From madness to letdown

 I just figured now was the time for the Northern Iowa logo. When else would I use it?

Come March, I have this tradition.

It consists solely of embarrassing myself with my NCAA Tournament bracket.

With the first weekend of the NCAA Touranment down, I’m still in the 95th percentile, which sounds like I’ve got this all figured out. And you know, I probably should. For a few years, I was paid to be a sportswriter. That should help.

But it always ends up like it did two years ago, when I filled out a bracket on facebook, which was stupid, because then anyone could see my bracket futility. Mine was so bad that year, I received the following message on facebook from another sportswriter friend of mine:

“I just wanted to let you know that you are the only friend I have on facebook whose bracket is worse than mine.”

Neat.

This year, my first weekend went great, but, since I had Kansas and Georgetown meeting up in the Final Four, I’m very aware that it’s not going to turn out well.

Actually, that’s how I feel about this tournament from this point on.

The first weekend was incredible, with upsets and buzzer beaters all over the place. It even involved Northern Iowa beating Kansas, which is a sentence I never thought I’d ever need to put together in my lifetime. I haven’t enjoyed a tournament this much in years.

What makes for a phenomenal first weekend however, can lead to a lackluster second weekend.

At least, that’s my fear this year.

Upsets are what make the first weekend so much fun. No one expects to see Ohio dismantle Georgetown (at least, I didn’t, which is why I put the Hoyas in my Final Four). No one even considers St. Mary’s having a chance over Villanova.

So we cheer the underdog and get excited when they improbably win.

But the next weekend, we have matchups where it’s even less likely underdog teams will win. Or at least, this round of top-seed teams won’t underestimate the underdogs because now the top teams know if they don’t take these teams seriously, they’ll get burned.

Here are the seed matchups this time for the Sweet 16:

No. 1 vs. No. 12
No. 2 vs. No. 11
No. 3 vs. No. 10
No. 2 vs. No. 6
No. 5 vs. No. 9
No. 1 vs. No. 5
No. 1 vs. No. 4
No. 2 vs. No. 6

I’m not saying these lower seed teams can’t win. Obviously, these teams can, or we would not be talking about them. But now, it’s the Sweet 16. There aren’t any teams that are sleep walking through these games. At this point, the Final Four looms just one week away. The elite teams aren’t messing around anymore.

In the first weekend, Cinderella teams get through on a little talent, a lot of heart and determination, and capitalizing on the fact that the top seeds thought they could take it easy and still win.

Now, it’s more about talent and coaching. And that’s when the big boys start to win out.

I just hope I’m wrong.

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Olympic Q & A: Sweeping the ice with curler Jeff Isaacson

 

Photo of  Jeff Isaacson courtesy of USA Curling

When the Olympics are on, I get all swept up in it. It sucks me in.

The precise turns made in traffic on the speed skating track make my heart pound. When an ice skater does a jump, I get all nervous that they won’t land it right. I marvel at how freakin’ crazy you would have to be to do aerials skiing or ski jumping.

All of these sports get me excited about the Winter Olympics. But few of the sports suck me in more than curling.

For real.

It will come on TV and then suddenly, it’s an hour later, and I haven’t moved from the couch. Curling is one of those sports that is completely foreign to me (as a resident of Los Angeles, I don’t hear too much about curling events coming to town), but it’s so fun to watch during the Olympics.

So, exactly two weeks out from the first round of curling matches in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, we’re going to get some serious curling discussion in with our next Q & A.

Today we are hearing from Jeff Isaacson, a curler from Minnesota who was part of the 2009 national championship team. He’ll be representing the U.S. in curling with teammates Jason Smith, John Shuster and John Benton. The 26-year-old Isaacson spoke to the Concession Stand via e-mail and discussed what his job is during the curling match, why he almost walked away from curling competitively, and what his favorite food is.

CS: How did you get started in curling? What do you like about it? 
JI: Most people get involved with curling because they have family members who curl.  This was the case with me as well.  I would go with my dad and watch his teams compete anywhere from weekly league nights to state and national championships.  When I was 13, I decided it was time to try the game for myself.  I have been playing ever since.  By age 18, I won the Minnesota State Championship and was runner-up in the nationals competing with my dad before he retired from the game.  I was fortunate to learn and compete with him.  Some of the things that I like about curling are the great people you meet.  Curlers truly are some of the best people you will ever meet.  It is a game that is far more complex than it looks.  It involves a great deal of strategy as well as athleticism.  I also enjoy traveling, and curling has given me the opportunity to see the world, having competed in tournaments all across the U.S. and Canada as well as South Korea, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark.

CS: What is your position in curling? For those who aren't as familiar with curling, what is your job at that position?
JI: The team has four positions; lead, second, third, and skip.  I am the second on the team.  This means that I throw the second set of rocks (each player throws two rocks per end, 10 ends per game, with an end being similar to an inning in baseball).  When I am done throwing I sweep for the other guys.  Sweeping does two things, it causes the rock to travel further down the ice and it also keeps the rock straighter.  I also work with the lead on the team to communicate the speed of the ice to the skip.
 
