Bigalke

Bigalke's Comments

Posted Tuesday June 02, 2009, About: Coveted recruit to visit Badgers
Yeah... because Bloomington or Lexington or Lawrence or even Chapel Hill are such more exciting places...
Posted Saturday August 09, 2008, About: Why LeBron may play in Europe
what i dont get is how russia got all this money and its economy sucks
drMcNinja | 08/08/08, 05:44 PM

This is a matter of oligarchic plutocracy, dMN... essentially, when Russia first emerged as a nascent democratic state back in the early 1990s, the country had no infrastructure to stand on. But it still holds vast reserves of natural resources. The birth of the Russian nouveau-riche came because several of these oligarchs were able to sweep up vast oil fields for their profit. The ones you see owning teams today -- guys like Roman Abramovich at Chelsea -- are the ones who played the idiosyncrasies of Russian governance to their benefit; the ones who failed to play the system correctly now languish poor or in prison...
Posted Saturday August 09, 2008, About: Why LeBron may play in Europe
Coming at this from a different angle, what boggles my mind is that no one gives a second thought to all the players who are forced into the decision to come to the United States to play in various sports leagues. From the Dominican leaving his lifestyle behind to play MLB ball to the Swedish winger signing an NHL contract, American sports leagues have been able to expand to their present bloated sizes in large part because of the influx of talent from other countries. We automatically assume that our professional sports leagues are now set in stone, that the growing pains of the sixties and seventies which saw the CBA and ABA and AFL and WHA challenge the various "established" leagues was the settling of the dust and that all is concrete and permanent.

This is what I had to write about it a while back:

http://www.helium.com/items/922826-could-professional-american-sports-ever-di e


But the reality is that, just as those rebel leagues forced real changes in the established leagues, so too could new challengers. In this increasingly globalized society, it is entirely possible and plausible for players to seek other employment opportunities. The fact that there are more than one elite employer in these athletes' field of expertise is promising, not threatening. The growth of hockey leagues throughout Europe, which fueled the NHL explosion, is now seeing those leagues in turn become viable enough that a player doesn't automatically have to decide to leave his homeland. Both with European-born players and with American stars looking for a new challenge, this could set an exciting new precedent...

Why fear change? Sports are inevitably and forever malleable. Rules change, teams change everything from their colors to their cities, players change, leagues change... and so too can new opportunities arise which change the decisions that superstars make regarding their careers... I'd honestly welcome this move in the greater interest of global sport...
Posted Saturday March 29, 2008, About: Avery in hooker's black book
Wow...
Posted Tuesday January 29, 2008, About: DEI removal upsets Dale Jr.
As a person who HATES NASCAR, yet knows a thing or two about it from the inevitable coverage, I just have to ask one thing: What in the world has Dale Earnhardt, Jr. accomplished during his career which makes him worthy of such praise? If his name was Dale Smith, he wouldn't be getting one-tenth this publicity with his dearth of successful results.

It sickens me when athletes, celebrities or ANYONE for that matter has kids who try to get rich & famous off their name... and Dale, Jr. is one of the biggest culprits!
Posted Monday January 28, 2008, About: NHL may cancel All-Star Game
Players need to be rewarded for their excellence... but I can understand where the NHL recognizes that its product needs to be reevaluated and potentially reworked. They have been relatively successful in doing that with other aspects of the game recently, and should find a way to get the All-Star Game -- and the Skills Competition -- back to some semblance of relevance...
Posted Friday January 18, 2008, About: Canucks, Flames scouting Sundin
Sundin as a Canuck? That'd be sweet...
Posted Friday January 18, 2008, About: Strahan tired of Favre lovefest
Dizzle, good points, & I agree that Strahan & Toomer & Feagles all deserve some recognition. The truth of the matter is, however, that the NFL is a predominately offensive game centered around the quarterback. Hell, ELI gets more press than Strahan -- and who's the better player in New York?

