The writers of Bloguin are at it again.  This time we decided to really get heated and defend what basketball organization we think is the best: the NBA or the NCAA.  You can tell both sides have a lot of passion for the sport that they love, but trying to persuade someone to jump to your side is a whole different task.  I for one completely side with the NCAA.  NCAA basketball is my favorite sport any of any sport.  I'm sure you'll see why after reading my arguments.  Maybe they're a little biased, a little over the top, but what debate isn't like that?

Participants in this battle royale are Jeff Fox of The Hoops Manifesto, Don from With Malice, a Bloguin newcomer in Ezra of The Purple and Gold Blog, Dave "College Wolf" Kelsey of TWolves Blog, David Pustilink from Da Bulls' Eye, Gene Zarnick of Favre Dollar Footlongsand A Stern Warning'smookie.

Opening Shots

Jeff Fox: I don't see how anyone could argue against NCAA basketball being an inferior product to the NBA after witnessing this past NCAA Tournament. Without a doubt, March Madness is the best North American sporting event outside of the Super Bowl. And the main reason for this is two qualities that the NBA doesn't bring to the table: the thrill of sudden death and the rise of the underdog. In the past 15 seasons, only once has the NBA Finals come down to a seventh, winner-take-all game. And any NBA team that makes the playoff really isn't an underdog (the way Butler was in the NCAA) and, further, the underdog almost never wins an NBA playoff series anyways.

Don: As a non-American, I have the benefit of being somewhat able to look at the NCAA with clarity of vision, not clouded by affiliation. The NCAA is an organisation mired in history, lacking perception. They want to have their players acknowledged as "student-athletes", when the reality is far from that. The vast majority of "big-time college hoops stars" have no interest in obtaining an education. It's merely a stepping stone to the big show, the NBA.

The reality of the NCAA is that they need to make a decision as to who they're there to support: the participants in their programs, or themselves. Thus far, I've seen very few decisions made by the NCAA that are in anyone's interest but the NCAA's.
In retort to your point Jeff: The underdog winning doesn't necessarily make it a better product, and in any case: in case you missed it - DUKE won. As one of the superpowers of college hoops, they're anything but.

The simple reality of college hoops is that yes, it's nice. It's fun. But it's no where near the quality of the product the NBA produces. March Madness provides a nice diversion from the dreariness the end of the NBA season can become, but give me the NBA playoffs over that any day.

Ezra: NCAA vs. NBA has been an age-old debate, but I have to agree with Don here guys (and gals). Just because there's no paychecks involved at the NCAA does not mean the players there aren't playing for one. Of course, they'll play with a sense of urgency because of the element of sudden death but also the idea that the further these kids can take their team into the tournament the more NBA scouts will pay attention. But if the NBA borrows that lose-and-you're-out form, we'll probably see more teams preparing for and playing in the playoffs a whole lot better. But that doesn't make the NCAA any better than the NBA. Besides, rooting for the team that represents your city or your hometown just gives a sense of something bigger.

As far as the underdog element in the NBA playoffs, I think any team not deemed to win it all is an underdog because the second best team never gets to bring home the gold, never gets a parade, and never gets to meet the president.

Dave Kelsey: The NCAA is all fine and dandy, but when it comes down to it, I want to see the best. Heck, Duke -vs- Butler looked like a DivisionII college game with some of those "athletes" out there on the floor. The NBA playoffs has the very best basketball players in the entire world; their grace, beauty, strength, speed, and skills is unmatched. I'll take that any day of the week over players from schools I don't really care about, played by a majority of athletes that will never even reach the next level. Yes, March Madness has thrilling moments at times, but the level of basketball just doesn't compare. Especially when some of the best athletes/schools get knocked out of the tournament.

David Pustilnik: My issue is with the NCAA’s level of play. When comparing to the NBA, it’s honestly pathetic. The possessions are painful to watch. The 35 second shot clock kills me. And not only that, the players usually can’t figure out what to do with the ball within 35 seconds. The game moves at such a slow pace when compared to the NBA because of the 35 second shot clock.

