The Sports Guy Book Tour - Sunny San Diego

Like millions of other white guys in their late 20s, I'm a huge fan of Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy. I read all of his articles the day they're published, I listen to all of his podcasts the day they're aired, and until recently, heard all of his tweets the moment they were tweeted. I love everything about his writing. The humor, the honesty, the intelligence, everything. So when I heard that his booktour was coming through San Diego, I cancelled my plans for the discotech and headed over to Borders in Mission Valley. Here are a few highlights from the event:

Overall, the scene was pretty chill. There were hundreds of people there, but only in San Diego would those people be laid back and respectful to each other.

Yes, that is a signed Jamarcus Russell helmet that some guy in line gave to The Sports Guy. The look on the face of someone receiving a signed Jamarcus Russell helmet is unlike anything I've ever seen. The closest comparison would be the look on someone's face two seconds into a colonoscopy. Violated. Uncertain. Uncomfortable.

This is my big moment. My one-on-one cameo with my favorite sports writer. "One, two, three..." and he's not even looking at the camera.

The Evolution of a Sports Fan

*Warning: In this post, I sound like I'm trying too hard to write like a sports writer. It might get a little annoying. Just warning you.

It's a strange thing what happens to a man during his twenties. When he begins the decade, he is young, spirited, and stupid. As he grows into his mid-twenties, some of that stupidity is replaced with intelligence, owing mostly to the attendance of college or steady employment. The youth and the sprit, on the other hand, don't begin to fade until his late twenties. It is then that a portion of that youth and spirit are replaced with a greater sense of purpose and responsibility. Some of the intelligence is replaced with a few sprouting seeds of wisdom, too. In a lighter sense, the twenties are ten years long because that's how long it takes a man to stop acting like a teenager. Think of it as nature's highly flawed male rehabilitation program. So as I inch closer (17 months) to the end of my 20s, and as the end of the decade approaches, I can't help but reflect on my evolution as a sports fan in the last ten years. My recollection was helped in part by ESPN's Page 2, whose satirical stance is often superimposed with a more reflective, Seahawks-eye-view on sports. Their recent feature on the 25 Greatest Games of the Decade made me think about what has happened to sports as I once knew it. Admittedly, my thoughts on this subject have been reinforced by Matt Taibbi's brash piece last month in my favorite magazine, Men's Journal.

In my early twenties I soaked up episodes of SportsCenter as if it were a Soap Opera. I was amazed at the creativity of the Anchors, the inside look from the Reporters, and the dynamic interface from the Booth. And now when I watch the same show, it looks less like something centered on sports and more like an infomercial. Every segment is sponsored by some leech of a corporation, surviving off the testosterone and masculinity of ESPN's viewers. To put it simply, I'm over SportsCenter, and apparently SportsCenter is over me. I'm no longer part of it's 18-24-year-old-male target audience. In some sense, ESPN has already tagged me and bagged me, and now my stuffed head rests above its mantle.

As I leafed through Page 2's piece, the game that struck me as the apex of pure and commercialized sport was the 2005 Fiesta Bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma. You remember, right? The early lead. The blown lead. The comeback. Overtime. The Statue of Liberty. The proposal. In fact, Page 2's picture of this game was not of Jared Zabransky hiding the pigskin behind his hip, or Coach Chris Peterson being doused with smurf-blue Gatorade, but of Ian Johnson proposing to his smurf-turfed cheerleader/girlfriend. It was pure sports bliss, until Meyers, if you remember, actually cued up the runningback to perform the proposal. At the end of their interview, Meyers said to Johnson "I know you're gonna propose to your girlfriend..." at which point, the runningback took the metaphorical handoff from his new quarterback and delivered the engagement ring into the endzone, as it were. The moment was still magic, but it lost some luster along the way. It wasn't natural anymore. It was made-up. Not necessarily the end of sports as a purely athletic venture, but the beginning of the end.

Since that moment, I've become jaded as a sports fan. Kind of like that scene in the Davinci code when Tom Hanks and his mademoiselle found out what really goes on in those Templar meetings. I can't watch it without thinking that only a small percentage of the three hour telecast will be spent on the game itself. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, televised sports has for years echoed corporate sentiments just as loud as athletic ones. An elated Joe Montana never spontaneously told the camera that he was "going to Disneyland" after winning multiple Super Bowls in the 1980s. Some two-bit production assistant wearing Mouse Ears told him to. What depresses me is that televised sports will never be the same purely athletic endeavor that it was of my youth. Nowadays I'd prefer camping or mountain biking to watching mainstream sports on TV. Even an episode of Jersey Shore seems more authentic when you compare it with your average contrived NFL pre-game show.

