Hockey-Tonk and Hoops Hysteria

Well, the All-Star Game is over, and LeBron led the East to a stunning 122-120 comeback...and no one really cares. Sorry, Bron-Bron, but I didn't even know the game was on. And those uni's? Still rediculous.
I do have to make a retraction, however; the NBA used special All-Star jerseys in the past as well, though for whatever reason breifly switched to the normal looks before reverting to the current style a few years ago.
Darko Milicic, the spell-checker's-worst-nightmare draft bust for the Pistons, was shoveled off to Orlando with Carlos Arroyo for an injured post (Kelvin Cato) and an 07 first-round pick. The Magic seem high on the Dark(o) big man, but time will tell. Losing Arroyo leaves Detroit thin at Point Guard, so rumor has it they're looking at NOK's Speedy Claxton, Atlanta Hawk Tyronn Lue, and Charlotte's Brevin Knight. Sir Speedy would give them some serious pop, and I'm not sure about Lue--only saw him in a preseason game in Chattanooga. I'm still high on BK, however; the former Grizzly was one I was sad to see leave the Bluff City. He's low on the radar, it may seem, should come at a value, and seems like he'd fit perfectly with the Pistons' scheme--which is exactly why I hope he stays put or goes to any team but Detroit. Forgive me, but defense, grind-it-out, and the Ripp-and-Chauncey Show are not my idea of a good time. As an analyst, he'd be great; as a fan...could he be a token part of some LA deal?
Expect more trade talks as we near Thursday's deadline.

Also, I have to tip my hat to the USA Hockey women for bringing home the Bronze; they bounced back well and trounced the Finns 4-0. Canada secured an easy 4-1 win in the medal game to reclaim the gold again. Tomorrow? It's time for the men to rumble once again. A win by Team USA over Russia would clinch our berth in the playoffs, though we could still get in fairly easily without winning. U-S-A!

March is approaching quickly, and I'll be honest, I'm looking forward to the WBC. That should be my next ranting topic, as I fire off the good and bad points of this spectacle of spring-training baseball.

Freezers and Football

I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I managed to forget about two All-Star days in the same year...not only did I blank on Pro Bowl Sunday until seeing the highlights the next morning, but I completely forgot about the NBA All-Star Weekend. I had absolutely no idea it was already upon us until seeing the Dunk and 3-Pointer Contests on SportsCenter. I'm slipping. However, so is the latter event. One of the finalists in the dunk contest took at least 14 tries to set up his finale, a star on the Three Point Shootout missed a full rack, the dunk contest was won by a player with only 2 in-game dunks all year, and host-team All-Star Tracy McGrady is required contractually to participate in the All-Star weekend and talk to the media despite family problems and what a friend and broadcaster referred to as major depression. Poor Houston fans...the game itself is really the only excitement they might get out of this event. [By the way, that isn't sarcasm. That's me being honest.]

I promised a critique of the Pro Bowl uniforms, but I will make it very simple. These guys have it down to an art. I don't think they make many changes from year-to-year, with good reason. These looks are very good, extremely solid. My only complaints are that there are too many patches of the Pro Bowl Logo and the collar/solarplexus level is way too busy. They feature an "All-Star" wordmark flanked in stars, with the Pro Bowl logo on one side and the team's wordmark on the other. As this game isn't called the "All-Star" game I find that wordmark pointless. They should nix the center tag and either leave the outer two where they are, put the team wordmark in the center with a small PB logo off to the side, or put the PB logo in the center and a small primary team logo (not wordmark) off to the side. That's the only real improvement I could make. I'd give the overall set an A- probably, though I think the event should not be in isolated Hawai'i. Why do NFL players get that all-star vacation, and why do NFL fans get denied the chance at seeing the event at home? Change up the schedule and/or focus on warm climates and domes like with the Super Bowl and trot it around the League. Do it right--that's all I ask.

The Nashville Kats rebounded this week, whacking the defending champs at the GEC. These "smurfs" are for real, folks. I'm likely going to my first game of the year on Saturday, as the Kats host Grand Rapids. Every team in the AFL has at least one win, while the Austin Wranglers boast the only perfect (4-0) record. Our next opponents, the Rampage, are 2-2, by the way. GRR's Kicker is #4 in the league, and their QB (journeyman Chad Salisbury) is #10 in passing. Their defense also boasts the #3, #12, and #33 tacklers in the league, as well as the #6 kick returner. However, I'll make a "bold" prediction that the Kats should have no problems with the ol' Rhinos. Our numbers are better, our players are better, and the GEC should rock...to see the men in Columbia Blue take home the W.

