Head Coach

Professor X

• In wheelchair (1st Football coach to be in one?)
• Telepathic Powers

Professor X was the logical choice for this position. He is a players coach, always getting along with them and never getting angry with them. He can keep his players calm under pressure. The players will follow the Professor no matter what he says, plus with his telepathic skills he will be able to tell if his opposing coach (Mr. Hoody) is spying on his signs. If he is? Well, Professor X will blow up his head and bury it in that hoody with his telepathic powers!

Quarterback

Captain American

• 6 ft 2 in
• 240 lbs
• Blue eyes & Blonde Hair (Mr. Dreamy)
• Great Leadership Skills

It’s Captain America for Pete’s sake, who else would you have lead the team. You can’t even imagine having a Marvel team not led by the Cap. His leadership skills will rub off on everyone around him, he can take a million hits and jump right back up. He is a fierce competitor and doesn’t like to lose. His tenacity and his will to win will put him a level up on all other quarterbacks in the league, having super strength probably helps too ;] He will most certainly have the most heart too, which is always needed in a star quarterback. Just one question…has he ever played quarterback?

Halfback

Quicksilver

• 6ft
• 175 lbs
• Super Speed and Agility

Quicksilver might be an old man, but he has not slowed up one bit. He is Marvel’s version of Flash. He will be able to run all over defenses…actually I take that back. He will be able to run around defenses all day. No one can catch him or see him for that matter. Can the old man take a hit though?

Wide Receiver #1

Spiderman

• 5ft 10 in
• 170 lbs
• Can shoot webs out of his hands and can stick to walls (Too bad it’s not the AFL)

My first thought was putting Spiderman at halfback with his agility, but Quicksilver was than found out. Still wanting Spiderman on the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver was the only place to put him. He would end up being a #1 receiver though, thanks to his sticky hand and web slinging skills. Just imagine the Cap throwing the ball ten yards away from Spidey and before the ball hit the ground Spiderman shot a web and flung the ball into his own gut…BAM! First Down Spidey! I guarantee he wouldn’t drop any passes with those sticky hands. Not only does he have the skills, but he also has the mouth. He is a witty and very smart alek kid, kinda like another great wide receiver…Terrell Owens.

Wide Receiver #2

Archangel

• 6′ ft
• 150 lbs
• Has wings attached to back which enables him to fly up to 150 mph

Great choice for a number two receiver. All the attention would be on Spidey, since he is such a well known superhero and all. Archangel could hide his wings under his pads and act as a normal guy the whole first half, then when the Supes need a big play, he busts out his wings and flies above the defenders, Cap lobs one in and he flies into the endzone. Imagine the commentator calling the play…He up and off…Above the 30! 20! 10! AND HE LANDS IN THE ENDZONE TOUCHDOWN!

Slot Receiver

Invisible Woman

• 5 ft 6 in
• 120 lbs
• Blue eyed Blond Bombshell! Did I mention she could turn invisible?

With having a fullback being totally pointless due to the fact that Quicksilver would out run him every time, Professor decided to go with a three wide set. Invisa-woman fits the slot position perfectly. Ball is hiked and she goes invisible. Her and Cap had planned out that in 4 seconds she be ten yards down the field, right before the four seconds she appears and Cap hits her with a spiral…she again goes invisible. Now the commentator would have hard time…She’s at the…uh…I think she should be around the twenty at this time, well maybe the twenty-five, or hell even fifteen.

Tight End

Iron Man

• 6 ft 1 in
• 225 lbs
• Rich white man with armored suit.

He can fly with his suit he can whoop ass in his suit. He can do it all with his little suit. I’m sure he can have ball catching gloves too! Him and Cap haven’t always been the best of friends, but I’m sure they can get along, especially with Tony Stark (Iron Man) supplying the pay-roll for the team. Also the uniforms, equipment, and everything else! Iron Man’s relentless attitude makes him an asset to this team though!

