Sports Anonymous

Sometimes mascots just deserve to die.

I stumbled over this the other day, and I would have to say that I agree with all of them . . . except I would put the miracle on ice as #1 over the Dream Team loss. The miracle on ice has a MOVIE about it, the other has yet to prove so. So, here was the list:

1. The Soviet Union over the USA in men’s basketball (1972): Prior to this one-point defeat, the U.S had won every gold medal in Olympic basketball history (seven gold, with 63 straight wins). It took some late-in-the-game clock hijinks, somewhat questionable officials’ decisions and straight up shenanigans (according to many Americans) for the USSR to pull off the upset.

2. The Miracle on Ice (1980) :The U.S beating the Soviet Union in hockey will always be in our hearts because of the Cold War, the Iran hostage situation and our college kids against their pros. It was a cheesy, planned line from Al Michaels, but oh so fitting and oh so memorable: “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”

3. U.S. women over East Germany in the 4-x-100-meter freestyle (1976): OK, maybe I’ve spent so much time around swimming the past couple of Olympic Games that I have water dripping out of my ear. But I don’t even have to remember this one to have heard about it. Remember the steroids era? Well the East Germans were the poster boys (even their women were poster boys) for that time. That year, the East German women won gold in all but one event before the relay, and each of its swimmers had times at least a second faster than her American counterpart in the relay. The U.S. set a world record in a miraculous victory.

4. Puerto Rico over the U.S. in men’s basketball (2004) : Once we decided to send our pros with the Dream Team in in 1992, it should have been awhile before another country could beat the U.S., right? Well, the Puerto Ricans didn’t believe that. After losing to the U.S. by 40 in a tune-up match a just before the Games, Puerto Rico dominated the rematch when it counted, winning 92-73, controlling the contest against a U.S. team that was missing a host of top NBA players. That team would lose more games, but this one was the first and the most shocking.

5. Japan over the U.S. in softball (2008): The U.S. owns the softball world. It had won 22 straight Olympic contests and all three of the gold medals awarded in softball. The U.S. outscored opponents 51-1 on its way to the gold in Athens, and had a 57-3 edge in runs going into last night’s gold medal game against Japan - a team it already had beaten twice in this year’s Olympics by a combined score of 11-1. Japan won 3-1, taking the first World or Olympic from the U.S. since a team-wide stomach flu contributed to a loss in the 1982 World Championships.

In an attempt to cut down on the time of play, the NCAA has released new clock regulations for the 2008 season. The reason: to shorten games. The average college football game lasted over 3 hours last year, with some going as long as 4. Compare that to 2.5 hours for the NFL.

Here are some of the other rule changes for the 2008 season that can be found at Rivals.com:

• Coaches who challenge a reviewable call on the field will retain their challenge if the call is overturned.

• There no longer will be a 5-yard incidental face mask penalty. Pulling, twisting or turning an opponent’s face mask will result in a 15-yard penalty.

• Officials now will call penalties rather than give a “sideline warning.” If team personnel enter the restricted area between the sideline and coaching box, there will be an immediate 5-yard penalty or a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

• The language on the chop block was simplified, allowing more of those blocks to be called. Officials will call a penalty for any high-low combination block by two players anytime during a play, anywhere on the field regardless of a delay between the two blocks.

• The “horse-collar tackle” has been banned. Officials will call a penalty when a defender grabs a ball carrier by the jersey or shoulder pads at the back or the side and immediately pulls the runner down.

• A penalty will be called if a player strikes an opponent with the crown of the helmet or targets an opponent above the shoulders.

• “The Bill Belichick Rule” extends to college football. Rules prohibit any attempts to film or tape signals given by opponents.

All in all, it should be a good college football season beginning this weekend.

Remember the story about Ronnie Wilson, the Florida Gators football player who spit on a guy and then proceeded to shoot an AK-47 in a parking lot to intimidate him? You know, the one who’s back on the team now?

Well, Sports Illustrated has obtained the 911 call, and it’s an entertaining listen, mostly for the fact that the caller handles the situation about a hundred times better than I would’ve.  If a 300-pound linebacker just popped the trunk of his car and pulled out an automatic weapon, what would you do?  If you said “Calmly give a detailed, point-by-point description of the assailant and his vehicle,” congratulations: you’re either lying, or you’re Frank Fuller, a South Carolina student with balls of steel.

All the talk during these Olympics has been about Michael Phelps and his quest for 8 gold medals.  It’s a compelling storyline, but the biggest shame is that it took the spotlight off the hero of the scintillating 4×100 men’s relay, Jason Lezak.

