San Francisco Locking Down The Weirdest City Ever Award

source- At about 6:57 a.m. on Monday, two adults were found on the 200 block of 14th Avenue stripped down naked in a city dumpster having "intimate relations" amid a heap of trash.  Afterward, the sexually charged pair had a smoke in the dumpster,  near flammable items, a witness told police.  The caller complained about the indecency, thus police responded only to find that the naked male had narcotics paraphernalia on him, according to police reports. "As the officers continued their investigation they were able to recover a large quantity of methamphetamine along with other items," says Captain Simon Silverman.

I'm just here to provide you with the weirdest story you'll hear all day, maybe all week. This is so San Francisco it hurts. The homeless people in that city are absolute FREAKS. All of them. They're the main reason that I hate homeless people so much.  I've been to San Francisco a few times and they always get up in your face and harass you. It's not like most other cities where they just mind their own business. They also have a tendency to wander around the city screaming most likely because they're high on PCP or whatever. To be honest, it's pretty unbecoming of them. I was crying laughing when I read this story. Just a couple of hobos bangin' it out in a dumpster at 7am while high on meth. If that's not living the American dream than I'm not sure what is and don't want to know what is. So they finished up and were in the process of being arrested and decided to light up some cigs next to flammable materials. Hahaha. Be dumber bums, you can't. You're literally going to blow everyone up because you're smoking cigs near flammable materials. I'm sitting here just imagining these two hobos finding this dumpster and being ecstatic. Oh this will be a great place to bone, honey! While I hate the San Francisco homeless people, I absolutely LOVE this story. 

P.S. I was in San Francisco a few years ago and it was my first night there, the first place I went was In N' Out Burger (duh) and we walked in and it was a packed house, there was a homeless man asleep with his face down in a bread bowl full of chowder from Panera. Great place to rip a little cat nap, good call bro. So the staff realizes how busy this place is and decides to kick him out as we're walking over to sit down at the table he was at. He gets angry and starts shouting at us and the staff and as he's walking by us he tries to grab my food of my tray. GET THE FUCK OUT OF TOWN BRO. You can hit me or whatever you want but do NOT try and steal my In N' Out. Probably the boldest move of all time. If I didn't have the incredible scent of In N' Out keeping me calm, god only knows what I would have done. 

P.P.S. This is Instagram account is INCREDIBLE. Well worth a follow.

Philadelphia Flyers Season Preview 2014-15

The Flyers have a new GM in Ron Hextall who made some interesting moves over the summer. The Flyers suffered a blow to the blueline and lost a fan favorite in Scott Hartnell. The Flyers have a dark history of getting in their own way.

Additions: R.J. Umberger, Michael Del Zotto, 

These are two pretty good players that should help out the Flyers but I wouldn't look for them to have a major impact.

Departures: Scott Hartnell, Steve Downie, 

Losing Hartnell will be a big blow to the Flyers. He was a solid player and a fan favorite. This move completely stunned me when I saw that Hextall traded him to Columbus. 

Positives: The biggest positive for the Flyers is that they have their star player, Claude Giroux. G had a TERRIBLE start to last season but I wouldn't expect that to happen again. He's the glue of the Flyers. Wayne Simmonds is a player that gets better and better every season so I wouldn't expect that to stop now. He lead the team with 29 goals last season so I would  expect to see that number grow this season. The Flyers also have some promise in young players such as Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier. 

Negatives: I'm not sure how Steve Mason will stand the pressure of being the #1 goaltender. Nothing that I've seen from Mason has really impressed me so I will look to see how he plays this season. If he cannot handle it the Flyers have a solid back up in Ray Emery. A big question for the Flyers is Vincent Lecavalier, I expected them to dump his off to Nashville yet he is still in Philly. Vinny struggled in 5 on 5 play this year so I wouldn't be surprised to see him moved soon. 

Montreal Canadiens Season Preview 2014-15

This sucks to do. I'm sure as a lot of you know, I'm a diehard Bruins fan. There's no professional team that I hate hate hate hate more than the Canadiens. Despise em'. So this is going to be brief and angry (like most other things in my life ie: relationships, working out and everything else) 

Last Seasons Record: 48-28-8

Additions: P.A. Parenteau, Manny Malhotra, Jiri Sekac, Tom Gilbert.