So, am I just becoming a curmudgeon, or is there some truth to what I have to say? I obviously can't answer that question for myself. Maybe I should ask Adidas pitchman Kevin Garnett.

BYU will be playing in the Vegas Bowl for I believe the 10th year in a row. It was cool at first, then it got weird, now it's just getting annoying. Nothing against the Vegas Bowl, I just think BYU needs to be careful. They may find themselves in front of a Senate Judiciary Committee conducting hearings on whether BYU has monopolized the Vegas Bowl market. I'm just saying, underachieving every season and going to the same bowl game year after year is a little "classless."

On another note:
How do these ladies not see the creepiness behind this whole teen-vampire obsession?

Thanksgiving 09

This is a fun NY Times breakdown of regional google searches for recipes near thanksgiving.

Corn casserole must be big in the South, yams must be a west coast thing, and apple crisps are eaten where it's cold.

Does this mean there are areas where they don't have to google recipes for popular dishes? Or are there inexperienced cookers trying to prepare expected sides? Either way, you'll scroll through all 50.

Road Trip: Oregon Vs. Arizona - ESPN Video

I finally found something worthy of posting. This video is hillarious.

The NBA ... Where "Who To Choose" Happens

I’ve always been an NBA free agent. My home town, Las Vegas, is home to two teams; gamblers and point spreads. I never settled on teams close to Las Vegas, either. The Clippers are the Clippers and the Lakers of the nineties weren't the TMZ ‘ballers of the oughts. In my day, the Lakers meant Ceballos, Divac, and A.C. Green. I've also lived near Phoenix, but the Suns owner values revenues over winning - important if I'm looking to receive dividends but not when I want to root for a team.

The great thing about improved sports access, internet and satellite, is that geography no longer matters. Nearly every major paper publishes articles online, including notes and features from beat writers who travel with the team. In addition to “print” coverage, all games are available on television (even the Clippers) to a national audience through a subscription-based service. Best of all, these games are called by local announcers who know player tendencies, substitution patterns and back stories far better than the national guys.

Two years ago I started reading the beat guys for the Celtics. Last year, I read Oregon Live. This year, the NBA offered a revised online subscription where you get the feed to seven teams for a reduced price. A perfect opportunity to really follow a team, right? I first had to choose a favorite. The preliminary list included: Portland, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington.

Portland
Good: My boy Jarryd Bayless plays for the Blazers (sometimes). They also have a really young team with good players. Bad: The good players remind me of Tim Duncan – good but bland. I want to follow story lines and characters. These guys just aren’t compelling.

76ers
Good: Philadelphia has Andre Igoudala, a freak athlete and former Wildcat, an irrational fan base, and beautiful uniforms. Bad: The Phillies winning the past few years have changed the local scene a bit, and the Eagles matter more.

New York
Good: D’Antoni insists on a wide-open style, they drafted Jordan Hill, and 2010 may bring a royal present. Bad: It’s not 2010.

Washington
Good: Agent Zero is finally healthy after spending two years on the injured list, Caron Butler lost ten pounds "Undoing the Dew", and coach Flip Saunders is good for 1,000 body ticks per game. The team was also terrible last year, so the bandwagon isn’t full. Bad: East Coast. How often would I be able to watch them play live? Honestly, I didn’t expect to watch many games live until Christmas anyway. So the Washington Wizards it is. I’ve bookmarked a few sites to keep up with the Wiz.

The team I picked to follow would be placed in the seven, natch. Who else should I pick? I set some ground rules:

There is little incentive to pick a team that is on t.v. all the time, since online broadcasts are blacked out when nationally televised.

I wanted to pick at least one team from each of the divisions to maximize my breadth of exposure.

Each team needed either one player that is worth a look when he is on his “A” game, or a group of players which play really well together.

I wanted to give preference to teams in the Western Conference since I’d likely miss any game before 7:00. I was lenient on this since games are archived online – more on that later.

The teams have to have young guys who were progressing or unpredictable crazy guys (see Ricky Davis).

