Now, I’ve never really liked the Yankees to begin with.  It’s pretty much common knowledge that George Steinbrenner was a greedy slug who would stop at nothing to put his fingers in as many players’ pies as he could reach.  As I said, I’m from Cleveland, so I’ve never had a real reason to love or hate the Yankees, but I can honestly say that, even as a child, my feelings towards that team were nothing short of dislike.  Maybe it was the bajillion people I saw walking around my hometown everyday wearing Yankees regalia, or maybe it was just the overall arrogance of the team and its fans, but for some reason I grew up loathing the bastards.  The thing was, though, that as a team they were more or less legit.  Derek Jeter was the face of that team in the nineties, and for all I can say about them, I do think that Jeter has always been a talented and rather upstanding player.  Joe Torre was a good manager, too, and after all, a manager can only work with the players he’s given.  They won a few Series when I was younger, and as much as I didn’t like to see it happen, life went on.  I endured the Indians’ crushing defeats in the ‘95 and ‘97 World Series and witnessed the subsequent downfall of the team under new management in the years to follow.  At the same time, I saw the beast that was the Yankees growing larger and uglier with each passing year.

The problem was that baseball salaries, which in years prior had been more or less the same as those of other sports, began to go so far through the roof that they wound up closer to the Moon than they were to the ground.  The Yanks hadn’t won a Series in a while, and since the Steinbrenner family had the money to throw around, they did just that.  They signed Alex Rodriguez to a contract which was, at the time, unheard of in the baseball world.  Essentially, they dangled such a big carrot in front of his nose that whatever choice he had in the matter vanished in the wake of many, many zeroes.  Eventually, other teams began to realize the lesson that the Steinbrenners had already learned: if you want to win games, you have to get your hands on players of A-Rod’s caliber, and to do so, you need money.  All of a sudden it didn’t matter what kind of talent a team already had, or what kind of track record they boasted.  If they didn’t have the money to wave in a player’s face, they weren’t going to get their star.  The Indians, in losing players like Jim Thome and Manny Ramierez to enormous offers from other teams, ironically helped to make this theory into scientific fact.

The salary problem has only been getting worse.  Why do we see the same teams in the playoffs year after year?  They’re the teams with the cash to keep their good players around and pick up better ones along the way: teams like Boston, the LA Angels, and of course, the Yankees.  In the last offseason, the Yankees inked two major free agents to ridiculously huge, multi-HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR contracts: Mark Texiera and C.C. Sabathia.  C.C. was, as many of you might recall, a part of the Indians orginization for quite a while.  The year before he was set to go into free agency, he went into a slump, and the Tribe wound up trading him to Milwaukee, who he immediately led to the playoffs in an astounding turnaround.  Coincidence?  Well, given the fact that the Yanks were waiting for him at the end of the year with a check bigger than A-Rod’s head, I don’t think so.  This is not a singular occurrence: many baseball players, nearing free agency or not, will play poorly simply for the prospect of winding up on a different team which will pay them more money.  Essentially, the Indians have, one way or another, lost most of the good players who have come through the orginization to bigger contracts (the exceptions being Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, who were lost as a result of the Tribe’s front office smoking way too much crack).

The ironic part of all of this is that it’s a big, vicious circle: teams with big payrolls win games, attracting fans who will support even bigger payrolls that will be used on better player who will win more games, thus attracting more fans… and it goes on and on.  Why do you think teams like Kansas City continue to stay at the bottom of the barrel?  Because they don’t have the fans to make them the money to buy better players than the ones they’ve got.  The few stars of the orginization, like Zach Greinke, won’t be around long.  They’ll be lured away by vast amounts of money just like everyone else.

Of course, the Yankees have handed the city of New York a financial black hole in the form of their new, one-and-a-half billion dollar (yeah, that’s “billion,” with a “b”) stadium.  Ticket prices there were at one point as high as twenty-six hundred dollars a SEAT in the first few rows.  The entire STATE will lose up to 7.5 million dollars annually in taxes to finance the parking garages ALONE.  Somehow, the Yankees managed to spend this much money on a venue that’s actually SMALLER than their last stadium, at least in terms of the size of the field, which of course means that steroid-juiced A-Rod will have an area about the size of a back yard to smack the ball around in.  With the new Mets stadium having gone up in the same year, I don’t see how the city is going to avoid financial problems down the road.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, the recent steroid scandals have highlighted another major facet of MLB orginizations: teams will stop at nothing, no matter how dishonest, to win a World Series.  No matter how many people, including influential members of the media, decry the recent wave of cheating that has struck the sport, there are far too many teams with media lapdogs willing to deflect attention away from such players as the aforementioned Alex “A-Roid” Rodriguez.  For all we know, he could still be shooting it up; baseball teams have, until recently, been notoriously good at hiding what goes on behind the scenes, and the Yankees, with their willingness to pay any amount of money necessary to win, certainly have what it takes.  True, the Yankees aren’t the only team that has been experiencing these problems, but they do seem the least concerned, still fielding players like A-Rod and Andy Pettite and countless others who are all probably users (the exception being Joba Chamberlain, who sucks so hard he had to have his jaw replaced, and yet is still making hundreds of millions of dollars playing for the Yankees.  Money is clearly no object.).

