7 April 2011

Movie Review

“I’ve always been known as Mike, just mean old Mike.”  The movie Breaking Away directed by Peter Yates discusses the story of four teens and their life in a small town of Indiana.  It’s about “breaking away” from mediocrity. It’s about finding a way to not be the typical blue collar worker in the town of Bloomington, Indiana and making a name for yourself. It’s the story of Dave Stoller, his parents and his three friends.  Stoller is living in a fantasy world with more than real possibilities.  He sings and dreams of being Italian, and most of all cycling.  After his parents force him to stop living in fantasy, especially his father who believes in clean cut hardworking attitude, he begins to conform

“I’m a cutter, don’t you know,” says Dave Stoller.  He had just realized his dreams, racing against the Italian cycling team who made an appearance in Bloomington.  But he had lost and realized that cycling maybe wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  But “pep talks” from his father and his friends give him the motivation to keep at it.  “You’re not a cutter….are you afraid,” said a wide eyed Stoller’s father.

Dave had never been afraid; he had always been a champion in his eyes.  He wanted to prove the world of his abilities, and he would do so that day in the 500k bike race in Indiana. After Dave is injured during the race he leans on his friends to help him win, and of course the cheer of his parents from the sideline. A tapped leg and knee he was back on the bike.

“Bon Jour Papa,” chuckled Stoller in the accent his father hated.  His father turned back and looked.  He couldn’t prouder of his son.

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12 March 2011

Blast from the Past

Anyone can say that an object heading at 105 mph is life threatening, especially if its made of pure solid rubber. In this year’s NHL Skills Challenge is was Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins showing fans that pucks really do move that fast.  Yes, he did get a strong wind up and a running start, but who’s to say it hasn’t happened in a game. 

So lets thinks for a second, a puck traveling that fast obviously could do some damage.  If you don’t believe me then try standing in front of a baseball going 100 mph, that’s going to hurt.  So the real question is if Chara gets off a 105 mph slapper in a game, can it lead to fatality.

For this we take a look at the equipment used by hockey players.  You have three well protected regions that include:

Head: protected by helmet, neck guard and optional face mask.  Most helmets are made out of nitrile foam which absorbs impact and disperses it around a larger area.

Body: protected by shoulder pads, elbow pads and some good old fashion muscle.  Shoulders pads and elbow pads are made of cloth with some plastic.

Legs: protected by a garter belt, shin pads, hockey pants and heavy socks.  The layered hockey pants help protect your lower legs and the shin pads are made of polyurethane which keeps you covered.

So where would Chara have to hit to be deadly.  In my eyes a player who attempts to block Chara’s blow by laying down potentially gets struck in the side near the back right under the shoulder pad. A player struck in this region would experience immediate internal bleeding, in the cavity where the kidney is located.  Organs and back muscle would be crushed.  The chances of survival all depend on how quickly the hemorrhage can be stopped.

So yes, there are weapons and then there is Zdeno Chara’s slap shot.

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12 March 2011

Chalk another one up for the big guy

If you asked sports sensation Brock Lesnar about his early life, he would tell you he wasn’t always first in fact he was also last.  Lesnar finishing last in his class knew that his future was in sports.  Lesnar became a member of the WWE in 2005.  He was dominating, winning numerous awards and events.  A few years later he decided to join the NFL, playing the Minnesota Vikings for a few preseason games.  His final venture came at the hands of the UFC.

Lesnar has showed all the great abilities of a true athlete; speed, strength and power.  He has rejuvinted two sports with his abilities.  But I ask Lesnar, why not one more sport?

Over the year’s boxing has lost its viewers to the likes of the UFC and other fighting sports.  Once a sport marked by names like Ali and Foreman, it’s the few greats left that are carrying the torch.

Put it this way Lesnar will enter as a heavy weight (the neediest group of all) and he will rejuvenate boxing?

Yes Lesnar has the abilities to be great, but his biggest attribute is his ability to be a catalyst for improvement for both himself and wherever he plays.

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22 February 2011

Life without Print Media

Technology is juiced and print is sadder than ever

Print media has been around for year, the first issue of TSN (The Sporting News) came out in the early 1880’s. But we now stand 130 years past that time. Technology is moving at a rate that reminds you of Jeff Gordon on a NASCAR track. It’s hard for any avid sport head to think of a world without print media, but in the future it could be a possibility.
Imagine all those 6am wake ups, you grab you coffee and head outside to the end of the street. NO NEWSPAPER today. Instead you morning ritual has become a internet bonding experience as your eyes take in the interactive state of sports web pages.
The thought of this is not impossible, as today we see things like basketball programs and team pamphlets turning to online. The cost to print something exceeds what it cost to post something online.
Creating an experience for the avid fan is what sports “bigs” around the world are looking for. With the internet and new technology this is a possibility. In few years Print Media could be pulling a 2011 season, an official retirement.

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22 February 2011

Durant’s future has thunder, but what about some lightning?

Kevin's Dream is Kareem's nightmare

At 22 years old Kevin Durant is a scoring sensation, with the breath of a veteran. He is the leader of a young team that has already begun to make noise as the NBA’s newest contender. I’m sure the Texas standout never thought he could one day be basketball’s greatest god. Well that is with the help of longevity and a little added math.
Over a 20 year career the all time scoring leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in 1,560 games and scored a total of 38,387 points. He ended his spectacle of a career with an average of 24.6 points per game.
In just a 3 year career Kevin Durant age 22 has played in a mere 286 games and scored a total of 7,411 points. His career scoring average sits at 25.9 points per game.
Abdul-Jabbar was a magician of age, he played until the age of 42 at one of the most grueling positions in the game center. If you don’t believe me just talk to Shaq, I’m sure his body has nightmares about “hack a shaq”. Durant still young and not fully defined, could he keep the engine running until 42 as well. We all saw Michael play through his 40’s, but the stats were nowhere near sir Michaels prime.
Let’s pretend Durant is able to escape injury and play that long.
Assuming Durant’s average doesn’t increase or decrease. If you take the total amount of game Jabbar played minus Durant’s it will give you a total of 1,274 games. Then take that number of games multiplied by Durant’s career average of 25.9 points per game and you get roughly 33,000 points. This doesn’t include the rest of this year. Durant’s point total also doesn’t include the rest of this NBA season. So if you take his current season average of 28.8 point per game times the remaining 32 games yet to play it will give you 924 points. That number coupled with his current season total gives you a total of 2,368 points this season alone. So his current total of 7,411 points with the added guess of another 924 this season gives us a grand total of 8,335 points for Durant’s career. NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE GOOD STUFF. If Mr. Thunder himself can average around 25.9 points per game for the next 20 seasons it would look like this:
82 games * 20= 1,640 games
1,640 games * 25.9 points per game= 42,476 points for his career
Durant would have shattered Jabar’s record by over 4,000 points. A new all time scoring leader.
Oh and just to make your brains hurt a little more, we said that Durant could obtain a total of 2,368 points this season. Those 4,000 extra points minus the 2,368 gives you 1,632 points. Durant could actually become the scoring champion at 41 and have played 23 1/2 seasons.
I’m sure it would be hard to do all this in a career. Maybe it’s time Durant asked Zeus to really give him some thunder power?

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