so last week, i just spent 4 days at the sports stadium over in taipa (again, the island next to macau) for the intra-catholic school track and field meet, which i'll comment on. and in the spirit of sports, i'll take a bit to comment on the world of sports, since i haven't for a while.
so this sports week, was one of the most boring weeks i've had in a while. i tried to watch when my students were running or jumping, but i basically just sat reading books for 4 days. yeah, me, reading books. for those of you that know me well, know that i probably set the record for the least amount of reading done for pleasure by an english major. when i was growing up/homeschooled i wasn't really aloud to watch tv, so i did read a lot. but then i reached the age where i got to be a bit more mischievous and figured out how to make the tv in my room get a tv signal. then i was hooked on the formerly forbidden fruit. to this day, i just like tv more. i'm a product of my generation you can say. in the last 6 years, i've read maybe 2 books for pleasure. yeah, the internet has made actual book reading less popular and in college there's not a whole lot of time to read anything BUT all the texts for class, but still. this is a habit i've been actively trying to kick though. i came to macau with a bunch of books so i can try to force myself into a new habit. since i've arrived, i've now finished 3 books and am on to my 4th. in less than 3 months. i'm somewhat proud. aghh, that was a monster digression.
so sports day offered little excitement. to make things less interesting, most of the races were done on the other side of the track from where my school had to sit, so i could barely even tell if my students were even running. the highlight of every day though was right after lunch. on our side of the track, there was a relay race between some students of a primary school (elementary school) and their parents. the kids would go halfway before passing the baton to their parent to finish the race. why was this hilarious? because at least 1 parent ate it in the homestretch every day, guaranteed. the first day, at least 5 parents face planted, hooking me for the rest of the week. it was glorious. other than that, nothing happened, but it was a week free of my stupid students, so for that, i'm grateful.
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now for some much needed commentary on the world of AMERICAN sports.
BASEBALL
congratulations to the san fransisco giants for removing themselves from the "chicago cubs/cleveland indians" club of hopeless losers. you are also safe from the "worst team to win the world series" conversation, because the 2006 cardinals will hold that title for quite a while. honestly, i didn't care who won. some of you thought that i would be pulling for the rangers with the whole born in TEJAS thing working for me. but, i don't care for the rangers or most anything that comes from big D. also, i'd be lying if i said i wasn't happy that the rangers didn't capture a championship before my Astros did. so the baseball season is over right? god no. the hot stove is one of my favorite times of year, where i can fantasize about how improved my teams' rosters will be going into next year. (please trade carlos lee. please trade carlos lee. please trade carlos lee) when i was bored in class, i used to put together a full astros offseason plan of available players, potential trade candidates, and other things. then i would project the stats over a 162 game season. yes, i'm a huge baseball nerd. and i know it.
FOOTBALL
i'm not nearly as in the loop with the season so far for obvious reasons, but i think that so far i can say that i definitely picked a good year to miss. it's a cliche, but the parity in the NFL is out of this world. this is the first year in a while that there isn't a well-defined super bowl favorite. hell, the last unbeaten team was the kc chiefs. THE CHIEFS! and they're sure as hell not looking super this year, regardless of how many former patriots are running things over there. week in and week out there's seemingly a new top team, when then promptly goes the next week and loses to an inferior team. it reminds me of the 2007-08 college football season where there was a new BCS number 1 team every week because the current number 1 kept losing right away. it's good because most teams still have a chance i guess (cough, the bears). it will definitely make for a whirlwind end of the season with teams fighting for wild card/division bids, which will be fascinating to watch.
speaking of los OSOS, what a stupid roller coaster they're taking me and the rest of the Chi on. while they are technically easily still in it, i can't ignore the quality of their winning record. the first win was to detroit (a L everywhere but the scoreboard). the second win was against dallas (bottom 3 team). the third was against green bay (fueled by hester, but most legitimate of the Ws), the fourth was against carolina (bottom 3 team). and the fifth was the buffalo (bottom 3 team). so you can understand my skepticism. if they beat the vikings, i could be singing a different tune. needless to say, only 1 team is walking off the field sunday with hope for the season. i almost hope the bears tank so they can just clean house and get a good draft pick to fix one of their glaring holes.
finally, i just want to weigh in on the hot topic of the season. big defensive hits. i can't describe how annoyed i am with the commissioner right now. first, changing rules midseason is ridiculous, period. these are players of habit. they've been playing the same way all their life. asking them to change on the dime is unfair. i understand how big of an issue concussions are (you'd have to be foolish to ignore the facts), but these mammoth fines are absurd. especially, coming down without an impartial player opinion. there are hits that are malicious and hits that are accidental and unfortunate. there has to be a difference. also, why just defensive players? plenty of RB lead with their helmet, without consequence. finally, how DARE the nfl plan on expanding the season, subjecting their players to even more wear and tear than a grueling 16 game schedule, and then turn around and say they only care about the players' well being. unfortunately, this is an issue that will haunt the league for many years, and it will not end well.
BASKETBALL
david stern must be the happiest person in the world right now. i can't remember the NBA being this popular and exciting since jordan and the 90s. it's really quite fantastic. there's more drama day-in/day-out than an episode of the hills. it's phenomenal entertainment. the best reality tv out there right now. there are so many talented teams out there, each one matching up differently with the other great teams. the west is ridiculously stacked with great teams with championship pedigrees, but the east features some of the most electric/dominating players out there thirsty to finally put it together.
the bulls are looking good so far, but the daunting circus trip is around the corner. i do think they can get home with a 4-3 trip though, which would be great. even 3-4 would be acceptable. rose has stepping things up to another level so far. joakim noah has been a beast everywhere. thank god he wasn't traded. barring injury, he'll be owning the paint in chicago through the decade. as the season continues, basketball will get more face time. especially once the trade winds pick up and the booze cruise finally joins the lineup.
i can't end without commenting on the early cloud over south beach. the heat are looking extremely flawed so far, and it doesn't appear as if the flaws will go away any time soon. the heat of lost 4 games so far. the common trend...each team featured an electric point guard and a big man that had their way and abused the heat. bodes well for the bulls right? rondo/garnett twice, paul/okafor, deron/millsap. especially with boozer back, i think the bulls match up incredibly well against the miami HATE. joakim/boozer should maul bosh/joel anthony up front. rose will abuse arroyo/chalmers. it should be interesting to see if any team will consider working a trade to help out the heat if pat riley calls, or if they're just ignore him and say screw you and good luck. i'm hoping the latter.
HOCKEY
blackhawks...to quote the great vince lombardi, what the hell's going on out here? i think all of chicago expected a little more this season, even with all of the roster overturn. things just aren't clicking yet, anywhere. it's still very early in the season and i do expect them to start turning things around soon, but there's a lot of work to do. the prospects that we thought were going to be around to fill in the depth haven't done it yet. it's not as exciting a time. this team is too good to keep muddling around though. they'll get it clicking in a month or so. i'm confident
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
just a weird year for football in general. can we really be looking forward to an Oregon/Boise State national championship? i say that because i can see auburn getting thumped by 'bama at the iron bowl in 2 weeks, and TCU will probably drop after a tough game against SDSt and with Utah getting crushed by the haplessly mediocre ND. i do like seeing new faces atop college football. i'm thrilled actually. it just sounds a little odd. i'll maybe weigh back in a few weeks from now to see if some of these things work themselves out and give a BCS preview.
phew, that was long.
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