The Death Penalty: How We Learned to Fear the Bomb

I'd like to put a side-note in this while I still have the chance. Yahoo! Sports broke this story that I'm about to write about and they are currently investigating this scandal. Do I honestly trust Yahoo! Sports? Not really. The media can do anything to make or break something. However, sports news holders such as ESPN are picking up the ball and running with it. Basically, I can't be liable for making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm only a college student. Geez. Anyway...
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Have you ever gotten that thrill from doing something completely illegal? That illegal thing becomes so much fun that you just keep doing it until you get caught. Until then, you know that everything in life may just go hunky-dory until someone you know ends up getting caught doing something you weren't expecting. Then...

...enter the atomic bomb.

Possibly first casualty in NCAA Division I since 1987.

This "atomic bomb" could destroy a team, a school, a conference, and even a league. Something of this magnitude has not occurred in NCAA Division I in almost 25 years. The last time it happened, it wrecked more than just the team; this "atomic bomb" destroyed a Division I conference. You could call this the vicious cycle that we have been dealing with as of late in the case of college students, scholarships, agents, and salaries.
This casualty is known as the death penalty. It wasn't exactly known as the death penalty until the 1980's, but this term only describes so much about the punishments that are delivered with this sanction.

How did the bomb start?

Well, it sort of "started" way back in the 50's. The University of Kentucky's basketball team was in the midst of a gambling scandal, where players would take the money from bookies placing bets. Because of this, their season was canceled--and even worse--the players directly involved in the controversy were barred from playing in the NBA. Brutal, right? We're just getting started. In the 1970's, the University of Southwestern Louisiana was accused of many violations including forgery and academic fraud (that one is a big deal), resulting in their being barred during the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons. Yes, two seasons. Recently, Morehouse College's varsity collegiate soccer program was under fire for signing ineligible players that had played professionally for a brief time before enrolling. If you're wondering what happened to their team, they've been on probation for the past five years and only have an intramural team. A men's college tennis team at MacMurray College in the mid-2000's also conducted major infractions by obtaining scholarships from men from different countries. This resulted in a death penalty, shutting the tennis program down for two years.

Perhaps one of the biggest death penalty cases comes from Southern Methodist University in the mid-1980's. Now this is a heavy bag of worms. If you thought corruption was bad before, you'll see that it's absolute hell instead. Now, because SMU was a relatively small Division I school in the now defunct Southwest Conference (more on that later), the administration tried everything in their power to try to keep their athletics program healthy. Since their sneaky ways of "keeping healthy" was along the lines of breaking the rules, many violations were slapped on them between the mid-70's and mid-80's. After the NCAA found out about several issues including student payroll, the team was barred from bowl games and television appearances in 1985 and 1986.

But wait! It gets way juicier than this.

Ya rly.

So basically this is when the "you know what" hits the fan. A player was kicked off the team for substance abuse. This guy claimed that SMU paid him $25,000 to play with the team in 1983, and was paid monthly after that. After saying that, many officials denied the fact that it ever happened.
Let's start digging the hole, kids.
Lo and behold, after athletic scholarships were banned at SMU via petition in 1986, things got nastier. NCAA later found out that players were paid about $61,000 from a slush fund from a booster. But apparently, the slush fund went on for a while, as there were NFL players at that current time who were paid from that slush fund, and the school president (dead serious) paid those guys nearly $1 million to shut up about it.
Oh no no no, it gets even better.
The NCAA Infractions Committee began wondering what exactly they were going to do as far as penalizing SMU. At first, they were thinking about extending their already occurring probation for an additional four years for each infraction. However, they decided to go the path less traveled, leading to the unanimous vote of the cancellation of SMU's entire 1987 season and 1988 home games. This could have been much worse; since the penalties could have intensified immensely hadn't SMU been cooperative. I mean much worse as in a complete cancellation of the '88 season.

Because SMU was so deep in their own mess, they granted release to all of the SMU football players, allowing them to transfer to other teams (the SEC loved this) and formally canceled their 1988 season. Why did they do that? Easy--since the death penalty prevented all ways for SMU to recruit, award scholarships, have efficient coaching, practice, and do any more damage through boosters was completely eliminated.
In layman's terms, the SMU athletic program was basically in quarantine from NCAA Division I.

Since that time, there were bad reputations and violations that continued in that conference (not just from SMU), and the Southwest Conference was discontinued in 1996.
The end. Yaaaaaaaay.....not.
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Now here's our situation today.

There's this guy named Nevin Shapiro. He was a booster for the University of Miami for several years and was convicted of fraud and laundering from a Ponzi scheme from last year. He claimed that he has proof of financing donations to The U's football program between 2002-2010 totaling nearly $2 million among at least 70 players. Because the baseball program at the University of Miami has also been under fire for numerous violations, The U as a whole can be considered a repeat offender, making them capable of receiving the death penalty. Apparently after much talk by the NCAA, there's a chance that The U may go down with the ship.

However, due to the total damage it could do to a school financially, the NCAA is far from trigger-happy on this. If it destroyed a school and started a fire on a former Division I conference, it's a big deal.


