COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLLS

The college season is upon us. Can fall be far behind? It seems that the three polls, the AP, USA Today Polls and the ESPN.com Power Ranking poll all pretty much agree. The interesting thing is if you go down beyond the top five selected, Georgia and Florida State come up exactly the same, along with Michigan, South Carolina and Arkansas. who almost came up the same.

The football season seems a little strange without Ohio State and Penn State not being up their in the rankings, for obvious reasons. When will Notre Dame and Georgia Tech come back to glory? Brigham Young and Missouri also seem conspicuous in their absence.

If I had to pick my own poll, I would definitely pick LSU to be top dog in any poll, but injuries, academic achievement and actual play will decide the final outcome.

AP POLL

TEAM                                    RECORD                  PTS

1USC (25)                                  0-0                        1445

2Alabama (17)                           0-0                        1411

3LSU (16)                                  0-0                        1402

4Oklahoma (1)                           0-0                        1286

5Oregon(1)                                 0-0                        1286

USA TODAY POLL

1LSU (18)                                 0-0                        1403

2Alabama (20)                          0-0                        1399

3USC (19)                                 0-0                        1388

4Oklahoma                               0-0                        1276

5Oregon                                    0-0                        1258

ESPN.com POWER RANKINGS

1USC                                       0-0                        483

2LSU                                       0-0                        482

3Alabama                                0-0                        463           

4Oklahoma                              0-0                        423

5Oregon                                   0-0                        422

That’s all I wrote, folks!

WINDING DOWN THE YEAR

The dog days of August are about over for baseball. Trading deadlines, waivers and call-ups are just about set, and where do we stand with it all. There are some surprises such as Philadelphia and Miami being big busts, and some no surprises such as the Mets annual collapse and the Yankees holding on to first place.

A lot of money was invested in players who did not perform well enough to warrant the contracts they signed, leaving teams in poor positions and bad shape. Loria of the newly minted Miami Marlins, with Jose Reyes and all the acquisitions they did get proved to be a disaster. Makes one wonder if the whole front office is gone by December and replaced by new people.

The Phillies have to be unhappy how they fell free falling out of the National League East from contention. They did lose a lot of the key players to free-agency, the parts that made them whole are gone. The Nationals, after recruiting some of the best talent in drafts, trading for some of it, and signing on free agents seem to be the talk of the Majors, and could be World Series contenders. The talent is all young, very talented and look like they will dominate for years to come. But that can also fall apart in a hurry, nothing is forever.

Yankee GM Cashen

The Yankees are supposed to be too old, with a suspect bullpen, yet they bludgeon you to death in their ballpark, ‘Homerun Paradise’ home of the Bronx Bombers. Jeter has had a fantastic year, and now I wonder if he had any help. Just saying.

The White Sox look formidable and so do the Texas Rangers once again. Detroit is in the mix and may still pull it out with Prince Fielder. The Angels had won it all in March when they signed Albert Pujols, but so far second place in a division race is as good as last place, if you don’t qualify for the playoffs. Speaking of big surprises, the Cincinnati Reds look like they will make for an interesting playoff and even dare I say: World Series. You have to admire the job the Orioles front office and owner did this season especially retaining Bucky Showalter who I think is one of the best managers in baseball.

If there was one team that felt the ouch so to speak in free-agency, besides the NY Mets losing Jose Reyes, it has to be the St. Louis Cardinals loss of Albert Pujols. But they did get Carlos Beltran, who is having a better season than Pujols. The Cards always seem to surprise the world and this season may not be any different.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

AROUND THE BLOGS

A report that the Sacramento Kings are planning to have talks with Virginia Beach, Virginia to consider a new stadium and relocation of the franchise. The Kings deny it but the Hampton Roads Business Journal in Norfolk reported the team plans to come to Virginia Beach on Tuesday (Yesterday) for just such talks. As you know, the New Jersey Nets are now called the Brooklyn Nets and are officially moved into Barclay Arena in Brooklyn. Their value as a franchise has shot up dramatically with the move to New York City. Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms would not comment on the Kings but did say some meetings will take place.

