Spring TRAINING

Now that spring training has started, baseball fever is only beginning. Two stadiums in New York that have seen a lot of great baseball over the years. The Mets are finally looking better than the Yankees. Although a negative, even steroids are stirring things up and making stories all over the place, especially in Houston, where now questionable hall of famer Roger Clemens is sweating bullets. But fans have to remember that this is only spring training. People are quick to forget that results of these games can never ever be used to foreshadow a team's season. I bet you that somewhere, some Mets fan right now is feeling very uneasy because Johan Santana gave up three earned runs in the first inning of today's game against the Cardinals. I bet that after that first inning, Santana went back to the bench slightly disappointed, but then happy that he had control of his stuff, and placed the ball where he wanted to. If you lose sleep over this, you need a reality check. After a weak spring training last year, the Mets won their first six.

Great, Hall of Famer, Cheater, Liar

In the ongoing investigations of the Mitchell Report, Roger Clemens is at this point trying to save any dignity that he might have on a legendary right arm, but not succeeding. After two very unstable testimonies by Clemens and trainer Brian McNamee, there has been more claims that Clemens attended a party hosted by Jose Canseco which the Rocket denied attending. Plus there was the deposition made by Andy Pettite that said Clemens had in fact been injected with Human Growth Hormone according to a conversation between the two many years ago. After these reports, Clemens might be indicted on perjury charges, which could land him in jail for up to five years.

It's Gone Past Just Acting

Although Oscars contain some of the most beautiful people, there are actually actors but mostly actresses who are using appearance enhancing substances. Some of these people have gotten so caught up in the over sized beauty contest that they have forgotten their morals and ethics. This has gotten so out of control that former state senators are threatening to start investigating the substance abuse in Hollywood. Last night, although she has already been absent for a couple years, the 80th Oscars were deprived of the most mentioned name in these substance abuse allegations, reporter, Joan Rivers. Rivers has even been mocked in a national Geico commercial about her abuse. The problem here is that there is no action being taken, but there should be.

Feature/Story Ideas

March Story Ideas:
1. Dodgeball (march 5)
2. Dames Ball (February 29)
3. Latin Spring Games

Teen Feature Ideas
1. Steroids in High School Sports - I would write about the increasing high school steroid use and how it is affecting the athletes themselves, and the school.
2. Fighting within School - I would report on the increasing amount of fighting and school violence, such as school shootings.
3. Athletic Scholarships - I would write about the increasing number of scholarships available and how it is making dreams come true for many athletes.

Ain't No Tigers on Old Rocky Top

The number two ranked Tennessee Volunteers played the number one ranked Memphis Tigers in an epic game. Even in a mere 66-62 game, this game lived up to all of it's hype. J.P. Prince came off the bench and had an amazing performance for the Vols. What may have hurt Memphis was their fourth worst free throw percentage in the country, missing two key free throws with under 10 seconds left. It also hurt Memphis when Joey Dorsey commited his fourth foul early in the second half, benching him virtually for the rest of the game. Also, Memphis was very streaky from the arch, hitting most of the threes early in the first half but then going 1-15 for the rest of the game. Derrick Rose led the Tigers with a game high 23 points. Tyler Smith led the Vols with 16 points, but Prince was the main story racking 13 points and eight rebounds from the bench. This is the first time that two teams within Tennessee had been ranked number one and two, but Tennessee takes the contest.

Throatguard suggestions - Pain in the Neck

Recently, Richard Zednik had his carotid artery cut open and was immediately rushed to the trainers followed by a trip to the hospital. This bizarre event has stirred up talk of mandatory throat guards to be worn at all times during the game. First off, this protection would have to flexible, so how strong would it really be? Would it be strong enough to hold up against a razor sharp skate? Secondly, this is only the second time this has happened in the last 20 years going back to the Clint Malarchuk incident from 1989. No one would wear the throat guards and personally, I think it was a dumb idea to begin with.