CS: What are you most looking forward to about the Olympic experience?
JI: I am looking forward to the chance to compete against the best curling teams in the world on the biggest sports stage.  Our team has spent lots of time and worked very hard for this moment and we are all excited for the opportunity.  So many people talk about what a great experience the Opening Ceremonies are.  It will be nice to be a part of that.  It will also be great to experience the Olympic Village where we can meet other athletes and hopefully get a chance to go out and cheer them on as well during some of our down time.

CS: What are your goals for the Olympics?
JI: My goal is to go out and play the best I can play and have the best tournament possible.  If I can go out and do my job, it makes everyone else’s job that much easier.  Our team wants to make the final four after the round robin.  After that, it’s just two games.  We want to be on the medal stand.

CS: I read that for awhile, you considered giving up curling competitively. Why did you want to stop and what made you decide to come back?
JI: After graduating from college, I spent a couple seasons curling.  It was just getting to the point where I felt it was time to move on and start working on a career.  So many people told me that I was still young, and if I have a chance to curl and make a run at the Olympics I should do it now while I still can.  With the encouragement of my teammates, I decided curling was what I loved to do and we stayed together to make a run at representing the United States at the Games.

CS: What does a typical training day look like for you?
JI: I live with two of my teammates so we usually practice/train together.  We have practice ice available to us after 10 a.m.  This allows us to sleep in as none of us are really morning people anyway.  Monday through Thursday — when we are not on the road — are our practice days.  We spend around an hour and a half to two hours in the late morning going through practice drills on the ice.  Attached to our curling club is a skywalk system that we use to walk to the gym where we work on cardio, free weights, and core exercises.  After that we have a light meal (usually at Subway) and go home for awhile.  On Mondays we have an additional night practice and on Tuesday we compete in a competitive league at our curling club.

CS: What is our routine on the day of competitions? What do you eat before matches?
JI: When competing at tournaments, we usually have a team breakfast.  Usually this involves some cereal, eggs, and toast.  We then travel to the competition venue.  Depending on the time of the game, I like to have something light, such as a sandwich and some type of fruit before I begin preparing for the game.  I try to learn information on the ice, rocks and our opponents and mentally prepare for the game, which involves blocking out distractions and visualizing positive outcomes.

CS: Are you a big fan of any other sports? If yes, which teams?
JI: I have to admit I am not a huge sports fan.  I enjoy watching a good tennis match, with my favorite player being Pete Sampras.  I find it interesting reading about certain athletes, what they go through and what makes them tick.  So much can be learned by reading about other people’s stories.

CS: What is your guilty pleasure food?
JI: I do have a weakness for pizza.  It also doesn’t help living with a cook from a local Italian restaurant.  He brings home great meals and desserts so I find myself eating way more than I should sometimes.

CS: What do you enjoy doing when you aren't training or competing?
JI: Being from Minnesota, there are lots of outdoor activities that I enjoy.  I live around a lot of lakes, so I like to get out and go boating and fishing, although the past few years I haven’t got to do very much of that.  There are lots of 4-wheeling trails so it is fun to make a day or two out of that.  I do love to travel, so when I can I like to get away and see new places.  I was able to go to Sweden and Finland with some family members this summer and also enjoy Las Vegas and the nice beaches of Florida and Hawaii.  As I am finding out, time goes by very fast, so I try to make the most of what I have and make the best of it.  It is important to take time for the simple things in life.

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Many thanks to Jeff for answering my questions! Good luck in Vancouver!

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Some Kobe Love

Kobe Bryant elicits some pretty emotional reactions from people.

Good or bad. Love or hate. He’s not a bring-both-sides-of-the-aisle-together kind of guy.

Born and raised in the Los Angeles-area, I'm a Lakers fan who leaned more toward the dislike side for awhile. Over the last two seasons though, that outlook has changed significantly.

When the rape allegations came out against Bryant in 2003, I felt like I couldn’t really get behind him after that point. Even when the trial didn’t go on, he did admit to cheating on his wife, so that was still a problem for me (he's certainly no different than most pro athletes in doing that, I might add, but that's a discussion for another day). It made it difficult to watch the Lakers play; I wanted the purple and gold to win but didn’t want it to happen due to Bryant scoring baskets. But of course, over the last 13 years or so, you can rarely have one without the other.

Then, he had that off season in 2007 where he wanted to be traded, then he didn’t, then he wanted to be a Laker forever. That was annoying.

Over the last two seasons though, he’s made it almost impossible for me not to appreciate him.

From just a basketball standpoint, the amount of clutch shots he hits is incredible. Is there anyone else in the NBA where we are more surprised when he misses a shot at the buzzer than when he makes it? It is all the more impressive to me because every person playing in the game and watching it knows he’s going to get the ball with the game on the line, and he still manages to sink shots.

Yesterday, he even did it to the defensive-minded Boston Celtics (I do LOVE game-winning shots against the Celtics). It’s probably the best defensive team in the league and they knew Bryant was going to take that shot. But that never matters.

Bryant also isn’t an over-celebrator when he does something good (I’m looking at you, NFL players. Good heavens, you’re scoring touchdowns or making tackles. It’s what you get paid for). I get the impression he doesn’t celebrate excessively because for him, he’s simply doing what he’s supposed to do: score points. That shouldn't warrant an inordinate amount of beating your chest.

