The SoapBoxers

The lack of coverage of the Triple Crown in the American League this year is total proof that baseball is no longer America’s Pastime. Instead baseball has been relegated to American history.

The only Triple Crown most anyone knows about outside of baseball aficionados is that involving the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.

The king of the hill is now clearly the juggernaut known as football. American’s crave the gladiator style, fast paced action that only football can bring. Baseball in comparison is slow with action, the fielders stand around the entire time except when the ball is put into play. The antics of the batter box and the pitchers have delayed the games even more. Also baseball has gotten too specialized, no longer do players pitch complete games nor play double headers that often. No, baseball is no longer the game of a by-gone radio era, it is now made for TV entertainment, although not many are watching.

It Was a Very Good Year……

The last Triple Crown winner was Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Yaz’s meteoric climb to popularity was due to a number of factors.

First he played for the Boston Red Sox. Not that the Beantowners were as popular back in the 50’s and 60’s as they are today, but remember baseball had much fewer teams then, and Boston was one of the more popular teams, mainly due to the heavily populated Northeast.

Second, Yaz also followed Ted Williams, arguably the best hitter of all time and surely on everyone’s list as a starter on any All-Time baseball team you want to put together. Williams left an irreplaceable hole in the hearts of Boston fans. After all he had won the MVP twice, was a two time triple crown winner and 19 time all-star. Yaz would never be able to replace Williams, but he did his best to try.

Thirdly Yaz played his entire career with the Red Sox, and was an 18 time all-star, won the MVP and Triple Crown in 1967 and is a member of the 3000 hit club. The 1967 season is the main reason he is still revered in Massachusetts. 1967 was a magical season for the normally down-trodden Sox, and added to the allure of Yastrzemski popularity.

The Red Sox finished 9th place in the division the year before, and were in a tight race with the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers as the season came to a close. He hit an amazing .521 with 5 homers and 16 rbi in the last two weeks of the season propelling the Sox to the World Series where they eventually lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. Yaz was the main that almost single handedly carried Boston all the way to the title, and the fans never forgot that.

Pride or Prejudice?

Cabrera faces a slug of uphill factors in his chance to cash in on this monumental accomplishment. The media is not giving it much coverage because, let’s face it, Detroit is not a sexy baseball town, and he does not speak English as his primary language. I am surprised that no sports reporters have mentioned this fact. We all like to claim that things such as race and prejudice no longer have a place in sports or society today, but the reality is they still do. It will be interesting to see how the people who vote on the MVP will choose this year. They have a tough decision.

Mike Trout, of the Angels is getting just as much if not more media attention this year in the face of the biggest accomplishments in the Major Leagues in almost 5 decades. Mike Trout is 21 years old, is an American and looks to have a bright future ahead of him. He has done some things this year that put him on the list of all-time greatest seasons. Will he get the nod for the MVP vote, or will it be Cabrera?

Only 12 people have ever won a triple crown. That is less than the number of 500 Home Run club members, 3000 hit listers, 300 game winners and pitchers that have thrown perfect games.

Four times the Triple Crown Winner has not also won the MVP award. The last time that happened, Ted Williams lost out to Joe DiMaggio in 1947.

Only the votes remain, it will be an interest ballot to be cast by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Until next time, stay classy Millville, Ohio

It is hard to put two hands on the trophy when you have two hands around your own neck.

This should be the motto for the American team for the 2012 Ryder Cup Matches played at Medinah in Illinois. The American Squad played marvelously the first two days, and built what is basically considered an insurmountable lead (10-6) but failed to close the deal. Losing in a 14 ½ to 13 ½ final score.

Team Europe put its heavy hitters out early in an attempt to turn the tide. It worked, as the American team consistently lost holes 17 and 18 in a number of matches thereby giving the European contingent some unexpected points.

Miracle at Medinah

This ties for the largest come-back in the history of the event, matching the Miracle at Brookline in the 1999 Ryder Cup matches. The big difference here is that Team Europe did this on American soil, and not riding the wave of emotion that comes with a home field advantage.

I think Brookline at a lot more to do with this week than many golf fans even know.

