SoCalSportsChick.com

WTF! Watching CNN today, the topic of controversy was the Vogue Cover featuring James Lebron and Gisele Bundchen (shot by the esteemed Annie Liebowitz no less) and the criticism stemming from it.

Does everything have to be made a race issue? I mean c’mon, the first time I saw the cover I thought it was an amazing photo - I didn’t see a “black man” or “King Kong”. I saw an athlete, plain and simple — to me, James Lebron epitomized the very essence of the intensity an athlete in his prime, dribbling a basketball down the court trying to keep away from opponents. And as far as Gisele’s happy go lucky smile and stance, perky sideline cheerleaders came to mind.

This issue was touted as the “Shape Issue” with Gisele and LeBron featured in the Secrets of the Best Bodies with The World’s Top Models and Star Athletes. Would we really want to see another boring cover featuring two smiling celebs - no; instead we want to see something that will wow us and with Annie Liebowitz at the helm of the camera lens, (who is coveted by museums and celebrities alike for her work) that is exactly what we received. Another thing comes to mind, Liebowitz is Jewish and I’m sure she would be the last one to perpetuate a stereotype that would be so insulting.

An increasing number of women are now playing golf and manufacturers are beginning to realize this and target women golfers specifically in their advertising campaigns. This previously untapped market has mushroomed in recent years and is no longer dominated by men golfers. Suddenly, it is extremely lucrative for sellers to focus on selling womens golf apparel and even womens golf club sets. Male golf enthusiasts have always known that their game can be highly improved by the proper golf club sets but what should women look for when choosing their own set?

See a professional golf club fitter

A professional golf club fitter will be able to steer you towards the set which is right for you. They will guide you in your choice and can advise you on what to look for. There are several areas which should be taken into consideration when choosing golf club sets.

The cheapest thing in a womans golf club set is your grip. This is determined by the size of your hands. Grips have a tendency to harden, get slick, oxidize, and then lose their hold as time goes by. Therefore, the safest option is to buy the highest quality grip with a greater than normal longevity. This way when you do not change your grip regularly, you will still have good grips.

Golf club sets need to be maintained just like a car needs the oil changing regularly. It is recommended to change your grip every 3000 rounds or six months. This will have a positive effect on your game.

The length of your golf club sets is also an important consideration. This will affect both comfort and swing momentum. The longer the golf club the further the ball will travel, but the tradeoff is that it will then be very difficult to control. Beginners should find the right length that is proportionate to their height and the distance between their wrist and the ground when in an astride position.

Finally look at the flex. Stiffer shafts are usually better for stronger hitting golfers. The professional golf fitter will need to assess the strength of your swing.

As you get older you may need to change from steel golf clubs to those made from graphite. Do bear in mind that some fitters will be motivated by commission rather than what is best for you. Trust your judgement and instinct when meeting with a fitter.

Do not be fooled into paying for very expensive golf club sets. Expensive equipment does not equal better playing. Consult an expert fitter and be reassured of leaving with the perfect golf club set for you.

Written by: Nazima Golamaully

For a comprehensive guide to golf clubs visit The Golf Clubs Website.

Fantasy Baseball Dugout gives 50 tips that will help you win your Fantasy Baseball League this season. Follow these tips closely to enhance your chances to win your league championship in 2008 and beyond.

1. Be prepared for the draft. The league is often won or lost at the draft.

2. Stay focused. It’s a long season and a lot of players will drop out. If you stay focused on the prize, you’ll have a shot.

3. During the draft, track the positions your opponents have picked. Knowing this will give you a leg up on strategic picks in later rounds.

4. Go with established players over potential stars. Everybody likes to brag about picking up that rookie, but often the hype is bigger than the stats.

5. In the early rounds, pick the best available player, regardless of position.

6. Draft stolen bases. A player can be dominant in stolen bases and stolen bases are clearly over-weighted in fantasy baseball. Think Jose Reyes.

7. Draft closers. Make sure you have one more closer than your nearest competitor. Saves is an easy category to win and another over-weighted category in fantasy baseball.

