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(09/01/15 7:54pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
This summer, the United States Women’s National Team won the hearts of the national public with their amazing run in the Women’s World Cup, capped off by the stunning 5-2 victory over Japan in the finals. During the run, I read the story about two national team players, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian, living with ESPN NBA Analyst and former head coach Jeff Van Gundy and his family.
Something about this story fascinated me to no end. Quick Disclaimer: Klingenberg became one of my favorite athletes recently and Van Gundy coached one of my favorite teams ever, the Yao/T-Mac Rockets. However, the thing that made this story interesting to me was the fact that two starters on the best women’s soccer team in the world had to live with a host family during most of the year. If two of the best players in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) have to live with host families, what is the living situation like for the bottom level players?
Van Gundy was set up with Klingenberg and Brian through just casual conversation with the managing director of the Houston Dash, Brian Ching. Ching told Van Gundy of a host family program that the Dash have for their players. Many other NWSL teams have similar host family programs. This story shined a bright light on the financial situation of the league.
National Women’s Soccer League teams operate with a salary cap of $265,000. The top players in the league make between $20,000 and $30,000 per season. The lower level players make less than $7,000 per season. In comparison, the MLS minimum salary is about $50,000 per season.
Professional women’s soccer in the United States has had financial issues since its inception many years ago. The thought was that when the famous ’99 team gained the public’s attention, that women’s soccer in the United States would increase in popularity. But, the excitement with this team didn’t last as emphasized by the financial issues in the professional leagues. Multiple professional women’s leagues in the United States have failed to last over the last decade, most recently Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS).
Following the triumphant run the United States Women’s team had in this past World Cup, American sports fans — especially people who cheered on the national team — have an opportunity to prevent the NWSL from experiencing the same fate. Over 25 million people watched the Women’s World Cup Final, breaking the U.S. viewing record for a soccer game. More people watched the final than watched any game in the most recent NBA Finals.
Women’s soccer has never been hotter in the United States than it is right now. This is the perfect time to use the momentum of the Women’s World Cup to grow the women’s game as a whole, specifically the NWSL. All of the biggest Women’s National team stars play in the NWSL. Hope Solo plays for the Seattle Reign, Alex Morgan plays for the Portland Thorns, Carli Lloyd plays for the Houston Dash. The NWSL and USWNT have the potential to grow the game hand in hand.
Following the World Cup, many people were talking about how it was unfair that the U.S. Women only left with $2 million in prize money compared to $35 million to the champion German men and $9 million for the American men who came in 11th place. However, talk is cheap. This disparity should further emphasize the need to grow the game. If you’re a fan of the Women’s National Team, you should want to watch the women’s game more than once (or twice — the Olympics) every four years.
You can attend a game or watch them online if you don’t have a team in your local market. All NWSL games are either on YouTube or FoxSports (I know, I’ve watched a handful of Houston Dash games since the World Cup). The league is quality soccer and the players are great personalities and role models for youths, both male and female. They’re not interested in growing the game for themselves. They want the game to grow for the future of women’s soccer that currently idolize them and cheered them on every minute of their World Cup run.
(05/06/15 9:36pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
Usually, I’m not a fan of someone trying to steal the show at a graduation. It’s a day to celebrate the graduating class and not individuals. However, this past week Derek Slaughter stole the show at the University of Alabama at Birmingham graduation, and I have immense admiration for what he did.
Slaughter, who was a linebacker on the UAB football team the past four seasons, brought his football helmet to the graduation. He held it up while he was on stage in protest of the school’s decision to remove the football program. He also refused to shake the hand of school president, Ray Watts, who has been heavily scrutinized by this decision.
Following this past regular season that saw the UAB Blazers go 6-6, the school administration made the decision to abolish the football program. The Blazers had a chance to go to a bowl game but were not invited to one after this decision came down. Groups of students and alumni heavily protested this decision.
Due to the public outcry, the UAB administration claimed the program was bleeding money and could no longer financially keep the football program. However, in the following months, an independent financial firm originally hired by the university finished up an investigation into the finances of the program. Their research indicated that the program is actually profitable and has the potential to be more profitable in future seasons with more money flowing into college football.
Although I feel that UAB shouldn’t have abolished their football program, I don’t know all the details surrounding the program’s finances. Either way, I think it’s commendable that a senior player on the team took it upon himself to make a statement on behalf of something he believes.
Some people have criticized Slaughter saying he made the graduation all about him and took away from all of his classmates. However, I don’t see that as the case. He only lifted his helmet up when he was on stage and his name was called. He was just a normal student for the rest of the ceremony. When he was on stage, the student body applauded his actions. The NCAA and individual universities encourage student athletes to embrace the student aspect of that title. Being a student should mean thinking and fighting for what you believe is right, and that’s exactly what Slaughter did.
Hopefully Slaughter’s actions will bring more attention to this situation and maybe even cause the university to reinstate the program. All in all, this was a strong action by someone who was clearly a leader on and off the field, and it should be praised.
. “Because at the end of the day, the win not only means something to me but means something to the team, as well.”
With the loss to Skidmore, the women’s undefeated season came to an end, dropping them to 9-1 overall. They will be back in action on Wednesday, April 15, against New York University.
(04/23/15 4:22am)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
The last few years, the NBA MVP has been an obvious choice for the media voters. This year, the NBA MVP has been a huge point of debate. Whether the MVP goes to Steph Curry or James Harden, there isn’t a wrong answer. However, the media MVP might not be the most sought-after award this season.
The NBA Players’ Association announced a couple weeks ago that there will now be a Players’ Awards voted on anonymously by all the players. The awards will include the players’ MVP as well as a number of other awards.
I think this is a fantastic idea, and I think it may eventually become the more significant award amongst NBA players. The respect from media members is cool, but there’s no respect like the respect of your peers. NBA players have a strong brotherhood, and getting recognized by the rest of the league is the ultimate acclaim.
A couple of criticisms have been generated about this idea. Many in the media claim that NBA players don’t follow or watch as much basketball during the year as the people who cover it. This means that the NBA players won’t have the smartest opinion on who should win the big awards.
I say this criticism is utterly ridiculous. First of all, on off days, I’m sure many NBA players are watching ESPN, TNT or ABC games, and many players probably have League Pass. Players also have scouting reports on players they’ll be playing against. Lastly, players play against players. Whether you play in high school, college, the pros, at the park or the YMCA, the best way to know who the best players really are is to play against them or with them. That’s something the media doesn’t have the benefit of doing.
