THIRD STRIKE? NOT OUT.

Not a sports-related blog post. I'm basking in my successes today.

I still can't get over the fact that I stuck with something for over three years. Go me!

It was about this time of day three years ago that I created The Sports Nut Blogs. While the site didn't exactly look like this (it was black with a purple banner, for those who don't remember), it was something that has given me much therapy and means of procrastination while I was still in college.

Three years, over 200 posts, and over 10,000 hits later, here we are.

I wasn't sure on how to celebrate this considering that I celebrate the blog's existence by writing in it as much as I do. While it doesn't get the biggest of exposure like most sports blogs, I'm certainly proud of what I've done with it. It gives me a release in life. It's not written in the traditional style of reporting--heck, that was the last thing I wanted to do. If you actually take a look back at the first two months' worth of posts, they're A - lousy, and B - poor attempts on trying to be an editorial reporter. I had eventually gotten my niche over the first summer and since then, I feel like a way better writer than I had ever dreamed of.

Believe me, I look back on the first two months of the blog and I go: "What on God's green planet was I thinking then?" The truth is, I was trying to get started on something. I had originally figured that if I had gained strength at something that interested me that this was the way to start. As some of you might know, my sister is also a writer/blogger as well. I will admit that she's a better writer than me, but that doesn't mean I won't be giving her a run for her money soon. Like I've said in my profile, I wasn't really an English person back in high school. Grant it, I loved theater and stuff, but writing wasn't my strength (although I could spell you under a table) and I hated doing research. Once I had rekindled my love for sports, that's when it all started to collide. And that didn't suck at all.

These are several things that I learned while writing in this blog:
-- Technically, I can't really refer to my blog as SNB without getting slammed somehow. For the uninformed, SNB is short for Swiss National Bank. As you can tell, I didn't think things through when coming up with a name.
-- When I came up with "Sports Nut Blogs," I didn't make it clear that the word "Blogs" in the title was supposed to be a verb. Now you know that it's supposed to be a verb.
-- I have to make sure that when I use an online image that it's from a site that's safe for work. The one picture I used in a post about golf had dangerous content on it. And I was wondering why I was having a difficult time with blog maintenance that week...
-- I seriously don't mind not getting paid for this. I mostly use this for training and therapy. However...if you see this and would like my services, I would have to ask for pay. Sorry folks.
-- I personally don't care if not a lot of people read this. It's mainly here for people who stumble upon it and would like some humor or some fast facts. When it comes to my writing, I don't care about the quantity of posts; I care more about the quality of posts, and when people give a good reaction to quality over quantity, that's what I care about most.
-- My first 20-or-so posts on this blog are awful. If you want to read a college student attempt to be cool, read them. Buyer beware.

This has been a great three years of learning and writing. I have no idea where my writing could take me down the road, but I hope it will be to a sunny place where I can sit outside, drink tea, listen to the Phillies on the radio, and be happy with what I'm doing in life. That would be cool.

Here's to another three years!
Ah heck, I'll throw this link in here too. It's a catchy tune.

Happy 3rd Birthday, The Sports Nut Blogs!

--AZ

Bowling is an Unsung Hero. You Think I'm Joking.

I was at a diner with my mother on Saturday morning. ESPN was showing on one of the televisions nearby and a commercial came on for the upcoming bowling championships. It had just hit me: I had never written about bowling before. I mentioned it to my mother, who was a part of a bowling team back around when I was in grade school. After I had brought it up to her, she said, "Who writes about bowling?" Truthfully, she was right. Nobody really does write about bowling.

I'm breaking that law today.

Bumpers. Black lights. Pizza. Soda. Beer. Arcades in the background. Those shoes. The pixelated screen. Without even mentioning the balls and the pins, you can already tell that I'm describing a bowling alley to you. Whether you've played for a team, at a birthday party, or just out of boredom with friends on a Saturday night, this sport goes down in history with miniature golf as a fun time that any person can pick up on at any time. Yes, it can even be fun for those people that aren't well-coordinated.

