Now I’m not glad that another player got caught disgracing the great game of baseball, but I am glad that another prominent player got caught.  I am a huge Giants fan and have been appalled by the treatment that Barry Bonds has been receiving over the past few years.

In 2003 baseball started testing for steroids.  Those tests were to determine how wide spread the use of steroids were in baseball.  If more than 5% of tests came back positive then baseball would implement mandatory testing starting the following year.  Well in 2003 104 players tested positive and mandatory testing was implemented in 2004.

A-Rod’s test from 2003 (which was supposed to be anonymous) was one of the 104 positive for steroids and those results were leaked out to Sports Illustrated last week.  When asked to comment A-Rod replied that he was not going to talk about that and that the reporter needed to talk to the players union.

In 2007 Bud Selig commissioned the Mitchel Report to further determine the use of steroids in baseball.  In that report some major names in baseball were fingered as having used steroids; Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Barry Bonds and Miguel Tejada to name a few.

I no longer have to hear about how Bonds’ record is tainted and that in a few years it will be back in the hands of a “clean” player as most A-Rod fans and baseball purists have often been whispering in the recent past.  The use of steroids is rampant in baseball and unfortunately the past 15-20 years are going to go down as the steroid ERA.

The players of the ERA are not the only players that have used drugs to enhance their play though.  In the 40′ through the 90’s it is widely accepted that players used “greenies” or methamphetamine pills to get the energy to play a long arduous 162 game season.  Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays have all been rumored to use the drugs to keep going.

In any competition athletes will do whatever they deem necessary to get to the top.  Unfortunately many of them go down the road of illegal drug use.  Hopefully baseball is getting a handle on the use of performance enhancing drugs but there will always be people that think they can beat the system.  Most don’t think they will get caught but in the end they always do.

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Good day,

How are you doing my friend, great I guess. Now I know this email will definitely come to you as a huge surprise, but please kindly take your time to go through it carefully as the decision you make will probably go a long way to determine my future and continued existence. First, let me introduce myself. I am Capt. Jason Wright, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, Western Anbar Province in Iraq.

I am desperately in need of assistance and I have summoned up courage to contact you. I am presently in Iraq and I found your contact particulars in an address journal. I am seeking your assistance to evacuate the sum of $10,570,000 (Ten Million Five Hundred and Seventy Thousand USD) to the States or any safe country you may advise me on, as far as I can be assured that it will be safe in your care until I complete my service here. This is no stolen money and there are no dangers involved.

SOURCE OF MONEY:

Some money in various currencies was discovered and concealed in barrels with piles of weapons and ammunition at a location near one of Saddam Hussein’s old Presidential Palaces during a rescue operation and it was agreed by all party present that the money be shared amongst us. This might appear as an illegal thing to do but I tell you what? No compensation can make up for the risks we have taken with our lives in this hellhole. The above figure was given to me as my share and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a German contact working with the UN here (his office enjoys some immunity) I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot. He does not know the real contents of the package as he believes that it belongs to an American who died in an air raid, before giving up trusted me to hand over the package to his close relative.

I have now found a secured way of getting the package out of Iraq for you to pick up. I do not know for how long I will remain here, as I have been lucky to survive two suicide bomb attacks by Pure Divine intervention. This and other reasons put into consideration have prompted me to reach out for help. If it might be of interest to you then Endeavor to contact me and we would work out the necessary formalities but I pray that you are discreet about this mutually benefiting relationship.

For more details please contact me via my private box: captjwright@yahoo.co.uk

Respectfully,
Capt. Jason Wright.
United States Marine Corps. IRAQ.

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Christmas day was spent at the in-laws in which the kids made out like bandits and we had a great feast in the evening.  Between opening presents and the feast I snacked and napped alot.  On Friday I loaded up the clan and took off for my grandmother’s house up north for visiting with her as well as my sister and parents who came out for Christmas.

