I Miss Baseball Season

Ok, so I know the NHL is in full gear, and the super bowl is fast approaching, and college basketball is just starting to heat up, and the NBA is flashier than ever.

But I miss baseball.

I'm trying to get through this difficult time.  Really, I am.

But I miss baseball.

Maybe that's why I haven't been able to update my blog in so long.  Every day I go to MLB.com to check the hot stove reports.  But honestly, even the hot stove is burning out.  Pretty much all of the all-star contracts have been signed off on; Cliff Lee to the Phillies, Derek Jeter's contract finalized by the Yanks, the Red Sox signed nearly everyone else worth mentioning - I'm not saying the Pujols controversy is completely uninteresting, nor am I succumbing fully to the off-season baseball hibernation.

Let's just say the headline on MLB.com is how the Mets plan on hosting the 2013 all-star game., followed by how Chipper Jones remains hopeful in returning to the field in 2011.  No offense, but YAWN.

I miss checking the SF Giants page every day, I miss the facebook statuses in favor of Posey or Heyward for ROY, I miss the debate over who has the best pitching staff, I even miss listening to the Giants get constantly stepped on and underestimated by the "experts."  Because all the controversy and action and speculation evokes a passion within me I'm missing.  Right now, I feel lost.  Whereas during the baseball season I procrastinate by reading Buster Olney make magic out of random statistics on ESPN, now I've been forced to start a twitter page so I can keep up with Chad Ochocinco.

I miss baseball.

When the going gets tough........QUIT.

So after reading all the stuff about Jay Cutler and his critics, saying he lacks toughness and what not, all I can think about is the twitter comment tying Urban Meyer into all of this.  If you don't know, Jacksonville Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew took a stab not only at Cutler, but former coach at the University of Florida Urban Meyer by tweeting ""Hey I think the urban meyer rule is effect right now... When the going gets tough........QUIT."  In response, he received death threats from hoards of Chicago Bears fans (they root for a Chicago based team - can't blame them for being bitter...) .  


Yes, that's right.  Death threats.  Because Cutler was compared to Urban Meyer.


Hey, if my QB was put in the same category as Urban Meyer, I'd be pissed too.


Thus begins my rant against Urban Meyer and the SEC.  Hey, I waited until my second blog post.  That's an accomplishment.


Maybe I'm just bitter because Urban Meyer is responsible for the fucking train wreck that is Alex Smith, or the fact that he's an integral part of the SEC aka most overrated conference in college football.  But I will gladly swallow my bitter pill.  The SEC is overrated, pure and simple.  Urban Meyer is an overrated coach, pure and simple.  He's a nice guy, a family man, well-liked in the college football Universe blah blah blah.  And yes, he supposedly quit in light of the physical stress coaching a top-ranked program - the guy lost 25 pounds because of it.  Still, there's got to be some tough-love here, I mean, this is the game of FOOTBALL we're talking about.  


Where was this stress coming from?  While at the University of Florida, Meyer won BCS championships in both 2006 and 2008.  He coached superb athletes such as Heisman trophy candidate Tim Tebow, was heralded in the media as one of the greatest college football coaches of all-time, and was the darling of the BCS rankings computer.  But like his prodigy Tim Tebow, Meyer probably suffered from vaulted expectations and an overexposed, overrated image given to him by the media.  It's no wonder bitter USC fans like myself don't like him: we have to hear about how GREAT he is 24/7.  How PERFECT and WONDERFUL and GENIUS and BRILLIANT he is. I used to blame Meyer, but it's not entirely his fault.  The guy could literally do no wrong: even when he pussied out of ever playing USC and instead scheduled such blistering opponents as Central Florida High School (a slight exaggeration - emphasis on the slight), his team still enjoyed the lofty #1 ranking in the country.  Sorry Boise State, your schedule just wasn't as tough as the University of Florida's was - you're not in the SEC.  Tough break. 


So my theory?  Meyer was crushed under the weight of the world.  Sometimes being placed on a pedestal that's too high creates the inevitable fall back to earth.  Unfortunately for Meyer, his Gators had a disappointing season only made brighter by a BCS win against Joe Paterno and his old school (albeit irrelevant) Penn State Nittany Lions.  It was a sight to see - the octogenarian Paterno wishing the far younger Urban Meyer a healthy retirement.  