Beyond that, you have the constant zone defense. Watching sub-par college basketball players try to break a zone is like watching someone bang their head against the wall repeatedly. It’s painful and you’re not getting anywhere. And because of the combination of zone defense, the 35 second shot clock, and young kids who don’t exactly have the skill or knowledge to do the right thing with the ball, usually all you see on an offensive possession is players swinging the ball round and round along the perimeter until the clock gets down to about 7 seconds. At that point, the best player gets the ball and finally tries to do something crazy with it and it often just turns into a turnover. That’s literally what half of any college basketball game looks like.

Beyond that, the number of timeouts called is just ridiculous. Sure, there are some elite coaches out there who are legendary for their techniques and ability to lead their team to the promised land. But for the most part, college coaches call so many timeouts and probably don’t even know why they’re calling them. “Oh, the clock is under 12 minutes, I better call timeout.”….”Oh, now it’s under 8 minutes…timeout again.” Why? It’s not like most college coaches are even capable of drawing up an effective play that’s capable of breaking a zone or anything else. If the other team’s got more talent, there’s nothing you can draw up in a timeout that will help you. In the NBA, the talent level is so widely dispersed and parity is so strong that timeouts are an incredibly useful and strategic weapon depending on the game situation and the coach who’s calling it. But I honestly do not see the point of an “under 8 timeout” for no reason other than the clock being under 8 minutes. So annoying.

Also, the zone leads to teams being forced to rely on the three. The college game 100% revolves around the three-point shot. And it’s a three-point shot that the college “centers” can usually hit, because it’s still in their range. The three-point shot, in comparison with the NBA, is not a real 3-point shot. That goes without saying. I don’t need to convince anyone of that. But that isn’t the point. Because it is in the range of anyone who has decent shooting form, so many college teams absolutely live and die by the three. They don’t have a choice. Most college teams don’t have the weapons or the inside presence to break a zone. You need a tremendous slasher…some Evan Turner-esque talent to consistently get to the basket against a zone. Either that or a massive body who can just overpower anyone who is guarding him. Most teams don’t have either. For example, my Illini. So they absolutely live and die by the 3. So when it’s not falling, they are nothing. In most situations, if a college team isn’t effective at shooting the three, then they absolutely cannot compete.That just isn’t the case in the NBA. The Bulls are a great example of that, as they are the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA and are about to overtake the Raptors for a playoff spot (that’s right, I said it).

So basically, I don’t consider being forced to jack up threes because your team isn’t good enough to do anything else within 35 seconds against a zone, or any defense for that matter, true basketball. It just isn’t. True basketball is elite basketball. Watching the best players compete against the best players. Watching teams who have players on their team who know exactly what to do with the basketball in every situation. Watching players who are heady, and don’t have to look back at their coach every couple minutes to make sure they know what’s going on. Sure, I understand why college players have to do it, and I don’t blame them, but that’s just not a better brand of basketball. Just because college teams are so bad and lack so much talent that the games are incredibly competitive does not make the NCAA superior to the NBA. I don’t watch basketball to see crappy teams duke it out in overtime. I could go to the local Y on any given night and see that. I watch basketball to see the greatest, headiest players on Earth compete against each other at the highest level. And if some pro games happen to be less exciting than some college games, I just remind myself that the greatest college team in the land would get slaughtered by likely a 50-point margin at least if they played the 2010 New Jersey Nets. That’s a fact, folks.

Gene Zarnick: David, the problem with your argument is that your thinking is solely based on the fact that the talent level is higher in the NBA so you think it's a better sport. There's much more to sports then just the talent. There's competitiveness, there's talent, there's style of play, scheduling format, end of season tournament, enthusiasm of the audience, etc.. When you take in all the factors the NCAA is far superior.

