Category: sports

Back where it belongs

shredicusmaximusLeave a comment

When he left Green Bay in 2008, twas the end of an era. Brett Favre had left for the bright lights of the big city leaving the reins in the quiet, soft spoken hands of Aaron Rogers. Reminiscent of Friday Night Lights, a show thats first season tells the story of a change. The star quarterback revered by the community and nation, is thanks to circumstance, leaves responsibility in the hands of an untested new comer. Enter Aaron Rogers, three seasons later (tonight), an elite quarterback in the NFL.

Their opponents tonight were no walk in the park. The Pittsburgh Steelers after all, were the six time Super Bowl champions with one of the best QB’s in the NFL and the Defensive Player of the Year in Troy Polamalu. This was the final test for a resilient Green Bay team.

First the Eagles, then the Falcons, then the rival Chicago Bears, the path was paved and the stage was set for Super Bowl 45 in Dallas. Ending just at 7:08 pacific time, the Vince Lombardi trophy, named for the legendary hall of fame coach that formed Green Bay’s first NFL dynasty, returned to its city of origin. The packing city of cold beer and cheese heads.

Here’s the jist of it all.

Behind a likable cast of veterans and all stars, Aaron Rogers threw three touchdown passes, two to Greg Jennings and the other to Jordy Nelson. We also witnessed a solid game from veteran “good guy” wide receiver Donald Driver. The victory was that much more special to Driver considering my friends and I may have witnessed his last NFL game. A “pick 6” from Nick Collins and solid defensive games from Clay Matthews and AJ Hawk. The defense proved clutch enough to out last a gutsy late game attack even with the loss of half the starting back field including pro bowler Charles Woodson. James Starks had 52 rushing yards. Last but certainly not least, with a rating of 110, Aaron Rogers has now established himself as an elite NFL QB with the highest QB passer rating of anyone in NFL postseason history.

Tonight’s game was truly a back and forth match up. Pittsburgh had its own share of good performances notably from Rashard Mendelhall and Mike Wallace but in the end, it was Green Bay who persevered. Through all the tests Aaron Rogers has faced and for the entire team, after each challenge was conquered and the final whistle blown, tonight’s victory was as sweet as ever. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is back where it belongs.

The Music Behind The Superbowl

dmilesburtonLeave a comment

By the time my editor gets to this, the Superbowl may have come and gone, and this story may seem extremely outdated. However, at the time of its conception and all the while that it was being written, it was extremely up to date, and by that I mean the day before the Superbowl. The story, which I have so elusively spoken of up to this point, is a story about a song that has come to define this 2010-2011 sports season. Steeler’s tribute “Black & Yellow.” The song by up and coming rapper Wiz Khalifa has received quite a lot of attention, peaking at number three on the billboard hot 100, going double platinum, and having nine remakes made about other sports teams alone (with countless other remakes and remixes done as well). Most predominately Lil’ Wayne’s newly released Packers tribute “Green and Yellow,” which marks the coming Superbowl (which, for those who don’t yet know, features both the Steelers and the Packers). The buzz these songs have caused has brought a new intensity to sport’s fans love of their hometown and its teams.

The style of these songs has changed the way people relate to sports, or, more accurately, broadened the way people relate to sports. The idea of using the influence of a musician to promote a cause of theirs is becoming a trend, and more and more people are catching on. When it comes to so many people using his song, Wiz doesn’t seem to be complaining. The extra press has only sent the song upwards on the charts as has the Steelers success this season. When interviewed by VIBE, he said, “People can’t box my sound in anymore… I’m just happy that my music reflects that.”

Here’s tonight’s starting lineup for cinema

shredicusmaximusLeave a comment

Good evening ladies and gents, this is Ryland coming at you once again with another rocking review of life, cinema, and sports. Today, I will be combining all three for your reading pleasure. How awesome is that? Now as you all clearly know by now, I am a supreme movie buff who loves his sports teams and loves to describe things at length. First though, let me give you some background information. Not this one, but the coming Monday is Valentines Day. You know about that famous day that is known for chocolate, the color red, and hearts as far as the eye can see, giving Hallmark a bump up in the stock market for a day and reminding singles of their sad truths? It also brings the beginning of Ojai Valley School‘s baseball season. I thought it would fit well considering I love baseball so very much. So tonight, I thought it’d be fun to recap my top 5 favorite baseball movies of all time. Read up and I’ll be back in time for the 7th inning stretch.

