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A Message from Jamie Lazaroff

Hi all

My current blog www.aviewthroughjamielazaroffseyes.blogspot.com has been compromised therefore I have created a new one at www.aviewthroughjamieseyes.blogspot.com. If any one would like to subscribe to the blog in order to receive it in your e-mail, please let me know, or a will sent you a update when ever I post a new article.  If my blog is bookmarked please update according.  I hope to make this blog bigger and better.

Thanks

Jamie Lazaroff

www.aviewthroughjamieseyes.blogspot.com

This Week in Sports

Written by: Jamie Lazaroff
Edited by: Bob Lazzari

Sorry I haven't written in awhile, folks.  Last week, I was in not-so-sunny San Diego for a Special Olympics meeting.  This past week, the flu bug hit me--and hit me BIG.  But now I’m back and, hopefully, better than ever.

*Saturday, February 16, 2008 was the re-airing of the 2007 Ironman Triathlon World Championship from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  For those of you who are unaware, the Ironman consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and  finishes off with a full 26.2-mile marathon run.  The Ironman is the greatest test for any athlete, but the real stories involve the "average Joes" that come from all walks of life to cross the finish line.  You see, you have to get to the finish line before the course is closed at midnight to be considered an "Ironman."  This year, the show focused on four remarkable stories:  a person with Cystic fibrosis, another who is blind, and also a person who was born with no feet.  The last person was a young man who was in a car accident and was on the brink of death--but came back to become an Ironman.  The Ironman is the best-written event all year and has won 14 sports Emmy awards over the years.  As I've said in this column beofre, I cry each year I see it and it gives me more motivation than any other event  I watch on a yearly basis.

*The NBA slam-dunk contest is back!  Dwight Howard and Gerald Green truly put on a show.  Green’s 'birthday dunk' featured him placing a cupcake (with a lit candle) on the back on the rim and then blowing the candle out before doing a dunk--which was so creative.  I thought it was a 10!  Howard is a man beast; the 'superman dunk' was just so awesome.  He didn't even dunk the ball; he threw it in and jumped SO high.  This was the best dunk contest in many years.  You'd have to go back to the late ‘80’s with Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb to see any slam dunk contest quite like the most recent one during the NBA's All-Star weekend.  I hope these kids come back next year to put on an even better show.

*Breaking News:  Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers is retiring after 13 seasons and 3 MVP awards.  Brett Favre is one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.  I'll have more on this in a later column.

*The question on ESPN last week was this:  If you were an NFL GM, would you build your team through the draft or free agency?  I would build through free agency because the draft is such a crapshoot these days.  In fact, the NFL draft is the biggest unknown in sports.  You can evaluate players all you want but no one ever quite knows how good a player will be as a pro.  There are so many stories of first-round draft busts that I would trade all my first day picks to get more on the second day.  Remember, Tom Brady was a fifth-round pick.  On a side note, it was good to see Randy Moss re-sign with the Pats.  He and Brady have unfinished business--like winning a championship. 

*This week’s spotlight comes from Dave Reynolds of the Inclusion Daily Express:

CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY--His teammates call him "B-Rad." Nineteen-year-old Brad Hennefer is a celebrity at Cherry Hill East High School. He's one of a growing number of examples of what can happen when students with disabilities are included in their schools and school athletics. Hennefer is also believed to be the only student-athlete with Down syndrome in the country to earn letters in two varsity sports --basketball and golf.  "I'm a very good shooter, good behind the black lines," he told WPVI-TV recently. He's not joking, either.  This week, ABC News ran video from a recent game, showing the 5-foot 10-inch, 155-pound Hennefer making a clean three-pointer at the closing buzzer. "All the kids in basketball, they look at me and are proud of me," he said. In golf, Hennefer has a mean 280-yard tee shot that his teammates envy. Hennefer said that after high school, he plans to go on to college to work in business or on computers. "Nothing Brad does surprises us," said his dad, Bob. "Being a part of a team is always a kid's dream. And it's been great for him."

