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# Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Beat The Blogger Results/Matchups
Posted by Tuff Stuff

The Blogger allowed plenty of contestants in the mix with a sub-par 5 of 10 effort but when the smoke cleared, it was Steve Emerick, Tim Beckham and John W. rose above all others. Both entries picked 8 of 10 picks including their doublers to take the top spot this week, Congrats to both of them and good luck to the rest of you this week. This week's picks are posted below.


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 focontest.jpgr 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

Saturday Aug. 1
MLB
Detroit at Cleveland
Washington at Pittsburgh
Colorado at Cincinnati
Arizona at NY Mets
Houston at St. Louis
Sunday Aug. 2
Boston at Baltimore
Kansas City at Tampa Bay
NY Yankees at Chicago WS
Toronto at Oakland
Milwaukee at San Diego




Tuesday, July 28, 2009 12:11:40 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [158]
# Monday, July 27, 2009
Beat The Blogger Results
Posted by Tuff Stuff

Should be plenty of contenders for this week's prize as the Blogger managed to hit on just 50% of his picks last week. The winning picks are posted below and this week's winner will be announced later tonight or first thing Tuesday a.m. so check back to see if you're a winner. This week's games will be posted on Tusday p.m. so make sure you get your selections posted by the start of the first game Saturday and as always, good luck.

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 focontest.jpgr 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
(last week's winners in parenthesis)
Saturday July 25
MLB
Chicago White Sox at Detroit (Detroit)
Tampa Bay at Toronto (Tampa)
Atlanta at Milwaukee (Milwaukee)
Florida at LA Dodgers (LA Dodgers)
Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs (Chicago)
Sunday July 26
Baltimore at Boston (Baltimore)
San Diego at Washington (Washington)
Cleveland at Seattle (Cleveland)
Pittsburgh at Arizona (Arizona)
Minnesota at LA Angels (Minnesota)




Monday, July 27, 2009 8:15:38 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [2]
# Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Beat The Blogger Matchups
Posted by Tuff Stuff

The Blogger improved to post 7 of 10 picks but it wasn't enough to deny Ray Maye a trip to the winner's circle. Maye posted a perfect card and connected on the doubler to win the week and take home the prize. For the rest of us, it's time to start studying up for this week's games. This week's matchups are posted below so make sure you get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday to be eligible to win. Thanks for playing and spread the word.

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 focontest.jpgr 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
(with Blogger picks in parenthesis)
Saturday July 25
MLB
Chicago White Sox at Detroit (Detroit)
Tampa Bay at Toronto (Toronto)
Atlanta at Milwaukee (Atlanta)
Florida at LA Dodgers (LA Dodgers)
Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs (Chicago)
Sunday July 26
Baltimore at Boston (Boston)
San Diego at Washington (San Diego) (doubler)
Cleveland at Seattle (Seattle)
Pittsburgh at Arizona (Arizona)
Minnesota at LA Angels (Angels)



Wednesday, July 22, 2009 1:55:13 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [68]
# Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Not So Deep Thoughts: Crystal Ball Time
Posted by Tuff Stuff

Over the past few months, I've unveiled some fearless predictions in this column. Some have come to fruition, others not so much. But the great thing about having a blog is that you can write almost anything you want and still have a space to write some more the next day. With that said, I decided to toss out a few more predictions with the new approach being, we'll revisit the predictions in the future and see exactly how things played out.

MLB
With the Trade Deadline just 10 days away, expect a flurry of activity as teams try and find that one/two pieces to the puzzle that will put themHalladay.jpg over the top. The biggest name available is Roy Halladay. While every team would love to acquire a top-of-the-rotation, innings hound ace like Halladay, only a few teams have the necessary resources to actually make the deal. My Brewers are one such team with several strong minor league gems in their system, but according to Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin, the Brewers aren't willing to part with SS of the future Alcides Escobar or 3B Matt Gamel, the two players the Blue Jays apparently covet. One possible deal that hasn't gotten much attention is Gamel and former All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy in exchange for Halladay.

If the Blue Jays view Hardy as the hard-hitting defensive wizard he was last year the deal would make a lot of sense for both sides. Toronto would get a new, young left side of its infield and the Brewers would get an ace who could consistently take them deep into ballgames and allow young pitcher Yovani Gallardo to return to his role as the team's No. 2 starter because he has yet to display the consistency needed from a staff ace. I was leaning toward Halladay going to Philadelphia but the Phils are rolling and should have plenty of in-house talent to win the East. The slumping Hardy is slowly falling out of favor in Milwaukee and Escobar being the heir at short for the Brewers, I think Melvin rolls the dice one more time and pulls the trigger on the Halladay deal, calls up Escobar and hopes he can make a smooth transition to the bigs.