Phelps was impressive in the relay but only managed to finish his leg in second place, behind the Australians.  Weber-Gale was very strong during his leg of the race and took the lead.  Jones swam a strong leg, but his French opponent just happened to set the world record for the fastest split ever, and the Americans found themselves significantly behind once Jason Lezak hit the water against France’s Bernard.

Of course, you know what happened after that; Lezak mounted an absolutely incredible comeback in the last 50 meters and shattered the 46-second-old world record for the fastest split. He came in .08 seconds before France’s anchor, Bernard, who earlier promised to “crush the Americans”. You couldn’t write a better ending for the USA if you tried.

Here’s a very nice video breakdown of the race from the New York Times:

And of course, here’s the video of the race itself.  This never gets old.

In the ongoing battle between Brett Farve and the Packers, analyst Rick Reilly made an interesting, yet stupid assumption on ESPN today. He compared Farve to the old singer Cher, who has her heyday back in the 60s and 70s, nothing to do with the new generation. Farve still has the competitive spirit, the will to win, and the athleticism to lead a team to victory. The gameplay of the NFL is relatively stagnant, whereas the world of music is forever changing. If Farve can continue to scramble, pass, and make sound judgments in the chaos of gameplay, then he will continue to be an asset to this team.

So Rick Reilly, shut up.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3518054&n8pe6c=2&categoryId=2378529

So ESPN finally announced the title town winner, and it was one that I had never even heard of. Valdosta, GA, some city that apparently has boasted 120ish state high school football championships and a couple division III championships.

What a load of bull **it. There is a big difference between high school and college football, and Div III and Div I athletics. Sure schools like Appalachian might could put together a good football squad that challenges the Div I’s, but in all other sports, there is no comparison.

This fictional award is filled with LIES, that’s all there is to it. The only reason the high school continues to be as strong as it is is because of the lenient borders and barriers known as “school zones”. Many families move their children there just to play football, which leaves the rest of the conference and nation at a disadvantage. Come talk to us in Chapel Hill, we know what it’s like to celebrate with 200,000 people on Franklin Street after a championship. And if we’re counting regional, conference, state, and national championships, there is no comparison.

The Olympics: the world’s chance to showcase talent, athleticism, strength, and in this case, hotness. In 2004, several Olympic women’s beach volleyball teams showcased new thong-styled Speedo bikinis. I will never forget that moment in my life, for it was the day I became an Olympic beach volleyball fan. Today, the final list of 23 teams was announced for the 2008 games in Beijing. Unlike in 2004, this year I will have a clue what beauties will be matched up with each other when I’m looking at the brackets. Here are the 46 Olympians:

1. Walsh-May-Treanor USA

2. Tian Jia-Wang CHN

3.Juliana-Larissa BRA

4. Xue-Zhang Xi CHN

5. Branagh-Youngs USA

6. Talita-Renata BRA

7. Karantasiou-Arvaniti GRE

8. Goller-Ludwig GER

9. Pohl-Rau GER

10. Barnett-Cook AUS

11. Hakedal-Torlen NOR

12. Maaseide-Glesnes NOR

13. Fernandez Grasset-Larrea Peraza CUB

14. Schwaiger-Schwaiger AUT

15. Van Breedam-Mouha BEL

16. Esteves Ribalta-M. Crespo CUB

17. Koutroumanidou-Tsiartsiani GRE

18. Uryadova-Shiryaeva RUS

19. Kadijk R.-Mooren NED

20. Montagnolli-Swoboda AUT

21. Candelas-Garcia MEX

22. Teru Saiki-Kusuhara JPN

23. Saka-Rtvelo GEO

Today, President Bush gave our US athletes a nice send off from the White House for the Olympics. He was quoted as asking them to compete swifter, higher, and stronger than their opponents. He also urged them to be ambassadors of liberty. Being an ambassador of liberty is hard, when we are still playing in a game that supports facism. According to the article:

Human rights groups had urged Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies to oppose China’s crackdown on protesters in Tibet. The Bush administration argues that the Olympics are a sporting event not to be politicized and that the president will raise human and religious rights with Chinese officials in the appropriate context.

But while talking to the athletes about their responsibilities in Beijing, Bush had a subtle message for China itself.

“You will convey our nation’s most cherished values,” the president said. “As ambassadors of liberty, you will represent America’s love for freedom and our regard for human rights and human dignity … to other athletes and to the people of China.”

How bad are the riots? You be the judge of that: