Friday, June 22, 2012

One down, just Seven to go

"Not one, not two, not three, not four, NOT FIVE, not six NOT SEVEN." Those were the words uttered by Lebron Raymone James on July 8, 2010 when he joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. Allow me to start by saying, congrats Lebron. The first ring is said to be the hardest one to obtain and countless hall of famers played their entire career and made tons of money, enjoyed the fame and lifestyle of a professional athlete and would trade it all today for one ring. This is a great win for the Miami Heat franchise and for their fans, but is it a great win for Bron Bron?? 



It's no secret that I can't stand the sight of Lebron James, the sound of his voice, the cut of his jib and the simple idea that so many declared him the greatest basketball player of all time before he stepped foot on the hardwood of The Association. All of those things were starting to dissipate when he took the Cleveland Cavs on his back and nearly won a championship ring for his hometown. I felt like he was doing it the right way, building something special in Cleveland and the idea of hating a guy for doing that started to seem a bit ridiculous. Had he chosen to stay in Cleveland, forced owner Dan Gilbert to spend some serious money to get top flight players to join him, I would probably have stopped hating him so much and settled for disliking him. Hell, if he would have left Cleveland respectfully instead of in the middle of the night with a bunch of Mayflower moving trucks like Art Model, maybe I would respect that. But he didn't and he felt the need to make a spectacle unlike any other athlete in the history of professional sports. I don't need to rehash The Decision and go into great detail about how pathetic that was, but I do need to address the insanity of predicting eight championship victories. If Rafa Nadal predicted 8 grand slams, nobody would care. Not only because he plays tennis and few people care about that sport, but he plays an individual sport. It doesn't take an MIT Graduate to recognize that the odds of winning 8 championships in a team sport is highly unlikely. That being said, I will answer the question I posed earlier. Is this a great win for Bron Bron? No, it's not. Had he kept his mouth shut and predicted that he would bust his ass for this franchise, leave everything on the court and make sure he got a ring, I'd say it was an incredible victory, but he didn't do any of that. He flat predicted 8 championships and for that, I have to point out that he's only an 1/8th of the way to the promise land. 




To make matters worse Lebron is delusional enough to believe his own bullshit after he won his first ringwhen he said and I quote "I'm really glad I did this the right way, no shortcuts and because of that it makes it that much more special." I disagree with all of that and feel like this is one of the reasons why I can't be onboard the Bron Bron train and never will. You did this the right way? You joined forces with 2 of the best ballers in the league and ditched your hometown team to buy a ring. You didn't take any shortcuts? You are the same guy who deflected blame after you tanked the 2011 NBA Finals and said "At the end of the day, all of the people that were rooting for me to fail, tomorrow they will have to wake up and have the same life they had before they woke up today. They got the same personal problems they had today and I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do." I'd define that as a shortcut and a gut punch to fans who pay for you to live the way you live. That's wrongfully taking out your failures as a pro on the fans and pointing the finger of blame at anyone and everyone but yourself for choking away a chance at your first ring. I'm confident that Lebron can handle the success better than some professional athletes but it's the failures that have bit at his ass all these years. He has an extremely difficult time facing adversity with class, dignity and respect. Now that you've won the first ring, I gotta ask it Bron Bron. Can you do it 7 more times as you predicted?

Is the no-hitter becoming so common that it's losing its luster?


The title of this blog post is stolen from a professional sports writer named Tom (Todd) Verducci. More often than not I prefer to think up a creative (or not so creative) title that's original and fresh. However, the article featured below was not posted today or even over the weekend. It was posted Thursday June 14, just hours after Matt Cain turned in the performance of his lifetime, tossed only the 22nd perfect game in the history of major league baseball and his feet hadn't even hit the ground, but ole Tom was already puking all over this amazing accomplishment.