5: Beer League
This one probably will not belong with the proceeding heavy weight talent, however this one is the brain child of one of my favorite comedians, Artie Lange. This is the story of Artie DeVanzo, a classic underachiever with a slow pitch softball batting average of .450 and a blood alcohol content of .16. Through the companionship of his love interest and determination to defeated the hated rival, Artie leads his rag tag group of teammates from softball ineptitude to the championship game leaving a ball busting trail of laughter and memories along the way.

4: The Natural
This movie simply shows that age is merely a state of mind. The classic tale of Roy Hobbs tells the story of a once promising baseball player derailed by a gunshot wound. His comeback and resilience in the face of constant sabotage is admirable and inspiring to say the least. His persistence through pain and tape measure home runs will leave any baseball player telling their bat boy to “pick them out a winner.” This coming season, I am going to name my bat “Wonder Boy” thanks to this piece of cinematic excellence.

3: Field of Dreams
The only Kevin Costner performance I have ever sat through 100%. This movie makes the list not necessarily because of the action, but because of the passion, the heart, the light hearted absurdity, the attractive impulsivity, and most of all the belief that the amazing can come true. The scene at the end can drive those who have a similar father/son bond to tears and if not, a lip quiver and the 1919 Whitesox were as real as could be pictured. Not to mention the classic speech delivered from the timeless wisdom of James Earl Jones. The speech I will admit I have on my ipod, and for good reason too.

2: The Sandlot
This is a story of friendship and about the summer of a life time. A memoir of the summer of 62′, Scotty Smalls moves to California with no friends and no baseball IQ whatsoever. When he sees the kids at the sandlot, he is driven away in embarrassment. Thanks to the leader of the gang Benny however, Scotty slowly but surely learns the game, about baseball, and what it is to be included. This movie will leave you reciting lines over and over again and the way Squints made the move on the lifeguard will go down in history. An absolute classic movie indeed, The Sandlot is the whole package, drama, comedy, romance, baseball. What could be better?

drumroll please………..

1: 61* Trust me, I didn’t pick this for number one just because I’m a Yankee fan. This made for TV movie was made with all the passion a life long Yankee fan like Billy Crystal could muster up. Filmed during the peak of Baseball’s infamous steroid era, this film offers a positive, informative, and action packed history lesson as it accurately captures the 1961 season and the tale of two Yankees. Mickey Mantle (a living legend who is loved by all and has all the charm and talent one could ask for) and Roger Maris (a soft spoken family man from North Dakota who was one of the most misunderstood people in sports history) both chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record of 60. This film does such a wonderful job of capturing every possible nuance of what it was like day after pressure packed day for both of them, that you will truly feel genuine emotions for all involved. The action is fast and realistic, the history is accurate to every last detail, and you could tell the director was a fan. 61* is number 1 in my book.

First of the Fergu(sons) to Retire

therightliberalLeave a comment

Gary Neville has retired. This was a surprise for me, I did not see him going another season but I did not think that he would retire at this point, midway through the year.

This is the first of a batch of players to retire that were basically raised by Sir Alex Ferguson. This group of players includes Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Gary Neville’s brother Phil.

Sir Alex Ferguson has coached Gary Neville for 20 years, he made him into one of (if not the best) right backs in English Football. Gary Neville and the rest of that group have been like Ferguson’s sons over the years. There have been ups and downs but they have had a fantastic relationship on and off th pitch.

Gary Neville played 602 games for Manchester United, 85 for England. Those 602 games for one team is unbelievable. Ferguson mentioned that he does not think (and he is usually right) that 602 games will ever be matched by a EPL player, especially playing for just one team.