Another criticism of this new system is that the media claims the awards will be too biased, and players will only vote for their friends and teammates. Although I must admit this is possible, I think now that these are official awards, players will take their voting seriously and take it as a sign of respect to the game to vote properly. Also, I’m sure the media has its fair share of biases and votes for their favorite players who always give good quotes and answer their interview questions.
Overall, I think these new awards are great for the league. Having players select these awards should make them even more special for players, and I hope they become the official NBA Awards sometime in the future.
(04/10/15 4:27am)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
This past week, UConn women’s basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, generated a lot of buzz when he called the game of college men’s basketball “a joke.”
Although I feel that was a little harsh and inaccurate, I must admit that there is a lot of substance behind what Auriemma said.
Obviously the media focused mainly on the headline-worthy quote, so the sports world looked at Auriemma as a hater of the men’s game in an attempt to promote the women’s game. However, if you look past that one line and look at the rest of what he said, it’s hard to argue with some of the things he says.
The reason he was speaking so lowly of the men’s game centered around the fact that he just feels it’s not that entertaining. He says that there’s simply not enough scoring. This is where Auriemma is talking as a fan of basketball and not as one of the faces of women’s basketball (he said the women’s game is lagging behind as well). And it’s really hard to argue with some of the points he made.
I’ll preface my argument by saying that I absolutely love men’s college basketball, but I’m a fan of basketball as a whole and will watch any relatively high-quality basketball game. I follow the game all season and watch a lot of games throughout the year. Obviously, I feel March Madness is arguably the best sporting event in all of sports.
That being said, Geno is right. The game is not as entertaining as it can be. There’s not enough scoring. I’ve seen too many men’s college games with scores in the ’40s and ’50s. As much as I appreciate high quality defense, that’s just not good for the advancement of the game as well as the entertainment factor for fans.
Part of this is due to the fact that the players are just not as skilled anymore. The most talented players in college basketball are often freshmen since many elite talents leave for the NBA draft each season after only their freshman year. Many of these elite talents can run, jump, drive, dunk and make a lot of fancy plays. But college basketball is not as fundamentally sound as it used to be. The quality of team basketball is not there. The quality of passing, ball movement, player movement, screens, and footwork is all down.
As much as I’d love to see players like Jahlil Okafor, DeAngelo Russell and many other exciting freshman stay in college for multiple season to develop their game and improve the quality of the sport as a whole, I believe if players want to go pro — and they’re good enough to do so — they should be able to. So let’s talk about ways that the NCAA can boost scoring and make this game more exciting.
First, they have to shorten the shot clock. The fact that the men’s game has a 35 second shot clock while the women’s game has only a 30 second shot clock is ridiculous. It has to go down to at least 30 seconds. There’s too much time just being wasted with the longer shot clock, which leads to fewer possessions and less scoring. Another change that should be made is extending the restricted area, which will lead to fewer charges being called. There are simply too many charges called (and inconsistently called).
The last change I would like to see made is six fouls leading to a disqualification instead of five like in the NBA game. This is actually more of a problem because of how inconsistently the game is called. Some refs call a foul if you breathe on an opponent the wrong way. Not only does it slow down the game and make it far less enjoyable to watch but I hate seeing a star player go to the bench for a large chunk of the first half because they pick up two quick ticky-tac fouls.
All of the pro sports have made changes to increase scoring and try and make their game more enjoyable. College basketball should join this trend with some of these changes. However, some people have argued that the NCAA is unwilling to make changes to improve the entertainment quality of their game. Doing so would compromise their stance on these athletes being students first rather than revenue drivers, even though major men’s college basketball and football bring in billions of dollars every year. The NCAA, in my opinion, always drops the ball off the court, but they should at least try and improve the game on the court.
(03/26/15 3:32pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
Each year, March Madness is one of the most exciting events in the world of sports. Obviously, there’s a lot of exciting basketball, and everyone likes monitoring the success (or lack of success) of their bracket. However, one of the things that sets March Madness apart from other sporting events is the opportunity to expose some incredible stories as many lesser known teams and players are brought into the spotlight of not only the sports world, but of the entire country.
This year, the tournament darling may not have made it as far as in previous years, but their run was still plenty memorable and generated many new fans for the team: none other than the Georgia State Panthers.
Remember Kevin Ware, the backup point guard for Louisville who suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in sports history? Yes, that Kevin Ware. After a year off from the game to recover from his compound fracture, he made his return to the world of March Madness this year as the starting point guard for the Panthers. Even if you had tried to forget that moment, seeing him back on the court in a big game was a great sight for anyone who saw Ware suffer that gruesome injury.
The biggest storyline for this team was the bond between head coach Ron Hunter and his son, star player R.J. Hunter. There have been some other significant father-son relationships in college basketball. This season, Bryce Alford is being coached by his father at UCLA (and they’ve been quite exciting). Last season, Doug McDermott was coached by his dad at Creighton. This father-son college basketball relationship just had a different feel to it as an outside observer.
There’s just so much passion in both of these men, and you can feel it when you watch Georgia State play and when you see their press conferences. The first sight of this was after Georgia State clinched their berth into the NCAA Tournament. After they won the Sun Belt Tournament, Coach Hunter was so excited, he tore his ACL while celebrating. He rolled around the sideline on a chair scooter during their games this past week.
That’s when the end of the Baylor game happened. Baylor was up two with the clock winding down when R.J. got a pass at the top of the key and launched a three. Nothing but net. The shot sent shockwaves around the sports world and caused coach Hunter to fall out of his chair on the sideline. After the game, R.J. told his sister he was going to be on “One Shining Moment,” the yearly March Madness montage. I think “One Shining Moment” this year could just be that play on a three-minute loop.
Even as Georgia State got eliminated from the tournament, we saw more from the father and son that made the country smile. First, there was the huge hug between them as R.J. exited the game for what is believed to be the last time (he has one more year of eligibility but is expected to be a first round pick if he enters the draft). Then, there was the final press conference where Coach Hunter broke down when talking about his love for his son.
So although the clock struck midnight early for this Cinderella, that didn’t stop Georgia State from having one of the most memorable runs of any team in recent March Madness history. They had their “One Shining Moment,” but this won’t be the last we’ve heard of them.
