Why does everyone hate A-rod

When Alex Rodriguez finally got a World Series ring a few years ago, I honestly thought that the world put him their rear view mirror and leave him alone. How wrong I have been. He is the most hated, scrutinized, polarizing athlete in the entire world. Tim Tebow nor Lebron James has nothing on A-rod. A-rod could find this spy guy in Russia right now and be arrested because somehow someway someone would say that he has aided in some way. A-rod could take a bullet for the President right now and he would be blamed for the assassination attempt. I have heard every pundit on every show talk about how hated he is.  How A-rod is not a Yankee.  How the Yankees want to get rid of him. How he has personally destroyed the game of baseball. A-rod is the only P.E.D user who admitted to taking the drugs because he was trying hard to live up to the richest contract in baseball history. Bonds denies not knowingly taking them. Clemens went to court and was acquitted during his trial for taking them. Mark McGwire took years to admit what he did. Only A-rod is getting the abuse he gets. His name is linked to the latest scandal and deservedly so he should be persecuted as a repeat offender but he is not the only one on the list. Lance Armstrong lied to us for years and years, yet every person in the world would still buy Lance a beer if they saw him in a bar. All of the things he did for Cancer patients will never be forgotten and in most people's eyes his evil was used for good.
Does anyone remember Reggie Jackson?  When Reggie became a Yankee the locker room was divided from day one. He told the press that he was the "straw that stirred the drink" on that ball club the made Thurman Munson nuts. Reggie openly fought with Billy Martin in the dugout because Billy thought he wasn't playing hard enough in a game in Fenway Park. of all places. No one would ever accuse Reggie of being precocious or shy. Even George would get on Reggie for his strikeouts and lackluster efforts at times, people associate Reggie's career only with a the Yankees. He was a stud with the A's in the early 70's. His home run in Tiger Stadium at the 1971 All Star game is still traveling.  He is often credited as being a Yankee even though so many disliked him. I know about the World Series performance in 1977. I know about 1978 as well. The Yankees immediately two rings in Reggie's tenure. When he left the Yankees it took 12 years before they went back to the post season.  Maybe if A-Rod had better success in the Post season people would leave him alone. Maybe if he had not signed the richest sports contract that the Yankees can't get out of people would leave him alone. Maybe if he didn't date Hollywood actresses or beautiful models people would leave him alone. Maybe he should be giving out autographed baseballs like Jeter after he dates you and dumps you. The man tweeted that he was getting back on the field.  Brian Cashman went psycho on him. The Yankees lost tonight.  They may lose Texirera for the rest of the season. What would happen if A-rod hit a walk off home run in game 7 of the world series and won the championship for the Yankees this season? Would you think he is a true Yankee then?  Probably not....

Boston Fans are the toughest fans in the world..

I wish I was Boston Strong.. I dont mean to trivialize the entire Boston Strong movement. I am extremely sensitive to what happened on Boston Marathon day. I am only using the phrase to try and understand  what you guys have been through. Heartbreak after heartbreak. 86 Mets. Aaron Freaking Boone. Bucky Freaking Dent. The New york Giants David Tyree. Eli Manning in both Super Bowls when you clearly have had better teams. The Stanley Cup against Edmonton with the messed up ice and fog in the arena. And of course the the other night. 1 minute from forcing a game a 7. Yes you have redemptive moments. Beating the Lakers and giving Garnett and Pierce their one and only title. Beating heavily  favored Vancouver in 7 games in Vancouver ( which caused a riot) was awesome. The Red Sox down 3-0 to the Yankees and sweeping the next 4 games and then sweeping the Cardinals in the World series was the stuff of legend. How do you keep sane? When I went to the University of Massachusetts I used to argue/debate with my fellow classmates about what city had better sports or better teams. At that time the Celtics were supreme. The Giants and Mets were filled with super players so the debates was quite heated. i was at UMASS when the riot happened after the Mets defeated the Red Sox in '86. The wave of passion even went racial. The combatants were on Donahue of all shows in the 80's.
What I love about Boston fans is no matter how good or bad their teams are their fans show up and support their players. I am sure Celtic fans are mad at Doc rivers for bolting to the Clippers in Los Angeles of all places but I am sure they will applaud him for what he accomplished while the Celtics coach. They never booed Larry Bird when he coached the Pacers so I don't expect Doc to get a bad reception as the Celtics re-build. The Bruin loss was tough to see because i felt they had the better team and had the proper strategy to beat the upstart Blackhawks. The Bruins had several opportunities to score in the first period and exuberance caused them to miss out. Bergeron is a super hero. He has my respect forever. The Red sox are currently in first place in baseball. No one expects to finish there. The Blue Jays have just won 11 straight and are preparing for a huge run in the second half.  The Yankees have not had their team all season. Jeter and A-Rod have yet to play this season. Chris Davis is "crushing" the ball everywhere and Baltimore is here to stay. I don't want to jinx the Sox but things could get tough for them in the second half. The fans will still be there.  That is why Boston Strong is more than just a slogan, it is a way of life. You have my respect...

Micheal Jordan is a "better" player but Lebron Means More...

