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At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

Someone Draw Dick Vitale A Map To Murray Kentucky

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I once worked at a summer camp in upstate New York with a guy named Boog who graduated from Murray State. He was a massive individual, the sort of fellow whose landscape altering appearance was matched only by his deep baritone Appalachian drawl. Boog was working to become a certified NCAA basketball official, an endeavor which I found to be somewhat farcical considering his overbearing physical stature. (I always thought basketball refs should be built more like Dick Bavetta and less like Proposition Joe.) When Boog wasn’t talking about how to properly differentiate between a legal and illegal screen, you could usually find him sitting comfortably by the campfire extolling all the virtues of his alma mater. Before roasting marshmallows in the Adirondacks, I knew Murray State only as the upstart #15 seed that pushed perennial powers like Duke and Carolina to the brink of defeat in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Thanks to Boog I learned a great deal about the university and how the school provided for an entire community in western Kentucky.

Last night the 2011-2012 Murray State Racers lost their first basketball game of the season, falling to Tennessee State 72-68. The #9 team in the nation now faces a much more difficult task in their campaign to lure Dicky V to campus for their Bracketbuster game against St. Mary’s on February 18th.

I wonder if Boog will be officiating.

view from CFSB Center courtesy of @ericcrawford

The 1% Have Gathered For Their Annual Meeting At The Pebble Beach Pro-Am

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Does anyone have any idea how much money/clout/visibility/fame it takes to compete as an amateur in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pr0-Am? I know it’s a public course and all but I assume that tournament organizers won’t allow just any slap-dick with $500 on one of the several fine courses of the Monterey Peninsula this weekend.

And another thing, how do they decide who plays with who? For instance, who decided it was a good idea to pair Trevor Immelman with George Lopez? Or what about Ryan Moore and Jim Harbaugh? I bet Moore is way to nonchalant for the always intense 49ers coach. Harbaugh is going to take one look at Moore’s argyle sweater vest/Sketchers golf spikes combo and recommend that the relaxed golfer take a lap around Spyglass Hill. I get the whole Woods/Romo thing (best golfers/largest galleries) and Chris Berman/JJ Henry (Chubby people from Connecticut) but a lot of these pairings just don’s seem to make any sense. I would really like to be a fly on the wall for when John Huh and Mike Aymar meet for the first time. On second thought, who are John Huh and Mike Aymar?

The real story this week is the return of Tiger Woods to the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, a tournament he hasn’t visited  in 10 years. The Monterey Peninsula remains the site of one his greatest triumphs in professional golf, the 2000 US Open. It’s also interesting that Tiger has taken up the crusade against belly putters, referring to himself instead as a golfing “traditionalist”. It’ll be interesting to see what Tiger has to say about the anchored look once he develops the yips himself. Perhaps he should be much more compassionate and think about all the tournaments Tom Watson and Johnny Miller would have won if the belly putter were available back in their day.

The good news for me is that when you are a 20+ handicap it really doesn’t matter what kind of putter you use just as long as you don’t run out of golf ball by the 11th hole.

view from the 7th hole at Pebble Beach courtesy of @geoffogilvy

 

 

Jeremy Lin Throws A Garden Party Like Only an Ivy Leaguer Can

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 No Melo for 1-2 weeks means much, much more Linsanity. The hesitation right handed dribble around a high screen and roll followed by a bounce pass between defenders leading to an easy layup was a move perfected by our favorite Canadian Steve Nash. Jeremy Lin, while he is no Steve Nash, has shown, for at least the last two games, a similar ability to drive to the basket and set his teammates up for easy scoring opportunities. Embattled head coach Mike D’Antoni will continue to give Lin a shot at being the starting point guard for the New York Knicks as long as the team keeps winning or maybe until a healthy Baron Davis returns to action.

How ironic is it that Lin has a chance to save D’Antoni’s job in New York, a position he earned because of the time he spent with Nash in Phoenix during the halcyon days. The Amare connection makes it all the more real and while this J-Lin Garden party probably won’t continue for much longer, it certainly has made for an exciting New York sports story. Not that there are any shortages of them these days.

 

The Lombardi Trophy Belongs to Lisbeth Salander

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At least now I can go back to rooting against Boston teams for the next 7 months. Also, I hope this second Super Bowl loss to the Giants in 4 years means the Patriots can finally switch back to their throwback Pat the Patriot uniforms. For New York, Mario Manningham now enters the lexicon right beside David Tyree. And Is Eli Manning really this good or just lucky? Does it even matter?

Tough to narrow it down to a single play for the New England offense, although an injured Gronkowski playing at 50% max capacity didn’t really enhance their chances. Tom Brady missed a few opportunities downfield during the 4th quarter and Wes Welker didn’t help out much either. At least we know Brady will be able to luxuriate comfortably in his 22,000 square foot mansion.