(03/12/15 3:59pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
If you signed a multi-million dollar professional sports contract, how would you spend your money? Would you buy a new car or new house? Would you have an extravagant nightlife? What if I told you one young player wants nothing to do with that?
The Blue Jays top pitching prospect, Daniel Norris, signed a contract with a $2 million signing bonus along with a deal with Nike. Norris had the most strikeouts per nine innings pitched in the minors last season, and he has a solid shot to be a part of the Blue Jays’ big-league rotation this year. And you guessed it, he lives in his van.
This past offseason, Norris was living out of his 1978 Volkswagen in the parking lot of a Florida Walmart. The shoppers at the Walmart know him as “Van Man,” and some even give him money, thinking he was poor and homeless. He lives simply and cooks most of his meals on a small, portable grill in his van. He has his millions of dollars with a financial advisor who puts it in safe investments and deposits $800 in his bank account every month, which is just enough for him to live on.
So why would someone who makes millions of dollars as a professional athlete live this way? Norris is committed to being a nonconformist and living the lifestyle he wants to live. He doesn’t drink or smoke. He doesn’t really use technology or watch TV. In the offseason, he still works 40 hours a week at a local clothing store. He takes vacations to areas like the jungles of Nicaragua.
He enjoys being away from the world and just being free to go on his own adventures. Norris was a three-sport athlete in high school, but ultimately, he gravitated toward pitching because it allowed him to be the most secluded. Even further back, Norris gets his nonconformist mentality from his family. His parents and grandparents have owned a small bike shop for decades, and they try to instill an appreciation for the outdoors, living simply and avoiding extravagance.
But here’s the thing. Norris is a nonconformist, but he still loves baseball and does what he can to master his craft. He still works out and makes sure that his athletic performance is in top shape. During the season, he plans on living with some of his teammates. The thought is that if he reaches his potential, he can be a star pitcher in the majors. What happens if that $2 million signing bonus turns into a $100 million deal? Will he still live this simplistic lifestyle?
No matter where Norris goes in his career, right now, he is one of the most interesting players in professional baseball. For as long as it lasts, the public will enjoy seeing him live out of his van, being a man of nature and shaving his beard with a small axe.
(03/04/15 11:03pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
Every couple of weeks or so, I hear a story that makes me ask the question, “NCAA, what is wrong with you?” This week, the NCAA was not alone in their lack of common sense. The University of Baylor had equally questionable decision-making in the choice to remove Silas Nacita from the football program this past week.
Nacita was a walk-on running back for the Bears who became a fan favorite this past season after his story was brought into the national spotlight. He was also named to the Academic All-Big 12 team and scored three touchdowns during his one season in Waco.
He transferred to Baylor from Cornell two years ago. He spent this first year taking classes at community college and sleeping on the floors of friends’ apartments. Once he earned enough money from academic scholarships, to attend school, he walked onto Baylor’s football team.
Although he earned enough to attend school, he was still broke and homeless. At first, he was content with continuing to sleep on floors, but when he was offered some financial assistance for an apartment from a family friend, he couldn’t turn it down.
This past week, he paid the price for accepting this assistance. Baylor announced that Nacita was being ruled ineligible for an NCAA rules violation since he received “impermissible benefits.”
The NCAA quickly made a statement to cover their behinds in the court of public opinion. Right after the decision came out, the NCAA Twitter account tweeted, “The NCAA did not declare Silas Nacita ineligible and Baylor has not requested a waiver for him.” The NCAA was trying to be the “good guy” and put all the blame on Baylor.
Good job, NCAA. Whether it was the NCAA or Baylor that officially declared Nacita ineligible, who comes out of this a winner? No one wins in this case. Even if Nacita was declared ineligible officially by Baylor, is anyone really dumb enough to believe that the NCAA didn’t directly or indirectly affect that decision, especially with rumors that the NCAA was investigating this case for months?
Although this is a horrible situation, Nacita took the high road in this case. He has come out and said publicly that he has made a mistake and should not have taken the housing assistance. But why was this such a mistake? This wasn’t a greedy kid. He just wanted somewhere to live. This kid was a walk-on. He wasn’t getting an athletic scholarship. It’s a shame that a player like Nacita gave so much to help Baylor and the NCAA as a whole, and now he’s getting penalized for something like this.
Next season, Baylor will be very good. I’m sure this story won’t be a big deal a year from now, but I just hope something good happens for Nacita and his story doesn’t become forgotten as he seems to be a great kid who just wants to play.
Baylor coach Art Briles has said that he will gladly have Nacita back if he’s ruled eligible. I wish he would make a stand in this situation, but I’m sure his hands are essentially tied.
The NCAA should start using some common sense when it comes to their rules. There shouldn’t always be strict letter-of-the-law decisions. A homeless player who is sleeping on apartment floors getting a handout to live semi-comfortably is different than a player getting thousands of dollars in cash and gifts from boosters and agents.
The fact that a player receiving housing assistance is getting crucified is a flat-out crime, and the decision is indicative of everything wrong with the NCAA.
(02/25/15 7:45pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
The Big Ten has many competitive football and men’s basketball programs that generate millions of dollars worth of revenue. One of the reasons the Big Ten has been so successful is because of their tremendous recruiting effort. Big Ten schools often recruit many top prospects, many of whom are interested in early playing time.
While there have been some high-level recruits who have redshirted, or sat out their freshman year in order gain another year of eligibility, big-time Big Ten athletes have made a major impact during their freshman season. Arguably the most famous team in Big Ten history had an all freshman starting lineup — the Michigan Fab Five.
Now the Big Ten is trying to bite the hand that feeds them. This past week, the Big Ten announced that it is exploring the idea of freshman ineligibility in football and men’s basketball. The Big Ten has not been happy with the graduation rates of their football and men’s basketball players, and they believe that an “ease-in” year will be beneficial to some athletes in their transition to college.
Now, the Big Ten wouldn’t be stupid enough to implement these ineligibility rules for their conference alone. That would be a death wish for major athletic programs. They would lose more top recruits to the likes of Alabama and Florida State in football and Kentucky and UNC in basketball. If the Big Ten were to implement these changes, they would be looking to convince the other major conferences to join them in doing so.
The idea of this might sound alright in principle, but this is simply never going to happen, and it’s an awful idea. I appreciate the Big Ten becoming more interested in the academic standing of their student athletes, but they can’t have it both ways. They can’t make so much money off these athletes, hold athletics in such a high regard and still put restrictions on the players to “benefit academics.”
