Mike's Ramblings

Monday Football!

2009-11-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

My fantasy football team was doing poorly yesterday. I probably lost this week but I think I should still be in first place or close to it. Oh well it happens, it was just a team that on paper I should of won easily. However, like real football on any given Sunday anything can happen...

Well talking about the NFL, I did some early predictions for Thanksgiving Day NFL football, you can check out my predictions here.

Also my college football rankings are out for this week. You can see the rankings here. There were a bunch of upsets including Iowa, Oregon, Notre Dame and Penn State so the rankings were shook up a bit.

I wrote 5 articles last week and I am up to 8 for the month. I will probably have 4 more this week, so a lot to blog about.

A Pretty Good Day

2009-11-07T23:49:00.000-08:00

The weather was seasonable and the sky was blue. I sent most of the morning playing with my daughter and watching youtube videos with her. Then I took a nap with her and took her out for lunch. Then I went to a very nice dinner with my wife. I had the surf and turf and it was delicious, Salmon and Fillet Mignon.

Then when I came home a friend of mine had called and he had a air of concert tickets from somebody he couldn't use. Lucky me for a change! So, like I said a pretty good day for me!

It has been a busy week. A dinner and two meetings last week. Plus work! However, I was able to publish 5 articles this week, though one isn't showing as of yet. I also have a couple of articles I have signed up for, so that will mean more on the way. Of course I will be plugging some of those articles on here soon!

Congrats to The Yankees!

2009-11-05T23:19:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the New York Yankees for winning the World Series. The Yankees are the 2009 Major League Baseball Champions and are without question the best team in baseball.
The New York Yankees had the best record in baseball

The New York Yankees swept the Minnesota Twins and went on to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in six games. Then the New York Yankees beat the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies in six games in the World Series. The Yankees beat the best of the best to prove the Yankees were the best team in baseball.

November Album Releases!

2009-11-03T04:17:00.000-08:00

One of the article I wrote was about upcoming album (CD) releases. You can read the article here. I guess I could have mentioned the upcoming Carrie Underwood album but I didn't.

I focused on Them Crooked Vultures, the CD I am most looking forward too! I will probably buy it on the 17th. It features Dave Grohl, from the Foo Fighters, on drums (what he used to play in Nirvana). It also features legendary Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age on vocals and guitars.

Dave Grohl is busy as his band, The Foo Fighters release their Greatest Hits collection this month.

The popular bands such as Bon Jovi and John Mayer also get mentioned in my article. I also mention the seasonal release by Tori Amos.

Some great new music is headed out this month!

Dinosaurs

2009-11-02T02:49:00.000-08:00

Last month (last week) I wrote a couple of articles about sharks! Now that is November, I have written a couple of articles about Dinosaurs!

I actually I had a busy weekend writing quite a few articles. We also had a Halloween party to go to, and surprise visitors. Needless to say my weekend was very busy. Of course I was able to come up with My Rankings for this week. No big surprises on the top, the bottom teams have been rearranged. Two more articles besides the dinosaurs were published since my last blog, however will hold back on them.

Dinosaurs!
The first article about dinosaurs was about the Spinosaurus. The Spinosaurus is a large, carnivorous dinosaur which was actually bigger than T-Rex (the dinosaur not the band).

The second article about dinosaurs was about the Diplodocus. Diplodocus was one of the larger plant eating dinosaurs. I guess I kept my writing balanced, one big meat eater and one big vegetarian.

Sports

2009-10-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well the World Series starts on Wednesday. It features the New York Yankees against the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. It should be great series. I didn't get around to writing a preview of the Philadelphia Phillies, however I did write a preview of the New York Yankees which you can read here.

In college football I mixed up the rankings once again this week. You can view the new rankings here. It is a great time of year for college footbal since their are great conference match up games and rivalry games. Boise State and TCU look like they are getting ready to give their best efforts to break into the BCS bowls.

My Fantasy Football Team had another blowout win. A lot of my success is that I have been able to fill in for injuries and prepare for bye weeks. However, next week looks like I will be down one quarterback and a running back. It still looks like my team should win, however it will be closer than the last two weeks.

Sharks!

2009-10-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

I have just published two more articles on sharks! Moving away from normal sports writing. The two sharks I wrote about were quite different. The first shark I wrote about was the False Catshark. This shark lives in the deep water. The shark grows to about 8-9 feet and has over 200 rows of teeth. This shark is not considered a threat to humans.

The second shark, I wrote about was the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark. This shark is small growing between 2.5 to 3 feet long. However, this shark is considered a threat to humans since it lives in coastal waters.

They were a little rushed since I came down with Bronchitis this weekend. So, I spent most of the evening in a clinic and a pharmacy. Oh well, I have a few more articles on the way. I will talk sports later in the week.

The weekend is here, are you ready for some football?

