The Art of a Warrior

Anyone who watched Saturday's Game 3 matchup between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics witnessed something truly remarkable, they witnessed one of the gutsiest performances in recent memory, they witnessed a warrior.  But before I get to what happened Saturday, I'd like to, as I often do, take a look back at some moments or players in sports history that exhibited tremendous courage or determination while refusing to give up or take off.

Let's start with a man known throughout the baseball world as the "Iron Man", none other than Mr. Cal Ripken, Jr.  Looking back at Cal's illustrious career it's no wonder why he was dubbed "The Iron Man".  Ripken amassed a ridiculous 2,632 consecutive games played, a streak that spanned over the course of seventeen seasons and that shattered Lou Gehrig's previous mark of 2,130, a number widely considered  untouchable.  Ripken, a 19-time all-star and member of the exclusive 3,000 hit club, is widely considered one of the greatest shortstops AND third basemen of all-time, paving the way for the likes of Alex Rodriguez to switch from short to third.  While Cal was blessed with relative good health over the course or his career, he never took time off or stopped grinding along.

You never saw Cal Ripken, Jr. dogging it.

Backtracking a few years, and switching over to the gridiron, our next example comes from the San Francisco 49ers and one Mr. Ronnie Lott.  The Hall of Fame safety did something that most people people would never have done.  In a 1985 season finale against the Dallas Cowboys, Lott's left hand collided with the helmet of Cowboys' RB Tim Newsome, which resulted in his pinky finger being shattered in multiple places.  When trainers told him he would most likely miss the rest of the season, meaning the playoffs, Lott had other plans.  In the opening round of the playoffs, the following week, out comes Ronnie Lott, in full uniform, with his fingers heavily wrapped and in excruciating pain.  Lott played through the playoffs, and to clarify just how bad the injury was, he had to choose between a complicated surgery involving skin graphing and bone reconstruction, and amputation, of which he chose the latter.  Now THAT is dedication.

Ronnie Lott is one of the hardest-hitting defenders of all time, but also one of the toughest.  Just look at his eyes.

That brings us to one of the most polarizing figures in the history of sports, Tiger Woods.  In the 2008 US Open, Tiger Woods put in one of the most memorable performances in golf, and sports, history.  Gimping along Torrey Pines, in what was latter diagnosed as a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his tibia, Tiger Woods put on a show.  He defeated Rocco Mediate, who in any other situation would have been the feel-good story of the tournament, not only in a playoff, but on the 19th hole of a playoff.  Woods was tied with Mediate after Sunday's 4th round, but also hung in there to remain tied after another 18 holes played the next day.  And on the first sudden-death hole following the playoff, Woods bested Mediate to win his 14th major tournament, which currently stands as his last major victory.  Woods, who could be seen wincing after every swing and limping around the course, not only managed to play through 91 holes of golf with such an injury, but won the tournament, an astonishing feat not soon to be forgotten.  Say what you want about the man as a person, but on the golf course, the man is as fierce a competitor as you'll ever find.

Woods, clearly in pain, put in an astonishing effort, solidifying his reputation as a true competitor.

Now to Saturday.  In the third quarter against the Heat, Celtics' point guard Rajon Rondo got tangled up with Heat star Dwyane Wade, which led to Rondo's left arm hyperextending against the court and dislocating in a manner that was hard to watch.  Rondo would leave the game only to come back in the fourth quarter after team doctors managed to pop his elbow back into place.  Now, for any who saw the play unfold, I am willing to bet that nobody thought that he would return for the next game, let alone the next quarter.  He went on to finish out the game with his left arm hanging limp against his side, clearly only playing with his right arm.  In order to fully appreciate the courage and tenacity that Rondo displayed, one would need to see the play, which is to follow:

Note: Viewer discretion is advised due to graphic imagery.

Rondo went on to downplay the injury in a postgame interview saying that it's still stiff, but it shouldn't prevent him from playing in Monday's Game 4 in Boston.  However, the injury was clearly still bothering him as he hung his left arm, motionless, by his side.  Having just re-watched the play as I write this, I am still astounded as to how the 25-year-old University of Kentucky product came back in to play.  

Now when anyone talks about the great acts of determination and effort displayed by professional athletes, in any sport, that list better include Rajon Rondo.  Like Ripken, Lott, and Woods before him, the kid is flat-out a competitor, a warrior.

PS: Mom, if you're reading this, Happy Mother's Day.  I love you so much.  And a Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there, hope you enjoyed your day, you deserve it.

Why We Should Applaud Philadelphia Fans (For Once)

Last night, at Citizens Bank Park, which featured a Sunday Night Baseball affair between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, something happened which made me, the biggest critic of the behavior of the fans from the City of Brotherly Love (ironically enough), and many others tip our proverbial caps in honor of the patriotism exhibited throughout the stadium.  But first may we take a look back at why this commendable act is something to applaud...

