The FP Top 25 Based on Team's Resume: 10/25/09

1. Iowa (Quality Wins: Iowa State, Penn State, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin. Losses: None)
2. Texas (Quality Wins: Wyoming, Louisiana Monroe, Texas Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma. Losses: None)
3. Alabama (Quality Wins: Va. Tech, South Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky. Losses: None.)
4. Cincinatti (Quality Wins: Fresno St., Oregon St., Rutgers, South Florida. Losses: None).
5. Boise St (Quality Wins: Oregon, Fresno St., Tulsa. Losses: None).
6. TCU (Quality Wins: Clemson, BYU. Losses None).
7. Florida (Quality Wins: Troy, LSU. Losses: None).
8. USC (Quality Wins: Ohio State, Oregon St., Cal, Notre Dame. Losses: Washington).
9. Ga. Tech (Quality Wins: Va. Tech, UNC, Clemson. Losses: Miami).
10. Pittsburgh (Quality Wins: Rutgers, Navy, UConn, South Florida. Losses: NC State).
11. Houston (Quality Wins: Okla. St., Texas Tech. Losses: Utep).
12. Oklahoma St. (Quality Wins: Georgia, Missouri, Texas A&M. Losses: Houston).
13. LSU (Quality Wins: Louisiana Lafayette, Georgia, Auburn. Losses: Florida).
14. Oregon (Quality Wins: Utah, Cal. Losses: Boise St.).
15. West Virginia (Quality Wins: Marshall, East Carolina, Uconn. Losses: Auburn)
16. Penn St. (Quality Wins: Temple, Michigan. Losses: Iowa
17. Va. Tech (Quality Wins: Miami, Nebraska, Marshall, BC. Losses: Alabama, Ga. Tech).
18. Miami (Quality Wins: Ga. Tech., Oklahoma, UCF. Losses: Va. Tech, Clemson).
19. Arizona (Quality Wins: Central Michigan, Oregon St., Stanford. Losses: Iowa, Washington).
20. Kansas (Quality Wins: So. Miss, Iowa State, Duke. Losses: Colorado, Oklahoma).
21. Notre DAme (Quality Wins: Nevada, BC. Losses: USC, Michigan).
22. South Carolina (Quality Wins: Mississippi, Kentucky. Losses: Alabama, Georgia).
23. Ohio St. (Quality Wins: Navy, Wisconsin. Losses: USC, Purdue).
24. Wisconsin (Quality Wins: Northern Ill., Fresno St. Losses: Ohio St., Iowa).
25. Utah (Quality Wins: None. Losses: Oregon).

Iowa has maintained the top position, but its lead is narrowing.

Now That Jamie McCourt Is Fired...

I am ready to fix the Dodgers. I know McCourt is broke but we can no longer pretend that we are a mid-market team. LA is the second largest market in the country, the Dodgers lead the league in attendance and sell a ton of merch so there is no reason that the Doyers should not have at least the third hightest payroll in the league if not second.

Payroll for 2009:
1. New York Yankees $ 201,449,189
2. New York Mets $ 149,373,987
3. Chicago Cubs $ 134,809,000
4. Boston Red Sox $ 121,745,999
5. Detroit Tigers $ 115,085,145
6. Los Angeles Angels $ 113,709,000
7. Philadelphia Phillies $ 113,004,046
8. Houston Astros $ 102,996,414
9. Los Angeles Dodgers $ 100,414,592

Do we really have a lower payroll than Detroit a City with a worse economy than Uganda. And the Angels aren't they supposed to be the little brother of LA....I guess not. If the Yankees can have 201 million the Dodgers should have at least 150 million.

