Yao-za, He Could Be Gone!

Oh boy, it seems like just yesterday I wrote about how he was going to make a comeback despite injury and a whole bunch of other problems.
Now it's been announced that his career could be in complete jeopardy. Despite reports stating that Yao Ming has declared retirement, those allegations may be deemed false, and a press conference will be held on July 20th to announce what the true answer is.
Just think...at the age of thirty, he may be hobbling off into the distance, bags in hand, hitchhiking to either the broadcast booth or The Land of Retirement: Where People Can't Stand the Pending Boredom [<--- Will be a future post]

If the expected does happen, here is my tribute to him.

The Legacy of a Chinese Rocket

This ran in his family.
His parents were basketball players. They were ridiculously tall (both well over six feet tall). You can basically tell where this is going...he was going to be one big baby. Heck, when he was ten, he was as tall as I am now (I'm about 5'5").
Not too long afterward, he began to play basketball. After hard training, some tough injuries, and pushes to win championships in China, he decided to enter the NBA Draft in 2002. I'll tell you one thing though--his friends had a lot of faith in him. A lot of Chinese officials gave him massive heat for entering an American Basketball Draft. Unless if he was picked first overall, he would not be allowed to play. "Team Yao" wouldn't have that, though. Lo and behold, he was chosen first overall by the Houston Rockets. Even though he wasn't the first Chinese man to play basketball in the United States, there was something different about him.

He broke many barriers.
Not many Chinese men can say that they have been successful in the NBA. Also, very few people thought he was going to be very successful in the NBA. However, he proved those people wrong. In fact, his quick success scared many competitors. To keep hopes up and the confidence fresh, many people played the "Asian stereotype" card to show that they were "ready" for Yao to come crashing through their home arenas. For example, Shaq's "ching-chang-chong-like" press conference and the promotion of fortune cookies in arenas were used. What was Yao Ming's response to this? Seeing the joke and then playing at his best. Even though he wasn't voted the NBA Rookie of the Year, he was still admired by many because of his skill and his talent.

He was a driving force.
Because of his chemistry with players like Tracy McGrady, he eventually became an eight-time All-Star and has led his team into the playoffs several times. Although he had not been there due to some injury, he had played a major role in many of the team's successes. He had also been a huge key on the Chinese National Team when it came to the Olympics and the FIBA Tournaments--where they have won gold medals in the FIBA Asian Championships. However, injuries began to plague his playing. His feet would not really "agree" with him. Although it is normal for a tall man like him to have injuries, they began to pile up until there was no room left for him to breathe. This past season, he was only able to play five games.

He is still a hero.
He is widely known in China as well as the United States because of his charitable work and his numerous advertising deals. He has gone so far as donating money to his home country after a natural disaster, and he has even bought his former Chinese team because of financial problems. Even if he does leave, he is still a might Chinese rocket and international ambassador to sports and charities alike.


However, despite the fact that he could be "retiring from the NBA," he's still technically one of the biggest (no pun intended) ambassadors when it comes to international basketball. I don't honestly think that this will be the end for him. Even though his feet are not agreeing with him, he's gonna have some frequent flyer miles after his official career is over.

Looks like we'll have to wait until July 20th to see what the true result is for our Chinese giant.

I think it may be almost time to say goodbye and go off into the distance...for now.

--AZ

Double the Lockouts, Double the Not-So-Fun!

Okay, so I apparently missed a lot while I was gone. Thursday afternoon, negotiations between the NBA and the players union basically gave up early on doing an eleventh-hour CBA save. Now as I type this, two major sports leagues in the world are now under lockout, and people are thinking that it can't possibly get any more worse than this.

Today, we're going to be delving into each lockout issue, and how the other major leagues are showing awareness to the situation yet secretly partying about not having to go through it at a rough economical time such as this. We'll also talk about the other additional issues that could spring up from this, and trust me there's a lot of them.
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Is this the first time this has happened to the NBA?

