Arizona Football Update

Just like players at some of the other Division I Football programs around the country the Arizona Wildcats football team has had many of its' players sleeping on cots and bunks in rough conditions. Unlike those players, the Arizona Football Team has been doing it by choice and won't have a criminal record linked to it. For those of you who do not live in the Greater Tucson area, or do not check out the online Tucson Citizen or Arizona Daily Star you might not be aware of Stoops Troops new off-season Training Camp Regimen. Thanks to innovative thinking by Stoops and Major General John M. Custer over at Fort Huachuca in Cochise County, AZ. The Kitty Kats football team has taken a team building trip and Fall Ball Camp to the Military Institution to get ready for the upcoming season.

The players and coaches spent 4 days at Fort Huachuca located in Southern Arizona doing a lot more than focusing on football. Anyone who has been to any kind of team getaway camp will tell you that coming away from that week/weekend has the team better prepared for the season at hand. After living together for that time they grow closer. Rather than just two-a-days where the players see each other all day then go their separate days for dinner and sleep, these guys are together. From the moment the wake up until the moment they go to bed they do everything together. They run, eat, sleep, practice, and team-build with one another over the course of training camp. They learn to communicate and work together and become much closer. They also are free from the trappings of cell phones, e-mail, Myspace, Facebook, and of course newspapers and blogs.

This is the first year the Cats have ventured down to the Military Installation (rumored to be connected to the teaching of torture methods used in Abu Ghraib) and from the sounds of the reviews coming back it won't be the last. In fact, players and coaches are both asking that the 2009 trip be extended longer than this years 4 day jaunt. In my personal opinion I think this will be great for this Wildcats Team going into the season (10 days away). Team building activities do so much in the long run for these players and teams as far as building bonds and communication. This will definitely pay off every Saturday this Fall.

And I'm willing to bet, no one tries to mess with our kickers

More after the jump...

Let's Make a Deal

Hello again Everybody it's time for everyone's favorite, let's make a deal. Today's contestants are the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears.



First we have "Bowtie" Bill Bidwell here representing the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have been the team that's a year away almost every year for the last 15 years. The last time they were in the playoff was 10 years ago. They also have had a slight QB Controversy since drafting Matt Leinart.



The next contestant we have today is Jerry Angelo representing the Chicago Bears. The Bears have one of the most staunch Defenses in the NFL and the most threatening kick return specialist in the game. They were recently in the playoffs 2 years ago when they lost the Super Bowl. The Bears are only a couple of pieces away from making another strong push.

So Mr. Bidwell, Mr. Angelo.....Let's Make a Deal!!!!!



Proposed deal:



Part I - The Bears send Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, both proven Back up quarterbacks looking for a team that needs a back up quarterback, to the Arizona Cardinals for QB Kurt Warner. Some might think this will just further intensify any kind of controversy in Arizona adding 2 QBs to the mix. But upon further review the Bears are in need of two things a Veteran QB and an actual starter, enter the ultimate 2 for 1 Kurt Warner. He's not a long term answer but he can play and win for a couple more seasons.

Meanwhile, Arizona will further show their support for Matt Leinart and the Media won't be immediately pushing for Kurt Warner to take over at the first sight of uh-ohs. With a starting caliber QB as a backup there will always be QB Controversy's and negatives. With Rex and Orton as the Back ups people won't be pushing as hard for Leinart to be replaced. This way Leinart, who is the future of this franchise, will be able to take over and gain confidence.

Besides Leinart and Orton can party together.


Part II - Anquan Boldin wants out of Arizona, according to Super Agent Drew Rosenhaus. One of the only teams to offer up anything so far is Arizona Cardinal Arch Rival Dallas Cowboys. They may not be in the same division anymore but they are still bitter rivals from the old NFC East days. The Bears have receivers but a star receiver could be a nice addition. So the Bears deal Brandon Lloyd, Rookie Earl Bennet and a 2nd round pick to the Cardinals for Boldin and a 3rd rounder.

The Bears get their downfield threat receiver, the Cards get some youth at the spot including a rookie with major upside as well as one of the most coveted things in the NFL, a 2nd round draft pick as well as getting rid of a player they don't want with Drew Rosenhaus as his agent without dealing him to the Cowboys. The 2nd round pick gives the drafting team the ability to get top tier talent at a lower price.