That’s my take, I like to hear yours.

Jamie Lazaroff

MAHOGNY

Joe Mansfield is passionate about martial arts and he's passionate about teaching martial arts to people with disabilities, or to people who are "handicapable" as they call them at MAHOGNY.  He's been doing so for years.

As president of the Martial Arts for the Handicapable of Greater New York, Inc. (MOHAGNY), Joe teaches classes locally in Poughkeepsie, New York. 

The goal of the MAH., is to help people with disabilities improve and strengthen themselves physically and mentally through the application of concepts found within the martial arts. In addition to practical skills of self defense, martial arts training instills self discipline and confidence, and conveys a wealth of lessons that can be utilized in many areas of life. Our organization advocates a positive framework for training and life, in which the only limitations are set by a student’s determination to learn. All students are accepted — regardless of the nature or the degree of disability.

In addition to teaching individuals with disabilities skills in the martial arts, MAH also has a an Instructor Certification Program

"We train instructors of all legitimate styles of martial arts to work with students in their own locations, and in their own field of expertise."

Joe can be reached here for more information.

This Week in Sports

Written by: Jamie Lazaroff
Edited by: Bob Lazzari

*I have to agree with my fellow sports columnist Bob Lazzari that the NBA is unwatchable.  The last four or five Celtics games have been awful.  They have broken many of the basic rules on defense--especially ones involving good footwork..  Their rebounding has been awful, as well.  The UCONN men are playing better than the Celtics right now, and that’s saying something.  If you want to see good basketball, then the women’s game is for you--both college and pro.  The women play the game below the rim, which shows their skill level, and are more technically sound.

*If you listened to the January 15th Congressional hearing featuring Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and union leader Donald Fehr, you heard them say a number of things relating to the reliability of HGH testing, storing blood, etc.  According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), a scientifically valid and effective test for HGH does exist.  Also, according to WADA, storing blood is practical.  I have heard in the past that the players do not want blood tests--for reasons I’m not really sure of.  Geez, can it be that big, bad athletes don’t like needles? Aww, I feel for the "poor" guys; come on guys and suck it up!  As far as Selig and Fehr are concerned, the job is done for them; all they have to do is sign the world anti-doping code as it is all spelled out for them.  But no U.S. professional sports league has signed it.  Why?  Because we want to be independent from the rest of the world.  A quote from WADA:  “To not test for HGH, when you have the resources and opportunity, is to give players a free pass to HGH abuse.”

*I cannot wait for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on pay-per view on "Super Saturday" (Feb. 2).  UFC-81 features the UFC debut of former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion Brock Lesnar.  Brock will face former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who has faced many big-time opponents.  I know some of you will think I’m crazy for being a fan of the UFC, but since the first UFC match in 1993, no one has died in the octagon.  In contrast, many people have died in the boxing ring during that same time.  Two people have also died in mixed martial arts (MMA), but these were in unsanctioned fights.  The UFC is sanctioned in Nevada, California and by other states' boxing commissions.  I like it because it is as real as it gets; it's not like pro wrestling--which is scripted.  Also, unlike boxing, you know who the champion is in each weight class.  There are a lot of MMA promotions out there, but the UFC is truly the biggest and best.

*Two columns ago, I commented on UCONN men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun being underrated.  This time, I would like to comment on women’s coach Geno Auriemma.  I think Geno is overrated; yes, he has won five national championships, but the team has not won anything in the past three seasons.  Most of the championships they've won featured some of the best players of all-time on the team such as Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Rebecca Lobo-- to name just a few.  He may be a great recruiter and motivator but sometimes he comes off as arrogant; an example was when he forgot the name of a big-time opponent at a press conference before the North Carolina game. Then there was the time this season he told one of his freshman reserve players not to screw up because they were #1 in the country and have a legitimate chance to win the national title.   Sometimes, I think all of his success goes directly to his head.      

