Labor strife and bring on the Madness!!

Iron City Beer 17
Brats and Cheese 14....in overtime.

Well, I screwed that one up.

Since we last chatted, they played Super Bowl 45 in Dallas, or officially, North Texas. The rest of the country learned that yes, it can snow in Texas and it usually does at the worst possible times. Jerry Jones must have been pulling his hair out of his oft-surgically enhanced skull. As I have learned up here in the Great White North, use salt Jerry, not sand. Works much better. I must give the Pack credit. They outplayed Pittsburgh in every phase of the game and we ended up with a great contest and Green Bay ended up with it's 13th title.

The confetti had not even stopped falling in Jerryworld when talk turned to the labor dispute between the NFL players union and the NFL and its team owners. Basically, the players like the deal the way it is, and the owners want more. They are crying poverty but are unwilling to show anyone their books to prove this. The Owners want an 18-game schedule and rookie salary cap, the players want neither.

I will fix this.

No 18 game schedule, add the rookie salary cap. Make the split 58-41 in favor of the players (they currently get 59.5) and give the remaining 1% to the retired players. Also, show us the books or you forfeit. Problem solved. In the real world, it won't be that smooth or logical but don't worry, their might be a lockout for a bit but it will not ruin the season. Neither side is stupid enough to risk the golden goose.

We go through this periodically with the games we love. I have no problem with players getting paid but don't cry poverty if you have to "settle" for $5 million as opposed to $8 million. Owners, don't bitch about players salaries because you pay them willingly. Players just don't find money trees, someone has to sign the checks. Let's all have a moment of reality here. Players and owners make a buttload of money off of a game. Forgive me for being pollyanna-ish for a moment but what if we paid scientists, doctors and teachers what we pay our pro athletes? We would be #1 in the world in, well damn near everything. Playing pro sports is not a right, it's a privilege. What would Shaq be without basketball? Broke as hell. Speaking of Shaq...the NBA is headed for a collision with their own labor dispute and unlike the NFL, that could drag out for months and we may lose a season over it.

Times like these make me appreciate and long for the days on the playgrounds, sandlots and parks of my youth. More and more pro athletes are motivated by money and fame. We were motivated by bragging rights. We played in sun, cold and even the occasional hurricane. Sometimes, it was 7a at Central Park Mall against strangers and radio people....other times it was 1a at Emerald Valley which may or may not have been followed by breaking into a neighborhood swimming pool. Places like Misty Oaks, Stone Ridge or Dallas's West End served as venues. We played in the shadows of skyscrapers getting sunburned or behind a bank in Bowie watching the locals getting burned by a kid in Air Jordans and dress slacks. Every player in pro sports had those moments. I truly believe that if they remembered them more, we would have less problems. Ok, enough nostalgia for now.

With the NFL season done, its time to turn to basketball. In the pro game, my San Antonio Spurs are still the holders of the best record in the league currently sitting at 50-11. However, there might be a black cloud on the horizon and its not a Silver and Black one. Tony Parker was injured in the February 27 win over Memphis. He injured his left calf and is expected to be out 2-4 weeks. Since the injury, the Spurs are 1-1, losing in Memphis by 16 then winning in Cleveland by 10. The trouble could come down the road as San Antonio faces the Heat twice along with the Lakers then the red hot Dallas Mavericks in Big D, all in the next seven games. This is the first real adversity the Spurs have faced in an otherwise magical season. How they deal with said adversity will go a long way in proving whether or not Duncan, Ginobili and company have one more title in them. The fun begins Friday night as the traveling circus and freak show that is the Miami Heat visit the Alamo City.

The date on the calendar reads March and that means one thing...

Let the Madness begin.

Conference play wraps up this week and the conference tournaments will be starting soon. Who is the favorite going into the Big Dance?

What time is it, right now?

It has been a number of teams so far this season. Duke and Michigan State started the year 1 and 2. The Dookies have done their part, holding the top ranking for the first 10 weeks of the season. Sparty? Well, the folks in East Lansing are gripping hardcore after what they have gone through. A team many selected to reach a third straight Final Four has a current record of 17-12, lost to in-state rival ( and previous doormat) Michigan at home in the Breslin Center for the first time since 1997 and the first time anywhere in six years. MSU is scrambling to even make the NCAA tourney and if they fail, they will break a streak of 13 straight appearances.

Duke lost the top spot to Ohio State in week 11. The Buckeyes stayed there until a loss to Wisconsin dropped them out four weeks later. Kansas then took over and was #1 for about 8 hours before getting ambushed in Manhattan that night. (Little Apple, not Big Apple) Duke ascended back up until a loss to Florida State put Brutus' boys back at #1. In addition to these teams Pitt, UConn, Texas and Syracuse have all made cases for being the best in the land at one time or another. Out West, Mountain West brethren San Diego State and BYU have been in the conversation with lengthy win streaks. This past Saturday, BYU defeated the Aztecs for a second time this season and there was talk of the Cougars first ever #1 tournament seed and even as a dark horse candidate to win it all. They have a player in Jimmer Fredette whom many think, myself included, is the player of the year. Jimmer reminds me of video I have seen on the great Pete Maravich. Take away the Pistol's floppy socks and add a few pounds of muscle and you have Jimmer. Yesterday however, BYU was dealt a blow when it was announced that Sophomore Brandon Davies has been suspended indefinitely due to a violation of BYU's Honor Code. The school has said that no criminal act took place and left it at that. The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Davies violated the code by having sex with his girlfriend. Premarital sex is one of the things that is a no-no for BYU students.

And no, I am not sure either how they would enforce that rule without a confession.

OK, I have never been a fan of BYU. Any school that doesn't allow their students to drink iced tea is 10 kinds of wrong to a Texan. Personally, if the kid wants to have sex with his girlfriend, that's his business. However, he did sign a pledge and went into his time in Provo knowing what he could and couldn't do. I applaud BYU for having the huevos for sticking to its rules even if I don't agree with that rule. Although....does anyone else find it ironic that the faith that this institution is based on was once a big fan of polygamy and with some members, still is?

With no clear cut dominant team in college hoops, we should be in for an outstanding tournament. It will be bad for our brackets but a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Get those brackets warmed up because the madness is upon us.

Before I go...a couple of shout outs...

Billy Newton...welcome to Club 40. You have some dark clouds of your own coming...we're going to get you through.

Joey Pants....thanks man.

And finally...to what I was talking about early in reference to children and the games they play. There was a local young man who passed away in February of 2009 named Brandon Gordon. As someone who as mentored and coached young folks, nothing makes my heart ache more than when one is taken from us so early. When I read his story, what amazed me is not how he died but how he lived. It's odd but more often than not, kids deal with illnesses like this better than adults. As we get older, we develop cynicism, fear and prejudices but the kids are still young enough that they don't have those built in yet. I read the story and while I was sad that Brandon had to endure cancer before he passed, I was more sad because the world was robbed of what he could have been.

All Brandon wanted to do was play hockey, and we have millionaires fighting over billions. Maybe we should make both sides read Brandon's story. Maybe then, they will gain proper perspective and stop making asses of themselves.

You can read Brandon's story here.

Peace.