Trade Winds Swirling

The Major League Baseball's trading deadline is only a day away and some teams jumped the gun this pass week and made some deals. Did these deals help or hurt? Let's take a look...

Cliff Lee to the Phillies

The biggest deal so far this year has to be the Phillies plucking Cliff Lee from the hapless Indians in a six player deal. Before breaking down this trade, let Jayson Stark shed some light on y'all...

"Now here is a claim to fame no team wants to brag about: the Indians have become the first time in history to trade the incumbent Cy Young in back-to-back seasons.

But hang on.

It gets more historic. Before the Indians exported CC Sabathia last July, only two Cy Youngs in history had been traded in mid-season the year after winning the award. Now Cleveland has traded two just in the past 12 months and three weeks."

Good history to be in Cleveland. I feel for all of you Indian fans out there...wait no I don't. Anyway, this trade is perfect for the Phillies. They were front runners in the Doc Halladay sweepstakes, but once the demands rose to high (Jays wanted some sort of package that included JA Happ, Kyle Drabek and/or Dominic Brown) the Phils went another direction and picked up another Cy Young winner in Cliff Lee.

Looking at what the Phillies gave up (pitchers Carlos Carrasco (rated #2 prospect by Baseball America), Jason Knapp (#10), infielder Jason Donald (#4), and catcher Lou Marson (#3)) it would at first glance look like the Phillies gave up a lot (4 of the their top 10 prospects) but the thing that people forget sometimes that the ratings are just "experts" thoughts on how players will play out.

I, personally, would rather acquire a front of the line starter for a playoff push then sit and wait for the prospects to develop so good job Phillies. This trade puts the Phillies back into the "team to beat" category taking the spot from the Dodgers.

Pirates make yearly trade(s)

It seems like every year the Pirates unload talent in order to pick up more talent. Other then the obvious question such as, "When has this ever worked for the Pirates?" I ask, "What do they do with all these minor leaguers they compile?"

Well another sub-.500 year (is it 16 in a row now? Damn) is going to happen and Pirates fans are left to wish for the days of Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke. Last year the Pirates traded Canadian slugger Jason Bay as well as Xavier Nady. This year the Pirates traded Nate McClouth early in the season and just sent the longest tenured Pirate Jack Wilson to the Mariners along with pitcher Ian Snell and former batting champ Freddy Sanchez to the Giants.

Yesterday there was much debate over the direction that the Pirates are going. I think it was on Around the Horn where one of the talking heads suggested that the Pirates be demoted to AAA like they do in England with the Premier League. Not a bad idea. I just don't understand how a city that currently holds the Lombardi Trophy and the Stanley Cup can have the laughing stock of Major League Baseball. Doesn't make much sense.

Cardinals add bats

The Cardinals traded for some protection for Albert Pujols before the deadline with two separate moves. The first move they made was to acquire Mark DeRosa from the Indians (he made his debut at the Cardinals/Twins game that I was at) and while I was at 10k the Cardinals added Matt Holliday to their lineup.

This is a good move for the Cardinals as they needed some help with their lineup. Albert Pujols can do it all but if you want to win, you have to have someone that can hit around him. The Cardinals did give up highly touted prospect Brett Wallace in the deal for Holliday but with the acquisition of DeRosa, Wallace would be in the minors for a bit anyway (both play 3rd base). I like what the Cards did here and the race for the central should be a good one.

Giants add a Greek

This trade could be a sneaky good one for the Giants. The Indians (again) traded part time first baseman Ryan Garko to the Giants for a minor league pitcher. The Giants desperately needed a bat a first base with Kung-Fu Panda back at third and J.T. Snow no where to be found. The Giants upgraded without really giving up much and also picked up Freddy Sanchez to play 2nd.

Rumors Flying

Lots of rumors going down as well. There is a rumor of a three team deal involving the Red Sox, Indians and a mystery team. The deal is centered around Indians catcher Victor Martinez and Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz. Boston is also rumored to be in the Adrian Gonzalez sweeps, and in the Roy Halladay sweeps.