Nope. This is the third time it's happened--the most recent one happening in the 1998-99 season which shortened the season to 50 games from the usual 82 games. Of course, the two before it were work stoppages and labor disputes occurring in the early-mid 90's, but of course this form of work stoppage now is much more rough and destructive. Because there was such an abrupt stoppage in negotiations, critics are having a dark outlook on how this CBA is going to be made before the season starts.
(I bet they all wanted to watch the coverage of the Casey Anthony trial instead of coming to a consensus.)
With the harsh economy and the wants and needs of money among players, owners, and the sports centers/merchandise providers, nobody knows how to truly split it. I'm pretty sure they knew they weren't going to come up with something before the deadline. With that said, I think they're going to try to walk into their respective cubbyholes after the July 4th (or Canada Day) holiday and figure out how to reinvent the wheel in their league. How long is it going to take them? Hey, look at the NFL...they're still walking around in circles wearing dunce caps. According to a source that worships Skip Bayless, players are thinking that there won't be a season at all starting in the fall. There is a serious lack of faith among the players, isn't there? Considering there were the degree of labor disputes that existed about 15 years ago, if there's no even negotiations next week, this could get ugly reeeeeeal fast.

What's going on with the NFL?

I seriously don't know. I don't think the NFLPA and the owners even know what's going on. From what it sounds like, commissioner Goodell's proposal didn't go through with everyone. We're now into July, and the first preseason game is scheduled for August 8th. There is so much to do with so little time to do it. Although players are holding mini camps for themselves, a lot of team building, trades, and salary business has to happen before preseason starts. Things don't look very well for these guys. At this rate, it looks like preseason may either be bypassed, shortened, or utilized in full--resulting in a shorter NFL season. No joke, kids...it really looks like the short season is going to be happening now.
PS - Did anyone notice that people are still keeping count of the days since the beginning of the lockout just as intently as the days when the people were held hostage in Iran back in the 80's? It's well past 100 days now. Whoop.

So what's next for the other major leagues (i.e. NHL, MLB)? What about the "lesser" leagues?

Honestly, this is the best thing to happen to the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League. In the case of the NBA, the WNBA is going to be feeding off of this for the time being since they're the only functioning basketball league working in the country. Because these leagues are more-or-less "The Replacements" for the fools in lockout, ratings are more than likely going to rise. Also, lost revenue from this season will be going to them, and they will most likely have the freedom to expand. The early bird gets the worm, I suppose.
As far as the other major leagues go such as the NHL and MLB, now is their time to shine. There's no competition for either of them on Monday nights because the juggernaut known as Monday Night Football normally kills ratings and usually messes up postseason ratings in baseball. Week in and week out, the NHL may not have to worry about big NBA games coming up. It'll be like the NHL and MLB are in The Twilight Zone--they'll be saying:

Where's all of the competition?

One thing's for sure, televisions are going to be wondering what they're going to be doing if they premiere a show and then have to replace it with a revived season in basketball and football. What should they do? Sit on their hands? A lot of the TV deals are going to be messed up with this, and unless if there's a surefire backup plan in case if the lockouts don't end by the time their respective regular seasons start, we're going to be seeing a lot of awkward reality TV shows and more unnecessary coverage of the lockouts and the stupidity behind them.
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Nowadays, this is what the business is all about.
It's brutal to think about it from the money aspect, but deep down, that's really what these hard negotiations are really for. It's the whole "what's in it for me" type of thing. No matter how you split it, I'm more than certain that people are going to be dissatisfied with what's going to be brought to the table.

You can say: "Well, I don't think the stadiums and sports arenas are given enough revenue--they need some of that profit for themselves," or "The owners and general managers make too much money--give the players better salary caps so labor disputes could be eliminated," and either way somebody's going to like it. No side will want the shorter end of the stick.
I wish I could have an open forum (a la Harold Camping without the end of the world stuff) and we could just point, laugh, and pull our hair out watching people argue and not be fair to each other. It could be fun. We could make tee shirts and stuff.

This is undoubtedly the craziest thing you will probably ever live through in the world of sports. With two major leagues down for the count, it seems like the world of sports and entertainment is really thrown for a loop, and you start thinking, "well, now what?" Even if you don't follow the NFL or the NBA, there is that little empty feeling without hearing something about a trade or whether there's a huge game coming up.
Dude, could you imagine no Super Bowl this year? Oh man, that would really be the apocalypse. Every person around the world that watches the NFL will be so stir-crazy that they will probably start eating people.
I couldn't even imagine what the Miami Heat will be thinking at this point. Let's not start blaming LeBron for being a walking championship curse or something. As the summer lurks on, expect a lot of arguments and doubts rising from sports critics and a lot of questions being ousted from the players not really knowing what they're in for.
Buckle up, boys and girls, we're in for the long haul.

