Many of us in North America, in particular, have no expertise in various major sports competitions in other parts of the world. But we have a vague idea of them. The Copa Libertadores is big in South America. The UEFA Champions League is huge in Europe. So is the Euro Cup. The specifics may be […]

[Read more →]

If those of you have not been to a Super Bowl as a journalist or a fan … this may not come as a newsflash:
It can be pretty dreary. And shockingly expensive.
If you’ve done one SB in person, that’s probably enough. It is so much better to watch on TV. I promise you. Fans not […]

[Read more →]

Two events conspired so that I could see most of Super Bowl XLV live. I checked late Saturday night to see what stations were showing the game locally, and “ESPN” was one of them. Turns out, yes, it was the ESPN we now get in the apartment since we got a minimal TV package last […]

[Read more →]

The Super Bowl isn’t a new idea anymore, though some of us remember when it was.
We are becoming fewer. Of course.
And those intimately involved with the game … to the point of being at all of them … well, only a handful remain.
I knew most of the journalism side of this story. I didn’t know […]

[Read more →]

Many NFL fans consider this to be the biggest day of the season: The conference finals. Seeing who goes to the Super Bowl, as opposed to the Super Bowl itself.
I might tend to agree with that. Two games with so much on the line … has to be better than one, right?
As for how things […]

[Read more →]

Seattle Seahawks 41, New Orleans Saints 36.
Like anyone else who didn’t see the game live (or doesn’t live in Seattle), there was a shock factor when I saw that score.
But once the jolt of “what the …?” subsided, my next thought was one word:
“Pete!”

[Read more →]

Going to try something here I’ve never done before — slap in a gmail “chat” I had with a fan of the Seattle Seahawks late tonight, his time.
Seattle defeated the St. Louis Rams 16-6 to win the NFC West with a 7-9 record. It is the first time in NFL history in a non-strike season […]

[Read more →]

I am excited about the idea of the San Francisco Giants winning the World Series. And they are one game away now, with three shots at securing their first championship since 1954 — or four years before they moved to San Francisco.
Growing up in Los Angeles, as a Dodgers fan … I spent decades loathing […]

[Read more →]

Professional football is a shockingly violent game.
Unless you have been on the sidelines of an NFL game, yards away from the action, you cannot really grasp of the severity of the collisions.
Which is why the NFL’s moves to limit blows to the head is an excellent idea. Otherwise we were destined to see a player […]

[Read more →]

I no longer recall what made me mull this topic. Maybe I was thinking of the new facilities in the Big Three sports in the U.S., and how many of them I have not seen.
Which in a roundabout way led me to consider how many stadiums and arena I have been in that 1) no […]

[Read more →]