Seventy7Sports

Voting Your All-Stars: Why Its NOT Changing

2011-07-18T13:42:00.004-04:00

Leading up the the recent MLB All Star Game a lot of sports commentators and enthusiasts questioned whether it is the right decision to have fans pick the All Stars. Usually the debate stems from fans voting based on popularity and not on worthiness. Players stuck in small markets easily get overlooked as fanatics from big market teams only vote for players from their favorite team. However, this year leading up the the MLB All Star Game the conversation was about the amount of players who got voted into the game that decided to skip it.

ESPN's Michael Smith suggest on Around the Horn to eliminate fan voting because of the problem of ballplayers skipping the mid summer classic. Instead, MLB, the All Star Game coaches, or a team captain would pick the All Stars. I think it would be a great idea to have a team captain pick the team. We saw the success that team captains had for the Home Run Derby. The participants seemed excited and motivated to be there. Also, a lot of people applauded the NHL All Star game for having team captains pick players from the elected All Stars.

However, MLB and every other league can not get rid of fan voting. Simply because its very cheap and effective publicity. The voting process generates millions of impressions on fans about not only the All Star Game but the league and its sponsors. It drives fans to the league website which helps advertising dollars and raises price of sponsorship deals. To get rid of fan voting would be riding the league of lots of publicity and advertising/sponsorship dollars.

The problem still can not be fully ignored. Too many players skip the All Star Game. There are a few ways to fix this problem. Players that have All Star appearance clauses in their contracts should not receive the benefits the All Star appearance triggers if they skip the game. Simply it will hurt the players in the wallet without fining them. Injured players who can't play but were voted to the team and want their All Star appearance bonus will only receive it if they come to the game for pregame ceremonies. I would also institute team captain like the NHL did and have these captains pick players out of the pool of players that were voted to the game. For this to work in MLB, the league will have to get rid of its rule that states the winning league gets home field advantage. Hopefully this will generate enough excitement to keep players from wanting to skip the game.

Review: Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill

2011-07-10T21:42:00.002-04:00

During the Bruins run to the Stanley Cup, I enjoyed one of the games at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill at Patriot Place in Foxboro, MA. This being a sports blog, I thought it be a good idea to review a sports bar.

Toby Keith's is a great place to watch a big game. The bar is huge and reminds me of a party in a barn. The long length of the bar and its placement right in the middle allows for easy and quick access to the bar. There is tons of space between the walls and the bar. One side has a bunch of tables and the other is free. At first I wondered, “why not put tables here?” However, the openness that it creates adds to the feel of the barn party.

There are plenty of televisions screens everywhere to watch the game. Also, there are two huge projector screen that lower down in front of the stage during games. They had live entertainment during the intermissions and after the game. That really added to the experience because it made it a bit more than just a sports bar.

The selection of draft beers was limited but besides for The Yardhouse at Legacy Place, it was no different than any other bar in the area. Toby Keith's also sells beers in mason jars. The jars added to the southern theme and were hard to resist. The waitstaff seemed nice enough but busy because of the game.

Oh, and the bathrooms were large and clean. Which is always a huge plus.

Overall, Toby Keith's is a great place to enjoy a game. Great space, unusual theme, average selection of beer, lots of television screens, and live entertainment. What else do need? I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Best American Sports Writing 2010

2011-07-09T12:43:00.003-04:00

As a sports blogger I thought it be a good to read The Best American Sports Writing 2010 and I was not disappointed. Peter Gammons, who started his career in Boston, served as guest editor and as a Boston native I was pleased to see many of the stories being about Boston sports. I really enjoy this book series because it offers sports writing from many different perspectives.

The way the book series works is the editor Glenn Stout sorts through hundreds of submissions to picks what he believes are the best. He then sends them to the guest editor who picks around 20 of them to fill about 400 pages in the book. I only wish that the book could be longer because there certainly were pieces that were left out of necessity that should be read.

Here is my list of my favorite four (Bobby Orr) stories. I had trouble picking only four, I could not imagine the trouble Peter Gammons had when Glenn Stout sent him the submissions to pick from.