Bowling is an interesting sport. While it has many competitive sides to it, there's also that richness in ice-breaking and bringing people together. Even though it's a highly competitive (and scientific) sport, it's an underrated social pastime that people might not realize how great it may actually be. It's like meat and potatoes. Or, if you're a vegan, it's more like veggies with peanut sauce.

To me, bowling is like that adorably fuzzy grandfather you only see maybe once or twice a year and they always treat you like a jewel whenever you stop by to visit them (not to mention slipping you a $20 bill for no real reason).  It's one of those things that give you good memories and funny stories of events that happened. Heck, I remember one time where a friend of mine from high school threw the ball and screamed, "This...Is...Bowling!" in the style of the film 300. He turned to me and my friends, grunted, and got a strike. You don't forget gold like that. Bowling is also that kind of fun competition where you know you might not be that good and you don't feel bad because your friend may be just as bad as you are. I never quite understood the philosophy behind that, but when it comes to something like this, you really don't feel like questioning it because you may open up a can of worms somehow.

What you just read may have made you feel warm-hearted on the inside. At least, I hope it did. Now's where the EXTREME parts come in. Don't be scared. I'm just going to give the potatoes part of the "meat and potatoes" of this blog post.

Have you ever watched professional bowling on TV? Now, I've watched my mother play for her bowling league before, and compared to what I have watched on television, the stuff they do on TV is not human.

As you might have figured, there's a lot of physics involved in the sport of bowling. Most people will see a 7-10 split and cry where these pros say, "psh, no problem," and then grab the spare. From the work of the wrist to the spin of the ball, it's a sport based on such precision. The pros that make it to the big time have worked on their craft so much and so long that they make the job look so easy. To watch the ball naturally curve the way it does is hypnotic through a layman's eyes. If you're awful at science, you just simply have to ask, "How on EARTH did they do that?" There's a method to every bowler's routine. Their discipline and their patience are as heavily matched as professional golfers or archers: they must not waver when it comes to any distraction. Plus, another side to this sport is that there really isn't a true age-limit here. You could see men and women into their 60's playing competitively. When you see a veteran in this sport, you really see a veteran. There's such an inner science to this sport that the uninformed person may not be able to fathom. It's a religion to these guys, and you have to admit that it's pretty amazing to watch these pro bowlers.

_______________________________

Bowling, like golf, keeps people more active in their later years. Since these sports are treated like a social gathering where the chances of injury are rather slim to none (unless there's the ridiculous chance you develop tennis-elbow or carpal tunnel), it's a good way to stay in a relatively good shape and remain social with friends and family. Even though there's a competitive edge to it when it comes to team play, it's seen as a friendly rivalry, and it will certainly keep things fresh in your friendship. When you play a sport like this, you don't realize the inner benefits that are provided while playing. There's physical, mental, and emotional strengths that are gained here--it's quite therapeutic, if you ask me. When you hit stuff...c'mon, don't lie, it feels good.

I will be one to admit this: bowling is a really underrated sport. It truly is an unsung hero in sports since it takes a lot of precision and grit to become a virtuoso in the art. Sure, people will raise the argument where "if it doesn't make you sweat, it doesn't count as a sport," and I say 'nay' to that. It's a large-scale recreational activity that will bring people together and test people's skill and attitudes. It might not be a physical sport, but it's one of strategy, and there's no room for joking when one plans out a strategy.
I have a lot of respect for the people that follow bowling and have made it a part of their lifestyle. It certainly isn't the easiest of sports to master, but it's something that's simple enough for the average person to pick up, play, and enjoy regardless of the underlying physics of the sport.

Bowling is just a good time.

For the record, you shouldn't mess with me in Wii Bowling. I've got that thing figured out. I like to call myself the Turkey Hunter. No, I don't. I made that up. I'm still pretty awesome at Wii Bowling though.

--AZ

The IOC: Killing the Classics Since, Well, Today.

Writing about wrestling is awkward.

As I was Twitter-hunting Monday night, I found news that I wasn't unfamiliar with. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was voting to put another Olympic sport out of it's misery after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. After the ax of baseball and softball after the 2008 Beijing Games, wrestling became the next sport to get the boot from the Olympics after the voting reveal Tuesday morning.

