Money

              When I was younger I was taught that the reason for sports was to having fun.  During timeouts my coaches would tell me to relax and just have fun.  Isn’t that why we participate in sports in the first place: for the thrill and the excitement.  To me it was more about playing for bragging rights and the pride of being the best then for anything else.  It was about being able to walk down the hallway at school and hold my head up high knowing that my team is the best.  But if we look at the example of the NBA, NFL, and every other professional sport organization, it seems evident that money is everything.  

         It appears that some professional athletes don’t care about their sports anymore.  Some couldn’t care less if they play as long as they get their paychecks.  For example every athlete I know would do anything and give everything to get the chance to play for a championship.  But in the 2011 NBA Finals we watched LeBron James “check out” and stop playing.  What could make a player do this?  It could be many things but money has the power to change an attitude.  LeBron James was living life as the best player in the NBA, but in the off-season of 2010 he decided to change teams and become a member of the Miami Heat organization.  Was it only for the opportunity at a championship like they say?  It could be but also it could be that Miami offered LeBron a huge contract of $100 million.  How did money cause a NBA superstar to fall so hard?  Money did this by taking away the most precious thing an athlete has, their commitment and desire.  We watched LeBron lose his commitment to the Cleveland Cavalier’s and his desire to play all for money.  

  Recently we watched the NBA go through a lockout that lasted 150 days.  Approximately 150 hours of negotiations occurred that involved ultimatums and various dooms day scenarios.  At its heart was money.  Basketball Related Income (BRI) was the biggest argument of the lockout.  BRI, as Charlie Zegers explained is, “The amount of money the players receive, in the existing collective bargaining agreement.   BRI includes just about every revenue stream, from tickets to parking to broadcast rights to concessions…” (Zegers).  During Negotiations the BRI went from 49% for players and 51% for owners, to a 50-50 ultimatum, and finally a negotiated 51.2% for players and 48.8% for owners. NBA players already make so much money.  Even a rookie in the NBA makes millions of dollars a year.  So why are these athletes complaining about losing only hundreds of thousands of dollars on their million dollar paychecks while most Americans work their entire lives just getting by?  It is disgusting that the NBA players went into a 149-day lock-out and put an entire season in jeopardy to fight about losing a few million dollars per player each year.   Even losing that much money they would still make more money per year than most Americans make in a lifetime.  Money has infected sports with greed and once a player gets a taste of all that money they just want more.

  Another example of the affect of money on athletes again comes from the NBA lockout.   At the beginning of the NBA lockout nothing was really happening.  Negotiations were stalled.  Even as games and the season were in jeopardy little was done.  NBA superstars still didn’t seem to care.   They just went on with their business. LeBron James talked about playing NFL football while other athletes went to other events like football games instead of solving the problem.  Eventually they started to realize that individually they were starting to lose money and they started to panic.  Some took their talents across the seas and signed multi million dollar deals in other countries just to make money.  Other players started to put their opinions in and the negotiations started to pick up as they realized that they were starting to lose money.  Ultimately a tentative deal was quickly made in a 15-hour negotiation marathon on November 26, 2011.  Both owners and players started to realize they were losing a lot of money and that they quickly needed to agree on something.  For example as William Van Noll wrote, “Kobe Bryant [the] highest paid-player in the NBA saw his paycheck of $1,051,833 go by the wayside” (Van Noll).  With players losing that much money it is no wonder they picked up the negotiations and threw together a deal.  

Don’t get me wrong I’m ecstatic that the NBA lockout is over.  But it’s sad that money has become an infection in sports.  Knowing the attitudes of professional players takes the fun out of watching the games.  If only professional sports were like college sports where the goal was to improve, compete, and win championships then professional sports would be very entertaining. 

 

Works Cited

             Van Noll, William. "NBA Lockout: Each Los Angeles Laker's Money Lost." Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Dec 2011. <http://bleacherreport.com/articles/942876-la-lakers-how-much-money-has-each-laker-lost-due-to-the-nba-lockout/page/13>.

 Zegers, Charlie. "NBA Lockout 101: Basketball Related Income (BRI)." About Basketball - NBA and NCAA Basketball News and Commentary. About.com, 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. <http://basketball.about.com/od/nbateams/ss/Nba- 

Kicked to the Curb

We always recognize the quarterback, the running back, and the wide receiver for their game winning heroics on the field.  But one position on a football team that is frequently over looked is the kicker.  Kickers are very important to the team.  Not only do they kick the ball off after each score and punt the ball down the field to give the other team a tougher chance of scoring, they also score points for the team.  It hard to believe, but kickers sometimes hold the record for the most points scored for a team.  These points can have a huge impact on the momentum of the game.  A good example of a kickers importance is Sebastian Janikowski who kicked a 63-yard field goal before half time that fired up his team. Watch for your self. 

