Who Left The Door Open And Let The Dog Run Off?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY!! HOW ARE YOU TODAY? MIKE AND THE MADDOG HERE TO JOIN.

Chris "Maddog" Russo

Love them or hate them, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Mike Francesa made up the most popular talk show and reinvented how sports were talked. They would chat about anything sports worthy from 1-6:30 on WFAN 660 on the radio and were simulcasted on YES via tv. But, Doggie is gone, splitvilles. Oh man, will I miss him. Don't get me wrong I love Michael, but Doggie was the best. He would rant and scream, mispronounce names, and predict the Yankees wouldn't make the playoffs every stinking year. He was great. I actually got into a fight with Chris on the phone once about Ichro. I don't know what to do with myself. I loved listening and watching them. I loved when Chris would cry to Mike about how bad his Giants where or when they would just tease the producers of the show about anything. He was great. He had a way of making you hating him but still wanting to listen. He always made predictions that would never come true, he ranted about his kids, and he stepped all over the New York areas teams (his audience is primarily New York). But at the end of the day you just loved him. He was good for radio, he grilled guys in interviews. He once had a argument with Brian Cashman (New York Yankees G.M.) live on the air about some of his personnel moves. Doggie, doggie were will you surface. Rumor has it that it will be satellite radio, but that is just a rumor so far. What is Mike gonna do? I didn't get a chance to listen today to the show, first with the new developing news, because I am on a bus. I heard that Mike actually didn't care that he was solo, man I hope that isn't true after 19 years. I have been a devote fan for about 9 years, and I am broken up by this. I found out late last nite around 11:04 when I was playing Madden. Here I am riding high because the Mets are in first by a half game, full after the Phillies lost late last night, and I get this bombshell. If anybody is wondering why this is big news and why I even bloged about it then you don't get sports talk radio. They pioneered the whole method. They made the careers of alot of people. Go ask Mike and Mike what they did or see if the idiot in your town would be without these two. Love them and most people hate them, they made sports talk radio. They are part of New York pride, they are icons. Doggie, doggie where are you? So from now on I will never hear a grown man cry about his San Francisco Giants on the air, or hear about his weekend tennis outing. Below is a great clip from Doggie. It is a very amusing video, but the issue is very bad. It is when Adam "Pacman" Jones paralyzed somebody. The video is funning just because of how Doggie rants, the issue is very awful. To me, Adam "Thug" Jones should be in jail, but that is a whole nother can of worms. Trust me I will approach that topic now that Mr. Man has joined "America's Team", the Convicts or I mean the Cowboys. Just watch his anger, this was Doggie. These rants happen very often, especially when Michael wasn't in. Doggie, doggie.......



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy6ShZYlj68

The Dog Days.....

"What you have to remember is that baseball isn't a week or a month but a season - and a season is a long time."

Chuck Tanner

Baseball takes forever. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. You could be leading the league in hitting or homers leaving April in the minors by May, just go ask Carlos Delgado and Chris Shelton. The season starts in Spring and ends in Fall! Think about that the next time you sip you lemonade on a hot summer day. I love it, I can't get enough baseball. I watch the Caribbean World Series in the winter. Baseball is the greatest gift to sports. I know, I know football is the new hotness. Give me baseball any day. I can watch the Mets over and over again ,even when they lose, and never tire. The stretch run, August is upon us. Last August I was coasting with the Mets in first place, then came September. Oh, September you bitch. What a collapse, I was in a month long nightmare. I didn't want to speak. I tried everything, I changed the way I watched, I tried lucky socks, I ate chicken (Ask Wade Boggs, that was all he ate before games. He landed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.), name it. Now I have this new season, but somehow that bitter taste is still there. It is official, the Phillies are my worst hated team. I actually rooted for the Braves against them, THE BRAVES!!!! Jimmy Rollins is public enemy. Chase Utley, I would walk straight up to him and punch him. I hate Philly, I truly do!
The "dog days", August is a long month. This is when arms start to tire and new heroes are made. Rookie call ups, or journey men flash in the pans. The win/lose column is broken down in every way imaginable. One game here or there and start making golf plans for October. So enjoy the last month in a half, and i will be there at the end to write about the start of the playoffs.

Madden Release Day!

