New Website Address

Check out this new sports blog!  longrangesports.blogspot.com   It is an everyday blog about everyday sports.   This blog will also be updated shortly but make sure you visit us at longrangesports.  Thanks for reading.

OH.....Tiger!

One of my favorite athletes is Tiger Woods, so I figured I would express what I think about the things that have gone on over the past several days. As we all know, Tiger was alleged of having an affair and he came out and apologized for the things that have taken place in the past, with him saying, "I have not been true to my values." Tiger as we know is by far the best golfer in the world and could be debated as the best golfer ever to play. So how does what has happened affect Tiger and his future, if it will? There was a poll on ESPN as to whether or not people would cheer more, less, or the same for him in the coming year and 63% said the SAME.

I think the poll says many things and the main thing is that we are looking past his mistakes to what he really is. How can we hold him to such a high standard that we ourselves cannot live up to? Tiger is indeed human and makes mistakes just like all of us. We cannot expect Tiger to do everything perfect because he is not. So if we think he is a bad person because of this then we must reevaluate our own lives and the way that we are living. Do I agree with what he did, of course not, but that doesn't mean I cant still cheer for him. Tiger had set the bar so high that even he was bound to fall.

Tiger Woods is an incredible athlete/golfer and for that he will always have my respect. If I were to now dislike him for what has happened then I am no better than he is. I hope this series of events comes quickly to a close, because after all it is none of our business what he does on his own time. We should not force anything out of him, it is his problem to deal with, so let him do it.

Around the Horn!!!

I decided to take a different route with this post. Everyday I watch the TV show around the horn at 3:00 before I go to work. For those who have never heard of the show it is a panel of 4 sports writers that debate the most current sports topics and they get points and as the show goes on they get voted off until there is a winner. Two of the writers that are on the most often are Jay Mariotti and Woody Paige. Mariotti is a writing for the Chicago Sun Times and Paige for the Denver Post.

However these two have a huge rivalry. You can always sense ill feelings between the two especially when they are the last two standing facing off in the showdown. This is a great rivalry and it is very interesting to watch and funny at times. They always just try to out do each other and I think they dont mind losing as long as the other doesn't win. I think Mariotti takes things a little more serious and gets mad when he loses.

It is amazing to me how a TV show of sports writers can be so competitive when they don't play for anything. The winner is granted 30 seconds at the end to talk about whatever he wants without interruption. If you like sports and have not checked out this show, then you should definately do so and chances are you will get hooked.

Give Credit Where Its Due!!!

The 2009 college football has officially begun. As always there were many exciting moments and some moments that make us stop and say, Did that really just happen? Like when Oregon's star running back Legarrette Blount threw the infamous punch that not only got him suspended for the year but put the big defensive lineman on his knees. There were some incredible games that had to seen, for example the Miami vs. Florida St. game. That was an incredible ending with 3 lead changes in the fourth quarter and a goaline stand by Miami when Florida St. had four plays to score.

However, I would like to discuss a game that I appreciated very much and that is the BYU-Oklahoma game. I thought that both teams played very and that either team could have won the game. The only downfall was that BYU is still not getting any credit for having beat the third ranked team at the time. They are putting the excuse that Sam Bradford was hurt. Even with Bradford in the game OU had only scored 10 points to BYU's 7, not much of a difference. We could say that BYU didnt have Harvey Unga, but that doesnt matter, because whoever plays has to step up. Then after in the post game all Coach Stoops was saying was it was penalties and not saying anything about BYU. OU had 12 penalties to BYU's 10 and only had 6 more yards in penalties, again, not much of a difference. On the other hand, BYU had four turnovers to OU's 2 and one happened to be on the one yardline and BYU would have at least scored a field goal.

OU had the game handed to them and they didnt take advantage, it is their fault and only theirs that they lost this game. One sign of a sore loser is that they put excuses, that is the only thing people have done since this game. BYU deserves a ton of credit for basically playing on the road and going home winners. There is no reason why OU should have lost. BYU played hard for 60 minutes and OU did not. BYU deserves all the credit in the world, and they won fair and square.

Now, to all of those that are mad at Coleby Clawson for injuring Bradford. Injuries, if you havent noticed are part of football. Football is a contact sport and evry player on the field risks getting hurt every single game. It was a clean hit and Clawson was just playing his position and trying to help his team win. There was no reason for Clawson to apologize but he did, yet OU fans cant get over the fact that Bradford is still hurt.