Shadow Boxing by Wright Thomas. I really enjoyed this story because it was not only a piece of great writing but it gave the reader perspective about a life thats different from ours. The story follows the quest of a writer searching for a man, Jim Robinson, who boxed Muhammad Ali but no one seems to know what happened to Jim after the bout. Wright Thomas shows you the process he takes to find Robinson and his search yields him perspectives he could not have attained any other way.

The Offensive Play by Malcom Gladwell. I loved Blink and Tipping Point, so I was excited to read a piece about sports from Gladwell. Football concussions was a major theme in The Best American Sports Writing 2010 but this one stood out from the others because of the connections it made to the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal. Basically saying that the owners of dogs in dogfighting can be compared to the owners and the commissioner in the NFL who knowingly put their players in danger.

Chasing Jose by Pat Jordan. This gave us insight to the world of the writer dealing with amateur publicists and difficult sports starts trying to get an interview. Pat Jordan wanted to write a piece about Jose Canseco's second book but instead got to write a piece about an impossible athlete and the joke life he was living. This is a good lesson for up and coming publicists: don't unnecessary anger the media that is only trying to help you.

Failing Our Athletes by Bob Hohler. This story sheds light on the sad state of sports in the Boston Public Schools. I played sport in the suburbs of Boston and got every opportunity I wanted. However, kids in BPS have to share jerseys, don't have athletic trainers, and do not even have the facilities to practice in. A must read for any Boston native.

Overall I give the book 4.5/5 stars. If you love sports writing pick this book up.

Blog Hiatus

2011-06-24T14:31:00.000-04:00

I am traveling to Europe and sadly will not be blogging until I get back in mid July.

Ranking the Trophies: Every Kids Dream

2011-06-20T14:54:00.000-04:00

Recently I ranked the seven championship seasons Boston has had over the last decade. This gave me a new idea: ranking the individual North American sport trophies. We all grew up dream about winning a championship and hoisting a trophy. So what trophy did we think would be the coolest to hoist?

1. The Stanley Cup. This is by far the best trophy in the four major North American sports. It has history, it was donated by Lord Stanley in 1892. The trophy even outdates the the NHL. It has the names of everyone that has ever won it. The Stanley Cup is full of character. It has names misspelled, Boston is spelled BQSTQN on the Cup after the Bruins won it in 1972. It has been on the bottom of two pools, it had a child baptized in it, and it has seen more alcoholic beverages than a fraternity house. Which brings me to my next point, The Cup is the only trophy that you can celebrate with. Its a cup, you can drink out of it! One of the best sites of a Stanley Cup celebration is watching the hockey players trying to drink out of the 35 pound cup.

2. The Vince Lombardi Trophy. The reason the Lombardi Trophy gets the higher ranking over the Larry O'Brien trophy is because it has a longer history. The Lombardi Trophy is named after football first real legendary coach, Vince Lombardi. The trophy has existed as long as the Super Bowl has (it was presented as the Lombardi trophy for the first time at Super Bowl V).

3. The Larry O'Brien Trophy. The NBA's second trophy. The first was The Walter A. Brown Trophy which was very similar (almost a rip off) of the Stanley Cup. It was a cup that would change hands after every NBA Finals. Just like the Walter A. Brown Trophy draws similarities to the Stanley Cup, The Larry O'Brien Trophy can be compared to the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Larry O'Brien trophy has become a bigger deal recently in the eyes of fans and players because of a large public relations campaign by the NBA to increase the exposure of the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

4. The Commissioner’s Trophy. Easily the worst one out of the four. It looks so fragile that whenever a player hoists it they are more afraid of breaking it than they are excited to have it. Unlike the other three you can't really hold it over your head and there isn't really a place to kiss it.

That is my ranking. I feel that the Lombardi and Larry O'Brien Trophy are the only two on the list that could switch places.

Boston Sports: A Brotherhood

2011-06-19T15:46:00.001-04:00

The Red Sox game today featured a special event, and no I'm not just talking about Adrain Gonzalez's 1,000 hit, the Boston Bruins were celebrated before the game. The B's had a mini duck tour coming in from the center-field wall and driving around the park before placing the Stanley Cup on the pitchers mound and throwing out a first pitch. It truly is great to see the camaraderie among the Boston Sports.

It is very common for athletes of one team to watch another play. Bill Belichick is a common spectator at Celtics game (all the time during the 2008 NBA Finals Championship). The Celtics also share the TD Garden with the Bruins, athletes as well as team personal frequently watch the other play.

