It's Time for Dodger Baseball!

A Dodgers tagxedo for opening day.

The Fab Five Discussion We Should Really Be Having

Just before this year's NCAA tournament tipped off, ESPN aired The Fab Five as part of their 30 for 30 series. I couldn't wait to watch. I was a high school senior in 1992. I remembered this team fondly and the documentary didn't disappoint. It captured the excitement and controversy surrounding these guys and I loved hearing the players' memories of their two years together at Michigan. For me the highlight was hearing the Fab Five talk smack about Duke. I hated those Duke teams (particularly Christian Laettner) and I loved that the Michigan guys shared my sentiments. I was also disappointed that Chris Webber didn't participate, that we didn't have the opportunity to hear his version of events. 

Much of the media response to the film has focused around Jalen Rose's use of the term Uncle Tom and Grant Hill's response. While this discussion about race is important, I wish we could talk about another major problem in collegiate athletics: the huge profits being made on the backs of amateur athletes. With so many young student-athletes coming from humble beginnings, how can we keep programs, players and families clean? What responsibility does the NCAA have to enforce its rules? What about the professional leagues and agents? Should players share in some of these profits?

I wish I knew how to fix it, but I am just a fan tired of the violations and allegations. It's sad to see players and teams stripped of accomplishments and punished for transgressions. But there is no end is in sight unless we change the way our most talented athletes navigate their way into college programs and onto professional leagues.

ESPN's 30 for 30 Series: STILL Required Watching

I wrote about this documentary series this past October, but since then I've had the chance to see a few more and so here are five more worth watching:

Little Big Men: The story of a little league team from Washington State and where they are now.

Into the Wind: A kid gets cancer and decides to run across Canada on a prosthetic leg.

The Fab Five: Relive the magic of CWebb, Jalen, Juwan, Ray and Jimmy.

Fernando Nation: The man who brought Latinos back to Chavez Ravine. "If you've got a sombrero, throw it to the sky." Vin Scully

Winning Time: Trash talking at it's best. Reggie Miller v. the Knicks.

Oh, and even though it's not part of this series and instead is part of The Year of the QB, The Color Orange about Condredge Holloway breaking the QB color barrier at Tennessee is awesome.  

---original post from October 2010---

I know there's a whole lot of sports to watch right now with the MLB LCS, along with college and NFL football, but if you are a sports fan and you haven't started recording ESPN's documentary series 30 for 30, you should.  I arrived a little late to the show and still have a few to catch up on, but here are my favorites so far.

Run Ricky Run A thoughtful look at the complexities of Ricky Williams.

June 17, 1994  I'm sure this date rings a bell.  The Knicks were playing the Rockets in the NBA Finals, the US was hosting the FIFA World Cup, and Arnold Palmer was ending his career, but none of us could turn away from OJ Simpson's white Bronco. This film has the footage to prove it. 

The Two Escobars  This is the film I imagine Entourage's fictional Medellin could have been.  It illuminates the lives and deaths of Columbian soccer player Andres Escobar, and the drug lord Pablo Escobar.

Guru of Go  LMU, Paul Westhead, Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble, and a left-handed free-throw that still brings tears to my eyes. 

Four Days in October  Remember when the Red Sox were a team of playful, lovable idiots, cursed for 80-some years?  Remember when you felt for Red Sox and sympathized with their bad luck before they became almost as annoying as Yankees fans? Here are the four unbelievable days that changed Red Sox Nation forever.

Emerson Boys Hoop It Up at the NBA All-Star Jam Session

I spend many a weekend coaching boys and girls sports teams at the middle school where I teach: flag football in the fall, basketball in the winter, softball and soccer in the spring. If I posted about each of these weekend events, all Throwing Cookies would be is an Emerson Middle School sports blog, but this weekend, our student athletes had an opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime and with that I present my first Emerson Sports blog. Los Angeles hosted the NBA All-Star game and Emerson's boys basketball team earned their way into the NBA Jam Session Invitational.

