The PCS League

Welcome to the first installment of the PCS League, an ongoing contest between five weekly teams (Team Player (Alan), Team Fail (Matti), Team Doctor (Steve), Team Female (Ruth), and Team Jeremy (Jeremy)) and various weekly entries. The only rules are that there are 7 points per credit, and 12 credits per score.

Jay Cutler: 1 Point
1 point for winning against a horrible Minnesota Vikings.
-1 score for being awful all those other times.
1 score for providing a wonderful source of entertainment and laughter.

The New England Patriots: 2 Scores, 5 Points
2 scores, 5 points for being the most likable, most systematic, most dynamic, most powerful, most fastest-like-quicklightningsilver, most awesome, most beating-the-Cowboys, most bestest team in the NFL this week, and forever. I love objectivity.

Team Fail: 4 Points
3 points (retroactive) for the Lynx winning the WNBA Finals, and Matti 1) knowing about the game before it happened, 2) considering watching the game over playing flag football, and 3) knowing the outcome of the game and holding a (brief) discussion about it, even going so far as to send me a video of highlights. A dedicated fan.
-1 point for having 6 QBs on his roster in the keeper league. Troll.
1 point for always having the android icon in GMail chat no matter what, and thus leaving me incredibly confused.
1 point for disliking Apple.

Justin Timberlake: -1 Points
-1 point because when I saw the trailer for In Time, the concept of the movie was simply exciting, and I was in real anticipation by the end, that is, until I realized the movie was going to star Justin Timberlake. No other actor has killed my movie-watching drive as totally as Timberlake did here, except perhaps learning that Nicolas Cage co-starred in The Rock after previously only knowing that Sean Connery was the lead.

My Younger Brother Who Doesn't Know Anything About Football And Wasn't Even Paying Attention: 1 point
1 point for this conversation as I was leaving the house to drive back to Philly during the second quarter of SNF (CHI vs. MIN):
Andrew: (turns off TV)
Me: "Why did you turn off the game? Are you not going to watch any more?"
Andrew: (gestures to the TV) "I already know how this is going to turn out."
Just for reference, the score at this time was a manageable 16-3. My brother had looked up from his computer during a few key plays in which McNabb threw the ball into the ground at the feet of his receiver.

City of Philadelphia: 0 Points
1 point for the Eagles finally winning a game and stopping a losing streak.
-1 point for writing me two parking tickets within a one week span. The first time I was over by ~30 minutes in a place where I park and go over by ~30 approximately all the time. The second came in center city literally 6 minutes after my 2 hour time expired. I paid $4.00 to park for 2 hours from 1:33 until 3:33, and at 3:39, a parking officer strolled by and dropped an envelope on my windshield. At 3:42, I turned the corner having raced from the ENT clinic and saw $-36.00 enter my bank account.

Team Doctor: 2 Points
1 point because this team name is pretty awesome.
-1 point because Michigan lost to Michigan State. OK, so rankings were EDIT: NOT upheld, but no way this doesn't reflect on you personally. I mean, if a man can't be held personally responsible for the team that he supports, then what kind of man is he?
-1 point because the Lions lost to SF. See above. (Should I take a point off because the Tigers fell to the Rangers? Also, how do I even know this? Did I accidentally read a baseball headline?)
3 points because I have been informed that he is "killing it in med school". I'm not sure how much more irony can be packed into a statement. What is he killing? Is there something about Michigan's medical program that wasn't in their brochure? Is there a reason the cadavers there are particularly fresh?

NFL Fining Committee (or Roger Goodell, I guess): 1 Point
1 point for not fining Jim Schwartz or Jim Harbaugh for the Rumble in the Bay. And... Let's get ready to ruummmbbblleeeee!!! (Can somebody please make a semi-music video of the clip with that song in the background??? I can pay a commission.)

Team Jeremy: 5 Points
3 points for putting up a picture of a sumptuous paella and salad dinner.
1 point because I read at least 3 articles discussing something involving an NFL team somehow being based in LA.
1 point for disliking Apple.
-1 point because Tiger Woods is still irrelevant.
1 point because Jeremy always gets an extra point.

