The Last of the Good Men

Throughout our lives, we have particular teams, cities, players, etc that we follow and come to love. They become the staple in our lives that we know will always be there. They are someone to look up to, other than mom and dad. From the point where I can remember watching the MLB, my favorite player, hands down no questions asked, has always been Ken Griffey Jr. I remember his amazing catches with the Seattle Mariners, a team he should have won his World Series ring with, but under achieved and could not get Griffey that unicorn ring (Maybe if A-Roid started juicing back than he could have done more to help). The big 3 for the Mariners Griffey, Alex Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson were a serious force to be reckoned with back in the day playing at the Superdome.

We all remember Griffey's swing, purest swing I personally have ever seen. The way he would rock back, have the bat tight behind his head, a little wiggle of the barrel and then boom, the slight upper cut that helped him to accumulate 630 homeruns throughout his 22 year career. Even though he was one of the most injury ridden players, the amazing fact that he could still hit that many homeruns, is amazing. Griffey could do it all when he was coming up, 19 with a certain swag about him, a quiet confidence, that made everyone want to play like him. I remember playing ball with my friends throwing baseballs up towards the fence and trying to make a catch "like Griffey" did. He could cover 3/4 of the outfield by himself. Let's be honest, who wouldn't want to play the field like he did, amassing 10 Gold Gloves during his career, to go along with Rookie of the Year in '89, an MVP in '97, 13-time All Star, and 7 Silver Slugger awards to boot. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he would become the next Homerun King, and over take Hank Aaron for his crown. But knee/leg injuries slowed him down and shortened his career. Still 22 seasons is quite the accomplishment. And don't forget Griffey's Homerun Derby appearances. He is the reason kids wear there hats backwards now, he made it look cool while he was up at the plate, whether taking BP, or at the Derby, with his smooth stroke and that big, can't miss smile on his face.

Most recently, all will remember the incident in Seattle, where he returned to play his final seasons, where he alledgely fell asleep in the club house while his manager was looking for him to pinch-hit. But that will soon be forgotten. The voters will not remember that when they are making him a First Ballot Hall of Famer, or when they will retire his number in Seattle. Griffey made baseball the "cool" sport to play back in the day, and we should be so lucky to have watched him grow up and play. I know watching him changed my mentality on and off the baseball diamond. When the Mitchell Report came out, I said to my friends "if Griffey is on that list I will never watch baseball again". And as the time came and passed, he was never even mentioned or suspected of using Performance Enhancing Drugs. Griffey returned to Seattle for a final hooray, but it wasn't so joyful, his bat slowed down, he wasn't as fast, and his playing time was cut, but that smile and backwards hat brought me back to a different time in my life. So thank you Griffey for all you have done.

City of Champions

For the first time since the 1980s, all 4 major sport franchises in Philadelphia have reached their respective championship games in the same decade. The most recent, and most obvious one is the current run the Flyers are on. The Flyers open up their series with the Chicago Blackhawks this Saturday, May 29th at 8pm in Chicago, on NBC. The storyline behind the Flyers epic run to the Cup Finals has been well documented on T.V. and Philadelphia radio stations, such as 610 WIP, where everyone is "Flyered Up". One thing that has many Flyer fans talking "destiny", was the recent release of their documentary "Broad Street Bullies", which recapped the brilliant and fierce run of back to back Stanley Cup Championships for the Flyers in the late 1970s. These back to back Cup Championships were lead by the likes of outstanding goaltender Bernie Parent (no its not pronounced like what you call your mom and dad, there is a French elegance to it), Bill Clemente, Bobby Clarke, and countless other Hall of Famer's. If you haven't watched it yet, stop what you are doing, go to the On Demand Channel, search through HBO Doc's and check it out.

The past 2 years have been dominated by Phillies talk, with their first World Series Title in 2008 since 1980, and a return in 2009 only to lose to the HATED NY Yankees, who bought their 27th Championship. In 1980 the Phillies defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-2. You know it must have been a long time ago if they played the Royals because they havent been relevant since I can remember. With the likes of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Roy "Doc" Halladay, Cole Hamels and many others, it looks like the Phillies will be contenders for a World Title for the next few years. We as fans hope this is true because there is nothing like a deep playoff/championship run, the excitement and jubilation that is in the air can not be compared to anything else.

