Women’s Basketball to Play4Kay in 2012-13

The women’s basketball team has recently announced that this season they will Play4Kay and raise as much money as they can to help find a cure for breast cancer.

The Play4Kay foundation is in memory of the legendary North Carolina State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and passed away on January 24, 2009 due to the illness.  According to the official Play4Kay website (play4kay.org), it states that they are a 501 charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women’s cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.

A big reason why the Blue and White are so involved in this is because of the personal impact coach Yow had on the MU coaching staff.  Head coach Jenny Palmateer played for and coached alongside Yow for a combined 14 years.  “I learned a lot of lessons as a player and as a coach from coach Yow,” Palmateer said. “To play for her, she was always the kind of coach to empower you and encourage you to do things.  There are a lot of different coaching styles out there, but her’s was always one for encouragement.  I try to carry that over because it’s a great way to do it and gets the most out of people. I learned you got to believe in people, I probably accomplished more than I thought I ever could on the court because I knew she believed that I could do it.”

 

Over the years, Palmateer grew very close to Yow on and off the court.  “She was my coach, my mentor, and my friend for a long time,” Palmateer said. “She was somebody I could always rely on for anything that I needed, advice with basketball and life, all of it, She was just unbelievable, very close relationship.”

The Play4Kay team captain and Director of Basketball Operations Meg Tarrant is doing everything she can to help find ways to raise money for the foundation.  “I want to continue to get word out as much as I can, to the student body, the Monmouth community, and the entire state of New Jersey if I can, and just continue to ask for donations and spread awareness,” Tarrant said. “The more money coming into the Kay Yow fund, the better I feel about it.”

About two months ago, Tarrant lost her mother to breast cancer.  Since the announcement of MU doing Play4Kay, there have been several donations made in memory of Tarrant’s mother.  Tarrant has said that it means so much to her for people donating and that she has reached out to each person personally to thank them.

Besides the coaching staff, this foundation touches several players on the team as well.  “I always think it’s like a great thing to do because so many families are affected by cancer, whether its breast cancer or any type of cancer. We have teammates that had a lot of family members affected by some sort of cancer. I take it as a big deal and I think it’s a great opportunity and a great thing to do,” said senior forward Abby Martin.  “I’ve had a couple family members; one of my aunts is a survivor of breast cancer, one of my other aunts passed away to it unfortunately when I was about 12 or 13.  She was really close to me, one of my closer aunts, who was one of my best friends.  It touched my household, my family and I know a lot of other people that it has touched.”

“My sophomore year of college my mother was diagnosed with cancer, it’s not a treatable form of cancer, but she is able to live fairly normally now, but it really does touch my life to  know I can help in any way I can especially since it hits so close to home,” said senior guard Carly Thibault.  “It means a lot to me, I think that honestly anyone you know can say that they know someone who knows someone else who knows someone that has been diagnosed with cancer, for me especially since it’s my mother and I’m very close to my mother it makes me happy to know that people are doing what they can to help.”

If the MAC was to sell out only one game this season, Palmateer said that she would want it to be pink game and have it just full of survivors.  “We want to try to do something to honor the survivors at half time. Have all the survivors maybe go down on the floor with someone holding a sign that says 1-5 and all the people who have been survivor for 1-5 years go stand behind the sign, then you see one with 5-10 and all the people, and then 10-15, and on and on. For the survivors to be able to look and see and be like ‘look at all the survivors’. It’s very moving and very inspiring.”

Before Yow passed away, she was quoted on kayyow.com by saying, “I am so honored and blessed to have the opportunity to establish the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, in partnership with the WBCA and The V Foundation. Despite all the games that I have coached and all the great opponents that I have battled on the court, breast cancer has by far been the toughest opponent I have faced. My hope is that this funding will help to change the lives of many men and women who face this opponent daily. Cancer is something that touches everyone’s life and it is important to understand that we all can make a difference. Each of you can be a part of finding an answer. Join me today and let’s beat cancer once and for all!”

