Bull Riders Just Might Be the Toughest Athletes Around

Last Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Velocity Tour event at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. The Velocity Tour is kind of like the minor leagues for the PBR Tour with a bunch of young guns trying to reach the summit of their sport. I had never watched a PBR event in person and hadn’t even so much as watched more than a few minutes of one on television. However, I always had a great respect for bull riders, commonly referred to as cowboys, because what they do is obviously spectacular and something that I could never imagine myself doing. A lot of my respect for the sport of bull riding, despite never having much knowledge or viewing of it, likely comes from all of the great rodeo country music songs I grew up loving by artists like Garth Brooks, George Strait and Chris LeDoux who really do capture the romance and beauty of a cowboy riding a bull. And, it’s a romance and beauty that is so quick, so over in a matter of seconds that it’s really hard for the brain to almost comprehend. Eight seconds of almost anything seems like nothing. Hell, eight seconds occur seven and a half times every single minute. But, I’m betting that eight seconds on a bull for some of these cowboys can seem like an eternity, with that massive beast bucking and twisting and turning wanting nothing more than to fling the cowboy from his back and then stomp his brains out for having the audacity to attempt to ride him. It’s likely the most thrilling eight seconds in sports. And, it’s something that I don’t believe gets enough attention, enough respect from sports fans around the country. I understand that bull riding might not be everybody’s cup of tea, hell, I previously stated here that I’d never given it too much thought, but do yourself a favor and watch just a bit of this on television or even better, like I did, in person and you’re going to find out that when it comes to tough as nails athletes, there might not be any tougher than those cowboys who make a living trying to best hell-fire in the encasing of a 2,000 pound bull.  

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 5 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In the final part of this five-part list are excellent works on the national Skee-ball championships (yes, that exists), a mother’s plea to Johnny Manziel to change his bad boy ways, the uncovering of Manti Te’o’s fake dead girlfriend, the unique way of re-telling a season-changing play and the Amish’s love of baseball.

5. "Grand-torino: Shane sends Sox to Series"by Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson (October 20)

Providence Journal sports writer Brian MacPherson gets my award this season for the most interesting coverage of a big play or event with the incredibly unique and to my knowledge original way he covered Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino’s game-winning grand slam in the American League Championship Series that sent the Red Sox to the World Series and an eventual championship. MacPherson was able to capture the grand slam from the viewpoint of many throughout the stadium, including players and coaches in the dugout, bullpen and clubhouse, as well as executives of the team in their offices or team suites. The unique perspective given of the play from those within its vicinity really sets this article apart from the rest of the field.

4. "Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax" by Deadspin's Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey (January 16)

This rather extensive expose from Deadspin’s Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey is quite likely the most read bit of sports journalism from 2013 as the duo uncovered the highly odd and controversial story of former Notre Dame Heisman candidate linebacker Manti Te’o’s dead girlfriend being a complete hoax. The Te’o girlfriend hoax would quickly become one of the most overplayed and annoying sports stories of the year and be supremely embarrassing to Te’o himself, but the initial story proves to be one of the most stellar and important sports journalism pieces of 2013.  

3. "At the Skee-ball Super Bowl" by The Classical's Sean Hojnacki (June 27)

Who doesn’t enjoy a good game of Skee-ball every now and then? According to The Classical’s Sean Hojnacki in his great firsthand piece of the Brewskee-Ball National Championship in Austin, Texas some people take the arcade game extremely serious. This piece is fascinating for similar reasons as John Metcalfe’s piece at The Atlantic on thumb wrestling championships, which appeared earlier on this list. Much like the thumb wrestling championship, the Skee-ball championship features unique individuals with nicknames like Joey the Cat and Snakes on a Lane. The fact that something of this caliber takes place annually was incredibly appealing to me.  

