Giving props to my buddies

I played four years of soccer at Cal State Bakersfield. At the time, we were a Division II school (we went D-I my senior year) and we were one of the best teams in the nation my sophomore and senior years. Just because we were D-II didn't mean we had D-II quality players. As the national champions in 1997, CSUB was able to recruit the best players from California as well as players in Europe. In my four years there, I had the honor of playing with some really talented players.

The most talented player I have ever played with is Josh Wicks. He was a goalie. And he was an absolute freak. He was like 6'3", which is perfect goalie height. He was fearless, which is the most important trait for a goalie. And he was gifted. In practice, he would play without gloves on. He claimed it made his hands stronger.

He wasn't the best looking guy (I called him Seabiscuit) and he wasn't the smartest guy (he got a red card for punching a kid after he got scored on), but he was an absolute freak in goal. Where is he now?

Playing for the LA Galaxy. After spending 3 years playing in the A-League, he was signed a month ago to MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy. RIght now he is the backup, but trust me, it won't be long until we see him between the posts.

Another player I had the pleasure of playing alongside for four years was Lyle Martin. Lyle and I both came in as freshman in 2003. By 2007, he was the best forward in Division II. He scored something like 17 goals in 20 games. On our senior day, he scored 2 goals in front of the home crowd.

Lyle was the most skilled player, but he is the greatest athlete I've ever known. He was on the track team as well (400 meters in 47 seconds...), he was our best player on our intramural basketball team, and he was deceivingly good at poker. Oh, and I didnt mention that he is freaking ripped?



This is a pic of Lyle and I after he scored a goal on our senior day. He ripped off his shirt in jubilation, and I, not wanting to be outdone, ripped off mine and hugged him. We both got yellow cards. Best yellow card I ever received.

Lyle got drafted by Chivas USA of the MLS, but decided to go play in Vancouver to develop. He won Newcomer of the Year last year for the Whitecaps, and I guarantee he will be in the MLS in the next 2 years.

Anyways, on the Cal State Bakersfield Wikipedia page, there is a "Notable Alumni" section. Lyle was listed there, but there was no link to his Wikipedia page. So I added Lyle's wiki page to the page,
and I added Josh Wicks as well.


Before and after.

Oh and I also got rid of Kebu Stewart from the "Notable Alumni" section. Stewart averaged 20 points and 13 rebounds in his 2-year career at CSUB on the basketball team. He ended up getting drafted in 1997 by the Philadelphia 76ers, He played in 15 games for the 76ers in his rookie season, averaging 2.7 points. After his rookie season, he ended up playing overseas for a few teams, but he never played another game in the NBA.

In the scheme of things, perhaps I shouldn't have deleted Kebu from the list. While he isn't really "notable," he certainly is as deserving as Martin or Wicks to be on the list. I mean, playing in the NBA is a pretty big deal, even if it is for just 15 games.

Oh well. His mom can put him back up on the list later.

**EDIT**

After some serious soul-searching, I realized that I really had no right to take down Kebu Stewart. After some investigating, I found out that Stewart was a really great collegiate player. He was rated as one of the best rebounders in the country out of college, and many scouts predicted he would have a promising career.

While his NBA career might not have planned out, he was pretty successful in foreign leagues.



So I put Kebu back on the page.

I even linked him to his Wikipedia page. In the end, my conscience, and inability to fall asleep, got the best of me.


He's like my own personal Moonlight Graham!! I feel like Kevin Costner. Only I'm not a terrible actor.

The gym is overrated

Going to the gym is cool and everything, but it has its drawbacks too. I for one can't stand everyone looking in the mirror at themselves the entire time. And then there's always that guy who makes the weird grunting sounds when he's doing squats. And don't forget the overly-sweaty guy who doesn't have the courtesy to bring a towel. And the worst thing about going to the gym is that it takes effort. Ugh..I hate effort.

So I went out to find out why people really go to the gym.




So basically what I got out of that is the gym is a busy place. I think we would all prefer working out in the comfort of our home. Most people think you need a Bowflex or a weight set to work out properly.

But the truth is, you don't.

Let's take a look at the actors in the movie "300." These guys were ripped. Every single one of them. Even the 9-year-old kids in the movie were ripped. They didn't get there by pumping iron at the gym 24/7. They got there by doing many exercises you can do by yourself. Here's a look at their workout plan.



