Not just Mountie sports

John Wooden (1910-2010)

2010-06-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Legendary former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden passed away at 6:45 last night. He has passed enough wisdom to shape sports for decades to come. I'm all of 21 years old and my knowledge of Wooden goes as far as a few interviews I saw on TV. His philosophies and wise quotes will probably fill yearbooks until the end of time, and as many reflect and remember him, here is his pyramid of success, a few of his many words to live by.

Biglow's Big Dreams

2010-05-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

With high expectations as a freshman, men’s basketball guard Antonio Biglow helped lead the Mounties to the Southern Calif. Regionals, but as he works hard to improve his game, he has his eyes set on bringing in a California state championship next season.

Biglow, 20, earned several accolades in the 2009-10 season, from South Coast Conference MVP to first-team all-state, but the one award he’s looking forward to getting at Mt. SAC is the 2010-11 state championship ring.

“The only thing floating above my head is the ring,” Biglow said. “I don’t care about the ‘all-conference’ ‘all-tournament MVP’ I don’t care about none of that. Next year I just want the ring. That’s all I want.”

As Biglow eyes the 2010-11 season, this season was anything but a failure as the Mounties went 25-5 and were a last second shot away from the state championships, a shot that Biglow missed in a 71-72 loss.

“I’m still havin’ dreams about it… I’ll have a dream that I made the shot,” Biglow said. “It gets to me, but it don’t really get to me. All of that is behind us now. Now we’re just looking forward to next season.”

Biglow’s success this season did not come by talent alone, the work he put into his training was what translated in the games.

“He’s a kid that’s always in the gym, always working and always getting in extra work and it definitely helped him in terms of skill development,” Mt. SAC head coach Allen Caveness said.

Aside from team practices, Biglow would meet up with assistant coach Criss Freeman for 6 a.m. drills.

“He’s definitely as good as he is because of how hard he works,” Freeman said. “I’ve been here 13 or 14 years and he’s one of the guys with the highest basketball IQs that I’ve coached here,” Freeman added.

Biglow’s training did not end with team practices and 6 a.m. drills; he also had a personal trainer, Edmund “Tiny” Flournoy Sr., whom he still meets with three times a week.

Coach Tiny said that in these training sessions he makes Biglow do NBA-type drills such as shooting NBA-range three-point shots, intense conditioning drills and shooting with his off hand.

“I tell him all the time that he’s a diamond,” Flournoy said. “You know diamonds all have flaws, but with a diamond you can always cut and polish, so he’s in the cutting and polishing process.”

After all that training, Biglow still practices in his free time.

“At 11 o’clock at night, I’ll go shoot again,” Biglow said. “I’ll shoot maybe 100 jump shots, 100 three-point shots, 100 free throws, and then I’ll get home.”
What fuels Biglow to endure all of this training? The simple fact that he needs to work hard to eat.

“That’s how I look at it every day,” Biglow said. “I wake up and I go work out, ‘I gotta eat.’ That’s why I’ll strive for perfection every game.”
Biglow attributes his work ethic to his grandfather, Robert Drew, who taught him to be tough growing up.

“He’s old school,” Biglow said. “Let’s say you want the weeds pulled out of the ground, you’re not gonna use no new technology, you’re gonna use your hands.”

Biglow said his dad, Anthony Biglow, showed him that toughness as well.

Anthony Biglow said his son’s competitiveness came from watching him play, and that his can’t-lose attitude rubbed off on Biglow as well.

“I played to win,” Anthony Biglow said. “I didn’t play to lose… that’s how he plays.”
Biglow’s life changed when the biggest family influence in his life, his grandmother, Ada Drew, passed away. He described her as a mother figure.

“It made me look at the real world even more,” Biglow said. “I talked to her about anything, and she always gave me great advice about everything. It’s not like I could always go back and run to her and talk to her because she’s not here anymore.”

All of his family influences and support have helped him excel and have given him a passion for winning, which has not gone unnoticed by universities. Top NCAA schools such as UCLA, New Mexico State, Boise State and West Virginia University have scouted him. Biglow said this coming season will be important for him as he hopes to create more interest from even more schools.

“It makes me feel good, but at the same time it makes me want to push harder so I can have more schools to choose from, more options instead of just those,” Biglow said.

Caveness brought a professional approach to his team in his first season as Mt. SAC coach and as team leader, Biglow had to harness that professional attitude on the court.

“Him [Biglow] being a point guard, he’s supposed to be an extension of the coaching staff,” Caveness said. “Obviously, the point guard is an intricate part of the success of any team.”

Biglow was not just a leader on the court, he described his team as a family on and off the court as well.

One of Biglow’s goals for last season was to make his teammates better, and Mounties’ forward Kaimyn Pruit said Biglow was able to do that as they were always in sync on the court, but that the expectations for next season are higher.

“We played decent together this year,” Pruit said. “But we’ll play a lot better next year.”

Biglow said he cares more about getting his team a victory than his personal statistics.

“At the end of the day, you can have 100 points with a loss and it’s not gonna mean nothing,” Biglow said. “I’d rather have 25 points with a victory. I’ll take that over anything, any day, or five points with a victory, I’ll take that.”

Biglow feels that next year’s team will be stronger as several teammates will be returning for their sophomore season as they look to win the Calif. state championship.

“If we win the ring, after that I might not come to school no more,” Biglow said jokingly.

After college, he plans on getting into real estate, but the NBA is still in the back of his mind.

“It’s every basketball player’s dream,” Biglow said. “The NBA, that’ll make me work harder. That’s where I wanna get.”

Only time will tell if all his hard work will lead him to play in a top NCAA school, or even the NBA, but if he takes a step forward from last season, a shot at the state championship is in his future.

Photos by Sherazad Shaikh

Under Construction

2010-04-06T21:55:00.001-07:00

Kornheiser fights a Storm

2010-02-24T01:08:00.001-08:00

ESPN suspended Tony Kornheiser the lovable co-host of "PTI" for two weeks for clowning on SportsCenter anchor Hannah Storm last week.

"Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today," Kornheiser said. "She’s got on red go-go boots and a catholic school plaid skirt … way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now.

"She’s got on her typically very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body … I know she’s very good, and I’m not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won’t … but Hannah Storm … come on now! Stop! What are you doing?"

The nutty old man who dons giant Ms. Cleo prop hats and a goatee begging for Just for Men gel has the audacity to make fun of Hannah Storm? (Hey, I don't work for ESPN. I'll describe him however I want.)

Of course Kornheiser apologized personally. He'll be back with Mike Wilbon in time to rant about March Madness.

"If you put a live microphone in front of somebody, eventually that person will say something wrong," Kornheiser said. "This was one of the times I said something wrong."

I'll keep that quote in mind if I ever do radio.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Not so broke after all

2010-02-23T23:29:00.000-08:00

I know I've used this before, but I love how delightfully awkward this picture looks.

Bunch of thieves.

I feel like it's a circle of crooks. Why, Dodgers, why!

For six years under the McCourts, they have stolen my money with $5 hot dogs, and $6 coke, pocketed $108 million in earnings without having to pay taxes, 45 million of which was stolen by the Manny Ramirez contract, which I help pay for when I overpay to watch him hit legendary pop flies that go straight into the left fielder's glove and buy the hot dogs and coke with money that the McCourts pocketed $108 million of... you get the idea.

Anyway, the L.A. Times reports that the McCourts pocketed $108 million from 2004 through 2009, according to documents Jamie McCourt recently filed in the couple's divorce case in Los Angeles County Superior Court. On that sum, they paid zero federal and state income tax.

"The court papers indicate that the McCourts deliberately structured their business at least partially to allow them to live tax-free," Michael Hiltzik of The Times reported.

It's nice to see sweet success stories where the rich get richer. Since you're keeping all that money, how bout... yeah, why not? The first top 5 of the semester hidden within this blog!

Since it seems you guys are keeping extra change how bout you:

5. Pay Manny Ramirez to leave town
That bum has already said he doesn't plan on staying, get rid of him early. I'm tired of paying for pop flies. I fell for the Mannywood hype too, but I'm tired of him and his ovulation periods. Buy out his contract, you should have enough money from what you're pocketing.

the representative of the Dodgers' 99 problems

4. If there's any money left over, get us a flippin' ACE!
Dodgers haven't had a true Ace since Kevin Brown? I know we haven't had the best of luck with the people like Jason Schmidt, but management needs to grow a pair and finally cough up the money for a big name, you should have enough from what you're pocketing.

3. Better giveaway days
Maybe I'm just jealous because I don't qualify for the 14 and under giveaways, but that's beside the point. Don't judge me, you pocketed my money! Anyway, maybe bat night won't go as smoothly at Dodger Stadium as it does at Angels Stadium, but be creative and give me something good. I'm paying $25 for nosebleeds and $20 for food that should cost about $7 at most. $15 for parking, you can't give me a nice Matt Kemp shirt instead of that cheap cloth I use to clean the table with now. Give us a real souvenir, you should have enough from what you're pocketing.

2. Lower parking
$15 for parking? Seriously? It shouldn't be more that $5. Sure that's an unreal price these days, but does parking really need to be that expensive? Don't call my suggestion stupid, you're stealing my money! You guys should be able to lower the price. You should have enough money from what you're pocketing.

$15 for an hour of traffic in and out of the lot

1. Let Joe Torre run the team
You guys are going through a divorce, you're in no shape to run a professional baseball team. Year after year we've been getting second rate everything. I want to see Torre take a shot at running this team. We have a good, young nucleus, let Torre fill in the rest of the holes. What? Bad idea? Unrealistic? Pay him a little extra to give us a championship, you should have enough from; that's right... the money you're pocketing.

Trying to fool us by running the team like you're broke? I really hope this isn't true because if it is, what a wasted decade.

Short winter recap

2010-02-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

The new semester has started at Mt. SAC and while the Mountaineer may have taken the winter off, Mt. SAC sports has been active.

Believe it or not, the basketball season is already over. The Mounties played a whole season already and both the men and women are getting set to make a run at the playoffs.

Rocking the Iverson braids, Antonio Biglow has been leading the men's team (24-4, 8-0 in division play,) scoring like a madman and getting everyone involved. The man has been ballin' and has been a true product of Coach Caveness' system as he always relayed messages of team play and defense at the end of every game.

The women's team had a lot of pressure as Coach Beeman has led them to state title after state title and while they haven't had a dominating season like seasons past, Cecy Cuevas and the Mounties have had a more than stellar season going 22-6 (7-1 within the division) as the first round of the playoffs start this Wednesday.

The baseball and softball seasons have gotten underway, and thanks to some rain delays, there's still plenty of home action to catch for both teams, starting this Wednesday at 6 p.m. as the men make up a rain out game against L.A. Valley. Softball will come back home on Thursday at 3 p.m. against East L.A.

The men's baseball team has started 2-4, but it's still early and it's still baseball so I can't wait to see what Coach Parker's team has to show this year after their crazy playoff run last year as 14th seed.

With both basketball teams in the playoffs, this will be the first time in my time with the Mountaineer that the men will be joining the women. I expect both to go deep as they have been playing strong on both sides all season and have shown they can beat tough teams in close games.

Superbowl Pick, the edited edition

2010-02-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

Many of you read my blog yesterday about my Superbowl pick and predictions, but it was written very quickly and I was high on McDonald's sweet tea when I wrote it. This is what I really meant to say... ;)

This one won't be close. It's not going to be a shootout. It's not going to be a hundred point game and the COLTS aren't going to figure out the secret to stopping DREW BREES.

The Saints fans can make all the Manning Voodoo dolls they want and yell, "Who dat?" so they CAN CELEBRATE that DREW BREES is "dat."

