Meeting the Band. (revised)

One year, for John's birthday, his dad got him a great gift: tickets and backstage passes to John's favorite band. He could not have been more excited. John bought a T-shirt from the band and listened to all of their music repeatedly in the few weeks leading up to the show. Finally, the day came. He and his dad went early to the venue. Because of their backstage passes, they could get in early and hang around and watch the concert come to be. John was awestruck. At one point, he saw the band members and could not conceal his excitement

"Dad! There they are!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know, just wait until they play," his father replied.

And play they did. They played a long set and John could not have been having more fun. After the show, they went backstage, and they saw the band again. John's dad wanted to go up and meet them, but John was frozen with fear and awe. Finally, he managed to walk forward and strike up conversation with the band members. They told him that, with a little practice, he could become as famous as they were. Obviously, they were just trying be nice, but John took those words to heart. At the time, he played the guitar a little, but didn't like it that much.

Through the years, John practiced. He formed a band with a couple of friends. Gradually, they became more and more well known. All of a sudden, their record was on the iTunes Top 20 albums chart. In an interview with a magazine, John was asked about where his musical inspiration came from. Immediately, he thought of the show his dad took him to for his birthday. He told the whole story of that concert the impact it had on him. He ended the story by telling the reporter that, on a wall in his house, he has framed the backstage pass from the concert all those years ago.

Meeting the Band.

One year, for John's birthday, his dad got him a great gift: tickets and backstage passes to John's favorite band. He could not have been more excited. John bought a T-shirt from the band and listened to all of their music repeatedly in the few weeks leading up to the show. Finally, the day came. He and his dad went early to the venue. Because of their backstage passes, they could get in early and hang around and watch the concert come to be. John was awestruck. At what point, he saw the band members and could not conceal his excitement
"Dad! There they are!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know, just wait until they play," his father replied.
And play they did. They played a long set and John could not have been having more fun. After the show, they went backstage, and they saw the band again. John's dad wanted to go up and meet them, but John was frozen with fear and awe. Finally he managed to walk forward and strike up conversation with the band members. They told him that, with a little practice, he could become as famous as they were. Obviously, they were just trying be nice, but John took those words to heart. At the time, he played the guitar a little, but didn't like it that much.

Through the years, John practiced. He formed a band with a couple of friends, and they were able to climb their way up to the top of the music scene. Still, John lists his favorite childhood band as inspiration. On a wall in his house, he framed and hung up the backstage pass from the concert all those years ago.

Performance-enhancing drugs in other sports

Steroids and other PEDs have been used most prominently by baseball players, but they have also been used by athletes in other sports.

In the NFL, a survey was conducted in 2009 and 1 in 10 players said that they had used anabolic steroids while still playing. 16.3% of offensive lineman and 14.8% of defensive lineman also confidentially admitted doping. Most notably, Shawne Merriman tested positive for steroids a couple of years ago and was suspended for four games.

Doping is also a problem in cycling. Floyd Landis, the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, tested as having a high ratio of testosterone (which is used as a PED) to epitestosterone, another hormone. Later that year, Landis tested positive for a synthetic testosterone. He was then stripped of his Tour de France title and banned from cycling for 2 years. Landis has also accused Lance Armstrong of doping in 2002 and 2003 (two years Armstrong won the Tour de France), probably the most famous cyclist of all-time, of doping. Armstrong has turned aside and denied these claims.

There have also been cases of doping in Olympic sports, most notably with Marion Jones, the famous sprinter. She was accused of and admitting to taking anabolic steroids, and was deeply apologetic to her fans and country. There have also been accusations made of female athletes who either allegedly aren't really female or have abnormally high levels of testosterone and possibly were doping. 

