Sunday Reflections (Josh Hamilton edition)

I was going to write a post on the amazing season that Josh Hamilton is having this past week for the Texas Rangers.

For those of you unfamiliar with Hamilton, here’s a quick recap. He was drafted out of high school first overall in the 1999 draft by the Tampa Devil Rays. He was a five-tool player who was projected to be one of the best players ever. However, he dealt with drug addiction and alcoholism and was out of the game for a few years. He hit rock bottom, but found religion and cleaned his life up. Slowly he started playing baseball again and made a nice impact with the Cincinnati Reds last year. He was then traded to the Rangers in the off-season and is leading the major in RBI’s and is having an MVP caliber season. As an exclamation point to his great start to this season, he had a record-setting performance in the Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium earlier this week.

OK, you’re caught up. It’s a great story that has inspired a lot of people, even those who don’t follow baseball. However, there are some haters out there.

Some want to see Hamilton stick it out for a while longer before we completely say that he’s cured of his addictions. That’s fair I guess, but those people need to realize that he’s going to be an addict his entire life and he will never be completely cured.

Some are saying that he plays in a hitter’s park and Ian Kinsler and Michael Young are just as valuable to the team. That can also be a fair estimation.

Some are saying that Milton Bradley is having a better season and isn’t receiving the same attention because he’s Black. J.A. Adande of ESPN.com had the nerve to make this statement on First Take.

First, here’s a fair prospective on Milton’s and Josh’s story here: http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-star14-2008jul14,0,546313.story

In the end, I realized something.

First, even though a successful Vandy alum, Skip Bayless, is on the show, I need to stop watching First Take.

But I think this is a general commentary on my sports viewing.

I’ve watched less ESPN, CSS, Fox Sports and other sports networks right now than ever in my life and I’m enjoying it a lot. That’s why I want no part of the ESPY’s tonight.

I still go to my five or six sports Web sites, which are usually cnnsi.com, espn.com, foxsports.com, deadspin.com, biglead.com, sherdog.com, mmaweekly.com and a few others. I’ll maybe catch SportsNite on CSS, SportsCenter, PTI and Jim Rome is Burning on ESPN. That’s it.

I used to watch sports channels for hours and hours, but its overkill. I value the opinions of others, but I get overwhelmed. I also got tired of hearing about the steroids in sports and all of the negative things in sports getting way too much coverage.

I understand why all of these shows exist. There’s an interest in it and everyone has an opinion. Heck, some of you are reading my blog for my opinion on sports topics.
This does relate to Hamilton.

Instead of watching the over analysis of a good story, I’m going to just enjoy it on my own and you should too.

For now, here’s Josh doing his thing at the Home Run Derby.

Deadspin_July15
by bsap11

Sunday Reflections

This was an interesting week for me because I spent the entire time away from Nashville and in Atlanta and South Carolina seeing the family. I will say that I’m looking forward to heading back to Nashville and getting back into my routine. However, it’s important to see your loved ones when you have a chance in the sports industry because once August comes around, I’ll be back on the grind, which I like.

I want to talk about funerals, but I have to hit on some other thoughts.

-I haven’t followed baseball as much as I usually do because I’ve been away from home dealing with family stuff, but I like the balance of things right now. I get tired of hearing about the Yankees and the Red Sox all the time. I like seeing the Rays, the White Sox, Angels, A’s, Phillies, Cubs, Brewers and Diamondbacks having solid seasons. Hopefully the sports networks will acknowledge this and cover these teams more.

I have a cousin who lives in Tampa and if the Rays make the playoffs, it’s on. War Rays!

-Euro 2008 has been an excellent tournament, but the quarterfinals had some interesting results. Germany took care of business against Portugal because Portugal forgot to play defense. I haven’t seen an elite team mark so bad defensively in my life in a major tournament. Also, why don’t you look around and fake another ankle injury Ronaldo, you Wanker. I actually missed the Turkey game, but I heard it was a classic. The Turks find another way to comeback and get a win. Russia made Holland look like amateurs. What is it about the Netherlands that they look like the best team in the world for two matches and then they play like ass in the next one. Holland has so much talent but they always underachieve. I will never trust them again in a major tournament.

I was so happy that Spain beat Italy today. I have no beef against the Italians, but the way that they played today was pathetic. It was so bad that I fell asleep during the game. That’s how uninspired I was watching the game. Italy has always been a boring squad to watch as a fan, but they win a lot of times obviously. However, if this tournament has taught us anything is that aggressive play is usually awarded. Italy just played passive and in the end, the aggressive and more deserving Spaniards won the game on penalties.

Good riddance to Greece, Italy and boring soccer in general.

-One show that I’ve gotten into this week is America’s Best Dance Crew on MTV. I just like seeing those crews dancing and showing off their skills. Mario Lopez is earning a paycheck, which is always good. A.C. Slater needs the work. BTW, Mario, how do you break up with Karina Smirnoff, she’s a winner. Also, how do you screw up that relationship with Ali Landry? Questions that I will never receive the answer to.

I’m going to place my funeral post separately. I leave you with some Mars Volta. Have a good week.