You are correct it's a given that the NCAA lacks an NBA style of play and the game is much different due to the shot clock, zone defenses, and other factors. Many people love the college game though because of this. We can go to the parity issue in college basketball and realize what makes it so great is that any team truly can win any night. The reason for this is the style of play. If you look at all the past NCAA champions you will see that each winner plays very great team ball. You have to be a great team to win it all. What the style of play does allow is a lesser team to have one individual play great for one game and beat the other team. People love this. This is something that could never happen in the NBA and that's why so many games are boring. Top team versus top team in the NBA is great, but does anyone really get excited to see Nets versus Cavs. We know from the start the outcome of the game. The NCAA gives us unexpectedness every night.

Next is the scheduling. What the NCAA brings is a different game every single night. Each team will only play some of it's conference opponents twice and basically a maximum of three times. This brings a new and exciting game every single night, plus when you do play the rival teams it's much more special. Duke/UNC or Duke/Maryland is great for thetwo games they play each other every year. I don't need to see the same game over the year. Most in division teams playfour times and even other teams in other conferences play each other multiple times.

The NCAA has placed importance on each conference. No one cares if the Cavs win the Atlantic division, but people do care if their favorite NCAA team wins their conference. The conference schedule is a battle every night and each game has a rival feeling to it. After the year we have the conference tournaments that most people enjoy as well. It's great to see the competitiveness involved in these tournaments even if a team is already in the big dance. We also get the underdogs who are playing for their chance to make the tournament. It's an excitement that is only seen in the NCAA.

March Madness is the greatest tournament in all of sports. Everyone can complain that it's not always the best team that wins, but every team that does win it all is still a great team. The tournament is most exciting thing in all of sports and with 324 NCAA teams this is the most fair way to decide a champion.

Lastly, the enthusiasm from students and fans far outweighs the NBA. You can feel the intenseness and the momentum change of each possession during the NCAA game. The NBA has rare glimpses of this. Yeah, exciting, wow, were getting an MVP chant at the foul line for LeBron. That's just not entertaining. There is something special about the college game and the fans that connects them unlike the NBA. All fans do is want their team to win and it's not about what players scores the most points or even what players are on the court. It's all about your team and that's it.

NCAA basketball has it all. It may not have the style of play that you think is great, but it's a style of play that brings excitement and that many people think is great. It does have every other intangible that make it a much better product then the NBA. If you look at one thing the NBA may be better, but when you look at the whole picture the NCAA shines over the NBA any day of the week.

mookie: For the NCAA: the school affiliation is something which builds an affinity and fandom for a team which is unmatched in the NBA. Few people have worked for or played for an NBA team which they support, so that makes it hard to have the same passion you'll experience at an NCAA game.

For the NBA: firstly, we're talking about a product which entertains from late October through 'til June every year. The NCAA may be
greatly entertaining for the month of March, but the rest of the collegiate play is largely ignored by the nation.

Secondly, the NBA is appreciated on an international level for one simple reason: the standard of play attracts the best players from
across the globe. The NCAA is largely ignored worldwide, other than one feeder for the NBA (along with other international leagues). That standard of play and athleticism is unmatched. I have to agree that watching kids repeatedly pass the ball around the perimeter, running 3-man weaves is painful after a while!

In short, the NCAA, as a form of entertainment, is phenomenal for those that have an underlying passion, rooted in being an alumn. Outside of that, the NBA has proven to be the far superior entertainment product, with the technical superiority of the NBA never
being disputed.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this lively debate.

Like most Steelers fans, I was stunned by the news of the Santonio Holmes trade yesterday.  Not that he was traded, but that we only got a fifth round pick for him.  I for one was always a Santonio fan, but I felt his time was up after the latest news that he would be suspended for the first quarter of the season due to failing the substance abuse policy.