In all honesty I have never been a huge Neville supporter. It was not that I thought he was a bad footballer, his style just never interested me. However, I have immense respect for Gary Neville. He laid it all out on the field. He gave everything he had for Manchester United.

I can not say what Gary Neville’s legacy will be, all I can say is that I have immense respect for what he gave for United; all those times he trashed Liverpool, all the times he got in players faces, all the times when he challenged Ferguson.

Neville always reminded me of a pirate, not just how he looked but his hardened attitude and his tenacity, and for that I say thank you.

Shock Move

therightliberalLeave a comment

It has just come out that Fernando Torres has signed with Chelsea. This is a shocking move, one that was once considered a silly rumor.

What is being said right now is that Torres has been sold to Chelsea for about £45 million or about $72 million.

The Spanish international Torres has scored 65 goals in 102 EPL games, a very good record. However, Torres form in recent matches has not been like the Torres of old. I do not think he has looked very good since last season.

I was able to watch Torres play at the World Cup this last summer and I know he has talent. But he will be playing up top with Drogba, another great striker. I question whether the styles of Drogba and Torres will fit together for they are very different.

Drogba is a power players, crashing through defenses and blasting shots. Torres on the other hand has speed and agility, combined with a deadly accurate foot. If these two players can work together, Chelsea will be an incredibly deadly team. But if not, one of the strikers will leave, possibly ruining Chelsea.

Liverpool are getting a good deal here. Torres wanted out for quite a while and they are getting a very good price for a players that has not been playing up to his potential. Liverpool just added Suarez who is an attacking force, making up for the loss of Torres’ goal scoring capability.

This is a very interesting deal and the football world will be watching very closely at Fernando Torres’ performance the rest of the season. He now must put out £45 million performances every game.

X Games 15: Git Some.

dmilesburtonLeave a comment

Today I found out that the winter X Games just happened. Starting on January 27th and ending the 30th, they went down almost exactly as expected. Shaun White won the gold in men’s half pipe competition, with his worst run in the elimination round scoring five points higher than the second place Scotty Lago’s best run and being the only person to have any runs in that round that scored in the 90’s (both of his were in that range with run 1 scoring a 90.33 and run 2 scoring a 92.00). His second finals run scored him a 97.33, which tied the previous X Games record, also held by White, making this his fourth consecutive X Games gold.

The rest of the events were relatively similar, with an American winning a medal in almost every event and many athletes winning what they were predicted to win. The biggest surprise of the Games was when Norway’s Torstein Horgmo, with multiple broken ribs from an earlier crash, landed the first triple cork in X Games history. “It’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve done in my whole life,” he told ESPN after the jump. After landing the triple cork, he unstrapped from his board and removed his helmet, which he then punted into the crowd. With a score of 80 for the run, he won the gold, the only one this year for Norway.

The X Games remained a fun and exciting showcase of extreme winter sports, with Shaun White recently being rated the second most marketable athlete in the world after Peyton Manning, and Torstein Horgmo landing a trick never before done in the X Games. This was the kind of X Games you didn’t need to watch a lot of, but in the end, still had some parts that made the featured sports, well, extreme.

Soccer?

smackyjackjack2 Comments

Just the other day, my dad and I were talking about what were the most valuable sports teams in the world. He said Lakers, and I said that it had to be the Bulls. When I looked it up, I got a bit of a shock.

With Lakers being worth about 600 million dollars (according to Forbes), and the Bulls worth about 500 million, I figured that not a lot of teams could get much more valuable.  But boy was I wrong.

What I didn’t take into account was the world’s ridiculous obsession with soccer. Manchester United is worth a whopping $1.89  billion. $1.89  billion! How is there a single family owned team that is worth so much?

The answer lies with the strange relationship the world has with soccer (sorry, “futbol”)If you go anywhere in the world other than the US, then you can see what I mean. In places like Spain and Italy, soccer is huge. Why is that? It’s easy, can be played anywhere, and doesn’t require a lot of equipment. 

