NGS 2 Assignment 1. Write about an athlete. Any athlete! Broader than broad.
Ok you caught me. No ####y stars under the avatar so you can't vote for me I am not a finalist. But before you leave, stay awhile.
I have to say the first assignment stuck in my head for a couple hours. Then I moved on, but days later after reading some of the finalists blogs and wondering who I would choose to write on.... it hit me.
There is only one great athlete worthy of writing this on. He can't dunk a basketball, park one over the fence, and has never had a hole in one. He didn't play in pro, semi-pro, or even college anything. His best sport (horse racing) he gave up at a young age because he had a kid and I never even got to see him do that. He did win some money at bars for arm wrestling, but gave that up early too. As a matter of fact I can and do beat him in just about every sport, but he keeps coming back for more. And I make this guy look silly. Were talking dribbling a basketball between his legs, juggling a soccer ball over his head, or driving my golf ball a mile past his.
But the man presses on.
By now maybe you know who this guy is. Maybe you stopped reading because my athlete isn't athlete at all just my dad. I can here you know screaming or just thinking "Not a cheesy dad blog can't you wait a few weeks tell fathers day." Well maybe it is cheesy but I don't care. This my imaginary NGS2 assignment and this is who I choose.
Besides this athlete has player coached for years. Little league baseball, All-Star soccer champions, and last place soccer teams.
We have all seen or heard about the abusive pee-wee coach who screams at his kids and then yells at the parents "you don't like it you take over." Well how many of you are lucky enough to have the dad who never played soccer and still decided "ok I'll take over." 18 years later his son is married and his daughters could give a rip about soccer but he is still coaching. Volunteering for one of the worst high school soccer teams in the state. You know the one that has no JV or freshman team its just whoever trys out not only makes it but starts.
But the losing doesn't get to him.
Maybe he is immune from losing to me in just about everything since I was 12. Or maybe its that he knows it really isn't about winning.
The other day I broke 80 golfing for the first time. I shot a 76. The first person I called was my dad. We haven't golfed together in over a year. He was as excited about my 76 as he would have been about his 76. The first thing he thought of saying was "well I better get by clubs out so you can whoop me at golf too."
Maybe he draws his strength from his one incredible winning streak. Its a little like Josh Gibsons homeruns. No one has an official count but we know it is way way up there.
See as long as I have been alive my dad has never lost a wrestling match. The arena is the living room carpet and the wrestlers are usually me against my dad - ocassionally one of my friends may become a victim. The result is always the same. Mom and sisters and now wife giggling on the couches or somewhere near by while my dad pins me or makes me say "uncle." My dad was a state wrestler in high school and I wrestled for a few months in third grade. Between his perfect blend of experience and old man strength I always end up with rug burns, tweaked body parts, and in a little bit of embarassment.
But for the first time the streak is in jeopardy. Last time we wrestled we went three rounds before calling it a draw. And now between his age and all the time I spend in the gym I know I can beat him. And also for the first time I don't want to beat him. I have no problem creaming him in every other sport, but for some reason I don't wan't the day to come where I can pin my dad. At first I didn't know why. But now I suppose it is the same reason Giants fans don't want to admit Bonds did steroids, or Bulls enthusiast turn there heads at Michael Jordan's run with the Wizards.
See I don't want to admit that my sports hero is mortal after all.
Barbaro suffers a tragic fracture in running of the Preakness.
Barrett gives Pierzynski a wake up punch.
9 games in a row without a homer for Bonds and we all knew it was coming, but you couldn't help but hope it never would. Now the chase for Henry Aaron's record begins. We can only hope it stands. Aaron's is the most legit record of them all anyway. No roids, not an all white league, Aaron did it clean and against the best. Josh Gibson homers in the #### league are as legitimate as Ruth's in the white league and Bonds on roids. So all I can hope is that Aaron hangs on.
Watching the Preakness was tough. And not just because I lost money on an office pool. I had Bernadini and paid extra for Barbaro and traded dini. My trade seemed to curse Barbaro and I feel very bad about it. Nothing worse than seeing such a beautiful horse pull up lame. Sad. I hope he does not become glue and can make a glorious comeback studding.
Good luck Barbaro!
Then what about that punch Michael Barrett threw. At first glance I thought it was WAY uncalled for. But after a few takes he probably gave Pierzynski what he deserved. AJ tackled Barrett AFTER he dropped the ball, then SLAMS the plate and then while heading to the dugout gives Barrett one last dip of the shoulder. IF I was Barrett and had just been mowed I might have socked AJ too. I think he will get about 30 games but I hope he gets less. AJ will probably get 5 to 10, but I would like to see him get 10-15. I think all pro sports need to start punishing the instogators more. Ben Wallace got 5 games in the famous Palace brawl and he created the WHOLE thing. And I am a Pistons fan!