Natalie Portman: 2 Points
2 points because I randomly watched a clip of Thor while writing this, and it only confirmed what we all suspected... that Natalie Portman is SOOO hot...

Sapphire, AMD, Newegg, DHL, Post Lady At The Front Desk Of My Apartment: 1 Point
1 point for supplying me with a new video card, which has allowed me to enhance my gaming experience. (Description taken directly from the front of the box.)

Team Player: 1 Credit
3 points for telling me about going out on the town after the Cards entered the series and not finding anything.
1 point for suggesting that Jeremy's team be "Team Fruity Lakes". (???)
1 point because I like Alan.
1 point because Alan is older. (Happy Birthday!)
1 point because every player that enters Alan's fantasy team is stricken with the curse of Alan.
-1 point for continuing to use Saints and Packers WR on his fantasy despite me saying that it was dumb. Seriously though, I like the idea of winning the lottery, too.
1 point for liking airplanes. (Does Alan dislike Apple? I'm not even sure. He is a man of mystery.)

Rex Grossman: 0 Points
-1 point for throwing 4 interceptions in what was supposed to be the payback game from last year's beatdown.
1 point for fooling us into thinking that you possibly maybe just might have the slightest chance of being a decent quarterback. By like that much. (squeezes fingers together) That much.

Cincinnati Bengals: 1 Point
1 point for being so sneaky good at 4-2. Has anybody heard anybody say ANYTHING about the Bengals this year?

Team Female: 1 Credit
2 points for also telling me about going out on the town and so on, but after Alan already succeeded. Nice effort.
3 points for sending me "like fifty links" of the "A Football Life" with Bill Belichick from Youtube. I should dock you because you asked for more points.
1 point for calling Alan a female.
2 points for coming up with "Team Jeremy". No, seriously, we spent half an hour debating this. We got close with "Team Liberal" and "Team What The", but... nothing compares to Jeremy like Jeremy.
-1 point for mashing together "great" and "mean" to make "grean", then repeatedly referring to the two of us as the "Grean Team".
1 point for the Derrick Rose Adidas commercial with the bull fighting and rose petals in slowmo. This had to be done. That was a great commercial.
-1 point for liking Apple.
Team Female would have received another point, but I forgot what it was for, and I think Team Female has too many points already anyway.

Current Leaderboard (Top 6 Only, not including The New England Patriots for fairness):
1. Team Player (1 Credit)
1. Team Female (1 Credit)
3. Team Jeremy (5 Points)
4. Team Fail (4 Points)
5. Team Doctor (2 Points)
5. Natalie Portman (2 Points)

I think I'm going to write these while watching football, since it's not as if I'm every really going to use that time for anything productive anyway.

Edit:
1 point to Team Player for informing me of a previous error in which I stated that Michigan State was ranked higher than Michigan.

Updated Leaderboard:
1. Team Player (1 Credit, 1 Point)
2. Team Female (1 Credit)
3. Team Jeremy (5 Points)
4. Team Fail (4 Points)
5. Team Doctor (2 Points)
5. Natalie Portman (2 Points)

Jeremy's Watchable Sports Rankings

Last and maybe least, my list of what I may or may not watch. Here goes...

Never.
- Bowling
- Regular season MLB
- Olympic sports at college level
- "Extreme" sports
- Boxing/MMA
- Non-majors golf
- Nascar
- Horse/dog/animal shows
- Sportsnation (ESPN needs to axe this one)

Eh. Will probably fall asleep or wander off.
- MLB Playoffs
- NHL season
- Volleyball
- Preseason (non Lakers, UCLA)
- MLS
- High school football/basketball

Nothing better to do than sit in front of the TV.
- NCAA Basketball (non UCLA)
- Poker
- Those random ESPN shows (PTI, Jim Rome, etc)
- Non-majors tennis
- Majors tennis (women)
- NBA season (non Lakers, bad teams)
- Majors golf
- NHL playoffs
- Little League World Series
- World Series