Twins are actually players in this years trade deadline. For weeks the Twins and A's have been talking about shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Twins need a shortstop and Cabrera has been solid as of late. This guy is a quality player and I really would like a deal to get done. Do you hear me Billy?

Another rumored trade that I want to go through is the trade of Padres closer Heath Bell to the Marlins. Why would I want this to happen? More saves for my fantasy team. Simple as that. The Padres do not win, the Marlins do. Good enough for me.

You had to be there really...

I have returned from my first ever music festival alive and well. By well, I mean sleep deprived and worn out. There’s nothing I can say that can describe just what a music festival is all about. There’s music (obviously), food, and people that just want to talk to you. Experiences are just that, experiences. To fully understand just what makes a music festival what it is you have to experience one. Although 10k wasn’t all of what I thought it would be and still ended up being a time I won’t soon forget, at least the parts that I remember.

Since I don’t want to disclose all of the happenings of the festival I will have a Best Of style of post. Here’s to the Best Of....10,000 Lakes Festival 2009

Best Conversation...Eric

Our camping site was very basic; we had a car, a tent, and ourselves. Pretty standard. We were surrounded by trailers and radio station vehicles. Being that our campsite was so bare, it attracted people to pretend that we were not in fact camping and walk through our said campsite. One way that we got people to stop by our site and hang out of a bit were the trip wires that were unintentionally set up throughout our site (our tent had some strings that anchored the roof of it down and they were hard to see at night). Anyway, one night we reeled our self in a doozy of a character. Eric was his name, and backstage working was his game. Eric was a typical roadie/hick/whatever else you can imagine (white trash?) and loved to have a beer every now and then. On Thursday night Eric tripped over our string and decided that it would be the perfect time to come and ask for a light for his cigarette. Since we were well stocked with lighters, we summoned Eric to come join us. Our conversation started off light with many laughs sprinkled throughout. Eric was the kind of talker (translation: very messed up) that would laugh after everything he said, no matter what the subject matter was. There were even a handful of times where Ben, Chase, Christina and I were not laughing with his story but more at his laughter and caused us pain from laughing uncontrollably for so long. The convo went from talking about Eric and his friend that he refers to as a sloth (Eric “This guy is asleep half of the time.” Me “What does he do with the other half of the time?” Chase “He naps”) to murders (Eric “You really don’t know how to feel until you have a dead person in your front yard”) and basically everything in between. Good talk Eric, see ya out there.

Best Concert...Trampled/ Atmosphere

This would be a no-brainer of a pick for best concert but two things happened. One, Atmosphere played before a storm and half of his set got cancelled and two, Trampled by Turtles sprinted for over an hour and rocked. Atmosphere was on track to put on a great show. I’ve never seen Atmosphere in concert before and his was the show I was looking forward too the most. For that one hour that he played, he did not disappoint and it’s too bad that the one time that it rained all weekend had to be while he performed. The other concert that was very good was the show put on by Trampled by Turtles. I won’t lie and say that I’m a big listener of the group because in reality I had never heard one song that they have played (I have heard of the band name before and heard that it was a good show). For those who are not familiar with Trampled by Turtles, they are a bluegrass/ folk band and are from Duluth. When I say that these guys sprinting for an hour, that’s just what they did. They played and played hard for at least 60 minutes and put the crowd into a frenzy. Everyone that I could see was having a blast and the topper was the surprise guest for part of the show. His name was unknown but he was by far the star of the show. The fiddler’s toddler son wondered onto the stage at one point of the show and sat by his dad and prepared to rock out with pops and his band. The little guy sat around for awhile until a pint sized beach ball found its way onto the main stage. I don’t know if you know this but if you enter a ball in a toddler’s field of vision they are going to play with it. The child took the ball and stood in front of the stage, almost taunting the rest of the crowd as people screamed for the little guy to give the ball a toss. Well he is a toddler and doesn’t have the best dexterity so when the ball was “thrown” it was really dropped and rolled off stage. Definitely one of the better sights of the weekend.