Here’s my process:
The beauty of the online seven-team special is that I didn’t have to pay for the unwatchable teams. The first to be scratched were: New York, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indiana, Charlotte, Minnesota, Sacramento, Memphis, and Golden State (although their crazy guy level is league best)

The blackout rule eliminated Cleveland, the Lakers and the Clippers. I would likely have included the Cavs and Lakers otherwise; I made an exception for the Celtics since their home announcers are great.

Teams that were good, but didn’t interest me included: Toronto, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Utah, Phoenix, and Houston.

Teams that I was interested in seeing were: Boston, Philadelphia, Denver, Portland, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, and my new favorite team Washington.

Since that was eight, I weighed the advantages of both Philly and Denver. In the end, the Birdman was the difference. (He also flies in the Mountain Time Zone).

Having settled on my seven, my next challenge is to find a way to watch them. The major drawback in the online coverage is that the archive games show the score. Boo.

Classified

Win One for the Hoff

Who's that singing "The Star Spangled Banner"?

It's The Hoff

Robbed

Look at the little rubber tire extracts jumping from the carpet. Aside from that, the replay is torture.

I'm recovering from a devastating loss to the Huskies last week. It was an important swing game within the conference and will really hurt come bowl selection time. I thought we had it won before throwing the ball away ... or did we? Tough to determine during live action whether the ball hit the ground or the receiver's foot, but the replay guy had a great look and still got it wrong. See for yourself.
















Three articles this week helped my grieving process.

1. L.A. Times: "The play is there for anyone to deconstruct on YouTube, and watching it over and over it's hard to believe the ball didn't hit the turf." Amen
2. Five top 100 recruits in Miller's first six months? It's good to be a basketball school
3. Life after Lute has been a little shaky. This was a good summary of how close we were to losing out on Miller.

Choice and Happiness

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Suspended in February.

Told Sports Illustrated this summer that the Ducks "owe [Boise] an [butt]-whupping" in return for last year's loss to the Broncos in Eugene.

8 carries, -5 yards.

At least he tried to follow through.

Phil Steele is Going Down

It's kind of you to take a break from the riveting close of the transfer season, but we've had enough soccer talk. It's time to drop the gauntlet.

I've purchased football preview magazines for as long as I can remember, and even kept many of them as mini time-capsules. That is, until I dumped them because the magazine box began to bulge (as did my waist-line) two moves ago. I think the attraction to these magazines has been a combination of following a terrible baseball team, enjoying prognostication, and light reading. I've purchased nearly every popular, as well as defunct previews without thinking much for any of their differences. There was, however, a magazine that was always more expensive than any other which I would skim before moving on to a cheaper, shinier (shinyer?) more colorful option.

Late this summer, The Herd recommended a football preview magazine as the greatest resource for college football, full of information and a must for college football junkies. I fancy myself as a bit of a college football junkie. I thought I would pay the premium just to see what all the ink was about - it is easily the highest word count for any magazine I've ever seen.

Was it all that it was billed? Phil Steele thinks so. As it turns out, most of the ink is used to talk about how great Phil Steele is. Of the space Phil isn't talking about how great he is, he gives detailed five-year summaries and statistics rather than letting me know who's good and who's bad in 2009. It's great if you love to follow college football ... and haven't done so in years.

With that being said, I'm throwing down the gauntlet! I'm picking the final standings of every conference that matters (that excludes the Big East). If I win, I'm asking for my money back. If I lose, I'll buy the magazine next year. Although I might ask Phil for the CliffsNotes version.

SEC East
1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Tennessee
4. South Carolina
5. Vanderbilt
6. Kentucky

SEC West
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Mississippi
4. Auburn
5. Arkansas
6. Mississippi St.

SEC Champion: Florida

Big 12 South
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Oklahoma State
4. Texas Tech
5. Baylor
6. Texas A&M

Big 12 North
1. Colorado
2. Nebraska
3. Kansas State
4. Missouri
5. Iowa State

Big 12 Champion: Texas

Big 10
1. Ohio State
2. Penn St.
3. Iowa
4. Wisconsin
5. Illinois
6. Michigan State
7. Michigan
8. Northwestern
9. Minnesota
10. Indiana
11. Purdue

Pac 10
1. USC
2. Cal
3. Oregon St.
4. UCLA
5. Arizona
6. Oregon
7. Stanford
8. Arizona St.
9. Washington
10. Washington St.