Left Tackle

Colossus

• 7 ft 5 in (armored)
• 500 Pounds (armored)
• Has ability to have change body tissue into steel-like material. Gives him greater speed and endurance.

I wouldn’t pick another guy Colossus for the Left Tackle position. Why? Who wouldn’t want a a piece of Metal over seven feet tall and five hundred pounds protecting Cap’s blind side? Cap won’t even need that shield of his with Colossus having his back. The ones that should be worried are the poor right defensive ends.

Left Guard

Thing

• 6 ft
• 500 lbs
• Big Angry Rock Man (No not Dwyane Johnson)

The defensive tackles will be running into a brick wall…literally. thing will have someone to get his frustration out on about him being as ugly as Sam Cassell. Having Rock and Steel side by side makes for a formidable left side. Let’s just hope the scrimages stay peaceful, having Human Torch on the other side of the ball and all, he could pull when not necessary going after the hot corner.

Center/Defensive Tackle

Hulk

• 7 ft
• 1,040 lbs
• Big Angry Green Man!

When you way over one thousand pounds, your destiny in life is the interior line, sorry big man. Hulk is the only player playing both ways because we don’t want him to get mad at our own players on the sideline and put them on the inactive list indefinitely. With Hulk on the offensive line he shouldn’t get any false start calls because Hulk might kill a ref. God forbid Cap muffs a snap though…

Right Guard

Thor

• 6 ft 6 in
• 640 lbs
• Former God of Thunder

Thor is one Bad A.. Mother F’er. Not only that, but him and the Cap have a great history and there is no one else Cap would rather have protecting him than Thor, who has been protecting him for the many years they were together with the Avengers. Thor will also be able to calm down Hulk with his big god-like words, well at least confuse him with them. The Monstrous Green Immortal, give mercy on these poor human lives!

Right Tackle

Luke Cage

• 6 ft 6 in
• 425 lbs
• Super Strength and one OG (The Mr T of the Supes…I Pity the foo!)

Cage is our smallest lineman in weight. Any guess what the averages are for our lineman? About six foot eight inches and six hundred twenty-one pounds! Good luck getting to Good ol’ Cap. Luke Cage rounds off this line with some tenacity and intensity. He likes no one and just wants to go gangsta crazy on some fools. Hopefully he doesn’t give us a Bengals rap.

Note: We are running a 3-4

Left End

Mr. Fantastic

• 6 ft 1 in
• 180 lbs
• He can stretch to any length (Predicted SSR comment: That’s what she said)
• Also a super-genius

With the ability to stretch his arms out at any length, balls will be being batted down play after play forcing the other team to try and run the ball, which results in immediate medi-vac with Hulk up the middle. Mr Fantastic will also be able predict trajectories and all that weird jazz. Will be able to figure out a way of physics to make it impossible for o-line to block him, making him the best defensive end EVER. See ya LT!

Right End

Sasquatch

• 10 ft
• 2,000 lbs
• Super Strength and has Crazy Leaping Ability.

Yes Sasquatch is a real Marvel Superhero. He is apart of Alpha Flight (some Canadian Superhero team, ugh). Anyways he is by far the biggest line-man to ever play the game and will be able to easily run over opponents and if they aren’t letting him by, then he can just jump over them. I would hate to be the guy on the offensive line that mimics him by saying, Messin with Sasquatch.

Left Outside Linebacker

Namor

• 6 ft 2 in
• 278 lbs
• Super Strength and Endurance
• Ruler of Atlantis

Two Words…Anger Management…He is one mean man, but that is what we like on the defensive side of the ball. He is going to mess fools up! He is an ego-maniac to the max and anyone who questions his skill will be pounded with his god-like strength. Too bad we don’t play football under water because Namor can swim up to 80 MPH!