2. "An Open Letter to Johnny Manziel" by My Sacred Hideaway's Beth Bates (August 31)

“An Open Letter to Johnny Manziel” is almost certainly the only piece of sports writing on this list that was not actually written by either a journalist or a published writer … in fact, it was written by a Texas mom in her blog. That fact really makes the entire thing more interesting, impressive and just all-around perfect. The blog post is Beth Bates’ open letter to 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and Texas A&M college football quarterback Johnny Manziel on his attitude, and the fact that he’s being a horrible role model to children, like her son, who idolize him. Hopefully Manziel somehow got a chance to read this piece, because it was advice that he really needed to hear.

      1. "The Boys of Lancaster: There's a genius to the way the Amish play baseball" by New Republic's Kent Russell (March 22)

One of the things that will most draw me to a sports journalism piece is its uniqueness. I don’t believe that I read anything quite as unique and interesting this year as Kent Russell’s story on Amish baseball for New Republic. The story of this fantastic bit of culture from Russell’s trip to Lancaster County, Penn. is one that captured me immediately and wouldn’t let go until I had finished. I had never thought of Amish playing sports before, but as Russell states in his piece Amish and baseball seem to be a perfect fit. “’The Amish play baseball! Of course they do.’” The story of this community’s love for the game is well-worthy of the number one spot on this year’s best sports journalism of 2013 list.

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 4 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In part four of this five-part list are excellent works on the beast with the baddest body in all of sports, the English tavern where thumb wrestlers from around the world decide who’s the very best, what it’s like to try to make a professional football team out of training camp, the secret of a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback who simply seems average most of the time and the possibility that a great sporting event from 40 years ago may have actually been fixed.

10. "The Secret of Eli Manning" by Grantland’s Brian Phillips (October 11)

Eli Manning is one of the real tough cases to crack of any athlete in sports. He’s a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback who looks terrific at times, but simply average for most of his career. He’s also known for as being aloof and having a seemingly uncaring attitude.  But, as Brian Phillips writes in his Grantland.com piece (his second outing on this list) there’s a secret side to Eli Manning that many people apparently don’t know about … and it’s far more interesting than the character we believe him to be.  

9. "The Saddest, Most Inspiring Story You'll Ever Read About Thumb Wrestling" by The Atlantic's John Metcalfe (June 28)

John Metcalfe’s story of an aspiring actor working in a Los Angeles restaurant that ended up as a championship level thumb wrestler for The Atlantic is one of those truly great sports stories because it lets you into a world that you never knew existed. When you find out that these all-star thumb wrestlers go by pseudonym’s like Thumberlina, Thumbertaker and Jack the Gripper and travel from all across the world every year to meet up in a tavern in England it truly becomes a must-read.

8. "What It's Like to Make the Cut" by Monday Morning Quarterback's Jenny Vrentas (September 2)

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King debuted his new football-only website “Monday Morning Quarterback” this year and within just a few days of its debut it was featuring top notch football articles such as Jenny Vrentas’ “What It’s Like to Make the Cut,” which followed Minnesota Vikings training camp invitee Zach Line in his attempt to make the Vikings’ season roster. The story of how hard this fullback had to work to make the team is a unique insight to the toughness a football player must exhibit and the drive he must have within him just to be one of 53 players to make the team.  

7. "The Match Maker: Bobby Riggs, The Mafia and The Battle of the Sexes " by ESPN/Outside the Line's Don Van Natta Jr. (August 25)

One of the biggest shockers I read this year was Don Van Natta Jr.’s piece for ESPN.com and “Outside the Lines” on the possibility of Bobby Riggs having thrown the famed “Battle of Sexes” exhibition tennis match in 1973, losing to Billie Jean King. The expose on Riggs, his Mafia ties and his debts makes me believe that this legendary event 40 years ago may have been fixed. How it came about and why it took 40 years to uncover is part of this great mystery.  