ACC Atlantic
1. Clemson
2. Boston College
3. Florida State
4. Wake Forest
5. NC St
6. Maryland

ACC Coastal
1. Georgia Tech
2. Virginia Tech
3. North Carolina
4. Miami
5. Virginia
6. Duke

ACC Champion: Clemson

MWC
1. BYU
2. TCU
3. Utah
4. Air Force
5. Wyoming
6. New Mexico
7. UNLV
8. San Siego St

National Champion: Florida over Texas
Heisman: Tebow

Is there a merit badge for this?

Public Outrage?

Bill James, the famous baseball stat geek, has written an interesting piece on steroids. I had thought the public perception of steroid users would be based on their likeablility - much like the difference in treatment between Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds.
James, however, beleives the public outcry will continue to deminish based on mainstream acceptance of the drug. He goes so far as to say the future of geriatric medicine is steroids of some form, and that the science of PED's will allow people to live Moses-like life spans.
A 1,000 year life is ridiculous, but steroids and hormone tweeking have been mainstays in gyms and Hollywood, and it may be a matter of time before there is an explosion of hormone pills and steroid supplements marketed to the mainstream public through shady infomercials.

Confederations Cup 09

Starting tomorrow, South Africa plays host to a handful of select international teams in order to gauge their preparation for the World Cup. There has been concern throughout the process that the infrastructure, widespread crime, and a delay in the construction of match venues threatened South Africa's bid to host the world's greatest party in 2010. There are at least enough stadiums for the Confederations Cup as it is slated for a go.

This is but a taste of the World Cup buzz. It's a two week tournament featuring 8 teams, each invited after winning a "continental" tournament. The major countries include Spain who won the Euros, Brazil, the United States, and Italy who are reigning World Cup champions. Sadly, the United States will get trounced by fellow Group B teams Italy and Brazil.

My predicted final:

They play to a Samba beat, and don't answer to surnames (or forenames for that matter). The nicknamed players to watch include Madrid-bound Kaka, an almost-as-rich Robinho, and soon-to-leave Pato. Without World Cup stars Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Juan Carlos, which Brazilian league player will burst onto the world scene? Brazil is stocking leagues around the world with talent, not to mention other national teams, so this should be a great tournament, and my first look at many of their players. What is your nickname?


I'm looking forward to Spain continuing their technical and creative play following a domination of Euro 2008. While Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Torres and David Villa are players to watch, the entire roster plays regularly for top teams in Europe. The only question remaining is whether they can out-play Brazil, who unfortunately were not invited to the European tournament due to geography biased organizers.

The Scowl

What's that on Kobe's face?

The latest Simmons podcast included a discussion on Kobe and his crazy-competitive, forced face which made its debut in this year's playoffs. I have a few thoughts on this.

First, so long as you don't have a massive under bite, it's hard to maintain. I tried to make the above face in the mirror in an effort to look like I was doing everything in my power to win an NBA Championship. It turns out that sustaining that pose was harder than I thought and it looked completely ridiculous. This is why I think the scowl was a spontaneous thing, he couldn't have practiced in front of the mirror. It's not all bad, though. The face may help perform a post-flight inner-ear decompression.

Second, if this happens to be the "I'm not going to lose" face, then why didn't he use it last year?

Third, I couldn't help but think of the little snarl dog - not intimidating at all.

Instead of doing the scowl, I think he should imitate these on-court antics:

Gang-sign flashing

The "I'm not with Sasha" pose

The Huffin' Puffin' Muffin Top

Tonight my church ball team played in the San Diego LDS regional basketball tournament; we were playing in what would be the Elite Eight, but in this case the descriptor is questionable. We actually do have a good team, and so far we've been cruising through the playoffs.

Tonight's game was different. We played a team from Carlsbad that had some unsuspecting talent. Think of your average Mormon white guy: 5 foot 10, slightly pale, slightly bald, slightly overweight, and slightly realizing he's not in his prime anymore. These guys were in their prime though, or at least their outside game was. They must have made 70% of their threes, and they shot about 400 of them. They ended up beating us 92-77, which is a lot for a church game, especially considering we only play four 8-minute quarters. Our team played good, but they played better. They had real uniforms (complete with name and number), a real coach (complete with generic college coaching polo--as if), and a full-court press that took us out of our rhythm.

