2008 was hailed by ESPN as “the greatest year in sports.” It all comes down to the eyes of the beholder, I doubt the sports fans of the greater New England area, Los Angeles, or Seattle would share those same sentiments. It seems unlikely that a golfer and swimmer are in the top 3 sports stories, but that’s just what kind of year it was:

Top 3

Tiger Woods sinks a put to force an 18 hole playoff in the '08 U.S. Open

(1) New York Giants Impropapble Super Bowl Win - It was the most viewed Super Bowl ever, and it did not fail in delivering a spectacular show. The New England Patriots were heavy favorites as they attempted to be the first team to win 19 games in a season and finish undefeated (the ‘72 Dolphins still claim to be the only perfect team because they won the Super Bowl in their undefeated year). The only thing standing in their way was a mediocre New York Giants team that had to rally off consecutive wins on the road to get into the Playoffs and then win three straight on the road to get to the Super Bowl. In a season of “unbelievables,” the Giants victory was the top one. 

(2) Tiger Woods’ U.S. Open Victory – You don’t have to be a Tiger Woods fan, let alone a golf fan, to appreciate what Tiger did in the ‘08 U.S. Open. Tiger was having extremely noticeable pain in his knee and it was visibly apparent. He limped his way into an 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate after draining a birdie putt on the 72nd hole. After the 18-hole playoff, they were still tied, but Tiger snatched the win on the 91st hole. Tiger had season ending knee surgery after the tournament and news leaked that he was advised by doctors to not even play. Throw out Michael Jordan and his performance with the flu in the ‘97 Finals, what Tiger did was far more amazing. 

(3) Michael Phelps’ Historic Performance – Go back 8 years to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, how many swimming events were televised? I am guessing not many, and the amount of people that watched them was more or less the same. Enter Michael Phelps in 2004 and he changed the face of Olympic swimming, perhaps forever. Phelps started the Beijing Olympics off to an amazing start for the Americans with his 9 gold medals. Who would have thought that the track and field teams would be the ones to disappoint us…and that aside from basketball, swimming events would have been the most watched? I’ve got a feeling that fencing and handball will never get that popular. Take away skimpy bikinis and sand volleyball will plummet…

Honorable Mentions: Boston Celtics Beat Kobe, Lakers / Philadelphia Phillies Win the World Series

Seattle Sonics fans have lots of good memories, one of them will now be when the Sonics were in existence.

Bottom 3

(1) The Supersonics Exile from the NBA - Small markets beware! NBA Commissioner David Stern and just about every owner that is not a citizen in the community that he owns a team in do not care about your team. Forget about history, forget about the fans’ love for “their” team, if it isn’t making the owner or the NBA as much money as they think it should then they will sell it. What happened with the Seattle Supersonics is despicable, their owner sold the team and moved them to Oklahoma City. Most will argue, but I believe it all started with the community of Seattle choosing not to fund the building of a new arena. Why don’t the players pay for it instead of hard working citizens in Seattle anyway? Most of them aren’t millionaires because they are talented, it’s because they are big and tall, right? Someone get back to me with answers to my questions! 

(2) Plaxico and His Guns - From Super Bowl Champion to under arrest, Plaxico Burress had a up and down year to say the least. So Plaxico has a lot of guns, none of which he is licensed to have, what should he do with them? Hide them? Sell them for profit? Nah, Plaxico decided to take one with him to a club and shoot himself in the leg. This should be a lesson to him that he is not above the law, but so many NFL players have gotten off the hook lately (except Michael Vick) that I think Plaxico might get his hand slapped and dismissed. If Plaxico would have played Halo, he would know that shooting yourself with a shotgun is not good. 

(3) Coaching Carousels – Between the three major league sports (NFL, NBA, and MLB) there were over 30 coaches dismissed. The number balloons out even more if you add in collegiate sports. Two of the NFL’s latest dismissals are both surprising and sudden. The Denver Broncos fired Mike Shanahan, their two-time Super Bowl Champion coach that had been there nearing 20 years. The New York Jets fired Eric Mangini, who was a genius only a season ago and who’s players all seem to not be in agreeance with ownership over his dismissal. I have another job (besides a sports writer), if I don’t perform well then my boss doesn’t get fired. I would get a pay decrease or get fired. Shouldn’t players be held to the same standard? It’s their job to win isn’t it? I’ve yet to see a coach hit a baseball, catch a football, or make a 3-point basket. 

Honorable Mentions: UNC Falls Short in Final 4 / AFL Philadelphia Soul Win Arena Bowl but Lose Money

With the NBA season underway and football soon coming to an end, JIB Sports will have a new weekly column every Monday. The NBA Monday Morning Report Card will recap five events from the previous week’s action with grades of A- F. Don’t be surprised to find yourself sucked into this weekly column and anticipating it every week. Monday night may be for Monday Night Football, but Monday morning is for NBA Monday Morning Report Card.

