We Are.....Blind Love

The recent accolades of Penn State's THON charity event is something to be proud of and truly inspiring. By no means is this meant to take away from that. However, Penn State can not simply forget that they hid a child molestation scandal so their football program could flourish. Most of the student body seems to disagree.

This blog will likely be the most unpopular I have ever written. I am writing a piece that, in some ways, attacks Penn State University at a time where every other Penn State student has said the word "THON" more often than any English word in the dictionary since February 1. THON is what people refer to as the IFC/Panhellenic Two-Day Dance Marathon held annually at Penn State University. FTK is the slogan, which stands for "For The Kids". THON is a year-long event held to raise money for pediatric cancer and to also raise awareness for the Four Diamonds Fund, an organization that helps families dealing with cancer. The entire celebration is something for everyone involved to be proud of. THON raised over 12 million dollars this year, a new record for the event that has been around since 1973. 

David Stern? David's Turn

The NBA takes the back seat to the other leagues in the "Big 4" (excluding the NHL, if that needed to be stated), but there is one area where David Stern's league excels among the rest. The All-Star Weekend.

Admit it. You're really pumped for All-Star Weekend, aren't you? Nah, I don't care if you're as hardcore an NBA fan as 2Chainz is a marijuana fan, or if you're a closet NBA fan, you are excited for the All-Star Weekend. And you shouldn't be ashamed! We all are! For more than a few reasons, the NBA's celebration of it's finest athletes is the best in terms of quality, quantity and excitement across the board when it comes to the four major American sports leagues. 

My Totally Biased Super Bowl XLVIII Preview

I would try and preview this Super Bowl, but I can't look past my bias anymore. Anyone who is tired of people praising Ray Lewis or who won't listen to a case for Joe Cool and the twenty million dollar contract, kindly click here.

It was twelve years ago the last time the Baltimore Ravens were headlining the Super Bowl. They put a beating on the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV and Ray Lewis took home Super Bowl MVP honors. Trent Dilfer was the winning quarterback, and for him, all I can say is I can't believe this video exists. I was only eight years old, but I do remember watching that game and thinking of my grandfather who was at his home also watching that game. My grandpop got me into the Ravens when I was six or seven, the investigation is still being conducted. The first Super Bowl I can remember is Brett Favre vs John Elway. The first Super Bowl I remember paying attention to is Kerry Collins vs Trent Dilfer. The depressing age that was the early 2000s.

2013 MLB Preview

Ah, isn't it wonderful? The daily countdowns to pitchers and catchers reporting followed by the daily joke about the pitching and catching slur. The NFL playoffs coming to an end (although for me, they are far from over! GO RAVENS!) and the NBA season approaching All-Star Weekend. This all points to the baseball season coming quick! And with it, my annual preview that will just fall short and likely embarrass me. I can't break tradition, I owe it to my seven readers.

NFL Conference Championships Preview

The division round of the postseason taught us a lot about what to expect from the Conference Championships. That you can't expect anything.

Everyone expected Seattle to waltz into Atlanta and knock off the NFC's number one seed. Matt Ryan and the Falcons are still playing. More people were picking the Packers to march into Candlestick Park and handily beat the 49ers because "you don't bet against Aaron Rodgers." While the loss can't be blamed on Rodgers, a loss is a loss and San Francisco moved on. 

If I Had A Vote...

The past is the past, and it can not be changed. This is a fact. The Steroid Era of the 1990's has come and gone in baseball. It has saved the game and, at the same time, given a black eye to it. It has been the topic for many conversations, ranging from would this guy get your vote to how do you base who gets in and who doesn't.

NFL Division Round Preview

No real big surprises came from this past weekend's slate of games, but will the divisional round produce different results? Me think yes.

Have you ever been out to eat at a really nice restaurant? Hah, what am I saying, my fans are all wealthy and pompous pricks, of course you have! (I'm gonna try to insult all you guys like a boy who is mean to his crush in middle school, but know that I appreciate you all and I hope you enjoyed my personal Christmas cards from me this year) Did you find yourself pointing out all of the flaws of the place, despite it being regarded as some five-star, gorgeous institution for perfect cuisine? The food was too expensive. The service was worse than that found at Good Burger. The lights were so damn dim, how do they expect me to see my food, they probably poisoned it. The music they played went out of style centuries ago, unless you want to fall asleep, don't bother going there. The waiter was gay, I thought that was illegal.

NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview

Some interesting games and matchups are slated for the kickoff weekend of the NFL playoffs. Do the wild cards have the upper hands?

This season was as unpredictable as any in recent memory in the NFL, as upsets seemed to be the norm week in and week out. Well, now the postseason has arrived. Will upsets continue in the second season? As a Ravens fan, I hope not.

2012 Belongs To....

As 2012 comes to a draw, I got to wondering who can claim they were 2012. Its a tough question that can only be answered with a bracket. 2012 belongs to.....

The other day while I was at work, I asked someone if they would be spending their New Year's making dead pool gags about Dick Clark when I was reminded that Dick Clark died earlier this year. This really has nothing to do with my story though.

