The End of a Great Career 

A tweeted retirement. Definitely not something that happens frequently. Brian Dawkins, who played most of his career in Philadelphia but ended his career in Denver, announced his retirement a few days ago by tweeting it. I'm not positive if it's happened before, but I think I can say confidently that a player of this magnitude has never retired this way before. It marks the end of a great career for sure. One that was filled with great plays, leadership, and emotion. Dawkins was certainly a great player and leader to watch, because you could tell how much passion he played the game with even as he grew older. As I've mentioned in prior posts, the purity of football has certainly been tainted recent. Clearly players care about what they do, otherwise they wouldn't put their health on the line season after season, but players certainly lack the passion nowadays and are in it for the money. That's what I always liked about Dawkins; every time I watched him, you could see how hard he went on every play and how he always was mentoring his teammates trying to make them better.

Like I said earlier, retiring on twitter is a completely new occurrence to me. I've never seen it done until a few days ago. This goes to show you how truly prominent social media is in profesional athletes' lives. It is the easiest way for athletes to connect with fans and really makes the player to fan interactions easier. Perhaps more players will begin to take after Dawkins and retire through twitter of Facebook. I think personally it would be difficult to make a retirement announcement with only 140 characters, but that's besides the point. You can see the shift of the norm right off the bat in this situation. If this had happened perhaps 5-10 years ago, the player would be laughed at and probably not trusted. But the shift in how people receive their information has allowed for things like this to be taken seriously.  

The NHL Playoffs

So a few posts ago I talked about the NHL playoffs and how each series has been very entertaining so far, especially with all the fights that have been going on. The playoffs continue to entertain as the opening series' start to come to an end.

The Penguins VS Flyers series has been one of the most entertaining so far. The Flyers won the first three games, but in game four, the Penguins answered back with this ridiculous ten goal game to win game four. The Penguins also went on to win game five, so the series is currently tied 3-2. The video above shows the highlights of the game in which the Penguins scored ten goals. 

Besides for the ten goal game by Pittsburgh, most of the games have been close and a few games have gone into overtime. The second game of the Senators VS Rangers series went into overtime, and the video above shows how the game ended. The goal by Kyle Turris above is not only one of the best shots of the playoffs, but also probably one of the best goals of the whole season. It's not the greatest video to see the goal, but Turris shot the puck right over the left shoulder of the goalie. Judging by his reaction, I don't even know if he was expecting the puck to go in, but that just makes the goal and the win that much sweeter.

Now I don't exactly know what happened to Alexander Ovechkin right here. Originally I thought he just got hit really hard on the ice and was just too out of it, but that isn't what happened. I don't really know why he fell, maybe he was just to exhausted to get over the wall. Can't really make fun of the guy though; he's one of the best players in the league. Just goes to show you that the playoffs aren't only entertaining with the fights, overtime, and high scoring; they also have things like this going for them.

Two lacrosse videos in a row, you don't see many lacrosse videos getting too much publicity, but this one and the one from the last post are pretty entertaining.

This is a pretty impressive goal. I'm not trying to say I could ever do this in a game, but as a lacrosse player, you can kind of tell that this was a lucky goal in a way. He went to the cage and got doubled teamed and really should have lost the ball, but the fact that he was able to score after getting himself in that position in the first place is impressive enough. The actual game had a pretty interesting outcome as well. Most of you probably don't really know who the favorites for the Army Navy game is, but Navy was definitely expected to win this one. Army actually came out with the victory though. I feel like lacrosse is the easiest sport to get upset in. By that I mean it's the hardest sport to be the better team in and just show up to play and expect to win. I guess it's just one of those things you'd have to play the sport to understand.


Now I was trying to find a video of a compilation of all the fights between the Rangers and the Flyers in the first round of this years playoffs. Unfortunately, I could not find any good videos of the fights. The series is very very entertaining so far. I heard a stat today, not sure exactly what it was, that said these NHL playoffs already have the most penalty minutes in history. Pretty crazy that something like that is even possible in the first round of the playoffs.
I have lost interest in hockey over the years from when I was younger, but I still do enjoy watching games and especially watching the playoffs. People are talking about changing the rules to reduce the amount of fights in games, but to me, the fighting is what makes hockey so entertaining. Everyone is watching these two guys beat the hell out of each other trying to get his team back into the game. I don't know how it affects the game and what not I guess, or if it ruins the game, but I think the fighting should not only be kept in the game, but should be encouraged.