Middle Linebacker

Wolverine

• 5 ft 3 in
• 195 lbs
• Can heal from any injury…Has really sharp thingies that come out of his hand…OUCH

The Defensive Captain is the definition of mean. A little guy that packs a punch and is afraid of no one. Give Hulk the ball and Wolverine will go head on…and lose, but then he will just slash Hulk’s achilles tendon. Wolverine doesn’t take sh*t from anyone and will be in the quarterback’s face every time. He’s crazy and will put his body on the line play after play…but it’s not really that special, I would put my bod yon the line too, if I could heal from an injury.

Middle Linebacker

Punisher

• 6 ft 1 in
• 200 lbs
• Master of combative skills

No real super powers except for his training as a Nave Seal. He is used to having guns to take down people with, but I have a feeling he will do just fine. He is a psycho and screwed up in the head…who wouldn’t be after seeing your wife and two kids get killed without being able to do a damn thing about it. Who did it? Mobsters. Who bets on football? Mobsters. Punisher will find joy in ruining the mobsters’ lives by ruining their betting lives. On the other hand that could be bad…Since we would always be the favorites.

Right Outside Linebacker

Beast

• 5 ft 11 in
• 402 lbs
• superhuman strength, agility, durability, and ability to grow blue hair…EVERYWHERE

Beast is exactly what you want in an outside linebacker. He is strong, fearless, and fast. No one will be able to get around him, his containment will be the best among outside linebackers. Plus his awareness will be superb, since he is a genius! He will be able to be a leader when Wolverine is too mad to talk. Beast will also be like a father figure to the team. Players might get angry with him at times though…due to the constant shedding in the lockerroom.

Cornerback #1

Human Torch

• 5 ft 10 in
• 170 lbs
• Ability to light on fire and fly

The Torchy will be a great shutdown cornerback. He is an ego-maniac and is ready to stick it to a wide receiver any day. A guy that picks fights with a walking pile of rocks daily, has to be pretty damn fearless. Even on the rare cases he does get burnt, he will just shoot little flames and the receiver’s shoes and melt him in place.

Cornerback #2

Ice Man

• 5 ft 8 in
• 145 lbs
• Ability to shoot ice and give himself an ice armor suit

Really the only reason Iceman was chosen because he is the total opposite of Torch. He is Ice of course, but he is quiet and thinks before he acts. Not only that, but imagine lining up on Torch one play and then Iceman on the next. Totally different coverage. Either have your shoes melted our just be frozen in place. Either way the passing game is pretty much getting such down.

Free Safety

Storm

• 5 ft 11 in
• 127 lbs
• Ability to manipulate weather

So on the once in a million times that the receivers do get passed the corners, it’s really useless anyways. By that time Storm will have already made the field completely covered in fog, making the quarterback completely blind. All of a sudden you here crack! Sasquatch got to the quarterback…That quarterback was also the same guy that unscrewed the salt shaker.

Strong Safety

Black Panther

• 6 ft
• 200 lbs
• Olympic Athlete

The husband of Storm, basically here to knock any guy out that gets near here while she is going all crazy making storms. Panther is also very sneaky and agile and will be able to blitz the crap out of the offense causing frustration time and time again to the quarterback. He is also a quiet leader, the lead by example guy. He will go out and give it his all and it will rub off on the rest of the players. Also, as many of the other players, he is fearless.

So what did you think? Anyone I missed that you think should have made it?

Batter up! Hear that call!The time has come for one and all

To play ball.

We come from cities near and far.

We’ve got Canadians, Irishmen and Swedes,

We’re all for one, we’re one for all

We’re All-Americans!

Each girl stands, her head so proudly high,

Her motto ‘Do or Die.’

She’s not the one to use or need an alibi.

Our chaperones are not too soft,

They’re not too tough,

Our managers are on the ball.

We’ve got a president who really knows his stuff,

We’re all for one, we’re one for all,We’re All-Americans!

