Fantasy Owners Beware: Brees On Madden '11

Drew Brees was selected by the fans to be on the cover of the next EA Sports Madden NFL 11 game.

Of course most all football fans know of the Madden curse that has effected almost every player that has graced the cover of the latest Madden NFL game since 2002 and Dante Culpepper.

Last year Madden had 2 players on the cover, Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald...Fitzgerald made it the entire season without injury and did perform at a respectable level... Polamalu, on the other hand, was injured a few times this past season...so not how the 'curse' selected its victim last year, but this year the curse can focus squarely on Brees...

2010 Charger Schedule Released

The NFL released the schedule for next year and usually I have a complaint about the schedule and how, by appearances, the Chargers seemed to get screwed on a few games, have an early bye or whatever. But it hasn't really mattered like last year, the Chargers have seemed to overcome any schedule handicaps in the past and have had fairly good success in the regular season. So what about this year? At first glance, the schedule seems very 'kind' for the Chargers...

What seems almost like a tradition now, the Chargers will open the season as the 2nd game on Monday Night Football, this time against the Chiefs...and in Kansas City. Not sure if the NFL knows this or not, but KC is in the central time zone, so that game will start at 9:00 PM local time ... not really a 'fan friendly' start time...why wouldn't the NFL have the Chargers or any other California/west coast team host that game so it would start at a respectable time for the locals?

The Chargers have 5 'prime time' games ... along with the above mentioned Monday night game, they play one other Monday night game against the Broncos on November 22nd. They have 2 Sunday night games, November 28th vs the Colts and then against the Bengals on December 26th. The other game against the 49ers, which is a Thursday night game on the NFL Network.

Unlike last year, when the Chargers didn't play a division rival after Thanksgiving, play 4 divisional games in their last 7 games... The Chargers play the NFC West, which many think is as weak as the AFC West...

So I think the Chargers could very likely mimic last season...have a fantastic regular season...but of course I have lost all faith in the Chargers and am fully expecting a playoff disappointment to conclude their season, as usual.

Sometimes You Can't Win

You know there are sometimes there is something a person tries and no matter how simple or quick and easy this task might be, it just seems destined to not go that way for whatever reason...yesterday, I had one such experience...

So my son is in Cub Scouts and one of his projects that he needs to complete for some badge is to make a scrapbook. I, as luck would have it, had taken our digital camera with to all of his previous scout functions and have a fair amount of pictures...so, for the first step of this project, I was going to get prints of several of the photos and to put them into a scrap book. I wasn't in any hurry for these, but at the same time wanted to do something that was convenient...so there is a pharmacy, literally, right across the street from where I work that has a 1-hour photo and to add to my good fortune, has internet ordering available...so I can simply upload my photos, have them processed and after work simply pick up the photos and be on my way...sounds like a great plan to me... well, I only wanted a dozen pictures printed and the order was less than $2...awesome, I think, until I see the final charge(s) where $1.50 was added to my order because it was less than $5...well screw that I think, I'm not going to pay almost double what I should be paying just because I don't want $5 in pictures printed up right now. I also know they have a picture printing station available right inside their door... I will simply go there after work, insert my SD Card and in about 3 minutes have my prints and be on my way...like I've done before. I go to the store, stick my memory card in, select my photos and wait for them to print out for me...after the 2nd print, sure enough an error message comes up "Printer out of paper/ink get store rep to fix." Great...now I got to go find someone to fix the machine...and of course it can't be a quick, easy process...and then...finally, I get my 10 or so pictures.

As I mentioned above, I wasn't in any hurry, so I wasn't getting steamed or mad about anything...but what I had initially thought would be a less then 3 minute stop across the street after work turned into over a half hour adventure...no matter how hard I tried for it not to be!

Roethlisberger Gets Away With Rape

Off-duty cops, acting as Roethlisberger's bodyguards, helped facilitate Roethlisberger raping a girl...

There's obviously a lot more to this story because with the details that was released to the press, how could the DA not press charges? Is it the fact, that first the girl is only 20 years old and 'clubbing' all night with Ben? Or is it the fact that off-duty police officers essentially 'assisted' Ben in the raping by first, leading the girl to a back hallway and then preventing her friends from going to her?

Either way, Ben was drunk, pulling out his dick and then raping some girl he fed shots too all night long... I just don't get it... you could probably find plenty of willing girls to have sex with, yet you got a rise out of the one that told you no...and now are going to essentially get away with it...

