FHF on Roids

Facial Hair Friday is back, and on Steroids. Here he is, Big Papi-

You No Big Papi

Surprise surprise. David Ortiz tested positive for steroids in 2003, along with Manny and ARod. This, of course, casts a shadow over his entire career in Boston, including those two World Series Championships. While it is a shame that this cloud is once again over baseball, I have to say I am a little pleased. Now all these fake Red Soxs fans that sprouted up during the 2004 playoffs can go back to their holes and stop acting like they know about sports. You don't know anything, and the Roid Soxs cheated. Deal with it, and leave now.

That's Right, the Kid talks about Swimming too.

So there is a big controversy in the world of swimming. Seems these new swimsuits are covered in poly-urethane and it makes swimmers go faster, or something. Honestly, the science of it all is kind of lost on me. But the main point here is that these suits give swimmers that wear them a competitive advantage. Obviously, this is not fair. There is only one solution to this whole issue- nude swimming. Would it offend the censors, probably. Would it hurt swimming's TV ratings, probably not. It may have to be on HBO, but I bet more people would watch it. It is the only way to ensure that the best swimmers win because of talent, not because of technology. OK, I suppose if you made it so that only one suit was approved by the international swimming board, then that would be fair too. But far less interesting.

NBA Free Agency

Lots of big names still out there in NBA free agency. A whole lot. Lamar Odom, David Lee, Carlos Boozer. Power forwards as far as the eye can see. Now, I may be biased, but I think that the best bargain of the bunch is Hakim Warrick, recently released by the Memphis Grizzlies. He can come cheap, around $3 mill a year. Furthermore, he doesn't have an ego (after playing his whole career in Memphis, how could he?) He is more than capable of going off for 30 points, and has a career average of 11 and 4 in the guard-heavy offense the Grizz ran. If a team wants a great role-playing starter, or a true 6th man, then Hak is your guy. And no, the fact that he was a first team All-American at Syracuse has nothing to do with this....

The Nats Winning Streak???

Yes Virginia, there is a professional baseball team in Washington DC. The Nationals are officially playing their role of spoilers, now on a 4 game winning streak including two wins over the playoff seeking Milwaukee Brewers. I am loving this. The Nats are scoring runs and getting great pitching, not only from their young staff but from their relievers also. Obviously, the winning won't last the rest of the season, but all we need is 12 more wins to go 44-118. If we get to 50, all the better. But for the first time all season, I am having some fun watching my Nats.

Now, as far as Friday's trade deadline goes, there are only two people the Nats should think about parting with. The first is reliever Joe Beimel. He is a free agent after this season, and really doesn't want to be in Washington anymore. If we could trade him for a younger arm and a prospect, I would be ecstatic. The second, which is getting harder to say, is Nick Johnson. He really is a professional hitter, able to draw a walk almost every at bat and is hitting for average better this year than he ever has. The problem is that he is injury prone. If he didn't have that history, I would say keep him and let him be at 1B for the foreseeable future. Instead, it may be time to move him.

Goodbye Favre?

Is it true? Could this really be happening? Is life in the NFL without Brett Favre actually going to be a reality. According to the man himself, it is. Favre told the Vikings that he will remain retired. I say good decision. Not only am I getting tired of the constant wavering by Favre, but he simply isn't the quarterback he used to be. We want to remember Favre at his best, not struggling to complete throws any starter should make. So, if its true, goodbye Mr. Favre. See you at Canton in 5 years.

Where Should Vick Go?

Now that Michale Vick has been conditionally reinstated by the NFL, the question looming as camp beings is where the former superstar will play. Here are the 5 teams that would be the best fit for him, in my opinion. And no, the Redskins are not one of them.

1. Seattle Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck is coming off of an injury, and hasn't really been reliable since the Hawks got to the SuperBowl. While I will always be a fan of backup Senaca Wallace for what he did at Iowa State, the truth is they may be short at QB this year. Furthermore, they have the ultimate running back by committee, with Julius Jones, TJ Duckett and the rest. Why not bring Vick in as your 3rd String QB, and running threat out of the wildcat or just out of a spread formation? Oh, and did I mention Jim Mora Jr, Vick's old coach, is the head coach in Seattle now?

2. New England Patriots: Coach B seems to be able to turn any misfit player into part of a SuperBowl championship team. He did it with Corey Dillon, and is doing it with Randy Moss. Could Vick be next? Tom Brady wouldn't have to worry about Vick taking snaps, but they do need a backup now that Matt Cassel is in KC.

3. San Francisco 49ers: They don't have a quarterback. Plain and simple. Unless they are already planning to be a part of the Sam Bradford/ Jevon Snead/ Dan LeFevour sweepstakes, they need a true starter.

4. Minnesota Vikings: Brett Farve hasn't said he is back yet, so why not get Vick to carry the load until Father Time is ready to commit to the team.

5. Buffalo Bills: TO has already spoken up on behalf of Vick, so he has a friend in Buffalo. Trent Edwards is still young, and you don't want TO to break the boy's spirit. And, really, no one circles the wagons quite like the Buffalo Bills.

Beach Blog, and your Washington Nationals

Hanging out at the beach for a week, so I have plenty of down time to blog. I will finally be able to have at least one post a day for you. So enjoy.

