The Iceberg

Seattle Seahawks linebacker and team leader Lofa Tatupu was arrested last weekend for suspicion of driving while under the influence.

While DWIs should never be taken lightly, Tatupu is normally a stand-up guy and has been contrite since his arrest, so I’m willing to write this off as a one-time blunder.

The real reason that I wanted to write about this was to provide this quote from the Seattle P-I article:

Tatupu’s 2006 Hyundai Accent first blazed past the officer just after 2 a.m., about 10 blocks from where he pulled over on Northeast 85th Street.

That gave me a chuckle.

Rumors are flying around the Internet that Seattle’s 2009 MLS expansion team is interested in signing Thierry Henry and - get this - the feeling may be mutual.

More here.

UCLA lost to Memphis, which means I’m done.  North Carolina lost to Kansas, which means that everyone else is done.  The man who shall henceforth be referred to as the “northern North American” (NNA) won the pool, which simply reinforces the notion that - in March Madness pools - the less you know about sports, the more likely you are to win.

I must give the NNA his due, however.  The guy put in about 20 hours of research before making his picks and it paid off.  He nailed both teams in the final.

I’m trying to persuade him to go double or nothing on my contribution to the pool for the championship game, but he’s not biting.  I like Memphis.  Damn, they looked good against UCLA.  Of course, Kansas looked pretty good too.

Tiny little Davidson’s run in the tournament came to an end, but not before they did me a world of good.  I mentioned in a previous post that I’d picked Gonzaga to the Elite Eight, where I had them losing to Kansas.  When they lost to Davidson in the first round, I thought I was toast - but Davidson went on to take out Georgetown and Wisconsin, thus preventing others in the pool from picking up too many points on me.

As it stands now, thanks to Yahoo’s retarded scoring system* (doubling point values of picks for each round) it basically comes down to each individual’s pick to win it all.  I’ve got UCLA.

Current standings:

1. One of the Americans who follows sports. (But he had Texas winning it all, so not looking good.)
2. The Canadian. (He’s got Kansas winning it all.)
3. The Brit. (He’s got North Carolina.)
4. Me. (UCLA.)
5. The other American who follows sports. (Picked Wisconsin and Stanford in the final…game over.)
6. The Vegan. (Had a bit of late life, but faded away when Louisville went down.  Picked UCLA to win it all, but can’t pass me.)

No one in our pool picked Memphis.  Go figure.

*Actually, I’m not really complaining about the scoring system, because it’s the only reason I still have a chance.  Go UCLA!

I admit that this is horrible, but DAMN is it funny.

A little background:

Kevin Everett played football for the Buffalo Bills. He suffered a serious spinal cord injury in a game three weeks ago and it looked for awhile as if he might not survive. Since then he has shown miraculous progress and doctors now believe he will one day walk again.

Check out the video.

I think this video requires no explanation.

For the second time in two tries, Pyeongchang’s Olympic bid fell short in the second round of voting.  This time to Sochi, Russia.

I’ve never been a fan of Michelle Wie. Sure, the girl has incredible talent and may become the greatest female golfer before all is said and done, but at this point she’s not even close. But that hasn’t stopped the media and sponsors from treating her like she already is. Not that I blame her for piling up the cash. Given the opportunity, who wouldn’t? (Though it’s a bit sad that her father thought it appropriate to teach her the value of selling out.) I just don’t respect her. Actually, let me clarify - it’s not so much Michelle Wie that I have a problem with as much as it’s Michelle Wie, Inc. She is still just an adolescent, after all, and doesn’t really know any better. She’s pretty much a victim to the whims of those surrounding her, molding her into something that is going to take an awful lot of tournament victories to overcome when all is said and done.

Word has been circulating that her peers on the LPGA tour have been grumbling about her behavior for some time now. (Now that I think about it, are they her peers? She hasn’t officially joined the tour yet. More on that later.) Now Annika Sorenstam, the golfer whom Wie should aspire to emulate, has called her out. In this Yahoo Sports report on Wie’s pullout from a tournament due to a “wrist injury”, Sorenstam is quoted as saying,

“I just feel that there’s a little bit of lack of respect and class just to leave a tournament like that and then come out and practice here. It’s a little funny that you pull out with an injury and then you start grinding. My doctor told me to rest.” (Referring to a back and neck injury that she suffered.)

