My Favorite Blank

I see a lot of programs using referral contests to help grow their memberships. I think this is a great idea and helps to make more people active in all the various programs that are out there. I just seen a referral contest that will begin on May 1st and a lot of nice prizes are going to be given away. I will be sure to update you with more details later if you would like to get in on a good referral contest.

For the program it self, it does make more members active. It also brings in new members and hopefully they will bring in new members and a program can really benefit from a referral contest. Have you ever competed in a referral contest? Perhaps you won a prize in a referral contest already. If you have won something in a referral contest, please be sure to share your stories. How many referrals did you get and how long did the contest run for?

At my house we often leave the carport light on all night. The bulb doesn’t stay illuminated all night, because we have motion sensor lights on our carport. So if someone drives up the driveway at night, the motion will cause the lights to come on and they can see to get out of their cars. It’s really great and saves electricity, but if the weather is windy outside it can cause small limbs or leaves to set the lights off frequently. Once the lights are triggered they will usually stay on for 4 or 5 minutes.

Now one thing that always gets me is when the cats set it off. We don’t own any cats but have several neighborhood cats that like to frequent our yard at night. So the cats will go by our carport and cause the lights to come on. It always startles me when I get up in the middle of the night and see it dark out there and suddenly the motion detector picks up one of those cats and causes the lights to come on. I guess as much as it startles me, would be the same way it would work for a burglar too. So having motion lights outside isn’t a bad way to set up a security system for your home too!

My Atlanta Hawks will be going to Boston this weekend to start their playoff series with the Boston Celtics. I will also be making this trip with them and supporting my local NBA basketball team. I believe this will be the greatest spring vacation I have ever had! The folks around here are really excited to see the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs this year. It has been a very, very long time since the Hawks have made the playoffs, so this is exciting for us in the Atlanta area. If there is anyone that could give me tips on Things to do in Boston, I would appreciate it!

I have found one place that I think can help me and it’s a company called Trusted Tours and Attractions. They offer discounts on some of the bigger cities in the U.S. and lucky for me that Boston is one of them. The discounts you get are on sightseeing tours and a city that is as rich as Boston, Massachusetts in history; I will definitely want to see all the great things the city has to offer. So this isn’t just a spring time vacation to support the Atlanta Hawks, but a chance to visit the Boston area and take in some cultural.

I know the Hawks are huge underdogs for this playoff series and it’s rare to see a 8th seed team in the NBA playoffs beat a 1 seed, but I think the Hawks have a chance to beat the Boston Celtics. We have more athletes than they do and if we can get in a running game with them, we can certainly tire them out. It’s just great to have our own team in the playoffs this year that we can root for.

So please send me all your tips and suggestions for things to do in the Boston area and I will also check with Trusted Tours and Attractions and see exactly what they have to offer. You can save money too in cities you might be visiting and all you need to do is sign up for the newsletter. Now would be a good time to do so, because they are offering a handheld GPS system and all you need to do is sign up for the newsletter by Monday April 30th, 2008! 

Newsletter Sign Up Page:  http://www.trustedtours.com/newsletter.aspx

Do you have an article or a blog post you would like more people to see? You can submit your web articles to different places online and have more people getting a chance to read your thoughts, opinions, suggestions or ideas on a certain topic. This is a great way for the bloggers out there to get more exposure for their writing skills. Submitting your articles to a place like Web-Articles.info is a good place to start. You don’t have to pay anything for this service and it’s completely FREE! This is a great way of spreading your articles to a wider audience and getting the word out about your thoughts on a particular subject matter. I think bloggers will find this service very useful and creates a better blogging athmosphere for all that’s involved. So take time out and submit your articles for free and I look forward to reading them later on!

The bulldogs from Athens, Georgia is getting ready to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks for the winner of the SEC basketball conference. This should be a good game and I can’t wait for the tip off that is about 30 minutes away. Even the storms in Atlanta can’t stop this match up today from happening. The skies are crystal clear and very blue over the Atlanta city skyline.

It will be important for Georgia to continue what they have been doing and that’s the tough and scrappy defense that has got them here. They get into foul trouble playing this way, but it’s prove to be effective to this point. Hopefully our players from Georgia will make it to halftime with 2 fouls or less for our top 7 or 8 players on the team. The whole team has been working the magic in this SEC tourney run and I hope that continues today in the Championship Game.

