The Cougars are 2-0 now in their little tour of Europe for some summer practice. The most recent 114-45 win included everything except an embarrassing brawl.
I'm guessing everyone has heard the old news by now about the Georgetown game in China and the brawl that ended the game. Sad. Word from NPR was that it shouldn't hurt US-Chinese relations because China sensors the media and did not allow the fight to be published. Rather, the front page news was Joe Biden's visit to China.
Glad the Cougars can always be trusted to play without the black eyes that are found all around the NCAA landscape these days.
Go Cougars!
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Old sports injury
Most people can claim at least one old sports injury that lingers for years and flares up on occasion. I have mine.
This story takes us back to freshman year of high school. I didn't apologize for being 4'8" when I started high school. Nor did I consider myself athletically inferior for weighing in at a whopping 70 lbs.
I was committed to joining the high school basketball team. After all, I could rain three pointers all day and accumulate steals constantly at church pick-up games and I knew most of the guys who had already been hand selected by the high school coach in middle school to make the team.
Maybe unapologetic, but I wasn't unaware that the shortest freshman who wound up making the team was 15 inches looking down at me. Maybe I had watched Rudy too many times but I figured I could compensate for size with determination.
My determination caused my injury. I'm not sure if I regret it or not. I was never much of a weight lifter so I was a little hesitant when my friends who would eventually be on the team invited me to work out over the summer at the high school weight room. I didn't really know what I was doing but they took me under their wing and showed me what to do. It didn't take too many curls with the barbells before I strained my forearm and it has never quite been the same.
The story stops there because this post is about sports injuries and not about life lessons of getting cut from high school basketball teams (didn't MJ get cut from his high school team). Point is I can't seem to shake it. I still feel the strained forearm whenever I use it with much significance and I've learned to be careful with it.
Which leads us to the next blog post... bowling.
This story takes us back to freshman year of high school. I didn't apologize for being 4'8" when I started high school. Nor did I consider myself athletically inferior for weighing in at a whopping 70 lbs.
I was committed to joining the high school basketball team. After all, I could rain three pointers all day and accumulate steals constantly at church pick-up games and I knew most of the guys who had already been hand selected by the high school coach in middle school to make the team.
Maybe unapologetic, but I wasn't unaware that the shortest freshman who wound up making the team was 15 inches looking down at me. Maybe I had watched Rudy too many times but I figured I could compensate for size with determination.
My determination caused my injury. I'm not sure if I regret it or not. I was never much of a weight lifter so I was a little hesitant when my friends who would eventually be on the team invited me to work out over the summer at the high school weight room. I didn't really know what I was doing but they took me under their wing and showed me what to do. It didn't take too many curls with the barbells before I strained my forearm and it has never quite been the same.
The story stops there because this post is about sports injuries and not about life lessons of getting cut from high school basketball teams (didn't MJ get cut from his high school team). Point is I can't seem to shake it. I still feel the strained forearm whenever I use it with much significance and I've learned to be careful with it.
Which leads us to the next blog post... bowling.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Remember, Remember
The Cubs are the best example but I've supported a lot of teams empathetic to this plight. I watched a lot of Cubs games growing up. Usually around June I could spot a few signs in the bleacher seats that all were some variation of "Wait Til Next Year." In a good year the signs wouldn't emerge until after the Summer Classic and in poor years we might even see the signs in May. With over 100 years between World Series titles I'm sure there are some sarcastic signs that find their way into the stadium on Opening Day.
Having endured such seasons makes it all the more important to remember and appreciate the winning years.
Under the leadership of Coach Rose, BYU basketball has built a winning tradition but this year had a little something extra. I think it was the combination of fairy-tale heroism from Jimmer, the sudden rush of national attention justifying an attention-starved fanbase, and the late climax that appeared tragic when the ladder got knocked out from underneath us with the reports regarding Brother Davies.
You weren't paying attention this year if you still believe the common phrase that there are no moral victories. BYU enjoyed moral victories on multiple levels and the season ended with heads held high rather than confidence beaten down.
And so with the NBA Finals behind us and the draft about to remind us, let's take a minute (or 13) to remember.
Having endured such seasons makes it all the more important to remember and appreciate the winning years.
Under the leadership of Coach Rose, BYU basketball has built a winning tradition but this year had a little something extra. I think it was the combination of fairy-tale heroism from Jimmer, the sudden rush of national attention justifying an attention-starved fanbase, and the late climax that appeared tragic when the ladder got knocked out from underneath us with the reports regarding Brother Davies.
You weren't paying attention this year if you still believe the common phrase that there are no moral victories. BYU enjoyed moral victories on multiple levels and the season ended with heads held high rather than confidence beaten down.
And so with the NBA Finals behind us and the draft about to remind us, let's take a minute (or 13) to remember.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Paging MC
Anyone seen Mark Cuban lately? He is due on stage soon if things go according to plan.
Out of sight out of mind, I guess. I hadn't thought about him so far during the NBA Finals until last night as I watched Lebron lose the biggest game of his life (his words, not mine).
I'm not your typical fan. I enjoy sports playoffs more in the early rounds than toward the championship because more often than not my team isn't one of the final 2 or 4 teams and there aren't as many underdogs (likable teams) around.
So this year is a little different because I kind of like the Mavs even if I thought the most intriguing Final would pit the Bulls against the Thunder. We'll never know if I'm all talk or not but I think I would have watched all of that series.
Anyway, I started to reminisce some of my favorite NBA playoff memories and the Mavs come to mind a lot. I enjoyed their battles with Pheonix back in the day and I was disappointed they couldn't disappoint Shaq when the Heat beat them in the Finals a few years ago.
The more I thought about the Mavs the more my memory was filled with the distraction that is Mark Cuban.
But I can't think of one time in the 2011 playoffs that I've seen him on the bench or on the court or in the media, which is a bit out of character so I'm assuming it is by design. Seems to be working. I wonder if all that pent up MC is going to pop on Sunday or Tuesday if the Mavs get this done.
Out of sight out of mind, I guess. I hadn't thought about him so far during the NBA Finals until last night as I watched Lebron lose the biggest game of his life (his words, not mine).
I'm not your typical fan. I enjoy sports playoffs more in the early rounds than toward the championship because more often than not my team isn't one of the final 2 or 4 teams and there aren't as many underdogs (likable teams) around.
So this year is a little different because I kind of like the Mavs even if I thought the most intriguing Final would pit the Bulls against the Thunder. We'll never know if I'm all talk or not but I think I would have watched all of that series.
Anyway, I started to reminisce some of my favorite NBA playoff memories and the Mavs come to mind a lot. I enjoyed their battles with Pheonix back in the day and I was disappointed they couldn't disappoint Shaq when the Heat beat them in the Finals a few years ago.
The more I thought about the Mavs the more my memory was filled with the distraction that is Mark Cuban.
But I can't think of one time in the 2011 playoffs that I've seen him on the bench or on the court or in the media, which is a bit out of character so I'm assuming it is by design. Seems to be working. I wonder if all that pent up MC is going to pop on Sunday or Tuesday if the Mavs get this done.
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