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Massimo F. d'Amore is a man with a very romantic name and a very powerful title - he is in fact the CEO of Pepsico Americas Beverages.  Now, your immediate answer to the question posed in the title may be something along the lines of "install a drinking fountain that dispenses Pepsi in my house...why?".  The truth of the matter is that today Mr. d'Amore as Ceo of Pepsico Americas is also the big boss of Gatorade and he today presumably authorized the decision to tell Tiger Woods to kick rocks.  Now I'am sure the decision was made by some "Head of Global Marketing" or something but you get the point, if there was a man that could've stopped it, it was Massimo.  I have thought long and hard today about what I would've done had I been in Mr. d'Amore's shoes (or whoever the hell actually made the decision).  Tiger right now is toxic, I can totally see companies wanting to distance themselves from him and his whore mongering ways, however in the long run when this blows over, and it will, will they wish they never let him go?  I think all of the sponsors that dropped him will one day in the not so distant future be kicking themselves or maybe more appropriately, be hitting themselves in the nuts with a 9 iron.

Say Tiger takes this entire year off, which I doubt he will, but for arguments sake say 2010 is a total wash.  Tiger will come back at age 35 which for most golfers is considered the prime of their career.  Tiger is a freak of nature who was the youngest ever to win a Master's, there is no reason to think that he cant keep winning majors until he is well past 50.  When Tiger comes back it shouldn't take long for him to win a major this will be a huge event and hailed as a "comeback", it will also give him a chance to do another mea culpa and show the world that he is still working to become a better man. I picture a quote after winning his first major that goes something to the effect of "My game is in decent shape, but getting my game right was the easy part, in the home is where I have been and will continue to work as hard as possible on being the best husband, father and son that I can". (your welcome Tiger's people).  By the time Tiger win's his second "comeback" major (his 16th) people will expect to hear something about his on going familial progress, but the focus will also shift to him catching Jack.  By the time he wins the third (his 17th) it is full steam ahead to winning #18 and tying Jack and then beyond,  It is when he wins #17 that this whole philandering thing is officially kaput.  By my estimation he should be winning number 17 sometime around when he is 37 and then it is all gravy from then until when he stops winning them some 13 years later.  I would advise any sponsors who may be thinking about dumping Tiger that they are leaving a lot of chips on the table and giving up the ability to be associated with some magical and historical future moments.  I just hope Tiger doesn't mind the taste of Powerade.

More photos » Nam Y. Huh - AP

Lindsay Vonn - she looks pretty hot here.

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Up until recently I was kind of ambivalent about the Winter Olympics, I could give a care less about any of the sports and really couldn't say that I had any of the event's start dates circled on my calendar or more appropriately programmed into my Tivo.  I figured that at best the Olympics would be on in the background as I went about my business.  (I am writing a musical).  This was before the onslaught of television that virtually forced me at gun point to care.  It started with the CBS "60 Minutes" piece of Shaun White and his secret training camp that was built for him deep in the middle of nowhere where they show him doing these insane jumps. He also was also born with a heart defect as a child - a story which pulled at my own heart strings and instantly turned his half pipe competition into Must See T.V.  Then it was on to the "Real Sports with Bryant Gumble" story with reporting by Frank Deford about figure skater Johnny Weir.  This freaking Johnny Weir is a real character who apparently has infuriated PETA with his fur costumes, I also must assume that he pisses the hell out of homophobic figure skating fans (which seems like can't be a huge group of people).  He apparently has been falling off a bit as of late, but you can bet your hot pink sequins encrusted jump suit covered ass that i will be tuning in to see if he can regain his swagger and also to see what kind of purse he might be carrying to the podium.  Finally there is Lindsay Vonn, is she hot???!!  I dont even know!! They tend not to use close up pictures of her but i will tell you that I know a lot about this chicks bruised shin and the fact that it might prematurely end her Olympic dream, an Olympic dream that she has been focused on since she left the ski in ski out hospital she was born at. I know that the weather has been cooperating to give her extra days to to rehabilitate, and by the time she takes the hill I will be at an excitement level of 11 waiting to see if she can make good on her dream.  I thank you television and your slick feature producing for making me care about these people - if only if it is for 2 weeks every four years.

U-S-A, U-S-A!

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I've never been a huge fan of the winter games - much more of a summer guy - but I must admit that I'm getting sort of excited for this years Olympics. I think it really helps the fan support when they are taking place in the same time zone - or at least same hemisphere, as it makes the prime time viewing much more accessible.

