I appreciate soccer more than the average American, but I can't say I follow it very closely. When the World Cup comes around I love it, then my interest fades for another few years. Honestly, the majority of my soccer knowledge comes from my countless hours spent playing FIFA.
But when I see a goal like THIS, it makes me want to pack up my stuff and move to Europe so I can watch more "football" instead of American football.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The NFL Is Ruining Football
So, it's been a few months. This is me making an effort to not be one of those people who thinks it's a great idea to start a blog, write a couple posts, then abandon it -- which turns out to be very easy to do (see: this blog). The ridiculous part is when I look back at all that has happened in the world and in my life since I last published a post*, but the thing that inspired me to get on my computer tonight and rant -- The Shield (better known as the NFL to the uninitiated Clones).
*Me being hired to my first 'real' job, me being laid off from that crappy job (ok yeah im a little bitter, but that job seriously sucked), me being hired again (liking it so far), the 2012 election, Hurricane Sandy, etc...
It's Thursday night, and I have very little interest in the game the NFL decided to 'showcase' - the Jags v the Colts, aside from the fact that I have Rashad Jennings on my fantasy team. The game was going about as well as you would expect it to, but there was one moment that really inspired me to write this post.
It's the end of the first quarter, Colts up 3-0. Andrew luck drops back to pass, is pressured, and tosses up a decent looking ball in spite of throwing off his back foot. Sure enough, it's picked. I'm happy. This means more potential carries going to Jennings. But wait......FLAG. The call = roughing the passer's vagina.
This is going to sound insensitive, but I'm fed up with this player safety bullshit. I know the league can't afford to defend itself against every half-retarded ex-player who files a lawsuit, but all of these whistles are having a tremendous effect on the outcomes of these games. That Andrew Luck pass I mentioned? They of course regained possession of the ball, marched down the field and scored a TD.
Now, I don't have enough time, nor do I care enough to lay down a coherent argument supported with more examples of this, but most people who watch football on Sundays (and Mondays...and Thursdays) realize that these new rules are affecting the game. Personally, I want to see James Harrison take someone's head off. THAT's football. If the receiver disagrees with me, maybe he should have stayed in college long enough to actually graduate and voluntarily pursue a career that does NOT pose any significant health threats. These players know what they signed up for. This is the deal: They get lots of money. We get to watch them display their talents (and get smashed every once in a while). The owners/league reap the rewards -- happy fans buying crap.
But the product the NFL puts on the field now is absolute garbage compared to what it was ten years ago. They are solely focused on making money even if it means compromising the integrity of the sport that was once great. I want defense to matter. I want to see running backs get 25-30 carries a game. I want linebackers to not have to think twice about leveling the QB on a perfectly executed blitz. Wondering - oh shit, am I going to get fined for this? Is my team going to get penalized if I make this great football play?
It's sickening and sad that this is what people think football is now, and even more sickening to think what it will be like ten years further down the road. Who needs pads? By then, the NFL will have strict rules requiring all players to wear team-colored lingerie instead of uniforms in an attempt to "reach that female demographic."
Until something changes...or I just give in, I will focus much more on college football from now on (which I have always preferred anyway, but that damn fantasy football is so addicting!)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The Black Hole That Is: ESPN
Oh ESPN...the network where people like Mark Schlereth and Skip Bayless are considered experts. A network that can never get enough of ________ (take your pick: Lin, Tebow, Manning, Tiger, Lebron, etc.) What is it about this "four-letter" network that somehow keeps me glued to the TV for hours at a time? Anyone who has watched a substantial amount of SportsCenter knows that if you've seen one hour, you've seen an entire day's worth of sports news. Yet, I still sit there watch NFL Live...or is it Primetime? Or wait, NFL 32?? Well, however they want to repackage it is fine with me, as long as I get a few precious seconds of Chiefs coverage somewhere in there.
But lately my views have begun to change. I've discussed this with a co-worker of mine; that we're sick of ESPN dedicating 90% of its airtime to the NFL. I appreciate all sports, and I do my best to keep up with all of my teams, but it's hard when I can't turn on the TV without seeing the latest from the rumor mill featuring Adam Schefter anddddd Adam Schefter. The network puts so much time in to covering the gossip, that I feel like I'm watching an episode of TMZ, not something even football related. This is why I am happy that Jim Rome Is Burning didn't continue on ESPN. Seeing my favorite, west-coast biased sports host in a different format, talking about what "Rome Wants" is very refreshing. Now, normally Rome and "refreshing" aren't mentioned in the same sentence, but this is what the sports world has come to. Yes he can be obnoxious and arrogant, but at least he is a journalist. He has a good variety of interests and topics that he covers, and he asks insightful questions and usually treats his guests with respect*. The format of the new show, "Rome," is exactly the same as "JRIB"...bullets, then guest, then final burn. But it just feels good not watching ESPN for a change.
