MR X.

Let me tell you a story about an over zealous bigot who played cop got his ass kicked and then shot the kid in self defense. The whole situation could have been avoided if MR X would have listened to the police and done what most law abiding citizens do. Mr X stays in his car doesnt go off on a wild goose chase and goes about his life with noone being harmed.Maybe the police check out the situation diffuse any possible trouble and the kid is alive today. Moral of the story let the police do their job while you stop being a GIGANTIC ASSHOLE.

Yankee great.

The ALL-Star game has come and gone and soon one of the games all time greats will come and go for the last time. Mo Rivera is without a doubt the best closer the game has ever seen. I hope all the fans who despise the THE EVIL EMPIRE have noticed The Sandman in all his glory. He did it with class and a cut fastball that nobody has ever seen or will ever see again. Mo was a class act and in typical yankee fashion he did his talking on the field and nowhere else. Rivera has done something that almost nobody in baseball has ever done.  He has quieted his critics both on and off the field and he did it without crying being arrested or CHEATING. Congrats to #42.

Baldwin brother.

Alec Baldwin is now bitching about his acting career and multi million dollar lifestyle. Dont you just love it when a dude who is living a dream life starts complaining about it?  He is talented handsome and intelligent but man he is a  walking jackhole. He acts as though he is condemned to continue acting because thats all he knows how to do. Listen up Alec buddy speaking for those of us who scrape out a living and are greatful for it why dont you take your richboy additude and stick it. Poor baby has to live filthy rich and put up with all the phony bullshit in Hollywood. How about trying a bit of humility and graditude for a change you might learn what is truely important in this life

Walk of faith.

Nick Wallendas walk across the Grand Canyon was truely an amazing feat. Without a safety net or anything keeping this dude from falling 1500 feet he calmly walked across the wire and did it while exercising big time faith in God. Its hard to express exactly what this fella does or says but to me he inspires me to face my deepest fear and believe that I can do the impossible. He doesnt parade around with demands and tell you how great he is he simply goes out and does what he thinks God wants him to do in this life and that definately defines courage.

PUIG an ALL-Star?

Yaseil Puig an all star? Baseball traditionalist and jealous washed up relievers might scream NO but I say MLB is stupid if they deny this kid the chance to play in baseballs biggest exibition.The game is fading in popularity in the US and Puig is bringing people back into a sport that needs a boost in popularity especially among young people. All star games are not about fairness and rewarding players for a good seasons they are about the fans seeing the players they want to see play. Derek Jeter is currently second among shortstops in the american league in voting and he hasnt played a single inning this year. The most important thing MLB can do with Puig is promote his talent not hide him because of some old school nonsense about him not deserving the opportunity. Puig might fall on his face the second half of the season but he is definately deserving of an ALL- STAR appearence.

Double standard.

Well .....The Miami Heat repeat as champs and the James haters are busy making excuses about how he does not deserve to be in the same discussion as LORD MIKE and the invincible Chicago Bulls. After all Mikes legions of fans believe he made every shot he ever took and the Bulls swept every series they were in. I hate to burst everyones SWOOSH bubble but I remember when the basketball GOD J missed some shots and LOSTseveral   playoff series. Does anybody remember when Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics beat Mike and the Bulls in 5 games? NO?? Maybe the 3 straight playoff losses to the BAD BOY Pistons? Now eventually after all the excellent teams in the mid eighties got old and faded into basketball obscurity the Bulls won several titles beating lesser opponents .....The Lakers the trail blazers the sonics and the suns so they deserve some credit for being a dominant team in an era of lesser teams. Somehow James is being hammered with criticism but mike never got any. Everyone loved Jordan and kissed his ass for an entire decade despite the fact that i never heard Jordan ever give any credit to any of his teammates. He lit the same cigars and loved the spotlight with his phony ass spacejam movie and countless commercials but let Lebron do anything remotely like that and he is considered an arrogant ass. I dont mind if anybody believes that Jordan was the best player ever that is anyones opinion but i dont get what the difference is when it comes to basking in celebration. Why does Jordon get his ass kissed for an entire decade while Lebron gets hammered for being JUST LIKE MIKE?

