This week in sports

I have to agree with my fellow sports columnist Bob Lazzari that the NBA is unwatchable. The last four or five Celtics games have been awful. They have broken all the basic rules on defense, like jumping and not keeping their feet on ground. Their rebounding has been awful as well. The UCONN men are playing better than the Celtics right now, and that’s saying something. If you want to see good basketball, than the women’s game is for you, both college and Pro. The women play the game below the rim, which shows their skill level, and more technically sound.

If you listened to the January 15th Congressional hearing featuring Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and Union Leader Donald Fehr you heard them say a number of things like there is no reliable test for HGH and storing blood is not practical. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA): A scientifically valid and effective test for HGH does exists. Also according to WADA storing blood is practical. I have heard in the past that the players do not what a blood test for reasons I’M not sure of. Big bad athletes don’t like needles, I feel so bad. Come on guys and suck it up.
To Selig and Fehr the job is done for you, all you have to do is sign the world Anti-Doping code. It is all spelled out for you. But no US professional sports league has signed it. Why, because we want to be independent from the rest of the world. A quote from WADA, “To not test for HGH, when you have the resources and opportunity, is to give players a free pass to HGH abuse.”

I would like to clarify my comment that winter is the doldrums for sports fans. There is NBA basketball, NHL Hockey and men and women’s college basketball at night. There is the NFL playoffs and pro bull riding and bowling on the weekends. I’M talking about the weekdays from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. The only thing on is sports talk shows on ESPN and most of them I do not like. I would like to see more Darts and Snooker. I know ESPN and Fox Sports have done Darts before but its time to give it another try. I have never seen Snooker but what I have read it is a great sport that is a lot better then the pool that ESPN has on some times.

I cannot wait for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on Pay-Per View on Super Saturday (Feb. 2). UFC-81 features the UFC debut of former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion Brock Lesnar. Brock will face former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who has faced many big time opponents.

I know some of you will think I’M crazy for liking the UFC, but since the first UFC in 1993 no one has died in the octagon. Many people have died in the boxing ring in that same time. Two people have died in mixed martial arts (MMA), but these were in unsanctioned fights. The UFC is sanctioned in Nevada, California and by other state’s boxing commissions. I like it because it is as real as it gets, its not like pro wrestling, which is scripted. Also unlike boxing you know who the champion is in each weight class. There are a lot of MMA promotions out there, but the UFC is the biggest and best.
Two columns’ back I commented on UCONN Men’s coach Jim Calhoun being under rated. This time I would like to comment on women’s coach Geno Auriemma. I think Geno is over-rated; yes, he has won 5 national championships, but they have not won anything in the past three seasons. Most of the championships they have won had some of the best players of all time on the team like, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Rebecca Lobo just to name a few. He may be a great recruiter and motivator but sometimes he comes off as arrogant, such as forgetting the name of a big time opponent at a press conference before the North Carolina game. Then there was the time this season he told one of his freshman reserve players, not to screw up because they were #1 in the country and have a chance to win the National Title. Sometimes, I think all his success goes to his head.