Ok I know we don't all have tractor tires and rings that we can work out with, but we can all do lunges, pushups, situps, and core exercises.

Here's a video of a bunch of exercises you can do without weights.


300 Spartan Workout Training. Home Version - Funny home videos are a click away

Here are some diagrams from a site of some exercises you can do without weights.

Biceps (Indian Pushup)







Triceps (Wide Decline Pushup)








Shoulders (Semi One-arm Pushups - It's like the previous execise, but when you go down, tilt to one side so only one shoulder touches the ground)





Ok...so there is one downside to all these execises - it takes longer than conventional weights to see results. But I look at it like this:

A normal, everyday, semi-lazy, semi-active gym goer goes to the gym 3 days a week. (That's me.)
I can do all these exercises in my apartment every single day. 7 days a week.

I'm not a nutritionist or personal trainer, but I am betting that if I work out everyday using nothing but body resistance, I would be just as toned, if not more so, than a dude who goes to the gym 2 or 3 times a week.

See, the secret is in protein shakes.



Cytosport's Muscle Milk is one of the more popular brands of protein. I think this is because they taste the best. But not all flavors are created equal.

Good flavors - **Cookies and Cream, Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Mocha, Rocky Road
Bad flavors - Strawberry Banana, Pineapple Banana, Peach Mango

Basically, stay away from the fruit flavors. They are gross. Too fake.

But I'll tell you what's not fake - working out. It makes you feel good, makes you look good, and shows people that you care about yourself.

So now that you have all this new information, go to your bedroom, shut the door, turn on some Paula Abdul and start working out!

A letter to a friend

I wrote the following in an email to my friend Phillip. He's writing an article about NBA stats being completely objective. (his argument is that Abdul-Jabbar has the most points of all time, but he isn't considered the greatest scorer of all time). He asked me for my input, and this is what I wrote him:



You are absolutely right.

Don MacLean scored more points than any other basketball player at UCLA. Does that make him better than Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Syndey Wicks, Marques Johnson, Walt Hazzard, or Reggie Miller?

of course not. Pete Maravich averaged like 44 points a game during his entire college career, but he's never considered the best college player of all time. (the argument there is between walton and alcindor)

I think in basketball, your measure of success ultimately comes down to the success of your team. That is why ANY NBA executive would pick Tim Duncan over Kevin Garnett. It's why Malone isn't even a top 25 player of all time, even tho he's #2 on the all time points list.

On a basketball court, you have 5 guys on a court. on a baseball and football team, you have 9 to 11 guys on the court. You have a much bigger impact on a team of 5 than on a team of 10. You are expected not just to score points, but to win.

That is why Lebron and Kobe need to be commended this year - they make the most with the least talented supporting cast. (So what if Joe Johnson and Michael Redd average 23 points a game...their teams fucking suck!) Shareef Abdur-rahim has nearly a 20 point career average...and he will never, ever be mentioned outside of the 5-person fanbase of the already forgotten Vancouver Grizzlies.

But some stats are objective. Assists - John Stockton. he was the greatest passer of all time. Blocks - Hakeem. 3 point shooting - Reggie Miller.

But scoring is the most untelling statistic of all. Mitch Richmond outscored Magic Johnson by somthing like 4000 career points - but that doesnt mean shit. Johnson is the greatest point guard of all time, and there is no argument whatsoever. I dont give a fuck if Iverson goes on to score 35000 career points - he will never surpass Johnson.

I think you've got a great point, and I dont know if I helped, but I had a great time writing all that. This a very interesting topic, but I don't know if you can say that basketball is the only sport where the stats are objective.

As a soccer player, I find stats overrated. Just cuz Brett Favre has the most passing yards doesnt mean he's the greatest QB of all time. I would take Joe Montana in a heartbeat. Barry Bonds may have the most home runs, but would you take him over Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, or Lou Gehrig? (one sport that cant be argued is hockey - that's why they call wayne gretzky 'the great one')

I think you may want to focus your story on ALL sports. Stats dont man a fucking thing. All stats are objective. I dont care what people tell me, but Randy Moss isnt the best reciever in the NFL. I dont care how many TD's he had. I would take Reggie Wayne, Stever Smith, and Chad Johnson all before I took Randy Moss.

