Athletes and Drunk Driving

This summer several NFL players have been in the news after getting arrested for drunk driving. Here in Seattle the biggest name for us is Marshawn Lynch who got busted in July. In football terms this could be a huge issue for the Seahawks whose offense is built around Marshawn and the running game. As a repeat offender of the league conduct policy Marshawn is facing up to a 6 game suspension. Speculation has estimated about a 4 game suspension. This could seriously impact the Seahawks chances at the beginning of the season. Looks like Seattle fans are going to get to see what rookie Robby Turbin is all about sooner rather then latter.

In real life terms this is also a big deal. Driving under the influence is a very dangerous and 100% preventable crime. It is super dangerous for not only the driver but also everyone else on the road. In 2010 over 10,000 people died because of drunk driving. No one has to drive drunk.

This rings true for athletes even more then regular people. They are rich so they can afford to have private drivers, not even cabs, take them to and from where ever they are going. Sure they often own a sweet car and they want to show it off to all the ladies at the club, but isnt pulling up in a stretch limo pretty impressive?Is that shorty with the hoop earings and tight white dress really going to stop paying attention to you because you arent driving yourself home in a lambo? My guess would be no, she is still going to hang all over you.

Maybe they just have an issue with letting someone they dont know drive them around, fine. Most athletes are also surrounded by an entrouage of friends and employees who are paid just to hang out and make sure they have a good time. If they dont trust a town car and cab driver, they should just make it one of these guys duties to stay sober and drive them home. Tell scooter (I assume they all have a friend named scooter) that if he wants to keep getting all his tabs paid for he needs to drive your drunk ass home.

This isnt just me that is fed up with NFL players drinking and driving. Former player Derrick Ward recently went on a twitter rampage scolding players for their stupidity. My favorite part of stream of tweets? This beauty, "There's no excuse to drive drunk! NONE! If all else fails WALK! NFL players are world class athletes Walking should be nothing!" You tell em Derrick! Just in case all the players dont follow Mr. Ward, the NFL is working on strengthening their drunk driving punishment policy. That is bad news for potential inebriated drivers and good news for everyone else on the road because if Roger Goodell has shown us anything, it is that he is tough on policy violators. So, get ready to see the suspensions and fines flying.

If you are an NFL athlete or for that matter anyone reading this blog, do me a favor, dont drink and drive. The potential pros are just not worth the risks. Before you get behind the wheel do us all a favor and ask Scooter if he is alright to drive home. If he's not, slap him in the face (dont worry he will forgive you, you pay if for that) and call a cab! DONT DRINK AND DRIVE.

Ichiro Gets Traded, Seriously!

This has sure been a year of the unprecedented for the Mariners and Ichiro. First he started the year batting third. Then he got benched and move to second in the order. Finally, today the Mariners did something that was previously thought to be improbable if not impossible, they traded the legendary Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees. For the future hall of famer the Yankees gave the Mariners two minor league pitchers. Even more shocking is that Ichiro requested the trade to make room for younger players on the Mariners. He was often portrayed as a selfish me first player by the media, but this move seems to counter that notion. I for one have always been a big Ichiro fan and I feel sad and glad to see him go

I feel sad because for the last nine of the last eleven years Ichiro has been a stalwart for the Mariners. When you went to a game you could always count on Ichiro playing and playing well. With his highlight reel defense and speed based offense, he brought excitement to what were often boring games. Losing Ichiro severs a tie to between the Mariners and one of the most successful players in the clubs history. It ends an era and leaves us with a void for fan favorite players.We basically have Felix now. (So, no pressure Felix!)

I am also glad to see him go. For the last two years he has struggled and he has taken up a spot on a rebuilding team which could have been used for an audition for a young player. That spot wouldn't have been that big of a deal if Ichiro had continued to produce at or near his career norms, but he didn't. Instead he was a below league average hitter. His presence hurt the team. During that time I would have liked to see guys like Trayvon Robinson and Casper Wells play more often to understand what they can offer. Now we get a chance for exactly that.

I also am glad to see that he finally gets a chance to play for a contender. In his long storied career in MLB Ichiro has only played for one playoff team. That was his rookie season in 2001. A guy of his skill deserves a chance to try and win a world series and the Yankees provide him one of the best chances for that. I hope he enjoys his time with the Yankees and that they make the playoffs (I dont however hope they win the whole thing. I cant bring myself to do that).

