Think about it...NFL and college football is starting up and in camp, MLB is in full swing, basketball is over and you know everyone will be analyzing and making mock drafts, and hockey...well....who knows?

Is it possible?  I'd have more time then as well.

-InTikiITrust

Hey Y'all,

First of all, congrats to the winner of the contest.  Kudos.

Secondly, sorry I haven't been on in like 4 months.  Truthfully, I wanted to win the contest and really thought I had a shot.  but oh well, what's done is done and I'm over it.  Plus, school came into play and I've just been busy.

BUT....I'm back.  Not like before, but I'm back no doubt.  I'll be posting about the Giants, Yankees, maybe the Mets, maybe the Sox, who knows.  Definetly will make an update about the draft.

So...hey again guys and girls!

-InTikiITrust

Whenever a player with amazing speed busts out an amazing run, you always hear the announcers say “Well, you can’t teach speed.”  Reggie Bush had a couple great runs today and I heard “Reggie just has too much speed, and you can’t teach that to defenders.”  You hear it the day after on all the sports shows and it becomes a common phrase amongst sports fans.

But I disagree.  You can teach speed.

Before I go on, I want to give you the definition.  Basically, it’s distance over time.  Miles per hour.  Feet per second.

Imagine, if you will, that you’re scheduled to run your friend around the standard 400 meter track in exactly one month.  You have money on the line and really want to win.  What do you do to best prepare you for this race?  Easy: hire a coach you train during the week.  You go out on Day 1 and run 400 in seventy seconds.  You’re friend tells you he runs it in 67 seconds and thinks he’s got it in the bag, because after all, you can’t teach speed, right?

So you train day in and day out and you see that slowly but surely, you’re time is going down.  You’re improving your speed, that is, time over distance.  The special day rolls around and you beat your friend by three seconds (quite the difference in the 400).

Guess what?  You just learned speed.

The logic in the scenario above is a bit flawed but you see my point.  If you train right, you can increase speed.  Stamina will be a key point, but your body will learn how to run faster.  So why does everyone say that you can’t learn speed?  Because we don’t consciously learn it; somewhere in your brain your body knows how to run faster, but you just don’t know it.

It’s like learning how to talk.  Think of the phrase “The cat climbed up the tree.”  Say it.  It’s obvious you can because somewhere in your brain, your body knows what #### movements it needs to make in order to form and pronounce the words in that phrase.

Honestly, do you really know how to say that phrase?  You think it and you just say it.  You don’t have to think about it like you do a math problem or a history fact; you just know how to do it.

When you learn how to run, you’ll run faster.  I know what you’re saying, “I know how to run, what is this #### saying?”  But when you learn how to run with proper form, technique, strategy and breathing, you’re speed will be better.  Proper training will literally teach your body how to run faster.  You just don’t know it.

Does anyone honestly think that great runners roll out of bed every morning and run fabulous times?  Of course not, they train an insane amount of time and know how to run.  Without training, they might be the best runners in the world.  With it, they prove that they are.

Now I understand that some people are blessed with more physical talent than others.  No matter how hard the average American trains, he’ll never be able to beat Olympic gold medalists.  But with proper training (and even without it), you can increase your speed.

Can you teach speed?  Of course you can.  It’s just you aren’t aware of it.

Comments are welcomed, appreciated, and encouraged.

I feel for it too and the sick joker who made a fake judges account is a pretty sick, twisted guy.

Check it out for yourself:

The real NGS Judges Blog: http://blogs.foxsports.com/ngsjudges

The fake NGS Judges Blog: http://blogs.foxsports.com/NGSjudqes

I didn't know caps made a difference, but if you look for more posts from the fake judges blog, you won't find any.  Hopefully this is a sick joke and the judges didn't forget their username and password.

Yours forever,

Inspector Gadget

P.S. What was so special about Inspector Gagdet anyway?  I only remember him being able to like...super extend his gadget legs and arms.  What other powers did he truly possess?

Most men would agree that there’s nothing better than football season.  Is there really anything better than watching football all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and then again on Monday night?  I really don’t think there’s anything better than a football-filled weekend.  I love the weekends: I sleep late, I make mysel####reat lunch, sit down and I turn on the TV.  I flip through the channels to watch pre-games on ESPN, Fox, and CBS.  Once one o’clock rolls around, I flip to whatever station my Giants are on and I’m overcome with the worst feeling in the world.  It’s the one thing I truly hate about football.

The morons that do the commentary for the big networks are beyond awful.

I simply don’t understand it: how can people with such little football knowledge get a job as a football commentator?  How can people with such a bias get jobs that are supposed to be unbiased?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a pretty tolerant person who can suck it up and enjoy the game for the most part.  But sometimes I hear the things the commentators say and my jaw drops in amazement.  Can these paid commentators and “analysts” be that stupid and be such homers?  Why do they insist on putting a former player in the booth when good football analysts rot away all across America?

