Review of Creed (Rocky 7)

As I sat and waited in Celebration Cinema South for the movie Creed to start my head started filling in with memories of the movie series I grew up on. I started thinking about Rocky's battles with Thunderlips, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago, Tommy Gunn, Mason Dixon and of course Apollo Creed. I'll never forget in 2006 when they came out with 6th Rocky movie and he fought his fight. It was the perfect way to end the Rocky saga and a way for him to go out on top. I really didn't think there was anymore they could do with the character. However they found a way and the way was pretty awesome.

Creed as you all know is about Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Johnson-Creed. He's the son that Apollo never knew he had and we had a glimpse into what Apollo was like in his prime. Apollo's widow took Adonis in despite the fact that he wasn't her son. She felt a responsibility to her late husband. This movie had a lot of great elements to it. They had Rocky's own battles he's dealing with and Adonis's battle of getting out of his dads shadow and creating a name for himself. This movie had a lot of traditional Rocky elements in it but also had some new things that Creed could call their own. I loved how they revisited Apollo's gym, Rocky's gym but in the end they Rocky and Adonis find their own gym to train at. 

I can't say I dislike anything about this Rocky spin-off but their are some things I wish would have been in the movie. I wish they would have had Carl Weathers in the movie showing him as an old Apollo that Adonis could envision and what life would have been like with Apollo alive. Secondly, I wish they would have re-visited the Ivan Drago character. The movie does focus a lot on how Apollo died and maybe Adonis could have met Ivan Drago to get answers. Lastly, the man who trained Apollo and eventually Rocky was Duke. Duke's son who happens to be Duke Jr runs Apollo's old gym. I wish they would explored the relationship with Creed and Duke a little bit more. These are all what if's and it definitely doesn't change my opinion of my love for the Rocky Series and the newest movie Creed.

If you have ever have been a fan on any of the Rocky movies or the entire series this is one you have to watch. It will make you laugh, cry, get excited and makes the entire series very relevant again. It answers a lot of questions to what Rocky and Apollo's relationship was like. If you love Rocky you'll love Creed. In the words of Rocky Balboa, “Nobody owes nobody nothing. You owe yourself.” If you're a Rocky Balboa fan then you owe it to yourself to go see this movie!

PS. If you want to know who won the third fight between Creed and Balboa at the end of the third movie you get your answer in this movie

2015 NFL Week 12 Predictions

What another rough week in terms of predictions. I only had 5 predictions right and they were Jaguars/Titans, Panthers/Redskins, Chiefs/Vikings, Seahawks/49ers, and Patriots/Bills. I feel like their were a lot of weird games this week. Teams that should be winning aren't winning and teams that you think would lose aren't losing. All the playoff races are pretty tight unless your the Patriots and Panthers. Here are my predictions for Thanksgiving Football and Week 12:

Philadelphia Eagles over Detroit Lions

Carolina Panthers over Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers over Chicago Bears

Minnesota Vikings over Atlanta Falcons

Kansas City Chiefs over Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals over St. Louis Rams

Oakland Raiders over Tennessee Titans

Indianapolis Colts over Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

New York Jets over Miami Dolphins

Houston Texans over New Orleans Saints

New York Giants over Washington Redskins

Jacksonville Jaguars over San Diego Chargers

Arizona Cardinals over San Francisco 49ers

Pittsburgh Steelers over Seattle Seahawks

New England Patriots over Denver Broncos 

Baltimore Ravens over Cleveland Browns

I think some of the better games this week will be Vikings/Falcons, Chiefs.Bills, and Jets/Dolphins. So far I have 98 games predicted right in the 2015 season. I have have struggled these last couple of weeks. Hopefully next week I can give thanks that I had a week. Check back next week for my week 13 predictions.

Results, Review, Recap of WWE Survivor Series 2015

Tonight was the annual Survivor Series pay per view but more importantly it's the 25th Anniversary of The Undertaker. This was a really interesting Survivor Series because of Seth Rollins injury. Before I begin with my thoughts and reaction here are the results of the Survivor Series pay-per-view:

-Pre-Show Match- The Dudley Boys/Neville/Titus O'Neill/Goldust defeated The Miz/Bo Dallas/The Ascension/Stardust in a Traditional 5 on 5 Elimination Tag Match
-Roman Reigns defeated Alberto Del Rio in a Semi-Final Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title
-Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens in a Semi-Final Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title
-Lucha Dragons/The Uso's/Ryback vs. The New Day/Sheamus/King Barrett in a Traditional 5 on 5 Elimination Tag Match
-Charlotte defeated Paige to retain the WWE Divas Championship
-Tyler Breeze defeated Dolph Ziggler
-The Undertaker/Kane defeated Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper
-Roman Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title
-Sheamus Cashed In Money in the Bank on Roman Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title

It was a really nice surprise to see Goldust return to start a feud with Stardust. It's a feud that should have taken place during Wrestlemania season this year. Hopefully we will get to see a full feud happen now. It was really good to see two Survivor Series matches. I really think they need to re-ignite Survivor Series. They should have 3 or 4 Survivor Series matches and the winning teams of each match go on to a Battle Royal later in the night. Then the winner of that Battle Royal should receive a WWE World Title shot.

