Real Women Love Sports

Heading to a Super rematch

2012-01-23T16:59:00.002-05:00

As I watched Billy Cundiff’s seemingly “sure thing,” 32-yard field goal attempt sail wide left, I felt the earth shift – all Patriots fans jumped up to rejoice, while Ravens fans fell to the ground in despair.

Throughout the game my blood pressure was on a rollercoaster ride: sure the Pats were going to pull it off; hopefully of a New England victory, but not wanting to feel too confident only to be brutally disappointed; and fearing that the evil Ravens were going to pound my Super Bowl dreams into oblivion.

In the end, it was Vince Wilfork on defense and Cundiff’s missed kick that sent the Pats to Indianapolis (although, if Cundiff had made the field goal, who knows what would have happened in overtime – Tom Brady the assassin very well could have returned.)

Brady, in his own words, “sucked pretty bad,” in the game; though, to be fair, his numbers were far from awful - 239 yards, with two interceptions however, for the first time in 36 games, no TD passes… but he did run in the game-winner. But for Brady, that’s a bad game. Usually he doesn't need much assistance when it comes to big games, but Sunday the Patriots' highly-criticized defense came through and was the deciding factor in the game (Cundiff’s foot aside).

After the game finished, I had only a few minutes to regain my composure and let my blood pressure settle before I was thrown into another game. I wasn’t ready for another championship game; I wanted to savor the Patriots good luck for a few hours. But Roger Goodell wouldn’t have it and I was thrust into the 49ers-Giants rumble.

During this game I was torn – who do I cheer for? I hate the Giants and I like the 49ers, but I also want to Pats to have a chance to avenge their last Super Bowl loss. That being said, I’m just a tad superstitious – because of that, I try to be realistic and not overly confident because my confidence may madden the football gods and cause the Patriots to lose, and I would rather lose to San Francisco than the Giants. So as you can see, I was torn. Seeing as how cheering for a New York team just about makes me physically ill, I couldn’t bring myself to cheer for the Giants (watching them celebrate brings the taste of bile to my mouth).

In the end, it was the football gods (and poor Kyle Williams) who decided the outcome, and now my Patriots have the opportunity to avenge their Super Bowl XLII loss.

With this matchup, I am forced to remember back to that game in 2008. Try as I might to forget it ever happened, over and over I am forced to watch David Tyree and the helmet catch thrown in my face by ESPN, Fox and the like.

I went into that game as confident as a fan can be – after all, my team was 18-0 and the Giants finished the regular season 10-6 (just like this season… I’m feeling sick). As the game wore on I remember asking myself: “Why are the Patriots playing like they’re trying not to lose? My Patriots always play to win! Who is this team? Where are my Patriots?!”

Then the unthinkable happened, and after “the touchdown” I got up, and locked myself in my room. A tear or two may have been shed and I refused to talk about the game or turn on ESPN for a week.

Now the Patriots have a chance to avenge that fateful night… they better not blow it, or I may actually have a heart attack.

Tim Tebow humor

2011-12-20T10:40:00.001-05:00

My neighbor just sent me this joke .... it seems like I am obsessed with Tim Tebow, but really I'm not. I must also mention that I AM happy he lost on Sunday, because he was playing Tom and the boys.

Tom Brady, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Patriots flag in the window. "This house is yours for eternity Tom, said God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here." Tom felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house.

On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a huge 3-story mansion with Orange and Blue sidewalks and drive ways, a 50 foot tall flagpole with an enormous Broncos logo flag waving, a swimming pool in shape of a horse, a Broncos logo in every window, and a Tim Tebow jersey on the front door.

Tom looked at God and said "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was an all-pro QB, I won 3 Super Bowls, and I even went to the Hall of Fame."

God said "So what's your point Tom?"

"Well, why does Tim Tebow get a better house than me?"

God chuckled, and said "Tom, that's not Tim's house, it's mine."

Dear Santa

2011-12-19T15:45:00.002-05:00

Dear Santa,

I have thought long and hard about what I want for Christmas this year. I’ve been pretty good and I hope you take that into account when you look at my list.

First – please make the lockouts stop! First the NFL over the summer, then the NBA this fall... I can’t take the stress!

The NFL locked players out, postponed training camp and cancelled a couple preseason games … but they were smart enough to end the lockout before any regular season games were cancelled. The NBA, on the other hand, cancelled about a month of games and turned off a lot of fans in the process.

The worst part of the lockouts is that of course both sides waited until the very last minute to negotiate, when both leagues knew they were coming for years. Because of that, the looming lockouts put a dark cloud over the previous seasons. And I’m sorry but millionaires fighting billionaires? The world has a lot bigger problems to worry about.

Santa, I hope athletes, players and commissioners in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL have learned their lesson from these two lockouts and work to prevent them from happening rather than waiting to negotiate until the final hour. But I am not naïve and realize that they probably haven’t learned a thing.

My second wish is for safety changes in IndyCar.

Twelve laps into the IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a horrific crash unfolded that enveloped 15 cars, killing Dan Wheldon, winner of the 2011 Indianapolis 500. His car launched into the air, then slammed against the catch fence – cockpit first. He was 33.

The sadness of this accident is undeniable, the young husband and father of two loses his life after finally getting to the top of his profession. The sad part of the accident is that no one was shocked that it happened.

One journalist covering the race wrote: “Conditions in the race were such that everybody kind of expected that there was going to be at least one or two really big crashes."

During practice runs, drivers expressed concern about the track, where cars could reach speeds of 225 m.p.h. One driver, Oriol Servia, said: "We all had a bad feeling about this place, in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat [to the floor with the accelerator].”

Ironically, Wheldon was racing for team owner Sam Schmidt, a former Indy driver whose career was cut short in a horrific crash that left him a quadriplegic.

Santa, please talk to IndyCar officials and make them take a look at these tragedies and do everything in their power to ensure that it doesn’t happen again, that no other children lose their father, no wife loses her husband. Remind them that safety of the drivers should come above all else – speed is exciting, but not worth the loss of life.

My final wish is for college football to chill out with the conference changes. So many schools changed allegiance this year, I don’t know who is now where or what the conferences are called – Pac-10 or Pac-12? Shouldn’t the Big 10 and Big 12 swap names?

Missouri and Texas A&M moved to the SEC; Texas Christian to the Big East – wait no, make that the Big 12; Pittsburgh and Syracuse left the Big East for the ACC; Boise State and San Diego State join the Big East (yes, you heard that right, the Big “East”) … it’s all enough to make my head spin. Now the Big 12 will have 10 schools; the Big 10 will have 12 schools; and with Houston, Southern Methodist, San Diego State and Boise State joining the conference, less than half of the football teams in the Big East will be East Coast schools.

I hope I got all of the changes right… but if not, you’ll have to excuse me – it’s too confusing to keep straight. Santa, please talk to all of the university deans and conference commissioners and politely ask them to chill out – we fans can’t keep up!

Well Santa, that’s all I have. Oh, and of course heath, wealth and happiness for myself, my family and my friends.

Merry Christmas!

Jen H., Savannah, GA

All he does is win, all-all-all he does is win

2011-12-15T09:28:00.000-05:00

Why all the Tebow hate?

2011-12-06T12:19:00.000-05:00

Throughout his career at the University of Florida and now in his second year with the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow continues to be one of the most polarizing athletes … and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I’ve always been a Tim Tebow fan; I think he seems to be a truly good person and a great athlete – you can debate his game as much as you want, there is no denying his athletic abilities.

A guy who is a great athlete and is a man of faith is constantly bashed for both things. There seems to be no middle ground with Tebow: you either love him or you hate him; you think he’s a good quarterback or you think he’s overrated; you think his constant comeback wins are a result of skill or are all luck. Tebow’s athletic ability, his quarterbacking ability, his faith and even his “purity” have been mocked and questioned.

It’s like people think he’s too good (i.e. too virtuous) to be true. They think he is too perfect in his persona and are just waiting – and have been waiting for years – for him to be revealed as a hypocrite. Yet after nearly six years of no closet skeletons appearing, people turn to ripping his game and mocking his faith. You can rip his game all you want, but mocking anyone’s religious beliefs crosses a major line.

As a devout Christian who is very upfront about his faith, Tebow regularly drops to one knee to thank the Lord. Recently, his praying has gone viral, with people around the world posting pictures of themselves “Tebowing” — dropping to one knee with their head on their fist in “prayer.” Yes, "Tebow" has become a verb. But even within this viral sensation there is a split – those who do it in admiration of Tebow, and those who do it to mock him.

It’s not only fans who openly mock him – some of his fellow NFL players have jumped on the boat. When Denver took on Detroit about a month ago, Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch sacked Tebow during the first quarter and instead of screaming or standing over Tebow, he instead dropped to his knee and “Tebowed.” In the second quarter Lion Tony Scheffler caught a touchdown pass and celebrated by “Tebowing.”

Whether they realized it or not, they were mocking his religious beliefs. What Tebow is doing when he drops to his knee is thanking God – it is similar to a Catholic blessing himself or a Muslim bowing to Allah. Do we mock athletes who do those things? Of course not, because it would be viewed as distasteful. Yet it seems “OK” to do it to Tebow. The defense that those haters spew out that Tebow’s decision to be so open about his faith opens him to scrutiny makes me question where all of our values are.

I’m certainly not as devout as Tebow is, but I respect the fact that he is, just as I respect a Muslim woman who dresses according to the hijab or a Jewish man who wears a kippah or yarmulke – it is not my right to question another person’s beliefs.

What makes me respect Tebow even more is that he stays quiet in this debate. He lets people “Tebow” – whether it’s mocking or complimentary – and continues to live his life the way he believes is right. He lives quietly; we know little about his personal life other than he is a Chrsitan and does charity work in the Philippines, and he is humble.

On the field, his stats aren’t great but his record is; and every fan must admit that they would rather have a quarterback with bad numbers and wins than great numbers and no wins. It may not be pretty or conventional, but time and time again Tim Tebow has proven himself to be a winner.

Love him or hate him, you have to respect Tim Tebow.

Welcome back NBA

2011-12-06T12:15:00.000-05:00

*disclaimer: also posted late - wrote Monday, Nov. 28

So the NBA is back - tentatively. NBA owners and players reached a “tentative” agreement early Saturday morning to end the 149-day lockout and plan to begin the season on Christmas Day.

If the agreement passes as expected (which it looks to at the time this article was printed), the league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9.

Though the agreement was tentatively (there’s that word again) reached Saturday, the players still have to vote on it – and there are a few issues with that. The vote only has to pass by a simple majority, but the problem is that the players disbanded their union in frustration two weeks ago and have to reestablish it before they can cast a legal vote.

One of the major concessions in the newest agreement is that players will receive a 51.2-percent share of the Basketball Related Income in the 2011-2012 season, down from the 57-percent the received in the last bargaining agreement. However, the players did get some of their demands, as is customary in a bargaining situation.

However, the players did get some of their demands, as is customary in a bargaining situation. In one of their (few) major wins, the owners wanted an unlimited escrow system, but the players were able to keep the system at just 10 percent of their salary. They also got no reductions in rookie contracts of minimum salaries; no reductions in maximum contract lengths or maximum salary increased – in fact, young superstars can take even more to the bank – a player finishing his rookie scale contract will be eligible to receive a maximum salary equal to 30 percent of the salary cap (up from 25 percent) if he signs with his same team and is either a two-time selection to the All-NBA first, second or third team; twice an All-Star starter or a one-time MVP.

