by Damian | Jan 19, 2016 | Sports |
I’m a sports fan, but ESPN, the self-anointed”worldwide leader in sports” is a bit much for me to stomach sometimes. They love to create a story where no story exists, just to fill their 24-hour newshole. And they’re big fans of shameless self-promotion, cross-promotion and over-promotion.
Case in point for turning the hype machine volume up to 11 is Ben Simmons, a talented freshman basketball player for LSU. He’s very good, one of the best players in the nation, but if you watch more than an hour of ESPN (hey, I spend a lot of time at the gym and it’s on there) you’ll probably hear his name several times. Today they had a promo (of course) for this evening’s doubleheader of college hoops games. For the nightcap, they showed a photo of Mr. Simmons and said “See Ben Simmons and his LSU Tigers take on Texas A&M.” It’s worth noting that Texas A&M is ranked as the 10th best team in the country right now, whereas LSU is 11-6 and unranked. So why not tout the Aggies team instead of an individual player? Because ESPN is in the business of building idols. Ben Simmons is this year’s “next LeBron”… show more Ben highlights, put him in the daily “Top 10” (which unfailingly celebrates individual accomplishments over team play – the showier the better)… make him more marketable by marketing him 24/7.
That way, when LeBen declares for the NBA draft after a single season at LSU, ESPN will be there with round-the-clock NBA draft prognostications, then draft coverage, then Ben will be on a crappy NBA team that will sometimes be featured on ESPN’s NBA games. They’re investing more airtime in Ben now in hopes that it will pay dividends down the line.
It’s all a bit too much B.S. for me to take.
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by Damian | Dec 26, 2015 | Sports |
My beloved Xavier Musketeers are off to their best start ever (12-0) and have reached their highest ranking ever (#6) in college basketball. And the Washington Post thinks they may be the best team in college hoops this year. As someone who has followed the program since I went to Xavier in the early 1980s, it’s thrilling to see how far the program has come. But what’s really neat to me is that in this “one and done” era when most ballers view their college careers as just a glorified AAU program where they spend an extra year before cashing in as a pro (with Kentucky being the most glaring example of the “rent-a-player” mentality) most Xavier players stick around their entire 4 years. Not only that, but they all get their college degree too – every senior men’s player since 1985 has graduated.
It’s fun to watch them develop as players, too. Seems like every year there’s a senior on the team that really shines after struggling in previous seasons. This year, that player is James Farr. He’s a 6’10” widebody, but his freshman and sophomore years he was perfectly happy jacking up three-pointers instead of banging in the post. This year he’s an inside force, corralling nearly every rebound in his area code and showing a deft scoring touch down low. Through 12 games, he averaging 10 points and nearly 9 rebounds per game while averaging only 20 minutes of playing time off the bench.
I could name several other Xavier players who have blossomed in their final season… Jason Love, Stanley Burrell, BJ Raymond, etc. Kentucky Wildcat fans can keep their 5-star recruits who leave before you really get to know them. I’ll take the blue-collar workers any day.
Odds are good that James Farr will not make the NBA. But his four years on campus likely have made him not just a better basketball player, but a better person. Smarter. More resilient. More determined. With a better appreciation of teamwork and selflessness. Those skills will last a lifetime.
Xavier’s lofty perch in the rankings may be short-lived – their Big East opener is a road game at #17 Villanova on New Year’s Eve, then they play #9 Butler at home three days later. But here’s hoping they are still a force to be reckoned with come March, and James Farr keeps on smiling. Let’s Go X!
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by Damian | Oct 7, 2015 | Pop Culture, Sports |
Here’s a commercial for overpriced headphones featuring tennis superstar Serena Williams. It ran prior to the U.S. Open and the tennis footage is from NYC, but the running scenes were shot in Cincinnati.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3DpBq9Y4F0
Here’s Serena running in Eden Park, one of the many free city parks that have earned Cincinnati kudos from outdoor buffs and penny-pinchers alike.
Here she’s on the steps that lead to Holy Cross/Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams (photo is fuzzy because the video is fuzzy at that point). Every Good Friday, thousands gather here to ‘pray the steps‘ – a tradition for more than 150 years.
And finally she reaches the summit, with a great view of the downtown Cincinnati skyline.
Nice workout, Serena. Now for a similar view and a refreshing adult beverage, try the patio at City View Tavern.
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by Damian | Sep 19, 2015 | Sports |
The autumn wind is a pirate… but now my favorite NFL team really blows.