Trending bad.

Game 6 tonight in Miami and regardless of who wins this series all of the commentary about this Final series has been total garbage. Not one of these so called media "experts" has said or done anything worthy of a plug nickel. From game to game everyone switches their opinions depending solely on the winner that nights game.How about some insight into position play or what possible approach might be successful if you want more involvement from secondary players? What makes somebody different and why they provide commentary is supposed to be because they have a better understanding of the game. Barkley bad. Magic bad. Do we need a roundtable of 4 people telling me that Tony Parker is a great point guard or that Lebron James is the best player in the game?? Barkley gets an award for being funny but goes from saying that the series is going to go 6 games at the start of the finals and after Game 1 says the spurs might sweep  What is missing from sports media today is that noone is held accountable for what is being said. Anyone can say anything as long as its funny or definate and it doesnt seem to matter if a reason is given for making a statement.  People want predictions now about winners and losers but they dont seem to care about the reasons behind the predictions. The credabillity of the sports media is lower now than at any time in sports history. Nobody wants to name sources behind breaking news and certain networks even create sports stories on a slow sports days, Gone are the days of accountabillity and credabillity in the media and here to stay is entertainment journalism.

Golf nerdism.

The  United States championship of Golf started today and im mildly interested. All of the golf fanatics are predicting the winner and are hoping that all the putt putt Gods will keep the course dry so Eldrick can make a mad dash and get a step closer to golf immortality. There seem to be a group of psedo players and fans that i call GOLF NERDS. You might be a Golf nerd if : You know certain golf holes on courses that arent considered one of the 4 major tournaments. You might be a GN if you follow an entire season on the PGA tour and remember the winners of each tournament in order. You might be a GN if you know personal information regarding the family or relatives of your favorite golf pro. You might be a GN if you race home from your job to watch the Golf channel to get golf tips from some club Pro whos name sounds vaguely fimiliar. Theres only one cure for Golf nerdism: Do not tell me about your ambition to shoot 80 on the local muni or that golf is a sport because ill be too busy watching NBA basketball and the Stanley Cup finals.

Forgive and forget.

I remember when the Miami Heat signed their version of the big three Bosh Wade and James. They boldly came out and said they planned on winning 7 titles and fans were instantly polarized. James came out with THE DECISION on ESPN and everyone including me was astounded by his cocky arrogant additude. Lebron had no titles and I did not give a crap who he was going to play for. James now understands why people responded the way they did and he has been humbled both by the Dallas Mavericks and his awareness of how hard winning a championship actually is. The hatred that still exists for James is really over the top. He is a terrific player and the haters out there need to ease up and appreciate just how good he is. As for me im going to be rooting for Duncan and the Spurs but ill be appreciating one the NBAs greatest players Lebron James.

A trophy and a free tee shirt.

I was talking to a good friend of mine who is a high school golf coach and he reminded me of just how different high school sports are these days. He told me about the season and how they managed to win a second consective state title. He was smiling and quite happy about the teams accomplishments. I ask him if the second title was any more difficult than the first one and he said no but that every season has its set of challenges. He said that all his varsity golfers were consistant club players and that he was really fortunate to have an extremely committed group of players. He also told me about some of the parents he has had to deal with in his tenure as coach for almost a decade. Alot of parents believe that their precious child is the second coming of Tiger Woods. They send their children off to expensive sports camps and expect their investment to pay off.  Children no longer play sports in season to stay in shape and learn the value of competition they now start playing organized sports around 7 years of age and hope someday to earn a college schlorship. If your parents cannot afford the football camp that almost all the 8th grade football team will attend over the summer your child will spend his freshman year of high school on the bench. The coaches that brave the new world of competitive sports had better be ready for obnoxious unrealistic parents and family members who believe that every coach is an idiot if their child is not the star of the team. Every child at the expensive football camp hosted by superstar X will get a trophy and a free tee shirt. That in most parents minds tyranslates into varsity letters and future college schlorships. No measly high school coach is going to tell the parent expert with a certificate of authenticity that his kid is not good enough to play varsity baseball because he was a star at baseball camp last year. The expectations and priorities set down for athletics are so out of wack these days that anybody thinking of coaching should have his or her head examined.

