Carmelo In Los Angeles Times, Compared To Kobe

I found this interesting little column from Mark Heisler for the Los Angeles Times where he talks about Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets situation and compares him to Kobe and the Lakers of last year. He talks about the pressures of the NBA awaiting him when Team USA is no longer, especially in light of the fact that Denver moved Marcus Camby, to which he refers to his mood when hearing that news as, "salty". Of course, towards the end, the Kobe comparison is aided by Kobe himself as they discuss the Ron Artest trade and he makes this statement, "They're going to talk bad about you, and then when you win, it's all good," Bryant said, laughing. "The heck with that! You come to the Lakers for a bag of peanuts." For the piece itself, click http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-olyheisler31-2008jul31,0,7433173.story

Julius Peppers Talks, Seriously He Did

Just checked out the great work the guys on http://www.charlotteobserver.com/ with their blog and today they give us an interview with Julius Peppers. Normally quiet, he addresses his off season workout regimine, his contract negotiations and his disappointing last season. Click below to see more on Pep in his own words.

http://blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/2008/07/qa-with-julius.html

And how about video of him speaking?

http://www.panthers.com/multimedia/multimediacenter.aspx?id=34898?id=34898

And This Weeks Orange Trivia Answer Is......

Another Venture Of Mine-A New Website

The guys who brought you http://www.pwinsider.com/ for all your wrestling news, have started a pop culture website called pwiPOP which I think many of you will like. I have sent in my first submission which I will post a link to it below but one of the categories they will cover is sports as well. They just started it recently so you should not only check it out but if you want to contribute something, I think they are still looking for others. Enjoy the website and enjoy my non-sports related entry if your curious enough to check it out. I hope to send in stuff as time and subjects permit me.

http://www.pwipop.com/features.php?feature=44

Carolina Panthers Video

While I was looking at videos today to help hype the Panthers season, I was going to show the overtime catch of Steve Smith to beat the Rams but I prefered this video instead.

Otto And Billy Joel-How Did I Miss This Video?

I found this video on YouTube today that has two of my favorite icons in their own genres, Otto The Orange and some Billy Joel music. You had me at Otto.

Team USA, Melo Beat Turkey

In Team USA's first exhibition game in China, they defeated Turkey 114-82. Lebron James led the team with 20 points going 8 for 9 from the field with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Former Orange Carmelo Anthony added 17 points as he went 5-6 from field goal range, 2-3 from the three point line and one rebound and assist. I know this team is determined to win the gold medal this time around and though I may not be a huge fan of the NBA or the Olympics anymore, I wish them the best of luck and not just because of Melo and Coach Boeheim are part of the team, though that helps. The Olympics start officially on August 8th in communist China, which is a rant for another time, but it looks like this team may be ready to go.

Donovan McNabb Checks In From Training Camp

www.yardbarker.com has an update from McNabb on his blog direct from training camp. Those looks for an update on the progress of the team though should continue searching as his latest update is more about his dorm life at Lehigh, what he does with his down time and his website www.donovanmcnabb.com which now has clips of his press conference available there among other changes.

http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/Checking_In/297786

Orange Trivia With A Vengeance

I know you can't believe it but it's that time of the week again that I give you yet another round of Orange Trivia. For those new to the blog, this is not a question about Syracuse Orange or any sports team but about yoru average everyday orange items. Here is this weeks question though it may be slightly harder to guess then past ones,most of the thing I could think to describe it would give it away immediately.

Officially launched nationally in 1979, this product has actually been trademarked for 95 years. Manufactured in St. Louis, Missouri, it was started based on market research indicating it was the third best selling flavor in it's category. My hint for you only applies to those who remember the 80's well but during the middle of that decade, they launched a campaign using the hit song "Good Vibrations". What is this orange item?

Donte In Action

Found this video on YouTube and it's a clip of the Sacramento King's newest addition to their roster, Donte Greene. Enjoy.

My Preseason Panther Pro Bowl Pick

Last week, The Mac Attack on 610am WFNZ in Charlotte or www.wfnz.com asked for predictions for this upcoming NFL season. One of my picks was that linebacker Jon Beason would be a pro bowl pick either through voting or injury and make it to Hawaii in only his second year in the NFL (him and Steve Smith). Well today I found an article on Beason's effect on this team posted on www.panthers.com that reinforces why I think Beason is not only a beast on the field but a leader as well. I will post the link below as always and for the record, I highly recommend those of you who are Panthers fans to check out the website daily for training camp updates. They are doing a great job this season with pictures, reports on player's progress and injury updates that I could repost here but I think it's best to simply read their work for yourself. I am hoping that Ian Scott's knee injury he suffered in the morning session today is not too serious though not exactly optimistic hearing Coach Fox say that it appears to be the most serious of the injuries so far in camp. Go Panthers.

http://www.panthers.com/Common/Article.aspx?id=34736

Donte Greene Traded Again?