Barry Bonds, baseball's home run king*

Barry Bonds is baseball's home run king. But there is an asterisk that comes with that title. That is because of his alleged use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. In 2005, Bonds was indicted on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice in relation to the government investigation of BALCO, a co-operative that was charged with providing athletes with anabolic steroids and other banned drugs. Bonds' trainer at the time, Greg Anderson, was the BALCO employee charged with supplying athletes with these drugs. Bonds received two substances from Anderson, which he was told were nutritional substances, but were actually an anabolic steroid and a cream used in conjunction with anabolic steroids ("the cream" and "the clear"). The book Game Of Shadows alleges that Bonds used stanozolol and other steroids.
Between his early years in baseball and his final years playing the game, Bonds' physique changed dramatically. He got noticeably larger and gained a lot of weight. His head size also increased dramatically, a known side-effect of anabolic steroids. Bonds attributed these changes in his physique to an intense workout regimen and a healthy diet.
Bonds has the most home runs of all-time with 762 long balls, but we may never know for sure if that number deserves an asterisk next to it in the record books.

The Mitchell Report

The Mitchell Report is a result of former senator George Mitchell's investigation into the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in Major League Baseball. It's a 409 page report that details the history of performance-enhancing drugs in sports and names a lot of athletes allegedly connected with the drugs. Among these names are Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Miguel Tejada, among others.
The Mitchell Report also details Brian McNamee, a personal trainer who allegedly helped athletes acquire steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Most notably, McNamee trained Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Pettitte has admitted to using HGH and has apologized for doing so. McNamee claims to have injected Clemens with anabolic steroids, which Clemens denies. Clemens was recently indicted by a federal judge for, among others, lying to Congress. There will be much more on Clemens, McNamee, and others to come!

iSearch topic.

I know that it is a little late for me to be choosing a topic for my I-search paper, sorry! I was a little confused about the assignment, but now I think I know what we were supposed to do. For my paper, I'm going to write about performance-enhancing drugs and their use by athletes.

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of speculation and accusation about the use of steroids, HGH (human growth hormone) and other performance-enhancing drugs have been in the news a lot. Mostly, these accusations have come in baseball. There have been Federal cases about these drugs, including long lists of players linked to them. Now, baseball is trying to figure how widespread the use of these narcotics was/is. Some of the more notable alleged users include Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Mark McGwire. Clemens testified before Congress and was indicted by a federal grand jury on accounts of making false statements to Congress regarding his use of PEDs. Rodriguez lied during an interview with Katie Couric about his use of the drugs before being confronted and admitting to doping in February of 2009. Canseco was one of the first players to admit to juicing, and he wrote an entire book saying that the drug use was very widespread. In the book, he named and accused a lot of people of taking performance-enhancers.

There are a lot of ways to view the steroid saga in Major League Baseball (and, to a lesser degree, in other sports) and there will be much more information to come. Stay tuned!

Big Game in Steel City

Sunday Night Football tomorrow will be a good one, as the Patriots go down to Pittsburgh to face the 6-2 Steelers, one of the better (if not the best) team in the NFL. The Patriots were on a high horse at this time last week: they were 6-1 and boasted the best record in football. Thanks to a humiliating loss at the hands of the Browns and a sensational game by their tank of a running back Peyton Hillis, they are 6-2 and odds against them going into this Sunday night showdown.

Behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers are a powerhouse team that is tough as nails. They've been making headlines a lot recently because of linebacker James Harrison, who has been fined multiple times (totaling $100,000) for illegal hits as the league tries to clean up the game. Despite the controversy, they have managed to remain the solid football team that they always have been for the last 5 or so years.

On the other side, this game is huge for the Patriots. Not only do they play the Steelers tomorrow, but they also play the Colts (6-2) next week and the Jets (6-2, and a division rival) in three weeks. If the Patriots win all of those games, they would be a definite leader in the AFC. At the same time, if they were to lose all three, they would become a very middle-of-the-road, not-as-good-as-they-used-to-be team.

Finding the True National Champion.