Quite frankly the hurricane Katrina angle is getting old. If the Saints win, it will do nothing for those victims. There was an amazing game played on September 25, 2006 where football came back to the city of New Orleans. The city needed a picture of hope and it was given in that game where the Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-3. All their sports teams had to abandon the city due to damages in their respective arenas, but once the Saints came back to the city, it showed that New Orleans was on the way back to being rebuilt.

The city still needs help, but the story tht seems to be getting lost is the one from Colts wide reciever Pierre Garcon, AND JONATHAN VILMA OF THE SAINTS the pride and joy of Haiti. This disaster just happened, why wouldn't success from THEM bring hope to Haiti the way that first game post-Katrina did for New Orleans?

Anyway, I don't buy this whole New Orleans underdog story. Katrina doesn't make the first place Saints underdogs; Peyton Manning does.

How do you find an underdog between two first place teams? By realizing that one player is so good that it tips the scale in his team's favor.

Peyton Manning has a group of the most massive men in front of him who do not let him get hit, Drew Brees doesn't really have that luxury, YET MANNING CHOKED UNDER PRESSURE AND BREES WAS THE ONE WHO CAME OUT SMELLING LIKE ROSES.

Saints put up a lot of points this season, but so did the Colts. I think the game is going to be predictable in accordance to the SAINTS season. The game will be close at first, SAINTS will pull ahead just before the half ends and the COLTS will go into halftime thinking "what the heck just happened?" Saints will come out hot in the second half TRYING TO STUFF IT DOWN THE COLTS' THROATS, AND THE SAINTS will pull away. After the game is out of reach, COLTS will TRY score a cheap touchdown at the end to make the final score respectable, AND MANNING WILL THROW AN INTERCEPTION.

SUPERBOWL 44 FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: 31-17 SAINTS over COLTS

GUARANTEES
-Manning to Garcon will be said countless times.

-BREES TO COLSTON WILL BE SAID COUNTLESS TIMES.

-Hurricane Katrina and Haiti will be mentioned every 20 minutes.

-HURRICANE KATRINA AND HAITI WILL BE MENTIONED EVERY 15 MINUTES.

-Kim Kardashian will be shown holding a sparkly sign every tim Reggie Bush brings back a kick.

-KENDRA'S HUSBAND WILL HAVE AN ONSIDE KICK BOUNCE OF HIS FACE.

-An old man who looks like Peyton Manning will be shown celebrating in a suite after every Colt touchdawn pass.

-AN OLD MAN WHO LOOKS LIKE DARRELL HAMMOND PLAYING JOHN MCCAIN ON SNL WILL BE SHOWN CELEBRATING AFTER EVERY COLT TOUCHDOWN PASS.

-Live footage of people dancing on Bourbon St.

-LIVE FOOTAGE OF PEYTON MANNING'S MELTDOWN

-Commercials of talking babies and hairy footed horses.

-COMMERCIALS OF PEOPLE SLAPPING EACH OTHER AND NO ONE WEARING PANTS

-"Who dat" will somehow be linked to The Who through clever wordplay.

-THE WHO WILL GIVE A SAD PERFORMANCE ON AN INCREDIBLY LIT UP STAGE.

-Manning will be dubbed the greatest quarterback by ESPN analysts after the game.

-MANNING WILL BE DUBBED ONE OF THE BIGGEST PLAYOFF CHOKERS BY ESPN ANALYSTS THE MORNING AFTER.
-People calling in sick tomorrow due to massive hangovers and food comas.

-THIS IS ALL STILL TRUE ^^^

-By halftime I will start counting the days 'til baseball season starts.

-AS WAS THIS ^^^

I knew the Saints were going to win the whole time.

Superbowl 44 pick!

2010-02-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

This one won't be close. It's not going to be a shootout. It's not going to be a hundred point game and the Saints aren't going to figure out the secret to stopping Peyton Manning.

The Saints fans can make all the Manning Voodoo dolls they want and yell, "Who dat?" 'til they come to terms that Peyton Manning is "dat."

Quite frankly the hurricane Katrina angle is getting old. If the Saints win, it will do nothing for those victims. There was an amazing game played on September 25, 2006 where football came back to the city of New Orleans. The city needed a picture of hope and it was given in that game where the Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-3. All their sports teams had to abandon the city due to damages in their respective arenas, but once the Saints came back to the city, it showed that New Orleans was on the way back to being rebuilt.

The city still needs help, but the story tht seems to be getting lost is the one from Colts wide reciever Pierre Garcon, the pride and joy of Haiti. This disaster just happened, why wouldn't success from him bring hope to Haiti the way that first game post-Katrina did for New Orleans?

Anyway, I don't buy this whole New Orleans underdog story. Katrina doesn't make the first place Saints underdogs; Peyton Manning does.

How do you find an underdog between two first place teams? By realizing that one player is so good that it tips the scale in his team's favor.

Peyton Manning has a group of the most massive men in front of him who do not let him get hit, Drew Brees doesn't really have that luxury.

Saints put up a lot of points this season, but so did the Colts. I think the game is going to be predictable in accordance to the Colts' season. The game will be close at first, Colts will pull ahead just before the half ends and the Saints will go into halftime thinking "what the heck just happened?" Saints will come out hot in the second half to try and make it a game, but Colts will pull away again. After the game is out of reach, Saints will score a cheap touchdown at the end to make the final score respectable.

SUPERBOWL 44 FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: 35-24 Colts over Saints

GUARANTEES
-Manning to Garcon will be said countless times.

-Hurricane Katrina and Haiti will be mentioned every 20 minutes.

-Kim Kardashian will be shown holding a sparkly sign every tim Reggie Bush brings back a kick.

-An old man who looks like Peyton Manning will be shown celebrating in a suite after every Colt touchdawn pass.

-Live footage of people dancing on Bourbon St.

-Commercials of talking babies and hairy footed horses.

-"Who dat" will somehow be linked to The Who through clever wordplay.

-Manning will be dubbed the greatest quarterback by ESPN analysts after the game.

-People calling in sick tomorrow due to massive hangovers and food comas.

-By halftime I will start counting the days 'til baseball season starts.

Chris Henry dies

2009-12-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

Former Bengals' wide receiver Chris Henry, 26, died this morning in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reports say that Henry fell off of the back of a pick-up truck after what is being called a, "domestic despute."

He was found in the middle of a residential road in Charlotte and was immediately rushed to the hospital.

There were reports early this morning of Henry being on life support and died soon after.

"He was really on of my closest friends," a teary-eyed Bengals' wide receiver Chad Ochocinco said. "I just talked to him on Tuesday to see how he was doing."

Henry was away from the team after breaking his forearm against Baltimore Nov. 8 and having season-ending surgery.

Information from ESPN was used in this report.

Allan Iverson retires

2009-11-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

Future hall of famer Allan Iverson announced his retirement today. It's sad that no team in the league wanted to pick him up, but it is also sad that he would not accept a lesser role.

He's had a couple of down years due to injury and if he really has anything left in the tank like he claims, he should accept what he is given and show that he can work his way up.

He does deserve the benefit of the doubt, but he shouldn't let his pride get in the way of his career and should work his way up again.

This should not be happening to a star of his caliber. Shame on both the league and Iverson for not being able to agree on some sort of deal.

I want to believe he'll be back, but every team has a young star whom they have a lot of money invested in and are expected to lead their respective teams. Iverson cannot expect to be the first option anymore.

Stafon Johnson speaks

2009-11-15T21:57:00.000-08:00

USC running back Stafon Johnson, who had the freak injury when a bench bar fell on his throat, verbally spoke for the first time since the accident.

In a press conference he said, "God has a plan. Run Stafon, run."

He can now swallow and eat solid foods and he is expected to fully recover.

Manny vs. Cotto

2009-11-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

Manny Pacquiao completely destroyed Miguel Cotto tonight.

Pac Man is a warrior with gloves of steel. He went up against a world class fighter and picked him apart.

From the time Cotto walked out to the ring he didn't have any swagger. He looked focussed but not confident.

Cotto's wife had to take her son out of the arena so he wouldn't see his father getting brutally mistreated.

Cotto was fighting blind. He couldn't see the punches coming. Cotto took the first round and it seemed this was going to be close, but it turned quickly.

Cotto might never be the fighter he was before fighting Antonio Margarito and it's sad because the old Cotto would have made tthis a much more interesting fight.

All that's left is Pacquiao vs. Mayweather.

Make it happen, promoters.

USC gets smashed again

2009-11-14T01:24:00.001-08:00

This time by Stanford. Stanford is the only team since 2001 that has beaten USC at home, they've now done it twice as they ruined USC's BCS title bid in 2007.

The best and most ironic part is that Pete Carroll was upset over Stanford running up the score! He probably said it on purpose, but he knows they deserved every point against them.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has leukemia

2009-11-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is being treated for a rare form of leukemia, and the basketball great said his prognosis is encouraging.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia, he told The Associated Press on Monday.

The 62-year-old Abdul-Jabbar said his doctor didn't give any guarantees, but informed him: "You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle."

Abdul-Jabbar is taking an oral medication for the disease. He is a paid spokesman for the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, which makes a drug that treats the illness.

"I've never been a person to share my private life. But I can help save lives," he said in a midtown Manhattan conference room. "It's incumbent on someone like me to talk about this."

Abdul-Jabbar became concerned last year after feeling odd sensations. He went for tests at UCLA, where he dominated college basketball in the late 1960s, winning three straight NCAA championships from 1967 to 1969.

"I was getting hot flashes and sweats on a regular basis," he said. "That's not normal, even for my age."

An exam showed his white blood cell count was "sky high" and a doctor quickly diagnosed his condition. At first, all Abdul-Jabbar heard was the word "leukemia."

"I was scared," he said. "I thought it was all the same. I thought it could mean I have a month to live."

"That was my first question," he said. "Was I going to make it?"

A longtime student in martial arts, Abdul-Jabbar said he took the approach of a samurai -- to face death without fear.

"I had my face on," he said.

Instead, doctors told him CML was treatable with proper medication and monitoring.

Abdul-Jabbar is a special assistant with the Lakers and said he hasn't had to cut back his level of activity of coaching, change his regimen or adjust his diet. "I'm able to sneak out for Thai food," he said.

"There is hope. This condition can be treated. You can still live a productive, full life," he said. "I'm living proof I can make it."

Abdul-Jabbar recently returned from an academic conference in Abu Dhabi and has several speaking engagements planned. Among the people he regularly talks to about his condition is his son, a third-year medical student at the University of California, San Francisco.

The six-time NBA MVP intends to post updates to his Facebook and Twitter accounts and stay connected through www.CMLearth.com, a Web site for those afflicted by the disease.

About 5,000 cases of CML are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society said. More than 22,000 people are living in the U.S. with the disease.

The disease tends to initially be diagnosed in people in their mid- to late 60s, and usually affects men more than women.

"I want to spread the word," Abdul-Jabbar said.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

weekly sports rap-up: Nov. 2 - Nov. 8

2009-11-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

This week in sports there seemed to be a lot of tension
The Yankees won the World Series through monetary intervention
Usain Bolt bought a cheetah, which he’ll probably train to race
And people were getting in trouble at a record setting pace
Fans don’t want Larry Johnson to break the rushing record for the Chiefs
Manu caught a bat in the arena and later got a lot of grief
NOW wants Tom Cable fired due to anger he can’t manage
Joe Girardi saved a woman from a car crash’s major damage
The Kings’ Andres Nocioni got a DUI
Tim Lincecum faced some charges cause he got caught getting high
We found out Lesnar has Mono and that’s why he won’t be fighting
Andre Agassi has a new book and poured his soul in writing
The McCourt divorce is lingering and getting very tiring
Iverson won’t play off the bench and is considering retiring
Elizabeth Lambert of New Mexico showed she’s a fighter not a talker
First time since the ’96 Olympics anyone’s cared about women’s soccer

Manny's coming back

2009-11-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

Manny Ramirez is coming back to L.A. After a long and hard talk with his agent and realizing that no other team is stupid enough to pay $20 million to a steroid using clown who lost his confidence and right to juice.

