I Will Miss You Shaq- Stay In The Public Eye!

Shaquille O'Neal, my favorite Irish basketball player(LOL), has announced his intention to retire from the NBA. I will miss you for reasons beyond the thundering dunks and complete physical domination that has been the hallmark of your storied NBA career.

You approached the game with the joy of a child. Whether you knew it or not, your playful character and funny quotes tapped into the inner-child and youth of basketball fans. Let's face it. Getting to the NBA is a longshot for most people. So while you have destroyed the league for 20 years with your physical domination, millions of players have hung up their shoes and now live thru their heroes and I would venture to say that you are among the greatest NBA players ever. You are adored by many and have provided a lot of joy for NBA fans. Americans love basket ball and you have transcended the sport with your larger than life personality. Fans love players with a personality. Those sports stars that are brash, non-media friendly and unable to connect with fans don't get it. As big as your career and stats have been, your ability to reach average people and entertain has been amazing. I am sad to see you go but hope you will continue to use your gifts to touch people. This is who you are! "The Big Entertainer"!

You have so much to offer. Your voluntary public experiment documenting a study of your sleep and bringing attention to sleep apnea, may help a ton of people who become aware of this problem thru your celebrity and notoriety. This is a tremendous way to give back to the public who has rooted for and against you for 19 NBA seasons. I encourage you to remain in the public eye because people pay attention to you. They may not always agree with you, but your fun loving demeanor commands attention to a degee that you may use to the benefit of many people. Whatever your time and effort goes in retirement, people will watch. Continue to do the things you do "Super Man", "Diesel" and The "Big Aristotle". Thank you for helping the Lakers return to glory. Thank you for being you. I wish you nothing but the best and hope to see you in the media, doing your thing!

Dirk Better Call Kobe And Chuck Person

Despite being heart broken that the Lakers were swept by the Mavericks, I have resigned myself to being okay with the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Championship over Miami. Yes, I am also one of the biggest haters of Lebron James and that is not likely to change. I simply don't like anything about him other than I can point out what is painfully obvious to Non-Heat fans, and that is that he is probably the best player in the NBA currently.

So game 1 between the Heat and Mav's was close until the end. The Heat made big shots, Dallas had an off nite. Having watched the Mavs all year, you could confidently say they will bounce back, but Dirk has torn the tendons in his middle finger on his non-shooting hand. It remains to be seen if this will affect Dallas' star center and his scoring.

If this has potential to affect Dirk and his shooting, the first call I would make is to Kobe Bryant. Noone can guarantee a seething Kobe Bryant will take the call but he would be a start. Knowing that Phil Jackson's staff is gone with the hire of Mike Brown, I would offer Chuck Person some money to come out and advise Dirk on splints and how to overcome them. As I have learned, Chuck has been quite an asset to Kobe with regards to playing with what could be a season ending injury and surgery for other players. We don't know how bad it is and even if it is horrible Dirk and the Mavs will downplay it until they are forced to concede Dirk is struggling because of it.

My hope is that Dallas rebounds nicely and they get back in this series. The thought of a Lebron James led championship is simply nauseating! Let's go Dirk! This may be your last chance, mangled finger or not.

Thank God...Reyes Gets A "W"

As an athlete who endured the sting and shame of an 0-20 season, I may be qualified to talk about how awful losing feels. Jo-Jo Reyes of the Toronto Blue Jays found his way into a terrible losing streak with a 3 year winless streak that tied the record for most consecutive losses as a baseball pitcher at 28 games. With the drive to put more people in the stands it is a wonder he made it that far without being unceremoniously vanquished to a career of minor league anonymity.

He did get a Gatorade Shower It had to be the best shower ever because that kind of losing is torturous. A huge sigh of relief occured as Jo Jo took the wind out of the Cleveland Indians sail with an 11-1 win.

As an athlete that has experienced that degree of losing, I was relieved for Reyes and happy that he has been able to turn the corner and see some daylight because his days were dark. He probably had a very heavy heart and was emotionally drained. Although a gatorade shower to celebrate the end of a long losing streak seems ridiculous, I am ecstatic that he was able to see his way through this. Afterall, not many major league baseball pitchers survice an 0-28 run. Stuffing the American League leading Indians is only iceing on the cake. I hope he goes on a run of 28 wins at this point. You can do it Jo-Jo! I am rooting for you!

