A long over do post…

This post is long over do, and very near and dear to my heart…

Last week, I think (it has all been such a whirlwind since it happened), my best friend and the UConn Huskies won the Women’s NCAA Championship.

Some of you fellas may be rolling your eyes.  But when is the last time you crossed over on someone, started in a national championship basketball team, or even played a full basketball game?  And half court pick-up games don’t count.

My best friend, Kaili McClaren, became my best friend randomly, and we’ve supported each others endeavors since.  But I remember walking down the hall with her in high school while she told me in great detail the first thing she would do once she won a national championship.  I have all those conversations glued in my memory.

So that night while they cut down the basket, she sent me a text saying that she would try to cut me down a piece…I guess because I’ve always believed in her and make sure that she knows it.

So what does this have to do with anything?  I don’t know really.  I just know I have been extremely proud since the final buzzer rang.  That my best friend, who shared a most likely to be a superstar superlative, is the most decorated athlete to come out of our high school.  That the Huskies reached perfection…or maybe I’m just happy to say that she, the national champion, is my best friend.

Either way this boastful moment is long over due, and I’m glad I took the time to do it.

Bracketologist and Chief

Dear Mr. President,
What is the deal with you and Pittsburgh? First it was the Steelers in the Super Bowl, and now you think Pitt is going to beat Duke. I bet you think the Pirates are gonna win the World Series.
I don’t want to scare you but reelection is in four years. And college fans are like elephants…they never forget. A large part of your vote was from college students, but with your latest bracket you may have pissed off some potential voters…there is probably a reason no president has publicly made their tourney choices known. Oh and isn’t your brother-in-law a coach in the Pac 10. If you don’t think they’ll make it past the first weekend I bet that’ll make the next family gathering a little awkward.
Stop telling ESPN your bracket choices, and just give us our bailout plan.
Love and loyaly,
MacKenzie G.

Bryce Brown Chooses…not Miami

Princess Brown made his decision…finally.  And he’s going to Tennessee!

But I’m kind of glad he’s not coming to UM.  The last thing the football team needs is another prima-donna.  Seriously the guy had a pay-to-view website and he was only in high school.  Could you have imagined how much he would have abused his power if he had come to UM…the administration probably would have had to allow him to have a car and a parking space just to pacify him over the summer.

I think his long awaited decision wasn’t because he needed to clear his head, but rather due to a minor case of bitchassness…but don’t worry Bryce its curable…and hopefully the Vols can get you the vaccine, and quick.

The Athletes Version of the Bible

Has anyone ever noticed that athletes seem to draw from their own revisionist version of the bible?

I have a friend that plays football for the University of Miami.  This young man believes in abstinence before marriage (believe me he is far from a virgin) and wants to stone any woman that doesn’t follow his beliefs.  This same guy has a picture of a particular body part Britney Spears was flashing all over the place saved on his phone.

Why is it that athletes have their own version of the Bible.  Dwight Howard condemns people for having tattoos and follows the commandments to a t…but he has a baby out of wedlock.  T.O. is a God fearing man…but humble doesn’t seem to be in his moral fibers.  You praise God when you get a touchdown or make the game winning basket, but in the same breathe you drink alcohol like its water, cheat on you wives/girlfriends, and any other hedonism you can get you hands on.

Please athletes, get off your self-righteous high horse and own up…we’re all sinners in some way deep down just be honest enough to own up to it.

Gilbert Arenas is a terrorist

Wtf?

Yea I said it Gilbert Arenas is a terrorist who has the Wizards by the gonads.  

I’m a born and raised Washingtonian and I have always loved the Wizards (I actually just got back from a game a few minutes ago).  I remember when Arenas first came, he rode his bike through Rock Creek Park and took orphans into his home.  And then something happened and he lost his cotton-picking-mind…he had a huge birthday blowout.  Ever since then he’s been putting his baby momma out, and acting like he’s to good for DC.

Ok, granted he may be injured, but why toy with our emotions and tell us Washingtonians you’re coming back, and then disappear on us.  Its sad enough we don’t have Haywood, Thomas, Stephenson, and as of tonight Butler…but seriously, just tell Pollin straight up, “I’m just not that into you anymore.”  We can take it, we got through 8 years of living in the same city as George Bush, we can get through anything.  Its sad no one in the arena knows who the heck is on the court because we have so many throw away players.

Just tell it to us straight Gilbert…its not you its DC.

The Glass Ceiling/Confessions of a Shopaholic

So let me state some obvious facts that will help you follow this rant/post: 1) I’m a student at UM, 2) I’m a double major in broadcast journalism and sports administration, 3) I want to be an on air reporter and columnist like my hero Stephen A., and 4) I’m a minority woman…talk about a handicap.

I’ve learned one think while I’ve been at UM, that being a woman in the sports reporting arena is very difficult…and by difficult I mean completely one sided and at times unfair.  Being a woman in sports is a constant battle between two worlds.  You have to follow different standards than the guys and you have to put more effort into having a conversation about Kobe than the dude that’s seen two Lakers’ games in his entire life.

When I want to talk about basketball (one of my all time favorite sports) I prefer to take the Dan Le Batard approach.  I’m not interested in statistics all the time, I prefer to talk about what it is character wise that makes a great team leader or why Tim Duncan will never get the same kind of press because he won’t give into the hype of being a superstar.  But when I do the guys I’m talking to give each other an “it figures” kind of look.  I can hear their minds saying, “well of course this chick doesn’t want to talk statistics…she probably doesn’t even know what she’s talking about, or she just likes looking at the guys.”

I can’t help that when I forget Nadal’s name I tend to refer to him as “The Hot One,” and that I occasionally pass up watching Monday Night Football for Gossip Girl (there’s a reason that TiVo is around).  Its not my fault that I like to look nice when I have to do an interview, and that I prefer leggings and wedges to jeans and tennis shoes.

Any woman that works in sports knows how it feels.  In order to be a reporter I’ve learned that there are two camps…one of the guys, and the hot chick.  I hope that as I make my place in sports I can stand between the two camps and give a place to every woman that feels as frustrated as I do.

Now you may be wondering what started this sudden feminist rant, and no it wasn’t a sudden urge to burn my bras, it was an email I received Saturday on my sidekick.  It was a blog  assignment to watch the UM vs. Duke game and blog about it during and after the game.  Where was I when this game was going on…in the middle of a marathon trip with my mother and best friend at Avetura Mall.  Yea you may be rolling your eyes…but at this poinlingt, I just don’t give a hoot.