Sports Feature

Del. to consider high school steroid testing
Task force to study issue; New Jersey already has program
By MIKE FINNEY, The News Journal
Posted Thursday, January 31, 2008
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On Wednesday afternoon, Dover High School football players were hard at work in the school's weight room.
Phillip Kizer, a junior center for the Senators, believes some high school athletes don't just lift weights to get stronger and faster.
"There are some people that I can't tell whether they are using steroids or not," Kizer said. "Sometimes I think that secretly there are people taking steroids, maybe around 10 percent of the athletes.
"I know it isn't me, because I can't stand needles, and I don't like to take pills."
Delaware officials want to know if Kizer's take on steroid use among high school athletes is valid.
Last week, the House passed Resolution No. 44 to create a task force to study the cost and issues relating to steroid testing programs for Delaware high school athletes.
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Greg Hastings, R-Millsboro, said he hopes the panel will present a report to the General Assembly by June 15.
"It was put on my radar that it was time in light of what's going on in the world of professional athletes and professional sports," Hastings said. "A lot of kids, not only teenagers, but even younger kids, look up to and admire our pro athletes.
"I feel like steroid testing is something we need to consider. Hopefully, [the task force's] findings won't be nearly as great as what we might expect."
Four states -- Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Illinois -- already have adopted some form of steroid testing for high school athletes. New Jersey was the first state to implement such testing.
Kevin Charles, executive director of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, believes the issue is worth studying.
"I think it is important to examine the issue to determine what the most appropriate path forward is for Delaware," Charles said. "To date, the National Federation of State High School Associations, DIAA's parent organization, has taken the position that education is the most cost effective and efficient means to approach the issue of performance-enhancing substance abuse at the interscholastic level. While DIAA supports that position, it is certainly appropriate to examine the issue from a local perspective."
Mike Schonewolf, athletic director and football coach at Caesar Rodney High in Camden, does not believe steroids testing is necessary for Delaware high school athletes.
"I don't think steroids are a problem for high school athletes in the state of Delaware," Schonewolf said. "I know that at Caesar Rodney just by giving it the good, old-fashioned eye check.
"I can't see any of our athletes that show signs of steroid use. Plus, testing is expensive, and I think our money would be better off directed at areas where we would see something in return."
That is just what Stan Burris, an assistant football and track and field coach at Dover, likes to hear.
"Around here, we preach about working out naturally," Burris said. "I definitely think that money could be better spent on something else.
"How about more money to get more teachers in class, so we don't have classrooms full of 25 students?"
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association pays $175 to test each athlete. The state, which instituted its program during the 2006-07 school year, randomly tests 500 of the 10,000 athletes who compete annually in state tournaments or playoffs.
Last year, one of the 500 athletes tested failed. That student received a mandatory one-year suspension from competition.
The NJSIAA and the state each contribute $50,000 to fund the $100,000 testing program.
According to the DIAA, 9,714 high school students competed in sports, including varsity and junior varsity, during the 2006-07 school year.
If it recommends testing, the Delaware task force will also recommend what percentage of athletes should be tested.
With the lure of college athletic scholarships, many student-athletes are susceptible to becoming steroid users, Hastings said.
A recent study of high school student-athletes by the Mayo Clinic found that 11 percent of male athletes and 2.5 percent of female athletes have tried anabolic steroids.
"Ever since I introduced the bill, I've had several parents and other people tell me that so-and-so got hooked on steroids when they were in high school," said Hastings, who declined to elaborate. "I'm cautiously optimistic. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a bad report, but I felt like we need to investigate it."
Hastings will sit on the task force along with Charles, two other House members, a representative of the state department of education, a sports medicine expert, a scientist with experience in the study of performance-enhancing drugs and five members of the coaching and/or education community.
Hastings said he hopes a testing program would involve all sports, not just a select few such as football and wrestling.
"I don't want to isolate it," he said. "... Our study will determine what path we will go down."

Devils Finished Playing Catch Up

Tonight the New Jersey Devils face off against the San Jose Sharks. The Devils took first place of the Atlantic Division but now share it with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who beat the Florida Panthers yesterday. Now the Devs need a win to join a three way tie for the Conference lead with the Ottowa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. Although the Devils have taken four out of their last five, it'll be a tough game to win today. If the Devils do win, it might give them a little momentum into their last home game against the New York Islanders, one of two New York teams they haven't beaten this season. After that, the Devils start a rough eight of ten road trip.

Devs Blow Perfect Opportunity

Yesterday,the New Jersey Devils skated onto their home ice in their twelfth home game in a 15 out of 18 game homestand where up to that point they had only been .500. However they had taken their last four out of five from The Rock and looking for a season sweep of their opponent, the Atlanta Thrashers. Not only that, the Devs were looking to take the division lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. For a while it looked as though that it was going to happen. New Jersey started off to a 2-0 lead only to be tied up in the second period. Then John Madden produced a go ahead goal with about 11 minutes to go. Then with 19 seconds left in the game, Marian Hossa tied it up. The game eventually led to a shootout where it went 11 rounds in which the Thrashers won 3-2 to seal a 4-3 victory. What this means for the Devils is that to take the division lead, they need at least a point against the conference leading Ottowa Senators tonight and the Penguins to lose to a hot Buffalo Sabre team on Sunday.

What happened to Kentucky?

On February 12, the University of Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt by 41 points. If that sounds bad, Kentucky struggled to get into double digits in the first half. Although Vandy is ranked #19 in the country and has the second best overall record in the conference, what has happened to Kentucky's supremacy as a basketball team? The Wildcats were always first or at least competing for first in the South Eastern Conference. Yes they are second in the SEC East, but Kentucky has been playing bipolar all season. They beat Tennessee and Vandy earlier in the season both at home. However, the Wildcats have also lost to C-USA teams they should've romped on like UAB and Houston and also San Diego in a 2-5 December effort, plus they're latest embarassing 93-51 loss to Vanderbilt . So how will this unpredictable team perform in the Big Dance? Who knows.

