Who is the villain now?

I am back!!! I have missed blogging and hopefully i will continue to do this for this is my release.. So lets begin..

So who are the villains in sport now? Cant say i see anymore athletes to hate!!! Lebron has finally won!  John Calipari has too. Dale Jr. has his monkey off of his back with a win two weeks ago.  Eli was lambasted for saying he was an elite quarterback and then went out and defeated BOTH Rodgers and Brady en route to a super bowl title!! Favre is gone.  T.O. is being blacklisted from the N.F.L by all of the teams, and the STEROID cases have all blown up in the face of the sports world and the Government. Sharapova won the French Open and Tony Stewart won the Nextel Sprint Cup last fall and the entire media treated him like he needed to be "held" throughout his season.  Who does that leave?  Floyd Mayweather is in jail.  Lance Armstrong is being chased down again but the evidence hasn't changed in ten years. I will tell you who is the villain in sports:  (Wait for it). ESPN and all of the sports writers in this lovely country
Would I kill to work at a reputable sports network? Absolutely. My biggest dream in life is for you to turn on your television and see me pontificating about the world of sports. There is a difference between me and them. Number 1, I dont want to tell you what is news and what isn't news and they do.  When i was a kid, i loved sports because the media seemed to romance the heroes, and try to uplift the zeroes.  When we beat Russia in 1980 it was the greatest accomplishment by this country in sports. We were so proud and happy to defeat that team. Think about your childhood for a moment.  Don't you remember more stories about triumph, accomplishment, and pride than you hear today?  Ali is my hero. Never heard anything about Ali.  Especially the way they do things today.  Lawrence Taylor and Micheal Jordan my other favorite two athletes, were never made a villain like today.  How about Mickey Mantle? We read about the crazy days of his life but he never faced this nonsense. Broadway Joe, Joe Louis, Wilt Chamberlain, Babe Ruth. All of these men were lauded.  Yes it took Wilt a long time to win a title but people understood that it was a team that won titles and individual greatness could not overcome the team concept.  The Celtics of the 60's owned him. The Yankees owned the Brooklyn Dodgers.  The MEDIA never made themselves the story.  The stories were all about the athletes who achieved and who were great.
Today we are inundated with stories about Tim Tebow because he has infused religion into sports and that he is supposedly unable to play the position of quarterback.  Eli Manning said recently that its fascinating that his team just won the super bowl and he is the third least talked about quarterback in his own city.  Why does it matter what Tebow does?  Why do the media try and create stories instead of allowing the true stories develop and be what the sports fan truly want?  Before Matt Kemp got hurt he was off to an epic season.  Instead of pumping up Mat Kemp, the stories were about the failure of Albert Pujols. One sentence about Kemp, but forty pages about Pujols slow start.  There is so much hatred of today athlete that it is a wonder why people want to be a professional athlete.  Bryant Gumbel last week in his closing statement went off about how Mayweather, Schilling, T.O., were finally feeling the brunt of karma.  Tebow is going to be the story for the next 7 months unless he gets hurt.  Last year there was so much to talk about in the N.F.L. and week end and out all we heard about was Tebow.  Brady,  Brees and Stafford threw for 5,000 yards and Cam Newton in his first year as a starter threw for 4,000 plus as a rookie. The Giants are the most forgettable champion in years. 
The reason that I say it is Espn and others, is simply because they are the ones who seem to create the buzz of the sports world.  They are the ones who for months when Brett Favre was retired killed us with Favre's every move. They are the ones who send Sal Pal over to Jets training camp  or Rachel Nichols over to see Lebron. The Kings won the Stanley Cup and it was swept under the rug like it didn't happen.  Novak Djokovic had a chance to win four tennis majors in a row.  He is never mentioned in the pantheon of the best athletes today.  The LPGA is non existent even though Yani Tseng keeps winning majors. Lebron won the title four days ago and they keep showing interviews of him and roundtables about what he has to do next to eclipse Jordan or Shaq , or Magic. Why cant they just leave sports one night to the actual sports and talk about the great action on the field.  Arizona just became the second team to win the College World Series history to sweep through the championship.  The Giants and Pirates are playing series that move them closer to first place in their divisions.  Wimbeldon has started and Venus Williams is fighting a serious disease that affects her play.  Edwin Encarnacion is having a year to remember.  The top 8 picks in the NFL draft have not signed. Bounty gate?  Why wont the league show the proof to the players about what they have on the players?  I guarantee if there was more attention put on the positive things in sports, maybe the athletes wouldn't be so negative to the press.
 There has to be a change in what is more important in sports than speculation and innuendo or potential.  I am soooo tired of hearing about things that don't matter. Sports era of the 60's is lauded because teams were bigger than the individuals.  Jim Brown was greatest athlete of that time but only won one title.  People to this day still bow to him. Wilt was a the single most dominating force in sports but the Celtics kept winning.  Mickey Mantle could not win a title without the dominant pitching from that team.  The Packers of that era was about team.  (Jerry Kramer should be in the hall of fame).. We understand talking about Tiger, Manny Pacquiao, Serena, they play individual sports.  Micheal Phelps needs to win 16 medals or he is a failure.  Appreciate him for who he is and what he did four years ago. I miss the days of having sport heroes.  I hope Christian Ronaldo is getting ready to be ridiculed because Spain is too good.   When did sports become so villainous?  Why does sports have to be negative?  We escape to watch sports.  We understand that there are bad people and bad stories need to be told, but there are lot of positive things in sports that need more attention.  Dont Be afraid to tell us those stories too..

