Racial Divide Seperates Sports Fans

Basketball has been known for creating some very good players. Michael Jordan, do I say more? The lack of criminals emanating from the league does make one think that Mr. Stern has been, well a little stern on his employees. As the league moves forward into uncharted territories, people are going to be very skeptical of how the league manages in modern society. The biggest issue to talk about is the lack of racial diversity in the NBA.
If I was anything on the list of writers in America, I would be stoned to death fro writing this blog. Fortunately, or unfortunately I am not looked at too much so this blog will reach about 35 people. Lately, I have been looking at multiple NBA venue's and I have noticed the same thing with each; an increase in the amount of empty seats. Some will over rule me and say this is purely economics at work, but I say otherwise. Look down at who is playing and tell me how many white people are in uniform slamming dunks. I'll even give you three minutes........
You have probably noticed by now that most of the players are African American. I think this is a positive testament to where our country has gone. We have a league which has more people of color than whites. This does not matter to me, however it does seem to be a little fast for the people paying for the show. You can say that I am racist all you want, but the fact is, the role models for white people are still turning out to be white people. The same with African-Americans.
So what do we do? Well, I for one dislike basketball to the fullest. I believe that the sport should be taken off of American sports because there is really no stopping anyone from scoring except themselves. No defensive unit will come on the court to stop Kobe from scoring. I'll just have to hope that Birdman gets in his way and ruins his first scoring chance. Which still leaves us with the same question of what should we do? Frankly, until America is a nation which is literally equal with the amount of blacks vs. whites, there is nothing we can do. Whites are still going to watch people who they can take after. It's not likely for for me to empathize with a black man who grew up on the streets. I didn't grow up on the streets, so I cannot relate.
I remember a couple of years back when someone, I believe from the naacp, said that basketball has roughly 75% African-Americans. They said that was good, but not great. So what is great? Would great be the entire sports world run by one race? How would that be any better than what we are in now? The only difference is that white people would not be allowed to start a league to help them in trying times.
I think people need to stop bitching and let the talent speak for itself. If a black quarterback is taken in the NFL draft before a white guy because he is good, so be it. If it's the other way around, the same should be said. Not something to the effect that a particular team is racist because they did not take a black person.

Trade Marshall for Crabtree

Highly unlikely, I know; but, think about it. Let's do a little recap of this years past draft. It was good, it was great, but was it wonderful? For the 49ers(who might as well have a dinner date with the Minnesota Timberwolves over players that didn't sign in the draft), the prospect of losing this year's first rounder and receiving a supplemental pick next season is monumental. First...and a little off topic I might add, Crabtree has missed every single practice and preseason game thus far. He is in no shape to do anything more than enter next year's draft and be selected somewhere near the fifth round for fear that a recent college grad will be in better shape. Second...and more on track than the first, everyone was shocked when the Raiders selected Darius Heyward-Bay over Crabtree. That decision and Al Davis' intuition to select good players and horrible coaches seem's to be wonderful. Now we have the idea running through our head that the best wideout of the year may have been Heyward-Bay.
Let's get to the good and the beefy part now. Think of Denver and what has happened to them over the past six month's. They went from a crappy team with no real chance of going anywhere to a horrible team with NO chance of going anywhere. And, did I mention that they have third string talent starting at quarterback? I have one suggestion and I leave it on the mercy of the readers to think critcally; trade Brandon Marshall who wants out anyways for the rights to Crabtree. Neither of them have much preseason in them this year and send a second round pick next year to Denver in that trade just in case Crabtree does not sign.
I think this is good, let it be your choice.

Matthew Stafford

I really like what I am seeing from the Detroit Lion's first round pick. His name is Matthew Stafford and he has quite an arm. I have watched quite a few qb's enter the game and not have half the arm that Stafford possesses. When I look at his strength and compare it to other qb's I think not of Peyton Manning, but of Jay Cutler and Michael Vick. Now let the prison term on Vick's resume be banished from this blog; I think he has a wonderful arm.
Back to Stafford. I have not seen too much from this young qb, and I really shouldn't at this point. When I think of Stafford and Culpepper together I remember the Cutler Plummer days. Plummer was named the starting qb for the beginning of the season and midway through, Cutler got the nod to finish out the rest of the year. This in my mind, was a gamble of gargantuan proportions. Cutler being a rookie could have done something to tarnish his name or lose his grip similar to fellow draft mate Vince Young. Instead, the gamble paid off and Cutler was the seasons gun slinger. Now, with this in mind I return back to Stafford.
Mr. Stafford did pretty well at Georgia. I am not going to post his stats on here because you can dig them up on Yahoo! if you really want to. What I am going to say is that his arm is decent for his tim in the NFL. To bench him for Culpepper is a very, very smart move. I think he needs to sit a year or two behind a good qb like Culpepper and "marinate" similar to the way Aaron Rodgers did under Brett Favre and Phillip Rivers did under Drew Brees. When the media hype is gone, he will be able to come back out and play harder. This makes things easier for Stafford(who would puke at the sight of this blog because of it's truth) while he becomes a better player. Just my thoughts, check out Michael Silver on Yahoo! for more.