After winning a title in Boston its common place to celebrate by visiting Fenway Park. I remember watching 2002 opening day at Fenway Park and being pleasantly surprised as I saw the Lawyer Milloy come out with the Vince Lombardi. This repeated itself with the two Lombardi, Larry O'Brien, and Stanley Cup trophies following the first Superbowl victory.

This gives Boston an almost college campus feel and not because its home to a 2,356 colleges (might be a a bit of an exaggeration). It remind me of how the college sports will support their counterparts. This makes Boston a special place as each team is cognoscente to the other teams in Boston.

I want a Ring: Not a Bracelet

2011-06-17T14:50:00.003-04:00

Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, wants to change up an old sports tradition. Instead of giving the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks rings, Cuban believes there has been “ring inflation” lately and wants to do something new. The players are not feeling it. “I don't think the last word has been spoken yet. You know he always wants to do something different, wants to do something bigger, but I mean, the ring is just so classic." Said NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki when asked about the idea of getting some different than rings.

Dirk has said the idea would be to do bracelets. I think bracelets would be lame (come on who wears bracelets) and would be too much like the World Series of Poker. So I thought I would come up with a few ideas that would be more acceptable:

1. Mini Larry O'Brien Trophies. It is biggest symbol of winning the championships. Most NBA Championship rings have the Larry O'Brien trophy featured on them. So why not give the players a mini trophy? The only downside would be you can't wear a trophy and half the fun of having a ring is wearing it everywhere you go.

2. A double ring. Mark Cuban wants something bigger than a ring and the players want a ring. So why not give double rings? They'll span two fingers and will be more eye catching than a regular ring. Plus they can feature a lot more bling on them than a regular ring even though the Packers new rings are pretty intense.

3. Championship belts. My favorite idea. Yeah it definitely is a little too WWF (WWE for the new generation) but who didn't dream of always having a championship belt while growing up? A Mavs fan already created a championship belt for his favorite basketball team.

As much as I would love to see championship belts, Cuban has to give his team rings. No one ever talks about winning bracelets, rings, mini trophies. Players and fans want rings.

Ranking the Titles: Embarrassment of Riches

2011-06-16T16:06:00.002-04:00

Boston fans have been spoiled since going a decade and a half without a championship. It all started with the 2001-02 Patriots who seemingly came out of nowhere to win Superbowl 36. Now a decade and six more rings later, Boston has become the ultimate sports city. I thought I would give myself the difficult task of ranking the seven titles. Oh how tough it is being a Boston sports fan.

1. 2008 North America Superliga Championship: The New England Revolution... Just kidding.

1. 2004 World Series: The championship that was 86 years in the making. Red Sox fans from all over New England grew up being prepared for the heartache and suffering that comes along with being a Red Sox fan. We all suffered together as a community as years and decades passed by without a ring. They finally broke through in 2004 against the St. Louis Cardinals. What made it even sweeter was the epic 2004 ALCS when the Red Sox came back from their arch rivals, The New York Yankees.
Why it could have been lower: The actual World Series was boring. It was a four game sweep and they won the series on the road. But, half of Red Sox nation would have had a heart attack if it went seven so it being a boring sweep might've been a good thing.

2. 2002 Superbowl: No one believed in 2001-02 New England Patriots and why should have they? The year before they went 5-11, they started the season 1-3, and lost their star quarterback in the second week. Yet this team was lead by a young Tom Brady through a roller-coaster season that almost ended against the Raiders in the playoffs if it wasn't for the tuck rule. The most important thing about this championship is that it was the first title. It started a dynasty, Tom Brady's legacy, and more importantly a winning culture in Boston.
Why it could have been lower: Out of the four major sports teams in Boston, the Patriots were the one people cared the least for. Obviously the Red Sox have always been beloved and both the Celtics and Bruins had a rich history full of legends such as Russel, Bird, Orr, and Bourque (Seventy7) just to name a few. The Patriots had little history and the fans did not have as much of a connection as they did with the other teams.

