So I've been an Aston Villa fan since I was about 14 years-old. I
was sitting in my cousin's basement in 2004 or '05 playing the latest FIFA game
and beginning a "Manager" mode, but I didn't know which team to pick.
I chose Aston Villa. There wasn't really any rhyme or reason to it at all.
Maybe I thought they sounded vaguely familiar and very "English."
Whatever the case, it was destiny, and I've enjoyed being an Aston Villa fan
ever since.
It turns out it was the perfect time to be
an Aston Villa fan, because only a few short years later they were fighting
late in the season for a spot in the top four of the Barclays Premier League
and a trip to the Champions League. Martin O'Neill was leading them as manager
and they were filled with young talent like Ashley Young, James Milner, and
Gabby Agbonlahor. They were fun to watch. I especially remember the game
against Everton in 2008. We were ahead 2-1 around the 90th minute when Everton
tied it up. It was one of those daggers that you get as a soccer fan when your
team is so close to getting a win and three points, but they can't quite hold
off their opponents for long enough to secure them. Then the most exciting play
I've ever watched in my life as a soccer fan happened. Right off the restart,
Ashley Young took the ball from the left wing, slashed through the defense and,
one-on-one with the keeper, bent it into the goal from the top of the box to
give Aston Villa a last-second 3-2 win. I was beyond excited. I was jumping
around, fist-pumping, yelling and screaming in my church clothes (it was a
Sunday morning). My mom came out to the upstairs balcony that overlooks the
living room to see why my dad and I were so excited. It was definitely my favorite
day as a Villa fan.
Then in the summer of 2009 I left to
Romania for 2 years of service as a missionary. I didn't have much opportunity
to follow the BPL. I returned in 2011 to find out that Manchester had stolen
almost all of my favorite players. Young was now at United and Milner and
Gareth Barry both went to City. Martin O'Neill had also left for Sunderland. I
was so bummed, and the next few years would include nothing close to the
success that the team enjoyed before I left. At least the speedy Gabby
Agbonlahor remained with the club and, in fact, is still there.
Today, four games into the season, I got
to see the Villa move into 2nd place in the table with a solid 1-0 team win
against Liverpool. Gabby Agbonlahor got a goal early and the defense held
strong despite a late onslaught which so nearly produced an equalizer when
Philippe Coutinho's shot was tipped just enough to force it against the post
and away. It's refreshing to see the Villa doing well again after a couple of
seasons of fighting off relegation. I'm a happy fan and excited for the rest of
the season. Here's to Villa on the rise again.
And here's another fan who really enjoyed
that game in 2008 (and an Everton fan who didn't so much). It's not long, worth
the watch.
I kept my shirt on when Young scored, but I was no less excited.
If you saw the video I shared on Facebook today (not the Kevin Durant MVP one, though I'll probably mention that later), then you know I'm missing Derrick Rose today, and again feeling bummed that I was in Romania as a missionary and missed his whole MVP "coming out party" season (2010-11). On a brighter note, the playoffs are in full swing and they are awesome. Damien Lillard and Steph Curry have solidified themselves as two of my favorite players. Too bad the Warriors had to lose, although I didn't want the Clippers to be out of it either. I think the NBA should consider a change to the whole East/West setup. How is it that the West has been so far superior to the East for so long? I would seriously like an explanation, because I haven't come up with a reasonable one yet. Maybe they could do something similar to MLB with two leagues of randomly-assigned teams (but maybe not completely random). These playoffs would be much better if the 16 teams with the best records made the playoffs, irrespective of conference. Now the Heat will just coast to the Finals and be pretty fresh, meeting one of these West teams who just ran a veritable gauntlet only to then meet up with the two-time defending champs. Oh well, it's still gonna be sweet to watch. And I'm now rooting for the Thunder to win it all after watching Kevin Durant's MVP acceptance speech. What a great guy. If he doesn't win it this year, he should go to Chicago, because you know they would win it all with that defensive system and a guy like Durant to score alongside D-Rose. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
Speaking of players moving, I am realistically looking forward to Carmelo coming to Chicago over the summer. Although if, for some reason, that doesn't happen, we'll settle for Kevin Love, but I'm not sure Lance Stephenson would do it for me. But all that aside, I'm still not convinced that destiny doesn't have Jabari Parker ending up with the Bulls (somehow) in the cards. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
And sometimes dreams come true. Just ask Kevin Durant.
As I was reveling the other day in the two day outburst of production from Alfonso Soriano, I went to write a tweet. I thought about tweeting something like, "He must be hangin' out with A-Rod a little too much." I sent the tweet, but I just felt sick to my stomach thinking about that whole idea. I promptly deleted the tweet and sent a different one that didn't include any suggestion of juicing. I've since thought about why I got that sick feeling. I guess my pondering brought up some general ideas about human nature, so I'll share a little bit with you.