FIrst, Emerson had to beat Nightingale at Miguel Contreras Learning Complex. They pulled off a come-from-behind victory almost as dramatic as their win the previous week over Palms. 

When our student-athletes arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center, an NBA rep met us and provided our players with shooting jerseys and Gatorade starter packs. They then escorted the team through the Convention Center to the Jam Session.

The team stretched and shouted out one last Emerson before their first game.

On Saturday, Emerson met Henry in their first game and after scoring four points in the first ten seconds they never trailed. In their second game, a tough team from Gompers led by six in the final two minutes. Tough Emerson d, clutch foul-shooting, and a last second shot sent Emerson to the tournament's final four in dramatic fashion.

On Sunday, foul trouble and a tough Portola squad ended Emerson's tournament run. Congrats to all our Panthers and thanks to the NBA for an amazing experience for all of the teams, families and schools.

The Disturbing Truth: Scout is an Auburn Tiger

War Damn Eagle. 

Until they won the national championship on Monday, I didn't know much about the University of Auburn.  I didn't even know what state Auburn was in.  But after some extended exposure to their fanbase a frightening reality was exposed.  Even though D and I are Duck fans, our dog is an Auburn Tiger.

• Her name is Scout Finch and she's from Maycomb County, Alabama.
• She keeps barking, "War Eagle."
• She wore a cocktail dress and insisted her boyfriend wear an orange oxford (tucked-in), khakis and loafers to the dog park. 
• She smiles and wags her tail as she talks smack about the Ducks and then insists that she isn't being rude at all.  
• She keeps lifting her paw into the Heisman pose.  
• She gloats about how SEC football is just, "A way of life 'round here.  Family, All In."
• She's told five different versions of the War Eagle legend.
• She keeps barking, "Bodygetta Bodygetta Bodygetta Bah Rah Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah Weagle Weagle War Damn Eagle Kick em in the butt, Big Blue Hey," whatever that means. 
• She suddenly outweighs everyone on the Oregon line by 45 pounds. 
• She keeps insisting, "Hey, y'all played a real good game."
• She says she had no idea her dad took $180,000 for her to play. 

BCS Tickets, Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Me:  It couldn't possibly be that hard to find tickets to the National Championship game.
Ticket God:  Have you checked Stubhub?  Oh, my bad.  Just kidding. 
Me:  So it is that hard.
Ticket God:  Possibly.  You don't have a few thousand dollars?
Me:  No.
Ticket God:  Well...
Me:  Is there anything I can do?
Ticket God:  Just show up.  I'll see what I can do.
Me:  Thank you, Ticket God.  Thank you.

Top Ten Sports Moments in 2010

I'll admit, a list of my least favorite sports moments of the year might have been easier to write with 2010 starting off with an Oregon loss to THE Ohio State Buckeyes at the Rose Bowl, and The Giants winning the World Series, but sprinkled among those low points were some great sports moments. 

10.  Getting the chance to visit Wimbledon.

9.  The sound of Vuvuzelas and watching a World Cup match with thousands of soccer fans in Paris. 

8.  The Saints' on-side kick to start the half and Drew Brees holding his son under a shower of confetti after winning the Super Bowl.

7.  A televised Oregon football spring game that was a hint of the season to come. 

6.  Watching Zenyatta's 18th victory.

5.  As a chick who digs defense and pitching (not just the long ball), The Year of the Pitcher was great to watch.

4.  The way Armando Galarraga handled being robbed of a perfect game by Jim Joyce.

3.  The Jets on Hard Knocks and actually having a favorite NFL team.

2.  A crazy college football game in Nevada between Boise State and UNR.  Bummer for that kicker though.

1.  Oregon's 12-0 football season.  It's stressful being the fan of a contender.  Let's hope 2011 starts off better for the Ducks than 2010 did.

There were a few other big moments... that super long match at Wimbledon, Vick coming back at the Meadowlands, the Yankees losing to Texas, Cam Newton's smile... got any favorites?