While I thought its inclusion in the possible cuts was sad and all, someone brought up a good point to me after reports were singling out this sport yesterday: this was one of the originals. Yes, my people, this sport will be removed after 120 years of being a part of the Olympiad. Even though it was taken into consideration that it was, in fact, one of the classics, they also took into account several other areas of the sport. For example, they looked over the performance-enhancement scares that have been plaguing almost every sport, the overall popularity of the sport worldwide, and the big one: whether people actually cared to watch this sport. As the wrestling universe is in uproar, many modern pentathletes and field hockey players took a sigh of relief as they, too, were on the verge of being cut as well.

You almost have to wonder what modern sports is coming to. Okay, they had Olympic tug-of-war once upon a time, and it's great that they got rid of it. On the upside, they're introducing golf and rugby in the next Games. Well, technically, golf's making a comeback, so that's a nice thing to see. However, I look at some of the other events that people are still vying for to become an Olympic sport and I begin to lose faith in humanity. For example, there are still some people out there that are looking to get poker in as an Olympic sport. I read reports about that and I give the death stare to the people supporting it. In my view, a sport is something that requires physical activity. Archery does it, heck, even shooting does it. Something like wrestling requires a heck of a lot more brainpower and skill than poker does. I could be wrong about all of that, but watching something like The World Series of Poker puts me to sleep. No offense.

Seeing the cutting and adding of sports makes you question on whether the classics are really up to standard to today's society. Most viewers are satisfied with weightlifting when it comes to feats of strength. When it comes to craftsmanship or physical force, viewers will turn to judo or boxing or even fencing (where women scream their heads off when they score a point).

From what I have read, many IOC officials were rather sad to have to make the decision, but since it was a secret vote, they had no choice but to really comply with their results. I understand that. I would hate to lie about results like that myself.

It's painful to see any sport get cut in the Olympics. I was especially sad to not see softball (a sport I had played for many years) back at the 2012 London Games, but because it wasn't as appealing as, say, Women's soccer, it was forced to be cut along with its male counterpart. To see a perennial sport of strength and power get cut from the Olympics like this is like saying you're no longer going to have cake on your birthday. Wrestling is one of those things that you expect to see. More or less, I'm saying that it's a major staple that's being removed, and it's not really gonna seem like the Olympics without it.

I wouldn't consider the people of the IOC to be bad guys or anything, but they need to take priorities into consideration. What made them? They have to look at the powerhouse countries like Russia and the other European nations where wrestling is big and see what kind of effort and passion these guys are putting into the sport. It's as if they're giving them enough credit in efforts. If the IOC had a hard enough time promoting the wrestling program over the past ten years (c'mon, you introduced the women's division in 2004 in Athens), FILA [the head honchos outside of the Olympic realm] should have been fixed if it were broken.

All is not lost with wrestling, however. They, along with other sports that have either been cut or are looking to introduce themselves to the grand stage will be appealing to the IOC this upcoming May for a slot in the 2020 Olympics. These guys still have a chance, as do many others. However, there's only one spot, so each international sporting organization has to dig deep and find a way to come back.

See, even fighting for a spot in the Olympics is a sport of Olympic-sized proportions.

I'm East Coast, and it's MS Paint. Deal with it.

We might not know their true fate until May, but for now, rest up, Olympic Wrestling.

--AZ

Eleven Men Out

This is apparently a big deal, and the U.S. hasn't shown light on this until this week. Awesome.

With the amount of sports research that I have done over the course of three years, I'm not a stranger to the concept of betting in the world of sports and the numerous cartel and gang activity involved in international sporting events. Almost all of these practices are illegal--other practices I will mention later--but some are so immense that they cannot truly be stopped by the government (and even the military) in various nations; therefore, they are a not-so-underground sensation that has been a sudden driving force in sports.