All stats are objective Phil. That's why John Hollinger comes up with a PER stat. That's why a "______ per 40 minutes" stat appears. its not all about the PPG, RPG, and APG. its about the rings.

You can call it the Karl Malone Law. Just give me credit when you make it big one day.

Hope I helped some.

ps the best news I heard all last week was the Philadelphia Inquirer demoting Stephen A. Smith from columnist to reporter. So he quit. fucking priceless.

Keepin' it all in the family

I'm going to stray away from the usual sports-related blog this week and look at campaign contributions. With the Democratic race coming down to the wire, why not take a look at the contributions they received from people like us. Well not me, actually, because I'm absolutely broke.

I researched campaign contributions of people in Thousand Oaks, zip code 91360.

My results were surprising...
According to CQ Moneyline...
1. Michael Roberts - $13,800 (to Obama and Kerry)
2. Karen Roberts - $13,800 (to Obama and Kerry)
3. Ronald Iden - $6,500 (to Chris Dodd and Disney..?)
4. Jordan Roberts - $4,600 (to Obama)
5. Susan Chiu - $4,600 (to Clinton)
6. Darrell Arendts - $4,500 (to Romney)
7. Jeff Sycamore - $2,340 (to Romney)
8. Keith Sinclair - $2,300 (to Obama)
9. George Maggay - $2,300 (to Chris Dodd)
10. Karen Sycamore - $2,230 (to Obama)

Ok...5 of the top 10 contributors have a relation to another person on the list. And according to The Huffington Post, $75,561 was contributed from the ZIP code 91360. That's a lot of dough.

Anyways, back to the list. Michael, Jordan, and Karen all share the last name, Roberts, and they all contributed to Obama. Gee I wonder if they are related? Turns out they all have the same address. Michael and Karen are obviously married, seeing as Michael a New York Life Agent and Karen is a Blue Cross Manager. Jordan is a student, so I am guessing he is their son.

This whole time, I am looking at this name 'Jordan Roberts,' and I know I know this person. I think hard about it for a few minutes, and I remember that I do in fact know of him. He played soccer at Thousand Oaks High School, and was 2 or 3 years ahead of me. I remember being on the frosh-soph team freshman year and seeing him and his teammates making it to the CIF semi-finals before losing to Temecula. I remember all this, because 3 years later, I was making the same playoff run and our coach talking about the team he had 3 years ago.

Anyways, the Roberts family donated a grand total of $18,400 to the John Kerry for Senate campaign and $13,800 to the Obama campaign.

I can understand the contributions to Obama. But why donate nearly 20 grand to the Kerry campaign? He's running for re-election for senator in Massachusetts!! That means John Kerry will have absolutely no impact on California residents.

My only guess for why they donated so much money for Kerry was that they want him in the Senate for another term, in hopes that he may run for president again. Again, this is only a guess, but I really don't see any reason why they would want to keep Kerry in Massachusetts office.

The other couple on the top 10 list is Jeff and Karen Sycamore, and it turns out, I know their son. Not only do I know their son, but I know where they live and I know that Jeff is a doctor. Turns out I was right, he's an anesthesiologist. I also know their religious faith, as two of my best friends go to church with their son, and right away I know exactly who they contributed to - Mitt Romney.

This brings up an interesting question.

If you take out all the issues and you only know the candidate's gender, race, and religion.....which one do you identify with most?

Do you vote for the woman because you're female?
Do you vote for the Asian-American because you're an Asian-American?
Do you vote for the Catholic because you're Catholic?

Are you a woman before you are black? Are you Mormon before you are white?

It's just something to think about. That's the reason Oprah is taking big hits right now from women that have watched her show for so long. Over the last 20 years, Oprah has become the most powerful woman in America. Women of all races and religions watch her show.

So when it came down to her supporting a candidate, everyone thought she would support Hillary. They were wrong. She supported Obama.

To Oprah, apparently race took precedence over gender. Oprah lost the respect of a lot of women.

Just ask my mom.

Is there really anything worse than Salt Lake City?

The answer is no - there isn't. In a recent poll conducted by ESPN.com, NBA players voted Salt Lake City as the worst road trip city. They didn't vote it the worst because the Utah Jazz are a good home team (which they are) - they voted it the worst destination because Salt Lake City is one of the most boring major cities in the United States. Unless you ski or snowboard, Salt Lake City may be one of the worst places to have fun.

