Sports | Piss and Moan

Prisoner swap

The “big news” over the last couple days has been that some basketball “star” being held in Russia on drug charges was released in a prisoner swap for a convicted Russian arms dealer. I don’t believe she should have been released and she should have served the time. I REALLY don’t believe there should have been a prisoner swap, at least not her.

Quite frankly, I have heard that in the past she hasn’t really appreciated all the blessings she has as an American and was maybe taking that for granted. I don’t know, really, if that is true. But if it is true….well, let’s hope she has a hell of a lot more appreciation for her country now.

As Americans, I don’t think we undeerstand how great we have it till it’s gone. Unfortunately, we have quite a few people within our own country trying to take away our (and their own) freedoms.

Makes zero sense.

Crime time

Posted on August 4 by backuphill

Have you been following the Brittney Griner saga? I haven’t followed it that closely but I can say it is surprising and not at the same time. It seems that Americans (yes, I am one) think they can get (or deserve) special treatment when they go to a foreign country. I don’t feel this way, of course, that’s why I am going to write what I write. I’ll keep it brief.

In short (as I understand it), she is a basketball player from the US who was traveling to Russia for a game. She was detained because she was trying to bring contraband into the country (from what I understand, marijuana). She broke the law of a foreign country and now is being punished for it. The verdict was handed down today – nine years in a Russian prison.

My take: If you break the law in a foreign country and get caught, you should be punished under their system of laws. I, we (as US citizens) shouldn’t expect special treatment (even if we are a “celebrity”).

Now, there is always going to be the question of whether or not this was truly a legit case because Russia is shady and there is obviously some “make an example of her” and “the US is supporting Ukraine” thrown in for good measure by the Russian authorities. That does leave some questions in my mind.

BUT, my guess is she most likely knew what she was doing was wrong and thought she could get away with it. Or, she was hoping her status as a pro basketball player would win her some favor. Or, she was hoping that being an American would mean that ol’ Uncle Sam would come to the rescue if soemthing bad went down.

Well, not so much. We shouldn’t be going around flouting the laws in our own country let alone one that isn’t our own. There should never be a “Get out of Jail FREE” card, no matter your status or country.

Put that “in your pipe and smoke it!”

Anyone really care?

Posted on July 23, 2021 by backuphill

Photo by Frans Van Heerden on Pexels.com

So, there is supposedly one of the biggest sporting spectacles on Earth starting today (really is started a couple days ago with a soccer game) and I have to admit, I could care less. Like, I won’t even go out of my way one iota to see what is going on with the competition.

Does anyone really care about the Tokyo Olympics?

I mean, obviously, the athletes do but beyond that is there anyone left that really cares all that much?

I used to love the Olympics when I was younger and I can’t completely put my finger on the reason I don’t care about it now, but maybe it is because there is just too much attention paid to the athletes themselves and their only concern is really on themselves rather than representing the country for which they compete. I know for sure I could care not a lick for the politics and social agenda being injected into the sports.

Or maybe it’s the fact that the cities/countries that host the games are expected to spend HUGE amounts of money to build modern, spectacular facilities and new infrastructure to support the games. The spending has gotten ridiculous – money that could be spent elsewhere – all for the sake of impressing the world for a short period of time. After the Olympics are over, some of the facilities are converted for public use and others are just abandoned.

There is no luster left in the competition, despite the Olympic committee trying to generate it. At least, there isn’t any for me.

I am curious then, who is still interested (let alone excited) for the Olympics? If it still gets your attention, why? If you are no longer interested like me, what was it that caused you to practically ignore that it was even taking place?

Resigned truth

Posted on February 22, 2021 by backuphill

Two stories in the media over the last week deal with the truth and ultimately what may lead to a resignation in both cases. In one instance, the resignations came swiftly. In the other, it remains to be seen on what will happen but I am fairly sure it will also result in a resignation.

Truth hurts.

Plain and simple.

Of course, we live in a world that now speaks of “your truth” or “my truth.” There is no such thing. There is only one truth. You can’t create a truth for yourself because it makes you feel better. Truth doesn’t care about your feelings. Truth is truth. You can’t invent truth by telling a lie over and over again to make it true (though there are lots of people who do this). Truth is unchanging, even when we don’t like it.