Beyond the quotes from Sorenstram, the Yahoo article was far from flattering to Wie. It opens with this doozie,

Phil Mickelson withdrew because of a wrist injury and flew home to San Diego for an MRI. He saw two doctors, had one cortisone shot and decided to withdraw from his next tournament.

Michelle Wie withdrew because of a wrist injury and went to the range to hit balls.

In fairness, at least she took a day off.

Now, back to the point that Wie is not a member of the tour. The Yahoo article later says that,

Sorenstam was quick to note that Wie received a sponsor’s exemption to the tournament. That means she was invited. The feeling on the LPGA Tour is that Wie has mistaken invitation for entitlement.

The fact that she was invited meant that, had she shot 88 or higher, she would no longer be allowed to participate in tour events for the rest of the year. After toughing it out through 16 holes (16 holes!), she decided she couldn’t play out the final two and the fact that she was only two bogies from shooting an 88 of course had nothing to do with it.

Sorenstam is not the only golfer casting a doubtful eye at the actions of Wie. Ron Sirak reports at ESPN.com,

“When Wie withdrew with two holes to play in the first round of the Ginn Tribute virtually no player believed it was because of an injury, as she said. The overwhelming consensus was that she walked off the course rather than risk being suspended from tour play for the rest of the year for failing to break 88 in a competitive round. Salt was poured in that wound when she showed up two days later practicing at Bulle Rock, where the McDonald’s is being played this week.” (Emphasis added.)

Michelle, Michelle, Michelle. You’ve been heading down the wrong path for some time now. Get yourself together before it’s too late. Otherwise, your career is going to fade out faster than you can say Anna Kournikova.

While other bloggers in Korea are filled with the excitement of following their teams in the NBA conference finals (Lost Nomad/Cleveland Cavaliers, About Joel/Utah Jazz) - bastards! - we bottom feeders have to find joy wherever we can. And today I did. The Sonics overcame great odds to win the second pick in this year’s NBA draft…and the right to select Kevin Durant from the University of Texas…

…or Greg Oden…so it’s all good. Both players are franchise changers. In Durant’s case, here is what ESPN.com’s Chad Ford has to say,

“I know it’s blasphemy to compare anyone to Michael Jordan. We learn this every time someone compares Kobe Bryant to MJ.

But I think Durant is the guy with the best chance of duplicating Jordan’s influence on and off the court.

At his size and with his unique skill set, he’s capable of doing things no one in the NBA is able to do. He’s driven. He’s relentless. And some folks (including those at Nike) believe he has the potential to be the MJ-style face of the game in ways LeBron, Kobe and others have not quite done.”

Now we just have to wait and see if a year from now Durant will be playing for the Seattle Sonics, or the (choose one) Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Las Vegas Sonics. I’ll never forgive you, Howard Schultz. Boycott Starbucks!!! Sorry. Got a little carried away there. Anyway, sorry Joel and Nomad, but this year it’s the Spurs.

Well, it’s been decided. I’ve cast my lot with the Suwon BlueWings. I went to another K-League game, this time between Suwon and Incheon United. The difference was, this time I went with one of the P.E. teachers from our school, who happens to be a tried and true member of the “Ultras”*. Who are the “Ultras”, you ask? They are a hardcore group of about twenty people who lead the Suwon cheering section behind the north-end goal. Thanks to this man, I was able to venture deep into the heart of the “Blues”(about three rows up from the field). Despite a heavy downpour at times, it was good fun. I was surrounded by shirtless men in their 20s, moshing high school boys, and shrieking schoolgirls. Yes, that’s right. I said it was fun. You’ll just have to trust me. Or watch the video and decide for yourself.

Nice goal by Lee Gwan-woo (이관우), eh?

The first game I attended at Suwon World Cup Stadium (a 3-1 Suwon victory over FC Seoul), I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the crowd was chanting. “Suwon….what? Blah-blah-ing” This time I got it. They are chanting, “Suwon BlueWing,” only they’ve got their own interesting pronunciation. It goes, “Su-won Buh-loo-wing”. It grew on me.

After the game I returned to Anyang for some barbequed beef (소갈비살) and beer. Good stuff.

*I also discovered that there is a bus in Anyang that goes directly to the stadium. Actually, it drops you off about a ten-minute walk from the stadium, but close enough.