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Summer might be over, but it doesn’t mean the heat isn’t. Yes, October baseball is upon us. The magic. The mystique. The aura. The moments. It’s all here. But, in some ways, I don’t want the regular season to end. It’s been such a crazy year. And part of me wants to keep living the craziness:

• I want to relieve CC Sabathia’s magical performance since being traded from the Indians.
• I want to relive the All-Star Game.
•  I want to relive Yankee Stadium.
•  I want to relive the Astros’ second half run.
•  I want to relive the Mets’ second half collapse.
•  I want to relieve Josh Hamilton’s rise to greatness.
•  I want to relive Andruw Jones’s fall from grace.
•  I want to relive the Rays ascent.
•  I want to relieve the Tiger’s descent.
•  I want to relieve Jon Lester’s no-hitter.
•  I want to relive Tim Lincecum.
•  I want to relive Cliff Lee.
•  I want to relive Joe Torre’s success.
•  I want to relive Willie Randolph’s struggle.

I was a doubter. I doubted how the league could recover from Steroid-gate. From Roger Clemens, being, well, an idiot. But it recovered. It provided memories that will last a lifetime. I want to be telling my grandkids about Josh Hamilton, about the Rays. I want to tell them about Yankee Stadium, about the All-Star Game. Because these are the moments, these are the things we will always hold on. Times are tough. But now, we can turn on the TV, watch baseball, and know, it’s going to be fine. Baseball is back. It’s better than it ever was. I don’t want it to end. I want to kiss the Billy Goat goodbye. I want to go back to 1982. I want to watch Manny being Manny. I want to watch the Angels dominate. I want to watch Ryan Howard hit one to the moon. I want to watch Josh Beckett’s playoff mastery. I want to see Tampa in October. I want to feel the Dome shake. I want to hear the buzz in Chicago. I want to see a new hero, a new goat. I don’t want baseball to end. You know why? I can’t live without it. Enjoy the playoffs.About the Author

Your favorite writer from The Blog of Champions, is also writing for Tastefully Driven. He brings his sports expertise and knowledge to Tastefully Driven, and will continue to provide the insight and opinions you’ve grown to know and love. Any questions, comments, suggestions? You can contact him here.

As the summer heat fades into the fall breeze, it means one thing: Football. Yes, it’s that time of the year again. And, as always, it’s time for speculation, opinions, and little facts. Let’s face it: My predictions here are about, I don’t know, going to be 10% right. Because so much happens in 16 weeks. But I’m going to try anyway.
NFL MVP:

This one could go a number of ways. LaDanian Tomlinson, Tony “Jessica Simpson” Romo, Tom Brady (although as of 8:30 on Sunday, it looks like he might be out for the year). But, I think that LT will take home the crown. He’s just too good, and might be the best running back since Emmitt Smith entered the league. He’s that good. And don’t be surprised if he has another record breaking season.

NFC DIVISION WINNERS:

EAST: New York Giants

It’s funny how everyone discounts the World Champs. But, last I checked, they were still on top of the football world. And this ‘us against the world’ mentality is what served them so well during their magical playoff run. Look for them to make a deep run in the playoffs.

NORTH: Minnesota Vikings

With the Packers losing Brett Favre, the Bears seemingly forgetting to get Wide Receivers, and the Lions still hanging on the bottom, the Vikings will take the crown. In fact, some experts have picked them to win it all. I’m not so sure about that. But they do have a tremendous amount of talent, led by Adrian Peterson, who could challenge LT as the best running back in the league. This is a team that will be contended for many years to come.

SOUTH: New Orleans Saints

I feel bad for this team. Every summer, they have to deal with concerns about Hurricanes, rather than football concerns. And except for a tough schedule a year ago, they’ve been able to respond well to these catastrophes. With so many weapons on offense, they should take this division easily.

WEST: Seattle Seahawks

It’s not that the Seahawks are that great, it’s just that the rest of the division is terrible. I don’t think the Seahawks will make a big run, but some college teams would win this division.

NFC WILD CARD WINNERS:

DALLAS COWBOYS: They’re too good, and could challenge for the Super Bowl. That is, of course, the many rambunctious and volatile personalities find a way to mesh. If they don’t, it could spell trouble.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Donovan McNabb is healthy, and providing he stays that way, they’ll make the playoffs.

AFC DIVISION WINNERS:

EAST: Buffalo Bills

Yesterday this would have been the Patriots. But with Brady going down, the Bills take their spot. They’re very young, and growing pains come with that, but they also have a ton of talent, on both sides of the ball, making them a tough team to play, especially in the winter months. I like this team a whole lot.

NORTH: Pittsburgh Steelers

Big Ben Rothlisberger, and the return of the vaunted Steelers’ D, will lead this team to the playoffs. Combine that with a formidable running game, and good coaching, and this team will be there long into January.

SOUTH: Indianapolis Colts

Two Words: Peyton Manning.

WEST: San Diego Chargers

Perhaps the most talented team in the AFC, they take this division easily. Phillip Rivers, LT, Antonio Gates, lead a tremendously talented offensive attack, and they will blow out many opponents this year.

AFC WILD CARD WINNERS:

HOUSTON TEXANS: I absolutely love this team. Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Mario Williams. They’ve been bottom dwellers for a long time, but this year they will bust out and make the playoffs, much like the Tampa Rays are about to do in Baseball.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: A chic pick for the Super Bowl, I’m not going to go that far. But they have a balanced team, a good D, and a legitimate case to be the AFC’s representative in Tampa for the Super Bowl.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

DALLAS COWBOYS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
A close game, the Saints edge the Cowboys out and make the Super Bowl

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS VS. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
The Chargers will overmatch the Jags, making this an easy one for San Diego.

