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The Champ Of Sports Talk
The first Sports Entertainment show brought to you through the blogosphere

    Welcome to the first blog-installment of the show! It’s been a long while since the show has been in action, but we have to bring it back. What is this ‘show’ you ask? Well the Champ Of Sports Talk was an internet sports talk entertainment show that was broadcast on live365.com. The Champ and his co-host The Mauler would dominate the competition with their unmatched wit, and creative, free speaking content. The Champ was know for his light hearted arrogance, wit, and sports-intellect, while the Mauler was known for his savage passion for the sports his many voices, and his experience as a world class fighter and athete.

However, with the various costs involved, including time, the show was forced into an early off-season, and has been in hibernation ever since. I tried to get it started again by blogging on myspace, but it just isn’t a good place to reach out to the sports world, and it has been over ran by smut and spam.

Recently, The Champ stumbled upon fannation.com in his regular web surfing routine. Immediately, I was struck by how this is what the show was calling for. This was way more effective to our cause than myspace. Here on FN, there are other sports fans just like us, and with the throwdown feature, we can really get down!!

The show is now in print form, but we will do our best to make it every bit as entertaining as we were on the radio waves. I encourage everyone out there who likes to write, and is witty and intelligent to send us mail here and join in the fun; we will incorporate it into the show….Mike The Mauler is currently on assignment at the SF Giants game, so if he doesn’t get arrested for fighting someone in the stands, or on the field… he should have something great for us next episode.

And now lets get into the show….

Word Round the League

A brief run down of all the hot topics in the headlines.

NFL Draft

The draft is over, and it was fun, wasn’t it? Most teams should be fairly optimistic. My beloved Niners got some instant impact players in Willis and Staley. Coach Nolan is doing the Champ-ish thing to do by drafting players based on the quality of their play AND their character, which I think is something that has been overlooked in years past. However, with the results yielded from teams like the Patriots, where the system itself is winning, and you could plug in players at will and they know their roles, teams are now looking at team players who exhibit Championship morals, behaviors and ethics.

Keep an eye out in the years to come as teams more and more draft people based on quality character and avoid head cases at all costs. In years past players such as Randy Moss, Ryan Leaf, Lawrence Phillips, and the infamous Maurice Clarrett had their lack of Championshipness overlooked due to their athletic gifts, with predictable results.

In the big leagues, everyone is talented and the best at their position. It is the players with the MENTAL edge that are the greats, and when a team is on the same page mentally, they work as a juggernaut and are unstoppable regardless of individual talent. Look at teams like the Yankees, the Redskins, and Dallas. They bring in malcontents, and megalomaniac athlete superstars in the thoughts that this is a video game where if your team’s player ratings are the highest, your team is the best, but that has proven to not be true. Chemistry, Championship behaviors and ethics are the true path to being a dynasty.

The Browns might have also turned the corner finally, however huge questions still remain. Their defense has been atrocious in years past, with Jamal Lewis gaining half of his career yardage against them, so they went and made him part of the team. If you cant beat em, join em. They made out like bandits, getting both of the guys they wanted in the draft. The football gods smile heartily upon them, leaving Brady Quinn still available at the #22 slot. Its not that they have been simply terrible, but they just have had some bad luck and lost a lot of close games.

Now, they have their man at QB in Quinn, who will be a hometown hero in Ohio. I think this kid has a lot of heart and class, if he has a decent QB coach, he should develop into a weapon. The chosen one, Kellen Winslow Jr, has yet to do anything special on a professional football field due to his two injuries. Last season he showed great promise, and he definitely has the tenacity to be a player, but he needs to reel it in. He wants to win, so I think now that they have their QB, a veteran running back in Jamal Lewis, and an anchor on the O-line, he will be happy and part of the solution. The Browns actually might be looking at 7-9 this season….nah, 6-10.

Miami almost caused a riot amongst their fans with the WASTE of a pick on WR Ted Ginn. They could have drafted so many other players to fill other needs, including Brady Quinn, but instead, they drafted this….return specialist. Coach Cameron explained that he was “watching him since he was a kid” so he knows what he will become, BUT he only said “punt returner” which isn’t very inspiring.

The Raiders draft JaMarcus Russell, then trade Randy Moss….for nothing. Apparently Randy just didn’t want to buy into anything the Raiders had to sell, but who can blame a man for going to the Patriots? I think the Raiders are going to continue to struggle, but it appears the new young Coach Kiffin is not going to play the puppet role for Al Davis, so I hope it lasts, the silver and black have been simply disgraceful the past few seasons, and could use a pick-me-up.

 The Lions drafted the best player in the draft, Calvin Johnson, but they still have no answer at QB. I hope, for the sake of the Detroit fans, that they improve, but they are still looking at a sub .500 season. Matt Millen is by far the most incompetent exec in the NFL, and he is gambling heavy that Johnson will rewrite his legacy as GM.

NBA Playoffs

The Heat got swept, and I think that their window is closed now. Shaq should hang it up. He was one of the greatest ever, but he just doesn’t have the hunger he used to, his body is breaking down, and he seems to have become more of a violator of the first commandment of Championshipness (thou shalt not run thy mouth) than he has in years past. Dwayne Wade is a Champ, so they need to bring in some younger assistance for him so they can build into the next few years.

