Christmas Vacation

Christmas time is my favorite time of the year. I know this is a little late, but since I'm still on my Christmas break, it's still pertinent.

I get about two weeks off from work during this break. It is great to get some time away from work, away from all the problems and just catch your breath. I know come January 9, I will be rejuvenated and kind of eager to get back. While it is nice to be off, these times can be kind of dull. Finding something to do is not as easy as I wish it would be, but being lazy and spending time with my wife, is pretty nice.

Another great thing about this time of year is spending time with family. I don't nearly as much time with either of our families as we would like. But getting to enjoy time with family and listen to my Dad and his brothers and sister reminisce on the past is always fun. Getting to see my mom's side is equally as great. Having the whole family over to our house reminded me of my younger days when that's where everyone would be. We haven't had a Christmas like that is probably 10 years.

On the other side, it was so much fun to see our nephews open their presents and see their faces light up. They would scream about how that was exactly what they wanted and then immediately ask to have help to put it together. Those are the moments that make this time so fun, the joy on people's faces and just the time spent being around each other.

I'll have a sports blog up in the next day or so about the sports events and happenings that I'm looking forward to most in 2012.

Most wonderful time of the year!

Let the bowling begin.

The college football bowls begin today with three games to start the schedule.

But for me, the one worth watching the most today is the New Orleans Bowl as San Diego State takes on Louisiana-Lafayette. As a Troy Trojan, the New Orleans Bowl is a place I'm familiar with. I've been to all three of the Trojans trips to the Big Easy. I witnessed two from the sidelines and one from the stands. While it will be tough watching the game this year, I hope the Ragin' Cajuns pull out the W for the Sun Belt. I'm not necessarily one who roots for the Sun Belt teams throughout the year, but during bowl season I make an exception.

I will check in throughout the bowl season with predictions and thoughts on games, but I will be looking forward to next years bowl games already because I know that Troy will be back and make another statement in the bowls.

Doyle Alexander for Who?

You can find this post as well as a bunch of other good ones on http://americaning.tumblr.com/


Bud Selig is having a nice laugh right.

Sure, the NL MVP and star of his hometown team recently tested positive for PEDs, but Selig has been made to look good by one man: David Stern.

This NBA trade fiasco with Chris Paul has been laughable. And the reason Selig can have a good laugh about it is the endless trades baseball teams make throughout the year, in season and out. Selig has even allowed trades of teams MLB has taken ownership of; much like the NBA has with the Hornets.

Just look at what the MLB-owned Montreal Expos gave away to get Bartolo Colon back in 2002: future all-stars in Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore and a Cy Young Award winner in Cliff Lee.

Maybe those guys weren’t superstars at the time, but that is one of the great things about baseball trades. Those minor league prospects that few people of have heard of can turn into franchise icons.

John Smoltz and Jeff Bagwell were both prospects in the minors traded at the deadline. Smoltz went from the Tigers organization to Atlanta for Doyle Alexander (sounds like a President from the late 1800’s). Sure, Alexander had an immediate impact for Detroit, going 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA to help the Tigers win the 1987 AL East Pennant, but which name is going to live on longer in that trade?

Bagwell was sent packing to Houston from the Red Sox as double-A third baseman. The player the Red Sox got in return, relief pitcher Larry Andersen. Anderson had limited success in Boston, while Bagwell become one of the best players in the 90’s with a possible induction into Cooperstown on the way.

Mark McGwire’s magical (now tainted) chase of Roger Maris in 1998 would have happened in Oakland instead of St. Louis if not for a trade that sent Big Mac to the Cards for T.J. Mathews, Eric Ludwick and Blake Stein.

But it is not just the deadline deals that are so great, some great and not so great moves have been made in the months leading up to Spring Training.

How did Ozzie Smith end up with the Cardinals? In December of 1981, Smith along with Steve Mura, and Al Olmsted came from San Diego for Garry Templeton, Sixto Lezcano and Luis DeLeon.

Ten years earlier, during the holiday season of 1971, Hall of Famer and strikeout king Nolan Ryan wound up with the Angels in a trade that sent Jim Fregosi to the Mets for Ryan, Frank Estrada, Don Rose, and Leroy Stanton.

Another superstar traded in the offseason: Ken Griffey, Jr. He was sent from Seattle to the Reds for four players in February of 2000. While Junior never had the big impact in Cincinatti that Reds fans hoped for, the move shows that anyone can be moved anytime in baseball.

Theo Epstein made one his better moves in the offseason, when he acquired Josh Beckett from the Marlins in November of 2005. Two years later, Beckett helped lead the Red Sox to the World Series going 4-0 in the playoffs with an era under 2.00.

Trades like these are just one of the things that makes baseball so great. The offseason is never really “off” with the constant watch for players on the move. At anytime Brian Cashman of the Yankees or Jon Daniels of the Rangers could be looking for that next Nolan Ryan or Ozzie Smith.

Sure, your team may lose that great pitching prospect, but in return you get that leadoff hitting centerfielder that you have been wanting for years.

So while the NBA and David Stern figure out how many trades they can veto or how many four-team trades they allow, baseball fans can watch the proverbial hot stove for the player who will help their team to the pennant and anticipate who exactly is going to be the “player to be named later”.