Everyone's thinking it. Everyone's talking about it. Now, with two non-BCS conference teams undefeated, vying for a spot to play for the National Championship, it's about time people start listening. College football needs to abandon the BCS. It needs to institute a tournament to determine the national champion. The real national champion. Right now, all the college football teams play and, at the end of the season, a computer uses random calculations to decide who plays for the national championship. Two teams. Naturally, it picks the biggest name schools (Oregon, Auburn) from the biggest conferences (Big 10, Big 12, SEC, etc). I'm not saying that these teams are undeserving, they are sensational football teams. But what about the other teams, the ones from smaller conferences? Teams like Boise State and TCU? For all of this year and last, neither of those teams has lost a regular season game. Boise has won 22 in a row. And yet they never get to play for all the marbles. Boise and TCU could win every game they play, and have their season end, without playing for anything with any meaning. College football is the only sport or league in which a team can keep winning but stop playing. This needs to change. I'm not saying that I know how to do it, just that someone should. The BCS is deciding for us who the best team in the country is, and we, as fans, want these teams to play each other to find out for real. We need a college football playoff. Seriously: president's orders.

Hitting Rock Bottom.

The Cowboys. America's team. The boys from Big D. Could they be the worst team in the NFL? 32nd out of 32? King James thinks so. And, apparently, so does the team's boss, Jerry Jones. This afternoon, Jones fired head coach Wade Phillips after the Cowboys 1-7 start.

In February, the Super Bowl will be held in Cowboy Stadium in Dallas and, during the preseason, the Cowboys were considered to be contenders for the NFC championship. By winning the NFC, they would [have] been the first team to ever play in the Super Bowl in their own stadium. Clearly, that does not seem to be lurking in the future of this Cowboy's team.

A few weeks ago, they lost star quarterback Tony Romo for the season due to a broken collarbone. His replacement, Jon Kitna, has merely made the situation worse. At the same time, though, not all the blame can be put on the quarterback change. The Cowboy's defense has been dreadful, as evidenced by the 45-7 thrashing handed to them yesterday by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Watching the Cowboys play this year, one wonders how anyone could ever pick them as a possible Super Bowl contender, as they can't seem to do anything at all, offensively or defensively. If there is any sort of dim, convoluted light at the end of this tunnel, it's that the season is half over and they can't possibly stoop any lower.

Yet again, Renteria a pivotal part.

For the first time since 1954, the Giants (who, at the time, were not even based in San Francisco) are on top of the baseball world. Behind the sensational effort of Tim Lincecum (8 innings, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts) the Giants will be partying in the streets of San Fran. In a matchup that pitted two of the best pitchers in the league against one another, Lincecum out dueled Rangers' ace Cliff Lee. The game was scoreless until the seventh, when Edgar Renteria hit one out with two men on. The three runs were all Lincecum needed as he went eight strong innings, before giving way to the rather frightening Brian Wilson, who shut down the Rangers 3-4-5 hitters to clinch the Fall Classic for the Giants.

Wilson celebrates with his trademark X, while rookie catcher Buster Posey rejoices in the background.

For Renteria, the home run was his second World Series winning hit. As a Florida Marlin in 1997, Renteria had a walkoff single in the 11th inning of game 7 of the World Series. 7 years later, Renteria was on the opposite end of the spectrum, as he was the last out of the 2004 World Series in which the Red Sox beat the Cardinals for their first World Series title in 86 years.

Back in 2004, Renteria was the last out...

...now, he's the hero and World Series MVP.

After suffering through all of the controversy surrounding Barry Bonds and his use of performance-enhancing drugs, the Giants have brought winning back to San Francisco.

With young talent in their pitching staff and their hitters, the rest of baseball should be wary of the Giants for years to come.

Good start against a great team

Here we go. The NBA season is underway and it starts with the Celtics winning over the much-hyped Miami Heat, 88-80. After LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined their buddy Dwayne Wade in Miami, the Heat are a very formidable team with way too many weapons for a defense to deal with completely. We did learn one thing about the new Triumvirate tonight, though: they're beatable. The Celtics proved that tonight with this victory. Ray Allen led the way with 20 points while shooting 5 for 8 from long range. Paul Pierce chipped in with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while point guard Rajon Rondo racked up 17 assists. It's safe to say that without Rondo, the Celtics wouldn't have been able to do much offensively. The speedy Rondo created countless opportunities for the C's offense leading to many a bucket.