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While The U is spiralling down into this vast amount of controversy, a lot of people are looking at the fact that they're not the only schools who have been under fire when it comes to the illegal practices of things such as "boosters" and agency among college student-athletes. Teams such as Ohio State and UNC have been under fire for various violations, leading to a lot of coaches/administrators stepping down. In a recession like this, everyone has a price. Students are looking for money for their talents earlier on, especially when it comes to the daily expenses of every day life.

As of reports on Friday, the concept of the "death penalty" is now being considered an option by the NCAA. And here's the thing: why shouldn't they at this point? They have evidence spanning over eight years, and with the additional elements against The U, the team, as well as the ACC, is in total jeopardy right now. What will this mean for the guys in Miami? No playing, no practices, no recruitment, no scholarships, and a loss of profit in games at their respective stadium as well as stadiums in rival schools. This is pretty much the same stuff that happened at Southern Methodist. However, this time will be more dangerous as money is about as important to life and growth as food and water at this point, and more schools will be at a loss this year. A death penalty could also destroy the student-athletes' chances of getting some sort of a "salary" or "stipend" for playing college sports.

Are the rules outdated? Some might say that now, especially with the painful loophole that NCAA schools are suffering through right now. The concept of paying players would be rather difficult, because it is illegal for the fact that college sports isn't a legitimate "career," and that the NCAA would have to find a way to pay every college player either on a sports scholarship or on a Division I, II, or III team. I don't think the NCAA, let alone the country, has the financial capacity to back that up. Because being paid is not exactly possible, the usage of boosters and underground agency is heating up and then there is the fear of continuing on without getting caught. The U went eight years without getting caught in some way, and now...there's a chance they're about ready to ruin the season and the additional perks of recruitment and practices.

Since there's this huge exposé on Miami, the stories about teams wanting to jump from the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) to the SEC (Southeast Conference) are running wild. Because a lot of team organizations saw what SMU's death penalty did to the SWC (Southwest Conference), they're ready to run at any second.
C'mon guys, it's not like we're preparing for a beached whale explosion here. (sorry animal lovers)
Why are we all moving so fast and jumping to conclusions? I'm about 75% sure that the NCAA will not impose the death penalty and just lay down heavier probation on the University's athletics program. Now if it were just the football team itself doing this for as long as SMU did and kept doing it time after time after probation after violation, then it would be absolutely necessary. For right now, let the negotiations continue.

Do you now see how afraid everyone is about that bomb? It's worse than The Blob, Galactus, and December 21, 2012 put together. Sorry, I trailed off there.

As for that bomb.... is it the red wire? Or is it the blue wire?
Only the head honchos of the NCAA can handle this.

--AZ

Red Whines: Pain Passes, Quitting is Forever

I thought there was no crying in baseball.

There always comes a time when a certain someone hits a rough patch in their life. Acknowledging that you have hit this "rough patch" is half the battle in something like this. (G-I-Joooooooooooe) However, there are those times when people are in denial of their struggles and then just give up because they are so depressed and ignorant toward a positive perception of streaks and slumps.

In a case like this, you must do either one of these choices: seek therapy, or have someone beat the crap out of you without any mercy because of the horrible decision they have made.

 The main reason why I'm writing about this is because last week, Carlos Zambrano [formerly] of the Chicago Cubs was ejected from a game against Atlanta after trying to hit Chipper Jones out of frustration for giving up a five home runs in an inning. After he went into the clubhouse, he threw a hissy fit, packed up, and told the trainers and people around the clubhouse that he quit and was leaving. Because of his outburst, the Cubs placed him on the disqualified list, which means that he will be suspended for 30 days without pay.


Now I've heard of people having slumps and giving up on themselves. This is different. It's either clear that he's in denial of having an anger problem or he's hitting a serious mental wall and just doesn't want to deal with any problems that he may possess. Honestly, there were a lot of baseball players that had a lot of mental problems while playing baseball and refused to quit. They might have taken time off, but they got better and returning to the grind made all the difference. Players such as Reds first baseman Joey Votto battled depression and anxiety issues during the 2009 season. Last year, he was voted National League MVP. Another baseball great was outfielder Jimmy Piersall; he had battled bipolar disorder through a decent amount of his career but retired with a .272 batting average. Although there were many personal issues between the two of these guys, "quit" wasn't in their vocabulary.
[Side Note: Piersall's book Fear Strikes Out is on my reading wishlist. Apparently the movie bended facts and stuff. Sorry, Anthony Perkins.]

A lot of people may be aware of the problems that Big Z may have been a part of in the past. Because of past performances, he has lost his position as a starting pitcher, therefore leading to a lot of meltdowns on the field and in the dugout. Usually when it comes to animated anger you can see from the television, you automatically know that something is up. At least I do. Don't they administer stuff like lithium to people like him? Despite the fact that guys can show a lot of passion toward the game especially when something doesn't go their way, you can only go so far with your outrages and meltdown sessions on the field or in the dugout. Does anybody remember outfielder Milton Bradley? He pretty much had the same problems as well. In playing for the majors for about ten years, he didn't stay with one team for very long. After outbursts against players, fans, and even broadcasters and interviewers, he's at home as a free agent. Although he wasn't exactly a "quitter" per se, his negative attitude certainly didn't get him anywhere.