I'm a young guy with an old heart and old soul. I have learned that I was likely born in the wrong generation because for all of my life I've wanted my baseball served up the way it was generations ago. Simple, clean, by the "book" and stats are for fans to enjoy while sipping coffee. Currently, statistics in baseball have become completely out of touch with the game that's played on the field and I refuse to indulge any further than that. What I will say is that I don't care that of the twenty-two perfect games in major league baseball history, five of them have been thrown in the last three years. That's none of my business and I refuse to play ball here. In my book, a perfect game is an amazing accomplishment and each and every time a guy gets one, it should be given the respect and credit it deserves. Reading this article the day after Matt Cain pitched the best game of his life, the first perfect game in the history of one of the proudest franchises in baseball history, made me sick and I am not even a Giants fan. If you have enjoyed any of my work over the years, you know a few things. I don't toe the line and I refuse to take marching orders. I am not the guy who forms an opinion based on what the majority feels or thinks; I think for myself and I know my thoughts are in the minority, but I do know this. Diminishing a perfect game is something I will never engage in and I can't help but think that because Matt Cain plays on the West Coast, this article hit the internet before the fans at AT&T Park made their way home. I know for a fact that if Josh Beckett or CC Sabathia threw a perfect game last week, Tom Verducci would be sucking knee caps not pointing a fire arm at them.



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/tom_verducci/06/14/no.hitter.craze/index.html

Monday, April 23, 2012

Rivaling pure Dominance

In the event that you missed UFC 145 in Atlanta over the weekend, allow me to explain what happened in the main event. Suga Rashad Evans spent months running his mouth, talking trash about Jon Bones Jones and was hell bent on taking back "his" belt. he crawled into the ring as Jones does and for the record, it was not nearly as slick as cool as when Bones Jones does it. From the word go, Jones was dominant. 

 The fight was not nearly as exciting as we had hoped and the feeling out process lasted the entire fight. Some would lead you to believe that this was a boring fight, but I am here to disagree with that and explain what really happened in the octagon. Jon Jones prevented Evans from engaging him by slamming elbows in his face. He prevented Evans from using his tremendous wrestling skills by keeping his distance and it was nearly impossible for Evans to even attempt a take down. When Evans did attempt to take Jones to the ground, he was met with a fierce knee to the chest and that was followed up by even more vicious elbows that put fear in the heart of a once fearless Evans. I forget the exact moment that it happened, but Jones had Evans in a guillotine choke, it appeared as though Evans' was going to have the life choked out of him, then jones let him go, pounded him with leg kicks, more flying elbows and pure dominance. At the end of that round I realized that Jones did something that's rarely done in MMA. He decided not to finish his opponent. Not because he couldn't, not because Evans countered with something he couldn't handle and not even because it was too late in the round for a submission. He let him go because he wasn't done torturing Evans.


 I can understand how you might disagree with that last statement, but only if you didn't watch the entire fight or simply watched the highlights on TV. Jones was dominating this fight from the get go, throwing elbows that looked like closed fist punches, landing them square in the face of Evans and then he did something I've never seen before. He got Evans in the clinch and began to "throw" shoulders at his chin, stunning his opponent maybe five or six times consecutively before Evans even knew what was happening. It was pure brilliance. It was plain to see that Evans couldn't get anything going. When he did throw punches that landed, they seemed to have very little impact on Jones and a step further, they were single punches, not thorough combinations.

Jones won the fight by unanimous decision after a five round masterpiece and it leads me, as well as many others, to ask the question. Who will be the next victim to face Jon Bones Jones? Sunday morning I read an article that stated Dan Henderson would be next up, but by the time the fight happens he will be 42 years of age, far from in the prime of his career and not unlike every single man who steps in the octagon to face Jones, he will have a significant size disadvantage. Many rumors are circulating that Jones may be asked to gain some weight (or not drop so much weight before a fight) and compete with the heavyweights. As exciting as that sounds, I think Jones has earned a chance to compete as a light heavyweight for at least another 4-5 fights, despite the lack of competition in that division. I say this because the kid, yes kid, is still just 24 years young and is still learning the sport. His body will continue to grow, he will gain some weight as he matures and before we know it, he will be smacking around the likes of Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and the other giants of that division. But for now, he's the greatest light heavyweight champion this sport has ever seen and he's far from hitting the peak of his abilities. 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Giant Observations

I made my way to AT&T Park last night with one purpose. To watch Roy Hallday dominate the San Francisco Giants. Yes, Tim Lincecum was pitching but I couldn't care less. In my opinion, he's an overrated, over hyped kid who's best days are behind him.

