February 24th update

Ryan Braun’s Suspension Overturned

• Ryan Braun, the embattled Milwaukee Brewers outfielder, became the first player in Major League Baseball to win an appeal against the MLB over a failed drug test. Braun, who tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs in October, was facing a 50-game suspension until baseball’s arbitrator ruled in his favor.
• Braun, who won the National League MVP award in 2011, was facing a verdict that would have tainted not only his phenomenal season but his career in general. There were apparent questions about the chain of custody of the sample that tested positive. Nobody was sure that another factor didn’t taint the sample.
• This decision was not applauded by all. Travis Tygart the CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency called the decision “a real gut-kick to clean athletes.” However, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tweeted: “MLB and cable sports tried to sully the reputation of an innocent man. Picked the wrong guy to mess with. Truth will set u free #exonerated.” No reason was given for the reversal, further confusing the situation.


NBA All-Star weekend begins in Orlando

• The NBA's all star weekend begins tonight and unlike the All-Star events of the other sports, the NBA's has taken on a life of its own, almost like the Super Bowl, in the amount of buzz it creates and the number of major stars who show up. Entertainers and celebrities show up en masse and even take place in a celebrity game on Friday night. The other Friday event is the Rising Stars challenge, which used to called the Rookie-Sophomore game but has since undergone a bit of a change. In the past it was simply a game between the best first year players and the best second year players but this season Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley are the "captains" and they took turns drafting players to their teams, playground style.
• Saturday houses the most events including the Slam Dunk Contest, and the 3 Point Contest , two hallmarks of the All-Star weekend. Also included are the skills challenge (similar to NFL comibne's shuttle drill, but on a basketball court), the D-League All-Star game and the Shooting Stars competition, which pairs a NBA player, a former NBA player and a WNBA player from the same city on teams together.
• Then finally, the game itself is on Sunday. There's not much to say about the game other than that you should watch and expect very little defense to be played, a lot of scoring, and if we're all lucky, a dunk like this or a shot like this.


NFL Combine this Weekend in Indianapolis

• This weekend marks a major point in the NFL draft process. The NFL Rookie Combine, held annually in Indianapolis, is an event that can basically be described as a meat market for football players. A few hundred potential future NFL players will compete in a variety of athletic and intellectual drills designed to give scouts and front office personnel measurable data. Doing well in these drills can make or break a player's draft position and possibly his career as members from all 32 NFL teams show up and all take the combine very seriously.
• Players will display their abilities in 8 events. The bench press (the maximum repetitions of bench pressing 225 lbs), the Vertical Jump, the broad Jump, the 3 cone drill (which tests speed and agility) the 20 and 60 yard shuttle and the all important 40-yard dash (aka the quickest way to become an Oakland Raider). Those who counted closely noticed I only listed 7 events, the 8th is the Wonderlic test. This secretive test gives a score out of 40 to test intelligence.
• In past years, many top level prospects skip the workout aspect of the combine in favor of meeting with teams off the field. These prospects wait in favor of their individual school’s pro day. A day when all the prospects at a certain school put on a performance for NFL scouts. Even without the top level prospects at the combine, the event will be an opportunity for many, lesser known prospects to showcase their abilities.

February 22nd update

Wednesday Spotlight: Manny Ramirez

• Major League Outfielder Manny Ramirez signed a small, one year contract with the Oakland Athletics to make his return to baseball after retiring soon after the beginning of last season. Ramirez, who retired at least partially due to a positive drug test, will have to serve a 50-game suspension before he is allowed to play.
• Ramirez made his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians in 1993. In 2001 he signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox for one of the biggest contracts in baseball history at the time. In his 8 years in Boston, Ramirez helped the Red Sox win 2 World Series Championships and made the All-Star team all 8 years (8 of his 12 appearances). Ramirez was known for being extremely talented but a bit aloof and he has done some pretty bizarre stuff (including leaving the field to go to the bathroom in the middle of the game and high-fiving a fan while making a catch) that led to the saying “Manny Being Manny.”
• Ramirez was traded to the LA Dodgers in 2008. After a solid 2008 campaign, Manny was discovered to have taken Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and was suspended 50 games in 2009. In 2011, Manny, after 5 games, was again found to be using PEDs. Instead of serving another suspension, Ramirez retired.
• Ramirez will be remembered for his aloof attitude, his prodigious skills at the plate (winning 9 Silver Slugger Awards) and the 2004 World Series MVP award. His achievements will also be potentially tainted by his drug use. However this season with the Athletics ends Ramirez will go down as one of the most memorable players in the history of the league.


Kemp doesn't want MVP by default

• In 2011, Matt Kemp was arguably the best player in the National League. In an otherwise forgettable season for the L.A. Dodgers (remember this and this?), their center fielder hit .324 with 39 Home Runs and 40 stolen bases, which are phenomenal numbers.
• Most years, that would be good enough to win the MVP, but in 2011, voters awarded the honor to Ryan Braun who had slightly better totals. The issue is, Braun has been notified that he failed a drug test and unless he wins an appeal, he will have to serve a long suspension and suffer the indignity of being the latest star to test positive for steroids.
• Interestingly enough though, Kemp says that he does not want the MVP award even if Braun has to give it back, saying that he wishes the voters had awarded it to him in the first place, but that he does not want to win it by default. This situation is not without precedent and Mike Greenwell, who finished second to one of baseball's most unabashed steroid users, Jose Canseco, has said that he would like his MVP from the year that Canseco beat him out (1988).
• Regardless of what ends up happening, I'm sure many voters wish they had simply voted for Kemp in the first place and he continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise dismal L.A. baseball scene.

