Friday, December 17, 2010

They make me sick!

What am I sick of? I am sick of being a Niners fan with this current regime. I am sick of it! We are one of the most prestigious DYNASTIES in the history of this league! Only one team has more Superbowl victories than we do! Now we are left to watch this steaming pile of crap every week wearing red and gold. They need to take that SF logo off the side of the helmet! This sorry group that trots on the field every week should be embarrassed.

We have a ridiculously talented roster. Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan, Vernon Davis, Brian Westbrook, Frank Gore, Justin Smith, Ted Ginn, Patrick Willis, Manny Lawson, Parys Harralson, Takeo Spikes, even the overpaid Nate Clements! Patrick Willis is the BEST linebacker in football! Period! Gore is a top 5 RB every year! Crabtree got paid a ton of money as did Clements! Why are we looking at a 7-9 record at BEST???? Watching this group is like watching the Harlem Globetrotters playing against a team of 8 year olds in wheel chairs! It’s embarrassing!

Since we last went to the playoffs in 2002, we let Jeff Garcia go, Terrell Owens go, foolishly stuck by Alex Smith for 6-7 years, had a list of QBs that consists of Alex Smith, Troy Smith, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill and Ken Dorsey. We hired Dennis Erickson as our coach though he had never coached an NFL team to a winning record, then followed up by hiring Mike Nolan and firing him for Mike Singletary who has never coached a team before. We have been through 8 offensive coordinators in 8 years. We have overpaid rookies who have a broken foot and were no guarantee to be 100% at the start of the season. We have overpaid veterans whose best years are behind them. We have chosen a QB #1 instead of a guy who has passed for just about or over 4,000 passing yards EVERY YEAR and was good enough to replace Brett Favre! We drafted the best LB in football and then did nothing to set a defense around him. The sorry sacks of garbage that took the field tonight against the San Diego Chargers have tarnished this once fine dynasty. If the 49ers run the table they will finish 7-9…three years in a row!

Since losing to the Bucs in the playoffs in 2002 the 49ers yearly record has gone as follows:

2002: 10-6 (Steve Mariucci is fired after a playoff berth and a Wild Card round win)
2003: 7-9 (Dennis Erickson’s first year)
2004: 2-14
2005: 4-12 (Mike Nolan’s first year)
2006: 7-9
2007: 5-11
2008: 7-9 (Mike Singletary’s appointed HC when Nolan is fired midseason)
2009: 7-9
2010: 5-9 (as of Week 15)

The Yorks need to go! At least Daniel Snyder is making moves to make the team better…the team just under performs. The Yorks are jeopardizing this franchise. They hire bad coaches, bad general managers, draft mostly bad players! I’m sick of every season feeling like we have a solid team only to be slapped in the face! This team is a disgrace! Fire Mike Singletary, FIRE our entire coaching staff! Fire the following players:

Alex Smith, David Carr, OUR O-LINE, OUR ENTIRE DEFENSIVE SECONDARY!

This group needs to go. I wouldn’t be surprised if this team DOES move to LA. They don’t deserve to be called the San Francisco 49ers. The San Francisco 49ers are a proud dynasty that won 5 Superbowls, dominated the 80’s and shared domination of the 90’s with the Cowboys! They changed the uniforms to resemble throw backs…pshh…take those off! You aren’t even CLOSE to the men who wore those uniforms! We paid Nate Clements (a Buffalo reject) $80 million!!!!! What has he done other than get burned deep for TDs? We paid Crabtree millions without taking an NFL snap. He has been mediocre. The only teams we can beat are the crappy teams in our crappy division!

I have a $700 flat screen HD TV…and I want to throw something through it with every play I watch these sorry excuses for football players. I would rather drink Drain-O than watch these bumbling idiots attempt to cross the goal line! I get sick of defending these morons and finding excuses for them!

“Ohh…but Alex Smith has had 7 offensive coordinators in 7 years! Boo HOO!”

“Well, the defense can’t do everything. They spend so much time on the field, they are gassed out by the end of the game.”

“Alex Smith has no O-Line.”

“The refs are calling a crappy game!”

“Frank Gore can’t get any blocking!”

“Crabtree missed ¼ of the season so he hasn’t had time to build chemistry.”

“Well, Clements is our only good corner, he can’t do everything!”

It’s OLD! OLD! Let’s go sign the entire 1981 team…I’ll bet they outplay these fools! Excuses excuses! You SUCK! Every single player on this field SUCKS! I don’t care if you’re Frank Gore or P. Willis! You all SUCK! Peyton Manning has NOBODY receivers…and plays well! The Steelers offense is stale and predictable and that defense still plays all 60 minutes! Terrell Owens is a top 5 receiver with no help around him! The Bucs have NO TEAM and they have a winning record. The Jets have a QB that played one year of college and they are among the top teams in the league! Philip Rivers was throwing to 10th string WR’s and is the 2nd best QB this year! WHAT IS OUR EXCUSE! THERE ARE NONE! I’M DONE WITH EXCUSES! Mike Singletary sucks! His playbook is 3 pages thick! It’s like watching a 7 year old play Madden! MIKE…FLIP THE PAGE ON THE PLAY BOOK! Run on 1st down, run on 2nd down, shotgun pass on 3rd down, punt. Punt, punt, punt punt, INT, INT, punt, fumble, INT, punt, punt, FG, punt, punt, punt, TD oh no…wait…we’re undisciplined and committed a penalty, let’s take the TD back. It makes me want to vomit!

The refs are awful but honestly I’m done scapegoating them. DONE! The 49ers suck and it’s embarrassing! Lions fans think they have a right to complain? You have never even remotely been respectable so you have no reason to have any expectations. Bengals fans? Your franchise has also been awful for most of it’s existence. The 49ers are a dynasty with more HOFers than you can name! We have pride and devotion! This is pathetic.

For the first time in my 25 years of being a 49ers fan, I can honestly say this is the first time that I have stopped watching a 49ers game. The game was on, but I stopped watching to begin writing this blog. This is the sorriest group of players I have ever seen. They should be docked their pay for the season so I can be refunded EVERY penny I have spent on Niners gear! I have worn my Niners gear for the last 8 years with pride while I was chastised and ridiculed for it! I proudly claimed to be a Niners fan while I was accused of knowing nothing about football because I liked a crappy team! I bought 2…count ‘em…2 AUTHENTIC Frank Gore Jerseys (1 Red Home, 1 White Road) right in the middle of their 5-11 season! So screw you Jed York and your entire organization! I was a 23 year old paying you rich fools $400 of my hard earned money because I supported you as you threw money down the drain! I had to suffer through the snickers and the jeers. I had to watch helplessly as you fired Jeff Garcia and decided to go with Ken Dorsey! I sat back and my jaw dropped as you fired Steve Mariucci and hired Erickson! I watched as you let Kurt Warner, Marc Bulger, Matt Cassel, Drew Brees, Chad Pennington and several other QBs sign with other teams! I watched as players like Randy Moss hit the free agent market and you did NOTHING! I take that back, you traded for players like Darrell Jackson! You are sickening to watch! You embarrass me! You make me ashamed to wear your organization on my body! You embarrass me so much I don’t even want to choose you in Madden…where I am phenomenal and can lead the 49ers to a 16-0 record on All-Madden! You suck.