This week, news reports have been increasing in the United States noting that there have been many suspicious results in soccer matches. They have been occurring mostly in Europe and in places like Singapore. Normally, it's one of those things in which you might just see one and go, "Okay, this is just a one-time thing, and they'll get in trouble for it." This time around, it looks like there have been way more cases than before, and because it is all suspicion, nothing can really be done to erase any results or the like. Guys, we're talking almost 700 cases here. If there have been wonky results and suspicions taking place in events as big as the UEFA Champions League--the European soccer "World Series," as it were--you know something's wrong.

There may be the saying that "All the world's a stage, and we are merely players," but this is only the tip of the iceberg here. How exactly are athletes "playing?" Are they playing the games honestly, or are they playing with plans of a plot twist in the story? Even if they are playing, are the game officials playing along instead? Is it the people outside of the game, where booking and betting are getting a bit more extreme in influencing match results?

Is this what sports is coming to? Is this becoming almost as staged as professional wrestling? We've heard of many cases that have come around betting and fixing games, such as the Black Sox of 1919, the Andres Escobar murder case from the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and even the recent "Bountygate" with the New Orleans Saints. It's a general understanding that sports is a form of entertainment, but it could also be argued that the whole idea of entertainment is engulfing the idea of what a sport truly is. The one thing that should be brought to mind is that betting and gambling is a huge form of revenue around the world. Yes, it can be considered a major worldwide business. As crazy as it sounds, it's a more common practice outside of the United States. Think betting on horse races on a grander scale. 

However, since it's getting out of hand, it needs regulation from outside resources. Organizations like FIFA and UEFA can't control these forms of "business;" practices such as gambling and betting can only truly be controlled by the police and organizations such as Europol and Interpol. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very complicated process that will take a very long time to chip away at and get to the bottom of. Seriously, it is pretty nasty. It isn't like the whole betting thing has been ignored, it's just that it's happening so frequently that international soccer organizations haven't been able to keep track of all of them and inform police officials on it.

I understand that many of you American readers don't think too highly of soccer as much as the other sports you watch, but truthfully, be thankful that you don't have to worry much about controversy like this. It has become a very serious thing, and numerous teams and leagues could be under investigation due to betting and match-fixing. This is worse than steroids, people. This stuff could get people killed and/or thrown under the bus for illegal practices.

You don't mess with sports. Somehow, people like to cheat death and do it anyway.

There isn't much for me to say about the matter since I've mapped a good amount of it out for you here. This is just a really big issue that is going to take a long time to straighten out and clean up. Grant it, this means big money loss in areas, but there are just times when pushing the envelope should not be an option. The overindulgence of match-fixing has really screwed up the sporting atmosphere and now people are going to get in trouble for it. This is why we can't have nice things, people. Betting and booking means money, but again, you just don't mess with sports. It's like you're taking natural talent and moving them around like pawns. It's a game, but it shouldn't be that kind of game.

What do you think?

--AZ

AZ's Slant on Sunday - Man's Best Friend and Competitor

This post has been in development hell since the last Super Bowl. I am not kidding.

I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing when you get an idea for a post by watching the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. I've either got a really wicked groove or my head was wired incorrectly at birth.

[Aside: PETA is probably going to either really really like this post or really really hate it. Hey, they're the masters of controversy, so all I'm doing is playing the same game. ;-)]

Dogs are pretty cool animals. Cats are pretty interesting too. Horses are pretty spectacular. In certain religious teachings, animals were created to serve man. Those scientist people out there believe that animals have evolved over time due to natural selection and that's why animals are so advanced in instincts and form.

In human terms, instincts usually refer to feelings and in some cases survival. Survival of the fittest: It's a sport of life. OH. SHOT OF RELEVANCE. FEEL IT.

Sure, some of these forms of sports may prove to be unethical in some standards, such as greyhound racing, bull riding, some forms of horse racing, and even those old school rodeo pig-chasing competitions. But this stuff isn't what I will be referring to in this post. I'm going to refer to the power of friendship and how they make us stronger. I'm going to use the film Rocky as an example here. Before this memorable scene, Adrian buys Rocky a dog from her pet store so he would have someone to run with. When in shape, dogs will push you to keep going when you give up. If not for that dog, I don't think Rocky would have dared to go up those steps in the first place. Maybe not, but you understand where I'm going with this. Pets can be seen as workout partners and friends that help boost one's motivation when it comes to aiming high for something.

