Steroids=Excitement

Lots of people claim that steroids are bad for sports, that they ruin the "sanctity" of them and make them a cheap gimmick, but I don't see it that way. I see steroids, or any other performance enhancing drug, as a way to build excitement about a sport, especially boring ones like baseball. If we look back, some of the more exciting players in recent history have been found to use steroids.
My first example of steroids adding entertainment is the home run chase between Mark Mcgwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998. This marked the return of baseball as an exciting sport because you saw two power houses going for the single season home run record and they were going hit for hit until the last game. In the end Sammy Sosa won it and the country was on fire with all the home runs that it seemed hard that anything could make people hate that time. Then it came out that both players had used steroids and now everyone says how horrible that is. It's not horrible, people enjoyed it and had a great time with it, so who cares if they juiced? It's just a game isn't it?

The next example has come a little more recently. Ryan Braun, the 2011 NL MVP, just failed a drug test. Braun played for one of the more exciting teams this year, the Milwaukee Brewers. He was hitting home run after home run and the fans were loving it! People were saying how he is the future of baseball and the best player in the league, until now that everyone knows he took steroids. Now people demand that he forfeit the MVP award and face a possible fifty game suspension.

People should get over steroids in sports because they make things more fun. If Mark and Sammy didn't "roid" it up then no one would watch baseball now and if Ryan didn't then no one would see the awesome moments that made this year so enjoyable. So I say to the people, steroids = excitement.

The End of an Era

The dismissal of Richard “Rip” Hamilton is more than just an aging player being let go by his “career” team; it is the end of the Detroit Pistons glory days. With Richard let go now only two players, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Wallace, remain from the 2004 NBA Championship team. After seeing what this team has become, it makes me long for those days of the Wallace duo (not just because I share the same last name), Mr. Big Shot (Chauncey Billups), Dangles (Tayshaun Prince), and Rip tearing up the league and showing people that teamwork wins more than individual ability. So with this reminiscing, I want to show what the careers of the two most disrespected players from that starting five, Chauncey and Richard, have been like since they reached the top of the NBA Mountain.

            Chauncey Billups was the best point guard in the league from a leadership standpoint and also as a player. He was known to be able to win the game in the clutch, his professionalism, and for his calm demeanor, no matter what the situation. In 2008 he was traded to his hometown Denver Nuggets and continued with the success that he had with Detroit, helping them get back to the conference championship and become contenders. Billups’ time with the Nuggets was cut short however because of a trade demand by Nugget All-Star Carmelo Anthony, as he and Chauncey were soon shipped to the New York Knicks in early 2011. While with the Knicks he assisted into their return to the playoffs, but came down with an injury late in the first game of the playoff series and would not return. At the beginning of the 2011-2012 season Billups was again affected by a All-Star trade demand, this time by point guard Chris Paul, and was offered for a deal with the Hornets that would send him to New Orleans. This deal fell through however and has since been waived by the Knicks. He is currently looking for a new team that will help him return to dominance.

            Richard Hamilton was one of top shooting guards of the 2000’s with the Pistons, able to come off a screen and hit the jumper, or drive to the basket and finish with contact. This has been overshadowed in recent years by injuries, trade talks, benchings, and public feuds with a head coach. His role with the team had been shortened because of new “better” shooting guards that joined the team, but Rip continued to outperform them. Finally after years of being under valued Richard has a chance to join a contender and win his second championship and finish his career on top.

            Even though they are so great, they are disrespected beyond a shadow of a doubt. I hope they find a place where they can finally win either separately, or together to reform the dynamic duo that they were. Right now we have no way of knowing where they will go, but we will always know how good they were and how they brought joy back to D Town.

Free at Last, Free at Last!

    It is official, the NBA lockout has ended! It only took the NBA and the players association around one hundred and fifty days, a couple lawsuits, some name calling, and a couple press conferences but we finally have the season back for sixty six games for each team! With the new season comes all new roster for teams, whether it be a free agent signing, a rookie, or a trade. With new rosters means that there are going to be all new contenders for the NBA Championship and for total domination of the league.
    One team that is going to be looking to contend for a title is the Memphis Grizzlies. After shocking most of the world last year by not only making it to the play offs, but also winning a series and making it to the second round, the Grizz are looking to go all the way this year. The play of this team will rely upon how well team star O.J. Mayo does this season. After a stable first two years in the league, last year was an up and down one for him with benching's, suspensions, trade talks, and bad play for most of the year. If he can get back to his old form then the west should watch out for this young talented team also consisting of Zach Randolf, Rudy Gay, and Marc Gasol.

     A team in the east that is ready for their time to shine is the New York Knicks. After last season's signing of Amare Stoudemire and the mid season trade for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, the Knicks are finally back to the old glory days. With more time to develop as a team, the Knicks will be upsetting teams this year like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, and the truly hated Miami Heat.

      So enough talking about the season, it is time for it to happen! The season starts on Christmas day with Boston vs. New York on ESPN, and Miami vs. Dallas and L.A. vs. Chicago on ABC. Be sure to watch and truly see the most wonderful time of the year.

Upset Weekend!

