Upon first viewing of this ad, it seems pretty genuine and affective. But after I thought about it for a while I felt the opposite. Tiger Woods doesn’t even talk in the commercial and excuse me for my insensitivity but it seems like he is just playing the dead-dad card just so people will be sympathetic and forgiving. Sorry Tiger, but just because your dad passed away a few years ago and just because you have cute puppy eyes in the commercial, that doesn’t justify your at least nine affairs.   Plus, there are rumors all over the internet that Earl Woods was involved in affairs of his own while Tiger was in high school.

At the Masters Tournament, fans seemed excited for Tiger’s return to the sport.

However, I still have hostile feelings toward him for his inapproriate and manipulative behavior. Tiger Woods is obviously a great golfer, but talent isn’t everything in sports. Image is also very important. And when an athlete pretends to be the perfect family man – with a great relationship with his father, his wife, and his two children – people support him for that. When I found out that this was all a mask for this famous athlete, I felt manipulated and cheated. Maybe I’m overreacting and being too sensitive, but sorry Tiger, I just will never feel the same way about you.

However, I am definitely planning to attend a game this season. Not only has the lacrosse team improved significantly, but they are just a weird team.

The team has played one game this season against the Kansas City lacrosse team, and they lost. Tomorrow, the team plays again, and senior Lane Livers is hoping and anticipating a win. Lane also said that this season, STA is no longer the underdog team; Shawnee Mission East High School created a team of their own which will take over the forlorn position.

So not only will I get to see STA’s improved skills if I attend a game, but also their unusual routines:

1. The STA lacrosse team gave Blue Valley Northwest High School the nickname of Placenta High. They chant Placenta before their game against BVNW.
2. Lane Livers is planning to buy eye patches for each of her teammates to wear to the game.
3. A few girls on the team go to Taco Bell before every game and just order ice water to refresh themselves before the game. After the game, the same girls get Taco Bell tacos.
4. The whole team dances the “Jai Ho” dance together before every game.
5. And much more that we will have to see for ourselves when we attend their games.

Although the lacrosse team is obviously weird and likes to have fun, that does not mean they don’t take their sport and team seriously. Lane said all the girls work hard and are continuing in the direction of improvement.

The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) has a rule that prohibits athletes from participating in an official game until they attend 14 days of practice.

Before our first game last Tuesday, our team had 15 practices/meetings. Kerry, Morgan and Mickey each missed at least two days of practices, therefore they became ineligible to play in the first game.

I am not completely informed on the meaning behind this rule and neither is the varsity soccer coach Scott Siegel, but he assumed the rule is implemented to insure athletes are healthy and physically prepared to play in a game. If this is in fact the reason for this rule, I think it is outdated and ineffective.

Here are two scenarios that prove MSHSAA’s rule is not achieving what it supposedly is intended to do:

1. An unhealthy or injured athlete could have attended all of our 15 practices and been 100% eligible to participate in our first game, while a healthy athlete might only have attended 13 and not be eligible.
2. An injured or perfectly healthy athlete for that matter could attend 14 days of meetings as opposed to practices and be able to play in their first game, yet that does not mean that they are healthy or prepared to play.

So Kerry, Morgan and Mickey, I am sorry you couldn’t play in our first game. We all know that you should have been on the field with us, but couldn’t because of this outdated and ineffective rule.

The University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball is coming close to the end of their 2010 season with astonishing success so far:

1. 2010 Big East Tournament Champions
2. 2010 Big East Regular Season Champions
3. 72 Straight wins
4. Longest Winning Streak in NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball history

Not to mention, every one of the games they have won for the last two seasons has been by double digits…Their average margin of victory is 34.

Like I said at the beginning, you go girls. However, taking a look at the bigger picture, I don’t know how I feel about these facts. Although this success is great for the UConn team and school, it isn’t great for women’s basketball across the country.

Isn’t it a little pathetic that no team could come within single digits of the Huskies for the last two seasons? If people didn’t care about women’s basketball before UConn’s streak, then they definitely do not care now.  Women’s basketball is incomparably less competitive than men’s basketball and UConn’s dominance has made it even less so.

So congratulations to the UConn women, but let’s hope other women’s basketball teams can step it up ASAP, before nobody cares at all.

1. Income: I’m no economist, but it seems to me that these teams and the sports complexes bring in a lot of money to the city. They provide jobs to Kansas Citians and bring in income through taxes, ticket sales, and parking.
2. Entertainment: Although the Chiefs and the Royals have seen more bad days than good in recent years, they are still an important soure for leisure and activity in Kansas City. The Plaza, Loose Park, Kansas Speedway etc. are not enough to make Kansas City the great city it should be.
3. Rivalry: Americans have made competition a very important aspect of their lifestyles. If Kansas City lost their sports teams, St. Louis would definitely be the best city in Missouri. Could Kansas Citians bear this? I don’t think so.

After coming up with these ideas about the Kansas City sports complex and our professional baseball and football teams, I realized that we just can’t afford to lose the Chiefs and the Royals.

What do you think?

At the end of the first quarter, the Colts were winning 10-0, so it looked like it would be a blow out. But in the fourth quarter, the Saints were ahead 24-17 with 5 minutes remaining on the clock. Then Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw an interception to Saints cornerback Tracy Porter who returned the ball 74 yars for a touchdown giving the Saints their final score.

Although I was happy with the game and the turnout, the halftime show was slightly disappointing. Once again, the NFL chose to rollout an over-the-hill, washed-up rock band to perform. At least The Who performed my favorite song of theirs: “Teenage Wasteland” (beginning at 1:04 in the following video).

Finally, another popular aspect of the Super Bowl is the commercials, which were pretty good this year. Two of my favorite ads:

1.

2.

Tomorrow, STA seniors Maegan Kelly and Elizabeth Wilson will sign their National Letters of Intent to play Division 1 NCAA soccer. Kelly will sign with Marquette University while Wilson is signing with the University of Notre Dame.

Come to Verheyn in the Goppert Center tomorrow Feb. 3 Activity 1 and 2 to congratulate Wilson and Kelly!

All prospective student-athletes enrolling in a four-year institution for the first time sign a National Letter of Intent and the letter must include an offer of athletics financial aid for the entire academic year.

“I’ve watched Lauren Fowlkes sign and Ellen Jantsch and Molly Campbell sign [to play soccer at the University of Notre Dame],” Wilson said. “It’s just exciting to be following in their footsteps and doing that now. I think it will be nice to finally make the commitment official.”

Last fall, senior Casey O’Flaherty signed her National Letter of Intent to play golf at Rockhurst University. Seniors Kylie Hornbeck and Kerry Cummings are also planning to sign a Letter of Intent but are unsure of which college they will be signing with.

More Tiger talk:

Professional golf kicked off its 2010 season last weekend absent of Tiger Woods.  It seems Tiger has recently been spending his time locked away in a rehabilitation center for treatment of his “sexual addiction.”

I am just wondering…is claiming “sexual addiction” just an excuse for weak moral values, lack of commitment and a spoiled athlete who does not know right from wrong and does not think “regular” rules apply to him?

Are you ready for some commercials?:

Yes, it’s time once again, sports fans, for the annual NFL Super Bowl. As you all know the league championship game has evolved into the greatest spectacle in sports, making the actual game and the surrounding events the most viewed event on TV each year.  The cost for a 30 second commercial for the first Super Bowl in 1967 was $42,500; the same commercial this year will cost $2.6 million.  So, don’t miss Super Bowl XLIV this Sunday!

View the 2009 Super Bowl commercial video archive here.