This whole A-Rod scandal has been the talk of the sports world for the past month or so. At first I just thought he was an idiot, but he's not. You hear from people who know him well that he is one of the smartest guys in baseball. If that's the case, then it seems that he's more of a con artist than an idiot. He's smart, and he's cunning, to the point that he still has Yankees fans (like me) rooting for him despite all the crap that has gone down. A month ago I would have told you that I hated A-Rod and wanted MLB to give him the lifetime ban. That would be good for the Yankees organization, because we all know that more than anything else they do not want to pay A-Rod another $100 million over the remainder of his contract if he's going to be under-producing (which he has) and continue to cause so many headaches (which he definitely has and will most likely continue to do). However, after seeing him back in pinstripes and the Yankees' bats catching fire with him back in the lineup, my feelings have betrayed my better judgment. I want to like A-Rod. I want to believe his denials about PEDs. I want to see him in pinstripes going forward. Why???
Besides the simple fact that I'm a Yankees fan and having him in the lineup is better for the team's chances of winning, I think that part of the reason is that A-Rod is one of those larger-than-life major sports figures that make the games so fascinating to watch. He was a phenom. He was the Mike Trout or Lebron James or Sidney Crosby of his time. He was the next big thing, and he was a big thing. And, as a fan, to find out that one of those guys -- the kind of athlete who blows our minds doing things that we have hardly, if ever, seen before -- cheated to get to where he is, especially if he plays for your favorite team ... it's upsetting to say the least. We don't want to believe it. We want to find any excuse to forgive him and let his performance go back to what it was before: amazing and inexplicable. Now it's not. Now it's just science; still fascinating but not inexplicable.
I hate that all of this drama has almost completely robbed me of any childlike fascination with sports and athletic achievement, so I'm not going to let it. I refuse to become (completely) jaded. Until it is proven otherwise, Alfonso Soriano, one of my favorite players ever since he came to the Yankees years ago, is simply having an awesome hot streak. I think that he is loving being back in the Bronx and it is translating into great play. It will be a great story if he is able to spark a Yankees' run to make the playoffs this year, but postseason or not, we love having him back and love what he's doing for the team.
What I love about this whole situation is that it's proven that the magic of baseball cannot be destroyed by the dark cloud of PEDs. This scandal, and A-Rod in particular, will fade into the background as we watch another great season of Major League Baseball unfold with great stories like the Pirates, Dodgers, and Royals coming to their respective climaxes over the upcoming stretch run. Baseball is too great to be undone by a few idiots.
Let me first add a couple of things to part 1 of this NBA preview. The immortal Niels Wankier pointed out that I didn't mention Golden State in talking about the contenders in the West next year. He also complained that his beloved Jazz weren't in the discussion, but he was joking (I think). It was an oversight on my part to neglect the Warriors, so I apologize. Here are a few thoughts on them.
Adding Andre Iguodala was a good move, but it's too bad that they had to lose Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry in the process. Those were two key guys for them off the bench last year, so that will hurt, but Iggy definitely boosts their starting five and gives them the opportunity to play small ball with Iggy, Steph Curry, Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and David Lee/Andrew Bogut. The key to the Warriors' success next year will be Bogut's health. If he stays healthy -- and that's a big if -- they could make a run in the playoffs. If not, then I don't think they'll make it past the second round, if they get that far. They will, however, absolutely be one of the funnest teams to watch next season, and I'm looking forward to that.
There was another comment left on part 1 from my old friend Maddie. Hers was specifically about the Jazz. So to say a little bit about Utah, I am actually really excited to watch them this year and go to a few games at Energy Solutions Arena. It will be fun to watch all of their young guys get tons of playing time and see their development, not to mention they will lose a lot of games this year so tickets will be nice and cheap, just the way I like them. Go Jazz! Hopefully I can make it when Chicago comes to town....
Speaking of Bulls/Jazz games, let's take a trip down memory lane.
Alright, you can come back, Jazz fans. Wipe the tears away. Stockton's three almost went in. And no, Karl Malone can't hear you yelling at him to watch out for MJ coming from behind. Sorry. Let's get back to the present (or future, I guess) and how I think the final four of the Eastern Conference will shake out next season.
As I mentioned in part 1, the East will come down to a dog fight between Miami, Chicago, Indiana, and Brooklyn. Chicago has a history of taking that #1 seed when they're healthy, and Miami doesn't seem to care that much about it, so I think Chicago will have it again this year. Depending on the health of Dwyane Wade, Miami could end up getting leap-frogged by Indiana as well, but I'll go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt and say they'll get the #2 seed. Healthy until proven injured, right? As long as he can sprinkle in a few trips to Germany during the season, Wade might be able to play in 60 games. More on the Heat later. That means I've got Indiana with the #3 seed and Brooklyn at #4. That puts us hypothetically with second round playoff match-ups (and great rematches from last year) of Chicago vs. Brooklyn and Miami vs. Indiana. Awesome. I think that either series could go either way, so lets delve a little deeper into them.
