Front Row.com Blog

 A quick hit list of the Top Sports Tickets of 2009 just off the fringe area of my brain. In other words, if I had like, 10 minutes to list what I wanted. some will be obvious, others off the wall, so ne forewarned.

 Chicago Cubs Tickets – Oddly enough, I’bve never been to a Chicago Cubs game. I’ve been to the Windy City, but only in the throes of winter. It’s on my list.

New England Patriots Tickets – never been to a Patriots game. I’ll get the chance this year when the Patriots vs Saints hits the Superdome.

Kentucky Derby Tickets – hey, you get to mill around the infield, drinkMint Julep, and look at pretty ladies decked out in their finest. What could be better? Oh yeah, there’s a horse race in there somehow.

Super Bowl Tickets – Of course.

World Series tickets – Of course.

NBA Finals Tickets – Of course.

College football tickets – here’s who I’d like to see, in no particular order: Oklahoma Sooners, so I could root against them. Not that I don’t like them it’s just to aggravate my friend Dave Purdum. Texas Longhorns tickets, I’ve heard they have a good quarterback. Florida Gators tickets, because you won’t get many chances to see a team this strong, this long.

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 The LA Dodgers just completed a nice win over the Colorado Rockies. Pretty routine stuff right? Well, not really. The Dodgers have now put themselves in position to win the West. With 30-something games remaining, it’s going to be hard for anyone to overcome the four game lead Los Angeles has now built up. Assuming there’s no complete collapse, the Dodgers will be looking at post-season play.

 Meanwhile, the Oakland A’s just shut out the Los Angeles Angels is a West Coast rivalry game. Trevor Cahill somehow found a way to eclipse a good Angels offense, holding them to three hits with the help of some relief pitching. The win means the A’s, currently sitting at the bottom of the division, have kept the Angels within striking distance for the Texas Rangers. On their own behalf, the Rangers just took a 7-2 win over the Yankees and appear poised to give the Angels a run for their money.

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 If there’s one thing women’s golf could use, it’s a Tiger Woods. It’s always good for a sport to have a focal point, someone easily recognizable and instantly familiar to the public, even those that aren’t hardcore fans. Women’s golf has been in a struggle in my mind. And while it’s unrealistic to assume that it might become as popular as men’s golf in the near future, it’s not hard to picture it becoming much more prominent.

 In order to do that though, women’s gold will need a hero for the media to salivate over. Michelle Wie could be that person. The problem is, her popularity right now is built on potential and not achievement. She’s got the looks and the cultish personality, now all she needs to do is get out there and start klicking some butt. Wie has elevated her potential with a great performance at the Solheilm Cup, as a team member. Her solo shot awaits, and her next opportunity is the Safeway Classic. It’s time Michelle Wie to get out of the passenger seat and start driving the bus of women’s golf.

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 When I was in high school they were big on movies, Disease movies, drug movies, morality movies. It seems like once a week the Brothers of the Holy Cross would herd our demented little minds into some pseudo-shock therapy black and white  flick and ingrain into our feeble thoughts some overpowering message. One in particular stands out in my brainwashed grey cells. A film called “The Final Factor”. Basically is was scenario after scenario of horribly mutilating car crashes, which began in an innocent fashion but went horribly wrong because of “The Final Factor” of alcohol abuse. Proving to that it only takes one drink to wind up the worst mass murderer in the history of the universe.

 College football tickets kind of remind me to tickets to these old theatrical horrors. Just one factor in a college football team or a college football game can devastate the exalted hopes and dreams of millions. Let’s take a look at college football teams possibly possessing that mutant gene, that fatal flaw, that “Final Factor”

Florida Gators Final Factor and Fatal Flaw- With Tim Tebow and the return of most starters, it’s hard to find a glaring fatal flaw. Tebow hides most of them. But if you look closely you might find a unit of wide receivers with no really strong personality. The Gators have plenty of talent, but nobody I see that can catch the ball in traffic, make someone miss, then outrace the rest of the defense down the field. If he’s there I don’t see him. Give me his name Charlie.