School Board

Was the school board that far off on what they said in a “hot mic” moment for a meeting? They all have since resigned, but what exactly are they resigning for? The truth? Sure, they were speaking in generalities and doesn’t apply to all parents, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

If you have been in education at all (and I was for 15 years), the feelings of frustration expressed at the meeting are feelings that all people in education, at one time or another, have felt and thought. Teachers know full well that parents are the WORST part of the job. Not the students. Not the admin. Not the co-workers. Not the long hours or the endless paperwork. It’s the parents. Always the parents.

So, their criticism of the parents was not off base at all. Yes, they want their babysitters back so they can go to work. Yes, they want their kids gone so they can smoke pot (side note: the kids I was teaching as high school students are the late 20s, early 30s adults that led the push to legalize pot and are now smoking openly in their homes, around their children). Yes, parents don’t care what it takes each day to teacher their children. No, they don’t understand that their child acts differently at school than they do at home. Yes, not all kids are angels and they DO act like that at home and at school.

Professional Baseball

Kevin Mather of the Seattle Mariners head office (President and minority owner) stepped into last week with a video that basically offended everyone in baseball or that enjoys baseball. BUT, did he say anything that wasn’t true or hasn’t been thought and felt over the decades of baseball? No, I don’t think so.

The problem is that he talked of some things that are “taboo” I guess. Openly admitting that you are playing with people’s careers in order to keep them under contract longer or that hiring additional support staff to aid baseball personalities is a drain on revenue isn’t something we haven’t all thought or assumed. But the fact that he had the audacity to say the truth, in essence exposing a dirty little secret that every team in the league has dealt with, has turned the baseball world upside down.

Will he ultimately end up sacrificing his position? Yeah, I think he will. He is going to have to play to the PR nightmare game that is created by candor and truth, because people don’t like it.

To make amends, people will demand his resignation just like they did with the school board mentioned earlier. It won’t make the issues go away. The truth won’t make the issues go away. The issues will just be swept under the rug again and it will be business as usual. There won’t be a reckoning with the truth and people won’t change their ways.

They’ll (those being spoken about) just create their own truth to justify their behavior and keep on, keeping on.

Lemons

Posted on February 8, 2021 by backuphill

The Super Bowl ended up not being that super. There wasn’t much of a game, the halftime show sucked, and a good majority of the commercials were not entertaining. The whole thing just left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I am sure some people were happy with the results, but overall it was a lackluster event.

But, there were a few standout commercials that were worth watching. In fact, they were worth watching then and I think they are worth watching now. Three that stood out for me:

“Last Year’s Lemons”

“Certain Is Better”

Those were the ones I enjoyed the most. How about you? Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did you see he commercials in the week before the game? Did you skip the whole thing altogether and just ignore the fact that it was even on?

Naming it

Posted on December 7, 2020 by backuphill

There is dumb, and there is really dumb. This falls into the dumbest dumb of the dumb category. Apparently, when you have lots of money, you have to do dumb things like this. Buying the naming rights for a stadium, arena, venue, or whatever is kind of a way to promote your business by making it something that becomes recognizable to all.

Amazon, and Bezos, go the other way. They name the former Key Arena the dumbest of dumb names ever.

Climate Change Arena.

WTF? Talk about a nonsensical name. If I were a fan of any sport that took place in that building I’d be pissed. Thus, I am not really a fan of hockey or women’s basketball and won’t hardly, if ever, visit the arena. I can only think of two occasions in the last 25 years that I went inside the building, and neither of them involved sports. So, no skin off my back, but I just think it is a dumb name. Name a building after a social cause?

Waste of money. And time.

I am sure there will be more stupid names to follow. We are in that kind of “awareness” in the United States at the moment.

So, I’ll name it. I didn’t buy the rights, but I have the freedom to call it whatever I want. So, I’ll name it what it is: “Dumb Name Arena.”

Disc disc

Posted on October 1, 2020 by backuphill

OK, I am about to complain about something I am still learning and haven’t a lot of knowledge on, but that’s what this blog is for – complaining, or pissing and moaning.

What is the topic of the day? Disc Golf.

Over the last several months I have had the chance to play disc golf with a buddy. He was looking for someone to go with him and I had done it a couple times while in college and I knew there were a few places here locally to go and play, so I said yes.

And I had a lot of fun!