At Brookline, European Captain, Jose-Maria Olazabal was there front and center in the American celebration. Most ardent golf fans forget that he was the opponent standing on the 17th green in the decisive match and watching Justin Leonard roll in a 45-foot birdie. The ensuing celebration with almost the entire American team running onto the green and basically creating a celebration pile created quite a rift between the teams (and the members of the golfing media on both sides of the Atlantic for that matter ) as it was viewed as a breach of golf etiquette.

Win One For Seve, or Still Steaming About Brookline?

This brings me down to Sunday. With Steve Stricker missing his put on the 18th hole, the match was in fact over. But standing in the 18th fairway was the final paring of the day. Francesco Molinari against Tiger Woods. Eldrick held a 1 up lead at the time.  With 14 points secured, there is really no reason to even finish out the match for that matter. Concede the hole – as the outcome is already decided.

Love concurred telling reporters, “Whatever Tiger and Molinari do we don’t get the cup. We’re stunned anyway. I stood there thinking, ‘Why isn’t over? Why isn’t it good-good?’ What were we playing for?”

Molinari and the Europeans, however, had a different take on the final outcome.

“I thought about giving him the halve in the fairway,” Molinari said. “But then the captain was there and he told me it’s not the same, winning or halving, so get focused and do your best and that’s what I did. . . . I wasn’t expecting him to give it to me.”

Instead both players hit “iffy” approach shots to the green and were both faced with 4 footers to tie with par. Molinari made Tiger putt his and he missed. Tiger gave Molinari his putt, but he made it anyway.

So it appears Olazabal got a little sweet revenge, on something that I can only suppose has been stewing with him for 13 years. On a day dedicated to the great Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, he pulls a totally Seve Ballesteros move of gamesmanship, and not sportsmanship, at the conclusion of the 2012 Matches.

Touché Jose, Touché

Two Hands on the Trophy

Geno Smith

I have been doing a Top 5 Heisman list each week, but this week, I am going away from that completely.

For those that watched the video game…errrr..basketball game….errrr…Track Meet…errrr..Football game between West Virginia and Baylor last Saturday, you will understand the following few lines of rhetoric.

There is only one clear cut person for the Heisman after last week. With the continued wide open, lack of defense football you will see much more in the Big XII this year, I can only imagine what type of numbers he is going to end the year at.

I present to you, this week’s ONLY Heisman candidate. Geno Smith – Quarterback of the West Virginia Mountaineers. All he did on Saturday against Baylor is throw for 656 yards, 8 Touchdowns, 0 Interceptions, 248.0 Rating. 5 carries 32 yards Rushing.

Yup, you read all of that correctly. On the year he has thrown for 1728 yards with 20 Touchdowns and count em NO interceptions. He has also ran for another 98 yards and 1 Touchdown on the year.

Hope he has his plane tickets to New York already on order.

Until Next time. Stay classy Miami, Florida

Another week in the books and overall there were some HORRIBLE games this past week.

Alabama and Arkansas was supposed to be a big game. That was until Arkansas lost to Louisiana Monroe and then proceeded to also lose their starting quarterback for the game against the Crimson Tide. In case anyone is doubting Nick Saban and the 52-zippo blanking of the Hogs, trust me, the Tide is good. How two voters in the polls still think otherwise is beyond me.

Paper Spartan???

Andrew Maxwell fumbles against Notre Dame

Michigan State proved finally to a national audience what Johnny G has been spreading around the water cooler all year – OVER-RATED. The problem is two-fold with their loss. One, it just further cements the fact the B1G 10 is not having a banner year and two, the fact that Notre Dame beat the Spartans just adds more fuel for the Gold Dome zealots who are proclaiming that Brian Kelly is the program savior. If he is that good of a coach, I just hope he is not as big of a cheater as Lou Holtz……

Meeeeeechigan versus Notre Dame

On the topic of Notre Dame, This upcoming week, (or should I say WEAK) is good time to go golfing with your buddies as there are a ton of barely watchable games filling the airwaves. We have Michigan and Notre Dame and then….not much else to look forward to except maybe Clemson against Florida State. I am not much of a fan of the ACC but this is the only other game likely to get much play nationally this week.

The highlight of week 4 from the National Spotlight will be Michigan versus Notre Dame – Mainly because…well…it is Notre Dame playing.

I am rooting for my buddy Aaron, (sorry Denis and K.R.) in a match-up of teams my friends root for. Go Blue. Johnny supports you!

