A Night to Remember…

On By kassienetteIn Basketball, College Basketball, NCAA, Women's SportsLeave a comment
Source: NCAA
Source: NCAA

Big Monday. ESPN 2. Number 2 vs. Number 3. For the Big East regular season title.

Almost three hours later, after three overtimes, Number 2 finally put up enough points, 96 to be exact, to defeat Number 3. These ladies put on a show. Yes, I said ladies!!! Number 2 Notre Dame vs. Number 3 UCONN in an “Instant Classic.” In hometown hero, Skylar Diggins, last game at Purcell Pavilion, she and the Lady Irish refused to be denied a win. In the first overtime, the Lady Irish trailed by six before tying the game. The second overtime started out much like the first with the Lady Irish trailing by five. In the third overtime, the Lady Irish took their first lead when Kalia Turner hit a free throw to put the Lady Irish up by one. The Lady Huskies would regain the lead on a bank shot by Kelly Faris but that was the last time the Lady Huskies would lead. The Lady Irish sealed the win going six for six at the charity stripe down the stretch to clinch their second straight Big East regular season title.

Meanwhile, in Texas….another lady baller was having a big Monday. Brittney Griner. Her last game at Baylor. The Big 12 title had already been clinched weeks ago. And Griner was up to her usual antics. 21-28 from the field. 8-10 from the charity stripe. Six rebounds. Two assists. Two blocks. 50 points. Oh and a slam dunk. A drop step slam dunk along the baseline. *immediately presses rewind button at least five times* It was a thing of beauty. In the end, the Baylor Lady Bears defeated the Kansas State Lady Wildcats 90-68. Griner exited the game to a standing ovation and she exited the Ferrell Center in Waco, TX ranking second on the NCAA Career scoring list with 3,123 points, second only to former Missouri State lady baller, Jackie Stiles.

From Texas to Indiana, the ladies put on a show last night! The ND-UConn game had a championship feel, set in a championship atmosphere. Griner made the most of her last home game. I often check the trending topics while watching games to see if others are watching. I was not surprised to see none of the trending topics were not about the ND-UConn game. It was a shame that people were missing such a great game. I even tweeted, “Too bad the ladies don’t get pubbed like the men do. This ND-UConn game has been amazing!”

However, instead of turning this into a negative, I shall focus on the positive. On a night that typically is reserved for big time men’s college basketball games, ESPN featured two of the premier women’s basketball programs in a unforgettable matchup. Regardless of how the game played out, playing on Monday night on ESPN/ESPN2 is a big deal. The outcome of this game was just icing on the cake.  Not surprisingly, by the start of the the second overtime, 2nd OT, Skylar Diggins, UCONNvsUND and Brittney Griner were all trending. It was truly a night to remember.

Until next time…TOODELLS! Follow me @KassieNette.

 

Just got paid, Friday niiiight…

On By kassienetteIn Football, NFL, Sports, UncategorizedLeave a comment

A quarterback got paaaaaaaid Friday. A quarterback landed the a deal that gave him the second highest amount of guaranteed money, ever. A quarterback, not surprisingly, became the highest paid player in NFL history. What is surprising is that this quarterback’s last name is NOT Manning, Brady, Brees or Rodgers. His last name is Flacco. first name Joe. Some of ya’ll are probably saying, who?

When news broke on Friday that the Baltimore Ravens were preparing to make Flacco the highest paid player in NFL history, I was stunned. Six years, $120.6 million. $52 million guaranteed. We all knew a deal was coming but I do not think there were many who expected such a historic deal. Lets face it, even now Flacco does not routinely make it into analysts conversations about “elite” quarterbacks. He has the same amount of rings as Peyton Manning, Rodgers and Brees. Has appeared in more championship games than them the past five years. And he is still in his 20s.

Flacco is a baller. He is very boring. Even his dad admitted that. However, the numbers he has put up the past five years especially in the playoffs can stand up against any of the ‘elite” qb’s. I am still not convinced he is worth $120.6 million but hey, I ain’t mad at him. Get that money Joe!!!

Until next time…TOODELLS!

The San Francisco Shuffle…

On By kassienetteIn 49ers, Football, NFL, SportsLeave a comment

When my beloved 9ers drafted Alex Smith in 2005, I was not happy. I felt we needed a wide receiver and I wanted us to draft Braylon Edwards. Ok, you can stop laughing now. For six years, I was right about not wanting Smith as our QB. The team was a mess. No consistency. No winning seasons. No playoffs. Then 2011 happened. We went 13-3, won the NFC West, played in the NFC Championship game and Smith had the best year of his career. Who knew he had it in him??

