This is a day late (or will be when I publish it) but still felt I should at least write about it. I was reading Pointless Banter (which if you aren’t reading you should be, it’s damn funny). Kevin wrote about his involvement with Blog Catalog’s “blogger’s unite“.

He wrote a great post about his lack of knowledge about some issues like Darfur and others. His message or goal or whatever you want to call it was that he needed/wanted to educate himself about these issues so he could become better aware of ways to help make an impact. This sentence “The biggest crime against humanity is apathy and I know I am guilty of it” really stuck out to me and made me think of my own involvement with certain human rights issues - and other issues important to me.

For a while I have had many ideas of ways that I can help people in need…I think a part of me, because of my background, has always wanted to do something more, give back and have an impact on those who don’t have the opportunities I have been provided.

I guess this is a post to ask you to check out Kevin’s article, which was also mentioned on CNN, and if you are moved to; learn about issues important to you, find out what you can do, and take action.

Thanks to Kevin’s post I will be looking at expediting my ideas and seeing how I can turn them into reality and have real impact, like I have always thought about.

Hopefully we can all turn our apathy into action and create real change.

After the latest “cross over” story, the one where Ranger’s tough guy Sean Avery is interning at Vogue magazine, I started thinking about sports stars and their incessant need to “branch out” beyond their sports fame. Everyone seems to want to be a multi threat, and not in their sport, but in celebrity. It seems as if every athlete wants to be a product pitchman, a movie star, a rapper/singer, director, producer etc.

What happened to just being a really damn good athlete? What happened to having the drive to be the very best in your sport, for your team, your city and your fans? When did it become normal for every decently gifted athlete to decide that they needed to be all things in all professions?

I am most certain that it is not a money issues. I mean I know you have to feed your family, right Spree, but can you not live on a couple million dollars a year? I know that some will argue that they need to set themselves up for life after sports and I partly agree with that. I know that in the, what have you done for me lately, world of sports you are only as good as your last season. So many of these athletes may be looking towards retirement but I don’t buy that is the case for most.

It may be that we just live in this 15 minutes of fame culture. Where even some dude who can barely sing, like William Hung, can be a star, but these guys (and gals) are already famous. At what point does your ego get so big that you need to pitch every product and star in movies before you get tired of seeing yourself?

I know that this is a bitchy rant and maybe it’s showing my age (I’m only 29, come on) but I like my sports stars to be stars because of their sport, not because they can barely act or sing or produce. Sometimes when you are really good at one thing it doesn’t translate well to another. Just ask Michael Jordan about baseball, or Shaq about acting…or rapping.

I know you all think that you are on the roads to stardom, and you are, but it is from what you are good at. Your sport and your athletic ability. So please, PLEASE just stop. I want our athletes back, untarnished and unsullied by the likes of Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and Nashville.

{This is also posted at Nosebleed Radio}

ESPN is reporting that one-and-done USC sensation OJ Mayo allegedly received cash and other benefits from a man linked to BDA, an agent group based in Southern California.

First off, SHOCKER! This is the same kid who had an “associate” waiting for coach Tim Floyd in the coaches office, asking “How would you like to have the best player in the country?” The associate then went on to tell Floyd how Mayo wanted to market himself in L.A before jumping to the pro’s, and how we wanted a University that would allow him to do so.

The man involved in the first incident, Ronald Guillory, is the same man who is alleged to be the middle man between BDA and Mayo, so it shouldn’t come as a shock to Floyd or anyone else associated with this situation. Floyd was willing to take a flyer on Mayo and his talents; essentially signing a deal with the devil in hopes that they could go deep into the tourney, thus raising the profile of USC basketball and start a revival of sorts at the football-crazed school.

There is a ton of blame to go around - if the accusations are true - but the person/people who need to evaluate this more than anyone is the NCAA. The NCAA and NBA thought they were creating a better system by instituting an age limit for entry into the league, however, I think the system will actually produce more headaches than they realized.

Face it, many of these kids are either kids who see the NBA as a way out of a tough life or who have a less than stellar support system, and have people in their ears who are looking out for themselves and not the kids. When they are “forced” to go to school for one year they are going to be looking to make the biggest impact, create the marketing machine for the next step, and position themselves for endorsements/a large contract etc. Ensuring a huge payday once they do leave school. So you have a system rife for exploitation.

The NCAA and NBA either need to drop the age limit or extend it to be similar to the NFL, which requires players to be at least Juniors in college or three years removed from high school graduation. The one year limit essentially makes these kids hired guns. The school that can guarantee the highest exposure and best “accommodations” are going to be the benefactors of this system…but they are going to come at a cost.

Raising the age to at least two or three years, like the NFL, would allow these kids to be influenced less by outside forces such as agents etc. You would still have corruption, face it, if a kid wants to get paid, he is going to get paid. But you would have a less “Rent-a-Player” atmosphere than you do now.

