Secondly, I must say that despite a great list of fictional athletes he did miss the greatest of them all. That would be Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, better known as Benny "the Jet" Rodriguez, from The Sandlot. Why you ask is he better than Jimmy Chitwood or Roy Hobbs? The answer is simple he managed 3 of the most amazing sports feats.
1) He knocked the cover off a baseball. (He is so badass that he was pissed he couldn't play anymore)
2) He taught Smalls, who couldn't catch a cold in the middle of January at the North Pole, to catch in about 15 seconds.
3) The most impressive of all: He out ran a dog, that’s right a dog, for an entire montage. People don't out run dogs. Dogs are fast. "The Jet" was faster, plus he ran on a table, through a movie theater, jumped on and over a car, and some other crazy stuff as well.
You can keep Jimmy; I'll take Benny.
So anyway, now that I have righted some the previous wrongs, I will begin with an introduction of what in sports interests me. Topics in sports that I feel are important are almost strictly regulated to 4 sports (Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey); however occasionally individuals in other sports do cause a peak interest in the second tier sports. This can be seen by Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and Michael Phelps. In addition there are also the Olympics but that is only a blip on the radar screen every 2 years (anyone who gets excited about curling or badminton more than every 4 years needs to reevaluate their life).
-Topic in sports that I am most tired of hearing about: Steroids in Baseball from 2003. If they test positive today then yes that is important. You can practically commit any crime outside of rape and murder and after 7 years it exceeds all federal statutes of limitations. In addition all the evidence is hearsay and concerned with somebody leaking information. We all know it happened, get over it. Thank God for Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard, but more importantly guys like Jim Thome and Ken Griffey who played through that era and are clean as a whistle in my book.
-Close second, Brett Favre, retire already. You have become a mediocre QB who wants to be treated as a top tier QB. Last year you did not even stay with the team on road trips. What a great way to show leadership to a younger generation.
-Recent topic in sports I am most amazed at is the dominance of Usain Bolt. Not only did he shatter his own World Record; he still looks as if he is barely trying. He blew away Tyson Gay, who just happened to set the American record in the same race. So how do you follow up a performance like that? Simple, set a new world record in the 200m. He is just so scarily smooth he is like no other sprinter I have ever seen. With all the bad press track & field has gotten with PEDs, I think Bolt can save it. He passes every drug test thrown his way and most importantly has fun while competing. He is exciting to watch and as an American, I cheer for Usain Bolt. I can't help it, seeing records fall by a clean athlete is one of my dirty pleasures.
-Close second, Tiger Woods & Y. E. Yang. This weekend’s PGA Championship was one for the ages. It had an absolute no name player hunting down Tiger Woods in the final round. That in itself is amazing, but what amazes me is that Tiger Woods is so good that all he has done this year is lead the tour in earnings, FedEx points, wins (5), top 10 finishes (11 of 13 events), and his world ranking is nearly double Phil Mickelson who is #2 and we consider it a bad year. That’s right a bad year, Tiger really let us down this year.
-Some personal beliefs I will always hold when writing/talking about sports.
-March/first weekend of April is and always will be the best time for sports all year. It includes March Madness, Opening Day & Spring Training, its crunch time in the NBA and NHL, and because football isn’t on there is coverage on everything.
- Money does not buy Championships. It may give you more room for error but that’s about it. Just ask Dan Snyder of the Redskins.
-High School athletes should go to college, unless they play baseball. This is because of the minor leagues. If other sports had a real minor league (no the NBADL does not count) than I would feel they should go pro.
-My last entry is a question towards my fellow author. Despite my better judgment I ask, which high profile quarterback acquisition in the past week was a smarter football move, Vick to the Eagles or Favre to Vikings. We all know Favre will start more games but which move will lead to a better season?
-It is my belief that Mike Vick is a better pickup. Brett is old he slowed down at the end of the season last year when the Jets' season was on the line. Yes, this year he has AP, but so would have whoever won the Vikings QB battle, my money would have been on the sleeper John David Booty. The Vikings will make the playoffs with or without Brett, they won't win a Super Bowl with him and they wouldn't have with out him. Now Vick, the Eagles have a ton of weapons, if everyone stays healthy. Vick just adds to the mix. He does not take anyone's spot; he isn't taking a significant amount of snaps. However, he will take away an opposing coordinators time by having to put in a game plan for him. That means people will be worried about him, plus anything he does is a bonus. If he steals one game for the Eagles it is more than Brett will do for the Vikings.
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