Of course, there is a learning curve with this sport and I am a little short on technique (as well as just being short) but I had fun nonetheless. So much so, that I bought my own set of beginner discs. There is skill in trying to throw a disc accurately and for distance. Something I am gonna have to spend time learning to do.

Anyway, my buddy took me to a local course that is relatively open. I guess in the disc golf circles, this would be considered a good “beginner’s course.” Yes, there are some trees and other obstacles on the course, but not in a way that would make it overly challenging or accessible.

Now the complaint…yesterday, my buddy took me to a course across the river. He said it was a more difficult course. And it was! It was full of trees. Everywhere! The best example for how many trees there were, think of playing frisbee in a cemetery, where every 7th headstone was a tree. Yeah, that’s a lot of obstacle to play around. No good sight lines. No straight shots.

Anyway, I fared alright considering it was my first time there but I still lost (yes, I am competitive). I got to looking last night at the stats for the two course: both are a par 54 course with a total difference in distance of 121 feet (5193 to 5072). My complaint here is the par for the course.

How can a course with very few straight shots and trees over the entire course still be a par 54, the same as a course with much fewer trees? Who rates these things and decides the par? Obviously, trees add to the challenge but that should also increase the par, shouldn’t it?

Again, I am learning this sport. I don’t know how these things work. I just kinda felt like I played the course better than my score would reflect. Truth is, though I complain, I still had fun! That’s important right?

Well, and winning too. But fun is most important…or so I have been told…

Old sport

Posted on August 25, 2020 by backuphill

Over the weekend I tried a sport/game (whatever you wanna classify it as) that I hadn’t really done since college. It’s a novel sport, as in it doesn’t enjoy widespread popularity but is becoming more and more popular. How do I know? Well, you are probably seeing these weird contraptions show up in public parks – a wire and chain basket on a pole.

Disc golf.

I had a friend in college who was an avid disc golf fan and he always managed to get a group of us out to go play with him. It was fun, but I wasn’t sure at the time that I really liked it.

I liked actual golf better. Let’s just say that.

Anyway, I had a friend invite me out for a round of disc golf over the weekend. I hadn’t really considered it, even though I am seeing those baskets all over the place now. So, I said yes.

We met at the park. There is a learning curve and technique to the game. But, I had fun. And it got me off the couch and outta the house. A win-win.

What I didn’t realize would happen is that I am an OLD sport, meaning that I am really sore today (two days after the fact). My arm and shoulder are not used to that motion and I am fully aware of those parts of my body today as they scream at me even while moving my arm to type.

Old.

The reality of being able to recover quickly from activity just isn’t the case any more. I miss those days. But, it’s reality today.

I am sport, just an old sport.

Baseball is back…

Posted on July 24, 2020 by backuphill

…but it really isn’t baseball.

Sure, they are playing the game. That part I like. I have missed it. Spring Training, when I was there in February, feels like a lifetime ago at this point.

But, with the shortened season, rule changes for said short season, and all the protest stuff going on before and during the game, it doesn’t feel the same. I love the game, but it just isn’t the same.

I likely won’t watch.

I maybe probably will listen. Maybe. Probably.

I am torn.

selective focus grayscale photography of baseball

Photo by Rachel Xiao on Pexels.com

Domestic

Posted on March 5, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com

OK, this is gonna be a rant for those of you who like to indulge in the consumption of an alcoholic beverage called “beer.” If you aren’t one of those people, I guess you can stop reading now (or not even click on the post – it’s fine, whatever…).

I hate to sound like a beer snob here, because I really am not one. BUT, (yes, there’s always a “but” in statements like that) you really don’t have to be a beer snob to understand what I am about to say.

How have domestic brewers stayed in business for so long? Like, really?

While I haven’t consumed piss water, I am pretty sure that is what it would taste like. Domestic beer is weak, it’s nearly clear, and it’s cheap (unless, of course, you are forced to buy it at a sports stadium like I was).

I can’t remember which stadium I was at in Arizona when I was surprised that there were no choices of micro-brewed beer. The other stadiums had them, so what was the deal with this one? Anyway, I was forced to buy something domestic (ok, forced may be a little strong since I could have kept my wallet in my pocket) to go along with my overpriced stadium food.

The experience was not enjoyable. I didn’t like the beer. Water. With a little food coloring in it. Pretty sure that is all it was. And, to top it off, if was $11. WTH?

So, anyone else out there baffled by domestic piss water beer? Anyone care to defend it?