Women's Rights In Golf

As a sports fan, I was really disgusted watching the R&A tell the media that women's rights in golf shouldn't be compared with racism, and discrimination. Because to me, its all of the above and it's simply wrong. We live in a world today where people live freely, make their own choices, and choose to live their own dreams. There was a time when people did discriminate, and did not allow women the same rights as men. But, those days are long gone and whoever is still living in the past better start changing or those people are going to have problems in the future. For example, in the golf world there are still many golf clubs that don't allow women as members. Though, the LPGA tour has been active for many years and is more popular than ever. There are more and more young girls who are now looking up to their idols; such as Paula Creamer, Christie Kerr, Inbee Park, as well as all the other dedicated LPGA golfers. My point is by not allowing women to be members to every golf club, it  shines a dark light on the sport itself. Sooner or later, the media are going to blow up the issue so much that it's going to create major controversy in the future if something isn't done soon. We live in a world now where this kind of stuff is unacceptable and pitiful. As times move on, you would think the sports society would learn and evolve the proper way. However, in actuality the sport of golf still doesn't respect the rights of their fellow women athletes. Who knows how long it will be? All I can say is that there still is many golf clubs around the world who are not even willing to debate the issue. What a shame.

Rose on Rose

Earlier today on ESPN, Jalen Rose started giving his thoughts about the long-dragged out topic of whether Derrick Rose should play or not play. He made some good points saying "I'm pretty sure if Derrick could play, he would. If he cant, he cant. There is nothing more to be said." Now as much as I agree with Jalen, I also disagree. Yes, he was right by basically saying to leave Derrick alone and wait until he is ready. However, he his wrong at the same time. Everyone knows that Derrick has been cleared-to-play now for almost 3 months. That means he is not injured anymore and is healed as much as he possibly can. Also, Derrick just signed a 96 million dollar contract to become the team's franchise player. Now, personally if you make that much money, I don't care what pain your in...you better play. As a high paid athlete, I believe you should be held to higher expectations than everyone else. And, the fact that Derrick Rose is still on the bench not even attempting to play any minutes, tells me either that something went wrong in the healing process, or he has a lack of leadership to his team. He is also following the foot steps of the greatest basketball ever to live. Michael Jordan played on the court no matter how he was feeling. For example, the famous flu game against the Utah Jazz. MJ was definitely not 100% that game and still managed guide his team to a win. So, their really isn't any excuses to me why Derrick Rose is still on the bench. So, Jalen did put up a good argument on the one-side. But, he didn't argue the other side of the issue.

Nobody can beat the Heat!

There isn't one team in the current NBA playoffs that has a chance of winning this year. The Miami Heat will defend their title, and I have no doubt. I will tell you why. Not only is Lebron James by himself; absolutely unstoppable. But, the Miami Heat hands down have a top three defense in the league. As the old saying goes "Defense wins championships,"So not only do they dominate on defense, they have the most dominant all-around player in the league. The Heat also have an unbelievable team chemistry going. I think Ray Allen and Chris "Birdman" Anderson really brought a spark to this team this season. Plus, there really isn't a team that can play decent defense against the Heat in the Playoffs. Thunder, Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors; are all teams that play great offense but have no defense. Which, that leaves the Spurs. The only team that even matches up well.  However, way too old to compete with a run and gun team like the Heat. All I can say... get ready for a repeat folks.

Chad Hillebrand Next NHL Star?

There is no question that Chad Hillebrand has the talent to become one of the next big NHL stars. The crazy thing is...he is only 14 years old. He was born and raised in Skokie, Illinois. Astonishing most people his talent was sought out at age seven, and his coaches say his best skill is his skating. He is actually considered being in the top five percent of skating from his class in the country. What makes him special is simply his dominance of the game from a young age. His first team he played with was the Skokie Flyers, when he dominated by scoring 112 goals in one season, and also having two games where he scored 8 goals. That's dominance you just don't see often in younger leagues. I believe a person is either born to play or their not. One thing I will say about Chad is that he was born to play the sport of hockey. From his phenomenal skating, to his great puck handling, great leadership, and exceptional ability to score goals...he has it all folks. The only thing he needs to work on is building up his size, and naturally over time he will. Remember, he is only 14.  he has a lot of time to grow. The bottom line is Chad Hillebrand has everything it takes to become the next NHL star. Be on the look out for this young-talented player in 5 or 6 years.

Wrigley Field Renovation Deal Is Announced

Early April 15th, Tom Ricketts, Owner of the Cubs announced his plans to renovate the historic monument that is 99 years old. The plan is said to be worth 500 million dollars. It includes building a new hotel, a brand new clubhouse, as well as a big electronic screen that will be put up in left field. The only problem with the deal is that it will obstruct the views from some of the rooftops. The rooftops have a 20-year deal with the Cubs that has 11 years left on contract. I feel some serious compromising needs to be done at this point. I believe a contract is a contract, and you can't break one. If Ricketts follows through and actually puts up everything he say he is, there is going to be huge problems. He might even lose more money in court, than he is actually is paying for in renovations. It's sad to see such a historic monument in sports going through this. Plus, the rooftops are part of the experience. I think there needs to be a compromise before they start the 3-year renovating project. Otherwise, a lot of Cubs fans and rooftop owners will be extremely upset and disappointed with the Ricketts family.

