It's been a ASD tradition to wish all 5 people that read this blog a happy and safe holiday weekend. I will continue that tradition although it appears a lot of people out there don't get it. Look, I'll be the first to admit I am not the sharpest apple slicer in the bin but dammit just because you do stupid things doesn't mean you should stop trying to be responsible. You would think a football player whose team was rocked by a dorm brawl last year would use some calculated restraint when it came to boozin' and wheelin', but no. The player is reinstated and might play this weekend. This is not a slam against MSU, because it is the norm everywhere.
We are taught at a young age that the world is cut and dry, black and white (not in the racist sense), right and wrong. How foolishly idealistic we treat our children. Maybe it's done to save what innocence they have left but rest assured when little Johnny starts playing high school sports, everything changes. College educations, crazed parents, and most of all dolla$ become involved. As Nicky Santoro said, "dollars, always about the dollars." Dollars might not be the end of all the means, but money is the most significant embodiement of everything we pretend to hate about sports but at the same time glorify. You're the coach of a team, your best player steals some clothes, gets pulled for a DUI, or gives his girlfriend the back of his hand, do you sit him? If we could sit on a throne like Solomon then the call is easy; based on the kind of society we want to be, the kid sits, thusly gets punished and learns a valuable lesson.
But it's not that simple. Coaches have an innate desire to win, plus everyone railing against them if they don't. They also have much more to lose. In some cases their reputation and a nice plump paycheck are hanging in the balance, so you think they care what some pencil-pushing fatass with an online column thinks if they let a kid play. Sports is an opportunity for us to be hypocrites of the highest order. How can they let a kid play?! Then when your team has a troublemaker you turn around and defend him. I would never act in such a immoral manner! Yes you would and you do in your everyday life. In your office, with your neighbors, and your kids. It's only a game! No, not only because think about how seirously you take beerleague softball game, your pick-up game at the Y, or that family version of Wii-tennis or scrabble.
So by all means, go out and do something stupid this weekend. Can you please just try and make sure you don't do it while holding responsibility for other lives in your hands?
Chris Rainey's Jack-o-Lantern via
Friday, October 29
It's a Hallow's Eve Friday
Monday, June 7
Kid Fails At Catching, Gets Rewarded
Is it inappropriate to make fun of a crying kid? Definitely but that will not stop my rant. Last night, during the Cardinals-Brewers game, Albert Pujols blasted a home run that struck a boy in the chest. Since MLB are video Nazis, I can only share the link HERE. The boy seemed to be knocked back, then he began sobbing a little bit. All was made right though as he ended up with a bat and posed for pictures from his father's cell phone with his prize.
I'm all for the kids, even though I generally do not like being around them. However, this display is a typical PR moment for the Cards and a weakinging of manhood at the same time. A few things to notice in this video; first, the kid has brought a glove, a big one mind you, to the ballpark for the very slight chance the ball finds its way to him during the courses of the game. Secondly, the kid is sitting in the front row of the outfield and Albert Pujols is at bat, your glove should be at the ready. Now I don't blame the kid for crying, a hard hit baseball stings, especially to a soft mushy nonadalescent frame, but this should be his introduction to the tough facts of life. [Daydreams about Lisa Weltchel for 5 mins] So he should take the bad, his bad fail of not catching this ball. This kid needs to learn in life sometimes you drop the ball and when you do someone else picks it up and you have to live with it. I can't tell from the video if the kid got to keep the ball, he has it for awhile in the video even though the fan next to his dad picked it up after Faily McGee missed it. The video then shows him giving it back to his father. His dad should have just looked at him and said "You're killing me Smalls!"
But no, instead we have to not only tend to his wounds, but placate him with an item of sports memorabilia. Not many can say they have an autographed Albert Pujols bat, even Jor Morgan if you listen to the audio from the video. Congratulations son, and when you grow up and get that profound sense of entitlement when you try out for a team, go for a job, seek employment, cheat on your taxes, beat your wife, and commit any one of countless felonies, remember this moment when your inability to make a play brought on sweet reward.
Some of the credit/blame goes to Pujols, who went to watch his replay in the video room. [Uh, anyone else think it is weird that dude gets to go watch a replay of his at-bat in the middle of the game?] Yet most of it falls with the kid and his parents making a big production. I really hope the guy who rightfully picked up the home run shot came away with something. One last note, check out Mom in the video once she realizes her kid has suffered no permanent damage, thanks for being a good sport and going to the game lady, hope you enjoyed staring at your cell phone for 3 hours.