A lot of real-life athletes own pets and even support what I'd like to call "pet equality." A lot of them are advocates for animal rescue and often try to go for runs and play games with them. It looks rather obvious that many athletes realize the importance of having a pet in one's life when it comes to competition and management of stress.

Speaking of...

When it comes to stress and the usual struggles in life, these buddies can also make you feel better. I can't begin to tell you how pleasantly surprised I was when I saw so many Facebook statuses and Tweets about this year's Puppy Bowl. I won't lie. I'm a fan of it. I remember when it was a big deal in my house at first because the late Harry Kalas did play-by-play for it and I wanted to see what was up with that. Men, this program will probably make you want to punch a wall out of cuteness in order to gain your masculinity back. Women...it's just totally adorable, right?

From PeoplePets.com

 Look at this. LOOK AT THIS. It reeks of cute.

Sure, it probably isn't the absolute best alternative to "Super Sunday," but it's definitely better than watching pointless television during the day.

My point is, the animal kingdom isn't exactly a stepping stone for the human being, but they're practically equals in their own right. Think about it: In sports, humans want to work hard to be the very best at what they aim for; with that said, our natural instinct is to work out and get strong enough to take down the competition. It's in our genes, more or less. Animals don't necessarily have concrete forms of "sport," but through their instinct, they compete in what they specialize. For example, horses run. Even though it's mostly human-driven, they're still doing something natural that is in their nature: running. When it comes to something silly like the Puppy Bowl, puppies play. This is their own form of competing. The last time I checked, animals have no conscience, so they just do what their instinct tells them to do. We--with the ability of having a conscience--see their form of "instinct" and call it a sport.

At the same time, we see their efforts and it almost forces us to be better at what we do. Not only is the human body an amazing thing, the body of an animal is just as amazing. Animals (or pets in this case) are constantly evolving. They help us physically and emotionally; it's a known fact. They truly can be man's best friend and man's best competitor. I may believe in the whole "circle of life" thing, but we're all here on this earth to help each other out. We're all here to get stronger and better in life, and we're all in it together.

I was going to end this with what Bob Barker used to say at the end of every broadcast of The Price is Right, but I'll just let him do that for me.


--AZ

One Of Two Things That Can't Be Avoided, Even On The Field

RIP Caleb Moore

There are certain times where you try to take an old adage and apply it to different aspects in life. One adage states that there are two things you cannot avoid in life: death and taxes. While taxes are usually a predictable occurrence, the former is something that can put a shock into anyone's spine when it happens unexpectedly.

Thursday, there were news reports that freestyle snowmobile rider and X Games gold medalist Caleb Moore (25) had died after spending a week in the hospital. He had suffered a serious injury while competing in the snowmobile freestyle event at the Winter X Games in Colorado. His death marks the first death in the Games in its 18-year history. Amid this tragedy, people like me begin to wait for scrutiny on the "safety of sports."

I had written about injuries in sports (interestingly enough, a year ago yesterday) before in the blog, and I had mentioned that injuries cannot really be avoided in sports, because if there's strenuous bodily activity involved, freak accidents can happen. An example of this is the story of Al Lucas, a defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League. While being tackled during a kickoff, his head collided with another player's knee, resulting in a spinal cord injury from blunt force trauma. To this day, it hasn't been confirmed whether he died on the field or not. There have been even more instances of serious injuries later resulting in death, such as those who have played Australian Rules Football, hockey, soccer, and even in baseball. Some of the sports have seen adjustments to prevent these instances, most notably the institutionalization of a helmet. However, even the usage of padding and helmets can only go so far. Athletes over the years have dropped dead in heat exhaustion and of unexplained cardiac arrest such as those who are cyclists and runners. Most of these cases have occurred in college student athletes and in young children. Why? Nobody can tell. These kinds of things have been happening since the inception of each sport, and it's only becoming a major issue in sports science in this generation.

