The rainy weather is finally out of here!

Back to Baseball

The members of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club may finally return to action Wednesday morning. The rainy weather and the cold temperatures certainly have put a damper on things at Udall Park over the past few weeks. The old bones will be a clanging tomorrow morning, but it'll be great to be back at the old ball park. With 70-degree temperatures in store for us for the rest of December, chances are the TOTS will get a few more innings in before the new year.

Can Jerry Jones, Rob Ryan and the Cowboys survive the battle in New York?

The cameras will be on Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones on Sunday...and defensive guru Rob Ryan...and, of course, the Dallas players themselves. The Game of the Week, in Week 17, will be at the Meadowlands on Sunday night and the scenario is simple: Cowboys beat the New York Giants and they'll capture the NFC East. Lose and they are out!

Cowboys Update: (1-1-12) No...no they can't. Dallas loses 31-14!

NFC teams in playoffs:

1. Green Bay
2. San Francisco
3. New Orleans
4. New York Giants
5. Detroit
6. Atlanta

Broncos, Raiders battle for AFC West

What a storyline! It's comes down to this: Tim Tebow vs Kyle Orton. The Denver Broncos will host the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 1. Tebow and the Broncos win and they're in the playoffs. Don't you know that Mr. Orton will be putting it all on the line on Sunday? If the Broncos lose and Oakland beats San Diego, Denver will be out. It'll be a crazy day in the Mile High City.

Bronco Update: (1-1-12)Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos lose 7-3 to Kansas City, but San Diego beats the Raiders, 38-26. Broncos win the AFC West today without scoring a touchdown! Wow!

AFC teams:

1. New England
2. Baltimore
3. Houston
4. Denver
5. Pittsburgh
6. Cincinnati

Assassins Win!

My Fantasy Football League:The Assassins fought off a last-minute charge on Monday Night Football and went on to capture the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League Championship tonight with a 139-135 win over the suh-nami. The owner of the Assassins, Mitch Hockenbury, had to sweat it out to the end as suh-nami's remaining player, Julio Jones, the wide receiver for Atlanta, was all over the field tonight and amassed 16 fantasy points in the Falcons' loss to the Saints. With all his players on the board as of late Sunday night, Mitch was forced to sit back, wait, and pray that Jones wouldn't stack up a lot of receiving yards and touchdowns. Jones did get plenty of yardage, but scored just one touchdown. Two scores by Jones and suh-nami would have walked away with the title. The Assassins' big guns, Tom Brady and Eli Manning, got their fantasy points this week, while the suh-nami quarterback Matthew Stafford out-gunned both Brady and Manning. But the kicker for suh-nami turned out to be the loss of its other quarterback, Tony Romo. The injured Dallas quarterback scored zero fantasy points this week, which opened the gates and put the Assassins in the driver's seat. Congrats to Mitch from Bookemdanosports.

The Final Standings:

League Champion
Assassins
2nd
suh-nami
3rd
El diablo blanco
4th
murrays murrauders
5th
A -TEAM
6th
The Sticky Bandits

Also-rans:

Honey Bee, Team Priceless (me), Big Dawgs and Ninjas

Final Fantasy Note:

It was fun. Looking forward to next season.

Sun Devils' woes continue

The Arizona State Sun Devils' woes continue. ASU lost last night to Boise State 56-24 in the MAACO Bowl in Las Vegas. Wow! That's six losses in seven games for the Sun Devils -- included in that streak was the emotional loss in Tempe a few weeks ago to our own Arizona Wildcats, 31-27. Not a good start for the Pac-12 in bowl games.

