O.T.L. for the N.F.L.

Oh Thank the Lord for the National Football league. That's what my title stands for if you had trouble interpreting. I realize that may be corny and it may turn some of you away right out of the gate, but I have no other words to describe the utter joy and happiness that I am experiencing now that the NFL is under way and 1 week is in the books.

This weekend was like Christmas day, only it was 85 and Sunny and there were no tangible presents being distributed. However, in order to give you the full experience of the day, I felt that I should give you one of my world famous running diaries. And in the words of the ever-so-witty Bill Simmons, this is what transpired...

9:00 AM EST: I hoppppppppeeeddddd up out the beddddddddd...turn my swaggggg- alright thats enough. But you get the idea. You know when you wake up as easy as riding a bike is....it's going to be a good day.

9:30 AM EST: Driver and Pitching Wedge in hand, and I'm off to a little morning Driving range session with my boy Joe. For some reason, Sunday Mornings are so much easier to do anything that involves you being an athlete. It's very relaxing.

10:02 AM EST: Buckets purchased, tees set up, and the first ball goes off the back of the 200 yard net. Oh the Joy of whacking balls, golf balls that is.

10:15 AM EST: Joe and I now planning out the day leading up until the 1:00 PM start times. This is what we came up with:

• 10:00-11:00 Golf
• 
  
• 11:00-11:45 Tossing the the old Pigskin around on Highway Lagoon (more on this later)
• 
  
• 12:00-1:00 Sunday NFL Countdown, talking fantasy, setting lineups, and placing bets that have 75-1 odds of happening (MUCH MORE on this later

11:00 AM EST: After a bucket and a half down for each of us at Mr. B's we head to WaWa because neither of us can go another second without downing a WaWa Ice Tea.

11:45 AM EST: After downing the WaWa, a 15-minute relaxation period, a 10 minute speech on how Mark Sanchez is the best QB in the NFL from Joe and my cousin (just arrived) it's out to the street to throw the football.

Now if you've never been on Joe's street, and I'm guessing 100% of you haven't. You should know that it's on a Lagoon and it contains a cold-a-sac (<---I'm not even spell checking that word). So in theory you would think that there would be no cars coming up or down and we would have the street to ourselves. Now, for some unforeseeable reason, EVERY SINGLE TIME we go out to play a sport, there is always a minimum of 20 cars that drive by. It's unbelievable. And the worst part is, it's un-solvable, kind of like global warming. I swear next time we are going to buy Road Closed signs. Now you know why we have dubbed his street, Highway Lagoon. I digress....

12:30 PM EST: We got alllll sorts of parents roaming the living room so it's very hard to place illegal bets down when you got rents' all over your case. But me being the experienced veteran, I get it done. Just for the record this was my bet: $5.00 to win $350.00

• GB -4
• Minn -4.5
• Broncos - WIN
• Dallas - 6.5
• Philly -2.5
• Seattle -7

12:45 PM EST: It's setting description time. Let me break it down like a fraction for you: OK we got the main TV with Direct TV Sunday Ticket. But that game will only see the Jets game because two die hard Jets fans are here. We bring in a second 36 inch flat screen (no big deal) to throw on the 1:00 FOX game and of course, it's my Cowboys. WaWa food, 2 TV's, Sunday Ticket, 3 laptops....it's gotta be September.

12:59 PM EST: Just barely get the fantasy lineup set. It's at this point that I think that I'm OK for this week. I'm playing my Uncle who was 2-766 last year and has only one year of fantasy experience under his belt. Little did I know this would not turn out well....

1:15 PM EST: Kind of a slow start for the games but all of sudden Mark Sanchez completes his first pass anddd......THE JETS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!! Jet's fans never cease to amaze me. They need a ring so bad, even worse than Eli Manning needs a receiver.

1:45 PM EST: Ummmmm. Carolina are you alive? I thought at first there was a mistake on my fantasy screen. I'm playing against the Eagles Defense and they have 27 points. IT'S NOT EVEN THE SECOND HALF!! I swear to god if this is how I lose week 1 in fantasy I'm going to lose my mind.