It was tough on our boys to have played back to back games and now have to turn around play a 3rd game in 2 days. They are young, strong and determined and as far as I am concerned, they are already champions in my book. Let’s hope the basketball gods are kind to them one more time and let them get out of the SEC with a championship that they deserve so much. Go Dawgs!!!

My twin nephews turned 3 in December and I believe they have learned a lot during those 3 years. They can sing songs, say the alphabet, know some of the state capitals and they know what they like to watch on television. They are both much smarter than I was when I was 3 years old. They don’t even like their kiddie toys anymore and want the stuff they know they are not suppose to have. I guess even as adults we keep that little trait going; wanting things we can’t have. I think they will make an easy transition to when school starts for them, since they have learned to play with each other and will have each other at school. I know they won’t be this size forever, so I try to enjoy them now and I just wonder how much of this they will remember when they get older.

I’m looking for some really good blogs. Maybe you have one your self or know someone that does have a good blog. I am looking to get ideas for my own blogs and wanted to see what others might have on their blogs, that make them really good blogs. Please be sure to let me know some of the great blogs you have found online or maybe you have put a lot of hard work and time in your blog and want to show it off. Now is your opportunity and I am looking for the best blogs that the blogosphere has to offer.

It’s ok if they are famous blogs or perhaps a big media outlet or company blog. Just any blogs that you visit and seen something you really liked about them. I’m always looking to increase my reader base and attract as many readers and visitors to my blogs. I thought if I could see what others were doing, maybe I could learn some new things and help drive traffic to some of my blogs. I have 4 blogs at the momment that I blog in pretty regulary, but I think this blog and my Single Source Writing blog are my favorite two blogs.

My Favorite Blank has a PR ranking of 2 and I just can’t seem to get Single Source Writing ranked with Google’s ranking system. If you have any suggestions on how I might can get my Single Source Writing blog ranked with Google; then please be sure to pass that along too. I really would like to get that blog ranked, after all the hardwork I have put into that blog.

So please let me know what some of your blogs look like or let me know who you think have some really high quality or nice looking blogs. I look forward to seeing all the blogs that get submitted to this post.

It’s that time of the year and some have already started drafting their fantasy baseball teams. I love to play fantasy baseball and I have managed to win a few leagues I have been in over the years. When I started playing fantasy sports in the 80’s, we didn’t have the luxuries of the internet to get all the fantasy tips available now or have the ability to follow our players with real time stats, like you can do now. It’s changed a lot over the last 20 years, but fantasy sports are still fun to play.

Now getting your baseball team ready to compete in your fantasy league is easy to do with fantasy baseball software. This software can allow you to see player rankings based on Predictive Modeling by PhD scientists, draft data tool assistance for draft day, full season roster management with updated mid-season projections, and all those injury and stats reports for the latest news in fantasy baseball. Software like this can help any fantasy baseball owner to win their league this year!

Some people actually make money from wining their fantasy baseball leagues. If this sounds like you and you would like to try and win money from the various fantasy baseball leagues that pay cash prizes, you will really want to get the software from Fantasy Sports Prophet. If you decide you want to try their fantasy baseball software out; please be sure to use promo code: BMC200 and this will save you $10! Now you won’t only win your league each year, but you will dominate! Good luck to all the fantasy baseball owners out there and now it’s time to PLAY BALL!

Is food always on your mind? Do have a recipe that people want to borrow from you all the time? Do you want to find other great recipes online? If you said yes to any of these questions or perhaps all three; then you really should head on over to www.foodconnect.com. This is a great place where others have as much love for food as you do. It’s a social networking place where others get together and share all of those delicious recipes you have had for years or maybe was handed down from generation to generation. You can also talk about planning certain meals or just about how you do your grocery shopping every week. The best part about Food Connect is you can do all of this and it’s FREE! It’s just a good place you can get together with others that share the same passion for food and good eating as you do.

There is already a nice selection of food recipes you can make for your family tonight or have something new to bring to the next family reunion. You can browse through recipes in Appetizers, Cakes, Meats, Poultry, Pasta, Salads, Seafood, Soups and other great categories are available too.

www.foodconnect.com is the ultimate tool for every foodie.

What makes foodconnect.com so great? These and many other features:

- Free nutritional analysis, for all recipes on the site and every recipe you submit.
- Share your recipes with your friends and other foodies.
- Discuss recipe ideas and techniques.
- Plan your meal and easily print off your shopping list.
- Create the perfect dinner party

All of this and much more and best of all its all free. Get to foodconnecct.com to get started today.