Milwaukee Brewers fall from grace

Everyone sit down, it's only the Brewers that I speak of. Then again, stand up; YANKEES! Sit back down, BREWERS. Which one were you more apt to support? For me it would be neither because I am in love with the Rockies (until they fall into the hands of the Dodgers and Giants for the next week).
The loyal Wisconsinites know that something horrible has happened in Miller town. Last season, the Brewers relieved C.C. Sabathia of the horrible Cleveland Indians. Sabathia performed well in guiding the crew to a post season berth. Firth time since '84, while in the process almost throwing a no hitter (that was controversial because it should have been an error, not a man on base). But, whatever; the people who are good will shine. Unlike Milwaukee, who led their division two and a half months ago, there will be no after thought on how well the Brewers did this season. The attention will focus on the Packers and Miller Park will close down in the same fashion that it always has 24 of the last 25 years (county stadium in that count as well). The custodians will sweep the hall one more time, while the vendors will lock up their stores for a six month layoff. Then the players will leave and head to wherever they came from. Pheonix, Denver, Seattle, you name it they will be gone.
While all this is happening, Miller Park will receive a nice coat of snow to cover up the horrible season that preceded the closing. Fans will turn their televisions to Basketball and Football with some navigating to Minneapolis or Chicago for some hockey. No one will think anything while passing the large stadium which holds the keys to Milwaukee's freedom from a curse that really was never caused by anything. Chicago has the fact that they suck curse, Boston had the great bambino curse, and on the reverse side; New York has the so much money that we cannot produce curse (usually lasts about seven years and then they inject a needle in a few players and buy the world series). In the end though, you can count on Milwaukee doing nothing again next year, or the year after that. Ryan Braun and Prince field are two good players that could be traded for some decent pitching. Management says otherwise, and your ticket prices will fall. At least this time you can see a professional sporting event all while being considered a cheap date.

Michael Crabtree

Let the games begin! No, seriously, the fight for the right to play will be ever present in the coming weeks out of 49er land. This story is quite simple and relates heavily to how well the NCAA can market it's players. For the past three years, Michael Crabtree has been considered by many to be the cream-of-the-crop. He has caught more pigskins than any other player comparable to his efforts. Touchdowns, deep routes and complex catches are all part of Mr. Crabtree's luggage. He can take you to the next city, and then take you to the bank. He'll rob you of any thoughts you had concerning other wide receivers.
This is why I think Michael is a crappy player, and quite possibly a Crabass. Rather than negotiate his contract in a civilized way, he is choosing to use the biggest media outlets that he can. His message is this: "We will not stop until the contract is right". Although I made most of that quote up, the general idea follow's what the college wide receiver intends to do. Well, what exactly does Mr. Crabtree intend on doing? His current plan is to hold out for next years draft and re-enter as a new candidate. I think this is a horrible idea on many fronts. The first being that next year will be a Quarterback's year. Colt Mccoy, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow to name a few top shelf players that will likely dash the first round. Take them away and you will see your usual niche` of USC players making headway into top teams. Even without them, somebody, somewhere will stick out and make great plays. With all of this tallent ready to go, who is going to be thinking about Michael Crabtree? I would first like to point out that he will have spent at least a year without taking throws from college level players. His mental toughness will diminish along with his chances of being considered a rookie pro bowler ( for which he is now). This situation is getting ugly, and frankly I do not see a finishing touch that says anything more than disaster. San Fransisco will lose their first round pick, Michael Crabtree will fall into the cracks and become another Javon Walker all while we sit and wonder what could have been for Texas Tech's only decent player to make the pro's. Sorry Mike Leech, I guesss we'll have to wait another 20 years for someone this good to come out of your institution.

