Sunday Chatter: Preakness Shackleford, Indy 500, Carl Edwards, Bernard Hopkins

  Shackleford:  The Preakness Stake winner Shackleford stays strong to the finish just holding off  Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom. Astrology came in third,  Dialed In was fourth and rounding out the top five was Dance City all horses ran well.  The jockey on Shackleford was Jesus Castanon riding for his first Triple Crown win.

2011 Indy 500:  The most highly regarded indy race is the Indy 500 and it will have its 100th Anniversary. The Indy 500 is the world's largest single day sporting event. It covers 500 miles with 200 laps of the famous 2.5 track. Taking the pole on this historic race will be Alex Tagliani the first canadian to ever win the pole for the Indy 500. The last two years pole winner Indy star Helio Castroneves will start in 16th position his lowest in 11 tries. Danica Patrick a once fan attraction will not be competing in this years race due to her commitment to Nascar. 

Congrats to Alex Tagliani for winning the pole of the 100th Anniversay of the Indy 500!

Bernard Hopkins : The ageless one, the fountain of youth or whatever you want to throw in his name Bernard Hopkins "The Executioner" won the  world championship and WBC Light-heavyweight title by a decision over the younger Jean Pascal. Bernard the oldest ever to win at 46 years old, just six months older than legend George Forman, did it with finesse. Boxing over the last decade one would have to believe has been diluted in talent by the MMA and the UFC gaining in so much popularity. So, you wonder how long can a "boxer" keep going with the skills Bernard has in his arsenal? Congrats to Bernard Hopkins!

 Carl Edwards: Charlotte Motor Speedway and Nascar held the 2011 Sprint All-Star Race and Carl Edwards took home the trophy and a $1 million dollar prize purse. He did leave us with a little drama with an odd move that caused his car to dip in the grass and crumple up his #99 car that had no effect on his customary victory back flip he still made it happen! Kyle Busch came in a disappointing second, David Ruetimann a suprising third, birthday boy Tony Stewart who turned fourty a day earlier fourth and Greg Biffle fifth.

I am sorry to all my followers that I was a day late getting my Saturday chatter out, but I won't miss your cartoon.

Saturday Morning Chatter: Brandon Marshall Jimmie Johnson Real Madrid

Brandon Marshall - Miami Dolphins star receiver is in intensive care after getting a stab wound by a knifing from a woman. He was taken to the hospital and was in intensive care as of Saturday morning. The often in the news for off the field incidents All-pro receiver Marshall hopefully will fully recover and "when" the lock out lifts he will help the Miami Dolphins again next season.

Brandon Marshall Jersey: Reebok Aqua #19 Miami Dolphins Jersey

Los Angeles Dodgers - The Major League Baseball and Bud Selig have taken over the day to day operations from the storied franchise Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the most prestigious teams in all of sports are owned by Frank McCourt and filed for divorcee Jamie McCourt who are believed to be in a bitter war over the team and its operations. Selig will appoint Stan Kasten or Corey Busch as a possible candidates to run the team as "Replacement Players" in this unfortunate dealings for an outstanding organization. The team with all of the pressure from the MLB and its fans the turmoil of the team may result in a selling of the team.

True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told by the Men Who Lived It

Rajon Rondo - The 2011 NBA Playoffs are for the stars to shine and Rajon Rondo on Friday night did just that with a triple double. The line read: 15 points, 11 rebounds and playoff record 20 assists. The floor general used his talents to help the Boston Celtics to a 3-0 lead over the New York Knicks with a 113 - 96 win. The 20 assists help to contribute to the outstanding scoring of Ray Allen's 32 points and Paul Pierce and his 38 points.


NBA Boston Celtics Rajon Rondo Swingman Jersey Green

Kevin Love - The 2011 Most Improved Award winner. The key to reaching the award was confidence. The Minnesota Timberwolves the worst team in the league had a spark of who they need to build around. His rebound stats alone turned heads all over the NBA with a league leading 15.2 rebounds per game. At 22 years old he is just going to get better.

