Wunderdog Sports Picks Blog

by J. Mesa 

Needless to say, a rather disturbing story broke yesterday about the MLB, Roger Clemens (again) and a bottle of “daddy’s little helper.”

The report was concerning a not-as-yet illegal performance enhancing drug that supposedly helps to increase endurance by delivering blood, oxygen and other nutrients to muscles more efficiently. This drug can also help to overcome impotence, and annoying side effect of taking testosterone injections and supplements. This magic pill? None other than the little blue diamond in the rough – Viagra!

That’s right, I couldn’t believe it either.

Say hello to my little (blue) friend!

by J. Mesa 

I gotta tell ya’ I like the idea of having instant replay for homeruns. Replay will help level the playing field and make the game more fair and legitimate. With MLB still feeling the fallout of the steroids scandal, what better way to help baseball and its fans heal than to do something to make the game more honest?

Fans already have the benefit of the jumbo-tron replay and we can all tell when the umps get the call wrong. Every fan in the yard sees it, every fan watching on TV sees in, but unfortunately, the three people on the field that NEED to see the play often get it wrong. It’s a lot of fun to second guess the umpire and with replay in the field we have a chance to call the ump wrong and we’d all be right.

Pushing for MLB replay

HOMER ALERT!

Now I usually shy away from my pro-Denver leanings when writing in my own little corner of cyberspace. Whether it is my loathing of the Raiders, the Diamondbacks or the Lakers, I try to lay off expressing my true feelings in an effort to stay neutral. But things have gotten so bad in the Mile High City, that I needed the collective shoulder of the Dog Pound to cry on.

Denver has always been such a great sports town. We have world titles in both football and hockey and it looked like our little brother of a team – the Rockies, was going to mature in front of our eyes and bring home a World Series crown. Alas, it wasn’t to be as our little brother ran into Boston’s big brother and sent us home in four games last year. 

We are used to getting no respect when it comes to baseball. The east-coast, major-market bias has never gotten to us. So we weren’t surprised when early MLB picks for the 2008 season left us out of the pennant conversation. Heck, they even left us out of the NL West conversation, but we took it all with a grain of salt. We were gonna show them! Well, not so much.

A Mile High is really a valley low

We are only a couple of weeks into the MLB spring-training season and there have already been a couple of headlining stories concerning the Evil Empire – yes the New York Yankees. Normally, I wouldn’t consider anything that happens during spring training news, but ok, this story really got me thinking. Sorry to disappoint, but it wasn’t the brawl that got my noodle cranking.

No, it was the Yankees new addition that grabbed my attention when they signed tenured rookie (and by tenured I mean old) Billy Crystal to a one-game contract my ears perked right up.

DISCLAIMER: I am not going to get into the slippery slope of why I think it is bad to sign celebrities to play professional sports. (See also: Garth Brooks’ San Diego Padres career or Master P’s run at the NBA). But in the spirit of summer daydreaming I began to drift away thinking about what pro sport I would like to participate in for one day if given the opportunity. 

One day, one sport and one ugly fish

MLB PICKS 2008 AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
 
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
MANAGER: MIKE SCIOSCIA
2007 RECORD: 94-68
 
KEY ADDITIONS:
TORI HUNTER OF
JON GARLAND RHP
 
KEY LOSSES:
ORLANDO CABRERA
 
HELP IS ON THE WAY:
NICK ADENHART RHP
 
OUTLOOK:
The Angels should again have the best pitching in the West. Garland is a nice No. 3 starter and he should fit in nicely. Hunter gives them another big bat which is what they needed most and his defense is a plus. Their Bullpen is solid and this team should again put up over 90 wins.

MLB Picks 2008 - AL West