LassenSportsNetwork.com

Submitted by BB

I’m getting old.

How can I tell? Because the upcoming shake up in college football has me disturbed and almost irate. Disappointed and disillusioned. Rather like I predicted in an earlier article about the future of college football.

While it’s good to know that my prognostic abilities are sound, I was really hoping I would be wrong this once. 

But I’m not here to write about the realignment of division I football just yet. I find it distasteful to know that what is happening in the world of college football –big money chasing bigger money,  with  everyone scrambling not to be left behind–is so contrary to what a great man who recently passed from this  world stood for.  My father referred to him as the Last Mohican, and there is some truth to the sentiment.

I  know I’m old because I remember John Wooden, that last Mohican he was referring to, and know of his fundamental teachings on the basketball court as well as on the court of life. My participation in sport  was heavily laced with his belief that integrity, effort,  and how one played the game truly mattered.  On the court the team came first and he expected 100 percent  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

Baseball is not my favorite sport.  I liken it to watching grass grow; not terribly exciting. Playing it was fun, but as a spectator I was more enthralled with the Coney Island hot dogs and Cherry Cokes  from the concession stand.

Having said that, though, there have been some thrilling events so far in the 2010 season. Three–yes, three–perfect games in one month. Whether the most recent no-hitter gets into the record books is irrelevant; we all know it happened.

 The first one, thrown by Oakland A’s pitcher Dallas Braden was followed by his grandmother, who was in the stands, gleefully telling Alex Rodriguez to “stick it”.  Her grandson had taken exception to A-Rod returning to first base via the pitcher’s mound in an earlier game–one of those unspoken no-no’s in baseball. After Dallas let him know his feelings on the subject, A-Rod responded with some less than courteous comments.

Dallas’s grandma was just letting him know he needed to show her boy some respect. Hearing about her defiant message to the Yankee slugger, I smiled as I remembered my own grandmother. We called her Mamaw, and she was a rabid Oakland A’s fan.

I spent many  happy summer days with her, the  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Refer to the article, “When Big Business and Morality Collide” to, maybe, figure out what’s got John upset… SMB

Well. Two negative responses to one article demands some sort of response. Do I apologize?
No.
Nothing was said that has not been said in private conversations, on national radio programs, or on ESPN’s Sportscenter. The Ben Roethlisberger situation is an emotional issue; there is no way around that. His lawyer stepping in front of cameras and offering the pitiful defense that he did, calling on the good ole boys network–even linking Roger Goodell to this club–was bound to upset half of the listeners.

And for what? They both insist that nothing was done wrong. Their actions and words would seem to indicate otherwise. Why else explain the “habits” of twenty-eight year old men? Why explain anything if nothing was done wrong?

However fair or unfair, most of the nation has made up its mind about Ben; if they even care. Sentiment is split, and we can’t escape the fact that we’re torn down gender lines. In general, men accept what’s happened and move on; they understand that he’s wealthy and famous, and important in his field. It will all blow over. It’s big business.

Many women, by comparison,  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

I don’t know if it’s because I’m a woman or because I’m the mother of three girls, but the Ben Roethlisberger situation really bugs me.

I’ve read the reports and tried to keep an open mind, knowing that celebrity athletes are targets of the greedy and media-hungry, but my eyebrows are still somewhere in the vicinity of my hairline.

After listening to his attorney Ed Garland Thursday morning on the Mike and Mike show, I’m more offended than I was before. Can the wink-wink-nod-nod of the “men will be men and we’ve all been twenty-eight years old” defense get any lamer?

Funny; I’ve always thought that men who are twenty eight years old are adults, and I expect them to act that way.

Of course, most of this is all the media’s fault for blowing things so far out of proportion and only telling one side of the story.

Okay, Mr. 2000 dollar an hour attorney; step aside and let your client tell his story. If it’s anything like his apology after it was decided that no charges would be filed—something he said he knew the Georgia authorities would get right—it’s no wonder we haven’t heard much from Big Ben. Elocution spiced with sincerity  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

Butler

Success is having it. Excellence is being.

So quoted Brad Stevens, men’s head basketball coach at Butler University in his post-game interview after his Bulldogs knocked off Kansas State.

His team has proven this sentiment in their surprising run at the 2010 NCAA Tournament. They’re now headed to the Final Four. In their home city. For the first time in school history.

Where is Gene Hackman? Only Hollywood could have written a script so sweet, and I’m not sure they could have done this justice.

This is the team that’s bringing back our love of defense, of ball control, of setting the tempo, of not caring if they score 90 points. They bend their opponents to their will through discipline, heart, talent and coaching.  There’s probably not a single NBA prospect on their roster, from a school with an enrollment of under 5,000.

But they don’t know that.

I’m in love with basketball again because of Butler University. They play every single minute as hard as they can, and don’t for a second believe that the McDonald’s All-Americans across the court from them are any better.

