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This is shaping up to be one of those weekends that sports fans live for. There are so many exciting games slated to take place that there will hardly be time to fit them all in, regardless of whether or not you have a satellite dish and TiVo. Let's take a quick look at baseball, college football, and the NFL to see which games you've just got to check out.

First of all, in baseball, the race for the AL East pennant has come down to the wire. And wouldn't you know it? It comes down to yet another series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. How many times have these two rivals met in important matchups like this one? This series will certainly add to the legacy. Boston has been in control for most of the season, but a two-month slide has put all that in jeopardy. The Yankees, in their usual style, just kept plugging away at the lead, and now the two teams are in a dead heat with 3 games left to play. The winner of the series will of course win the division and get an automatic playoff berth. The loser will have to hope to slide into the playoffs with the wild card spot. But the Cleveland Indians are also in the race, so there's no telling what might happen. If either the Yankees or the Red Sox lose all three games, their season could be over.

Over in college football, there's a big game between the #1 USC Trojans and the #14 Arizona State Sun Devils. Everyone knows that the Trojans' offense, led by Heisman Trophy winner and future #1 NFL draft pick Matt Leinart, is one of the most potent in the country. But Arizona State's offense has been lighting it up this year, too. Quarterback Sam Keller has thrown 4 touchdowns in each of the team's first 4 games, for a whopping total of 16 so far on the season. Most analysts agree that there are only a couple of games on the Trojans' schedule that they are actually in danger of losing. This happens to be one of them. Stay tuned for an old-fashioned shootout!

In the NFL, one of the better matchups of the week is the Indianapolis Colts versus the Tennessee Titans. Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning, after a season in which he threw for 49 touchdowns, has just 2 this year. Both of those came back in Week One against the Baltimore Ravens. But everyone knows that Manning is a much better quarterback than his current numbers indicate. It gives you the feeling that this is just the calm before the storm and that Manning is bound to bust out of this slump soon and throw for 5 touchdowns in one game. Will this be the week? Or will the Colts have to rely on their defense to pull them through one more time. Will Steve McNair and the Titans come up with some offense of their own? We'll have to wait and see. Don't miss it!

If you're thinking about getting into the sport of paintball, you might feel a bit overwhelmed at first. You've probably seen a whole range of different people out on the field. Some of them are just out there running around in jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers as they tote their rented paintball guns around. Others are dressed from head to toe in camouflage gear and are carrying equipment that you would be more likely to see at a military base camp than at a civilian recreational facility. For those people who are new to the game, it can be difficult to tell which pieces of paintball equipment you should have from the beginning and which ones you can do without.

Fortunately, determining the answer to this question is a pretty simple process. You just have to think about what kind of paintball you're going to be playing, how often, how serious you are, and then take it from there.

When you decide to buy your own equipment, the one item that should be on top of your list is a mask. In fact, any legally run paintball operation (meaning you're not just gathering in the woods with your friends, hoping not to get caught) won't let people step onto the field without this piece of safety equipment. Spend a bit of extra money to make sure you get a comfortable mask. You'll be glad you did.

As long as you're buying your own equipment, you should check into getting a paintball gun. There is of course a huge selection of guns to choose from, and they all have different features and prices. You have to think long and hard about whether or not you want to invest in your own gun. In most recreational situations, using rental markers will work out just fine. You can definitely hold off on buying one until you become a better player or until you get more serious.

If you're going to play speedball or other short (15 to 30 minutes) games that public paintball facilities operate, then just wearing regular loose-fitting clothing is perfectly acceptable. Just make sure you can move all your limbs freely and make sure that you're wearing clothing that you're not overly attached to. You will be getting very dirty and you might not be able (or want) to salvage one or two items. You should also wear comfortable shoes or boots that provide plenty of support. You're going to be on your feet for a long time, will probably be climbing over uneven terrain, and will generally be trekking through mud, muck, and paint. So make sure your footwear can take the punishment.

It would also be a good idea to have other pieces of safety equipment, such as gloves, knee and shin pads, and/or a neck guard. Nothing can ruin a fun day of paintball faster than getting hurt out in the field. So take the time to protect yourself first.

To purchase these and other paintball products, click the link at the top of this page.

You've been to your local paintball field several times in the past few months and you've discovered that you really want to get into the sport. Instead of paying rental fees for paintball gear each time you play, you're thinking about buying your very own paintball gun. That's perfectly normal. Lots of people come to the same conclusion after just a few paintball sessions. It's one of those sports that you either love or hate. Few people are able to sit on the fence about it. So you know that you are getting a paintball gun, but you're not sure which one is right for you. Because of the incredible range of prices (you can get paintball guns for as little as $50 or as much as $2000 or more), you should ask yourself a few key questions before you go shopping.

First, you should determine how often you will actually play the game. If you're relatively certain that you will play at least once or twice a month, then it probably is a good idea to buy your own gun (or "marker", as they are called).

Second, you should try as many different markers as possible before purchasing one. Paintball guns are definitely not all the same. Some stock guns are excellent, while others are hardly worth their weight in scrap metal. So pick a few up; see how they feel in your hands; imagine how it would feel to carry the marker around for several hours outdoors. You definitely don't want to be stuck with a gun that is too heavy. And fire the marker a few times, if possible.

Third, you should ask yourself if you are the kind of person who is willing and able to perform the necessary cleaning and maintenance tasks for the gun. By its very nature, paintball is a messy sport. Most players are meticulous about cleaning and maintaining their marker after each and every use. Others just toss the paintball gun into the trunks of their cars and don't even think about them until the next time they want to play. Your gun will perform much better and last much longer if you take the time to disassemble ("field strip") it and clean it after each playing session. If you can't commit to that, maybe you should just continue to rent and let the field employees worry about cleanup.

Finally, you should determine a budget for your paintball gun and make sure you stick to it. It's ok to buy a cheaper stock gun at first, and then make a few upgrades later on as you can afford it. There are aftermarket parts available for just about everything on a gun, so upgrading is an easy thing to do. At the same time, if you immediately think that you need to upgrade or modify 10 different parts on your marker, then you should probably buy a better one to begin with!

If you take a bit of time to do the initial research, you can find a great paintball marker that you'll really enjoy using. Good luck, and remember that functionality is much more important than looks in the sport of paintball!

Did you see the Cincinnati Bengals take out the Chicago Bears this weekend? Well, if not - shame on you! The 3-0 Bengals are off to their best start since the 1990 season, which, incidentally is the last year the Cincinnati Reds won the World Series, and it seems that few in the football world are noticing.

The Bengals traveled four hours north to play their in-state and division rival Cleveland Browns in the first game of the season. The game did not look like the slugfest that was last year's game. Instead, the Bengals commanded the game and went home the victors. Then they hosted the Minnesota Vikings, quarterbacked by Daunte Culpepper. The Bengals also made quick work of the Vikings, sending them home with a loss.

This past Sunday, they played the Chicago Bears in the Windy City. The Bears, White Sox, Cubs, and NHL Blackhawks all were playing in the city - a first. The Bengals made sure that the day was memorable for the Bears but not in the way that evokes fond "remember when" memories.

Bengals defenders, the team's weak links in past seasons, intercepted rookie quarterback Nick Orton four times. Those interceptions don’t count the Bears fumbles, passes tipped, and generally excellent coverage the Bengals defense provided. University of Georgia product and rookie Bengal Odell Thurman showed why he is making waves throughout the league. Thurman was there on play after play, giving the offenders a hard time, hitting with Mack truck force, and generally wreaking the kind of havoc that makes fans cheer and opposing teams shudder. Cornerback Deltha O'Neal, a Bengals fan favorite, leads the National Football League with four interceptions.

Carson Palmer showed flashes of the brilliance he had when during his Heisman Trophy season leading the University of Southern California Trojans to a national championship. Although still not a top-level NFL quarterback, Palmer, in only his second season with the starting job, is improving. He has the second-highest quarterback ranking in the league right now at 114.0 and is tied with Philadelphia Eagles veteran Donovan McNabb with eight touchdown passes this season, the most in the league.

