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At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

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Twitter Will be the End of the NFLPA

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Is it possible to have a March Madness without Gonzaga? After St. Mary’s disposed of the Zags 73-71 in Spokane last evening, it has become more and more likely that America’s Cinderella will need to win their conference tournament if they hope to have any chance of “dancing” this spring. Long are the days of John Stockton, Dan Dickau, and Casey Calvary.

The other big news out of the Pacific Northwest is the ongoing twitter feud between Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie.  To make a long story short, Cromartie has threatened to “smash” Hasselbeck’s face in over comments the quarterback  posted, then erased, on twitter that questioned Cromartie’s overall “grasp” of the current labor standoff facing the NFL this offseason. One thing’s for sure, players against players is exactly the type of behavior NFL owners were banking on as they prepare to negotiate the next collective bargaining agreement.

Does the NFL truly face the possibility of a lockout? It seems like there is much too much money involved to just simply postpone, or even cancel the 2011 season.  With television ratings at an all time high, the league has way too much momentum to just simply shut itself down.  I’m hoping a deal is struck soon because Sundays just wouldn’t be the same without a health dose of football.

view from Gonzaga/SMS courtesy of @neilstover

Nobody Puts The Jimmer in the Corner

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Allow me to be the 25,000th blogger to say a few words about Jimmer Fredette this morning.  Let’s start with the obvious., the Jimmer single-handedly led his BYU Cougar team to a 71-58 upset victory over #4 ranked San Diego State.  When I say “single-handedly” what I mean to say is that if you were to take away the Jimmer’s 43 points, BYU would have lost by 30. It’s simple math really. The Jimmer is emerging as something more than a Mormon folk hero. He has become a national sensational who has justifiably drawn the attention of the entire basketball world.

I love this picture from Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker @kirkmorrison55. The Jimmer looks like a Roman Emperor just back from conquering Gaul, ready to address his adoring mob. We need to put @fivethrityeight on the case to see if the Jimmer should run for political office in Utah someday soon. From the looks it, the Jimmer is already the people’s choice.

As far as Jimmer the basketball player goes, I’m amazed by his balance and range.  He has the innate ability to get his feet set and upper body square to the basket. Even when he looks out of control he someone manages to settle himself and get off a decent shot. Also, he has in the gym range. As soon as the Jimmer crosses half court he’s got to be thinking about chucking up a shot.  As a defender, you better have a hand in his face as soon as he touches the ball in the backcourt.

What are the chances that the Jimmer and BYU make a run deep into the NCAA tourney? Lots of people are making the Steph Curry/Davidson comparison.  It’s probably going to come down to seeding/draw because I don’t see BYU getting past consecutive opponents who are both bigger and more athletic .

One final observation, why don’t I get CBS College Sports Network?  C’mon Comcast!!! You’re in charge of a massive media monopoly and the least you could do is show your customers some measure of appreciation.  And while you’re at it, I’ll take the Fox Sports Soccer Channel as well.

Kiss Cam in the Capitol Building.

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The Washington Wizards have yet to win a road game all season.  They haven’t fared much better at the Verizon Center either.  Last nights 120-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets lowered the Wizards record to a anemic 13-31. The lower level of the arena did not approach full capacity which was likely because a majority of bureaucrats and lobbyists were busy listening to President Obama deliver his latest State of the Union address.

The big story heading into last night’s SOTU was that, in an apparent display of bipartisanship and unity, house Democrats and Republicans would be sitting next to one another during the address.  When executed, this plan produced some of the oddest couples since Felix and Oscar.  Chuck Shumer and Tom Coburn. Kirsten Gillibrand and John Thune. John Kerry and John McCain. The comedy gods blessed us with an unparalleled amount of opportunities to poke fun of our bureaucratic transparency.

What if this happened in sports?  What if opposing teams and players decided that in an effort to promote greater civility and respect they would set aside their competitive integrity and extend the metaphorical olive branch. Picture this: baseball players inhabiting the same dugout. Or football players on the same sideline. And what about golfers sharing the same caddy. As Peter Venkman once said: “Cats and dogs. Living together. Mass hysteria!!”

