Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Where is Mary Lou's Little Red Corvette
The WVSI is on a fact finding mission. Like Indiana Jones hunting down a priceless artifact of historical signifgiance, I'm going into the jungle's of Fairmont to find the most celecbrated car in West Virgina history. Mary Lou Retton is of course the WV native who won the all around gold medal in gymnastics at the 1984 Olympics. When Mary Lou came home she was awarded a brand new 1984 Corvette that was immortalised in the song, "Little Red Corvette," by Prince. Since 28 years have gone by the Corvette has been lost to time.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Sandunsky Get 60+ Years in Jail: Coaches Who Rape Part II
The verdict is in. Jerry Sandunsky was convicted on 45 counts of child abuse on Friday, insuring him of at least 60 years in prison. The former Penn State assistant is sure to die while there. The man who publicly, tried to help under privileged kids reach their potential, privately he was ultimately found guilty of robbing them of their innocence. As much as the Penn State community would like this to be the end of the most trying year of the schools history, they now will have to wade through the civil trials sure to come.
Jerry Sandunsky"s victims have had their day in court. The man that stole their childhood is behind bars and will never come out. Not breathing anyway. Now they will have the opportunity to sue for punitive damages due them, and once again have to endure the gauntlet of speculation and examination that comes with web of the judicial system. Make no mistake, this story is not going away for a while yet to come.
With the spotlight cast on coaches who abuse their players, I've dug for any info that's been collected on the warning signs of coach-based abuse. There are basically 3 categories of abuse children face. Physical, emotional. and sexual.
Physical abuse SHOULD be the easiest to identify Physical abuse is most often accompanied with visual injuries on the victim. Bruising and cuts can of course be the result of typical accidents children encounter while growing accustomed to their ever changing bodies. However, when a child has repeated similar injuries, as if there is a pattern emerging, it should be looked into to. A reasonable, thoughtful adult, should be able to tell the difference between incidental injuries, and purposeful malicious injuries.
Emotional abuse is by it's nature harder to identify. There are not physical signs to point the way. A familiarity with the child's normal behavior is required. If the child suddenly becomes withdrawn or their is changes in school performance these can be indicator's of a problem. Sometimes victim's of abuse will become overly worried, constantly looking for some bad thing to happen. Another sign of possible abuse can be if a child shows up to activities early, stays late, and generally doesn't want to go home. Take any attempt by a child trying to avoid their parent's on a constant basis serious.
Sexual abuse is really the culmination of emotional psychological abuse coupled with a physical act. while any abuse can b terribly harmful. sexual abuse is the most heinous in my eyes. The following excerpt is a very good overview of signs and symptoms of sexual abuse.
Jerry Sandunsky"s victims have had their day in court. The man that stole their childhood is behind bars and will never come out. Not breathing anyway. Now they will have the opportunity to sue for punitive damages due them, and once again have to endure the gauntlet of speculation and examination that comes with web of the judicial system. Make no mistake, this story is not going away for a while yet to come.
With the spotlight cast on coaches who abuse their players, I've dug for any info that's been collected on the warning signs of coach-based abuse. There are basically 3 categories of abuse children face. Physical, emotional. and sexual.
Physical abuse SHOULD be the easiest to identify Physical abuse is most often accompanied with visual injuries on the victim. Bruising and cuts can of course be the result of typical accidents children encounter while growing accustomed to their ever changing bodies. However, when a child has repeated similar injuries, as if there is a pattern emerging, it should be looked into to. A reasonable, thoughtful adult, should be able to tell the difference between incidental injuries, and purposeful malicious injuries.
Emotional abuse is by it's nature harder to identify. There are not physical signs to point the way. A familiarity with the child's normal behavior is required. If the child suddenly becomes withdrawn or their is changes in school performance these can be indicator's of a problem. Sometimes victim's of abuse will become overly worried, constantly looking for some bad thing to happen. Another sign of possible abuse can be if a child shows up to activities early, stays late, and generally doesn't want to go home. Take any attempt by a child trying to avoid their parent's on a constant basis serious.
Sexual abuse is really the culmination of emotional psychological abuse coupled with a physical act. while any abuse can b terribly harmful. sexual abuse is the most heinous in my eyes. The following excerpt is a very good overview of signs and symptoms of sexual abuse.
