hookah pipe.....Shisha is not a big thing in Ottawa, but I learned to appreciate it when I lived a year in Montreal, so I love going when the Sparks St. patios are open in the summer....if you don't know what shisha is, here's a quick lesson....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah

Sooooo, before I went to bed, I opened up the lapper to check out the scores only to find that the Red Sox/Yankees were still scoreless in the bottom of the 14th.....WHERE IS THE REMOTE?!?! Thank the lord for the MLB Package.....What an atmosphere that must have been as quite a few were still there to see A-Rod pound a no-doubter out of the yard to win 2-0 in 15 innings.....

Luckily, I can watch a game like this and not really care who wins....I think that allowed me to smile just a little bit for a guy that has received so much flack in the short time that he's been with the Yankees.....for that 1 minute when he hit the bomb, trotted around the bases and jumped at home plate with his teammates, A-Rod was loved in New York....

Anyways, so the plan for the day is to get 9 holes in somewhere since I haven't swung a golf club in forever....like I've said before and not to toot my horn 'cause other people have said this, I probably have the athletic ability to play golf at a higher level, but I just don't care enough about the game to put the work in to get better.....golf to me is more of a timeburglar than it's worth...

Should I go for some lessons? Maybe....Am I going to get any? Probably not.....I'm stubborn when it comes to paying for lessons for anything....I've always become good at something through trial and error, making mistakes over and over, then adjusting....It's probably a much more frustrating way of doing things, but it seems more rewarding....

After golf, it's off to Dirty's (Dan Legroux - co-host of The Late Crew) for some BBQ and watching UFC 101.....There's gonna be a bunch of us there.....Whenever we get together for UFC, it always reminds me of when I was younger and you would get together with friends and one of the parents would order the wrestling PPV for us....

We've grown up, priorities have changed.....guys are getting married, talking about relationship problems or making career changes instead of who our biggest crush is and counting down the days until the next big video game is coming out, but at the end of the day, the reason we're all getting together is based around two people fighting.....but much like we've grown up, the fighting has grown up as well from fake to real.....

Anyways, there's only two big fights on the card tonight with BJ Penn taking on Kenny Florian for the UFC lightweight title and Anderson Silva taking on Forrest Griffin in a fight at 205....a top-heavy card with a lot of up-and-comers on the undercard....but the aggressive Philly faithful should be able to appreciate anyone fighting...

Quickly, my picks for tonight....

Penn over Florian by submission in the 4th round
- Penn has too much overall skill for Florian, who looks like someone who will wilt under the pressure when he faces the elite.....

Silva over Griffin by ground and pound in the 3rd round
- Silva is a massive favourite with the books in Vegas....Griffin has the attacking style that fans love, but the problem is that it's tailor-made for Silva's counter-puncher style....I can see that this gets to the ground....Silva overwhelms Griffin with technique and pounds him out for the win

Have a great Saturday! :-)

The Kissing Bandit Game - Revised for Men

Alright, it's Friday night....Everyone at work today had an extra pep in their step and smiles were a plenty 'cause work is done for another week.....and for the rest of you, as long as you don't have to work earlier than 8 a.m., chances are you're still gonna treat it like a weekend and do something outside the house/apartment tonight...

Now you may be looking at the title and wondering what this game is.....let me assure you, it has nothing to do with Adriano Belli of CFL fame (can you put CFL and fame together?) and more to do with competition at the club (Keys to the VIP style....a pretty funny show on Comedy Network)....so, lemme get to the back story for it first, then the entry will make a little more sense....

Went over after work to spend some time with my new girl....Her name is Rosalie and she is an absolute gem.....a beautiful blonde girl with a heart of gold who manages to put up with my antics on a daily basis and still have that wonderful smile... (just had to get that out there.....I promise not to do that again....that's the one and only time)

Anyways, we were just on the couch watching some afternoon TV when Dr. Phil came on at 5 o'clock.....normally that would be an instant pass with the clicker, but the topic was about women who take flirting to the next level.....she didn't want to watch, but for me, it was a topic that I could get into! :-)

So, a woman named Hilary comes on and talks about how her and her friends have come up with a flirting game called the Kissing Bandit Game where women would get points based on certain things that they would be able to do at the bar or the club with guys....it's a game where a clear cut winner is established, but at the end of the night, you would think all the girls would be able to win in one way or another....but here are some of the rules....

