So SUH Me

Forgive me for not sparing you of the stupid puns.

Okay, so a lot of you are already aware that Lions defenseman Ndamukong Suh is serving a two-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct during the Thanksgiving game against Green Bay. To people who only watch highlights of the previous matters that he's been involved in, people might think that it was the right decision to suspend Suh. To the "old school" people who have been around in the business for several years (or decades, rather) and have watched the game just as long probably thought that this was an inappropriate resolution.


Oh wait, it gets better--the NFL also wants Suh to take anger management classes. Oh. My. Oreos. I can list about five or six girls that I played ball against that need these classes a heck of a lot more than him. It's quite ridiculous if you ask me.

I'm pretty sure anger management classes can only do so much, and they can only deal with certain issues. There really isn't any way to calm certain kinds of sports-related aggression. Sports like football need that kind of aggression to have the player play at their best and to get the job done as efficiently as possible. However, that kind of aggression can get in the way when it comes to possibly injuring someone to the point where it was completely unnecessary. Those people you can't really cure of anything because they just have a mental problem somewhere down the line.

It is time for a sports psychology lesson (as learned last night):
Yaaaay, aggression in sports. Aggression can be: "an occurence of a result of a complex process mediated by one's thoughts, feelings, and emotions and resulting from the interaction of numerous personal and situational factors" (Weinberg, Gould 2010).



Isn't football all about this kind of aggression to begin with?
My father (bless his soul) would have spat on this suspension and then would have brought up all of the tough guys that pretty much tackled quarterbacks and all of the other little guys to the eighth circle of Hell. Did you ever think of that? Have you ever thought that guys have taken way more rougher beatings back in the day than they do now? Believe me, money helps this cause. Guys would be missing teeth and play with sprains and just about anything else that would be physically possible to play with. Several of these guys are still alive too. Some of them might be a little messed up in the head now, but that doesn't mean that they needed to be suspended for those hits. That's what football was all about back then. Back then, the guys really didn't play for the money; the athletes played for pride and for the love of the sport. Today, you can't be so sure. In all honesty, the money helps their cause to play at their best and avoid injury as best as possible. Sometimes, I can almost count on my mom going, "what's with this 'fair catch' crap??"


There's one case that goes in my way for this argument. One of the bigger cases who had a huge impact on the game and caused a lot of controversy is former NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor. I know, one of the first things you think of is when he broke Joe Theismann's leg and ended his career (here's the break...it's nasty) but he was also famous for changing the way the game was played on defense. His style was said to be shades of the old days when guys would aim straight to exposed ribs and stuff like that. On the other hand, he was infamous for many issues he had off the field; he was known to have had a cocaine addcition and had numerous bouts of drinking. However, these missteps didn't keep him from being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Let's admit this now, some of the biggest scary guys can actually become incredibly successful in life--how about that? Sure, his registration of being a low level 1 sex offender now hurts this example a little bit, but he's publicly admitted that he lived a reckless life at times.
 
I just don't understand why people have to be suspended or fined everytime there's a rough hit or some form of unsportsmanlike conduct. I know that kids are watching and you want to set a good example, but there are also times when you have to be competitive and show a little aggression in your play. I don't care if Ndamukong Suh had a bit of a track record when it came to incidents like the one on Thanksgiving Day--there wasn't a serious injury that came from this problem. I only think that drastic measures should have been taken if Suh had continued that conduct throughout the rest of the game, but no, he was kicked out of the game during the third quarter because of the incident.
I could only imagine what would have truly become of The Fridge if they were giving him this kind of trouble...
 
--AZ

AZ's Slant on Sunday - ESPN: The Real-Life Psychological Thriller

(After writing this, I fully realize that this post will either make or break the dream I may have of maybe working at ESPN. Still I write.)


I don't know about you, but I'm getting absolutely irritated by the often unnecessary coverage on ESPN about the realignment of some NCAA teams, aren't you? There's that expression of beating a dead horse, right? I think there should be a new expression called "beating the Kentucky Derby" after all of this.