Two blog posts in one day? Since I didn't post a video in my last entry, I realized I should do another post and get a good video in for all my fans out there. Can't disappoint the fans.

This video is priceless. Classic cocky kid running down the field thinking he's the best out there, doing all his stick tricks that are unimpressive because you never do them in a real game, and then whack, he gets bundled by the goalie. Look at him in the screenshot, just laying there like a life-less body. Sorry that was a little harsh and I was just going on a rant, if you play lacrosse though, I think you would get what I was saying. Back to the video though, I love the goalie's celebration after the hit, goes over to his buddies and made sure he looked good in successfully making that kid look like the clown he is. Good job to whoever this kid is, even though you'll never see this acknowledgement. And just to clear things up, the goalie is wearing all those pads because it's box lacrosse, it's just part of the rules; he has to do it.


Now to talk about this guy, Bobby Pertrino. Head football coach at Arkansas.

He was recently in a motorcycle crash where he was injured pretty bad, as you can see in the picture to the left. Just a regular story at this point, definitely have to feel bad for the guy because he looks like he's in a lot of pain. But then a new development is mad, and Petrino actually had a female riding on the motorcycle with him, which he chose not to report to the police for "the well-being of his family". How is hiding this from the police helping your family? How about you don't cheat on your wife in the first place, Bobby, then you wouldn't have to worry about your wife finding out you're cheating on her in the first place. For you lying and cheating on your wife, I say you got what you deserved, and hopefully you realize that as well and get your act together.

The Unexpected Start

It is not something you see often. As a Mets fan, I can tell you this for certain. The Mets, and their fans, have always been overshadowed compared to their "big brother" the New York Yankees. Since both teams are in the same city, there are always comparisons between the two and tensions between each team's fans. The one World Series Championship for the Mets compared to the Yankees 27 always puts the Mets at a disadvantage when trying to compare the teams. Recently, the Mets have been called a minor league team, and many have thought they shouldn't even be allowed in the league. This year, though, was expected to be a very painful year for the Mets and us, the fans. But, as a surprise to EVERYONE, the Mets have started out 3-0 as the Yankees have started out 0-3. It's great to be able to turn on a game and see the team you are rooting for actually winning consistently. Well, maybe 3 games cannot be considered consistent yet, but it's giving us Mets fans hope for a great season and a fun summer of watching baseball. Maybe even a fun October? Lets not get too ahead of ourselves, I'm sure since I said that now the Mets won't win another game and will finish up with these first 3 wins as their only wins. But hey, it's what you get as a New York sports fan.


Just a side note while we're talking about the Mets, I thought I'd share this picture of my friend.

This is one of my best friends from back home, and no, this photo is not photo shopped. I won't give his name, but he ran on the field at a Mets game this past summer, and for me and my other Met fan friends back home, this was about the most exciting thing about the Mets season last year. For my friend's parents, I wouldn't say it was as enjoyable for them, but now that it's all passed, it's definitely something to look back on and laugh at. Although he won't be joining us this summer to see any games because he received a lifetime ban from Citi-field, I'm sure looking back for him, it was worth it regardless.  

Tebow-mania...of course...
Before getting into what I really want to talk about in this post, lets start off with the best dunk I've seen, probably, all season.

This dunk is absolutely absurd. At one point while in the air, Gerald Green's chest is actually at the same level as the rim. I could watch this dunk over and over again and have it still wow me. Well actually, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I can watch this video a lot of times and still be amazed at the athleticism Green has. This is the sort of dunk you try and do in your back yard while your hoop is down to the 6-foot level, except Gerald Green did it while the rim was 4 feet higher...and in a game...and on national television...a bit more impressive than in a back yard with no pressure.


Next up is the story that was started today and that will absolutely consume sports news until the end of the summer.