Best Food...Wok Noodles/ Cajun trail mix

Chase and I were set up in VIP camping for the weekend. At least we thought it was VIP. Not really wanting to get into the story, I will just say that there was some miscommunication and we were finally VIP ready by 4pm Saturday. With this VIP camping you were to receive a meal/ drink ticket (again didn’t get this until Saturday) and Chase and I prepared as if we were to receive it. Well the check in came and went and we didn’t get any passes. Which means no real food. Which means that we were to survive on only the snacks that we brought (PB &J, granola bars and cheese crackers) and food that we would buy inside the venue. By Thursday night we were so ready for something of substance in our stomach that we broke down and decided to get something good. We got Wok Noodles and they were most definitely worth the $7 we paid for them. Just getting something warm and of nutritious value in your stomach is worth the $7 we paid. The other spot hitter of the weekend was a bag of Cajun trail mix that we picked up at Wal-mart on Friday morning. Nothing really to report other then they mysteriously vanished later that night.

Best One-liner (in concert/out concert)...Are you serious?/ Do you guys have a trailer?

“Are you serious” cannot really be explained. I don’t know how or why it started but for those who were there, you will understand. “Do you guys have a trailer?” is a different story. That is what we were asked upon entering the V.I.P. campground, because we were placed in radio row. So our campground was directly behind the main stage. It was good and bad. That’s all I really want to say about that

Best Concert Venue...Blue Ox

Blue Ox gets the nod here because it’s where I had the most fun seeing shows. We saw The Johnson Family Band instead of Dave Matthews (worth it) and A Night in the Box instead of Widespread Panic (again very worth it). Barn Stage was also pretty cool if you were to see a smaller band. Worst stage of the weekend? Field stage. I didn’t understand the setup. Didn’t make any sense.

Most Awkward Moment...Chase staring at violinist

This was pretty funny to see play out. It was a Friday night, Chase was looking to creep, and creep he did. He literately stared at the violin player of A Night in the Box for a good 30 minutes. Classic.

Worst Advice...Atmosphere “make babies”

Because Atmosphere’s set got cancelled he decided that “making fucking babies” would be a good alternative. It served as a good running joke for the rest of the weekend with lines such as, “I don’t think I’m financially ready for something like that. But I have to do what he says.” Bad advice for this economy Sean.

Best Mascot...all of them, Greg, chief, frank

This space goes out to Greg the broken rapper, Chief 8-pack, and Frank the Parrott. Good times with all of you. Except for you Greg, I’m glad someone else took you.

Best New Friend...Christina

Christina is someone that we met on Wednesday and hung out with until Saturday night. She was from Portland, OR and looked like Pink (the singer). She was a good soul that was a lot of fun to be around. It’s sad that I don’t know her last night and know that I will never see her again. However, the nap that I took after we got home on Sunday included Christina so maybe I will see her that way.

Craziest Story...Kelly

You had to be there

Best Idea...Skipping Dave/ Getting shade tent

The shade tent is pretty easy to understand. It was hot. We had no cover. Wal-mart saves the day again. The skipping of the Dave Matthews Band concert is something that most won’t understand but it’s pretty understandable if you were in our shoes. The crowd for Dave came in just for that show (something that hardcore 10k’ers were not too pleased about I hear) and they sucked (most of them). Since my only obligation of the weekend was to take pictures of the Dave show, I skipped out after Umphrey's McGee and went to retrieve my camera. Well, Dave was soooo popular that we were not allowed backstage to snap pictures. After that I decided to find Chase and Z in the middle of the Dave crowd. Bad idea. Not only were people not letting me pass by them, it was like I was public enemy #1. I finally got to about four people behind my group, which was the closest I would get. Chase was next to someone that was not too keen on my joining up with my friends and let him know about it, multiple times. So with a simple text Chase and I were on our way out of the show and onto the Blue Ox stage to see the Johnson Family Band and it was the best idea we had during the weekend.