Tonight was a beginning to a journey for another try at banner 18 for the Celtics, after losing in a heartbreaking game 7 to the hated Lakers last June in Los Angeles. The Celtics retained their aging Big Three as they think (and I hope) the old veterans can lead the way on another championship run.

So, one game is in the books, and it goes in as a W. A big win against a big contender is just the beginning to what should be a great year in the NBA (and hopefully for the Celtics, too).

Deep in the Heart of Texas

No Phillies. No Yankees. This should be a fun World Series. As I was in New York over the weekend, me and my parents listened to game 6 of the Yankees, Rangers series in the car. The Yankees were down 6-1 in the bottom of the 9th inning. There were two outs and Alex Rodriguez was coming to the plate. At this moment, I realized something: we were in the Bronx, home of the Yankees. Rodriguez struck out looking on a curveball from Neftali Feliz and, as we were clapping and fist bumping about a Yankee-less Fall Classic, we saw exit signs towards Yankee Stadium. We drove by the ballpark just after their season was ended, in an eerily coincidental scenario.

While all that was happening, down in Arlington, the Rangers were dismantling the team with the $206-million payroll in a series in which the Pinstripes were outplayed in all games but one. The young, charismatic underdogs beat the hated Yankees. For this World Series, I'm not in a position in which I extremely dislike one (or both) of the teams. Without the Phillies or Yankees, I'm not in a position to root against anyone.

The Rangers, a team propelled by an explosive offense and surprisingly good pitching staff, upended the Yanks en route to their first World Series ever. Until this year, they had never won a playoff series, let alone been to the Fall Classic. Here they are, now playing deep into October (and, if necessary, November) as they battle the Giants for the title of World Champions.

Still Kayaking in McCovey Cove.

Well, I was wrong about my NLCS pick, but I'm not too torn up about it. I guessed that the Giants would lose to the Phillies in the National League Championship series that ended last night, but that's not how it played out. The truth is, I couldn't be happier with the crew from San Fran in the World Series. The Phillies were in the World Series the last two years and, I don't really know why, but I don't like them. I'm happy to have some new blood representing the NL in the Fall Classic this year. Behind great efforts from starters including Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez, the Giants disposed of the Phillies in 6 games.

The MVP of the series was the definitely-deserving Cody Ross. After joining the Giants late in the year, Ross hit for a .350 batting average in the series (7 for 20) with three home runs, 5 RBIs, and 3 doubles. His first hit of the series was also the Giants' first of the series and the first hit surrendered by the formerly-untouchable Roy Halladay. It also was a home run that put the Giants up in game 1 of the series.

So, after not winning the World Series since 1954 and not appearing in one since 2002, the underdog Giants have clawed their way back to the Fall Classic. They must be going crazy by the Bay.

Welcome back, Deion.

When the Patriots unloaded the two-ton piece of baggage that takes the shape of Randy Moss, waves of panic were sent through Foxboro and the rest of the country. How could they succeed offensively without a legitimate deep threat? How could they survive with someone like Moss to "spread the field"? How would they open up the middle of the field now that defenses didn't have to worry about Moss running down the sideline? The people that asked these questions (which included myself, initially) obviously didn't take into account the fact that the Patriots quarterback was Tom Brady, a man who won 3 Super Bowls without Moss. Moss had become a cancer in the locker room and, although maybe not so on paper, getting rid of him helped the team. 

The newly re-acquired Branch celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown.

The subtraction of Moss also lead to the [re]-addition of one of my absolute favorite Patriots of all time ("all time" being, of course, the timespan of my fan-hood, which is only the last 10 years). This player is, of course, wide receiver Deion Branch. The MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX, Branch was one of Brady's favorite targets during the 4 years in which the Patriots won 3 Super Bowls. The Patriots traded him to the Seahawks after a contract dispute in 2006, but Brady seemed to love having him back yesterday. Branch had nine catches for 98 yards and a score that brought the Patriots within three during the fourth quarter of their dramatic comeback win in overtime against the Ravens.