As long ago as 1968, the Phillies organization asked then-20-year-old Frank Olivo, who would dress up as Santa for the final game of every season, to go onto the field and dance with the cheerleaders in honor of the Christmas season.  What ensued was less than respectable.  One snowball was pelted onto the field at Olivo, followed by hundreds more, and before long the entire stadium was participating.  Christmas Spirit at its finest.

Then, we move onto 1972, where in a matchup against the St. Louis Blues, a Flyers' fan decided it would be a great idea to pour beer on the Blues' Head Coach's head and bombard him with a slew of garbage.  (Oh, and this was after a handful of Blues' fans had gotten jumped earlier in the game.)  This led to a couple of Blues jumping the glass to go after the classy fan and multiple fights breaking out.  Hey, I'm all for heckling opposing players and coaches, but to throw things at a coach and christen him with beer is a little uncalled for, just saying.

Moving forward a couple of decades, we start at the 1997 MLB draft, where the Philadelphia Phillies had selected J.D. Drew, a current member of the Boston Red Sox, with the second-overall selection.  Drew got a little greedy and demanded $10 million from the ball club in order to sign a contract.  The Phillies, who were not too keen on the idea of paying an unproven player such a large sum of money, refused to offer him that much.  Drew then decided that he would not sign with the team.  Fast forward to August 1999.  The St. Louis Cardinals came to Philadephia to start a series with the hometown Phillies, and who do they have on their roster but J.D. Drew.  In the bottom half of the first inning, the game had to be delayed upwards of ten minutes for center field to be cleaned after fans launched an army of "D" batteries at Drew.  Now may I remind you that "D" batteries are not the cute little ones you put in your remote or your Game Boy, but large batteries that are used to power more heavy duty items.  Now was Drew deserving of ridicule for his actions? Absolutely! He was greedy and any fan should have been upset.  However, putting the man in harm's way is not an appropriate response for shunning your favorite baseball team.

Now, this is an acceptable way to make your feelings known, accompanied by a fair amount of yelling so he actually hears you.

This... not so much.

Our next example is not too far away, as it occurred a mere two months later.  The Dallas Cowboys traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.  After attempting to catch a pass by fellow Hall of Famer Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin was hit and did not get up.  He did not move. Now as a side note, Irvin was a cocky player and thought he was the greatest player to ever walk the field and played for the rival Dallas Cowboys, but even this was no excuse for what was to follow.  Instead of the usual ooooooohh you hear when a player lay motionless on the field, followed by silence out of concern for a fellow human's safety, Eagles fans throughout the stadiums began to cheer.  Yes, that is correct, they began to cheer.  And what is worse is that when the medical staff ran onto the field to assist the injured receiver, the cheers grew even louder.  Now, I don't care how much you hate a player (and this coming from a person who wished that the Buffalo Sabres would slash Flyers' defenseman, Chris Pronger's, broken hand due to my displeasure with his attitude and play on the ice), there is no time where it is appropriate to cheer when a human being's life is hanging in the balance. None. Michael Irvin never played another game after the neck injury he suffered in this game.

Inexcusable.

Finally. we come to May 2010 as a fan at a Philadelphia Phillies' game, intoxicated, was behaving in a rather unruly fashion.  The man sitting next to him (an off-duty police officer), with only his 11-year-old daughter in between them, asked the man to stop using vulgar language in front of his daughter.  Then, the man, identified as 21-year-old Michael Clemmens, in response to his neighbor's request, induced vomiting onto the young girl.  Now, this wouldn't have been so bad if it was onto the cop or something because it would at least have been somewhat humorous, but when the act is done onto a child, a little girl at that, then it becomes heartless and sickening (no pun intended).  The cop, doing the smart thing, let others around him take action and jump Clemmens, because, as he reported in an interview after the game, did not want to be escorted out of the game and leave his daughter all alone.  (Also when the police got down to where the incident took place, Clemmens struck the officers repeatedly in an attempt to avoid arrest, another admirable response).

Looks like Clemmens got what he had coming.  It's a real shame they had to defile such a beautiful face though.

Oh, and did I mention the city of Philadelphia installed a jail, complete with judge and courtroom, in Veterans Stadium (home to the Phillies and Eagles) in 1998 due to the excessive levels of illegal behavior? Yeah, that happened too.

Ok, back to last night.  During the ninth inning, and a little after 11 o' clock, with the game tied at 1 apiece, news broke that US Navy SEALs had killed al-Qaeda leader, and Public Enemy number 1, Osama bin Laden.  Americans all over the country and college campuses alike rejoiced in honor of a victory for Americans all over.  As the news trickled in to fans across the stadium, and right around the time I was driving by en route to Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to catch a bus back to Boston, a chant erupted through the ballpark, and for once, it wasn't derogatory.  Instead it was a chant of "U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!"  