Weak B1G 10

And since I mentioned a week of weak games, I might as well stay with the topic of weak – – – in the B1G 10, the Ohio State Bunkeyes barely crept out a win against the California Bears at home this past week. (Yes, that is right, I said Bunkeyes) Cal looked to have them on the ropes until a busted coverage late in the game gave Braxton Miller an easy long touchdown stat padding completion. I took Braxton off the Heisman 5 this week, mainly because some others needed props. Ohio State at this point is clearly the best team in the otherwise weak conference….too bad they can’t play for anything meaningful to end the season….cheaters.

A Tale of Two Mannings

Wow totally different ends of the spectrum for the Mannings in the NFL this week. Eli throws for 510 and 3 TD’s (also had three interceptions) in a win over the Buccaneers in a real life version of Tecmo SuperBowl, and Peyton throws 3 first quarter picks in a loss last night to the Falcons. A word of warning to the AFC. The NFC seems to have the cream of the early season crop of teams. Let’s see if everyone stays healthy and they are the ones to beat at the end of the year.

Heisman Watch – Week 3

1. Rakeem Cato – Quarterback – Marshall – Averaging a crazy 423 yards per game. Of course it is Marshall, but here is some love for the MAC – he leads the NCAA in total offense. Through three weeks that gets you top billing.
2. Geno Smith – Quarterback – West Virginia – Running roughshod with just two games under the belt, but is 2nd in the nation with an incredible 409 yards per game total offense. Finally might be showing he is legit since Matt “can’t ever beat Stanford” Barkley checked out last week.
3. Jonathan Franklin – Running Back – UCLA – Still leading the nation in rushing with 180+ a game, and still high on Johnny’s Heisman Watch list
4. Denard Robinson – adding some huge stat padders against Air Force and Massachusetts. This week he gets the Golden Domers…so if he is here next week, that means Big Blue fared better than those Spartans of East Lansing.
5. Darius Slay – DB- Mississippi State – What? A defensive guy on the Heisman top 5? He does lead the nation in interceptions with 4 in 3 games and he took one to the house for 6. Plus I love the last name. Slay just sounds like a bad ass defensive player doesn’t it?

Until Next Time, Stay Classy Homewood, Alabama

Week #2 is in the books, and there is a lot of news on the college football front.

No much to cheer about for Razorbacks fans on Saturday

Arkansas was clearly the upset of the week, losing to Louisiana Monroe. Arkansas somehow managed to stay ranked even after this debacle. Oklahoma State also moved out of the rankings after losing to the Pac XII Arizona Wildcats. The Pac XII also recorded big wins as UCLA knocked off Nebraska in a defensive struggle, and upstart Oregon State shocked Wisconsin,10-7 in Corvallis. Wisconsin was so shocked that they promptly fired their offensive line coach, Mike Markuson. It sure does not look like Monte Ball will be in the Heisman discussion this year.

On a down note for the Pac XII, the Colorado Buffaloes got…well…buffaloed in losing to Sacramento State on a game winning field goal by Edgar Castaneda.

My beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers

Of course I get to write about this now and then, why? Because it is my article of course, and many of my so called “readers” (if there are any) are Husker Fans as well. The Corn got shelled this week past Saturday in California by a team that looked much more ready to play than the Scarlett and Cream.

As any of you football fans can relate to, the sky is bluer, the flowers prettier and the steak dinners taste better all when your team is winning.

Once you suffer a loss, or that unexpected loss, suddenly it is Armageddon.

UCLA exposed some match ups that gave the defense bit time trouble. Unfortunately, Nebraska had no real answer for it this past Saturday.

This week Arkansas State rolls into Lincoln. The Red Wolves currently are 7th in the NCAA in total offense. Nebraska is 96th in total defense. Looks like the 20-24 point spread may be getting smaller by this weekend.

Week #2 Heisman Leaders

1. Braxton Miller – QB – Ohio State – An impressive 151 yds per game average running and 4 td’s to go along with another 362 yards passing and 3 TD’s through the air. Can he throw himself the ball? IF so, hand him the trophy now.
2. Jonathan Franklin – RB – UCLA – keeping the love here as he piled up a monster night against the Cornhuskers and leads the nation with a 215 per game average.
3. Kolton Browning – QB – Louisiana Monroe – an impressive first outing of the year, skinning the Razorback defense on a 42 for 67 performance for 412 yards and 3 TD’s. He also added another 69 and a score on the ground in the upset win.
4. Ryan Aplin – QB – Arkansas State – 101 on the ground and 625 in the air through two games = 5 total touchdowns and a 1-1 record. Can he beat the Huskers and be 2-1?
5. Cody Getz – RB – Air Force – 43 rushes for 348 yards and only one negative rushing play in all of those carries. Oh yeah….6 touchdowns as well. SERVICE!

