A-Rod Tipping off Pitches for Self Gain?

The latest accusations directed towards New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez are even more damning than the initial allegation and eventual admission of steroid use.

According to the text of a soon-to-release book written by sports writer Selena Roberts, “A-Rod’s” steroid use may date back as far as his high school playing time, and extends beyond his Texas Rangers playing days. If proven correct, any remaining credibility Rodriguez had when he admitted to be using the performance-enhancing drugs during his Rangers days to “live up to the expectations” of his lofty contract would be washed away. But this is not the biggest and most damaging accusation yet.

Also in the book, Rodriguez was accused of tipping his pitchers’ pitches in an one-sided game to OPPOSITION PLAYERS in hope to have them return the favour by tipping off their own pitchers’ pitches. This “trade,” obviously, does not affect a team’s win-loss record, but it would definitely benefit Rodriguez’s stats.

There are several reasons why this accusation is so damning:

1) If Rodriguez is tipping opposition batters about his own pitchers’ pitches, he is hurting the livelihood of his own team mates. What if a relief pitcher is barely holding on to his big league job, and A-Rod tips his pitches to an opposition batter so he hits a 3-run homerun against A-Rod’s team mate in a meaningless game? That pitcher may be sent to the minors, and may never be called back again. He is hurting his team mate.

2) What can A-Rod get out of such “trades?” Not a win for his team, that’s for sure. A-Rod may have been accused of never being able to step up to the plate when things matter the most. But if all he cares is his own stats, and he cares about it to a point that he would hurt his team mates to do so, who would respect him in the locker room?

3) A-Rod has long been criticized for being able to hit so well when nothing is on the line. If this accusation is true, then there is a very obvious reason to explain why – not because he does not clamp up when the game’s pressure may get to him, but because he can buy his way to juicy information that would allow him to hit big when nothing is on the line. This puts further damages to his already tainted stats.

Few professionals fall from grace as far and as fast as A-Rod does… but if these accusations are true, then who can he blame but himself?

Further reading:

A-Rod’s Steroids Use Started in School (reported by the Vancouver Province):

Ex-teammate Saddened by Pitch-tipping Allegations (reported by SI.com)

And then there are eight

Props to the NHL’s web designers, who had this very subtle but smart display of the last eight teams that remain in the struggle to Lord Stanley’s Mug: in the front page of NHL.com, they have the thirty team logos displayed at the top, but only the teams that are still alive are in colour. Like I’ve said, subtle, yet smart. (see below, and you'll know what I mean)
I went 5 and 3 in my first round predictions. I am not terribly surprised at the ones I got wrong, but was quite surprised at the way those teams lost: San Jose bowing out in the playoffs again after all the changes and acquisitions they have made to bolster their playoff readiness? Martin Brodeur not being able to shut the door in a game 7? Philadelphia choking away a 3:0 lead at home to lose to their hated rivals Penguins? I didn’t see those coming. (But I guess if I could see all of that coming, and can go 8:0 in my series prediction, I would have been hired as a hockey analyst.)

Anyway, here are the second round match-ups and my predictions:

#1 Detroit vs. #8 Anaheim – After watching the Ducks dismantled the President’s Trophy winner, should they still be considered a #8 seed? Detroit has a wealth of playoff success that San Jose sorely lacks, but for whatever the reason, I still am not buying in. Anaheim in 6.

#3 Vancouver vs. #4 Chicago – Would rust be a problem for the Vancouver Canucks? Despite the fact they swept the Blues in round 1, I am still a little sceptical of the Canucks’ offence. Chicago showed in their first round victory against the Flames that their young guns can play and do not fold under playoff pressure. Luongo will continue to be the difference, but this is no easy walk in the park. Vancouver in 6.

#1 Boston vs. #6 Carolina – Boston’s offence was too strong for the Habs. Carolina is a better team, and Cam Ward is not going to be shaky like Carey Price was. Still, I don’t see anything that would suggest an upset. Boston in 5.

#2 Washington vs. #4 Pittsburgh – I picked the Capitals to beat the Rangers in round 1, and that almost did not happen had the Rangers not self-implode. The Ovechkin-Crosby showdown will be very intriguing, but the difference in the series will come down to the supporting cast and the goaltending. Fleury is not an all-world goalie, but I would trust him over the rookie Valarmov, who had 6 regular season games and 5 playoff games under his belt. Pittsburgh in 6.

Allen Iverson: Answer or Fraud?

Jason Whitlock, a writer who I respect quite a bit, recently wrote an article for Fox Sports titled “No Question, Iverson was Never the Answer.” In the article, Whitlock criticized Detroit Pistons’ guard Allen Iverson (#3 in the picture; he was a Denver Nugget at the time) for quitting on the team, and suggested that winning was never something that was important to him (for the full article, please click on the following link).

Whitlock: No Question, Iverson was Never the Answer

Jason Whitlock has written many articles that are stimulating to the mind. While I do not always agree with what he says nor where he stands, I think his criticism on the problems of African Americans unwittingly trying to live up to the “hood image” is bang on. The Iverson article has some similar notions in it as well, but I would respectfully disagree with Whitlock’s take that winning was never important for Iverson.