I’m sure the argument here from an athletic standpoint will start with football because it’s a little more plausible. Football players have to be out of high school for at least three seasons before entering the NFL draft, and many redshirt their freshman year in order to adapt to college, on and off the field. Many players need to get bigger and stronger, but many players are also ready to play the college game as a freshman, and being on the field right away is what they need to further their development. Taking a year off without contact could be detrimental to the development of these players.
If Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell got to be in college another season to mature on and off the court, that would be great for everyone, right? It won’t be great if these players don’t play college ball at all. I think if a rule like this were installed, you’d have more players take the route of Brandon Jennings and Emmanuel Mudiay and play abroad or in the D-League. Not only will they be getting to play, but they’ll be getting paid.
The top players are mainly interested in getting to the pros from the time they’re in middle school. You can’t try and delay that process without major issues.
All in all, I believe there’s no way the freshman ineligibility rule will be put in place in the NCAA or in just the Big Ten, but the idea is ridiculous. There would be more harm done to the players, the teams and the sports than good. The Big Ten should look into other ways of improving their student athletes’ academic standing, like putting more money into monitoring these players’ grades and courses.
(02/18/15 6:23pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
I wouldn’t call myself a baseball fan, but I find myself watching, or at least following, the Little League World Series every year. It brings out the best that sports have to offer — groups of young kids make lifelong friends from the same area playing a game they love. It brings all sports fans back to the days where they were playing youth sports with kids from their town.
Most of these kids aren’t going to become professional athletes. Most of them will never be on television or part of the national news after this tournament. That adds to the intrigue surrounding the LLWS scandal. Obviously, the greatest individual storyline from this past LLWS was the rise of Mo’ne Davis, but the biggest team storyline was the Jackie Robinson West team, which came from the South Side of Chicago to win the hearts of America, as well as the United States title.
During the tournament, Jackie Robinson West embodied everything good about youth sports. However, this past week, the worst aspects of it were put on display when Jackie Robinson West got stripped of their national title by the Little League International.
A formal investigation showed that the adults who ran the team decided to bend the rules. It was discovered that they had falsified documents relating to the team’s boundary map and used players from outside their district to put together a South Side all-star team.
It really is a shame when things like this happen. Those kids worked so hard and still have every right to be proud of themselves, but greedy adults took advantage of these kids, and now they’re paying the price. An accomplishment and the experience that these kids could’ve cherished for the rest of their lives is now tainted.
This isn’t the adults running the Bronx Baby Bombers using 14-year-old Danny Almonte over a decade ago. Some of the ineligible kids that were used by Jackie Robinson West lived only a couple miles outside the proper boundary map, but these adults knew what they were doing. The league manager, league president and district administrator have all been suspended and/or removed from their positions.
All in all, when we hear about scandal in sport, it makes for a good talking point and peaks the interest of the sports world. However, there really isn’t any good coming out of this situation. When an event that should be as pure and innocent as the Little League World Series is marred by this kind of controversy, no one wins.
As someone who used to love playing and coaching youth sports, I’m just sad for those kids. The job of the adults running these programs is to teach the kids the game alongside valuable life lessons that will shape them into better adolescents and adults. The adults in this case failed their young players. I just hope these kids can keep their heads held high, because they deserve to be proud of what they accomplished.
(02/11/15 6:33pm)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
We use the term “miracle” a lot in sports. We use it when a team makes an incredible comeback or there’s an amazing finish in a game. We use it when a team makes a huge upset. We use it for many other sporting events and stories. This weekend, Sportscenter shined the spotlight on a true miracle in the world of sports.
On Dec. 22, 2014, Austin Hatch scored his first point as a Michigan Wolverine when he was fouled on a jump shot against Coppin State and made one of three free throws. He exited the court that day to a roaring applause and a big hug from his coach, John Beilein. The basket he scored was an incredible sight to see, but his journey to this point was far more incredible as it’s a miracle in itself that Hatch is even alive today.
Hatch grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind. as an average, young kid. His life took a crazy turn when he was 8 years old, when he boarded a flight with his parents and siblings. The plane was flown by his father, who was a pilot. Everything appeared to be going well until the plane suffered from equipment failure, hit a utility pole and crashed. His father was able to save Austin from the burning plane but was unable to save anyone else. His mother, brother and sister all died in the crash.
Although he experienced such a tragic event at a young age, he was able to push on due to a strong support system. The bond between him and his father grew stronger when his father remarried, adding a support system from his new stepmother and three new siblings. He quickly bonded with his new family, and his stepmother eventually adopted him.
With this strong support system, Hatch was able to become a standout basketball player at Canterbury High. One night, Hatch scored 30 points and had 16 rebounds with Beilein watching from the stands. Beilein had seen all he needed to see and quickly offered Hatch a scholarship to Michigan — an achievement Hatch didn’t hesitate in accepting. He had Maize and Blue in his blood as his father was a huge fan and his biological mother was a Michigan alumna.
Hatch was ready to live out his dream of playing at Michigan. Then, tragedy struck again. He was flying again with his father and stepmother when they had to make an emergency landing due to bad weather. The plane crashed. He was in a medically induced coma for six weeks. There were questions of whether he’d ever wake up again or what he would be able to do if he awoke. He awoke to the worst news he could’ve expected: his father and stepmother were dead.
His father’s dream was always to watch his son play basketball at Michigan, and even when he had such limited body movement, he was still determined to make his father’s dream a reality. Day by day, he went through intensive physical therapy and saw himself improving. He went through rehab for over a year at home with his older sister as his guardian.
For his senior season, he went to go live with his uncle in California who enrolled him in Loyola High School so he could be a part of coach Jamal Adams’s program and work with trainer Rasheed Hazzard, who helped rehab Kobe Bryant the year before. When Hatch and his coach thought he was game ready, he got into a game and made his first shot.
After graduating from Loyola, he was ready for Ann Arbor. Beilein was more than happy to honor Hatch’s scholarship. With the help of an incredible support system, Hatch had reached where he always wanted to be. That free throw against Coppin State was the true moment that showed his dream had come true. Hatch’s story is a true miracle that inspired and will continue to inspire so many people.
