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.