6. “Unridable” by ESPN the Magazine’s Wright Thompson (July 9)

Every year ESPN the Magazine publishes its “Body Issue,” basically the magazine’s answer to Sports Illustrated’s “Swimsuit Issue,” which features fitness and the chiseled physiques of nearly nude professional athletes. But, it came as a surprise when one of the best bodies in the sports world this year tipped the scales at a whopping 1,700 pounds, kicked dirt and snorted snot from his massive nostrils. But, as Wright Thompson (in his second piece to make this list) tells us Bushwacker, the meanest and best bull on the Professional Bull Riders circuit, had the baddest body in all of sports. The article is must-read, but the segment for ESPN’s news program “E:60,” which was awesomely narrated by Thompson, is a classic (but, unfortunately cannot be found in its entirety).   

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 3 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In part three of this five-part list are fine writings on Major League Baseball’s lack of a game-changing superstar, a boxing match that left one opponent dead and the lives of others changed forever, the hall of fame case for a former NBA superstar that on first look might not seem worthy of enshrinement, and two stories on the competitive drives of legendary (Michael Jordan) or volatile (Kurt Busch) athletes.

15. “The Unfortunate Tale of T-Mac” by Grantland’s Bill Simmons (August 30)

As an Orlando Magic fan there have probably been few NBA players in my lifetime who I’ve enjoyed watching play basketball more than Tracy McGrady. But, despite being a great player for a good amount of time, McGrady was never viewed as a winner (having never led his team past the first round of the NBA Playoffs) and thus never viewed as a potential future hall of famer, even by myself. However, Bill Simmons’ wonderful post-career analysis of McGrady’s career for Grantland.com this year did something that rarely happens … it made me take a second look at a player and change my opinion. After reading Simmons’ piece, I now believe McGrady should one day be inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.

14. "Kurt Busch Shows Drive to Win Away From Track" by USA Today's Jeff Gluck (August 15)

USA Today’s Jeff Gluck gets my award for most interesting article idea of 2013, because he had the audacity to ask the always-volatile, uber-competitive NASCAR driver Kurt Busch to go mini-golfing with him as a part of a story on the irascible driver’s attitude and drive to win at anything and everything he does, no matter how trivial the event. The outcome pretty much proves that Kurt Busch is always going to be Kurt Busch when it comes to competition.

13. "Death at the Garden: Memories of Emile Griffith and Benny Paret" by The New Yorker's Jonathan Coleman (July 24)

When boxing legend Emile Griffith died in late July it instantly sent The New Yorker’s Jonathan Coleman back to the night that he witnessed his first prizefight between Griffith and Benny Paret as a kid in 1962. It was a night in which one man would not survive and the lives of a few others would be changed forever. Coleman’s telling of vivid memories from the night recalls the horror of the event and the tragic side of the sweet science.

12. "Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building" by ESPN's Wright Thompson (February 22)

Wright Thompson’s fantastic “Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building” for ESPN.com in correlation with “Outside the Lines” for Jordan’s 50^th birthday (which ESPN way overdid with coverage) is very similar to Jeff Gluck’s "Kurt Busch Shows Drive to Win Away From Track" in that it shows things haven’t changed since MJ’s final retirement. Depending on your feelings toward Jordan you might feel differently, but the intriguing part of Thompson’s piece to me is how pathetic Jordan really looks when it comes to his personality, attitude and his general sense that the world revolves around him.

11."Seeking the Elusive Face of Baseball" by ESPN's Jayson Stark (July 16)

There has been a lot of talk in 2013 about how baseball has a massive problem in that it doesn’t have a “face of the sport,” a la LeBron James or Peyton Manning, though others (myself included) don’t feel it to be a big issue. Jayson Stark’s excellent piece for ESPN.com on the topic was among the best (and most important) baseball articles of the year, as it gets to the point (or issue) as to why it’s so hard to develop one superstar or “face” of the game that stands out above all the rest and how that may need to change or risk hurting the sport.     