Get the full effect of it here.  I got chills.

Now, while my initial reaction was filled with splendor and glee after hearing about the chant, it hit me that these are the same fans that cheered while Irvin lay motionless and vomited on a young girl.  For the first time in my life, and maybe the last, I wasn't disgusted, disheartened, or disappointed with the actions of Philly fans, but I was actually proud of them, and really, really impressed.

I guess I, and I hope many others, have learned from this is that no matter which team we support, which part of the country we come from, or what race, religion, or socioeconomic class we belong to, we are all first, and certainly foremost, Americans.  Not since 9/11 have I witnessed such unity and collective joy as a country.  It certainly puts it all in perspective, and should make us all thankful for the freedoms and privileges we have as citizens of this great nation.  I truly am proud to be an American, and to our troops overseas, as well as the fans of the city of Philadelphia... thank you.

What it's Really Like to be a Mets Fan

By now the New York Mets are nothing more than an ongoing joke; a joke that seems to never be overused, but also a joke that is sadly and utterly true (most recently by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show).  Being a Mets fan has had its moments, like two world series trophies (one in 1969 and another in 1986), and more recently a National League pennant in 2000 and nearly another in 2006.  But for someone born after the two World Series titles, like I was, the last two are the only ones I have witnessed.  As fun as it was to see the Mets take on the Yankees in 2000, and Endy Chavez's home run-robbing catch to send the game into extra innings in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, there has been unparalleled heartbreak.

"The Catch" as is has come to be known as, was a moment that caused all Met fans to believe.

Although the 2000 and 2006 runs were memorable moments in recent Mets history, even they ended in heartbreak.  In 2000, the Yankees made short work of the Mets in a hyped-up Subway Series and 2006 left us in utter disbelief after Yadier Molina hit the game winning homer in the top of the 10th only to see Adam Wainwright strike out Carlos Beltran with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning.  

Side note: the loss to the Cardinals in Game 7 in the 2006 NLCS happened on October 19th: my birthday.  How fitting.

Not quite sure how to put this feeling into words...

Since 2006, it seems as though the Mets have been plagued.  2007 came with all sort of expectations, coming off a good season in 2006 with most players returning, the Mets were primed to make a run.  With 17 games to go in the season, the Mets had a comfortable 7 game cushion in the NL East, all they had to do was cruise into the playoffs, but what they did was crumble.  They lost that lead to not only lose the division race, but fall out of the playoffs completely after losing to the Marlins on the final day of the season (the infamous outing by Tom Glavine in which he surrended seven runs while only recording one out), becoming the first team ever to blow a lead that large with so few games remaining.

Despite being one of the Mets' most reliable pitchers during his tenure, his debauchery of the last game of 2007 will always overshadow his Met success.

In 2008, with the bitter taste in everyone associated with the team's mouth, they were destined to come back with a vengeance.  What us fans got was deja vu.  The Mets set another dubious record by being the first team ever to squander 3.5+ game division leads two years in a row, after blowing a 3.5 game lead again on the last day of the season... to the Marlins.  This one seemed to sting even more than the last because it left us shaking our heads saying, "Did this really just happen again?" It was embarrassing.

The past two years have been one blunder after another, with a permanent stain left by former General Manager, Omar Minaya, with one bad contract after another; most notably the 3-year $36 million contract to Oliver Perez, who even the word "bad" couldn't begin to describe him, and the 3-year $37 million contract to Francisco Rodriguez who has been average at best, a record for MLB closers (not to be confused with NBA closers, a la Dillon Sprowls).  Over the past two seasons the Mets' combined record was a miserable 149-175.  

Now the Mets owners, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, are being sued for up to $1 billion for their alleged involvement with Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, forcing them to sell up to 49% of the team's ownership stake, which should be happening any time now.

These men have dug themselves, and the Mets franchise, quite a deep hole.

But through all the turmoil and the heartbreak, as if it wasn't enough, perhaps the most disappointing thing about being a Mets fan is the constant glimmer of hope.  It seems that at the start of every season there is a reason to believe for the Mets.  In 2007 it was the redemption of the 2006 NLCS heartbreak, in 2008 it was the fact that the Mets were even in a position to collapse, because there was absolutely no way it could happen again (right?), in 2009 it was the the signing of the closer who had saved more games in a season than anyone in history, and in 2010 it was the new regime after the firing of GM Omar Minaya and Manager Jerry Manual, with some promising new young players.  It is this hope that only leads us to insanity, because after all, as Michael Douglas taught us in "Wall Street"and Albert Einstein before him: insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That may be the best way to sum up the life of a Mets fan: we have the same hopes every year and expect that the next will end up differently, better.  