But something quietly monumental happened to me tonight: I got schooled by guys I used to be able to hang with. I got consistently beat off the dribble, turned the ball over three times against the press, and didn't score until two seconds left in the first half. It was humbling. In my church ball career, I've always been on the other side of the ball--breaking off instead of getting broke off. I wasn't sure then, nor am I now of how I should handle this. I keep asking myself if I'm past my prime, if it was my technique or just their talent, if I can I overcome this or is it all down hill from here?

After giving it too little thought, I've come to the following premature conclusion: I wish we would have won the game, but I'm glad I got schooled. You need games like this every once in a while to remind you not that you're human, but that you're fat and old. Sure, it's a little depressing to realize that one is aged and "girthy", but it definitely makes you a better player in the long run. Right now I'm sitting here blitzkrieging my game, looking for ways to prevent nights like this in the future, hoping I'll be better for it.

Now if you'll excuse me, Murder She Wrote is about to start, and I haven't even warmed up my milk yet.

Retraction

On Saturday, March 21st we reported that the Arizona Wildcats proved that they deserved to be in the Tournament by beating the Runnin' Utes. It was brought to our attention, by Louisville's 103-64 trouncing of Arizona, that Arizona was given a berth by reflex and didn't actually deserve to be there. We regret this mistake.

Reduked to nothing

You hate Duke.

And if you're thinking, "No I don't", then you're lying. Or at least part of you is lying. All of us have held a deeply embedded hatred for the Bluedevils at one time or another. Why? To us, they are the real-life equivalent of the Socs, the silver-spooned rivals of the Greasers. Remember how much you hated that preppy team from the Sandlot? The one that even Scotty Smalls took deep? Yeah yeah, I thought you did--that's Duke. When we think of Duke, players like Shane Battier, J.J. Redick, Grant Hill, and Bobby Hurley come to mind. Piano playing trust fund babies who just happened to be ballers; hence, they went to Duke instead of Harvard.

See? You hate Duke.

The question is, should you and I even care that Duke is fading faster than Kevin Costner's English accent in Robin Hood? The answer is, Yes. College basketball is obviously a cut-throat business mired with slithering agents, ankle-dangling sponsors, and two-faced coaches. Natural selection has brought with it the end of many successful programs--do you really think Indiana fired Bob Knight because of his temper?

So why should we care? One simple word: Krzyzewski.

See, while you and I hate Duke, we love Coach K. We love his quiet, humble nature; we love that his players gradaute (even though we despise them personally); we love that he is the antithesis of his mentor, Bobby Knight; we love that he resurrected TEAM USA; we love that he went to West Point.

He's the very symbol of college basketball. And for all he's done for the game, Coach K is losing his corner of the market as the smart-player's choice for the college game. Younger, hotter coaches like Jay Wright, Jamie Dixon, and Sean Miller are showing that not only can they recruit the Mike Dunleavy Jr.s of the world, they can also get ballers with first-name-prefixes like "La"or "Tre". Outside of Corey Maggette, Coach K hasn't been interested in or able to land top-flight recruits like Tyreke Evans or Hasheem Thabeet. Coach K's bench looks more like a BYU college ward's starting five than what a top 5 program's bench should look like. This didn't matter until the last few years, when every major D-1 school became frantically worried about winning every single year. This Wall Street-esque frenzy brought with it young coaches like Wright, Dixon, and Miller. Suddenly the recruits that Coach K had on lock were presented with multiple options from upstart programs willing to do anything to become perennial winners (outside of the last five years, when was the last time Pitt and Xavier were both good in the same year?).

Now, will Duke come back? Sure. D-1 college hoops is cyclical, so while these newer, hotter programs are on top now, look for the Bluedevils to make a comeback soon. And as sour as that makes me feel, at least it means that Coach K will be on top again too.

Arizona (12) vs. Utah (5)

This is the first time all season that I have actually sat down and watched a basketball game. I figured that with the longest running streak of appearances in the Tourney (25), I should probably show the Wildcats some love. Plus, the Beach Boys always told me: Be true to your school, just like you would to your girl or guy. The Beach Boys, however, didn't say anything about letting your 5-year old son stay up until 10:30 being true to your school with you because I think the Beach Boys knew that any 5-year old would be too tired to function the following day. Where were you on that one Beach Boys? I could have used the heads up.

