Manny Ramirez the Latest to Go Down

Just when we were trying to get over the hangover of Alex Rodriguez, another MLB superstar gets caught up in the steroid scandal. This time it's Manny Ramirez, arguably the best right-handed hitter the sport has seen in decades.

The Dodgers will be without their catalyst for 50 games in the midst of having the league's best record and started 13-0 at home, but that was with Ramirez. Their first game without Ramirez resulted in their first home-loss of the season, and it didn't make it any better that it was to the Nationals.

So every steroid case has a story behind it, and usually every players has a pile of excuses that normally don't add up. Ramirez had one very simple thing to say: "I'm sorry about this whole situation".

Ramirez was clearly torn down by this situation. Ramirez took a female fertility drug called hCG, which is a medication used to help the body naturally create testosterone. Steroid users take hCG after coming off of a cycle to help their body create testosterone again.

Ramirez says he didn't know it was banned and his doctor told him it was OK to take. We've all heard that story before. The primary use of hCG is what makes Ramirez look guilty of using steroids at one time, which he says he never did and that he took hCG for medical purposes. He didn't give anymore information on the subject after that.

The fishy part about this whole thing is that if Ramirez was using hCG purely for medical purposes, then why didn't he go through the MLB to find a medication that wasn't banned? With all of the scandals floating around and with everything that was at stake with Ramirez, I just can't comprehend how you could be so careless. He had to know he was being monitored due to himself being one of the best hitters in the game.

Either way, this will tarnish Ramirez's legacy, as it will do to every player that's been connected to steroids. It's a shame because Ramirez was such a pure hitter that was making a strong case for MVP early this season. He was batting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBI's.

Until all of the facts come out, however, we can't throw Ramirez in the same category as Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Alex Rodriguez. So far he's handled the situation pretty well and he's been upfront about it, unlike Bonds, Rodriguez, and a handful of others.

At one time "Manny being Manny" was funny, but it's not so funny anymore.

Two Games, Two Suspensions, One Great Series

Last night's Conference semi-final action was full of ticked off players and physical basketball, mostly coming from the Rockets-Lakers series. Nonetheless, Stu Jackson probably had a busy night sorting out the mess from last night's two games.

Magic-Celtics

Rafer Alston and Eddie House were involved in the first incident of the night. Alston apparently got sick of getting his butt handed to him after House drained a three right in front of Alston. As House ran past, Alston gave him a slap in the back of the head.

It was more like a slap your mother would give you for saying a bad word at the dinner table than it was a malicious punch. Either way, Alston has to be suspended for this action because the NBA has no tolerance for blows above the shoulder.

Alston made the lamest excuse after the game stating, "He elbowed me and it was a natural reaction". Really? I, along with many others, have looked at the video plenty of time and I'm pretty sure House was just running by and you threw a cheap shot. Fortunately for the Magic, I don't think they'll miss him too much in Game 3.

Rockets-Lakers

Now to the real series that everyone cares about. If you didn't get a chance to watch last night Game 2, then here's a couple simple numbers you should see. Two ejections, five technical fouls, and one flagrant foul. Now that sounds like some turbulent basketball!

The game first got heated up in the third quarter when Lamar Odom and Luis Scola started jawing it up. Pretty soon the entire Lakers squad was bickering with Scola.

The real action started on the next play when Derek Fisher through probably one of the toughest screens I've seen in a long time on Scola. Fisher looks over his shoulder, sees Scola coming, lowers his shoulder and absolutely levels Scola onto the floor.

This seemed to almost ignite the Lakers team and they went on to dominate the rest of the game. However, this is basketball, not hockey, so Fisher has to be suspended. The tension didn't end there.

With about six minutes remaining in the game, Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest were battling for a rebound when Bryant threw a physical blockout on Artest and elbows him in the throat. Shockingly enough, Artest is whistled for the foul.

As we all know, Artest is a very animated player that doesn't put up with much. After being called for the foul, he runs over to the officials to protest the call and eventually sprint down court to Bryant and gets in his face. This gets Artest ejected and as he's leaving the court and makes a gesture of cutting Bryant's throat. This is starting to sound like WWE wrestling.

Even though the Rockets lost last night, the series is still in their hands. Not only do they still have home-court advantage but a physical series will play in their favor. Artest is shooting lights out right now, Aaron Brooks has found his touch behind the arc, and Carl Landry looked like a beast inside the paint scoring 21 points and grabbing ten rebounds off the bench. Now they just have to keep Yao out of foul trouble and they can win this series.

All I can say about all this is that this has been one of the most memorable playoffs of recent memory, and it's nowhere close to being over with. There's still a lot more physical basketball left in the Rockets-Lakers series.

Minnesota Vikings!! Come on Down...You're The Next Contestant on the Brett Favre Show!!