*This week, I would like to spotlight the Winter X Games for televising a mono ski event last week.  This is a major achievement in sports for people with disabilities. Last year was the first time mono skiing was part of the X Games but I don’t remember it being televised.  I hope other networks take a chance on showing sports that include people with disabilities--like the Paralympics. It is time for the media to treat disabled athletes as TRUE athletes-- not just as "feel-good stories" for the morning newspaper.      

That's my take, I'd like to hear yours.

Links:

Find the Winter X Games mono skiing event results here.

This Week in Sports

Written by: Jamie Lazaroff
Edited by: Bob Lazzari

It surely is the doldrums of winter for sports fans.  With little else going on, the NFL playoffs are the best part of the season.   The fact that the playoffs are a  proving ground to see if you deserve to go on is what keeps the excitement and interest in the game.  As John Madden said, “It’s the finality of it all."  For example, who knew that Indianapolis would lose to San Diego? Not me, that’s for sure.  With March Madness it’s the same thing:  survive and advance, or one and done. I can’t wait for the month of March-- I love March Madness!

*After watching Roger Clemens on "60 Minutes" with Mike Wallace (and also at his press conference), I have one piece of advice for him:  BE QUIET.  Every time he opens his mouth, he sticks his foot in it.  At his press conference on Jan. 7th, Clemens played a 12-minute phone call with his former trainer Brian McNamee.  Clemens had secretly taped this call without McNamee knowing about it.  In the tape, Clemens was not clear about what he wanted and McNamee repeatedly asked Clemens, “What do you want me to do?”  This phone call, which Clemens taped, was on Friday, Jan. 4th; on Sunday, Jan. 6th-- before the press conference-- Clemens filed a defamation lawsuit against McNamee in Harris County District Court in Texas.  The lawsuit listed 15 alleged statements McNamee made to the Mitchell Report.  Clemens claimed the statements were "untrue and defamatory."  On February 13th, Clemens and McNamee will testify in front of The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  The hearing was postponed from January 16th-- giving lawmakers more time to gather evidence and to coordinate their investigation with the Justice Department.  This should prove to be great political theater for those of us who are interested.  The January 15th hearing before the same committee regarding the Mitchell Report (featuring Commissioner Bud Selig, Union leader Donald Fehr, and George Mitchell-- the report's author) will go on as planned.  Stay tuned for an update in the near future.

*I’m glad to see university presidents coming out saying that schools truly need to regain control of the college football post-season.  For years, the presidents have been opposed to a playoff system. Their opposition is largely based on academic reasons and because the season is already too long.  I have heard two different proposals:  a Final Four system and an eight-team playoff.  I have talked about this before and have suggested a playoff, but I think you need all 11 conference champs to make it work. I also think all the involved conferences need to have championship games so you do not have a co-champion situation.  I truly hope this is the start of people talking seriously about this subject.

*Congratulations to LSU for winning the Bowl Championship Series national title.  At the end of the day, you won it on the field of play and that’s what really counts.

*I know this is a sports column, but my other interest is in politics.  This year is a presidential election and the race for the White House is the tightest in a very long, long time.  I cannot believe I picked the winners of both parties in the Iowa Caucuses and the Republican winner of the New Hampshire Primary.  I think both races will be a fight to the end and be true dogfights until the parties’ conventions next summer.

*On a sad note, former U.S. figure skating champion Christopher Bowman died Thursday of a possible drug overdose.  Bowman was one of the great showmen who elevated figure skating (in the late 80’s and early 90’s) to the level of popularity it enjoys today.  His rivalry with Todd Eldredge drew me to the sport and I believe men’s figure skating has not had a rivalry like it since.  We'll miss “Bowman the Showman.”   

