Mar 26, 2008

A More Perfect Union

I don't ever try to avoid anything on this blog, but I post this speech not as a political statement. This video goes up because on March 18, 2008, at 11 am EST, an American politician spoke to the people about race in America...and he addressed the audience like they were intelligent adults. Truly a ground breaking moment in American politics.

Mar 25, 2008

I Was Right!!!

Well, kind of. Last week, I talked about how the Iowa Hawkeyes were poised to capture a national title. And lo and behold, they did it. Now, this matters to wrestlers only, but maybe this is the turning of the corner for me, maybe I can start being right about things.

Nah.

There must be some sort of trade off, since my NCAA Basketball brackets look like a minefield. I've got 9 of the 16 teams right, but only 3 of my Final Four left. This weekend was great fun to watch, proving once again that the top of the College basketball world is getting ever thinner, as there were few dominating, world beating performances all weekend. Except for Stephen Curry, son of Del, and UCLA in round 1, which wasn't even fair.

The womens tourny started this past weekend, too. I have my vices, but if you are filling out a NCAA Women's tournament bracket, get help.

The Assocaiation has been heating up down the stretch, as we cap off the best regular season in 15 years with the most intense push for the playoffs in just as long. With a legitimate 9 teams out West vying for the 8 spots, every game carries significant weight in eventual seeding. Even in the (still mostly) Leastern Conference, there are 4 teams angling for the final spot in the playoffs, and an opportunity to get dusted by the Celtics.

Mar 23, 2008

And Now, a Word From Our Sponsors

It's been a great sports weekend, and I hope everyone had a Happy Easter, but there is something I've noticed about the commercials during this March Madness. Nike has been bringing it. Hard.

Absolutly.



Bringing.



It.




I had to close with a classic...

*INFO EDIT* -- The song playing during the Nike Sparq commercial is called List of Demands, by Saul Williams. Maybe the most unintentionally funny thing Nike has ever done, since the song is about reparations.

Mar 20, 2008

Sick of Basketball?

Didn't think so. But in case you need a (quick) break, here some videos and links from around the interweb to entertain you.

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This thing is either the most terrifying or awesome thing I have ever seen. Upon first viewing, I hid under my desk for 4 hours, reliving every apocalyptic robots-kill-everyone movie I have ever seen (Terminator, The Matrix, Boogie Nights). I have come to the conclusion after watching it 47 times, that the way it moves is the creepiest thing in the world, and even when it's on ice, it looks to natural to be robot. I also concluded that when free will dies, this is the prototype of the beasts that will chase down free thinkers in the streets.



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Kissing Suzy Kolber has created a bracket of NFL mascots, seeing how they would fare in a real life battle royale. The fact that they sat back and made this is weird enough, but weirder is the real life arguments that stem from the brackets.

Personally, I don't see how anyone could beat a Titan, I mean, they birthed the gods. But, as someone has also pointed out, you aren't a Saint until after your dead, which means the NO representative could be a zombie with God conjuring powers. That's a match up, if you ask me.

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More about Iowa Wrestling. Including some quotes from a former Westminster Wildcat.

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The good folks at MacGs World doing great justice to the return of AI to Philly here.

More on The Return at ESPN. Ignore the Disney propaganda and click here.

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Finally, one more reminder that no matter how cool the stuff we build is, nature is still the champ.

Mar 19, 2008

Double The Madness

Warning: The first half of this post will deal with NCAA Wrestling. If you feel like you will be bored by this topic, skip down past the line break.

"So dissatisfied with your picks...Plus, you're a wrestler and NOTHING about NCAA this weekend." -- Chad Olberding, via text message, 11:45 pm EST March 18, 2008


After I got done mocking Olberding's recently retired hero (4), I had to concede that he was right: my picks this year have been awful. And, I guess, I did need to address the sport that, for better or worse, made me the man I am today. I owe alot to my time on the mat, and the least I can do is offer a (however brief) look at the NCAA Tournament, happening this weekend in St. Louis.

I can easily tell why my old coach want my thoughts on the tourney: his favorite team Iowa looks poised to start collecting National Titles again, as they send 9 of their 10 wrestlers into this weekends action looking to capture All-American status and National Titles. Identified as historically THE wrestling school in America, they look to add to the 20 banners hanging in the rafters already.

