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?
Monday, May 12, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, February 29, 2008
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
.
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.
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
.
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.
Friday, February 22, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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.
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.
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