2:15 PM EST: Cowboys using all three running backs on the first couple series'. Love it. However, kind of a sluggish start for the Boys'. Adrian Peterson is a freak of nature, and that's an understatement. He might finish with 200.

2:30 PM EST: Halftime of the first half games. The Jets (gulp) are up 10-0 at half AT Houston. Cowboys lead, Vikings lead, Denver leads, and Philly is up 31-10. The stars may be aligning here.

2:45 PM EST: Just want to check in and let you know that the Eagles have now scored 33, I repeat 33 FANTASY POINTS!!! Jake Delhomme, just go home, don't ever return to the NFL. I'm down 88.36 - 24.45. I'm the two time defending champ. WOW.

3:15 PM EST: I may be conceding defeat in Week 1 of fantasy. Plus my cousin and Joe are dishing it to me because I'm getting shellacked. Great, I can feel the day starting to turn for the worse.

3:45 PM EST: I can't believe the Bengals are about to ruin my bet. Denver leading the whole game 6-0 and the Bengals are about to go in.

.....

And they're in. It's at this moment in time that I decided to use a few choice words that are not appropriate for publication. But it rhymed with, gluck you Cincinatti, and gluck Ochocinco because he's a Glucking glassbowl, I can't believe I'm going to glucking lose on a pullship play.

..Something like that.

3:48 PM EST: We switch back to the Jets game because we see that Denver basically lost......then I turned to my computer and saw that Denver was up 12-7. I said nah, that's impossible...it must be a mistake...

......and then we saw it.......

.....the MIRACLE PLAY OF WEEK 1.....

Kyle Orton drops back...throws a bomb to Brandon Marshal.l only to be tipped by a defender, and scooped out of the air like he was catching a bouquet, by Brandon Stokeley, for an 80 yard Touchdown. OH MY GOD....I can not believe that just happened. I retract my previous statement about the Bengals...I love them!

4:00 PM EST: Time to wrap up shop and head to my Grandparents for a birthday celebration. Eagles scored 43 Fantasy points against me. Sick. Cowboys win, jets win, Broncos win, Eagles win, Vikings win, Drew Brees throws 6 TDs. Now I just need Aaron Rodgers to throw 7 TDs tonight and Seattle to cover and I'll in fantasy and win my bet that I placed. Back later

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8:30 PM EST: I return after a glorious day of football, all the stars are aligning for this game here. I'm down 50 in fantasy and need GB to cover 4 and I'll win. Not to mention I have Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings in fantasy. Let's go.

9:00 PM EST: Very Very boring first quarter. Please god get better quick or else I'm going to have to watch the VMAs instead of just flipping for when Beyonce comes out half naked.

9:30 PM EST: Everyone's Facebook status is about Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift. Does anyone know there's football on.

9:45 PM EST: OK now there is a legit reason to not watch 10 minutes of the game. Beyonce just came out in a half bathing suit, half - nothing ensemble. This isn't fair. It's like watching your best fantasy player getting down to the 1 yard line and not getting in EVERY TIME (Deangelo cough). That's how I feel about Beyonce. You feel like you can just get so close but you know you will NEVER EVER EVER in your life have her. I digress.

10:30 PM EST: Aaron Rodgers is going to ruin my day. Ruin fantasy and ruin the bet. What a B.T.J.F. Big Time Jerk Face

11:30 PM EST: Now Green bay loses the lead and the cover. Jesus Christ. The only hope I have now is that Green Bay some how comes up with a miracle play in which they go for the TD instead of settling for the game winning field goal.

11:42 PM EST: AND IT HAPPENED!!! Rodgers to Jennings!!!!! and the 2PT conversion for the cover!!! Oh I LOVE THE NFL. Who cares about Fantasy when you win $350.00 opening weekend.

And on a final note.....OH THANK THE LORD FOR THE NFL!!!!!

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.