mcinerney

I am a huge sports fan. I’ll watch just about any sport on television. I will watch basketball, baseball, football, golf, tennis, the major horse races, etc. I will watch just about any event when the Olympics are happening. I’ll give just about any sport a try in my personal life as well. I don’t watch any television shows at all. I do, however, watch a ridiculous amount of sports. I have programmed my remote control to turn on ESPN when the TV, receiver, etc. is powered on. I look at current stats, historical stats, standings, etc. I am addicted to sports.

This past week I was talking to some friends and we were talking about how depressing sports is now. If you looked at www.espn.com a few days ago the headlines would read:

1. Tim Donaghy fixing games as an NBA official (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=expertexplainsNBAbets)

2. Barry Bonds is about to break one of the most unreachable records in all of sports, but is clearly marked as a product of steroids (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2948334&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2948334%26name%3dolney_buster)

3. Mike Coolbaugh died after being hit by a line drive while coaching first base with his two kids and pregnant wife at home (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2948334&name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d2948334%26name%3dolney_buster)

4. Michael Vick going to court for allegedly being the ring leader of a dog fighting ring (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=munson_lester&id=2950481)

5. The Tour de France is in the middle of more doping scandals (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2007/columns/story?id=2949477)

If you were a parent and your child wanted to idolize an athlete or simply buy a poster or them to put on their wall or buy their jersey to wear in the backyard game was football or baseball or basketball, wouldn’t you have to do some research on that individual before you allowed your child to grab hold of that athlete? Michael Vick is an exciting player to watch on a football field. If I had kids, I would not want them wearing a Falcons #7 jersey. I suppose times change with the generations and we are forced to adapt. I remember my parents screening the movies we watched or tapes we wanted to buy. Today I guess along with movies and CDs, parents also have to monitor internet usage and the athletes their kids want to follow.

Beyond the athletes, it is just a depressing time in sports. Fixing NBA games challenges the integrity of all sports. Most depressing of all is the young coach dying on a freak accident. A husband with two young children and another on the way.

This is terribly depressing as a sports fan. I long for lead stories to be of players getting better and hitting game-winning homeruns in a critical game during the pennant race.

Good things simply do not happen to the Wolves. It could be simply bad luck. It could be that Minnesota is supposed to be a hockey state, not a basketball state. It could be because of the Joe Smith fiasco from what seems like a decade ago (Is Joe Smith still contributing in the league?). Or, it could be because I have spent more time wishing bad things on Tim Duncan (complainer), Dirk Nowitzki (complainer) and Kobe Bryant (Colorado). Whatever the reason, the Wolves have bad kharma working against them anytime they are looking for ping pong balls to land their way.

From the time the Wolves were an expansion team, they have been in the lottery 11 times. They have moved up exactly NEVER. The lottery rules and odds were changed because of the Wolves. They were the worst team in the league when Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning were entering the draft. The Wolves slid two spots in the draft and selected Christian Laettner. For 11 tries in the ping pong barrel the Wolves have never been helped by the process. When I get some time I should research the odds each year (they have changed over the years and so have the lottery rules) and compute the chances of them NEVER moving up in the draft. I can say this with certainty; the odds are not good.

So the Wolves are scheduled to pick at #7. There have been some decent players selected in that slot over the past few years. Randy Foye (2006), Charlie Villanueva (2005), Luol Dent (2004) , Kirk Hinrich (2003) and Richard Hamilton (1999). There has also been some flops. Eddie Griffin (2001), Chris Mihm (2000) and Lorenzen Wright (1996).
What matters is that KG needs help immediately. They do not have time to work with a project. They need someone that can step in and contribute their rookie year. Similar to the way Foye and McCants have done in the past two years. KG’s prime cannot and SHOULD NOT be wasted anymore.

Obviously Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will be going #1 and #2. Under that assumption, I’m hoping Corey Brewer is available at #7. If he is gone I’d be happy with Brandan Wright. I think Brewer is ready to play on opening night. He is already an NBA level defender and being as athletic as he is, at 6’9€? he can play right away. Brandan Wright seems a little weak to me at this point, but has a soft touch for a bigger guy and I like his potential.

