What Can the NFL Do?- Conclusion

Over all, humans are known to like a little bit of action mixed with some violence for their entertainment, which is what the business of the NFL likes to offer.  Fans pay money to watch some good contact football for entertainment.  The problem is that now that the NFL has done some research on head injuries and realizes the need to keep their players safe, the league also doesn’t want to make the fans unhappy because the fans are one of the main factors that makes this business work.  The National Football League can help keep their players safe and keep their fans happy by implementing some new technology and ideas, and also by enforcing some rules already in place.  The NFL can do this by creating and implementing a new helmet, upgrading testing technology and procedures, enforcing the penalty on the field, and designing a governing system to handle punishment.  All of these ways will both help with players safety, but also keep the people who spend their money on the sport happy and entertained.

  The new helmet that was created this year, plus the new testing technology and procedures will help to get the players back on the field faster, which will make the fans happy.  Fans are starting to understand the seriousness of this issue, so they will not be as upset with the penalty strongly enforced on the field to help protect the players, especially if the penalty is fair and called correctly.  Also, the fans will like the idea of a panel to review the hits and determine punishment because they would then know that many opinions were used to enforce correct punishment, not just one man’s opinion.  Bottom line here is that the game itself will always be played at a vicious and fast pace that will still lead to big hits (especially because a big hit can be made without causing a concussion) and spectacular plays, which is what the fans want.  All in all, concussions and head injuries can lead to many problems down the road for football players and the issue needs to be addressed and taken care of, but at the same time, the game itself should not change too drastically so that the fans continue to spend their money and keep the business rolling.  

What Can the NFL Do?- Part III

What the NFL Can Do

The NFL has done a lot of research now on concussions and how much they actually affect the players who play the sport of football.  The problem the NFL has, though, is that they make roughly $9 billion dollars in profits and they do not necessarily want to hurt that by changing the game too much.  If they change the game too much they will definitely lose out on fans, which in turn hurts their profits significantly.  The fans are the people who make sure the NFL as a business keeps running; they pay for the tickets, merchandise, concessions, and even the TV contracts.  Overall, the fans are a major component to making this business work, and the NFL does not and should not want to change the game to a level that would make them lose fans.

There are many ways the NFL can handle this situation so they do not lose out on their profits and their fans, yet still protect the players.  The different things that can be done include; creating and implementing a new helmet, upgrading testing technology and procedures, enforcing the penalty on the field, and creating a governing system to handle punishment.  All of these things would both improve protection, and keep the fans somewhat happy.

(espn)

There is no helmet that can completely eliminate concussions, but as time progresses, there is always more and more technology being created to increase protection.  This new technology has already been designed by a company called Riddell.  Riddell is a football equipment company that makes the protective equipment for the NFL.  Riddell has created a new helmet, called the Riddell 360, which is supposed to redefine protection of a player’s head.  As stated before, an average player receives 950 hits to the head during one season, so the main source to improve head safety would be to improve the helmet.  Brittany Sauser said, Riddell has now created this new helmet to help reduce the impact a hit has on the front of a players head.  The helmet does this by the use of a newly designed facemask, made of carbon steel and another flexible material, according to Sauser.  This new facemask is able to flex and reduce the amount of impact on the rest of the head.  Sauser claims research shows that 70% of hits to the head are in the front of the head, so now this helmet protects that area much more.  This new helmet is supposed to go into effect next football season.  According to Sauser, Riddell has gathered statistics on head injuries using its own HIT technology, a system that employs sensor-equipped helmets to measure the location, magnitude, and direction of hits experienced during a game or practice.  Over all, this new helmet will not eliminate head injuries, but it definitely will help transfer the force of impact off of the front of the head and help to reduce concussions.

The next area that needs to improve is the technology on the field to help read the impact of collisions and to test the level of damage to the head on the field.  According to Dr. Chirban, “A main focus of the NFL's research this season has involved impact testing; specifically how they can effectively measure the impact a hit has on a player's brain at the time of the injury.”  The NFL has now looked into putting sensors into uniforms, specifically helmets, to record the impact of a hit, because no player wants to come out of a game if they do not need to, Dr. Chirban also said.  The NFL can also use this information for more research on head injuries.  The NFL plans to put this system into place as early as next season.  There will also be a new system of procedures to evaluate a head injury on the field to see if a player can come back in.  Gary Mihoces claims that the new procedures are called "Sports Concussion Assessment Tool 2" or "SCAT2."  This new system will consist of a checklist and a list of tests to help analyze whether or not a player has a concussion or not, according to Mihoces.  This new system with sensors in uniforms and a set of procedures to evaluate a player will help determine if a player can come back into the game or not, which makes the fans happy.