There are plenty of other deals out there but tell me this isn't a great idea.

More after the jump...

Breaking News: Orton's #1

Breaking News from Halas Hall the Bears have named their starter after 2 preseason contests. Kyle Orton has gotten the nod over 2006 Super Bowl QB Rex Grossman. Grossman, who started the '06 season in the same sentence as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady through the first month. After all he was the September NFC Player of the Month. Of course those outlandish numbers he amassed over the first few weeks became a rare occurrence as "Bad Rex" started making appearances.

In 2006, Grossman, who had spent years on the sideline after numerous injuries, was a pleasant surprise to Bears fans who had seen Surprise Rookie Starter Kyle Orton lead the team to a 10-5 record as a starter but with very minimal major plays or Touchdown drives. Sexy Rexy threw the ball downfield, used his receivers better, and led the team to a 7-0 start. A welcome occurrence in comparison to the dink and dunk 3 yard out Kyle Orton led offense in '05. But by the end of the '06 season fans were no longer enamored with Rex who, over the last 6 games of the 2006 season amassed QB Ratings of 0.0, 1.3, 23.6, 80.4, 104.3, and 114.4.

But 2007 saw much more of the lower end "Bad Rex" than the offensive threat of "Good Rex". Orton came in to start the last three games of the 2007 season leading the team to a 2-1 record with a last minute loss to the Minnesota Vikings in his first start since a Sunday Night game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15 of 2005. This also included a victory over Green Bay with a 103.2 QB Rating (Out dueling Brett Favre's 0 TD/2 INT 40.2).

After 2 preseason games KO has officially been named the QB1 for the Bears Week 1. His numbers match up, slightly, more favorably than Rex. With a 63.2 - 56.5 edge in Completion Percentage, 5.21 - 5.13 Yards Per Completion Average, and a 76.4 - 66.9 Passer Rating. So far in the 2 contests Orton has led the Bears on 5 Drives leading to 3 FGs and 2 Punts. This is starting to seem a lot like 2005. Then again in 2005 the Bears surprised many and won the division only to lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs to Carolina, so maybe that isn't the worst thing that could happen to 2007's 7-9 team.

The Bears have always thrived with a strong defense and mediocre quarterbacks. The 2005 11-5 Chicago Bears didn't have Devin Hester. Maybe all the Bears need is a Quarterback who keeps the Bears in the game rather than one who wins (or loses) it. Bottom line, I have been pushing for Orton since mid-last season and really never understood why he lost the starting job in 2005 with Grossman's return. I don't expect a Pro Bowl season from Orton but I also don't expect any sub 65 QB Ratings (Grossman has 12 Sub 65 Ratings over the last 30 starts).

Congratulations Kyle.


More after the jump...

Faulty Tie-breaker Shows Liukin's Grace Beyond Her Years

David Flumenbaum seems to believe that he can prove the Chinese womens' gymnastics team is falsifying their ages. If this is true than the United States' Nastia Liukin deserves the uneven bars gold medal more now than she did last night. After a faulty tie- breaker (which will be broken down later in the article) resulted in He Kexin taking gold over Liukin, the United States gymnast looked visibly upset and confused yet held on her to composure and grace. Here is what happened.

He Kexin and Nastia Liukin both had high favors to medal in the uneven bars, both had identical start values 7.7 , and both scored the exact same on execution, 16.725. However, one thing separated them, He Kexin took a small step in her landing while Liukin nailed hers. When the scores came up He Kexin had been declared the gold medal winner with Liukin taking silver. As was seen around the arena everyone was wondering how He had taken gold when she had stepped on her landing and Liukin hadn't.

Lets break this down shall we:

First Tie Breaker: The start value. Since both gymnasts had equatable start values the judges moved onto;

Second Tie Breaker: The deductions taken by the middle four judges. They were equal for both gymnasts and then;

The Third ( and final ) Tie Breaker: The average of the three lowest of the four counting judges deductions. For He these came from Poland, New Zealand and Brazil. For Liukin; New Zealand, Bulgaria and the nail in the coffin Australia.
The Australian judge had given Liukin three tenths of a lower score than He - sealing her fate as a silver medal winner.