The Draft: '09 Version

So the NBA draft has come and gone and now we must wait all offseason long to see how the results will play out. Blake Griffin went number 1 which was nothing unexpected. He was by far the best player in the draft and still has tons of potential. The Timberwolves had quite a few picks and spent their first 3 on point guards. However, they have already sent Ty Lawson to the Nuggets and now there is talk that they might send Rubio to the Knicks, because it is unsure as to whether or not Rubio will play in the NBA this season or go back to Spain. Tyler Hansbrough went 13th to the Pacers, many think that it is a little high. I think that as good as he is, he is still underappreciated and will have a great NBA career.

Some of the trades that took place before the trade took some of the hype off of the draft itself. What I think to be the biggest trade was Shaq to Cleveland. Cleveland didnt really lose anyone big as Wallace is getting older and was plagued by injuries and they will do fine without Sasha. Adding Shaq to that line-up means bad news for the east and the rest of the league. They were the best team last year and adding Shaq will only help. Another big trade was Vince Carter to Orlando. I think that the Nets got the better end of the deal on this one and especially now that Hedo is opting out. The magic gave up their promising rookie for Vince who is getting older, but still should have a few good years left in him.

Also a big trade that means bad news for the west is Richard Jefferson to the Spurs. I think that the Spurs got the better end of the deal even though they lost 3 players. They shipped off some of their veterans that are running out of gas and in turn they get Jefferson who is a great one on one player and can finish at the rim. The Lakers did away with their only draft pick and that only indicates that they are wanting to keep intact the same team that just won the Championship.

It is going to be very interesting to see how the rest of the offseason turns out, especially with teams like the Jazz, Rockets and Suns that are awaiting answers as to who is going to optout or who are wanting to trade some high profile players.

Welcome Welcome!!

With me being a Giants fan, I could not resist to mention the milestone that Randy Johnson hit tonight. He is the newest and probably tallest member of the 300 win club. Congratulations to him on that. It is a milestone that is very difficult to reach and one that doesnt happen too often. Randy Johnson has been a consistent pitcher throughout his lenghty career that has taken him to a few teams and to a World Series win with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Who knows when this milestone will be hit again. It is extremely difficult in todays era to get even 15 wins in a season and at that rate it would take 20 years to comlete 300 wins. I am glad that he was able to accomplish that feat and to do it in a Giants uniform is even better. I believe next closest pitcher is Roy Halladay and he is sitting at 140 wins, but he also carries the age of 32.

Baseball has some of sports most difficult records to beat or milestones to reach. The 300 win club, 3,000 hit club, and 500 Homerun club. Those three milestones are goals that every baseball player has and it may be a while before we see anyone enter into one of the three. Once again CONGRATS to Randy Johnson on his 300th win.

What Should We Expect?

This postseason has been one to remember with some of the series that we have had. The Celtics-Bulls was one for the ages. The Celtics-Magic was a good one as well. The Cavs swept their first two series to get run out of the gym by Orlando in 6 games. The Lakers-Rockets was an up and down series that ended in 7 games. The Nuggets-Lakers was an intense series with the better team coming out on top. To go along with the games that were played, it seemed to me that there was a lot of dirty play. There were a lot of flagrant fouls as well as technicals that were given out, and that even led to a few suspensions.

The Finals are finally here and it consists of two teams no one thought would meet in the Finals. A lot of people expected the Cavs or Celtics out of the East, but no one the Magic. Almost everyone expected to see the Lakers and thats what they get. So it comes down to two teams. The best in the West and the beasts in the East. If we base this series off what happened in the regular season then the Magic win in a 4 game sweep as they were 2-0 during the season. Not so fast, the Magic are good, but the Lakers are better.

The Magic are a team that live and die by the three. It seems to me that if they dont make more than ten a game then they dont win. Clevelands downfall was their defense and lack of scoring. The Lakers do both of those things better. The Lakers are taller and have a way of guarding Lewis and Pietrus. The Magic are going to struggle to make the threes like they have been. Also the Magic dont really have anyone that can guard Kobe. If they couldnt guard LeBron, then they are not going to be able to guard Kobe as well.

The Lakers are by far the better team and more experienced. The Magic are young and this year is just not their turn. Give them a few years and they will be a dynamite team in the NBA on a year to year basis. I grew up a Magic fan, but when Shaq left, so did my love for them. I was a huge Dwight Howard fan, but he has lost some of my respect for the way that he plays. I am not much of a Lakers fan, but I hope that they can pull it out. I dont think that this series is going to be as close as people think. My prediction is that the Lakers win in 5 games. It is kind of a stretch, but they do have Kobe and experience and someone that can guard Howard.

Good luck to both teams and may the best team win.