Sweden downed our USA men 2-1 this evening, but only a loss in their final game against Russia on Tuesday coupled with a high-octane win by 5th-place Latvia (high-scoring enough to overcome the goal-differential) would keep the Red, White, and Blue from joining Russia, Sweden, and the Slovak Republic (Slovakia) in the Group B quarterfinals. Team USA's Women's team suffered a shocking upset in the semis against defending Bronze Medalist Sweden, a game the Swedes won 3-2 by winning an overtime shootout 2-0 in walkoff fashion. The American women lost to Sweden for the first time in 26 games. Sweden battles Canada for the Gold on Monday, and the USA takes on Finland for the Bronze.

Lastly, I need to mention two things: High school sports and college hockey. I'm still slightly confused about the penetration of hockey into the tropical climates. The 2008 NCAA D-1 "Frozen Four" National Championships will be "hosted" by the U. of Alabama at Huntsville...in Tampa Bay, FL. And Florida Gulf Coast University is hosting the 2006 ACHA Division III National Championships in Fort Myers, FL. Is this a great move for hockey, expanding its domain to all-new realms, or is it just odd and maybe even wrong that hockey is spreading to ice-less locales? I'm not sure myself, honestly.
In High School Hoops tournament action, the Eagleville boys start off Monday against Boyd Christian, while MTCS faces Van Buren Co. The EHS and MTCS girls already started in the tournament on Friday, and the Eagleville girls take on Community (Unionville, I believe, which eliminated the Christian School) on Tuesday, all this in the 9A tournament.
In the 9AAA tournament, the Smyrna girls are off till Thursday, while LaVergne is @Mt. Juliet on Monday. The Smyrna boys are @Mt. Juliet Tuesday, while the Wolverines host Wilson Central.
In 7AAA ball at Warren County HS, the Riverdale girls face Oakland, Blackman vs. White Co., and Siegel faces Lebanon, all on Monday. In Boys' action, it's OHS vs. Warren Co., Lebanon/Blackman, Siegel/White Co., and Riverdale/Cookeville, all on Tuesday. Check goinsidesports.com for complete brackets.

High school baseball/softball are on the horizon, and fyi, the baseball Blue Raiders cancelled their series with IPFW due to the weather, and the MT softballers fell to 0-5 before a huge win over 3-4 Furman on Sunday. The ladies closed out their tournament trip with a 3-1 win over the Paladins as freshman Laura Moore threw a 2-hitter, and allowed no earned runs, to give Big Blue its first win of the year.

NBA 06 All-Star Jerseys with a Side of Wackiness

Meteorologist wanted for Middle Tennessee area. Must be excellent at convincing the masses you know something you have no idea about. Multiple personalities not required, but a plus. Must be willing to take wild guesses and consider them fact; develop a quirky "niche" on-air persona (intentionally or not) and deal with the public's recognition of it; not mind sleepless nights, unpredictable hours, and uncontrollable stress; be able to take flack or credit for something outside of your control; be spontaneous; and resist believing one's own hype. Pathological liars need not apply (overqualified). Call 555-1234.

Psychic needed--see above. 555-1234.
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While it is comedic, I still wouldn't be overly surprised to see that in the classifieds. In Middle Tennessee, the weather (and thus, forecasting it) is a crap shoot. We went from freezing temps and a snow-day for county/city schools Monday (our parking lot was icy, and my windshield wipers were frozen to the windshield at about 7:30am) to near 70 and gorgeous (though windy) Thursday...with an ice storm expected for Friday night and on through the weekend. What's sad is that this is normal. Until recent years, I probably saw more snow in the spring and summer than in winter, save for the Ice Storm of '93--which was when my family and I were moving, and as a youngling I hopped out of the van to discover snow up to my knees...and the fact that I didn't know how to walk through it. Ahh, memories.