The conference is 0-1. Up next: California on Wednesday against Texas in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

Next Up for the Wildcats: The Pac-12

Arizona rolled over Oakland University on Tuesday at McKale Center, 85-73, behind the 23-point,11 rebound performance from Solomon Hill and tonight the Wildcats turned to reserve shooting guard Brandon Lavender to lead the way as Arizona knocked off Bryant University, 100-60. The Wildcats reached the century mark for the first time this year as Lavender canned six trays and coach Sean Miller was able to clear the bench, using 14 players -- 12 of them putting points on the board. It was definitely a tune-up week for the 'Cats. Arizona takes a 9-4 non-conference record into Pac-12 conference play. The Arizona State Sun Devils come to town on Dec. 31. The Wildcats will be ready for 'em!

Assassins, suh-nami reach fantasy league final

My Fantasy Football League: The Assassins held on this week and squeezed by Murrays Maurraders, 133-131, to reach the championship game in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League. The Assassins picked up 19 points from the San Francisco defense on Monday Night Football and again road the arm of New England's Tom Brady on Sunday, while the suh-nami capitalized on the performances from Detroit's Matthew Stafford and the Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo to blow by El blanco diablo, and the team's key player,Aaron Rodgers, to reach next week's championship finale.

The Assassins, the top seed, will face the third-seeded suh-nami, a team that emerged from the middle of the pack just a few weeks ago to become a formidable opponent and just may own a slight edge in the finale. Good luck, to both teams from Bookemdanosports.

Arizona, ASU get thumped

Down early, rally in second half, but can't get over the hump in the final moments. Sound familiar? Arizona, down by as much as 20 points in the first half, couldn't overcome the deficit and lost in Seattle to Gonzaga last night 71-60. The 7-4 'Cats have a chance to finish their non-conference schedule at 9-4 with games next week at home against Oakland and Bryant University. The Wildcats will have to continue to find a way to win with out an inside game. It is just not there! At least the Arizona loss was to another quality opponent. Up in Tempe, the Arizona State Sun Devils lost to Northern Arizona on Saturday, 69-68. Stallion Saldivar hit the game-winning, three-pointer at the buzzer. Saldivar scored 24 points as the Lumberjacks beat the Sun Devils for the second time in five years.

The Roland Rocket

Being a member of the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club has its advantages on and off the field of play. Since all the members are between the ages of 60 to 86, you are bound to run into an old sports story, or two...or three, just by listening to a teammate in the dugout as he lets loose with a flashback to the 1940s, 1950s, or even the 1960s. In some of my previous posts, I've documented a few of those stories, but the following story may just be the best of the bunch. DeLon "Doc" Thompson, 69 , is one of the top pitchers on the TOTS, a hard-throwing right-hander who can throw one by you, clip the outside corner of the plate more times than not, and send you back to the dugout, scratching your head. In other words, catch you lookin' at strike three!

 Fifty years ago, Thompson (above photo) signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins and played a couple of years of minor-league ball. But the big SPORTS story in the life of DeLon Thompson, occurred long before that, back when he was just nine years old. DeLon's older brother, Gary, led the high school team in the small town of Roland, Iowa, population 700, to the 1951 state basketball finals, knocking off the bigger schools from Waterloo and Des Moines along the way, before falling to Davenport in the title game. Of course, by the time Roland had reached the final, Gary Thompson and his teammates were big news, aka the Hoosiers.

 And it didn't stop there for DeLon's older brother as he went on to Iowa State and became an All American. In 1957, Gary Thompson and the Cyclones upset Wilt Chamberlain and the powerful Kansas Jayhawks, as the Iowa State coach, Bill Strannigan, used a slow-down offense and Gary's athletic ability at the guard position to dismantle Kansas, 39-37. Gary Thompson appeared later that same year on the Ed Sullivan Show, along with Chamberlain, and the rest of the collegiate All-Americans. Gary Thompson went on to play for the Phillips 66ers and then spent 34 years as a color commentator on television, covering Iowa State Cyclones basketball. Gary is known through out Iowa as the "Roland Rocket". DeLon followed his brother to Iowa State and played baseball for the Cyclones and even owned a Cyclone pitching record, or two. After college and a short stint in the minor leagues, DeLon turned to the field of music. He has a country music album out and numerous Cd's.