Back in 2004 the Eagles made their lone Super Bowl appearance since 1980, where they lost 27-10, to the then dominant Black Hole's Oakland Raiders, my how the mighty have fallen. In 04, we all remember the triumphant return of Terrell Owens and his 126 yards and 1 TD after fracturing a bone in his shin before the playoffs started. But more significantly, what will be remembered will be Donavon McNabb's infamous vomit scenario before the last drive of the game, where the Eagles had the opportunity to tie or take the lead and possibly win the Birds first Championship since the 1960 Title win against Green Bay 17-13. But back than it wasn't even the Super Bowl, it was just the Football Championship. And with the recent trade of McNabb to divisional rival Washington Redskins, it looks like it could be a while before the Birds make it back to the Playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl appearance.

And finally, back in 2001, the 76ers made their dyanmic run to the NBA Finals to face local star Kobe Bryant and his LA Lakers. The Sixers stole 1 game from the Lakeshow, but lost the series 4-1. This was their first title appearance since 1982-83, where they beat the LA Lakers, with the help of Dr. J, Maurice Cheeks and Moses Malone. The Sixers have the #2 overall pick in this years draft and are looking at Evan Turner out of The Ohio State University, who would be a great help to the rebuilding of this struggling team.

Should He Stay or Should He Go?

Obviously for those who know me, I am a LeBron James fan to the core. Watching him from high school to his 7th year in the NBA playing for his close-to-hometown Cavaliers has been a true joy for myself, having family from outside of Cleveland, I know how much he means to not only the city but also the state of basketball in Ohio. No one can know what LeBron is thinking with the upcoming July 1st Free Agency period, except LeBron, and maybe his mother (well than you have to include DWest) wait I am getting side tracked. But seriously, the weight of an entire city has been on his shoulders since David Stern said "with the 1st overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft". From jump street he was deemed the savior to all of their championship mis-happenings - The Drive, The Shot, The Fumble; for those of you not old enough to know what any of those are, google them and you will see about 3 decade of Cleveland heartbreak and realize why James was going to be the end to all of their championship woes. But now, the city is faced with a different type of heartbreak, the type that could fold their NBA Franchise. What if James leaves Cleveland? It has been the talk of the nation since last July, and now it has all come to the forefront, with just over a month until the opening day of Free Agency. Personally, if James leaves Cleveland I will write him off and will not support him one bit, I will throw out all of my LeBron swag that I own because being a traitor is not something that I support. "Born Here, Raised Here, Stays Here" is a 100ft banner that hangs outside of Quicken Loans Arena, space bought by blue collar, hard working people who are pleading, begging him to stay. If he leaves, the city, which has enough financial struggles to begin with, will fall even farther down the slippery slope. The number one import/export for Cleveland is LeBron. He is the reason the city can keep its head above water, he gives an escape for the unemployed who are struggling to get by. Now you will have those who will say "it is just a game", well to many that is what they live for: sports. That is why people drop hundreds of dollars to go to a professional sports game, to see the best athletes in the world compete for a few hours. That is why we, as a society, allow athletes like Alex Rodriguez to sign 10 year - $250 million dollar contracts, with out raising the question, why is he getting paid that much money to hit a white stitched baseball and teachers salaries are getting cut every year? Personally, I like to believe that LeBron realizes where he comes from, and what he means to the city, in turn helping him to decide to stay. Why would he want to go to Chicago and live in Jordan's shadow for the rest of his career? Why would he want to play for the shady Russian billionaire Nets owner (though his homeboy Jay-Z is a miniority owner, which poses a serious threat)? And finally, why would he want to go play for the Knicks? If he thought he was scrutinized for his poor play in the playoffs this year, imagine if he was in NY and that happened, think about the cover of the Post and all of the hundreds of other magazines and gossip columns, they would absolutely tear him to shreds. So I plead with you LeBron, do whats best for yourself, best for you city, and best for the NBA...Stay in Cleveland.