But now on to real business...As promised, I'm going to critique this year's crop of All-Star jerseys.
I'm going to start with what gave me this idea, the NBA All-Star Games' sets. Frankly, the logo itself is awesome, very well done, but with the jerseys themselves, and the overall merch look, I'll be honest: in my opinion, they dropped the ball. Badly. Allow me to get into details.

Let's start off with the East, the visiting team, as it's being held in Houston. Basketball convention holds that the visitors wear dark jerseys, correct? Well, they're kinda dark...well, half of them are blue, with the other half being white. That's kind of confusing. The same is true with red and white being flip-flopped on the homestanding West's tops (and shorts, I would presume). I'd have to see both unis complete and on someone to get the full effect, but this leads me to think this will look more of red vs. blue than the traditional red or blue (or just dark colored, before there was a set all-star jersey) vs. white/light. Call me old-fashioned but I don't like to mess with the standard of light unis vs. dark unis, though I think hoops should switch the whites to road outfits like other sports are doing.
Well, now for even more details. The horizontal pinstripes? Got to go. I think pinstripes have no place in basketball anyway, but that's just me...but since they're horizontal they might just make these big men look even bigger...which is not a good thing.
I'm aware that it's an all-STAR game, but the row of stars among the stripes on the jersey looks like it was an afterthought, thrown on as an add to fix something that was missing. I'm also not buying the "stars and stripes idea" so don't even mention it. That whole part of the jersey would be better left plain white, or solidly colored.
The WEST/EAST font is so blah. Corvette-esque lettering squished and stretched, with a shooting star on the end for effect. No thanks.The numbering isn't much better, a blocky, squat style which just isn't appealing. The small shoulder numbers on the front were an interesting touch which could have been nice if done a little differently.
I do like the use of the NBA alternate star logo, however, and the name-drop (having the name below the number rather than above) is a nice touch, though it was obviously done to be trendy (with the popularity of throwbacks) rather than for any artistic reasons.

The bottom line is that these jerseys to me look like a couple of polo-styled sets got into a fight, then bred with the Sacramento Kings' gold alternates in a low-budget lettering studio. Harsh, I realize, but true.

Well, it's getting early and this post is a bit long, so that will do for now. Next up, as hockey's "all-star" break is the Olympics this year, I will focus on the Pro Bowl looks and maybe even last year's baseball looks. We'll have to see what's next up around the bend.

Clips, Kats, and Hard Knocks

This regular blogging thing is a little more difficult than I thought. It's not easy having something pertinent to discuss every day or so.

Raider softball started with a thud, but against an Evansville team that not only had homefield advantage, but had a 3-1 record going in. The Blue Ladies of ol' STC came home with a hard-luck 9-1 loss, but played tough.

I stand corrected on the Mercer game Friday; it's not at home, it's at a neutral site, as they're playing in the Auburn Tournament.

Team USA women's hockey cranked it up for a big 7-3 win come-from behind style against Finland. The US Men's team starts things off in a few hours (hopefully), assuming everyone made it over last night after the blizzard delayed all but two Americans from making the earlier trek of two. Hockey? Whoo!

I'm still quite miffed over the Kats' loss on Sunday...an end-around pitch after a pass play gets overtime, the Kats score, but Chicago answers and goes for two...successfully. Bravo, well-done, and way to show a set...but I can't stand the Chicago Rush, so I'm quite displeased overall.

The LA Clippers made a move and picked up Vlad Radmanovich. Considering the season the Clippies are having, this could spell even more great news for LA's "other" team. However, on that same note, the Clipps got ripped last night...128-97, by the Rockets. T-Mac puts up 28, and 5 other Houston red-shirts score in double digits. Yeah, Vlad's coming in at the right time, methinks.

That's all for now...off to Marketing. However, don't miss my next column where I offer up opinions on this year's crop of All-Star Jerseys!!! Oh boy...this ought to be fun.

+AH, out.

Blue, and Happy for It

On a night when there's very little on television to hold my attention (I am quite glad I don't let myself watch network television, save for sports), my mind turns to the near future in area sports. District high school hoops are on the horizon, to be sure, but I'm focusing more on the college side of things. Namely MTSU sports.

The Middle Men are dueling South Dakota State in basketball as I type, and continue a tough stretch with the ol' Sun Belt "Arkansas Trip" versus Arkansas State and Little Rock this Thursday and Saturday, respectively. The Raiders are playing tough, and will likely give some opponents fits in the SBC tourney--especially with the home-court advantage.