The Canadiens additions compared to what they lost would not sit well with me if I was a fan. They lost a lot more than what they're getting back. While these are some good players, they're losing a lot of guys. I never think it's a good thing to lose a lot of guys that just went to the conference championship with your team. You're losing a lot of chemistry out on the ice but that's just a part of sports.

Departures: Thomas Vanek, Danny Briere, Brian Gionta, George Parros, Francis Bouillon, Louis Leblanc, Ryan White, Josh Gorges, Douglas Murray.

That's a lot of guys leaving. While they may not all be integral parts of the Canadiens it's still roster spots to fill and new faces. 

Positives: The Canadiens still have some great hockey players in PK Subban, Pacioretty and Price. That's a good big 3 for them. In the Canadiens case I'm sure they're hoping that those guys stay on route for their great careers.

 Negatives: In my opinion, the worst problem for the Canadiens is that they do not have a captain. That leaves a HUGE leadership question. I have no clue why they didn't name Pacioretty or Subban captain. They're both great players that should be in Montreal for a while so I was surprised when neither of them were given the C to wear. I do not think the Canadiens will be able make it as far in the post season as they did last season.

Reaction To Last Night's Patriots Game

I've been thinking all day about what I was going to say in this blog. It's probably the hardest thing i've ever hard to do to be honest. I'm a very proud Patriots fan and have been for a long time (to a fault sometimes if you ask some of my buddies). So when people start to tell me the Patriots suck, a tussle is going to ensue. Last night in our Fantasy Football group text certain parties were telling me that the Patriots sucked and there was no way that they would win this game, Tom Brady is awful now, they need a new QB. You know, the whole 9 yards. I defended the Patriots honor and stood by their side and guaranteed a win. Unfortunately the Pats let me down, big time. Not only did they not win the game, they got DEMOLISHED. It was down right embarrassing. I know everyone is going to be throwing dirt on the Patriots grave now and saying how much they suck, they're not even a super bowl contender. Some of the most outlandish statements you'll hear all year. Because the fact of the matter is that there's NO ONE i'd rather have leading my team into the playoffs than Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. No one. Yes they're struggling in week 4 but I know that in 10 weeks they're going to have things figured out and their sights set on another super bowl. Also I loved Amendola's penalty at the end of the game for a personal foul. It showed that he was pissed off and that's what you want to see out of a time that is getting brought to the wood shed. I'm not in denial, I know that the Patriots sucked last night. Tom Brady sucked. Revis sucked. Defense sucked. O-Line sucked. I watched the game, i saw it all, but I'm not counting the Patriots out because I know for a fact that they are going to bounce back from this. You can't be perfect all the time, ya know. 

P.S. Bill's reaction to the dumbest question of all time is priceless. Textbook, Bill.

P.P.S I've been watching the Patriots consistently for 14 years and that was by far the worst game I have ever seen. I was dumbfounded. I had to turn off my phone so I would stop getting texts about how much the Patriots sucked. 

MLB Playoffs Preview and Predictions

Postseason baseball is upon us, and even though my Yanks didn't make it for the second straight year, I expect a pretty exciting MLB playoffs. 

The one game Wild Card round starts tonight with the American League matchup:

Oakland A's @ Kansas City Royals

Followed by the National League Wild Card round tomorrow night:

San Francisco Giants @ Pittsburgh Pirates

The AL Divisional Series starts Thursday:

Detroit Tigers @ Baltimore Orioles

A's/Royals @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The NL Divisional Series starts Friday:

St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers

Giants/Pirates @ Washington Nationals

My Predictions

AL Wild Card Round

 

Pitching Matchup: Jon Lester (OAK) vs. James Shields (KC)

Prediction: This will be an incredible pitchers duel. One of the best postseason pitchers in recent memory vs. "Big Game James". Neither team has hit that great this season, especially since the trade deadline for the A's. I give the edge to the Royals in this one. That city has been deprived of postseason baseball for 29 years and I think Shields is up for the challenge of getting them into the Divisional Series. It'll be a great game tonight. Look for very little scoring. KC 2 OAK 1