Chicago vs. Brooklyn:
Let's look at the projected starting 5's for each of these teams. For Chicago it would be Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah (side note: I've never been more excited and optimistic about a Bulls starting five; can't wait to watch these guys play together). For Brooklyn it would be Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brooke Lopez. Wow. On paper, this match-up looks like it would be one of the most compelling we've seen in the past few years. I don't see an obvious advantage for either team at any position, and I would honestly take Jimmy Butler over Joe Johnson at this point in both of their careers. Both teams have strong benches, but I have to give the nod to Chicago having home court advantage and the best player on either team (Derrick Rose).
Miami vs. Indiana:
I am actually very intrigued by Miami's signing of Greg Oden. He has now become the only player on the Heat that I like and find myself rooting for. Check out this article by Oden's close friend Mark Titus about the signing. Feel free to ignore it if you don't want to compromise your hate of Miami. It's too late for me. I hope Oden does well for his sake, not for Miami's sake. But if he does do well (and Dwyane Wade stays relatively healthy), it's hard to bet against Miami winning a third straight title. Let's assume the most likely scenario, that Oden will be average at best and won't necessarily put Miami head and shoulders above everyone else in the league. Wade will have knee issues, and so if Miami does win the title, it'll be by the skin of their teeth just like last year.
As for Indiana, they got better. Their starting 5 will be about the same with the exception of the possible reinsertion of Danny Granger, but where they really improved was with their bench. They picked up C.J. Watson from Brooklyn, Chris Copeland from New York, and Luis Scola from Phoenix. That's a solid bench when added to guys that are already there and have proven themselves, such as Lance Stephenson. Am I talking myself into picking a Chicago/Indiana Eastern Conference Finals? Yes, yes I am.
Chicago vs. Indiana:
This would be such a cool series; old school basketball at its finest. Both of these teams make defense a priority, they grind it out on offense, and they aren't afraid to knock you on your butt if you try to invade the lane. The Bulls have an obvious advantage at point guard, and I would give a slight edge to Indiana in the Paul George/Luol Deng match-up, but I'm gonna go ahead and send this post to Luol Deng to fuel his competitive fire a little bit. Don't doubt me, I'll get it to him. ..........Okay, maybe not.
It's going to be an absolute war on the interior. Carlos Boozer and David West? Roy Hibbert and Joakim Noah? Yes, please. If there isn't a scuffle every single game then I will be surprised.
Just thinking about how competitive the East is going to be next year (at least at the top) next year is making me want to splurge on NBA League Pass. Really the only thing that sways me toward one side or the other in this match-up is the "best player on either team" factor, and that, once again, is Derrick Rose. He also happens to be my favorite player, but I promise this isn't just a homer pick. Just a little bit.... =))
So there you have it. My NBA Finals prediction for next year is Chicago vs. San Antonio. Bring it on, Spence. I'm coming over for every game and we're gonna fight. You all know that I would have to pick the Bulls, so I won't bother with any analysis that you'll just take with a grain of salt anyway. Derrick Rose: NBA Champion and Finals MVP? Sounds great to me!
Not to mention a second round exit for Miami next year would most likely spell the end of the big 3 in South Beach, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We'll leave that subject for another time.
We went to a Salt Lake Bees game tonight against the Iowa Cubs. Big thanks to my brother, Spencer, and his wife, Missy, for giving us the tickets. We couldn't have asked for better seats (although we were, in fact, about three seats over from our actual seats since no one was sitting there). It was a great night; the weather was perfect, it was a great game (more on that further down), and there was even an Omar Vizquel sighting!
He's the one on the left. It took me forever to figure out who he was. I knew I recognized him, but I couldn't think of his name. I got some help from a twelve year-old girl who told me he was "Omar something." Go figure that the two grown men that I asked had no idea who he was, but the twelve year-old girl could help me out. Look for her to be a guest writer on my blog soon. Also, feel free to strip me of all credibility as a sports writer. Maybe she should just take my place completely.
Anyway, so I went to talk to Omar and got him to sign that girls' baseball. She had a sharpie. All I had were our tickets and her borrowed sharpie, but he quickly signed the ball between innings and the tickets went unsigned. I went home autographless, but at least I get the satisfaction of having helped the girl...(thinking)...yeah, still a little bummed. I like to think he was impressed that I knew who he was, though.
