Been Gone for a Minute...

...Now I'm back with the JUMPOFF!!

Well, sorta. Sorry for the uber-slow January. I just got back from an amazing two and a half week vacation. Somewhere warm and tropical? Ha! Not even close! I was away on my annual trip to COLD ASS Taos, New Mexico visiting one of my closest friends in life, Abby. We met while we were both at Northwestern University and it was love at first sight. Somewhere over the alphabetized buddy lists and haze we bonded and it's been a great life with her ever since. As friends who haven't seen each other since, well, this time last year, we chilled hard body. I'm a huge fan of the Winter X games, and most cold weather sports, but as the saying goes, 'Not everything is for everybody.' For me, that thing would be skiing; tried it, couldn't hack it. I did go snowmobiling for the first time ever and it was AWESOME!! Speeding around the course on a 2-person snowmobile, occasionally flinging my home girl Abby off the back. Yeah...good times... I'll have some video and pics for you guys in a little bit. I spent all three playoff Sundays in NM with the only other chick I know who knows, loves, and lives football like I do. Talk about a match made in heaven!

Anyway, I say all that to say that I'm back, and I have tons of blogging to do in order to make up for my absence. As we all know my beloved NEW YORK GIANTS are in the Super Bowl vs. the undefeated New England Patriots. My analysis of this super match up, and much more, is coming soon!!

BIZZACK!

Rookie Love

"Gimme gimme gimme that ROOKIE love"

You can hear Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson singing that all the way to the bank! As most of us expected, Peterson was voted, almost unanimously, Rookie of the Year. Peterson earned 46 1/2 of the 50 votes submittd by a national panel of members of the media that cover the NFL. And I must say, they got this one right! In a season where few teams had consistent, healthy, high-performing running backs, Adrian Peterson (& Chester Taylor!) definitely made his presence felt. Even after missing 2 games with a serious knee injury, he still managed to rank 2nd in the league in rushing yards with 1,341, behind LaDainian Tomlinson. Peterson also tied for 2nd with 12 rush ing touchdowns, finishing with 13 overall. In one of the best offensive performances of the year, Peterson ran for 296 yards, setting the NFL's single-game rushing record, on only 30 carries. He scored 3 TDs that game to lift the Vikings defeat the Chargers 35-17. Jamal Lewis held the record since rushing for 295 yards against the Cleveland Browns in 2003.

This is another reason why I love watching college football. Yes, it always comes back to college football. Peterson was amazing at Oklahoma and it was obvious that he could make the leap to the NFL easily. The NFL DraftTracker ranks players eligible for the draft, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. Here's what they had to say about Peterson when he was drafted in 2007:

Peterson is a tough runner who can pick up yards between the tackles and break tackles when he gets into the open field. He has the burst to turn the corner, make the first defender miss and turn on the jets when he gets a seam. While the Vikings have more pressing needs at several other positions, including defensive end and running back, Peterson was too good to pass up on.

I would say not much has changed. There's a reason why he was the 1st RB selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, 7th overall. As RoY, Peterson joins the likes of Emmitt Smith, Jim Brown and Billy Sims, who also won the award. "It's a great honor to join a list with names like those. They are guys that I looked up to growing up."

By the By:

The 3 1/2 votes that Peterson didn't get went to Joe Thomas, OT for the Cleveland Browns.

Look at dem boyz wit the DAISY DUKES on!!

So this is the second time in about 2 weeks that Lamar Odom has been charged with a flagrant foul. I went to the game Sunday, December 23, 2007 when the Lakers came to the Garden to play the Knicks. Lamar Odom committed a hard foul against Jamal Crawford that sent him crashing to the court on his back. The refs called it a Flagrant 1, meaning the play was unnecessary.

This past Sunday night the Boston Celtics headed to LA to face the Lakers, and Lamar Odom decided this would be another chance to pick up yet another flagrant. The Lakers, as a tribute to the Lakers teams in the 80s, rocked throwback jerseys with the matching throwback short shorts. Quite the fright! I felt like I was witnessing something inappropriate; like daisy dukes are usually reserved for women, but when men wear them it belongs on an episode of Noah's Ark.

I'm assuming it was those pum pums that got Odom's junk all in a bunch, because by the 4th quarter he was off his rocker. He charged at Ray Allen like a linebacker, knocking him into the Celtics bench. He was called for a Flagrant foul. "I don't know what Odom was thinking," said Allen. "I got the rebound and he tackled me. I know this is Sunday, but this is the wrong field."

The ruling came down today and Odom will be suspended for 1 game without pay. Along with that, he was assessed a Flagrant 2, deeming the play unnecessary, excessive AND intentional. Odom will miss Friday's home game vs. the Philadelphia 76ers. Celtics' head coach Doc Rivers had this to say; "I just thought he [Odom] lost his composure. I didn't think it was intended at Ray. Whoever had the ball was getting that. It wasn't anything personal. Odom's a good kid, a good guy."