But make no mistake – the owners got most of what they wanted, as they help the players over the proverbial barrel and shot for the stars – many “in the know” are saying the owners got 80 percent of what they were looking for in the deal. Understandably, there are rumblings from some players that the NBA Players Association executive director rolled over a little too easy. Despite that, the vote is likely to pass easily once the union is reformed, as most players are eager to start playing (and getting paid) again.

The NBA owners may have won big in this deal, but don’t feel too bad for the players – they’ll still remain the highest paid professional athletes.

In the first game of the (tentative) 2011-2012 season, the Boston Celtics will head to New York to take on the Knicks, a guaranteed ratings winner; followed by a rematch of last year’s Finals, as the Miami Heat head to Dallas to try to avenge their loss. And just in case those two games weren’t enough to entice you, MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls head to LA to take on Kobe and the Lakers in the Christmas Day finale – now that’s what I call a comeback.

With the current tentative schedule, teams will play 48 conference games, and 18 outside; they will play about two more games per month than last season, but no team will play on three straight nights more than three times. Game 7 of the NBA Championship would be played (if necessary) on June 26, which is two weeks later than last season.

Nothing sums it up for NBA fans than how Dwyane Wade did Sunday night, “Finally.”

For these things I give thanks

2011-12-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

posted a bit late... wrote Thanksgiving week

It’s that time of year when we are asked constantly what we are thankful for. In what has become as much a tradition to me as watching football and eating turkey and gravy on Thanksgiving, I write a column about the things in the sports world that I am thankful for. This year we have much to be thankful for, that pesky NBA lockout aside.

First, I am thankful that I am from a town that has great sports teams. I know I am one of the lucky ones whose team is always in the hunt – as a New England native and sports fan, I (currently) have four teams that are always in the hunt for the playoffs. Since 2001, I have seen all four teams win a championship (with the Pats and Sox winning three and two, respectively), with the Bruins finalizing the quad-fecta (had to make that word up) this past season. Even though the Red Sox didn’t make the playoffs this year, they are always in the playoff picture in September; the Patriots have been one of the top teams in the NFL every season since 2001; the Celtics have been a powerhouse since the Kevin Garnett trade; and I mentioned the Bruins finally raised Lord Stanley’s Cup in June for the first time since the 70s.

But make no mistake – I do not take this for granted. I was born in the early 1980s and remember when Boston was the laughing stock of the sports world; I grew up with the Red Sox never being able to clinch anything, the Celtics stinking post-Larry Bird, the Bruins ownership being too cheap to bring in a decent team, and grew up calling the Patriots “The Patsies.” I remember the sinking feeling when Grady Little left Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, and just to make sure we in Boston don’t forget the heartbreak we were at one time so used to, we watched Eli Manning of all people lead the Giants to the Super Bowl XLII (which I like to think never happened).

The second thing I am thankful for is this crazy college football season. Over the weekend, three of the top five BCS teams lost, as No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Oregon and No. 5 Oklahoma were all upset. The last time three of the top five teams lost on the same weekend was Oct. 11, 2008, when No. 1 Oklahoma lost to No. 5 Texas; No. 3 Missouri lost to No. 17 Oklahoma State; and No. 4 LSU lost to No. 11 Florida.

What did this do to the BCS standings? Well, it proved emphatically what everyone has always known – that the SEC is the best conference, as they hold down the top-three spots – the first time one conference, and one division (SEC West) within a conference at that, has held the top three slots. LSU continues to stand atop the leader board for the ninth straight week, followed by Alabama (who lost to LSU on the road a couple weeks ago) and Arkansas.

Nothing is more exciting than a down-to-the-wire college football season… now if only they’d have a playoff and get rid of the silly BCS bowls.

The third thing I am giving thanks for is Thanksgiving football. Watching Dallas and Detroit host a game on Thanksgiving has become as much a tradition as turkey and pumpkin pie, but this is the first year in it’s something to be excited about. No longer a basement dweller, the Detroit Lions have become a force to be reckoned with, thanks to Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson (who really DID just need a good quarterback to turn into the player we all knew he was) and Ndamukong Suh, the sickest second-year defensive lineman I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. And not only do we have those two games on this year, the NFL Network (which I am also thankful for) is giving us a dessert match, of the Baltimore Ravens vs. 49ers.

But of course, on Thanksgiving when I bow my head to give thanks, I will recite the things I am most thankful for – my amazing family, my wonderful friends and to have a job that not only puts food on the table, but lets me work with and for our nation’s finest and their families. Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Valley No More

2011-11-16T13:24:00.000-05:00

Disclaimer: Kids under the age of 10 –don’t read this next sentence. Remember when you found out that Santa wasn’t real? Remember how you felt let down, disappointed and disillusioned? That’s how I felt again when the Penn State scandal broke.

I grew up worshipping at the altar of Joe Paterno. I’m from Massachusetts and we didn’t have a big-time college football team (Boston College does not count), but my dad grew up outside of Philadelphia and adopted Penn State as his team, and therefore mine. In the 1990s, my “formative years,” Penn State was a powerhouse, including their Big Ten Championship in 1994, when they also should have been National Champs (that’s right Nebraska fans, I said it). I loved all things Penn State football and wore my Nittany Lion pride on my chest – literally; I was the only kid in Boston who wore a Penn State Starter jacket.

In the last 10 years, Joe has definitely not been at his best on the sidelines, and I think turned into more of a figurehead than an actual head coach. But just two weeks after becoming the winningest college football coach of all time, he had a Homer-esque fall, with the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal coming to light. For those of you who never heard of Sandusky, before his retirement 12 years ago, he was one of college football's well-known and well-respected assistant coaches; a defensive genius who helped Penn State become “Linebacker U.”

I won’t remark on the Sandusky charges themselves, except to say that they are just about the worst charges that can be made about someone. When those kinds of allegations are brought public, people want to see swift, harsh justice, so when it came out that Joe Pa may have known that something happened… well, it was inevitable that something had to be done.

I think all Penn State fans are feeling what I am – personally offended that a man we revered could have known about something so heinous and, basically, swept it under the rug to protect one of his “boys.” We all know the jock-loyalty mentality and it seems like that is the catalyst for Joe Pa’s undoing. We all wonder why Joe didn’t go further with his information; there are those supporting and defending his actions, saying he did his part – but I ask you, wouldn’t you have done more? If you heard of such allegations, wouldn’t you have done everything you could to ensure justice was done? For as much as he did, he might as well have slipped a note under the dean’s door.

In the wake of this scandal, there are a few things we all need to remember, because in this great nation of ours, people tend to be quick to judgment.

First, we must remember that these horrid allegations are just that – allegations. They are not (yet) known to be factual. Despite how horrific the accusations, even Jerry Sandusky is innocent until proven guilty.

That being said, don’t forget about the children who are the real victims in all of this. In all of the controversy over Joe Pa should have been fired or not, a lot of people are forgetting about children who were allegedly taken advantage of a hurt. Joe Pa is not the victim here, the children are. Think of them.

Before two weeks ago, Joe Paterno was known as the legendary 84-year-old Penn State football coach, the winningest college football coach of all time, and an honorable and virtuous man. His program annually graduated more football players than any other public school, and was known for sportsmanship. But now, that reputation is tarnished and Penn State football will likely never be the same.

Sadly, Penn State is Happy Valley no more.

Hunger Games trailer

2011-11-14T10:52:00.000-05:00

I can't express how much I loved the Hunger Games trilogy - I read all three books in less than three weeks, I couldn't put one down once I started it. The movie looks like it's going to be pretty good

March 23, 2012 can't come soon enough

Greatest Halloween Costume of All Time

2011-11-01T14:29:00.000-04:00

I just saw the greatest Halloween costume of all time on Grantland www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post?id=8396

Join the President’s Challenge

2011-11-01T14:07:00.003-04:00

In June, I joined “The President’s Challenge” with some of my co-workers, in an effort to keep myself active. The President’s Challenge is a program through the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition that encourages all Americans to make being active part of their everyday lives.

I work out every day, so why not keep track? I started inputting my workouts – you select what you’ve done each day from a list of “approved” activities, input the length of time you did it and the level (ie light, moderate, vigorous) and you get awarded a number of points based on that. As my numbers went up and I saw the number value associated with different workouts, I started trying to increase my daily points. I started wearing a pedometer and keeping track of the amount of activities I did that I normally wouldn’t consider “working out” but are President’s Challenge Activities, like household chores, gardening and playing with my two-year-old – which falls under “children’s games.” As begun adding in those activities, my daily points skyrocketed and on July, I got my first Presidential Champion Award – the “Active Lifestyle Award” for being active at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week for six straight weeks.

After that, I changed my goal to “Presidential Champions,” which is aimed at adults or kids who are already physically active and is all about pushing yourself to be even more active. It’s a great program for those who already exercise regularly or as a next step for beginners who complete the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award challenge. You points carry over from PALA and on Aug. 8, I received the “Bronze Award” for accumulating 40,000 points, and on Oct. 24, I earned my Silver Award for 90,000 points. I am now 58.1 percent of the way to a Gold Award, which I will receive if and when I accumulate 160,000 points.

Now, I know it might seem a little silly to some that I hung these awards in my office – the actual bronze and silver medals, a la the Olympics. But you know what? I’m proud of myself – I really do work out at least five days a week, mostly at the gym here at Hunter, and I don’t make excuses for not going to the gym. In this past year, I’ve made working out a priority in my life and I feel great about that. I’ve lost 15-20 pounds, I’ve put on muscle and in general, I just feel a lot better about myself. I used to work out every day, but once I got married and had a child, working out just seemed to fall by the wayside. After I put on a lot of weight when I was pregnant and didn’t lose much right after, I had a really tough time looking in the mirror and feeling good about myself. I became insecure, which is something I’d always prided myself on not being. I had an infant, worked a lot, had a 2 hour round-trip commute to work … and I used those as excuses for not going to the gym. Was I busy? Absolutely; but I also wasn’t taking the time to work on me and I was using every excuse I had to not workout. I truly believe in the power of working out and, in retrospect, I think that not working out made me somewhat depressed (due to lack of those amazing endorphins), which made me not want to work out … and it became a vicious cycle.

Once I started working at Hunter last Thanksgiving, which is less than 10 miles from my house, I took the opportunity to get back to the active lifestyle I’d had in my “previous life.” The President’s Challenge is a great way for me – and everyone – to continue to be active, and gives me a goal to strive for. Many people, myself included, need motivation on those days where we just don’t feel like working out – we are tired, or it’s raining or our back hurts. For me, the President’s Challenge gives me some motivation – I know which activities give me the most points, and I try to get as many point in my allotted “workout time” as I can. I input my points each day, and I hate having days where I don’t have exercise to record. Basically, the President’s Challenge is the accountability I need.

No matter what your activity and fitness level, the President's Challenge can help motivate you to improve. Start earning Presidential awards for your daily physical activity and fitness efforts, go to www.presidentschallenge.org.

Playing football at the top of the world

2011-11-01T14:05:00.001-04:00

I have a secret – I cry when I watch TV. Whether it’s a movie, a one-hour drama or a story on the news, I get easily choked up when I watch TV,and nothing – nothing – chokes me up more than sports. But let me clarify – it’s not the games themselves; it’s those sports features on ESPN or CBS sports, like the ESPN “Make a Wish” series or “Outside the Lines.”

