For The Love or Money?

Show Me the Money...lots of it!

No matter what kind of sports fan you are whether its only Football, Baseball, Soccer or whichever, the one thing that all sports fans want to see is the fight between Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Jr Vs. Manny Pacquiao. The reason behind this is simple - they are the best boxers in the world and arguably 1st ballot Hall of Famers in Boxing. Both parties are interested in making this 'instant classic' bout happen but the only, and I use the word only very loosely, issue is of how much of money does each boxer get? As his nickname and picture to the right depicts Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants the promoters to 'show him the money', and he wants them to show him quite a lump sum of money. To be exact, he rejected 50 million dollars for his services but considers 100 million just right for his services, just for ONE FIGHT!!!!

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not the only professional athlete that wants to get 'cashed out' for his tremendous talents, every professional athlete with tremendous talents more or less the potential for tremendous talent, want to get 'cashed out' for their services. For instance, the players in The National Football League are notorious for such antics. Many experts call The NFL 'a copycat league', meaning, that everyone follows suit after each other ranging from types of defenses/offenses to contract negotiations. Consequently, if a player 'holds out' (the process of not showing up to work to achieve a lucrative contract) for an X amount of time or a certain player gets X amount of money, then the next player observes what happens and tries to 'copycat' him. It is understandabe trying to maximum monetize the efforts but when they constantly tell the media 'It's not about the money, I love this game and would play for free', it irks the fans and they begin to question the motives of professional athletes.

The major contributors to these athletes are the fans. The fans are what make these athletes lucrative through the purchases of player jerseys, stadium tickets, team paraphernalia, and etc. Once the fans have shown support and talent is proven, the front office sees the popularity of the athlete among the fans, and more than likely a lucrative contract is signed. However, if the fans begin to not purchase player jerseys, stadium tickets, team paraphernalia, even with the talent proven, the front office will have doubt on whether this athlete will create revenue, because the fans have shown that they will not purchase team paraphernalia more or less, the athletes gear. In the end, do these athletes really love their sport or the money that is to be made in their sport?

Opening Day For The 2010 World Series Champions

1st since 1954

Before the first game on April 8, 2011 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California was played, Brian Wilson raised the World Series Championship banner in right center field. For the teams such as the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, raising a World Series banner has become somewhat routine every opening day but for the San Francisco Giants it has never been a routine, because it is their first championship since moving out west in 1954. As for many Giants fan it was a day that they have been dreaming and obsessing about since they moved out west, since they were born, since they became a fan and even for those that aren't fans but are residents of this great city. 

The San Francisco Giants were hosting the St. Louis Cardinals and their All-Star first baseman, Albert Pujols. The Giants had help from their opponent from one of the sure handed defensive players in the entire Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols. Albert dropped the ball on what fans and commentators call a 'routine out', and because of this error, the inning was extended thus giving the Giants more opportunities to win the game. The game went to extra innings with the Giants prevailing on a walk-off hit by Aaron Rowand in the 12th inning. Some Giants fan were probably asking themselves if this really happened again because Rowand was also the player at helm of the victory in extra innings during 2010 season opener, and to answer those fans question: Yes, he did it again!! 

As the saying goes "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." But on April 8, 2011, not only did they learn from their recent history, they repeated it with the exception of winning in the 12th not 13th inning. The scenario was the same as the 2010 season opener - two outs, Aaron Rowand makes contact and the winning run scores and the Giants Fans go into a frenzy. If it is going to be another 2010 season, then I have to be able to sustain such torture until the post-season where they were flawless, and eventually became the World Champions. Lets Hope So!!

Complacency in All Levels and Sports

It happens all the time in all levels and sports. It happens in High School Sports, College Sports and even Professional Sports. Yes, athletes that get paid to perform at the highest level get complacent especially when they have reached the pinnacle game or series of their respective sport. It happened to The Texas Rangers when they played The San Francisco Giants in the 2010 World Series. They were projected to win The World Series by many experts but it was obvious that every Ranger was happy to be able to participate in their first World Series in the history of their franchise and seemed like they forgot that a final series still needed to be made in order to be consider champions. However, The San Francisco Giants had the mentality that they were going to achieve a feat that had not been accomplished since the move from New York to San Francisco in the 1950s, in which they did.