- Social or geographic isolation of family (incest)
- Daughter/mother role-reversal (incest)
- Father doting/lavishing gifts on select child (incest)
- Children forced into parental roles (incest)
- Sexually-transmitted disease
- Unexplained pregnancies
- Bruising/bleeding in rectal, thigh, and/or genital areas
- Complaints of stomach and abdominal pain
- Evidence of regressive bedwetting, incontinence, etc
- Recurrent urinary tract infections
- Yeast infections
- Drastic weight loss/gain
- Evidence of purging food
- Foul oders emanating from genitalia
- Vaginal or penile discharge
- Lubricant residue
- Persistent sore throat
- Radical change of appearance
- Signs of exhaustion/lack of sleep
- Possession of unexplained gifts or money
- Signs of intoxication after spending time w/adult or older adolescent
Possible Behaviorial Signs of Sexual Abuse
- Sexually-precocious or attempts to mask seductive behavior
- Hides secondary sexual characteristics
- Attempts to be unattractive
- Abnormal sexual knowledge
- Radical mood swings
- Sense of danger where he/she lives
- Change in eating habits (bulimia, anorexia, or compulsive eating)
- Inappropriately seductive
- Apparent boredom w/age peers and age appropriate activities
- Nightmares, insomnia, sleepwalking and other sleep disturbances
- Radical change in school performance for better or worse
- Fearful about certain people
- Over achievement
- Depression, crying episodes, etc.
- Substance abuse/addiction
- Expression of "damaged goods" syndrome
- Angry, hostile or aggressive behavior
- Fear of adult or adolescent
- Fear of being photographed
- Anxiety reaction to authority figures
- Fear of undressing or refusal to undress in gym class
- Pseudo-mature/overly-compliant or accommodating
- Regressive, babyish behavior
- Intense efforts to gain attention/affection from adults
- Spending inordinate amounts of time in game rooms, arcades. etc
- Recruiting other children to become involved with an adult
- Suicidal thinking, gestures, and attempts
- Hints regarding sexual behavior
- Fear of nurturing/withdrawal/impaired ability to trust
- Self-mutalative behavior
- Find reasons to not go home (helping teachers, etc.)
- Neurological and verbal expressive delays
- Killing/torturing domestic animals
- Self-hatred
- Memory loss
- Runaway
- Fear of the dark
- Find reasons to not be with someone they used to spend time with (or any change of behavior toward a friend or family member)
- Unable to concentrate, daydreaming, 'spacing out', 'in a world of their own'
- Withdrawn, isolated, or excessively worried
- Excessive or early masterbation
- Starts sucking thumb or fingers (toddlers and young children) I know this one, because that's what I started doing when my father started abusing me. My mom couldn't figure out why I suddenly started sucking my thumb as a toddler. I still haven't stopped. It's my security blanket, it relaxes me. - D
- Becomes a perpetrator, targeting a child, sibling, or friend
- Fear of parent leaving her. (My daughter begged me not to go, even when her dad was here at home.) -D
- Inappropriate kissing in young children. (When kissing my children goodnight, the kiss from them was prolonged and seemed passionate.) -D
- Nervous or fearful around adults, in particular, men. -D
- Not wanting someone, including a parent, to change his/her diaper or give him/her a bath. -D
- Imaginary friend(s) -D
- The one major sign of sexual abuse we've encountered is bowel movement accidents in older toilet trained children."
Monday, June 18, 2012
Child Rape and Sports: Sandunsky Trial Should raise awareness for Parent's
My memories of playing sports as a child are some of my happiest. Sports was an outlet where it didn't matter how much money your family had, or didn't have. It didn't matter whether you were, "cool," or a,"dork." Honestly, I was a pretty screwed up kid as far as social interaction went but, I could play any sport with a fair amount of success and that served as my outlet for acceptance among my peers. I often daydream, and litterally night dream of my time playing ice hockey. There was no more of a freeing feeling than gliding across a clean sheet of ice. For some however, thier youth sports experinces are a nightmare they don't ever want to re-live.
The Sandunsky scandal that has rocked the Penn State athletic communtity is becoming a tiresome repeated news blib. Much like the Cathloic church scandals that brought light to the prevalant abuse by preists on thier alter boys, the Sandunsky trial should send a rippling wave across this country to bring more oversight on those we entrust with our children.
Why does this story happen over and over? Adults who gain a position of authority over a child, and then that position to fullfill thier sexual appetites. Sex, is of course the mechanism by which our species survives. In is't propper context it is a spirtual connecting of two people that serves to procreate mankind. In this twisted time of Mtv and Sex and the city, our society is bombarded with media that uses certain basic themes to push consumerism. One of the most prevalant is the use of, "fear and cosnumption." The basic strategey is simply to make you afraid of some stimuli, i.e. Arab terrorist, and sale you something that will keep you safe from that stimuli,i.e gas masks, bomb shelters, whatever. The driving force I believe is twisting and perverting peoples natural instincts for the objects of their sexual gratification, is the media's use of youth, sex, and cosumption.
