The Age Old Question

Is this country ready for an African-American president? We have come a long way since the Civil Rights Movement and nowadays it is somewhat comical to think whites, in general are better than blacks at sports. Sports aside though, Obama just appears to have that swagger that it takes to lead this country. I have admitted that my knowledge on politics is not great but I know a strong personality. I have always been one to never choose a party affiliation and just vote for the better candidate. In '04, I thought Kerry was the better candidate. The point is this, I am getting the sense that the electoral process will not come down to color but merely the question as to who is better suited to run this country. My answer is Obama and all I know is that it will be a "November to Remember."

Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea

So before I start my rant about Chelsea's come from behind victory over Arsenal, I would like to apologize for my week of fun in the sun and thus the reason behind my absence. Chelsea fell down 1-0(nill) to Arsenal with about 30 minutes left to play. Chelsea and Arsenal both had endured each other's best shot early on and it was the Gunners who took the initial lead. Avram Grant then made 2 subs: Anelka and Belletti. Although I would argue that he might should have considered leaving on Ballack as he has been good as of late, I don't mind either of them b/c they were in desperate need of attack. After chanting "Jose Mourninho", the crowd then inserted their foot into their mouths as both substitutes were figures in the game winning goal. Didier Drogba showed that is hands down the best striker in the world and I might argue as one of the best players in the world. His play was none the less spectacular as he scored both Chelsea goals as only a pure finisher would do. My message is this: Give Grant a chance! We are still in contention for the league title and the Champions League. I would gladly take either one, if not, both than the FA and Carling Cups, respectively. Blues, we simply live to fight another day.....   

Don't Hate

I have stated before that I am a soccer fanatic. I hate it when all these sports personalities bash it and say that it is not a "real man's sport," like Mark Schlereth suggested one day while hosting Jim Rome's show. My only comeback to that is the reason you were so good is because you have been praised since you were little on how overweight you were, Congrats by the way!...not to mention being an expert at the cut block. The only problem with this country is that we think that we are better than everyone and rather not embrace the world's game, we berate it. Soccer combines fitness, strength, and raw skill to excel at it. In my bias opinion, it is the ultimate sport in combining the three along with intelligence. America prides themselves in being big. Soccer does not require one to be 6'3, 210 lbs. to be good at it. Honestly how many people can run a 4.4 40 yd. dash, 6'5 and weight 220? Those are few and far between. I hate all these people that say soccer sucks. Those that do have never set foot on a soccer field and probably could not play even if they tried to. You think that anyone outside the United States cares about the upcoming NFL Draft? No! They are talking about the next draw in the Champions League. GO BLUES! Soccer is not only the world's game but rather the game's world!

Tourney Time!

As the NCAA Men's basketball tournament looms ahead in the coming days. Another type of tournament is upon us, conference tournaments. While they do get some hype, I have always enjoyed watching them and will be constantly checking in on the Big East tourney tomorrow. What you have to like about conference tourneys is that it is a chance for redemption for the teams that have slept walk through their regular season. 

I can remember off hand two instances in the past few years alone, both occurring in the Big East tourney. Three years ago, WVU had to have a good run in New York to get into the tourney. They ended up getting all the way to the final. After that run assured them a spot in the tourney, they made their performance stand up by upsetting Wake Forest, actually the Chris Paul led Wake team, in the second round. From what I remember they came pretty close to making the Final Four that year. Another testament to the greatness of the conference tourneys needs only one name: Jerry McNamara. One could not forget the Herculean performance he put up two years ago in the tourney when his team would have not even made the NCAA tourney with out atleast an appearance in the Big East tourney final. Needless to say, McNamara single handily carried the Orange to the title and won MVP honors. In Sports Illustrated that same week, he had been named the most over-rated player in the Big East. I'll never forget him holding up a shirt after claiming MVP honors stating, "OVER-RATED?." thus giving them the proverbial middle finger. 

I can wait 'til selection Sunday and the Big Dance to eventually come b/c I enjoy watching the conference tourneys b/c I like seeing the underachievers in each conference play their guts to get the chance to attend the dance... 

Finally Someone is Speaking the Truth

*want to apologize to Catsam and Bob Ryan but after reading your blogs today, they hit home for me.

I thought that I was alone in this world, really. For the last 4 years I have said that Brett Favre was a good not great quarterback and finally at least two people see it my way: Derek Catsam and Bob Ryan. I have harped it for years that Favre is not among the greats. Despite the fact that he does hold every record possible for a qb to attain, he's still not considered as a great for one reason, and yes that was a pun. The pun in which I refer to is the one SuperBowl that he won. Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson also won one SuperBowl. While a comparison between Favre and the two mentioned would be deemed blasphemous in the football world, it is relevant because it is true. I state my case in the fact that in the games in which Favre, Johnson, and Dilfer won, a non-offensive player was ordained MVP. In Favre's case, a man who's most famous moment was misconstruing the Heisman pose in one Desmond Howard. I'm not saying that one must attain a SuperBowl and win MVP honors to be great but it sure would help his cause. The major knock on Marino is that he never won a SuperBowl but one must keep in mind that during his era, he faced three of the five dynasties in pro football: Steelers, Niners, and Cowboys. For this fact, I can not hold him responsible for this as some will argue that he was in fact the greatest passer. As for his iron man streak, it is and always will be very impressive. I can only debunk that by just saying that he is just very lucky to never have sustained any serious injury plain and simple. Packer fans are similar in that they will be bias when it comes to the discussion as to who is the best qb just as Cowboy fans will be. According to Bob Ryan, he says that Favre isn't even the best qb in his team's history but that's neither here or there. Cheese heads will claim that the man who walks on water and gargles peanut butter(Favre) is. Cowboy fans will also make the assertion that Emmitt Smith is the best running back. Any real football fan would not put him in the top 5 rb's in the history. To any football fan Jim Brown was undoubtedly the best at the position. I find it hard to consider Favre as a top 5 qb. During the years in which he played, I would make the argument that he was not even one of the top 5 qbs, let alone top 3. While the records are great and look good to the naive fan, I, along with others view them as yea but...

