All 104 Names need to be released

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's unfair for the 7 "alleged" busted MLB players that the rest of the list has not been released. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% against the use of steroids and performing enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. While the world is not fair, the government, baseball union and MLB have the ability to release the entire list and make it fair.

If the sport really wants to move forward, then they need to release the total list. We've already seen what it's done when one or two names are leaked here and there. That is what's going to happen until the list is all public. Enough already. Pull the band aid off and get it done.

What do you think?

I smell the pigskin

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Yes, football is finally here. We're talking professional football and the New England Patriots.

Training Camp officially opened yesterday and I still can't get enough of reading all the Patriots news from yesterday's sessions.

But the No. 1 concern I have it about, of course, Tom Brady. We all the know the season hinges on him. He's the best QB in the National Football League and that offense if virtually unstoppable with him slinging passes to Randy Moss (how many corners can really cover him and want to cover him?), Wes Welker and new addition Joey Galloway (welcome aboard!).

All indications are Brady is good to go, but he still needs to take a hit to that knee or leg, or even just get his bell rung, to know he is really OK. There's no substitute for live game action and he hasn't experienced that since Week 1 last year when he was knocked out of commission by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Got to hope Brady is close to 100 percent. That offensive line better keep him upright or the season will go downhill fast.

And how about one of the anchors on defense, nose tackle Vince Wilfork? Remember, Wilfork is involved in a contract dispute -- yes, he wants a big payday but he's earned it in my book -- but he showed great character by putting the team first and showing up for camp instead of holding out. Will that equal a nice payday? 

If Wilfork does indeed hold out before the season, at least rookie second-round pick, Ron Brace of Boston College and Burncoat High of Worcester -- can jump in right away. Brace is a force in the middle and has never had an issue with taking on multiple blockers, just like Wilfork does. Either way, Brace should made an impact, even if he's involved in a defensive line rotation this season.

There are plenty of Patriots stories to break down -- position battles, who's hot and who's not, etc. --  and we'll continue to take a look at these throughout training camp. So stay tuned.

Here's the Patriots practice schedule, according to the Patriots official Web site: patriots.com

Practice Schedule
July 31: 9:30am - 11:15am; 3:45pm - 5:30pm
August 1: 9:30am - 11:15am; 3:45pm - 5:30pm
August 2: 9:30am - 11:15am; 3:45pm - 5:30pm
August 3: 9:30am - 11:15am; 3:45pm - 5:30pm
August 4:  9:30am - 11:15am; 3:45pm - 5:30pm

August 5:  9:30am - 11:15am; 3:45pm - 5:30pm.

Big Papi a Big Fraud

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, well, well. It looks like Mr. Mango Salsa Man, David Ortiz, isn't such a Beantown Hero is he?

The Boston designated hitter was called out yesterday as being one of the 104 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, along with sidekick Manny Ramirez.

Is anyone really in total shock about Papi that he used performance-enhancing drugs? Well, apparently he is, considering he doesn't even know what he took. Ya, sure and I'm the best sports writer in the country.

Isn't this the same guy that has been extremely vocal during spring training about never using and how MLB should throw the book at everyone who is caught using? 

Papi's a fraud, bottom line.

Are those Red Sox World Series titles tainted now since both Ortiz and Manny -- the two feared hitters in that Boston lineup -- were dirty players during that run? That's for you to judge.

The bottom line is he disrespected the game by cheating, even Red Sox fans can't argue that statement.

Will Ortiz be treated just like the other stars who have been caught using and still are playing -- Manny, Alex Rodriguez -- with a steady dose of boos at every ballpark? 

Do Red Sox fans still love Ortiz (based on the standing ovation he got during yesterday's game, they still love him)? Is he forgiven in your book?

How do you view Ortiz now?

It's sad, but Big Papi is a Big Fraud now.

PAC-10 preview: No horses for Trojans to fear this year

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

(As the college football season approaches, I will be breaking down each of the following conferences: The Big XII, the PAC-10, the Big East and the WAC. This week I tackle the PAC-10. If you haven't already, don't forget to check out past previews of Notre Dame and the Big XII.)

In 2008, Arizona State was supposed to be the team to knock USC off its pedestal. This year, there can be no such conversation made about any team in the PAC-10.

The freight train that is the USC football program will keep rolling. For those of you keeping score, no team has won more PAC-10 titles, shared or outright than USC. The Trojans have reigned as champions or co-champions for each of the last seven seasons, winning the league outright in three of those years. And there's no reason to think that it's nothing more than a matter of time until they capture their eighth-consecutive title.

