Bye Bye Butch

The firing of Butch Davis occurred eight days before the start of preseason practice. By waiting until the season almost started to fire their coach the University of North Carolina has hurt the football program that they have worked so hard to build up during Butch Davis' tenure. The University and its boosters have put a lot of money into the program, building new facilities and upgrading their stadium in an attempt to boost their football program. When they fired Davis 37 days before the season started, they erased a lot of that hard work. 

The NCAA filed their report against UNC June 21, 2011. We learned that day of the football team's transgressions that will haunt their next few seasons. Since then nothing new has developed, at least not publicly. I thought at the time Butch Davis would lose his job pretty quickly but after a few weeks I assumed Butch was safe going into the season. That's why I was so surprised when Butch was fired on Wednesday, not just because of the time of year, but was also because nothing new has come out against the football program since June 21. There was more than a month between the time the NCAA's report came out and the day Butch Davis was fired. If UNC was going to make this coaching change it should have happened shortly after the report was released, not over a month later with eight days before practice. 

By moving the current Defensive Coordinator to Head Coach much of the day-to-day aspects of the team will not change but the overall look of the team will change. UNC has told recruits that the program will not be punished severely over the NCAA's findings but the firing of Davis shows that the University doesn't believe that to be the case. Recruiting will take a hit over the next few years. By firing Butch Davis they lost one of the best recruiters in the country. Also, lying to recruits about not getting in trouble with the NCAA will not do anything to help build relationships with recruits moving forward. The commitments they have already might stay on but over the next few years their reputation will be hurt. 

The University of North Carolina is one of the few universities that has a chance to be great at both major men's sports, basketball and football. Ohio State, Florida and Texas are athletic programs that could put forth championship level teams in both football and basketball. UNC has the alumni and money to invest to move into that upper echelon of athletic program but by their mishandling of Butch Davis they have put their football program back for the next few years.

Thank you for your continued support of The Sports Party. Enjoy the weekend.

The Big Question for UNC Freshmen

Yesterday I received a text from the Sport's Party founder and main contributor, Chris, about Butch Davis being fired. He said a UNC beat reporter had tweeted that the university was neither confirming or denying the rumor. He retweeted and then I checked it and was skeptical. That sounded like a reporter grasping at straws, then I realized if a university is not confirming their head coach's employment, there is a problem. Oh, and there was. I retweeted, and within an hour it was confirmed by the school.

Apparently his assistant coach recieving kick backs for directing athletes to a particular agency wasn't enough. The tipping point was a football player's term paper surfacing on the internet with several passages lifted from other sources that were not cited and were passed of as his own... Yep, plagarism.

Side Note: UNC-Chapel Hill is a very good academic school. Yes, a state school, but they are forever old, have a ton of money, and can hire however and whenver. They take pride in being the best, and it probably doesn't hurt that the school down the road is outstanding academically (not talking to you NCST).

Let's not discuss the problems at UNC and the NCAA problems. I don't want to break down Butch Davis and him single handedly whiping out UNC football for the next decade. Nor do I want to discuss the merits of amatuerism and why player cannot make any money off the millions their university makes off them, that seems to be the hot topic among radio show hosts today. That's another blog and that is quite interesting. Let's talk about what the freshmen class and 2012 recruits supposed to do?

According to the NCAA, the freshmen can be relieved of their letter of intent since they have not played a game and since the coach who signed them left before the played. They are loaded with talent (probably due to some of the problems ahead), and their are all kinds of schools looking to poach this kids. Moreover, would a 2012 recruit want to stay?

No self respecting HS athlete would still go to a school who is about to be nailed by the NCAA. They will be docked scholarships, probably limited on bowl games, maybe even TV... nah probably not TV sanctions. But what about a freshman who is there? As stated before, the school is a great school. A diploma from there will bring many a job offer, and the alum are all over. And the alum are loyal to their own. A Carolina Man is a Carolina Man. Escpecially a former athlete who a rich old Southerner would love to talk to a vicariously live through. Hell, in any town, football players are minor celebrities, I can't imagine how much the UNC alum take care of their own.

Would a diploma from a great school, undoubtedly a good education, and a promise to be in the Carolina network be enough to keep those kids there? Outside of the NFL, a full ride and good job is pretty close to making it in this world. Maybe, if they didn't have offers from schools they wanted to be at (keep in mind, loyalty to childhood school mean a lot). What if Cutcliffe and Duke started poaching UNC's players? Would that not be the best sub-story of this whole affair? Man, that rivalry would include more hate than Auburn/Alabama... except Duke fans are from the NE and UNC are born and bread Carolinians. The Auburn/Alabam rivalry are the same state, class, and general everything except colors they wear 365.


Would your love for your favorite school be enough to keep you there despite a change in coaching staff and probably several sanctions?

Loving a sport can make people do crazy things: practice all the time, get tattoos with their sport on it, blog about it on a random internet site, poison a tree. Sure, it seems very likely players will leave. They have been lied to, instability in a program will be equal a rough time and experience as a player. But what are the end goals of these HS athletes? This is a huge question and it requires great perspective. Even the highest rated athletes don't make the NFL. So there is a not guarantee for these players they will make it to the league.

A smart athlete, and a very smart parent would know that staying at UNC-Chapel Hill is the best decision for the student-athlete. If the kid is a talent, he will stand out. The NFL does not have loyalty to programs like the media does (cough Notre Dame, cough Big Ten, cough SEC). So developing as a player would be up to the player and coach, and the rest would be up the scouts. But you know what is in their back pocket? Free education and the chance to have a normal life with no student loans hanging over their head.

Look, these players are dead set on being a great football player... and you know what, good for them. But the more realistic goal should be to get an education from a good school because more likely than not these players will not be playing on Sundays. However, if Notre Dame starts calling or Stanford or even Georgia Tech it would be a good move. But if USF or Bama make a run at you, why would you go? Yes, a national championship is in the balance with a school like Bama, but that might be the highest point of your life.

There are so many other opportunities out there, I hope they choose a good education or stay at UNC.

Day Game (Ah-ah-AHHHHH)

If you were watching television today at 12 o'clock ET and decided to stop on the LA Angels' game against the Cleveland Indians you would have seen Ervin Santana of the Angels pitch a no-hitter. That means for those of you that are Angels fans in California the game would have started at 9 am this morning. I missed the game, not because I have no interest in watching this game (but that is actually the case), but because I have things to do in the middle of the day.

During the week, in the middle of the day, there are baseball games going on. All of the other major sports, football, basketball, and hockey, play their games at night during the week, but baseball teams often play games in the middle of the day. This has everything to do with playing 162 games in the regular season and having very little room for travel days. Day games are typically at the end of the three or four game series and allow for teams to travel earlier in the day. To baseball fans and players day games are just a part of the sport and I am not complaining about them. I just think that it is odd.

