Okay, here I sit, closer to Louisville than to Lexington. Here I live, in the part of the State that claims to bleed blue, but this time of year, there's more than it's fair share of red. That's because the Cardinals have a good football team. And Kentucky doesn't.
At least, that's the conventional wisdom. Kentucky beat it's I-64 rival last week, and followed up by beating the Hogs in Fayetteville. This doesn't mean that they are a 'real' SEC team yet, but there's something satisfying in seeing them second behind Florida in the SEC East.
I'll keep my blue in reserve for basketball season... But trust me, if I need to, I'll drag it out for football season.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Freak Injuries
It's a shame. It really is.
As I write this, Kevin Everett is either getting out of, or undergoing, emergency surgery for the spinal injury he received in a freak accident during the Bills/Broncos game today. I was watching tennis, golf and baseball today, so I didn't watch much football until the Giants/Cowboys game tonight. I heard about the injury during the game, and wondered how bad it was.
It's one of those things that I don't think would happen while I was at work. He's just doing his job and all of a sudden, reality kicks in that even though playing football is supposed to be a fun job, it's also a dangerous one. My prayers are with him.
And I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention Juan Encarnacion and his injury which may have ended his career. It's been a rough year for the Cardinals and this last particular injury is too odd to have anything but the 'why us' attitude start to reappear. The Cardinals have been the hard luck baseball team this year.... But seriously, who would have thought a baseball injury would have happened before the player was actually within the white lines? And Encarnacion may never play the sport again.
It's a weird world we live in. The folks who we watch so that we can have fun are playing a game, but it's their job and their job is dangerous.
This week has reminded me of that more than once.
My prayers are with the families, friends and others who have dealt with these sort of serious injuries.
As I write this, Kevin Everett is either getting out of, or undergoing, emergency surgery for the spinal injury he received in a freak accident during the Bills/Broncos game today. I was watching tennis, golf and baseball today, so I didn't watch much football until the Giants/Cowboys game tonight. I heard about the injury during the game, and wondered how bad it was.
It's one of those things that I don't think would happen while I was at work. He's just doing his job and all of a sudden, reality kicks in that even though playing football is supposed to be a fun job, it's also a dangerous one. My prayers are with him.
And I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention Juan Encarnacion and his injury which may have ended his career. It's been a rough year for the Cardinals and this last particular injury is too odd to have anything but the 'why us' attitude start to reappear. The Cardinals have been the hard luck baseball team this year.... But seriously, who would have thought a baseball injury would have happened before the player was actually within the white lines? And Encarnacion may never play the sport again.
It's a weird world we live in. The folks who we watch so that we can have fun are playing a game, but it's their job and their job is dangerous.
This week has reminded me of that more than once.
My prayers are with the families, friends and others who have dealt with these sort of serious injuries.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
At Least A Thought On hGH
Okay. Human Growth Harmone....
It's not illegal to take the stuff. It's illegal to take the stuff, much like steroids, without a prescription. It is, however, currently banned by baseball. And we all (I hope) understand why. But here is my problem: much like any other 'performance enhancing substance', hGH has been a banned substance in baseball for a while. A short while.
Before then, it wasn't a banned substance. Therefore, if before 2005, when it became a banned substance by major league baseball, even if prescribed, if a person had a legal prescription for hGH, and used it for a relatively short period of time, that would mean that they did something within the legal and professional parameters.
I'm utterly sick of the complete bastardization of the 'sports news' when it comes to this particular substance as well as steroids. While neither are currently allowed in any sport, both have a place in this world as a prescription substance that people have taken to recover from injury. If you ask your doctor to give you a prescription for a medication to improve your life, then you're doing something that many, many Americans do. They watch the television, they listen to their friends and they find out what will make them feel better. What some athletes did was the very same thing. I'm rather certain that if you were an athlete and were told: this can help you recover from injury faster, and it's legal (with prescription), you would take the medication. Seriously, it's your career you are concerned about. And if you discovered it was bad for you, or you realized that taking something would be bad for your career... you would stop taking it. Some athletes did that.
I'm just saying, if what a person did was legal, why the hell does it matter now? If a person did what was not banned by their workplace (baseball, football, etc) then who gives a damn about the fact that they took a legal substance to aid in recovery from an injury?