Palmer is not the only offensive force on the Bengals roster. Receiver Chad Johnson, whom the Bengals used sparingly Sunday, caught three of the five passes that came his way. He scored two touchdowns from those passes and moved to seventh in the league for receiving yards at 307. Rudi Johnson, a product of Auburn University, comes in sixth in the league with 300 rushing yards. Others, like Michigan product and second-year Bengal Chris Perry, showed flashes on the field Sunday that make the future look bright for the once laughingstock Cincinnati team.

The Bengals came away from Sunday's win with a 24-7 victory over the now 1-2 Bears. The Bengals season does not look too rough for the next few weeks. They stay home this week to play the Texans and the travel to Jacksonville to meet the Jaguars and to Tennessee to take on the Titans. With continuation of the first three weeks' play, the Bengals could head into their October 23 showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers an undefeated team.

By Julia Mercer

The Southeastern Conference continued to show this past weekend why the conference is unarguably the toughest football league in the nation. With four teams still in the top 10, the only sad part is that they will have to play each other, moving them from the top spots they deserve.

The East has received quite a surprise this year. The Vanderbilt University Commodores are sitting pretty atop the East right now. Well, okay, they are in a three-way tie. Still, Vanderbilt, long the laughingstock of the SEC, has made quite a showing for itself this year. The Commodores beat conference rivals Arkansas and Mississippi to stand at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

Also in the East, the University of Florida Gators, ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll, and the seventh-ranked University of Georgia Bulldogs also have two conferences wins and no losses each. Florida has made away with wins against Kentucky and Tennessee while Georgia beat Mississippi State and South Carolina.

After the three top teams sits Tennessee. The Volunteers are 1-1 in conference play after losing to Florida and then pulling out a miraculous overtime win against the Louisiana State University Tigers Monday night. The 30-27 victory came on an overtime touchdown after the Volunteers trailed 24-7 early in the second half. The Volunteers are ranked tenth in the nation.

The University of Kentucky is showing why they are the SEC's basketball team with an abysmal football record of 1-3. The Wildcats are 0-1 in conference play. They came back in last week's game against Florida but still only managed to pull within 21 before the game ended. Kentucky lost 49-28. Finally, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, under the direction of long-time Florida coach and NFL bust Steve Spurrier, are 0-2 in conference action and 2-2 overall.

The picture on the SEC West is a little different. A surprising Alabama team holds the top spot at 2-0 in the SEC and 4-0 overall. The fifteenth-ranked Tide play this Saturday against the Gators. Auburn University is making a comeback after a disappointing first outing. They are 3-1 and 1-0 in the SEC.

The aforementioned LSU Tigers, ranked number four this week, lost last night, putting them at 0-1 in conference play. The Tigers likely will plummet out of the top 10 next week. The University of Mississippi Rebels are tied with LSU with no conference wins and one conference loss as well.

Mississippi State, under second-year coach Sylvester Croom, and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks are pulling up the bottom of the conference, each with an 0-2 conference record.

The upcoming weeks will provide a good bit of excitement for die-hard SEC fans. This weekend's showdown between the Alabama Tide and the Florida Gators should make for an excellent game. UGA plays Tennessee in two weeks for a tough SEC East showdown. And no one knows what is in store when they take on Vanderbilt. The Commodores play Middle Tennessee State this weekend before hosting Florida and Georgia at Nashville's Vanderbilt Stadium.

By Julia Mercer

With the NHL preseason well underway, it's time to start thinking about all the new fan gear you'll need to get so you can go to the games in style. The new collective bargaining agreement between the players' association and the owners opened the door for a lot of personnel changes. So if your favorite player is now on a different team, you might have to add a new jersey to your collection. Plus, since the weather during hockey season is generally cold and miserable, you'll probably want to add to your outwear collection as well. Here are some ideas to help get you started.

Jerseys
Replica and authentic team jerseys are arguably the most important part of any diehard fan's wardrobe. They are perfect for wearing to the game and also for those times where you can't make it to the stadium but instead end up hanging out at your local sports bar to catch the game on TV with your buddies. Are you a Peter Forsberg fan? Well, he's still wearing the familiar #21 that you love to see out on the ice. But instead of being in Colorado colors, he's now sporting the orange, white, and black of the Philadelphia Flyers. So you'll probably want to update your jersey, too. Another jersey that is certain to be a hot seller this year is the #87 jersey of Pittsburgh Penguin rookie Sidney Crosby. Crosby was of course the #1 overall pick in the draft, and is a player that many people think will bring the fans back to hockey. Get your jersey now and show that you were on board from the beginning!

Hats
If jerseys are the most important part of a fan's wardrobe, then hats come in a close second. Luckily, there are many different kinds of hats that you can buy, all of them bearing your favorite team's logo. If you want a good, quality hat, you should go with a fitted one made from wool. This is the same kind of material used in the caps that professional baseball players wear, so you can bet it's durable. If you're looking for something cheaper, stick with adjustable hats. They come in either regular or trucker style, so you do have a bit of variety there. If you want to try something completely different yet functional, check out hard hats in your team's logos. These products are made by a company called Wincraft and actually meet OSHA requirements, so you can use them on the job. Don't forget to purchase some knit caps or beanies, as well.

Other items
In addition to jerseys and hats, you can always get t-shirts, hoodies, and polo-style shirts, too. If you're a memorabilia collector, you might want to purchase a couple of pucks or pennants and a Sharpie so that you'll always be ready to get autographs when you go to the games. Finally, you can round out your collection with accessories like team watches and wallets.

To check out a great selection of NHL gear and more, click the links at the top of the page right here at SportingGoodsDepot.com!

The Atlanta Braves clinched the National League East division title last night when the Mets defeated the Phillies by a score of 3-2. This marks the 14th consecutive title for the Braves, which is the longest divisional championship run by any team in all of sports. That's a pretty amazing feat, especially considering how quickly a sport's landscape can change due to free agency, injuries, etc. These days, a team can go from contender to pretender in the same season. Just look at the Baltimore Orioles. They started the season off with a bang and led their division in June. But since then, they have suffered a catastrophic collapse that resulted in the firing of manager Lee Mazzilli. That didn't really seem to help matters, as the Orioles are a dismal 11-36 in their last 47 games. This puts the Braves' string of championships into perspective for me.

As amazing as the Braves' championships are, I think the whole situation in Atlanta must still be bittersweet for the fans. Because through all those years of winning, even with all the Cy Young candidates and winners the Braves have had on their pitching staff, with all those MVP candidates, they have brought home the World Series trophy only once. Just once in the previous 13 years. It happened way back in 1995 when they defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-2. They have made it to the World Series 5 times, the last one coming in 1999 when they were swept by the New York Yankees in 4 games. That was actually the second time in four years that the Braves lost to the Yankees in the World Series.

I come from Chicago, which means that I am used to rooting for pro sports teams that lose much more often than they win. Without the incredible championship decade that the Bulls treated us to in the 1990s, we would barely remember what winning feels like. In fact, our teams are usually so bad that we know by mid-season that we will again have to wait until next year. But that actually makes it a bit easier to be a sports fan around here. We don't have to suffer through the ups and downs of huge victories and devastating losses. Our teams lose all the time, so we're used to it.

But being an Atlanta Braves fan means that you have come tantalizingly close to the World Series every year for more than a decade. You've had your hopes raised up time and again, only to have them dashed to pieces time and again. Somehow, it seems that winning the World Series just once in 13 postseason appearances would be much more frustrating and heart-wrenching than not making it to the playoffs at all during that same stretch of time.

So while most Braves fans are probably celebrating this latest divisional title to the fullest, I'm sure there are a few who are holding back and waiting to see how the postseason unfolds. If the Braves can win another world championship, then we'll see some real celebrating!

