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Who is Doug?
Doug Stolhand was born and raised in Tustin, California. He attended Foothill High School (go Knights), and then went to CSU, Fresno from 1992-1997, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in journalism. After a brief stint selling mascot dolls for the Angels, Doug began working for FOX Sports. He is still there. Doug also met his wife Jackie at FOX, and she is the best thing that has ever happened to him. His favorite teams are the Angels, Patriots, Mighty Ducks and Fresno State. He does not have a favorite NBA team because he does not like basketball. His least favorite teams are the Yankees, the Jets and the Los Angeles Kings. His favorite current players are Darin Erstad, Lawyer Milloy, and Teemu Selanne. His least favorite players are Mo Vaughn, 'Paper Champion' Lee Flowers and Owen Nolan. His favorite sports moment is when Darin Erstad caught Kenny Lofton's fly ball to end game seven of the 2002 World Series. His least favorite sports moment is the meatball Donnie Moore threw to Dave Henderson in game five of the 1986 ALCS.

  News About Doug's Favorite Teams (06-20-03)
Many things to talk about this week, so let us get right to it:
OK, it's been a while since I've updated this page, but I'm back now and ready to go. It was a nice month off while the Mighty Ducks were in the Stanley Cup Finals, but now that I have recovered from their game seven loss I am ready to commit to this site once again.

I'll start with the Mighty Ducks. They won the Western Conference, won 15 games in the postseason and J.S. Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy. All of these things are events that nobody expected entering the postseason, though I did predict that they would reach the Stanley Cup Finals and lose. (I had the Flyers beating them, but other that that I was right on). It was a great season and I hope they build on this going into next year. I expect them to sign Teemu Selanne as a free agent, let Steve Thomas go as a unrestricted free agent, bring back Rob Niedermayer and Adam Oates and make a run at winning the division next year. Even though there have been rumors of Sergei Fedorov being interested in playing here, I don't want him. He's on the wrong side of 33 and wants million a year for five years. Let someone else give him a retirement contract. I'd rather see them go after Vaclav Prospal, Mark Parrish or even Dave Andreychuk.
The NHL draft is tomorrow, and I have no input. I've never seen any of these kids play, so how could I say anything about any of them? I trust Bryan Murray to make the right pick and to do the right thing in the offseason.

Turning to the Angels, it looks like they are back to being the Angels. They are 35-35 right now, something like 12 and a half games out of first and would have to make a run at the wild card if they have hopes of making the postseason. I don't see it happening. Things just aren't falling into place this year. The injuries are catching up to them as they went over two months without having their nine regulars in the lineup, and the starting pitching isn't getting it done consistently. Oh well. I can always pop in the DVD whenever I want to remember the good times, and just knowing that they've won a World Series makes me feel good. Besides, they are still the defending World Series Champions and I know they haven't given up on the season, so maybe they can shock the world again and make a run at this thing.

Finally, the Patriots. I saw some video from the mini-camp they had earlier this month and everything appears to be going well. One thing that really stood out...Bethel Johnson is fast! I know that doesn't mean a damn thing in the NFL, but the guy can fly. If he can run a route, learn the offense and catch a ball, the Patriots could have a legitimate deep threat for the first time since Shawn Jefferson.

Until next time, GO MIGHTY DUCKS, GO ANGELS, GO BULLDOGS & GO PATRIOTS!

The Mighty Ducks had a great season. They may not have won it all, but they did more than anyone other than themselves, and Doug, thought that they would.
  News from the rest of the sports world (05-22-03)

I'll start with Annika Sorenstam. First of all, I have no problem with her getting a sponsor's exemption and playing in a PGA Tour event. There is nothing in the PGA bylaws that says a woman can't play, and she's the best women's golfer in the world. Is it being done for publicity? Of course, but so what? If you have a PGA event that Tiger Woods doesn't play in, nobody pays any attention to your event. Because she's playing in the Colonial they have more media at the event than they had at the Masters. I'm actually watching it right now. You know how many times I watch the opening round of a golf tournament? Usually four times a year for the majors. They are getting what they wanted and I don't have a problem with it.
As for all the men that said, "Well, first of all she won't make the cut." You know who you are Charles Barkley and talk show radio hosts everywhere. Whoops. I guess you can officially shut the hell up now, huh? She's one UNDER par after 12 holes. Boy, she's really struggling! She can't compete with the men! This is why she's here, to prove that she can compete with the men and she is doing just that. Golf, of all sports, is the one where women can compete with men. Strength has nothing to do with success on the golf course. Someone my size can succeed at golf just as easily, and probably more so, than someone the size of Mark McGwire. I went to the Nissan Open this year and I saw how big the men's players are. They are not big at all. Sergio Garcia is 5'10", 160 lbs. Corey Pavin is 5'9", 155 lbs. So is Mike Weir. Those are all very good golfers and they are all slighty bigger than Annika. Why can she not compete with them again? Is it because her boobs get in the way? (I forget what moron said that years ago, but it was a beauty).
The fact is that she obviously can compete with the men, and we shouldn't be surprised. Golf is not tennis, it's not football, it's not basketball and it's not soccer. She hits the ball straight, has a great short game and can drive the ball about 275 yards. What part of that is going to keep her from playing good golf on the PGA tour?
Look, I still think that, if I practiced for a month or so, I could beat a division one women's basketball player one-on-one. (I actually briefly dated one, but not long enough to play her one-on-one, at least not on the basketball court. HEY-OH!) Not any division one women's player, but some of them. I think I could play in the women's pro football league. I could not play in the WNBA and I would be an embarassment in women's tennis. The point is, there are sports where men do have a great advantage and there are sports where sex has nothing to do with it. Golf is one of the latter. Good for Annika to prove that she is worthy of playing with the men, and I hope this forever ends the debate that women have no business playing with the men in golf.