The Fear of the Hurricane, Restored!

My heart will always lie with the Miami Hurricanes in the domain of college football. Unfortunately for me they have fallen on hard times as they have had 3 sub-par seasons, tipified by not making a bowl game last year and not being ranked all year. Kyle Wright let me down in his tenure at the U. He would have his moments of brilliance and they he would make decisions that make you want to pull your hair out. You could see it in him but he never believed in himself to do it. I was never sold on Kirby Freeman from the time that I saw him play in high school. I knew that he could never succeed in the pro style offense. It is better for him to be under Art Bryles' offense at Baylor that incorporates a sort of spread option mixed in with pass. This years recruiting class gives all of us hope, #1. The U's season will hinge though on one Robert Marve. Last year's Mr. Football in the state of Florida red-shirted last year and watched Wright and Freeman lead them to a 6-6 record. The second thing they must correct is that o-line. In today's Eye on the U, it tells us that Marve performed very well. Hopefully he can keep this momentum going into the season. My prediction for this year is 10-2 and a BCS birth! Optimistic? Very much so.....

Obsession? I call it that

Entourage. I am an addicted watcher of the show and always find myself watching a re-run when it comes on tv. I am not going to make the statement saying that Entourage is the best show in t.v., but I will make the claim that it is the coolest on television. It's writing incorporating it's character's with modern day Hollywood is almost flawless. On many episodes, some actor will simply show up on the show and play themselves. The show has even sparked the debate as to whether they will actually make a movie based on the Ramones. 

The characters though are what really make the show. With the exception of Ari Gold, played by Jeremy Piven, all the other actors will never be able to escape their characters they play on the show. The only reason Jeremy Piven will be able to shed his Ari Gold skin is b/c he is the most established actor on the show but it was not until Entourage that I would argue that anyone actually knew his real name. Despite that, you will still be able to see Ari in every other character in which Jeremy Piven plays. Adrian Grenier will always be known as Vincent Chase. If you watch the show, you will see Adrian Grenier in a movie from now on say to yourself, "Hey! It's Vince!" Kevin Connlley will always be Eric and have little man syndrome. Jerry Ferrara will always be Turtle no matter how many different roles that he plays. Kevin Dillon will undoubtably always be Johnny Drama. I personally think that Drama is the best character on the show. The many pickles he gets himself into along with trying to land a job, absolutely priceless...

All this leads speculation as to what will happen next season. With Medellion tanking at the Cannes Film Festival so badly that Harvey bought it for $1, what will become of them? Vince put his whole career on the line for this movie and last season ended looking like he will be lucky to land the next Larry the Cable Guy project. Surely Vince will rebound. He does have another project coming up but it's director is Walsh, who directed Medellion. I have a funny feeling that Medellion will get a fantasy Oscar nom but that is just an inclination. All that I know is that I am counting the days and watching every re-run possible until season 5 debuts...

Spring Baseball

As I was finishing up a bibliography earlier, I noticed a very disturbing image on my tv. It was the image of Mike Lowell dancing in the Sox version of Dancing with the Stars. All this begs the question as to the real meaning of Spring Training. Now while I would love to go to Florida or Arizona to watch Spring Training, I ask the question what the overall use for it is. I mean guys are being paid millions to show up in shape and ready to play nine innings that day, or so one would think. They always say that it is to get guys in shape, thats garbage b/c as mentioned before I would expect them to show up ready to play. Now a days it seems as if its just an excuse to get the team together, get some work in for about 2 hours a day followed by a round of golf and drinks later that night. Don't get me wrong, if I could trade places with these guys I'd do it in a heartbeat. For me, Spring Training has always been welcomed by me b/c it gets me in the mood for baseball, there isn't too much on ESPN now but around July, I even get tired of the highlights of baseball games. I understand how there is hype now and rightfully so. Everyone is dying to see how Santana will be in the NL. While many are ready to hand him the Cy Young, I would not be so certain on that. Peavy, Hammels and Webb are all damn good and could easily out pitch him this year. I'll state it now, here are my predictions for the season:

AL MVP: A-Rod

NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez(yes I can name a player from the Marlins and he is on my fantasy team)

AL Cy Young: Josh Beckett

NL Cy Young: Cole Hammels

Surprise Teams: Dodgers in the NL and Twins in the NL

Players to keep an eye on: Fransisco Liriano and Kerry Wood; if they can make a comeback, they will be a force to be reckoned with, especially Liriano!

World Series Matchup: Tigers vs. D-Backs