Precautions are always taken, especially if your child is in a full-contact sport that can lead to serious injury. I should know that myself; I've been tackled and kicked and slid at more times than I can count, and Mom always made sure I wore my mouth guard among other things. Also, I had recently watched a report on Nightline that was talking about the new safety precautions that are being taken for young athletes. Most of these precautions are especially for those who play football. New equipment and technology provided by sports scientists are looking to secure ultimate safety for those who play in the sport. Sure, there are helmets and padding that can withstand collision and such, but we're forgetting one small part of the body that can take all of that and curb-stomp it...

The neck.

Photo from Wikipedia

While keeping children safe from these freak accidents is well-spirited measure, it may still open up the gateway to further injury if there are nagging freak injuries or medical conditions that go unnoticed. Even professional athletes can fall victim to this. While there are implemented drug tests in the professional sports world that can pinpoint an underlying heart condition and the like, the damage may already be done in an individual, and the previous strain can wreck an athlete's career and future outside of sports.

______________________________

Despite this, we're still technically animals, and we still think it's really awesome when you see two people beat the snot out of each other in a sport like boxing or MMA. Ah, boxing. There's an example right there. While we have the cases like in the Olympics where there is protective padding worn on the head, the "olden days" of boxing had guys wearing gloves that looked like they barely had enough padding and the sport could practically count as being bare-knuckled. Not only that, but they would fight for what literally seemed like forever or until the guy fell. There are still cases in which men (and women) still fall victim to their fights long afterward. The MMA world isn't safe from this, either. Many men have fallen from brain injuries occurring in-fight and even cases of "second impact syndrome."

Nowadays, people are starting to wonder whether the intensity of hits on the field will lead to deaths on the field in the NFL. Recently, the family of deceased linebacker Junior Seau had sued the NFL over the damages that Seau received during his tenure in the league. There have been recent reports trying to avoid these allegations during this time as well, noting that stricter measures will be taken in the care of athletes, especially when an injury is sustained. Not to sound like "Big Chief Raincloud" again, but the damage has already been done. The disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is something not to be fooled with. Even after one concussion, brain damage is sustained. With that in mind, along with all of the other injuries that can be sustained in football such as broken ribs, arms, and legs, and the tearing of muscles and ligaments, how can this sport be made any safer?

There's the fly in the ointment: what will happen to the sport when things start to become "too safe?"

Bernard Pollard, safety for the Baltimore Ravens, was a player who had made an absolutely devastating tackle on Sunday night, giving New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley a concussion. After this massive hit, he was interviewed the next day, saying he believes that the NFL might not be around for much longer. On Monday, he had said that if the game is softened too much, people will begin to lose interest in the game and not want to watch if there is no serious hitting involved. Expanding on this idea, this is one of the reasons why nobody really watches the Pro Bowl. It means nothing to the audience, and guys are advised not to hit hard. With that said, we can go back to my "primal instinct" mention from earlier in the post. We want to see guys kill each other out there.
In expanding his previous point, he had also mentioned that after what parents see in this game, they will discourage their children from playing it, even going so far as to saying that he wouldn't even want his own children to play. While some people will disagree with this decision, it's not like he's being an overprotective parent. Let's not lie--football is dangerous. However, cheerleading is dangerous too. Dancing is dangerous. There's a lot of danger all over the place, so you can't exactly avoid the chance of a child getting hurt (unless...they play chess or something).

There have been countless deaths in the world of sports, and although there have been many adjustments made over the past century, things just happen. It's a terrible thing to see, and you can do however you want in order to move on from the terrible incidents, but there's no way that serious injury and death can be avoided in athletics. The human body is a wonderful thing, but there are just times where it breaks down and can't move on any further regardless of training and conditioning.

In the case of Caleb Moore and the death of snowboarder Sarah Burke from last year's post, these young athletes died doing what they loved. It wasn't as if they had committed suicide or had died in a car accident. They died practicing and displaying their talent. Unfortunately, accidents happen. It's a very depressing topic, but this is something that we should reflect on and use as an example that nobody is invincible, no matter how talented or well-conditioned they are. We can protect however much we want, but something like injury and death is something that can never truly be avoided.

--AZ

The Bernard Pollard article can be read here.

