Poor Rocco
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008Rocco knew it. The other competitors knew it. When, Tiger Woods sank that put, rimming it, on the 18th hole of the U.S. Open on Sunday, everyone knew it: Game over. Tiger just won, now it was a formality (of winning 18 more holes and a tie-breaker for good measure.) But, it was over.
What an incredible athlete. What a champion. What a demonstration of mental strength. Don’t bet against Tiger. You’ll lose.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
The NBA’s Culture of Corruption
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008Remember when that NBA referee got nailed for attempting to change the game’s outcome? Back then, I wrote in a post titled Tim Donaghy Did Not Act Alone:
Let me make a few predictions:
- Tim Donaghy did not act alone. It is nearly impossible for one ref to destroy the flow of a game.
- Many big games have been manipulated.
- The NBA is in huge trouble.
When this first happened, I told my husband that this guy was not alone. No. Way. Impossible. That games could be rigged or manipulated by refs didn’t surprise me at all. So many games have seemed intentionally blown by refs that it was just a finally, there’s some proof.
I had always assumed that the conspiracy came from Commissioner David Stern with advice to refs like “keep it close” or “be kind to the home team in the last few minutes”. Wink. Wink. The consistently crappy calls were so infuriating, the players lackadaisically phoning it in so pathetic, I quit watching the NBA even though I love basketball. But there’s no teams today like the old LA Lakers or Detroit Pistons or Boston Celtics or the Bulls before Jordan’s and Pippen’s heads expanded to fill every stadium they entered.
Well, it’s been a year, almost exactly and wonder of wonders Donaghy is saying that he didn’t act alone. This at ESPN:
The letter also details an incident in the 2002 playoffs in which Donaghy alleges that two referees, who were known as NBA “company men,” wanted to extend a series to seven games. “Team 5″ could have wrapped up the series in Game 6 but saw two players foul out, lost the game and ultimately the series.
Donaghy faces 33 months in prison for his part. And of course his felon status will call into question his testimony against anyone else. The rest of the league owners, refs and commissioner David Stern will all deny.
The NBA makes money by playing more games. Everyone knows this. If a series can go to seven games, it’s a benefit to everyone except the people who care about the integrity of the game. I think that ball has been dunked. The NBA has no integrity. Watch it with all the enthusiasm of professional wrestling, the outcomes are as valid.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
Obligatory NBA Finals Post
Thursday, June 5th, 2008
My readers know, but Right Wing News readers, will learn that I love sports generally. To introduce: My favorite spectator sport from home is professional football (Go Lions! Go Texans! The Cowboys suck!). I like going to the park to watch baseball (Go Atlanta–until John Smoltz retires! Go Astros! And, once John retires, go Tigers, again–they traded John with whom I went to High School and I’m still irritated by their short-sightedness and meanness to Johnny).
I watch March Madness and choose whichever Michigan team is in it. And after that, whichever Big Ten team is winning. And after that, any team except the Syracuse Orangemen which is a pretty good bet because Jim Boeheim sucks butt and the Orangemen are always underachievers (except when Carmello Anthony was coaching from the floor).
Back in the day, I used to love the NBA but I believe that Michael Jordan ushered in it’s downfall. As the super selfish superstar, big salary and big ego, until later in his career, Jordan redefined NBA basketball in his image. Basketball only succeeds as a team sport and yet, now, the NBA is filled with scores of individual players who seem inured whether they win or lose. It’s ridiculous. That being said, my husband has been watching the play-offs and of course, I have an opinion. My favorite team, the Pistons, is out. They play with a frustrating hot and coldness that I lay at the feet of the coach. I do like the Rockets and San Antonio. Dallas blows. Dirk Nowitzki is the definition of German socialism on the basketball court. He cracks under pressure, too. Meh.
Since I’m originally from Michigan and spent my High School years in Lansing and played basketball myself (my favorite sport to play), I was a fan of Earvin “Magic” Johnson. His parents lived in the area. His High School, Eastern was a rival team of ours and my brother went to his basketball camp in the summer. I followed Magic through Michigan State and then on into Los Angeles when I became a Lakers fan (except when they played the Pistons). While I respected Larry Bird, I did not like the Celtics.
Here’s my dilemma now: The Lakers and the Celtics start the NBA Finals tonight. I am a traditional Lakers fan. There is only one not-so-minor problem–I loath Kobe Bryant. In fact, I think loath might be too mild for how much that man-child gets on my nerves. He embodies everything I despise about the NBA these days. He’s entitled. He’s selfish. He’s weak-minded. He’s immature. The NBA rewarded him this year with the MVP and every word that has come out of his big, stupid, toothy-grinned mouth since that wicked moment has been utter bullsh*t.