Finally, where was Rooney Mara, niece of Giants principal owner John Mara? Lisbeth Salander was about the only thing that could have saved the Lombardi trophy presentation.

Monday morning is going to be much longer than usual.

view from Indy courtesy of @davidsmoak

 

A Super Bowl Sized History of Bad Boston Ankles

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The most talked about ankle in Indianapolis this week belongs to Patriots tight end and Telemundo superstar Rob Gronkowski. After suffering a high ankle sprain in the AFC championship, courtesy of that guy Bernard Pollard, Gronk is officially listed as a “game time decision” for Super Bowl XVLI,which in Belichickian terms means “he’ll play because we’re injecting his ankle with Toradol and he won’t be able to feel anything below his waist”. My buddy Chip sent me a text this past week asking what’s the deal with Boston athletes and injuries to their lower extremities. This got me thinking, besides Gronkowski, what other sports stars from Beantown have had to overcome significant leg injuries at crucial points in their team’s season?

Thinking beyond sports, you can trace the roots of landscape altering Boston leg injuries all the way back to the Boston Massacre in 1770. If you look closely at Paul Revere’s famous engraving you can clearly see several New England “Patriots” strewn about the cobblestone streets outside of the Custom House with blood flowing from their faces, abdomen, and lower limb areas. Some historians have said that this Revere engraving was nothing more than a piece of propaganda intended to inspire colonists to revolt against their British masters. And while the Boston Massacre is typically considered one of the key moments leading up to the Revolutionary War, I choose to think of it as nothing more than an early instance of DNP – gunshot wound.

Perhaps the most famous ankle injury in the history of Boston belongs to Curt Schilling. His bloody sock from Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees will forever commemorate arguably the greatest comeback in sports history. I was in the building for this monumental occasion but didn’t know about his sutures popping until I got home later that evening and ESPN was beginning what would turn into nearly a decade straight of all Red Sox all the time. Sportcenter anchors like John Buccigross and Steve Berthiaume might as well work for NESN. The only thing that can possibly distract Bristol from their love affair with the Nation is Tim Tebow. I mean, Miguel Cabrera should show up to Spring Training drunk and riding a unicorn and all Baseball Tonight would be talking about is whether or not Mike Aviles is going to be the Red Sox fulltime right fielder. Thank god for Scott Van Pelt whose Maryland roots reminds us all that there are in fact other baseball teams besides the Red Sox and Yankees.

Back to Schilling for a second, some people still wonder if his bloody sock was all just an enormous ruse, not to be confused with rouge, an aging bombastic pitchers final chance at back page relevancy. Take Orioles broadcaster, and Maine native Gary Thorne, who went on the record and openly questioned the entire thing. So, what was that on his stirrup anyway: blood or one of the 57 varieties? If the Hall of Fame begins offering Shilling’s sock as a condiment in their cafeteria then I think we’ll have our answer.

Then there was Paul Pierce doing his best Nancy Kerrigan impression during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. Only this time Jeff Gillooly and his police baton were no where to be found. Skeptics would later wonder why The Truth would require the services of a wheelchair for an “injury” that would only kept him out of action for less than a quarters worth of game action. Was it scripted? Did Vince McMahon suddenly hijack the NBA offices in NYC and hog tie Commissioner Stern to his private bathroom stall? Did Tonya Harding pay Kendrick Perkins to injure his teammate much like she brokered the deal in Detroit with her ex-husband?  To be completely fair to Kerrigan, a native of Woburn, Mass, the hematoma on her shin lasted much longer than any of the damage to Pierce’s sprained knee ligaments. Fans have since forgiven their captain as he would go on to lead the Celtics to their first NBA Championship in 22 years.

And while other famous Boston sports figures like Tommy Heinsohn and Booby Orr have probably experienced their fair share of high and low ankle injuries, it’s time to bring the focus back to Rob Gronkowski and Super Bowl XLVI. I like New England for two main reasons: 1) most of my friends, including my contrarian wife who thinks Eli Manning is a “super” nice guy, are picking the Giants to win and 2) now that Tim Tebow is out of the playoffs, God is clearly on Tom Brady’s side.

If Gronk plays it opens up the rest of the underneath for Wes Welker and Super Bowl XLVI MVP Aaron Hernandez. If Gronk doesn’t play then the Patriots will have to rely a bit more on their underrated running game (LAWFIRM!!!) and perhaps a few big plays down the field to either Deion Branch or (gulp) Chad Ochocinco. If Ochocinco ends up being the difference in this game you may find me Monday morning curled up in a fetal position next to my refrigerator.

Final Score: Patriots 34 Giants 31

MVP: Aaron Hernandez

Enjoy the game everybody!!!

view from Lucas Oil Stadium courtesy of @timdahlberg