The irony in this judging in palpable, considering what happened in Sydney eight years ago. Need a refresher here you go;

At the 2000 Olympic games Chinese gymnast Yang Yung won a bronze medal on the uneven bars ( coincidental, I'm sure). A few years later in an interview Yung copped to being only 14 at the time of the Olympic games, admitting that both she and her coaches falsified documents and lied about her age to the International Olympics Committee (IOC).

Fast forward to 2008, Chinese gymnasts being accused of lying about their age, uneven bars, medal controversy- dicey.

The IOC rules and regulations were changed in the mid 90's to balance the age of gymnasts. The new regulations stated that gymnasts must be 16 in the year of the Olympics to compete. At the center of age debate are three Chinese athletes. Jiang Yuyan, Yang Yiung and He Kexin. It's stating the obvious to say that looking at a picture of these girls, one can only think they could be between the ages of 8 and 12. However, here are some interesting facts on He Kexin.

He's passport was issued on February 14, 2008 six months before the Olympics began and very close to the deadline when athlete information had to be submitted to the IOC. He's passport states that she is 16 years old, however in other documents recovered ( and since removed, because China has a very free press informational policy) her birthday is listed as January 1, 1994- making her 14 and ineligible. He also stands at 4'8 and 78 pounds. While gymnasts are known for being small, this seems almost too small, numerous gymnastics coaches have conceding that her height and weight is below average for a 16 year old gymnast.

So for Liukin, if the tie- breaker pill was not enough to swallow she must deal with all of this. However, to actually and legally be 16 she showed the world that she was graceful beyond her years; when asked as she was coming off the floor if tie-breaker and age disparity made winning the silver harder to deal with, she looked into the camera and said; He's a great athlete no matter what age, and these are the rules you have to play by.

Nastia- you deserve it, we all know that.

More after the jump...

Greatest Video Ever

Having about as much to do with sports as, well as my 2 and a half month old, the Wife had me YouTube search for something about Dwight Schrute Kidnapping/Holding Pam hostage. Before I could do the in depth search I found the following video that, just might be the Best Video in the World... It was the best video in the world....

More after the jump...

How Phelps Stacks Up...As A Country

There have been a number of articles regarding Michael Phelps’ success in the 2008 Olympic, and that is an obvious understatement. The problem I have with the coverage of American athletes is that it has made the public jaded. It is simply not enough to compete at the highest level, to be great, or even to just win. In the case of Phelps it isn’t even enough to break world records or to win gold medals. The public watches Phelps and expects him to win every time, and win by a substantial margin. Not only that but to win in every single event across the board. The 2008 coverage of Beijing has built up Phelps’ run at 8 gold medals to such a height that if he were to get silver in his eighth attempt there would be disappointment with his efforts. This of course is speaking to the general American Olympic watching audience who may not be as informed or as versed in the games or in aquatic events as others. I openly admit that the only time I watch any swimming competitions is the Olympics and a rare exception when Arizona won the Swimming and Diving National Championship this year. I started thinking more and more about Phelps and how absurd the coverage and the expectations he faces are, and decided to try and break it down into quick facts that might put it into a better perspective for those of you who are indeed jaded.

Athens 2004 Olympics (If Phelps were his own country) :

• Phelps: 6 Gold 2 Bronze

• 74 Countries Medaled, so automatically Phelps had more medals than 124 countries that were participating considering they didn’t win a single medal.

• As far as gold medals are concerned Phelps would have been tied for 15th with Greece.

• With 8 total medals Phelps would have been in a five way tie for 24th overall with Thailand, Denmark, Czech Republic, and Kazakhstan.

At the time I wrote this Article (After watching Aug 15th in the U.S, I don’t do well with time changes especially when watching events that say “live” only for my roommates to come in and ruin it because they heard who won on the radio on their drive home…Thanks NBC):
2008 Beijing Olympics

• Phelps 6 Gold

• Currently Phelps is tied for 4th most gold medals with South Korea, Italy, and Japan.

• His 6 total medals puts him in 14th place overall one above North Korea and one shy of the Netherlands.

