Thoughts from my weekend of sports.
The Olympics:
-NBC’s coverage of the Olympics has taken its fair share of criticism and I have to say I agree with most of it. It’s 2012 and NBC’s Live coverage on the internet was a joke, no commentary and crappy feeds were the standard instead of the exception. NBC couldn’t change the fact that the events weren’t held in prime time for those of us in the U.S. but in a world of HD and 3D TV’s and smart phones that dominate our lives why did the internet feeds look like something from my dorm room in 1997. The only thing missing was the dial tone and the load screeching coming from my external modem. You got 4 years until Rio guys, get it together.
-NBC gets an A+ for hiring Dan Patrick for the studio. Bob Costas and Al Michaels are two premiere sports guys and Dan made it a trifecta for them. They get a D- for hiring Ryan Seacrest and here’s why. I like sports not sports entertainment and that’s what Seacrest covered and I don’t like the stupid fluff pieces. However, I understand that many people do like these “stories” and the reason I didn’t give the hiring of Seacrest an F is because bringing him in meant NBC’s actual sports reporters didn’t have to cover this aspect of the games. (By the way if you thing I’m a Seacrest hater I’m not, he’s a perfectly good host of American Idol and New Year’s Rockin Eve and stuff like that just keep him away from my sports coverage.)
-Usain Bolt claims he’s the Best Athlete in the World, whoa there speedy back up a bit. Your title, Mr. Bolt is World’s Fastest Human, you earned it, you proved it and it’s a fact but hold on just one second. The title World’s Best Athlete usually goes to the Decathlon gold medalist and that was Ashton Eaton and he is a better athlete than you and I would go out on a limb and say Trey Hardee (the silver medalist) is also a better athlete than you and truth be told Leonel Suarez (the bronze medalist from Cuba) is probably also a better athlete than you. There is more to being an athlete than speed. Size, strength, speed, agility, stamina and coordination are all athletic traits so until you run farther than 200 meters or for longer than 20 seconds at a time, until you pick up something heavy, throw something heavy or jump over something please keep your proclamations to yourself. Ashton Eaton earned the unofficial title of World’s Best Athlete, of course if I were choosing the winner it’s LeBron and it’s not even close.
-Speaking of LeBron the USA men won another gold beating Spain in a rematch from 2008. The question wasn’t would this team win the gold it was could this team beat the 1992 Dream Team. As presently constituted, no, the roster lacks enough size in the post to take on Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone down low. This team struggled against physical teams like Lithuania and Spain, they beat them but they struggled and they beat them because they dominated their perimeter players, they wouldn’t dominate Jordan, Pippen, Stockton, Magic, Bird, Mullin and Drexler. I will say the 2012 collegian Anthony Davis is far superior to Christian Laettner so they have that going for them. I could write 5000 words breaking this down and I think I will…this will likely be my next blog post…stay tuned.
-The USA bested China in the medal count both overall and in golds, Go USA. It really is an unfair fight, when was the last time China won a medal in Track and Field…on second thought they have badminton and ping pong (I know they call it table tennis) so we won fair and square.
-Speaking of badminton and ping pong let’s talk about other events to eliminate from the Olympics. Badminton for sure because they will never recover from the tanking scandal that rocked the 2012 Games.
-Equestrian (Especially Dressage): It’s one thing when the horses are jumping over things but seriously dressage? Either give the medals to the horses or stop the whole thing.
-Synchronized Diving/Swimming: These go together because asking two people to do the same thing at the same time and then judging whether they did it better together then two other people is not a sport.
-Speed Walking: How is running slowly an Olympic event?
-Fencing: Even in slow motion I missed it.
-Tennis: It is actually a sport but how are the Olympics different than the pro tours. Murray vs. Federer at Wimbledon, we just had that match…at Wimbledon…and I’m not just saying this because the best male tennis player American can send is Andy Roddick, we are actually good on the women’s side and actually won gold medals.
-Shooting and Archery: 10 meter air rifle is Olympic event, really, and when a blind guy sets the world record in Archery I question the competitiveness of the sport.
-Boxing: I know it’s blasphemy to suggest we get rid of the sport of Muhammad Ali but it’s a dying sport and we should just let it go.
-Rowing/Canoeing/ Kayaking: I must be missing something because I don’t get the appeal. Kayaking down the rapids looks fun but I don’t see the appeal of watching people do it.
-Cycling: 1. We already have the Tour de France and 2. It’s just a matter of time before we have to strip the medals from the winners for doping…oh wait that’s the Tour de France…no this is the Tour de France, wait no it’s the Olympics…okay you can keep the Velodrome.
-Sailing: To quote Aaron Sorkin’s SportsNite “All you need is a million dollars and a dream”.
And lastly the sport that we not only shouldn’t cut from the Olympic Games but should get way more air time…Handball…coolest sport no one talks about.