I got to the park early enough to watch both pitchers prepare for their start. Having never seen Halladay in person I was curious to watch his pregame routine. It was really cool to watch. He starts out stretching is body and then he plays catch with his catcher. They start tossing the ball from about 20 feet and with every few throws Halladay moves back a few feet. They ended up about 180-200 feet apart playing long toss for the better part of 20 minutes. Then, Halladay slowly walks over to the mound, gets comfortable and throws a few to his catcher, while his catcher is standing upright. The catcher gets into his crouch and that's when Halladay gets his game face on. The picture below is from my seat and it's obvious that I wasn't close enough to analyze his every move, but I observed a pitcher with a plan of attack. He threw about 12 fastballs in a row, then switched to offspeed pitches. After about 12 of those, he gets in the stretch and mixes it up a bit. Fastball outside corner, followed by breaking ball and then a fastball to the inside corner. I was impressed by his efforts and it gave me an insight into the routine of one of the best pitchers in  baseball.



As Halladay finished his throwing, I noticed Lincecum stretching along the third base line so I paid close attention to him as I was literally 100 feet from him. He started off by stretching his legs out a bit, kinda like we did back in the day. Just enough to stretch and tell coach we stretched, but nothing serious. He headed straight for the bullpen mound and began to toss the ball to his catcher. It didn't appear as uniform or deliberate as Halladay, but he looked to have good life on the ball. Quickly he got up on the mound and started throwing fastballs, which missed the target at least five times in a row as I noticed Buster reaching for the ball and his glove moved, a lot. He wasn't in the bullpen for longer than five minutes and he was gone.

In the first inning, both pitchers struggled. Lincecum didn't have his command, his fastball was between 88-91 and he threw a good amount of sliders. He got hit around a little bit, his outfielders didn't help him much and he struggled. I noticed something very interesting. It's fair to say that neither pitcher had his best stuff going last night and that's actually a great opportunity for a fan to see what his pitcher is made of. When Lincecum isn't on his game, his body language tells the entire story. He appears to be frustrated, his facial expressions are priceless as his snaggletooth appears more and more frequently. He moves his body around a lot as if he's not feeling right. Halladay on the other hand is flawless. His facial expressions are the same regardless of the situation. He was giving the homeplate umpire the mean mug as he wasn't getting the call on balls that were close to the strikezone, or so they appeared. He didn't have his best stuff, but he got guys out. He worked through difficult innings and that's the sign of a true professional. Lincecum did a pretty good job after the first inning, but to be completely honest, it doesn't appear as though he is comfortable on the mound right now and I feel like it's because he doesn't do well when things aren't going his way. I don't like him, I don't think he's nearly as good as Giants fans would have you believe. I'm curious to see if he learns how to pitch out of jams in a different way than he has this month. I know it's April, but if i were a Giants fan, I'd be concerned.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Mega Numbers

No, I am not about to discuss the insanity of the United States largest lottery jackpot in history. I bought a few tickets and dreamed the good dream, but it's not something worthy of discussion just 5 days prior to The Real opening day of major league baseball. I'd like to discuss the contract that Matt Cain signed with the San Francisco Giants today. 6 years $127 million and the language can be found at your favorite sports website, but I won't dissect each year and the actual money being paid. I will say that his agent is an extremely smart cat, getting San Francisco to sign off on a deal this large that includes the ever important no trade clause. 

The Giants are in the stretch run of the Barry Zito contract disaster and most Giants fans likely would have assumed that never again would the Giants offer a pitcher than much guaranteed cash and lock them off for that long. Yes, this is a different beast. Matt Cain is a professional in every sense of the word. If you didn't watch him every fifth day and you only knew his name from watching his highlights on ESPN, you would assume that a guy with a career record of 69-73 and an era of 3.35 is not worthy of a contract that large. But, if you live in the Bay Area and are a Giants fan (or if you are a guy like me who just watches a lot of their games) you know what he means to this club. His career record should be expunged from the record books forever because the Giants have provided 3.73 runs for him, lowest in all of baseball. That doesn't do justice because I can't begin to explain how many times I'ver seen him lose 2-1, 3-2; 4-3.