Do you remember Sally riding her mustang? She was the one needing to slow her mustang down, but all Sally wanted to do was ride. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that song being played at a club, bar or someone trying to sing it for karaoke night. It’s one of those songs that as soon as the lyrics start up, everybody around starts singing along. You can’t blame ol Sally; I think the Ford Mustang is one of the best cars that have ever been made. Ford has a lot of good trucks they have put out over the years, but not really a lot of good car models. The Ford Mustang is what gives them the ability to sell some of the other cars they make. It doesn’t take a genius to know that, even Sally knew to get a Ford Mustang so she could right it all over town.

I saw a great Mustang blog that has a lot of information to all the Mustang lovers out there. You can check out some really nice looking gals over there too and if you haven’t got a 2008 calendar yet; you might want to get their 2008 calendar. You might not see a lot of cars on it, but it should help you to remember some of the months better!

I noticed they have an advertisement on their Mustang blog for a silver Mustang event that will be happening in May. This will be the first annual event for this and it’s being referred to as the”Silver in the Hills Cruise”. This will take place in Stone Mountain, Georgia; which is about an hour away from my house in Canton, Georgia. I have been to Stone Mountain many times and if you’re coming to Georgia, you want to make sure you see Stone Mountain and eat at the Varsity too! There is a lot to do in Stone Mountain and you can spend the whole day there. The warmer months is fun because you can check out the laser show at Stone Mountain at night and this Mustang event that will be held in May; will be a nice treat for them if they stick around for the laser show. I might just have to make my way down there for this 2 day event and see all the awesome silver Mustangs that will be rolling in to the park at Stone Mountain. I might see Sally show up and get to see her Mustang too!

It’s always good to see where other webmasters are getting their most hits from. I have seen a sharp increase in my website hits since Trafficera has openned it’s doors. It’s been a great place to drive more traffic to all of my favorite websites. My traffic exchange and blogs are all seeing an increase in traffic and it’s all due to the popularity of a place like Trafficera.

Have you signed up for Trafficera yet? It’s growing rapidly everyday and lots of folks are climbing aboard and seeing that more traffic is possible with Trafficera. There is so many great benefits to those that choose to upgrade. It does cost more to upgrade at Trafficera; compared to the industry standards of other traffic exchanges. I have found that if you can bite the bullet and pay for the $34 upgrade to Platinum, get your lifetime to 100,000 PV (1 star at Trafficera) and can get 1 or 2 referrals in your downline to upgrade, you won’t have to ever pay out of your pocket again for the upgrades. You just need to sell your credits each week and be sure you max out the amount you can sell and you will get logibucks in return. These logibucks are not cash, but are like cash when it comes to upgrading at Trafficera. You can use these logibucks to pay for your upgrades each month and save up enough of these logibucks and you can purchase your platinum membership in 2 or 3 month purchases and this saves you even more money. Try upgrading over at Trafficera and you will see the big difference compared to the Silver Membership free members have.

I have seen another new website come on the scene and it looks like it has a lot of promise to it. It’s called Buddy Pond and it came from the creators of the Marketing Pond. This looks like a good website for advertising and earning a little bit of money online. If you can build up an active downline, you will be able to make a steady stream of income from the Buddy Pond. Not many folks are showing Buddy Pond referral pages at Trafficera yet and this would be a good time to get over there and start promoting over there. Buddy Pond and Trafficera could be a couple of great marketing tools you can help advertise your websites and make a little money while your doing it.

It’s just a matter of time before Trafficera becomes the biggest traffic exchange on the internet. Get in now and help reap the rewards of being a part of something that will be so big one day. TS 25 and TrafficPods have both done very well for Logicscape, but I see their newest toy on the advertising market will soon be bigger than both of those fine traffic exchanges combine!

So what are your tips on advertising online? Do you have any great places that you can count on each day, week or month to bring traffic to your websites? Please be sure to share your best online marketing tools and maybe we can all work together and grow our interest online bigger and better for the rest of 2008 and the years beyond that!

***If you need help getting referrals, please try Star Referrals and add your banner to their website. It’s a great place to find referrals for any program and getting those unique visitors to your website!
 

It’s almost time for the Overstock.com’s Valentine’s Day Game where you can win a special Valentines Day gift for your sweetheart! This contest will start on January 25th and I see it’s almost midnight now. I’m staying up to see if they turn it loose at midnight tonight or if it will be sometime on Friday when this great Valentines contest gets under way. You can go ahead and enter your email now and they will let you know when the contest starts.