Biggest Regret...Not tripping balls on acid...just kidding, I did that...(if you don't sense the sarcasm, shame on you)

Thanks Cheeto (tent) AJ (chair) Ben (blanket), without you, 10k would not have been as manageable. Thanks Chase for going along for the ride as well.

On a lighter note...

...kinda. It's currently 3:45 am and while writing the last post about the game that shall not be mentioned I was watching VH1. No, the T.O. show wasn't on (but you can bet your ass that I will be an avid follower. What a great concept, a must watch if you like to watch self-absorbed people being "real") but this music video was. MGMT is a band that has one cd really, although it was a big one. Their biggest hit was a song by the name of "Kids". This is the music video...



Crazy huh? I still don't know what to think of it. But then I also thought, "Who makes music video's anymore, and if you do...why? What's the point?"

On a related note, remember the Slap Chop Rap that I showed y'all a few weeks back...you don't? Oh well here you are...



Well over 4 million viewers have seen it on youtube and it is now a commercial for the actually product. No lie folks. Watch VH1 after 3 am, I bet you see it.

Out?

It's now 3 am on Tuesday morning. Dick Bremer was right. How could someone sleep after something like that?

I wasn't going to post about this game at all actually. My plan was to go to bed and forget that this game ever happened, but it did. And I'm still thinking about it...

It was one of those games that you look back on your season and say "What if?" What if Cuddy didn't try and take two bases on a passed ball? What if Morneau catches that popup in foul territory late in the game? What if Gardy would have bunted with Redmond in the 8th or even used Mauer to pinch hit then, instead of with no one on and two outs? So many questions follow that game. Not too many answers.

Did the Twins feel that the 10 run lead was enough? Its hard to say really. I'm not saying that I'm some sort of expert but I've played my share of baseball games and while I've never been apart of a game that was like tonight's Twins collapse, I do know how it feels to be up by 10+ runs in a game. You get bored. You want the game to end. You don't take at bats as seriously. It's just how it is I suppose. Maybe this happened to the guys tonight, I couldn't tell ya.

And the pitching. What happened to the pitching tonight? Blackburn, coming off extended rest, gave up seven runs and struggled to pitch five innings. Blackburn. The most reliable starting pitcher that the Twins have. Maybe it was a sign to what was coming next. The effort by the Twins bullpen could be compared to my effort at work while I worked at K102. They pretended they cared. They tried a little bit. But realistically they just wanted to get out as fast as possible.

I have to speak my mind on that last play of the game. We get it. The ump blew the call. It happens, sometimes far too often. But that is not what I am most upset about. I'm looking at you Cuddy. Granted I respect your hustle and that you felt that you could score from 2nd on a wild pitch, but there were two outs. As a fan, I would like you to be a little bit more sure of your success rate while attempting to be the hero. If Cuddy didn't make that break for home the Twins would have had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and Delmon Young up. Now, Delmon isn't Joe Mauer, but he has been hitting well lately and maybe this was the at bat to put him over the hump. A gapper would have definitely scored Go-Go from 1st (because he really is the fastest man alive) and would have put the Twins up by one with one of the best closers of the new millennium (who hasn't allowed a run in 23 1/3 innings) waiting in the bullpen.

When Cuddy rounded third and I realized that he was heading for home I stood up and questioned his decision. When the ball didn't get away as much as I thought it would I knew the game was over. How can you risk a game on a damn wild pitch like that? The ump probably thought the same thing. He saw that the throw narrowly beat Cuddy to the plate and even though he was more safe then Carl Crawford vs the Red Sox, the ump thought otherwise.

