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Texas Rangers Spring Training ~ MAVS ~ My Fitness Pal

GO RANGERS!!!

Spring Training is in full effect.


I can just smell the cut grass from here... ahhhhh... baseball.  

The Rangers spend Spring Training in Surprise, AZ. If you make it out there to see a few games, I hear it is amazing!! A lot of clubs play out there, so you get to see a few games a day!! A dream vacation! 

What is Spring Training? 

Don't they play 162 games, not including postseason? 

Yes, yes they do. 

And they play approximately 33 games in Spring Training. 

There is a purpose. 

The MLB is probably the most complex system to make it to the big leagues. 

Most NBA players are coming out of their first year of college, if they even go to college. The NBA is also very soft right now and not very much fun to watch. Players have too much pull, and I don't like that they get to pick their favorite team and go play with their friends. While getting paid $25 million a YEAR! #ridiculous

In the NFL, kids have to make it through their Junior year of College before they enter the NFL Draft. This is why Zeke had to wait a year after Ohio State won the Championship and everyone was drooling over him. He was a Sophomore that year. But most guys go from college to the pros. Very few end up in the Canadian League or Arena Leagues. Those are your guys who are VERY passionate about the game and just want to keep playing. Odds are very slim on getting back into the NFL after a stint in CFL or Arena. 

Then there is MLB, Major League Baseball.

First off, colleges are only awarded an average of 7 full scholarships for baseball players. How many players are on the field during a game? 9. Less than a starting roster will get full rides to college. Most parents sign their kids up for the full ride, not necessarily the sport. The scholarship issue is one major reason why the MLB relies heavily on international recruiting, and the NFL and NBA gets the college kids who all went to college for free while playing football and basketball.

Secondly, there is a crazy A ranking farm system that players have to go into after they get drafted! You read that correctly, AFTER they are drafted. They don't become the next LeBron or the next Ezekiel Elliott. Nope, unless you're a golden boy like Mike Trout, you find yourself in Single A ball (or lower). Then you hope to make it to AA (double A). And eventually AAA (triple A). Not the insurance but the league. If a Triple A player doesn't have a MLB contract, he makes $2,150 a month, and they only play for 6 months. $12,900 before taxes a year. 

The road is hard. People who think baseball is for lazy guys, who stand on their base and wait for a ball to come to them, know nothing of the mental determination it takes to thrive in this daily grind. The mental toughness it takes to play baseball is magnified under the lights of a diamond, and the years it took to get there. 

Check out the top 30 minor league prospects for the Texas Rangers, click here.

Here are a few things the Texas Rangers are trying to figure out in their 33 game stint in Arizona... 

1. Who will replace Ian Desmond and Carlos Beltran? (No more porch light walkup song for Desmond in Texas, tears). 

2. Will Josh Hamilton ever play again?

3. Now that we have Mike Napoli back for the third time, can we just win a World Series? He was with us in 2011 and 2012 when we got sooooo close. Then he left for 3 years and won a WS title with the Boston Red Sox. Then he came back in 2015 and got injured. And THEN he went to the Indians and made it to the World Series for a 4th time in 7 years. They lost to the Cubs in one of the greatest series ever! 2017, he's back in Arlington. Let's make it 5 times in 8 years and not leave this one hanging! #worldseriesorbust 

4. What will our bullpen look like this year? Rumors are swirling about Yu Darvish leaving after this season. Derek Holland is gone. Tyson Ross was signed as a relief pitcher, but won't be ready until June. And can we expect more out of Cole Hamels? 

5. Adrian Beltre... how healthy is he going to be this season? He has a calf strain that may keep him out of Spring Training for 3 weeks. We need his leadership and hope he is able to play all season! 

Rob Manfred, the MLB Commissioner, spoke on ESPN about proposed changes to the game. Click here to watch the short clip on how they're trying to "modernize" America's past-time. 

p.s. I got to have dinner with he (Mandfred) and his wife and an event here in Dallas at the President Bush Library. Such a nice guy, he autographed a baseball for me and we talked Yankees history. It was a great night!

#texasrangers
#NeverEverQuit

Follow @rangers on Twitter

GO MAVS!!! 22-34 (wins - losses)

The Mavs win some and lose some. And for as much as they lose, they are still fun to watch. Cuban is trying to get young talent on the team to keep the crowd excited. Plus, Williams and Matthews will get worn out if they had to keep at the pace they were playing. 

Just after I gave you the long saga of getting to the Major Leagues in Baseball... there's one little Cinderella story within our own Mavs organization. 

D-League basketball is somewhere between Triple A Baseball and the Canadian Football League. Odds are still slim, but it can happen. There is also a Euroleague, but that's like Arena in Football or Single A in baseball. 

Donnie Nelson (Mavs GM - General Manager) gave Yogi Ferrell a chance on a 10 day contract before he shipped himself overseas. Passion. To still play at this point, it is for the love of the game from this Hoosier

Yogi has played in 10 games as Point Guard. Started in 7 of those games. Averaging 33 minutes, 14.2 points, 4.7 assists and has a .957 free throw percentage!

Did the dream come true? Yes! The Mavs signed him to a 2-year deal.

Here are 10 things to know about Yogi

NBA All-Star game coming to you live this Sunday night! Feb, 19th at 7:00 PM CST on TNT

My favorite game this season, aside from Mavs games, was when Golden State went back to OKC. KD vs. Russell Westbrook and the Thunder. As much as I love Curry and his ability to shoot the ball effortlessly, I really wanted OKC to get the W. The whole Golden State thing is annoying. Like red rover and pick all your friends to come over that are A players. Every now and then you realize life isn't about having a stacked deck. You will win because you should win. Boring. Go Russ! I support you kid! I like his passion for the game. He can repair his friendship with KD, but I understand why he was hurt. It's not like the dude went to a team that needed help, ahem, DALLAS.

GO MAVS!! 


Random Info:
My Fitness Pal

I officially challenge you to enter one week of your food into this app. 

Download it on your phone. Or create a profile online. Click here.

If you use your phone, there is a little barcode scanner image you can click on and scan the barcode of the food you're eating, then choose your serving size. It is annoying at first, but once you get a few foods in there you eat often, you use your recent list to select from. 

You can also input meals or recipes. Again, this takes a few minutes to enter it initially, but once you have your homemade chili recipe in there, you select serving size and you're done! 

I am not one to weigh myself, I hate using weight as a guideline, but I do understand body fat percentage and the overall concept of calories in vs. calories out. 

This doesn't calculate body percent fat for you, but it does allow you to enter exercise and set other goals. I wish it gave you extra calories for weight lifting, but it only does that for cardio. The app isn't perfect, but it is helpful for food intake and making sure you're drinking enough water!  

Once you've entered your food, exercise, and water intake; select Complete Entry. It will tell you how close you are to your goal! 

Tip: Eating clean during the week is a good goal to have. Weekends are hard, but if you can attempt to eat clean on weekdays, you should see an overall improvement!! 

#hugsomeone
#lifegoals
#eatclean
#healthy

~smile~

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