NFL Draft

The NFL draft is right around the corner. It has been long awaited by many football fans since the Super bowl ended. There are many options available for the Jaguars in this year’s draft. I believe the Jaguars need improvement on the defensive line. If there is a reputable defensive end on the board when the Jaguars pick at 26 they will surely select him. Another possibility for the first rounds is a cornerback. Keep your eye on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Phillip Merling they could be possible selections. So in the first and second rounds I have the Jags selected some defensive line help and cornerback help. In the third round they have two selections. I think they could take a runningback because Fred Taylor is aging and should have one or two more years left. In the fourth round a quarterback could be possible. There is no way of telling exactly which teams will select which players and trades are always happening. I wrote this post two days before the draft but never got to post it. It turned out the Jaguars packaged four picks to move up to the 8th pick of the first round. The Jaguars selected defensive end Derrick Harvey.

Meeting John Maine

On Saturday, New York Mets starting pitcher John Maine held a signing event at BC sports in the Staten Island Mall. I had been looking forward to meeting John Maine last season but the event had to be cancelled because John was actually pitching that night. He finally made his long appearance Saturday night from 6:00-7:30. There was a very long line to meet the young, rising star but it moved quickly. Although the line moved quickly it felt like it took forever to get to him. It probably felt so long because I had been anticipating it for so long. It is always interesting when meeting celebrities because you never know what type of personality they really have. People have a predisposed opinion on what they think the person will be like. I was not surprised to find out that John Maine is a very nice guy. Mr. Maine was very polite to all of his fans and had no problem posing for countless pictures. I kind of always knew John Maine was a good person. Anyway, I had purchased a wonderful 8x10 picture for John Maine to sign. He signed the picture with no problem and even posed for a picture. Along with the signature I received a certificate of authenticity to prove the autograph is valid. I was very happy I attended and look forward to meeting for sports players. Yesterday, John Maine secured his first win of the season with a dominating performance over the Washington Nationals.

Golf

I am not a very big fan of the sport of golf but I have a tremendous amount of respect for golfers and the sport itself. Some debate if golf can even be classified as a sport. I agree it does not require much athleticism or body condition but it is a sport nonetheless. As a sports fan I greatly admire the precision, patience, and calculations that are necessary to succeed. How could a golfer hit a tiny golf ball over three hundred yards away and make it land within feet of the cup? It is actually quite astonishing. It is amazing how skilled theses golfers must be in order to succeed. I feel golf as a whole deserves more recognition and support. Tiger Woods is a household name and might be the best golfer to ever play the game. He is often compared to Jack Nicklaus but some say he is not as good because he does not have a signature comeback victory in the Majors. I admire what tiger has done for the sports and I hope the popularity of golf increases.

Red Sox Jersey Unearthed

The Red Sox jersey that construction worker Gino Castingnoli placed in cement mix under the stadium as finally been unearthed. Yankees owner, Hank Steinbrenner and co. decided to act when they heard the construction working Boston fan buried the David Ortiz jersey in the cement mix to curse the new stadium. At first the Yankees brushed it off as just ridiculous nonsense but after further research they decided it was factual. It turns out Yankees brass was actually quite annoyed about the whole situation I don’t blame them. The Yankees hired new construction workers to dig for five hours in order to remove the jersey form the depths of the stadium. The funny part about all this is the Yankees are looking into pressing charges. What would they sue for? What would the worker be accused of? Attempted Jinx, Attempted cursing. The Yankees already took this far enough by searching for and finding the jersey. They just need to let it go. The red sox jersey is being auctioned with the money going to a good cause.

Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry

Even the birds at Fenway Park are Red Sox fans. Recently before a game at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, a hawk that lives in the stadium attacked a young girl. The hawk swooped down and as it passed by over the young girl the hawk lowered its talons in order to scrape the girls scalp. As it turns out the young girls name was revealed to be Alexa Rodriguez, one letter shy of the exact name of Boston’s biggest rival Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees. I think that it is so weird that a freak accident would take place with a girl with the name Alexa Rodriguez. It is actually quite amusing. It was also just revealed that while building the Yankees new stadium construction workers threw a red sox t-shirt into the concrete mix that was used to build the visitors clubhouse at the new Yankee stadium. The construction worker was said to be a longtime Boston fan and hopes the t-shirt trick puts a curse on the Yankees for years to come. If I was a Yankee fan or the Yankees organization Id be pretty pissed. Sure it’s just a t-shirt and who knows if it’s true but if I was spending millions beyond millions to finance the building of a new stadium I would make sure nothing like that ever happened. That new Yankee stadium opens next year in 2009.