My idea is to come up with a winner for 2012. You might be saying that's a pretty vague statement. How does one win a year? I thought the same thing after I came up with the idea, but after a solid thirty minutes of trying to come up with a criteria that would help me definitively declare a winner for the year 2012 and how I could tie it in with a sports/kindofpopculture blog, I finally had somewhat of an idea on how I was going to do this. Now if any of my readers commented on my blog, those comments for this story would probably be insulting to my criteria, the fact that I didn't know the difference between Honda and Hyundai until around three years ago and that I own Mike Greenberg's biography Why My Wife Thinks I'm An Idiot  and I am not even old enough to legally drink a beer yet. Alas, no one will leave a comment so my self-esteem remains intact. 

Week 17 NFL Preview

Merry Christmas everyone! I got a new mac for the most wonderful time of the year, and did not plan on writing a blog this week, but simply had to to break in this thing! What they say is true, once you go Mac you never go back! Anywho, here are the news and notes for Week 17 and my playoff predictions. Enjoy!

It Reads "Thou Shall Not Kill"

The incident revolving the Dallas Cowboys and Josh Brent is about someone who made a terrible decision and took the life of another person. Does it matter so, so much how we got to that point? You wouldn't think so.

After I woke up this morning, I got myself an apple (a rare occurrence, but one that happened because I lost a lot of weight recently since I live at college and take pride in finally learning how to grill a burger), poured a glass of milk and turned on ESPN. Mike and Mike in the Morning was on, something I haven't seen in a long time, again since I live at college and rarely am awake before 10 a.m. I used to watch this show every morning before school and love the chemistry between Golic and Greeny. I even read Greeny's book, Why My Wife Thinks I'm An Idiot, and it was actually pretty damn good.

The Real Sportsman of the Year

Recently, Sports Illustrated named LeBron James the 2012 Sportsman of the Year. Someone needs to explain to Peyton Manning and I what the definition of sportsman is.

The scene may be less prevalent, less recent and less exhausting today than it was in July of 2010. LeBron James sitting in his director's chair being interviewed on national television, on primetime national television by ESPN, about where he was signing as a free agent that offseason. The selfish and narcissistic spectacle that was cleverly named The Decision forever swayed my opinion of The King, even if my angst towards him has cooled off since that night thanks to time and, well, time. That's honestly about it.

Playing Phillies GM for a Day

The Phillies are at an interesting crossroad right now between rebuilding and contending. Still, the team could be handled a little better. That's where I come in. 

As I watched the Winter Meetings unfold, I was inspired enough to write about why they are awesome (they are) and why the Phillies shouldn't fall under the normal, ludicrous notion to shell out money to the best free agents available and expect to instantly contend. I was bitter, mostly because I kept hearing people tell me that they should. Also because my girlfriend had a mouse in her house and he kept outsmarting the mousetrap. Well, eventually the trap got him by the leg and he no longer is messing up her kitchen. Now its time to catch the Ruben Amaro by the leg and stop him from messing up our Phillies, if you're picking up what I'm putting down.

The Argument for Rational Spending in Philly

I've heard plenty of people complain about why Ruben Amaro has yet to make a splash in the Winter Meetings and people who wonder why he hasn't shelled money at the big name free agents yet. Why? Because its the smart thing to do.

 The baseball Winter Meetings are one of the most wonderful parts to the most wonderful time of the year. The 30 general managers in baseball get together in one place to display their endless amounts of money and sign up all the free agents available as early Christmas presents to their fans and their teams. And its all televised for some reason, but for some reason we all watch anyway (who wants to miss MLB Network analysts finding old pictures of the sports figures they interview and giggling for ten minutes when they cleverly display them on air? "Oh, Terry Francona, I heard the Indians were getting a good look at this guy (cue to picture of Francona in a towel at some random hotel looking like he's had a few cases of Blue Moon)! (cue to everyone on TV giggling like girls who just called the hottest guy in school during a slumber party and instantly hanging up)." Its great!

AFC Playoff Mirage

It's December, which means its time to take a stab at the AFC playoff picture and complain about the Ravens.

While the story behind this 2012 season a few weeks ago was the widespread parity in the league, heading into Sunday's schedule of games, the playoffs seemed pretty settled in both leagues outside of the final wild card berth and the NFC East (I'm looking at you, Eli). After Sunday's barrage of upsets and surprises, and post-Monday night's matchup between the Giants and RG3, the playoff race is now at least a little more interesting and exciting over the final four weeks of the season. While I thought the last four weeks of the season would drag on like Dick Clark as the host of the New Year's Rockin Eve, we can actually now anticipate some pretty exciting games and some up-in-the-air postseason slots.

Philadelphia Freedom

The disaster that is the Philadelphia Eagles should be no surprise this season. We all knew Andy Reid was coming back as head coach.