(google)

Another area the NFL needs to improve to help make players safe on the field would be their rules and officiating.  One of the major things the NFL could do to keep the players safe would be to simply strongly enforce the penalty on the field.  On many occasions last season, players had helmet to helmet collisions with other players, which cause head injury, and there were no flags thrown.  An example of this would be when James Harrison knocked two Cleveland Brown players out of the game with concussions on helmet-to-helmet hits, and neither of the hits was ever penalized on the field, but both the hits ended up getting Harrison fines up to $75,000.  The referees simply throwing the flags on illegal hits to the head sends a strong message to the players, because no player wants his team to have to give up 15 yards for his hit on another player.  The NFL has developed rules to protect players from getting hit in the head, yet in some cases the refs did not even penalize the players on the field.  Greg Easterbrook suggests the NFL should eject players from the game for malicious hits to the head, because that would even send a stronger message to the players. (Easterbrook)  Taking away a player’s actual playing time, even if it were for one quarter, would send a very stern message and the players would take the hint about how serious the NFL is.  When the NFL fines players for hits they make on the field, it just fires the players up, which in turn makes the fans not happy.  So if the NFL simply enforces the penalty on the field and/or suspends the player for a game, it would send a very strong message and the players will change the way they hit other players.  Not one player wants to do something that will jeopardize their team, so with both of these punishments dealing directly with that thought will reduce the amount of dangerous hits on the field.  Fining a player only hurts that one player, whereas these two punishments hurt the whole team so it will be more effective.  Overall, the referees need to enforce these penalties and rules on the field so that the players receive the message that the NFL is serious, because they do not necessarily need to do it by fining the players for their hits.

When the NFL does face a situation where a player needs to be fined or suspended for either multiple offenses or a malicious hit to another player, then they should listen to an idea thought up by one of their own players.  Troy Polamalu, a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has been on record suggesting that the NFL use a governing system to dish out the punishment for these types of hits.  "There needs to be some type of separation of power, like our government," Polamalu said.  "I don't think it should be based totally on what two or three people may say that are totally away from the game. It should be some of the players that are currently playing." (Walker)  Polamalu has created a good solution to this punishment problem.  The NFL should create a panel of former and current players, coaches, and/or managers to debate on the hits and figure out an appropriate punishment for a player.  As of right now, according to James Walker, the commissioner has too much power when it comes to deciding punishment for the hits, and this has led to unhappy players and fans.   A governing body or panel to review the hits and decide punishment would be a lot more effective than to just have one or two men decide the penalty.  Polamalu believes it should be set up like a democracy, since that is what our country runs on, and this is our country’s most popular sport.  Evidence that suggests Polamalu’s proposal will work better than the current system can be seen in the Judiciary branch of the US Government.  Obivously it would be on a lot smaller scale, but the NFL could base this system off of the court rooms, and specifically the jury part.  I am not suggesting that the NFL should hold hearings for each dangerous hit; what I am saying is that if the NFL made a panel to review the hits, it could act like a jury would in the court system and make a decision on the correct form of punishment that should be handed out.  In conclusion, this idea that Polamalu had, would help to tone down the harsh punishments, but still hand out effective punishment for the players who decide to hit other players that way.

What Can the NFL Do?- Part II

The Concussion Epidemic

(Google)

               In this past NFL season (2010-2011) there was a major rise in the number of concussions reported, which has sparked the NFL to try to slow down the rise.  According to the NFL and Kevin Baumer, the number of concussions just through week eight was up 21% from the previous year.  That is a very significant increase, and that is what has made the NFL finally realize that concussions are a major problem for these players.  The reason for this increase is debated by many.  Some people believe that it is just because more people are actually receiving concussions, but the more likely reason is the fact that more players are actually reporting their concussions.  Kevin Baumer said, “The NFL believes the rate of injury is not necessarily higher, but teams are more aware of head injuries now and are being more conscientious about keeping the league abreast of their players' injuries.”  It is believed that previously, players would just not tell any medical staff about a head injury and try to play through it, which would lead to many more problems down the road.  According to an AP survey conducted in 2009, 30 out of 160 players had hidden concussions during their careers.  This stat is an alarming one, and that is why the NFL has finally realized that something needs to be done.