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 2 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In part two of this five-part list are fine writings on a Major League Baseball player who must make sacrifices to care for his beloved dog, a baseball player who realized the game was no longer for him, the perfect response to performance enhancing drug allegations, capturing the horror of the Boston Marathon bombings and the tale of how women must first defeat their own breasts before setting their sights on their opponent. 

20. "Playing Defense: What's the smartest PED response strategy?" by SportsonEarth's Will Leitch (August 13)

In August, the NFL’s best running back Adrian Peterson, of the Minnesota Vikings, kind of surprised the sports media/world when asked if he used performance enhancing drugs. His response: "... it makes me feel good. When you know you don't do it, and someone's saying you do, you're like, 'Wow. They think I'm on HGH? I'm doing that good? It's a compliment. I don't get mad about it at all." It was a reaction unlike any other athlete who'd ever answered the question and according to Sports on Earth's Will Leitch is the smartest strategy to responding to PED questioning. 

19. "Lonely Days Ahead for Mark Buehrle" by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (February 7)

Jerry Crasnick’s piece on newly acquired Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and his love of his dogs was intriguing because it shows the sacrifices, sometimes ones you wouldn’t even think of, that professional athletes sometimes have to make during their season. Buehrle and his family own a 2-year old American Staffordshire terrier and bulldog mix, part of the pitbull family, which happens to be outlawed in the entirety of Toronto’s province Ontario. Because of their bond with their pup, Buehrle’s family chose to stay at home in St. Louis and take care of the dog, meaning that they would be away from each other for most of the season. Buehrle’s sacrifice and the love and care he has for dogs makes for a supremely touching story. 

18. “Why I Quit Major League Baseball” by Adrian Cardenas for The New Yorker (October 30)

Becoming a Major League Baseball player (or a professional athlete of another kind) is a dream shared by millions throughout the world. One would think that making it to the highest level in your sport would be the ultimate goal, but Adrian Cardenas, a former Chicago Cubs player, realized once he finally made it to “the show” that it really wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t his American dream. His telling of why in The New Yorker is an interesting tale of how one can seemingly have what millions desire, but not really want for himself.

17. "You Can Only Hope to Contain Them" by ESPN The Magazine's Amanda Hess (July 16)

Sometimes great articles are the ones that make you think of things that you never would have imagined. For instance, as a man I had never thought about how uncomfortable it must be for female athletes to compete because of their breasts until I read Amanda Hess’ “You Can Only Hope to Contain Them” for ESPN the Magazine. Hess’ piece made me realize that for women sometimes you have to battle your own breasts before even thinking about defeating your opponent.

16. "You Are Not Safe Here": The Remains of a Horrible Day in Boston" by Esquire's Charles P. Pierce (April 15)

The day of the Boston bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 15 was a day that most Americans will probably always remember, but for the people who were actually there will be engrained in their memories – the horror, the blood, the gruesomely maimed and the panic that permeated throughout the area. Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce in just five short paragraphs was able to perfectly capture the panic of the moments directly after the bomb blasts, including the unnerving quote from an officer stating to passer-bys, “you are not safe here.” However, it’s his final sentence that truly lets the horror of that afternoon sink in: "And you can smell the blood two blocks away." 

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 1 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In part one of this five-part list are fine writings on the unsung heroes of NASCAR, the dying out of a controversial Spanish tradition, a Cooperstown weekend where no living hall of famers were inducted, a wild-and-wacky college football game that’s almost too unbelievable to believe and the sad tale of an auto racing legend who’s pain became too much for him to bear.

Click on the article title to read ...

25. "Life of a NASCAR hauler driver" by TheTrucker's Aprille Hanson (July 2)

I must first get this little disclaimer out of the way … Aprille Hanson is my girlfriend, but as anybody who truly knows me knows this would not be a good enough reason for me to stick an article written by her on my list of the finest sports journalism of 2013. Hanson’s piece stands out on its own and the reason it makes this list is because it’s an incredibly interesting aspect of a sport that’s almost never seen or talked about … the NASCAR hauler driver. Hanson shows us that NASCAR hauler drivers, with their colorful personalities and even more colorful nicknames like “Pickle,” are the unsung heroes of the sport of NASCAR.

