From growing up in Florida, I have worked my fair share as a server and cart girl for various golf courses.

I’ve seen a pack of wild dogs and cats steal a golf ball right off the green. I’ve seen a hawk capture a fish only to be then hunted by nasty crows to have the hawk give up on a 15lb pound catfish.

I’ve had a squirrel pee on my golf cart seat in anger because I took my snacks (that were for sale) away from him. I’ve even driven past a few, or dozens of alligators that frequent the courses in Florida.

But I have never seen a shark infested pond anywhere near a golf course until now. Make that a Bull Shark infested pond (one of the most aggressive species of sharks) with a couple of them reaching 10ft long.

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Imagine a Sunday afternoon, sitting in the bleachers of your favorite baseball team with a hot dog, a cold refreshment of choice and you are literally 20feet away from your favorite players. You can hear the players conversations, the tips from the coaches and possibly even scope out some hidden baseball signs (no binoculars needed). Now imagine paying for your ticket, food and drinks for the entire game for under $2. 

Flash forward 60 years and this same fan has been pushed out of the "real fan" seats, banished to what his wallet can afford, the dreaded upper deck. He has the same hot dog and cold refreshment, only this time, its set him back close to $100. Now add on if you care to take your family or a date to a game, and you end up broke before its time for the 7th inning stretch.

Whether you're watching from home or lucky enough to attend a live game, slowly but surely, corporations are making major decisions in every aspect of our beloved sports.

But does the drooling from team owners for corporate dollars actually help or hurt the leagues that embrace them?

Find Melissa on twitter @DalStarsWriter

Last year as a Dallas Stars fan it was hard for me as the Stars missed the playoffs for the third time in a row and I began to realize that this team was in a vast downward spiral. I wondered if the Dallas Stars would ever be back in the playoffs and be that top contender they were in the 2007-08 season. 

But I saw big changes with Marty Turco and Mike Modano, the face of the franchise for the past two decades. Also with Jere Lehtinen retiring, I knew a huge change in the locker room and in leadership was afoot. The new era is led by 

Looking back to the 2010-2011 season, I saw a lot of potential with Benn, Loui Eriksson and Alex Goligoksi. Acquired on February 21, 2011 from the Pittsburgh Penguins for James Neal and Matt Niskanen, Goligoksi also showed quick promise. Benn scored some highlight goals and he proved to everyone that he is ready for the big league. The future of the Dallas Stars is in good hands with players like these.the likes of Brenden Morrow and Jamie Benn.

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Find Susan on Twitter at @RuffStough

Dear Florida Panthers,

Thank you for losing one more game then us so we weren’t the worse team in the Eastern Conference. And considering we only won one game in all of January, we know how hard you worked to help us. Much appreciated.

Love,

Ottawa Senators and their fans

Despite free agents not playing up to par, injuries to their stars and rookies that didn’t pan out, Cory Clouston and his staff were ousted. Surprisingly, general manager Bryan Murray was charged with rebuilding this franchise rather than replaced as expected. Gotta wonder if he thinks this is punishment rather than a chance at retribution.

In an effort to fix what is so obviously broken, there was a large turnover. Eight players were shown the door including Marek Svatos, David Hale, Pascal Leclaire, Derek Smith, Cody Bass, Ryan Shannon, Curtis McElhinney and Ryan Potulny.

Seven players were ushered in but one, Lee Sweatt, retired before camp began. Nikita Filatov comes over from the Columbus Blue Jackets where he never hit the production numbers most expected from him. Will he in Ottawa? He could end up playing with Jason Spezza who didn’t exactly have solid line-mates last year. That could be a boost for the struggling Filatov.

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In the sports blog community, it may seem like a sea of endless websites. But with websites like Ballhyped, they actually help to bring them all together. Last week, Ballhyped celebrated their one year birthday by creating a video montage of all the great websites that have contributed to their network.

For those who are unaware of the site, Ballhyped is a community drive sports network that highlights the best sports stories from around the web. Each story is “hyped up” or voted up/down based on the quality so its pretty simple to figure out which stories are really catching the eyes of sports fans.

Cheers Ballhyped to a fabulous first year of many years to come.  

To celebrate, they created a video montage of all the great sports sites that contribute to Ballhyped. If you are in need of a new quality sports blog on any sport imaginable, go checkout the immense list on their birthday post itself.

Check out the video montage below mixed to 2pac’s 'Still Ballin'......

[GG is at the 12sec mark...]

You can find Dolly Reynolds on Twitter at @huladolly

Last season was one of the most interesting seasons in the history the Pittsburgh Penguins. It had a shaky start and major key losses due to injuries. Those injuries allowed other players to step up and shine, carrying the team to the play-offs.

Even with a crippled roster, they had the second most points in team history. It had the potential to be the best year ever in the history of the franchise. They were featured on an Emmy Award winning documentary by HBO and got to take part in The Winter Classic.

The heart and soul of the team was without a doubt goal tender Marc-Andre Fleury. He had a rough start to the season, but was able to get himself together and have one of the best seasons of his career. He rightfully received the team MVP award.

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Masskrugstemmen, which means “beer-mug lift” is “an endurance competition in which athletes try to hold onto an enormous beer for as long as they can. The beer-wielding arm must be held out straight, parallel to the ground and directly in front of the chest. If you spill a drop, you’re disqualified”.

First thought: What?
Second thought: “I could do that”
Third thought: Googles local Masskrugstemmen chapter. Unsuccessful.
Fourth Thought: I can start training this weekend.

Apparently the sport of Masskrugstemmen is very popular in Germany (go figure) but is starting to catch on in the States.

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[image source]

by Melissa Bowman. Follow her on Twitter @m_bow

After failing to make the playoffs in the 09-10 season, the offseason began with Scott Niedemyer retiring. Niedemyer had been a big contributor to the Ducks since he was signed in 2005. During the offseason, free agent Bobby Ryan was signed to a five-year deal and the Ducks drafted Cam Fowler in the 2010 entry draft.

The beginning of the 2010-2011 season didn’t start well for the Ducks, as their team struggled and maintain a near .500 average throughout the first couple months of the season. However, they managed to do better the second half, coming back with win after win to raise to fourth place in the Western Conference.
 
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Find Susan on Twitter @RuffStough

Stanley Cup hangovers are the stuff of legends… and curses. However, don’t go blaming that cliché for the Blackhawks lackluster defense of their title. Yeah it’s true. Everyone guns harder for the champs. 

But if you want to be honest? And I try to be honest. Then, the truth of the matter is the Blackhawks suffered huge blows in the offseason.

The team that took to the ice in October of 2010 looked very little like the one that pranced around the ice with the Stanley Cup just four months earlier.

Take the likes of Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, Kris Versteeg and Antti Niemi from the Stanley Cup champs and you don’t have a whole lot left. 

Add to that the injury woes of Marion Hossa, devil-may-care Patrick Kane, Brian Campbell and Patrick Sharp, and you get a recipe for disaster.

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Find Susan on Twitter @RuffStough

Who says money can’t buy you happiness?

One hockey team in Buffalo? 165 million dollars. Living the dream of owning your favorite hockey team? Priceless.

Such is the story of the Sabres when, in February, they were acquired by long time fan and billionaire Terry Pegula. One time season-ticket holder, Pegula finagled the Sabres from then owner Tom Golisano for about 25 million less than the asking price.

At the time of the sale the Sabres sat in tenth place in the Eastern Conference. In fact, upon reporting the news, Forbes Magazine’s Mike Ozanian declared in the comment section that the Sabres wouldn’t make the playoffs. Well. Guess who had egg on their face in April?

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