Maroons!!!

For the Queensland Maroons to beat the New South Wales Blues in the Australian Rugby League State of Origin Series for eight years in a row is nothing short of phenomenal. It is a sporting dynasty unparalleled in other codes. It is not as if NSW didn't throw everything at their northern cousins, including the kitchen sink and a number of howitzers, but still the mighty Cane Toads prevailed. Unbelievable, even after a two point victory in the final match of the series.

Morons

I am a big fan of the Running Utes. My wife graduated from the University of Utah and she is rightly proud of her school and their excellent football team.  It's some of their mindlessly stupid fans that have me shaking my head in both disbelief and anger. They could have cost us a very important game. Ute fans stormed the field three times at the end of the Ute-Cougars game Saturday night and they nearly changed the outcome of the game from their seats, after the punter did his best to undo all his team mates good work (but that's a story for another day).

The drama started on what appeared to be the final play of the game at Rice-Eccles Stadium when a pass by BYU quarterback Riley Nelson hit the turf as time expired. Fans rushed onto the field for the first time, but the game was not over. Officials put one second back on the clock. BYU was given had a chance to tie the score with a field goal attempt, but was blocked by star Lotule Lei. However, the ball was still live when fans ran back onto the field, making it a 15-yard penalty against the Utes and giving the Cougars another attempt at a field goal to tie the game after clearing the fans off the field for a second time.

The game finally came to an end when Riley Stephenson’s kick hit the upright making it no good for the Cougars. Given the few chances for BYU to score after they were brought on by rowdy Ute fans, their conduct should lead to some changes at the U. Arrest and lifetime bans for those who charge field. Drunkenness, stupidity, boorishness and simply not caring past your own loutish fantasies are no excuse for that kind of behavior. The football team (and any other varsity team) work very hard to get their results, and frankly, this one was an upset. Time to get real serious with these losers.

Andy Roddick - One Last Roar

One of my all-time favorite tennis players is calling it quits after both a long, illustrious career and this year's U.S.Open. Andy Roddick has endeared himself to millions of fans worldwide, not just Americans, but everybody. He has been the embodiment of commitment, fearlessness, hard work, sportsmanship and a wonderfully self-deprecatory sense of humor for well over a decade.

Andy is equally well known for his patriotism and desire to play for his country in the David Cup and mentor those younger players the United States has recently blooded. This commitment to American tennis is far deeper than many of his contemporaries who put self above nation. I have high hopes that Andy will continue his march through the later rounds of the 2012 U.S. Open and I would be very happy if he was to win the trophy in his last tournament. It would be only fair for someone who has given so much to the game.

Myopic Deans bashers reveal the ugly head of xenophobia

This week a xenophobic antagonism towards Robbie Deans has emerged in mainstream media. It is being asserted publicly that a New Zealander - and an All Black to boot - can't be trusted to coach the Wallabies to victories over the All Blacks. This is Australian rugby's equivalent of a Barack Obama Birther controversy. Deans has never been accepted as a legitimate Wallabies coach by an unholy alliance of recalcitrant former coaches, players, rugby power brokers and commentators who want to take over the ARU from the establishment. He was given the disgraceful nickname "Dingo" on being appointed. Now, following the losses to the All Blacks at Sydney and Auckland, the nasty implication behind the nickname (''untrustworthy'') has been laundered into the argument that the national coach can only be an Australian.

The proof of this contention, so the dingo line of argument runs, lies in the number of defeats suffered by the Wallabies against the All Blacks on the Deans watch. After the Wallabies went down to the All Blacks 22-0 at Eden Park last weekend, a shaken Deans told journalists that his side had been given a "masterclass in rugby" by the best team in the world. This comment was seized on by the Birthers as a capitulation and an excuse by a coach whose heart wasn't in the contest.

Anyone who knows anything about Deans will understand that the personal attacks on him as a sort of All Blacks stalking horse are nonsense. There is no team in the world with a winning record against the All Blacks. Colleague Josh Rakic has produced statistics in the Herald that show that since 2008 the All Blacks have won 84 per cent of their Tests. Only South Africa (45 per cent winning record), France (20 per cent) and Australia (18 per cent) have won Tests against them during this time. Deans's Wallabies account for almost a third of the 10 All Blacks defeats since 2008. The Wallabies won the Tri Nations last year for the first time in a decade. And two years ago they defeated the Springboks at altitude for the first time in 47 years. This year the Wallabies defeated Six Nations champions Wales in three successive Tests. And they are ranked No.2 in the world. This is not the record of a stalking horse.

