HHR contributor Woody passes along this gem (which he probably saw at EDSBS):
I'm all for admiring the strengths and skills of the opposing team, but Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel took it to a new level when recently talking about Texas QB Colt McCoy.
Showing posts with label Woody. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Woody. Show all posts
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Standin' Tall
While my friends over at SWPL deliver the game-winning goal in its post about the fascination about soccer, this new team in Brazil has "heightened" my interest in the sport.
(Hat-tip to Perez Hilton for being on top of the ball)
(Hat-tip to Perez Hilton for being on top of the ball)
Monday, December 10, 2007
Natural Comparisons
An unwritten, self-imposed rule on HHR has been to try to remain as upbeat and uncontroversial as possible. Leave it to long-time friend, reader, and HHR's newest regular contributer, Woddy, to kick off his career with a nice political piece. Shouldn't have expected anything less from a DC insider!
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Competitive sports have had an element of politics to them. If there is any doubt, just look at the BCS selection of the championship game this year – unabashedly biased, whole-heartedly partisan – for proof that sports and politics intersect. It would be logical…and realistic…to say that politics almost naturally find a home in the arena of sports.
Increasingly as of late, however, the sports persona can be seen on the political field. More and more, it is becoming a two-way street. Curt Schilling’s endorsement and recent stumping for Senator John McCain is just the most brazen example. So, it was understandable that I have found myself drawing comparisons of the BCS fiasco that was the 2007 season to the 2008 Presidential campaigns.
For those sports junkies who haven’t followed the presidential hopefuls yet, let me break it down in a common language we all speak: Senator Hilary Clinton, long believed to be the Ohio State of the election, has been unmasked as the over-hyped pre-season Cornhuskers; Senator Barack Obama, a respectable yet inexperienced sophomoric Florida squad, has turned the Democratic contest into a real horserace; All the while, it would be unwise to count out the still-formidable Trojans, reincarnated as former Senator John Edwards.
I don't understand this.
And don’t even get me started on the Republican nominees!
At this point, there may be some head shaking from the peanut gallery, but hear me out. Looking at this year’s college football season, almost anything that was expected to not happen, did. Right up until the end (I still can’t explain how West Virginia laid down for PITT like a trained lap-dog), there is unanimous agreement that this season was the most unpredictable and unscripted which, in turn, made it the most original and most captivating.
Even the Bowl selections were unbelievable, dripping with outside influence in the form of politics and financial interests (Georgia not in the Title Game?! Or the selection of Illinois vs Pac-10 Champion USC in the Rose Bowl??!!). The reality was that it was an open contest that any number of seven teams (the exact same number of Democrat Presidential hopefuls – eerie coincidence or planned comparison???) could have made a legitimate argument for.
The point is, with less than a month to go before the victor is chosen, Americans are already looking at their choices and are disgruntled (and frankly confused) with how we got to where we are. Politics, professional or sports-induced, have served the past four months a service by stirring up a great deal of interest. Each week, contenders took to the field on any given day in the attempts to slow down or trip-up their opponents. And, each week, someone did indeed stumble, sometimes by their own doing (I still haven’t forgiven Pete Carroll for keeping JD Booty in that Stanford game, but I will soon). Because of this, across the country, a great debate continues to rage.
If conventional wisdom tells us anything, it’s that the 2007 college football season should serve as a good indication as to how the 2008 Presidential cycle will end: with no clear consensus on a winner, uncertainty how this all occurred (again), and most people feeling cheated.
-posted by Woody
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Competitive sports have had an element of politics to them. If there is any doubt, just look at the BCS selection of the championship game this year – unabashedly biased, whole-heartedly partisan – for proof that sports and politics intersect. It would be logical…and realistic…to say that politics almost naturally find a home in the arena of sports.
Increasingly as of late, however, the sports persona can be seen on the political field. More and more, it is becoming a two-way street. Curt Schilling’s endorsement and recent stumping for Senator John McCain is just the most brazen example. So, it was understandable that I have found myself drawing comparisons of the BCS fiasco that was the 2007 season to the 2008 Presidential campaigns.
For those sports junkies who haven’t followed the presidential hopefuls yet, let me break it down in a common language we all speak: Senator Hilary Clinton, long believed to be the Ohio State of the election, has been unmasked as the over-hyped pre-season Cornhuskers; Senator Barack Obama, a respectable yet inexperienced sophomoric Florida squad, has turned the Democratic contest into a real horserace; All the while, it would be unwise to count out the still-formidable Trojans, reincarnated as former Senator John Edwards.
I don't understand this.And don’t even get me started on the Republican nominees!
At this point, there may be some head shaking from the peanut gallery, but hear me out. Looking at this year’s college football season, almost anything that was expected to not happen, did. Right up until the end (I still can’t explain how West Virginia laid down for PITT like a trained lap-dog), there is unanimous agreement that this season was the most unpredictable and unscripted which, in turn, made it the most original and most captivating.
Even the Bowl selections were unbelievable, dripping with outside influence in the form of politics and financial interests (Georgia not in the Title Game?! Or the selection of Illinois vs Pac-10 Champion USC in the Rose Bowl??!!). The reality was that it was an open contest that any number of seven teams (the exact same number of Democrat Presidential hopefuls – eerie coincidence or planned comparison???) could have made a legitimate argument for.
The point is, with less than a month to go before the victor is chosen, Americans are already looking at their choices and are disgruntled (and frankly confused) with how we got to where we are. Politics, professional or sports-induced, have served the past four months a service by stirring up a great deal of interest. Each week, contenders took to the field on any given day in the attempts to slow down or trip-up their opponents. And, each week, someone did indeed stumble, sometimes by their own doing (I still haven’t forgiven Pete Carroll for keeping JD Booty in that Stanford game, but I will soon). Because of this, across the country, a great debate continues to rage.
If conventional wisdom tells us anything, it’s that the 2007 college football season should serve as a good indication as to how the 2008 Presidential cycle will end: with no clear consensus on a winner, uncertainty how this all occurred (again), and most people feeling cheated.
-posted by Woody
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Shady Pines Calling
Nice Dungarees.This week, Brett was named “2007 Sportsman of the Year” and, what can only be another meaningless honor in a long, magnificent career. At age 38, he led his Packers and their crazy Cheese-head fans to a 10-2 season and continues to draw the big crowds, big endorsements (I’m wearing my Wrangler jeans now), and big dollars. You’re on top of the world Brett…time for you to get off the ride and let someone else take a turn.
I’m not saying Brett should retire from athletics altogether, joining the ranks of the overweight, under-exercised couch-potatoes who have spent years watching his brilliance on the field by only moving their fingers clicking the buttons on the remote control. No one wants a fatty Favre. We have openings in competitive badminton or croquette. But, in terms of a continued professional football career, better to ride out on the glow of excellence rather than a gurney.
Ice skating, anyone?By throwing yourself, week after week, into the hundreds of pounds of pure muscle coming full-steam at you - that Dallas game hurt to even watch – you’ve got to be thinking, “If I just leave now, I wonder if I can still make the early bird special at Shoney’s.” Why are you still competing season after season? While there is something to be said on any given Sunday, there is also something to be said for having full use of your faculties. Just ask Christopher Reeves (R.I.P.).
So, Brett, do us all a favor after this playoff season – stay in retirement. While you may avenge the Packers over the Cowboys just to lose to the Patriots where it counts in the coming games, you’ll only be making us cringe another season if we have to watch your AARP-eligible greatness get smacked down week after week. I, for one, prefer to reserve my limited cringes to seeing Britney Spears enter and exit automobiles au natureal.
-posted by Woody
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