Wouldn't you know it, on the day I choose to hype "Double A", he goes 1-for-7 from the field for six points in the first half. The Pistons are trailing the Mavs by six.

In the first three games, Afflalo is averaging 19.3 points and 4.0 rebounds.

With Rodney Stuckey out of the lineup again because of his bad toe, Afflalo has taken on more of a playmaker role today. He leads everyone with six assists. It's almost like he's switched places Will Bynum, who got the start at point guard. Bynum is 6-for-8 for 14 points.

Call it the TrueHoop curse. Afflalo missed all six of his shot attempts after intermission, finishing with seven points and six assists.

The Pin is hidden at the cave, where the swimming pool is.

The furniture catalog came out. It has pretty neat stuff

Here are the secrets

Click the Upright Piano for the Guitar Stand

Click the Coffee Shop Tree for the Vegetable Garden

Click the leaves of the Palm Tree for the Flower Planter

Click the Seaweed for the Clam

There is also new music this is what they have added.

Also, the Night Club is being reconstructed for the upcoming New DJ Game! If you hover your mouse over the ‘Fragile’ box, the DJ equipment comes to life.

everything this week has a music theme. Comment if you like the music theme.

Thats all for now...

Waddle On

~Sciarpino-

Rivers Ridout singled to start the game and advanced to second on a passed ball. Deion Byrd hit a sharp liner to the Texarkana West center fielder who dropped the ball, scoring Ridout and allowing Byrd to reach safely. Two outs later, a single by Brady Anderson scored Byrd to give Searcy American the 2-0 lead.

The score would remain 2-0 until the top of the fourth inning. After Ridout led off with a single, Byrd and Austin Calhoun followed with singles of their own to score Ridout from second base. Kane Malnar walked with no outs and was followed by Anderson who hit a single to center field. A throwing error by the Texarkana West center fielder scored Byrd and Calhoun to give Searcy the 5-0 lead. It also allowed Malnar to reach second safely.

In the bottom of the fourth, Malnar, Searcy American's pitcher of record, allowed Texarkana West to score its two runs to cut into the Searcy lead. Malnar struck out the next three batters to end the threat with Searcy up 5-2.

After quiet fifth inning by both teams, Calhoun led off the sixth with a sharp double to the center-field wall. Malnar's single sent Calhoun to third putting runners on the corners with no outs in the inning. Calhoun scored from third on a grounder to the shortstop and Malnar advanced to third base on a throwing error.

With two outs, Lucas Lawson drove in Malnar with a double and moved Lawson into scoring position. Devon Van Winkle drove in Lawson and later crossed home plate on Hunter Wood's single as Searcy American claimed the seven-run win.

Malnar picked up the win with a very dominant performance on the mound. After Malnar forced the first two Texarkana West batters to pop out and the third to ground out to start the game, the young hurler struck out the next seven batters he faced. He allowed two runs on four hits while striking out 10 and walking none. Malnar's night was short lived due to Dixie League tournament rules that allows a pitcher to only throw 13 innings. Anderson, who struck out three while allowing no runs on two hits, replaced Malnar.

With the win, Searcy American claimed the state title and will advance to the Dixie League 12-year-old closed-base World Series in LaGrange on Aug. 4-9. Their first opponent in the double-elimination tournament will be a team from Alabama at 8 p.m. Aug. 4.

Mark Haney
The Daily Citizen

Favre has recently been wanting to be reinstated to the NFL to play with the Packers, only if he can be the starting quarterback, but they will only welcome him back to the organization if he'll be a back-up to his successor, Aaron Rodgers. As a result, Favre has been whining and complaining and whining and camplaining and whining and complaining and whining and complaining.

So, let's talk about Brett Favre? Let's not. If you want to hear my opinion on Favre, then brace yourself -- it's an ugly one. Every summer we have to hear these bogus stories about players getting in trouble or doing something moronic. In 2005 it was Terrell Owens. 2006 it was -- I think? -- Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson. 2007 it was Michael Vick's dogfighting case. 2008 is Brett Favre. There's thousands of people out there posting opinions on this. If you want to read them, go search 'em up.

What I really wanted to talk about is a subject that only Rams fans can truly delve into. A write-up on Torry Holt and how he will fare this season. In February '07, Holt had knee surgery. Now, non-Rams fans will tell you that he's washed up and isn't the same player. However, he IS the same player.