3. 2011 Stanley Cup: Bruins fans have watched this team over the last half decade waiting and hoping for them to meet the high expectations of Boston sports. They lost in 07-08 to the rival Canadians in the conference quarterfinals, 08-09 to the Hurricanes in the conference semifinals, and 09-10 lost to Flyers again in the semis and becoming the third hockey team ever to lose a series after winning the first three games. Each of those three loses were game 7s. Fans watched young players grow up such as Bergeron, Lucic, Krecji, Marchand, and Rask (even though we mostly saw him on the bench this season). The Tim Thomas story is something out of a cheesy sports film. It also got higher ratings than the 2008 NBA Finals.
Why it could have been lower: The Bruins have been the bastard step child of Boston sports while the others have made big acquisitions and won championships. After giving a parade to Ray Bourqe when he won with the Avalanche, Boston fans forgot about hockey as the other three Boston teams fought for the spot light. The Bruins barely ever made the front of the Boston sports pages during the 2000s.

4. 2008 NBA Finals: After their worst season in team history in 06-07, Danny Ainge built a Frankenstein team, the 2007-2008 Celtics. They pulled off trades (more like heists after reviewing them) to land Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Then James Posey, Eddie House, PJ Brown, and Sam Cassell all joined the team in hopes for a ring. Thats the main reason its not ranked higher, this wasn't our team, it was more like The Six Million Dollar Man (or in this case the roughly 75 million dollar team).
Why it could have been higher: it completely revitalized the Celtics in the minds of Boston sports fans. The Celtics were the lone successful team Boston had in the 80s (there were none in the 90s). It also quantified Paul Pierce as a Celtic legend and put Rajon Rondo on the map.

5. 2005 Superbowl: This one cemented the dynasty. Gave Tom Brady his third ring and his place in conversation as the best quarterback of all time. This dynasty will be one that will be always remembered by fans and extremely helped the Patriots brand among fans for years and decades to come.
Why it could have been higher: It created a dynasty, can I say more?

6. 2007 World Series: After a 2005 season thats better described as a continuation of the 2004 World Series after party and a boring 2006 season when the Red Sox finished third, The Sox won their second title in the decade. Sadly it was another road sweep. I'll still take it.
Why It could have been higher: It stopped all the talks of 04 being a fluke and shut up Yankee fans from saying we had to wait another 86 years for our next title.

7. 2004 Superbowl. Our second championship in the decade. Like the 07 World Series it showed the nation and even us that the Patriots were no fluke. The game itself was a great defensive battle going into the fourth quarter when there was an offensive explosion. One thing I always find odd about this game is the Panthers copying the Patriots and being introduced as a team.
Why it could've been higher: After giving Boston a taste of winning in 01, the Patriots gave us another championship and a sports team to be truly proud of.

Let me know what you guys think. Just remember one thing, when ranking these seven titles over the past decade, there is no wrong answers. If only the 2008 Superbowl wasn't canceled, we would've had eight.

Bruins at Canucks Game 7 Live Blog Starts at 8

2011-06-15T15:27:00.000-04:00

Bruins at Canucks Game 7 starts at 8

The Boston Bruins Missed Opportunities: No Viewing Party

2011-06-15T12:00:00.001-04:00

The puck has not even dropped to start game 7 and the Bruins have already missed an opportunity. The team will not be offering their fans a viewing party at the TD Banknorth Garden tonight citing “fan safety” as the main concern.

I don't see why fan safety is a concern here in Boston when Vancouver had a viewing party for game 6 and the Mavericks had a viewing party for when they won the NBA Finals a few days ago. How would fan safety be any different if the Bruins were playing game 7 at home and won the title?

The Bruins should be doing everything they can to capitalize on the exposure and fan support they are receiving. Over the last decade the Bruins have been buried in the sports pages as their counterparts, the Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics have won titles and made big free agent splashes. Besides for this years great run, B's fans have had little to cheer about. Previous playoff runs ended early in disaster and the most exciting thing that has happened was getting the number 2 pick (Tyler Seguin, who by the way should be getting minutes on the powerplay).

Now the Bruins are the only news in Boston sports. The Celtics were thrown out of the playoffs by the Heat, the Patriots are locked out, and the Red Sox are in the midst of a very successful but long and boring season. The Bruins need the viewing party to help draw people to this team and franchise. Memories are not only made on the ice but they are made in the environment the fans are in. The feeling of celebrating with thousands of fellow black and gold fans with help strengthen the brand. If they don't win game 7, the same feeling of community helps build fans association with teams. A big part of being a Red Sox fan before the '04 and '07 championships was the fact you were going through the pain of losing with an entire community.