Pujols gives his bat to kid after hitting him with home run ball [FoxSports Midwest]
Monday, August 10
The Steel Trap Of The Internet Age
I would much prefer to begin the week here at ASD talking about the great action from UFC 101 over the weekend particularly Anderson Silva treating Forrest Griffin like a kid brother or the races heating up in baseball (except in the AL East). However, since the story was broken by Deadspin about Rangers outfielder and apparent poster boy for born-again redemption Josh Hamilton falling out of sobriety in January, something that has been in my mind since starting the blog and has grown ever since needs to be said. Forgive the meandering of thoughts and length but I am writing this without notes and off the top of my head so the end result may be different than intended but the point will hopefully remain clear and you will take time to read this and reflect on it in your own mind.
Let me begin by saying this is not a personal attack on Hamilton. If anything I am supportive of his situation. Like many in the sports world I watched with admiration and hope when seeing Hamilton's story of coming back from the depths of depression and drug addiction to make the majors. It was hard not to pull for the guy after hearing from his loved ones, himself, and his wife. If people who follow sports had not heard the Hamilton story in full years ago, they certainly became familiar after last year's home run derby. Everyone knew his story, used it as inspiration, and even used it to make some profit (hey this is America after all). It was a story everyone could get behind; the religiously devout pointed to Hamilton's faith as the cornerstone to his successful turnaround, his "Special Assignment coach" with the Rangers Johnny Narron was the guiding light as Josh traversed the mire of temptation on the road in MLB, Josh's wife has stood by him no matter what, and overall we love the underdog/redemption story in this country do we not (unless it involves killing a lot of dogs)?
The bad taste left in my mouth from this story is not that Hamilton made a mistake at a bar in Tempe, it is how things have changed and what makes my feel even more ill is that I cannot completely take the moral high ground and argue it is all for the worse. If anything, Hamilton should be commended for not denying that he made a mistake and immediately releasing a statement and later holding a press conference addressing the situation. This issue is not really about Josh, who has something inherently dangerous within him in the form of addiction and being a now famous athlete is constantly surrounded by pitfalls. The issue is us, and how do we handle what we are, what we've become and reconcile where we have been.
Hamilton's exposed night of debauchery was at first brushed off by the mainstream media, but after the photos were confirmed, they picked up the story. TWWL at first refused to give Deadspin credit for the photos (I don't know if they have now) but other media outlets have. Once again sports blogs take the heat for reporting on true events and Deadspin has definitely heard from detractors. The same issue arose when the Erin Andrews story came about. While Catfish and I both believe Deadspin was irresponsible about posting the website the video originated from and then giving wafer-thin apologies afterward, the same question came into AJ Daulerio's head that would have come into any of ours about these issues: this is the reality of professional sports in the 21st century and if I do not post this somebody will won't they?
While the main goal of the huge sites like Deadspin are to generate hits the question becomes much easier to answer and crusty old sportswriters who write for internet sites but ironically criticize it constantly felt it was there obligation to waddle onto the soapbox and rail against the grammatically-challenged and inherently "evil" blogs which are leading society into a pit of moral degradation and corruption. I find the old nay-saying writers more objectionable because of their two-faced nature. The new age of sports coverage has either bolstered the careers of these talking heads or wiped them off the news presses and moved them online, yet they still cannot accept the truth.
Excuse the digression, back to the task at hand. I do not believe the internet has given birth to this desire within sports fans to know every detail about an athlete's infidelities, drunken escapades, and legal issues. The desire was always there, we just never had a medium like the internet (thanks Al Gore!) that could give us the instant information and seedy details. Let's take a look at Mickey Mantle, one of the most, if not the most, beloved athletes of his time. For the baby boomers, Mantle was a world-class hero, a god among men and rightfully so. Here he was, the leader of the Yankees, a man who played the game with a boy's passion and could belt one over the wall at anytime. However, Mickey struggled early on from alcohol addiction and many believe it contributed to health problems he suffered in his career. Many of the fans knew this or had heard rumors during his playing days or in the years following his retirement. However, Mantle is still to this day seen as a role-model and hero to thousands if not millions of people.
In Mantle's time the media access was quite different. The press could be as unrelenting as they are today but there were no twitter updates, internet blogs, or camera phones. In fact, most of the writers traveled with the team and became friendly with the ballplayers if not good friends. Maybe it was these limitations that allowed Mickey to rise in stardom while his demons surrounded him and the public cheered on. Years later in an amazing Sports Illustrated story which you can read here thanks to greatness that is the SI Vault, Mantle's alcoholism was brought to the center of attention. In the movie 61* which chronicled the home run chase of 1961 of Roger Maris and Mantle, Mickey's off the field problems were addressed in sometimes strong detail. The film also gives a good idea of the pressure the press put on Maris which were no different from today's standards but again with different technology.
