The GM Says....2/13

Bud Selig says A Rod "shamed the game".....Bud you are an idiot.

Now is not the time to attack a star player by saying you are "saddened" by the fact that A-Rod used steroids. And why would you say A-Rod "shamed the game" when a few others admitted to using? Selig you are an idiot for that. Now is the time to stand behind your star player and support him. Celebrate him coming forward and accepting his responsibility instead of attacking him. This is exactly why you aren't liked by ANYONE!!

Police arresting people in Phelps case....I told you so!

I said on this site last week that the police in South Carolina are going to try and make names for themselves by doing everything they can to charge Phelps with something. And that is exactly what they are trying to do. They are rounding up suspects and are surely offering them deals to testify against Phelps. This is ridiculous. So the kid did something that he shouldn't have done BUT come on. Is your arresting him gonna help the fight against drugs?? NO its not. Leave your agendas off the job!

Rosenhaus says Boldin, Johnson, and Burress want traded.....Anquan come to Philly!!

Agent Drew Rosenhaus says that he has three clients that are interested in being traded from their current teams. Chad "Not Sure His Last Name" Johnson, Anquan Boldin, and Plaxico Burress are the three clients. Personally I think Burress and Johnson are solid but past their best days. I don't think there is much argument that Boldin is the best of the bunch and please please Andy Reid TRADE FOR HIM!!! Give up one of your first round picks and GET HIM NOW!!

UConn could lose one of top scorers for season.....that would hurt there chances a bit.

Jerome Dyson is scheduled to have surgery next week on an injured knee. He suffered the injury in the Syracuse game on Wednesday night. Dyson is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game. This would be HUGE for the UConn. I think if he is out for the season, which they have yet to determine, that UConn is out as serious contenders for the title. Sure they will still make the tourney and might even make a run but they won't be able to keep up in scoring with a team like UNC.

Ferentz gets new deal for same money.....wow, average gets a good pay these days.

Kirk Ferentz signed a 7 year extension today with the University of Iowa. Ferentz will get the same salary and bonus structure as his current deal had. Last season the Iowa coach made 2.84 million in salary. Hmmm...I wonder if I can find a job where average gets paid that well. In his last 4 seasons Ferentz has led Iowa to a 28-22 record. Not that great but apparently not worth a new coach either.

So He Inhaled....Who Cares

Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps was photographed back in November doing something illegal on the campus of South Carolina University.


Turns out the 23 year old champ likes to relax by smoking a little marijuana on occasion. Which if you didn't know is illegal in this part of the world.

But is it really a big deal? Not to the business or sports world.

The big wigs on Madison Avenue have already given him a free pass by saying it isn't going to affect their endorsement deals with him. The IOC has said they support him.

Of course they do. He is still the only truly popular Olympic athlete in this country. Why would they risk making things worse for themselves by dumping him?

But the cops? Well that is a different story.

It is now being reported that the Richland County Sheriff's department is currently investigating the incident and could bring charges against Michael.

Really? Are the cops going to start going around and arresting everyone who has smoked some marijuana on the SC campus? Cause I think their jails would probably fill up pretty fast.

Sounds like someone is trying to make a name for themselves and capture their 15 minutes of fame.

2008, What a Year!

2008 was a crazy year in the sports world! There were so many big stories and touching stories that it would be impossible to talk about all of them in one post. If I tried to do that, it would take me 3 hours and you would never be able to get to the bottom because it would just be too long!

I decided that hear on Jumping Offsides, I would do a countdown (I love countdowns) of the top 5 stories of the past year.

I am sure there will be some great stories left off and well, if you would like to tell me what I left off, feel free to leave a comment and I will tell you why it didn't make the countdown.

So, without further ado here is my list of the top 5 stories of 2008 starting with number 5.

5. Jimmie Johnson wins 3rd straight title

• Kyle Busch dominated the Nascar regular season this past year but when it was time to get serious, Jimmie, Chad Knaus and the rest of the 48 turned it on once again. If anyone else would've won the championship, I don't put this story anywhere near the top 5. The fact however is this: In any other sport, a team that won 3 championships in a row would be considered a dynasty. Many sports fans have been reluctant to do this for Johnson and his team but I am not. This team is a dynasty and should be considered one. To beat the best guys in the world 3 years in a row is a huge feat. Whether Nascar is a main stream sport yet or not, this story was big and winning 3 straight titles in anything is a huge huge deal.

4. The Phillies end the drought and win one for Philadelphia

• The World Series itself could be the headline here. The Phillies winning the series was a huge deal but the other half, the Rays could be just as big of a story. Winning the AL East over the Yankees and Red Sox was unbelievable. Then their run through to the World Series was just as amazing. But let's be honest, the Phillies were the much better team and the city of Philadelphia had not had a world champion since 1980. I think that fact alone really added to this story. Cole Hamels was amazing throughout the playoff run. Coming from behind and passing the Mets late in the season and then beating the Brewers, Dodgers and then the Rays and clinching the title at home was an awesome way to bring a title back to Philly.

3. Tiger Woods win the Open on One Leg

• Really? No one knew how bad the injury really was until after the tournament, but for that guy to play through that pain and force an 18 hole playoff and then win the playoff on the 19th was incredible. There really aren't words to describe how good that really was! Those are the best golfers in the world, trying to play their best golf and Tiger beat them with only one working knee. The game is hard enough with all working body parts. He is coming back better then ever in his eyes which is incredible. He could win a major this year by 20 shots but nothing will ever be better then him winning and dealing with all that pain.

2. The Giants beating the Undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl

• The Patriots had beaten the Giants in week 17 and were heading into the playoffs undefeated. The Giants were a wildcard team and really no one thought they had a chance. Then these two teams won their conference and it was really hard for me to think this game was even going to be close. Oh it was and it may have featured the best fourth quarter in Super Bowl history. The play everyone will remember was the Eli avoiding the sack, scrambling out and completed the pass as David Tyree made an incredible catch with Rodney Harrison hanging all over him. Then the touchdown to Plax in the corner of the end zone that put the Giants up 17-14. What a game! What an upset!
  

1. Michael Phelps Wins 8 Golds and Sets a New Olympic Record

• I don't think there is any question here. The summer Olympics featured two amazing athletes. Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. Usain Bolt proved he was and is easily the fastest man on foot on the planet but in my eyes there was no better story in the sports world this year then Michael Phelps winning all 8 gold medals, which set the Olympic Record and achieving a total of 15 career golds which is also a record. He dominated some of his races but the one I will always remember was the one where he won by about a centimeter and they showed it from underneath in the water. It was truly an amazing performance by Phelps. To be the dominate in some many different races in such a short amount of days. I don't ever expect we will see something like that again. There are no other words then Amazing!

2008 was an amazing year for sports and I am sad to see it go. 2009, I am sure will provide us with other great stories some that probably will compare to these five. There will surely be surprises, some good ones and some bad, but all in all, I expect it to be another great year and we can only hope that it is as good as 2008.

Happy New Year!