A Note About Sterling

Sports fans, unless you've been living under a rock, you've all heard about the recording of LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling making racist comments during a conversation with his assistant/girlfriend, V. Stiviano. TMZ Sports broke the story last week and it's been a hot topic of conversation ever since.

Supposedly, Mr. Sterling asked that Stiviano record their conversations as he's starting to lose his memory and wanted them recorded. Stiviano has over 100 hours of recorded conversations. Whether it's true or not that Sterling indeed requested this is unknown, as he has not addressed it (at least not publicy).

The NBA confirmed that it was indeed Sterling on the recordings and Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner was forced to act quickly as this story spread like wildfire, angering players, fans, sponsors and more. Last Monday, it seemed like every 5 minutes another sponsor was dropping from the Clippers. Word is that the players were threatening to strike, impacting the highly rated NBA playoffs. Something had to be done.

Silver's response was the following: 2.5 million dollar fine (to be donated to charity), a lifelong ban from the NBA, and forced sale of the Clippers team. In the NBA bylaws, a 75% majority vote can oust an owner and force a sale. There is nothing in their bylaws regarding ousting an owner for being a bigot, but there is something about said owner damaging the image of NBA organization. In this case, with the threats of strike, Clippers players likely demanding to become free agents at the end of the season, lots of potential revenue lost from sponsors, and overall anger from the fans was damaging enough for Silver, and he claims he has the support of other other NBA owners.

In the past week as this ordeal has played out, there has been mixed feelings on whether this is just and fair. His words, yes, are bigoted and awful and serve no place in our society. However, they were said in the privacy of his own home, and while he may have agreed to the taped conversations, he certainly didn't want them shared with the public. How is it possible that thoughts shared in a private conversation could lead to a loss of property? What about freedom of speech?

Let's talk about freedom of speech, shall we?

Sterling's freedom of speech right were not violated. The first amendment protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. The NBA is not the government. Second, freedom of speech does not mean freedom of consequence. If I go around bad-mouthing my boss and he/she finds out, I could be fired. If I say something that you don't agree with, you have the right to disagree. We all have the right to be disgusted with Sterling's comments. Sterling hasn't been thrown into jail for these comments, because the first amendment protects that. The NBA is a private organization with their own rules. If a member violates those rules, they can take action. The big question here is not freedom of speech - it's the right to privacy. Which leads too...

Were these recordings illegal? In California, it is only legal to record conversations if both parties agree. Sterling has not addressed this issue publicly, but Viviano's lawyer has stated that Sterling requested to have conversations be recorded because he's having memory issues and wanted to have them on hand to remember conversations. If it turns out that these were obtained illegally. Sterling can and will sue, and as of today it appears he does plan to sue the NBA.

So, let's say these are legal recordings. It may have been unethical to release them, but not illegal. Once the info was leaked and out in the public, the NBA couldn't ignore it. Say a friend of yours overhead a private conversation and tells you that your spouse is cheating on you - are you not going to investigate? It doesn't matter how the information is discovered, once it's out, it's out. Unfortunately, with the technological advances we have made in our society, anyone can be a reporter. Anyone with a smartphone has a camera, possibly a recording device too, and that my friends, is frightening. It is the world that we live in today so yes, while we should be free to say whatever we want in the privacy of our own homes, it is entirely possible that someone - a friend, colleague, could in fact try and use that against you. And regardless of whether it's legal or ethical to release such information, once something is leaked people will form their own opinions and believe what they want to believe. This is why I don't envy famous people. No one cares about my opinions but they do seem to care about the Kardashians, which I still can't fathom, but that's another topic.

The point is, Silver was left no choice but to act. He had proof of Sterling sharing racist thoughts, particularly against black people, and the NBA is a sport with primarily black players. While it may seem unfair to some that someone can be "punished" for stating thoughts in his own home - you're right, it isn't fair. But no one said life is fair. And let's not put Sterling on a pedestal here. This isn't the first time he's been involved in a scandal involving comments of racism. Sterling owns over 100 rental properties in Los Angeles and has been known to refuse to rent to minorities and has been sued over these claims in the past. Even if he's forced to sell, he's going to make millions of dollars in the sale. He won't lose out financially here, but he will lose the right to be part of an exclusive club.

The NBA owners still have to vote. Silver thinks they'll all vote in favor to remove Sterling, but we'll see what happens. As stated earlier, Sterling appears to be planning to sue, so this is going to be messy for awhile. It's a shame that this came to light now, because it's overshadowing a really fantastic NBA playoffs so far.

Now that my team is out of the NHL playoffs, I've found myself tuning in to more of the NBA playoff games. These games have been incredible. So many close games and so many first round series going to best of 7! It appeared for awhile there that Oklahoma City and Indiana were going to be ousted from the playoffs, but they fought and came back and both ended up winning in a best of 7 showdown.