Until next time, stay classy Colorado Springs, Colorado

And So It Begins…

Colgate 1895 college football team (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This Thursday with a couple of games to kick-off the season. While most of the country will be focused on watching the big opening weekend match up of Alabama and Michigan, (Alabama coincidentally is a 14 point favorite over Big Blue) Thursday night officially starts the season. 9 games top the slate of action, with Ball State and Eastern Michigan likely providing the closes match up, at least on paper.

Play Like A Champion Today

Saturday morning you can awaken early (real early if you are on the left coast) and watch Notre Dame take on Navy from Dublin, Ireland. Yes the Golden Domers – if that is what we can call them after their new helmet designs – are headed overseas. I guess the Notre Dame Broadcasting Channel – NBC must really trying to be able to spike viewership of their beloved team….or maybe hoping that they can put a better product on the field. The main thing hurting Notre Dame is that they really are irrelevant since Cheater Lou Holtz was heading the club. While a lot of people will tune in to watch Notre Dame win or lose, they lose a lot of TV sets when they are just plain average, which is what they have been for quite a while.

Best Places to Watch Games

The USA Today is running an article all week, showcasing the best stadiums to watch a game from each conference. I don’t know what they have used as part of their criteria, but I guarantee most people will disagree with their voting. They are not all done with covering all conferences this week, but to date this week they have the following selections:

ACC – Clemson – hard to argue this one, I will agree this gains the top spot. Hokie fans likely disagree, but I think they got voted down to #2 due to their hideous chicken feet helmet design…..The only one approving of this new helmet is Foghorn Leghorn

Pac 12 – Oregon – so last year….but they get the top vote.

Big 12 – A big Shocker here…Texas…OVER-RATED – This would be behind Missouri, Texas A&M and Nebraska if they had not all gotten ticked off by the Longhorns and went elsewhere.

Big East – Does anyone really care? The article picks Cincinnati. I would go with Pittsburgh, Heinz Field is a cool venue.

Big 10 – TBA – Everyone will argue that it is the Big House or the Horseshoe…Come talk to me when you sell the place out 307 times straight and counting. Yeah, call me a homer, but Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska wins the conference on that stat alone.

SEC – TBA – A lot of great venues and rabid fan bases. I still love the fact you can take your boat to the stadium so I am going to Knoxville and choosing Tennessee. Plus that checkerboard orange and white end zone is still a memory from my youth.

Upsets of the Week

Iowa State over Tulsa…The only Hurricane working this week is Isaac.

Auburn over Clemson – I just have a good feeling about this one.

Ohio over Penn State – How will the Lions react in their first game in spite of all of the events and lots of losses?

Until Next time, stay classy Eek, Alaska!
 

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This is the 4th installment of the series of articles covering our move into our new home.

They Are All Together….

 The last article was written some weeks ago right after we had sold our house. A lot has happened since that time.

We had to pack up the remainder of our household goods and move to a new locale. Yep, I am back among those doing apartment living. This is a new experience for me since the last time I lived in an apartment I did not have any children, did not own any pets and did not have a ring on my finger indicating I was married. I am always reminded of the famous comedic line…why do they call them apart – ments when they are all together?

I was much younger, financially not near as well off, and frankly had a lot more going on so I really wasn’t in the apartment that much anyway.

Bonus Perks!

This is not Johnny’s apartment building.

Living in an apartment does have its advantages. I do not have to pay for all of the utilities and trash service. I do not have to worry about my lawn decaying and turning brown in the face of the worst drought we have had in my lifetime here in the Midwest – this also means I do not have to worry about snow removal and mowing either.

The apartment also comes with a nice pool and hot tub that I have been able to utilize on a few occasions. The location we chose for an apartment was very convenient as it allowed us to stay in the same school system with our son, and they also accepted pets. Since we have a dog, finding a place that allowed pets was a huge bonus. Finding a nice place that allowed pets that was in the area that we were wanting to live was even better.

