UFL--Can it coexist with the NFL?

With a new football league on the way, how successful will the United Football League be? The goal for the owners of the league is to have it compete with the NFL. This goal on the surface seems like a lot to expect. The NFL has been the best run league for quite some time in the United States, and this does not seem to change any time soon as it is getting more and more popular.
The UFL has already lined up Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban as one of the owners in the league, and hope that his presence as an owner will be able to bring other prominent owners to the league. With the Mavericks, Cuban has already shown that he has a win at all costs, and there is no doubt that he will do anything he can to make the league succeed. With the salary cap, the UFL believes that they will be able to pay some of the rookies who were drafted later more then the NFL would be able to offer. If the league is able to find these diamonds in the rough such as Tom Brady who was taken in the sixth round, the league will definitely be able to be more competitive to the NFL then leagues like the XFL. The league is scheduled to begin in August of 2008, but will not be attempting to take away viewers from the NFL as the plans are for the games to be played on Friday nights.
I am hoping that this league will succeed as I can never get enough sports. When the league kicks off, I will definitely be paying attention. With the league though playing on Friday nights during the football season, the UFL is going to have its work cut out for itself. With some great marketing and savy business moves, I dont see why the UFL can't be successful.
Paul Blackborow

Roger Clemens-A Waste of $28 Million

With June on its way and the Yankees 14.5 games behind Boston, the Yankees await the arrival of the Rocket Roger Clemens. Clemens is scheduled to take the hill for the Yankees for the first time this season against the Chicago White Sox on June 4th. With the season now 50 games in what exactly will Roger Clemens do for the Yankees? With Clemens experience and competitive fight, he will definitely be a solid acquisition to a pitching staff which has been prone to injuries. With the Yankees having to rely on quite a few rookies this season, Clemens leadership will help these players mature. In fact for a rookie with the talent of Phillip Hughes, this is a perfect situation for the rookie. Clemens strong work ethic and willingness to take pitchers such as Andy Pettitte in his first stop in New York, Hughes should be taking in everything he can from Clemens.
The Yankees main struggles though have not been on the pitching side lately, but rather on the offense. Players like Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz have had the toughest start to the season. Abreu who is a career .300 hitter, is in a season long slump that has his average at .233. Last season after joining the Yankees, Abreu hit .330 for the team. Cano, Cabrera and Mientkiewicz are all hitting well under their averages from last season as well.
Clemens can look no further then his best friend and former Yankees and Astros teammate Andy Pettitte who has been hurt the worst by the lack of run support. In 11 games started this season, Pettitte has a record of 3-4 despite a very impressive 2.51 ERA. Over his last five starts Pettitte has pitched atleast 7 innings while allowing no more then three runs in any of those games.
The Yankees throwing $28 million dollars towards Clemens improves the Yankees pitching, but without improving the hitting, the Yankees are going to just fade further behind the Red Sox. This situation is very similar to the Texas Rangers signing Alex Rodriguez after the 2000 season, despite the pitching staffs struggles. By the 4th of July, the Yankees may look to try and trade Clemens back to the Astros unless the offense decides up between now and then.
Paul Blackborow

Fantasy Sports-Good or Bad for Sports?

With the huge rise of popularity in sports, there has been a lot of debate over whether fantasy sports is good or bad for sports. Some of fantasy sports detractors say that it takes loyalty out of the game. To some extent I do believe that this can challenge peoples loyalties to a particular team. Although people who really have loyalty to a team will keep their teams best interest in mind. The fan who just likes to watch the sport, will now have a rooting interest in all of the games.

The biggest thing that fantasy sports leads to is more knowledgeable sports fans. With the popularity of fantasy sports, people are doing more research on players and teams, which leads to the knowledge of the casual sports fans to go up. In general when picking a fantasy team there are a bunch of factors that go into your decision. If a player is going to be a great fantasy player, they need to make sure they put time into their decisions. Just like the athletes themselves needing to practice to stay at the top of their game, the fantasy sports player needs to stay on top of their research otherwise the final piece of the puzzle may slip to another team.

I may never get to be the GM of a professional sports franchise, but with fantasy sports I get to feel like I am. With different types of leagues, the games are becoming even more realistic. With keeper leagues, players are even more like GMs making key decisions from year to year on which players will help them not only for this year, but for years down the road as well.

With the rise of fantasy sports, it is a great way to follow sports, while showing off your competitive side as well. With people being able to start their own leagues between friends, it is a great way for friends to interact. With the rise of popularity in the game, I believe that despite purists worst fear, fantasy sports are here to stay.

Paul Blackborow