I was interested to see how my current school (Utah) would stand up against MY school (Arizona).

Arizona came out with a full-court press that Utah didn't know what to do with. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 3-point lead. Utah responded by tying the game at 3, at which point Arizona took over the game and lead by an average of 10 points for the rest of the game. The top scorers in the contest were Nic Wise with 29 points (21 in the second half), and Chase Budinger with 20 points. Jordan Hill dominated the boards with 13 rebounds. Nic Wise also lead the 'Cats with the most turnovers (5). I think at least 3 of his turnovers were made in an attempt to get Utah's center, Luke Nevill, to foul out. Nevill had 4 fouls for the better part of the second half but he never fouled out. Arizona won the game 71-84.

I'm excited that Arizona is moving on to the next round and I'm excited that Wake Forest was upset by the 13th seeded Cleveland State. I think that gives Arizona a good chance of getting into the Sweet 16. I hope they go far. Everyone said they didn't deserve to be in the Tournament but after they way they man-handled Utah last night, I think they've proven otherwise.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Yeah, it's still on there. Don't be afraid.

Sexy People

Please, stop whatever you're doing and visit this site*.

Here are a few samples of what you'll find.

*You may want to put on some adult pampers, or at the very least, line your chair with newspaper.

Yeah, I said it.

I like dancing. It's not that I like to dance. I actually hate to dance. And it's not that I like just any ol' kind of dance either. I'm talking about America's Best Dance Crew. We're talking about a show where guys do back flips six feet in the air. Head spins, barrel rolls, air flairs (it's actually a break-dance fighting move), windmills, and at least two-dozen other moves that I don't know the names of, are all staples on this show.The season finale is this Thursday, March 5th. Quest Crew will be going up against the Beat Freaks to see who the best crew in America is. My vote is for Quest Crew espcially since they busted out some Jazz piano as part of their routine. Check out the hip-hop decathlon on MTV's website to see what I'm talking about. Don't think too much about the "decathlon" in the title, I haven't been able to find 10 of anything. I just attribute that to MTV assuming its audience doesn't know anything. I think the show is starting to outgrow its MTV audience.

After watching for the last two seasons, there is no reason that this show couldn't make it on network TV. I wouldn't mind seeing it replace American Idol.

John Albert Elway Jr.

I never liked John Elway back in the day. I can't say there was ever anything that John Elway did that caused my hard feelings for him. In fact, I can't even say that I remember seeing John Elway play. There is a faint memory of the Broncos beating the Cowboys back when I was a Dallas Fair-Weather fan, and being upset about that. But I'm not even 100% sure that ever happened. Maybe that was my way of justifying my disdain for him.

Or maybe it was the Church Ball Coach that would take me out of the game and say "You never make that pass! Unless you're John Elway, don't even try it!" Apparantly this guy wasn't a fan of full-court passes.

Or maybe it was getting beat every day at recess in 5th grade by the team with the 6th grader for a quarterback. Of course the kid's name was John, so you can imagine what everyone called him. "He throws like John Elway!" all the kids at school would say. He always wanted to use the Junior Size football that only three kids could catch. I started to dread recess because I knew we were headed for a beating. Eventually we had to stop playing because someone broke an arm. I did miss being able to play football at recess but I didn't miss playing against John.

I don't know why, but I never outgrew my dislike for John Elway, the man I knew nothing about. He was the Ben Roethlisberger of his day: he didn't look, talk, or act like someone who was good at football. He was retired by the time I started really caring about football so I never learned anything about him. I should have given him a second chance.

I am here today to say that John Elway is a hero and there are few, if any, pros that I respect more. I was checking out ESPN.com the other day and I came across an article by Rick Reilly titled Hey, pro, don't want to be a role model? It's not your choice. In the article he tells of a boy, Jake, who loses his father, and with that, his will to exist. Jake and his father were simple guys who loved the Broncos. When his father died, Jake didn't care about anything. Reilly surprised Jake by taking him to Elway's restaurant where they ran into the owner himself. Not all the details are clear about how much of the day was arranged by Reilly, but by the end of the day Elway kept surprising all of them. John Elway was a super hero to Jake. All it took was one day of kindness from an icon to bring a boy back to life.