A major concern for me is, "Why are the Cubs going through this crap when they can just release him or just put him away for the season?" Because the Cubs organization has been trudging through all of this stuff about him for almost two years now, it might be best for the organization or for Zambrano to use the axe. If they can do it now, it would give both ends a new start and some time to regroup. A lot of sources are suggesting the option to reduce his penalty, which I disagree with. These 30 days should be a rebuilding time for Big Z, and cutting off that time would be absolutely ridiculous and might not be enough time for him to burn off some steam. Heck, he could even go through therapy at that time if he so chooses.

If the Cubs do release him after the 30 days or buy out his contract at the end of the regular season, the last thing I would want to see is Carlos retiring altogether. Do you know that saying that "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade?" A lot of people still stay in the business without flipping out and quitting altogether. Does anybody remember Rick Ankiel of the Washington Nationals as a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals? I kind of don't, but follow me here. Apparently he was a good hitting pitcher. After injury and inability to regain pitch control, he almost quit. However, he just moved back about 200 feet or so to center field. Career saved.

In Zambrano's case, he is also a very good hitting pitcher--not to mention a switch-hitting pitcher. Why can't he just move to another position? When there's an extra-inning game and pitchers have to play the field, they're normally placed in the outfield because of their ability to have a strong, accurate (and did I mention fast?) delivery toward any base. Also, being released by the Cubs organization could really be the thing he needs to get back on his feet and have a more positive attitude toward himself and other people.
I think it's time to wake up and smell the coffee, dude. Find yourself something to fall back on if you'd like to remain a "Cub for life" or want to keep your career, Carlos.

--AZ

AZ's Slant on Sunday -- I Love LA, but for Football...?

As a lot of you might know, there are three big keys to marketing a home: location, location, and location.

There's obviously a lot of people in LA, you know. Even in the projects.

There has been a large amount of speculation that started in the beginning of the month that the next NFL relocation will be hitting the Los Angeles area. Some of the teams that may be in danger of relocation (as far as I know) have been Buffalo, Jacksonville, and Carolina among others. Because California could probably qualify as it's own country at this point, they have a strong chance for being the next possible NFL team within the next five years.


I know we're looking hard into the future, but after the approval of a football stadium being built in the City of Angels, you have to start asking questions and having opinions about these things. Am I at least right about that part?

Oh hey look...it's Randy Newman playing for us while you read this blog post!

 Here's right here, goofy.

As far as the population density goes, this fits relatively well for the state. The largest metropolitan area in California is in fact the Greater Los Angeles area. That means it's so big, they have three basketball teams (2 NBA, 1 WNBA), a hockey team, a soccer team, and one and a half baseball teams--the half being the annexation of the Angels from Anaheim. I guess if they want to complete the plating of the major sports teams, they need a football team.

Los Angeles is the second largest media market in the United States. However, they are the largest without an NFL team. That wasn't the case about 15 years back, as the Raiders and Rams danced around there until they landed in Oakland and St. Louis, respectively. Since then, LA has been very determined in gaining stature back in the league by acquiring another team. There have been several repercussions over the years though, and at the rate they are going, this is the closest they have been to gaining a new team. Before this, the closest they were was in 1999 when the Houston Texans happened. Since then, there has been talks of a revival of the USFL among other constructions of buildings and arenas for football. So far, about 90% of those talks have fallen through. The thing that makes me scratch my head the most is where all of the money for this is coming from, especially in a recession like this. I hope Arnold isn't digging into is Terminator earnings fund just to save face.

However, is it absolutely necessary for a large metropolitan area to have at least seven or eight major teams? When did cities become so separated with this stuff? It's like sports have begun to have secret affairs with our political system or something. I come from a metropolitan area myself, so I sort of understand why teams may be so clumped around one particular region. Cities can be so big that they do have sections along the lines of a North and South. Think of the New York Jets and the New York Giants for a second. With Buffalo aside, you have all of the sections of the New York metro area, plus the state of New Jersey swimming around in there whenever it pleases. There's enough of a fanbase out there that they can keep a team. Plus, they play in New Jersey anyway, but that's beside the point. Sometimes areas are so big, they can get away with having more than one team in a sports league. However, there are those times when a whole state only has the capacity to have a team for the rest of the state or states like the Tennessee Titans or the New England Patriots. Then you have the people in the dead zones that are forced to root for out-of-state teams, like people in the Dakotas, for instance.

I myself am not too keen on having an established team relocate to an area that can be considered a sports juggernaut of a state, but if there are the people out there to support it, there isn't much one can do but to wait and see what comes out of it. Just look at what happened when Winnipeg got another NHL team recently; sure, the people in Atlanta who were Thrashers fans (or lack thereof) may have been crushed by it, but the team was relocated to an area that bled hockey and really benefited from this. It could go either way; we don't quite know just yet how beneficial it will be to the gainer and the loser.

