Whatever It Takes Sports || Home of the PSS Rocket and other sports training equipment.

Safety & Money
Posted December 17 2013

I'm all for safety in professional sports but I think that with all of the new rules they are going too far. Baseball just banned the collisions at home plate, football is now dictating where players can be tackled and hockey is talking about taking fighting out of the game. With all the new research about concussions I understand these things but only to a degree. Doesn't some of this have to go back onto the players? These players get paid millions of dollars to play a game. Shouldn't they assume some risk as part of their job? They know the dangers involved in their line of work when they sign that multi million dollar contract. You hear some football players saying they won't allow their kids to play because of the dangers. So why do they still play? It's because of the money. If they were truly worried about their safety/health they would get out of the game and get a regular job like the rest of us.

I realize it's not the players that are making these rules changes but the owners are trying to protect their meal ticket. They don't want their players leaving the game because of injury or because they fear for their safety. The bottom line is that it's all about the money. The players want their money. The owners want their money. But what about the fans? We are getting a watered down version of the games that we have grown to love. Both the players and owners know that we as fans will still watch no matter how much they change the rules.

In the end we will all be sitting around with our friends watching the games while the players and owners count the cash they get from us. I guess this is just the world we live in. I just hope they are spending it wisely!

Down and Dirty
Posted April 28 2013

Today Val and I competed in our very first obstacle course race. It took place in Gorham Maine and was called the Into The Mud Challenge. It was 2.5 miles of mud, sand, water and various hazards. Needless to say we got a little dirty.

Since this was our first race we really had no idea what to expect. We got to the location a little early so we could pick up our registration packet. I’m glad we got there when we did because there weren’t any lines but as it got closer to the race, it was packed with people. Inside our packet we got our bib, an Into The Mud Challenge t-shirt and a coupon for a free t-shirt and 20% off at Olympia Sports. They had some great sponsors for the race. Oakhurst Dairy seemed to be the primary sponsor but they also had Sebago Brewing Company on board. With what I would estimate being close to a thousand participants, it’s a good way to get your company’s name out there for a fairly inexpensive price. It may be something that I look into for next year.

There was definitely a buzz in the air before the race. Many people were wearing costumes, which is actually encouraged for this race. They give prizes for the best costumes for individuals and teams but Val and I chose to wear just regular workout clothes. They had a DJ there playing some pretty good music. One of the funniest things I saw, besides some of the costumes, was a group of kids dancing to "Gangnam Style". It was great to see everything having such a good time.

When it came time for our heat to start we were called to the start/finish line. Val

and I were probably in the third of forth row back from the line. As everyone packed in to start the race, the race announcer threw us a little curve ball. He said we were actually going to be going in the other direction. So now instead of being in the third or forth row from the front, we were now in the third of forth row from the back. It really didn’t make any difference to us but it meant we would have to try and pass some people on the road portion of the race so we didn’t get too bottled up when we got to the obstacles.

As the race started Val and I made our way thru some of the traffic in the road section like we had planned and continued into the tire obstacle. That wasn’t too bad as all you really had to do was run over some tires on the ground. The next section is where the obstacles really started and we entered the woods. From there it was pretty much the same terrain, a lot of running up and down hills, in the mud, water and sand. There was one part where we had to carry a gallon jug of water for a section but that wasn’t too bad. When we finally exited the woods we encountered the mud pit. It was probably a little less than knee deep but it was really thick mud. I had to help Val as she was having a hard time pulling her feet out of the mud to walk. After the mud pit the race was almost over. All we had left was the ten foot wall climb. Even though we were pretty tired, it actually gave us a chance to rest because we had to wait for people in front of us to scale the wall. As we approached the finish line I was wondering if Val was going to do the celebration dance like we had talked about. She didn’t let me down with her Stephan Ridley "kick down the door” dance. It was pretty funny and some of the spectators liked it too.

In the end it was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys the outdoors and wants to push themselves beyond what a jog down the street would give you. Val and I are by no means serious runners and we were able to handle it and have a good time while we were doing it. So if you want to try it out, I suggest you try to find an obstacle course race in your area.

Feeling blue instead of seeing green!
Posted March 13 2013

I want to start off by saying that I'm a huge Keven Garnett and Paul Pierce fan but the Celtics missed the boat at the trade deadline. It was reported that they had the chance to trade KG to the Clippers for a pair of good young players ( a point guard and a center ) and Paul for at least one first round pick and other players. They could have gotten a pretty good point guard in the Clipper deal and that would have allowed them to trade Rondo if they wanted to. I just don't know what they were thinking!

They had the chance to rebuild on the fly but instead they chose to stick with the players they have when they know they aren't going to win. What is going to happen when KG decides that he is going to retire at the end of the season? You won't have him and his contract next year but what will you have? The answer is nothing. You will have played out the season with nothing to show for it. I think in order for KG to accept the trade you would have had to have
traded Pierce. I want to see Paul retire a Celtic as much as the next guy but I also want to win.

The Celtics aren't going anywhere in the playoffs this year and everyone knows it. The best thing they could have done was made these trades and gotten the fan base excited about
the good young players they would have gotten. They still would have had Green, Bradley and Sullinger as well. I just don't know what Ainge was thinking. I know the fans have a lot of faith in him but when the team is losing the next couple of years I think they will turn on him.
Instead of seeing green everyone will be feeling blue!

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Red Sox family is rallying around the team.
Posted March 12 2013

I must say that I'm really excited about the 2013 Red Sox spring training. There are a lot of old faces in camp this year that include Pedro, Wake, Tek and Lowell. These guys were great Sox players and they are bringing their experience to the current team. I heard Pedro say that he knew what was wrong with Bard and that if he continued the same way he is going that he will get injured. This guy knows what he is talking about and can really help these young pitchers. Pedro was always a small guy and for the most part avoided serious injury so I think he knows what he is talking about. He was also a fierce competitor who knew when to show the other team that he meant business. Who else would know that better than Don Zimmer?! He was known for brushing guys back or even hitting them if he had to. I just don't think that young pitchers these days know how to do that. I think the addition of Pedro is huge for this team.

The other veteran players in camp are great too. They each bring different things to the table. I think the thing that I'm impressed with the most is the fact that these guys are Sox guys and they are here to help turn this thing around. I know that the AL East is a really good division but I think the Sox really have a chance this year. A lot of things have to go right but I think it can happen!

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