So you know that I am not some computer operated “blogbot” - but rather a living, breathing newly crowned Los Angeles Dodgers fan - Here’s a recent pic of me and the Las Vegas 51’s friendly alien mascot “Cosmo”.

I still can’t get over the fact that this poor guy ( or maybe underneath Cosmo is a gal? ) endures 120 degree temperatures during the Vegas summer in order to bring smiles to their loyal fans.

I hope he, (or she?) is remunerated appropriately – otherwise this Alien had better forget phoning home – he needs to be calling his Union steward!

Well, WaiverSharks, it’s official - I am a Dodgers fan. Just in time to celebrate the organizations 50 year Anniversary. Better late than never.

It came down to choosing between the young and talented Arizona Diamondbacks or the History enriched Los Angeles Dodgers.

It was a tough call, but I ultimately have chosen the Dodgers for several reasons.

Here are just a few:

* I was born and raised in LaSalle , Ontario Canada – so it makes perfect sense to route for the team with arguably the best Canadian Player in Major League Baseball today – no offence to the Jason Bay and Joey Votto backers!

* They have a youthful core number of players who I like, and who I will undoubtedly enjoy writing about in my new Dodgers blog.

* The day I am writing this post, the men in blue are a game under .500, so no bandwagon accusations please!

* They are still in the pennant race despite their so-so April/May
Broadcaster Vin Scully’s voice is classic baseball – so I look forward to listening to the play my play analysis of this Hall of Famer on a more consistent basis.

* I have a good relationship with the L.A.P.D. (The LaSalle Police Department)

* Currently, I have what we all feel is the Dodgers future closer - Jonathon Broxton - on my Fantasy Team – even though he got smoked today.

* I’ll be visiting the Las Vegas 51’s farm club next week-end. Hoping Andy LaRoche doesn’t get the call to the bigs for another few weeks, so I can see him play. Or perhaps Rafael Furcal might be there on a rehab assignment? Wishful thinking I guess! Otherwise I guess I’ll have to settle for checking out the pitching stylings of former Tiger Jason Johnson – Yikes!

* My favorite player/team growing up was Kirk Gibson of the Detroit Tigers. The fact that ol’ #23 went on to hit one of the most famous homeruns while with the Dodgers in the 1988 World Series only adds to my allure and progression towards the LA blue.

* No offence Red Sox Nation – but I’d rather see celebrity sightings of Alyssa Milano during games than Stephen King.

* Matt Kemp has the 5 tool capabilities of a future Fantasy Star.

* James Loney is a solid 1st baseman who I’ve been down with since last season. Thinking I should have kept him instead of Nick Swisher. *sigh*

* Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is a future ace/phenom – whatever you want to call it. He’s a projected #1 starter - and he’s a lefty! Yikes again!

* Rookie of the Year candidate Blake DeWitt is cooler than a Polar Bear’s testes. I just picked him up. Going to try and be patient with him and hope he doesn’t lose playing time to Andy LaRoche – I wonder if Blake could play 2nd base? Jeff Kent is now 40 years old. Just a thought.

* Manager Joe Torre is a very intelligent baseball manager who I have a lot of respect for – and I think liking a teams manager is an added bonus when liking a ballclub.
Plenty of bashing material! Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones alone could fill an entire season of blogs! But - generally I’m not one to rag on a player who is playing through a difficult time. THINK POSITIVE/STAY POSITIVE!!!

* The Dodgers uniform and logo is simple, clean – classic! Trying to decide on a Blake DeWitt Away Jersey (#33) or go the retro route & grab me a Kirk Gibson Home Jersey (#23) – I suppose the latter would be less likely to get me into any scraps when I head down to Comerica Park to catch a little Inter-league play.

There are many other reasons, and lots more up and comers besides Clayton Kershaw - but I’ll extrapolate on them, and a whole lot more, in the coming months in a new blog:

Punch-Dodgers Love

Note: I posted a picture of Anna Kournikova in a previous blog, and I was informed that both her and Maria Sharapova are now considered - passé.

Who knew?

Ashley Harkleroad is the new Tennis babe – perhaps the upcoming August edition of Playboy may help us decide on who has the nicest racquet. *Sorry* (That was a little too Brad Evans wasn’t it?)

This past week, I’ve been slowly narrowing down what team I want to become a fanatical fan of. The final three choices are:

1) Arizona Diamondbacks

2) Los Angeles Dodgers

3) Tampa Bay Rays

Any guesses who drops off the board?

Well, for a couple of reasons I have to eliminate the Tampa Bay Rays. A big one is Tropicana Field. What a horrible ballpark. The other is the bandwagon feel. Mind you, I have been a mild fan of the Rays long before they exorcised the Devil out of their name.

Another is that I think the manager, Joe Madden, is the Fantasy sports equivalent to Mike Shanahan. If I gathered a few too many Rays players, I might go mad from Madden. I want to follow a team that I obviously can feel comfortable picking up players from to use for Fantasy – Madden’s Rays don’t quite give me that easy feeling.

The Rays (I also think the new logo is kind of lame) have a tremendous, young and exciting ball team – but that’s why they made it to the top three!

Seriously, how long did it take to design this logo?

Okay, we’re finally there. The wait is over…well, it will be tomorrow – when I announce my new favorite team.

Will I be sizing myself for a Max Scherzer Jersey?

Or will I be ordering some Las Vegas 51’s tickets to get a closer look at the Dodgers farm system. Stay tuned!