Add all this up and you have the perfect formula for a World Series-winning team.  Now, to be slightly fair, the Phillies didn’t exactly bring their A-game.  While the Yankees may be a team full of users, the Phillies are merely a team full of douchebags who can’t perform consistently to save their lives.  Chase Utley, who was a veritable cannon for most of the Series, decided to fold the tent in Game 6, and Ryan Howard never even got his pitched.  The Phillies pitching staff, with the exception of Cliff Lee, is a joke; Pedro Martinez looks like a washed up, overweight 80’s throwback (what the hell is with that hair?), and Cole Hamels is one of the MLB’s biggest choke artists.  This, plus the myriad of questionable calls by umpires throughout the Series and the rest of the playoffs (I’m no conspiracy theorist, but if you don’t think that baseball teams have been paying off the MLB to NOT introduce instant replay to the game, you need to take another look at the tapes) has resulted in what was basically a championship gift-wrapped for the Yankees to celebrate the veritable orgy of spending that they have undertaken in the past year.

As I said, I was never a very avid follower of baseball.  However, I still at least maintained an interest in the game, even when Cleveland was having one of its many off-years.  However, with the recent Yankees championship win, I am fully disillusioned with the sport.  New York has proven that baseball has transformed from a sport to a disreputable business that everyone chooses to frequent anyways because it’s entertaining and popular.  Until the MLB, including Bud Selig and friends, takes steps to put teams like the Yankees in their place, seasons will continue to end predictably with the teams who have spent the most money both on players and cover-ups taking home an increasingly meaningless trophy.

Now we turn the page and I would like to give you the opinion of a True Football Fan. Now I am a Cowboys fan by nature however I will also call it as I see it. I will go through these teams as they currently stand from top to bottom and I am most definitely not opposed to hearing your opinions. What better time to have this conversation than the a few days before the biggest showdown in the division thus far not to mention at the halfway point of the season. Here we go.

1)      The Eagles- Seem to have found a deep threat or two however they haven’t really faced a unit to include the struggling Giants that can actually pressure McNabb. I respect his ability to move around and make plays and believe him to e the best Quarterback in this division however a beat up Westbrook and no solid possession receiver make them suspect on the offensive side of the ball. If he doesn’t have five to seven seconds the deep threat is null and void. I have always liked the energy that the Eagles play with however when they don’t have it the outcome is simple, THE RAIDERS?

2)      The Cowboys- Have won three in a row and they have apparently found an emerging star in Miles Austin. He is big strong and will go and get the ball when it is in the air. My fear with them is that the offensive coordinator (Garrett) is very quick to shut down his own running game and place Romo in situations that he should not be in (See the Giants game where they were averaging over eight yards a carry and he decided throwing hail marries was a better option.) If Romo is not asked to do too much he wins games and he does have a decent arm as long as he is not asked to use it thirty five times a game.

3)      The Giants- Wow, no pass rush, weak running game, and seriously who are their receivers? Every time I look at Eli I am expecting a string of drool to fall from the corner of his mouth. I really am not sure if he realizes what day it is. He has played some good games and some bad but I think they are beginning to miss Plaxico. Jacobs seems to be more of an afterthought, huge backs for some reason do not seem to make it long in this business anymore. The Bus was the last in recent history.  

4)      Now let’s talk about the Redskins- No surprise that with a coach who is no longer allowed to coach, a VP that really needs to step down and an owner that knows less about football than my seven year old daughter they are in last place. Is anyone surprised? I mean the aforementioned list of people have managed to spend a hundred million on a DT that is hurt more often than not, have not drafted anything remotely resembling and athlete besides Cooley (Oh btw is out for the season) in recent years. The only other NFL caliber athletes on the team are very long in the tooth (Clinton Portis and London Fletcher) other than that this unit is three to five good drafts from being more than the doormat of this division.  I mean why didn’t they hire Gregg Williams? Too late now, he knows that this situation stinks I mean all of the King’s money couldn’t draw a Shannahan that wants to coach out of retirement but they might win three more games this year. Unfortunately one will probably be my Cowboys for they seem to always douse my hopes of another offseason to bragg about being the champ.

All in all I believe this division will be the more entertaining division in the NFL for the rest of the season as far as being the best I have to quote Bill “You are what your record says you are”. So for now we will have to see how it all pans out.

