6 Days til London

I can hardly wait for the London Olympics to start. I think of all that has happened over the past four years of my life and can't imagine all of the work and preparation the athletes have been put through during that time frame. Their are always great stories that come from the games. Michael Phelps captured our hearts in Beijing. Who can forget Ali lighting the torch in Atlanta? Surely their will be new stories to come over the next few weeks. The Olympics have already begun in a way as we know who will and won't be competing. I was devastated that Rafael Nadal will be out due to injury. He was set the carry the Spanish flag in the Opening Ceremonies and will be watching instead of participating now.

Over the past week I have come across two stories that have caught my attention. The first athlete I want to highlight is Gabby Douglas. Her remarkable story was displayed on this weeks edition of Rock Center. It tells of her stuggles and dedication to gymnastics. To view Gabby's story, click here. She is truly an inspiration and her genuine desire to win the gold medal is what the Olympics are about.

The other story is about Guor Marial. Marial is a native of Sudan who fled as a refugee and came to America. His story is one of great sacrifice. To read an article on Marial, click here. While it is unexpected that he medals in London, his story is an inspiration to all.

Sandusky Trial

While this blog mainly focuses on the positive things to be learned from Sports, I can't ignore those things that may cast a negative light on sports either. A few previous posts have centered on the tremor that forever shook Penn State last fall. Jerry Sandusky was accused of the most heinous crime. This past week, a jury made up of his peers found him guilty on forty-five counts related to child sex abuse. Watching this case was difficult for me, even though I was nowhere near the courtroom. I couldn't realize how such awful things could go on for so long and nobody knew about them. As much as I didn't want the accusations to be true, I wanted justice (as much as possible) to be served. The shadow over Happy Valley is large and may stick around for awhile. Accusations will continually be made about people not speaking up sooner or going directly to the police, but we should never forget that it was Jerry Sandusky that committed the heinous crimes.

Bryan Stow

For those that follow sports regularly, the story of Bryan Stow is one that shocked many when the baseball season began last year. He traveled to Los Angeles to see his beloved Giants take on the Dodgers to open the season. Following the game, he was beaten almost to death by others that clearly didn't understand the true meaning of sports. The Giants community has rallied and continues to rally for Bryan and his recovery. Before the start of each game, one person is selected to throw the ceremonial first pitch. This is a great honor to anyone that is invited to throw out the pitch. The San Francisco Giants stepped up big time and asked Bryan to throw out the first pitch on Opening Day. Due to injuries that he had sustained from the beating, he was not able to attend the game. The Giants did the next best thing and allowed his son, Tyler, the honor of throwing the pitch.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I look forward to this weekend every year. Most of America loves Super Bowl Sunday, me being one of them. However, their will always be a special place in my heart for Selection Sunday. Nothing is as nerve racking as sitting and patiently watching at waiting to see if your team will be selected to go to the Big Dance. For those lucky teams that have guaranteed their spot in the tournament with great seasons, tomorrow is all about finding out where they play. Other teams were smart enough to battle through the conference tournaments to guarantee their spots in the tourney. Then their are those others, that had a great season, didn't win their Conference Tournament, and have to spend their day waiting and contemplating for the nearly hour long show to see if they made the cut.

Selection Sunday is a great day! The day shows why the Big Dance will always be more fair than the corrupt BCS. To me it is one of the most wonderful times of the year, when 68 teams get to battle head-to-head until 1 team is left standing on April 2, earning the title of 2012 Men's College Basketball Champions!

Real Fans

Real Fans don't boo at their team or the opposing team. They never throw items in the arena and especially not onto the court or field. While true fans can create a raucous environment, chants and cheers should never be hateful or derogatory towards someones lifestyle or beliefs. Last week, the students at Gonzaga University decided to take a stand. They started a "Take the Hate out of Hoops" campaign. This was started in response to other students promising to show up to a game and making derogatory chants and showing up in attire to mock the opposing team. The "Take the Hate out of Hoops" campaign is a great movement that Gonzaga Students have started. I hope that it is something that will continue to spread throughout the country and Sportsmanship will begin to dominate hate.