With last season’s $1,000 goal raising close to $2,000, the Hawks’ goal this year is set at $2,000 in hopes to surpass their total once again.  On Wednesday October 17, 2012, members of the basketball team were at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown scooping ice cream and raising money at Cold Stone Creamery.  Ten percent of the profits made that night were donated to Play4Kay under the team’s name.  In the three hours at Cold Stone, the Hawks were able to raise over $600.   To donate money and help out the cause, visit play4kay.org, click on the donate to team button and type in Monmouth University.  As of now, the Hawks are currently the leading team in the nation in raising money with close to $900

**This entry was posted in Monmouth University’s The Outlook on October 24, 2012 by myself http://outlook.monmouth.edu/index.php/sports/462-womens-basketball-to-play4kay-in-2012-13 **

Ray

@raymalaspina

School Spirit on the Rise at MU?

When you go to a Division I school, one thing that is expected of the students is to go to home sporting events to show your fan support.

During the fall season, MU is home to four teams that are held here on campus in West Long Branch. If you look up in the stands at any game, you will no­tice a mix of students and people from the community in atten­dance cheering on the Hawks.

Yes, the University is consid­ered a suitcase school for the underclassman, but students still take time out of their day and night to go to home games. Showing fan support at the Uni­versity is a must, and if the visit­ing team comes in here knowing we have the best student sections in the NEC, they will be scared.

The four teams that have games on campus are football, men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey. Between the four teams, no team ranks lower then fourth in the conference in home at­tendance. People want to go to games at home simply because it is a great place to be and see friends and classmates.

Not only does the attendance at games make the game expe­rience fun for the fans, it also helps the teams play better and get pumped dur­ing big plays.

“Energy level becomes much higher, athletes really appreci­ate them being there whether it’s friends or classmates or if they have no idea who they are, it just gives them a whole other layer of fandom for the students when they come out on campus,” Matt Harmon, a communication professor and sports broadcaster explains.

The school football team is in its 20th season and is doing bet­ter than ever. So far, the Hawks are 2-0 at Kessler Field, as they average just under 3,000 fans per game. Compared to when the team started in 1993, more and more people around the commu­nity have been coming and in­creasing in numbers every year.

“Attendance has gotten better; there has been more interest in it, in almost two decades of having the program, people are aware that Monmouth has football, where in the first couple years a lot of people didn’t know about it,” mentions Harmon.

If there isn’t a football game go­ing on, you could always find the fans under the lights at the Great Lawn. Both the men and women soccer teams play there and fan support is big as you always see the new and the old faces in the crowd.

“They have a very good group of diehard supporters but we want those numbers to grow where we are and keep multiplying,” says Eddy Occhipinti, Assistant Ath­letics Director of Marketing.

The Hawks have the ultimate home field ad­vantage as they are a combined 8-1-2 when play­ing outside of Wilson Hall and with people not so familiar with soccer coming, they can get more students into the sport and in­crease the group of die hards. When the men’s team has been as high as number 19 in the country, it’s no wonder students flock to the games.

A team that many people for­get about here at the University is the field hockey team, which plays at So Sweet a Cat Field. Yes, they are having a rough season, due to their non­conference scheduling, however they are still ranked third in at­tendance in the NEC.

Being able to have two teams nationally ranked in the top ten play at MU this year, was a big boost to get fans to come to the games. “A key to building atten­dance at sports like field hockey and lacrosse is finding the niche markets that we can market to,” Occhipinti stated in regards to marketing the team more. Next time the Hawks are home will be October 19 as they face Bryant.

No matter what athletic event you are at, whether its games or practices, there is a good chance you will see one fan in the stands, and that is President Gaffney.

“We ought to encourage this because I think it does a lot for the general morale on campus, the spirit on campus, gets us con­nected to our alumni, so I try to support athletics whenever I can,” says President Gaffney.

He went on to say, “I want ev­eryone to get something out of it, I think it’s fun, it brings everyone together, and sets a good example for good team spirit.”