A reporter had the nerve, after our 34-7 embarrassment against the Chargers, to ask Mike Singletary the following question:

“Umm…Mike…this is not the first time this season you have followed a win with an extremely lop-sided loss. Is there anything, can you place your finger on anything in particular that is to blame?”

REALLY? REALLY? How about we suck! Terrible. We can’t score in the redzone, we can’t get 1st downs, we can’t force 4th downs on defense, we NEVER return kicks or punts for TDs, we constantly start drives inside our own redzone, our opponents constantly start drives near or beyond midfield, our corners can’t stop the deep pass and when they can…short passes go the distance. I don’t have the patience nor do you to go through EVERYTHING that is wrong with this team! I am tired of supporting a team that doesn’t try! There are teams with worse records than the 49ers that put up more of a fight when they lose. We are the MOST BLOWN OUT TEAM this year! Suck! The Niners SUCK! Don’t let these morons tarnish this franchise for 2 more games! Give us a 5-11 record and don’t let them take the field! It’s pathetic. I’m done! I can’t deal with these fools any longer!

You are an embarrassment to me, 49er Nation, the NFL and anyone dumb enough to leave your games on for more than 3 minutes! You disgust me!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

My picks for the week...

Well well...it's been some time since I dropped something on the blog, unfortunately I'm just tryin to squeeze some picks in for the moment. I'll post a blog later tonight, Lord knows there's a lot to talk about. On to the picks:

San Francisco 49ers @ San Diego Chargers
My Pick: 49ers

Let's all be honest here...the Chargers are the better team. I'm a Niners fan so this pick is all hopes and dreams. Westbrook is playing well as is Anthony Dixon in placed of Gore who's on IR. Davis' numbers exploded now that A. Smith (who loves to throw to the TE) is back. Our pass defense is somewhat soft so expect Rivers to have a good day, but the run D is still stud. The 49ers have a lot to fight for...let's see if they can take the West!

Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins:
My Pick: Dolphins

The Dolphins offense is anemic at times but their defense hangs on enough to help them win some games. Their run game is non-existent at times, but the Bills entire team is non-existent at most times. The Bills are sorry, facts are facts. After the Dolphins just beat the Jets after scoring 10 pts, I think it's a safe bet they can beat the Bills. Then again, the Browns did beat the Patriots so...anything is possible.

New Orleans Saints @ Baltimore Ravens
My Pick: Ravens

This was a tough one. The Ravens are a very good team, the Saints are defending champs. Problem is, the Saints aren't playing like it. Brees has WAY too many picks for this team to return to the Super Bowl and if he plays like that against the Ravens this will be a long day for Brees and company.

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys
My Pick: Cowboys

I think I've had enough of giving the Skins the benefit of the doubt with my picks. The Skins started off strong and have turned out to be a sorry excuse for a football team. The season is shot for them. The Cowboys, on the other hand, have made big strides since replacing Wade Phillips. The Cowboys have been in every game they've played since Jason took over as coach. The 'Boys are looking to finish strong so Garrett can keep his job, and I think they will.

Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants
My Pick: Giants

Vick has had a phenominal season. Period. Vick and the Eagles are starting to slow down and their margin of victory is shrinking with each week. Eli has thrown a ton of INTs this year, but has proven he can thrive in these high pressure division games. I think the Giants are the best team in this division and by the end of Week 17, they will show it by finishing 1st.

Detroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
My Pick: Buccaneers

The Bucs are a good team, not great, but good. If they beat the Lions they will have beaten 9 of the Leagues 16 teams with a losing record. The only teams they have played with winning records, they have lost. Lucky for the Bucs, the Lions are terrible. Enjoy Bucs fans.

Atlants Falcons @ Seattle Seahawks
My Pick: Falcons

Matt Ryan is the man, period. His numbers may have slowed down slightly, but the Falcons are an elite team this season. The 'Hawks on the other hand are obviously sub par after that dismantling in San Francisco. Hasselbeck had 5 turnovers and the offense only managed a TD and 2 FGs. The second TD was a kick return TD. The Seahawks are in trouble and the Falcons will capitalize.

New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers
My Pick: Steelers

I have stuck up for the Jets through this recent decline of theirs. I'm done. The Jets have become soft and inept. They have their coaches tripping players on the sidelines. They are desperate and it looks ugly on them. They are done. The Pats are clear cut winners of that division. The Steelers offense is declining but that can be attributed to their O-Line falling apart. Their defense still has #43, and that's all they need.

Green Bay Packers @ New England Patriots
My Pick: Patriots

The New England Patriots are the best team in the NFL, enough said. The Packers would struggle with the Pats even WITH Rodgers! Rodgers has now suffered his 2nd concussion of the season. There is no way he plays this week and even if by some slim chance Rodgers plays, he won't be 100%. The Pats win this game big!

Chicago Bears @ Minnesota (Gophers Stadium) Vikings
My Pick: Bears

I think the dismantling of the Bears by the Pats is more an indictment of how good the Pats are and less proof they Bears aren't for real. The Bears have handled their business this year. They are a team to beat in the NFC. The Pats are just flat out the best. The Vikings are playing with Tarvaris Jackson, they are playing a "home" game on the "road." The Vikings season, and Brett's career, are over. The Bears win this game and solidify their #1 spot in the NFC North and the playoffs.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

The MDB Mania- 12/12/10

Hey crazy people! :) Christmas season is only getting closer and closer- and with that means a few gifts that I would like to open up to hope for happening the next 2 weeks...here they are!

1)The Redskins go on a 2 game winning streak and somehow beat Tampa Bay and Dallas

Hey you know what, maybe them suspending Haynesworth the rest of the season will end up making them have a less distraction and play better, plus I just wanna see them at least finish with a better record then Dallas!

2)The Kansas City Chiefs win the AFC West

I've always liked KC and their uniforms and stadium. They have a very good running game and not to mention one of them has been my fantasy football stud the last 2 seasons(Jamall Charles). I've gotten bored of San Diego(and the always yappy Phillip Rivers) winning the division title every year so it'd be nice to see a new team win this season. Hopefully Matt Cassel's impromptu health situation won't eventually cost them a playoff spot but we'll see what happens

3)The Chicago Bulls & New York Knicks slowly getting better and better.

I know thats a random one, but it'll be great for the NBA if those 2 teams can start becoming decent teams again. Yeah...its not the same without Jordan,Pippen and Ewing- but you know the NBA loves it when their New York City team is doing good. Not to mention, it'll give me a reason to finally go to a Knicks game next time I'm visiting my brother in NYC lol

For the rest of my Christmas sports related wishes, I'll post them in my new post next week. Until then, here's some predictions in my buddy's latest enstallment of the "Terri-fic Thoughts"

Green Bay Packers(8-4) at Detroit Lions(2-10) 1pm FOX

Going with the Cheeseheads!!!!!


New York Giants(8-4) at Minnesota Vikings(5-7) 8pm

I want NY but I am afraid Minnesota is going to win!


Oakland Raiders(6-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars(7-5) 1pm CBS

Jax...but I am afraid Oakland will pull it off.


St. Louis Rams(6-6) at New Orleans Saints(9-3) 4pm FOX

Saints!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Seattle Seahawks(6-6) at San Francisco 49ers(4-8) 4pm FOX

Going with a favorite from my high school days...Seahawks!


New England Patriots(10-2) at Chicago Bears(9-3) 4:15pm CBS

Pats again...though it will be a close one I think!


Kansas City Chiefs(8-4) at San Diego Chargers(6-6) 4:15pm CBS

Chiefs ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Super Bowl!!!