This Survivor Series was focused a lot on The Undertaker and his 25 years in the company. It was great to see him have a good match with Kane as his tag team partner going against Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper. Even though Undertaker is getting older he knows how to capture the audience. He can still tell a story and still give you chills every time he comes down to the ring. I have the gut feeling this marks the end of his illustrious career which we see come to an end at Wrestlemania 32 in Dallas.

I really did not like the fact that finals of the tournament came down to Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns because it was way too obvious. Even the Cash In was very predictable in a lot of ways. WWE is in a tight spot right now with Rollins, Orton, Bryan, and Cesaro all out of commission. I think I would have preferred Kevin Owens winning the tournament and making some history to be one of only 3 people to hold the WWE World and Intercontinental Championships at the same time. WWE better start pushing new guys and stop shoving the same 3 or 4 guys down our throats every week. Guys like Barrett, Neville, and others need to be showcased more often. If the title were vacated 10-15 years ago we wouldn't have this discussion because the depth was so awesome on the WWE roster.

I am not really sure where WWE goes from here. I think NXT could solve some problems but do really want see NXT stars get buried on the main roster like so many have already. I will give WWE Survivor Series a 7 out of 10 because there wasn't any bad matches but it was far too predictable. Hopefully WWE will either sign some past superstars back or bring up new ones before 2016. If not, then it's going to be a rough road to Wrestlemania. Next stop is TLC in three weeks and we shall see what happens for the last show in 2016.

2015 NFL Week 11 Predictions

I apologize for not making my predictions last week due to me severely being under the weather. The football gods must not like excuses because I only predicted 3 games correctly. Those games were the Steelers/Browns, Patriots/Giants and Panthers/Titans. It was a very tough week to say the least. This week I am back and with that here are my predictions

Jacksonville Jaguars over Tennessee Titans

Atlanta Falcons over Indianapolis Colts

Chicago Bears over Denver Broncos 

I think without Peyton Manning guiding the ship has sunk. An unhealthy Manning is still better then no Manning at all. 

Miami Dolphins over Dallas Cowboys

Oakland Raiders over Detroit Lions

St. Louis Rams over Baltimore Ravens

New York Jets over Houston Texans

Philadelphia Eagles over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carolina Panthers over Washington Redskins

Kansas City Chiefs over San Diego Chargers

Minnesota Vikings over Green Bay Packers

The wheels have definitely fallen off the bus in Green Bay. How do you recover from losing against the Lions? They can't and they won't. I think Green Bay is falling apart and Minnesota has a lot of momentum going for them. 

Seattle Seahawks over San Francisco 49ers

Cincinnati Bengals over Arizona Cardinals

New England Patriots over Buffalo Bills. 

So far I've predicted 93 games right this year. Week 10 was the worst week I've ever had so hopefully in week 11 I can bounce back and regain my momentum in predictions. Check back next week for my week 12 predictions. 

Fantasy Football Recap Week 9 Recap (ESPN)

It seems like more often then not this year I've had to report on losing in both of my leagues. It has been an absolute struggle but without wasting anymore time here are the results of my fantasy football league.

Grandma and Uncle Jack Memorial League

Hollywood's World of Sports (109) vs. Fantasy Footballer29 (131)

Starters

Cam Newton- 32

Darren McFadden- 11

Isaiah Crowell- 5

Brandon Marshall- 10

Michael Crabtree- 22

Greg Olsen- 12

Travis Benjamin- 2

Steelers D/ST/- 2

Graham Cano- 13

Bench

Marshawn Lynch- Bye

AJ Green- 5

Alex Smith- Bye

Markus Wheaton- 0

Chris Johnson- Bye

Benjamin Watson- 6

My opponents bench had 77 points so there was absolutely no way I could have won. This now puts me at 3-6 with 794 points scored. I've been putting up some great numbers and usually 109 points would be enough to win but my opponent had everyone on their roster on fire!