The whole game was chippy though. It was way physical and there was a lot of 'Yo momma!' back and forth. Andrew Bynum inadvertently hit Kevin Garnett in the face with his elbow, opening up a bloody gash on his face. Somehow that foul ended up going against the Celtics. Refs clearly OD'd, calling 61 personal fouls, and 7 technical fouls on Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Ray Allen, Doc Rivers, Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza and Kwame Brown.

The Celtics won the game, 110-91, and have a league-best record 26-3. KG had a double-double, scoring 22 points and 12 rebounds, and game-highs 6 assists and 3 blocks. Paul Pierce led the team in scoring with 33, Ray Allen had 19. G Tony Allen had 16 pts, and really stepped up his play, starting in place of injured Rajon Rondo.

Funny quote:

Kobe on the short shorts - "I don't know what it feels like to wear a thong, but I imagine it feels something like what we had on in the first half. I felt violated. I felt naked. It's one thing to see films with guys wearing those things. I'd rather stay warm man. "

Gatlin Suspended...for 4 Years!!

My family is a little different than the average American family. First of all, we're Nigerian, and as far as sports go, we watch a lot of "alternative" genres. Soccer, gymnastics, tennis, figure skating, and even wrestling (the fake kind) are Anunkor-family favorites. (I used my stiff arm to force in tons of football/basketball/baseball, and it's worked.) We enjoy watching the Olympics, both seasons, and we have a real love for track and field.

I may be a lot of things, but I'm no fool. Athletes are going to extreme measures to achieve that number one spot. Nowadays it seems as though steady training, practice and performance enhancing drugs are the way to go. Just ask some of our more prominent track stars, they'll tell you.

Justin Gatlin knows this first hand. If you've never heard of him, he's a sprinter. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Gatlin went on to the University of Tennessee and won 6 NCAA sprint titles. He runs the 100 and 200 meter races, indoor and outdoor, and has represented the US in several world events, including the 2004 Athens Olympics where he won the gold medal in the 100-meter race, finishing in 9.85 seconds. In 2006 he ran the 100 meter dash in 9.76 seconds, which was 0.01 second faster than Jamaica's Asafa Powell's world record. Come to find out a timing error was to blame, and he actually tied the record instead. Regardless, the man is fast.

Naturally 'very fast,' but 'fast as hell' because of cheating. He's tested positive for banned substances on a few occasions, and is now paying the price. He first tested positive for amphetamines. At that time he was taking meds to treat his ADD, and his camp argued that it was the medication that caused him to test positive. The USADA, United States Anti-Doping Agency, bought it, and after some investigation agreed to nullify the first result. Gatlin subsequently tested positive again for elevated testosterone levels and other steroids in April 2006. Gatlin, like most guilty (and innocent) people said, "I cannot account for these results, because I have never knowingly used any banned substance or authorized anyone to administer such a substance to me." According to USADA regulations, was supposed to receive a lifetime ban. Instead, he received an 8-year suspension for helping the USADA during an internal investigation about doping in the sport. After 18 more months of arbitration, Gatlin was able to reduce that to a four-year ban, and his record-tying performance stricken from the record books! He had dreams of defending his title at the Beijing Olympics this August, but since he won't be able to run until May 25, 2010, that's completely out of the question.

It just seems like a matter of time before another big name pops up on the long list of performance-enhancing drug users. It's unfortunate and discouraging, but it's our sad reality. I don't think anyone is surprised by the usage anymore. Steroids have become commonplace so it's hard not to look at a lot of sports and athletes with the crooked eye. Is he/she on the stuff? Look at the size of his head! You can't recovery from injuries that fast! Lemme see ya balls - Are they shrunken? These are all questions you have to ask when you watch baseball, football, cycling, tennis, track and field, wrestling, etc. It's just a matter of time before ping pong-ers, fishermen and poker players start popping up too.

So, what will Justin Gatlin do with the next 4 years?! Apparently the fastest man in the world wants to roll wit the big dogs!! Yup, he's eyeing the NFL! He hasn't played organized football since his freshamn year at Tennessee, but hell, with 4 years free he's looking to keep busy. Last summer he worked out with the Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs were pretty serious though, actually allowing him to participate in their rookie mini-camp trying out as a wide receiver (right). Bucs head coach Jon Gruden said "If (his speed) can transfer to football, you have a real threat." I think he's a bit undersized for a WR but his speed could be fatal. With his build, 6'1, 185 pounds, I think he would fit better as a running back, but hey, what do I know? I guess he's smart enough to avoid the bruising contact, stay on the outside, run routes, and try to get out into wide open spaces. He didn't make the cut for the 2007-2008 season, but we'll see if he'll give it another go. Or maybe do like Pacman Jones and get his wrestle on! Who knows...

Welcome 2008!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

Wow, 2008 already? This new year crept up on me, but I must say, I'm very excited. There's so much to look forward to. I definitely want to blog more, and that's one of my big projects for the year.

Thanks to everyone who reads this blog. There are so many other places to go to read sports commentary and I really appreciate you including me.

What will sports in the year 2008 bring? Well, if 2007 was any indication we are in for one hell of a ride! And I don't know about you, but I can't wait. I'm strapped in and ready to go.

BRING IT ON!!