*except for Jim "Chris" Everett
I'm not renouncing my faith as a dedicated ESPN viewer, but I am so sick of hearing about how "dynamic" Brock Osweiler "could be" that I am ready to vomit. There are a lot of sports cliches spouted on the radio and TV every day, but "dynamic" has to be the one that's used most often, and most of the time incorrectly. I don't even want to begin to start listing some of the others...it will just annoy me.
Point is, I feel like I'm in a quarter-life crisis...after 20-some years, am I finally getting sick enough of ESPN that I will actually spend more time doing other, much more useful things with my days? I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I think there's a real possibility I might pick up a book instead of the remote tomorrow...
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
LA's Back!
Got the news last night while I was at work that Magic's group had agreed to buy the Dodgers from the Devil - I mean - Frank McCourt....for $2 BILLION! I don't remember what he originally bought the team for, but it definitely was not even close to that number. So I guess he won't be broke anymore...that sucks. It made me happy knowing that Frank McCourt was unhappy. I don't usually think that way, but I bet just about everyone in LA would agree with me.
But the beauty of this whole thing is that we don't have to talk about him, see him, or think about him ever again! LA has regained it's soul with the ownership change. Fans are going to be re-energized (I just bought tickets to opening weekend here in SD), as is the team itself. The players will be proud to be Los Angeles Dodgers again, and play better as a result. Ned "the stache" Colleti will hopefully have some money to spend on bringing in some more talent to help the strong core of established players. All of that will trickle down through the rest of the organization.
I spoke with a Dodgers representative in Business Development a couple weeks ago and he told me that the uncertainty that's plagued the organization has been tough, and that deals were not getting done or being tabled. Now that the ownership situation has been settled, we will start to see more deals going through in every capacity; people will no longer hesitate to do business with the club.
It's an exciting time to be a Dodger fan. I'm not saying I expect them to compete for a pennant right away, but it's a relief knowing that the worst times are behind us and the team is headed in the right direction. Good luck to Magic, Stan Kasten, and the rest of the Dodger organization. Now, is there any way to bring Mike Piazza back?
But the beauty of this whole thing is that we don't have to talk about him, see him, or think about him ever again! LA has regained it's soul with the ownership change. Fans are going to be re-energized (I just bought tickets to opening weekend here in SD), as is the team itself. The players will be proud to be Los Angeles Dodgers again, and play better as a result. Ned "the stache" Colleti will hopefully have some money to spend on bringing in some more talent to help the strong core of established players. All of that will trickle down through the rest of the organization.
I spoke with a Dodgers representative in Business Development a couple weeks ago and he told me that the uncertainty that's plagued the organization has been tough, and that deals were not getting done or being tabled. Now that the ownership situation has been settled, we will start to see more deals going through in every capacity; people will no longer hesitate to do business with the club.
It's an exciting time to be a Dodger fan. I'm not saying I expect them to compete for a pennant right away, but it's a relief knowing that the worst times are behind us and the team is headed in the right direction. Good luck to Magic, Stan Kasten, and the rest of the Dodger organization. Now, is there any way to bring Mike Piazza back?
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
In Memory of Sho Funai
So, I started a blog. I have no particular aim or subject that I want to focus on; I simply want to get my thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions out there. Also, being out of school for almost two years now, I have not written to any real extent since graduation, and I can already tell that my writing skills have diminished. My resume does say Journalism and Media Studies as my major, so I suppose I should be a decent writer, and what's a more appropriate form of media right now than a weblog?
I want to start by remembering and thanking one of my very good friend, Sho Funai, who passed away last week (March 11, 2012) at 23 years old. It's hard to describe the myriad of emotions I felt when I heard about Sho's passing. Any time one loses a friend, you are going to feel sadness and maybe anger, but with Sho, it was pure disbelief. I started to flash back on memories from flag football. Myself lined up at QB, with Sho and Russ as the running backs. We were about 8 years old at the time so our playbook basically consisted of pitch right, pitch left, and watch the little guys run. Then I started remembering how when the rest of us were at Lunada Bay Elementary, Sho would travel to the Intermediate school for his math classes. Then countless other great times came across my mind from high school and the trip that Sho, Mark, and I took to Japan when we were in college.
