This Sunday is the 81st Academy Awards and probably like you (I may be wrong on this)....I don't give a damn about seeing actors/actresses I've never heard of win awards for movies I haven't seen nor have any interest in seeing even if it wins an award. The only award that is peaking my interest is to see if Hollywood falls all over itself complimenting the now deceased Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight saying how it stacks up with the great of the silver screen.
So let's take the top 5 categories (Lead Actor/Actress....Supporting Actor/Actress....Best Picture) and apply them to something we all enjoy.....professional sports!!
Now I PREDICT (said it like I mean it....*cough) that no one pays attention to womens' sports in this town. Am I wrong?? Are you like the extreme minority of people and watch Michelle Wie on the Golf Channel or catch a Chicago Sky game on..........are they even on TV?
So what we'll do is award the women's awards for coaches/managers and general managers. Lead Actress will be best manager/coach in sports and supporting role will be the best GM in professional sports.
Here we go.
THE AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (BEST GM IN SPORTS) GOES TO.....
KEN HOLLAND (DETROIT RED WINGS)
Now I know I may be breaking your hearts Blackhawks fans but let's face it....besides the Atlanta Braves/NY Yankees in baseball and the Lakers in basketball....there hasn't been a more consistent franchise that has made the postseason and won the title under one GM's reign than the Detroit Red Wings. I've always believed the Stanley Cup playoffs are the most unpredictable playoff series in professional sports and under Holland's reign the Red Wings have brought home 3 Cups in 10 seasons. The Wings have finished with under 100 points on a season only once in Holland's tenure and even with the departure of Scotty Bowman....the Wings are still one of (if not) the best teams in the NHL. Key players he brought in include Sergei Federov, Dominik Hasek, Chris Chelios, and Pavel Dutsuk. Hockeytown has simply been the example of how to run a franchise since Holland took over in 1997 therefore Ken Holland is simply the best GM in professional sports.
THE AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE (BEST COACH/MANAGER IN SPORTS) GOES TO.....
BILL BELICHICK (NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS)
The New England Patriots are the dynasty of this decade in professional sports. With parody running rampant in the NFL and free agents going after the top dollar rather than a chance of glory....the New England Patriots have been the best team of the new millennium. Since Belichick took over the team in 2000...the Patriots have gone on to a record of 102-42 (.708 winning %) winning 3 Super Bowls and the only team to go unbeaten in the 16 game regular season era. Look at this past year, the Patriots won 11 games with Matt Cassell at quarterback. Tom Brady was a 6th round draft pick (198 players picked before Tom Brady.) This team won a Super Bowls with 5 foot 10 inch Troy Brown as their best receiver and Antowain Smith as their full time running back. Bill Belichick has made so many careers of players who wouldn't be on first squads of the most big name teams in the NFL and yet he keeps a wardrobe on the sidelines that you and me wear around the house on a day off. He's may be a boring interview and not be the most tv friendly coach in history...but the results are unquestionable.
THE AWARD FOR BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MOST UNKNOWN SUPERSTAR IN SPORTS) GOES TO...
HANLEY RAMIREZ (FLORIDA MARLINS SHORTSTOP)
This was the toughest category to pick because when picking this one you have to know fantasy sports. When you get to the later rounds of fantasy sports you need to pick up the guy that you know produces but no one has ever heard of. I also had to think in today's internet age, most sports fans know pretty much something about each team in sports. So when deciding this category I looked for the most productive unknown athlete in sports rather than the most under-rated player because people debate under/over-rated all the time and it's boring.
You'd be shocked how many baseball fans don't know Hanley Ramirez who is now entering into his 4th season as the Florida Marlins shortstop. Here's all you need to know about Hanley Ramirez....
- Rookie Of The Year 2006
- Career Averages .308 27 HR 72 RBI 48 Stolen Bases A Season as a leadoff hitter.
- 1 Silver Slugger Award / Averages 199 hits a season
- Has only missed 21 games in 3 full seasons
All this on a team that has finished no higher than 3rd place in the NL East.
The 25 year old Dominican Republic native is single handily the most unknown superstar in Major League Baseball. When you think of SS in the NL, most baseball fans would run off names like Jimmy Rollins, Jose Reyes, Miguel Tejada. Very few fans of AL baseball have some clue of who Hanley is. Very few people would bring up the name Hanley Ramirez when asked who are the top shortstops in the NL...hence why Hanley Ramirez is the most unknown superstar in sports. Check him out when he comes to Wrigley April 30-May 3rd.
THE AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE (BEST LEADER/CAPTAIN OF THEIR RESPECTIVE TEAM IN SPORTS) GOES TO.....
KOBE BRYANT (LOS ANGELES LAKERS)
In this category you can look at the likes of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, Sidney Crosby, Kevin Garnett, Derek Jeter, and others....but you got to give it to Kobe. Kobe embodies everything that made MJ great in his days with the Bulls. Kobe is the guy you want taking the last shot...he's the guy that can lock down on defense....and he's a guy that makes his teammates better. People say the only reason why Kobe has three titles is because he was teamed with the best center of this generation in Shaq. Can't you say the same thing about Shaq?? Without Kobe...would Shaq have won 3 straight titles in LA? Who made who in LA those 3 straight seasons in LA can be debated for years to come......but when it comes to a guy that can put a team on his shoulders if need be.....I want Kobe on my roster. He's more important to the Lakers than Jack Nicolson's court side seats. He brings people to arenas and gets cheered in the end. Kobe is the MJ of this generation and the best part about it......he came straight to the NBA from high school, changed his number in his prime, was smeared with public shame after those Denver sexual assault charges (yeah...remember those) and yet Kobe is still the face of the NBA and the best player in the game.
THE AWARD FOR BEST PICTURE (BEST ATHLETE/SUPERSTAR IN SPORTS) GOES TO.....
TIGER WOODS
If this past year in the PGA proved anything.....it proved that the interest/focus in the sport of golf doesn't exist unless Tiger is playing. There is no other athlete that a sport is so dependent on than Tiger Woods. He not only brings in exposure to the game of golf but he brings something that golf needed since the glory days of The Golden Bear.....a superstar. Ask anyone in the world if they could name a professional golfer and it wouldn't even take a second to hear the name Tiger Woods. Tiger is so dominant at his sport that they make courses "Tiger-proof" by lengthening the holes and creating more hazard situations. Young people are hitting the range and learning the game of golf because of Tiger Woods. The Tiger Woods franchise of video games rivals the Madden franchise in sales. When you look at TV ratings when Tiger plays compared when he doesn't....an average of 25-35% increase when Tiger's playing. He's simply the only athlete where his sport's success depends on him playing. Were you watching the PGA these past 8 months?? I know I wasn't and I hate golf....but if Tiger's playing.....i'm hooked. Tiger Woods is simply the best athlete currently in sports.Let me know what you think!!!
-RoCK
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment