The Sports Enthusiast's Ode to Summer 2009

Well, well, well. Look who's back. I know what you're all saying, well at least the 6 of you who consistently feel bad for me and read the blog: It's about time! I don't even know where to begin, seeing as that I missed the entire summer after I started my Top 5 Friday segment. The last real article I wrote was a running diary of UFC 100 on July 11th. July 11th!!! But this is what happens when you work every single day on an ice cream truck, end up finding a girlfriend, school starting up again, and having to be the commissioner of the sickest fantasy football league this side of the Toms River. Basically I have no time.

But now we here at Chit-Chat Sports (basically myself and a rare showtime appearance every 3 months to make himself believe that he's important) are back and better than ever. I'm going to try and keep it to a two column a week blog. The Friday segment, Top 5 Friday, is still going to be running and the other column will run on a Monday or a Tuesday.

So as our triumphant return continues I decided to give you all my recap of the summer since the last time I left. So this is my Ode to the Summer of 2009, or should I say, The Summer that Wasn't, at the Jersey Shore.

1.) What in the hell snapped with the Yankees. They go from 3 games under the Red Sox to now 7.5 games ahead of the Red Sox and have the best record in baseball. Wait, I can be excited about a Yankee post-season? It's been awhile.

2.) Really felt bad for Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. Roddick played the match of his life, had the win in the bad in the 2nd set and the 5th set, but just couldn't escape that gigantic shadow cast over him that is Roger Federer. 16-14 in the 5th set really? And now he just got bounced at the US Open. I hate to say it but I think that was Andy's chance and he missed the boat. As long as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal can still hold a raqcuet, Andy is not going to win a major.

3.) I'm so happy. I repeat...SO HAPPY!. That I wasn't writing during this entire Brett Favre drama. Brett Favre is like herpes. You can't get rid of him, and his drama flares up from time to time. Someone get Minnesota some Valtrex.

4.) What in the world has happened to Tiger Woods? I mean seriously, he was the most invincible athlete of this generation. When Tiger got a lead in a major it was all over. Now he is missing putt after putt after putt to the point where he's going to give Skip Bayless a heart attack. Tiger will also remember the Summer of 09 as the Summer that Wasn't.

5.) Plaxico Burress pleads guilty and gets 2 years in jail. He had a 3 month jail sentence in the plea deal he declined months earlier. HAHAHAHA

6.) This NFL season has all the makings of the craziest season yet. Even crazier than last years' season. The fantasy football drafts this year are by far the hardest in the past 5 years because picks 2-10 are a crap shoot.

7.) I'm writing this on the 30th anniversary of Sportscenter and ESPN. The greatest inventions known to man-kind. They are probably the reasons why I follow sports so much. So easily available!


There's my summer in review for 09. I realize I have to get back in blogging shape here but bare with me. Expect a Michael Jordan article later in the week, seeing as the King himself and my favorite athlete of all time, will be inducted into the hall of fame. See you later on this week.

Top Five Friday: Top Five MJ Songs of All-Time

I know, I know. You guys all hate me. I'm sorry I haven't been doing my usual Monday-Tuesday article but I've been crazy-busy. However, I do promise that an article is coming this Monday or maybe even before that. But in the mean time I'm going to give you the first pop-culture Top 5 Friday in Chit-Chat Sports storied history. It's going to be a short one so bare with me until Monday.

In light of the greatest entertainer/most famous human being ever, Michael Jackson, passing away last month, I've decided to come on and give you the Top 5 greatest Michael Jackson songs (not videos because we all know what number 1 would be) of all time. After I list the 5 I'm going to give you the Honorable mention list, because when your talking about Mike there is just way too many great songs. So let's get started....

5) The Way You Make Me Feel - Bad - Are you ready for the cheesiest line of the blog? -We all know how this song made us feel, If you know what I mean.- Talk about a classic song though. Great message, great execution. If this song doesn't jump start any relationship then god help you.