Here's to 200 more posts in the future.

The 2013 World Baseball Classic - Are You Still On The Fence?

It's almost like the Little League World Series, but bigger...

...And now quadrennial. 

(Look up the word, you fools.)

I remember writing on Twitter at some point last year saying something along the lines of: "Are they ever doing the World Baseball Classic again?" I was probably one of the few people at the time that actually cared about it. I can't help it; I love baseball, and I thought that the World Baseball Classic was a really good idea. I'm not sure about everybody else's opinion on it, however.

After holding previous tournaments in 2006 and 2009, it was announced that it would be held every four years instead of the previous (and one-time) three-year gap between tournaments. Just like the national tournaments held all over the world every four years such as the FIFA World Cup (men and women), the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (held annually), and many more, the WBC is hoping to grab enough attention this time around after having gained a decent amount of interest in the past.

Since the formatting has changed going from a three-year gap to a four, I feel as if it's lost some steam and a lot of people have forgotten about the whole concept. Heck, people may still be "on the fence" with the idea, so to speak. Sure, this would be only the third time it's being held, but it's pretty bad when a big baseball fan such as myself practically forgot about it until someone mentioned it to me a few weeks ago. It might be a much bigger deal outside of the United States, especially in Central America and Asia, but is it going to garner the same kind of fire here in North America?

It could, but then it might not.

Here are my reasons why it could:

1) It's during MLB Spring Training. - It would be an excellent alternative to watching general Spring Training games where you watch minor league guys that you may never ever see in the Major Leagues play and get spanked by the other team. In this case, you will see All-Star caliber players for Team USA. Plus, you'll see a bunch of your favorites play for their home countries AND get a geography/fun-fact lesson at the same time! Two birds with one stone, kids. When it comes to something like baseball, I would want to hit the ground running. I haven't watched real baseball in about three months. THREE. WHOLE. MONTHS. If a baseball fan like me wants it, we all want it.

2) Baseball isn't an Olympic sport anymore for now. - Since baseball was ousted from the Olympics after the Beijing Games in 2008, guys in the MLB minors and in other small countries really didn't have any overly huge event to represent their country. Teams in Europe have a continent-wide league (think the UEFA Champions League and Europa League for soccer) which is as close as you can possibly get to that. Of course you have the Winter Leagues down south and what have you, but it just isn't the same. There should be some love-of-country going on during this tournament that is sorely missed during the Olympics.
Also, on a side note, baseball in tournament form is something that is often unheard of considering the format of how certain leagues run. For example, Major League Baseball has a 162-game season where most teams play every day, whereas a European league may just play a 42-game season where they only play on the weekends. The endurance style is different among country's respective leagues, and the way the teams may handle playing in short spurts could differ from other respective leagues.

3)The usage of baseball fields all over the world is a unique concept. - One thing you may notice about a lot of the international sporting tournaments is that it's usually exclusive to one country or two neighboring countries (like the Poland/Ukraine duo in Euro 2012). In this case, you'll be seeing Pool Play occurring in Japan, the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Taiwan. These four countries aren't exactly close in proximity, either. It should give viewers a peek at the various venues around the world, and in some sports, you don't really get a glimpse because they often show the court or the pitch. Camera angles can give you the view of the dimensions of the field, and weird people like me normally find that stuff fascinating.
[Fun fact: I would want to go to Japan just to visit The Big Egg (Tokyo Dome) and see a baseball game.]

Those are some decent enough reasons why the WBC may fair out well this year.
However, there are reasons why this may not do as well here in North America or anywhere else.

1) It's hard enough to get the average (or uninformed) American to watch a sports tournament that isn't the Olympic Games or the NFL. - I'm serious. You'll have the die-hard baseball fans watching the World Baseball Classic and the faithful soccer fans watching the FIFA World Cup and other major Cups, but if you really had the time, would you watch these things if you didn't know who half of these people were? Exactly. People will watch the Olympics because it's the Olympics. People will watch and enjoy stuff like fencing and curling when they normally don't. When it comes to something like the World Baseball Classic, there isn't much more variety to it that will keep a person not normally interested in baseball interested in the idea.

