For some reason we have turned or had turned to sports figures as our heroes. They have realized the dream that so many of us had while kids, trying our very best just to get to first string and now these guys are getting paid to do a job that is amazing and yet could be another fraud. Perhaps we are just fooling ourselves believing that these guys want to play on a level playing field, or we just turn a blind eye and hope that the dramatic weight gain and size is just the result of a good workout. No matter what, it is a fraud.

I think how many baseball games I watched believing my home team was just amazing and now it seems that they only wanted to make a buck. When I was young you could get free magazines centered around your favorite sports and they wrote about the game and the love playing the game and not about all this hype that athletes seem to want to create. That was my money by the way, paying for overpriced tickets and food and getting so excited to see a win, following my players with great detail only find that they need an asterisk. A star to show that their results need to placed on other chart. Wow, all this time perhaps Jose Canseco was right. No one wanted to believe him, now so much of it was true. Now Tejada is in trouble for lying to the government. Will anyone be make an example of for the sake of our kids?

It simply amazing how many websites are out there selling gun parts. You could spend hours shifting through them all, looking for price, shipping, content etc. What I want and I would recommend is to find one with these items plus customer service. That is a real challenge to any store online; how do you bring customer service to your clients? Well, one store offering gun parts has brought us technical video clips to educate us and retain customer loyalty. I just watched a complete program on how to build your AR-15. They also offer clips form there trademarked “Gun Tech” series on gun sights, product reviews such as for Brownells competition three gun case, scope ring alignment and even how to use ear plugs. Here is an excellent clip of Brownell’s AR-15 Magazine I love companies that love what they do and seek to keep me the customer happy by offering these free how to clips. When was the last time you saw that? Plus, their prices are right on the money too.  They offer top of line parts for your shotgun, rifle, pistol and outstanding how to books and videos. They show you exactly how their shopping cart works by walking you through all the steps and finally a great guarantee. They have been around for 70 years now and still offer a 100% money back guarantee. They also offer a flat shipping rate of $11.50 so you don’t have to shop everywhere looking for that final price. I love their honesty and transparency.

Its been two years now and Michael Vick has  paid his for his crime. He was recently released from Leavenworth KS for doing time for the most famous football athlete crime that I can remember. Drugs, abuse, DUIs seem to run rampant but we quickly forget about them. However, abuse a dog and you might as well wear a Scarlet letter on your jersey for life. No matter the affair you may have on the road, or abuse but you had better keep your hands off the dogs. Of course, this was a most serious matter in that you gambling, mating perhaps and the burial of dead dogs on your property. That being said, we need to think of two issues here. The NFL commissioner now has the decision to make if Vick should be reinstated. Second, should we think about the mentality of football players, is this the norm? Obviously, he is not the most brilliant player known to man. How could you be so stupid as to think you could pull this off, look at the company he kept! It was only a matter of time. Then again, a narcissist would never care because they love themselves so much that what they do and how if affects others around them is of no consequence. But that is a matter for another day.

Should he be reinstated. I am going to say yes. He has done his time and now the Market forces are in play. Just like business, for football is a business, let the teams decide if they want him back and how much they want to pay. It is their decision if they want this type of guy to help their brand. What would Joe Montana think if Vick wore his beloved teams uniform? Oakland would never care, just think about their 1970′s team days. So that is next question. What team should take him?

Well I am still scratching my head a bit and bringing back Griffey. He is the pride of Seattle and we will love him all the way to the Hall of Fame of course. I do not think that a few great swings at DH is going to bring them from worse to first status, but sure will bring in ticket revenue. Yes, the fans will now pay extra money to see the dominant player of all time, well at least he was before he left, bat homers off Safeco walls. In fact, they just may fill the stands. I still think that at the end of the day, Seattle still wants to make a playoff run and bring that 1995 season back to the fore. That is some serious dreaming and will need some serious rebuilding as well. Will Seattle be patient this year as Griffey will have to nurse multiple injuries over his amazing career? Yes, I think that they will. He is still Griffey and without him we would never had the new stadium and Seattle would be in Tampa Bay. Now look where they are and where are the Mariners? Are they chasing the magic of old, filling seats or putting together a playoff contender? We will have to see.