For now, all you can really do right now is watch. If you believe in God or some other higher power, start praying if you really want football and basketball in it's entirety this year.

--AZ

Best Landing Spot for Donovan McNabb

(Well hello everyone; first let me introduce myself. I am AnimaniacZero’s boyfriend, my name is Andrew. Anyway, getting back on track here, while she is away in Florida she left me in charge of the asylum. I would like to thank her and Sports Nut Blogs for allowing me to be a guest writer for this piece.)

Living in Philadelphia during the 90’s through the 2000’s it is has been ingrained into everyone’s head that Donovan McNabb is possibly the worst thing to ever step foot on a football field. Being an outsider in my own city (For the record I’m a Steelers Fan) I’ve never had this opinion. I thought it was a mistake to trade him within the NFC East, and if it wasn’t for problems with the coaching staff I think if he stayed there he would win a Super Bowl before the Eagles do.

(Insert whole city of Philadelphia stoning me)

With the last sentence of the last paragraph there’s a better chance of me QB’ing the Redskins before McNabb comes back. So when this stupid lockout (another post another day) is over and free agency starts the question becomes if anyone will take a chance on him? I believe there are a number of teams that should look at him, he still has at least 3 good years left in him and could make an impact. Now let the love connection begin!

Music Please?

(AZ's Side Note: You know what? I'm just going to put a link of a picture of Chuck Woolery here for added pleasure.)

1) Bachelor #1 - Minnesota Vikings: (Front Runner in many people’s opinion)

Now I know what you’re thinking, “Didn’t we just go through this washed up QB thing with the Vikings?” And to those people I would say yes, but hear me out on this: the Vikings just can’t seem to find “that piece” they need, because when you look at them they are a pretty darn good team. They have consistently one of the best defenses in the league, up and coming superstar wide receivers Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. Oh and did I forget to mention they have ADRIAN FLIPPIN' PETERSON! (Boomer Sooner...)

Now this seems like a perfect situation. But there is a main thing keeping Donovan from getting his plane ticket and freezing his rear off in Minnesota. That main reason is Christian Ponder--don’t know who he is? Well that’s good cause neither do I! But he was the Vikings first round pick this year, and apparently Coach Frazier is putting “his stamp” on this guy. Now do I think Ponder is the future franchise QB of the Vikings… no..

2) Bachelor #2 - Oakland Raiders:

To any true football fans this idea should come as no shock. Is there any reason why McNabb would fit in Oakland, no not really. But Al Davis loves taking players that have been banished by the rest of the NFL and saying “I can still use them!.” Now these next few sentences are going to be hard for me to say as a Steelers fan (puts on forced smile). The Raiders have a young defense that finished last season up strong and their offense is “not horrible.” This would be more of a project however than Minnesota, and if he were to go to a “project team” it would have to be the right one..

Speaking of the right team...

3) Bachelor #3 - Miami Dolphins

Now I believe that Donovan and the Dolphins would be a good relationship for him to end his career on. Like the Raiders, their defense is young and gave the AFC a run for their money in just about every game they played. Now unlike the Raiders the Dolphins offense is not in the best shape since Dan Marino left! Ricky Williams more than likely won’t be coming back (insert any “substance” joke here) and Ronnie Brown is a shell of his former self. The only upside that Miami has over Oakland is that they have a big time receiver in Brandon Marshall and a decent second receiver in Devone Bess. But for all you doubters that McNabb can work with sub-par receivers how many of you think we would of ever heard of Todd Pinkston or James Thrash or L.J Smith without McNabb. Don’t worry I’ll wait. (Stares)

_________________________

In closing I don’t believe that McNabb is a great quarterback but I always have believed that he got a bad rap here on Philly. The man took a sub-par offense to the NFC Championship 4 straight years and got the Eagles to the SuperBowl once. He can still play and if he wasn’t getting ousted by the Shanahans in Washington he would have been good there. To all you people that thing I’m crazy or say “I'm not a true Philadelphia Eagles fan.” I would like to reiterate the fact that I'm not...