Orange fans, it looks like there may be a deal in place to trade Donte Greene from the Houston Rockets, along with guard Bobby Jackson to the Sacramento Kings for Ron Artest, states Chris Duncan of the AP using anonymous sources. The part holding up the deal, Donte's contract can't be traded within 30 days of signing a contract,which he did on July 14th. All I can say is wow, and I thought I would spend the whole day without posting anything. The article discusses a lot about Artest of course but goes on towards the end to speculate how much Kings coach Reggie Theus likes an uptempo game and Greene could fit well into that game plan. I hope nobody purchased any Donte Greene Houston Rockets jersey's yet or else I hope there are room next to your "Don'te Leave" shirts if you did. I actually sort of feel sorry for Donte who is on his third team in the league already and the regular season hasn't even started yet for the young rookie. I know as an Orange fan, I should be upset by the move but to me, I think both teams improves with this move if it happens. Houston gets another star like they wanted who will be a great defensive addition while Sacramento gets both a veteran guard and a rookie forward with potential. I am also a huge supporter of Bobby Jackson so I am hoping all three prosper from this trade when the season starts. Below is the article if you care to see it for yourself.


http://sports.aol.com/story/_a/artest-to-be-traded-to-rockets/n20080729220409990021

Just When You Thought Fantasy Sports Were Boring

Found this video on AOL Fanhouse and I have to say, this will get people excited about fantasy sports.

Syracuse Lacrosse Hardcore Fans, This One Is For You

Found this article on SUAthletics.com, which I am not a member because I can't afford it but check out the free version occasionally, and it discusses how Major League Lacrosse is having an auction of game worn autographed jerseys from the MLL all-star game recently. I can tell you as someone who has worked with Special Olympics twice now, it's one of the heartwarming times in my life that I still look back on and wish I did more often. Anyway, up for bid are the jerseys of former Orange players Ryan Powell, which last I checked was up to $900, and Steven Brooks, which is going for $650 as of this writing. I am sure the Special Olympics will appreciate any money it can make to provide those who participate the best experience possible. So far, the top earner is the rookie from Johns Hopkins Paul Rabil whose jersey is up to $1,100, which Powell in second place. If anyone is reading this with some money in their pocket and wants to donate to a great cause, this would be an awesome souvenir and we can show some Orange love and that we can top Johns Hopkins again. Go Orange and if you can, support the Special Olympics and by the way, below is the link if your wanting to look or bid yourself.

http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/fanzone/auctions/index.html?frm[sort]=datediff+asc%2C+sort&frm[t]=0

Quick Update On The Blog

I was sitting here reading my own stuff(hey, someone has to read it) and I realized, why not make the font a bit bigger since not everyone can see as good as me. I hope you like the new look, sort of, and if you want to comment one way or another let me know.

Also, if you have a sports blog that you would like added, please let me know and especially if it follows the Syracuse Orange, Carolina Panthers, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Penguins, minor league teams in the Charlotte area or based on wrestling and/or MMA. Just drop me a line or a comment somewhere and let me know and I will check it out and if I like it and it fits, I will add it. I am not ashamed to promote someone, especially those who also will link to mine. Take care y'all and I hope you like the look and don't mind as I continue to make small changes here and there to improve it(it could be worse, ask Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, when I first started this, my fonts were all orange haha).

Carolina Panthers Gossip

I have to admit, I am excited waiting to see what the 2008 Panthers do this season and sit on the Charlotte.com blog updates from both Tom and the other crew as well as the Panthers main website(by the way,those guys are doing spectacular work on the website updating the hardcore fan base with photos and snippets of progress and Coach John Fox's views). However in checking news sites, I found an item posted by Mike Florio at www.profootballtalk.com where he discusses how Panthers scouting staff and other football related front office employees are under contracts that expire at the end of this upcoming season. This leads him to speculate whether or not this means it's a do or die attitude for Coach John Fox, GM Marty Hurney, and others and if they fail, he says, "ownership is considering cleaning house if the Panthers don’t make the playoffs this season. " He also goes on to state that a possible replacement for Coach Fox would be.....current North Carolina resident and former Pittsburgh Steeler coach Bill Cowher and that could be why since he may want to bring in his own staff. Honestly, anyone shocked to hear Coach Cowher's name mentioned? Ever since he left the Steelers and it became public that he took up residency in the Raleigh area, the rumors have floated around a lot about which Carolina based football program would convince him to coach again. I personally think Coach Fox is an excellent coach and hope he is successful because I also know this team responds well to him and plays their best for him. I respect what Coach Cowher did in his time in Pittsburgh(trust me, I have family and friends who are Steelers fans, I know his success) but I just feel like Coach Fox does a great job here and losing him would be a huge mistake that some football team will jump on it in a heartbeat.

