Heart and Soul

Bottom of the 11th Aaron Boone steps to the plate. The pitch by Wakefield is hit hard into deep left, HOMERUN! YANKEES WIN! That was the 2003 ALCS where Aaron Boone was the hero, six years later he is finally able to play baseball again five months after open-heart surgery. Boone batted in the two spot for the Double-A squad, Corpus Christi Hooks, for the Houston Astros. It is just a wonder to think of how you have ball players out there that sit out of games with little injuries when you have players that this game was built on healing broken hearts, literally. Keep up the good work Aaron, you are what makes the game of baseball so great.

Good and Only Getting Better

The USA Today college football rankings came out today at approximately 9:19a.m. They have the top five as follows; Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, USC, and Alabama. Florida being the top team, I do not think anyone is really arguing that for the fact that you have Superman's twin brother at quarterback. Texas and Oklahoma are a toss up. Bradford came back for another season which could not hurt him, he will be a top five pick in the NFL draft no matter what, and Colt McCoy is back with Texas, who was National Title bound until their, usually strong, defense let Crabtree slide right through their fingers, literally. USC was a surprise pick for the number four spot. They lost all three linebackers to the draft I believe and the guy who ran the show, Mark Sanchez. Alabama was a solid pick for the top five considering they have one of the best wide receivers in the game today in Julio Jones. That said, I do not think it will last long looking at their schedule. Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Penn State, LSU, and Mississippi round out the top ten respectively. They are putting a lot on the shoulders of young sensation Terrelle Pryor lets see how he can handle it. Virginia Tech will float around the top ten the whole season but if Tyrod Taylor is still taking snaps at seasons end this team could be struggling, they are going to have to have him make some big strides. Penn State is a strong top ten with returning play caller Daryll Clark back they will look to make a run with a relatively weak conference. LSU will always be around, they never seem to lose talent at the quarterback position, but Jarrett Lee still needs to step his game up another notch if LSU is looking to get past Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Mississippi is kind of a surprise to a lot of people. Finishing with an 8-4 record last year was a shocker in such a tough conference but look forward to a better season with Jevan Snead coming off a 26 touchdown campaign and only looking to get better. Here is how I think things will shake out at the end.

Top 10
1) Florida
2) Oklahoma
3) Ohio State
4) Texas
5) Alabama
6) Notre Dame
7) Boise State
8) Penn State
9) Oklahoma State
10) USC

!UPDATE!

Orland Magic forward Rashard Lewis tested for High Levels of testosterone and was suspended for the first 10 games of the NBA season.

Little Heart Means BIGGER Money

ESPN reports the San Francisco 49er's first round draft pick Michael Crabtree, a Texas Tech standout and a Texas Longhorn "wrangler", is prepared to sit out his first season so he can get redraft to make more money. David Wells, Crabree's Advisor, said in a statement, "We are prepared to do it," Wells said. "Michael just wants fair market value. They took him with the 10th pick and you have Darrius Heyward-Bey [the seventh overall pick by the Oakland Raiders] getting $38 million? This week is crucial. Michael was one of the best players in the draft and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players. This week is very crucial."
-ESPN Report-

Michael Crabtree has been a superstar even since coming on to the scene back in 2007 with Texas Tech and lighting it up. He was this highly touted receiver that would be the next great thing, a good role model for kids perhaps. The next great receiver huh, as far as I can think back, I do not remember a "great" wide receiver missing an entire season for money. You put your "heart" into the game your whole life to get to this point, this dream that kid's have when they are throwing the ball around in the yard. Role model, that is a sporadic saying that people use that is an opinion to a lot of young kids. The definition of role model in the dictionary is...a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, esp. by younger people. When you throw some of the biggest athletes out there today into the mix of potential role models not many shake out. Throw the steroid users out of the discussion, I do not care when or why they used. Take the people who hold out of camps and sometimes seasons for more money, not to mention the off-field violence/mishaps. When you take those three subjects out of the role model discussion you are left with very few superstars to look up to, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Payton Manning, and Tiger Woods, that is where it about stops for me.