Celtics Ray Allen has stayed healthy and kept the "Big 3" in tact so far this season.

A – Lakers and Celtics Still on Top – Just like ‘A’ students in school, there isn’t too much to say about them. They are good, we know they are good, they know they are good. The ‘A’ students here are last year Finals participants, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Although there have been some worthy contenders prove themselves early, the Lakers and Celtics have also shown they will not be pushovers. They are a combined 23-3 to start the year. The only thing that is going to stop them is injuries, which the Lakers have been more prone to. In other words, teams better start hoping the Lakers and Celtics get worse, because you can’t get much better than how they are playing now. 

B - The Rebound of Dwayne Wade - After a season ending injury in 2006 that lingered into 2007, Dwayne Wade became a name of yesteryear. Many people thought that his best days were already behind him and might have a career shadowing the injury plagued Grant Hill. D-Wade worked hard to prove Team USA basketball coaches he was ready for Olympics and had an impressive showing. His extremely unexpected play has carried over into this year’s regular season. Although the Miami Heat are only 7-6, D-Wade is having a banner year and showing rookie Michael Beasly the ropes. The Heat are still taking a back seat to other teams such as the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlants Hawks, and Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference that are having better starts.

The Utah Jazz haven't won in San Antonio since Stockton and Malone played.

C  -The Knicks Get Different, Not Better- New team President Donnie Walsh was making deals this week with his players as if they were trading cards. After all the dust settled, Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph, and Mardy Collins were shipped out and the New York Knicks welcomed Tim Thomas, Al Harringtonand Cuttino Mobley. At the end of the day it’s not about being better now, the Knicks made this move to be better later. The Knicks cleared over $27 million in cap space with the trades and got rid of two bad contracts. Word on the street is the the Knicks are trying to clear cap space to lure LeBron Jamesin 2010. LeBron has not liked Cleveland because his supporting cast was always lacking. As it stands, the Knicks just shipped away a pretty decent supporting cast and picked up three players that can sign elsewhere in 2010. 

D - The Utah Jazz’s Pathetic Performance in San Antonio - San Antonio is the Bermuda Triangle for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz disappear for a day only to reappear with another loss. The Utah Jazz are historically a bad road team and dominant home team.  Last year the Jazz were the only team to win their division and have a losing record on the road. With their loss last week, the Jazz dropped their 22nd straight game in San Antonio, the last time they beat the Spurs there it was in the Alamodome. That was way back in 1999 when the Spurs had pink accents on their court and “Stockton to Malone” was still uttered over the airwaves. The Jazz rebounded the next night with a road win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have just been one of those “rebound” teams.

F – The Team Formerly Known as the Seattle Supersonics – The Oklahoma City Thunder fired their head coach P.J. Carlesimo this week, but that is hardly going to help stop the bleeding. We need to remember that the Thunder are not an expansion franchise, they did not start from scratch, they are the Supersonics. The Thunder have a lot of talent, but as new interim head coach Scott Brooks said, “It’s a challenge to get our guys motivated to play every night.” I have an idea to get them motivated to play, make their salary performance based. All of those players are employees of the NBA and the Thunder organization, right? Just like about every other employee out there in the business sector, these players need to be paid and given bonuses based on performance and effort. If that were the case all of the Thunder players would be broke this year. I bet the Minnesota Timberwolves aren’t feeling too hot being the victim of the Thunder’s only victory.

Whenever people compile their favorite sports movies you are almost certain to hear “Rudy,” “Hoosiers,” “Field of Dreams,” “Remember the Titans,” and even “Major League.” Rightfully so, those are all good movies, but there are so many other good movies that aren’t mentioned. Maybe it’s because we only classify movies about basketball, football, and baseball as “sports movies.” The “Rocky” movies are in a league of their own, and are replayed about every weekend on either TNT or TBS if you are interested. Without further ado, here are the top five sports movies (not in rank) that get no respect: 

1. The Sandlot (1993)

The boys in "The Sandlot" were not by any means the most athletic of in shape.

The film begins with Scotty Smalls moving into a new neighborhood and meeting a bunch of new friends while playing baseball everyday at the “Sandlot,” (a run down baseball field). This movie follows the stories of these 10-12 year old boys that summer, centering on the mysterious dog that lives over the left field fence. Any ball that goes into his territory is good as gone. The movie climaxes when they hit a baseball signed by Babe Ruth over the left field fence. The ball was owned by Scotty’s father, and Scotty had no idea who Babe Ruth was, he thought it was a girl who had signed the ball. Now the boys are forced to retrieve the ball, and try to get it back using various methods. The psycho mutated dog (which ends up being a figment of their imaginations), turns out to be a lovable pooch and ends up being their mascot during games. The most notable line you might have heard from this movie was in reference to how bad Scotty is at baseball when he starts playing with the boys, “You’re killing me Smalls!”