Today is a holiday to all sports nerds lives. Madden 09 has hit the shelves! I remember when I was a kid and I use to play it on my Sega Genesis, that is how far I go back. Over the past few years, say maybe 6 or 7, people have turned this game into an event. Now you can get the game at mid-night the Monday before. Man, things have changed. When I was in high school me and my friends would run to the store once we got out of class. We use to have leagues, we would draft a team and then play a whole season with them. We would have sleepovers and Christmas vacation meant Madden Bow-naza Time! We would rip into each other if we lost and I mean do it when we were out grabbing a drink. We would call each other about trades. Girlfriends had to wait, if you had a game you had to get it out of the way before you went anywhere. I will be honest, if my buddies wanted to start up a league tonight I would be in. I will always have Madden in my life. When my children are born, boy or girl, daddy will introduce them to the world of Madden. I can't wait til they are good so that I can actually play them. I woke up and went straight to the store. When I was a bit younger I would be first in line, now I don't feel like dealing with all the nonsense. I would have been there at mid-night, I once slept in a K-Mart parking lot for a Playstation 2. I slept about an hour, went home, played Madden, went to class, and then straight to my friends to see what team I would get in our league. I once won 40 dollars because some senior thought he could beat me. I was a sophomore, he sent his friend to get me and challenged me. I wooped up on him and collected. Madden is and will always be a big part of my life.

Football, It Is Still Summer But, It Is Time

"If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn't the same as the one I was wearing, I'd run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother."

Bo Jackson

Ah, I know that I have been very lazy and haven't been on my blog for a while but it is summer and I am trying to enjoy my time off. You know what can make the summer feel like it is over? Football. That time of year when the injury reports start to pile up, the fantasy football chatter starts, and you watch as players fight for a roster spot. 53 spots for about 80-90 guys. The journey can be long to get to the NFL but once you get there you can be out in a second. All it takes is a pop and there goes the knee. The average career span for a NFL player is 3.5 years. Can you imagine your boss telling you that before you accepted a job? Some guys are willing to do anything, some may cheat to make it. The saying goes, "By hook, or by crook". I heard a story the other day, I can't remember the guys name or what team he is trying to make. He graduated top of his class from Brown, he could be making a fortune on Wall Street (he was offered a job where the money was going to be great). He chose to give that all up, put it to the side, and give it a shot. That is passion. He wanted to prove the stigma about Ivy League athletes, and prove they weren't just brains in shoulder pads. That is a man's man. Those are the great stories you want to hear. Kurt Warner was a after thought for the Rams, a blown out knee and he took his opportunity. He went on to win a Super Bowl and two MVPs and he is still in the NFL. This summer story was about the world's most famous number 4. I will use his name once, Bret Farve, and then he is number 4 the rest of the way. Number 4 was my favorite player, until now. He acted like a spoiled brat and caused drama for the Packers all summer. He forced a trade to the Jets and now I must deal with him for the rest of the year (I live in the New York area). Number 4 is a baby and I have lost all respect for him. The Packers went back to him 3 times to make sure he didn't want to come back. Oh, and then he finally got the itch and decided that he was ready to take back the keys to the corvette. Not so fast the Pack said, they had already named Aaron Rodgers the starter. So what did Number 4 do? He demanded a trade to a division rival. I am glad that the Packers stood pat and traded him to the place they could get the most. Number 4 acted like a baby, so why should he get his demands? But, alas football is coming. Can't wait for my fantasy football draft, oh and there is something else I can't wait for...... My New York Football Giants get to defend their crown atop the NFL!!

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."

Archie Griffen

Firestarter!!

“When you have speed, you have to put the pressure on the other team. That's what I try to do all the time.”

Jose Reyes

They put the pressure on. They start the rallies. One hit, an inch of room and.... off to the races! They put the heat on the other team. At the beginning and the end of the day they leave you talking. "Man, I did everything right, but how did he get loose." I was watching the Super Bowl replay the other night and I noticed that Bradshaw loosed up the defense of the Patriots, he kept them on their toes. This allowed for Manning to pick apart the defense. Reyes bluffs down the third base line trying to cause a balk all the time. Fire starters, give them an inch they will take a mile. They are the instigators. Spark a match and they will blaze into an inferno. Speed kills, always and forever. Check the gauge, they fly above speed limits, they fly by their own speed. They are the firestarters. The 1982 Cardinals were full of these guys. They only had two guys in double digits in homers, but seven guys with double digit stolen bases. You can make smores with their back draft. They start rallies with their legs, not their bats. Jose Reyes is the catalyst for the Mets. He doesn't even need a hit to start a rally, just his legs. They bring the heat with their legs, not their arms. In the fourth quarter they are the ones who are still galloping like they just started to warm up. You look at them and think, "Man, I can't even stand but yet he is running full tilt." They run with ease, with grace. They make you look slow when you are full throttle. Mach 4 isn't even close, try Mach 24. A Navy jet couldn't catch them, a linear jet is walking compared to them. Don't let them out of their boxes, they will make you pay. Barry Sanders was one of these guys. He would have 5 yards on 10 carries then boom.... 70 yards and the end zone is in sites. Speed can not be taught it is a gift, it is a blessing. Lift all the weights you want. Give me a bunch of guys under sized with speed and I will beat any team any day and week. I am the Firestarter, I am the instigator. Try catching me, try it. I will give you a mile head start, I could run across water, that is how fast I run. I dare you, I double dog dare you, catch me..... I will wait up, I promise.

