




Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break! The show is up and Dan's YouTube is right by it. Here are some pictures from my Thanksgiving night adventure at BestBuy in Dallas, Texas. Thank you to Steve for taking and e-mailing me the pictures.
A look into my life at 1560 The Game! Check it out every week for updated stories from the life of a 24-year-old radio personality.
The Best Week EVER (for football)
Football is king in
Monday:
Thursday: Opening week for the Connally Cougars. For those of you who are not familiar with the Connally Cougars, they are my team. I am doing play-by-play for the Cougars on Kmacsports.com. No other high school sport is as exciting as football in
Thursday: the first game of the NFL season. The Dolphins take on the Steelers. The Steelers will start their championship defense without Ben “What’s a helmet” Rothlisberger. How will Daunte Culpepper fair against the stingy Steelers defense? Will Chris Chambers have a Steve Smith like year? Will Bill Cowher get a chin reduction? All this and more on Thursday night! Football ranking: 5 out of 10
OPENING DAY IN THE NFL! Gamblers from all over the world will miss more games than the
Three Reasons Why I Think
So why am I suggesting that Team USA is not ready to win the World Championships? Because unlike every other person who thinks this team is built for success, I think this team is another glorified All-Star Team that is not ready to win.
Before I start the list, you have to understand the tendencies of international rules basketball. The elite teams have good guards who can penetrate and shoot the three pointer. Big guys in FIBA basketball are not as important as they are in the NBAÂ
Ask Tim Duncan about that. The team with the most experience is probably going to beat a team with less experience 90 percent of the timeÂ
Ask the
This
The days of the Dream Team are long gone. When the Dream Team dominated in 1992 and 1996, other teams were afraid of them. I have heard stories where opposing players would go up to the Dream Team and ask for autographs before the games. When you have a team that consisted of MJ, Magic and Bird, that team CAN meet up a day before the tournament and win. Those players were good defenders and had another level to the game that Lebron, Melo and Wade have not achieved just yet. Yes, Wade dominated the NBA Finals, but tell that to Manu Ginobli, a player who also dominated the NBA Finals the year his team won. So far, Puerto Rico and Slovenia gave USA their biggest test because they have good guard play. If these teams did not make bad turnovers in the second and third quarter, they would have won the game. When the USA faces the elite teams that do not make costly turnovers, they are going to be in a for a rude awakening.
Thoughts on Everything
· ASTROS
o The Astros just lost another one but don’t worry! The Astros went 4 for 9 in their latest home stand and now head to the road for 11 games against
o After this road trip, the schedule gets incredibly hard for the Astros. They start the month against the Mets, get a little Cardinals and throw in some Phillies to top it off. Oh and if the Reds are still in the Wild Card hunt, they also get a three game set against them. Time to make a move now!
· Texans
o The Texans looked good in their first pre-season game but I still need to see them against other teams’ first team defense before I can jump on the bandwagon.
o After covering weeks of training camp, I have found some guys I like to root for. Please join me as I root for these guys
§ Antwan Peek: Talking to Peek, I have concluded that he is the nicest 250lb man. Peek is coming off a sub par season and is ready to become a monster on defense. He has been working his tail off in the off-season and has said all the right things for a player who is ready to have a break out season.
§ Morlon Greenwood: This linebacker lead the Texans last year in tackles with 112 and also added 2 sacks and 2 fumbles. He is a humble player who plays with an edge.
§ Ephraim Salaam: You probably have not heard of him because he is an O-line man. These guys don’t get attention because well, they don’t make big plays since they don’t get the ball. Salaam is a great person to talk to and brings experience to much scrutinized O-Line. Salaam has worked with Coach Kubiak before so he knows the system that will help the Texans win some more games.
· Longhorns Football
o Ranked no.1 going into the season…as I told my friend Ian Harris, host of “Simply Sports” (Simplysportstalk.com), Vince Young brings a lot to this team. Here is the exact quote of what I told him.
§ Vince Young is so good that his residue from last season is going to take UT back to the promise land. Vince is a GOD! God's dont need to know how to spell or add, just win games.
o Hook Em!
