5K AND TRIATHLON SEASON IS COMING UP, MY RACES ARE STARTING TO ADD UP and so are my training miles

My First 5K of the Season. The Gasparilla 5k. My first sub 23 minute time.



5 am and weekend brick workouts are a way of life. Plain oatmeal with dried fruits and a spoon of peanut butter mixed in for breakfast sounds good too right? Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I can swim or bike in the evening before dinner. Sound like fun? Maybe triathlon is for you!
I get a lot of people asking me why I do triathlons, my answer? I'm not exactly sure, but there is something to competing and trying to better my times all while I drop about 20 lbs. My family has a blast at the festivals and the different towns that host the events are fun to visit. They are our family daycations and the kids actually look forward to them this season.

With this being my second season in the sport, I have stepped my game up and jumped from the Sprint format to Olympic Distance racing. It's basically twice the sprint distance. So far I have two major races planned, the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida and the Nautica NYC Triathlon in New York. I am in the middle of a 18 week training plan leading up to the St. Anthony's Tri. I have sprinkled some sprint triathlons and 5K running races between the two big Tri's to break up my training.

I wish someone introduced me to this sport when I was younger. It may have saved me an ACL, concussions and torn labrum. Maybe. Enjoy your day and run a mile for me today. Will be keeping the blog updated a bit more often from here out.

IF THE PLAYERS DO NOT BOYCOTT THE SUPER BOWL, THE OWNERS WIN!

The Super Bowl is the last chance to take a stand for the Players Union. In my opinion, after the Super Bowl, the owners could care less about the players. Many of the players are living beyond their means and with a stoppage, they will be scrambling for cash. Whether it's child support such as Antonio Cromartie's case or Bentley payments along with Penthouse suite rent on South Beach, these guys are in trouble. Not all have made the mistake of ballin' without a budget, but that is all we hear about. We rarely hear about the player making sound financial decisions. If the players made a stand, we could witness Jerry Jones break out in a sweat and Al Davis turn over in his grave, oh wait!

Once the Super Bowl passes, it's all in the hands of the owners. They get paid their TV money regardless and very few have Lease payments for their stadiums. Money is pocketed and interest is drawn. As an owner, I would love a year of no stress paid and get my TV money which is huge.

What is the dispute over. Two of the major issues are the owners want more of the revenue, just a few percent more of that 9 billion annual cash. The biggest push for the cash is for the owners that have lease payments for their stadiums. The second is that the owners want to extend the season by adding two games. Now as a fan, I do not want to see more games and more injuries. Instead, I would rather pay 1/2 price pre-season games and the lengthened season would just rule out those irrelevant teams for two extra weeks like the Buffalo Bills and most teams out of the NFC west. We would basically see two pre-season quality games at the end of the season for many teams at full price. Who cares about what the fans want, they are just filling the seats? Here comes baseball!

WHY WOULDN'T NFL OWNERS SHELL OUT 7 MILLION A SEASON FOR HARBAUGH? They consistently waste money in first round draft picks!

I think Harbaugh is worth an initial contract of 7.5 million for 3 seasons. Prove himself and I would lock him up long term, but anything more is just asking for Jamarcus Russell all over again! Sure he wins, and owners waste first round money on busts all the time, Mike Williams, Charles Rogers, and Jamarcus "dope man" Russell. We can see what all the hype does in Josh McDaniels Coaching career. If Miami has the money and dislike their Ron Jeremy/Stan Van Gundy wanna be coach so be it. Just my opinion.
I am glad Harbaugh didn't go to Michigan. It would take 3 years for Big Blue to be competitive unless they practice outside of normal hours and look where that got them. I like the fit for current TCU coach Gary Patterson or Chris Peterson of Boise State. They dominate their conference and seem to do the right thing. The kids respond!
Harbaugh would come in with a lot of pressure with a $5+ million contract and what would happen if he were to sink when he got there? Boosters would have him ousted in 3 years and where would that get Michigan?
Rich Rod was hated from the time he set foot on campus for many reasons. Hell, I couldn't stand his arrogant demeanor. I loved watching him lose to USF on occasion and when he began at Michigan, I had issues. I saw what he was trying to accomplish, but after 3 years and no defensive depth and Charlie Brown kickers, his time was up. So, Dave Brandon needs to pick up Peterson or Patterson and get this program back to the elite! Just my opinion.

MY FANTASY FRENZY HAS TURNED INTO A DISASTER! Poll: How is your team doing?

My fantasy team is in total dissaray. I am dead last in the weakest division in my fantasy league. Okay my draft did not go as well as I had hoped, a few injuries, and some bad match ups have left me at 4-7. My team bus would have a bumper sticker that says "I'd rather be Fishing" The new 2 or 3 back systems that most teams have at least experimented with have hurt. I opted to pick up 3 top ten tight ends and kept a running back that I thought was the man going into this season. Justin Forsett is a bust and judging by his tweets, he has lost all his mojo. I can't believe I declined a deal for a 1st rounder next season for him! Never drink during your fantasy draft! Marcedes Lewis has done well for me this season, dropped Chris Cooley after the injury and Shiancoe is inconsistent. QB Brady has done well for me when I started him. A couple mistakes after Moss left the team, 12 and 14 pt outings had me questioning his rapport with the new receivers. Carson Palmer as my back up is clearly on the decline. Never the same after the knee injury, but I felt he could still represent against some weaker match ups. Not so much! He sucks. Other running backs Ricky Sticky icky Williams, Darren Sproles both inconsistent and Kieland Williams who may lose his starting game after Clinton Portis is put on IR. 4-7 has me looking at fantasy basketball already, I usually start checking my basketball lineup when fantasy football playoffs begin but lights out early this year. Guaranteed a top 3 draft pick unfortunately. Vote on the Poll.