Miami Dolphins(6-6) at New York Jets(9-3) 4:15pm CBS

NY Jets!


Philadelphia Eagles(8-4) at Dallas Cowboys(4-8) Sunday Night Football on NBC- 8:20pm

Michael or Mike whatever you want to call him. I think he has seen the error of his ways and is re-ignited to do a great job! Eagles!


Baltimore Ravens(8-4) at Houston Texans(5-7) ESPN Monday Night Football 8:30pm

Baltimore....if not for any other reason...they have "Sabatinos"!!!


You may of notice that I've added a new Poll question on the top right of the page. I'd like to know which higher ranked(at the moment) AFC team that you want to see end up in the Super Bowl if you have to choose? Also, all of me and my friends picks for the upcoming Sunday/Monday of NFL games are down on the right side of the page as you'll scroll down. Have a good mid December week ahead everybody! :)

Mark

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The MDB Mania- 12/2/10

Hey all!

Hope everyone of you had a nice Turkey Day last weekend. As far as what I did, I went up to south central Pennsylvania(that makes it sound ghetto.....but trust me, Carlisle,PA is far from ghetto lol :D Had a nice time catching up with family, plus I got check out my Uncle Mike's new "Pittsburgh Steelers" mancave that he's turned his home basement into. For any of you who don't know, my Uncle Mike has been a longtime Steeler fan and him and his family's love for the Steelers is the reason why Pittsburgh has always been my 2nd favorite team behind the Redskins. It was great catching up with & seeing all of them again

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It was a good football day for me too, especially fantasy football wise. The 1st game(Patriots/Lions) had Deion Branch get 2 huge touchdowns, Drew Brees had a good game in a win over the Cowboys, and the Jets defense/special teams light it up on the Bengals. I'm not sure how much luck I'll get with my fantasy team this weekend, but should be interesting

I'm watching the Miami Heat/Cleveland Cavs NBA game and the atmosphere has been electric- for a regular game between a 11-8 and 7-10 teams. I don't think Lebron left Cleveland the mature way and he's still doing things to make himself look like a immature brat. I do think as the season goes on and on that Miami will win more games and end up winning 60 games, but I still think both the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic can both beat Miami in a playoff series.

Of all the 3 games this weekend that I think are going to be the most hardest to pick & and best games- Atlanta/Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh/Baltimore, and NY Jets/New England. I've noticed that everyone else here is picking the Falcons to beat the Bucs. I'd watch out for that upset- since its going to be played in Tampa, and Atlanta...as great of a home team they are- aren't as good of a road team. I see Tampa stealing that game and getting back to a game behind 1st place in the NFC South. Pittsburgh Vs. Baltimore- its going to be a low scoring close game I'm getting the vibe of it. I think both defenses are gonna shutdown the offenses. Watch out for the wide receivers for each team to maybe make a few big play. Mike Wallace is capable of making a big touchdown catch for the Pittsburgh but at the same time, the Steelers will have to watch out for Derrick Mason with his veteran experience to make some key plays late in the game. The Jets/Patriots game will be a fun one to watch. I think New England has gotten better as the season has gone on since their first loss Vs the Jets. They don't have Randy Moss whining anymore around them so now their more focused and I think they are gonna be ready for the Jets come Monday Night. Speaking of Randy Moss.....I bet he regrets those early season press conferences about wanting to leave New England now. Playing on 2 teams who are behind the 8 ball will do that to him

I gave my analysis for the 3 big game of the weekend, and you can check out my picks for the 10 selected NFL games of the week on the right side of this page along with everyone else's, but my friend Terri has her analysis for a few of the games in her own words:

The Terri-fic Thoughts:

Denver Broncos(3-8) at Kansas City Chiefs(7-4) 1pm CBS

KC all the way! I think they are going to the Super Bowl!!! :)


Dallas Cowboys(3-8) at Indianapolis Colts(6-5) 4:15pm FOX

Colts! Please Manning children come through for me this time!


Pittsburgh Steelers(8-3) at Baltimore Ravens(8-3) 8:20pm NBC Sunday Night Football

I am SO torn on this one....I want Baltimore to win but I think Pittsburgh will take it!


Hope you all have a great sporting weekend!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The MDB Mania- 11/24/10

Hey all- at least this week I'm in a little better sports mood then a week ago lol. The Redskins pulled out through another close victory, but it so beats getting blown out at home. Them losing Clinton Portis for the season is going to hurt though, especially with protection for McNabb when the offensive line has been playing shaky the last couple games. They've got big games coming up the rest of the season and if they can pull out like 4 or 5 of the 6 games, then they have a shot of making it in the playoffs but they'll have to play strong and hope other teams like Philly,Giants,Bucs,Bears,etc. fall off and struggle

I'm sorry but I can't get into the whole Michael Vick love. I know he's changed his ways & has made strides to be a good person, but I still can't forget about what he did to the dogs a few years ago, and think its a matter of time before he starts getting figured out by other defenses and starts to struggle, and knowing how the Philly sports fans tend to whine, I'm just waiting for something to happen where they'll cry about being cursed again while they throw batteries at Vick or any Eagles lol

If you'd ask me today who I predict who'll play in the Super Bowl(barring what happens tomorrow), I can see it end up being the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints. I think both teams are starting to get in a late season groove and can see a matchup of Brady Vs. Brees which I'd enjoy!

Something NBA related, I was watching the 4th quarter of the 76ers/Washington Wizards game last night & have been impressed by the young #1 pick of the Wiz, John Wall, out of Kentucky. This kid can ball and he's been proving it the first couple weeks. I don't see the Wizards being great this season, but I can see in 2-3 years time with them becoming a decent team in the NBA. More then anything...please change the name back to what I grew up on- The Washington Bullets! Hey it could happen, now that Ted Leonsis runs the team and I've noticed a few times being at the Verizon Center lately that they repainted the stairways there red and blue....coincidence? ;)

Here's my NFL picks for this week along with my gal friend Terri's picks & thoughts herself:

Thanksgiving Day:

New England Patriots(8-2) at Detroit Lions(2-8) -CBS 12:30pm

Mark's pick: Patriots
Mark's opinion: Not much to say about this one. If Matthew Stafford was playing, it'd be closer but NE just overmatches Detroit in talent


Terri's pick: Patriots
Terri's opinion: I am feeling very "Patriotic" this Thanksgiving...I am going with New England on this one!

New Orleans Saints(7-3) at Dallas Cowboys(3-7) -FOX 4:30pm

Mark's pick: Saints
Mark's opinion: I'm really just rooting for the Saints since my Fantasy QB Brees is playing and loathe the Cowboys lol

Terri's pick: Saints
Terri's opinion: Oh when the Saints...go marchin' in....oh when the Saints go marchin' in! :)

Cincinatti Bengals (2-8) at New York Jets(8-2) -Thursday Night Football on NFL Network)

Mark's pick: Jets
Mark's opinion: Not much to say about this one, but the Bengals could make this one surprisingly close too...figured since the Bengals are playing the Jets on Thanksgiving tomorrow night that I'd share this video I did from late February that included Chad Ocho Cinco(Bengals) & Darrelle Revis(Jets)



Terri's pick: Jets
Terri's opinion: I'm leavin' on a "Jets" plane...don't know when I'll be back again! :) Jets


Sunday 11/29

Minnesota Vikings(3-7) at Washington Redskins(5-5)- FOX 1pm

Mark's pick: Vikings
Mark's opinion: Not much I can say other then I hope the Skins can pull it out

Terri's pick: Redskins
Terri's opinion: Wishy washy on this one but I am going to say the Skins...Vikings should have fallen apart at this point.

