A Big Day in Sports

January 10th, 2012 | By Lee | 3 Comments »

If you love global sports then yesterday was a hell of a day. A new national champion was crowned in American college football. Major League Baseball added a new Hall of Famer. FIFA gave out its annual awards and in North London a guy named Thierry Henry made a historic and triumphant comeback for Arsenal. Now you may or may not care about all of these events but I love sports and I wanted to give my quick take on these events. I will pare down my Hall of Fame vote and BCS playoff rant as I could write 10,000 words on that alone but here we go.
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Tebow 3:16

January 9th, 2012 | By Lee | 10 Comments »

po•lar•ize [poh-luh-rahyz] verb, -ized, -iz•ing.
1. to cause polarization
2. to divide into sharply opposing factions

The most polarizing athlete I have ever seen is Tim Tebow. For those who are not American or live under a rock, he is the second year Quarterback of the Denver Broncos, an American football team. He is the wildly controversial and exciting player that has America scratching their heads after an incredible season where he has been the talk of the league all year. The head scratching results from a season of inexplicable last second and overtime victories that were both improbable and unbelievable. Tebowmania, as it’s being called, has gripped America. Love him or hate him, you can’t help but watch and go one way or the other. He is currently the most polarizing man in America and truthfully the most polarizing athlete I have ever seen, anywhere.
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The Worst of Soccer

April 28th, 2011 | By Lee | 5 Comments »

I am headed to Southern California this afternoon for a few days on my way to Perth, Australia to get my next trip started to 8 new TCC destinations; Christmas Island, Cocos Island; Tasmania, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, Chatham Islands, Cook Islands and Niue. I will have intermittent stops in Singapore, Perth, Sydney, Auckland and either Wellington or Christchurch. I still have several details to work out. That aside, I felt obligated to write a short take on yesterday’s awful Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Real Madrid because it was the ugliest and possibly the worst game I have ever seen, although I was quite happy with the result.
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The Barry Bonds Trial

April 14th, 2011 | By Lee | 9 Comments »

In lieu of the verdict on the Barry Bonds perjury trial yesterday I feel like going off for a little bit on the trial, the witch hunt, steroids, the state of baseball and the potential for the Hall of Fame for all these tainted players. As a huge die hard baseball fanatic, I am so disheartened by all of this, by how it has unfolded and feel even angrier and more disenchanted by the ridiculous verdict that was announced yesterday and solved absolutely nothing. However, it allegedly cost some $20 million of our tax dollars which in these times is even more annoying, and the government is apparently mulling over seeking a retrial on the three deadlocked charges which would cost them millions more. This story and the underlying steroid issue will not go away and as long as these guys are coming up for the Hall of Fame…it will not go away.
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El Clásico x 4!!!

April 13th, 2011 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

In my opinion this is the best time of the year for sports because we just had the Masters and the NCAA basketball tournament and baseball has finally started. The NBA and NHL are heading into 2 months of playoffs, the European soccer leagues are coming down to crunch time and the Champions League is reduced to 4 teams. Two of those teams are the two most compelling rivals in the sports world in my opinion…well maybe after the Yankees and Red Sox! Assuming Real Madrid holds on against a feisty Tottenham squad later today, they will join arch rivals Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League where they will square off twice. Additionally, they play a critical La Liga match Saturday and the final of the Copa Del Rey all within 18 days. That means we get 4 “El Clasicos”, perhaps the best rivalry in global sports.
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Brazilian Great Ronaldo Retires

February 14th, 2011 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

Brazilian striker Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima better known simply as Ronaldo is retiring from global football or soccer today. He is widely regarded as one of the top players of all time and in my view he is one of the 4-5 best players ever. The three time FIFA World Player of the Year winner, 2 time World Cup winner and the World Cup’s all time leading goal scorer with 15 was the main inspiration for me getting into soccer in the first place. When I lived in Europe in 1998, right after the World Cup in France, he was the best player on the planet and he was really fun to watch. Unfortunately, injuries and weight issues stopped him from being even more highly considered as the greatest player ever but make no mistake, Ronaldo was great and soccer will miss his bravado, skill and charisma.
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Indian Wells Masters Tennis

March 21st, 2010 | By Lee | 4 Comments »

I am a huge tennis fan and have always watched the Indian Wells Masters tournament since I can remember. However, I never really knew where it was except that it was somewhere in California. So last year when I came out to Arizona I was looking at a map to see what was around. I noticed Indian Wells just next to Palm Springs in the California Desert. At that moment I said to myself, I am definitely going to Indian Wells for this years tournament and that’s just what I did. After a long 5 hour ride along the I-10 from Phoenix that included a traffic fatality that stopped traffic for an hour, 40 miles back, and brought in three helicopters, I arrived in Palm Springs.
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The Phoenix Open

February 28th, 2010 | By Lee | 7 Comments »

The Phoenix Open is hands down the coolest golf tournament in the world. If you’ve ever been to a golf tournament, just throw all your boring preconceptions, misconceptions and thoughts out because the Phoenix Open is unlike any other tournament you’ve ever been to. It’s a huge party and golf is the last thing on peoples’ minds. Like usual in Scottsdale, it is a scene more like a meat market where it seems more that people are going out to night clubs than to a PGA golf tournament. The par 3 16th hole is the most notorious in golf as there is stadium built around it where people of varying degrees of intoxication are actually allowed to yell and boo at the players. Of course this depends on whether they hit the green or not but it is truly amazing; especially if you’ve been to other tournaments where golf certainly comes first and people aren’t allowed to make noise-hence the term “golf clap”. The Phoenix Open is the best thing that Phoenix has to offer in my opinion and an event that when I eventually do leave Phoenix, I may still come to every year. Happy Gilmore would love it!
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The South Africa 2010 Draw

December 4th, 2009 | By Lee | 8 Comments »

After today’s World Cup draw there are many interesting match-ups to look forward to in South Africa this summer. The US has an incredibly favorable draw as does Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Brazil has a difficult draw as does Argentina, Portugal and the Ivory Coast. I will go through each group and break down what I think is going to happen and which 16 teams will advance to the knock out stage of the World Cup which is only 6 short months away. And the answer to the question I have been asked at least 10 times today is, No I am not going to this World Cup. I will be in South Africa in January and twice in 6 months is too many times to do that grueling flight to Johannesburg from the US. So enjoy my thoughts and let me know yours.
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The Best Time of Year For Sports

September 2nd, 2009 | By Lee | 14 Comments »

Now that I am back in the States for a while, I can actually relax and watch some sports right in time for the best part of year sports year. September and October has the baseball final weeks and World Series. The US Open has just begun and college and pro football start within the next two weeks. Hockey is only a few weeks away and the European soccer season is in full swing. It’s like a sports heaven for me and by the time the World Series ends, college basketball is just around the corner. However, right now I am focused on the US Open and baseball.
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