Red Whines: GRUNT! AUGH! Stop It Already!!

(This post may not be suitable for younger folk. I may make references that are not child-friendly.)

You know how whenever you watch tennis, you're always hearing a scream of epic struggle on the top and bottom of the television? When the women play, it sounds like they're screaming something along the lines of "KILLER TENNIS BALL ATTACK!" or "BALL, GET OVER THERE AND FALL IN!" or if you're Maria Sharapova, it's just "AAAAAAAUGH!" Either way, it's practically louder than what you would hear in a newlyweds' bedroom.

Because some of these war-cries are getting louder and louder and way out of hand, the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) is thinking of banning grunting and screaming in professional tennis.

Really? They have to make a rule for that?

It's almost like asking people throwing the shot put or the javelin and telling the people not to exert any noise whatsoever. It's been studied in sports sciences that any vocal action can increase adrenaline or strength or force exerted while playing. Here's proof: the next time you stub your toe or hit your funny bone, swear as loud as possible.  If you do that, your brief stint of stupidity won't hurt that much. It also might pump you up. This is where this post gets really really cheesy--the first thing that comes to mind in describing this is a scene from the anime Dragonball Z. Here, watch it. I must warn you though...there's a boatload of screaming within this six-minute clip. (Fast-forward to about 1:25). From what I've seen as well, I know a lot of martial arts practice grunting and screaming (but not to the extreme extent) when doing patterns or focusing chi while breaking boards and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff.

Grant it, they may simply grunt and scream just to fake-out the opposition, but honestly, you're not supposed to annoy the crowd with it. I feel like there's more exertion in playing tennis than being a lead dancer in a Broadway Musical. Think about it, not only do you have to move around in extreme heat and funky-colored court for a few hours, but with the screaming going on, that's a lot of energy dished out in a particular period of time. That's why tennis players are in such good shape and are beyond conditioned to play a long game such as tennis.

I wouldn't necessarily be against the banning of the Braveheart-style grunting during tournament play, but if you really want to make a reasonable rule, try to water down the amount of grunts and screams, and if there's an excessive amount during the set, call a double fault or something (thank you, Nintendo Tennis, for making me know that reference). I will be perfectly frank, there's no way you're going to completely get rid of the screams, because that's a normal reflex of what people do when they hit something. Sure, it could just get annoying after a while, but you can at least crack down on it lightly enough so that there's no bad blood between the union and it's players.

People, stop making dumb rules. Rules were meant to be broken, you know.

People are just thinking of wanting Sharapova banned just because she screams so much. I doubt that will be happening anytime soon because everyone thinks she's so hot and all.

--AZ

Blood: Thicker Than Water ... Eww, Messy

(Drafted in late February, finally finished exactly four months later.)

Back when I wrote about the sibling rivalry matches between Peyton and Eli Manning, a lot of things have come up in sports about the whole idea of family... Just think about it--ever notice how it isn't just sons upholding the family name anymore, but it's cousins and brothers now? Like the saying says, blood is indeed thicker than water (figuratively and literally). This supposed "blood" is being smeared all around sports, a kind of "sharing of the wealth" from lineage and legends.

Sure, you might have that luck when the child or brother totally sucks and makes the parent (or other sibling) look like total crap, but those are rare cases.

[Note: I'm not including godparents. That's just flat-out silly.]

Anyway, let's look at what the world of sports have to offer us: We've had the Ripkens, the Griffeys, the Mannings, the Hasslebecks, and many more. Even the whole father-son combo has been done and everybody thought that was cute because it was daddy playing ball with his kid and they were wiping the floor with the competition. Of course in baseball, you don't really see that anymore since most of these sons are usually the younger ones in the bunch and don't get out of college until the father retires. In football, there's a really strong chance that you won't ever see it because of the low retirement age in the NFL (unless if you're Brett Favre, then that's nothing). Today, you're more likely to see brothers and cousins going head-to-head.

Right now, you're probably thinking: "Why did you bother writing about something as common as families in sports?" I'd be more than happy to answer that for you. It's not exactly as common as you would think. Sometimes brothers or cousins who play in high school or in college may get dropped by the draft because of the whole "survival of the fittest" complex; that, or the unfortunate brother/cousin will stay in a minor league system and never progress any further. However, there is the rare instance that the clan will stay intact due to their equal amount of skill and credentials.