(02/05/15 12:07am)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
The center of the sports world this week partially involved the Seattle Seahawks. However, I want to talk about another group of Hawks, the Atlanta Hawks. If you asked a group of casual sports fans what team is the best team in the NBA this season, how many of them would guess that it is, indeed, the Atlanta Hawks? But I don’t want to just talk about their success this season, I want to talk about how they’re winning and about my hopes that the rest of the league will play more like them.
You would think that the Hawks, who are now 40-8, would have multiple stars on their team, but how many casual sports fans could name multiple players on the Hawks roster? Although they have three All Stars (you could argue they should have four), they have no players averaging more than 35 minutes, 18 points, nine rebounds or eight assists per game.
So how have the Hawks been so successful this season? They have been so successful because they actually play team basketball, also known as “Spurs basketball.” Of course, the head coach of the Hawks is now Mike Budenholzer, who was an assistant under Gregg Poppovich in San Antonio for a while.
Usually when I watch the NBA, a large percentage of the half-court offense consists of one or two star players dribbling the air out of the basketball while the rest of the players stand around and watch. Most of the possessions end in tough jump shots or a one-on-one drive to the basket. Not only does this type of basketball lead to inefficiency on the offensive end, but it also leads to a lack of confidence and effort by all the players who are just standing around and watching. Along with being a bad brand of basketball, it’s really not that enjoyable to watch.
However, when the Hawks or the Spurs, — last year’s NBA champion — play basketball, there’s some symphony and harmony with the way they play. Everyone touches the ball. Everyone shoots. Everyone passes. It’s truly a pleasure to watch. This leads to more confidence for the whole roster so that starters get more rest. This also leads to the entire roster playing with more energy when it comes to defense, rebounding and fighting for loose balls. It sounds simple, but playing like a team rather than just five individuals is what sets these teams apart from the rest of the league.
Team basketball would be great to see more often, but one-on-one basketball has become a systematic flaw in how basketball is played and coached at every level. More and more colleges, high school and youth basketball teams are playing more like the pros because the stars on the team think they are the next Lebron James or Kevin Durant. I even see it when I play pick-up. Anyone who’s played pick-up basketball has experienced playing with a teammate that is a basketball black hole.
If they touch the ball, they’re going to dribble it around for at least 10 seconds, make a few moves and shoot the ball. I usually don’t want to play with this person, just like I’m starting to not like watching this type of play. Props to the Hawks and the Spurs. Hopefully, their successes will cause the rest of the league to play like them.
(01/30/15 12:04am)
By Kevin Luo
Staff Writer
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week, you’ve probably heard of the “Deflate-Gate” scandal surrounding the New England Patriots. The Patriots’ footballs in the AFC Championship Game were found to be deflated, allowing for better grip of the football in the cold weather. Now, I like talking about shrinking balls just as much as the next guy, but this story has become too much.
I get it. Most of the football world outside of New England hates (and envies) the Patriots, especially QB Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, so all negative topics about them are magnified exponentially.
This story deserved one day (two days max) of major coverage. The Ray Rice scandal was getting less coverage than this, and that’s a real problem. It’s as if the rest of the sports world has stopped for “Deflate-Gate,” and I am more than sick of it.
Let’s start with my first problem with this story. The Patriots-Colts game where this controversy took place was a total manhandling by the Patriots. The Patriots actually played better in the second half when the footballs were replaced by properly inflated ones when they outscored the Colts, 28-0. Many Colts players have come out and said that they were simply the worse team that day.
Next, let’s talk about the scientific plausibility that the Patriots didn’t actually do anything wrong, which “Dr. Bill Belichick” discussed in his press conference. Everyone seems to think that Brady or Belichick stuck a needle into the footballs and deflated them right before the game like they’re Barry Bonds or A-Rod or that, alternatively, they ordered someone to do so.
Had the ball been inflated to its minimum level of 12.5 pounds per square inch (PSI) in a warmer environment, the balls could’ve easily deflated a decent amount in the colder field environment. Another potential factor, proposed by Belichick, is that the team performed a form of pre-game rub down of the footballs to prep them for the game. This prepping may have caused them to temporarily increase the balls’ PSI, but the PSI would go back down once the ball was at its equilibrium state. Both of these theories are possible and are technically legal under the NFL’s ambiguous football preparation guidelines.
Lastly, my biggest issue with the inflation of this story is that nothing tangible is going to come out of this anytime soon. It’s been a week of speculation over what happened when nothing definitive is going to come out before the Super Bowl. Super Bowl Sunday will come and go with this situation remaining an ongoing investigation. So unless something tangible comes out about this case, it doesn’t need to be discussed 24/7.
The NFL would never do anything to jeopardize its most important event like suspending Brady or Belichick for the Super Bowl unless there was no other choice. So anyone calling for one of them to get suspended for the game should just save their breath because it isn’t happening.
Overall, the sports world needs to chill about “Deflate-Gate.” The Super Bowl is this upcoming Sunday. Who is going to win the game? Who will be the X-Factors? How will the Seahawks cover Gronk? How will the Pats contain Russell Wilson? Let’s pump some air into topics about the actual game.
(12/01/14 8:56pm)
Playing basketball growing up, coaches would always tell me that I had to learn how to dribble and finish with both hands, properly align my guide hand and shooting hand when taking jump shots.
I wonder what Zach Hodskins thought when his coaches gave these instructions to his teammates growing up. Hodskins was born with only one hand, but he doesn’t use that as a crutch or excuse on the court, and he hasn’t allowed it to stop him from reaching his basketball dream.
This past Friday, Nov. 14, Hodskins’s basketball dream came true when he made his debut for the seventh-ranked Florida Gators in their season opening win against the College of William and Mary. The freshman walk-on came into the game with about two minutes left and missed his only shot attempt, yet after the game he said that it was an amazing experience, and he hopes to build on the performance. He also said that he didn’t necessarily expect to get in the game, but he was glad he did and happy he was able to achieve his dream.
Seeing Hodskins play is a pretty cool sight, but he’s more than just a gimmick. He’s an incredible basketball player. If you don’t believe it, check out his YouTube videos. They’re quite impressive. They show his picture-perfect jump shot along with some of his other skills. Along with being a great shooter and fairly skilled, he also has good size at 6’4” and was a dominating high school player.
As a junior at Georgia’s Milton High School, he averaged 11 points per game and became known as a remarkable sharpshooter. He also had player profiles on most of the top college basketball recruiting networks and earned the designation of being a two-star recruit by a few of the networks.
