As the NBA & NHL Playoffs come to a close most sports fans like myself struggle to cope with the summer sporting drought. Sure we have baseball to watch but who really gets as AMPED up for the 9th inning as you would for the last 2 minutes of an NFL 4th quarter, or an OT in hockey. It's not as enjoyable to crush that victory beer following a hitless 9th compared to an OT winner, or a sideline catch in the corner of the end zone in the final seconds. So what do we do as sports fans... heres my take on it.
This summer is actually as good as we can hope for in terms of athletics. The Euro Cup and Summer Olympics help ease the pain somewhat, yet here I am wanting more. NFL Network usually has a Summer theme to follow; Brett Favres retirement/comeback, last years Lock Out, and now of course the Bounty Scandal. Everytime I turn on NFLN J. Vilma is trying to sue the league in some different court, state, or legal system. Is anyone really shocked that this happens in the NFL? Not me, really it just validated my suspicions, however I was put off even more when I heard the details, saw the language, and viewed the replays. I don't think about how it affected the Saints that season (or the Vikings) nearly as much as I wonder how many teams got away with it in the past. Even moreso how many teams/players had been targeted and exploited in the past with the culprit getting away with it. Think about those controversial injuries in the playoffs? I remember the Ravens knocked Chris Johnson out of action in their playoff meeting a couple years ago following a 1st half where he was running wild. The following season Jamal Charles was doing the same in their playoff meeting. Sure enough he took a few good hits and he didn't finish the game either. The worst thing about it...I like the Ravens! I want to remain unbiased yet the bias part of me wants to call attention to the Kimo Von Olehuffen (however you spell it) hit vs Carson Palmer in the Cincy vs Pitt playoff meeting many years ago...but i won't do that...:) Where am I going with this? I want everyone to thank Roger Goodell I guess. Although the punishments are harsh it makes an example out of an organization that was trying to cheat to win. The most crazy part about the entire thing is...These are professional athletes at the top of their game, they know the game, they know how to win, they know their opponents, they know which players on the opposing team are the most valuable, and they know that if the opposing team loses one of these players the chance THEIR team has to win improves significantly, so clearly when the stakes are high and Ray Lewis/Brian Urlacher/Ndamaka Suh has the chance to lay a good "clean" hit on A.P. Calvin Johnson, or whoever clearly they are going to relish the opportunity. You don't need EXTRA motivation...all it does is motivates players to bend the rules, cheat the game, and thus spoil the enjoyment for us the fans. So go ahead and Eat One; Sean, Greg, Joe, Jon, Scott, Anthony, and the rest of you!
...originally this blog was supposed to talk about the NBA Vegas Summer League but i'll save that for my next entry. #Raptors #DamianLillard #JoshSelby #JefferyTaylor #CdnBallers #DionteChristmas
- Dragon
This summer is actually as good as we can hope for in terms of athletics. The Euro Cup and Summer Olympics help ease the pain somewhat, yet here I am wanting more. NFL Network usually has a Summer theme to follow; Brett Favres retirement/comeback, last years Lock Out, and now of course the Bounty Scandal. Everytime I turn on NFLN J. Vilma is trying to sue the league in some different court, state, or legal system. Is anyone really shocked that this happens in the NFL? Not me, really it just validated my suspicions, however I was put off even more when I heard the details, saw the language, and viewed the replays. I don't think about how it affected the Saints that season (or the Vikings) nearly as much as I wonder how many teams got away with it in the past. Even moreso how many teams/players had been targeted and exploited in the past with the culprit getting away with it. Think about those controversial injuries in the playoffs? I remember the Ravens knocked Chris Johnson out of action in their playoff meeting a couple years ago following a 1st half where he was running wild. The following season Jamal Charles was doing the same in their playoff meeting. Sure enough he took a few good hits and he didn't finish the game either. The worst thing about it...I like the Ravens! I want to remain unbiased yet the bias part of me wants to call attention to the Kimo Von Olehuffen (however you spell it) hit vs Carson Palmer in the Cincy vs Pitt playoff meeting many years ago...but i won't do that...:) Where am I going with this? I want everyone to thank Roger Goodell I guess. Although the punishments are harsh it makes an example out of an organization that was trying to cheat to win. The most crazy part about the entire thing is...These are professional athletes at the top of their game, they know the game, they know how to win, they know their opponents, they know which players on the opposing team are the most valuable, and they know that if the opposing team loses one of these players the chance THEIR team has to win improves significantly, so clearly when the stakes are high and Ray Lewis/Brian Urlacher/Ndamaka Suh has the chance to lay a good "clean" hit on A.P. Calvin Johnson, or whoever clearly they are going to relish the opportunity. You don't need EXTRA motivation...all it does is motivates players to bend the rules, cheat the game, and thus spoil the enjoyment for us the fans. So go ahead and Eat One; Sean, Greg, Joe, Jon, Scott, Anthony, and the rest of you!
...originally this blog was supposed to talk about the NBA Vegas Summer League but i'll save that for my next entry. #Raptors #DamianLillard #JoshSelby #JefferyTaylor #CdnBallers #DionteChristmas
- Dragon