Ken Taylor

Mr. Ketelaar, Kenny has called me from Puerto Rico and has informed me that he doesn't have internet access, so he will not be able to blog for the rest of the week.

Another Great Rivalry Game

I was watching the Rutgers vs. Tennessee womens basketball game the other night on ESPN. What a game! What an ending! What was with the Scarlet Knights' uniforms? Rutgers went with a girlish pink colored uniform, which should never ever be shown as a uniform in any kind of sporting event again.
Regardless, in the last two minutes, I had trouble keeping my seat. Rutgers with a six point lead, then the Vols come back, and take the lead with a magnificent three pointer. Rutgers manages to take the lead again, but then spoils their near upset of the number two team with a stupid foul on a shot that wouldn't have counted any way, with two tenths of a second left. She sank both free throws and sealed a heartbreaking loss for the Scarlet Knights.

Skating on Thin Ice

My friends and I recently attended a New Jersey Devils Hockey game. It made me realize that hockey is not as popular as I thought it was. Before I continue, let me tell you that the Rock is one of the nicest stadiums or arenas I've ever been in. This place makes the Continental Airlines Arena look like a public bathroom. The arena itself isn't even cold, and when I was in the bathroom, if I spilled water, it felt that I had to clean it up. When we were ready for the first face off, I looked around and saw that the stadium was about half full. There were a lot of open spaces between groups of people, especially in the lower level. The question is why. Why are limited people coming to the games? The answer is because the ticket prices are so high especially in nice new arenas like the Rock. Elsewhere, there are also limited crowds like in Tampa Bay. The Lightning have trouble drawing crowds because Tampa isn't as hockey oriented as Canada or northern states. If National Hockey League commisioner, Gary Bettman wants to draw more fans to hockey games, which has been improving recently, he has to lower ticket prices in the lower level.

Are the Mets Really that Good?

With the new acquisition of pitcher Johan Santana, the Mets have essentially bought themselves a World Series ticket. Santana alone revives an otherwise dull Mets starting pitching staff and is even complimented by Martinez and John Maine. Following one of the worst first place collapses in sports history, the Mets are out for revenge this year. The direct cause to seal the collapse was Tom Glavine who couldn't even get out of the first inning although he had an otherwise great year. The bullpen was also a mess last year especially without Duaner Sanchez who makes his first appearance this year after a shoulder injury in 2006. Sanchez will be a major help to an improving bullpen. The starting pitching durations each game didn't help the bullpen either. It was up to Glavine and Orlando Hernande and occasionally John Maine to give a seven or eight inning performance last year. The really sad thing is that starting pitching staff couldn't even produce one complete game the entire season. Added to the Santana acquisition, hopefully Maine and Oliver Perez will mature a little bit more and make longer outings, and the pitching problem will go away. Other than that the Mets' defense looks pretty good besides an injury waiting to happen in Luis Castillo's knees. This all mixed in with one of the most potent offenses in the Majors makes at least a World Series contender.

Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLII ranks as one of the best super bowls in NFL history, but it's not getting the credit it deserves. It has been going around that this year's super bowl was extremely boring until the fourth quarter. All I have to know is what game they were watching, a re-run of the Steeler-Dolphin game earlier this year? From a great drive led by Eli Manning in the first quarter to a forced fumble by the Giants defensive line to essentially end the first half, this game was unbeleivable. Even as a Jet fan, I couldn't help but root for Big Blue to quite possibly the biggest upset of all time. When I watched the game from that standpoint, anything beneficial for the Giants, resulted in a unified cheer from the entire party that I was attending. How were the first three quarters not exciting when the Giants were able to subdue the undefeated Patriots to a mere seven points?

That point aside, how could a person could be from the tri-state area and not root for the G-Men. You're an Eagles fan, suck it up, do you really want to see the snobiest, most arrogant group of cheaters complete an undefeated season? Jet fans, you hate the Patriots the most out of every other kind of fan; that's shameful if you didn't root for the Giants. Finally, Patriot fans, don't make excuses because you can't. There were no lopsided calls in the Giants favor, the pass-defense just broke down in the fourth quarter, that's it. Don't even come back with, "We had one of the best seasons ever", but you didn't have the best because you went 18-1 and that one loss is the only one that matters. In history the Patriots will only be remembered for a super bowl loss from their 2007 season. So give it up for the Giants, they won the only game that mattered, the super bowl.

My Blog Subject

I plan to blog about the sports community, mostly consiting of Basketball, hockey, football, and baseball, professional, college, and even some high school level. Not only will I report on games, but also off the field events, such as injuries, player-coach conflict etc.