My room, 11:46: If you walked in you’d find me watching game film. I had a coke in hand so as not to doze off during the 4th quarter, and as I tried to find a comfortable position, my eyes were ever glued to my computer screen. Deficits of 13-0, 35-28 and 40-32 were erased as we fought with such resilience and the grit of warriors that even the most unemotional soul would have burst into applause.
When it got there, to the play I wanted, I rewinded and replayed until I was satisfied. I remember it as if I was still there. Ojai Valley School running “Duke,” a defensive play. Less than half a minute to go, 49-48 Thacher. Thacher’s guard throws the ball away, I hustle the width of the court to retrieve the ball before it went out. I get it, immediately pass to guard Alex Alvirez. The pump fake, defender goes flying by, Alex drains the three, we’re up 51-49. My Facebook status after the game received comment after comment describing the back and forth, come from behind win in their gym as, “intense.”
Category: sports
Unsporting Conduct
In the Champions League clash (in more than one respect) between AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs, Gennaro Gattuso lost his head…again.
After the final whistle, Gattuso went over to the Tottenham bench and got in a verbal argument with assistant coach Joe Jordan. That argument quickly got physical and ended with Gattuso headbutting Jordan.
I have always been a Gattuso fan and that will not change. He is a passionate player who sometimes lets his emotions get in the way of the skill he has. Part of the reason I like him so much is that I have a very similar style. I too lose my head and I play very physical.
Many players have jumped on the “Gattuso is a nasty person” bandwagon. But there is always two sides. Gattuso would not have headbutted Joe Jordan without provocation.
I am not trying to defend Gattuso’s actions because they are not appropriate. However, people should try to understand the circumstances. It is a huge game and AC Milan had just lost. It had been a physical and quite nasty game. supposedly Joe Jordan also said some very nasty insults to Gattuso as well.
UEFA should suspend Gattuso and I am sure they will. Gattuso has already said that he understands that he has messed up and is willing to take any punishment handed out to him.
In my mind people should accept Gattuso’s apology and move on. Don’t hate a player because he messed up. This is the same as Zinedine Zidane: we can be upset by what happened but we should not let the incident diminish the accomplishments of Gattuso.
The Ventura County Fusion
For the last 3 years, I have been working part-time with a professional football team in the city of Ventura. The team, The Ventura County Fusion, is going into its fifth season in the PDL.
The PDL is the fourth tier of professional football in the United States. That does not sound like it would make a team prestigious but the Fusion are an exception.
The Fusion have played teams from the highest level including Burnley and Everton. They have also played team such as Real Salt Lake, Columbus Crew and most recently the Portland Timbers (the Fusion were the first team to play Portland’s new MLS team).
In 2009 the Fusion won the PDL Championship, an incredible feat for a team in only its third season. The PDL is made up of 64 teams and the Fusion topped them all. In their last season they finished first place In the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.
We Believe: A Look Back to The 2007 Golden State Warriors
“…and at point guard, number 5, BAAAAAAAARON DAAAAAAAAVIS!!!!!!!!!!” that was the point at which you couldn’t hear anything save for the sound of over 20 thousand fans screaming their heads off, myself included. It was February 1st, 2007, and Oracle Arena, the home court of the Golden State Warriors, was literally full. I was twelve years old, and as I stood there screaming at the top of my lungs, I thought to myself, “this is so cool.” The warriors were having an incredible season, led by Baron Davis and backed by second season player and future star Monta Ellis, the warriors were having their best season in around twenty years.
The particular game I was at was against the Charlotte Bobcats. My parents had gotten tickets for the whole family, and my two siblings and I were ecstatic to be seeing “The Warriors” firsthand. The warriors went on to win the game 127-94, and after the game my family stuck around to chat with some friends of ours. I was sitting in my seat when I saw him walk onto the court. Baron Davis was standing maybe thirty yards away from me. I didn’t know what to do. The man who I practically worshiped was down on that court just talking to someone. I was dumbfounded.
I looked up at my brother, fourteen at the time, and said, “How do I get his autograph?” My brother stood me up, walked me down to the court, and told me, “Just ask for it.”
“Yo Baron!” He didn’t look. Probably because I was a twelve year old white boy yelling “Yo Baron!” to someone I had never met before in my life. My brother looked me in the eyes and said, “No, you call him ‘Mister Davis’ and you say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’” I nodded, took a moment, and then said, “excuse me Mr. Davis?” He looked over at me. My brother was right, it was working. “Could I please have your autograph” My voice was quieter than I wanted it to be, but I just I handed him my Warriors hat and a black sharpie.
I remember his reply as if it was happening all over again. He laughed and replied, “Sure thing, little man.” I watched in awe as he scribbled an oddly shaped B Davis onto the brim of the hat. “Thank you” I said as I practically flew up the stairs in sheer excitement.
I still have that hat, and, in case you were wondering, no, I haven’t actually worn it outside since.
Painting Manchester Red
Being a loyal Manchester United fan, I awoke at the lovely time of 4:30am to watch the Man U vs. Man City game. The derby always brings out the raw emotions in players and fans, two teams fighting over bragging rights.
This derby did not disappoint. There were moments that I was on the verge of screaming at the television (the only thing holding me back was the fear of waking my mother).
United got a goal near the end of the first half thanks to some great skill by Nani, a player who has stepped up to fill a spot that needed filling. At this point I was confident that this was United’s game to win.
And then that feeling changed. David Silva (who had a marvelous game) scored in the 65th minute. I became very worried. City was able to attack to easily and United looked to have nothing going forward.
