Angels Among Us?

Hello and Happy Friday.

It has been a frenetic albeit fun week along the River. For the first time in my adult life I deal with a new challenge. Blisters. Thankfully three days of rest and relaxation shall alleviate the pain. It's all in a day's work at this time of joyous year.

It's just about a done deal. Friday December 16th at 8pm Santa Claus will be making a special appearance on 'Inside the Game's-Fanatic Fan Friday!' with the DFW SportsAngel. A very rare and candid evening of questions and answers posed by Robin Valetutto to the Big Man as he prepares for one very busy 1 night ride. 

Not sure what I am more shocked about. The fact that C.J. Wilson is now an Angel (as predicted last July) or that Albert Pujols is also an Angel. Talk about a serious double whammy in the A.L. West! For starters, the Angels now have a pitching staff where C.J. can be comfortable as a #4 and still contribute 15-18 wins with some good relief. 

Everyone knew Wilson wasn't going to come back. I knew the stories about his demeanor in the clubhouse this past season. We also knew that the West Coast is home for him. The perfect place to hone in on his many skills, including a love for auto racing. Long Beach is right down the road from Anaheim. Heck, his birthplace of Huntington Beach is also a mere 25 miles away! A perfect fit, no question. I'm a little saddened at some of his parting shots to the people of Texas to Ranger brass. Still a business after all...

With Albert Pujols, 11 years of averaging 37 homers and 111 Ribbies. Now pitchers get to decide how to pitch around him. His presence in the A.L. West now brings about matchups equal to the hype we know as the A.L. East. In a way the Angels-Rangers will be a West Coast version of the Yankees-Red Sox minus about 60 years of rivalry and tradition. A great acquisition by Artie Moreno and company. 

It does strike me a little ironic how history has indeed repeated. Almost 11 years to the day, we announce a winner to a presidential runoff and we see Alex Rodriguez awarded with a huge contract. In 2000 we said, 'we will never see a contract like this again!' Oh yeah? Guess what? History has been met and exceeded! For beter or for worse.

Last night's Steelers-Browns gae had 'trap' written all over it! Never mind the 14 points Cleveland was given. Why in the hell did Mike Holmgren let Colt McCoy back in the game 2 plays after a vicious helmet-to helmet hit? Seneca Wallace was doing just fine! Damn pick cost Cleveland that game! Poor Colt now something like 0-8 against same conference teams. Poor kid can't buy a break.

David Stern vetoes the trade of Chris Paul to Los Angeles! I immediately flashed back to June 16th 1976 when Bowie Kuhn disallowed trades to the Red Sox and Yankees for Joe Rudi, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue for 3.5 million. Charles Finley was one step ahead of the game as free agency was up and coming. The league minimum for rookies in 1976? 16,500! We've come a long way, baby...

With the New York Giants in town for a Sunday Night Showdown, expect a busy weekend with many a familiar face. Be careful out there.

Make it a great day!

Over and out in Big D.

Mr. Will