My question to you is this, how much longer after Coach Fox leaves do the top level players follow him out the stadium doors? You don't think some of these guys who love playing for him will soon start to wonder why they played so hard when it cost them Coach Fox's job anyway and go possibly where he goes? John Fox is the perfect fit for the personality of this team and I think that someone the caliber of Coach Cowher, who is know to be more intense, may not fly as well here as it would with other teams. I am sure there are some who would play as hard as they do now for anyone but certain people just respond to certain coaches better and this team generally seems to be 100% supportive of Coach Fox and believe he has their best interest at heart. Was last season as successful as everyone in the organization hoped? Of course not but they do some positive work and tell me this, when this team went 1-15, how many of you truly thought with Coach Fox on the sidelines, we would have made the playoffs, let alone a field goal away from a Super Bowl? Then again, I never would have thought the Richardson's would not have been able to reach an agreement to keep Bill Rosinski as the voice of the Carolina Panthers a few years back either so I guess we will see when the season goes on.

Elite XC

Well after last night, maybe I am becoming more and more of an Elite XC fan or shill,however you wish to word it. I thought all four matches on CBS were great fights and Lawler/Smith fight lived up to the hype of a rematch and I also think Jake Shields showed he is a great asset to that roster as well as one of the best in the welterweight division period. UFC has great talent I know and won't slight them but I feel these guys could compete with them if given the chance. I also think Chris Cyborg proved that she could put up a great fight against the top name in female Gina Carano, hopefully in October on CBS. Cyborg was dominant in fight and short of her premature victory celebration, still showed she was someone to contend with if Gina wants to be the top female fighter. For those who don't follow MMA, I have an intro video of Gina for you so you can see how seriously many females take this sport and the support they have in doing it, including me who knows I wouldn't want to face any of them. Check out Gina and tell me this isn't a good enough reason alone to support female fights in MMA and Elite XC. Don't worry, thats my last video of the night too, I am off to watch Ice Road Truckers.

Syracuse Themed Video

I was trying to find an optimistic take on the 2008 SU football season and this was the best I could do, a summary and behind the scenes lok at the movie, "The Express". So here is the video, enjoy and lets hope one day we can get our second national championship even though that SOB Pat Dye cost us one years ago that we rightfully earned. Yes I went all video happy today and this one seems to be an older one but I think it's a good story. I remember when I was younger and my grandfather said Ernie Davis was the greatest running back he had ever seen play the game and the older I get, the more I agree with him as I learn more about him.

Favorite Music And Sports Video Of All Time

Funny thing is, those who know me know I am not a huge fishing fan but hey, its funny and uses Sportscenter and even Jerry Springer.

Artist Site

More Videos

Political Rant-Won't Happen Often But Small One Today

I have wondered since I did that interview with Axe a while back about a statement he made. In his Free Space area, he wrote and I quote, "4. Why do we only get two presidential candidates to choose from?" This got me to thinking about whether I wanted to address this issue or not since I want this blog to mostly be centered around sports but honestly when it comes to politics, that affects everything so why not?

I will not sit here and tell anyone how to vote because I think one of the best and most powerful liberties we have in this nation is the freedoms to express and have our own opinions and have the freedom to vote as you choose. I would however recommend sometimes we need to look at third party alternatives. Please save me the whole "wasting your vote" or "they could never win" speech because they may not have the financial backing of the two bigger parties but many of them have great ideas that we need to explore as a country. I also think that with enough support, you would be surprised what a nation of people can do. And there is also a growing number of people who are not happy with the directions our country is taking on things and how the two party system is trying to monopolize the system while minimize our individual rights and maximize our taxes.

So, in light of that, I found a video on YouTube that I think speaks to people like me who, while we don't think we need a complete overthrow of the government, need to see something different done for once and fed up at times with status quo politics and backdoor deals with corporations that can provide them with the most money. Below is the video that is about 5 minutes in length and I think worth checking out if your curious and undecided about who your voting for this fall or just want to see a different viewpoint. Enjoy and don't worry, I will be back to sports after this.