42 Jackie Robinson: From NLB to MLB

Finally, we get to see the story of Jackie Robinson in a motion picture as "42" is released in theaters today. I am going to go see the movie and you should too (don't waste your time going to see Scary Movie 5 instead!). I hope the directors give the story the life that it needs.  By displaying his life inside AND outside of baseball because It is no exaggeration to say Jackie Robinson made his mark on history. And he did it the way Gandhi did, and the way Martin Luther King would — by simply being better than the people who hated him.

Major League Baseball will celebrate the 66th Jackie Robinson Day on April 15th.  (the day he broke baseball’s color barrier.) Players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear No. 42…. but I wonder if they all really know and understand the significance and history of where that moment began or if they are just doing what is required of them from the league. That prompted me to dig through some boxes and find a program and book I had gotten when I visited the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City Missouri…..and I decided to provide you all with some history on how Jackie Robinson found his way from the Negro Leagues to the MLB.

Four Current NFL Players Considering Coming Out As Gay

Another day…another gay rights story. Listen, I am all for doing what you want in your own time but  I don’t care to hear or know about it while I’m trying to enjoy a nice day Sportscenter…AND I don’t have to agree with you. Does that make me judgmental? No. Does that mean I’m condemning you to hell? No. But name-calling and stereo-typing those of us who disagree with you as a bigot, homophobe, or intolerable is exactly what you don’t want done to you. I have a right to speak my opinion on the subject without being verbally attacked just as you have a right to speak yours without being attacked! *steps off soapbox*. Now that’s out of the way…..

NCAA Tourney: My Picks (Sweet 16/Elite 8)

Well ladies and gentlemen March Madness started last week and I didn't post my picks (shame on me). So I had to make sure I posted my picks for the Sweet 16 and beyond. College basketball fans wait every year for - the excitement - ,the upsets and Cinderella stories that make up the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament and there were a few  in the first round but I don't see any taking place in this round. Well..#1 Kansas will fall and  the stories of La Salle (#13) and Florida Gulf Coast (#15) has grasped our attention and some of those that like to root for the underdog are predicting upsets ....but not me. First of all the fact that #13 La Salle is playing a #9 seed Witchita State doesn't fascinate me. If La Salle win it isn't an upset to me. But whatever. 

I have highlighted the team  I chose to win between the two. I have Syracuse, Ohio State, Kansas, and Louisville coming out of their Region and into the final four.

Let's get it started (fist pump)!

Ron Washington Gets Little Credit For Rangers Success

Ron Washington is my uncle. Well he’s not really my uncle... but he reminds me of an uncle. The one that likes to laugh and all the kids like to hang onto his leg when he comes around because he gives them a dollar. He smokes his cigarettes and drinks his beer while telling jokes and keeping everyone around him smiling. But they respect him and when someone says ‘I’m going to tell your Uncle Ron”…you get some get right! He’s that uncle. And he has been that “uncle” for the Texas Rangers ball club.

Ron Washington is the most successful manager the Texas Rangers have ever had.

No one else is in the conversation.

He has led the Rangers to the playoffs each of the past three seasons, including back-to-back trips to the World Series in 2010 and 2011. The Rangers have won 279 games the past three seasons; only the New York Yankees has won more in the American League over that span.

NBA Trade Deadline: Moves Made

The trade deadline was pretty uneventful. Twenty-one players changed teams, and none were named Dwight Howard or Josh Smith. As a matter of fact, no full-time starters were dealt as teams have become more conservative with there moolah while adjusting to a highly restrictive new labor deal.

The biggest deal of 2013 came three weeks before the trade deadline when Toronto received Rudy Gay from Memphis. But the season’s biggest deal came back in October, when Houston got James Harden from the Thunder.

As dry as the trade day was...as an FYI, here are a list of some moves made.

Super Bowl 2013: Why Jacoby Jones Deserved MVP

Quarterbacks have earned the title of “Super Bowl MVP” 25 times out of 46 games. Over the last 10 Super Bowls games played  the QB has won it 7 times ( Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning (twice), Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Joe Flacco), WR has won it 3 times (Deion Branch, Hines Ward,  and Santonio Holmes).

The award almost always goes to the QB position. It’s not as if there aren’t other deserving players on that field. The thought is “ok so he caught 400 yards BUT the QB threw him the ball”.

While it’s fair to argue no position is more important to a team’s success than Quarterback, it’s also fair to argue that voters have shown a bias and in some cases have blatantly disregarded other worthy candidates. 