SUPERBOWL XLIII

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The Chargers win this one, and Phillip Rivers joins Eli Manning and Ben Rothlisberger in becoming Super Bowl Champs from the ’04 Draft Class.

There you have it. Hopefully I’m right. But in this business, I’ll take just the Super Bowl Champ. Enjoy the football season.

About the Author

Your favorite writer from The Blog of Champions, is also writing for Tastefully Driven. He brings his sports expertise and knowledge to Tastefully Driven, and will continue to provide the insight and opinions you’ve grown to know and love. Any questions, comments, suggestions? You can contact him here.

Let me start with this: I love the Olympics. Everything from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony. I love watching rowing, and baseball, basketball, and water polo. I love hearing about athletes who are big in their country, but a nobody in ours. I love seeing the flag wrapped around the champions shoulders. That is true entertainment. Now onto these Games.

The first week of the Beijing Olympics have come and gone, and, as usual, there are tons of incredible story lines. I could talk about 41 year old Dara Torres, who captured three silver medals. I could talk about Women’s gymnastics, where Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson went 1-2. I could talk about the ‘Redeem Team’, and how USA Basketball is regaining its former dominance. Or I could talk about American Sprinter Tyson Gay failing to make the 100 meter finals. But I want to focus on two stories, one obvious, one not so obvious.

First, Michael Phelps. Every race was captivating as his quest to become the greatest Olympic Champion heated up. The 4 x100 Freestyle relay, with teammate Jason Lezak miraculously coming from behind to win. My living room, filled with friends and family, was going crazy. We might have broken some noise restrictions. Then his excruciatingly exciting 100 meter butterfly, with Phelps winning by one-one-hundredth of a second. Won by a finger tip. If we didn’t break noise restrictions on the first race, we definitely broke them there. Watching the gracious Phelps compete was a true joy. He redefined Olympian, with both his athletic prowess and his character. A true Olympian.

Next story isn’t so heartwarming. It serves as a reminder that the Olympics aren’t always perfect. Ara Abrahamian, a Swedish wrestler, was stripped of his bronze medal. He was upset because of a supposed bad penalty call that decided his match. At the medal ceremony, Abrahamian took the medal off his neck, walked off the stand, and threw is medal to the ground. You keep hearing how the Olympics are about ‘fair play’, ‘sportsmanship’. I don’t buy it. There are still enough crazy people out there who will selfishly ruin someone’s moment in the sun for personal grief. The IOC did the right thing in revoking his medal.

Every Olympics I find myself rooting for sports I don’t follow or know nothing about. But that’s what so great about it. I find myself caught up in Volleyball, or Handball. I get excited when Diving is on. Swimming is always a source of nerves and anxiety. Every time I get ‘inspired’ by a sport. During the Athens Games, I seriously considered training to become a pole-vaulter (hey, I was 12, I had time). During the Torino Games, I wanted to train to become a cross-country skier. Olympics inspire me. They captivate me. They serve as a reminder that peace is attainable. Now, I’m not a politician. I’m not a foreign affairs expert. But I know sports. And I know how they bring people together. And if this event can have enemies rooting for each other for two weeks, then its progress. I’ll take progress.

That’s why I love the Olympics.

About the Author

Your favorite writer from The Blog of Champions, is also writing for Tastefully Driven. He brings his sports expertise and knowledge to Tastefully Driven, and will continue to provide the insight and opinions you’ve grown to know and love. Any questions, comments, suggestions? You can contact him here.

With Joba Chamberlain going on the 15 day disabled list, and visiting renowned orthopedists Dr. James Andrews, the Yanks are in trouble. They were just starting to make a move, and are only 3 games back in the Wild Card race. Joba’s a stud: 2.63 ERA, with 104 strikeouts. A True Ace. So what does this all mean? Well, their only solid pitcher is Mike Mussina, and he’s 39. Phil Hughes, a stud prospect is rehabbing, but isn’t expected for awhile. If they wanted to make the playoffs, Joba would lead them there. Then again, there’s always next year.

What if I told you there was a sport that’s part football, part rugby, part soccer, and part mixed-martial arts?  A sport where players play an entire 50 minute game with no rest and no time outs.  Sound too crazy to be true?  It’s called Calcio Fiorentino, it’s played in Italy, it has a hardcore following, and it is absolutely brutal.  And if it wasn’t for last weeks’ jaw-dropping article in Sports Illustrated, no one outside of Italy probably would have ever known it existed:

Its origins can be traced to the first century B.C., when Roman legionnaires played it to prepare for combat. The game’s official rules date to 1580, and it was played by the Italian aristocracy, including three popes. Discontinued for centuries, the sport was revived in 1930 as an annual rite in Florence.

The rules are few. There is a normal soccer ball, a 100-by-50-meter sand pitch with goals running the width of each end zone and two teams of 27 men. Fifty minutes of play. No timeouts, no substitutions. A few tactics are expressly forbidden, such as sucker-punching and kicking in the head. Otherwise, head-butting, punching, elbowing, choking and throwing sand in opponents’ eyes are encouraged, if not applauded.

And of course, what you’ve all been waiting for - videos.  There aren’t a ton available, but they should give you a taste of what it’s like to play this brutal game:

Unreal.  All I can say is WOW.  Oh, and why isn’t this televised?  It’s like MMA on crack!