Let's Vent

As I promised here are my thoughts for last week, sorry they're a little late.

5. PED PROBLEMS IN MLB… AGAIN

With Melky Cabrera testing positive first and then Bartolo Colon shortly after I think it is safe to say that we are nowhere near done with the PED problems. With two high profile players getting busted we can only assume that more will come shortly, I think it’s time for a more sever punishment to deter guys from taking these drugs or supliments.

4. 297 pound 6^th grader is denied the opportunity to play in the local youth league

            There are plenty of issues going on in this story. For 1 the fact that there is a 300 lb 6^th grader is an issue in our country. In reality he is 6 feet 1inch tall so he is not necessarily fat but he is still a very large person. 2) the fact that his parents know the clear cut rules of the league and are still arguing the verdict is annoying. The rules clearly say that you must not way more than 140 pounds to play in the league. Sorry but this isn’t even close your kid doesn’t fit the limit. And its not like this means he can’t play football this year. He can still play on his schools 6^th grade team, although if I were the high school I would think about giving him a call.

3. Uniforms are becoming more important than the game

            This is primarily a football issue now however it is expanding. At what point did someone say “hey lets make our uniforms just look crazy as possible that way when we get beat at least we will look good” What happened to one color scheme and go out there and pummel your opponent. For example University of Texas or Alabama, these schools have made one or two changes in the last 50 years and they have been part of an elite group in college football. Now uniforms are so important ESPN has done a story ranking the top 122 Professional uniforms. C’mon Man

2. College football starts this week

Finally! I have been waiting since January of last year for this season. As an Ohio State fan I haven’t been this excited in a long time. Urban Meyer is in Columbus now and he brought in a great offensive coordinator in Tom Heremon. Braxton Miller gives Meyer the perfect QB for system. OSU is not the only thing to be excited about though, I constantly hate on Notre Dame but, it is pretty awesome that they open the year with Navy in Dublin, Ireland

1. Lance Armstrong stripped

The greatest cyclist ever has been stripped of his 7 Tour De France medals. The USADA stripped the medals after Armstrong decided he was done with the “witch hunt” and chose to not enter arbitration to continue to clear his name of doping rumors. The fact that Armstrong is stripped of the wins is ludacris. He routinely passed drug tests. We as Americans will always see Armstrong as an American icon, taking the medals will not change who people view as the actual winner. He dominated Cancer and dominated cycling. No agency will take that way.

Welcome Back Football Season!

It has been a while since I have written anything, but trust me that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking all this time I have been away. I seem to have come back at the exact right time because in just 9 days college football returns and that could be some of the best news I have heard in a long time. Trust me, I will be doing more than fair amounts of writing about college football this year. Also I will be doing a post every Friday called “I need to vent” so that should be fun, be sure to check back in this Friday for that. But enough of that boring stuff let’s get to the real reason you all are on this page.

I have embarked on a new journey this year. Something I had always wanted to do but never did, I am coaching football.

That means that every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I get to witness bone crushing hits, great blocking schemes, and of course a high powered offense… Well sort of.

That’s at least how I see it in my mind; in all reality it’s more along the lines of mad chaos. But of course that is expected I guess when you are coaching 1^st and 2^nd graders. Bone crushing hits are more like telling kids to stop licking each other, great blocking schemes are more like tying a kids shoe every 15 minutes because they don’t know how yet, and high powered offense is more like hoping that we don’t fumble it before the quarterback even gets the ball. Some people may see this as tedious or annoying and others may even claim that its not even really football, but when you stop and look, it really is the purest form of football.

Watching kids want to learn everything they can about football is a breath of fresh air. Every kid wants to learn how to tackle and block (which is a rare thing to have in football players). Is it comical watching a 4 foot person run a round with a helmet bigger than him, absolutely but the best part is when that same kid smiles because he scored a touchdown or made a tackle. And it all makes it worth it to hear a kid say “Coach this is the greatest day of my life, because I finally get to play tackle football”. That’s what it’s all about, it’s the love of the game not the money or the cheers. Just the fact that they get to play is good enough for them.

Welcome back football season, you have been missed.

"Hotter Than a Pistol"

Six years ago this past Wednesday a New York teen took the nation by storm, as he scored 20 points in the last four minutes of the last game of his high school career.

He didn't go on to play college basketball or make it to the NBA, in fact it was the only game he ever played in. Most of you have probably forgotten about the story of Jason McElwain, but I most definitely have not. In fact it would be quite opposite. I think about this story almost everyday. Having a mentally handicapped younger brother (his name is Colten) I have an emotional bond to this story, you see Jason wasn't a "normal" kid in high school. Jason is autistic.

 He spent his high school years as a manager for the basketball team and finally on the last game of his senior year his coach decided to let him dress, and with the team having a large lead the coach decided to put him in. Missing his first two shots didn't discourage him in fact it did the opposite, because like many handicapped people failure is not an option, obstacles are only created so that they can be concurred and that is when it happened, 6-10 on 3's and a total of 20 points in 4 minutes. When asked of his performance Jason replied "I was really hotter than a pistol" He instantly became an inspiration to everyone.

I often wonder what my brother Colten could do athletically if he was physically and mentally able. I always assumed he would be a better athlete than my brother and I put together. Though he can't communicate it, you can see the determination to succeed in his eyes. I think that is why I love this story so much, because Jason did succeed and proved to the entire country that being handicapped isn't a reason to quit. It's just a reason to try harder. 

Take a second and watch the video... I get chills every time I see it.