This contract is a microcosm of who the San Francisco Giants are and clearly who they will be in the future.   At this stage in the game, the San Francisco Giants have $57 million of their payroll locked up in 3 guys, all starting pitchers. Barry Zito makes $22 million, Matt Cain $15 million and Tim Lincecum $20.25 million. In recent years, the 2010 World Series championship included, offense has been an issue for the team and has prevented them from taking full advantage of their all star caliber pitchers. San Francisco avoided Albert Pujols, for good reason. They turned their heads when Prince Fielder was on the market for them to enjoy and this has been the pattern ever since they signed Barry Bonds way back in the stone age. For the next 7-10 years this team has decided to grow their own players on the farm, avoid huge contracts for sluggers and that's terribly disheartening news for Giants fans across the country. I understand that pitching wins championships and the blueprint for success in San Francisco is crystal clear. This team will win or lose based on how their pitching performs. Unless this team is willing to spend more of the money they claim they don't have and spend it on guys who can hit and drive in runs, they will continue to fall short of the gold ring. 

I thought for sure the Giants would allow Matt Cain to reach free agency and let him walk next winter. I practically guaranteed that he would wear a Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox or even Dodgers jersey in 2013, but I admit I was wrong. I will continue to believe that San Francisco doesn't have enough offense to compete at the highest level and until they break down and start spending some of their "rainy day" fund, the fans will continue to be frustrated and angered by the lack of offense put forth by this club. 


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Hunger Games


No no, I am not talking about the Suzanne Collins book series that hits the big screen this Friday, but I hear that's gonna be a good one. I am talking about Alex Smith and his hunger for an NFL superbowl ring. A lot has been published on the internet about Alex meeting in Miami with the Dolphins, his ego has been bruised because SF pursued living legend Peyton Manning and now it appears as though Alex Smith is playing hard to get. Alex has every right to be butt hurt. He had a very good season in 2011, played a very important role in a successful season and two weeks ago it appeared as though Alex would return and it would be business as usual. As a fan, I am more butt hurt at Alex than he can ever possibly be at this great, proud franchise. The guy had 6 seasons of crappy football and the team gave him more money than he or his family could ever spend. At the end of that deal, they gave him an opportunity to continue his football career, handed him more money and asked him to put up or shut up. Why am I speaking so much about money? Because this is a business after all and to quote the great Gordon Gecko "don't get emotional about business Buddy boy, it clouds your judgement."

Alex Smith has an opportunity to return to a franchise that has the greatest stable of stud QB's in the modern era of professional football and to bring Superbowl #6 to this great town. If he signs the current deal that's on the table today, (it's been reported that San Francisco has offered him 3 years $24 million with $10 guaranteed) he can attempt to bring the coveted Lombardi trophy back where it belongs. Also, he will be the first San Francisco 49er QB to start a season in a new stadium, assuming the stadium in Santa Clara opens on time to start the 2014 season. If you want to prove a point, prove it on the football field. You will not win in Miami and the current Niners roster is set up perfectly for you to succeed. Get your ass back to SF, sign the deal they have waiting for you and prove to the fans that you are better than we think you are. Complete some more 3rd downs, get us back to the playoffs with a much tougher schedule and a target on the teams back, win ring #6 that we have been chasing since Gary Plummer ripped the monkey off Steve Young's back and all will be good with the world. Stink up the joint as you have for 6 of your 7 years as a pro and we will run your ass out of this town. That being said, good luck with it Alex.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Conference tournaments suck, don't they?

That's what ESPN and the talking heads are saying today but that's only because Kentucky and North Carolina lost the title games and were beaten by teams that were fighting for their lives. Let's dissect this with an open mind though.

If you are St. Mary's and coach Randy Benett, building a program from scratch in a small town (Moraga to be precise), in a conference that is known by most as the conference Gonzaga plays in and you win a conference tournament, does that suck? Does it suck that you were on national TV (quite possibly an international affair) for all the world to see? Does it suck that the players on that team are able to relive that moment for decades to come, knowing that for their seniors it could be the last time the play organized hoops at a very high level prior to entering the workforce? It doesn't suck. In fact, taken a step further, it's truly an incredible experience for a team that has been building itself from the ground up, has made the NCAA March Madness tourney 6 of the last 8 years and coaches of that program get an opportunity to tell prospective recruits all about this when they settle down for cake and coffee in the living room of their family. West coast biased you say? Read on friend.