Holt had the surgery following the 2006 season (93 catches, 1,188 yards, 12.8 YPC, 10 touchdowns). In 2007, he virtually matched those stats (93 catches, 1,189 yards, 12.8 YPC, 7 touchdowns). Sure, he only had seven touchdowns, but you can't fault him there. If you were even the least bit cognitive during the 2007 NFL season, you would know that the St. Louis Rams were a mecca for injured players, especially the offensive line. The o-line played musical chairs, Marc Bulger got banged up, Steven Jackson was banged up because defensive lineman and linebackers were getting clear, easy shots at him due to the lack of o-line protection, and Gus Frerotte and Brock Berlin platooned each other in different weeks to see who would be the starting QB, even after Ferotte was injured!

Holt's clearly unhappy with the Rams' front office. Or, well, it seems like it (I can't blame him one bit). His brother Terrence signed with the Carolina Panthers (Torry and Terrence grew up in North Carolina) earlier in the off-season, and Torry, while playing at a golf event, was asked if he'd ever leave the Rams. He didn't say he would, but he did mention that he would enjoy playing in his home state with his brother on the Panthers, but left his comments with a simple, "We'll see what happens in two years" (when his contract runs up).

The IF factor is again the Rams' fate predictor for the 2008 season. IF the Rams o-line can stay reasonable healthy, Marc Bulger will be able to EASILY deliver the ball to Holt and other receivers (Drew Bennett, Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton, Reche Caldwell, Dante Hall, and, if needed, Dane Looker) with precision. However, the ability for the o-line to allow Bulger time in the back field to scan the receivers is insufficient, thus rendering Holt's receiving services useless.

In case you never figured it out: the three teams I root for in the NFL are the St. Louis Rams (obviously), Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons. No, it has nothing to do with any kind of that bandwagon crap (the three teams finished with the worst records in the league last season!) or the 'better chance of having a team win the Super Bowl' BS theory. As explained a LONG time ago (I'm sure I have, but to the new readers out there, I'll explain again), I've always been a Rams fan, my father was a Phins fan (made for some great football arguments that were incredibly comical), and my father and I -- both Virginia Tech Hokies fans -- were Michael Vick fans; so, when Vick joined the Falcons, we took a big interest in the Falcons. He passed away in December 2003 (as I've mentioned many times on here), so he didn't witness the Vick debacle. Anyhow, I still follow the Falcons and keep up with them, which I will continue doing.

For my NFL viewing, mediocrity rules, and I don't seem to mind it.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland was shopping for clothes in New York during the All-Star break when someone he described only as a former “great player” offered a few tips on how Sheffield could improve his swing.

Sheff knocked one out last night after the tweak and almost had a second one.

Gold medalist Laura Wilkinson has sued to gain a synchronized diving spot that would remove Elwood's 15-year-old Mary Beth Dunnichy from the U.S. Olympic team.

[. . .]

The 10-page filing asks that Wilkinson and Jessica Livingston be placed on the team in the synchro 10-meter platform event, or that another competition be held against Dunnichay and Haley Ishimatsu.

[. . .]

Even though Wilkinson and Livingston had a slightly higher average at a selection camp, 329.88 to 327.32, a panel picked the Ishimatsu/Dunnichay team because it had the highest single score (346.98) of four rounds and a higher "projected competition score," according to the complaint.

I wonder why nobody's done a reality show yet in which the contestants try to come up with the most inappropriate things to sue someone over. No, that wouldn't do -- it would threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system, wouldn't it?

ACC Nation will begin its in-depth (or at least as in-depth as we get) football previewsthe week of July 28. For the four weeks beginning on July 28, we'll have three podcasts per week instead of just one. Each podcast will focus one one team. We'll also have a preview and a feature story on each team on ACCNation.com.

We'll also have lots of good stuff next week from the ACC Football Kickoff at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga.

As for this week, not to be outdone by Will, I'd thought I'd give you my preseason predictions on how I see teams finishing this season. I'll give a brief reason why I think each team will finish where I have them, and in parentheses you'll see the date that we'll post both the podcast and website preview for each team.

I've gone out on a limb on some of these, but what's the fun in making predictions if you can't go out on a limb now and again? I'm sure I'll hear from some of you (especially Miami fans), so let me have it (and, when calling me names, be creative).

