The "New" Tom Brady Rule

Over a year ago, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a horrific knee injury against the Kansas City Chiefs when safety Bernard Pollard, while falling down, rolled into Brady's left knee, tearing the ACL and ending Brady's season.


On Sunday, Baltimore Ravens pro bowl defensive end Terrell Suggs was pushed while rushing Brady as the Ravens and Patriots faced off. Suggs stumbled and fell perilously close to Brady's legs again. Brady was able to sidestep the brunt of the hit and then looked back at the referee with a look like "what was that?" Despite completing his pass to running back Sammy Morris who was stopped short of the first down.

Suggs was hit with a 15-yard personal foul penalty which extended the Patriots' drive that ended with a touchdown run by Morris to extend the lead to 17-7.

My point is that quarterbacks in the NFL are being babied way too much these days. If a defensive player hits a quarterback anywhere except squarely in the chest, the chance of a unnecessary roughness penalty exists. The quarterback is the only position where a single referee/umpire is totally devoted to one position.

The hit on Brady a year ago was gruesome and spelled trouble for the Patriots hopes that season, but no penalty was called on the play. Suggs did not even knock down Brady on the play but because of the new rules and the way Brady played it up as well as a soccer player, a penalty was called that led to a touchdown drive for the Pats.

Defensive players are not always in control of themselves. Half of the players in the NFL on the defensive side of the ball can't even properly tackle a running back or wide receiver, let alone hit a moving, scrambling quarterback in a three-foot area while being shoved by humongous 300-pound linemen.

Even Brady admits it's tough.

"I never think those guys are being malicious out there. They are trying to make a play, make the tackle, and it's tough for a defensive player to [pull off] a quarterback," Brady said.

I understand that quarterbacks are fragile and their egos are even more fragile, but we can't change the entire game of football just to protect these guys. Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann had his leg broken in a game back in the day but there was no penalty because the defensive player made a great play.


The referees and head-honchos in the NFL need to figure out a better way to protect players without compromising the integrity of the sport.

Hockey Season! Football Season!

Football may be the most popular sport in the country due to its wide audience but with the NHL opening its regular season on Thursday, I have to tell people in the DC Area what they're missing by not watching the Good Ole Hockey Game.

The Washington Capitals are one of the most exciting teams in any sport. No I'm not exaggerating. Their up-and-down, north-to-south, hard-hitting, high-scoring show dazzles viewers and keeps people excited. And they're style of play along with improved defense and goal tending (hopefully) is the reason that many "experts" are picking them to win the Eastern Conference and possibly even the Stanley Cup.

It starts at the top and owner Ted Leonsis is as big a fan of his team as anyone. He sits in his suite at center ice wearing a jersey instead of a stuffy shirt, tie and suit. This man bleeds red and rocks the red as well as any zealous fan. He gives his team the energy that they show on the ice.

General Manager George McPhee has pieced together an amazingly dynamic team that sells out every home game. By trading away over-priced veterans for draft picks and prospects, the Caps built their team from within centering around #1 pick Alex Ovechkin. McPhee sold away a dreary team that made Verizon Center seem "like a morgue" according to new forward Mike Knuble, formerly with the Philadelphia Flyers. Now it's getting very difficult to find a ticket for a Caps home game. My favorite idea thus far was selling home tickets only to people with MD, DC, VA zip codes and shunning all PA buyers during their playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins last year.

Bruce Boudreau came from the Capitals farm team in Hershey, PA to the spotlight a year and a half ago when management fired their previous coach Glen Hanlon after a record worst start. Boudreau turned the team around and actually squeaked into the playoffs after a record-setting run from when he took over the reins. His coaching style is emotional and nothing is more fun than seeing Bruce jump up and down on the bench along with his players after a big goal.

The centerpiece of the whole organization is Alex Ovechkin. Some people have told me that Ovechkin is not the best player in the NHL right now. I respectfully disagree and I'll tell you why. People say Ovechkin is just a scorer and only works in open space.

In the words of Wayne Campbell, "shyea, right....."

Ovechkin is a dynamic player regardless of the situation. He is a dynamic scorer and that's his bread and butter. It's basically impossible to shut this guy out of a game. He fights so hard to score and yet rejoices just as much when a teammate scores. In his first game of the season last night, Ovechkin assisted on the first goal, and then scored the second and fourth goals for his team with wicked wrist shots.

People might think that someone who is so good at scoring would be easily shaken or intimidated by hitting. Ovechkin is not a fighter but he never flinches at the chance to hit somebody. He often leaps, shoulder-first into opponents, with devastating results.He elevates his team to a different level and everyone else falls in line behind his energetic enthusiasm for hockey.

From the front office to the front line on the ice, the Capitals are going places where other DC teams can never reach. The Redskins are terrible again, the Wizards are on shaky, oft-injured legs and the Nationals/Orioles are vying for the title of worst MLB team. Watch a hockey game like I did last spring (where the Caps came back to win Game 7 against the Rangers in their first-round playoff matchup) and tell me this isn't the sport than DC-natives should be clamoring about.

(Awesome hockey youtube video I just had to share)

Running Blog from Nationals Park

Ala Bill Simmons, I decided to recount my night with friends at Nationals Stadium on Tuesday where everything that could have gone right, did go right. If only I were Bill Murray and could relive the same day everyday, I would relive those 4-5 hours over and over again until I wanted to kill myself too.