Since approximately 12 per­cent of the student body are var­sity athletes, President Gaffney feels that supporting the Hawks is important as it will connect the campus with the community and allow people outside this area know who MU is. He feels that the names on our jerseys are im­portant and we should represent the school as best as we can.

The University’s athletics have been getting bigger each year, big enough for local professional athletes to make appearances at home games. New York Knicks guard JR Smith was spotted at the football home opener against Rhode Island, as four-time Olym­pic Gold medalist Christie Ram­pone was seen at the women’s soccer game Friday night. One player who has yet to be seen this year, but always makes sure he goes to at least one football and basketball game every season is Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Miles Austin. Continue to show your Hawk pride at the next MU game. Who knows who you could be sitting next to as you cheer on the Hawks.

**This entry was posted in Monmouth University’s The Outlook on October 3, 2012 by myself http://outlook.monmouth.edu/index.php/sports/397-school-spirit-on-the-rise-at-mu **

Ray
@raymalaspina

Wild Friday

With the Major League Baseball playoffs officially underway tonight, you will see two teams come out of the first round as winners and the other 2 as losers.

Tonight’s games mark the first time in Major League Baseball history that 2 teams from each league will be a wild card team. The way this will work is that the top 2 teams from each division who did not win the title will play in a one game playoff to see who will move on to the Divisional Series. All the action starts tonight at 5:07 pm EST.

The first game of the night will be down in Atlanta where the streaking Braves take on last season’s champ, the St Louis Cardinals. The pitching matchup will be Kyle Lohse for St Louis vs. Kris Medlen, whose second half performance has been incredible. This game could come down to the last at bat as the Cards have the playoff experience from last year, but it is down in Atlanta which is a hard place to win at. And to top it off, this could possibly be the last time we ever see the legend Chipper Jones play a game of baseball, because if the Braves lose, they are out. Prediction for this game- 6-5 ATL

Over in the American League, Buck Showalters Orioles head down to Arlington to face off against the 2 time defending AL champs Rangers tonight at 8:37 pm EST.

The Orioles, who made a remarkable turnaround coming back to lose the division on the last day looks to make their first playoff return since 1997 one not to forget. The team is clicking at the perfect moment and this one game is the determining factor to get one last shot to knock the Yankees out in the divisional playoffs.

Then you have the Texas Rangers, who are doing everything they can to not become the Buffalo Bills of baseball. Being to the World Series 2 straight years, they are just knocking on the door for a title.

The matchups tonight for this do or die game will be a good one as Joe Saunders is on the hill for the O’s facing Japenese sensation Yu Darvish. Both pitchers should be able to go deep into the game, although the Rangers may have the advantage being at home. Even with that, the Orioles will still manage to squeek by with a win. 3-2 BALTIMORE

Predictions on Playoffs to be posted later in weekend

Ray

@raymalaspina

Week 3 Picks

***Half of this entry was done before 1pm so I would have the Giants/ Panthers game in here before the game started****. After a weak week 2 in the NFL, my picks may not be looking so good. Dont worry though, they will be getting better and you should agree with most of them. 20 teams going in to this week are 1-1, that is a league record. With that being said here are my week 3 picks:

Giants/Panthers
Big Blue heading down to Carolina for their third game of the season on the third different night. Eli and the Giants will come on top even with 4 starters out due to injury

Rams/Bears
With all the talk about Cutler this week, the Bears will get themselves together and beat this surprise St Louis team

Bills/Browns
Not an exciting game, but Buffalo will win in Cleveland

Buccaneers/Cowboys
Bucs lost a close one last week in the Meadowlands, as did Dallas in Seattle, so both teams need to come back to their winning ways. With the game being in Dallas, the Cowboys will come up on top by a TD

Lions/Titans
The Lions are stronger than the Titans

Jaguars/Colts
Luck got his first win in his career at home, and he will be getting number 2 this weekend

Jets/Dolphins
Tebow makes a return to Florida and will try to help Sanchez and the rest of the circus to victory

49ers/Vikings
My opinion San Fran is the best team in football

Chiefs/Saints
Very tough game to pick, but I think Brees will be able to help the team get their first win of the season

Bengals/Redskins
Bengals will know how to play RGIII plus RGIII will have an off game- he’s human

Eagles/Cardinals
Arizona is the surprise team so far this season and will continue to stay undefeated

Falcons/Chargers
Falcons another good team, will head west and earn that victory in a tight game.