Some people do fear change, but oh well.

Without question, this is going to fuel rivalries between LA, the Raiders, and the Rams, so that would obviously be something fun to see. However, there's going to be fumbling with the divisions again, so there's a chance that teams will have to get ready to face adjusted divisions and new rivalries. Does everybody win all around on that one? You see, I was too young when all of the teams had the heavy amounts of relocation and renaming in the 90's; you can't hold that against me. Something like this to people like me are a bit of a culture shock. Once you're used to one thing, it's hard to see it re-branded or changed. But if it's for the people (not so much for the money) I'm okay with it.

There is one final thing I do want to ask: Despite the CFL existing in Canada, why did they shop around in Los Angeles before any other major city in Canada like Toronto? The NFL is wildly popular up north, and you would think they would extend the boundaries to get more people involved with the league and to gain a bigger and wealthier unit of fans and benefactors. I guess I'm asking the question that's too obvious for answering. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Is the NFL in Los Angeles 2016 bound? Most likely. At this point, it's not going to stop for anybody.

--AZ

FOOTBALL LIVES

Oh hey...the first NFL preseason games are tonight.

With more screaming fangirls than Beatlemania, it's the 2011 NFL Season: Risen from the Ashes!!

Yeaaaahh 70's montage background music...

In all seriousness, this is going to be the best season of football since...well, forever. Why is that you ask? What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Since the NFL survived a lockout and the rest of us survived all of the coverage along with all of the people pulling their hair out wondering if there were going to be any games played, it's as if the football world is ready for...you know, the world. Lucky for all of the football fans out there, the Hall of Fame game was the only "casualty" of the lockout, and everyone managed to have decent sized training camp sessions and have more than enough time to trade and make transactions with draft picks.

When it comes to trades and draft picks, it doesn't seem like there was any rush or time lost, even with the wait for free agent eligibility. In all honesty, I think that the lockout was a perfect time to devise trades under the covers. Sure, it might have been more stressful in some ways, but I'm pretty sure with the lack of communication between coaches and the media with a few things, it allowed the big corporate guys to focus more on the prize in case if football came back. C'mon, let's be honest, I think they purposely kept us on edge so they could be sneaky and think about team matters without us bothering them. But that's besides the point.

So anyway, the lockout business...

Every time there has been a lockout, it seemed like every sports league had gotten stronger and a lot more efficient after that. That, or maybe that it was the rush and novelty of something coming back after a near-catastrophic issue. The last lockout I can fully remember was the NHL lockout in 2004-2005, and the season it came back, it was like everyone in the United States and Canada was about hockey to some degree.

For some reason, I feel like the NFL lockout is so much bigger than this.
Firstly, nobody ever had to go through a season without football (meaning this NFL lockout was the first of it's kind ever), and something like this would have resulted in an absolute culture shock to everybody. We probably would have seen grown men cry than guys watching Brian's Song or something. Even though there are a whole bunch of new and revised rules, people are glad they can save their tears for something else more important.

The one rule that are probably going to drive people nuts is that more plays are going to be under review than usual.  This means that less challenges will be used and more waiting is imposed. Good times, right? There are also a lot of nitpicking when it comes to defenseless players and the approach of tackles and other clashes during plays on the field. For example, things such as some forms of "launching" oneself against a player could result in a penalty and/or fine.

Since when have we gotten so nitpicky? Yeah, I know they're more prone to injury nowadays, like how they pull a hammy once they step out of the shower or get a contusion once they get hit with a towel from the locker room. I'm just kidding with that. But really, they're getting so many more injuries now than they did 30 years ago. I don't know why it's like that. Maybe some sports scientist can chime in on this blog someday and explain to me why that is. Anywho, it's irritating to someone like me who just started taking football seriously and still sees injury despite efficient padding on the players. Darned physics and gravity and stuff. You like to make people so difficult to work with.

Aside from everything I've complained about, this football season seems a lot more organized and a lot more reliably handled than before. Also, things just seem so much more exciting now that football season is coming around again despite fear of a shortened season or no season at all. I never thought I would say that, but it's true; I'm glad to see it back.


Time to bring out the facepaint, beads, cheese puffs, beer, and the imprinted man chair.
Are you ready for some football?

--AZ

PLUS, I also joined a fantasy football league. You will see a log/diary on my Tumblr. account (sportsnutblogs.tumblr.com) with posts on how badly I'm doing. There's a first time for everything, right? I hope to see some fans of the Carebear-Sacking Squad once this season is over. :-)

Armchair Analysis: What Do We Know?

This is all the amount of introduction I will need for this:

Tuesday night on the late night show Conan, Shaq (yet again) called out ESPN's Skip Bayless saying he should not have the right to be analyzing guys behind a desk since he [Bayless] had never played a single year of professional sports.
(Watch it here.)

Time the flip out.
Really, Shaq? REALLY?

That's harsh, dude. Okay, you're probably a book-smart guy because you're currently studying to earn your doctorate, but are you that dumb that you're going to berate somebody that studies sports for a living?