NL Wild Card Round

  

Pitching Matchup: Madison Bumgarner (SF) vs. Edinson Volquez (PIT)

Prediction: Realized just now how good Edinson Volquez has been for the Pirates this year, but I still give the edge to the Bumgarner and the Giants. Bumgarner has been superb for San Fran all year and I think he can put the Pirates bats to sleep. I also think the Giants offense with Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Co. is much more potent than the Pirates. SF 6 PIT 3

ALDS

            

Potential Rotations:

Tigers                                                                                Orioles

Max Scherzer                                                                  Chris Tillman

David Price                                                                       Wei-Yin Chen

Justin Verlander                                                              Bud Norris

Rick Porcello                                                                    Kevin Gausman

Prediction: I think the Tigers have too much pitching. Both teams have two of the most potent offenses in the league, but the Tigers pitching staff has the postseason experience. I can't imagine Verlander struggling in the playoffs as much as he did in the regular season. The Orioles find ways to win games, but not in this series against one of the best pitching staffs in the league. Tigers in 4

           

Potential Rotations:

Royals                                                                           Angels

James Shields (pitching in WC round)                  Jered Weaver

Jeremy Guthrie                                                             CJ Wilson

Yordano Ventura                                                         Matt Shoemaker

Danny Duffy                                                                 Hector Santiago

Prediction: Angels will be too much for the Royals to handle. There's a reason LA is the best team in baseball. They hit and pitch really well. The game that Shields will pitch in will be close, but other than that I think the Angels will run away with this series. I like the sweep for LA in this one. Angels in 3

NLDS

       

Potential Rotations

Cardinals                                                                           Dodgers

Adam Wainwright                                                         Clayton Kershaw

Lance Lynn                                                                       Zack Greinke

John Lackey                                                                      Dan Haren

Justin Masterson                                                            Roberto Hernandez

Prediction: This has the potential to be the best series of the entire playoffs. Two storied franchises with bona fide stud aces and very good line ups. I give the edge to the Cardinals. I think Adam Wainwright will out duel Kershaw and the Cardinals will cruise from there. Unless Kershaw and Greinke pitch every game for LA, I like the Cards. Cardinals in 4

   

Potential Rotations:

Giants                                                                                    Nationals

Madison Bumgarner (pitching in WC round)          Stephen Strasburg

Tim Hudson                                                                        Jordan Zimmermann

Ryan Volgelsong                                                               Gio Gonzalez

Jake Peavy                                                                           Doug Fister

Prediction: I think the Nationals will handle the Giants pretty easily. With Bumgarner pitching in the WC round, they won't get their ace until either Game 2 or 3 which will give the Nationals a chance to jump in front in the series and then run away with it. Nats offense and pitching will be too much. Nationals in 3

ALCS

                       

Prediction: This will be a really good series if it happens. Tigers probably have a better rotation but the Angels probably have a better line up. Both have really solid rosters all around though. I think the Angels are simply just a better team than the Tigers. They're the best team in baseball and I think they'll be able to show it in this series. Too much Mike Trout. Angels in 6

NLCS

     

Prediction: Once again, probably another great series. However, I think the Nationals are too good for the Cards to handle over a 7 game series. Wainwright can't pitch every game and the Nats have a terrific rotation combined with a powerful line up. Too much Bryce Harper. Nationals in 6

World Series

                     

Prediction: Not the boldest pick for the World Series matchup seeing as they're the two best teams in baseball, but oh well. I wanna see Mike Trout go up against Bryce Harper for the ring. I think Harper gets it. Both teams have great line ups, but I think the Nats have too much pitching once again. Definitely will be an awesome series as the top two phenoms in the game get pitted against one another. If this series happens, it will be one for the ages. Nationals in 7

Derek Jeter's Top 10 Plays/Moments

Well, I think it's safe to say this will be my last Jeter blog for a little while. As you all are probably aware, Derek's amazing career came to an end yesterday, so I wanted to put together my top 10 moments of his career.