The Lady Raiders (politically correct or not, I honestly don't care; I find nothing offensive or degrading about using "Lady" on the women's team's name, as having so many "Blue Raider" teams gets too complicated) have been a solid team for all of the season save for a shaky start. Our women's team hosts the same teams the men visit, State and UALR, on the same nights, with 7pm tipoffs at the Murf. I've yet to see a game live and in person, and covering the men makes it harder to follow the women's squad, but I see no reason why we can't keep with recent tradition. Horton and Givens are the only two on the team averaging in double-figures, with Tia Stovall there if you round off to the nearest point. Tia also boasts 10 blocks, second only to newcomer reserve Brittany Pittman's 11. Krystle, Tia, and Chrissy are all averaging 6 or more boards a game, and both Krystle and Tia are shooting over 50% from the floor. Givens and LaCondra Mason are also better than +1 in assist to turnover ratio, though most of the team is near that mark.
A few extra points from Tia (who I expected to be in much more of a leadership role, rather than Givens, honestly) couldn't hurt, but otherwise all I can say is keep it up. The Royal Blue and White is rolling, and while it all starts with the big three I focused on, our skilled supporting cast is key as well. (I'd also like to see more of Starr Orr, honestly, who's only been in 15 games so far.) With the skills, leadership, and chemistry this team has, and how they find a way to win, surpassing the past two seasons is a definate possibility...though one has to wonder what NC team we would face in such a scenerio? Well, we first have to keep it going through the tournament, which is doable, though we must not overlook anyone.

Lastly, we come to the Diamond Raiders. Ol' Smitty, The REESE, Reese Smith Field is getting a much-needed facelift. It's going to be a great place to see some ball, and the season starts very soon. I'm definately going to take in a few games myself...nothing much to report on at this time, but I do know that we have high expectations and a solid team, as has been the case for much of my recent memory.
I also need to mention the women's team...softball. I have no idea what to expect, as last season we....well, let's just say it wasn't a high point. However, it gave the Ladies some good experience to build off of, so I'm expecting many improvements and highlights this year. The season actually starts Valentine's afternoon at Evansville, and Middle opens up at its home away from home (Sportscomm, I believe) on Friday. An interesting schedule awaits the Blue Raiders both on the road, at Sportscom, and at their newly renovated Blue Raider Field, which should be ready later this month. Like I said, no clue what to expect here, but why should that stop us? It should make things that much more exciting. I should get a good look at this team when I fill in as public address man for a few home games. I'll post games for sure when I know.

Wow, not bad for something rattled off, huh? All I have to say is Let's Go Blue!

Hockey in Italy? Whoo.

For whatever reason you wish to blame it on, I just can't quite watch much of the winter Olympics. I love Team USA and (if they are in any events, I don't know) Team Japan, but I'm not a cold-weather person, and I honestly find no allure to the extreme winter events such as skiing, speed-skating, and snowboarding. It reminds me too much of the X-Games, which I consider more of a spectacle than a sport. Show me the highlights on SportsCenter and I might watch.

However, there is one exception.
Hockey.

Olympic hockey is getting me fired up. Because of how the NHL is set up, the best players we Americans see regularly are from all over the world, so we devout hockey fans will actually know multiple players from countries other than the USA. The competition is going to be fierce, and honestly I'm expecting a decent amount of parity when the games open Wednesday.

However, I've been following the USA women's team, and I've been pleasantly surprised. Opening up not only unbeaten but un scored-upon (6-0 over Switzerland and 5-0 over Germany)...this team is for real, and very easy to get behind. Not only that, but I was reminded of the stereotype of women's hockey players being far from effeminate, seen as macho manly-women. Looking at some bios, candids, and the like, I've found that also isn't true. Actually, many of the USA women are quite attractive young ladies, in addition to being great athletes and excellent representatives of our great country.
Canada seems solid, and at this point I can't pick a favorite, but anything short of silver or gold will be a disappointment and meltdown for the ladies of Team USA.

In other news, everything is lined up for my summer baseball "training" with Warrior summer ball...Belmont hosts Marshall in baseball at Greer Friday, over the weekend Middle gets things going hosting IPFW, and the following Monday, Riverdale baseball gets its preseason started hosting Shelbyville. It might be bitterly cold, but baseball is right around the corner.

