Training Camp preview #1

Favre stays out; MLB trades heat up; RIP Jim Johnson

I'll start off today by touching on the Brett Favre news, and I'm not gonna beat around the bush. I'm glad he is staying retired - I don't wanna hear anymore about him. He was a great quarterback in his day, one of the best ever. But at this point, I'm sick of the drama, I'm sick of all the speculation, and I hope his diva personality stays out of the media for a long time (and I'm sure the Minnesota Vikings feel the same way).

-I originally was going to put up some of my thoughts on the MLB trades to date, but I figure it'll be better to wait until after tomorrow at 4pm to do that. A lot has happened, with Cliff Lee going to the Phillies undoubtedly the biggest move thus far. So check back early next week to

get my take on the winners and losers of the MLB trade deadline.

-Finally, I wanna touch on the passing of an absolute defensive GENIUS in Jim Johnson. Johnson was the mastermind of the Philadelphia Eagles outstanding defensive units from 1999-2008. He would derive schemes to stifle the opposition week after week, and produced 26 different Pro Bowl players during his tenure.

My fondest memory of Jim Johnson will be the 2004 NFC Championship game. Philadelphia was hosting Atlanta, and everyone was questioning whether or not the Eagles defense could contain Mike Vick (even I was nervous heading into that game). However, Jim Johnson's defense dominated, sacking Vick 4 times and limiting him to 32 yards rushing. Philadelphia won the game 27-10. Johnson will certainly be missed.

For your viewing pleasure...

*Lance Armstrong's time trial bike

*I posted earlier about Barry Zito potentially being on the trade block. Since that day, I haven't heard anything more about him being moved, which is why I didn't mention him in the video.

*Numbers on Roy Halladay: 11 wins - 3 losses, 2.62 ERA, 4 complete games, 1 shutout

*Numbers on Adam Wainwright: 11 wins - 6 losses, 2.95 ERA, 1 complete game

Lance plays the team game; MLB trade deadline looms

Lance Armstrong fell back to 4th place overall in the Tour De France today, losing ground to leader Alberto Contador and the Shleck brothers (Andy and Frank). I gotta admit, I'm not as disappointed as I thought I'd be. Here's why:

Lance has proved he can still race. He has proved he can still contend for the grandest cycling title in the world. He's proved he can still ride through the ridiculous crowds surrounding the mountain passes in the Alps (see picture). And most importantly: He has proved he's a team player.

If Contador was on another team, we may be witnessing a tremendous battle between himself and Armstrong during these final few stages. Lance is a great competitor, and he undoubtedly would take a shot at catching the yellow jersey if the current bearer was not one of his teammates. However, Lance recognizes that this is not his tour.

Alberto has earned this Tour victory. He has been superb in the Alps during the past week, and has shown that he is one of the sport's elite climbers. Lance knows this. Lance knows what a tremendous rider Contador is. And for Lance, he knows that his role this year is to escort his teammate to the 2009 overall title.

As for next year, that may be a different story. There is speculation that Lance may be headlining a new American team to compete at the Tour De France in 2010. That will certainly be a shock to the cycling world if it happens, and will undoubtedly create tons of drama during Le Tour in 2010.

- The Major League Baseball trade deadline is just over a week away, and the biggest name still being thrown around is Roy Halladay. Will he get traded? Or will he stay with the Blue Jays? (To be honest, I think the Blue Jays are beyond idiotic to consider trading the ace of their staff...but thats a story for another day).

Here's what I think will happen with Halladay: He'll end up in Philadelphia. The Phillies reportedly have the prospects to satisfy Toronto's asking price, and the Phils need another top-notch pitcher in their rotation.

Think about the teams with two-headed monsters at the top of their respective rotations - the Giants (Cain and Lincecum), the Yankees (Sabathia and Burnett), the Cardinals (Carpenter and Wainwright), and Mariners (Hernandez and Washburn...and even Bedard) just to name a few. All of these teams are competing for a playoff spot, and they all very well may end up playing in October.

If the Phillies land Halladay, they'll have one of the best combos in the game with Cole Hamels headlining their rotation. If the Phillies land Halladay, I gotta say they are my pick to win (and repeat) as World Series champs.