That is the Victory song (League song) for none other than the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.  Yea I know exhausting saying that, try typing it over and over and over again, better yet, try saying it three times fast.  Anyways…  This was a league that was assembled due to World War II.  Many players that were 18 years of age and older were being drafted left and right and some even volunteered to go to war themselves.  This caused many minor league teams to collapse and their parks to be abandoned.  One man was in fear that the parks around the nation would all collapse and this man was none other than Phillip Wrigley.  Phillip Wrigley as most of you know inherited the Chicago Cubs from his father.  Wrigley wanted to find ideas of keeping baseball running wildly and asked Ken Sells, an assistant to the Chicago Cubs manager, to be in charge of a committee to construct these ideas.  The committee brain stormed and came up with an idea of having a women’s softball league established.  This league would be established and prepared to play in Major League Parks if fans stopped coming to games because teams were losing too many quality players.  Phillip Wrigley and some Midwest men helped create the league behind Wrigley’s financing.

The big issue of starting this league was to obtain not only women to play in the league, but talented women at that.  Jim Hamilton, a Chicago Cubs scout, was hired to go around the nation and find talent.  Open tryouts were held around the nation in dozens of cities and from those cities 280 women were invited to the official tryout in Chicago.  After the official tryout in Chicago only sixty women were selected to be the first ever women to play baseball professionally.

Over the years this softball league turned more and more into a baseball like league.  Women were eventually allowed to throw overhand, the ball size decreased year after year until it matched that of an official MLB baseball, women pitched on raised mounds instead of the traditional flat softball mound, the mounds were moved back to sixty feet eventually, and base paths moved their way to eighty-five feet (which is still five feet under the MLB’s distance of ninety).  The league also went through many name changes.  When the league was first established in 1943, it was named the All-American Girls Softball League.  Halfway through the season the board of trustees changed the leagues name to All-American Girls Baseball League (which brought much dispute due to the fact that they weren’t officially playing baseball).  At the end of the 1943 season the league name was changed to All-American Girls Ball League.  Once the end of the 1945 season rolled around however they went back to the All-American Girls Baseball League title.  In present day people now refer to the league as the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.  Below are five exceptional players from the AAGPBL and below that is the results for all 12 seasons…

1.  Helen Nicol Fox (163-118)

Played Pitcher

All time leader

Games Pitched 313

Wins 163

Consecutive Win 13

Innings Pitched 2,382

Strikeouts 1,076

Career ERA was 1.89

Playoff stats

1.83 ERA

13-7 Record

2.  Joanne Weaver (Joltin’ Jo)

Sister of Betty Foss Weaver

Played 3B, Outfield, and Pitcher

Won 3 Batting Titles in 1952,1953,1954

1954 Season

Only player to ever hit over .400 (Batted .429)

One of two 20-20 Players in League History (29HR-79SB)

Career Batting AVG (.359) is best ever

3. Betty Foss Weaver

Sister of Joanne Weaver

Played 1B, 3B, OF

Won 2 Batting Titles in 1950,1951

Second in Career Batting Average (.342) behind her sister

4. Eleanor Callow (Squirt)

Played Outfield

All Time Leader

Homeruns 55

Triples 55

One of two 20-20 Players in League History (20HR-23SB)

Third All-Time in Career RBIs with 407

5. Jean Faut

Played Pitcher

2 time winner of AAGPB Player of the Year award

Only pitcher to throw 2 perfect games.

Career Totals

1.23 ERA

140-64 Record

In 5 seasons compiled 913 strikeouts

Season Results (Team on Top was Regular Season Winners with record in parenthesis and team below won playoffs with total number of playoff championship in parenthesis.)