Last, and maybe the largest influence on my new found appreciation for Bryant is his toughness. He’s had a finger injury, back spasms, knee and ankle problems this season. He could just sit out a few games and heal up and no one would blame him (in fact, I sort of wish he would, so he doesn’t make any of those injuries worse as the season goes on).  But if he can walk, he plays. I like knowing that if I watch the Lakers, I can always count on him playing hard. Some superstars show up in games only when they feel like it (I love knowing that everyone who reads that sentence will immediately think of Vince Carter, like me).

In a week where Bryant will almost certainly move to the top of the Lakers all-time scoring list, I realized that if this happened four years ago, it would have made me cringe. Now, I just appreciate watching someone's who unbelievable amount of hard work is paying off.

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Friday Favorites: Jan. 29 Edition

This will be a new feature here, I’ll post it every Friday. It will be my way to recap the week in sports.

Here we go:

Friday Favorites

Quote of the week: “I know he’d like to win the first for British tennis since what is it, 150,000 years?” – Roger Federer, talking about facing Britain’s Andy Murray. Britain has not won major singles men’s title since 1936.

Federer is talented, witty and has just the right amount of arrogance. I enjoy him immensely.

Story of the week: Colts and Saints in the Super Bowl. This is a complete reversal of the BCS national title game this year, where I didn’t really want either team to win. Now, I don’t know who I want to win, because these teams have my two favorite quarterbacks in the NFL. I have followed the careers of Drew Brees and Peyton Manning since they were in college. The Saints and Brees are my sentimental pick, but a second Super Bowl title for Peyton Manning pretty much cements his legacy as the greatest quarterback the game has ever seen.  I guess I’ll be happy either way.

Videos of the week: While we’re talking about Peyton Manning…

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4590458&categoryid=2378529

Peyton Manning and Kenny Mayne combining forces makes my life better. So does Manning speaking Gaelic. That is all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeyGNsmIcn0

I don't watch the show, but this Jersey Shore spoof with the Kansas women soccer team is fantastic.

Friday Fails…

Swimsuits already out at Target. There isn’t a female in the world (fine, Megan Fox, but I’m certain she doesn’t shop at Target) that’s thinking about swimsuits right now. Not physically, not emotionally, not at all. So please, stop making us feel bad about how we’re not in swimsuit shape right now. Or for some of us, how we’ve never been in swimsuit shape.


Gilbert Arenas: it’s a failure on several levels, OBVIOUSLY. Maybe this should be not just a Friday fail, but a year-long fail, or a life fail. Just some seriously bad choices made by Arenas and Javaris Crittenton.

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Olympic Q & A: Bobsled time with Emily Azevedo

                       Emily Azevedo,  who will be competing in the bobsled for the 

                       Winter Olympics in Vancouver which start Feb. 12. Photo 

                        courtesy of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

 Emily Azevedo took the next logical step after her track and field career.

Bobsledding.

OK, so maybe it’s not logical for you or me, but that’s only because we couldn’t pull that off.  The 26-year-old happens to have rocked that transition in a short amount of time.

In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, Azevedo was watching the bobsled events on TV and thinking it looked like something she might try. Four years later, she’s the brakewoman for driver Bree Schaaf in one of  three American bobsled pairs headed to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

She was kind of enough to answer some questions via e-mail about why she took up bobsled, the training differences for bobsled and track and what she likes to do when she’s not in a bobsled.

CS: You are pretty new to the sport of bobsled. Why did you decide to get into it? What do you like about it?
EA: I was looking for the next step in my life and I was not ready to be finished with my athletic career.  I love competition and what better team to compete for than Team USA?  I love the thrill of the ride and the competition.  I also like how technical everything is as I feel I am constantly learning new things and new push form.

CS: You used to do track and field. Has it been weird to transition from a warm weather sport to a cold weather sport?
EA: Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the cold, but I am able to train in warm weather during the summer which helps to make up for the cold during the winter.

CS: What are you most looking forward to about the Olympics?
EA: I am most looking forward to walking in Opening Ceremonies.  I cannot imagine the thrill of representing my country on such a large stage.

CS: What are your goals for the Olympics?
EA: I think every athlete goes into the Olympics with a goal of a medal.  Special things seem to happen at the Olympic Games, so I think it can be anyone’s day.

CS: What events did you do in track and field? How is the training for bobsled similar and/or different from track and field?
EA: I was a hurdler at the University of California, Davis.  Bobsled training is similar to track training because we still have to have speed and do sprint workouts, but it is different because we are more focused on short bursts rather than long sprints.  The longest we will sprint is about 60 meters.  We also do a lot more weight lifting then is done in track and field.  We want to be as strong as powerful as possible, so we focus on a lot of Olympic lifts and squats. 

CS: What does a typical training day for you look like?
EA: During the off season a typical training day consists of waking up, eating and then heading to the track to do a sprint workout.  After the sprint workout I take some time to rest and refuel before going to the weight room for a lifting session.  During the season we have long hours at the track where two training runs can take hours to complete.  On top of sliding we have to find time in the day to lift and keep up with our strength training.