2009-10-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

Thought I would plug my rankings for this week. This week I have a new number one, which is Alabama. Why? Simply put Florida has not paid like a number one team. They won ugly against Arkansas with some help from the zebras.

Well here is my rankings for this week. they are a lot different from the rankings the week before. A lot of this was due to the weekly upsets. Virginia Tech lost, Ohio State lost, Nebraska lost and Kansas lost. Also I had South Florida ranked higher than Cincinnati. The other polls had it right, and I was wrong. I can admit it, but that is some of the fun of having your own rankings.

TCU at BYU, South Florida at Pittsburgh, and Oregon State at USC highlight this weeks football action. However, I am sure there will be some surprises.

My fantasy team won big last week. Mostly since Brady and Brees had field days. I am in second place in my league at 4-2. We will see how I do this week.

A night for Hope

2009-10-22T04:25:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night was a night of hope. It was a recognition night for the woman at Hope Alive. Hope Alive is a non-profit ministry providing shelter and so much more to homeless woman and their children. The evening brought together supporters of Hope Alive from across the region. Supporters ranged from owners of foundations, local clergy, local business leaders and concerned citizens.

Homelessness is a big problem in Frederick County, Maryland and the Nation as a whole. The shaky economy is certainly not helping. I have been fortunate to help where I can. I have volunteered with the REACH Cold Weather Shelter in Hagerstown, Maryland and I volunteer at Hope Alive. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to enjoy a night out with my wife and we saw a concert. The concert was the California Guitar Trio who performed a benefit concert for another shelter in Frederick.

More information about Hope Alive can be found at www.hopealiveministries.org.

I don't want to jinx it

2009-10-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

I have been away from this blog because I have been laying the ground work for a new writing opportunity. I don't want to say to much about it because I am waiting to see how it pans out. The opportunity does involve live music and more exposure for my writing. But until it pans out I don't want to say to much. As the optimist I am very excited. As the realist and pessimist, I have the wait and see attitude.

If it works out I will have a bunch more to blog about. In the meantime, my normal writing activities will continue. The college football rankings (this weeks is out, and I will have a new one on Sunday or Monday) and I do have a winter beer article scheduled are the articles I have on the radar.

Well this is a quick update, I will blog more later.

Angels in The Outfield

2009-10-08T04:08:00.000-07:00

Well I squeezed out one more preview. I was able to preview the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before their series with the Boston Red Sox starts. I won't be previewing the other teams just because they would no longer be a preview since the series has started.

The preview of the Los Angeles Angels is here.

This is a team that has had more names than Prince. The California Angels, The Anaheim Angels and currently the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I was impressed with the Angels depth in the outfield. They have Torrii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Mathews Jr, Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera.

The Angels are going up against the Boston Red Sox, which should be a good series. The teams have identical records. The Angels have been ousted by the Red Sox the last few years. Is this the year the Angels get past the Red Sox? We will find that answer soon.

Previews of the Yankees and Red Sox

2009-10-06T21:41:00.001-07:00

I know most of my sports writting lately has been about football. Since summer has given way to Fall, it means the boys of sukmer will be playing the Fall Classic soon.

I'm running a little behind schedule on these. However, I have a preview of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox just in time for the playoffs.

New York Yankees here.

Boston Red Sox here.

I also have my weekly football ranking here.

Well it is late, I will post a new blog soon.

Can't hold onto Summer Forever

2009-09-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

September is coming to an end. The leaves here are starting to change. Football is in high gear. Baseball is getting their playoffs set. The weather is getting cooler. Flues and colds are going around. Life goes on, the world keeps turning and the seasons change.

It was a good month for my writing. I wrote a lot of articles on beer and my football rankings which are doing better this year. The blog is going in full force. The question now is what will October bring?

Well there will be the weekly football rankings and I will probably snag an article or two to write about. I am working on a new writing venture, but no details yet. I have a lot of volunteer work and events lined up next month. I am also going to a concert. So, there are few things I can blog or write about.

Stick around and see what the blog has in store for Fall. If nothing else there is still some summer beer left to enjoy!

My New Rankings and Tim Tebow

2009-09-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

With a weekend full of upsets my rankings were rearranged. First with the Old Ball Coach getting his South Carolina Gamecocks to upset Mississippi on Thursday. They continued on Saturday with Penn State getting shocked by Iowa, California getting crushed by Oregon, Stanford beating Washington, and South Florida besting Florida State.

My rankings can be found here.

Of course Tim Tebow suffered a concussion, don't worry Coach says he will play against LSU. Arguments could be made on either side for keeping Tim Tebow in the game late in the 3rd quarter against Kentucky. However, the safety and well being of the player should come first in deciding to play him against LSU. If Tim is not medically cleared he should not play. Yes the Gators might lose if Tim Tebow doesn't play in Baton Rouge. The Gators might lose if he does play. The Gators could win without Tim Tebow, though LSU likely would be favored. My point is a line needs to be drawn, a persons health now and the future, is more important than a win, a SEC Championship or a National Title.