1943

• South Bend Blue Sox (58-50)
• Racine Belles

1944

• Milwaukee Chicks (71-46)
• Milwaukee Chicks (After season moved to Grand Rapid)

1945

• Rockford Peaches (67-43) ‘
• Rockford Peaches

1946

• Racine Belles (74-38) ‘
• Racine Belles(2)

1947

• Muskegon Lassies (69-43) ‘
• Grand Rapid Chicks (2)

1948

• Grand Rapid Chicks (77-47)
• Rockford Peaches (2)

1949

• Rockford Peaches (75-36)
• Rockford Peaches (3)

1950

• Rockford Peaches (67-43)
• Rockford Peaches (4)

1951

• South Bend Blue Sox (76-36)
• South Bend Blue Sox

1952

• Fort Wayne Daises (67-42)
• South Bend Blue Sox (2)

1953

• Forty Wayne Daises (66-49)
• Grand Rapid Chicks (3)

1954

• Forty Wayne Daises (54-40)
• Kalamazoo Lassies

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
• http://aagpbl.org/
• http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Main_Page

Andy Pettitte…

• 201-113
• 3.83 ERA
• 1,844 Ks

The Quote in the headline pretty much sums up Andy Pettitte’s character, he is a fighter.  He is competitive and is in the business of baseball for one reason, to win.   Andy Pettitte is a husband and father to four kids.  He holds the all-time record for most starts and innings-pitched in the MLB post-season.  This cheaterwon the Good-Guy Award from the New York Sports Photographers.  Also a winner of the Warren Spahn Award , which is given to the top performing left-hander.  Twice Andy has been a twenty game winner and four of his fingers are heavy with world series rings.  Consistent is what he should be labeled, as he has never had a losing season in his career.  All this has been overshadowed now as he was named in the most infamous document in the history of the MLB, The Mitchell Report.

December 13, 2007 was a day that Andy Pettitte must felt like someone just low blowed him with a sledgehammer.  This was the day that The Mitchell Report was released and the day that Pettitte fell into the media’s fire.  Mitchell received information on Pettitte from none other than Brian McNamee.  McNamee stated that he injected Pettitte with HGH two to four times in the 2002 season to help Pettitte heal from an elbow injury.  December 15, 2007 was the day that Pettitte came forward and said he did indeed use HGH on two occasions to help heal from an injury, not help enhance his performance.

Now Andy Pettitte must live with the consequences of his use of HGH, but he must suffer the worst punishment of all…shame in the eye of the fans.  Wait though, was he wrong in what he did?  First, he was wrong in possessing the hormone because he did not have a prescription.  The HGH came from a prescription given to his ill father, so yes he broke the law in that sense, but what about in the sense of breaking the rules of baseball?  In 2002, the season Pettitte injected himself twice in one day, MLB did not have any rules banning the use of HGH.  Pettitte had sustained an injury to his throwing elbow that could have altered his season and even his career.  He wanted a fast and full recovery from this injury and as baseball fans we know that elbow injuries can really hurt a pitcher career.  When his trainer, at the time Brian McNamee, came to him with a solution that would make the healing process fast and VERY helpful, Pettitte jumped at it.  Put yourself in your shoes, you are presented with a solution that could keep your baseball career on the high and do it legally (in MLB’s mind).  He used HGHJ to recover from an INJURY.

• cheat-er
• -noun
• a person or thing that cheats

• Cheat
• -verb
• to deceive
• -noun
• a person who acts dishonestly, deceives, or defrauds
• a fraud
• an imposter

Andy Pettitte…  A fraud?  An Imposter? He was deceiving?

Pettitte said he was not trying to enhance his performance, or in other words he was not trying to deceive us with his game or being an imposter.  How could you be an imposter in baseball you ask?  Easy, you take HGH to be a better pitcher, to gain an edge on players, which in my eyes is trying to be an imposter of a dominant pitcher.  Pettitte was saving his career and hoping to be able to recover from this injury and be able to player for many more years.  He took TWOshots of HGH in the same day that is it…  He was not cheating.  Maybe he was desperate, but one thing Pettitte was not doing was cheating.  He had good intentions, in his mind is seemed to be like taking an advil for headaches, just another prescription drug to help get over an injury.

Andy Pettitte, his apology at that gruesome 45 minute press conference… I accept it, but do the rest of you baseball fans?