The winner will have the ability to choose from 1000’s of gifts from Overstock.com. I think if I won I would be leaning toward the boot department. I see a lot of different types of boots that I like over there. They really have a lot of stuff to choose from and the winner will have a tough time just picking out one prize from all the different things they do carry.

Overstock.com’s “Game O Love” is going to be pretty popular this Valentine Day season. I would imagine thousands and thousands of people will be entering their Valentine contest. You will have the chance to surprise your loved-one on Valentines Day, because the contest will be over on February 11th. Let’s just hope their server can hold out for all the people that are going to be rushing to their website to get in on this contest. A lot of people will anxiously be waiting to see if they won in the Game O Love contest.

The biggest names and the best stars that skate around on the ice are going to be making their way to Atlanta on January 26. This is due to the NHL selecting Altanta as the host of the 2008 NHL All Star Game. The two day event will take place January 26-27 and the folks in Georgia are ready. We want to prove to some of the northern states and Canada that we have a little bit of puck knowledge here in the Dirty South.

The Atlanta Thrashers will be represented in the All Star Game and look for Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa to get some of the biggest roars from the hometown fans. I think the SuperSkills competiton is better than the actual All Star Game. I like seeing how these guys compete against each other in some of the challenges they have to do individually. You get to see which guys have the most speed on the ice and just which NHL All Star has the best control of the puck. They get to launch pucks at targets that will be placed in the nets. You don’t get to see this in a normal NHL Game, so its a chance to let the fans see what these guys really do have. If your wondering who can shoot the puck the hardest, then tune in to the SuperSkills competition from Atlanta and you can find out which player strikes the puck best. These puck speeds will get up around 100 mph and it shows you just how strong and fast these guys are. I wouldn’t want to be an NHL Goalie with pucks traveling at me; with speeds around 100 MPH. Pads or no pads, that’s gonna hurt!

I will give my prediction for the All Star Game that will take place at Phillips Arena (where the Atlanta Thrashers play) on Sunday January 27th. I have to go with the Eastern Squad of All Stars and I think they will notch two more goals than the Western NHL All Stars with a final score being in the double digits for the East.

Western Conference All Stars   9

Eastern Conference All Stars   11

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Now let’s get out there and git’er done!

Another one of my favorite blogs is Single Source Writing. This is a favorite of mine and probably because it is another one of my blogs……lol. Yes, I am the author of Single Source Writing and it’s another blog that I post a wide range of topics on. The main thing about Single Source Writing is the fact that I feature Alex from YouTube on Single Source Writing. The You Tube Sensation Alex is a very talented 15 year-old girl from Mexico, that sings and does other things on her webcam. She has quite a following at You Tube and I thought I would start showing her videos on my blog. I write them up from time to time and try to let people know about the latest news and information coming out of Alex’s world.

Alex’s Video About Single Source Writing

You can keep up with Alex at Single Source Writing. I’m just waiting for someone to discover her and she has her own band, music video, or maybe a show on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. It’s great that someone with something to give and works well in front of the camera can get noticed with sites like YouTube and MySpace that allow users to upload videos of theirselves.

Some other topics I cover at Single Source Writing is Business, Consumer, Finance, Marketing, SEO, Shopping, Social, Technology and Travel. Be sure to go over there and leave any comments on posts that you see at Single Source Writing that might interest you. Thanks in advance for checking out my other blog!

I like to read other people’s blogs. This is a great linking opportunity for anybody that wants to get their blog link on my blog. Reply to this post and leave your blog link as your website and I will be sure to go check out your blog. If you don’t have a blog of your own; then just leave the link of a blog that you do like.

They are some really good blogs out there. Some blogs earn their owner/owners more than 5 million dollars a year! Its true; if you have the right advertisers for your blog and they want to use your blog for promotional purposes, they will pay bloggers a nice chunk of change to have that blogger advertise for them. I take paid posts from time to time, but I haven’t found anyone that wants to pay me millions yet. If somebody did want to pay me 1 million dollars to advertise for them; it would be my best blogging ever! I would tear up the keyboard and the whole blogosphere world and would make sure that advertiser was happy with their advertisement.

So if you have a million dollars you want to spend on advertising, just let me know! Or you can simply leave a reply and tell me about some of the best blogs that are out there. I look forward to reading the new blogs from the replies!

There use to be a man that would go through diners, laudromats, bus stations, shelters and thrift stores giving away $100 dollar bills. He would say it was his way of giving back for Christmas, since he had been so blessed in his lifetime. That man went unknown for a long time and later it was discovered that his name was Larry Stewart.