Now, I'm not a Pollyanna who believes that all of the players accused of taking hGH and steroids were trying to get over an injury (not the intended use of hGH) or that they did it legally, but a few players in the last few months have been highlighted as taking an illegal substance. But in the stories, after the hyperbole and the accusations, I have begun to realize that they aren't taking an illegal substance, they took a substance by a legal prescription from a legal doctor prior to it being banned. I'm not proclaiming their innocence, since I don't know the whole story, but I am saying we are rushing, way too fast, to castigate these people and then discover that there is nothing there. So, the next time you wish a few people would 'just go away' because they are linked to an illegal, banned substance, do me the favor of trying to learn the whole story before you throw around accusations.
It's not illegal to take the stuff. It's illegal to take the stuff, much like steroids, without a prescription. It is, however, currently banned by baseball. And we all (I hope) understand why. But here is my problem: much like any other 'performance enhancing substance', hGH has been a banned substance in baseball for a while. A short while.
Before then, it wasn't a banned substance. Therefore, if before 2005, when it became a banned substance by major league baseball, even if prescribed, if a person had a legal prescription for hGH, and used it for a relatively short period of time, that would mean that they did something within the legal and professional parameters.
I'm utterly sick of the complete bastardization of the 'sports news' when it comes to this particular substance as well as steroids. While neither are currently allowed in any sport, both have a place in this world as a prescription substance that people have taken to recover from injury. If you ask your doctor to give you a prescription for a medication to improve your life, then you're doing something that many, many Americans do. They watch the television, they listen to their friends and they find out what will make them feel better. What some athletes did was the very same thing. I'm rather certain that if you were an athlete and were told: this can help you recover from injury faster, and it's legal (with prescription), you would take the medication. Seriously, it's your career you are concerned about. And if you discovered it was bad for you, or you realized that taking something would be bad for your career... you would stop taking it. Some athletes did that.
I'm just saying, if what a person did was legal, why the hell does it matter now? If a person did what was not banned by their workplace (baseball, football, etc) then who gives a damn about the fact that they took a legal substance to aid in recovery from an injury?
Now, I'm not a Pollyanna who believes that all of the players accused of taking hGH and steroids were trying to get over an injury (not the intended use of hGH) or that they did it legally, but a few players in the last few months have been highlighted as taking an illegal substance. But in the stories, after the hyperbole and the accusations, I have begun to realize that they aren't taking an illegal substance, they took a substance by a legal prescription from a legal doctor prior to it being banned. I'm not proclaiming their innocence, since I don't know the whole story, but I am saying we are rushing, way too fast, to castigate these people and then discover that there is nothing there. So, the next time you wish a few people would 'just go away' because they are linked to an illegal, banned substance, do me the favor of trying to learn the whole story before you throw around accusations.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
ESPN Radio doesn't belong to the NFL Network
Despite what you might think, if you are a regular listener like I am, ESPN Radio isn't part of the NFL network.
I love almost all sports. I scream at the television when there is a bad call (or at least acknowledge it, if it's in favor of my teams). Give me football of any variety on most days, and I would watch it. I also have a love for many other sports. And it distresses me, during this time of year, that the only sports on talk radio are 15 minutes of baseball to every hour of football.
It doesn't matter that most of the divisional races are not even close to being decided. It doesn't matter that the 'Greatest Road Trip in Sports' is drawing to a close (it's what is playing on my television right now, go Sybille!) I can hear Al Michaels talking about Football Night in America and all I want to say is.... It's not October yet, and we haven't had yet another surprise finish in the World Series, so hush!
Besides, haven't we all decided that pre-season football is pointless? It's the same people who say that who also prattle on incessantly about the sport. I don't get it.
And I love football. Give me my Indianapolis Colts any day! But let me watch my Cardinals try to make it to the post season, then I'll worry about how many yards Peyton has thrown for the week!
"System Ready.... Launch!" Gosh I love tennis!
I love almost all sports. I scream at the television when there is a bad call (or at least acknowledge it, if it's in favor of my teams). Give me football of any variety on most days, and I would watch it. I also have a love for many other sports. And it distresses me, during this time of year, that the only sports on talk radio are 15 minutes of baseball to every hour of football.
It doesn't matter that most of the divisional races are not even close to being decided. It doesn't matter that the 'Greatest Road Trip in Sports' is drawing to a close (it's what is playing on my television right now, go Sybille!) I can hear Al Michaels talking about Football Night in America and all I want to say is.... It's not October yet, and we haven't had yet another surprise finish in the World Series, so hush!
Besides, haven't we all decided that pre-season football is pointless? It's the same people who say that who also prattle on incessantly about the sport. I don't get it.
And I love football. Give me my Indianapolis Colts any day! But let me watch my Cardinals try to make it to the post season, then I'll worry about how many yards Peyton has thrown for the week!
"System Ready.... Launch!" Gosh I love tennis!
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