the all star game... who are the stars

The all star game in baseball is not the same to me as it was when I was a kid. The players don't evoke the same majesty today as they once did. I used to stay up and see what Reggie did or what Ken Griffey Jr.did. When I moved out here, I would check on Bonds. They did not always want to participate in the festivities at the all star game but did out of loyalty to the fans. The players today have de-valued the game. If you are not hurt, you should be there and play. One inning is not going to kill you. The best players used to participate in the Home run derby and we would look forward to the match ups of certain great players against the great pitcher. Inter league play has deprived us that and there are not as many great players in baseball anymore. When a player is asked what player were they intimidated to meet or see at the game and they all say Ken Griffey Jr. that should tell you all you need to know about today's game. If players are not in awe of Mariano Rivera, Pujols or Jeter or Big Papi, then I don't know what a great player is. Most players tend to dislike Alex Rodriguez and Roy Halliday should have everyone by his locker trying to pick his brain about pitching. think about it, who are the legendary players playing in this game tonight other than the guys i mentioned? Vlad Guererro would be another guy I would be in awe of talking to. He was a five tool super stud player or three teams and if he hadn't suffered so many injuries, he would be in the class with A-rod, Big Papi and Manny. Jim Thome too. Instead we have a game tonight of new stars and new legends and hopefully ten years from now, we will look back on tonight and say that some of these new stars are legends. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are not as anonymous as they were two years ago. Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford will be in this game forever. David Price and UBaldo Jimenez are making debuts. In fact that is what the problem is, too many players are here today and gone tomorrow. Where is Nelson Cruz? Prince Fielder this year? I hope that all of you make the team again next year and then we can really talk about true all stars. Longevity is what separates the men from the boys!!!!

a lot to write about so here we go...

George M. Steinbrenner died today and I am shocked!!! The man was and is the most important sports figure in the last 50 plus years and it is funny because I am sure that so many have other people in mind when referring to that claim to fame, but there really is no denying what I just said. Huh? He taught the sports world that the only reason to play sports is to win. He opened up his pocket book and gave his Yankee teams a chance to win. Many people my say that he failed his constituents in the 80's, I am sure that if he knew then what he knew later on in life, he would not have hung his players and managers out to dry. He would have built his teams around the stars that he had in the 80's and this dynasty would have had more titles than he had. I find it funny that he was being praised today by Dave Winfield and Yogi Berra who had epic and near "fatal" disagreements with the "BOSS". Many people today do not remember that he was once banned from baseball and was convicted of crimes in a crazy affiliation with Richard Nixon in 1974. He was a football guy too!!! He loved Ohio St. and it became ironic that his greatest player in years as a Yankee was a Michigan guy!!! He tried to help every Yankee that he could. Darryl Strawberry will always be a Met to me and I find it ironic that Mr. Steinbrenner did what he could to help him, Canseco, Doc, Steve Howe, Tim Raines, just to name a few. How funny is that? Think if the Yankees had spent money in the 80's like it did in the 90's till today how many more titles would they have won. He was a mentor to many owners and his impact in all sports will never be forgotten. Jerry Jones says that "the Boss" is his role model. He is one Ohio guy that has made his state proud and it is because of him that Yankees are what the are today. On January 3rd, 1920 the Yankees got Babe Ruth. On January 3rd, 1973 the Yankees were bought by Mr. Steinbrenner. I was born on January 3rd. So am I going to something insanely incredible and become famous? I think Hawaii was sold to us on January 3rd, 1959..
Now he and Billy Martin can have a normal conversation without Billy getting fired....

so long Cleveland...

Damn!!! Just when I thought that I knew everything to know about sports, Lebron James leaves Cleveland. He is no Joe Mauer. He is no Micheal Jordan or Magic Johnson. This move is not about money. This move is about a change of scenery and so many other innuendoed other issues that I had to say something about it today. Firts he should have stayed in Cleveland. He does not owe anything to them but he was a schoolboy legend that has put that franchise on the map and now it will quietly disappear. Cleveland has not won a championship since Jim Brown led them to a football title in the 60's and though the Browns and Indians have made strong attempts at winning in the 80's and 90's, this city claim to fame is the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. This city's other claim is that they cannot win the big one and have had some of the most gut wrenching losses in sports. Whether it is the Marlins winning game 7 in the world series, the Drive, the Fumble, the Shot twice, the fans of this sports town most be the toughest anywhere. Lebron was just going through the progression as all of the superstars do and with the addition of a superstar player, he may have won something there. Oh Well!!!
The Owner of the Cavs posted a letter that I think is worse than sour grapes. He clowns Lebron as the self proclaimed "king" and believe that Lebron quit on his teammates in the playoffs. He has even called him a coward. Dan Gilbert is not pulling any punches and I am sure he would like to punch Lebron.
Here is where it gets wacky. There is this rumor that one of his teammates slept with Lebron James' mother. Lebron found out apparently in game 4 of the series and was too distraught to play with his teammates. Calvin Murphy goes on ESPN radio in Houston and tells everyone who is listening that the rumor is true and is confirmed by multiple sources. For what it is worth, the James camp denies the rumor. True or not, I would not be able to play with any player that is alleged to have had intercourse with my mother. I would kill him if it was true. Now they are both consenting adults but that would mess me up for a long time. I would 25 to life to think about it that is for sure. This divorce with the Cavaliers and Lebron is about to get ugly and with owner already slandering Lebron's name I can only imagine what is going to happen when Cleveland and Miami play.
The Knicks have gutted there team for two years and got Amare Stoudamire and a couple of fringe players from Golden St. for David Lee. Lebron supposedly was looking at real estate in New York. Who does he think he is? Tom Brady.. Brady has rings and diplomat status. James has M.V.P. trophies and is still only 25 and has a career ahead of him to surpass almost all N.B.A. records. He would have been the King of New York as Jeter is heading towards his twilight. The Knicks have a plan to thwart the big three in Miami next year.. IT BETTER WORK!!!
I wonder what we are all witnesses to....