Make an effort to catch.
- Olympics
- NCAAB March Madness
- NBA season (good teams)
- NCAAF (BCS conferences, ranked teams)
- Majors tennis (men)
- World Cup group play
- NFL season
- World championship basketball

Where's the remote/stream??
- Lakers
- UCLA basketball, football
- NCAAB Final Four
- NBA playoffs
- NFL playoffs
- NCAAF BCS bowls
- Majors tennis (men's semifinals+)
- World Cup elimination

Absolutely.
- NBA Finals.
- Lakers in playoffs
- UCLA (if in March Madness, and one day, in a BCS bowl game...or Pac-12 championship game...one day...*cries*)
- NCAAF "championship"
- NCAAB championship
- World Cup Final
- Super Bowl

Basically - football, basketball, and tennis with a dabble of the best soccer. And of course, my team loyalties. If there had been both a football and basketball lockout this year, I probably would've died.

And most anything short of 'Absolutely' can be superseded by actually going outside and playing sports.

My Turn!

So here I am, answering Jerry’s challenge. Well, sort of. It turns out that this task requires a lot more brain juice than I thought and, well, I’m in the middle of midterms. I also didn’t really rank things, just put 'em into categories. Hm, I guess I’m not answering Jerry’s challenge at all. But whatever. Since when do I listen to Jerry?

Yeah, right:

WNBA

MMA

Non-majors Men’s Golf

Non-majors Women’s Golf

Poker

Nascar

Background Noise:

World Cup Pool Play if I have no vested interest in either team

MLB Regular Season

NCAAB March Madness if I have no vested interest in either team

Guilty Pleasure:

Stump the Schwab (is this show still on?!)

Anything that involves the voice of Bob Costas or Brent Musburger

Nadal…(tee hee)

Feels Like Christmas:

Anything Olympics

ESPY’s

Game 7 in any sport

Waking up early enough to hear Mike & Mike in the Morning

Watch Every Time No Matter What, Even If I’m Having A Baby (?!)*

Majors Men’s Tennis Finals

NFL Super Bowl

NBA Playoffs if it involves the Bulls or Kobe Bryant

NBA Finals

Ah, this was actually a lot of fun. I hope to add more categories later on! Jeremy, your move.

*Dear Future Husband, you’re welcome.

Jerry's Watchable Sports Rankings

If I had to choose between which games I would watch, here is a list, from least watchable to most watchable. If it isn't on this list, it means I would not even consider watching it, or that it is inconceivable to me that people even watch (looking at you, NASCAR). The ordering within categories is also accurate.

* All Olympic listings imply involvement of a country that I support.

Would Not Watch Even If I Had Nothing Else To Do:
Regular season MLB
Reality TV
Playoffs MLB
Non-majors Men's Golf
Poker

Marginally Watchable:
Pro Bowling
Professional Eating
Non-majors Women's Golf
MLB World Series
NCAAB Preseason
Any Kind of Volleyball
NCAAF Preseason
Non-World Cup Soccer
X-Games
MMA
Boxing

Watch When Nothing Else To Do Seems Interesting:
Formula 1 (I've never actually seen this on TV though)
Majors Men's Golf
NCAAB Regular Season
NHL Regular Season
Figure Skating
Australian Rules Football
Majors Women's Golf
NHL Playoffs
NBA Regular Season
Majors Women's Tennis
Olympic Slope Sports (Skiing, etc.)
Majors Women's Tennis Finals
NHL Stanley Cup

Watch Unless Significant Responsibilities:
NCAAF Regular Season
Olympic Team Sports (Basketball, Soccer, etc.)
Olympic Track and Field (Non-Long Distance)
Majors Men's Tennis
Olympic Gymnastics
NFL Preseason
Majors Men's Tennis Finals
NCAAB March Madness
NCAAF BCS Bowls
World Cup Pool Play

Watch Unless Something Critical To Life Is In The Way:
NFL Regular Season
NCAAF National Championship
NCAAB March Madness Finals
NBA Playoffs
World Cup Finals

Watch Every Time No Matter What, Even If My Wife Is Having A Baby (or, "It's my wedding day? We set a rain date, right?"):
NBA Finals
NFL Playoffs
NFL Super Bowl

If you disagree, feel free to voice your opinion, but it won't make me watch baseball or reality TV. I hereby challenge the other members of this blog to compile similar lists.

