THESE DUDES SPORTS BLOG

Five Reasons to Stay Tuned to the World Series By Damon Chlarson 1.       1.  Yoenis Cespedes. Plain and simple, Cespedes has had an immeasurable impact on the New York Mets’ offense and personality. Cespedes went from being the cleanup hitter in Oakland, traded to Boston for Jon Lester, then traded to Detroit for Rick Porcello. “Yo” was then sent over to New York at the trade deadline (after a failed attempt to by the Mets to get Carlos Gomez). Now, it appears he’s found a home and he’s a dynamic personality with a big bat and a huge arm. 2.       2.  The Kansas City Royals togetherness. Baseball is a mental game, and the unity in a clubhouse can cover a multitude of sins. Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Yordano Ventura, Salvador Perez, and Eric Hosmer all came up together through KC’s farm system and are tight knit group. Recent additions Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist are fitting in well and contributing. 3.  ...

By Jacob Sorenson Not every star athlete has the dream beginnings to a career. College football itself relies upon high school and junior college talent to provide a depth worthy team, but many times those who originally could not make a division one impact right out of high school make their names known at the junior college level to get to the big show of the division one stage. There are many noteworthy names which we know to be the stars of our favorite teams. Any many rising stars who will certainly made their names known in years to come. Devontae Booker Devontae booker has led the Utah Utes the past few seasons and their run game has arguably never looked better. A very balanced offense relies on quarterback keepers, a heavy run game, and a mild pass game with a lot of trickery. As Travis Wilson rarely passes the ball over 30 attempts in a game, Devontae booker carries the ball anywhere between 20 to 35 times in a game. His 783 rushing yards and 8 TD, continue...

By Damon Chlarson Yes, you read that right. I hopped on the bandwagon when I was nine years old during their record-setting 116-win season in 2001. Ichiro was the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year. Lou Pineilla was AL Manager of the Year.  Bret Boone led the league in RBI. Heck, even Safeco Field was home of the all-star game. It was quite the time to be alive in the Pacific Northwest. Bret Boone, all-star second baseman and probable steroid user, encapsulated all that was cool for the time. He had the quarterback smile. He had the frosted tips like he sung in Sugar Ray. He had forearms the size of Mississippi. But most of all, Bret Boone knew how to bat flip, and bat flip he did on 37 home runs that season. He bat flipped, and he admired his home runs. Sometimes he would bat flip and it would be a warning track shot. But that man loved his job, and I emulated it. Much has been said recently regarding players criticizing those who admire their homeruns....

By Shawn Harris In April of 98 I was 5 years old about to turn 6, I was just learning my ABCs. Being in Kindergarten I wasn't all that aware of the NFL draft or the relevance it would have 18 years later. It was a draft that had two super star QBs, only one turned out to mean something in a positive way. A 6 foot 4 speedster from Marshall and a defensive heisman trophy winner. Which to this day is the only defensive player to win this award. It was draft full of storylines that turned into legacies and fairly tales when looking back on it. But when you do look back on this draft you can't forget the flop of Ryan Leaf, expected to be a super star who was drafted 2nd overall to the Chargers turned into a fairy tale, a bust. Nothing but problems. Also the 21st overall pick by the Vikings, the 6 foot 4 monster athlete, Randy Moss and legacy deserves a mention. But I want to focus on the two Heisman finalists, the 1st and 4th overall picks from this draft, Peyton Manning and...

By Jacob Sorenson This year yet again has been a crazy one around college football. Surprises include major coaching changes at both South Carolina, Southern Cal, Maryland, Illinois, and many other coaches in the hot seat. These coaching changes are all so common in our day however that they become just another side story, and like I others, I think there will be plenty of time to discuss that another day. But what is making this year so crazy? Rising stars certainly has something to do with it. Florida has risen from seemingly the dead to become a contender for the SEC title at 6-0. Sadly we learned Monday that Will Grier will be suspended for one year after using PED’s. Also north of the border, a streaking Georgia team lost their star Nick Chubb over the weekend to a severe knee injury. Toledo, a seemingly no name has risen to be a contender for the group of 5 bowl bid. There are certainly stories around the college football which are generating great and competitive conversati...

By Shawn Harris I find it really interesting how after 4 weeks we have 6 undefeated teams. As a fan of this beautiful game there is nothing I love more than seeing the excitement of teams being undefeated but I also do not like when teams are fighting for their first win deep into the season. Those kind of seasons hurt. As a Raiders fan that seams to happen more than not. But this year for "us" and others it's different. Teams seem to be fighting a lot more. Still some inconsistency, but that always calls for some fun games. The teams who are undefeated and how they fared this week.. The New England Patriots. They had a bye, so they sit  at 3-0  on the season. Between Brady's extra motivation steaming from an, in my opinion, annoying off season that almost had him suspended. Him and Gronk this season have hooked up for already 4 touchdowns in three games. It's a duo that's hard to stop. Green Bay Packers and their super star and arguably best QB in to...

By Jacob Sorenson College football has brought its fair share of confusion weeks one through five. Who can blame it? After recently changing from a dictator-like BCS system there is bound to be a little confusion. Maybe confusion isn’t even the right noun, better said, Chaos. Even with Chaos, this is what we live for. We live for the hype and the uncertainty. The heartbreak also is pretty earth shattering. But what do we understand about college football in weeks 1 through 5? We have Ohio State holding stake at the number one spot in the AP and Coaches polls, but ESPN, they’ve dropped them to 4 th . Too similar to a lack luster and under performing Florida State of Ohio State o they truly deserve to be rated the number one team in the nation? Not quite yet. Based on performance we have a few contenders looking to take claim of the number one spot, and ESPN’s power rankings may have the right idea, but based on my analysis, they still are a little off. Through the first gam...

By Dawson Oler Hard for me to believe that the NBA season is back upon us. With the amount of interaction teams and players have in today’s media, it seems that every year there are more and more storylines to keep track of and keep us interested at the start of the season. How will the Cavaliers be with a fully healthy roster and seemingly intense chemistry? Will Steph Curry repeat as MVP, or will James Harden or Anthony Davis swipe his crown? How will Durant be after his injury-riddled 2015 season, and will this be his last year in OKC? Are the Spurs really going to be a top NBA threat again? Can the Miami Heat stay healthy and make a run at the Eastern Conference? These are all questions we will not be tackling this week in the slightest as we take on the bottom teams of the NBA. These are the teams that have slim chances to make the playoffs in this season, even in the East. Instead of focusing on each team’s best and worst case scenario, instead I will gi...