Texans/Broncos
Peyton will continue his no huddle and pull it off at Mile High

Steelers/Raiders
Oakland still looking for a win, but Pitt will continue rolling from last week and get the W

Patriots/Ravens
Game of the week, Tough losses for both teams last week. See it here first, 27-24 Baltimore last second game
winning field goal

Packers/Seahawks
Seattle is a tough place to place, just ask Dallas, but Green Bay will win this Monday night showdown

These picks should be better than last week. Sorry for the pick opinions being a little short, just want to get all the picks in.

Week 2– 7-9
Overall– 17-15

Ray
@raymalaspina

Week 2 Picks

As week 2 kicks off tonight in Green Bay, its time for another week of NFL picks. Being able to go 10-6 on the hardest week of the year for picks, I think this week will be a bit easier to make picks after seeing every team last weekend. The top 3 games of this week are all primetime, so you should be tuned in.

Before I get into my picks, I would like to say i was impressed with the replacement refs. There were only a few questionable calls, but nothing drastic like the pre season. Word is that they are scheduled up to week 5, so we better get use to them.

Bears/Packers
Its gonna be close, but the Bears will march up to Lambeau and give the Packers their second loss at home of the season. It’s hard to believe but I feel it will happen

Chiefs/Bills
2 teams looking for their first win of the year, KC will win this by a touchdown

Browns/Bengals
ALthough Cleveland kept it close til the end against the Eagles last week, the Bengals will come up on top this week

Vikings/Colts
After a rocky debut, Andrew luck will be getting his first win of his career at home in front of the home crowd

Raiders/Dolphins
People say the Dolphins will be the worst team in the league this year, that will continue as the Raiders will roll through Miami easily

Cardinals/Patriots
Not even a question, New England will win by at least 3 touchdowns

Buccaneers/Giants
The defending Super Bowl Champs lost a tough one last week, but they will not fall to Tampa at home. Giants will get first win of season

Ravens/Eagles
Ravens played to great last week to lose this one against Philly, Ravens are also the team I think will represent the AFC next February

Saints/Panthers
After a tough week 1 loss, the Saints should get their act back together. They experienced 1 week without Peyton, so now they know what to experience the rest of the way.

Texans/Jaguars
I said it last week and I’ll say it again, people have been talking about Houston and how good they are supposed to be, they should be able to roll right through the Jags

Redskins/Rams
RGIII played phenomenal last week, and I can guarantee he will have another great game this week in St Louis

Cowboys/Seahawks
Romo had a great game against his NFC East Rival, and the looks of it he will continue so as the Cowboys head out west.

Jets/Steelers
Tough loss for Pit last week, however they will bounce back this week against the Jets. People in the NY area are already praising this Jet team even though they won 1 game and it was against Buffalo. This week will be an eye opener for them

Titans/Chargers
San Diego looked good last week, Tennessee did not. It looks like both teams will continue to go in the same direction as last week, as San Diego will come out on top

Lions/49ers
All I can really say about San Fran right now is wow. The played great last week and are my NFC team for the big game in February. The most hype about this game will be after the game watching to see if both head coaches shake hands, because we all remember what happened to them last time they played each other

Broncos/Falcons
What can I say, I was wrong. Peyton Manning did a lot better than I expected. He struggled at first, but once he got into the no huddle, he was back to his old self. He keeps it up this week, and the Broncos will roll to 2-0

Those are my picks, we will see next week how they turned out. Let me know your picks and what you think

Last Week– 10-6
Overall– 10-6

– Ray
@raymalaspina

Strasburg Done for Year

You have an 86-53 record with a 6.5 game lead in your division, if there are no injuries, why would you change your pitching rotation? Ask the Washington Nationals. Manager Davey Johnson announced this morning that starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg is done for the year because he reached his innings pitched limit due to his Tommy John Surgery last year.