The media is once again salivating over the Brett Favre saga. Now the Minnesota Vikings want to throw their hat in the ring.

Vikings coach Brad Childress reportedly plans to meet with Favre to discuss Favre's return to the NFL. In a way this story surprises me and in a way it doesn't. I've learned to expect the unexpected regarding this entire situation.

Being a long-time Green Bay Packer fan, it killed me seeing Favre run out of the tunnel in Gang Green last season. As much as it hurt me, I knew Favre still had the itch to play and that he deserved another shot at getting his second Super Bowl ring.

However, Favre no longer seems to be the blue-collar, laid back guy we all thought he was in Green Bay. Last season Favre came off as arrogant and victimized himself in the Green Bay situation when he was clearly the one who couldn't make his mind up over his "retirement".

Not only did he crumble down the stretch had have one of his worst seasons in his storied career, but he also created discomfort in the Jets locker room. Just ask Eric Mangini and Thomas Jones.

Favre obviously has a powerful addiction to playing football, and I'm not criticizing him for that. Many superstars have done this toward the end of their careers like Michael Jordan to the Wizards, Joe Namath to the Rams, and Joe Montana to the Chiefs. If he wants to play, let him play. If anyone has earned it, it's definitely Favre.

But can the Vikings really afford to make this gamble? It's a high risk, high reward proposition for them. You're only going to get Favre for a couple of seasons at the most and can Favre really carry this team to the Super Bowl?

With all due respect to Favre, he's only been to the Super Bowl twice and has had much better talent around him in his career than he will if he plays with the Vikings. Favre turns the Vikings into the New York Jets of last season. They'll show promise early one but crumble down the stretch. The Packers and the Bears have gotten better this offseason so the Vikings should probably get comfortable down in the NFL North cellar with the Lions.

The Vikings are better off sticking with Tavaris Jackson. His accuracy has gotten a lot better since his rookie season and he's a legitimate runner. As odd as this will sound, Jackson is on the rise and Favre is getting older and older.

It pains me to say this because I truly think Favre is one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, but his time came and gone when he took off that Packer uniform in the playoffs.

If Favre does come back to the Vikings, their first game is against Eric Mangini's Browns. If that's not intriguing then I don't know what is. And of course, the bone-chilling scene of watching Brett Favre trot onto Lambeau Field wearing purple and gold. Now that's just down right creepy.

Brett Favre's Stats Last Four Seasons

2008 22 Td, 22 Int, 3,142 yds, 81 QB rating (w/ Jets)
2007 28 Td, 15 Int, 4,155 yds, 95.7 QB rating
2006 18 Td, 18 Int, 3,885 yds, 72.7 QB rating
2005 20 Td, 29 Int, 3,881 yds, 70.9 QB rating

2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs at a Glance....

The 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been very exciting so far with plenty of twists and turns.

Monday night marked another one of those twists and turns as both Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin earned hat tricks. The Capitals still earned the win to take a 2-0 series lead.

Vancouver took care of business in Game 3 against the Blackhawks which may be to surprise for some people. What certainly must be a surprise is the #8 seed Ducks taking a 2-1 series lead over the Red Wings!

Eastern Conference


Penguins vs. Capitals (Was leads 2-0)

The battle of the superstars. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Both are playing extremely well in this series. The only difference is Ovechkin actually has some help. Crosby needs some help from his teammates or the Capitals are going to run away with this series. Crosby has scored four of the five goals for the Penguins.
Leading Goal Scorer: Alex Ovechkin (Was) 4 goals; Sidney Crosby (Pit) 4 goals

Bruins vs. Hurricanes (Tied at 1)

The Bruins looked like one of the best teams in the NHL for much of the regular season but cooled off towards the end. It's been a while since the hockey fans of Boston have seen playoffs success from their Bruins but now the series shifts back to Carolina with the series tied at 1. I see the Hurricanes making the upset behind the great goaltending of Cam Ward who pitched a shutout in Game 2 under a lot of pressure.
Leading Goal Scorer: Marc Savard ( Bos) 2 goals




Western Conference

Canucks vs. Blackhawks (Van leads 2-1)

The Canucks continue to show that they are for real this postseason. They took a crucial game in Chicago on Tuesday to reclaim home-ice for this series. I see a 7-game series in the making, but I like the Blackhawks to still come out on top, but it will take seven games!
Leading Goal Scorer: Henrik Sedin (Van) 3 goals


Red Wings vs. Ducks ( Ana leads 2-1)

The Ducks entered the playoffs as nothing but a sitting duck for elimination but keep fighting like they belong in the Stanley Cup Finals as a #8 seed. They stole home-ice advantage from the Red Wings in Game 2 and won their homecoming game to take a 2-1 series lead on Tuesday night, but it wasn't without controversy. The ref blew the play dead when the puck clearly wasn't frozen by the goalie. Needless to say, the Red Wings didn't get credit for the goal. The Red Wings won't go down without a fight, though. Look for them to bounce back in Game 4.
Leading Goal Scorer: Teemu Selanne (Ana) 2 goals; Johan Franzen (Det) 2 goals