Monday Night - At our weekly poker game, my friend Pat asked the group of fellas if anyone was interested in coming to a Nationals game on Tuesday. I, of course, was interested because I am the second coming of George Costanza. Now my Halloween costume from this past fall is coming true because "I'm unemployed and I live with my parents." Hence I was psyched to go.

Tuesday 5:30-ish - I begin my trip into downtown Silver Spring heading to the Metro. No terrible "Office Space-worthy" traffic on the way, so already in a good mood.

6 pm - I realize it's hilarious when other people miss their Metro trains, especially when their friend is standing inside of the doors laughing. A woman was a step late and watched her friend ridicule her as he sped away to the next stop. Priceless!

6:30 pm - I meet Pat on the Metro ride there and we immediately begin talking about our hatred of certain fans. Pat, a Phillies fan, was abhorring all the Mets fans on the train with us while I spewed venom about Red Sox and Yankees bandwagon fans who crowd Camden Yards on a regular basis. I'm still amazed to this day how many Boston fans find themselves in Baltimore and I'm firmly convinced that 80% of them are posers who only like the Red Sox after they won a World Series.

7:00 - Pat and I grab two hotdogs and a bag of peanuts respectively as we go to willcall. Pat's friend and former co-worker Rembe (awesome name btw) was able to get us free tickets as he works with the Nationals operations. Through the gates we receive free t-shirts. Free tickets maybe 20 rows up from behind the first base dugout and free t-shirts. Off to a great start.

7:05 - After meeting our friends Jordan and Bob the builder, we discover that Bob was endowed by the sports gods with four luxury suite tickets by a random person on the Metro. Incredible! We trek our way up and sit in king-like chairs with an awesome view behind home plate. Here's the view

7:15 - We search the suite to see what lies within and quickly Bob discovers a bottle of Johnny Walker Red underneath the sink (which seems like a reasonable place to keep fancy liquor). We all quickly walk out of the suite, buy cheap sodas and realize that we just saved maybe 15-20 dollars apiece on booze. Shots are poured and the night is getting better every second.

8:00 - Three business men from out of town join us and sit down to begin a strange betting game. Pat being a very personable guy asks the details and joins in. I now endorse this game to anyone who ever wants to make baseball a more interesting game to watch.
Everyone throws in a dollar into the pot and it starts at one person with one corresponding batter. If the batter strikes out, the person holding the pot throws another dollar into the pot and passes it to the next bettor. If the batter walks, the bettor hangs onto the pot for another batter. If the batter hits into an out/error, the pot is passed to the next bettor. If the batter gets a hit, the bettor wins the pot, takes the money and the pot is remade with a dollar from each participant. If the batter knocks one out, all the other bettors owe the pot-holder five bucks apiece.
Awesome game that gets better with liquor.

8:45 - Pat wins his first pot and rejoices. We all cheer for him as we watch the Nationals and Mets play the most worthless game ever.

9:00 - Bob and Jordan go out for Dippin' Dots ice cream. After getting some ridicule on their way out, they return to tell us they got free ice cream. The vendor had shut down her station due to a lack of cups, so Jordan and Bob borrow cups from the suite and the vendor gives them free ice cream for being so resourceful. Could this night be any more free?

9:30 - The Mets implode in the eighth and the Nationals take one from a team with twice their payroll. Good end to a game for everyone except Jordan (a Mets fan). We part and head home on the Metro

Awesome night that I had to share with everybody. I encourage people to go to eliminated-from-playoffs games because almost everyone will not care and then you have "free" reign over the stadium if you play your cards right.

Friday Awards

I've thought of a new section in the blog that will address funny and terrible moments in the sporting world from each week. (I need a name for this section and am currently accepting suggestions). So here we go with the inaugural ridiculous moments in sports from No Offense.....

Coolest youtube video:
Perfect Shot
These kids tried to throw a basketball from Texas A&M's stadium's second level, decided to go up another level and then sank the shot. These fools were invited onto ESPN to talk about their video.
No Offense......but the video looks fake and he forgot to call bank on the shot.

Coolest dream scenario come true:
Drunk Russian Goal
During a Russian soccer league match and as one team lines up for a penalty kick, a drunken fan runs onto the field and blasts the ball past a stunned goalie and then runs and celebrates the goal.
No Offense....but was it worth having the KGB "break you like mule"? Also tell your slightly slower friend to stay in the stands next time as it looks like he would follow you anywhere (no homo....).

Freak injury of the week:
Derrick Lee injures neck
Are the Chicago Cubs truly cursed? Second baseman Jeff Baker hit a two-run, walk-off homerun against San Fransico Giant's closer Brian Wilson. After first baseman Derrick Lee crossed the plate with the tying run he was slapped on the helmet by teammate and reliever Angel Guzman. Lee has had neck and back spasms all year and aggravated the injury when Guzman slapped his helmet.
No Offense......But John Madden once said, "You know, there's a rule in sports. Don't do anything great if you can't handle the congratulations." This is almost as lame as Gus Frerotte injury his neck after head butting a wall in celebration.
*Runner up goes to Marion Barber's blown tire quad injury against the Giants Sunday night.