8. If a player has been traded since last year, re-adjust his stats based on the park he’ll be playing his home games in. Pitchers sent to Colorado, Cincinnatti, or Philadelphia, for example, are likely to not have as impressive stats. Power stats should go up, however, if a hitter is traded to these teams. Alternatively, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and Minnesota are pitchers’ parks.

9. Some leagues have minimal statistics to qualify at a particular position, sometimes as little as a single game. I recall Hank Aaron playing second base once. If that is your league’s rule, you have to look for opportunities like this and you may get the power numbers of an outfielder at a position that traditionally rewards defensive prowess.

10. Generally, it’s not a good idea to pick a catcher in an early round. They sit out too often and usually don’t put up huge stats anyway.

11. Do pick early in positions that are light or where some players are head and shoulders above the pack. Chase Utley at second base comes to mind.

12. Check out the league’s transactions every day. This is the only way to stay in touch. Being on vacation is no excuse in not checking your team daily.

13. Sign up for text message alerts from Google or Yahoo to keep up with fantasy baseball transactions and injuries. This will give you the information quicker than your competition.

14. Set your internet browser to come up with your league information. So, when you sign on to your computer, you’ll have the daily summary there and you won’t forget to check on your team.

15. If you no longer are interested in keeping a player on your roster, shop him to other teams before cutting him. Don’t assume other teams aren’t interested. You may get some value for him that exceeds what you’d get in the free agent pool.

16. If you are shopping a player, however, remember that this is a negotiation. You can’t let the other teams in the league know you are shopping this player. Try to cleverly put his name in package deals so that he maintains his value and your opponents won’t know they can pick him up for a box of old baseballs and used chewing gum.

17. There are no favorite teams in fantasy baseball.

18. There are no favorite players in fantasy baseball. Take the human element out of it. A player is just a bundle of statistics.

19. Don’t move a guy up in your analysis because he got hot in spring training.

20. Do watch the box scores the final two weeks of spring training. This is where jobs are won. You don’t want to be drafting a player who starts the season in Pawtucket.

21. If a guy is unusually hot in spring training, try to trade him then. His value may never be higher.

22. Every player that is on the major league roster needs to be ranked, even the sorry guys.

23. Don’t give away any categories. A championship fantasy baseball team needs to be competitive in every category, especially in 5 x 5 leagues. You cannot afford to give up a category and still win.

24. Just like regular baseball, starting pitchers can win it for you. Their stats count heavily in four of the five pitching categories.

25. Have a few extra starting pitchers in your minor league roster. If you play in a weekly league, bring up the guy who is getting two starts that week. Or, bring up the guy who is facing two week opponents that week.

26. If your league allows unlimited pitching moves, use them. A starting pitcher is of no value to you on the major league lineup when he’s not due to pitch for four more days.

27. Do the math on WHIP. I know its a pain, but it’s a category that you need to score well in.

28. Go to as many sources as possible for draft information. It’s the single most important thing you can do to be prepared.

29. Remember that statistics are relative to position played. All star statistics at catcher are often ordinary for outfielders or first basemen. The key is to get the best stats per position.

30. A trade has to work for both teams. Don’t make a ridiculous offer and hope you can bamboozle the other manager. He’ll be more open to making trades later in the season if you are bringing legitimate offers to him, even if he doesn’t take the first offer.

31. Watch Baseball Tonight! Cut the wife in on your winnings and she won’t nag you when you watch it every night…maybe.

32. Get the ESPN Extra Innings baseball package. Besides, if you live in the East, there’s nothing like listening to Vin Scully on local Dodgers telecasts. He’ll give you a lot of inside fantasy tips.

33. Check not only the stats, but lineup moves. Lineup moves can mean a lot to the stats your player will deliver, especially when it comes to RBI.

34. In a daily move league, check your lineup to see what pitcher your players are facing. Start lefties against right handed pitchers and vice versa. The righty-lefty analysis at the major league level is critical and is therefore critical in fantasy baseball success as well.

35. Keep up with injuries. An injured players does you no good in your lineup.

36. Be a contrarian during the draft. When everybody is making a run at relief pitchers, pick up a DH. There’s likely more value there.

37. Play in a league where all managers have a history of staying involved. A league is no fun if you don’t have active participating managers who have given up.