Here is one story where we are not going south after all! The Mariners have brought back Ken Griffey Jr for a one year contract. This is just what the NW needed after a dismal year at the college and professional level. Fans have lined up to buy the new/ old jerseys even in this tight economy. People still have disposable income, they are just very careful where they are going to spend it. The powers that be in Seattle really have a great idea to fill more seats at the stadium. Ken can play DH and have about 3 chances a day to hit and hit one out of the park. Its hard to believe he ever left. I still do not understand, but perhaps his family was more important which is something we all can learn from. Plus, he has a great attitude to the game always giving his 100%. The fans will love it and what is more, the  rest of the team could possibly feed off this new found energy and perhaps be more competitive this time around. Anyway, its just a great time to be a Seattle fan again. Thanks to Ken as well for making the huge change in his family routine to move back here. I guess he can not go into the hall of fame with a Seattle Mariner jersey!

I just reviewed the latest Pew poll results in the USA today. It is still amazing how different demographics are attracted to certain cities, large or small, rural areas and mid size. What was most striking to me was the the lowest cities that people did want to live in were major NFL cities like Detroit, Kansas City, Minnesota and even the Super Bowl team Pittsburg! So did the “build the stadium and they will come” mantra work? Not really. Fans live all over the states and so I must guess that they would say they root for their hometown team but never would want to live there. Wow, what pride is that? Why did owners go to such an extent to get new stadiums made where no one wants to live. They are not stupid, but how would any other business make that kind of decision?

Looks like the young love the big cities and those in the middle still like the burbs. Not too suprising there. Women did not like the rural areas as much as the men did. Perhaps this should be another personality question when people are finding each other? My point I am trying to make here though is that home is where the heart is or even, wherever you go there you are. You cannot escape yourself and trying to find a better shade of green grass is not going to solve your problems? Or would it……

Perhaps its just me but I am not getting too excited about this year’s Super Bowl. Sure, its great to see the Cardinals get a chance at it and perhaps see Kurt Warner redeem himself. I’m sure St Louis is loving life right about now! If there is one takeaway it is that on any given Sunday, any NFL team has a chance to win. Some teams do not even have any prayer whatsoever, like Detroit, but the product is still good. Money is spread out well but perhaps there are too many teams and not enough top talent to fill all of them. Its still great for Football that someone like the Cardinals are in, but now they have to perform. Their showing could determine just how much merit we put into my argument which not very original but one I believe in. What would be very cool is to see Kurt Warner make a great show and be a great inspiration for all of us.

Well we all certainly know that when it comes time for winter clothing and gear, The North Face has built the brand! Their product stands up against the elements time and time again and it is by far the coolest to wear as well. I found North Face gear at www. breckgear.com. They have a great website where customer service meets the expectation one has when purchasing North Face gear. It doesn’t get better than a store from Breckenridge, CO itself where today’s temperature is 14 degrees! Their blog is awesome with info on gear and great pictures from around the area. The site is easy to use and navigate around, no pages hang up on you. Right now they have free shipping on orders over $50. My kids are still getting into the ski sports and now I have a great site to purchase their new snowboarding equipment. Whats more, this is the time to buy because they have a huge sale going on right now. My favorite jacket, the North Face Men’s Condor Triclimate jacket is on sale from $279 to $235. This is a great deal and of course, the shipping will be free. If you do not see what you need, just give them a call. These guys love their sport, live where their sport is life and will meet your expectations. Now find a mountain!

One activity that I miss most is in the area of martial arts. I love the work out, the discipline and personal success I can have that is only measured against myself and not others. Trying to find the time to do this though is the challenge. I learned about www.martialartstutor.com from a friend who thought this could help me learn on my own time. This site is a one stop shop with free videos from 18 different martial arts such as Aikido, Karate, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and of my favorites is the jiu jitsu video because these guys are physical and disciplined. The videos take you to experts within the field your interested in and do a great job showing how moves are made usually with a front and side view. There are great history pages so you know where the specific art came from and how they have evolved over time. It an easy site to use with banner google ads on the top. My only criticism is that these ads run over the wording with the links to the videos and pictures so the page looks messy and random. It should be more clean so that a black belt would recommend this site. Appearance is everything and if a black-belt works so hard for his or her goal so should the site do so when laying out its homepage. Other than that, you are in for a real treat to watch expert instructors show you how to achieve your martial arts goal.