My Decision

Something weird happened to me this past week.

Ever since July 8, 2010, I’ve been riding the anti-Lebron wave. I never liked Lebron-the-basketball-player before, if only because he was so good and I hated the thought of anyone challenging Kobe as the best in the league. Lebron-the-person? I never had a negative opinion about him. In fact, I think I liked him. I liked the camaraderie he had with his teammates, his lighthearted pregame routines, and his overall goofy self. However, one hour from the Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut this past summer gave me reason to dislike Lebron – just Lebron.

How could he be so insensitive?

Why did this have to take an hour? On TV?

Raising money for charity? Please.

For five months now, I’ve enjoyed every article bashing and questioning Lebron. I’ve loved hearing the Kobe-Lebron comparisons come to a screeching halt. I hated the original “What Should I Do?” video, but have loved each subsequent parody. I’ve laughed at the blunder that is Lebron’s PR team. As a Lakers fan, I inherently hate the Boston Celtics, but I rooted for them on opening night when they beat Lebron’s Heat and made us all think, “Hey, maybe this really won’t work out!”

I wouldn’t go as far to say that I’ve had a change of heart this past week. I will never think that the spectacle that was The Decision was a good decision. I will continue to root against the Heat, because if Lebron and Co. get in the way of Kobe’s sixth ring…no, it just can’t happen. In my mind, Lebron is not the best in the league. He will never be Mike, or be like Mike. Call me a blind fan, but I firmly believe he will never be like Kobe either.

But Lebron is human. A 25-year old human. He’s a self-proclaimed king, but back in Akron and Cleveland, he was viewed as no less. He elicited praise and admiration long before he entered the NBA. He has always gotten what he wanted, has never been told no, and from what I can tell, has never been taught better. I don’t condone how he went about his decision, but I do understand the decision itself. At the end of the day, Lebron wanted championships. He also wanted to play with his friends in sunny South Beach, a far cry from Cleveland. I can smirk and say, “Kobe would’ve never done that. Michael would’ve never done that.” But Lebron is not Kobe, and Lebron is not Michael. I’m not even talking about his skill here – simply put, he’s just Lebron. He made a choice. Who am I to judge this choice? Who am I to continue to judge this choice?

Again, I don’t agree with how he went about his decision, but I’m starting to feel like I want to give the guy a break. He made a mistake in execution. Don’t we all make mistakes? Unfortunately for him, his mistake reverberates throughout an entire city and league. But let’s take a step back and separate Lebron-the-human from Lebron-the-guy-who-starred-in-The-Decision.

Lebron-the-human is just that: human. I don’t want to hold his mistake over his head forever. I don’t want to draw inferences on his character because of this one mistake. I want to move on and believe that, like everybody else, mistakes are a part of life and he is still growing up, like the rest of us. I want to go back to critiquing Lebron-the-basketball-player, because that is the only capacity I truly know him in – who he is on the court.

I would never want someone to hold one of my mistakes over my head for the rest of my life. Granted, I will most likely never make a decision that has negative ramifications for an entire city (here’s hoping!), but a lapse in judgment is a lapse in judgment. Can’t we all just move on? Even if we don’t forget, can’t we at least forgive?

I won’t judge you anymore, Lebron. Last night proved to me that for the majority of us, you are first and foremost a basketball player, and a hell of a good one at that.