Last week, after watching the most recent “Outside the Lines” on the Joplin High School Eagles, which of course made me cry, I felt the urge to look up and re-watch an episode from a few years back that I still think about occasionally: the story of the high school football team in Barrow, Alaska.

Now, if you aren’t familiar with Barrow, let me give you a little overview: Barrow, population around 4,500, is the northernmost town in the United States, 330 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The population is about 60 percent Inupiat Eskimo, who apparently don’t mind the cold, because temperatures remain below freezing from early October through late May and the high daily temperature is above freezing on average only about 110 days a year. In the winter, the residents of Barrow go 67 days a year without sunlight, and beginning around May 10, the sun doesn’t set in Barrow for about 12 weeks – talk about “polar” opposites (get it?). Oh, and the roads in Barrow? They are unpaved and go nowhere – there are no roads into or out of Barrow; you have to take a plane or boat to get there.

Yet, on Aug. 19, 2006, in the midst of seasonal snow flurries, the Barrow High School Whalers played the first official football game in the Arctic. They lost, as they did the following game; but in their third game they recorded their first win – and celebrated by jumping into the Arctic Ocean, just 100 yards from their dirt and gravel field. Do you even have to ask if I had tears in my eyes as these boys jumped into the freezing ocean in their “Whalers” uniforms?

The beginning of this team was chronicled by ESPN. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the formation of this team – many in the town felt it was a waste of money. Fielding the team cost nearly $200,000, mainly for travel; in order to get any opponents, the school agreed to fly all opposing teams into town – add in ground transportation, meals and a place to sleep, and that added up to about $20,000 for each home game. And you can imagine the cost of the Whalers’ three game, 3,682-mile, six-day road trip. Amongst shrinking budgets and teacher shortages, parents, teachers and community leaders don’t see spending their extra money on a team for kids who never played football before.

But in this town, which had grown exponentially since oil was discovered in the 1960s, was seeing disenchanted teenagers, chronic substance abuse problems and an escalating dropout rate – in 2005, 50 percent of the students didn’t graduate, and all of those were Inupiat. Football, they believed, could keep kids out of trouble, teach principles like discipline and teamwork, bring the community together and help the town reconnect with its values-rich past.

As a large supporter of sports, these detractors get to me. I see their point, that perhaps the money could have been filtered elsewhere, but I think they aren’t seeing the bigger picture – sports make teenagers feel better about themselves and have been proven to be a positive influence.

The controversy began, but the team remained.

During the opening game of the 2007 season, the Whalers football played their first game of the season on their new, “Boise State blue” artificial turf – the brainchild of Florida mother, who had never been to Alaska. After watching the “OTL” feature, Cathy Parker was moved by the Barrow superintendent's desire to encourage young men through football and upset by the detractors. This wife of a former NFLer spent the next year of her life dedicated to helping the Whalers and she raised more than $800,000 to bring an artificial a football field to the Arctic.

Bring on the waterworks!

In 2011, in their fifth season, the Whalers finished 6-1, second place in their conference, and made the playoffs – which they have in three-straight years. Once a “political” football team, the head coach says the team is now just what it is supposed to be – a team that helps build boys into men, gives them character and, simply, something to do. They lost in their playoff game this year but, in the scheme of things, does it really matter? All I know is that, when I started looking up this team now, I smiled – and might have teared up a little.

We are Joplin; We are Eagles; We are strong

2011-10-17T13:59:00.003-04:00

There are many things I love about sports; but what I love most of all is that sports, which many people deem “unimportant” in the grand scheme of life, have the ability to lift individuals, teams, cities and even countries, out of a proverbial hole. One such team is the Joplin High School Eagles.

On May 22, the town of Joplin, Mo., was brought to its knees by an EF5 tornado. It ripped apart homes, businesses and schools; one-third of the town was obliterated, and 162 lives were lost. How do you return to any sort of semblance of normalcy after such a tragedy? If you are the Joplin High School athletic director, you go to work ensuring that sports will go on for the students; if you are a high school football player, after a summer of rebuilding your life, you lace up your cleats for summer sessions.

By the time summer camps began for the fall season, most of the high school athletes said that everything they had done in the last three months was hurricane-related – either trying to rebuild their own homes, find new homes, or help others who lost their homes. Most people in the town thought there wouldn’t be a football season, but the Joplin High players and coaches wouldn’t let that happen.

“Just being together is a thing that makes us feel at home… and that’s one thing that gets us through it,” junior linebacker Austin Barnett said to ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”

For one player who lost almost everything that day, being with his team has brought him some peace in the face of tragedy.

Quinton Anderson lost both of his parents in the tornado and was himself seriously injured; he was dug out of the rubble on the evening of May 22, and induced into a coma. He fractured his skull, shattered his orbital bone and spine, and he needed skin grafts on both legs. For most of the team, the first time they saw him was when he walked into the parent-team meeting on Aug. 7.

“I knew I couldn’t play,” he said, “but it was nice to know I had my family back at home in the football team.”

Despite coming to Joplin just three months before the tornado hit, the head football coach has been a true leader for this team during a season in which everyone would understand if they just laid down and accepted defeat.

“When you get knocked down in life, it comes down to a simple decision: lay down and feel sorry for yourselves or get up and fight,” head coach Chris Shields said to his team before their first game of the 2011 season. “I have no reservations about what this team will do in the face of adversity. What you’ve done and the things that you’ve gone through – there is nothing that can happen on the football field that we can’t overcome if we stay together.”

Before that first game, junior LB/RB Adam St. Peter told ESPN that the team was aware that many of the people who would be in the crowd were coming to see how the team represented them.

That’s what’s driving me mostly, I feel like that’s what I need to do for all of these people whose lives were dramatically altered – just make them proud to be from Joplin,” St. Peter said.

As a town continues to rebuild, the Joplin High sports teams do the same. They’ve lost athletes, some in the tornado and some in the aftermath who had to leave town, but those who remain continue to do what they did before the tornado ever touched down – they hit the fields wearing their Joplin jerseys. These athletes are forever changed, but on the field, they are able to be normal teenagers.

In the town of Joplin, Mo., football has the power to pick people up and return them to life.

Note: the quotes from this article are from ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.”

NBA should be wary of lockout consequences

2011-10-12T09:27:00.002-04:00

On Monday, the NBA cancelled the first two weeks of the NBA season. Color me shocked – I thought they would cancel a lot more games after two days of negotiations failed to bridge the “significant” gap between the players and owners.

Is everyone as sick of these league lockouts as I am? Are we really going to have to go through this every few years in every league? This year alone started with the potential NFL lockout, now the NBA… and this one isn’t going away any time soon - and I do expect more cancellations.

Why am I being so pessimistic? Because right now the two sides won’t budge, and a gap can’t be bridged if neither side will compromise. In fact, the only way to come to an agreement is if both sides accept now, rather than later, that they will each have to make some compromises – that’s how negotiations work.

What should terrify owners is the hole they will have to dig out of with this lockout, especially is the entire season is cancelled. Last season was the best in the history of the NBA in terms of revenues and TV ratings and with the economy the way it is, a prolonged lockout will have dire consequences. It took some time for the NBA to recover from the 1998 lockout, and that was when the economy was in a much better place. This time around, it will likely take a lot longer for the league to recuperate.

As it stands, the league – players and owners alike – is showing it doesn’t really care about the fans. The owners want us to believe that if they get what they want, it will improve the balance of the league – as if the “have” owners care about the “have nots.” Do you think Los Angeles Lakers care that the Charlotte Bobcats can’t compete with them? Come on, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck.

The NBA could learn something from the NFL – and I know they are sick of hearing that. For starters, the NFL had it right when they came to a deal before any games were cancelled. Secondly – and probably more importantly in the long run – the NFL achieves parity with their salary cap. The players and owners all make their money – and a lot of it – yet small markets teams manage to succeed. Look the Green Bay Packers, last year’s Super Bowl Champions – they are the smallest market professional team in the U.S.

Some NBA teams report that they are not turning a profit. NFL teams make money, and the league doesn’t have guaranteed contracts. Do you think that’s just a coincidence? The excessive guaranteed contracts that NBA owners give players – make no mistake, the owners are largely at fault for these – are killing the league. Teams stuck with gigantic contracts for players who are barely on the court can’t rebuild, and the cycle is never ending.

Should fans side with the NBA players who believe they deserve millions to play a game, or the owners who have enough money to pay them? It’s hard to decide –millionaires (players) or billionaires (owners)? I’m taking the easy way out: I’m on the side of the fan who spends an inordinate amount of hard-earned money and time to be entertained, and who doesn’t need to be reminded that what these millionaires “deserve.”

The NFL is the most popular league in America; the NBA wants to be, but if they continue to cancel games and ignore the fans, they’ll never recover from this lockout.

That being said, a lockout-shortened season can only help my aging Celtics, so this could be a good thing for Boston fans – always looking for the silver lining!

Dealing with a loss

2011-09-29T13:07:00.001-04:00

When your team loses a game, there are many different reactions. These reactions often depend on when the game occurred, i.e. early or late in the season; the importance of the game (regular season or playoffs); and the success of your team – are they a team that loses more often than they win, or a team that rarely loses?

I dealt with a loss on Sunday, when the Patriots embarrassingly gave up a 21-0 lead to the, admittedly, up-and-coming Bills. I went through the typical stages as the lead was squandered:

1. Denial: There is no way the unshakeable Tom Brady threw four interceptions in one game! They’ll come back!

2. Anger: How could the mighty Patriots give up 369 passing yards to the Bills? Where the heck was the defense?!

3. Bargaining: OK Tom, you threw four interceptions – you can make up for it with a few out-of-this-world big plays!

4. Depression: The Bills?! They are losing to the BILLS, a team they’ve beaten 15 times in a row, and 20 of the last 21 games. This is it; the season is all downhill from here…

5. Acceptance: It’s just one game. They’re a god – a very good – team. Maybe this loss will be a good thing, a wake up call: the defense needs to step up and stop allowing more first downs than any other team in the league, and the receivers and tight ends need to be in the right position to make plays. Oh, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis? Time to start running for gains, OK? Thanks.

For fans of teams like the Patriots, the Jets or the Texans, we are still optimistic. We can swallow this week’s loss and hope it’s one of the few this season; we are confident enough that we believe this is just an early-season blip on the radar, and we still expect a successful season.

Then there are fans of teams like the Minnesota Vikings or the Seattle Seahawks, who are starting to see the writing on the wall: that this is going to be a long season full of losses and disappointment.

What do you do if you fall into this category? You have a few options: If you have a rival, you put your energy into cheering against them – this is made worse when your rival, such as the Green Bay Packers for Vikings fans, is very good. If that isn’t working for you, throw your time and energy into your fantasy team. Don’t have a fantasy team? Well, then hopefully you have another sport you can look forward to. I hope for your sake it’s not an NBA team, because the 2011-2012 season isn’t looking too good.

No rival to cheer against, no fantasy team and no college football, baseball or NHL team to cheer for? Well either hope for a miraculous turn-around, or accept that this is going to a season with many downs and few ups. Maybe you can take the opportunity to spend Sundays with your family – remember when you used to do that?

Fantasy vs. Reality

2011-09-20T11:03:00.000-04:00

All of us who play fantasy football have felt that tug – do I cheer for the outcome for my NFL team or the points for my fantasy team?

