It's Friday Night - Retro '80's Music Video

FOOTBALL IS BACK

The National Football League and the NFL Players finally agreed to settle the lockout and it is officially ended on Monday, July 25, 2011.
A new ten-year collective bargaining agreement is now official and the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, announced the news that fans everywhere have been waiting to hear... "Football is back!"
Ten teams will open training camp on Wednesday and with the warp speed of free agent signings taking place over the next week or so, all 32 teams will be at it by then.
Heftyinfo will begin previews of all 32 NFL teams on August 5 and will begin with the NFC North teams, where defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay, led by Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews (pictured upper right), resides.
Those teams will be followed respectively by the AFC North, the NFC South, AFC South, NFC East, AFC East and finally the NFC West and AFC West teams.
One question football fans ... Are you ready for some football?

Baseball Favorites

As Major League Baseball inducts new members into the Hall-of-Fame today, here are some other favorites from the game along with various memorabilia and old ball park photos.

World Champions -  Oakland A's of 1974

The late, great legendary Sparky Anderson

Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken

Rod Carew

Old Comiskey Park night game... circa 1970

Jarry Park- Former Home of defunct Montreal Expos

Wrigley Field Program Food Menu ... circa 1972

The old Seattle Pilots logo ... circa 1969

Texas Rangers logo circa 1970's

Old (Briggs) Tiger Stadium in Detroit

Hope you enjoyed the tour of a piece of Americana known as Major League Baseball.

Sunday Funday

Friday Night - Retro '80's Music Video

Telling It Like It Really Is... No Holds Barred

It's Gonna Be Free Agent Mayhem Around The NFL

When then final I's and T's are dotted and crossed and the NFL finally gets rolling again after the lockout that lasted four plus months, there will be many teams seeking to sign players around the league as well as some trade deals being made.
One major trade being bantered about is Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb going to the Arizona Cardinals.
The roster moves will be made over a brief two-week period prior to the start of training camps.
There are four individual star players who seem to be attempting to stir the pot as the settlement nears later this week.
Indianapolis Colts' QB Peyton Manning, New Orleans QB Drew Brees, San Diego Wide Receiver Vincent Jackson and New England offensive lineman Logan Mankins are attempting to quash the "franchise" tag put on them by their respective teams and seek to become unrestricted free agents.
Mankins and Jackson, in particular had long holdouts last year that lasted well into the regular season.
In fact, many San Diego fans blamed Jackson for the team's dismal 9-7 finish last season that cost the Chargers their stranglehold on the AFC West division.
The odds are against these players being granted anything as a possible lawsuit may be invoked to help them become unrestricted free agents.
That's the only blip on the radar as the players' union gets put back together and the collective bargaining deal is struck with the owners (a possible ten-year deal is what is being talked about) to ensure the NFL season gets going in 2011 and beyond.
If all goes well, training camps will open in the next two weeks and the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams will kick things off in the pre-season opening Hall-of-Fame Game on Sunday, August 7th in Canton, Ohio.

Update for 2011 NFL Team Previews

In the event the NFL gets things wrapped up in the negotiating talks in the coming weeks, Heftyinfo will once again begin previewing each and every NFL team for the upcoming season.
In the past, the previews would begin at the end of July. This season, it will be pending contingent on what develops as the NFL owners and players continue to hammer out a new deal and then things can get rolling for the 2011 NFL season.
Stay tuned folks!

Friday - Retro '80's Music Video

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell Says Our Elections Have Failed

Mid-Summer Classic and Other Baseball Notes

It's the All-Star Break for Major League Baseball and there have been some big surprises indeed to this point in the 2011 season.
The All-Star Game between the National League and American League takes place tonight in Arizona, where the NL stars will be looking to make it two in a row after a lengthy losing streak to the American League in the game.
Roy Halladay, last year's National League Cy Young Award winner, will take the mound against Jared Weaver for the American League.
There should be excitement as the teams battle it out once again.
Sure, maybe the game doesn't have the same excitement it once had since inter league play came into existence in the majors in 1997.
However, the modern day stars of the game are just as idolized by today's kids and fans as they were many years ago when the All-Star Game was more revered.

As for the 2011 season at the midway point, the Pittsburgh Pirates have to be baseball's biggest surprise to date.
Languishing in last place for many years and with a losing record for 18 straight seasons, the Pirates find themselves at 47-43 this year and just one game behind St. Louis and Milwaukee in the National League Central division.
Pittsburgh has been nothing more than a glorified minor league baseball team in  recent years and lost more than 100 games in 2010.
But these Bucs have shown something special in 2011 and may not go away over the final 72 games of the regular season once the All-Star break is over.
They do not have  a single position starter on the NL squad this year, but then again neither do the Philadelphia Phillies, who at 57-34 own baseball's best record at the midway point.
Meanwhile, in the American League, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees (ho hum) are once again leading the way.
Along with Pittsburgh and mild surprise teams Washington and Arizona, the Cleveland Indians (47-42) are the AL version of the big surprise teams in the 2011 season.
The Indians were thought to be a last place team coming into 2011 and have been in first place or near the top spot from Opening Day to the present time. The Detroit Tigers have a half-game lead over the Tribe with disappointing Chicago White Sox  and Minnesota Twins still looming in the AL Central picture.
 What will happen in the second half of the 2011 baseball season remains to be seen, but so far it has been an exciting season with more to follow as we head into the dog days of August and then the stretch run in September.

Play Ball!

Casey Anthony Could Do Lead Role In Remake of the Movie 'M'

Casey Anthony's career in the movies could be launched with a remake of the movie  'M', a 1931 Peter Lorre classic about a child murderer who is chased by both the police and the crime underworld.

How Times Have Changed

How much are tickets for this year's Major League Baseball All-Star Game?
Check this out from the 1975 game in Milwaukee. Hell, these days a beer probably costs as much as the ticket from that game.

Friday Night - Retro '80's Music Video

Haven't We Seen This Before?

C'mon Barack Obama, get with it already and stop caving in to the Republicans.
What is it with this guy anyway?
We have seen this scenario play out before over the last two and a half years since Obama became President of the United States.
He caved on the public option for health care reform... he caved on letting the Bush 43 tax cuts sunset and instead extended them another two years in exchange for an extra year of unemployment benefits extensions.
Sucker!
Now it appears Obama is also caving in and putting Social Security, along with Medicare and Medicaid "on the table" for cuts in order to raise the debt ceiling.
Funny, I do not ever remember the Republicans challenging George W. Bush about the deficit or raising the debt ceiling during his eight years in the White House.
Republican Senate MINORITY LEADER Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) said it oh so well long ago... "We (Republican party) want to make (President Obama) a ONE-TERM President."
So what's up?
More political posturing by both the Democratic and Republican parties it appears as the American public seems doomed to carry the burden once again while the scumbags on Wall Street and the corporate world skate free.
Will it ever end?
Doubtful.

There's Probably A Story Behind This

Be Safe, Not Sorry

It's the Fourth of July, celebrate safely and don't be stupid with the explosives.

Fourth of July Weekend - Celebrate!

It's the Fourth of July... celebrate America!

Greetings From Uncle Sam

A message to all the politicians (and they know who they are) that are attempting to destroy the U.S. economy strictly for political purposes.

And it is only fitting for this message to be sent on Fourth of July weekend...

Friday Night Retro '80's Music Video