The Major League Baseball season is right around the corner, a season that is the beginning of a new San Francisco Giants team.  In baseball minds around the nation, the Giants have pretty much reserved their spot in the fifth spot in the west division.  The west is arguably the best division in the National League, if not the Majors.  The Giants are going to have a really hard time this years trying to keep up with the four teams ahead of them.  Especially with the VERY quiet off-season the front office had.

NL West Teams

Arizona Diamond Backs

• 90-72 1st in 2007 season
• Head Coach: Bob Melvin (399-410)
• Team Batting AVG in 07: .250 (5th in West)
• Team ERA in 07: 4.13 (2nd in West)
• Big Addition:Danny Haren
• Big Loss:Jose Velarde 

Colorado Rockies

• 90-73 2nd in 2007 season (NL Champs)
• Head Coach: Clint Hurdle (441-509)
• Team Batting AVG in 07: .280 (1st in West)
• Team ERA in 07: 4.32 (5th in West)
• Big Addition: Kip Wells
• Big Loss: Kaz Matsui

San Diego Padres

• 89-74 3rd in 2007 season
• Head Coach: Bud Black (89-74)
• Team Batting AVG in 07: .251 (4th in West)
• Team ERA in 07: 3.70 (1st in West)
• Big Addition: Randy Wolf/Jim Edmonds
• Big Loss: Milton Bradley/Marcus Giles

Los Angeles Dodgers

• 82-80 4th in 2007 season
• Head Coach: Joe Torre (2067-1769)
• Team Batting AVG in 07: .275 (2nd in West)
• Team ERA in 07: 4.20 (4th in West)
• Big Addition: Andruw Jones/Hiroki Kuroda
• Big Loss: Randy Wolf

San Francisco Giants

• 71-91 5th in 2007 season
• Head Coach: Bruce Bochy (1022-1066)
• Team Batting AVG in 07: .254 (3rd in West)
• Team ERA in 07: 4.19 (3rd in West)
• Big Addition: Aaron Rowand
• Big Loss: Barry Bonds

The Giants’ Pitching Preview

Starting Rotation: Pitching is the key to winning for the Giants, due to their lack of offense.  It might not be as bad as it seems due to the fact that in my opinion the Giants have one of the best rotation in the majors.  With young stars and catalysts of the rotation, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.  Cain and Lincecum need to be able to carry this Giants’ team, if they can go deep into games and let up minimal runs the Giants will have good odds of winning the games they pitch.  Barry Zito has to have a rebound year, the Giants are paying him way to much to turn out a season containing an 11-13 record with a 4.53 ERA.  The rotation will look something like this:

1. Barry Zito
2. Matt Cain
3. Tim Lincecum
4. Noah Lowry
5. Jonathan Sanchez

The Bullpen: One word can describe this part of the team…Shaky.  The Giants don’t have anyone that really stands out.  No one in the pen can come in and totally shut down a team.  Brad Hennessey and Brian Wilson are slightly above average relievers and once you start looking past those two, the bullpen looks pretty bad.  Bruce Bochy is going to be hoping that the starters eat up a lot of innings.

The Outfield: Overcrowded…With Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn manning CF and RF, Dave Roberts seems to be the man in LF.  I personally feel we should be letting the young guys play in that LF spot, but Bochy and Roberts are butt-buddies and Roberts will most likely man that position.  Fred Lewis, Rajai Davis, and Nate Schierholtz are the three young outfielders that are battling to make the 25-man roster for the regular season.  Rajai Davis did enough last season to prove himself to have a starting spot on this Giants team.  Really it’ll be between Lewis and Schierholtz for that last backup outfielder spot.  All three could make the team depending on how many pitchers Bochy keeps.

Infield: Omar Vizquel (shortstop) and Benjie Molina (catcher) seem to be the only for sure holders of a position.  Dan Ortmeier has been making good progress in spring training and will most likely be the opening day starter.  Kevin Frandsen is battling for two positions against two veteran Giants players.  He battles Ray Durham at second base and Rich Aurillia at third.  Right now it seems as though the Giants are once again going to give the aging Durham, who is in the very steep decline of his career, the starting spot at second.  Which leaves Aurillia and Frandsen battling for the spot at third base and in my eyes I see Frandsen beating out Aurillia.  Having Aurillia as a utility man doesn’t look that bad, he can play all four infield position spots very well and he benefits the team more coming off the bench.