                                     Photo  courtesy of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.

CS: What is your routine on the days of competitions? What do you eat before races?
EA: I first attempt to eat some breakfast and then I get mentally prepared for the race and try to stay as calm as possible.  I often have a hard time eating the days of races, but the night before ideally I would have steak, potatoes and broccoli or green beans. 

CS: Do you enjoy cooking? If so, what do you like to cook?
EA: I do not really cook that often as I am mostly on the road or at training centers, but when I do I like to make Mexican food.

CS: What is your guilty pleasure food? 
EA: I love to eat and I love food.  Any kind of good food is my guilty pleasure, but I mostly love dessert.

CS: What do you enjoy doing when you aren't training or racing?
EA: I like to spend my time doing craft projects.  I also like to play cards with my teammates and watch movies. 

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Thanks Emily and good luck in Vancouver!

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Olympic Q & A: Shooting the breeze with Tim Burke

Tim Burke working it in the kitchen. Photo courtesy of Tim Burke

With the Winter Olympics less than a month away, I thought it would be fun to track down some Olympic athletes and find out more about them as they gear up for Vancouver.

Often times we only get to see these athletes when the Olympics roll around every four years, and that’s a shame; they work ridiculously hard and many of them have incredible stories about what they went through to achieve their goals.

So, here at the Concession Stand, we want to give them their much-deserved due.

We’re starting out with Tim Burke, a New York native who competes in the biathlon. This event is fascinating to me because it combines two things I’ll always be colossally bad at; skiing (I have some fairly disastrous stories) and shooting (never done it, but my aim suggests I should stay away from guns in any form).

Now, the 27-year-old Burke is not just any biathlete. He’s one of the best in the world currently, and possibly the best America has ever produced. So you know,  he's kind of a big deal. He’s currently competing in the biathlon World Cup right now, sitting in fourth place after this weekend’s race in Ruhpolding, Germany.

Even though Burke is super busy taking the biathlon world by storm, he was nice enough to take some time to answer some questions for us via e-mail about how he got into biathlons, his training routine, and achieving something no American has ever done before. 

CS: How did you get into competing in biathlons?
TB: Living in Lake Placid it of course made it easier to start in some kind of winter sports. I tried a lot of things, also alpine or ski jumping. But in the end it was the excitement and difficulty of biathlon that I really wanted to feel and train for.

CS: For Americans who maybe aren’t as familiar with the sport, put your achievement of taking the lead in the World Cup standings in perspective.
TB: That never happened before. Over the years the US athletes were always the underdogs in biathlon. There were some Top-15 or Top-10 finishes but to get the yellow bib is a different kind of achievement. You have to stay on top of your game over a long time and gain enough points to stay up front there.

CS: What has changed, if anything, for you over the last couple of years to lead to your World Cup success?
TB: It all started with hiring our coach Per Nilsson in 2006. He is from Sweden and introduced us to a new kind of training. Until I met Per I thought I trained hard. After meeting him I got to know what hard training really looks like!

CS: What do you enjoy most/enjoy least about the Olympic experience?
TB: It’s nice to see athletes from all over the world coming together to compete at one event. We see the biathlon family all year long so it will be nice to catch up with friends from different sports again. It probably will be amazing to compete on the American continent. The only Olympics I’ve been to were in Torino so I think Vancouver will be somehow like a home game for us.

CS: What are your goals for Vancouver?
TB: Of course I want a medal but we’ve seen it at the last Olympics: The Games have different rules. Just because you’ve been on the podium (during) the season does not ensure you a podium at the Olympics.
 
CS: What does a typical training day for you look like?
TB: Under the World Cup we get up in the morning and drive to the stadium together. What kind of training I do is decided beforehand with the coaches. Either we work some more at the shooting or I’ll do intervals on the tracks. It really depends what you’re working on. After that we’ll have lunch and rest a bit, maybe do some running or skiing later on, before we head to dinner.

CS: Do you pay careful attention to your diet? If so, what foods do you feel are beneficial to you competing at your best? 
TB: Of course we cannot eat whatever we want. The nutrition is quite important for a professional athlete. We have a good rich breakfast and often salad and pasta for lunch or dinner. It really depends on which World Cup location we are at. But the hotels do a pretty good job serving the teams what they want these days. So no one can complain about that.
 
CS: Do you enjoy cooking for yourself? If so, what do you like to cook?
TB: If I have the time I of course like to cook for myself. But again it depends on the time you have. We like to cook ourselves when we’re on training camps but in the winter it’s not that easy to find some time cooking. After the World Cup in Oberhof I made a big American breakfast at my German girlfriend’s house. She really liked it!

CS: What is your routine on days you compete?
TB: Getting up and getting in shape basically. On normal days you have breakfast, head to the stadium and start zeroing. But sometimes the competitions are in the evening so we do some small workouts in the morning.
 
CS: When you don’t have to worry about what you are eating, what is your guilty pleasure food?
TB: Probably Pizza in Europe or some good barbecue back home.


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If you want to keep up with Burke, he writes a blog at www.timburke.us/. Good luck in Vancouver Tim! We'll be watching!