4) PYT (Pretty Young Thing) - Thriller - If there was ever a "best MJ song without a video" this would be it, hands down. I'll be completely honest with you all, I had no idea what this song was until the Jabowockeez performed it on ABDC. But since then I can't stop listening, warranting number 4 on this list. "Pretty Young Things, repeat after me!!!"

3) Black or White - Dangerous - You could always count on Mike to bring down the racial/sexual/prejudice boundary. And this song was the poster child for what Michael did in his career (no pun intended). Black or White sent the message out that it doesn't matter what our skin color is or what religion we believe in or whether we were male or female, but that we were all human. And aside from those reasons, you could play this song 45 times in a row before it even has a chance of getting old.

2) Man in the Mirror - Bad - The most well written song of Michael's long and storied career. At one point in everyone's life, they listened to this song and said, "Wow, this is what I have to do." We all need to start with the man in the mirror. This is by far the most well executed song from MJ. Along with the live performances, the number 1 song is lucky I didn't decide to throw Man in the Mirror at 1. But I couldn't put it over...

1) Billie Jean - Thriller - The Greatest MJ song of all-time. Don't try to argue with me. It's number 1, clear-cut. The video was classic, even though we had no idea what was going on in it. The beat hits so hard and every time you hear it you can't help but just bop your head like you were going to choreograph an MJ concert. How can you not have the original Moonwalk song number 1? Tell me how this Motown 25 performance isn't number 1 all time?

There you have it. I know it was quick but well worth it. Here's the honorable mention songs that had me pondering...

Remember the Time
Thriller
Beat It
Bad
Don't Stop Til You Get Enough
Wanna Be Startin Somethin'

Top 5 Friday: Top 5 Hitting Tandems, Currently in Baseball

I have no worthy articles to bless you with this week. Mainly because all of the sporting world is reporting about whether or not Brett Favre is going to play, and whether or not Michael Vick is going to play. Quite frankly, I'm completely sick of it. Who wants to hear about more Brett and Michael stuff when you get enough of it through ESPN because ESPN reports every single thing that Brett Favre is doing every day. Here's a sample transcript of the Brett Favre headlines from ESPN:

Sources: Brett Favre throws passes to a few high school receivers.

Sources: Brett Favre talks to a doctor about getting his 250 game-straight-arm checked out because he may want to be healthy for the rest of his career.

Sources: Minnesota Vikings players want Brett Favre.

Sources: Someone inside the Vikings organization says that Brett Favre would have already said no to playing if the major stars on the Vikings weren't clamouring for him to come to the Vikings.

What has reporting come too? We have to settle for Brett Favre's everyday occurrences instead of talking about real intriguing sports ideas like, how the Cowboys will fair without T.O. this year, who will rise out of the tough American League East, or maybe the Erin Andrews video.

So since it is indeed Top 5 Friday, and we had a blockbuster deal in baseball today, I'm on to give you guys my top 5 hitting tandems in baseball today. These hitters are most likely in the 3-4 spots maybe the 2-3 but we'll see how it goes. So let's get started...

5) Lance Berkman - Carlos Lee - Houston Astros - This was the toughest one to decide on because I was going to throw in Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria but Lance and Carlos take it by a nose. Lance has been solid for years now and Carlos Lee has the ability to put the ball over the fence at any moment during an at-bat. Pencil them in at number 5.

4) Raul Ibanez - Ryan Howard - Philadelphia Phillies - The single biggest surprise in baseball this year is Raul Ibanez. We all knew that Howard would put up 45 homers, and he will continue to do so until hes 35. But Raul Ibanez this season puts this tandem at number 4. They have the most feared lineup in all of baseball with these two all-stars in the middle of it leading the charge.

3) Joe Mauer - Justin Morneau - Minnesota Twins - Joe Mauer is the single best contact hitter in baseball and now he's added the Power element to his game. Justin Morneau is a former AL MVP (which Derek Jeter should have won) who puts up great numbers every year. Between the two of them they're going to have 70 home runs this year and probably bat .320. Definitely worthy of number 3.