Is it just me, or is Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, and Paul Maguire the worst trio in the history of anything?  The former ESPN Sunday Night Football crew, these guys might be some of the worst in the business.  Memo to Joe Theismann: we know you played football and during the game, we don’t care.  Focus on the game.  I understand that these guys have been working together for a long time, but we really didn’t have to hear that emotion-filled goodbye last night during the St. Louis Rams at the Dallas Cowboy game.  I understand you’re all good friends and it’ll be tough not being on Sunday night next year, but could it wait till after the game?  They’re probably all extremely intelligent analysts, but during the game, it’s tough to tell because they make jokes and focus on the glory days instead of the touchdown drive happening in front of them.

Hey, did anyone catch the Brent Musburger Show today?  Oh, I’m sorry, that was the Fiesta Bowl, but I couldn’t tell.  Does Brent Musburger ever shut up and does he ever say anything worthwhile?  Mr. Musburger, we all know Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn has a sister who dates Ohio St. line backer A.J. Hawk.  If we didn’t, we got the idea the first time you told us.  You didn’t have to tell us every time either Quinn or Hawk did something, because frankly, no one really cared.  You also don’t have to mention the New England Patriots every time the camera focuses on Charlie Weis.  Newsflash: simply because Weis decided to go for it on fourth down does not mean he’s a replica of Bill Parcells.  Other coaches have gone for it on fourth down in case you didn’t know.

It’s truly amazing Brent Musburger has a job in any booth.  The guy made ridiculous comment after ridiculous comment.  Did he tell us anything important today?  I really think I lost brain cells after listening to Musburger.

Another commentator I truly cannot stand is Joe Buck, no matter what sport he does.  It always seems that finding the random celebrity in the crowd is more important than what’s happening on the field.  Actually Joe, I don’t care what’s on the FOX network on Sunday night, especially when a team is charging down the field or the most important at bat is being disrupted by your annoying voice.  How about you focus on the game, rather than focusing on the could be Super Bowl match up?

I could go on and on.  The guys in the booth get the names wrong, fail to realize who is carrying the ball or who made the tackle, don’t understand the NFL rulebook and try to guess the outcome of a challenge, and tell us information we don’t need to know.  The majority of commentators and analysts are hard to listen to, simply because they focus on everything but the game they are supposed to be covering.  Sometimes I turn the game on mute because I know I won’t hear anything important.

Who’s to fault here?  The network, who hires these morons and tells them what to say, or the commentators, who know little about the sport they are covering?  Networks wonder why ratings hit low levels year after year.  I have a solution: put someone with a brain in the booth and let them talk about the game.  Why is it harder than it should be?

Just a few random thoughts

1) I have ideas in my head, but none are good.  I can't write anything good these days.  Maybe it's just because of slow news days or maybe I'm still bummed about not being a finalist, but man, it's tough to write day after day.  I've had about 5 ideas about articles I could write but they aren't any good.  Man, big writer's block.  We need something big to happen so I can actually write about something.

2) I love Bowl season but I want the Rose Bowl now.  I've heard too much about USC, listened to too many analysts and journalists discuss Bowls I care little about, and lost interest in the little Bowl games.

3) The NFL playoffs need to start.  Week 17 should be bad and I'm tired hearing about the so called "Reggie Bush Bowl".  I would have laughed if he didn't declare and stayed in college another year.  Get on with the playoffs already, just so I hear about something fun.

4) New Years Eve is the second most overrated holiday, only behind Halloween.  Finding something to do tonight was harder than it should have been and chances are, I'll be bored, begging to watch Sportscenter or some other sports show.  Heck, I wouldn't object to going online and talking Giants football with my fellow Giants fans.  But no, I'll be somewhere, watching a ball fall and ring in 2006.  Pretty boring if you ask me.

5) Online sports message boards are a better source of information than a majority of journalists out there.  People on message boards actually watch the game and don't have a supervisor looking over their shoulder.  Everyday when I go online, I check my message boards first because I know I'll actually get the information I want to hear.  Plus I won't be reading the junk found in every article.

6) This one ties in with number 5.  You know sports journalism hits a low point when they profile message boards and hail them as great.  You know its bad when news organizations check those websites and correct the errors the posters make.  When is the last time a professional athlete or the member of an athlete's family checks message boards and sometime post on them, it becomes clear where the true information and true opinions are found.

7) I hope the NGS II starts soon after the first one finishes, because man, I really want to compete again.

Hey everyone, InTikiITrust here.  How are we today?  Good? I'm glad.  Okay enough with the ####-chat, on with the blog.