But the road will not be easy.

Boise State, Central Michigan, Minnesota and Northern Iowa also qualified nine competitors, while Edinboro and Iowa State will each be sending all 10 to the big dance this weekend. Also, keep a look out for Lions in the tourny, as seniors Anthony Constantino, and Brandon Kinney, along with first-year heavyweight Ryan Flores will be representing Columbia in St. Louis.

Full brackets here.

Happy O?

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I'm proud to bring to you the first annual Oh Look, A Sports Blog bracket challenge. All you need to do is email me at dpalm66@gmail.com and I will organize you an invitation to join the OLASB challenge group. As I state in the invite, the only prize right now is bragging rights, but the more entrants, the more I might want to attach a different prize. Not better, because what's better than bragging rights, but still.

I do this only to crush all opposition, so realize that as soon as you sign up...you're playing for second.

Mar 18, 2008

March Madness (1) over Mother Nature (16)

If you happened to catch me on the Sports Watchers Radio Show last Friday, you might have caught me throwing the UGA Bulldogs Men's Basketball team under the bus. If you happened to miss it, you can go there by clicking here, and listening to the show from March 14th. Anyway, who knows me would immediatly realize that was no more than an elaborate anti-jinx, as the team braved tornados, two games in a day, and a horde of zombies to claim the SEC title.

One of those three was made up.

Anyway, congrats to the Dawgs, who were rewarded for their miracle run with a 14 seed. Ugh. My full brackets will be posted for scrutiny before Thursday...but I can tell you how the play-in game is going to open the Madness:

Coppin State (16b) over Mt. St. Mary's (16a)

Mar 13, 2008

Cutting The Wire

"Let's go home."

With those words, I and not nearly enough other people bid farewell to the greatest show ever to grace American television. I say American because I am sadly not versed in the television elsewhere, but I would bet this is the best thing put on television anywhere ever. I came late to the streets of Baltimore on the advice of friends, was sucked into the world through the hand of God that is OnDemand, devoured the previous four seasons, and eagerly awaited the glorisousness of season five.

David Simon and company did not disappoint.

Every week couldn't pass fast enough, as the creative staff behind this masterpiece kept me hanging on every moment, every twist, watching as they connected everything. A major criticism of the season was that the newspaper, the media, never connected to all that was going on in the streets. I contend that this was Simon's point: the media never seems to get what is really going on. Giving front page coverage to Clay Davis' slimy self, while the death of Proposition Joe, head of the New Day Co-Op gets a small mention inside the paper? To a fan, it seems inexcusable, but to the media, it makes sense. In his own way, Simon used this season as a commentary on not just the paper and media, but himself, and his show. He as good as admits that in trying to show these things that are so wrong, he missed what is really driving. But, at the end of the day, he tried.

I'm not going to recap the last episode, and all it meant, but the final montage really hit home for me. The show was never about the Jimmy McNultys, the Avon Barksdales, the Tommy Carcettis, the Bunny Colvins, the Omar Littles the Scott Templetons or the Marlo Stanfields. This show was about the systems that are in place that ultimately fail each one of these characters, that shape the flawed personas we end up seeing.

This show has been likened to a novel, with all the plots converging, and everything being connected. I don't know if the analogy holds, but I do know you rarely see a show be so daring to drop (arguably) the star charecter to the background for a whole season (McNulty in Season 4), and have it be hailed as the best body of work they had ever produced. My hat is off not only to Simon and his staff, but also to the cast of this show that took us to Baltimore every week, and did so with an unflinching eye of honesty. We saw it all; from the streets to the docks to the halls of power. From the classroom to the newsroom, The Wire was a microcosm as to why a lot of things in this country are the way they are, and it never lies to you and pretends there is an easy answer. But maybe, in the face of all this despair, there is a Cedric Daniels or a Bunny Colvin who really wants to change the system, to fix things at the source. Maybe there was some hope after all.

Further reading:

Interview with David Simon about the finale.

One of my favorite blogs' take on the end of The Wire.

My friends at The Bocker found some clips of classic Wire humor.

Extended interview about the whole series with the David Simon.