Indisputably, fantasy football has increased overall interest in the NFL – it has brought in casual fans like nothing before. But how does it impact fans' rooting interests in their favorite team? We all say that we’re cheering for our team above all else, but if we really look inside ourselves, we realize we’ve all said something like “well, if Welker scores and not Gronkowski, I have a good shot at winning this week,” or “If the Packers win but Rodgers throws less than 300 yards, everybody wins!”and that’s when we see how much fantasy football has impacted our standing as fans of our favorite team.

If we are absolutely cheering for “real life” ahead of fantasy, then there is no way my husband, a diehard Vikings fan, would have chosen Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback. Yet he did, and each week it literally pains him to “cheer” for Rodgers to have a good game. I told him if I was in the same situation I never would have drafted Rodgers – but am I being honest with myself? Sunday afternoon as I watched my Patriots pummel the Chargers, I was thinking, “please don’t let Gronkowski score again – anyone but Gronkowski!” Luckily, he didn’t hear me, but each time he scored it felt bittersweet – my team was building on their lead, but I saw my chances at a win in my fantasy league slipping away.

We convince ourselves that there is a way to win both – but the second we cheer for a certain player on our NFL team to have a lousy game, we’ve let fantasy football negatively impact our fandom.

Those of us lucky enough to have teams with a chance to win the Super Bowl should always cheer for our NFL team over our fantasy team. But if you are a fan of, say, the Kansas City Chiefs or the Seattle Seahawks (or the Manning-less Colts), when does it become acceptable to cheer against a player on your NFL team for the sake of your fantasy team? Some would say never, but many would take any good news during an otherwise dismal NFL season – “Sure, the Vikings stink, but at least I won my fantasy league!” At what point does the outcome of one completely squash the other?

A real fan never, ever roots against their NFL team, or any player on their team, on Sunday (or Monday or Thursday). On the flip side, a good fantasy player will forget their real-life loyalties when doing their line-up. So when the Patriots play the Jets I’ll keep Shonn Greene in my starting lineup, and I wouldn’t mind if he had a 100 yard game with a touchdown if the Pats still win. That being said, if someone asked me whether I’d pick the Patriots to win and Greene has 13 yards on the ground with no touchdowns, or Greene has 125 yards and two touchdowns to give me the fantasy win but the Patriots lose, I’ll take the Pats every day of the week.

The question we all need to ask ourselves is this: do I feel better when my fantasy team wins, or my favorite NFL team? For me, I feel a lot worse if the Patriots lose… sure, a win in my fantasy league softens the blow but in the end, I’ll swallow the loss in my fantasy league if it means the Patriots earn a “W” and increase their lead over the Jets.

This lady is ready for some football!

2011-09-09T13:25:00.002-04:00

Football is back and I can hardly contain my excitement! Last night for the first time since the Super Bowl, I sat on my couch and watched an NFL game – not a game from last season on NFL Network or a game on ESPN Classic or even a preseason game, but a real, live game.

I know there are a lot of women out there who are disappointed that the NFL lockout ended. I’m friends with a lot of those women, who hate losing their husbands to the television every Sunday, and the occasional Monday and Thursday, from September through February – but I am certainly not one of them. Unlike most of my female friends, I countdown the days from the Super Bowl until the NFL is back; I look forward to the draft, to the first day of training camp, to preseason games and, of course, opening day. On Sundays, I’m not just the understanding wife letting my husband watch the Vikings game without interruption – I next to him on the coach, screaming and jumping up and down.

I've long ago realized that I can't sit around with my girlfriends and talk about football because after about three minutes their eyes glass over and I've lost them. I tend to be the only female in the room who actively follows football, so I’ve found that usually the people I can talk about football with are men.

Yet every time I’m talking to a man about football for the first time, he is always – always – shocked with my football knowledge. They are always surprised that I, a woman who couldn’t play football herself, know as much about the game as I do. But there are a lot of men who follow football who didn’t play at all, or past Pop Warner, even some of the so-called experts on TV. So what’s the difference? Even though I was never able to play myself, I know a lot about the game: I know the different between a cover-two and a cover-three; I know what a blitz is and when it works best; I actively follow the NFL and am well-informed on current teams, players and stats; I love fantasy football and I know who to draft and why.

Some men appreciate that I know as much as they do about football, but I also know there are some who think I should keep my mouth shut and get back in the kitchen. I've read from some of sports writers, including one of my favorite columnists Bill Simmons, that a woman who knows too much about sports is suddenly less attractive because women are supposed to be feminine and for some reason knowing about football makes her less so. I find that to be offensive, mainly because the two have no correlation what so ever.

Clearly I'm not the woman sitting on the couch during a football game whose only comments are how attractive Tom Brady is ... don't get me wrong, I can appreciate Tom Brady for his chiseled features, but I also appreciate his 77 percent winning percentage, his play-making ability and his on-field leadership. And you know what? I'm proud that I know that and can stand with any guy and hold my own in a conversation about football. If you can't handle that, you can't handle a real woman.

Standing Tall

2011-07-25T12:21:00.003-04:00

Last week, I went to the “Captain America: The First Avenger” premier in Savannah with about 450 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers. I’m not doing a movie review, but I have to say I liked the film – a lot. I loved the action, I loved the 3D, I loved the actors chosen for the roles, and I enjoyed the story and what I saw as the heart of the film – that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about people.

“Captain America: The First Avenger” is the story of Steven Rogers, a 90-pound asthmatic who is turned down from enlistment in the U.S. Army four times during World War II before being accepted into Operation: Rebirth, a project intended to enhance U.S. Soldiers to the height of physical perfection via “Super Soldier Serum.” Rogers was chosen, not for his physical attributes, but because he had a heart bigger than any of his counterparts. Once he is “reborn” a super-human, Rogers becomes known as “Captain America” and helps the U.S. fight off the Nazis.

Steven Rogers was a guy who people turned away without even giving him a chance, yet he possessed greatness that couldn’t be tested with a physical examination.

After the movie I talked to Sgt. Steven Melton, who is with the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade here at Hunter Army Airfield. Sergeant Melton has been fan of Capt. America since he was a kid, and at 25 and standing about 5’3” he said he can really relate to Steven Rogers. He, like Rogers, doesn’t look like the prototypical Soldier, or what people “think of” as fitting the role or a Soldier, yet here he is.

Like in “Captain America,” the ideal physical specimens are revered in sports and the little guys are glanced over. Athletes like LeBron James, Terrell Owens or Zdeno Chara are what we expect – larger-than-life men who stand above us “normal” people.

But once in awhile a Steven Rogers comes around; a smaller guy who has the talent and the heart to figuratively stand nose-to-nose to those who physically tower above them; guys who were turned away again and again, told over and over that they couldn’t make it to the pros, and who had to work 10 times harder than those taller or more muscular than them to prove their worth.

When I was watching the NBA Finals, one player stood out to me and it wasn’t LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or even Dirk Nowitzki – it was JJ Barea, the Dallas point guard.

Jose Juan Barea stands at 5’11” and weighs 175 pounds. In normal life that may be average or even slightly above average size; but in the basketball world it’s puny. Yet, as he went against LeBron, Wade, Bosh et al, he stood his own; against men 8, 10 or even 12 inches taller and probably 50 pounds of muscle heavier, Barea held his own.

Barea might be the Muggsy Bogues of the new generation. Bogues is the shortest player to ever to play in the NBA at 5’3” and 136 pounds. Yet, despite his diminutive size, Bogues was an NBA slam dunk champion. Both Barea and Bogues are significantly shorter than their NBA counterparts, yet both have significantly added to their teams, and have probably set a great example for all of the undersized kids who want to be more than what is expected.

But we all fall victim to making assumptions. When I saw Barea, I remembered a good player at Northeastern University in Boston while I attended Boston University; but I didn’t think it couldn’t be the same guy – Northeastern isn’t exactly an NBA feeding ground. Until one of the announcers said “Barea, who played college at Northeastern University in Boston…” and I realized I was guilty of jumping to a conclusion just like so many others; I assumed a guy from Northeastern couldn’t play in the NBA; others thinking a short guy can’t make it in the NBA.

Steven Rogers, Sgt. Steven Melton, JJ Barea and Muggsy Bogues – none of them “look the part.” People make assumptions when they see a shorter guy, and think he couldn’t possibly be a basketball player or a Soldier. But these men have proved through their heart and drive that they can stand with those who tower above them.

A class act

2011-07-21T14:54:00.002-04:00

Posting this a little late ...

Let me first say – I hate the New York Yankees. I am a Red Sox fan to the core, born and raised right outside of Boston. My reason for that disclaimer is to show how difficult it is for me to write the next few words: I am a Derek Jeter fan.

Jeter is the ideal New York Yankee. In fact, he’s the ideal face of any franchise. Every single game of his career, he has left his heart on the field and he has remained even-tempered on and off the field. In short, he is a class act. Despite despising the pin stripes, I truly admire their shortstop of the last 15 years.

On July 9, Jeter got his 3,000th hit when he homered against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was a long time coming – Jeter has certainly slowed in recent years – but he is just the 26th player to reach that batting plateau and the first player ever to reach it while wearing a New York Yankee uniform.

As he rounded the bases, not only did the crowd at Yankee Stadium stand and cheer, but the Tampa Bay Rays came out of the dugout to applaud the impressive milestone. It was just the latest in a long list of examples that show to the universal respect that Jeter has commanded throughout his career.

Jeter is an athlete who transcends team loyalties; he’s one of those athletes – like Jerry Rice and Cal Ripken Jr. – who you can’t help by respect, even though you may not like their team. Even though the Yankees are such a polarizing team, Jeter is not a polarizing figure. Unlike his teammate Alex Rodriguez, or Barry Bonds, both of whom are great baseball players but are universally hated to the point that their achievements are not celebrated, but scorned.

I think I’d have a hard time finding someone who doesn’t respect Derek Jeter. Throughout his career, the Yankee shortstop has remained respectable, both on and off the field; he isn’t one to talk trash and he doesn’t make negative headlines. He has remained the perfect model of how to be a superstar athlete – leaving his heart on the field each and every game and remaining a gentleman while doing so.

Congrats Bruins, you made me eat my words

2011-06-20T11:12:00.001-04:00

I made a very bold statement a few weeks ago – one that I was sure was true: “Maybe the Bruins will come back to beat the Canadiens in the first round; maybe they’ll even make it to the conference championship – but they won’t win the Cup, and all of the fans, bandwagon or not, will be disappointed in the end.”

Well, I’m eating my words. Last week, they proved me wrong by winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972, and doing it in impressive fashion.

I won’t give you a run-down of their Stanley Cup run – their three Game 7 wins, their dominance at home or their epic turnaround after Game 2 in Vancouver, when a Canucks victory parade seemed inevitable. I won’t give you a summary because the Bruins run to Lord Stanley was a strange one for me. I didn’t fully jump back on the bandwagon because, as I said in April, I’ve “lost that loving feeling” for the B’s and I just couldn’t trust them. I tuned into the games and cheered for them to win, but it was all halfhearted because I couldn’t truly invest in something that I was sure had a heartbreaking ending.

Before I was born, the Bruins were IT in Boston. In the 1970s, they were bigger than the Celtics, the Patriots and even the Red Sox. But after the Jacobs Family bought the team, things changed. I assumed I’d never see the Stanley Cup hoisted by the black-and-gold because, well, they’re the Bruins – owned by a man who doesn’t even live in or around Boston (he lives in Buffalo!) and always spent enough money to compete but never enough to win.