UA GR League

Hollywood's World of Sports (41) vs. Team Soup (76)

Starters

Sam Bradford- 15

CJ Spiller- 0

Orleans Darkwa- 2

Kenny Britt- 8

Malcolm Floyd- 0

Coby Fleener- 2

Tavon Austin- 7

Josh Lambo- 7

Bench

Doug Baldwin- Bye

Anthony Fasano- 9

Lance Dunbar- 0

Nelson Agholor-0

Matthew Stafford- Bye

Kamar Aiken- Bye

Lance Moore- Bye

Titans D/ST- 6

Stupid old me forgot to put my defense in but that wouldn't have made a bit of difference. I am currently 3-6 with 654 points scored. As I said it's been a long year in fantasy football. It's a learning experience for the future. You're not always going to have a good week, a good team or a good year. One thing I've learned is you have to consistently have to change your team up. Hopefully next I'll be reporting how great I am doing For now keep tuning in to see how I do these next six weeks. 

Conquering the Fields: Caren Meerman

Life can throw many opportunities at you and it's how you respond to those opportunities that make the difference. Caren Meerman has been around sports her entire life. Whether it's a softball field, a Rugby field, a golf course or basketball court she has always had in mind to be the best. She has accomplished a lot in her athletic career and keeps continuing to reach for more. For most of her life she excelled at Golf, Basketball and Softball. At Coopersville High School she achieved a lot of success including All-Conference Golf (2009 & 2010), All-Conference Softball (2010 & 2011),  All-District Softball (2010 & 2011), All-Region Softball (2011), All-State Softball (2011), and Female Athlete of the Year (2011).  She was also teams that won conference championships as well. Those included Conference Champs in Golf 2010 and Conference Champs in Softball 2011. Caren eventually went on to Davenport University where after three years of playing softball she made a crucial change to start playing Rugby, which has proven to be successful because Davenport's Rugby Playoff run starts very soon. Caren is always setting new goals for herself and in this interview you'll find that she's one of the hardest working female athletes out there. Here is what Caren had to say about her experiences competing in sports

Growing up you had three older brothers who played sports. How did that influence you and your passion for sports?

My older brothers played a key role in my passion for sport. At a young age I recall playing backyard football with my brothers, this included tackle in the snow during winter, and two hand touch in the spring, summer and fall. I remember playing basement baseball using couch cushions as the bases, we played golf in our front yard using the trees as the holes, and my brother Jake and I played railroad baseball (a game we had made up) in our backyard.

Who were some of your favorite athletes growing up?
My favorite athletes derived from my favorite sports teams; the Detroit Pistons, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Lions. My most favorite athlete growing up was Ben Wallace from the 2004 Piston’s. I also adored any female athletes such as the Williams sisters in tennis or Mia Hamm in soccer.

What’s your favorite sports movie and why?
My all-time favorite sports movie is the Blind Side because of the humor, the challenges Michael Orr faced, and the overall focus of the movie. A close 2nd place is Coach Carter.

In high school you played Golf, Basketball, and Softball. What did you enjoy about playing each sport?
Golf was a more individual sport and I caught onto the sport very quickly. Golf was my relaxing sport and after all I could be playing it the rest of my life- so I tried to learn the most while playing. After starting golf my sophomore year, I ended up setting the school record my junior year scoring a 43 at our home course.

Basketball was a sport I had been playing since 5th grade and I enjoyed it mostly for the fact that people couldn’t push me around and I stood my ground. Often I would foul out of games due to strength and silly fouls committed in the post area.

Softball was and will always be my favorite sport. I have played softball competitively for over 15 years of my life and had the best time playing in high school. I enjoyed the coaching, the competition, and most of all driving in the game winning runs. Softball honored me over the years with several awards, but in all reality I was honored to play the game I had played all of my life.

After high school, you began school Davenport. What were your goals heading into Davenport in terms of athletics?My goal was to be the most competitive person on the varsity level. I came short of this goal, but I learned a lot of lessons throughout my time at Davenport.

After three years of playing softball you made the change to play Rugby. What brought on this change?
The change was made due to the constant failure of my goal. When I tried for three years to be the best at my sport, and then realized I wasn’t, reality set in and I decided to move on from the sport of softball. Also, the constant nagging from a few of the rugby players wanting me too play helped the transition a little bit.

What do you enjoy most about playing Rugby?
I enjoy the hard hits, scrummaging, breaking the gain line, getting tackled by three people at a time and most of all winning with my teammates.

Even though you are fully into Rugby do you still compete in the other sports you were in during high school?
Yes, I also play slow-pitch softball throughout the summer. I play golf and basketball a few times a year as well.

Not only do you play Rugby, but you are an Assistant Varsity Coach for the Forest Hill Northern Softball Team. How has playing helped in terms of you being a coach on a team?
This has helped because I understand both sides (coaching and playing) of the game. I learned a lot in my first year of coaching. Mostly that I can’t get out there and play the game for the athlete- which was one of my hardest challenges.

