So, as you have read last week, the Padres made a bevy of moves to bolster their roster, with players in the minors being shipped out all across the country. The talk around the league is what will they do with all of those extra outfielders? How will A.J. Preller solve the right-handed lineup conundrum? My say in all of this is simply I don't know. I can speculate as to what will happen, which is what I will do. With all those outfielders, I honestly see a trade involving one of the newly acquired big bats to acquire somebody else. Rumors have been swirling about Cole Hamels coming from the Phillies to the Padres, but he still has so much of his contract to eat that I do not really see that happening. As far as the right-handed bat issue, I think it is interrelated to the problem of too many outfielders, and again, I cannot predict the future with this one. Padres fans are beginning to trust A.J. Preller and the moves he is making. Just remember back to the winter of 2012-2013 when the Padres spent a mere $3 million dollars in the offseason (Jason Marquis) and compare it to this offseason. Pretty amazing isn't it? We'll see what else happens that waters the mouths of Padres fans. There are some other issues that I have not discussed, like the fact that the Padres' defense is now probably one of the worst in the league when, in previous years, they prided themselves on pitching and defense. But I am excited to see a new angle to a franchise that has seen a series of years of futility followed by one or two winning campaigns. 
Meanwhile, the college football bowl season is in full swing! Even though we have yet to see any of the big boys play in their games, there have been some amazing games. The best games have occurred over the past few days. I will only mention a few, but feel free to check out any of the bowls you like. Hit the link to see. First, the BYU vs. Memphis game was wire to wire as it went into overtime. The Tiger kicker blasted a 55-yard field goal to tie the game at the end of regulation. In overtime, both teams kicked field goals, which led to another OT. The whole game was chippy as jawing and mean words were shared the entire game from both sides. After Memphis scored a touchdown to open up the next overtime, BYU QB Christian Stewart threw an interception to end the game and their season. As soon as the celebrating began, a fight broke out among both teams. Frustration for BYU and retaliation for Memphis. What was a very good game was now tainted by the unnecessary post-game actions. Meanwhile, the next day brought one of the most memorable bowl finishes in college football history in the Popeyes Bahamas bowl. Western Kentucky and Central Michigan were in a blowout -- at the end of the third quarter, the score was 49-14 in favor of WKU. But then the Chippewas stormed back, owning the fourth quarter. With one second left, the score was 49-42 and CMU had the ball on their own 25-yard line. The QB chucked it as far as he could, being caught by his teammate, who, after several laterals to other teammates, facilitated in helping their team score a touchdown and give them the opportunity to either win or tie the game. The coach initially called for only one point, but somebody mentioned, "Why not go for two?" He looked around and saw the support of his players. It was a fade rout to the back end of the end zone, and it was incomplete. Western Kentucky holds on to win! What an amazing finish to an amazing game that will go down for the ages! Those are the two games that I will mention, but feel free to check out the highlights and more from the link above.In the NFL, the Chargers have the opportunity to claim the wild card this Sunday against the Chiefs in Kansas City. The Chiefs will be without Alex Smith due to a lacerated spleen, so the Chargers should be able to have their work cut out for them as they take on the backup, Chase Daniels.
Well that is it for this week! Happy new year and talk to you again in 2015!