Face it, everyday you are sent millions of images that glorify the young. Our T.V. shows like Jersey shore, turn young, sexually immoral, or liberated, depending on your point of view, normal people into icons to be followed. I don't know about you, but I don't want my daughter acting anything like Snooki! Outlandish sexual behavior is rewarded with money and fame. If MTV did a show following young men in Parachoial school I bet the ratings wouldn't fair very well
My point is this. All of this attention on youth, sex, and money has helped to foster an epidemic of adults with a mal-adaptive sense of sexual behavior. Instead of seeking out age appropriate partners, they fantisise about relationships with inappropriate partners. Dateline NBC has made a living off of exploiting men who wander the internet looking for young girls. We as conscienence parents need to wake up and look long and hard at those we trust our children with.
That being said, what drives a person to pursue a positon of authority over our children? Teachers, Coaches, and Couslelors are given almost complete access and trust to kids. Some, hopefully the vast majority, our guided by a desire to help kids reach thier fullest potential. The reality however, is thier probably there for a pay-check. There lies a dangerous situation waiting to happen. When a person charged with the care of our children really doesn't care, the opprotunity for abuse is high.
What signs, if any, are there to spot a potential pettifile among athletic coaches? The scary fact is there is no preset outward signals to tell. The best that can be said at the moment is to trust your natural intution, and trust no one else. never allow a coach to be the only adult with either a group, or especially one on one. some parents might say this un-realistic. They simply don't have the time to be at every practice or game. Fair enough. A simple soloution to this would be a parents association that coordinates so as to make sure thier is always another adult present. Trust no one. Just because a coach might have a child on the team thierselve's dosen't mean thier above suspcision.
To be continued.....How to spot signs of abuse.
The Sandunsky scandal that has rocked the Penn State athletic communtity is becoming a tiresome repeated news blib. Much like the Cathloic church scandals that brought light to the prevalant abuse by preists on thier alter boys, the Sandunsky trial should send a rippling wave across this country to bring more oversight on those we entrust with our children.
Why does this story happen over and over? Adults who gain a position of authority over a child, and then that position to fullfill thier sexual appetites. Sex, is of course the mechanism by which our species survives. In is't propper context it is a spirtual connecting of two people that serves to procreate mankind. In this twisted time of Mtv and Sex and the city, our society is bombarded with media that uses certain basic themes to push consumerism. One of the most prevalant is the use of, "fear and cosnumption." The basic strategey is simply to make you afraid of some stimuli, i.e. Arab terrorist, and sale you something that will keep you safe from that stimuli,i.e gas masks, bomb shelters, whatever. The driving force I believe is twisting and perverting peoples natural instincts for the objects of their sexual gratification, is the media's use of youth, sex, and cosumption.
Face it, everyday you are sent millions of images that glorify the young. Our T.V. shows like Jersey shore, turn young, sexually immoral, or liberated, depending on your point of view, normal people into icons to be followed. I don't know about you, but I don't want my daughter acting anything like Snooki! Outlandish sexual behavior is rewarded with money and fame. If MTV did a show following young men in Parachoial school I bet the ratings wouldn't fair very well
My point is this. All of this attention on youth, sex, and money has helped to foster an epidemic of adults with a mal-adaptive sense of sexual behavior. Instead of seeking out age appropriate partners, they fantisise about relationships with inappropriate partners. Dateline NBC has made a living off of exploiting men who wander the internet looking for young girls. We as conscienence parents need to wake up and look long and hard at those we trust our children with.
That being said, what drives a person to pursue a positon of authority over our children? Teachers, Coaches, and Couslelors are given almost complete access and trust to kids. Some, hopefully the vast majority, our guided by a desire to help kids reach thier fullest potential. The reality however, is thier probably there for a pay-check. There lies a dangerous situation waiting to happen. When a person charged with the care of our children really doesn't care, the opprotunity for abuse is high.
What signs, if any, are there to spot a potential pettifile among athletic coaches? The scary fact is there is no preset outward signals to tell. The best that can be said at the moment is to trust your natural intution, and trust no one else. never allow a coach to be the only adult with either a group, or especially one on one. some parents might say this un-realistic. They simply don't have the time to be at every practice or game. Fair enough. A simple soloution to this would be a parents association that coordinates so as to make sure thier is always another adult present. Trust no one. Just because a coach might have a child on the team thierselve's dosen't mean thier above suspcision.