We're the Steelers.  We don't have room for players with issues on our team.  That's the mantra most Steeler fans have.  Steeler fans don't usually complain when we get rid of the problem child, but with Santonio's case, it's a different story.

I'm sure the organization wanted to send a message by getting rid of Holmes so quickly, but what message are they really sending?

Recently Santonio talked about how he thought the team didn't want to sign him to a long term contract and that he wanted to go to a big market.  So what do the Steelers do?  Trade him to a big market team that will more than likely sign him to a lengthy contract.

The Steelers wanted to send a message, but the only message they sent was that they're not the organization that we once thought they were.  If you're a smart organization that cares about your team and your players then you don't just give in to the first offer out there and undervalue the player you’re sending off, no matter what legal problems he has.  You still need to better your team and they could've easily got a fourth, if not a third round pick for him.

It's not the like the season was starting tomorrow.  Why not come out and say, "We are placing Santonio Holmes on the trading block and he will not be part of the Steelers organization in the 2010-2011 season."  Is that not sending a message?  There's enough time to get a much better deal for him and then you get the point across, while also improving your team.  The least they could've done was sent him to a crappy smaller market team like the Chiefs.  At least this way he wouldn't have gotten his wish of going to a big market team.

The other issue that has arisen over the trade is the issue of race.  Why would the Steelers trade Holmes and not talk about trading Roethlisberger?  This has absolutely nothing to do with race, but has everything to do with position.  You can get rid of a wide receiver and grab another one pretty easily that can fill the same role.  With a quarterback it's a much different story.  It's not as easy to just pickup a player that can fill the team captain's shoes and run the entire offense.  This is the reason Santonio is gone and Ben is still in black and gold.

I think my biggest gripe with the Steelers is that we've been trained to believe that this is the exemplary organization that does everything the right way.  We know how to draft, how to groom players into stars, and how to not have distractions on our team.  All of these factors are supposed to be the reasons that we are a winning organization.  

This is complete garbage.  The Steelers are like any other organization except when things start going bad they drop the baggage and run.  I liken them to John Calipari.

Look at Calipari.  This is a coach that continually has violations incur at every school he goes to.  He sticks with the school until finally the shit hits the fan and then he books to a new job and is praised for turning every program he coaches into a winning team.  The Steelers are the exact same way.

The Steelers have had many off the field issues.  Jeff Reed had a disorderly conduct charge in Sheetz, Najeh Davenport got into a fight with the mother of his son, Cedrick Wilson punched his ex-girlfriend, James Harrison had a fight with his girlfriend, and there are others, including Ben Roethlisberger that I haven't even got to in the last few years.  Aren't we supposed to be the role model for the NFL on how organizations should deal with troublesome players?

No.  We just act like John Calipari and continue with these players and use them to better our team until finally it goes too far and then we get rid of them.  Calipari jumps ship to another team, we finally get rid of the bad apple.  We're not role models; we're just a bunch of frauds.

If you really cared about the character of your team then you wouldn't draft players like Plaxico Burress or Santonio Holmes in the first place.  Instead we're the team that supposedly can turn water into wine or a team cancer into a healthy and positive contributor.  We're nowhere near the Dr. Phil's of football.

Now that this ridiculous player giveaway has occurred we should look at the Steelers and realize we've been duped.  They don't care about the character of the team.  They don't care about making the team better and getting a fair trade out of the deal.  All the Steelers care about is making themselves look like they're the greatest organization in the NFL.

Am I going to change my allegiance of being a Steelers fan because of this? No.  I will however hope that in the future that they actually do what is best for the organization by either not drafting these players or getting something fair in return.

I want the Steelers to be the best organization the league.  Not just act like the best organization in the league.

Hank Aaron is talking again; this time it's about how players try to hit home runs too often.  For a legend of the game his opinion should hold a lot of merit, but it doesn't.  It's surprising to me how small of amount people perceive Hank Aaron's status in the game of baseball.  Then again, I feel the same way.