Moment most deserving of cuss words:
Lefty Shoots 8 at 14th
Sitting at 1-under par and after hitting a great tee shot at the 14th hole, Lefty put his approach into a bunker short of the green. From there he pitched it over the green and into the rough behind the hole. From their he pitched it back into the same trap from before. After that he failed to get it out of the trap. After finally getting the ball on the green he 2-putted for an eight and finished the day at 3-over.
No Offense....but as bad of a hole was for Lefty(almost excruciating to watch), Sportscenter anchor Robert Flores made a great call of this sequence on Sportcenter's Not Top Ten alluding to this sequence from Caddyshack.
Spalding Smails: Turds.
Judge Smails: Spaulding! How many times have I spoken to you about your language?
Spalding Smails: Sorry grandpa I forgot.
*Takes another whack...
Spalding Smails: Double turds.
Judge Smails: Spaulding!

Most devastating injury/injuries of the week:
The Philadelphia Eagles are without QB Donovan McNabb, RB Brian Westbrook and WR DeSean Jackson on offense and lost MLB Stewart Bradley for an extended period of time, driving them to work-out Jeremiah Trotter?
No Offense....but with a cupcake game against Kansas City this week and an early bye week next week, leave Trotter's fossilized-self at home and get some cajones for this week (I hate the Eagles and almost all Philadelphia teams in case you didn't know and I'm not ashamed to be biased).

That's it for the first-time-around. Let me know what you think of this section/idea and please feel free to spitball more ideas in the comments section.

Draft Money Talks

I think a gleam of hope shined upon the world. Maybe an angel got their wings. But when the audio clip emerged of President Barack Obama calling Kanye West a jackass after his latest stunt at this year's Video Music Awards, everyone was simply ecstatic that someone in the spotlight said what everyone else wanted to.

Today in an article on ESPN, reporter Scoop Jackson began his article/column by comparing Kanye West's jackass-ness to that of Michael Crabtree, the only unsigned rookie from this past year's NFL draft.

Crabtree was taken 10th overall by the San Francisco 49ers which made him the second wide receiver chosen behind Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey (HEY BEY BEY!) who was taken 7th by the Oakland Raiders.

People in Crabtree's "camp" expected the receiver to go 5th despite the fact that he missed many workouts for teams with an ankle injury and requested money deserving of a fifth-overall pick and supposed "savior" to the teams thin receiving corps.

256 players were drafted by NFL teams this year and yet only one remains. The 49ers have offered around $20 million to Crabtree (which is a heck of a lot more than he makes sitting at home watching the games). Crabtree has threatened to sit out this season and re-enter into next season's draft in order to hopefully go higher and earn more money.


SURVEY SAYS??? XXXXXXXXXXXXX!

Crabtree is trying to hold the Niners hostage in this situation but in my opinion all he's doing is hurting his own stock.

Who is going to want to spend a first-round draft pick on this guy if there's no guarantee that he will actually sign with the team? Plus he's going to be a year out of the game! A year's worth of rust to shake off along with the eventual learning curve that all rookie's go through and this guy won't score more touchdowns than I will.

There's no doubt that Crabtree is a talented player. What he did to Texas on national television last year was simply amazing. But why cause such a stink about being the second pick taken (and five picks late according to his agents)?

Playing in the NFL is a privilege and he's lost sight of that. The Niners for their sake have never looked back at Crabtree and have started off their season 2-0. A surprising start for the team and their success only further weakens Crabtree's arguments and causes.

It's time for him to suck it up and realize that he screwed himself, and try to become part of a team that may be this year's Arizona Cardinals. San Fran may have a chance to win the NFC West (almost any team in the division has a chance). Why not make a big apology and come crawling back to a now successful team.

To Kill a Boo-Bird

If you were a Maryland Terrapins' fan this weekend, you may have booed when the team lost to Middle Tennessee State for the second time in as many years. A team that is barely qualified as Division-I defeated an ACC contender in each of the past seasons. They deserved to be booed with a pathetic effort that allowed their opponents to win on a last second field goal. Only a week before the Terps barely squeaked by James Madison, another under-qualified D-I school, in a close overtime victory.


When a team doesn't live up to their potential especially against much weaker opponents, then true fans may become unruly and begin to question their coach, ownership and especially a quarterback. When the athletes LOSE a game to worse competition, booing is a completely acceptable way to tell the team that they simply did not perform well enough.

Now contrast the collegiate team with the pros. The Redskins performed poorly in their opener against the New York Giants but still remained close enough in the game to make it respectable (they ended up losing 23-17). If they were at home last week, the boo birds would have been accepted because the team lost after playing poorly.

However I am amazed that as the Redskins took a knee to run out the clock as they defeated the St. Louis Rams 9-7, the boo birds came out again. The team that had some terrible difficulties trying to score touchdowns had officially won their first game and first home-game but that wasn't enough for fans at the game.



Being a true fan is being part of your team no matter what. When your team loses after a poor effort, booing doesn't mean you hate you team. It means you didn't like their effort and want them to step it up. Skins fans booed during the game when their team was held out of the end zone all five times they got close.

