A Whirwind Week

So much happened in the sporting world over the past seven days or so. It was tough to narrow down all of these topics into one blog. I decided to write a little about a handful of the happenings. 

Let’s start in Big D, in which the “D” at the moment is Dez Bryant. A specific set of rules for a high school or college athlete, that’s to be expected. Special guidelines for a roster the week of the Super Bowl, that’s happened too. But what the Dallas Cowboys are preparing to enforce on 23-year-old wide receiver Dez Bryant is actually laughable. Curfew, around the clock baby-sitters, chauffeurs to and from practice, among others. That sounds like a check list for a person who lives in a senior citizen facility. With all Jerry Jones has invested in him, Bryant better put up Jerry Rice-type numbers this year. I don’t see how that’s possible, though. He has a virtual ankle bracelet that is letting every defensive back in the NFL know where Bryant is at all times. Only the Cowboys.

Who saw the last two innings of the Little League World Series US Championship? California was down 15-5 in their last at bat, and then it began. 10 runs, including back-to-back homers to tie the game to send the game to extras. Lost in the story was the shot of big league clubhouses watching this classic before their own game. Almost lost in that was the resiliency of the kids from Tennessee, who could have buried their faces in embarrassment. But they scored a barrage of runs themselves. Final score, 24-16 Tennessee. So what if they got shellacked by Japan in the next game? The Little League World Series is so underrated. You have to be from another world not to love this tournament.

Pete Carroll says he is for conventional wisdom. He and the Seattle Seahawks management are not following that thought process. Terrell Owens at 35 was not a good idea. At 38, the idea was pathetic. Let’s not forget that they gave Matt Flynn a ton of money after just two starts in the NFL. Now he will be watching Russell Wilson in week one. Add the money they gave back up Charlie Whitehurst, and Pete Carroll could be on the hot seat.

Carroll’s seat is no more of a hotter seat than in New York. Rex Ryan has been a lot quieter in this preseason, but not as quiet as the Jets offense. Yes, I know it’s only the preseason, but no offensive touchdowns in three games? Five red zone possessions all resulting in field goals. Tebow has been awful. Sanchez claims the team is not trying to show anything. I can’t argue with him there. I can just hear the Giants laughing, as the most ignored Super Bowl Champion in history.

When you hear the name Lance Armstrong, many things can come to mind. Cyclist who won seven Tour de Frances. Beat cancer, raised a lot of money for the disease, and became a great role model. I think of all the yellow Livestrong bracelets that everyone seemed to have on their wrists. Well, those people should take a black Sharpie to that word. Or tear off the bracelet all together. Lance Armstrong is not living strong. He is weak. Weak for the allegations that he used performance enhancing drugs, tainting his Tour wins. But more than that, he has decided to stop fighting the accusations. So what message is he really conveying? He can beat cancer but he is giving up the fight to possibly clear his name? What are the cancer patients to think? What are his kids thinking? Livestrong takes on a new meaning in my mind. It should in everyone else’s as well.

Speaking of performance enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens threw a few innings in a minor league game Saturday night. He shrugs off the notion that this is the beginning of preparation for a one game return to his hometown Houston Astros. We all know the Astros will offer it to him. They have nothing to lose, having the worst record in Major League Baseball. But they really shouldn’t. Ok, Clemens was never convicted of PED’s and his court hearing was thrown out. But you know this one start will push back his Hall of Fame candidacy for five years and possibly improve his chances of induction down the road. Hey Roger, you and Bonds should just come clean and go away forever. 

Now to biggest story of the week, which will be taken from most of my post on Facebook this morning. The Dodgers and Red Sox pulled off a blockbuster trade. Boston shedding a ton of salary and rebuilding, which I think is interesting considering they were a monumental collapse away from the postseason and perhaps a deep playoff run last season. The story? The Dodgers acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto, not to mention finally getting rid of James Loney. In the process, the Dodgers new ownership is making a huge statement. Here is the Facebook post… The payroll is obviously bigger than most would like, but this has to be looked at in every way. First, Dodger Stadium was not the place to be last year. From the Bryan Stow beating, to Frank McCourt’s divorce and payroll issues, to the team barely finishing above .500, far from a feel good season. This deal along with Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino and others, has gotten Dodger fans excited again. They will be back at the Stadium. Now, I’m not guaranteeing the Dodgers will win the World Series this season but I am guaranteeing they will contend for the Championship every year in the foreseeable future. And that’s what the Dodgers have to do. The Lakers do it. Which brings me to my next two points, Magic Johnson. Yes I know there are others in the ownership group. But let’s stay with Magic here. The guy is successful in everything he does (minus the talk show). He knows what it takes to succeed and knows business. There's no getting around this: baseball has become a business. I would love for baseball to be like it was in the 1970’s when the Dodgers had home grown products like Garvey, Lopes, Cey, and others. But today, you have to go out and acquire the best players you can, when you can. Don’t forget, today’s Dodgers have arguably the best position player and pitcher in MLB, both home grown. 2^nd point with Magic is this; the Dodgers are on the verge of signing a 4 billion dollar TV deal. So if my math is accurate, that 200 million dollar payroll the Dodgers are taking on next season is 5 cents on the dollar. Magic and the others are attempting to put the Dodgers on top of Los Angeles, which isn’t easy with the Lakers doing their thing every year. USC football is preseason ranked #1. The Angels still have Pujols and others. Also don’t forget that the Stanley Cup is in Los Angeles for the first time ever. The Dodgers can top that in the minds of Los Angeles sports fans. Something they had before some guy named Magic was drafted by the Lakers.