"Comcast, Live Nation and Global Spectrum (a Comcast-owned stadium operator) have come to the city. They would guarantee us a professional sports team (if a deal goes through)." he told the Business Journal. Comcast told CBS13 through a spokesperson that it would not comment until after Tuesday's meetings.

As far as the Nets, they will be worth about 60% more than was estimated by Forbes Magazine last season according to a report by the New York Post.

“As the Nets gear up for the first season in the soon-to-be-completed Barclays Center, the team is now worth roughly $575 million, according to one sports investment banker. That’s 60 percent more than they were valued just last season by Forbes….

The Nets are projected to generate $140 million in revenue and earn between $10 million and $15 million in profit, a source with direct knowledge said. Last year, the NBA franchise took in half that amount and lost nearly $30 million.”

Nets’ owner and Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s stake in the team is worth double what it was when he bought it, according to the New York Post.

The real money is in the Brooklyn Yards development — the residential and retail that will go up around the Barclays Center, that will be the new home of the Brooklyn Nets. Prokhorov and former Nets owner Bruce Ratner will realize huge profits from this move.

Virginia Beach is a great community and has been growing quickly in the past 20 years. The addition of an NBA team calling it home will only benefit the area, and probably increase the value of the Kings overall.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

METS HAVE THE LEAGUE JUST WHERE THEY WANT THEM!

It is getting really funny now. The New York Mets are getting so bad that the stink is attractive. Someone should tell the players that they have to play 9 innings and up to 162 games a year, that is in their contract. The fact that they don’t play offense, or defense, and can’t pitch doesn’t preclude them from trying to. Besides, they have that nice new ballpark and pretty hats to wear, and I’m sure a great buffet for after the game.

The explanation is that the Mets have no offense: I find that hard to believe! The relief pitching has been extremely offensive all season long. The defense, use to be ok, is now very offensive, and the hitting… well, offensive.

Since ’07, the Mets considered the Philadelphia Phillies the team to beat, and this season is no different. The Mets were moving along right up to the All-Star break when they had a few days off and noticed that the Phillies had gone the other way, to last place. They discovered they can do something better than the Phillies after all: lose! As of this writing they have finally succeeded, and if they can hang on long enough, and not win too many more games, they can even claim all of last place once again.

Mr. Wilpon

Of course Mets fans are the big losers, since they pay to watch the unwatchable, root for the unrootable, and die with the unlivable team called the New York Mets. Of course we all know who to lay this mess on, the ever-loving Wilpons, who can’t seem to see the writing on the wall, that they can’t win because they don’t know how. The greatest city in the world with the greatest fans, can't catch a break when it comes to the Mets.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

AN INTERSTING POINT

Rick Sutcliff of ESPN recently made an interesting point about Melky Cabrera and the fact that he broke the Major League rules on steroids and drugs, and that is: Why is he still here?

Cabrera is in the United States form the Dominican Republic on a worker’s visa. That means as long as he has a job and upholds the law he can stay in the USA, and now he is on a 50 game suspension and has also broken the law.

If this was a below the minimum wage worker from the Dominican Republic and he was out of work living her on a worker’s visa, he would be out of here so fast his head would spin! Why is Cabrera allowed to stay?

This seems to be the problem once again that I whine about continuously about fat contracts and the business end of baseball. No one in the Majors wants to punishment enough to make it worthwhile, so the guy gets away with what he’s done.  %0 days lost wages at his salary level will not cause a little Cabrera to go to bed hungry, so there are no real consequences for his actions except some time off.