However it's never acceptable to boo after a winning effort. Competition and skill is at such a high level in the professional leagues that winning is not guaranteed ever. It may be a cliche but a win is a win. In a 16-game season, any win is a very positive step for a team. Don't boo your team because they won in an ugly way. Be proud that despite all their shortcomings in the game, they were still able to win.

Boo birds need to fly away when a team wins. There are good wins and bad wins but a win is always a million times better than a loss.

Jay Cutler and his ego

Broncos new head coach Josh McDaniels must be patting himself on the back right now. He probably bought himself a beer for having such good judgment this off season.

After quarterback Jay Cutler made a huge fuss over the firing of former coach Mike Shanahan and the hiring of McDaniels and he went head-to-head in arguments with his new coach, the Broncos finally decided to trade the whiner to Chicago to be the Bears new hurler. The Broncos got Kyle Orton as compensation but we'll get to that later.

The guy reminded me of Willie Beaman in "Any Given Sunday". Anyone who cries about their situation and then doesn't perform really needs to re-evaluate themselves. Cutler made such a fuss about his situation (which has now spread to his go-to receiver Brandon Marshall) that the only way he could justify what he did was by going out and throwing the pill around like the second-coming of Brett Favre. OK more like the 8th coming of Favre??

Cutler is a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. Don't get me wrong, the kid can flat-out play. Unfortunately after throwing a huge temper-tantrum over the coaching change, he really had to perform in Chi-Town. And he didn't....

Four picks including some in a still close game, taking two sacks, and throwing more tantrums than touchdowns on the field. His performance can only be described as atrocious. Cutler at one point was on the sideline just chilling and buzzing his lips while having a career-worst day.

Now do you believe in karma?

McDaniels made a great reputation for himself as offensive coordinator in New England. He orchestrated three Super Bowl wins for the Pats while helping Tom Brady become the superstar that he is today. He also helped Matt Cassel emerge out of invisibility to become a great quarterback (unfortunately he now operates in Kansas City where quarterbacks go to be hit). How could you be upset that your team brought this guy in to help you too? His track record is as good as Usain Bolt's! Cutler's ego must have been larger than the entire cast of "Biggest Loser" if he didn't want to learn from McDaniels.

If Cutler wanted to go to another city.... fine. Don't poison your team before you leave and then under-perform after you get there.

Cutler's replacement? Orton throws a game-winning touchdown with 11 seconds left to win for his team. How is that trade looking now Jay?

I understand that players move all the time in the NFL. It's part of the business and can't be changed. However when your ego becomes so over-inflated you think you're bigger than the team, go take your sorry act somewhere else. Now Chicago is without Brian Urlacher (wrist surgery) for the season and must count on cry-baby Cutler to lead them in a revamped NFC North.

There may be plenty of tears in Chicago this season and it seems like a lot of them may be from Cutler.

Let's Get Going

For all those who have ever read my blog, thank you very much and please continue to read and comment.
For those who this is their first time welcome to my revamped effort with the blog.

The past few months have been hectic (and that is a huge understatement). This may be my best venue to write and comment about the sports world so I'm going to be posting multiple times per week from now on.

Stay tuned, I will post later on Jay Cutler's performance in Week 1.

The Epitome of Inconsistency

The dictionary defines rollercoaster as a verb meaning to experience a period of prosperity, happiness, security, or the like, followed by a contrasting period of economic depression, despair, or the like.

No verb could better define what the Maryland football team is going through this season. Moments of joy and hope followed by moments of despair and grief.

The team has beaten three different teams ranked in the top-25 in the country but it has also lost to its two arguably weakest opponents (Middle Tennessee and Virginia).

With a defense that can shut out the high-powered Wake Forest offense and an offense that can put up 30 points against a good California defense, there is no excuse for this team losing to two bottom-dwellers.

No one expected the team to defeat all these top-ranked teams. It's a pleasant surprise that any Terps fan would be estatic about.

However, everyone expected us to beat Middle Tennessee and Virginia who are both teams unworthy of carrying our jockstraps.

It is this kind of up-and-down turmoil that has made my friends and I want to skip the games in favor of tailgates and bars. We never know which team will show up on a week-to-week basis; the good throttling team who can compete with anyone or the weak team who couldn't even get close enough to attempt a field goal against Virginia.

I am still a Maryland fan through and through but all of my friends and I expect a letdown this week against N.C. State and will not be surprised if the Terps lose their homecoming game.

My Terrapins Blog

This previous Saturday was a day of upheaval for the Maryland Terrapins football team.

The criticisms of quarterback Chris Turner that stemmed from the Middle Tennessee game were thrown away by Turner’s two-touchdown performance against the Golden Bears.

The criticisms and near-hatred of coach Ralph Friedgen that has stemmed from this entire season dating back to spring practice were tossed aside by his team’s overall domination of a stronger and more talented opponent.

And last but not least this Saturday marked an upheaval for the stomach of California running back Jahvid Best, who actually tossed his cookies on the grass of Byrd Stadium.

No one believed that Maryland even had the slightest of chances in this game against 23rd-ranked California, myself included. But for once Maryland lived up to its hype and talent.

Running back Da’Rel Scott continued his early success with two touchdowns and 87 yards and wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey caught another touchdown on a huge play.

The day was highlighted by cornerback Kevin Barnes’ hit on Best during a screen pass late in the second corner. Barnes his Best just around the ribs on a very clean hit which jarred Best’s helmet loose and left the running back breathless and with a very empty stomach after he vomited on the field.