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Straight from the Commish's mouth

             Joe Cahn, middle, is the self-proclaimed Commissioner of Tailgating. 

      Left, is a guy who demonstrates why I don't mess with Philly fans. Photo courtesy of Joe Cahn

                             

Let me start out by saying I’m incredibly jealous of Joe Cahn’s “job.”

He travels the country, meets tons of cool people, and grubs with them.

That my friends, is what we here at the Concession Stand call a dream job.

Cahn travels around as a professional tailgater (is there a website where I can apply for this job?) and has tailgated at more than 500 stadiums and traveled some 500,000 miles on this 14-year journey. The Fort Worth resident (and New Orleans native) also has his own TV show now on TLC called “Tailgate Takedown” where he searches for the country’s top tailgaters.

Cahn, 61 (“24 in tailgate years” he says) was kind enough to chat with me about being the Commissioner of Tailgating, this weekend’s playoff match ups (watch out for brisket vs. bratwurst), what NFL city would win the Super Bowl of tailgating, and he also gives us a recipe to try.Oh, and by the way, the guy used to run a cooking school in New Orleans. He knows a thing or two about good food.

CS: Will you be at any of the games this weekend?
JC: I went to the Dallas (vs. Philadelphia) game last weekend. I had some great BBQ. But this weekend I’m going to see how it is to watch it on multi televisions in a sports bar and save everything for the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl.

CS: If there was a Super Bowl of tailgating, which NFL city would win and why?
JC: Well, I would think you would have places like Houston, which has really embraced tailgating with the Texans and there’s probably more family tailgates than any other city. It’s more families, more children, more young children and more people who are coming to the tailgate who don’t have tickets (to the game); Texas hospitality to visitors and fellow tailgaters alike.

Kansas City, you can see the smoke rise on the horizons. Planes can’t fly over the stadium because of the smoke.

CS: Really?
JC: No. I made that up. But it sounds good.

Green Bay, it’s bratwurst and hospitality. Just about every city, it would be close; whether it’s San Francisco, Oakland or San Diego, whether it would be New England or Miami or Philadelphia or Chicago. They are all in the hunt for the Super Bowl of tailgating. Too close to call, but I’d like to be the referee.

                  Cahn, left, stirs up a big pot of jambalaya. Photo courtesy of Joe Cahn

CS: Out of those eight cities (left in the playoffs) what was your overall favorite tailgating dish you had and why?
JC: Baltimore has regional food, we’re talking about crab cakes. We put the crab cakes against Midwestern food meat and potatoes (for Indianapolis). Hard to handicap that one. It comes very close.

We go up to Minnesota, playing Dallas, it’s brisket vs. bratwurst. It could slightly favor brisket but I don’t know...

I am New Orleanian. I’m from New Orleans and I have to favor New Orleans over anybody. It has its own cuisine. But Phoenix has some incredible Tex-Mex and incredible Southwestern cuisine. But I’d give the edge there to New Orleans.

San Diego and the Jets  is a toss up.  You can’t get any further away than that. It’s a lot of skirt steak and a lot of guacamole (in San Diego). With the Jets, every ethnic group is represented, whether it be Italian or Irish or German, the Jets’ stadium is virtually a smorgasbord. The Jets and Giants probably lead the league in diversity.

CS: What gave you the idea to be the Commissioner of Tailgating?
JC: This is my 14th year. I have been to over 500 stadiums and covered over 500,000 miles. Tailgating has become the new American social. We don’t have block parties anymore, 4th of July picnics…the community (now) gathers in a parking lot, whether it be pro, college, or Nascar or polo, or Jimmy Buffet concerts. It’s all about the socialization of America eating well.

CS: Did you ever imagine tailgating would lead to so many opportunities for you? You have a TV show now right?
JC: "Tailgate Takedown." In the beginning it’s what I wanted to do. In 1996 I went to every NFL stadium in a season and wanted to do a TV series on the road in my motor home. This is before the food channel and everything else. After the first three or four years I didn’t want a TV series. When I signed the contract with TLC I was asked 'are you excited?'

(I said) I am excited…but to tell you the truth it cuts into my tailgating time. It’s not work work, but it’s cutting into my tailgating time. I don’t get to be with my friends, I don’t get to walk around as much, and that’s very important to me.


CS: Do you actually go and see the games afterwords?
JC: What game? There’s a game after tailgating? I was wondering where everyone was going. I gotta write this down and put it on my website. (laughing)

Very rarely do I go in and the reason I don’t go in is I’m a fan of every team. I root for the home team. Wherever I am, I am a fan of that team. I have jerseys from every team. I have learned not to go inside because I go nuts.

CS: Why do you think food is so intertwined with sporting events?
JC: We have something in common. Normally a sporting event — that’s what makes football so ideal — normally it’s on a weekend where we have leisure time. No. 2, there’s a big area for this to happen; there’s a big parking lot that we can bring our grill, bring our tables. It is a very large area. We come out and we celebrate the team; not only the team, but the city. We come out to Baltimore we not only celebrate the Ravens, we celebrate Baltimore and the area of Baltimore. It’s an ideal place to have sports as the catalyst for the city.