I’m not saying that Flacco didn’t play well, but he didn’t do anything extraordinary for the QB position. He didn’t do anything that we hadn’t seen in the Super Bowl before. He was regular and reliable.

Wide receiver Jacoby Jones on the other hand…had a record night.

Flacco finishes with 287 yards passing.  The guy who perhaps should have won the award finished with three more.

Jacoby Jones had a Super Bowl-record 290 combined yards, via 56 receiving yards and 234 return yards, including the longest play and longest kickoff return in Super Bowl history (108 yards).

The two best plays of the game by either team were the Jones “oops you didn’t touch me” TD and the 108 yard kick return.

Both players had great games. There is a separating factor tho…Jacoby Jones is in the Super Bowl record books now..Flacco's not. I’m just saying.

As a matter of fact, I could even make a small case for Anquan Boldin, but I have to face is it... in a Super Bowl, the tie goes to the QB. That is just a fact.

Super Bowl MVP's By Position

Quarterback	26
Running Back	7
Wide Receiver	6
Defensive End	2
Linebacker	2
Safety	2
Cornerback	1
Defensive Tackle	1
Kick Returner/Punt Returner	1

Follow me : @beautyofsports

Super Bowl Party 101: What NOT To Wear (Ladies)

Repost:

If you're anything like me, you are trying to figure out what to wear to that Super Bowl party without looking desperate for attention. You tell yourself "I don't want to be too jazzy, but I don't want to be too comfortable. To most women  a big party means a fabulous dress and killer heel. Welp...sorry….this aint' that kind of party beauty!

Manti Te'o: The Story Gets Better....

FYI: You would have to read my blog blog post preceding this one to know all the characters mentioned below!

Further complicating the still-unfolding story is a report that an NFL player is insisting Teo's girlfriend is real. Reagan Mauia, an Arizona Cardinals fullback, said he believes Kekua exist because he met her in person when he and other Polynesian teammates and Pittsburgh Steelers star Troy Polamalu did charity work in June 2011.

"This was before her and Manti," Mauia said Wednesday evening. "I don't think Manti was even in the picture, but she and I became good friends. We would talk off and on, just checking up on each other kind of thing. I am close to her family. When she was going through the loss of her father, I was -- I offered a comforting shoulder and just someone to bounce her emotions off. That was just from meeting her in Samoa."

Mauia said Tuiasosopo (I mention who Tuiasosopo is here) -- whom Mauia believes is Kekua's cousin -- introduced the two. After the initial meeting, Mauia said he met her at an "after-party" for all of the athletes involved in the camp. "She was tall," he said. "Volleyball-type of physique. She was athletic, tall, beautiful. Long hair. Polynesian. She looked like a model ... " When reached by ESPN.com on Wednesday night, former University of Washington and NFL quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo acknowledged that he is a cousin of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo but said he never had met or heard of Kekua.

Mauia said it is his understanding that Kekua's mother is operating her Twitter account. He said he'd never met her mother. When told by a reporter that she apparently might not have existed, Mauia said: "No, she is real."

Wow!

Credit: NY Post

Manti Te'o: Victim or Perpetrator In "Dead" Girlfriend Hoax?

If you're trying to make sense of the news that Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o now says he was the victim of a hoax and that the woman he thought was his "girlfriend" never existed and never died….good luck!

Notre Dame athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, put his neck on the line for football star Te’o in last night’s press conference and I hope he has prepared himself for the real truth that is bound to come out of this. Maybe he knows something we don’t know. But based on my research, Te’o is not a victim….he’s a liar. Wait…I take that back. He was misleading…that sounds better.

Notre Dame says a story about Manti Te'o's girlfriend dying, which he said inspired him to play better as he helped his team get to the BCS National Championship, turned out to be a hoax apparently perpetrated against the star linebacker. The school went as far as to hire an investigator (who paid for that?)!

There are so many inconsistencies and questions that Te’o must answer and my gut feeling tells me that when it comes down to that….Notre Dame will not like what they hear.

Beauties Picks: NFL Playoffs, Divisional Round

Baltimore at Denver, Sat., 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS

I’m sure you watched the games last week. Guess how many yards of offense Indy was able to put up against the Ravens….419. So you have to ask yourself…if Luck did that..what damage will his predecessor’s team do? The Broncos are a top-five offense and top-five defense playing at home. Flacco didn’t impress me last week so the Ravens hopes lay on the shoulders of their defense (as always)…limit Peyton's possessions = best chance to win for Baltimore.

Pick: Denver

Confidence: 4