Character on the Court

It seems like most of the time sports figures make the news because of their behavior, it usually involves some illegal activity. The San Antonio Spurs, under the leadership of Coach Pop have avoided most of this kind of news, instead being a highly involved organization within the community. 

Coach Popovich is known for being cranky and sharp in interviews - especially those during the game. His conclusion to the interview demonstrates his awareness of and interest in the community - even reporters who are sometimes an athlete's nemesis. When he turns directly to the camera and addresses the hospitalized reporter, his genuine concern shows.

Gregg Popovich Shows His Softer Side, Wishes Craig Sager Well in Interview | Bleacher Report:


'via Blog this'

If Coach Pop can take the time in a playoff game to wish a community member well, why is it so difficult for other athletes to set examples of character? Until they learn how to behave, I will continue to be glad that the Spurs are the nearest professional sports team to me.

Beware (Celebrate) the Underdog

From the beginning, this year’s football season disappointed me. I simply could not find a team or player I wanted to root for. The good Baptist in me kept telling me to get on the Baylor bandwagon and they impressed me in the games I watched - but given Baylor’s history, caution dominated. The thrilling end to the Alabama/Auburn game Thanksgiving weekend gave me some hope that the conference championship games would redeem the season.

The season’s final weekend left me smiling.

Two things that can be said for underdogs is that they are still dogs and they have fight.

In the conferences that have a championship game, both teams competing are there for a reason. Some conferences have disparity between the divisions, but teams rise to the top because they have demonstrated the greatest skill over the season.  That does not go away when they face a team perceived to be stronger. Almost universally, the underdog proved they deserved to be in the game.

And dang my dominating caution. After the earlier Oklahoma / Oklahoma State game eliminated the possibility of a tie for conference champion, I watched what turned into the Big 12 championship game with some Longhorn faithful. Despite our alma mater falling in the game, we all agreed that Baylor deserved the win - and Baylor as a program deserved it after the decades of mediocrity at best.

The competitiveness of the games reenergized what was becoming a lagging interest in sports. The underdogs, several times victorious, returned the excitement to sport. If the projections for the bowl games hold true, then bowl season promises to be as competitive as this weekend. The beginning did not meet my expectations, but if it ends the way the last weeks have been, then I will be happy - thanks to the underdogs.

Disenchanted

Out of habit I continue to tune my television to sports channels on a regular basis - actually much of the time the television is on now that I live alone again. The last few months have had me questioning why because I have found none of the pleasure I normally gain from watching sports. I

am usually pretty easy to please as long as it is a sport in which I have some interest, but lately I just get frustrated at much of what I see in the games.

Football in particular has been almost unbearable to watch. My favorite teams performance has been lackluster to say the least. They are good, but not quite winning good. The one winning team only does so because most of the teams they have played sucked worse than they do. This season has not offered much to see on the field.

When the Kansas City Chiefs are 9-0 (equaling the number of games won in the lasts 2 seasons combined), you know there is something wrong in the NFL.

The indecipherable and unplayable new rules in the NFL for “player safety” fit perfectly with the ineptitude some teams (like the Chiefs) have shown in the past years. Stung by lawsuits lost for ignoring the extent head injuries have harmed current and former players, the league instituted rules to minimize the risk of head injury to the players coming up with a version of big-boy flag football. The truth is that when 300lb bodies slam into one another at full force, even without head-to-head contact, brain injuries occur. The new rules have caused so many players reticence about making typical moves that the game is not nearly as entertaining.

Coupled with the watered down game is a watered down roster of players. No player at the college or professional level has captured my interest. I can barely name a player on any team outside of Texas - not even on the suddenly glorious Kansas City Chiefs. Never before have I felt so apathetic about all the major teams and players.

My curmudgeonly spirit dominates this season. Maybe next season my fan spirit will return.

Not the Season I Wanted

Today marked the third week of the NFL season. Since the clock ticked to 0:00 the Superbowl, I have anticipated the return of professional college and professional professional football. Four weeks into the college season and three weeks into NFL play and all I can say about any of it is “meh.”

Granted the first week of the NFL season was a wash due to a raging case of food poisoning that kept me from watching any games, so I have only had two weeks to judge, still none of the games I have watched have sustained my interest or found a way to get me engaged in rooting for (or against) any team.