There was a no-hitter pitched today where a run was actually scored, the first time that's happened since 1993. There are other times when some of the best teams in baseball play against each other in the middle of the day on Tuesday. Can you imagine Kobe and the Lakers playing in the middle of the day? What about the Indianapolis Colts? It just doesn't make sense in other sports. We are accustomed to coming home after work or class and at the end of the day cutting on basketball and not having highlights from the Blazers-Pacers match-up from earlier in the day.

Each sport has their own nuances. One of baseballs is that they play day games and I like that baseball has them. If I am ever retired I'll watch a lot of day baseball during the season but right now I'll continue to miss good baseball played at 12 and be happy that Blake Griffin plays at night when I can watch him.

Thank you for your continued support of The Sports Party. Once again I am throwing out a cover from the A.V. Club's Undercover series.

Throwback Tuesday

On Tuesdays I take a look back at some of my favorite sports moments and today's "Throwback Tuesday" (this really needs a better title) I am going to look back at May 31, 2007 when Lebron James dropped 48 points, including 29 of his teams last 30, 9 rebounds and 7 assists against the Detroit Pistons. Lebron actually scored the last 25 points for his team in an amazing performance that will go down as a historic moment in Lebron's career.

The 2006-2007 NBA season was a solid year for Lebron James and the Cavaliers, as they finished with 50 wins which was good enough for the second seed in the playoffs. The first two rounds of the playoffs were solid for Lebron but not remarkable, the Cavs swept the Washington Wizards and beat the New Jersey Nets 4-2 in the second round. In the Eastern Conference Finals Lebron James and the Cavaliers were down 0-2 to the Detroit Pistons before winning Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland to even up the series.

Game 5 was hotly contested throughout but midway through the 4th quarter the Detroit Pistons would take a 5 point lead. From that point on Lebron James played out his mind. He took everyone from Detroit to the basket and dunked on them. He pulled up for threes and deep twos and drained them over multiple defenders. I think it needs to be repeated that Lebron scored his teams last 25 points. That is all the Cavaliers' points for two overtimes and seven points in the 4th quarter. Looking back from how we see Lebron now we would want to paint him as selfish or a ball hog and that's why no one else was scored but that wasn't the case. 2007 Lebron was still being bashed in the press for passing the ball in big moments. In this game Lebron wasn't trying to prove those doubters wrong he was just his teams best option to win the game.

I remember watching Game 5 distinctly because I helped ruin the evening for a group of girls. I was with two buddies and we were going to meet up with some girls and go out for the night. The plan was to start the night  at one of their houses and go out from there. My friends and I had a few minutes so we cut the game on. Well we didn't end up going out anywhere. We kept delaying the evening to watch Lebron take over Game 5. I was fine with it as I probably got to watch one of the greatest playoff performances of all time. I would like to publicly apologize to those girls for ruining their evening but I don't feel bad about it.

This is the best video I could find of the game that night. Didn't we already have High-Def televisions? Why is everything so grainy? 2007 television production seems like its the same as the 90s. HD television has spoiled me.

The site went through a redesign. I hope you guys like it and it makes the site easier to read. I'm sure the light blue titles and the orange background were easy on the eyes. I would also like to thank Emily for the header that she made for the site. Check her out at her blog http://theprettysimplelife.blogspot.com/. Thanks for your continued of The Sports Party.

The Weekend That Was

Here are a few observations from the weekend.

The Canadian Football League is crazy. I watched some this weekend because it was football and I thought it would quench that need to see football played. It didn't. It is just too different from the NFL and college football. There are three downs instead of four. All of the skill positions players on offense can move before the snap except the quarterback. The field goal post is at the front of the end zone. You get one point if you miss a field goal attempt. It was just too different for me to feel comfortable with what I was watching.

You cannot eat sunflower seeds for dinner.

I didn't think that football started until practice began but turns out it starts with media days. Press conferences are fun especially in the SEC.

If a bar has a line out the front and it's so crowded that there is a one in-one out policy in effect then its probably going to take too long to get in. Pack it in and go home early because that crappy bar is not worth it.

I watched the CFL on ESPN3.com, which is full of sports that couldn't make it on any of the real ESPN channels. Also on this weekend was the Men's slow pitch softball championship between USA and Canada. I tuned in for an inning. Looking through the archives on the site you could go back and watch the 8th Grade Boy's AAU Championship and Australian Rules Football. Those 8th grade boys played a more fundamental basketball game than I will ever play and Australian Rules Football is one of the most interesting sports you will ever watch.

Don't go see "Friends with Benefits" with your mom.

In six weekends we will be watching college football.

I didn't know until Sunday night that Dontrelle Willis still played baseball. A quick look at his Wikipedia page showed that he hadn't played in the Major Leagues since July 4, 2010 until he was called up by the Reds on July 10 of this year. I remember him being fun to watch while he was with the Marlins but his career took an odd turn when he was with the Detroit Tigers and was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. He pitched well Sunday night given up 3 runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched. Good for him and I hope he can get back into his career as Major League pitcher.

Thank you for your continued support of The Sports' Party. The A.V. Club has a series of covers they have been putting out. I suggest you take a listen.

Help Life Through a Lens WIN the People's Choice Award

Greetings,

Life Through a Lens photographer, Carolyn, is in a photo contest. She is up for a people's choice award. You can vote once a day at ceallen.see.me/onelife2011

Please vote for her and help her achieve her goal of starting her photography business. She is a talent an has selected her ten favorites from her portfolio. Once again to vote for her go to:
ceallen.see.me/onelife2011


-Mitch

Will We Lose NBA Games?

The 2004-2005 NHL season was locked out. The highest professional league of hockey in the world took a year off when the players association and the owners could not come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. Fast forward to the summer of 2011 and both the NFL and NBA are in lockouts. At this point we have not last any games due to either of these lockouts, unless you count the Football Hall of Fame preseason game which no one does, but with the NBA we might lose some games or lose the whole NBA season. 

The NFL is too big to lose games. There is too much money involved in the National Football League that both the players and the owners will come to an agreement at some point soon. (This could possible happen on Monday, the owners voted to agree to the CBA, collective bargaining agreement, Thursday night and the players seem to be waiting until the weekend is over to vote on the CBA.) The NFL's main issue is how money will be split between the owners' pockets and the players' paychecks. The NFL made almost $9 billion last year, there is plenty of money to go around for the players and the owners. Everyone wants a piece of that money and if they don't play, no one will get paid. $9 billion is too much money for the players and owners to not come to an agreement. 

The NBA has other issues though that could result in losing the 2011-2012 NBA season. The National Basketball Association just had a great year. The league is full of young, fun players and teams, the Miami Heat have made a lot of people watch basketball (either to see a lot of talent on the court together or in hopes that the team would lose and lose a lot), the major markets have good teams, (LA, New York (maybe), Boston, Dallas) and the general direction of the on-court product is moving in the right direction. But the owners are not making a lot of money on the product.

