Crushed Hopes !!

The charm lasted only for a couple of weeks and World Cup hopes for the US got doomed much before the quarter finals. Just when soccer as a sport started gaining momentum in the US, thanks to the American sport media for putting up the hype around the Cup and building hopes, the wussy feeble team of US players couldn’t survive the ferociousness of Ghana and fell apart like a house of cards.

Not that anyone in the world ever hoped of the US to get the Cup to the Country, but at least running a little deeper into the tournament and reaching the quarter finals would have made the sport a little popular amongst the young generation and paved way for us in Brazil four years down the line. None of that could have achieved despite of names like Donovan and Dempsey in the team, and now it’s time to look back and see what and how things could have been any different.

Many people are blaming the USA coach Bob Bradley for the disaster and now he is likely to be replaced by Dominic Kinnear or Steve Nicol, but just putting the blame on him alone can’t bring the tactical efficiencies we badly need nor can it compensate for the stronger team with better goal keepers and defenders.

Once we change our attitude towards the game, everything will fall in place and we can eventually look forward to the World Cup

Technorati Tags: FIFA world cup 2010, soccer, USA

The whole world is gearing up for the FIFA World Cup 20101 starting June 11. The whole world but America, that is.

In the light of this World Cup hoopla all over International press, the first question that comes to an uninitiated mind is why we Americans don’t consider soccer as a ‘real sport’. Is our hatred for the game directly associated with our love for American football or is Soccer really as boring as most Americans believe. Is Soccer anywhere close to what Mike Barnacle of the Boston Globe once described, “A mindless sport where hordes of incomprehensible athletes run aimlessly in a circle until everyone is dehydrated and, finally, some guy uses his skull to score a touchdown.” Or is it just a media imposed attitude to a game proclaimed by the believers of Muscular Christianity as ‘gentleman’s way of amateur sportsmanship’.

Football might be considered more manly, but soccer is no walk in the park either. It’s the ultimate game of skill, fitness, agility and over and above much more fun to play. There are followers of soccer all over the world not only because you get to have more surprises in the game, but it’s also easier to follow soccer rules than the complication of offence and defense in football that only the diehard fans comprehend.

Both in the end are great sports and deserve the same amount of respect. And if we want to accept soccer the same way as the world does, we first need to first change our perception towards the game.

Technorati Tags: FIFA world cup, football, soccer

And how valorously Charlie Wedemeyer fought until the very end can be determined by the fact that he survived the incurable amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig) for 32 years when as per ALS Association, out of the 5,600 people in the US who are diagnosed with ALS each year, only about 20 percent live five years and less than 5 percent live 20 years. It was indeed a long battle for him and his family.

Charlie's final Victory !!

Charlie Wedemeyer has been known to us as much more than a former Los Gatos High football coach or a onetime football star. His passion for life and never say die attitude contagiously brought cheer and joy wherever he went and made him one of the most admired football icons in United States. In his own words, “Pain and suffering are inevitable we all experience it. But misery is an option,….we do get to make that choice.” He said this in 2005 and lived it all his life.

Despite of suffering from ALS since the year 1978, Charlie Wedemeyer continued to coach at Los Gatos High School in California from the confines of his equipped high chair and his wife’s help who became his voice after he could no longer be heard clearly. And under his guidance, they even won the sectional championship.

His life is chronicled in a couple of television films made on him and in the book he wrote, Charlie’s Victory. He was 64 years old.

Technorati Tags: ALS, Charlie Wedemeyer, football coach, Lou Gehrig disease

Perhaps the most media publicized player in this NFL season’s draft pick, Dez Bryant will be thrown at by Tony Romo for the first time when Dallas Cowboys start the organized team activities next week and we will get first hand glimpse of his salt and see if he is worth all the gush and hoopla that surrounds him.

All eyes on Dez Bryant: Will he live up to our expectations?

This rookie receiver has been in the middle of controversies ever since the beginning. First in his draft interviews, he was asked by Miami Dolphins general manager if his mother was a prostitute, which was obviously viewed offensive and objectionable by many of the football lovers. It’s interesting that Dez Bryant was then picked up 24^th overall in the first round by Dallas Cowboys, four spots before the Miami Dolphins at no.28., gathering many superlatives from his team and considered the savior for Dallas Cowboys, especially when it boils down to creating an indispensible offence for Cowboys. Contradictions start soon after though, when in the mini camp we heard whispers on his fitness level, extended sleep hours and a twisted ankle that made it all questionable. Then recently, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s openly talked in his interview on Sirius Radio about his doubts on Bryant’s transition into the league.

Only the upcoming NFL season can tell how this most promising rookie performs in front of all the veterans, until which speculations abound.