Deja Vu-Hockey Puck To The Leg Could Have Been Fatal

At the beginning of this week a friend came in to work after taking an ice hockey puck to the calf area at about 100 plus miles an hour. I bet you are saying to yourself, "That has got to hurt". You would be right!
The reason I bring this up is many years ago, the TKE Tau Rho Chapter at Cal State University San Marcos almost lost Brian Vitek. Taking a trip down memory lane, Brian suddenly fell ill with a blood clot traveling to his lung and almost taking his life. Brian would tell you that doctors indicated that it was entirely possible that an injury resulting in taking a puck to the leg was likely to be the culprit. It is scary because I saw Brian in the hospital and it was a close call.
The advice I gave Jesse, who came into the office was to get that checked out and that was largely because I had seen this all before. Jesse is a guys guy and of course his view of life and injuries all revolve around the hey" I will just tough it out mentality". As Jesse experienced more pain, he did heed the warning and go get an MRI which confirmed a big blood clot and the statement by a doctor that the consequences of not seeking medical attention could have been dire. Experience has helped me protect someone I care about. I would not wish a blood clot on anyone but Brian's experience and triumphant return to health has given us all an opportunity to help somene that has sustained a leg industry like this, go get medical intention immediately. This story may indeed help you save a life! Pass it on!

Jim Buss-The New Laker Dictator

So the word in the press is that Jim Buss, son of Laker's owner Jerry Buss, made the decision to hire Mike Brown. Let me preface my coming negative sentiments about this situation as an Outside Laker Fan Looking In by saying that I like Mike Brown and believe he could succeed as a Laker Coach.

What I am concerned by is the fact that the Laker reigns are being handed over to Jim. I believe Jeanie Buss has better business acumen and has better skills to be the Laker Family Leader and decision maker. News reports have indicated that Jim is the guy and that he was the one responsible for the coaching hire. Laker fans have also been told that Kobe Bryant was not consulted on the hire. This is not fair for either Coach Brown or Kobe who openly pined for Brian Shaw as Phil Jackson's replacement. If Jim was smart, he would have consulted Kobe and had Mike Brown and Kobe speak before the hire but noooooooo, Jim had to puff his chest out and exert his impending coronation as Laker Leader and hire Mike without doing either. This is a dis-service to Kobe and Mike Brown. We now have a capable young Coach who may have Kobe take his slight in the hiring process out on the him and that does not benefit Coach Brown, the Laker Team and the Organization.

There is a small window left with Kobe Bryant. It is hard to understand why Jim would do what he did. There is nothing wrong with the hire. Mike is an intelligent, motivating and demanding coach. He is a defensive minded coach and that is good for the Lakers. I just wish that this was handled in a way that did not put Kobe and team and Coach Mike Brown in such an avoidable, awkward situation.

I hope this works out, but if Jim continues to make decisions with the sole goal of proving who's the man, then the Laker Organization may find the turmoil it found after shipping Shaquille O'Neal to the Heat. As a Laker fan, I don't want any part of that!

What Happened To Casey Kotchman?

I remember watching Casey come up the ranks of the Angels Organization thinking man... this kid has a beautiful swing. I really thought he would be good. He combined a sweet left handed swing with a vacuum based defense at first that sucked up anything within a 5 mile radius of first base. I remember a 2 homerun game he had years back with one one going to left and the other two center and I was thinking that this was the hallmark of the next great Angel hitter. He could hit for power and he did not try and do too much with the pitches often driving the ball to the opposite field. His development seemed to put him in the makings of a special player.

Then he got mononucleosis and it seemed to all come undone. He never seemed to get back to the promise he once had. The Angels felt like they needed a power bat in the ill-fated trade that brought the team Mark Texiera. He struggled in Atlanta, Seattle, Boston and was just released by Tampa Bay. With all that promise, what happened? I really thought I would be watching him in an Angel's uniform for a long time and was saddened by his trade. I hope Casey is given a shot somewhere and believe he has the talent to excel at the major league level.

See Article: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AjWKkuG4lQI8DJu7COXuFP0RvLYF?slug=ap-rayscuts

Nuggets On Fire Post Carmelo-The Knicks With Carmelo-Not So Much!

Carmelo Anthony wrecked 2/3rds of the Nugget season with his drama and demand to be traded. Funny enough, he seems to be having a tough go in New York and the Knicks have not done so well. This may be an example of careful what you wish for.

