A trip down memory lane

In honor of WWE Raw's 1000 episode on Monday night. Let's take a look back at some classic wrestling magazine covers.

Now this is redneck golf

Nothing says redneck golf like an empty Keystone Light can on a downed tree. Saw this during a round of golf at Green Tree Golf Course in Atlantic County on Sunday.

I need some new Flyers shirts

Last season I bought two Flyers shirts. One for JVR and another for Jagr, now they are both gone and it's back to the drawing board for me.

Prospects Plus: The Untouchables

With the trading deadline coming up and teams are looking at other organizations for potential trade partners. Here is a list of "untouchables" in the systems all over MLB.  Dylan Bundy and the Minor League 'All-Untouchable' Team at the Trade Deadline, according to the Bleacher Report.

Prospects Plus: Futures Game

For prospects fans like myself the Futures Game during All Star weekend is always a big treat. Here are a couple of notes from the game:

• Reds Prospect Billy Hamilton is going to have to move to outfield. He is a terrible infielder.
• Every time I see Profar I keep seeing a superstar and wonder what the Rangers are going to do with him.
• Dylan Bundy fastball is not hit able, you just wonder how long the Orioles are going to be able to keep him in the minors.
• Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker might be the most athletic pitcher that I have ever seen. Easy delivery and big time velocity. Its going to take a couple of years, but the finished product is going to out of this world. 
• Phillies fans are going to complain about giving up Gose and Singleton but just remember what came back in those deals and the World Series that was won. 
• Tigers prospect Nick Castellanos, who took home the games MVP award, might be the best hitting prospect in the minors. Sweet swings, he looks like he is going to hit for power. The questions because what do the Tigers do with him. He is blocked at both third and first base. Could they include him in a deal for Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. Castellanos could be in the majors by the end of next season or the end of the 2013 season. 
• The Royals fan showed how much this event has grown in the last decade. Amazing job selling out the place for the game. Royals fans understand how important a good farm system is.

Maybe Golf was not her deal

In honor of the US Women's Open final round today, lets remember the person that lost in a playoff to Se Ri Pak the last time the event was played at Blackwolf Run. In a sudden death playoff, Pak defeated then amateur Jenny Chuasiriporn. For Jenny, the playoff ended up being the highlight of her career, now she has a higher calling. Chuasiriporn, U.S. Women’s Open Playoff Loss Was a Turning Point.

Prospects Plus: Lakewood BlueClaws' Aaron Altherr

Name: Aaron Altherr
Organization: Philadelphia Phillies 
Position: Outfield 
Stats Tuesday against Hagerstown Sun: 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and a RBI 


Strength: Altherr has plus speed and good base running ability. Altherr also has a plus arm that profiles well for right field. He is a toolsy outfielder that has potential to be a good one. Saw Altherr play last year, when Bryce Harper made his debut in Lakewood, here is that report. 

Weakness: Over the course of his almost three years in the organization Altherr has struggled to put his tools together on the field. This is his second trip to Lakewood, which is never a good sign.

Prospect Plus: Hagerstown Sun's Matt Skole

Name: Matt Skole
Organization: Washington Nationals
Position: Third Base
Stats Tuesday against the BlueClaws: 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts

Strengths: His power is his biggest plus.  Skole, the former Georgia Tech product,  currently leads the Hagerstown Sun with 18 home runs. Hitting is his plus tool and he is considered to be a future every day regular by Baseball America. Skole has a plus arm and nice feel at third base. 

Weakness: During the game on Tuesday he looked bad on a couple of swings and looked like his power swing will lead him to striking out at the next level. Also with Ryan Zimmerman holding down third base and his bat not translating to first base, his future in the organization might be in question. He could be used as trade bait as the Nationals continue to push for the playoffs.

Prospects Plus: Hagerstown Sun's Brian Goodwin

Name: Brian Goodwin 

Organization: Washington Nationals 

Position: Outfield 

Tuesday Stats: against Lakewood BlueClaws:  2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a double 

Strengths: According to Baseball America, he could be a top of the order type bat. His speed is out of this world and that showed during his first at-bat when he made Lakewood outfielder Kelly Dugan pay for an error by stretching a double into a triple. So far this season, Goodwin is hitting .327 with 6 hrs, 31 RBI and slugging .530. Goodwin is the fifth ranked player in the Nationals system. He projects to be a .275 and 20 home runs type of player. 