The Jets are making their way into the off-season news once again. As a positive, at least, coming from a Jet fan, it isn't Rex Ryan making stupid comments or promises that he hasn't been able to exactly back up these past three years. Now I'm going to say this before I say anything else so that Josh Trachtenberg can't say anything; I respect Tim Tebow as a person and what he can do for a team as a leader. With that being said, though, I think Tim Tebow is a terrible quarterback and I hate that he got credit for the Bronco's success this past year. Although I don't think he is an effective quarterback, since he is on the Jets now, I will hope for the best and root for him to do well for the success of the Jets. This still will not change my opinion on his ability as a quarterback, from what I've seen him display so far, but I will root for him just like any other player on the team. This will be an on-going story that won't end until the next off-season. Any time Sanchez makes a bad throw or has a bad game, there will always be people wanting Tebow to take over. If the Jets are able not let this affect their locker room, this should turn out to be a good move.

The Misconception With Bounties

For this post, I have to break my rule just because this is one of the best dunks of the College Basketball season. I know this video was the top play on Sportscenter, but how can you argue for any other play from this past week? This Minnesota player, Rodney Williams, flat out embarrassed the player on Nebraska. You can see Williams rushing to get the ball because he knew that he would have an easy dunk if he did. He was certainly right. Since the defender tried to get the charge call and didn't even try and play the ball, he set himself up to get dunked on. Although this was an amazing dunk, I do think that the charge should have been called, from what I can see at least. That got me thinking; I don't think I've ever seen a huge dunk like this ever called off by a charge call. I think if the guy goes up and dunks over someone, regardless of if it was a charge or not, they won't get it called against them. 

Now to address, likely, the most talked about story in sports within the past few days. The story being the New Orleans Saints recent accusation of putting bounties on big hits during games and against opposing players. While I agree that the Saints should be fined and punished because they made the situation big enough to get caught, it's still making me angry that former NFL players are acting like they've never done something like it in their careers. 

Here are a few former players talking about their experience

I don't understand how these guys can sit there and lie about this. My guess at least, and I obviously could and may be wrong, is that there isn't a professional defensive player in the NFL who doesn't go out for every game and have on his mind that he wants to hurt someone on the other team. When you play as a defensive player, there is absolutely nothing better than causing pain to another player by way of tackling or hitting them. Now, with that being said, it's a different story to want to go out and injure someone and cause them to leave the game. There is a line that is crossed at one point, and causing someone a severe injury isn't desired, but if it's done through a clean, legal hit, it's still pretty cool. I just don't get why these former players would sit there and lie about what actually goes on in a locker room and in a players head. They are glorifying this situation to a point where it shouldn't be. Now, like I said before, the Saints should be punished for this for allowing the situation to get large enough for people to find out, but people need to know that things like this happen in every locker room from high school to the NFL. 

The "Bad Guy" Image

For this post, I'm going to do things a little differently. I have two videos to be considered "bad plays". The first one is a video of AJ Burnett, a recently traded player to the Pirates from the Yankees, getting hit in the face with a ball at batting practice.

Now Mr. Burnett not only hit himself in the face with a ricocheted ball, but he did so with literally his entire team watching. What kind of practice is this that practically every guy in the organization is watching a pitcher take batting practice. I know from experience that being the only person playing in a drill and having your entire team watching you is slightly embarrassing and nerve-racking enough, but to mess up while doing so? That has to be the worst. But hey, at least he's getting paid millions to hit himself in the face.

Now it's time to talk about LeBron James. Usually he makes spectacular plays that would be considered "top plays", but for this post, I'm going to take it in a different direction. REcently, during the NBA All-Star game, LeBron was given the ball in the final possession of the game. This is a common occurrence, since he is considered one of the best players in the league, but just as common as giving him the ball for a last-second shot is his inability to actually convert in those late game situations.    

Now you need to skip ahead to about 4 minutes to see the play, but basically, Lebron passes up the chance to win the game. BUT his Eastern team gets the ball back for a second chance and the ball goes to LeBron. LeBron still can't get the job done, though, even with this second chance. Now to the point I want to make about LeBron. Ever since he made his "decision" two summers ago, to play down in Miami, everyone has been looking for reasons to hate on LeBron. Whether it's deserved or not, I would expect LeBron not to enjoy this criticism, I get that, but LeBron is also doing NOTHING to help his case against being the "bad guy". LeBron is looking to win back the hearts of all fans, yet he sets himself up for failure by posting idiotic things on social media outlets. This is a great example of athletes using social media networks and putting themselves in a position to say something stupid. Just as Justin Hall had his online "personality" and his "real life" personality, LeBron's real personality is being way overshadowed by stupid decisions made through tweeting or by his "decision", which are all analyzed extra hard by the media. How can LeBron eliminate his bad guy image? Stop complaining and worrying about it and stop giving people reasons to hate you.