Me, being the nerdy "one who still reads newspapers" kind of person, I read a copy of USA Today a few weeks ago. It mainly highlighted how ESPN may be the driving force in much of the realignment occurring in NCAA sports conferences today. How is that, you ask? The article states: "As a TV rights holder, ESPN is a business partner to a wide array of conferences and schools (its total college outlay will average more than $700 million annually by next year)" (Berkowitz et al. 2011). Time out...really? Oh wow. We're talking about an overhaul of juggernaut proportions here. There are now speculations of scripting these things just so people can keep watching like it's some soap opera in danger of being canceled because it's "out of style."

Here's the thing though, they (ESPN) won't be a public "you do this or else" kind of group--they'll only really start talking about it once it's brought up. Once that happens, they'll blow it up to Chernobyl-like proportions so people have no choice but to talk about it at the dinner table with your sons/dad or at the bar with your buddies. If you read my previous post, you know exactly where I'm going with this. ESPN isn't exactly telling them what to do, but they're certainly making a big deal out of it so the people have it on their mind and their opinions have a possibility of swaying something.

It irritates me, is all. This is what the media does day in and day out. At this point, you're probably asking why I still insist on going into this field. Trust me, it's not for the swaying or the setting of the agenda for the people. I want to write about things, just as I am right now; however, when it comes to blowing something up, then we've got problems.

When it comes to the agenda, it's like the organizations watch the coverage, and then they go, "huuh, we're actually doing this? Since when?" Because of the false coverage, high officials start asking questions, and just to keep suit, the organization will try to deny the allegations, leading to more and more controversy. If it sounds like it's a bad thing if a team is covering something up, that will lead to more press (bad press at that). Geez, I wish I had a blackboard at a time like this. If I were to display examples to you, I'd draw something that would ultimately resemble a vicious-looking cycle. Nobody is safe from the press. ESPN is this huge conglomerate that can make or break you. They've been doing it for over 30 years now, so they're pretty much seasoned veterans when it comes to making a mountain out of a molehill. Do they do it all the time? No, but they're certainly infamous for showing favoritism toward certain topics (coughcoughTimTebowcoughcough). On that note, nobody would really care about what Tebow does personally if ESPN wasn't constantly breathing down his neck...am I right or am I right?

Anyway, media outlets that primarily deliver news have the tendency to pick brains and psychologically screw around with your mind in some way. Is it ethical? Unfortunately, that is still up for discussion. People have to make money, so people have to make news stories. Is starting certain moves such as talking about division moves the right way to go about making things interesting for the audience? Well...I don't think we're ever going to avoid it. This is going to horribly confuse presidents of University status, but it looks like the world of college football is sucked into the realm of psychological drama and they're [art of the all-star cast.

Oh, journalism. How two-faced can you be...

[You can find the digital article I had mentioned here. You're welcome.]


--AZ

NFL Midseason Slant for 2011-2012 -- Stuck in the Middle with...THEM

(Much of this post was composed before the Chargers/Raiders game that occurred last night. This will feature records after Week 9.)

Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. We're halfway through already? That's too scary.

Let's take a look at the standings for this year's midway point in the NFL:

AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

Eastern Division

Three-way tie. (omfg)
New England Patriots (5-3) - Am I shocked about this one? Well...sort of. After losing two straight games to the Steelers and the Giants, Brady and the crew look daunting as always, but the defense has some holes to mend after two straight mishaps. Will they be the usual contenders? They should be. Their schedule looks to give the defense some time to recover.
New York Jets (5-3) - As for these polar opposites of the Pats, their defense has been excellent over their eight games, but the offense hasn't been at their strongest at all. Mark Sanchez has an inconsistent groove, and their running game wasn't what it used to be (what happened, LT?). With a roller coaster year so far, it may only go downhill for these green guys.
Buffalo Bills (5-3) - Wowwowweewow. Personally, I am shocked. This is usually the team you don't hear about all that often because they're usually sub-par among the rest of the teams in the AFC. However, this year could definitely be their year, as they've been shocking against big powerhouse teams like the Patriots. I like their chances. Here's hoping that their defense doesn't decide to start letting victories slip by toward the end. These guys by far have one of the easiest second half schedules in the league, and it would hurt to see them choke now.
Miami Dolphins (1-7) - One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong...ha. It's not like they make terrible showings or anything--they just come up short constantly. Even though they made an absolute killing this past week to the Chiefs (which is no big shock), things aren't looking as strong for them in the long run. They may be good front-runners for the spoiler though, don'tcha think?

