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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

A week away ...

I haven't posted a new blog in a few days. I had 2 brand new ones to post a week ago yesterday. However due to the tragedy at Virginia Tech, I failed to post them.

As most Americans, I sat last week in disbelief. I sat in silence. I sat in mourning of 32 people I have never met.

I have lived in Virginia for almost 5 years now. I know a few people who go to Tech. I have been to Tech for a few football games. Though I directly have no ties with the University; only a mere t shirt I wore to the Tech/Miami game 2 seasons ago.

However, as an "educator" and as a father I watched the events unfold on my laptop as well as on my television. Is this the world that my 18 month old daughter Briley will have to grow up in? Will I nervously remember Virginia Tech and Columbine every day as I kiss her goodbye? Or will that day be the last that I see Lindsay, as we both work in public schools.

As I tried to keep pace with any new information that was coming out of Blacksburg something arose out of the ashes of the deadliest school shooting in American History. Something that defined us as a country. Something that proved to the world once and for all, why the United States of America can not and will never be broken.

What arose from the ashes like the mighty Phoenix ... Hope.

When your world is falling apart. When the very foundation your life sits upon begins to crumble and the ground you are standing upon begins to break away; all you have is hope.

32 lives were senselessly taken away. No one can truly speculate why. The most brilliant of psychologist cannot explain why a student would go on this rampage.
And no one will ever truly know the toll this will take on each individual family affected, even the family of the shooter.

But there is hope.

On Friday April 20, 2007, on the 8th Anniversary of the Columbine shootings, these United States of America once again would rise to the occasion. In a show of support from California to Maine, people everywhere were Hokies. In an act that will go down in American History, business men put their 3 piece suits in the closet instead choosing maroon and orange, teachers put away their ties instead choosing maroon and orange, and college students everywhere put away their school colors instead choosing maroon and orange. On that day we were one. We were united. We were Virginia Tech.

April 21 was to be a great day on the Blacksburg campus. As football fans would get their first glimpse of the 2007-2008 Hokie football team. However, Head Football Coach Frank Beamer cancelled the scrimmage saying that athletics is the last thing on his mind as well as the students minds. Though in an emotional showing of compassion, the Hokie Nation found itself in State College,PA., about 500 miles away from it's Blacksburg home. Instead of lighting up the stands of Lane Stadium in a brilliant array of maroon and orange, Beaver Stadium became the canvas for this masterpiece.

In a tribute that many sports fans will forever hold dear, the Penn State student section were in full "maroon effect." A university that proudly supports it's Nitany Lions wearing Blue and white, created a moment that would make anyone proud to be a fan of collegiate sports.



Will I get back to my snide comments about the Yankees? Yes

Will I second guess every move my Washington Redskins make? Yes

Will I continue to support Barry Bonds? Yes

Will I continue to predict the Pirates as a contender? Yes

Will I ever forget the compassion shown throughout this country toward Virginia Tech? Never

Famed poet and Tech Professor, Nikki Giovanni said it best,

"We are Virginia Tech.

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again.

We are Virginia Tech.

We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy.

We are Virginia Tech.

The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.

We are the Hokies.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We will prevail.

We are Virginia Tech."

To this day, I am still not totally sure what a Hokie really is but nevertheless,

LET'S GO HOKIES!


You stay classy Sportsblender,

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

3 MORE YEARS .....

Tuesday Texas "frosh phenom" Kevin Durant declared that he was going to forgo his final 3 years of college and enter the NBA draft. This announcement was as stunning a revelation as the fact that Howard K. Stern is not Anna Nicole's "baby daddy." However, the status of Ohio State big man Greg Oden is not as clear. NBA Execs are foaming at the mouth at these 2 "future franchises." Many will never admit it but some teams appear to be tanking just, in hopes that their ping pong ball will be either pick #1 or pick #2. Players like Boston's Paul Pierce is now out for the remainder of the season with an elbow problem, uhhhh right. Other players from teams not located in Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, Detroit and Miami may want to consider feeding their players recalled Peanut Butter as well as have them on asbestos duty around their arena.