This begs the question and issue that runs through my mind: Would Mantle have been able to achieve the greatness and inspiration to others he had in his era if he played the game today? The simple answer seems to be no. These issues used to be kept confidential or swept under the rug but now they are a matter of public record. People like to say that sports are "more than just a game" and the coverage lately has certainly held true to that statement. Besides the baseball races into August and football starting up, we are inundated by stories about athletes shooting themselves in their leg, getting sued by hotel employees for sexual assault, and a myriad of other issues which have nothing to do with the "game".
One thing that no rational person can deny is that we cannot go back to the way things were. For better or worse, sports is big business which has led to the media coverage being big business. We will have to live without heroes as we knew them. I do not think there will ever be another Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, or even Michael Jordan now that we are privy to the lives of athletes as we are now. The popularity will continue to be there, but the mythic quality of their feats will become common knowledge, even if that knowledge is based on a murky vision of the person and rumors of their escapades. Now that David Ortiz has been lumped into a positive test, people will never look at his historic 2004 post-season performance the same. Albert Pujols is loosely seen as the one shining beacon of hope for not using PEDs but there will never be absolute trust. MJ was king while he played but since he has been become merely a brand of himself and it is not above the internet to post a picture of him enjoying himself in Cabo. LeBron would be most people's choice but the microscope is simply magnified too high; look no further than the ridiculous clamor that arose from him getting "dunked on".
Now we are now facing the closing of a gap of humanization of our athletes while the profits they generate for themselves and others continue to widen. I admire most athletes we have in our sports, but I doubt I can ever trust one again to be something above what we all are as people. Perhaps this is the best case scenario for us all because it is the truth or maybe the realm of sports was better off in the days when athletes were a symbol of the virtues we aspired to. It is certainly a problem that will persist in my head as we move forward through this century of sports.
Thursday, May 14
Welcome To Life Y'all
Just as he did last year, Big Daddy Drew addresses the college graduates of 2009. A great slap in the face to anyone who thinks their young, bright mind can change the world. Definitely worth the read. [Deadspin]
Continue reading...Thursday, February 19
ACHTUNG: Gators Are Not As Spotless As You Think
This jubilant fellow above is Carl Johnson, a sophmore offensive lineman for the University of Florida football team. He is expected to be a starter next year and protect the holiest of quarterbacks, Tim Tebow. It appears Johnson has a slight problem with temporary restraining orders. One week after being told to stay away from the petitioner of the order, Johnson plopped himself down on a campus bus mere feet away from her (I'm guessing it is a her). The charge is a "first-degree misdemeanor for contempt of court" and Johnson spent Monday evening in jail. The restraining order was brought about by the petitioner needing protection from "sexual violence" and I think we all know what that means.
The spokesman for Florida said they are "reviewing the matter" and here is the real shocker: there was no comment from Urban Meyer. He is "out of the country" so I guess technology fails once the perimeters of the United States are breached. Meyer loves preaching about how great his players are and to his credit he kicked off the other two Gators arrested since November, but they did not play significant roles like Johnson is expected to this fall. It will be interesting to see how Meyer handles this situation when he returns from whatever secluded location he is in at the moment.
Four players in all have been arrested in the last ten months. Somehow this is gently gliding under the national radar. Maybe it is the A-Rod story, or Favre retiring again, or maybe college football likes to protect those they think represent some purity of the game. The first thing people associate with Florida football is Tim Tebow, and perhaps that induces the theory that all of the Gators' players and actions are represented by his pious lifestyle. If you read the police reports however, they tell a different story.
It was evident when Miami traveled to Gainsville this past September; the Hurricanes were the brunt of many jokes about their players being criminals yet which program has had the most legal trouble in the last few years since Randy Shannon has taken over. The most notable problem with the law Miami had was Robert Marve, who will now be transfering, breaking the side mirror off a car when he was being redshirted as a freshman. Make all the "You can't spell thugs without the U" signs all you want, but the proof is in the police reports.