The heroic Baron Davis has lead my home team, the Warriors to its first playoff birth in over a decade and have been on the verge of the one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NBA against the Mavs, which dominated the regular season, except, of course, when they would face the Warriors. Today I watched the game and it was a great game. The Warriors looked absolutely clueless at times in the first half going down as much as 21 points. Late in the second period, the Warriors turned it on and they closed the lead to about 6-7 points.

The Mavs were visibly frustrated, and Mavs owner, Mark Cuban looked like a pouting little girl scout watching his team get served. Dirk Diggler was certainly under the most pressure and was aggressive the first half and seemed to be more intent on passing than scoring in the second half. The Warriors seemed certain to win the game, going up 9 points with about one minute left in regulation, but the Mavs showed some heart and didn’t give up. The Warriors took some bad shots and the Mavs capitalized. They squeeked it out in the end, but I look for my Warriors to end up the winners in the next contest.

MLB

There were a few A-Rod worshippers rambling about how he is going to break all the records and I told them his streak would end, and then the frustration would set in. Once again, The Champ is prophet-like. A-Job is the Dominic Wilkins of the MLB. I find it interesting that the Evil Empire hasn’t learned that you can’t buy a championship anymore, it takes having character players that play their position. Baseball right now is on my $#&^ list because it has been so weak in maintaining the integrity of their game, and its hard to cheer for people like Bonds, who is only in the position to break the records now because of he cheated. Arrrgh…enough baseball.

Tidbits from all over

• Mike Vick. This guy needs to get it together. I was pleased that he was repentant in his interview on draft day. He seems to honestly want to change his ways, and I hope that he does. I think he is a good guy who is slightly caught up in the rigamaroll of being a super duper star athlete. Lets give him one more chance, if he doesn’t turn it around this season, then we can throw the tomatoes.
  
  
• Marcus Vick was cut by the Dolphins. He was a little more of a trouble maker than his older brother, but there haven’t been any reports of disruptions from him in the NFL. Oh well, he wont be missed.
  
  
• Apparently Tom Brady restructured his contract in order to make way for Randy Moss to become a Patriot. I think this is going to really tip the scales in the league and put the Patriots onto a platform similar to the 1994 49ers, where they really had no apparent weakness. I think Randy Moss understands that if he wants to win a bowl he will have to conform to a proven winner. AFC, you have your work cut out for you.
  
  
• I was embarrassed for Keyshawn Johnson after watching him say how excited he was about next season when they drafted Dwayne Jarrett, how he was going to teach him, etc, only to be released the next day….ouch. Im sure Keyshawn will land somewhere; I think Philly, and will have quite the chip on his shoulder. Philly vs Carolina should be an interesting game.
  
  

I Got 5 On It
Five things that need to change, and quite possibly, how to change them

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Attending a sporting event

1. Costs - $15 to park, $8 for a hot dog, 6$ for a beer, $70 for a ticket….man, and I haven’t even counted the food for the tailgating session, bridge toll, gas… I don’t know if they have noticed, but these prices are killing us. It is impossible for a regular guy to just go to the game, it has to be an investment. Owners would be much better served easing off the prices so we can go to the game and really have a good time, not worrying about if we are going to have to sell off some belongings when we get back.
2. Seating – I am over 6 feet tall and over 250 lbs….I cant fit in these little chairs? Where are the men chairs?! My knees always hit the seat in front of me, and my shoulders are always hunched up so Im not pouring into the seats next to me. I know they want to maximum attendance, but cmon, the seats already have no padding, at least give me some room to breath
3. Halftime shows – Boy, do halftime shows bite, or what? Who is responsible for this garbage? Has anyone ever actually enjoyed one of these things? It’s a bunch of women who weren’t good enough to land a real dancing job doing the most repetitive, unexciting routines you can imagine. Teams would be doing so much justice to their fans if they would come up with better halftime entertainment; bring out some old players, play some games with the fans, ANYTHING but the cheerleader routine
4. Tail-gating – We have to scramble the morning before the game trying to get all the essentials, beef, cheese, and beer…What?! We forgot the charcoal! How great would it be if they set up a store in the park that we could get our tailgating materials from? Of course they shouldn’t mark the price up, then what a magical addition that would be to sporting events!
5. Shared Ownership – Fans are why the game is played, so why shouldn’t there be a percentage of the team owned by the fans? I propose that the season ticket holders form an organization and elect leadership to represent the most crucial part of organized sports…the fans. Imagine the protection for fans now….teams couldn’t abandon the interests of their fans for financial gain. I think this would make the entire game experience more enjoyable for everyone.
   
   

Fan Nation Participation:

Send me a message and let me know what you think of your team’s draft, or any of the topics above.  Stay tuned for the next installment of The Champ of Sports Talk, the first sports entertainment show brought to you through the blogosphere.

Coming up….

Hall Of Shame

Players that do not exhibit championship behaviors on a consistent basis and have completely turned to the dark side are thus summoned to join other losers and non-champs in the dreaded HAAALL OF SHAAAAAME!!

Step yo Game up!

A list of potential Hall Of Shamers, warning them that their behavior has been noticed and they should shape up before they get sentenced to the HOS.

People that are Champ-ish

For all the headline space wasted on non-champs, we take some time to acknowledge the few who consistently exhibit championship behaviors and ethics.