To be continued.....How to spot signs of abuse.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Tiger and a Highschool Sophmore Headline Early at U.S. Open
I really don't do Golf.Really I don't. I was bit with the Golf bug when I was 15.I found the cure to be just go try it once. I spent most of the day chasing my ball in the woods, and since my partner and I weren't 16 yet the club wouldn't let us use a cart. Lugging those clubs 18 holes in 90 degree heat and 100 percent humidity, and that was a rap. As I've gotten older the occasional twitch to go give it a try again has come up but not enough that I've actually done it. For millions Golf is their passion wich they follow religously. In the popular conscience of American golf Tiger was the second coming of Jack Nicholas, that was until he refused to give a mistress a 400 dollar loan and she blew his wholesome apple pie image. Since the downslide began with his image, the car incident, the caddie incident, the losing, Tiger hasn't come close to level of competition his early carrer showed. However, Through the first 2 days at the Open he is back at the top of the leaderboard in a major for the first time since 2008.
Tiger is a prime example of how the media giveth and the media taketh away. When Tiger first stepped onto the scene of professional golf he took the world by storm. It wasn't that he was the Jackie Rodinson of golf, but he was the Jim Brown. Dominant. Woods rolled up victories and major titles at warp speed and looked as if he wood shatter every record ever recorded in the game. From 1997 to 2008 he racked up 14 majors to go along with his 73 tour victories. When Tiger's private life become public domain, and his skeletons tossed under the bus for the public to devour, the wins stopped. It's been a long time coming, but the second wind of Tiger's career maybe beggining to rear it's head. Tiger is only 36 years old. In the Golf world this is prime time for a carrer. If Tiger can finally shake the mental stumbling blocks that have been hurting him, he could very well be back on the path to unseating all those records Nicholas owns, as we assumed he would have shreeded long ago
Highscool Sophmore Beau Hossler lead the U.S. Open briefly, but hey, even if it was only 2 holes it was a hell of story. In a field of perrinal champions and seasoned vets, Hossler shot a -2 through 7 holes. The water levled out however, and he finished at +3 tied for 9th place. Still, ther's a lot of guy's who would like to be tied for 9th at the U.S. Open. I can only hope between Tiger and Hossler the magic is back at the Open and we'll have a very intuging Sunday for the final round.
Tiger is a prime example of how the media giveth and the media taketh away. When Tiger first stepped onto the scene of professional golf he took the world by storm. It wasn't that he was the Jackie Rodinson of golf, but he was the Jim Brown. Dominant. Woods rolled up victories and major titles at warp speed and looked as if he wood shatter every record ever recorded in the game. From 1997 to 2008 he racked up 14 majors to go along with his 73 tour victories. When Tiger's private life become public domain, and his skeletons tossed under the bus for the public to devour, the wins stopped. It's been a long time coming, but the second wind of Tiger's career maybe beggining to rear it's head. Tiger is only 36 years old. In the Golf world this is prime time for a carrer. If Tiger can finally shake the mental stumbling blocks that have been hurting him, he could very well be back on the path to unseating all those records Nicholas owns, as we assumed he would have shreeded long ago
Highscool Sophmore Beau Hossler lead the U.S. Open briefly, but hey, even if it was only 2 holes it was a hell of story. In a field of perrinal champions and seasoned vets, Hossler shot a -2 through 7 holes. The water levled out however, and he finished at +3 tied for 9th place. Still, ther's a lot of guy's who would like to be tied for 9th at the U.S. Open. I can only hope between Tiger and Hossler the magic is back at the Open and we'll have a very intuging Sunday for the final round.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
LeBron's Destiney: Trancendance or Sports Damnation
With the N.H.L finals decided, The L.A. King's having captured their first title. (Yes, Lord Stanley's home for the next year is in a city where the average tempature is 70 degrees. I'll save my rant against the near-sighted expansion of the N.H.L into the sun belt for later.) I am looking forward into the N.B.A finals, which for the second straight year will divide the sports world into 2 groups. Those who are fan's of the Miami Heat and those who hate LeBron James. The later being the majority in this country.