I don't know what it is about Hank Aaron. Maybe he didn't have the flash or wasn't in the era that puts him on the pedestal to be one of the greatest players ever.  When I talk about the greatest players in the game of baseball, Hank Aaron's name never comes up.  Greatest hitters? You'd have to flip over my piece of paper to find him on the list.  Then again, I never got to see him play.

That's just my perception of Hammerin' Hank though.

I try to be a student of the game.  I wouldn't call myself a historian, but in the game of baseball you almost have to understand the history and the players that came before the players of today to really appreciate the game.

I do appreciate the game.

Maybe my perception is wrong, maybe everyone else does respect what he says.  I could care less though.  Other players like Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt or Cal Ripken Jr. say a word and people grab onto it, analyze it, and truly believe what these players have to say.

Hank Aaron doesn't have that luxury.

Maybe it's not Hank Aaron, maybe it's what he's saying.  Yesterday Hank's comments included talking about how players don't understand their roles and how hitters think they can hit 40 or 50 home runs a year.  Aaron also thinks that pitchers aren't dominating anymore because they don't pitch the whole game.  He thinks games are too long and he is annoyed that players step out of the plate. He would also like the DH instituted in the National League and revenue sharing to be revamped as well.

Maybe Hank Aaron is right or maybe he's just a disgruntled old man.

Whatever your opinion is on the issues discussed above I don't think your rushing to judgment because Hank Aaron brought them up. Hank Aaron speaks and hardly anyone listens.

I'm listening.  Not to the content, but to the character of the man stating his opinion.

Maybe I'm just too young to understand his relevancy.  Maybe I'm just not in tune to the history of legendary players that played before my viewing days.  Maybe I'm being too critical of an honorable player that played the game the right way.

All I know is that when Hank Aaron says something, I could care less.

I don't think I could ask for much more yesterday.  Not only did I get to experience my 4th Duke National Title and first in nine years, but before that heart attack of a game commenced I was also in Pittsburgh experiencing my first Opening Day.

It was kind of a unique experience to be overly excited about one thing beginning and one thing ending.  My whole mind was focused on the national championship game until out of the blue on Easter my uncle asked me if I wanted to attend the Pirates opening day game against the Dodgers.  Not only was it attending the game, but it was getting to experience the Lexus Club, free food and drinks, and leather seats that were 6 rows right behind home plate.

Pretty comfortable way to spend a baseball game if I have to say so myself.

The game was great, the Pirates won, and it was a beautiful day out.  Great way to start the season, especially in Pittsburgh.  After the game my mind was focused back on the Duke game.

I got back to Erie about quarter after 7pm and started getting prepared for the game.  Put my white coinciding Duke shorts on, my Duke shirt on, and I put my phone to silence once the clock hit 8:30pm.  I didn't want to be bothered; I've been waiting for this game for nine years and the last thing I needed was an annoying friend to bother me during this time.

As we all know the game was amazing!  Both teams played such great basketball and the game was such a treat that I already want to watch it again.  I was euphoric upon the victory.  I basically just sat there with a smile on my face taking it all in.  The cheering, the podium speech, the post-game press conferences; I even enjoyed One Shining Moment and I know most people hated it.  I guess that's just one of the perks when your team wins the big one.

Before I went to sleep I reflected on the day and I realized how special it really was.  Not only did two of my teams win today and my favorite sports team out of any just won the National Championship, but I got to experience the end of a season and the start of a new one.  This is the greatest part of sports; we have so many opportunities to start anew and have hope again at the beginning of the season.

The Pirates have been terrible for seventeen years and I still keep watching.  I don't watch for an individual player or hope someone hits a home run; I watch because I hope maybe this is the year that I will get to see something special from them.

It probably won't happen this year and probably not the year after that, but sometime in the future the Pirates will be good again and I will be ready for it.  Every sports season is a journey we go through.  Some journeys we want to forget like most of the Pirates seasons and some we want to cherish forever like Duke's past season.