The teams I normally follow and know best have not played remotely close to the level of potential they have. No performance of any of the other teams  have caught my attention. Frankly, I have been bored with the games at both levels. I have not been able to identify what it is different about the game - or what is different about me.

Most of the season remains and I maintain hope that it will become more captivating for me. It better. What is there to replace it? Hockey?

Looks like I will be stuck with even mediocre football.

One Player, Two Teams

         Last season I was dismayed by the collapse of the Indianapolis Colts. I never could quite grasp how a sports “team” could go from championship performance to league’s worst based on the absence of a single player. How any professional team could rely solely on any one player defies anything any professional would do.

         After Peyton Manning’s neck surgery sidelined him, the Colts plunged to depths of football ineptitude that only the Detroit Lions could claim. Since the time Manning arrived, the team stood on his shoulders, to the point that no one on the team believed there was any foundation absent his presence. Even though the remainder of the team succeeded in their position, they were so overshadowed by the attention on Manning they never recognized their own contributions to the team.

         At the end of the season, when the team decided to cut their financial obligations and release Manning, he made a quick transition to Denver. There is a long history between Denver and Indianapolis. The Denver great John Elway, refused to play for the Colts (while they were still in Baltimore) when they drafted him as the #1 pick because he viewed them as a hopeless team. Eventually a deal was secured that sent Elway to Denver where he brought the team to prominence during his years of play.

         Prior to Manning’s arrival in Denver, the team spent several successful years, but failed to live up to fans’ (or management’s) expectations. In the first season with Manning as quarterback, the team secured the division championship four weeks prior to the end of the season. They reached, at least in regular season, the rank expected of the collective talent.

         A year removed from him, Manning’s former team, the Colts, will also make the playoffs, emerging from the league basement.

The events of this season say much for both teams and Manning himself.

Manning has again proven himself to be one of the most competitive and resilient players in football history. An injury and treatment that would have otherwise sidelined another player acted only as an interruption to his career.

It is no wonder, then, that the Colts struggled without his self-confidence as a guiding force. The team, recognizing that he was truly gone, managed to recognize the strength within themselves. They rallied around a new, highly talented rookie quarterback and believed they could win. They did not win at the level they had in their prime when they dominated the conference, but they did win enough.

The Broncos responded with an extra bit of pep and confidence, following the character of their new quarterback. They reached the playoffs as conference champions and somewhat satisfied their fans expectations.

Weeks remain in the season and the playoffs are far removed, but the initial results show much about the individual impact on a team. The faith in a player, as much as the player’s performance, shifted the psychology of the teams involved. One team clung while another grasped and the results were telling.

Sanitizing the Game

         During the time the NFL officials (they are not all referees – there is only one referee in each game – every official has a specific assignment) were locked out due to a contract dispute, I grew increasingly worried each week due to the increasingly blatant major violations going uncalled in the games. The safety of every player on the field was at risk with each call that was not made.

         Scientific discoveries in the last decade, spurred more by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than professional football, have cast light on the permanent damage head injuries such as concussions have on those who experience them. Historically the “minor” head injuries, such as concussions have been considered healed as soon as the symptoms disappeared. We now know that is not true.

Football (though hardly the only sport) has long been known as a sport whose participants frequently experienced concussions. Big men traveling at high speeds colliding with one another tended to have that effect on the anatomy. As new information has been discovered, the NFL has been responsive by creating rules and equipment designed to protect the safety of the players. They have attempted to sanitize the game as much as a notoriously violent game can be sanitized.

         What frustrates me are the people seeking to hold the NFL responsible for injuries that occurred prior to the knowledge we have now. They are like the people suing companies for using asbestos in the 1950’s. Knowledge of the harm of the product did not exist at that time. Since the 1970’s, with the widespread use of computers and the exponential growth of knowledge, we find it easy to forget that all we know now has not always been known. In many cases, the means to know did even not exist.

