A few years ago, Billy O’Connor would have laughed in your face if you told him he would be spending his Saturday nights sober and in the gym instead of getting completely fucked up in a bar somewhere. The Brooklynite enjoyed the nightlife and took it to the extreme, as many a young man does. But he was smart enough to get off that train before it reached its last stop.

“For many years, I had a major drug and alcohol problem and was unable to control it,” a somber O’Connor, 32, admitted to us. Starting from when he was 21, he went on a tear by getting high and drunk and slowly left behind the subtle semblances of normalcy. Part of that was walking away from an early introduction to weight training, albeit the simplest form.

“It was your typical chest and biceps routine in my parent’s basement,” said O’Connor. He did this for approximately seven years but then, “fell off the map completely.”

Although he was able to perform his job as a wedding photographer during this dark period of his life, O’Connor knew that he needed to get clean if he was going to excel at not just work, but life in general.

Three years ago, a decision was made that classified as a life changer is not strong enough. A life saver is more appropriate. And O’Connor turned again to a familiar place as part of his recovery and sobriety.

“I’m not sure my life would be what it is today if I didn’t train like an animal,” admitted a smiling O’Connor. “I love every aspect of my new lifestyle and I’m looking forward to making more progress.”

Having someone by your side makes it a lot easier and O’Connor’s girlfriend Melissa Mason is also his workout partner and they are currently taking classes together to become certified personal trainers.

“In the future, I hope to start a business that allows me to utilize my passion for bodybuilding and fitness every day,” O’Connor said. ” I have a few ideas in the works right now and am excited to see them through.”

After beating the demons he did, no on is betting against O’Connor.

Billy O’Connor works for Photo Elite in Brooklyn, New York (www.photoelteinc.com) and also lies his trade on a freelance basis. Check out some of his work on his Facebook page.

‘This is Your Magazine’ is merely one of the reasons why MuscleSport Mag is far and wide better than any other publication out there. What other media outlet features the up and coming athlete, the same as if he or she was a professional in their industry? This is the place to get your face and story out there, and who knows what opportunities may arise from that type of exposure?

Neither Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran or David Wright are what some thought – and hoped – they would be.

According to a report by Jeffrey Toobin on The New Yorker.com, Wilpon was open with comments about his ‘big three, and its hard to find fault in any of his assessment. When speaking about Reyes, Wilpon said to Toobin,” He thinks he’s going to get Carl Crawford money (seven years, $142 million). He’s had everything wrong with him. He won’t get it.”

Let’s take a look at that a little closer. In nine major league season, Reyes has a career average of .287, 13 home runs, 66 RBI, 197 hits, 58 stolen bases, 51 walks, 81 strike outs, 34 doubles, 15 triples and an OBP of .336. On the other hand, Crawford has played 10 seasons and averages .293, 13 home runs, 77 RBI, 192 hits, 53 steals, 38 walks, 102 strike outs, 28 doubles, 13 triples with a .334 OBP. Both are above-average fielders at the respective positions.

Crawford and Reyes have very similar numbers and just because the Boston Red Sox made the mistake of overpaying one of them doesn’t mean that the Mets – or another team – should do the same. Both are table setters that strike out too much and do not walk enough and Reyes (who will turn 28 on June 11) will always have the injury factor having over his head.

Wilpon wasn’t far off when he made his remark about his shortstop’s battle with staying off the Disabled List. Since making his big league debut on June 10, 2003, he has suffered a sprained ankle (2003), strained hamstring (2004), back problems (2004), calf (2009), hamstring (2009) and even a hyperactive thyroid gland (2010).

If we can take one sure thing out of Wilpon’s words is that Reyes is finishing up his tenure as a Met in 2011. He should be traded by the deadline on July 31 so that the team can pick up a few good prospects in return before the three-time All-Star walks as a free agent. The Mets do not have the capital after the Madoff scandal to pay Reyes anything close to the money he will be seeking.

When you think of a superstar or the main cog on a team, names like Derek Jeter, Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez roll off the tongue. David Wright? He may not even be the best player on his team, which is sub-par to mediocre at their best. Certainly no slouch, the third baseman has been named to the All-Star team the last five years, and has also won two Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards each.