Let's face it, this was exactly what the schedule makers had in mind. The final 3 games of the baseball regular season (maybe 4?) for the Yanks and the Red Sox will be against one another with the American League East title on the line.

But did anyone in their right mind think that the number two team in the division could be on the outside looking in when it came to the playoffs. Such is the case as the 2005 season comes to its conclusion.

Though the Yanks are tied for first with seven games to play, neither team has had the kind of season it had truly hoped for. Normally, 95 to 96 wins is simply not enough in the AL East, so neither team has had the type of season it thought it would need to have to be a division winner.

In the Central Division, both the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians and their surprising play have outperformed the two teams with the highest payrolls in baseball. Therefore, a final week for Cleveland that resembles anything like the team's play over the last eight weeks and the Indians or White Sox are the wild card and one of the two, either the Yanks or the Sox could be heading to the golf course when the regular season comes to close this weekend (or Monday if the teams are still tied after Sunday).

Heading into the final three game series, both teams have somehow managed to get to this point despite substandard-performing pitching staffs. The teams do have big names like Mussina and Johnson and Schilling, but the pitching performances have left each team struggling.

However, the two teams unquestionably have the best offensive lineups in baseball.

For the Yanks, it has been a return to the notion of the Bronx Bombers. The Yanks are second in major league baseball in runs scored and in batting average. The Yanks are also second in homers, second in hits, walks and on base percentage.

Of course the Red Sox lead virtually every one of those categories. Boston is first in the majors in batting average, runs scored, hits, walks and on base percentage. In head to head ratings, the only major category that the Yanks top the Sox in is homers.

Alex Rodriguez is having another MVP caliber season for the Yanks. The third baseman leads the team with a .319 batting average, 46 homers, 124 runs batted in and 117 runs scored. The slugger has also played a solid third base.

In addition, the Yanks have outfielders Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield with a combined 53 homers and 226 runs batted in. First baseman Jason Giambi has also returned somewhat to prior form with 30 homers in '05.

For the Red Sox, they have once again been led by the one-two punch of designated hitter David Ortiz and left-fielder, Manny Ramirez. A year ago, when the Sox broke through for their first title in 80 plus years, the two sluggers combined for 84 homers and 269 runs batted in. This year, the pair has somehow managed to top that with 87 homers and 275 runs batted in between them.

As the season winds to a close the Yanks appear to have one definitive advantage. The team has the best reliever in the game in closer Mariano Rivera. The hard-throwing bullpen ace has 42 saves and an incredible ERA of 1.41 on the season.

Adding to the glaring Yankee advantage in the bull pen is the fact that the Red Sox have lost their top reliever Keith Foulke for the season, an injury that leaves the Sox without a proven closer come crunch time.

It is indeed what the schedulers had in mind when the 2005 season was put together. With one team likely going home and the other heading to the post season, the final weekend series between the Sox and Yanks will simply add one more chapter to the incredible story line that the two have created over the years.

Well, the third week of the NFL season is in the books, and things are finally starting to fall in to place. The teams that everyone thought would be winning are now doing so. There were no shocking upsets this week like there were in the two previous weeks. Even so, there were still plenty of good games. Here's a quick rundown of what happened in some of the bigger contests.

New England over Pittsburgh
When the Patriots lost to the Panthers last week, some people were ready to write them off. But the Pats came back and beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh to answer some of those doubts. Tom Brady did what he does best, which is lead the Patriots on a last-ditch Fourth Quarter drive to get them in field goal range. Then Adam Vinatieri did what he does best, which is kick the game winning field goal with time running out. Brady passed for 372 yards on the day, while running back Corey Dillon added two rushing touchdowns.

Tampa Bay over Green Bay
With Green Bay's 17-16 loss to Tampa Bay, the Packers fall to 0-2 in the NFC North Division, and 0-3 overall. This marks the first time in Brett Favre's career as an NFL starter that his team has lost its first 3 games of the season. Favre threw three interceptions in the game, bringing his season total to 7. Carnell "Cadillac" Williams had another huge day for the Bucs. The rookie out of Auburn gained 158 yards, and is now in the record books as the rookie who has rushed for the most yards in his first 3 games.

Seattle over Arizona
Well, this game wasn't particularly competitive and the outcome wasn't a shocker, either. But I am including it in this week's wrap-up because Shaun Alexander had a monster game. He rushed for 120 yards and 4 touchdowns, which tied his personal career-best. The Cardinals, on the other hand, continued their offensive struggles. They haven't scored a touchdown since Week One, and didn't even really come close to doing so against the Seahawks, either. They are now 0-3 in a season when a lot of analysts predicted that they would make it to the playoffs with at least a Wild Card berth.

San Diego over New York Giants
Eli Manning and the Giants visited Qualcomm Stadium for the first time in Manning's young NFL career. You may remember that San Diego had the first pick in the draft a couple years ago when Manning was eligible, but Manning made it clear that he would refuse to play for that team. So the Chargers ended up orchestrating a trade and the Giants got him instead. Well, the San Diego fans booed just about every single time Manning tried to take a snap and the Chargers defense was fired up all game long. Quarterback Drew Brees finally broke out of his mini slump and passed for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns. The undisputed star of the game, however, was running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson rushed for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus he even threw a touchdown pass. I guess he really can do it all!

Even though the Chicago Cubs' season has realistically been over since August, fans still have had plenty of reasons to cheer. No, the Cubs haven't showcasing an exciting rookie pitching prospect or anything like that. Instead, Cubs fans have found reason to smile at the scare that the White Sox late-season slide has been putting into fans over on the South Side.

The White Sox, who had a 15-game lead in the American League Central Division at the beginning of August, have watched in horror as that lead has slowly shrunk down to a too-close-for-comfort 2.5 games over the surging Cleveland Indians. The Indians have won 17 of their last 20 games, while the White Sox had lost 10 of 14 before winning their last three. There are now just 7 games left in the regular season, all on the road. The Sox will visit Detroit for a four-game set before heading to Cleveland for a three-game series that will almost certainly decide the divisional championship (provided that the Sox don't wrap the title up before that).

Sox fans have barely been able to watch their team fall so fast in the last two months. Some Chicago baseball columnists, who apparently don't have very much faith in the team, have been calling this one of the biggest collapses in baseball history. I guess one thing that Sox fans can take comfort in is the fact that it's not over yet. Nobody will care how many games they end up winning the division by, as long as they do win it.

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I can say without a doubt that I've thoroughly been enjoying these last two months. Some people think that since I'm from Chicago I would want the Sox to win because they do, after all, represent this city. No, sorry, it doesn't work that way at all. Do you think Mets fans are happy that the Yankees are now tied with Boston for the division lead after trailing the Red Sox for most of the season? This sort of thing is certainly not limited to teams in the same city. It can extend to teams in the same state, too. For example, do you think anyone in Pittsburgh is losing sleep over whether or not the Phillies make it into the playoffs? There seems to be an unwritten rule in sports that you have to choose one team in your city or state and stick with them through thick and thin. You can't really be fans of both!

For me, the most fun part of the White Sox breakdown is that has happened on all levels. They haven't been hitting the ball, their pitchers haven't had good stuff, they've been making errors out on the field, and they've been making base-running mistakes. It really has been quite a spectacle to see in the "highlights" on the evening news every night.

So while I have a feeling that the White Sox will pull it off in the end, I want to thank them for giving Cubs fans a reason to smile as we again wait 'til next year!

Written by James Fohl

If you have been following profession sports, such as the Major League Baseball Association, then chances are you have been hearing talk about the usage of anabolic steroids by professional athletes. These athletes are getting shunned by their fans, and ridiculed by the press, however many other athletes who do not take anabolic steroids are taking other supplements that help them gain the same advantage as those given by anabolic steroids.