While I admit I'm a Brewers fan and would love to see Halladay come to Milwaukee, I'm not sure he would be enough to get the Crew into the postseason but the window of opportunity is wide open right now so why not take another shot. Besides, throughout Hardy's minor league career he was known as a defensive-minded shortstop that would have to learn how to hit major league pitching. He appeared to do that in 2007 and last season when he hit 24 HRs, knocked in 74 and batted .283, but perhaps this year's .226 average with 61 strikeouts is a better indication of what to expect from him?

Other players that will be relocated before the trade deadline will be Matt Holliday, Victor Martinez, Freddy Sanchez and left-handed reliever Scott Downs

NFL
Former Pro Bowl QB Michael Vick has finished paying his 23-month sentence for dogfighting charges but the next question is how will commisioner Roger Goodell handle his possible reinstatement. My prediction is that Goodell will come down with an iron fist and stays true to his past. He's been tough on players convicted before and let's not forget Vick straight up lied to his face before the trial when Goodell asked him point blank, "Did you do what they are accusing you of?" My guess is Roger hasn't fogetten that day and will make Vick pay a little more before he gets to take the field again. Prediction: Vick remains suspended for the first eight games of the season then signs with a playoff-contending team who needs an established veteran to make their postseason push, perhaps Carolina.

Let me hear what you think about these predictions and feel free to post some of your own. Then we'll check back and see who's crystal ball works and who's is cracked.




Tuesday, July 21, 2009 3:31:33 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [1]
Beat The Blogger Results
Posted by Tuff Stuff

The Blogger improved to post 7 of 10 picks but it wasn't enough to deny Ray Maye a trip to the winner's circle. Maye posted a perfect card and connected on the doubler to win the week and take home the prize. For the rest of us, it's time to start studying up for this week's games. This week's matchups will be posted on Wednesday. Contestants make sure you get your picks in before the start of the week's first game t be eligible to win. Thanks for playing and spread the word.

Last week's winners are posted below so check them with your answers to see if you Beat The Blogger.

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 focontest.jpgr 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.

Last week's Matchups
(Winning picks in parenthesis)
Saturday July 18
MLB
NY Mets at Atlanta (NY Mets)
LA Angels at Oakland (Angels)
Tampa at Kansas City (Tampa)
Philadelphia at Florida (Postponed by Rain)
Chicago Cubs at Washington (Chicago)
Sunday July 19
Boston at Toronto (Toronto)
Milwaukee at Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
Arizona at St. Louis (St. Louis)
British Open
Tiger Woods or the Field (Field)
Winning Score: -6 or higher or -7 or lower
(-6 or higher)



Tuesday, July 21, 2009 2:24:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Monday, July 20, 2009
Beat the Blogger Results
Posted by Tuff Stuff

The Blogger improved to post 7 of 10 picks but it likely won't be enough to hold onto the lead. The final totals still have to be tallied so please check back Tuesday a.m. to see if you Beat The blogger's total and see how you fared against the rest of the competition. Thanks for playing and spread the word.

Last week's winners are posted below so check them with your answers to see if you Beat The Blogger.

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 "contest.jpgDoubler" 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.

Last week's Matchups
(Winning picks in parenthesis)
Saturday July 18
MLB
NY Mets at Atlanta (NY Mets)
LA Angels at Oakland (Angels)
Tampa at Kansas City (Tampa)
Philadelphia at Florida (Postponed by Rain)
Chicago Cubs at Washington (Chicago)
Sunday July 19
Boston at Toronto (Toronto)
Milwaukee at Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
Arizona at St. Louis (St. Louis)
British Open
Tiger Woods or the Field (Field)
Winning Score: -6 or higher or -7 or lower
(-6 or higher)



Monday, July 20, 2009 4:05:02 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
# Thursday, July 16, 2009
Beat The Blogger Picks
Posted by Tuff Stuff

The Blogger improved to post 7 of 10 picks but it wasn't enough to hold onto the lead, as a Beat The Blogger record seven contestants connected on 8 of 10 picks to tie for the top spot. Gary Truman, Joann K, Jeff Barton, Dennis Juntunen, Ronald Borczyk, DeMarie and Yale M. Brown will all be receiving a prize for their efforts. It was the second straight week Joann K has won so a special congratulations goes out to her. Thanks for playing and spread the word.

This week's matchups are posted below so be sure to make your picks.

