Take Out The Trash Day

If anyone who reads this is familiar with the show The West Wing, you might recognize the title of the post. "Take Out The Trash Day" was an episode title from Season 1 where the staff would use one day to throw a lot stories at the press in an attempt to overwhelm them and prevent the press from being able to focus on one.

This post is of that spirit in that I'm going to just fire a few quick, unrelated items at you, but not devote a blogpost to each one.

Leading off - the idea of the Atlanta Falcons getting a new open-air stadium. I cannot describe in full detail how against this I am, but I'm VERY against it - if it involves just 1 cent of public money. This comes from some columns I recently read on AJC.com. The Falcons play in the Georgia Dome which opened in 1992, also knows as the year I moved to Atlanta. Out of 31 NFL stadiums, 29 are younger than the Georgia Dome. I can understand looking around and seeing the majority of the league with new stadiums and not wanting to fall behind, but the Falcons are fine with what they've got. The GA Dome is in good shape, even surviving a tornado, and yeah it may not be brand new, but it's not like we're talking about Shea Stadium, the old home of the NY Mets. By and large, I really appreciate what Falcons' owner Arthur Blank has done for the franchise and the city as a whole. But there can be no justification for asking for taxpayer dollars for a new stadium when Fulton County just axed 400+ teachers and is hacking school programs left and right, including elementary music and orchestra. The Falcons have a good home that will likely be paid off in the next few years. They need to be happy with that.

Unless you're living in a cave, I have to believe you've heard SOMETHING about Arizona's new immigration laws. Well in the previous round of the NBA Playoffs, the Phoenix Suns decided to make a political statement in opposition by wearing jerseys that had "Los Suns" on them. This idea did not come from the players, but rather the owner. That is what blows my mind, and is what bothers me. The only thing for him to gain by doing this was dividing his fan base, alienating those fans who didn't object. It's a political matter and he should have kept the team - as a business - out of it. If players want to act on their own and on their own time, I'm OK with that. But it is not the responsibility of a professional franchise to dictate political policy and force its fans to decide wether they will continue to be a fan because of a public political stance. One other note on that - if the leagues are going to allows their teams to act in that manner, then they cannot go to Capital Hill and and tell the government what they do and don't need to legislate.

Let's end on a positive note. I came across another sportsmanship gem this past week, thanks this time to ESPN's Rick Reilly. The short version: Marshall Community's JV Softball team was playing its first ever game against Roncalli, a school riding a two-and-a-half year winning streak. Marshall barely had enough equipment for its team, and questions asked by the players before the game included "Which one is first base?" and "How do I hold this bat?" After just an inning and a half, Roncalli would offer to forfeit the game so that they could spend that time working with, helping, and teaching the Marshall players. Roncalli's team didn't stop there, and I hope that you will click here and read the rest of this wonderful story.

What the Olympics, NFL, and NCAA Basketball have in common over the other leagues.

Yes, you read correctly, I just said that football and BASKETBALL have something better than baseball. I'll get to that...

Yesterday, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver concluded in high-fashion, and I haven't even watched the closing ceremonies yet. I'm talking about the USA/Canada hockey game for the gold medal. The game was almost everything you would want out of a "championship" event. There was the neighboring nations rivalry, there was the "home" team on its home soil (even though technically Canada was the "Away" team), there were normally teammates now opponents, and you had a clear favorite in Canada's all-star team vs. a clear underdog in USA's very young team. I almost forgot to mention the previous upset where Team USA stood up to the favored Canada and dominated them just one week earlier.

What made this game so exciting though, was that it was a true case of the popular saying, "Win or go home." For the loser, there was no chance to tie the series up the next day. There was only one simple question going into yesterday's game: Who will step up when it matters and come out on top?

That is the fundamental questions of sports, and, when it gets boiled down, is why most of us watch. The particular sport has no bearing on the question because that question is universal. Ice hockey, ice skating, luge, skiing, track & field, gymnastics, baseball, football, swimming, and yes, curling all come out with an answer to that question.

Sure, you can say that Canada played defensive yesterday for the majority of the game, but so what? In the end, they have a gold medal and Team USA has the silver. Canada won, USA didn't - end. of. story. I love it. There are no questions about the outcome.

I know why MLB, NBA, and the NHL use the series system in their championships. The idea is that they help prevent flukes, and maybe they do to an extent. All you have to do, however, is go back to the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series to question how much they really prevent a weak team from winning. The real problem with the series format is that there is really no drama until at least game 4, and usually not even then. A team can have a bad day, and still have a chance.

In the Super Bowl, if you have a bad day, you're probably going to lose. Same in NCAA Basketball. Same in the Olympics. The question is, can you step up, and not let that happen? That's the question I love about sports.