Thank you, John Elway, for caring about the people who care about you. I think as kids we would all love to be friends with our favorite pros. As we grow older we start to think that all pros spend all their free time in gentlemen's clubs and shoot themselves in the leg for fun. I think there are a lot of good guys out there and I don't think our media gives them enough credit. On the other hand, giving the good guys credit makes it hard to keep hating them. A few more examples:

Santonio Holmes: shut down the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history and shattered the dream of Cardinal's fans everywhere. So what does he do after the game? Goes back to the hotel with his kids and goes to bed! He didn't commit any crimes, or humiliate himself on the national stage. How am I supposed to feel about the guy now?

Pete Carrol: the thorn in the side of every other Pac-10 team. This guy steals our recruits, beats us during homecoming, and is condecending every time he talks about Tucson. You know what else he does? Spends his evenings and weekends with inner city kids trying to teach them that there is more to life than what they learn on the street. He figures if he's going to take a job in L.A. he might as well try to do some good while he's there.

It really tears a guy like me apart.

Too little credit is given to franchise owners who are good for the game. I seem to have developed a frustration toward owners who make decisions as if a sports team is a for-profit business. If you are interested in making money, buy some car washes. There is something pure about athletics that is cheapened when moves are made for money reasons.

For all the criticism he Yankees and Red Sox get for out-spending other baseball teams, you can't say they are not in it to win it. They and others may be judicial in their spending, but they do not make moves to "salary dump." The trading deadline this year valued expiring contracts, and trading for cash in a way that just didn't sit well with me. How can you demand a fan to emotionally invest in a team when it is obvious they aren't doing everything possible to win?

Stern was recently asked which of all the NBA owners in his tenure as commissioner was his favorite. One of those he mentioned was Larry Miller of the Jazz. He cited reasons including the success he brought to the team in the smallest media market, and establishing an environment where a coach could lead a team for 20 years...in the NBA of all leagues They held on to stars like Stockton and Malone, and now have Deron and Boozer. I admit to not being the biggest Jazz fan, but I became a fan of Miller's a few years ago. My most vivid memory of him was a report given by a Sager type before a playoff game in Salt Lake City. He reported that the Jazz owner would not be in attendance. That sounded crazy to skip a home playoff game. What could be more important? It turns out it was because the game was on Sunday, and he wasn't there for religious reasons. That was really cool. This is a must read

I don't know much about Miller, but all the articles since his passing have highlighted his contributions to the community as much as his business success. The NBA lost a great owner, and the community of Salt Lake city lost a good citizen.

Just like your home town, mine had a Foot Locker that everybody went to for Nike Airs, New Era hats, Starter jackets, and some various cheap shoe cleaning kits. By the time I was in high school, some football players a few years older than me got jobs there. Not only did they work there, they figured out a way to steal hundreds of dollars worth of shoes, hats, and apparel over several months time. One by one, the owner fired the people he thought were stealing the stuff, relying on the testimony of the most experienced employee, a friend of mine. Almost a year had gone by and just about everybody had been fired except my friend, yet stuff was still getting jacked. At that point, the owner knew my friend was the mastermind and fired him.

Flash forward to 2009 and the crumbling Phoenix Suns. One by one, all-star players are getting traded, coaches are getting fired, and rumors are flying faster than Ussain Bolt. There's obviously a problem, but lots of people are leaving and the problem is still there. This is the point where Steve Kerr is the only one left at the Foot Locker, and the owner has to fire him--NOW!
I don't need to explain what the Suns were, and what they are now, but to put it shortly, the Suns have become the sports equivalent of our economy. What once was a never-before-seen offensive statistics bubble, based on a high-risk "7 seconds or less" strategy, is now a bubble burst. Sound familiar?

Two things I don't get: 1) How has nobody mentioned Steve Kerr's sole responsibility in this mess? and 2) How did Steve Kerr get this job?? He's five years away from becoming the next Matt Millen. A likable former player that won multiple titles (because of hall of famer teammates), and was great in the booth. And like Millen, Kerr has no previous front-office experience. Why put someone in charge of a multi-million dollar organization if he's never held a position remotely close to the one he's offered? Maybe I should ask the man to Millen's left.

The worst part about this is that Steve Nash dies a little each time he has to walk the ball up the court . And sooner than you think, he's gonna retire and focus on his MLS interests. Steve Nash deserves a ring, BAD. And because of Steve Kerr (who has four undeserved rings) he probably won't. Let's just hope the Suns ownership isn't as dumb as William Ford; or worse, the owner of my local Foot Locker.