         I am a football fan and applaud the efforts of the NFL to make the game safer for the players. Rules the NFL implements trickle down to college, high school, and pee-wee leagues. However, I do not want new rules to be seen as an admission to prior knowledge. While ample internal documents exist that confirm the cigarette industry knew the harm smoking did to smokers while they continued to market smoking as healthy, to date, no internal documents indicate that the NFL knew the lifetime impact a head injury could have on a player.

         I am proud to live in a world that is making such amazing progress regarding human health. I cannot, however, support any of the litigants who sue over the “should have known” argument. As an educator, it would take me minutes to construct a test anyone would fail, but should have passed because the knowledge society has gained since they left school changed what they were taught.

         We live in extraordinary times (compared to other eras in history) regarding the acquisition of knowledge. There have been bursts of knowledge in historical periods, but nothing that remotely compares to the exponential growth we see today. We need as much common sense in the application of knowledge as we see acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge and understanding are worthless without a viable application of that knowledge. If we cannot use it, archive it. Do not litigate it.

         One reason I am a fan of professional (and college) football is the hand-to-hand combat between the warriors on the field. I enjoy the strategy in the game and variance in performance between players from week to week. No one can have their “best game ever” every week. Even the underdog sometimes wins; that is why we play the games. We have replaced gladiator-style battles with rule-bound sports: it meets a societal need. All of humanity has a degree of competition even as our talents fall in different areas.

         I applaud leading football organizations for adapting the rules to protect the players and the integrity of the game as new knowledge has become available. As much as we want everything to be made right in the world, we cannot retroactively correct historical wrongs; with new knowledge we can, and should, prevent future wrongs. Unfortunately knowledge is fluid and justice based on that knowledge is equally fluid. Instead of attacking organizations/institutions that adapt to the knowledge available to them, celebrate them for the responsive work they are doing. Justice and fairness are not the same and only the most naïve pretend they are.

Tradition: UT-vs-A&M (and TCU)

         For decades, a highlight of the football season in Texas is the Thanksgiving week matchup of the University of Texas Longhorn and the Texas A&M Aggies. Almost everyone in Texas takes a side in the game. For 118 years, it was the game that captured the attention of a state.

         When A&M moved to the SEC, the annual rivalry went with them.

         Rivalries play such an integral part of the sports. From high school, to college, to professional sports, rivalries provide a focus of the season – even a bad season. No matter how lop-sided the odds going into the game, fans pin hopes for the entire season on the one game. The winning side, not only the team, gets a full year of bragging rights to utter domination (no matter how close the score). Any winning margin is utter domination.

         The Texas-vs-A&M rivalry was so great, legend had the winning team getting a trip to the Chicken Ranch. Only Marvin Zindler (and a few hundred former football players) know the truth.

         Beyond bragging rights and non-NCAA sanctioned rewards, rivalries build communities like few other events other than disasters. Unlike disasters, the rivalry comes on a regular basis and only brings woe to the losing foe. With the UT and A&M rivalry, someone else wearing burnt-orange became an instant ally while those in anything else maroon became an instant foe. While some rivalries turn nasty, in most cases the taunting of friend and co-workers (and strangers on the street) who root for the wrong team (any team other than yours) is more jovial than serious.

         You do not REALLY want that to happen to their mother.

         With the flight of A&M to another conference, UT has to replace the Thanksgiving game with relative upstart TCU. TCU has had several very strong seasons, coming close to a national championship game; however, their overall history has not qualified them for big-league football. Though they joined the Big Twelve as a replacement for A&M, they are still not quite there.

         I guess if Baylor can be in the Big Twelve, then TCU can too.

         It will be a few years before the burnt-orange-vs-purple rivalry is as fierce as the burnt-orange-vs-maroon rivalry grew to be. At least in the interim we continue to have the Red River Rivalry between UT and OU. It creates its share of enthusiasm as an interstate rivalry, but never the passion within Texas as the intrastate game held.

         And I have yet to come up with a good anti-frog chant. Beat the frogs sounds more like a down under pest-control technique than a football cheer.

         And any reference to horny-toads just hearkens back to Chicken Ranch days.

         Maybe with enough anything-but-beer during the game all will be fine.

