Sports squawk

It's late on Christmas Day, so, if you're like me, you've been taking inventory of your gifts.

There's a couple of sweaters, some bath towels, tooth paste and dental floss from my stocking, a check from grandma, an electric razor -- likely a hint from the girlfriend that my attempt to replicate Tom Brady's scruffy look for the past year has been a failing proposition -- and a pair of books. I've even got the burned sugar cookies that my mother was too embarrassed to give the neighbors. Not a bad haul this year. Not bad at all.

The sweater's weren't even an ugly mustard color.

But admit it, if Santa was this all-knowing, super-powerful being — how else can he zoom around the globe at un-Godly speeds, afford all those presents and have better wiretaps than the CIA — he could have done better for me, and for the rest of us sports fans. I wasn't naughty, Isiah was. I wasn't fighting, Carmelo was. I wasn't lying, Nick Saban was (is?).

So here's my hope. I hope that Santa will take all the belongings I've been given this year in exchange for something we can all enjoy. Here's my sports' Christmas list.

1. No more T.O. — He's got a world-class mouth, but he can't even make a Pro Bowl. Today he dropped a deep pass from Tony Romo that landed right in his hands. On the plus side, he did hand me a fantasy football championship on the final day (more on that later). Let the constant surveilance oh his mood, nap time, diet and health regimen stop.

2. One more year of Isiah — I admit it. I have not always been a big NBA buff. Growing up in Connecticut, I was a huge college fan but hated the NBA. I enjoyed the wide-open playoffs last year as well as the playing styles of the Suns and Mavericks (and until recently, the Kings). But there is nothing more captivating than watching Isiah's constant attempts to extricate himself from trouble, only to make things worse. It's like one of those charming 70s sitcoms, like Three's Company, where his dunderheaded manuverings only drive him further and further into the much. Sadly for 'Zeke, I doubt this one turns out with him hashing things out with a brunette and a blond in his apartment. Keep him around for one more year, just for comedy sake.

3. I want to see Daisuke Matsuzaka throw a gyroball — If you've seen the internet film of this pitch, it's fantastic. It's like a split-finger fastball that moves the opposite way. I'm pretty sure no major league pitcher can make a ball move like this -- unless, from accounts I've read, pitchers have the scuffing skills of Mike Scott. It's a pitch that's only been rumored to exist, like Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster. Hey, they found a live giant squid this week. George Steinbrenner would probably take three hours with the squid than three hours watching his hitters flailing at this thing.

4. I want Brady in the Pro Bowl — he has just 300 yards and one touchdown less than Carson Palmer. He doesn't have two of the AFC's most dangerous weapons like Phillip Rivers. And you're telling me that Brady wouldn't have found a way to beat the Texans this week, like Payton Manning couldn't? He's never won an MVP and now he's not even top three in his league? That's weak.

5. I want to know who this Cleo Lemon guy is who just took over for Joey Harrington as quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.

6. I want to finally realizing that all this obsessing over fantasy sports is silly. I made the championship of my Eagle League football today. I played against a co-worker who never touched her team. I don't mean one or two transactions or switching on the bye weeks. She let Yahoo auto-draft for her. She let it pick her starters, never replaced a single player, and was anot her long Terrell Owens touchdown from beating me. Fortunately, all was good in the world and Jeff Garcia -- once the arch-nemsis of Terribly Obnoxious -- managed to outscore him, allowing my hours of draft-day preparation and weekly agonizing was for a reason. Of course, there was no prize in this league.

Posted by Chris Carlson at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let me say that for once -- other than after the 2004 World Series -- it feels pretty good to be a Boston fan. Sure, the Celtics stink, the Bruins are slightly better and the Red Sox are still months away from starting, but at the moment I'm just glad I'm not a New York fan -- unlike the boss-man.

It's been a rough week for our neighbors.

New York Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas may have done the one thing that could make him look more absurd than his general managing. He, allegedly, warned Carmelo Anthony to stay out of the lane and ordered his players to fragrently foul a Denver player if they went for another dunk in a Denver win that was nearly secure. The foul, issued by Mardy Collins by J.R. Smith, led to a brawl and the insinuations that Thomas was acting because of his dislike for Denver coach George Karl. And while I do think Karl was running up the score a little, it wasn't to the point that a professional coach should have ordered his players to intentionally threaten someone's career. If Thomas was that embarassed, he shouldn't have put together such a horrid group of players. His entire career with the Knicks has been an embarassment. Of course, the only team that looks worse is Denver, who had its star -- and the NBA's leading scorer Carmelo Anthony -- suspended for 15 games and its second-leading scorer J.R. Smith suspended for 10.