Their are few personalities in all of sport who are as polarizing as LeBron. One the Surface he is one of the most physically gifted human beings to walk on a basketball court. He stands an intimidating 6ft 8in and wieghs in at 250lbs. On top of the advantage his size gives him he is very talented, very. Pro scouts were so smittin with him he was drafted directly out highschool and crowned, "the next Michael Jordan," before he ever took a shot. Nike threw him 80 million and his own shoe line and he hadn't even been through a single practice yet! With fame, adoration, and money comes dissent, jealousy, and a contingent that loves to watch you fail. Not that anyone could characterise LeBron's career as failure. He is a 3x MVP, a 2x scoring champ, 8x all-star, ect. He owns 0 NBA championships. In fairness LeBron isn't that far off of the Mark. In his 9 NBA seasons his team has made it to the finals 3 different times. It even took M.J 7 seasons to deliver Chicago the goods. The point is LeBron has failed to get it done. To serve as my playoff prediction, and since I never published this article on the WVSI, I'm going to share the article I wrote when LJ left Cleavland.
The spectacle and debacle that was LeBron's decision to leave Cleavland made him the most hated man in sports. There's just a sense of, "hey that's not fair!" Having 3 super-star players on one team where it's 5 on 5 play seems like a mafia style rig job. However, the gauntlet of the playoffs was too much last year and I can only hope it is this years as well. If sports has taught me anything, it's the premise that we all play every part in the play at some point. Hero, villian, goat, MVP, Bill Buckner, we do it all. Can LeBron somehoe trancend from evil quitter into traiumphant hero? I don't know. As of right now today I'm rooting for Oklahoma City.(really, they have a team now?) By the time the playoffs are over will LeBron have been able won me over? The finals will be fun, that I do know
originally published on DMG Dec. 2010
Their are few personalities in all of sport who are as polarizing as LeBron. One the Surface he is one of the most physically gifted human beings to walk on a basketball court. He stands an intimidating 6ft 8in and wieghs in at 250lbs. On top of the advantage his size gives him he is very talented, very. Pro scouts were so smittin with him he was drafted directly out highschool and crowned, "the next Michael Jordan," before he ever took a shot. Nike threw him 80 million and his own shoe line and he hadn't even been through a single practice yet! With fame, adoration, and money comes dissent, jealousy, and a contingent that loves to watch you fail. Not that anyone could characterise LeBron's career as failure. He is a 3x MVP, a 2x scoring champ, 8x all-star, ect. He owns 0 NBA championships. In fairness LeBron isn't that far off of the Mark. In his 9 NBA seasons his team has made it to the finals 3 different times. It even took M.J 7 seasons to deliver Chicago the goods. The point is LeBron has failed to get it done. To serve as my playoff prediction, and since I never published this article on the WVSI, I'm going to share the article I wrote when LJ left Cleavland.
The spectacle and debacle that was LeBron's decision to leave Cleavland made him the most hated man in sports. There's just a sense of, "hey that's not fair!" Having 3 super-star players on one team where it's 5 on 5 play seems like a mafia style rig job. However, the gauntlet of the playoffs was too much last year and I can only hope it is this years as well. If sports has taught me anything, it's the premise that we all play every part in the play at some point. Hero, villian, goat, MVP, Bill Buckner, we do it all. Can LeBron somehoe trancend from evil quitter into traiumphant hero? I don't know. As of right now today I'm rooting for Oklahoma City.(really, they have a team now?) By the time the playoffs are over will LeBron have been able won me over? The finals will be fun, that I do know
originally published on DMG Dec. 2010
King Quitter
Yes Virginia, Lebron Jame is a quitter. No matter what happens in Miami, King James will forever in my book be a selfish crybaby whose only loyalty is to the all mighty dollar and his own ego. The soap opera that was the Lebron James lottery had only maybe a winner and one undeserving loser. Miami has itself a traveling circus next season which will draw the crowds down from the mountains wherever it goes, but do not forget that if James, Bosch, and Wade fail to produce anything but a championship the season will be a failure! And Cleavland, what can I say Cleavland? I feel your pain. The city and team dumped HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS into this punk kid, and what did they get? That's right, thanks for for the money, women and booze, I'm going to the beach bitches! I can only tell you that this whole scenario reminds of a scene in the movie "Younguns", When Emilio Esteve's Character looks at Lou Diamond Phillips after the death of their employer and states, "You have no code Navajo, no loyalty". Lebron insists That he only wants, "The best chance at a championship", that deserting Cleavland after 7 years was the right move for all involved. Two words I have for you King Quitter, Bull Shit! King Quitter I thought I would Illustrate mypoint by showing you some the few who did right by their teams and now have something that money can not buy and I hope you will never have, glory.
