All Star Game Thoughts

I'm sitting here watching the first few minutes of the NBA All-Star Game and two thoughts occurred to me. Better get them down before I forget

-Why is the NBA using the Houston Philharmonic to introduce the starting lineups? I don't think many basketball fans will be even more interested to watch if they have an orchestra introducing the players? What's even worse is that the orchestra covered Eminem and what I think was Crazy Train by Ozzy Osborne. Really weird

-If Nate Robinson was 6 feet tall, Igudala would have won the dunk contest with ease. Andre had the better dunks overall and his behind the backboard dunk was one of the most amazing I've ever seen

In general, it's fun to watch a little bit of the All-Star game. There is so little defense played that it makes for a entertaining game. Lots of turnovers. Lots of fancy passes.

My guess is that this would be the most fun of the three All-Star games to play in. It's nothing more than a little pick-up basketball with all of the guys you like playing with. I'd put baseball All-Star game next, with the Home Run derby and the importance it carries to the end of the season (which I don't really like, but I don't call the shots). Way back in last is the Pro Bowl, which I completely forgot about and only found out today who won. There's no way I would want to play in that. No interest from the fans at all

(You have no idea who won either, do you?)

Fed Up With the Red Sox

You know who’s got me fed up? The Boston Red Sox. That’s right. Everyone’s favorite team. I’ve had enough of them. Honestly, this wasn’t always the case. I was one of the many who jumped on the bandwagon back in 2004 when they won the World Series. By no means was I hanging their flag out and praying to a Fenway Shrine every night, but I wanted to see the Sox win the World Series. I liked the underdog, and that’s what they seemed like to me at the time.

Something changed since then, though. Maybe it wasn’t the team itself, but I’ve seen a different side of the organization and that has changed my thoughts on the team. At the risk of angering Sox fans everywhere, the Red Sox organization reminds me, more than any other team, of……the New York Yankees. Yeah, I said it.

Hear me out on this one. The way I see it, the Yankees are that beautiful girl in high school that had everything go her way in life, while the Red Sox are the crazy girl who spent all her time trying to be like the beautiful girl. Everything always works out for the Yankees. People like them, and if they don’t it’s because they win all of the time. Meanwhile the Sox are spent living in the Yankees shadow, trying to outdo them all the time.

It makes sense if you think about it. A couple of years ago, the Sox spent all winter trying to get A-Rod (baseball’s prize player, despite seeming like one of the softest players in the game). Of course they didn’t get him, and when they didn’t they cried unfair and called the Yankees the “Evil Empire”. They blame their 86 years of losing on a curse. Most recently they lost their star center fielder to the Yankees and spent the entire off-season without a general manager, until they brought back the guy who left 3 months before.

I’m not saying all of this because I’m a Yankees fan. I’m not. I don’t like them at all and I hate what they’ve done to the game of baseball. But at least they run their team in an organized fashion. You can hate them for all the players they’ve signed and the money they’ve spent, but you can’t hate them for taking care of business. Compared to the Yankees, the Sox are a mess. Everything the Red Sox try to do just seems like a reaction to the Yankees. While other teams go out and try to fill holes, Boston and New York are in a ridiculous competition against each other

So that’s where I stand. A team I used to enjoy supporting has come full circle. They are quickly becoming what they claim to hate, a team whose success is built around high priced players. As for me, I’m just tired of hearing all about them. I’ve had my fill of hearing all about the newest drama in Boston and I’m prepared to spend my upcoming baseball season the peaceful way, listening as the Phillies come up short yet again.

(This appeared in the Albrightian, but I reposted it for people who don't have easy access to that.)

Basketball, Mr. Fuji, and Some Other Big Event

Yeah yeah. I know it's the Super Bowl. So what? You've heard everything that there is to say about it already. Just like any other year, the Super Bowl has been sufficiently (if not overly) hyped. There's no real point in saying too much more about it. Especially when I have an idea like this.

So, back in the day I used to watch pro wrestling. It was pretty cool and all, watching ridiculous characters like the Ultimate Warrior and Yokozuna go at it. One thing that you could always count on was the involvement of a wrestler's manager at a key point in the match. The manager would come up to distract the referee while the wrestler would bring out a pipe or chair and knock his opponent senseless.

That got me thinking, why hasn't a coach pulled that stunt in basketball yet. Sure, this wouldn't work in the NBA, but in a lower level it definitely could. After a bad call, a fast break would start up. As this happens, the coach begins to chew out the closest referee. While the majority of the players follow the play, there is always one or two left behind. Because the other two refs are also following the break, this creates the perfect opportunity for a well placed elbow to send a message. Because the two refs are following the play and the third is being yelled at, nobody is left to see the intentional foul. Think about it



Yeah. I know that's pretty ridiculous and it has no chance of ever happening, but everyone needs something to laugh at and I thought that would be pretty funny. As for the Super Bowl, I'm going with the Steelers. No real reasoning here for a couple of reasons. One, I don't like either team. Two, I'm never really excited about the Super Bowl. And three, I've avoided most of the hype so I haven't heard much about how they match up. I'm just going in blind and hoping that I'm still interested by the third quarter, when they start replaying commercials and a third of America is asleep.