But, at the same time, I think I can say that this is also the best part of being a fan, and what makes us great fans... there is always hope.

The Prettiest Ugly Game I've Ever Seen

Last night, I, like many others, tuned into CBS to watch the NCAA Men's Basketball between the University of Connecticut Huskies and the Butler Bulldogs.  But what I, and the rest of the country, saw was one of the worst postseason games, let alone championship games, ever played.  Last night, we saw Butler shoot an abysmal 18.8 percent from the floor.  The score was 22-19 at half, and I was wondering if I had just watched a half of soccer...  They go all the way down the court and ohhhh, a miss.  Then it goes back all the way down the other end and a turnover, back the other way it goes.  It was painful.

There was a lot of this to be seen Monday night.

But after watching the University of Connecticut hoist the NCAA Championship trophy, and after seeing Jim Calhoun, who had just become the 5th coach ever to win his 3rd title, thrust the trophy into his star point guard, Kemba Walker's, hands, I realized something.  I realized that despite one of the ugliest games I has ever seen, and one of the worst shooting performances in history, this team deserved it more than any other team to ever win the tournament.  This group of kids, led by their guy, Kemba Walker, started this season without a single vote to be ranked in the preseason polls.  They peaked at number 4 during the season, and rode an improbable streak of 5 wins in 5 days to win the Big East Tournament, which included a buzzer-beater against Pitt by Walker.

It seemed as if no one had an answer for Walker.  But the more impressive thing about 

him may be that he is about to graduate on May 8th (also his 21st birthday) in a mere 3 years.

In the Final Four, however, Walker took on a lesser role as Freshman Jeremy Lamb had the hot hand and in the title game it was Alex Oriakhi who stole the show as his size, length, and strength couldn't be matched by the more finesse-oriented team in Butler.  For the tournament as a whole, however, it was the Kemba Walker show.  Walker's crossovers and big jumpers at key moments are what won them this tournament.  Right now, Walker is projected to be selected somewhere in the middle of the first round of the upcoming NBA draft.  Now, whether that is because he is an undersized guard or whatever the knock on him may be at the time, one thing cannot be argued, the kid's got game.  What I got out of this tournament, and what I hope many others have too, is that whoever selects the 20 yr old Walker will have a player that not only can shake the defender and hit the step-back jay, but they're getting a kid that can flat-out win.  Kemba Walker, folks, is a winner.

Opening Day

Welp, it's that time of year again where everyone gets excited again only to lose interest a few weeks later.  Yes, that's right today marks Opening Day for Major League Baseball, where fans from across the country will be anxiously waiting to see how their squad is looking this year.  This is the day that even Pirates and Royals fans can have hope because, well, let's face it, it's basically the only day of the year when they are above .500.

It's only a matter of days...

This year, it is also a time (although maybe briefly) for Mets fans like myself to be optimistic.  After popular moves that showed fans that the new management cared about winning and not just finances, such as the releases of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, Mets fan once again can hope for something.  Whether it be a healthy and resurgent year for Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Jason Bay (although it's not a good start...), promising young pieces such as Ike Davis, Jonathan Niese, and Angel Pagan, or just the unexpected, like Brad Emaus at 2nd, when we will see Johan Santana again, will this be Jose Reyes' last Opening Day in a Met uniform, or whether or not RA Dickey can again thrive in this being first full year as a Met.  Only one thing is for sure though, we'll just have to watch to find out.

The thought of seeing Jose Reyes in another uniform brings a tear to my eye.

With this time of year comes warmer weather (thank God for those of us getting restless in Boston), less clothing (a definite perk for the guys, well, most of the time anyway), and watermelon, the nectar of the Gods.

What? Because I'm white I can't like watermelon?

Alright, time for some predictions:

First for the playoffs...

American League

East- Red Sox

Central- Twins

West- Rangers

Wild Card- Yankees

Champion- Red Sox

National League

East- Phillies

Central- Reds

West- Rockies

Wild Card- Braves

Champion- Rockies

World Series

Mets over Red Sox...

No? Didn't even believe me for a second? alright, well for real..

Red Sox over Rockies

I'm predicting another one of these.  Who knows maybe I'll even go to the parade...

Now for the individual Awards:

American League

MVP- Adrian Gonzalez (I think he's going to rip Fenway apart after 5 yrs at Petco)

Cy Young- Jon Lester (Yes, another Red Sox player... I know I know...)

National League

MVP- Troy Tulowitzki (Shortstop that hits like a power outfielder)

Cy Young- RA Dickey....     sike, Roy Halladay (as much as it pains me to say)

Now I would like wish a happy Opening Day to all, the best of luck for all your teams (except when they play the Mets, we don't need anything else working against us...), and a big F U to all Phillies fans because you'll deserve it soon enough, you always do.