Let's talk about Vanderbilt (also known to the bracketologists as Vandy) for a second. Vandy knocked off the #1 overall seed Kentucky on Sunday and punched their ticket to the dance with a glorious and exciting victory. Would they have gone dancing had they lost that game to top ranked Kentucky? Sure, they had a great season and were likely a sure thing, but that's not how it looked in this video. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=320710096

See, conference tournaments are not simply an opportunity for the likes of Duke, Carolina and other top rated teams to take a few days off to recharge their batteries before one of them goes on a 6 game winning streak to cut the nets down in New Orleans the first Monday in April. It's about bringing excitement to a fan base, punching a ticket to the most exciting playoff (take note here BCS chumps) scenario that is easily the most amazing tournament known to mankind.

Let's go further East and talk about what UCONN shall we. UCONN is a powerhouse program that doesn't need to put themselves on the map. They know first hand what happens when a team gets hot. This time last year, they won the Big East tournament and went on a ridiculous run to win the 2011 National Championship title. Yes, they won 12, yes 12 consecutive games and that was as impressive as anything I have seen in recent years. In fact, it also improved the draft position of their biggest stud, Kemba Walker.

I strongly disagree with so many of the "experts" today who claim that conference tournaments are meaningless. They might be meaningless for the big programs and in all honesty, who really cares about Kentucky, Carolina, Duke and Syracuse anyway? I don't. I care more about Cinderella ensuring that her dress fits just right and the conference tournaments do just that and they also provide an opportunity for us to see if her slipper fits just so. Conference tournaments are a grand opportunity for college basketball to rev their respective engines before the DJ starts jamming tunes at the big dance.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Nick Diaz falling fast, no end in sight

Nick Diaz is likely the most misunderstood fighter I've ever come across. I remember watching Mike Tyson as a young sports fan, wondering to myself "what the hell is wrong with this guy?" It wasn't until years alter and his career played out for all to see that we learned about Iron Mike's dark past. Nick Diaz is a lot like Mike Tyson, with one very large exception. Iron Mike loved attention from the media. If you stuck a microphone in his face he would go on and on about, well, often nothing at all. Nick Diaz is not that way. Prior to his Welterweight title fight with Carlos Condit last weekend in Vegas, UFC did something very smart. They pretty much stole the HBO 24/7 format and called it UFC: Primetime and followed both fighters in the weeks leading up to their scheduled championship fight. It was pure genius. We got a chance to hear about Carlos Condit and his childhood, we saw his father, the media attention starving former aide to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson ( I honestly think they mentioned that like 13 times) and we got a glimpse into his plush life. Nice house, almost cute wife and young child. On the other hand, we learned about Nick Diaz, the real person under the hard and seasoned exterior that he wants you to think is the guy you hate. I watched all the episodes and never once did he mention his mother or father. In fact, the only time he mentioned a family member (other than UFC lightweight champion brother Nate) was when he mentioned that his aunts and uncles were kinda crunchy granola and often ate rice cakes because they were concerned about their diet. I never imagined that I could relate to an athlete as fierce as Nick Diaz, never thought for a second that we had anything in common, until I realized that we are a lot alike. I wrote an article yesterday breaking my anonymity and telling the world of the demons I faced and the addictions to alcohol and drugs. When I watched Nick Diaz sit in front of the camera and attempt to explain why he is so angry, I couldn't help but accept that we may have walked the same path, just in a different part of town. I heard the darkness of his past when he spoke of his childhood; the desperation to fit in with other kids and the inability to make friends because he felt angry all the time.