Strasburg, coming off Tommy John surgery, has a 15-6 record with a 3.16 ERA and 197 strikeouts on the year. His numbers are remarkable and is playing his best he ever has. Strasburg was the number 1 overall draft pick on 2009 with hopes of being the face of the Nats and leading them to a championship. He was en route of doing that, but now he has to watch his team perform from the bench. In the beginning of the season, Washington announced that they will take special care of Strasburg’s arm and be on a strict inning count for the season and when he reaches, he will be shutdown. Little did they know, the nationals are a top team in the NL. There are 3 weeks left in the season and then the playoffs, all of which Strasburg will not see any time.

If you ask me, I feel that this is one of the dumbest moves a team could make, especially when a team has a shot at a title. Early in the season I predicted the Nationals to be a top team but now I feel they will struggle without Strasburg. I understand the whole saving the arm thing, but not in this situation. If the team wanted to shut him down, they should have given him a break mid-season, or if they want to do it now, have him rest and allow him to pitch in the postseason. This is poor planning by management and Stephen Strasburg should be marching into his manager’s office every day asking to pitch. If Strasburg was to somehow come back, the Nats and Reds could be a great NLCS showdown, without him, they will not go far

Ray
@raymalaspina

Week 1 Picks

Tomorrow night marks the kickoff to another football season where the Cowboys try to knock down the defending Super Bowl Champs on national TV. For the entire season, make sure to check out this blog to see my picks for every game all the way to the Super Bowl. Some picks may be outrageous while others will be what everyone thinks, but I like to put up a challenge. Now as all football fans know, week 1 is by far the hardest week to make picks because every team is undefeated and has a clean slate. Looking at stats from last year, you could say I will have a few upsets this week. I will give you my weekly and season record every week before my next picks. The teams in bold are who I pick. Leave your comments here or send me a tweet

Week 1

Cowboys vs Giants
As the Giants did in 2008, they should come out strong in week 1 and come up big

Colts vs Bears
Luck had a great preseason, but first real game may let the nerves kick in

Eagles vs Cleveland

Patriots vs Titans

Falcons vs Chiefs

Jaguars vs Vikings

Redskins vs Saints
First game without Sean Payton will be tough, dont think Saints can pull it off

Bills vs Jets
Tebow mania will come out big in the first game and continue their losing ways in this division contest

Rams vs Lions

Dolphins vs Texans

49ers vs Packers
My opinion best game of the week, will go down to final play

Seahawks vs Cardinals

Panthers vs Buccaneers

Bengals vs Ravens

Chargers vs Raiders

Steelers vs Broncos
Manning will struggle coming out because he missed all of last year and will need time to adjust to the Rocky’s

-Ray
@raymalaspina

September Baseball

It’s that time of year again when dreams will come true and others are broken; I call it September baseball.  Every September we see teams that look out of the playoff run have a turn around and make the playoffs and some even win the world series.  What teams are going to be upset and who will be making the comeback, we shall see.   I decided that in honor of the final month of the regular season, I am going to break down my picks for each division on who will make it and who will be missing out.  Some will agree others will disagree, but nobody knows until the season is over.

First, I will start off with the American League East.  With the team that was at one point being up 10.5 games over the second place team, the New York Yankees have a lot to do if they want to capture the AL East.  With all but 6 games against teams from the east, 6 being against Baltimore, the Yankees can not choke, they choke, they will lose.  I feel though that that will not happen.  The only thing that will hurt the Yankees right now is the injuries.  If they can get some players healthy, they can potentially be the team to beat in the American League.  Although the Orioles are only 3 games back, I feel they will make it close, but won’t have the power to jump ahead.  Orioles could be a potential Wild Card. With that being said, My AL East champ- New York Yankees.

