Student Blog: Friendly rivalry & fantasy baseball

This weekend, the Raiders and Jayhawks, (two PSA teams) filled with Jasper High School sophomores faced off during their annual rivalry game, now several years strong. The only difference between this year, and years past is if you could hear our bodies talk, they'd be saying one big collective OUCH. Between football and basketball tryouts, there were plenty of sore muscles to go around. No complaints, though, it was still a fun experience. By the way, the Jayhawks took this round, but as a fellow Raider I pledge my revenge for our next game -- you can't be number one all the time. Speaking of which... College Basketball Does ANYONE want to be number one in the country? The top three teams all went down this weekend, and while Pittsburgh may take over the top spot I doubt they will be able to hold onto it for long given the previous pattern. Poor Amare I know people have questioned Amare Stoudemire's work ethic, but when I found out about his partially detached retina I admit to feeling sorry for the guy. His situation makes me shudder. I can't imagine that his surgery will be pretty. If you want to see a completely detached retina, try typing in Allan Ray eye on Youtube. Caution: it's the real deal; so feint of heart beware (Ray is fine now, by the way). Fantasy Baseball Strikes Again While I don't claim to have a great knowledge of baseball, I take my fantasy sports seriously. Since fantasy baseball is right around the corner, here are my top five batters and pitchers for this season: Batters: 5. Grady Sizemore- A very consistent young player; I don't see him going anywhere but up this season. 4. Manny Ramirez- wherever he will end up playing, Manny is a fantasy monster to be reckoned with. I'm personally not scared off by his off the field antics, but others may be. 3. Albert Pujols- An absolute monster; Pujols will put up a great stat in some shape or form every night 2. Hanley Ramirez- The second Ramirez on the list was a member of my team last year, and he contributed everywhere. Rumor is Hanley wants to hit third in the order and has somehow increased his power even more. 1. Alex Rodriguez- No matter what you think of the guy, I predict a big season out of A-Rod as he will try to prove the haters wrong. Pitchers: 5. C.C. Sabathia- Look for a small drop-off from last season because New York seems to be a black hole for great pitchers when they arrive in the Big Apple, but still expect lots of K's and W's. 4. Cole Hamels- if he plays anything like he did in the playoffs, Hamels could be a fantasy MVP this season. 3. Roy Halladay- I loved this guy for my fantasy team last year. Even when he lost, he put up either a lot of K's or a low enough ERA to prevent too much damage to your pitching stats. And that's only when he lost, which wasn't often. 2. Johan Santana- The Mets made some great moves this off-season to acquire relief pitching, so hopefully Santana can save his arm and not half to go nine full innings like last year. 1. Tim Lincecum- The ace of all aces in the game today. I expect 20 plus wins, tons of strikeouts, and a sub 2.5 ERA assuming injury doesn't strike. And for the icing on the cake, my batting sleeper this year is Nick Markakis (although I'm a bit biased as an O's fan), and my pitching sleeper is Jon Lester; I foresee an even better season this year than his previous breakout one. Editor's Note: Jasper High School sophomore Alex Shultz writes on high school sports and life every Monday on VYPE.com/DFW.