Now I am not so bold as to suggest that Miami is the pinnacle of law-abiding football players, our past speaks for itself and who knows if an incident will occur this very day where somebody does something stupid but this is a national phenomenon at the top football schools. Athletes who are given a sense of entitlement and praised simply for their skill on the field are certainly prone to acting outside the boundaries of the law when they get to college where they are treated like royalty. Florida is not immune to this kind of behavior and even though Tebow is going to be one of the four letter networks meal tickets this upcoming season, the school deserves as harsh a criticism for this type of action. Last year, schools like Georgia and Penn State were singled out for their off the field problems. ESPN took an incredibly hard shot at Joe Paterno and Penn State for their "lack of control". Yet the hallowed program at USC at a player charged with a felony that was allowed to play in the Ohio State game with that charge still on him, and we have already been over Florida's problems. Their seems to be a double standard for programs that most definitely exists in the polls and awards voting, but now it has even appeared in how the media covers off the field problems.
Florida Gators offensive lineman Carl Johnson arrested [Palm Beach Post]
Wednesday, September 17
No One Cares About Your Team’s Traditions Pal
As I sat in the sports bar on Saturday, I had the unfortunate opportunity to be sitting near some Florida State fans just as their most cherished traditions was taking place. The Seminoles were getting ready to face powerhouse Chattanooga, who apparently have dropped the Tennessee and hyphen from their name. I guess it is a similar move to UNCC just being called Charlotte; teams don’t want you to be worried about too many syllables when pronouncing their names now. The guy decked out in the maroon Seminole gear was giving quite a dissertation on the placing of the spear into the ground at midfield by their mascot Chief Osceola while it was aflame. He talked about how it was a sacred moment before the game and how the Seminole tribe had given the university permission to use the name, logo, and ceremony. For a second I thought he might actually start to get misty-eyed. I looked at the Penn State, N.C. State, and Tennessee fans I was with and our exchanged glance all said the same thing: No one cares about your team’s traditions, go die in a fire.
Die in a fire might seem harsh, and it is, but college football is a sport of extremes. Fans ruthlessly defend their team’s reputation, and vehemently despise everything their opponents hold dear. The truth of the matter is that although it might be a high tradition to stake the ground at Doak Campbell Stadium, the enemies of your program don’t share your piety. It has been said that college football and football in general in America has become something like a secular religion. This can certainly be seen on the weekends when fans fill stadiums, parking lots, sports bars, and their own living rooms to watch their favorite teams. I am not saying it has taken the place of organized religion or should, but merely from a passion standpoint, people can get rather emotional when it comes to their team. We all know how well different religions get together, right?
Again, downsizing the scope of the last statement by saying it is just a game, the mere fact that people try to convince others who hold that hatred for their team that what they choose to perform before, during, or after games is a noble act of athletics is quite a reach. I respect every single member of the Seminole tribe that exists today, considering what Andrew Jackson and others did to eradicate them. But for myself as a Miami alum, and for all the other schools that do not enjoy the Seminoles success, they have no desire to watch the mascot do the spear plunge. This is not just a rip on Florida State, every major program has aspects of it that the fans and followers swear it brings chills to them, but others would be fine if they never saw it again. “See, at Miami, we come out of the smoke every game, and we play that song ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’, get it? Pretty awesome huh?” Yeah, I’m sure I would get some attempts at polite looks, eye rolls, and curse-laden phrases thrown my way if I brought that up to a crowd of college football fans.
There are probably people out there that think this is true for other teams that they hate, but not MY team. It spans the entire country, in all conferences. What’s the ultimate symbol of the University of Texas? The Longhorn, it has its own hand symbol and they even bring out a huge cow for the games, yet the favorite thing for opposing fans and teams to do is flash the sign, horns down. Ohio State proclaims itself to have the best band in the land, and being able to dot the “I” is considered a high honor, but anyone outside of Ohio who isn’t a Buckeye fan could care less. You have a good band, congratulations, maybe they can block for your QB. I will say the Trojan band has a memorable fight song, but no one outside the USC family honors the mascot who looks like he raided a Party City stabbing the endzone with his fifteen dollar sword. Does anyone outside of Tennessee ever want to hear “Rocky Top” again? Clemson’s tradition is touching a rock that sits on a podium; not any kind of special rock, just a little reddish-brown rock. The Tiger faithful call this Howard’s rock and its significance escapes me as it does most of the people who would only associate it with the free fall the Tigers usually experience at some point during the season. The list goes on and on but the one constant is that no one outside of your own circle of fans is going to appreciate your traditions. Notre Dame haters will even go so far as to mock Jesus himself, aren’t Irish people an easier target?
So just try to keep this in mind when interacting with other fans, if you don’t care about their traditions or find it easy to mock them, the same can be said for yours. Stick to referencing how many fewer arrests your football alumni have or some obscure national title they won back when they still used leather helmets.
