Giving Thanks

On Thanksgiving most people are thankful for their families, their health and the usual. I'm thankful for all those things, however, one of the things I'm most thankful for is sports. Why? Sporting events allows me to live historic events with thousands of others simultaneously. Events that I can say when I'm old I had witnessed, not as a cheesy Disney remakes on screen but in the flesh. Here are some of the historic moments I have witnessed that I'm thankful for.

1. Mark McGwire and Barry Bond's historic record breaking roid home runs.
2. Michael Jordan push off for his winning basket against the Jazz.
3. The epic playoff battle between Vince Carter and Allen Iverson.
4. Greatest Monday Night Football comeback between the Jets and Dolphins (broke my heart)
5. Brett Farve's great game after the death of his father.
6. Mike Tyson taking a bite out of Holyfield's ear.
7. Some of the biggest BCS upsets (Boise State vs Oklahoma & Alabama vs Utah)
8. Atlanta Braves only World Series win against the Cleveland Indians.
9. Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. (wait, that's not a sporting event but it was historic)
10. Being a part of the first high school football playoff in Hawaii and making some noise.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, hope you live it up and make history of your own.

Retirement

Allen Iverson announced today that heʻll be retiring after 14 years in the NBA because by all reports, he wasnʻt willing to play second fiddle to anyone. It is quite sad but I guess he is leaving on his own terms. A man known for his much quoted words, "Practice, youʻre talking about practice" as well as the crazy cross over he used to embarrass MJ and for his epic playoff battle with Vince Carter. He has recently been criticized about his selfishness, which I believe, has always been apparent, the only difference now is that his abilities arenʻt worth the negative aspects (a player that needs the ball in his hands the majority of the game and having to build a team around an aging star) of having him on your team. Happy Thanksgiving AI. Thanks for all the memories.

For Grandma

After returning from buying two new tires and servicing my car, I turned on the tube to watch the Preliminary fights for UFC 106 on Spike. I was looking forward to seeing how Kendall Grove, a Maui boy and high school friend would do in an important bout that could have been his last at the UFC. I divulge my past friendship because after winning his bout, I was saddened to hear that his grandmother passed away this pat week from cancer. While holding back his emotions, he announced to the world of his loss and dedicated his win to his grandma. In that moment of vulnerability, I recognized my old friend from Maui. Sometimes you forget that professional athletes are human and suffer just as much as all of us. I hope Kendall and his family are doing well and that he is able to cope with his loss. I hope everyone allows him the space he needs to grieve. Good job Kendall, I bet you made your grandmother proud.

Question of the Week: Allen Iverson

Is Allen Iversons' career over and if it isn't, what team needs him the most?

LSU Falls To Ole Miss

8th rank LSU, loses to Ole Miss in a game that Les Miles seemed to mismanage at the end. With less than 2 minutes on the clock and in field goal range, LSU looked poised to pull off a comeback win. However, it wasn't meant to be as Miles seemed to shoot his team in the foot by calling a passing play on 2nd and 10 while in field goal range and down by 2 points, which resulted in a 9 yard sack that took them well out of the kickers range. Surprisingly, on 3rd down, Miles calls a screen play that nets negative yards. Finally, on 4th down, LSU heaves a deep pass down field, which puts them back into field goal range with 1 second left on the clock. With the clock stopped, LSU looks like a chicken with its head cut off and instead of bringing the kicking team on the field, they line up in regular formation and aren't able to run another play. Right after the game, Miles appeared confused as he tried to explain his thought process. He was probably wondering why he didn't call a running play, heck even a quarterback sneak would have been sufficient. With another loss, LSU will probably drop out of the top 10 because someone forgot to run the ball.

Breaking News

Stephen Jackson and Acie Law has just been traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. From one bad team to a worst team. Good luck Stephen you'll probably need it.

Athletes Gone Wild

In the past couple of weeks there has been an outcry on ESPN and around the country about the dirty play of athletes. Some have asked the question, "What has happened to good sportsmanship today"? To those people I would like to bring up the name Ty Cobb (MLB 1905-1928). One of the most dirtiest players in its long history. A player who was known for sharping his cleats and sliding feet first with nasty intention.

The best story is about a young pitcher who intentionally beaned him in his first plate appearance. Cobb took his base without saying a word. The next time he came up to bat, he dropped a bunt down the first-base line. When the pitcher went to field the ball, Cobb knocked him over, then spiked him on the chest. The pitcher was sliced open and had to leave the game. If you look up the definition of "dirty" in the dictionary, there's a picture of Ty Cobb.
Stephen Escudero
Phoenix

Dirty play isn't a recent epidemic, we just have more cameras that catch every action sequence so every play is scrutinized.

In addition, people should realize that the actions taking place in the sports arena is a far different environment than the one most people live in. Of course people are horrified and appalled when they see the video of Brandon Spikes gouging the eyes of a defensively player. If that was to happen on the street, he would probably get arrested for assault. However, on the football field, these types of actions are not only accepted but encouraged (depending on the coaching staff). When I played football, I remember coaches pointing out the opponents best player and advised that we needed to put a hurting on him to make sure he doesn't beat us. For many of my teammates and I that meant, we needed to take this player out. Now we didn't gouge anyone's eyes out, however, we did aim for his ankles. So before you jump all over the player and start calling for suspensions, I would take a look at the coaching staff and what they may be preaching.

So don't worry about the plight of sportsmanship because it hasn't changed. There will always be dirty players and until coaching changes these types of behaviors will always manifest until winning isn't everything. For the time being we just have to accept that sportsmanship starts after the game ends.

Question of the Week

Even though the NBA season is only a few weeks in, trade talks have already been swirling around the Golden State Warriors disgruntled player Stephen Jackson. Rumors have already surfaced that the Cleveland Cavs have been involved in talks with the Warriors, which hasn't progressed due to the Warriors desire for a big man, specifically Big Z. So the question of the week is: What NBA team needs to trade for Stephen Jackson?

Question of the Week

Who could be the next Dirk Nowitzki? Could it be Andrea Bargnani or is it the Sophomore sensation, Danilo Gallinari.

Currently
Danilo Gallinari 22.7 Pts, 4.7 Reb, 1.3 Ast, FT% 75, FG% 46.8 and 3PT% 50
Andrea Bargnani 22 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast, FT% 100, FG% 59 and 3PT% 61.5

When compared to Dirk at the same time in the league:
Compared to Danilo 17.5 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 2.5 Ast, 83.1 FT%, 46.1 FG% and 37.9 3PT%
Compared to Andrea 23.4 Pts, 9.9 Reb, 2.5 Ast, 85.3 FT%, 47.7 FG% and 39.7 3PT%

These are one of the two young foreign tall sharp shooters in the league. Their numbers seem promising especially after 3 games, however, what still needs to develop before they can be compared to Dirk is their rebounding game, which Andrea seems to be the person most likely to achieve. In any case, looking at their numbers I would choose Andrea as most likely to be like Dirk (mix of reb and shooting touch), however, I do think Danilo will be a more prolific scorer in his career than Andrea. "Happy to have picked him up on my fantasy team." Enough about me, what do you think?