I Don't Believe In Color, I Believe In People.

As most of you know I am not a big baseball fan. But in my Spanish class I had to write a paper about something Spanish and since I know nothing except sports I wrote mine over Roberto Clemente. Now I will warn you it is more reading than usual, but it is one of my favorite papers of all time.... Enjoy!

Many people had a hand in breaking the racial barrier in baseball, every sports fan knows the name Jackie Robinson and knows that he was the big reason the game is where it is today. A lot of people don’t give some of the credit where it is due; Roberto Clemente further solidified the fact that African-Americans and Latinos can play in the majors. Clemente proved it by his play, racking up 14 all-star games, four batting titles, 12 consecutive Golden Glove awards, National League Most Valuable Player in 1966, and two world championships in 1960 and 1971. He did all of this in his 18-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates that would eventually land him in Cooperstown, in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Roberto Clemente was born in 1934 near San Juan, Puerto Rico. As Clemente grew up he found a love for the sport of baseball. His love for the sport grew stronger as Puerto Rico became a main stable for barnstorm teams. Many African- American players from the United States would come and play because at the time they were not allowed to play in the big leagues. Clemente’s favorite player to watch in these barnstorm games was Monte Irvin, who went on to later join the Hall of Fame. Watching players like Irvin solidified the fact that Clemente wanted to play in the big leagues some day.

Clemente would make it in the Big leagues at the age of 20. Clemente played one year in the minor leagues in Montreal and in 1955 the future Hall of Famer would make his major league debut. As Clemente entered the Majors he faced a lot of racial scrutiny from fans and some teammates. But when media would ask Clemente how he was handling it, he answered with a simple but famous quote “I don’t believe in color, I believe in people.”

For what Jackie Robinson became to African- Americans, Clemente became for Latinos. Latino children in New York were pretending to be Roberto Clemente. After Clemente entered the league in 1955 he would play 18 years in the Majors, which turned out to be an outstanding career. The New York Times said of Roberto Clemente “There is nothing he can’t do.” The New York Times was right, he could swing the bat like few others and was one of the greatest fielders of all time, however possibly more important than what he accomplished on the ball diamond is what he accomplished off the field. Clemente was a humanitarian, someone who was always quick to help and volunteer his off time back in his home country of Puerto Rico.

On December 23, 1972 a tragic even occurred. In Managua, Nicaragua an earthquake took place killing 10,000 people. Eight days later, December 31, 1972, Roberto Clemente had heard that the dictatorship of Nicaragua was misusing the donated aid and would board a flight full of supplies for the victims in Nicaragua in hopes that his help could convince the dictatorship to do the right thing. However shortly after the plane took flight it crashed in to the Atlantic Ocean, Clemente’s body was never found. Clemente compiled an illustrious 18-year career that made him the first Latino in the Hall of Fame; Clemente was also the 11^th player in the history of the sport to record 3,000 hits.

Well unfortunately it is that time of year. That time when football has come to an end.

It may seem a bit odd or ridiculous to many of you, but I truly get an extremely sad feeling for a few days after the Super Bowl because I know I have to wait 7 months before I get to see football again.

But while I deal with my sadness for the next few days, I also get to look back and remember the year and the reasons that I love this game.

We watched America's team the Dallas Cowboys crumble right in front of us. We saw the current longest tenured coach get fired. And we watched a 7-9 Seattle Seahawks upset the defending Super Bowl champs in the first round of the playoffs.

We watched a one-time super star get another chance at glory in Michael Vick. Many thought he would never get a shot to redeem himself, but with one quick injury to Eagle's starter Kevin Kolb, Vick got his chance and never looked back. He won a large majority of the country back over with his new image and with the way he played. He went on to win comeback player of the year.

On the flip side of watching a player rise above the odds, we cringed as we watched an all-time great in Brett Favre fizz out. We saw his 300 consecutive starts come to a close in Minnesota and watched him stand on the sidelines for the remainder of the season like a washed up, old man.

Across the state line in Wisconsin we got to watch a star be born. And in the biggest game of the year we watched Brett Favre's replacement in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers, win his first Super Bowl and propel himself into elite quarterback status.

That is what's so great about football. The passion and drama that surrounds the game is above all other sports. The NFL is a complete roller coaster all year and that is why it is so entertaining.

So while it is another 7 months until the opening game (assuming there is no lockout), we get to enjoy all of these memories that were made this year. And we get to look forward the memories that will be made next year. Congrats to the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.