After a few days of visiting and eating it was time to come back down to Southern California.  Unfortunately right before I left my dad and I noticed a tear in my back driver’s side tire.  I already had a bulge in my front driver’s side tire so I figured I better get a couple tires so that I could make the 500 mile drive safely.  I went down to Pep Boys and after looking at the rest of the tire I figured it was better to get 4 new tires.  So $556 and two hours later we finally we got back on the road and headed back down.

My son will be arriving from Phoenix tomorrow and he will get his Christmas presents from me and the rest of the family.  We will spend a few days runnin around and doing what dads and 7 year old boys do (pretty much driving my wife crazy).

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Know affectionately to his teammates as “Freak” or the “Franchise” Tim Lincecum has won this award in just his second year as a Major League pitcher.  He won it by having a win/loss record of 18 and 5 with a 2.62 Earned Run Average and striking out 265 batters faced this year.  His strikeout numbers were first in the NL this year and his wins total and ERA were the second best in the league.

I had the pleasure of getting down to PetCo park in San Diego over the summer and watch young Timmy pitch against the Padres.  In the first game he pitched 8 innings and gave up 1 run for the win.  In the second game he pitched 7 innings and gave up one run but got a no-decision (although the Giants still won the game).

At only 5′11″ 160 lbs TImmy is not your prototypical power pitcher.  With mechanics that were learned from his father Timmy consistantly delivers the ball to the plate at over 95 MPH.  He becomes just the second pitcher in the Giants history to win the Cy Young and hopefully he wil continue to dominate the league as he has this year.  Timmy is one of the young players that will propel the Giants into contending for a World Series Title in the near future.

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Now let us hope that the second half of the puzzle is solved tomorrow night with the Tampa Bay Rays beating the Boston Red Sox.  Again not a Rays fan or a Sox fan but you have to cheer for the under dog here.  I mean the Rays beating out the Yankees and the Sox to win the Division was great for sure, but making it to the World Series would just be awesome.  Plus I am really tired of ESPN’s love affair with the Sox and Yankees and the Sox have been on top for awhile.

So here is to the Phillies for beating the hated Dodgers and to the Rays hoping they clinch.  Now this will most definately piss off the officials at Fox as they don’t think Philly V. Tampa Bay is not the ideal match-up for rating, but screw those guys let’s have some good baseball.

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On Saturday Kimbo fought a real MMA fighter in Seth Petruzelli after Ken Shamrock had to pull out due to the fact that he got a cut on his eye Friday afternoon.  Seth had been scheduled to fight earlier in the the night in a non-televised fight on the under card.  He was given the opportunity to take on Slice and gladly accepted it knowing that if he won it would be the biggest win of his career and catapult him straight to the top.

That is exactly what happened.  Kimbo came at him in a head down charge which Seth countered with a front kick and side step to the left while throwing a left jab that cut Kimbo above his right eye.  That one hit was enough to stun Kimbo and led to Seth beating the Crap out of him.  I hope that this is the end of the circus act that CBS and Elite XC have been trying to promote.  Let’s hope that they stick with real fights between trained fighters.  Below is the circus act fight.

Now a real fight between two trained fighters

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For those of you unaware baseball recently started using replay to verify HRs (fair or foul over the fence or not).  Well in the bottom of the 5th inning Bengie Molina launched a ball into right field that was originally called a single (they said it was off the wall and not over).  Bruce Bochy then substituted a pinch runner (Emmanual Burriss) in for Molina.  After the PR had been announced the umpires got together and discussed the call on the field about the single.

The Umpires conferred for awhile and decided to go into the replay room off field and look at reviews of the play in call.  After reviewing the hit ball it was determined that the ball was indeed over the wall and therefore a HR for Bengie Molina.  Seems pretty simple right.