10. The Jump Throw

(He's done it so many times, but it's one of his signature defensive plays)

(Do you think Joe Morgan thinks that was a strong and accurate throw? Cause I'm not so sure)

Still could do it 15 years later

9. Becomes Yankees All-Time Hits Leader

8. Catch in Stands in 2001 ALDS

This gets on the list because it's one of the best plays he's ever made, and it was in the playoffs. Very underrated play because of the other play that you'll see coming up.

7. First Career Hit and First Career Home Run

6. 1996 ALCS Home Run

5. "The Flip" 

4. "The Dive"

3. Walk-Off Single in Final Home Game

2. DJ3K

1. "Mr. November"

Thank you, Derek.

P.S. Can't believe Bob Costas used to announce Yankees games. Or maybe just playoff games? Either way, he's a 5 foot nothing weasel. Thought that needed to be addressed.

Edmonton Oilers 2014-15 Season Preview

2014-2015 Edmonton Oilers Season Preview

Okay so today I am going to shed some light on the dreadful Oilers, yes I am going as far as to call them dreadful.  So many teams in the early to mid 2000's grew their teams through the draft after being god awful for years, after all this is a cheaper and more modest way to develop your team into a powerhouse, it takes time, but in the long run it pays dividends.  The Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins built their teams through several high picks and are now cup favorites nearly every year.  The Edmonton Oilers however have had a top 10 pick in the last 6 drafts, 3 straight years those picks were the number 1 pick in the draft! yes, 3 straight years as the worst or second worst team in the league (they got first pick through the lottery in '12.)  Every year it's, oh this is the oilers take that step! yet each year that does not come to fruition.  Last season was much of the same and the oilers were the 3rd worst team in the league, and it's not good when being 7th in the league is an improvement which they were two seasons ago.  Management has changed in the last couple of years because, well, it was god awful.  In 2012-2013, the Oilers were pretty good for the first half of their season then fell apart at the end and got the 7th pick, The Gm, Steve Tambellini was fired and they brought in former coach, Craig MacTavish.  Ralph Kruger was the coach during the oilers' "improvement" but was fired because MacT wanted his own guy.  This to me is stupid because a team needs to have structure and stability, The Oilers have had a different coach each year for the past 3 seasons, these players must feel like the kids of untrustworthy dads who are always walking out on their families.

Positivity???

Honestly I can't say much that is good about the Oilers, they have 2 VERY good....... backup goaltenders.  Viktor Fasth was awesome for the Ducks when he platooned with Jonas Hiller and filled in when need be, but Fasth ran into injuries last year with Anaheim and looked god awful against them after being traded to Edmonton.  Ben Scrivens had a legendary 50+ save performance last year and, like Fasth, was good when he filled in for Quick in Los Angeles.  One highlight for the Oilers is that their captain is Andrew Ference, he is an older veteran who has won a Stanley cup with Boston and has loads of playoff experience, the problem is that Edmonton has to get to the playoffs for him to show that.  Another bright spot is that Taylor Hall, one of their first line wingers, is probably one of the best players in the league.  Hall is fast, large, and puts up point per game numbers, of course there is a downside with him too, he catches the injury bug quite often, never playing a full schedule in his first 4 NHL seasons.  Edmonton's other skilled players, Yakupov, RNH, and Eberle are all inconsistent guys who will look like highlight reels one game, and then no shows the next.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle are 70+ calibre players who show flashes of that but with inconsistent play and injury issues, it's hard to trust those guys.  Yakupov had a promising, and sometimes electrifying rookie campaign, scoring 31 points in 48 games of the shortened '13 season, however, his sophomore season was horrid, he put up 11 goals and a total of 24 points in 63 games and it became questionable whether Yakupov was a serious competitor and if he wanted to be in the NHL.  Another supremely offensively talented player is Justin Schultz, who is of course a both a scum bag and idiot for spurning the Anaheim Ducks who drafted him and signing with Edmonton as a free agent out of college, the issue with Schultz is that he is a defenseman, who is god awful at Defense.  Schultz has nice offensive numbers but is a minus player.  Seriously, this guy chose to sign with the Oilers...... meanwhile the Ducks have been and will be contenders for years to come, good job dude, you're doing great.  The tiny positive note is that the Oilers have talent, and with the recent addition of vets, David Perron and Benoit Pouliot up front, and rookie 2 way dmen Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse (Donovan McNabb's nephew) these guys might be able to stitch things together.