Alright. That's enough of an outburst for right now.
Waking up as early as I did and hearing that made me want to throw my bowl of corn flakes (banana and all) at the television screen. It's almost like Shaq said that people like me have no right to go into the field and study/critique sports and athletes unless if I've had a professional career. So wait, does this mean my three years (so far) of college education means nothing on my resume unless if I go out and play for a professional team? It's not gonna work like that at all. Some women like me don't exactly have that opportunity. Some men might not have that either.

Sometimes it doesn't actually take a couple of championship rings and hall-of-fame stats to know what's going on. You may usually see some of those players not have a clue about some of the technical/business issues. A clear example they used on First Take was Michael Jordan. He was probably the best basketball player that ever lived, but did he know how to run a basketball team as a General Manager? No. Sometimes you may actually find the lesser players actually know the mechanics of a team much more efficiently. The first person that comes to mind with that is Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. He wasn't exactly a humongous "star" and what have you, but he had the lineage and the smarts that some major stars didn't really have. In the form of business, sure he was under hall-of-fame GM Pat Gillick's wing for much of his training days, but look at where the Phillies are now: he's made four (five if you count Cliff Lee twice) blockbuster trades in the past three years and has been a great businessman.

Also, you may end up finding the lesser players landing in color commentary in the broadcast booth. The one exception to that rule off the top of my head at this time is Troy Aikman, but that's besides the point. Heck, even former coaches do that stuff because they've been on the field--maybe not experiencing what the players were going through--and looked from a closer viewpoint than most people. Let's be honest here: most people are lucky that they have crazy camera angles from an HDTV to see certain plays; coaches have just one angle, and that's all they really need to analyze. Plus, the arguing provides good life lessons and stories to hear.

There is one main thing I agree with: don't ever judge someone's toughness. Never, ever, ever do that. Unless if you were on the field feeling those emotions, you don't have any room to talk about someone's toughness because well... "you weren't there." You might be able to venture a guess, but sometimes physically being in that position at one time gives the athlete the upper-hand. There are certain things that only you can critique on the field instead of on tape or on television. Emotions, words, and "the good old days" can be vivid memories for former players who become analysts. They took the time to see the big picture and take everything in while doing their job.

This is liable to staining. I do not recommend white.

In the days of the sacred "man caves" and the armchair imprinted with your whole body after spending countless hours in it, hearing something like that either makes us irate or makes us scratch our heads. You may start thinking, "Well what do we know? Why are we not entitled to scream at our televisions every so often?" People might attribute their irate feelings toward the fact that they might have played the sport when they were younger or that they've watched enough as a youth with their parents that they may know what's going on. As for the whole "scratching of the head" part, you might think something along the lines of: "well, aren't the rules and penalties explained to us out loud by commentary? And don't we have the advantage of hearing post-game interviews of the players which can give us clues on what kind of players they are?" Well...you're in the church, but you just didn't sit in the right pew, so to speak. You might not get a full-fledged taste of who the player may be unless if you see them doing something outside of their field or if you're catching them after a game in which they didn't get absolutely slaughtered. As far as the rules go, things aren't going to be broken down into basics for you unless if you look up the basics of the game yourself. People like us have the ultimate cliff note in this day and age in the Internet. Don't some people watch their games online anyway? You can multitask. Geez.

Anyway, what Shaq said a few nights ago was about 35% valid because there are definitely some people out there that don't exactly have room to point fingers because they've never played a game of ball in their lives. On the other hand, I do give him a 65% invalid because not only does he cut out the people that study sports day in and day out and sees an individual's numerous attributes, but he also ignored that fact that every person is entitled to their own respective opinion. Of course you'll more than likely get the people with the "educated guesses," but then again those people just wear the suit and look pretty.

As armchair analysts, we the people may be dumb sometimes, but we certainly aren't idiots. We do watch and therefore are entitled to an opinion. Just don't assume that we need to be in the hall-of-fame first.

--AZ

I Experienced Madrid...REAL Madrid (and some terrible traffic)

(Written in diary format. If you don't like my expansive descriptions and humor, deal with it. Go read Dr. Seuss.)

Way way way back on July 23rd, I took my younger brother out for his 17th birthday. It wasn't just any old gift, however; it was tickets to see the Philadelphia Union play Spanish futbol club Real Madrid. Last year, I went to see the Union play Manchester United and also wrote about it (you can see it here) and I will admit that this year's game had so much more of an exciting atmosphere than last year's.

Instead of taking the subway this year, we drove I-95 Southbound to Lincoln Financial Field. Worst idea ever. From my house, give or take a few minutes, the distance from my house to the field should take about 20 minutes or so while going the speed limit of 55 MPH. Nope, it took four times longer than that. We hit traffic about 2 1/2 miles before the Broad St. exit, and the hair-pulling began. Then again, a Phillies game was finishing up and letting out, and there was a Rihanna concert starting around the same time that night. During that time, it was rather fun to see the people from out-of-state (there was a few Quebec license plates in that mix) flipping out because traffic in Philadelphia can be complete crap. Horrible traffic issues aside, we got to the stadium about 15 minutes early, and the amount of Madrid shirts compared to Union shirts didn't surprise me one bit. The stadium was about 75% red last year, and it was about 80% white this year.