The one thing that the US has right is that soccer is a bummer. It is really boring to watch, and is frustrating to play. Whenever I play, I just wanna pick up the ball and throw it into the goal.

I guess I’m the odd one out.  The whole world cannot be wrong….usually. But a sport that’s played with your feet? Really?

Overlooked

therightliberal2 Comments

When I am asked who I think the footballer is, I always respond that the questioner must specify the position. For someone who has never played football it might be hard to understand, but the positions out on the soccer field are very different.

By far the most secluded player on any team is the goalkeeper. They have special rules for them , they wear a different jersey and they see a different game. When I say they see a different game I mean that they are able to see everything that goes on during a soccer game, watching from the back.

They have an incredibly hard job; telling people where to be and trying to organize a defence. They also face wickedly hard shots, diving to punch the ball away, slamming into the ground, sacrificing themselves.

As the saying goes, being a goalkeeper means long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

My mind is on this subject because today Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar announced he will be retiring at the end of this season. This is not a huge surprise given that he is 40, yet reading the headline I am filled with sadness.

Van der Sar came to United late in his career, after playing at Fulham and Juventus for many years as well as for the Netherlands. He gave United a real force at the back, giving the whole team confidence that even if there was a shot on goal, if it was a shot that could be saved, Van der Sar would save it.

He has been a leader and an inspiration to a position that is to often overlooked. It is the most stressful position on a football pitch and he controlled it gracefully. He has shown talent far above players half his age.

Despite family issues he gave everything he had for United, his most famous save coming against Nicholas Anelka in the Champions League final in 2008.

He will be remembered by United fans and I wish his the best of luck in whatever he does next.

Transfer Time

therightliberalLeave a comment

As it is January the EPL transfer season is open. Most deals are either completed right at the begining or in teh final hours. This years has not seen many big name transfers in or out of the EPL, mostly inpart due to the economy.

Patrice Evra

Sir Alex Ferguson decided against any big transfers. The players supported him in this choice with Rio Ferdinand saying, “I look around the changing room and I’m happy with the players we’ve got”. This lack of trading comes as no surprise as Man U are top of the league and have a fairly deep roster.

A story that has not received very much attention up to this point is the intrest in 17-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He currently plays for Southhampton but is interested in training with Arsenal. This is very similar to the path that Theo Walcott took, going from Southhampton to Arsenal at a young age.

From the scouting reports, Chamberlin has quite a bit of talent and potential. Arsenal is a very good team for developing youth and Chamberlin would be well suited to go there. Arsenal has a tendency to do a great job developing young players and then selling them. They look to break that cycle, keeping players like Samir Nasri.

Back to Normal

therightliberalLeave a comment

This week saw a return to the “normal” Premier League scores, at least so far. Man City went “top” after beating a feisty Wolves teams 4-3. I put top in parenthesis because Manchester United has three games in hand and are only one point back.

Carlos Tevez

Arsenal grabbed a 3-0 win over bottom of the table West Ham. This came as no surprise as a competent Arsenal team passed West Ham off the field, showing their superiority. In my opinion Arsenal are the prettiest team to watch in the EPL right now, they pass and move, creating beautiful chances, many of which they finish.

Robin Van Persie

Chelsea managed to get a 2-0 win over Blackburn despite their mediocre play. Drogba does not look like he has the power and ability that he did before getting malaria and I hope to see him get that back. Blackburn showed why English soccer has gotten a reputation as playing ugly soccer, lumping the ball up the field for their strikers to run on to. Although this technique can prove to be effective at times, they would have had a better chance at beating Chelsea if they utilized their midfield more.

Branislav Ivanovic

I am very excited for tomorrow as Liverpool takes on Everton and Manchester United battle Tottenham. The Liverpool game will be Reds Hero Kenney Dalglish’s first return back to Anfield, trying to stop Liverpool from losing any more precious points. United looks to remain undefeated and regain their top spot in the standings. Tottenham must do something they have not been able to do in a decade, beat Sir Alex Ferguson.

To follow tomorrow’s United vs. Tottenham game go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=293065&cc=5901