BASEBALL
I have always been a fan of sports.  As a typical kid of my generation, I found baseball to be king.
But in the last two decades I've dropped out as a baseball fan.  First the designated hitter, then
things like balanced schedules, interleague play, wild card playoffs, and the apparent reluctance
to really enforce any drug policy have all weakened my allegiance.  So, bye bye baseball.

PRO FOOTBALL
I remain a solid NFL fan, and have been a fan of the Chicago Bears all my life (da Bears!).  We had a shining moment in 1963, and again with the Super Bowl in 1985. Of course many of the greatest individuals to everplay have been Bears like Payton, Sayers, Butkus, Ditka, Singletary, and many others before and since.  If you'd like to keep up with the Bears, click Here.

So far the 2005 season is going well.  The loss of Grossman has not hurt.  The defense is great.
Go Bears!

I have been a subscriber to NFL Sunday Ticket ever since it started.  Besides the Bears, I like to
keep an eye on the Buffalo Bills, the KC Chiefs, and the Denver Broncos.

GOLF
I've been a golf watcher all my life. Used to play in high school, but not since then.
My favorite tour is the LPGA.  Especially players like Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak,
Grace Park and Mi Hyun Kim.  I like the strong international flavor on the LPGA, and the
fact that these players occasionally smile and act like real people, which you don't see nearly as
much of on the PGA Tour.

I watch PGA Tour Golf sometimes, and certainly the Majors.  But in those tournaments without
Tiger, Daly, and Phil Mickelson, most of the field I find to be rather faceless robots.  Wonderful
players, working hard and playing at a very high level, but not much pizazz for the fans.  Oh sure,
not everyone can be Arnie or Trevino or Daly, but I think the strong fan adoration of Daly shows
how hungry golf fans are for someone they can worship.  Tiger is the best player ever, and as he matures
he is getting to be more fun to watch.

I keep the Golf Channel most of the day on weekends.  They do excellent coverage of the tournaments
they get to show.

HOCKEY
I enjoyed the recent Stanley Cup playoffs, and watch NHL Hockey when I can.  Like the
LPGA, I like the strong international flavor to the league. No particularly favorite team these
days.  The tradition of the Stanley Cup is one of the appealing things to me....skating around with
it, having it stop for a day in winning team player hometowns, engraving the names on the Cup.
Very cool.

I subscribe to NHL Center Ice on DirectTV, so get a lot of good games to watch.  The new rules are a big improvement, especially cutting out the clutching and grabbing on defense.
 

Some Sports Wishes

I wish pro sports would stop expanding, and maybe even contract a little.  Ruth woulda hit 200 homers on the watered down pitching in baseball today.  There just are not enough elite athletes to fill all those MLB, NBA, and NFL rosters.  The NFL has a lot of nameless QB's, and all those leagues have dozens and dozens of players who wouldn't have been there prior to rampant expansion.  The NHL has weathered expansion a bit better because of it's draw from the old Soviet Union and other European countries, but many will argue it too is getting watered down.

I wish colleges would abandon the pretense of the student-athlete.  Pay 'em decent, give 'em an education if they want it.

I'd like to see soccer (aka football) catch on in America but I don't think it ever will.

I'd like to see ESPN go back to showing sports, instead of poker games, lumberjack tournaments,
and that stuff.

I'd like to see the LPGA get more recognition than it does, but that probably won't happen unless
a small herd of Michelle Wie's come out.  Wait until she grows up...