The players would like to say this is false but there are facts that point to the league not being profitable. The Sacramento Kings are doing their best to move closer to LA and the huge market that exists there. Now the Kings are a poorly run franchise so they aren't a great example. But the Philadelphia 76ers were just sold by Comcast Spectator, a company that also owns the Philadelphia Flyers and the arena both teams play in, the Wells Fargo Center. That means that Comcast Spectator does not think they can make money on the 76ers but they can on the Flyers, an NHL team, and owning the arena the team will play in. The 76ers aren't a small time operation, that is a long standing team that plays in a city with passionate sports fans. Something is wrong with the system when a company decides there is more money to be made in a hockey team and an arena than in a historically well-known NBA team. 

The NBA has to figure out a way to restructure their profits between the owners and the players. The teams will have to make more money so that owning a team is a profitable venture. The only way to do that is to take some money from the players in a drastic way. If your boss came in and said for the betterment of the company we are going to pay you 10% less (I don't know the actual number the owners are asking the players for, I just used this number as an example) than last year then that is not going to go over well and that's exactly why this lockout is happening. The owners need to make more money and the players, understandable, don't want to give it up. 

The NBA lockout might drag out until the point we lose a whole season and that would not be good for the league. I think the NHL had a great season last year and if the NBA is not around, people will watch hockey again and probably find that they like the product. Both sides of the NBA lockout are not supposed to meet again until August giving them under three months to find a solution, as the league is scheduled to start playing games on November 1. Less than three months is not going to give the league and the players a lot of time to solve this issue and we, sports fans, will have to suffer through a year without professional basketball. 

The Turkey Basketball League is About to Get Way Better

There's a lot of talk of NBA players signing with teams overseas if the NBA loses games during the lockout. I think this is an interesting idea and while I don't think it will hurt the league it could take some players away from the NBA when the lockout is over. The NBA is now a worldwide sport and if you play basketball you want to play in the NBA, whether you live in Chicago or Cambodia.

There will be a few players that love playing overseas because the money isn't that much better, the love being a bigger star on their team, or they fall in love with the country they are playing in. In saying this, if players play in Europe and then the NBA lockout ends I do not think a lot of players will stay in Europe but I do believe there will be a handful. If a player like Kobe Bryant goes overseas to play he will not make the kind of money he is making with the LA Lakers. But contracts in the NBA are expected to get smaller after the lockout and maybe for a role player in the NBA that contract in Turkey isn't that much less than what he is getting paid in the NBA.

Put that same player on a team where he is the "man" and gets to carry his team every night and he could extend their stay very quickly. All the players in the NBA were the best player on their team at some point in their lives. You might have to go back to high school for some of these players but they were the "man". They were the player that got the ball in crunch time, they were the player that the other team's defense was built around, they were the one the girls came to cheer for, and that cannot be easy to deal with when you become the 10th man on an NBA basketball team. These are competitive guys that have a lot of pride in their skills. Given the chance to be the "man" again is an opportunity I think some of these guys will jump on and extend their time playing in Europe.

We won't be losing a Kobe or a Deron Williams to a Turkey Basketball League, that I would assume is less competitive than some inner city rec leagues, but there will be players that stay. They might not have been 6th men, or even 7th or 8th, but there will be players that find joy in their new roles and teams and have a nice
little career playing basketball in Europe.

Thanks for your continued support of The Sports' Party. Enjoy a little Trick Daddy.

The Dog Days of Summer

I dread the NBA Finals. OK, I actually love the NBA Finals I just dread when the Finals are over. College football starts the first weekend in September and we, as sports fan, are treated to constant barrage of sports until the end of the NBA Finals in June. That's 10 months of constant sport action. There is baseball to watch during the summer but with the season as long as it is there doesn't seem much reason to worry about baseball games in the middle of July.

Last summer we were treated to a sports spectacle that would dominate summer sports schedule. The summer of 2010 was all about the World Cup in South Africa. The two month off-season didn't seem so long when there was great soccer being played for a month of the summer. This summer we got a touch of it with the US women's team also competing in the World Cup but it has still been a long summer.

I haven't seen a college football game since the beginning of January. The Super Bowl feels almost stale because the league went into a lockout shortly after and those story lines have dominated football coverage, not the chances of a Green Bay repeat. It seems that the NFL lockout will end very soon, possible even tonight or tomorrow and college football practice start at the beginning of August. We are at the cusp of the sports season again. We get the beginning of college football and the NFL, then we go into the MLB playoffs, the NBA starts, then college basketball starts, next we have the bowl games and the NFL playoffs, the NBA All-Star weekend is after that, then March Madness, next the NBA and Stanley Cup playoffs, and then we are back to the summertime abyss.

Let's join together and get through this next month and a half. I'm getting antsy and talking way to much about recruiting. I know there are CFL, the Canadian Football League, games on espn3 and I will admit freely that I have watched some, but it isn't the same. So support your fellow sports fan in this trying time and let's all make it to football season in one piece. Then I promise you won't have to worry about me again until June.

Throwback Tuesday

On Tuesdays I will take a trip down memory lane and remember some of my favorite sports moments. Today's game will be the Virginia Tech-Miami game in 2001. This is the first time I ever came close to crying over a sporting event. (I might have actually cried I don't know, if I remember I will let you know.)

Virginia Tech has two big rivals UVA and West Virginia. Each school, in their own special way, receives a far amount of hate and criticism from me. But I don't hate either of the schools as much as I hate Miami. The U, the swagger, the video of them getting off the plane in fatigues at the National Championship in 1987, Ken Dorsey, Kellen Winslow Jr., Michael Irvin, the list goes on and on about things that I despise about the University of Miami. Another reason I hate Miami, they like that I hate them, they want to be hated. 

The 2000 season Miami was a really good football team. They would enter Lane Stadium undefeated and the #1 team in the country. A win in Blacksburg would put them in the National Championship. The game was on December 1, 2001 and I recall it being uncharacteristically warm. It was shorts and t-shirts warm in Blacksburg, 24 days before Christmas. Virginia Tech was ranked #14 and was having a pretty good season in their own right. 

Miami jumped out to a 20-3 lead at halftime. Virginia Tech came out and scored a touchdown early in the 3rd quarter. Midway through the 3rd Miami would put in another field goal making the score 23-10. With 11:32 remaining in the 4th quarter Miami would score on another field making the score 26-10 Miami's favor. Virginia Tech found itself in a tough position down 16. They have 11 minutes to score twice but would have to put in the 2-point conversion both times. A tough call for a team that's only scored a touchdown once in the last three quarters. 