Image via Wikipedia

while on a diet, end up getting addicted to the sport and take it to the next level, becoming runners. The first sign of this evolution is signing up for local 5K races. After a few of these, the hook has been set.

The Next Step: Distance Running

Soon, the running neophyte moves up to longer distance road races like the 10K and half marathon and begins to chart progress in a training log. Most runners that get to this stage eventually start looking at the long-distance standard, the full 26.2 mile marathon.

Training for this distance gets a little more complicated than the shorter ones mentioned above. The chance of running injuries increase, nutrition must be addressed a bit closer, and much more time must be comitted for training. It’s also important to establish a training schedule.

The Marathon Training Schedule

The marathon training schedule, or plan, generally begins about 26 weeks out from the target date and is a gradual build-up. Why gradual? To allow the body to adapt while avoiding stress or overuse injuries. The build-up follows the 10 percent rule, which means never increasing either the total weekly mileage or the weekly long run distance by more than 10 percent.

The build-up does have an end, of course. Two weeks out from the race date, the “taper” begins, which means decreasing the total weekly mileage and the distance of the long runs until finally resting completely for one or two days before the race.

At this point, the idea is to maintain the high level of fitness, while at the same time completely charging the batteries. When race day morning arrives, all systems are go!

1. New Orleans Saints (7-0) (last wk #2)

The Saints were tested, but stood the test; even in a bad game they hang up 35. Good grief.

2. Indianapolis Colts (7-0) (last wk #1)

The Colts were tested as well; omly difference was the offense looked vulnerable. Don’t expect to see that again any time soon, though.

3. Minnesota Vikings (7-1) (last wk #6)

He may or may not make it the entire season, but at this point, Favre has the Vilkes playing as well as almost anyone.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) (last wk #10)

The Eagles are quietly creepiing…

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) (last wk #5)

About this time you figure the Steelers will start to dominate; that’s what teams built for playoff success do.

6. New England Patriots (5-2) (last wk #4)

Ditto for the Pats.

7. Dallas Cowboys (5-2) (last wk #11)

The ‘Boys are starting to build a head of steam…

8. Baltimore Ravens (4-3) (last wk #14)

The Ravens re-established themselves a bit by dismantling the undefeated Broncos.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) (last wk #7)

The Bengals want to claim amongst the NFL’s elite… this week against Baltimore they get their chance.

10. Denver Broncos (6-1) (last wk #3)

We’ve all been wondring how the Broncos keep winning. We can finally stop asking.

11. Houston Texans (5-3) (last wk #16)

Don’t look now, but this is actually a good football team. Finally.

12. Atlanta Falcons (4-3) (last wk #13)

Moving up a spot in a loss? Hanging with the big boys will do that.

13. San Diego Chargers (4-3) (last wk #15)

They just hover in mediocracy… but they could break out any time now.

14. Green Bay Packers (4-3) (last wk #9)

Rodgers still has some growing to do, ant there’s no two ways about it… McCarthy sucks.

15. Miami Dolphins (3-4) (last wk #19)

They just refuse to die.

16. San Fransisco 49ers (3-4) (last wk #18)

See Atlanta…

17. New York Giants (5-3) (last week #8)

Is this even a playoff team?

18. Arizona Cardinals (4-3) (last wk #12)

That Giants win doesn’t seem nearly so impressive.

19. Chicago Bears (4-3) (last wk #20)

Don’t get excited… it was the Browns.

20. New York Jets (4-4) (last wk #17)

Didn’t you used to be up and comers?

21. Carolina Panthers (3-4) (last wk #24)

This team could very easily have thrown in the towel… they haven’t yet.

22. Tennessee Titans (1-6) (last wk #31)

Welcome back, Gentlemen.

23. Buffalo Bills (3-5) (last wk #21)

It’s too bad the Bills don’t play in a weaker division. Then they might win 7 games.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) (last wk #22)

Losing to a winless team wasn’t so bad…getting mollywhopped was.

25. Seattle Seahawks (2-5) (last wk #23)

Sinking fast.

26. St Louis Rams (1-7) (last week #29)

Good thing they beat Detroit, or they’d have matched them at 0-16.

27. Detroit Lions (1-6) (last wk #25)

At least they won a game this year.

28. Washington Redskins (2-5) (last wk #27)

The Deadskins are looking as bloated as the city they play in.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) (last wk #26)

Cassell… great investment.

30. Oakland Raiders (2-6) (last week #28)

At least they look respectable when they play the Chargers.

31. Tampa Bay Succaneers (0-7) (last wk #30)

Remember when Tampa Bay/ Green Bay was something to get excited over? It still is… if you’re a Packer fan.

32. Cleveland Browns (1-7) (last week #32)

Is Bernie Kosar available?

Baltimore Ravens (4-3) at Cincinnatti Bengals (5-2)

Suddenly a huge AFC North game.  The Ravens, fresh off of dismantling Bronco dreams, are ready to re-assert themselves after a skid.