Let’s keep the sport clean, toss out of the country those who break our laws and those who are citizens, toss from the rolls of baseball, once and for all times. Maybe they will all get a better idea with what it means to play by the rules, and not cheat. Maybe if their cow dries up they can be a shining example to other would-be cheaters as to what happens when they are caught cheaing.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

I MAY BE WRONG BUT…

Are the New York Yankees looking over their shoulders? Do they hear footsteps behind them? Will they hear those same steps fading away in front of them? As of this writing, 4 games ahead is not that big a lead, especially when you consider they had a 10 game lead.

Injuries have invaded their plan for the season’s campaign, but all teams have that. This is not a two-team race, but a three-team race between the Yankees, Baltimore and Tampa Bay. Baltimore is only 5 games off the pace. One bad series against either the Rays or Orioles and the Yankees are in serious trouble, and even if they beat one of the two contenders, the other is unlikely to allow that opportunity to slip away!

Nova is pitching like a fallen star instead of a comet, CC Sabathia comes and goes, his era is almost 4.0 for an ace starter and you wonder about the rest of the staff. (9 of the 11 players are on the 60-day disabled list,) and it is amazing how the Yankees stay on top!

Their bats with or without A-Rod will bludgeon you to death, and so that keeps them winning. I hear Yankee fans voice dissatisfaction with some of the decisions Girardi makes and so it goes.

If the Yankees fall from first and miss the playoffs, this will not be the collapse of any magnitude other than the injuries on the Yankees and talents of other teams catching up with the Yankees. Keep your eyes opened for the fall, it could happen.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

KNICKS/NETS AND NYC

The NBA season hasn’t even started yet, in fact neither has training camp, yet the two teams form New York city are at it! This makes for a wonderful rivalry, as the Nets try to establish their brand in Brooklyn.

Relocating the Nets to Brooklyn will really make it a true NY rivalry as strong as the Yankees/Mets, Giants/Jets and Rangers/Islanders. This is New York, and this is what the sport of basketball needs.

It doesn’t hurt that the new boss Mikhail Prokhorov is publicly challenging James Dolan tfor the supremacy of the city, but now even the Net players will do it also. Rather than look at this as being big mouthed or obnoxious, think of the Nets ploy as being a good marketing move for the team. It makes sense since the Nets have been in and out of NY like an Amtrak train form Boston to Philadelphia.

Mikhail Prokhorov has been tweaking the Knicks since he erected that billboard across the way form Madison Square Garden. It is just the thing that makes the hated James Dolan take notice and start making smart decisions for a change. Letting Lin go, the hiring of Isaiah Thomas fiasco, the firing of Mike D’Antonio and Donnie Walsh, the interference with the New York Jets building a stadium in Manhattan, and some of the very questionable player decisions he has made through the course of his stewardship.

Unlike the Mets/Yankees and Jets/Giants, the Nets/Knicks will be a rivalry a little like the old Brooklyn Dodgers/New York Giants days of the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, in that they will play each other a number of times through the course of the season. How innovative the Nets are and how well they play on the hardwood should prove interesting and exciting.

The most ink the two teams will get is who they go after in the free agency market and for how much and who they steal form each other. The 6’8” Russian Prokhorov has the money to compete, being a billionaire.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

I REST MY CASE

Cabrera

The recent revelations about Melky Cabrera, and my blog of a few days ago about doping seem to reinforce my feeling that ballplayers are being compensated way too much money. The doping is not for better stats, but for more money.

That a player can hire someone to create a web site and make up a phony drug and expect to get away with it boggles the mind. This is a great ruse to use to try to fool the system, be arrogant enough to think you can do this without repercussions and the stupidity to think that no one will question you after you are caught.

Playing baseball used to be n honor, and I can’t help thinking that it is no longer a sport, but indeed a business. The players of today do not love the game: they are in it for the money and the money only. Not even glory takes a side anymore. The days of Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron are forever gone. The idea of displaying your skills in a competitive fashion where everyone is natural is no longer evident.  Today’s players are desperate, money hungry and self centered. There is no longer the concept of team employed anywhere. But when did this all change.