Central Division

Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) - Wow, there is no such thing as the run when it comes to their defense. That's fantastic. Although Andy Dalton isn't an "elite quarterback" per se, they make lemonade out of lemons each week. They didn't exactly have the hardest schedule over the nine-week period, so they will certainly be tested during their second half of the season.
Baltimore Ravens (6-2) - The Ravens, as usual, have had a stellar defense with guys like Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. As for offense, Joe Flacco will often be the man on the spot when it comes to the decision-making. With flexible choices through runners and receivers, possibilities are endless for this team. By the way, they like to beat the Steelers just like last week. All of this last minute stuff they've been doing over the past few weeks have been quite exciting, I'll tell you that much.
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) - I'm gonna get flack for saying this, but this team is often out-of-sync. In the case of offense, Roethlisberger can really turn it on at times, but sometimes the defense doesn't support the good offensive bursts. It can then go the other way around; the defense can be super awesome, but then the offense may come up short and then Suisham blows a super easy kick. This team will need couples therapy if they want to return to the playoffs and make a good showing this year.
Cleveland Browns (3-5) - Can they stop the pass? Oh heck yes. Can they stop the run? Oh heck no. With a weaker offensive squad, a lot of their games are going to look like a big low-scoring struggle (the 6-3 win over the Seahawks was the best game ever...just kidding). They will mainly have divisional matches coming up, and since they're all defensive powerhouses, things could get really sour for the Brownies.

South Division

Houston Texans (6-3) - These guys really have the potential to actually make it super far this year. The only issue for them is having the possibility of burning out once Week 10 rolls around. They've been making a great showing with Matt Schaub in the lead role at QB and with Arian Foster playing the role of "godsend." Their defense has also been fantastic, but there will be that one game where they'll make a costly mistake and it'll make them look like just an average team. Don't let the "wrong place at the wrong time" statistic fool you--they could be Super Bowl contenders come Week 17.
Tennessee Titans (4-4) - At .500, they're about as average as you could possibly get in the NFL. With stats that are ranked in the middle all down the line in the whole league (except for rushing, but that's beside the point), it can go either here or there for these guys. What can I say? Matt Hasslebeck could either have a good run with these guys and constantly make a good showing...it just depends on what the rest of the team will do at that time.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) - Here, my children, is statistically the worst offense in the NFL. The only thing keeping them alive at this point is Maurice Jones-Drew, their surprisingly strong defense, and their times of upsetting the opposition; I mean, that only really happened once against Baltimore, but that was huge. There's not much to say about these guys except they need a quarterback in the worst way. It's so sad. I want these guys to do well, it's just that their QB area is the equivalent of the next team I'm about to talk about...
Indianapolis Colts (0-9) - Wait a minute...they're the basement team I have to talk about this year????? I guess it's rather obvious that no Peyton Manning equals no winning season. Don't get me wrong, they've come close several times, but they never get the job done. There's no point in seeing Manning whatsoever this year. If he's back, I'll be severely disappointed...just finish the season out, guys. That's all.