Admittedly, I'm a traditional sports kind of guy - I dont really know very much about X-Games and dont follow along the fringe sports (eg: cycling, swimming, skiing) very closely. I also grew up in California & Florida and have no idea how to skate - put me in a rink of ice with some blades and I'm definitely spraining a wrist.

However, I am sure that in the next week or two I will become a total expert on all things figure skating, speed skating and hockey - a regular Quebecois in sunny SoCal. I don't believe that there is anything the Sharks or Ducks or Kings could do to get me to watch an entire game on TV, but somehow the Olympics sucks me in.

As cheesy as it may sound, I believe that the real draw is the patriotic sense of team that comes with rooting on your country in a competition against the rest of the world. Its this same concept that Project Franchise is built on - letting the fans take ownership so they become part of the team... but hopefully we'll be playing a summer sport.

We made some new friends this week over at My Fan Flash, which is a new site that lets super sports fans create a free account, then pick their favorite teams and basically get all of the info from around the sports blogosphere that they would care about served up on a nice shiny platter. They already have Front Office Fans tied into their service and they will be adding on our team to their lineup when we get them on the field. Here's a little blurb from them professing how amazingly rad their site is:

What is MyFanFlash.com? It's a sports revolution. News, columns, blogs, video, Twitter and podcasts about your teams, players and coaches delivered directly to you. It's about having sports information at your fingertips, including some new content you've probably never found before. It's about adding and improving sources along the way. It's changing the way you follow sports (and doing it all for free).

We're not convinced any governments will actually be overthrown by My Fan Flash, but it does seem to be a cool concept, created by some cool people, so we're trying to help spread the news... check them out at www.myfanflash.com

And for the record, when I get down in the stands I'd like to think it looks like this - if it was being done by a far more handsome and athletic individual:

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of discussing Blue Jays reliever Dirk Hayhurst, who has been doing an incredible job promoting donations to relief efforts in Haiti and connecting with his fans through Twitter. Through that, he's gotten tons of fans awaiting the release of his upcoming book, "The Bullpen Gospels", which has received enormous amounts of praise just off early reviews.

As the Blue Jays have stockpiled relief pitchers this off-season, most recently adding possible-closer Kevin Gregg, the team's blogosphere has been frequently concerned with having spots for all their favorites. A lot of fans wonder if some giant trade of relief pitching is coming up to clear room for all these additions, but another common concern has been whether they'll be a spot for Dirk Hayhurst - the minor league veteran of seven years who had just made it to the Majors last season.

Through his Twitter page, Dirk has recently been hinting at some bad upcoming news, which was learned of yesterday when it was revealed that Dirk would be undergoing exploratory shoulder surgery on Friday. This will take him out of the mix for the opening day roster, and with any exploratory surgery, the extent of the injury and repair are still unknown.

Dirk spent time yesterday afternoon letting fans know a bit about the way the injury has put his career into perspective. He allows us to see an athlete not caught up in the fame, the money, and the accolades, but about the ability to have a platform to do good, to live out a dream, and even to make just a modest living. From his Twitter account (@TheGarfoose):

Obviously it's unnerving because it's not just my arm on the operating table. It's my house payment, my grocery bills, my whole future.

Yes, It's true, I may only get 15 minutes of fame, but it's not the length of the fame.

I may never have great career numbers, or big time accolades for baseball. But I've tried to make the most of my little platform.

A few Dollars for Haiti, a few goofy smiles on faces, a book that may help thousands understand more about players, and themselves...

I can't guarantee it'll last long, or it will effect everyone, but I'm trying my best with what I got, even if it's only 15:01

Since I was extremely grateful to have Dirk check out the blog the last time I wrote about him, I hope it will reach him again when Project Franchise wishes him the best of luck on Friday. And hopefully he knows that when those fifteen minutes or fifteen years are up, Project Franchise's team would love to have him aboard.

We always hear about the bumps and bruises that players have to play through in the NFL.  Have you ever thought about what exactly these bumps and bruises are and what they look like?  Is it similar to the bumps and bruises you get playing pick up basketball after a three month layoff where your main form of exercise was alternating who among your roommates was going to make the next beer run?  

Today I finally got my answer.

Rick Cleveland a writer for the Clarion-Ledger in Mississippi was questioning agent Bus Cook about one of his clients, Antonio Johnson on the Indianapolis Colts.  Eventually the conversation turned over to Cook's biggest client, the old gunslinger himself, Brett Favre.  