I recently watched a video of the debut game for Terrell Owens as an Eagle. I remember watching that game like it was yesterday and it brought back positive memories from when this franchise was in it's glory days (even though I still wish that game went differently, as we know, I am a Ravens first and foremost, and that game took place against my boys. The scene of Ray Lewis chasing down TO is only made better by the TO! TO TO TO! TOOOOO, TOOOO! chant and remembering "Yea, this didn't work out at all. And Ray Lewis still plays.").

Turning Tides?

For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have dominated the AFC North behind Ben Roethlisberger and a dominant defense. As Pittsburgh ages, Baltimore has improved even while getting bit by the injury bug. Are tides changing in football's toughest division?

Sunday night was a classic meeting of the NFL's current greatest rivalry. Any time the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens meet, a gritty, hard fought, closely-contested and gruesome (both in terms of physicality and style points) is more imminent than the current fiscal cliff. Last night was no different, as we witnessed a 13-10 Ravens victory at Heinz Field behind a stingy, bend but don't break defense and an offense that refused to turn the ball over.

Last I checked, you make the playoffs based on wins, not flash. That's a good thing for Joe Flacco and the Ravens.

Show Me The Money!

How Marlins owner Jeffrey Luria played the game, screwed his fan base (a second time), and how the "greatest commissioner this sport has seen" allowed it all to happen.

Tuesday night, baseball changed not only in Miami and Toronto, but across the nation on the heels of a blockbuster trade that saw multiple Marlins stars pack their bags for the northern border. Shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitcher Mark Buehrle, perennial Cy Young candidate Josh Johnson, utilityman and speedster Emilio Bonifacio, and that guy you might have had on your fantasy team in MLB 07: The Show, John Buck were all sent to Toronto last night, despite Buehrle and Reyes being on the team for one season. In return? Miami receives a disgruntled shortstop (Yunel Escobar), an untested shortstop (Adeiny Hechavarria), Henderson Alvarez (Henderson Alvarez), minor league starters Justin Nicolino and Anthony DeSclafani, minor league outfielder Jake Marisnick, and veteran/backup catcher Jeff Mathis. Seem a little unbalanced? It's not, I'm telling you Buster Olney texted me last night and said the next Griffey is waiting in Jake Marisnick.

The Super Big Ultimate 2012-13 NBA Preview- Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of my first annual Super Big Ultimate NBA Preview! Can I get you something, maybe a Pabst Blue Ribbon? I've got a taste for living, I'm thinking cold blue ribbon.

Now I know what some people are thinking, "holy crap, I'm only one sentence in and already using the link thing again". To those people, buzz off, Buzz Killington! I like the link thing and I am gonna abuse the link thing like Billy Bob Thornton abused the words "I do." Second off, let's get things rolling with the Western Conference, shall we.

The West is more spread out this season than the East. Where the East is very top heavy, Miami and Boston lead a conference with a huge belly of average teams and a handful of teams that I could probably come off the bench for. Out west, it's a little different. The top is definitely defined, the Lakers and Thunder and I'll even take arguments for the Spurs sit atop the conference, but it is no dramatic drop to the second tier of teams. Also, the teams at the bottom are nowhere near as abysmal as Charlotte. Sorry Bobcat fans, you got dissed in Part One and Two. If that doesn't persuade Michael Jordan to try and snag LeBron in 2014, I don't know what will. 

The Super Big Ultimate 2012-13 NBA Preview Part One

We're in for a wild year in the NBA, and despite the huge expectations for basketball in Los Angeles, are the Lakers a lock for the championship banner?

The Dwight Howard phenomena came to an end in August when through a four team trade involving the Magic, Sixers, and Nuggets, the Lakers ended up with the big prize of the summer. Adding the league's best big man to a starting five that already included Pau Gasol, a solid and dependable guy down low, Steve Nash, arguably the league's best point guard of the past decade, Kobe Bryant, arguably the league's best player of the past decade, and Ron Artest, the comedic relief, came with enormous expectations. And rightfully so. This starting five, on paper, has been compared from everything to the Kobe-Shaq Machine of the early 2000's to the Dream Team to the lineup from Live 8. 

If Howard can acknowledge that, and mesh well with four other superstars, than this team is dangerously dangerous. If not, the Lakers could be the biggest disappointment since that movie that only made $100,000 dollars this past summer. You didn't hear about that? Well, I guess it's not really a disappointment than. (Regardless, check this out: Oogieloves! More like Oogieflop! ) Biggest disappointment since Eli Manning having two more Super Bowl rings than you do? There we go, that hits home. 

This, of course, is just one of so many storyline from a great NBA offseason. Can the Heat repeat? Can Andrew Bynum make the next step to being "the" guy? Can Tim Duncan win one more? Has the Grizzlies window closed? Is Omer Asik really that good? I'm biting my nails waiting for the answers, hbu? Nvm.

Without further ado, here is my full preview of where teams will fall in the conference and of how the playoffs will fall, and who knows. There might be some coverage of things like the presidential elecetion, MLB playoffs and possibility of Arrested Development finally coming out with a movie. Who knows.