RIP BILLS MAFIA

In a world overrun by social media, it has become part of our daily routine to keep ourselves entertained watching total nonsense online. Whether it is when you wake up in the morning before work, while you are sitting on the toilet, or perhaps during your commute, these are the times you pull your cell phone out and watch the usual bullshit we have all become accustomed to.

College kids doing stupid stuff like running each other over at full speed with golf carts, shooting firecrackers out of their asses only to have the entire thing backfire, literally. Back yard wrestling attempts, drunk chicks trying to smash full beer cans over their heads and failing, you get the gist.

Then there is the group of people tucked away in Buffalo, New York. A rabid fan base that encompasses all of the stunts mentioned above into one faction, and in the fall and throughout football season you can bank on waking up on Monday mornings to see some of the debauchery these folks embark on. They are known simply as BILLS MAFIA. We all know them, and watching from a safe distance we have all come to appreciate them.

Well, maybe not all of us. According to a report, the Erie County Sheriff's Department will have an emphasis this season on curbing excessive drinking and enforcing the ban on all glass bottles. The smashed bottle over the head trick happens to be one of Bills Mafia's finest. The worst part though? Any and all body slamming through tables is banned and that ban will be STRICTLY enforced. 

What has this world come to? That would be equivalent to banning the foam cheese heads at Lambeau, or cancelling the raising of the 12th Man flag in Seattle. Bills Mafia getting obliterated to the point where they think it is a good idea to slam their friends off of RV's and into burning folding tables is one of the greatest traditions alive. Forget the anthem stuff, forget CTE concerns, this is the real issue that will bring down the NFL. If there is no Bills Mafia, there is no American Football. 

If they are unable to keep up the fight, and this really is the end, at least we will always have these videos to keep us entertained. Thanks Bills Mafia, and RIP. 

THE WNBA IS CLOSE, BUT STILL NOT THERE

The Seattle Storm capped off an incredible season last night, knocking off the Washington Mystics 98-82 to sweep the WNBA Finals. The victory captured the Storm's third championship, and their first since 2010.

As their amazing season progressed into the playoffs, and I started paying attention to some of the games, it amazed me how rocking Key Arena was. As someone who longs for the return of our beloved Sonics, it was cool to see the place jumping like it once did on nights the Supersonics were playing. I also gained a new found appreciation for the WNBA. Over the years I have often mocked the league, until I realized these women are ballers and I really shouldn't be talking. So congrats to the Storm on a third championship. That is big time. \

With that said, a WNBA championship is not on the level of the four major sports, and it should not be recognized as such. Before you tell me I am sexist, Sounder championships are in the same group.

When  we think of the sports landscape in America, the NBA, NHL, MLB, and the NFL immediately come to mind. These are the leagues generating the most revenue, the most exposure, the most T.V. time, the biggest fan bases, and the toughest competition. One could even argue you could throw NCAA football into the group as the fifth major pro sport.

Don't get me wrong, the WNBA is the top echelon of professional women's basketball in the world. It isn't like the MLS in the sense that despite it being a major pro league, their is still much better talent and teams throughout the world. The WNBA is it for women's basketball, here and abroad. It is the pinnacle of the sport.

That does not mean it is on the same level of the other pro leagues, no matter how hard you want to try and convince yourself of this belief. The exposure is not there, the size of the fanbase isn't there, the revenue isn't there, therefore the league just is not there. Yet.

I have started to notice an uptick in coverage over the last year or so, whether it be on Twitter or in publications. Popular writers such as Shea Serrano and Natalie Weiner, among others, have helped increase the exposure and popularity. They can't stop there.

Sports writer Jeff Pearlman wrote an article in 2010 titled " Why The WNBA Isn't- And Never Will Be- A Popular League". In part, Pearlman wrote:

"In other words, the WNBA's emergence is a mathematical, sociological impossibility.

It has not happened.

It will not happen.

It cannot happen.

No matter how many women dunk, no matter how incredible the playoff action might seem, no matter if the league expands to Las Vegas and Cancun and hires the cast members of Glee to hand out $100 bills to every customer, well, the WNBA is what it is -- a fringe entity."