As for the Nuggets, I am happy for Coach Karl and the team because their success and future was literally held hostage all season with Carmelo's spoiled and self-serving behavior. I am a little partial because I have always liked Coach Karl and still follow former UCLA Guard Aaron Afflalo. It is amazing when a team sheds a bad attitude, and young, hungry players immediately have success with increased roles and opportunities. Players naturally step up given the chance and that is exactly what we are seeing with Ty Lawson and many of the young players. At first glance, it sure looks like they are playing within the system, playing hard, working as a team and even enjoying the game. This enjoyment of the game is the part of sports that keeps us all connected. When teams play together and battle, while having each other's backs, you can certainly tell the difference. By the same token, when a selfish player betrays the team concept, and puts himself above the team, it certainly sucks the air right out of a team. The players don't enjoy the game and performance suffers.

Despite his talent, Carmelo has the propensity to play for the me, myself and I team. The Knicks have played poorly since his arrival and a recent picture of sulking Carmelo on the bench is worth a thousand words. He never played defense and combined with a player in Amare, who is also me first then team, and you have two superstars that play as individuals with no continuity, no flow and consequently stacking up losses. Neither Carmelo nor Amare have defense in their basketball dictionaries, and until they understand that defense wins championships, they will be photographed pouting on the bench while losing games. From a fan's view, when there are selfish superstars who can't work together and put the team first, the product of basketball is not as fun to watch or interesting. Right now, the Knicks are not fun to watch. Maybe that changes and maybe it doesn't. I for one and glad that in the end, Carmelo Anthony did more for the Nuggets by leaving than he did by staying and poisoning the team.

Congratulations Denver on a shrewd trade and giving an opportunity to some new blood to step up and peform. It appears your strategy is paying off.

Orange County Sewage Discharge To The Ocean: I Can't Get This Out of My Head

The Laguna Beach area has provided me with some of my life's fondest memories. It is a coastline where surfers, bodyboarders and other recreational ocean users have experienced the magic of an extraoridinary coastal region in Southern California. Aliso Beach as far back as I can remember has had a pollution problem. Why do we accept sewage being pumped to the ocean? Your kids are swimming in it!!! I have swam in it. Precious sea life lives in it and people consume that sea life as food. We need to wake up. We are actively killing ourselves. In December of 2010 and in a stretch where there had not been any rain for a full 72 hours, the lifeguard was telling parents to keep their kids out of the water due to sewage. There is always a contaminated ocean water sign up at the beach and we sit back and do nothing. Several months previously to that, I was told at Tenth Street Beach in Laguna by a lifeguard not to paddle out and that it was polluted. I asked how my friend had been in the water the day before and the lifeguard said the city, state and county was lacking funds to regularly test the water. Translation: We never know when the water is polluted and it may be that is is regularly polluted.

Here is where I get a little sickened. 2009 Census estimates the orange county population at just over 3 million people. Average bowel movements are 1-2 times per day for people. That is up to 6 million tirds a day that must be processed and we send it to the ocean at what we are led to believe cured levels. When the ocean smells and recreational ocean users are getting sick, something is wrong. It has gone on and on and on in Laguna. There must be a better way. I don't want to get sick doing something I love.

Leopard Sharks

I was surfing Salt Creek two weeks ago and was startled by a large gathering of sharks inside the surf line. There had to be 100's. They were easily identifiable with their gray color and black spots. Nonetheless, that swaying motion and being surprised by something I did not expect to see, really made my heart jump. Yes, it freaked me out.

I wanted to do some research on them just to see if this was normal. It turns out that Leopard Sharks are often found in bays with lots of sand. They are found from Mazatlan in tropical Mainland Mexico all the way up to frigid waters in Oregon. In the fall, I have learned they congregate in large numbers in San Francisco area bays as well as Monterrey Bay.

Food for leopard sharks consists of bait fish, squid and crab. When it finds itself on the wrong side of the food chain it is said to be good eating and similar in taste to salmon. Mother's have live births from 4 to 29 pups per litter and they grow to as big as 7feet and 70 pounds.

While this creature is widely believed to be docile and a bit skittish in the presence of divers and recreational water users, that sharky swaying motion is enough to scare anyone. While much of the coast has water color where visibility would not allow you to see our friends beneath the water, Salt Creek has clear water and provides an opportunity to view amazing creatures. My only hope is that where there are leopars sharks there aren't the toothy cousin called The Great White Shark!