The Many Skills of David Garrard

David Garrard is a fantastic football player. His arm strength and athleticism are unmatched. If you are going to beat David Garrard you are not going to do it physically. This off-season David signed a 7 year contract extension that will keep him the Jaguars quarterback for many years to come. Although David has finally found success in the NFL, his journey has not been easy. He has endured many hardships and roadblocks throughout his life. When David Garrard was only a teenager his mother had unexpectedly passed away. On top of that David was diagnosed with Chrons disease and had to have over 12 inches on intestine removed. Despite all this David is an upcoming superstar in the league. He has been on the Jaguars since being drafted for the team some years ago. I look forward to watch David lead the Jaguars to another winning season. Hopefully he leads the Jaguars all the way to their first Super bowl victory ever.Here are some fantastic plays from the 2007 season.

Week In Review

There has been tons of action going on in sports lately. First of all, the Kansas Jayhawks are NCAA Champions. They defeated Memphis in dramatic fashion to steal the game and become immortal. In my earlier blogs towards the start of the tournament I predicted the Kansas team to be the winner. If I had just stuck with them on my Sweet 16 Pool (I went with UNC) I would be a few hundred dollars richer. I will just have to wait till next March when the tourney rolls around again. Baseball season is in full swing and the Mets and Yankees have been pretty inconsistent so far. The Mets already lost one of their aces, Pedro Martinez, to a hamstring injury. They also have been playing pretty unmotivated until last night. Last night the Mets played their rivals the Philadelphia Phillies. Left fielder Angel Pagan hit the game winning single to drive in Jose Reyes in the bottom of the twelfth inning. The Mets were on track to win the ballgame in the ordinary nine innings but as usual Aaron Heilman pitched terribly. I honestly believe Aaron Heilman is the most unclutch player in baseball. In his six innings of work this season he has been horrendous. Last year he was just plain awful and always seems to give up a big hit with the game on the line. It was after all Heilman who gave up the game winning hit to Yadier Molina in the 2006 NLCS. If the Mets had won that game they would have advanced to the World Series. Although I think Heilman stinks, the public does not. There is this altered perception that Heilman is one of the Mets most reliable pitcher when in fact he is the opposite. He needs to be traded or put back into the starting rotation because it is clear that relief pitching is not his thing.

When I Played

Throughout my life I have been highly involved in sports and athletic activities. Since 1st grade I have been on organized sports teams. I have been on baseball, basketball, and football teams. I have also been involved in intramural sports in high school and other activities. Out of all the sports I have had the most fun playing basketball. I started out as a guard and point guard but over the years I converted to a forward. My forte was my ability to play great defense and prevent the other team from scoring. I also had a pretty good outside shot. My parents used to come to all of my games and they loved to watch me play. Although none of my teams ever won a championship I always felt that the seasons work was worth it. I also played baseball for many years. The main positions I played were second base and outfielder. I wasn’t the best hitter but in the field I was very aware of my surroundings and fielded well. My most memorable moment came in my last season. The game was tied and it was the last inning. The bases were loaded and there were already two outs. Of course it would wind up being my turn to bat with the game and our dignity on the line. My coach gave me the signal that I should bunt before I went up to the plate. I don’t know how, but I laid down the most perfect bunt ever and as I ran my fastest to first base I looked back to see the runner from third base cross the plate just before the catcher tried to tag him out. He was safe and scored, and I had done it. My team won the game and I was awarded the game ball for my bunt that helped the team win. In high school, I played football for one season. I played offensive guard and defensive end. The offensive guard has the responsibility to protect the quarterback and also set up blocks so the running backs can gain positive yardage. As a defensive end my responsibilities were actually the exact opposite then those of the offensive guard. Defensive ends must try to sack the quarterback and try to tackle an offensive player if they have the ball. It felt great to be a part of the team and I loved the camaraderie that came along with the hard work. Our team went 7-1-1 that year and we dominated almost every team we played.

Scenes from "The Sandlot"

Best Sports Movies

The theme of sports is usually a common theme is many movies. This blog post is to honor my favorite sports movies of all time. Some of these movies are funny, some dramatic, and some serious, but they all have to do with sports. Here are my top ten favorite sports movies ever.

10. Rookie of the Year (1993, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Gary Busey)
9. Cool Runnings (1993, John Candy)
8. Major Leagues (1989, Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen)
7. Remember the Titans(2000, Denzel Washington, Will Patton)
6. We Are Marshall (2006, Matthew McConaughey, David Strathairn)
5. BASEketball (1998, Matt Stone, Trey Parker)
4. Rudy (1993, Sean Astin)
3. The Replacements (2000, Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman)
2. Happy Gilmore (1996, Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald)
1. The Sandlot (1993, Tom Guiry, James Earl Jones)