If you follow UFC closely, you already heard about Nick Diaz testing positive for marijuana after his loss to Carlos Condit and the 1 year suspension that may follow because this is the second failed drug test of his career. I can't help but feel for this guy and wonder if he is able to be saved from his dark passenger. Far too often, we see an athlete on TV and we automatically label him a bad guy based on public perception and leave it at that. I feel compelled to admit that I think Nick Diaz is actually one of the good guys. He's genuine, authentic, and that's a tough pill to swallow primarily because he's the polar opposite of who we want him to be. GSP fans would prefer Nick Diaz to wear a suit and tie to press conferences, answer questions with a large vocabulary and smile for the cameras. It begs the question. If Nick Diaz is real then are the other fighters fake? That's a topic for another day and clearly we will never have a crystal clear answer, but in short I think the answer is yes.

Nick Diaz has made it known that he doesn't like his opponent, in fact he hates them. He doesn't like media attention, following rules, acting like he is someone he is not and he hasn't exactly done much to change, despite UFC President Dana White's endless encouragement to change. Nick Diaz is likely out of the fight game for the duration of 2012 and that's a shame. Not because I won't get to see one of my favorite fighters whoop some ass, but because the further out of the picture he falls, the more unlikely it is that he will get the help he so desperately needs. But then again, I presume he wouldn't be a big fan of getting the help he needs either. I would enjoy nothing more than watching Nick Diaz return to the octagon in 2013 a new man, a changed man, but that's likely not how this story ends. More than likely Nick will never find himself because more than likely, he's not looking for himself.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Josh Hamilton's fall from the top, an understanding of the unknown

Josh Hamilton, major league baseball player. Josh Hamilton, AL MVP, homerun derby champion and superstar millionaire athlete. Josh Hamilton, recovering drug addict and alcoholic. A good old fashioned Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde story, as the story of most addicts tends to be. How does a man with this much talent separate those characteristics? That's the question that the average fan is asking himself each time they read or hear that Josh Hamilton has relapsed and pictures of a shirtless Hamilton taking body shots off of a woman, not his wife, flood the internet. The other question that fans are asking is a simple one, in their eyes. Can't the guy just not drink? That's a very difficult question to ask if you do not have personal experience with alcoholism and drug addiction. If you have a 9-5 job, love baseball, played the game your entire life and never made it to the professional level, you probably think that $80 million and all the perks that come with being a professional athlete would keep you from drinking, no matter what the circumstances. The reason why an average Joe is able to say that with conviction is because he doesn't suffer the Ism. I have personal experience with alcoholism and drug addiction and I speak for myself only. $80 million, all the fans kissing my feet, countless women adoring my every move, playing the game I love so much would never, ever be enough for me because once I get it in my head that I want a drink, none of that matters. Not the family who loves me, not the team that signs my paychecks, definitely not the fans kissing my feet. All of those things I just mentioned become white noise and my mind is unable to concede that all of that really does matter to me. On an intellectual level, I can probably understand it, but my heart and soul don't have the ability to make sense of it, not even a little bit. I know what you are saying, he has a wife and kids, isn't that enough to prevent him from drinking? He knows that each time he drinks he ends up in terrible situations, isn't that enough? Honestly, it's not and never will be enough. As an alcoholic and drug addict, I know that my mind works different than a normal drinker. A normal drinker is able to go out and have a few drinks, feel that they are getting a bit too intoxicated and simply stop so that nothing bad happens. They are able to wake up with the worst hangover of their life, turn over and say "I'm never gonna do that again" and not take a drink for months! As an alcoholic, maybe I was able to do that once in a while, but more often than not, I was not able to think of the consequences of my actions, the thoughts or feelings of spending every last dollar on alcohol, the pain I put others through when I drank too much, verbally abusing my girlfriend, family and friends doesn't even cross my mind; it just doesn't. I get this feeling that no matter how many times I have shown that I cannot drink like a gentleman, that each and every time I put a drop of alcohol in my system, I turn into a different person, the person I told you and everyone else I never wanted to be. So, that brings us to the other night. When Josh Hamilton entered the bar to meet a teammate for dinner, it's definitely possible that he thought to himself, this time it's going to be different. Despite every example to the contrary. It's also possible that he walked into that bar spiritually fit and was confident that he wasn't going to drink and of course, it's entirely possible that he planned this in his head for hours, days or even weeks. Nobody knows the answer to that difficult question, but I do know this. Unless you have worn the pair of shoes he walks in, you don't know anything about what it takes to not take a drink, one day at a time and God willing, you never will know.