Then 2012 happened. Smith was having an even better year when he got a concussion. Insert back up QB, Colin Kaepermick. Talk about seizing the moment. On one of the biggest stages, Monday Night Football, Kaepernick played like a starting QB. The shuffle was on. The speculation began about whether or not Smith would regain his starting spot. That answer was no and yesterday the 9ers made the decision to trade Smith to the Chiefs, for draft picks, ending an era.

As a member of the Faithful, I want to thank Smith for all he has meant to the 9ers organization. I wish you nothing but the best in Kansas City!!!

By the way, did you hear the rumblings about Darrelle Revis coming to the bay?? I know it is early but maaaaaaaaaaaaaan….

Until next time…TOODELLS.

Follow me on Twitter @KassieNette

 

Serving notice…

On By kassienetteIn Controversy, NASCAR, SportsLeave a comment

In the famous words of Darrell Waltrip, “Boogity, boogity, boogity!! Let’s go racing!!!” NASCAR season is upon us. Whooop whoooop!!!

We all know the  big story leading up to the start of the season was Danica Patrick winning the pole at the Daytona 500. And we all heard the talk from some about how big of a deal that was. And we all heard talk from some about how it was not a big deal given her record. And we all heard about how if she did not win the race, she needed to finish in the top 10 in order to be considered “victorious.” Well, BAM ladies and gentlemen, she was “victorious!” With one lap to go, Patrick was running third only to get passed after a wreck occurred behind her.  Unfortunately, she did not win but she did finish in 8th place and became the first woman to finish in the top 10 at the Daytona 500. Earlier in the race, she became the first woman to lead a lap at the Daytona 500. And to top it off, she is one of only 13 drivers to have ever lead a lap at the Daytona 500 AND the Indianapolis 500. POW!!

Even though the rules say she did not win, Patrick was a winner in my book. She accomplished so many things on that track. Things that had never been done. Things that people said would never be done. Things that no one expected her to do. With her accomplishing so much, people will now expect a lot more from her. This season will be considered a failure for her if she does not finish top three in a race. Some will even consider it a failure if she does not win a race. You will not hear that from me. I think what she accomplished on the track yesterday spoke loud and clear. If you are not convinced, just ask the 35 men who finished BEHIND her.

Until next time…TOODELLS.

Follow me on Twitter @KassieNette

Round of applause…

On By kassienetteIn Controversy, NASCAR, SportsLeave a comment

I have been debating all morning about which topic I want to write about, Oscar Pistorious or Danica Patrick. I woke up this morning and saw that Oscar was trending on Twitter so I was leaning towards that until I watched ESPN First Take. One of the topics of debate was Danica. There has been a lot of chatter about Danica not deserving the “hype” surrounding her.

I agree that Danica has gotten a lot of publicity and “hype” that is typically reserved for those who have proven over a period of time that they are winners. I agree that a lot of the “hype” stems from the fact that she is a pretty woman and in our society women are typically judged on how they look, first, before they are even recognized for their abilities. However, that is not her fault and I do not think she should be ridiculed for it. Has she capitalized on it? Absolutely. Who wouldn’t? Happens all the time. Just ask the dude who sings “Gangnam Style.”

The media hypes up the “next” such and such on a daily basis. It happens all the time in football, ie Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, Reggie Bush. It happens all the time in basketball, ie Kwame Brown, Adam Morrison, Michael Olowokandi. Do I need to continue? What has happened to Danica is no different than what has been happening for years. The difference is she wears makeup and everyone I listed does not.

No one knows what type of career Danica will ultimately have but I find it deplorable that members of the media, especially women, have taken it upon themselves to call her out for what she has not done opposed to what she has done. Yes, I know she has participated in almost 200 races and has only been declared the victor in one. By society’s standards she has failed. In my opinion, she has succeeded. She is participating in a male dominated sport, one where there is not a separate league for women. Her peers do not look like her. Just because she has not won a lot does not mean she does not have an impact. I think her not winning speaks louder than winning does. It shows us that even when the odds are against her she is willing to get in the ring and fight even if she knows she has little chance of winning. That is what life is all about, right? Getting knocked down and continuing to get back up to continue the fight.

Even if Danica never wins another race, she has already helped pave the way for female drivers that will follow in her footsteps. The truth of the matter is not everyone will make it to the mountaintop. Some of are here to make the path easier for others to follow. That could be Danica’s purpose. Judging by her actions, I think she is ok with that. And for that, she deserves a round of applause.

