Hole Punch Sports

Last night I saw an Associated Press article about a blog post Portland Trailblazers rookie center Greg Oden made about his decision to support Barack Obama's presidential campaign. I don't blame him. It's not like he's going to come out now and support Hillary, who's only lost about half the Union in a row at this point. Of course, I know the real reason this made the news: most athletes don't say anything politically. That's partly because they don't want to spark controversy and potentially lose endorsements but, I suspect, more because they don't want to deal with the headaches of all the publicity that would come along with speaking their minds. Think about it. When Hollywood people come out in support of some political issue, most people yawn and think they're idiots. Well, the same goes for athletes, except you add on the idea that everyone thinks they cheated their way through their education. Occasionally you'll get a Steve Nash ty...

The same tipster who let me know about Peter Forsberg's return to the Colorado Avalanche just told me the Avs have acquired Adam Foote , too. I am officially excited about hockey again. Foote was pretty awesome in the glory days, though he never had Forsberg's MVP candidate profile. I do remember he was tough, and that he always seemed to be at least the equal of our flashier pickups on the back line (Rob Blake, Ray Borque). We lost him about the same time as Forsberg, so I guess it's fitting we're getting them back together now. I don't have any good stories about Foote, but I'm pretty sure John does, and if we're lucky he'll share it in the comments... P.S. The Avalanche schedule can be found on ESPN.com. They have games tonight and tomorrow in Canada, and I don't know yet whether Forsberg and/or Foote will play in either one. Also, thank you, ESPN, for not putting a gigantic, schedule-blocking ad across the screen the way the NHL's website do...

As you've probably heard by now, Peter Forsberg has returned to the Colorado Avalanche. Forsberg signed what's been called a one-year deal, but his contract won't really last that long; it just covers him for the rest of this season. The Avs have 19 games left in their season, unless the return of Peter the Great propels them into the playoffs. Currently, according to that ESPN.com article, they're four "points" out of the last playoff spot. (Teams get two points for a win, and one for an overtime loss.) Can they do it? I have no idea; I don't really watch hockey. The biggest casualty of the NHL's labor stoppage a few years back, from my standpoint, was the Avs losing their rightful place as the NHL's New York Yankees, or perhaps I should say as its Boston Red Sox. Instead of picking up superstars like Rob Blake right before the playoffs every year, suddenly the Avs had to start competing on more fair grounds. And, pathetically, the NHL lost a lot...

Short version: It's not 1995. And the long, since both players lost in their debuts last night: Shaq to Phoenix: The Lakers, the team Shaq lead to four NBA Finals and three NBA championships, defeated the Suns last night behind Kobe Bryant's 41 points. O'Neal had 15 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes of action. This is about as glad as I'm ever going to be about Kobe having a good game: it adds spice to a rivalry that is now a few seasons old. Anyway, I find my mind changing a little bit about Phoenix's trade for Shaq, which had them send Shawn Marion and reserve guard Marcus Banks to Miami. To me, the trade really comes down to why you think the Suns haven't emerged as true title contenders the last few years. Do the Suns lack talent, or are they underachievers? With all due respect to Shaquille O'Neal, who is one of the greatest players ever, a Marion-for-Shaq trade doesn't seem to add much talent to the Suns at this stage in those players' ...

My sincerest apologies for not blogging this sooner. Anyway, Saturday the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were announced . And it's an awesome class. Two Redskins, Art Monk and Darrell Green, seem to be the headliners. It's a little odd that Monk's election took so long. After all, he'd retired as the NFL's all-time leader in receptions. Now I don't much remember Monk, other than for being on a Redskins team that beat the Broncos in the Super Bowl, so I don't really mind that he had to wait. But while the quality and type of his catches certainly deserve consideration, I just don't see how you can be the all-time record holder in a category like that and not be a shoo-in. Green, who played in the league from 1983 to 2002, I remember a little better. (I was going to put like 1960 down for his first year, but I figured '83-'02 looks like it's a joke already.) Super-fast, played forever on a signature franchise, won some Super...

Shaquille O'Neal, once the most dominant force in the league, once again finds himself the subject of trade rumors. The latest rumor, which has an awful lot of weight behind it , has him potentially going to Phoenix in exchange for Marcus Banks and Shawn Marion or, in other words, for Shawn Marion. Shaq, I hope you retire after this season. You've been a force of nature in two different decades and even better, you seem like a terrific guy. But now that you're older, people just up and assume you're soft enough to fit in on the Suns? I just hate to see you treated that way.

Get it? Because the Giants won... Sorry if I'm a little slap-happy, but there's nothing worse than three-and-a-half hours of bad Super Bowl followed by a sudden, upsetting, and annoying conclusion. What have we learned? 1. Your biggest, best receiver will always be open near the goal line late in the game. Why did Joe Montana even bother looking at John Taylor back in the day? I guess because he didn't get to go up against tonight's defenses. Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress—in other words, each team's freakish deep threat—both beat awful single coverage for wide-open touchdowns in the last three minutes. That's just awful. I sat through that crappy 7-3 game for that? 2. I hate the Giants. Late in the game, my brother Dave mentioned how badly he wanted to see the Giants lose, considering how they'd beaten the Broncos half-of-Super-Bowl-history ago. And you know what, that is crap. I hate those guys. The Giants have now won three Super Bowls in my lifet...