                Concussions in football have been a part of the game all the way back to the days with leather helmets, or no helmets at all.  According to Wharton, “Football historians report that President Theodore Roosevelt called representatives from Harvard, Princeton and Yale to the White House in 1905 and said he would ban the game of football if they didn't stop the brutality which, in that year alone, had caused 18 deaths and more than 150 severe injuries.”  But just recently, the NFL has finally decided to devote time and research to help prevent injuries like concussions.  The recent flare up of news about concussions in the NFL and how they were dealing with it came after week six of the 2010 NFL season.  On October 17th, 2010, three players made tackles that were very violent, which resulted in a total of $175,000 in fines handed out to those players for what the league said were helmet to helmet hits.  Some of those hits were not even flagged on the field, which made some fans and players very angry.  Although these players make a lot of money, many do not believe that their personal income should be taken away from them for playing the sport at a high level.  Many people were very angry with how the NFL decided to handle these hits on the field, especially when they stated that they would suspend players for these types of hits.  The NFL needs to find a ways to protect players from these head injuries without turning themselves into the NFFL (National Flag Football League). 



What Can the NFL Do?- Part I

Concussions

           Before we can look into what the NFL can do to protect both aspects, we have to look at concussions themselves and how serious they can be.  Like found on WebMD, a concussion is a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head.  When the blow occurs, it causes the brain inside the skull to shake, which leads to the brain not working right temporarily.  (WebMD)  These concussions are nothing to mess around with, because your brain is one of the most important components in making you function properly and if that gets messed up you get messed up.  Some of the symptoms include; passing out, short term memory loss, acting confused, being light headed, having trouble standing, or throwing up.  (WebMD)  These symptoms are just what can happen after suffering a big blow to the head area.  I found on WebMD that the time it takes to recover depends on how severe the blow was; it can take anywhere from a day to multiple weeks.  Concussions by themselves are nothing to mess with, but then you have to think about how in football, one can suffer multiple concussions, which leads to worse problems.

(audreyhalpernmd.com)  

          When an athlete is playing in a game, whether it is youth sports or professional sports, it takes a lot for them to exit the game due to injury.  Many athletes try to play it off and act like they didn’t get hurt, so they stay in.  This usually leads to the injury becoming worse and it ends up hurting them more.  This definitely comes into play with concussions and the NFL.  Players in the NFL are known for trying to be tough guys and not leaving the game, especially after receiving a head injury.  When players receive multiple hits to the head in one game, it tends to add up over time to even more damage.  Brittany Sauser claims, “The average player sustains an estimated 950 impacts to the head during a season; these hits could result not only in concussions but also long-term brain damage.”   This means that it is possible to suffer brain damage with repeated blows to the head, without having a concussion.  According to, Stephanie Smith, all of those hits put more and more damage on the brain, and that damage has a name: chronic traumatic encephalopathy.  (Smith)  Smith went on to say; in research done at the Boston University School of Medicine, they found that in six former NFL players’ brains they examined after their death, CTE was found in all six.  (Smith)  Retired NFL players usually deal a lot with depression, which can lead to suicide, which was the case with Dave Duerson, who recently committed suicide and left his brain to science.  Many doctors and examiners believe that the thousands of hits to the head a player takes over a course of his career can lead to many problems down the road, like suicide.  Stephanie Smith also said; one former player named Ted Johnson said for two years after he retired, he could only muster up enough energy to walk around for about fifteen minutes, and he spent most of his time in bed, with curtains closed, and lights off; he said that he dealt heavily with depression, sleep disorders, and mental fatigue.    Stories like Dave Duerson’s and Ted Johnson’s make the NFL now realize that something needs to be done about this concussion epidemic; there is no way the NFL can go on without trying to protect their players more.