Football is so ideal also because the time of year. It’s fall. Sociology and anthropology show it’s a time of year that we have to fatten up ourselves for the winter. So we have the fattening up that is still very much, I think, active in our brains.


CS: One recipe on your site I should try?
JC: They’re all really good. The simplest one is my jambalaya recipe. It’s an easy dish to do and feeds a lot of people. You can make it with anything. You can make anywhere from a vegetarian jambalaya to a seafood jambalaya and everything in between.

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The Concession Stand would like to thank the Commissioner of Tailgating for taking the time to talk. If you'd like more info on "Tailgate Takedown" or more recipes from the Commissioner, check out his website at www.tailgating.com/ 

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Pete Carroll leaving = bad for college football

I have to admit, I’m sad to see Pete Carroll go.

As an Arizona alum who grew up in Los Angeles as a UCLA fan, I’m usually all for USC getting knocked down a peg or two.

But Carroll was just so good for college football. No, he was great for college football.

His leaving such a great gig for the NFL makes me worry about the future of college football. I’m starting to wonder if being a college coach isn’t all it is cracked up to be.

I thought he did one of the best jobs I’d ever seen of balancing what college football should be about. He recruited incredible talent. They became a program everyone wanted to beat. But they had an incredibly good time doing it. He had an incredibly good time doing it. College football shouldn’t be such a serious affair (check your thesaurus for synonyms of humorless, and Nick Saban is undoubtedly on that list).

Yes, USC got a little brash. Obnoxious, even.  I’m not here to dispute that.

Carroll won national titles. Groomed Heisman Trophy winners. He earned plenty of money and lived in one of the best cities in the country (if you asked me, it’s THE best city in the country, but I’m biased). Now, he’s leaving to run the Seattle Seahawks as the president and head coach, a huge risk and an even higher pressure situation.

Why?

Well, I won’t even discuss here the possibility of sanctions that could be coming and he’s running away. Let’s just say that isn’t the case.

Have we set up college football coaches to fail? They have these incredibly crazy rules they have to follow and a one-loss season mostly likely eliminates any shot at a national title.

I love college football, but that’s crazy.

Take Ohio State this season. They lose to USC at home on the final drive of the game after a hideous offensive performance on both sides. The Buckeyes are essentially done for the year. Sure, they still have the Rose Bowl to play for. But their hopes for a special season are immediately ruined, no matter what they do the rest of the year. It doesn’t make sense.

Is that something that’s going to force more quality coaches out of college and into the NFL?

College football needs Pete Carrolls. They remind us of what college sports should be about. I hope the current set up of college football doesn’t make it simply a pit stop en route to the NFL.

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 I hate when I hate both teams in a championship game.

OK, hate is a little dramatic. But today, Alabama and Texas will face off in the BCS national title game, and I don’t really want either of them to have the glory that comes with winning this game.

It happened to me in the World Series this year too. The Phillies embarrassed my Dodgers (I’m still not ready to talk about it) in the NLCS, and as a life rule, voting for the Yankees is unacceptable. But the pain the Phillies caused me won out (in one game I actually blurted out, “come on A-Rod, get a hit here.” It gave me my answer of who I was voting for, but I was horrified that just came out of me. I think my boyfriend nearly broke up with me).

Ahem, but we’re talking about college football. My baseball issues are for another time. I’m still working out those issues.

It’s not that I have a huge distaste for the Crimson Tide. Sure, their fans are a little crazy obsessive passionate, but my main issue is simply that I’m tired of the Southeastern Conference. There’s no doubt it’s the best conference in the country. However, it makes me crazy that they play no one of consequence in their pre-conference games and take almost no risks. I understand why they do it, but how fun is it for football fans when Tim Tebow faces Charleston Southern?

The last non-SEC team to win the national title was USC in 2004. It’s time for some other teams to step up here. I’d even take Ohio State at this point (just kidding, I wouldn’t. But some other Big 10 team might be nice). Having a non-USC Pac 10 team would be nice too. But after the conference’s horrid bowl performance this year, I can’t even bring myself to entertain the thought.

So I’m very lukewarm about Alabama. Texas on the other hand, I just plain get annoyed by.

Now, I should mention that I like Mack Brown a lot, and think he does a great job. As a former sportswriter, I like the way he handles himself with the media. But the burnt orange. The HIDEOUS cheerleading outfits. I can’t bring myself to root for them, even though nothing would make my dad happier. Except of course, if I decided to become a Dallas Cowboys fan, but that would never happen in this reality. Ever.

I guess I’m rooting for Alabama and hoping for a better college football season next year. One where I actually want someone to win the title.

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The defense rests in the Pac 10 (or really, just doesn't tackle or generally make stops)

Over the last week or so, I’ve been plagued with several questions.

Questions like, why is the airport gate for my flight ALWAYS the very last one at the end of the row and thus I must schlep my bag much longer than I want to? Or, is fudge an acceptable breakfast option? These are things I think about.

But, the question that has crossed my mind most is:

What in the name of Pete Carroll happened to the Pac 10 in bowl games?!