You see, that's really what sepearates the good coaches from the mythological ones, and why Paterno's legacy will live on while Meyer's hype will eventually fade.  Paterno slogs it out on the field day in and day out.  he will probably die before he retires from the game he has given his entire life to.  Meanwhile, Urban Meyer will not watch on the sidelines, from from the comfort of his living room couch.

Yes, I'm a sports fan. Take me seriously.

First and foremost, my name is Keely, I'm a 20-year old college student studying film at the University of Southern California.  I'm also super interesting, so it's totally worth your time to keep reading.

So, everyone I know seems to have a blog now.  Which basically means I'm riding the trend.  I'm not usually such a follower...except I guess I follow a lot of people on twitter.  I don't know.

But I do have a legitimate reason for starting this.  I like to think of myself as an opinionated person, yet I doubt anyone who knows me fully grasps this fact.  I have strong opinions, especially when it comes to...wait for it...sports.  I know I know I KNOW that's such a cliche, everyone says they're "the ultimate sports guru."  Well, I don't claim to be that at all.  I don't sit and memorize statistics, I'm not part of a keep league for fantasy baseball, and I've never even BEEN to an NFL game.  Although both Steve Young and Steve Bono (notice I put Steve Young's name first) are my neighbors.  But yeah.

What I do claim, however, is I put all my heart and soul into the teams I follow.  In particular, I live and BREATHE the San Francisco Giants (WORLD SERIES CHAMPS BABY).  Baseball is my oxygen, and I give my G-Men all the time, love, and dedication one would give to their child.  Ask my roommate Lindsay, who gets to see a life-size poster of Giant's closer Brian Wilson hanging up in our room.  (Hence the title of the blog - tricky, right?)  So yes, this is a blog about my various random opinions on sports and athletes, but it's also an homage to the team that is my life-blood.  Sorry Dodger fans, this isn't the place for you...while I'm on the subject, sorry about that McCourt bull shit, it's really a disgrace.  Karma for worshipping a fake idol aka Manny Rameirez?  I think yes.

Which leads me to my first rant.  The Steelers just won the AFC championship (duh).  Which is fine, I like Pittsburgh fans, they're like Philly fans...the difference being they have souls.  But ranting about the Phillies is a whole other can of worms I'll get into later, probably multiple times.  For now, I'll leave it at this: I'd be an asshole too if I had to eat cheesesteak as a point of pride.  'Nuff said.  My problem with the Steelers rests with two words: Ben Roethlisberger.  Now, a lot of professional athletes are involved in sexual assault cases.  And I don't know enough details to say he's guilty of the charges placed against him by the young woman in Georgia.  HOWEVER, to me, Roethlisberger is representative of the blatant yet thinly veiled racism in sports today.  His case in 2010 garnered so much attention because the issue of race was finally brought up in the media.  Roethlisberger was suspended for 6 games in response to his actions.  Michael Vick, meanwhile, was all but black-listed from the NFL (until recently making a comeback) for his involvement in dog-fighting.  I love dogs, but which is worse: mistreating dogs or sexually assaulting a 20-year old college co-ed.  As a 20-year old college co-ed, maybe I'm just a little biased.

The Roethlisberger situation also brings up the issue of sexual assault being almost acceptable behavior for professional athletes.  I remember when the Kobe Bryant case was in the news, and the person I was watching it with got visibly angry at the TV screen saying "he's innocent, that girl's lying."  I was shocked.  But then I got to thinking - that's what most people are akin to believe in these cases.  It's too unbelievable a notion to think any girl would ever say no to engaging in sex with a professional athlete.  Well, let me set the record straight: I sure as hell wouldn't have sex with Ben Roethlisberger.  Just because he's a famous quarterback on a super bowl caliber team doesn't make up for his overall unattractiveness.  And seriously, give the female gender some credit - the majority of us have more self-respect than just throwing ourselves at men just because they're famous.  And yes, there are the occasional fame-whores who cry wolf to get on TV.  And those people are the most despicable of all, because due to their lies the actual victims aren't able to come forward.

To be fair, I don't damn Ben Roethlisberger for the society we have created.  Unfortunately, the mere mention of his name just indicates to me all the warped perceptions of sexual assault victims in relation to professional athletes.

IN OTHER NEWS - gotta love that Vernon Wells trade.  The Jays finally made a trade worth putting on the MLB.com home page. :)