Florida coach Billy Donovan offered Hodskins a preferred walk-on opportunity after his junior year of high school after hearing about his story and seeing some of his highlight tapes. But Hodskins isn’t just looking for handouts. He’s determined to earn everything he gets and prove critics wrong. He said that one of his favorite things is when he plays pickup basketball with new people, gets picked last and then finds that everyone is in awe of his talents.
Hodskins’s story is truly inspirational to people trying to reach their dreams despite the odds. One of the coolest aspects of his story is that he tries to inspire other athletes on Twitter who are battling the odds.
One of the most notable cases involved a Twitter conversation between him and a young player who made his Division III college team at a height of 3’9’’. They talked about how they inspired each other, and Hodskins even said he wanted to meet the player.
Hodskins’s on-the-field story is incredible and inspirational, but what he does off the court to help his game while also inspiring others is truly exceptional.
(11/16/14 3:26am)
As kids, we often look up to heroes in the sports community as people who score the most points, throw for the most yards or hit the most home runs. However, with this week marking Veteran’s Day, I wanted to talk about two real heroes among the sports community.
The first hero is Daniel Rodriguez, a wide receiver at the University of Clemson. But Rodriguez is not just a normal football player. His path to the gridiron wasn’t an ordinary path.
After having a solid high school football career at Brooke Point High School, he followed one of his dreams and enlisted in the U.S. Army. During his time in the army, he served time on combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, he fought in the Battle of Kamdesh. This was an extremely violent confrontation in which eight Americans were killed by Taliban forces and many others were injured, including Rodriguez. As a result of his efforts in the battle, he was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal of Valor.
When Rodriguez returned to the U.S., he decided to chase another dream of his — playing college football. He originally enrolled in Germanna Community College where he asked a friend to help him make a recruiting tape. In this tape, he told his story and displayed some of his athletic gifts through various avenues. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was a big fan of Rodriguez after watching his video, but Rodriguez wasn’t looking for a handout. All he wanted was a chance to walk on somewhere, and Swinney decided to give him that chance.
Rodriguez achieved his dream when he made the Clemson roster, but wasn’t merely satisfied with being on the team. He wanted to help his team win games and make the most of his playing career. Since making the team, he has played in every game. Most of his playing time has been on special teams, but he’s had a decent amount of time at receiver. The peak of his playing career was when he scored a touchdown on Military Appreciation Day against The Citadel.
Rodriguez has received many college football awards linked to his incredible pre-football accomplishments. He says that everything he does on the field is in memory of his comrades that were lost on that day in Afghanistan. He keeps his Orange Bowl rings next to his Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal to reiterate these memories, and they remind him to keep fighting for all those who lost their lives and those that helped him get where he is today.
The second hero is Kyle Carpenter. After a successful high school football career, he enrolled in the Marine Corps, and he was deployed to Afghanistan.
While on guard with one of his fellow marines, his camp was berated by grenades. When the rest of the platoon noticed what had happened, they saw him covered in blood and realized that he had jumped on his fellow marine to block the blow of the grenade. He was quickly airlifted to a safer area when he was revived multiple times.
When he was eventually brought to the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C., he was placed into a medically- induced coma. When he finally awoke weeks later, he had to go through tons of rehab. He lost one of his eyes and had several fractures all throughout his face and body. Even while fighting for his life in the hospital, he had a dream to run a marathon.
After two and a half years of intensive rehab in the hospital, he went home and began to train. During his time at home, he received a call from President Obama that he had been chosen to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor.
He is only the second living Marine to receive this award since the Vietnam War. Then, he finally achieved his goal of completing a marathon in the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon.
Both of these men are tremendously inspirational and are real heroes in the world of sports. On this Veteran’s Day, we should take time to salute them.
(11/06/14 2:05am)
It was assumed that the basketball world would center around Cleveland this week, as Lebron James returned to the Cavaliers. But as it turns out, the state of Ohio was home to an even greater basketball memory for the sports world. The country’s attention turned to Cincinnati’s Lauren Hill, an incredibly courageous young woman, whose story reminds us all why we love sports.
Hill is a freshman basketball player at Division III Mount St. Joseph Academy, and like many other young girls, her dream was always to play a college basketball game. But after months of question marks about whether she’d live to see that day, her dream came true on Sunday afternoon on the basketball court at MSJ.
Hill suffers from a rare form of brain cancer called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). It is an incurable disease that affects about 100 people in the U.S. every year. It is typically seen in young children and only a small percentage of people live over two years following their diagnosis. DIPG currently has a zero percent survival rate, according to an article on ESPN.go.com.
She was diagnosed with DIPG a month after she committed to play for Mount St. Joseph. Rather than losing hope, Hill kept fighting to achieve her dream of playing college basketball and has become a spokesperson and an advocate for more research for this rare and deadly disease.
Over the past few weeks, Hill has been a social media phenomenon. The #Layup4Lauren Challenge has become very popular throughout the sports community. The objective of the challenge is to record yourself spinning around five times and making a left-handed layup. If you are unsuccessful, you are supposed to donate $10 to The Cure Starts Now. The idea behind the challenge is to give athletes and fans a perspective about what she deals with playing basketball. Tumors related to DIPG have caused Lauren to have migraines and has weakened the right side of her body, causing her to become more left hand dominant on the basketball court.
The challenge has been undertaken by Lebron James, WNBA legend Becky Hammon, Bengals Quarterback Andy Dalton, the entire Kentucky basketball team, and many others. Along with the challenge, Hill’s story has been inspiring to millions of people, including Seahawks corner Richard Sherman and U.S. women’s soccer legend Mia Hamm. Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still, whose daughter is fighting through cancer, wore the words “Lauren Strong” on his eye black during the Bengals’ game this Sunday. Her story has also raised tremendous awareness about DIPG.
The Lauren Hill story culminated this past weekend when Mount St. Joseph played Hiram College. This game was originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15 but both coaches agreed to move the game because it was uncertain whether Hill would have the strength to play in the originally scheduled game. Last year, Mount St. Joseph averaged 129 fans a game at home games, but this game had to be moved to Xavier’s Cintas Center, where the stadium’s capacity of over 10,000 seats sold out in less than a day. The game was also shown on various media outlets, most notably via live stream on FOX Sports GO.
