Welcome Back NFL and MLB's Ugliest Players

This week we bring you news from the NFL and from MLB.  JDaddy gives some thoughts on the NFL labor dispute, and CDog takes disrespectful potshots at men bigger than he is by introducing his Top 10 ugliest MLB baseball players.

We also have a casting call out.  With football season approaching we want to include some football season or tailgaiting recipes.  If you have something, send it to us and if we use it we'll give you a shout out and plug your website/blog/whatever if you have one. 

Now, onto the column.

Roger Clemens Mistrial and Top 5 Forgotten Sports Scandals

This week, CDog looks back at the Roger Clemens trial that never was, and JDaddy reminds us of the Top 5 forgotten sports scandals.

Irate Parents Strike Again and the Top 10 Athletes I Never Saw ........ JDaddy/CDog

We're trying something new!  A double post by JDaddy and CDog.  Can you handle twice the amount of knowledge?  JDaddy gives his thoughts on overbearing parents while CDog lists the players he wishes he had been around to see. 

Feel free to add your own comments about these posts and let us know how you like the new set up.

Baseball Bonding

In September of the 2009 baseball season my family was at a Rangers game, sitting about 20 rows up from the visiting team's dugout.  Chris Davis stepped to the plate and lined a foul ball over the netting into the row behind us, where a man about my age picked up the ball, walked down to us and handed the ball to my 2 year old son, Eli.  Everyone cheered and when I had the chance I walked down, shook the man's hand and gave a heartfelt thanks to him for what he did.  Eli didn't understand the significance, and today he still doesn't.  But one day he will know that he has something that some people have been trying 60 or more years to find: a foul ball from a Major League Baseball game. 

My Sports Moment of Clarity

The moment of clarity happened on the night of June 18, 2006.  The Dallas Mavericks had just lost Game 5 of the NBA Fianls 101-100 in Overtime.  The loss dropped them to a 3-games-to-2 deficit after winning the first 2 games in Dallas.  The loss in Game 5 featured ill-timed missed free throws by Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, and what Dallas fans felt was a Secret Service escort for Dwyane Wade, who was not allowed to be touched. 

When the game was over, I was angry.  I was mad at the Mavericks for blowing the opportunity to win the series in Miami.  I was angry at Dirk and Josh for missing the free throws.  I was angry at the NBA for suspending Jerry Stackhouse for Game 5 for what was nothing more than a hard foul on Shaquille O'Neal.  And I was angry at Bennett Salvatore for helping decide the outcome of the game.

My wife was already asleep and even though this was just 5 years ago, civilization had not yet fully moved towards constant connection via text, Twitter, and Facebook.  I had no way to vent my anger.  So I just went to bed.  And I stewed.  My heart was racing, I couldn't sleep, and all I could think about were those $#%@ MISSED FREE THROWS!  That's when the moment of clarity hit.  I then became angry at myself for allowing all of these external factors that I had no control over consume my emotions so much that I couldn't sleep.  Why did I allow that to happen? 

Gone Missing - Power Rankings 4-18-11

I apologize to anyone who was waiting with anxious anticipation for the updated Power Rankings.  Work and being slammed by allergies got in the way this week.  If I had to throw a Top 10 together this week, I think it would have looked like this.

1. Philadelphia
2. New York Yankees
3. Colorado
4. Los Angeles Angels
5. Texas
6. Cleveland
7. Cincinatti
8. San Francisco
9. Kansas City (no, seriously)
10. St. Louis? (They're 8-8, but they have a +23 run differential)

Like I said, this is just off the top of my head and I didn't do any research into these rankings.  Right now there is a large middle class of teams that aren't great, but aren't awful.  I also would have placed Boston last.  I've given up on the whole idea of "lets give them a chance."  When the Best Team Ever starts out 2-10, it's time for them to start proving themselves.  And maybe they have.  After yesterday's Patriots Day victory they now own a 3-game winning streak. 

One last note.  Has anyone been paying attention to Jayson Werth?  In addition to having just 2 homers and 2 RBI on the season, he took the second game of a double header off because of "general aches and pains."  In April?  He'll probably be fine, but don't you think there are quite a few people in the Washington front office imagining a very long next 7 years?