Ally Oop

It can't be just me this time of year. The Sports Center Top Ten Plays are so BORING. With basketball and hockey going on and not much else, every single day is the same. 7 or 8 ally oop dunks and a couple accidental hockey shots that hit the corner of the net. Once in a while you'll see a goalie making an accidental save. But its always the same. You can substitute soccer once in a while for the accidental goal or save that is proclaimed great. But that's pretty much it.

A play that happens dozens of times a night, often when there is nothing at stake, is just not that cool anymore. I saw the play when I was watching practice at college my freshmen year. It was the first time I saw something like that live. It was cool.

But when I saw a few more times, I realized if a team with big tall players have a few who could jump, they should be able to do something like that. And that was at a small insignificant university in southwest Minnesota (hint) 35 years ago.

I see many guys in the park, right down the block from me, doing it on a 8 1/2 foot rim. Regular guys who aren't very tall. It just doesn't seem like that big a deal when so many can do it.

I'd rather watch the phenomenal passing of Ricky Rubio every time he plays a game than more dunks. Why? Because that is an uncommon ability that very few people possess. And I never see it live. And it's unbelievable as to the amount of skill that is needed. People just don't see the beauty of finesse any more.

Dunks? Bah, Humbug.

Keith Law

ESPN commentator and baseball expert Keith Law released his top 100 prospects in MLB Wednesday.

Twins outfielder, Bryon Buxton was number ONE on the list. Third baseman, Miguel Sano, who needs Tommy John surgery, is number eight.

We have some fine young stars just waiting for their opportunity to shine. Let's hope they're as good as their billing.

Wolves Over .500

NBA basketball is becoming more interesting to me again. With the Wolves winning 4 of their last 5, and Kevin Durant on a roll (OKC clubbed LeBron and the Heat last night IN Miami) I find the product much more palatable.

The right teams need to win, you see.

Still just chillin' mostly, waiting for the Super Bowl.

Concussions and the NFL

Jahved Best was a promising 1st round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 2010.

He had great potential as a running back. His career ended early this past season. One too many concussions was the simple answer.

He's now suing the NFL and the helmet maker whose helmet he wore for damages and lifetime lingering medical expenses.

You see, his primary argument is that the NFL never should have drafted him since he had multiple concussions while playing at USC.

Though I feel sorry for Best, these types of lawsuits cannot continue. The NFL has only started looking at the long-term problems associated with multiple and/or severe concussions. They have started those studies to try to cut down on the damage done. Perhaps they have the hope of reducing concussions completely.

But you can't blame the NFL for not knowing everything yet. That isn't fair to them. I guarantee you that if Best hadn't been drafted by any NFL club back in 2010, he would have sued them for NOT drafting someone with his potential, based on clauses in the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prevents discrimination against people with medical problems or disabilities.

ALL NFL players now KNOW there are great risks involved with playing the game. Potentially severe long-term risk. They are taken out of games now against their wishes just to protect them from themselves.

But success in the NFL means great riches. No one forces them to play. It's dangerous and they know it.  Older players, long since retired, have admitted as such. But there is money to be made from lawsuits.

And everybody wants their piece of the pie.

Americans have always been good at blaming others for the consequences of their choices. People over eat, take up smoking, and play professional football because they want to. Blaming McDonalds, tobacco companies, and the NFL for long-term medical problems is wrong.

There are enough facts out there today to make everyone responsible for their own decisions and choices. It wasn't always that way. But it is today.

You live with the consequences of your choices. If someone pays you or not.

That's life.

Wolves Win On the Road

If nothing else this season, the Wolves are muddling through a .500 season picking up more road wins than they ever have before. Last night they won in Chicago for the first time in awhile.

At this point I don't know if I want to watch them more or less.  I used to watch Minnesota sports because they're "my teams".  Now I want teams that have a legitimate chance to win a championship.

I watched the Twins far less last season than I usually do. Same goes for the Vikings. I've actually watched far more T-Wolves action this season than I've watched in along time. But I'm also realistic in my expectations, and the more I watch NBA basketball, the less I like it. I see officials making (or not making) calls that influence outcomes more than players making plays. That doesn't change just because we're winning. It's just easier to watch.

And the Wolves, as fun as they are this year, are just an average team that will most likely lose Kevin Love next season.

NBA basketball, above all else, is about the best players. Without them, you simply are not going to win championships. And you need more than one. Ask LeBron.  The Wolves are CLOSE to being a great team.

Next year, they will be farther away from 'great"than this year.

Will I continue watching them because they win half the time?

I don't know. Right now, they literally are the only game in town.

Hockey doesn't count. It never did.

Pro Bowl

I have no idea what the ratings will be for this game, but I watched a few minutes at the beginning just to see what this new look of "drafted" teams would look like. I had no natural rooting interest and thought the uniforms with fluorescent accents were as bad as any uniforms I had ever seen. Knowing that players from the same regular season teams were competing against each other added less interest, not more.

I hope that it was an abject failure. Just a bad idea for a game that already served no purpose, this game should be cancelled.

Of course in a country where Sports Nation (a show where hosts guess what fans think) is now extremely popular, I have no idea what young viewers will think of the game. I just know they're idiots.

Guessing majority opinion? Popular?

Wow. Just wow.

As awful as yesterday's uniforms.

Poll

Half a million sports fans were polled by the online opinion website You Rather. The results were hysterical.