Protecting America's Game

Written for an argumentation class at Washington University in St. Louis:

Football is America’s most popular game, the Super Bowl, its biggest media event; even in recession, stadiums are filled and $20 billion flow into the league coffers annually. Football runs deep in our culture, touching everything from the drink and advertising industry to the West Wing where President Barack Obama has involved himself in the college football playoff debate. For our nation, this game is truly a big deal; Friday nights means cities shut down across the country as premier high school teams face off. Saturday afternoons are full of tailgates and revelry in support of colorful college teams, and Sundays are reserved for the big stars of the National Football League. But hidden in the fans’ partying and the efforts of the players on the field is that the culture of our country’s game has struggled to keep up with the increasingly revealed truths about the consequences of what can be an extremely violent game. The health and lives of football players of all ages are at stake in regard to the dangers of concussions and head injuries, and there needs to be change at every level of the sport to better protect the well-being of our country’s most popular athletes.

However, why should we care, including those of us who are not sports fans? After all, these are athletes who make millions of dollars to do what they do and they know the risks. Surely sport as entertainment is not something to be morally concerned about as a society. But not only is there a significant trickledown effect from professional to Pee Wee leagues on the safety and health of players, this belief belies the lack of awareness related to the unseen damages caused by violent collisions to a helmeted head, injuries that can be far more detrimental than a more visually stunning broken leg or torn ligament that usually heals and leaves the player little to no worse off than before. Concussions are simply on a whole different level.

A concussion is defined as a mild traumatic brain injury, but the term “mild” is a misnomer. There are no brain injuries that can be deemed “mild” because of the long-term repercussions. In a concussion, the brain is jarred against the skull by the rapid acceleration and deceleration caused by strong external impacts. These injuries to the brain and spinal cord can lead to temporary amnesia, confusion, disorientation; loss of consciousness can occur and physical symptoms include dizziness, lack of motor coordination and vision problems. And this is just in the short term. The long terms effects are altered neuronal and brain function, leading to affected mental states and the possibility of permanent damage. The true danger lies in that this kind of injury can go unnoticed or ignored for months and years until it is too late.

This April, Owen Thomas, a player at the University of Pennsylvania committed suicide after what his friends described as a sudden emotional collapse. An autopsy of his brain revealed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease condition of the brain that is a direct result of repeated head injury and multiple concussions, a brain state found in the autopsies of many NFL players. CTE has been linked with depression, dementia, and changed, abnormal personalities. But the sinister fact in Thomas’ history is that in his football career, he had no recorded concussions. Thus, a series of sub-concussive blows accumulated over the years can lead to the same condition that clinically diagnosed concussions can, and it is possible that Thomas was eventually pushed over the edge in April, the month where college football teams traditionally hold spring training camps. In addition, CTE can only be ascertained post-mortem; a player could be completely ignorant of his condition and still be active on the gridiron. An autopsy of Andre Waters, a former defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles known for his big hits, revealed a brain afflicted by CTE that was in a state befitting of an 80 year old man with dementia. Waters committed suicide in 2006 at the age of 43. Head injuries, regardless of visibility, matter.

But not all players are sentenced to shortened lives; there are methods and equipment to minimize the damages caused by the game of football. Concussed players can minimize long term issues by withdrawing from play and not getting hit until they pass mental tests given by team physicians. Properly fitted helmets designed with the latest technology can cushion blows to the head and tackling technique is taught to minimize the possibility of injury. The problem lies in their implementation and the perception of football players by the media and popular culture.

For example, two years ago, Anquan Boldin, a wide receiver known for his toughness and willingness to take big hits received a blow from another player’s helmet to his facemask so hard that he required surgery; forty titanium screws and seven metal plates were inserted into his face, and both players involved in the collision had Grade III, the highest level, concussions. The ESPN announcers, high profile media types, two weeks later when Boldin was back on the field despite the incredible trauma his brain took, praised him for taking “one of the great hits of all time” and being an “NFL tough guy.”[2] The primary issue with these statements is that rather than worrying about Boldin’s long term health is that these announcers glorified the incident, reflecting a culture that wants to see the big hit and lends incentive for players to hit as hard as they can. But as documented, such collisions have serious consequences down the road.