2) Albert Pujols - Matt Holiday - St. Louis Cardinals - Some may question why these guys are number 2 until you remember that Albert Pujols has a chance to win the TRIPLE CROWN. Then newly acquired Matt Holiday adds national league experience to an already murderous lineup. You can expect 15-20 home runs from Holliday in the second half in that lineup and about 20-25 more from Pujols, warranting them number 2.

1) Mark Teixiera - Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees - Trust me this isn't the homer pick. I am indeed a Yankee fan but how can you not put these two as the top hitting tandem in baseball. Since A-Rod's May 8th return, the Yankees have the best record in all of baseball. Tex is having an MVP type season batting in front of A-Rod, and A-Rod is being himself hitting a homer every 16-17 at bats. Ask Roy Halladay who the best hitting tandem in baseball is, and you'll find these two names at the top of his list.

So that's it. You're top 5 1-2 punches in baseball. Next week I'm thinking about going to pop culture for a top 5. Keep checking to see my next article in the upcoming week.

Top Five Friday: The Most Exciting Players to Watch in Sports

Today is the start of a brand new segment for Chit-Chat Sports that I believe is going to stick for a while. We're going to call it 'Top Five Friday.' Throughout the passed five or six years, my best friends and I have always had heated debates on certain events/players/plays and basically anything. Many of these debates ended up with us arguing for our 'Top Five' of that particular category.

So in light of our ridiculous arguments that we've had in the past, I'm going to write a short blog post every Friday with the headline, 'Top Five Friday.' The top 5's will range from anything in sports to pop culture, but most of them will be sports related.

So I figured the first one should be something pretty big and something everyone can relate to. So the very first edition of 'Top Five Friday's' is going to be the most exciting players to watch across all sports. Now keep in mind this isn't the best, or my favorite, or the most likable. This is strictly the most exciting players to watch. So let's get started with the first Top 5 Friday...

5) Rafael Nadal - Tennis - This pick may be a little biased because of my love for watching tennis, but I guarantee you if you put on a Rafael Nadal match in a major tournament you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Nadal goes against the grain of your traditional Tennis player. He wears the cut sleeves T-shirt, the bandanna, and the cargo shorts. However, he is exactly what Tennis needed. Nadal plays a style that we haven't seen since Andre Agassi. He races down every ball, never takes a point off, and meanwhile hits absolutely ridiculous winners with impossible angles to do so. I strongly suggest you watch Rafael Nadal next time you can; he is truly a special athlete.

4) Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers - As much as I don't want Kobe to be on this list, he is. If there was a list for the 'top 5 first half most exciting players' then he wouldn't be on them. But when it comes to the 4th quarter, there is no better closer in basketball then Kobe Bryant. If there is less then 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, you almost know for a fact that Kobe is going to hit a dagger, or a ridiculous shot to get his team the victory. Kobe is quite possibly the most clutch athlete in the NBA and that warrants him being on the Top 5 most exciting athletes list.

3) Tiger Woods - Golf - This is probably the wrong time to be putting Tiger on this list, seeing as he just missed the cut at a major for only the second time in his career today. But when Tiger is healthy there is nothing like watching him on Sunday. You might say, "Well how can any golfer be on this list?" Do me a favor. Next time there is a major on TV and it's the final round on Sunday (except for this one) force yourself to watch the entire round. Chances are you're going to see Tiger trying to make a crazy comeback, winning a sudden death playoff hole, or holding off a charging competitor. The final rounds of any golf major are beyond exciting, however if Tiger's in the chase, it's a whole different experience.

2) Larry Fitzgerald - Arizona Cardinals - I don't think there is another player in the NFL that is as exciting as Larry Fitzgerald is. All you have to do is go re-watch last year's Superbowl and that is all the footage you need. Larry is on his way to becoming one of the greatest receivers to ever do it, and he does it with out-of-this-world type plays. Larry Fitz makes catches that no one has ever seen before. His combination of size, speed, hands, and willingness to go up and get the ball wherever it is, makes him the most dynamic/exciting receiver in the game. It's those memorable catches that we see week in and week out that warrants putting him number 2 on this list.