Green Bay Packers(7-3) at Atlanta Falcons(8-2)- FOX 1pm

Mark's pick: Falcons
Mark's opinion: I find this matchup to be one of the top 3 hardest games to pick this week, but since its in Atlanta and Matty Ice is really good at home, I'm going with the Birds

Terri's pick: Falcons
Terri's opinion: My old address...ATL!

Jacksonville Jaguars(6-4) at New York Giants(6-4)- CBS 1pm

Mark's pick: Jaguars
Mark's opinion: I'm sensing another Giants late season collaspe...and the Jags are getting on a streak lately

Terri's pick: Giants
Terri's opinion: Giants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kansas City Chiefs(6-4) at Seattle Seahawks(5-5)- CBS 4pm

Mark's pick: Seahawks
Mark's opinion: Seattle is a good home team this year when Hasselbeck plays and as much as I'd like seeing KC win and think the Seahawks are boring, I think SEA will win this one

Terri's pick: Chiefs
Terri's opinion: I think the Chiefs are going to go all the way for some reason! Go Chiefs!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7-3) at Baltimore Ravens(7-3)- FOX 4pm

Mark's pick: Ravens
Mark's opinion: Another one of my top 3 games thats hard to pick, but I'm going with Baltimore in a close one

Terri's pick: Ravens
Terri's opinion: Baltimore...geez, I am not being faithful to the Florida teams...maybe that's because I can't stand the heat and humidity anymore! :D

Philadelphia Eagles(7-3) at Chicago Bears(7-3)- FOX 4:15pm

Mark's pick: Bears
Mark's opinion: Its a matter of time before Vick has an average game

Terri's pick: Eagles
Terri's opinion: Eagles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

San Diego Chargers at Indianpolis Colts(6-4)- NBC 8:20pm

Mark's pick: Colts
Mark's opinion: The Chargers are starting to get hot, but I think Peyton will cool them down this week

Terri's pick: Colts
Terri's opinion: Go Colts!!!

Hope everyone has a Happy Turducken Day and enjoy all the food and foodball....er football you can handle! :D

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The MDB Mania- 11/17/10

Hey.....yeah there's much else I can saw about that Monday Night game other then how much of an embarassment that was. Normally I don't post sports talk radio stuff on here, but Chad Dukes of 106.7 The Fan here in DC is right on the money with his 12 minute long rant that shares the thoughts of all the diehard Redskins fans here who've had to put up with a Daniel Snyder ran franchise the last 10+ years...It's worth a listen. I miss having Jack Kent Cooke for an owner :( This rant is the best one I've heard in a long time because its so true...some of these pics used in the vid did make me laugh though I'll admit lol



http://1067thefandc.cbslocal.com/2010/11/16/chad-dukes-rant-on-the-redskins-59-28-loss/

Here's my picks for week 11 of the NFL picks:

Chicago Bears(6-3) at Miami Dolphins(5-4) -Thursday Night Football on NFL Network
My pick: Bears
My opinion: I think with the Dolphins losing Chad Henne & Pennington that its going to hurt them the rest of this season, & the Bears will pull it out

Oakland Raiders(5-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers(6-3)) -CBS 1pm
My pick: Raiders
My opinion: This is a pick I hope I'll get wrong but I read that the Steelers released Kicker Jeff Reed and signed up Shaun Suisham?! From experience, here comes some missed FGs ahead for the Steelers

Seattle Seahawks(5-4) at New Orleans Saints(6-3)- FOX 4:05pm
My pick: Saints
My opinion: Saints are coming off a bye week and I see them being motivated to finish the season strong

Indianapolis Colts(6-3) at New England Patriots(7-2)- CBS 4:15pm
My pick: Patriots
My opinion: I think NE got their mojo back last week and will carry it on


New York Giants(6-3) at Philadelphia Eagles(6-3)- Sunday Night Football on NBC
My pick: Eagles
My opinion: Yeah I'm not a fan of their fanbase, but the Eagles are playing strong and the Giants I don't think are as good as their record is

Mark

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The MDB Mania- 11/10/10

Hey guys & gals

Welcome welcome to this week's edition of the MDB Mania

I recommend you guys checking out Fred's post underneath this column called "Can We Save Football?". He made alot of valid posts, so go check it out!

Yep its that time of the year- getting closer and closer to holiday shopping. Unlike years past- I've already started my shopping! Usually I'd wait until mid December to start, but NOPE not this time! It's good to get gifts earlier so that way all the money you spend on items, you'll be able to get all of that money back working at your job before Xmas time

Onto the sports field, or I guess for now just football since basketball and hockey are early in their seasons. Looking at the standings, there's a 5 team tie for the best record in the NFL with 6-2. Those teams are the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. To be honest, a few weeks ago I thought the Giants were a pretender- but lately they've been picking up their game so for now I have to say that they are one of the teams to beat in the NFC, but that could always change. I think it comes down to the Ravens and Steelers in the AFC. I still think the Steelers will be the team to beat. I mean, yeah they lost to the Ravens earlier in the season but don't forget that they were 35 seconds away from beating the Ravens with CHARLIE BATCH in that game as their QB. Even though the Jets and Patriots have struggled a little in their last 1-2 games, they'll be down to the wire too. I wouldn't sleep on the Atlanta Falcons, as long as they play at home since they are a very good home team but weak road team

Pretty much a must win game this Monday night for the Skins Vs the Eagles! Hopefully with them coming off a bye week, they've had time to heal up any injuries & be able to focus away from the drama of McNabb being benched 2 weeks ago and move on from that. It's gonna be interesting to see how their matchup with Philly goes this time since the Redskins were the team who injured Mike Vick and beat them. With it being a Monday night game, it'll be on the big national stage- and hey the Skins aren't playing a mediocre team this time....so they have a better shot then playing vs the Lions & Rams sadly! lol. At least they play tough teams the rest of the season so maybe they will get their gear together and play more like a contender then a on again off again pretender

I'll get into the whole off the field problems with some NFL players these days. Ben Roethsliberger & Brett Favre, 2 QBs that I've always liked but in the last year have lost respect for. You guys know better then to do what you've done in a bar & through text messages. Lets hope these dudes know to play it safe for now on, I mean seriously! lol

You might of noticed that the blog went through a bit of a makeover since last week. I wanted to change the look of it and make it more professional looking and easier to navigate and read text on. I've heard good feedback on it so glad its a welcomed changed :) I also put our season standings & picks of the week on the right side of the page if you wanna check them out and follow them throughout the rest of the NFL season on here!

I'll give you my picks for the 4 selected games this week, & also from my bud Terri(picture below) with her picks and her thoughts:
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Baltimore Ravens(6-2) at Atlanta Falcons(6-2) -Thursday Night Football on NFL Network)

Mark's pick: Falcons
Mark's opinion: This is gonna be a hard one to pick since they both share the same record, but Atlanta is a good home team and only has lost 1 game at home since Matt Ryan has been their QB. I think this game is going to go down to field goal kicking since each defense will make stops to cause alot of FGs


Terri's pick: Falcons
Terri's opinion: Hmmmm...which bird do I want??? Going with my old hometown of ATL on this one!