**This week's spotlight is an update on a story I told you about last June in my very first column.   The story is about Oscar Pistorius--a double-amputee sprinter whose dream is to compete at the Beijing Olympics.  Unfortunately, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recently ruled him ineligible because of his prosthetic racing blades.  The IAAF backed studies by German professor Gert-Peter Brueggemann--who conducted two days of tests in November on the prosthetic limbs--saying they give Pistorius a clear, competitive advantage over able-bodied runners. The findings only covered Pistorius’ specific j-shaped “Cheetah” blades and did not necessarily mean that all such athletes automatically would be excluded.  Pistorius and his camp vehemently contest the findings and will appeal the verdict.  The blades that Oscar races on are carbon-fiber extensions to his amputated legs.   Personally, I’m not sure if Oscar’s blades give him a unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes, but I hope someone will come up with a way to allow a double-amputee or any other disabled athlete to compete in the Olympics with able-bodied athletes; that way, we won’t have to have separate games.

That's my take; I'd like to hear yours

Jamie Lazaroff

An Interview with Dana Mauriello

Dana Mauriello, Powerlifting Coach
By Paul Glatzer

Dana is from Ridgewood, NJ. She went to Stanford University in California for college, where she studied engineering. During college, she began competitive powerlifting for the USAPL and ascended to the national level, where she scored a high of 2nd place in the female/junior/165lb division. After college, she moved to New York and worked in the cosmetics industry doing marketing and product development for both L'Oreal and The Estee Lauder Companies. In New York, she continued powerlifting and started a Special Olympics Powerlifting team in Manhattan, which she coached for 3 years. Dana is now back in California in her first year at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

This Week in Sports

Dear Readers, Pardon the delay in the publishing of this post.  Due to my move from one state to another and a lack of online time, I'm a little behind in my blogging duties.  My apologies to Jamie as well...  Blogmaster, [with]tv

This Week in Sports

Written by: Jamie Lazaroff
Edited by: Bob Lazzari

Happy Holidays everyone!  I would like to update some stories that are back in the news.

*Michael Vick has surrendered and gone to jail before his sentencing on December 10th.  He surrendered in order to look sincere in accepting responsibility for his actions.  I think this is strictly a PR move in order to get his sentence reduced by the judge.  Remember, he also faces state dog fighting charges with a trial by jury set for April 2nd.  Even if Vick currently gets 12 to 18 months in prison, he still faces more time if he is convicted in the state case; he could miss the next two or three football seasons.  His football career is all but over.  I hope he is sincere in accepting responsibility for his actions, but I really don’t think he is.

*Barry Bonds has been indicted by a federal grand jury on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.  Thank God-- there is STILL some justice in the world.  I’m not sure how Major League Baseball should handle the home run record now.  I don’t think you can just erase it from the record books, but I do think something needs to be done--perhaps a note in the record books that says Barry Bonds cheated to break the record.  The message should also be this:  don’t lie to a federal grand jury.  History surely may have treated Bonds better if he didn’t lie.

*I would like to correct something I said in a previous column.  Women’s pro soccer in the U.S. will start back up in 2009.  Sorry for any confusion; they have all their financial backers and could have possibly started in 2008, but they now want to get everything right for a 2009 start.

*College football needs a playoff because right now they have nothing but a mythical championship created by history. When you have no idea who’s going to play for the national championship, it is time for a playoff.  In comparison, college basketball has a playoff. The final 65th team to get into the field is always debated, but the committee always seems to get it right.  My idea in college football is to do this:
1. Have all 11 division 1-A conferences have a championship game.
2. Those winners plus any other independent team (i.e. Notre Dame) that has more than 10 wins gets an automatic bid into the playoffs.
3. Then the committee chooses 4 or 5 at-large teams.
4. The conference title games would be played in December.
5. The first round games could be played as bowl games (Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl etc.) on January 1.
6. Then, play down from there until you have a national title game the day before the Super Bowl--and make it a Super Championship weekend.  Personally, I don’t think a playoff in college football will happen in my lifetime because the bowl games already have so much rich history and are worth so much  money for the schools.   

