Goin', goin'. Back, back...

  

                  

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they will wear throwback getups for six games this season. You can go vote for your favorite at www.dodgers.com/throwback. 

I went ahead and voted for the 1911 road uniform (pictured top). It looks to be the least metro sexual of them all. The whole frilly B thing and the baby blue really don't do it for me. I know that baseball is sometimes looked at as the wimpiest sport aside from figure skating or curling...I'm still trying to figure out how either of those became known as 'sports.' Regardless, men in tight pants should still have the option to look masculine if they so desire. I based my vote on that assumed desire. Plus pinstripes are super sexy.

The other two outfits are the 1931 road uniform (center) and the 1940 home uniform (bottom). You should not vote for those. Unless you're gay. In that case, you don't fall into my assumed desire category. I totally appreciate your personal choices. I like dudes too.

So, get your ass over to the dodgers site and vote. You have until February 17th. That's coming faster than you think.

So is spring training!

(images courtesy of dodgers.com)

Back on the field.

Holy shit, where have I been? Really?

It has been quite some time, and the time has brought upon some great changes in my life. Now that those things are settling themselves into some sort of regular order, I plan on reconnecting with you out there. Yeah, you. The one reading this right now. I've missed you.

So, while I haven't been sharing my point of view on the wild world of sports, I certainly still have one.

Let's start with football. My Jets are back in the playoffs, and really looking like properly assembled squad. Taking out the Patriots was a huge feat, but in the end it was all about who could get their tight pants in order and complete the task. Tom Brady just couldn't hold it together. Not that it really matters. He's still married to a super model and making $50M a year. Holler.

Spring training starts in a few short weeks, so I will surely be making my trek out to Camelback Ranch for some hot sun, cold beer, and hot guys in baseball gear. Screw Christmas, my holidays are coming up this spring.

It's [supposedly] official!

(image via ESPN.com)

According to sources, Manny Ramirez has finally signed a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and is on a plane headed west to take a physical before starting spring training.

Details of the deal haven't made it to me just yet, but I'll certainly disclose the goods as soon as I get them!

First of the year.

Every day gets a little more exciting for me as we creep closer to opening day. Today, I met up with some friends to watch the first televised game of the year for us Dodger fans. We played the Chicago White Sox in a pretty uneventful game. Half the time we were wondering who the hell was pitching, and I think I missed every single run scored because it was also a birthday celebration that included some non-baseball fans.

Regardless, the Dodgers took a loss 3-2 in one of the lowest spring training scores we've seen so far. I'm still just waiting for Kershaw to come out throwing gas. He's definitely not a favorite of the three in the running to be our season opener. Although that would be my choice.

Anyway, the Lakers took a loss to Shaq and his Phoenix Suns. We caught the last 2:48 of the game once we were done with baseball. Poor Kobe. He's probably crying himself to sleep.

Break out the cracker jack.

Spring training has officially started. There are a bunch of games going on today. Most won't be televised, but you can go to www.mlbtv.com and get some sort of sweet package so you can stream them on the internet from your office. Make sure to keep the window small, and the volume down, so your boss doesn't catch you. Just sayin'.

The most exciting game today will probably be the Boston Red Sox facing the World Series Losers, the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05pm ET.

Get into it.

The LAme Angels of Anaheim are playing Colorado. The Dodgers are up against the Mariners, and Philly is going to whoop Cincinnati.

Good times.

WTF Manny...maybe you need a new agent.

(image via zimbio.com)

Okay, the third time should have been the charm. Apparently old man moneybags wasn't hearing number three, and has now rejected the fourth offer by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt knows what's up. In a statement earlier Thursday evening, he said, "when his agent finds those 'serious offers' from other clubs, we'll be happy to restart the negotiations."

I'm starting to believe that Scott Boras smokes crack. Is he really going to throw Manny's final years in baseball out the window because he can't negotiate a reasonable contract? This is absurd. No one in their right mind is going to pay a 37-year old man with a bad attitude, and a poor fielding record more than $45 million for two years!!!!!

NO ONE.

Sure, the Dodgers could use a .396 at the plate, but I'm not sure they're going to see it. Although GM Ned Colletti says that Wacky Ramirez isn't needed quite yet at spring training, I have been counting down the days until we play ball.

Photo day images are up!

(photo by Nick Laham/Getty images)

Photos of the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, and the New York Mets have made their way to the internets. You can view the full gallery here.

The most wonderful time of the year.

Honestly, screw Christmas. This is, by far, the most wonderful time of the year. NBA finals are closing in on us, and it's starting to look like we might have a repeat of last year. Kobe Bryant and his Lakers are 8 games up on the competition, with a 4-game winning streak. I'm not a huge Lakers fan, but when they're on a roll...you know. The Celtics are looking at a killer chance to up Cleveland by half a game tonight over Denver. But, at this rate, even if they manage to claw their way back into the finals, I think the end result is already apparent. We'll see what the coming weeks bring the NBA. Boston needs to sharpen up some tools a little bit. Call me crazy, I'd kind of just like to see Kobe eat it a little bit. That ego isn't going to fit in this city if we let it grow any further.

March madness is on it's way, and this is absolutely the best thing since sliced bread for me. I get two solid weeks of white knuckled distractions, lots of reasons to hit up the local brew spot with the guys, and before it's even all said and done, we get baseball. While most polls have their money on Connecticut right now, all four polls I've been keeping my eye on (AP, ESPN, RPI, and our very own Yahoo user's poll) have Oklahoma in second. UNC is taking third across the board, while Pittsburgh (ranked #1 by the Yahoo users), Louisville (go Cards! yes, I'm biased here), and Duke seem to be the three teams we'll be seeing fighting for their spot in the final four. As we know, anything goes at the beginning of this tournament. I'm thrilled to see who takes over my brackets.

With Manny Ramirez screwing with every team in the league, I'm curious to see where he ends up reporting for spring training. Although negotiations have intensified with the Los Angeles Dodgers, it's quite possible that his adamancy for a high ticket salary could leave him watching from the sidelines if he doesn't pick a dugout. Realistically, he'll end up somewhere. The question is where, and moreso, for how much.

The Boston Red Sox are weighing the strength of their team as they start training for their first full season without the powerhouse who managed to average a .396 in 187 at bats during 53 games after coming to the Dodgers mid-season through a three-way trade with Pittsburgh to give Boston left fielder Jason Bay. Although the Boston camp is talking optimisitcally, it will be interesting to see how the team fares without their wacky slugger.

(image via Yahoo! Sports)

Down in Florida, everyone is making a big deal out of a pulled hamstring. According to sources, New York Yankees short stop, Derek Jeter, was complaining about a sore right hamstring Sunday after drills. Jeter told press that "it's no big deal," and will continue training Monday. CC Sabathia, who apparently lost the right to have punctuation in his acronymic first name, also missed out on a day of training due to the flu. However, the left handed pitcher threw 40 pitches to teammates at batting practice the following day. The left-handed pitcher and batter is expected to open the Yankee season on the mound. Let's hope that $345 million infield proves to be worth all of that dough.

There will be much more said as the spring training games start rolling out, and we'll see how well these teams really work together. I'll be making some pretty happy travels out into the desert to check out some of these re-worked rosters as we make our way into the season in April.