That should be the story. Let's hope we can all turn the focus to watching good basketball, because so far, the playoffs haven't disappointed in providing fun and exciting match-ups that deserve so much more than being overshadowed by one man's prejudice.

Love Your Life, Like Your Sports

ESPN sportscaster Colin Cowherd has a saying, "love your life, like your sports." I've been a sports fan for a long time, and I used to take the pain of my favorite teams losses very seriously. Too seriously.

There is no worse feeling for a sports fan than seeing their favorite team make it to the big game only to lose. It hurts, it stings, it's frustrating. It puts us in bad moods, we start blaming players, coaches and owners for not doing enough or not wanting it enough. We forget that there's a number of other fanbases that WISH their team had made it to that game. We forget that it's REALLY hard just to get there. We forget that the team that we love gave us a great season that didn't end when a majority of other teams did because guess what, a lot of teams don't even MAKE the playoffs. And we forget these players don't blow games on purpose. Sometimes, you just get beat by a better team.

We forget. And fans, this is why like Colin says, "love your life, like your sports." Because if you love your sports a little too much - if how your favorite team performs determines your overall happiness - well, you're going to have a long life of disappointment and unhappiness. 

I have, over the years, learned to live my life more on this mantra. I haven't always taken losses so graciously though.

I had a Superbowl party at my dorm in college for Superbowl XXXVI. At the time, a number of my friends said they were rooting for the Patriots, because they were the "underdogs." Let's just say when the Rams lost that game, I wasn't a happy person. My friends (smartly) got out of there as fast as they could so I could mourn in peace.

In 2004 when the Boston Red Sox swept the Cardinals in the World Series to finally break the curse, I was depressed for days. The Cardinals hadn't won a World Series since 1982, and while I was alive then I was only almost 2 years old at the time, so let's just say I don't really remember 1982. They made it in 1985, but I was 4, so only remember that vaguely and they lost. 2004 was the first time I had the opportunity to follow my team all of the way to the WS and remember it. It's not fun to watch your team lose. Then again, it's not fun to watch your team never make it to the playoffs either.

Only one team can win a championship, and it's hard to win. All you have to do as a team is make the playoffs, and you have a shot. Anything can happen. People like to say "but that team didn't deserve to win." Of course they did. They won, so they deserved to win (unless cheating is involved or something along those lines). They were the better team during that game or that series. There's a lot of luck that goes into winning playoff and championship games too.

So my sports friends, while it's sad to see our teams lose, don't let it define you. The Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 and 2011. While this was great fun, did it really make my life better? Not really. Didn't affect my career, family life, social life...all it did was help empty my pocketbook spending money on games and merchandise. 

So, I keep this in mind when things happen like this latest playoff series between the Blues and Blackhawks. It was a very disappointing series for Blues fans but, at least up until game 6, I felt like these games were very evenly matched and could go either way. The Hawks are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. They're a good team.

I do have a few thoughts that came to light while watching these playoff games about the Blues:

1. The Blues need to stop approaching The Power Play looking like this:

Power Play = Deer in Headlights

2. The Blues spend too much time trying to set up the shot instead of shooting, which is clearly affecting the above mentioned Power Play a lot. Overall, they did shoot a lot, but they seemed to flounder when they had breakaway and open net opportunities where the Blackhawks did not. If there's one thing I can say about this series is the Blackhawks were able to capitalize on any weakness the Blues showed, and the Blues were unable to do the same. Crawford's a great goalie, but the Blues had too many opportunities against him that were missed.

3. Defense. Ryan Miller wasn't awful for the most part, but game 6 was pretty abysmal and there were a couple of week goals the Hawks were able to get on him. The loss is not all on him, but the Blues will have to decide if he's really their guy or not. The defense overall needs some tweaks, though I don't think the situation is dramatic enough to clean house.

Other than those 3 things though, I think this team has a lot of talent and it's a shame they couldn't win this series but it happens, and they'll be a good team next year and probably make the playoffs again. They've had to play Stanley Cup winning teams in the playoffs the last 3 years - not an easy task. At least it was a fun series with lots of OT games and really up until things turned downhill in game 6, I always thought the Blues had a chance to win. It just didn't happen this year.

I did make a comment on facebook comparing the Blues to the Chicago Cubs, which apparently offended a few people. I did not mean to offend, really. It was just a joke. The Cubs haven't won a championship in over 100 years, and the Blues have never won, was only saying the long drought continues. Truthfully the Blues are more like the Boston Red Sox pre-2004, since they make the playoffs a lot, just can't get to the big game. The Sox eventually broke their curse so the Blues will too. Look at it this way, the Blues are highly more likely to win a championship in the next few years than the Cubs.