Virginia Tech puts together a relatively quick drive scoring a touchdown with 8:33 left to go in the game. They go for two and score on a passing play. The score is now 26-18 Miami but Virginia Tech is in striking distance with 8 minutes to go in the game. The next few minutes are some of the most iconic moments in my history as a Virginia Tech fan. 

In this era of Virginia Tech football, the team was known for its tough defense and special teams. "Beamerball" is what announcers and reporters would call the style of play in Blacksburg. Miami was forced to punt from their 35 and Virginia Tech was expecting decent field position. The right side of the punt blocking unit would come through untouched and block the Miami punt. The ball was scooped up by a Virginia Tech player and he would run into the endzone scoring a touchdown for Virginia Tech, making the score 26-24 with Miami still in the lead. 

Virginia Tech lines up for the 2-point conversion. Shotgun set with one receiver out to each side and two backs in the backfield. Tech throws a fade to their best receiver, Ernest Wilford, who has lost his defender and catches the ball. Or seems to have caught the ball. The stadium erupts in a way only Blacksburg can but the moment was short lived. He dropped it and the refs in the endzone were calling it incomplete. 26-24 Miami and that ended up being the final score. 

Losses are tough, but to come back from 16 points down with 11 minutes to go in the game and have a shot to tie on a catchable pass that was dropped isn't a normal loss. This one hurt. I really can't remember if I cried walking out of the stadium that day but I know it hurt. It still hurts and that was almost a decade ago. 

Here's a short video of the game. I am not sure I can rank the top games in Virginia Tech's history but I do think this would end up somewhere on the list. Fun game to go back and watch. 

Throwback Tuesday is going to become a regular part of The Sports' Party. Thanks for your continued support of the blog.

World Cup Final Diary

In my excitement for the Women's World Cup Final on Sunday I decided to keep a diary during the game. Good game with a disappointing ending but the US team had a great run during this World Cup. 

2:00 p.m. ET – United States and Japan are playing today in the Women's World Cup Final. The US team has had an incredible run, most notably an amazing match in the semifinals against Brazil. Japan has the weight of their country heading into this World Cup Final. There was an earthquake that struck Japan on March 11 of this year. In the wake of the earthquake the country also had a nuclear emergency that the Japanese government would compare to Chernobyl. There were around 20,000 people reported missing or dead and the economy and political structures have struggled in the months since the earthquake. Before every match in this World Cup the Japanese team has carried a sign that says “To Our Friends Around the World, Thank You for Your Support”. This tragedy has clearly been a catalyst for the Japanese teams play as they were not expected to even get close to the World Cup Final, but here they are and they have a chance to win the World Cup.

2:05 – There was just a report on the head coach of the US women’s team, Pia Sundhage, playing the guitar and singing on a Swedish television show. I want this to happen with American coaches in other sports. Phil Jackson in a poetry slam, Bill Belichick singing on American Idol, or Ozzie Guillen hosting a late night talk show. I want to see our coaches on television making fools of themselves. We are way too self-aware in the United States.

2:19 p.m. – My dad just went and got wings so my journal takes a break before it even gets started. There is nothing like eating hot wings to support America.

2:20 p.m. – I would listen to Ian Darke do play-by-play for any sport. Could we get him to try football or basketball? I would watch Big East football if I knew he was going to be covering it. Let’s make it happen ESPN!

2:31 – The wings weren’t good. I hope this isn’t a sign of the afternoon to come.

2:34 – I like that Martin Sheen separated himself enough from his son that he can still narrorate the pre-game package. I just realized I never heard anything from Martin during the Charlie Sheen fiasco from a few months ago. Dad of the Year?

2:38 – I always like to look at the story lines of the game and think of them as a movie. If someone was writing the Women’s World Cup movie, Japan would win. The earthquake in March and losing to America three times since March 2, 2011 would be the first half of the movie. The second half would begin with the coach quitting after his players came out to practice with a defeated attitude. The players would realize they need the coach after they lose to the worst team in the world. They go back to their coach and then there's a practice montage where they start working hard and then they play their first game as a team and everything clicks. They starting winning until the reach the World Cup Finals. If Japan pulls of this upset this movie will be made. 

2:46 – GAME ON!

2:46 – That was fast! It’s the first minute the US already has a good scoring chance.

2:51 – The touches for the US are sloppy so far. They need to keep possession and move the ball around.

2:54 – Great move on the sideline Rapinoe and another great US chance on goal.

2:55 – Wambach with a chance. It would be great for her to score today and cap off an amazing World Cup run with the Golden Boot, the award given to the player with the most goals during the tournament. She would win it over Marta, the villain of the US-Brazil game.

2:57 – The US with ANOTHER goal scoring chance on a nice volley from the top of the 18. While I was writing that Rapinoe has ANOTHER shot on goal that went wide. The US is possessing the ball a lot better now and the chances are showing it.

3:02 – The US is outplaying Japan early on. They are fighting for and winning most of the 50-50 balls and making the right passes. They look good in the first few minutes of this game.

3:05 – Right midfielder O’Reilly attacks every time she has the ball. She’s making the right moves and right passes. She is going to make something happen for the US today.

3:09 – Who’s heard the phrase “1999” more? The women’s national team or Prince?

3:12 – Japan with its first long possession in US territory. No shots on goal but the announcers are right US needs to score. You can't keep missing these opportunities you have to capitalize. 

3:14 – Wambach with a shot!!!!!!!! Something has to give soon right? Great shots and chances by the US that have to pay off sometime.

3:21 – I want to thank Rapinoe for being fun to watch and for having bleach blonde hair that makes her easy to find.

3:23 – Scary corner from Japan. The game is going well for them. The US could be up a couple goals but they haven't been able to put a goal in and Japan is starting to get chances. This is how upsets happen.

3:26 – The head referee has been smiling the entire day. She was smiling in the pre-game festivities and really seems to be enjoying being a part of the World Cup Final. I am guessing she’s Swedish.

3:29 – Great chance from Japan. That could have been a lot like the Marta PK moment from the Brazil game. The referee could have called that in Japan’s favor.

3:31 – Japan might have been intimidated by the US early on but not anymore. They are beginning to force the action and are close to scoring a goal. 

3:32 – The US might have caught a break with halftime, Japan was close to scoring there. The US seemed to dominate the majority of the half but near the end Japan began to make their own scoring chances. This will be an interesting second half with both teams playing their game.

3:46 – Second Half!! It is tough to see any athlete reach the biggest moment of their careers and not being able to continue playing. You have got to feel sorry for Lauren Cheney who had a great header that just went over the top post in the first half. Her sub is Alex Morgan has been an injection of energy for the US team and is a young player. This is a good opportunity for her and should be helpful in her progression for the next few years of international play.

3:50 – And the US with another shot off the post. Darke says “This is becoming a little bizarre”. I'm not sure I've heard bizarre used since the 90s. (How bizzare! How bizzare!)

