In Baseball's illustrious history; some names just unify with hitting, none more than Joe DiMaggio. 75 years later; his 56 game hitting streak still endures. A legend, a hall of famer but why don’t we remember him for his biggest hit…
What would happen if you got a DUII today. Would you lose your job; your reputation, credibility, skill-set, hire-ability. What if you simply just failed a drug test. One is a felony the other a misdemeanor; one was away from work, one was not.
Jim Brown; the NFL’s prized possession, a legend, a hall of famer, a man’s man. Never one to shy away from a hit. O.J Simpson is in the Hall of Fame and in Jail. Jim Brown hit men on Sundays and his women during the week.
Roger Goodell is most likely going to lose his job not because of his actions; or even an employee’s but because of us. If hitting a woman is as bad as we are reacting to it; why is it still just a misdemeanor.
Base Hits, Big Hits, Hitting Jumpers; What do we need to change; it isn’t a face, we all ready had that. Jason Kidd beat his wife; now he his beating teams, as the head coach, in the NBA. Jim Brown is still the face of the NFL and Joe DiMaggio is still Joe DiMaggio; even though he hit his wife, Marilyn Monroe.
HEAD SHOTS
Church, Brunch, Football, Funday, all synonymous with Sunday. Is it merely a coincidence that football is played on the 7th day of the week. Have you ever asked yourself; seriously, why is football played on Sunday…
Vince Lombardi. Considered the best football coach of all time; in his 9 seasons as coach, he led his team to 6 championship games, winning 5. He and his pack would win the first two Super Bowls and would merge his name onto that Trophy.
Don Shula. Considered the best football coach of all time; He would coach his teams to 7 Championships, winning 3. The winningest coach in NFL history and the only one that can say they had a perfect season.
[A Fan-atic is defined as someone with uncritical devotion]
From 1960 to ’74; only 3 times was a Super Bowl team not coached by Shula or Lombardi. Lombardi would play and attend Fordham University; Shula, John Carrol, both Jesuit Universities. They would both enter priesthood but change of heart would change their fates.
[Why do you collectively call your fellow fans; The Faithful]
Shula and Lombardi would make their careers in coaching and Sundays were the day of praise. They may not have become priests but they would teach their ways, their systems and be the father figures to boys and men alike. Can football be played on Sundays because it was simply meant to be; as to most of us Shula and Lombardi… are gods.
CROSSING ROUTE
“For less than a dollar a day”... can you picture that older gentlemen kneeling with an apparently impoverished African child. And with his low trembling voice he tugs at your heart strings. I too empathize and pity those kids but not for the reason he states…Is it pay for play or play for pay. This topic has escalated in the last decade and exponentially in the last year. The student athlete debate could be the most interesting debate of our generation; simply because there shouldn’t be one. As everyone sees both sides of the coin and further more agrees with both. Sports fans honor tradition and don’t take too change lightly. People innovate, progress;… people change.
As far as I am concerned the first college video games were EA Sports NCAA 98. This was the first year you could have seasons and take a kid all the way through graduation. As a freshman in high school; at minimum, I could tell you every player on every PAC10 team. I could tell you a lot more about the players in Eugene.
You might not remember; the 1995 Final Four Champions, nor their star. But then again how would you; there wasn’t a video game with him in it. If his name isn’t a household name yet; it will be.
As a freshman in Eugene I didn’t need to buy a GAME DAY; I all ready new the rosters for Oregon vs. Fresno State, even though it was my first game as a student. I was In The Game. The following year; I didn’t just follow Dante on Saturdays; I made sure he would have a good game, all week.
Ed O’Bannon v. NCAA is the title lawsuit that will soon end our debate on the paying of student athletes. The lawsuit is based on the right of publicity and profiting off of someone’s image, name and likeness. But shouldn’t they just ask the public what is right.
RBI Baseball, Tecmo Bowl. With all the advancement in technology not even nostalgia should make these games your favorite but like you both these games make my top 5. 30 years later they are still relevant and fun; as they were the first games to use real life players and I likeness.
A year ago; EA Sports dropped their college sports games due to the foreseeable outcome of Ed O’Bannon and his class action lawsuit. Last week the NCAA lost that initial decision. The players feel they should be paid. EA Sports will pay out $4K to each player current and past. The NCAA will pay the equivalent moving forward.
In all debates there are multiple sides to an argument and sometimes there is an entirely different coin to toss. No matter the outcome we still loose EA Sports and as of today student athletes will just have to tell their kids about their college career. When Dante’s boy is old enough; he will have the opportunity to play NCAA 06, with his dad… and that is priceless.
Just like the Child Fund; Ed O’Bannon means well but sometimes the side effects are more ailing then the ailment. I feel for those kids because I know they are poor and hungry but it wasn’t until that nice older man showed up with a video camera that they too knew they were poor. Some actions in life we do for the greater good but sometimes those decisions make us all pay.
PLAY IT FORWARD
