Are You Ready For Some Football?

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

For those of you checking in for the Hazies - I was watching the Cowboys and Saints tonight. So this week's Hazies will be published tomorrow.

If you are a member of Red Sox Nation - the subject line was all about the game tonight and had nothing to do with Red Sox dropping another today to the Yankees. Speaking of today's game, while the Sox hopes of winning the A.L. East may have went up in smoke with the sweep - they are not out of the Wild Card race. With the way they have been playing over the last few weeks, it may be tough making a case that they can overtake both the White Sox and the Twins...remember one thing Red Sox Nation, the Red Sox have one intangible that the White Sox and Twins don't have - Hazel Karma! Keep the faith gang - Hazel won't let you down...she'll do something on Red Sox Rewind to give them a little bit of good karma.

The big news from the NFL this past weekend was that Chris Mortensen of ESPN and Peter King of SI were both speculating that Dallas Cowboys' coach Bill Parcells was considering making backup QB Tony Romo the starter over Drew Bledsoe in Big D. I wasn't buying it for a second - come on gang, we are talking about Bill Parcells here; New England Patriots fans know what Parcells is all about.

Parcells may have mentioned this to both Mortensen and King, but it was simply to deflect attention from the ongoing saga of Terrell Owens. Parcells has always favoured veterans over young, unproven players - to suggest that Parcells would go with an untested and inexperienced Romo over a proven vet like Bledsoe is nuts. Parcells did what he does best - deflect attention from controversial issues on his team, and directing them to non-issues - he knows the media likes to speculate. The media couldn't get Parcells to go off on Owens this pre-season...so Parcells played with them a bit by giving them a story about his QBs. Its called a red herring gang - this could be Parcells last season, he isn't going to go out with questions about choosing Romo over Bledsoe...it isn't going to happen.

Speaking of Bledsoe - his performance tonight should be enough to end speculation about who is going to line up under center when Dallas opens up against Jacksonville. Bledsoe made all the throws, made the right reads and made the right decisions ; when the throws weren't quite there, he had playmakers step up and make him look good. Terry Glenn's TD catch was unbelievable - Hazel had to have spoken about that catch tonight on SportsDesk. Glenn is serving notice that he isn't going to take a back seat to Owens this year - together these two are going to be deadly. Sam Hurd, who is being schooled by Terrell, is making a case for a spot on the team by making a great catch in the 2nd quarter for a TD.

One other note about the Cowboys game tonight - DeMarcus Ware ate Reggie Bush up tonight. Bush was inside the 10 and tried to juke Ware out and cut back inside to head in for a TD. Ware stopped on a dime and pulled Bush down (the Saints ended up turning the ball over after missing a 4th down conversion). DeMarcus Ware is a monster out there.

Are you ready for some football? Hazel, if K.C. ends up biting the big one this year - I've got a seat saved for you on the Cowboys' bandwagon as we head to the big show this year. Its time for the sixth Super Bowl.

Big news out of Toronto - the Jays blow a second inning 8-0 lead to Oakland and manager John Gibbons takes a shot to the nose for his troubles. Yes, your favourite fighting manager John Gibbons chased Ted Lilly down into the tunnel after he pulled Lilly tonight (they had a heated discussion on the mound) - Rogers Sportsnet and TSN are reporting that a fight ensued and Lilly popped Gibbons, leaving the manager with a bloody nose.

What's wrong with this guy? Did Gibbons think that Lilly was going to pull a Hillenbrand and NOT fight him? John Gibbons, the Chickenhawk's man, is proving to be a joke of a manager...bush league. But then again, look at who is biggest backer is? The manager challenges his players to fights - the GM calls out his best players (ignoring the terrible off-season signings he made); no wonder this team is in shambles. Mr. Godfrey, it is time to blow this thing up and pull the plug on both of these jokers. Hazel, if you still a Blue Jays fan...its time to officially make the move over to Red Sox Nation...or "Red Sox WEST Nation"...we'd love to have you on the Big Blue bandwagon.

For those of you keeping track of the Hazelspeeps Fantasy Baseball Pool on Yahoo - the big news it that the gap is shrinking. Renee, who ended her self-imposed exile last week, is moving up the standings and challenging yours truly for 3rd place. Things are tightening up and there might actually be a race after all. This week's standing for the week ending August 20th.


82.5 - The Bronx Zoo - owned by Sparky. Who introduced himself to the yahoo board by calling me out last week...issue resolved, its all good now.

68.5 - Shuggysux - owned by Pogue (the other Pogue) who is still hanging on 2 moves this year - and still the leading candidate for league MVP....MAYBE

67.5 - Hazel Mae's Hackers - owned by El Presidente (me) who was slapped around by Renee a little bit last week - but seemingly out of the doghouse...for now.

63.5 - Naughty Girls - owned by Renee who is quietly working the waiver wire to jump over her "buddy"...guess who? Oh yeah...and she likes Eric Hinske - grrrrrrr

55.0 - Tom Sawyer - owned by Hubie who still hasn't started an English Premier League pool on the yahoo site; but is considering a trip up north to meet El Presidente for beer at the Rogers Centre when the Sox come to town.

52.0 - Tina's Team - owned by Tina who has been pretty quiet - but found enough time to register for the Hazel Mae Football pool on yahoo.

50.0 - GB Steam Boys - owned by George who came back to the yahoo group with his insightful thoughts on the current plight of the Red Sox.

43.0 - Fighting Bobcats - owned by Commish Drisc who has yet to accept his new title as a "member of the Junta" on Hazelspeeps.

42.0 - Banana Peels - owned by the Golden Banana who has been quiet after working the wires trying to trade his entire roster.

26.0 - Leprachauns - owned by Irish.

There you have it gang. A Monday recap that didn't include the Hazies...but if they did - a few Dallas Cowboys would be lining up to shake hands with Hazel. Have a great one peeps.

Hazel, I hope things are groovy in your world.

Song of the Night on Hazelspeeps - a dedication from Renee to the Red Sox as they head West (yes I think she checks in her...but shhhh don't tell anyone).

Somebody Save Me - Cinderella (hey, its RENEE's call).

Peesth Out...Buh Bye!