3 - Pointer by Gary WhittakerWritten by Gary Whittaker
3-pointer by Gary WhittakerPoint 1 - Red Sox Win! Red Sox Win! There will NOT be a bigger sporting event this year than saga that was 200 ALCS between little Red Sox team defeating big bad Yankees. The stories involve Pedro Martinez calling whole damn Yankees as his "Daddy", to Mariano Rivera coming back to pitch in game 4 after 2 "shocking" deaths in his wife's family. From Schilling making baseball a MAN'S sport by pitching off a bleeding ankle, to Red Sox making HISTORY with 1st EVER come from behind 0 games to 3 to win best of 7 game series. If it took a home run race between McGuire and Sosa to break all-time record to bring life back to baseball, 2004 ALCS will be known for bringing excitement back to a nation that was in dire need of a diversion from 9/11, Presidential debates, and war. Although this battle was a far cry from a David vs. Goliath, people still tried to make it seem as though it was. New York had history, tradition, and Curse of Bambino on their side, not to mention a 182 MILLION dollar payroll (that's in 1 baseball season folks!). The little old Red Sox had only 125 Million dollar payroll (number 2 after Yankees, and another 24 million ahead of number 3 Angels), an almost 9 decade drought, and that big curse against them. It will be interesting to now see what comparisons are drawn to a Cardinal team that is near middle of pack (11th overall) with a whopping 50 million dollars less than Red Sox. I think this one will be over when fat lady sings, as Sox will be Fat Lady making fried chicken out of Cardinals. Point 2 - Big Cecil, Big Debts Detroit loved Cecil Fielder, who made over 47 million dollars during his career as a major leaguer. Cecil "Big Daddy" Fielder was one of first in modern day era to bring Home Run hitting over 50 mark in 1990, something that had not been done in American League for almost 30 years. 13 seasons, 319 Home Runs, 1 World Series ring, and 47 million dollars later, Big Daddy is in hiding over debts owed to various groups or people. For average man, it is unfathomable that someone who can own a 50 bedroom house, purchased for only 3.7 million (less than 10% of his career earnings), can now be over 9 million dollars in debt...and in hiding. With Cecil in midst of a divorce, we can only hope that Cecil gets help he needs, declares bankruptcy, and moves on. The life of luxury may be over for him, but that does not mean he needs to ruin rest of it.
| | Selecting Flies for the Pacific SteelheadWritten by Cameron Larsen
Popular flies for Steelhead vary greatly whether you are fishing in Pacific region or in Great Lakes. The fisheries have developed separately and so have preferences anglers have for flies cast to their intended prey. We will primarily concentrate on Steelhead flies on West Coast in this article and concentrate on flies of Great Lakes region in a future article. There are some common patterns used in both regions as well, and we will point those out as we go along.Fly fishing for Steelhead can be traced back to Eel River, in Northern California, during late 1800’s.. And many of first Steelhead pattern’s roots can be traced back to same era as well. There were a few problems during this time, and none more crucial than lack of material with which to tie flies. Standard featherwing trout patterns became foundation of many steelhead patterns. Other patterns were adopted from English trout patterns and Atlantic Salmon patterns. Many of today’s most popular Steelhead patterns can be traced back to these beginnings. Green Butt Skunk, Skykomish Sunrise, Purple Peril, to name just a few all hail back to these early beginnings. I keep several fly boxes stocked just for steelhead, I always think I’ll leave a few home, before I head out, but rarely do. How many flies you decide to carry is up to you, but there a few things to consider when selecting an assortment of flies. The most popular colors for Steelhead flies are as follows: black, orange, purple, red, and chartreuse. The key is to have a variety of colors in fly box before heading out. Although old adage “bright days, bright flies, dark days, dark flies,” is a decent starting place. One also remember time of day one will be fishing. Summer steelheading is done mostly in darker hours, and therefore dark flies are popular like aforementioned Green Butt Skunk, and its variations.
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