The Line-up: This is the teams big WEAKness.  They are going to have to resort to a lot of small-ball.  Rowand will have to step up and be the offensive catalyst and Benjie Molina needs to have a good year in the clean-up spot.  The Giants are hoping Randy Winn can return to 2006 form and help out at the top of the line-up.  The line-up really is not set, but I see it as this:

1. SS Omar Vizquel (.246)
2. RF Randy Winn (.300)
3. CF Aaron Rowand (.309)
4. C Benjie Molina (.276)
5. 2B Ray Durham (.218)
6. 1B Dan Ortmeier (.287)
7. LF Dave Roberts (.260)
8. 3B Kevin Frandsen (.269)

Wrap-Up

I’m just praying that the Giants can keep it together and that this new found chemistry can carry this team through the season.  Hopefully the Giants can find themselves in the heat of the playoff race come September, but realistically they will be buried at the bottom of the division.  The Giants and I alike have hope that the Giants can pull of a miracle run.  Can the new style of small-ball work for the Giants?  Can the Pitching Staff carry this team to the playoffs?  These are the two big questions for the Giants this year.

To be a fan of a sport, it helps to follow a team.  A team to call your own, your FAVorite team.  You know, a team that when you talk about them you refer to them as your own.  EX. “We should have won that game.”  So I needed to find a team that suits me.  I first began to look for a homestate team (California) since I only have one favorite team from my homestate.  I also wanted a team that had a chance at a championship, or as US hockey fans would say, a chance at winning the Stanley Cup.  My teams always seem to fall short and I hope that my new team breaks that trend.  The team I selected to follow was the Anaheim Ducks!  Yes the current holders of the Stanley Cup.  Here comes the bandwagon hopping yelps.  Like I said before I wanted a team from California and a team with success and the Ducks are both, as they are fourth in the western conference and second in the pacific division with 75 points.  Yes, I did learn about the poitns system and will talk more about that later in this article.

Now for a favorite player and of course this player needs to come from my favorite team.  I wanted a player that was young and at the top of his game.  Young, so that my knowledge of the NHL could grow along with my favorite palyer.  Talented because I don’t know what skills it would take to pick a rookie player that is developing, plus who wants to root for a sucky player.  I decided to pick third year wing, Corey Perry.  He leads the Ducks in goals, tied for third in assists, and is second in points which I also learned about.  Corey Perry is only twenty-two years of age, so he is perfect to grow-up with in the sport of hockey.  Perry was present in the NHL all-star game this year.

I selected my team and player, but now to actually learn how this sport is run.  First I wanted to learn how the standings worked because the teams weren’t sorted by wins, they were sorted by points.  A team is awarded two points for winning a game in regulation and the loser is awarded zero points.  However, if the teams go into overtime, the loser is awarded a point and the winner is still awarded two points.  Now that I can follow the standings accurately I wanted learn how they sorted their players stats.  Sports have their main stats, as football is yards, baseball is batting average, and basketball is points.  Hockey did it differently, they are sorted by points, which aren’t just goals.  Points are two stats combined, goals and assists, you add the two stats to get your point total. 

After learning about these two major parts of me following the sport I realized I needed to learn the positions of the players.  I quickly found out they just don’t put some guys on the ice and let them go at it.  The positions are split up into three basic categories: forwards, defencemen, and goalies.  Each team has three forwards: a left wing, right wing, and a centre.  These forwards usually split up into their own three lane which open sup for strategic play.  Each team also has two defencemen: a left defencemen and a right defensemen.  Then of course there is the goalie.  So now that I have done my research I have officially begun my journey as a hockey fan.