Its a shame really. We expect so much out of umpires that when they do blow a call they are blamed for the entire game. It wasn't his fault that Bobby Keppel couldn't get an out in the 7th. It wasn't his fault that Jose Mijares's first pitch sailed over the centerfield fence. It wasn't his fault that my fantasy team hit 6 bombs tonight. But it was his fault that he missed a call and he probably should appologize for it. It won't give the Twins a win but they way they played the last six innings, they probably didn't deserve one. But that's baseball. And I still love it, just not so much today.

Update: Who's the fairest of them all?

How could I forget one of the local babes with a mic? I've been on the Marney bandwagon for a few years now. She is basically the full package with the brains, looks and the personality. She is one that is better looking in person than on the TV. Kudos to you Marney.

Go Shorty

This is the reason I want a chameleon for a pet. I'd always have rap music on while it walked around my room.

A look back

Baseball is at it's mid-point and we have half of the season left to go. Let's talk a stroll down memory lane and see how accurate I was with my preseason predictions. Also I will name MVPs, MSP's and MWP's (more on those later)...

AL East

What I said...
1) Boston
2) Tampa Bay
3) New York
4) Toronto
5) Baltimore

What I meant...
1) Boston
2) New York
3) Tampa Bay
4) Toronto
5) Baltimore

Not bad for this division. Tampa started off really slow but has been on a tear lately. New York can seriously hit and the winner of the Wild Card will still come from the 2nd place team in this division. Go Tampa!

AL Central
What I said...
1) Minnesota
2) Cleveland
3) Chicago
4) Kansas City
5) Detroit

What I meant...
1) Detroit
2) Chicago
3) Minnesota
4) Kansas City
5) Cleveland

This division is still up in the air as Detroit leads the Twins by only 4 games and the Sox by 3.5. This will come down to the Sox and the Twins because I still am not convinced that Detroit will have the pitching and the hitting to stay in the race. The one questions I have is, what happened to Cleveland?

AL West
What I said...
1) Los Angeles
2) Oakland
3) Texas
4) Seattle

What I meant...
1) LA
2) Texas
3) Seattle
4) Oakland

Texas and Seattle have been the surprises of the season so far in the American League. Texas is no joke and looks to stick around until the end. The tragedy that was Nick Adenhart's death must have been a huge distraction to the Angels but they look to push on in the 2nd half

NL East
What I said...
1) New York
2) Atlanta
3) Philly
4) Florida
5) Washington

What I meant...
1) Philly
2) Florida
3) Atlanta
4) New York
5) Washington

New York, New York. What do we make of their first half? They had their starting lineup intact for probably a week at most and have been the most interesting team in the NL so far. I picked Atlanta finishing 2nd...to mix it up? I'm not sure. They really don't have the bats to make that last push and Florida could sneak up on Philly with how they are playing.

NL Central
What I said...
1) Chicago
2) St. Louis
3) Houston
4) Milwaukee
5) Pittsburgh
6) Cincinnati

What I meant...
1) St. Louis
2) Milwaukee
3) Houston
4) Chicago
5) Cincinnati
6) Pittsburgh

The Cubbies have been terrible this yeah while the Brew Crew has surpassed expectations. This division is also very close as only 5 games separates the Reds from the Cardinals. Will the Brewers make a pitching move like last year? Will the Cubbies make a move? Who knows. Who cares...

NL West
What I said...
1) LA
2) Arizona
3) San Francisco
4) Colorado
5) San Diego

What I meant...
1) LA
2) San Francisco
3) Colorado
4) Arizona
5) San Diego

LA has already ran away with this division but San Francisco and Colorado have been the surprise of the NL season. With Manny back, LA will continue to further their lead and coast to the playoffs. San Fran and Colorado are both in the Wild Card hunt so the West is again the NL's best division. Who would-a thunk it?

MVP
National League - Albert Pujols
Not much explanation needed here. He is the best player in the game and has had a monster year so far. I'm not even sure who 2nd would go to. Probably Albert Pujols

American League - Torii Hunter
Torii two i's is my pick for MVP this year because of many things. First, he has played well the hole year and has held the Angels together during the tough season. Sorry Justin and Joey.