Case number 1: John Elway. John Elway came to Denver Broncos in 1983 with as high of expectations as any team could place on a rookie. Though Elway was a perennial all-star, most of his career was spent on teams of mediocracy. Now yes, there was the 1986 Super bowl team that lost, and several AFC championships through the years, but for the most part Elway was a grinder who could have abandoned his team and city many times for greener pastures and did not. In the end Elway and his teammates achieved sports immortality in 1997-98, and 98-99 seasons by capturing the Super Bowl. You want to hear about glory Lebron Here it is.
John Elway: 2X Superbowl Champion
4X MVP
9X All-Star
15 Year career. 1 team
Case number 2: Mario Lemieux. Mario Lemieux came the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984. At the ripe old age of 17 he was the most dominant player in the Quebec Junior major league and was drafted number 1 over all. Through his fist six years in Pittsburgh the Penguins were mediocre at best and sometimes down right pathetic. Lemieux, grateful for the chance the team had given him, chose to tough it out and found his reward in 1991. He captained the team to back to back Stanley cup championships in 91-92 and 92-93. Now as a team owner he has had his named etched on the cup for yet a third time. Glory Lebron, Glory.
Mario Lemieux: 3X Stanley Cup champion(2x player, 1x owner)
1X Olympic Gold medalist
1X Canada Cup champion
2X MVP
10X All-star
22 year career. 1 team
Case number 3: Michael Jordan. What more is there to say? This is the man responsible for the modern NBA as we know it. He may very well be the most recognisable person on the planet. Hell with Obama, M.J. Could very well be voted first black emperor of the galactic empire in Star Wars! Sure in hindsight it seems like it was all rainbows and lolly pops for Michael but this to is not so. M.J.'s early years with the bulls were marked with early exits from the playoffs and hard beats from the Pistons. It was only after battling for 7 years that he won his first championship. I could go on for eons about how Lebron will never come to close Jordan's glory on the court but I'll let the stats speak for themselves.
Michael Jordan: 6X NBA champion
1982 NCAA champion
2X Gold medalist
5X MVP
14X All-Star
14 year career. 1 team (Yes, Jordan gave it a go as part owner player with the Washington Wizards but we'll forgive him that. The point I am tyring to make is still illustrated by his determination and loyalty to Chicago).
What can I say King Quitter? I hope you get attacked by a shark in Miami! The way you slapped Cleavland in the face I hope you blow out your knees before your first practice and have to use a walker by the time your thirty. Would you even care? I mean let's face it you already have more money than most neighborhoods of hard working people would collectively see in a lifetime. By the way, don't think I don't see the big picture on the jersey sells too. Switching teams and numbers will be a huge boost to your jersey sells and your ego. I have to mentioned I loved when you announced that you were dropping number 23 because you felt no one should ever wear it again and Michael didn't even acknowledge your existence, that was great!
You know I'm tired of feeding your ego by talking about you. This is it, from this day forward I am off the train of misery that is caring two shits what you do. Come next season I will be rooting for Rondelle, Garnett, and the Celtics to keep you from ever leaving the Eastern conference finals. One other note. The Heat have essentially already been handed the 2011 championship in the minds of fans. In a sense that means the Heat will be the biggest target in the league. Every night, every city, and every team you play is going to be playing their NBA finals against you. It is going to be a gauntlet that will not stop. Can the Heat stay injury free and still have enough gas left in the tank for the playoffs? We'll see King Quitter. We will see.
Lebron James: 1X Rookie of the year.
2X MVP
6X All-Star
0 NBA Championships. Leaves Cleavland. Stats with Miami.. To be seen
Case number 1: John Elway. John Elway came to Denver Broncos in 1983 with as high of expectations as any team could place on a rookie. Though Elway was a perennial all-star, most of his career was spent on teams of mediocracy. Now yes, there was the 1986 Super bowl team that lost, and several AFC championships through the years, but for the most part Elway was a grinder who could have abandoned his team and city many times for greener pastures and did not. In the end Elway and his teammates achieved sports immortality in 1997-98, and 98-99 seasons by capturing the Super Bowl. You want to hear about glory Lebron Here it is.
John Elway: 2X Superbowl Champion
4X MVP
9X All-Star
15 Year career. 1 team
Case number 2: Mario Lemieux. Mario Lemieux came the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984. At the ripe old age of 17 he was the most dominant player in the Quebec Junior major league and was drafted number 1 over all. Through his fist six years in Pittsburgh the Penguins were mediocre at best and sometimes down right pathetic. Lemieux, grateful for the chance the team had given him, chose to tough it out and found his reward in 1991. He captained the team to back to back Stanley cup championships in 91-92 and 92-93. Now as a team owner he has had his named etched on the cup for yet a third time. Glory Lebron, Glory.