      This weekend was a HUGE weekend for college football. With the end of the season coming quickly this is one of the most crucial weekend to decide who goes to the championship game. With the pressure of the weekend some teams stepped up to the challenge, while some fell to the pressure.
      This weekend, three of the top five teams were defeated and their title hopes are almost completely lost. While the games were close, that does not count in the BCS and they will probably fall in the standings. Number two Oklahoma State was upset by the largely underrated Iowa State in overtime because of costly turnovers by the quarterback to end any hopes of claiming glory. Number four Oregon was upset by Southern California after a missed field goal at the end of the game to ruin their chances at the big dance. Number five Oklahoma went down after a last second touchdown by Baylor to end their hopes of a National Championship. This leaves one question though... who is number two in the country?

      One team that certainly deserves the spot is Alabama! They have one loss and that is to undefeated Louisiana State, which they only lost to by a field goal and could have easily won the game if they did not miss multiple field goals. They have more than enough convincing wins over other ranked opponents and in my opinion are the number one team in the country. Over the next few weeks we will see the Crimson Tide take advantage of the opportunity and enter the championship against LSU and claim their championship once again.

Matt Stafford

      It was another tough week for the Detroit Lions this week as they lost to division rivals the Chicago Bears. While the team as a whole played a pretty well game, the quarterback for our beloved Lions looked horrible to say the least. While he didn't fail to throw a touchdown, he did throw it for the wrong team, three times. This pretty much sold me on my thoughts that he is not that good of a quarterback as people have thought of him.
      It started early for Matt as he never did seem to be comfortable throughout the game and in the end he lost it for us. A pick six is fairly uncommon in football but he through one every other play it seemed. At one point he through one on two consecutive possession, on for twenty four yards and another for forty two yards. The worst pick six he threw came in the forth quarter when he ended up grabbing a Chicago Bear player and throwing him to the ground by his face mask, which led to Matt getting the crap kicked out of him by said player.
     Do not get me wrong I am not basing all of this after one game, I am basing this after multiple games and after I saw him pump fake the ball straight into the ground and get an intentional grounding call against him. This was a first for me to see and I am pretty sure the history of football has never had something so embarrassing happen. Not only did he do that but also received a second intentional grounding call and a loss for us.
      I do hope that Matt gets better as the years go on because he does have the potential to be good, but as of now he is not all that he is cracked up to be. Hopefully the Lions defense can help Matt by stopping the opposing offense, still he needs to stop helping the opposing offense by throwing the ball at the defense.

NBA Lock out pt. 2

A couple months ago I was really ok with the whole NBA lock out thing but now it is just getting annoying. Two or three days ago was supposed to be the start of the season but it came and went with no opening day moments or wins and losses for teams. Now I know that it is a business but in the words of most parents in the world, “let them play!”

            Usually opening day for the NBA is one of my favorite days of the year. I get to see my favorite players and cheer for them while I boo and say that Lebron is not that good and he gets all of the calls. But this year was the exact opposite. The day came and all I enjoyed was the documentary on the former NBA player and my friend’s post’s about how they are sorry I will not be watching games that night. I spent the day reminiscing on good days of basketball and monster dunks and crazy shots while watching the players association and the owners argue over two point five percent of revenue.

            Now that this lockout is affecting me now I feel that this is probably one of the dumbest things I have heard in a while. If all that is keeping me from enjoying basketball is two point five percent I say someone gives in so everybody and get enjoyment. The players and owners enjoy the money and games and us the fans enjoy spending the money and the games. If this ends up costing me my whole season then I might need to rethink my choice of league and sport because this is no reason to stop Andy’s pass time.

            I am not doing that bad now but by Christmas if there is no basketball I might be going insane. Christmas always has the best games on and if all I do that day is visit with family I am going to be frustrated and disappointed. So come on NBA, finish this little dispute your having and give me my basketball!

MSU vs. Wisconsin

What a game that Michigan State vs. Wisconsin game was. Goes down as probably one of the top seven or eight games I have ever scene in football. It is not everyday you get to see an amazing team come back and win it at the last second off of a tipped ball by the opposing team. Let’s go through this game a little more in depth.

            The game started off with Wisconsin driving down the field and making the Michigan State Spartans look like a junior varsity team. They followed that up by letting Wisconsin score another seeming effortless touchdown to put them down by fourteen at the end of the first quarter.

            In the second quarter the Spartans took the attack to the Badgers. With Wisconsin on their own five-yard line, the Spartans clawed their way to the quarterback and made him make a horrible mistake. The quarterback was under pressure so he threw the ball away but it was called intentional grounding and since he was in the end zone it was also a safety. Wisconsin gave two points to the Spartans but more important was that they got possession also. The Spartans were then able to score not one touchdown, but three by the end of the half including a blocked punt for a touchdown to take a twenty-three to fourteen lead heading into the locker room.

            The Spartans picked up where they left off in the third quarter scoring another touchdown on their noble adversaries and converting on a two-point conversion. The Badgers followed that up with a field goal to end the quarter with a fourteen-point deficit.

            The Badgers came out swinging in the fourth quarter by scoring two touchdowns and tying up the game with little time on the clock. The Spartans seemed to be in trouble when it was second and twenty, but a timely catch by a State receiver made it an ideal third and four at the end of the play. With a first down and on the opponent’s forty-yard line with four seconds remaining, the Spartans went for it all with a Hail Mary pass. The pass seemed in the air for forever, but when it came down it bounced off one of State’s receiver’s helmets and into the arms of Keith Nichol, another State receiver. With the defense trying to keep him out of the end zone and Nichol twisting and turning his body he was finally brought down short of the goal line according to the officials. With so much on the line however, the officials decided to review it and it was declared a touchdown! This marked the end of Wisconsin’s undefeated season and a great victory for the Spartans.