Now recently a woman that was homeless and trying to find a way back to her home in Minneapolis ran across a stranger on a December afternoon. She had sat and talked with this stranger that had a red coat and red hat. After talking for a bit, the man quietly got up and slipped her a $100 bill and told the poor woman that it was a tribute to Larry Stewart. So now a new Santa or “Larry Stewart” has emerged and leaves one wondering where this gesture might lead. Maybe the man in the red coat will continue the legacy of Larry Stewart and start passing out $100 bills. Perhaps it was just a really sad story that the woman told and the man felt the need for this generosity one time. I would expect others to hear about this and wouldn’t be surprised to see the Secret Santa continue to live on.

Larry Stewart passed away earlier this year at the age of 58.

Who is the second best player in the NBA game today? I think most would agree that Kobe Bryant is the best and that leaves the door open for who is the 2nd best. A lot of good candidates like Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, LeBron James or Kevin Garnett could be a solid pick as the second best player in the NBA.

In my mind there is no doubts that Tracy McGrady posses the 2nd best talent in the game today. His skills are phenomenal and he can score against anybody in the league. He has the ability to drive the ball to the hole and dunk on you with amazing hops. He can stroke the mid-range jumper and the long-three too. His defense is smothering and can shut down opponents when he chooses to do so. He is one guy that you don’t want getting off the last shot in a game. He lives for those moments and he’s one of the best clutch shooters when it comes to the crunch time late in games. I think he’s a complete player and Kobe Bryant is the only one that could beat him in a game of one-on-one. Tracy McGrady is the 2nd best player in the NBA and the rest of the guys fall below him!

I recently saw a NBA Rankings poll come out and I couldn’t believe where some of the teams were ranked at. I figure I would help those guys out and give a ranking system that is more true to form. My rankings are based on the talent that each team has. Now if that team decides to use that talent or not, is up to them. Some of my high ranking teams might have poor records to this point, but they could be a lot better with coaching or choosing which players to play or not. So let’s start with the top teams and work our way down.

1. Atlanta Hawks - Clearly the most talented team in the NBA. While Joe Johnson might seem like the star player in Atlanta, he is actually tied for the 8th spot with Zaza Pachulia and the Atlanta Hawks have 7 other guys that can play better than Joe Johnson. They might not score better, but when you factor in defense and the ability to hustle, you can name 7 guys on the team better than Joe Johnson. (Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford, Josh Childress, Salim Stoudamire, Acie Law, and Solomon Jones) If the coaching staff would stop trying to save face with high draft picks (Shelden Williams) and a questionable trade with Phoenix (Joe Johnson) and just work with those 7 top guys. You would see the most athletic team in the NBA and Joe and Zaza would give valuable minutes off the bench.

2. Phoenix Suns - A team led by Steve Nash automatically puts you in the top 10 on any ranking countdown. When you have guys like Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudamire, Grant Hill and the Brazilian Blur, it’s easy to see this team running and gunning with any team in the land. The Atlanta Hawks beat them in their only match up this year so far, so the Hawks get the nod over the Suns here. This should make a great finals this year, but don’t be surprise if the Lakers find a way to the finals in 2008! Most likely 2008 NBA Finals would be the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns.

3. Dallas Mavericks - The sports world might be intrigued with all the teams around the New England area doing good (Celtics, Patriots, B.C. Eagles, Red Sox) but the next best place on the planet might be in the BIG D. The Dallas Cowboys and the Mavericks basketball team which is loaded with talent. Dirk Nowitzki is one of the top players in the NBA and Josh Howard might be one of the least rated superstars in the game today. This is a Michael and Scottie thing going on in Dallas and add a few quality veterans to the mix like Michael Finley and Jason Terry and a little youth in Devin Harris and the Mavericks can score with the best of them. The trouble in Dallas is the D and if that was to ever get big or a concern of theirs, you could see the Mavericks winning a lot of games. There talent depth makes them the 3rd team on the power rankings.

4. Detroit Pistons - Team basketball at it’s finest. Only one other team has this team chemistry and they are ranked 5th on the Power Rankings List. You have to love a team where all 5 guys work together and that’s what they do in Detroit. Rasheed Wallace has the biggest heart of any NBA player out there and his will to win basketball games, with the likes of Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and the underrated Jason Maxill is what makes the Pistons so good. A Ben Wallace could make them champions once again, but this is no doubt one of the toughest teams to beat in the NBA, because you really are playing against 5 players.