So pay attention McCourt and Coletti here is what needs to be done to guarantee championship next year:

1. Avoid arbitration with Ethier, pay him $7,000,000 for the year.
2. Avoid arbitration with Kemp pay him $7,000,000 for the year.
3. Trade James McDonald, Chad Billingsley, Andrew Lambo and Josh Bell for Roy Halladay. I know Billingsley certainly lost a lot of worth but I think he still could have value. If they don't want Billingsley then put a couple more prospects in there.
4. Trade James Loney, Blake Dewitt, Ivan DeJesus and Xavier Paul for Adrian Gonzalez (Gonzalez is on the last year of his deal and the Padres will not want to resign him with what he will be looking for so I think Dodgers give them a chance to rebuild and pick up Gonzalez).
5. Avoid Arbitration with Martin pay him $3,900,000 for the year (same as last year)
6. Sign Castro to 1 year $1,000,000 deal, he got $700,000 last year.
7. Sign Ausmus to 1 year $1,000,000 deal, same as last year.
8. Sign Hudson to 3 year $15,000,000 deal (if he doesn't want to come back then sign Belliard to 1 year $5,000,000 deal).
9. Sign John Lackey to 5 year $75,000,000 deal. He wants a contract similar to Burnett and I give it to him.
10. Sign Erik Bedard to 2 year $12,000,00 deal. He has been injured but when healthy can be filthy and it would add another lefty to the staff.
11. Avoid arbitration with Kuo pay him 1 year $1,000,000.
12. Avoid arbitration with Broxton pay him 1 year $5,000,000.

After this is done here is your Depth Chart:

Outfield:
1. Manny Ramirez - $20,000,000
2. Matt Kemp - $7,000,000
3. Andre Ethier - $7,000,000
4. Juan Pierre - $10,000,000
5. Jason Repko - $500,000

Catcher:
1. Russell Martin - $3,900,000
2. Brad Ausmus - $1,000,000

First Base:
Adrian Gonzalez - $4,900,000

Second Base:
Orlando Hudson - $5,000,000
Juan Castro - $1,000,000

Shortstop:
Rafael Furcal - $9,500,000

Third Base:
Casey Blake - $6,000,000

Starting Pitchers:
Hiroki Kuroda - $15,400,000
Jon Garland - $1,000,000
Clayton Kershaw - $500,000
Eric Stults - $400,000
John Lackey - $15,000,000
Erik Bedard - $6,000,000
Roy Halladay - $15,700,000

Relief Pitchers:
George Sherrill $2,700,000
Jonathan Broxton $5,000,000
Hong Chi Kuo $1,000,000 (Arbitration)
Cory Wade $400,000
Ramon Troncoso $400,000
Ronald Belisario $400,000
Scott Elbert $400,000
Brent Leach $400,000

Not On Roster:
Andruw Jones $3,200,000
Will Ohman $200,000

Total: $143,900,000.00

This gives you another 10 million just in case you have to pay a little more to avoid arbitration or to sign some utilitymen.

Can you imagine our rotation in the playoffs:
1. Halladay
2. Lackey
3. Kershaw
4. Bedard

That would be ridiculous and with the power we would add in Gonzalez we could exhibit similar power to the Yankees and Phillies.

GUARANTEED WORLD SERIES CHAMPS IF YOU MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

The Hills: The B is Back

So if you have not been watching The Hills, you need to because the B is back, although I do not think she is a B at all, I think she is quite pleasant, and I feel bad that she is succumbing to the wiles of Mr. Bobby.

I thought this week's episode was quite touching especially the final scene with Audrina and JB, they really are soulmates and just need to surrender to the galaxy pulling them together.

Another tender moment was the Father-Daughter relationship between Kristen and her father Dennis. They had a real heartfelt chat while sipping wine over a Pacific Sunset.

Meanwhile, on the Speidi front, marriage really has brought a lot of maturity as they are counseling and helping Holly through her alcoholism, although there does appear to be a little trouble in paradise on whether or not they will be having children.

So far the drama has been good and Kristen is better looking than LC so no complaints from FP.

P.S. Spencer are you now a cowboy?

P.P.S. Brody and Jayde are not going to survive this.