To read the rest of this excellent Sydney Morning Herald article by Spiro Zavos, click here.

In our opinion: Former cycling champion Lance Armstrong's fall from fame disappointing

We're not sure which is more disappointing: the hard evidence the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says it has against cyclist Lance Armstrong and his decision not to contest those charges, or the way so few people seem surprised by the prospects of another athletic hero being tarnished.

The disappointment stems not so much from the need for genuine heroes in the athletic world, but from the need for genuine heroes in all walks of life who place integrity and fair play above other considerations, especially money and fame. The young people of the world — themselves vulnerable in a world dominated by people older and more powerful than they — need such examples. They need assurances that success in life hinges on things within their grasp — honest effort and hard work — and not on their ability to secure unfair advantages.

The athletic world has seen its share of heroes fall in recent years. Baseball has been riddled by accusations and admissions of steroid use. Former Olympic runner Marion Jones had to give up her medals and serve time in jail. The unfortunate result has been that virtually any major athletic achievement immediately is tainted by suspicion.

Armstrong's case is particularly compelling because he overcame cancer to become a world-class athlete. His victories were seen as inspirational for people undergoing physical challenges. If he tarnished that record through dangerous drugs that might harm his health, the tragedy becomes doubly distressing.

Armstrong still professes his innocence. His decision not to contest the charges against him in arbitration, however, casts doubt on his claims. The USADA says it has strong evidence he used illegal substances and encouraged teammates to do the same. Ten former teammates reportedly were ready to testify against him.

Armstrong may well have decided that contesting the charges would have posed a never-ending battle against his relentless critics. The reason that seems unlikely, however, is that his decision now costs him his record seven Tour de France titles and his legacy as one of the greatest athletes of his era.

To read the remainder of this Deseret News Editorial, click here.

Mario Balotelli: The Crown Prince of Football

KIEV, Ukraine -- The sweetest moment of Euro 2012 didn't fit the script. In the celebration after Italy's 2-1 semifinal win over favored Germany on Thursday, Azzurri striker Mario Balotelli made a pilgrimage to the stands of the National Stadium in Warsaw and embraced a small, aging Italian woman in the front row. So fearsome on the field, so ready to project anger and strength, the 21-year-old Balotelli melted in her arms like a gentle giant.

It was the kind of warmth you see between a mother and son. Silvia Balotelli, Mario's adoptive mother, had come to Warsaw to support him, and he had done something transcendent, scoring both Italian goals in a breathtaking display of power, speed and skill. But for the polarizing wunderkind of Italian soccer, the one who's on the verge of holding the English Premier League and European titles, the importance of those goals paled in comparison to the emotion he felt afterward.

"The best moment of the night was when I saw my mother after the game," Balotelli would say. "Those goals were for her."

To say that Balotelli is larger than life would be accurate these days, even in a literal sense, thanks to the gigantic piece of crop art showing the back of his Mohawked head in a field near Verona. Balotelli has become a symbol in the world of European soccer, one that has produced its share of ugly moments from others during Euro 2012.

It may be hard to fathom for U.S. sports fans, but racism is still common in stadiums here, and Balotelli has been the lightning rod for much of it. The Croatian federation was fined $101,000 in part for racist chants by its fans that included a banana thrown at Balotelli. On Friday, the Spanish federation was fined $25,000 for its own racist fan chants at the towering Italian. A Ukrainian TV commentator suggested that racist taunts might be useful in throwing Balotelli off his game, as though it were just one more tactic on the field. And then Italy's sports bible Gazzetta dello Sport got into the act before the Italy-England game, publishing a cartoon in which Balotelli was shown swatting soccer balls from the top of Big Ben like King Kong atop the Empire State Building. (The paper later apologized.)

Born to Ghanaian immigrants in Sicily and adopted by a white Italian family, Balotelli has chosen (perhaps not surprisingly) to flash scowls, angry poses and provocative T-shirts (WHY ALWAYS ME?) whenever he scores, whether it's for England's Manchester City or the Italian national team. In England, he has earned a reputation as a prodigiously talented but reckless player who's always in danger of earning a red card, as he did in a late-season Premier League game at Arsenal, drawing a three-game suspension. More than a few observers thought it was foolhardy for Italian coach Cesare Prandelli to choose Balotelli for his Euro 2012 team.