MSP (Most Surprising Player)
National League - Pablo Sandoval
While he may be a surprise to all of you out there, he was no surprise to me. I drafted Pablo in the later rounds of my fantasy draft knowing he would dominate. I'm just that good.

American League - Adam Lind, Nelson Cruz, Joe Mauer
There isn't one clear surprise in the American League so I am picking three that I think have been surprising. Adam Lind has been a solid hitter for the Jays and I'm sure no one saw a potential 30 home run season from him this year. Same goes for Nelson Cruz. Cruz always had power but he never had a regular job. At the break he has 22 bombs and in his previous three years in the bigs he had, 22 bombs. Joey Baseball never really surprises because he is so good but hitting 371 with 15 bombs at the break after missing all of April is mighty impressive. The BA will go down but will Joey hit 25 bombs this year? He could.

MWP (Most Worthless Player)
National League - Jimmy Rollins
J-Roll has really struggled after winning a championship. He is hitting under 230 and his power numbers are also down. Not sure what is going on with him except for the fact that maybe since they just won the World Series he has nothing to chirp about and chirping is what J-Roll does best

American League - Magglio Ordonez
Once a feared hitter, Magglio has been banished to the bench for much of the first half of the season. He is not hitting with the power he once has and he is a liability in right field. It's amazing that the Tiggers are in first place given Magglio's struggles.

There you have it. Your mid-season report for the '09 season. I'm still sticking with the Rays as my World Series pick. Can't go back on it now.

Basilica: IN PICTURES

Day One

Cities: Where the stars come to play


Erin McCarly gently stealing my heart


Muy caliente


The heavens open for Mat Kearney


And he takes flight


Teeny boppers


He gazes upon thee


Cords under chords


Kearney and "The Moody Three"


Lots of gear to rock


Setting the mood


Black Crowes


Red Crowes


It was "generic" sented


Let himself go a little bit



Day Two

Green River Ordinance


Kick, kick on the drum lick


Double teaming the mic


Gross


"Why not?"


Matt swooning his 16 year old fans


Matt and "The Wanna be Suave"


Stinky mic


The best show of the weekend


Errrrbody clap


"Now that, was a resurrection"


The Hold Steady


Basilica '09

Who's next?

People have been dropping like flies lately. I mean this with good intentions but dang. First it was Ed McMahon (former tonight show sidekick next to Johnny Carson, a bit before my time), Farrah Fawcett (a hottie, but again, a bit before my time). Not to be outstaged by Farrah Fawcett, the King of Pop Michael Jackson had a heart attack at his home on the same day that Charlies favorite angel passed.

First, a bit on my feelings on MJ...

He was a great performer, I get it. He was an influence to countless musicians, cool. But to justify spending roughly four million tax-payer dollars to have a memorial/tribute/concert in his name is quite ridiculous. What will I remember Michael for? Touching little boys. Im sorry but how can you not? He wasn't accused once. He wasn't accused twice. He was accused three or more times. I think once you cross over the "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...you can't get fooled" idiom, you are just guilty. I was just waiting for a tell all book where Mike finally came out and said that he did it and that he was guilty and just happens to like little boys. But he didn't and never will. Instead he will always be remembered for trying to be a white woman. I'm sorry but thats the way it is. Thriller was great. The free willy song was good too. But there is a ready why its called bad touch...RIP to the king of music video's, or should I say, music movies.

Perhaps the saddest passing of the month came while I was on vacation. Billy Mays passed while in his sleep at is Florida home. I was speechless once I heard this tragic news because it was only days ago where I saw him light up the Tonight Show stage. It was a very surreal moment. Billy Mays was always so full of life and joy that it was hard for me to believe the news. The ESPN 360 Commercials will go down as classics and everytime I see a Billy Mays commercial I am sad because a life was taken from us too soon. Here are some Billy Mays videos to help remember him by.