Sticking with the American League, next up is the AL Central division.  This divison will most likely come down to the wire as it is a 2 team race between the White Sox and the Tigers.  The Sox xurrently have a one game lead however they are in the middle of a 3 game series against Detroit where the Tigers have won the first 2 and will be looking for the sweep later today.  After this series, the 2 will play each other again next week in a 4 game series.  That series will likely determine the winner as the rest of the way, both teams have schedules with only 1 opponent who is over .500.  By season’s end, I do not think that the White Sox will be able to hold on to their lead, and the Tigers will make their way to the playoffs as AL Central Champs.

Lastly in the American League, you have the West division.  Although the Athletics have been playing great baseball, the Rangers have been playing better.  The Rangers will be winning this division as the A’s have a tough stretch coming up with match ups against the Yankees and Tigers back to back in 2 weeks.  They may not win the division, but Oakland will most defiantly be a wild card team; therefore make the Texas Rangers AL West Champions.

With the new rules and playoff format, Bud Selig and Major League Baseball want teams to fight for their division rather then the wild card.  With the addition to a second wild card team, 2 teams will square off for a 1 game match up to see who advances to the next round.  With the A’s and Orioles holding the top 2 spots, I feel that they will stay like that when the season ends.  You also have 3 teams within 2.5 games behind, however the A’s and O’s have been playing great and should meet up for that one game match up in October.

Moving over from the American League to the National League, this shouldbe easier with a lot more surprises.  Teams that were suppose to be in first and possibly win World Series’ are in dead last, and teams that were not suppose to have a chance are now in it. Just look at the National League East to start.

If somebody was to look at the standings, they would think they were being pranked.  The Washignton Nationals are in first place.  That’s right the Nationals, not the Marlins or Phillies, but the Nationals.  With all the hype Miami was getting becuase of the new stadium, players, uniforms, etc, everybody thought they would win it.  It also helped that the Phillies, who has been the East power house the past few seasons, started off the first 2 months without their 2 best players in Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.  It was the best chance for the Marlins to pull it off, instead they are in the basement.  The team that not many people saw coming, the Nationals, are currently 6.5 games up.  With Gonzalez and Strasburg being a dynamic duo on the mound and Harper in the field, this team is hard to beat,  Whne the season started, I was in class and my professor asked us who we think would win each division, I said Washignton and got stared out and told no chance.  As of now all their teams are no where in sight.  With the potential of the first playoff appearance since moving to DC, I feel the Nationals will be the NL champions.

Next up is the NL Central, which I feel is the easiest one to predict right now; Cincinnati Reds.  The are 8.5 up and is the best team in baseball at the moment, being one of 2 teams to reach the 80 win mark.  The Pirates had their chance but a slump hurt them although they have a good shot at the wild card.Cincinnatti easily on this one.

Then we have the West where the Giants are up 4.5 on LA.  Matt Cain has been pitching incredible for the Giants and should be doing just that the rest of the way.  The only shot I feel the Dodgers have in making the playoffs is the wild card.  The Giants should seal the deal with the division pretty soon and work their way a ring.

Last no least is the National League Wild Card.  My opinion, the 2 teams that occupy the spots, Atlanta Braves and St Louis Caridnals, will not be there come playoff time.  Instead, we will be seeing the Pittsburgh Pirates and the LA Dodgers taking over.  The teams are both only 1.5 back of the teams and have the energy to make the run to leap ahead.  Major League Baseball will be all about the National League this October, as always 1 team will be taking home the trophy, and it most liekly will be from the NL.

After reading the picks, come playoff time I will go in depth into each series in each round and give my predictions.  The road to the World Series begins now, This is September Baseball.

Below are the picks again to make it easier.

American League

East- New York Yankees

Central-Detroit Tigers

West-Texas Rangers

Wild Cards- Oakland Athletics/ Baltimore Orioles

National League

East- Washington Nationals

Central- Cincinnati Reds

West- San Fransisco Giants

Wild Cards- Los Angeles Dodgers/ Pittsburgh Pirates

 

Who do you predict to be winning each division, surprise teams, sleepers, etc.  Let me know in the comment section or on twitter.

