This Says It All

2010 NFL PREVIEW- Baltimore Ravens

BALTIMORE RAVENS
2009 Record: 9-7-0
(2nd in AFC North)

HEAD COACH: John Harbaugh

Key Additions: WR Anquan Boldin (trade/Arizona), WR Donte' Stallworth (FA/Cleveland)

Key Losses: DT Dwan Edwards (FA/Buffalo), OT Adam Terry (FA/Indianapolis), DT Justin Bannan (FA/Denver)

Offense: The Ravens are looking to improve the offense once again in 2010 and quarterback Joe Flacco will look to improve in his third season as the starter.
Flacco threw for 21 touchdowns last year and amassed 3,613 yards passing while being intercepted just 12 times. That was a huge improvement from his rookie season in 2008.
A new addition to the Ravens air attack will be former Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who had 84 catches for 1,024 yards and four TD in '09. Along with Boldin, Derrick Mason (73 catches for 1,028 yards and seven TD) will be a big target for Flacco as will Tight End Todd Heap, who made 53 catches for 593 yards and six touchdowns.
The running game ranked fifth in the NFL last year with 138 yards per game.
Ray Rice gained 1,339 yards (5.3 yards per carry average) and scored seven TD to go with 78 catches, which led the Ravens in 2009.
Along with Rice is touchdown machine Willis McGahee (544 yards and 12 TD) and fullback Le'Ron McClain, who saw his carries more limited a year ago as Rice emerged as the rushing leader for Baltimore.
The offensive line will have Matt Birk at center, guards Ben Grubbs and Marshall Yanda and tackles Michael Oher and Jared Gaither.

Defense: This has been THE strength of the Ravens for a decade now and last year was no exception as the Ravens finished third in the NFL in total defense, allowing 300 yards per game.
The run defense allowed 93 yards per game and is led by perennial All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis, who is 35 years old entering the 2010 campaign.
The pass defense allowed 207 yards per game, which ranked eighth while intercepting 22 passes.
Up front are defensive tackles Kelly Gregg and Haloti Ngata and ends Cory Redding and Terrell Suggs.
The linebackers include Lewis, Dannell Ellerbe and Jarret Johnson.
The Ravens' secondary is led by Ed Reed (free safety), who was injured and missed games last year and still might not be 100 percent entering this year.
Strong safety Dawan Landry led the Ravens with four interceptions in 2009 and will be back for this season. The cornerbacks are Lardarius Webb and Fabian Washington, who will be filling the void for Domonique Foxworth (co-leader for Ravens with four picks in '09).
Foxworth may miss the entire 2010 season after injuring his knee earlier this week in training camp.

OUTLOOK: While the defense is showing signs of age and injuries, they continue to perform at a high level.
That has been the signature of the Ravens for ten years now and should continue once again in 2010.
On offense, look for the team to open it up as Flacco now has Boldin to throw to along with Mason, Heap and the plethora of running backs.
The trio of Rice, McGahee and McClain should continue to roll along behind a stellar offensive line.
Head Coach John Harbaugh is expecting big things from his team this year and along with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh contending in the AFC North division, nothing will come easy for the Ravens.
If the offense can keep opponents guessing and Flacco continues to mature at quarterback, this team could go far in the post-season in 2010.
Look for Baltimore to raise the AFC North banner this season at 11-5, but once again fall short of reaching the Super Bowl.


TEAM SCHEDULE:
Week 1- at NY Jets
Week 2- at Cincinnati
Week 3- vs. Cleveland
Week 4- at Pittsburgh
Week 5- vs. Denver
Week 6- at New England
Week 7- vs. Buffalo
Week 8- Bye Week
Week 9- vs. Miami
Week 10- at Atlanta
Week 11- at Carolina
Week 12- vs. Tampa Bay
Week 13- vs. Pittsburgh
Week 14- at Houston
Week 15- vs. New Orleans
Week 16- at Cleveland
Week 17- vs. Cincinnati