I grew up in Arkansas (don’t judge) so there was no geographic allegiance to any particular team. I gravitated to the Oakland Raiders, who were rebels, renegades, outlaws… and a darn good team back then too. It was the era of Madden, Stabler, Hubbard, Biletnikoff and Branch, Hendricks, Shell and Upshaw, Tatum and Atkinson, Hayes and Haynes. “A Commitment to Excellence” and “just win, baby.” But the past decade or so – ever since Jon Gruden ditched us for Tampa Bay – has been abysmal (and that’s putting it mildly). The Raiders made horrible draft choices (Hello JaMarcus!) and overpaid for fading stars (Javon Walker ring a bell? Didn’t think so.) or one-hit wonders (LaMont Jordan, anyone?)
Here’s the Raiders record since 2003. Lots of double-digit loss seasons. Zero winning seasons.
In the NFL, this sort of sustained suckiness isn’t supposed to happen. If you are bad one season, you get high draft choices and a softer schedule. At some point the tables should turn. But the Raiders apparently are truly committed to being very good at being very bad.
I feel a lot like Charlie Brown and each season the NFL is Lucy holding the football. “This year is the year the Raiders finally start their slow climb from mediocrity.”
So this past Sunday, the Raiders had their season opener. Home game. QB ready to take the next step after a promising rookie season. Strong linebacker corps. All they did was come out and lay the biggest egg of the opening weekend. Down 24-0 at halftime. Down 33-0 until a couple of garbage time scores. A total embarrassment.
Trying to look at the glass half full, the Raiders have done me the favor of freeing up my fall Sundays (and occasional Monday and Thursday nights). Instead of spending the day tuning in to their games, I can play with the kids, read the paper in the hammock, do some yard work or biking. They haven’t provided many wins, but they’ve given me back 4 hours every weekend, and time is the most precious gift of all. Go team!
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by Damian | Sep 9, 2015 | Family, Funny Business, Pop Culture, Sports |
Last night’s US Open quarterfinal tennis match between Serena and Venus Williams was the greatest sibling struggle on the court since… I played my older brother in the finals of the Clarksville, Arkansas Boys & Girls Club summer tennis lesson tourney, circa 1975.
Last night the kid sister got the win, but back in the day big brother John topped me in straight sets… because we only played a single set. John’s prize for winning the championship was a trophy. For finishing second (out of about 8 kids total in the class), I got a Jimmy Connors autograph model wooden tennis racquet.
Mine didn’t have an actual Jimmy Connors autograph.
My bro totally got screwed on the prizes, I’m sure he gladly would’ve traded the hardware for something that was actually useful. And I guarantee you that if John and I played another set where I used my new racquet and he used his trophy to hit the ball, I would’ve won.
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by Damian | Aug 6, 2015 | Pop Culture, Sports |
Inside sports fans of all ages, there exists the little kid who first fell in love with the sport. So the athletes they rabidly rooted for back then will always hold a special place in their hearts. It’s been a tough month for my inner sports child, because The Snake and The American Dream are gone.
I grew up in Arkansas, which has no professional teams. So I could pick and choose my favorites without any geographic constraints. Back in the Dark Ages when I was a wee lad, the Oakland Raiders were actually good. (Hard to believe now, I know.) And leading the Silver & Black attack was Kenny “The Snake” Stabler. A soft-throwing, hard-partying southpaw who fit the Raider renegade mode perfectly.
“I was head coach of the Raiders the entire time Kenny was there, and he led us to a whole bunch of victories, including one in Super Bowl XI,” former Raiders coach John Madden said in the team release. “I’ve often said, if I had one drive to win a game to this day, and I had a quarterback to pick, I would pick Kenny. Snake was a lot cooler than I was. He was a perfect quarterback and a perfect Raider.”
Ken Stabler with another boyhood hero, James “Rockford” Garner
Of course, in addition to real sports, I also followed the fake sport of professional wrestling. I’d get up every Saturday morning to watch the antics of greats like Andre The Giant, Ernie “Cat” Ladd, Dick Murdoch, and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. I knew it was theater, and I still loved it. Dusty Rhodes was great in the ring, but even better outside it with a microphone in his hand. He wasn’t the most athletic wrestler, but he was easily the most loquacious. Dude could talk a great game. His forehead was filled with crosshatched scars, because back in those days the rasslers would surreptitiously use a razor to cut themselves during a match, adding a bit of blood to the drama. Dusty paved the way for the Rowdy Roddy Pipers of the world. Now my sons watch WWE, and I can see Dusty’s fingerprints all over it. I’m sure he’s having fun in the squared circle in the sky.
Permed hair, permanent place the hearts of rasslin’ fans. Woo!
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