Is Phelps' Run Over?

Today, FINA (the swimming governing body for those that don't follow swimming) ruled that those new, fancy, way too tight swim suits that athletes have began swimming in will not be allowed in future meets because they provide an unfair advantage. Thank God for this ruling.

Its not the unfair advantage that I am against...its that I don't want to see the Men's 4x100 relay team in anything tighter than what they are already wearing. These new suits make spandex look like a rain parka.

So the question is...was Phelps breaking world records because of the equipment he was using or because of his skill level? I'm sensing a steroid like scandal on our hands that will shake up the swim world more than baseball has been shaken up. Well, maybe not that much, but I could be on to something.

Regardless, since this will probably be the only time I write about swimming, I have also attached and old Ryan Parker gem from last August that I just came across. It might seem random, but I feel its relevant since the FINA World Championships in Rome are approaching.

ENJOY!!!!

Tiger Gets Ripped...But Is It Fair?

ESPN.com writer Rick Reilly published an article today entitled "Woods needs to clean up his act" in which he precedes to explain why Tiger Woods needs to stop with his outbursts of disgust and rage on the course because it sets a bad example for the kids. I found this article interesting and here are a few observations.

First, Reilly brings up a lot of good points regarding Tiger often slamming clubs and cussing whenever he hits a bad shot, but at the same time I feel that Reilly tries hard to throw in several sentences here and there about the good that Tiger does in hopes of still landing the coveted Tiger one-on-one interview for his next video essay. Reilly is in an odd place because he works for ESPN and puts together cheesy, albeit entertaining essay's and blogs for their various shows thus he needs access to players, coaches, caddies, owners etc. In order to do that he has to play nice and put together fun, soft stories that won't offend people. So when he steps out and completely rips arguably the most famous athlete of our generation, he is wadding into waters that he rarely travels into. Reilly isn't T.J. Simers or Mark May or any of these sports "journalists" that make a living on tearing apart and highlighting the negatives of athletes as opposed to the good things going on. So this article comes across as a bit of an angry diatribe that has boiled up inside Reilly for awhile. What is going to be interesting is at next years U.S. Open when Tiger shows the competitive emotion and win at all cost attitude he often puts on display and Reilly suddenly decides to spin it around to make another entertaining essay promoting himself...this business has a fine line of getting a story and being two-faced and Reilly might end up tip-toeing that line in the near future.

The second problem I see with the Tiger anger issue is this...Tiger has injected golf with a passion and a vigor that the sport was missing for the better part of 2 decades (if not longer). Part of that interest is undoubtedly stirred by the passionate fist-pumps, dramatic yells and pure competitive spirit of Tiger. We loved the "seek, kill and destroy" attitude that we saw in the 2008 U.S. Open when Tiger hunted down Rocco. And when Woods ran wild on the entire field of golfers in 2000 winning 9 tournaments and 3 Majors, we all couldn't take our eyes of the fierce drive of this young golfer. So to only care about a sport because of how passionate and successful one man is and then to write about how tired we are of his over the top and sometimes angry emotion is unfair.

If we want to watch golf because we are in awe of Tiger's passion and drive for victory then great, but we can't pick and choose what aspects of a champion we want Tiger to have. Ask Kobe, ask Michael Phelps, ask Lance Armstrong...these athletes are just as passionate about winning and perfection as Tiger is and they too would slam their club down if given the chance.


Go ahead and check out Reilly's article and let me know what you think.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?id=4347419

Look What Leaked Out!

Remember that huge scandal a few weeks back. No, not whether or not Michael Jackson was killed. And no, not the questions surrounding Sarah Palin's resignation. The one that really matters, the one that if true, would shake our world as we know it.

The video that Nike confiscated of Xavier's Jordan Crawford dunking on King James (thus proving Lebron is simply a pauper [gasp]). Well, guess what, a version of the video has leaked out onto the web and now we can surely see how Crawford "owned" Lebron.


***Does anyone think this whole idea that someone dunked on Lebron is extremely blown out of proportion...I mean what professional basketball player has never been crossed over, blocked or dunked on? COME ON NOW****

With that said, here is the video so that you can say you saw it!

Donovan Rips Becks

Fresh off giving up a 2 goal halftime lead on Brazil in the FIFA Confederations Cup Final, Team USA veteran and L.A. Galaxy captain Landon Donovan is coming out with a book where he blatantly rips into David Beckham and makes no bones about his disappointment in the highest paid player in the MLS. Listen, I had high hopes for Beckham's move to the MLS along with thousands of Americans. As a soccer fan, I wanted to see his transfer take the sort ot a new level and it hasn't, for many reasons. Sure it sometimes feels that Becks and Posh (can I call them that even though I'm not British?) are more about Hollywood than about taking the soccer move seriously, but wasn't that kind of expected. I mean, Tom Cruise showed up to a Real Madrid game...maybe that should have been an early sing about the "circles" the Beckhams run in.

Here are some excerpts from Donovan's book called The Beckham Experiment (notice that the book markets itself on Beckham's name, not Donovan's):

All that we care about at a minimum is that he committed himself to us, as time has gone on, that has not proven to be the case in many ways - on the field, off the field. Does the fact that he earns that much more money come into it? Yeah. If someone's paying you more than anybody in the league, more than double anybody in the league, the least we expect is that you show up to every game, whether you are suspended or not. Show up and train hard, show up and play hard."

