Interview with Kathryn Bertine, Olympic Hopeful
August 27, 2008
I think most of us who played sports before have wondered if we’d have a chance at qualifying for the Olympics in the less well-known sports. Of course, you and I followed that thought by reaching for some more Pringles and changing the channel! However, Kathryn Bertine instead went all-out in attempting to qualify for the Olympics. She tried multiple sports, multiple strategies, and even multiple citizenships to be part of Beijing 2008. Unfortunately, her cycling times weren’t quite good enough for Beijing, but she’s already thinking about London 2012! My interview with her is below. (Photo by Andrew Kozak).
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Men’s Olympic Basketball Gold Medal Game–WOW!
August 24, 2008
This will be terribly written, because it’s late and I’m excited. But is anyone else still up after watching that Gold Medal game? I thought it was tremendous and just had a few thoughts to share.
Under the NBC Radar: Men’s Olympic Soccer
August 18, 2008
I was just wondering if anyone else happened to watch the US men’s valiant struggle to make it out of the qualifying round of Olympic soccer. The matches were classics in that many of the players were young and more likely to take the tournament seriously. This also meant that the play was more inconsistent, but also that the games were more exciting. I wish that more people would pay attention to soccer and baseball at the Olympics, but due to the lack of pros, I don’t think people will.
“I’m not Dead Yet”: Why are Stars Past their Prime Treated so Badly?
August 13, 2008
Recently we saw both Manny Ramirez and Brett Favre being escorted off the premises in Boston and Green Bay. Both had delivered a title to each city after decades of losing. Both were slightly past their prime, but still at least among the top 25% in the league at their position. Yet they were widely vilified for their attitudes, and management tried hard to get rid of them. Why did this happen? Are you going to tell me that Manny and Brett’s attitudes have spontaneously changed from team player to spoiled divo as they aged? Or that their attitudes were so bad that they could only be tolerated when playing at an MVP level? Both theories are highly suspect.
Rick Reilly Insults the World, One Country at a Time
July 31, 2008
Rick Reilly is paid millions of dollars each year to work for ESPN. That includes a short column once a week for ESPN The Mag. What topic did Rick Reilly pick this week? Mocking the anthems of 17 different countries. What’s worse is that he shows astounding cultural ignorance in doing so. Let’s pick out just three of his entries:
What Cleveland Must Do to Reach the 2009 Finals
July 1, 2008
We at SOMM are continuing a series on how the 14 play-off teams that did not make it to the 2008 Finals can make it in 2009. (If time permits, we may also do lottery teams). If you are a dedicated fan of one of the teams, let me know and we may also feature your thoughts when we get to your team.
Amar from Cavalier Attitude at http://mvn.com/nba-cavaliers/ was gracious enough to share some thoughts on how the Cavaliers might improve this off-season:
A few months ago, somebody said that if defense and rebounding alone won NBA championships, then Cleveland would have had a parade in June of ‘07. They didn’t, so you can figure out what that means.
It also means that the Cavs have those two aspects of the game down. But anybody who watched the Cavs intense seven-game second-round series with the Celtics can vouch for the fact that Cleveland needs another scorer besides LeBron James to get buckets. It really doesn’t matter who that guy is, whether it be a big man in the post or a sharp-shooter on the perimeter. Somebody else has to help LB shoulder the load, and that somebody else isn’t on the roster - at least not yet.
Jesus Plays Sports: Analyzing the Redemption of Josh Hamilton
June 26, 2008
Note: When I publish articles on topics where I have a discernable bias due to who I am, I like to let readers know upfront what my bias is. It’s more fair to readers that way, instead of pretending that I have a neutral background. That’s why I put the “Jesus Plays Sports” label on this and other posts. It means that my Christian faith and the world of sports are colliding. I’m saying this now because it’s the first “Jesus Plays Sports” entry I’ve done on here.
The Josh Hamilton story is well-known to most of us. Ballplayer grows up in a loving, religious family, ballplayer is the #1 overall pick in MLB, ballplayer gets hooked on drugs, and ballplayer somehow kicks the habit to fulfull his #1 overall pick status.
Mitch Kupchak’s Revenge
June 24, 2008
You have to think Mitch Kupchak is still enjoying this summer a lot more than he enjoyed last summer. After all, last year he was trying to beg Chicago to make a deal with him for Kobe while trying to manage a team that was in turmoil in training camp. Yet the Lakers managed to reach the Finals without one of their best players (Andrew Bynum). So what do you think Mitch is doing to celebrate? Here’s one guess (click link):
The Most Awesome Sports Blog Of All Time Would Have…
June 23, 2008
Will Leitch, former editor of Deadspin.com, is finishing up his last week with the site before leaving. I refuse to write a “What Leitch meant to blogging” or “What Leitch could have done better” column. The man’s leaving in a week and can’t change anything now, and those retrospective columns often reek of “hindsight is 20-20 vision” or smug backstabbing. I am not interested in replacing him, for the record. But I couldn’t help but wonder, what would I do if I had the time and freedom to blog full-time? Here are my passions to help develop a better sports blog. I’ve posted about these for years at http://mcbias.blogspot.com/search/label/Bloggolalia , if you want to see all my thoughts.
What Detroit Must Do to Reach the 2009 Finals
June 19, 2008
We at SOMM are starting a series on how the 14 play-off teams that did not make it to the 2008 Finals can make it in 2009. (If time permits, we may also do lottery teams). First up, the Detroit Pistons, who lost to Boston in six games in the Eastern Conference. Besides my own thoughts, I asked both a Pistons blogger and a dedicated fan for three ways the Pistons can improve. If you are a dedicated fan of one of the teams, let me know and we may also feature your thoughts when we get to your team.