What Can the NFL Do?- Introduction

All throughout time, humans, for some odd reason, have liked activities that deal with action and violence.  You can see examples of this from ancient Rome and gladiators all the way to the sport of boxing.  As a human it is a weird feeling, but for some reason we get excited to see things like this, and would even pay money to see it, as was the case in both of those examples.  Humans get a certain entertaining vibe from actions like fighting or collisions that we like and we can not necessarily explain it.

                One of the major activities that we as humans like in the present day would have to be the sport of football.  American football is a sport that involves a lot of violence and that reason is why so many people enjoy watching it.  The main point of the game is to score points by getting the ball across the goal line, and as a defender, you try to stop the person who has the ball by getting him to the ground.  When these hits that get people to the ground occur, many people get excited because of the impact of the collision.  Although the collisions are very entertaining to watch, that is not the only thing that attracts fans and gets them excited; many people watch the game for the athletic capability of the player. 

                The problem that comes into play with these exciting collisions on the football field is the injuries the players sustain from taking part in this action.  One of the worst injuries a player could sustain would definitely be a head injury, otherwise known as a concussion.  Concussions are serious problems that occur on a game to game basis in the sport of football.  The even bigger problem that comes into play here is that the fans of the sport pay to see the violence in the game, but at the same time, the governing body (which is the NFL or National Football League) needs to protect its players from injuries like concussions, so they might have to change the game a little.  This thought does not sit well with the fans of the game, and even some of the players, so something has to be done to protect the athletes, but not take away from the sport that brings in billions of dollars.  The question that needs to be answered here is how can the NFL protect its players from head injuries and themselves without hurting their product?

What to Look For Next Week...

Next week, I will be diving into the topic of concussions in the National Football League and what the NFL can do to fix the situation without hurting their product.  I want to look at this issue from a Sport Manager's point of view by trying to figure out how to deal with this issue with out making the fans too angry, and losing out on money.  I will be breaking my research down into different parts; each part will contain a different aspect of my research.  I will be looking forward to reading all of your comments on the issue and any suggestions to go along with my research.  Make sure to tune in next week to read about the concussion epidemic; the first part will probably be done by Tuesday.

Most Improved Goes to...

Kevin Love is the winner of this year's NBA Most Improved award.  This award is given out to the player that obviously has improved the most since last season.  I think this was a good call and he definitely deserved it.  Love averaged 20 points per game and 15 rebounds a game.  His rebounds per game led the entire NBA, even beating a man named Dwight Howard.  Although his team only won 17 games, he himself had a career year posting 53 consecutive double doubles, and he even had a 30 point 30 rebound game this year.  Congrats to Kevin Love, the 2011 NBA Most Improved Player.

He is Returning

North Carolina's freshman forward has decided to return for his sophomore season at UNC.  Many people thought he would leave to enter the NBA draft, but with the uncertainty of the league next year he has decided to return.  There were rumors that he was going to declare, and there were rumors he was going to stay, so atleast now we know from him.  With Barnes and Tyler Zeller coming back next year, I would say that UNC will be an early favorite next year.  From a Cleveland Cavaliers fan point of view, this isn't good because it shakes up the lottery poortion of the draft, and they have two picks in the lottery.

“The Irate Pi-rate"

On Saturday, April 9th, one Pirate fan decided to get a little too belligerent and the PNC Park staff had to deal with him.  Apparently, he was a little too drunk and was causing problems for fans around him.  The PNC Park staff then asked him to leave, which he then refused to do for a while.  This is the point where the Pittsburgh Police Department got involved, because that is what the PNC staff is trained to do.  In another video taking from the fan's section, the police asked him to leave many times, and he refused, so the police told him he could go the easy way or the hard way, and now we know he chose the hard way. 

As the belligerent fan made his way from the section in left field, he then struck a PNC Park staff member with his fore arm, and this is where things went south.  The police then felt threatened because of his violence, so they shot him with a taser gun.  The taser ended up having no effect on the man, so that is when the police pulled out their batons and hit him about six times as he refused to cooperate.  The police finally got control of the situation and put him in hand cuffs and took him away.