Furthermore, the trickledown effect to the lower levels of the game in college, high school, and even younger is pronounced. Kids look up to professional players and when their heroes are praised for laying down the wood, as the metaphor goes, kids in football leagues across the nation will seek to emulate their role models’ actions. Particularly with the proliferation of pro football on television to Thursday and Monday nights on top of Sundays and college football to every night Wednesday through Saturday, those actively interested in the game will be bombarded with messages from the media about how the bigger the hit, the more glory and fame the player receives. As a result, the number of concussions and frequency of head trauma will increase among youth and high school leagues.

Also consider that in college and professional games, helmets often come flying off and mouth guards are not always worn by players. If the stars of the sport are not wearing properly fitted equipment and gear designed to absorb impact and minimize trauma to the body’s soft tissue, such as the brain, then how do we expect those growing up in the sport to do the same? In an example of youth emulating a football star, many kids in Michigan have taken to keeping their shoelaces untied when they step onto the playing field. University of Michigan’s star quarterback, Denard Robinson, is infamously known as “Shoelace” because he runs and plays (and wins games) without tying his shoelaces. Never mind that Robinson uses Velcro to secure his footwear, members of youth leagues are endangering their still developing ankles and feet by not properly wearing key football gear. Football celebrities need to understand that their actions are going to be scrutinized by impressionable kids in a nation obsessed with their sport.

Coaches and staff also need to understand their roles in safeguarding the players they are responsible for, but there is little incentive for coaches to protect their players from long term harm, particularly with concussions. Mistreatment of a player in the short term, i.e. by putting a player back into the game after a significant hit and minor symptoms of head trauma, may lead to a win, the standard of success by which all coaches are measured. There will be no punishment for a coaching staff as long as wins are piled up and boosters are made happy with a winning football program. If a key player were to sit and the game was lost, the coach would take a fair amount of criticism and while players will always ask to be sent back to the field, and applauded for it as a sign of their “toughness,” coaches have the final say as to whether or not they are allowed to continue playing. Consider that at any level below high school, coaches are in charge of minors and that if these children suffer invisible brain injury, coaches are given a free pass. And in levels at college and above, coaches are held to extremely high standards of winning; thus they have near zero incentive to keep their players off the field long enough to properly heal.

Because healing is possible with proper evaluation and time spent away from the gridiron. But if not enough time is allotted for rest, then concussive effects are compounded and brain damage becomes exponentially greater with successive incidents. On top of that, comprehensive nutrition and weight lifting plans as players get older through high school, college, and the NFL means that players become stronger and faster and the force of each impact becomes greater through a career and concussions require more time to heal from. At the same time, the margin of error for coaches gets smaller and there becomes an immediate urgency to play the best players for a coach to keep his job regardless of the enduring consequences of such decisions. This inverse relationship demands more attention as it is a large negative influence on the health of those we watch on weekend nights.

And how we perceive abnormal mental health should be drastically altered. The culture of toughing it out, manning up, and not being a baby, all in drastically less polite terms, leads to players not seeking help when they feel something is not right. Ricky Williams, the running back for the Miami Dolphins, used to struggle with social anxiety disorder, a psychological condition that severely incapacitates an individual from interacting with others. After mustering the courage to tell his coach, he was told to “stop being a baby.” Williams happened to break his ankle at the same time and without pause, trainers and staff were hovering over him, watching out for any progress in the healing of his joint, the extreme contrast a reflection of the sport’s priorities. He later said that in football “a broken soul...is like a weakness." This macho culture of football denigrates the mere mentioning of problems in the head despite their relatively more important status compared to more physically visible ailments. If professional athletes are not going to seek help, then by what means do athletes at lower levels learn to humble themselves enough to get the proper care for their problems that are frequently common among the general population?