I loved hockey until I was 22. But since 2005, I haven’t truly cared about hockey unless the Bruins or my alma mater, Boston University, made the playoffs – even then, I didn’t really care. So I can’t take as much pleasure in the Bruins Cup win as the die-hards who stuck with them through thick and thin – people like my cousin Shawn, who hasn’t turned on them in his 35 years and has worn a Bruins hat since the day I met him 10 years ago (he is technically my cousin’s husband). When they won Game 7, I was thinking about how happy people like Shawn must be, and wishing I was still one of them.

One Saturday, the Bruins held their championship parade and it was the biggest parade in Boston history – even bigger than the Red Sox parade in 2004 after their first World Series win in 82 years. The thing about hockey is it fits in Boston – Boston is a tough, working-class city, where the men drink and fight, and the women are just as tough. Hockey is a sport for real men – if you look at someone wrong in the NBA you get a foul; if you blow on the quarterback or a receiver in football you get penalized; but in hockey, players stand up for each other and themselves.

I grew up loving Ray Bourque, Cam Neely and Adam Oates, but they lost me in the post-Joe Thornton days. Now, kids in Boston are idolizing Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic in that same way and I think it’s great. I hope they never feel the gut-punch I did when I realized the management didn’t care about the fans.

And I hope those real, true fans like Shawn – who never abandoned the team and always believed this day would come – are enjoying every second of the Stanley Cup being in Boston.

The legacy of LeBron

2011-06-20T11:11:00.000-04:00

Never before have we had an athlete like LeBron James. I don’t mean just in his athletic ability, but someone who has been scrutinized on a daily basis since he was 13 years old.

Since James’ Heat were defeated for the NBA title by the Dallas Mavericks, many are already talking about his legacy being tarnished – that, having lost two titles in two tries somehow says that he isn’t a clutch player, that he doesn’t have the drive to win numerous championships.

Since James was in high school, he was the “next greatest player,” being compared to the best ever – Michael Jordan. But, after eight years in the league and no championships, people are starting to question his drive.

Michael Jordan is the greatest NBA player of all time, but he was not the most gifted athlete the league has ever seen – what made Jordan so great was his relentless drive. There has never been someone as hungry – and with such a chip on his shoulder – than Michael Jordan.

LeBron James’ drive never has been and never can be equal to Jordan. Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team as a sophomore – to some that seems like a minor bump in the road, but to Jordan it was a punch in the gut . He took that and made it the driving force in his basketball life. Even after scoring 1,400 points in high school, getting a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, being drafted third overall in 1984, five NBA MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, he still brought up being cut from the varsity squad in high school at his Hall of Fame induction.

LeBron James has been called “The King” since he was 14 years old; his high school games were broadcast on ESPN; teams were hoping – in 2001 – to get the number one draft in 2003 so they could have him on their team. He has always been worshipped. Jordan in high school was a very good basketball player, but it wasn’t until he was cut as a 15 year old that he got the hunger that drove him – and still drives him – to prove everyone wrong. LeBron doesn’t have that drive; with the life he’s led, it would be impossible for him to have it.

In reality, the person we should compare LeBron to is Wilt Chamberlin – both had national visibility beginning in high school; both were the best amateur basketball players in their state since they were 14; both possess unfathomable natural gifts. Wilt, like LeBron, was a once-in-a-generation talent. Chamberlain was a four-time MVP, a 13-time All-Star, a seven-time scoring champion and a 13-time rebounding champion, and averaged 50.4 points per game during the 1961-62 season. But his he didn’t win his first championship until his eighth season in the league.

LeBron and Wilt were both atop the league when they entered, and each year their stats were among the best. But the championships didn’t come like they did for Jordan.

Jordan’s drive to be the greatest ever was highlighted last year. After James joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, Jordan said “There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.” He wanted to do it on his own, because he knew he could.

James’ talent is a great player; his talent is unquestionable. But he doesn’t possess the innate quality that made Jordan the greatest of all time – drive. James wants to win, perhaps more than anyone, but he still doesn’t have the level of drive that Jordan has and because of that, LeBron will never ascend above Jordan on the list of all-time greatest players.

Can Plax come back?

2011-06-07T14:15:00.000-04:00

On Monday, Plaxico Burress was released from prison.

After serving nearly two years on a gun charge at Oneida Correctional Facility in central New York, the former New York Giants wide receiver enters the world a free man, but without a job.

In a game I’d rather forget as a native New Englander, Burress caught a 13-yard pass from Eli Manning with 35 seconds to play to give the Giants a shocking 17-14 win over the undefeated Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl. Just nine months later, Burress’ world crumbled. He and then-teammate Antonio Pierce went to a nightclub in New York City, but before he left home, Burress tucked a handgun tucked into his waistband. While at the club, the weapon slipped from his waistband and as he attempted to catch it, it went off and shot him in the thigh.

So not only did Burress shoot himself in the thigh, he was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, to which he plead guilty and accepted the two-year prison sentence. He was released three months early for good behavior.

I have many opinions of what Burress went through. Let’s start with the obvious – what an idiot! He had everything going for him, why in the world did he feel the need to illegally carry a handgun into a night club? In one second – when he tucked that gun into his waistband – he fell from Super Bowl hero to prisoner 09-R-3260.

Secondly, I think the sentence was extremely – and unfairly – harsh. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has waged a long campaign against illegal guns and publicly reprimanded Burress for carrying his .40-caliber weapon. He wanted to make an example of a high-profile person in his war against illegal weapons. I think Burress deserved punishment for illegally carrying a weapon, but I think he should have been treated fairly – not more severely because of his celebrity status.

But that’s in the past, and Burress is again a free man and says he’s ready to play football.

Prior to his sentence, Burress was released by the Giants, and suspended by the league. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ruled that he was ineligible to sign with any team he completed his jail term, but said he would be reinstated in the league upon the completion of his sentence.

Making things more difficult for Burress is the lockout – he can’t even talk to teams (on the record at least) until the lockout has ended.

There are many other obstacles standing in his way: Burress has been out of football for three seasons; he will be 34 years old when football season begins (whenever that may be); he has to get into football shape, and that is utterly impossible to do on your own - and the longer the lockout lasts, the longer he will be forced to workout by himself.

But there are also things working in his favor: he is 6’5” and has great hands; that freakish athletic ability he possessed is still there – and that is intriguing to just about every NFL team; with the current NFL lockout, the field is more leveled for Burress – instead of the free agent market season opening in March and teams already having their roster needs filled, he will be entering the market at the same time as everyone.

It worked out for Michael Vick, but Vick was 29 when he re-entered the league after his prison sentence – five years younger than Burress.

In the end, I have little doubt that Burress will find a team - Terrell Owens proves that you're talented enough, you can always find an NFL team willing to carry your baggage. And a 6’5”, freakishly athletic wide receiver with loads of experience? That’s just too tempting for no team to pick up on.

The question is: will he be a factor? Only time will tell.

Losing faith in greatness

2011-05-27T08:52:00.000-04:00

Did you hear – one of Lance Armstrong’s teammates is saying he took performance enhancers!

Is this news? I think it’s about the third time we’ve heard this from teammates of Armstrong, who continues to adamantly deny, deny, deny.

Armstrong’s biggest argument is that he is the Most. Tested. Athlete. Ever. and he has never failed a test. And that certainly helps his case. But we’re at the point where even that doesn’t convince the public. It seems that athletes are always one step ahead of the tests, proven by the fact that Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire never failed a test.

The sad thing is, we aren’t surprised by drug allegations anymore – not just from Armstrong, but from any athlete. We’re to the point where, if you told me Babe Ruth shot up before games in the 1920s, I wouldn’t be shocked. Athletes are tattling on each other, hocking their “exposes” and hoping to get exposure – and a book deal – from their so-called honesty.

But Armstrong’s story was just so great, that we hoped for so long that it was true. As more and more of his teammates are saying he used, that story seems to dim.

What do I think? To be honest, I can’t decide. I want to believe that he did it on his own, but I really can’t. Evidence proves that just about every cyclist used “liquid gold,” and for Lance to be so dominant over athletes who were juiced up … well, it just doesn’t seem possible that he did it clean.

The sad truth is, we are no longer trusting. When we see athletes do great things – like Usain Bolt breaking, utterly obliterating, world records on the track – we are skeptical; when Albert Pujols slams 50 homeruns, we are cynical. We’ve reached the point where we have a hard time believing any greatness is natural.

Then there’s the argument that, “if everyone was taking it, then the field was level,” which almost makes sense in my head. But then I think about the few athletes who would never take performance enhancers based on principle and integrity. Those athletes have to suffer, both financially and physically, to try to keep up to those who don’t let something like illegality get in their way. It’s not fair, it’s not ethical and it says a lot about the character of the athletes who cheat.

We all like to think that our favorite athlete wouldn’t cheat – but then Big Papi is suspended for drug use, and all of our trust is shattered.

The funny thing is, we are more enraged when it’s an unlikeable athlete who is caught cheating, or in the case of Bonds, not caught. We make excuses for the “good guys” like David Ortiz, we forgive Shawne Merriman, but we demonize Bonds and Roger Clemens because, frankly, we don’t like them very much.

A few years ago I did at story at Fort Belvoir, Va., on a retired Airman who did natural bodybuilding. He only entered contests where testing was prevalent, because he never wanted his results to be questioned, and he never wanted to be at a disadvantage because he played clean. I had so much respect for him – not only for his dedication, but for his refusal to take the easy way out in a sport where it’s not only accepted but almost expected for the top athletes to juice.

The bottom line is this: taking performance enhancing drugs is cheating. It isn’t OK because “everyone else is doing it” or because it helps an athlete “heal from injury.” It is illegal, it is deceitful and it is unethical.

Find what works for you

2011-05-09T15:29:00.001-04:00

Can you have fun while working out? I never thought it was possible. I worked out regularly most of my life, but it was always a necessary evil. I always felt great after, thanks to all those endorphins charging through my body, and of course I enjoyed the physical benefits, but I never enjoyed the actual act of exercising.

Until about a year and a half ago.

Post-baby, once I was cleared to start working out again, I walked into the gym near my home, unsure of where to go. I hadn’t really worked out in about a year, and I was suffering from exercise anxiety. My body wasn’t in a shape I was used to, my cardiovascular strength was nowhere near the ideal level, and I wasn’t even sure where to start.

As I walked down the hallway to the large fitness room, I looked straight ahead and saw the cardio machines and people huffing and puffing on them, running, walking or gliding at their own rate, and suddenly my heart sped up – I hadn’t run in more than a year, and even the elliptical looked intimidating to me. As I turned to the right, the weights of nautilus machines were going up and down with and I could hear the grunts of people lifting free weights. I looked down at my arms, sapped of most of their strength, and with trepidation I turned away.

Next, I peered into a dimly-lit space just off the weight room and heard music and yelling; an instructor yelled “Level 5 – sprints! Go, go, GO!” and the class turned the dial on their spinner bikes and rose out of the bike seat. I watched the intensity and puttered away to cower in the corner – that room was not for me in the shape I was in.

As I was losing what little confidence I walked into the gym with, I heard more music coming from down the hall, accompanied by cheering and clapping. I walked toward the door and saw a group of women grooving together, all doing the same steps. They were working up a sweat, but – strangely – smiling at the same time. I peered through the window for a few minutes, listening to popular tunes I knew the words to, and fun-sounding Latin songs.

“What are they doing in there”? I asked a gym employee who walked by.

“That’s Zumba,” he said. I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because he went on to explain. “It’s a dance-based cardio-fitness class. People seem to have a lot of fun in there – it’s one of our most popular classes.”

