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 Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Beat The Blogger Results/Matchups
Posted by Tuff Stuff
We fell short of our goal of getting more than 300 entries in the Beat the Blogger contest, but we are inching closer. The good news is we'll give it another shot this week, and if we can eclipse the 300 mark, one lucky winner will claim the authentic, signed Chipper Jones jersey that the Blogger is just dying to give away.
A pair of newcomers to the contest posted near-perfect scores to tie for the top spot in last week's contest. Christie Merkle and Dennis Juntenen each scored 10s to easily better the Blogger's total of 5 (I swear I'll try harder) and each will now be receiving an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo for their efforts.
For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest,
the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then
selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants
enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler"
and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget
to designate your " Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning.
If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter
and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for
the weekly contest and that's where the Chipper Jones jersey comes into
play. If we can get more than 300 entries this week, the weekly winner will receive the Jones jersey so we need everybody to spread the word about the contest so we can reach our goal.
This week's matchups are posted below so make sure you get your picks posted 1/2 hour before the start of the first game
on Saturday to be eligible. And don't forget to spread the word about
how easy it is to win playing Beat The Blogger so we can reach our goal
of more than 300 entries this week.
This week's Matchups
Saturday June 13
MLB
Minnesota vs. Chicago Cubs
Boston vs. Philadelphia
Oakland vs. San Francisco
New York Mets vs. New York Yankees
Atlanta vs. Baltimore
Sunday June 14
New York Mets vs. New York Yankees
Detroit vs. Pittsburgh
Cincinnati vs. Kansas City
San Diego vs. L.A. Angels
Washington vs. Tampa Bay
Good Luck and Spread the word.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009 2:18:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Monday, June 08, 2009
Beat The Blogger Results
Posted by Tuff Stuff
Here are the winning picks from last week's Beat The Blogger contest. This week's winner will be announced on Tuesday morning to see if you're a winner. If not, this week's matchups will also be posted at that time so you can try again. We managed to get one of our better turnouts as far as total entries but still fell well short of our goal of 300 entries so keep spreading the word so one lucky entrant can win the Chipper Jones signed jersey.
This week's results
Saturday June 6
MLB
Tampa Bay at NY Yankees (Tampa Bay)
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox (Chicago)
Philadelphia at Los Angeles Dodgers (LA)
Milwaukee at Atlanta (Milwaukee)
Arizona at San Diego (San Diego)
NHL
Pittsburgh at Detroit (Detroit)
June 7
Kansas City at Toronto (Toronto)
Texas at Boston (Texas)
Pittsburgh at Houston (Houston)
NBA
Orlando at Los Angeles Lakers (Lakers)
Monday, June 08, 2009 10:23:01 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Beat The Blogger Matchups
Posted by Tuff Stuff
We once again fell well short of our goal of getting more than 300 entries in the Beat the Blogger contest, but the good news is we'll give it another shot this week, and if we can eclipse the 300 mark, one lucky winner will claim the authentic, signed Chipper Jones jersey that the Blogger is just dying to give away.
For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest,
the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then
selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants
enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler"
and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget
to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning.
If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter
and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for
the weekly contest and that's where the Chipper Jones jersey comes into
play. If we can get more than 300 entries this week, the weekly winner will receive the Jones jersey so we need everybody to spread the word about the contest so we can reach our goal.
This week's matchups are posted below so make sure you get your picks posted 1/2 hour before the start of the first game
on Saturday to be eligible. And don't forget to spread the word about
how easy it is to win playing Beat The Blogger so we can reach our goal
of more than 300 entries this week.
