Is this Really a Sport?
Over the last couple of weeks, we've been subjected to a competitive eating coverage on ESPN. I finally decided that this morning was the last straw, when people like Dick Vitale starting throwing in their two cents. At first I thought the whole bit was tongue in cheek, but they never really made it clear if the whole piece was supposed to be funny. At any rate, why is this crap even on Sportscenter to begin with? Even if it's on ESPN, it's not a sport. I've actually heard these guys referred to as "athletes" before. Are you kidding me? Have you actually SEEN a picture of Badlands Booker, or some of these other clowns. If you're over 400 lbs and not playing in the NFL, then you're not an athlete. I don't care what your talent is. Same thing goes for Poker.
Anyway, apparently Takeru Kobiyashi is not going to appear in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest on the 4th of July, paving the way for Joey Chestnut (more on this in a second) to take the title this year. Apparently Kobiyashi has a sore jaw and won't be able to compete. Basically Kobiyashi kills everyone in this contest every year. He's like the Babe Ruth of competitive eating.
Joey Chestnut cracks me up on a number of levels. First of all, his name is Joey freaking Chestnut. Isn't this name already taken by someone in the adult film industry? Wouldn't Ron Jeremy have been more successful if his name was Joey Chestnut? Also, I saw JC put down a ton of hot dogs last year, and he nearly beat Kobiyashi. You should see the way he eats. His whole body rocks back and forth, much like Leo Mazzone, formerly the pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves. But I digress. I can't devote any more time to this. But you can bet on my watching this contest on the 4th of July. I'm a loser.
I'm a Little Kid
NCAA Football 2008 comes out in a few weeks, and I am totally geeked. I look forward to the release of this game every year. I even have a $30 Target gift card burning a hole in my pocket for this. I figure it's ok for me to drop $30 on a game I don't need, but $60 is just too much. This year's list of enhancements includes a better frame rate, enhanced dynasty mode, and an all new player motivation system. Basically if you have a leader type guy on the team, he can influence the play of his teammates. They have (thankfully) ditched the momentum system that was used last year. Having team momentum led to one team getting annihilated every time. You could run for 6-7 yards a pop right down the field with no problem. I hated it. I feel like I'm 12 for writing a paragraph on this. I think I just need to move on.
My TV Recommendation
Since summer TV sucks (well, until Big Brother comes back July 5th) I have been basically been stuck without anything to watch recently. I have to recommend The Shield. You should definitely watch the episodes in order, so head down to Blockbuster and pick it up immediately. The show features Vic Mackey, played by the guy who used to be the Commish. He's the leader of a police force strike team in the Los Angeles district of Farmington. The strike team is specifically assigned to combat the gang violence that is overrunning Farmington. Vic basically bends the law to suit his needs, and is constantly going behind his boss's back to get results on the streets. It's a great show, with an enthusiastic "thumbs up" from me. I would recommend catching up on this over the summer. Or watching Hell's Kitchen.
NBA Draft
This is on Thursday night on ESPN. Everyone is talking about how deep the draft is this year, and I guess I agree with that assessment, but let's face it. Everyone KNOWS the players that are in the draft this year. Would you have cared about Greg Oden and Kevin Durant if they had skipped college and headed straight into the draft? No. The age limit is the greatest thing David Stern has ever done for the NBA, because it's also improving the collegiate game at the same time. Even if you want to argue that there's no point for a guy like Oden to stick around for a year of college, for every Oden, there are probably 5 guys who would try to jump straight to the league and end up flopping, a la Sebastian Telfair. What's so bad about forcing someone to play at the collegiate level anyway? Their game gets refined there, and they also have the experience of being in college, which was probably the most fun I ever had in my entire life. And they get to go for free anyway, so it's not like they're really out of any money. If they're concerned about getting injured, take out an insurance policy. Isn't that what LeBron did?
In Bauer We Trust
1 comment:
OK, I'm going to try to reply to all of these.
The eating thing: what a joke. I can't believe this eats up (no pun intended)the time on any channel. I'm a hot dog guy, but that's ridiculous. It does bother me a bit that you do know as much as you do about it though.
The summer TV and video game stuff: You shouldn't watch so much TV and play so many games. You should get out in the yard more. Plant an garden, play a game with your wife. My wife and I have started playing Washers. Great game! Too much TV and games is the downfall of our culture. But that's just my opinion.
The NBA draft: I don't think there's too much in the world that I care LESS about than this. I don't like any of the players or even what the game itself has evolved into. But for the record, I think it should be a prerequisite in every sport that players play 4 years of college bakll. I know I'm in the minority there, but I think it's good for everyone, and that shouldn't exclude student/athletes.
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