MLB Power Rankings: Week 4

1. Dodgers (19-8): The Dodgers had a few tough losses during the past week but still have been the most consistent team in the majors. Last week they had a four-game sweep of the Padres. Last week: 4

2. Cardinals (17-9): The Cardinals haven't gone on a longer losing streak than two in this young season. We'll see if they can continue that Tuesday against the defending champs. Last week: 2

3. Red Sox (16-10): They lost three of four to the Rays which may end up being crucial at the end of the season. On the brighter side of thing, they're 4-0 against the Yankees this season. Last week: 1

4. Blue Jays (18-10): The Blue Jays have seemed to cool off a little bit but they're schedule has been tough during this first month of the season. They'll get plenty of chances to prove themselves playing in the AL East. Last week: 3

5. Royals (15-11): So maybe anything is possible, including the former laughing stock of the league. The Royals have fought their way into the Top 5 after taking three of four from the Blue Jays and they lead the AL Central. Last week: NR

Almost In:

Phillies (13-10): The defending champs were in my Preseason Top 5, but they started off slow. They're finally getting on track winning seven of their last nine.

Mariners (15-11): They Mariners continue to lead the AL West, even though that's really not all that impressive. They're second best in the league in runs against, with only the Athletics giving up less.

Say Hello to King James...Your MVP

It was announced earlier today that LeBron James will be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 2008-2009 season. It was really to no surprise.

Going into this season I felt like LeBron still had a lot to prove to put him on the same level as Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. He's definitely done that this season by carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 66-16 record. There is no other player that is more valuable to his team than LeBron is to the Cavaliers.

LeBron averaged over 28 point per game, seven rebounds per game, and seven assists per game. Oh yeah, he also made a strong case for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Needless to say, he's earned my up most respect after this season and he's lived up to all of his hype. Now LeBron just needs to work on ESPN's Skip Bayless, who is his biggest critic.

The only other player that had even an argument for MVP was Dwyane Wade, because like LeBron, he had little to work with around him and still carried his team to the playoffs. What puts LeBron ahead of Wade is where he carried his team compared to Wade.

Kobe Bryant is still arguably the best player in the league, but there's no way he is more valuable to the Lakers than LeBron is to the Cavaliers.

As for Dwight Howard, we all know he is a beast inside the paint. However, Howard had his moments in the season where he was less than stellar and his offense still has room for improvement. You can't forget how great the Magic looked without Howard in closing out the Sixers the other night.

The only career accomplishment left for LeBron to really achieve is win an NBA championship, and he's got a great chance this year if he can get past the Lakers. After all, he's only 24.

From top to bottom, the Lakers are the better team, but LeBron has carried this team on his back all season and I can't count him out to do that again.

I can't get ahead of myself because the Nuggets are looking really good in the West and you still can't count out the Celtics if Garnett sneaks his way back into the lineup.

Here's my final list of nominees for this year's MVP running:

1. LeBron James- 28.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 7.2 apg, Led team to 66-16 record
2. Dwyane Wade-30.2 ppg, 7.5 apg, 31% 3pt, Lead Heat to 28 win swing from last season
3. Kobe Bryant-26.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.9 apg, Lead Lakers to best record in Western Conf.
4. Dwight Howard-20.6 ppg, 13,8 rpg, 2.9 bpg, Defensive Player of the Year
   

London Wants The Super Bowl

Can anyone imagine watching this nation's most popular sport play its championship on foreign soil? That crazy possibility is currently being explored by the NFL and the city of London.

London basically wants to make this happen within the next eight years, but this is all coming from speculation and nothing should be considered completely factual. However, this thought still baffles and kind of scares me.

Surely the NFL wouldn't be dumb enough to send their championship game to another country? The NFL has already tried having a couple of regular season games overseas with both games being sellouts.

I still think the television ratings would be just as good if the Super Bowl were played in London, but what about attendance. Are the citizens of London as loyal to NFL football as Americans are?

It would also be a lot more difficult for the average NFL fan to go to the Super Bowl if it were overseas. Not to take anything away from the citizens of London, but fans from the United States should have the easiest path to attending the Super Bowl.

As of right now, Commissioner Goodell is saying that the NFL is not considering a foreign site to play the Super Bowl, so maybe this is just a big rumor. Either way, the big guys from London are remaining hopeful in working up a deal that could bring over an estimated $500 million to London's economy.

If this does somehow happen, which I believe it won't for a very long time, then there will be an enormous amount of upset NFL fans in this country. I don't think the NFL is dumb enough to make that mistake.