But if you see him play every day, its apparent that Wright more or less fits Wilpon’s summation of him being a “very good player” but “not a superstar.” He’ll get a big hit one day and then go into a long slump the next. A rocket hit to the hot corner is played flawlessly, only to be followed up a game or so later with a butchering on another. That’s what you get with Wright – a little of the good and a little of the bad. Superstars also become team leaders and Wright has had numerous chances to step up and the that guy in the dugout and clubhouse. He either has chosen not to do it or simply does not have the right personality to be the general in front of his soldiers.

When Carlos Beltran hit the open market following a huge playoff performance for the 2004 Houston Astros, he did everything that he could to end up in New York. Even after he was offered a better contract, his agent made an 11th hour telephone call to see if the general manager would reconsider bringing the hottest free agent into their fold. But it wasn’t meant to be.

That’s because Beltran’s first choice was to become a member of the Yankees and he ‘settled’ for more money from Omar Minaya to come to Queens instead of the Bronx. The former Mets GM fell in love with Beltran and showered him with $119 million over seven years to get over his jilting by the Bombers. Minaya was able to convince Wilpon to open the coffers for Beltran, even though he had previously toiled in obscurity playing for the hapless Kansas City Royals his entire career sans one half season.

“We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series,” Wilpon told Toobin. “He’s 65 to 70 percent of what he was,” Wilpon continued, referring to the added years and nagging knee injuries that Beltran has to currently deal with.

The Mets’ recent surge is hopefully not giving current general manager Sandy Alderson a false sense of security. This team is not a contender for the wild card and are years away from even thinking about the division, so he should look to move two or all three players. Beltran is also in his walk year.

Reyes and Beltran will surely be on the market and Alderson will have to be blown away to even listen to offers for Wright. At 28 and under contract, he can be an important part of the Mets if they can bring in a big name to take the spotlight.

But it is refreshing to hear that Wilpon is not looking through rose-colored glasses and realizes that there are players on this team that have lost the ‘untouchable’ tag.

Photo by John Scollo

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Nelson has two titles to her name, both occurring in 2004. She won the IFBB North American and World Universe crowns that year and has competed in many of the prestigious shows in the industry, such as the Ms. Olympia, Ms. International (Arnold Classic), Atlantic City Pro, New York Pro and Europa Super Show.

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We will be announcing a new schedule for the show soon and our next episode will be on Thursday, March 26 at 3:00 PM. Updates can be found right here on MuscleSport Mag, and our new tentative time slot will be on Tuesdays from 1:00 to 2:00 PM. We are in the process of lining up our special guests and you will not be disappointed when they are announced.

As it turned out, a gray and battered Favre melted down the stretch while a rejuvenated Pennington turned a one-win team into a division champion. As hard as that was to swallow, having Favre announce his retirement leaves the Jets in a much worse position than before they acquired the sure-bet first ballot Hall of Famer.

The knock against Pennington was that he didn’t possess a strong arm and couldn’t stretch the field. Ironically, during the five-game winning that gave the Jets an 8-3 record, the offense was moving the ball when Favre was throwing it underneath to his running backs and tight ends, rather than trying to hit the home run down the field. Earlier in the season, he was throwing a lot of interceptions by forcing the ball in. Starting with the November 30 home loss to Denver, Favre began throwing the ball into double coverage again and his stats went south. During the Jets’ 1-4 record to close out the season, Favre threw only two touchdown passes and nine picks.

An injury that he described as pain coming from his right shoulder wasn’t revealed until after the last game and a subsequent MRI showed that Favre had a torn bicep. “It actually started (hurting) probably when I started throwing back in the summer,” he said. “Ever so slight and not very often but just enough that I’d just wrote it off as just old age or whatever. Each week, just with wear and tear, it progressively (became worse) and I’m not a doctor, but I think, as the season progressed, it would tear just a little bit (more).”