I can't believe I fell into the Mannywood trap last season. Get him out of town. Let him DH for someone else. Those $20 million could have been spent on Matt Holiday or ANYONE!

He better get it together.

MMA figh- I mean, women's soccer player

2009-11-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

I thought the games here at Mt. SAC were vicious. This girl tops it all!

Another slow sports day?

2009-11-06T13:35:00.001-08:00

How do you spot a slow sports day? Go on espn.com and if you find this picture as a top story; you just know.

Top 5: Reasons to hate the Yankees

2009-11-05T21:25:00.001-08:00

There are tons of reasons to hate the Yankees, but in honor of their 2009 World Series championship, here are my top 5.

5. Fans- Now that they won again, New Yorkers can get on their high horses for a whole year. (Like if New Yorkers really needed THIS to get on their high horses.)

4. Roiders- All is well in Yankeeland. A-Rod and Pettite are the heroes of the World Series! and everyone forgot that they're probably hopped up on the juice. (But who cares, right? They won.)

3. The overrated overdog- Everyone wanted and hoped the Phillies could beat the Yanks. Ryan Howard was swinging like a mad-man, Pedro seemed like a secret weapon, Cole Hammels was going to hit his stride again, and their bats looked better than the Yankees. WISHFUL THINKING! After Cliff Lee, the entire pitching staff was terrible and had been terrible. Pedro is old and had been getting lucky. Hammels was never going to hit his stride because he didn't want to, and their swagger didn't match their game. Yankees exposed them, outcoached them and this could have been avoided if a true underdog would have gotten in and embarrased the Yankees yet again.

2. Thier TV announcer.

1. They bought the championship- Great run. Great season, whatever. They spent a billion dollars to outbid every single team in the league and buy the best players that were available. I know economics is the name of the game, but save it for Monopoly. Any team that can buy whoever they want is a favorite to win and it's that much sweeter when it backfires. For 8 years it backfired for the Yanks; they finally paid enough.

Bolt adopts a baby cheetah

2009-11-04T14:44:00.000-08:00

Usain Bolt adopted an abandoned cheetah in Kenya on Monday.

He named the 3-month-old cheetah "Lightning Bolt."

It is only appropriate that the fastest man in the world own the fastest cat in the animal kingdom.

Bolt paid 13,700 to formally adopt the cub and will pay about $3,000 a year for its care as it will raised at an animal orphanage in Nairobi.

This week in Twitter news: Ginobili gets batty

2009-11-04T14:09:00.004-08:00

btw, I dont think I kill the poor thing. I felt it moving in my hand...
10:13 PM Oct 31st from TweetDeck

Why the heck was Manu Ginobili touching a filthy bat?

Better question-why are there even bats in the Spurs' arena?

He had to take a ton of different shots for rabies, gave some sort of apology on Facebook and said not to do it at home.

If there are bats in your home I would hope you're not trying to catch them with your hand. Get out of there and call an exterminator. Or the Joker.

Clipper Nation: A night at Staples

2009-11-02T23:15:00.001-08:00

I got some free tickets to the Clippers game against the Minnesota Wolves tonight and it actaully wasn't a horrible game.

Got a glimpse of Minnesota's Johnny Flynn. That guy is quick. He must have crossed over the whole Clipper team and maybe even his own team.

No Blake Griffin of course, but saw a lot of Baron Davis ball-hogging. Eric Gordon is great-at least he was worth the $15 I didn't spend.

The crowd fooled me. MVP chants surfaced and I thought Kobe walked in to catch the game! Apparently the chants for Chris Kaman? He had a pretty good game so I couldn't tell if the Clipper faithful were being sarcastic or if they really think he's good.

The halftime show was better than the game. Some girl was doing flips in the air and landing on a bouncy strip that was being held up by two dudes.

Weekly sports rap-up Oct. 26-Nov.1

2009-11-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

This week the World Series started and now it's almost over
the Phillies won game one, then the Yankees just took over.
The Lakers got their rings as they start their quest for "back-to-back."
The Cavs started 0-2 now everyone is questioning Shaq.
Kansas City's Larry Johnson called his coach a "fag" on Twitter
While Brett Favre went back to Green Bay and saw all the fans were bitter.
Braylon Edwards finally got charged for assaulting Lebron's friend,
It got him out of Cleveland; bet you he'd do it again.
Dodger Owner Frank McCourt accused his wife of cheating
while USC went up to Oregon and took a Ducking beating.
Little Manny Pacquiao called out "Money" May
Floyd's usually the one talking but this time had nothing to say.
Jamie McMurry won the Talladega race
and we learned Raider's coach Tom Cable hit his ex-wife in the face.
The Titans winless streak is over now that they finally played Vince Young.
Next week's a big one for the Phillies as they fight down 3-to-1.

Top 5: Names for L.A. football team

2009-10-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

Even though it seems that a team is going to be transferred to L.A. once the stadium is built in City of Industry, there's probably going to have to be a name change. You can't really root for a team named the L.A. Vikings or L.A. Jaguars so here are a few suggestions that fit the L.A. mold.

5. The L.A. Beach Bums
This name fits perfectly with the L.A. lifestyle. It's always sunny and people are always hitting the beaches and we love letting people know about it. What better way of letting people in the Midwest know their weather sucks than having our team head over there and with a surfboard as a logo.

4. The L.A. Plastic Surgeons
Again, this is a major part of L.A. culture. It's pure Hollywood style and our slogan could be, "We'll rearrange your face!"

3. The L.A. Immigrants
Our country was founded on immigrants and L.A. takes pride in statistics that show how high our immigration rate is. How great would it be to travel to racist cities with this name? (Oops. I mean; racism doesn't exist anymore.)

2. The L.A. Debt
We love spending what we don't have here in L.A. and while this stadium might actually help jumpstart our economy, we'll probably find a way to screw it up again in about 10 years. We're known for our billion dollar debts and there are even commercials all over the place about credit card debt in California becuase it's the norm. "The L.A. Debt: We'll put a hole in your wallet and your helmet!"

1. The L.A. Unoriginals
In the land where remakes make millions and everyone thinks they're original, we're not. And whatever the team is named will most likely be taken from something else and people will criticize it. Might as well call them the Unoriginals, it's the most original name we could use.

Pacquiao calls out Mayweather

2009-10-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

Someday

"I don't think it's going to happen. I'm sure he doesn't want to fight."

Them's fightin' words! Fighting words from the pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao. Now will Mayweather strike back with fighting words or bail like he always does by saying he only fights where there's money. There comes a point when he'll be forced to fight the best and not wait for them to get old.

Mayweather showed a lot in his last fight when he overpowered Marquez, but that's not the fight everyone wants to see.

Everyone wants to see him fight Pacquiao or Sugar Shane Mosley.

The saddest thing about Pacquiao's quote is that it's probably true.

Pacquiao is fighting top-of-the-line boxers and everyone has been drooling at the thought of seeing him face-off against Mayweather. Pacquiao knows his responsibility as an entertainer. Mayweather is much bigger and it's very likely he'll overpower Pacquiao as well and Pacquiao knows that, but he also knows what the people want to see. As an entertainer he wants to provide an amazing fight, not just dodge punches for 12 rounds, take his money and go home.

Mosley called out Mayweather in his own match. Heent right up to his face and made him look like a punk. Now Pacquiao's calling him out. It's Mayweather's move. He has to fight one of them.

Mayweather is going to have to step up eventually and really earn a pound-for-pound title. It's your move "Money."

Lenore Moreno is motivated by long-distance success

2009-10-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Her success in running has not been by accident. Through support around her, motivation and mental toughness, Lenore Moreno, a kinesiology major, found the formula to shoot herself to the top of her craft.

The second-year cross country athlete competes in a sport where there is always someone either in front or behind her, but regardless of her position she knows exactly what to do to push herself to the limit.

Moreno runs for both the Mt. SAC cross country and track-and-field teams, two physically demanding sports where every second counts and even when pain sets in, slowing down can be costly.

“The biggest challenge is to be able to push yourself even when you’re hurting,” women’s cross country head coach Doug Todd said. “I think you have to go into it ready to say, ‘ok I’m going to hurt for a while. I’m going to be uncomfortable for a while, but I have to keep running and I have to push anyway.’”

Moreno has learned just that and has assumed the role of team-leader for the Mounties cross country team this semester. She has consistently finished in the top 5 in her races this season and that very consistency is a key that Todd said has helped lead to her success.

“I don’t think a lot of athletes realize how important it is to show up every day for good things to happen, and she shows up every day,” Todd said. “Unless the bone’s stickin’ through the skin, she’s coming to practice.”

Todd said Moreno has a tremendous work ethic and the progress she makes every day will add up and helps make her stronger. He called it a “long constant fight” every day that she strives to try to get better. She shows up every day to work hard and it is a concept that sounds simple, but not everyone can do it, he said.

"
"They can’t help but emulate her work ethic, Todd said. “Everybody out here wants to be good-wants to get better. Then they see a talented athlete like her and they see her working hard every single day. I think that’s got to rub off.”

Moreno said she finds motivation within her team and does not want to let them down. She said that while running, she thinks about how her teammates are running as well and are feeling the same pain she feels and she has to stay strong for them.
“If anyone ever needs something she’ll be there for you,” teammate Pamela Hernandez, sociology major said. “By her pushing herself, it makes everyone want to push themselves too.”

She also thinks of people who inspire her like former Los Angeles Angels player David Eckstein and legendary runner Steve Prefontaine.

She said Eckstein inspires her because he did not let his size hold him back and also the fact that he has been able to accomplish so much. She said Prefontaine’s life has been such an inspiration that she watches his life story before every meet.

She thinks of all these things during races because having a good frame of mind is important to keep going, she said. Her mentality has helped her in life whether it is in running or in school and knows it will help her in life in the future.
“Without being mentally strong, you can’t really do anything,” she said. “You’re always going to be down on yourself and you’re not going to want to get up and do something.”

Although Moreno finds ways to use everything around her as motivation, the main key to her success can be tracked back to the support she has received from home.

Her influence in sports came from her two older brothers who played baseball and ran, respectively.
She played softball from the time she was four years old up until high school where she decided she loved running more passionately than softball. She said that watching her brothers work hard drove her to work hard as well.

Moreno said her love for running started in middle school after watching her brother compete in meets at the high school level.
“I just liked how it takes a lot of effort to go out there and do all of that,” Moreno said. “I’m usually up for challenges and I was like, ‘I want to try it.’”

Her parents have been the cores of support for her as she said they have always been supportive of her and her brothers’ activity in sports. Coach Todd said he has seen Lenore’s parents at every single meet, home and away no matter how far the meet has been.

“They always cheer for me,” Moreno said. “It’s really good to have that when you run because it pushes you. Makes you go faster.”

Moreno added that her father now runs as well and has gone as far as to read up on books to help coach her.
Moreno is still looking into different schools and has looked into Cal State San Marcos where she hopes to run for U.S. track-and-field Hall of Famer Steve Scott who is the head coach there. She plans to focus on her kinesiology career as she plans to be a physical therapist.

Moreno has already shown that she can keep up with university level runners as in the first race of the season. She placed 34th overall in the Fullerton Invitational where she competed against 212 other competitors from not only community colleges, but a majority of the runners from the university level.

Even as she follows her goal to be a physical therapist, she says she will always be running because she loves it and it will always take stress away.

“I’ll be like one of those old people running on the street,” Moreno said laughing.

Brock Lesnar backs out

2009-10-26T21:09:00.001-07:00

UFC just got rid of the Machida vs. Rua commercials and put out the Lesnar vs. Carwin commercials for UFC 106, but president Dana White came out to say that Lesnar will not be able to fight next month due to illness.

Apparently Lesnar has been sick for the last three weeks and hasn't been able to train.

