Super Bowl Media Day Circus

Turn on your Internet to NFL.com if you want to see a circus unfolding.

Super Bowl Media Day is currently going on, with the AFC going first and the NFC following behind. The Patriots are an interesting bunch.

You've got Tom Brady for the Patriots, who seems easy to talk to and is willing to take a question from any journalist. He loves talking with the media, or does a very good job acting like he does.

One Patriot who could care less about speaking with the media is Head Coach Bill Belichick. Like he usually does, he swept answers to questions under the rug, and gave out more vanilla-esque answers than a fugitive who has been caught. The only way he'll truly open up is if he opens up the scoreboard on the New York Giants.

The most interesting interview of the morning session was between Chad Ochocinco and Deion Sanders. As of post time, I could not find a video to post (check back in the afternoon), but what the conversation revolved around was the lack of production Ochocinco was bringing to the team.

Ocho only has 15 receptions on the season for 273 yards and a lone touchdown. That's it. He hasn't done anything, and according to him, the ride has been worth it. Figured he would say that.

What else is he supposed to say? "I've had a terrible season, and none of this has been worth it." Maybe he's grown up a little, or been listening to Media Relations more intently this season.

The quote of the morning session comes from New England Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien: "Belichick is just the cook in the kitchen, we're just the dishwashers."

Check back for reaction of the afternoon session.

Leave the Miscues Alone

For what it's worth, as long as sports are being contested, as long as men and women compete to their fullest ability, mistakes will be made. Some will be worse than others, but making a blunder here and there will always present itself. This year, it seems like the mistakes being made out on the football field are trumping who actually wins the games.

Football in both the NFL and the college ranks have seen many last-minute spoofs, whether it be a missed field goal or be a botched punt. Both of those happened this past weekend on Championship Sunday and fans of the teams who those unfortunate events happened to are taking their losses a bit too seriously.

Fans of the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are experincing this firsthand after fellow Iowa native Billy Cundiff missed a last-second field goal and 49er kick return specialist botched not one, but two punts late in the New York Giants upset over San Francisco.

Both mistakes proved to be costly, and for what it's worth, if there was a finger to be pointed at, it would be at them. Let's just leave it at that.

However, fans don't want to.

I guess it is written somewhere that fans somehow have the right to threaten these athletes with snide remarks and even death threats. That is a deplorable thing for a human to wish on another, and I can't even imagine what Cundiff and Williams have received in the past 36 hours.

Fans, I know you're angry over the outcome. I was on Sunday night, too. However, I kept my emotions in check (alcohol helped with that, too) and kept my thoughts to myself, even though I will never wish death among another human being. Fans, a) think before you write/speak, b) it's just a game. Leave it alone. Life goes on.

If fans can get that angry over the outcome of a game, they are not a fan. They shouldn't be able to wear their team's color in spirit or attend a game at the stadium. In the Bay Area, there have even incidents of fans stabbing one another in the parking lot after the games in Oakland.

Emotions can get the best of us at times, and I understand that. But, as the ESPN Monday Night Football crew says before each game: C'mon, man! Enjoy the games, don't make it serious. Sports are supposed to be an outlet, not an obsession.

My Start in Journalism

Sports are a part of what keeps me going. For those of you who know me well, it's the one hobby I always enjoy talking about, and it's not always about football or basketball.

In the Fall of 2008, I made the commitment to become a sports journalist as a vocation, not just a career. I wanted to enroll in my journalism class at my high school, Montezuma High School, but it was available as a one-time offer to students. That meant I had to wait until my senior year to do so.

I knew what I wanted my first piece to be about ever since I became a high school student. I knew it would grab the attention of my peers (even though they've heard my life story) and hopefully those in my community and the state. That was a longshot goal for me. Thankfully, even a "Hail Mary" works every now and then.

This is the piece which got me my Iowa High School Press Association Columnist of the Year in 2009. I take pride in this piece, and to this day, I still believe it is my best work. Enjoy. 

Sept. 29, 2008, Montezuma Blue & White: Trails, hills and blessings, "Open Mind on an Open Trail"

Since this cross country season has begun, I have started to believe in blessings in disguise. Also, as a senior, I wanted to leave my mark as a “parting shot” as all seniors do in any activity that we participate in. Leave Montezuma on a good note. 

Things don’t also go out as planned, which is something else that I already knew, but never took to heart until this season. I wanted this season to be perfect. Run in every race and not have to worry about anything, such as injuries. I have gone through injury after injury to my hamstrings.

As this summer has turned to fall, my hamstrings have failed me to stay healthy. Since they can’t stay healthy due to problems that I had in my early childhood, I have had to be careful and sometimes sit out races. This season, unfortunately, brings the same injury problems. The same problems I have had to deal with my entire life. You see, I have cerebral palsy. 

I used to go to physical therapy every now and then to see if some of the pain could be alleviated. The pain went away, only for a temporary period of time, however. The therapist that I worked with kept telling me that I shouldn’t be running anymore. What she kept telling me all that time inspired me to run with the pain. I didn’t want to at first, but there were signs that were telling me I knew that I had to. Running is my life. 

Should I be running today? No, probably not, but it’s the sport itself that drives me to go forward. It is the only sport in high school athletics that you are not only facing another opponent, but you are facing yourself, too. Fighting through the painful hills, the weather and every other element makes the sport unique and special to me. Cross country is my favorite sport, because it lets me show who I am as a person and lets me display my character. 

I wanted to leave my mark by making SICL All-Conference. I did not meet that goal as a couple of my teammates have, but I’m just fine with where I’m at. I would love the reward of being one of the best runners in the area. I have won my battle already. I don’t need the glamour of being named one of the best. To me, I have beaten the odds and really have won. 

I could be in a wheelchair or be in a worse situation. I’m glad I’m not. 

You know what else I’m glad about? 

There are blessings in disguise even in the littlest things.