This was the best part....my brother and I were this far from the pitch:

Faces have been [poorly] censored for legal reasons. (:

Sixth. Row. See, I'm not that smart when it comes to buying tickets. I just do the "best available" button on the website and go, "hey mom, these sound good" and they usually come out to being less-than-impressive seats. This was the exact opposite this time. I guess it was one of those things where you didn't realize how awesome you are until something lucky happens. But anyway, yes, we sat sixth row.

Because of the limbo that was I-95 South, it looked like we had missed a lot of the pre-game festivities, but it wasn't like my brother and I really cared after everything we'd been through that night.
This part puzzled me: they played the American National Anthem before any of the players came out or did any of their pre-game things. They didn't ever bother playing the Spanish National Anthem or any of that stuff. They either chose to do things that way (which is utterly backwards, in my opinion), or they had a really oblivious intern working the booth and started the Anthem at 9:00PM sharp.

Anywho, the lineup for the teams this year was 100% better than what ManU did last year. Real Madrid's side wasn't entirely made up of scrubs at any point during the game, which was a really awesome sight considering how the RMA club is a very powerful one and were willing to have all of their big names (except for Sergio Ramos...I don't remember seeing him, oh well) take a risk and play a friendly match where there's a chance that freak injuries may occur.

For people like me, seeing the big names makes all the difference. Seeing huge international players play in the United States and up close gave me an electric feeling. Never in my life would I think I'd be a stone's throw away from Iker Casillas, the best-ranked goalkeeper in the entire world. But I was...

For those who don't watch soccer, this is the goalie in my blog's banner. He's the man.

A nice breath of fresh air during this game was that the Philadelphia Union is a statistically better team than they were last year. There were a lot of scoring opportunities for them during the first half, which was incredible. However, the Union still showed a weak defense, and Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon was let out to dry on two quick goals in the first fifteen minutes of the game. Aside from that, it actually looked like a halfway decent match that could be really close. Another nice touch that head coach Jose Mourinho made was that he didn't use every big name guy in the first half. For example, you would see guys like Mesut Özil and Xabi Alonso in the first half, and in the second half you would see Kaká, Raúl Albiol, and...yeah, that guy Cristiano Ronaldo.

Insert screaming fangirls here.

I don't think I've ever heard a more mixed reaction in my life until Cristiano Ronaldo came out to play the second half for Real Madrid. He seriously pulled out all the stops--including an attempt to score goal via bicycle kick a la Wayne Rooney from a few months ago. A lot of the anti-Ronaldo fans really got a kick out of him getting faked out or tackled too. In the 80th minute, Michael Farfan of the Union chipped an incredibly sick goal right over the head of the third-string keeper Tomás Mejias. Despite numerous close shots on net toward the end of the game, Real Madrid held on to win 2-1 against Philadelphia. Let's not talk about the mass exodus and human cattle walking across the street and in front of cars, mmkay? Thanks. That was rather painful too.

Here were some other funny instances that occurred during this trip:
-- No matter what soccer game you go to, you will find some idiot wearing a Chelsea FC jersey.
-- No matter what time during the game that they stop selling beer, the general consensus in the crowd will boo.
-- I had never seen so many soccer moms in one setting in my life.
-- Some guy who claimed to be a Real Madrid fan sitting near me couldn't pronounce "Casillas" right. Awesome.
-- I found a dollar underneath someone's seat while walking out. That went to gas the next day.
-- Even though the game ended around 11PM, it was still about 85 degrees Fahrenheit outside.
--The Rihanna concert was done about the same time, so you'd be seeing a mix of older guys with teenage girls wearing high heels and jumpers. I also saw failed pickups. Those were funny.
-- Halfway through the second half, a wave started and went for almost five minutes. I don't know whether that's a custom at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, but I thought they only did those at baseball games, hockey games, and incredibly boring wrestling matches.

Finally, the one thing that I was somewhat puzzled about was how many Cristiano Ronaldo fangirls weren't there that night--I guess they were all across the street seeing Rihanna. However, I did find the "you're not Messi" chants quite funny from around the Union Supporters Section.

All in all, I love going to events like this because this is something you can tell your kids about and you don't ever get tired talking about it to them. I wouldn't want to tell them about the terrible traffic or anything, but this is something that I'm going to remember for a very long time.

--AZ

Oh! I forgot to mention... There are more pictures from this game! Although my camera started dying toward the end of the first half, I took about 45 (decent quality) photos. You will be able to check out uploads of the game photos on Flickr soon!

Death Threats: Why Can't We Be Friends?

Excuse me while I make a goofy music reference yet again in a blog post.

Anyway, if you guys have been watching baseball news as of late, you're probably familiar with the blown call from Tuesday morning's 19-inning finish between the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yeah, not gonna lie, that was a horrible call. But since the NL Central race is incredibly tight, the blown call is going so much deeper than that. It looks like Umpire Jerry Meals is going to be under the spotlight for quite a while about this debacle.