So the NHL playoffs will continue without the Blues. Not sure who will win it but I have a feeling Chicago will go far. I also think whoever wins the Sharks-Kings match-up will be dangerous as well.

Blues fans, they'll be back in the hunt next year. To all the teams that are left in the NHL playoffs - best of luck.

Great Day For Hockey, Ain't It?

Sure is, cowboy.

The NHL playoffs are here, though you might not know it as the NHL is often overshadowed by the much higher rated NBA. For some reason the playoffs for both of these leagues tend to happen around the same time, which is rather unfortunate. But, to be fair, both the NBA and NHL playoffs take FOREVER. Seriously, I'm a baseball fan and despite the MLB continuing to extend the baseball playoff season it typically lasts one month: October.

The NBA and NHL, on the other hand, start their playoff seasons in April and a champion is crowned in...early June. Maybe late May. Folks, that's a LONG agonizing time to be rooting for your team to make it to the big game. And I thought the MLB playoffs were hard on my heart - that's only one month of agony!

The problem is, each series is a best of 7. In MLB baseball, we have a one game wild card playoff, then a best of 5 division series, a best of 7 championship series, and best of 7 World Series. Also, the baseball playoffs are shorter because they can play games in succession. The NBA and NHL have an off day between each game, which extends the series. It's necessary, I'm sure, given the intensity of these sports, but it does mean that a best of 7 series lasts 2 weeks instead of 1 for MLB.

Despite this, I am enjoying the NHL playoffs so far. Hockey is a sport that I admit I didn't really get into until my adult life. As a kid,  hockey just wasn't a sport that my family tended to follow. This is despite the fact that the St. Louis Blues were kind of a big deal. I had friends who were fans, and talked about the great Brett Hull, but I just never got into hockey.

My knowledge of hockey, up until more recent years, could be summed up by the images below:

The original NES ice hockey introduced me to high sticking and icing penalties.

Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky - remember that hot minute that Gretzky was on the Blues?

Best. Movie. Ever.

In other words, my hockey knowledge? Little to non-existent. I can't say that I'm anywhere near an expert on this sport, nor will I ever be. But, it's a fun sport. I've had the opportunity to attend a number of live hockey games in the past few years and if you've never been to a live hockey game - GO. Hockey just cannot be appreciated on TV. It's hard to follow the puck on TV for one, and there's just nothing quite like hearing the sound of hockey players slamming up against the glass in person. Hockey fights are more fun in person. The sound of the horn after the home team scores a goal is better in person. Power Plays are better in person. Well, except for the Power Play dance. Sorry, St. Louis fans. I just can't handle the Power Play dance. It's a bunch of white people trying to raise the roof and I just...can't.

What is this madness? #FAIL

Seriously. With antics like this how on earth does the NHL not get more national coverage?

So, we're in the beginning of the playoffs and of course, I'm following the St. Louis Blues. First up? Long-time rivals the Chicago Blackhawks. Most people are familiar with the long-running Cardinals-Cubs rivalry, but the Blackhawks-Blues rivalry runs nearly as deep. The Cardinals are on the winning end of the baseball rivalry, and the Blackhawks are on the winning end of the hockey rivalry.

The Blues have had some pretty good teams in the past few years, raising St. Louis Blues fans hopes that we'll finally experience the joy of Stanley Cup glory. They currently lead the series against Chicago 2-1, after 2 exciting OT wins in St. Louis and 1 disappointing loss in Chicago (seriously, that goal was WEAK).

As expected, this Blues-Hawks series has been intense. We've had a triple OT game, seconds goals, fights and injuries. Blues captain David Backes was knocked out of game 2 after a horrid hit/collision by Blackhawks Brent Seabrook. Seabrook is currently serving a 3 game suspension for said hit.

If the Blues win tonight, they could head back to St. Louis with a 3-1 lead in the series and be in a great position to advance to the next round and get closer and closer to finally winning a Stanley Cup for the franchise. Teams featuring hockey greats such as Bernie Federko, Brett Hull, Al McGinnis and Wayne Gretzky (though short lived) couldn't do it.

Can this finally be the year Blues fans?

"Do me a favor. Kick some Hawk butt."

I Have a Sports Blog?

Once upon a time, I had a sports blog. While posts were sporadic with higher frequency during NFL season, I tended to at least post something once every month and a half.

Sports fans, this blog as of late has been an epic fail. I'm Brad Lidge against Albert Pujols in the 2005 NLCS.

It never gets old.

Apparently this blog did have some fans, so I am going to do my best to attempt to resurrect this blog. I'm not going to make any promises. I don't know how often or when I will post. But I will post, when I feel like I have something to say. 