This trade also makes me wonder what the Ichiro haters going to attack now?  We dont have any other good players for them to undervalue and disrespect. What are they going to do attack Justin Smoak, that is way to easy. Maybe they will turn on Felix and complain that he doesnt throw fast enough. Some of them might even jump sports and start attacking Keith Price and Husky Football. If we are all lucky they will just shut up and go away.

Sure he had his warts, but almost every player does. Overall he was one of the greatest Mariners ever and I hope fans remember him that way.

Basketball Tall

For those of you that dont know I am 6'2" tall. According to the CDC the average height for a 20-29 yr old male is 69.4"or about 5'9". So, in general society I am considered tall. Something else you might not know about me is I like to play basketball. During college I frequently played in pickup games and inter-murals and now I play in an adult men's rec league. I am not any good but I like to play. On these teams I often end up being the tallest guy on the team, which means I get to play center or power forward. Based on the national average height, you might not think much of this. However, one thing I have learned through all my basketball playing, is that real world tall is much different then basketball tall.

When I step onto the court I am often dwarfed. Every team seems to have someone 6'4" or taller. My short 6'2" self cant post up against these Goliaths. Inevitably these tall guys always pick me to guard. They look around at all my shorter teammates and decide that I must be the "big guy". My inside game (what little of it there is) goes into the crapper. This leaves my wondering, as one of my teammate's recently put it, "where are all these guys in real life?"

I walk around work all the time and I dont see all these tall people. I dont think of myself as a giant or anything but I do feel taller then most. Its like as soon as I step onto the basketball court it's like the normal distribution of the world's height get all outta wack. I created figure one to help illustrate how this phenomena feels. See how in the real world I am taller then average, but in the basketball world I am a short guy?

This is a very real and very annoying predicament. What I need is all you 5'9" guys to start playing basketball. Bring the bell curve back to the court because just for once I would like to play in a game where the other guys dont have someone who towers over me.

I Dont Get Some Soccer Fans

One of the fun things about attending a Sounders home game is all the pagentery and fan spirit. Everyone cheers and sings. Most people wear Sounders gear. In the south endzone, The Emerald City Supporters keep intensity up the entire game, only stopping their songs to cheer Soudner's goals or boo opponents. One of the common things fans do to show their support is bring flag emblazened with logos and colors representing the Rave Green.

All of this makes for a pretty awesome attendance experience. However, some things that fans do dont make sense. Take this guy at the Sounders vs Rapids game for instance:

Yep, you saw that right. He is waving a flag with a giant picture of Kurt Cobain's head. What this has to do with soccer, the Sounders or even Century Link Field I have no idea. I will never quite get some soccer fans.

The Olympics are Almost Here

They're almost here and I am so excited! In just 20 some odd days the 2012 Summer Olympic Games are going to start in London. As we inch closer to the opening ceremonies every passing day causes my excitement to grow. There are so many great things about the Olympics so I am going to try to list just a few of my favorite here. Feel free to comment about why you think the Olympics are awesome or if you are one of those weird and depressing people that doesnt like the Games feel free to complain about how you summer is going to be ruined.


I am about to start caring about all kinds of sports that are no where near my radar during non Olympic year. Sports, like badminton and beach volleyball are about to become very important to me. One of my favorites to watch is platform diving. The twirling, flipping and spinning athletes provide a lot of entertainment and we only get to see them every four years during the summer Olympics. It is fun to break away from the football, baseball and basketball dominated world and see great competition in other sports.

I am going to learn about the greatest athletes from all over the world that I have never seen or heard of. How many of you knew who Ian Thorpe was prior to 2000 when he won five metals swimming for his home country of Australia? My guess is not many, but because of the Olympics we now know the greatness of the Thorpedo. How about Brian Clay, ever heard of him? He is probably the greatest American athlete that to play in one of the big four sports leagues. His claim to fame is the Decathalon, which he won silver in 2004 and gold in 2008. The guy is an all around athlete. He can run fast, run far, jump high and throw stuff. Finally how about Elena Isinbaeva, the Russian pole vaulter who has broken the world record 24 times (most of them her own). Yeah, she is an amazing athlete. Without the Olympics we wouldnt get to know any of these people.

I will be reminded about the existance of lots of countries that would otherwise never having a face or meaning in my mental data banks. As a child I remember watching an Olympic games (I think it was Atlanta but it could have been somewhere else) and wondering why the State of Georgia got to field their own athletes while Washington was stuck competing with the US national team. It didnt seem fair to me but it seemed obvious that it was the State. At some point my erronous way of thinking was corrected by my parents who explained to me that Georgia was also a country. As you can imagine my mind was blown. If it weren't for the Olympics, when else would I hear about this otherwise unremarkable republic? Maybe in 2008 when Russia decided to invade Georgia, but I was 22 years old in 2008 and who wants to wait till they are 22 to hear about a country called Georgia? In case you missed it, my point is the Olympics allow you to expand your culture and international knowledge base like very few other event all while watching sports. It is educational and entertaining.

