So apparently the NFL owners are pretty much all in favor of expanding the NFL schedule from 16 games to 18 games, taking away 2 of the 4 exhibition games. The reason? Isn’t it obvious? Money. Apparently they need to increase their income in this down economy. I think it is a terrible idea. I know there are huge football fans out there and for them the more then better. But, this is a violent sport and with 2 more games every year, that’s even more time out on the field that a player can have some career ending injury. Of course the owners are for this. They have nothing to lose. They just get more money. It would be one thing if they had some actual football based reason to increase the season, whether it be to make it more schedule friendly, more competitive, or just something besides just money. But, its not. Its just about the money. What happens during the next economic downturn? Are you going to increase it to 20 games? What about the next one after that? 22? Why not just make it year round? This is a bad idea, and is not really a solution but rather a band-aid to the problem of trying to increase revenue. How much more freaking money do they need? Already they are by far the richest of the major sports in America, and their TV deals are worth billions. They pretty much sell out all their stadiums, and their ratings are at all time highs and pretty much are higher than the ratings of all other American team sports combined.
And therein lies one of the biggest problems with American Capitalism in general. Not only is it always about the money, but its also never enough. If you make $100 million one year it might be great, but if you make $100 million the next year its terrible because not only did you have 0% growth, you actually made less money because every year we have inflation, which makes the value of that $100 million less. Whether it be because the American government prints too much money or what, inflation is pretty much ever present almost every year. Does anyone else remember when a whopper, a Big Mac, a Famous Star, or a gallon of gas could all be bought for less than $1?
And so every year NFL teams raise the price of their tickets, parking, concession stands. But, we are currently in the midst of a down economy and so those increases are not enough and thus comes the increasing of the 16 game schedule. Of course the owners all support this. They pretty much have no risks and only have money to gain. There is no one regulating their rules so they can do whatever they want, with NFL Players Association “approval”. But we all know they will approve. Owners will throw a couple million at them, let them risk injuries, then keep millions more to themselves. Just because the players approve it doesn’t mean it is right. If parent’s and kids approved, would it be okay to hire child laborers and pay them peanuts? Nope. And with this extra revenue from 2 extra games, do you think any owners will lower ticket prices? Hell no. They’ll just pocket it, wait for the next economic downturn, then try to throw some other gimmick out there. My prediction? Let more teams into the playoffs so they can have more playoff games and thus, you guessed it, earn more money.
For the 2nd year in a row, joined a fantasy football league with some friends. I don’t really know anything about football, having not heard of most of the people that I drafted. I’m more a basketball person, having played that for many years straight. But, got an invite from my friends and had to join. It looks like we are going to do one with co-workers too. If it was baseball I would of declined as there are just too many baseball games and I would quit playing soon after the season starts. But, football I can do despite my ignorance of the players as its only once per week! I joined a 10 team Yahoo Fantasy Football league, with mostly standard Yahoo rules, with a few defaults the commish changed.
I got the #2 pick in the draft. With my first pick, I chose the RB Maurice Jones-Drew. Why? No real reason. I read an article that you couldn’t go wrong with him or Adrian Peterson, and Chris Johnson who I had last year was taken #1. So, I went with the Bruin. UCLA baby!! Rest of the draft pretty much just chose people that seemed to have a high Yahoo ranking, or filled the positions that I needed. Do I have a good team? No clue. But, will go through the season like last year, talking trash when winning and mysteriously disappearing when losing. Last year I had the most points of every single team, but still did not make the playoffs!! So goes the way of a head to head league. Oh well. Hopefully I score the same amount of points as last year, but the head to head matchups are more in my favor!
So, anyone who watches ESPN or goes to their website knows about the Dustin Johnson controversy and him “grounding his club in the bunker.” It got me thinking of dumb rules in sports. Not that golf is a sport, because no matter what anyone says to me they will not convince me otherwise. I’m not saying its easy or that I can do it. But, its not a sport. Its a game. If golf is a sport, then so is darts or bowling. Anyway, I’m not going to mention any more dumb rules in golf, because if you saw them, you’d see that they would fill the top 10 list alone as there are some lame ass rules in golf.