Instead, Balotelli has flipped the script. There has been plenty of poor behavior by players in this tournament -- French midfielder Samir Nasri's profane tirades at journalists, tales of ego-driven meltdowns inside the Dutch camp -- but Balotelli hasn't produced any of it. Refusing to complain publicly when he lost his place in the starting lineup, Balotelli did his job and scored three terrific goals to tie for the tournament lead. (Not coincidentally, he's starting again.) Rather than clash with his teammates, as is so common in these high-pressure tournaments, he has developed a respectful working relationship with frontline partner Antonio Cassano and Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo. Instead of spewing profanities at the media a la Nasri, Balotelli requested to appear at a podium press conference and came off as mature and even funny, saying he's both a man and Peter Pan.

Balotelli's Italian teammates appear to have genuine affection for him, and in perhaps the biggest stunner of Thursday's win, they managed to draw a smile out of him after his goals.

The closest comparison in U.S. sports that you could probably make to Balotelli would be Dennis Rodman and Terrell Owens in the prime of their careers. Like them, Balotelli has the ability to take over games with his surpassing talent and cleverness. Like them, Balotelli has the tendency to take things too far at times, provoking opponents and becoming his own worst enemy. And like them, Balotelli has acquired a kind of folk-hero status, spawning outlandish tales that resonate because, well, it's Super Mario, and even the ones that aren't totally true carry a kernel of truth.

Did you hear the one about how Balotelli set his Manchester house on fire by lighting a bunch of fireworks indoors? Or the one when he tried a full pirouette on a breakaway against the L.A. Galaxy in a friendly -- and missed? Or the one when he had a traffic accident, got stopped by the cops and responded to their question of why he was carrying 5,000 pounds with: "Because I am rich"? Or the one when he drove around Manchester wearing a Father Christmas outfit and giving out cash to the poor? (The first two are definitely true; the second two perhaps not so much.)

Balotelli has won plenty of fans (and a fair number of critics) during his club career at Inter and Manchester City. But a funny thing happens when a player puts on his country's jersey and scores big goals at a major tournament. You become not just a player but a national hero. It's as though Balotelli, already larger than life, has somehow increased his stature here.

He brought it to a new level in Thursday's game, and then he added a new layer after that. In a tournament that needed a message of racial healing, the photograph of an exultant black player hugging his beaming white mother is a powerful image that needs no explanation.
The sweetest moment of Euro 2012 came from, of all people, Mario Balotelli. Imagine that.

Read more at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/grant_wahl/06/29/Mario-Balotelli-Euro-2012/index.html#ixzz22XzAljfl

Tennis at the Olympics Must Become a Major

I was watching a stunning 2012 London Olympic match this morning between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, with commentary by the great grand slam champion John McEnroe. McEnroe, in his usual inimitable style remarked that he thought it incredible that the upcoming Rogers Cup competition in Toronto, Canada, carried more points in the world tour for both men and women than playing at the Olympics did. McEnroe went further, suggesting that every four years, the Olympic tennis competition should be treated as a fifth grand slam and that the winners should receive points similar to any other of the regular four majors. 

Tom Chivers, the assistant comments editor of the U.K. Telegraph newspaper, believes that tennis should be dropped from the Olympics altogether. Why? Because, Chivers says, "No one wants to see bored superstars competing in the Olympics as an afterthought. Being an Olympic gold medal winner should, really, be the crowning glory of a sportsperson's career." He is totally right in his assessment but equally wrong in his solution. Having the professional associations, the ATP and WTA, wake up and give the Olympic Games the respect they deserve is the answer.  Give the Olympics Grand Slam status each year held and you will get the appropriate reaction from the players and the fans. Time for the latte drinking jet-setters in charge of world tennis to pull their fingers out and get real, and listen to SuperBrat.

Penn State shouldn't play football

I have spent the last few months talking to people about how youth or high school athletic experiences built their confidence, taught them discipline and basically, just enriched their lives. These successful people talk about how coaches became key figures in their lives, how athletics showed them they were capable of much more than they believed and how much they cherished just being a part of something.

