I Need to Talk About Sports

Its round two of the NCAA Tournament and I am at home bouncing upsets (#1 Kansas to be be specific) off of my wife, who doesn't know the difference between Cole Aldrich and Cole Ortiz (Fred Prinze Jr in day 8 of '24'), to get her opinion. This just doesn't seem right. I need an outlet, basically. I won't do live updates or breaking news, its basically just a public journal to help me interact with my old friends and new friends about not only Pittsburgh sports related topics, but the broader view of the sports landscape. I love the running journal so that may pop up from time to time. I encourage comment as well. So, to start with, lets get the formalities out of the way.

I was born and bred on the banks of the Three Rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio, for those uneducated) in Pittsburgh, PA. Naturally, my allegiances lie with the Stillers, the Pens, the Panthers and in a distant fourth in 2010, the Buccos. The 1993 NHL playoffs, the 1995, 1997, and 2001 AFC championship games, the 2009 Elite 8, and the 1992 NLCS were six of the most painful memories of my life. My teams were favored in every one of these games, yet they all came up short. It happens, we try to move on, but as much as I admonish Eagle fans for taking a loss hard, I too can remember like it was yesterday, little-used Francisco Cordova shooting a single through the infield and 77-year-old Sid Bream "racing" home to win the game for the Braves in October 1992, or as I like to call it, the end of the Pittsburgh Pirates. So maybe I am able to compartmentalize more than most, but I try not to let it affect me day to day.

A couple of important points about my thoughts on the landscape of sport and other relevant topics: I respect athletes but don't idolize them. I stopped that when I turned 30. I don't live in my parents basement. I do love the Steelers, Pens, Pitt Panthers and Pirates, but I am also a fan of the Indiana Pacers. Reggie Miller is my favorite basketball player of all time and the reason I wore #31 when I played high school basketball back in the 90s for the Hopewell Vikings.

Lebron James is hype. He will never win a title without a dominant center, and anyone who says he (or Kobe for that matter) holds a candle to MJ is crazy. That being said, I don't watch the NBA on a regular basis. Its glorified streetball, and I cannot be convinced otherwise.

I love the NCAA Tournament. The first weekend is basketball at its best and purest. I can only compare it to watching one of my teams compete in the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup Finals or the Final Four (notice I left out the World Series). I don't understand the play-in game aside from more exposure to the tournament, but really, its not like it needs more exposure. I mean I was able to watch the Pitt game on Friday on my desktop at work.

Teams I cannot under any circumstances stomach (in no particular order): the Baltimore Ravens, the Philadelphia Flyers, any team that Allen Iverson/Terrell Owens/Chad Johnson/Tim Tebow/Ray Lewis plays for. (Hey, a two-fer with Ray Lewis!) Blackhawk High School athletic teams (any sport), Moon High School athletic teams (any sport), Aliquippa High School athletic teams (any sport), Duke basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers, any team that is representing Boston or New England, WVU Mountaineers (any sport), the Detroit Red Wings, the Atlanta Braves, the Denver Brocos, the Oakland Raiders, my friend Ben's fantasy baseball team, my friend Mike's fantasy football team(s) (only because I can never beat them).

I don't care that Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. At least he is interesting now. Tiger is possibly the richest athlete ever, who traveled 90% of the time to faraway lands in search of buried treasure and golfing trophies. Really, she expected something else? My only surprise was that he picked up a Denny's waitress. Nothing against Denny's waitresses of course. I am just waiting for the tell-all book.

I don't care for Peter King or Don Banks. My favorite bands/musicians are Stephen Lynch, Flight of the Conchords, the Beastie Boys, Guns N Roses, and Lady Gaga. American Idol is good for one thing: making money for Fox. I love Seinfeld, The Office, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, but after I saw all 53 episodes of Arrested Development, I can't see how any show could be as funny as that one is. I am eagerly anticipating the movie in 2011.

Lastly, the inspiration for the title of this little experiment is Section E18 at the Civic Arena, now known of course as Mellon Arena, home of the Stanley Cup champion Penguins. For years, when #66 Lemieux was playing and Jaromir Jagr was in tow, my dad took me to games at the Igloo and we sat in section E18, in the mezzanine, behind and to the right of one of the goals. These are some great memories for me, so I wanted to pay tribute to that. Anyway, on with the fun.

Tomorrow: Pitt Panthers vs. Xavier Musketeers, 4:50 EST. Will not be watching this live so don't text. And at 7 pm, the Sandlot conducts its 5th annual fantasy baseball draft. Updates a coming.