Tis the Season!

Stopped by Hidden Valley today to pick up my passes.  It was snowing and they were making snow.  Snowboard season is on the way soon!

Men in Black

Outrageous!  OK, time for a blog post and a soccer rant at that.

The other day I got a survey from NFHS, the high school sports overseer, collecting feedback on possible rule changes for high school soccer in 2013.

A couple of questions on the survey really irritated me.  It's no wonder why US Soccer Development Academy has banned its players from high school soccer.

First, let me start by noting that I am somewhat of a traditionalist.  I like traditions and don't like needless change.  Modern soccer is a sport steeped in tradition.  It has a long and rich history that has been protected and guarded for more than 100 years.

Now, the NFHS wants to come in and make ridiculous changes.  The first thing they want to do is "require referees to be in black and white striped shirts."  What?!  Soccer referees have historically been the men in black.  Since the late 1800's soccer referees have worn black, unless one of the teams wore a dark color, in which case the referee wore red.

In 1994, referees added yellow or white jerseys to the mix.  Never, though, has a soccer referee ever worn "black and white stripes."  That's football (or armball/throwball as it should be called)!  There are soccer teams that have been wearing black and white stripes longer than Americans have been playing soccer (Juventus, Newcastle).

Today, referees, as specified by FIFA and US Soccer, wear yellow or alternate uniforms in black, red, blue or green (depending on the jerseys of the teams).  Why mess with that?

The second thing NFHS had on the survey was a rule requiring three referees instead of one referee and two assistant referees.  What?  What does that even mean?  FIFA and US Soccer require at least a referee and two assistant referees (referee on the pitch and two AR's run the touch lines).  NFHS does this too, but also allows the use of the "dual officiating system," which is two referees on the pitch.

First, the dual system is a joke.  The AR's primary job is to signal when the ball leaves the pitch and to signal offside.  Without AR's, using the dual system, it's virtually impossible to make offside calls accurately.

And what do they mean by "three referees" instead of a referee and two AR's?  Are they implying that the two referees on the touch lines aren't referees and can't call fouls?  Well, they can.  So what is that supposed to mean?

NFHS and their affiliated state associations have already messed up the game enough.  Teams play more games than they should in a short span of time which leads to injury and burnout.  They keep time on the scoreboard, taking that away from the referee.  The list could go on.

NFHS should stop messing with the rules of the game and mucking everything up.  Just use US Soccer and FIFA's more than adequate rules.

Madness at CBS Sports

March Madness, college basketball, bracket pool, etc.  Been doing my bracket at CBSSports.com for a few years now.  Just noticed that CBSSports.com does ZERO soccer news.  What?

I just read a survey the other day that said soccer was the SECOND most popular sport in the 12-24 age range - more popular than the NBA and MLB.

Last year, I read that MLS surpassed NBA and NHL in single game attendance.

Now what in the world is going on at CBSSports?  They can give you pages for NASCAR, Horse Racing and Bowling and not soccer?  That is bizarre!

I even combed their site index and nary a mention of the most popular sport in the world.  I was so mad I almost boycotted my NCAA Basketball pool on CBS.

I guess I'll have to stick with ESPN and FoxSports for soccer news.

Sad, sad, sad

Sad commentary on our society that Women's Professional Soccer must forgo their 2012 season due to a legal battle and funding issues, yet the Lingerie Football League prospers with 12 teams and plans for at least 10 more next year.

It's Alive! and thinking about the beautiful game.

Tonight at 9:30 the MLS kicks off their season with a match between LA and Seattle.  If you want to pledge to watch AND get a free t-shirt, click here.

As luck would have it, I was thinking of writing a post about soccer anyway.  My question is why it not more popular in the U.S?

It has gained in popularity since last year's World Cup and the US team's performance there.  But can soccer really be an American sport?

I love soccer, but I don't think it can ever be as popular as football (or tackleball as it should be called since only one player ever touches the ball with his foot) or basketball (which I suppose is aptly named) and baseball.