The tuck rule in the NFL. No, I’m not a Raider fan, so I’m not saying this because I’m bitter that the Patriots stole that game from the Raiders and that the Raiders should of been the champs that year. But, there is no one out there who can convince me that the tuck rules makes any sense whatsoever, and that what Brady did that one year should in fact of been a fumble if not for this stupid rule.
The ground can’t cause a fumble. Ummm, why not?
The designated hitter rule in baseball. Is this the social security rule of MLB?
The dropped 3rd strike rule in baseball. I’m sure there is some reason this exists, but I have no clue what it is.
The restricted area in the NBA. I have never liked this rule at all. I think its so lame that just because one part of your foot is in the restricted zone, its an automatic blocking foul.
Defensive 3 seconds in the NBA. If you are going to get rid of illegal defenses, then do it! It may be called defensive 3 seconds, but its still just illegal defense. Just allow any type of defense the team wants to play.
The leaving the bench leads to an automatic suspension rule in the NBA. Ummmm, I think the Suns agree.
The penalty shootout in soccer to break a tie. To me, this is like the NBA deciding the end of the game based on a free throw contest. So lame. Just freaking play sudden death, and if it lasts 10 hours then it lasts 10 hours.
The time clock rules in soccer. Ummmm, why the hell is there no clock that anybody can see and only the referee knows the time?
So, like pretty much everyone else in the country, we all know by now via a lame ESPN special (that I thankfully did not watch) that Lebron James has decided to leave his hometown to go and try to win a ring with Wade the Heat. A few thoughts on this.
I have no problem with him leaving. He is a free agent, and it is his right to go wherever he chooses. That’s why its called free agency. I do, however, have an issue on how he did it. They hype surrounding this was so comical that it was annoying. And, despite what everyone was saying today, I really did think that he’d stay a Cav because it would be a stab in the back if he were to go on national TV and choose anyone but Cleveland. I mean, how cruel can you be? If you are going to leave, just have a 10 minute news conference and do it.
I wonder now if this gives GM’s in the league any more motivation not to let their players play for USA Olympics. This is where these 3 stars became such close friends. Is Chris Paul going to join them soon? I absolutely hate that GM’s cannot tamper with another team’s players, but other players can. That’s crazy. I know you can’t stop it, but still.
If this doesn’t prove that small market teams cannot really compete in the NBA, I don’t know what does. Lebron was offered more money from the Cavs than any other team in the league could offer. It is his hometown. And STILL he left them.
I think this Heat team will eventually win a championship, but not this year. In fact, I don’t even know if they make it out of the East this year. Its hard to say until I see who is going to fill out the rest of their roster, but its pretty much got to be made up of minimum wage players. Is Iverson going to come out of retirement and be there 1-guard? Is Shaq going to return? I doubt the latter as I think Shaq burned his bridges there. They have no shooters and they have no center. So, I just don’t see them winning this year. In a year or two, they may eventually sign enough players to contend.
I think this proves that Lebron doesn’t really have what it takes to be the alpha dog and win a championship. Its not a knock on him, its just who he is. If he really wanted to win and be the man while doing so, he would of chosen any place but Miami. Now, he is going to be like the Super Pippen to Wade’s Jordan.
If one more person calls Chris Bosh a superstar, I am going to scream. What has he done to be considered a superstar? Been to the playoffs like twice and never got out of the 1st round. Doesn’t really block shots. Decent defender. A superstar would be able to make the playoffs if he were surrounded with average players. Maybe a few guys in the league fit that in Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Durant probably now, and I’m thinking that’s about it. Bosh? Ummmmm, Raptors didn’t make the playoffs last year. Good player? Yeah. All-Star? Yeah. Superstar, hell’s no.
Anyway, without knowing who else they sign to fill up their roster, I am picking the Heat #3 in the East, behind Orlando and Boston.