In contrast, I really like Kevin Garnett. He has class. He represents the Celtics tradition well. The Celtics have worked hard with little drama and no scandal. And even though I am not a Celtics fan, just to see Kobe Bryant denied, I will be cheering for them tonight. If there was a way to vote against Kobe and for the Celtics, I would.
So, who do you guys pick to win the series? Does anyone even watch the NBA anymore? Unfortunately, I think the Lakers have a good odds. It makes me almost as sick as considering Obama as the next President. That these yahoos even have a chance…. Well, some years are better than others.
Cross-posted at Right Wing News
Women in sports and the military
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
What sports should be off-limits to a qualified woman?
Glenn Reynolds has been talking about his cousin, the ski jumper and how the International Olympic Committee banned them. And now, small colleges are boosting their enrollment with women’s sports like wrestling and it has nothing to do with Title IX and everything to do with money.
I’m trying to think of a sport where a woman shouldn’t play. That might not mean inclusion on a men’s team, though. Women have significantly less upper body strength (and lower body strength) than men (the average woman) so the fight wouldn’t exactly be fair in a sport like wrestling.
What if a woman is so extraordinary she could succeed on the men’s team? And then does that mean men should be allowed to play on women’s teams? My opinion is still that women shouldn’t be in combat, if only because in hand-to-hand combat and things like trudging through the countryside she’s at such a disadvantage, not to mention that a woman is victimized in brutal ways should she be captured.
It seems to me that it’s possible to recognize the biological differences and go for as much inclusion as possible.
New York Interferes With Manly Behavior
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008Ultimate fighters in New York fight for their right to pulverize one another:
Mr. Serra, a native of Long Island — whose last fight, in Montreal (which he lost and still wears the bloodied eye to prove it), was the most attended Ultimate Fighting event in the company’s history — said that he wants mixed martial arts in New York for one simple reason:
I fought in Canada two weeks ago versus a Canadian. So that big 22,000-people crowd was booing my name. How would you feel about that? It was awful. If I fought the same guy in Madison Square Garden things could’ve been different.
Joining Mr. Serra and another tough guy, Matt Hamill, of Utica, Mr. Epstein opined on the virtues of the new incarnation of Ultimate Fighting and its warriors.
He said things have changed since posters advertising the Ultimate Fighting matches read, “There Are No Rules.”
The early days of Ultimate Fighting featured more of a “freak show and a spectacle,” said Mr. Serra, a former welterweight champion.
But new ownership brought new rules, regulations, extensive drug-testing policies and safety measures that banned extremely dangerous moves and maneuvers, he said.
Mr. Epstein described the fighters as “smart guys, articulate guys, college graduates, helping in their community and making a living in the U.F.C., too.”
To me, it’s just one more way that New York creates a hostile business environment. That state should be doing all it can to promote companies doing business there. Instead, they are riding their moral high horse into the barbed wire fence of no revenue.
Roger Clemens: Typical Baseball Player
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Key word: player. I know a couple women who were baseball groupies. That is, they knew the players and carried on with certain men of certain teams. Two things seem to be par for the course, or is that home run for the field, in baseball: drugs and women.
I know, shocking. Athletes will do anything to get an edge and like living on the edge. It is the rare athlete who doesn’t do those things. It now seems like Roger Clemens wasn’t all that rare.
By the way, the woman pictured at left isn’t the woman he supposedly carried on with since she was 15. The woman pictured is his wife.
Zoo Pictures
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
What the heck! Thought I’d share a good Zoo day with you folks. Oh and one cool Astros picture for good measure.
Babies with their mamas and bodily functions seem to hold everyone’s interest. The elephant is 18 months old and was stomping through the food and trying to get out of the fence to the people. They seem so social.
Even a fearsome beast like a Bengal tiger seems less imposing when in disposed.
The bear responding to our cooing and baby talk, just like a dog. His ears perked up. He turned and watched us as we left and seemed genuinely sad to see us go.
I know, I’m anthropomorphizing, but isn’t that what everyone does at the Zoo?
For the record, the Astros won.
Go Danica Go!
Sunday, April 20th, 2008Does it make me sexist that I’m psyched that a woman won an Indy race?
Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps.
And yet, I wouldn’t feel psyched if Hillary Clinton won the presidency. So, maybe not.
You Need To Laugh
Monday, April 7th, 2008You just do.
My favorite humorous essay of all time comes from David Sedaris. His bit on the Stadium Pal is one of the funniest things I have ever read. And it makes me laugh every single time. You need to laugh. Go read it here.