December 12th update

RG3 strikes the pose

• Saturday night the Downtown Athletic Club awarded the 77th Annual Heisman Trophy award, for the best player in college football. Robert Griffin III, the quarterback from Baylor University, received the award, being the first player from his school to win the award.
• Griffin III is an athletic freak who, in addition to being one of the best college football players around, is an All-American and NCAA Track and Field champion. Griffin III, who is a Junior, has already graduated with a 3.67 GPA in Political Science. Griffin III is the picture of what a student-athlete should be.
• Stanford QB and preseason Heisman favorite Andrew Luck finished second in the voting. Luck will have the last laugh however, as he will be drafted #1 in next year's NFL Draft (OK, that's not official but it's a near certainty). Alabama running back Trent Richardson finished third, Wisconsin RB Monte Ball finished fourth and LSU cornerback/return specialist Tyrann "Honey Badger" Mathieu finished fifth.


Braun tests positive

• Just when you thought the steroid issue in MLB was beginning to die down, one of the game's best young players failed a drug test when it was determined that his body had well above the normal levels of testosterone and that it was not produced naturally.
• It's a huge blow not only for the Brewers, who rode the 1-2 punch off Braun and Prince Fielder to the NLCS last year and now face losing Fielder to free agency and Braun to a 50 game suspension, it's also a blow to the MLB in general who sees one of it's best young marketable stars take a permanent hit to his reputation. Braun who was the NL MVP this season hit .332 with 33 HRs and 111 RBIs and already has 161 HR's for his career despite playing for less than 5 full seasons, but now the question is how many of those statistics were obtained with help?
• He is the first legitimate star who came into baseball after drug testing was implemented to test positive (which makes this even worse, as unlike some older players, he wasn't around for the days when steroids were basically as easy to find as vitamins in a MLB clubhouse). Braun will appeal but these tests are rarely incorrect and it looks like one of Milwaukee and baseball's best players over the past 5 seasons and and one of its potential cornerstones for the next decade will be forever playing beneath the shadow of the steroid asterisk.


College Basketball Brawl Mars Rivalry Game

• The inter-Cincinnati rivalry of University of Cincinnati and Xavier University is always heated but on Saturday it boiled over in an ugly melee. At the end of the first half of the game, a Cincinnati player started jawing with a player on Xavier’s bench. The players got in each others faces but were separated by coaches and other players. This would set the tone for most of the second half.
• With 10 seconds left in the game and the outcome long decided, the smack talking hit a pinnacle. Exactly what was said is unclear but the benches for both team cleared and fists began to fly.
• The Cincinnati coach gave a very impassioned speech about the lack of maturity on both sides of the situation. On Sunday, each school suspended 4 players in reaction to the incident. Further penalties may come down the line if the NCAA determines that the school's penalties aren't harsh enough.

November 23rd update

Baseball Awards Announced

• About a month after the baseball season ends the major awards – MVP (for best player) and Cy Young Award (for best pitcher) in each league are announced as well as the rookie of the year and manager of the year. The most talked about winner this year was Justin Verlander in the American League. Verlander became the first pitcher in any league to win both the Cy Young and MVP since Dennis Eckersley won it in 1992 and the first starter since Roger Clemens in 1986 since Eckersley was a relief pitcher.
• The National League Cy Young was awarded to Clayton Kershaw. The Ace of the LA Dodgers has overcome some serious off-field distractions from his owner to pitch a fantastic season winning 21 games. The NL MVP was awarded to Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Ryan Braun. The Hammerin Hebrew won in an upset over Kershaw’s Dodger teammate Matt Kemp. The Brewers won their division this year, which is generally a help to a player in the MVP race. Braun’s teammate Prince Fielder finished second in the voting. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the other awards with Starting Pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and manager Joe Maddon winning the Rookie of the year and Manager of the year respectively. In the National League, Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson took the top spots.
• Baseball also announced a minor change to their post season. They will award an additional wild card spot (2 instead of the current 1) starting next season, in each league. The two wildcards will play each other in a one-game playoff game. The winner will continue on to play according to the current format.


More tragic news in the world of sports

• As touched on in our Monday update, Arkansas TE Garrett Uekman was found dead in his apartment this weekend. Uekman’s is one of four sudden deaths to figures in the sports world in the past few days.
• Oklahoma State Universities head women’s basketball coach, and one his top assistants were killed in a plane crash on Thursday night. Kurt Budke and his deputy Miranda Serna were killed when their plane crashed into a Wildlife Management Area west of Little Rock. The planes pilot and another passenger were also on board and killed in the accident.
• Seattle Mariners 24-year old outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death on Rotterdam in his home country of the Netherlands. His brother is being held in relation to the murder. Halman was a young prospect who had played 44 games in the major leagues. He was also part of the 2009 Netherlands team that played in the World Baseball Classic (Baseball’s version of the World Cup).


Thanksgiving Weekend Football Matchups

• Turkey Day Games: 3 Fantastic NFL Games headline the Thursday games this week in the NFL. First, the shockingly competitive Detroit Lions take on the undefeated defending champion Green Bay Packers. The Lions, coming off of a big comeback win, look to continue their fantastic season against the best team in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys look to continue a 3-game winning streak against the Miami Dolphins in the Thursday afternoon game. The Thursday night game features a sibling rivalry between the San Fransisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
• College game of the week: after the major shakeup at the top of the BCS Standings this past weekend, the #1 LSU Tigers take on the #3 Arkansas Razerbacks. If LSU wins they’re all but guaranteed a shot at the National Championship game. If the Razorbacks win, then it will be a 3 way tie between those two teams and Alabama. If that happens, the lowest ranked team in BCS standings will be eliminated and then the winner of the head to head between the last two will win the SEC East. The full process is explained here, but it seems sketchy, as some of the involved coaches can make anonymous votes that actually affect the results of the poll.