I sure miss my fence….

Apartment living does come with some things that I have taken for granted as well. You have neighbors on directly on either side of you as well as below you. The younger gentleman that lives below me already blew a gasket as apparently we were being too loud at lunch time on a Saturday. He was banging on the ceiling reminiscent of Mr. Heckles from “Friends”. The only difference is this did not sound like a broom stick.

When you have a dog and a 6 year old abiding by the apartment rules of no running and keeping quiet can be difficult to say the least. As a homeowner this is never a problem.

Speaking of dog, that is probably thing that my wife and I are realizing we miss from being in the house. With the home and fenced yard, so when it is “bathroom time” for the pooch you simply open the door, wait for the friendly visage of your dog to reappear at same door and Voila’! Open door + Treat jar = happy dog.

Now we have to leash him up, put on shoes or appropriate warmer clothing if early or late at night, go down the stairs ( as we live on the 2nd floor) walk around until we get the business done, and then we use the secure entry to get back upstairs. Fortunately we are getting our dog a little more “trained” into a routine with this so we are all adjusting on the fly.

So Many Choices

A lot of our free time has been spent making the final selections on tile, carpet, paint, brick, countertops, fixtures, pretty much about everything you can name. The good news is that we have most of this finalized or very close to finalized as the framing is set to begin on our house very soon. Once the trusses start going up, the rest is going to keep moving along in a hurry.

In the meantime, it is a good thing I have college football to keep me distracted!

Until next time….stay classy Summersville, West Virginia

Fantasy Football Fantastic!

We have just started the NFL Pre-Season and now is the time when many of us turn on our computers and log into the draft- room.

Yep, it is time for fantasy football drafts.

Which Type of Fantasy Leaguer Are You?

I categorize Fantasy Football leagues into one of three categories. And it has nothing to do with what the entry fees are. They include:

The Eager Beaver League: These leagues have already held their drafts. They were likely already working out draft orders, dinner menus back in May. These leagues are made up of the die hards that yearn for the best part of any fantasy league….the DRAFT. Of course they get this out of the way early only to see their star players hurt in pre-season, arrested, suspended or cut from the team. If only they could have waited a few more weeks.

The Average Joe League: This is what 95% of leagues fall into in terms of statistical categorization. They hold their draft in the middle of pre-season as close as possible to the kick-off of the first ACTUAL games. This give all players plenty of time to study all of the overpriced draft magazine, dedicated hour long FFL shows, chat room message boards and trial and error from other leagues they may have already participated in. These players have done countless mock drafts, analyzed all of the 3 deep depth charts, and have already made nice with the spouse to get the extra couple of nights to hang with the group and have a few beverages and act like college aged kids once again.

The Better Late Than Never League: Two types of people fall into this category. They are either people that at the last minute decide they can get their work buddies or fellow students together to put together that last minute league, even though the season has already started…OR…you get the people that were in the Eager Beaver Leagues that miss the action of draft night SO BADLY, that they sign up for another one, even if it breaks every fantasy rule they hold tried and true (meaning it pains them to be doing it late) but they do it anyway, for the thrill of the draft.

Mucho Importante!

Which gets me to the most important part of any fantasy league, be it baseball, football, basketball, golf, hockey, water polo, Equestrian, Checkers, whatever….the Draft is the single most important part of your time in the league as well as the single most fun part of being in the league.

You can spend a lot of money subscribing to insider information, purchasing 14 different magazine and forecast tools for players – – – or you can do a little research and get together with your friends and have a good time.

Weather you play for just pride, a ton of money, or just a cheesy gold trophy resembling something that your dad would have won from his Thursday late-night bowling league, it is a good and fun time to participate, and the draft is always the highlight of every league I have ever been in.

College Anyone?

I for one am planning on entering a college fantasy league for the first time ever. There are a number of sites that offer this free of charge and you end up competing against people from all over the country as you simply sign up to join a league. Guess this means I better start researching the MAC for that bullet armed quarterback, or the Ohio Valley for that never heard before place kicker. Maybe the Mountain West has a stud tight end that has slipped under my previous radar.

All I know is that as World Champion of the World last year in two of the three leagues I competed in, I now my fellow competitors will be amped up and gunning to get me. One of those leagues is not taking place this year (I guessed I scared them all off) but I have added a new one to take its place

So….. Farm Leaguers, Big Ballers Big X Legends and Leaders, Johnny is back for bragging rights and will be talking smack on draft night. Consider yourself advised…..