For example:

5 points - Kissing a guy on the cheek
10 points - Kissing a guy on the lips
25 points - Kissing a guy with a girl right beside him
50 points - Kissing a guy with his girlfriend beside him
100 points - Kissing a guy from a foreign country
100 points - Kissing a guy 65 years old or over on the lips
100 points - Kissing a celebrity

Disqualification if you bring the guy home with you and the first to 50 points wins the game

Inevitably, my first thought was how you can turn this game around and make a men's edition because let's face it, guys going to the bar or the club who aren't attached are playing a game of their own.....now, most people would just say that guys can just stick to these rules, but it's not as easy as Rosalie suggested....

In most cases, a woman can just go up to a guy and kiss them and there won't be much problem with it....it's happened to me before and I just rolled with it....I just decided to worry about what she looked like later....just joking! However, a guy will have a lot of trouble on his hands if he just goes up to a girl and kisses them....probably a fight or jail or booted from the club/bar.....just the way the world works....it's a double standard, but there are a ton of double standards that go the way of men, so I think we can let women have this one.... :-)

We also debated the point system 'cause there were things that I didn't like about it....the 5 and 10 point things.....that's fine.....but to give 50 points for kissing a guy with his girlfriend beside him and to give 100 for kissing a foreigner....that makes no sense to me....

I also don't agree with the idea of being disqualified for going home with a guy.....what's the point of playing this game if you don't want to bring someone home? And how important is it not to be disqualified? Is there a season-long points race with a championship trophy at the end of the year? If not, I'll take the DQ....

So, I gave myself a day to think of a way to come up with a version that the men of Ottawa could use for this weekend and weekends beyond, if they so choose.....so, hopefully I've been able to come up with every situation that you might find yourself in when at a crowded bar/club, but I'm sure I've missed a couple....

Alright, here's the list.....some of the rules require input from others playing the game and other rules require complete honesty from the player.....but that shouldn't be a problem because if someone needs to lie to you in order to win a stupid game, but not get any action, then you're a loser anyways.....

5 points - Use a cheezy pick-up line or bad joke of another players choosing on 1, 2 or 3 girls and get in a conversation of 2 minutes or longer
(It probably won't lead to completing any tasks of higher point value, but it's an easy 5 points)

An extra 25 points if you can get one of the girls to leave the group when faced with a situation involving 2 or 3 girls
(If you are persuasive enough to get someone to leave their friend to fend for herself or with one other person for the night....you've done one heck of a Jedi mindtrick...)

Add an extra 50 points if there's a guy present.....nothing like taking a guy's manhood away by taking away the one girl that is with him

Add an extra 50 points even more on top if the girl you persuade to leave the group has a boyfriend present....you've just completely owned that guy!

10 points - Use a cheezy pick-up line or bad joke of another players choosing on a group of 4 or more girls and get in a conversation of 2 minutes or longer
(It's even more difficult to complete higher point value tasks, but it's an easy 10 points)

An extra 10 points if you can get one of the girls to leave the group
(Less points than the first example 'cause the group is less likely to miss someone if there are three others there to still talk to.....)

Add an additional extra 5 points if there is a guy present within the group.....but again, not as much points 'cause there are still a bunch of people within the group

Add an extra 50 points even more on top if the girl you persuade to leave the group has a boyfriend present....you've just completely owned that guy!

10 points - Get on the dance floor and dance closely with a girl that is not a friend or acquaintance
(The others in the game will have to give you the points, but they shouldn't be too stringent with them)

20 points - Dance closely with a girl that is not a friend or acquaintance and do it at a part of the club/bar that is not the dance floor
(I hate these people 'cause they get in my way, but give the guy respect if he can get the girl to be comfortable enough to not care about getting in my way....)