So it's no surprise that NBA players don't like Salt Lake City. It's probably why there's no football team in SLC. Or baseball team. The Jazz also happen to be one of the most boring teams in the NBA (However, Deron Williams is single-handidly changing that). Jerry Sloan has been the Jazz coach for a bazillion years and he's never won a championship. If you ask someone to describe Jerry Sloan in two words, the answer would be "Jerry Sloan." Yup, he's that dynamic.

So when Aleko Eskandarian had the chance to leave the MLS team Real Salt Lake to come to Chivas USA in sunny Los Angeles, I don't think it took him very long to accept the offer.

My first question for Alecko Eskandarian?

"How much do you miss Salt Lake City?"



Ya, I think he's having a good time in Los Angeles. This wasn't just a good trade for Eskandarian, but it was a great pickup for Chivas USA. He was one of the top forwards in the MLS only a few years back, and a move to Chivas may be the key to resurrecting his career. Chivas USA fans should look forward to having him as their go-to forward, where he'll team up with Ante Razov, one of the greatest forwards in the history of the MLS.

Speaking of Chivas USA fans...they really are a wild bunch. Since Chivas USA is a branch of the original Chivas Guadalajara team that plays in Mexico, many of their fans are Hispanic.

That's why it's funny that the guys I interviewed are just about as white as you can get. But don't let the color of their skin fool you - not only do these guys love Chivas USA, but they HATE the Los Angeles Galaxy. Even David Beckham.



Another key player for Chivas USA is Jesse Marsch. This guy is an MLS legend. He's been in the league forever and has been one of the best players for over 10 years now. He came to Chivas USA last year from the Chicago Fire, where he made himself one of the greatest players in the history of the club. He was in Chicago a long time, but how does he like Los Angeles?



Chivas USA's most important player is their goalkeeper, Brad Guzan. He's only 23 years old, and he is arguably the best goalkeeper in the MLS. He was so successful last year that he drew interest from teams in Europe. Only a month ago, Aston VIlla, a team in the England Premier League (the greatest league in the world) paid $2 million for Guzan.

Just when he was about to transfer, England denied him a work permit (This is not unusual. England had very strict guidelines for foreign players. In Guzan's case, he has not played in enough games for the US National Team. Here is Guzan's interview in full.



From the way Guzan spoke, it sounds like a midseason transfer may be in the future. Every soccer player's ultimate goal is to play in Europe, and with Guzan being only 23 years old, his future is bright. I don't think we're too far off from seeing him suit up in an Premiership uniform.

Hopefully Guzan will never have to put on a Real Salt Lake jersey. Because let's be honest - the only thing good ever to come out of Salt Lake City was "SLC Punk".



What a gem.

World's Most Publicized Press Conference

Yup, I was there. And not only was I there, but I conquered it. Seriously. I showed up early. I got a great seat. I greeted coaches and players. I was kind of a big deal. Yup, I was there for the press conference for the USC women's soccer team announcing their game against the Mexican Women's National Team on Feb. 22nd.

What's that? You didn't hear about it? Well I resent that comment. It was fairly easy to hear about. All you had to do was type "usc soccer mexico coliseum feb 22" into Google and it would have found it for you. Maybe next time you shouldnt be so lazy.

Mexican Women's National Team head coach Leo Cuellar and USC coach Ali Khoshroshahin.

Anyways, USC's women soccer team just wont the NCAA championship - the first one in school history. This is a huge deal. I did the color commentary on the women's home games this year, and I must say, they deserved it. They are an amazing team.

Today they had a press conference for their scheduled game against Mexico. In most sports, a college team playing a national team wouldn't have that much, if any, competition. But in women's collegiate soccer, there really isn't that huge of a gap. USC features one USA National Team player, Amy Rodriguez, and have a handful of players that are playing on youth national teams or are in the process of trying out for national teams.

The camera on the left is BBC, the one on the right is CNN. AP and Reuters were behind me.......ya, im lying.

Ok, so I lied about the press conference being huge. But everything else was true. Even NBC showed up. NBC, people! The press conference was interesting because USC Coach Ali believes USC not only should be competitive, but has a chance to win. In all honestly, I agree with him - to an extent. USC's women are just starting their spring season.