All who saw or followed this game were witness to many emotional and exciting moments. Hill scored the first basket of the game on one of her “signature” left handed layups. She also scored the final basket of Mount St. Joseph’s 66-55 victory. At halftime, Hill received the Pat Summit Courage Award, which is usually given out during the women’s final four, but the selection committee unanimously decided to give her the award at this game.
After the game, Hill said in an interview, “Let’s not call this my last game. Let’s call this my first collegiate game.”
Lauren Hill is a truly inspirational athlete. From the time we were little kids, we’ve always been told to play sports with everything we have. We would take it for granted because we just expect that there will be a next game. In Lauren’s case, there very well might not be a next game, or even a next day. We can all learn a lesson from Hill that tomorrow is not guaranteed, so make sure to give your all toward whatever your passion may be.
(10/31/14 12:35am)
Many old-school football purists claim that the NFL is getting too soft with some of its rule changes. It’s hard to argue that, but one aspect of the player safety movement in the league that everyone should support is the insistence on preventing and monitoring concussions and other head and neck injuries. Throughout my years of playing football, coaches have always said that you should play if you’re hurt but not injured, but I don’t think anyone should be playing around when it comes to head, neck and brain injuries.
The current league protocol implemented in 2013 has guidelines on how teams should handle suspected concussion candidates during and after games. During the game, the team medical staff, along with an “eye in the sky” in the press box, are supposed to closely watch the field in search of players who have potentially suffered head injuries. There is also a neuro-trauma expert on the sidelines not affiliated with the league who is there to assist the team medical personnel.
If a player is suspected of having a concussion, the team medical staff is supposed to immediately remove the player from the game, evaluate them based off a checklist and ask them certain questions to test the player’s concentration and memory. If a trainer deems that a player has a concussion, he must be taken to the locker room for further evaluation.
I think this is a great protocol for trying to contain the concussion issue in the league. However, there is an issue with this protocol that was put on display this past weekend in the Chiefs-Chargers game. Early in the second quarter, Chiefs star running back Jamaal Charles scored a 16-yard touchdown. Upon crossing the goal line, he took a hard shot to the head from Chargers cornerback Brandon Flowers that resulted in Flowers leaving the game with a concussion.
Charles got up relatively quickly and went to the sideline without appearing to be seriously injured, but everyone watching the game could see he definitely got his bell rung. He was not given the concussion protocol test and remained in the game.
The following day, he told an ESPN radio show, “It definitely hurt. It’s like I woke up … I mean, like, a couple plays later, I was seeing light bulbs, like light bulbs around my eyes, and I was trying to catch them. But I was in the game so I was like, ‘Alright, let’s get the ball and run again.’”
He also said that he didn’t feel like he had a concussion, but more importantly, he didn’t want to go through the concussion protocol, possibly causing him to be taken out of the game like when he was taken out of the team’s playoff loss last season against the Colts.
Here’s where the problem lies with the concussion protocol: Even though it was shown that Charles didn’t have a concussion in a Tuesday post-game concussion test, the team medical personnel should’ve at least tested him during the game. It’s not about the first concussion most of the time. The real damage a player can take that can cause major, long-term problems is if a player faces a second concussion without having adequate time to heal from the first concussion. It’s the job of the team medical staff to protect the players from themselves.
Even if a player doesn’t show obvious signs of a concussion after getting hit, when they take a big hit to the head similar to the one Charles took, the medical staff needs to take the initiative to prohibit from re-entering the game until he’s been looked at. If a player doesn’t have concussion symptoms, the test should only take a few minutes. There was no excuse in Charles’ case for the medical staff to not even check on him. He had just scored a touchdown, and the Chiefs were about to go on defense. I hope it won’t take a major star sustaining multiple concussions in the same game for team medical personnel to take more initiative in these cases.
(10/22/14 7:29pm)
This past week, two of college football’s biggest stars, Jameis Winston and Todd Gurley, were in hot water for allegedly getting paid to sign autographs. Gurley has been indefinitely suspended by Georgia, but Winston is still eligible to play for FSU. Last year, Johnny Manziel was suspended by Texas A&M last season after being investigated for similar allegations.
Obviously, accepting money for autographs is breaking an NCAA rule. I’m not condoning breaking any rules. However, I do believe this rule needs to go. This rule has become extremely outdated now that college athletics is a multi-billion dollar industry. Today, everyone is cashing in off of these star college athletes except the players. I’ve been a proponent of all college athletes from revenue generating sports being paid, but the NCAA should at least allow for these athletes to make money off their own name, image and likeness.
I thought this issue would be resolved following the recent decision made in the Ed O’Bannon case. The judge ruled that the NCAA was “unreasonably restraining trade” by limiting what these revenue generating college athletes could receive. This lawsuit came about because a group of ex-athletes felt it was unjust that the EA Sports NCAA sports franchises were using their likenesses in their video games while the players were unable to profit from them.
There are many situations where people and organizations are profiting off the images of these athletes. If you’re Jameis Winston and see the #5 Florida State jerseys being sold on the NCAA website for $60, you’ve got to be thinking why you’re not getting any of that money. If you’re Todd Gurley and go on eBay and see a piece of memorabilia you autographed being auctioned off for $30, you’re probably thinking the same thing. The athletes are getting smarter. They see everyone but them is making money off their images.
The solution to this problem is that the NCAA needs to go to the Olympic model. This model would allow for major college athletes to make money off their own “brands.” They could sign endorsement deals or get paid to sign autographs. Olympians used to be considered amateur athletes just like these college athletes are considered, but as more money got associated with the Olympics, the concept of amateurism went out the window. The NCAA needs to follow the Olympic lead in this case.
Critics of the Olympic model for college athletics say that this is unfair to athletes of non-revenue generating sports and this will increase the gap between the big and small schools when it comes to recruiting. I don’t think this is unfair to non-revenue generating athletes. The revenue-generating athletes bring in more money, so they should have more opportunities to make money. The star quarterback is more valuable than the third string punter or a non-revenue generating athlete. Also, non-revenue generating athletes are allowed to utilize the same benefits. Someone like Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin could benefit greatly from this, but it may not be the case for your average college field hockey or tennis player.
When it comes to recruiting, the gap is already wide. The bigger schools can already offer more exposure and benefits to top recruits. There just has to be stronger regulation to make sure boosters don’t go into bidding wars over players.