One of these such supplements is flax seed oil, or as it is composed of; flax seed. Flax seed is pretty much protein and fiber; however it also contains a large amount of fatty acids. The three main fatty acids that flax oil provides are; alpha linolenic acid, omega 3 essential acid, and omega 6 essential acid.

Not only does flax seed provide these essential fatty acids, but for every one hundred grams of flax seed, you are getting around twenty five grams of pure protein. Protein is of course needed in the construction of new muscle tissue. Besides protein, flax seed also provides the user with a nice source of fiber which is excellent for keeping the colon clean and regulated of toxins and disease causing bacteria.

Flax seed gives the user numerous benefits. Not only is it an excellent source of protein, fiber, and fatty acids, but it has many other benefits as well. Benefits of taking flax seed include having more energy, and having your body heal itself faster.

Because of the second statement, (the fact that flax seed helps heal the body faster) flax seed is an excellent supplement for body builders who are constantly working out as hard as possible, thus causing rips and tears throughout their bodies. Taking flax seed oil helps these body builders get back in the gym faster.

Flax seed can be taken by several different ways. You can eat pure flax seed in breads and cereals. Concentrated flax seed, known as flax seed oil can also be found in both a pill form, as well as a liquid form. The pill form of flax seed oil is most common, and can be purchased from most drug stores, as well as major retail chains such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart. Flax seed oil in a liquid form is a little harder to find in stores, however it is still easily obtainable over the internet.

While flax oil may not sound as bad as anabolic steroids, it still provides some of the same benefits as steroids do. Not only that, but flax seed oil can be combined with several other supplements that pretty much end up emulating the effects caused by anabolic steroids. In my opinion, supplements are not a bad thing, I just believe that if users are going to be punished for taking steroids, then those taking supplements should be punished as well.

So in today's day and age, you can complain about athletes utilizing anabolic steroids, but do not forget that even though the athlete next to him does not take anabolic steroids, he is probably just as good as an athlete because he takes several health supplements such as concentrated flax seed oil.

Written by James Fohl

All across America, and through the stretches of Puerto Rico, baseball fans everywhere are working on petitions in order to retire Roberto Clemente’s jersey number (21) throughout all the Major League Baseball organizations.

Only one other jersey number has been retired from every team in the Major Leagues. That jersey number is 42, and belonged to Jacky Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers. IT was retired in 1997, the fiftieth anniversary of Jacky’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, as the leagues first black player.

Part of the reason fans would like to see the number twenty one retired from Major League baseball is to bring attention to the many Latin American baseball players that play in the Major Leagues every year.

A greater part of the reason why fans are trying so hard to get the number retired before next year’s All Star game is because Roberto Clemente was not only one of the best ball players ever, but also a great man in general.

In his baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bob as he was commonly referred to by his baseball cards, managed to become the first Hispanic player to collect three thousand hits (mind you, he hit exactly 3,000 hits, not one more not one less). He also won twelve gold gloves, and participated in twelve All Star games.

Outside of baseball, Roberto always tried to help those less fortunate then himself. It was his generosity that led to his early death. On December 31st, 1972, at the age of 38, Roberto Clemente died when the small airplane he was aboard crashed, shortly after leaving Puerto Rico. Roberto was aboard the plane, loaded with supplies in hopes of helping victims of a Nicaraguan earthquake.

His wife continued his generosity, by opening several organizations in Puerto Rico that would help give aspiring athletes the ability to get into the Major Leagues. While Roberto may not have been the first Hispanic to play Major League baseball, he was one of the best, and is hailed throughout Latin America.

It is because of these reasons that several Major League Baseball fans, players, and advocates are trying to gain enough support in order to retire Roberto Clemente’s jersey number, which is twenty one (21) not from the teams he had played on (the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates), but rather from all teams in both the Nation League as well as the American League.

Roberto Clemente was not just a very fine baseball player, but he was also a great person who used his popularity and power to influence others to help those less fortunate. Because of him, millions of less fortunate people have been helped, along with that, thousands of Hispanic young men have been given the opportunity to enhance their baseball skills and becomes players in the Major League Baseball association. It is true that Roberto Clemente was a fantastic baseball player, but it is the fact that Roberto Clemente was such a fantastic person in general that these groups of people want to have his jersey number retired throughout Major League Baseball.

Written by James Fohl


If you remember back in the year 1994, and think about sports, what specific events cross your mind? If you are a baseball fan, then chances are you remember that even know there was a strike, and no World Series, there were still many interesting things going on in Major League Baseball that year.

Interesting, the home run race to beat Roger Maris' record did not start with Mark Macquire in 1998, but rather a San Francisco Giant by the name of Matt Williams during the 1994 Major League baseball season. Williams was literally on fire during the 1994 season, as he managed to compile forty three home runs before the season was cancelled due to the players strike on August 12th 1994.

Matt Williams was not the only home run hitter that year, as Ken Griffey Jr, amongst many others was hammering dozens of home runs, as he managed to attain forty home runs before the strike was officially started on August 12th, 1994. It took the Major League officials a month before they finally declared that the 1994 baseball season was over, and there would be no further games, including no World Series.

Besides Matt Williams attempt to break Roger Maris' home run record, several other things were occurring around both the Nation and American leagues of Major League Baseball. First off, the Montreal Expos were having an explosive season. Many baseball analysts believe that if the 1994 Major League baseball season had continued, the Montreal Expos would not only have been involved in the 1994 World Series, but they would have also won the 1994 World Series, something that the Montreal Expos were not able to accomplish during their thirty five years of existence (1969 - 2005).

The baseball strike of 1994 however stopped any of these awesome events from actually happening. Being a pretty big and avid baseball fan, I seem to occasionally find myself in conversations with other Major League Baseball buffs on what would have happened if the 1994 Major League baseball season had continued. Personally, I believe that Matt Williams would have broken Roger Maris' home run record, and the Montreal Expos would probably have went to the World Series, but they would have probably lost it too.

I would also have to agree with many other Major League baseball fans that since the baseball players were going to strike, they probably should have went on strike at the beginning of the season. I mean after all, if they had gone on strike during the beginning of the 1994 Major League baseball season, we would not have to worry about whether or not Matt Williams would have created a new single season home run record, or if the Montreal Expos were actually going to be the 1994 World Series champions.

Oh well, we will never really know what would have happened if the Major League baseball players had not gone on strike, but at least we know that it took baseball fans quite a few years to forgive the players for their actions, something that will hopefully prevent any future strikes to occur in Major League Baseball.

Written by James Fohl

It seems that everyone who would call themselves a baseball fan has their favorite team, and of course their favorite baseball player. Being an avid baseball fan myself, I have my favorite team, which is of course my hometown team (the Pittsburgh Pirates). I also have a favorite player. The thing that is different about me and my favorite player however, is the fact that my favorite player is not one of the All-Stars such as Barry Bonds, Vladimir Guerrereo, or even the All Star of my favorite team (the Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder, Jason Bay).

In fact whenever I talk to other avid baseball fans about my favorite player, many of these avid fans actually have no idea of whom my favorite player is. My favorite player is Freddy Sanchez of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Although Freddy has been in the Major Leagues since 2002 (spent two years with the Boston Red Sox, before getting traded to the Pirates) he has seen very little action on the playing field until this season. This is due to the fact that the Red Sox only utilized Freddy as a pitch hitter, and after he was traded he wound up on the disabled list due to a foot injury that kept him from playing most of the 2004 Pirates baseball season.

After being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Freddy wanted to show the world what he was capable of doing on the baseball field, despite finding himself injured, Freddy still went and played in the 2004 Arizona Fall League to sharpen his skills.

Freddy Sanchez came back better than ever for the 2005 Pirates baseball season, and has pretty much become one of their very best players. Not only can Freddy hit the ball all over the field, but Freddy also has the ability to play a variety of infield positions. So far this season he has played third base, shortstop, second base, and it has even been rumored that he has also played first base during practice sessions. Given the fact that he is able to play around three of the four bags has made Freddy Sanchez the Pittsburgh Pirates ultimate utility player.