I didn't write this blog today to point fingers at others, to tell people that I know better than you do. I actually started writing this today to do the exact opposite. To help people understand or at least try to give people a better idea of what went down and how this works. It's easy to ask simple questions like "why doesn't he just stop drinking if it's so dangerous?" " how can he continue to put his family through this pain and suffering?" It must be difficult to accept the  truth, which is he doesn't know why and can't control the outcome once he takes the first drink. I heard a sports talk radio host talking about this topic and comparing it to his chewing tobacco addiction in college. I wanted to jump through the radio and strangle the guy with both hands until every last breathe was taken from him. Why? Because addiction is one of the most misunderstood topics of discussion in the world today and unless you have personally experienced the pain and suffering that walk hand in hand with addiction, I don't think you are allowed to talk about it as if you have experienced that deep, dark, emptiness that we have.

I would like to give credit to his team, The Texas Rangers. I hate that team, I really do. I hate all teams from Texas. What I have for the Rangers today is a great deal of respect and admiration. They have taken a calm approach to a situation that could easily have turned into chaos. Shayne Kelley was hired today as a major league staff assistant to the team, in other words, he will act as a babysitter for Josh Hamilton. This may work out great or it may not work at all. For all we know Josh will be drinking again in a few days, weeks, months or years. The reality of the circumstances are very simple. Alcoholism is crippling and kills people every single day of the year and it's not pretty. Many of us who suffer from alcoholism never recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body, despite our greatest efforts to rid ourselves of the obsession to drink. I haven't had a drink or a drug in 1,255 days and while to some that may seem unimportant and to others who know me, that seems like a miracle, I can't say for sure whether or not I will drink today. A lot of medical folks like to call alcoholism a disease, but unlike most diseases, there isn't a cure for what I have. I can't take a pill or radiation treatment or anything else to ensure that I won't drink again. Early on that was the most crushing blow I ever felt, knowing that I will never get better, that I will never be normal. After a little time and some experience, I find that to be the greatest gift I've ever been granted. It reminds me that today could be the last time I enjoy the birds chirping outside my window, the last time I feel the sun shining on my face or the last time I write a blog entry for you to read. The unknown is often perceived as scary or it can be perceived as a gift. It's your choice.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Respect this ESPN

The road to the Superbowl goes through San Francisco, as it did in the late 80's and early 90's when The San Francisco 49ers were building a legacy and achieving greatness under legendary head coach and Hall of Famer Bill Walsh. If you visited the ESPN website today, you wouldn't know a thing about it. The Niners have been off the national radar since San Francisco won Superbowl XXIX and Gary Plummer ripped the imaginary monkey off the back of Steve Young after they dismantled a pretty good San Diego Chargers team 49-26.

Since those days, the internet has become the most valuable asset for sports fans across the planet, sports talk radio has become bigger than ever before and twitter is the most popular avenue for players to run their mouth and flap their collective gums. Jerry Rice, the greatest football player in the history of the NFL was brought to Bristol Connecticut this week to talk about, you guessed it, the New York football Giants. Linda Cohn had the balls, yes the balls, to ask him six questions about the New York Giants and one question about San Francisco. 

It's easy to say that San Francisco has not been given enough credit nor have they received the respect they deserve. But let's be honest, we are 49ers fans. We don't need ESPN or any other national sports company to validate the success of this franchise. We are easily the toughest group of fans in professional football. If you doubt that statement, allow me to explain. Name another fan base that grew up with 5 superbowl championships, the greatest quarterback in the history of football, who threw balls to the greatest football player in the history of the game who were both coached by a man who single handedly revolutionized the game of football as we know it. I am that fan. Is it even humanly possible to have higher expectations than Niner fans? Allow me to take this one step further. Let's discuss Alex Smith for a moment. The guy has been absolutely dreadful for the six years he has played in the NFL and just a few short days ago, he dropped  the New Orleans Saints, the team every single expert claimed would come to San Francisco and break their 0-4 road playoff drought and threw a TD pass to Vernon Davis that many ( I hate nicknames so I refuse to play that game) are calling The Catch III. He has this team and it's first year head football coach playing in the NFC Championship game and the first thing out of my mouth on Sunday morning after that amazing and incredible victory. Can he do it again? 