He walked away, and I continued to stare through the window at this class which now had a name – Zumba.

I stood there for probably 10 minutes when the teacher caught my eye.

“Hey! Come join us!” she yelled to me and motioned for me to enter the room. I shyly shook my head – but she was determined. “Come on! It’s fun, I promise!”

Then some of the ladies in the class turned and motioned me in as well. I looked around the room and saw women, and a few men, of all shapes and sizes, from teenagers to grandmothers. What did I have to lose?

I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door as a new song began. The others in the class seemed to know the steps, so they took off, stepping and moving their arms together.

The teacher came back to my corner and stood next to me, told me her name and asked mine.

“Jen, don’t worry about getting the steps right the first time – it’ll come. Just get the feel of the music, get the feel of the steps and it will come together. But most importantly – have fun and work up a sweat!”

As the class moved to the left, right, front and back together, I started to piece together the moves and soon was grooving along with them – well, kind of. Before I knew it, 30 minutes had gone by and I was glistening with sweat and had laughed and smiled the whole time.

I couldn’t remember a time when I had so much fun working out. As I was gathering my things to head out the door, some of the women stopped and chatted with me, and told me when the class was – three times a week. They asked if they’d see me next time, and I told them they would.

I kept that promise, and I continued to go to Zumba each week, and soon I was at the front of the room, leading the dances while other newbies entered the room looking as scared as I must have that first time. The more I went, the more intensity I put into each move and I got a better workout each time.

When I got to Hunter Army Airfield in the fall, I was thrilled to see that there were Zumba classes here, as well. I went that first time, and had just as much fun as I did in my very first Zumba class.

The morale of the story is this – whether it’s Zumba, spinning, walking the block with friends or going for a jog, you have to find a way to work out that works for you, and keeps you going back for more. And I hope that you can have fun while doing it, too.

Sports world shows us a snapshot of American sentiment

2011-05-02T13:43:00.002-04:00

Unless you're a night owl, you woke up Monday morning to the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death. It was on every single channel – including ESPN.

The top story on ESPN was the top story on every station: Bin Laden killed in Pakistan. Some things are much, much more important than the score of last night’s NBA playoff games.

ESPN opened SportsCenter with footage of the Phillies/Mets game from Sunday night, when the news began to spread of the Navy SEALS completed operation; people around the stadium started getting the breaking news on their phones and soon the Phillies video board showed a snapshot of a Web page confirming that the alleged mastermind behind 9/11 was taken down. Chants of, "U-S-A, U-S-A" began to reverberate around Citizens Bank Park; the crowd stood and clapped, cheered and hugged. They were outwardly showing what each of us felt sitting in front of our TV.

What was so significant about this display is that it is the only place where we have footage of so many people getting such monumental news at the same time. With this footage from Citizen’s Bank Park, we are able to see a snapshot of the American people – of 47,000 people simultaneously having a similar reaction.

Once again, our nation’s military are our heroes. Time and time again, our service members quietly go about their work, making the world a safer place for each and every one of us – without ever asking for recognition, kudos or even a pat on the back.

Most likely, we will never know the names of the men who took part in Sunday night’s mission in Pakistan; they won’t get the recognition like Dwyane Wade after his 38 points against the Celtics Sunday afternoon or Vincent Lacavalier after his game-winning goal against the Capitals in overtime of Game 2; but the nation’s gratitude is with them on their next mission.

And they proved to us, yet again, who the real heroes are.

*** This page and its content is my opinion and does not constitute endorsement, opinions or official position of the U.S. Army.

What a weekend...

2011-04-11T15:51:00.001-04:00

What a weekend for sports. There was the biggest golf tournament of the year, the last weekend before the playoffs in the NBA and a national championship off the radar for most people outside of the Northeast and upper Midwest. Not to mention the second weekend of baseball – suffice to say, I didn’t spend much time away from the couch Saturday or Sunday.

Just up the road about 120 miles, the best golfers in the world were facing off on the most storied course in America.

After leading the tournament for three days, 21-year-old Rory McIlroy self-destructed on day four. With a four-shot lead enter the final 18 holes and the green jacket all but his, the Northern Irishman authored one of most epic final-round meltdowns in the 75-year history of the tournament, shooting an eight-over 80 to finish tied for 15^th place.

While the epic collapse was hard to watch, it opened up the field and we were privy to some extraordinary golf Sunday, including the play of Tiger Woods – who all but put to rest the talk of him being past his prime – as he shot a five-under 67 to finish the Masters tied for third at -10. There were five players who shot 68 or better on Saturday, and at one point there was a five-way tie for first at -10.

In the end, the winner was a 26-year-old South African, who most golf fans know little about. Charl Schwartzel roared to the win with birdies on the 15^th, 16^th 17^th and 18^th holes for the unexpected, come-from-behind win, and a remarkable -6 for the final round and a -14 for the tournament.

For those of you who aren’t golf fans, you were undoubtedly tuned into the NBA during the last weekend before the playoffs. As the Bulls and Heat continue to surge and the Celtics and Lakers stagger.

Sunday, led by Derek Rose’s 39 points, the Bulls won their seventh straight, and 19 of their last 21 games. Chicago clinched the first place seed in the East and, as of Monday, are just one game behind San Antonio for the best record in the league.

My beloved Celtics are faltering, and I can’t see I didn’t see it coming after Danny Ainge made the worst trade of the year. He inexplicably traded away starting center Kendrick Perkins as part of a multiplayer deal, even though Boston’s window to win is NOW – now meaning this year, not next, and now we have no big-body down low. Boston was whipped by the Heat Sunday afternoon, 100-77, giving LeBron et al a firmer grasp on the number-two seed.

That same day, the Lakers lost their fifth-straight for the first time since 2006-2007, as they fell 120-106 to Oklahoma City. If the skid continues through their last two games, they could fall as far as the fourth place seed in the west.

But the best game of the weekend was the one that most people weren’t watching, as the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota-Duluth faced off for the NCAA hockey championship Saturday night. It was a historical David vs. Goliath: Michigan has won the most NCAA hockey titles of any school (10), while Minnesota Duluth – in a town on the shores of Lake Superior, 150 miles northeast of Minneapolis –has never won a hockey title.

It was neck-and-next the entire game, and at the end of regulation was tied 2-2.

Overtime – a word that hockey fans love to hate. If it’s your team playing, nothing is as nerve-racking as overtime, but if you are a neutral fan, nothing is as electrifying.

In the end it was the typical David story – not only did Duluth win in overtime, but it was the team’s own David who was the star; Kyle Schmidt is the 2010-2011 winner of the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award. For those who don’t know, Derek Hines was a former Went Point hockey player who was killed in Afghanistan, Sept. 1, 2005. “Unsung heroes” don’t usually win the national championship for their school. But just 3:22 into overtime in front of an almost-home crowd in St. Paul, Schmidt secured the title for Minnesota-Duluth as he buried the puck in the Michigan net.

Even if you aren’t a basketball, golf or college hockey fan, there was plenty of NHL and MLB action this weekend – everyone wins!

Rooting for Goliath

2011-03-29T10:00:00.001-04:00

When given a choice, most people will root for David before ever cheering for Goliath. That is why I was in a strange situation on Sunday afternoon, when I was cheering for Kansas over Virginia Commonwealth University in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. I was actively cheering for the number-one seed to beat the number-11 seed, an urban state school in Richmond, Va., that most people hadn’t heard of before the tournament.

No, I wasn’t cheering for Kansas because of my bracket (though I did have the Jayhawks taking it all), but because I legitimately wanted Kansas to win. After they beat up on the ultimate David, the 16 seed and my Alma mater Boston University in the first round, I had to cheer for them. Plus, I feel as though I have a semi-vested interest because my brother is buddies with one of the Kansas starting-five.

Even as I cheered for the number-one seed, I felt like I was doing something fundamentally wrong. I was disgusted in myself as I cheered for the Jayhawks to come back from a double-digit deficit; as I stood on my feet when they pulled within two points; and as I wallowed in their defeat to “David.”

So why do we in the U.S. always cheer on David? Why would we all cheer against the programs that work hard to be the best, and put the time and money into being the best?

Because we like to feel like anything is possible, that’s why. We like to watch a game and believe that VCU can beat Kansas, or Butler can beat the University of Pittsburgh. We want to believe that on any given day, anyone can win. That’s why we reveled in Appalachian State’s victory in football over the University of Michigan a couple of years ago, and VCU’s win on Sunday.

And there is no greater place to cheer on the underdog than in the NCAA tournament. It’s the only place where, on a regular basis, year-after-year, we see the lower seed team topple the higher-ranked team, where the less-known programs have a shot to topple the powerhouse programs.

And this year is certainly no different, as for only the third time ever, no number-one seeded team reached the Final Four.

Of course in the Final Four, the two Davids left are playing each other, as VCU and Butler square off in the semis. This brings about a conundrum – if you are rooting solely for the underdog, then certainly the VCU Rams are the team to cheer for. But if you want to root for the team that has the best chance of beating the Goliath-division team – in this case, UConn or Kentucky – then you should probably cheer for Butler, the so-called underdog who lost in the championship to UNC last year.

In the end, I’ve jumped back on the David bandwagon and will be cheering on the underdog in the championship, whether it’s Butler or VCU. Because in the long run, there’s nothing any sports fan loves more than a Cinderella story.

What baseball team SHOULD you be cheering for? Leave your results in the comments!

2011-03-16T09:27:00.000-04:00

Click on this chart to find out which MLB team best fits your personality - start in the middle!

Work on yourself

2011-03-14T15:12:00.000-04:00

Why is it that it’s so difficult to do well, and so easy to throw it away?

That statement can be taken about 10,000 different ways, so let me be more clear. Losing weight is so very hard, yet we can put on a few pounds without even realizing it. You work out four or five days a week, diet and if you’re lucky you lose a pound or two in a week. And dieting is hard. I hate dieting. I don’t mean eating healthy, I mean really dieting – where you change your habits and deprive yourself.

Some people have a lot of weight to lose, some a little, and some just need to maintain their healthy lifestyle. But our weight is an indicator of our health, and it’s something that too many of us let fall by the wayside. The most important thing a person can do for themselves is to live a healthy lifestyle and that includes maintaining a healthy weight, which prevents medical conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

We all know we should eat right and exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight, but so many of us don’t do it. We stay at work late and can’t find the time to get to the gym; we are tired, so we skip the gym; or we have to run to an appointment and eat something quick, and make the wrong food decision. Every day we have the option to find an excuse, and we need to find the drive to not make excuses – we have to find the proper mindset and routine.

I’ve been in the mindset and out of it numerous times in my life. When you get a new job, or you meet someone new, or you have a child, the gym suddenly gets harder and harder to fit in and we tend to eat quicker, less healthy and nutritious foods. We lose sight of our health, without even realizing it.

We spend 10 minutes showering in the morning, 20 minutes on our hair and makeup and 10 minutes more trying to figure out what to wear; yet we can always find an excuse not to spend 45 minutes at the gym. We’ll spend that much time getting our nails done, but can’t find the time to work on our health.

So when did it become OK to be overweight? What I mean is, it shouldn’t be seen as acceptable to be overweight. We need to stop making excuses for being lazy and making bad decisions – we need to take care of ourselves. Weight shouldn’t be seen merely as a vanity issue, but a health issue. Being overweight is an unnecessary health risk.