24. “But It Did Happen” by Grantland’s Brian Phillips (October 25)

Grantland’s Brian Phillips’ recounting of an unbelievably crazy college football game 45 years ago between Tulsa and Houston that featured a future NFL head coach, a future country music star and may or may not have featured TV’s Dr. Phil McGraw is a must-read for its sheer wackiness and the fact that, at least to my knowledge, such an unusual game as this has never been recounted.

23. "Adiós, Spanish bullfighting?" by Salon'sGuy Hedgecoe  (June 23)

Bullfighting is a sport that fascinated the great Ernest Hemingway, who’d write about it multiple times in his works, but one of this year’s great sports articles came from Salon’s Guy Hedgecoe about how the controversial Spanish tradition is dying out in Spain due to protests from animal rights activists and a bad economy.

22. "Village of the Damned: Cooperstown 2013"by Grantland.com's Bryan Curtis (July 29)

Grantland’s Bryan Curtis’ piece on a baseball hall of fame class in Cooperstown, N.Y. in which not a single living soul was being inducted is interesting because it allows us to delve into the politics of hall of fame voting, the camaraderie of the living hall of famers coming back each year to take part in the celebrations and the always entertaining Pete Rose, who should be in the hall, signing autographs across town on the weekend of the ceremony.  

21. "Elegy of a race car driver: The good times,hard life, and shocking death of Dick Trickle" by SBNation's JeremyMarkovich (July 30)

Jeremy Markovich of SBNation wrote this beautifully sad piece on the great short track auto racer Dick Trickle, who became a sports punchline for his name, but meant so much more to the racing industry and fans of the sport throughout the country. The story perfectly captures Trickle’s legacy, what he meant to fellow drivers like Rusty and Kenny Wallace and the pain he felt toward the end of his life before the moment he decided to end it all.  

Best Sports Can Be, Worst Sports Can See - All in 24 Hours

It’s amazing the kind of different emotions 24 hours can elicit – particularly in sports.

April 14, 2013 was a day that represented everything sports, and life for that matter, should be all about.

April 15, 2013 was a day that represented something completely opposite. Something that should be unthinkable, but here we are thinking about it. Something so ghastly, so horrific it seems like it should only exist in a nightmare or a really bad action movie.

The final round of the Masters Tournament on Sunday afternoon was a sports fan’s euphoria.

You had about 10 different golfers with a decent chance of victory, great stories (like the three Australians: Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman, trying to win the nation’s first Masters and Tiger Woods still attempting to win his first major in five years), great characters (Angel Cabrera, who’s the everyman golfer, and past champion, affectionately called “El Pato” or “The Duck” for his waddling gait) and a leaderboard that wouldn’t stand pat for more than 10 minutes at a time with golfer after golfer making a run to the top, only to fall back down to the rest of the oncoming pack.

Like so many Augusta Sundays before this year’s Masters was the definition of nerve-wracking. Even though I’d see many a close Final Round Sunday before this one seemed to be the tops, the best, the most nail-biting … particularly when it came down to the 18th and final hole and the ensuing two-hole, sudden-death playoff for the coveted Green Jacket, one of sport’s most enchanting and visible honors. Adam Scott, one of the game’s best without a major championship, and Angel Cabrera, a former Masters and U.S. Open champ who seems to step up his game when the trophy’s mean the most, went mano-a-mano and hit some of the best and most beautiful golf shots that you’ll ever see – and all of this with incredible pressure on their backs. The final holes and sudden-death playoff at the Masters this year was among the most intense sporting moments I’d ever witnessed – the kind of good intense where you’re heart beats rapidly, like when you experience your first kiss. In the end, Scott made two incredible putts that fell in and Cabrera made a few equally incredible shots that just missed. I, admittedly, was rooting (and very hard, in fact) for Cabrera so a slight disappointment crept over me, but it vanished almost immediately as it set it, because this tournament, these last few holes were just too damn good to feel upset about.

