As baseball season approaches you can almost envision a day at the ballpark. Can’t you see it? The bright blue sky, the deep green grass cut to perfection and the boys of summer warming up out on the field. But with this year’s off-season shenanigans, I am reminded that the same bright blue sky has a fiery hot sun in it and my seats are nowhere near the shade, the smell of that same perfectly cut deep green grass makes my allergies go haywire and these boys of summer aren’t so perfect after all.

After all this negative attention, I for one, hope that the Major League Players will offer something for fans to believe in this season. I hope we can see real baseball players and not juiced up players that inflate hit numbers and homerun tallies. I would love for the hard working clean players to be showcased, and see teams build real camaraderie for the fans’ sake. One possible way to do this is to offer the fans some real entertainment outside of the game as well. I propose Major League teams get together and see who can come up with the best music video for the fans than the current reigning video champions. Who are the reigning champs you may ask? That would be the 1986 Los Angeles Dodgers with their sweet rendition of “Baseball Boogie”. Haven’t seen it? I implore you to look it up. See some Mili Vanili-esque lip-syncing and killer dance moves by Fernando Valenzuela, Pedro Guerrero, Mariano Duncan, Rick Honeycutt and a very young Orel Hershiser.

Other things I will be watching this season: the New York Mets. Will they finally get a no hitter? Or will the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies or Tampa Bay Rays beat them to it?

And speaking of Tampa Bay…what was really so bad about the “Devil” in “Devil Rays”? I mean “The Rays” don’t sound powerful. I know some people think that “Devil” wasn’t good to have in a Major League baseball name—but I think having “Devil” in their name made them sound more intimidating. Take for example a tourist from outside the country may ask a local,
“What is the name of your baseball team?”
The local answers, “Our team is the Devil Rays.”
The tourist might think, “Ooh, the Devil Rays, they must be scary.” (They think that until they look up their sad 2007 season record of 66-96 as well as them finishing dead last in the AL east for the last THREE seasons!)
But now, a Tampa Bay local has to answer “Our baseball team is the Rays”.
The tourist will ask, “What is a Ray?”

Tampa Bay, are you just now “Rays” of sunshine? Or just sting “Rays”? If you ask me (I know, nobody did) you should put “UV” in front of the “Rays” at least that would get dermatologists hearts pumping! These “UV Rays” could be potentially dangerous. Way to go Tampa Bay! You now have the lamest name in baseball.

Throughout this season, I hope to offer you guys a unique perspective into the sports world. I want to provide you with some interesting features, some upcoming events to Tivo, and most importantly, provide some inspiration for funny conversations around the sports watercooler. I look forward to ranting and raving about which player will best Manny Ramirez and Bobby Kielty for best hair in baseball? Which rookie or newly acquired player will have the best named fan section? What new handshake will the Oakland A’s come up with next? And will I EVER find a REAL New York Yankee fan that is married to a REAL Red Sox fan?

But before I go, here is a little something to chew on until my next installment…Name the professional sports teams (from the MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA) that share a team name. It gets the old noggin running and it is even more fun to get some coworkers involved too. **I have counted some past franchises in the group as well to make it more fun for the old timers!** I came up with 9, let me know if you come up with more!.

Answers to be revealed in my next blog…so YES you will have to wait.