Ever.

As I'm getting pumped up for the Michigan-OSU game this evening, a clip from the better times, when Michigan was not having it's worst season in its entire history, but rather going undefeated to win the national championship with Charles Woodson winning the heisman, and along the way making the greatest. interception. ever.

He was throwing the ball away. He was just trying to throw the ball away like smart QB.

Did something happen this week in the world of baseball?

Reading about baseball is even more tortuous than watching it, but I've seen a lot of photos on the sports sites.

Now, if only hockey would end and we can consolidate the sports media on the sports that are interesting.

Point Taken

The Editors, a big NFL/Patriots fan, lets loose.

Football From the Eastside

That's one of the phrases of Dresden's American Football Team, the Dresden Monarchs. I went to check out a game for the first time a couple weeks ago (they had an offer that week where anybody named Alex got into the game for free. I went with a friend of mine, also named Alex), and then again last Saturday (with yet a different Alex by coincidence). I got in free the second time as well as Andy had free tickets because a physicist in his lab is on the team. For real.

It's actually pretty fun. It kind of reminds me of high school football. Mostly because there's a crowd of about 1000, and the skill level is such that there are more mistakes, leading to more big plays, unusual plays, exciting plays. For example, in the two games I've been to I've seen two (successful) fake punts, two blocked field goals, a 70yd TD rush, and about 3 missed PATs.

Dresden is in the 'German Football League' - the top league for American football in Germany. It is comprised of 12 teams in two divisions. The top 8 make the playoffs. Both games I've been to have been actually very exciting and close games. In the most recent Dresden had to win - and win by 6 points - in order to make the playoffs. The were competing with Hamburg, the team they were playing, for the last spot. Dresden was up only 5 late in the game, but in the last minutes managed a field goal to get to the playoffs.

The crowd is, well, strange. I can say for sure that for 1000 people they make alot of noise. You get the feeling that everybody really wants to be there (In fact the last game overlapped with a home game for Dresden's football(soccer) team Dynamo Dresden, and I doubt any of the fans were torn away). But the atmosphere is a little strange. For one, there is a guy walking the sideline, like an announcer with a wireless mic, basically mc'ing the whole game. The WHOLE game. He never shuts up. But in a way he is essential because he often explains what is going on on the field for the crowd. One thing I realized moving to Germany is that American football is an incredibly complicated game. The types of plays, number of players, positions, rules, penalties - they add up and ADD up, and when you're trying to explain the game to somebody while watching it's almost hopeless. Sometimes when a penalty came up the played a prerecorded explanation of the penalty over the loud speakers. So while the crowd knows the basics, the MC kind of helps with the strategy and situations. And he lets them know when to cheer. I found myself jumping out of my seat cheering when the ref signaled for a running into the kicker foul against the away team - all by myself. The crowd waited for the MC to explain......".....erster Versuch für Dresden!" (first down). Similarly, the crowd cheers great offensive plays, but not defensive plays. I also found my self jumping out of my seat on sacks, while the crowd seemed to just be waiting for offense. The guy is also funny because he would essentially be taunting the other team. "And what a terrible punt by the Hamburg kicker!!"

To complete the American atmosphere, they even have cheerleaders in high-school type outfits, they sell actual hamburgers and hot dogs along with the bratwurst, and sell t-shirts that say (in English) "Football is Sex, Baby." Yeah, that last one kinda missed.

Badass of the week

Jason Lezak.

You're in the Olympics. You're anchoring the 400m relay. You're an American, and your biggest competition, the French, have been talking shit about how they are going to crush you.
You're trailing by half a length with 100m to go, with 50m to go, with 25 m to go....and then you just decide to kick ass and win, recording the fastest split of ALL TIME.

I can't find an online video of this. I saw it on TV even after I read about it, and then with German commentary, it and still brought tears to the eyes. It sounded something like this
coming down the last 50 meters:
"Da kann nichts mehr passiert. Da kann nichts mehr passiert. Vielleicht doch. VIELLEICHT DOCH!
LEZAK KOMMT. LEZAK KOMMT!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Update:
Link to the video (hat tip Vineeth):

Sports?!

When I started this blog I thought a good 25-30% of the posts would be sports-related, maybe as an outlet for my lack of ability to watch American sports over here and my even greater lack of ability to talk about American sports over here, even with Americans. But there's been close to none. So here's a rare sports-related one.

Who would've ever dreamed things like this would one day be happening?
Real NBA talent choosing to leave the NBA to play in Europe.
And actually getting offers the NBA can't match. Completely unbelievable 20 years ago, and actually still is to me. I had no idea this ever happened EVER. but 7 times this year already?

I think it's great in one sense. That the game is becoming so global, even at the highest, professional level. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising having watched the USA teams world performances recently: yes, they can play the game over here.

On the other hand, don't players in the NBA get paid ridiculously large amounts of money already that we don't really need even more market competition driving these salaries up?
It'll be great when players start actually transferring between American and European teams for similar salaries, or even pulled away for less.
And then perhaps one day there will be a real basketball "world championship", playoffs from teams in leagues around the world. And not the NBA's self titled "world championship".
I wonder if the NBA will slow down on their campaign to bring basketball to the world, now seeing they may have some competition, or try to get into the action abroad, like the NFL's ill-fated "World League/NFL Europe/NFL Europa"

Not boding well for my future sports entertainment

There are really three things I think I miss most about not living in the USA: Stores open late and on Sundays; having a car; and watching American sports, particularly college basketball and football. Fortunately the last has been alleviated quite a bit by a TV channel I get called NASN - North American Sports Network. Each year their programming has been getting better, and I've even been able to watch my favorite teams play basketball several times this year. But when they have a poll like this on their site it worries me.

Over FOUR times as many people are looking forward to the Stanley Cup playoffs than March Madness?!?! wtf? March Madness, which refers to the college basketball conference tournaments and then the national, 65-team tournament over 3 weekends to decide the national champion, is in my opinion the most exciting time in American sports. Okay, fine, I can see some people excited about hockey playoffs, but FOUR times as many? And more NASN viewers would rather watch spring training than march madness.
spring.
training.
If they start showing preseason baseball games over college basketball tournament championships I don't know what I'll do.

Cuts!

Collided heads in basketball tonight and somehow it opened up a one and a half inch cut on my forehead. No stitches, though, they put it back together with hot glue.



I had it coming, though, the last 2 collisions I had sent the other guy to the ER.

Dresden vs. Genital Herpes

Today as I glanced at the standings and games for Dresden's top soccer club, "Dynamo Dresden", I noticed they are scheduled to play Hamburger Sport Verein II, or, as shown in the standings on the left, HSV II

Following Dresden soccer is actually quite sad, they are in the 3rd German league and hoping to stay there. I can't get into soccer unless I have a team with a reason to root for, and Dresden is just not good enough. They don't even get on TV. When I got here they were 2nd league, which was reasonable. But now. eh. I can follow the game live online. Hopefully they will pull it out against Herpes Simplex Virus II.

Two of the Greatest Things with Two of the Worst Names

Ultimate Frisbee and Fantasy Football

I will never get used to these names. At least in Europe the soccer version of fantasy football is called "football manager". What's worse is when people just use the first word. "Are you gonna play some Ultimate?" "Are you doing Fantasy this year?"

Come to think of it, there's probably not alot of people that enjoy both. Ultimate Frisbee players seem to me to be the kind to have an irrational hate of pro sports and watching sports. While pro football fans seem to be the type to look down on dirty hippies and people that are actually in real-life athletic and competitive.