Minnesota Vikings(3-5) at Chicago Bears(5-3) -FOX 1pm

Mark's pick: Bears
Mark's opinion: Originally I was going to go with the Vikes, but I think all the distraction about the players hating their head coach Brad Childress is going to take a toll on the team & the Bears will take advantage of that, even with Jay Cutler's addiction to Interceptionitis lol

Terri's pick: Bears
Terri's opinion: Da Bears! Still mad at my old favorite Brett Favre!!!

New England Patriots(6-2) at Pittsburgh Steelers(6-2) -Sunday Night Football on NBC)

Mark's pick:
Mark's opinion: This is gonna be a challenge for both teams, but I think the Steelers have the momentum & are going to pull it off in a close one

Terri's pick: Steelers

Philadelphia Eagles(5-3) at Washington Redskins(4-4) -Monday Night Football on ESPN)

Mark's pick: Redskins
Mark's opinion: Yeah I know its a homer pick lol, but I'm nervous about this game since I know the Eagles and Vick are dangerous. For some reason, I get a vibe that the Skins are gonna control the tempo

Terri's pick: Eagles
Terri's opinion: Hate to do it to ya...but I am going with the birds on this one! But if Washington wins...I'll be happy for YOU!

One last thing before I go for this post. 2 weeks ago, I actually received an award from a company that supports the Department of Transportation office I work at for a Work Achievement award which was a nice feeling :)

Photobucket -Me & my co-worker PJ, good dude

Hope you all have a great upcoming weekend & for all of my mates taking part in the SFBOM NFL picks, good luck! If I finish in the the bottom of the pack again, then I have no choice.....I'll have to workout to a RICHARD SIMMONS video....Oh no lol :D



Mark

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Can We Save Football?

There are quite a few things ruining the game of football these days. What are they? I’m glad you asked.

I know you’re waiting for me to bring up this ignorant new crack down on hard hits, but we will get to that in time my friend, in time. The downward spiral of the NFL has been coming for quite some time and not many saw it coming. Unfortunately for us fans things will get ugly before they get any better. Let’s get started with the biggest thing, in my opinion, destroying the sport of football.

Athletes vs. Football Players

There is an ever growing trend in football to go based off numbers and numbers alone. Owners and coaches see a guy blaze a 40 yard dash time of 4.2 seconds and they ignore the fact that he has been investigated for murder and been arrested 3+ times for possession of illegal narcotics. Let’s be realistic, I’m sure we could all find 30 examples to justify this argument, but to save your time and my fingers, we will go with the most glaring example.

April 2001, all eyes are glued to ESPN watching and waiting to see the results of the electric Michael Vick’s NFL combine run. Some said Michael Vick could throw the ball 70 yards or longer. Sure, Vick had a 38 in the vertical jump and some very impressive numbers, but no one cares. They all want to see one thing. Vick lines up behind the white line, lined up in his 3 point stance and every room watching the combine on TV goes silent. Vick does not disappoint as he blazes to a 4.33 40 yard time. A QB that runs a 4.33? That is a wide receiver and a cornerback time, not a QB. Michael Vick has all the intangibles. Vick can throw the ball deep, he can throw on the run and if there is no one open he will torch the defense with his legs. The team that drafts him will win it all for sure, most likely several times right?

Vick went on to do some incredibly athletic things. He set the single season rushing record for a quarterback, he embarrassed defenses with his legs, and he was a human highlight reel. Problem is there is only one thing you never have and never will see in a Michael Vick highlight reel, Mike Vick taking a single snap in a Super Bowl. We all know where the story goes from there. Dog fighting, prison time, shunned by the franchise that viewed him as an NFL God, release from prison, signed by a new team and still fighting to prove he is worth a damn in the NFL.

Let’s look at the other end of the spectrum; One of the most embarrassing NFL Combines in recent memory, Tom Brady. Brady posted an embarrassing 40 yard time of 5.23. 5.23 seconds? There are linemen that torch that. He’s going to be a flop. Brady was too small, too skinny and too slow. All Brady has done was go on to win a few Super Bowls and break a couple meaningless records like most touchdowns in a single season. All he did was lead one of the most improbable Super Bowl wins against the Rams and eventually lead one of the most feared single season offenses in recent history.

We, as an NFL, are putting a premium on the wrong things. We look at numbers and measurements like the 40 time, vertical height and win loss records in college. Alex Smith had a phenomenal career at Utah, but who did they play? Vick ran a 4.33 40 time, but can a running QB win? Anyone who has watched football or researched into players before their time will come to one conclusion, you cannot measure the intangibles that it takes to be successful in this league. Pacman Jones, Michael Vick, the list goes on and on of players that are athletic freaks, but don’t have the intangibles to play football. Peyton Manning is possibly the least athletic player to ever be drafted into the NFL. Manning is easily the most dominant player since he has been drafted. Donovan McNabb, Warren Moon, Joe Montana. If you were to line up and compete with them in track and field, none of those names would frighten you. Put them in a football uniform and you’re done before the whistle blows. Jerry Rice could not outrun half of the NFL, but on several occasions embarrassed the great Deion Sanders (honestly no sarcasm there, much respect for Deion). I’ll say it again, you CAN’T measure what it takes to win in this league with tests. Stop denying us true football players for athletes that can’t play football.

The ESPN highlight reel.

The creation of ESPN has lead to billions of sports nuts to be able to follow even the most unwatched sports, kudos to ESPN for that. I will however curse ESPN for the rest of my days for how they have ruined sports with the highlight reel. Before the highlight reel, what would an NFL player have done when they see a fumble? Look around, gauge whether it’s smarter to simply jump on the ball or if it’s safe to attempt to recover for a touchdown, and then act accordingly. Now? Every moron in an NFL uniform wants to make the highlight reel, so no matter how unsafe everyone tries to be a hero. Has it led to some amazing plays? Absolutely. Just as often, if not more often, we witness someone bumble the ball out of bounds, or attempt to pick it up and it ends up in the other teams hands.

How about 2009, Atlanta Falcons vs. San Francisco 49ers? The great Dre’ Bly (all sarcasm intended) makes a BEAUTIFUL interception against Matt Ryan. Bly then proceeds to put his hand behind his head and proceeds do the Deion high step. No problem right? Absolutely no problem, if you’re about to score. Bly still had 70 yards to go and was surrounded by Falcons players. Needless to say, Dez White tackled Bly, forced a fumble and the Falcons went on to win the game. A game that had Bly just returned the ball as far as he could the Niners would have won that game. The highlight reel far too often costs teams the game, thanks ESPN.

Crackdown on hard hits.

I’m going to make this fairly short and sweet because this atrocious topic doesn’t deserve the time or effort. I have supported Roger Goodell through most of his ventures. This, I cannot and will not agree with him on. Football is a violent sport, it’s half the appeal of the sport. Any moron that disagrees is stupid or lying. There are too many intangibles to football you can’t control. It’s a violent sport. It is very easy to lead with your shoulder and because of the angle and force of the impact there is helmet to helmet contact. Are there dirty players? Sure. Problem is, these new rules are also punishing the players making clean hits. There is little difference in taking a shot to the head by a helmet versus a shoulder pad if it’s coming from a 6’5” 250lb line backer. Period. Let’s just go ahead and change NFL uniforms so they are pink in color and come with skirts and not pants.