Sports movie of the month

I am a little bit behind from when I planned to release this post. February is the month of the Winter Olympics and I chose the movie 'Miracle' to focus on this month. The movie is all about the 1980 US Hockey Team and their miracle run to the Gold Medal in Lake Placid, New York. The story line follows the life of their coach Herb Brooks. The movie begins with him being interviewed for the head coaching job, team tryouts, practices, exhibition games, and then the Olympics. What really makes the story so powerful is the political climate that surrounded the games. The United States and the Soviet Union were in the midst of the Cold War. Many people thought that nuclear war could start at any moment. Prior to the Olympics, Team USA host the USSR in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden. The Soviets dominated the Americans, a huge embarassment on our home ice just prior to the games. The great thing about this story is that any team can win any game on any given day. It is a great month to watch 'Miracle' if you haven't yet this year.

Joe Paterno: The Day the Legend Died

Like many of you, I was deeply saddened by the loss of Joe Paterno. I was heartbroken to hear that his condition took a turn for the worst last night. The first thing I thought about this morning was wondering if the legend was still alive or night. A coaching career that spanned several decades a produced many championships was abruptly halted last November. While he scandal that ended the career of Joe Paterno was a terrible thing, we should all remember that he wasn't the person that molested young boys. Should he have done more to involve law enforcement? Only time can and God know the answer to that question. Hopefully his family can have peace at their time of great loss.

RIP Joe Pa

Sports movie of the month

In memory Dr. Martin Luther King, this month's movie is Remember the Titans. Once again, a movie that you should see if you haven't yet. The plot focuses on the year of integration at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. It was the first time many of these players had been teammates with their peers of another race. A black coach was also brought in to coach the team. What comes of the season is great unity as the members of the community and the players on the football team look past skin color. The story line is great and reminiscent of Brian's Song. If you haven't heard of that story, it is one I will refer to on a later post.

Here Coach Boone teaches the boys that it is more than just football.

What to watch for in 2012

Every year there are great sporting events to look forward too. Here are the big events to look forward to each month.
January - NFL Playoffs begin this weekend with the wild card. The next few weeks feature the Divisional Round and Conference Championship games. The NFL Playoffs are unique in that they are one and done. There are no series or finals, but winner takes all each round.
February - The NFL Playoffs conclude with the Super Bowl, America's unofficial holiday. Most Americans know what teams play in the Super Bowl, but no idea who they had to beat to get there.
March - March Madness, the most wonderful time of the year. Teams work hard all season just to qualify for the tournament. In the words of Dick Vitale, "It's upset city baby!"
April - The Masters and Horse Racing Season. While I am not a huge fan of either, both play a major role in American sports history. Will this year be the year that a golfer wins the grand slam? Will a horse finally win the triple crown after such a long hiatus?
May - NBA Playoffs turn up a notch as the teams prepare for Conference and NBA Finals.
June - Wimbledon begins in London, shortly before all eyes are focused on Great Britain in the coming months.
August - Skipping July to focus on the biggest sporting event in the world, the 2012 London Summer Olympics. The Olympics are the reason that sports are so amazing. It is a time of unity and competition. I love the Olympic games, when the world can be unified as one great family.
September - The beginning of College Football Season. There are few other sporting events that I look to than the start of college football. My only wish is that there was a National Championship and that all teams were invited to participate.
October - America's past time concludes its regular season and commences with the playoffs. The playoffs conclude with the one and only World Series.
November - The annual Turkey Bowl held by families and friends throughout the country.
December - College Football Conference Championship games and the beginning of Bowl Season.
These are just a few of the events to look forward to in the coming year.

Athletes that can be role models in 2012

Too often these days athletes are falling from grace, that is, they are are top of the world and behave as if the are invincible. Tiger Woods is a prime example. He is one of the greatest golfers of all time, but showed complete disrespect for his wife and kids. Michael Phelps was the hero and the face of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Within six months of his return to the states photos surfaced of him smoking marijuana. The list goes on with Ben Roethlisberger, Terrelle Pryor, Barry Bonds, and others. The youth (and common fans) of the world need athletes that they can look up to as examples on and off of the court. These are people who show by their actions that they aren't any superior than the rest of us. The get up, go to work (although in a different manner), and have to do the everyday things that we all must do. Feel free to add to this list as athlete/role model list can never be too big.
1. Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
2. Jimmer Fredette (Sacramento Kings)
3. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts)
4. Eli Manning (New York Giants)
5. Ray Allen (Boston Celtics)
6. Chauncey Billups (Los Angeles Clippers)
7. Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
8. Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns)
9. Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)
10. Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
This list is in no particular order. It also goes off people that I know of with an emphasis on the NBA (I know NBA players better than other professionals). This list is not meant to be all inclusive, but just a place to start.