-Ray

@raymalaspina

Replacement Refs to open Week 1

As the 2012 NFL season is just 6 days away, the league has announced that the replacement refs will be in full effect for week 1.  How do we think this will turn out, most likely a disaster, but you know what, these refs are human just like us and everyone makes mistakes.  As bad calls will most likely be called in every game, it will still be fair simply because every team will have replacement refs.  If some games had replacements and others didn’t it would not be fair, but since they all will be using the replacements, it will fair across the board.

As we saw this preseason, some of the refs get confused with players, teams, rules, and ball positioning.  We have seen 2 balls placed on the field in 2 different spots at the same time, a touch back when the ball landed on the 4 yard line and not the endzone, and also players being called for a penalty when they were no where near the scene of the crime, just to name a few.  Clearly the refs made some big mistakes which got coaches and players mad and also gave the crowd a good laugh.  Just like the preseason is practice for the players, it is also practice for the refs. 

With the starters on all teams getting all the playing time, the refs will have more pressure in week one then they have all season.  The last time replacement referees were used was week 1 during the 2001 season during the last strike. 

If you ask me, we will see bad calls, but also see some good ones.  With the pressure on this week, the refs will have big shoes to fill.  As everyone will be hating on the replacement refs, I will be looking on the brightside as should you.  That is, football fans can no longer yell and criticize the real referees after seeing the performance of the replacements,  it makes you respect and be thankful that the NFL has great referees and all they want to do is continue to do their job without getting a pay cut.  Let this strike end fast and hopefully in week 2 we can see the men who help make this game the way it is back on the field.  Week one will be interesting and lets just see how many of those refs will be seen on tv for their mistakes.

Early next week I will be posting my week 1 picks.

-Ray

@raymalaspina

Bartolo Colon tests positive for testosterone

For the second time in a week, another player has been tested positive for testosterone, this time it’s Bartolo Colon. Colon is the second big name player in a week to be tested positive and suspended 50 games after Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera tested positive last week. Both players, Colon and Cabrera, play in the Bay area; coincidence? The chances of two players being caught from the same region is pretty strange if you ask me. Major League Baseball should be checking their sources to see what third parties know both of these players to see if they have any leads. If they do that, they can test the players associated with the third-party and get the game cleaner and the way it should be. If MLB acts this way, and knowing them they are probably making phone calls already, they should be able to nail several more players doing illegal substances.

As for Colon, the 2 time All Star has been in the league now for 15 years and has a career record of 171-122 with a 4.05 ERA. Colon’s best season occurred in 2005 while playing for the Angels where he won the CY Young Award with his 21-8 record. Since winning the award 6 seasons ago, Colon’s numbers have not been the best. he has gone 32-40, compared to the 139-82 record he had from the start of his career to 2005. With all of these low number seasons the past few years, how does a 39-year-old bounce back to grab 10 wins this season. After this test result, it all makes sense. Colon thought he could try to sneak by and not get caught, however his plan backfired. Colon has not been and never will be the same player he was from the ’05 season. If Colon want to come back and pitch after his suspension, he will have to wait most likely until the 2013 season, unless the A’s make the playoffs and go deep into them. If I was the Oakland manager, I would not pitch Colon in the playoffs if they make it that far. I wouldn’t because if he has no respect for his teammates or himself, why should he be rewarded to pitch in the playoffs? He shouldn’t. If we are to see Colon pitch again, it should not be until next season. Like Cabrera, Colon was a great ball player who now myself along with many others have lost respect for. No player should be playing baseball if the are using any type of illegal substance. I applaud Major League Baseball for having such a great steroid program and catching every player who is not doing what they should be. Bartolo Colon’s career will now be remembered not just for his CY Young award, but also for this major suspension.

Ray Malaspina
@raymalaspina