AFC South

Ahh the almighty AFC South. On a side note, how does Indy geographically fit in this division? Was the NFL just too lazy to change their division after they moved from Baltimore? I digress...

1) Jacksonville Jaguars -

That's right, you heard it here first. I seriously think Jacksonville finally has the fire power and stability to overtake the almighty Colts and take over this division. David Garrard did a fantastic job leading this offense after the Jags officially tossed Byron Leftwich into the dumpster. He is going to keep the trend going if the Jags expect to make me look like a genius. He has proven completely capable of completing short passes and has also shown a Cunningham-esque running ability when he needs it. Oh yeah, the Jags also happen to have the best one two punch in the league with Jones-Drew and Taylor in their backfield.

They couldn't overtake Indy last year, but they kept the same defensive core and improved it when they drafted pass rush in the draft. They also improved the targets for Garrard with DJ Hackett and might be better off with dope smokin Matt Jones on the side line.

All this being said, I chose Jax because I think the division is going to fall into their lap.


Big ? : Garrard - Doesn't have to do much. He needs to continue completing the passes the running game gives him and to be a stable leader in the backfield. That's not too hard right?

2) Indianapolis Colts -

I just don't think Indianapolis can hold it together this year. The following are all big health concerns: Marvin Harrison (being 80), Peyton Manning (knee surgery), Dwight Freeney(foot surgery), Bob Sanders (shoulder surgery). Last time I checked, those are four of the top five players on their team (Addai being the fifth).

Granted if Harrison comes down with something again, I think Wayne, Gonzalez and Dallas Clark can probably pick up the slack, they did it last year.

However, Peyton is just screaming at me this year. It's his first major surgery on his body since coming into the league and as of yesterday (Five weeks and two days after surgery) Peyton is still not practicing and still seems to be walking gingerly on his leg.




You're going to tell me that when he comes back, that none of the defenses (Chicago, Minnesota, JAX 2X, SD, GB, NE, PIT) are going to eat up his knee after sacking him?

"Hi Sports room, put me down for $100 on Jacksonville to win the division, thanks."


Big ? : Manning - Imagine the Colts without a healthy Peyton Manning. Yikes.



3) Tennessee Titans -

I think Houston and Tennessee are basically going to have the same record. Reason being, the Titans didn't do squat to help Vince Young and he needs all the help he can get.

Vince Young is an amazing athlete, don't get me wrong...but I don't think he is a good quarterback. If you just thought "he is a good quarterback," he had 9 TD's and 17 int's last year, you're an idiot.

The Dolphins scored more freaking touchdowns last year than the Titans did last year. I might update this and put the Texans above them later...


Big ? : V. Young - This guy somehow wins games every year, but their success is going to coincide with his ability to throw balls into NFL coverages. I can't understand why he isn't getting better with pictures like this getting out every off-season.



4) Houston Texans -

Things holding back the Texans:
A) Matt Schaub is their starting quarterback, I don't know if I would take him or Vince Young first.

B) They have no legit #1 threat running back. Currently they have two new RB's trying to grab the starter role (Slaton and Chris Brown). Not to mention they are both trying to learn an offense that is pretty complex...Kubiak's zone blocking scheme.

C) Their defense isn't all that good outside of Mario Williams and Dameco Ryans.


Big ? : Slaton/Brown - The whole success of this offense is going to based on how quickly these two pick up the blocking scheme from their previous team/college. If they do so quickly, watch out, this team could easily pass TEN and find itself in the hunt for a wild card spot.

I usually don't do this...

Lupe's Superstar remix is DISGUSTING...so check it out for a few minutes. This isn't the video, it's just the first one I could find, so my apologies for the video not coordinating with the song at all.



Aren't you happy you did that?

AFC East

1) New England Patriots - I hate all of the Boston titles just as much as everyone else, but it's going to be next to impossible for them to lose their conference. New England could possibly lose 4 games this season (@ SD, PIT, @ IND, @ SEA) I don't see anyone in their conference winning 12 games.

Big ? : Tom Brady's health, he's out for up to three weeks and this division is wide open...

2) New York Jets - Even though they signed Brett Favre recently, I was still tempted to put Buffalo. I have to think that Brett Favre just added at least four wins to this teams record. I remember watching two games in particular last year that were lost because the QB couldn't put the ball in the receivers hands. You throw in Faneca, who improves their offensive line and this team could be incredibly dangerous.

Big ? : Thomas Jones - now has Brett Favre to put his team up in games, can he be the man to pound it out on the ground...and put more than one ball in the end zone...

3) Buffalo Bills - This team is going to surprise a lot of people this year. I'm not saying that they are going to win their division this year, I'm not saying they are going to win ten games, but they are going to surprise you. This team is a lot better than most people think, and they have a brutal running game. Marshawn Lynch is tied for Marshawn Lynch as the games toughest runner whom both love to lower their head and hand out concussions. On top of that, Trent Edwards has been ecstatic with the maturity of James Hardy (6'5" WR from Indiana). If he continues to improve the Bills could have the speed (Lee Evans) to go deep, and the height to corner it in the end zone. I will say it again, don't underestimate this team, they could surprise you.