Who would have thought??? Oh yeah, ME!

Unbelievable... who would have thought that at this point in the collegiate football season, the sycamores would be the best football team in the state of Indiana. The sycamores stand at 5-3 on the season and tied for second in the Missouri valley conference. With northern Iowa coming to Terre Haute this weekend to play the sycamores, the sycamores have an opportunity to take the lead in the conference with a win. Who would have thought that the sycamores would already have 5 wins?

Now usually I don’t like to brag and toot my own horn on things because it is tacky, however, I feel like this is different. I have told people for 3 years now that the sycamores would gradually get better and that people needed to be patient and if you don’t believe me here is the proof (http://thesportsvent.blogspot.com/2009/10/get-off-their-backs.html). This team is so different from others, with the addition of offensive coordinator Steve Englehart and players like transfer from Washington Ronnie Fouch and parade All-American freshman Shakir bell the offense has exploded. Averaging nearly 40 points a game the sycamores are a blast to watch. So what is keeping people from coming out to watch? The sycamores are 5-3 and have a great offense and it is cheap. People need to get out and support this team, just once. After you watch them and see how good they are come find me and tell me I was right.

Tis' The Season

There is no feeling quite like it... You get knots in your stomach as you notice the leaves changing color and falling to the ground.... as the air gets a little cooler and the days get a little shorter, you slowly start to realize football is back. For me there is no greater time of the year than fall... When I wake up early in the morning I get that same feeling I got for most of my life... I always feel as though I should be grabbing my shoulder pads and helmet and jogging out to the field. That's the power the sport has... It never quite leaves you, even when you are done playing. You always go back to the thought of early morning sprints when you walk through the morning dew, Or the great feeling of almost being done with practice when the sun is setting.

At an early age I knew i wanted to play the sport, one of my first words was touchdown and I always had a high interest in everything about the sport; playing it, coaching it, and talking about it.

Some people laugh at the idea that it is more than just a game, but they just don't understand. Football is not just a game, it's a way of life... if you are a part of the game it effects you in ways you can't imagine. For me it gave me some of my best friends, my best memories... and it was a way to connect our family. In high school it brought some of the best times and also some of the worst..

Nothing in the fall makes me happier than driving down the road and looking in the yards as i pass and seeing a father and son toss the pigskin or a group of kids playing a pick up game in a school yard or pee wee football practice...

It's a sport full of tradition... like playing a family pick up game after eating turkey on thanksgiving, or generation after generation rooting for an alma mater... or tailgating in the cold snow of late november..

There is nothing in the world like it... it is more than a game, it is all of these things I have mentioned and more.... to some people and towns it is all they have... it is their life.

I will never be able to explain the feeling the sport gives you to someone who has never played it, but I certainly wish I could.

In the words of Joe Namath“Football is an honest game. It's true to life. It's a game about sharing. Football is a team game. So is life.” That pretty much sums it up... It's not a game, It's life.

Favre Is At It Again.

Twenty years in the Nfl at the most important position in the game. That's crazy. I cannot explain to you how excited I am that Brett Favre is back for his 20th NFL season. The sad thing is I feel as if I am the only one. The thing I don't understand is why?...
Why is it that people have come to despise Brett Favre. People call him a traitor, but was it not the Packers that didn't want him back... I get it Aaron Rogers is the future, you cant tell me that he is a better quarterback than Brett Favre. The Packers made it to the conference finals and were one play away from the championship, why would you not want to give it a shot the next year... I understand that he "retired" but the guy put the Packers back on the map... yet they easily shunned him with no regrets.
So then he takes a little detour threw New York/ New Jersey only to "retire" again, but wait... he decides to wait until August 18th to decide to play for the Minnesota Vikings... (gasp in shock)... is it really that shocking? No, he wanted to be there all along, he wanted to be able to play his Packers twice a year and he wanted to beat them twice a year. So once again Favre puts on his helmet fastens his one band chin strap and goes out to have his best statistical season of his career. In his first game as a Viking he throws a game winning touchdown pass. He finished his 19th season with 4202 yards, 33 touchdowns to only 7 interceptions and a passer rating of 107 that ranked 3rd in the league... oh and he led the vikings to the NFC championship.
The season ended and speculations began... people started saying things. "oh he'll be back" or "there is no way he comes back". But we never heard from Brett, he just continued to ride the tractor down in good ole' Hattisburg, Mississippi. But then he gave a little hint, he was meeting with doctor James Andrews about surgery on his ankle? Why would he do that? Duh! so he could come back and play. But he never said either way and then one day on ESPN it was official Favre was going to retire, he was throwing footballs to high school kids just like he had done the summer before, but everyone was positive he was done, everyone was saying it; except Brett. Then just as it happened the summer before Brett announced he would play one more year and just as last summer he arrived on August 18th in Minnesota...
So people call him wishy washy, a flip flopper... but really did he not do it the exact same way last year? Couldn't it just be that he is almost 41 and doesn't want to do training camp anymore.. I mean in 20 years of playing the game professionally I think you kinda figure out what you are doing. So don't act surprised... Here's to you Brett I'm beyond happy you are back for another.