Cleveland asked Cook about how Favre's health was to which Cook responded by showing Cleveland some pictures of his ankle and hamstring the day after the Vikings' NFC Championship game defeat to the New Orleans Saints.  

Ankle:  

Hamstring:

Well that might explain why you'd decide not to run with space ahead you and make a poor throw across your body instead.  

There's a reason why Favre is the NFL's iron man, starting 285 consecutive regular season games and 309 games total including the playoffs.  You can criticize him for plenty of things from his questionable decision making on the field, to his flirtations with retirement and comebacks, but he is as tough as they come

For a 40 year old man to be jacked up like that and still be competing at the highest level in the NFL is simply amazing.  Damn you Brett Favre and my bipolar feelings about you fluctuating between admiration and disgust.

Last Friday, quarterback Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals called it quits, ending one of the most celebrated journeyman careers in all of sports.  From bagging groceries for $5.50/hour all the way to becoming one of the league's elite quarterbacks, Warner's career was one huge roller coaster ride.

I'll never forget when with the St. Louis Rams in 1999, Warner was thrust into the role of starting quarterback after Trent Green suffered a season-ending ACL tear.  Nobody would have then predicted the Rams' Super Bowl run, with Warner leading the "Greatest Show on Turf" to their first of three consecutive 500 point seasons, an NFL record.  

Warner was named league MVP in his first year starting behind center for the Rams and led them to their first championship, culminating in Warner's touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce that gave the Rams the lead for good with under two minutes left to play.  

His performance on that night against Steve McNair and the Tennessee Titans was one of the great performances in NFL and the Super Bowl's history.  Warner racked up 414 yards passing and two touchdowns and became the 6th player to win both league and Super Bowl MVP's in the same season.  

Warner was a great clutch player evidenced by him owning the top three passing performances in terms of yardage in the history of the Super Bowl.  He also has the highest completion percentage in playoff history (66.5%), most touchdowns in a single postseason (11), most yards passing in a single playoff (1,147) and most yards passing in Super Bowl history (1,156). 

He also has the second highest passer rating in the playoffs at 102.8 behind Bart Starr and is the only quarterback in NFL history to never be shutout in a game. 

As great a player as Warner was on the field, he is as good a person off of it.  He started the First Things First Foundation, which has worked on projects for causes such as children's hospitals, people with developmental disabilities and assisting single parents.  He has received many awards for his off the field work like the NFL's Walton Payton Man of the Year Award in 2008, the Muhammad Ali Sports Leadership Award in 2009 and topped a poll of NFL players in Sports Illustrated naming the best role model on and off the field in the NFL.  

All in all, Warner's left the game with the respect of fellow NFL players and analysts alike.  His numbers bear out his excellence and his ability to perform under pressure is second to none in the history of the league.  While many of his peers like Favre, Manning and Brady have received most of the media attention, Warner has quietly gone about and carved himself a first ballot, Hall of Fame career that stacks up against the game's all-time greats.

While none of us at Project Franchise are particularly big Saints or Vikings fans - and some of us actually can't stand Brett Favre - it is good to know that no matter who wins tomorrow night, it will make for a nice story for a deserving and supportive local fan base. The Viking's Puple People have been putting up with Arctic winters, rooting on their hometeam with some serious ferver, despite not having won a championship since the merger. Even more pained are the fortunes of the local fans in New Orleans, who spent decades in the Superdome witnessing literally pathetic displays from the 'Aints. However, there is a new sheriff in both towns - or at least new QB's - that have gotten both teams on the brink of glory in Miami.

Up north, Brett Favre has spent a whole season working to improve his formerly great and then damaged image, as a diva QB who didnt have enough gas left in the tank. After ending his historic career in Green Bay with an NFC Championship game OT pick to the Giants two years ago, Favre has played like the old Favre (actually even better) this season and has taken the Vikings from a nice team to a really good team and given Vikings superfan Prince something to sing about.

On the other side, Drew Brees's well documented comeback tale, after a shoulder injury left him as damaged free agent goods, to be one of the best passers in the league, is clearly nothing compared to the amazing resiliency the people of New Orleans have shown as they've worked to rebuild the Crescent City in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

To help cap off both QB's and fanbases heartwarming stories, tomorrow's game is expected to bring all of the fireworks and fun that we've come to expect from both teams - we're just rooting for a good game and hope that all of the fans go home happy, and at the end of the season thats what we're really all about.