However teams may have to play and try harder to lose, because I believe Ohio State big man Greg Oden should remain in college. Thus making the #1 the only "sure fired" thing. Though I know that staying in Columbus is a very, very hard sell for Thad Motta as well as the Ohio State Boosters. (Disclaimer: I am in no way saying that the OSU Boosters will try to sweeten the deal for Oden by giving him money, shoes, cars, outfits, or a luxury home for his family or any of the other perks that the USC Boosters give their players. Ooops, I said too much.)I know that the NBA is very alluring, especially for a "kid." You have the fame and the fortune at your finger tips. Everything Greg ever dreamed of as a 6'1" first grader is looking at him!! Do you make the jump? Do you get that guaranteed money? Do you look forward to signing a shoe deal worth $20 million like Durant soon will? Or do you stay in college? Instead of a swank NBA Hotel, do you stay in a dorm room? Instead of fine dining, do you settle for whatever that thing is in the cafeteria? If nothing more, history will tell us to stay in college!

In many ways, you can compare Greg Oden to San Antonio F/C Tim Duncan, "The Big Fundamental." In college, Duncan was a raw talent just as Oden is today. However, he knew that there was plenty of room for improvement. He knew that on the next level, he would face athletes that were far more superior than those he dominated in college. Duncan's level of play more than doubled during his 4 years in college. During his Senior season he carried his Demon Deacons to an ACC Championship as well as deep into the tournament in March. He averaged 11 more points during his senior season compared to his freshman year. He also grabbed 5 more rebounds and attained leadership abilities. He would then become the number one draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs and join David Robinson. How did that all work out? He know dominates every night as he did at Wake.


Greg Oden should be the #1 pick in this June's NBA draft. However, if he wants to be great when he gets there instead of eventually becoming great, he will be a Buckeye again! Remember he has yet to play an entire season. His injured wrist kept him out of action until mid December and after that he still wasn't at 100% .. scary!

Is Oden a sure lock to be dominant? Perhaps. But why not hone your skills and then take it to "the league?" However are there ever really any true locks?
If so, what happened to:


Joe Smith:
The number 1 overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in 1995. He was drafted ahead of Rasheed Wallace(4), Kevin Garnett(5), and Michael Finley(21).




Pervis Ellison:
Pervis was the top overall selection by the Sacramento Kings in 1989. He was drafted ahead of Sean Elliot(3), Tim Hardaway(14), and Shawn Kemp(17).




LaRue Martin:
LaRue was the first overall pick by the Portland Trailblazers in 1972. However, the Blazers were not the only idiots. In fact the top 11 teams failed to draft a young man by the name of Julius Erving.




Rick Robey:
He was the third overall selection in 1978, being drafted by the Indianapolis Pacers.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, they forgot about their native son from French Lick. With the sixth pick, the Boston Celtics would select Indiana State star Larry Bird.












Michael Olowokandi:
"The Kandi Man" was the top pick in 1998 by the Los Angeles Clippers. He was drafted ahead of Mike Bibby(2),Antawn Jamison(4), Vince Cater(5), Dirk Nowitzki(9), and Paul Pierce(10).




And who could forget Sam Bowie:
The second overall pick by the Portland Trailblazers in 1984. Sam was chosen ahead of Michael Jordan(3) and Charles Barkley(5). Years after the draft, Trailblazers GM Stu Inman said that if given the same choice he would again pick Sam Bowie. I believe the term to use here is denial.




So I guess there really is no such thing as lock to be the superstar in the NBA, but when it comes to Oden and Durrant, the odds are very high!

You stay classy Sportsblender!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Ode to Oden

Last week I was on vacation. I week of Lindsay, Briley and myself. I decided to go back to my roots. I decided to go low-tech, I was staying away from the lap top as well as the world wide web altogether! Even though I am truly not going back the basics. I guess you can't say you're low tech when you are watching the TV via a 7 foot projection screen accompanied by a surround sound home theatre system. Regardless, the cell phone is muted, the lap top is in it's case, the e-mails are piling up and I am loving life!

What a week of sports!

