Stupid UFC and other weekend news!

I had to deal with more UFC fans this weekend. I do understand the fan base now after watching an exclusive interview with the president of UFC, Dana White, who I immediately thought was a woman. My biggest problem with UFC fans is that they do not understand why I just don't care about the sport. I do have a new favorite way to anger the avid UFC fan and I encourage my readers to give it a shot. You wait until the majority of the fans are rooting for one fighter, then you casually look at the match and make this simple statement, "I think I could take him." What will follow is an eruption of vile anger. You will be called every name in the book and be challenged to a number of fights. Now I do not encourage violence but I do encourage enraging the ignorant populous that is the UFC fan. But enough wasting of your time.

The NBA playoffs are a bit nuts. The Lakers and Nuggets are tied 2-2. Now i am not surprised by this. I think the Nuggets are a really good team. What does surprise about this series is how mentally weak the Lakers team is. They beat the Nuggets on Saturday in Denver then came out last night and got blown out with the Nuggets' star Carmelo Anthony shooting poorly. The Lakers just refuse to close teams out. Michael Wilbon said last night that he doesn't think the Lakers have any killer instinct, which is hard to believe considering they have the greatest closer in the game today in Kobe Bryant. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic are having a hell of a series. The Magic have a chip on their shoulder due to all the press that a possible Kobe verse Lebron finals is getting. The previously unbeatable Cavaliers are getting no help from Lebron's supporting cast. I really think that the Cavs will lose this series if the rest of the guys do not start playing the way they know how!

There were some great stories from this weekend including Helio Castroneves winning the Indy 500 after a six week lay-off. I hope you had the chance to catch at least a little of it over the long weekend. Enjoy getting back to work and live like no one is watching!

Changing the Nation

A little while back I revealed my fan boy status by jumping on the Denver Nuggets bandwagon. I just love this team. For more reasons than just their endorsement from uber-quarterback John Elway. Their starting five is relentless and physical and the bench is energetic led by J.R. Smith and Chris "Birdman" Anderson. Tonight the Nuggets play game one of the western conference finals against the Los Angeles. (Let the boos reign down!)

But a crazy thing has happened since my declaration of love for the Nuggets. the rest of the nation has started to agree with me. In a few polls on random sports sites it looks like the nation is turning on the streaky Lakers. Some polls say that the Nuggets will steal game one tonight others say they might take the whole series. I believe this too. I think that it will come down to bench play and I believe that the Nuggets have the better bench.

The series will come down to a big if, IF the Nuggets can slow Kobe Bryant down, then they can score enough to win. I like the Nuggets for both personal (John Elway) and professional (bench play) reasons. I will be routing hard tonight for them, but not hard enough to wake the baby! I am glad that my humble words have ignited the nation to change! Live like no one is watching and go Nuggets!

Second Chance?

Daniel Hood is a very lucky young man. He has signed a scholarship with the University of Tennessee. Now there is something very shady in his past. When he was thirteen, he was present while his 14 year old cousin was raped. This has started a complete up roar among women's rights organizations as well as victims support groups. Hell it took me a week of fact finding to even decide how I felt about the situation. But I feel that I have educated myself enough to inform you all and give my opinion as I always do.

First the uncomfortable conversation of the crime. At age 13, Hood and a then 17 year old boy named Robert Sanico, tied his 14 year old cousin to a bed and duct taped her eyes and mouth. After that Sanico violated the girl with a foreign object. Hood's role in the crime seems that he stood and watched. Sanico was tried as an adult and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Hood was tried as a minor and found delinquent and sent to a rehabilitation center. While incarcerated there Hood enrolled in a Catholic High School where he was a standout. His team won the state championship and he was named Mr.Football 3A in 2008.

Daniel Hood was recruited by a number of schools that quickly lost interest when they discovered that he was convicted of a violent crime. Hood did have a very interesting advocate, however. The victim of his hideous crime wrote a letter of recommendation to the University of Tennessee. She said in a phone interview in the news that she had believed he had learned and grown as a person and would never do anything like this again. As for Hood he said that he could've have went as far west as possible but he didn't want to run from this.

Now the question is; Does he deserve it? This where I struggled with this story until I read the victim's statement. If she can forgive him and support him, who am I to say he doesn't deserve it. I heard a quote today in the movie Doubt, it was speaking on squelching kindness. It said; "It is an old tactic of cruel people to kill kindness in the sake of virtue." Look I am in no position to cast any stones. I would not want to be held accountable for my sins as a child no matter how big or small. And if the young lady, who is the only person who has any right to oppose or support this, has chosen the latter, I MUST side with her. Live like no one is watching and, although John disagrees, almost everything is relative!