I feel as though the Olympics come and go, and you may remember a certain athlete that you picked to watch for those particular games, but overall the memories of the participants fade pretty fast. As Americans we expect to win, and are utterly confused when we don’t. It is a sad state of affairs when we expect someone to set a record that hasn’t been done in over a hundred years of the Olympic Games. He already has more Golds than any other Olympic athlete, and is just four away from the most total medals of any Olympic athlete ever. I think that we are praising him more than a fair amount, but for some reason outside certain circles it sounds like we are taking him for granted. The “Call me when he gets 8” mentality. I think something needs to be done to commemorate his accomplishments, besides lucrative purses.



More after the jump...

Optimal Stubble

I'm pretty busy today but recently, on one of the days I was much, much less busy, I went back to the Archives of an old Comic Strip from The Arizona Daily Wildcat. Optimal Stubble, written by Micah Zahler, and inspired by the average college guy life of sports, drinking, girls, and sarcasm, was one of the top things of attending the U of A from 2003-2005. Since I'm swamped at this terrible, awful, soul stealing thing called a job, I'm just posting a few of the old ones, and occasionally I'll post a few more. The Complete Series of Optimal Stubble can be found at Schlagging.com, unlike the complete series of Ed which, for whatever inane reason, can not be found anywhere....bastards.

When you've got some free time head over to Schlagging.com and check out all of them.

More after the jump...

Safe Olympiad

Fame was never a driving factor. Gold medals weren't really enough of a motivator. Endorsements and travel are fun and all but it wasn't worth the training. So early on I gave up on any thoughts of being an olympian despite my prowess at Gymboree. Swimming was out of the question, I never had lessons. I learned by the "My dad pushed me in the deep end at a young age and I kept my head above water a.k.a literal sink or swim" methods. Bottom line there was never really an interest in making it to the olympics for me.

Of course that's apparently because this report failed to cross my radar. 100,000 condoms have been giving to the olympic athletes participating in the games.

70,000 wasn't enough for the 2,000 athletes in Sydney, they had to go grab 20,000 more. The hope is that this year 100,000 will keep the athletes happy. There are more condoms at the games than screenshots of Michael Phelps. It makes perfect sense there are many attractive olympians who are there for 2 weeks and only compete once or twice and sit around doing nothing for the remaining days. What better to do?

Tour Beijing? Many of them have been there before in different trials and tests. They've seen plenty of the things to see in Beijing. So I suppose there is only one other option. The real question remains how do they even have the time or energy to compete in olympic events? The last thing on my mind would be running, swimming, shooting, gymnastic-ing. I would want a sandwich and a nap. With Softball and Baseball gone from the olympics will they be replaced with Sex as an Olympic Sport.

I understand the need for safe sex and that sometimes you're bored and just need something to do, but 100,000 condoms. They're only there for 2 weeks. Other questions then come to mind. Are they olympic themed? If you win gold do you also get an accompanying amount of Gold condoms? Of course another thought comes to mind. If we've got all of our best athletes in one place. And they are keeping themselves busy with one another. Why are we giving them condoms? We could have future generations of incredible olympians bred at the Olympics.

Imagine being bored at the Olympics, a pile of condoms at one side and at the other....



More after the jump...

Chicago 2016

There's nothing like a little worldly competition to get one pumped for 8 years from now. This Olympic round I've been doing some comparisons between applicant cities for 2016 and past cities and I've decided that Chicago is the best place to host the 2016 games ( biased? perhaps, but keep reading).

In order for Chicago to host the 2016 games we first must beat out Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo- sounds daunting however I have come up with the top tens reasons that Chicago should host the games; here you go:

1. Sports Culture:
Chicago has the best sports culture in the United States; Chicagoans are insane about sports and competition in general. Everything in Chicago turns into a competition: racing to a seat on the L, working your way around a group of tourists that are walking 5 deep on a sidewalk, beating anyone to a cab in -15 degree weather- you get the point. Chicago fans deserve this.