For all the talk of how the loss of Mark Sanchez is going to hurt the offense, let's not forget that we're talking about a one-year starter on a program that makes a living off producing top-notch college quarterbacks. And the fact remains that while Sanchez is gone, the majority of the offense that was 11th in the nation in total offense is coming back. The quarterback situation will be one to watch as camp opens, but whoever takes the helm should be someone Trojan fans feel comfortable having under center.

The thing USC fans should be more concerned with is the defense. The second-ranked defense in the land last season returns just two members in 2009 - both in the secondary. USC will have to rebuild its entire front seven, so the unit that was the reason the Trojans were so dominant last year instantly becomes a question mark. Still, the offense still can be one of the best in football, so the defense doesn't have to be unstoppable for USC to find success.

Behind USC, there's a huge drop off with a few teams that should be pretty darn decent, but still have plenty of questions to answer and doubters to win over.

Cal could very well be the second-best team in the conference, thanks largely to early Heisman hopeful Jahvid Best. Best is coming off an outstanding 1580-yard season in which he averaged a whopping 8.1 yards per carry. But beyond him, the offense has a ton of uncertainties. The most compelling of those is whether or not Kevin Riley can shore up a quarterback position that was mired by inconsistency in 2008. The only way he and Best can be truly effective is if the offensive line is up to snuff and that unit is missing key pieces from last year's team. The Bears' strength lies in its defense, which returns eight starters, including a very strong and experienced secondary. Cal faces Oregon and USC back-to-back in its fourth and fifth games this season, so we'll know fairly early exactly where the Bears stand.

Oregon, who some believe is actually a better team than Cal and most certainly boasts a better offense, is also in the mix. Their offense is exciting and explosive with double-threat Jeremiah Masoli under center. LeGarrette Blount, who was one of two Duck rushers to top 1,000 yards last season, also returns. Oregon's problem, however, lies in the fact that the program returns the fewest number of starters of any team in the PAC-10 with five on each side of the ball. The defense is also a liability with a very weak secondary that ranked 111th in the nation in passing defense and doesn't figure to be much better this year.

Possibly the most interesting team to watch in the conference this year will be Arizona. They will have to do without Willie Tuitama's 3,000+ yards, 23 touchdowns and 65 percent completion rate and whoever wins the job has some huge shoes to fill. There are some decent weapons on the offense to help out whoever is decided on at QB, but the defense will have to win games. Arizona had a solid unit last year and has a dominating front four that could push the defense over the top and become a premier unit.

The team that will continue to toil is Arizona State. Last year's 5-7 disaster has to be considered the biggest disappointment in the program's history and one of the biggest in the history of the conference. With stars like Rudy Carpenter, Keegan Herring and Michael Jones, the offense still ranked 100th in the league. How well will they do now without those three? Odds are not very well.

Prediction: USC runs away with the conference with an 11-1 regular-season record. You could maybe consider the Trojans for a possible undefeated season, but with a tough week 2 test at Ohio State, followed later by road games against two other PAC-10 programs that want to prove their legitimacy (Cal on Oct. 3, Oregon on Halloween), there's a big chance for a hiccup.

PAC-10 Projected Final Standings
1. USC
2. California
3. Oregon
4. Arizona
5. Oregon State
6. UCLA
7. Arizona State
8. Stanford
9. Washington
10. Washington State

Lee to Phils, VMart next to go?

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Now that the Cleveland Indians have sent Cliff Lee to the Phillies, it looks even more likely Victor Martinez will be next. Why? Phillies catching prospect, Lou Marson was a key piece in the deal. The Indians did very well in my opinion getting Marson, shortstop Jason Donald, and righhanders Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp for Lee and Ben Francisco. The Phillies also did very well, picking up a very good lefthanded pitcher without giving up either Kyle Drabek or JA Happ.

Enough Lee talk though. The Indians are now in line to pick up even more top of the line prospects by trading Victor Martinez. The most likely landing spot for VMart is the Boston Red Sox, especially if they're willing to deal Clay Bucholtz. There are other suitors, like the San Fran Giants, but the Red Sox makes the most sense. Martinez would be the long term solution at catcher and could play first base the remainder of this season and next. I don't think the acquisition of Adam LaRoche would impact this deal at all.

That's my prediction, let's see what happens.

Stay classy, Nomar. Stay classy.