38. Play in a league with prize money for at least the top four finishers. This tends to keep players active.

39. In September, pick up prospects on teams that are out of it. This is going to be their chance to show what they’ve got for next season.

40. If your league uses playoffs, remember the adage: there’s no tomorrow. If you don’t maintain players for next season, drop a pitcher after he’s made his last start. He’s no longer of value to you otherwise.

41. In traditional Roto stats leagues, some statistics don’t matter. For example, strikeouts be a hitter don’t mean jack. An out is an out so don’t worry about picking Adam Dunn.

42. Look for most sleeper picks beginning in the 16th round. A sleeper is not a sure thing.

43. Be especially diligent in knowing who is going to be a team’s closer on teams where the job is up for grabs. You can obtain a significant amount of saves in later rounds this way by knowing who is going to be closing.

44. Starting pitchers are rarely first round material. Then, there’s Johan Santana and Jake Peavy. Prefer to load up on hitters in the first five rounds, then load up the majority of your starting pitching staff.

45. Avoid young pitchers in the very earliest rounds. They are simply too risky and prone to arm trouble.

46. Look at three year trends on players. Going any further back is useless.

47. Play in a league with old friends. It’s a great way to stay in touch.

48. If there’s an attractive single girl in your league, get to know her better. She’s almost definitely a keeper.

49. Support the advertisers on sites like Fantasy Baseball Dugout. Sites like this one that offer free fantasy baseball advice only survive because of revenue earned from its advertising.

50. When you go to a game, don’t ever yell down to a player: “Hey Ryan, you’re on my fantasy baseball team!” Do you really think he gives a hoot?

Written by: Anthony Wayne

Anthony Wayne is a writer for Fantasy Baseball Dugout which provides free fantasy baseball tips for winning your fantasy baseball league.

Thank you for being patient this last week while the SoCalSportsChick has been down. Its up and running again and I’m looking forward to bringing you fresh stuff!

Hope all of you had a wonderful Easter Holiday.

My seven year old son was assigned a non-fiction book report. He chose to do his book report on NFL Great, Emmitt Smith. Well, since this site is about sports, I thought it would be cool to post it as sort of a “player highlight”.

Excerpt from my son’s 2nd grade book report:

1. This non-fiction book report is about Emmitt Smith
2. Emmitt Smith was born May 15, 1969
3. Emmitt Smith is still living.
4. Emmitt Smith was the all time leading rusher in the NFL, running for 17,162 yards.

Most of Emmitt Smith’s football career was spent playing for the Dallas Cowboys. He may have not been the fastest of running backs but he had all the right moves that made him a star offensive player. He was such an incredible player to his teammates and his coaches. Coach Joe Bordsky said, “He’s magnificent. He’ll take your breath away, and you won’t get it back until he scores.”

Five Facts I learned about Emmitt Smith in this book:
1. In 1990 Emmitt Smith signed to play football with the Dallas Cowboys.
2. He played for 15 seasons and most running backs usually don’t make it past playing for 5 seasons.
3. He received the honor of Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl 28 while playing for the Dallas Cowboys in a 30 to 13 win over the Buffalo Bills.
4. He last played for the Arizona Cardinals but retired in 2005 as a Dallas Cowboy.
5. Emmitt Smith is currently a sports commentator on ESPN.

Tidbit of Info:
Emmitt Smith won the 2006 Dancing of the Stars Title with dance partner, professional dancer, Cheryl Burke.

According to x17online.com, Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson (looking stylish as always), had a little alone time together (or so they thought, i.e. pic at left).

The cute couple had reportedly attended fellow Dallas Cowboy teammate, Bobby Carpenter’s wedding in Ohio, this past weekend.

I had never heard of the Dallas Cowboy Quarterback until he began dating his ex, Carrie Underwood a few months back.

On a side note:
Carrie Underwood will soon become the newest member of the Grand Opry as she will be inducted May 10th. Saturday, after her performance of country singer Randy Travis’ song, “I Told You So” (which is also a cut off her latest album) at an Opry show, he surprised her with the special invitation. This beauty is a favorite with my kids!

The spring training game on this Saint Patrick’s Day between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox didn’t fare well for the Red Sox. Unfortunately the Luck of the Irish wasn’t with them at Legends Field.