Prediction:  Baltimore in a wild one.  Ravens 31 Bengals 28

Washington Redskins (2-5) at Atlanta Falcons (4-2)

The Falcons aren’t quite ready for the top level.  Fortunately the Redskins are no top level team. 

Prediction:  Falcons big.  Falcons 35 Redskins 10

Green Bay Packers (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7)

To say the Packers’ play calling is suspect would be an understatement.

Prediction:  This used to be a great rivalry.  Not any more.  Packers 38 Succaneers 17

Arizona Cardinals (4-3) at Chicago Bears (4-3)

Neither of these teams is anything resembling consistent.  This one is simply a matter of who’s on this week.

Prediction:  Cardinals bounce back in a shootout.  Cards 34 Bears 31

Houston Texans (5-3) at Indianapolis Colts (7-0)

The Colts were truly tested against the Niners; They can win a tight one, too.

Prediction: Won’t be tested this week.  Colts 35 Texans 17

Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)

The Jags were unfortunate enough to be there for the Titans’ rising.  There will be no Chiefs’ rising.

Prediction:  Jags somehow stay in the playoff hunt for one more week.  Jags 31 Chiefs 20

Miami Dolphins (3-4) at New England Patriots (5-2)

The Dolphins are in must win mode pretty much for the rest of the year.

Prediction:  Dolphins live to fight another day.  Dolphins 31 Pats 27

Carolina Panthers (3-4) at New Orleans Saints (6-0)

So the Panthers had a bit of a resurrection this week.  Does this mean the Saints should be wary?

Prediction: Uh,…. no. Saints 45 Panthers 21

Detroit Lions (1-6) at Seattle Seahawks (2-5)

Still another garbage bowl.

Prediction: Wins are hard to come by when you suck.  Fortunately for the Seahawks, the Lions suck more.  Seahawks 28 Lions 13

Tennessee Titans (1-6) at San Fransisco 49ers (3-4)

Vince Young and Alex Smith both returned this week.  Who takes that next step?

Prediction:  Wouldn’t it be something if the Titans ripped off 10 wins in a row?  Titans 27 49ers 24.

San Diego Chargers (5-3) at New York Giants (5-3)

Three weeks ago we were wondering if they were the NFL’s best.  Now we’re wondering if they’re a playoff team.

Prediction:  The Giants need this one.  Giants 31 Chargers 21

Dallas Cowboys (5-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)

Gettin awful crowded at the top of the NFC east.

Prediction:  Romo continues his ascent.  Cowboys 34 Eagles 31

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) at Denver Broncos (6-1)

The Steelers will just have to settle for knocking off a 1 loss team.

Prediction:  Two teams headed in different directions.  Steelers 31 Broncos 20

Week 8 Summary:  The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly

Seattle Seahawks (2-4) at Dallas Cowboys  (4-2)

The Cowboys may have found the identity they’ve been searching for against the Falcons.  A walkthrough home game against the Seahawks gives them more momentum and confidence.

Prediction: The ‘Boys start rolling…  Cowboys 38 Seahawks 14

Results: Cowboys 38 Seahawks 17.  Doesn’t get much better.  All Pro

Houston Texans (4-3) at Buffalo Bills (3-4)

The Texans find a way to prove me wrong every week.  Let’s see what they do if I pick ‘em big.

Prediction:  Houston starting to look like a playoff team?  Texans 31 Bills 1

Results: Texans 31 Bills 10.  Go figure.  Almost a perfect pick.  All Pro

New York Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)

Left to wonder if the Giants were that good after all…

Prediction:  The Giants maintain a semblance of legitimacy.  Giants 28 Eagles 24

Results: Eagles 40 Giants 17.  It’s official; the Giants aren’t nearly as good as anyone thought.  Bad

San Fransisco 49ers (3-3) at Indianapolis Colts (6-0)

It won’t matter how inspiring Singletary has his team playing; not against the Colts

Prediction:  Colts O most unstoppable this side of the bayou.  Colts 38 49ers 21

Results: Colts 18 49ers 14.  The Niners were much tougher than anyone thought, but the colts pass a test. Good

Cleveland Browns (1-6) at Chicago Bears (3-3)

This game will give Bears fans one more week to pretend they’re playoff bound.

Prediction:  Cutler almost looks like he deserves that contract… for a week.  Bears 31 Browns 6

Results:  Bears 30 Browns 6.  Not to hard to pick well against the Browns, but this one was still pretty sweet.  All Pro

Miami Dolphins (2-4) at New York Jets (4-3)

This is suddenly a huge matchup.  The Dolphins season isn’t over, but if they lose here it might be.

Prediction:  The Dolphins keep hope alive.  Dolphins 28 Jets 24

Results: Dolphins 30 Jets 25.  Another pretty good pick.  Dolphins just won’t die.  Good

St Louis Rams (0-7) at Detroit Lions (1-5)

If the Rams are going to win a game, it might need to be here.

Prediction:    The Rams find the “1″ in their 1-15 year.  Rams 20 Lions 14

Results: Rams 17 Lions 10.  Good thing for the Rams, otherwise it was 0-16.  All Pro

Denver Broncos (6-0) at Baltimore Ravens (3-3)

Broncos will be tested again..

Prediction:  And again they will pass the test.  When will we believe?  Broncos 27 Ravens 24

Results: Ravens 30 Broncos 7.  That loud crash was the Broncos crashing back down to Earth.  Bad.

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) at Tennessee Titans (0-6)

The Titans look like a team that has thrown in the towel.  Now is where we find out just how good Fisher is.

Prediction:  The Titans awaken.  Titans 24 Jaguars 20

Results:  Titans 30 Jaguars 13.  The return of Vince Young.  All Pro

Oakland Raiders (2-4) at San Diego Chargers (3-3)

The Chargers are looking alive.  The Raiders aren’t.

Prediction:  No surprise here.  Chargers 31 Raiders 10

Results: Chargers 24 Raiders 16.  The Chargers are such a lackluster team sometimes.  Utterly unimpressive,but it was a win.  Good

Minnesota Vikings (6-1) at Green Bay Packers (4-2)

This one is huge not only because that guy comes back to Lambeau, but a Packers win puts them back towards the top.

Prediction: Favre made his statement in the dome;  The Packers make theirs here.  Packers 38  Vikings 24

Results:  Vikings 38 Packers 26.  I thought Dom Capers was a genius?  Why is it everyone in the world knows you need to keep Favre on his backside but the Packers?  Bad

Carolina Panthers (2-4) at Arizona Cardinals (4-2)

The Cardinals quietly find themselves in the same place they were last year… at the top of a weak NFC west.

Prediction:  Cardinals still playing for this year… Cardinals 35 Panthers 24

Results: Panthers 34 Cardinals 21.  Hey, is that the Panthers creeping up in the rear view? Bad

Atlanta Falcons (4-2) at New Orleans Saints (6-0)

Falcons can’t stop decent teams… 50 more for the Saints.

Prediction:  The machine keeps rolling.  Saints 48 Falcons 24

“Each day I live. I want to be, a day to give the best of me. I’m only one, but not alone. My finest day is yet unknown.”

It’s no secret that both Pacquiao and Cotto share the same work-ethic when they train for a fight. The successes they have garnered so far in their boxing careers were certainly not handed to them on a silver platter. Yes, they had to face and literally endure the pain in order to taste the sweet. Undeniably, they are simply two of the most disciplined and hardworking professional pugilists of this era. But they’re not alone in their endeavors. Pacquiao has renowned trainer Freddie Roach guiding him along the way, while Cotto once had his uncle Evangelista before Joe Santiago took the cudgels. Indeed, both fighters’ finest day is yet unknown… or could it be November 14th?

“I rise and fall. Yet through it all, this much remains. I want one moment in time, when I’m more than I thought I could be.”

Sure they experienced low points in their boxing profession. Pacquiao had it early in his career and also when he lost to Mexican great Erik “El Terrible” Morales. Cotto, for his part, had his lone low point when he was knocked out by another Mexican in Antonio “Loaded Hands” Margarito, although that particular bout is now coated with so much controversy. Despite those heart-breaking losses, both fighters picked themselves up. Pacquiao came back strong and knocked Morales out not just once, but twice. Less than seven months after his only setback, Cotto won the WBO welterweight belt over Michael Jennings and successfully defended it against the very tough Joshua Clottey.

“I’ve lived to be the very best. I want it all, no time for less. I’ve laid the plans, now lay the chance here in my hands… when all of my dreams are a heartbeat away and the answers are all up to me. Give me one moment in time, when I’m racing with destiny… then in that one moment of time, I will feel eternity.”

The Pacquiao-Cotto showdown is already set. Both pugs have lived their lives wanting to be the best in their trade. They both want it all this time out and have laid the plans in their respective training camps. Come November 14th, the answers will all be up to each of them. Those twelve rounds or less are the one moment in time that both Pacquiao and Cotto have been craving – when they will be racing with destiny. Which one of them will have his hands raised in victory and achieve eternal glory? Let’s just wait and see…

As an added bonus, hereunder is the low-quality video of the little girls I was talking about at the start of the article and see, or more appropriately, hear for yourself, the great voices…

Another bonus, hereunder is a solo performance of the wonder kid… I don’t know exactly how old this tiny little girl was, but I’m guessing she’s around 4 or 5 years old. Please bear with the quality, or the lack thereof, of the video…

Comments are highly appreciated. You can write them below or send them to reylanloberternos@yahoo.com.ph

Fast forward 7 years, to today’s Big 10. This year’s Iowa Hawkeyes look eerily similar to Tressel’s ‘02 bunch. They have hardly looked like BCS material to date; a 17-16 win to open the season over Northern Iowa; A 24-21 surviving against division 2 Arkansas State; fourth quarter victories over Michigan State and, most recently, Indiana.

Yet here we are, three weeks remaining, and the Hawkeyes find themselves just 3 wins from a possible National Championship bid. 9-0, 4th in the polls. Do they not know they’re supposed to suck? That teams that ’survive’ division 2 foes aren’t supposed to sit in the top 5? It would appear that they do not; any more than those ‘02 Buckeyes did.

Ironically, the Hawkeyes will have to go through Tressel’s Buckeyes in Columbus on November 14th to make it happen, and will need some help as well. But sometimes a team just develops that feel… the feel of a team of destiny. And Coach Ferentz’s kids are starting to have that feel.

Will it happen? Probably not. But they said the same thing in ‘02. You know the saying; that’s why they play the games.

The Undertaker

This was one of the Undertaker’s early roles…. that of “Mean Mark’. (And eventually, Mean Mark Callous). He would, in time, become half of tag team gold in this role as part of the ‘New Skyscrapers’. And the manager accompanying him to the ring? No other than current Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long.

His other major role was that of the masked “Punisher’. You may recognize the guy he’s wrestling here…

Kane

This was one of the worst gimmicks ever, but seeing Kane with that mullet thingy is worth a look.

Trple H

You’d probably be surprised at how many younger viewers know what the three H’s in triple H stood for; fewer still would remember that he used to strut around like this and speak in a bogus british accent. That’s where the name of the ‘pedigree’ came from… he was a ‘blue blood’. And yes, he is really married to Stephanie McMahon.

Hardcore Holly

Before he was Hardcore, he was Thurman ‘Sparky’ Plugg, a race car driver. Good Grief.

Kurt Angle

Kurt’s WWE debut. Notice the hair… for another great flashback, look up when he lost it.

Edge

Back here he was the tortured soul, not just ‘Edge’ but ‘The Edge’.

The Rock

Before Dwayne Johnson, before the People’s anything… there was just ‘Rocky Maivia’, Kid N Play fro and all.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

Stone Cold didn’t say anything to begin with; the Million Dollar Man said it for him.

John Cena

Not ‘The Champ’; just a kid making a name for himself.

Santino Marella

The way this went down was actually pretty cool to see.

The history of the Melbourne Cup dates back to 1861, the magnificent invention of Captain Frederick Standish, former Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria.  

The 14½ inch high ‘Loving Cup’ is presented to the owners of each Melbourne Cup winner.  A 2/3 height miniature is presented to the trainer and jockey.  In 2000 the gold content of the owners’ Melbourne Cup trophy was increased to 18 carat.  By 2005, the value of the gold cup had increased to $80,000.  The VRC (Victoria Racing Club) introduced the Melbourne Cup Tour in 2003 whereby the Cup trophy travelled to over 20 destinations around Australia - an opportunity to take ”the people’s Cup” back to the people.

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=926268 ~ Melbourne Cup 2009 – Watch ‘Shocking’ Win Here 

The Melbourne Cup is one of the world’s greatest races and millions of people will be watching from home or at the track itself.  The Cup has been lauded as the race that stops a nation and the race that is etched in the Australian culture.  It can be compared with the Derby Stakes in England, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France, and the Kentucky Derby in America.  The Melbourne Cup (149 years) isn’t as old as the Derby Stakes (190 years), but it is older than the Kentucky Derby.  The first ever Melbourne Cup Race was held in 1871.  The prize at that time was a hand beaten Gold Watch and £170.  The winning horse, Archer, walked 500 miles (800 km) from Nowra (New South Wales), before running in this race.  [The conditions for the race stipulated 'a sweepstakes of 20 sovereigns, 10 sovereigns forfeit or 5 sovereigns if declared, with 200 sovereigns added money.]

The Melbourne Cup is run over 3,200 metres (2 miles) and is a handicapped race/handicap event i.e. the better the horse, the more weight it has to carry in the race.    While the conditions of the race go against the norm of other well-known international races, these are the qualities which makes it so unique and popular. The greatest weight carried to victory in a Melbourne Cup was Carbine, who carried 10 stone, 5 pound (66 kg) in the 1890 Melbourne Cup.