Coastal

1. Virginia Tech (Aug. 14)-- 11-1, 7-1. I'm sure the Hokies could stumble at several places (ECU, at UNC, at Nebraska come to mind) on the schedule, but I see them losing only at FSU. Something tells me Frank Beamer and Bud Foster will surprise people with this VT team. I just believe Tech is one of those teams that can replace big-time players with big-time players.

2. Virginia (Aug. 13)- 7-5, 5-3 -- I like the skill positions, especially running back. If the line can block and UVa. gets anything from the defense, I think the Cavaliers can manage this schedule. I love the linebackers and I like the secondary. The defensive line situation worries me, but not enough to think it will cause major problems.

3. North Carolina (Aug. 12) -- 6-6, 4-4 -- Can the young players deal with all the preseason hype? I'm not sure, plus I'm not sold that Greg Little is the answer at running back. He'll have to show me more than just two games at the end of the year. The linebackers are young and T.J. Yates missed the spring. Better, but not as good as most everyone is predicting.

4. Georgia Tech (July 30)-- 4-8, 2-6 -- Paul Johnson will get the job done, but it's a little too early to expect much this season. The offense has to learn a completely new system. The defense will also be learning, but I think you'll see a more consistent unit with Dave Wommack replacing Jon Tenuta. Josh Nesbitt will carry a lot of responsibility and the faster he learns the better the Jackets will play.

5. Duke (July 29)-- 4-8, 2-6 -- I really like the hiring of David Cutcliffe, but don't expect too much in his first season. That being said, I love Thaddeus Lewis and his receivers, including Eron Riley, and if the line can give them any time, the Blue Devils will score points this year. The defense will be better, especially up front. Count on it: Duke will win a conference game this year (I'm actually predicting two).

6. Miami (July 31) -- 3-9, 1-7 -- I worry about a team that can lose 48-0 in its last game ever at the Orange Bowl and a coaching staff that lets that happen. This team is young, there is no experience at quarterback and the Hurricanes have a brutal schedule. I know predicting Miami to finish behind Duke seems crazy, but call it a gut feeling.

Atlantic

1. Wake Forest (Aug. 21)-- 11-1, 7-1 -- This is the fastest, and may very well be the best, defense in the ACC. Wake will continue to force turnovers and put its offense in great position this season. You won't see Riley Skinner throwing as much, with the offense relying on Josh Adams and the ground game. The O-line has some question marks. The schedule shapes up nicely with an early trip to Tallahassee before FSU has all of its players back from suspension and a Thursday night home game against Clemson.

2. Clemson (Aug. 6)-- 10-2, 6-2 -- There's not a better set of skill players in the conference, although the offensive line has some holes. So does the defense, especially at linebacker. Clemson seems to be everyone's pick to win the ACC and I think they have a shot, but look for the Tigers to stumble against some team that shouldn't beat them (at UVa.?). Look, I like Clemson, just not as much as I like Wake.

3. Maryland (Aug. 19)-- 9-3, 5-3 -- This is my surprise team. I do wonder who will be the quarterback, but if the Terps can settle on one guy things will be just fine in College Park. Even with losses at running back, the Terps have talent, and the receivers are among the best in the conference. The defense could be a problem, although linebacker looks like a strength for Maryland.

4. Florida State (Aug. 7)-- 6-6, 4-4 -- A tough schedule and questions at quarterback worry me when it comes to FSU. The offensive line will also be a headache all season. The linebackers will be solid, but the Seminoles could struggle up front and in the secondary (again) on defense. If FSU stays healthy and proves it can score points, maybe things improve over recent years, but I don't see it.

5. North Carolina State (Aug. 20)- 6-6, 4-4 -- Like FSU and Maryland in this division, NC State needs to settle on a quarterback. If healthy (a big if) the running backs are very talented and may be the best part of this offense. I like the defensive line, but the rest of the defense could be a problem. Next year this team could contend for a division title, but not this season with Wake and Clemson leading the way.

6. Boston College (Aug. 5)-- 5-7, 1-7 -- Josh Haden will be very good at BC, but I'm not sure that will be the case this season for the true freshman. If Chris Crane is solid, he will have some weapons at receiver, but the offensive line is a concern again. And I don't think Crane will win games late like Matt Ryan did last year. The defense is good enough, but has some questions, especially in the secondary. Last year was magical for the Eagles. This year, not so much.

 very nice
Not much I can say about it. I keeps track of strokes. I like that you can subtract if you make a mistake. I just wish it had the abilility to keep score for atleast 2 players.