All in all, the NCAA needs to stop living in the past and stop hiding behind the concept of amateurism and allow these athletes to make some money off their images. The NCAA and the schools are making plenty of money off them as it stands.
(10/07/14 4:39pm)
This past Monday night, Kansas City Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah returned an interception for a touchdown in a game against the New England Patriots. Upon reaching the end zone, he slid to his knees and began to pray. Abdullah was then flagged on the play for excessive celebration.
Following the penalty, many people thought that Abdullah was being targeted for being Muslim since many Christian athletes, most notably Tim Tebow, have been allowed to and often been praised for their on-field religious demonstrations. NFL rules state that a player is not allowed to go to the ground to celebrate following a play. The rule has a specific exemption for players going to the ground to pray.
The following day, the NFL made a statement saying that the referee had made a mistake and Abdullah shouldn’t have received a penalty. The flag was originally thrown because of the slide, not for the act itself. Upon viewing the replay, it’s reasonable to believe that the referee who threw the flag didn’t see clearly that Abdullah was praying and just saw him slide on the ground and do “something.” But that’s where the problem lies: Why does there need to be so many rules related to celebrations?
Every year, more celebration rules are added, which means more situations where there’s a gray area for referees to make a judgment. The Abdullah penalty is just one example of the uncertainty around NFL celebration rules causing problems. The penalty in this case was called improperly because the official saw the slide and didn’t necessarily know what Abdullah was doing on the ground. Referees don’t have the benefit of replay when assessing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. This isn’t calling a false start or a hold. It’s not always easy for a referee to determine on the fly what qualifies a celebration as “excessive.”
Out of the various problems I have with the NFL rule changes, the emphasis on taking celebrations out of the game is one of my biggest issues. If a celebration isn’t blatant taunting, dangerous or extremely vulgar, it shouldn’t be a problem. If a quarterback throws a touchdown to a receiver, why shouldn’t they be able to celebrate together? Who’s getting hurt by a player doing a silly dance or skit following a big play? The No Fun League aspect of the NFL is getting out of control, and the Abdullah situation just emphasizes the problems with the rules.
(10/07/14 4:12pm)
This Saturday was a crazy day in college football. Arizona State beat USC on a last second Hail Mary. Three of the top six teams in the nation lost on Saturday — after No. 2-ranked Oregon lost on Thursday. There were a couple notable field stormings: one in Piscataway when Rutgers won its first game in the Big Ten against Michigan, and one in Oxford when Ole Miss defeated Alabama. The fans in Oxford brought the goal post down. Even with all this excitement on the field, the show in college football this weekend was stolen by someone else in Oxford — Katy Perry.
This week, ESPN’s College Gameday was in Oxford for the Ole Miss-Alabama game. The scene at the famous Ole Miss Grove was absolutely electric the whole day, and the energy got turned up a few notches when Perry was brought in to be the celebrity guest picker for the day. Perry’s link to Ole Miss is that her manager and mentor are both Ole Miss alumni. I watch Gameday pretty regularly, and I can’t remember a Gameday as memorable as this Saturday’s.
Perry, being the entertainer that she is, electrified the crowd and blew up social media with some of her on-set antics. She showed up on the set wearing a pink sweater with the number 86 and bright red buns on top of her head. She then ripped off Lee Corso’s elephant mascot head after he picked Alabama to beat Ole Miss and kissed a cut-out of Kirk Herbstreit during his Ohio State days.
Then there was Perry’s signature Gameday moment. When asked to pick the Oklahoma-TCU game, she brought out her other cut-out of Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight. She was gushing over Knight like she was a Belieber at one of Justin Bieber’s concerts. She even told Knight to call her on the air. Although Knight has a girlfriend and this appeared to be harmless play, many people were saying Knight must’ve been jinxed and distracted by Perry’s comments which caused Oklahoma to lose today to TCU.
So on a day when there was so much excitement in the world of college football, one of music’s most fun entertainers clearly stole the show and added a little more excitement to the day.
(10/01/14 5:52pm)
I can’t say I’m the biggest baseball fan in the world, but you don’t need to be a Yankees fan or a baseball fan to appreciate the magnitude of Derek Jeter’s final moments at Yankees Stadium.
This past week, the sports world was essentially put on hold for Jeter’s final series at Yankee Stadium. It was all anyone was talking about on social media. ESPN was constantly talking about it. Snapchat even created a My Story to track pictures and videos people were taking during the series.
I thought everyone was blowing Jeter’s final home games a little out of proportion. This wasn’t Lou Gehrig being forced into retirement following his ALS diagnosis. This wasn’t Magic Johnson announcing he’d retire following his HIV diagnosis. This was just a star athlete retiring and moving on to the next stage of his life. What was the big deal about that?
Then, I thought about it and realized this wasn’t just any retirement. This was Derek Jeter retiring. This was not only the captain and shortstop of the Yankees retiring, but also an end of an era, as Jeter was the last active member of the great Yankees teams of the ’90s. I’m not sure if Jeter was ever considered the best player in the game at any point in his career, but he was definitely one of the biggest, if not the biggest, baseball icon of the last two decades. This was also the biggest athlete retirement of the social media era.
Along with having great on-field accomplishments, Jeter was a tremendous face for the league. In a time when we hear about high profile athletes getting into trouble off the field on the regular and following the Steroid Era when a dark cloud hung over Major League Baseball, many people were questioning whether or not athletes should be idolized by young kids. I don’t think those questions were ever raised about Derek Jeter. He was a class act on and off the field. I never heard anyone in the media say they had a problem with Jeter (except maybe in Boston), and I’m sure the parents of the millions of kids around the world who idolize him have no problem with him being their children’s hero.
After all the hype surrounding Jeter’s final games, Jeter could’ve gone hitless in the series and it still would’ve been an incredible moment for the sports world seeing him take his last steps in Yankee Stadium.
However, Jeter ended his Yankee Stadium career in the most Derek Jeter way possible. Jeter has always had a clutch gene on par with any other athlete in sports, so it was only fitting that he end the game with a walk-off single. It was a moment that seemed scripted out of a Hollywood movie. This moment wasn’t the same as John Elway riding off into the sunset with a Super Bowl victory right before his retirement, but it still felt magical. Hats off to you, Number Two. Whether he plays in the Yankees’ final series against the Red Sox, this will be the storybook ending to Jeter’s amazing storybook career.