making a (sporting) difference

with the growing success of this guy knows what i'm talking about it's time we (this includes both the writers and readers of this guy knows what i'm talking about as well as the writers and readers friends and/or associates) started making a real difference in the way sports are percieved. i feel like we're off to a good start--defending the so-called indefensible (zidane, bonds and t.o.), rethinking our reasons for the loving the teams we love, highlighting the sports and players blacklisted from espn (specifically football [soccer] and ricky williams)--but it's time to take it to the next level.

so, it's time we created our own fittest athletes list (i'm using fit the same way the streets and ali g do: fit = hot). what i need from you (writers, readers, friends and/or associates) is nominations. after we have a sufficent number of worthy nominations, we'll have have a vote for the fittest athlete.

to get things started, here are some of my nominations (if you want to see what they look like, i suggest googling their names):
christiano ronaldo
rapheal nadal
allen iverson
steve nash
tj ford
ricky williams (but only with a beard)
david beckham
shaq
andy roddick
rasheed wallace
johnny "jesus" damon (in other words, pre-yankees)
leandrino barbosa

i'll add more later. feel free to add your own by either (a) leaving the names in the comment section, (b) emailing me at spacequest2@gmail.com or (c) writing your own atricle arguing for your fittest athletes.

In Defense of T.O.

For those of you who haven't paid any attention to the National Football League over the last year and a half, let me introduce you to Terrell Owens. T.O., as he has so cleverly been dubbed, is one of the leagues top wide receivers. Part of being a receiver is being a jack-ass--I believe it's in the job description--and Owens is the biggest.

Here are some facts(actually, more like evidence): In just over two years, Owens has seriously damaged three franchises (San Francisco, Baltimore and Philadelphia), seriously insulted two quarterbacks (Garcia and McNabb) and seriously worked out during a press conference (sit-ups in his driveway after being suspended from the Eagles...seriously). In the process, he has become the villain of the league, hated by fans nationwide and subjected to endless articles by enraged sports writers.

So, the league must hate this guy, right? I doubt it. In the era of steroids and headbutts (see articles below) T.O.'s transgressions are relatively mild. If the NFL PR department's biggest worries are the antics of a selfish receiver, they can breathe easy. I wouldn't be surprised if they are encouraging his actions. Not directly, of course, but through media direction.

Here are some more facts: In the past two drafts, the Cinicinnati Bengals have taken five players who have been arrested no fewer than eight times for such things as spousal abuse, assault, robbery, vandalism, drugs and so on (plus, I just found this). This story was featured on sports sites for about a day until T.O. came out and said he was misquoted in his autobiography. Owens regains the spotlight. Funny, but convenient. Just when a real problem rears it's head, in steps Owens to attract all the negative attention to himself. Now, let's get some perspective. Terrell is a terrible teammate (and person, probably), but he's never committed a serious crime (that's been reported). So, if the league isn't pushing the T.O. story, then he must've insulted each and every writer to have earned such ire.

Terrell Owens is a douche-bag, there's no way around it. But is he the Darth Vader (as I believe he stated is his reputation in his book) of football? I guess that depends on your perspective. He is, after all, a "role model for America's youth." And you could certainly say he's teaching children such negative traits as showing off (remember the sit-ups?) and blaming their problems on others (and the book?) Or, you could say he's encouraging physical fitness and creative expression. Perspective.

MLB should ban everything

With all the hype and hysteria flying around the sports world about the situation Mr. Bonds finds himself in, I've realized that a good resolution for any future mishaps such as this, would be for MLB to ban everything.

I think the first step they should take would be to ban any and all weightlifting and personal training. What's the number one physical stimulant most athletes use to enhance their playing ability and endurance? Exercise. The game would be more pure if the players would rely on their genetic programming and pure natural bodies and abilities. No mucking things up with exercise and training. It's an unfair advantage over those who do let nature run it's natural course. How would the officials monitor this ban? Easy, if you begin to see any rippling muscles, or above average playing ability... they will know that there has been an infraction!