After your playing days are over do you plan to pursue any coaching opportunities?
I wouldn’t mind coaching rugby in the future. One thing I am learning currently is that I still don’t know all the rules to the game and I am constantly learning these rules on the fly. I do enjoy coaching softball however and love to be involved with my favorite sport.

You have a degree in business sports management from Davenport University. What are your goals with in attaining that degree?
My goal has been reached. I have completed that degree in April of 2014. My next goal will be to finish my Master’s Degree and find a full time job in athletics.

In today’s society, female athletes are getting more media coverage and more respect than ever. What advice would you give a young female pursuing a career in sports?
Keep pushing through and stick up for yourselves. Over the years I am starting to understand female athletes not getting the media coverage or respect is due to the profits businesses are making off of male sports. I will always understand that male sport makes more money, but I will never understand why females are pushed aside in all spectrums of sport.

When all is said and done, what will you back on say that your greatest accomplishment is?
I few highlights of my accomplishments include being All-State in high school for softball. I had also received Female Athlete of the Year for my senior athletic awards. My next accomplishment I want to finish is being a National Champion in 15’s for Women’s DII Collegiate Rugby.

Any final thoughts?
I wanted to take this time to thank Joey for being a great man, awesome teammate at UA, and a wonderful article writer. You da bomb, Joey!

I would personally thank Caren for taking the time out of her busy schedule to do an interview and talk about her experiences and goals. 

Passion for the Puck: Lexie Boydston

In today's society women are getting more recognition as athletes then ever before. In the last twenty years they have created WNBA, women are bowling with the men in the PBA, the UFC's biggest star right now is a woman and now they have a National Women's Hockey League that started this year. Right now there are four teams and they are the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale and New York Riveters. One young woman I have met has such a passion for hockey and it's been there her whole life. She is someone I could see having a career in the NWHL in the future. Lexie Boydston currently plays for the Panthers of Davenport University. In the 2013-2014 season, she led her team in goals and power play goals. She is well on pace to match those numbers again this season. She has passion, love and dedication for hockey. Don't believe me? Here is what Lexie had to say about her passion and her future goals.

Growing who or what influenced you to want to play hockey?
Growing up I was a little rink rat, I was always at the rink and I when I was watching my cousins play I was plastered to the glass. My dad would have to drag me out of the rink sometimes. It wasn’t until then that a good family friend threw a pair of skates at my dad and was out there with boys learning how it works. That’s when I fell in love with the game.

Who you were some of your favorite hockey players growing up?
Growing up some of the players that I idolized were Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Stan Mikta, and a lot of players from that era. Currently, Marian Hossa is my favorite player because he’s such a versatile player and that’s what I aim to be.

What were your expectations playing in high school as compared to playing in College?
High school hockey wasn’t really competitive for me; it was just something to add more hockey to my schedule since I was double rostering on a AAA travel team out of Chicago, that’s where all the expectations to be great came from and why I hold myself to such a high standard now. It certainly helped prepare me for the high expectations college. It’s like a full time job.

How did the opportunity to play hockey at Davenport University come about?
Well at first I had never heard of Davenport, I had already had everything sorted out when it came down to where I was going to play college hockey. It wasn’t until the last tournament of my senior season that my dad was approached by Davenport’s coach. He had been there looking at other players and stumbled upon me on accident. The coach was way more enthusiastic and excited to have me that my original choice that I decided to change my plans my completely and come to Davenport.

What were your goals heading into playing College?
I didn’t really have any goals heading into college and I know that may sound bad but my main thing was I wasn’t ready to hang up my skates yet and was just happy I had the opportunity to continue doing something I loved. So I guess I could say that my main goal was go somewhere where I wasn’t going to be sitting on the bench occasionally getting few shifts here and there and not getting any real playing time until my junior/senior seasons.

Do you feel you’ve met those goals so far?
So far I do believe that I have met that met goals and have accomplished much more than I ever thought I would. I was leading rookie scorer my freshman year, hold a record for goals scored at Davenport, and was nominated to participate in the World University Games in Granada, Spain last year.

You’ve also played Rugby and Lacrosse, how are they different then playing hockey?
I think the major difference is the most obvious, they weren’t on ice. I eventually got the hang of playing them but I never realized how difficult it would be changing from skating to running. It seemed more demanding because I was new to those sports and didn’t know the ropes opposed to hockey being like second nature. They were both fun to learn though.

Could you see yourself playing hockey after College on an amateur or professional level?
Up until this year there wasn’t anything substantial for women to do in hockey after college. The first paid national’s women hockey league started in October and it was very exciting to hear about because I’ve been told my whole life my dream of playing in the NHL was silly. Now all I have to say is that dream is very well alive and I’d certainly give it a go if I have the opportunity.