Fox "News" is a joke

It doesn't matter if it is Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Glen Beck, any number of the network's anchors or political commentators, the fact is Fox "News" channel is a joke.
All these people attempt to do is divide Americans over "stories" that they (Fox) concoct with fact twisting and being oblivious to videotape content.
The fact is Fox "News" channel owner Rupert Murdoch (originally from Australia) could care less about facts (he helps to censor news in communist China on TV stations he has interests in) as long as the network gets it's right-wing/neo-con message out in the public.
Beck is an admitted entertainer who could "care less about politics" and Hannity is a college dropout who gained notoriety in the late 1980's defending convicted felon Oliver North on radio call-in shows during the Iran-Contra scandal.
Bill O'Reilly got his start as a host for "A Current Affair," a tabloid TV "news" type show.
Enough said there.
The Fox channel has nothing but righties on the air (Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, William Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, etc.) and their sole mission is to pound and pound and pound and pound and pound on the same story.
As stated before on heftyinfo, how this network gets the ratings it does is very puzzling.
It doesn't say much for the people of the United States either who constantly watch this garbage.
Ratings are a monetary means for TV and radio stations to gauge themselves and the fact that Fox beats out MSNBC and CNN regularly doesn't mean squat.
As pointed out by Rachel Maddow, "Spongebob Squarepants" and "Hannah Montana" regularly beat Fox "News" channel in the ratings.
Fox "News" channel is a neo-con propaganda machine.
Always has been and always will be.
The average working class person is a fool to listen to Fox and their propaganda. They are cutting their own throats by parroting the things they hear on that propaganda network.

Fox "News" ... We Distort. You Comply.

Is the Tea Party Destroying the Middle Class?

Rating the Top Ten NFL Quarterbacks

With another NFL season coming up, heftyinfo is ranking the active quarterbacks for the 2010 football season.

1. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)
It's hard to argue against the Super Bowl winning quarterback.
Brees led the NFL is passing a year ago while also throwing for over 5,000 yards in 2008. Along with Manning, the Saints' QB has thrown for the most TD passes over the past four seasons.
2. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts)
This guy just keeps putting up ridiculous numbers each season and last year reached (but lost) another Super Bowl.
Acually, one could argue that he and Brees are numbers 1 and 1A.
3. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers)
Yes, Rivers belongs in the Top Three.
The man simply wins a lot of football games. His record as Chargers' QB since taking over in 2006 for Drew Brees is 46-18. Against the great Peyton Manning in head-to-head matchups, Rivers and the Chargers are 3-1, including 2-0 in the playoffs. Hard to argue against that.
Rivers also led the entire NFL in passing in 2008 and once again was the top rated passer in the AFC in 2009. A Super Bowl is in the future for him.
4. Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings)
Hard to argue with what Favre continues to do at his age (40 years old entering the 2010 season) with the Vikings.
But for a blown call by the officials, Minnesota could have been in Super Bowl 44 against Indy. Favre should be back again in 2010 and look for more of the same from him. Future Hall-of-Famer without a doubt.
5. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers)
This guy has overcome a lot after taking over for Favre in '08 in Green Bay and last season put up some eye-popping numbers.
Rodgers did all he could for the Packers in their playoff loss to Arizona after a monster regular season.
6. Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
The only reason Brady isn't higher on the list is because age and injuries seem to perhaps be catching up to the "golden boy" quarterback.
He simply was not the same Tom Brady we have been accustomed to seeing prior to his severe knee injury that cost him the '08 season.
In fact, in the Patriots' playoff debacle against Baltimore last January, NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders described Brady as looking like "hot garbage."
7. Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys)
He FINALLY won a playoff game as the Cowboys' quarterback last season and then the follow-up act was atrocious as the Pokes were crushed by the Vikings in the Divisional Round of the post-season.
Romo has come a long way the past three years however, and looks poised to perhaps get Dallas back to the Super Bowl in the near future.
8. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)
This young man needs to stay out of trouble off the field and continue to concentrate on his quarterback abilities to remain successful.
He has already accomplished two Super Bowl titles for Pittsburgh as the starter. In 2009, the Steelers were definitely more a passing team than running and Roethlisberger had a good season.
9. Donovan McNabb (Washington Redskins)
His best years are behind him, but Donovan McNabb continues to be a consistent winning QB in the NFL because he has a real knack for the game.
A change of scenery may do well for him as he heads to the Redskins following a good '09 campaign which saw his former team in Philadelphia once again reach the playoffs.
Age and injuries have slowed him down and thus dropped him on the list of top NFL quarterbacks.
10. Matt Schaub (Houston Texans)
The former backup quarterback with Atlanta continues to get better and better in Houston.
The Texans enjoyed a winning season last year and are poised to make the playoffs under the leadership of Schaub, who threw for over 4,700 yards last year and also made 29 TD passes.

Best of the Rest- Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears), Eli Manning (New York Giants), Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals), Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons), Joey Flacco (Baltimore Ravens).