I suppose I’m writing this to therapeutically work through that horrifying 33-0 loss my Arizona Wildcats suffered to Nebraska on Dec. 30. I spent my undergrad time at Arizona watching some pretty bad football. However, I don’t think I EVER watched a game where they mustered less than 50 yards of total offense (you can’t see me right now, but I’m cringing). That was bad, even for Arizona football. I may need to seek professional help.

But seriously, what happened to the conference as a whole? It wasn’t just Arizona that tanked (they just found an epically bad way of doing it). Oregon State and Cal lost to Mountain West teams, for crying out loud. Oregon’s ridiculous offense forgot how to score in a loss to Ohio State.

The answer may simply be in the lack of defense in the Pac 10.

The Pac 10 pretty innovative offensively (see: Oregon) but it’s no secret the conference isn’t defensive minded. It’s more fun to watch that way and gave us some ridiculous shootouts this season in conference play. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate to bowl success.

Quick, what Pac 10 team do you think was the best in total defense? Did you guess Arizona State? They are 12th nationally. The next closest Pac 10 team is Arizona at 21st. Oregon (the conference champion) at 33rd nationally. This, to put it mildly, is not a good sign.

In fact, through Dec. 26th, in 14 statistical categories for defense on the NCAA Web site, only three have a Pac 10 team in the top 10.

So, it’s two-fold. The Pac 10 teams weren’t used to facing good defenses, and thus scored wildly. When they come up against legit defenses (see: Nebraska) they couldn’t score. And, their defenses couldn’t stop the other team from scoring.

Now, I'm not a football strategist or a mathematician (in all honesty, the former would be more likely), but here's my mathematical breakdown of why the Pac 10 was so horrendous in bowl games this year.

Not scoring + not stopping the other team from scoring = Pac 10 looks awful.

That's all.

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Some Holiday Bowl help

View of the bay in San Diego from the Manchester Grand Hyatt. 

Photo courtesy of the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego

On Dec. 30, two of my favorite things will be joining forces: my Arizona Wildcats and the city of San Diego. My Wildcat football team will be playing in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl against Nebraska.

I still do a double take when I see the Pac 10 standings this year, and see Arizona in second place, just under Oregon. But it’s real. It happened. The Arizona football team finished second place in the Pac 10.

So, for all you folks of the Arizona or Nebraska persuasion headed to San Diego for the bowl game, I thought I’d post a few of my favorite spots in one of my favorite cities to eat, grab a drink, or hang out. I lived in San Diego for about a year and half, splitting time between Chula Vista (practically in Mexico but very close to downtown) and Vista (north San Diego County).

I included how far these places are from Qualcomm Stadium, where the Holiday Bowl will be played. Most are 10 miles away or less. If you hit any of these while you visit San Diego, you won’t go wrong.


Top of the Hyatt- Distance from Qualcomm Stadium: 8.6 miles-If you’re downtown, head to the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego and go to the very tippy top of the hotel to reach this bar. You aren’t going to find cheap drinks here, but it’s well worth the romantic vibe and the breathtaking views of San Diego.  It claims to be the tallest waterfront hotel on the West Coast, some 40 stories high. So sip a cool cocktail (I recommend the chocolate martini!), take in the view, and you'll start to contemplate moving plans to San Diego.

View from the Top of the Hyatt
Photo courtesy of the 

Manchester Grand Hyatt

Extraordinary Desserts- Distance from Qualcomm: 1430 Union Street location, 7.85 miles; 2929 Fifth Ave. location, 6.3 miles- There are two locations, so you have no excuses. Go. Now. This, to me, is one of the best places to end a romantic evening, or any evening really. What better way to end your night than with an incredible dessert and a delicious latte? I miss a lot about living in San Diego, but this is near the top of my list.

The Prado- Distance from Qualcomm: 7.1 miles- This restaurant at Balboa Park (even if you don’t go to The Prado, visit Balboa Park for any museum you would want to see. It’s right where the world famous San Diego Zoo is too) is in my “special occasion” range but you won't be disappointed. I had one of the best steaks of my life there. Balboa Park at night, lit up during the holidays, is awesome too.

Basic- Distance from Qualcomm: 8 miles- This pizza doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary, but it's addicting. It is located downtown in a cool, old brick building and has a great urban vibe to it. Basic is a great place when you just want to grab some pizza and drinks with your friends in a relaxed, fun atmosphere.

Photos of Basic courtesy of Basic

The Living Room- Distance from Qualcomm: La Jolla location, 14.3 miles- If you’d like a place where you can order coffee, tea or wine in a cool coffee shop, and chase it with a walk on the beach, this is the spot for you. There are several Living Room locations, but the one I love is in swanky La Jolla, and within walking distance of a lot of upscale shopping too. You know, if you are into that sort of thing.

Pannikin Coffee and Tea- Distance from Qualcomm: Encinitas location, 25 miles- There are several locations, but the one in Encinitas off Highway 101 is my favorite. The building’s original use was as a train depot. While you are in San Diego, please, PLEASE drive Highway 101. It runs you through several beach towns, and Encinitas has a funky vibe to it that's worth checking out. It will make your life better. And while you’re doing it, stop in at Pannikin and get some good coffee and a freshly-baked pastry. It’s the right thing to do.

