A fine was passed out after the Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants game.  Defensive end Justin Tuck for the Giants was fined seven thousand five hundred dollars for hitting Brooks Bollinger, the quarterback for the Cowboys.  Supposedly the tackle was too hard because Tuck used all of his body weight when he drove Bollinger to the ground.  I understand that it was a penalty, but should he really be fined that much?  Last time I checked, I am pretty sure the game is all about tackling.  I can understand that they are trying to protect the quarterbacks, but no one should be fined that much for a supposedly hard tackle.  I don’t get how the league can determine how tough the tackle was because of the amount of body weight Tuck used.  These are professional players in the NFL and should expect to be tackled since they are making large amounts of money.  Even Rodger Goodell, the NFL commissioner said the fine was too extreme after viewing the replay.  Tuck is supposed to appeal the fine.  He should because he is just out there on the field doing his job for the team.  Give him a penalty for the play, but don’t charge him that much.

Jared Allen from the Minnesota Vikings was also involved in another controversial play after he hit Huston’s quarterback Matt Schaub.  The tackle was considered dangerous because it was a reckless hit below the knees.  The NFL fined him fifty thousand dollars for the hit. Schaub is expected to miss two to four weeks after damaging his collateral ligament.  Allen of course was displeased with fine and wanted to appeal it as soon as he could.  Gary Kubiak, the head coach of the Huston Texans was upset with the hit by Allen and called it a dirty play.  He thought Allen did it intentionally.  But, of course, Allen denied the comments made by Kubiak saying that injuring Schaub was not his intention when he hit him.  Now it’s hard to tell whether or not it was a clean or dirty play.  But, the NFL cannot charge Allen fifty thousand dollars for that hit.  Allen did not intend to injure him because he was just going for the tackle.  Honestly, I think the only reason why Kubiak was angry at the play was because Schaub was injured.  If he was not injured, I really don’t think this play would be looked at this much.

The quarterback is another player on the team and if one is hit in a way that the NFL finds dirty and dangerous, they should not be fining players large amounts of money for these hits.  The offensive line is meant to protect the quarterback, not the NFL.  If the quarterback does not want to be hit, he can just simply go down.  Players around the league are still going to go in hard because that is how they play the game.  Give a penalty if the hit is late and unnecessary, but don’t fine the player thousands of dollars because the NFL cannot determine if the play was dirty or not.

Photo Credit: bbaltimore

Also, the game play of Rock Band 2 is well done, for one thing, the graphics have been improved and the songs are good for the most part.  There are eighty-four songs in the game ranging from pop and rock to heavy metal.  There are also twenty free songs that are available, but have not come out yet.  One way that Rock Band 2 makes extra money is by selling bonus songs that can be bought at the Xbox live store.  I think that’s fine, but what annoys me is that they are selling more songs than what are actually available in the game.  I think they could of added some more of those to the set list of songs.

Rock Band 2 is a well-created game, but they are now starting to take it too far.  I know you can create bands and play songs, but people have to realize that they are not real bands.  I think it’s pretty interesting that you and your friends can face another band online.  But, Harmonix is starting to push it by selling merchandise for bands taking part in Rock Band 2.  People can create and buy T-shirts online with the name of your band.  Your band could have the satisfaction of wearing the shirt of their band.  But, it is not going to impress anyone when you wear it around because no one is going to have a clue about what it means.  They are now starting to let people customize mini figures of themselves based on what they look like in the game.  I honestly do not know anyone who would pay money to have a figure of them in a simulated game.  Buying T-shirts and other things might be worth buying if you were in a real band, but in a game like Rock Band 2, I think its better if people just stick to the game.

Photo Credit: mark sebastian

Many people will argue who the greatest rock bands of all time are/were. Here are my top 10 of all time. Have I left anyone out?

1.  Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is easily the greatest rock band of all time.  In their music, they used a variety of genres such as blues, rock, and heavy metal.  Jimmy Page is one of the finest guitarists ever.  All of the band’s albums were epic and were unique in its own different way.  Their album Led Zeppelin IV was amazing using their mixtures of different genres.  Two great songs from that album were “Black Dog” and “Stairway to Heaven.”

2.  The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones were a successful band in the United Kingdom and when they toured through the United States.  Their single “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” was a huge hit during the mid-sixties.  What made their songs outstanding was their use of blues, pop, and rock.  From the sixties to the present day, the Rolling Stones have been a popular and influential band.

3.  Jimi Hendrix Experience
Jimi Hendrix is no doubt the best guitarist of all time.  He created the album Are You Experienced, which was a great hit with one of his most famous songs, “Purple Haze” and “Fire.”  What made his songs great were his amazing guitar solos.  “All Along the Watchtower” was one of his most impressive songs because of its amazing guitar solo.