Upper Deck Authentic Kevin Love Autograph Minnesota Timberwolves Road Jersey

Real Madrid - Opps! Sergio Ramos should have been holding the Copa del Rey Trophy with his feet because the hands didn't cut it. Just hours after defeating FC Barcalona in the finals in Valencia. The 33 pound cup won by an oustanding header by Christiano Ronaldo in extra time fell off the bus the team was using for the celebration and before the driver could stop ran over the trophy with his front tires.

adidas #7 Ronaldo Real Madrid Home 10/11 Soccer Jersey

Jimmie Johnson - #48 Jimmie Johnson with the help of a push from #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Talladega. The photo finish left all the fans in the seats and on television watching the leader board just to see who won. The margin of win was .002 seconds the closest in the history of Talladega and tied with Rickey Craven's win at Darlington in 2003 as the closest finishes in NASCAR history.

Jimmie Johnson No. 48 Lowe's 2010 Sprint Cup Diecast Car by The Hamilton Collection


Cartoon Time  - Retro Car Racing

Nascar's Jimmie Johnson wins The Chase Cup his fifth

Jimmie Johnson clinched his fifth straight Chase Cup!

SI Weekly Expansion College Basketball Preview 11.22.2010 Jacob Pullen

This weeks SI Expansion has the 2010-2011 College Basketball Preview. I will be adding a little flair and some quality research behind the already great magazine put out by Sports Illustrated.

Cover:

This issue of SI comes with four different regional covers with four different school programs depicted.

1. Kansas State with Senior Guard - Jacob Pullen
2. Duke with Senior Guard - Nolan Smith
3. Washington with Junior Guard - Isaiah Thomas
4. Michigan State with Senior Guard -  Kalin Lucas

On the Bench:

1. One of the mini articles had the writings of the Manny Pacquiao verses Antonio Margarito. I was at home and had to watch the fight online with the free internet site tv. I should have gotten tickets to the Deathstar and watched it on Jerry Jones' big screen. It was a fight that was clearly a must see by any boxing fan!

2. Mini Article II: This story has Nascar star Jimmie Johnson going into this weekend 15 points behind Denny Hamlin in The Chase.  The race this weekend at Homestead is the finale. Who will win? I'll take Johnson!

3. Putting the Shoulder Pads On: A menacing picture of the New York Jets offensive line is pictured next and what a sight over 1,500 lbs of green and white coming to line could do to intimidate to a defense. The Jets are looking for Super Bowl Rings in Dallas and with Rex Ryan coaching, LaDainian Tomlinson playing better, and NFL's Sophmore Mark Sanchez fulfilling his hype they have a shot at the Lombardi Trophy.

4. Being from the Dallas area, I can't talk about the NFL and not bring up the newest intern head coach of the Dallas Cowboys - Jason Garrett. Good Luck Jason your gonna need it!

In the Game:

My look at The Men's and Women's 2010 -2011 SI College Basketball Basketball Preview.

• The men's sneak preview looks into three teams and the tandem's that look to make a run at the tourney.
• Duke's Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith
• Purdue's JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore
• Michigan State's Durrell Summers and Kalin Lucas

Good luck to all six men on their quest for the NCAA Champions!

• The women's sneak preview has the talents of Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips of Xavier wanting to win the title in their hometown Indianapolis after just missing the Final Four last year they are HUNGRY!

Men's Final Four Picks

1. Duke - Picked to win it all
2. Michigan State
3. Kansas State
4. Villanova

I will be watching for some true talented men to show us what college athletics is about. Hardwork and dedication to their craft and the schools they reprasent make college baskeball what it is today. College basketball has always been about the school and not the player. When I look back I think about the teams, coaches and what the school stands for more than the name on the players jersey, that is for the NBA.

In Closing: HEY MAILMAN, TAKE BETTER CARE OF MY SPORTS ILLUSTRATED !