Mario Lemieux: 3X Stanley Cup champion(2x player, 1x owner)
1X Olympic Gold medalist
1X Canada Cup champion
2X MVP
10X All-star
22 year career. 1 team
Case number 3: Michael Jordan. What more is there to say? This is the man responsible for the modern NBA as we know it. He may very well be the most recognisable person on the planet. Hell with Obama, M.J. Could very well be voted first black emperor of the galactic empire in Star Wars! Sure in hindsight it seems like it was all rainbows and lolly pops for Michael but this to is not so. M.J.'s early years with the bulls were marked with early exits from the playoffs and hard beats from the Pistons. It was only after battling for 7 years that he won his first championship. I could go on for eons about how Lebron will never come to close Jordan's glory on the court but I'll let the stats speak for themselves.
Michael Jordan: 6X NBA champion
1982 NCAA champion
2X Gold medalist
5X MVP
14X All-Star
14 year career. 1 team (Yes, Jordan gave it a go as part owner player with the Washington Wizards but we'll forgive him that. The point I am tyring to make is still illustrated by his determination and loyalty to Chicago).
What can I say King Quitter? I hope you get attacked by a shark in Miami! The way you slapped Cleavland in the face I hope you blow out your knees before your first practice and have to use a walker by the time your thirty. Would you even care? I mean let's face it you already have more money than most neighborhoods of hard working people would collectively see in a lifetime. By the way, don't think I don't see the big picture on the jersey sells too. Switching teams and numbers will be a huge boost to your jersey sells and your ego. I have to mentioned I loved when you announced that you were dropping number 23 because you felt no one should ever wear it again and Michael didn't even acknowledge your existence, that was great!
You know I'm tired of feeding your ego by talking about you. This is it, from this day forward I am off the train of misery that is caring two shits what you do. Come next season I will be rooting for Rondelle, Garnett, and the Celtics to keep you from ever leaving the Eastern conference finals. One other note. The Heat have essentially already been handed the 2011 championship in the minds of fans. In a sense that means the Heat will be the biggest target in the league. Every night, every city, and every team you play is going to be playing their NBA finals against you. It is going to be a gauntlet that will not stop. Can the Heat stay injury free and still have enough gas left in the tank for the playoffs? We'll see King Quitter. We will see.
Lebron James: 1X Rookie of the year.
2X MVP
6X All-Star
0 NBA Championships. Leaves Cleavland. Stats with Miami.. To be seen
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Unavoididly Detained: Stanley Part II
Well, Damn. I certainley didn't plan on taking a week to follow up the Stanley piece, but forces beyond my control i was proven rather powerless once again.
The stories in the, "wierd ," pile of Stanley are too many to list. Let's just say when you give an ice hockey player 24 hours to do whatever he wants with the sports greatest trophy it gets wild. One ammendmant to my my prior story, While researching I found out that teams engraved on the cup are confined to the last 64 years. Instead of adding another ring to the base of the cup, they are infact replaced with a fresh ring and the latter retired to ice hockey hall of fame. Makes sense. I always wondered how they planned on handling the cup if it grew to 7 feet tall.
One thing I think is overlooked far too often is the fact that the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy in all of professional sports to win. The N.H.L is the only sport where you must survive 4 rounds of best of a 7 playoff series. That's a possible 28 games a team could play to claim the cup. In contrast the N.F.L requires a maximum of 4 wins and you can get a 1st round buy that would drop that to 3. While the physics and dynamics surrounding the sports make them very different, I don't think you'll find many people who would argue that hockey is easier on the body than football.
The N.H.L symphony builds to it's crescendo and all out here in the audience hold our collective breath's waiting for a champion to emrege. Even now in June, we the die hard hockey fan, dream of clean sheets of ice. Empty ice rinks at 5 a.m., dressing in a locker room where temp never reaches above 10 degrees. Though some of us have had are better day's pass by, we still look to Cup as a somehow attainable prize of immortallity. Though my name will never grace the base of Lord Stanley, seeing Mario's, Evengini's, Coffee's, Crosby ect.. still brings us in contact with timeless-ness of competition for hocke's greatest prise
The stories in the, "wierd ," pile of Stanley are too many to list. Let's just say when you give an ice hockey player 24 hours to do whatever he wants with the sports greatest trophy it gets wild. One ammendmant to my my prior story, While researching I found out that teams engraved on the cup are confined to the last 64 years. Instead of adding another ring to the base of the cup, they are infact replaced with a fresh ring and the latter retired to ice hockey hall of fame. Makes sense. I always wondered how they planned on handling the cup if it grew to 7 feet tall.