1) Lebron James - Cleveland Cavaliers - Is there even a debate as to who should be number 1? It's almost automatic at this point. Lebron James is the single most exciting athlete in any sport. The best part is, he's only 24. Which means the best is yet to come from Lebron. The thing that makes Lebron so exciting is that we all expect him to do something spectacular. So when it actually happens it gets blown out of proportion and covered on ESPN for days later. A perfect example was his buzzer beater against the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It wound up being a top 12-13 buzzer beater all-time because of the hype surrounding Lebron. Everyone questions whether or not he can be that clutch type of player and I believe he is well on his way. As far as exciting goes, there's no one close. Lebron driving to the hoop with a big guy standing under the hoop is probably the most exciting thing to watch in sports; because you know that big guy is going to be on Lebron's next poster at all local Nike outlets.

So while we debate and argue over this top 5, I'm sure that no one can argue that these guys aren't in a league of their own.

Honorable Mention: Alex Ovechkin, Adrian Peterson, Ed Reed, Derek Jeter

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Expect a top 5 post every Friday from now on. They're going to be fun.

Live From UFC 100 - My 1st UFC Experience

In case you haven't heard about this UFC 100 fight that is taking place tonight, then you've come to the right place if you were unable to see it.

Now let it be known that I am, in no way shape or form, a fan of the UFC. I have been pro-boxing for the past 5 years that the UFC has been blowing up. Boxing just appeals to me more than UFC does. It's probably been instilled in me by my dad, but I just find the history and the classic fights of boxing more appealing than the UFC. However, I felt so compelled today that I had to give you a running diary of my first full UFC experience.

So sit back, put your seat belts on, and place your seats back in an upright position and tray tables locked in.

10:00 PM EST - Kristen and I are on our way over to Vinnie's for the fights. Not sure how I feel about the UFC still...contemplating turning around.

10:03 PM EST - Arrive at my cousin's house. Looking at the ring, Ooops the Octagon, and there is blood all over the mat. So this is how UFC rolls, huh? I have to say, it's kind of awesome.

10:05 PM EST - I'm so out of my element right now. There's all sorts of Octagon's and all-black dressed referees. Where are the ropes? Where are the boxing gloves? I'm in a new world. I might like it.

10:10 PM EST - So apparently there's an undercard just like boxing. Hey! This might not be too bad. First fight is coming up.

10:15 PM EST - OUR TALE OF THE TAPE!! Wow what an upgrade of announcers from boxing. Ok Ok, first thing I'm impressed by. Wait, Joe Rogan is an announcer for the UFC? This is when you know it's going to be a good night. (I can't help but think about Dave Chappelle's FearFactor skit with Joe Rogan). This first fight is between the UFC version of Ricky Hatton, and the only Japanese UFC fighter I've ever seen.

10:17 PM EST - The Japanese fighter apparently is a singer as well. He has sung in front of 20,000 fans before. Why are the Japanese good at everything?

10:19 PM EST - Oh My God the Japanese guy just got straight up kicked to the balls. I don't care whatever you've ever heard...getting kicked in the crown jewels is BY FAR the worst pain a guy can endure. There's nothing that's even in the same ball park.

10:27 PM EST - First fight is rather boring. But Kristen likes the Japanese fighter in this contest because his shorts are cooler. I have to agree. He seems more aggressive and excited to be there. This is UFC 100! How can you not be excited for this!?

10:33 PM EST - We're going into the third round. Basically all of this is leading up to Lesnar-Mir. Which is the real reason I have this laptop on my lap.

10:36 PM EST - Ridiculous Superman punch off of the cage. Now that, was cool. Fight ended. Winner by Split decision, Yoshihiro Akiyamahsiakishiskiakhsikikahku (aka the Japanese guy)

10:41 PM EST - Have to say, I was impressed by all the pre-fight antics. The announcing. The bloody ring. The round girls. But the first fight, not so much. Hopefully this gets better quickly.