And I know working out is hard, and the results aren’t immediate, which is I think where the hesitation lies. When we spend 30 minutes doing our hair, we have instant gratification; but with our fitness, we don’t see the results immediately, and as a society we are too impatient for that. But if you work out regularly, you will see results – there’s no doubt about that. You just have to have patience, and be consistent. You have to continuously make better decisions, and find the time to work on you.

So I challenge each and every one of you reading this – get out and exercise today. Go for a run, use cardio equipment, free weights, swim some laps in the pool or take a fun fitness classes . Even if you don’t have time to go to the gym, take a 20 minute walk at lunch.

Working out should be fun, you just have to find what is fun for you. For me, it’s Zumba, I have fun and get a great workout! Find what works for you, and start getting the body you deserve!

And the sports Oscar goes to...

2011-03-02T12:07:00.001-05:00

The most anticipated awards show of the year took place this past weekend, as the Oscars were handed out to the best in cinema. Watching the show on Sunday night, it brought some questions into my head – who are the best actors in the sports world? After immense debate, irritating nomination campaigning and vote bribing, here are the winners:

Best Supporting Actor – Michael Vick.

At the beginning of the season, no one was surprised that the Eagles traded Donovan McNabb. What they were surprised about was that Philly didn’t trade Michael Vick. People couldn’t believe that the “Wildcat gimmick” was the primary backup to Kevin Kolb. Fast forward two weeks into the season, when Kolb went down with a concussion and Vick had to step in – there was no Wildcat offense in sight, just a steady, athletic quarterback who could do things on his feet that no other signal caller in the league can do.

He became the starter, and finished second to Tom Brady in Offensive Player of the Year voting. Not bad for a guy who started the season in a supporting role.

Runner up: Chris Bosh, for sitting back and letting LeBron James and Dwyane Wade star in Miami.

Best Supporting Actress – Deanna Favre.

Early in the season, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was accused of sending suggestive text messages to a woman who worked for the New York Jets in 2008. Favre never denied the allegations. Yet, his wife stood by his side.

She finally spoke out about a month after the allegations took place, to Good Morning America.

"I'm a woman of faith," Deanna Favre told Good Morning America. "Faith has gotten me through many difficult struggles. It will get me through this one."

A classy answer from a classy lady. She didn’t run to the tabloids, she chose to handle the situation internally, between herself and her husband.

This award has nothing to do with my opinion of Brett Favre or his texting scandal. Deanna Favre is a breast cancer survivor, and she has helped her husband through problems with substance abuse and this most recent scandal. He is lucky to have her in his corner.

Best actor – Every soccer team.

I am a soccer lover, but the one thing I hate about the professional game is the diving. It’s so fake, and obviously fake, and I don’t understand how the referees can possibly believe it. And it turns off Americans who are watching for the first time. Soccer’s integrity is at stake because diving has become part of the European and South American game.

There are those who actually defend diving, saying it is an extended practice open to both sides. But soccer does not flourish when diving occurs. On the contrary, when diving is tolerated, accepted and celebrated, soccer’s integrity as a sport comes into question.

There have been numerous cases where a dive has garnered a penalty kick, therefore altering the score of the game, and too often, changing the outcome. And this continues to be a regular occurrence. That is, until late 2009, when the leagues took a stand. In a UEFA Champion’s League game against Celtic, Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva dived, winning a penalty kick. He scored on the kick, and his team ended up winning 3-1, and advanced to the tournament’s group stage. UEFA officials, however, retrospectively punished Eduardo with a two-game suspension for “deceiving the referee.”

Finally. The only way we can end diving is by punishing the “best actors” in the game.

Best Actress – Kim Clijsters.

This one was tricky. It’s not an Olympic year, so women’s sports are really on the backburner. In 2010, Lindsay Vonn was named AP Female Athlete of the Year. But a year after the Olympics, she is no longer a household name. The Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova, the world’s most famous female athletes, are struggling with injuries and have fallen in the ranks.

Then, Clijsters won the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, to follow up her title at the U.S. Open in 2010.

Clijsters has been at the top of her game as of late, and it is actually her second go-around in the game. In 2007, at the age of 23 with two U.S. Open championships under her belt, the Belgian retired because of chronic injuries and to get married and start a family.

In 2009, Clijsters announced her comeback, and has risen to number one in the world (though currently number two), and has won the last two Grand Slams. All while juggling a husband and a three-year-old daughter.

Kim Clijsters might not be the face of Women’s Tennis, but she should be an inspiration to all women, who wonder how they can successfully juggle their personal and professional lives.

So there you have it – the best at their roles in the sports world, in my opinion.

I've lost that running feeling

2011-02-14T13:28:00.000-05:00

I used to run.

I loved lacing up my sneakers to just the right tightness, grabbing my iPod, putting in my ear buds and blasting upbeat music while I pounded the pavement. I loved feeling the cool air burn my lungs, loved feeling my heart rate increase, and my muscles twinge as they got loose.

I was always a runner, but in high school I was a sprinter and distance running definitely didn’t come naturally to me. I ran a couple miles to stay in shape or to pass a fitness test, but that was it. But when I got out of college, I knew if I wanted to stay in shape and not gain dreaded pounds, I was going to have to start running.

My first step was signing up with a friend of mine for the Army Ten Miler in 2006. For someone who had never run more than couple of miles at a time, this was quite a daunting task. I started out running a mile without stopping, then two, then three. I was amazed that in a couple of months, I – someone who had never run more than two miles – could run three miles without stopping.

I trained for the ten miler, and I finished it. I certainly didn’t have one of the top times, but I set out to do something and I reached my goal – and the best part was that I got myself into pretty good shape in the process. To this day I can’t believe I ran ten miles, but every time I think about it, it shows me that I can do just about anything I put my mind to.

And I fell in love with it. I loved that quiet half hour or 45 minutes I had to myself and my thoughts, being outside and just doing something for me. I loved running the fall and watching the leaves change and feeling the first chill creep into the air; I loved running in the winter, putting on layers and seeing my breath as I ran; I loved when spring began to bloom and I could start taking layers off for each jog; I even loved summer, when I would run at dawn – the only time cool enough – and watch as the world awoke around me.

Running is a commitment, to yourself and your body – it’s not something you can do once-in-a-while and just pick up where you left off. Take a week or more off, and you’re back to square one.

That brings us back to the present, and I’ve lost that running feeling. I began with “I used to run” because had a baby in 2009, and haven’t run since. It’s taken me a lot longer than I hoped to get my fitness level back, and the thought of running … well, frankly, it scares me. I know that if I go on a jog, I’m going to be huffing and puffing within five minutes, and I hate – I repeat hate – not doing well at something.

I know it’s a sorry excuse, and I know there’s no way to get my running back unless I start, but it’s just so daunting. I have to think back to 2006, when I could barely run two miles in April, and by October I ran a ten-mile road race. I have to remember that I can do it, because I have done it. I know it will take me longer to get back to where I was because of all of the time and because my body has changed, but I think I owe it to myself. I miss that running feeling.

What are you afraid of? Some of you may think that there are things you can’t do, maybe you have your own “ten miler” that you have always wanted to do, but can’t see the path that takes you there.

Sometimes you have to start small. So this year, I’ve set myself a new goal: this year I will run in a 5K race, and I will run the entire thing. I know it’s a small goal, maybe it seem easy to some, but we all have to start somewhere.

I will get back that running feeling.

Looming NFL Lockout

2011-02-07T14:27:00.003-05:00

(To run 2/10/11)

By the time you are reading this, chances are you’re sick of the Super Bowl talk. Unless, of course, you are from Wisconsin, and in that case you will talking into 2012. But for the majority of us, our team didn’t win; maybe the team we hoped would win did, but we didn’t have any kind of real vested interest in the game, and we haven’t thought about it too much since we turned our TVs off at 10:30 p.m., Sunday night.

Most people see the Super Bowl as an end – the end of the season; and for many women, a chance to get their husband/boyfriend back on Sundays. But for me, I see the Super Bowl as a beginning. My team didn’t win this year, but now we look ahead to next season.

Except … this time, there might not be a next season. Throughout the 2010-2011 season, there has been the proverbial elephant in the room – something we’re all thinking about constantly, but trying to ignore in hopes that it will go away: the looming lockout.

All throughout “Super Week” and the entire season, the side story was next season’s potential lockout – Who is at fault? Who has to make the first move to prevent a lockout? Whose side should we be on?

The major issue is that the owners have decided that the 2006 labor agreement was too player friendly and wish to re-work it.

Total league revenues for last season were approximately $9 billion, and there's every reason to believe that cash cow will continue. Players currently receive about 59 percent of total football revenue, but that figure is calculated after taking $1 billion off the top, which goes to owners for operating expenses. Owners are seeking an economic model that better favors their pockets. In addition, they want to tack on two more regular season games to the schedule in which they will make additional millions in revenue, but they don’t want not pay players any additional money for those games. They also want to establish a rookie wage scale that will restrict the amount of money that rookies will make when they enter the NFL, which would allow teams to avoid paying high salaries to new players that don’t live up to the team’s expectations.

Here are my two cents: we as fans should be on the side of the players. I realize that most people think of NFL players as overpaid machines who should keep their mouths closed and be thankful they get paid to play a game. But if not for the players, then there is no game.

People tend to forget about the backups or the practice squad players who make league minimum. Most of you are thinking, “League minimum is still more than I’ll ever make in a year.” But you also don’t have to pay an agent, a manager, a financial consultant, etc. Most lower-rung players do in fact live year-to-year with money, and would be in a financial hard place if they didn’t get a paycheck next season.

The players are the ones who will suffer if there is a lockout, and the owners know this. For every $20 million contract, there are 30 players who make league minimum, and the players union has always cracked in the past to ensure that those athletes who need each paycheck aren’t suffering.

The owners and the NFL have negotiated TV deals that will pay them $4.5 billion in 2011 ... even if no games are played. On the other hand, if there are no games the players won’t get paid, their families will lose health coverage and injuries won’t be treated by team doctors and trainers who know the athletes and their health background.

In a nutshell, owners are demanding that players play two more games each season and take an 18 percent pay cut. If the NFL had fallen on hard times, this might be understandable – but the NFL is as profitable as ever. What the owners want to do is unfair to the players, who are the most important piece of the NFL pie.

The only thing that the two sides agree upon is that former players need to be better taken care of – it is the amount of care that is debated. Players say that they feel that they are paid for their services, but then once they have ruined their bodies and sometimes even their brains with the brutal play of the game, they are tossed aside. Men who play NFL football for five years reportedly cut their lives short by twenty years, and after all of the hits they take to the head throughout their careers, an astonishingly high percentage of players have been diagnosed with depression and Alzheimer’s. Owners and the league owe it to former players to give them good health care for life.

Even if you don’t care about the impact on players and owners, a lockout will have devastating impacts on NFL cities – each NFL city is expected to lose about $150,000,000 if there is a lockout next year, and an estimated 150,000 people will be out of a job. Can cities like Cleveland or Detroit afford that exorbitant financial loss in this economy? I think not.

In short, it is the owners who are pushing ahead with this lockout – on March 4, if they don’t get their way, they will lock their doors. They want to cut salaries, but won’t give a definitive reason as to why it is necessary. Until they do so, all fans should stand behind the players, the ones who we cheer on each Sunday, and who put their bodies on the line each week for our entertainment and the owners profit.

My Super Dilemma

2011-02-07T14:26:00.002-05:00

(2/3/11)

We are in the midst of “Super Week” and I’m in the midst of a super predicament – I can’t cheer for either team in the Super Bowl.