Hockey players, men and women alike have a certain intensity about them when they are on the ice. Is your personality on the ice different from when you’re not?
I think my personality stays pretty much the same on and off the ice. I think playing hockey my whole life has really set the tone for everything else I choose to do and I feel I have that same intensity in anything I do.

Right now society is starting take more notice in female athletes like Ronda Rousey and many others. What would your advice be to a young female wanting to play competitive sports?
My advice would be to challenge the stereotype. Find something you love and don’t do it for anything or anyone else but yourself. Play the gritty, tough, physical sport. Don’t be ashamed of doing something you love just because you’re a girl.

What is your favorite hockey movie and why?
This is pretty cliché but Miracle is my favorite hockey movie, aside from the just hockey it’s very inspirational in any sport or aspect of your life.

You are going to Davenport University for sports management. What do you plan to do with your degree?
I would love to do anything I could to get my foot in the door working for the Chicago Blackhawks. I want to stay as close to hockey as possible and what would be a better place than home?

What are your goals for the future?For starters I want to ride out the rest of my hockey as long as I can. After that, I haven’t put much thought into and I’m still working on figuring that out.

When you look back on your hockey career someday, what will you say was your great accomplishment?
I think my greatest accomplishment would be that I stuck with it. I watched so many of friends that were girls slowly lose interest in their sport of choice of choose to just quit because sports aren’t a girls thing. I’m proud that I can say that I took hockey as I could and made it.

Any final thoughts?
Thank you Joey for taking the time to interview me, it’s been a pleasure!

I would like to thank Lexie for taking the time for an interview and to discuss her passion. It's really great to see what Davenport University is doing with all of their athletics. To check out what's going on with Davenport Women's Hockey go to http://www.dupanthers.com/index.aspx?path=whockey

2015 NFL Week 9 Predictions

Week eight was great due to only getting three games incorrect. They were Falcons/Buccaneers, Raiders/Jets, and Broncos/Packers. Like I said week 8 was great so hopefully week nine will be fine. Here are my predictions for week 9.

Cincinnati Bengals over Cleveland Browns 

Buffalo Bulls over Miami Dolphins

Green Bay Packers over Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints over Tennessee Titans

Pittsburgh Steelers over Oakland Raiders 

Minnesota Vikings over St. Louis Rams

New England Patriots over Washington Redskins

New York Jets over Jacksonville Jaguars

Atlanta Falcons over San Francisco 49ers

New York Giants over Tampa Bays Buccaneers 

Denver Broncos over Indianapolis Colts 

Philadelphia Eagles over Dallas Cowboys

San Diego Chargers over Chicago Bears

I look for the Bills/Dolphins, Packers/Panthers, and Broncos/Colts to be very close and competitive games. So far I have 82 games predicted correctly which is 19 above the average user on ESPN. I would say that's pretty good. Check back next week to see how I did and will do in week 10. 

Fantasy Football Week 8 Recap (ESPN)

What an interesting turn around this week considering how horrible I was doing. I won both leagues I can tell you I was shocked by the way both victories came about. With that being said here are the results of my fantasy football teams

Grandma and Uncle Jack Memorial League

Hollywood's World of Sports(100) vs. Team Hawk Hockey(69)

Starters

Cam Newton- 17

Marshawn Lynch- 8

Chris Johnson- 6

Brandon Marshall-10 

Michael Crabtree- 16

Greg Olsen 13- 

Travis Benjamin- 2

Texas D/ST- 19

Cairo Santos- 9

Bench

AJ Green- 17

Alex Smith- 26

Darren McFadden- 10

Markus Wheaton- 0

Danny Amendola- 1

Khiry Robinson- 1

My bench had 55 points compared to the 25 points on my opponents bench. It seemed like either way I was going to have a great week. I am surprised how well my team did compared to what they have done all year. I am now 3-5 in this league with 685 points scored. Hopefully I can more good performances like this to make a good run into the playoffs.

UA GR League

Hollywood's World of Sports(67) vs. Grand Valley Lakers(61)

Starters

Matthew Stafford- 8

CJ Spiller- 9

Orleans Darkwa- 2

Doug Baldwin- 3

Kenny Britt- 0

Coby Fleener- 10

Tavon Austin- 21

Falcons D/ST- 4

Josh Lambo- 10

Bench

Sam Bradford- Bye

Percy Harvin- Bye

Anthony Fasano-0

Lance Dunbar- 0

Nelson Agholor-Bye

Malcolm Floyd- 21

Kamar Aiken- 6

As you can see my bench scored 27 points compared to my opponents 44. It honestly could have gone either way depending on what moves would have been made. I am now 3-5 in this league with 615 points scored. This roster looks way different compared to the previous weeks. I said I was going to make moves and I did. Check back next week to see how I did in week nine. Week eight was great and hopefully week nine will be fine. 