2. Food:
Chicago has the most comprehensive selection of food. During my time abroad I found the food situation to be a little tricky at times ( Italy being the exception- Pasta all day everyday). Spain is famous for their Tapas- but bring in the Germans and serve them 14 plates of small food and there's going to be a beer house riot. Take the Italians to Tokyo and serve sushi it's going to be a St. Valentines Day Massacre all over again, and I'm not sure what they serve in Rio besides steak but it's probably laced with some techno drug. Chicago, has it all - 27 Tapas bars throughout the city, numerous Sushi bars, there's Italian food, Greek food, Arabic food, Mediterranean food, Bratwursts, Hot Dogs (American style not Vietnamese), and if you look in the right spot probably some steak on X. Chicago is like a United Nations for the palate.

3. Transportation:
Tokyo might have us on this one- they have trains that run up to 300 miles, which I'll golf clap you- is awesome. However, let me invite you to ride one of the classiest trains in the world the " L" brought to you by the Chicago Transit Authority- second to none in smart organizational structuring and management.

Here's the deal if Chicago gets the Olympics our taxes are going to sky rocket for Daley's dream of having the most state of the art venues ( which I support, if we're going to invite the world here lets not look like schmucks); therefore the " L" is going to get the major upgrading that it needs. Yes, we have to pay for it, but everyone now is too scared now to talk about raising taxes to fix the "L"- hey I almost fell through a floor board the other day- it's time and if takes the Olympics to make it happen I'm all for it.

Also, Rio's public transportation is not good- there is a forest that separates city life and rural relaxation. The trains are outdated and don't run from major parts of the city to others- it would be a clustered nightmare. Imagine all those people after eating their steak not being able to get back to their hotel- that's a lot of lost foreigners- and a Gypsy's paradise.

4. Venus Williams:
I dislike Venus Williams almost as much as I dislike Aneres ( yes that's Serena spelled backwards, the clothing like brought to you by her equally as annoying and much more talented sister). Venus wants Madrid for 2016. Well I bet you do- they don't think you're as annoying as we do- could you both stop wearing tuxedo's to play tennis in- I don't get it and it's not fashion forward. Therefore, because she supports Madrid everyone else should support anything else.

5. Sports Venues :
Building the venues for the games is going to be pricey no matter where you are, and lets hope that a replica of the "birds nest" is no where to be found in 8 years - although I'll give props to the water cube that's awesome. The venues for certain events ( swimming, gymnastics, athletics (i.e., track and field)) have to be built specially, other events can occur in our already laid out ( goes back to #1) sports venues. Take your pick:

Soldier Field, United Center, Wrigley Field, Allstate Arena, The Cell, Rosemont, Sears Center, Toyota Park, Loyola, Northwestern, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Chicago, Chicago State University, Northern Illinois University and the lovely Lake Michigan.

6. Japanimation:
I don't get it, I don't want to get it, it scares me and therefore the games should be in Chicago.

7. Michael Phelps:
He went to Michigan strike 1, but he's breaking records therefore I can look over his Wolverine past. If he's in Chicago he's easier to find.

8. Bar Wars:
Who doesn't want to see countries compete in Bar Olympics- German's vs. Chicago regulars- It'd be a whole other two weeks.

9. Doping:
Olympic athletes will be sent home in masses for doping if the games are held in Rio.

10. Because it's Chicago<
Enough Said.

More after the jump...

Top 15: Biggest Thieves in Baseball - Hitters

Last Week I gave you all the pitcher edition of the Top Ten Biggest Thieves in Baseball. I actually started that post with Top 20 and realized a lot of the pitchers made a case and thus decided to separate them into a separate category. Really all pitchers making over 5 Million are thieves since they only play at best 20% of the season. I guess it's a good thing I waited until today because one member of this list, actually a Top Fiver was today moved to a new team. Find out But I figured why not let you the fan know why your ticket prices are so high, and that sometimes you don't get what you pay for (Minimum 70 Games AND 200 + ABs).

15. Geoff Jenkins - RF - Philadelphia Phillies - $5,000,000
Barely cracking the Top 15 the Phillie Right Fielder plays with a bunch of guys who are keeping the Phils atop the NL East standings. In a dog fight for the NL East, the Phils are battling and they are being led by Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley. Unfortunately for this team fighting, a good portion of their salary is locked up in their Mediocre, at best, Right Fielder.