White said that Lesnar told him he has never been as sick as he is now.

Shane Carwin expressed his disappointment through Twitter of course and said he feels Lesnar's pain as he had to battle the H1N1 virus himself. However, Lesnar has not been linked to H1N1 and the illness has yet to be reported.

The event was scheduled for Nov. 21 in Las Vegas and according to Carwin the fight will be postponed until Jan. 2

Hopefully we can kick off the new year right; watching two giant men beat each other to a bloody pulp.

This week in Twitter news: Larry Johnson disses coach Haley

2009-10-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

According to ESPN, Larry Johnson tailback of the Kansas City Chiefs made some hateful comments on Twitter directed toward head coach Todd Haley. Can't get ahold of his tweets at the moment but reports say that he threw some F bombs. Not the type of F bombs that your middle school teacher gives you detention for, but F bombs that get GLAAD chasing after you.

What do you know, they are after him. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance want the NFL to punish Johnson for his comments.

Reports say that he used the word "fag" in the tweet and then uttered it again when speaking to reporters allegedly saying, “Get your faggot asses out of here.”

It's a good thing he doesn't play in Cleveland or else Lebron James would have him traded like he did with Braylon Edwards, but something is going to be done for sure. I'll keep you guys posted on whatever happens to Johnson.

Weekly sports rap-up: Oct. 19-25

2009-10-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

Thought it might be fun to get a weekly sports rap-up going. This is the first. Leave some constructive feedback please. Here it goes:

The Dodgers and Angels both got eliminated
and we found out Alex Rodriguez is not that overrated
The Dodgers owner fired his own wife as CEO
while Arnold said the L.A. football stadium is a "go"
Richard Seymour predicted playoffs when the radio hosts were teasin'
While the striking NBA refs said they'll be ready for the season
Chad Ochocinco started his own news network
ESPN fired Steve Phillips, maybe OCNN can help him get work
Sam Bradford is NFL-bound after surgery on his shoulder
While the Steelers got to Favre and made him look a little older
A Tennesee upset over Bama was a lock
but the 44-yard field goal was too long and it got blocked
A Phillies, Yankees slugfest is for sure in the World Series
Hope the umps will do their jobs and do away with replay theories
L.A. kept popping up in news for reason that made them look weak
Bad time for L.A. fans, good thing the Lakers start next week

Vitamin Water and Steve Nash link up

2009-10-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen this Vitamin Water commercial, it is starring Steve Nash and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Just thought it was funny seeing how Steve Nash is the little point guard from Phoenix who you'd probably never think would do this. Enjoy.

This week in Twitter news: OCNN

2009-10-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinatti Bengals tweeted that he's going to have his own social networking news system called OCNN.

Ochocinco can and probably will give me all the Twitter news I need for my "This week in Twitter news."

POW-->Esteban and @motomobile announce OCNN!! The worlds first one man social news network,powered by thee MOTOBLUR<----ching ching
about 13 hours ago from MOTOBLUR

OCNN will be providing all news on and off the field,including my own team=no middle man needed,I am the source from now on<---Boom
about 13 hours ago from MOTOBLUR

Junior college journalism: Inside the JACC

2009-10-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of the So. Cal. Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) convention. This a convention, which is being held in Cal State Fullerton this year, where journalists from community colleges around Southern California get together for several workshops and competitions held during the day.

There are writing competitions, as well as photography, layout, cartoons- all things journalism.

I competed in the on-the-spot sports writing competition where we covered a cross country meet hosted by CSF.

Two journalists from each college attending the convention compete, watch the meet, interview atheltes and coaches and get put into a little conference room where they have an hour to write their story.

Competitions like this were held throughout the day and tonight winners will be announced and awards will be given.

It is crazy being in a place were hundreds of students share the same journalistic passion that you do. You get to meet new people, hear them talk and get a sense of their style.

I was pretty chill during my competition. I've covered cross country a couple times and know you can't chase the runners around for 20 minutes, but it was kind of funny watching others who obviously never covered the sport before, run around confused, not knowing where they should be, looking for an edge in a sport where you just kinda have to wait for them to finish. But all that running around is passion. I felt the same way the first time I covered a meet. It was great to see that type of energy and feeling of the unknown. Luckily Mt. SAC has prepared me for such events like these becuase even though I can't always cover everything, I've tried to cover each sport at least once for the experience and Mt. SAC provides several great sports.

Tonight will be the moment of truth. We walked away with a record number of awards last year. For us, this is our playoffs. We WANT to win. I know we'll all do well and I pray that I did as well.

The McCourts: Trouble in Dodger paradise

2009-10-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

The day after his team lost to the Phillies, Dodger chairman Frank McCourt fired his wife Jamie McCourt as CEO of the team.

An ESPN report stated that the McCourts are going through a divorce and the team is one of the things in limbo.

Previous reports stated that by Califorina law, the team could end up being community property with each party owing half of all assets acquired during the marriage.

After news of their separation last week, L.A. times reported that Jamie McCourt might try to gather investors and buy out the team.

One tiny ray of light in this situation is that Frank McCourt said that this would not hurt the Dodgers financial means, personnel moves or management.

They can only hope he's right.

L.A. football stadium: The Governator signs

2009-10-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press reported that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday that he signed a bill to allow Majestic Realty Co. to build an NFL football stadium in City of Industry.

The environmental exemption bill, which seemed to be the last hurdle to clear has been approved by Arnold. It's headlining ESPN so after all the road blocks, it seems that this might be it.

I highly doubt that the fight against the stadium by surrounding cities will end, but it really looks like Ed Roski's dream is finally coming to fruition.

I won't believe it until I see it being built for myself (which I probably will try to go check out soon)

Get ready L.A. THIS IS AS CLOSE AS IT'S BEEN. YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS. SERIOUSLY!

Dodger Blues

2009-10-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

Oh Dodgers how you've let us down again
I thought you could have won this year with your strong bullpen
But your starters were no match for the homers they reeled
As it looked like they were playing in a little league field
Manny Ramirez picked the wrong time to lay off the juice
As Howard looked guilty of substance abuse
You thought you had beat the best team in the first round
'til the Phillies came to L.A. and smacked you around
Torre decided to bench his All-Star second baseman
As the last out was made by his chubby replacement
Will you ever get it right and put together a great team?
In my 21 years of life it has yet to be seen

Again with the umps

2009-10-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

The problem has come up again. Problems with umpires in the MLB. Yesterday was just sad, probably as sad as it has ever been. In the Angels vs. Yankees game there were three really bad and obvious calls made. Calls so bad that umpire Tim McClelland actually made an appearance in the press conference to apologize.

The first call was on a pick-off attempt where it seemed that Yankee outfielder Nick Swisher appeared to have been tagged out at second, but was called safe. That happens a lot, so not that big of a deal.

The second questionable call was when Swisher was at third base and tagged on a fly-ball to center field. He made it safely and after the whole Angel team complained, he was called out for leaving third too early when footage showed otherwise. Again, that happens too, but it cost the Yankees a run.

The last call was just ridiculous when Jorge Posada was chased back to third base by Angels catcher Mike Napoli and was awkwardly met there by teammate Robinson Cano (pictured above). Not knowing what to do, both Yankees just stood there, none on the base while Napoli tagged them both out. However, umpire Tim McClelland called only Posada out as after the game he admitted that he assumed Cano was on the base. He gave Cano too much credit.

I wasn't even upset at these calls, I actually felt bad for the umpires. We can only catch so much as humans, and 95 percent of the time the umps get the calls right. It's that 5 percent that's so critical.

I'm usually against the incorporation of replay in baseball, but Mike Golic made a pretty good point this morning. Golic made the point that baseball already runs between three and three-and-a-half hours. Taking an extra 10 minutes to get a call right really wouldn't take away from the game.

He's pretty right. There are so many stops in baseball already, it wouldn't mess with the flow of the game. The way I see it, the 10 minutes that it would take Lou Pinella to argue and get kicked out of a game, could be used to see a quick replay and make the correct call.

I've always been in favor of the human error, it makes the game interesting and gives good stories with controversy, but I'm starting to come around to the idea of replay.

It was sad to watch the umpire have to apologize. Something will be done soon, almost guaranteed.

This week in Twitter news: Durant strikes back

2009-10-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City Thunder start Kevin Durant tweeted back to an analysis ESPN's Henry Abbott made when he pulled out some random statistic about the Thunder being a better team when Durant is on the bench. Durant just defended himself, didn't throw back anything negative toward Abbot, but it's funny how fast media is changing and how quickly athletes can publicly respond to things like this.

I just hope Durant understands that Abbott himself probably knows that it was a bogus statistic, but he gets paid to talk about random statistics that are wrong half the time. I also hope that Durant doesn't take every criticism to heart unless he's like MJ and uses every little thing as motivation which in that case it's all the better to fuel his fire.

Inside the Locker room

2009-10-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

This is a great story written by ESPN columnist Rick Reilly. He writes about times he's awkward interviews with half-naked athletes. I can personally attest to the awkwardness that comes with the journalist title and as always, thought this was a funny story. Check it out:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4534478

2-day sports drought!

2009-10-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

The Blue Demon? This is one of the Top stories on ESPN today

Tonight's sports schedule: Boise St. vs. Tulsa.

That's it.

In one of the best months in sports where football, baseball and basketball all come into play, none of them played last night and will not play tonight either.

It was such a great weekend for sports; college football was great, the baseball playoffs were exciting and they all clinched and Monday night football was last-possession game. We even got a glimpse of the Lakers in preseason, but after Monday Night Football there's been nothing.

I was basically forced to watch UFC replays all night becuase that was all that was on last night.

Why has there been nothing to watch these last two days? We're in the thick of the playoffs and they're basically getting almost a week off now! I'm sure the players don't mind the rest, but it's a borderline vacation. Thanks again to TBS' tv scheduling, it seems that the game days are concrete whether they go the distance or it's a sweep.

ESPN has had to do some actual reporting becuase there has been no games, but even then it looks like they're scramblling. After they're done talking about John Wooden's 99th birthday, Charlie Davies' car crash, and Rush Limbaugh trying to buy the Rams they've been showing lame youtube videos and are previewing NFL games on a Wednesday.

Even the MLB Network doesn't know what to do. There are two games this week and it seems they're overanalyzing their former analyses which they had already overanlyzed. They're even trying to talk about next year to fill space. The LCS haven't even started and they're trying to talk about next year. The teams themselves aren't even thinking about next year and the analysts are supposed to convince us that they think they know what's going to happen?

Watch Boise State tonight if you want, but I suggest you look for a good movie or dare i say, spend time with your family.

A sports world without games leads to craziness. Good thing the Dodgers play tomorrow.

Refs, officials and umps oh my!

2009-10-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

There has been an uproar lately on the mistakes made by the guys who enofrce the laws in the land of sports.

It's been a busy couple weeks in sports and fans and announcers alike have expressed their disbelief in questionable calls made on the fields lately.

Just last night in the NLDS game between the phillies and Rockies had two questionable calls in one play. It seemed that a foul ball hit by Chase Utley from the Phillies ricocheted off his leg, but the play remained live. He then ran to first base where a bang-bang play resulted in him being called safe even though replays showed that he was probably out.

There was also a call in the ALCS involving the Yankees and Twins where a clear fair ball was called foul.

NFL officials have kept out of the limelight for a while, but in tonights Monday Night Football game, there was a questionable pass interference call made. Not to mention the ticky-tack call made on quarterbacks now.

As far as the NBA, they've had so many questionable calls over the years that we've accepted it and say that it's a 'veteran call.' Bad calls in the NBA have become a fixture in the game and no one really makes tha big of a deal anymore.

Human error is an element of the game and although to some it's hard to swallow, it's true.