Favre retiring helps the Jets in one aspect as they get salary cap relief from the $13 million he was to receive. While that may help on the open market, they currently have to decide between three quarterbacks on the roster that have started a combined total of eight NFL games – all by Kellen Clemens, who failed miserably when given an opportunity to take Pennington’s job in 2007. His career stats (five touchdowns and 11 interceptions) hardly make him a sure-thing to be named the starter in 2009.

Then you have Brett Ratliff, who has received a lot of positive print in the New York area even though he can only hang his helmet on a few exhibition games in which he played extremely well. The undrafted former practice squad player said that he feels “very confident” and after speaking to new Jets head coach Rex Ryan, is only asking “for an opportunity to prove myself, to show my abilities.”

Erik Ainge, who was a low round draft pick out of Tennessee last year, missed time with a foot injury and was also suspended four games for using a banned substance.

Do the Jets bring in a short-term solution again, such as Jeff Garcia or Kerry Collins? Or do they go after a younger QB like Kyle Boller, who Ryan knows from his time in Baltimore?

There is always the draft and two names (Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman) have already been mentioned as being on the Jets radar, but they may have to trade up from their position at number 17 to get one of them.

This team is talented and improved in many ways last season, but they would have been in much better shape right now with Pennington behind center than a huge question mark.

Photo by Bill Menzel

At least there’s a lot to love about CC Sabathia, all 311 pounds of him at last check during the playoffs. When the Yankees ballooned their offer to the free agent to $161 million over seven years, that made it over $500,000 per pound, but who’s counting?

Yes, he was the best pitcher on the open market and did deserve an expensive, long-term contract. But even with that in mind, the only other deal on the table appeared to be from the Brewers, who tried to keep Sabathia in Milwaukee with a five-year, $100 million offer. While certainly no small potatoes, it was easily trumped by the Yankees’ original six-year, $140 million monster.

Sabathia did everything possible to find another taker closer to his northern California home. Neither the Dodgers, Angels or Athletics were ever serious players in the sweepstakes, and the Giants – who are still reeling from Barry Zito mistake – were rumored to have made a trivial offer, hoping for a huge hometown discount. Sabathia made it clear that he preferred the west coast and the National League, but also money was the main issue.

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When it was all said and done, the only legitimate offer that Sabathia had was from the Yankees, and he still was able to make them feel that it was he who held them over a barrel. For reasons only known to Sabathia, his very happy wife Amber and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, the offer went up instead of going down once they all convened at the Sabathia mansion (soon to be upgraded).

“When the opportunity was given, that’s a flight I have to take,” Cashman told reporters of the continuation process of negotiations that began at the winter meetings in Las Vegas over the past few days.

Apparently a big addition to the contract was a player opt-out clause after three years. If Sabathia and his family decide that New York is not their cup of tea, then he can walk away in 2011 with the $69 million he already pocketed.

Only 28 years old, Sabathia has a career mark of 117-73 in eight seasons, spent mostly in Cleveland before being dealt to Milwaukee right last July. As a Brewer, Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA, carrying the team on his back into the playoffs as the NL’s wild card entry.

Arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Sabathia now becomes the highest paid one, jumping over the six-year, $135 million deal the Mets gave Johan Santana after trading for him a year ago. Now there are two top lefthanders in New York, who will no question be compared over and over again.

Now that the Yankees have their ‘ace,’ Cashman is looking to fill the next hole. “We need to improve our rotation, and it’s not just one,” he told reporters. “It’s more than one. My intent this winter is to try to improve the club any way I possibly can, but the main focus is going to be the rotation.”

Up next is Toronto righthander A.J. Burnett, who opted out of a contract that was paying him $11 million a year to see if he could shake someone down for more. Enter the Yankees, who reportedly have a five-year, $80 million contract ready for the often injured hurler to sign. That would be a raise of $5 million every summer, not bad for a guy with an ERA over four and only nine games over .500 in a decade of experience. The former Met farmhand went 18-10 at the right time and started over 30 games for only the third time.

The printing press in the Bronx is working overtime. Once Burnett – or whoever else the second future multi-millionaire in pinstripes is – comes on board, the team will be improved. No one will question that.

But will that be enough to win number 27? Sabathia will be a big part of the team’s success, and he has 311…I mean 161 million reasons to make that a reality.