Without totally absolving the age limit ( I am a huge proponent of an age limit), or increasing it, you are going to have similar stories pop up. Kids are going to be looking for a quick payday and will agents who are more than willing to “play ball”.

So, the infamous Walsh Tapes have been delivered to the NFL commissioner’s office and the big relevation appears that not only did the Pat’s try to steal Defensive signals they tried to also tried to steal Offensive signals.

While the tapes are a little less important than say the Zapruder films, these could have a lasting impact on the NFL. SpyGate, as this has been so cleverly named by the media, is not all that surprising. Teams are consistently looking for an edge - in a game where a few plays here or there can mean winning a Championship or not.

So why is this going to be so important? Because the league is very much a copycat league. Teams, coaches, GM’s etc., willingly and openly borrow from other successful organizations. Whether it is an offensive/defensive style/scheme or how teams handle free agents, organizations watch what each other are doing and mimic one another.

So my guess is that the Patriots are not the only team doing this. In a league where the coaching trees branch from a few successful coaches and teams, you know that others have known or are practicing the same type of behavior. I am not saying it is right, but my guess is that while this may be going on in other organizations, the Pats were caught because they have a mark on their backs for being a successful franchise for the past few years. Also, because I think Belichick is not as popular as other head coaches amongst his peers.

So, if the league determines that the Patriots were in fact stealing signals in such a habitual and systematic way, they are going to come down harder than the first time around. They will have to send a signal that if other teams are doing it, that they will pay the price.

I wouldn’t be surprised if news slowly trickles out that other teams have been doing this and that it is more prevalent than we want to believe.

What do you think - is this going to be important and do you think other teams are doing the same thing?

{This is also going up at Nosebleed Radio}

The MLB Players Union is looking into possible collusion amongst the owners in how Barry Bonds’ free agency has played out.  The issues stems from the fact that there are teams that on paper could use his service yet he hasn’t received a single offer form any of the MLB teams.

I wouldn’t put it past Bud Selig and his cronies to come up with some nefarious plan against Bonds and other “marked” players in the league, I have stated before how I think Selig is a rat, yet I think this one might be actually what it appears to be.

Could it be that no owner wants to take a chance with Bonds?  Never mind his pending legal troubles and his alleged steroid use.  I think the real issue here is the type of teammate, or at least the reputation he has, that could be hurting Bonds.  Baseball is a long grueling season that requires the players to be around each other nearly every day.  Bonds has long been known as a prima donna that requires his own personal space in the clubhouse…hell, he had his own leather lounge chair brought in for his locker in San Francisco.

Maybe owners and managers don’t want to upset the chemistry of their teams by adding Bonds?  Maybe if a team and Barry could figure out a deal where he was a DH, showed up five minutes before his at bat, and had his own locker room it could work out - I am sure he would enjoy that set up.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but my guess is that it will be a non-story in a few short weeks.

I ran across this article on SI.com (hat tip to @frankmartin on twitter for the link), about Kentucky coach Billy Gillespie offering an 8th grader a scholarship. I railed against the College Football signing day earlier this year and I have to say, this makes me even more confused and angry than that does.

I get that college athletics are increasingly competitive and are more and more about filling seats and keeping deep pocketed boosters happy. What I can’t get past though, is how in good conscious a coach can actually offer this kid - or any 8th grader for that matter? And how do the parents know that this is going to be what the kid wants in five years? Forget that the kid may never mature past his current height or that his skills may stay stagnant, what if he realizes he hates Kentucky or that Kentucky just blows by the time that he gets there? There are just too many variables to consider when trying to plan FIVE years down the road!

College coaches have to feel slimier than used car salesman. Imagine trolling the grade school and middle school gyms trying to impress a kid that can barely get into a PG13 movie? I know that staring a free education and a slot on a prestigious program’s roster is hard to turn down, however this is absurd. When fourth and fifth graders are being included in scouting reports you know that the madness has reached its peak.

The NCAA either needs to step in and address this issue or the coaches have to make a pact. Recruiting these kids is not worth the few that do pan out. Let them develop, learn the game, figure out life - or at least JR High, then come calling.

Stop the madness…OR, come check out my 10 month old, kid has a jumper that you wouldn’t believe!

It has to be one of the best traditions in all of sports. It isn’t a trophy or a ring, it’s a simple gesture, a show of respect that exemplifies why hockey, despite the many jokes about fighting and goonery, is one of the greatest sports around. What am I talking about? It’s the post playoff series handshake.

No other professional sport takes the time to do it. Sure some football players run to the middle of the field and exchange pleasantries with guys they know, but no other sport makes an effort to go through a line and shake each others hands - congratulating each other on a well-played series. Losing teams will actually wait for the winning team to celebrate…even in the finals to shake each others hand. It isn’t a huge kumbaya moment, all rivalries aren’t forgotten and feuds forgiven, but it is a show of respect between teams. A chance for grown men to show that sportsmanship, in one of the toughest sports, is still alive.