And, then after all the shots had been hit for the weekend and just before the patrons shuffled to their cars to head home came the moment that truly summed it all up – the moment that represents everything sports and life should be all about. Cabrera doffed his hat, walked over to a celebrating Scott and the Argentine, who doesn’t speak much English, if any, embraced the newly crowned Aussie champion in a hug. It was a moment where two warriors of the ultimate gentleman’s game showed what true class and sportsmanship is all about. Grace both on and off the golf course – fitting for Augusta, fitting for the sport, fitting for the world.    

The final round of this year’s Masters was truly magical – something I won’t soon forget – something that I’ll go out on a limb and say won’t be topped by any other sporting event this entire year, as far as sheer excitement goes.            

Magic sometimes vanishes as quickly as it appears.

Monday morning started off glorious for those competing in the 117^th Boston Marathon, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious marathons. From explanations given by participants both in the marathon and within the marathon community – this event is one of true communal spirit and celebration, ideals that should pervade throughout the sports world.

It was going to be a good day – then came 2:50 p.m. Boston time. Two bomb blasts, 15 seconds and reportedly about 550 feet apart, ripped through the celebration right where spectators gathered near the finish line cheering on family and friends. Billowing smoke filled the sunny skies and an appalling amount of blood covered the ground – something that undoubtedly and unfortunately will remain embedded in my memory for as long, if not longer, than those enchanting golf shots from the day before. The nightmarish image on television couldn’t even possibly measure up to the scenes experienced by those at Copley Square, where the bombings took place.  The lives that are changed forever now – whether dead, maimed, only slightly injured or just witnesses of the horror.

 

We all knew it could happen. After 9/11, I know it sounds cliché to bring up every time something incredibly tragic happens, but it’s our generation’s tragedy measuring stick, we knew that sporting events – whether large or small – could be targeted for terrorist attacks, either foreign or domestic. Surely it was bound to happen. But, in the almost dozen years since 9/11 there hadn’t been any tragic incidents at sporting events involving terrorism in this country. Maybe that’s why the bombing of the Boston Marathon seemed so surprising, so out-of-the-blue, so heinous. Maybe we had told ourselves it wouldn’t happen here – it wouldn’t happen someplace where people gathered for celebration, for enjoyment, for relaxation from their everyday lives. Maybe they would only target high rises and government building and monuments.

That was too naïve.

The evil want to inflict maximum pain and joyous occasions turning to chaotic terror accomplishes that. Whoever did this to the Boston Marathon, to this country, to the world – may they be brought to justice – essentially made a sport out of terror. They took something that many hold as sacred and destroyed it, but only for a little while. Sports fans, Americans, most of the world’s people are resilient. We won’t forget, but we’ll experience that joy again.  

Whoever did this turned a sporting event into a catastrophic news event. They brought sadness and pain to where joy and comfort belong.                   

The best thing sports could be took place on Sunday afternoon. The worst thing sports could see took place on Monday afternoon. Thank God when it comes to sports there’s an awful lot more Sundays than Mondays.  

   

Presidential Election As A Sporting Event

One of the most fascinating sporting events only takes place once every four years. No, it’s not the Summer Olympics, it’s actually the Presidential Election.

I realized last night while watching the Presidential Election over the span of seven different networks that the election is broadcast much-like a sporting event.

You have two candidates, who serve as the athletes in this situation, battling each other for months culminating in this one night for 270 Electoral College votes, which effectively serves as the score. As state polls close the electoral votes go up and down for the two candidates and make it look as if one candidate is leading the election, or game in my sports analogy.