“During the Great Depression, life in Australia was brutally harsh. People had little hope, and few could earn a living, put food on the table..and then there came a horse..a giant horse (17 hands)..a horse that carried the hopes and dreams of a nation upon his back.” – Anon

To this day, Phar Lap (Thai name for ‘lightning’) is  revered as the greatest racehorse in the history of the ‘Sport of Kings’.  He rode to victory in 37 of his 51 races, including the world’s richest handicap – the Melbourne Cup in 1930.  In the same year, someone tried to shoot Phar Lap but he was uninjured.  Phar Lap’s impressive record and dominance continued. The following year, Phar Lap attempted to win again.  However, despite his best efforts, the 70 kilograms the handicapper forced him to carry probably cost him the race.  In 1932, Phar Lap was accompanied by Tommy Woodcock (strapper and trainer) to Mexico.  In spite of a serious injury carried into the race, Phar Lap won the $50,000 Agua Caliente Handicap in record time.  On 5 April, 1932, after returning to California (America), Phar Lap was found in severe pain by his trainer.  His condition deteriorated very quickly and he later died.  There were many theories surrounding Phar Lap’s death but the exact cause was never established.  http://museumvictoria.com.au/pharlap/facts/index.asp ~ Phar Lap, The Facts

Australia is a sporting nation and huge crowds of interstate and international visitors are expected to converge on Melbourne. The Cup became even more popular when in 2005, Makybe Diva became the only racehorse to have won the Melbourne Cup three times and in successive years (2003, 2004, 2005).  Makybe Diva was a seven-year-old mare when she won the 2005 Melbourne Cup and was a short-priced favourite i.e. almost everyone bets on a certain horse to win..therefore the pay-out dividend won’t be substantial.

http://cannibalrabbit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/Flemington_Racecourse.jpg ~ Flemington Racecourse  

Fashion Tips:  The Melbourne Cup is perfect for dressing-up and showing off your fashion style.  For women, digital prints and florals are big trends this season.  For men, well-cut suits that are a good fit.  Hats are a must-have and so is a yellow rose (the official flower for Spring Racing) in the lapel.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/fashion-stakes-high-for-melbourne-cup-20091026-hgtx.html ~ Hot Tips For Male & Female Fashionistas 

Bart Cummings - The ‘Cup’s King’

Trainer Bart Cummings is a horse racing legend and is renowned as ‘The Cup’s King’, with an incredible twelve Melbourne Cup wins.  He had broken all records and produced Kingston Rule to win the Melbourne Cup in 1990.  Owned by wealthy merchant banker, David Hains, Kingston Rule would record the fastest time in Cup history – 3:16.3 – and also gave Darren Beadman the first of his two Cup victories.  Bart Cummings trained Let’s Elope to win both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in 1991.  Before the end of the decade, he would add Saintly (1996) and Rogan Josh (1999) to his Cup victories.  In honour of his achievements the VRC commissioned a bronzed statue of the trainer, which is positioned in the ‘Birdcage Area’ at Flemington.   

http://www.bartcummings.com.au/overview.asp  ~ Bart Cummings Career

Melbourne Cup Winners Trained by Bart Cummings:

• Light Fingers (1965)
• Galilee (1966)
• Red Handed (1967)
• Think Big (1974 & 1975)
• Gold and Black (1977)
• Hyperno (1979)
• Kingston Rule (1990)
• Let’s Elope (1991)
• Saintly (1996)
• Rogan Josh (1999)
• Viewed (2008)

Other Melbourne Cup Statistics 

Fastest Cup run 1990 – Kingston Rule, 3 minutes 16.3 seconds;  Biggest winning margin 8 lengths, 1862 – Archer, 1968 – Rain Lover;  Biggest field to contest Cup 1890 – 39 runners;  Biggest weight carried to victory 1890 – Carbine 65.5kgs; Smallest field to contest Cup 1863 - 7 runners;   Least successful saddlecloth No.18 and No.21 – 1 win each;   Most successful saddlecloth No.4 and No.12 – 11 wins each;  Most successful barrier No. 11 – 7 wins;  Least successful barrier    No.18 – no wins.                            
                                                                                                                                     

The distance and the handicap ensure that the Melbourne Cup is a horse race in which the novice punter has as good a chance of picking the winner as the expert punter who can read a form guide. Tip of the day:  Ensure your selection will go the distance..and has a jockey (hint: Aussi jockeys) who can handle the pressure i.e. don’t pick a horse/jockey combination that can’t hack the pace.                                                                       
                                                                                                                  

                                               
                                                                                                                                                                      

