2013 NFL Draft

“With the first selection of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Eric Fischer, offensive tackle, Central Michigan University.” That was the first of many picks announced by the commissioner Roger Goodell in this year’s NFL draft. The next pick I was listening for was the Detroit Lions. I didn’t have to wait very long because after another disappointing season, they had the 5^th overall pick. With that pick, they selected Ziggy Ansah, a defensive end from BYU. Ziggy is interesting because he came to the United Stated from Ghana to play basketball. He has been playing football since just 2010, but he is a natural athlete, and a great football player. With all due respect to Ziggy Ansah, I think he is a great football player, but I think we (the Lions) needed Dee Milliner the cornerback from Alabama more. Milliner was then taken 9^th overall by the New York Jets (they will need him after losing Darrelle Revis in the offseason).

So the big question was, who would be the first quarterback taken in the draft? Many thought it would be Geno Smith or Ryan Nassib to the Bills. They were right about the Bills being the first team to draft a QB, but it was E.J. Manuel out of Florida State. Other big news in quarterback category was the fact that Matt Barkley and Ryan Nassib didn’t get drafted until the 4^th round. They were drafted by the Eagles and Giants, respectively. Geno Smith was drafted in the second round (38^th overall) going to the New York Jets. Hello, quarterback controversy. I say this because the New York Jets now have six quarterbacks. (Had to explain this to my mom.)

Last but not least, the pick everyone waited all draft for was Mr. Irrelevant, the 254^thoverall and last pick. The Indianapolis Colts selected Justice Cunningham, the tight end out of South Carolina.  

X-games Foz Do Iguacu

This year, the summer X-games are taking place in more than one location at different times throughout the summer. The most recent one took place in Foz Do Iguacu, Brazil, next to some spectacular waterfalls. The athletes competing turned out to be just as spectacular. Here is a brief recap, and a few of my thoughts on these X-games.

It all started on Friday night, with a very interesting skateboard big air. First of all, Jake Brown laid down the first Ollie (no-grab) 720 spin in competition. Then, there is also the winner, Bob Burnquist, who landed a huge 720 rodeo flip. It is one thing for Bob to win skateboard big air, but it is amazing for him to be able to do it in front of his home country. In all, there have been 13 Brazilian winners so far.

On Saturday, Zack Warden won the BMX big air, landing a triple tail whip on the quarter pipe section.  Both of the big airs (skateboard and BMX) are probably my favorite events to watch. Later on, Kyle Baldock won the BMX park event, but he wasn’t done as he also went on to win the BMX dirt event. If the BMX dirt doesn’t sound familiar to you, that’s okay because this was the first time the X-games had it in seven years. I like watching this event, and hope it stays for a long time.  Also on Saturday, Nyjah Huston was able to win the Street League Skateboarding with an incredible arsenal of tricks. Nyjah has been in the X-games seemingly his whole life. He is 28 now, and has been competing since he was around 13.

These were just a few of the many amazing things that happened at these X-games in Foz Do Iguacu. Tune in this summer, for the next X-games that are taking place in Barcelona.

14 Year Old Pros?

What were you doing at age 14? Well, for Chinese golfer Guan Tianlang, he is playing in The Master’s. Not just playing, but he made the cut to become the youngest ever to do so. (For those of you like my mom, the cut means he golfed well enough to keep playing.) This Master’s encompasses a very large age group, covering from the 14 year old, Guan Tianlang to the 53 year old, Fred Couples. Golf is a sport where you can play very young (or old) but most kids don’t do anything special except make their high school golf team.

This got me thinking about other sports. In contact sports (or most pro sports) there is an age limit. In the NHL you must be at least 18 years of age, and in football you must be three years removed from high school. One exception to this was Gordie Howe who was on the Red Wings’ roster at age 17, but didn’t play until he was 18. In baseball, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout are already superstars and they are only 19 and 20, respectively. Movies sometimes don’t follow these rules. For example, in the movie Rookie of the Year, there is a young teenager pitching for the Chicago Cubs. In the MLB, you must be 16 to even try out for a farm team so this could not actually happen. However, in other sports like gymnastics you must be extremely young. Most Olympic gymnasts are between 14 and 18. It’s crazy that once you get over 20 in gymnastics, you’re considered old.

So, I must say, I’m one year away from being 14, but I have no plans of doing anything more than some school sports next year. Some of my friends dream of playing in the pros, but know that it is a long time away. Congratulations to Guan Tianlang for his performance, and good luck in your career.

Congrats Louisville and UConn

Sorry this is a little late, but I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament winners.

First, congrats to the Louisville men’s basketball team. Louisville beat Michigan (who I wanted to win) in the finals, 82-76, for their third title in school history. They were the no. 1 overall seed in the tournament, and proved why. As you may recall in their elite eight matchup vs. Duke, Kevin Ware suffered a brutal leg injury. His team rallied for him and that gave Louisville the extra boost to beat Duke, and win the tournament for Ware. Kevin Ware was able to attend the finals game, and is expected to make a full recovery. By winning this game, Rick Pitino became the first men’s D1 coach to win titles at two different schools. He also won with Kentucky in 1996.

The women’s winner, the UConn Huskies, defeated the women’s Louisville squad 93-60 in the finals. That is the largest margin of victory for a NCAA tournament championship game. Even though Louisville beat Brittney Griner and the no.1 Lady Bears from Baylor, it still wasn’t enough momentum to win the tourney. If Louisville would have won, it would have been the second time the men’s and women’s  teams from the same school won the national championship in the same year. The only other school to accomplish this was UConn in 2011.

Tampa Bay Lightning Game

Just recently, I had the privilege of going to a Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers game (Thanks, Uncle Dan) I was on vacation in Florida. The Lightning lost 3-2 to the Panthers in a shootout. This was my third time ever being to an NHL game (the other two were Red Wings games), and it is truly so much different than just watching it on television. It was also way different going to a hockey game in Florida than in Detroit.

Lightning Bolts

First of all, when we drove by, we realized there was a lot of activity outside the stadium. There were vendors, games and even a stage with a live band. You can’t do this in a lot of other places because it is cold and/or snowing. It’s different from T.V. because there is so much energy in the arena. The Lightning even created their own lightning. At the beginning of every period they would have a rod hanging down from the ceiling that would shoot bolts of lightning (see picture). Every time Tampa scored the building would erupt in cheers and the sound of the goal horn. There were many other things that created energy like the live organ, cheerleaders, a t-shirt cannon, and the fans themselves.

Another thing I noticed was how much money goes into each and every game. First and foremost, the buildings are massive. I don’t even know how much some of them cost, or how many square feet they are. Second, the cooling (especially in Florida), they have to keep the ice frozen, without freezing out the guests (something small town rinks struggle with). They also have the biggest Jumbotron I have ever seen, and largest in the NHL. The main way to pay for all of this is of course sponsors. They are everywhere! Looking around, it’s hard to find a square foot that isn’t sponsored by someone, or something. And then, as if that’s not enough publicity there are contests every T.V. timeout…if you can make this shot from center ice you get $500, or if you text in the right answer you get a free hockey stick.

Going to a professional hockey game is a really cool experience.  If you ever have the chance to go to a game, I would highly recommend it.