$:Stat Ratio - $555,555/HR, $185,185/RBI, $76,923/H, $192,307/R

14. Austin Kearns - RF - Washington Nationals - $5,000,000
Another guy raking in $5,000,000 per year Kearns doesn't impress many with his power or well anything. Both the Phils and Natties have RF's making $5,000,000 and underperforming. Why then are the Phils in 1st and Natties in DFL. Probably because Jenkins isn't one of the Top 5 paid players in Philly. Kearns comes in at Number 3 for Washington. When almost a tenth of your team's salary is stuck in one player he should probably have more than 30 RBIs and 60 Hits in 74 Games.

$:Stat Ratio - $833,333/HR, $166,666/RBI, $83,333/H, $156,250/R

13. Mark Kotsay - CF - Atlanta Braves - $7,000,000
Despite the recent offensive surge of Kotsay his season numbers don't reflect those of a guy making 7 Mill or in the Top 6 in Team Salaries. Of course he is having a Hall of Fame season compared to the guy he replaced in Centerfield. Kotsay is one of those guys who is slightly above mediocre, but his $7 Mill payday seems a little high. Of course it's better than the $8,000,000 he made last year. Then again, he's been slightly overpaid for more than a few years now.

$:Stat Ratio - $1,400,000/HR, $212,121/RBI, $85,365/H, $218,750/R

12. Jay Payton - LF - Baltimore Orioles - $5,000,000
Payton made not one but two great grabs, WebGems for the O's last week, and if I felt like including outfield performance that would have moved him down to the bottom of this list, or perhaps not even on it. Unfortunately I haven't adjusted my rankings based on defensive performance hence the name being Hitters and not Position Players. His $5 Mill tag might not seem like a lot but there are plenty of other Outfielders making less and producing a lot more at the plate. All he would have to do is look over at Right Field on his own team.

$:Stat Ratio - $833,333/HR, $138,888/RBI, $86,206/H, $192,307/R

11. Ray Durham - 2B - Milwaukee Brewers - $7,500,000
A decent mid-season pick up for the Brew Crew, I'll bet Ray's pretty damn happy to be out of San Francisco. One thing remains the same for Durham though, in SF his too high contract was overshadowed by Barry Zito, in Milwaukee he gets to hide behind Eric Gagne. He will help keep Milwaukee in contention with Chicago, but for an organization throwing money around by overpaying Durham right now but unwilling to sign younger proven talents to longer, higher grossing contracts might not be a good thing this coming offseason. Ask Prince.

$:Stat Ratio - $1,875,000/HR, $227,272/RBI, $89,285/H, $153,061/R

10. Kenji Johjima - C - Seattle Mariners - $6,383,333
The Seattle Catcher is making 6.3 Million in only his 3rd year, which could very possibly be his last in the Pacific Northwest. As of a couple days ago Mr. Johjima has been sidelined for the remainder of the season to make way for a younger talent. I'm sure Kenji will see the field again, but it looks like they might have written that check a little too early. Good luck dumping his contract in the offseason.

$:Stat Ratio - $2,127,777/HR, $265,972/RBI, $104,644/H, $319,166/R

9. Gary Matthews Jr. - LF - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - $9,400,000
Another member of the "If Defense Counted" list Matthews, Jr. finds himself in the Top Ten. Perhaps that 2004 - ? HGH prescription mentioned in the Mitchell Report has something to do with his numbers dropping in all but one area, salary. Surprisingly, he is the only name named in the Mitchell Report to appear on this list.

$:Stat Ratio - $1,342,857/HR, $261,111/RBI, $123,684/H, $247,368/R

8. Julio Lugo - SS - Boston Red Sox - $9,250,000
Boston fans are sick of Lugo. There is a more talented prospect (Jed Lowrie) hanging out in his shadow that can actually perform at the plate, and (I know I said this wasn't about Defense but) they can't wait to have someone at Short who doesn't give up 16 (and counting) errors per season. This is a bust on every level. And it really hurts Sox Fans.

$:Stat Ratio - $9,250,000/HR, $420,454/RBI, $132,142/H, $342,592/R

7. Brandon Inge - C - Detroit Tigers - $6,200,000
I'm sure sharing time with Pudge behind the plate has affected Inge but unfortunately for Tigers fans the wrong catcher is gone from Detroit. I can see getting rid of one of them, but I think Detroit got rid of the wrong one. Pudge's power numbers might have been slumping but at least he got his bat on the ball once in awhile.