2) Critics are prematurely whining and slamming the tournament because it could be the root of the blame for injuries before all international leagues begin their respective seasons. - This video is all I have to say about this:

The men on these teams signed up for this. I'm pretty sure they know what they're getting themselves into. Besides, there haven't been reports of any major injuries during this tournament in the past, so it's rather unlikely that something like this will start this year. However, the impact that the critics are making may make a dent in people's decisions on whether to actually watch the World Baseball Classic or not. Please. Real talk: It's not like it's being played in June, where there's the issue that an injury could affect a team's second half and ultimately their postseason chances.

3) Team USA has a mediocre record in tournament play. - If we could eliminate the past successes of the US Men's Basketball team and the US Women's Soccer team, we really don't have much else to be proud of when it comes to playing internationally. We do well and stuff, but not enough where we are always guaranteed to be Top 5 in something. It's just another one of those cases where a stereotypical person will go: "Won't some Asian team win this or something?" Sure, Japan has won the first two tournaments, but since we're technically a "superpower" in the world, the average American may expect us to win all of the time. It doesn't work like that, unfortunately.

Aside from these points that I have mentioned, there are also some things that countries are experimenting with that I found to be interesting for this:

For one, a lot of countries are actually using more homegrown talent this year that have strictly stayed in the country to play the game. The two most prominent examples of this new practice are Cuba and Japan. I guess that Japan wanted to give everyone a chance this year. Just kidding. I actually think that it's a good idea, especially since it's not just the idea of the country being represented, but you're also showcasing the ability of your country's baseball league as a whole. That's why you may actually see some issues that ensue with a team that has players that come from multiple leagues. Of course they practice before the tournament starts, but the chemistry may still be a little off at times.

There are also some more little things I learned and remembered while writing this post:
- Bruce Chen still exists. I keep forgetting that he pitches for the Kansas City Royals. I have a feeling that Royals fans forget that themselves.
- Andruw Jones is still playing baseball, but he's with the Nippon Leagues. I wouldn't exactly call that "selling out," but it certainly does make me scratch my head a little.
- Australia's Chris Snelling hasn't played on any league team since before the '09 World Baseball Classic, and that was with the Phillies (rarely used, just for the record).
- Barry Larkin is coaching Team Brazil. More power to him. A lot of the guys are MLB minor league guys, so they could learn a lot from a Hall of Fame guy like him.
- The Chinese Baseball League works in union with the Nippon League in Japan in sending guys there for additional training. With a young league like that, that's a really good idea. It's only a seven-team league, so they're still a bit shaky.
- Australia had a baseball league that started a little over 20 years ago but only lasted ten seasons. They were revitalized in 2009. (GOOD FER' YOU!)
- I keep wondering why there's a team for the Netherlands. Then I keep forgetting that they have Honkbal Hoofdklasse (good gravy) and it's the most well-built league in Europe. Plus, the roster includes people from the island of Curacao. There we go, Little League fans--there's your Curacao fix.
- Israel just missed qualifying for the tournament, but there's a nice touch on this team: Those who were non-Israeli citizens but were of Jewish heritage were eligible to play for the national team (i.e. Ryan Braun and Ian Kinsler). That's pretty cool, in my opinion. Brad Ausmus, who is one of the most successful Jewish catchers to play for MLB, is their manager.

Even with the points I've made and the wealth of fun facts that I've possibly informed you of, here's the big question: Are we all still on the fence about the World Baseball Classic?
Grant it, even though the tournament was founded eight years ago, it's still a fairly new concept, and this is only the third time it's being held. Since it's not a consistent and annual thing to be reminded of in the United States like the Little League World Series, it might not be held in the memories of a lot of casual watchers that may think that this is a one-time thing. Since things are going to be contested differently this time around, things should be more memorable and the tournament could grow in popularity. That's what I'm hoping for, at least.

It's awesome to see that baseball is such a huge thing internationally; it's not just America's game anymore. I just hope people fall off the fence onto the right side and try to support it.

Just...give us some more good baseball. That would be nice.
Love, Baseball Fans

--AZ