So, a lot has happened since I last posted in...October. Really? Okay, let's just review the big things that happened, shall we?

1. 2013 World Series

There was good, there was bad, and there was really bad. But the best thing about the 2013 World Series was this: I got to go to my first World Series game with my dad. 

It was a great experience to be at the game. Matt Holliday hit a home run that was just short of being a nice souvenir and there just is simply nothing like being at Busch Stadium during the playoffs and World Series. There is an electricity that one cannot describe. It was certainly a nice welcome home party after being booed at during the NLCS games at Dodger Stadium. 

Unfortunately, the Cardinals lost not only the game we went to, but the series as well. Duck Dynasty, I mean, Boston, won. I'm not bitter. Really, I'm not. I love the Cardinals, but you can't win games if you don't hit and score runs. Boston did that. David Ortiz at one point was hitting over .800 or something crazy like that. He's roid free, right?

But in all seriousness, congrats to the Boston Red Sox on their 2013 World Series win. On to 2014 where the Cards will vie for #12in14!

2. College Bowl Games

This was an exciting college football season for me as Mizzou looked like they may actually have a chance at the National Championship game for a bit there. But, Auburn stuck the fork in that dream after winning the SEC Championship game. 

To be honest, I can't remember a whole lot about this past college football season since it's been so long, but here's a summary of my top thoughts:

1. Auburn beating Alabama on that missed field goal attempt was crazy, insane and so fun to watch.
2. Mizzou losing the SEC Championship to Auburn sucked (for this fan anyway).
3. Auburn nearly beating Florida State in the National Championship game was exciting to watch.
4. Mizzou performed well in the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma State and have high hopes for them next season.
5. Michigan State won the Rose Bowl. I don't really care about this, except I have family members who are huge State fans so this was a very big deal.

That's all I have to say about that. #ForrestGump

3. Superbowl XLVIII

At the beginning of the 2013-14 season, I had predicted the Superbowl would be Denver vs. San Francisco, with Denver winning. It was Peyton's year, I thought. Who knows how much longer he'll be playing. This seemed to be the year that everything would fall into place.

And leading up to the Superbowl, it appeared to be just that. But what Peyton and Denver has yet to face was, a truly heinous and vicious defense. San Francisco wasn't their fate, it was the Seattle Seahawks. And this guy:

Take that Michael Crabtree!

Sherman's interview with Erin Andrews after the NFC Championship wasn't the classiest interview, but then again, when was the NFL the epitome of class? 

Peyton Manning and the Broncos would have their work cut out for them. Peyton was coming from an amazing record breaking touchdown season. Seattle's defense was top of the list. Both teams had the best regular season records in the AFC and NFC. It was going to be fun. It was going to be epic. Peyton was going to win another ring, or Seattle was going to win their first.

How does one describe Superbowl XLVIII best? I think this here says it all:

Painful comes to mind for this Superbowl - unless you're a Seahawks fan. Then you probably quite enjoyed the 48-8 complete annihilation of the Denver Broncos. Manning didn't play his best, but the team overall looked spooked and discombobulated. When the first play of the game is a fumbled snap that's a bad omen. And the Broncos never recovered. It was a slow, agonizing, downhill battle from there.

The best part of this entire Superbowl? This guy right here:

So the Seattle Seahawks win their first Superbowl, and Peyton will attempt to vie for that second ring again in 2014. But it'll be a tough battle.

4. March Madness

1. I didn't win the billion dollar bracket (nor did anyone else).

2. Witchita State was overrated (but great season, y'all!)

3. Kentucky should NOT have been an 8 seed, and Connecticut should not have been a 7 seed. #weak

4. As is typical, some lower seeded teams beat higher seeded, such as Mercer over Duke which blew up everyone's bracket. Except for the few who picked Mercer.

5. Kentucky and Connecticut played for the national championship, just like we all thought and Connecticut won. 

Wait a minute...Connecticut won?

That, my friends, brings us up to speed to current times where we are now at the beginning of the NHL and NBA playoffs. Most of you know by now, I don't tend to follow the NBA all that closely. The only reason I know anything about the NBA is because:

1. I live in LA. #LakeShow #ClipShow

2. The national media loves the NBA and my two radio choices in the morning (Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd) LOVE to talk NBA.

I don't really have much thought on this as I didn't watch much of the NBA this season. I'll watch some of the playoff games, and I'll root for the Clippers because well, I don't have an NBA team that I've consistently rooted for and I live in LA. 

NHL playoffs, on the other hand, is a different story. I'm definitely engaged in the hockey playoffs and in more recent years have become much more of a fan. But, my appreciation for hockey and thoughts on the NHL playoffs deserve it's own post, so more to come on this subject shortly.

Until then...