The FP Keepin It Real Top 25 - 10/18/09

1. Iowa (Quality Wins: Iowa State, Arizona, Penn State, Michigan, Wisconsin. Losses: None). Last Week #2
2. Alabama (Quality Wins: South Carolina, Mississippi, Va Tech. Losses: None). Last Week #1
3. Boise St. (Quality Wins: Oregon, Tulsa. Losses: None). Last Week #3
4. Cincinnati (Quality Wins: Rutgers, Oregon St., South Florida. Losses: None). Last Week #4
5. Florida (Quality Wins: Troy, LSU. Losses: None). Last Week #5
6. Texas (Quality Wins: Lousiana Monroe, Texas Tech, Wyoming. Losses: None). Last Week #6
7. TCU (Quality Wins: Air Force. Losses: None). Last Week #7
8. Oregon (Quality Wins: Utah, Cal. Losses: Boise St.). Last Week #9
9. USC (Quality Wins: Ohio St., Cal. Notre Dame. Losses: Washington). Last Week #11
10. Houston (Quality Wins: Oklahoma St., Texas Tech. Losses: UTEP). Last Week #12
11. Pittsburgh (Quality Wins: Rutgers, Navy, Uconn. Losses: NC State). Last Week #14
12. Miami (Quality Wins: Georgia Tech. Losses: Va Tech). Last Week #10
13. Ga. Tech (Quality Wins: UNC, Va. Tech. Losses: Miami). Last Week #19
14. Okla St. (Quality Wins: Georgia, Missouri. Losses: Houston). Last Week #20
15. Va. Tech. (Quality Wins: Miami, Nebraska, Marshall, BC. Losses: Alabama, Georgia Tech). Last Week #8
16. LSU (Quality Wins: Lousiana Lafayette, Georgia. Losses: Florida). Last Week #25
17. Penn State (Quality Wins: Temple, Minnesota. Losses: Iowa). Last Week Unranked
18. West Virginia (Quality Wins: East Carolina, Marshall. Losses: Auburn). Last Week Unranked
19. Kansas (Quality Wins: Iowa State, So. Miss. Losses: Colorado). Last Week #22
20. Ohio St. (Quality Wins: Navy, Toledo, Indiana, Wisconsin. Losses: USC, Purdue). Last Week #13.
21. Arizona (Quality Wins: Central Michigan, Oregon St., Stanford. Losses: Iowa, Washington). Last Week Unranked
22. Central Michigan (Quality Wins: Michigan St. Losses: Arizona). Last Week Unranked.
23. Texas Tech (Quality Wins: Nebraska, Kansas St. Losses: Texas, Houston). Last Week Unranked.
24. Oregon St. (Quality Wins: Arizona St., Stanford. Losses: Cincinnati, Arizona). Last Week Unranked.
25. Michigan (Quality Wins: Notre Dame, Indian. Losses: Mich. St., Iowa). Last Week Unranked.

-Absurd Poll Fact From AP Poll Last Week: Oklahoma St. 4-1 ranked #16 while Houston 4-1 ranked #23. One problem, Houston beat Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma St.???

-Absurd Poll Fact from USA Today Poll Last Week: Oklahoma St. 4-1 ranked #14 while Houston 4-1 ranked #23. One problem, Houston beat Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma St.???

-Absurd Poll Fact from USA Today Poll Last Week: Oklahoma 3-2 ranked #18 while BYU 5-1 ranked #19. One problem, BYU beat Oklahoma head to head and has a better record???

-Absurd Poll Fact from AP Poll Last Week: Oregon 5-1 ranked #13 while USC 4-1 ranked #6. Oregon beat Cal by a wider margin than USC and Oregon's loss was to a far superior Boise St. team than the Washington team that beat USC. If you throw tradition out the window and since there is no playoff the voters should only look at resume and Oregon should be higher than USC.

-Absurd Poll Fact from USA Today Poll Last Week: Oregon 5-1 ranked #16 while USC 4-1 ranked #5. Oregon beat Cal by a wider margin than USC and Oregon's loss was to a far superior Boise St. team than the Washington team that beat USC. If you throw tradition out the window and since there is no playoff the voters should only look at resume and Oregon should be higher than USC.

The FP keepin it real poll rids itself of these absurdities by throwing out tradition and by reevaluating each team every week based on only their resume.

This week we feel that Iowa has the best resume in the Country and should therefore be ranked #1.

Restaurant Review: Salsa and Beer

Went to Salsa and Beer last night in the SFV and was not disappointed.

Start off with chips and a spicy bean dip instead of salsa. I am a big salsa fan, but the bean dip was amazing and had the right amount of kick.

