Categories
New York Yankees

Dear A-Rod

Dear A-Rod,

I am sure you are already well aware, but the frustration level of your performance on the baseball diamond has reached an all time high. I am not here to remind you yet again of your 0-10 performance the last two games in Anaheim, which includes seven strikeouts. Instead, please think of this as a simple form of motivation.

Categories
Toronto Blue Jays

Too Good For Your Team?

It was just past 11:10 PM EST last night when I was watching Sportscenter, resting after four days and five games of hell (I am a Yankees fan, but those four days were still hell regardless). Given the opportunity, I was tempted not to even stay up for the eleven o’clock Sportscenter, but just listening to Tony Kornheiser was enough to keep me awake longer than expected. And it’s a good thing I did because I have a message I’d like to send to Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons: I love you big man.

Categories
General Sports

Should Collegiate Athletes Get Paid?

The debate has raged on for years now. Major college sports have become some of the most enjoyable events for spectators, while also providing great opportunities for the athletes who play them. College sports provide drama, tension, produces die-hard loyal fans and of course, who can forget the infamous college football playoff system (aka BCS). It is through college that most student-athletes get the first real opportunity to show their abilities and maybe one day gets drafted professionally for the sport in which they participate. But where is the line drawn for the student-athlete? Why do kids really go to college? For all of my life I always thought the main reason for attending college was to get an education and if you were lucky enough and/or talented enough, you might even get the opportunity to play a sport. Bob Dylan once wrote, “The times they are a changin'” and that quote holds true in this situation. It’s now even being rumored these same student-athletes, who us spectators make into immortals, are now looking to get paid during their tenure at SCHOOL!

What??

Let’s stop right there.

Categories
New York Yankees

American Pie

Growing up a kid in New York, you would think I would have been immediately drawn to the greatest franchise in the history of sports. The only problem was that early in my life the New York Yankees were playing like anything but the great teams of their storied past. In fact, it wasn’t until 1996, when my Dad bought me the Official 1996 World Series Home Video that I really started to understand the Yankees and like baseball. I’ve now watched that video so many times, it’s only a matter of time before I wear out its viewings. But even before I learned who the Yankees actually were, I already knew of a man who seemed to be quite popular, but dead now for over a year. His name was even mentioned in the video, as on his birthday, October 20th, the Yankees lost Game One of the 1996 World Series 12-1 to the defending World Champion Atlanta Braves. This mythic figure turned out to be Mickey Mantle. A fan favorite and the first real sports icon of the television era, the Mick had all the characteristics of a great player. Obviously, Mantle was a first ballot Hall of Famer, but it is the story off the field that will forever link Mickey with generations to come.

My mission here is simple: Explain why Mickey Mantle really is a positive role model, not a negative one like he stated shortly before he passed away in 1995.

Categories
High School Sports

Rule Number 76: Play Like a Warrior!

Tell them it wasn’t easy.
When they look back on their 16 wins, tell them we never took a single one for granted.
Teach them about our passion and our patience.
If they ask who was our star, give them 20 names.
If you forget our names, just tell them we were Warriors.
And in the season of our lives, we became a team.
A team that made people believe that baseball could be magic.
And men could be perfect.

Categories
College Basketball

Most People Don’t Understand the Power of Penn State Hoops

Now that everyone understands the power of Penn State Football again, maybe it’s time for college basketball fans to realize the Nittany Lions are, maybe for the first time, in the midst of a serious rebuilding stage. Penn State, who just finished a stretch where they played five consecutive ranked opponents, finally came through in the end and defeated a top-notch program, while boosting the hopes and future of their program as well.

Categories
LA Lakers

Whatever Your Take on Kobe- There’s No Denying His Game is Sick

Los Angles Lakers star Kobe Bryant scored 81 points last night in a convincing win vs. the Toronto Raptors.

What?

Let me say it again:
Los Angles Lakers star Kobe Bryant scored 81 points last night in a convincing win vs. the Toronto Raptors.

Yes, you just read that statement correctly BOTH times. Kobe did put up 81, 2nd only to Wilt, and the Lakers did win again, making their record 22-19.

You all probably knew that anyways, it has been all over ESPN and its million partners all day long becoming so over-aired sports fans may be sick of it already. So now we can all put the past behind us and start looking into the next chapter of Kobe Bryant’s illustrious career.

Categories
MLB General

Doctor K: Life in the Fast Lane

It was a beautiful summer day in early July, July 8th, 2000 to be exact. The Yankees and Mets were in the midst of baseball history playing the first ever day/night doubleheader in two different stadiums on the same day. It turned out to only be a tease of what was to come in October of that season but there was more to the game than just Yankees vs. Mets. I’m sure fans on both sides of the game remember Chuck Knoblauch’s lead-off single that turned into two bases after Todd Zeile was called for obstruction and Mets’ manager Bobby Valentine was then tossed for arguing the call. It wasn’t more than an inning later where Knoblauch created obstruction himself and the call was missed, this time Zeile being called for interference. The Yankees, yes those Damn Yankees, swept the Mets first in Queens and then in the Bronx later that night on a day when New York area fans were treated to a bit of nostalgia, Mets fans were stung by a flashback from Dwight Gooden.

Categories
New York Giants

Darkness on the Edge of Town

True Blue fans suffered a crushing shutout loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. As bad as the loss was, the first thing that needs to happen is for the Giants to totally forget about everything that just unfolded and start preparing for the off-season. There is a bright future for these Football Giants but one loss such as the one suffered today can trigger a series of bad events and destroy a team’s chemistry and faith in each other.

Categories
College Football

We Are Penn State Football – Conclusion

Continued from “We Are Penn State Football – Part III”

“Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It’s not about winning. It’s about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn’t let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasn’t one more thing you could’ve done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman – you’re perfect!”

– Coach Gary Gaines, “Friday Night Lights”

Early Wednesday morning Penn State Football proved to the College Football world they were a team who were about as perfect as one can get.