First, you have the dreaded tie.  A tie is un-American.  If you're an American, you must have winners and losers.  Worse yet, in some soccer tournaments, where points are tallied based on wins, loses and goals, it could even come down to a coin toss determining the winner.

Next, there are no commercials.  How in the world can anyone make money that way?  A sport for the sake of sport where no money is made in the process?  That's un-American.

Don't get me wrong though, soccer makes some money.  Look at any MLS jersey and you'll see.  I would like to buy a soccer jersey to wear around, perhaps one from my hometown Columbus Crew, but I don't want to have "Glidden" paint emblazoned across my chest (however it seems the Crew's new replica jerseys they sell are ad-free, but most European teams are not).

The lack of commercials also brings up the issue of potty breaks.  When am I supposed to use the facilities or grab a bag of chips if the moment I walk away, an amazing goal could be scored, thus negating the last 40 minutes of no goals being scored that I sat through?  That significantly reduces my willingness to invest my time in the game.  Perhaps though, as an American, my attention span is shorter than our European brothers.

Thirdly... well I'm sure there are other reasons, but those are the two that I feel like talking about.  I'm out of time today, time to move on and save some words for another day.

My Year In Review Get out 2008

Well, here we are, another year gone by. Somewhat of a disappointing year really. Let's take an acid-free trip into the past year and see what we can find.

Let's see.... Nope nothing good in January... February... March... Nothing. April... May... Nothing. June, ah June, yes, the trip down the C&O Towpath. The trip that defined the rest of my year.

Preparing for the trip across the C&O Towpath was a life changing event. First I strengthened a friendship with a firehouse pal, spent some time with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time, and changed the way I look at myself. For me the 184 mile trip would be the beginning of serious life changes.

I have spent many years trying to do something about my excessive weight. With some success, I needed something to give the boost to keep pushing. The bicycle did the trick. As I sit here typing this blog I remain eager to hit the trails and pedal away for better health.

Most of all this year, on July 3rd, I quite smoking. A three pack-a-day smoker, for like 17 or 18 years, I quit. On January 3rd I am going to party like it's 1999 all over again (not really but it sounds good). I found the motivation to quit from pictures, pictures of past vacations and events. It seems I always had a cancer stick in my hand or I was hiding it behind my back. I also pulled a ton and I mean a ton of motivation from a friend. One who wasn't going to let me give up the fight. Between the pictures, my pal and a strong desire to not die like so many of the people I take to the hospital (in our squad), I quit.

I rode 184 miles on a bicycle in 2.5 days, quit smoking, fought some killer fires, tried to help or helped a ton of hurting or sick people, celebrated my 16th wedding anniversary, lost my job (to layoff), lost 37 pounds (gained it all back after quitting smoking) and lived to tell about it.

Special shout out to my Brother for everything you do for me, Randy I never would have quit smoking if it weren't for you and Matt a life time of friendship (love the homebrew, make more we'll be back!)

Don't forget to comment on my Wordless Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More on Beach Volleyball

I have a few more comments to make on women's beach volleyball and the only reason it is a sport in the Olympics.

I saw today on TV that it was the first sport in the Olympics to sell out, and not because they didn't have a lot of seats.

Also, regarding the swimsuits they wear, they showed a clip of some women practicing and they were not wearing swim suits. They were wearing more practical shorts and shirts.

I noticed that a few other sports are picking up on the women's beach volleyball idea. The Brazilian women's indoor volleyball team had on skin-tight spandex outfits.

Also, the Australian women's basketball team was wearing tight spandex outfits.

I think I'm in favor of having an all-women's olympics, maybe once a year or better yet, once a month. I think they could sell tons of tickets!

Beach Volleyball! Yes!

It's time for the Olympics and that means more Beach Volleyball on TV!

Does anyone else find it curious that beach volleyball is still an Olympic sport? Is it really that much different than regular volleyball?