 And, yes! He still throws a mean fastball.

A-Team loses a heartbreaker

My Fantasy Football League: The A-Team lost a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals of the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League this week, falling to the suh-nami, 178-174. The loss eliminated the A-Team, which bows out of the playoffs along with the Sticky Bandits, which lost 153-127 this week to Murrays Murrauders in the other quarterfinal matchup. The final four for next week pits the Assassins against Murrays Murrauders and suh-nami faces El diablo blanco. The A-Team needed a few more yards from St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson tonight on Monday Night Football, instead it was a 16-yard touchdown romp with three minutes left in the game by Seattle's running back, Marshawn Lynch, which sealed the deal for suh-nami. As it turned out, the suh-nami received just enough fantasy points from Lynch tonight on MNF, but the clincher was on Sunday when its quarterback Tony Romo tallied 43 fantasy points in the Dallas loss to the New York Giants, while the A-Team's quarterback, Drew Brees, scored just 28 fantasy points in the New Orleans' win over the Tennessee Titans. Oh, the agony of Fantasy Football.

Bookemdanosports reaches the 700 mark

On July 4, 2009, Bookemdanosports entered the blogging world. The first postings were introduced during a weekend stay, in a room, at a lodge in Greer, Arizona. Two and half years have flown by and this morning Bookemdanosports reached the 700 mark in postings, daily tidbits of information, focusing mainly on old-time ball players (locally in Tucson and nationwide), a little bit of personal info, sprinkled in with some national news and a few words of wisdom.

My old laptop is still blazing away.

Arizona 63, Clemson 47

In the Stands Report by Bookemdano: Nick Johnson scored 14 points -- including two more highlight-reel dunks as the Arizona Wildcats thump Clemson, 63-47, at McKale Center this afternoon. And guess what? Josiah Turner is out of the doghouse as the freshman point-guard adds six points, five boards and two steals to the mix. He did commit a hand full of turnovers, though. Sill, I good showing at home by Johnson, Turner and the Wildcats. And now it is on to Gonzaga.

Important game at McKale today

It is an important game at McKale today. I guess they all are. But, following the Wildcats' overtime loss in Gainesville to the Florida Gators last week, it is imperative the Wildcats regroup and take care of their home court as Arizona plays host to Clemson this afternoon. Go Wildcats!

It'll be a little chilly for baseball this morning

The rain and cold weather has put a damper on our "playing time" for us old timers. The Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball club will return to action this morning. The first pitch of today's game at Udall Park will be delivered to the plate at 10 A.M. It is hard enough for us old timers to get loose during the summer months, much less during the winter time. But, we'll be there. Once we get out of our car, warm up the old arm, take a few cuts off the pitching machine, we'll be ready. By the end of the game, the temperature should be in the mid 50s. Can't complain, though. Back in the eastern part of the country, it is a bit chilly. Take for instance, Chicago. In the next 10 days, Chicago's low temperature every morning will be in the mid 20s, in Denver even colder. If you live in the Mile High City, you can look forward every morning for the next ten days to a temperature of somewhere between 15 and 24 degrees. Forget the pitching machines! Bring out the antifreeze! We have a guy, or two, one is from Canada, the other from Spokane, Washington, who'll show up in shorts this morning. Let's play ball!

Turner in the doghouse,again!

Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller is not a happy camper with freshman shooting guard Josiah Turner. Turner will miss the trip to Gainesville today. That will hurt! Florida, ranked 12th in the nation in the latest AP poll, is 5-2 and its losses have come at the hands of the likes of No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Syracuse, so the 'Cats will need to rely on Nick Johnson and Jordin Mayes to get the job done. Let's hope this Turner thing gets turned around.

Philip Rivers knocks me out of fantasy league playoffs

My Fantasy Football League: San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers threw his third touchdown pass of the game with just three minutes gone in the third quarter in Jacksonville tonight, knocking me and my Team Priceless out of sixth place -- the final playoff spot for next week's quarterfinals in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League.

