Archive for the 'Sports' Category

Bradshaw Takes a Seat, M.I.A. Flips the Bird: Super Bowl XLVI

By: alex.chrum, February 6, 2012 in Celebrities and Sports. Closed Tags: , , .

Yesterday, February 5, marked the 46th annual Super Bowl, the end-of-the-season showdown between the two best teams in the NFL. If you live in America (or even if you don’t), this probably isn’t news to you; the Super Bowl (and football in general) is the Holy Grail of U.S. sports. Super Bowl Sunday is treated like a national holiday, second in importance only perhaps to Christmas, and is celebrated by nearly every citizen, regardless of whether or not their home team is playing (and, oftentimes, regardless of whether or not they had watched any other football game all year).

Bradshaw takes a seat to score the gamewinning touchdown

The halftime show is perhaps as big of a spectacle as the game itself, with the hottest names in music taking the stage to entertain a massive national audience. In addition, the commercials, which cost roughly $6 million per minute to air, garner quite a bit of attention themselves. All in all, Super Bowl Sunday is probably the biggest televised event in the country.

I, however, haven’t watched the Super Bowl in years, ever since my dad used to drag me to parties as a child. Once I hit high school, however, my Sundays were dedicated to homework and/or work, and football was the last of my priorities. Yesterday was no different, although I happened to catch two of the most talked-about points of the evening. While mooching some food off of my dad at his Super Bowl party, I was drawn to Miss Kelly Clarkson, winner of the very first season of American Idol, who had the prestigious honor of performing the National Anthem. Miss Clarkson looked absolutely stunning, keeping it classy (rather than trashy) in the typical Clarkson fashion, and delivering a flawless and moving vocal performance of the Star Spangled Banner.

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Shaun White Scores Perfect 100 in Winter X Games

By: alex.chrum, January 30, 2012 in Sports. Closed Tags: , , .

Undoubtedly the country’s most recognizable ginger, Shaun White has established himself as a household name in the sport of snowboarding. Like Tony Hawk and skateboarding, White was undoubtedly the first athlete from his sport to gain major celebrity and global notoriety. He quickly became a media staple, appearing in numerous commercials for Target, Red Bull, HP and others. Receiving his first snowboarding sponsorship at the ripe age of seven, he went pro in skateboarding at 17, and won his first gold medal (for snowboarding) at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

White seizes the Winter X gold late last night

Now only 25 years old, White continues to impress with his unprecedented snowboarding talent, stunning audiences this past weekend with a perfect performance at the Winter X Games. On Friday, White suffered an ankle sprain, missing Saturday’s pipe practice and leaving many to wonder if he would even be able to compete in his signature event, Sunday’s superpipe final. He has won the Winter X gold medal for this event the past four years in a row, the first athlete ever to have done so.

Despite these worries, however, White came through to deliver a performance yesterday that was extraordinary even for him. Setting records for amplitude and exhibiting technical difficulty never before seen, he delivered the first truly perfect performance in Winter X Games history, with an 18-foot backside air, a 17-foot frontside double cork 1080, an 11-foot switch frontside double cork 1080, a 14-foot frontside cork 540, a 13-foot backside double cork 1260 and a 12-foot frontside double cork 1260—the first back-to-back double cork ever performed at the Winter X Games.

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Joe Paterno Dies, Nation Mourns…?

By: alex.chrum, January 23, 2012 in News, Passings and Sports. Closed Tags: , .

Joe Paterno, who served as assistant and head coach for Penn State’s football team for 62 seasons, passed away yesterday, January 22, 2012, from complications with lung cancer. Many are mourning the death of this football “legend,” despite the fact that he was fired from his coaching position in November due to child sex allegations against his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. Reports allege that Paterno knew Sandusky was sexually abusing children on school property, and did not report the matter to authorities. The alleged abuse started as far back as the 1990s, and at least seven people have now stepped forth to file charges against the assistant coach.

Joe Paterno (right) with assistant coach Jerry Sandusky in 1999

While I try to lead a relatively peaceful life mandating forgiveness, understanding and respect for human life, the world’s response to the death of Joe Paterno leaves me feeling betrayed, uneasy and, ultimately, very angry. As far as my personal life goes, my Facebook news feed was bombarded yesterday with “R.I.P. JoePa” statuses, thanking him for all he did for Penn State and for the sport of football at large. More importantly, every news article I read seems to idolize Paterno, focusing on his coaching accomplishments and only mentioning the scandal as if it was an unfortunate incident for which we should feel sorry for him. Most disturbing, perhaps, are the repeated claims that losing his position at Penn State perhaps hastened his death.