For the Love of the Game: Kevin Hallberg

When you work in the sports world whether it be writing, as an athlete or working for a sports brand you meet some incredible people. Over the last few months I've gotten to know a bright young man who is attending Grand Valley State University. He is going to be graduating this coming Spring in Sports Management. He was also recently hired as the Head Coach for Wayland Union High School Junior Varsity's Baseball team. I've never met anyone who loves baseball as much as Kevin does. After many talks with him about baseball, life and his passion for wanting to teach kids Kevin has a bright future ahead of him. Here is what Kevin had to say about his passion and his future.

What made you want to play baseball?
I started playing tball when I was 5 and from there It was just a game I really enjoyed playing and all my friends had fun just playing the game

What are your earliest memories of baseball?
My earliest memories of baseball would have to be playing sandlot baseball in my hometown of lansing Illinois. We used to get around 10-15 guys on the baseball diamond and just have fun playing ball

Who were some of the baseball players who inspired you growing up?
I would say my favorite player growing up was Kerry wood because I loved the cubs and I thought Kerry woods movement on his curveball was filthy. As I got older I started to admire Curtis Granderson, whom I was fortunate enough to meet because he is a legend at my high school. He epitomizes the way you are supposed to conduct yourself as a major league baseball player

Did you play any other sports before you made it to College and if so how were they different from playing baseball?
I would actually say I was a bigger football player than I was baseball player in high school, I played QB and just love the game of football because of the team element. Baseball for me is a little different because it is still a team game but as a pitcher you are all alone by yourself on the mound

What were your goals going into College in terms of playing baseball?
To be honest the only real main goal going into college was to get my tuition payed for and to make sure I busted my butt to be the best player I could be. As I made my way into playing college baseball my only real goal was to make the World Series and win it.

Do you feel you met those goals?
Well, I met the first goal of getting my tuition mostly payed for which is something I am very grateful for in this age where a college education is so expensive. I never achieved the goal of making it to the world series but I can honestly say the teammates and brothers I have made through the years through playing college baseball is something that can never be taken away from me.

Did you have aspirations of trying out for a Minor League Baseball team?
It has crossed my mind yeah, I’m not sure what the future holds in that aspect but as of right now I would say I probably wouldn’t try out. Baseball is a humbling sport and at some point you have to realize that its time to hang up the cleats and move on with what I want to do in my career.

You’re attending Grand Valley State University and graduating in the Spring of 2016. What are you hoping to accomplish with your sports management degree?
I would love to hopefully one day land a job in a college or high school athletic department somehow, I love working with student athletes so I would love to be in a spot where I get to interact and make a difference in student athletes lives

You were recently hired by Wayland Union School district to be the Junior Varsity Coach. How do you feel about this opportunity?
I am extremely excited about being hired at Wayland Union High School. I feel like this is an outstanding opportunity in a great school district to not only gain experience in coaching but also be a part of something special happening in the baseball program. I was lucky enough to meet Travis Wilcox and we talked on a few occasions about potentially coaching and I am really looking forward to joining him and Joe Slagter, John Stowe and the rest of the Wayland Baseball staff as we get going here relatively soon.

What do you hope to accomplish for Wayland Union High School’s Baseball program?
I hope I am able to teach these young guys the right way to play the game of baseball and really try and emphasize the fundamentals of the game. I know Travis has laid an awesome foundation with the baseball program at Wayland already so I’m excited to go in there and bring some energy and intensity as we are looking to not only be competitive in every game and win games but also to have fun doing it.

With your passion for baseball, your sports management degree from GVSU and the experience you’re going to get from coaching what do you ultimately hope to accomplish?
I just love the game of baseball and sports in general, I’m trying to stay around the game and young athletes of the game for as long as I possibly can because it is something I am passionate about about and something I love doing.

Any closing thoughts?
Thank you Joey for taking the time to interview me, its been fun going back and forth talking sports with you and I look forward to all the conversations we are going to have this year when Wayland Baseball takes the field. Go Cats!

I personally would like to thank Kevin for taking time to have an interview with Hollywood's World of Sports. I appreciate his passion and love for baseball. 

NASCAR Reaches All Time High in Hypocrisy with Kenseth Suspension

Today NASCAR reached an all time high in being hypocritical by suspending Matt Kenseth for two races and putting him on six month probation. They stated the penalties were given due to the fact that Matt Kenseth was no longer a Chase driver and he took out the leader Joey Logano who is still in this Chase for the Cup. The problem I have with this is two weeks prior to this Joey Logano already had a spot in round three of the Chase and Matt Kenseth had to win a Kansas to advance to the next round. Brian France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR said he had no problem with what Logano did and said it typical NASCAR racing. This was the first mistake of many that NASCAR has made in the past.