4.  Pink Floyd
What made Pink Floyd such a legendary band was their unique effects and mixture of rock and psychedelic.  Their album Dark Side of the Moon is extremely popular selling millions of copies in the U.S.  Their song “Time” was unique because of its use of clocks and also an amazing guitar solo.

5.  The Beatles
The Beatles starting in the United Kingdom to touring through the U.S. were one of the most powerful and influential bands of all time.  They used different genres in their music like pop and rock.  Not only did their music inspire many, but also their style really influenced many.  They sold incredible amounts of records and albums reaching over a billion worldwide.

6.  Aerosmith
In the seventies, Aerosmith was easily one of the greatest rock bands.  Their early work was not as popular during their time, but after they created the album, “Toys In the Attic”, the band’s reputation skyrocketed, as they became known as great rock n’ roll musicians.  They produced incredible songs such as “Dream On”, “Sweet Emotion”, and “Walk This Way”.

7.  AC/DC
During the seventies and eighties, AC/DC were at their prime known as kings of rock n’ roll.  They produced multiple successful albums like High Voltage, Back In Black, and Highway to Hell.  Overall AC/DC sold more than two hundred million albums worldwide.  Just the album Back In Black, probably their most famous album, sold twenty two million in the United States.  It shows how great and well known their music has been.

8.  The Who
During the sixties and seventies, the Who were considered one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time.  They created numerous amounts of impressive albums like My Generation, Tommy, and Who’s Next.  Not only were their albums great, but also their live performances were exceptional.  “Baba O’ Riley” and “Pinball Wizard” were two of their most popular songs.

9.  Metallica
Throughout the eighties, Metallica was the greatest metal band that influenced many others.  Using their more complex style of metal, they created multiple famous and incredible albums like “Kill ‘Em All”, “…And Justice for All”, and “Master of Puppets”.  Their Black Album that they created sold several million in the United States.

10.  Eric Clapton
In the mid seventies, Eric Clapton was at his prime, associated with popular bands such as The Yardbirds, Cream, and Blind Faith.  He was known as the best guitarist of his time.  During his solo career he has produced a number of famous songs such as “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Layla”, “Cocaine”, and “Wonderful Tonight”.

Photo Credit: se71

Take the Chicago Cubs who were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in three games.  The Cubs during the regular season won a whopping ninety-seven games and only lost sixty-four games giving them best record in the National League.  This was supposed to be the best team the Cubs have had in close to one hundred years.  The Cubs did not take advantage of the home field advantage they earned from their record.  At home they were fifty-five and twenty-six during the regular season, but in the playoffs they lost their first two home games.  All of the Cubs’ wins throughout the season were decided in two home games in the playoffs where they did not execute and lost their opportunity to move on.  The Cubs had multiple players who were remarkable during the year, but did not perform nearly as well in the match up against the Dodgers.  Kosuke Fukudome had a two hundred fifty-seven batting average with ten home runs and fifty-eight RBIs.  In the post season he was one for ten with four strikeouts and was eventually benched because of how awful he was playing.  Alfonso Soriano performed even worse with only one hit in fourteen at bats.  Soriano had seventy-five RBIs in the regular season, but failed to get any in the three divisional playoff games.

There was so much pressure on coach Lou Penilla and the entire team since Cub fans and even fans of other teams expected them to win the World Series, particularly because of how well the team had performed throughout the regular season and all the great players they had.  But, it all came down to a three out of five game playoff with the Dodgers where they folded.  The Dodgers were ready to play and caught the Cubs off guard in the series.  Cub fans I think really counted on their team to win the World Series because of how long it has been since they last won and wanted to let go of the so called “curse” on them.  But, no fan can be completely confident on their team winning, because in the MLB playoffs any team who makes the playoffs has a chance of winning.  The Dodgers did not have as good as a record as the Cubs and were not expected to win the series against them.  I think they had nothing to loose and were not under as much pressure as the Cubs were.  Major factors that lead to the defeat of the Cubs were the fans and media before and throughout the post season.  The Cubs probably had the thought of the curse and not winning a World Series in one hundred years.  That definitely was a distraction for them as they were trying to focus on what they had to do to win the series and move on.  They needed to take it one game at a time, but instead they had the mind set of winning the World Series for themselves and everyone who had high hopes of them winning.

Personally I think that teams who get the best record to acquire home field advantage throughout the post season rely to heavily on it.  For the Cubs, I believe that playing at Wrigley Field their first two games actually hurt them with the pressure from the fans and the thoughts of the history that has occurred in the past one hundred years.  But, besides the history the Cubs just did not perform well and the Dodgers made them pay.  It was sad to see how a team who was outstanding through a one hundred sixty two game season, be swept in a three out of five series to be eliminated completely from any chance of glory.  Cub fans can only grieve from the defeat and will have to see what happens next year.

Photo Credit: maura