(Ripped from YouTube.com)

 Although Meals has stated that he has watched the play many times and has admitted that he made a poor call, the fans and even some officials aren't even taking the admittance or apology. In fact, people want this man dead. That, indeed, had to be boldfaced. I would never joke about something like that, but it's true. Over the past day and a half, fans have been sending death threats and harassing Meals and his family. Again, more boldface. Firstly, I don't really think anyone is that crazy enough to even kill someone over something such as a missed play at home plate, but even the fact of harassment is utterly ridiculous and childish. Okay, you're a die-hard fan and your team should have clearly won the game, but it was also what--1:30 AM EST? That's what I thought.

Aside from this wonderful disaster, we have seen many different forms of harassment and death threats pertaining to athletes (and even fans). I'd like to give a synopsis of each one and give my thoughts on them. Good? Good. You wouldn't be at this point in the post if you didn't care about what I thought, right? Right.
This might be an awkward topic because you might think that I would say, "I don't blame them," or "That guy was a complete jerk anyway," but that's not necessarily true. Me being the nutty armchair analyst that I am, I like to pick things apart and research random stuff while I'm bored. Let's get to it, shall we?
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Tommie Smith/John Carlos -- 1968 Olympic Games -- "Black Power Salute"

When first researching this case, I had no idea how bad this actually was until I started reading into this more. Of course, the Civil Rights Movement was still relatively huge in 1968, and escalated even further after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. So now I understand why this was so huge. In the 200 meter race event, Tommie Smith won the gold in record time, while John Carlos won the bronze. During the playing of the U.S. National Anthem during the medal ceremony, Smith and Carlos both raised a fist in the air with a bowed head. How was this huge? It was so huge that Smith and Carlos were later heavily scrutinized by the U.S. sporting officials. Along with that, both men and their families received death threats for their actions during the medal ceremony. Here's the kicker--silver medalist Peter Norman, an Australian, showed sympathy toward both men and resulted in getting flack as well, such as his rejection of an Olympic team spot for the 1972 Games.
I could fully understand why this ever happened. Racism was quite the touchy subject not just in the United States, but worldwide at this time. Something such as the event that occurred in the medal ceremony was thought to be a rebellious act instead of an "human rights salute." From my perspective, however, this paved the way toward the end of prejudiced acts in an international setting. Have you ever seen the slogan "Say No To Racism" shown during World Cup games? That's one of them.


Steve Bartman -- 2003 NLCS -- "Foul Play"

This is without doubt one of the biggest sports incidents in recent history. Not only were the Chicago Cubs one game away from winning their first NL pennant since 1945, they had been heavily favored to win the World Series in 2003. Then Steve Bartman happened. Or whatever you like to think. On October 14, 2003, Bartman was sitting on the left field side along the foul like where a hit ball was heading his way. Outfielder Moises Alou was just inches away from catching the ball until he and several other people reached for the ball. Unfortunately, that ball never reached Alou's glove, but deflected off Bartman's hands instead. Then all hell soon broke loose. Bartman was escorted, fans threw stuff on the field, the Marlins scored eight runs, and the Cubs lost the series in seven games. In short, "The Curse of the Billy Goat" continues. You see, I personally know a Chicago Cubs fan (Hi, Ian!), and I bet I couldn't fathom how livid he might have been in accordance to that.

I wonder if Ride of the Valkyries was playing on Bartman's walkman.

Despite the defense for him provided by the Chicago Cubs organization and Commissioner Bud Selig, the fans really didn't give a flying flip either which way about it. His name and address were displayed on MLB message boards, and fans hunted for blood. From what I've looked up, it looks like he's changed his name. So he's out of the public eye for now. If I can't find anything, that means he wins the Helen Keller Award for playing hide and seek from the public. Eight years, a destroyed (and "sauced") baseball, and many upsets later, we're still talking about this fall fiasco.
To me, this is just a case of being at the wrong place at the exact wrong time. The main problem with this thing is that the force of fans outweighed Major League Baseball and Bartman's family and friends. I do feel bad for the guy. You shouldn't really mess with fate, I guess.

Andres Escobar -- 1994 FIFA World Cup -- "Gambling with Goals"

Now, this man was a well-respected Colombian footballer that was on the receiving end of something incredibly larger than ever imagined: drugs and gambling. To this day, "The Gentleman of Football" is still well-respected in his home nation, and his untimely fate only increases his love and respect from loved ones. During the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States (you know, with the opening ceremony TV event that was interrupted by a white Bronco...nevermind), a lot of events were taking place underground back in Colombia. Because the World Cup is a really big deal in many countries. Many drug lords had placed bets on games and would do anything in their power to get their money. Some guys wouldn't be very happy after June 22, 1994. While trying to block a cross pass, defender Escobar deflected a spiraling ball straight into his own net. This own goal resulted in a win (2-1) for the United States, and the elimination of Team Colombia.
After the World Cup, Escobar went home to Colombia and went to a nightclub on July 2nd with several friends. However, he had split up with his friends and was left alone. After running into an altercation with a few people, handguns were pulled and Escobar was shot to death outside of the Colombian nightclub; apparently his killers had screamed "Gol" after each shot was fired. This is where death threats are completely avoided and the deaths actually happen.
This is horrible. All over drugs and money too. One life is not worth this. Okay, it was an own goal. It sucks, but who ever said gambling was a good thing? You have the capability of putting lives in jeopardy over something that has the capability of ruining your own life in drugs and money. It's incredibly harsh and horrific, and nothing should ever escalate to this over a sporting event. There I go with my boldface again. It needed to be done though. And to think that this could have all been avoided if he had stayed with relatives in the United States during that time.
This is what happens when death threats and harassment go over the limit.