This week's Matchups w/Blogger's picks in parenthesis
Saturday June 6
MLB
Tampa Bay at NY Yankees (Yankees)
Cleveland at Chicago White Sox (Chicago)
Philadelphia at Los Angeles Dodgers (Philadelphia)
Milwaukee at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Arizona at San Diego (Arizona)
NHL
Pittsburgh at Detroit (Detroit)
June 7
Kansas City at Toronto (Toronto) (Doubler)
Texas at Boston (Boston)
Pittsburgh at Houston (Pittsburgh)
NBA
Orlando at Los Angeles Lakers (Lakers)
Good Luck and Spread the word.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009 5:22:23 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Not So Deep Thoughts: This Rose Smells Sour
Posted by Tuff Stuff
By now, most have heard about the impending investigation going on at
the University of Memphis, where former "student-athlete" (and I use
that term very loosely) Derrick Rose is being accused of knowingly
submitting a falsified SAT test score. Apparently, someone at Rose's
high school (Simeon, H.S. on Chicago's south side) changed Rose's grade
from a D to a C which allowed him to meet the academic requirements at
Memphis where he went onto to lead the Tigers to withing a couple of
buckets of winning the National Championship in 2007, Rose's one and
only season with the Tigers.
If you're like me, you're not the least bit surprised by the
allegations, as this isn't the first time (and certainly won't be the
last) an athlete has been given a free pass or school officials have
looked the other way when it comes to a star athlete's
less-than-stellar academic qualifications. The  problem I have with the
whole thing is that from everything I've read, the only punishment that
could be handed out to Rose, is some negative publicity to his
otherwise unblemished reputation.
Don't get me wrong, the school officials at Simeon who doctored the
scores and then looked the other way at the time of the wrongdoing are
the ones that should be held accountable. They are the ones who
knowingly altered test scores for Rose and who's to say that this type
of procedure hasn't been pulled off countless other times before the
latest scandal became public?
But what about Rose himself? He obviously knew he didn't receive the
grade he was ultimately given? He obviously knew that if he didn't meet
the academic criteria at Memphis his NBA future would be forced to wait
until he could find another school with lower standards, go to a Junior
College, work on getting his grades up to par and then transferring to
a D-1 school and ultimately doing the one-and-done thing before
embarking on a career in the NBA. Shouldn't he be punished in some way
as well? Both he and now-former Memphis coach John Calipari will both
undoubtedly walk away from the whole incident unscathed while some
scapegoat at Simeon High School who takes in $45,000 a year will
ultimately lose his job while the other two will continue to make their
millions and smile all the way to the bank.
Not sure what the punishment for something like this should be. Perhaps
Rose should have to take the test again today and continue to take it
again and again until he meets the original requirements. Maybe he
should be banned from playing professionally until he meets the
standards that he pretended to meet back in 2007? My guess is that is
this proposed rule were to be put into place, the NBA would have a hard
time filling out its rosters each year.
While I don't claim to have all the answers to problems such as this, I
do know that accountability is the key here. If you knowingly cheated,
you should be punished and punished severely. There is no statute of
limitations with something like this. If you're found to have cheated
10, 15 even 25 years after the fact, you should be punished just the
same as someone found guilty of cheating the day after the test scores
were calculated. With no ramifications for actions such as this, who
can blame young adults for looking to take the easy way out?
Tuesday, June 02, 2009 4:30:12 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 01, 2009
Newt Takes the Prize In Beat The Blogger Contest
Posted by Tuff Stuff
We once again fell well short of our goal of getting more than 300 entries in the Beat the Blogger contest, but the good news is we'll give it another shot this week, and if we can eclipse the 300 mark, one lucky winner will claim the authentic, signed Chipper Jones jersey that the Blogger is just dying to give away. We're going to open up the contest to our Collect.com friends this week and see if that can boost our total over the required mark.
Only a late rally by Minnesota kept "dnewt60" from posting the second-ever perfect score of 11 in the Beat The Blogger contest, but because he nailed his "doubler" he still managed to claim the top spot and win the weekly prize. The Blogger scored a solid 8 and several others topped that with totals of 9 and "dnewt" bested us all with his near-perfect card.
For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest,
the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then
selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants
enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler"
and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget
to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning.
