One of the strangest parts of childhood sports was that moment when you had to form a line and shake hands with the other team after a loss. I almost always lost. You'd have to go through and touch hands in a feigned "high five". It was the most disingenuous things I've ever engaged in. Organized apathy. good game. good game. good game.... No eye contact. No emotion. If you lost you didn't want to look like you cared. If you won... well, I don't really know what that felt like.
All across America we are lining kids up to take part in this ritual. Why? I guess it makes us feel like we are teaching them how to be good sports. "Go tell this other kid good game. You don't have to mean it, or even pretend like you mean it." Excellent. Now you are a good sport. You are prepared for life.
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Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Boiler Down
Three years ago Purdue started 4 freshman on their basketball team, and they had an awesome year. Even back then I was looking forward to this year when they would all be seniors. Quite a few things have changed with the team over the last couple years, but the anchor of that young team was still there, and things looked promising.
Robbie Hummel suffered an ACL tear in the second half of last season. Immediately the team seemed to go from contending to surviving in the Big Ten. He had the spring and summer to recover, and this fall he was going to come back to lead the team to the top of the conference and beyond. This morning on the first practice of the year Hummel re-injured his ACL and it out for the season. Upon hearing the news my level of excitement for this basketball season instantly tanked. This was supposed to be the year that it all came together. This was supposed to be the year Purdue made their run. Hopefully they still have a good showing. It just stinks that Hummel has to miss the entire season. They aren't going to be nearly as strong without him.
I'm sure they will hit him with a medical red-shirt so he will still have another year of eligibility. Maybe next year they will put all the pieces together. Having injured the same leg twice, he may never be able to play at the same level he did his freshman and sophomore years. I don't want to write off this season entirely, but it is tough to be extremely positive about it. Hummel's injury has probably taken Purdue from the top of the Big Ten to the middle of the pack. It's definitely a major bummer.
Robbie Hummel suffered an ACL tear in the second half of last season. Immediately the team seemed to go from contending to surviving in the Big Ten. He had the spring and summer to recover, and this fall he was going to come back to lead the team to the top of the conference and beyond. This morning on the first practice of the year Hummel re-injured his ACL and it out for the season. Upon hearing the news my level of excitement for this basketball season instantly tanked. This was supposed to be the year that it all came together. This was supposed to be the year Purdue made their run. Hopefully they still have a good showing. It just stinks that Hummel has to miss the entire season. They aren't going to be nearly as strong without him.
I'm sure they will hit him with a medical red-shirt so he will still have another year of eligibility. Maybe next year they will put all the pieces together. Having injured the same leg twice, he may never be able to play at the same level he did his freshman and sophomore years. I don't want to write off this season entirely, but it is tough to be extremely positive about it. Hummel's injury has probably taken Purdue from the top of the Big Ten to the middle of the pack. It's definitely a major bummer.
You're Killing Me Colts
The Colts just lost a heart-breaker to the Jaguars on a last second 56-yard field goal by Scobee. They are 0-2 against teams in their division, and the way Houston is rolling it looks like Indy might have to depend on a wildcard spot. Hope is definitely not lost, but it has been a tough start to the season.
Most years I care about watching only one game most Sundays. That is the Colts game. This year however, I am playing fantasy football for the first time. Now I have some sort of investment in nearly every game. Seeing my Colts win has almost taken a back-seat to keeping track of how my fantasy team is doing. In fact, the guy I am playing against this week has Reggie Wayne on his team so I was actually rooting against Wayne getting the TD when the Colts took it down on their last drive. I was pumped when he got tackled and they scored on a pass to Austin Collie a couple plays later. Collie is on my team. Addai had an awesome game, but I had him on the bench because he was "questionable" to play this week. I was happy to see him perform well, but pissed at the same time because I wanted those points.
This year football has been a lot more engaging and entertaining to watch. However, I feel like this fantasy football business perverts the fan inside me. There is this very meta game on top of the real games that has taken priority in my mind. It is a ton of fun, but at the same time it is a bit disconcerting. I always scoffed at those guys who talked about their fantasy teams. I thought it was pointless and stupid. Now I am one of those guys, and I am not totally sure how I feel about it.
Most years I care about watching only one game most Sundays. That is the Colts game. This year however, I am playing fantasy football for the first time. Now I have some sort of investment in nearly every game. Seeing my Colts win has almost taken a back-seat to keeping track of how my fantasy team is doing. In fact, the guy I am playing against this week has Reggie Wayne on his team so I was actually rooting against Wayne getting the TD when the Colts took it down on their last drive. I was pumped when he got tackled and they scored on a pass to Austin Collie a couple plays later. Collie is on my team. Addai had an awesome game, but I had him on the bench because he was "questionable" to play this week. I was happy to see him perform well, but pissed at the same time because I wanted those points.
This year football has been a lot more engaging and entertaining to watch. However, I feel like this fantasy football business perverts the fan inside me. There is this very meta game on top of the real games that has taken priority in my mind. It is a ton of fun, but at the same time it is a bit disconcerting. I always scoffed at those guys who talked about their fantasy teams. I thought it was pointless and stupid. Now I am one of those guys, and I am not totally sure how I feel about it.