 

Long After Lance

         A few weeks ago Lance Armstrong experienced a particularly rough span with allegations, which he decided to stop fighting, coming on particularly strong from many directions. My first inclination was to believe him, and the harsh comments the judge made regarding the case bicycling’s governing body made supported my inclination. But the more that comes to light about the scope of doping Armstrong did across the years, the more I suspect USADA wanted to bring it all out in the hearing.

         As the charges continue to roll out and damage Armstrong beyond the race route, the more I wonder what the fallout will be to other athletes as more doping charges will surely emerge. From the loss of the race titles to the damage to his namesake foundation, Armstrong faces threats far beyond a suspension or denial of a hall of fame; a life’s-work could be wiped out.

         Modern athletes transcend the sporting venue and have become more brand than athletic performer. As a result, performance in the sporting venue becomes even more important as it advertises the brand.  Such pressure tempts the use of performance enhancing drugs and it increases the risk of using them. To cheat or not to cheat?

         While Armstrong raced in an era of doping so rampant that the agencies governing international bicycle racing refused to do anything more than leave the record books blank for the years of which his title was stripped, it does not in any way diminish the degree to which his doping damaged the sport. He regularly chimes that he was the most tested athlete in history. To go to the lengths necessary to circumvent the system that Armstrong had to do magnifies the level of deceit he perpetrated against the sport.

         Even though I wanted to believe he was telling the truth, that Armstrong will be recorded as a cheat and a liar in sports comes as no surprise to me. Having lived in Austin twelve years now – and moving to Austin in the middle of Armstrong hype – the community has been filled with story after story about his generally nasty, self-absorbed personality. A co-worker served on the jury trying a driver who nearly hit Armstrong. After his testimony, they wished the driver had hit him, backed up, and hit him again. While the superficial celebrates a winner, the larger undercurrent celebrates the skinned knees.

         The revelation of doping only confirms the underlying character. Armstrong gave hope to millions of people with cancer. Now we know it was a misguided hope. He did not do it on his own; he knowingly and intentionally manipulated the system to promote the image he holds of himself. Unfortunately, his self-image conflicts with reality. He presents an unfair image to those millions.

         Hope is a powerful tool.

         Hope changes even the most dire circumstance.

         Dashed hope, in this case is deadly.

         I cannot help but resent Armstrong for the damage he did to those cancer patients who clung to his story as a motivation for their own success. For the donors to his foundation who ask for their money back, I feel for you. You fell for a lie.

         But for those cancer patients, the world is filled with cancer survivors who do AMAZING feats without cheating, without misleading everyone. One person’s dishonest conspiracy should in no-way diminish your hope because the truth is there are far more who have survived gracefully with their own force of character. They just do not have a publicity machine pumping out the story. They survived for themselves. Ultimately, everyone lives for themself.

         Still, after following the Armstrong story for years I wonder what lessons will be learned from his grandeur fall. History says no. Those who perform at the very highest levels eventually believe the myth that they are unshakable no matter the fall of those before them. 

 

Football Confession

         I talk – too much perhaps – about how much I watch sports and enjoy them. But it is time for me to come clean. Time for me to be brutally honest with myself and everyone who knows me.

         I have the television on the games every weekend.

         I barely pay attention to it.

         I listen for unusually loud noise and then I look up for the replay.

         While I do genuinely enjoy sports, I find myself too busy doing something else – cooking, cleaning, reading, writing, Facebooking, and tweeting. I think I have lost the ability to focus on any one thing for an extended period of time. It is not that I do not want to , I just have become so used to doing many things simultaneously that my brain flits from task to task.

         When I try to slow my mind down, I go to sleep. I need to work on correcting this. Just ask my roommate. He wears headphones so he does not have to hear me snoring in my recliner. I do like sports and enjoy seeing athleticism at work on the field. I need to find some way to become better focused at it without sleep overcoming me.

 

Beer Me Not

Ben Franklin is quoted as saying that beer is proof God wants man to be happy. I must be doomed to misery. Try as I might – I cannot develop a taste for beer. Last night I met one of my best friends at a sports bar to watch the UT rout of Ol’ Miss. Given the setting and the activity, I decided to do the culturally normal thing and drink beer. So beer it was.

