I was watching a soccer game the other day and explaining to my son that America IS the only country that doesn’t call it football. At the same time I was wondering if the players have favorite balls (I did when I played volleyball) and if so, just how they manager to keep all the balls straight. Do they have personalized soccer balls or something? It’s not like I was going to go run on the field and stop play demanding that they answer the question, but the urge to know was strong enough for me to ask the question here.
Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category
Query
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010On Politics, Star Wars, the NBA and Voltron – Part II
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010Yeah, I know that you’re saying to yourself, “No really, what does Voltron have to do with anything.” Ok, here goes.
There are a lot of people in this country that truly believe that every Democrat, liberal, progressive, or whatever you want to call yourself is nothing more than a baby-killing, Communist, fascist, snobby wackjob. Well, they’re right (for the most part). The other half of the country things that every Republican, right-wing, tea partyist is nothing more than a war-mongering, Capitalist, polluting, racist redneck. And you know what, they’re right, too (for the most part). There was a time when I disagreed with a lot of that, but then I actually had time to listen to these morons that we elect every even year.
Ok, the oil spill in the Gulf is a big story, right? How is this not the biggest story of ALL TIME? We’re still talking about the Euro, and the stock market, immigration in Arizona, Greece. Obama hears BP’s newest plan to cap the leak, and says, “Go for it.” And the plan fails. If this had happened in the Bush years, would everyone be reacting the same way? Wouldn’t we be hearing about how Bush is single-handedly destroying the world? Wouldn’t John Stewart stroke out with the limitless opportunities for taking down a Republican? Seriously, why is the oil company allowed to try and ‘save’ the well over and over again, while the oil destroys everything? Obama’s all, “Let BP stop the leak.” And that’s all we can do? How about we bring in the Army Corps of Engineers and all the badasses that stopped the Kuwait oil fires? Drop a couple of megatons of high explosives and blow the hole closed!
The sad thing is that even if Bush had done exactly that and closed the hole days after it opened, he would be getting more flak from the left that Obama is for leaving it open for weeks.
So you’re thinking that I’m a right-winger, right? Well, not quite. I’ve paid enough attention to know that the politicians of both sides are just lying to us. What really changed for having Bush around for eight years. Weren’t we promised a smaller government that worked better and was less oppressive. How did we end up with a much larger government that deregulated by just not watching anymore. Deregulation was supposed to be about making it easier to do business the right way, not about bribing your way to no oversight and milking the stock market for a couple of billion dollars.
Some of you may say that this is the way that it’s always been, and that may well be true. It just took me a little bit longer to see it and realize where I stood with things. Most people view themselves as belonging to one side of the political spectrum, just like I used to. But just like my time with 80′s cartoons, aligning yourself with a political viewpoint is silly and unwatchable.
We continue to Star Wars and the NBA and some more politics too.
On Politics, Star Wars, the NBA and Voltron – Part I
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010There are a number of things that I can now look back on and realize that they are not how I remember them. Memory is a very strange thing. We seem to remember how we felt about a certain thing rather then remembering exactly what a thing was. Allow me to elaborate.
Voltron.
Yes, the giant robot lions that can transform into a giant robot sword-wielding space dude was just about the most awesome thing that ever struck my 7-year-old eyes back in the mid-80′s. Other kids were enthralled by He-Man or G.I. Joe, but I was a die-hard Voltron-holic. I had the toys and played with them constantly (hell, I still have them in the garage). Long after the show was on the air, I continued to remember Voltron with good feelings.
Then the internet was invented.
That is just about the worst thing I have ever seen. How did I like this? Was every kid in the 80′s an idiot, or was it just me? I hope it wasn’t just me? That’s right, I’m hoping that we were all idiots. Hooray for the future of the country.
So what does this have to do with do with politics or the NBA or anything at all? Well, it’s like this. The things that I believed and treasured in the past aren’t necessarily the things that I treasure now. I still love the idea of Voltron. What’s not to love about giant space robots? But the show itself is unwatchable. I’ve changed. Most people don’t really care that I used to watch Voltron, but now I can’t stand the seizure-inducing train-wreck of a cartoon. Politically, I used to accept everyone and everything on the right and automatically despise all things left. Things change.
Profit from Golf Balls
Friday, April 2nd, 2010One of the coolest jobs I can think of is the guy who goes diving in the water hazards at gold courses and gets the balls out of there and then sells them. Golf balls can cost a chunk of change if you play golf regularly and aren’t good – about the way it would go for me – and buying used golf balls would be a way to save money until you get better at the sport. Of course the guy retrieving the balls makes money on it – but that’s the American way.
Olympic opening ceremony
Friday, February 12th, 2010It’s that time again when an incredible display of… well, something… is made for the whole world to see. The Olympic opening ceremony has exploded into an all-out multimedia spectacle. The parade of nations at least has a kind of purpose where all of the athletes walk through the arena and are introduced to the world. But I’ve never understood the spectacle of a half-time show extended to hours (and hours). Thankfully, it’s only once every two years.
Pain and Misery
Monday, January 18th, 2010The world is empty and full of pain and misery. That’s right, in just about 24 hours, I had to witness both the Cardinals and the Cowboys crash and burn in a brilliant explosion of mediocrity that, like the sun, was painful to look at. My only hope is that Favre is at the losing end of a monumental shellacking and that he finally just goes away.
Poor Cowboys
Sunday, December 13th, 2009Another week and another bad outing for the poor cowboys. With repeated failed attempts to capitalize on big drives throughout the game, and failed opportunities to stop the opponent, the Cowboys have lost their spot at the top of the division. Sad to say that the above description can fit into almost any loss by America’s team.
Cardinals heartbreak
Sunday, November 29th, 2009Even though this isn’t quite like the Cardinals of years past in losing every game in this manner, today’s lose was tough to take. After pinning the Titans at the 1-yard line. The Cardinals could not get a stop and let the Titans march all the way down the field, convert two fourth down plays, and score on the last play of the game to win.
Hope Warner’s ready to go next week.
Leinert loses the college championship again, virtually the same way.
Basketball scabs
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009Heard today on the radio that the NBA has broken off discussions with their referee union in the course of new contract discussions. The NBA plans to begin training replacement refs over the next few weeks in preparation for the upcoming season.
This whole episode has started me thinking on why I watch less professional basketball now than I have in over 20 years. My next thought was that I don’t watch the NBA anymore because of the refs. It’s a fact that the refs in the NBA have more influence over the outcome of the game than the refs of any other sport. (Except maybe gymnastics.) Having seen the NBA zebras repeatedly affect games either by making a borderline call or by not making an obvious call, it seems pointless to watch anymore. The effort of the players seems to matter less and less each year.
Maybe the new refs will make a difference, but I still don’t think that I’ll be watching any NBA games anytime soon. And that’s kind of sad.
Get a new commish and clean up the refs!
Get better Danny!
Thursday, April 16th, 2009News hit the world today that Danny Ainge had a mild heart attack earlier today. I’ll always have a special place for Danny Ainge in my sports heart because he was a part of the early-90′s Phoenix Suns that have a really special place in my sports heart.
So, get well soon, Danny. Good luck with the Celtics, and hopefully the Suns can meet you in the Finals next year. (Don’t worry, I won’t hold my breath.)