Freddy Sanchez is also making it to the baseball scene as a power hitter. In the 2005 Major League baseball season Freddy managed to only hit a single home run from April until September 2005. However, so far at the time of this writing, Freddy Sanchez has managed to hit four home runs in a mere seven games.

Just a few months ago, when I told everybody that Freddy Sanchez of the Pittsburgh Pirates was my favorite Major League Baseball player, I received quite a few laughs. However, as it is nearing the end of the 2005 Major League baseball season, a lot of the people who were laughing at me for my decision are now talking about how great a baseball player Freddy Sanchez will be for the 2006 Major League baseball season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the year of the steroid scandal and subsequent decline in homers across the major leagues, the Texas Rangers are on the verge of setting a new standard for homeruns by a team for a 162-game season.

Saturday night, Mark Teixeira pasted his 43rd homer of the season, a new career high for the first baseman, giving the Rangers 257 homeruns for the season. That matched the 1996 Baltimore Orioles for the second-best total in major league history, seven behind the record set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.

Texas has essentially done it with team balance. Though Teixeira is among the league leaders and second baseman Alfonso Soriano has slammed 35 on the season, the Rangers have seven players with 20 or more homers and ten players in double figures on the season. Every member of the infield, including catcher Rod Barajas, has at least 20 homers while four different outfielders have at least 16, beginning with right fielder Richard Hidalgo.

The Rangers however completely reflect the notion that pitching is the key element in baseball. The strong hitting team has scored the third most runs in all of major league baseball but is still a distant third in the Western Division of the American League, three games under five hundred as the season comes to a close.

With seven games left in 2005 and the team averaging 1.7 homers per game, the major league mark is well within the Rangers reach. Texas will play four games against two of the best pitching staffs in the American League, Oakland and Los Angeles, and three against the Seattle Mariners. The Rangers will also close the season at home, giving the team a chance to set the mark before the Texas fans.

Most of the professional sports stories that we read or hear about these days are decidedly negative. We have the whole steroid fiasco in Major League Baseball, along with the Rafael Palmeiro suspension, the booing, and his subsequent release from the team with 9 or 10 games left to play in the season. In basketball, we had the whole Pistons-Pacers fracas with the fans and also the Kobe Bryant saga. In football, we have the Terrell Owens-Donovan McNabb feud, plus the Owens contract dispute and head coaches being reprimanded for violating policy by scalping their Super Bowl tickets. In hockey, we had the lockout that resulted in an entire season being lost. It's enough to make any sports fan hang his or her head in shame.

But then there are some good stories, too. For example, I remember how happy I was to hear that USC quarterback Matt Leinart decided to forego guaranteed millions in salary to stay in college to finish his senior year. It may sound silly, but that sort of thing makes me feel proud to be a fan. Another thing that makes me proud to be a fan is when professional athletes show respect to their parents.

I think that a majority of athletes who have made it to the professional ranks of their chosen sports had to have a pretty solid support system as they were growing up, which means their parents probably made a lot of sacrifices. I played a lot of sports when I was younger, and though I wasn't very talented at all, my parents still drove me to practices and games, bought me new equipment when needed, paid my entry fees, and showed up to watch me play. I'm sure that parents of athletes who show professional potential have to do those things times 100 for their kids. That's why it's only fitting that these parents get some sort of tribute when the kids actually do make it to the big leagues.

About 10 days ago, I read an article about Houston Astros pitcher Roger Clemens. His mother passed away from complications from emphysema, and Clemens was devastated, as you would expect. He pitched that day, as scheduled, and won. He did it for his mom because he knew she would have wanted him to play. His mom had always been a part of Clemens' career and watched many games in person before it become too difficult to do so. As Clemens spoke to reporters after the game, he was visibly grief-stricken and he didn't even try to hold back his tears. That was as clear a sign of love and respect as anything.

Professional sports needs to highlight more athletes like Roger Clemens, who openly show how important their parents are. Tiger Woods is like this. So are LeBron James and Donovan McNabb. I know there are many others out there as well. Personally, I would much rather read positive stories than the negative stuff that we are constantly subjected to. And I'll bet there are plenty of other fans who feel the same way.

The game long associated with smoky basements, alcohol and back room gambling has definitely become mainstream in America. High rollers playing a wide variety of games are now broadcast to homes across America on a significant number of television channels.

The game's significance became extremely apparent over the last week when World Poker Tour Enterprises sued its own television outlet, the Travel Channel, and Discovery Communications, Inc. WPTE initiated the suit because of Discovery's reported interference with a deal reached between WPTE and the ESPN for a newly televised poker series that would appear on the top sports network in the country.

According to WPTE, it offered the new show, called the Professional Poker Tour, to the Travel Channel as specified in a contract between WPTE and Discovery Communications. WPTE contends that their contract with Discovery allows WPTE to develop other poker-related programming provided it gives its parent channel first opportunity at the developed shows as well as a right of final refusal.

WPTE alleges it proposed its new show in July 2004 but that negotiations with Discovery were unsuccessful. After exhausting the specified time under an exclusive contract window, WPTE began seeking other outlets for the show.

WPTE reached an agreement with the ESPN on September 12. Because of the right of last refusal specified in the contract, Discovery still had a fifteen day window under which it could match the ESPN offer.

Instead, WPTE, alleges that the response of the Travel Channel parent company was to send letters to WPTE and ESPN threatening legal action, insisting that the Travel Channel had already licensed the new show. WPTE vehemently denied any such license had been granted, then initiated its suit against Discovery Communications.

Long associated with dark, dingy rooms and penny bets, nothing could be more symbolic of the game's making mainstream sports America than a show on the ESPN or the prospect of legal challenges and counter suits initiated by both sides, WPTE and Discovery Communications, Inc.

A small Division I School up in the tiny State of Maine, the University of Maine at Orono, is known nationally as a hockey power house. But Maine's land grant University has also turned out a sparkling array of coaches that have honed their skills in the cold, northeast before moving on to much higher profile stops.

One such coach, Tim Murphy, currently head football coach at Harvard University, is in line to earn his 100th college victory. Harvard helped Murphy earn his 99th win last week with a comeback, 31-21, against Holy Cross. That victory just happened to be the Crimson's 12th straight over two years.

Murphy spent two years as head coach at Maine, leading the Division I-AA Black Bears to 15 wins over that span. Becoming the youngest head coach in the country at the time (at age 30), Murphy's first team finished with an 8-4 record, the best record for Maine in 23 years. In his first season the Bears also shared the Yankee Conference title and made their first ever Division I-AA tournament appearance, earning him the Division I-AA New England coach of the year award.

The immediate respect that he gathered at Maine led him to leave Orono to become head coach of Division I, Cincinnati Bear Cats. During his stop in Ohio, he struggled at first to build a program. His teams would collect only nine wins in his first four years, but his ability to coach was clearly evident when in his fifth year in 1993, Murphy led Cincy to their best finish in 17 years.

That year the Bearcats finished 8-3, their first winning season in 11 years and the school's best overall mark since 1976 (9-2). Murphy's Bearcats would finish the regular season ranked 27th in the country in the USA Today/CNN poll and 28th in the AP poll, still the school's highest football rankings in history.

Murphy, considered one of the game's finest teachers, decided twelve years ago to take a step back to the I-AA ranks and become head coach at Harvard, arguably one of the finest academic institutions in the country. It was a perfect step for the Springfield, Massachusetts graduate
Murphy has rebuilt the Harvard football program, matheg the school a Division I-AA power. Murphy has already become the first Harvard coach since the legendary Percy Haughton to lead the Crimson to two unbeaten, untied seasons in his coaching career.

Harvard has earned 67 wins since Murphy took over against 43 losses. After a 9 and 20 start, he is 58 and 23 in his last 81 games as coach of the Crimson. Harvard has three Ivy League titles under Murphy, in 1997, 2001 and 2004. Harvard's unbeaten, untied season in 2001, was its first since 1913.