The best part is that we get to go on a new journey every single year.

Baseball is finally back!  For the 25% of us out there it's a big deal, for the rest of you, you may not care so much.  I want to make you care.  There will be plenty of drama throughout the 162 game season that will get people interested.  I want to get you ready for it now. That is why I bring to you my 2010 MLB Team Predictions.  Favre Dollar Footlongs style.

The predictions:

Arizona Diamondbacks - John McCain will be selected to throw out the first pitch on opening day, but because he can't lift his arms over his head, McCain will comment that the ball will probably sail far right.  To no one's surprise it's right down the middle of the plate.

Atlanta Braves - Bobby Cox, being the senile manager that he is, will get ejected during the first inning of the last game of the season.  Because he doesn't want to retire on that note, he will come back, telling everyone he didn't remember saying he'd retire.  We will also find out that Jason Heyward is actually Barry Bonds after many plastic surgeries.

Baltimore Orioles - The Orioles will finish as one of the bottom tier teams in the AL East again, which will make them push for realignment.  After a surprising move by Bud Selig, the Orioles and Nationals will be sequestered to their own division to establish a nearby rivalry that will battle it out for last place of the league.

Boston Red Sox - Newly acquired pitcher, John Lackey, will find out his beautiful wife Krista Lackey was having affairs with many kept men.  Unlike Tiger Woods, people will forgive her immediately.  Not because she's a woman, but because John Lackey is so ugly.

Chicago Cubs - The Cubs got rid of team cancer Milton Bradley to hopefully form cohesiveness.  After two months and not having a winning record, Ted Lilly will fill Milton's role and start berating Lou Piniella publicly.  Quote from Ted Lilly, "Ted do what Ted do and don't do what Lou do."

Chicago White Sox - Ozzie Guillen's Twitter experience will take a wild turn after he is thrown out of the game for tweeting expletives to the umpires Twitter accounts in between innings. To get back at them he will take TwitPic's of them in the shower and broadcast for all to see.  He will then be fired because of this.

Cincinnati Reds - To try and bring back some of the glory days in Cincinnati, Jay Bruce will fashion Chris Sabo glasses throughout the season.  After seeing Bruce have early success, Scott Rolen will try to bring back some past magic by sporting a Marge Schott mustache.

Cleveland Indians - To try and reverse the trend, the Indians will trade for Cy Young winners instead of shipping them out.  Unfortunately for fans in Cleveland the Cy Young players they obtain will be Barry Zito and Eric Gagne in the bullpen, Orel Hershiser and Rick Sutcliffe in the broadcast booth, and Doc Gooden's drug habit. 

Colorado Rockies - Todd Helton and Jason Giambi will have one the biggest position battles we've ever seen in a clubhouse.  Not for who starts first base, but for who has the best facial hair on the team.

Detroit Tigers - After clubhouse favorite Johnny Damon joins the team, Miguel Cabrera will give up his sobreity plege and start drinking again.  Jim Leyland will start smoking in the dugout again and Justin Verlander will go back to being a good pitcher.

Florida Marlins - After complaining last year about not being able to wear jewlery on the field, Hanley Ramirez will complain this year about not being able to wear an iPod.  Ownership will give in to his demands, but since they can't understand what he's saying they will buy him an iPad necklace to wear around his neck.

Houston Astros - Opposing Braves player Jason Heyward will hit a bomb that will damage the train tracks at Minute Maid Park.  Not knowing, the train will attempt to go around the stadium on the next Astros homerun causing the train to plummet out of the stadium and the game postponed.  Fans will start asking the question with the nursery rhyme, "If the train goes off the track, do I get my money back?"

Kansas City Royals - Royals center fielder Rick Ankiel will return to form and start heaving wild throws from the outfield.  This time the balls will fly backwards over the wall into the fountains causing fans to injure themselves while they dive into the H2O geysers.

