Sports

Sporting Chance

| ploafmaster

I’ve always thought I liked sports, but I haven’t watched more than ten minutes of autumnal competition this year, whether NFL football or NCAA basketball. Is it a trickier schedule and an active toddler? Maybe. Is it the rough publicity coming from the NFL this season? Perhaps. I just know that I haven’t really missed it at all. It has me wondering how much I really care about sports and how much I was raised to enjoy them.

You won’t hear me sneering “sportsball” though. That term always struck me as condescending, equal to most casual pejoratives that reinforce our separateness. And I’m not anti-sport; people want to connect and belong, so of course tribalism and comaraderie can be appealing, even if on arbitrary geographical grounds. And I’ll always find the perfect catch, or the heaviest dunk exciting. It’s a thrill to watch skilled professionals excell at what they do. But this year I’m just not feelin’ it.

Maybe next season.

vcu advances to the final four

| ploafmaster
Quick update: VCU gave me a scare on Friday night beating Florida State by 1 point in overtime, and University of Richmond fell hard to Kansas. But my VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY Rams soundly defeated Kansas this afternoon 71-61 to advance to the Final Four.

Looks like I’m watching more basketball next weekend!

river city sweet sixteen

| ploafmaster
I earned my bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. I’m working on my business degree from the University of Richmond right now. Each of these schools face challenging opponents tonight in the Sweet Sixteen round of play in the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament. It’s the first time both schools have been in the Sweet Sixteen together, and VCU’s first time making it this far at all. Here’s hoping for victory for both of my schools so they can face each other in the Elite Eight on Sunday!

Here’s to watching nearly 5 hours of basketball this evening…

football night in america

| ploafmaster
Tonight marks the start of the 2010 season of the National Football League, and last year’s champions, the New Orleans Saints, face Brett Favre and the Vikings. I’ll be sitting in class for at least the first quarter, but I’m excited for the return of my favorite sport, even if it looks like my New York Football Giants are in for a mixed season…again.

Kornheiser Chunks

| ploafmaster
Holy hand grenade, what glorious news: Monday Night Football is ditching the lamentably awful Tony Kornheiser in favor of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden.

I think even Dennis Miller would have been a welcome substitute, but this will certainly do much better.