Non-Thunder Related Reasons Why I am Rooting for Lebron

The NBA Finals are set and the Oklahoma City Bandits (Thunder) are going to play the Miami Heat for the Championship. Here in Seattle a large and loud majority are rooting against the Thunder which in turn means they are rooting for the Heat. Around the country fans appear to be much more divided. Lots of fans are simply opposing the Heat because of there dislike of Lebron. Since his Decision Stunt two years ago King James has become enemy number one to many NBA fans. This is a very loud and vocal group of haters. You can find articles all over the web villifying James. However, if you can get past his one really bad decision, there are lots of reasons to root for Lebron and I for one am not in the camp that pulls against him.

Since his early days in Cleveland I have been a fan of James and his basketball skills. He isn't really a guard or a forward and because conventional basketball doesn't offer him a natural position he has basically created his own. A sort of point forward. This makes him almost unguardable. He is to powerful for guards and to fast for forwards. His super well rounded style of play is highlighted by his career averages of 27.6 pt, 7.2 rb , 6.2 ast, 1.7 stl and .8 blk. Lebron can do so much of everything. He offers the best combined skill set of any player in recent NBA history.

Lebron is also super exciting to watch. From high flying dunks to stealthy no look passes his game also provides a show worth watching. A perfect example of this was right before half time in the Eastern Conference Finals game 7. Lebron stole the ball drove up court passed to Dwyane Wade who then passed back for an alley-oop dunk. Simply and amazing play by an amazing player.

The one blotch on Lebron's record is The Decision. That fateful event catapulted James into the sports star villain category. However, outside that he has been an ideal citizen, which can be hard to find in the NBA. He has never been pulled over for a DUI or mentioned in connection with sexual harassment. As far as the law is concerned he has kept a clean sheet. Additionally, Lebron has been a good sports citizen, never racking up technical and flagrant fouls. A lot of times players like this, clean team players on and off the court, come across as dull and boring. Uncommonly, James has managed to keep a sense of fun about him through his interactions with fans and in game showmanship. If you are going to look up to the personel life of an NBA player you could do a lot worse then James.

However, the Decision does way heavy on the minds of many (especially those in Cleveland who are given a life long pass to hate him). So, let's not forget about it or ignore it. Yes, playing with the hearts and minds of the city that drafted you and then deciding to announce on a national TV special that you were leaving to team up with some friends in another city was a bad idea. Too many it basically felt like a big middle finger to the enitre city of Cleveland. But, let's not put all the blame for this on Lebron.

Lebron is a guy that loves to entertain. He has comic books about himself, tweets on a regular basis and does that whole chalk thing. Add to this persona that since he was 16ish he has been told, by almost the entire sports media world and legions of yes-men, how great and wonderful everything he does is and you can see why it might not have occurred to him what he was about to unleash.  The epic spectacle that was the decision took a lot more people to put on then just Lebron. Somebody in that group should have stopped him and told him what a big mistake it was. (You know the bigwigs at ESPN just loved the idea of a hour long special showcasing Lebron big decision and you know they loved turning around and attacking him for the stupidity of it right afterwards.)  I am sure the guy couldnt see it himself. All this doesnt forgive him for the stunt but it definitely helps explain it.

Basically, rooting for Lebron is rooting for a hard working, law abiding, fun loving guy that just also happens to be the best player in the NBA. For me all that definitely outweighs any stupid one time decision he might have staged. It is time to let bygones be bygones and enjoy watching one of the most electric athletes on the planet. If all that is not enough, there is the whole making the Thunder lose thing.

Does Safeco Field Make the Mariners Worse?

The Mariners have been an offensively inept team for years. This has been readily apparent over the last two years when the Mariners broke several modern day records for offensive futility. These years of failure have driven many fans to look outside of the obvious for explanations. One of the theories often proposed is that Safeco Field is just too hard to hit in. The argument is that the field’s dimensions prevent the Mariners from scoring runs and winning games. The field somehow turns good players into bad ones. This theory is popular and it intrigues me. So, I did some research to try and answer the question, does Safeco hurt the Mariners ability to win games?