I just mentioned our hunting hobbies, but one that I am trying to so hard to get up and going in is snow skiing and snow boarding. Our boys of course believe that Snow Boarding is cool and want to do it so bad. We took them up last year and were told that you should start with skiing first! Well, that did not go too far and we got the kids on the snow boards. I remember in the 80′s that Burton was the pioneer in creating this industry. Now, I need to find where to buy one. I found Burton snowboards at a christysports.com and was very impressed. It is a nice clean web site and easy to use. Right now they have a clearance on Burton Snowboards including their blunt, wide and bullet styles. My kids loved the graphics and I love the deals plus free shipping on orders over $50.

It has been awhile since I had to shop for any ski equipment. What I liked was after clicking on the Burton Custom Snowboard, the specific Burton Binding was shown as an additional need along with the right helmet and Burton Boots. Right now, when you choose Burton from the drop down menu under brand search, their specific Burton page appears along with a coupon code for 20% off Burton equipment. Then a multitude of information appears for Burton clothing, accessories and equipment. I spent an hour going through it all it was so exciting. We really love their extra long gloves and clothing for kids. They know their market and christysports.com makes it fun and easy to shop.

Now coach Shanahan is the latest yet most stunning firing in the NFL. Even Jay Cutler was amazed at the announcement. Shanahan was a great coach and took the Broncos to two Super Bowls, but has been only average since then. This is a sport where, “what have you done for my lately” applies and we have no choice. My team and state demand a winner. This is not the Browns or others where losing is just the way it goes. We know we have the money and resources to get the best team possible and will not take average win loss ratios. Perhaps it was too much to be VP and coach at the same time. That’s what Holmgren found. Perhaps they were only “one player away” but you can only wait so long. We don’t go through coaches like the Raiders and have not had to do this for 14 years. What we do here will could set the standard on how coaches are found and exactly what their roles are and what they are not.

Well it happened again. Another team with stellar Mariner players. This time Philly has JJ Putz, Raul Ibanez and Jamie Moyer. Three class acts that we let go for a song. Yet another rebuilding year. What about those 119 losses on one side and a World Series on the other! Am I missing something here? Philly wants to win and we want to wait and see. How wonderful.

Well, we hate to say we told you so, BUT, Ichiro is the finest player in all of the Major League. An inside the park home run which alluded none other that Ken Griffey JR himself is so ironic on one sie and landmark in other. One hero of the Mariners forced to tip his hat to the new hero of Seattle; Ichiro!

Obviously, it will now be up to the Japanese ownership to put up the big bucks to keep Ichiro which is has to be a done deal in their mind (no news in the paper yet) Now, do we try to draw back Jr to play DH and take this team to the next level? I say yes. Griffey’s menacing hip issue will decrease by not playing the field everyday and he can get the applause and the love he has missed over 8 years in Cincy.

To be continued……

I am very sad to see Mariners Manager Hardgrove move on. He had over 1800 wins and now he resigns. He looks very sad and depressed in my opinion. I hope he gets the help he needs. He says he does not have that drive anymore? After he brought a last place team to just 4 games behind LAA and in the thick of the wild card race? He has hit a funk and we wish him all the best.

OK, it looks like Bonderman is now in the hands of the voters for the All star game. I voted and voted and I do not believe their is a limit. Or is there? I just kept going. I am sorry to report that our family does not know the NL very well. Who would you recommend after voting for Bonderman?

Way to Go ICHIRO. What a fine pick and what signature guy for Seattle. Griffey is going as well and now is the time for Seattle to bring him back for the rest of the season. Could you imagine Griffey as the DH!

to be continued

Well Fox Sports today began to give us the results of the All Star Balloting. Our Family loves Ichiro and it appears he will be on the train to San Francisco. What I cant understand is that our family was able to vote a whopping 25 times. Is this policy in place because of fraud I guess. It seems silly, why not one vote per email address? Then again, why not more leverage to the managers to control who they want. This is the kind of chatter I hear around the house these days and I guess if it were up to me, I would give as much power to fans as possible. With all these scandals I hear about, the fans should have control to keep out or allow in the players who break the rules to the All Star game. And that brings me back to Ichiro. Just look at him! Does he use human growth hormone. I think not. Whenever he is up to bat, I tell my children so they can see what hard work and practice practice practice is all about.

Good Luck at the All Star Game Ichiro!!!!!!!!