My first post was entitled, Family, Sports, and Memories and I wrote about my most vivid memory of my dad which involved the previous Yankee Stadium, so it is fitting that my last post for 2010 focus on Mr. Steinbrenner a.k.a. "The Boss." Steinbrenner suffered a major heart attack and died in Tampa, FL at the age of 80. The sports world lost a major icon that I don't believe we will ever see again.
Steinbrenner was a key reason why the Yankees were so successful. Under his 37-year command, the Yankees won 7 World Series titles and 11 penants. Those championships which brought a lot of smiles to Yankee fans including my dad and I am sure many tears to the Boston Red Sox fans. Okay, so they beat us once. The Yankees still have 27 World Championship banners and rings!
Instead of writing a sentimental post six months after the death of "The Boss," I will share a photo that I think embodies his personality and legacy.
Since I created my blog in September, the majority of my posts have focused on the National Football League but it if you read my first post and About Me then you know my love of sports goes beyond the football field. I dedicate this post to two of my favorite teams!
#1: Knicks Sign Amare Stoudemire
The New York Knicks like most NBA teams were after Lebron James and made every effort to convince him to join the team. Well, everyone knows he went to Miami. The Knicks made their move and signed former Phoenix Suns Amare Stoudemire to a five year deal worth close to $100 million. He has helped the Knicks become relevant with his MVP style play. He has been named the Eastern Conference player of the month and set a new NY Knicks record with 8 straight games of scoring 30+ points. By the way, the Knicks who haven't been in the playoffs since 2003-2004 are currently in 5th place and the Garden is rocking again with chants of "Defense."
#2 Jets Three Comeback Wins
The New York Jets were down 20-10 with 4:26 to play in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Lions. There was a lot of curing and yelling going on. Don't worry, I followed my own advice on how to watch a game with a sports fan. My heart was racing, the butterflies in my stomach were going at warp speed, and the pacing began. Then the magic happened! The Jets score twice to tie the game, force overtime, and win it with a 30-yard Nick Folk field goal.
"I want to apologize to all the Jets fans for affecting the heart a little bit," coach Rex Ryan said.
The Jets do raise my blood pressure! Coach Ryan was preparing us for the next comeback wins against the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans. In case you missed it, Santonio Holmes caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez with 10 seconds left to win 30-27 over the Houston Texan. Oh yeah and he ran a 37-yard touchdown pass from Mark Sanchez with 16 seconds left against the Browns!
On Monday, October 13th the National Football League announced that former Victoria's Secrets and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, Marisa Miller would be this season's spokeswoman. What a coincidence! The announcement coincided with the arrival Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings for a Monday Night Football game against the New York Jets. We all know about the Favre scandal! I didn't write about Miller's role because I wanted to see how the NFL would "leverage" this new partnership. To date, her main responsibilities included the hosting the NFL International Series game between the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos in London and a few very sexy ads. So the NFL isn't utilizing Miller's passion for football. She is a huge Niners fan and is no rookie to being a spokesperson. In fact, she was the first spokesperson for Harley Davidson man or woman.
Miller seems to have a good business sense and has branched out of the modeling world with the creation of her shoe line with Vans in 2008. That same year, Miller starred in a viral video on YouTube with All Star baseball player Ryan Braun for Remington's ShortCut hair clippers and, in 2010, she designed and released a paddle board line aimed at female riders.
Miller was smart enough to understand that she needed a career beyond the runway and she did it. That's why I am so disappointed that her role with the NFL is more of a pretty-face model than an educated sports fan promoting the sport she loves. I am sure that some NFL executive thought the Miller hiring would be a "wag the dog" opportunity. Note to NFL: This move was more of a turnover than a touchdown.
Whenever there is a scandal in the sports world, I always say the same thing, "What the hell was he or she thinking?" and then I shake my head a.k.a SMH in the texting world. As I look back at the year in New York sports, I immediately thought of the following five "Shaking My Head" moments:
K-Rod Punches His Father-in-Law
In August, New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez was arrested after punching his girlfriend's father in the teams clubhouse. According to Fox Sports, the assault left, Mr. Carlos Pena with facial bruises and other injuries. Why would a 28 year-old punch a 62 year-old man in the face? I don't care what Pena said to K-Rod. Besides why would K-Rod jeopardize his three-year, $37 million contract with the New York Mets. Shaking My Head!
Favre Shows His Little Quarterback
I dedicated an entire post to the Favre's scandal entitled, Here We Go Again and the league has still not decided on whether or not Favre is guilty of misconduct. They have voicemails from him to Jennifer Sterger as well as photos of his "little quarterback." What else does the National Football League (NFL) need in order to discipline Favre! At this point, I am starting to believe that the league is waiting for him to retire, so then don't have to deal with this scandal. Maybe I should add the NFL to the this list. Shaking My Head!
Samuels Busted of Placing Bets Through Gambling Ring
Charlie Samuels spent 27+ years with the New York Mets and he threw it all away for a gambling ring. According the to the New York Daily News, Samuels was caught on tape placing bets that is allegedly run by the mob. Rightfully so, the Mets suspended him without pay during the investigation and the only positive aspect of this story is that Samuels took accountability for his actions. He admitted his involvement if the betting scandal but I am still Shaking My Head!
Oh, Edwards. No Bueno! (No Good)
At the start of the NY Jets season, wide receiver, Braylon Edwards got pulled over and arrested for a DWI at 4:45 a.m. Edwards, who was driving teammates D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Vernon Gholston after leaving fellow wide receiver, Jericho Cotchery's benefit in Manhattan. What's frustrating about this is that it could have been avoided. The Jets have a Player Protect” program, a 24-hour security and driving service they players can use any time and free of charge within the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. Don't tell me that nobody had a cell to make the call. Shaking My Head!
