Richard Sherman disses Skip Bayless

This past Thursday, Richard Sherman did something no athlete has ever done. He intentionally made himself look like a dis-respectful ignorant person. He also dis-respected one of the most popular sport prognosticators ever. It was a poor move. He went on ESPN's show"First Take," and decided to harass Skip Bayless.
One of his exact phrases was; "In my 24 years of life. I'm better at life than you." He continually kept defaming Skip on a personal level through the entire show. Skip took the high road and didn't stoop to that level. The only question Skip asked was "Do you think you are better than Darrell Revis?" Sherman responded saying "I don't care about him [Revis] all I know is I'm better than you."
I couldn't believe the way he was so arrogant and cocky. Plus, a prognosticators job is to know every sport and the teams better than the individual players do. On top of, predicting what teams will win. It's what Skip and all other prognosticators do for a living. I'm pretty sure he knows the sport just as well as any player.
The facts are Richard Sherman has only played two NFL seasons. In those seasons, he has played phenomenal, but he hasn't proved he is the best. The point is Richard made a fool of himself on national television and gave himself a faint image. I've lost total respect for him, as well as a lot of other football fans.

Chicago is lovin the Blackhawks!

Whoa! Look out Chicago because the Blackhawks are on fire! They are currently 19-0-3 and number one in their division. Us fans are definitely hoping to see another cup brought home to Chicago from the Stanley Cup Finals. For those of you who were not able to catch Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings, you truly missed out! The game went into over time where Patrick Kane scored an unbelievable goal against Jimmy Howard. Kane's goal leads the Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory against the Red Wings. Talk about being a hot shot… That was Kane’s eleventh goal this season. It's an amazing feeling to see a Chicago team do so well. With a little under two months left of the regular season, hopefully the Blackhawks keep up the great work. I’m excited to see who will end up making it to the playoffs! Don’t forget to watch tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild at 7:30. Bring home the “W” boys!

Unnecessary Roughness

I can’t believe I actually agree with something Kobe Bryant had to say. According to the Los Angeles Times, Bryant said he would have “smacked [Serge Ibaka] in the mouth” for his hard hit below the belt on Blake Griffin.  Late in the fourth quarter Ibaka hit Griffin directly in the groin after missing his opportunity for a rebound. Refs didn’t eject him from the game but the hit was ruled a flagrant foul-1 for unnecessary contact.

I understand that basketball can get pretty intense. I watched the replay several times to make sure I saw it correctly and I still think Ibaka was out of line. He was mad that Griffin pushed his hand and grabbed his jersey so he reacted. He deliberately hit him. Players should never go low, everybody knows that. Ibaka should have been ejected from that game immediately. There’s still no word on whether or not Ibaka will play in OKC’s home game against the Lakers tonight. If he does, I bet he’ll steer clear of Kobe. 

The Mary Taylor Interview: The interview that almost wasn't

Mary Taylor is a busy woman and tracking her down to do an interview wasn't easy but it’s worth the wait. 

The interview was scheduled on three different occasions, but because Ms. Taylor has a lot on her plate it didn't happen. When i was out helping my teammate, Stacey, shoot her package it hit me! Call Ms. Taylor to try and set up the interview on Sunday while in possession of a camera. Boom! She agreed and the interview was on. It only took three weeks but as you'll find out it was worth the wait. 

I want to thank my teammate Stacey for allowing me to "steal" the camera from her. Teamwork at it's best. 

I spent two and half-hours with Ms. Taylor at her home on Aurora's east side. I walked upstairs to the living room and I didn't know if I was in a house or a photo gallery. There were pictures everywhere! The living room was decked out with family pictures and award certificates of Jamario Taylor. 

The picture not pictured on the walls was the one where she had to give up her two youngest children to a foster home because she was going into rehab to get clean from crack. 

She was on crack while pregnant with Jermaine "5" and Jamario "6". 

"I was using 500$ worth of crack a day while I was pregnant with "5" but I craved it more with"6" because I was using 800$ worth of crack."

She was in rehab for a "little over a year" as she says. She has been clean from crack for 22. Ever since she got out of rehab she has been trying to help others stay clean and improve the community. She has done this all while being a single mom and raising her six children. 

         Ms. Taylor saved, one of, if not the best sound bites for last.

"I just really thank God for him being in our life because he has a purpose. This is a miracle kid, when you think back on it he shouldn't have been here the way things were falling for us." 

Ms. Taylor is kind-hearted lady who loves to help everyone especially “young adults” as she calls them. She has some advice for you. 

“Never give up on your dreams and goals. Set your goals and your standards high above and reach for them. Don’t let anything or anything make you think that you’re not worth or you’re not able to accomplish anything that’s in your heart.” 

Girl Power

Lauren Silberman became the first female kicker to tryout for the NFL on Sunday.

She reminds me of a girl I was friends with in middle school.
Bear in mind, I grew up in Texas.

I like to think all the girls there are tough.. but Amanda was something else.

In the seventh-grade Amanda moved to my small town in Texas. She was born and raised in Alaska. The only memorable thing about the time I met her was the venison packed in her lunch box. I couldn't believe she had Bambi inside her locker all day. She was a hard-core chick.

Well, Amanda had the nerve to try out for the football team. One week into school and she was the talk of the town. Most of the boys were half her size and intimidated, and the other half thought she was just too good looking to play football. Our principal and coaches decided that football was not "meant" for a girl and that it was in her best interest to not let her tryout.

Silberman is that "girl-power" chick i have been missing since Amanda.... and the Spice Girls.

She came out on the field.

Despite her performance, and making a distance of only nineteen yards, Silberman is a role model for many young female athletes. She pushed the boundary.

Silberman also had a pre-existing quadriceps injury, which resulted in her poor performace. Despite the pain, she decided to tryout.