Good Friday? Great Friday!
Friday, March 21st, 2008I want you all to have a great Good Friday so I’m putting together some interesting links for you to peruse at your leisure. Yes, you’re spoiled rotten, but since you don’t whine and wake me up in the middle of the night, I like you.
First, it’s March Madness. Brendan, brace yourself and don’t be hatin’ (for those who don’t remember, Brendan is my blog husband, yes, he’s married, yes his wife just had baby, yes, he’s a lawyer in Tennessee, yes, he’s my junior by a decade, but in an alternate universe we discuss college basketball, Tolkien, politics, and sci-fi and I ignore his weather babbling), anyway, Brendan, I’m going to the NCAA tournament game tonight–Vanderbilt verses Sienna. I care little about either team, but it will be an experience. And it’s okay to love Pat Summit. It’s okay. If your wife can share, I can share.
Do the Democrats want expensive gas or don’t they? My thought? They want to bitch about high gas prices and also tax gases for supposed environmental reasons (aka increase tax revenues to dole out pork). Yes, it’s contradictory, but who says that they make sense? That’s right, no one.
The Anchoress brings to mind this memory: When I was a toddler, I lived in Detroit on a street where we were the one white family. My best friend was a little black boy my age. We moved out a bit when I got a little older, but went to a church that was half black and half white. My parents were very open about race. My parents liked cards–specifically pinochle, bid whiz, and bridge. We’d go to friends houses all over Detroit, sometimes needing an escort out of the neighborhood after dark. We’d have friends over to our house too. It caused problems once or twice with white neighbors, but my parents didn’t buckle. Well, we had a church fundraiser and the ladies made Raggedy Ann dolls and I remember my mom sewing black Raggedy Ann dolls. It seemed normal to me that a black girl would want a black doll. But the store shelves had white dolls only. My sense of justice found this situation angering. It wasn’t fair for a girl to not have a doll that looks like her. That has changed, as The Anchoress notes, but some racial attitudes still pervade society. She says this (please, please, read her whole post):
Dolls and action figures have changed, of course, but both this incident and the other, at work, made me think of the psychic duality that must be part and parcel of being black in America. You’re not simply a man or a woman, you’re a black man, a black woman, and when people see you it is what they notice first, and then their brains begin to process stereotypes and horror stories or stories of ridicule. And the psychic duality is that your fundamental personhood is being challenged daily, by a thousand little unintended insults – like the lack of a black doll to play with – that you’re supposed to over-look, and by other, more overt and intentional insults (or buffooneries) that you are supposed to transcend, all while maintaining your dignity.
Some might say all of that is not limited to the black experience, that a fat person faces those same snap-judgments and stereotypes, and that is true, but only to a point. A fat person may shed the extra poundage; a black person cannot shed the skin.
There is absolutely nothing simple in the matter of race in America, and I don’t envy any black man or black woman their daily grind
We do have a long way to go with race in America. A long way. It seems to me that the pass given to Obama is because of his skin color. People are afraid to criticize for fear of being perceived as racist, which is, in itself, racist. We have a long ways to go.
Staying with the race theme, Ann Althouse has a video that was made by some marketing firm, but forwarded by a guy in McCain’s camp. She feels it’s incendiary and offensive. What do you think? I think this proves The Anchoress’s point, is what I think.
As an aside, I believe Obama has the Democratic nomination sealed. There is no way the Democrats will go for Hillary now. It will seem racist to deny Obama. And Obama will lose to McCain. It’s done. MaxedOutMama has a complete and thoughtful analysis of the whole thing and believes the same problem afflicts both Hillary’s and Obama’s campaign:
The questions about Obama’s psychological maturity are what he really has to face. He’s relatively young, very inexperienced, and it is reasonable for the voters to care a great deal about his fundamental character. It’s fine to be hopeful and optimistic. We could use a heaping load of that in our leaders. We also need that optimism to be deeply infused and engaged with reality – otherwise it’s just wishful thinking. And yes, some of Obama’s comments about sitting down to talk to certain world leaders do strike me as wishful thinking.A president infected with victimology would be a disaster, and I think that is precisely what is causing Hillary problems.
Now, to something less weighty but revealing nonetheless. Just keep Shelley’s quote in your mind: The eyes bring to seeing what they wish to see. Also, consider this when you contemplating “eye witness” testimony. It’s not all that reliable.
Want to be a blog star? I know I do. Will it happen? Not sure. But here’s some good points. My least favorite point: Don’t expect to make money. Hmph! I want to make money doing this!
Money can buy happiness, but there’s a catch. It’s an important catch.
Hope you all have a great Friday!