First off, I want to say thank you to the people at Fox Sports and their blogging directors for creating the Next Great Sportswriter contest.  It's been a lot of fun and I know if not for this contest, I would have never blogged.  Now I'm addicted and I'll surely keep on blogging.  Thanks to you guys for putting this thing on: no matter who wins and who loses, it's been a lot of fun and I think everyone would agree.

Secondly, I would like to thank all you cool cats for creating awesome work that is fun to read and a lot more fun to think about.  My day would be much more dull if I was not in this contest, because the work of a lot of you bloggers is great.  It's really a lot of fun to read and a lot of fun to discuss.  Whoever the 16 finalists are: kudos to you guys, you deserve it.  There's been a lot of great writing and whoever wins definetly deserves it.  Thanks guys and good luck.

Okay, here's my suggestion.  It looks like we've created a great community here.  A lot of friendships have been made and I think we all respect each other.  Let's continue it even after this contest is over by 1) continue blogging and 2) Fantasy sports!  I don't know about some of you guys and girls, but I love fantasy sports.  Anyone up for a Foxsports.com Bloggers Fantasy Baseball League?  I'm in definetly.  If we have enough interest, we could have a buy-in league (5 or 10 bucks, maybe more) an just a regular, free league (always fun).  I would also love to do March Madness with you guys.

I don't know, but I think it'd be cool to have a league amongst ourselves and then be able to make fun of ourselves in our writing (I know I would have at least one post entitled "Woe is me: Why oh why did I draft ______ in the 1st round).  It could be fun.  Comment if you like or hate the idea.

Anyways, thanks boys and girls, it's been fun.  Good luck and happy blogging: you're all winners in my book!

Let me begin by wishing everyone here Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.  I know this won't get read too much because it is Christmas Eve, but anyone who does read it, kudos to you.  Anyway, Happy Holidays and enjoy the time you share with your families.

T’was the day before Christmas and all through America, men, women and children sat around the diner table and talked sports.  The NFL is in full swing and approaching the playoffs and with thirteen games on today and two tomorrow, it’s hard not to watch when one has some Holiday downtime.  Johnny Damon was announced as a New York Yankees yesterday and the Toronto Blue Jays traded for third baseman Troy Glaus from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  With so much going on in football and baseball, it’s hard to follow and care about basketball.

Does anyone care about the NBA?  It is clearly the third most popular of the Big Four (football, baseball, basketball, and hockey) and always seems to be overshadowed by the other major sports.  Heck, even college basketball is more popular than the NBA when March Madness rolls around.

I consider myself a sports fan first and foremost.  I’ll put on any football game or any baseball game, regardless of who is playing.  I follow college football and college basketball, and I always fill out a bracket for March Madness.  I watch the Olympics and even follow the World Cup.  But for some reason, I just cannot get into professional basketball.

Maybe I’m wrong here, but I feel like a lot of Americans feel this way.  It’s surprising really: basketball is a high scoring game and the slam dunk might be the best way to show your power and dominance over another athlete.  But I simply don’t care.  I’m bored by professional basketball.

This, my friends and fellow readers, is a problem.  The NFL continues to reestablish itself as the premiere league in America.  Though Bud Selig and MLB has had some problems in the past, the future looks bright and this off season is definitely the craziest, most active off season in the last five years.  It is Bowl season in college football and the Rose Bowl puts the #1 ranked USC Trojans against the #2 Texas Longhorns, the match up everyone wanted to see.  Both you and I know March Madness will be mad once again in a few months.

So what’s the big draw for the NBA?  On Christmas Day, there will be two huge games in the NBA: a repeat of last year’s NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs at the Detroit Pistons, and another match up between former teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, as the Miami Heat host the Los Angeles Lakers.  This will be two great games and will be remember all year.  Will I watch them?  Of course not.

The NBA needs a makeover and I don’t know what it is.  NBA games are boring, long, repetitive and lack any emotion. What’s the big draw for the NBA?  Something needs to change in the NBA, as it is slowing become less and less popular, at least in my eyes.

The NFL and MLB do it well.  I enjoy the games.  Don’t get me wrong: I like basketball and always enjoy a quick pickup game with my boys.  What is wrong with the NBA?  Something big, something I cannot put my finger on, but I know there’s something wrong.

Maybe we need Michael Jordan back.  That, or Lebron James to quit doing those silly commercials and focus on putting basketball on top of the American sports world.

As always, comments/criticisms/suggestions/concerns are welcomed.

I admit I enjoy going to sports message boards and reading what people have to say.  Being a fan of both the New York Yankees and the New York Giants, I am always interested to see what Boston Red Sox fans and Philadelphia Eagles fans are thinking.  Whenever there is a big controversy or story, I always go over to the opposing team’s message board to see what people have to say.  It increase my blood pressure and most of the time annoys me, but I admit I always love talking sports with other sports fans.

