Sports Takes Category

Before I start here, let me be clear: I’m an ardent supporter of gay rights. I believe that being gay is no more of a choice than being white, black, brown, or blue. I believe that gay people are absolute equals in society, and should be treated accordingly. I’ve voted in support of gay marriage every chance I’ve had. And perhaps most on-point, I believe that a gay football player is just as qualified to be in the NFL as a heterosexual player. And that brings us to Michael Sam.Read More

The NFL is, by far, the wealthiest and most powerful sports league in America. With an annual revenue of around $9 billion, the National Football League dwarfs other professional sports leagues, both in America and abroad. But just how much of a giant in the NFL in the sports world? More than you can imagine. This “weekend” (Thursday night through Saturday morning), the NFL Draft took place in New York City. Obviously, the most-hyped bit of the draft was the first round, televised in primetime on Thursday evening. Needless toRead More

The tennis clay court season is in full swing (silly puns), and the tennis tour has landed in Madrid this week for the Madrid Open. Sure, some say it’s just another tournament. But those of us who follow the sport know better. The Madrid Open is a revolutionary event where things are done a bit differently than your average tourney, thanks in part to this man: Ion Tiriac Ion Tiriac is financially wealthy, but he also has a wealth of ideas when it comes to shaking things up at theRead More

Floyd Mayweather Jr. faced the rough and tough Marcos Maidana Sautrday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.   THE RESULT Mayweather by decision. Judges scored the bout, 117-111, 116-112, and 114-114 in favor of Floyd.   THE FIGHT The fight forced Floyd to out-box his opponent, something he hasn’t had to do in many of his recent fights. Maidana came out swinging wildly and never let up. He threw over the top punches at Floyd often leaning forward and pushing him against the ropes. It appeared as though MaidanaRead More

At the risk of using excessive hyperbole, let me just say… the 2014 NBA Playoffs have been nothing short of scintillating. Aside from the Heat machine and their stompage of the Charlotte Bobcats, every series has been tight. For that matter, nearly every game has been contentious. As of Friday, May 2nd, there are three series going to game 7s. Additionally, we have another three that could easily go the distance (currently at game 6). Bottom line, you need to hang onto your pants, because they could fly off fromRead More

Blackout. To any sports fan, it is the most painful word in the dictionary. It generates anger, frustration, disappointment, and horror from deep inside. We become less nice people. Some of us throw things, while others prefer to go the hunger strike route. And then there are a few brave souls who will contemplate the unthinkable – yep, giving up beer. Too drastic for me, but I see where they are coming from. Television blackouts stink. If you live in LA in 2014, you know this fact firsthand. Only 1/3Read More

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He has been hailed by other basketball legends as one of – if not the – greatest players in NBA history. He’s a great man with too many accomplishments to list. Let’s just mention briefly that he perfected the skyhook… enough said – he’s awesome. Currently, he works in the Los Angeles Lakers organization and has previously worked for both the Clippers and SuperSonics. In the aftermath of the Donald Sterling situation, TIME put out Kareem’s reaction and these are his mainRead More

Ok, so let’s set the stage here.  According to the New York Times – possibly the most credible and infallible news source out there – the investigation of the rape charges involving Jameis Winston in December of 2012 basically didn’t happen, contrary to what the campus authorities led us to believe. Now in case you didn’t catch the sarcasm in that hyphened-out phrase, the New York Times is not always the most reliable source for fact-based news. However, the article that I read – and that you can go readRead More

Hockey and I have had a roller-coaster of a relationship over the years. Growing up in Colorado in the 1990s, the Colorado Avalanche came second ONLY to my beloved Denver Broncos. Yeah, it was a great time to be a Colorado sports fan; the Avs and Broncos were downright dominant in the mid-to-late 90s. It was also a great time to be an NHL fan; fantastic rivalries, star players, and excellent attendance made the NHL a force to rival the NBA for viewership. But then, in the early 2000s, theRead More

Guess what? It’s almost May and as of May 1st, we are 42 days away from the greatest sports spectacle in the world, the FIFA World Cup. I understand that soccer may not be everyone’s cup of tea here in the United States but it is undeniably the most popular sport in the world, viewed and played in more countries than any other. It is also my favorite sport. Recently, even in the US, the successes of the Men’s and Women’s National teams have taken the sport’s popularity to aRead More

Donald Trump is among those expressing interest in owning The Buffalo Bills. The NFL team is currently under the ownership of Mary Wilson. Her husband, Ralph Wilson Jr., passed away just under a month ago at the age of 95. The team has stated on its website that it is in the process of planning the sale of the team in a way that is compliant with the NFL, the state, and county. Although Donald Trump made his name as a real-estate developer, he’s been involved in football before. He onceRead More

It has been a beautiful weekend of playoff basketball. Despite the absence of the old guard, all of the playoff games so far have been compelling. The Knicks, Celtics, and Lakers aren’t necessary to make things interesting. After a huge focus on the tanking, non-playoff teams throughout the season, we now have the best teams going against each other (and the Eastern Conference too!). Here are some thoughts and observations from the beginning of playoff season.   The Pacers should be concerned about the Hawks It has been a runningRead More

I know that the actual season is pretty far off still, but I can’t stop thinking about it with all the spring football games going on ESPN and all the analyst buzz starting to pick up around who’s going to be the team to beat this next season.  Here are 5 questions that I’ve compiled to think about as we move closer and closer to the beginning of what should be a pretty interesting season of college football. 1. How will the implementation of the 4-team playoff change the game,Read More

Bernard Hopkins stepped into the ring Saturday night dressed in burgundy and gold. It was in respect to the Washington, DC crowd that he was in front of. The DC armory was packed. Hopkins threw combinations with ease, landing shots at a rate more than twice his opponent’s, and he was eager to talk about his next fight at the end. He did not look 49 years old Saturday night. Final total punch stats had Hopkins landing 49% of his shots whereas Shumenov only landed 20% wasting too much energy on single jab misses.Read More

It’s over. The champ has championed Augusta National for a second time in three years. Bubba Watson dons the coveted Green Jacket yet again. What’s the best part of all this? Maybe the fact that we won’t hear Jim Nantz utter the cliché, “coveted Green Jacket,” for another year. I kid, I kid. The best part of the 2014 Masters was the outpouring of talent on display by the sport’s young, up-and-coming stars. Such as: Gary Woodland I raved about this guy after day one, and what did he doRead More