BUCCANEERS WIN, USF WINS ON THE ROAD, PLACED WELL AT MY TRIATHLON BUT MY YANKEES LOST!!

Three out of four is good enough! After weeks of hearing about the Bucs in the tank, they pulled out a quality come from behind win! I could only imagine watching it on television or in person as the game was blacked out here locally. The young Bucs showed some poise from what I heard on the radio! 2nd year quarterback Josh Freeman led his team down the field for a game winning drive with a rollout pass to Cadillac Williams in the end zone! After being dominated for 80% of the game K2 (Kellen Winslow) and Mike Williams kept the final drive alive to finish off the young St. Louis Rams.
USF Bulls traveled to Cincinnati for a quality win on the road for what I believe is their first Big East win! Hopefully they have found a solid receiver in Faron Hornes as he had the longest play from scrimmage for the Bulls, a 71 yard TD pass from the struggling BJ Daniels. It was a welcomed sight as the struggling Bulls have failed to score a touchdown in two straight games against Syracuse and West Virginia.
After laughing at the Rays performance against the Texas Rangers, the New York Yankees were equally as laughable. The big bats were silent for the most part as the pitching for the Texas Rangers appears to be peaking at the perfect time! It was great to see the excitement on the field and brings me back to my own little league experience in Brooklyn, Michigan where we celebrated the exact same way when we won the title. Not much changes in grown men as they revert back to an inner child mentality when the final out is made. I still believe that the only chance the Rays had to get the World Series trophy was in 2008, when the Yankees were down. For the Yankees, there is always next year, hopefully with Carl Crawford patrolling the outfield!
Officially my first season of Triathlon is over! After months of training that included hundreds of miles swimming, biking and running, I am taking a couple weeks off with some light jogging and weight training. I learned a lot about myself this season and my strong finish at the end has allowed me to see what I am capable of! I don't plan on going pro, but my 22nd finish within the most competitive age group gives me hope of improving next season. I plan on at least 6 triathlons in the state and hope to make it to the Clark Lake triathlon in July 2011 in Jackson, Michigan. My tri season started with what they call a super-sprint in Clermont, Florida. With a shorter swim (only 200 yards)and an 8 mile bike paired with a 2 mile run, it was the perfect beginner triathlon. My final and longest triathlon was this past weekend and consisted of 1/3 swim, 10 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run. I look forward to the longer races next season.

CALL THE POLICE....SOMEONE HAS STOLEN THE RAYS BATS!!!

I found them, they were sitting on their shoulders. Last night was a sad way to end the season for many Rays fans. They appeared as a shell of themselves, almost as if they knew they could not hit Cliff Lee. Sure they had beat him this season 3 times but 2 wins were vs. a horrible Seattle defense and one was a blown save by the bullpen. Bottom line is if you want hits, you have to swing the bat and protect the plate with two strikes. Lee was on last night and continually used the backdoor slider or curve as his strike out pitch.
It will be a long off season and I still feel the best shot the Rays had at winning the World Series was in 2008 when the Yankees were in a bad place. And whatever happened to the best hitter vs. left handed pitchers? Do you know who it was? Gabe Kapler!! He took a trip to the training room on August 16th and came out with a sprained left ankle and never returned. But Rocco came back. WOW! Heck of a sprain if they had room for Rocco and not Kapler.
Anyway the Rays will not only start fresh with the bats next season, they will also be bringing in some fresh talent with the losses of free agents and club options they will likely not take up.
Free agency will claim most of the production and some lack there of. Crawford, Pena, and Shoppach will likely go. Along with them Soriano, Kapler and Choate. Dan Wheeler who cannot seem to pitch to lefties is hopefully gone and Willy Aybar who I would like to stay along with Crawford is due for a club option.
The Rays have a great group of young(cheaper) talent on the way up and I would have loved to see Hellickson pitch instead of Big Game James Shields in the ALDS. We did see glimpses of him toward the end of the season and will most likely see him, Desmond Jennings and maybe Matt Moore next season. Great season, I didn't expect them to make it through the all-star break in such great shape as their schedule appeared brutal leading up to it. They played their best ball that month if I'm not mistaken and battled the Yankees, Boston, Minnesota and a decent Detroit team at the time. What a run that was fun to watch as a baseball fan, but you gotta swing the bat to win in the playoffs. Drawing walks is for Co-ed softball.

RANDY MOSS TO THE VIKINGS FOR ........

It is now confirmed that Randy Moss has been traded to the Vikings but not straight up for Jared Allen which was reported. He was shipped out for a 3rd round draft pick, straight up. Moss checks out mentally as soon as he feels disrespected and you bet he felt that after Tom Brady received his new contracted before the Patriot's 1st game of the 2010 season. Randy's post game rant after game one signed his ticket out of New England and actually helped the Pats come out a draft spot ahead. The Patriots gave up a 4th round pick to the Raiders in 2007 draft.
That is just how the Patriots Roll! They will not play contract games nor will they pay you big loot, unless your name is Tom Brady. They received great production from Moss at times and I'm sure fantasy championships were won based on his monster numbers. They came out ahead getting a 3rd rounder for the guy three years later. Brilliant in my mind especially since they are rebuilding yet are pretty competitive. This year the offense sees good matchups with their new tight ends and the Three Chipmunks in Wes Welker, Julian Edelman and Danny Woodhead. Credit for that name goes to my buddy Cesar in Boston. I will use it the rest of the season. Aside from the young defense and mini offensive weapons paired with 8 draft picks in the first 4 rounds in next years draft, the Patriots are setting themselves up for another championship run! I see 10-6 this season realistic and then maybe 2nd round of the playoffs. If the receivers can do something special and the defense grows up quickly they will sniff 11-5. This a calculated move by the Patriots. Queue the Vincent Jackson rumors.

Fantasy Impact: From a Tom Brady standpoint, his production should dip a bit as Welker will draw the best DB from the defense. In turn Welker, who admits he is not 100% may get more looks but production should dip a bit as well. There is noone to stretch the D allowing for Welker's under routes. Moss: It will give Brett Favre one more receiver to force the ball into for more picks. Favre: could go either way as he will now just fling the ball to Randy when pressured. Good Luck Randy, shave your beard
you look dirty!

-David Simmons