Yes, yes, I know that we made it past the first round of the World Cup. I find it as interesting as I do the Olympics, as in, not really at all. I never really understood the fascination people have for these events that happen every 4 years or so in the Olympics and World Cup. Its more an event than it is a sport. Why do I say that? Because if people really did like or enjoy watching soccer or the “sports” that are in the Olympics, then they would watch them even when they occurred otherwise. Do you know what the ratings are for a normal figure skating event when they occur outside of the Olympics? Its pretty dismal, and its pretty much why you won’t ever find them televised on broadcast television anymore. Soccer? To say it is not one of the 4 major sports in this country is an understatement.
Now, the question that I then pose is, why do we, as Americans, suck at soccer? Why do we not love the sport as much as pretty much the rest of the world? I think its one of those chicken and egg things. If we were good at soccer, we would love it more. And if we loved soccer, well, we would not settle for sucking. And let me just say that we do not “suck” per se. Its just that Americans don’t like to lose, and coming in any place other than 1st is often considered crappy, hence we suck at soccer.
But, getting back to it, why do we suck? I think the biggest reason we suck at soccer is that in general, we as Americans only care about money and fame. And in this country, soccer provides neither of those. In most countries of this world, the best athletes concentrate and train in soccer. If they make it, they become famous, rich, a celebrity. In America? Please name me one soccer player you know. But, even beyond fame, its the money. Do you know what the minimum salary in Major League Soccer is in the US? Its $30k. The median? $53k. Many college graduates make at least that much, and they have a much easier time finding that job than a soccer player does of making an MLS team.
So, if I am a superstar athlete trying to decide what sport to take up, what sport to train in, what sport to try to earn my living in, do you think I’m going to choose football, basketball, baseball, hockey, or soccer? The average salary in the NBA is something like $5 million, baseball $3 million, hockey and football both over $1 million. Yes, soccer is the most popular sport among kids with the highest participation rate of all the sports. But, when I enter schooling and need to decide where to use my athletic ability, where do you think I’m going to concentrate on? Yes, I may love soccer, but loving soccer doesn’t pay the bills and doesn’t make me famous. Granted, most of these athletes are not going to make it to any of these professional leagues no matter how hard they work. But that’s not the point. The point is that they concentrate, work, and train in these more popular sports. If all our best athletes only wanted to be soccer players….
So, its not that we suck. Trust me. We have some of the best athletes in the world. If we as Americans cared about soccer, we would be a perennial powerhouse. So the rest of the world can make fun of us all they want about sucking at soccer. Firstly, we could care less because we beat you in all the sports that we do care about. Secondly, if we wanted to, we’d kick your asses.
Its been about a year now, but the 2010 NBA Finals are finally upon us. This is not really a prediction post or anything, more a rant about how the NBA playoff schedule has got to be among the worst in all of sports. I think they could easily shave 3 weeks off the schedule and the teams and players would still be rested enough to play each other. There is no way that the playoffs should last this long. A week between series? I’m not even talking about the week it took to get to the Finals, but also the week there was between the 2nd and 3rd rounds! And 3 days off between games in a series? Are you kidding me? I know that TV generates all the money and so you have to listen to the TV executives to set the schedules, but when is enough enough? Fight back and tell them its not good for the game!! How many casual fans do you know out there have lost excitement as the playoff wore on? Its plain silly. The NBA is lucky that the 2 more storied franchises in its history are playing this year or there would be no casual fan excitement whatsoever. But, even with that being said, there is only so much you can hype the series. At some point, you just gotta show the games!
Here’s to a great 2010 NBA Finals, hoping that the wait and hype were well worth it. I think legacies will be made in this series. The teams are both very good and I have no clue who will win. If the Celtics win, Pierce, Garnett and Allen (especially Pierce) will be mentioned among the Celtic greats. If the Lakers win, Kobe Bryant will get closer to the rarefied territory of Magic Johnson, with his 5th ring, and one that includes the toppling of the hated Celtics. So, great series coming up, but one that should of started much sooner!
I went to game 2 of the Lakers and Jazz playoff series at the Staples Center last night. It was the first NBA playoff game that I have ever been to. And, the seats were very good, where we were along the free throw line behind the Lakers bench about 20 rows up. Close enough that we could see a lot. It was the closest I have ever sat at any NBA game so it was a very good first playoff experience. Had lots of fun, despite the game not being all that exciting since the Lakers were pretty much in control the whole game. But, fun nonetheless.