All About Beer

2009-09-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

This blog is for any beer drinker who stumbles across my blog. Recently, I have been writing quite a few articles on different kinds of beers. I enjoy a nice cold beer now and then. Feel free to check these articles out. If I missed your favorite let me know. I am up to trying new beers.

The first beer article I wrote was about "Top Five Mexican Beers." Corona is on my list. However Sol, Dos Equis, Negra Modelo, and more.

The second one is "My Top 10 Pale Ales" includes great Pale Ales from Troegs, Sierra Nevada, Three Floyds Brewery, Deschutes Brewing, Flying Fish Brewery, and Fordham Brewing to name a few.

The third is "My Top 10 Ales" included ales from Troegs, Samuel Adams, Samuel Smith, Fordham , Anchor, Newcastle, Deschutes, and Three Floyds.

My beer articled didn't stop there! My fourth article was "Top 10 Amber Ales" which included selections brewed by Deschutes, Troegs, Bear Republic, Cameron's, Alaskan Brewery, Full Sail Brewery, and Full sail Brewery. Some of the brewery names and beers in these articles have some pretty interesting names.

Covering beers from everywhere. My next article was on China's Top Beers. Snow Beer, Tsingtao, and Yanjing Beer are discussed.

My sixth article came back to the United States where I discussed "The Best Beers from Oregon". Deschutes, Full Sail, Widmer Brothers and Rogue are discussed.

And finally, just in time for Oktoberfest. I wrote an article called "My Top 5 Beers for Oktoberfest." Most are German here. I did include sam Adams due to its ease of availability. However, I did include Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, Ayinger and Wolnzacher Marzens.

Cheers! I hope you enjoy these articles.

Latest College Rankings

2009-09-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

As my wife would say who is not an avid sports fan "let me guess there was an upset." Well, like every week there is one, or two or three. Notable upsets this year, in week one BYU over Oklahoma. In week two, the Houston Cougars over Oklahoma State was a pretty big upset.

Week three had plenty. The Washington Huskies over USC, FSU over SMU, and Oregon over Utah. Who will be weeks four upset or upsets? I don't know. If I did I would be moving to Las Vegas. Oh well, that is part of the fun of college football. Unless it is one of your favorite teams that gets upset or you are in Vegas betting on that can't lose game.

These upsets are mking it harder to come up with My College Rankings. I did them anyway, you can check them out here. Don't worry they will change again next week.

Just Peter and Paul

2009-09-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a tragic week for celebrities with Patrick Swayze passing away and now Mary Travers passed away. Mary Travers was a member of the folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary. The group famous for Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind", Pete Seegers "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and covers of "Lemon Tree" and "If I had A Hammer." There most successfull song "Puff, the Magic Dragon" will be the song I will remember them through.

It was a song I probably wore the vinyl out on the LP. Back from the days a turntable was a way of listening not a musical instrument. She was 72, which now a days sames to be a life cut somewhat short. However it isn't 57 like Swayze. Nor, was it 27 like so many other musicians in the past. This week Cancer claimed two celebrities.

When will there be a cure? When will cancer be a forgotten disease?

Football!

2009-09-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Yeah! My fantasy team won their opening match up. A big part of this was Drew Brees! Also thanks to Tom Brady in the last 2:30 minutes or so of the Monday night game. Wow! What a dome back by New England against Buffalo. It looked like the Bills were going to win for sure! Of course my bench did good! Who new Heap would score more fantasy points then Whitten or Owens at Tight End. I guess I should have used Clayton from Dallas as one of my starting wide outs. My running backs are a big weakness. Willie Parker only had one point. Johnson of Kansas City didn't do to well for me. Oh, well it is nice to get a victory.

In the college ranks, there should be a good game on Thursday night as Georgia Tech travels to Miami. My new rankings for this week have been published and they can be seen here.

Dancing in Heaven

2009-09-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

The AP is posting actor Patrick Swayze has passed away from cancer. One more celebrity lost this year. He passed away from cancer at the age of 57. Swayze is most rembered for his role in the movie "Dirty Dancing." His second biggest role would probably be in the movie "Ghost" starring opposite Demi Moore. He also starred in several other movies.

I will remember him best from his Saturday Night Life skit with Chris Farley. In the SNL Patrick Swayze and the heavy set Chris Farley are trying out to become a Chippendale dancer.

He battled pancreatic cancer for 20 months. He supposedly died peacefully according to reports. At least he died peacefully and he won't have to suffer.