10:45 PM EST - This second fight is between the American Dan Henderson (USA! USA!) against this fruitcake Brit Michael Bisbing. Bisbing came out and was dissin' the US right off the bat. You know you can't come to the US and start lashing out against us and not expect an irrelevant blogger to tear you to shreds. So this should be fun...

10:46 PM EST - OUR TALE OF THE TAPE!!! Haha, that is my favorite part of UFC matches by far. What a great saying.

10:50 PM EST - Bisbing is about to get knocked out in the first round. Nothing would make me happier. Bisbing reminds me of a 6'1" Penis with an accent. What a clown.

10:59 PM EST - Wow. I think Bisbing just died. That may have been the biggest punch Ive ever seen. Holy Jesus. Right hand from Henderson just sent Bisbing all the way back to Manchester.

Now he's up asking what happened. That's what happens when you decide you wanna talk garbage on the American with the big right. Hey Bisbing, tell me how that mat taste.

11:02 PM EST - Already love Dan Henderson. Still talking garbage to the knocked out Bisbing. He may be making his case for The Sports Enthusiast's favorite UFC fighter. Actually I'm already nominating he and Chuck Lidell because Chuck beasts in the video game. The hometown kid Frank Edgar is the third nominee. Let's try and get 5 by the end of the blog and I'll pick my favorite at the end.

11:11 PM EST - Quick question. How do you get ito the Octagon. I haven't seen the door yet. I feel like they should be forced to climb in. That would be so entertaining.

Side Note: These past few dudes have been so hood. I thought the UFC was full of hard rock, head banging type of music fighters. But no, we got some real hood flavor in the UFC.

11:20 PM EST - Don't really know how I feel about his uniform, but Georges St. Pierre is definitely in the 5 I'm nominating for my favorite UFC fighter. Just has a swagger about him that can intimidate his opponent.

11:35 PM EST - Georges St Pierre is going to win this fight barring any miracle. Time to get prepped for the big fight. Lesnar/Mir.

11:48 PM EST - Georges St. Pierre still the champion. I loved his corner men the most.

"Calm down, Georges"

"Calm down, breathe"

Pretty comical if you ask me.

12:00 AM EST - It's getting close to my bed time, but we're still live from the $50.00 feed of UFC 100. Brock Lesnar might be the biggest freak of nature I have seen since Lebron James. He is an absolute tank. I'm not sure how I feel about Frank Mir. He just doesn't have enough pre-fight buzz for me to pick him. So I'm going with Brock Lesnar because A) He is huge B) My cousin's name is Brock C) He has the sickest tattoo I've ever seen.

12:01 AM EST - Frank Mir comes out to "So Amazing" by Kanye West, dancing and bopping his head. This was definitely the corniest moment of the night. Wow Frank. You have no chance.

12:08 AM EST - Checking in 7 minutes later to tell you that Brock Lesnar is still big as hell. Maybe the biggest human in that state right now.

12:10 AM EST - Referee tells the two fighters to make it official and touch gloves. So since they didn't touch gloves, is this not official?

12:16 AM EST - Lesnar beat the living crap out of Mir's face in the first round. Let's see how he fairs in the 2nd.

12:21 AM EST - Lesnar just beat the living crap out of Mir's face in the second round. Let's see how he fairs in the hospital.

12:23 AM EST - Totally classless by Lesnar. I was all about him before the glove touch, now he can go scratch. Lost a lot of potential new fans tonight. Including me.

Final thoughts on my first UFC experience. The sport has a chance to be a major sport in this country. However, the major sports pride themselves on class and three out of the 8 fighters showed absolutely no class tonight. And the biggest name on the card showed the least amount of class possible. I may be hooked on some of this sport, but I'll take boxing any day of the week. Sorry UFC fans. Overall it was a solid night.

Now for the winner of The Sport's Enthusiast's favorite UFC fighter..........It's a tie between Dan Henderson and Georges St. Pierre. I just couldn't choose. Goodnight All.