#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay
Hello everyone! I hope you are all surviving the impending zombie apocalypse and stocking up your bomb shelters effectively. (Is it too late for a zombie man reference? What about bath salts?) REMEMBER! You survive three weeks without food, only three days without water. In the mean time, let me take you away from the bullshit for a few minutes and lets talk sports.
There has been a lot of drama across the sports world lately. Not a ton of action on the field neccesarily, but super star drama queens like Dwight Howard, center for the Magic, have taken the diva image of athletes to a whole new level.
Just last year, Dwight Howard had an option in his contract to either stay with the Magic for one more year or forego his final year and enter free agency to presumably go to a much more serious contender than the Magic. Dwight has had a lot of public issues with his team about how they are not competing for a championship, and he has also gone as far as to request a trade to a contender.
For whatever his reasons may be, amongst years of Howard complaining and requesting trades, he decided to stay with Orlando for one more year. Now, in the most recent twist in the story, Howard came out and complained once again about his team with some reports going as far as saying he claimed he was "blackmailed" into agreeing to take his one year option. I don't doubt he said this, but I also don't think he knows what he is saying. I especially don't think he realizes the legal reprocussions of accusing an NBA team of blackmailing you. Anyways, that's not the point. I suppose the point is, it's just one more dramatic event you can add to Dwight's long list.
I guess I forgot, Dwight also bitched and moaned his way to getting his coach Steve Van Gundy fired last year.
We all know how frustrating it is to see an athlete complain so much while theyre making millions every month, but lets take a step back for a moment. Yes, Howard is immature, but he is also 26 and had a city's worth of pressure put on his shoulders at the age of 19. He was drafted into the NBA straight out of high school and never really got the normal chance to mature that most people get. I am not saying that he is doing anything correctly or the right way (other than playing basketball), but I am saying that I can understand how a person could end up like that after enough pressure was put on him. Here is a story I cannot understand...
One of the greatest managers of all time and a no doubt hall of famer, Tony LaRussa, has recently proven that 67 year old men can often times act just as immature as 26 year old super star centers. Even though LaRussa retired last year after he managed the Cardinals to a World Series Championship, he still has the right to manage the NL All-Star team because of last years WS win. The NL manager has the right to choose 9 All-Stars to represent their league, and after the dust settled and LaRussa made his decisions some people started to notice something; he didn't choose any of the Reds who seemed to deserve it.
The most glaring "snub" in my opinion was Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto who is currently fourth in his league in ERA and is tied for sixth with nine wins. Considering 13 pitchers made the NL roster, none is this seems to add up. Until...you remember all of the drama that occured between LaRussa's Cardinals and their division rival Cincinatti Reds. It truly is a scene words can't really explain, so that's why there is YouTube...!
That was....AWESOME! My favorite part is the old umpire sitting back adjusting his hat while the brawl was occuring. Can't say that I blame him.
The instigator of that fight was Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips, who couldn't shut up about how much he hated the Cardinals the day before that brawl happened. Phillips, was the second worst snub by LaRussa this year. So it seems fair to deduce that LaRussa is clearly not choosing these players based on merit, but rather he is doing this to fulfill some grudge from a year ago. I get it, baseball players never forget, but if you retire you aren't allowed to directly affect the game like this anymore. Cueto and Phillips are hard working athletes who deserve to be All-Stars, but because a retired old man can't get over a baseball grudge they are stuck at home missing something that truly is an honor for these players.
There are two ways to look at it, yes it's unfortunate that Vueto and Phillips got screwed, but this also opens doors for a lot more controversy and good baseball from these two teams. I just hope that they can keep it all on the field this time.
Thanks for reading again guys! You all rock and I'll talk to you next week!