5. San Antonio Spurs - You can never say enough about the big fundamentalist that roams the lane in San Antoine. Tim Duncan continues to prove year end and year out that he’s one of the best quality big man in our game today. A little Manu and Tony working the backcourt and soon you find a team like the Detroit Pistons. It’s no wonder why these 2 teams end up in the finals every year and it’s because most teams play with one or two guys trying to take on 5 and the Pistons and Spurs play 5 guys against you. Don’t forget about the defensive pressence of Bruce Bowen who is one of the most well-liked guys in the league by opposing coaches and gms. The player he is usually defending would have a far different view on the defense specialist.

6. Boston Celtics - Hey wait……..doesn’t this team have the best record? Shouldn’t they be number 1? Well the other guys list for power rankings had them listed as 2, so I guess your actual record doesn’t count. My rankings are based on talent and the big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and the slightly overrated Paul Pierce (which Kenny Smith declared him a top 5 player in the NBA a couple of years ago) is all the talent you need in the NBA these days. They play against a lot of teams that don’t even use 3 players on the floor, so their 3 will beat another teams 1 or 2 players on most nights. This is a great situation in Boston and if they stop aging, you could see a lot of records broken when Ray Allen and KG get through playing.

7. Denver Nuggets - Another team loaded with talent out the gazoo. Carmelo Anythony and Allen Iverson are the Batman and Robin of the team, but Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby are just as valuable. Throw in the athletic ability of J.R. Smith and you have one of the funniest teams in the league to watch. It’s amazing they don’t win more games than what they do, but this is one Western Confernce team you would not want to play come playoff time. They might figure out a way to play 4 or 5 man team basketball and if that happens, look out NBA! Kudos to the coaching staff for all the lobs they throw for Carmelo and company; it’s a safe and high percentage way to get 2 points, not to mention it breaks the will of the opposing teams.

8. Los Angeles Lakers - It never hurts to have the best player in the game on your team and if that player is the best to ever step on the basketball court then you have a lot to gain by that. Yes, Kobe Bryant is the best to ever play the game! MJ didn’t have the ability Kobe does and Kobe doesn’t have the rings like MJ has, yet! He’s got 3, so he’s half way to the thrown of Michael Jordan and why this is a case of 1 on 5 or how many the other team wants to play with, but Kobe can over come it on most nights. A nice partner to have in Lamar Odom and there’s a few more scrubs on that team that have a little B-Ball skills. I think the Lakers are deserving of a 8th spot on the power ranking and the other power ranking had the Lakers listed at 8 too. So I guess the Los Angeles Lakers are truly an 8th place team on the power rankings!

9. Houston Rockets -  The 2nd best player in the league is on the Rockets. Yep, he’s a little better than King Lebron! Tracy McGrady is a baller and he can ball with the best of them. Give him a 10 foot player from China and the quality of role players that are in Houston and the Rockets are a solid team in the NBA. I liked them better with Jeff Van Gundy in charge, but the Rockets are a sure bet for the playoffs in 2008. Too bad teams run against them, and takes away the effectiveness of Yao Ming, but they are a team to fear if you meet up with them in a 7 game series.

10. New Jersey Nets - Jason Kidd could have stirred the Titantic from sinking. He’s that good! His skill set is slightly better than Steve Nash, but he doesn’t have the “it” factor like Nash does. He is right there and his ability to lead a team is amazing. He’s been doing the PG role since the California Bears days and if this guy could shoot as good as he runs a team, he would be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan. Give him the highest leaper that the game has ever seen in Vince Carter and the Nets squeak into the top 10 on my power rankings list.

11. Orlando Magic - Dwight Howard is obviously the first thing you think about when you are studying the team from central Florida. His game improves each day and soon he will have his team in the top 5 power rankings for a long time. It wasn’t too long ago when the Magic had Shaq in their paint and to have a guy like Dwight Howard speaks volumes on their luck in the draft. The Magic still need to add a quality player or two around him and it’s really suprising they haven’t brung Stephon Marbuy to help with the load. Marbury on this team, would give them a chance to compete with the high flyers from Hotlanta for the finals in 2008.

12. Toronto Raptors - Chris Bosh is good but have you seen T.J. Ford play? The guy can scoot, shoot, and woot all over you! He’s a pesky player on both ends of the floor and his ability to get his team involved is amazing. One of the most valuable point guards in the league and Toronto believe it or not would like to have Marbury too! The Raptors are trying for a Marbury and Joe Johnson backcourt, which would have T.J. Ford playing in Atlanta. The injury to T.J. in Atlanta the other day might have post-poned the trade for now, but don’t be surprise to see T.J. Ford in Atlanta and Joe Johnson teaming up with the other sharp shooters in Canada. Marbury is key for the Raptors, so they can’t make the move unless Toronto gets Marbuy on their team first. 