Standing at 6’0” and 165 pounds, Iverson never had the chance to be the next Michael Jordan, as Whitlock has pointed out. We all know that Iverson shoots the ball an awful lot, and does not take practice very seriously. I would even go as far as agreeing with Whitlock that Iverson is a soloist who “played both backcourt positions at the same time, leaving his teammates plenty of opportunity to stand around and watch.” I also agree that Iverson does not make his team-mates around him better… BUT…

A player who does not value winning would not throw around his miniature body (relatively speaking, in NBA terms) like Iverson does (as seen in the picture on the left where he drove in for a lay-up against the now defunct Seattle Super Sonics). Watching Iverson over the years, you cannot convince me that he would endure the physical punishment he has received just for the money or for the “street cred.” While I agree that Iverson’s concept about the team is not the “correct” one, I would argue that it is more of a case of a misplaced sense of leadership than one that stems from selfishness.

Similar to Kobe Bryant in his earlier days, Iverson found himself to be the best player on the team. He might have felt that he dribbling all the balls, taking all the shots, and taking all the hits IS the best formula for winning. Kobe did that, but eventually grew out of it. Iverson, sadly, never did, and now, his career is winding down.

Call me naïve, but I do have this sense of empathy for athletes who grew up in a disadvantaged environment and were not taught properly the concept of distributed leadership and team. Iverson was a victim of that; it does not give him an excuse for never growing out of that, but to say he does not want to win, in my opinion anyway, is too harsh a criticism.

He is, to me, an answer… not always the right answer and the best answer, but nonetheless, an answer.

NHL Playoffs First Round Predictions

I used to have a bragging rights tournament with my students when the Stanley Cup playoff rolls around every year. But since I am no longer an enrolling staff, I have to take these predictions online – challenge and better me with your predictions!

Western Conference:
#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #8 Anaheim Ducks: The Sharks have been perennial chokers in the playoffs. With mostly the same personnel, maybe it will happen again, but not against the un-disciplined Ducks. Sharks in 5.

#2 Detroit Red Wings vs. #7 Columbus Blue Jackets: I am thankful that the Jackets are not playing the Canucks. Forget about the fact that Columbus has never played a single playoff game – this team is dangerous. Rick Nash is not a guy I want to face in the playoffs. Chris Osgood in goal for the Wings may just be the defending champs’ downfall, in spite of a well of experience everywhere in the line-up. I will be bold in this one: Wings in 7 (okay, maybe not that bold)

#3 Vancouver Canucks vs. #6 St. Louis Blues: It is time for Luongo to show everyone that he is the top playoff goalie that can carry the team to the promise land. I think Luongo’s chance of getting the #1 goalie job with Team Canada in 2010 relies heavily on how he does. The Canucks’ funky scoring ability worries me, but not enough to doubt Luongo in round 1. Canucks in 6.

#4 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #5 Calgary Flames: Next to the Canucks, the Flames is my favourite team, but this team is stumbling into the playoffs. The Hawks may be young, but they have the “Bulin Wall” that Calgary does not have anymore. Hawks in 5.

Eastern Conference:
#1 Boston Bruins vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens: Other than historical head-to-head records, tell me what the Canadiens have that would allow them to overpower the Bruins? This one will not be pretty for Habs fans. Bruins in 5.

#2 Washington Capitals vs. #7 New York Rangers: Some experts are picking the Rangers to upset the Caps due to Washington’s porous defence. Are they overlooking the Rangers’ anemic offence? (Not to mention: I have hated the Rangers since 1994). Capitals in 6.

#3 New Jersey Devils vs. #6 Carolina Hurricanes: Martin Brodeur and the Devils struggled down the stretch, but I am not betting anything against the all-time leaders in wins recorded by a goalie… at least, not yet. Devils in 6.

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Philadelphia Flyers: The Penguins have a tonne of fire power, but somehow, they seemed to have taken a step back this year after they went to the Cup finals the year before. The runner-up of the Stanley Cup tournament typically does not fare too well the following year… Flyers in 7.

Let the playoffs begin!

Reverse the Curse

This following blog will probably be quite disturbing to some of you, but I think the message is important enough, that I must present it.

Do you know that there were 80 million of orphans in the world in 2000, and now, there are over 150 million?

Do you know that 10 million children in the world are used as sex slaves?

Do you know that 16000 kids die daily because of mal-nourishment, and 38% of the world’s population is mal-nourished?

Do you know that, in some African states, as much as 46% of the population is infected with HIV, and these people would all eventually die from AIDS?

Do you know it only takes about $5US to cure someone from malaria, yet 3 million die each year of this deadly disease carried by mosquitoes?

These are very haunting facts. One cannot look at these facts and not feel a sense of sadness or even outrage – it is as if the world we are living in is cursed.

The curse, however, can be reversed, and we have to be a part of this solution.

Recently, I attended a talk by Tom Davis, CEO of Children’s Hope Chest. Mr. Davis is a man who frequently visits the orphans in Africa, and has established a foundation to provide the much needed care and services to those who are in the deepest trouble. He has also started a campaign called “5 for 50” in hope to advocate for the orphans of the world, particularly those afflicted by HIV and AIDS directly or indirectly. The five things Mr. Davis suggests, in my opinion, are quite doable, and should be done:

1. Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
2. Give 5 hours a week to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
3. Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes.
4. Give 5 days a year to travel overseas and help alleviate poverty and suffering.
5. Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey.

We are all a part of this world, and those in the most need are not very far from us; in fact, they are living among us. Please, do your part to help reverse the curse. For more info, please feel free to browse the following websites:

Children’s Hope Chest
Five for 50