3:52 – My mom just asked where this game was being played? I told her Frankfurt, Germany and she says “HOT DOG, GERMANY!!”

3:55 – I am starting to get nervous. The US has been incredibly unlucky so far and Japan is taking the momentum from the US.

3:59 – The US goal chances are becoming less frequent and haven't as good as the chances they were getting early on in this match. Momentum is moving slowly to the Japan side.

4:03 – The corners have not looked good for the US. They just had two in a row in and neither of them resulted in anything substantial on goal. The announcers are pointing out that they are now allowing Wambach to get near anything but this should allow for plenty of opportunities for the rest of the US players in the box. 

4:04 – An incorrect offsides by the referee which would have been a great goal scoring chance for Japan, a nice break for the United States.

4:05 – Wambach with another header on goal. The missed shots are getting a little ridiculous.

4:09 – Alex Morgan with a beautiful goal!!!! Wow great shot and goal from Morgan. It seems she will be an important piece of the US women’s team going forward.

4:10 – In the crowd shot a young boy lifted his shirt in celebration. If someone hasn’t watched women’s soccer since 1999 they would assume this is the celebration for all women’s goals.

4:21 – Japan with a goal. Breakdown on defense with a poor clear, Japan continued to play hard and it paid off.

4:23 – Japan is fighting hard for another goal. Two more quick goal scoring chances after their first one.

4:24 – Remember my movie script theory? It feels like the music changed a few minutes ago and the momentum is moved to the underdog.

4:27 – I’ve spent a lot of time forgetting about my computer in the second half. Good sport moments suck you in like nothing else.

4:31 – US with a late goal scoring opportunity and a corner kick as extra time starts.

4:32 – I have really enjoyed O'Reilly this game. Great, aggressive play from her all day.

4:38 – 30 more minutes. It’s cliché but anything can happen in this 30 minutes. I don’t feel like the US has been dominant in the second half and Japan did not luck into taking this to extra time. I am not getting the same US vibe that I got from the Brazil or France game.

4:44 – We have a first card of the game, a yellow card, and I will say this seems to be a well officiated game. The Japanese fans will point to the offsides that should not have been called but other than that a well officiated game.

4:48 – O'Reilly continues to be the most aggressive player for the US. The announcers just pointed that. Well-received praise.

4:51 – Wambach with another header in the World Cup!!!!!!!!!! Wambach’s headers are like Mike Vick on Madden 2004, unstoppable!!!!!

4:53 – Alex Morgan on the assist. This really is an exciting day for her and the future of the US Women’s soccer.

4:54 – 15 minutes left.  I expect a very aggressive Japanese attack. They will either score or the US will have favorable counters to try for another goal.

5:01 – The US defenders have played really well today except for two moments. The first goal and just now when two US defenders ran into each other that could have resulted in an equalizer for Japan.

5:05 – What a goal by Japan! I am sticking with my movie script theory and getting nervous.

5:08 – O'Reilly to Wambach and just over the post.

5:10 – Red card against Japan and a late set piece for the US!!

5:11 – Just missed on the free kick and this will be decided with a shootout.

5:12 – Japan has played very well to get to this point. Obviously they would want to finish in regular time but it is coming down to five shots and Hope Solo seems to be hurt. This really seems to be in favor of the Japanese.

5:12 – ESPN had a shot of the Japanese coach just smiling at his team. He is at least relaxed for this moment. I think that bodes well for his team.

5:16 – The first US PK is stopped by the Japanese goalie. It just caught the back of her foot.

5:17 – Japanese goal, they led 1-0

5:18 – US imploding with a shot over the crossbar.

5:18 – Solo with a save. The US absolutely needed that but are still in trouble. US still down 1-0.

5:19 – Another miss by the US. Weakly struck ball and the goalie had no trouble with the shot.

5:20 – Japan scores again and Hope Solo just got a hand on the ball but it still trickles into the goal. Japan up 2-0.

5:20 – Wambach with a goal. She’s been huge in this World Cup and should be celebrated, no matter the outcome. Japan 2-1.

5:21 – Japan wins in penalty kicks. I am sticking to my movie script theory. The Japanese equivalent of Disney will be making a movie in the next five years.

5:25 – Very interesting World Cup for the US. I think Americans were invested in the last few weeks and it will continue to be a part of our culture. This was a fun team, they had a great tournament. They lost but I think this is still an important tournament for US soccer and women’s soccer going forward. 

I want the comments to start being a place for discussion between the few readers that come to the site. Here's the question for today: Are we close to the tipping point where soccer becomes one of the top three or four sports in America? Is it already?

The Big Bad NCAA

The NCAA has been busy lately. Over the past few years there have been investigations at the University of Southern California, the University of North Carolina, Ohio State, Georgia Tech(as everyone found out yesterday), and Auburn, which is still being investigated. Those are just the schools with football and men's basketball being investigated. Schools like Boise State and Florida State have also been investigated by the NCAA for other sports. Yesterday, Georgia Tech was fined $100,000 and had to vacate their 2009 ACC Championship in Football. In the last few months, Ohio State has fired their head coach and had their star quarterback leave for the NFL Supplemental Draft, due to NCAA violations. UNC has a meeting with NCAA in Indianapolis in October to find out what exactly will happen with their football program. The NCAA seems to be busy but are they actually doing anything?

We have seen the NCAA crack down at USC where the Trojans forfeited wins from the 2004 and 2005 football seasons, lost 30 scholarships over several seasons and the program is currently facing a two-year postseason ban that will be completed after this season. USC has already reaped the awards of their 2005 National Championship that they ultimately had to forfeit. They have brought in big time recruits to their program and made money on merchandise based on winning the 2005 National Championship. Yes, that National Championship is tarnished in our eyes but where is USC hurt? In two years they will have all their scholarships back and be able to play in bowl games. The NCAA needs to start assessing fines, as it did with Georgia Tech, to hurt the schools where it will affect them the most, the wallet.

In October, UNC will probably have to vacate wins from the last few seasons and will be put under probation. There might be a loss of scholarships and other measures imposed, but just like the USC situation those will only last a few years. By dropping a fine on the athletic department, the University will be forced to control their coaches and players and make sure violations do not occur in the future. $100,000 for an athletic department is steep. Athletic departments are not designed to make money and many do not. Football and men's basketball do make money for most athletic departments but there are other sports that the departments must fund that do not bring enough money. By fining a school for their transactions will hurt, not only the football team, but the athletic department as a whole.

Is it fair to a female swimmer to be punished because a football player sold his game worn jersey for a tattoo? No it isn't. But we cannot just blame the football player, the athletic department needs to be held accountable as well. If large fines become a part of NCAA punishments, athletic departments will wake up and take notice of what is happening. Until then expect NCAA violations to continue to pop up every few months, giving college sports an unnecessary black eye. 

Sports in Perspective: The Flip Side

Yesterday, Chris wrote about the perspective we need to have as a society concerning sports. It was well written, concise, and truthful. I tweeted at him that the other side of the same coin is the ability of sports to function on a high level of purpose in our society. So in essence Chris wrote what sports is not, and I will write about what sports is and can be.

Sports can be used in many forms. It is a medium for relationships. Men bound over sports because it gives each of us a chance to communicate with a goal at hand. Often the excuse for men not wanting to talk on the phone is that it doesn't accomplish anything unless they are calling for a specific purpose (that has kind of gone the same was VHS tapes considering the advances in temporal written communication, ie text messages or messaging services.... but that can be linked to the idea that men need a barrier between them and who they are communicating with and that is another blog post). Men use sports as a way of sharing and celebrating their relationship. We tie oursevles to certain teams, programs, franchises and then we celebrate their wins and mourn their losses.

That can be detrimental when we take sports out of the context of a game and tie it to our lives. At my wedding, my brother told me their were mutual friends of mine who had just met. One was an UA alum and the other was a AU fan. Both are great guys, kind, coniderate, and the kind of people you want to be friends with. Then the two began discussing college football (unbeknownced to the other they were rivals). It quickly went from "I think y'all are overrated.." to "Well at least I can read." My brother said it got uncomfortable quick and he got out of there. When sports goes from symbolizing ones culture or region or even personality and begins to actually represent it, the line is blurred and can be crossed.

Another great thing sports does, and should do, is represent the kind of culture we want to live in. Sport is by nature played on a fair playing field, open to all who can play well. The best play at high levels and are often monitarily rewarded. The not so good become fans or reporters or the peanut guy. Either way, sport has a place for so many and affords more than those playing a chance to be apart of the game. That is why sport trancended race in this country before anything else did. The best needed to play and it wasn't long before the best of all races had that opportunity to compete against each other.

The reason for such resistance was because people saw that letting blacks into sport was a microcosm for letting blacks into the dominate white culture. Once equality could be achieved at the national level by a major organization like MLB, it could and should have been achieved everywhere else.

A similar movement is being had with homosexuals in sports. Often times, athletes come across homophobic because they percieve homosexuality as an afront to their idea of masculinity or feminity. But the bigger question is, if having the best players or teams means being tolerant... no being loving and accepting of someone who isn't like you, then so be it. A great deal of athletes are not homophobic, but the sensationalism of the media for pointing someone out who is can paint a broad stroke on from a small brush... the same thing we are trying to fight against.

Sports can bring the best out of us. It gives us a chance to achieve a common purpose, to go through adversity together, and win or lose with grace. That is why sport is beloved. We find out about ourselves, we become alive, we achieve... or we fail. Failure hurts, but in failure we find out how to win.

I heard on NPR the other day a group of writers mocking sports cliches. I think it was a dirty trick because they were taking many out of context and simply mocking an athlete who is trained to say general statements as not to give the anything imflamatory or devulging to the media or opponent. The one that stood out was the statement, "We wanted it more than the other team." Sure that is in and of itself not a true statement. Generally speaking athletes both have a deep desire to win.

What I think the statement was and is alluding to is the deep desire to win backed up by the intense training physically and mentally. Further, I think it alludes to the athletes finding a slight competitive advantage in some aspect of the game that they exploited whereas their opponent failed to achieve that same advantage, thus causing defeat. But that is not something any person would say after they just played a physically and mentally taxing game. Plus I think it discounts the emotions experienced during the contest including but not limited to the brother/sisterhood of teammates, sacrafice, anger, or love managed by the ability to focus or have pose.

Sport gives us the opportunity to create new avenues in culture, to deepen our sense of community, to challenge ourselves and find humility and grace in both victory and failure. It is why we love coaches who challenge us or who point us to a goal and give us the means to achieve that goal. At FSU, Jimbo Fisher calls it "the process."

It is a way to re-program or recondition boys from lives of entitlement or poverty to work as a unit towards a common goal. It teachers focus, drive, self-control, self-sacrafice, relationship. And if someone thinks they are better than their teammate by way of action on or off the playing surface, they will be punished. Sport gives us a way to grow up our children, to endow them with good attributes that can be tranferred to other aspects of life. Coaches can love their players and players can love each other.

Sport has such a tremendous role in our society. When used in the right way, it can build up lives and give success (in many measurements). When used the wrong way, it can alienate, divide, and create Harvey Updyke or the state of Alabama.

Putting Sports in Perspective

I sat down at my computer to write today and started several different articles. None of them felt right and nothing was working. This morning in class, I got a text that a close friend's mother passed away this morning. I won't go into details but all day I have had my friend on my mind.

In my post Monday I wrote "Sports are just sports, a temporary escape from reality," and now, more than ever, that's exactly what we use sports for. If given the choice of what to talk about most of us would choose the NFL season rather than discuss how we would fix the economy. The two top stories on Google News right now are the bombing today in India and that the police found the dismembered body of a missing boy. The two top stories on ESPN are that the US Women are going to be playing in the World Cup Final and that James Harrison said mean things about Roger Goodell and Ben Roethlisberger. The two stories on ESPN are what must of us are going to read but sometimes we need to stop and remember there is another world out there. There was a lot said about Derek Jeter missing the All-Star game but will there be as much said over the next few days about the bombing in India?  

This is what I want to do. I want to write and talk about sports so I know that I am guilty of making sports too important. In just a few weeks, I will throw myself into this College Football season and push some important things out of the way, as will most Americans. In some part of the world there will be a bombing or a tragedy take place. It will be reported here and we will see it and feel bad about it but it will soon be forgotten as we make room for the next game. Sometimes we need to be reminded sports are not life and death. They aren't war. There will be a next season. We will see our teams play again. As a country we might have lost perspective a little bit. We need those moments that help us put our lives back in the order they should be. We need to be reminded what should be first and then where sports needs to fall. Most of the time those two things won't be anywhere close. 

Berman Bashing

Why was Chris Berman involved in last night's Home Run Derby? He is now considered a football guy, which he repeatedly reminded everyone last night, and it seems that most people believe that Berman's shtick is old. I can deal with it during football season because I just want to see football but last night I was reminded why I hate Chris Berman. Here are some highlights of Chris Berman last night.

"I mean I went to Brown, but I'll give this one to Yale."
Berman was quick to remind us of his Ivy League education. Oh thanks Chris you aren't pretentious.

"He turned that G Series into a C(Z?) Series!!"
Several home runs hit the Gatorade sign that said G series and every time Berman, or another member of the crew, would reference it becoming a C or Z series. Maybe it's C because the little line on the G was knocked off. I don't know why it would be Z series. Either way this reference made no sense.

"Back, Back, Back, Back, Back,Back, Back......GONE!!"
This is the moment I was reminded why I hate Berman. ESPN is full of catchphrases and fun. I understand that and a lot of times I enjoy it. I know for the last decade Berman's been doing the "Back, Back..." bit, it needs to end. Keep it fresh Berman. We get the "Back, Back's", the "whoops!" during highlights, and the nicknames, Curtis "My favorite" Martin, but give us something new. Berman I know you are almost 60, you've been at ESPN a long time and you are reaching the end of your career, but could you please try to keep it fresh.

"Only time for two backs on that one."
The joke then became that he could only get two backs out on the line drive home runs. Somehow this was more annoying than the multiple backs.

"That one didn't go the way the Prince wanted. That's the Raspberry Beret variety."
This happened when Prince Fielder popped up and the ball didn't even reach the outfield. The reference here was to Prince(the singer) and his song Raspberry Beret. The implication being that it was a disappointment. The song is about Prince meeting an attractive girl, in a raspberry colored beret, and then hooking up with her. That seems to be more of a home run (pun intended). Also, the song reached #2 on the Billboard charts, which, one would assume, is not a disappointment even for Prince. Berman you knew Prince Fielder was going to be in the Home Run contest and you knew he would have at least one disappointing at bat, you could have found the correct song reference before. I would have preferred "That one didn't go the way Prince wanted. That's a relationship with Apollonia variety."

"That ball was powdered!!"
I don't claim to watch a lot of baseball but I have never heard the phrase powdered in reference to the sport until last night. Several long home runs Berman would yell out that phrase. It's hard to know what that would even mean. Balls are not kept in powder, pitchers can't rub powder on the ball, there is no powder residue from the bat, what do you mean Chris Berman?

We will begin to see Chris Berman weekly in just a few weeks. The lockout seems to be ending soon so we will have a football season and see a lot of Berman. This year instead of being reminded why I hate Berman in September, ESPN chose to remind me in July. Thanks for the heads up ESPN.

International Relations

Yesterday, I tuned in late to the US Women's soccer match against Brazil in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup and was awarded with an amazing match. As I cut the game on I see US defender get a red card and the ensuing penalty kick and I was hooked. It was now the United States against, not only Brazil but also against the refs and their poor calls. I absolutely love pulling for my country. I love Virginia Tech sports, especially football, but it does not compare to pulling for the United States in international competition. Seeing the red, white, and blue jerseys fighting against Brazil and taking it to them despite being a man down will go down as one of my favorite sports memories.

Abby Wamback's goal in the added time of extra time will hopefully go down in sports history somewhere between the "Miracle on Ice" and Brandi Chastain's goal 12 years ago to win the Women's World Cup. For this moment to take its rightly spot on the US sports history trophy case the US women would need to win the tournament. That's not to take away from the amazing moment we witnessed yesterday but the "Miracle on Ice" wouldn't be as important if the United States didn't beat Finland a few days later for the gold. 

So we don't know where to place the win over Brazil yesterday in the international sports pantheon for another few days. So instead of trying to do that I am going to rank the top international sports moments that I have witnessed. That takes out a lot of great international moments in the United States history but I am smart enough to know that I am not smart enough to write about things before my time. So here are my top 5 international sports moments. 

5. Vince Carter Jumps Over a 7'2 French Player

The year 2000 would be the last time the US Men's basketball team would win gold in an international  tournament until the 2008 Olympics. It took eight years because we had to work through all the bad karma Vince brought with this dunk.  Vince is a nasty dunker and seeing him jump over a 7'2 player(7'2!!!) is nuts. Underrated moment in US sports history but an amazing moment none the less. 

4. Lance Armstrong Winning the Tour de France 7 Straight Times

Everyone knows the Lance Armstrong story. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996 that had also spread to his lungs and brain. Just three years later, in 1999, Lance Armstrong won the the Tour de France for the first time. The Tour de France is a 2,200 mile bike race that is completed in 21 days. (2,200 miles, 21 days let that sink in) He won this event 7 straight times. That takes luck but it also takes a huge amount of dedication and desire. He did this after surviving testicular cancer. (Also let that sink in) Lance's run has been hurt after his career by a slew of steroid allegations that will continue to plague him throughout his life. I would have him higher on the lists but that does hurt how we view him. I would like to believe that Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France without the help of performance enhancer but we won't ever know with Lance Armstrong.

3. Michael Johnson at the 1996 Olympics

                                                            PUN!

When I was an 8-year-old I thought I was fast. I ran funny, I ran with my back stiff and didn't move my arms, but I was still pretty fast. I really wanted to be fast after watching Michael Johnson at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Johnson won the 400m and set the Olympic World record with a time of 43.49 seconds. He also won the 200m and set the World Record with a time of 19.32 seconds, a record that would stand for 12 years. He. was the first male athlete to win gold in both of those races at the same Olympics He wore gold shoes, he was fun, and a joy to watch. It helps that his career has not been tainted with steroid allegations and I can remember his 1996 Summer Olympics with joy. 

2. Michael Phelps' 2008 Olympic Domination

I remember this moment vividly because my grandmother passed away on the second night of the 2008 Olympics. The next few days were hectic and hard but I still remember paying a lot of attention to Michael Phelps' chance to win eight gold medals in swimming. The Michael Phelps storyline dominated the pre-Olympic coverage and I believe stood up to the hype. I might remember this moment differently because of the unexpected death of my grandmother but I am ok with that. Sports are just sports, a temporary escape from reality, and Michael Phelps and his 8 gold medals provided the perfect escape. 

1. The National Anthem at the Olympics

The Olympics are a great source of national pride and there is no better moment for that than the gold medal ceremony. When you see the United States flag raised and hear the national anthem that national pride cannot be contained. There is a certain amount of "we are number one and better than everyone else" but there's also pride in a country that works hard and has people that are dedicated to being the best. I've got to the point where I expect the tear ducts to fill up when I watch the gold medal ceremony and hear the beginning of the national anthem. 

Honorable Mentions
US Men's soccer team versus England in the 2010 World Cup; 1999 US Women's World Cup win for gold; 2008 US men's Olympic Basketball Team 

1 AD (After The Decision)

We owe Lebron James an apology. "The Decision" was our fault. "The Decision" was put into motion the first time Lebron was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 18, as a high school senior. He was compared to Jordan before he played an NBA game. People predicted that he would average a triple-double for his career. We wanted Lebron James to be something special. We wanted him to be great. We were watching him play high school basketball games on ESPN. We made Lebron James a big deal before he could legally drink. "The Decision" was a result of all of this. Lebron has been on television since he was a junior in high school. It would only make sense that his biggest decision would take place there as well.

It was a year ago today Lebron James told us he was "taking his talents to South Beach" and we turned on him, quickly. Some people were upset that he left Cleveland, his "hometown", others were upset he teamed up with Dwayne Wade, something we believe the greats before him would never do, but for me the most upsetting thing about Lebron is that he has been a disappointment.