Since those days, Sho and I had been relatively out of touch. We texted back and forth every once in a while about meeting up for drinks, but with him being busy with school and me with work, we just couldn't find a good time. So it wasn't until his funeral service at the Buddhist temple in LA last weekend that I was able to see him again. That was one of the hardest days of my life. Despite the sadness and the mourning though, I got comfort out of everyone's stories and being able to talk to his family. But man, you really got a feel for how much of an impact Sho had already had on the world, and what a shame it is that he is not still here. He was honestly one of the very few people that I have ever met that I truly believe could have changed the world for the better. Come to think of it, he did. I know that having the privilege of calling him my friend has made me an infinitely better person.
Sho Funai is the inspiration behind this blog. I was such a wreck the night I got the call about his death, I just wanted to be alone. The only thing that was making me feel any better was reading his blog, the link to which his friend Aaron had posted on Facebook. Reading that made me feel like I was talking to Sho again, and I took a lot of comfort in that.
I took some time thinking about what I wanted to title my new blog. I knew it was going to be something that reminded me of him, and the one that kept popping into my head was a phrase that I had seen in Japan.
"Be Best. The Sports."
I remember laughing in confusion with Sho and Mark about this. It was written on the side of the plastic cup of beer I bought from the vendor while at my first Japanese baseball game (which was unreal!!). Were they trying to say "Be the Best AT Sports"? Who knows, but this is the kind of thing that Sho loved. Cheap, stupid jokes that most people don't take the time to appreciate. It's the kind of thing that we all loved about Sho - Intellectually superior to everybody but he could laugh with simplest of people. He was the unanimous captain of our high school football team, valedictorian, and master's engineering student. He had every right to boast and brag, but he would never. Instead, he always made an effort to see how YOU were doing.
Not only is Sho the inspiration for me starting this blog, but I am going to think about how he lived his life, and do my best to align my values and practices with his; the purest person I have ever had the honor of knowing.
I want to start by remembering and thanking one of my very good friend, Sho Funai, who passed away last week (March 11, 2012) at 23 years old. It's hard to describe the myriad of emotions I felt when I heard about Sho's passing. Any time one loses a friend, you are going to feel sadness and maybe anger, but with Sho, it was pure disbelief. I started to flash back on memories from flag football. Myself lined up at QB, with Sho and Russ as the running backs. We were about 8 years old at the time so our playbook basically consisted of pitch right, pitch left, and watch the little guys run. Then I started remembering how when the rest of us were at Lunada Bay Elementary, Sho would travel to the Intermediate school for his math classes. Then countless other great times came across my mind from high school and the trip that Sho, Mark, and I took to Japan when we were in college.
Since those days, Sho and I had been relatively out of touch. We texted back and forth every once in a while about meeting up for drinks, but with him being busy with school and me with work, we just couldn't find a good time. So it wasn't until his funeral service at the Buddhist temple in LA last weekend that I was able to see him again. That was one of the hardest days of my life. Despite the sadness and the mourning though, I got comfort out of everyone's stories and being able to talk to his family. But man, you really got a feel for how much of an impact Sho had already had on the world, and what a shame it is that he is not still here. He was honestly one of the very few people that I have ever met that I truly believe could have changed the world for the better. Come to think of it, he did. I know that having the privilege of calling him my friend has made me an infinitely better person.
Sho Funai is the inspiration behind this blog. I was such a wreck the night I got the call about his death, I just wanted to be alone. The only thing that was making me feel any better was reading his blog, the link to which his friend Aaron had posted on Facebook. Reading that made me feel like I was talking to Sho again, and I took a lot of comfort in that.
I took some time thinking about what I wanted to title my new blog. I knew it was going to be something that reminded me of him, and the one that kept popping into my head was a phrase that I had seen in Japan.
"Be Best. The Sports."
I remember laughing in confusion with Sho and Mark about this. It was written on the side of the plastic cup of beer I bought from the vendor while at my first Japanese baseball game (which was unreal!!). Were they trying to say "Be the Best AT Sports"? Who knows, but this is the kind of thing that Sho loved. Cheap, stupid jokes that most people don't take the time to appreciate. It's the kind of thing that we all loved about Sho - Intellectually superior to everybody but he could laugh with simplest of people. He was the unanimous captain of our high school football team, valedictorian, and master's engineering student. He had every right to boast and brag, but he would never. Instead, he always made an effort to see how YOU were doing.
Not only is Sho the inspiration for me starting this blog, but I am going to think about how he lived his life, and do my best to align my values and practices with his; the purest person I have ever had the honor of knowing.
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