Except when it comes to player injuries.  I think, always have and always will, that the most satisfying win is a win over the opponent while they are at full strength.  I would rather see the Yankees beat the best pitcher in the league in a close game than the Yankees beat an injury-filled team in a blowout.  I want to see their best and I want the Yankees to play them tough.  I hate to see guys get injured because I cannot watch them play.

However, not every sports fan feels this way.  I’ve seen too many people write “I’m glad he’s hurt, at least the (insert team name here) will have a better shot of taking the division.”  Today, as I looked through the Eagles message board, I saw a poster exclaim he was “glad” Antonio Pierce, middle linebacker for the New York Giants, was hurt and could possibly be done of the season.

Is this guy serious?  Does this guy have any class?  I just fail to see the pleasure in seeing another person hurt.

I will be the first one to admit I was sad when Eagles quarterback Donavan McNabb decided to have surgery was done playing for the season.  I was sad to see Eagles running back Brian Westbrook get hurt as well.  I wanted to see McNabb and Westbrook face the Giants at full strength.  Both are phenomenal players with tons of talent: why would anyone not want to see talented guys play football?

The same goes with the Yankees and Red Sox.  When Nomar Garciaparra got hurt a few years back, I was disappointed.  Why would I rather see the Red Sox backup shortstop instead of one of the finest hitters in the league?  People pay a lot of money to go see their favorite teams, I do not understand why they would not want to see the best talent on the field.

I feel that this is a major problem in amongst fans today: some people want certain players to get hurt and rejoice when players do.  Can we all show a little more class and not be glad when players from rival teams are hurt?  Can we show some class on message boards by saying “I hope he recovers and is back soon” rather than “I’m glad he got hurt, now the (insert team name here) have a better shot to win the championship.”

Let’s all grow up and enjoy the teams we watch and the competition in sports.  Without quality players, what fun would sports be?

As always and hopefully more than ever, comments/suggestions/criticisms are welcomed.

Call him a ball-slapping loser.  Call him an image-driven fake.  Call him an overpaid choker.  Call him a traitor for backing out of the World Baseball Classic.  But in this case, he made the right decision.

When Alex Rodriguez announced he would not be playing for either the United States or the Dominican Republic next March in the World Baseball Classic, the Rodriguez slowly bashers began to come out.  There has only been a few blogs about this today, but I’m sure more will come.

Like him or not, Alex Rodriguez made the right choice.

The World Baseball Classic, a now 15 country tournament because of Cuba’s removal from the tournament, was the creation of Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig earlier this year.  Countries include the United States, Dominican Republic, Japan, Canada, and Venezuela.  Some of the finest players in Major League Baseball and around the world will be participating in this event, including Barry Bonds (United States), David Ortiz (Dominican Republic), and Ichiro Suzuki (Japan).  However, we will not see Alex Rodriguez, the winner of two of the past three Most Valuable Player awards.

Understandable, in my opinion.  If you were the most complete player in all of baseball, why risk injury in something that will have no affect on the regular season or postseason?  The minute a big name player gets hurt in the World Baseball Classic, which I pray does not happen, fans, sportswriters and owners will be complaining about the timing of this event.  Could you imagine Albert Pujols breaking his hand after getting hit in the wrist by a pitch?  Would the Cardinals be happy about that?

Another reason Alex Rodriguez is right in not participating in the World Baseball Classic: the length of the regular season.  162 games is a heck of a lot of games.  In addition to those 162 games, the Yankees are always perennial favorites for the postseason.  While it is true the World Baseball Classic is not extremely long (the entire World Baseball Classic is under a month in length), the games are still being played and teams are still traveling.  Players will also be emotional drained, considering they are playing for the love of their country.  Players love their off-season time and the World Baseball Classic will cause players to condition earlier and play more games.  If you are lucky enough to play in the World Baseball Classic and the World Series in the same year, you would be playing at least 180 games in a one year span.  Can anyone argue that that is not a lot of games? 

Another issue that comes up is money.  Rodriguez is making 25 million dollars this year and playing in the World Baseball Classic would not affect his money, but think of all those players in the last year of their contract or in an option year of their contract.  An injury in the World Baseball Classic might destroy their chances at a better deal.  We all want to get paid, correct?

Sadly, Rodriguez is always under scrutiny because he is one of the most hated players in all of sports.  The man can never win with the media or the fans: play for one country and get criticized for not playing for the other.  Avoid the tournament all together and get criticized for not playing for a team. 

But why criticize Rodriguez?  Why risk injury and put your body on the line for a glorified exhibition?

As always, comments/suggestions/criticisms are welcomed and encouraged.