I knew I could not tolerate any of the darker beers, so I went for a lighter (not light) beer – one so unbeery it comes with an orange slice. The orange helped, but I still did not like it all three times (I felt obligated to keep ordering since I intended to stay at the table the entire game) I ordered it.

One entire game (plus pre-game) and three beers. Yes, I really do not like it. Beer drinkers will know how true that is.

I have several friends who brew their own beers, regularly experimenting with recipes. They know the language of beer fluently. My beer vocabulary consists of two words: bloated and bitter.

It all comes down to taste. I prefer most liquor to beer. I will let my friends find their hoppyness where they may. I’ll find mine with gin. 

Not-so Good Sports

Last weekend I watched some of the best football games I have seen in years. This weekend I could not find a game that held my interest for even a few minutes. What makes such a difference in the games that leads some to be thrilling and holding one's attention from the first play and others to just be so tedious that one only watches out of habit?

The games that so engrossed me last week did not involve any of my favorite teams and I would have been lucky to name any player on either side. They were however well played close games that hinged on each play. One substantial play from either team could have turned the outcome of the game. I cheered both sides, since I did not have a particular team I was rooting for.

This weekend I watched games that carried into overtime. Nevertheless, they never captivated me or made me even consider standing and cheering for either team. I simply did not care about the outcome. Each game had memorable plays offensively and defensively. Each game came down to the wire and every call and execution potentially changed the final result.

Still, I could not get engaged in the games - even ones with Texas teams I am obligated to support to demonstrate my state pride. I do not support all Texas teams. I just cannot bring myself to support the Cowboys as long as Jerry Jones is the owner. (Do personal vendettas have a place in sports? You betcha' they do!)

Some other quality has to exist in the game that gives it that must watch quality. Or does it exist in me?

This weekend found me confined to my house due to something I ate Friday night - with long-lasting consequences. Even though I had errands I needed to run, I did not dare leave the house. Perhaps the preoccupation of all the other things I needed to be doing and could not affected my ability to concentrate on the games or give them a shot to be as exciting as Twitter and the announcers made them sound.

I think over the grumbling in my stomach, nothing would have made any game interesting - much less compare to the nail-biters from the previous weekend. At least I got hours of sleep!

Good Sports

Sometimes a sporting event becomes so compelling that even someone not particularly invested in the game looses himself in the action. I started off the evening watching the top two college football teams in the nation vie for the best shot at the national championship game at the end of the season. Defense may win championships, but it does not win viewers, so I opted to switch over to the other game I could watch on my limited channels.

I knew I could count on the other game being an offensive romp by one of the teams. I did not expect the nuclear action back and forth from both sides as the competition progressed. As a Texan, I think to some degree I am genetically predisposed to root against teams from Oklahoma; however, Oklahoma State has never reached the status of arch-rival that Oklahoma holds, so when they are doing well and there is the possibility that they are doing well and, with a win against Oklahoma could be in line for the conference and national championships, I looked forward to seeing them roll over a good, but not worthy, Kansas team.

The Kansas team refused to accept the status as "not worthy" and kept the score see-sawing back and forth in a high scoring offensive campaign. In the final minutes of the game each team traded scores about as rapidly as the players could traverse the length of the field. Three end-zone shots by Kansas in the last 20 seconds of the game threatened overtime with each play.

When I started watching the game, I had a couple other projects underway and planned to have the game on in the background as noise, but as the excitement of the game mounted, my work on the other projects began to wane until my attention was totally focused on every snap of the game. Both teams offered such exciting plays, I found myself cheering for whoever had the most recent play.

Usually I find myself firmly on the side of one team or the other, but in this game, I flip-flopped more than the combined field in the Republican presidential primary. Both sides offered something for which to cheer and players with likable stories. I wanted both teams to do well. No matter who had the ball at any given time, I caught myself with teeth clinched, ready stand and cheer for the outstanding plays. As the final drive wound to its end and the victor determined, I was satisfied despite, a little bit, hoping for the game run into overtime.

Despite the extra hour of sleep the night presented, and which I had fully hoped to take advantage of, the energy of the game kept my pulse racing until well after the game was over and by that time I was thoroughly engrossed in the latest podcast of Selected Shorts and John Lithgow reading immaculate descriptions of dogs in the story, "The Dog Walker."

