Normally when we talk sports and money we’re talking about greedy players or owners.  Today, we’re not focusing on that.  Sure sure.  We know that players make a ton of money.  We know that owners have a ton of money.

But what about everybody else involved.

Sports teams employ a ton of people.  The NFL and NBA both have 32 teams.  All of those teams are multi million dollar franchises.  Each one has a staff of hundreds.  These people tend to get lost in the shuffle when we say we are ‘better off without sports’.  Would we really be better off with a few thousand people out of work?  I don’t think so.

The NFL and NBA (when the players and owners aren’t fussing over dough) offer an almost government like level of job security.  Their fan base is deeply entrenched and they spend mega dough each year.

So here’s the question of the day.

We’ve talked about college athletes getting paid before with strong sentiments on both sides.  Regardles of where you side on the argument we can all agree on a few things.

1. College sports make a boatload of cash.
2. The system of amateurism is based on an antiquated value system.
3. College athletes take gifts, bribes, and other forms of income ‘under the table’.

Recently the NCAA has agreed to give colleges the discretion to pay athletes $2,000 to cover ‘incidental costs’ of education.  In other words the NCAA knows college athletes should be paid.

Normally, any argument that involves paying scholarship athletes boils down to 2 camps.  People who think athletes should be paid.  People who think the scholarship is enough.  The group of people who think that scholarships are enough seems to shrink by the minute.  Which begs the following question.

The Denver Broncos have been on a miracle tear with Tim Tebow at the helm.  With Kyle Orton leading the troops, the Broncos dropped four of their first five games.  Like most losing teams, they decided to make a quarterback change.  That change was for Tim Tebow to get under center and take a stab at it.  With a 8-1 record 9 weeks later, we sit here and ponder.

This is the same Tebow that we all criticized his throwing motion.  The same Tebow whom we said was better suited for a fullback slot.  Even the same Tebow that some said should be playing middle linebacker.  The same Tebow that cried after losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship.  The same Tebow that had a commercial during the Super Bowl.  And now this Tebow is serving up teams like diced chicken (pardon the pun if it didn’t make you laugh).

Tim Tebow

“If you believe, unbelievable things can sometimes be possible. And I think that’s pretty special that we have a team that constantly believes and believes in each other.”

However, we all have to wonder.  Let’s admit it.  He’s not that good.  He has three overtime victories this season and a few 4th quarter comebacks.  But somehow the young man that takes a knee after every score and huddles his comrades for a post-game prayer is winning the best way he knows how.  Many have began to call it “divine intervention”.  Some call it luck.  What do you call it?

It goes without saying that crazy sh*t happens in the sports world.  When you combine large people, millions of dollars, and a child’s game things are bound to happen.  Normally, when we write about something happening in sports it is related to the actions of player.  Not today my friends.

Last week the NBA blocked a trade that would have sent Chris Paul from the league owned New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers.  I can’t remember a time in my life when something like this has ever happened.  As expected the sports world erupted.  Twitter, YouTube, and just about every other medium caught fire.

All sorts of rumor and innuendo have been thrown around regarding the trade.  According to certain sources NBA owner David Stern was pressured by other owners to block the trade.  Other sources say Stern himself did not want Chris Paul on the Lakers.  An excerpt from David Stern’s official statement reads as follows.

All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.

Loosely translated the above statement means the following

I’m full of sh*t.

It seems like Stern wants to hand pick the team that CP3 will suit up for, which seems a tiny bit unfair.

Thoughts?

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We all know that the NFL and NBA are currently both locked out.  We all agree that there is greed on both sides of the coin in each dispute.  In the video above Kevin Blackstone draws stunning comparisons between the way big sports teams handle money and the way macroeconomy is headed in America.

• Most the NBA’s teams are losing money and they have produced audited financials to prove this.
• The NBA players don’t want to “bail out” small market teams or poorly run teams that are struggling with money.
• The NFL expects to bring in 9 Billion dollars next year and they expect to double that in 10 years.

Both of these leagues have lost time due to lockouts in the past.  Do you think a certain amount of lockout time will cause critical damage to either league?

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These days any “best basketball player in the league” discussions center around 2 people.  Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.  Both men are well deserving of the talk.  There is another player whose play should have him in the discussion.

His name is Dwayne Wade.  Wade is a 7 time all star, 1 time finals MVP, 1 time scoring champion, and he’s been on the NBA first team 2 times.  His career stats are very comparable to Lebron James’ and he has 2 things that James doesn’t (yet).  A championship ring and a Finals MVP trophy.

So what gives?

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In  a recent ESPN interview Ray Lewis peeled back the covers on a rather exceptional reason to end the NFL lockout.  Ray predicted an increase of “evil” if the season is postponed.  At first glance it sounds laughable until you consider the following.

NFL consists of 32 teams.  There are around 2,500 players in the NFL.  The vast majority of NFL players have no marketable skills outside of football.  Football players and crimes are not strangers. Ray Lewis was involved in a murder investigation, Rae Carruth is in jail for the murder of his child’s mother, and Brandon Marshall can’t seem to get his domestic violence cases out of the news.

