Friday, September 2, 2011

Yeah, I'm Just Going to Say it.

So recently I have had a lot going on and haven’t been blogging much.  It is not so much I am lazy, but I have so much I want to write about.  Everytime I site down to post something , I think of 50 other things I would like to post about and then I end up writting nothing.
So there are these people on twitter called #boxingheads.  They talk trash, dish the scoop, and give their opinions on all things boxing.  I have was recently asked to join a fantasy boxing league and I am quite excited about it.  Its going to be fun and I will have the opportunity to talk some top notch smack while attempting to win the championship.

They do disappoint me though.  Victor Ortiz and Floyd are fighting in a couple weeks and everybody seems to think Floyd is invincible and Victor doesn’t have a chance.  I disagree.  Ortiz has had a bad rap since the Maidana fight. If you don’t remember what went down there, Oritz was in an EPIC slugfest with Maidana and eventually Ortiz gave up.  He wasn’t knocked out, and he could have still pulled the fight out, but instead he quit and said “I don’t deserve to be hit like that..”.  I was very disappointed as I had been following Ortiz’s career for a bit by then and thought he was a going to be a can’t miss sort of prospect.  Mental weakness is not something any fighter can afford and that’s what gets them hurt when they aren’t as sharp as they need to be to conduct business in the ring.

I think Ortiz can win and here is why:
1. He’s only 24. He is in his prime right now and looking very fit and dangerous.  He doesn’t have have a lot of miles on the tires just yet and can take a decent punch.  Andre Berto put Ortiz’s chin to the test and he came out of it just fine and went on to win the fight handily.
2. He’s hungry.  He wants to remain champion and he has the motivation to do it.  He is much more focused and more driven than I have ever thought he could be.  He took the belt away from another tough, strong, young fighter and he did it in a convincing fashion.  If he can bring that bearing, poise and focus into the ring with him again, I don’t think Floyd can come close to rattling him.
3. Power.  Ortiz has pop in both hands, and I don’t mean a little bit, but he’s got world class power. He can move you with either hand and he’s not afraid to throw.  He is getting better at placing his punches and from what I’ve seen in his last 3 fights he doesn’t waste a ton of punches either.  If he commits to throwing his hands, can wear Floyd down by hitting him a lot.  Hooks to the body and arms, short punches to the face and chest, after a few rounds of that Floyd will slow down quite a bit.

I know that’s not much to go on, but I think Floyd’s time is coming to an end.  Old and slow Mosely put some tips on Floyds chin and he buckled, I don’t think Ortiz will have trouble duplicating this feat.  I look forward to some debating on this!!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Dammit Jim!

Ok I will admit this right off the rip, I am an OSU homer.  I graduated from OSU in 2007 and I also work at the OSU Medical Center.  I love my school.  One of the perks (aside from having the best damn band in the land) is having one of the most successful football programs ever.  Nothing beats a game at the 'Shoe with 105,000 of the best fans in the college football universe.  And yes, death to the team up north!  But recently we've had cause to see the best sports program at our school take a huge hit.  Our fearless and untouchable Coach Jim Tressel and a few of the football players have managed to damage the program for years to come.  For what you might ask?  Well by this time everybody knows what went down.  Some players (whom I will not name to avoid a HUGE rant) decided they where above the rules and sold their prized awards (ie gold pants, conference championship rings, ect..)  for tattoos and cash.  Also as we find out, there may have been some very shady deals involving cars sold for way less than their worth or simply given away. 

 Now I understand it was their stuff.  I get that.  However there is this little thing called the NCAA, and they have some rules that say "Thou shalt not sell your stuff while you are a player for a university goverened by the NCAA".  So the "it's their stuff" arguement is moot, and the changing of the rule is a whole different conversation.  If you are a college player you agree the the rules and their enforcement, its just that simple.  You violate these rules then they pull out the paddle and give you some lumps.  Now the players in question have the talent and skill to go to the NFL.  Awaiting them are large contracts, and if they are any good at all maybe some stardom.  Why on Earth would you jeopardize draft position and potentially more money by breaking the rules?  I doubt aside from stupidity there will ever be an acceptable answer to that question.  I think a whole lot of not caring was involved there. 

But really it comes down to one man that should have brought the hammer down and just sucked it up while his star players where acting like children.  Jim Tressel should have been all over that like glaze on a donut.  This would have been the perfect example of one of his big "teaching moments".  Show the other players that yes even the mighty Terrell Pryor can be paddled just like any other petulant rule breaking child.  I think the message there would have served Jim for many long years to come, hey you mess around I'm going to nail your ass to the wall and leave it there for everybody to see.  In doing this Tress could have saved the entire program from the coming storm that will be the NCAA's ruling.  Instead, he perpetrated a massive cover-up that is still being peeled back layer by layer.  Now I certainly understand the man is paid to win football games.  He went 106-22 in ten seasons...that is a bloody stellar record.  That's about an 80% win percentage.   But he is also paid to make the right decision (which I'm not totally convinced the AD has assisted with), in this case he did not.

Instead, Tress lied not once, but twice to the NCAA about the infractions by his players, knowingly kept ineligible players on the field, and then tried to bury it so it wouldn't be found.  I understand the man has a job to do, but that's not his only job, plus its Jim Tressel, the paragon of virtue and integrity. He knows better than to touch this situation with a 10 foot  pole, but to instead route it the proper authorities, sit the players involved, and come up with some brilliant scheme to keep the season alive.  But the reality is we can never know what it is like unless we are in his position.  I am not excusing Jim for is idiotic oversight, but I am saying I can understand why.  The way it was handled though...yeah that was a bit crap.

That's about all the time I have for now, please feel free to leave your thoughts..or not whatever you want to do.

Corey

Saturday, March 12, 2011

As it turns out.

So as it turns out true believers that life is apparently here merely to make you tired.  Yep tired.  I can't remember being more tired to be honest, because frankly I'm too tired to think back that far.  Makes me wonder how anybody gets anything done anymore.  Is it just me or is everything moving faster and faster?  Could just be a by product of being older, seeing as the older I get the less time I have left.  Sort of a heavy existential nonsensical thing to think about on a Saturday morning.  Is this it? Do I grind it out with people I have to get along with at work, in a job that is less than satisfying?  That seems pretty lame considering I spend more time there than I do awake at home.  Oh yes the best part is having to buy into something, a philosophy or something equally inane and time wasting. Its seem very depressing to think I'm going to work for another 30 years, retire, then die.  That's it.  I am not sure what brought on this bout of melancholic thinking, but lately I've been less than satisfied with what I'm doing with my life.  I have a great (and often crazy) wife, and a beautiful daughter who is already showing promise.  I just don't want to be a miserable asshole all the time, but looking forward just makes me sad.   Sigh.