Basically the Oilers need to build a trust in each other, management, and their head Coach Dallas Eakins.  With the stockpile of offensive talent and now more reliable veterans, this team needs to put in the hard work so talent can be more than just that.  This organization is run in the worst way with a glaring incompetence.  Edmonton had a rich tradition of excellence in the 70's and 80's so it would be nice for them to make the playoffs, but in a division with the California teams and at least one more team better than they are, I just don't see that happening this year.

College Football: Week 5 Wrap Up

Well Monday is here again unfortunately, and so I'm back to give you a wrap up of this weekend's games. Not a lot of good match ups on paper, but there ended up being some pretty good games.

1. Florida State Seminoles (@ North Carolina State, W 56-41): NC State gave em a run for their money like they usually do up there in Raleigh, but FSU overcame the early 24-7 deficit and the third quarter 38-28 deficit, and powered past the Wolfpack. 

2. Oregon Ducks: BYE

3. Alabama Crimson Tide: BYE

4. Oklahoma Sooners: BYE

(almost put the N Sync song back up, but I think you get the point)

5. Auburn Tigers (vs. Louisiana Tech, W 45-17): In a week where a bunch of teams started conference play or continued conference play, you're playing LA Tech. Sweet Auburn.

6. Texas A&M Aggies (vs. Arkansas, W 35-28 OT): I wanted Arkansas to win so bad. They're my sleeper in the SEC, but they blew it. Good comeback by Hill and the Aggies.

7. Baylor Bears (@ Iowa State, W 49-28): Cool.

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (@ Syracuse, W 31-15): Everett Golson completed 25 straight passes so I guess that's pretty sick. Other than that, you beat Syracuse so good for you.

9. Michigan State Spartans (vs. Wyoming, W 56-14): Spartans shut down the high powered juggernaut of an offense of Wyoming. Just kidding, I don't know shit about Wyoming. Sweet win MSU.

10. Ole Miss Rebels (vs. Memphis, W 24-3): All I wanna know is why the hell THIS game was showing up on my Snapchat Live all night. It's one thing to have that feature on Snapchat (which I already hate) but to show Snapchats from Ole Miss vs. Memphis?! Weird move.

11. UCLA Bruins (@ #15 Arizona State, W 62-27): Well UCLA finally showed off the offense everyone was talking about at the beginning of the year. Solid win.

12. Georgia Bulldogs (vs. Tennessee, W 35-32): Todd Gurley once again folks. Narrowly escaped the Vols, but Gurley is on another level.

13. South Carolina Gamecocks (vs. Missouri, L 21-20): LOL

14. Mississippi State Bulldogs: BYE

15. Arizona State Sun Devils (vs. #11 UCLA, L 62-27): Didn't have the starting QB but I'm sure they weren't expecting this kinda beat down.

16. Stanford Cardinal (@ Washington, W 20-13): Didn't see this one but I imagine it was one of the more boring games of the year.

17. LSU Tigers (vs. New Mexico State, W 63-7): It's week 5 LSU. Play someone worth a damn.

18. USC Trojans (vs. Oregon State, W 35-10): Quality conference win. I got nothing else.

19. Wisconsin Badgers (vs. South Florida, W 27-10): Wisconsin looked really bad in the first half and then Melvin Gordon took over in the second half.

20. BYU Cougars: BYE

21. Nebraska Cornhuskers (vs. Illinois, W 45-14): Illinois sucks so I don't have much on this one. Ameer Abdullah is really good.

22. Ohio State Buckeyes (vs. Cincinnati, W 50-28): Awesome Ohio State. Awesome.

23. East Carolina Pirates: BYE

24. Oklahoma State Cowboys (vs. Texas Tech, W 45-35): Entertaining Thursday night game. Good win for the Cowboys.

25. Kansas State Wildcats (vs. UTEP, W 58-28): Aaaaaand no one cares.

And since my Clemson Tigers got knocked out of the top 25 last week for the first time in 50 weeks, I have to do an extra bit on them outside of the usual wrap up. 