How about we enforce the rules on the field that we already have? The reason for all these injuries is not the rules, it’s the fact that the penalty flags are glued into the referees pants. Every time I watch an NFL game I see late hits on QBs, QBs being slammed to the turf well after he has thrown the ball, players being decked when they have no involvement with the play, facemasks, cut blocks, horse collar tackles, clipping/blocks in the back and blatantly intentional helmet to helmet hits.

The rules are not the problem, it’s the lack of enforcement that is the issue. Stop the dirty players and we WILL see less injuries.

Salaries.

I am a firm believer in the fact that there needs to be a change in the salary structure in the NFL. No doubt athletes are overpaid. It’s the nature of sports. The issue I hold is with rookie contracts. Being a Niners fan, I’m embarrassed whenever I see Michael Crabtree step onto the field. The day that a 20 year old can hold a billion dollar NFL franchise hostage until they pay him the money he DEMANDS, all while he has not stepped foot onto an NFL field, is the day the end of the sport is soon to come. Speaking of stepping foot, did I mention while Crabtree was demanding his money he had a boot on his foot because he had broken his ankle and missed a ton of the final year of his college career? Pathetic. The day the 49ers caved and gave Crabtree his contract, my 49ers fan-hood died a little that day. I strongly considered selling all my Niners gear and finding another team. You’re going to let some 20 year old punk jerk you around? What has Crabtree gotten use since? Has he lead the league in receiving? Does anyone mention his name? I’ll tell you what he has gotten us, a lack of confidence in a coach. There is no way the players still buy into Singletary’s no none sense, team first, tough attitude when the franchise caves into a rookie. I was embarrassed to be a Niners fan that day. More so than when we went 2-14, more than our playoff drought since 2002. We showed no guts and no heart and we deserve our current struggles.

Roger Goodell, if you truly wish to fix what’s wrong with the NFL, FIX THESE THINGS! These are what is leading to the downfall of the sport.

Friday, November 5, 2010

The MDB Mania- 11/5/10

Hey everyone!

This has been a busy sports week indeed. World Series....week 1 of the NBA season....the NFL drama,etc.

I'll start off with that Redskins/Lions game. If you remember on my last posting here last week, I picked the Redskins to win but said that the Lions are a better team then their bad record, and sure enough they picked up the win over my team :( I don't know what it is about the St.Louis Rams & Detroit Lions- 2 teams who have been mediocre the last few seasons, but yet when they play the Redskins- they end up pulling out wins most of the time. I'll add onto what my brother Matt posted on here about the coaching move with Mike Shanahan benching Donovan McNabb. I have no idea what that was all about and the motivation behind it. Rex Grossman(the backup) is not a better QB(2 minute drill and all) then McNabb. With the upcoming weekend being the Redskins' bye week, the last thing they needed was pointless drama about the whole QB situation. On the other hand, I'm thinking if there's something behind that decision from Shanahan. Makes you wonder if he's trying to anger McNabb into playing more accurate & motivated the rest of the season. I do remember 2 years ago the last time McNabb was benched during a game- he wound up getting his team on a hot streak and was 1 quarter away from going to Super Bowl- so I wouldn't push the panick button on the Skins, there's still another 8 games left in the season. I'm actually happy that the Skins finally have a bye week since for once I won't have to be stressed watching a nail biter game lol, since all their games this season have gone down to the wire and no comfy games

Randy Moss as a Tennessee Titan? We'll have to see how that turns out but I don't think he's as good as he thinks he is. Vince Young isn't as consistant & good of a QB as Brett Favre & Tom Brady are, so I don't expect Moss to have that many big games this season. He's still better then the average WR though and with him and Chris Johnson on the same offense- that could become a hard offense for defenses to defend.

Congrats to the 2010 World Series champions San Francisco Giants on their World Series victory- to the vismal of my fellow SFBOM collegue Jenn lol ;)

I spotted this new ad on youtube that I saw on PTI on ESPN today where the city of Cleveland did a reply to Lebron James' new Nike commericial, I think its great since I think Lebron has too big of an ego & Lebron didn't have to be such a jerk about leaving Cleveland during the offseason:



For my NFL Picks this weekend, I'll go with the 4 best games on schedule for this Sunday/Monday along with picks from me, Jenn, Krista, Fred, and a few other newbie pickers here & I'll add and update all our picks throughout the weekend:

Sunday 1pm
(CBS)Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens

Mark: Fins - Miami has proven that they are a good road team this season and can see the Ravens having a letdown after their bye week

Jenn: Ravens

Krista: Fins

Fred:Ravens

Terri: Ravens

New Jack: Ravens

Matt: Ravens

Mike: Ravens

Jerry: Ravens

(FOX)Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

Mark: Falcons- I think the Bucs are a young upcoming team but don't think they are an for real team when things are all set and done this season when their in the same division to the Falcons and Saints. Not to mention their blowout home losses to the Saints & Steelers showed me that the Bucs are lucky to be 5-2

Jenn: Falcons

Krista: Falcons

Fred: Bucs -Fred's "Upset of the Week"

Terri: Falcons

New Jack: Falcons

Matt: Falcons

Mike: Bucs

Jerry: Falcons

Sunday 4pm(CBS)
(CBS)Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles

Mark: Colts - Peyton is getting in the zone now and thats a dangerous thing for all defenses playing against him

Jenn: Colts

Krista: Colts

Fred: Colts

Terri: Colts

New Jack: Colts

Matt: Colts

Mike: Colts

Jerry: Colts

(CBS)Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders

Mark: Chiefs- look for the Chiefs running attack of Thomas Jones and Jammall Charles to bust some big runs on the Raiders and for Raiders QB Jason Campbell to throw some INTs

Jenn: Chiefs

Krista: Raiders

Fred: Chiefs

Terri: Chiefs

New Jack: Raiders

Matt: Chiefs

Mike: Raiders

Jerry: Chiefs

I went 1-3 last week while Jenn & Krista went 2-2, and Fred won the pack with a 3-1 record. For the rest of the season- I'm adding a few more of my close friends to make their picks on here as well who have contributed to the blog in someway!

On a last note for this column, wanted to recommend you all check out the Dan Patrick Radio show, on TV & radio. Its been airing on DirecTV's Channel 101 the last year but recently start airing nationally throughout the country. For all of my Florida friends, it airs on FOX Sports Net Florida from 9am-12pm weekdays ;) Dan Patrick is the best radio show personality out there and his show is so entertaining and funny to watch, what was ESPN's loss is NBC's and ours gain:



I changed the look of the blog too to make it more appealing looking. For the new viewers of the blog, if you'd like to see how this Skins, Fins & Bears...Oh My! blog journey started, click on the bottom of the page where it says "Older posts" or check out the first blog post on here from late September-
http://sfbom.blogspot.com/2010/09/mdb-mania-92410-debut-column.html

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the start of November!

Monday, November 1, 2010

I just don't get it...

*Post Caveat: I've never played football. I've only watched from the comfort of my couch, and a few times from a stadium seat. But I like to think I know a little about it.*

This is getting ridiculous.

When it was first announced that Mike Shanahan was going to replace Jim Zorn as head coach for the Washington Redskins, I was relieved. Finally, a coach with some experience and a history of winning and success. Sure, we had Joe Gibbs a few years back, but it wasn't the same as the glory days of the 80's.

But I'm beginning to have some doubts. The way he handled the last 2 minutes of the game this weekend against the Lions was terrible. Deciding to bench Donovan McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman, a quarterback who has only played in 1 NFL regular-season game since November 2008, was inexcusable. But Shanahan had his excuses. A few of them, actually.