Flood

There is one name I can point to that changed forever the face of baseball, ruining it and making it a business, and no matter how hard you can argue against this the truth still stares you in the face. The name of Curt Flood and the baseball union have destroyed the game. The idea of free agency has made baseball what it is, a business and nothing more or less.

Since a player can shop himself around, he prepares for it with steroids to boost his bargaining power, and once he lands that contract, seems to somehow lose his ability to play the game at the level he promised. Too many teams are locked into long term extravagant contracts that leave the ballplayer rich, the owner stuck and the fan paying for the whole mess in his ticket.

What normal kid can go to the ballpark on a Saturday to watch their local team on a major league level? That used to be the case, that was baseball as I knew it. No kid: unless he steals it or his parents have plenty of money can go off and watch his team play. Where are the cheap seats in ballparks for the kids to purchase a ticket and watch their hero play?

And what impact on the integrity of the game has drugs and or steroids on the record books? How honest since the 1970’s are the records? How many records are tainted with steroid use by these greedy bums, who without baseball would be homeless cretins living on the dole?

Thank you Curt Flood. You have singlehandedly ruined the game, you have enlisted the likes of Marvin Miller and tied the hands of baseball, and you have created muscle bound imbeciles who don’t know how good they had it until the morons are caught, where they then boldly lie about it.

But the dopers that allow themselves the steroid use and also contributed, as did the trainers and agents who all profit from the ugliness.

If there is one group that has helped mightily to destroy the game it is the agents. They stand to gain on the backs of these sheep that follow each other to destruction based on a percentage of the contracts they negotiate.

Boras

Baseball should throw out the unions, the owners and the agents like Scott Boras, along with the stupid players and start over again. Make it day one, who knows, maybe a fan hungry for the game to come back will support it.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

PEYTON’S PLACE AND A LITTLE LUCK

Not since the days of John Elway have the Denver Broncos been this excited at the start of a season. Oh they had excitement last season with Tebow and Tebowmania, but it came on slowly as they got into the pre-season.

PEYTON MANNING

It has been since the mid-nineties that Denver has been exciting from the get go. I guess you can owe all that excitement to one Peyton Manning. It was the decision to cut the ties with the legendary quarterback and rebuild the Indianapolis Colts and a poor showing in 2011 to qualify for a #1 pick.

Now comes the interesting part, the comparison between the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts and the strategies they have put in motion for this upcoming season. Will Peyton coming off of neck surgery and a layoff of 1 year be as good as he’s been known to be, or will he wear out after 4 neck surgeries as it is and the layout coupled with age.

ANDREW LUCK

Then there is the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have gambled by letting Manning go, and revamping their team over a #1 draft pick. How well will it work for the Colts? Coach Pagano has penciled in Andrew Luck as #1 on the depth chart. Along with Fleener and Allen in the offensive positions working with a rookie QB like Luck should bring some excitement to the game in Indy. Can the team bring it to the post-season? The rest of the offense is fairly solid with veteran WR Reggie Wayne’s experience.

The Broncos with Manning have a club that if they had a better QB last season may have gone a lot further than Tim Tebow took them. The team is loaded with solid starters with a minimum 2 years experience. The trick will be the offensive line protecting 15-year veteran Manning. He is old by most standards and will need a few games just to get acclimated to the pros once more.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

JUST SAYING

In ’09 when Rex Ryan took over for the Jets as head coach, he inherited a team that marched to the very edge of the Super Bowl, and with that same team followed up in ’10 by doing the very same thing. Then ’11 reared its ugly head and they were an abysmal flop of a team going 8-8 for the season and missing the playoffs. In all three seasons Ryan made bold predictions and became the sweetheart of the media. After his flop of ’11, the press has suddenly turned on him.