First post of the week- Your 30-win Washington Nationals! They took 2 of 3 from the San Diego Padres, and are now just 14 wins away from guaranteeing that they are not the worst or second worst team in MLB history. While a record of 44-118 obviously isn't good, it's better than those old Mets.

Some Time for Mike Vick

Well, the legal side of Michael Vick's saga is over. The former NFL Superstar was released from federal custody yesterday, and is now a free man (though he still has a ton of probation). The big question now is whether or not he deserves a second chance in the NFL. many feel that what he did, the dog fighting that is, was so heinous that he should never be allowed back. I do not agree. True, it was an awful thing that he did, completely unacceptable. But he has served his time, and paid his debt to society. Furthermore, he didn't kill or injure any people. There are men in the NFL who have done both of these. So does Vick deserve a second chance? Yes he does.

Now, the question is, can he still play? I doubt Roger Goodell is going to let him play this season, so he should play in the UFL. The Orlando team drafted him, so he has a league and a team to play for. He can show us, the doubting public, that he can still run like he did before. Maybe he can show that he passes better than he did before. He does that, i guarantee an NFL team comes knocking.

Would Harry Potter Play for the Wizards?

Funny thing from SI.com's Hot Clicks section, comparing Harry Potter characters with their sports-world look-alikes. Enjoy here!

NO TIME

I swear, once my first grad school semester ends next week, I will be a blogging machine. Till then, I have little to no time, as made evident by my lack of writing in the past 11 days. No FHF or anything. To tide you all over, here is Sen. Orrin Hatch's Op-Ed from espn.com about the BCS.

Also, it has been pretty slow in sports the past week, so a lot hasn't been missed, but here is a quick list of things I can think of off the top of my head, in no chronological order:

- Federer won Wimbledon again and is #1 in the world. Serena won Wimbledon and is still #2, despite winning 3 of the last 4 grand slams... Go figure.
- The AL won the All-Star Game again
- The Nats lost a lot, and fired Manny Acta. They also haven't even talked to Strasburg yet.
- We mourned the loss of Steve McNair, and it was determined his death was a murder/suicide by his 20 year old mistress.
- Boxer Arturo Gatti was killed, and his wife has been charged with the murder.
- Lance is in 3rd in Le Tour.
- Pedro came back today with the Phillies.
- Prince Fielder won the Home Run Derby.
- NBA Summer League started, and Jonny Flynn has been playing well.
- Blake Griffin has also, but Stephen Curry has not.
- Tiger won his own tournament, the AT&T National. Now he is getting ready for the British, starting tomorrow.
- Former SU running back Curtis Brinkley was shot in Philadelphia. Thankfully, he should be fine.
- A pitcher from the Giants (Sanchez, I believe), got moved from the rotation to the bullpen, only to be moved back to the rotation when the Big Unit got injured. What did Sanchez do with this second chance? Threw a no-hitter, that probably should have been a perfect game.
- Brock Lesnar destroyed Frank Mir in UFC 100, and proceeded to WWE it up by taunting and running his mouth. At least in WWE, I know it is acting. Lesnar may have been serious.
- LeBron got dunked on by a college sophomore at his basketball camp. It was caught on film, or was before LeBron had Nike reps seize the tapes. Poor form.


That's all I got right now. Back to work, and I'll be back soon. I promise.

RIP Steve McNair

Man, what an awful week and a half. The most tragic death of them all happened today, as former NFL MVP Steve McNair was found dead in Nashville, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound. Police have yet to comment about the circumstances surrounding his death and the death of a woman found with him. Still, a very sad day. No celebrating on this July 4th. RIP Steve McNair.

FHF

The late Billy Mays here for FHF. I figured he was the big celebrity who passed away that also sported facial hair, so he gets the honor. RIP Billy.

More FHF next week.

Sorry LeBron, Hello Kobe

Well, you can strike the big three in Cleveland. Ron Artest has decided to take his services to the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that eliminated his Rockets from the playoffs this year en route to the NBA Championship. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em I guess. This may put the Lakers back into the lead for next year's Championship. It hurts the Cavs and gives them one of the best defensive players in the NBA to go along with Bryant. The NBA hot stove has been fun so far. Will the next big splash be the reported Hedo to Portland? Or Sheed to the Celtics? Will Trevor Arize leaving LA for Houston mean anything to a team that will be without Yao? Let's wait and see.

Wiliams-bledon

The Williams sisters are back in the Wimbledon finals. They are almost too good. My pick is Venus for Saturday. She is possibly the greatest female grass player of all time. However, I think Serena will take the US Open.

The Big Witness Protection... Or the Big Shaquasition

Shaq is in Cleveland to help LeBron win a championship. he is there to "Win a ring for the King". I think this might be the biggest move in the NBA since the Celtics got KG. Shaq is closer to retirement than he is his glory years, but he can still be exactly what the Cavs need to put them back in the finals. They have lacked real toughness down low and now they can get one of the greatest centers of all time? It was a no-brainer trade. Unloading Pavlovic and Ben Wallace was smart too, because the Cavs were not getting a lot out of those two anyway.

As if Shaq wasn't enough, the Cavs are now rumored to be wooing Ron Artest. Imagine that starting 5- Mo Williams, LeBron James, Ron Artest, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Shaq. Their bench isn't as deep, but has quality players with Delonte West, Daniel Gibson and rookie Danny Green. If they get Artest, they will win the East. Write that down.