That's What it's Called??

(To start things off, this is not a sports post, just a personal story.)

Do you ever remember being told something when you were young, and continuing to believe that thing for far too long. No, not like the Easter Bunny or Santa, but more like a word that you started saying when you were young, and even though it was wrong you were never corrected.

For me, that word is “beezer”. I started saying it when I was young, still use it to this day, but it wasn’t until late in my high school years I realized it was a made up word.

What does it mean? Well, imagine the sound of a beard trimmer or clippers for shaving heads. They make a “buzzing” sound or to me a “beezing” sound. And ever since one day as a little boy at the barber shop when I heard that sound, those things have been known as “beezers”. It was used a noun as in “go get the beezer” or as a verb “time to beezer your hair”.

So it was a strange and disappointing day in high school when I remarked to my friend that I needed to “beezer up my hair” and he had no idea what I was talking about. I had been led on this whole time to believe that’s what they were called! My parents lied to me!

But now the word has become a joke in our family. It is still used and will continue to be and I am sure when I have kids they will be told it’s a beezer.

So, does anyone else have stories like that or did my parents just want a good laugh later on in life??

Bad for Baseball

PED. Those letters look like they are about to be back in the headlines for Major League Baseball. And once again, it is another star player who is being linked to Performance Enhancing Drugs.

The 2011 NL MVP, Ryan Braun of the Brewers, has tested positive for using PEDs. This is bad news for baseball. Braun has been one of the best players in the game over the past few years and become one of the more marketable players around the league. Now to have this come up after a great postseason and a big start to free agency is not the kind of news that MLB wanted.

The "Steroid Era" looked like it had come and gone. Players are no longer hitting 60 home runs and looking like bodybuilders. But apparently there are problems still around. If Braun is not able to win his appeal, he will serve a 50-game suspension which will be a black eye for Bud Selig and the league that looked like it was becoming clean.

I'm BACK!

After a long hiatus, I'm giving this another go. I've had some recent motivation to put my thoughts back on the web. I last left off (two years ago) at the start of another college football season in which my team, the Troy Trojans, would go on to win a fourth straight Sun Belt championship in 2009 and added another in 2010.

As much as we don't like it, all good things must come to an end. That happened in a big way for the 2011 Troy football team. The team finished 3-9, the worst season under coach Larry Blakeney. Excuses can be made, but they don't help. It was just the second time since I have become a Trojan we have had a losing season. The last time it happened was in 2005. I won't dwell on the season, because it is come and gone. There will be another next year and another chance to start a streak.

There are some things to look forward to for fans of Troy. The basketball team has started the season 4-3. While that shouldn't blow you away, for this team with no expectations that start is impressive. With a new arena coming into play next season, there could be good times ahead for Don Maestri and his teams.

But even looking past Troy sports, the headlines are full of big-time news. From scandals to lockouts, big free agent signings, and the always fun BCS there is plenty of things to talk about and start some good conversations.

I will be back to speak my mind but until enjoy reading.

Super Conferences? No Thanks

Syracuse vs Duke.

Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina

Looks like my bracket for a Final Four, but in this case it is future matchups on the ACC gridiron as the collegiate conference landscape continues to change.

Are these new 16-team super conferences really the way to go? What will it do for not only football, but the other sports played throughout the year. And is all the money worth it?

Back in 2003, Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech each accepted invitations to join the ACC. Many expected this move to lead the ACC to becoming the next great conference in college football. The results? A 1-6 record in the BCS during that time.

Not that those games are the ultimate factors in determining conference success, but come on , penning your conference’s best against the best from another, one would hope to at least win half of those.

The ACC is back at it again, but they are not the only ones.

In recent weeks, the Big 12 has lost Texas A&M to the SEC and now could lose others to either the ACC or PAC-12.

For a conference like the SEC, which has won the last five BCS championships, what exactly do the Aggies bring to the table? Sure, there will be more Texas TV sets tuned in on Saturday afternoons but does the quality of play get that much better?

For all these college presidents and conference commissioners saying the top priority is the student-athlete are making fools of themselves. This is all about the almighty dollar. Sure Syracuse and Pittsburgh will help the ACC during basketball season, but are there other major sports worth it? Syracuse last finished in the top 10 in the polls in 1992. For Pittsburgh, you have to go back to 1982! The thing those schools do for the conference is give them more market access which means more money.

Another thing we’ll see out of these new mega-conferences is the possible loss of some of college football’s best rivalries. The Texas-Texas A&M matchup could be done. Instead of the Longhorns, the Aggies could be facing Vanderbilt to wrap up their year. For Pittsburgh, instead of the Backyard Brawl with West Virginia, it could be season-ending game against fellow import Boston College.

For some fans these super conferences are great. The bigger the better. But for traditionalists, let’s keep it the way it is, strap on some leather helmets and play three yards and a cloud of dust kind of game.

As you read this, deals are still being made “in the best interest of the student-athletes” to make form these new conferences. While I’ve complained about these this whole column, when the new conferences are put in place, I know where I’ll still be on those wonderful fall Saturdays. Sitting right on my recliner, watching every single minute of it that I can.