Mark Sanchez

In watching the pre-season, particularly against the Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants, the Jets truly embarrassed themselves with poor timing, and bad play making and management. Although the game has no meaning except to get the team in playing condition, the Jets weren’t anywhere near ready to play that game on the same level as the Giants! The difference was like night and day and I begin to wonder about the coaching.

Tim Tebow

It is important to have a team prepared to play under any circumstance, and it is equally important if you are a NFL team to be ready as a pro on an equal level as your opponent, the Jets were not. What gives?

The team has been called a circus, and Ryan has lost favor of players and coaches around the league. The opposition has heard enough about the Jets and the Giants to their credit, don’t respond, they just go out and beat the Jets. Just reference last Christmas Eve and this past pre-season game to see what I’m saying.

I think Ryan as a coach is a good coach when he is involved, when he is not, the team falls off its potential. The team has confused things by bringing in Tebow, and I wonder if it wasn’t done to offset the Giants off-season glow of their miracle Super Bowl win? Sanchez is the starting quarterback, or is he? Sanchez is the leader, or is he? How do you build confidence in a young man like Sanchez by bringing in a high-profile player like Tebow and expect the team to jump whole-heartedly behind Sanchez? Every quarterback has his ups and downs in a season, all of them, Sanchez in his youth will have many, but the thing about leadership is to command the respect of those that follow you, and Jets took that away from Sanchez when they took on Tebow. If they brought in a veteran QB behind Sanchez, I think people would understand that and say that Sanchez will learn from the veteran, but Tebow may not have the talent that Sanchez has and will develop in the future, especially with a team that is willing to follow him to the fires of hell and the ends of the earth.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

TAMPA BAY, NEW YORK JETS DOWN IN THE DEMPS

Silver medalist and world-class sprinter Jeff Demps has signed on with the New England Patriots. The undrafted former Florida running back was not drafted because he wanted to focus on his track career. The Olympics were calling and Demps spotted silver on his resume’

Demps football agent confirmed that he had interested the Buccaneers and Jets, who seemed to hesitate, and the Patriots just swooped right in and signed him. If you ever wonder why the New England club is a constant winner, it is because of signings like Demps and the hesitation of other teams.

Demps earned the Olympic silver medal in the 4x100 relay as part of the U.S. team that finished second to Jamaica at the Olympics.

''Good with the ball, good speed, caught the ball OK, a little bit undersized,'' Caserio said. ''Florida has had a track record of some pretty good football players that have come out of there. But any time we go into a school, we'll look at everybody regardless of whatever their circumstance is.''

Demps college career is highlighted by the fact that he had 2,470 career yards rushing and 23 touchdowns in four seasons with the Gators, averaging 28.8 yards a return and also won multiple national championships in track and field. Demps played in 51 games at Florida. The 5-foot-7, 191-pounder finished his career with 367 carries and a 6.7-yard average.

''Obviously, he wants to get to work,'' Rose said earlier this week. ''He had some commitments he had to finish up with the Olympics, and we've been very honest and open with the teams. Now, that's all over with and he can go to sleep and wake up Thursday morning and focus on football.''

''He's speed, the NFL is about speed and there's so much you can do with a guy like that if used correctly. He could be a kick returner, slot receiver, stuff like that. There’s gadget plays teams can come up with.”  Rose said.

Most teams have a player or two like Demps. Some make it big and some don’t. The fact to the matter is that every team wants to find lightning in a bottle, and Demps would be just that. He is an athlete: he could excel on kick-off returns, wild cat formations and even be dangerous in the red zone. I think it is an excellent move by the Patriots that will help them win their division once again.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

IT’S MEANINGLESS

The pre-season is here, and NFL fans across the country are all excited. It is akin to Christmas Eve for children, and unlike children, they will be disappointed for the most part by the time the Super Bowl rolls around.

But one game this year that got the fans all in a frenzy is the Giants/Jets game, and as it does every year, either pre-season or no regular scheduled season game. The New York media, like no other in the business takes the Giants/Jets game and runs with it for all its worth.