What did I notice after attending my first playoff game? I honestly expected it to be a lot louder than it was. Now, maybe like me the other fans pretty much felt this series was over before it really started and that the Jazz have no real chance of winning 4 games against the Lakers. Or, maybe it was more a factor of where we sat. The seats, according to the price on the ticket, had a value of 350 bucks. Who do you think can afford tickets like that? The rich and businesses. I don’t know if you have ever been to the Staples Center, but there is pretty much a lower section and an upper section, with the lower section obviously costing a lot more. Thus, the “real” fans are sitting up top. When I sat there during a regular season game, it was much louder. So, its kind of hard to really say if the noise level and fan excitement was at the level it was at because of where I was sitting, or because of the lack of drama in the game, despite it being the playoffs.
What else did I notice? Well, everyone always says that NBA players are big, but you don’t really notice how big until you watch them that close on the court. When you are way up there they look pretty normal sized, if not small. But when you are in the lower level, the players look huge, and you just notice that the basketball court looks so small when all the players are on it. What else did I notice? Just how physical the game is. Whether the players were fighting for post position, or setting screens or what not, but there is a lot of bumping and physicality. It is crazy how much action there is when Kobe is pushing and shoving the opposition as he fights to get the ball in the post.
Anything else? The food that we had was not good at all. The food I had at Safeco field in Seattle was tons better. My friend bought a $10 Philly cheese-steak in which the meat looked like it was microwaved, and it tasted as such. He took a couple bites and that’s it. I had a chicken sandwich that was kind of dry. And you know who got her chicken tenders, and she too didn’t finish. Maybe we chose a bad stand, but the food was not good there. I think school cafeteria food was better. We got some Wetzel’s Pretzels afterward and that tasted pretty much the same to me as it does outside, just double the price. I’m sure the McDonald’s there was the same as that as well.
Overall, lots of fun. I’m sure most people inside felt the same way as the Lakers won. If I go to another basketball game, I’d definitely like sitting up that close again, though I seriously doubt I’d ever spend that much money to do so. If I sit up top, I think you’d get a better view watching the game from home. But, you don’t get the excitement, noise, and fan reactions that only an in game setting can provide!
So, for those that do not know, the NFL owners approved new overtime rules for the playoffs. The regular season overtime rules, at least for now, remain the same. That is, its sudden death, first team to score wins, no matter what. The new rules for the playoffs? Basically, its the same as the original one in that the first team to score wins. However, if the team that wins the coin toss scores first with only a field goal, then the other team will get the ball back. If they score a touchdown, they win. But if they too score a field goal, then from that point on, its sudden death and next to score wins.
I actually had no problems with the original rules. Football is a game about offense and defense. However, I do think it favors the team that gets the ball way too much. Field goal kickers nowadays can kick upwards of 50 yards, so all a team has to do is get a few field goals and then kick it. These new rules prevent that. Now, an offense will not just go super conservative once they get into field goal range, which I like better. I think, actually, that these rules are better. Much more strategy now, instead of just trying to get to field goal range then pretty much sitting on the ball.
As for those that think the college rule is better, I completely disagree. The college rule makes no sense to me. It completely takes special teams out of the contest (with no kickoffs and returns) and requires defenses to play with a short field from the beginning. Its so arbitrary, having the team start at the 30 yard line, and then having them try to score. Its kind of like a more drawn out version of a shootout in Hockey to determine the winner in OT. At what point in the game does a team just start on the 30 yard line and then try to score? It makes no sense. Oh well. What do I know. I don’t even really enjoy watching college football, so maybe I’m biased.
Last Saturday night was my friend’s bachelor party. Prior to dinner, we all went to K1 Speed in Torrance for some fun kart racing. For those that do not know, these are electric powered karts that race on an indoor track. These karts go pretty fast, and unlike those go karts you go on when you do amusement parks, you actually have to use strategy and stuff here. It might be the closest you can ever see how sports like Nascar are, I suppose.