West Division

Again, I did this before the Thursday night game. Thanks for screwing with my post, NFL Network.
Another three-way, eh? For some reason, this doesn't look as impressive...
San Diego Chargers (4-4) - Remember what I said about the Steelers? It's exactly the same for these guys. They have the potential to be really great; Philip Rivers is really rocking the quarterback role, and the defense has their shining times. Although they're at .500, the games they've lost have been close, so that means they haven't really been giving up in the usual ways. Did their game against Oakland stay that way yesterday?
Kansas City Chiefs (4-4) - Why do these guys like to fall asleep during certain games? It's almost as if they like to get spanked sometimes. I never thought Matt Cassel was a good lead, and well...there's never that much team chemistry showing out on the field. Think Jonathan Baldwin, kids. Can they look like a gelled team for the rest of the season? I say nay. It's just not happening.
Oakland Raiders (4-4) - These guys would look so much more impressive if the defense didn't like to scare everyone with high-scoring games. With a shaky quarterback position in tow, we'll see what Carson Palmer can deliver for the future. I like the rushing with Darrius Heyward-Bey in the lead spot for that.
Denver Broncos (3-5) - Warning: Tim Tebow will not be the person to "save" this team. It's not because he's a Born-Again Christian (there, I said it, now leave me alone). The defense is not that good, and that is why Denver is having a hard time. The management has been so poor that so many other things could have been done to this team during a game so that they wouldn't let certain losses slip through their fingers. Just sayin'. I'm gonna go and "Tebow" as I feed the dogs.


NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

East Division

New York Giants (6-2) - Me thinks that since Peyton is not around this season, there's hardly any pressure on Eli Manning, who is having one of the best seasons of his career. However, the G-Men have a really, really tough schedule ahead of them, so the defense will definitely be tested against some of the stronger offenses in the league. I will admit that I feel bad because this team has a good playoff shot, but could be severely upset if they don't remain strong in the second half.
Dallas Cowboys (4-4) - The only really bad blip on this team's radar is their slaughtering to the Eagles back in Week 8. Aside from this, their offense has been really effective with Tony Romo (with punctured lung action!) in QB and with rookie DeMarco Murray running away with stellar numbers at RB. All that needs to be avoided is injury from this point on and they could take the Wild Card no problem.
Philadelphia Eagles (3-5) - Some "dream team," eh? The defense is good on paper but is not jelling the way they should. Michael Vick might be great in the leadership role right now but he does not mix the pass with the run because he can't throw as well as the average QB. Speaking of the run, the rushing game is fantastic. LeSean--err, "Shady" McCoy is running these guys to the top in the league in rushing yardage per game. That's the only stable thing going for them at this point.
Washington Redskins (3-5) - Ouch. What the heck happened to their offense? After McNabb's exit, they've had two QB's (Grossman and Beck) that have been hot and cold for these guys. If the defense was as shaky as the offense, I'd be calling these guys the Colts of the NFC. Dead serious. The offense is not very strong at all. That needs fixing and fast.

North Division

Green Bay Packers (8-0) - Now that's what I'm talking about for a reigning Super Bowl-winning team. Aaron Rodgers is having a fantastic year, and he's putting up massive points for an undefeated team that is a massive force to be reckoned with. However, we're somewhat lucky that the offense has been on fire, because the defense is having a hard time keeping up with the opposing offensive passing game. I'd love to see the streak keep strong, but the defense is going to make that difficult.
Detroit Lions (6-2) - Here's another team that is absolutely scaring the crap out of me. Matt Stafford: most underrated QB right now. And their defense...oh man, when was the last time their defense was actually this good? I mean, they're having the "holey syndrome" where they're having issues with the run, but if you eliminate that from the mix, these guys will have a postseason in their sights as a Wild Card team. Ku-dos.
Chicago Bears (5-3) - These guys will have their little problems here and there, but they're making a good run as far as I'm concerned. Matt Forte is a beast in the rushing game, and Cutler has a safety issue with his offensive line. He will get fumed at times when he is not blocked. I think back to Week 2 against the Saints in that case. Hey da Bears, don't let the little things make you come up short.
Minnesota Vikings (2-6) - I'd like to hold an open forum here: who still thinks that Donovan McNabb should be a starting QB? He's been quite painful to watch unless if he hands off to Percy Harvin or Adrian Peterson. The defense makes me nervous too. Final answer: just finish the season out without needing to fire/beat the snot out of anyone.