I am not trying to say Lebron James is not amazing or a joy to watch. Despite how we all feel about Lebron we watch him. The 2011 NBA Finals averaged 17.3 million viewers over the six game series. Even in our hatred we tune in to watch him play. He was drafted first overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, forgoing a college career. Lebron sure looked like he was going to dominate the league even in his rookie season. In his first NBA game, Lebron dropped 25 points and had 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals against the Sacramento Kings.  His rookie year, Lebron averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The only other players to average 20-5-5 in their rookie seasons at that point were Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson. Lebron was quickly fulfilling our fantasies.

Lebron is a great player. Well Lebron is a great regular season player. I'll even argue that Lebron is a great player in the first and second rounds of the playoffs. But something happens to Lebron at the end of the playoffs. In the 2010 playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, Lebron had a meltdown. In Game 5 of the series Lebron shot 3 for 14 and scored 15 points in the loss to the Celtics. That loss gave the Celtics a 3-1 series lead and they would wrap up the series in Game 6. We didn't know that Lebron could play that poorly and we had to make excuses for him. Rumors would quickly circulate that a teammate of Lebron's was sleeping with his mom and Lebron supposedly found out before Game 5. We don't know if this story is true or not but we can believe it because that's the only excuse for Lebron playing so poorly.

During the Finals this year, against the Dallas Mavericks, Lebron had a similar meltdown. Lebron averaged 17.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 7.1 rebounds during the Finals. His Finals average was 8.9 points less that his average of 26.7 points during the regular season. During the Finals a rumor oddly similar to the one a year before surfaced. The rumor was that an NBA player was sleeping with Lebron's girlfriend and he found out during the Finals and he was poor play was a result of discovering the affair. (It seems Lebron should learn from his buddy Jay-Z) We still try and make excuses for Lebron's poor play during the playoffs.

I wanted more from Lebron. I bought into the hype and expected greatness. Regular season greatness isnt' enough, greatness in the first and second round of the playoffs isn't enough, I am selfish and want more from him. We hyped him up and built these expectations. We bought the magazines when he was on the cover and watched his games while he was still in high school. We believed when people compared him to Jordan and said he would average a triple-double for his career. We believed we were about to "witness" greatness. When Lebron couldn't deliver we got angry and we are now tearing him down. Fans don't just boo because he went to the Heat, we boo because we believed and Lebron has failed us. Lebron could go down as an NBA disappointment and if he does, we are partially to blame.

All of the Lights

I am absolutely a sucker for the spectacle that surrounds sports. I love the flashing cameras during kickoff at the Super Bowl and the fun of the Home Run Derby. But neither compare to the Slam Dunk Contest. Celebrities in the stands, NBA All-Stars sitting next to them, NBA legends judging the contest, there is nothing in sports quite like it.

Sadly, it seems that most of the great dunks have already been done, Doc and Jordan from the free-throw line, windmills and 360's, Jason Richardson off the glass and through the legs and then every dunk that Vince Carter has ever thrown down. I don't think there are many new dunks out there. Dunks now are a just variations of dunks from the past.

So for the last few years, props have been added to the Slam Dunk Contest and I love it. When Dwight Howard went into the phone booth, came out in a cape, and then flew through the air, I was jumping up and down in my living room. I loved when JaVale McGee slam dunked in two goals at the same time. Guys have blown out candles in cupcakes sitting on the rim and Steve Nash once used his head to pass a basketball to Amar'e Stoudamire for a dunk.

The ultimate grandiose moment in the Slam Dunk contest was when Blake Griffin brought a car and a choir, singing I Believe I Can Fly, onto the court. I lost it. I couldn't believe what was happening. There was so much going on. The crowd was on its feet, the choir was singing, Kenny Smith was chirping on the microphone, the car, the lights, Baron Davis' head out of the sunroof, it was unlike any other sports moment I had ever witnessed. Griffin drives towards the basket, leaps over the car as Baron Davis throws him an alley from the car, Griffin grabs the ball and slams it home. The place went nuts. The dunk  isn't the best of all time and probably not even the best dunk of the night. But that dunk and the moment will be remembered for a long time. This night will be a very fun moment in, hopefully, a great career by Blake Griffin.

                 

                             I added this second picture just for Baron Davis' face.

But there will always be backlash and people complain about props in the Slam Dunk Contest. DeMar DeRozan, who competed in the 2010 and 2011 Dunk Contest, said that he would not compete again until props are taken out. I'm sorry DeMar but I hope props are here to stay. The lights, the music and the crowd on its feet that's what I want to see. If it takes jumping over a car or blowing out a candle on a cupcake, like Gerald Green did in 2008, to keep the excitement level high then that's what the NBA will do. We need to keep the marvelous moments in sports not decrease them, we don't get too many moments like that anywhere else.

The Michael Vick Experience

I thought I should start at the beginning and go back to the moment where sports became the love of my life. It was the first game of Virginia Tech's football season in 1999. My grandfather told me as we walking to our seats we had a new quarterback that season and he was supposed to be pretty good. Turns out Papa Bill read the right scouting report. We played James Madison University and it was a beautiful day in Blacksburg.

The only play from that game I remember is when the quarterback scrambled right and met a couple defenders a yard or two from the end zone. The quarterback decides to leap over the defenders and was upended, cutting a flip in the air. When he landed he came down awkwardly on his ankles but he was in the end zone and scored the touchdown. That play was the beginning of the Michael Vick era at Virginia Tech.

The moment occurred with seven minutes to go in the second quarter and we would not see Vick play anymore that game but the excitement was already there. When we hear Vick's name now there are a lot of other moments that come to mind, sadly most don't have anything to do with sports. But all it took for me was 22 minutes of football and Michael Vick had me hooked.

That season would be a magical one in Blacksburg as the Hokies would go on to play in the National Championship, the only time in the program's history. There was the last second field goal against West Virginia and a 62-0 drubbing of 14th ranked Syracuse but for me the play I will always remember from 1999 is Michael Vick flipping over three JMU players to score a touchdown. All it took was that one moment and I was all in.

Here's the highlights of that game and if you cut to 3:26 you will see the play. Surprisingly, I remembered it correctly and my childhood imagination didn't make it five defenders and two flips.

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!

This blog will hopefully be my first, and I pray not last, "anything is possible" moment. The moment where I go after a dream. My goal for the last few years has been to write, talk, and live sports. This blog is the first step in living my dream. Like many of us I do not play sports anymore but I consume them daily. I invest myself in football season, I've cancelled dates to watch a game, I've skipped class to prove I am better than someone at Madden and I've cried about losses, all because sports are something magical to me. This goal of this blog is to keep the magic alive and not become jaded and cynical about sports. Welcome to the Party.