Clemson 50 North Carolina 35: Deshaun Watson looked better than advertised going 27-36 for 435 yards and 6 TDs. He did make one bad throw for a pick but there was also mis-communication with the receiver. Needless to say, he's frickin good. Defense was weak in the second half, but UNC does have a pretty good offense. They were ranked to start the season as well. Vic had two sacks and is now 4th in the nation in that category. As always, it was awesome being in Death Valley. Looking forward to this week against NC State.

Artavis Scott. Beast Mode!

As always #GoTigers

Nashville Predators Season Preview 2014-15

Time to talk Nashville Predators hockey.  The first place to start is to talk about how offensively challenged this team is, none of their players top 60 points, year in and year out, and the guy who gets the closest ever year is their Top Defenseman, Shea Weber.  Shea Weber has been the team's franchise player and captain for the past few years as well as arguably the best Defenseman in the league year in and year out.  The Predators cut ties with the only Head Coach the organization has ever known in Barry Trotz at seasons end and in turn, hired Peter Laviolette, a coach who has much more of an offensive mindset.  In the off season, Nashville signed centers Mike Ribeiro and Olli Jokinen, which would have been huuuuge, 5 or 6 years ago.  Bottom line is that Nashville needs to get more offensive, their defense is no longer good enough to win alone.

Acquisitions
Nashville traded for James Neal, a bona fide 40 goal scorer when he played in Pittsburgh.  Neal played with Crosby, the best player in the world, this leads one to question whether his numbers will remain the same with a less talented center.  Ribeiro and Jokinen may have some life left in their sticks, they are skilled, but aging, injuries are a concern.

Step up in Progress
Eyes will be on Seth Jones and Ryan Ellis to see if they will take the next step in their progression as young defensemen.  Jones was a top 4 pick in the 2013 and many thought he should have gone as high as number 1, With Mackinnon's play last season I don't think anyone thinks so anymore.  Jones had an okay rookie season, which is okay because Defensemen take longer to develop than forwards. One concern is Jone's +/- he finished the year with it under -20 which is god awful, but again, expected from a rookie, 19 year old defenseman.  Ellis has been in the league a little bit longer and is 3 years older than Jones, he was one of the best and most decorated players in Juniors over the past 10 years.  Ellis is 23, he hasn't made much of a mark yet, but is still young and just signed a 5 year/12.5 million a year contract

Goaltending
Pekka Rinne is one of the top goaltenders in the league, if you combine his play and the play of this team's defense, not many goals are going to be scored against them.  Rinne had health issues last year and was out for an extended period of time which hurt because it put two young, inexperienced goalies in the line of fire.  Pekka is a lanky, tall dude who can cover the whole net, standing at 6'5, it is extremely difficult to get the puck past him especially because he can move.  Goaltending is a strong point, however, Goaltending depth is not.  Rinne needs to be healthy or it's a concern.

Reasons to be positive
The Predators have a huge, hard hitting, hard shooting Defenseman who is one of the best leaders in the league in Shea Weber.  When Shea is healthy, he can put up around 50 points a season from the back end and keep the Preds in the hunt for the post season.  In previous years Weber made up for a good chunk of the team's offense, with the addition of Ribeiro, Jokinen, and Neal, Weber will still score a lot, but a lot of pressure will be taken off of him.  Mike Fisher, a good two way player, will contribute around 50+ points if he can stay healthy, Preds fans need to hope that Carrie Underwood doesn't distract him too much at home, he also has an injury history so he will need to get/stay healthy.  Laviolette will implement an offensive system to this team who basically didn't have one in previous years, I peg them for a bubble team this year, could make the playoffs, but wouldn't put money on it.

As a footnote I want to point out that Nashville has not been the same team since Ryan Suter left via free agency a couple of summers ago, Suter and Weber used to be extraordinarily shut down, they went against teams top lines and were a pain to play against.  Weber is still an all star, but he misses his former D pair mate.