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly... the Olympics

Citius, Altius, Fortius: Or you may know it as "Faster, Higher, Stronger.” That has been the motto for the Olympic Games since they were held in Paris in 1924. London just finished hosting the XXX Olympiad, somewhat dominated by the United States, but there were many others who made their mark in some sort of way, positive or negative. The Olympics can be glorious and they can be a poor display. They can be memorable and they can be forgettable. So here is my attempt at a recap of the events that took place in the U.K. over a 17-day-plus stretch:

The Good: The weather looked as good as could be asked for, given the normal expectancy. The crowds were great, and NBCs coverage was fantastic.

The Bad: Spoilers. I know there isn’t too much we can do when the events happen eight hours earlier than when we see them on TV. Luckily, it will only be a four hour difference in Rio, four years from now. But there has to be some way the powers that be throughout the internet can get together and prevent so many results leaking.

The Ugly: The Opening Ceremonies were just awful to watch. Other than the countries making their entrance, nothing was worth it. Even Paul McCartney sounded terrible.

The Good: Michael Phelps – We can all acknowledge the fact that this was not the Phelps from Beijing, 2008. But then again, that is fine. He wanted to have a little more fun this time around. He was still better than most and became the most decorated Olympic medalist in history. Subway, Eat Fresh.

The Bad: Ryan Lochte and Tyler Clary - Lochte talked the talked, and well, didn’t quite walk the walk. Almost anyone in the pool would be overshadowed by Phelps, but I would say that Lochte’s overall performance was just good. Tyler Clary spoke out saying that Phelps wasn’t training as much as he should. That should be a good thing if you have to compete against him. Let the sleeping dog lie. Clary only netted one individual medal.

The Ugly: Twitter - I could care less if Justin Bieber tweeted to Missy Franklin inviting her to his concert. And even less than that, I don’t need Ryan Seacrest pretending he belongs next to Bob Costas and Al Michaels. Seacrest, out! For good hopefully!

The Good: Usain Bolt - Sweeping the 100, 200 and 4x100 meter relay again. No one in history has done that. Will he go for three in a row in Rio?

The Bad: The talk of steroids and other performance enhancing drug possibilities for Bolt and his Jamaican teammates. I guess in the world of Track and Field, it is to be expected.

The Ugly: Carl Lewis - All but saying that we should wait til the drug tests come out to judge Usain Bolt. Carl, what are you worried about? He is not ruining your legacy. You were nothing but class when you competed and represented your country. Let it go. The truth will come out, no matter what.

The good: Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman – usually their comes a new media darling from the US Women’s Gymnastics’ team. This year, we got two of them. Douglas, the rags to riches story that led to two gold medals, the team and the all-around. Raisman, the captain of the Women’s team, along with medalling in two other individual events. A great story for both of them.

The bad: Jordyn Wieber – Partly her fault for just not rising up to the top of the competition, partly the fault of Tim Dagget and the other gymnastics media coverage clearly rooting for Wieber to shine above all else.

The ugly: The rule that only two from each nation can be represented in the gymnastics all-around competition. Ridiculous. Take the best 24 competitors, regardless. And what was with all the protests of scoring and judging? This is the main reason I cannot completely get behind events like gymnastics and figure skating. Too objective.

The good: Oscar Pistorius – It doesnt matter that he didn’t get past the semifinals of the 400 meter race. It doesn’t matter that he and his team finished 8^th in the 4x400 meter relay. Oscar Pistorius ran those races as a double amputee. It matters that he has become a voice or athlete for the handicapped. It matters that he got to carry the flag for South Africa in the opening ceremony. It matters the respect he got from his competitors, specifically Grenada’s Kirani James, who asked to exchange jersey numbers with him.

The bad: US Men’s Gymnastics – You got badly outclassed by the world. You got shown up by the US Women’s team. You looked defeated right from the beginning of the team finals. No big deal for the rest of the world. For the United States, unacceptable.

The ugly: Losing on purpose – Forgetting that badminton is an Olympic event, eight badminton players were disqualified for throwing matches to “help them win down the line.” Supposedly this has happened before. Just awful. You have earned the right to represent your country in the Olympics. They happen once every four years. Act accordingly.