Washington Post blogger Dan Steinberg made the observation that the University of Maryland is one of the first high-powered D-1 schools to have opponents vomit on both their basketball court and their football field (Virginia Tech’s Dorenzo Hudson vomited on the floor of Comcast Center right in front of Maryland coach Gary Williams last winter).

Despite the intestinal turmoil, the Terrapin football team showed glimpses of its true potential for this season in the weak ACC and if they continue playing at this high level there will be a lot more upheavals this season (either from upsets or from stomachs of opponents).

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm back and it's about damn time. After a long "vacation" for the summer I am back with a vengeance and looking to get back into the blogging world.

Today's topic: THE VINCE YOUNG CONSPIRACY

In case any of you people have not seen or heard about it, Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, who was Rookie of the Year, a Pro Bowler, and Rose Bowl MVP has not had the most glamorous past two seasons. Last year he threw only 12 touchdowns compared to his 17 interceptions and completed 62% of his passes.

However this season he has faced more criticism because of his increasing role in the Titan's offense. In his first game he threw two interceptions but also threw a touchdown. The Titans fans did not appreciate this sub par effort and booed Young.

Then when Young was hurt in an awkward hit and sprained his left MCL the fans cheered the final coming of career backup Kerry Collins.

After the game, Young left his house to evidently "go watch Monday Night Football at a friend's house" and the red alerts went off. Family members and Titans coach Jeff Fisher all worried when Young left his cell phone at home and was out of contact. This sparked a four-hour police-led search for Young which ended when his friend calmly let Young's family know his location.

Now there is a huge calamity over whether Young is mentally stable or emotionally tough enough to continue playing in this league.

Here is my point, long awaited as it is.

Why would we ever baby people who are paid millions of dollars every year to perform at sports? Who else gets millions of dollars every year without some emphasis on performance?

So if people don't perform well why should we coddle them and make excuses for their shortcomings?

These are elite athletes, they are recruited to colleges as elite athletes, they are picked in the NFL (or other sports') drafts as elite athletes and are expected to perform like elite athletes.

Now tell me if I'm wrong but, a 2-1 interception-to-touchdown ratio is pretty crappy for a NFL quarterback. Why is everyone taking this so seriously? He is under-performing and deserves some criticism.

Now everyone is questioning his mental toughness. Jason Campbell, the quarterback for the Washington Redskins has not performed as badly as Young has from behind the center, but he also has not lived up to expectations. Is he crying about it? NO!

Young needs to understand that, as Tobey McGuire said in Spiderman, "With great power [or in this case talent] comes great responsibility."

If he is as talented as everyone thinks, then why not expect him to perform well?

Granted its OK to feel badly because your home fans boo you, but you can't throw away your entire career because you can't take criticism. Everyone will criticize every move you make when you play at a high enough level. If you can't understand and accept that then you were never ready to play at this level.

Like "Nuke" LaLoosh says, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains."

Take the good with that bad because not everyone is expected to win every single game. They are expected to live up to a certain level of performance, but not perfection.

Stop crying, as me and my buddies like to tell each other, and get moving. Sorry Vince and sorry Mama Young but it's time to grow a pair and get over being sad about criticism.

Olympic Bans (and not the fair kind)

Sorry, no jokes in this post.

Everyone knows that Olympic athletes are tested for illegal substances in their systems before, during and after their competitions during and around the four-year Olympic cycles. This is all well and good because these are unnatural substances meant to give these athletes an unfair advantage over their competition.

But the line is not clear when it comes to athletes using prosthetic limbs.

ESPN THE MAGAZINE ran a superb article a few weeks back chronicling the advancement of prosthetic limbs for athletic use. It told the story of 13-year-old Anthony Burruto who has two prosthetic legs but his dominating pitching is ruling over the rest of his Little League. With the advancements in prosthetics, a dream of a career in baseball is not completely out of the question for this poor guy who lost both of his legs.

It also tells the story of South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius who also is missing both of his legs just below the knees. He uses carbon-fiber prosthetics which make it seem like he is bounding instead of running.

And while the Little League has made bunting illegal against Burruto to give him an even playing field, the Olympics committee has banned Pistorius because tests show that his legs are more efficient by using less oxygen than able-bodied runners.

Able-bodied?? That is an interesting description....

Is able-bodied not a description of someone who is capable of performing the same skills and functions as everyone else??

Just because he uses less oxygen due to a lack of lower legs, does that make him any less of an athlete than Michael Johnson or Maurice Green??

Will he not represent his country as well as his "able-bodied" competitors?

And then there is the bigger issue. Where do people draw the line?

Creatine is an acceptable substance but HGH is illegal.
Reading lips is acceptable but using unauthorized videotapes is illegal.
A titanium rod beneath the skin is fine for fixing an injury, but a metal leg is completely out of the question.

What about children like Burruto who are not capable of interacting on the same level as their friend? Are they not allowed to participate in Little League? Can they not play on their church CYO teams? Are they doomed to sit on benches and wait in the wings while their friends enjoy their natural freedoms??

No "able-bodied" person can say that sports didn't influence their lives positively or negatively. But for children like Burruto, the lines between fair and unfair can take away their rights to experience what everyone else is.

