Eight-Five en espanol

Ever since I can recall, the New England Patriots have been selling out games. In fact, since the day Robert Kraft bought the team, there hasn't been a game in Foxboro, MA that hasn't been sold out. Pats fans have showed up by thousands every Sunday in the autumn and winter for their beloved Patriots games. Tickets have been so hard to come by since Bobby bought the team. Season tickets are essentially holding the single-game ticket holders hostage. The waiting list before Super Bowl XXXVI was already at ten years. I don't even want to know what the wait is 3 Super Bowls, a first ballot Hall of Fame QB and arguably the best football mind since Lombardi later. Years. Decades.

The northeast is littered with upper middle class workers. Law Firms, banks and major investment companies are present throughout Massachusetts, Connecticutt and New York. We have the money to fill stadiums every week.

This is not the case for other areas of the United States. Teams like the Lions, Falcons and most recently the Bengals have a weekly problem filling their stadium to capacity. Times are tough all over the world but in these particular cities in the US, people are having trouble making it to see their team. At least 8 Sundays a year, an NFL will grace their home turf. In case you didn't know, their are 52 weeks in a year. If this isn't evidence of the economic tsunami we are in, I dont' know what is.

No fear Bengals fans. Here comes your favorite cell phone carrier Motorola and your favorite loud mouthed wide out, Chad OchoCinco. They have reported bought 1200 tickets for this Sunday's game against the Texans for the game to be broadcasted. I dont' want to hear another boo directed at this man. He may be the most selfish and egotistical player in the NFL but he has proven to us that he has a heart for his team's fanbase.

The MLB Championship Series

The Championship Series begins this weekend with the New York Yankees facing off against the LA Angels of Anaheim. In a similar East vs. West Coast match up, the Philadelphia Phillies will be opposing the LA Dodgers. Two LA teams and another two teams a Tiger Woods drive apart.

Rooting interests in these games are certainly going to the Angels. Are you really going to root against a team who lost one of, if not their best, young pitching prospect due to a tragic car accident? It got a little misty-eyed in the Lynch household when they all went out to his graphic in center field after they clinched the postseason.

(Yes I am a Red Sox fan but even if the Minnesota Twins were somehow able to pull the upset against the Yankees, I would have a hard time cheering for them. This Angels team has not forgotten about Nick Adenhart. He was a young kid that had so much potential. He was their teammate and the amount of time he was on their team is insignificant.)

The pitching rotation for the Angels is absolutely stacked. I would argue more so than the Yankees. Lackey and Weaver absolutely dominated the dormant Red Sox bats during the division series. They each allowed one earned run in just under seven innings of work. But this Yankees lineup has much more offensive potential than the Red Sox. The one-two punch of Teixera and Arod is being touted as a modern day Ruth-Gehrig. Hard to argue. Especially with Arod finally finding his postseason swagger.

My prediction: Yankees in 6

A rematch from last year's postseason has the Dodgers and Phillies facing off. Great matchup on paper. But I loath both of these teams.

Let me explain...

Manny Ramirez. He was on the Red Sox. He quit on the Red Sox. He is the reason we did not make it past those damn Devil Rays in the 2008 ALCS. He is now on the Dodgers. He is dead to me. He is responsible for the downfall of Big Papi. He single handedly ruined our entire season.

Does that make sense?

The Phillies...I can handle. Their fans...absolutely not. Any fan base that uses inanimate objects (i.e. towels, horns, rally monkeys, sticks) has already guaranteed themselves a seat on bandwagon row. The word of mouth and chant is so much more demoralizing to a player on the opposing team. It doesn't help that most of these fans share the same rooting interest in the Eagles. (Or as I like to call them...Sheagles.) Also, I have this wicked tool of a friend who likes the Phillies and I would be damned to see him jump around like a Sally if the Phillies were to defend their title.

My prediction: Phillies in 7

The Pilot

I tried to write something that was intelligent and meaningful for my first blog post but I realized I shouldn't force something that doesn't come naturally to me. Writing comes naturally to me. Sports comes naturally to me. Pop culture, films, music, amongst other things, also come naturally to me. The one thing that does not is writing something that I am not fully vested in.

So, as I sit in my corner cubicle at work, I am mulling over something relevant. Nothing really comes to mind. I continue to revert back to one of my college classes where the class would free write for ten minutes before each class. Stimulating the mind for a more engaging and interactive experience during class. Similar to the blot tests done during psychiatric exams.

"What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you see this picture?"

Do those actually work? I have always wondered what they actually prove to be true about the participant. Then again I am no doctor or psychologist so I am in no position to criticize a proven method of practice.

So as I get more accustom to blogging and attaching videos, pictures, links, etc to my page I hope my blog will become more engaging and entertaining.