USC Trojans Final Factor and Fatal Flaw – This one is a little more obvious. The USC Trojans lose eight, count em, eight starters on the defensive side of the ball, not graduation but to the NFL! How do you replace eight NFL worthy players? That’s a tough cookie to bake, especially since the unit faces the biggest challenge of the season in it’s game against Ohio State, a mere two weeks into the season.

Oklahoma SoonersFinal Factor and Fatal Flaw – This is just to make my friend Dancin Dave sweat a little bit. He’s once again pegged his beloved Sooners to win the BCS National Championship Games. Not gonna happen Dave. Your Heisman level quarterback will be being protected by five first year starters, yes, basically a rookie crew in front of the man with the ball.

LSU Tigers Final Factor and Fatal Flaw – This one breaks my heart but since I dissed Dave I gotta look at LSU and wish I could see a quarterback. Sophomore Jordan Jefferson has show some real potential. But he’ll have to get past any sophomore slump and learning curve very very quickly or else could easily finish in the middle of the Top 25 or below.

 Remember, these Final Factors and Fatal Flaws are not cast in stone and may never emerge on any one of these teams or we may see something emerge on all of them. Just a kind of a pre-Halloween though before August is over. Good Night, Chopsley.

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 From a pre-season standpoint the Florida Gators already have this thing locked down. The BCS National Championship Game is just a formality. Florida is looking at the vast majority of starters returning from last season’s Championship team, including…Tim Tebow.

 If Tebow isn’t reason enough to expect the Gators to repeat I don’t know what else you could ask for. The Gators have only injury to fear, and even that might not be enough to derail this train. But expectation and reality are two different things. All the games have to be played. And the big ones have to be one. The motivation provided by playing last seasons BCS National Champion, and this season’s favorite, all wrapped up in one will be enough motivation for Florida’s opponents.

 Do the Gators look good enough to win their 3rd National Championship in four years. Yes, they do. Is it a certainty? In the world of college football nothing is a sure thing.

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 Fans with Minnesota Vikings tickets have been waiting for this moment for years. Now, it seems, all the pieces are in place for the final push to a Super Bowl. The NFC North is ripe for the picking. Even better, it looks like the Minnesota Vikings might ride to the promised land on the arm of a quarterback from the Green Bay Packers. How sweet it is.

The Vikings problems certainly aren’t on defense. Tops against the run and #6 overall, Minnesota can put the stop on just about anyone. The defensive line is the foundation, though that strength may be hampered by the suspensions of Pat and Kevin Williams early in 2009. That aside, Minnesota should finish in the top 10 again in 2009, barring a major slew of injury.

 Minnesota runs a version of the West coast offense. Brad Childress has some potent weapons to call out, the biggest being running back Adrian Peterson, who is quite simply as perfect a running back as you could ask for. In 2008 Peterson produced 1,760 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s big, fast, and doesn’t shy away from contact. Combined with Chester Taylor, a veteran who excels in catching passes out of the backfield, Childress can keep defenses on their heels.

 Enter Brett Favre. There’s no argument that the Vikings offense has been crippled by lack of consistent quarterback play. Tarvaris Jackson is a roller coaster. Sage Rosenfels has been steady but not quite Super Bowl caliber to say the least. Is Favre the answer? He’s still got a good arm, knows the offense, and his presence should lift those around him. But you have to wonder if his tendency to gamble and throw interceptions will eventually get stale in an offense geared towards a conservative short gain approach. Once again, the inescapable conclusion is that the Vikings quarterback situation is far from settled. Brett Favre is just another Wild Card.

 The Vikings will have some tough competition in the NFC North. Obviously, there will be massive amounts of media attention for the Vikings home stand against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4, especially if Favre wins the starting job. It may settle down by the time they get to Lambeau but don’t bank on it. Home and away games against the Chicago Bears will also be huge, with Chicago riding high on the signing of Jay Cutler. The Vikings have no room for a letdown in the NFC North.

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 Call me crazy but fans with New York Giants tickets have a right to be angry. Angry with Plaxico Burress, and angry with the criminal justice system. Burress is probably the only guy to be sentenced to two years in prison for self inflicted stupidity. Correct me if I’m wrong, but nowhere in this case have I seen it put forth that Burress brandished a weapon and threatened anyone with it. He shot HIMSELF.