First, it was explained that Shanahan thought Grossman was better prepared to run the 2 minute offense. If this was actually the case, why haven't they put Grossman in during previous games for the 2 minute offense?

Second, it was said that he thought McNabb's "cardiovascular endurance" wasn't where it should be to run the offense effectively, and some nagging hamstring injuries would hamper him. But his hamstring injury didn't seem to be that big of an issue on his long run that set up the first Redskins' score. Shanahan also had plenty excuses for Grossman's fumble that led to the Lions' last touchdown ("We weren't counting on pressure coming up the middle"....because that wasn't happening all day?).

Given McNabb's experience and ability, I'm baffled as to the real reason of this decision. He's been playing football for most of his life. He knows what to do. A couple of out-patterns, a few ball spikes. Standard procedures for going the length of the field with no timeouts. Unfortunately, he's become the scapegoat (yet again). Yes, some of his passes have been off the mark and his completion percentage is about 8-10 points lower than I'd like it. But our offensive line is awful. And our receiving corps are probably bottom 5 in the league.

Doing what Shanahan did, and not actually giving the truth behind it, not only alienates fans, but the players too. It also stirs up controversy that didn't need to be stirred. We've had enough waffling between quarterbacks for too many years now.

Hopefully this is just a minor bump on a long, successful road.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The MDB Mania- 10/26/10..The NEW JOISEY edition

Hey everybody- Whew what a last 2 weekends I had- lets just say lots of driving and lots of fun fun fun! The last column I promised you guys and gals that I'd write a recap of my Atlantic City trip as well as my trip the weekend before in New Jersey too. Don't worry, no dumb references of the stupid Jersey Shore TV show here lol :D It's gonna be a long post so get ready to stay in your chair for a good 10 minutes lol ;)


I'll start off with October 16th weekend at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Monroe, NJ. There was an event going on there called the Legends of the Ring thats been one of the most successful conventions in the northeast over the last 6 years. I sorta thought about going to it, but since I was planning to go to Atlantic City the weekend after, I wasn't going to go to LOTR- but my good friend of alot of years now, Tam, contacted me a week before the show and asked if I could possibly help her out, so I was like sure why not- since I hadn't seen her in a few months and thought it would be great to see her again. Next thing I know, I end up going to NJ 2 Fridays in a row which was a first for me....and my car as well lol


Overall the LOTR weekend was pretty good. I was able to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen in awhile, as well as meet some new ones. The drive up was such a mess though! One thing I learned from that is DO NOT leave to go up northeast during rush hour....ugh lol. I wound up getting stuck in Maryland and Delaware forever thanks to road work and toll booths for some reason taking eons to wait at. Once I finally got to the hotel and settled in, I hung out and relaxed & my friend Jerry came up and said hey, and wound up getting into the Ring Roast of Jim Cornette, which was ok. The comedians that night that I saw were pretty weak, but it was cool seeing Cornette get recognition since hes one of the all time great wrestling managers


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Photobucket -Me & Missy Hyatt
Photobucket -Me & wrestling tag team legend "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton




One of the highlights of that weekend was seeing my friend Danielle and her family again. This girl and her family are an inspiration who have gone through alot and keep on fighting and having a great life and not to mention, they are so fun to be around! I wound up hanging out with them and & their close friend Torrie Wilson & her bf Nick that Friday night until like 3am...fun times! Torrie remembered me from us hanging out after the Wrestlers Rescue dinner 2 years ago and has always stayed sweet. Me & Torrie were talking about Boise State since I know thats where she's from and she was so jealous of me going to that Boise/Virginia Tech game last month when I showed her my clips and pics from it! hehe :)

Photobucket -Me, Danielle, her parents, Torrie & Nick

-This was meant to be a picture but the camera was actually set on video so you can see all of us looking like we're ready for a pic and not a video lol :D Its the same one as above. We all hung out late into the night at the hotel bar & in Danielle's hotel room until 3am- it was a fun fun Friday night :) 10/15/10 in Monroe, New Jersey at the Crowne Plaza Hotel

Oh if your wondering, here's one of the clips I showed Tor from the Boise State game from early Sept ;)




The LOTR show itself on Saturday the 16th was a good time. Tammy was telling me it was slower then usual for those shows but we still did ok there and alot of fans did come up to us so it was decent. One moment that was cool was when former WWE diva Serena came up to say hi to us, and I mentioned to her about remember hearing about her going to a nearby high school to me(she went to Oakton High School and graduated in 2004, and I went to rival Chantilly High School and graduated there in 2002) so we joked and had fun with that hehe. I helped Tammy out with handling her fans who were buying autographs and pics from her and was her pic taker. Tam was a blast to work with and so easy going and would love to help her out again soon whenever she needs and wants my help- she knows Im around, since I know your reading this Tam lol ;) Your awesome :) Here's the new promo Tammy did for the blog as well as a few pics I took from that LOTR day:



Photobucket -Me and Tam

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Photobucket -Me & Jerry

Photobucket Me & Paul

Photobucket -Me & Danielle

Photobucket -Tam & some 6'9 wrestler. She's huge!!

Photobucket -Me & Torrie


After that weekend, it was a normal work week for me, and then this past Friday the 22nd I came back up to NJ, but this time the location and event were alot more different then the weekend before. Thanks to my awesome bud Jerry, he got me hooked up to be at the MMA & Sports Expo in Atlantic City, NJ at the Taj Mahal Casino Hotel. Safe to say, this location was alot more around it then there was in Monroe,NJ lol. It was the first time I've been to Atlantic City in 15 years. The last time I was there was only for like a brief 1-2 hours with my brother Erek and my mom on a summer roadtrip back from Wildwood,NJ. This time around, I got to enjoy the surroundings of the fancy hotels and boardwalk. I've never really been that into MMA so the fact that I was working a MMA related event was ironic lol. It lasted from Friday through Sunday so it was for the whole weekend.

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Photobucket -Trump Taj Mahal Casino on the boardwalk

On Friday night, they had this red carpet event going on where alot of the talent got all dressed up and interviewed by press. It was pretty cool with how it was setup, and by far- the hottest there was my friend,the Traci Brooks aka the Canadian Winnie Cooper(Danica McKellar from the TV show "Wonder Years") hehe :) Hubba Hubba! lol- she looked great in her blue dress! I was able to catch up with my friends Josh and his PR person Christina too & and it was great to do that too since I hadn't seen him in almost two years. It was cool catching up with Alicia Webb & meeting X-Pac, two very nice & down to earth people! Also was great seeing wrestling photographer extraodinare Bob Mulrenin again 2 weekends in a row- I know we were happy when the Phillies lost on Saturday night lol. Also got to catch up with Marty Manoli again too, always a good guy & like Bob was happy about the Phillies losing, Marty had fun with the Yankees losing on Friday night too :D Jerry introduced me to Diamond Dallas Page aka DDP as well & he's one awesome dude that I look forward to working with more in the future. For those who don't know, DDP has his own Yoga company these days that I'd recommend you all checking out at http://www.yrgfitness.com -oh btw for those who don't know, he was the originator of the triangle hand gesture(Diamond Cutter) long before Jay-Z and Lebron stole it and called their own

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Photobucket -the lovely Traci Brooks

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Photobucket - Me and Xpac- we've got 2 words for ya.... ;)