As for the game itself, it went into the bottom of the 9th tied 4-4. The Bees started the inning with two singles, and both runners advanced to 3rd and 2nd on a pass ball. With one out, the Cubs intentionally walked the next guy to give them the chance to send the game into extras with a double play. The next guy up got down 0-2, but fought to stay alive, fouling off three or four pitches before getting the count to 2-2. On the next pitch, he lined one just off the tip of the second baseman's glove to bring home the winning run. All 438 fans in the stadium went nuts, and the hero got a water cooler shower during his post-game interview. Here he is wringing out his shirt while talking about that last at-bat.
Although it wasn't a Major League game, it was a fun sports experience to add to my collection of memories. The Omar Vizquel sighting definitely boosted it. It also never hurts to have a pretty girl with you. All in all, it was a great night.
Another season of the greatest sports league in the world is just a few months away. Wait, didn't the NBA season just end? Yep! Isn't it awesome! The reason why the upcoming season is so intriguing is because there are so many teams that have a legitimate shot to make it to the Finals and win the championship. The Heat, Bulls, Clippers, Thunder, Spurs, Pacers, Rockets, and Nets all believe that this could be their year, so it's shaping up to be a great season. Let me go ahead and give you my prediction of how the final four will shake out. The West:
The Clippers have the talent. They've had the talent for the past two seasons. I think that bringing in Doc Rivers will make the difference and help them finally win in the playoffs, mostly because he will teach them how to play elite defense.
The Spurs have basically the same team as last year. They still have the best coach in the NBA, and as long as Duncan's body doesn't break down, he will be hungry to make up for last season's heartbreaking loss in the Finals.
The Thunder didn't get better in the offseason; in fact, they may have become a little bit worse. Kevin Martin left, which means that they have pennies on the dollar left from what they got in the James Harden trade. Jeremy Lamb, however, looked good in the Summer League, so we'll see if he or any of their other bench guys can fill in for Martin, but that's a big if. Even with a healthy Westbrook in this year's playoffs, I don't see them getting past the second round.
The Rockets will be interesting to watch, but unless Dwight Howard is going to be the Dwight Howard of a few seasons ago, they won't make it past the second round of the playoffs. There is the possibility of a deal that would include Omer Asik being traded to Boston for Rajon Rondo somewhere down the road, however, in which case I might change my mind, but that remains to be seen.
Western Conference Finals: Clippers vs. Spurs
The winner of this series, I believe, will be decided by just how much Doc Rivers improves the Clippers' defense, and how well the Spurs' health holds up. Popovich, though, is a master of distributing minutes to keep his best players healthy, but we'll see if he is smart enough to sit Manu in favor of newly acquired Marco Belinelli in the playoffs. As a Bulls fan watching last year's playoffs, when Hinrich was hurt I was most comfortable with Belinelli running the offense, so he could be a key pickup for San Antonio. In any case, I give the edge to the Spurs to make the Finals again.
It's a topic that I have debated with only a few people. I don't like talking about it because it threatens the magic of sport that has inspired me ever since I was a little kid. Like so many other kids, I dreamed of being a professional athlete. Michael Jordan was my hero and role model. He's not so much anymore. I don't see his competitive disease as something that I want to emulate, even if it would give me some of the same success that he had. This, among a few other things, dissuaded me from looking at him as an appropriate role model. Any reason for someone to cease being an appropriate role model for someone else is not good, but at least Michael Jordan is not Ryan Braun or Lance Armstrong. At least he didn't cheat and then lie about it to our faces. But for that matter, maybe he did cheat in some way or another. The fact that I now have to ask that question about the pristine athletic hero of my childhood saddens me, but this is what we've come to, and we would be naive not to ask the questions.
I'm not here to point fingers, so I won't. I want to encourage solutions. Major League Baseball is doing a great job, I think, of cutting their losses and fighting the problem rather than looking the other way. The NFL seems to also be taking steps to prevent PED use. The NBA would do well to follow their examples. As MLB is finding out, the problem won't go away overnight. They have been handing out suspensions for years now -- heavy suspensions -- but it still hasn't quite purged the game of that ugly side. It will take time, but everyone needs to get rid of this stuff.
And, yes, it is bad. If we do what some have suggested and just allow everyone to use PEDs, then the games that Americans have loved for over 100 years will turn into a circus, a freak show. Let's watch a bunch of guys who are taking destructive drugs do things that no normal human being should ever be able to do, and let's not care that their bodies will fall apart when they're 45. You might say that it's their choice what they do with their body. Yes, it is, but it becomes a problem when the whole point of their artificial enhancement is to make more of the money that I pay to watch and to add accomplishments to their resume that wouldn't be there otherwise, that can only be accredited to the drugs. I don't want to watch artificial stuff -- someone who cheats their way into strength, power, and speed. I want to watch normal (but very gifted, of course) people who accomplish great things simply through hard work, courage, and fortitude. That's a real hero.