$:Stat Ratio - $688,888/HR, $193,750/RBI, $140,909/H, $229,629/R

6. Scott Rolen - 3B - Toronto Blue Jays - $11,625,000
I think it would be safe to say that the Cardinals don't really miss Scott Rolen all that much. Troy Glaus might not be a huge upgrade (until his recent outburst against the Cubs) but it's still better than Rolen and his outlandish contract. I know people in Toronto expected a lot more out of a 5 figure guy, and needed a lot more to be in contention for the division or a Wild Card spot.

$:Stat Ratio - $1,660714, $305,921/RBI, $147,151/H, $290,625/R

5. Adam Dunn - LF - Arizona Diamondbacks - $13,000,000
The Newest Diamondback, as of a few hours ago is Adam Dunn. The DBacks don't have much power in their Clubhouse so I'm sure they will welcome Dunn and his 32 HRs. Unfortunately for the DBacks they will soon learn what Cincinnati has known for awhile. The man's got 80 hits, 32 of which left the park. Of course 120 other times he has come up to the plate he's sat right back down with a nice K hanging from his neck. He's had 6 or 7 games with 3 Strike Outs and has fallen victim to Golden Sombrero already once this season.

$:Stat Ratio - $406,250/HR, $175,675/RBI, $149,425/H, $224,137/R

4. Jason Varitek - C - Boston Red Sox - $10,442,030
The Captain of the BoSox, one of everyone's favorites. So much so that he went to the All Star Game. Now I understand that there is more to being a catcher than offensive numbers, but again I'm ranking hitters and Varitek is one of the more overrated ones in the league.

$:Stat Ratio - $1,305,253/HR, $326,313/RBI, $151,333/H, $417,681/R

3. Paul Konerko - 1B - Chicago White Sox - $12,000,000
Konerko took a couple weeks off in June on the DL, but it doesn't look like it improved his game at all. The White Sox are going to need their First Baseman to start seeing the ball in order to have any kind of chance in the post-season. It's a good thing Chicago has some of their better players on the bottom end of their pay roll in order to maintain. Of course it's always interesting when some of the teams top performers (Dye, Quentin, Swisher, Danks, etc) combine to make less than Paul Konerko.

$:Stat Ratio - $1,090,909/HR, $315,789/RBI, $171,142/H, $307,692/R

2. Todd Helton - 1B - Colorado Rockies - $16,600,000
Helton might have 7 HRs but he plays at Coors so even that number seems high, well higher than it would be if he played somewhere else. He makes almost 2 Million more than the number 2 and 3 salaries on the team (Holliday and Cook) Combined. I'm sure they're looking forward to the next 75,300,000 comitted to him through 2012. Sorry Rox. It might seem like it couldn't be worse but....

$:Stat Ratio - $2,371,428/HR, $572,413/RBI, $210,126/H, $425,641/R

1. Andruw Jones - CF - Los Angeles Dodgers - $14,726,910
It's not often a team has the best and worst pick-ups in the same season. It would appear that the signing of Andruw Jones is probably the worst move in team history other than Piazza leaving. I think part of the reason they signed Manny was just so Andruw was no longer listed in the team's Top 3 Salaries so the fans might forget. Also, he's been benched.

$:Stat Ratio - $4,908,970/HR, $1,051,922/RBI, $446,270/H, $701,281/R


More after the jump...

Stupid Surrender Monkey's

I am not a huge fan of the Olympics or any of the "International Competitions" for that matter. They just don't do it for me. I like football and college basketball, neither of these sports scream international rivalry or competition. However NBC had me cornered Sunday night as I could find nothing else worth watching on TV except the overly complimentary Bob Costas. Low and behold I tune in just in time to see that the French 4x100 freestyle relay team has been talking smack about the good ol' US of A. In fact Frenchie Surrender swimmer Alain Bernard made this comment when asked about Team Freedom: "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for." Well now Bob Costas had me tuned in...god damn those heart string pulling bastards at NBC Sports.

I was moved to the point of screaming at the TV as I watched our boys destroy the world record and take down team give up in dramatic fashion. There may not be commies to root against anymore(China doesn't count) but there will always be cry babies and quitters to hate on.

More after the jump...