I am a fan of the X-games. No clever introduction for this entry, I love the X-games. I stayed up every night this week to watch almost every event. I count down the days of my summer until the X-games start. I watched the first X-games when I was about 10 years old. After watching, I went out and bought a skateboard. I never mastered the board because of my fear of breaking bones against concrete. Because of my love of the X-games, I want to give some quick thoughts on the X-games.
Amazing Athletes
Allen Iverson is a warrior. He goes in against men twice his size and keeps playing every night. The athletes in the X-games make Allen Iverson and Bret Favre look like T-mac. These athletes risk LIFE every time they attempt a jump.
For example, right now I’m watching the Skateboard big air. Sorry, BIG AIR! These skateboarders are taking off a r
a
mp that is six floors up at an almost 90-degree angle. After they take off, they do some insane trick over a gap that is about 60 feet wide. Wait, there is more. After you land, you go up on another ramp and fly about 25 feet without any safety nets. These athletes are brave. These guys define superb athletes. They play hurt, change their sport and do it for the love of the sport.
If the Big Air example did not convince you that these guys are athletes, maybe this one will. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iFrKpR6QOA) Travis Pastrana landed the first double back flip in the history of the motocross best trick competition.
If you have not seen a motocross bike, look at the picture. The bikes weight between 200 and 250 pounds. Pastrana, and every other rider, go 30 feet in the air with a 200 pound bike over them or under them. One wrong move and that bike can land on them or they can fly off the bike onto concrete hard dirt. Look at this picture; I know its going to send chills down your back.
Sure, these guys aren’t competing against a defense or a blitz package, but they are against other riders and death.
Growth of the Game
I’m not going to pull up TV ratings or anything like that to talk about this point. When the X-games first started back in 1995, most people thought it would fail. ESPN took a bold risk of putting the sport on mainstream cable even though most consider it illegal and for punks. Even though ESPN has grown to a powerful media conglomerate that can support any type of programming it wants, it does not have to support the X-games. Any business will pull the plug on something that will not make them money. The X-games has grown into the premier extreme sports competition in the world. During the first X-games I remember only a few events were on TV. Now, every event is on and ESPN has even started to put some on pay-per-view. Yes, people are willing to pay to watch the X-games.
The X-games started to become accepted in mainstream media when Tony Hawk landed the first ever 900 during the skateboard best trick competition. After that, ESPN held the games in major cities but never the home of extreme sports, LA. When the X-games went to LA in 2003, the ratings were off the charts for ESPN. I was in LA a few days before the X-games started in 2003. I have never seen so many people excited about a sport that should have been dead by now.
Athletes and Drugs
Extreme sports athletes have a stereotype surrounding them that all of them are dopeheads. I mean yes, you have to be high on something to do some of the crazy things they do but in reality they are not all crackheads. Here is a test for you doubters. NAME FIVE EXTREME ATHLETES WHO HAVE BEEN IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW FOR DRUGS. GO! GIVE UP? Now, name five NBA players. How about five NFL players? I bet you can name more than five for both sports. I’m sure some of those athletes light up a joint once in a while, just like athltes in every other league, but at least they aren’t stupid about it. I can’t name one extreme sports athlete who was an addict or pulled a Damon Stoudemire. Drugs in sports is as common as an NBA player having more than four unknown kids on each coast.
Vince Young, a Solution for Every Situation
Brad Lidge messed up another 9th inning last night against the Reds as the Astros lost 8-4. This got me thinking, should the Astros trade Lidge and bring in another hitter or pitcher, or should they simply look to trade for another piece?
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Astros should trade Brad Lidge, Morgan Ensberg, Troy Patton, Matt Albers and Tim Purpura for Vince Young. Yes Vince Young. He will solve every problem for the struggling Astros. He will provide clutch hitting and clutch pitching. He will run out every routine grounder and make doubles into triples with his blazing speed. He is the second coming of, sorry, he is the FIRST coming of Vince Young in the MLB. The Astros do not even have to field 9 guys anymore, Vince can play pitcher and center field. Vince Young is the solution for all problems.