Breakout The Time Machine!

"A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide."

Mickey Mantle

Not since April 19th, April 19th have the lovable Mets been in first place. That is until around 3pm today! The Mets are back were they belong! Get out of our spot Philly, go worship some more fake sports figures ( they have a statue of Rocky, Rocky, on their City Hall stairs! What a joke!). The city of chumps, not champs. Now it is time for the Mets to turn up the heat and see who wants to stay in the kitchen. Who knew that the Mets had this fight, this gumption to stare the enemy in the eyes and get slammed to the cam pass. Stand right up wipe the blood, smile and ask "Is that all you've got?". Heart is the end-all-and-be-all in sports. The Mets gave up 6 runs in the ninth on Tuesday night, but just like that, they are in first after taking two straight in less then 24 hours. Only can you taste the sweet, after you have tasted the sour Mets' fans. Do not quit this year, it has a feelin' to it, the season that is. It only took a little over 3 months for the Mets to reclaim the top spot. Man, who would have thought that would have been the outcome after the debacle that was Tuesday night. Up 5-2 the Mets let up 5 runs before they were able to get one out, but boom! Now it is late Thursday night and everybody can careless about Tuesday, because we are in first. Man, it was a great felling today to watch Delgado get the game winning hit against a tough lefty who had allowed something like 5 hits to 66 lefty batters, give or take a few. Well, we are back in first and lets hope for long. Let the push begin, now if only we could get some re enforcements for the lineup, maybe Raul Ibanez from the Mariners?!?!?! One can only wish, but for now. Stick those tongues towards Philly, believe you me they can see them all the way from Jersey. Lets Go Metssss!!!!!!

Awful, Just Down Right Awful

In light of the "Most God-Awful Thing Of The Year Award" (the ESPY Awards), I thought that I would hand out my anti-awards:

Anti-MLB Player is ............. Barry Bonds/Roger Clemens: how naive do you honestly think we as Americans are? Yes, yes, this is the same country where Paris (How am I famous) Hilton could have an album and movie out in the same year. The same nation were 90% of Americans know more about K-Fed v. Brti-Brit then say....... the election. But, you really think that we are suppose to believe that the older you get the bigger and better you get without help. America might open their arms up if you weren't laughing in our faces.

Anti-Coach: Tough choice but I have to give it to Isiah Thomas over Bill Bellicheck. Honestly, Billy Sweatshirt is not the only coach to have video taped games illegally. Don Shula shut up and and get back to the retirement home, it's warm cereal time. Isiah, Isiah were do I begin. Tolluca Brown, brotha, brotha at least make the mistake pretty ( ask Kobe). You coached one of the highest regarded franchises in NBA into a cemetery for high priced Prima Donnas. Thank God you are finally out of town. How was it that this was your third team to ruin? David Stern bar him for life, for the life after, how about his kid's life? Banish him to the CBA............ oh wait, he bankrupt that league also. He may get the life time unachievement award.

Worst Sports Network: Do you really need to ask? ESPN, once the best now a circus. You are so enamored with the high light reel and the low life story. You would rather have Stewart Scott scream BOO-YA one thousand times in a row rather then actually have a real opinion and try not to step on the toes of the athletes you cover because God for bid they heard the truth. Get back to the real things..... the sport! Knock off this nonsense of having a happy-go-lucky view on the sports and get to the facts. Ray Lewis was up for murder charges 14 monthes later he is on set saying how much he loved God and the world. Get a grip you are what is wrong with the sport. You make these children grow up thinking that this is what an athelete is all about. The look-at-me, look-at-me generation. Lets celebrate the team and stop having count down lists about "The In Now List" in sports. Get back to the sport and quit making the ESPYs.