One thing I think is overlooked far too often is the fact that the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy in all of professional sports to win. The N.H.L is the only sport where you must survive 4 rounds of best of a 7 playoff series. That's a possible 28 games a team could play to claim the cup. In contrast the N.F.L requires a maximum of 4 wins and you can get a 1st round buy that would drop that to 3. While the physics and dynamics surrounding the sports make them very different, I don't think you'll find many people who would argue that hockey is easier on the body than football.
The N.H.L symphony builds to it's crescendo and all out here in the audience hold our collective breath's waiting for a champion to emrege. Even now in June, we the die hard hockey fan, dream of clean sheets of ice. Empty ice rinks at 5 a.m., dressing in a locker room where temp never reaches above 10 degrees. Though some of us have had are better day's pass by, we still look to Cup as a somehow attainable prize of immortallity. Though my name will never grace the base of Lord Stanley, seeing Mario's, Evengini's, Coffee's, Crosby ect.. still brings us in contact with timeless-ness of competition for hocke's greatest prise
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Lord Stanley's Lore Lives On.
While I am preparing a piece on the Kontential Hockey League, a league I truly feel could develop enough of an audience to rival the N.H.L, I thought it timley to pass on the story of the Stanley Cup. The Stanley Cup is of course known as the championship trophy trophy awarded to playoff winner in the N.H.L. The cup's history and origins are not as widley known, nor the challenges and nuancies that make it the toughest trophy in all of professional sports to claim.
Lord Stanley of Preston was the general Govenor of Canada. Lord Stanley had two sons who were involved in some of the first attempts to organise ice hockey in Canada. Being the good dad he was he donated the Cup citing the following.
Many people describe winning the Stanley Cup as somewhat of a religious experience, so it wasn’t too surprising when Sylvain Lefebrve had his first child, Jade-Isis, baptized in the trophy. Ten years later, Andrew Hutchison of the Carolina Hurricanes wanted to do the same with his baby Cole, but the plane carrying the Cup was delayed, and the baptism went on without Lord Stanley’s hardware.Doug Weight filled the Cup “with gallons of ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallows, M&M's and chocolate chips decorating St. Louis's largest ice cream sundae To be continued.......................
Lord Stanley of Preston was the general Govenor of Canada. Lord Stanley had two sons who were involved in some of the first attempts to organise ice hockey in Canada. Being the good dad he was he donated the Cup citing the following.
I have for some time been thinking that it would be a good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion (of Canada). There does not appear to be any such outward sign of a championship at present, and considering the general interest which matches now elicit, and the importance of having the game played fairly and under rules generally recognized, I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by the winning team. I am not quite certain that the present regulations governing the arrangement of matches give entire satisfaction, and it would be worth considering whether they could not be arranged so that each team would play once at home and once at the place where their opponents hail from.In an attempt for the Cup challenfe to be fair he set forth the folloing rules.
The first cup winners were the Montreal Hockey Club. Appropriate since Montreal has claimed the cup more times than any other city. In fact the city has a club hoist the cup 49 times since it's inception. TheStanley Cup more than any other trophy serves as true link to the past because the names of every player, coach, and important club stafferes, are forever engraved upon it's base. The Cup is ever growing as the spots fill up another ring is simply added to the base to provide more space. The Cup is a constant vagabond taking up residence in the home city of each years winners. The winning club gives evry player an alloted time to take the trophy home and do with it what they will. There are countless stories of the cup taking adventures in players pools, hotubs, bars, you name it, some player has prbably done it.
- The winners shall return the Cup in good order when required by the trustees so that it may be handed over to any other team which may win it.
- Each winning team, at its own expense, may have the club name and year engraved on a silver ring fitted on the Cup.
- The Cup shall remain a challenge cup, and should not become the property of one team, even if won more than once.
- The trustees shall maintain absolute authority in all situations or disputes over the winner of the Cup.
- If one of the existing trustees resigns or drops out, the remaining trustee shall nominate a substitute.
Many people describe winning the Stanley Cup as somewhat of a religious experience, so it wasn’t too surprising when Sylvain Lefebrve had his first child, Jade-Isis, baptized in the trophy. Ten years later, Andrew Hutchison of the Carolina Hurricanes wanted to do the same with his baby Cole, but the plane carrying the Cup was delayed, and the baptism went on without Lord Stanley’s hardware.Doug Weight filled the Cup “with gallons of ice cream, chocolate sauce, marshmallows, M&M's and chocolate chips decorating St. Louis's largest ice cream sundae To be continued.......................
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