Until Next Time, Stay Classy St. Onge, South Dakota.

Honey Badger takes what he wants

Apparently the Honey Badger didn’t care.

Didn’t care about team rules anyway. LSU “sensation” Tyrann Mathieu nicknamed “ The Hone Badger” has been released from the football program for what is being dubbed as violation of team rules.

A major impact player at a successful program is not simply given the boot. This tells me that it was something related to improper benefits, drugs or he had simply been riding the fence and been warned repeatedly about something that was re-occurring for some time, and simply did not change his ways. We know it was not for academic reasons as school is not yet in session for a couple of more weeks.

Message Boards and sports and news outlets are speculating with many varied stories at this time of exactly the cause of his dismissal from the team. In the hours following the announcement, the main rumors appear to be that Mathieu failed another drug test, which would be his third in three seasons. If this is true it appears that Honey Badger likes more than…well…umm…honey.

Mad-Hatters Presser earlier on Friday

For now LSU head coach Les Miles is not talking …..or at least talking as much as we are used to hearing him talk – which is seemingly every chance he gets to put his mug on ESPN. At his news conference announcing this on Friday, Miles did not mention the reason he was dismissed.

“We’ll miss the guy,” Miles said. “The football team’s got to go on. We’ll have to fill the void.”

Athletic Director Joe Alleva said Mathieu, who was suspended for a game in 2011 after failing a drug test, violated an athletic department rule and had his scholarship revoked.

“Being an athlete is a privilege,” Alleva said. “It’s a privilege and you have to follow the rules to take advantage of that privilege. And unfortunately, he doesn’t have that privilege here anymore.

“He really is a good kid. It’s a shame. But I told him this morning that he has the rest of his life and his life is still ahead of him. He still has a tremendous opportunity to do good things and I encouraged him to do those good things, and I think he will.”

Alleva said the violation did not involve law enforcement and Mathieu could stay at LSU and pay tuition. But Alleva said that was unrealistic.

“He’s not going to stay in school,” he said.

Bit by the Cobra

The best bet would be that Mathieu will go to a non-Division 1 program. If this is the case he would not have to sit out a year under the NCAA transfer rules. (a rule that was waived this year coincidentally for Penn State football players in the wake of the sanctions that have been imposed there) This would allow him to continue to play football at a lower level division this year and then have the opportunity to transfer back to a Division 1 school next year and be right back in the mix.

After this year at a lower division program, he could land just about anywhere, but the real question is will a coach take a chance on a player carrying some baggage…whatever that baggage may be.

Until next time, stay class Emporia State!

It will be an All-American final in women’s volleyball

Last night I sent a text to a friend of mine asking if he was watching Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh-Jennings in volleyball. Although I do not consider myself a volleyball aficionado, I do live in Nebraska where college volleyball is a big deal. This was a great match to watch with some great individual plays and long rallies. My buddy was pleading with me to not tell him the results as he had been waiting all day to watch this. Don’t worry Jonsey…I would never spoil the result for you.

Last week I wrote an article about the Olympics being ruined (in my opinion) by spoilers and social media. I guess my good friends don’t always check up on the articles on Facebook 🙂

I have tried to remain “true to my word” and follow my earlier statements, not reviewing websites and not listening to ESPN to catch any updates. I have been burned twice last week, as while in my car the “sports updates” let the cat out of the bag” and I found myself scrambling to change the dial quickly before I heard more. Darn radio….

Of course there are always big stories for the Olympics. I am looking past the Phelps and Douglas storylines to things that I have been more intrigued with personally.

We tend to focus on the stories that impact the people from our country more than others. Here are some of the things that I have found interesting.

Boxing – for the first time ever the U.S. Men’s boxing team is shut out of winning any medals. That is correct. NONE – when you think of all the greats, like Leonard, Ali, etc., that is a statistic that carries some real meaning

USA Basketball for both the Men and Women are boat-racing the competition. I still feel for the people last week at Ladbroke’s that had Nigeria and the unders in Team USA’s 156-73 drubbing of the Nigerian team. The troubling part for me is the fact that there was a lot of controversy about running up the score. Fact is, (if you watched the game like I did) it was like video game basketball, everything went in the hoop, and the end of the bench saw extensive action. This was a case where one team was far superior and having an extra good day of it on the hardwood.