*My sincere condolences go out to the family of Sean Taylor.  What a horrible act; his home was burglarized a few months ago but he was not home at the time.  I assume the burglar came back for more and Taylor was unfortunately home this time.  This shows that any one in the spotlight is open to being a target and/or victim.

*This week spotlight is on the winners of the 2007 Paralympic Awards-- held on November 24th at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly in Seoul, South Korea.  The Paralympic Sport Awards 2007 were awarded in five categories, based on performance at the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games:

Athletes in Transition

Written by: Jamie Lazaroff
Edited by: Bob Lazzari

November is a transition time for sports.  Baseball season is done and dusted, basketball is just getting started, and football season is rolling along. 

More on that later.  But first, speaking of transitions...

*This week's spotlight is on the great Special Olympic athlete Loretta Claiborne. Born partially blind and with a mild developmental disability, she was unable to walk or talk until the age of 4.  Eventually, though, she began to run.  And before she knew it, she had crossed the finish line of 25 marathons-- twice placing among the top 100 women in the Boston Marathon.  She's carried the torch in the International Special Olympics, has won medals in dozens of its events, and also holds the current women's record in her age group for the 5000 meters (17 minutes).  Today, Claiborne is a celebrated athlete who was honored in 1996 with ESPN's ESPY Arthur Ashe Award for Courage.  Her life is recounted in Walt Disney Productions' The Loretta Claiborne Story (originally broadcast on ABC-TV and now on videocassette) and in the biography In Her Stride published by WorldScapes.  Considering all of Claiborne's achievements, these are just small steps in her life's mission to show that people with developmental and physical disabilities are equal to those without.

Claiborne was first introduced to Special Olympics by social worker Janet McFarland.  She credits McFarland as well as her family, community, educators, Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her own strong spirituality with giving her the confidence necessary to become a world-class runner.  Running is not the only part of Claiborne's life.  She holds a black belt in karate, communicates in four languages (including sign language), and holds honorary doctorate degrees from Quinnipiac College and Villanova University-- making her the first person with a developmental disabilty known to receive such honors (according to the Special Olympics organization).

However, Claiborne says the most rewarding part of her life has been her involvement with the Special Olympics and she wants to continue helping people with developmental and physical disabilities succeed.  She advises them, "Find an opportunity and seize it.  Be the best you can be, and never let anyone doubt you."  Claiborne runs every day, often about 5 miles--even when she plans to go only three or four.  She runs just for the joy of it-- the joy of the moment; it's how she lives her life.  "I don't really look toward the future because you don't know what tomorrow will  bring," she says. "You have to live your life for today."

This Week in Sports

Written by: Jamie Lazaroff
Edited by: Bob Lazzari

Well, what a great time to be a Boston sports fan!  The Pats are undefeated, and the Celtics look better than I thought.  By the way, congrats go out to the Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series for the second time in four years--a clean sweep!  Before 2004, it took 86 years to win another title; now they've won two World Series titles in my lifetime-- wooooooooooooooo!  I believe with the pitching and young stars they have now, we will see more championships in the near future.

*Why are the World Series games televised so late at night?  The first pitch is not until 8:30 P.M with a half hour pre-game show before that.  Many games did not conclude until well past midnight.  What is Major League Baseball doing?  How are kids going to become baseball fans when they grow up if they can’t watch the World Series when they are young?  At the very least, they could  put one game on during the daytime.

*What can I say about the Patriots that has not already been said or written about them?  They are winning with so much ease that it's making their games boring.  The only way I see them losing is if they lose their focus.  Most people are looking forward to the Indianapolis game on November 4.  Indianapolis is the only other undefeated team in the NFL, but New England has scored 86 more points than Indy.  They have also scored 14 more touchdowns than the Colts.  I would look after their bye week for a possible slip up--or maybe the December 3rd game at Baltimore.