The quiet reading of the stories on the podcast occupied my attention and gave me the chance to begin slowing down. Still, even as I drifted toward sleep, I continued thinking of the deep joy of watching a game well played and I look forward the the next contest that equally enraptures me.

Kickball Hero

When: Spring 1976. 

Where: Stephen F. Austin Elementary School - Playground.

Who: Mrs. Dollar’s class vs. Mrs. Martin’s class.

What: Kickball!

Larson on the mound. Hopes at the plate.

It was over in a minute. Larson barely had a chance to look up to see the red speck growing larger to cover his entire face and knocking him over backward.

The memory that Hopes was bigger in third grade than I am now may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the fact that I flinch every time a ball comes my way, originated in that moment. As my kickball team has gone through a variety of practices, almost everyone on the team has recounted some kind of kickball horror memory. If the memory did not come from kickball, it came from some other sport.

Yet, here we are, playing on a kickball team as adults. Speaking for myself, I’m having a wonderful time at the games and look forward to our practices and game times each week. Deep inside, I am overcoming the horrors of the childhood playground and redeeming myself (because, honestly, I many not yet be the world’s best athlete, but I am in better shape than I ever was as a teenager) athletically.

Come on Friday! Bring it!

Safety Fail

The NFL and indeed every level of football has worked over the years to increase the safety of the players in the hard-hitting game. Helmets, padding, shoes, and even uniforms are designed with safety of the players in mind.

So why, with all this safety focus are we discovering the level of permanent brain injury among players - even players early in their professional career? Simply, progress in science and new technology allow us to gain more understanding of the nature of brain injury. This along with the awareness of brain injuries being suffered by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have helped us see that brain damage can occur without the symptoms of a concussion.

The more I think about it, the more I think that maybe reverting to the uniforms of the 1950’s mad indeed be preferable. The perception of invincibility given by modern uniforms has proven to be a false comfort for many players. As we know more about head injuries, we realize that they are silent stalkers that show their full effects ten and even twenty years after they occur. Despite the new rules and enforcement on helmet contact, many blows to the head still occur. Even though it may not be helmet-to-helmet contact, injurious contacts still occur on almost every play. Going back to a facemaskless helmet would quickly bring to an end these kinds of hits.

While professional players argue that they are aware of the risks and are paid well to take them, that argument falls flat when one considers that the vast majority of players play the game at the amateur level. New research shows that even some players at these lower levels are  experiencing potentially lifetime affecting brain injuries. With high school and college players far outnumbering the pros, we must keep them in mind when making rules and equipment decisions. 

The safety promised by the current equipment has proven to be a failure of technology. We must make changes soon to protect all participants in the sport whether they recognize the necessity of it or not.

The Good. The Bad. The Ugly.

Unlike many gay men, I truly do enjoy sports in person and on television. Lately, though, I have had trouble really getting into sports of any kind because of lack of sportsmanship I have seen on so many levels ranging from coaches, to athletes, to fans. The situation only grows because many of the teams I normally support are struggling this season with only a few bright spots in the schedule.

Baseball, for me, is simply impossible to watch on television despite the great pleasure of the game in person. Somehow, television manages to turn the joy and excitement of the game and turn it into a tedious and uninteresting cycle of plays. However, because the Texas Rangers made the playoffs and survived into the World Series, I have been making a diligent attempt to watch playoff games into the Series. Despite the level of the game, watching saps what little energy remains in me from the day. And that is the good part of sports for me right now.

Those who follow college football closely knew it was going to be a rebuilding year for the University of Texas Longhorns, and we entered the year with diminished expectations following the heights we expected demanded last season. Nonetheless, even with lowered hopes, this season has been stunningly bad for a top-tier college program. Hopefully, the performance this year will bring about needed changes on the team that will allow for higher levels of growth and success in the near future. College football has been my favorite sport for years and I will continue to follow each Longhorn game with hopes that they will pull out another victory (though I did successfully predict the loss to Baylor).