Jordan Jovtchev (Previous event)

Jordan Jovtchev, the 39-year-old Olympian, qualified for the finals in the still rings. Read that again….39 year old gymnast. The guy has more gray hairs than Captain Kangaroo, but yet he is competing in his 6th Olympics in one of the most grueling events in gymnastics. Dude can ring it!

Usain Bolt repeats in the 100 meters for the 2nd straight games. He is trying for the double in the 200 meters. No one has ever pulled off the double – double.

And let’s give it up for the Jamaican women sprinters. – Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, became the third woman to successfully defend her Olympic title by running 10.75 in the 100 meters.

Maybe even more impressive is Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown. She won Bronze in the 100 meters in the 2008 and 2012 games but the 200 meters is where the real action is. She is trying to complete the trifecta of winning the 200 meters in 2004, 2008 and now the 2012 Olympics. She would become the first woman in history to win an individual athletics crown in three consecutive Olympic Games if she can pull it off.

Oscar Pistorius (Previous event)

Most impressive to me thus far is the story of Oscar Pistorius. Unless you are hiding in a closet you will know this is the South African double-amputee nicknamed the “Blade Runner,” after his “J” shaped carbon fiber prosthetic blades.

He qualified for the semifinals this past weekend after running a fabulous 45.44 in his heat race for the 400 meters.

The runner’s legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old because of a bone defect. His debut Saturday made him the first Paralympian to compete Olympic Games. Unfortunately he did not make it to the final, but still he will serve as a true inspiration to many with disabilities around the world.

To me, that is what the Olympics is all about. Inspiring others through goodwill, sportsmanship, and athletic excellence.

We still have another week of Olympic stories, legends and lore will continue to play out.

I for one can’t wait.

Until next time. Stay classy Johannesburg, South Africa

Statue of Joe Paterno removed from Beaver Stadium

No bowl games for 4 years, statues taken down, scholarships lost, massive fines imposed, wins vacated.

By now we have watched countless hours of coverage on ESPN and other news stations involving the sanctions levied by the NCAA toward Penn State. Yesterday was a veritable media blitz covering all of the sports talk radio, local and national news broadcasts, newspapers and internet message boards.

Former players, students, coaches from teams from all over the country all had microphones put in front of them to give their opinion of the penalties against the University and the football program in particular.

Everyone has an opinion on this matter.

Some have stronger opinions than others.

Whether you agree or disagree with the punishment fitting the crime, it does not change the fact that there is a lot of healing that needs to take place for many people involved, regardless if they are directly or indirectly impacted by these events and resulting consequences.

My only hope is that some of the public figures just quit talking about it altogether.

Bobby Bowden was taking numerous opportunities yesterday to talk about the subject and used his typical – good ol’ boy, golly gee whiz’ attitude. Bobby, stop with the Elmer Fudd impersonations here. A polite comment such as “this is a hard way to back into a record” and then just walk away.

I do feel for the Paterno family. Many of the things that have happened this week I am sure are viewed by them as a direct attack on their family, their pride and most importantly to them, the legacy of the good things that their beloved Joe stood for.

Unfortunately every time they make another press release – which seems like every single day – the perceived reality in their statements appears to be far out of touch with the pulse of most of the sports fans who are following the proceedings on a daily basis.

Another side bar to this entire event is what will happen to the current football players who have been given free rein by the NCAA to go elsewhere and not have to sit out and miss any time. Head coach Bill O’Brien will have his hands full trying to keep existing players and also try to make sure the kids that have already committed to the program as freshmen to be will continue to uphold that early promise and attend the university.

Many of the football players could look to other programs , and as some speculate this could essentially turn into a college free agency scenario for this year.

Since it is late in the summer and football is just around the corner, it is unlikely that many players will leave Penn State due to the timing of it all. No matter how high the talent level, it would be difficult at this juncture to leave and go to another school and still play this year for another program. It would require a lot of things happening in the lives of those young men in a short amount of time.

As we continue to discuss this entire topic over the next days and weeks, it is important to remember that a lot has happened here in a short amount of time.

More importantly…….. It has all happened because nothing was done for a long amount of time.

Until Next time…just stay classy.