Photobucket -Me and Alicia, I was being a goofball here lol

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Photobucket -Traci and Jackie

Photobucket -me & UFC star "Lights Out" Shonae Carter & Kim Coture

Photobucket -Me & Josh

Photobucket -Me, Josh, Christine, and DDP

Photobucket -DDP lines me up for the Diamond Cutter hehe

Photobucket -me in front of the MMA cage

Heading into the weekend, honestly had no idea what I would be doing other then being a staff member. I thought I was going to help out my friend Traci, but I wasn't 100% sure what the promoter had planned for me, but I would of preferred working with Traci- but thats me lol. I was the one who helped Traci get interested in doing the show, so that felt great to be responsible for her being there and having a great time :) They gave me a free staff shirt for the show to wear so that way no one working the show would think I was some random guy trying to sneak in ha. The only bad thing was the shirt they gave me to wear was like almost two times my size and would of been better for me if I was 30 pounds overweight haha, but I didn't have time to shrink the shirt- so I had to wear it. Basically what I did at the show was walk around alot and made sure things were going good for the talent involved. It was a little different for me, since anyone who knows me knows when Im around people I don't usually see much, I get really shy. Everyone was totally cool that I met and got to hang with. There was so much neat stuff involved at the expo throughout the weekend. They had different booths/events going on in the arena like arm wrestling, cooking, karate, weightlifting, and bodybuilding competitions in additon to being able to meet all the talent. Here's some pictures and a video from the expo in the weekend:

-Video of bodybuilding competition ending including Alicia Webb, Tony Atlas, April Hunter, X-Pac, Rob Terry, and Traci Brooks

Photobucket -Kurt Angle and April Hunter

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Photobucket -me and Bonebreakers girl. They had cool looking designed shirts there and I bought one




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Photobucket -DDP hosting his YRG Yoga class sessions at the Expo

Photobucket -Me, Alicia, and Traci hanging out at the bar on Saturday night, and we were all being funny :D The Phillies were losing to the Giants in the NLCS during that on the big screens and us all high fived each other- fun times :)

Photobucket -me & UFC legend Dan "The Beast" Severn

Photobucket -Me & Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. One of the all time greats

Photobucket -me and ROH's Prince Nana. It sure feels good to be royalty :)

Photobucket -Me filming DDP's promo for my friend Fred(I look so nerdy here haha :D)

Photobucket -me & Traci(who I helped get booked for the event)

Photobucket -Traci knows my most sensative spots :D


On the Saturday, there was a cool moment where in the female bodybuilding competiton, Jackie Haas(former WWE/TNA diva) was a part of it, and shes good friends with Traci, Marty, Scott Epstein(their hookup for the event). She wound up winning the event, and I got a nice vid out of it since I was standing next to Jackie's friends when she won and they were all happy :) You go girl!



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I also met a new friend, June, who I see big things for in the future! :) She's a total sweetheart that I'll look forward to seeing again soon :)

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Saturday was pretty busy, but Sunday was pretty dead at the show. I think it had to do with NFL games going on mainly. With it being dead, it gave me and the talent more time to talk with each other which was nice. I was also able to snap some new vids for the blog with DDP & Traci. Thanks you 2 so much for doing that! DDP's was great since alot of the stuff he said came on the fly & the one with me and Traci came out great since it was cheesy but in a good way lol. Check them out!

-DDP doing a video promo for Skins, Fins & Bears...Oh My!

-Me & my lovely bud Traci welcome you to Skins,Fins,& Bears..Oh My!

Overall, it was one heck of an experience both weekends. If you would of told me like 8/10/12 years ago that I'd be doing and seeing the stuff/people that I've been doing these last few weeks and 2+ years- I would of been in heaven and thought I was crazy! I was one of those guys back in middle school and high school who would wear the wrestling t-shirts around proud that never would of thought that all these years later, that I'd be doing the stuff I've been doing. Its really cool when I sit down and think about it for sure. Just goes to show if anyone wants to dream about anything, its possible :)

I want to also give a big shoutout and huge thanks to 2 people I mentioned earlier who were responsible for me having these experiences the last 2 weeks- Tammy Sytch & Jerry Sorrentino. Tammy....what can I say- I've been lucky enough to have known her personally for like 12 years now ever since the days on AOL when we were TSytch1033, ECWCANMAN, and Markola98...god times flies haha. She's also one of the sweetest people that I know. Lastly- Jerry....the man responsible for getting me hooked up with the access in Atlantic City at the Expo. You did alot for me and will forever be greatful for that, and will look forward to our new journey with your new upcoming company!

Onto sports & entertainment related happenings-

My Washington Redskins survived a ugly game vs. the Bears on Sunday. I wasn't able to watch it since I was driving back home from AC, but glad I missed it sorta lol. I was able to catch the 30 minute version of the game later on Sunday night when I got home thanks to my NFL Sunday Ticket package. If it wasn't for D'Angelo Hall- they would be a 3-4 record by now just like their defense gameplan, but thankfully they pulled out the win and are only a game back of 1st in the NFC East. Go Skins go! :)

The hockey season so far has been back and forth. The Washington Capitals(my hometown team) are doing ok so far with a 5-3. The surprise team so far has to be the Nashville Predators with a 5-0 record(I know your happy with that Traci ;) Its gonna be interesting to see how the season goes, and as long as the Caps don't win the Presidents Trophy again- they should have better luck in the postseason lol, since usually the team who wins the regular season presidents cup trophy ends up really choking in the playoffs

I'm ok with the new BCS rankings but still think Boise State is getting screwed. I think Auburn is gonna lose one of these games coming up and Oregon is bound for a letdown game. I wanna see Boise Vs. TCU in the title game just to upset all the big conference & SEC fans lol

Yay- glad to see my picks in the LCS series win and face each other in the World Series. The Giants/Rangers series is gonna be a fun series to watch I have a feeling. I'm gonna pick the Giants to win in 7 games and its gonna come down to how well San Fran's pitching can do vs. the Rangers hot bats

I'm happy Kurt Warner is still alive on Dancing with the Stars, but am not surprised since the football guys on there usually do great and get alot of fan support. Hopefully he doesn't get eliminated tonight! Honestly, the only reason I watch that show is whenever the sports athletes are on(Jerry Rice, Chad Ocho Cinco, Kenny Mayne lol,etc.) not for "celebs" like Sarah Palin's daughter and a Jersey Shore airhead

Here's my 4 NFL Game picks for this week:

Washington Redskins at Detroit Lions-
My pick: Redskins, this is gonna be an dangerous game and after their loss to the Rams last month- we'll see if Washington can step it up against a underrated 1-5 Lions team thats better then their record

Jenn's pick: Lions
Krista's pick: Redskins

Miami Dolphins at Cincinatti Bengals- My pick: Bengals, I think they'll start to get back on track this week

Jenn's pick: Bengals
Krista's pick: Fins

Pittsburgh Steelers at New Orleans Saints- My pick: Steelers, I see a big game for Steelers WR Mike Wallace

Jenn's pick: Saints
Krista's pick: Saints

Houston Texas at Indianpolis Colts: My pick: Colts, this will be the game of the week and fitting its on a Monday night. I think the Colts are gonna start going on their annual long hot winning streaks now

Jenn's pick: Colts
Krista's pick: Colts

Thats all for today and I know it was alot to read so I'll close it out now. Thanks for coming again and until next time- cyanora :)

Mark