Be careful what you wish for

Here we go!
Chicago is now talking about already adding a third Wal-Mart to the city and the second one that was recently approved is still in the stages of ground breaking.
Be careful what you wish for city of Chicago and residents alike.
Wal-Mart is notorious for their exploitation of workers and low-pay when it comes to said workers at the corporate giant.
This corporation is known for killing small businesses when they come to town and eventually for going back on said agreements when it comes to a fair pay scale for their employees.
About a month ago when the Wal-Mart was approved for the south side of the city, it was noted at heftyinfo this is pathetic that citizens of the great city of Chicago are begging Wal-Mart (of all people) for jobs.
The writing on the wall is there now as Mayor Richard M. Daley sells out the city once again to a corporate raider just as he did with the 'Skyway' toll road and the parking meters in Chicago. The latter has been nothing but a disaster and they are already crying poor with the funds from said meters.
Chicago has been called the 'city of big shoulders' and the 'city that works', but with Wal-Mart now coming into the picture, it may just be a matter of time before the Windy City is blown away by the corporate mentality that has been pervading this country for the past 30 years now.
Pay the lowest possible wages to employees and make them buy their own health benefits at the same time while importing the merchandise from communist China and other "sweat shop" manufacturing places around the globe.
Pathetic.
But that's the way the powers that be (politically and corporate) want things and they are the decision makers for big business in the United States of America.
Again, careful what you wish for Chicago.
Stay tuned.

Oops... we did it again!

Fox "News" Channel shows once again why they are the scum of the earth when it comes to the news media.
With pathetic excuse for a blogger/columnist Andrew Breitbart leading the way, the Fox "News" channel lied and deliberately misled millions of people on a story involving USDA official Shirley Sherrod about a speech she gave at the NAACP's 20th Annual Freedom Funds Banquet last March.
These unethical bozos at the Fox network edited the tape to scorn Sherrod's talk and dittohead Sean Hannity ran with it via Breitbart and his blog feed regarding the speech.
Fox "News" Channel is anything but.
These people are clowns, from Hannity to Bill O' Reilly to the ring master himself, Glen Beck.
It is "info-tainment" and there is nothing funny about what these sick people spew out day in and day out and the simpletons who lap it up are equally pathetic.
It is no wonder there is so much voter apathy running rampant these days when a network like that is topping the ratings.
How that is happening is beyond comprehension. Doesn't say much for this country of ours either.
These hypocritical lowlifes purposely omitted portions of the tape that would clear Sherrod of any racial comments perceived due to their editing of the tapes.
As an American, you must ask yourself at this point, "Why would (anyone) want to watch Fox 'News'?"
Get out of fantasy land Fox "News" and get a life.
Hey Fox "News", stop trying to control and mind fuck the American people with your blatant lies.
Fox "News" is pathetic and once again proved that classic line from Don Henley's song "Dirty Laundry" regarding trashy news coverage.
"We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry."
That describes Fox "News" Channel perfectly.

Fox's confusing decision not to air VoteVets ad

Fox's confusing decision not to air VoteVets ad

It's Never as Bad as it Seems

Just doing my part to help the economy is what happened this weekend as I purchased a new car (Chevrolet Impala) and it felt good to do that.
All people keep hearing on the "mainstream" news is that Obama sucks and the economy isn't getting better.
Baloney!
Granted, the unemployment figures are still hovering around nine to ten percent nationwide and that increases even more when you factor in the people who are no longer receiving benefits (thanks GOP and 'conserva-Dem' Ben Nelson) or have simply become so discouraged they have given up on the prospect of a job.
However, as a tradesman I have been gainfully employed and work is good for the future here in Illinois as well. Also, a friend of mine recently gained employment after a lengthy layoff.
That says something about the economy changing for the better.
People have to be told the facts (the REAL facts) about how it is in America these days.
Imagine if John McCain and Sarah Palin had won the 2008 election.
Oh my God!
I shudder to think about that and thank God it was Barack Obama and Joe Biden winning in 2008 rather than the GOP candidates.
It seems the media and most of the political pundits are doing all they can to convince the American people to go the way of the GOP and allow them the power in Congress once again.
WTF!?
Come on now, we as Americans, cannot afford that.
It would be our "Waterloo" as GOP Senator Jim DeMint likes to say.
The middle class has been hurting, but the Obama Administration has been responsible for getting policies in place that have created jobs and allowed people to continue to live the kind of life they are accustomed to.
Under Bush and Cheney, millions of jobs were lost while taxes actually were cut for the wealthiest two percent of Americans.
Change doesn't happen overnight, especially in D.C. where the "wheels of government" turn slowly.
Very slowly it seems, as the GOP seeks to block everything the Obama Administration would like to accomplish for we the people (the other 98 percent) the things taken from us during the Bush & Cheney years.
It felt good though, to "do my part" and help things improve our economy.
It is just a car purchase; one single example.
But it shows that the economy can work when people get out there and show some confidence in our country and make the purchases to keep the wheels turning.
Hopefully, things get better for the majority of Americans over time and they don't get so discouraged as to listen to the pundits and give the keys back to the people who drove us into the ditch in the first place.
Well said President Obama.
One thing is for certain, the GOP does not deserve to "take back America" after nearly giving it all away for the last decade.
Now it is time to take a spin in my new car.
God Bless America!