Hawkeye Football
I went to the open practice on Saturday to watch the Hawkeyes in person, no earth shattering news to report but here are a few quick hits.
-Greg Garmon and Barkley Hill were banged up so they didn’t practice, completely disappointing seeing as they were the main thing I wanted to see in person.
-Many other guys didn’t practice due to “bumps and bruises” including FB/RB Brad Rogers and WR Reese Fleming, needless to say the offense had its struggles during the scrimmage.
-Mark Weisman got a lot of work at FB with Rogers out and he looked pretty good, he did drop a pass down the sidelines during 11-on-11 drills that hit him in the hands but it was a good 25 yards down field so as long as the deep pass to the fullback isn’t a large part of Greg Davis’s offense he should be okay.
-Some freshmen pass the eyeball test; WR Tevaun Smith, DT Jaleel Johnson and LB Nate Meier look physically ready to play at this level.
-True freshman safety Ruben Lile tore his ACL at some point last week and was in a full leg brace, too bad because even though I wasn’t expecting him to contribute at safety this year he could have been helpful on special teams.
-Tom Donatell started the scrimmage at SS but Nico Law rotated in, looks like there could be some competition there.
-I’ve read some stuff about the offense being behind the defense, no kidding, the defense has a “new” coordinator but he isn’t exactly new. The defense is running pretty much the same thing they have been running for 13 years, the offense is actually changing things up. The good news is James Vandenberg looked his best in the 2-minute hurry-up offense and Greg Davis has said he intends to use a more up-tempo offense and unlike Ken O’Keefe saying something similar last year after the Pitt game (and then never doing it) I actually believe Davis (I never believed O’Keefe).
-Damon Bullock is a different kind of back than Iowa is used to, he’s not bad just different.
-Don Shumpert looked like he might actually be able to handle being our 3rd WR but so did Tevaun Smith and Fleming didn’t practice so I don’t think anything is settled behind the starters at WR.
-Nolan MacMillan broke his hand and is out for a little while, this kid can’t catch a break (no pun intended) you can set your watch by this kid’s injuries.
-Two quick updates on position changes that have occurred; true freshman Faith Ekakitie has moved from DE to DT and fellow freshman Nate Meier has moved from RB to LB.
-Nothing at this practice wowed me and that’s pretty normal. I’ve been to a lot of spring games and open practices at Iowa over the past 15 years and honestly the only time I remember seeing someone do something unbelievable was the year they moved Dallas Clark from LB to TE and he lit up the spring game, truly an astonishing performance in a scrimmage.
The Dwight Howard Saga Ends
Our long national nightmare is over; Dwight Howard has finally been traded. Two things make me happy about this trade; 1. It finally happened so we can stop talking about it and 2. It puts a really big roadblock in the way of the LeBron James Miami Heat train. The Heat’s two biggest weaknesses are their point guards and centers and the Lakers just added Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Somehow the Lakers traded the second best center in the NBA and got the best center in the NBA. The last time they did something like this they traded the second best Gasol brother and got the best Gasol brother, then they won two titles. Kobe just got his chance to pass Jordan’s 6 titles, Nash just got his shot to play with two of the best big men in the league, Howard just got his chance to play with the best point guard possible for him, Gasol gets to stay with the Lakers and actually play with a center that might make him better and Lakers just got a guy who can help their current star (Kobe) win now and be the centerpiece of the team over the next decade as Kobe walks away. The Magic got Aaron Afflalo and Al Harrington. No, I can’t figure it out either.
The Honey Badger got booted
LSU CB/KR Tyrann Mathieu got kicked off the team reportedly for failing another drug test. I only mention this because he was a Heisman finalist last year and I’m glad he won’t be playing for LSU this year because I hate his nickname “the honey badger”. I think it’s stupid and I hate that commentators call him that non-stop during games. It’s almost as annoying as when John David Booty was the QB for USC and they called him by all three of his names constantly even though most people just called him JD. They didn’t call him Booty or JD it was John David Booty repeatedly, over and over again. Luckily JD Booty never made it big in the NFL so that nightmare ended for me when he graduated. At least now I get a year off from Mathieu’s Honey Badger moniker and he isn’t a great cover corner and he’s kind of small so I can hope that if he does make the NFL he isn’t a star and they use his actual name.
Until next time
Nate
The Hott Read 
If i remember correctly Mark Weisman (FB) is from Buffalo Grove, IL. So if he dropped a pass I’m sure it wasn’t his fault. And Nate where is some love for the White Sox? It’s the middle of August and they are still in first place! I know Detroit is going to catch them, and I know the Pirates/Reds/Nationals are getting much deserved air time, but all you have to do is make the playoffs and then who knows what can happen?
alright, not a fan of Seacrest either, but he did do some good pieces about athlete’s training and stuff. Not a fan of the social media reports or other BS, but I’ll give credit where credit is due.