I would be willing to bet that Ben wrote a nice check to the girl and/or parents as an apology for his 'poor judgement' and she decided to not testify against him or some other back room deal...

LT Continues Bashing Chargers

Since LaDainian Tomlinson was signed by the New York Jets he has not stopped talking about how horrible the Chargers were to him...bashing the team, the play calling and most anything he can think of.

I have tried to ignore most of it but LT continues his tirade making it almost unignorable now...I have defended LT his entire career, he has always been a 'class act', in my opinion...but now, I am beginning to rethink of what my impression of him is...

Before the playoffs this past season LT said he was happy with his role with the team and felt the team was united to make a playoff push...since then, he has said the team set him up to fail and there was dissension in the locker room. He was happy when the Chargers were winning but the second they were out of the playoffs LT turned bitter and sour...and in a hurry.

Sure, if he had taken a couple of light jabs at the Chargers, fine, so be it...they were the team that cut you and you want to leave them knowing you didn't like that...but then LT continues on and pretty much blames everyone else as to why his production hasn't been what it once was...it almost seems like he is more than willing to bash the Chargers any chance he can get right now...

Ok, LT, we get it, you are bitter...but there are tons of Charger fans that hold you to be one of the greatest Chargers of all-time, which I am one of...but you are also quickly moving into the ranks as to being one of the biggest whiners of all-time.

Fighting Sioux Name To Be Retired

It appears as if the UND Fighting Sioux will be no more. After a few years of legal wrangling the pc crowd and the NCAA will come out victorious and the University of North Dakota will have to get rid of their nickname and mascot, the Fighting Sioux.

A state supreme court decision came down yesterday stating the the nickname can be retired at any time...whereas, supporters of the nickname wanted to have the name remain intact until the absolute last date...November 30th of this year.

In this world of political correctness, the verdict was probably inevitable...the supporters of the UND nickname had plenty of money to delay the change for as long as they could but in the end, they can not stop political correctness in today's America.

The best part of this, is that the late Ralph Engelstad knew that the nickname and logo would be under attack...so he made sure that neither would be forgotten if and when they would be banished...so he made sure that the Sioux logo is literally EVERYWHERE in one of the world's premiere hockey facilities, the Ralph Engelstad arena...stitched onto EVERY leather chair, logo is made of Italian marble etched throughout the concourse, holographic Sioux logos in the railings...it is everywhere and there is no way, without totally destroying the building, that those logos can or will be removed.

I know I have already begun to collect as much Fighting Sioux attire as I can...

McNabb Traded To Redskins

Wow...that's about all I could say after I read that Donovan McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins...

And Philadelphia fans...I don't think you realized what you just did...oh sure, you got what you wanted, but I'm guessing this move is a move that could very well come back to haunt you...

Here's my opinion...and granted, I am a Charger fan but my two cents anyways...

What had me perplexed about this entire episode, was why Philadelphia (and their fans) had such a desire to get rid of McNabb...like he was a totally worthless quarterback, which he is absolutely not. Next, why Philly (and their fans) have such high praise from Kolb, who most assume will be the starter now that McNabb is gone, when Kolb really hasn't played that much or done anything that I have noticed that has made him better than McNabb...

And then, to top things off, not only do the Eagles trade McNabb but they trade him to a division rival? Are you really kidding me? The Eagles must have some inside knowledge or are just completely clueless, because McNabb, even to the harshest critics, can't be that washed up where you think trading him to a division rival will hurt them more then help them. The only instance that I can recall would be when Drew Bledsoe was traded from the Patriots to the Bills, I at first thought he was insane, Bledsoe was a young and relatively unproven quarterback but showed signs of being good, how could a team trade him and then to a division rival? Of course Bledsoe sucked and the Patriots had a guy named Tom Brady and a person doesn't have to try to hard to decipher the paths that the Bills and Patriots have taken since that trade....and the Patriots looked like they knew exactly what they were trading away...maybe the same here?

I know McNabb can be a bit streaky, but it always seemed to me that McNabb wouldn't be the reason the Eagles lost a big game. What I think, unfortunately, for McNabb is, is that he is going to Washington...a team where the owner knows no limits to signing big checks for players but also seems to meddle with the team on a way too frequent basis, which has the Redskins appear as a team with all the talent in the world but totally dysfunctional together...