Perhaps the most bizare of all of the deaths happened while I was at a friends cabin for the 4th. Steve McNair was murdered this past weekend in a scene from a movie. Now that all of the facts are all settled I can fully give an accurate recap (in laymens terms).

Air McNair was sneaking around with a 20 year old chick that worked at Dave and Busters (he was probably using her for the free games). He most likely promised her that they would get married and move in with eachother and eventually had second opinions. Well the murderer (Sahal Kazemi) didn't take kindly to that news since she was struggling to pay for a bunch of shit. Two days before the incident she bought a gun. And as it turns out, guns really do kill people.

Kazemi shot McNair four times (as if one shot to the head wasn't enough) and turned the gun on herself in a classic murder-suicide for the ages. McNair was only 36 and just retired from the game of football last year.

Crazy times people. Love thy neighbor

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

Who is the fairest of them all?

There has been a trend recently, one that I am very fine with. It all started long before I watched TV but I'm sure it will continue long after I am dead and gone...

I'm talking about female sideline reporters and anchorwomen in professional sports. They are a welcomed addition to the rough and tough nature of sport and everyone can use a little eye candy now and then. Now some ladies are better then others for various reasons. Some are more knowledgeable in the ins and outs of sports and know strategy and some are flat out hot, enough said.

I've decided to rank said hotties in descending order starting with #7. (note: this is my opinion and results are final)

#7 Linda Cohn
Knowledge is sexy. That's all I really need to say. Linda Cohn knows her shit.

#6 Hannah Storm
Hannah has been around the news circuit as she was apart of CBS's Early Show for five years and recently switched over to the sports world when Sportscenter went live. She is very attractive but needs to add some meat on her bones in my opinion.

#5 Rachel Nichols
Rachel has a unique look to her. She is the only redhead that I know that is on TV. Because of this it makes her hot by default because she doesn't look like the rest. I have gone back and forth with Miss Nichols many times and thought that the five slot was appropriate for her.

#4 Jillian Barberie
Jillian is a spokeswoman for Nutrisystem, as if she needs it...OH! Anyway she is hot and likes the weather and the NFL

#3 Colleen Dominguez
Colleen adds spice to the ESPN world and it is a welcomed addition I believe. Colleen is ususally based out in LA if she isn't following some lame horse race (at least I have a reason to watch horse racing if she is there) so my chances of running into her are slim to none, which makes me a bit sad.

#2 Clarissa Thompson
Clarissa came into my life this past fall as I was introduced to the Big Ten Network and I was not disappointed. Not only is Clarissa very attractive, she is very in touch with the sports world and shows it. She is also not above changing her look which I like.

#1 Jemele Hill
I'm joking. Gross.

The real #1...ladies and gentlement...

Erin Andrews
She is the queen. No one can or will top Erin Andrews. She has the looks. She has the brains. She has it all (besides me of course). Shes the best again and always will be in my heart. Love you Erin

Show-Me State: in PICTURES

First stop on the Twins tour: Gram and Gramps


Iowa...that's basically what it looks like


Mother under the Arch


Brother made a new friend


Admiring the Arch


I tired to be as tall as brother but to no avail


There's your postcard


A mall disguised as a train station


The Arch from the bottom


The Arch from the top


This is the view that made me queezy


Proof that it is 630 feet up


Mother and Brother not feeling queezy


The 60's space pod that took us to the top


Where Jim Edmonds used to roam


Busch Stadium


Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud light


Carlo and Denard speaking spanglish


Getting ready to close the door


Stand up and shout


Another win for the good guys


Really, does it?


This is what happens when you do not listen to mother


WWI National Monument in Kansas City. Of course it was closed


Backside of WWI monument


If it were not for this train station my mother would not be here. Thus I would not be here


The guys stretching


The New K


Twins are in the house


Joey Baseball doing what he does best, swing a bat


The famed fountains of the K


Sneaky sneak


Is this a home game?


Gardy getting tossed


Morneauzy after his bomb


The K at night