It happened again to Butler during the 2011 NCAA Basketball "March Madness" Finals against UCONN, and I could not help but to question Butler's mentality! I understand if a team gets beaten but if a team beats themselves which causes the opponent to come out as victor because of some sort of complacency, then their is a problem. That is what it seemed to happen to Butler, after reaching their second straight NCAA Finals Game. Butler seemed to be content to be in the Finals whereas UCONN seemed the opposite. UCONN had a sense of urgency and knew what the stakes of winning or losing this chance that for some schools is once in a lifetime and it was evident that they were not going to let Butler defeat them more or less beat themselves. In sports, when an opponent gets beaten that usually means that the victor was better prepared/coached and simply imposed their will but when an opponent beats themselves that usually means that the victor was not better but kept their composure, made less mental mistakes and simply wanted to win more than their counterpart. That is what happened at the 2011 NCAA Basketball Finals. UCONN did not beat Butler, Butler beat themselves, thus giving way for UCONN to capture the 2011 Championship. However, this is not the first time a team gets perceived as being complacent in the most important game in their respective sport and levels.

Not to take anything away from anyone because it is an accomplishment to make it to the finals but making it to the finals does not make you a champion, it only gives you a sense of pride saying that your a finalist. Every team has a goal to capture a championship but until that very last game or series is completed, no one is a champion. A champion is crowned once that game or series is completed and the score is higher than the opponent only than will you achieve the goal that was set at the beginning of the season. Which leads me to ask: Why do teams get complacent once they have reached the pinnacle series or game of their sport?

The Modern Day 'Samson'

Every sports channel, every sports blog, every sports page, the 'witch hunt' of Barry Bonds is at least mentioned. Recollecting this past decade and the accusations from the prosecution on how Barry accomplished extraordinary feats in Baseball, it reminded me of the story of Samson. Everyone knows the story of Samson and his godlike strength that lied within his hair. For those who do not know the story, here's a brief description:
Samson was born during the time of when Israelites were being oppressed by the Philistines and Angel came down to tell the parents that their son (later to be called Samson) was the one to free Israel. However, a vow was to be taken which required - no grape products, avoid tombs and corpses and the most famous one, not to cut his hair. As Samson became a man, it was said he killed a lion with his bare hands and defeat an entire army with only a donkey's jaw bone. As the myth of Samson grew, many people especially the Philistines wanted to get rid of Samson because he was giving the oppressed people hope something that they did not want happen. Later on in life, Samson fell in love with a beautiful Philistine woman, Delilah, who was bribed to find out the secret of his superhuman strength. During their time together, Delilah was so persistent in finding out the secret that Samson withstood the first attempts but in a moment of weakness, he gave in and told her. Consequently, she cut it off and Samson no longer had his herculean strength; thus, creating a opportunity for his enemies to capture him.

Although this story has been around for thousands of years, there still are examples of a modern-day Samson throughout professional sports. A few sports that have notoriety for such athletes are the NFL, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts, Professional Wrestling (WWE), but the ringleader is the MLB. Major League Baseball has been plagued by some athletes performing at superhuman levels especially after a year of sub-par performance. For example, Brady Anderson under-performed one year but the next year, he was able to hit 50 home runs as a lead-off hitter, which is an extraordinary accomplishment. At one time, MLB had so many Samson's that they called those years are the 'Steroid Era'. Baseball's 'Samson's' include to name a few: Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire, aforementioned Brady Anderson, Garry Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco and the most infamous, Barry Bonds. As the case with Samson, many people wanted to know how they could achieve such feats that were unfathomable and wanted to know their secret. Which in this case, the equivalent to Samson's hair was rampant PED use (Performance Enhancing Drugs) specifically Steroids and the Delilah was Jose Canseco.

Once the secret was out, the performance levels of these athletes plummeted given the accomplishments that they achieved during their 'Samson' years. Although none of these athletes were captured by their enemies but all these athletes did fall from grace especially in the eyes of the fans. Till this day, many athletes deny using Steroids and one culprit being Barry Bonds, which has called his trial a 'modern day witch hunt'.' As that saying goes: 'Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it.' Maybe these athletes should have learned something from the story of Samson...

March 26, 2011 = A Sports Fan Ideal Day

Even though I have multiple TVs throughout my house, I only have a pair of eyes in which I can see sports. Today is a day in which I wish I had eyes all over the place especially on a TV because today is a day that a sports fan can only dream of. What makes today so special for a sports fan, a person might ask themselves that? Allow me to explain by citing what is going on in the world of sports.

EuroCup Qualifier Games are throughout ESPN and GolTv.

There are also soccer 'friendly games' between nations such as Chile V. Portugal and the most talked about amongst soccer aficionados is the appearance of Lionel Messi, whom the youth call 'A Beast' for his athletic prowess, in New Jersey. The United States National Team plays the Argentinian National Team at the new Meadowlands Stadium. 

Spring Training Baseball Games are being shown through MLB Network and other channels. Why is Spring Training Games important to watch today? They are not but these are the last Spring Training Games of the pre-season because Opening Day is March 31, 2011.

NCAA 'March Madness' Games are on TV on CBS, TBS and TNT. These are the Regional Finals also known as The Elite 8. These games will decide which team will make it the Final Four, one game away from a National Championship.