What will this lead to? Well as scary as it sounds, little-by-little where relying more on technology. How long until we have robotic officials doing games? Think about it; an umpire replaced by a new-age technological robot who has a direct calculation of the location of the pitches. It could very much happen and although sounds impossible right now, it could be an option in the future.

Top 5: MLB players I hope to interview

2009-10-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

5. Ichiro Suzuki- I plan to learn Japanese just so I could do an interview with him in Japanese. The purest hitter of this era, truly a pioneer in Japanese baseball.

4. David Ortiz- I'd try to find a way to make players comfortable with talking about the steroid issue. Hopefully it won't be such a big deal in the future and I'd be able to get some truth out of Big Papi.

3. Josh Hamilton- I've seen the documentary and heard the stories, but actually talking to him and listening to him talk about the struggles he wen't through would be an honor.

2. Albert Pujols- Might be one of the greatest players in history someday. I would love to interview him in spanish to complete the trifecta of different languages.

1. Derek Jeter- He's probably the biggest name of my generation and a future hall of famer. I'd love to know how he's kept his private life, private. He's from New York and there is no dirt on him. I'd love to know how he kept his nose clean in a era of curruption.

This week in Twitter news: Ochocinco on fire

2009-10-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Cincinatti Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco seems to be tweeting his end zone celebrations now. On one of his messages this week he posted that he will be reenacting a scene from the movie Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby in tomorrow's game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Which scene exactly? The one featured above where Ricky Bobby's fighting an imaginary fire.

Ochocinco also said he already sent the money he's going to be fined to the NFL through mail.

I can't wait to see what he does, but this is assuming that he's going to be able to score against the Ravens defense.

If Ochocinco's not careful Ray Lewis just might tackle him in the end zone and start beating him senseless to "help put out the fire."

The new NBA refs

2009-10-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

I was watching tonight's Laker game on KCAL and got to take a look at some of the new referees that the NBA is using.

For those who don't know, the NBA referees are in a lockout this season as they failed to reach a contract agreement with the NBA.

So basically the NBA is running Scab refs out there like a Ralph's union protest.

It's only preseason, but I kind of like what I see from the refs so far. They're fighting for a full-time job and are not messing around. The players might not like it, but I saw some unusually fair calls.

Kobe Bryant actaully got called for palming the ball (although it could have been called the whole game on everybody)

They weren't letting anyone get away with the wacky calls they usually get. It actually looked like the game was being played according to the rules.

Is it possible that we're going to watch game played the way it was intended? Before the Tim Donaghy scandal and before all the conspiracy theories arose, the game used to be fun to watch. Superstars weren't treated like babies and questionable calls were at a minimum. I really hope we can get back to that.

We'll see what happens once the regular season starts, but I think it's so refreshing to watch a game and real foul calls are being made instead of the ticky-tack fouls that the old refs used to give to the superstars.

As a Laker fan, I always watch Kobe get hacked and not get a call, so I'm looking to see how many times Kobe goes to the free-throw line this season if the refs actually call the fouls appropriately.

I don't think it's good that the old refs couldn't come to an agreement, but I think I can get used to the new faces.

This is my town

2009-10-09T00:41:00.000-07:00

So I think it is safe to say that tonight's Dodger game was by far the best game I have ever been to!

The Dodgers beat out the Ariz.. I mean the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 in a 9th inning thriller that I can guarantee no one in the stadium, nor anyone who left in the 8th will ever forget.

I went to the 12 inning game where Ethier hit the game winning home run, and although I was only at 8 and a half innings of the historic four home run game, I still want to say this one topped them all!

Dodgers were down 2-1, two outs in the 9th and it was all down to James Loney. He hit a shot to Matt Holiday and the almost deflated until the ball hit Holiday in the nether region and fell to the ground as he did! The Cards want to blame us for waving white towels in the wedding cake that is Dodger Stadium, but we were waving them the whole game so no crying.

Loney got to second and had Juan Pierre run for him, then Casey Blake had a nerve wrecking at-bat where he kept fouling the ball to the backstop before finally earning a walk.

You could feel the electricity in the stadium and everyone had to be thinking, "If you can just get a hit anywhere, pierre will score." and Ronnie Belliard complied to tie the game.

After Russel Martin walked, Mark Loretta came in to pinch hit. At this point I was thinking, "Ok we can probably win this in extra innings." Loretta had different plans as he shot a blooper into center as Blake ran in for the game-winning run.

I've never heard Dodger Stadium so loud. I was screaming my brains out, waving my towel and high fiving everyone within a 10 foot radius! Those who stayed experienced an amazing game. The first Dodger playoff walk-off since Kirk Gibson's historic home run in '88.

The King has spoken

2009-10-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Ok so maybe it was Lebron's doing or maybe the Browns just had enough of his attitude, but one day after reports of Braylon Edwards punching out the promoter at a night club, he is now a New York Jet.

Did Lebron James have anything to do with it? I would love to think so! Braylon messed with the king of Cleveland and he has now been exiled.

So he is now playing in the big city. If he thought he got attention in Cleveland, he is now on a winning team in NEW YORK. He's going to have to be more careful. He has a good team around him now and I bet all the Browns are thinking right now that they should start a war with some more of Lebron's friends.

Good luck to Edwards. Hope he can maximize his potential and maximize my fantasy football team.

Thank You, Baseball

2009-10-06T20:27:00.001-07:00

My family and I bought tickets for a Dodgers playoff game but just found out about an hour ago what time the game will be played because we had to wait on the Yankees to decide whether the first round will be played within seven or eight games.

I don't know why the Yankees have this much power, but somehow their decision to play the first round within eight games trickled down to the Dodger game and now the Dodgers will be playing at 3 p.m. instead of the favorable 6:30 p.m.

Thank you again, east coast for making us adjust to your marvelous three-hour-ahead lifestyle.

Thank you, TBS for showing every single first-round game on your network and forcing the Dodger game to adjust to your T.V. availability.

Thank you, Yankees for deciding not to let the Twins have any day of rest for your personal advantage.

Thank you, MLB for having the west coast games be at an unreasonable hour and not letting us know until the day before so we don't have a chance to schedule school or work days around it.

This must be changed. Another stupid MLB rule.

Fighting the King's people

2009-10-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

So reports on ESPN have been talking about Cleveland Brown wide receiver Braylon Edwards allegedly punching a club promoter in a Cleveland night club. I don't know what it is about football players and night clubs, but maybe they should look for a local bingo tournament to stay out of trouble.

The allegation is harsh enough, but it gets worse. They guy he supposedly punched was Lebron James' friend. Uh Oh. He's messed with the kingdom and just might be exiled. I'm guessing Edwards will not be featured in Bron's new movie coming out unless there's a cheesy rap diss involved.

Anyway, not only was it one of his friends, but the guy supposedly weighs about 130 lbs. So Braylon Edwards punched out Lebron James' 130 lb friend. James was not shy to comment about it either. King James called Edwards out and said there's jealousy on Edwards' part and that punching a 130 lb guy is like punching his son.

Drama in sports. What will happen next? To be continued...

This week in Twitter news: New Tweeter- Stafon Johnson

2009-10-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

I never have a problem with poking fun at Twitter, but a new athlete Tweeter emerged yesterday, and it was not to talk trash, it was not to come out on ESPN and it was not for national attention.

As most of you have heard, Stafon Johnson, star running back of the USC Trojans just had throat surgery on Monday after a 275 lb bar fell on it when working out. Luckily his muscular physique kept him from being choked to death.

Probably the only high-profile athlete in the world not to have a Twitter account, he used Pete Carroll's Twitter to send out a message thanking the people who have supported him.

He is recovering, and while recovering he created an account of his own.

First tweet:

"Thank you every1 4 all the love and support," Johnson said.

He is expected to fully recover after this horrifying event.

For sure this is the good side of Twitter. A heart-warming side of Twitter.

Men's soccer: Mt. Snubbed

2009-10-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

For the first time in my journalistic career, I was denied an interview by a Mt. SAC player.

I was covering a men's soccer game and this guy had a pretty good game. I got ahold of him and asked for an interview and he went all Beckham and released his inner diva, telling me he doesn't do interviews.

Who is this guy? Cristiano Ronaldo?

I won't name names becuase I'm not in the business of throwing people under a bus. And don't think the guy pictured above is the guy, I got the pic off of Mountiewire.com in a Men's soccer article.

At first I thought he was being a little shy, so I asked if I could at least answer one question. His teamates playfully grabbed him and told him to do it, but he denied and ran into the locker room.

The guys won. He was a big part of the victory and He didn't even give me a "We played great as a team" or anything.

I've had players from opposing teams deny me an interview after Mt. SAC just spanked them. I've had assistant coaches almost tackle me, thinking I'm going to write something horrible about a player. I even had the Joe Montana incident. (Click on my "Meeting the Montanas" entry if you don't know what I'm talking about) This however was a totally different story.

The Mt. SAC players have always been great to the Mountaineer and even the shy ones have given me something to work with as far as quotes. Some players who crave attention even playfully hassle me for an interivew.

Not everyone is going to feel comfortable answering the media, but it's not like I'm paparazzi!

I later found out the guy came out of my city. I got snubbed by a guy who probably lives a block away from me. Maybe I'll see him at a Mc Donald's or something and ask him why he didn't want to talk. Hopefully he'll answer.

Fangupo out for the season

2009-09-29T22:26:00.001-07:00

Sources say that USC defensive lineman and former Mountie Hebron "Loni" Fangupo, suffered a broken ankle in last Saturday's game against Washington State. He will be out for the remainder of the 2009 season, will have to wear a protective boot and is using crutches.

I really thought Loni would be able to get through this, but you don't want to risk putting his career in jeopardy. He's a tough player but that injury looked really nasty. I'm glad it's not anything career ending. The position he was in was just asking for a back injury.

I wish you the best, Loni and hope you can "fight on" next year and continue creating chapters in your life story.

Mounties football report

2009-09-28T23:42:00.000-07:00

The Mounties played a hard fought, but very sloppy game on Saturday in a 24-14 loss. They just couldn't get anything going offensively. Credit the Saddleback Gaucho defense for matching the Mountie defensive intensity, but more is expected from the Mounties.

It took the Mounties a while to get Jesse Canada into the mix and when they did, it was for big yardage. Quarterback Tyler Vanderzee said he felt fine and felt like he was able to go with the flow, but I think they didn't use their weapons effectively.

They didn't use their run game as effectively as they usually do and maybe it was the Gaucho defense, maybe it was lack of trust in Vanderzee, but they tried to incorporate the wildcat offense which didn't really work. It worked from a yard away to score, but really felt like it was going away from what the Mounties have done all year.

Maybe it was the absense of Matt Faulkner at QB. Vanderzee has played in big spots, but just didn't seem to get in a flow.

The defense was spectacular, but got a little bit careless at crucial times. Except for the flea flicker in the first half, the Mounties were able to stop just about every trick play the Gauchos drew up. But again, a big personal foul on Bruce Irvin (You really can't blame the guy for playing with passion and aggression, but the refs did) and a facemask call when the Mounties seemingly had the goal-line stop to win the game cost the game.

It's just one game and at the end of the day Saddleback has an outstanding squad, but it was a very winnable game that just slipped through the Mounties' hands. It was a very close game and on any other day the Mounties could get away with these mistakes, but the Gauchos were able to take advantage.

They have a bye-week coming up and plenty of time to regroup and get healthy. Coach Jastrab will let thim ponder on this loss, fix the mistakes and have them ready for the next game against Citrus.

Lamar Odom: Holla we want prenup, we want prenup

2009-09-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ron Artest said that if the Lakers don't win a championship this season to blame him.

Will do.

He's off to a good start by hooking up Lamar Odom, a key piece to the Lakers championship run, with Khloe (the bootleg sister) Kardashian.

Well today was the lovely couple's wedding after a great month of getting to know each other. Reports say that they married this soon so they can film the wedding for "Meet the Kardashians." However, Lamar made sure to arrange a prenuptual agreement, just in case Khloe ends up not being the girl he thought she was a month ago.

Lamar is going to bring in an extra circus now.

I'd like to think this would work out like Reggie Bush's relationship with Kim Kardashian, without the E channel at his practices or all his games, but I don't know if that will happen this time.
While Kim kept out of Bush's way, she is also basically the star of the show. She had her own business to take care of while Bush handled his. Khloe probably has a lot more time on her hands and could use a piggy-back from Lamar to get her celebrity status up a bit becuase "taking over Miami" doesn't seem to be working for her.

I really hope this doesn't become a huge distraction and Lamar can still be (at the very least) his mediocre self becuase anything less will hinder the Lakers championship run.

I hope Artest doesn't try to hook up Jordan Farmar with Tiffany (I Love New York) Pollard next.

Loni goes down

2009-09-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

Those of you who missed the USC vs. Washington State game tonight, missed Hebron "Loni" Fangupo, the pride of Mt. SAC go down in agony.

Loni made a tackle inside and was caught in an awkward position. As he came down, five trojans landed on top of him as he twisted backward like when playing limbo.

In the position he was in it looked like it might be a back injury, but my guess is that it's his shoulder that he injured last season.

One of the strongest men I've had the pleasure of interviewing was down on the field, thriving in pain as the medical staff came to assist him. After a commercial break, he was still down as they soon after carted him off the field.

Loni, being the warrior that he is, stood upright and signaled to the crowd "fight on."

It was horrible to watch, but knowing Loni, he will come back and fight on. Playing for USC was his dream and I know he will not let this deter him from living out his dream.

I will keep you guys posted whenever I hear word of his progress.

Pitching change: The humbling experience

2009-09-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

It happens in every game. No matter what, one pitcher is going to suffer the fate of leaving the mound unhappy.

The manager or coach makes that long walk from the dugout to the mound, and even he has his head down most of the time. Once he gets to the mound, he literally takes the ball out of the pitcher's hands, makes him take that long walk of shame, and calls in for someone in relief.

When a player gets taken out of a basketball game, there's usually a feeling of anger and while the same feeling occurs in a pitching change, an even bigger feeling of disappointment can be seen in the pitcher's eyes.

When a player gets taken out of a football game for a miscue, he's still running on adrenaline and can still be seen pacing around the sidelines. When a pitcher is taken out, the adrenaline is gone. He has to wait for the manager to make the long walk, give him a pep talk and take him out. By the time he's in the dugout he has all the time in the world to think about his mistake.

No matter where you play the game, no matter how much a pro gets paid, the biggest jerk-athlete can be humbled by this experience.

Bye bye P.E.

2009-09-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

I wrote an article in the Mountaineer about P.E. cuts at Mt. SAC and although it's happening to all the divisions at Mt. SAC, like athletic director Joe Jennum said, "This one hits closer to home."

Upon meeting me it might not look like I do any type of exercise, but since attending Mt. SAC I've taken a couple basketball courses and weight training as well. I'm glad that P.E. is a required course becuase after leaving high school, my stomach was almost leaving my shirt.

I think I took my high school P.E. classes for granted. Like any other American, I love my double double with animal style fries. I love Tommy's. I love The Hat. If I hadn't been playing baseball and basketball all my life, I'd be on Maury seeking help from a fat camp.

Over the past year I've had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know these Mt. SAC coaches who teach these classes. They all share a passion for athletics. When they're not conditioning their athletes, they're helping average joes like me and you get at least a smidgen of exercise in our unhealthy lifestyles.

It's probably going to get worse before it gets any better, and smaller programs like athletics, like drama, and like JOURNALISM get first dibs on cuts and get hit harder becuase it's not math and science.

It's sad that our economy is this horrible and we're all paying for it somehow or another.

Mom to the rescue

2009-09-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Milton Bradley of the Chicago Cubs was banished from the team for the rest of season. For what, exactly? Well they're working on it, but I'm guessing it had something to do with the fights with manager Lou Pineilla. Or smashing his bat at home plate. Or maybe criticizing the fans for booing him. Possibly the mental lapse he had when he threw the ball into the crowd with one out left. Well it can be for any and all of those reasons, but mommy has finally come to his defense.

Bradley's mother, we'll call her Mama Bradley, spoke about the suspension saying that Bradley "Lives, eats and sleeps baseball."

She said he'll go back to Chicago if they let him back.

I'm sorry Mama Bradley. We had Milton here in L.A. for a couple years and 'though we really rooted for him to change and hoped he'd succeed, he just can't control himself. There was a point where he apologized and it seemed like he was really trying to change his attitude.

It's been years later. He's in Chicago now and still the same problem.

Mama Bradley, you raised a wonderful baseball player, but he has an upside down attitude.

I really hope he can come back and do great, but I've seen this episode before. We're all going to change the channel soon.

A very Brady shooting

2009-09-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

This story shows the scary side of sports journalism.

There's always the chance that you get tackled on the sidelines by a football player when shooting photos. (Trust me. 240 lb football players through lens may be closer than they appear)

There's always the chance that you want to get an interview from Joe Montana and this 350 lb Samoan stops you. (Trust me. It's very scary to see a giant meaty forearm almost hit you in the face) But then there's this:

After Tom Brady and Gisele Bunpchinkljopknh (whetever) got married they had a post-wedding party in Costa Rica where two photographers were allegedly shot at by Gisele's body guards.

The photographers are suing for 1 million dollars in damages.

I didn't grow up in the nicest part of California, but I've never been shot at. If I ever got shot at during a post-wedding party, i would hope it would at least be at Don Vito Corleone's daughter's wedding, not Tom Brady's.

I'll stick to shooting football games where things don't shoot back.

This week in Twitter news: One less NFL Twit

2009-09-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

Washinton Redskins rookie Robert Henson no longer has a Twitter account after he bashed the Washington fans for booing their sorry team. The fans were called "dim wits" and Henson went on to say, "Who are you to say what's best for the team when you work a 9-to-5 at McDonald's."

This guy has played as many downs as you and I have this season and if he's not careful, he's going to have to look for a 9-to-5 very soon.

Would you like some fries with that Twit?

Plax's 2 year sentence

2009-09-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

This morning Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants was sentenced to two years in prison followed by two years supervised release for criminal gun possession.

I'm not going to act like I know the laws of New York, but it is a sad day in the sports world and a sad story to tell.

The poor guy shot himself in the leg in a night club and is now going to serve two years for it. I can't even imagine how Burress must have felt when hugging his family for the last time before heading to serve his time.

I can't even imagine what he's thinking, going to jail for shooting himself.

He shouldn't have put himself in that position, but life is coming at him fast now. He went from Superbowl hero to criminal.

Just last night, my buddy and I went old school and pulled out the Madden '08. He picked the Giants, and now that I think of it, coincedentally I played with the Michael Vick Falcons!(Wow. that literally just hit me) He was torching me with Burress and I did the same to him with Vick. It's sad how two talented young athletes can have their careers altered by bad decisions.

I wish Burress the best. It's sad how a small incident can be life changing. Good luck, and hope to see you in Madden 12.

"Nothing serious; Irish's Clausen has turf toe"

2009-09-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

Headline on ESPN for Notre Dame's starting quarterback Jimmy Clausen. No one gives a crap about Notre Dame or Jimmy Clausen. My focus is on the turf toe part of the headline.

Nothing serious, huh? Tell that to Ladainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers. When they got turf toe, the poor guys could barely run their routes and struggled to gain a couple yards!

Nothing serious? Tell that to Darren McFadden of the Oakland Raiders. Ok, so the Raiders weren't going anywhere last season anyway, but that doesn't mean that this young rook couldn't have had a great year. Turf toe basically ruined his season.

Nothing serious? Tell that to Lions back-up quarterback Daunte Culpepper. He tried to make one last hurrah and was trying to beat out rookie Matthew Stafford for the starting spot, then BAM! Turf toe hit. Matthew Stafford is now the starting quarterback for the pitiful Lions.

Nothing serious? Tell that to Shaq when he hurt his 3 ft. toe with the Lakers. (Maybe it wasn't turf toe, I'd like to call it Court Toe. It kept him out either way)

Turf toe has ruined the season of several athletes and fantasy football owners alike.

I'm sorry, Clausen. Good luck next year becuase I can almost guarantee the fighting Irish will have to fight without you for the rest of this season. You can give it a shot like the rest and get the life tackled out of you, but I'd let the back-up go in for you.

The agony of the feet. Very serious.

Top 5: Star Wars meets Dodgers Things I fear when

2009-09-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

On Oct. 3 when the Los Angeles Dodgers play their second to last game of the season against the Rockies, Dodger Stadium is going to have a star wars theme for the game. This gives opportunity for crazy Star Wars fans and crazy Dodger fans to finally unite as one.
these are the top five fears I have for that day:

5. A streaker runs onto the field in a Chewbacca mask.

4. Announce the game backward Vin Scully will.

3. This game will inspire Matt Kemp to go to the Dark Side and sign with the Yankees next season.

2. Drunk Dodger fans vs. Wookies in a fist fight.

1. Manny Ramirez will find it funny to come up to bat with a light saber and cut through a fastball to strike out and end the game.

This is how football should be played

2009-09-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

SMASH MOUTH! WITH STIFF-ARMS EVERY SECOND!

Spoiled by last year's team

2009-09-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

The Mounties are 2-0 this year, but there's this sense of worry because they're not wining the games by 40 points. It doesn't matter how you win, what matters is that you win.

Coach Jastrab knows how to produce winners. He's been to the state title game the last two seasons and the players have been transferring to D1 schools like USC, UCLA, BYU and Tennesee. He knows what he's doing.

Matt Faulkner has done a pretty good job at quarterback and is getting a grasp of things. He was new to Mt. SAC and had a rough first game but had a nice bounce-back game going 18-for-25 and a touchdown to Jesse Canada.

Talking with Faulkner, he's a very confident player and he seems to feel comfortable with the weapons around him.

If he can stay within himself and just manage the game, keep the turnovers at a minimum and keep handing it off to the three-headed monster at running back, he won't have to be the aerial beast that Nick Lamaison was last season.

Speaking of that three-headed monster, they certainly have a nose for the end zone. With yet another great offensive line this season, Burton Iosefa, his brother Lancer Iosefa and Bryce McBride have been able to share the carries and produce effectively.

Burton has gotten the most of the carries and has already found the end zone three times this year. When he lowers his shoulder and there's someone in the way, you won't see a pretty little spin move. It's him vs. the defender and the defender is most likely going to take a seat on the grass.

That running game will open up the pass a little more for Faulkner and as the season goes on they'll be clicking on all cylinders.

With Bruce Irvin putting pressure on the opposing QB (Irvin's leading the team with five sacks and 14 tackles after just TWO games) the defense will be there all season.

It was fun watching Mt. SAC score like crazy last year, but smash mouth football that leads to a win is just as pretty to watch as the 60-yard touchdown pass that leads to a win.

This week in Twitter news: Hitting high schools

2009-09-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

On the way to the Dodger game last night, I asked my nephew how school was going and Twitter came up.

Apparently one of his teachers makes her students get a Twitter account and she posts up the assignments on there.

She said she's too lazy to check emails and I guess she can't just give the assignments in class.

Hmm...

Deja vu all over again

2009-09-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

It was a spooky night at Dodger Stadium last night. From the moment we took off from my brother's house, my nephew and I had a weird feeling about the game.
The setup was just like last time; blanket night, upper reserved level seats, middle of September and my nephew had school the next day.

The date was Sept. 18, 2006. The Dodgers hosted the San Diego Padres. It was Japanese heritage day and the samurai's fighting at home plate should have given us an indication of the crazy game we were about to embark on.

Most of you know this story. It was the bottom of the ninth and the Dodgers were down 9-5 when the Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs to tie the game at 9-9.

I was there for 8 and a half innings of the game when my brother decided that we had to leave because my nephew had school the next morning.

I boldly told him, "We can't go Joe, they're gonna hit four home runs right now and get back in it."
He laughed at me as we walked down the stairs.

My dad took a bathroom break before we left and the marvelous mustached man, Jeff Kent came up to bat. From outside of the bathroom, we heard a crack of the bat and 15,000 fans went crazy! (I was actually there ESPN. Don't try to tell me that a capacity crowd of 55,000 went wild. There were maybe 15,000 tops by that time of the game.)
Kent had hit a home run to make it 9-6. I looked at my brother and told him, "See it's happening already! four home runs!" He laughed.

As we walked to the car, we heard the crowd go wild again, and the home run song was playing. J.D. Drew had just followed Kent's home run with one of his own!
I told my brother, "We can still go back and catch the end, lets go!" By that time we were in the car and Charlie Steiner told us by radio that Trevor Hoffman was coming in. So my brother said, "Hoffman's in. Now it's over." (Oh how wrong you were dear brother)

We were driving in the lot, listening to the end of the game by radio now. Hoffman threw his first pitch to Russel Martin, and Martin promptly put it in the left field seats to make it 9-8!
At this point everyone in the car is laughing as I yell at my brother to turn the car around.

Marlon Anderson was next and he made it four home runs in a row. Charlie Steiner was going nuts and the Dodgers went into extra innings.
We got to my brother's house and the Padres had scored in the 10th inning, but the Dodgers had one last chance. We went in his house, turned on the TV, only to see Nomar Garciaparra hit a game winning 2-run hom run.

Haven't forgiven my brother 'til maybe now.

Last night wasn't exactly the same, but we sat in the upper reserved level again. This time we were on the first base side though. We got a blanket, but this time it wasn't a faded blue.
There were no Japanese samurai, but Paul Wall threw out the first pitch. (just as strange as fighting samurai)
And the game went late on a school night, but this time I was staying parked in that seat, even if everyone left home without me.

Somehow the dreadful Pirates were beating us 3-2 in the ninth when Matt Kemp hit a single to center field to bring in Andre Ethier from second base. We went into extra innings again.
The game went all the way to the 13th inning when some guy named Doumit brought in a run for the Pirates.
My brother played around and said, "lets go," but there was no way we were going to leave this time. It was past 11 p.m. and the Dodgers were up to bat.
Furcal got on base by hitting a line-drive off the pitcher's butt cheek and then Ethier came up to bat.
I pointed my cap in the same direction it was in during the 9th inning rally, sat in the exact same position, put my phone in my right pocket facing outward like it was in the 9th and kept saying, "Hit it over the right field fence. Hit it over the right field fence."
First pitch he saw, Ethier cranked it over the right field fence to win the game!
They beat him up at home plate and we were there to see it all this time.
This blanket was a lot warmer than the last one, and this time I didn't cringe at the sound of Charlie Steiner's voice as they replayed the home run call on the radio.
It was deja vu all over again, but this time I can truly say I was there.

Top 5: reasons Serena Williams could be intimidating

2009-09-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you saw Serena Williams lose her cool during the U.S. Open. She yelled at the line judge and told her that she wants to "shove the (expletive) ball" down her throat. She then was deducted a point, the match point, to lose.

After the match, she had a press conference and said she doesn't know why the lady would feel threatened and she's never been in a fight in her life. Well if I were four feet tall, and an angry woman holding a tennis racket threatened to shove an (expletive) ball down my throat, I'd feel a bit threatened too.

Serena might not see it, but here are my 5 reasons why Serena might be seen as intimidating in the tennis world..

5. She has a devastating backhand.

4. She's not Maria Sharapova.

3. She has a sister who looks just like her, with just as devastating of a backhand.

2. She's twice as buff as Andy Roddick.

1. She's the most imposing long-haired celebrity to come out of Compton since the late, great Eazy-E.

Love Serena. Think she got robbed, but take it easy on the judges.

Waiting for 9/12

2009-09-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

On September 11, I had no idea of the impact. I was about 13 and thought it was just another sad news story. I had no family in New York, so it didn't affect me directly.

I remember my fourth period teacher in jr. high tell the class, "This is going to be talked about for years to come. It's not going to go away any time soon. We're living through history right now."

All I had seen were a couple clips in the morning before I headed off to school, so I really had no idea of the impact or how severe it was.

I've always sort of lived in my own little world; my own sports world. When I got home and found out my Dodger game was postponed due to the attacks, it was starting to hit me that it was something big.

I remember games were postponed for almost 2 weeks, and without sports to watch, all there was, was non-sports news.

I watched as new develpments kept coming in and different theories amassed.

For the first time I learned the significance of the World Trade Center.

I learned of the tragic stories of the New York locals. I could feel the sadness through the light coming off the screen.

For once in my life, I couldn't hide behind my security blanket. I couldn't escape from the real world and just watch my baseball games. It was real life, and not even sports could provide an escape.

Luckily, after things had settled down a bit, and we knew as a country what we were facing, not only did I welcome back my security blanket, but the entire country saw hope in sports.

I remember when baseball came back the following week, there was a feeling that even though we just suffered tragedy, we will not let our lives stop.

The national anthem meant so much more after 9/11 and you could feel the energy every time it was sung.

The Dodgers were scheduled to host the San Diego Padres for a 3-game series starting September 11, and it didn't happen.

I lived by that season schedule. I planned around that schedule. To me 9/11 lasted for a week that there were no sports for me to follow. It felt like time did not move.

When baseball started again and life started to move again, time started to move again.

So the sports world paused on 9/11 and to me, not until the week later did I see 9/12 because that's what was on pace in my schedule.

My schedule was thrown off for a little while, but once we faced the Padres like planned, 9/11 was finally over and I was ready to face 9/12.

In a hall of his own

2009-09-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

John Stockton and David Robinson were great, Michael Jordan was the greatest.
At 3:30 p.m.(PT) today, these three will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as this might be the most memorable ceremony ever.
Today, the greatest basketball player of all-time will finally be formally recognized as such.
The man who is a world-wide icon, will finally take his spot in basketball greatness.
Having to wait five years, only by hall of fame rules, but he was a hall of famer from the first time he blessed the court with his presence.
Loved by many, hated by few, respected by all. That cliche applies non better than to Mr. Jordan.
He'll be joined by maybe two players who have the most reason to hate him. John Stockton never won a championship because of him, and Robinson had to wait for him to take a break before he won his.
Jordan embarrassed both equally; he embarrassed all equally. No one matched his level of play and maybe no one ever will.
No one will ever do all that Jordan did.
No one can blend the iconic status on and off the floor the way he did. That's what makes him the greatest.
Five will be inducted, but only one will be the most memorable.
It almost isn't fair for the rest to go in at the same time as Jordan; not only becuase he should be remembered alone, but because no one might remember the rest of them going in.
Jordan was his own man, and probably should have gone in by himself. Would it have been unfair to the rest? To some degree, yes, but Michael deserves it. To have anyone mentioned in the same breath is almost criminal.
I love our players of today, and on any other day I'd argue for my hometown hero in the city of angels, but today reality has its time to fly, and it must fly with "air" Jordan.

"God chose Memphis"

2009-09-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

Don't blame God for this one, AI. This should be interesting. A team filled with guards. Might work in pick-up ball, lets see what Memphis tries to do with it. Will AI accept coming off the bench, or will he cry until he replaces Mike Conely at point guard, a position that AI obviously can't handle. Find out soon on the, Iverson Doesn't fit in any Team Show.

I'd blame twitter.

The first one's out of the way

2009-09-09T00:16:00.001-07:00

The Mounties women's soccer team were able to get their first win this year against Southwestern College.
There was a bit of panic after losing their first two games, especially after the high bar they set last year.
Alex Loakes almost went down, but the girl's got heart and stayed in despite an injured ankle.
She tried to downplay the injury, but she was carted off the field. She really had to be in pain!
She ran back onto the field and showed the type of leadership that you love to see in sports. Scored the first goal to kind of take some pressure off the team, and really helped the offense get going.
I talked to coach Bowen and she said they've had to adjust to a couple of big injuries such as sophomore midfielder Christina Carriaga's, who played a big role in thier run last season.
Defender Taylor King has had a chance to move up in the offense due to the injuries and seems to be comfortable in that role.
She had at least 4 shots on goal that I counted, and on any other day they might have all gone in. They still have Jennifer Rivera out there, and although it seems like the team isn't running through her as much as it did last year, the potential for a big spurt is still there. She can't be contained for too long, and when she decides to explode, WATCH OUT. The girl is special on the field.
The team effort is certainly there. I love seeing a team that not only wants to win, but has fun playing the game. It's great to see the whole team get up and congratulate the player coming out of the game and really form a welcoming atmosphere on the sideline.
It's great to see a head coach who shows confidence in the players and teaches them to play the right way.
Hopefully this win catapults the team to a big run like last season's.
Their ball movement isn't quite like it was last season, and maybe it'll take them a little bit of time to really get into championship form, but I know coach Bowen will set all of that straight and the girls will respond soon enough.

Top 5: Flashback of Japanese Influences

2009-09-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners recorded his 2,000th career hit in a MLB uniform today. I have always been a great supporter of Ichiro and am happy for his milestone hit. This personal record for the "Japanese Samurai" has sparked me to think of my top 5 Japanese influences and moments growing up. See if you remember any of these:

5. Pokemon

In my generation, Pokemon was one of the biggest phenomenons to hit the United States. Before Yu Gi Oh cards were the hot gift to get your kids, Pokemon cards were the big ticket to pleasing your kids. Parents will concur. I'm sure a lot of them remember having to scramble for these cute little Pocket Monsters.

4. Joe Isuzu

When the Japanese car makers, Isuzu, started making a push for more attention, they hired a goofy looking actor named named David Leisure to do commercials, and Joe Isuzu was born. His character was a car salesman who made outrageous claims about how amazing Izusu was, and made claims like, you can buy a car for 6 dollars, or buy an Island with the money you save. Growing up, there was not one commercial break that didn't feature Joe Isuzu at some point and as a kid I thought they were hilarious.

3. Hideo Nomo

Any true Dodgers fan will remember Nomo Mania. Maybe not quite like the manias of Hulk or Fernando, but as soon as this man touched U.S. soil, media cameras drowned him in a way that not even A-Rod will ever feel. Not only were local media on him, but media from all over the U.S. AND Japan followed his every move. Not only was he able to control the media, but he had an amazing career with the Dodgers. Nomo was known as the "Tornado" for the way he'd twist his body before he pitched the ball. He filled stadiums and helped put Japanese baseball on the map. I'll never forget his no-hit performance at hitter friendly Coors Field against the Rockies, nor the way he'd contort his body in a confusing matter and fooled opposing hitters. He's an L.A. legend and his success helped pave the way into the league for players like Ichiro and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

2. Haikus

First poems I learned

Influenced love of writing

Owe a lot to them

1.Super Mario Brothers

My number one Japanese-American influence was the Super Mario Brothers video game created by Nintendo.

Some of the best times I had as a kid were while playing this silly little video game. Had a lot of great times with old friends, built strong friendships and learned to have fun with other people. I grew up surrounded by adults, and Super Mario Brothers was a game that helped kids, including myself, bond with other kids. To me, there will never be a better game that Super Mario Brothers.

Some of these things might sound silly to you, but they were truly memorable things in my life, and without a doubt had tons of influence on millions of people.

I write this in sort of a nostalgic way, hoping that it'll take some of you back to the good ol' days.

Congratulations Ichiro. And thank you.

Burning Tequila's throat

2009-09-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Tila Tequila took a couple shots at love and came to the conclusion that she's more compatible with an always angry looking, steroid using football player.

Well her perfect plan went awry today as reports that Shawne Merriman, outside linebacker of the San Diego Chargers, was arrested after being accused by Tequila of choking her.

