Sunday, July 11, 2010

Selfish a Good Quality for Soccer Stars?



Cristiano Ronaldo. Wayne Rooney. Lionel Messi. Fernando Torres. Didier Drogba. Kaka. No argument, they are the best strikers on this planet. Everyone expected them to be huge in the World Cup. Nike "Write the Future" ads highlighted Ronaldo and Rooney (as well as Ronaldinh who didn't even play). Adidas ads highlighted most of the athletes listed above as they competed with Nike for soccer revenue. So, everyone expected the Portuguese to be praising Ronaldo's statue and Rooney to head back to England a winner and beat Roger Federer in ping-pong when it was all said and done. How many goals did these scoring machines produce? One. One single, measly goal. Ronaldo scored a joke of a goal against a pitiful North Korea team, although it was fun to watch. It was the fifth goal in a seven goal blowout, better yet, annihilation.

Why did the stars struggle on soccer's biggest stage? The answer may lie in the words of controversial, Argentinian coach Diego Maradona, which is a first. According to Maradona, the game has changed from its 'golden years' when players like him (because to him, he is god) passed less and relied more on their true talent to score goals. To him, the game has evolved more into a team sport where key players pass up scoring opportunities for passing opportunities. He says that this is what plagued his key player, Lionel Messi, after his futile effort in the World Cup.

I actually agree with him. Where passing is fundamental and finding open players is vital, these players were placed on the team to do one thing: make amazing plays that lead to goals. That is what they do for their respective club teams, and I believe that should hold true for their national teams as well. Other players picked up on this fact. Thomas Mueller (5 goals) for Germany, Diego Forlan (5 goals) for Uruguay, and Landon Donovan (3 goals) for our great country were all in the same positions. Landon Donovan showed the best example of this. With his team down 2-0 to Slovenia in the group stage, Landon Donovan had the ball one-on-one with the goalkeeper at an improbable angle. He had a clear chance to pass, but, acknowledging that he needed to bring his team back, he rocketed an extremely accurate upper-decker blast that even surprised the Slovenian goalkeeper as he somewhat cowered down. Boy, it was a moment that made the 'beautiful game' look even more stunning.

So, stars of the soccer world. It's nice to pass and all of that stuff, but I play FIFA '10 on my Xbox, and you guys can do some pretty amazing things. So, just do it as Nike says.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

NCAA revoking Rammer Jammer?



So, I was going to show you the link, but it appears to have been deleted over the past couple of days. Another article says the statement is completely false. Who to believe? I believe it to be a rumor, nothing more; it is an intriguing statement nevertheless.

The article proclaimed that a top NCAA official and ESPN analyst (both of which I can not find names for because the column was deleted) were making legislation to try to ban the Alabama chant 'Rammer Jammer' and, if violated, fifteen penalty yards per offense.

This is the (excuse my lack of grammar out of pure bewilderment from reading this article) stupidest thing that I have ever heard.

...From experience of multiple games and, as of this year, the ferocity of the student section. Rammer Jammer is at least gone through three to five times depending on the gravity of the game. So, assuming my math is correct, will the NCAA penalize Bama 45 to 75 yards at the start of the next game? Most teams-I want to say six-already have an advantage with the bye week before playing Alabama. Assuming we win, they will also have over a half a football field advantage.

A write up, by Cameron Shiflett, thankfully summed up some of the original article's main points. Here are a couple:

1. Rammer Jammer and Cheers Like It Hurt the Feelings of Other Teams.

I hope that most of the teams Alabama play against are not hormonal seventh grade girls. Now, Nick Saban has been known to make grown men cry (example Dolphins Manuel Wright), and I think his use of wordage was a bit more intimidating. The only time I have seen a player emotionally distressed while playing Alabama would be Tebow. That was a pretty iconic Alabama image. Ole Miss and LSU basically scream go to hell to each other for four quarters, and the NCAA wants to penalize us for a chant we do within the last couple of seconds/postgame.

2. These cheers are obnoxious.

Obnoxious football traditions other than ours (Top 3)
1.Mississippi State cowbells
2.Gator chomp
3.98% of LSU fans attire and attitude

I guess to opposing players and fans it could be seen as obnoxious, but tradition is tradition anywhere you go. Taking it out will dampen college football in general.

3. The students need to be held to the same level of accountability as the players.

There is absolutely no way you can monitor this. In a stadium, with the new expansion, that seats 100,000 plus, how are you to tell that it's only the students with at least 80,000 non-students in the stands. What if the opposing team wants to yell Rammer Jammer? LSU and especially Auburn (in which the crowd is more even) would jump all over that opportunity. Unless we want NCAA officials lining the stairs, it is impossible to monitor who is breaking this rule.

4. The SEC officials have enough problems keeping up with the regulations they are supposed to call.

I agree with the columnist here. "This one is actually my argument. I think it explains itself if you haven't been living under a rock during football season."

I do not think that this is true, but it is definitely an interesting blog subject. Roll Tide!

Monday, July 5, 2010

The Drama Filled Romantic Comedy That Is NBA Free Agency


Hello all. I'm sorry for the length between posts, but a much needed vacation without internet service just would not let me post. With that being said...

Forget the summer blockbusters. The prices are outrageous as well as the refreshments. Just grab a candy bar, a can of Coke, snuggle up in your Snuggie, and switch over to ESPN. There you will find all of the action-packed, drama-filled, love-triangular, gut-busting, science-fictional (if you consider a certain someone's talent), cliff hangers that no movie can match. It is the NBA free agency, and, as of this year, it is the hottest item on the market.

Who can doubt it? Lebron James as a leading man who's trying to find himself and secure his future through courting or playing a wide field of women (NBA teams). Sidekicks Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are close friends of Lebron, and, although their paths may differ from Lebron, they plan to stick together through the thick and thin. Then, there are the many women who are looking for a multitude of things within the leading men. Some need a savior. Some want the past. Some just want commitment.

Seriously, the whole ordeal can be described as laughable. Lebron is one of the best athletes of all time, but it is ridiculous the measures some of these teams are taking to secure him. Cleveland developed a ten minute Family Guy episode (Lebron's favorite show) portraying him and his friends in the cartoon world. The Bulls, pathetically and redundantly, keep sizing him up to Michael Jordan. Examples including giving Lebron a pair of original Air Jordans and asking if he could fill the shoes and showing Lebron empty boxes of championship rings. The Knicks (congratulations on gaining Amare) and the Nets have been cat-fighting over the issue while the Clippers hang miserably in the midst as the huge, and I mean huge, underdog.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are another story. They are not just part of the drama. They are making a documentary about the drama. I have a lot of respect for Dwyane Wade (I feel neutral about Bosh), but I am losing more and more respect as the days pass. To begin with, Wade was almost certain and let it be known that he would most likely stay in Miami. As time has passed, he's fallen more and more into the unknown. To me, all of this drama may be just for the documentary's sake. I hope not. That would be disgraceful. Makes good television though.

Anyways, just check out the sequel. Coming to a TV set near you hopefully by the end of the week.