I knew Anthony in college, covered him the year he won the national championship at Syracuse and have followed his career in the NBA. Truthfully, little that's happened throughout has been a big surprise. He was an 18-year-old kid, raised in the inner-city of Baltimore by a single mother who was made a millionaire when he entered the NBA. He could have used a few more years in college -- a place where mistakes are tolerated, covered up and lessened by the immature behavior of peers. He got caught with marijuana, moped about playing time and criticism and appeared in a video that threatened the life on anyone in Baltimore caught "snitching to police." He's also been the captain of the U.S. National team, given money back to build a youth center in Baltimore (just this week actually and used his extraordinary talent to become one of the NBA's best players. Prior to the other night, a flurry of stories had been written about how 'Melo cleaned up his act. Then he sucker-punched Collins and earned the sixth-longest suspension in NBA history. I like 'Melo.. He has a good heart. But he's still a kid who does stupid things. Open a youth center to protect kids one day, sucker-punch opponents in the face the next, let's hope he figures out which side of the road he wants to be on before his reputation doesn't give him a choice.

Posted by Chris Carlson at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The last football game of the year provided the ending of the fall sports season. Itwas a little anti-climactic and a little late (it is December after all), but it's been another exciting season for Berkshire County.

I do feel bad for Mount Greylock's football team. All the parents leaving Worcester State College after the 36-8 loss in the Super Bowl were searching for excuses. The team from Holy Name of Worcester would have torched any team from Berkshire County, and the Mounties were no different. Yes, it would have been nice if Greylock could have gotten a matchup against a team closer to its equal. Yes, Holy Name is a private school that's likely (I haven't done much searching) able to dig up money for scholarships (although that's not unlike St. Joseph's, so without an investigation as to how it's done, that shouldn't be an excuse), and yes, the Napoleans are moving up to Division 1 next year, a nod to the fact that they're far superior to their Division 2 comrades.

But hopefully the Mounties are able to take something from the loss. Greylock coach Shawn Flaherty put things in perspective nicely after the game, at a time when many coaches are unable to think logicly.

"Sometimes in life you meet someone who is just better than you, I think that's what happened today."

In the Berkshires, it's easy to forget how secluded we are. Our best athletes often don't measure up against the rest of the state, not to mention the rest of the country. That said, with the limited population, resources and weather that we're up against, we have put together some extraordinarily talented athletes -- Olympians, professional baseball players and skiers among them.

When I was an athlete, I harbored illusuions of college grandour throughout m career. To be good, to be competitive, it's necessary to think that you're the best, that you can beat anyone. I was a No. 1 tennis player on my high school team in Connecticut and a state doubles semifinalist my senior year. My talents would have gotten me a shot at a good Division 3 school -- and at a place like Williams, I would have never seen the court -- yet my mind was unable to grip the fact that there were that many people in the world that were so much better than me.

As I got to college, I began to understand my place better. I was one of the best players on my club team during my freshman year, possibly the best, but that doesn't get you anywhere in life. After a year, I dropped tennis to focus on writing.

While talking to some of the Greylock kids this week, they remind me of myself. Some, like standout linebacker Dylan Schultz, will parlay their skills into a great education at an upper-level Division 3 school. For those that can, that's the best way for their running, tackling and agility abilities to be put to use. For those who are looking for a college that will take them solely so they can continue playing football, good luck. If that's a passion of yours, I am not the one to tell you not to follow it. But the odds of a lucrative career in football (any sort -- coaching, professional, semi-pro) are rare. Rarer still for any athlete who begins that trek at a Division 3 school.

That brings me to my favorite memory of the fall -- the Lee High girls' soccer team. The Wildcats lost in the state semifinals, ending a run that brought the team from the Berkshire County basement to the top floor. There were tears at the end. Tears of sadness at the end of their final soccer game together and tears of disappointment that they didn't go quite as far as they wanted to. But by the time their bus reached Berkshire County, the girls were singing, dancing and laughing in their bus, a sight that could be witnessed by any traveler who took the time to squint through the fogged-up windows. To me, this is what high school sports should be. The girls were competitive enough to be hurt by the loss, but had the vision to know that there were important things in life and to move on quickly.

Posted by Chris Carlson at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It wasn't a pretty day for the Mounties in the Division 2 Super Bowl. Greylock lost 36-8 to Holy Name of Worcester. Suffice to say that the game was even more lopsided than the score.

Holy Name had 352 yards to Greylock's 83 and led 30-0 at halftime. Greylock scored its lone touchdown against Holy Name's reserves. The Mounties are a good team from a bad league (this year). Holy Name is a powerhouse. It was a mismatch from the start. I'll review my favorite moments from the Fall Season tomorrow.

Posted by Chris Carlson at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)