South Division

New Orleans Saints (6-3) - Oh Drew Brees, my fantasy starting QB...you're the man--wait. Sorry...the team itself. Anyway, the Saints defense can be very hot and cold these days. You can see them hold a winless team to a touchdown (the Colts) and then the week after they'll gift-wrap 31 points to a then-winless squad (the Rams). Offense, stay classy. I like you guys. Everyone pretty much expects your offense to be top-10. I do, at least. Thanks for keeping my team a manageable 4-5, Brees.
Atlanta Falcons (5-3) - Oh Matt Ryan...my backup QB--crap, I did it again. If you look at the team on paper, they don't exactly look like the strongest squad, but they will make it happen. One side of the pigskin picks up after another when things go sour, and I like that. That's what teamwork is all about. Will they make it far? I'd like to see it happen, but I don't think the cute act is going to go much farther than this. "Easy" teams could really make them suffer.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-4) - Don't get me wrong, these guys have deserved every single one of their wins, but aside from that, I'm not overly impressed with their team as a whole. Their defense has a few holes in it, and Josh Freeman can have his problems every once in a while. Yeah, you can take what I say as a grain of salt because they can surprise anyone on any given Sunday, but that's almost like flipping a coin.
Carolina Panthers (2-6) - From the looks of this team, why does it look like Cam Newton and Steve Smith are the only people on the Carolina offense? That's just...bad. Newton keeps putting up monster numbers and the offensive and defensive lines just look at it and go, "That's nice. We'll challenge you even more now." The running D is horrible, and it just makes a QB with promise look like some dude named Tim Tebow. Dead serious.

West Division

San Francisco 49ers (7-1) - SHOCKED AGAIN. Wow. They look like GODS in this division. Why? Deeeeee-FENSE. Alex Smith and crew on the offense aren't exactly the best in the league, but Frank Gore is keeping that line bearable for me. The defensive line (to me) is statistically the best defense in the NFC, and if the offense steps it up, they could have one heck of a run against the reigning Super Bowl Champion Packers.
Seattle Seahawks (2-6) - You look at the 49ers and then there's a cliff with three teams in it. Seattle is one of those teams that have a numerous amount of shortcomings. I never really thought Tavaris Jackson was a strong QB. In short, I still think this team is hungover from beating the Rams and the favorited Saints last year in the playoffs. Good season, boys.
Arizona Cardinals (2-6) - You're trying, Kevin Kolb, I know you are. You guys are only making good showings against teams poorer than you, and that's...just, really bad. The only shining points on this team are Early Doucet and Larry Fitzgerald at WR, and that's saying everything there. Give them the ball and points might be involved with that. End of story.
St. Louis Rams (1-7) - Weren't these guys supposed to be good this year too? I was just wondering because everyone seems to hype the Rams year in and year out and they disappoint. Sam Bradford dropped off after his rookie year and then that was pretty much it. I feel bad for you, guys. Just enjoy your World Series victory.

______________________________


And that just about does it for me here. It seems like this year is going to shock, surprise, and make you go, "wow, seriously?"

I like it that way.

Check back around the new year for the final results of this awesome season!

PS - Go listen to Stealer's Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle with You." You will not be sorry.

--AZ

Sex, Lies, and JoePa

I live in the state of Pennsylvania. Some friends of mine go to Penn State. Therefore, I will write.

Lots of crazy things happen in college. Some of them can be so crazy that they require mindless riots and sex scandals to make things interesting for everybody.

Tonight on this lovely post here at The Sports Nut Blogs, we're going to talk about some controversy. Oooohhh, nice juicy controversy. ...Not.

Jerry Sandusky (left) and Joe Paterno (right)

Our story begins way back in the 90's, where Jerry Sandusky was defensive coordinator for the Penn State Nittany Lions college football team since the 1977 season. However, during that time, it was allegedly told from assistant Mike McQueary that he was seen performing a sexual act on a ten-year old boy in the men's locker room. Although he was investigated for suspicion of this in 1998 (while he was still coach), it was never reported to higher officials for criminal charge. Sandusky then left the squad in 1999 later to create charities and events while continuing to support Penn State's football team. A few weeks ago, Sandusky was finally arrested for about 40 charges of sexual molestation over the period of fifteen years. Back in 2002, Joe Paterno (by McQueary's word) did report of certain molestation acts performed by Sandusky, but they were never reported to police.