Many people are in an uproar over how the police reacted.  Many of these people believe the police used excessive force, and did not need to do what they did.  My stance on the subject is that the police handled it correctly.  The man deserved what he received.  First, he refused to leave his section after being told by PNC Park staff and police, and he refused.  Second, the police told him he could go the easy or hard way, and he continued to give them trouble, so he chose the hard way.  Third, all of the fans in the left-field section were chanting him on, which just fired him up more.  Fourth, I am pretty sure he did himself in when he decided to strike a PNC Park employee with his fore arm, you are not allowed to do that.  Fifth and final point is this; by law it is illegal to resist arrest.  So, in the police officer's mind; the man was way too drunk, he was refusing to cooperate, the fans were chanting him on, and then he got violent.  The Pittsburgh Police had to do what they could to take control of the situation at hand, so they did.  The man had a choice and he chose to conduct himself in the wrong way.  Somehow, I was able to go to the same game and not cause a problem to my section and enjoy some good baseball without getting arrested.  He had his chance.

As a sport manager, this is not a good situation.  You want to portray your ball park having a fun and friendly atmosphere, and these types of instances hurt your image.  I feel like the Pittsburgh Pirates handled this the right way by issuing a team statement that helped to cool the situation.  The Pirates basically said that their staff conducted themselves the right way and handled the situation correctly to ensure a fan-friendly atmosphere.  All in all, this man had a choice and he chose to act the way he did, so I feel like the PNC Park staff, the Pittsburgh Police, and the Pittsburgh Pirates handled this situation correctly and hopefully it can be avoided in the future. 



Buc Night was a Success

I had a blast at the game Friday night, and I only payed one dollar to be there.  I got a good bang for my buck, especially because the Pirates won in 14 innings and we got free t-shirts when we walked in.  Overall, I thought it was a successful promotion and the Pirates should think about doing it again sometime.  If you were one that purchased a ticket to Friday's Pirates game, let me know what you thought about the promotion in a comment below.

Buc Night

Tonight I will be attending the Pittsburgh Pirates "Buc Night."  This is a big promotion for the Pirates and I am wondering what the turn out is going to be like.  The Pirates were selling $1 tickets to tonights game, plus hot dogs and popcorn is only $1.  To make it even better, tonight is free t-shirt Friday at PNC Park, so I get to see a game and get a t-shirt for only $1.  I hope this works out for the Pirates and they run this promtion again in the future.

What an Awful Ending to that Cinderella Story

Well...I wouldn't have thought that the Butler Bulldogs would have only shot 18% from the field in the National Championship game.  I didn't even think they would get that far (I had them losing in the first round) but they made it, and I bet no one would have predicted they would have only hit 12 shots.  That was one of the most horrendous offensive performances I have seen in the game of basketball, and I have even coached elementary basketball.  All I am saying is; congrats to them making it that far, but come on, 12 for 64? In a championship game?

The Beginning of Another Long Season

The Major League Baseball season is now underway, and that means another long season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The Pirates are amongst one of the worst streaks in professional sport's history, which is having 18 consecutive losing seasons.  They are in a long phase of trying to rebuild their organization by stockpiling young talent, but as of now, nothing seems to be working.  I guess we will have to stay tuned this season to see if they can finally pull off a winning season, which would be a huge break through for the team.  It all starts tomorrow, when the Pirates take on the Cubs for their 2011 opening game...hopefully the Pirates can pull of the win so they will atleast have a winning record for a day.

Cavs Cool Off the Heat

On Tuesday, March 29th, I attended LeBron's second return to Cleveland since leaving the Cavs to take his talents down to South Beach.  I was very surprised to see how hard the Cavs played from beginning to end.  They definitely came out to send a message, and I would say they accomplished that goal.  The Cavs bench outscored the Heat's bench 36-8.  It was an all-around team effort by the Cavaliers, with many of their players scoring in double-digits.  The best part about the whole experience was how the fans and the city reacted after the win.  It was like the Cavaliers had just won the NBA Championship, everyone was so excited and happy.  The whole Cav's season was salvaged by beating the one that they once loved and now hate in their own house, even if they do have the worst record in the NBA.

Charlie Batch...Really??

Apparently Charlie Batch, one of the back-up quarterbacks for the Pittsburgh Steelers, filed for bankruptcy back in December.  I find this very odd, especially when he has made millions playing in the NFL.  And now a federal judge has ruled that some of his property, including his two superbowl rings, could be used as collateral to pay off the debt.  I really do not understand how this could happen to someone that makes as much as he has in his career.  I feel like you would really have to be bad with your money to pull this one off, considering the fact that he once recieved a $13 million bonus back when he played for the Detroit Lions.  