Slice this pie however you want, but the reality of the situation is extremely simple. East Coast biased exists and more importantly, I don't give a damn! ESPN, Sports Illustrated and every group of nut jobs in between can avoid my team all they want. They can disrespect this team, it's fans, it's players and it's success all they want and I don't care. I know Niner fans better than any of those organizations ever will and I know this much. We live, die and bleed 49ers football and this town has higher expectations for their football team than any other franchise in the NFL. We know who we are, we know what we want and we won't be happy until the final second ticks off the clock in Indianapolis on Sunday February 5th and Jed York takes the Lombardi trophy from the hands of Roger Goodell. That's when others will give us respect and by that point, we still won't give a damn because it will be too late. 

Monday, January 16, 2012

Alex freaking Smith!



For the past 6 seasons, Alex Smith has been called every name in the book by Niners fans and in my opinion, he deserved the criticism. As a kid growing up, I admired two of the greatest QB's in the history of professional football. Joe Montana, the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL and Steve Young, a hall of famer who shined starting the moment after he appeared from behind the shadows of Joe Montana's legend.

I followed CAL football and Aaron Rodgers was the star of that team. When he entered the NFL draft, I was excited at the idea of San Francisco drafting him with the number one overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft, but we got Alex Smith instead. A QB who ran a spread offense, didn't perform very well at the NFL combines but was off the charts when it came to the wonderlic test. He was a very smart guy with small hands. A guy who had never taken a snap from under center, played his college ball at Utah, a school that didn't play anybody. He was basically set up to fail and fail is exactly what he did.

At the end of the 2010 NFL season the San Francisco 49ers fired head football coach Mike Singletary and owner Jed York promised this proud franchise that the team was set to move in a different direction and return to the success we experienced in the late 80's and early 90's. Jim Harbaugh was meeting with the Miami Dolphins in the morning and San Francisco in the evening and many fans were told by ESPN and countless other East coast biased outlets that Harbaugh had already signed a contract with Miami. Well, he didn't and he signed a 5 year $25 million deal with The Niners to become the next head football coach, fresh off a stellar coaching career at Stanford, which reminded so many fans in San Francisco of the late great genius Bill Walsh's journey to San Francisco.

Almost immediately Jim Harbaugh announced that once the NFL lockout ended, Alex Smith would be his QB. As a fan of this team, I thought a lunacy commission should be appointed to take Harbaugh to an insane asylum. I couldn't believe that we were going to start a new season with old baggage, but Harbaugh was convinced that Alex was his guy. I know Harbaugh's path to success very well and it's been made perfectly clear what he has done to get his first NFL coaching position so I decided I would trust him, even though I didn't want to.



Throughout the 2011 season, Alex Smith proved that he could "manage the game" very well and he did just enough to win games, but he won. He wasn't flashy, he didn't put up the numbers that Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady did, but he won; plain and simple. On Saturday January 14th, 2012, he did the unthinkable. He went to to toe with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, he wasn't intimidated or scared, he showed up and had the biggest game of his entire career and he did it "in spectacular fashion."

I can't say that all the criticism I laid at the feet of Smith were unwarranted, I can't take it back and don't feel like I should be forced to, just because he won a big game. I believe in him more today than I did going into the game on Saturday. To be completely honest, when New Orleans took the lead late in the 4th quarter, I had absolutely zero confidence in Alex Smith's abilities and thought for sure we were destined to lose. I've never had faith in him and I am sure that when the NFC Championship game starts, I won't have much faith in him either, but he did it. Alex freaking Smith is one of the main reasons why we beat New Orleans in the divisional round and the 4th quarter of that football game will never be forgotten. It was a game for the ages as well as a coming of age for young Alex Smith. I give the guy a ton of credit for having the stones to make some big plays and get his first signature win, but i still have my doubts. As is almost always the case in sports, the next question to be asked is simple. Can he do it again?