Cleveland Cavaliers get

• Ben Wallace (from Chi)
• Joe Smith (from Chi)
• 2009 2nd Round Draft pick (from Chi)
• Wally Szczerbiak (from Sea)
• Delonte West (from Sea)

Chicago Bulls get

• Drew Gooden (from Cle)
• Larry Hughes (from Cle)
• Cedric Simmons (from Cle)
• Shannon Brown (Cle)

Seattle Supersonics get

• Ira Newble (from Cle)
• Donyell Marshall (from Cle)
• Adrian Griffin (from Chi)

A deal of this size probably came to surprise in LeBron’s eyes because of the fact it seemed as though Cleveland wasn’t really in heavy trade talks with any franchise.  This deal brings in some big names that could essentially put the Cavaliers at the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics level.  Bringing in these players was a move to help the Cavaliers compete with those two power houses in the East.  Ben Wallace will be a big help down low defensively, but adds little to no help offensively.  Still, Wallace and Ilgauskas will be a formidable duo down low.  The Cavs will also get help from Szczerbiak, his outside shooting will be greatly appreciated off the bench (where I presume he will come from).  Gaining Delonte West as a backup point guard or starting shooting guard also helps this team.  West has great potential and can also shoot the long ball.  All in all Cleveland still has LeBron and this makes them an even better contender adding such great interior defense.  I just don’t know if they can overcome the Celtics, but I can definitely see them beating Detroit (again).

Seattle did not make these trades to help with their playoff hopes however.  Seattle is well out of the playoff race and this deal for them was looking towards free agency.  This trade gave them some cap room for hopes of signing some free agents to make a playoff push next year.  Shipping out Szczerbiak’s fat contract will really help in those efforts.  In Chicago’s case, they could still make the playoffs and it seems as though it was to get rid of a disappointing Ben Wallace and his big contract which is worth $30 million over the next two years.  The Bulls are only two games out of the eight spot in the playoffs, which is held by the Philadelphia 76ers.  A change of personal really seemed to be the Bulls’ goal.  They wanted to mix it up and adding Gooden and Hughes could actually help with the playoff goals.

Small Ball, that is the new title for the Giants play.  They are going to have to manufacture runs by stealing, utilizing the hit and run, and anything else that doesn’t depend on the long ball.  The Giants line-up could be called anything except for a line-up with pop.  A line-up in which contains Benjie Molina as the clean-up hitter and now Aaron Rowand as the star hitter of the group.  Although the Giants won’t be rocking the ball to outer space I still think there is hope for the Giants to be able to compete at the high level of the West. 

This is where Aaron Rowand is going to big.  Rowand’s chance to shine as a star and a leader is now.  He brings a lot to the table other than skills for the Giants.  For example, he has already been making efforts to meat with teammates in activities off the field.  This si so the team can bond and be able to depend on each other.  They will be able to talk to each other without anything negative coming to the conversation, this enables a team to give each other constructive criticism.  Also, one word can describe Aaron Rowand and that is Dirtbag.  He is what the sport of baseball is all about.  He is here to play for the game and not try and be bigger than the game.  Rowand lays it all on the line and is constantly putting his body at risk.  Winning baseball games is what Rowand wants and will do anything to get those wins.  The mentality of Rowand is that of a certain hall of famer Ty Cobb.  Although Rowand does not take the views to the extreme as does Cobb, he has minor qualities that resemble the great Center Fielder.  Now I am not talking skill level, no one man is close to Cobb in skill, but the way Rowand views the game.  Not to earn money or be the star of the world, but to be none as a player who worked his ass off and played his heart out for his team.  If Rowand can rub off this mentality on his teammates, then the sky is the limit.  If this Giants team comes out everyday and plays their asses off and have the desire to win, well they could very well get those needed wins to compete for the division title.  Giants players will have to take a part out of the Long Beach Dirtbags’ book and earn their respect through hard work and dedication.  The Giants can push for that playoff spot as long as they pull together as a team and believe in one another.  They have to not only want it though…They have to believe it.