Ochocinco Trying Out for...

Chad Ochocinco has decided he is going to try to take his talents to the soccer field.  Ochocinco claims he is good with a soccer ball, and plans on attending a try out to see if he still has it in him.  He plans on doing this while we all take time off from the NFL since it entered a lock out two weeks ago.  Ochocinco is known for filling in at kicker at times for the Cincinnati Bengals, so I guess we will see if he can compete out there on the soccer field like he can on a football field.

March Madness Update

Well, for some, their brackets are already ruined.  On the first day by, 4:30pm, there have been four games already completed and so far Penn State, Old Dominion, Louisville, and Clemson have lost.  The only team out of these four that has probably ruined a couple brackets would be Louisville.  Many people thought they would make it to atleast the elite eight, and instead they lost to 13 seed Morehead State in the first round.  So far there has been 3 buzzer beaters though, and I would have to say the madness is officially here.

March Madness is Here at Last

It is finally time for brackets to be filled out and hearts to be broken.  Many people join different pools to try to win money by developing what you think is the best bracket around.  Everyone seems to turn into an expert of NCAA Division 1 basketball around this time, which turns out to be funny when there winner loses in the first round.  All I know is that I am excited because I am ready to see some good basketball (I am sick of that joke called the NBA).  These athletes go out there and compete for their College without recieving millions of dollars, it is all around good competition.  So, fill out those brackets, place those bets (although not recommended), and most of all have some fun while we soak in this great tournament as good weather is right around the corner.

What is Going on with NBA?

Teams are starting to build up by getting three super stars on their teams to make them competitive, just because of the Miami Heat.  Over the summer, the Miami heat aquired two more superstars to go with Dwayne Wade, who is probably the third best player in the league.  Since this happened, other teams have started to load up in anticipation of what the NBA is turning into.  Soon there are only going to be about three good teams in each conference, with all of the all-stars on those teams.  The problem with this is that teams that do not have good teams or location (Cleveland Cavaliers) or pretty much out of luck to be in contention of a title anytime soon.  I am just going to start watching NCAA basketball more if the NBA continues on this path.

Carson Palmer

Carson Palmer, the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, is saying that if the team does not trade him, he is going to retire from the game of football.  He is basically forcing the team to trade him, but apparenlty the are not willing to, so it will be intersting to see what transpires from here on out.  I personally believe it is rediculous to do this as a professional, because there are athletes in college right now who would kill to be a quarterback in the NFL, and Carson is just being greedy.  He really has nothing to complain about, he is making good money, and as a competitor, he should strive to make the team better.  Over all, I feel like he is being un-professional, and he should finish out his contract (he signed) in Cincinnati.

Tweeting Trades

Well, as the 3:00pm NBA trade deadline on Thursday came and went, anybody could have followed along with a play-by-play report of what deals were being discussed because the social networking website called Twitter.  I went on Google and searched, NBA trade rumors, then I went to a website called Hoopshype, and clicked on their Twitter feed, which was basically a bunch of NBA reporters giving constant updates of trades that were about to go down.  It was the first time, as a fan, that I was able to see that detailed of information about trades as soon as those trades were being discussed.  I didn't have to wait until the 6:00pm Sportscenter to see what trades went down, i was able to read what was going on, as it was going on.  This new technology has spead up the rate of which information is given to the public, and this years trade deadline was a perfect example of how fast information can actually get to the public.  I find this to be a major advancement in technology, especially for people involved with sport communication.

2011 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

This year's Sprite NBA Slam Dunk Contest compltetly made up for last year's humiliation.  See last year, some of the more big name players (Lebron) were supposed to come out and make the contest more interesting, but instead some players backed out and made it one of the worst dunk contests I have ever witnessed.  It was even worse than my home town's 3 on 3 tournament's dunk contest.  Honestly, there was just no "wow" factor last year and I thought that the dunk contest should just be dropped, but this year, as once said on the movie Dumb and Dumber, they completely redeemed themselves.  There was way more creativity to this year's contest compared to last years.  There was a dunk with two hoops, a dunk with 3 basketballs, a dunk with a teddy bear grabbed with a mouth, a dunk from the free throw line, and finally, a dunk over a car.  Over all, the whole contest was better, not just the competition and the creativity, but the way they sold it was even cool; each dunker had a coach, and then most of the time they brought in props, or someone to help them out (even a choir was brought in for the car dunk).  Bottom lline here is that I thought that the NBA and TNT raised the bar for the dunk contest for years to come, and as a fan of the NBA, I am impressed.