Rory McIlroy Overrated?

Ever since, Rory McIlroy won two majors by 8 strokes. Everyone has started to compare him with Tiger Woods. Let me clear things up, there is no comparison. It makes me laugh when anyone compares the two. To this point, Tiger has dominated the sport of golf like Michael Jordan did basketball. As well as, Muhammed Ali and Wayne Gretzky did the same. Rory has not dominated like Tiger by any means. He has also missed cuts that Tiger never missed during the beginning of his prime. There was a time when Tiger never missed a cut. He also set the record for most consecutive tournaments played without missing a cut. During the '06-'07 season when Tiger won 7 tournaments in a row. Rory hasn't nearly dominated like Tiger so far. Tiger has won 14 majors and 76 tournaments, and he is only 37. I know Rory is young, but I will tell you he will never be close to Tiger. He will win no more than 40 tournaments, with maybe 6-7 majors. Not saying that's not good, but that not even close to Tiger. That's more like a Phil Mickelson, who is still in the hall of fame. So, no dis-respect to Rory. I think he is a great golfer, just not a Tiger Woods. The bottom line is Rory McIlroy should never...ever, be in discussion with Tiger Woods. In my eyes, the only person you can compare to him is  the great Jack Nicklaus.

Darvish Robbery of "Perfect game" Not Rare

There isn't a harder way to lose a "perfect game" than Yu Darvish did against then Astros. Throughout the game, Yu retired 26 straight Astros batters. However, what he thought would never happen...happened. With two outs, he gave up a single that went right threw his legs. Though, in reality, it is not rare you get that close to such an accomplishment and fail in a sport. It happens all the time. For example, getting 11 strikes in a row in bowling, then choking on the 12th, or even being on the verge of shooting under-par in golf and getting a bogey on the 18th hole to shoot 73. This stuff happens all the time, and it can be a painful moment for an athlete. However, one thing that Yu Darvish did do was handle it exceptionally well. After the ball rolled through the middle of the infield, he smiled. He knew he gave it a good run. He showed his outstanding sportsmanship for the game of baseball. According to MLB.com, there has only been 23 pitchers who have thrown a perfect game. There is a reason that these things don't happen to everyone. They are rare accomplishments in life that should be highly celebrated. Even though, he didn't succeed, I still congratulate Darvish on getting so close to such an extraordinary accomplishment.

Nick Diaz disrespects GSP

The week before the big UFC welterweight championship fight, the media interviewed both contenders. When Georges St. Pierre (GSP) was asked his thoughts on the fight, he said how Nick Diaz was a good fighter and how he was going to be a tough person to fight. He was giving Nick compliments, and out of nowhere Nick decided to be his own ill-mannered, disrespectful, un-classy individual that he is. He started talking smack about how he was going to crush Pierre. Pierre laughed and said, "You really think I'm scared of you man, are you crazy in your head?" It was a bad move on Diaz to talk down to arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. He portrayed himself as the enemy, instead of a good sportsmanship fighter. They didn't even pound gloves before the fight. It was on a personal level. Diaz talked all that smack only to get demolished for five rounds. Then, after all the hype was over...Diaz announced his retirement. GSP remained humble after maintaining his title. He still also gave respect to Nick Diaz after he won even though he didn't do the same. If Diaz won it would of been bad for the UFC.

Richard Sherman disses Skip Bayless

This past Thursday, Richard Sherman did something no athlete has ever done. He intentionally made himself look like a dis-respectful ignorant person. He also dis-respected one of the most popular sport prognosticators ever. It was a poor move. He went on ESPN's show"First Take," and decided to harass Skip Bayless.
One of his exact phrases was; "In my 24 years of life. I'm better at life than you." He continually kept defaming Skip on a personal level through the entire show. Skip took the high road and didn't stoop to that level. The only question Skip asked was "Do you think you are better than Darrell Revis?" Sherman responded saying "I don't care about him [Revis] all I know is I'm better than you."
I couldn't believe the way he was so arrogant and cocky. Plus, a prognosticators job is to know every sport and the teams better than the individual players do. On top of, predicting what teams will win. It's what Skip and all other prognosticators do for a living. I'm pretty sure he knows the sport just as well as any player.
The facts are Richard Sherman has only played two NFL seasons. In those seasons, he has played phenomenal, but he hasn't proved he is the best. The point is Richard made a fool of himself on national television and gave himself a faint image. I've lost total respect for him, as well as a lot of other football fans.

Crazy Year For March Madness?