At one point last night Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney had a pretty sizable lead on President Barack Obama, but later President Obama passed him and ended up winning in a landslide. This on CNN or MSNBC or Fox News is the equivalent of the Boston Celtics leading the Chicago Bulls by 20 in the first half then having the Bulls comeback to tie the game and later win by 20.

The sport of the election as broadcast on television makes it more interesting to watch and the graphics on some of the networks like CNN add to the sport of the whole thing.

Another aspect of the election that makes it seem and feel like a sporting event is the way we root for the candidates like we do our favorite athletes and teams and the way we bicker and argue about them and their politics like they are our favorite athletes and teams. I feel the same way debating conservatism versus liberalism as I do when I’m debating whether or not Babe Ruth is a greater baseball player than Hank Aaron.

The reason why is that both sports and politics bring out the most passion in people and when people are passionate about something they are going to get competitive about it.

Last night’s Presidential Election was actually one of the most competitive and interesting sporting events I’ve seen all year long. It’s almost a shame we’ll have to wait four more years for another one, but like in any sport, the rules are the rules.

To Spoil or Not To Spoil

The biggest controversy from the first few days of the 2012 London Summer Olympics has been the tape delayed coverage given to Americans by NBC. NBC has chosen not to show some of the bigger events (mostly swimming and gymnastics) live on any of its television networks and instead hold them until primetime when there’s a bigger audience.

This decision by NBC, which almost everybody seems to agree is poor, has led to many viewers finding out the results of these events prior to the airing on television through news outlets like ESPN and social media outlets like Twitter.

You really can’t blame news outlets like ESPN because one of the biggest goals and responsibilities of journalists are to break the news when the news breaks. So, if Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte win swimming medals in London when it’s early or mid-morning in the United States the news will report it when it happens, as they should. It’s not the American media’s responsibility to wait until Americans have had the chance to see it to announce the results. However, NBC News giving the results before its own broadcast is another story.

This poses a major issue for me that I struggled with for the first few days of the Olympics. What should I do about my Facebook fanpage for my sports podcast Basement Sports?

Typically when sports news breaks I publish it immediately upon seeing or hearing it on the podcast’s fanpage (because I view it as a form of media). However, some of these updates are a few hours old before I get the chance to post them, because of my day job that does not include access to a computer throughout the afternoon hours five days a week.

The 2012 London Summer Olympics are the first Olympic games during my podcast’s tenure and so I found myself having to deal with something new in attempting to cover a sporting event (the largest one at that) on such a time difference.

My journalistic experience and instincts tell me to publish the results of the events when they occur or at least when I see or hear about them. However, I’ve refrained from doing that thus far and have made the decision to keep doing so until the events have completed on American television. Here’s why …

I’ve long believed and told people that I didn’t think spoilers affected my feelings about movies or television shows and I honestly believe that to be the case. Does knowing Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father prior to watching the “Star Wars” trilogy affect the movie’s greatness? No. Knowing a surprise twist or ending to a film or TV show ultimately doesn’t change whether or not a movie is good and it shouldn’t have any result on whether or not you enjoy it either.

However, when it comes to sports spoilers are everything. Because the sole intention of sports is to win or lose knowing the outcome of the event really takes all of the fun and excitement out of watching it. Sure, many people will still watch the event despite knowing the results just to see exactly how it happened, as NBC’s Olympic ratings have suggested, but it just isn’t the same.

Unfortunately I’ve known almost every single major result before it aired on primetime. I just can’t manage to stay unplugged long enough not to find out the results even accidentally. For this reason the Olympics simply haven’t been nearly as fun or exciting as I anticipated.

I know that my not posting Olympics results until after they air on NBC on the Basement Sports podcast fanpage is likely not going to make a whole lot of difference for most sports fans, who like me probably already know the results anyway. But, I don’t want to spoil the fun and the excitement of the Olympics for those intentionally staying away from the results, because I know how much that sucks.