                   

Team JOY

My YMCA adult basketball team name is Team JOY and unfortunetly, just like the Ohio State Buckeyes, we recieved our first loss of the season this week.  We had won close to 20 games straight and was undefeated this season.  One of our best players, who averages 40.6 pts per game and 21.3 rebounds per game was unable to play.  We are still the number one team in the league, but it always hurts to lose.

The Toilet Bowl that Wasn't

As it turns out, the toilet bowl of the NBA ended up not having that much on the line, at least for one team.  The Cavaliers ended up beating the Clippers in overtime on Friday night to end their 26-game losing streak.  Then the Wizards turned around and beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Sunday to end their 25 road game losing streak.  So in the end both of the horrific losing streaks were ended over the weekend, so both teams can look forward to the draft to hopefully start to turn their franchise around.  The worst part about the whole thing is that I had tickets to the Cavs vs. Clippers game on Friday and was unable to attend, which is only bad because it was like the Cavs won the NBA finals after they beat the Clippers, but oh well, theres always the Cavs vs. Heat game.

 

The Toilet Bowl

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not necessarily the best team in the NBA this year, but I am a strong believer that they are not the worst team either.  On Sunday the two teams that are considered to be among the worst in the NBA this year will face off in what should be called the toilet bowl.  The Cleveland Cavaliers are facing off with the Washington Wizards on Sunday in Cleveland, and as it stands right now, the Cavaliers are on a 26 game losing streak and and the Wizards are 0-25 on the road this season.  Although this game will not feature many big names (except for John Wall), this game has the making to be one of the best games so far this season.  One of these horrific losing streaks will come to an end on Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena, which for sure should be rocking with a play off atmosphere.  We will soon find out who will win this infamous Toilet Bowl of the NBA.

Time Has Expired on the 2010-2011 NFL Season

Well the 2010 NFL season has come to a close, and I have to admit, some crazy things happened this year.  We had players suspended, concussions given (and recieved), the infamous tripping incident, record fines handed out, Brett Favre finally missing a start (and MAYBE finally retiring) and even a mess up during the National Anthem on Super Bowl Sunday.  Over all, as a fan I would have to say that this years season was one to remember and I hope that there will in fact be a 2011 season.  Just knowing how much is on the line, I believe that things will be settled and there will in fact be another season next year.  All and all, I am very happy with how this year's NFL season played out,but it would have been better if the Steelers would have scored as time expired....but congrats to the Green Bay Packers.

Andy Pettitte Retiring

Probably the greatest playoff pitcher ever has decided to retire today.  Andy Pettitte has decided to retire after spending most of his career with the New York Yankees, and posting the most wins in the post season by any pitcher in major league history.  Pettitte had 19 wins in the post season.

A New Technology

One of the new technologies that is sweeping the entertainment world is 3D TV.  This new type of broadcasting capabilities is giving the viewer at home an unreal experience.  Television can now display images in three dimensions instead of just two.  This new technology is really effecting the Sports world, because it is now possible to watch live sporting events in 3D, which is unheard of to those who only had a simple black and white TV growing up.  This new technology is transforming the way people watch sports, and I believe that it is not just going to stop here.  I think the next technology to change the way you watch sports is through hologram projections.  I bet with in the next ten years you will be able to watch the Super Bowl as a 3D projection right infront of you.  But as for now we have just 3D TV and for now that seems to be working just fine.

A Little About Me

I am currently a freshman at Slippery Rock University and I am majoring in Sport Management.  I am a very big sports fan; I watch anything from the U.S. Open to the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, so i guess you could say I am a sport guru.  I do have some favorite sports teams, but i try not to be bias when blogging about sport issues.  Basically I love being around sports and love talking sports with anyone who is wants to.