Rigged American Idol

News has flashed about everything in the music world since Michael Jackson died. I have read every review about music in today's society and I am here to tell you that everything is messed up. Similar to when Elvis Presley died, we stand in shock by the death of the king of pop. Americans wonder what is next in the music world. Stars in music often fade within ten years of their existence, which is why legends like Jackson are rare. Take N'Sync and Britney Spears for example. Ten years ago, we thought that N'Sync could never die because of the great vocals by the entire band. Audiences were in aww by the backflipping feats conqured on stage. We saw droves of people run to ticket booths even if it meant that we were to see from the farthest vantage point. Females were no obstruction for the music industry either. Britney Spears was on top of the world hitting chord after chord in peaceful harmony. I was transfixed by her "Oops I did it again" video. She wore a tight leather jump suit that had every young teenager wanting her, while middle aged men were left urning for their youth. Then, everything changed. The music world realized that N'Sync was not really an entire band, but rather a very expensive set of speakers. Not once did the band pull off a show without lipsyncing to the music. Even more, the music sang by them was not evey theirs. Scores of people came together like a football team for these guys and all they had to do was look good and pull off countless on stage tricks. When Justin Timberlake left the band, we were all curious as to how the remaining members would do. As time has told us, nobody had any talent on that singing roster. What about Britney? The sad truth is that she became relevant during an era when anyone would listen to pop. The Backstreet Boys, O-Town, and N'Sync to name a few provided a very good cover for America's discrimination of women. When all of the bands that sounded oh so good went away, we were left with the real Britney. With so much pressure on her shoulders, she made mistakes that were amplified simply because she was a woman. Two kids and a meltdown later, we wonder where all of her bliss went.
This is why Michael Jackson is so huge. He set the record straight by giving everyone hope. When he performed, it wasn't just about music, but rather the people listening. I truly believe that Michael brought the best out of everyone. Now that Michael is gone though, we find ourselves in another transition wondering when the next "king of something" will show their face. In the meantime, we bash everything that we had before Mr. Jackson left us. American Idol, Americas Got Talent and any other show that might produce a lick of good natured acts. I was reading this story about some guy name Ju'nu or something like that and he made me sick. How could American Idol not be rigged? Think back to the Dale Earnhardt, Sr. days. Remember when Nascar secretly made engine builders produce components that would ultimately take away any advantage in a car, thus making them bunch up? That whole situation literally blew up in their face with the death of one of Nascar's finest. Lucky for idol, there really is no way for this to blow up. I realize that when I am watching a show, regardless of what people think, American Idol will do what it has to in order to keep the ratings alive. We all saw this with Sanjaya staying on the show after being in the bottom 3 more than six times.
When I finish this blog, I will no doubt post it. But I'd like to think that the death of Michael would make us better. But...I doubt it will.

Why do we worship the quarterback?

