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Archive for April, 2007
In my last posting I spoke about the growth of the Arena football League. And it just so happens that I just got off the airplane returning from Orlando. I look to my left, and there’s a 6-4 wide body, then another and then two and three more big fellas trying to squeeze into their seats. Turns out these they are the nucleaus of the Orlando Predators piling onto the Jumbo Jet headed to Las vegas for a game tomorrow.
I strike up a conversation with a few of them and the guy sitting right next to me is regarded as one of the best defenders in the league. His name is Greg White. Played at Minnesota, he’s in his second year with the Predators. nd in his last 5 games has had 5 and a half sacks, and one fumble recovery returned for a Touchdown. His Pr guy told me he was the best Defensive Lineman in the Arena Football league.
All of a sudden you hear, “Hey, who went first in the NFL draft one of the yells out? Jemarcus Russell one of the guys tells his teammate. What about number two, hold on, we’re coming in for a landing, whoa, bump, bump a little rough as we approached Hartsfield International airport, ..finally the wheels screech on the concrete and Greg White tells his QB, Calvin Johnson, best receiver in the nation.”
the NFL draft is something special but I have to say, these AFL Orlando predators all sat in the same area of the plane on their ride from Orlando to Atlanta before boarding their flight to Las Vegas for their game Sunday. the cohesion on that plane by those players was noticeable. Most NFL players may have been complaining about the lack of leg room on the flight in Coach Class, but not today. The AFL players show their humility like some NFL players but on the whole, they feel fortunate to be playing the game they love at all. Yes, they all want to be in the NFL but they are making money doing what they love. And hopefully the fans will catch on to the quick pace of this sport and many of these players like Defensive Lineman Greg White could get a shot at the next level of professional football.
How many NFL games have you seen in the last 5 years? You’d agree, A 35-31 final is a high scoring game, right! In the AFL, you get that score routinely in ONE half.
Chris Greisen is the QB for the Georgia Force of the Arena Football league; he threw 10 Touchdown passes in his teams 78-63 win Saturday night. Yes, 10. The field is half the size of an NFL field and it provides the perfect opportunity for players to score and fans to get involved. The fans are in close proximity to the field, If the ball goes into the stands they’ll find themselves with a nifty souvenir, just like in our national pastime.
Evan and Rebecca Langfelder could be the top Georgia Force fans around or maybe their just fans of the game. They sat right next to me at my position between the players benches Saturday night at the game. “Hey, Do you ask the players about their touchdowns when they come off the field? How do you know what to ask them?” This is so cool, there’s so much scoring?” They asked questions as fast as the Force scored touchdowns. I found myself answering their inquisitive little minds and jotting down game stats as fast as Chris Greisen released the football from his hands. Oh, Hold on, another TD for Greisen, this one to his third receiver Troy Bergeron. Ok, I’m sorry, Evan what did you say?” Yes, that was his 8th Td pass tonight and he had 10 last week.”
The point is, the Arena Football league is not only a league worth watching, it’s a league with tremendous growth and appeal to fans of all ages. Oh wait, hold on, there’s another TD strike from Greisen to Chris Jackson. No wonder the league is still around after the first game back in 1987. And I bet it’ll be around for at least another 2000 TD passes or so from Chris Greisen and the other rocket launchers in the AFL.
Kenny and David Irons both played football at Dacula high school in Georgia. They both went on to star at Auburn and now, they’re days away from being part of a whole new family and possibly making NFL history.
Kenny is one of the top running backs in the country. His brother David is a top cornerback prospect. The Bills, Packers and Giants all expressed interest in Kenny. And the Dolphins are as well but doubt he’ll be around by the time they select in the draft. Especially if they take a QB with their 9th pick because they don’t select again until 40th.
Think about that! you grow up dreaming of an opportunity to play football in the NFL just like millions of other kids around the country. Playing football as a youngster with your brother and arguing over who scored the last TD in your back yard game. Those conversations went on for years at the family dinner table and now, you’re just days away from hearing your name called into the family known as the NFL.
David Irons is Kenny’s older brother and is expected to go in the 2nd or 3rd round as a defensive back. The last time there were two brothers in the same draft getting the same amount of attention was in 1997 when two guys with the last name BARBER were selected on the same day. Tiki and Rhonde.
Kick your feet back, flip on the tube and wait to see if the Irons’ brothers will have a wrinkle- free size fits “All in the family” jersey by the end of the weekend. I say they both play in the NFL and Kenny goes on the first day.