Well is wasn’t that simple you see.  The umpires then gathered again and this is what they come up with on the issue of Burriss.  Now conventional wisdom would be that the pinch runner is void as the call was reversed Molina would never have been on first.  They decided that yes Bengie gets the homerun and the two Runs Batted In (RBIs) but he does not get credited with a run scored.  No they said that Burriss had officially enetered the game and that he gets the run scored.  So in one play we have Molina with a HR and 2 RBI, Burriss with a run scored, and Sandoval (he was on base when Bengie hit the HR) also gets a run scored.

This has got to be the most bizarre scoring on a play that I have ever seen.  Also First time I have seen a guy hit a HR and not get credit with a run scored.

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I have been working on my anaerobic activity my burst speed so to speak.  As far as the running thing I have been doing sprints from between 100m to 1/4 mile (1 lap on most tracks).  I start with a 1/4 mile balls out sprint on the track.  I then take a moment an catch my breath I then do a series of shorter sprints up to about 6-8 total.  This is going to help me with the 1/2 mile boots and utes run that starts the CFT.

As far as preparing for the ammo can lift and the movement under fire or whatever it is called course I have been doing the kettlebell workout at the gym.  For those of you unfamiliar with kettlebells let me tell you what they are.  They are a piece of iron that looks like an old school cast iron with a handle that come in a variety of sizes from 5lbs to 100lbs (at my gym anyway).  I have seen kettlebells at all the gyms that I have visited on MCB Camp Pendleton and there is also a poster with a suggested workout on it.

I use the poster with suggested exercises that is at the gym that I go to.  I do 10 of the 12 exercises on the poster (I don’t do the snatch and squat because I have a bum shoulder and I don’t do the last because I can’t figure it out).  The exercises include around the world, figure 8’s, cleans, Snatch, lunges and some variations on those exercises.  I usually do 10 repetitions per exercise (on each side if that is the case) and use a bell between 25 and 30 Lbs (it is more than you think).  I go through the exercises two times each and at the end I am completely spent.  The entire workout takes less than 30 minutes.  The workout I get is far better than a run or even from a regular go to the gym and throw steel around bodybuilding type workout.  For the more advanced kettlebeller here are some more advanced exercises.

Why Kettlebells you ask?

• Accelerates the development of all-purpose strength—to easily handle the toughest and most unexpected demands
• Boosts your physical resilience
• Builds your staying power (endurance)
• Ensures the correct blend of strength with flexibility—because strength that fails to reach is impotent
• Hacks your fat off—without the dishonor of dieting and aerobics
• Builds functional strength
• Easy and portable

Everyone that I have introduced to the kettlebell workout on the poster at the gym has been beat down by the workout just as I was the first time I did it.  Everyone will benefit from the hardcore gym rat that lifts every day all the way to the guy who stays away from the gym as they think lifting is a waste of time.  I have used it for those Marines that are on weight control to shred the fat from their bodies to the skinny weak guy to build strength.  While I don’t think that any one workout is the answer to a person’s physical needs I do believe that kettlebells will compliment everyone’s workout making them better all around.  I believe that if you workout with kettlebells you will do just fine on the CFT

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)—Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player— too good, it turns out.

The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.

Are you kidding me?  They are not going to let a kid play ball because he is throwing the ball past their kids.  That sounds crazy to me.  Yesterday I wrote an article about the Little League World Series and how the kids that play Little League are playing for the love of the game and that the game is bigger than any single player.  Obviously some parents (obviously in New Haven) do not agree with me.

League officials have said that Jericho cannot pitch in the league and that his team will be dissolved with the players on his team being spread out amongst the other 7 teams in the league.  This is obviously a ploy by the parents of the other teams because they cannot stand to see their kids getting beat by another 9 year old.

There are rumblings by the parents of young Jericho that the reason he is being singled out is not because he throws 40+ MPH, but because he turned down an offer from the defending champions team to join them and instead joined another team.  Coincidentally the team is sponsored by an employer of one of the league’s administrators.  Sounds like some adults have their panties in a bunch because their precious boys got denied by the best player in the league.