To be honest with you, I don’t normally think much of anything a President may say during the SOTU.  Actual political policy is rarely determined by anything mentioned during this traditional address. Even still, I found myself watching last night mostly for the off chance that Joe Biden did something outrageous like say, fall asleep.

view of the Verizon Center courtesy of @just_jess_jess

Jay Cutler Needs to Grow a Pair of Crutches

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The Madhouse on Madison was rocking last night during the Chicago Bulls 92-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.  With the win, the Bulls improved their record to 31-14 and now enjoy a healthy 13 game lead in the Central Division.  Derrick Rose is the clear frontrunner for league MVP and when Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer both return from injury, the Bulls will emerge as a team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

I’m sort of surprised so many fans were in attendance at the United Center last night.  I mean, only 24 hours had passed since the Bears were defeated by the Packers in the NFC Championship game and I figured fans would still be marching down Michigan Ave burning effigies of Jay Cutler.  Does yesterdays MRI, which revealed a Grade II MCL sprain, make Bears fans feel any better about the heart of their signal caller?  Have those current, and former, NFL players who called out Cutler for not “gutting out” the injury now since recanted their earlier statements?

Perhaps Frank Deford summed it up best regarding our immediate response to the “Cutler Identity”: “It’s terrible.  We move entirely too fast without thinking”. I agree with Deford that we, media and fans, are sometimes too quick to jump to conclusions.  Twitter and Facebook only exacerbate this 21st century tendency.  Perhaps Jay Cutler, and his wounded knee, would have been treated much more delicately before the advent of the interent and ESPN.  But, as one of the many fans who were too quick to question the severity of his injury, where’s the fun in that?

view of the United Center courtesy of @gneri

The Most Important MRI in Chicago Sports History

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Green Bay Packers 21 Chicago Bears 14: My favorite byproduct of the whole Jay Cutler “phantom” knee injury thing was all the war stories that fans and former players felt that they just had to share.  For instance, there was this classic reaction from Maurice Jones-Drew followed by a scathing assessment from former NFL lineman Mark Schlereth.

But, by far, my favorite reactions came from friends and family. For example, my brother in law: “You (Cutler) gotta play through the injury. I had terrible shin splints last year and all I did was get myself a new pair of shoes”.

From my friend J: “MCL’s are overrated. They don’t even surgically repair them anymore. You can play through the pain as long as you run straight ahead and avoid making any sudden movements”.

My favorite reaction came from my Dad: “You know back in my day, we didn’t even use to get water breaks.  Coaches would come around and give us salt tablets that were thought to keep us hydrated. The only reason I stopped playing football was because I couldn’t find a comfortable pair of contact lenses”.

So there you have it.  The votes have been tallied. Jay Cutler should have finished the game for the Chicago Bears. Now it could turn out that he will need major knee surgery this offseason, which I hope is not the case.  Regardless, it was really fascinating to watch the public turn on Cutler so quickly. Which reminds me, did you catch him trying to stay loose on the exercise bike? That’s exactly what I look like when my somebody asks me to do something that I have no interest in doing. Cutler didn’t exactly look like someone who was dying to get back in the game.  In this case, perception is everything.

view of Soldier Field courtesy of @reschcenter

Pittsburgh Steelers 24 New York Jets 19: Did you catch the Rex Ryan headset toss at the end of the game? He looked just like Clark Griswold when the 25000 imported Italian twinkle lights wouldn’t work properly.

I gotta tell you, and as I Patriots fan I can’t believe I’m saying this, I kind of like Rex Ryan’s confidence during the post game press conference.  Sure the Jets just lost the AFC Championship game for the second year in a row but, to his credit, he stood up to the podium and boldly predicted that his team was going to make it all the way to the Super Bowl next year.  Jets fans probably won’t take much solace in his pronouncement this morning but still, the guy doesn’t waiver from his message.

Now we prepare for two straight weeks of hypotheticals. If Ben Roethlisberger wins his third Super Bowl at the age of 28 is he as good a QB as Tom Brady? If Aaron Rodgers leads the Packers to victory in Dallas do the fine folks of Green Bay finally forget about the man named Favre? If Jay Cutler is on crutches will he still be allowed to crash the MTV Super Bowl bash?

Lots to think about and with two weeks to go until Super Bowl XLV, plenty of time to figure it all out.

view of Heinz Field courtesy of @RedBullNASCAR