HBO is broadcasting world class boxing bouts called HBO 'Boxing After Dark' today around 9:45PM EST with the main event being Yuriorkis Gamboa Vs. Jorge Manuel in a Featherweight Bout; two fighters that only have one speed and that is go, go, go.

UFC is also broadcasting world class mixed martial art fights called "Fight Night' on Spike TV at 10PM EST. Even though it is on free TV, this card can, in some people's opinion, be put on pay-per-view and still sell. This card has some amazing fights such as Dan Hardy V. Anthony Johnson, Amir Sadollah V. DeMarques Johnson and the main event being Phil 'Mr. Wonderful' Davis V. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

If this is not what a sports fan ideal day looks like than I do not know what is but the one thing I do know is that I am a huge sports fan and March 26, 2011 is my ideal day.

United States Will Play Host to a Legend in the Making

Lionel Messi

No one would ever think that a twenty-three year old athlete is a legend in the making especially in professional sports. The reason behind this is for the mere fact that the athlete is TWENTY-THREE years old!!! People at the age of twenty-three year usually are associated with rookies, a great professional prospect or what the recruits call, pro-ready - an athlete performing at a professional level and plays in a system similar, if not, the same as professional clubs. However, in the sport of Soccer or what the rest of the world calls Football, twenty-three year old players, typically have a few years playing at the highest level -  European Leagues, specifically in England and Spain - or in this case almost a decade.

If you still are not familiar with the twenty-three year old soccer athlete, his name is Lionel Messi. He is from Rosario, Argentina and has been playing the beautiful game (soccer) since he was in diapers. He plays for a club team in Catalunya, Spain called Barcelona Futbol Club. He has been playing for Barcelona since the tender age of seventeen-years old. Although he was trained within their system but for a young man to play for an esteemed club at the highest level at such an age is extremely rare. At his debut game for Barcelona, he scored a goal which shows his tremendous skills and poise for a young athlete. He has achieved so much in his short but remarkable six year career that athletes that are much older still strive to accomplish. One of his greatest accomplish to date is that he has been a two time recipient of The FIFA World Player of the Year Award, a feat that only Brazil's Ronaldo and Ronaldihno have accomplished in FIFA's extistence.

On March 26, 2011, The United States National Team will play against Argentina's National Team with Lionel Messi, most likely serving as team captain, at the new Meadowlands in New Jersey, USA. How are the Americans going to stop this 'legend in the making' from taking over the game is  to be seen but one thing that is for certain, the soccer community will definitely be in full force to see one of the greatest living players that is active on a roster....And did I say he is only TWENTY-THREE years old!!!!!

Whats The Next Level For An Accomplished NCAA Wrestler; The UFC?

I read this article and I asked myself: Whats the next level that a NCAA Wrestler can compete while earning a living?

 Check Out These NCAA Wrestlers Who Would Excel Fighting In The UFC

I know College Football has the NFL, UFL, CFL and even Arena Football. College Basketball has the notable NBA and the many leagues around the globe. College Baseball has the MLB and their farm leagues (minor leagues) and many leagues worldwide. College Soccer has the MLS and the prestigious Spanish, English, Italian, German, Dutch, Brazilian and many others. As for College Wrestling, they have hmmmm, well let me think about this one. (After pondering and scratching my head about this scenario for a matter of precious seconds) I can only think of one, especially as of late, which is Mixed Martial Arts and their respective organizations. For example, UFC, Bellator, Strikefore, WEC (now defunct), King of the Cage and so forth. The only difference between these organizations and the organizations of aforementioned sports is that MMA is  'merely a baby' in comparison.

Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Soccer has been around for almost a hundred years whereas Wrestling has been around for thousands and thousands of years since the days of Ancient Greeks and Romans. So why is it Wrestling isn't as popular as these other sports? Can it be wrestling suffered a similar fate as Horse Racing (Sport of Kings) during the rise of sports on television? See what happen to Horse Racing was that it was not shown on television to the masses and because of that the generation that was growing up, was not exposed to the sport. Consequently, that generation became adults and passed down the sports they grew up playing and watching - Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Soccer - to their kids and cycle just kept repeating till these sports became the most popular.

Now in present day; UFC is on the rise and being televised which means, the generation that is growing up are being exposed to MMA just like the many generations before them were to Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Soccer. Sooner or later, if not right now, kids will want to have a successful wrestling career in college with the aspirations of becoming the next UFC Champion.

So with MMA companies on the rise such as The UFC, whats next for an accomplished NCAA Wrestler? With the exception of Stephen Neal, a 2x NCAA Champion for Cal State Bakersfield that played ten years for the 3x Super Bowl Champions- New England Patriots - MMA seems to be the logical choice.