Collins Comes Out + NFL Draft Thoughts

Yesterday news broke that NBA Center Jason Collins admitted that  he is gay in a story for Sports Illustrated. This makes him the first active major professional sports player to come out as gay.

From espn.com:

"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation," Collins wrote. "I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand." – Jason Collins

First off, I applaud Collins for having the courage to do this. At the same time I also think it's sad that it even needs to be a story. I don't know about the rest of you, but I watch sporting events to watch talent, athleticism, and all of the excitement that live sporting events bring. And last I checked, being gay or straight doesn’t make you throw a football better,run faster, dunk better or hit a golf ball better. 

But I do understand that there is still a real fear that exists in professional sports, particularly male sports, with the whole locker room mentality. I don't want to get into a big political discussion here, but I will say this. I had to change for my high school PE classes in a locker room with all women and you know what? I now know that some of those women who I changed in the locker room with are gay. But I never felt uncomfortable (not any more than being an awkward teenager concerned with their looks). Maybe it's because I've known I've liked boys since birth (no, seriously. I was a huge flirt in my pre-school class) so it didn't occur to me to be concerned about women having an interest in me.

But I'd like to think that had I known that there were gay women in the locker room at the time that it still wouldn't matter. I've seen some pretty unattractive men show off more than I wanted to see (you know, the ones that have no business walking or running around with their shirts off?). Just because you're a man and I'm attracted to men doesn't mean I'm attracted to you.

I hope that more athletes are able to take after Collins example and feel comfortable to just be themselves. I’ve learned that one of the keys to happiness is accepting and loving yourself as you are. I can only imagine how some of these people must feel having to hide who they really are all of the time. I can’t imagine that makes one very happy, despite all of the fame, money and success that goes with it. People are always going to judge (hey, look at all of the lovers/haters of Tim Tebow for example) but that's their problem, not yours.

With that said, I’ll get off of my soapbox. Let’s focus on the great achievements and accomplishments our athletes are making on the field, the court, the rink, etc, okay?

So the NFL Draft was last weekend and were we excited or what? I did manage to watch a bit of ESPN's coverage of the annual event and you'd think Chris Berman was announcing the beginning of the Super Bowl, not the NFL Draft. Look ESPN, I know you're trying and I get it. But let's face it. The draft itself is boring. No one wants to sit around and watch 6 rounds of 32 picks. It's like watching grass grow. Sure, we want to know who our favorite teams pick but we can find that out on Twitter.

That said, I do have a few takeaways from the draft. #1, Rams Nation should be pretty happy with how the Rams organization drafted this year. Tavon Austin? A playmaker for Sam Bradford?

When Tavon met Sam. 

I'm excited about the Olgetree pick as well. The NFC West as a whole has moved far far away from the days of the NFL Worst. Arizona still has some holes to fill but I expect them to be better this year than last if their QB situation works out.

If you watched the draft, did you see how many times they panned to Geno Smith during the first round of the draft? Poor Geno did NOT look happy. Someone must have expected to get drafted in the first round and that didn't happen.

If I knew I was going to be drafted by the Jets, I'd feel the same way Geno.

Of course Geno did get drafted. Just not in the first round. And it was the Jets. I wouldn't blame anyone for being anxious about being drafted by the same circus that let Tebow in. But good news for Geno, Tebow has left the building. So he only has to compete with Sanchez and McElroy now. Which...may not be much of a contest. We'll find out how this story ends this fall!

Mante Te'o also did not get drafted in the first round as many has speculated, including myself. Te'o will find himself in San Diego this fall, which should work out okay for him but I don't anticipate San Diego being a championship caliber team this year. San Diego has some rebuilding to do.

The first round of the draft was just very interesting as whole. Only one QB drafted, and it was not Geno Smith or Matt Barkley. A majority of the first round picks focused on offensive line players and defensive players. But perhaps this is just simply a reflection of what NFL teams need. Sure, all teams want an elite quarterback but there just aren't that many of them available.

I won't go into further analysis of the draft because frankly, I can't. I'll see what happens come the NFL pre-season and if big name draft picks emerge as potential first season stars, such as Tavon Austin for example, then I'll pay attention. But for now, we just have to wait and see.

The NBA Finals are here and already the Lakers are out (surprising? Not really) and Miami looks primed to repeat. I honestly do think Miami will probably take the title again. I would love to see the Clippers, Oklahoma or Indianapolis win but Miami is just...well, for lack of better words a tough team to beat. Not impossible, but challenging for sure. They are just so good.

NHL playoffs started this week so we have officially entered what I affectionately call "the neverending playoff season." I don't know which one is longer, but the NBA and NHL playoffs seem to take forever. NFL and MLB? Much quicker (though Bud Selig keeps making the MLB playoffs longer with all of this wild card stuff).

That said, I'm going to try to follow both playoff events but I admit I've moved to full baseball mode. Hey, I have a fantasy baseball team to manage with real money on the line here. I've got priorities.

Baseball Is Back!

I know, it's been quite a long hiatus since my last post. I could come up with a plethora of excuses for why I haven't posted but I don't think you'd care to read them so let's just get to discussing some sports topics, shall we?

Baseball is back and in full swing and that makes me a happy girl. As I've mentioned before, I hate the period of time when the NFL ends and baseball hasn't begun yet. Not that I didn't enjoy the NCAA Tournament immensely. Did you see that National Title game? Such a fun game to watch and entertaining all the way to the end. Congrats to Louisville on winning the title, it was well deserved.

But baseball and football are my two sports loves, the ones that I follow closely and am by far the most knowledgeable about. I've said before that I do not claim to be anywhere close to being an expert on hockey and basketball. It's hard enough keeping up with the NFL and MLB. I don't know how some people manage to stay on top of all of the major sports if that's not part of their job. There just isn't enough time in the world to study it all otherwise.

This year I've delved into the world of fantasy baseball. I joined my office's team and so far, I'm not doing too bad. I was on a fantasy baseball team once years ago but there was no money or prizing involved, it was an auto draft and I found myself losing interest quickly. This time I'm much more focused although I will admit I probably should have done some more research on how the scoring and so forth worked prior to the draft. Fortunately for me I seem to have drafted a pretty decent team and have been able to create a strategy that seems to be working. It did hurt to lose Zack Greinke though.

Speaking of which, did you see the brawl that caused Grienke's injury? If you haven't, here's the clip:

The whole incident is just awful. Brawls seem to be a thing that happens in baseball (not frequently, but they happen) particularly when a player is hit with a pitch and they think it's on purpose. But causing a player to go on the DL because you get into a fight like you're a bunch of drunks in a bar is simply un-called for.

Despite this particular event the regular season seems to be taking off as most predicted although I will say that as usual (though I don't know why they still do considering the history) the Cardinals were a bit under-rated going into the season. They have been doing well for the most part, but if they don't figure out their bull-pen situation with relief/closing games it's going to be a long season with a lot of blown games. With Motte out likely for the season, Mozeliak's got his hands full figuring out that one. But the Cardinals always seem to come up with some unknown as a hero. I'm sure they'll figure it out.

I promise to try and update more and share more of my thoughts on baseball as the season progresses. Now that I'm actively in a fantasy league, I'm following multiple players on all different teams so that should help broaden my player knowledge beyond the birds on the bat. ;-)