 It’s understandable in these times that direct threats of personal harm should be treated seriously. If Plaxico Burress had pointed the gun at anyone I wouldn’t have a problem. If he had accidentally shot someone else I wouldn’t have a problem. But those aren’t the facts as I see them. An argument can be made that he endangered those around him and I agree with that and I think some punishment is warranted. But two years in prison for shooting yourself in the leg? Come on. It so happens I used to work with a guy that shot himself in the knee while cleaning his pistol. Nobody talked about putting him in jail. We all laughed at him. After all, he had harmed nobody but himself. Giants tickets holders have lost a good wide receiver on their team, and for what reason? Stupidity, something we all can be accused of at one time or another. Just ask my wife.

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  It’s time for Charlie Weis to make his stand. The likeable Head Coach of Notre Dame has had enough time to build a winning program and restore the glory of the Fighting Irish. No excuses will be accepted in the 2009 college football season.

 Five years is a long time. Plenty long enough to make major strides in a football program. Charlie Weis came to Notre Dame with all the right credentials. But after watching their Irish struggle to be even respectable for the last two seasons, Notre Dame fans, including my son in law, are getting their backs up. They need some wins, like, double digits wins. They need a bowl game, and not a minor bow, a BCS Bowl. Anything less and Weis will feel the heat of fans and alumni calling for his head.

 The early Weiss years went well. Well enough for the Irish to play the BCS  circuit. But then Brady Quinn found another job and recruiting didn’t go too well and Notre Dame sank into the mire. Embarrasing losses to USC and a devastating whipping by Navy got fans backs up. It all seems too painful to dredge up.

 2009 Notre Dame football tickets will make or break Charlie Weis. He seems to know it. He spent the offseason rebuilding his coaching staff and taking greater control over on the field playcalling. Will it work out? One thing in his favor, he still has several years remaining on a contract, so squeezing out 8 or 9 wins might save his job if he can pull off good showing against USC. And not lose to Navy.

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 Some golf nuts like Tiger Woods. Others love Mickelson or Yang or whoever. Me, I’m a John Daly guy. I just can’t resist the combination of golf greatness and total insanity he brings to life and the game. I know that the things he’s done have taken a great personal toll on him. The alcohol abuse, the loss of income, etc. But there’s just something about the guy that makes me pull for him to make that improbable comeback to the golf mainstream.

 That’s why it warms my heart to see that Daly has announced he will return to the Australian Open in December. Coming on the heels of his withdrawal from the PGA Championship, where a bad back laid him low, it’s somewhat of a surprise. But Daly is saying he should be fine by the time the Australian Open rolls around. As you recall, this is where Daly introduced a spectators camera to a tree, bothering the golf authorities enough to do…nothing. Justifiable they said, as the spectator had been harrasing Daly all day. It was some off the course antics that got him a six month suspension. If nothing else the return of John Daly breathes some life into the tradition and manners bound game of golf. he’s the kind of guy you look at and wonder “What’s he gonna do next?” My kind of guy.

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The Wheels on the bus go round and round

 Here we go again. Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings? I thought we got off this train. Yahoo is reporting that Brett Favre could be signing a $12 million deal to join the Vikings. Here’s the way I read this situation. Minnesota went into the preseason thinking that signing Favre would be nice. But not really commited to it, with the idea that Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels would step up and win the job.

 Well, after one preseason game, in which Rosenfels look pretty good and Tarvaris Jackson didn’t, the Viking braintrust decided that hey, maybe the Brett Favre idea might work out well after all. at least it would give them two NFL starters on the roster, instead of a starter and a project that might not work out. Bottom Line, the Brett Favre Magical Mystery Tour is on again and there’s no telling where we’ll get off this train.

 After a carrer stint with the Green Bay Packers, a disheartening year with the New York Jets, and flirtations with every NFl team in need of a quarterback, Favre might have found a home with the Minnesota Vikings. Or maybe not. Maybe he’ll just continue the endless circling and keep everyone guessing for the next decade. Let me off the bus please.

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