On the eve of the NBA Playoffs I started thinking about Dirk Nowitzki and the team he now plays for, The Dallas Mavericks. Dirk is the MVP and the Mavs are the team to beat.
Do you have the NBA package? you get every single NBA game available right into your home for about 200 bucks. It all started 6 or 7 years ago and I remember watching the Mavericks on the NBA package in the first few years of its existence and telling my brother how Dirk Nowitzki reminded me of Larry Bird and how he would be named the MVP one day soon. This is HIS year and the Mavericks year to win it all.
Watch it happen!
He’s 7 feet tall, shoots like a guard, can create his own shot and has ridiculous accuracy from 25 feet and beyond. The best thing about Nowitzki is his progression every year. His progression off the court is the keynote here. He came into the league from his native Germany and averaged 23 points a game in his first season, but he was hardly conversational in English. Now he speaks fluent English and you don’t need a translator to see how he communicates with a basketball in his hand in his 8th season in the league.
Dallas has the best record in the NBA (66-14) 36-5 at home and 30-9 on the road. Yes, 30 wins and only 9 defeats away from their arena. Nowitzki is averaging 24 points and 9 rebounds a game to lead the Mavs and because of the loss last year to the Miami Heat in the Finals (a series in which they had a 2-0 lead) they now know what it takes to win a title and will cruise to the championship this season. It will be their first NBA Championship.
I just got back from my very own basketball game in my recreation league. Time winding down and we’re up by one point. The guy I’m guarding leans into me and tries to bank in the winning shot at the buzzer. His shots had been falling all night and I really thought this one had a chance and would as well. At the very least he would get the call and go to the free throw line!
Like I was taught by a biddy basketball coach years ago, “put your hands straight up in the air and stand still like a statue. let the chips fall where they may. It’s all about fundamentals. I put my knowledge to the test and and after a very physical game back and forth by both teams. We had the lead and they had made a valiant comeback to be traling 71-70 with 2.8 seconds left.
I made sure not to touch his shooting hand and as he jumped into me I stood still with my hands in the air , finally I turned around and saw the ball heading upward to the basket, it had the height and distance and …..CLANK…off the rim. We win 71-70 in the first game of the new season.
It’s one reason I enjoy covering basketball and sports in general, I know the fundamentals of the game and that knowledge comes into play often. If you have a sense about a players intended and assigned objective during a game, you can understand why he may not always abide by them and it may turn out for the better. Like, the time Michael Jordan left his man in game 6 against the Utah Jazz in the NBA Finals in 1998, he was supposed to stay with his man but left and went to the blindside of Karl Malone–swiped the ball and proceeded to hit the game winning shot moments later…fundamentally he did the wrong thing but it turned out to be the right play.
Ok, My play wasn’t anything like Jordan’s but the point is simple, If you play the game you understand the game.” I’d just like to think I will be able to play the game for many years to come—Advil in tow.
Remember the name Maya Moore. She is everything that is right about women’s basketball.
I felt compelled to express to you everything that is RIGHT about women’s basketball without dignifying the ignorant comments made by that shock jock Don Imus.
Maya Moore is the prime example of how and why Women’s basketball has grown to elite levels in prep and collegiate athletics. I have covered sports my entire life, professionally for the last twenty years. I did the color commentary for Maya’s final game as a prep player and I have not seen a better player or a more graceful athlete. She played four years for Collins Hill high school in Atlanta, Georgia, and not only led her team to an undefeated season and the city, state and national titles, she was named the Naismith player of the year for the second year in a row.
She is the best female basketball player I have ever seen.
Maya is headed to the University of Connecticut, stands 6 feet 1 inches tall and plays the game of basketball with style and grace unparalled by any prep player before her. Yes, you can make an argument for Candace Parker; but Maya is younger and still developing her game. She is fundamentally sound on and off the court and when I spoke to Maya and her Mom after her first round playoff game this year she told me she was going to Uconn because of the relationships the University has with the players; past and present.
Her Mom told me she would be there with Maya in Connecticut to help her adjust. and then continued, “When Maya was younger she called several schools conducting her own type of interviews. She may have been only 12 or 13 but I wanted Maya to have a full understanding of the process so when the time finally came to make a decision; it would be a decision that she had a full understanding of and on that she would be prepared to make.
She made it and she will make your day if you tune in to watch the Uconn Huskies next season. And oh yea, do us all a favor, let’s say goodbye to the shock jock who wouldn’t
know a good basketball player from a hole in the wall.