Oh yeah, it's harder to run around in the sand... Since when does that make a sport worthy of the Olympics? Do we have beach wrestling? Beach boxing? Beach baseball?

The real reason we still have beach volleyball in the Olympics is, yes, the swimsuits.

The men compete in shorts and t-shirts but the women, no, it's the smallest possible suit that can carry a number, name and flag. And it would be blatantly obvious if we had women's beach volleyball and not men's.

In this interview (with lots of pictures!), one women's beach volleyball player says the small suits are better because they provide more freedom of movement and less chance of getting sand in your clothes. Yeah, right.

We know the real reason why beach volleyball is so popular. I mean, I watch it every night it's on! Go May and Walsh!

Helping out global warming

The Mopar Nationals are in town this weekend. Tradition leads these hot rods to the center of Heath, Ohio to show off their cars and do some burnouts in the streets. Unimaginable amounts of money pass through Heath when these guys thunder on to the streets. The smell of racing fuel and burnt rubber fills the air. The classic cars come out of the woodwork and their owners do their best to shine up these examples of the Great American Muscle Car. The young and the old line the streets to witness this display of horsepower and muscle.

Randy on his Harley and me on my rice eating puddle jumper, motored down through the center of the gathering Mopar enthusiasts. Just to get a glimpse of the raw power being displayed. There were Mopars, Fords and Chevys, new and old, shredding tire after tire to entertain the gathering crowds. Harley Davidson even made a the show. HD bikes where everywhere you looked. There were even a few rice rockets doing burnouts for the crowd.

Any real man, real man, would be excited to be in the presence of such an invigorating event. For one weekend these motor heads put high gas prices and the stalling US economy aside to let loose and have some fun and enjoy the freedom God has given us.

Badminton! Yes, Badminton.

The 2008 Olympics are heating up with soccer games already underway. But I can't wait for the world's second biggest sport to begin. Yes, that would be badminton.

But of course the U.S. Badminton Team is made up of mostly Asians, where the sport is like football here in the U.S.

Most Asians I talked to when I lived there were shocked that badminton in the U.S. was little more than a game we played just for fun at Fourth of July picnics as children.

In Indonesia you could drive down the street and see pick-up games of badminton, sans net, just like you would see pick-up games of basketball here. I've never seen a birdie move so fast.

And in every sporting goods store you were sure to find high quality badminton rackets and shuttlecocks or "birdies" with real feathers, not the cheap plastic kind.

So you can be sure my eyes will be on the badminton this year. But I don't think I'll root for the U.S. team on this one. Go Indonesia!

NCAA Football Rant

I am outraged that the media's football "experts" are even considering USC as a co-national champion. "USC totally whipped Illinois," they say as justification. So what!? Illinois was the third-ranked team in the Big 10. Michigan, number two in the Big Ten, beat Florida and you don't hear people saying they should be co-champions.

USC even chose to play Illinois, given the option to play a Big Ten team (as is tradition in the Rose Bowl) or a higher ranked team from somewhere else. Sure they may be right for following the tradition of the Rose Bowl but they knew they were going to play a weak team.

Before the WVU-Oklahoma game, the "experts" were saying Oklahoma had a case for being crowned co-champion. WVU later thumped them.

Sure USC is a good team, but they were beat twice (once by Stanford who ended the season with a losing record) this season and only ranked sixth in the BCS.

The whole BCS system is ridiculous anyway. You can't compare football teams across the country with each other and come up with one team that is truly better than every other team. There are way too many variables in the game and any given team could lose any given day to any other team.

And don't even mention a national playoff. That's even dumber. Football, let alone college football, is not a game that lends itself to playoffs. Sure the NFL does it but that's just to make money. And that's why proponents of a playoff in the NCAA want to do it too. But this is college sports! These athletes are college students!

The old bowl system was far better than what we have today. The best teams in a conference were rewarded with a trip to a nice warm place in the winter to play a game against a good team from another conference. It was never supposed to end up being a national championship.

Down with the BCS! Down with playoffs!