Manny being.....?

Today Manny Ramirez was suspended for violating Major League Baseball's substance abuse policy. He tested positive for a banned substance, not a steroid. The band substance was hCg, which is found in women's fertility drugs. This substance itself is not a performance enhancer, it is a testosterone stabilizer. It is most commonly taken by steroid users to counteract negative side affects . There is however another widely known use for the drug by men but we will get there.

When I thought about steroid users, or "cheaters"as they have been so often branded, I never thought about Manny. Sure he was steadily producing gaudy numbers year after after, but it all seemed so natural to him. He has possibly the best hand-eye coordination i have ever seen and that cannot be enhanced by steroids or HGH. He wears a baggy uniform and didn't seem to be big and bulky. I thought a lot about Manny, he was lazy, unmanageable, and very volatile, but I never thought he was taking steroids. Also in an era where we speculate on every player, Manny stayed out of the conversation. If he was using any type of performance enhancers the game of baseball will be devastated. This era of steroids will now encompass the majority of great players from my adult life. The list includes; Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Petite, Mark Maguire, Sammy Sosa, Rafeal Palmeiro, Jason Giambi, and now possibly Manny Ramirez. Not to mention countless others that I am forgetting. Baseball is heading for a bad crash, now more than ever we can not trust the players who say they are clean.

I am not so quick to label Manny as a cheater though. I am not a cynic like most sports fan, and I basically like Manny. His first statement said that the supplement was doctor supplied for a "personal medical issue". This has some possible merit to it. See hCg is prescribed to men who have impotence issues. Maybe a doctor and Manny made a terrible mistake and missed it on the band substances list. Manny needs the doctor to come forward as well as admit his "issue" publicly. Manny isn't fighting the suspension and even took responsibility for the mistake. Maybe, just maybe, he made an honest mistake trying to combat a problem that a majority of men have, and most of them refuse to admit. Manny has to decide between the Hall of Fame, and his pride. Live like no one and is watching and maybe I am naive.

What a Kid!

I very rarely praise superstars. I spend most of my time condemning the idiots or highlighting guys who do big things in their community. What I have skipped over is a regular guy who just happens to be an NBA megastar. That guy is Lebron James!

Lebron James was immediately set up for failure. He was plastered all over sports magazines as early as seventh grade. When he graduated from high school and declared for the NBA draft he was labeled the savior of basketball. All this pressure on a boy this young could've, and by all accounts should've, broken him. He should have buckled, if not on the court, off of it. We all watched with anticipation for something, a chink in his armor. It never came. That kid is now a 24 year old man. His play on the court is not only consistent but spectacular. Off the court he stays out of trouble. When in interviews he is charming and well spoken, not to mention he is the best dressed player in the NBA.

On Monday went back to his high school to hold a press conference. That press conference was held so that Lebron James could formally accept the MVP trophy he arguably deserved. The Cavaliers, Lebron's team, is undefeated in the playoffs. The road looks clear for Lebron to lead this group of guys all the way to the finals, and maybe just maybe win an NBA championship. The great thing about this story is that the young man we all expected to fail, is now thriving. Live like no one is watching and surpass your expectations!

Nugget!

Sometimes I want to remind all of you that I am still just a regular sports fan. I have a story to tell everyone about watching the NBA playoffs. First I have to admit that I am a Golden State Warriors fan and we never make the playoffs. But I like watching so I usually jump on a bandwagon and go. This year I have chosen to root for the Rockets.

But yesterday I was watching the Nuggets and Mavericks game one and just changed my bandwagon team. I don't really like the Mavericks, mostly because I don't understand how Dirk Nowitzki is seven feet tall and can not playing the post, but I chose to root for them anyway. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere "The Greatest" himself came out of the darkness donning a Chauncey Billups jersey. JOHN ELWAY! He was at the game and he introduced the Nuggets. Are you f'n kidding me! I was pumped. I knew he was involved in the city of Denver and he was a big Nuggets fan, but I never expected to hear his glorious voice yelling on my T.V. yesterday afternoon.

I am now on the Nuggets bandwagon. The Rockets can burn in hell for all I care. I am almost about to go buy a Chauncey Billups jersey, because he is number 7 and that's what John Elway was wearing yesterday! I am a lame excuse for a fan! I might be a Nuggets fan now for the rest of my life! Live like no one is watching and be a fan, for any reason!