2. Forget Paris (1995)

If there ever was a sports chick flick, this is it. Billy Crystal stars as Mickey Gordon, an NBA referee who’s father has just died. His father wished to be buried in Paris so Mickey flies there with his father’s body which is lost on it’s way their. Mickey ends up waiting for days and falling in love with the airport attendant that helps him find his father’s body. This love story is up and down, which affects Mickey’s performance as a referee. During one of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s final games, Mickey ends up ejecting both rosters from the Lakers and Pistons, a trainer, head coach, and the guy who puts cheese on the nachos. One of the truly classic parts is when Mickey is driving his father-in-law to the doctor. Since they have nothing to talk about, his father-in-law starts naming stores they pass. Can’t say I haven’t been there…”You asked for it, you got it. Toyota!”

 3. Little Giants (1994)

The little Giants practice for their assumed beat down.

This may perhaps be the best peewee football movie ever, probably the only one ever at that. When Becky O’Shea is cut by her uncle from the local peewee football team, she decides to start her own team. Since league rules sanction only one team per city, they decide to have a playoff between the two teams to see who will represent the city. There is nothing more classic and cliche than the team of rejects and nerds being victorious over the jocks that are obviously inferior. This wouldn’t be a great movie without a twist in the plot that could change the movie. The twist here is when Becky falls in love with the starting quarterback and thinks that he will like her if she becomes a cheerleader instead. Oh no! Now the dorks chances of winning are cut in half. What will happen? We all know what will happen, but wouldn’t it be cool one of these times if a movie didn’t end the happy way we think it will? Oh yeah, that movie would have been “The Perfect Storm,” I think they killed everyone.

4. Cool Runnings (1993)

In what I’m sure is a very dramatized true story, a bunch of Jamaicans fall short of making it to the Summer Olympic Games, so they settle to try and make it to the ‘88 Winter Olympics Games. The sport that is going to take them there is bobsledding, and their coach is a retired cheater in the sport from the United States. While this movie goes above and beyond in making clever jokes not based on the bobsledders Jamaican accents, it at times can be a very inspirational movie. After watching this movie, I wished I could either be in the Olympics or be Jamaican. My mom convinced me neither was possible, so here I am as a sports writer. 

 5. The Karate Kid (1986)

Not many know karate, but we all know this kick!

Yes, karate is a sport, and Mr. Myiagi is a manipulative slave driver in the name of it. Everybody knows about “wax on, wax off,” and the famous kick the Daniel Larusso uses to win at the end of the movie, but I feel we just don’t respect this movie as a sports movie. Here are a couple things to watch for the next time you see this movie that will make it a little more memorable. Firstly, watch the part where Mr. Miyagi and Daniel are catching flies with chop sticks very carefully. Several times during the scene you can see the glare off of the string that the fly is attached to. Their fly catching is fraudulent. Secondly, watch how Daniel kisses his main squeeze Ali Mills at the sports park/arcade. He practically sucks her face off, great material to show kids on how not to kiss. And one last thing, try the rubbing hands technique Miyagi uses to help heal Daniel during the last tournament. It doesn’t work, I’ve tried many times, I guess I don’t have the Hollywood touch. 

Honorable Mentions: Teen Wolf, Angles in the Outfield, High School Musical (I got to do something to try and get the school girl demographics in my favor)

Forget about the 6-0 Tennessee Titans being the last unbeaten and potentially running the tables toward a 16-0 season. The New England Patriots did that last year, and I’m sure the ‘72 Dolphins (who went 13-0) still pop the champagne when the last unbeaten team loses, all while claiming they are still the only unbeaten team because the ‘07 Patriots didn’t win the Super Bowl. I am more interested to see if the Detroit Lions will break the ‘76 Buccaneers record of going winless all year. We still have 10 more weeks of anticipation, here is what we know after week 7:

Nobody Wants to Carry the Torch

Titans QB Kerry Collins has more than filled the void left by Vince Young.