And that is freedom from personal constraints. People go to the gym and shoot hoops to relieve stress, but how can a person like Pistorius or a kid like Burruto do that?

Think about where you draw your lines.

Would you tell your child athletes to lay down bunts against Burruto knowing he can't field them fairly? Would you not allow Pistorius to represent your country if he was the best chance for a gold medal?

Fantasy Sports

At the bidding of my father, and because it's actually a good idea, this week is about the advancement and fan-obsession of fantasy sports.

I can't say I'm a total nutjob for fantasy sports because I only do football and baseball. But in the last 10-15 years, fantasy sports have become almost as important as sexual gratification to the American male population. We enjoy nothing more than to rub in the extra 10 yards that Ladanian Tomlinson gained because it made the difference between a 1-point loss and a 1-point win. And bragging about that upset might be more gratifying when you wake up the next morning....

But I digress.

Before it found an incredible following, fantasy sports were for nerds with too much time and not enough cash. I remember being in my early teams and having my Ohio-an cousins talking about fantasy football which they had to record statistics on paper and calculate their scores manually. As I watched them, I thought, "Who the heck cares how many yards Emmitt Smith gains, especially when the Cowboys lost the game anyway?

But today the whole system is online and incredibly easy. My friends and I have yearly fantasy football leagues, my family has a yearly baseball league. This year I even did college football (finishing 2nd, I might add) and a player league for the NCAA tournament (5 players plus 1 player from a 13-or-below team). The possibilities are limitless.

Now in most leagues, especially with friends or family, the smack-talk is witty, hilarious and caustic to the recipient (btw props to my father who went 0-10 in the first week of the fantasy baseball season). But the problem for me is that people put too much into it. Sure we all wager a couple bucks that probably won't mean life or death for our financial situations, but making inappropriate sexual remarks (do not take the above too seriously) or dolling out lewd names is just pathetic.

In our fantasy baseball league, a huge deal was made about the number of innings that a team must contribute each week. But will it really make a difference?? Probably not.

Our hopes and dreams each week rest way too much upon our fantasy sports outcomes. Sundays are wasted checking and rechecking scouting reports, before, during and after every single football game. People risk friendships over meaningless league rules.

It's more mayhem than the Wannen-household during one of my sisters' many sleepovers. Ask my dad, they kill his spirit.

Why care so much about a "sport" that doesn't even affect the outcome of the teams you root for?

If I win in fantasy sports will the Redskins get rid of Daniel Snyder and become a real team? NO!

If I win this fantasy baseball league, will the Orioles finally finish above .500 for the first time in a decade? Of course not (as I write this a small, single tear rolls down my cheek, and this evening I will dream about Peter Angelos selling the team to Cal Ripken when I'm 30 years old).

Stop being idiots about a game that is more hit-or-miss than my buddy Dan's chances at taking home a girl from the bar. It's not life or death, unless you're my buddy Dan.

Follow-Up

........like I said.......... no heart...............

If They Only Had Some Heart....

When you attend college and root for your school's athletic teams, it is often said that you bleed the respective school colors (for me that's Maryland red, white, black and occasionally yellow).

But this year, I think my heart is only pumping out black and white, like really old televisions.

The Maryland men's basketball team is very young but does have some good veteran leadership in forwards James Gist and Bambale "Boom" Osby, who both are up there in ACC statistics as well. They have an enthusiastic point guard in sophomore Greivis Vasquez, who makes more mistakes per game than Robin Wright Penn makes in "Jenny's" life during "Forrest Gump". Playing the supporting roles are a plethora of players who on any night, can step up and have a great game that helps their team or who can disappear into nonexistence.

With talent, swagger, youth and veteran leadership this team has shown it can compete with the best teams in the country despite not receiving any respect from analysts early in the season. This team beat North Carolina when they were #1 back in January at Chapel Hill and played UCLA and Duke (twice) close.

And with just over a month left in the season and the team climbing ESPN's bracketology rankings, a NCAA Tournament birth seemed almost certain. But during this season, like David Carradine in the second Kill Bill movie, the Terps took five steps forward before their heart(s) and futures stopped.

The Terps had a number of opportunities to seal the deal but couldn't quite figure out a way to do it. Immediately after they upset North Carolina, the led against then-No. 3 Duke by nine points at halftime yet blew the lead on their home court. After beating some bottom dwellers and losing to Duke at Cameron Indoor, the Terps blew a 14-point lead against Virginia Tech. And the final dagger came last Sunday against Clemson where they led by 20 and somehow lost in the final seconds.

These blown opportunities really cost Maryland as they traveled to Virginia in a must-win situation last night. But Cavaliers senior Sean Singletary really stepped up his game and outplayed the entire Maryland team for his final home game.

And just like that, the Terps are now in a more impossible situation than Tom Hanks actually rescuing Matt Damon in "Saving Private Ryan". They probably have to win the ACC Tournament in order to make it to the dance and that path most likely leads through UNC and Duke. And unfortunately for the Terps the tournament takes place in North Carolina.

Free Agency

A little over 15 hours ago the NFL free agency period began marking the one of the most exciting and most disappointing events in sports.

