Goodbye, Arena Football. It’s been fun. I guess. As I am sure you have probably heard, the AFL liked taking the last year off so much that they have made their absence permanent. They have ceased operations indefinitely, and are reportedly about to declare bankruptcy. It’s the end of a 22 year era.
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Wow, am I ever glad that people don’t bet on swimming. Or maybe people do, but only the real degenerates. What’s going on right now at the World Championships is that swimming has descended into being a total mockery of a sport, and they seem to have little interest in doing anything about it.
I’ve mentioned it a few times over the last three weeks, so if you read this blog the you have probably guessed I am a big fan of the race. I haven’t always been. I watched the last three or four Armstrong victories pretty closely, lost much of the interest when he retired, and became far more obsessed by it than I would have guessed this year. I’m a huge Lance Armstrong fan for a lot of reasons. I think he’s the most ridiculously talented, freakish athletic there is. I am in awe of his competitive fire and his will. I’m also pretty loyal to his cause – my mom died of cancer last year when she was far too young, so I’m not a huge fan of the disease.
The major sports leagues in the U.S. are not just going to sit back and let Delaware legalize sports betting. They obviously fear that it would establish a dangerous precedent. If you haven’t followed it, here’s a quick summary – the state of Delaware has decided to legalize sports betting as a way to raise more revenue for the state. There will be a lottery as well, but the controversial idea s that they will have Vegas-style sports books located in the existing race tracks in the state. Other states, especially New Jersey, are watching very closely because they would be interested in doing the same – in Atlantic City in New Jersey’s case. The state pushed through the legislation quickly and intends to have it up and running in time for the wildly lucrative football season. The leagues aren’t happy about it at all. They are outwardly opposed to gambling in any form, and their position is that they fear that widespread gambling will lead to corruption within the sport, or at least it will allow questions to be raised each time there is a close finish or a controversial call. In an attempt to stop progress in Delaware the four major sports and the NCAA have banded together and have sued the state.
I really don’t get this whole David Beckham situation. (if you missed it, Beckham was booed throughout his first home game since returning from Milan yesterday) Or rather, I don’t get why people are so upset about the guy. It all comes down to expectations, I guess. What has happened hasn’t been great, but absolutely none of it is even the least bit surprising or unpredictable. In fact, if you didn’t see most of what has happened coming then you just didn’t spend the effort to understand the situation.
The third funniest thing I heard yesterday was that Richard Gasquet, the tennis pro suspended for testing positive for cocaine, decided to use the kissing defense. He claims that he was out partying one night when he kissed a random girl who had just happened to have recently snorted cocaine. Remnants of that cocaine were, he claims, still on her lips, so it was transferred to him when he went for the lip-lock. The next day he was drug tested and that’s why he says that test was positive. That sounds like the kind of theory that only a coke addict could come up with.
Just a few quick notes from today. I haven’t been watching any traditional sports all day. Instead, I spent the day at the Calgary Stampede, the self-proclaimed ‘Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth’. There I was watching the rodeo and the chuckwagon races – like I did several times throughout the last 10 days. Today was the final day, and that meant that championships were given out in earnest. The rodeo gives away $900,000 in the six traditional events (calf roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, barrel racing, and bull riding for you city slickers) in less than an hour – exciting stuff. The chuckwagon races are a true and bizarre spectacle – one of those things that everyone should see at some point in their life. There is also a betting aspect, albeit a very informal one. There is no legal betting on the chuckwagon races, but virtually everyone there does betting of some time with those with them, and there are a few different ways to set up a very pleasing an potentially lucrative bit of action – friendly, but hopefully not too friendly. Calgary is sometimes a good place to live and sometimes not so much, but during the 10 days of the Stampede every July it shines.
There’s a lot going on in the world today, so let’s touch on a bunch of it briefly:
Aroldis Chapman – This is the Cuban left handed pitching savant who defected from the Cuban national team while at a tournament in the Netherlands this week. The hype is huge on this guy – they are calling him the left-handed Stephen Strasburg. He seems to intend to come to the majors, and there will surely be a Dice-K-esque bidding war for his services. There are some strange elements to the story. First, he is being reported as being 21, yet when he pitched at the World Baseball Classic he was listed as 26. He also wasn’t particularly good against major league talent at the WBC – 5.68 ERA in almost seven innings. That’s obviously a small sample size and all, but it gives you reason to at least pause in the face of the hysteria.
I really don’t understand the Bucks. They traded away Richard Jefferson, so they have a lack of scoring to make up. They drafted a point guard, so they have some depth there. So what did they do? Offered a contract to their free agent point guard and not the solid scoring threat. Ramon Sessions will likely be back with the team, but Charlie Villanueva has been cut loose. Very bizarre. I was certain that it was going to go the other way. It looks like things could end up very well for Villanueva – he looks like he will take he mid-level exception in Cleveland.
I want to look at tonight’s NBA Draft a bit, but first a couple of quick stories to touch on:
- I love the Shaq trade for Cleveland. He’s obviously not the man he was, but he’ll fit well with LeBron, they gave nothing of significance up for him, and they aren’t tied to him long term. The guy knows how to win, and he’s hard to contend with inside. I could see him liking the idea of going out on top, and this is as good a spot as any outside of the Lakers or the Spurs (two places he really isn’t going) to do so.
- I was very interested to see Lleyton Hewitt pull a big upset of the number five seed off today, and look pretty darned good doing it. He’s in a soft draw, and could easily get to the quarterfinals. He’s traditionally been good at Wimbledon, and he has rediscovered some lost form recently. He’s not going to win it, but I see him winning a few more games.
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