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Ok, I will preface this blog with this. I despise Nomar Garciaparra. There are no two ways about it. Even when he was here, I knew what he was - a tremendously talented baseball player with a bad attitude and a chip on his shoulder for all the wrong reasons. He wore the red, white and blue of the Red Sox like it was a burden instead of a privilege. And while he has always insisted he loved the fans in Boston and he loved the team, he never did anything to actually show it, leaving his words resoundingly empty.

For all intents and purposes, the yesterday's ceremony to retire Jim Rice's number was amazing, a moment that will stay etched in my mind forever. I really feel truly blessed to have been there to witness it.

But there was a brief moment where I felt nothing but disgust and sure enough, Nomar Garciaparra was in the middle of it.

For those of you who missed it, let me break it down for you.

After a brief introduction, Rice was introduced to the Fenway Faithful and made his entrance from the overhead door in left field, appropriately, and to a rousing ovation walked down the third-base line towards home plate, passing the Oakland dugout on the way. There were several players stretching and prepping for the game and as Rice passed them, Nomar jumped out in front of him with arms extended as if to say, "Come on, big guy, gimme a hug!"

Rice hugged him, but Nomar didn't let go and actually started rocking back and forth in an awkward exchange that looked like a pair of pre-teen middle schoolers dancing together for the first time at the school social.

Does it seem like much? Maybe not. But it's still a case of Nomar trying to insert himself in someone else's spotlight.

I have no problem with Nomar appreciating Rice and wanting to congratulate him. But how many current and former Red Sox players appreciate Rice and have congratulated him? Probably more than a few. How many of them did it in public, uninvited? One. Nomar wanted everyone to see him congratulate Rice. It would have been one thing if Rice made a point to go over to Nomar and give him a hug. It's the fact that Nomar went out of his way.

Maybe he couldn't stand to see the spotlight on someone else. Maybe it was one more way for Nomar to say, "See? I really do like Boston!" in his somewhat successful attempt to show the lemmings he cares and get their love back. Or maybe he and Rice are friends. I don't know their relationship.

But if they are friends, Nomar should have accepted that this was Rice's moment, stood to the side and let him have it. It's not like there wouldn't be other opportunities both inside the ballpark or outside to give Rice a hug, congratulate him, buy him a beer, whatever. And if he couldn't get a hold of him, Nomar could have called up his good buddy Lou Merloni and gotten hooked up.

It was Rice's moment. And it was an unbelievable one - one that I feel extremely lucky to have been there to see. But a part of me will always remember that moment where the man who couldn't stand to be here, couldn't stand the organization and didn't care about the fans made himself a part of history that honored someone who did all the things Nomar never did.

Stay classy, Nomar. Stay classy.

Vick on a short leash

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Michael Vick's back.

Well, sort of.

The National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell granted the dog-killing Vick to a conditional reinstatement to the league yesterday after the all legs and no accuracy former Atlanta Falcons quarterback served two years in prison for his involvement in the dog fighting ring that quickly become national headlines.

Yes, Vick has paid a very steep price both personally and professionally for many giant off-the-field decisions.

Now, he's getting a chance to get back to his sport and his profession, but Goodell didn't cut Vick much slack.

You would think serving time behind bars in prison would be enough punishment, but Goodell, who clearly wants everyone to know he's in charge of the NFL and wants people to fear him based on his iron-fist rulings, put Vick in a ever-so-tight collar with his stipulations to get back into the league.

Under Goodell's ruling, Vick can partake in training camp (well, if someone wants to sign him and is ready for a media circus throughout the season) and play in the final two preseason games, but can't take the field until Week 6 at the earliest. So basically he's still suspended from the NFL until that time since he can't play in a real game. Well, Goodell could lift that ruling and reinstate him fully before that at any point, but do you really think he will? No, then Goodell will appear soft, and we all know he doesn't want that label like the Indianapolis Colts receivers have.

Is it fair? Personally, I don't think an added sentence is necessary, but Goodell must feel like Vick still has much to prove before he'll let him play again. He's luckier than most, considering he'll still have a job, maybe, right? 

I'm willing to bet Vick knows he's under a microscope and one more bad move and he'll be banned from the league forever. But this structure is what Goodell feels is necessary before Vick can really consider himself back in the league. 

Remember, actions speak louder than words.

There really shouldn't be much complaining from Vick and his camp, considering Goodell could have really been a tough guy and banned him from the league forever. Ask MLB hit dog Pete Rose how it feels to be left out in the cold and banned from the sport he so loves? 

At least for Vick, he is getting another chance.

That leash is tight, but Vick is still breathing!