Every fan gets incredibly hyped up over meaningless signings of players who might not even make an impact anyway. Look at the Redskins two years ago when pariahs Adam Archuleta and Brandon Lloyd were supposed to come and save the team on either side of the ball. Neither saw significant time by the end of the season and Archuleta was released after that year and Lloyd was just released after another unproductive season.

But then there are the success stories like Randy Moss and Wes Welker this season in New England. Moss broke the single-season touchdown reception record and Welker was at the top of the league in receptions. Neither player did anything remotely spectacular last season but given a change of scenery, they both bloomed into big-time threats.

The problem with free agency is that it gives the players and the owners a chance to look for greener pastures. If a player doesn't perform up to the team's expectations, the coaches and owners see if they can find a better solution. If the team sucks and the player wants to play for a winner, he can see if there isn't some team who could use his talents.

But there's no loyalty! Today there aren't too many Brett Favres, Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys who will play on their respective teams until the day they walk away from the game. It just doesn't happen that often that a player stays on the same team through the good and bad moments. People are too driven by money and championships to consider the fans or sporting area that they just left.

The hype of teams is almost unbearable at times. San Francisco was terrible last season and they even turned to former Maryland quarterback Shaun Hill (who had one good week and then tanked after that). But now they have signed seven free agents already today and none of them will probably make an enormous impact.

So beware of the free agency hype until it actually pans out for your team. And get ready because we can all do the same thing (freaking out about signings) in a little over a month when the clock starts on the NFL draft

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This video was for my journalism class again. It was taken at the University of Maryland pool and contains video of the Maryland State Championships in swimming. Ron Chamberlain was also the meet's co-director.

Darth Clemens (plus some showing off)

When you think of the all-time villains there are some obvious ones. Vader and the Emperor can never be forgotten, Anton Chigurh from "No Country" is up there as well (the silenced shotgun is incredible!) but you wouldn't necessarily put Roger Clemens in this category.

Before I go any further, I believe that Clemens is guilty as sin. If he's not I'm sorry for this blog that further implicated him, but some of this stuff will be true regardless of his guilt.

His personal trainer, Brian McNamee, has sworn that Clemens used steroids and HGH. Now McNamee had nothing to gain by feeding Clemens to the steroid-induced "dogs" but he did it instead to get to the truth after Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report.

Andy Petitte, Clemens' "former best friend" has testified that Clemens discussed Performance Enhancing Drug use with him and Petitte has already admitted to PED use.

Clearly Clemens "can't handle the truth".

He has done everything he can think of to avoid being implicated, even throwing his poor wife under the bus and having her admit to steroid use. He has used his mother and grandmother as moral compass accessories to prove why he's such a straight arrow. Here is a piece of what he said: "I've always believed that hard work and determination were the only ways to be successful. And to reach goals. Shortcuts were not an option. This was instilled in me since I was a young boy by my mother and my grandmother."
He even tried to awe people with his talent, fame and physicality.

But now he's in over his head. The Congressmen he is testifying in front of don't care that Clemens is already a Cooperstown candidate. They don't care about his mother and grandmother being more moral than Mother Theresa. They only care about the truth which seems strongly against Clemens right now especially since a photograph has surfaced which proves some of his statements about a certain Jose Canseco house party false.

Why he doesn't just admit and apologize like everyone else is beyond me. Who is chastising Petitte about his steroid use?? Is he the new face of evil? No because he simply said "I made a mistake".

Petitte will get his mulligan to prove his value to the baseball world but will Clemens be rewarded with his after all is said and done on Capital Hill?

Clemens is not falling off the Hall of Fame ballot because if schmucks like McGwire and Bonds are going to be on it, then how could Clemens not be? His seven Cy Young Awards aren't going anywhere. The only thing that would be affected would be his reputation.

And for Roger, his reputation is clearly all that he really cares about through all of this nonsense.

Now to show off a little.....

Here is a video of some interviews I did asking why people thought Clemens was guilty




And here is just a little video we made in journalism class. Just a sequence of a good guitar player around campus.

ESPN's Worst Highlight

Over the past two weeks, ESPN has been doing it's "greatest highlight" schpeel. A segment of every Sportscenter is devoted to seeing which highlight fans voted greater than another.

But right there is your fatal flaw! Today's fans know squat!

The fans decided the final 16 clips through voting over the past couple of months and they turned out to be these http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/highlights/index?lpos=spotlight&lid=tab7pos1.

Then every day the fans decide between two highlights to see who moves on. But if the fans were too stupid to pick the right contenders, how could they pick the winners?

I mean the very first matchup pitted Flutie's game-winning Hail Mary against a Tiger Woods' chip in. A chip in!??? Every golf tournament these days has a chip in. Tiger has probably lost count of all the chip ins that he has made through his stellar career. How could you pick that as one of the 16 greatest highlights of sports history!?

Thankfully Flutie's gift from Above soundly defeated that atrocious excuse for a highlight (let it be known that if the shot was a hole-in-one and that shot gave Tiger the tournament win, then, and only then, would this highlight be suitable).


This kind of terrible matchup, continues through the competition. But the kicker is that there are occassional good matchups and one highlight that deserves to be in the competition has to go home early. As much as I hate Duke, how can you pit Christian Laettner's turn-around winner against California's "The Band Is On the Field" return??? Are you telling me Bill Buckner's error deserves to be in this competition as much as "The Immaculate Reception"???

