Tag: Champions

The Week That Changed My Life

kennyroo

This year, my club volleyball team California Heat had the opportunity to go to the Volleyball Festival, which is otherwise known as Nationals, in Phoenix, Arizona. We left on a Tuesday night at 12 a.m. so we could drive all night. The 4 teams took a gigantic tour bus that drove from state to state. With parents in tow behind us, it took us a total of eight hours to get there.

While sitting on a bus for that long is not super fun by any means, it created memories that I will never forget. The bus pulled up to our home for the next week and we all unloaded. After catching up on some much needed sleep, some girls from my team and I explored downtown Phoenix. The next day we had our first nine-hour set of playing volleyball in Arizona, which took a toll on all of us.

We as a team are used to long tournaments, but the thought that it was our life for the next week was daunting. After our long days of playing, the team and parents went out to dinner. Not only was playing nine to eleven-hour tournaments with my team a fear that we all conquered together, but also the time we had off the court was unforgettable. It is so interesting how experiences that a group shares together transform us all in the same way. Driving away from Arizona I felt like I did not only leave a 1st place champion, I left with memories I will take with me to my grave.

festival
Photo Credit To: http://www.volleyball-festival.com/

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King Without A Crown

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

No, I am not going to write a blog about Matisyahu’s song, but it is good, no I am talking about my beloved Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.

What happened?

They came back after the break which was way too long might I add, and the first game back the Blackhawks destroyed them.

How does a team go from best 8 seed in the western conference to #1 in the NHL one season and then come back to be 28th in the league and last in their division.

So far this season they have a record of 3-5-2 and only a total of 8 points from a possible 20, a 14 point gap between the #1 Chicago Blackhawks.

This is how last season started out and they came back to win the whole shabang, but keep in mind this is a shortened season.

The teams are playing pretty much half of a season, so there isn’t really room for anyone to mess up, but especially not for the reigning cup champions.

This past weekend the Kings played the Detroit Red Wings.

Despite defenseman Drew Doughty setting the tone early  with a monster hit on Pavel Datsyuk about 5 minutes after the puck dropped, the Kings were trailing 2-1 going into the second, and remained that way well into the 3rd.

The Kings picked up their play and were connecting on passes and shots, but nothing was getting past Jimmy Howard, and so I thought Jonathan Quick.

With 52.8 seconds left in the 3rd period Alec Martinez fired one past Howard just after Quick had skated to the bench to get an extra attacker out on the ice.

But with 4.5 seconds left Detroit Red Wings’ Jonathan Ericcson got one right through the pads of Quick, and it seemed to just slowly trickle past the goal line making it impossible for the Kings to come back, leaving them with yet another loss.

The Finale/Beginning of the NFL Season

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well it’s all over now. The Super Bowl is finished and another season is in the books. The Baltimore Ravens have emerged as the Super Bowl Champions over the favored San Francisco 49ers. The Ravens were in control for most of the game, and for a moment, really lost their edge. However, the Ravens were able to get it together when it mattered, and held on to win. The Harbowl ended with John very badly outcoaching his brother, Jim. John went for some very gutsy calls all game.

His first was a fake field goal run for Justin Tucker that while did not result in a first down or a score, resulted in a 3 and out for the 9ers on their own 6 yard line. It was a win-win for John. The next gut-wrencher was when John decided to call a pass on a 3rd down and short that resulted in a 15-20 yard gain from Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin. It was a great pass and catch, but was somewhat unneeded. The final one was the most impressive, however. With 13 seconds left in the game, the punter, Sam Koch, must have been told to HOLD ONTO THE BALL AT ALL COSTS. DO NOT PUNT. DO NOT FUMBLE!!!

The play resulted in the 9ers getting a safety. But the clock ran down so far, that Colin Kaepernick was not going to step on the field again. The game was left to the return game with only 4 seconds left. The kick off was taken and the rest is history. No score meant a ravens victory.

My shoutout goes to Ray Lewis, who has been an idol of mine since the very beginning. I gotta love that guy.

The 2012/2013 season has come to a close, but the new 2013/2014 season began at 12 AM eastern time. The new season is an hour and a half old. Time to get back to work. Many trades, contracts and player drama will occur in the coming months. Free agency opens in a month and a half, which is one of my favorite times of the league year. I love watching money go flying. Hopefully my Eagles can pick up some big names. But the night belongs to Baltimore. Congratulations to Ray Lewis on finishing his career on a high note, and congrats to the Baltimore Ravens. They earned it!

And we’re back!

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

Well, Saturday marked the first day of the 2012-2013 NHL season, well I guess the 2013 season at least.

It was a long and frustrating lockout, but the teams are back lacing up the skates and getting out on the ice.

I witnessed a moment in history that will only happen once, and that was watching my beloved Los Angeles Kings raise their first Stanley Cup banner up into the rafters at Staples Center.

While watching the captains of the team skate the flag out to center ice I started to feel something.

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Unsporting Conduct

therightliberalLeave a comment

In the Champions League clash (in more than one respect) between AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs, Gennaro Gattuso lost his head…again.

Gennaro Gattuso has a reputation as a hard man, but so did Joe Jordan during his playing days

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.

Gennaro Gattuso and Joe Jordan and Harry Redknapp

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.