Weakness: Time. Its going to take time. Goodwin has the potential to be the center fielder of the future in Washington put its going to take time. Goodwin is raw and needs time to develop properly. If the Nationals are going to make any type of deal, Goodwin would be one of the first players that teams ask for. 

Professional Tailgating: Man hit the Ball

On Tuesday the OTWT headed to Lakewood for the Blueclaws game against the Hagerstown Sun. The youngest member of the OTWT Crew loves watching the "man hit the ball.''

The setting sun

A new type of ball park food: Surf Taco 

Nothing says New Jersey than a pork roll, egg and cheese race

Front Page Story: Spain Rule Europe Again

Spain are the champions of Europe again after beating Italy 4-0 on Sunday. The debate will rage on over the next couple months if Spain is the greatest team ever. I will have more on that over the next couple of weeks. Here is how some papers in Spain covered their win.

Prospects Plus: Brandon Nimmo, Mets Prospect, Goes From Big Sky to Big Skyline in New York

During the 2011 draft the Mets made Brandon Nimmo their first round pick out of the baseball hot bed of Wyoming. Now the kid is trying Big Sky country for the Big City.

A vacation in golf

Have been off from work for the last week and have take the time to play some golf. From Hamilton Farms in Gladstone to Green Tree in Mays Landing. The courses are all different from layout to money they spend. Here is a break down of the courses that I played during this week. 


Hamilton Farms Golf Club: Might be one of the nicest places that I have ever played The New York Times called it one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. Boy was it nice, almost too nice for someone like me.

McCullough's Emerald Links: A links style course built around concepts from classic courses from around the world

Green Tree Golf Course: Not exactly Hamilton Farms, buts its the course that I consider home 

Marketing fail

Around the country, businesses are getting into the Olympic spirit. All over businesses are offering packaging featuring different Olympic themes and Powerade is no different. On one of their beverages they have a picture of MLS player Juan Agudelo and the words Olympic hopeful. Small problem is that the United State soccer team did not qualify for the Olympics, now that is what I call a marking fail. 

Prospects Plus: D'Backs Trevor Bauer makes MLB Debut

The 2011 MLB Draft class was highlighted by three top of the rotation type of pitchers: Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen, and Trevor Bauer. On Thursday night, Bauer became the first of the group to make their MLB debut. Bauer started against the Braves and went four innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 earned runs and walking 3 on 74 pitches. Bauer Debut Doesn't Dazzle, was the headline from The Bleacher Report. While ESPN story stated that Bauer has some work to do. Its only his first start so there is time. Over the next couple of years it will be interesting to see which of the three has the best pro career.

Pirlo for Ballon d'Or

The race for European Footballer of the year appears to be a two horse race: Messi and Ronaldo, but maybe there is a third player that deserves a look.

Last season Andrea Pirlo left AC Milan to sign with fellow Italian League superpower Juventus. The move paid off for the Old Lady and Pirlo. During the league season Pirlo was the midfield anchor that helped lead Juve to an undefeated season. That alone should put him near the top of the list for the European player of the year. People have to remember this was not a classic Juve team, which means he had to carry more of the load.

Now Pirlo is leading his beloved Italian national to team to success at Euro 2012. An average Italian team has made the semifinals with Pirlo leading the way. Pirlo has been their best player and his penalty against England will be remembered for years to come.



I know he has no chance but Pirlo should be considered. Anytime a player leads his team to an undefeated league season should be considered for this award.

RIP Jerome

It was 20 years ago today that the Eagles and the world lost Jerome Brown. RIP Big Man. You will never be forgotten.

I guess I need a new shirt

With JVR being traded to Toronto it's time for me to get a new shirt

Prospects Plus: The New Generation K

Almost 20 years ago, baseball insiders were buzzing about three over the top Mets pitching prospects that were supposed to take over baseball, Generation K. Bill Pulsipher, Jason Isringhausen, and Paul Wilson where billed as pitcher that were going to take over MLB. Injuries limited them and derailed most of their careers.