30 points - Slowdance with a girl that is not a friend or acquaintance on the dance floor
(Go back to prom! It always cracks me up when I see this....)

40 points - Slowdance with a girl that is not a friend or acquaintance and do it at a part of the club/bar that is not the dance floor
(This is just so ridiculous and it usually warrants some pointing and laughing, so it's worth the points even without any kissing)

20 points - Getting a girl's number
(I've always thought that this was over-rated.....you've only done a quarter of the work if you decide to cut it short at just getting someone's number....)

40 points - Getting a girl's number and making plans to go on a date
(It's a perfect task for someone looking to get points, but not looking to find just some random either.....)

50 points - Get a girl to kiss you on the lips
(Don't violate her though.....again, the point is to not go to jail or get the boot)

75 points - Get a girl from a foreign country to kiss you on the lips
(It might not be necessarily more difficult, but the lack of people from outside the country at the bar/club allows for it to be more valuable)

Then there are automatic wins....these include

Getting a kiss from a girl who is from a foreign country and can't speak english or french
(That takes a lot of patience, dedication and perseverance....well done!)

Geting a kiss from a girl with her boyfriend right beside her
(It couldn't be more of a kick in the nads to that guy....)

Getting a kiss from a woman that is more than 20 years your elder
(If you're willing to break the "half your age + 7 rule from time to time, surely, women are allowed to as well.....)

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=half-your-age-plus-seven%20rule

Getting a kiss anywhere from a celebrity
(It can be on the lips, cheek, hand or wherever......she's a freakin' celebrity! LOL)

And unlike the women's version, taking a girl back to your place is an automatic win as well.....

Anyone who accomplishes a total of 200 points or receives an automatic win can claim themselves a winner on the night....I think it's the ultimate game 'cause at times, it can be about competition, but at the end of the day, if everyone can get to the point total or an automatic win, then it's been a good night all around....

All this thought just based on one stupid segment of Dr. Phil, but as Rosalie is finding out, this is how my brain works.... :-)

My guilty pleasure at 1 pm.....Drunken Darts!

It's 1 o'clock in the afternoon and Johnny Abbott and I are watching darts from England on TSN.....all we can do is watch in awe at the spectacle....the whole production value and the crowd atmosphere is simply sensational and what is this all about, two guys playing a game that you would normally play once you've had at least two or three beers in you....

I'm sure I've talked about it before in the blog, but just in case I haven't, one of the new travel goals is to head to England to watch one of these events live so I can join the other drunkards in song and dance as they cheer on their favourite "dartsman" (is that what you would call a darts player?) as they chase the infamous "180" or the ultimate goal of victory against another worthy foe....

Now you may have thought that the last paragraph was a little bit over the top, but when it comes to Darts on TV, that's the name of the game.....you talk about commentators sometimes having to grind to try and make something more interesting than it is (ex. Panthers v. Thrashers game on Sunday afternoon in April).... give it up for darts commentators who make it a point of making it seem like each game is like the last five minutes of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.....
Don't believe me.....check this out.....



The best part is from 1:18-2:05.....if you had no video and only audio, you would have thought he had found the cure for cancer and not someone playing a perfect game of darts.....

So, the commentators do their part, but the TV crews do an unbelievable job of making these darts players seem like gladiators entering the lion's den or MMA fighters ready to enter the octagon as they come out to entrance music and have female escorts.....



I can't believe it.....our Canadian guy actually comes out to the Star Wars theme, has his own Princess Leah and has a storm trooper lead him out to the stage.....that is awesome! Starts at 5:36...

But it wouldn't be complete without the fan base and the alcohol that comes with it.....there's even a darts song that the fans get up and dance to.....and it's the simplest dance....you just have to alternate putting your arms up and down....so simple, anyone can do it and it still can be done after a 12-pack into the night.....



Alright, after writing this quick entry, it's been decided that I have to get there sooner rather than later.....this is just too good to be true.....who's with me for some drunken darts?