But they’re not content to rest on their laurels. No… they’ve only had success so far. Excellence is still  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

Have you all missed me?

Forgive my longer than normal absence, but real life does rear its head at times. Very annoying when I have so much I want to say regarding the world of sports.  I thought I’d mark my return with an article recounting events of my recent trip to the greater Portland Oregon area.  

Let me share my observations with you about Oregon Duck fans. After listening to endless hours of the local sports talk radio program, I’m convinced they’re delusional. 

Reason #1

They’ve lost their quarterback—I’m not going to comment on the fact that he’s a thief, and not a very bright one—their star running back might still have to serve time by the time the investigation’s done, and five others were kicked off the team.  The team is in turmoil.

Despite this, the faithful believe they should enter the preseason polls ranked #1 in the Pac 10, and #3 in the national polls. Ahead of Boise State.

I’m all for team loyalty, but like to think I’m in touch with reality. How can they possibly believe they should be ranked higher than the Broncos when BSU beat them, won their bowl game, and all but one of their  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

That Old North Wind

Did you feel the brisk nor’easter swirling down from Canada on Sunday afternoon? That was the collective sigh of relief of thirty-three million Canadians as their Olympic hockey team won the gold medal in an exciting overtime victory against Team USA.

Given the level of importance attached to this game (is the self-esteem of an entire nation enough?), I was almost afraid to root for my own countrymen. I like the Canadians, but it’s hard to stomach the potential mass suicide that might have occurred if the Canucks lost the match. We could not take the chance that the year-long mourning period that would surely follow would affect our already flailing economy.

As for the US, the defeat only cost us a case of Molson Canadian Lager, to be paid for by President Obama.  I was most proud of our young men; they did phenomenally well, considering that they weren’t even expected to medal in the Games. The Canadians, with professional salaries that ranged from 130 to 150 million dollars depending on who was on the ice, were Olympic ice hockey’s equivalent of the New York Yankees. The upstart Americans were the Florida Marlins…this time around.

When seen  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

Let’s jump forward in time a bit, shall we?

I can tell what you are thinking.  What is BB ranting about now?

Cue theme song to Star Wars:  The Empire Strikes Back and journey with me into the future world of college football. The landscape, according to outspoken Athletic Directors, journalists and bloggers, will look vastly different. This is the result of our overwhelming, unending dependence on the almighty dollar. The big boys still won’t share the wealth, which makes one wonder if we ever learn our lessons.  What if we’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again?

We’ll be asked to ignore the lack of tenured professors in state universities while we applaud the prowess and character of ten million dollar a year head football coaches.  Football, by this time, will far outweigh the importance of Bachelor and Masters’ Degrees. One “student” out of every 10,000 will go on to make a profitable living in the NFL…and they’re the only ones that will matter.

Reasonable odds, don’t you think, for the future of our youth?

We’ll witness the advent of the Super Conferences, which will relegate conferences now known as non-BCS, or non-AQ to the level of third world countries.

The  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

 Submitted by BB

I’m not a golf fan. I only know who is on the PGA tour circuit because I watch and listen to sports–related broadcasts year round. It’s the white noise of my household. Given this environment, you cannot avoid learning a certain amount of sports trivia, whether you want to or not.

Media-crafted scandals are not the usual fodder for our reports here at Lassen Sports Network. However, I’m going to make an exception and hope Da Boss doesn’t fire me. The litany of praise, criticism, cynicism and hostility following Friday’s Tiger Woods Production had me itching to type.

Celebrity and logos have no place in my life. I am baffled by all of the attention paid to Tiger Woods and his “transgressions”. Why does everyone care so much? Is his infidelity affecting Jim Rome’s life, much less any of the other critics who have chosen to comment? Does this, in fact, involve anyone besides Tiger’s family? I don’t understand why so many people feel that Tiger owes them something.

Did Tiger cheat in a tournament? Did he break the law? No—he did what millions of married people have done throughout history. As a wife myself, I’m appalled, but it’s far from  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

Football season is officially over, and once again I’m in mourning. Thoroughly depressed this morning listening to ESPN Sports anchors scramble to interest us with NBA news, I cringed through thirty minute break downs of the Kentucky Wildcat and Kansas Jayhawks basketball teams.

Forgive me, but I’m more excited about the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics. A bad sign, as I’m not terribly excited about them. It is intriguing waiting to see if any of the massive snowfall the northeast is experiencing can find its way back west. It’s so warm that the Olympic venues can’t even make snow to cover the slopes.

I have some final football notes to leave you with, however, before I crawl back into my hole and wait for my shadow to present itself again. Should be about the time that spring ball rolls around. There were many topics I could have rambled on about, but I chose the four that resonated most strongly from both the local and national markets.

Local Thumbs Up

Congratulations to Lassen High’s Darren Lee! I was privileged to speak personally with him, and he struck me as an intelligent, polite and personable young man. After watching him on film and speaking with people who  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story