9.11

2009-09-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

The last two years I have wrote about 9/11 this year I do the same. I was a guest speaker in Silver Spring, Maryland today for an organization for whom I volunteered. I know today was a day of in service, but I had signed up to do this speak not based on that. I do a lot off volunteering, which means I get to be apart of some very worthwhile organizations.

I am rambling though. On 9.11 I was working a short distance from the pentagon where a plane had crashed. I had some car problems and I had taken the day off. So, I missed the chaos. I was living in Hagerstown, Maryland at the time. In reality I was probably about half way between the Pentagon and where the other plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. The thing about 9.11 for me that will always stay on my mind was the god awful stench in the air in the predawn hours of 9.12. That stench was the stench from the crash. I worked closed enough to smell it.

I started this blog about me volunteering. Volunteers are among the heroes of 9/11. Citizens volunteered to give blood. Firefighters tried to rescue people and put out fires. Police tried to rescue people. I am sure I am missing other organizations. I want to thank everyone who volunteered for their efforts on that day. I hope everyone remembers 9.11 and it is never forgotten. Feel free to search my other blogs about 9.11

My Latest College Football Rankings Are Up

2009-09-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

I have to say I really enjoyed ESPN360.com this extended weekend. I was able to watch a lot of football due to it. I watch Georgia at Oklahoma State. I watched Charleston Southern at Florida. Parts of the Maryland at California game. Then I just finished watching the thrilling Miami at FSU game. Yes football is back and I got to watch some games. Anybody know where I can watch some NFL games online let me know as am sure I will be online following my fantasy team.

Anyway I have my second college football rankings of the season published. You can see the rankings here. The teams moved around quite a bit compared to my first rankings. Oklahoma falling to BYU. The outcomes of the Virginia Tech-Alabama game, and the scares Ohio State and Iowa were some of the reasons. In just a couple of days week 2 will start with Georgia Tech and Clemson on tap for Thursday.

The NFL kicks off Thursday as well with the Tennessee Titans visiting the Super Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. I am ready for some football.

Beau Torbert Wrap Up

2009-09-04T20:48:00.000-07:00

Beau Torbert was named player of the week for the final week of the American Association season. Here is a link to the article. Beau batted .400 for the week. Congratulations to Beau on the award and the strong finish.

Beau finished 3rd in the league in batting hitting .346 and second in the league with a .538 slugging percentage. The Sioux Falls Canaries finished 40-56 for the season. Beau played in 65 games. Beau led the team in batting average, slugging, triples and home runs.

Torbert batted .346 with 12 home runs 60 runs driven in and scored 35 runs. I will try to keep everyone posted with Beau news in the off season.

Football Starts Tonight

2009-09-03T11:30:00.001-07:00

The college football season starts tonight! I am getting ready for the NFL season which starts next week. Last night the Fantasy League which I play on had their draft. So, I am ready to kick things off...

College football has Utah State at #19 Utah(15 in my rankings) and #16 Oregon(18 my rankings) at #14 Boise State(17 in my rankings). Sounds like a great way to get the season started with more games coming up!

The fantasy league I play on is run by a college sports reporter who interned at XM sports. I think I have pretty good team. My teams strength is quarterback, the league plays 2 and I have Drew Brees and Tom Brady as my starters. I also added Chad Pennington for my bench. Oh, well I will review more of my fantasy league as we get closer to the regular season kickoff.

Talking about the NFL, the NFL has a bunch of preseason games on tap tonight. It is also a slow night in baseball, so enjoy.

Beau Torbert Update 1 Game Left

2009-08-31T04:05:00.000-07:00

There is one game left in Beau Torbert and the Sioux Falls Canaries season. So, I will give another update later this week. Beau has played in 64 games in a season hampered by injuries. Beau is third in the league with a .345 batting average. Torbert leads the team in home runs with 12 and is tied with the team lead with 2 triples. He also has 10 doubles. Beau has driven in 60 runs, one behind team leader Cory Harris. Beau has stolen 5 bases in 7 attempts. He has a team high .541 slugging percentage and an on base average of .396 which ranks him 3rd on the team. Beau's one bad stat is the 8 errors, which ranks him 4th on the team.

The Sioux Falls Canaries are 40-55 overall(thru 7/29) and 19-28 in the second half. Needless to say the Canaries will not be in the post season this year. Hopefully, Beau will have a great game to wrap up the 2009 season.

Stats: American Association

My First Top 25 Rankings This Season

2009-08-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

The 2009 College football season is right around the corner! Last season I did my 25 rankings all through the season, this year I plan to continue.

I have the defending champions Florida ranked number 1, I have some teams you would expect and a few surprises. Check out all the rankings here.

If you want to compare this season's first rankings to my final rankings last season, those rankings are here. I had Florida as the champs, followed by Utah, USC and Texas.

It was fun to have a rankings through out the season, as I was able to see teams climb up and other teams fall out. I am sure this season will be the same. Well here is to the 2009 college football season kicking off.