It would appear that Pearlman misfired on his assumption. 8 years later, the viewership numbers he cited have dramatically increased, attendance is up, and hey, guess what? Vegas did get a team! Although, unfortunately, they still aren't handing out $100 to every fan in attendance. 

The point is, the league is not there yet. With the level of athleticism and competition seeming to increase every year, up goes the excitement. And with that, the general interest will continue to rise and more and more folks will get on board. Having the likes of Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant constantly voicing their support for the league doesn't hurt, either. 

Last night after the Storm won, it was front page news on ESPN.com. It was pulled a few hours later, but it is a start. The WNBA can't be viewed as one of North America's major sports leagues, but there is no doubt it can someday get there. 

THE MOST UNDERRATED VIDEO GAME OF ALL TIME

In honor of National Video Games Day, I thought I would write a blog post to honor one of the least talked about, mostly forgotten, classic video games of the 1990's; ESPN EXtreme Games!

Let's start off by discussing the fact that this game didn't even make much sense. It was released around the same time as the inaugural X-Games in the Summer of 1995, and while many of the sports featured in the real X-games were available to play in the video game, I would say it was "based on a true story". It was just really a racing game, and that is it. You would try to hit gates for extra points and swipe cash for new gear and equipment, but there were no tricks or style points to be had. Again, just a racing game.

It would start out with the noise of a garage/warehouse door opening, and inside would be a few different T.V. monitors (heads up, they aren't flatscreens, they are the ones that had a very deep backside and weighed about 90 lbs.) you used a giant ESPN microphone to select which sport you wanted to play.

You could rollerblade, skateboard, mountain bike, or even luge in the video game, but none of it was organized. No matter what apparatus you chose, you were going to be racing all of the others at the same time. I have never seen a guy on rollerblades racing a guy on a street luge, that's just me.

After selecting which activity you wanted to do, you would then select your rider (this was before most video games used real athletes so they were fictional), and then you would select the course. The courses were made up of various cities/states throughout the country, including San Francisco, Utah, Tahoe, and Rhode Island. Once all of this was selected, the downhill race would begin.

One of the greatest aspects of the game was the ability to knock your opponents down as you sped past them. This made it particular enjoyable when playing against your friends rather than the computer.

I remember playing this game for hours on end in my friends basement, and the excitement never stopped. After doing a little research, I discovered that shortly after the game came out Sony lost their marketing agreement with ESPN. Because of this they had to lift ESPN's name and logos off of everything and change the name to 1Xtreme. That is super lame, especially since at the time ESPN was just becoming the MOTHERSHIP that it is (was?). They were the only game in town and they were the shit, having the four letter network tied into the game made it that much more badass.

A quick Ebay search led me to one copy of the game for a whopping $7.95, but it is the non-ESPN version so no thank you. Watching YouTube clips will have to be enough for this trip down memory lane. Let me know if you have a copy, and the original PS, and I am down.

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO CHASE YOUR DREAMS!

Favre, MJ, Clemens, Foreman, Magic, Phelps, Bower. 

You can now add me to the list of stars that have come back to give it one last shot.

Almost four years to the day of my last official blog post, I have triumphantly returned.

Here is my "Why I am joining The Athletic" moment;

Recently I've come across some incredible opportunities to curate blog content for some well known websites, but first I must build up my portfolio. Writing (sports writing in particular) has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and as I have discovered that it might not be too late to pursue the dream, I made the decision to go after it one last time.

I am working on some basic changes to the blog, mainly a name change and layout change, but in the meantime this will suffice. I am not here for the frills, just the content. I hope that is why you are here too.

I am holding myself accountable to 2-3 posts minimum each day. It will be mostly sports, but I will dabble in some pop-culture, and lets be real, it is hard to completely avoid politics in our current climate. I want to stir the pot, maybe create some controversy, and entertain.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, I want to stuff my portfolio with fresh blog work and get it out there for people to see. The last part is where you come in, if you have made it this far  that means you are intrigued, so please share my posts and my blog when you come across something that interests you.

Feel free to comment, get angry with me, praise me, critique me, whatever you feel is necessary to help push me on this new journey.

Thanks for reading, I will try not to disappoint!