Donovan, also questioned the former England skipper's leadership abilities, claiming he is too often silent in team meetings.

"Maybe he's not a leader, maybe he's not a captain, fair enough. But at a minimum, you should bust your ass every day. That hasn't happened. And I don't think that's too much for us to expect. Especially when he's brought all this on us.

However, I don't know if Donovan should really be ripping into his teammate (they are still apart of the same club). For US soccer fans, Donovan has had a lackluster career as a National Player. He played very well last week in South Africa, but his career is still largely associated with someone who misses many open shots, fails to lead the team in big matches and has a skill set that primarily focused on speed as oppossed to touch and finishing ability.

All I'm saying is, maybe not the best move to go out and rip Beckham; he makes more money than you, has done more for soccer than you have, has played better at a higher level for a longer time than you have and in the end, wins...something you have only done in the MLS and even that has been mising lately!

Lakers Pick Up Artest

The L.A. Lakers have picked up free agent Ron Artest from the Houston Rockets. This is very ironic move considering Artest has often been called a Kobe Stopper (assuming such a thing actually exists). But now, the hated Artest, the same one that often looked on the verge of throwing a punch a Kobe throughout their 2009 NBA Playoff Series, will don the Purple and Gold.

Some Laker fans may hate this move because you are literally bringing one of the most hated players into you franchise...however, from a winning perspective, this is a brilliant move.

The Lakers only went to a 7th game once during their Championship run...against Artest and the Houston Rockets. With this move, they have just removed a veteran and a prolific scorer/ defender from that team. Ok, so the Lakers will undoubtedly lose Trevor Ariza now that Artest is there. But consider this. Ariza is a great defender, but Artest has been playing just as good of defense in the NBA over a longer period of time.

You also get a savvy veteran (not a leader, but a veteran with a lot of "in-game" experience). The Lakers are young, but have to huge leaders already in Fisher and Kobe. They do not need a 3rd leader on the court, but it always is nice to have valuable experience on your team and Artest brings that.

Additionally, Artest brings a big offensive threat...bigger than Ariza and as big as Odom (another free agent the Lakers could lose this off season). If you watched Laker games throughout the season, you often saw Kobe and Gasol take over offensively, but when those two were on the court, their was a huge offensive hole missing. Artest can now fill that. He plays hard and leaves everything on the court. Sure he plays dirty at times, but then again some would argue Kobe does also (think slap in the face after a jumper), so lets not get stuck on that topic for too long.

Then there is the financial aspect. Artest is 29, Ariza is 24 so you lose out on age there. But I don't think Artest is old enough for age to factor in to this equation too much. I mean, if there is any age to worry about, it is how many years does Kobe left in the tank after the grueling schedule he endures. Artest is getting $18 million over 3 years ($6 mill per year) and the talks are that Ariza wanted more than the league mid-level exception of $5.6 million.

This move doesn’t secure another Championship Trophy in L.A. for 2010, but it does keep the Lakers fresh and in the hunt (probably even the favorites) for winning it all next year. With teams across the league making huge moves (Jefferson to the Spurs, Shaq to the Cavs, Carter to the Magic and talk of Rasheed to the Celtics), the Lakers had to switch some things around and in the end, this move probably cost them Ariza, but I don't think that is all too bad.

Did You Know Phil Jackson Has a Son In the NBA?

Came across this at work and it is hilarious. And actually, if you step back and look real hard at the pictures, Ryan Parker has a point!



****You have to turn the volume up on the actualy player before listening****


There was a man - there was a man who once played for the Knicks,
His name was Phil and he was built much like a stick,
He had some skill so just like Wilt it was hard to abstain,
For very long so here's a song about one night in Spain,

Phil went abroad on a vacation in '79,
It was a year when his career was on the decline,
He met a fine Senorita who answered his call,
And it was there where he conceived Pau Gasol,

It's not like Opie is to Andy - more like Luke is to Vader,
Phil and Pau were reunited when his boy became a Laker,
Some ignore the close resemblance looking over the real story,
How a father and a son will return the Lakers glory,
So like Kobe is to Joe and like Luke is to Bill,
That's why Pau is so special to his coach slash Daddy Phil,
Now it's time to go on Maury - here's the reason they should bother,
Cause the DNA's been tested Pau and Phil is your father,

There was a man - there was a man who once coached for the Bulls,
While far away he had a son developing tools,
He had the seed and it would lead him to the NBA,
Where he would stay until he played for his father one day,

He had the build - he had the Zen - the beard and the hair,
He had the skill thanks to Phil and his one night affair,
He came to save L.A. from their injury,
They call him Pau - but now Phil can say little P,

It's not like Opie is to Andy - more like Luke is to Vader,
Phil and Pau were reunited when his boy became a Laker,
Some ignore the close resemblance looking over the real story,
How a father and a son will return the Lakers glory,
So like Kobe is to Joe and like Luke is to Bill,
That's why Pau is so special to his coach slash Daddy Phil,
Now it's time to go on Maury - here's the reason they should bother,
Cause the DNA's been tested Pau and Phil is your father ...