Los Angeles Angels - After hearing about Hideki Matsui's massive porn collection, Torii Hunter will take Matsui to the Voyeur Club.  After Hideki's first introduction there, his wife nor any of us will ever hear from him again.

Los Angeles Dodgers - During the all star break, hysteria will ensue after Matt Kemp Chris Brown's his girlfriend Rhianna.  When asked about the incident Manny Ramirez replies, "It's just Matty being Matty."

Milwaukee Brewers - Prince Fielder will finally reconcile all of his differences with his father Cecil.  A week later the break up will start again after Cecil ends up taking the last piece of pizza from the box.

Minnesota Twins - Joe Mauer will try to buy himself a personality with his $184 million contract.  After failing to do so he decides to do the next best thing and just buys himself a bunch of friends.

New York Mets - To help Carlos Beltran continue his knee recovery, David Wright offers to put Beltran on his off season workout that consists of blood, sweat, and a whole lot of HGH.  Jason Bay still won't be sure why he ever came to the Mets. 

New York Yankees - After having the perfect team chemistry last year, newly acquired Curtis Granderson will get into a dispute with Nick Swisher over who the best clubhouse person is causing an uproar throughout.  Alex Rodriguez will step in between the two to separate them.  Not to break up the fight, but to get to the mirror so he can make kiss poses to himself.

Oakland Athletics - After analyzing the LIPS, DIPS, PERA, and VORP, Billy Beane will fire all of the Athletics players.  Through sabermetrics, he will learn that having 14 year olds is a much better statistical solution and will build a squad of all prepubescent teenagers.

Philadelphia Phillies - Philadelphia will continuously try to trade Ryan Howard for Albert Pujols to no avail.  After throwing in his free unlimited pass to Subway the trade is agreed upon.  When asked why he made the trade now LaRussa replies, "Subway is great drunk food."

Pittsburgh Pirates - The Pittsburgh Pirates will not only go .500, but also make the playoffs this year.  Andrew McCutchen will be traded immediately upon the commence of the season for two prospect pitchers and an 18th round draft pick.  Pirates will go on another 17 year playoff hiatus.

San Diego Padres - The Padres will continue with their fashion faux pas camoflauge jerseys.  The disgust from all Americans will cause the military to change from fatigues to actual Padres jerseys.

San Francisco Giants - Tim Lincecum will be found late at night taking slide rides through the massive Coca Cola bottle.  They will find out he was just stoned and wanted to live out his Honey I Shrunk the Kids fantasy.

Seattle Mariners - Milton Bradley will claim that God hates him and that's the only reason why it's raining every day now that he moved to Seattle.  He is correct about one part of that sentence.

St. Louis Cardinals - In a weird twist of fate, Mark McGwire will return to first base, Albert Pujols will get a DUI, and Tony LaRussa will be caught taking steroids.  After the Cardinals fail to make the playoffs Tony will comment, "I'm not here to talk about the past."

Tampa Bay Rays - The Rays will be in first place throughout the whole season and fans still won't show up.  Dick Vitale will claim it's an Outrage with a capital O and start talking about a fundraising campaign on every interview he does to try and get the non-Ray fans out of Tampa Bay.

Texas Rangers - Josh Hamilton and Ron Washington will both write tell all books that hit the New York Times bestseller.  Both biopics will be the same, discussing the great times the two had snorting lines together.

Toronto Blue Jays - The Blue Jays will end up with the worst record in the entire major leagues.  Since MLB has a rule that each organization must have a representative at the all star game, the Blue Jays will send their all star ball boy and give him his moment to shine.

Washington Nationals - The city of Washington D.C. will end up taxing all contributing citizens to enforce a free ticket admission policy to every Nationals game.  Free admissions won't go into effect for four years and you can't opt out if you don't plan on attending any games. After a public outcry and a clear disapproval of the bill the city still pushes it through.