13. Miami Heat - The Heat have loads of talent and can play with any team in the league. D Wade is a bit over rated and really isn’t as good as we thought he was. His absence and Shaq not given much effort has sent this team to cellar dwellers in the East. Since my rankings are based on talent, I give them the high and lucky mark of 13. Don’t look for them to be much of a factor, as most of the veterans have given up, but if something was to spark this team, then look out!

14. Portland Trail Blazers - It’s pretty scary when my ranking has this team at 14 and the other ranking has them at 18, when you consider how young they are. The whole NBA community might have to fear this team for the next decade once they grow up a bit more. Aldridge and Roy are two solid guys on this team and Webster can shoot as good as anybody in the NBA. Not this year Trail Blazer fans, but your time is coming very soon. Probably the best young team in the NBA!

15. Golden State Warriors - Ask the Mavericks how good the Warriors are. This team can run and do a little gunning too. I like their make up and it was a great trade last year with Indiana to acquire the super veterans of Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. They might not be like adding a Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett to your team, but they are the poor man’s version of that. Baron Davis fills up the stat sheet every night getting his team involvoed and even shoots the Warriors for wins every now and then. These Warriors are a fun team to watch, but they will have to keep winning playoff series before these guys from Oakland can get any love.

16. Cleveland Cavaliers - Ok Cav Fans, you can quit scrolling down now. Here is your team! Ok, let’s see you have LeBron James and what else? A couple of guys here and there with a little game, but LeBron’s basically your team. The MJ days of winning games are nearing to an end as teams like the Pistons and Spurs are becoming a better way to play the game. LeBron isn’t the best player in the league and his attitude on the court doesn’t make much sense with the ability he does have. He needs to look at the scoreboard more often, before he starts taunting after one of his rim rocking dunks. He might bring you a slam dunk title to Ohio, but last year was the closest he will ever come to bringing you a title in Cleveland. Lebron James will never play in the finals again as a Cleveland Cavalier!

17. Chicago Bulls - The addition of Ben Wallace and the ability of this team to draft well come late June makes them contenders in the near future. A fun team to watch with a lot of guys that know how to play the game. They are the future Detroit Pistons, but we might not see it until 2010 or 2011. This should be a fun team to watch in a few years and MJ’s glory might be at stake if all of these guys stick together. The Bulls could win 6 straight championships and it’s their youth that could provide this for the folks in the Windy City of Chicago. Bears, Cubs and White Sox might be on their way out, but you guys will have a bright future on the hardcourt!

18. Seattle Supersonics - Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are a future Batman and Robin tandem. The hard work that Chris Wilcox provides every night gives them a nice little thing going on in the place where the rain falls from the sky constantly. It’s too bad this team will be in Oklahoma City playing, when they start making the playoffs, but I’m sure the good folks in Seattle will still be tuning in to this team they have put their blood and sweat in for so long. I think the future here will be just as bright when Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp was just on the verge of winning it all so many years ago. The Sonics really rocked then and it will happen like that again soon!

19. Milwaukee Bucks - My hats off to the guys in Wisconsin that stood by their draft choice in Yi Jianlian and made him play for you. Who exactly do the Chinese think they are? Great job Milwaukee! You guys have some great talent in Redd, Mason, Bogut, Williams, and that Chinese dude that it won’t be long until you will be fielding a competitive starting 5. The bench still needs more players but by the time the youth is catching up to ya, I’m sure your organization will have 8 or 9 players you can play on a nightly basis for big time production. Sonics and Bucks could be in the finals as soon as the 2012 season rolls around.

20. Charlotte Bobcats - They are positioning their self with great young talent. I would fully expect Larry Bird to have this team in the playoffs in the near future. I really like Okafor and Felton on this team and factor in a few more high draft picks and the Bobcats have a nice little future in their sights. I believe Adam Morrison will eventually learn how to play defense and this should put the Bobcats on a playoff bound team for many years to come. Bird will name his self head coach as soon as this team becomes good.