Alright. For this post, I want to talk about Jeremy Lin, point guard for the New York Knicks. He has been the talk of the sports world for the past two weeks ever since he started a winning streak for his Knicks. Lin came out of nowhere, and just at the right time. As the Knicks were slumping, Lin finally got his chance to play, and he made the most out of his opportunity to say the least. He started a seven game winning streak for the Knicks that included multiple games with 30+ points. One of the games being the game against the Raptors where Lin hit the game winning three pointer with less than a second left on the clock. (Seen above) This was the height of Lin and the Knicks seven-game run. Lin showed his maturity by slowing down the play, and calling the other stars on the court off so he could take his shot. He made his approach to the hoop and pulled up right in the defender's face and won the Knicks the game.
Now I'm not jumping on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon, because I think there are many other point guards in the league that are better than him, but I am saying how much I was impressed with his ability to not feel the pressures of the game. Now it's too much to make a judgement on how Lin's career will end up like some people are, but it'll be interesting to see if he can keep his level of play high through out the whole season.

The next video is JaVale McGee doing something stupid, as usual. I don't know what he was thinking blocking this shot. The ball was clearly on its way down, and then on top of that, the ball didn't even look like it was close to going in. He tried to block the ball as hard as possible to try and make a statement, but it was just stupid. He could have easily just grabbed the ball and gotten a rebound, but instead, he gave the other team two free points when the ball wasn't even going in. McGee has been making stupid plays since he got in the league, including the ally-oop to himself off the back board as his team was getting blown out. McGee could be a good player in the league with his ability to get to the rim and finish strong, and then his defensive ability, but until he stops making stupid plays that hurt his team, he will continue to hold himself back.

First post on Pros and Joes. I have two good videos to share this week, but first, I'd like to clear up any confusion with my blog. I've been ridiculed for picking this topic recently, especially by Josh Trachtenberg, because people say I'm just going to pick the top play from the Sportscenter Top 10 countdown. Have no fear people, for I can assure all of my followers that I'm not just going to copy Sportscenter. I'm going to use my judgement and pick the play that impresses me the most and if it's the same as Sporscenter's, so be it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjsKSZeVck0

The first video I have is my favorite play of the week not for its flashiness, but because it shows that there is still some heart and desire to do everything you can to win in professional sports. The game between the Canucks and the Avalanche was coming down to the wire, and the Canucks decided to pull their goalie being down by one goal. Kevin Bieksa, the diving Canucks player, dives to save a sure goal on his empty net. His efforts don't stop there, though. He then continues down to the offensive zone and proceeds to score the game-tying goal in regulation. Eventually, in a penalty shootout, Bieksa's team won. This sequence of plays is great because it shows the heart Bieksa has. He single handedly kept his team in the game and then put the team on his back and carried them into Overtime, by scoring and tying the game, where they would eventually win the game. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjsKSZeVck0

Now for the "worst" video I have a clip from the Super Bowl. It's Patriot's Wide Receiver Wes Welker dropping a pass at a critical point of the game. If Welker were to catch the pass, it would have put the Pats in great position to score again and go up by two scores on the Giants with less than four minutes left in the game. Now, what I'd really like to talk about is not Welker dropping the pass. Although I feel like the Patriots probably would have won if Welker had made the catch; I want to address Tom Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen. She said after the game something along the lines of "My husband cant't throw the football and catch it at the same time." Listen, if you're going to rip on your husbands wide receivers, the last one you want to pick a fight with is Wes Welker. The guy has made your husband a much better quarterback since he signed with the Pats after being on the Dolphins, and to be honest, some people feel Wes Welker is more valuable than Brady. Plus, that pass to Welker wasn't the greatest throw ever, he did have to adjust backwards to get to the ball. Moral of the story? If you don't have anything nice to say don't say it? Not exactly...If your husband's receiver drops a pass, but has made your husband exponentially better over the past few years, keep your mouth shut and don't tell him to do his job. Brady and Welker are professionals, they don't need you getting involved in their business.