So this kid throws a baseball just over 40 MPH.  That isn’t that fast for a 9 year old as those in the LLWS (11-12 yr olds) are throwing in the mid 60’s to mid 70’s.  This kid is also showing outstanding command as he has not hit a single batter in the league this year.  There are definately different and better ways the league could handle this situation:

•  First and foremost the officials could man up and see that this kid is a real talent and let him pitch in the league. 
• Second they could move him up an age level where that speed would be the norm and still let him compete.

There is no way in hell that parents and league officials should be trying to kill the dream of a talented 9 year old boy who has obviously found something that he is good at.  Not only is it unethical to suggest that he play other positions and not pitch it is just plain wrong.  And then to dissolve the team that he is on when the coach puts him on the mound is a travesty.  Not only are they punishing him now they are punishing a whole team of 9 year olds that want to play a game they love. 

This is all about parents who believe that winning is the only thing that matters when their kids play a game.  These are the type of parents that we hear about every once in awhile who go to blows in the stands when their kid gets beat by another kid.  These guys are so upset by their short comings that they cannot stand it that their kids are not the best.  That the best kid in the league turned them down was a direct attack on them so they must do whatever they can do to keep him from beating their kids and thus beating them. 

These parents cannot accept that they are not Major Leaguers or NFL, or NBA, of NHL stars that they believe that if all obstacles are removed from their child’s lives then they will be the best and thus will make it where they couldn’t.  Now as most of us know the only way to become the best is to play against the best.  These guys just don’t realize that by excluding the best pitcher in the league from competing against their kids that not only are they serving an injustice against Jericho Scott they are also injusticing their own by not allowing them to compete against the best competition that is out there.  Hopefully this travesty can be rectified and this kid will be allowed to beat down the opposition.

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The Olympics

During the past two weeks the world’s best have competed against each other in all kinds of sports, competitions, and athletic challenges.  The US won a total of 110 medals led by insane Michael Phelps who won a record 8 gold medals in the pool.  Both the Men’s and Women’s teams dominated the world on the basketball courts by winning the golds in both contests.  Both of our beach volleyball teams won as was expected.

Unfortunately in all the glory and great stories for the US in the the Olympics there were disappointments as well.  Both the men’s and women’s 4×100 sprint relays were disqualified in the early rounds when they dropped the baton.  The USA softball team lost its first game since the 2000 Olympics in the championship game to take home silver.  We only won one medal at all in boxing and that was a bronze again not a familiar place for the American boxers to be.  Props to the Jamaicans showing that they can run winning the Gold in the men’s 100M dash and all three medals in the women’s.  Samuel Wanjiru of Kenys won the Marathon. 

Now the bad; Angel Valodia the Cuban Taekwondo specialist was banned for life after kicking a referee because he didn’t agree with the call.  Ara Abrahamian of Sweden was stripped of his bronze medal in greco roamn wrestling after protesting his 3rd place medal by placing the medal on the mat after the medal ceremony.  Six athletes have been caught (so far) doping the lowest number in years.  And the Chinese women’s gymnasts are still under suspicion of being under age.

Now we must wait 4 more years for the summer games and hopefully in 2112 London can put on a show as good as Beijing has in 2008.

Little League World Series

Sunday also saw the championship game of the Little League World Series (LLWS) in Williamsport Pa.  The LLWS is a true world series in which 8 teams from around the world compete against each other while 8 teams from the US compete against each other for the right to play each other in the championship game.

This year the respective teams were Mexico for the world and Hawaii for the US.  Hawaii brought the championship home for the US for the 4th straight year by beating Mexico 12-3 in the 6 inning contest (regulation little league game).

It is great to watch sporting events like these where the competitors are playing and competing for the love of the game and not for the money and endorsements.  Sure the men’s basketball team are all professionals but this team was hell bound to bring home the gold after the US was embarrassed at the last Olympics in winning the bronze.  The athletes in the Olympics and the LLWS are truly there for the love of the sport that they are competing in and representing their country.

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