And below is the trailer for Season 5...go watch this entire series, and deny anything I've said regarding the greatness of this show. I dare you.

Yo Mike, how my hair look?

Spin Zone

It's not the numbers when you deal with the New York Knicks, it's how you spin the numbers.

Letter from Zeke to the Knicks Staff

Numbers. Spun.

Mar 12, 2008

My Head...

Wow...did anyone get the name of that Party Bussssssss that ran me over?

Anyway a lot has happened since I posted last, but I'm going to give it the old college try in touching most of it. Anything that slips my mind...I blame it on my 4 day, seemingly 20 night trip to NYC.

A week ago, an NFL icon hung up the shoulder pads for good. Clearly one of the best ever at his position, he retires with one Super Bowl ring, and countless accolades. A mortal lock as a 1st Ballot Hall of Famer, some have argued that his skills had diminished over the years, but everyone agreed, he went out with a bang.

Number 99. Warren Sapp

(Look, everyone and their mom has been eulogizing Favre for a week. Let me say some things about a rival of his, and someone who retired the same day.)

2nd most sacks for a defensive tackle ever. 6 straight All-Pro selections. 8 Pro Bowl selections. 1 Super Bowl ring.

One of the most entertaining and engaging figures in a sport where the players are mostly faceless, his presence was felt from the moment he entered the league. From the attention he commanded from opposing linemen, and the fear he earned from opposing quarterbacks, his on the field career speaks for itself. Off the field, he always did things his way and spoke his mind.

Skipping through opposing teams while they stretched, laying out Chad Clifton after an interception in Green Bay, calling the NFL a slave system, the touchdown catch and subsequent Beyonce dance in Atlanta, Sapp was - and is - one of a kind. Just think about how he went out: on the day when the figure head of the NFL for the last 15 years hangs up the cleats, Sapp merely puts this message on his site...and note the url.

Mr. Sapp, see you in Canton.

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Those of you who hate the NBA (and I know you're out there), I pray that you have caught the recent run of games, which have been the most competitive in recent memory. The image of Shaquille O'Neal flying through the air this past Sunday against the Spurs defines what is emerging as an especially intense push for the playoffs.

In the West, a mere 7.5 games seperate the first place Lakers and the ninth place Nuggets. In the East, there isn't as close a gap from top to bottom, but there are 5 teams within 3 games of the eighth playoff spot. This is less an NBA update as it is a pleading for everyone to start watching games.

The NBA. Where fans beging others to watch happens.

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Finally, I figured since I made predictions for the NBA and NFL, I should do the same for the MLB. Without the fanfare of either of the previous leagues, here you go:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

East
1. Braves
2. Phillies
3. Mets
4. Washington
5. Florida

Central
1. Cubs
2. Milwaukee
3. St. Louis
4. Cincy
5. Houston
6. Pittsburgh

West
1. Dodgers
2. Arizona
3. Colorado
4. San Diego
5. San Francisco

AMERICAN LEAGUE

East
1. Sox
2. Toronto
3. Yankees
4. Tampa
5. Baltimore

Central
1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
3. Sox
4. Minnesota
5. Kansas City

West
1. Angels
2. Seattle
3. Oakland
4. Texas

Wild Cards: NL: Phillies, AL: Cleveland

Mar 4, 2008

Don't Call It A Comeback...

January 25, 2006 - Chris Anderson is kicked out of the NBA for violating the Association's drug abuse policy.

March 3, 2008 - Chris Anderson is reinstated to the NBA after over 2 years.

His lowest moment still remains...this.

And in the NFL...

Free agency has somehow forced me to question my dedication to adopting a new NFL team; I like the tandem of Norwood/Turner, and I like the chances of someone overpaying for D'Angelo Hall, no matter what a certain friend of mine thinks of his potential as a player. That said, I reserve the right to abandon the Falcons after this April's draft, and adopt one of the following teams:

1) Titans - Biggs gives a stirring case in the comments of that post as to why I should adopt the former Oilers...plus, they are originally from Houston, just like me. Coincidence?

2) Bucs - Meet all criteria, but staying within the division seems a bit shifty, even for someone willing to dump his home town team

3) (tie) Raiders/Packers - Just kidding Jake. Bye bye Bret Favre.