Dodgers Future

According to ESPN, Los Angeles Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley may be out for the season. Manager Don Mattingly said today that it is likely that the 10-9 starter will not pitch again this season. Is this creating an opening for former Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett? While Billingsley only won 10 games, he was holding opposing batters to a solid .257 average, and posted a decent 1.29 WHIP. Maybe the Dodgers/Sox trade was exactly what the doctor ordered for LA, but only time will tell.

Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 1

Okay everyone, we realize that this is the time of year in which Fantasy Football gets huge. I personally have money in a league, so I'll check every day to see how to optimize my lineup to maximize my point total. Every week, we'll do a few sleeper players for that week. Obviously, week 1 is approaching rapidly (tomorrow!), so let's get to it so we can all make those final roster changes.

1. Ronnie Brown - RB -  San Diego Chargers

With Ryan Mathews almost definitely out for the opener (collarbone), former star Ronnie Brown should take the bulk of the carries from Philip Rivers usually stellar offense. While Brown has lost a step in the last couple seasons, he's still a great back with good vision and elusiveness. Also, you have to think the Raiders won't be great on D this season....I mean, when was the last time they were, right?

2. Brandon Lafell - WR -  Carolina Panthers

Although Lafell is not a household name, he is a solid wideout in an offense ready to erupt this season, a year out of Cam Newton's unprecedented performance. While (the real) Steve Smith is obviously Cam's number one target, Lafell is sure to get some good chances in a great rushing offense. Smith and TE Greg Olsen will both call for double coverage at some point, leaving a great opportunity for Lafell on play-action passes. You might see a few catches for a lot of yards and a TD.

3. Minnesota Vikings DEF

There are a few reasons the Vikings could have a good week defensively....none of which are Vikings players, except for sack-king Jared Allen. Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert is in his second year, and he's coming off a pretty horrible year as a rookie. Yes, Maurice Jones-Drew is the rushing leader, but he just ended his holdout and is likely not in football condition (let alone condition to get 20 carries and hit 20+ times). The Jags did add WR Justin Blackmon, but he is the only real threat there (Mike Thomas is solid but nothing special). I think the Vikings will get at least 1 or 2 turnovers and possibly a handful of sacks (2, 3, or 4). Even if the score is high, the Vikings could get you more than 10 points here.

Foursquare: Great social network or creeping device?

Okay, so I decided to hop on board the social network known as "Foursquare" finally. Being a devout Facebook and Twitter user, I had seen friends posting from Foursquare to these sites telling me where they were and what they were doing. At first glance, I assumed that Foursquare was just basically a glorified Facebook check-in app. However, after I downloaded and began to use this, I realized that there could be some great advantages and disadvantages to this.

Basically, whenever you go to a bar, restaurant, or any place of interest, you can "check-in" to it and tell people you are there. After the initial check-in, you gain points based on the location, how many times you've gone, and how many of your friends have checked into the same location. If you accumulate the most check-ins at a spot, you become the "mayor" of it. I found a bar where if you became the mayor, you would receive happy hour deals at ANY time you visit. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me, I could eat a massive plate of $5 nachos and a massive $3 margarita any day. It also seems that Foursquare has worked out some deal with American Express, as most places offer a deal through them stating that if you spend $10 through AMEX, you get $5 off. Aside from being the mayor, anyone can leave notes about a location. These can be really handy if you've never been to this place before, as regulars can leave inside information regarding deals or specials. Again, another way that I've found this social network to be helpful, I'm always down to save some money when possible.

What worries me is the fact that when you check-in, everyone knows exactly where you are. If you checked into every place you visited for a week, someone reading your feed could literally follow you around. It's almost like having some creepy friend looking over your shoulder at all times, updating what you are doing to the rest of your friends. If you're trying to avoid seeing certain people, Foursquare is definitely not going to be the social network you want to be using, stick to Twitter and not checking-in.

Basically, I see this as a mixture of savings and stalking, with a side of actual social networking. I haven't been apart of this fad for too long, so I'm curious as to what some heavier users of Foursquare think about it.

Bob Barker rejected?

According to a Yahoo! source, Bob Barker was not invited to the Price is Right 40th anniversary. Without Bob, that show would've gone nowhere. He was the lifeblood of the show and the fans for decades, and his replacement has done nothing to bring that back. Price is Right, shame on you.

Denver Home Field Airvantage

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark will once again sit out against the Broncos at Mile High Stadium. The trash-talker has sickle cell disease, so the thin air can have a bad affect on his blood flow. But the question here is, how much of an advantage does Denver get playing at home? Last year, Tim Tebow threw a game winning touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas against the Steelers in overtime of a playoff game. If Clark was playing, maybe he would've changed that play. The whole outlook of the playoffs could have been different. Now the Broncos have Peyton Manning to lead them, which could actually be scary for many AFC teams. On top of that they get to prepare in the thin air of the Rockies just like Kenyans prepare for marathons running shoeless through jagged mountain trails. Will this be the comeback of the century for Manning and his new Broncos?

Bama New No.1

It didn't take long for the Crimson Tide to take over the number 1 ranking in college football from USC. Maybe the fact that Bama is the defending champion (winning last year handily, might I add) plus the fact that Lane Kiffin and USC haven't been very good recently, changed people's minds so quickly. I guess the addition of Silas Redd, the former Penn State running back, didn't give the Trojans as much of a bang as they expected.

19 Year Old NHL Captain?

The Colorado Avalanche have named 19 year old Gabriel Landeskog team captain, according to ESPN. Having multiple players over the age of 30, wouldn't one of them suffice as captain? Isn't captain about leadership and experience? Though this is unprecedented, maybe it will work out for them. If not, I'm sure we'll hear alot of badmouthing toward coach Joe Sacco and the front office.

Good luck, kid