Missy Franklin...Good as Gold!!!

Greetings from the Hoodwood where most of the locals have Olympic fever, except for me. I think its allergies.

The Lady Bandit was big on watching the Opening Cermonies of the Olympic games. I wasn’t that interested. Though, I did catch the part with Daniel Craig as James Bond escorting the Queen (and that was really Queen Elizabeth II) to the games.

I thought it amusing and cool that the Queen was a good sport and took an active part in welcoming the games to her city. I guess I just haven’t been really big on the Olympic games other than watching both the Mens and Womens US basketball teams take apart hapless opponents. The media seems to want to see the US mens team take a pratfall though for some reason. Their opening game against France supposedly being a “true test”, the Americans passed this one taking a quarter to warm up then proceeding to house the French to the tune of 98-71. That game could have been hella worse but you can be sure Tunisia and Nigeria are not liking the fact that they are next on the USA beating docket. I’ll be more interested when US plays Lithuania and Argentina.

NFL:  Coming soon on ESPN, its Jets watch! All Tebow…umm Jets all the time.

You wonder why there are so many people that despise Tim Tebow? How about the constant overexposure that the so called Worldwide leader in Sports is giving a second string QB and a team that didn’t even make the playoffs last year. I can understand the media scrutiny of the Broncos since they have gotten one of the best quarterbacks of my generation as a free agent. I don’t understand the fascination with Tebow. I feel the most bad for poor Mark Sanchez, the erstwhile starter who is now looking over his shoulder at the media monster that is Tebow. Its gotta so bad that this happened.

I will give Sanchez mad dap and credit he is handling what is a rightlfully awkward situation with grace diplomacy and aplomb but you know that he is under the gun. Let him have a bad opening series against the Bills in week 1 and you will hear the chants for Tebow right away and don’t think that the newly svelte but still grinning and jeering Rex Ryan wont have rabbit ears. The bookies at the Hoodwood Lounge have the over/under for  Tebow to get the  starting nod at 6 weeks. Im taking the under.

NCAA Football: Getting out of Happy Valley

Many of the Penn State players are putting on the brave face and swearing their loyalty to their school and that is to be admired. There are also some prep players who have reaffirmed their commitment to Penn State which also is to be praised. I also feel for the players that feel that transferring out is their best way to keep their pro dreams alive. Contrary to popular thinking though, star running back Silas Redd is not the first player to beat a path out of State College, PA. That honor goes to former walk backup safety Tim Buckley who is transferring to NC State. Buckley,  who took advantage of the fact of the free transfer ability afforded Penn State players and the fact that he was redshirted in 2011 to be able to have all four years of eligibility. The thinking is not if Silas Redd will be heading west, into the waiting arms of Lane Kiffin and Southern Cal but when. Redd has said that the Freeh report had nothing to do with his considering transferring. I doubt that seriously, but the sanctions are likely going to push him out the door. I do think it insulting to the football fans intelligence that Bret Bielema of Wisconsin and Urban Meyer of Ohio State have more or less stated that they were not interested in raiding the Penn State roster for players.  Illinois however has made it very clear that they will not turn down interested Penn State transfers. Will this make for extra hard feelings between Penn State and it s Big Ten brethren…stay tuned. But I will not be surprised to see more players follow Redd out the door as the cloud of probation settles over Happy Valley like a thick fog.

Olympics: Solo shooting off her mouth

Ive chronicled Womens soccer here in Hoodwood before and can appreciate their game. But I just don’t get Hope Solo the acerbic goalkeeper for the American team. She took soccer commentator, legend and former teammate Brandi Chastain to task for what she thought were overly critical comment made about Solo’s current  teammate Rachel Buehler.  Chastain pointed out that in her commentary that the players  had to  "Defend. Win the ball. And then keep possession. And that's something that Rachel Buehler actually needs to, I think, improve on in this tournament." Nothing outlandish here, but Solo took to Twitter and bashed Chastain for her comments saying "Its 2 bad we cant have commentators who better represents the team&knows more about the game." Huh? Im sorry but I think that Chastain has just a bit of credibility here and her comments were neither incorrect nor inflammatory. Solo is well known for her ability to throw others under the bus, she was highly critical of then US Coach Greg Ryan for benching her in favor of Brianna Scurry in the 2007 Womens World Cup. She not only criticized Ryan but Scurry’s play, a move that got her kicked off the squad. She returned to good graces for the 2008 Olympics and was stellar in her play in last years Women’s World Cup play. But she really needs to focus more on her play than having rabbit ears about commentary. I understand that she was sticking up for a teammate that she felt was unfairly criticized but the way it was done was just all wrong.

MLB: The best team you likely have heard little about…

If I told you that there was a team that lost one of its biggest name players and still had the best record in baseball you be cursing the Yankees under your breath right or marveling about the Washington Nationals right? You would be wrong. The team Im referring to are the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds lost superstar slugger Joey Votto for 3-4 weeks after knee surgery and have been battling the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates for control of the NL Central. But undaunted by the loss, the Reds have ripped off a ten game win streak and have managed to keep the strong Buccos at bay. This is a team that suddenly has a deep pitching staff and a frightening hammer coming out of the pen in Aroldis Chapman who hits triple digits with the frequency of Princess Katie hitting the wings on the dinner buffet, which is to say often. Look for a superstar? Brandon Phillips was an overlooked All-Star and gold glover and Jay Bruce is a solid bat but  by and large this team is an unremarkable cast of grinders who seem to find a new hero every day. The ten game win streak has also cost their legendary broadcaster Marty Brennaman his hair as he has to shave his head to honor a bet if the Reds won ten. The Reds are looking better than the surprise 2010 squad that rolled to a division crown but were quickly ushered out by the Phillies in the NLDS. This is a team that could make noise in October and no one is paying attention.

PHAT DAP/HEAD SLAP

Phat Dap

To American swimmers Missy Franklin and Matt Grevers who dominated the 100m backstroke in the womens and mens events respectively. Franklin is all of 17, do you think that she will have something show off going back for her senior year in high school? Gravers for his part only set an Olympic record with a stunning rally on the back end of the race and gave the US its fifth straight medal in this race. That’s bringing the gold home in style.

Head Slap

To the Spainish Mens Soccer team, supposedly so dominant and the odds on favorite to win the Olympic Gold Medal, was eliminated from medal contention after losing a pair of 1-0 matches to Japan and Honduras. The Spainards were planning on adding a gold medal to their impressive run of titles over the last few years and fell flat on their faces.

I know I keep promising pics on the mancave but its coming along slower than expected. More details to follow.

Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!