Dodger baseball.

My definition of Dodger baseball?? They do not hit ....they pitch when  Kershaw is on the bump they occasionally fight and then they LOSE. Everyone loves the newest sensation Yasiel Puig who cracked 4 homers and batted close to .500 this month but theres still that nagging thought that is still bugging me they are STILL LOSING. Now that might not bother the Hollywood types and fans that stay 6 innings before scrambling for the parking lot to beat the stampede they call LA traffic but im still wondering when the Dodgers will make that mid summer run toward .500. Tonight the blue had a fight and managed to beat the Dbacks 5-3 but im still concerned that maybe the fight in the parking lot is tougher than the baseball team on the field.

NFL London a bad idea.

The NFL commissioner is talking about moving an existing franchise to London. He wants the NFL to have the same world wide appeal.that the NBA has from a marketing and business perspective. The problem is that American football has very limited appeal in Europe and the extensive travel would have an adverse effect on any team that would have to travel there. Appearently the commish has forgotten that the city of Los Angeles is available for american football whenever Jacksonville or some other lame fan base doesnt want to support its NFL team. Rodger and his phony player safety crusade is annoying enough but moving an NFL team to have tea and crumpets is an eually stupid idea.

Buckeye down.

Ohio State President Gordon Gee is resigning from his position on July 1. While im never unhappy with anything bad happening in Columbus im a bit puzzled and alot confused by the events which led to his firing. What he said was definately inappropriate and not something that a person should say in his position but the timing and circumstances behind his firing definately bother me. He made the remarks in December and the University said and did nothing about it for 6 months untill a member of the media made his remarks public. The strong arm of political correctness and the social media is now watching all our words and actions like a hawk. More importantly enemies of public figures are lurking in wait to ruin the careers of people they do not like. Media members will tell you that they are simply bringing to light the truth of what is said and done but i think that old Gordo  made some enemies in Columbus and somebody was waiting for just the right moment to slam the door on his career. The more disturbing thought that comes to my mind is that with the increased awareness in social media there will be a hidden suppression of speech that will take away peoples freedom to speak freely and create legitimate and facinating sports stories that I actually might want to read in the newspaper.

Here come the Hawks!!

The NHL has some great action this playoff season. The Hawks and Wings  hammer it out in a seventh game that was almost more than I could take. The Kings win in 7 over the sharks and the Bruins hammer the Rangers in 5. For the first time since 1945 the participants in the semi finals have each one the Stanley Cup each of the last 4 years. The Kings are looking to repeat their feat this year while the Penguins Hawks and Bruins are looking to repeat their recent success. Anyone of these teams could win the the Stanley Cup so ill make an uninformed prediction Pens in 6 and the Hawks in 7. The action should be fast and furious and i will be watching closely. Lets GO HAWKS!!

Flash and Dash meet the old school Spurs.

I must confess that a match up between the Spurs and Heat is a good one. The Spurs with their version of the big 3 playing solid fundumental basketball facing the flash and dash of the James Gang. Miami is trying to establish itself as the dominant team in the current NBA while the Spurs are trying to reclaim past glory winning 5 titles in a 14 year period. I think Miami has more pressure on them to defeat the Spurs because they are expected by most fans and media to repeat as champs. The Spurs with their veteran team have a chance to debunk the Heats claim of being a great team and reestblish themselves as a dominant force in pro basketball. The Grizzlies found out that the Spurs old school defense designed to callapse inside on both Zach Randolph and Mark Gasol did the job. The Spurs on offense run the pick and roll very well and they shoot the basketball effectively. The Heat are smaller and better at the fast tempo game and they play very good defense. James is fantastic and if Wade and the others contribute the Heat are a difficult match up for any opponent. Miami will win the series in 6 games unless the Spurs can effectively make James more of a passer and assist guy and Duncan and the rest of the Spurs can rebound and score effectively throughout the series.

Silence is golden.