Last night, Paterno, along with PSU president Graham Spainer were relieved of their duties as coach and president, respectively.

What? Why?

A lot of people have been wondering why Paterno has gotten the axe because of this. People said that he did nothing wrong--that he actually did the right thing by reporting the incident to the University's athletic director. However, he was more or less guilty by association. The reason why he was cut from the program was because he (as well as Spainer) didn't follow through with this and they never reported it to police. (We just wish that some of the student rioters understood this part.) Because of this, Paterno's near-Hall of Fame status is now tainted and he's going to be nothing more than taboo. The obvious was also made on something because Paterno previously announced before the season began that he was going to retire after this year. Something was definitely up, don't you think?

After the announcements were made, it was almost as if Penn State University went into meltdown.

I know that football is a big deal out in State College, Pennsylvania, but those rioters made Penn State University look like a school filled with a bunch of idiots. A lot of the people I know on Facebook are incredibly upset and practically apologizing for the stupid acts that they did. If you didn't read, the riots after the announcement of the firing of Paterno resulted in students pushing over an Altoona news van. Are you kidding? It's not like you guys have the right to do that. Pushing over a news van isn't going to get what you want. You guys are all about 20 or so, right? You're not 7. Nobody stole your crayons, for goodness sake. Grow up. I didn't get to read if any of them were arrested or reprimanded in any other way for that, but they do deserve a little something for immaturity.

On top of this, the Nittany Lions' football team is planning on sitting out on their game against Nebraska on Saturday. What's that going to do? Gain sympathy or something? No, it will make you guys look stupid. Nothing that the school is going to do will take away from the fact that boys were molested and they had to live with it while the attacker got away with it for so long. It sucks, I get it. But the last thing you want to do is to reduce yourself to a rebellious piece of a whiner.

Unfortunately for Penn State this is getting blown out of proportion, and it's pounding this painful controversy in every student, student-athlete, and coach's mind right now. I don't even go there--I only live in the state--and it's getting ridiculously annoying and painful to watch and listen to.

Now all that we have to look forward to is to hear about the aftermath of what had happened last night. Fun fun fun.

--AZ

TV Wrecks Sports

(After reading Jerry Mander's Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television and Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, I feel that this post was bound to happen.)

I don't understand why, but I'm seriously starting to hate television nowadays.
Why? It clearly skews our vision of sports and local/world events in general.

I'm not going to say that several books have completely changed my life and everything, but I will admit that many things about the media are making so much sense to me these days. You have to hear me out on this one. I'll start asking you a few questions: what is your favorite sport? Have you ever seen it up close and personal? What are your least favorite sports? Have you ever seen those sports up close and personal?

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get some facts and figures out of the way.
Television is always supposed to be exciting, right? Sex and violence sells, right? O.K.! Now, what sports do you think are the biggest sellers on TV because of their violence rate? If you said MMA, boxing, and football, you're absolutely right. What's the lowest sellers? Baseball and soccer. Hockey and basketball is in that gray area because it's not exactly violent as it is fast-paced.

My argument is this: unless you're truly at a sporting event, you will not fully appreciate the energy and feeling of a sport. I keep telling the soccer haters that they don't know what the hype of soccer is about unless if they've actually been there. Just by watching television, people will think that certain things are boring. When something is slow and there aren't enough camera cuts or shots, people will get bored. It's a known fact. What would happen to you if you just watched the television show a basic sunset? You'd get bored--unless if they threw in a couple of cutscenes showing a rolling ocean or birds flying by. With soccer, you will just see a constant pan during play unless if there is a stoppage. It makes sense if you're not a soccer fan. You're entitled to not like it because it doesn't give you a flexible view of things--and let's be honest, you may not be around people to enjoy the experience with.

Let's take a country like Spain or Brazil for example. Soccer is HUGE in those countries. Why? It's not just because it's the most played sport in the country, but there are enough teams and big enough stadiums for those people to fill them and watch every week. Money isn't exactly a factor, either. The amount of people that constantly come every week pretty much pays for itself. It's the same with football here...every week there's more than enough teams for people to constantly fill the stadium and stuff like that.