Whichever player the Wolves end up with, he needs to be the steal of the draft. The Wolves deserve it, KG deserves it and I deserve it.

I’m a big sports fan, especially basketball. I cannot possibly guess how many hours of sports I have watched in my lifetime. In person, on TV (and TiVo), SportsCenter, etc. I don’t watch any television shows per se. Meaning, I don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy or even 24. I never got into the Seinfeld or Friends years. That said, the TV is on quite a bit at my house. And 99% of the time, some kind of athletic event is what is showing. Basketball season is the worst. There are multiple professional and college games on every night of the week. I suppose it is a minor miracle that I bring the garbage to the street each week.

My point to this is simple. I have watched sports my entire life and I’m not sure I could name five worse injuries to watch than the one Shaun Livingston suffered the other night. You can see it on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn2_XPls68E), but be aware it truly is sickening. I am somewhat glad it was a non-contact injury because it is the kind of thing that could haunt another person if they were responsible for it. I hope he is able to recover from this injury because he has the potential to be a really good player.

The injuries are tough to stomach for anyone, but if you have ever played sports and done something as simple as breaking your finger or nose or twisting an ankle, you know how painful it can be. I cannot imagine something as serious as Shaun Livingston’s knee injury.

The injuries that one could say are worse to watch are:
1. Joe Theisman breaking his leg on Monday Night Football (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clM8mPPDx9E&mode=related&search=)
2. Dave Dravecky breaking his arm while throwing a pitch
3. Jason Kendall dislocating his ankle on a play at the plate

I’m struggling to think of worse injuries to watch. Sports are great to watch 99.9% of the time, but these injuries do not fit in that fun category.

Years back, when I was an undergrad at the University of St. Thomas, some friends and I fell in love with the concept of J-Term (who wouldn’t?). If you are unfamiliar with this term, first let me be the first to apologize to you. J-Term is essentially the time given in-between the fall semester and spring semester at some local colleges. Rather than taking four classes during the four month fall and spring semester, you can take one class for the month of January. Or, in an effort to take full advantage of the undergraduate experience, you can simply sit out J-Term.

I could go on and on about all the reasons sitting out J-Term makes the most sense. Suffice it to say, that sitting out J-Term allows you to have half the total time given for summer vacation. It allows for a six week break for J-Term versus the three months given for summer. Taking this time off to clear your head and get ready for the spring semester, still allows a person to graduate in four years (with only a little adjusting of your schedule). My roommates and I would start the J-Term countdown on the first day of classes in the fall. As the days got colder, the number got smaller. It was extremely exciting when that number first went into double digits, then it was single digits. I am not one to wish my life away, but J-Term to a college student is analogous to Christmas for a six-year old….only it lasts for SIX WEEKS, not 24 hours.

Since I don’t see any company offering a J-Term in their benefits tucked neatly between Christmas Day and President’s Day (and that would be ALL of those days), I have found another month that can be exciting. March. You may be thinking people take trips in March, occasionally there will be a hint of spring in the air, etc. I am thinking COLLEGE BASKETBALL. The conference tournaments, March Madness, and, naturally, the annual trip to Vegas (this deserves its own blog).

As a professional, going to work every day, I find myself counting down the days until March. I really don’t think there is anything like college basketball. This is true in November, December, January and February. But it is especially true in March. It can make you feel 21 again watching college kids play a game they love (for the most part), watching the students in the stands dolling their painted faces, school colors, jeans and plans for the party after their school wins. Watching players, students, parents, coaches, faculty all cheering like the next 20 years of their life depends on each game, and in some cases, each shot, is truly exciting.

The conference tournaments start in early March and it just builds up from there. Selection Sunday you can count me out for any plans, that is unless you care to sit down and watch the selection show with me. I know that day more than I know any other day of the year. After all of the teams are announced, I will look at the brackets for a few minutes and then I will be on the phone. Hours of discussions and debates will follow. Who do you like? Where are the upsets? Who is ready to carry their team?

This is exciting. The countdown is approaching single digits. March is almost here. I’m pretty much busy every Thursday – Sunday in March. It could be 30 below zero and 80 and sunny. This kid will be in front of the TV.