Ode To David Stern

I thought David Stern was partially to blame for the Suns being robbed in the 2005 playoffs by the Spurs (the villains). Stern refused to be reasonable about a silly rule that punished players from stepping foot onto the court during a fight. Stoudemire was suspended and the rest is history. Bad history. I thought the suspension was contrary to the spirit of the rule. I hated Stern.

My thoughts about Stern have changed. He gives insightful, and well reasoned responses to questions during interviews. I appreciate how he crafts answers in a way that masks his motives, yet candidly address difficult subjects unlike his commissioner contemporaries. He has some Bob Costas in him. His insights are always enjoyable, whether I agree with them or not. Speaking of Costas, he is on MLBTV now and was as good as ever when the A-Rod story broke.

I've come to appreciate his impact on the game. Save for the weird basketball and the WNBA, all his ideas have been really good. Ditching the Sideline Retro Jersey. Expanding in Europe and Asia through online presence and pre-season tours. Establishing a minor league in the D-League . This has a lot of promise, especially when the elite high-schoolers stop going to college all together. Making the All-Star weekend "cool." And, lastly, keeping the players union in check.
The challenge on the horizon are the ongoing negotiations to re-up a collective bargaining agreement. Let's hope that goes well.

If he'd only go retro...

I'm Not That Strong a Reader

Billy Mays at his best.

Games

I've been meaning to share these games since Christmas.

The first is a spore game that gets challenging half-way through.
nano war

The other is a fun game for the engineer in all of us.
fantastic contraption

Freshest Move

From a group called Utah Saints

What a Deal

I've been watching tons of t.v. lately and never before have I paid so much attention to commercials and the promises they make - some of which seem too good to be true. A classic case in point is Cash4Gold.com's promise to exchange COLD HARD CASH for my unwanted gold (as if I was a post A-team Mr. T with tons of chains collecting dust).

My first impression a few weeks ago was that sending gold by mail wasn't a good idea. I've always thought sending cash was bad, let alone a bulging white envelope labeled "Cash 4 Gold." They have increased in the amount of air time lately which means it must be working. So I decided to stop mocking the money pit to review the company, and its promises of riches



*COLD HARD CASH - Nope. You receive a mailed check or direct deposit.
*Gold highest value in decades - Yes. While Yahoo finance only let me see the trend since 2002, it doesn't mean selling now would maximize its value.
*Top dollar - Nope. I checked the website to understand the exchange rate for weight and karats and found an interesting disclaimer from the CEO regarding alternative options for those seeking to sell gold:

"Pawnshop: they can offer the option of buying it for resale. This may in certain cases provide the consumer with a higher value for your material.
Local Jeweler: They can buy for resale or trade in for a new item. In certain cases, this may provide consumers with a higher value for the material.
Cash4Gold: Cash4Gold, America's #1 Gold Buyer, buys all gold and other precious metals strictly for its melt value (not resale). This offers a completely anonymous transaction along with a 100% guarantee if not satisfied within 10 days of your
posted invoice."

[Maybe instead of saying "Top Dollar" it should revise its claim to appeal to those who prefer an anonymous transaction for it's melt value rather than the higher value of resale dealers.]

*Safe, Reliable, Insured: Technically, yes. While visiting the company website I read their terms and conditions (something I would not have done several months ago. Lame, I know) which limits their liability to the LEAST of these three sums:
1. The value they appraise the materials to be
2. 1/3 of previously professionally appraised value
3. $100

Which means even if you send the handful of gold bracelets like those shown on the commercial, you are insured up to a maximum of $100. If you do receive the check for your gold, you have 10 days from the date printed on the check to receive a refund. If you opted for the next day COLD HARD CASH option of direct deposit, you forfeit the right to dissatisfied with the amount you received. "This time limitation cannot be waived for any reason." Thanks for playing.

So, the upshot is since you have no idea what value they place on your to be melted gold, and anonymous service makes it hard to follow-up with complaints, it's doubtful the business will deliver the COLD HARD CASH you might expect.

This won't stop me from ... talking ... like ... the ... lady at the 18 second mark, or inserting other random things I could sell from previous marriages like the lady who was obviously reading the TelePrompter at the 35 second mark.