So it was quite the sports filled weekend. There were two major sporting events Saturday which made big blips on my radar screen.

First near and dear to a lot of folks around these neck of the woods, the USC Trojan football team lost, again. It had already been a somewhat lack luster season up until now. Things got much worse after their game against Stanford. The Trojans lost 55-21. It was the most points ever scored on any USC team. At 7-3, this is the worse team Pete Carroll has coached  during his tenure. Not to worry though, Matt Barkley is only a freshman and if he stays through his senior year, the Trojans will no doubt return to glory.

Major event two was the Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto boxing match. I was pretty sure Manny Pacquiao would dominate the fight and that he did. It was a very entertaining fight with both boxers going toe to toe for most of the fight. It finally ended with a technical knock out in the twelth round. Pacquiao left Cotto bloodied and bruised. Pacquiao knocked Cotto down twice, once in the third and again in the fourth. Cotto controlled little of the fight.

With Pacquiao's win, an unbelievable matchup between himself and Floyd Mayweather is due. This would be a matchup of all time. Possibly the greatest fight in history.

Almost 40, Brett Favre doesn't let age dictate his life. Favre controls his own destiny and still continues to amaze his fans with amazing plays like the one below. With 12 seconds left in the game, the Minnesota Vikings were down 24-20 against the San Francisco 49ers. Lets just say the Vikings are still undefeated.

First Vick, then Favre, and now Ochocinco. This NFL season is going to be great.

Any Superbowl favorites?

Health care townhalls rage on.

And something to wow you!

Well Dodger fans, its that time of the season. The time when the Dodgers begin to show their true colors. And what would that be, choke artists blue.

Since the All Star Break, the Dodgers are 13-17. Their ranking as number one team in baseball has slipped. Game by game, day by day, the blue crew just seems to be getting worse.

If you watch the Dodgers at all, you would know this is a yearly occurence. They start out hot and then after the All Star Game they begin their spiral downward. So should us Dodgers fans really expect anything more?

Yes we should. With Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, I expected the second half season curse to be gone. Last year, the Dodgers played mediocre all season and then somehow made the playoffs. It seemed to work last year. Well this year was totally different. The Dodgers started out as the hottest team in baseball. On Opening Day of Dodger Stadium, Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle and it looked like it was going to be a great season. Well it turned out to be a great first half. The second half is becoming quite a disapointment.

Truthfully, I was expecting this. I see the Dodgers continuing to fight to keep their lead in the NL West. Maybe they will hold it, most likely they won't. Its going to be a tough one. At the rate they are going , even if they make the playoffs, it will be a short post season.

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On a side note, our favorite quarterback, Brett Favre, is back. Tuesday it was announced he had signed with the Minnesota Vikings. This NFL season is going to be a good one.

With the 2009 NFL season about to kick off the drama has already started.

On Thursday it was announced that Michael Vick reached a 2-year contract deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Whether he plays quarterback or another position is unknown. Reports earlier in the week were saying he could play a hybrid running back position. It will be quite interesting team chemistry with the Eagles having their own scrambling quarterback in Donovan McNabb.

I for one am not upset with the Eagles signing Vick. He paid his debt to society by serving his two years in prison. That is more than Donte Stallworth can say. Stallworth recieved 28 days in jail for killing a man while he was drunk driving in March of this year. The NFL has suspended Stallworth for this season with no pay. Vick will be suspended for the four regular season games. 

Vick's return to the NFL will only present more drama that fans tune in to get. Unlike any other sport, football is very versatile and can change quickly. Michael Vick is one of those players that fans look to for excitement because of the flash in the pan skills he presents. Since college, he's been known to scramble 50+ yards for touchdowns and I hope to enjoy in some more of that excitement this season.

Welcome back Michael Vick! We missed you.

Well its our favorite time of the year. No not the 4th of July. Its time to pass the budget in California. Maybe it's just my favorite time of the year.

Well any-who. The budget was due June 30. I don't see it being passed anytime soon. Last year's budget took almost the whole year and then what was passed, was rejected on the May 19 by the voters. Democrats are trying to pass taxes in the form of fees and Governor Schwarzenegger says he won't sign anything that resembles a tax. We will see about that. Republicans again stand strong on their call for no new taxes. We will see about that too.

Not to fear though, there are about a dozen other states that are having problems solving their own issues. Unfortunately, California is the one with the worst cases.

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On the sports front, Dodger's all-star Manny Ramirez returns to the line up Friday night against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers did pretty well in the two month stretch with Juan Pierre filling in for the suspended Ramirez. Pierre excelled and hopes to continue seeing playing time.

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Finfally, if you are in the mood for some fun, here is an article with a lot of events happening around the county this weekend.