A friend of mine responded to a facebook discussion by say this this quote," Micheal Jordan is a "better" player , But Lebron means more", and he could not be more correct. Micheal Jordan came a long to this world when we were still getting over Muhammad Ali's retirement. Reggie Jackson and his Yankee Days. Magic and Larry were must see t.v. The Doctor J show. Lawrence Taylor and Joe Montana legends growing. In other words the sports world was okay. Hell it was better than okay. It was thriving. We met a man named BO. We had Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler. The Mets were big in baseball. John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl were fierce rivals. Chrissie and Martina were opening the door for Steffi. Carl Lewis was God. Excess was the word and everyone was having fun. Jack Nicklaus won the Masters at age 46 and Hale Irwin had a magical run at it too. SPORTS was as Good as it gets...
This generation needs Lebron. Tiger does not connect to all people like people want him too. No matter how many golfing academies he opens or what he does for main stream America, people will always want more from him.  Baseball is treated like pro wrestling.  No one believes in any number put up or no one fully understands the P.E.D rage in the game. Football wants so badly for a new face to emerge because it is tired of re-tread coaches and old quarterbacks winning titles thus making all of the old boy network proud that their style of football still wins over this new age of football. Plus football players are wimps and are incapable of taking care of themselves. All of the new rules implemented to keep players safe or on the field have diminished the game to the point that fans would rather the players play flag football than to watch penalties called for hits that made players millions of dollars in previous year. Even Hockey is pushing harder for a more open ice/European style game. The story lines are more about concussions and players who fail than giving credit to the ones that have succeeded.
The NBA has been ridiculed over the past 15 years because they seemed to be more interested in just putting bodies on the floor instead of proven talent. Inviting 18 and 19 year old kids to play has hurt the game so much that teams have been moving at a feverish pace because of no fan support. Think about this, what other sport was given a mandate to dress up or improve your attire for press conferences before and after games? This couldn't be more insulting than any mandate that anyone could think of. Lebron is pure. Lebron is the savior of this generation.  He is Derek Jeter, Micheal Jordan, Joe Montana wrapped up in one enormous figure. He represents everyone. He is Tupac to most people because he is just like all of them. Raised by a single mom. Educated but has a street edge. He is the voice of this generation because no one is. RG3 could become that in football if he stays healthy. Tiger Woods showed that no one is perfect or teflon. Lebron has to keep quieting main stream America who resents him for making a choice. When he wins an entire generation wins because he took the short cut that so many want to take and is thriving. He is like Jay-z selling records out of his car and creating his own brand and company.  Jordan did it too, but he had Nike, gatorade, and other large corporations blow him up. (plus he was winning dunk contests, and doing the unimaginable at the same time). Lebron had one commercial run during the entire playoffs!!! Jordan had McDonalds, Gatorade, Nike, Wheaties, Hanes all going while he was at his highest peak. If that does not tell you why he must continue to grow and win, nothing else will....
Jordan is a much better player. He would average 45 points a game in this era. There are no obstructions to the rim in this era. No Bol.  No Shaq. No Olajawon. No Robinson. They hand checked back in those days. There was no flagrant fouls called in this series. Lerbon this new generation of fans needs you to keep being you. I hope you do...

swallowing the whistle is nothig new in all sports..

 I wrote a blog two months ago about whistle swallowing and I deleted last night because I could n't finish it. I know that it has been a part of sports for years. Remember the 2001 NBA playoffs. Dikembe Mutumbo never had any fouls called on him in the Eastern Conference playoff run. When he met up with Shaquille Oneal in the finals, if he sneezed it was a foul. This past football season, the Atlanta Falcon were denied a pass interference call the allowed the Niners to win the NFC championship game. Only the Niners lost the Super Bowl on a similar play when Crabtree was held in the endzone. This season in baseball has been marred by several blown calls by umpires. Baylor's womens basketball team had its championship dream ended on a no call to end that game. Coach Melky was so angry that she was willing to pay any amount of money for making comments about the officiating. We understand that Refs are people too.  They miss calls, they have bad judgement on some calls that is blatantly obvious to you and me. The homerun in the Oakland A's and Cleveland indians game is an example. We all saw it as a homerun. 4 umpires who watched the same replay did not. Armando Galarraga retired 26 straight batters in a game and when it appeared to the entire planet that number 27 was out too, the umpire screamed out safe. What do we do?
Clearly everyone is going to complain that the Spurs should have had a few free throws to eliminate the Heat tonight. Spur fans forget that Bruce Bowen grabbed Lebron James on a potential game winning shot where Lebron should have at least had free throws. He got nothing but swept aside. All pro sports put out its best officials for championship games or series. they try not to let the refs or umps be the story and want the players to determine the outcome. Did Jordan push off? Of course he did. But it wasn't called. Remember the 1985 World Series when the Cardinals thought they had won but the first base umpire called the runner safe at first? Making a tough call is why they have the guys there in the first place. If you can'tdo it or the moment is too big or bright for you then get out of the way. Game 6 will be remembered for the shot by Allen, the Missed free throws by Ginobli and Leonard, and of course the no calls in overtime. its a damn shame..