This game proves one thing only, that just like the rest of the pre-season games, outcome is not critical, except maybe in the minds of the fans. You don’t risk your players for a meaningless game, you give them some work, maybe try a few things that are new, and put in some rookies to get some real time playing in game conditions.

My biggest fear has always been and I’ve seen it happen is where a star quarterback or running back, or even a linebacker gets hurt in a pre-season game and it colors the rest of the season.

Pre-season is the time to look at the individual stats, not the game stats, because the approach is different. The coaches are looking for something other than a win, except maybe for the last pre-season game to set the tone.

So don’t get so excited about pre-season, instead check out what the individuals did on their personal stats, how sharp were they, did they execute well, even with a rookies for the most part.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

HERE’S SOME THOUGHTS

The pressures of playing in the Major Leagues is tough when you have to play at a high level everyday in order to keep your job. This can be in any sport from Baseball to Soccer. Someone will always come along to challenge you and try to take your job away.  This is the reason why athletes work so hard in the off season to stay in shape.

Staying in shape is only the start, keeping your skills sharp and improving is the other issue. As you age, your talents become better, then reach a level where they begin to decline. When that happens you begin to look for help. Some athletes turn to personal trainers, and some turn elsewhere. Drugs!

Let’s look at Melky Cabrera, recently, being suspended for 50 games for doping. There is suspicion about Roger Clemens and Palmiero and Sosa all doping up and you wonder why. Why were there so many Olympians this past Olympic competition caught doping?

The pressure of competing is one thing, but just think of the millions of dollars they earn, just how badly they want to keep that coming. With those huge contracts come investments and opportunity for more money making. A desperation creeps in and soon these athletes are doping to raise their abilities to new artificial levels!

If you know you can’t sustain the level of play you were signed on fr, the public scrutiny and favor, ownerships expectations and the fear of embarrassment all play, but the fear of loss of millions of dollars and the end of a dream are so strong, you do things you know are risky, and hope you don’t call attention to yourself and get caught.

That’s all I wrote, folks.

BOBBY V

The expected has happened, Bobby Valentine is under siege! It didn’t take long for things to go south. Boston Red Sox players have banded together and blasted manager Bobby Valentine to owners John Henry and Larry Lucchino.  During a heated meeting called after a text message was sent by a group of frustrated Red Sox players to the team and ownership in late July.

John Henry and Larry Lucchino called the meeting on Boston's off-day in New York on July 26 after first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, texting on behalf of himself and some teammates, aired dissatisfaction with Valentine for embarrassing starting pitcher Jon Lester by leaving him in on July 22 thereby allowing 11 runs. This was another serious incident between the Red Sox manager and the team.

Some Red Sox players stated flatly they no longer want to play for Bobby Valentine, Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia being the most vocal in the meeting. It was reported as an ugly heated encounter, and suggesting that the meeting was not a full team meeting but one of players who are using Valentine for a scapegoat because they are not performing at the level they should.

"The intent of the meeting was to provide a forum for people to express whatever frustration needed to be expressed at a time during the season when things were not going exactly the way we wanted to on the field in hopes that we could put whatever issues were there aside and focus on playing games the rest of the season. That was the intent of the meeting. That was the focus of ownership. It was a productive meeting.

"Since then, we have not gone on the run we were supposed to." Said Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington.

Ownership continues in its support of Valentine since the meeting, and  players have accepted the fact the fact that Valentine will remain manager for the rest of the season. The Red Sox with an opening day payroll of $173.2 million, are 57-59 and are 11 games behind the first-place Yankees and 5½ behind the second wild card. The Red Sox's last sub-.500 season was in 1997.

Red Sox general manager Cherington told reporters: "Bobby is our manager, and we're not considering anyone else. He's as committed to managing the team as he ever has been, and we're committed to him and trying to do everything we can to support him and make this work."