In 2012, when Jeff Gordon intentionally wrecked Clint Bowyer and eliminated his chances at a championship he was fined 100,000 dollars and docked 50 points. In 2013, when Joey Logano wrecked Denny Hamlin intentionally there was no punishment. Hamlin broke his back in that wreck and missed six weeks due to Logano getting "revenge." NASCAR wants to discuss safety. How is injuring someone not looking out for someones safety.  Joey Logano should have been forced to sit out races until Hamlin was able to return. Then in this month alone there has been hypocrisy. Look at when Kevin Harvick could only go 30 miles an hour at Talladega and took out a good portion of the field to made sure he advanced to the next round. Where was NASCAR in that situation? This past Sunday Danica Patrick did the same thing to David Gilliland and she got a slap on the wrist. Is it because she's a woman and Gilliland is a nobody? I don't care what the situation is or the drivers are the punishment and penalties needs to be equal across the board.

I really feel that it's time that Brian France consider stepping down as Chairman and CEO of NASCAR. I don't care how long his family has been running the sport. Enough is enough and it's time for change. You don't go out and tell the boys to "have at it" and not expect drivers to react to being robbed of a championship. You don't support the actions of a driver wrecking another driver in which the driver that was wrecked had their championship chances crushed. You don't suspend the driver for retaliation when you know the drivers live be a certain code. There is so much wrong with the sport of NASCAR right now and inconsistencies in penalties are a huge part of it. I hope by the time we reach the Daytona 500 in 2016 that new rules and regulations will be made and enforced equally across the board. If NASCAR continues to play favorites and then the sport will lose whatever integrity it has left. They hypocrisy is at an all time high and I hope over the next three months NASCAR looks real hard at where they are going and how they are handling things. For the time being I say good riddance and let them fight it out. On one final note this what all this feuding and wrecking reminds me of.

Celebrating 25 Years of The Undertaker in WWE

On November 22nd 1990, when the "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase brought out his mystery partner little did anyone know that the man who walked out would change the history of the WWE forever. "Mean" Mark Callous was a well known face in the old NWA/WCW and prior to that he was Texas Red in WCCW. Mark Calaway walked out at the Survivor Series as The Undertaker and has immediate impact on what was known then as the WWF. Right away he made an impact and feuded with top names as the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan. It was one year later that he defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship. Even though he lost the title less then a week later you knew he was going to be something special. 

In his early years with WWE he feuded with monsters like Kamala, Giant Gonzales and Yokozuna. During the mid 90s he feuded with two more monsters in Psycho Sid and Diesel defeating them both in back to back Wrestlemania's The Undertaker met his greatest rival in 1996 and feuded with him for nearly three years. I believe that The Undertaker's greatest rivalry was with Mankind. They had so many classic matches including the 1998 King of the Ring Hell in a Cell match. When many people think of The Undertaker they think of that moment. The other moment that people think about when they think of the The Undertaker is the Wrestlemania streak that once was. He was 21-0 before he met Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 30 and the list is pretty incredible of the opponents he has faced:

Wrestlemania 7- "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka

Wrestlemania 8- Jake "the Snake" Roberts

Wrestlemania 9- Giant Gonzales

Wrestlemania 11- King Kong Bundy

Wrestlemania 12- Diesel

Wrestlemania 13- Psycho Sid (WWE Championship Match)

Wrestlemania 14- Kane

Wrestlemania 15- Big Boss Man

Wrestlemania 17- Triple H

Wrestlemania 18- Ric Flair

Wrestlemania 19- A-Train and Big Show

Wrestlemania 20- Kane

Wrestlemania 21- Randy Orton

Wrestlemania 22- Mark Henry

Wrestlemania 23- Batista (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match)

Wrestlemania 24- Edge (WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match)

Wrestlemania 25- Shawn Michaels

Wrestlemania 26- Shawn Michaels 

Wrestlemania 27- Triple H

Wrestlemania 28- Triple H

Wrestlemania 29- CM Punk

Wrestlemania 30- Brock Lesnar (First Loss)
Wrestlemania 31- Bray Wyatt

Shawn Michaels always called himself as Mr. Wrestlemania in his later years but in my opinion The Undertaker is Wrestlemania. The Undertaker has stood the test of time and people always see what he's going to do at Wrestlemania. However Wrestlemania is not his only accomplishment. He was in the first ever Hell in a Cell match as well as competing in Casket Matches, Buried Alive Matches, and even competed in a rare Body Bag Match. My favorite time during The Undertaker's career is when came out as the American Bad Ass, and Big Evil. He was a real life person and not the Dead Man like he had been for so long. He was more vocal on the microphone and you got a sense when he came to the ring that he was going to feed off the energy of the crowd. The motorcycle driving, leather wearing, and Last Riding character only lasted three years but it was different. He evolved which so many other failed to do in that time frame. He reverted back to his original character in 2004 and has been the same ever since.