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Dez Bryant, football, Jason Garett, NFL, Tony Romo

A question on sexual orientation in a recent pre-draft interview by an NFL official raised many eyebrows and a debate over reforming the list of pre-draft questions itself.

The hidden Gay football players

Cincinnati Bengal’s official asked his prospective draft pick Geno Atkins in the interview if he was straight or gay. Though Federal law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) protects job applicants from answering pre-employment questions that are designed or used to discriminate on the basis of race, national origin and certain other protected categories. It’s interesting to know that sexual orientation is not one amongst them.

Even as we hear rumors and innuendos on many players’ homosexuality once in a while, it’s almost zero to none that we see them coming out publicly. Few in NFL’s history like Esera Tuaolo, David Kopay, Roy Simmons who did eventually come out of the closet couldn’t do that until they stopped playing for their respective teams.

The machismo associated with the game and the built and skills of the professional players doesn’t really bring out the stereotype gay in our minds and hence making it harder for the fans to accept them, let alone their own fear of assaults and insults by their fellow team players and fans alike.

Until we have a more open minded society, their true identities will remain hidden under the shadow of their incredible careers.

Technorati Tags: Esera Tuaolo, football, gays, homosexuality, NFL

The Minnesota Vikings remain hopeful that future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre will return next season to give the franchise another chance to go deep into the playoffs.

Although his official status remains uncertain, Brett Favre has been known announce his plan of a return for the upcoming season just before training camp in each year since he originally announced his retirement from the Green Bay Packers after the 2007 season.  In 2009, Favre, 40, enjoyed what was possibly his most successful season in more than a decade, with the highest quarterback rating in a single season for his career and once again started every game of the season as he has done every year since 1993.

In their wait until Favre’s announcement on his decision to return the Minnesota Vikings re-signed backup quarterback Tavaris Jackson, who finished 2007 with a quarterback rating of 70.8 in 12 starts, and started only five of nine games played in 2008.  Despite possibility of any offseason moves the Vikings could make to compensate for the loss of Favre next season, it is no secret that Favre was a major factor in the Vikings’ success in 2009.  Minnesota finished 2009 with a 12-4 record—their best since 1998—and made their first NFC Conference Championship playoff appearance since 2000.

With the re-signing of Tavaris Jackson being the most significant offseason move for the Vikings thus far, the Vikings have made it rather clear that their plans will be built around their hope that Favre will return once again next season.

Technorati Tags: Favre, Minnesota, return, Vikings

Ryan Leaf, once hoped to be the key to turning around the struggling the San Diego Chargers football franchise, is considered by many today to be the biggest bust in the history of the NFL Draft.

On April 14, former NFL quarterback and second overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, Ryan Leaf was fined $20,000 and sentenced to 10 years probation for eight felony drug charges by an Amarillo, Texas judge—including seven counts of “obtaining a controlled substance” through fraudulent means and one count of “delivery of a controlled substance”—according to the Associated Press.

The drug charges—stemming from allegations that Ryan Leaf presented a number of physicians with an “incomplete medical history” in order to obtain prescription painkillers and, on at least one occasion, attempted to buy a painkiller from a member of the West Texas A&M NCAA football team before resigning as an assistant coach for the team in 2008—are only the latest part of a long and very humbling downfall for Leaf since being selected second overall in the NFL Draft of 1998.

In the 1998 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers—teams both in need of a franchise quarterback at the time—held the first and second overall picks respectively, with both Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf considered the top prospects.  Whether Leaf or Manning was to be selected as the top overall draft pick was then the subject of debate for months leading up to the Draft, however, Leaf is now considered by many to be not only the biggest Draft bust in professional football, but in all of professional sports.  The story of Ryan Leaf, whose lack of maturity and composure early on in his brief NFL career proved to be his undoing, is one for NFL owners and general managers to remember with caution when scouting new prospects—especially with NFL Draft being just around the corner.

Technorati Tags: NFL, NFL Draft, Ryan Leaf

The coincident timing of Ben Roethlisberger's latest off-the-field troubles with the upcoming NFL Draft could signal the end of Roethlisberger's tenure in Pittsburgh.

With the NFL Draft coming up in one week, hype surrounding what could be one of the most important draft picks for the St. Louis Rams franchise has coincided with a high level of speculation in recent days regarding the possibility that the Steelers may be seeking to trade all-pro quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the very near future.

One possible trade scenario in which the Steelers organization has reportedly expressed interest would send Ben Roethlisberger to the Rams in exchange for the top overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, according to columnist Jason La Cantora of NFL.com.  Such a move would presumably result in the acquisition of NCAA standout quarterback Sam Bradford for the Steelers.  Bradford—who passed for 50 touchdowns and a 180.84 QB rating in 14 games in 2008—is considered by some potential suitors to be as promising a prospect as any for a potential franchise quarterback.