Football players are large, aggressive guys with big money habits and very few marketable skills off the field.  I won’t stereotype the entire league but NFL players aren’t exactly known for that gentlemanly nature.

So here is the question for today.

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Last week Scottie Pippen shook up the world with the following statement.

“Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play in the game, but I may go as far as to say Lebron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game.  He is so potent offensively that not only can he score at will,  he keeps everybody involved.”

With that, the sports world seemed to explode. Blogs all over the place including this one, this one , and this one tossed up stories immediately.

In the video above Steven A. Smith and Skip Bayless both launched into a full scale attack.  Skip Bayless accused Scottie of jealousy and went on to say that Lebron wasn’t a leader or a winner (a common jab at Lebron since his move to South Beach).

There is no arguing that Lebron in his current state is not better than Jordan.  I’d like to extend Scottie’s statement and ask this question.

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Bryan Stow was brutally beaten and attacked on opening day at Dodger’s Stadium.  2 men in Dodger’s clothing put Mr. Stow in a coma because he had on Giants gear. He’s been in and out of that coma since April.

The victim’s family is suing the Dodgers and holding them responsible for Bryan’s condition.  According the family’s lawyer “the Dodgers have shown a total disregard for public safety.  They’ve gotten rid of security people, they’ve had all these incidents at their games, there’s also a known gang presence”.

The Dodgers aren’t the first organization to have violence occur with fans at one of their games.  The University of Wisconsin has dealt with this after one of their basketball games. The New York Jets have even had a child tackled while leaving a game.

In all of these cases public safety was put in jeopardy.  In the Dodgers case a lawsuit is pending with major repercussions.

Here’s the question of the day.

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Today’s article is a guest post from Mariana Ashley. She is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online schools. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com

I can already see that this topic is going to get me into trouble. Just to be clear. I have been a participant in organized athletics since I was 6 years old. I swam competitively, played soccer, and played water polo for all of my childhood and throughout high school. When I went to college I swam for a well ranked school, with every intention to continue to exercise and compete well into my old age. I attribute many of my positive personality traits to organized athletics. However, this article is not about whether competitive sports are detrimental to a child’s personal development or not. I firmly believe that competitive sports have a positive effect on the personal development of self-worth and hard work in children and adolescents. I’m here to discuss the huge impact competitive sports can have on a young body and how this negative impact may have more dire consequences in adulthood.

The Benefits

The physical exertion involved in athletics can strengthen muscles, increase flexibility, boost metabolism, improve circulation, and promote mental health. As obesity increasingly threatens the wellbeing of youth around the world, particularly in the United States, organized athletics are a great option for combating the issue. Sports encourage cooperation and hard work, while also building strong personal relationships and teaching important life lessons. A child learns how to cope with both victory and with failure as a competitive athlete. In the perfect circumstances, competitive sports are incredibly beneficial both mentally and physically when managed appropriately. However, all too often, competitive sports are not handled well and the child athlete’s physical health (and eventually mental health) suffers.

Potential Problems

While regular competitive sports are most typically beneficial, children who are successful at a young age often continue on into extremely rigorous programs. Practicing for long hours every day and pushing themselves to dangerous physical limits, kids in sports rarely recognize the stress the sports they love may have on their physical health. Children placed in strenuous activities at an early age often develop physical problems, such as tendinitis, tears, and stress fractures. These physical ailments can haunt them well into their adult lives, causing more significant problems on an aged body. Many young competitive athletes build their future plans around their sports. What high school they attend, what college they attend, what major they pick, each of these important decisions hinges on their competitive sport. Adolescents and teenagers who are this committed to their competitive sport are often the ones who suffer most. Kids who are successful enough to compete at the college level or higher are typically the individuals who “burnout” first. By the time these teenage athletes reach college age, their bodies may not be capable of even more strenuous work.

An Anecdotal Example

As a competitive swimmer, at the age of ten I qualified to compete in a nationally ranked meet. It was at this point that I began swimming four hours a day six days a week, racking in over 8000 yards a day. I loved swimming, I loved racing, and the sport quickly consumed my life. As I continued to swim and compete, I became better and faster. I qualified for various meets around the country, competing against the best youth swimmers in my city, state, and nation. My shoulders began to give me problems at the young age of 13. I started seeing chiropractors and physical therapists. Strapping ice to my shoulders every night and downing numerous over the counter pain medications every day, the sport that I loved was taking a dire turn on my physical wellbeing. Finally, when I was 16 my right shoulder gave out on me and I was forced into surgery. With prospects of Division I college scholarships and state championships, my dreams slowly faded. Now, as an adult, my shoulder has never completely repaired itself and I have not been able to find an adequate replacement for the sport that was once my entire life focus.

Conclusion

While organized sports are extremely beneficial for the children participating in them, I worry for those children when they become adults. When all of your self confidence and self worth stem from competition and athletics, growing too old for competition or becoming too injured to participate can severely harm a once young athlete psychologically. On top of having destroyed knees, damaged shoulders, and constant tendonitis, young athletes have to grieve the loss of a part of themselves. Maybe I’m speaking from a biased experience, but I think that the impact serious competitive sports have on a young body should be more carefully considered. While I would never give up my experience as a swimmer growing up, I would give anything to be able to swim again now.