My true love...Baseball.

I have really been thinking about baseball season lately, I miss it way too much. I feel like the offseason is so long! Most people think they play too many games but I can never get enough of it. So I want to talk a little bit about the upcoming season and where I see the A's this year.

Projected Lineup:
1. Ryan Sweeney-CF
2. Mark Ellis-2B
3. Matt Holliday-LF
4. Jason Giambi-1B
5. Jack Cust-DH
6. Eric Chavez-3B
7. Kurt Suzuki-C
8. Bobby Crosby-SS
9. Travis Buck-RF

That is the lineup I would put up on opening day...but there are a few things to consider. Chavez may not be healthy enough to play third anymore, so we may have to move things around a bit. Even after all his injury troubles and problems at the plate, I think a healthy Chavez has the potential to be a serious threat. Sometimes I like to sit back and think of the good old days when he was hitting 30+ jacks and driving in 100+, not to mention piling up the defensive hardware...All this leading up to the decision that he would be the only guy we would take a chance on and actually keep...Ouch that hurts to think about. But I also like to keep the faith, and believe that he can be that guy again...Call me Billy Beane but I still believe in Chavy, he has something left in him and I hope it comes out this year. A healthy Chavez behind Holliday, Giambi and Cust would be absolutely huge. I like the lineup we have right now with the most power and depth we have had in awhile. Weird to think this year our question mark is who takes the hill each day.

Oh, pitching. It has been the strong point for the A's as long as I have been a big fan. The Big Three were dominant, then we traded for an All-Star starter in Haren, traded him away but had Harden and Blanton dealing, traded them away for youth. Youth, what we covet here in Oakland. That youth is going to have to come up big for us this season, especially on the mound. Our "veteran" starter is one who has yet to pitch a full season as a starter, Mr. All-Star himself, Justin Duchscherer. He was dominant in the games he started last year but his health is an issue, it scares me a bit having him as our ace. After Duchscherer, our staff is very inexperienced. We have Dana Eveland who was sent down to AAA last season after a rough middle of the season. Then there is Dallas Braden who has always been up and down but did end last season on a high note and gave us some hope. Sean Gallagher, who Beane has a lot of confidence in and traded Harden for last season, will be in the rotation. Then there is Mr. Gio Gonzalez. Gio is an interesting one for me, I don't really know what he will bring to the table this season because after so much anticipation for his call up last season, he was disappointing to say the least. He gave up an average of a run per inning while averaging one strikeout per inning. He also gave up 9 home runs in 34 innings which is not very impressive. I was not impressed with his stuff but I know he was nervous being in the bigs for the first time and there was a lot of pressure being put on him to succeed. The A's have been spoiled with young pitching talent and we expect greatness from these young guys even from the beginning. Although he was roughed up a bit late last season, I think that was a good learning experience for him. Now he comes into this season with some experience on the big stage and I think will only get better, some predict him to be this year's AL Rookie of the Year. If that prediction holds, the A's will be very happy and likely a big contender in the AL West. To close out the games, we have two of the best young arms in Joey Devine and Brad Ziegler. We all know what Ziegler did last year to earn himself the closer role, but Devine's numbers were just as impressive. That one-two punch in the 8th and 9th should be solid for us this year.

If any of these young pitchers stumbles, there are some solid arms in the minors ready to take their spot in the rotation. The A's have always been known for their great depth in the minors and the staff down there is no different. The A's have a ton of young pitching prospects in the minors just waiting for that call to join the team. One pitcher to keep an eye on is young Brett Anderson, who was a key player in the Dan Haren trade. At just 21 years of age, Anderson has been impressive as he has quickly moved through the minor league system and some call him the best pitching prospect in baseball. Fellow minor league pitching prospect Trevor Cahill is a similar story. He is only 21 years of age and moving up just as quickly as Anderson. Both are said to not have much of a chance to make the team this spring training but are one "serious hot streak away from a Major League call up." These guys look good and should be good for the A's if not this season, in years to come...so watch out West, there's a new team in town.

Watch out Angels, the A's got some power in their lineup and some arms ready to impress on the mound.

Let's talk football.

The Super Bowl is this weekend and I am pretty excited but I don't know if this game can live up to what we witnessed last year. The Giants upsetting the heavily favored, not to mention undefeated, Patriots with miraculous plays and a stellar defense. Eli Manning finding David Tyree for one of the most memorable catches in Super Bowl history. Tom Brady laughing at the prediction of his team only scoring 17 points and then only putting up 14. Manning finding Plaxico for the winning touchdown ruining the hope of a perfect season..the game itself was nothing short of amazing. I am anxious to see what the Cardinals and Steelers bring this week but looking back, they have a lot to live up to that's for sure.

The Steelers are the favorite, they came into this season with high expectations and they will look to finish this season with the big win in Tampa on Sunday. Ben Roethlisberger finds himself in the Super Bowl for the second time in four years. A healthy Willy Parker and Hines Ward have given the offense enough fire power to get by teams but the real strength of this team can be found on defense, ranked first in the NFL. The Steelers come in playing great football and hope they have enough to take home the title of Super Bowl champs this year.

Their opponent is a whole different story, the Cardinals came into the season in a weak division with some people giving them hope to make the playoffs but not going much farther than that. They lost four of their last six regular season games and were embarrassed by the Eagles, Vikings and Patriots during that stretch. Their defense was useless in those games giving up a total of 130 points in three games. People were calling them the biggest playoff fraud in the history of the game. But they took that to heart and went on a mission to prove they were not frauds and that they could play with the best, and they have done just that and have just one more team to overcome before they can call themselves the best. They have embraced the role of the underdog and played with intensity like no other throughout the playoffs. Led by veteran Kurt Warner and the amazing hands of wideout Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals seem like they may have just enough pieces and got it all together at just the right time to win it all. The dynamic offense of the Cardinals and the dynamic defense of the Steelers should make this one fun to watch.

Also in football, there are high school players committing to colleges each day. After some anticipation, five-star recruit Devon Kennard, a defensive end out of Desert Valley High School in Pheonix, announced his plans to attend the University of Southern California.

"This really was a tough decision, but I've decided to attend the University f Southern California-I'm a Trojan," Kennard said Tuesday in front of family, friends and the media. He was deciding between USC, Cal and Texas.

This is the fifth five star committment in 2009 for USC. Coach Pete Carroll and his staff do a great job with recruits and the winning atmosphere the Trojans have built up helps bring in the nation's top talent. All five recruits are defensive players because USC took a big hit on the defensive side of the ball after losing most of their starters. Most notable losses include linebackers Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, both likely to be first round picks in the NFL Draft. USC will have a whole new look on defense but their offense will be much the same as we saw this season except for one thing...no more Sanchez. Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp will battle it out for the starting job and in my opinion, things will be fine. Fight On Trojans, Fight On.

Now, are you ready for some football?