Big ? : Trent Edwards progression as an NFL QB as well as his growth with Evans, Parrish and Hardy.

How can you not love Marshawn Lynch? DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN

4) Miami Dolphins - I think every person in the US could predict the Dolphins losing their division, Parcells is trying to get a high draft pick anyways right? Although Pennington is going to add a little competitiveness to this team, it's all about growth this season. Growth of Williams back into his pre-Tibetan self, growth of Ginn Jr. into an actual receiver, growth of Chad Henne into their QB of the future.

Big ? : Ricky Williams - If he can create some stability in that backfield, this team could easily win 6 games...don't expect anything more.

I don't know what division I'm going to do next, but I guess I will do all of the divisions and then do the playoffs after that. Two posts in two days, watch out.

NFL

I'm going to start giving my rundown of the the NFL soon, just give me a chance to have a slow day at work...

Olympic thoughts

I can't believe I haven't written anything on these Olympics yet, but if you've been in the Himalayas for the past two weeks, here's an overall update and my pointless rants about it.



China is winning in overall golds we are winning in overall medals - Of course they are winning in gold medals, they have 8 bagillion people. On top of that, they choose all of their athletes when they are four and make them live a life solely surrounding training for the Olympics. (I read it on Fox News so it has to be true.) Congrats China, try winning that many medals with 1/4 of your population. If we could afford to have people focusing on lame things like team archery, table tennis, synchronized diving and judo, I'm sure we would be beating your ass. I feel like there should be a medal tracker for events people actually care about (ie: swimming, volleyball, running, basketball, baseball, soccer, gymnastics), because the US would dominate that puppy.

(Update: It seems like whenever China and the US face off, we either a) get screwed or b) have some incredibly shady judging let China win...I'm getting tired of it, can we threaten them with economic sanctions?)



China is also winning in producing fake passports for its' gymnasts - This was the most ridiculous thing I think I have ever seen. I understand that China has spent 40 billion on these Olympics and only 10 billion on their healthcare but give me a break...every one of these girls were missing teeth. Per a very reliable source, humans usually lose their teeth around the age of thirteen. You, China, should be ashamed of yourselves. Our girls busted their asses out there and despite Sacramone's two faulters we still almost beat you. Give yourselves up, you gutless cowards...



Tell me you think this girl is 16...


NO


FRIGGIN


WAY




That girl looks 12, maybe thirteen. (My apologies that all of their missing teeth are strategically placed on the right side of their mouths.) Granted, China should be credited with having the most talented 13 year old gymnasts in the world to be fair...I think it's a legit trade off.


Alicia Sacramone - This girl has been all over the news since the team gymnastics and I have never been happier. Everyone keeps writing that she cost our gymnastics team an overall gold. Well that's fine everyone, Can we just forgive her? She is hot as hell and has an awesome youtube video of her knocking out some guy



Oh, that's not her you say? Choke on this one big guy...or girl...




God how hot is she? For the record she is 21...so stop thinking I am a pedafile. This dude who interviews her is the biggest loser in the entire world:

"Is there any event you just need to like...rock...to be selected."

Way to go bud...ESPN HERE WE COME!

Michael Phelps is a freak - He topped Mark Spitz with eight gold medals won. This is unreal what we have had the pleasure of seeing. EIGHT. Eight gold medals, seven world records.

If you have to look at two of these record breaking runs, the relays were definitely the most impressive. The best comeback in Olympic history isn't up on youtube but here's an explanation of what happened...thanks NY Times for being so boring.






The other relay was amazing for an entirely different reason. the 4 X 200 relay broke the world record by 7 seconds. That is UNHEARD OF in swimming. It's the equivalent of breaking the 100 meter dash by .75 seconds, it just doesn't happen.


Beach Volleyball looks fun - I was watching beach volleyball down in D.C. with my buddy Jim and we both made the same comment at the same time. "I wish I could play more beach volleyball." Maybe we are the only two men in the U.S. that thought this at that moment, but I'm going to say that we weren't the only two. I think the U.S. is going to see a big spike in volleyball sales in the next year or so, find the market share leader and buy it up.

Hahahaha

That "Proud to be a Buckeye" video never gets old...what a loser.

Those two photos of Alli also never get old...priceless

On Vacation

So, I might have picked the worst time to revitalize the old blogging thing considering I'm on vacation. I have a few minutes right now though so let me blah blah about life right now...

Before I get into this, I need to put something out there: I've been really blessed as far as vacations go. I have a great family that loves going on vacations together. It's a great way for us to spend quality time together, which considering where we all are in life is a little tough at times. So if I seem pumped by lame things, get over it, I had fun and that's all that matters. So far we've been on some pretty awesome vacations to Cancun, Hawaii, Puerto Rico recently and we are currently on our latest adventure.

The family and I are in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Here's a picture of where we are staying...

Awesome looking right? The beach is way more populated with palm trees. (They must have taken that picture 10 years ago)

UPDATE: Here's what I'm talking about...

I'm loving the laying on the beach bit, it's great. I get to read a few books, get a tan, jam out to some tunes, how can you not enjoy that?