It takes a lot of strength to try out in front of the world for male dominated sport.

Calling it "male dominated" is almost a joke. It IS a male sport. On top of the pressure, she went to the tryout despite her injury. She proved herself to be strong-willed, strong-minded, and a strong woman. We need more females like Lauren Silberman.

Dennis Rodman Causes Controversy With North Korean Trip

Ex Bulls player, Dennis Rodman, has seen his fair share of attention from the media. Back from his NBA days to his crazy hair styles, he's no rookie to this attention. However, this time, he's making headlines as a result of his controversial trip to North Korea.

Rodman went to North Korea to film a HBO documentary with the Harlem Globetrotters. He was greeted by North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, who then proceeded to watch an exhibition basketball game with him in Pyongyang. 

But it seems Rodman didn't come home empty handed. He had a message from Kim to President Obama: Call me. 

When Stephanopoulos asked Rodman if he all Kim wanted was a phone call from President Obama, he responded saying, "That's right. He told me that. He said, 'If you can, Dennis, I don't want to do war. I don't want to do war.' He said that to me"(The Washington Post). 

Rodman, who is now back home, went on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" to talk about his "new friend" Kim saying:" "I love the guy. He's awesome. He's so honest"(The Washington Post). 

This sparked controversy with those who are angry with Rodman's praise of Kim while there are others who believe that this could be a good start to get the two countries to talk.  

Rodman is actually the highest profile American to meet Kim since he took over in 2011 after his father's death. Former Fighter Pilot and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Col. Stephen Ganyard, said that, "There is nobody at the CIA who can tell you more personally about Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman. And that in itself is scary"(ABC News). 

It is scary. But since it's true, I think in some ways, it can be seen as a positive thing. I don't love the fact that Rodman is crazy about him because at the end of the day, he is still a dictator. But, what I will say is that I do like the fact that Rodman has opened up a line of communication between the two countries. 

All this anger and hate that's circling around, trust me, I get it. It's a bizarre situation, but let's not kill the messenger. Maybe this could be a good thing.

Unstoppable Blackhawks

22 games down, 14 to go!
The Blackhawks' fire continued to blaze as their record start without a regulation loss progressed to 22 games strong.
Sunday's game in Detroit was a close call against the rival Detroit Red Wings. The game had fans on the edge of their seats, as the Blackhawks were down by one goal and nearing the end of the third period.
Winger Patrick Kane came to the rescue just in time, and scored a goal to tie it up with two minutes and two seconds left on the clock.
The teams went on to a shoot-out, where Kane scored on Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard to win the game.
This game marked a nine game winning streak for the Hawks, which ties a previous record set in 2008. The Blackhawks will have a chance to shatter that record Tuesday when they face the Wild at the United Center.
The Blackhawks' record now stands at 19-0-3.

Sorry Cubbies, this isn't your year...

Spring Training start for the Cubs may not be what fans wanted. But it is mostly what they have expected.

The Cubs started off great with a two-and-one record.  They beat up on some teams with very tough offenses, such as the Angels.  But ofter than that it has been pretty much down hill.

There season doesn't start for another month and the Cubs are already being plagued by injuries.  Castro left the game earlier this week with leg pain.  And Garza has complained about a tightness in his side all Spring Training.  So there is not much hope at the friendly confines.

There is some good news though… Spring Training games don't count against the Cubs record! So Cub fans do still have time before they have to start rooting for another team.

Also, Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs young first basemen, is looking really good.  And very eager to start the new season.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25652067&topic_id=41332114&c_id=mlb

Other reporters have said they see the Cubs being one of the teams that may float under the radar this year…Well, I'll speak up now and say doubtful.  They have picked up some very strong pitchers to lead us.  But they still have a little work before I will consider them to be contenders.

ISo,  I'm going to wait until next year before I say, "This is our year."

Problems at Home

A blog on ESPN.com is raising awareness of the dangers of home plate collisions.  The article stats that many of the big league catchers, such as Mike Matheny, is in favor of doing away with this problem.  I can see where they are coming from with many of the catchers injuries occurring when they are trying to block the plate.  But is this something we really want to do away with?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uveVKTMTu0k

Yes, this is a problem in baseball.  As you can see many of the catchers do sustain very big injuries. But can baseball get rid of one of coolest plays it has to offer?   So many iconic plays have been made when the catcher is being bull-dozed.  And honestly, as a journalist, that is a great shot to use for highlights.  The only reason many people watch certain sports is for the violence.  So there is no reason to take out the only violent part of baseball.

There are many other ways that players can get injured.  Buster Posey, the player who was run over in the video, is also the same player who broke his leg after hitting a home run. Maybe we should ban running around the bases after hitting a home runs? Same concept right? NO! That would be ridiculous .

Athletes are going to sustain injuries no matter what we do to prevent them.  So there is no reason to take out one of the only eye appealing events that happen in baseball.

If baseball gets rid of collisions at the plate I think the fan base would drop a lot.  There is nothing more dramatic than watching a big hit at the plate and wondering it the runner is safe or out.  I can understand in certain circumstances, such as running the catcher over when it is necessary , to kick the player out of the game. but we already do that.  When a player lowers their shoulder to run the catcher over they are kicked out of the game.

If baseball does away with collisions at the dish are they going to change the blocking the plate rule? They would have to… It wouldn't be very fair to allow the catcher to stay i the base path if he isn't able to be hit.  On that note, do they get rid of "take out" slides? I feel that would be next… Getting rid of collisions at the plate would just be the start of ruining America's past time.

So to you Mr. Matheny, I am sorry, but I don't agree with getting rid of running the catcher over.  I see where you are coming from, but it is a big part of the game and has been for a very long time.  Getting rid of it would be detrimental to the pureness of the game.