• http://cms.vrc.net.au/melbourne-cup-carnival/melbourne-cup.asp?id=2 ~ About the Melbourne Cup 2009 
• http://au.sports.yahoo.com/racing/news/article/-/6420502/melbourne-cup-2009-field/2/ ~ Yahoo Sports
• https://www.sportsbet.com.au/ ~ Place Your Bets Here 
• http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/p_International_Horse_Profiles.aspx ~ Spring Carnival International Entries
• http://www.melbournecup.com/melbourne-cup-carnival/melbourne-cup-performances.asp ~ International Performances by Overseas Horses
• http://www.horseracinginfo.com.au/betting-guide/horse-racing-glossary.htm ~ Australian Betting Glossary 
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/melbourne-cup-race-2009/6649ec092243f8df76a0a1d4af5f3999 ~ Racing Information & Betting/Types of Bets
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/melbourne-cup-race-2009/4822f2e0c8f68c481e438cf062ed3397 ~ Melbourne Cup 2009 – All in Betting Odds 
• http://www.melbournecupreport.com/pages/flemington.html ~ History of the Race, How to Get There
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/melbourne-cup-race-2009/5f3b192601e8b16836815c734dfd76f0 ~ Top Jockeys/Bart Cummings
• http://www.melbournecup.com/melbourne-cup-carnival/style-fashion.asp ~ Latest Fashion & Style News From The Melbourne Cup
• http://melbournecup.racingandsports.com.au/melbourne-cup.asp?f=videos ~ Melbourne Cup Videos

1. Indianapolis Colts (6-0) (last wk #2)

Colts and Saints just keep flip flopping; might just take a super bowl to settle this one. For this week, Colts were much more dominant.

2. New Orleans Saints (6-0) (last wk #1)

Spotting teams 3 TDs and still hang up 40 and win by double digits. Come on.

3. Denver Broncos (6-0) (last wk #6)

I’ve been doubting and doubting; in two weeks we’ll know just how good they are.

4. New England Patriots (5-2) (last wk #4)

The Pats are starting to build a head of steam…

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) (last wk #8)

Did anyone really think they were in trouble?

6. Minnesota Vikings (6-1) (last wk #3)

Into the meat of the schedule, coming back to Lambeau in what is suddenly a huge NFC North game; right about now we’ll start to see how much #4 has in the tank…

7. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) (last wk #11)

Not that the Bears were all that impressive, but they’re 5-2 and they did what playoff teams do… bounced ack after a bad game and whooped an inferior team.

8. New York Giants (5-2) (last week #5)

Eli loved the twinkies… not doing so well with steak.

9. Green Bay Packers (4-2) (last wk #9)

57-3 over two games is impressive regardless of who they beat. Might just surprise Favre and the Vikes.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) (last wk #10)

It was the Redskins. Don’t wanna hear it.

11. Dallas Cowboys (4-2) (last wk #17)

Perfect time to remember who they are… Look out, Giants.

12. Arizona Cardinals (4-2) (last wk #16)

Lest we forget, we were damn near calling these guys World Champs a few months back.

13. Atlanta Falcons (4-2) (last wk #7)

The Defense is so exposed.

14. Baltimore Ravens (3-3) (last wk #13)

Desperately need to find a win against Denver.

15. San Diego Chargers (3-3) (last wk #18)

Gonna take at least 10 wins to pull AFC wild card this year; not likely for the bolts.

16. Houston Texans (4-3) (last wk #20)

And somehow they’re still in contention.

17. New York Jets (4-3) (last wk #19)

Last 3 weeks are gonna be tough (Atl, Ind, Cin) so they better build up the wins soon.

18. San Fransisco 49ers (3-3) (last wk #12)

Looking like just another year of mediocrity in the bay.

19. Miami Dolphins (2-4) (last wk #15)

Good news: Showed that they could go toe to toe with the big boys. Bad news… they blew it and they’re 2-4. Whole lotta ‘must wins’ on the dockett…

20. Chicago Bears (3-3) (last wk #14) Turns out this is, in fact, your father’s Bears.

21. Buffalo Bills (3-4) (last wk #22)

Are they still hanging around?

22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) (last wk #23)

Believe it or not, their schedule is weak enough that they could almost mount a playoff run…

23. Seattle Seahawks (2-4) (last wk #25)

Didn’t you used to not suck?

24. Carolina Panthers (2-4) (last wk #22)

Face it, Panther fans. They’re old in the wrong places.

25. Detroit Lions (1-5) (last wk #27)

The Lackluster Bowl with the Rams this week. Teams that don’t sell out shouldn’t be threatened with blackouts, but with this game.

26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) (last wk #26)

The bottom 6 or 7 on this list should be dropped down to Division 2.

27. Washington Redskins (2-4) (last wk #28)

The defense doesn’t suck…

28. Oakland Raiders (2-5) (last week #24)

I almost cried when they pulled Jamarcus… Finally!

29. St Louis Rams (0-7) (last week #29)

Detroit this week, Tennessee in December… maybe all that stands between 0-16. The Rams an Sucks might both go winless… neat.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7) (last wk #30)

At least with Cleveland and the Titans stinking up the bottom, the Succaneers couldn’t sink and lower. Except that they’ve now done it on two continents. England should be pissed.

31. Tennessee Titans (0-6) (last wk #32)

Being better than the Browns is akin to being nicer than Charles Manson.

32. Cleveland Browns (1-6) (last week #31)

They did stay out of the cellar for a week…