This has never happened to me before – I’ve always been able to choose one team over the other. In the past, either my team was playing, or I could cheer for a team because there was something innately likeable about one of the teams playing, such as was the case with last year’s Saints, or I could cheer against one of the teams because there was something innately unlikeable about them. And having a team to cheer for – or against – is what makes the Super Bowl so entertaining. But this year, the Steelers and Packers have made my decision an impossible one.

My husband is a Minnesota Vikings fan, and therefore, his enemy is the Green Bay Packers. Consequently, if I want to stay married, I absolutely cannot cheer for Green Bay under any circumstance whatsoever.

In any other game my choice would be easy – cheer for whoever the Packers are playing against. But how can I cheer for the Steelers, a team of such unlikeable guys?

First and foremost in the unlikeable category – for me – is Ben Roethlisberger, who, for those of you living under a rock, was accused of sexual assault this past offseason. He wasn’t charged in this particular instance, but the league felt there was enough evidence to prove he had at the very least violated the NFL's personal conduct policy. Big Ben is at the worst is a sexual predator, and at the very least an idiot.

Strike number two against Pittsburgh in the unlikeable category is James Harrison, the guy who threatened to retire earlier this season when the league decided to start penalizing and fining players for flagrant hits, specifically to the head. What Harrison implied with that reaction was “I like to play dirty.” Hitting players in the head is cheap, dirty and can lead to nasty injuries. But Harrison chooses – openly – to play this way.

Finally, there is their supposed “nice guy” Hines Ward, who in 2009 was voted by his fellow NFL players as the dirtiest player in the game. Not meanest, not toughest – dirtiest. That means cheap shots, poking eyes in a pile, etc. In 2008, he broke the jaw of Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers with a “surprise” downfield block, which ended Rivers' season. After that hit, another player said about Ward, "That's what he's known for. He's a blind-side guy." Not such a nice guy after all.

Not to mention that the Steelers have won two championships in the past five years, and I really don’t want them to win again – especially again with this loathsome team.

So I look at my options – send my marriage to counseling or cheer for a team of, in my opinion, vile men.

I’m in such internal turmoil over this game that I’ve seriously contemplated not watching at all. But how can I be the only person I know who doesn’t watch the game?

So what can I do? I have to become resigned to the fact that one of the teams I can’t like is going to win, and I will be emphatically unable to bask in the glory of the championship. In the end, all I can do is celebrate is that one of these teams will lose, which I realize makes me a bitter person.

The only way this game could be worse was if the Jets were playing – then my home would be an athletic war zone.

Is the American League superiority rooted solely in the DH?

2011-01-05T09:43:00.001-05:00

This past season, the National League won the All Star game for the first time since 1996. Because of this and many other factors,one can't question the superiority of the American League: in head-to-head games, the AL holds the edge in interleague play in each of the past seven seasons, and in 2010 it bested the NL by a margin of 134 wins to 118.

But why is the American League so dominant?

The biggest difference, and forgive me those of you who are about to say “no kidding,” is that the American
League uses a designated hitter and the National League doesn’t – in the NL, the pitcher bats.

To those who aren’t avid sports fans, this may seem like not a big deal, but the difference between a .300 hitter (a DH) and a .150 hitter (most pitchers) is immense. Instead of having a batting order built around your strongest hitter – the DH – you have to basically give up an at-bat. So, every ninth batter that you send up is, nine-out-of-ten times, an out.

In interleague games, the rules go with the league where the game is played – if the Red Sox are playing the Dodgers in L.A., then the pitcher has to bat; if the game is played in Boston, then the Dodgers need to come up with a DH. Some argue that the NL is disadvantaged by having to scare up a DH when playing in AL
parks, which is difficult because most NL teams don’t have a spare .300, 40 homerun hitters, but, the AL is also at a disadvantage by having to bat pitchers who have almost no experience batting at the major league level.

So who is at a great disadvantage in interleague games? The proof is in the numbers: In 2009, the NL went 61-65 at home; the AL went 73-53.

But is that all? Is the American League’s superiority rooted solely in the designated hitter?

No. It’s also a money game.

The 2010 team payrolls were released before the season started, and the American League averages $95.8 million to the National League’s $86 million. Imagine the difference an extra $10 million can make on the free agent market.

The AL has the Yankees and Red Sox, which have by far the highest payrolls. In fact, in the top 10 payrolls, six are AL – (1)Yankees, (2)Red Sox, (6)Tigers, (7)White Sox, (8) Angels and (10)Twins and four are NL – (3)Cubs, (4)Phillies, (5)Mets and (9) Giants. The salaries of those AL teams is $799,698,682, while the salaries of those NL teams is $521,601,654. The difference? $278,097,028.

What about the lower-end teams? In the bottom 10, there are five from each league – but the bottom two are both NL (Padres and Pirates), and the budget of the 21st team, Kansas City, is more than double that of the 30th team, the Pirates.

So it comes down to two things: DH vs. pitcher, and money. Let’s put the two together.

The American League devotes far more money to hitters, since they use a DH. In the NL, more money is allocated to pitchers, which is also much riskier (hello Barry Zito – I’m talking about you). Therefore, because the National League is spending more money on riskier free agents, and because a starting pitcher only plays
once every five days, while a DH plays in every game, the NL payrolls are far less efficient.

After all this jabbering, I've come to the conclusion that the reason the AL is so superior IS rooted in the DH – it dictates how teams spend their money. Paying big money for a bat is less risky than for a pitcher, and therefore nets results, which, theoretically, net the teams more money, which just makes the disparity grow larger. Good team = more money.

If you go by my theory, where will it end?

I personally think that one day, maybe not soon, but one day, the National League is going to throw its hypothetical hands up and give in – and pick up the designated hitter.

Rivals but not enemies

2010-11-29T15:26:00.002-05:00

With Army-Navy coming up this weekend, it triggered some memories in my head of covering the great games 2005-2006.

This is from Dec. 7, 2006

Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds, that upon other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory.”
— Gen. Douglas MacArthur

As the combined glee clubs from the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy sang the national anthem and the Navy F/A-18 Hornets flew over Lincoln Financial Field in a four-jet diamond formation on Saturday followed by four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, I couldn’t help but feel goose bumps form up and down my arms.

In no other game does the national anthem have such meaning, as the opponents on the playing field and in the stands will soon be teammates on the battlefield.

In no other rivalry is there such admiration from the players and fans for the other team.

In no other rivalry do the opposing teams stand on the field after the game and salute the other team’s fans as the school song is played.

I’ve been to a lot of football games, and nothing compares to the atmosphere surrounding Army-Navy.

These young men know the hardship their rivals have to go through, being Soldiers or Sailors, athletes and students. The knowledge that most of the seniors, upon graduation, will be heading overseas together to fight a faceless enemy forces each and every player and fan to respect one another.

From the fans, there are no negative cheers; you never hear anyone yell, “Navy sucks!” It’s just “Go Army, Beat Navy!” What other rivalry can say that?

At no other rival game does the president of the United States make a regular appearance; the stands at Ohio State-Michigan or Florida State-Miami aren’t filled with former presidents, members of cabinet, and war heroes, either.

Sure, the actual football meaning of the game has changed greatly since the 1950s when Army-Navy was often a national-championship caliber game. But it’s also been since that long ago that the military academies have been able to get NFL-level recruits.

Like any rivalry, the players look forward to this game more than any other — a win can cap off a great season, or turn around a sub-par season. But it is more than bragging rights for a season — it’s bragging rights for life.

Football aside, Army-Navy is the purest game in all of sports. Rivals, but not enemies, the men of the Army and Navy teams know that their future lies on a different field.

From a veteran on Veterans Day: Thank you

2010-11-17T18:26:00.002-05:00

This is a column from one of our 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers, stationed at Kelley Hill at Fort Benning, Ga. It is running in the paper I am editor of, The Frontline, the newspaper of the 3rd Infantry Division. It is one of the most touching commentaries I have ever read - I dare you not to tear up.

Thank you, Sgt. Hutto, for helping up remember Sgt. Blake Stephens, and all of our veterans. We are forever and completely indebted to each and every one of you.

From a veteran on Veterans Day: Thank you

Commentary by Sgt. Ben Hutto

3rd HBCT, Public Affairs

FORT BENNING, Ga. — He seemed to love everything about being a Soldier — he kept his weapon in immaculate condition; he talked about room clearing procedures with the same zeal he talked about dirt bikes (his other passion); when he went outside the wire as part of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team’s security detachment, his vehicle was always out front.

The guy loved what he did and that sentiment came through in every task he performed. His platoon leader at the time, Capt. Steve Hemmann, once recalled a conversation in which Sgt. Stephens passionately explained that defending your country was one of the greatest honors which could be bestowed upon anyone.

He went on to say when someone dies for their country he didn’t think it was a shame. In his mind, sacrificing your life for your country was the ultimate expression of patriotism. In his mind, giving your life for your country wasn’t a tragedy; it was an honor.

While I wasn’t present for that conversation, I was in the convoy a month later when Sgt. Blake Stephens lost his life in a roadside bomb attack.

At his memorial, countless tears were shed. The brigade commander took the podium and promoted then-Spc. Stephens to sergeant. His fellow Soldiers said a prayer for his parents and wife. It was a sad moment for us all, but in that sadness Capt. Hemmann recalled those words and I knew Sgt. Blake Stephens died doing what he loved. He died the way he lived — out front and unafraid.

As Veterans Day comes and goes, we pay tribute to men and women like Sgt. Stephens. Today’s generation of veterans volunteered in a time of war. In the Army, signing up almost guarantees you will go overseas to a dangerous place. Yet even with this knowledge hundreds of men and women like him still volunteer and still leave their friends and Families to go defend them and our way of life.

By stepping foot in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan, Soldiers put themselves at risk; even the ones with the "safe" jobs.

Despite all of this, the Army continues to meet its retention goals. In fact, it has exceeded them the last three years. This tells me that Sgt. Blake Stephens wasn’t the only Soldier that loved his job and treasured serving his country.

I love what I do. Like any job, it has its ups and downs. I’ve missed a lot of things being a Soldier, but I’ve always gone to bed at night with pride in what my unit accomplished and the part I played in it.

I hold my head a little higher when my son tells strangers that his dad is a Soldier. I feel a little overwhelmed when my wife talks about what I do with pride. I get embarrassed when people I haven’t talked to in years ask me about my deployments and tell me how they don’t see how I did the things I did.

I don’t feel like a superhero. I don’t feel special, but people sometimes treat me like I am both. To be honest, it feels great and humbling at the same time.

On Veterans Day, the country will tell me and my fellow service men and women "thank you." I will appreciate it. I always do. Missing the holidays, the weddings, the funerals and all of those special moments that Families go through is hard, but it is made easier knowing that people recognize that sacrifice and will thank me for taking it on.

Sergeant Stephens was right. It is an honor to serve your country. It does give you a sense of pride that can’t be explained to anyone that hasn’t done it. While many of you will thank me for my service, I just want to thank my country for the opportunity to serve it. It has enriched my life more than most could ever know.

Whatever happens in the coming years, no one will be able to take away the experiences I have gained. I may never get to meet men and women like Sgt. Blake Stephens when I get out of the Army, but my enlistment did give me that honor.

I won’t always be a Soldier, but I always have the honor of being called a veteran. It is an honor that I will always cherish.

– Sergeant Blake Stephens was the type of guy you wanted to go on patrol with.