Until next time…TOODELLS.

Follow me on Twittter @KassieNette

Welcome Back Robin!!

On By kassienetteIn Heroes, Love, Uncategorized2 Comments

robinrobertsnew-4_3_rx512_c680x510

Today is a good day! Unless you have been living under a rock, then you are aware that today is the day that Robin Roberts returned to Good Morning America(GMA). With so much tragedy dominating the headlines, it is great to wake up to this type of story.

As most of you know, Roberts was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and received a bone marrow transplant from her sister, Sally-Ann. In a very tear jerking announcement last year, Roberts announced to the world that she would be taking a leave of absence of fight the disease. It was clear during her announcement that she intended to win the battle, just like she did when she beat breast cancer in 2007.

I have been a big fan of Roberts since the early 90s. As I have stated before, back in my middle school days my mornings consisted of Rocky & Bullwinkle, cheese toast and SportsCenter. Roberts was one of my favorite anchors. I could not wait for her to do a segment so I could hear her yell out her famous catchphrase, “Go on with your bad self!” Although I was disappointed when she left ESPN, seeing her have so much success on GMA has been a joy to watch.

As a person who truly admires Roberts, I want to join the rest of the world in saying WELCOME BACK ROBIN!!! When I joined the Twitterverse, I would often chuckle when I would see people tweeting celebrities. I would be thinking in my head, “They have hundreds of thousands of followers. They are never going to see or respond to your tweet.” However, I found myself being one of “those people” during Roberts time away from GMA. I have often tweeted her scripture and inspirational quotes, not in hopes of getting a response, but to simply do what I could to keep her encouraged. To give back to her what she has given to millions. Roberts has often stated that the tweets she receives from her followers keep her motivated and I felt like my tweets were simply my way of saying thank you. I hope that one day Roberts gets to read this post because she has truly been an inspiration to me. In the last few months, I have endured some difficult tests and trials. During those moments when I felt like giving up and throwing in the towel, I often think of people who have faced hardships and have overcome every obstacle that has stood in front of them. People such as my mother, my grandparents, my aunt, my cousin Nellie, my friend Quincy and on a more recognized level Josh Hamilton and Roberts.

Thank you Robin Roberts for sharing your story with the world. Your faith, strength, perseverance and determination have served as a blueprint for how to fight and defeat whatever stands in our way. And to see you do it in such a beautiful and graceful way has left me in awe. You are truly an inspiration. GO ON WITH YOUR BAD SELF!!!

Did you hear what happened in Florida?!

On By kassienetteIn NASCAR3 Comments

danica

While everyone was consumed this weekend talking about Oscar Pistorious’s murder charge, All-Star Weekend and Michael Jordan turning 50, a series of firsts were taking place down in Florida.

Ladies and gentlemen, Danica Patrick intends to be taken seriously. I hope. On Saturday, Patrick posted the fastest time in the qualifying round for the Daytona 500. I can admit, like many, I was shocked. When Patrick first started racing it was a big deal, of course, because very few women have participated in auto racing. In fact, on May 29, 2005, Patrick became just the fourth woman to compete in the 94th Indianapolis 500. Before switching to the Sprint Cup series last year,  all we had to go off of was her previous track record which had included only one win(the 2008 Indy Japan 300) and seven top ten finishes in the Nationwide Series.

On Sunday, she one upped herself and claimed the top spot in the pole. Say what now? For those of you who do not understand what the pole is. It means she was, once again, the fastest person on the track that day. Yes, a woman is going to lead the start of the 55th Daytona 500. As if I was not already excited enough for NASCAR season to begin. Do you all realize how huge of an accomplishment this is? The Daytona 500 is the granddaddy of all races. It is the one race EVERY driver wants to win at least once in their life. No, winning the pole does not guarantee you a first place finish but it does signify that you are to be taken serious.

In a TOTALLY male dominated sport, Patrick has done something no other woman has been able to do before and she has served notice to the other drivers. Her hot start does not mean she will dominate the track this year. In fact, plenty of drivers have taken the pole at the Daytona 500, only to not win the Daytona 500 and to ultimately finish outside the top 10 in the Sprint Cup. This feat is going to put a lot of pressure on her to live up to all the hype that has surrounded her the past few years. However, this is a major leap forward for women. A lot of us are more than just a pretty face. You might want to take notes….

Until next time…TOODELLS!!!