The Weekend Of Sports
I am a little late on getting this one posted. We have already embarked on our next work week. It is hard to believe that it was only a week ago today that we had the gift of Labor Day. A 4-day work week. A week with 9 fewer hours of soul crushing drudgery. Actually, that was not the case for me at all. I was somehow able to pack into 4 days the same number of hours I usually work in a normal 5 day week. When Friday afternoon rolled around I was even more excited than normal to get outta there and not think about trains or dollars for two whole days.
With the return of college and NFL football this time of year is always exciting. For the first time I joined an NFL fantasy league. I can already tell I am going to enjoy it quite a bit. It engages you a little bit more with the games, even though normally they would be of no interest to you. We cut it close with our draft. We didn't finish picking our teams until about 15 minutes before the game started on Thursday. This was also a good weekend for college football. I always enjoy seeing Notre Dame lose. Purdue isn't going to give me much to cheer for this year so I will mainly be looking forward to watching the bigger match-ups of the weekend. Maybe I will even root for the Razorbacks a few times. In addition to football this weekend was the semis and finals of the US Open. The men's semi-final between Federer and Djokovic on Saturday was insane. It was so much fun to watch. This also was the weekend for the LPGA Tour event here locally. We have gotten tickets every year so far, and always enjoy spending at least one afternoon out there. Sunday we decided to skip the Colts game and go walk the course and watch Michelle Wie play. She was in the lead, but got caught on the back 9 to lose by one stoke. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we had a fun time.
With the return of college and NFL football this time of year is always exciting. For the first time I joined an NFL fantasy league. I can already tell I am going to enjoy it quite a bit. It engages you a little bit more with the games, even though normally they would be of no interest to you. We cut it close with our draft. We didn't finish picking our teams until about 15 minutes before the game started on Thursday. This was also a good weekend for college football. I always enjoy seeing Notre Dame lose. Purdue isn't going to give me much to cheer for this year so I will mainly be looking forward to watching the bigger match-ups of the weekend. Maybe I will even root for the Razorbacks a few times. In addition to football this weekend was the semis and finals of the US Open. The men's semi-final between Federer and Djokovic on Saturday was insane. It was so much fun to watch. This also was the weekend for the LPGA Tour event here locally. We have gotten tickets every year so far, and always enjoy spending at least one afternoon out there. Sunday we decided to skip the Colts game and go walk the course and watch Michelle Wie play. She was in the lead, but got caught on the back 9 to lose by one stoke. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we had a fun time.
Colts !!!!
Last night the Colts came to play, and their defense looked good. As expected the offense got out to a slow start, but they scored enough to get the job done. The defense completely shut down the Raven offense for most of the game. I had my reservations, but the Colts seemed to have successfully rested up and came ready to play. For the time being, it looks like the coaching staff made the correct decision to rest the starters at the end of the regular season.
In other good news, the Jets just beat the Chargers for the chance to take on the Colts in the AFC championship game. Indy always seems to have trouble with San Diego, so I guess it is a good thing that they have been eliminated. However, the Colts will be favored and have higher expectations with the Jets coming into town, and they have been red hot lately. It seems like the Colts might be once again set up for failure, but hopefully they can rise to the occasion for the second straight week. This entire season the Colts looked so impressive, but for some reason I never thought they would actually make it to the Superbowl. For the first time this year I think they will not only get there, but they have a pretty good chance of winning it all. Now that I have said that, I have surely jinxed them.
-deric
In other good news, the Jets just beat the Chargers for the chance to take on the Colts in the AFC championship game. Indy always seems to have trouble with San Diego, so I guess it is a good thing that they have been eliminated. However, the Colts will be favored and have higher expectations with the Jets coming into town, and they have been red hot lately. It seems like the Colts might be once again set up for failure, but hopefully they can rise to the occasion for the second straight week. This entire season the Colts looked so impressive, but for some reason I never thought they would actually make it to the Superbowl. For the first time this year I think they will not only get there, but they have a pretty good chance of winning it all. Now that I have said that, I have surely jinxed them.
-deric
Colts????
Later today the Colts will play the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2009-2010 NFL playoffs. The Colts started out this season with 14 straight wins. Having locked up home field throughout the playoffs they decided to rest their started for the last two games. They lost them both. The coach opted to prepare for the playoffs rather than go for a perfect season. Today we find out if that was a good decision or not. Last week Baltimore beat the Patriots in convincing fashion with a solid running game and strong defense. The Colts had the first round bye, so they took the week off. Considering they took the last 2 weeks off of the regular season, tonight will be their first real game for a month. If they get off to a slow start Baltimore could take early control of the game, then use their running game to control the clock. Baltimore has a very good chance of winning tonight. If the Colts do indeed lose, fans are going to be pissed. They will have given up their chances at making history only to be sent home after one playoff game. It will not sit well with me, or any Colt fan for that matter. Here's hoping they made the right decision, and get the win tonight. I don't mean to sound negative. However, the Colts have put themselves under a lot of pressure to preform. I am nervous about the game tonight, but that is what makes watching sports so much fun. I am glad that I can care this much about a professional football game. It is a sure sign that life is good.
-deric
-deric
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