I understand that not everybody has the money to constantly go to see sporting events, but think before you say something. If you're watching a sport you may not be familiar with, you're heavily restricted in evidence to create an opinion. Television restricts all experience; it only gives generic pleasure and satisfaction, and not the full sight of things. Believe me, I wouldn't be a big of a soccer or baseball fan unless if I didn't play the sports myself and retrieve the full experience that way. Because I have that love for them, I can definitely appreciate the sports regardless of whether I see them live or see them on TV.

Aside from that, television makes you view what they want you to see. If you can't get a legitimate viewpoint, uniformity in beliefs through just seeing sports on television could destroy the unique opinions and welfare of sports itself.

--AZ

A Coach's Tale

(To Mom, the strongest woman in the world.)

After the somber events that have occurred in my life over the span of three months, I have taken a lot of time to think about a lot of memories. A lot of them had to do with my parents, of course. One of the prouder moments they had together was when they helped coach many of the sports teams that me and my younger brother were a part of. They didn't have to go to school for it; they just took what they knew from experience and taught those skills to young girls and boys.

Today, my mother and I saw the film The Mighty Macs in which basketball coach Cathy Rush started from square one and made young women from a small college into champions. After watching that movie, my mother and I reminisced about how she used to coach my softball teams in grade school and how wound up we would all get in it--no lie, I would too...I'd make phone calls if the parents were busy with things and I was a teammate telling the parents what was going on. It was awkward, I'll tell you. We later talked about how we'd want to do it again. It wouldn't be because we loved the stress and the competition (well, for me it wouldn't), it would be because coaching is almost like a sport of our own. We got our own fun and joy out of it, even though I wasn't a legitimate coach at all.

I don't necessarily think this is the same case for all forms of coaching, whether it would be on the professional level or on the recreational level, but to me, coaching requires a lot of "street smarts," if you get where I'm heading to with this one. Don't understand? I'll explain as best as I can.

For example, a couple of days ago Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington compared his matchup to Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa to a chess match. To me, it's more like Battleship because I hardly understand chess, but that's besides the point. Before you do the major planning, you need to know your men (or women in other cases) and make sure that they are conditioned and ready to do their job and make the most of their ability. Sure, it would really help if you played the sport before, so you know what kind of conditioning you would need and what kind of emotions are placed into certain fields of the sport. In other words, you need to know the basic mechanics and how to build up someone who is just learning how to play. When I first started out in CYO softball, there were a few girls who did not know how to hit a ball or even catch one correctly. Regardless of who knew and who didn't, my parents took everyone back to the beginning and taught the basics of how to catch and how to hit. Because they knew how to build those mechanics, some of these girls became so well-nourished in the craft that they even went on to play in high school. To see that happen, you can believe that the coaches get a great amount of satisfaction when there is a success story like that. When you can teach like that, you can get a better feel on placement and how to approach difficulties in cases of games and drills.

I guess you can see why my parents were so wound up in it; once they got a gist of their players, the planning process of placement and strategies provided for each athlete took more time than they would ever care to share with me. The way I see it, the easy part for them was the encouragement and the teaching of particular values that just about any parent would teach to their own children. The teachings of belief, heart, and teamwork would need to be heard at times by players because of the [often] lack of being on the same page or the fog of mental imagery of their own self-strategy. The way a coach acts like a mother duck to keep the team together gives the players another "parent" to look up to. This person taught them specific values on life and love in sports.

Don't lie...doesn't he look like a huggable grandpa to you?

Although it may be true that you may need to have a knack to do stuff like this, you can understand why it's so easy to get wound up in coaching. Most of all, it's pretty awesome to see your master plan all unfold and just watch your team propel to greatness (whatever that may be, since not everyone can go undefeated).

The one thing that my mother and father always wanted before anything else--as much as my mother was competitive and loved to win--they wanted us to have fun. Even professional managers will want their athletes to enjoy themselves in order to remain intrinsically motivated to be at their best and succeed. Isn't that what it's all about after all? Coaches have fun seeing you have fun. How about that? There's so much inner psychology from it that in reality, it all boils down to enjoyment of some sort. Sure, there have probably been some real evil coaches that people may have had in the past...they probably just had a stick up their you-know-where...but even when they were in a good mood, they wanted to see you succeed while carrying out the "master plan."