Here are a few highlights (videos and pictures will be uploaded as soon as I get home and I can do so, consider this an outline of things to come)

Lots of retarded sibling humor:

The infamous Paige "sup vid" Iversen video: This is a look into what it's like being in the same room as Paige for a week...
The Iversen trio "I'll show you 'all-inclusive' liquid diet day" pics
Iversen's recreation of the Trevi fountain in the middle of their fountain

A ridiculous "host of activities" who's entire vocabulary is limited to:

"whooooo ha ah ah ah ah ah" (picture count chocula from the cereal commercials)
"ooo la la"
"woop wooping" like bub rub and lil sis...

I really can't emphasize this enough, literally every song or break in action he does all three of these sounds. He's like a Dominican Energizer bunny.

Vacation Stuff:

banana boats, coconut tossing, spiking volleyballs into little kids faces, teaching the windsurfing instructors how to actually windsurf, sailing, all the joys that come with eating vacation food and then realizing you'll stick to bread and fruit, blah, blah, blah...good times

So that's all for now, I'll randomly be updating this with pics and videos.

Update: I never get tired of this feature on my camera...

A little taste of my week...

THINGS GOING THROUGH MY HEAD RIGHT NOW:
- My job is great, I can't wait to get the courage to quit
- What is your life's footprint going to look like when your 75
- Is the U.S. for me?
- 65 year old women on vacation in DR should really wear tops, and not wear thongs....or two pieces
- Hot woman sitting to my left every day shall have no such limitations (I'm a male, get over it.)
- If life sucks when you are 40, you should move to a beach and open a bar

Good Times in the Chi...

A couple of pics of Wrigley in case you haven't seen it...
















A cub sighting at some bar right by Dave and Jim's place....had to take a pic

















Some uncanny pics of the best...
















Two on, two outs. Lincecum vs. Aramis Ramirez. Strikeout. Lincecum is going to be a perennial all-star, you heard it here first.

Only Tina and I understand the jap we saw...incredibly large...

Tina quote of the weekend:

Tina: You don't like mustard on your hot dogs?

Me: No, mustard ruins things

Tina: So does sex but we still all do it

Overall I give Chicago in the summertime a 9 out of ten. I don't think it can be topped by any other city, other than L.A. in the U.S. If you haven't visited, it is a definite must, find some friends and plan it now. Picture this: 75 degrees, no humidity, partly cloudy, beaches, baseball, parks, great food ("Tango Sur" on Southport is a personal favorite of mine), bars and a generally attractive population before you have a beer. Imagine the possibilities.

Thanks for everyone who hung out this weekend, I truly appreciate the hospitality and it was great seeing you. Know there is always a place to stay in Philly should you want to visit. Well at least until I move out there, in which case you are shit out of luck.

Holy feces....

...It's been a long time since I wrote on this thing. Everyone who is reading this, which is probably no one now, can attribute this to the one and only Jim Cook who I recently visited in Chicago.

A) Props to him for actually reading it and B) thanks for an awesome weekend man. I think his, until recently, unearthed loyalty to this piece has sparked a dim lit fire under my ace. It's either that or the five drinks I've had tonight.

So...without further ado, (is that a word? how do you spell it? I'm way too lazy to look it up...) some recent thoughts of mine.

FYI some thoughts on said city to the left will come with time, this has quickly become a "what's going on with Greg's life blog."

Re sports:

Brett Favre - "Screw you dude"

Screw you dude, you were once the quintessential "franchise" quarterback for all to dream of emulating, now what are you? You're an idiot. You are an self-described "victim of retiring too early." I once put you in the same boat as the following words:

- gutsy
- ballsy
- talented
- annoying to hear about

I now associate you with:

- back-stabbing
- heart-less
- talented
- annoying to hear about

I'm sorry Milwaukee, no one gives a flying crap about your problems. Stop taking up my valuable (read in-valuable) time reading sports stuff with your family problems.

Thanks,

Greg


Josh Hamilton - "Hate to say it but...."

Hate to say it but, I wish I would have been writing this blog more consistently so I could have said "I told you so."

I'm hoping everyone knows about this story, if not here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Hamilton_(baseball)

The show he put on this week at the home run derby was nothing short of spectacular. My god, if you haven't seen this or read about it do so now. The guy hit 11 HR's on 13 pitches. HAYSOOS CHRISTO. He also brought his high school coach in who is 71 years old to pitch to him...

I'm telling you right now, this kid could potentially make the hall of fame, he is that good. If you don't understand what I'm saying, I am basically saying that an average hall of famer's career starts at around 24. Josh just started playing this year (27 years old), and he will make up three years of stats in the next ten. That is of course if he stays healthy...which is always the main clause in those statements.

So, nice seeing you privaleged few who are reading this, I look forward to someone other than Jim reading this...

by the way a good way to show that is to comment on a post...it kind of keeps me going.

Thanks,

Iversen

Proud to be a buckeye...

I haven't even thought about college football for over a month. However, this clip was shown to me the other day and my god, I love OSU fans.




HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...priceless