21. Philadelphia 76ers - A new A.I. is dazzling the folks in Philly now. Andre Igoudila is a treat to watch. He has a lot of ability and I can see his game rounding off each day. Philly is in the rebuilding mode, but a lot of great young players are starting to surface in the city of brotherly love and Philadelphia is going to be one of the teams that will make you put down the remote control and sit back and watch in the near future. Just stay from the Chris Webber’s of the world and let your team develop through the draft.

22. Sacramento Kings - Kevin Martin is the best superstar in the game today that no one knows about. If your team has dreams of adding this guy to your roster, you better be willing to trade your best two players for him. Many don’t give him the credit he deserves, but he doesn one thing better than just about anybody in the league. He can shoot the rock! That might seem like a useless skill in a league where defense has became the main focus for so many, but remember the winner is determined by who scores the most points and my money is on Kevin Martin to win that stat. He’s a future scoring champ in this league someday. Artest has the 2nd strongest will in the league to win and he’s right behind Rasheed Wallace for that honor. The Kings need that 3rd super player to mix in with Artest and Martin and the Kings would truly be the kings of something.

23. Los Angeles Clippers - If healthy this team is good. Brand and Cassell are a fearsome two and Shaun Livingston is going to be a great point guard in this league as well. Sam is getting old, the young phoenom is out right now, so the Clips are low on my list, but get healthy and gel the guys you have now and the Clippers could be in the top 15 of a power rankings list.

24. Utah Jazz - Hey Jazz fans, you can now stop scrolling down. Here is your team on my power ranking list. No, I didn’t forget about you guys and you might not deserve to even be 24 on the list. It really begins to look ugly at this point on the power rankings and you guys might be the prettiest out of the ugly? One thing your team has forgot about is athleticism and you have none. You can’t win games without that in the NBA. You need guys that can run fast and jump high and there just isn’t any in Utah. Ronnie Brewer is a start, but your going to need a whole lot more of that to be successful. Boozer is descent, but you know his health will go south soon and he’s your excuse in the hole. Deron Williams just doesn’t have the physical skill to be good in the NBA. His mental game is good, but he’s not as young as the other rookies that came out in his class. His physical abilities are at their peak this year and he’s on the way down. Too bad Williams doesn’t take more pride in his work outs during the offseason. AK47 has already played his best games in the NBA and the Utah Jazz are real close to the bottom falling out and this might just be happening now. Jazz are the most over rated team in any sport and one of the most boring to watch too. Sorry…….I know the truth hurts.

25. Washington Wizards - I will give you guys the last spot on my rankings. I feel no need to seperate the bad teams in the league, so my expert posting ends here. Arenas is good and Caron Butler always seems to amaze me in one way or another. I’m just not sure how good Butler is or will be. He’s the wild card and there just isn’t a lot to get excited about after Arenas and Butler. Jarvis Hayes is solid, but this guy really should be a starter and I can’t give you guys credit for having a strong bench, because you don’t start your 5 best players.

I won’t bother going through the other teams, but for the N.Y. Knicks to have the highest salary in basketball, I think they are the worse franchise in the NBA. David Stearn should seriously step in and get Isiah Thomas out of basketball. This criminal has no idea on how to treat people or organize a group of young men for a game of basketball. The Knicks and their loud mouth fan Stephen A. Smith should really think about taking up another sport or something. Stephen A. Smith and Isiah Thomas are the two worse people associated with the NBA game today.

2008 NBA Finals will be the Atlanta Hawks .vs. Phoenix Suns. The Hawks will win the series in 5 games and T.J. Ford will be named MVP of the series!
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The Hickory Log Dam in Canton is waiting for some rain, so they can begin burning some of the timber they have cut around the dam. The Hickory Log Reservoir is going to help the City of Canton and Cobb County on the desperate water needs of Georgia. The dam was suppose to be built by the end of 2007 and now it looks like it will be completed sometime in 2008. The area of North Georgia could really use some rain and this Hickory Log Dam is going to help relieve a lot of our water concerns in Cherokee and Cobb County. That is if the dam can ever get completed. It’s funny how we need rain to help finish building the reservoir that is expected to be pretty big and help us during droughts.

Hickory Log Creek will be one of the sources of water that will begin filling the reservoir up. They are also going to be pumping water out of the Etowah River and this will help the reservoir to have a good supply of water. The Etowah River is down right now and it might stay that way for some time, until North Georgia starts to get an adequate amount of rain. You can see pictures of the Hickory Log Reservoir Dam on an earlier post I made in this blog. Hopefully for the residents of Canton and Marietta, the dam will get built soon and we can start backing up some of that precious water that is running down stream each day that passes.

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