BULLS/BUCS/RAYS/MICHIGAN updates

Well we are just over 2/3rds of the College football season and Cam Newton is still the biggest story out there. I will not be touching on that but I will talk about my South Florida Bulls who basically control their own destiny with a couple Big East Conference home games against Pittsburgh and Connecticut with a trip to Miami squeezed between. Pitt has 4 losses coming into the tilt and a well balanced offense with an aggressive defensive front. They were throttled by Miami 31-3 earlier in the season. Last week the huskies ran for almost 300 yards on the Pitt defense so I see opportunity there. I feel like USF wins this one at home by 2 somehow. Then will get smashed by Miami next week and UCONN beats us by running the ball to set up play action passes taking advantage of Washington in the secondary. We're still going bowling! Gametime 12:00pm on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com

Bucs have a surprising 6-3 headed to San Francisco this weekend. Jeff Faine is questionable at center but it appears he lost his job when he comes back. Kinda like the car business when you go on a 3 day vacation and your office is packed into a shoe box sitting outside your old office. Jereme Zuttah replaces him. Just a couple more wins and we're looking at playoffs! Solid QB play and Rookie WR Michael Williams have given us fans something to look forward to even if all our home games are blacked out this year! Will they Blackout playoff games?

Rays are liquidating their team faster than the Marlins did(after they won it all)and are banking on an 8th grader to lock down the bullpen. Just kidding, but they are not actively buying in Free Agency. ACL or not, I may have a shot at first base! That's all I will say about the Rays. It's not even close to baseball season!

My Wolverines have a big tilt on Saturday as it's the Battle of the Rhodents. Wolverines vs. Badgers! Wisconsin's only loss was to Michigan State. They are 12th in the nation rushing at 228 yards a game and should have a field day against Michigan's sad defense. Give them credit, the Wolverine's D played well against Purdue but they are not Wisconsin. I think Denard Robinson is the wild card here. If the Badgers make him beat them in the air, we will see Forcier in the 2nd half. 38-23 Wisconsin. I hope I'm wrong.

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

DEAR RAYS, THIS RELATIONSHIP IS NOT WORKING OUT....AND IT'S NOT US, IT'S YOU!!!!

I have been in Tampa for 13 years and have never been able to figure out why the Tampa Bay Devil Rays(the team name when I moved down here) were located in St. Petersburg. Tropicana field was built for another team from what history I have gathered and they bailed on the idea for some reason or another. The team has changed owners a couple times with the previous owner Vince Nimoli being a huge creep from all accounts. The new owner, Stu Sternberg comes in gives free parking with 4 or more people in the car, bring your own food and drink to the stadium, hires a good manager and keeps the front office somewhat intact. Great right? Yet noone shows up. Sure we have heard about the economy, unemployment etc. But according to ESPN and all the local media and the star athletes on the team that is no excuse. Just ask David Price and Evan Longoria they will tell you to your face that the broken economy and unemployment is not an excuse. Let me ask you, would you rather go to a Rays game or go job hunting? I would rather go to a Rays game if I had a job and I know that if I didn't have a job, that my time would be spent looking for one. Even at 7:05pm on a Monday night when the games are on. I may watch it on television while job hunting on monster.com or I might catch the last 3 innings later say around 8:30pm after I put my kids to sleep on a school night. I would love to go see the Rays try to win the division more than almost anything but if I had no job guess what? If I had no job, I'm not going. I won't even bring up location because I live in North East Tampa and it's a drive to get there.

Now you read all this and think of the relationship between the Rays and their broke fans and question where can all this lead? Sure the fan is down but we can watch it on TV, but all you hear is the drive by media ripping the fans for not coming out. The stars and leaders on the team telling you they are embarrassed on the turn style count. Maybe Stu should not have let the cat out of the bag publicly last week when he said he is slashing the payroll next season. And this was just before the Yankee series, the biggest series of the season. Attention Rays PR dept. do not punish the fans who are single parents, unemployed, or worse off in a bad economy because those that are hoping for the return of the economy are the same one's that will not buy tickets next season if you keep this up! Right now Rays this relationship is on you! If you and the negative media want to see fans show up, sponsor a job fair after the games instead of concerts and play in front of a packed house every game from now till the end of the World Series! The Bucs are another story!

DOWN A SAFETY, WHAT CARD SHOULD THE BUCS PLAY NEXT? THE YOUTH MOVEMENT POINTS TO THE ROOKIE CARD!

The unfortunate turn of events in the Buccaneer's safety spot, being the suspension of Tenard Jackson, has Tampa rookie Cody Grimm next in line! From the preseason games I attended, the rookie has more of an instinctive play style which should translate into a full time starting spot. He has got to play out of his mind to keep the starting job though. Sabby Piscatelli was over his head all last season and looks lost to me this year as he is pressing too hard and lacks the instincts needed for the position. Dropping him third on the depth chart, he will enjoy 5-10 snaps a game to give both Grimm and fellow new comer Corey Lynch a breather. Lynch is a winner, I like his style. Out of Appalachian State, Lynch was signed off the Bengals practice squad last season. No relation to John Lynch but he respects John greatly. He even wore 47 with the Bengals. Not here though.

I dig the youth movement of the Bucs, but they need to transition and justify their decisions better. Growing resentment from the fan base and negative press from the drive by media has these guys wearing a black eye. The press had us geeked up for a possible bucs game cameo on Sunday but hopes were dashed as the Glazers were focused on the opening of the Glazer Childrens Museum this week instead of getting Ray Jay seats filled. Nothing wrong with the opening of the museum, I like the fact that they put forth 5 million to the cause. But put someone out in front of Ray Jay to get those tickets sold the fans deserve TV. Another Black out for the Steelers game, a black eye for the Glazers. WOW!