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Christmas Comes Early for the St. Louis Cardinals

By: alex.chrum, December 23, 2011 in News and Sports. Closed Tags: , , , , .

Residents of St. Louis might be feeling some relief this morning after the loss of key player and city staple Albert Pujols. When Pujols announced his departure from the Cardinals earlier this month, St. Louisians were up in arms. Feelings of betrayal paired with accusations of greed and deception made the split less than amicable, and many were questioning the future of the team sans Pujols. Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., however, said he expected Pujols’s departure to enhance the team’s payroll by $110 million, allowing the opportunity for the Cardinals to sign younger, equally talented players.

Heavy hitter Carlos Beltran will now be playing for the Cardinals

That $110 million will apparently be put to good use, as yesterday the organization went public with its decision to sign fielder Carlos Beltran. Pending the results of a physical, Beltran and the 2011 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a two-year and reportedly $26 million contract. For many, the signing of Beltran brings great relief after the loss of Pujols. This past season, he batted .300 with 22 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .385 on-base percentage while playing for the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. The switch-hitter is a six-time All-Star with a .283 career batting average, 302 home runs and 1,146 RBIs.

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Vikings Release Football Legend Donovan McNabb

By: alex.chrum, December 2, 2011 in News and Sports. Closed Tags: , , , .

In yet another blow to the superstar’s already floundering career, professional football player Donovan McNabb has been let go from his position as quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. McNabb became a household name after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999, and remains to be the team’s all-time leader in career wins, pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns. He was traded to the Washington Redskins in 2010, then to the Minnesota Vikings in 2011. After playing in only six games of the 2011 season, he was indefinitely benched in favor of Christian Ponder. Yesterday, the Vikings announced that they would be releasing McNabb, meaning that the football legend is now officially available on waivers.

McNabb hoists the NFC Championship trophy after a big win in 2008

McNabb’s release comes from a long, slow downfall beginning in 2009. After being named the Big East’s offensive player of the 1990s for his years with Syracuse University, the Chicago native was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999. In his 10 years as quarterback for the team, he led them to four consecutive NFC East division championships (2001-2004), five NFC Championship games (2001-2004 and 2008) and one Super Bowl (in which they lost to the New England Patriots).

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Happy Halloween! Err…HalloWorldSeries!

By: alex.chrum, October 31, 2011 in Celebrities, Holidays and Sports. Closed Tags: , , , .

With all the recent (and well-deserved) hoopla surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals being named World Series champions this past Friday, Halloween has pretty much fallen by the wayside. A majority of the city’s weekend festivities for the holiday undoubtedly morphed into some conglomeration of costume-slash-World Series party.

Hundreds of thousands of fans packed the streets of downtown St. Louis yesterday for the celebratory World Series parade.

Even at the parade in downtown St. Louis yesterday, grown men dressed in Bert and Ernie costumes were seen mingling and taking pictures with fans decked out in Cardinals gear.

At 22 years old, today is the first Halloween I have never celebrated. This is especially upsetting to me, for not only is Halloween my favorite holiday, but it confirms the already lingering suspicion I had regarding my own adulthood. To put it short, I am officially OLD. This year, for the first time, there were no parties, no costumes, and, needless to say, no trick-or-treating.

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The World Series Returns to Saint Louis for the Third Time in Seven Years

By: alex.chrum, October 19, 2011 in News, Politics and Sports. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed growing up in St. Louis, it’s that we have some of the most diehard sports fans in the country. I’ve seen tricked-out Hummers with custom Blues paint jobs, more Cardinals tattoos than I can count (yes, the permanent kind) and enough Rams merchandise to keep me from forgetting that we still have a football team. But our dedication really is somewhat ironic, when you think about it. For a good seven years, we didn’t even have a football team; the Cardinals moved to Arizona in ’88, and it wasn’t until ’95 that we acquired the Rams from L.A.

Saint Louis Cardinals players celebrate after clinching a birth to the world series.