 

 

Field goals can also change the outcome of the game and the outcome of the team altogether.  For example Oregon played USC on November 19, 2011.  Oregon was ranked number 4 in the nation and they had to beat USC to keep their BCS championship hopes alive. Oregon made a huge come back and the game came down to the last kick.  The Oregon kicker lined up and missed the field goal.  Another example is the Boise State vs. TCU game in which Boise State was in the same predicament as Oregon.  They had to win to keep their championship hopes alive.  The kicker for Boise State lines up for a strait on game winning field goal but he missed.  These missed kicks cost both Oregon and Boise State their championship dreams.  You can see that kickers are very important to their teams.  They have a lot of pressure on them with every kick they attempt. Just watch this movie on Kyle Brotzman and you will see how much pressure kickers are under.

 

 

 

It is crazy that the kicker position is largely overlooked until they come out on the field for a game winning field goal. The pressure that is put on them is like setting a car on their back.  One kick, one shot for everything or nothing.  If a kicker misses a field goal almost every person that enjoys football puts the kicker under fire. We see this in the example of Kyle Brotzman.  This is also evident in the movie called The Field Goal Kicking Garbage Picking Philadelphia Phenomena.  This movie is about a garbage man who is recruited as a kicker for the Philadelphia Eagles.  He does great at the start of his career, but he misses a few field goals and the whole city turns on him.   We need to understand that kicking a field goal is not the easiest thing in the world.  Most of us would not be able to make a regular extra point from 10 yards out let alone a 40-yard field goal under pressure.  We shouldn’t criticize a kicker for missing a field goal no matter how far it is or how much is riding on it.    

       

What is Wrong With Tim Tebow?

 

When you think of a player that you would want on your team, what do you think of? I think of a player that has tremendous heart, a player that won’t give up when times get tough, a player that wants to improve, never stops challenging themselves to get better, and a player that is talented at what they do. I believe Tim Tebow has all of these characteristics. Tim Tebow is probably one of the most dedicated players I’ve ever seen. He has everything you could want, he is a leader, he has heart, he knows how to win, he never gives up and he listens. Just watch this clip and tell me that you wouldn’t want this guy on your team.

If you don’t know what happened next the Florida Gators went on to win the national championship with Tim Tebow as quarterback. How could you not want a player that has a fire within himself to win and never gives up?

On October 11, 2011 the sports world watched as the Broncos named Tim Tebow as their starting quarterback. This decision has probably been the most controversial quarterback move in the history of the NFL. From that point on there has never been a quarterback under such scrutiny as Tim Tebow. The crazy thing is Tim Tebow has only started 6 games and people are already bashing him saying, “He can’t throw,” “He can’t play,” and “He is not a traditional quarterback.”

It is true that Tim Tebow isn’t a traditional quarterback but let me just say that there are a lot of great athletes that aren’t traditional.  Jason Belmont is a two handed bowler in the the PBA. Rick Barry who shoots granny shot free throws has one of the highest NBA free throw shooting percentages of all time. These guys proved you don’t have to be traditional to succeed. But you can’t tell me that Tim can’t play or throw cause he can.  Skip Bayless said, “ Just go put the tape in of the Orange Bowl against the Sooners in the national championship game and tell me he can’t throw.  And I know that Cincinnati wasn’t very good in the Sugar bowl, but he threw a party -- a big New Orleans party.” Tim Tebow can throw and if you have watched any of the games he has played in the NFL, he has completed some wonderful passes. Looking at his stats this season he has thrown 6 touchdowns and has 1 interception.  If you combine all six games he has started in, he has thrown 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. I don’t know about you but that is really exceptional. Now we can compare these stats to the legend John Elway.  In his rookie season he had 14 interceptions and 7 touchdowns. So you can’t tell me that Tim Tebo can’t play or throw.

The problem is that critics are so hard on Tim Tebow. Every game he has to deal with criticism from the coaches that don’t believe in him, and then from the media. He is criticized for everything he does. He throws a touchdown people say, “He didn’t do it right.” He runs the ball and gets a huge chunk of yards or even a touchdown and people say, “He didn’t do that right.” He wins a game and people say, “The game was sloppy and he didn’t deserve to win.” Man this is comparable to writing a paper for an English class and you put your heart and soul into the paper.  But when you turn it in all you hear is, “You didn’t do this right,” “That was dumb,” “Why did you even write that?," and “You’re a terrible writer.” Now you have a taste of what Tim Tebow is going through every time he puts on a jersey.

Skip Bayless said, “The quarterback position is the only place where players can continue to progress and grow in the NFL.” Sadly we are criticizing Tim Tebow who has only started 6 games.  We are not giving him the chance to grow.  We need to stop criticizing and hating Tim Tebow and let him play, grow, and do what he is good at. I’m pretty sure if we will let Tim be Tim he will surprise you and show you why he is in the NFL. Tim Tebow has the potential to be a great quarterback we just need to let him be that quarterback.