The highlight, though, has to be last year's 10-0 season thought to be the Crimson's finest in more than 100 years. The team won eight of its ten games by 10 points or more and its defense allowed allowed just one touchdown over the last three games of the season. The Crimson were the only undefeated school in Division I-AA football in 2004 and one of just five teams in all of college football to go undefeated a year ago. Murphy's gridiron warriors finished the season ranked No. 13 in the final Sports Network Division I-AA national poll, Harvard's highest finish ever.

Even more amazing, Harvard's final Sagarin Rating stood 37th among the 239 Division I football schools, putting the academic institution's program ahead of the likes of Alabama, Nebraska, Syracuse, and Michigan State.

The only item lacking that would have been a great stamp would have been the attainment of win number 100 for Murphy during that very special season. But that milestone will come soon enough, perhaps as soon as this Saturday when Harvard does battle with fellow Ivy league Brown.

It's been said that athletes at all levels are perhaps some of the most superstitious people around. I'm not talking about the black cat and broken mirrors type of superstition; I'm talking more about rituals than anything else. Many athletes have pre-game or even in-game rituals that they follow, and they believe that these actions have an impact on their performance. Most people probably couldn't tell you why they do the things they do, but most all of them agree that it helps get them in the right frame of mind and prepares them to focus.

At the professional level, some players' rituals are pretty well-known among fans. For example, baseball pitchers have a reputation as being some of the most superstitious of all athletes (along with hockey goalies). Many pitchers take great care not to step on the white chalk of the foul line as they are walking back and forth from the field to the dugout between innings. One pitcher even insisted on brushing his teeth between innings (luckily he was just a reliever, not a starter). Chicago White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia has been known to use the same sweat-stained, dirty hat over and over if he is pitching well with it. Also in baseball, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners also has a pretty rigid preparation ritual. He goes through a series of stretches in exactly the same order each time.

A lot of pre-game routines have to do with clothing and uniforms. One of the most famous examples from the recent past involves basketball great Michael Jordan. Jordan always wore a pair of North Carolina Tar Heels shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform shorts. North Carolina, of course, was where Jordan played college hoops. A lot of athletes reportedly put on their uniforms the exact same way each time. For example, they dress from left to right, and bottom to top or whatever. This would mean starting with the left sock, then putting on the right sock, and working their way up to the jersey. When I played softball, I had a teammate who wore a regular t-shirt with her uniform during pre-game drills and didn't actually put on her game jersey until just before the first pitch.

Other pre-game rituals involve meals and food. Lots of teams, especially at the college and pro level, eat meals together before their games. Some athletes prefer to eat exactly the same food in the same proportions every single time. I knew a football player in high school who drank the same flavor of Gatorade and ate two of the same flavor of Power Bars before taking the field.

Do these rituals really help? Would Michael Jordan have performed poorly if he didn't have his Tar Heels shorts? It's doubtful. Some athletes have been known to change their rituals if they are going through a slump. For instance, they might get dressed the opposite way (right to left, top to bottom) until they get back on track. Regardless of whether these routines work or not, I think they are very interesting because they give us a bit of insight into the personalities of the athletes involved. So the next time you see an athlete doing something a bit strange over and over again during the course of a game, you're probably witnessing one of his or her rituals.

Having been a football fan for five all-important years, when I was fifteen-years-old, I wasn't really aware that other girls my age weren't interested in football. My father had instilled in me a love of the game and I was a die-hard Denver Bronco fan by the time I was ten. I wasn't really interested in any of the other teams, though I had a mild interest in the Dallas Cowboys, mainly because my dad was a life-long fan. I knew the players, the coach, and the statistics, whether or not I cared. I never thought then, about how this knowledge and love of football would affect my life in the area of romance. I liked football before I liked boys; by the time I began noticing the boys, I was a football fan and it couldn't be changed.

The first boy I dated was a hockey player and liked football well enough, but he had grown up in a different state and didn't care one way or the other about the Broncos. The second boy I dated was a basketball player, and while he was a native of Colorado and liked football, he wasn't a fan like me. The third boy I dated was a football player, and played for our pitiful high school team that didn't win a game for years on end; but it turned out he was a fan of the Minnesota Vikings. I wondered if I'd ever find a guy who liked the Broncos.

One year during high school, I went with friends to the Colorado state fair, where I met a guy who was a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I can't remember if I'd even heard of the Bengals at that point in my life, but this guy was stoked because the Bengals were going to the Super bowl that year. We never really dated, but this guy became a friend and with my parents' permission, he came over to my house and we watched the Super bowl together that year. I don't remember who the other team was, but it was fun to hang out with a guy who loved his team - like my dad loved his. Still, it wasn't the Broncos.

Finally, long after college, when I was living clear across the country from my beloved Colorado, my mom and her friend set me up on a blind date with a her friend's son. I had just come out of a lousy relationship so I agreed to go on the date, even though I had no interest in meeting the friend's son. The date was ok, partly because I had no expectations, and partway through, we found that we had a lot of common interests. We both loved books and bookstores, we both loved the mountains, and lo and behold, he was a Denver Bronco fan. Not only that; he was very handsome.

The rest of the story is that we married five months later, and now, nearly 14 years have passed. We have enjoyed following the Broncos together all these years, through their ups and downs, wins and losses. We watched them in Super bowl glory and we watched as they lost their superstar, John Elway. Though we have other things in common and have a great life together, I have to wonder if at least some of it can't be attributed to the Denver Broncos!

Fantasy football season is in full swing these days, and there have been a lot of shocking developments. Fantasy managers who have Daunte Culpepper on their rosters are probably kicking themselves for choosing him. Last week was a strange week in one of my salary cap leagues. Rookie quarterback Kyle Orton scored more points than Peyton Manning. In fact, since Manning only earned about 42 points for me, I'm sure plenty of quarterbacks scored more points than him.

Anyway, in all my years of playing fantasy sports, I've come to know a lot of other players. It seems that each one plays for different reasons. You've got your hard-core players who keep extensive stats on all the players on their rosters and even have spreadsheets that help them calculate the roster moves that have the highest percentage of success. These guys are usually in the big-money leagues with tens of thousands of dollars on the line as the grand prize. Then there are the players who are just in it for fun. These players simply think that playing along in a fantasy league makes the real season more exciting. It's fun to follow other teams for a while to see how your players are doing.

I happen to think that one of the best perks of playing fantasy football, or any other fantasy sport, is the extensive knowledge that you gain over the course of the season. Most sports fans just pay attention to one or two of their favorite teams. They probably would have a tough time naming five players from other teams around the league, particularly the small-market teams that don't get a whole lot of national coverage. But you can always tell someone who plays fantasy sports because he or she knows a lot about the players on nearly every team.

This is the position I find myself in now. I used to just follow my hometown team, the Chicago Bears, and didn't really care what was going on with the rest of the league. After I started playing fantasy sports, however, I had to start paying close attention to everything that was happening. This was especially true since the Bears haven't had a player worth having on a fantasy team in a long time. So now, if I hear a player's name, any player's name, I can correctly name his team and position 9 times out of 10. Chance are, I would also be able to tell you if he's a starter, reserve, if he's injured, what kind of season he has had so far, etc. I can also tell you if he's got a good matchup in his next game or if he's going to have a tough day. In other words, I just know a whole lot more about football now.

If you are considering playing fantasy sports, I think you should just go ahead and do it. Forget about the prizes; those aren't really important, especially if you join a free league. A real sports fan would just enjoy all the extra knowledge that comes along with playing these games.

To most he is an overnight sensation. The man who managed to win three straight events on the Nationwide Tour gets his promotion to the Big Leagues and the PGA Tour. Once on the Tour, he wins nearly $800,000 by taking home the top prize at the 84 Lumber Classic.