Peace Out....U-S-A!

Living the Life

Today, I slept in until like 1 or 2pm, simply because I could. These past two weeks have been taxing, to say the least (reminding me, I need to see if my parents got the interest statements on my bank accounts, so I can finally do my taxes and my FAFSA...). I had a nice, relaxing rinse in a hot shower, talked online for a bit, and decided (after looking at the menu for a gourmet restaurant in town) to dress up and go out for a late lunch. I wasn't sure why, but I just wanted to look my best, and spoil myself for a change. Sometime while getting ready, I realized that I had lost a little something over the past 4-6 months. It's really hard to describe, but I guess you could call it my spark, my fire.
I spent a large chunk of the past few years wanting to live life "On the Cutting Edge." It was a philosophy of mine, living for the moment while still keeping the future in mind. For some reason, I drifted away from that for a bit...but I've decided to bring it back, while infusing it with a little modernized wisdom.
My dream is to become a legendary play-by-play radio sportscaster, and do some marketing as well. Living a high-profile life, as a young-gun broadcast personality, one who crosses the country not only calling the action but seeing the sights, eating gourmet food, taking in local and travelling arts, and just taking in the color...a high-energy lifestyle like that sounds like gold. However, it won't come easy--that much I already knew.
What changed is my attitude towards it. I realized today that if I want to be a high-roller, I need to act like it.
My good friend Jimmy Richardson III is the perfect example of this; he's a recent graduate of Blackman High School here in Tennessee, and is an aspiring politician. His goals are focused, and he's taking on the challenge of a local Congress seat in this year's election as his first step. However, his practical step-by-step goal-setting isn't the primary reason I'm mentioning him--it's his attitude. He's always dressed for success, in a crisp dress shirt, slacks, and tie, his hair always styled, and my friends and I joke that he's "always on." What that means is that his confidence and professionalism are obvious every time he speaks; unlike some politicians who are only in "politican mode" when they have to be then switch back to normal, Jimmy makes an impression on anyone he speaks to with his presence. Focused but not intimidating eye contact, a firm handshake, and an even tone that commands your attention but not in a showy way...he's always campaigning, even if you're asking him about classes, talking about the Titans game, or chatting with him over a big cheeseburger.
I realized that he's following the same kind of lifestyle I can relate to: live for success. I don't know if I could wear a suit daily just to go to class, but once in a while throwing on a button-up, blazer, slacks, and dress shoes, and treating myself to a slightly indulgent meal or something is within the realm of possibility. How are the two connected? Simple. If I want to live the high life, I simply need to start. It's not like I can just someday flip a switch and become "elite." If I can keep up appearences, look professional, and keep the pressure on myself to improve my broadcasting and marketing, I'm going to get there.
Back to the Jimmy analogy. When comparing two young candidates, who looks better? Someone who's been slacking off, or playing sports, or flipping burgers, or someone who's been active in leadership and governing activities for years, and looks like he's almost over-qualified? Well, when the time comes for me to be an option of some Director of Broadcasting some day, is a behind-the-scenes brat with a fancy diploma going to fit the bill, or would he prefer someone with almost 10 years of portfolio "tape" who's dined with some of the area's greats (hoping to meet the Titans' and Preds' broadcasters, and maybe John Ward), has been a regular patron of the arts, has been visible in the community and has travelled to hone his gift (Memphis, Long Beach...), has worked with multiple stations (working this summer with WMOT) and teams, and simply shows the professionalism and confidence needed for that position?

This post has gone all over, but the bottom line is simple. I have more than two years of college remaining, and I'm going to get back to living "On the Cutting Edge." More games, more effort, more looking like someone respectable, and more getting out there and sampling the life I hope someday to fully live.

Welcome to the Jungle

At last, I've found my new web home. When I noticed all of the WGNS major personell (including the Inside Sports team) had created blogs, after seeing CNN personalities and other major broadcasters doing the same, I figured it was time for me to follow suit. I've been dabbling at xanga, livejournal, blogger, and myspace, but if I want to come off as a true, serious broadcaster, I need to make a commitment to updating a serious, broadcasting-related blog on a regular basis. No writing about drama, just...well, updates and commentary, like the pros.
Here's hoping I can do just that.