But in the last few days I have been haunted by the Freeh report, which not only confirmed what many people knew, it revealed legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno wasn't the only powerful man covering for a now convicted child rapist. I got a few emails on the subject because last November I wrote a column about how the university should handle the remainder of the 2011 football season. And while I acknowledged there were reasons to keep playing, I suggested the reasons to cancel the remainder of the season were more important. 

I wrote: For me, it came down to one question: Are we our brother's keeper? If we are, then the Nittany Lions shouldn't play any more football games this season. They shouldn't play until an investigation by the university rids them of anyone who knew something and did nothing.

Over time, inaction becomes action. By doing nothing, those who knew chose to allow an alleged child rapist to not only roam free, but to maintain office space in the very same building where they are trying to teach young men how to look out for one and other.

For Penn State to rise from this devastation, they must be what Joe Paterno was not in this instance — courageous, bold and unequivocal.

And, I concluded with this: That coaching staff shouldn't coach another practice or game until university officials finish their investigation. Then, and only then, will it be time to play again. Let's just say I didn't get a lot of support back then.

But in the wake of the Freeh report, there is renewed talk of cancelling football. Some have suggested that if the NCAA doesn't punish the program, the university should (finally) do the right thing and cancel the program for at least a year.

To read the remainder of this article by Amy Donaldson in the Deseret News, please click here.

The BCS is Dead!

Or at least on its last legs, hooked up to a heart-lung machine, just waiting to fade away into oblivion. In a truly important and long overview decision, a select committee of university presidents on Tuesday approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season. This means that the very unfair and very much despised Bowl Championship Series will disappear at the end of next year. This will please just about everyone that doesn't have a vested interest in the status quo. It will also tap into the huge amount of genuine goodwill generated by basketball's March Madness, which is partially replicated.

The move completes a six-month process in which the commissioners have been working on a new way to determine a college football champion. Instead of simply matching the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country in a championship game after the regular season, the way the Bowl Championship Series has done since 1998, the new format will create a pair of national semifinals. No. 1 will play No. 4, No. 2 will play No. 3. The teams will be selected by a committee, similar to the way the NCAA basketball tournament field is set, with the winners advancing to the national championship game. Much better than the biased and exclusionary mess we have now.

Armstrong gone from America's best rider to hider

So, now what are we supposed to do with this latest bit of news about Lance Armstrong? That the United States Anti-Doping Agency thinks he’s a drug cheat and that it could strip him of his seven Tour de France titles? And that he’s been barred from competing in triathlons, a pursuit he took up after retiring from cycling last year?

It’s one thing when some French newspaper or some foreign event officials or some disgraced racer claims over the past few years that Armstrong used performance-enhancers and that he should be viewed in a whole different light on account of that, but it’s all together another when the organization charged with the responsibility of heading the anti-doping effort for Olympic sports in the United States, a powerful agency that almost never loses cases, jumps aboard that claim.

Armstrong, who was on a mountain in France when he found out about the charges and declined to meet with USADA inside the required week’s time, thought he’d already beaten the rap against him when the feds dropped a two-year investigation into doping-related crimes four months ago.

This time, he was the only one of a number of U.S. cyclists who refused to meet with the agency upon notification. On Twitter, he referred to the inquiry as a "witch hunt," and added in a statement that the charges were "baseless" and "motivated by spite."

"I have never doped," he said. He has never doped. Man, oh man. Lance, we want to believe you, brother.

It occurs that Armstrong is either the most falsely accused, picked on great athlete ever or he’s harboring a huge secret that, bit by bit, is having its cover blown. He’s gone from the greatest American rider of all time to the greatest American hider.

He has meant so much to so many people in this country for so many reasons far beyond his athletic prowess. After these latest charges broke, I talked with a friend, a cancer survivor, who was inspired to fight his own fight, in part, by Armstrong’s story. If the great racer could battle through and come back from testicular cancer, my friend said, then maybe he also could somehow do likewise against the monster that had settled in the form of a grapefruit-sized tumor on his brain. My friend is nine years clean now.

What, then, does he — or any of us who have been moved by Armstrong — do with this kind of information about the great inspirer?

The read the full article by Gordon Monson in the Salt Lake Tribune, please click here.