These days, quarterbacks seem to get all of the attention from American sports fans. We gather around their every move and become overly excited before they finish a sentence. Frankly, I am getting sick and tired of Brett Favre. I grew up in Wisconsin and every year the talk was about how great Brett was.
The entire scheme all started the year Green Bay won the super bowl. The chants were loud and thunderous while the celebrations seemed a bit unorthodox. Most championship teams set up a parade through hometown streets to show off their new hardware; not in Green Bay. The year the Packers went all the way, a rally was held at the stadium followed by two days worth of parades through Green Bay and Milwaukee. Separate rallies without the players were held across the state. The leading man holding the Lomardi trophy was Mr. Iron man himself; Brett Favre. I watched as he fisted the trophy through the air, never once handing it off to another teammate. I doubt this was selfishness, I just think young Brett was so caught up in the moment that he forgot that his teammates were normally in front of him, whereas during the parade, everyone was behind.
The next year was similar, just no hardware. Green Bay lost to Denver in a heated battle down in southern California. Brett somehow secured his title as “the man” in Green Bay. The media was littered with his stats for everyone to see, not to mention that his second MVP title was displayed on almost every billboard in the state.
Year after year Wisconsinites went through the tradition of hearing about Brett’s awesome stats. Then something changed, Brett became old. His graying beard no longer gave him away as a young gunslinger, but rather a mature man who relied on his team to make plays. Funny thing is, the Packers never went anywhere during his gray years. Then something new was introduced to Wisconsin in the spring of 2004; Brett began contemplating retirement. This struck everyone off guard because the Packers refused to draft quarterbacks on the first day of the entry draft. The entire state along with me could not see past the day when a new signal caller would take snaps behind center. We never saw it coming. I guess we were that stupid, hell, even Denver new when John Elway was going to say goodbye.
2005 saw its ups and downs. Among them, another year where Brett refused to color his beard to pass himself off as a credible young threat; he just stuck with the gray as we did with him. That spring was probably the hardest on Packerland. Everyone wanted to know; is this the last year for Brett? While we tossed and turned over the entire summer, Mr. Favre spent his vacation from football in cozy Mississippi. Then, just when the Packers were about to start camp, Favre decided that he wanted to come back to football. We accepted him with open arms, and even brushed off the idea of spending a draft pick on a quarterback.
2006 was much of the same. Favre played, and then pulled his antics at the end of the season. For two years, Wisconsin had become accustomed to waiting for Favre to make a decision. Even though we knew his arm was fading faster than his beard was graying, we stuck with Brett.
2007 came and went by once again. This time we had somebody in the midst though; Aaron Rodgers. Wait a second, Aaron who? That is what I thought when Brett was contemplating what he wanted to do. After all, he had just come off of a season where he threw the ball directly to the opposing team during over time. I mean c’mon, why didn’t he just run the football into the Giants end zone? Either way, we waited. Then it happened, a teary eyed Favre appeared on our screens resilient to thank every fan for the money they had spent on tickets. I thought for a second, I am watching a legend say goodbye to the game! What a sight….or so I thought.
Three months later, Favre was a New York Jet and Wisconsin was sick of him. He ditched us for an AFC team after announcing his retirement during the end of the previous season. There was a retirement ceremony for him planned and I am sure that more people would have called in sick for that event than the super bowl.
The long of the short, Favre sucked in New York and then retired again. Now he wants to come back and spite the Packers (who supported him for years) by signing with the Vikings. How the hell is that any paid respect to the fans who supposedly did so well at supporting you? That would be like Joe Sakic coming out of retirement to play for Detroit. Doesn’t make any sense at all, then again, we worship the quarterback.
These days I wonder when Brett will give up. He is definitely going down the path of destruction and should be put into a wall of shame somewhere near Lambeau Field. Let’s just say hypothetically that he does help the Vikings this year. Will he be able to carry them for another year after that? I think Favre is more of a liability at this point than a help. He needs to go on a team where they have everything but a quarterback so that they can reach the super bowl. Scratch that; Favre already left that situation in New York. Good luck Minnesota, the 2010-2011 season should be a good test for your current back ups.

Marshall out of Denver?

Is it true? Are we headed to a crucial season without our greatest threat? Well friends, the answer is a bit complicated. About five or so months ago, I posted a blog regarding the firing of Mike Shanahan. I was for it and it seemed like a very good idea at the time. Today I sit in my chair believing the same principles that I did then: the Bronco's need to go in a different direction. At this time though, I believe something is not right in Denver. I don't know if it's a GM problem or a head coaching problem or what. BUT! The problem is escalating further each day and I can only hinge my season's expectations off of what I know now. McDaniels has brought in some rookie blood that has yet to be tested. He appears to be holding his water well while the team around him seems to dissapate at a rate faster than the '08 defense let passing yards go. Here's the problem: THE DRAFT IS OVER! We had an awesome pick this year and we used it on a running back who will look extra great behind our stellar o-line. The problem is, Orton does not have long term written on him and he also posseses a skill set similar to what Jake Plummer gave the Bronco's. Now I am not sure that Orton will ever give the fans a middle finger salute, however, he has played much of his career with Jake Plummer style. Remember the Arizona Cardinals before Kurt Warner? They were headed by none other than Mr. Plummer. He did horrible with them and guided the franchise to one playoff berth in his 9+ years under center. Then he was traded to Denver for very few if any draft picks. Plummer did well because a nice receiving core made his less than accurate arm seem like perfection. Once Mr. Mccafferey decided to call it a career, Plummer was exposed for what he was: a quarterback who rolled out of the pocket where he the protection was so flimsy. Remarkably, Plummer led the Bronco's to the AFC Championship game and lost to the Steelers. Flash forward a couple of years and take a look at Orton. The man was playing for a very crappy team that did well only his first season as gunslinger. He led them to the NFC Championship game, but floundered much like Grossman did two years later in the Super Bowl. Although NFC championship means quite a bit, it did little to improve Orton's stock. He squandered his next season and lost the job to Rex Grossman. Now, much like Plummer, Orton is surrounded by talent at offense. He brings little to no improvement for them, and is surely less productive than his predeccesor;Cutler.
So what do we do? Well option number one will lead us to a year of guaranteed bad play. We hope that Orton does well enough that we get the 1st round pick in 2010. Option number two would be a stab in the heart, but it would provide immediate damage control to our other wounds; FIRE MCDANIELS!
So, lest I forget, we have an offense with great talent and some good receivers in Marshall and Royal. If, and I do say this with a strong emphasis on the if, we gain control of Marshall; Orton will lead us far. The problem is, once again, we must be something that they call a team; and god only knows, we have very few of that in us.