Think about it - they'd have Halladay and Hamels putting up K's and W's all over the place, Ryan Howard jackin' HR's, and Chase Utley and Shane Victorino bolstering the lineup. Scary stuff if you ask me.

I'm out for now. Stay tuned for more updates as the trade deadline approaches and Le Tour heads into Paris.

Holy smokes THANK YOU RICK REILLY

I stumbled upon Rick Reilly's column at espn.com about 30 seconds ago. Flat out, I COULDN'T AGREE WITH IT MORE. He pretty much took the words straight out of my mouth.

For now, I gotta digest Stage 16. I'll be back in a bit with some Tour thoughts and a few other odds and ends...

Le Tour, British Open predictions, and MLB second half predictions

I've really enjoyed waking up around 10:30 each morning and turning on the Tour De France for the past week and a half. Once you take the time to figure out what everything means (from jersey colors to the word "Peloton") its actually pretty cool to watch. Obviously, Lance Armstrong's return this year has heightened everyone's interest, so that has played a part in my devotion to viewing at least part of each stage.

The biggest rival to Lance's shot at winning is Alberto Contador, who ironically rides for the same team as Lance (Astana). I'm not gonna lie - I want Lance to win. He's the man, and I remember back in the glory days of my youth riding my mountain bike as fast as I could day after day in honor of Armstrong's tour domination.

But can I root against Contador? I desperately want to. I wanna see him crack next week in the Alps and fall behind Lance. However I have a hard time pulling myself to whole-heartedly hope for that. Maybe now is Alberto's time...maybe this is HIS tour...maybe Lance has had his moment(s) to shine. This debate is definitely what keeps me coming back to the TV each morning at 10:30 (in case you are wondering, each stage tends to wrap up between 10:30 and 11:30am, so I typically catch the last 50 miles or so).

- The British Open began today and a couple of old farts are at the top of the leaderboard as Tom Watson turned in a 5-under round of 65 and Miguel Angel Jimenez shot a 6-under 64. I say good for them, I mean I gotta give props to anyone over 50 that can play golf like that (Watson is 59; I'm unsure of Jimenez's exact age, but I know he's up there).

Will they continue their success into the weekend? Probably not. I'm horrible at predictions so I'm not gonna go down that road, but I will give you three names of players that I am rooting for: Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, and John Daly. Here's why:

Paddy Harrington has been gettin criticized left and right lately due to his lackluster performances this year. Yeah, he's in a slump, but he's won the past two British Opens, so we know the dude has game (not to mention a pretty kick-ass Irish accent). Padraig - do me a favor

and shut up the critics...I'd much appreciate it.

Sergio Garcia has come close to winning this tournament in the past. He still doesn't have a major victory. I'm not a big fan of the guy, so I hope he wins to end all this talk about him being one of the better players without a major title, that way I won't have to see or hear about him for hopefully a long time.

John Daly has pretty much been to hell and back. His battles with substance abuse are well known, and he is just now starting to get his game back together. I don't know what is up with his clothing selections, but I wouldn't mind seeing him take home the title to prove that there really is hope for anyone struggling with substance abuse or any sort of similar ailment.

-And finally, some quick MLB predictions for the second half of the season. I have actually been

following baseball more this season than in the past, mainly because the San Francisco Giants have actually been doing good (I'm becoming a huge Tim Lincecum fan). So I'm probably gonna

sound like a homer when I say that the Giants will make waves in the second half of the season (it's my blog, I can do what I want, right?)

The big news of the day concerns Giant pitcher Barry Zito, and his possible placement on the trade block. His contract is massive (over $90 million) so that could handicap any trade

possibilities. But what the Giants need more than anything is another quality bat in their lineup, and using Zito as bait could help land a boost to the lineup.

Even if the Giants don't end up moving Zito, they still have a great shot to catch the Dodgers. Their pitching is fantastic (arguably the best one-two punch in the majors with Lincecum and Matt Cain), and they have an up-and-comer at third base in Pablo Sandoval. Look for people to start paying attention to the Giants in the second half - especially if they add another legit bat to their lineup.