It’s a small act, but one that should be celebrated and covered as often as the fights and slap shots.

{This is also posted at Nosebleed Radio}

For those of who are Danica Patrick fans you have reason to celebrate.  She finally won an Indy race, winning Saturday’s race in Japan.  I say finally not because I think it took her a long time, rather because I think it finally validates what really did not need validating.  That Danica is a good race car driver.

I am one of those in sports who thinks that the more diverse group of participants the better.  The bigger audience the better, no matter what the sport is.  Danica was able to bring some excitement to a racing circuit that badly needed it.  The IRL needed hype and they got it with Danica.  Unfortunately, as so often happens, the haters quickly came out and tried to paint Danica as nothing more than a pretty face who happened to drive.  Comparisons to Anna Kournikova quickly appeared, for no other reason than she happened to be pretty, had some endorsements, and happened to exist roughly around the same time.

Danica is nothing like Kournikova, she is for real. This was a driver that was the first woman to ever lead a lap in the Indy 500, finished fourth in one 500 race, and had a second and a couple third place finishes in other IRL races.

The haters will point that she won on pit strategy, winning on fuel stops, but that is part of racing…part of the strategy that ALL teams prepare for, Danica and her team executed a plan that every team out there had.  It should not take away from her historic win.

I still remember how cool it was when I learned that Lyn St. James was going to race in the 500.  Even though I loved watching Arie Luyendyk, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Jr and others I always thought it was cool that James had the opportunity to race.  Now I think it is cool that Danica has a chance to win.  Sports, especially less followed sports like the IRL, only grow when there is new blood and reasons for the fans to watch.  It can’t be gimmicky and it can’t be false.

Danica has proven with her victory, that the future of the IRL is bright and that she is for real…even if she and others have known it all along.

Photo by Carolincik

So no doubt you have heard about the demonstrations that have been occurring during the torch runs both here in the U.S. and the around the globe. I want to make perfectly clear that I believe that all human rights issues are important. I think that Tibetans, actually all people, should be free to practice whatever they believe. However, I think that the current protests will do little to impact the way that China handles this and future situations.

The problem is that there are thousands of years of history in play and we are asking the largest nation in the world to turn on a dime and become something that they have never been. If China did anything tomorrow would we believe that this was anything other than a simple show, a facade, built to insulate themselves from protests leading up to the games? Would we really think that once the camera crews and the athletes left that there wouldn’t be more issues with Tibet?

The problem here is the IOC (International Olympic Committee). They had to know that this would be an issue, and yet they still chose to reward China with the games. It’s my belief that it wasn’t because they wanted to award the games to one of the largest nation’s, rather it was a simple marketing play. At the time of the decision everyone was hot on China. Every marketer was trying to figure out how to get the eyeballs of billions in one of the fastest growing economies. The IOC knew how much this would be worth to their partners and how many dollars were at stake.

If anyone wants to protest they should be protesting the IOC. It wasn’t good will or good faith that the games would give China a moral responsibility to change, like IOC President, Jacques Rogge likes to tout, it was a simple marketing and money ploy. People should be asking tough questions of the IOC and it’s committee, but they aren’t. China was thrust into this position without being ready to answer the bell. Even before the human rights issues, questions were raised about the air quality, the ability of the host nation to protect their workers, and more. The IOC took a chance that people would look beyond these issues but that hasn’t happened, and they need to share, if not take the brunt of the blame.

If anyone is going to have an impact it is going to have to come from the athletes and not the public. The Chinese Government, in my opinion, will only become more defensive and isolated during the public protests. However, if the the athletes started taking a stand then both the host nation and participating nations would have to figure out their positions pretty quickly. I know that the IOC has already stated that they would not tolerate political statements within the venues and podiums, etc. But I do think that the athletes can make simple statements to create awareness. It was one of the most simple gestures, two fists raised in the air, by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico City in 1968, that made an impact still discussed today. The athletes need to be the ones to make a stir, but I am not sure that any of them will. It’s not that they don’t care but its that no one is an amateur anymore. There are still too many corporate dollars tied up in these athletes for anyone to make waves and potentially create controversy.

So, what do we have left? We have a stalemate. The protests may make you feel like you are making change, but true change has to hit the games where it hurts. In the pocketbook. And the only way that is going to happen is if the athletes themselves decide that these issues are worth taking a stand for. Short of that, any pressure and any reaction is going to be a farce, a sham, that will be made to appease the public while Tibet simply waits for the NBC camera crews to go home before they once again have to start fearing for their lives.

I wrote about a local family in need last week.  I was reading the blog over at Brainstorm and they had a good update about the generosity the family has received and the impact that social networking can have.  It is great to see both the local and virtual community step up, and great to see people so willing to help out others in need.  A big virtual high five to everyone involved!