Nothing against the Yankees, but I’m a bit partial to the Red Sox considering the legendary Ron “Papa Jack” Jackson during his tenure with the Red Sox, was gracious enough to give a batting lesson to one of my son’s and his Little League team a few years back and he still has a personally autographed Red Sox T-Shirt that says “Somebody got-ta pay” “Papa Jack” 1918…2004…!

What clinched the win for the Yankees?……..Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu and Andy Pettitte. Matsui: With three solid hits, brought three of his teammates home. Abreu: Hitting his second home run of spring training, three runs were brought in during the second inning.

Yankee pitcher, Andy Pettitte - yep, that’s a pic of him above, (of whom which I never actually heard of him until recently via the Roger Clemens controversy - yes, I’ve been lost somewhere in the “sports closet”), anyways, he felt a bit fatigued in the third inning giving up two runs and grazing David Ortiz at the plate with one of his pitches.

However, all in all, Pettitte ended up throwing 65 pitches and pitched a pretty good game (from what I saw of highlights) considering he’s been out for ten days because of an mild injury to his forearm.

Final score had: Yankees: 8 and Red Sox: 4.

Scoring a season high with 32 points, Andre Miller (who has a lower back strain mind you) along with Andre Iguodala and his 25 points brought the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers victory over the San Antonio Spurs and their third win and their fifteenth win out of nineteen games. Final Score: Sixers: 103 / Spurs: 96.

Philly Coach, Maurice Cheeks had this to say, “It was a great game for us. I loved playing in a building like that, rocking like that with the fans cheering for us. It was great.”

During the first half of last night’s NBA game in front of almost 20,000 fans at their home turf at the Wachovia Center, Iguodala went under the net to shoot the ball (pros define it as a “layup”) and brought the first 13 point lead in the game. In addition, The Sixers only had the had the ball stolen from them once (called a “turnover”) whereas The Spurs had the ball stolen nine times.

Pitching a little over one inning without pain during last Monday’s spring training game against the Oakland A’s, it seemed as if LA Angels’ top pitcher, John Lackey was off to a good start. However last Friday, MRI results examined by sports surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum revealed a strain on his right tricep has proved otherwise. Lackey will be out of commission the majority of April. Lackey has a 79 win and 58 loss Major League pitching career record and a 3.01 ERA; in 2007 he threw 179 strikes with 19 wins and 9 losses.

With pitcher Kelvim Escobar out as well, with a shoulder injury with an estimated return in in the middle of May, it looks like Dustin Moseley (who recovered very nicely from shoulder surgery back in October) is a top contender to fill Lackey’s shoes on Opening Day. Escobar with a Major League pitching career record of 101 wins and 90 losses (18 win and 7 losses for 2007) and a 4.15 ERA, is expected to pick up a ball and work with trainers sometime this week.

Tidbit of Info:

ERA is a baseball pitcher’s earned run average; how many runs are scored off a pitcher during the game (not to due fielding errors). Often referred to as “how many runs a pitcher gave up”.

An era comes sadly to an end with the well-deserved retirement of Holly McPeak. In an announcement Tuesday at media day for the AVP season, she said the 2008 beach volleyball season will officially be her last.

It has been said that she has such a phenomenal lift-off that she can jump thirty inches (kid you not) from beach sand (have you ever tried doing that?) and spike a ball above a 7’4” high volleyball net. That being said, this chick is only 5’7” which makes this even more of an amazing feat. McPeak has played in all three of the Olympics that have featured beach volleyball (even had the honor of winning the bronze medal in 2004 with former partner Elaine Youngs.

With 72 world titles to her credit, and 310 tournaments played over 18 seasons, McPeak is one of the most successful and dynamic women’s beach volleyball players that we have had the pleasure of watching through the years.

She will finish up her last season with new partner Angie Akers. The AVP season will begin at South Beach in Miami, Florida on April 11th, 2008. McPeak said, “Angie Akers is probably one of the few who can keep up with me. So I’m looking forward to a fun season. It’s going to be interesting.”

My daughter, an up and coming volleyball player and I will definitely enjoy watching and reading together, Holly McPeaks’ final days of professional beach volleyball play.