Since then, they’ve made it to the Super Bowl twice, winning the first against Tennessee in 2000 and losing the second to New England in 2002. The St. Louis Blues, my favorite team, have never, ever, EVER won a Stanley Cup in franchise history (much to my chagrin). The Cardinals, our one saving grace, have played in the World Series a total of 17 times. Of those 17, they have won ten and lost only seven.

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Colts Struggling Without Manning

By: ann.taylor, September 26, 2011 in News and Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

As the daughter of an Indiana native, I was born and raised on Indiana basketball, Notre Dame football and Peyton Manning for president. As a St. Louis native, my love for the Colts and all things Manning (yes, that includes Eli too), have often led me to find myself in a bind when the Rams take on the Colts, but those days may be over.

Get well soon #18!

After Manning’s latest neck surgery, an anterior cervical fusion procedure on September 8th, Colts fans worry that his recurring nerve problem still won’t be fixed, or worse yet, the Colts might cut or trade him. Manning has been in the league for 13 seasons, meaning that I cannot remember a time without him, and had never missed a start from his first day in the NFL in 1998 through that horribly epic loss in the playoffs against the Jets on January 8, 2011.

While fans should be rejoicing over the 227 consecutive games that Manning has strung together for them, it is just too hard to imagine an NFL with only one Manning brother, and even harder to imagine what will happen to the Oreo’s commercials! Manning is to the Colts and Indianapolis what Jordan was to the Bulls and Chicago, you just can’t imagine one without the other, but unlike Jordan, Manning might not to be able to bow out on his own accord.

Oh, and while we’re at it, why not add one more blow to the Colts’ franchise? Manning’s replacement, Kerry Collins, who was brought out of retirement to fill his shoes, suffered an injury in Sunday night’s game against the Steelers. Hopefully third-string quarterback Curtis Painter can hold down the fort for now, but things are looking bleak in Indy.

NFL All Mixed Up: RB Ronnie Brown Joins Philadelphia Eagles

By: Zack Stovall, August 2, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Ronnie's Running with a Different Team Now

Pro-Bowl stand out and former Miami Dolphin running back Ronnie Brown has signed a one-year contract with the now LOADED Philadelphia Eagles. Brown is hoping to revamp his erstwhile-brilliant career, while the Eagles have been snatching up marque players left and right, with shut down corner Nnamdi Asomugha signing along with former Offensive Rookie of the Year and Tennessee Titan Vince Young, who will make up another mobile QB Michael Vick.

As the NFL Lockout wrapped up and teams were able to sign free agents, a bevy of rapid-fire deals began to be signed, sending hometown favorites to new teams. A former NFC Champion with the Seattle Seahawks, Matt Hasselbeck will likely finish his career in Nashville with the Titans. Albert Haynesworth, the talented but troubled defensive tackle with one of the meanest streaks in the league was sent to the New England Patriots after a disappointing few years with the Washington Redskins. The Pats have also signed former-Cincinnati Bengal Chad Ochocinco (that’s his real name) to provide QB Tom Brady a viable deep threat.

The league also lost one of its greatest players, WR Randy Moss, who played for three different teams last year (the Pats, the Minnesota Vikings and the Titans) and declined other offers to go ahead and retire, ending one of the best and strangest careers of all time. Seriously, who sets the record for touchdown receptions and also fake moons home crowds? Only Randy Moss.

NFL, Players Union Finally Reach Agreement For Pro Football in 2011

By: Zack Stovall, July 25, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , .

There's no crying in football, but at least there's football.

The NFL Players Union and the team owners finally came to an agreement Monday, paving the road for professional football in 2011.

The NFL Lockout, which began way back in March, pitted the NFL Players Association against the owners of each of the 32 NFL teams, with each staking a claim at roughly $9 billion dollars in revenue. Each side wanted a larger slice of the revenue, with the owners taking a slight advantage, 53 percent to the players’ 47 percent.

One concession made by the owners was the 18-game season proposed by them, and ultimately rejected by the players. Players cited an added risk to injury with no paid incentive, and vehemently appealed the proposal. In a compromise, the issue can be brought back up again in 2013, with the players still having the deciding vote.

The deal is slated to last for ten years. Rookies, free agents and all other personnel are allowed back into their teams’ facilities tomorrow.

The main point: FOOTBALL THIS YEAR!