By now, most of you can probably guess the ugliness that faces me each week in the sports world. The Dallas Cowboys, who have not been one of my favorite teams since Jerry Jones purchased the franchise in the late ’90’s, have always kept my attention as they are the historically powerhouse team from Texas - no matter what other team is playing in Texas at the time. As much as I enjoy trashing them as an organization, I have been stunned this season at how well they are doing it themselves. Is it really possible for any professional organization to so completely self-destruct? Despite the perverse glee I experience with each Cowboys’ loss, I mourn a little for their place in football lore.

Rabid Fan

I think I crossed the line today.

At the end of the Cowboys game, I started walking around the house singing, "How big is that L on your forehead?" to the tune of "How much is that doggie in the window?."

If you "valley-girl" the "L" it works.

Something has to change in Dallas, and soon. This is ridiculous.

Medicine Ball

As I visited some friends earlier I saw their medicine ball out.

I've written before how much I hate to sweat (from exercise), so I began to wonder: Does anyone make a placebo ball?

Brett Favre: Somtimes They are Heroes

Saturday Sportscast

Sometimes They Are Heroes

This week Brett Favre announced his retirement after seventeen seasons as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. For years there have been calls for his retirement, but after one of the best seasons of his career, there were mostly tears. There is little if anything to be added to the obituary of Favre’s career. His records, some of which are viewed as unbreakable in the physical modern game have all been recited repeatedly. His personality and personal courage have been well documented. His every-man nature endeared him to even those for whom the Packers were life-long rivals. Some of these characteristics are what made me a fan. I remember the night he played just hours following his father’s death in an auto accident. It was one of the most exciting games and a game when he showed what a masterful quarterback he was. As I watched him play that night, I cried – overcome by the sheer grace and willpower and courage he displayed. Favre made enough mistakes to be real and always entertaining. Sometimes, the miracle comeback came because of an errantly thrown ball earlier in the game. Whenever the Packers played – even in seasons when they were not particularly successful – they were always fun to watch. The next season is still months away, but I’m already anticipating it with a mix of anxiety and excitement. It will be a challenge to see the green and yellow without automatically rooting for Favre, but I am looking forward to rooting for the next generation in Young and Romo. With luck, one of them will resolve to take up Favre’s mantle and become the next foundation for the team and community. Favre was more than a player – he was a hero for to many and those are rare to find in sports today. The last generation of players seems to be dominated by players going for the biggest payday who fly from team to team as the dollar signs grow. Many of those same players also took advantage of “advances” in medicine – some of which were not illegal at the time. The only real difference between illegal and not legal at the time is a matter of ethics and character. Athletes who used performance enhancing drugs before each new one was banned knew they were doing wrong, but did it anyway because they could get away with it. Brett Favre stayed with one team and has never been accused of using any performance enhancing drugs, but was very open about his addiction to pain killers following a series of injuries. He shared his struggle and became even more human for it. So now I sit back and wait for the next great player who is both Clark Kent and Superman. Sometimes they are heroes.

Playoffs? Who Needs 'em?

Saturday Sportscast

Playoffs? Who needs ‘em

Every year as the college bowls come to an end with the BCS National Championship game, the playoff cries crescendo. It is only heightened as the NFL playoffs get underway. I, for one, do not believe a playoff system is best for college football. I also do not think they BCS system we have in place at present is best for football either. As bad as this sounds, too much emphasis is placed on wins. If true equity were achieved in college football, wins would matter, but when some conferences like the Big 12 and especially the SEC contain so many superior teams who spend a season beating each other up, a perfect season does not mean so much – especially when it comes from another conference. LSU and Hawaii proved the point decisively this year. Despite two losses (both in triple overtime), LSU was in the National Championship game after winning the SEC conference title. There, they demolished an overhyped Ohio State team from the Big 10 conference. Ohio State experienced their second throttling in as many years from a SEC team in the championship game. With the outcry at the exclusion of Hawaii, who had a perfect seaon, ringing louder than the cheering of their fans, they went into the Sugar Bowl to face Georgia, third in the SEC. Those outcries stopped in the first quarter and were forgotten by the time Georgia walked out with a 41 -10 win. Clearly, the best record does not make for the best team. If the best record really indicated the best team, the New York Giants would not be in the Superbowl where they face the undefeated New England Patriots. If the best winning record were the indicator, either the Dallas Cowboys or the Green Bay Packers would be there to challenge the Patriots. As it is, the Giants defeated both the Cowboys and the Packers to reach the Superbowl. Along the way the Bucs, Steelers, and Colts lost in games when they were the “better” team. Although professional sports leagues actively strive for equity; each season lately has proven how much like the college conferences the different professional division are. There is an old saying that “on any given Sunday (Saturday)” any team can win. With the division of talent as it currently stands, that statement cannot honestly be said. Next season when the cries for a college playoff begins, keep in mind that a few conferences are going to internally damage one another so much that the win-loss record is going to disqualify some teams that are quite likely stronger than teams the BCS (or a playoff system) may pick. However due to the same inter-conference inequities, the best teams may or may not make it through the playoffs. And most importantly, we must keep in mind that college sports are played by student athletes. They are not professional. First and foremost, they are students. A playoff scheme only increases the time they are missing class. Tutors and academic assistance are no equal for the time spent learning and having a student life. Is it any wonder these athletes are so quick to bolt from college at professional prospects? They have not connection to the college outside the locker room. I’ll leave it to those who are smarter than me to come up with a better system for college sports. For now, I’ll just sit back in my recliner, with my laptop, and watch the games on my 50” HDTV.