The greatest thing about the "Branch: in, Moss: out" situation is what we heard post game about what concerns the players had about feeling appreciated and cared about by the team. We didn't hear anything. Deion Branch is exactly what Randy Moss wasn't, a team player who is happy to be playing the game, not worrying about himself. That is what they got rid of with Moss and that is precisely why the Patriots are better without him.

The Final Out...

Halladay's Gem

NLCS Preview

This year's National League Championship Series (NLCS) will kick off on Saturday with the Giants and Phillies facing off in Philly for the right to play in the Fall Classic. Here's a look at how those two teams match up and who I think has the edge right now.
Both of these teams have absolutely dominant starting pitching, and, in the so-called "Year of the Pitcher," these teams fit the bill.
In game 1, Roy Halladay (PHI) will be pitching opposite Tim Lincecum (SF). This is as good as a pitching matchup can get. The man with two no-hitters this year, one of them in his last start against the Reds (Halladay), is matched up against "The Freak," who has won the last two National league Cy Young Awards. This should be a great, low-scoring game, and an amazing way to begin what should be a very hard-fought series.
Behind Halladay, the Phillies have Roy Oswalt, a mid-season acquisition who has been stellar since coming over from the Astros, and Cole Hamels. After Lincecum, the Giants have Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez (who is 2-0 against the Phils this year), and rookie Madison Bumgarner. The pitching matchups will be exceptional, with every starter from either side both solid and pretty reliable.
The offenses are where the discrepancies lie between the two. The Giants, although they have a sensational rookie catcher in Buster Posey, lack the depth to stay with Philly offensively. The Phils, on the other hand, have all kinds of depth. From Shane Victorino to Jayson Werth, the Phillies can hit, hit, hit.
Another edge the Phillies have is experience. They have made the World Series the past two years and have retained most of their starting players from those two teams. Only one regular, Placido Polanco, is new to the team this year, and he played in the 2006 World Series as a Tiger.

Between the dynamic offense and amount of playoff experience of the Phillies, this series does not phavor the Giants.

Prediction: Phillies in 6.

That's why they call him "Doc"...

During this past offseason, the winter of 2009-2010, there was a lot of speculation as to whether or not Roy Halladay was going to be traded. He had played about 10 seasons in Toronto for the Blue Jays and been simply phenomenal. His team, however, was just the opposite. Playing in the same division as the powerhouse Yankees and Red Sox, the Blue Jays never made the playoffs even with a pitcher as good as Halladay.

In the offseason, there was talk of Halladay being traded to a potential playoff contender. A deal was made that sent Halladay to the Phillies in exchange for a few prospects. Finally, he would be able to play for a high-quality baseball team. Halladay pitched well through the regular season, and the Phillies, behind a solid pitching staff and an explosive offense, made the postseason. Halladay was their best pitcher, so he was to start Game 1 of their series against the Reds. At long last, Halladay had reached the post season. Boy, did he make the most of that opportunity. In his first postseason start, he hurled a no-hitter. Striking out 8 while stifling a potent Cincinnati offense, Halladay didn't allow one hit and only allowed one baserunner (a walk to Jay Bruce in the fifth).

Not only is this amazing because of Halladay's postseason experience up to that point (or lack thereof), but Halladay is only the second player EVER to throw a no-hitter during the playoffs, after Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

My diagnosis of Roy "Doc" Halladay? Filthy.

Defining "special"

In football, there are three types of plays that make up the game. The first two are pretty obvious, offense and defense. The third, and not so obvious, is special teams. On Monday night, the Patriots showed the world just how special special teams can be. It started with the beginning of the second half. Down 7-6, after being walked on for thirty minutes by the Dolphins, they kicked into gear. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Brandon Tate, using an amazing block from Sammy Morris and a fast pair of legs bolted into the end zone for a 103 yard kickoff return while bolting the patriots into the lead.