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 "contest.jpgDoubler" 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 (Blogger's picks in parenthesis)
Saturday July 18
MLB
NY Mets at Atlanta (NY Mets)
LA Angels at Oakland (Angels)
Tampa at Kansas City (Tampa)
Philadelphia at Florida (Florida)
Chicago Cubs at Washington (Chicago)
Sunday July 19
Boston at Toronto (Boston)
Milwaukee at Cincinnati (Milwaukee)
Arizona at St. Louis (St. Louis)
British Open
Tiger Woods or the Field (Field, Doubler)
Winning Score: -6 or higher or -7 or lower
(-7 or lower)



Thursday, July 16, 2009 2:12:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [29]
# Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Not So Deep Thoughts: Close call for Upper Deck, but the right one
Posted by Tuff Stuff

In February, inside its 2009 Upper Deck Series One Baseball product, Upper Deck released a nine-card insert set entitled: “Historic Firsts Predictors.” The sports card company made nine bold predictions and stated that if any of them came true during the course of 2009 that it would “do something big.” One of those cards said the National league would break its 12-year drought and win the game.UPPER DECK NEW logo.jpg
 
Well, something big nearly happened. Upper Deck was ready to put into motion a special nationwide promotion that would have yielded a free baseball card pack to fans across the country (one per customer, while supplies last), provided the National League won last night's 80th MLB All-Star Game. Unfortunately for collectors nationwide, the trend continued and the National League All-Stars came up short once again, falling 4-3, in a well-played, but unspectacular Mid-Summer Classic.

For the Upper Deck crew, things couldn't have turned out any better. The company received some free publicity for the promotion, the game was competitive, and ultimately because of the outcome, they didn't spend a nickel and come out looking like the heroes in their efforts to make good on their original promise.

While the promise could've cost Upper Deck six figures if the senior circuit would've prevailed, the end result was priceless. They say in baseball that sometimes the best deals are the ones that were never made. In an apples-oranges kinda way, the same rule applies here. Hopefully the other manufacturers will apply this same model to events in the future with the only difference being that they're forced to come through and fufill the promotion so collectors can win as well. Kudos to Upper Deck for stepping up and taking a chance in the first place. Now, if they really want to come out smelling like a rose, they'll take half the packs they had earmarked to distribute and give them away anyway. Just a thought.



Wednesday, July 15, 2009 2:53:34 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
Beat the Blogger matchups
Posted by Tuff Stuff

The Blogger improved to post 7 of 10 picks but it wasn't enough to hold onto the lead, as a Beat The Blogger record seven contestants connected on 8 of 10 picks to tie for the top spot. Gary Truman, Joann K, Jeff Barton, Dennis Juntunen, Ronald Borczyk, DeMarie and Yale M. Brown will all be receiving a prize for their efforts. It was the second straight week Joann K has won so a special congratulations goes out to her. Thanks for playing and spread the word.

This week's matchups are posted below so be sure to make your picks.

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 "contest.jpgDoubler" 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
Saturday July 18
MLB
NY Mets at Atlanta
LA Angels at Oakland
Tampa at Kansas City
Philadelphia at Florida
Chicago Cubs at Washington
Sunday July 19
Boston at Toronto
Milwaukee at Cincinnati
Arizona at St. Louis
British Open
Tiger Woods or the Field
Winning Score: -6 or higher or -7 or lower


Good Luck



Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:53:32 AM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [28]
# Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Beat The Blogger Results
Posted by Tuff Stuff

The Blogger improved to post 7 of 10 picks but it wasn't enough to hold onto the lead, as a Beat The Blogger record seven contestants connected on 8 of 10 picks to tie for the top spot. Gary Truman, Joann K, Jeff Barton, Dennis Juntunen, Ronald Borczyk, DeMarie and Yale M. Brown will all be receiving a prize for their efforts. It was the second straight week Joann K has won so a special congratulations goes out to her. Thanks for playing and spread the word.

I'll be posting this week's matchups later today so please check back later to make your picks.

In the meantime, I suggest reading my blog post below and make a prediction or two of your own or simply post why my predictions will never come to fruition.

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 "contest.jpgDoubler" 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.

Last week's Matchups (Winning picks in parenthesis)
Saturday July 11
MLB
NY Yankees at LA Angels (LA Angels)
St. Louis at Chicago Cubs (Chicago)
LA Dodgers at Milwaukee (Milwaukee)
Chicago White Sox at Minnesota (Chicago)
Texas at Seattle (Seattle)

Sunday July 12
Kansas City at Boston (Boston)
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Oakland at Tampa Bay (Oakland)
Florida at Arizona (Florida)
Atlanta at Colorado (Colorado)





Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:58:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]