Categories
General Sports

Unite to honor Virginia Tech victims

Please join Hokie Nation in a tribute to the victims of Monday’s massacre in an honorary “Orange and Maroon Effect Day” this Friday.

Begun as a football tradition to make Lane Stadium a sea of one color, Orange and Maroon Effects have been a staple of Virginia Tech athletics for almost a decade. On Friday, “Hokie Nation” will unite in wearing Orange and Maroon to honor those killed in the horrific massacre that occured in the quaint picturesque town of Blacksburg on Monday.

Please wear any orange and maroon on Friday to show your support for the Virginia Tech community. It does not need to be official Virginia Tech gear.

Hopefully the entire nation will become as united as Hokie Nation already is.

Continue reading “Unite to honor Virginia Tech victims”

Categories
Golden State Warriors

Suck- We Barely Knew Ye

13 years. That’s an eternity. 13 years ago, Greg Oden could barely grow a moustache. Edmund Dantes claims he spent 13 years on Chateu D’If, but he probably went crazy and rounded up after 11 ½. If you had a kid 13 years ago, it would already be asking for birth control or sneaking into your porn collection. I’m only 25, so for me, 13 years means I’ve spent over half my life supporting crap basketball- that’s almost too depressing for words. But now, after 13 years, it all seems worth it.

13 years. That’s how long it’s been since playoff basketball has been played in Oakland. But now that’s all about to change.

Continue reading “Suck- We Barely Knew Ye”

Categories
NBA General

Super Deluxe End Of Season Edition

Alright its the end of the season, playoffs are close, the divisions are all wrapped up, it is time for awards, predictions, results, and an occasional skeptical comment.  I don’t mean to toot my own horn here, but I was 14 of 16 for my playoff teams that I predicted earlier this year.  That isn’t bad.  Of course, there are really only 5 or 6 teams in the NBA that are truly worthy of winning it all.  Toronto and Utah are the two that proved me wrong, and Milwaukee and the Hornets are the two that let me down.  I was four of six predicting the divisions (Miami, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix)…all-right those were softballs, I admit it.  Utah and Toronto threw me a curve, but in my defense I said they were playoff caliber teams, especially Utah.

Continue reading “Super Deluxe End Of Season Edition”
Categories
NBA General

The Re-Demise of Michael Ray Richardson

Michael Ray Richardson was kicked out of the NBA for violating the substance abuse policy. He was a great player who had a great number of demons. A life dominated by addiction is always a tragedy but at some point everyone must face the consequences of their actions. Michael Ray Richardson did face those consequences. He lost a life that many can only dream of. Now he is back on the radar; this time, as shocking as it seems, as a coach. Not surprisingly, he’s in trouble again. Reading the headlines it would appear that he went John Rocker, tossing out a gay slur and providing some anti-Semitic commentary. In today’s world you don’t get away with saying things like that. Despite our pride in free speech there is nothing free about the speech of hate. Formal punishment of speech, even if it is hate, always rubs me the wrong way but I understand why leagues are so strict and sensitive on the topic. They are protecting a product that they are trying to make as inclusive as possible. I’m fine with a suspension for uttering a gay slur at a heckler. That kind of thing is unacceptable and should be addressed accordingly.

Continue reading “The Re-Demise of Michael Ray Richardson”
Categories
MLB General

Nobody can speak for Jackie Robinson- so quit trying

April 15th is Jackie Robinson Day around Major League Baseball. This is a terrific annual celebration to honor the day that baseball’s color barrier was broken, long before society’s, in 1947. However, on the 60th anniversary of this momentous event, it has turned into anything but a celebration.

Continue reading “Nobody can speak for Jackie Robinson- so quit trying”
Categories
MLB General

What I Learned From 1.5 Weeks of the 2007 MLB Season

by Matt Wells

Well, baseball is finally here.  In fact, it has been here for a week and a half already.  Spring Training is over, the home fields of all the baseball teams have been opened for the new season (or they are close to being opened).  The World Champion Cardinals are attempting to repeat, the Tigers are looking to repeat last year’s success, the Red Sox are trying to dethrone the Yankees in the AL East, and a slew of teams that missed last year’s playoffs are looking to improve on last year’s performances (Indians, Braves, Cubs, etc).

So, one week has been completed.  Players have begun to produce, while some haven’t.  Teams have won games early, while some haven’t.  So, what have I learned from the first week and a half of the regular season?  Well…

Continue reading “What I Learned From 1.5 Weeks of the 2007 MLB Season”

Categories
General Sports

Religion in Sports

By Billy Fellin

Zach Johnson’s comments that circled around that the Masters’ ended on Easter Sunday and that Jesus was there with him to help him win got me thinking about just how big of an impact religion has on sports. The comments to that particular blog article also helped spurn these thoughts in my head. So this one is for you anonymous fans that posted those comments!

Continue reading “Religion in Sports”

Categories
MLB General

Next: The American League

Sure, the bitterly biased Yankee devotee within me reveals a practical grouch when a columnist, or innocent bystander, dares compare limitless Jose Reyes to Hall of Fame lock Derek Jeter, or even, gasp, the chosen one, Alex Rodriguez.

Honestly, it’s quite frightening. It only seems a second ago that Reyes was a rumor, the mysterious jewel of the Mets’ farm system during the bygone Steve Phillips era.

Scary thought, time.

Continue reading “Next: The American League”

Categories
NHL General

NHL First Round Preview

Here we go, the NHL playoffs are upon us. For the first time in a long time, neither one of the Stanley Cup finalists from the previous season will be in there to defend their conference crowns. Also, for the first time in over a decade, that team from Denver will not grace the playoffs.

Continue reading “NHL First Round Preview”
Categories
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings for April 11th- 2007

Week one of the Sportscolumn MLB Power Rankings and the top spot should really come as no surprise. Granted, the Yankees have pitching problems, but until somebody proves otherwise they’re the best team in baseball.

It’s too early in the season for records to matter much, but it is interesting to take a look at the teams with the best and worst records in the league. The Phillies are my dark-horse pick to win the World Series, but they’ve stumbled out of the gate with the worst record in baseball. The Atlanta Braves, on the other hand, have the best record in baseball and look more like the Braves team that didn’t miss the playoffs for a decade and a half than they do last year’s team.

As always, I look forward to your questions, comments and complaints throughout the season.

Continue reading “MLB Power Rankings for April 11th- 2007”