For example...
Just look at the Super Molina Bros: Jose, Yadier, and Bengie are all catchers in the MLB. How cute is that? I believe they've all won rings too. D'awww, brotherly love right there, folks.

I could care less that this is an outdated photo.

You also have brothers that are quarterbacks on the same team. Sure, the Bengals did do that well, but they have Jordan and Carson Palmer sitting on the bench being brothers!!

Titans safety Michael Griffin and former NFL player Marcus Griffin are identical twins. Mind. Blown.

It's become very commonplace to see a common last name on a jersey with a first initial.  It's also quite difficult for the parents to decide which jerseys to wear on game days. There is also the saying that a family presence will make the player stronger. When there is that much of a connection made, the best is brought out in both players.

However, there might be the sense of pressure that comes about when there is a legacy left in a family. Say for instance that your grandfather and father were professional sportsmen and they're practically expecting you to join the cavalry and continue the dynasty in the family. What if you would much rather be a doctor or something? I guess that's why athletes have like...more than three kids after they come back home from the season.

But hey, you never know, you might actually see the family dynasty explode and stretch into other sports. The great Wayne Gretzky has a son named Trevor that was actually drafted this year by the Chicago Cubs (our of high school, too)!

Families share the wealth in so many ways in sports. They don't just stay in one spot--they like to create and continue a legacy that has lasted for many years.

One last thing--don't just think that it's just the guys--it can be girls too. Hello? Williams sisters? That's what I thought.

Sports is obviously in the genes.
Siblings always provide the best competition. Or joy. Or happiness. Or strength. Or blackmail. Ha.

Take it from me...my sister is a blogger too.
--AZ

I Do Not Understand Golf (Completely)

This past Sunday, I went to my sister's house to celebrate Father's Day. Her father-in-law was an avid golfer at one time and was watching the U.S. Open on NBC. While seeing all of the pretty scenery and all of the people watching men take a swipe at a tiny, white, dimpled ball, I had absolutely no idea what was going on.

I mean, I know the idea of pars and bogeys (thank you, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour), but the whole concept of "playing defensively" and the types of clubs you use and like just boggles my mind. I already know that it takes a lot of skill to drive the ball in a certain fashion, and that you have to take into account the wind and the kind of golf club you use.
It's already known that it's a pastime among retirees and athletes during the offseason, but to be perfectly honest, what does golf do for anybody?

I always saw golf as a sport for rich people. Why? Because not many people could really travel around to see all of the tours that take place in the world. Plus, "rich people fanbases" have proven to be really quiet when the people take shots. You don't see this going on while people are taking shots and celebrating after shooting a birdie:

You know, it would actually be REALLY FUNNY if the Black Hole was at a golf tournament just for the puns.

Anyway, it's a very reserved sport, and to play professionally, you need to have utmost patience and concentration. It's almost like horse racing before the gates open and the guy says: "aaand they're OFF!"

The one thing that I often wonder about is how one gets into the sport without having any lineage to live by. For example, U.S. Open champ Rory McIlroy is from Ireland; he has the wide open spaces and mountain ranges to practice from, and aside from rugby and soccer, there really isn't anything else out there in the land of beer and potatoes. People that I know who played golf in high school made me ask questions, like, "how the heck did you decide to do a sport like this?" It's not like you wake up one morning and go, "hey, I think I might try golfing today," or "golfing is so intense...I wanna do it now." Heck, I could be wrong about that, but a sport like golf takes so many years to master and it's not like you can practice drives in your backyard like you can practice throwing a ball or shooting a puck or something. You need to have money and connections and find places to do stuff like that.

I also noticed that golf is a very 'hit-or-miss' sport; to my knowledge, there really isn't a huge following of it in the United States for it to have scholarship offers or anything. I personally don't know a lot of people my age or people younger than me that follow golf to a particular extent.
What makes the sport different and unique is the types of workouts involved in training for the sport. It's mostly upper-body and hip things because of the momentum and pivoting while taking shots. You don't really need to run anywhere...that's what golf carts are for. Duh. Just kidding. Stances require different leg exercises--so if I were to sit down to figure out how to tone myself to play golf, I'd lift weights and do yoga for the rest of my life--wait, I'm already doing that. Nevermind. Another thing is the time period playing golf. It's like playing Battleship or Risk; it could seriously take forever to play golf depending on the course and how many people are playing. Of course, you could make a tennis match last 11 hours, but that's rare. Golf...could take a while.

