i will not waste my entire blog entry on explaining why i haven't written anything in a month and a half.

it happened, i'm not happy about it.  let's move on.

so many things to talk about...

i was thinking the other day (scary, isn't it?), how come i haven't tried to pursue a career in sports?  obviously i'm not talking about being an athlete.  that hallucination waved bye-bye to me a long time ago.  but a sports writer?  or a statistician?  producer?  photographer?

i mean, there are so many options, and i know way too much about sports.  it would be silly for me to ignore what i truly am passionate about.

i wish i cared more about something cerebral, like music, or art, or politics.

i wish i cared more about something noble, like teaching kids or helping sick people.

i wish i cared more about something fascinating, like astronomy or archaeology.

but i don't.  i care about sports.

it's not even like i only care about certain sports, like baseball and hockey.  i mean, yes, those are my favorite sports, and i certainly know the most about those two in particular, but i still like all sports.

can you tell me who richard virenque is?  how about ayrton senna?  roberto baggio?  scott podsednik?  nick kypreos?  johnny johnson?  sarunas marciulionis?  alan kulwicki?  mali vai washington?  rich beem?

now, if you cover sports for a living, then you probably know who all these people are.

if you don't cover sports for a living, and you know who all these people are, then chances are you should be covering sports.

heck, let's do a little quiz.  it's easy.  just match the person with the sport they compete in.  to help you out, here's a clue about the athletes.  they all have competed professionally between 1990-today.  they all either: won a prestigious event in their sport, were named to an all-star team, had established careers in their sport, and/or are currently competing.

1. richard virenque                                                       a. tennis
2. ayrton senna                                                          b. hockey
3. roberto baggio                                                        c. basketball
4. scott podsednik                                                      d. baseball
5. nick kypreos                                                           e. stock car racing
6. johnny johnson                                                        f. football
7. sarunas marciulionis                                                 g. cycling
8. alan kulwicki                                                           h. soccer
9. mali vai washington                                                  i. formula one racing
10. rich beem                                                              j. golf

answers at the end of the blog.

moving on...

ricky williams just retired from the nfl.  he's considered one of the best running backs in football and is in the prime of his career (he's only 27).  he basically said that he wants to travel the world and that he doesn't want to play football anymore (and actually said that he never really wanted to play professionally in the first place).

a lot of journalists are giving him crap for "abandoning his teammates" and "obviously having something wrong with his head."

first of all, yes, he is abandoning his teammates.  um, so what?  when you decide to be a professional athlete does that mean that you are no longer allowed to make decisions for yourself?  every important decision you make has to be done with your teammates in mind?  i mean, if it's a decision that has to do with the team in and of itself, then that's one thing. 

like, if i was the starting quarterback and then i said, "hey guys, i'm tired of getting hit all the time, so i'm going to be the punter now," then, yes, you can criticize.  or, when a guy still wants to play football but holds out because he's not happy with how much money he's making, go ahead and talk smack about him.

that is not the case here.  ricky williams simply didn't want to play football anymore.  would you want someone on your team who didn't care about your team?  and don't give me the "he signed a contract" bullshit.  nfl contracts are not guaranteed, and an owner will often release a veteran player so that the same owner can re-sign him for less money.

i don't want to hear that he's abandoning the fans, either.  with all the free agency, and trades, and greedy owners and players, there is no loyalty in sports anymore.  you cannot criticize ricky williams without criticizing almost every player that has ever retired from his sport while he was still competitive or every player that has left a city via free agency.

the only realistic thing you can get on his case about is quitting the team one day before training camp.  that was kind of shitty.

other than that, what ricky williams did should be commended.  he made his millions, and now he's going to do what he wants to do with his life and his youth.  we should all be so lucky to have that opportunity.  we are too consumed with work in this country to take time out to get what we want out of life, and ricky williams has basically said, "screw you guys, i'm going to asia."

well done, ricky.  well done indeed.

(answers to the quiz: 1.g.  richard virenque is currently a french cyclist who has won the polka dot jersey for best mountain climber a record 7 years in a row in the tour de france.  2.i.  ayrton senna was widely considered to be the best F1 racer ever before he tragically died in 1994 in a crash at the san marino grand prix.  3.h.  roberto baggio was one of the best soccer players in the world, but in the finals of the world cup in 1994 he missed the net on a penalty kick and italy lost to brazil.  4.d.  scott podsednik currently plays center field for the milwaukee brewers.  5.b.  nick kypreos played 9 seasons in the nhl from 1989-1997.  his best year came in the '92-'93 season when he scored 17 goals and 10 assists for the hartford whalers.  6.f.  johnny johnson was an nfl running back for 5 seasons for the phoenix cardinals and new york jets.  he was named to the pro bowl in 1990.  7.c.  sarunas marciulionis played in the nba for 7 seasons from 1990-1997.  his best year came in 1992 when he averaged 18.9 points per game for the golden state warriors.  8.e.  alan kulwicki was killed in a plane crash in 1993, one year after winning the winston cup championship.  nascar also lost another driver that year, davey allison, in a helicopter crash.  9.a.  mali vai washington was consistently a good competitor in men's tennis throughout the 90's.  his highest ranking was #11, and he made it to the finals of wimbledon in 1996 as an unranked player, where he lost to another unranked player, richard krajicek.  10.j.  rich beem won the pga tour championship in 2002.  he has only won one tournament since.)