Baseball's opening day.
Schilling gets bombed in Kansas City. Barry homers in his first game. The Yankees unveil their Opening Day starter, Carl Pavano (enter laugh track here). Jose Reyes will set the single season triple record this week. The Pirates look like last year's Tigers. Tampa Bay is full of tomorrow's superstars!
And finally Sammy Sosa is back in the league and looking as if he hasn't seen his "personal trainer" in a few months. Thank you God for baseball!

NCAA Women's Championship
Pat Summitt's Vols defeated the Lady Scarlet Knights of Rutgers to win the Women's crown. However, the game has been shadowed by the statements made by Radio Host Don Imus and his producer, Bernard McGuirk. I think they both should be fired. Not just because of the comments but because they are both idiots. Any rational human being would consider the ramifications of calling an entire women's basketball team "hardcore hos" or McGuirk's thought of the two teams (the jiggabos vs. the wannabes) on a Nationally aired radio show. But America don't worry because "moral watch dogs," Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are on the case. Rest easy!

The Master's
I love watching me some golf whenever I can. I sat there and watched as players were shooting over par (finally golf I can relate to!). And I remember thinking, "Man, I could even shoot that score!" Yeah Right. If Tiger Woods was at +2 on Sunday, I would be at +17 after the first hole! It was refreshing to see a relative "nobody" Zack Johnson, being fitted for a green jacket by last year's winner Phil Mickelson. Why do I love golf?
1. I suck at it and I love a challenge.
2. Sunday, after a Tiger tee shot went hard left onto the beach, follwed by a beautiful shot out of a bunker, and with Tiger down by 3 strokes, I said, "Here comes Tiger!" Having a player such as this makes watching the game so much better.

Though just once, I want to see a player lose his cool a la Happy Gilmore. C'mon, if seeing Vijay Singh cussing out a tree wouldn't make you laugh, I feel sorry for you!

Though my top event of the week that was:

NCAA Men's National Championship game. The Ohio State University vs. Florida
This was perhaps one of the most intriguing college finals EVER. On one hand you have the ultimate "team" in Florida. Five players averaging over 10 points. On the other hand you have the Buckeyes, being lead by 2 freshmen Mike Conley Jr. and the 37 year old Greg Oden. I will be honest, I wanted OSU to beat Florida by 40. Not because I hate Florida or I am one of those idiots who dislike Joakim Noah because he isn't pleasant to look like, but because I wanted Greg Oden to show everyone that he is as dominant a player as we have seen in college basketball. During the entire tournament, people were taking shots at Oden in the media (How did that work out for you and your Memphis teammates Joey Dorsey?) However during the National Championship Oden proved 2 things:

1. He is a beast. Many call him a man-child. Dude there is nothing childlike about him. He did whatever he wanted and Al Horford and Noah could do nothing. In perhaps his final game (though he should stay, you'll read why in my next blog), Oden did everything he could to bring a title to Columbus. Greg scored 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. (The block where he pinned Brewer ... wow!) Though Oden had a stong personal performance, the team performance did not make the trip from the team hotel. OSU shot 23 3 pointers and only converted on 4 of them. All while Florida (the country's best shooting team), shot 18 and hit 10 of them.

2. Oden proved why the Florida players will not be good NBA players. It is a known fact that great college teams do not produce great NBA players. Many will say, but MJ won a title and he is a great player. OK, true we will make an exception for the best player to ever touch a basketball. But c'mon the UNC teams of the early 90's.
Eric Montross, enough said. Kansas off the mid 90's. Jacque Vaughn, enough said. Duke of the early 90's, Bobby Hurley, enough said. The front court of Florida has been good this season, however how much of their success has to be attributed to the fact that there entire team can hit a 30 ft jumper!!

However, basketball is and forever will remain a team game, won by great teams. Florida played to it's strengths and exploited OSU's weaknesses. Congrats Gators! again and again!

By the way, you know that former OSU QB and Heisman trophy winner Troy Smith has got to be sick of the "Gator Chomp!" I can easily see a mental break down where he goes "Rainman" and mumbles about Chris Leak and Al Horford as he says, "Yeah definitly Gators." As he walks around his padded room doing the Gator Chomp!

You stay classy Sportsblender!