Nascar needs some house cleaning

Oh that sweet sound of a wreck into the Talladega walls while thousands of fans clamor over the fate of the driver who slammed so quickly. This is what Nascar has spun down to and it's a crying shame to watch as ratings plummet with the sport. I used to love the races and I would sit for the four hours or so watching drivers continually make that left turn. You can say what you want, but the skill level is pretty intense. Probably comparable to a showing of the Air Force Thunderbirds aviation show. The problem is this: Nascar has lost it's zing and may never get it back. The voice of the sport, the feel good image died on a Sunday afternoon in early 2001. His name was Dale Earnhardt and he was stock car racing's image. When he did, so too did a part of Nascar. For a couple of years, his son unsuccessfully held the reigns as the image of Nascar. Jr., as they call him, never lived up to the hype his father's death dealt him. He never won a championship and only made the chase for the cup a handful of times. To be precise, I think I can count the number with my left thumb. Today, Nascar is another sport waiting to die out because of a fan base that stays in one area: the southeast. Every decent track that can produce high speeds and loads of wrecks are found somewhere near Florida.
So what are we to do about a sport that so many, or should I say, so few care about? Well, the truth is hard to hear, but we must let it die. Like the XFL, Nascar has found a hole that is almost unmanagable to get out of. Three major labels in seven years has cost the sport quite a bit. Wait, is it the telephone cup of America yet? Just checking, it's still the Sprint Cup....for now. What needs to happen is a resurgence of the sport on another level. I highly doubt that Talladega or Daytona will ever leave our minds, but to erase some pitfalls like Darlington and Louden would really help the sport. Someone needs to get this sport back to the basics and allow real competition to come in. Remember when Dick Trickle was a driver? I do, and I also remember when this sport had compassion for it's fans. Who cares if one of the drivers takes steroids? It will just be that much harder to fit their large arms into the one size window frame. Although I don't offer much of a proposal to fix Nascar's problem, I do offer the proposal that someone undermine their operation by sticking money into venue's like ARCA or similar events. Giving local racetracks face time will really do this sport a favor. Not to mention, I'll get to see a race again.

How is it not the goalies fault?

Okay, I am a little sick and tired of hearing the same old crap about goalies not being at fault for a loss. It's like saying that John Elway was not responsible for throwing the football into the endzone. Now granted, these days we have the flea flicker and many other assortments, but still, it's the goalie's job to stop pucks. When a team such as Pittsburgh has so much talent, when does it become the responsibility of the goalie to stop the puck? Let's take myself for example. I am a goalie in my night league and I have many issues with stopping the puck. Let's see...I have the whole butterfly thing to work on, not to mention my top shelf is open like a refrigerator for a fat man. Who do I blame at the end of the day for my inconsistencies? Well, I blame myself. Even last week, I had a guy (who was completely numb to playing the role of a defenseman) stand in front of me and try to stop the puck. Instead of having a left leg pad save with a nice rebound, I had a redirect through my five hole and into the back of the net. Who is at fault here? Well according to all of the retarded sports writers who give great sense to the game, the defenseman is because I was already set up for a left side shot. What is never written or spoken about is the fact that my stick was off in la-la land while I anticipated that pad save. It's my fault for not keeping my stick down and redirecting the puck to the boards. Seriously, if people would put the blame where it belongs, we might be able to find who is the problem in this game. I also realize that shit about no I in team. Well my friends, if Sidney Crosby does not score a goal, is it the goalies fault? I don't think so, it's the kids fault. So why is it that Fluery can get away with being a sub-par goalie because his defense sucks? I don't know, you tell me.

Tigers Fall Again

As if this past season was not enough, you have to deal with the fortunes of the 2009-10 season. Tiger hockey fans, eat your heart out. With no prominent acquisitions this past season and the departure of Richard Bachman and Jake Connelly, you can bet that coach Scott Owens will have his hands tied. Last season, the Colorado College faithful watched as his almost famous umbrella formation fell into opposing team breakaway's and multiple tallies on the scoreboard; none for the Tigers. I have noticed a trend that has followed with this school; marketing has gone down with performance. When the Tigers first aquired Bachman, they were preaching that they had a team environment where the fans were part of the game. Last season, they were ready to prey, ready to kill. Obviously this did not work and the Tigers lost their best assets. Keep going Owens, your not that far away from a stay at home dad.