I know a lot of baseball "fans" are upset with Barry because he's hitting lots of home runs, and may eventually pass up old Hank Aaron. They say that he's giving himself an unfair advantage that Hank didn't have. So what? The air was a lot more clean back when Hank played the game. The baseball didn't have to travel through as much crud in the air. Hank didn't have the pressure of Universe wide exposure, and loud "music" and advertisements in his face while trying to play the game. He didn't have to worry about his endorsement deals falling through if his batting average dropped. The worry of islamic terrorists flying a plane into the stadium while he was playing never occured to him. Like him or hate him, Bonds does what he can to get the job done. So let him play, drop the possible indictment for perjury, and stop hasseling him (seriously, now they're going after him for possible tax evasion?)!

There's risks involved in any form of personal enhancement. If players want to alter their physical makeup using steroids, they are risking alot... why not allow them to take the risks if it produces better performance? If other athletes want to compete they will just have to find a way to keep up! Isn't that what "sport" is all about? Doing anything you can to be the best possible player??

move over fatty, there's a new ronaldo in town

outside of the us, one of the big stories leading up to this year's world cup was the fitness of ronaldo. it was generally agreed that he showed up to the world cup out of his usual shape. many (football) talking heads and (football) fans had given him the nickname of fatty (or in spanish, gordito) because he'd put on a few (or more than a few) pounds. many wondered how he'd compete in this year's world cup: would he be, like the last world cup, incredible or would he even be able to take shots on goal with all his excess fat? then he scored like seven goals even though brazil was eliminated early. even though he now holds the record for career goals in a world cup history, i fear his gordito nickname may still stick.

many are worried that the name ronaldo will no longer be associated with breathtaking play but with overweight football players. not me. this is because this year's world cup opened my eyes to a new ronaldo--a younger, hipper and slimmer ronaldo who can still dazzle football fans with his stunning footwork and ability to dominate matches. this new ronaldo? portugal's christiano ronaldo.

i know this ronaldo has a lot of haters, but seriously, just look at the guy. not only is he the best looking football player in the world (move over david beckham) but he's probably the best looking guy in the world (move over cillian murphy). and he's pretty incredible with the ball. i was going to link to video highlights of ronaldo, but i have no idea how. only aaron knows how to that stuff. so i promise that sometime in the near future i'll put up a link to ronaldo highlights. right now, the picture alone will have to do it for you (it does it for me).

put on your game face

We all have different ways of expressing our excitement about sports. Over the years I have become a sports (non)professional photographer. Instead of focusing on the games or players, though, I have focused on the fans. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from my portfolio. I feel i've really captured these fan's excitement for whatever sporting event they may have been attending, watching, or participating in.

letters to espn

after a month of watching world cup matches on espn i could no longer watch quitely; i had to send espn a letter (or more correctly, an email)of complaint. here it is, in its entirety:

dear espn (and most espn-related stations including but not limited to espn2, espnews, espn.com and espn classic, but excluding espn deportes),

since this is an internet communication, w'stfd with your world cup coverage? i understand that due to the lack of football interest here in the us, this is not a big money competition. and i understand that since football is the major sport everywhere else in the world, espn does not receive preferential treatment for its coverage (because there are probably a thousand sports stations in the world whose coverage will have more viewers than espn's). understandably you're bitter about the world cup. but how about a little professionalism? i mean, where did you dig up these old fossils as commentators? i'm beginning to wonder if the any of the play-by-play guys have ever even watched a football match (and i'm wondering if the color commentators have watched a game outside of the mls in the last four years). besides tommy smith you all have got nothing. i learn more about the players and teams watching the spanish channel and i don't even know spanish.

also, what's up with your constant discrediting of the officials? i never see you rasie the same concerns during the nba playoffs (which are obviously rigged).

and how come you couldn't even spring for a set in germany? you're espn, the world leader in sports.

this terrible coverage has me asking some tough questions about espn: is the coverage so bad because football is a team sport so it becomes difficult to lionize individual players like you do in other sports(who also are in the commercials during breaks in sportscenter)? is it because football matches don't allow for maximum commercials? maybe you should change you tagline from the world leader in sports to the corporate america's leader in sports.

anyway, football is here to stay so i suggest you up your product.

thank you for your time,
brian wood

ps tell all your radio show hosts that football isn't more boring than other sports. it's quite the contrary. baseball is like 5 minutes of nothing for every 30 seconds of play, american football is mostly huddles and time-outs and basketball is all free-throws and commercial breaks (with the occasional pump-up song fed in through the pa).