But then Wayne Rooney came to the rescue. The goal Rooney got was quite possibly the greatest goal I have ever seen. The skill needed to perform such a shot is out of this world, added to that is the fact that it was in one of the biggest games of the season against United’s hated rival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiVVNax8LVU
When Rooney scored his miraculous goal I could not help but jump off the couch and start pumping my fists (still to scared to yell).
Manchester United was able to hold on and win, despite some great football by City. This game almost certainly knocked City out of the title race. It also keeps United 4 points clear of Arsenal.
A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do
Ladies and gentlemen, pay attention so you don’t get me wrong.
Just like the majority of American viewers on July 8th 2010, I just loved having an hour of my free time devoted to some creep in a purple dress shirt form a relevant sentence only to break the collective heart of an entire state. I just loved it.
Some may call him arrogant, some, overrated, some may call him a straight up a-hole, but hear me out here: “the decision” is seeming to work out, not just for The Miami Heat, but for LeBron James himself in more ways than one when it comes to winning basketball games.
Oh Say Can You Sing?
You might find this post a massive waste of time, but as a musician I think this story will and should have an enormous impact on the world of music…well, maybe not that big, but perhaps a tickle.
GET THIS!
Musical goddess, role model and icon, Christina Aguilera – who once acted as a leader in a self-conscious, self-doubting community – made a major boo-boo at this year’s Super Bowl.
X-Tina fans all over the world were on the edge of their seats waiting with anxiety to hear the first note of our country’s theme song flow from Christina’s mouth.
Emotions were on the rise as the announcer introduced the singer to the stadium.
“Ladies and gentlemen, 5 time Grammy award winner, Christina Aguilera!”
Mic raised, she slowly opened her ruby red painted lips and when she sang the first word the butterflies from our stomachs fluttered. She was on fire. Singing with her soulful, trademark melisma – or more commonly known as vocal gymnastics – spirits were being lifted.
Super Bowl Sunday Isn’t So Super For Numerous Ticket Holders
While fans crowded with their green and gold jerseys, I can imagine many being quite envious of those who were sitting in the stands, feeling the intense excitement and suspense. Unfortunately, this group of envious supporters didn’t just consist of those watching through the television screen, but also many of those who were turned away from their thousand dollar stadium seats, minutes before the game started.
This Sunday, over 1,000 ticket holders were turned away from their seats after sections of the Cowboys Stadium’s bleachers were left uncompleted.
Wisconsin native Jim Rouleau, a Packers fan who held his season passes with pride, was told his $7,800 seats were “unavailable” and he and his friend simply “could not sit there.”
“We got all the way to our seats,” Rouleau said. “They just turned us away.”
With approximately 1,250 people having bought tickets with seats now deemed unavailable, Mr. Rouleau was not the only one who was simply turned away.
And even though the N.F.L. was able to supply 850 of these confused fans with relocated seating, the several hundred others were left to wait in line, hoping for some type of plausible solution.
Eventually, these unsatisfied ticket holders were either turned away or invited to enjoy the game at one of the stadium’s local clubs. The N.F.L. promised a refund worth three times the ticket’s face value.
However, the $800 to $900 face value of most of these tickets didn’t even come close to the true amount of thousands of dollars numerous customers paid for these seats.
“I’ve just lost eight grand,” said the Dallas lawyer Bradley Geier who spent $9,700 for two tickets that had a face value of $900 each. “Just because they decided to put seats where they shouldn’t.”
These fans not only lost money and an amazing experience, but they also had to undergo the horrid security checks before they were informed of their ticket’s disablement.
“The frustrating thing here is that they wait till the day of the game to say these auxiliary seats aren’t good?” said Dan McGinnity of Spokane, Washington, a Packers fan who paid $900 for his ticket. “Don’t they have any sort of plan ahead of time?”
With this question left unanswered, we can only hope that next year wont face the same dilemma.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/sports/football/07fans-super-bowl-dallas.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB
Emotions
Football brings fire to my veins. I am an emotional player by nature. I commit hard tackles, scream my head off and have a tendency to tell the refs my honest opinion of their most recent call.
But one thing in particular that I love about football (and other team sports as well) is the sense of a brotherhood. I love playing for a team where I know that every one of the guys wearing the same jersey as me has my back. I love the confidence it gives me. I love the passion that it brings onto the pitch.
Many people call it a family but I do not see it that way. It is more primordial, raw emotions. There are many times that those emotions overpower my common sense to the point that my actions are run totally off of testosterone. But that is the greatest high in the world.
Football is a team sport. Nothing gets done unless players work together. That mentality leads to a relationship among players that cannot be understood by anyone who has not experienced it.
I love football because I know I can leave everything I have on the pitch and my teammates will be there right by me. I love football because no matter what the circumstance we play to win and stop at nothing.
Puppy Bowl
Today, the most important football game in American history took place. That’s right, the 2011 Puppy Bowl. The Puppy Bowl, hosted by Animal Planet, is a football match that has puppies for players. The objective is to have the puppies carry the stuffed toy shaped like a football to the other side of the small stadium.
This wasn’t any Puppy Bowl though. This was the 7th annual Puppy Bowl with the Kitten Halftime show. They were better than the Black Eyed Peas though. One of the puppies was called for a call of “excessive cutness”. Which was a bummer because that puppy had a lot of potential. If anyone were to stray from their couches and change the channel during the really important super bowl, the Puppy Bowl VII would have been the best choice.
OVS Journalism Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.