A friend of mine commented to me that he wasnt going to renew his season football tickets this next season. He is a big fan like me so i ask my buddy why he made his decision.. I figured it might be the high ticket prices which are unreasonably high for college football games or just that the time committment on Saturday was too much for him and he wanted to spend the fall doing other things. Nah he said its not that its the unbelievable noise at the stadium. He wasnt talking about crowds being excited or the marching band being where his seats were he was talking about all the artificial noise being pumped in around the stadium. The speakers being blasted so that the stadium announcer and all the video commercials on the giant message board could be heard for 20 miles. Noise is constant at the major sporting events now so that even if you wanted a quiet moment to think about the game it is almost impossible. Every baseball player is now introduced for his time at bat with a rock balad or foot stompin diddy.What has happened to those golden moments of silence during a game when you could actually think about the game?  It seems like promotors in sports these days try to make everything an epic event complete with every kind of distraction you could possibly create. You cant even hear applause at the football venue anymore because the STATE FARM Auto ads are blaring at every timeout. The speakers are so loud at the ends of the field that the cracking of the pads and the roar of the crowd can no longer be heard because the rock music between plays has started up and you cant hear yourself think. I know that kids now become bored if they arent entertained every possible second but could we at least turn the noise down long enough for my ears to stop ringing and my eyes time to see the game?

GO GRIZ!!!

Koby and Shaq ruined the Lakers for me in the 90s and since then ive been searching for a new team to root for in the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies hard nosed style and excellent defense are convincing me they are the team im looking for. Hollins is a good coach and Randolph Gasol and Conley are good players who play hard and exciting basketball. I considered the Bulls but the memory of jordan made me forget that possibillity. The knicks are chokers and full of drama plus spike Lee is annoying so they are out. The Celtics are the kings of the NBA but i confess im not a hard core Celtic fan which all boston fans are so the celts are not my choice. The Spurs are good and should be respected with Duncan and pops but they are about as exciting as watching paint dry.  The choice is obvious lets break out the BBQ listen to some excellent blues music and root for the GRIZ!!!  GO GRIZZLES!!

Second Triple Crown?

Orb may have fallen short in his effort to win the Triple Crown but Miguel Cabrera may be on his way to his second straight Triple Crown in major league baseball. He is hitting a sensational .387 and has 47 runs batted in. He crushed three homers Sunday night in Texas and despite the Tigers losing the game Cabrera doesnt seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Miguel is a big time talent and despite his troubles off the field i think he deserves credit for being the GREAT hitter that he is.

Dodgers talk. Giants win.

The Dodgers are probably going to fire Mattingly but the blame for getting their asses kicked all season long should be shared by ALL the players and management. .We heard all the hype about the new management and new players that is exactly what it has been so far lots of hype and no results. Either stinks. Crawford? Gonzales? Handley? All either injured or no factor. I saw the closer #31 with a 5+ ERA and wondered who the hell is this guy? After he pitched i said ....WHY the HELL is he the closer? There was alot of noise at seasons beginning by MAGIC and the new ownership about winning a championship but that is exactly what it is TALK.The Dodgers TALK a big game the Giants PLAY a big game. 2 world Series titles and virtually no hype at all while doing it. The Dodgers have 2 legitimate ball players #22 and #27 and the rest of the bums better grow a set and earn some of that 200 million dollar payroll.

Pitcher protection.

Major League Baseball is investigating the possibillity of pitchers wearing protective gear. While i feel bad for any pitcher who suffers from a line drive injury i think the possibillity of pitchers wearing masks and helmets is a silly idea.The better idea is for coaches and instructors to teach pitchers how to field their positions better. I am also suspicious that MLB is not all that concerned about player safety but instead concerned about being sued by a pitcher for not protecting them from the hazards of baseball. The fact is that all sports have an inherent risk of injury when played at a highly competive level. Athletes assume the risk when they take part in competition. Having medical staff at the athletic sight is sufficient protection for the athletes in competition. MLB doesnt need to comprise the performance of its players because of the fear of injury lawsuits or anything else over protective men in suits can think of.