Remember, both Strahan and Favre know the sting of losing in the Super Bowl as well... I am sure that both wish to get back to reverse those blemishes.
Posted Friday January 18, 2008, About: Strahan tired of Favre lovefest
Strahan, how you gonna get pass-rush footing in the snow and the muck? Seattle couldn't do it... what makes you think the Giants will fare better?

And if you ever want that gap fixed, call Refrigerator Perry up... he can direct you to a good dentist!
Posted Tuesday January 15, 2008, About: Zidane considers soccer return
Zidane needs to remain retired... there's no way to improve on his legacy, and it will be hard for him to get the kind of money he wants with the ignominious way he left the game in 2006... head-butting Materazzi...
Posted Saturday January 05, 2008, About: Real Madrid star coming to MLS?
And it kind of pisses me off that the T&R says "former FC Barcelona and Real Madrid star" rather than "current Inter Milan star"... little respect for the defending Serie A champions and the runaway leaders this campaign.
Posted Saturday January 05, 2008, About: Real Madrid star coming to MLS?
Americans are for the most part down on soccer -- and also hockey -- because they cannot comprehend the excitement inherent in a 0-0 draw... a public that has the apathy of a boulder and the attention span of the gnat cannot stand to watch its sports action without a LOT OF SCORING...

Soccer and hockey are similar in the flow of the action, the focus on passing and teamwork and the build-up of plays to a scoring crescendo... until the goalie nabs the ball/puck out of seemingly-untouchable air and sends it back the other direction. Very exciting action...

As for Figo... Wow... I hated Figo for a long, LONG time... then he came over to Inter and I suddenly was able to enjoy watching him play. I always respected the man when he patrolled the pitch, but now I can actually root for him. As I have said before, I think the MLS, in the wake of the Beckham signing and the new exemptions, has been way too focused on landing big names to place all over the league and not focused enough on doing what it has done best -- provide a great diversion for a slowly-growing niche audience. I would love to be afforded the chance to see Figo play in person; however, I would cherish it more if I got to go to Milan and see him at the San Siro...

Garber needs to focus on getting as MUCH talent as possible for the league, not merely the MOST EXPENSIVE...
Posted Wednesday December 26, 2007, About: Will Euro league threaten NHL?
There are many nouveau riche Russian power brokers who have large infusions of cash and a strong desire to flaunt it. Look at Roman Abramovich and his purchase of Chelsea... the team has been buying up players as fast as it can since Roman purchased the club. If Medvedev and Larionov can muster up enough capital from a resurgent Russia and its wealthiest capitalists, then there could be a legitimate threat to the NHL... especially if young Euro stars decide that it would be nicer to stay closer to home for the same/more money...
Posted Saturday December 22, 2007, About: Will Ovechkin sign with Canadiens?
I would weep crocodile tears of JOY if Ovechkin became a Hab... I doubt that Gainey would pull the trigger on that -- or that Gillett would cut as big a check as would be needed to haul in the Russian... but, boy oh boy, how great would that be to rejuvenate Quebecois hockey?!
Posted Saturday December 22, 2007, About: Sources: UCLA job was Bellotti's
Bellotti knew that, with Phil Knight just donating $100 million to the Duck Athletic Endowment, further renovations to Autzen in discussion, and the University actively spending all across the athletic board (new baseball team, plans to replace MacArthur Court...) that he was in better shape remaining the highest-paid state employee in Oregon than heading down to Los Angeles where he would face longtime nemesis Pete Carroll locally...

Glad to see you stay in the fold, Bellotti... but I wish his moustache had stayed, too... just watched footage of 2000 Holiday Bowl when Oregon beat Texas 35-30... that 'stache was PHENOMENAL!!!
Posted Saturday December 22, 2007, About: Sources: UCLA job was Bellotti's
SoonerGirl... this WAS Charlie Weis' third season... remember the Brady Quinn years?

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