But many do not realize Jason Gore is already 31 - that he has been plying his trade for years in relative anonymity and that he has experienced more failure than the average fan can imagine.
After turning pro in 1997, the California resident entered 18 tournaments as a member of the then Nike Tour (Nationwide Tour) in 1998. Gore would manage to make the cut in only 9 of those 18 events, good enough for $27,000 in total earnings.

In 1999, things were even worse. His earnings were an abysmal $7,000 on the minor circuit.

In 2000, as the Nike Tour became the BUY.COM Tour, Gore would begin to make his mark at that level. He earned his first ever victory that season at the New Mexico Classic and would top the $100,000 mark in earnings that year, the first time in his professional career. At the end of the season, Gore would shoot a 21 under, good enough for a tie for 14th at the PGA Tour Qualifying event.

However, his promotion the PGA Tour and the potential for bigger prize money saw him struggle. Though he would win more than $180,000 on the PGA, he would make only 12 of 30 cuts and his tie for 18th Invensys Classic at Las Vegas was his only top twenty performance of the year.

The $180,000 was not enough to keep his Tour card so back to the minors he went. On the BUY.COM Tour once again, Gore put together some great tournaments. Gore would win twice, earning him almost a quarter of a million in prize money for the year, and a promotion back to the PGA Tour.

The 2003 year was much like that of 2001, promoted to the more competitive Tour, Gore would once again struggle miserably. Though he managed $200,000 in earnings, he missed 18 of 30 cuts and once again lost his PGA Tour card at the end of the season.

This time Gore would not recover immediately on the Nationwide Tour, carrying his swing troubles with him. In 2004, the eighth year pro took home less than $80,000 in prize money, an amount that had to have him thinking about looking for steadier work.

Then, in mid-summer of 2005, he almost had a PGA Tour break through. Two spectacular opening rounds, a 71 followed by a 67 at Pinehurst No. 2, had the Nationwide Tour veteran sharing the second-round lead at one of golf's four major tourneys, the U.S. Open. A strong round on Saturday gave Gore the opportunity to play in the final grouping on a Sunday, paired with two-time Open champion Retief Goosen.

But then came the disaster of all disasters, another downer that had always matched his progress upward, a final-round, 14-over par 84. In the hunt going to the final day, Gore's hideous performance on Sunday dropped him into a tie for 49th.

However, the California native showed his enormous resiliency by putting aside the embarrassment of his final round at the Open. After taking a week off, he posted a 10th place tie at the Lake Erie Charity Classic for his first top-10 in 2005 after eight starts on the Nationwide Tour. Gearing up his game fully, Gore then followed that up with wins in consecutive weeks, first at the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic and then at the Scholarship America Showdown. In winning back-to-back, the Pepperdine graduate would become the first Nationwide Tour Player in history to be the winner of consecutive events twice in their career (2002 when he won the Oregon Classic and the Albertsons Boise Open).

Gore took two weeks off, then returned in full form, capturing the Cox Classic. That win made Gore the first player in Nationwide Tour history to win three consecutive starts. The three Nationwide wins in a season also provided him another direct promotion to the PGA Tour, just the seventh player in that tour's history to receive the three-win promotion.

Upon promotion, Gore left as the Nationwide Tour Money leader and the leader in career wins on the sub-PGA circuit. Having tied Sean Murphy and Matt Gogel for most wins with six, his up and down career took him back for another shot at the PGA Tour.

But this time, the heavy-set golfer was equal to the challenge. Playing against an excellent field, Gore once again took to a golf course on a Sunday with a chance to win a PGA event. And this time, in complete contrast to his disastrous performance at the Open, Gore played golf the way he always thought he could, taking home his first ever PGA Title.

The man who in late May stated that he was having trouble paying for baby formula and making his house payment picked up a winners check of $792,000 for his performance. Put together with $300,000 plus earned on the Nationwide Tour and the 31 year old had pocketed more than a million dollars in prize money in the matter of just a few months.

That is some serious prize money, well beyond what he has ever earned before. But make no mistake about it, Jason Gore is anything but an overnight sensation.

As an adult, I don't care about autographs from athletes or anyone else. But when I was a child, getting an autograph from my favorite players was enough to make me a fan for life. It seems like such a silly thing, really; but to a lot of kids, these athletes truly are heroes. These days, however, it can be more and more difficult to get player autographs. Many athletes seem reluctant to sign items that they know will be auctioned off on eBay for a fat profit. But it's still possible to get your favorite athletes' signatures. Here are some tips:

Arrive early to games
Many stadiums and arenas open their doors well before the start of the game so that fans can come in to watch practice and so that everyone has plenty of time to settle into their seats. This is a great opportunity to get autographs. Even if your ticket says you have to sit in the upper deck, most stadium ushers and security guards let people roam around freely until about an hour before the game. During batting practice, many baseball players hang out near the stands and willingly sign autographs while they are waiting for their turn. It's also possible to get near enough to a basketball court during the pre-game shoot around to ask for some autographs.

Stay late after the games
An alternative to arriving early to get autographs is to stay late after the games and wait near the players' exits. This works particularly well when you want an autograph from a player on the visiting team. If you know the stadium pretty well, then you can easily find the exit for the visiting team's locker room. If you don't really know where things are, you can simply ask an usher or perhaps just follow the crowd. There's always a big group of other people seeking autographs, so it's pretty easy to discover where the action is.

Go to the team's fan convention
A lot of professional sports teams have an annual fan convention during the offseason. This is an opportunity for fans to come in and meet the players, get autographs, participate in raffles, and buy tickets to upcoming games. Though the price of an admission ticket can be pretty high, it's worth it if you want autographs from a lot of players on the same team. This is also a good time to get photographs taken with your favorite players or to have them sign jerseys, balls, etc. It's fun to get a baseball, football, or basketball signed by everyone on the team.

Attend spring training or training camp
If you are lucky enough to live within a reasonable distance from your favorite team's spring training headquarters or training camp facilities, then you have a great opportunity of getting autographs. Players are generally very accessible during these times and usually do a lot to accommodate the fans who come out to watch them practice.

These are just some general tips to help you out. Of course, there's no guarantee that you will get player autographs. A lot depends on the specific situation and the players' moods. Good luck!

The Green Bay Packers have lost their first two games of the 2005 NFL campaign, dropping a divisional matchup against the Detroit Lions 17-3 in Week One, then coming back and losing again to the Cleveland Browns by a score of 26-24 in Week Two. Sure, it's only two games, and things can turn around in a hurry in the NFL. After all, the Pack started 1-4 last season and ended up with a record of 10-6. But it's the way that the Packers have lost these two games that should give fans cause for concern. They haven't looked very good at all, and it's hard to come up with any positives that they can build on.

On offense, things are pretty dire. Star wide receiver Javon Walker went down in the first game of the season with an ACL injury, and will be out for the rest of the season. This moves veteran Donald Driver into the #1 spot on the depth chart, and Robert Ferguson steps into the #2 slot. While these are good receivers, neither has that game-breaking ability that Walker brought to the table.

Running back Ahman Green has not been much of a factor in the first two games, either. He has yet to rush for more than 60 yards in a game, has yet to score a touchdown, and has fumbled the ball once. More importantly, he has only gotten 12 and 16 touches, respectively. The Packers definitely need to get the ball to Green more often than that, especially with the injury to Walker. The lack of a running game has had its effect on quarterback Brett Favre, too.

Favre, now in his 15th year in the NFL, is clearly not in his prime anymore. He may still be better than half of the other starting QBs in the league, but it's just kind of disappointing to see him turn the ball over so much these days. He has had 2 interceptions in each of the first two games, and he has also fumbled once. Favre had a QB rating of just 53.3 in the Detroit game and was outplayed by Joey Harrington. His supporting cast (offensive line, receivers) must take some of the blame, but a lot of this is on Favre's shoulders too. He has made bad decisions and has tried to force the ball in many situations.