Never has the NFL had such a collective bunch of teams that just don’t look that impressive from week to week. The way things are panning out, just about anybody has a shot to win the Super Bowl and we are almost half way through the season. Some people may argue that the Tennessee Titans are undefeated, but their quarterback is Grandpa Collins, who’s statistics almost mirror quarterbacks at Air Force and Navy. I wouldn’t call Titans a clear cut contender, but they are a dark horse. The Baltimore Ravens were able to win a Super Bowl with an old n’ busted Trent Dilfer, but their defense was a alot more tough than the one the Titans put on the field (probably because they had more arrests collectively than the Titans). Right behind the Titans are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants, who play this Sunday and are predicted by many to go to the Super Bowl (so much for “America’s Team“). For every team in the upper part of the league, there are just as many teams in the middle part that could beat them on any given Sunday. Perhaps we will see some more separation in the next 4-5 weeks. It’s almost like the Olympic torch relay to Beijing this past summer. Everybody is afraid of carrying the torch because angry people protesting the exploitation of Malaysian children in the fashion industry might tackle them. Actually, that’s on “Zoolander,” whoops…and any NFL player, for that matter, afraid of being tackled by a beanpole, wimpy protestor should be kicked out of the league (except for place kickers and punters).

Mike Nolan is the latest head coach to be given the pink slip.

NFL Coaches Are on Shorter Leashes 

People just aren’t as patient as they used to be. Just this morning someone blazed past me and cut me off, only to slam on his brakes and almost ram the car in front of him. If there ever was a race to the stop light, he won it. Owners and General Managers in the NFL are no different, they want wins and they want them now. If a coach can’t get them wins, then they will find one that can. There are only so many wins to be dished out a year and everybody wants a piece of that pie. The San Francisco 49ers fired head coach Mike Nolan on Monday, making him the third coach to be fired this year (Scott Linehan and Lane Kiffin being the first two). It doesn’t seem that Nolan will be the last one fired before the season’s end, grumbling is also coming from Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Detroit. Might as well throw Dallas in there too, there’s nothing Jerry Jones likes more than to fire people and sign felons when he isn’t getting a Botox.

This past week, the Pedowitz Report was released, which was an intensive look at refereeing in the NBA. Commissioner David Stern was desperate to renew the faith of his fans in the NBA after the Tim Donaghy betting scandal, so he hired a bunch of overpaid lawyers and paid them millions to do a report on the refereeing in the NBA. There are just a couple problems with Stern’s thinking on this one: the majority of basketball fans are already convinced that there are biases with refereeing in the NBA, and the minority are not going to waste time reading a 133 page report from some people paid by Stern to say what he wanted them to. What the Tim Donaghy scandal did was only validate what thousands of fans had already been thinking. The simple matter of fact is that whenever there is a questionable call that impacts a game, Tim Donaghy will pop into our heads kind of like E.T. does when we see Reese’s Pieces. (What? That doesn’t happen to you? Me neither…) 

Referees, often compared with zebras, are people too.

The problems in officiating are universal and run through all sports. We see shoddy officiating in the NFL, college sports, and even the Olympics. What always gets us is when after a game where a questionable call has been made we’re told that “the rules are open for interpretation.” I hate that! I want to throw my shoe at the T.V. when I here that! Rules are rules, aren’t they? So the rules are open for interpretation, which I’ve grown to be fine with, as long as their interpretation is consistent throughout the game. Right now, game 3 of the ALDS between the Los Angeles-Anaheim Angels and Boston Red Sox is on in the background and I heard the announcers say, “the strike zone seems bigger in this game then in the first two.” Okay, I’m fine with that, as long as that strike zone stays consistent. When watching basketball games and football games you can pretty much decide in the first few minutes whether the referees will let the players be more physical and let more things go. I’m fine with that too, a little street ball never hurt anyone. But, the problem we run into is that every referee is human, and humans have emotion. You think that when you yell profanities at referees that they aren’t affected emotionally by that. Referees have feelings too. We almost see referees as a by-standard to the game, just a zebra standing there, but they are every much a part of the game as the players and coaches.

Next time you watch a a college basketball game take notice to the team fouls. In college basketball there are two halves, after 7 team fouls in a half the other team gets to shoot “one-and-one,” meaning if they make the first free throw they get to attempt a second. After 10 team fouls in a half the other team gets two free throws. Since the fairness in college basketball is largely based on foul count and foul shots, you’ll see an interesting paradox once one team inches closer to 7 team fouls. The interesting paradox is that the other team all of a sudden will start fouling more to even it up so both teams get one-and-one at about the same time. Wait a second, or do the referees jut start calling more fouls on the other team? Think about it, it’s deep. I was attending a college basketball game when the team fouls were 7 on one team and 2 on the other. In the matter of minutes they were even at 7 and 7. In football you can see much of the same with holding calls. Honestly, holding can be called on about every play, so if the penalty yard disparity becomes too much, expect a few of those to be thrown in. After the NBA’s 133 page report on refereeing I can give you a two-word report on refereeing that will solve our problems, ‘USE ROBOTS!’ Think about it, robots have no emotion and if they can make video game so true to form than surely robots can do the job. There would be no biases or prejudices, unless the robots revolted and combined against us. Let’s just stick with what we have now, take the bad with the good, and accept the fact that referees are people like me and you…almost.