And now to the good part...... my revised plan for the Greatest Highlight.

There will be 3 rules and the number of rules shall be three. "Four thou shall not count, nor should thou count two unless of course you continue on to three" (for all Holy Grail fans out there).

1) A team of 9 writers and columnists (so there can be the one guy persuading all the others not to rush their judgment) from at least the last 30 years will decide the Sweet Sixteen highlights. These journalists should also have to apply for the positions with good cover letters describing why they deserve to choose the greatest highlights.

2) No highlight, unless it clearly and greatly affected the outcome of the game should be under consideration (this way plays like Woods' chip or Hammerin' Hank passing the Babe's homerun record will not take up valuable spots. P.S. I have nothing against either of these moments but I don't think they deserve spots.)

3)Any fan who wants to vote has to pass a sports IQ test to vote on ESPN.com, this would consists of basic questions like who played third base for Pittsburgh in 1960? "See he's saying 'Hellooooooooo'."

If we adhere by these rules, then I think we can truly decide what is the greatest highlight.

Hockey Fever

It might be because the one hockey team I ever paid attention to during my life is finally in the playoff hunt or it might be because I'm so sick of Mitchell Reports and Congressional Hearings that it makes me want to be like Clemens and throw my metaphorical wife under the bus for the performance enhancement prosecutors........

But, behold, my friends and I have developed hockey fever.

I know that hockey is the major sport equivalent of curling at the winter Olympics, but watching Washington Capitals games is an addictive and thrilling experience. The have one of the most skillful and flashiest players in the league in the form of $100 million dollar-man Alex Ovechkin. His incredible goal while falling onto his back has dominated highlight reels around the internet for the past year and a half and still causes jaws to drop every time it is shown.

But my opinion of hockey is developing from the fluidity of the game. It's not like football (except for maybe a two-minute drill) or baseball with stoppages between each play, and it's not like the NBA with people walking up the court shooting a 25-footer and then heading back to pretend to play defense. Every offensive push is a coordinated display of weaving, sharp passes and laser-like shots and on the defensive side, every shot brings the possibility of a brave soul flinging his body in front of the shot to help his team.

The younger teams in the league are a lot of fun to watch because hockey more than any other sport is a young man's game. The average age for the Caps is just over 26-years-old and that is skewed because of 37-year-old goaltender Olaf Kolzig.

The young players really bring a lot of energy and they storm up the ice quickly to make as many goal-scoring opportunities as possible.

At the All-Star Weekend, two weeks ago, even the skills challenges are changing to favor a younger audience. With break-away and shootout challenges to inspire crazy moves (Ovechkin did his best Tiger Woods impression by bouncing the puck on his stick and then trying to slap it out of midair for the goal but was unsuccessful). And even the accurate shooting competition is relating to skeet-shooting as there are breakable plates hanging in the corners of the goal.

The high energy and higher scoring brings an incredible excitement to the game and the shootout format to decide overtime is one of the most exciting moments in sports.

So try to make it out to your local rink and experience the hard-hitting, fast-paced game that is making a comeback.

Kevin Everett

The heart-warming story from this year’s NFL season has nothing to do with Tom Brady’s marriage proposal at media day nor does it have anything to do with any Patriot-related themes.

Kevin Everett, the Bills tight end, has made one of the most heroic and remarkable comebacks that anyone has seen in recent years.

Mainly a special teams player thus far into his career, Everett went to make a tackle during the second-half kick-off during the Bills’ season opener against the Denver Broncos. His helmet struck the shoulder pad and helmet of receiver Domenik Hixon and Everett fell awkwardly, face-first onto the turf. He was later diagnosed as being paralyzed from the neck down.

The video is everywhere these days and as I watched it more and more this week, I began to notice how it seems like Everett is twitching while lying on the ground. A sickening and horrifying sight that brings chills to any athlete. A spinal cord injury is just about the worst nightmare for anyone who has ever played a contact sport.

What makes Everett’s tale the feel-good-story of the year is what started after he was carted off the field. He was given “bleak, dismal” chances of recovering and was told he would probably never walk or even use his arms again.

Now just about five months after he was injured, Everett is walking and using his arms to tell his story to just about anyone who will listen.

Instead of dwelling on how his playing career is over at the age of 25, he is looking forward to appreciating his life, which for a while was in question of continuing. A lot of people would sink into a depression and have trouble letting go, but Everett is making the most out of his refreshed life.

"I was so used to working out and being around my teammates, that's kind of hard," said Everett. "But I'll be ok. ... I don't see it as God picking on me or anything. I just see it as one door closes, another one's going to open. I just have to figure out what it is."

He is currently working with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and is talking about looking into coaching. He also is preparing to get married which is probably just as painful as all that rehab he underwent.

Three days after being injured Everett was moving his limbs. A month after the injury he was walking with the assistance of a walker. Two weeks after that he was standing up without assistance.

That kind of recovery is remarkable especially when you consider that he couldn't even pick himself up while lying face-first on the turf. He is a remarkable athlete and as people are discovering he is an incredibly remarkable human being.

Five months is an extremely short period of time. It flies by faster than you realize and in that short amount of time, a person suffered a life-threatening injury and recovered from it.

What are you going to do in the next five months?