Even though there might not be a big enough following among the youth, most people are familiar with the sport and what goes on. The first thing that may come to mind for most people are Tiger Woods and the movie Happy Gilmore when Adam Sandler fights Bob Barker. I also think of the movie Caddyshack, but I'm also a big dork and have useless knowledge of things, so don't mind me here.

In conclusion, I guess golf is more like a cult thing in which you really have to be born wanting to play or being interested in playing. If that's the case, then there's a chance that you'll never be able to understand the psychological warfare that is this sport if you hadn't had it instilled in you in your youth. Yes, I have had a golf club in my hand at some point, but it wasn't to drive anything...it was to put the ball under that darn windmill at the mini golf resort. I can't even play Wii Golf right. It's sad. I'm drifting off the topic, so I will end it like this: Golf is a sport for different people. You can't just pick up a club and a ball and start playing. It's a lot of training and math that has to go into it, and unless if you know the sport very well and watch it often, it's not the kind of thing that you could sit down and teach someone in a night--believe me, I'd bet you'd only scratch the surface of the whole idea of golf.

This is why I do not completely understand the sport of golf. The end.

I'm sticking to mini golf.

--AZ

Red Whines: United May Stand, Divided May Fall

Over the past several days there have been numerous sporting reports announcing that Major League Baseball is currently in talks over realigning the whole league.

What?

First it was just simply extending postseason, and now this? What, was 1994's alignment not good enough for you guys?

Anyway, here's what it would be: There would no longer be divisions; MLB would have an East and a West. Where they would split it, I don't really know. This would be my guess:

Oh my, it's George, the Rampage Gorilla! He disapproves of the realignment! Beware of missing bathtubs!

Anyway, the top five teams from the East and the West would advance to the playoffs, and (I'm assuming) the top team in each region would get some sort of bye because this format looks very similar to the NFL.

I keep getting that thought of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" in my head. Everything right now is working fine. If they were to eliminate divisions and take the top five teams from the east and west, there's a strong chance you may be seeing more than two teams from the current divisions that exist right now appearing in the playoffs (i.e. Red Sox/Yanks/Rays or Phillies/Marlins/Braves). But if this were to happen, the whole concept of "interleague play" would be eliminated; on the other hand, the concept of the designated hitter is then thrown up in the air. What happens to that?

Again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

However, there's the one idea that new alignments would equal newer and/or stronger rivalries. For example, the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers would have a good 'ole Texas showdown without having the American League and National League being a parting factor. Also, the Mets and Yankees would have numerous subway series throughout the season. Fun, right? Okay, I guess that would be pretty cool.

If this really happens, the one thing that would most likely annoy me the most is the postseason format. Sure, there would be that method of 'seeding' like the other major sports have in their respective playoffs, but there would be the problem of the length of the entire season including the playoffs. Usually, the NHL and NBA playoffs last anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 months. Major League Baseball doesn't have that kind of time. Officials have been in a big enough fuss that the World Series is going into November--when it starts getting chilly outside (they were rather lucky last year, but that's besides the point). They've already started the baseball season a week earlier than usual to avoid November baseball this year, why bother running into that problem again?

The conclusion I'm making with the wonderful goof that is Bud Selig is that he wants to change things up in the business and has no real idea on how to go about that without displeasing anyone. He actually plans on retiring after next season, so I would think this is almost his way of making a big bang before he leaves. But lemme say this: this isn't the first time he tried something controversial and it actually worked. He was the driving force in the introduction of the Wild Card and got major heat for that. Now he wants to get rid of it after 17 years of success. Puh-lease.

There could be other ways of avoiding this. Maybe altering the divisions would work and just eliminating the Wild Card would work rather well. For example, there could be an NFL-style division placement having North, East, South, and West instead of East, Central, and West with a Wild Card. It'll freshen things up and people won't complain about any drastic changes.

C'mon, I'm trying to help here. These crazy old guys in the front office won't listen to us precious fans.
Conclusion: The idea of realignment is stupid.

--AZ