On November 22nd 2015, The Undertaker will celebrate his 25th year with World Wrestling Entertainment. As much of a celebration it is, there is a part of it that makes me sad. The Undertaker is the last of a great generation. He outlasted Austin, Michaels, Hogan, Flair, The Rock, Hart, and many others. When The Undertaker finally hangs up the boots it will be time for WWE to look at how they will ever get to where they once were. They once had star power, depth in their roster, and characters that stood out. The Undertaker is and was a huge part of those components. Whether he was the "Dead Man" or the "American Bad Ass" he was an instant draw for WWE and commanded people's attention. This Survivor Series will mark the last run of The Undertaker which will probably come an end at Wrestlemania 32. If this is Then Undertaker's last ride it's been one hell of a ride and it will be a ride that will never be duplicated again. The Undertaker's legacy will live on for a long time long after his career has rested in peace. From being Ted Dibiase's partner to feuding with Bray Wyatt currently, you have to respect what he's done for the WWE. Love him or hate him, he deserves all the respect he's given because it is and always be his yard.

Fantasy Football Ethics Plus FanDuel/Draft Kings Issues

Over this last week I've had many discussions about fantasy football and how it should be played. What's considered cheating? What's considered collusion? What rights do you have a fantasy owner? In one of my leagues, there are 16 teams with intent of it just being a fun league. Before the season began there was a trade that has had a huge impact on how the season went. A trade went down with one team trading Rob Gronkowski for Alex Smith and Andrew Quarless. Gronkowski has 87 fantasy points while Quarless and Smith had 105 points combined. The problem with this is the team who traded Gronkowski did not have another quality Tight End. The same team who traded Gronkowski also traded LeGarrette Blount for Zach Ertz and Colts D/ST. Blount has 55 points while Ertz and Colts D/ST has a combined 47 points. The team that traded away Gronkowski is 0-7 while the team who received them is 7-0 as of this writing. Should these trades have been allowed to go through? Absolutely not. However you cannot blame the team who took advantage of someones carelessness. At the end of the day the commissioner of the league should have vetoed trade and voting shouldn't have been a factor. I believe both teams would have be having much different seasons if those trades wouldn't have been allowed. 

The other issue is how should you handle your team if you know you are out of the running. In this same 16 team league where there are only four playoff spots I tried playing fair the first half of the year and no longer have a chance to even make the playoffs. I had decided to help the teams out who are the running to still make the playoffs. My first trade was trading Emmanuel Sanders and Chris Ivory for Malcolm Floyd and Nelson Agholor. The other trade was trading Cam Newton and Ryan Matthews for Matthew Stafford and Kamar Aiken. A lot of people have taken issue with this and I have caught a lot of backlash for it. I believe if you are out of the playoffs and you're not getting any incentives then you should be allowed to do whatever you want with your team. This is no different then Major League Baseball. Every year during the trade deadline if team know they don't have a chance at the playoffs they will trade good players to teams that have a shot at the playoffs. Sometimes the teams don't get much in return but that's their decision not to go for more. If every trade was voted on by all the MLB teams then there would never be any trades going through. Some will claim that what I did is no different then what the teams did before the season began. Well I hate to give this view, but the best way to fight collusion is by colluding with others to make sure one or two people don't run away from the rest of the league. The more ethical approach is to have a league commission who has experience or has no invested interest in the league and have them decide what is a fair trade and what isn't.  

Speaking of fantasy football and ethics I can't help but think about Fanduel and Draft Kings. These are two of the more popular online fantasy sports betting sites. There has been major issues with employees playing in the opposing companies leagues and winning a good amount of money because of their knowledge. I believe that if you work for a sports betting, online gaming, or fantasy football site you should not be allowed to participate in those activities due to the advantages of having stats and info that the average user doesn't. It's like the most casinos. There a lot of casinos who do not allow their employees to gamble at the casino they work at. This especially true for slot attendants who know how to access the slot machines and it is true for card dealers who know how the card games are handled. I don't see much difference in either situation. 

I believe I am not the only one who has seen collusion, cheating and taking advantage in order to win money or win a fantasy sports league. I am sure situations like this take place all over the world. The best advice I can give those in a fantasy sports league is find a league with an experienced commissioner. Sign free agents who think will help you and make fair trades to keep the peace within your league. Cheating and colluding takes the fun out of the whole experience. However if you feel you're losing to others being unfair then fight back and try to catch up with them. How will you decide to play the game?