I've been meaning to say something for a while now, so I'll say it now. The Detroit Tigers are the worst baseball team I've ever seen. Ever. They are 9-35 on the year and I repeat, they're the worst baseball team of all-time. The best hitter in their everyday line-up is hitting .268. Listen to this line-up:
Andres Torres
Ramon Santiago
Bobby Higginson
Dmitri Young
Craig Monroe
Carlos Pena
Shane Halter
Eric Munson
Brandon Inge

Jesus H. Christ on a camels back! That is awful! I KNOW I could be the GM of this team. That is the worst line-up I've ever seen. Who are you supposed to fear? "Boy, we can't pitch to Craig Monroe! We better make sure we get Torres & Santiago out because if we don't, Higginson will make us pay!" Then we get to the pitching staff:
Mike Maroth
Adam Bernero
Jeremy Bonderman
Gary Knotts
Nate Cornejo

Are you kidding me? Who the hell are these people? Gary Knotts? This is a joke, right? Combined they are 6-28 on the year. Mike Maroth is 0-9. Bernero is 0-6. Their team ERA is 4.65 and their team batting average is .215. As a team they have 32 home runs and 120 RBI's. If you combine Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells and Carl Everett they have 37 home runs and 128 RBI's. SWEET MARY MOTHER OF GOD!
This team is an absolute joke and MLB should step in. They traded their only good pitcher, Jeff Weaver, and for what? Carlos Pena (.234, 6 HR, 16 RBI), Franklyn German (1-2, 3.44 ERA) and a draft pick? You've got to be kidding me! MLB should take control of this team and at least make them competitive. Honestly, this team could lose 130 games this season, they're that bad. They're on pace to go 33-129. I really think they will have less than 20 wins at the All-Star break, but of course they will get an All-Star and that player will have an effect on who gets home field advantage in the World Series. I don't know how anyone could be a Tigers fan at this point. I would be organizing a lynch mob to burn Comerica down and stop the pain. How the same guy that owns the Red Wings, the Yankees of the NHL, can own this team is beyond me. I can't say enough how bad, and embarassing, this team is. Forget having Ernie Harwell come back to the booth, suit him up!

Finally, I come to the Big East. If they lose Miami, Syracuse and Boston College and are left with Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Temple and West Virginia, they should immediately be pulled from the BCS. You're going to tell me that conference is better than Conference-USA, the Mountain West, or the WAC? No, it isn't. It's a joke and they shouldn't be in the BCS anymore. I'm not sure how the ACC is allowed to just take three schools from them, but they are, and if it does indeed happen then there should be one more at-large bid to the BCS party. It's too bad, too, because while that was a bad conference, it wasn't a complete joke. Now it is.

Annika Sorenstam doesn't have a chance to make the cut, eh? Never underestimate a Swede! For thoughts on this and more, read "News from the rest of the sports world."
  Doug's Game Seven Experience The Anaheim Angels are the 2002 World Series Champions! Man that sounds good. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance for Game Seven along with my wife Jackie, friend Dan and his wife Kristen. It was surreal to be sitting in a stadium that I have seen hundreds of games in, knowing that this was game seven of the World Series. The whole game was great. John Lackey was brilliant on three days rest and he held the Giants to one run in five innings. Then came Brendan Donnelly to pitch two scoreless innnings, then Francsico Rodriguez pitched a scoreless eighth in which he struck out the side. Three pitchers, none of which were on the Angels opening day roster, combining to throw eight innings of one-run ball against the Giants in game seven of the World Series. Unbelievable. Then Troy Percival came in to pitch a scoreless ninth, getting Kenny Lofton to fly to CF to end the game. At the moment Darin Erstad caught that ball to end the game and to give the Angels their first World Championship in history, I joined the rest of the fans and went nuts. Jumping up and down, hugging Jackie, Dan and Kristen. High fiving everyone around me, screaming, cheering and every now and then looking to the field to see the players doing the same thing on the field. I did not even know that they were firing off fireworks until I got our pictures back and saw that Jackie took some photos of them. It was really incredible to be there, to witness it all firsthand and to be able to enjoy it with the players and fans. I don't know if I should ever go to another game, because it will never get better than that.
This has been a great year for me as a sports fan as first the Patriots upset the Rams to win their first ever Super Bowl title and now less than nine months later the Angels win their first ever World Series title. When the Patriots won it, I was estatic. Then the Angels started playing well and since I was still riding the high from the Super Bowl I just got a feeling that the Angels were going to do something special. They did. Seeing the Angels win the World Series means that I can die happy as a sports fan. The Angels are the only team that I have followed closely all my life, as my father had season tickets when I was a kid and I have gone to countless games over the years. They have been in the Dodgers shadow for as long as they have existed, but no longer. They are now the World Champions and no matter what happens in the future I can always look back on 2002 and smile.
The Angels are the World Champions. Amazing.

Anaheim Angels
2002 World Series Champions!


"I'm disappointed they got things thrown at them, I thought that was inappropriate. But as far as the game time part of it, that's part of the game. We've been through it and go through (it) all the time (on the road). Let them go to Fresno State and see how they do." -Hawai'i head football coach June Jones after the Univ. of Cincinnati tried to blame the fans that sat behind their bench for the fight that the Bearcats players started after the game.