Although it was announced on Monday that Ben Roethlisberger would not be charged in his latest case of sexual assault allegations, the consequent climate of tension within the Steelers organization and the coincident timing of Roethlisberger’s off-the-field troubles with the upcoming NFL Draft could create a very real possibility that the Steelers may in fact trade Roethlisberger if they believe Bradford is truly a safer bet for the future of the organization.

Technorati Tags: NFL Draft, Roethlisberger, trade

Despite his enormous level of continued success on the field in Pittsburgh, there is cause for concern among many that some of the behavioral habits of Ben Roethlisberger are contributing to much of his highly publicized troubles off the field.

According to the Associated Press, an official decision is expected to be announced today at 2:00 p.m. ET via press conference by Georgia District Attorney Fred Bright regarding whether Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be criminally charged in a case of an alleged sexual assault at a Milledgeville, Georgia nightclub in early March.

Ben Roethlisberger, who is a two-time Super Bowl winner and 2007 Pro Bowl selection was accused by a 20 year-old female student at a nearby college of a sexual assault in the women’s restroom of Capitol City nightclub in Milledgeville, Georgia.  This latest allegation against Roethlisberger comes as the second of two separate reports within the past year.  In July of 2009, Roethlisberger became the target of a civil lawsuit in which he was accused of raping a female employee of Harrah’s Casino in his hotel room in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Although no official announcement has been made in regards to the latest allegation of sexual assault against Roethlisberger, it is expected that charges will not be filed, according to an April 10, 2010 ESPN report.  There remains a greater level of doubt with regards to the validity of the claims in the first alleged incident, as one co-worker reports that the alleged victim not only boasted about what she claimed was consensual sex with Roethlisberger, but additionally inquired if the co-worker would travel with her to Pittsburgh in the hope of having another chance meeting with Roethlisberger.

Still, there remains a significant deal of cause for concern among those within the Pittsburgh Steelers organization regarding the franchise relationship with Roethlisberger after the latest allegation of sexual assault, despite the enormous level of success he has helped to bring franchise on the field.  As is the case with the pending judicial review, the Steelers organization and the NFL have yet to take action against Roethlisberger; however, the climate in Pittsburgh has begun to take a turn for the worse with regards the local public reception of Roethlisberger after the latest incident.  According to ESPN, local media and fans alike have reacted to the latest allegation with far less skepticism of its validity or sympathy on behalf of Roethlisberger, which poses new questions as to whether his on the field success can continue without remaining tainted in the long run by his troubles off the field.

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger, sexual assault, Steelers

25 year-old quarterback Kevin Kolb will have major shoes to fill in his new starting role in Philadelphia following the trade of Donovan McNabb to Washington.

It has been more than five years since the Philadelphia Eagles were led to within a field goal of a Super Bowl victory on the shoulders of all-pro franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb.  Despite the Eagles’ resolve which allowed the team to bounce back to achieve their best record since the 2004 season, time and chances were set to run out shortly with age and injuries taking their toll on the core players of the Eagles franchise.

Donovan McNabb, 33, was plagued by a number of injuries in the three years following the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl in 2004; spending the final seven games of the Eagles’ disappointing 6-10 season in 2005 on injured reserve, and again sitting out the Eagles’ 27-24 NFC division round playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome in January of 2007.

Although Philadelphia Eagles team officials remained relatively quiet regarding the possibility of a trade involving Donovan McNabb in the days leading up to the recent transaction, the combination of factors involving age and injuries made the likelihood of a trade all but inevitable for a number of analysts—especially with the February 23 release of long time Eagles backfield staple Brian Westbrook after an injury marred 2009 season.

In return for Donovan McNabb, the Eagles will receive a second round pick in this year’s NFL draft from the Washington Redskins, and a pick in the third or fourth round of the 2011 draft.  Immediately following the announcement of the trade came the announcement that Philadelphia’s 25 year-old second string quarterback Kevin Kolb will take over the starting job for the foreseeable future.

While some may view the recent trade of Donovan McNabb as a necessary step at this stage for the franchise to provide a window of new possibilities, it is only reasonable to expect that this adjustment process—as with any—will involve its share of tough times ahead in the coming seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles.  For any successful sports franchise comes a time when it is necessary to reconstruct the foundation upon which the franchise builds its success with new pieces, and for the Philadelphia Eagles, it appears that the possibility of building for any further success upon the foundation of the last half decade was no longer a feasible one.

Technorati Tags: Donovan McNabb, Eagles, Philadelphia, trade