Yesterday, the Titans signed Vince to a five year, sixth year optional, about $58 million deal with $26.5 million guaranteed. The Titans gave Vince first pick money as the No. 3 pick. Beat that Reggie Bush. Vince is the solution for the Titans future.
The Knicks should trade Stephon Marbury, Jalen Rose, Steve Francis, Isiah Thomas, Nate “24 attempts” Robinson and three up and coming concession stand workers to the Titans for Vince Young. All Vince needs is Channing Frye on his team to win the NBA Title. I would hate to be any player trying to guard Vince Young. I can see it now, 4th quarter, the Knicks are down by 2 with five seconds left and Vince has the ball. You know its going in. It’s going in, all the way to an undefeated season.
President Bush is having some problems with, well everything. Instead of keeping “One Shot” Dick around, President Bush needs to appoint Vince as his new Vice President. His approval ratings will go from crap to 98%, plus minus two percent for people voting in
Vince: Come on yall, we don’t need to do this. Why don’t yall come back to Auuuuuustin and we can kick it with my boy Sleeeem Thugggg.
(translation for those who are not familiar with Vince talk: Hello respected delegates, we must solve these pressing issues that are driving the world to insanity. How about we take the next flight out to the city of
World Wide Diplomats: We agree, that sounds riveting.
(translation: holla)
Vince is the solution to all the world wide problems. World hunger you say? Well that $58 million can buy a lot of double cheeseburgers.
Al-Qaida called for a holy war against
Over the last few weeks,
Vince Young really is the solution for everything. The other day I could not find my car keys so I thought to myself, what would Vince do? I decided to run to work and along the way, I broke through every car that tried to hit me.
If you are reading this column and thinking, “wow this guy is such a Vince homer”, then you are right. I am not going to lie; I will always be a Vince homer. I watched the guy over come a lot of obstacles, on and off the football field, since he came to UT. If Vince really were given any of the positions listed above, I would not count him out of helping that organization succeeding in whatever they need to. If every person who has a chance to make a difference in the world had an outlook like Vince, the world would be a better place. That outlook is the do whatever it takes to win by preparing and working your ass off to achieve the ultimate goal but at the same time keep a humble head on your shoulder that allows you to enjoy the little things in life outlook. Even if Vince is a total bust in the NFL, which he won’t be, he will always be the solution to everything.
Reggie Bush= spoiled kid
If you have not heard, the second pick of the NFL draft, Reggie Bush might hold out and sit the season for the New Orleans Saints. This is by far the most stupid move any rookie can pull. I think Reggie Bush is overrated as it is, so with him holding out I get the impression that he thinks he is too good for the game. Throughout the draft process, Bush was showing a lot of signs that he is excited to play in the NFL and for the city of
I am one of those guys that support hold outs for veterans because the NFL game can end your career in one snap. I support veterans who are trying to get a lot of money up front with their signing bonus because nothing is guaranteed in the NFL. When a rookie, who has not taken a snap yet, starts holding out, I just want the player to be kicked out of the NFL forever. Do not give me this crap that Bush is trying to make his money. Bush will get his MONEY. IF he has a good season, he can try to work a new contract out, but it probably will not work. If it ever comes out that Bush is holding out for one or two million more, he will officially join my list of players whom I hate.
Bush is a spoiled athlete that has always been the big man on campus. He received endorsement deals from companies before the Saints drafted him. Those deals are worth more than five million dollars. Let me write that out, 5,000,000! If Bush sits out the season, he will go down as one of the biggest idiots of all time. Hey Bush, get your ass out on the field and show why you are an overrated player. I predicted that Bush would get hurt nine games into the season. I guess I was wrong, he won’t even play a game.
Don’t Sleep on the Astros
The Astros lost yet another game they should have won against the lowly Chicago Cubs. Fans can point to the lack of run support, to the horrible hitting with runners in scoring position or you can point to Roy-O giving up a three-run homer to Phil Levin but none of it matters. Yes, the loss put the Astros four games under .500 but it also marks the game where the Astros start to turn it around. The Astros will face the Cubs for two more games with Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte on the mound against a Maddux and Zambrano. With the way Pettitte pitching in his last two outings, the Astros should take both of these games. The biggest series comes on Friday when the Astros take on the New York Mets for three games.