Anyway a pretty good brawl. Should make for another interesting game tomorrow.
Bonds I hope you struggle to hit 715.
Barrett good luck with a small suspension.
And Barbaro I hope a long life of great sex is ahead of you.
So what kind of power does this girl of Albert Belle's got going? She must be the most fly toxic honey out there cuz Belle can't get over her. Gets busted for stalking with the GPS on the girl's car. Following her all over the planet. Now my boy Belle is on the bell. Calling the girl and hanging up non stop. So the girl tells the cops and they trace the calls and bing #### boom Albert Belle busted for stalking again!!! HA HA HA!!!
Man you telling me a rich ex athlete can't find another girl. He is just sprung on this one. The lust of his life. Belle is a crazy man. From the corked bat, reporter bashing, trashing sinks, the rehabs, fan chasing, nutty talking, and now full time stalker.
One of a kind. He doesn't even know his name.
90 Remember Joey Belle. Joey changed his name to Albert after a year in rehab.
91 Then he becomes Albert and tossed a ball at fan for heckling. good aim though hit him plunk in the chest.
93 mound charging. A zillion DNP CD for "lack of hustle." Bar fights in May of 93.
94 Back to the corked back you got to give props to ol Jason Grisley for crawling along the ceiling to switch Belle's corked bat with Sorrento's - too bad the bat was a different color and said Sorrento. Still that is a BOY man. That is yo dogg busting the spider man to save your ace.
95 Halloween ol Albert chasing some kids in his car for being egged. This guy can not get out of trouble. Nothing too major though. Its always the edge of awful.
96 SI's photographer Tony gets jacked by a baseball Belle tossed. "accidental say Belle." 5 game suspension in June for a forearm shiver
"he was in my way"
Then of course losing 50 K for gambling.
97 gives the fans the bird. Skips BP and the All-Star game workout, sits out HR derby, and then shocked that he was sat during the AS game.
98 The best part is AFTER all of this the Orioles give him a 5 year 65 MILLION dolla deal. OH yeah lets make THIS GUY the highest paid O in history.
99 Belle gets in a shouting match with skipper Ray Miller... couple days later Belle gets suspended the first suspension for Bell in a MIRACULOUS stretch of 392 games.
00 First injury of his career sat out 20 games. The rest is history.
Feb. 06 GPS stalking
May 06 Phone call stalking. I just hope this girl is stupid fly.
Anybody watch the Bonds on Bonds eps? I tuned in for the first three and found them rivetingly boring. It was contrived, uninteresting, and yet I didn't want to miss any of it. The entire steroids issue is fascinating. JUICED Canseco's book of lies that all came true. Read it and loved it. Its the Foul Ball of our time - Jim Bouton must be proud.
*714 Bonds........ You got to asterisks these guys. Once Selig's exhaustive PR/investigation of Bonds turns up with what we all already know - he is pumped with more muscle building drugs than a herd of future Big Mac burgers- you darn well better put the ol * next to his record and do it to Mcgwire and Sosa too.
Is Bonds chase bad for baseball? Probably but I got to say I watch every at bat they update. I am tuning in to see him break the record, see who gets the ball, how much it sells for on ebay, etc. etc. etc. I am interested in the entire STEROIDS chase. I am sick of it and GLUED to it at the same time. I am like baseball in that way a very confused transition period.
As far as the Babe... the gr8 Bambino, sultan of swat, the man the myth the legend. His record had already been broken by aaron and it didn't put a scratch into his legend. The Babe will always be the greatest homerun hitter that ever lived even if he wasn't. Thats the beauty of legends.
JC
Me personally, have never considered myself a fan of BB. Always respected his game, but never considered him one of my faves. Perhaps cuz I always considered Griffey, Jr as my #1 athlete in sports, and Bonds never had the charisma or pure joy for the game as Junior.
That being said, I don't HATE on the man. Why single out Bonds among a generation of juicers?!? He is NOT the only one deserving of an asterisk. So what that he's about to pass up the legendary Babe? Is there any other record in any sport where we pay so much attention to being #2 in the history books? No one even knows who is #2 behind Wilt's 100 points, or Joe D's 56-gm hit streak. So no one will make a big deal of someone finishing runner-up to those hallowed marks. No need to make a big deal about 715 until the man approaches 755...and I just don't see that happening.
Haters all need to get a life. Stop hating someone as if he's the only guilty individual. Blame the system, blame MLB for pretending ignorance. Don't hate the player. Hate the game.
