Tiger Woods done for the year?!

How can this be?  Tiger Woods announced earlier this week that he would not be participating in any other tournaments this year.  How can this be?  We all saw him painfully go through the U.S Open, the pain coming from arthroscopic surgery that had been done on his knee.  It has now been announced by his doctors that Tiger will need to haveACL surgery.  This surgery will prohibit Tiger from competing in all of the remaining PGA tournaments this year.  Tiger hopes to return in 6-9 months. 

What does this mean for Tiger?  Well, he now gets to spend time with his one-year-old daughter Sam.  But professionally?  This surgery, if performed correctly could strengthen his knee and make his swing stronger than ever.  If the surgery does not go as planned then Tiger could face some major difficulties.  His swing has been clocked at 134 mph.  His swing is the fastest and most powerful on tour.  He puts a tremendous amount of torque on his knees which caused visible pain in the U.S. Open.  If the surgery does not fix his he may be faced with the option of changing his swing.  This could be tragic problem for Tiger.  He could come out on the other side with no swing and no confidence.

What does this mean for the PGA?  Well, to put it bluntly, no one cares any more.  The summer’s golf will be very boring without being able to watch Tiger.  He is the greatest player to ever play the game.  People watch golf on TV just to see him.  This year alone in 7 tournaments Tiger has won 5 of them.  In the remaining 2 he came in 2nd and 5th.  This is very bad news for the PGA as viewing numbers will in-evidentlydrop.  On the bright side with Tiger dropping out for the summer the other golfers have a shot at winning something.  Players now realize that they have chance of actually winning something.  When Tiger is playing it’s a race for 2nd.  We’ll have to see who will take advantage of this short opportunity while Tiger is absent.

That’s my take, tell me what you think.

Steroids?

Hello Sports Fans, steroids have become something that are talked and read about in the news, on TV and heard on the radio.  These performance enhancing drugs have ruined sports’ integrity and put doubts into the minds of many.  It is part of human nature to want to be the biggest and the best, to win at all costs and do it in any way possible.  But why use steroids?  Steroids can improve muscle growth dramatically in a very short period of time.  They quicken reflexes and prolong endurance.  There’s only one problem, they’re illegal for athletes to use. 

Controversy over steroids have put shadows over sports such as baseball, bicycling and horse racing.  We’ve all heard about Barry Bonds.  If he has never used steroids then he is by far the greatest Home Run hitter to ever play the game.  I’m not saying that he took steroids, but have you seen pictures of him when he started his career and compared it with a current photo.  His dramatic change of appearance does not help in his “not guilty” plea against his supposed use of the drugs.  Another popular topic is the tragic story of the racing horse Eight Belles.  When Eight Belles had to be put down on the race track after sustaining horrible injuries to both front legs, there was a lot of talk about horse abuse, the horses old age and steroids.  When the horses’ body was sent in for the routine biopsy the horses’ trainer had the specialist run a  test for steroids.  Why would he do that?  He wanted to prove to the world that there were no steroids used on Eight Belles.  The Trainer wanted to put down all rumors of steroids and prove that his horses’ greatness was not the result of enhancement drugs.

I’m tired to watching ESPN and hearing about another steroid allegation.  With today’s attitude towards steroids a player is instantly assumed guilty until proven innocent.  How many players in how many sports are using steroids?  Just because they haven’t been caught doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.  What about those who have been accused but have honestly never touched steroids.  There careers will always be haunted by the steroids allegations.

So what needs to be done?  More random drug testing is a must in all sports around the world.  Harsher punishments must be administered in order to persuade players that the use is not worth the risk.

That’s my take, tell me what you think.

Soccer vs. America

I have been an avid soccer fan for most of my life.  I played soccer when I was little and grew to love the game and all of it’s aspects.  Lately I’ve been watching the EURO CUP 2008 on ESPN and I am once again reminded of how different soccer is in countries other than the USA.  Soccer (also known as futbol and football in other countries around the world) has had a hard time gaining momentum in America.  Why is this?  Well, soccer has had to compete with American Football and that is no easy task.  American Football and the NFL are multi-billion dollar industries.  American’s love to see big guys hitting each other and a game that scores a lot of points.  America has Football because we can afford it and other countries cannot.  Soccer is and easily affordable game for all people.  The only essential item needed for a soccer game is a soccer ball.  No helmets, no pads, no bats or gloves.

Another huge difference between soccer in America and soccer in Europe are the fans.  The fans in Europe are willing to kill fans from the opposing team.  If you have ever seen fans from Europe you instanly know what team they are rooting for.  Even those who have come to the games directly from work tie a team flag around their neck and paint their face with team colors.  These radical fans provide a huge mental boost to the morale of the team.

So what is the future of soccer in America?  Well until we stop making the game atmosphere one of “family friendliness” and “happy-go-lucky” attitudes and start truly caring about our MLS teams and fight for our loyalty we will never fully appreciate the sport.  With the arrival of David Beckham (one of the greatest players in the world) to the USA I know that the game of soccer has risen as far as viewing audiences goes.  But we can’t always wait for the next great player to come to the USA because they won’t keep coming.  The future of American Soccer is in the hands of the next generation.  These children are playing soccer at young ages and with the further development of Sports Websites they will be able to follow their favorite teams with ease and even watch foreign games. 

Will I see a soccer revolution in my lifetime in America?  I think I will.  I long for the day when people get excited about their local (or national) team and root them on with a zealous fervor.

Well, that’s my take, tell me what you think. 

Hey Blogging World!

Hello,
With my first blog I would like to say Hi to the people who will be reading my posts. I will hopefully be writing about a lot of different topics. Although I am a rookie to the blogging world I am very experienced in other areas (hence my username).
I’ll be writing again soon with my first topic,
c-ya