Reports say that Tequila's claim was that she was trying to leave Merriman's home in Poway and he choked her and threw her to the ground. (1 choke, 2 choke, 3 choke, floor)

Merriman's known for his "lights out" celebration where he flails his arms in anger after sacking a quarterback. So I'm thinking maybe he couldn't wait for the season to start next week and maybe tried to go lights out on Tila.

This poor girl can't catch a break. She couldn't find the right guy, or girl for two seasons on MTV, now she's acting like her once roid raged boyfriend who takes joy in hurting people for a living is not the man she thought he was.

It wasn't a bad idea to go after a football player, it makes sense for a cover girl. But if this relationship doesn't work out she can take her chances with a different position player. She probably hasn't done this before, so here's a quick look at some big time relationships between cover girls and certain position players in the NFL:

1. Tony Romo- Quarterback

Team: Dallas Cowboys

Victim: Jessica Simpson

Analysis: Ok. When dating the start quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, you have to be smoking hot. Hence, Jessica Simpson. (Once you get past the manly jaw structure, she's really hot) It had all the makings of the perfect star couple. He was the handsome leader of America's team and she's a singer or something. What happens when two beautiful people get together? He figures out that he's young and the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and has plenty of other beautiful women he has to date. He figured out that playing quarterback for the Cowboys is like playing shortstop for the Yankees and if he learns from Derek Jeter, he'll have a long lasting relationship with several beautiful women.

2. Tom Brady- Quarterback

Team: New England Patriots

Victim: Giselle Bundchen

Analysis: I'm going to keep it in the quarterback position to show that maybe it does work out. The quarterback is not going to beat you or choke you. He's usually the face of the franchise and that face can't afford to have blemishes.

Of course, Giselle is way hotter than Jessica Simpson, but it seems like Brady and Bundchen really like each other. There's rumors that she's even pregnant. That baby will be right up there with Branjelina's and TomKat's.

3. Hank Baskett- Wide Receiver

Team: Philadelphia Eagles

Victim: Kendra Wilkinson

Analysis: If you date a superstar wide receiver, you'll be getting into a relationship where HE'S the diva. But then there's the Hank Baskett's in the league who don't play enough to be divas. I would have to say that Kendra has the star power in this relationship, but if he's willing to put up with a blonde playboy model it just might work out.

4. Larry Johnson- Running Back

Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Victim: Julissa Bermudez

Analisis: Julissa was Free's replacement for a while on BET's 106 & Park. Johnson was in need of a star girlfriend and found Julissa to be the perfect girl to abuse at night clubs. Johnson built up a strong domestic violence record and the two eventually broke up. Running back, maybe not the best position to date. At least not angry ones like LJ.

5. Shawne Merriman- Linebacker

Team: San Diego Chargers

Victim: Tila Nguyen (Tila Tequila)

Analysis: Linebackers are probably the most brutal players on the field. (and she picked one that's been caught and suspended for steroid use) If Merriman in fact is the kind of person who takes that brutality home, could spell trouble.

Tequila mixed with steroids has the makings of a deadly relationship drink.

We'll see how this one works out but for future reference, Tila, you might want to go with a quarterback or just take your goods to a different sport.

Meeting the Montanas

2009-09-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

Way before Hannah, and hitting his prime just after Tony, was a man named Joe who also carried the name of one of my top 3 square-shaped states of all time, and lit up the NFL. He dominated the sport of football like maybe no other will, and solidified himself as arguably the greatest quarterback in history.

Brought up as a San Francisco Niners fan, Joe Montana was on my Mt. Rushmore of sports heroes growing up. He was right between Michael Jordan, Mike Piazza and Bugs Bunny. (I was 8 when Space Jam came out. Are you kidding me! Combining my favorite cartoon character with my favorite sport was epic!)

Super Joe hasn't done much lately. It's doubtful that he'll be dancing on channel 7. Probably won't be belittled into sharing a house with reject stars on VH1, but once in a while he'll make public appearances at local community college football stadiums. Guaranteed.

Nate Montana plays the coveted position of hall of famer's son at Pasadena City College.

Young Nate had the privelage of playing his first collegiate game ever, at Hilmer Lodge Stadium against our very own Mounties.

Did the Mounties know he was Joe Cool's son? Ohhhhh you better believe it. Poor Nate was on the ground more than a person doing Wii Fit Yoga.

Anyway, Mounties won and it was time to do my journalistic duties and interview the brutalized Montana kid. He was cool as can be. Knew the right things to say and handled the interview as if the loss hadn't affected him. I thanked him for the interview, and watched the son of greatness run away into the brutal California sunset.

After a couple more interviews, I noticed a casually dressed man who glowed like Dr. Manhattan and had a crowd around him like the Fonz. It was Joe Montana. The football Icon in the flesh!

As a sports fan I almost wet my pants, but once I gained composure, I put on my reporter hat and walked right over to the legend. The awkward confrontation went like so:

Me: Hello Mr. Montana

Super Joe: Hi there

Me: Would you mind if I asked a couple of questions for the school paper?

Super Joe: I'm sorry, I'm here for my son and I don't do that stuff. I let him take care of the questions.

Me: Oh ok. Thank you anyway.

Ok. Fair enough. I understand why he wouldn't want to talk. He's freakin Joe Montana! He can talk to or not talk to whoever he wants.

It was really tough for me though. One of my Rushmore heads was right in front of me and I just couldn't leave empty handed. I couldn't ask for an interview again, that'd be stupid. So since he didn't want to talk to me as a journalist, I tried it as a fan. I looked in my backpack and I saw something I never thought I would see at that moment. It was a Sharpie! I ran to Joe Cool for one more shot at a perfect moment with one of my heroes. I asked him for an autograph.

He politely said no. Wamp Wamp. What an ending.

There I was, holding a Sharpie and a game program, alone in the world while my head was spinning like Sidewinder.

I was almost scared to put that picture of him up (above) in fear that copyright laws might reject me from putting it up.

I was rejected twice by the greatest of all time. Just might be the greatest rejection of my life.

Raiders of the lost Arco

2009-09-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

I had the strangest trip to the gas station I might ever have. As I was pulling into my local Arco and slowly made my way to pump number 6, the lips of an angry man at the pump next to me blessed my cracked open windowsill.

Scared me a little bit. He had a really aggressive tone, but within all his yelling I happened to catch him say the word "Raiders" and I said to myself, "Oh. Makes sense," and parked my car.

What I had originally thought was a gas station, was apparently a mirage that tricked me and sucked me into the Black Hole. All of a sudden, I was in the middle of 3-way holy war between the angry gentleman next to me, a Green Bay Packers fan, and a man who didn't seem to say much. He was kind of just there, laughing and making quick remarks that seemed to anger the Raider fan.

So I got out of my car, stretched, dropped my keys and tried to listen in on the argument.

Unfortunately I have no idea how it started, but the enraged Raider fan next to me started taking indirect shots at Brett Favre, saying, "Packers haven't had a real quarterback since Bart Starr!"

Ouch.

Didn't hear what the guy across the station was saying because the steam coming out of the Raider fan's ears was impairing my already fickle hearing.

As I walked away to pay inside, I heard screams from the Raider fan, "1967 was the only true championship!" That told me he was an old school guy. In other words, I better pump my gas and get the hell out before he blows up the gas station like Robocop.

I came back out, and all three were still there.

This time the Raider fan threw out a, "At least we had Bo Jackson! Man could that guy run. He was the greatest player the league has ever seen!"

At that point I'm laughing inside. He didn't even know what to argue. It was sad. It's like San Francisco Giants fans try to argue, "Remember Bobby Thompson's home run against the Dodgers in 1951!" Umm, that's cool.

Or when they say, "At least we had Barry Bonds!" Congratulations! Good luck with that argument. (I love when "big headed" Barry Bonds fans "take shots" at Dodger fans and try to "inject" us with stupid arguments and "cheat" us out of intelligent thought) ;)
The last thing I heard the Raider fan say was, "Al Davis needs to die!"
Double Ouch.
80-year-old Al Davis, the Raider owner with Freddy Krueger-like features. I know he hasn't done that great of a job with the organization, but goodness, death?
The PACKER FAN then said, "Oh come on man, he don't have to die."
And to remove any chance of confusion, the Raider fan said, "No! He needs to die, die, die!"
This man had so much anger inside him that he started taking shots at his own team.

Anyway, I filled up half of my tank (Dam gas prices. The worth of a 20 dollar bill nowadays) and was ready to go.

The Packer fan and random instigator guy left.

As I drove away, from the corner of my eye I saw the Raider fan start talking to a lady with aggressive hand gestures. Guess he had more to say.

Hope that lady knew him.

Best Injury Ever!

2009-09-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

I would have never thought that one of my earliest blog entries would be about Nascar, but this story is exceptionally amazazing! (Yes. Amazazing.)
Carl Edwards, that backflipping bandit of Nascar suffered a broken foot yesterday from (drum roll please) PLAYING FRISBEE!
"I know this probably sounds ridiculous to a lot of people and I could hardly believe it myself," said Edwards.
Ridiculous?! I'm glad you acknowledge it, Edwards, but goodness gracious sakes alive, this goes beyond ridiculous!
It wasn't even ultimate Frisbee, which probably would still sound ridiculous, but I mean, he was just playing frisbee with friends!
You can't help but chuckle when something like this happens.
Apparently Edwards ran into one of his friends, and his friend got WWE fever and got Edwards in an ankle lock. Well, not really, but that would have made more sense.
One of his friends dove into his leg while trying to get the Frisbee. Awesome.
He could have at least said he was playing with his dog, tripped over his dog, lost his balance, jumped over a pile of venomous snakes, dodged a tree and smashed his foot on a cinder block.
Or at least that his friends were Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis, and they were at the beach, and while running away from these two beasts, a piece of seaweed caught his foot and he tripped and sprained his ankle. (If I were playing ANYTHING with Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis I'd probably end up hurt somehow.)
I don't know how you break your foot playing Frisbee. It's borderline unbelievable.

It's better than when Arizona Cardinal, Martin Gramatica hurt his leg celebrating a field goal!
It's better than when Chicago Cubs star and steroid hall of famer, Sammy Sosa, went on the disabled list for getting back spasms after sneezing!

It's better than when Detroit Tiger's pitcher, Joel Zumaya was out for the season for splitting his finger playing Guitar Hero!
It's better than when Forrest Gump got shot in the but-tocks!
It's better than when Jean Girard broke Ricky Bobby's arm for not wanting to admit he loves crepes in Talladega Nights!

It's better than when then Cincinatti Red, Ken Griffey Jr. got a pinched testicle! (Ah! Well, maybe it's a tie with Griffey)
It has to be the greatest injury ever! You have to really put in a lot of effort to break your foot playing Frisbee, and Edwards did.
Ricky Bobby kept racing while his arm was wrapped like a frickin gordita, and Edwards has said the injury won't hold him back from racing either.
What a trooper.

Mounties soccer this friday

2009-09-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

The Mountie men's soccer team play this weekend against Richmond. Game time is at 7 p.m. After a tie game against Taft where the Mounties had plenty of chances to put the game away, they won their first game pretty easily last Sunday against Oxnard.
A win tomorrow gets them into the tournament championship and it'll get them off to a great start this year.
The soccer team went all the way to State last year and had a finish to the season that while admirable, I'd rather not get into.
Ok, so we got killed by Cerritos 4 times last year, but this year we should win at least one game against them. Other than that stain on the season, they had an amazing year with tons of exciting highlights.
A lot of the sophomores who made huge contributions last year, like, Spencer Jones and Tony Camacho are back this year, and I think they're worth a look. Combined with the new guys coming in, there's potential for another run at the state championship this year.
If anyone is interested in watching a fun, fast-paced sporting event at Mt. SAC, this would be a good game to check out.