Wall Street Is Starving Millions And Getting Away With It!

I Would Love to See the Dems Do This When the GOP Plays Their Stall Tactics in Congress

How many Republicans should we put in jail for causing the economic meltdown?

MEL GIBSON'S TIRADE . . . UNBELIEVABLE

Casual Friday Night

Friday Fun

ISN'T THIS THE TRUTH?
A PERFECT SPOT FOR A TATTOO OF PALIN . . . ON SOMEONE'S ASS!




CORPORATE SUCK UPS!


CONFLICT OF INTEREST ? SORRY EXCUSES FOR U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ARE WEARING ROBES WITH CORPORATE LOGOS!

SAD . . . BUT TRUE . . . THINK ABOUT IT!

RUSH LIMBAUGH IS AN IDIOT, YET THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LISTEN TO HIM!

And the beat(ing) goes on

The transformation from the United States of America into the Corporate States of America continues as a three-member panel of judges in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled against the moratorium against offshore drilling.
It's another victory for corporate America as the people of United States get dumped on again.
In particular, the people of the deep south get dumped on yet again after BP ruined the Gulf of Mexico with their negligence that resulted in the WORST EVER oil spill disaster in the history of the United States.
Hell, the judges and representatives in Congress ought to just put on corporate patches much like the NASCAR drivers do.
That's what America has come to...
Judges ruling on cases involving oil companies when said judges have deep seated interests in oil, whether its investments in the oil industry or some other involvement in the field.
This follows up with the fact that another judge recently ruled in favor of big oil and it was duly noted that judge also has ties to big oil.
And of course, there was the infamous United States Supreme Court decision involving "citizens united" that declares corporations are individuals and can therefore donate endless sums of money to the candidates of their choosing and thus impact our national elections.
Hmmmmm.
The founding fathers fought against "corporate" tyranny when the American revolution took place and the United States was born some 234 years ago.
As a citizen of the United States, it is hereby declared hence that we are no longer a country "by the people, of the people and for the people", we have become a nation (as Abraham Lincoln so prophetically declared in 1864 would eventually happen) "by the few, of the few and for the few."
It is the opinion here that all of these judges mentioned above should be permanently disbarred and tossed from their jobs.
Maybe then they might know what it is like for millions of Americans who are unemployed and made to blame for it by the arrogance of greedy politicians who continue to kiss the collective asses of the ruling corporations.

Reports have LeBron James heading to New York

Numerous reports (including CBS Sports.com) have NBA superstar LeBron James heading to the New York Knicks.
On Thursday, James is expected to announce his decision where he will play basketball as he has been going around to various NBA teams recently.
James is a free agent and there has been a lot of speculation on where he will wind up for the 2010-11 NBA season and beyond. Many felt he would team up with Dwayne Wade and/or Chris Bosh, both of whom are free agents.
Bosh is reported to have signed a deal with the Miami Heat and will be a teammate of Wade for the next five years. Former Phoenix Suns' power forward Amari Stoudamire signed with the Knicks recently and many feel James will do the same to help bring the Big Apple its first NBA title since 1973.
Either way, it would be nice to see James make the announcement and get this over with already.
Granted, James is a phenomenal player and the poster child for the league but has not won a championship in his seven years in the NBA. The only visit to the NBA Finals in 2007 for James and the Cleveland Cavaliers resulted in a four game sweep loss against the San Antonio Spurs.
The call is either for James to remain in Cleveland or go to New York City.
Anything else would be a surprise it seems and the Knicks would definitely benefit with both James and Stoudamire on the roster.
Stay tuned.

Lindsay Lohan sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating probation

Timeline of 234 years in America

ONE YEAR LATER SISTER SARAH ... HOW'S IT WORKING OUT FOR YA'

Former NFL Coach Don Coryell, 85, Dies

America The Beautiful