Fast forward to today and the Pirates are set to have three pitching prospects that will rival Generation K. The Pirates set of prospects include Jameson Taillon, Gerrit Cole and Mark Appel. The trio are set to rivals any groups of pitching prospects in the history of baseball.


Jameson Taillon, a 2010 first round pick, has an impressive arsenal of pitches. Taillon has  a fastball that already sits in the mid-90s with movement and a devastating curve ball — rated by most to be the two best pitches in his draft class— Taillon has two potentially plus-plus pitches in his arsenal. Taillon is currently pitching in Class A ball in the Florida State League.

Gerrit Cole (above), the first overall pick in 2011, features some of the best stuff currently  in the minors. To say Cole has outstanding stuff would be an understatement. His four-seam fastball sits 96-98 MPH touching 99 MPH frequently and occasionally flirting with triple digits. Cole attacks the zone with his four-seamer; he's not afraid to throw it up or down, inside or out. While he primarily uses his four-seamer, Cole also mixes in a two-seam fastball sitting 91-94 MPH with solid sink. His fastball command has improved greatly since his high school days and now is firmly above-average.It's very rare to say this about a pitcher who throw upper-90's, but Cole's fastball is not his best pitch; his changeup is. Coming in 83-86 MPH with rare late tumble, he has a true swing-and-miss changeup. Despite his curve flashing plus potential when he was in high school, Cole has shifted his focus to a slider in college. At its absolute best, Cole's slider flashes plus but it's more consistently a notch below that. His slider sits 86-88 MPH with above-average break, but the pitch is obviously still a little raw. Cole is currently in Double A and could be with the big club by the end of the season.

Mark Appeal, a 2012 first round pick, is one of the most complete pitchers in college baseball this year. Appeal has a fastball that sits in the mid-90 and an good breaking ball that is going to only get better. Because of his build some people compare him to Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain.

While nothing is guaranteed, the Pirates have the foundation to have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball in the next couple of years or they could end up like Generation K and give their struggling fan base shattered dreams.

OTWT NHL Mock Draft

It's draft time and here is OTWT mock NHL Draft. I think I get a couple right and a bunch wrong. 

1. Edmonton: Nail Yakupov, RW, Sarnia (OHL)

Filip Forsberg

2. Columbus: Filip Forsberg, RW, Sweden
3. Montreal: Alex Galchenyuk, Sarnia (OHL)
4. N.Y. Islanders: Ryan Murray, D, Everett (WHL)
5. Toronto: Mikhail Grigorenko, Quebec (QMJHL)
6. Anaheim: Matt Dumba, D, Red Deer (WHL)
7. Minnesota: Morgan Rielly, D, Moose Jaw (WHL)
8. Carolina: Radek Faksa, C, Kitchener (OHL)
9. Winnipeg: Griffin Reinhart, D, Edmonton (WHL)
10. Tampa Bay: Jacob Trouba, D, UNDP
11. Washington (from Colorado): Teuvo Teravainen, LW, Finland
12. Buffalo: Cody Ceci, D, Ottawa (OHL)
13. Dallas: Oli Maatta, D, Finland
14. Calgary: Hampus Lindholm, D, Sweden
15. Ottawa: Zemgus Girgensons, C, USHL
16. Washington: Derrick Pouliot, D, Portland (WHL)
17. San Jose: Sebastian Collberg, RW, Sweden
18. Chicago: Slater Koekkoek, D, Peterborough

Brady Skeji

19. Tampa Bay (from Detroit): Matthew Finn, D, Guelph (OHL)
20. Philadelphia: Brady Skeji, D, UNTDP
21. Buffalo (from Nashville): Malcom Subban, G, Belleville (OHL)
22. Pittsburgh: Thomas Wilson, RW, Guelph (OHL)
23. Florida: Thomas Herti, C, Czech
24. Boston: Brandon Gaunce, C, Belleville (OHL)
25. St. Louis: Stefan Matteau, Center, USHL
26. Vancouver: Michael Matheson, D, USHL
27. Phoenix: Tanner Pearson, LW, Berrie (OHL)
28. N.Y. Rangers: Phillip DiGiuseppe, RW, Michigan
29. New Jersey: Scott Laughton, C, Oshawa
30. Los Angeles (optional to Columbus): Ville Pokka, D, Fineland