If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter
and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for
the weekly contest and that's where the Chipper Jones jersey comes into
play. If we can get more than 300 entries this week, the weekly winner will receive the Jones jersey so we need everybody to spread the word about the contest so we can reach our goal.
This week's matchups will be posted later today so check back and make sure you get your picks posted 1/2 hour before the start of the first game
on Saturday to be eligible. And don't forget to spread the word about
how easy it is to win playing Beat The Blogger so we can reach our goal
of more than 300 entries this week.
This week's Matchups w/winning picks in parenthesis
Saturday May 30
MLB
Boston at Toronto (Toronto)
Florida at NY Mets (Florida)
LA Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (Cubs)
Cincinnati at Milwaukee (Milwaukee)
Detroit at Baltimore (Detroit, Doubler)
Sunday May 31
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City (Chicago)
Oakland at Texas (Texas)
Atlanta at Arizona (Atlanta)
Minnesota at Tampa Bay (Minnesota)
Seattle at LA Angels (Angels)
Good luck and spread the word about the contest
Monday, June 01, 2009 4:45:51 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, May 29, 2009
Not So Deep Thoughts: Is Bigger Always Better When It Comes To MLB Payrolls
Posted by Tuff Stuff
I was listening to some sports radio based in Chicago the other day and
there was a flurry of callers complaining about the latest troubles
experienced by the Cubs. Everything from injuries, to poor officiating,
to a lack of leadership was brought up as the reason the free-spending
Cubs are sitting in fourth place with a .500 record instead of running
away with the NL Central as many had predicted.
While all of those are valid reasons behind the Cubbies woes, it got me
to thinking about how some of the other big-market, big payroll teams
are doing this season. The Yankees lead the way in market size and blow
away the competition in payroll, and they're currently sitting in second
place in the AL East despite their recent hot streak. New York's other
team is second on the payroll list and they sit atop the NL East. The
Cubs rank third in payroll and we already mentioned their
middle-of-the-road status. Nos. four and five on the list are the Red
Sox and Tigers and they're both leading their divisions. Other division
leaders, the Cardinals and the Rangers don't exactly fit the mold of
the others, with St. Louis ranking 17th and Texas 22nd. The team with
the best record in all of the land, the Dodgers, comes in 9th on the
list and appears to be playing even better without its $25 million man earning a check.
While the top spot in each division will likely change several times
between now and the end of September, there does appear to be a direct
correlation between the teams with the bigger payrolls and the division
leaders. For example, of the 12 teams in first or second place in each
division, seven teams are ranked in the top 10 in payroll and only the
surprising Padres (29th) and the always-tough Twins (24th) rank in the
bottom third on the payroll scale. Of the six last-place teams in each
division, only Houston (8th, who has been decimated by injuries) and
Cleveland (14th) rank in the top half of the payroll chart, with
Washington (26th), Oakland (25th) and Baltimore (23rd) supporting the
bigger-is-better theory.
So what to make of all these numbers: not much. There does seem to be
some correlation between teams with bigger payrolls and success, but
there are always exceptions to every rule and the Padres and Rangers
are proof of that. Let's check back at season's end and see if the
Davids are still hanging with the Goliaths of the world. Until then,
I'll just keep listening to all the Cubs fans whining about yet another
season that got away.
Friday, May 29, 2009 6:02:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, May 28, 2009
Not So Deep Thoughts: New Summer Show On The Block
Posted by Tuff Stuff
One of our Tuff Stuff partners, FansEdge, has decided to jump into the
show circuit, and if their initial press releases are any indication,
they plan on making a big splash in their first dip in the pool.
With the first annual FansEdge Sports Spectacular show set for July
16-19, just two weeks prior to the start of The National in Cleveland,
some would say the inaugural show could be a huge disaster but there's
a reason the company has been one of the few to turn a profit in the
last couple of years and poor decision-making isn't one of them.