On Saturday night, Oxnard's up and coming boxing star "Vicious" Victor Ortiz stunned the world. Being supported and marketed by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Entertainment Ortiz was the "chosen one" who would take boxing to that next level. Unfortunately, Ortiz stunned the world in the wrong way. After 6 rounds of an intense fight, Ortiz decided he had had enough when ringside doctor said a cut was too bad for Ortiz to continue. And with that, Ortiz said he was done, the ref called the fight, and the dream came to an end.

What is more important than losing is how you rebound. If and when Ortiz returns to the ring, I'm sure the fans will be there to support him. Whether Golden Boy is, that is a whole other story.

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Also in the sports news, USA stunned the world by taking a 2-0 lead over Brazil at halftime of the final for the FIFA Confederations Cup. Unfortunately, they also suffered the same fate as Ortiz and lost when Brazil scored three second half goals.  

It must have been a tough loss for the USA team especially after going in at the half with a lead over such a better team. And the second half showed who really was the better team. Hopefully, like Ortiz, the USA team will learn from this loss and get better.

It's official, the Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA Champions. After a rough road to the finals which included tough series against the Rockets and Nuggets, the Lakers have reached the promised land. Kobe Bryant and Derek Fischer have each earner their fourth NBA title and Phil Jackson has his tenth. Yes, that is ten championships for one coach. The sports analysts said it best, Phil Jackson has won 10 of the last 19 championships. That is insane.

So this post goes out to the NBA Champs and the Finals MVP Kobe Bryant. Good job Lakers. The fans really appreciate it.

So the biggest story of the week has to be General Motors filing for bankruptcy. On Monday, General Motors pretty much became Government Motors. With the filing GM will do what companies do when they file for bankrupcty, which is more complex than either you or me really could understand. The New York Times has a great Q&A about what this really all means, which I recommend you read. It will be interesting how the GM dealers in Ventura County react to the bankruptcy.

On to more important news, the Los Angeles Lakers have made the NBA Finals. After a tough division final against the Denver Nuggets the Lakers were able to pull out a series win to advance. The finals start this Thursday with the Lakers taking on the Orlando Magic. It will be a great series considering the Magic won both games against the Lakers during the regular season. And to blend some sports and politics, President Obama was asked who would win, to which he responded, "Lakers in 6, I think."

Looks like Juan Pierre is going to get that playing time he was looking for. With the recent suspension of Manny Ramirez, Pierre has already seen more action and is currently batting .400.  

The roller coaster doesn't seem to want to end for Lakers. On Sunday they got beat by 12 in Houston. Then Tuesday they win by 40. Game 6 is going to be in Houston. Will the Lakers show up?

President Barack Obama has backed out of releasing photos of detainees being tortured. Sky News reports that the Pentagon was going to release 43 pictures. President Obama said the photos would cause anti-American sentiment which would not be good for troops abroad. Looks like President Obama isn't too different after old Bushy after all. He even has his own war to fight.

The Lakers and Dodgers have each made this week one big roller coaster ride. On Monday the Lakers get beat at Staples Center by 8 points. The loss put a lot of fans on the edge of their seat. Wednesday they redeemed themselves winning by 11. We will see how they play in Houston on Friday in game 3.

And then we have the Dodgers. Off to the hottest start since who knows when. Wednesday they won their 13 straight home game setting the record. By the time you read this, it might be 14. If it is though, it will be without superstar Manny Ramirez who on Thursday monring gots slapped with a 50 game suspension. He won't be back until July. The LA Times is reporting that Ramirez tested positive for a fertility drug for woman. Either way it was on the MLB's banned substance list. Looks like Juan Pierre might be getting some more playing time.

The boxing world got rocked Saturday night. At a packed MGM Grand Manny Pacquiao annihilated Ricky "The Hit Man" Hatton in two rounds of one sided boxing. Pacquiao knocked Hatton down twice in the first down and out in the second round. Pacquiao moved through the ring with such strength and quickness that Hatton really had no chance.

The fight was more than about just a fight. It showed the world that Pacquiao is the best pound for pound fighter meaning he must fight the best. The only competition I can think of is Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather Jr. Now this will be an awesome fight if it happens. Mayweather will set the stage for the ultimate showdown if he can defeat Juan Manuel Marquez when they battle July 18. 

Pacquiao fought Marquez twice. The first was a draw and the second a win for Pacquiao. Mayweather also knocked Hatton out but it took him ten rounds.

Lets see if Mayweather can put a beating to Marquez like Pacquiao did to Hatton.

Juan Pierre has patiently been waiting to get some playing time. Most of last season he was on the bench. Things did not get better when the club signed Manny Ramirez. Pierre played his part though and rode out the bench. Since then he has been working hard to regain a position in the starting lineup. So far this season, it has been more of the same. Pierre has only played in a few games in a very limited role; pinch hitting, coming into the game late, and like last night, an occasional start.

Last night was not one of Pierre's better nights. In the first inning, he missed a shot to center hit by Bengie Molina. The ball bounced off the wall and scored two runs to begin the Giants win over the Dodgers. We will see when Pierre gets his next start.

Monday's news reports were mainly filled with stories about the pirate standoff that ended with NAVY seal snipers. In case you had not heard, last week some Somali Pirates took over an American ship. The crew fought off the pirates, but when they left the ship they left with the captain as a hostage. For a few days three pirates and their hostage floated along in a small lifeboat. Then some NAVY Seal snipers were dropped in. It was said that they parachuted into the ocean and were plucked from the water by a Navy warship. It was some real be all you can be stuff. So once the snipers arrived, they assumed the position and waited until the shot was clear. All three pirates were taken out simultaneously saving the captain.

It is great to hear the captain was rescued. The issue of piracy is really starting to take off. Reports began late last year when pirates siezed a ship carrying Russian weapons and tanks. Reports are that the U.S. is planning to send money and weapons(including military trainers) to Somalia so that they can train their own Coast Guard who can battle/contain the pirates. There are even talks of taking military actions against pirate bases in Africa. The first sounds plausible while the latter not. A bombing would only be a sign of war mongering. Similar attacks by former President Bill Clinton led to the 9/11 attacks. An attack on Somali soil by the American Empire would only give Al Qaeda more room to grow.

Back to our first option. Sending more aid to Somalia to train them. Now I know everyone's first reaction is going to be, why send more aid to a county we were once fighting in. I am not going to tell you why. I am going to tell you what form we should send the aid in. We should send them trainers from our Navy and Coast Guard to help them and show them. By way of equipment, I would send little to none. Work with what they have. Lets just show them how to work with it.

In further news, the brand new New York Mets Stadium opened on Monday night. And who better to sponsor the new stadium than Citi Bank. CNN value's the deal at $400 million. Of course, Citi Group has been the recipient of bail out funds. So since we the taxpayer are partially paying for this, I think they should have a free ticket night. And to end on the best note of all, the Dodgers smashed the Giants in their home opener. Newly acquired Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle in the 11-1 trouncing. Go Dodgers!

The Chargers have resigned their all-star running back Ladanian Tomlinsom. Since the end of the season, the media had been speculating whether the Chargers would trade LT or just drop him. Much of the hoopla because of the poor season that LT had resulting from his injuries. Luckily though, the Chargers did a smart thing, renegotiated his deal and he was able to stay.

Once LT gets his legs healthy again, I believe we will see the LT that we all know and love. Running, dashing, and scoring. I am a little upset though that the Chargers did not go out and get Terrell Owens as I had recommended.

On Thursday, the day of judgment came for Terrell Owens. The Dallas Cowboys decided to move forward without him and he was released from the team. So who will he play for?

I am hoping Owens will play for the San Diego Chargers. After the season Phillip Rivers had, a big name wide reciever will spice up the team. Of course they have their current line up of recievers and Owens could turn out to be a distraction like on every other team, but he could also be the biggest spark that the Chargers have had lately. With a healthy Ladanian Tomlinson in the back field and Terrell Owens at reciever, the offense would be unstoppable.

This video says there was a list of 104 players who tested positive in 2003. Alex Rodriguez was one of them. Barry Bonds was not. I wonder who else was.

This week the government released documents that our favorite baseball player, Barry Bonds, tested positive for steroids five times. Not once, not twice, not three times, ok you get the point. Five different times this guys tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. So now all those Giants fans really have no where to go with their debate that Barry really is as good as they say he is.

Another good point being made in reports is why was Barry never suspended?

Barry Bonds cheated the fans of baseball by using steroids. This game is supposed to be an American pasttime and it has now been tarnished, on the field and in the record books.

Personally, I never really liked Barry Bonds. Not just because I'm a Dodgers fan and he plays for the Giants. More so because he was the epitome of doing it the wrong way. Instead of working hard and doing it ethically, he went the sour route and cheated.

So as you all know, the Pittsburgh Steelers were victorious on their quest for their sixth Superbowl. The game overall was played fairly well. The game changer defintely had to be the interception ran back 100-yards for a touchdown which ended the first half. If the Cardinals had scored on that possession they would have gone into the half with the lead and momentum. Instead, they went in with their heads down.

The second half of the game was a bit more exciting. When the Cardinals finally took the lead, one thing popped into my head. Too much time on the clock. And with that, Big Ben threw his way to another championship. The defense of Arizona could not stop Pittsburgh to save their life. And with that, the connection in the back of the endzone to Santonio Holmes to win it. Did you see the play? There were three Cardinals defensive players in front of Holmes and he still came down with the ball.  

We could Monday morning quarterback all day, but we wont. So what did you guys think about the Bosses performance at half time?