I won't lie, I'd love to coach some sort of team at some point in life. Teaching comes as a second nature, so how bad could it be to tell a coach's tale to my children someday?

--AZ

Momentum Shift - The Keymasters

Yeah, I just totally went there.

It's October, meaning that Halloween is around the corner. Ergo, it's a perfect time to make a Ghostbusters reference! Anyway...

Whenever I watch college football on television, I think to myself, "Man, this place is loud. How is anyone not mute or deaf after this game?"

You think to yourself, why are spectator sports really called spectator sports? Believe me, it isn't just because people like to watch the sport and sit there with their pipes and curly mustaches like we're in the days of Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. It's because spectators will relentlessly root for their team;  in the meantime, they'll boo and jeer the opponents out of the stadium if they have to. Think Texas/Oklahoma or Army/Navy just to name a few college game examples.


Different factors such as mascots, cheerleaders, and supporter groups like the Black Hole and the Hogettes help the home team's cause and give the home team that extra little boost to perform at their strongest.
If you're in the right kind of sports city, the crowd will let you know that you're doing a terrible job as well. Cities such as New York and Philadelphia (I know this all too well with the Eagles) will even boo at their home team after a crappy job in practically giving away the game to the other team.

It's funny, but I am currently taking a sports psychology course at my school and we were just talking about this concept on Monday night. Note this too--I began writing this post that afternoon before reading the gist of the chapter. Weird, eh? Basically, we discussed that the concepts of home-field advantage have been the center of research over the past several years. Although the facts of home-field advantage date back to well over 100 years ago, there has been evidence present of phenomena such as "choking." Sound familiar? People will argue that since there are higher stakes, there's added pressure that comes along with the loudness of the crowd and the anxiety-filled atmosphere. When you think about it, that makes a boatload of sense, right?

You also have to figure in this tidbit: if a tree falls in the woods, is it going to make a sound if someone is there to listen to it? Teams that hardly have an attendance at their games will have to work from the bottom-up if they need an extra push to get back into the game. You will often see fans from the opposing team file into the stadium to support the team and give them the home-filed atmosphere that they are most familiar with. If the actual home team doesn't have a fanbase of their own to begin with, how are they going to get a momentum shift from an outside force? I won't lie, I do feel a little better when I'm up to bat and someone's cheering for me. That's just my preference though.
I even remember watching a friend playing NCAA Football (I forget which year, to be honest) and while the guys are placed on the line of scrimmage, you have the capability to make a play "raise the roof" and make the crowd louder. That had to have been the weirdest function I've ever seen on a game, but apparently it was really useful to the person playing the game.

There are probably numerous naysayers that will say that the crowd does nothing and that the only way a player will work at their optimum level is if they stay focused and disregard the crowd. I heavily disagree with this statement, and the main reason is because athletes will want to play and they will want to make themselves as well as other people happy. That is our goal in life: happiness. Sure, you could play your heart out and not care what anyone else thinks about you, but when you have [what seems like] the world behind you in doing something, doesn't that give you a spurt of confidence? Doesn't that fine-tune your focus a little bit more? Playing to love the sport is one thing, but playing to entertain is another aspect that usually isn't looked into. When I played softball, I played it because I loved to play. In hindsight, I was also seen as an athletic entertainer; my parents and other family members enjoyed the heck out of watching me play my heart out. Because they loved to see me at my best, they cheered for me. Isn't that what a crowd does for an athlete they love?

There's a lot of lingo out there such as "the sixth man," or "the tenth man," and those extra guys are the people in the bleachers and the stadium seating. Why? They have the heart and soul to inspire the guys playing out on the field. We have that extra manpower to push the other guys to greatness. Sure, we might not always understand everything about the sport, but we know that positive reinforcement never really hurt anybody in the long run...


The crowd holds the key. Momentum can shift at any moment once the crowd takes ahold of it.
They are the keymasters.

--AZ