Dormanium

PETA has gotta cut this out.

What happened to Eight Belles was a horrible, tragic accident that could not have been avoided.

The horse's trainer even said he'd put the same jockey on one of his horses if the derby were tomorrow. PETA has no right to include themselves in this type of situation. The only argument they could make is if all of the horses in the race or all of the horses that Saez rode had to be put down. He expertly rode Eight Belles to a second-place finish.

Even if Saez knew Eight Belles was badly injured and kept riding her, it is because if he pulled up, he risked injuring the other riders and horses. And had he done that, would PETA be on his case?

These people disgust me, it's simple as that. I understand their causes when actual cruelty is involved. But this is ridiculous. And now they're making demands that if an investigation finds Saez was aware of the horse's injury, that the 400,000 dollar prize that Eight Belles bloody WON should be given back.

It's never a problem until something happens for these folks. People have known for years exactly what these horses go through for these races, the problems with breeding, age restrictions, but why start now? And why target Eight Belles and her owners/trainer/jockey?

Disgusting.

My goodness. I love sports of all kinds, my brain may explode one day from too much exposure to professional athletics.

However, tomorrow is my favorite day of the Sports Year.

That's right. It's the NFL Draft! There is nothing I like more than just sitting in front of the TV with some drinks and snacks and just watching teams try to find their futures.

And what's better, is that this year has a lot of players that could turn out to be incredible someday. We're talking 1996's draft talent level. You may not see it now, but I have a hunch that five years down the road, you'll look back at the 2008 draft and go "WOW THEY WERE ALL IN THAT DRAFT?!"

Top Storylines going into the draft:

1. Will Matt Ryan slip past the Ravens at 8? If he doesn, when will he get picked?

2. The Patriots who were 35 seconds from being 19-0 last year have a top 10 pick. Need I say more?

3. The Eagles are in a great position, they can afford to trade Lito Sheppard for a higher pick (I'm sure the Patriots might be interested), and then draft for need.

4. Do the Packers really trust Aaron Rodgers? Will they take Brohm? Or Flacco? Or Ryan if he's there?

5. The Cowboys are rumored to be heavily considering Felix Jones who is an absolute freak. Marion Barber and Felix Jones would be a terrifying offense to deal with, and oh yeah, Terrell Owens IS STILL THERE!

6. If you're the Oakland Raiders, and Chris Long slips to the 4th pick. And you have to choose between Darren McFadden and Chris Long, what the Hell do you do?!

6a. If they take Chris Long, what do the Chiefs, Jets, and Patriots do?

A lot of people don't like the random signing of Jake Long by the Dolphins which took the excitement out of "who's name is getting called first?" however, the rest of the first round, and the draft in general is almost certain to have lots of twists and turns.

Buckle up kids, it's gonna be a good one.

One of the most frustrating things for me in all of professional sports is the alignment in baseball.

16 NL teams
14 AL teams

Not just that, but in the AL, there are two divisions with five teams (east and central) and one division with 4 (the west, obviously).

In the NL, the easy and west have five times.. however the central has six teams. So what the MLB needs right now is realignment. However, realigment goes best with everbody's favorie word... EXPANSION!!!!

So, I now present to you the divisions of Major League Baseball, if I were commissioner:

NL East:
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Mets
Pittsburgh Pirates
Washington Nationals

NL North:
Chicago Cubs
Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers

NL South:
Houston Astros
Florida Marlins
St. Louis Cardinals
Atlanta Braves

NL West:
LA Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres
Colorado Rockies

AL East:
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles
Raleigh Expansion Club

AL North:
Toronto Blue Jays
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Cleveland Indians

AL South:
Kansas City Royals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
New Orleans Expansion Club

AL West:
Seattle Mariners
LA Angels of Anaheim
Oakland A's
Arizona Diamondbacks

There you go. Piece of cake. Add two expansion teams to the AL and all of the sudden both leagues have an even number that's divisible by four.  You want me to say ta-dah so it seems more like a trick?  New Orleans was a recommendation, Raleigh is a necessity. With all of the minor league baseball that takes place in the Carolinas year in and year out, it's about time they moved to the show, eh?

Change the playoff system, make it closer to football's, series length goes 5-7-7-7.

It'd work, don't act like it wouldn't.

So.

One of my favorite sports teams is playing a seventh game in their first round series tonight. They were up 3 games to 1, and were looking like they had the other team on it's heels.

But lo' and behold. Here tonight, the Flyers will be playing the Capitals in a game 7 that should not even be happening. And what's worse is.... I'm not all that upset.

I love the Flyers, I do. I have for years. I remember cheering for them throughout the 90's. And when they got to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1997, only to get swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

Disappointed as I was, I had never been so excited before. A championship series with my favorite team involved? As a Red Sox and Celtics fan that happened to be born in 1987, I had no idea what it was like at that point.

That season is what got me started on watching hockey more often. And for years, I combated my fandom of the Flyers by trying to follow the Boston Bruins, as I'm already a Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics fan thanks to my father.

However, I was able to resist. And I chose the Flyers as my team. I watched as they played great hockey, signed and re-signed great players, but never got around to winning the Stanley Cup.

I remember the 2003-2004 playoffs like yesterday. First the Flyers beat their rivals, the New Jersey Devils in five games. Then they took down the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. This series ended on a dramatic overtime goal by Jeremy Roenick, which to this day is still one of the best moments I've witnessed in sports.

Then, the Tampa Bay Lightening beat the Flyers in 7 games. Ending the excitement, and I was so furious that I didn't watch any of the Stanley Cup Finals, which Tampa Bay ended up winning.

Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was the last NHL game I would watch for over a year.

The entire 2004-2005 season was cancelled due to a labor dispute between the League and the Player's Association, it was a bitter dispute that led to controversial comments from both sides. And finally in the summer of 2005, they agreed on a deal, ushering in the "New NHL" which of course is meant to be more fan friendly.

Shootouts, goalie restrictions, wider goals, no more ties. But most noticeable about the changes to hockey is that ESPN no longer covers it. It's like a holiday when NBC actually covers it, and unless you have some sort of NHL package, chances are you're stuck with the Versus Network.

THE VERSUS NETWORK!?!? 8&^%!!!!! All they have on all day before they play hockey is bass fishing, hunting, and other various outdoor games. And this is the channel I have to watch my hockey on?

ESPN pays hardly ANY attention to the NHL anymore, it's pretty much a second rate league. It's slightly above the MLS and AFL, but nowhere close to even the NBA right now.

And what's even worse. Is right now Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are entering their primes. Both are incredibly young and terrifyingly talented, and hardly anybody cares because the League couldn't get a decent television broadcast deal.

Anyway, the point is, it's taken it's toll on me as well.

I have DirecTV, so I don't get the Versus Network... or Comcast Sports Net. I can not watch the Flyers play, unless they happen to trip and fall onto NBC one Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

I listen to the games on the radio, but it just doesn't have the same effect. And the fact is, I'm nervous about tonight. Not just about the Flyers possibly blowing a 3 games to 1 lead, but that I may not actually be that upset about it.

And if ESPN truly does show more of what people are interested in than something else, well then it appears I'm one of many who are at this point.

I hope the NHL can get it together, pick up a TV deal and start advertising, like the NBA did in the nineties with the "I Love This Game" campaign, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

I hope that someday, I can watch a hockey game again and feel the excitement I once did.

I hope that when I'm 50, people will still be talking about the resurgance of the NHL thanks mainly to Crosby and Ovechkin.

But the realist in me sees none of that happening.

I wish they would just prove me wrong.