The Gay Sports Challenge

Saturday Sportscast

The Gay Sports Challenge

I think the gay gene is a bit broader than just Broadway musicals and interior decorating, but very often it just gets blocked when it comes to sports. I am certainly not the most athletic guy around and anyone who has ridden in my car lately knows that with the satellite radio, I’m either listening to showtunes or dance music. But on weekend afternoons, you are as likely to find me in front of the television watching football or basketball. Fortunately, there are only about six weeks in the summer when neither is on (sorry, arena football does not yet count). I enjoy baseball if I can attend the game, but I have not found a sportscaster who can bring baseball as alive on television as the old radio announcers did in the generations when television was in its infancy. Football and basketball I understand enough that I don’t need an announcer telling me what is going on – I did do football play-by-play (and track) for almost ten years. Last week a friend asked me to watch one of the college bowl games with him and made the suggestion that we could watch it at his house or go to a bar. I killed the bar idea because I talk too much during the games. Those ten years of play-by-play are hard to give up. I’m calling the play, where the ball is downed, and all the details ahead of the announcers on television. I don’t have the rosters memorized like I used to do when calling the high school games, but I do know most of the key players by the end of the first quarter in college games. It was a pleasure to spend the game with him because I have such a struggle finding a gay friend with whom I can watch sports. Despite the striving for physical perfection in the gay community, a certain disdain for actual athletic competition comes up when a reference is made to professional sports. It is one thing to spend hours in the gym each week but quite another to enjoy men who spend even more time in the gym challenging each other on the playing field. I have always been challenged to understand that disconnect. The disconnect continues when it comes to participation – there are gay sports leagues in most major cities for softball, volleyball, rugby (yeah rugby men!), and basketball. They Gay Games traditionally follows the Olympic calendar and the Olympic host cities. Even many of those participants do not follow professional sports. Every good friend I have who is active in any of the gay sports leagues (and who have competed in the Gay Games) still reject professional sports. In the past year there have been rumors or professional athletes who are gay and one former professional basketball player actually came out as well as former professional football players. Sadly, no currently active team male athlete has come out as gay. The lack of active gay athletes is costing the leagues the gay support. I think the lack of out gay players has created the gay sports challenge. Despite the quest for physical perfection and the enjoyment of playing sports with other gay men, the absence of gay athletes has turned off the connection to professional sports. When we have a superstar quarterback or power forward or home-run slugger come out as gay, to put it in economic terms, the gay dollars will come flowing into that sport. The gay community has made remarkable progress in almost every aspect of society but sports remains a frontier to be crossed. I am not a fan of outing people. Coming out is too personal to be forced (unless you are a homophobic homosexual politician who is doing harm to the community by your lies). Professional athletes, performers, and each of us has the right to make that decision, but I do implore the gay athletes to take that stand and begin to change the attitudes affecting homosexuals in sports. It has worked in politics, entertainment and in most professional settings. It is time for gay male athletes to step up to the plate, so to speak.