Little Italy- Distance from Qualcomm: 8.5 miles- There are several good spots here so it's tough to just  recommend just one, but there are several good Italian restaurants, and it’s right near downtown.

Old Town- Distance from Qualcomm: about 7 miles- Hit this area for some good Mexican food and also some cool shops. You can also check out some of earliest history of San Diego.

Las Olas- Distance from Qualcomm: Cardiff by the Sea location, 21.4 miles- a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place right across from the ocean off Highway 101 in Cardiff by the Sea (which has to win an award for one of the most pretentious sounding city names ever, but it is actually). They added a second location in Carlsbad, further north on the 101. Good Mexican food with an ocean view. It's the Southern California way of life. 

Mission- Distance from Qualcomm: Mission Blvd. location, 10.8 miles- I still have dreams about the French toast here. All the pancakes and French toast dishes come with fruit, and when it comes out to your table, the entire world seems right. There are a couple of locations around San Diego, and both are pretty busy and weekend brunch/lunch. But, the French toast is worth the wait.

Enjoy San Diego!

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2009 and the Fall From Grace

You know how lots of Chinese restaurants have place mats with the Chinese Zodiac, where each year corresponds with a certain animal?

I happen to be born in the Year of the Pig, but we’re not here to talk about me. If there was a Sports Chinese Zodiac, the year of 2009 would be The Year of the Fall From Grace.

The image of TYOTFFG would not be an animal…well, it does involve a Tiger, but not an animal.

Tiger Woods is certainly not alone in having a rough 2009. The placemat would also have to have images of Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez. We should probably put Rick Pitino on there too. It would also show the late Steve McNair, unfortunately.

It’s not just that the year has taken its toll on some professional athletes or coaches; these men are legendary in their respective sports.

If we were living 50 years from now, these are still men we would talk about in sports history as some of the best that have played or coached the game (McNair is arguable, but he’s certainly legendary in Tennessee and in his home state of Mississippi).

Anyone who ever coaches men’s basketball at University of Louisville will be measured in comparison to Pitino. People around the game of baseball say Rodriguez could eventually go down as the best player to put on a baseball uniform. Experts will tell you there are few in history that have the ability to hit a baseball like Ramirez can. It’s not a matter of if Woods will pass the great Jack Nicklus in major tournament titles, but when.

Sports fans want to believe these athletes can be great at their sport and great people that make the right choices at all time. Well, that’s not possible for any of us, so we shouldn't expect these guys to either.

After covering Major League Baseball for a year, I got a tiny, tiny glimpse into the life of a pro athlete. I realized that pro athletes behave they way they do because basically, these guys haven’t been told no since they were in elementary school. Most of these guys have known from an early age they were gifted athletically. They were most likely always in the cool crowd. They have few limits financially. Girls have probably been throwing themselves at these guys for most of their lives. It leads you to live in a warped reality.

It’s a reality that can cause you to think you are untouchable. As we have seen from the TYOTFFG, no one is untouchable. Woods’ nightmare seems to grow exponentially by the day. Pitino has to face recruits’ parents and try to explain away his poor decisions. A-Rod and Ramirez’s careers will always have a cloud over them: were they that good, or were they only good because they had help? McNair’s choices, or at least one very bad choice, left him dead.

Luckily for these guys (except for McNair, who tragically won’t get a second chance) winning seems to heal all wounds for the sports fans. A-Rod is a prime example of that. In a year where he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs in 2003 (by having his cousin shoot him in the butt to do so, which if that’s true, is another awful choice altogether). A strong showing in the playoffs en route to a World Series title, and that story seems to drifted away.

Hopefully, these guys learn from their mistakes. And maybe, we’ll look back on 2010 as the Year of Redemption.

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Getting started...

Why I didn’t think of this sooner, I’ll never know.

Basically, I like two things (outside of my boyfriend, my family and the Arizona Wildcats): sports and food.

I read/write/watch/listen to an absurd amount about both. I watch sports and cooking shows on TV and that’s about it. I download sports podcasts and food show podcasts. And, uh, I won’t go too into depth about how much food I actually consume on a daily basis. No need to scare people off right at the start.

So, here I am, starting a blog where food and sports will co-exist quite happily. It’s as the world should be, really. One of my favorite quotes was said by a football player in an interview with Sports Illustrated some years ago: “Food is my favorite food.” Truer words were never spoken.

I plan on covering the two from any and every angle possible. Nutrition, fitness (I do NOT claim to be an expert in either, as my thighs will attest), cooking, Q & As with people in the know, and rating stadium food (also known as CONCESSIONS! Are you rolling with me here?)

Sports and food always say a lot about a culture. I’m fascinated by different cultures and how they affect our decisions and our lifestyles. I think sports and food can tell you more about a culture over just about anything else.

I’m definitely not vegetarian, definitely not vegan, and definitely not a health nut. I simply love In-N-Out too much. But I do try to eat healthy as much as possible; I just fail miserably from time to time. If there weren’t such a thing as chocolate chip cookies, maybe we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

I’m looking forward to all that I’m going to learn and all that I can share with anyone who stumbles upon this blog.

Oh and P.S. Be patient with my photography skills. I’m hoping they will become photography SKILLZ, but I have a long way to go.

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