Mounted Memories is handling the autograph portion of the show that
will take place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in
Rosemont, Ill., and with guests such as Cal Ripken Jr., Peyton
Manning, Bill Russell, Ernie Banks, Willy Mays, Pete Rose, Dick Butkus,
Brian Urlacher and Jim Brown among those scheduled to appear, it
appears as though show organizers have all their bases covered. The
show will also feature a Super Bowl XXXI reunion of the champion Green
Bay Packers but I would bet against seeing the wishy-washy country-boy
QB in the mix.
Realizing collectors, and the public in general, are still treading
water after surviving last year's economic crunch, show organizers have
come up with some creative ways to bring in top-notch talent at
affordable prices so even the most modest collectors can acquire the
signatures they covet. Among the specials the show will feature are: On
Thursday night, the first 1,000 through the doors will receive a free
gift and 200 people will receive a free Pete Rose autograph ticket.
Organizers have put together what they're calling a "Hobby Stimulus
Plan" for guests who attend the show on Friday. "Price Rollback Day"
will feature 16 different athletes including Rose, Brown, Butkus,
Urlacher and others, signing autographs at reduced rates more
reminiscent of days gone by so more collectors can afford to join in on
the fun.
On the final two days of the show, the first 2,500 people through the
doors will receive a free Dick Butkus autograph ticket and on Sunday,
200 people will receive a free Gale Sayers autograph ticket. Two free
HOFers in two days is something you just don't see at shows so
collectors should take advantage of the offer because you may never see
anything like again.
While we here at Tuff Stuff and F&W Media will always be rooting
for The National to do well because a successful show strengthens the
hobby and a strong hobby will always be our hope, but it's refreshing
to see a new company emerge and give collectors some other affordable
options. Only time will tell if the FansEdge Show will stand the test
of time but I for one, hope this is the first of many such shows.
Thursday, May 28, 2009 9:36:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Not So Deep Thoughts: Similarities between MJ and LeBron are eerily similar
Posted by Tuff Stuff
While I haven't watched as much of the NBA Playoffs as I have in past years, I have watched enough to notice some similarities between LeBron's Cavs and Michael Jordan's Bulls from early on in his career.
In much the same way that it took Jordan several years and several roster upgrades to finally get past Detroit's "Bad Boy" Piston squads, it appears it will take LeBron and the Cavs several more tries before they are ready to claim a title. Early on in Jordan's career, the Bulls appeared to be playing teams in a five-on-one matchup with MJ typically going for 40-plus and the Bulls coming up short against the team-oriented Pistons. Back then, the Bulls supporting class was average at best and the job of team's role players was to basically set a few screens for MJ and get out of his way. While LeBron is well on his way to become every bit the player that Jordan was, he's finding out he can only do so much by himself in much the same way that Jordan did.
 Guys like Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerblak and perhaps most importantly, Mo Williams need to have a bigger presence in this series or the 3-1 deficit the Cavs find themselves in will prove to be insurmountable. When the Cavs acquired Williams this past offseason he was thought to be the perfect scoring compliment for LeBron but his series guarantee and subsequent disappearing act in crunch time of Game 4 have put Cleveland on the brink of elimination and I'm not sure even the mighty LeBron will be able to lead a comeback.
If you recall, it wasn't until the Bulls acquired and molded Scottie Pippen as the perfect sidekick for Jordan and the team assembled the perfect complimentary cast that the rings started pouring in. Prior to that, opposing teams would double and triple team Jordan and basically dare any of the others to be them and they rarely did. While James is still pouring in 40-plus with regularity, the Magic are looking to take the ball out of his hands down the stretch and wait for somebody else to step up and beat them. During the regular season, the Cavs role players were abel to step up to the challenge but lately it's been all LeBron all the time and as MJ can attest to, that's a recipe for disaster.