Things don't look much better on defense. They're not getting to the opposing quarterbacks, and they're not taking the ball away and giving their offense good field position. The team only has two sacks on the season (both coming against Detroit) and they have zero takeaways throughout two games.

I think this could be the year that Packers fans have been dreading, the year where the team winds up with a record below .500 and phrases such as "rebuilding", "young team", and "new direction" get tossed around a lot. Look for rookie QB Aaron Rodgers, Favre's heir apparent, to get some significant playing time down the road if the Packers are out of the playoff hunt. And look for a new champion in the NFC North.

As if the huge upsets and big surprises of Week One in the NFL weren't enough to keep fans on the edge of their seats, we were treated to more of the same in Week 2. Let's get right down to a recap of some of the best action around the league.

Carolina over New England
In this rematch of Super Bowl XXXVIII, the New England Patriots looked very beatable in every aspect of the game. The Carolina defense gave the Patriots fits all day in this 27-17 victory. Quarterback Tom Brady looked confused and had to hurry a majority of his throws. Running back Corey Dillon gained just 36 yards rushing, and New England was held to 39 yards rushing as a team. They also committed 12 penalties for 86 yards. The Panthers, on the other hand, looked very good. Julius Peppers and the defense dominated the game when they were on the field. Stephen Davis led all rushers with 77 yards and 3 big touchdowns. There's no doubt that Carolina is a good team. I just don't think many people expected them to beat the Pats this week.

Philadelphia over San Francisco
The surprise in this game was not the fact that the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles beat the lowly 49ers by a score of 42-3; that was to be expected. The surprising thing was just how strongly the Eagles bounced back after suffering an Opening Day loss in Atlanta. Donovan McNabb, who looked very average in the Monday night loss, came back with a vengeance in this game. He was an outstanding 23-of-29 on the day for 342 yards and 5 touchdowns. This translates into a QB rating of 155.4. Terrel Owens also had a big game. He hauled in 5 catches for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a long of 68 yards.

Cincinnati over Minnesota
Quarterback Carson Palmer and the rest of the Bengals were all over Minnesota in their 37-8 win on Sunday. Palmer went 27-of-40 for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Chad Johnson was Palmer's favorite target. Johnson caught 7 passes for 139 yards, including a 70-yard score on the second play of the game. Meanwhile, Minnesota's Daunte Culpepper is having a horrendous season so far. His troubles continued this week as he was picked off 5 times by the Cincinnati defense. That brings Culpepper's totals to 8 interceptions and zero touchdowns in the first two games. Minnesota better turn things around for next week's game against the New Orleans Saints, or it could be a long season for Vikings fans.

Other notables

• The Chicago Bears scored the most points in a game (38) since 1995.
• Carnell "Cadillac" Williams had his second-consecutive 100-yard rushing game.
• Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger is now 15-0 as a starter in the NFL.
• Peyton Manning was held to just 122 passing yards -- his lowest total in 4 years.

It seems that fitness clubs are the craze these days. There are a plethora of women's health clubs like Curves, men's health clubs and even ones for kids that have after school fitness programs! With fitness being the buzz word of the early 21st century, its important to know what you are getting into before you sign up and join a fitness club for you and your family.

For the busy family, finding time to exercise can be a major problem. Instead, what about a personal trainer? A personal trainer is someone that would come to your office or home and help you with your exercises or someone that you would meet at the gym that would assist you in your quest to get fit.

So what do you look for in a gym or fitness centre? What about a personal trainer? How much will this cost? How much time will I have to invest on a weekly basis?

A good personal trainer can cost around $25 - $50 per hour. A personal trainer can adapt a training plan that is best suited for your needs, will keep you motivated and help keep you free of injuries. And for some busy women, a trainer is the only way to go. Here are a few questions to look at when looking into a hiring a personal trainer.
-are they insured?
-are they flexible to your work schedule?
-what is their personality like and can you get along with them all right?
-does the trainer have experience in working with people your age?

A gym or fitness club can provide you with the exercise equipment, but may not always be a place that you can get to with a busy schedule. Plus gyms usually want some sort of commitment in the form of a contract. Be wary of the "hard sell" however, since most of their sales people are on commission and will try and sign you up for their biggest package. Aside from that, what you want to look at is the gym itself. Ask for a tour. Is it clean and well taken care of? Does the gym offer classes? Classes like step and Pilates may be what you are interested in. Does this gym offer these classes? Does the gym have enough equipment to accommodate people during its peak hours? Does it have child care? What are the gym's hours of operation and can it fit into your schedule?

Kid's fitness centers, a relatively new phenomenon, have been opening up in different areas and offer both after school programs and day programs. With schools cutting down on extra curricular sports activities and with the amount of time kids spend in front of the computer or TV; this is a good way to get kids active, healthy and happy.

If you have time to shop around, do so. Don't be pressured into committing yourself to the first gym that you check out. Also with personal trainers, ask for references of past clients. Were they happy with him/her, their manner, and the way they did things?

No matter which type of fitness activity you choose for you and your family, the end results will be worth it!

Many parents want to sign their children up for sports as early as possible. These eager beaver parents often think that tee-ball and mini-soccer are great places to start. If you do decide to sign your little one up, then there are some key points you must remember.

The first is that there are no winners and losers in preschool sports. That is not just a sappy statement without merit. There typically is no scorekeeping in these early games. Everyone in tee-ball gets a turn at bat, for example. There are no outs, so all of the children get to run the bases. You should not expect the games to teach your child to have a competitive edge. In fact, these early sporting activities teach your little one more about cooperation and teamwork than they do about competition.

It is important that you do not expect too much of your child. Mini-soccer, which usually signs up three to five year olds, is hilarious to watch. The children have little concept of team; they are still learning. That means that every child wants the ball all the time. The children all chase the ball in a big huddle kicking at it and trying to push the other children out of the way. Do not think that your child will be different. The point in this early sporting is to convince your child that she or he wants to be part of a team - that it is a great idea.

Learning the rules of the game will come slowly. You can try to help out by giving your child little hints. "When you make it all the way to home base, you have scored a point." This statement is an example of the type of sports reasoning a five-year-old can understand. He cannot understand, "if someone hits a fly ball into the outfield, take a few steps off the bag. If the ball isn't caught, tag and run."

Don't even try it. You are going way over your child's head, and neither of you will have any fun if you make these overtures. It may seem silly to read it but try observing a preschool sporting event before you sign up your little tike. You will find that many parents yell from the spectators' bleachers with directives for their children that the kids have no hope of following. Avoid trying to parent and coach - unless, of course, you have signed up to coach the team. Your child will enjoy you much more if you provide supportive cheers and claps but generally let him enjoy the game.

If you sign up your child and then she doesn't want to play, preschool sports are the time to decide how you will handle this issue. There is no universal solution to this dilemma. If your preschooler does not want to play anymore, find out why. Did you sign her up and she hates it? Is her coach less than hospitable to the kids? Is he a terrible little athlete? Deal with these issues when they arise and then explain your decision simply so that your child can understand. Right now is the time to start teaching your child about decisions and their consequences.

By Julia Mercer

Much has been written in recent weeks about the number teams still with a chance at the 2005 post-season. The greatest excitement comes from the American league where six teams still have legitimate shots at Division titles, even as baseball heads into the final three weeks of the season.

The one baseball club in the six team mix that is garnering the most attention is the Cleveland Indians. Critical to their story line is their status as of August 1st, when the team stood fifteen full games behind the Division leading Chicago White Sox, and their incredible performance over the past seven weeks.

The Indians trounced Kansas City 11-0 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of the hapless Royals. With that win, the Indians have now won five straight, 12 of their last 13, and are a major league best 33-11, since July 31st.

Along with the performance comes a compelling story line. An elite team just four years ago, the Indians were essentially dismantled due to payroll concerns. The loss of several star players after the 2001 season plummeted the team to the