We each purchased a 45 dollar package which included a 14 lap qualifying race and then then 16 lap final race. The first qualifying race determines the order in which you start the final race. That is, if you get 1st place in the qualifying race, you will start off the final race in the lead position. At the end of this final race, there is a small little medal presentation where 1st, 2nd, and 3rd get a medal each and stand on a podium where pictures can be taken.
This was the 2nd time that I have participated at K1. Here is what I re-learned while going through it again over the weekend. It takes a lot more skill than just driving a car. While I was driving, it took me forever, if I was ever able to, pass someone up on the track. I don’t know if its because there are so many turns or the track is too narrow or what, but there is definitely skill involved in passing up others. The only reason I was able to pass someone up in the qualifying race was because he took one wide turn and I was able to get by. Is that skill on my part or his mistake? After the 2 races, I was pretty tired. Its pretty intense driving around in these little karts. I was really gripping that steering wheel tight and its pretty draining. I don’t know how Nascar racers go through 500 laps. I don’t think I could of done another race, well, actually I could have, but I would of been way more tired. My friend got motion sickness, so I guess these little things go pretty fast. I’m not sure the actual MPH though, but they do seem like they have a nice little kick. Also, if you wear glasses, and cannot see without them, then you either want to put in contacts, or not race at all. With the little band you have to wear over your head and then a huge helmet over that, wearing your glasses is pretty much impossible.
So, how did I do? In the qualifying lap, I ended up in 7th place. Thus, I started the final race in the 7th position. And then in the final lap, at the very beginning, places 4 through 6th got into a crash and so I passed them up. It was a huge crash that caused everyone to stop. When we restarted, position 3′s car didn’t start right away so I passed him up and then for all 16 laps I was pretty much all by myself. I was not near 1st or 2nd and the people behind me were not all that close so I pretty much was by myself in 3rd place the whole time. I have no idea what was happening to everyone else as I was solo. And thus, I finished in 3rd place! Who got first? The bachelor of course! Funny how things like that happen sometimes, huh?
I mentioned this topic a while back about sports, steroids and technology. I questioned why the use of steroids should be considered cheating and illegal. How is steroids any different than any type of technology, such as surgeries that reduce recovery time for injuries, medicines, and I even mentioned the swim suits the Olympians used in the last games which allegedly made you swim faster. You can scratch allegedly from that list as 20+ world records were just recently beaten in the recent swimming championships. And the vast majority of these world records were not just beaten, but slaughtered. Did the swimmers all of a sudden become faster? No. They made use of technology. And this is not cheating? This is legal, but steroids are not? At least when you use steroids, you still have to work and exercise hard because steroids alone doesn’t do anything. These suits? You just have to put them on!!
And so I pose my question again. Why is using steroids considered cheating? Why is it that technology in sports is totally acceptable for everything except when it comes to steroids? I am being serious when I ask this. I think that if you are going to allow some technology, then you have to allow all of it. Where do you draw the line? If you allow technology, then the only rules that should be enforced in sports are the rules of the actual sport, that is, 3 strikes and your out, 2 points for a basket, first to the finish line wins, etc. The real reason that technology will never be banned from sports is because there is too much money involved. Do you know how many different, for example, golf club makers are and how many golfers are sponsored? Can you imagine if they made a rule that every golfer had to use the same set of clubs to see who the “real” best golfer is? It’ll never happen, even though that is probably the only real way to see who fairly won a tournament.
The same can be said of all other sports. Would Roger Federer be as good if he used the wooden rackets of decades ago? Does he get any advantage if his racket is better than that of his opponents? Why don’t they use the same racket? Why doesn’t everyone drive the exact same car in NASCAR? Lance Armstrong’s bike weighs like 5 pounds. That’s fair? Why doesn’t every cyclist use the same bike? It goes on and on. So, why the heck is steroids considered illegal? It makes no sense, and I doubt there is anyone out there that can give me an answer that I cannot just turn around and use on a technology that is legal. And please spare me the, its for the safety of our athletes garbage. We all know that the governing bodies don’t give a damn about the safety of their athletes, nor really do the fans.
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