If the Astros can take one or two games, they will be solid. One of those games will be Roy-O, make that game a lock. After that series, the Astros will take on the wild card leaders Cincinnati Reds at home for three games with Clemens and Pettitte on the mound for two. These are the games the Astros need to win and can win because of their pitching. With Brandon Backe set to return and Wandy Rodriguez in the bullpen, I think the Astros are ready to make a push for the central. After the Reds series, the Astros play 15 games against Arizona, San Diego and Pittsburgh, of those three, only one is above .500 right now.
Stop with the Crap
John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil became the oldest baseball player last night by batting twice in a minor league all-star game at the age of 94. (http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=2523029)
Are the minor leagues so desperate for attention that they have to get Buck to bat in an all-star game? Everybody knew that the pitchers were going to walk him before he took his at bats. Stop the crap! This is not amazing or inspirational. This is a cheap gimmick by morons in some minor league to get attention for one night. This would be a good story if Buck was on a comeback trail, played some regular season games, and put up the stats to be an all-star, but he didn’t! You wont hear about Buck again until he turns 95 or passes away. What a joke. This minor league should be ashamed to exploit a legend like that.
If you don’t believe me that this was just a cheap media stunt, just look at another headline: Jose Conseco to pitch for minor league all-star game.
Zidane to get punishment Thursday
Why is this still in the news? Why is Zidane going to face punishment for his head-butt? The guy is not playing anymore FIFA regulated games and for crying out loud, he faced the biggest punishment when his team lost the World Cup. FIFA needs to stop pursuing this. Zidane lost his cool in the biggest game of his life and lost it for his team. Nothing else will hurt or punish this guy more than a loss. If FIFA strips Zidane of the Golden Ball, the best player in the World Cup, I will never watch soccer again without thinking it is setup. Zidane was the best player in the World Cup even with a bonehead play. One play does not take away his whole tournament. FIFA is to soccer as Vince McMahon is to the WWE. Seriously FIFA, if you want to force results and set-up games, just get into the sports entertainment business and not the sports business.
I'm back! It took me more than a week but I'm finally settled back in
A lot to talk about so Let's get started.
Barry Bonds:
Many newspapers are now reporting that Barry Bonds will be indicted soon from the Grand Jury leak to tax evasion. Here is my take on Bonds: where there is smoke, there is fire. Look, there is no way that a fabricated story about Bonds taking steroids could be going as far as him being indicted by the feds. Even if someone started a rumor that Bonds took steroids, there is no way in hell that a rumor would have gotten this far! He obviously took some steroids because every day more and more witnesses are found. Could those witnesses be lying to get Bonds back? Probably, but I believe the feds the can weed out the liars in cases as serious as this. Until more information is passed down about this, we will not know what really happened. I believe that Bonds did use enhancers.
T.O.: the media portrayed me as a selfish player
Before I give me opinion about this, I would like to let eve
ry reader know that I own a Terrell Owens jersey. I own a jersey because I enjoy watching T.O. on the field. I am not going to sit here and defend T.O. and what he does off the field. For T.O. to blame the media for his portrayal as a selfish player is like saying Saturday Night Live is responsible for the downfall of Ashlee Simpson's career. The media did not make T.O. rip McNabb, even though it might have been deserved. The media did not make T.O. call a press conference in his drive way and make him do sit-ups in his drive way. The media did not make you call one of your other quarterbacks in San Fran a "fag." The media did not make you sign Drew Rosenhaus and make you hold out. T.O. is a tremendous talent on the field but his antics off the field might be what his career might be defined as from now until he retires.
Allen Iverson---Why not to the Jazz?
I have been an Iverson fan since he played at
The 76ers need to trade him or shut up and admit a bad trade and get Chris Webber out of Philly. Trade Webb, open up some cap room and bring in some real help for AI. In my mind, the perfect situation for A.I. would be getting traded to a coach that would enjoy him and help him get to the finals again, that team? The