Hopefully the Bruins can capitalize on building their brand another way tonight and that is by winning.

The League: A Quick Review

2011-06-14T16:06:00.001-04:00

As I left college and my fraternity house, I joked around with my Brothers about us all living in the same area once we got older and got jobs, wives, and children. We would be the ones organizing block parties, terrorizing our kids with our antics, trying to escape our wives, and of course playing fantasy football.

After finally seeing the first episode the other day and now being a few episodes in, The League is a slightly dramatized version of what I envisioned. The storyline centers around a group of friends: Pete, Kevin, Rodney, Andre, and Taco. Each represents a different mold of a stereotypical guy friend in a group. Taco is the relaxed friend who smokes pot, is absent minded, and gets with the ladies. Andre is the friend that tries too hard to be cool and everyone shits on him. Rodney is hyper competitive friend and is whipped by his wife.

That leaves Kevin and Pete, who are best friends and act like foils of each other. Kevin is a successful district attorney, happily married, and is not good at fantasy football (a common joke being his wife, Jenny, runs his team). Pete (spoiler) separates from his wife in the end of the first episode (/spoiler), avoids work at his job, and is the three time champion of the their fantasy football league.

The story is not about fantasy football but about a group of friends sticking together using their league as the glue. The League has similarities to Entourage because its overarching theme is male friendship. If it was merely about a bunch of guys playing fantasy football it wouldn't be worth watching but the friendship these guys have and the style of comedy make this show worth watching. The comedy reminds me of Entourage and Weeds. I just hope as I keep watching it doesn't become as dramatic as Entourage and Weeds are now. I am picking up The League and putting it on my list of television shows I will be watching.

Canucks at Bruins Game 6 Live Blog Starts at 8

2011-06-13T17:33:00.001-04:00

Canucks at Bruins

Why So Serious: LeBron Should’ve become the Villian

2011-06-13T16:28:00.001-04:00

The 2011 NBA Finals are over and to the surprise (and delight) of many, the Miami Heat walked away without the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The hate for the Heat didn’t start when three superstar athletes joined forces to take on the NBA, it started when one NBA superstar turned his back on his hometown city and “took his talents to South Beach.”

I was few feet away from the court as thunderous boo’s rained down on LeBron as he was introduced in his first game as a member of the Heat, a common theme throughout NBA league arenas. Many NBA analysts said LeBron was unaccustomed to not being loved and the hate he received this year took him out of his element.

LeBron became “The Joker” from the Batman series in the eyes of many sports fans, with the exception of Heat fans. Even so they can be compared to The Joker’s army in The Dark Night, they know they are on the evil side but they just want a big payout (championship banners).

My only question: why did LeBron not embrace being the villain?

The NBA is full of players who compare themselves to superheroes. Shaq in his prime took on the Superman persona. Dwight Howard is doing the same today; Howard even dressed as Superman during the 2008 dunk contest. Many of the nicknames can be thought of as superheroes: Agent Zero, Birdman, Captain Canada, Flash, etc.

The NBA has had two Supermans, but not one Lex Luther. LeBron should step up and be the villain. Imagine if LeBron wore a “Why So Serious” shirt in the locker room in the beginning of the season, or if he participated in the dunk contest wearing a shirt that simply read “Kryptonite” (if he chooses to participate, which he should). He could continue to wear the vampire mouth guard as he did during Halloween. LeBron could even cameo in a movie as an antagonist. The ideas are endless and would generate a lot of positive PR for LeBron by humanizing him. As long as he maintained his philanthropic endeavors and kept out of trouble off the court.

The best part of this is it makes LeBron look less like a robot. The recent article, “The Self-Aware NBA” on Grantland by Carles has a very important observation about the hate for LeBron James: “We don’t hate LeBron because The Decision was a bad idea, we hate LeBron because he didn’t realize that The Decision was a bad idea.”

LeBron could become the villain, acknowledging that The Decision was a bad decision. More importantly, he becomes a person to the fans again. LeBron loves to entertain us. “We Are All Witnesses,” the Nike sign once read. Why can’t we be witnesses to the first real villain of the NBA?