Henry said in support of Cherington: "To blame Bobby Valentine for the Red Sox being .500 at this point in the season," he wrote, "is simply wrong."

There have been a few issues referred to tby the players about Lester’s bad game and even the Will Middlebrooks after he made a defensive blunder – an admission by which Valentine admitted to on WEEI radio, telling the kid, “nice inning kid.”

Valentine has not helped his case either. He does not or rarely speaks to his coaches, some of whom are left over from the Terry Francona era, the trade of Kevin Youkilis the World Series member who exposed some of the issues in the clubhouse with Valentine and the players, and Valentines remarks about Youklis having his heart and soul in it all fueled the debate.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Valentine is gone by the end of the season, if not sooner..

That’s all I wrote, folks!

GOOD NIGHT MR. AMBASSADOR

The goodwill ambassador of baseball, Johnny Pesky is gone. With him goes 60 years of baseball history, filled with some of the finest moments in the game, but greater still, he was beloved by the fans of Boston. His legacy is a permanent part of Fenway with the Pesky Pole — the right-field foul pole.

Until the past several years, he was always present at Red Sox spring training and at Fenway, where he always had time to chat with fans and still had knowledge to impart to players

But Johnny Pesky has a bit of notoriety about him, whether deserved or not. It was 1946 and the seventh game of the World Series. ‘Country’ Enos Slaughter was at bat with the score tied 3-3: Slaughter opened the bottom of the eighth inning with a single and with two outs; Harry Walker hit the ball to center field. Pesky, playing shortstop, took the cutoff throw from outfielder Leon Culberson, and according to some newspaper accounts, hesitated before throwing home. Slaughter, who ran through the stop sign at third base, was safe at the plate, and the best-of-seven series went to the Cardinals. Pesky always denied any indecision, and analysis of the film appeared to back him up, but the myth persisted.

"In my heart, I know I didn't hold the ball," Pesky once said.

The right field foul pole at Fenway Park, is just 302 feet away from home plate, and is named the ‘Pesky Pole’ in his honor. Pesky hit 17 homers in his career, six at Fenway Park. The ‘Pesky Pole’ was coined by former Red Sox pitcher Mel Parnell, who during a broadcast in the 1950s, recalled Pesky winning a game for him with a home run around the pole.

That tale, much like the Pesky "held the ball" story, appears to be a myth because team records show that Pesky never hit a home run at Fenway in which Parnell was the winning pitcher.

Coming out of the Red Sox farm system in 1942, in his rookie year Pesky hit .331 and had 205 hits, both a record for a rookie.

He was manager of the Sox in 1963-64, back again in 1969, and interim manager in 1980.

That’s all I wrote, folks!

IT’S ALL GOLDEN

Now that the Olympics are over and the US team has made a huge splash in medals, three other countries have to be recognized as major players in excitement.

The Chinese from the opening of the games to about a day and a half before closing the games, showed that they are to be reckoned with on the Olympic stage. Capturing 87 medals in all is pretty remarkable an achievement. The Russians seemed to come out of nowhere the last few days and appeared they could overtake the Chinese in medal count. And to make it a nice story, the English gathered their pride together and came on strong as the host country.

This was the ‘Women’s’ Olympics and they all brought as much excitement to the games if not more than the men this time. The beauty of these games showed we in this world need not send our young into wars and sacrifice their lives, but instead in a peace-filled venue showing their talents and skills in friendly competition makes it a better world.

There were some unfortunate moments, with drugs testing and sportsmanship issues, but on the whole, it was a great Olympics and all who made it to the games need to be congratulated for their hard work, and dedication in getting there.

It would be hard to single out the greatest moment, and I say that because the greatest moment for who would be the question. For a country or individual, it was all exciting. In the end though, the individual whether on a team or single competitor was having his/her greatest moment just by competing. 17 days of games for 10,500 athletes and vying for 2,300 medals! WOW!

That’s all I wrote, folks!