Bill Buckner -- 1986 World Series -- "Grounded by a Curse"

This may arguably be the most unfortunate thing to ever happen to a baseball player. Considering that your team hadn't won the World Series in 1918 and you were up three games to two in the World Series, you pretty much had to be on your toes at all times. After taking a 5-3 lead in the 10th inning in Game 6 of the World Series, Bob Stanley was on the mound for the Red Sox. There was a runner on second and third with two outs and the Mets' Mookie Wilson was up to bat. A simple dribbler was hit up the first base line...where it went right through Bill Buckner's legs, resulting in both runs scoring and the game to end 6-5. By the way, the Mets then won Game 7. Commence more hell breaking loose and a lot of death threats coming toward Buckner's way, courtesy of the Boston fans. They neither blamed Stanley nor Calvin Schiraldi for this matter; they went and blamed an error by a productive infielder. The Red Sox later released him the next year despite the fact that he was still doing well.

Oh. Crap.

Don't lie--you know Boston may be a brutal city and you might have never ever step foot there. They, like Chicago, are very passionate about their sports and they were rather unfortunate to see a bad thing like that happen to a really good player. No lying...check his stats online. It's a shame that an event like this overshadows all of the good things he did.
You know, my one softball coach taught a life lesson to never let a ball go between your legs (har har har I made a subliminal funny). Buckner did that and practically screwed his franchise over until 2004. This is just when a little slip-up can really make you a legend in the worst way possible. Heck, I feel bad for him being butchered during the film Fever Pitch (or The Perfect Catch in the UK). In short, I think now that the curse is reversed per se, I think he'll be able to rest easy. He received a large ovation after throwing the first pitch in 2008 at Fenway Park--right after the Red Sox won their second championship in four years in 2007. He claimed to not forgive the fans, but the media for what they had put him and his family through. That I totally understand. The media could be your best friend or your worst enemy; there are no gray lines when it comes to something like that.
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There are several other historical issues occurring in sports history, such as the death threats toward baseball great Jackie Robinson after breaking the color barrier. I could go on and on about these other ones, but to me, these four cases I just mentioned stick out in my mind as being some of the biggest in sports history. The ones I mention involve destruction, disowning, harassment, and even death. It's scary seeing what can happen if someone makes a false move, isn't it? It almost makes you not want to play (or spectate) again because fans could have you walking on eggshells if a false move is made during something important.

From my perspective, being a die-hard fan of a team is like being in a horribly abusive relationship: they can break your heart countless times, but you can't give them any form of payback; that, and you also come running back to them unconditionally when things start looking up in some way. Do not confuse this comparison with the concept of the bandwagon. The bandwagon is like, the "one-night-stand" of sports. It's like scoring a hot chick (or guy in my case) and then come back when they're pretty much dangling bait in front of you (i.e. some sort of ring).

I went off-topic. Oops.

If you want my opinion about all of this, harassment and threatening is not the way to go about things at all. It would only have been appropriate in the Stone Age when we only grunted to communicate and to solve problems we just had huge rocks and sticks to settle scores. We're a little more mature and advanced than that, don't you think? It's okay to be angry at one player/team and all, but the wrong thing to do is to take that next step and just do something you're ultimately going to regret. The last time I checked, athletes are people too; ergo, they have feelings just like you and I. I hope I'm not telling you anything new on this, because that would be pretty sad. Usually athletes (or other people) acknowledge when they've screwed up. You don't have to inflate the picture for them. However, tt would be another thing if the person denies a screw-up and just act like a heel to everyone...then you can start carrying torches and pitchforks and such. Just kidding. It's still wrong.

Another thing that interests me about some of these cases is that they were heavily blown up by the media and really wrecked a few family member's lives. I didn't really realize that until I read into Bill Buckner's case. If not for the constant focus of the media, some of these things wouldn't be so prominent in people's memories, and other people involved in the case would be able to rest easier than usual. I guess that was just me seeing things through rose-colored glasses because I'm going to be fighting my way into the field after next May.

I think this post alone just adds on to the fact that man will never have self-control and that we should all be institutionalized at some point in life. The things we do because we love so much...

[Now watch the Pirates win the World Series and all of this stuff involving Jerry Meals will be out the window and everyone will be happy again. If that does happen and if I were Meals, I'd be kicking the stuffing out of people for being two-faced. That's just me being a feisty lady though.]

--AZ

(Information from MLB, Baseball Reference, ESPN, among numerous sporting blogs)