*What a year in college football!  In all honesty, I’m not a huge fan of Saturdays in the fall .  But I root for one team, Notre Dame (I don’t what to talk about it!).   This year, there have been more upsets than I can ever remember.  The top two teams in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) have lost (LSU and South Florida).  As of this week, Boston College is number two and UCONN (let me type that again), UCONN football is ranked 13th.  Like I said, a wild and unpredictable year.

*I understand why the National Football League played a regular season game in London, England; they are trying to globalize American football.   However, I don’t think it will work.  American football is not a global game.  It was born in the U.S and is played mostly in the U.S..  In England, they have rugby-- which is a much faster and skillful game.  Globalization is easier in basketball or even hockey because these sports are played all over the world.  I think it will take more time and money to educate the world about American football.  And by the way, rugby players don’t play with pads on.

*As an advocate for people with disabilities, I have to say that we have a long way to go.  I was reading a press release about ESPN's coverage of The Breeders’ Cup.  One of the features in the coverage was about Greg’s Gold, a horse named after a Special Olympics athlete.  What made me so angry was this: the release said that the athlete "suffered" from Down syndrome.  A person with Down syndrome does not "suffer;" they have it, they are born with it, and people do not die from Down syndrome.  I had hoped the piece for TV would show better judgement and use better language than this (It did).  This is why we need with-tv.

This week's spotlight shines on the Australia Men’s national wheelchair basketball team. This profile comes from the Paralympic website.

After placing second at the 2007 VISA Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, Great Britain, only losing the final match against Paralympic champion Canada in a “last second thriller”,  won the final of the 2007 Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia, against Iran (75:37), taking home the gold medal and title of Oceania Paralympic Champion.  For the new Rollers’ Head Coach Ben Ettridge, Australia's Gold Medal victory at the Arafura Games took his win-loss record to 9-and-1, since he took over from his mentor Murray Treseder, who departed Australia to take up the top job with Great Britain in March.

The team has a good mixture of talented young players and more experienced older ones, the youngest being 22 years of age and the oldest 41.

Career Highlights of the Rollers:
Gold medal - Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games
Silver medal - ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games
Bronze medal - 2006 IWBF World Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands

This Week in Sports

Written by: Jamie Lazaroff
Edited by: Bob Lazzari

I have been watching a lot of soccer recently (specifically the Women’s World Cup and the English Premier League) and also just read the book “How Soccer Explains the World” by Franklin Foer.  There is a chapter on how soccer relates to and tries to explain the American culture wars.  Well, this got me thinking about this subject.

First, Franklin makes a good point that since soccer was not invented in the U.S. Like baseball, basketball and American football, the American people have not accepted it as their own. If you’re a part of the first generation of immigrants, the love of soccer has come over with you but if you were born in the USA, I think it’s more difficult to love the sport.  As I've said before in this column, Americans like to play soccer-- not watch it.  I think the media has a lot to do with it.  Don’t get me wrong-- there is more soccer on TV now than there was five years ago, but it’s not on regular TV; you need to buy additional packages from your cable provider to get the 'good' stuff (no offense, MLS).  I’m talking about the European leagues.  I know that ESPN shows the European Champions Leagues every two weeks in the fall, but it's televised in the afternoon when we are all at work!  And if you can’t see these club teams in their domestic leagues on the weekend, you will have no idea how they are doing coming into the Champions League games.

I think another reason Americans like to play soccer rather than watch it is because it is divided into two 45-minute halves with no timeouts.  There are no breaks or timeouts, but if there is a stoppage due to an injury or the like, time is added onto the end of the half to make up for the time lost. You have no idea when the game or half will end because the referee keeps the time on the field.  I feel that the American people truly have a low level of concentration. Every American sport I know of has timeouts.  Yes, soccer has halftime, but we need more breaks in order to talk about what we just witnessed and soccer does not let us do that.