The Decision???? Really?

It's 8:54 p.m. on July 8th of 2010, I have my soda and my phone by me and I am anxiously awaiting possibly the most important decision in the history of sports. What will LeBron James do?

9 finally rolls around and I can hardly wait, only to find out that I would wait another 30 minutes for the "King" to make his decision. And then when he finally did make his decision, it wasn't even exciting... I don't know if I was expecting fireworks to go off or possibly the entire Earth to shake, but nothing happened. They went straight in to asking him questions and I was left with the feeling of disappointment. I had wasted an hour of my time. I could have done many other things during that hour and then just read that he was going to Miami on the ticker at the bottom of the screen.

And on top of that it wasn't even a shock because espn's sources told everyone where he was going 15 minutes before he made the decision. More importantly he let down the entire sports world... just when I thought we finally had a guy in sports that cared about his team and his fans, he decides to leave the place he grew up and the fans that LOVED him unconditionally. Now, obviously people are going to look at this and say " The league is a business and he made a business decision" well say what you want but I think it is disappointing. Imagine if Michael Jordan had decided in 1990 that the bulls just weren't competitive enough and he was going to leave and go to the Knicks because he wanted to play with John Starks and Patrick Ewing because he thought it would be the best chance to win a championship.... if that had happened there would be no MJ as we know him or the Bulls of the 90's or Phil Jackson which means there is no Lakers championships... see the trickle effect it could have had. But instead MJ decided that he could lead a team and that he didn't need to run to the help of other super stars... LeBron did the opposite.. he couldn't handle the challenge. Really there wasn't much challenge, the Cavs had the best record in the NBA... LeBron just couldn't deliver, so he went somewhere that could deliver to him instead. Imagine what could have been if LeBron had stuck it out... it had potential to be a pretty cool thing. LeBron wins a championship in Cleveland and becomes a sports icon. Instead he runs with his tail between his legs and wins championships with the aid of other stars causing LeBron to fall to the bottom of the list as one of the greats. Good "Decision" LeBron.

Don't punish the game

As I was on my lunch break I did as I always do. I ate my lunch and then got on sports illustrated's website. While on the site I came across a story called " Is Football Too Dangerous ". Now, obviously football is dangerous. You have 22 men on the field at one time just pummeling each other. But the question in the article was whether it was so dangerous that kids should not play the game. As a hardcore fan of football this question scares me, if kids aren't playing the game then the game would stalemate and come to an end, and let's face it if we take football away from kids in school it would be just as the great Vince Lombardi said " A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a midievil study hall". For many kids football is an escape from the outside struggles of life.
While many view the game as extremely dangerous, it's not. Just as anything, if you don't do it right it is dangerous. For example, if you are not taught how to drive, than obviously you are a danger on the road to yourself and others. This is the same in football. There is a proper way to tackle; head up, shoulders square and facemask in the opponents chest. There is also a certain way to run the ball, and block. If these things are not done right then it puts everyone in the game in danger.
You have just as good a chance to get hurt in football as you do in every other sport. Basketball and cycling rank ahead of football in injuries per year. And football is only ahead of trampolines and soccer by 100,000.
Last year there were .13 deaths per 100, 000 in football, in drivers there were 48.2 deaths per 100, 000. Does this mean you should also prohibit your teens from driving? Just to put it in perspective 31 people died from dog attacks in 2008 (not counting pit bulls) so should you just not own a dog.
Lets not get crazy about this whole "is football too dangerous?". We know it is dangerous, but rather than avoiding kids playing, let's instead try to teach them the right way to play the game. Don't punish the game just because some coaches and parents aren't teaching the game properly.