Then, a little bit later, the Dolphins were punting in their own territory and just as the kick was being fired off, it was blocked. Patrick Chung, who talk about in a minute, came in and got a forearm on the football, blocking it before it was recovered by the Patriots, who took over inside the Dolphins' 30, who got another score.

A little later still, when the Patriots had a lead that was just starting to seem comfortable, the Dolphins kicking team came out for a field goal try. Can you guess what happens next? If you said "they made the field goal to claw a little closer to the Pats".....you'd be wrong. The field goal was blocked, AGAIN. By Patrick Chung, AGAIN. This time, it was picked up by cornerback Kyle Arrington and returned all the way for a touchdown. Now, back to Chung. He played the game of his life. Not only did he get two huge special teams plays, he also managed to intercept a Chad Henne pass and return it 51 yards for a score. Hopefully, this will silence any critics of the Patriots and their defensive and special teams schemes, as it more than definitely should.

Ouch.

I'm still not 100% decided on a topic for my blog, so I'm going to flop around a little bit until I find something I enjoy writing about. When I need to think of things I would enjoy writing about, I need to think of things that I enjoy in general, and, from there, I start with sports. In this case, baseball and, specifically, the Red Sox season this year. It was and has been, in a word, painful. This applies both literally and emotionally, for many reasons.
This 2010 group of Sox has been absolutely decimated by injuries, almost to the point of being funny. They have had to deal with everything from fractured feet to mononucleosis. And these injuries aren't to random bench players. The Sox haven't played their opening day lineup since April 11, when Jacoby Ellsbury went down with broken ribs after colliding with Adrian Beltre, his own teammate. That was just the beginning. 3 of the 5 starting pitchers have been on the disabled list at some point this year as well as 1/2 of the infield, 2 catchers, 2/3 of the original outfield, and more non-everyday players.

The above is only the half of it. Along with all the injuries, this season has been painful emotionally. Going into the year, we didn't have very high hopes for the guys on Yawkey Way, as we were lead to believe that 2010 would be a "bridge year" to the future. Our entire offseason was based on the idea of "run prevention," we wanted good pitching and good defense, with an okay offense. The season started and we were a pretty good ball club. Contradicting the preseason rumblings, we scored as many runs as anyone, while getting by on iffy pitching and inconsistent defense. We stayed in the playoff races until the injuries came. One after the other after the other. We still managed to stick around even with the likes of Darnell Mcdonald and Ryan Kalish in our everyday outfield, guys no one had ever heard of. We were never going to play deep into October with those young guys starting daily, but what makes it worse is that we showed how good we could be. Without the injuries, the Sox could've made the playoffs and been much better. But hey, that's what life is sometimes. Painful.

R.P.S.

You probably use it as a way to settle something with a friend. A small game to see who gets the last chicken wing or who gets the ball first in a game of touch football. I am talking, of course, about rock paper scissors, or RPS, as experts call it. While you might use it as a decision-maker, there are tournaments to crown the best of the best. Yes, I'm serious, RPS even has it's own "official" website (USARPS League) and is sponsored by Amp, the energy drink. There is also an international site, separate from the USARPS one.

While, among most people, it is a random game of 90% luck, there are actually many strategies and combinations of rocks, paper, and scissors with unique names. These include "the Avalanche" (rock, rock, rock), "the Crescendo" (paper, scissors, rock) and "the Toolbox" (scissors, scissors, scissors). Along with strategies, there are, of course "experts" and top RPS strategists. There are even national and international tournaments where the best of the best gather to face off. For instance, Baconshark recently beat his teammate Zombie Llama in what worldrps.com calls "a battle of RPS titans," to win a tournament in Philadelphia and a $1000 check (no, really. I'm serious).

So, next time there is one more wing or you need to decide who gets the ball first in a game of football, RPS for it, with good "strategy," and you'll be sure to end up on the winning end.

Of course, if your opponent's choice is completely random, all that strategy goes out the window. Then what?