Ultimately, the health of our athletes is important and our culture has an imperative to ensure their safety. Physical activity in sports is essential to a healthy lifestyle and in a cultural phenomenon as large as it is in this country, football is an avenue through which people can exert themselves and have fun. But we cannot be endangering the long term health of those who play our most watched and followed sport by fostering a culture that encourages extremely risky long term behavior. All players need to understand that concussions and head trauma are serious issues. Coaches have to be given incentive to properly take care of their players and let them heal. The media cannot continue to lionize vicious hits and the dangerous tough guy mentality at the expense of safety. And most of all, college and professional football stars must understand that they are setting examples for the rest of the country and football’s fanatic fans. Because at its core, football is a beautiful game of strategy and tactics, performance under pressure, and intensely trained athleticism. But all this will be lost if the suicides and stories of brain injuries continue to mount and more kids and college students, who are the future of the game, are injured at a young age or kept away from the game by concerned parents. Football is truly America’s game; let’s protect a significant part of our culture by protecting those who love and play it.

Works consulted:

Easterbrook, Gregg. "Concussion hazards must be addressed." ESPN Page 2. September 21, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/100921_tuesday_morning_quarterback (accessed September 21, 2010).

Wertheim, Jon. "McKinley's apparent suicide casts light on athletes' risk of depression." Sports Illustrated. September 21, 2010. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jon_wertheim/09/21/depression/index.html?eref=sihp (accessed September 22, 2010).

When I was about six years old, the Chicago Bulls were starting their second three-peat. Coming off a playoff defeat from the prior season, Michael Jordan, his tongue, and his teammates were back. My family and I loved watching these guys. We loved that Michael was back from his fling with baseball. We loved Dennis Rodman, no matter his hair color. We loved Phil and we loved that it was all about Chicago.

I remember these family nights around the living room TV. My mom, for the first and probably last time in her life, had a genuine interest in basketball, and even my grandma could pick Michael out of a lineup. My brother was the little kid with huge glasses and hoop dreams, my dad the Lakers aficionado who couldn’t help but root for the Bulls, and then there was me, the little girl who prayed. I vividly remember running into the next room during fourth quarters when the game was close, asking God to guide the Bulls to victory. These prayers were short but must’ve been effective because the last time I checked, the Bulls raised six banners in the 90s.

When I was about six years old, this was how I knew sports. It was exciting, competitive, fostered camaraderie, and it was pure. I’m twenty years old now, and sports is still exciting, competitive, and still fosters camaraderie. But I’m afraid it’s becoming increasingly difficult to call it pure. It broke my heart to read about Favre’s alleged scandal with the Jets reporter for several reasons. First, for everything he accomplished on the field, I wish he could have retired with dignity (and on time). Second, I love watching him play. Still do. There aren’t many athletes in their forties who can make me stand on my feet, bite my nails, and yell at the TV with only a minute left on the clock. I wish I could still watch him without hearing Jenn Sterger’s name in my head. It broke my heart to hear him compared to Tiger and Deanna to Elin. And then there’s Tiger. His story is strange, devastating, and ended in divorce. And let’s be honest, his golf game hasn’t been the same since. Far be it for me to correlate the two, since plenty of analysts have taken care of this. And then there are the more widespread ills plauging sports: steroids, cunning agents, The Decision…

But for every scandal uncovered and steroid taken, there are stories that keep me coming back for more. How about the sportsmanship and compassion of Central Washington, whose softball players carried Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon around the bases so she could experience her first ever home run after tearing a ligament just past first base (1). Or Kay Kellogg, the sixty-two year old woman with cancer who had one wish to meet Dwight Howard and ended up inspiring him instead (2). Or even last night, when the Rangers clinched a date with the Yankees in the ALCS, and Josh Hamilton's teammates showered him with ginger ale instead of champagne, because they knew how hard he had worked to beat his demons.

These are just a few of the good that comes with the bad, and this can be said for life in general. For now, it is enough to keep me coming back. I believe that sports, in its rawest form, is still pure. I’m going to keep being that little girl who prays.

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVlKtI7yd_s

2) ttp://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-09-07/sports/os-bianchi-dwight-howard-magic-20100907_1_dwight-howard-bucket-list-cheap-seats

3) http://www.silive.com/yankees/index.ssf/2010/10/in_team_gesture_texas_rangers.html