March Madness is on the rise, and there is still no clear favorite to win. This year has clearly been one of the craziest in NCAA History. As of this upcoming week, the number one seed will have been held by four different teams: Duke, Indiana, Louisville, and Michigan, and now possibly Gonzaga. Most likely Indiana will hold it even though they just lost to Minnesota. Some of these teams didn't just lose either. They got crushed. For example, when Duke held #1 they lost to #25 Miami 90-63... That's a blowout. In most cases, the #1 seeds of the tournament usually dominate the tournament. It will not be that way this year. I have a feeling that it could be historic. There has never been a #16 seed over come a #1 seed in the first round of March Madness. However, if there is a year that it could happen, it's this one. There is clearly no dominant team in the league right now, and if you had to choose one it would have to be Indiana. They are no guarantee either losing multiple times already. The talent is spread across all the teams right now. March Madness '13 is going to be a toss-up. It wouldn't surprise me if a #6 seed or higher wins the title this year. One thing is for sure, all this craziness will make for an exciting month of March.

Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan

On the eve of Michael Jordan's 50th birthday, I am going to talk about the hot discussion topic of the week. Mike vs. Lebron. Now, all week the "First take" discussed the question with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. Skip took the approach of defending Michael, and Stephen took the side of Lebron. The crucial argument was who would win in a one-on-one match.
Here is my argument. First thing, Michael was 6'6 216 pounds. Lebron is 6'8 250 pounds. Now, to say that one-on-one Michael would dominate Lebron is a bold statement, just because of the size factor. It is a dis-respect to Lebron James. He is clearly one of the most explosive all around players that we have ever seen play the game. He is bigger, stronger, and possibly even faster than Jordan. However, Jordan and Kobe Bryant were clearly the two best shooters ever to play basketball. That is one thing Mike and Kobe have on Lebron. I think that Michael Jordan had the most desire to win of any player in all of sports history. That is what makes him a forever all-time world icon. He is so famous and popular that some people will always be heavily bias that no one could be better than him.
 I think that is unfair to Lebron. He technically has more potential than Michael ever had. he just has not had the chance to prove himself. Now, he may never catch Michael, but, to say he is not as dominant...is a hard thing to say right now. Lebron is clearly dominating the NBA and is almost impossible to guard. I would not state who would win one-on-one, but one thing I would say is this... It would be closer than people think. Jordan would work Lebron with his shooting. However, Lebron would drive to the lane on Jordan all day. My final word is that there is no way someone can say either one would dominate each other.  It is not realistic and just would not happen.

Superbowl Fixed?

In my opinion, after watching Super Bowl XLVII, I started questioning if the game could possibly be fixed in some type of way. It may just be coincidence, but after the blackout happened all of the sudden the 49ers came back. The momentum completely shifted and it almost cost the Ravens the Superbowl. My argument is that I think the only reason that was a close game was because of the blackout. Anybody who really knows their sports knows that momentum is a huge factor. Well, Before the blackout at halftime the score was 21-6. After halftime, Jacoby Jones returned the kick to make the game 28-6. Now, its getting out of hand. And what happens...the lights go out! What a coincidence...if it really is one? I will say as a person who know his sports, if those lights don't go out...its a blowout.
 It wouldn't even have been a close game. Now, people may argue that the 49ers were bound to make a comeback, and I wouldn't say they would be completely wrong. Though, I will say that they were not going to make a game out of it. They might have scored some points trying to come back, but I say it would never have been as close. The thing that makes it even more suspicious is the current investigation going on in Soccer right now. If the most popular sport in the world is being "fixed,"what makes us viewers think that these other sports aren't rigged as well?
 A lot of people would never want it to be admitted that sports are fixed, but I wouldn't want to be oblivious to the fact that it could happen. The fact that Baltimore lost such momentum after the blackout was just skeptical to me. I honestly think that the game was getting out of control and somebody didn't want that to happen. I may be completely wrong and this all can just be coincidence. All I will say is you should think about it next time when a bad call is made. Whether it is a bad call; or an odd scenario like a blackout, momentum is real. I think stuff like that can affect a game...just like it did in the Super Bowl.

Manti Te'o Story Over Hyped?

Honestly, when i first heard about the Manti Te'o story, I was completely insulted as a student journalist. I found the story absurd and completely not worthy of as big of a story as ESPN and the whole country made it.. In my opinion, it was a disgrace to what sports news is, or any news rather. We are taught the term "CATNIPP," which stands for conflict, audience, timeliness, novelty, impact, proximity, and prominence. The Te'o story didn't meet two of those, which were impact and prominence. As a story, It had no impact on society and didn't affect the average person's daily life. So I asked myself how is this news? Then, if you look at the story prominence wise, there really is no importance it has?
As a journalist, you are taught about what is news worthy and what isn't news worthy. You ask yourself questions like; Why should someone care about this, or why is this important information people should know? My point is that a story has to have some value of some sort; and this to me had no impact on my life, and I was never interested in Manti Te'os personal life. The fact that they (ESPN and all other stations) made a huge media frenzy out of the fact Manti Te'o had an internet girlfriend was just ridiculous to me. What's the big deal? Online dating has been around for years, this is nothing new!
The fact that it was a hoax isn't news either, because everyone knows the risks of Online dating. It's almost common sense to not trust Online dating sites like Match.com or EHarmony, because you never know who you are talking to these days. Bottom line, the story was blown way out of proportion and like I said; from a journalists stand point it makes me angry that the media gets by with hyping stories that have no news value like this. What has happened to the media? It scares me to see what will happen in the future if this is the path we are on.