Let me start off by stating that I'm a diehard Los Angeles Dodgers fan. It's not a flash-in-pan admiration for the Dodger Blue. I've been cheering them on since the days of Fernandomania. For you younger readers, that would be Fernando Valenzuela, the butterball left-hander who carried the team's pitching staff to a World Series title in 1981 against the hated New York Yankees.

I've been following the Dodgers ever since, through the miracle 1988 World Series run with Kirk Gibson to the woeful early 1990s and those last-place finishes to no playoff series win since beating Oakland in that previously mentioned '88 Series.

But now I reside in Arvada, Co., a suburb of Denver, and I get daily reports on the hometown Colorado Rockies, an NL West rival.

Now, unlike the San Francisco Giants, I harbor no ill-will toward the Rox. Why should I? The team has only been in existence for 15 years, there are no players on the team that I can truly say I dislike. Shoot, there are some I downright love to watch play -- Todd Helton, Matt Holliday and Troy Tulowitzki to name a few.

Continue reading "It's not 2007 anymore Rockies fans"

With all the stars in Dallas, it's been, surprisingly, a quiet offseason for the Cowboys.

What do I mean? Just look around. The Tony Romo-Jessica Simpson lovefest. Are they together or are they not? Do we really care? The rumors are out there from time to time, but for the most part it hasn't been the three-ring circus that it was last November, December and January. That's a good thing. Maybe Romo can concentrate on what's he paid to do -- win football games -- this fall.

What about T.O.? Sure he had the missed phone call from the league and now he's facing placement in the random drug-testing program, though he's never tested positive for a foreign substance. But other than that the most we've heard about T.O. this offseason has been who will be lining up across from him -- Terry Glenn, Patrick Crayton, even Joe Horn.

Continue reading "Quiet is good in Dallas"

Not since the 2001 NBA Finals have I been this excited about the Philadelphia 76ers.

The signing of free-agent power foward Elton Brand on Wednesday to a five-year, nearly $80 million contract gives Philadelphia the inside presence it has desperately seeked since going to the NBA Finals seven years ago, if not going back to the days of Charles Barkley. 

Who would've thought that Philly would be back in contention in the Eastern Conference so quickly after trading the team's franchise player, Allen Iverson, less than two years ago? Or the firing of GM Billy King?

Maybe not you or I, but I have to admit I was hopeful of a quick turnaround after the Iverson trade for a number of reasons. One, Iverson was just one player, and sometimes a selfish one at that. He couldn't carry the team on his shoulders anymore like he did in 2001 in leading the 76ers to the first NBA Finals in 18 years. Two, while he seemed to have changed his attitude, his me-me-me attitude, the team would benefit more from a team environment, not an individual one.

Continue reading "Brand new day in Philadelphia"

It's funny sometimes how these things get started, but there certainly has been some talk recently about the Colorado Rockies dumping some of their best players for prospects.

With the non-waiver trade deadline a mere three weeks away, "rumors" have been floating around that closer Brian Fuentes, catcher Yorvit Torrealba, and outfielder Matt Holliday all on the shopping block.

But I ask why? Why would the Rockies even think about doing such a thing? Yes, Colorado has the third-worst record in the National League -- only slightly better than San Diego and Washington, and fifth-worst in the majors. Yes, their minus-67 runs scored-runs given up differential is third-worst in the majors. But the Rockies play in what has turned out to be a severly underplaying NL West, where as the start of play Thursday no team had a winning record.

Continue reading "Why the trade winds in Colorado?"