I started with a legit tortilla soup that wasn't overly Americanized like most tortilla soups these days (Chilis). I then ordered a Carnitas Chimichanga and the Carnitas were amazingly tender and appeared to have a bit of lime flavor. I washed it down with jarritos and left very satisfied, some of the best Mexican I've had in a while.

The ambience was colorful and the service was good. Price of my entree was $7.99 +1.99 to add the soup, pretty affordable.

6740 White Oak Ave
Van Nuys, CA 91406
(818) 609-8877

Fall TV Update

FP here to give you a quick summary of TV this fall:

Shark Tank:
Currently favorite show on TV. Nice touch of business, comedy, drama and tears. It is must see TV.

Amazing Race:
The best reality show going outside of Real Chance of Love.

Real Chance of Love:
Just two brothers trying to find love, it is real touching to see Real having to decide between Pocahontas and Sassy and Chance spending quality time with Mamacita.


Desperate Housewives:
I really liked last year, it appears they are going for a bit of a repeat of theme from Dave Williams with the new family with the child that tried to kill Julie, we'll stick with it for now.

One Tree Hill:
They get rid of Lucas and Payton and I am still watching? Not sure why, but I seem to be hooked again.

The Hills:
New cast as the B is back. So what if it is scripted I love the script. Kristen with JB classic.

The City:
I like the addition of Roxy she is sure mixing it up, last season was a bit of a bore, but we are off to a good start this year.

90210:
I phased it out for a bit last year, but I am back and back strong. This is quickly moving back up the list. I am starting to become attached to the characters and the plots are quite dramatic.

Survivor:
Third best reality show outside of Amazing Race and Real Chance of Love.

The Office:
The wedding was definitely cute but the comedic moments are inconsistent, but still worth watching.

Community:
Getting better every week...love you Joel McHale.

The Soup:
Comedy Gold!

So far I have been pretty entertained so no complaints here. Can't wait for Friday Night Lights in a couple of weeks.

The FP Keepin It Real Top 25 - 10/11/09

In light of the absurdity of the AP and USA Today Top 25 polls Free Parking will be releasing a weekly Top 25. The FP top 25 will be based solely on resume and results. No ranking for tradition or for last year. No ranking based on your conference. No ranking based on where you were the previous week. When you lose is unimportant, how much you lose is. You will never see something such as last week's AP poll where undefeated Iowa was ranked behind 1 Loss Penn State despite beating Penn State at Penn State. Who you beat is more important than who you lose to. Without further adieu here is the 1st poll with explanations:

1) Alabama (Wins over Va. Tech, Mississippi, Arkansas)

2) Iowa (Wins over Penn State, Michigan, Arizona)
3) Boise St. (Win over Oregon)
4) Cincinatti (Wins over Oregon St., Rutgers)
5) Florida (Win over LSU, Troy)
6) Texas (Win over Texas Tech)
7) TCU (Win over SMU)
8) Virginia Tech (Lost to Alabama, Wins over Miami, Nebraska, BC, Marshall)
9) Oregon (Lost to Boise St., Wins over Utah, Cal, UCLA)
10) Miami (Lost to Va. Tech, Wins over Ga. Tech, Oklahoma)
11) USC (Lost to Washington, Wins over Ohio St., Cal)
12) Houston (Lost to UTEP, Wins over Okla. St., Texas Tech)
13) Ohio St. (Lost to USC, Wins over Navy, Wisconsin)
14) Pitt (Lost to NC State, Wins over Navy, UConn)
15) Nebraska (Lost to Va. Tech, Win over Missouri)
16) Auburn (Lost to Arkansas, Win over West Virginia)
17) BYU (Lost to Florida St., Win over Oklahoma)
18) South Carolina (Lost to Georgia, Win over Mississippi)
19) Georgia Tech (Lost to Miami, Win over North Carolina)
20) Oklahoma State (Lost to Houston, Win over Texas A&M)
21) Wisconsin (Lost to Ohio St., Win over Minnesota)
22) Kansas (No quality wins, No losses)
23) South Florida (No quality wins, No losses)
24) Rutgers (Lost to Cincinatti, No quality wins)
25) LSU (Lost to Florida, No quality wins)

I don't think there is much you can say to dispute this poll. See you next week.

P.S. If you feel so inclined feel free to email ESPN and the BCS until I get an official ballot.