The Jaguars' defense kept Rivers off the fantasy scoreboard in the first quarter and most of the second, but the Chargers quarterback got it going in the final two minutes before the half, connecting on scoring strikes to wide-receivers Vincent Brown and Vincent Jackson as San Diego led at intermission, 24-14. My Team Priceless won six games and lost seven and finishes in seventh place.

Oh well, there's always next year!

Tebow! Tebow!

My Fantasy Football League: I've never been a die-hard Tim Tebow fan, but I'm getting there. Tebow showed his magic once again yesterday as Tebow and the Broncos beat the Minnesota Vikings, 35-32. He sputtered around in the Broncos' backfield, ran some, and threw just enough to score 25 fantasy points to lead my fantasy team, Team Priceless, to a win. The fantasy win may just be enough to get me into next week's playoffs in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League. I'm currently sitting in the sixth and final playoff spot, but could get ousted tonight if San Diego's Philip Rivers has a big night. I also have to keep an eye on two other players tonight -- Chargers' running back Ryan Mathews and Jacksonville's running back Maurice-Jones Drew. All three players are on the A-Team roster. The A-Team could knock me out of the playoffs, if the trio combines for 53 fantasy points. Otherwise, I'm in. It could be close as the Sticky Bandits, already assured of a playoff spot, hold onto a 145-93 lead over the A-Team...and to tell you the truth...I've been burned on Monday Night Football more than once this season.

Fiesta Bowl gets a dandy!

The BCS title game goes to LSU-Alabama. New Orleans will be a hoppin' on Jan. 9. But a week earlier, it'll be time for the Pac-12 to shine in Glendale as Stanford gets a shot at Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. Quarterback Andrew Luck will lead the 4th-ranked Cardinal, while the 3rd-ranked Cowboys counter with quarterback Brandon Weeden.

The Fiesta Bowl should be a dandy!

It could be my final fantasy football weekend

My Fantasy Football League: It's raining outside. A good Sunday to stay inside and watch football...in what could turn out to be be my last weekend in my fantasy football league.

Even if my Team Priceless wins today over the Big Dwags, I would still need some help from the Sticky Bandits as they need to beat the A-Team, which has Drew Brees and Philip Rivers in its lineup. If the A-team losses and I win, I'll salvage sixth place, the final playoff spot, in the UPC Hood Fantasy Football League. I'll be counting on the likes of Tim Tebow and Carson Palmer today. Fortunately, for me, the Broncos and the Vikings are on the Fox Network this morning, while the Raiders and the Dolphins are on the CBS Network. Tonight on NBC, it'll be the Lions and the Saints. I have the Saints' wide-receiver Marques Colston and running back Pierre Thomas going tonight. So, I shall see how those four fair today.

At any rate, I have all my players going today, with the exception of Chargers' wide-receiver Vincent Jackson, who plays on Monday night against the Jaguars. The Big Dawgs key players today will include Carolina's Cam Newton and Houston's Arian Foster. Let's tee up the pigskin, sit back, and let the fantasy points fall where they may.

Things to do before Christmas...

The Arizona Wildcats have some work to do before Christmas.

Last night at McKale Center, the Wildcats seemed to be looking ahead and kinda went through the motions and lumbered their way to a 53-39 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

The 'Cats can now pack their bags and head to Florida for a clash with the Gators, come home to face Clemson, then head for Seattle for a matchup with Gonzaga, then back home for back to back games with two small college teams, Oakland University and Bryant University.

All this will be accomplished before Christmas. The Lumberjacks set the pace last night, trying their best to wait til the last second of each possession before they put up a shot. Not too pleasing to the fans in attendance. But a win is a win. Solomon Hill led the Wildcats with 15 points, Kyle Fogg scored 11 and Nick Johnson netted nine points-- including a crowd-pleasing jam.

The Wildcats, at 6-2, will need to get off to a good start in Gatorland!