USC players Janessa Currier and Ashley Sandoval. Sandoval looks particularly excited to play!

What is spring season? Well for me at my undergrad, spring season meant drinking lots of beer on weekends, not going to the gym unless forced to, playing more FIFA than real soccer, and sleeping in 'till 11. So if the USC girl's spring season mirrors anything like mine, I doubt they will be in the condition they need to be to compete with a team like Mexico.

My boss at NBC, Luis. He was the only news outlet there.

I've been looking deep into Coach Ali's eyes in this picture. I don't know what he's trying to tell me.


For anyone that's interested, the game will be played at the Colisseum on Feb. 22nd. Since we live in Los Angeles, expect a pro-Mexico crowd. Tickets are less than $10 and there will be lots of those bacon-wrapped hot dogs for dinner.

This was my goal while I was at CSU Bakersfield. I wanted this trophy. I would have taken it over a diploma.

More flip flops than Mitt Romney!

I originally planned to go watch youth Mexican league soccer at that park on Adams and Hoover. It was a pretty good plan. I would sit and watch the world's game. I might by some Chiclets. Hell, I might even drink Horchata and wear a Raiders jersey. It was all part of my plan. That was, until.....them.

I'm walking back from school, minding my own business. Splash! What the hell is that? Splash! I look over to my left. A 15-year-old kid is standing on the 10 meter high dive at the USC McDonald Aquatic Center.

No way. He's not gonna jump, is he? He'll probably do a pencil dive. The kid runs to the edge of the platform and does a 3 1/2 reverse tuck dive. In layman's terms, he did a 3 1/2 somersault gainer....30 ft. above the water. How do I know this? I was the JV Diver of the Year in 2001. I was the Mark Spitz of the diving board.

Anyways, I can't just ignore this. This is way better than Chiclets and ice cream carts. I walk through the Lyon Center and take my spot in the stands. To the north, the USC women's water polo team is warming up for their game against a school with HWK on their warmups. I think that's Hartwick University. I think their nickname is the "Blowouts," and if it isn't, it likely will be after the game.

In front of me are 15-20 kids flinging their bodies off the diving boards. There is a 1-meter platform board, a 2-meter platform board, a 3-meter platform board, a 5-meter platform board, a 10-meter platform, and a 3-meter springboard. These divers appear to be between the ages of 4 and 16, and appear to be part of a club. This looks like practice.

A girl no older than 6 years old climbs the 3-meter springboard. She's probably 3 ft. tall. She bravely approaches the front of the board and flings herself off - perfectly executing a 1/2 reverse in pike position. Her splash is no bigger than when I drop my shampoo in the bathtub. I am going to call her Shorty.

Shorty skampers out of the water, talks to her coach for some advice, and runs over to the jacuzzi to wait for her next turn. As soon as she gets out of the pool, another 6-year-old is ready to take the plunge. On all 6 boards, bodies are flying everywhere. A flip here. A turn there. A hand stand over there. Had I not been a diver for 2 years, I probably wouldn't have the stomach for all this flipping. On Shorty's last inward dive, her head came narrowly close to making contact with the edge of the board. I wonder if her mother ever regrets putting her daughter in diving?


My eyes dart back up to the 10-meter board. A girl is up there, stretching out her legs. Looks like she is going in the pike position. (Pretend you are sitting on your butt on the ground, and your reaching to touch your toes. That is the pike position.) She jumps off and pulls off a 2 1/2 front somersault in the pike position. Uh oh....she pulled out late..SMACK! Her legs smacked pretty hard against the water. Everyone in the pool area heard it. She's gotta be in pain.

But like the true champ that she is, she walks back to the jacuzzi, calmly and plainly, and awaits her turn to conquer the platform again. See, in diving, it's all about conquering fear. Every time you try a new move, you know you can injure yourself - from smacking your back on the water to hitting your head on the board, diving is a risky sport. Just as Greg Louganis. He got HIV from diving. I'm telling you, it's dangerous.

It's been a while since I sat down, and the sun is starting to set. The kids are squeegee'ing themselves off and running to the locker room. I glance over at the water polo scoreboard. USC 4 - HWK 1. End of the first quarter. Do I go over and watch our girls blow out Hartwick University, or do I go home and watch the season premiere of "Lost" for the fourth time?



I'm sorry Matthew Fox...our date will have to wait.