Unless LeBron and the Cavs can rally and advance, my guess is that you'll see the team spending much of the offseason looking for yet another proven scoring option. That can be easier said than done as some players have trouble taking a backseat to a team's superstar player, but if the Cavs are unable to find that missing link, the similarities between LeBron's Cavs and MJ's (early career) Bulls will persist, and rightfully so.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 5:37:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Beat The Blogger Picks
Posted by Tuff Stuff
We once again fell well short of our goal of getting more than 300 entries in the Beat the Blogger contest, but the good news is we'll give it another shot this week, and if we can eclipse the 300 mark, one lucky winner will claim the authentic, signed Chipper Jones jersey that the Blogger is just dying to give away. We're going to open up the contest to our Collect.com friends this week and see if that can boost our total over the required mark.
For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest,
the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then
selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants
enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler"
and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget
to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning.
If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter
and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for
the weekly contest and that's where the Chipper Jones jersey comes into
play. If we can get more than 300 entries this week, the weekly winner will receive the Jones jersey so we need everybody to spread the word about the contest so we can reach our goal.
Apparently too foucussed on his Memorial Day weekend activities and not the contest, the Blogger managed just four correct responses this week and more than half the field was eligible to win the weekly prize. When the smoke cleared, it was "Kim" and past champion "Sunshine"
who each got 8 of 10 correct to tie for the spot and claim the weekly
prize. Congrats to them and good luck to everybody this week. This week's matchups will be posted later today so check back and make sure you get your picks posted 1/2 hour before the start of the first game
on Saturday to be eligible. And don't forget to spread the word about
how easy it is to win playing Beat The Blogger so we can reach our goal
of more than 300 entries this week.
This week's Matchups w/Blogger picks in parenthesis
Saturday May 30
MLB
Boston at Toronto (Toronto)
Florida at NY Mets (Florida)
LA Dodgers at Chicago Cubs (Cubs)
Cincinnati at Milwaukee (Milwaukee)
Detroit at Baltimore (Detroit, Doubler)
Sunday May 31
Chicago White Sox at Kansas City (KC)
Oakland at Texas (Texas)
Atlanta at Arizona (Arizona)
Minnesota at Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
Seattle at LA Angels (Angels)
Good luck and spread the word about the contest
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 10:23:59 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Beat The Blogger Results
Posted by Tuff Stuff
We once again fell well short of our goal of getting more than 300 entries in the Beat the Blogger contest, but the good news is we'll give it another shot this week, and if we can eclipse the 300 mark, one lucky winner will claim the authentic, signed Chipper Jones jersey that the Blogger is just dying to give away. We're going to open up the contest to our Collect.com friends this week and see if that can boost our total over the required mark.
For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest and that's where the Chipper Jones jersey comes into play. If we can get more than 300 entries this week, the weekly winner will receive the Jones jersey so we need everybody to  spread the word about the contest so we can reach our goal.
Apparently too foucused on his Memorial Day weekend activities and not the contest, the Blogger managed just four correct responses this week and more than half the field was eligible to win the weekly prize. When the smoke cleared, it was "Kim" and past champion "Sunshine" who each got 8 of 10 correct to tie for the spot and claim the weekly prize. Congrats to them and good luck to everybody this week. This week's matchups will be posted later today so check back and make sure you get your picks posted 1/2 hour before the start of the first game on Saturday to be eligible. And don't forget to spread the word about how easy it is to win playing Beat The Blogger so we can reach our goal of more than 300 entries this week.
Last week's results
Saturday May 23
MLB
Philadelphia at NY Yankees (N.Y. Yankees)
Texas at Houston (Texas)
NY Mets at Boston (N.Y. Mets)
Chicago Cubs at San Diego (San Diego)
LA Angels at LA Dodgers (L.A. Angels)
Sunday May 24
Philadelphia at NY Yankees (Philadelphia)
Kansas City at St. Louis (Kansas City)
Milwaukee at Minnesota (Minnesota)
Tampa Bay at Florida (Florida)
Cleveland at Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 4:17:38 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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