P.S. What was your SMH moment in sports this year?
A few weeks ago, Steffen, my husband, turned to me and said, "So, my mom is getting us a television for Christmas." My immediate reaction was "Why? We already have a 36" television in the living room and a 32" in the bedroom." Honestly, at that point, there was nothing I could say because his smile started in NYC and ended in Australia. Steffen researched televisions like an overachiever studies for a final and the following Saturday my mother-in-law, Steffen, and I walked into Sam's Club. We were in the electronics section for at least 45 minutes and, at one point, I giggled when Steffen walked over to a 55" television because it would look like a movie screen in our living room. We finally settled on a 47" Vizio Razor LED LCD HDTV television and let me just state that I am so happy that I let Steffen's excitement convince me to stop protesting the gift. This was the best gift and, if you know any sports fans, for them as well.
Unfortunately, the first game we watched on our new television was the NY Jets vs. New England Patriots Monday night game, which my beloved Jets got their behinds tossed from one end of the Gillette Stadium to the other. It was terrible to watch them lose with such clarity. On the flip side, it is amazing to watch my teams win! The NY Jets won a nail biter, stomach ache inducing game against the Pittsburgh Steelers today. A NY Jets win never looked so good. Before losing to the Miami HEAT and Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks were riding a 7-game winning streak. As we watched the New York Knicks run fast breaks, rebound, and dunk, it felt like we were at the game. The colors are vivid and the clarity is amazing! You can see the finest details including the beads of sweat from the players' foreheads standing on the free-throw line. The defense looked crisper, the players seemed to run faster, and the crowd was louder than ever. Never mind. That was us pumping up the volume. Next gift on the list is Bose Home Theater Sound System. I am not sure which system but I am sure Steffen will do his homework.
President Obama leaving Fort McNair after getting an elbow to the mouth.
On Friday, November 26, President Obama received an inadvertent elbow to his upper lip from Rey Decerega, director of programs for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute during a basketball game at Fort McNair that required 12 stitches. As soon I heard about it, I thought about what might haven gone through Decerega's mind immediately following the incident. My guess is "Oh, sh#t! I hope I don't get jumped by the Secret Service" but we may never know for sure. In case you are wondering, Decerega walked away unharmed but I am sure he doesn't like being "the guy that elbowed the President." If it was a regular pick up game between friends, this would not make the news. When that pick up game involves the President of the United States, it is breaking news. I feel bad for Decerega. As I researched background for this post, I searched by Decerega's name. Interestingly, the first 12 results included images of President Obama holding a napkin to his lip and headlines such as "White House Identified Player Who Injured Obama." It must suck to be that identified player even if President Obama was cool about it and the Secret Secret did not kick his @ss.
President Obama received the stitches under local anesthesia in the doctor's office on the ground floor of the White House. According to ABC News, the White House Medical Unit used a smaller filament that requires more stitches but makes them tighter which will result in a smaller scar. Well, at least President Obama still has his teeth and Decerega doesn't have a staph infection. Recently, Wilson Chandler from the NY Knicks lost his tooth by an elbow from former teammate and current Golden State Warrior, David Lee. The crazy part of this is that Lee got the worst of the incident. He missed 8 games with a very serious staph infection.
President Obama, like Chandler, was back on the court just two days after catching an elbow in the mouth but I wonder how long it will take for Decerega to step in the paint.
By the way, what other president has been injured while playing sport?
Oprah is all about helping people live their best lives and CBS National Football League color commentator, WFAN radio morning host, and former New York Jets quarterback (okay, he began his career with the Cincinnati Bengals), Boomer Esiason, is doing the same. He is leveraging his celebrity status to help raise money to find a cure for cystic fibrosis, a disease of the respiratory and digestive systems. Why? In 1993 Boomer's son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with the disease. Instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for his son, Boomer created The Boomer Esiason Foundation to help fund research to find a cure.
Gunnar and his dad Boomer on the cover
of Sports Illustrated.
According to the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation, approximately 30,000 people in the United States have cystic fibrosis. Additionally, 10 million more are carriers of the defective CF gene, but do not have the disease. In case you are wondering, that equates to about 1 in every 31 Americans. The life expectancy for cystic fibrosis suffers was less than 20 years but there is significant progress. Thanks to Boomer's foundation, that number almost doubled over the past 10 years. To date, Boomer's foundation has raised over $80 million through a variety of charity events including golf tournaments to holiday shopping. Most recently, the NYC marathon included Team Boomer, a group of 120 athletes who helped raised $500k for his foundation. Go Team!! During a CBS interview, I was impressed with one particular athlete, Hayli Hodson. Hodson, who suffers from cyctic fibrosis, discussed her year long training and despite a few setbacks, managed to make it marathon day. Yes, I cried and not because I felt sorry for her but because she was so mature and matter of fact about living with the disease. The day I saw the interview, I was stressed over something (can't remember now) and watching this young woman speak to eloquently, made me feel stupid. We tend to stress over superficial things when we all should be appreciating life!
Gunnar, now 19, is a freshman in Boston College and also inspiring! In a joint interview with his dad, Gunnar discussed his life as a CF sufferer and his daily two hour treatment, which consists of clearing his lungs using a nebulizer and special vibrating vest that helps loosen excess chest mucus.
Father and Son
There are many athletes who use their celebrity status to help those in need instead of getting them into the latest hot spot and that, by far, is proving to be the ULTIMATE team player! This story would get a big "Love That" stamp of approval from Oprah.
By the way, do you know of any other celebrity foundation?
