The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, From A Sports Fan's Perspective

We consider this part of the season "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". This time of the year is filled with good tidings of great joy. When most think of this part of the year, they think of the holidays. The latter part of December brings Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. It is the time of the season where families get to come together and celebrate. There is nothing like being with your family, enjoying food, fellowship, and gifts. Most of the time everyone is in a great mood, unless they are not looking forward to Aunt Beth's annual "you gave me that as a gift?" gift. I absolutely love this time of year in more ways than one.

This time of year can't get any better for a sports fan. The only other time I can compare it to is the spring when March Madness is ending, the NBA season is coming down the stretch, and the major league baseball season is about to start. I am a huge baseball fan so I am biased there. There is so much going on this time of year in the sports world. Around the holidays has something for all sports fans. For football fans, the NFL only has a few weeks left in the regular season, fantasy football playoffs are in full force, and college football bowls are getting kicked off. Hockey fans can enjoy the regular season, along with the New Year's Day NHL Winter Classic. Every year on January 1, the NHL has an outdoor hockey game featuring 2 NHL teams. This years Classic features the Flyers and the Rangers. There is also something for basketball fans to enjoy. College basketball season is in full tilt and teams are finishing up their non-conference games and preparing for conference to start up. The NBA is usually in mid-season form, except this year it was post-poned due to the lockout. Teams will not have an official start day until Christmas. Just when you think there is nothing for baseball fans, you are wrong. The baseball winter meetings take place. This is where most of the negotiations for the free agents take place. This year saw some of baseball's bigger names sign with new teams. For example, Jose Reyes left the Mets for the new Miami Marlins and Albert Pujols left the defending champions Cardinals for the Angels.

This is truly the most wonderful time of the year. There is nothing better than getting to spend quality time with your loved ones. This time of year is also a sports fans dream with all that is going on. So this holiday season, while you are enjoying time with the family and trying to figure out what that gift is that Aunt Beth just gave you, turn on the TV and enjoy a good game or two. Nothing brings a family closer like chugging a few eggnogs and pulling for your favorite team!

NHL Realignment

by David Caudle

Rarely do you overhear a conversation that sounds like, “did you catch that great hockey game last night?” Hockey is not a commonly watched or supported sport in the south. However, cities like Nashville, Tampa, and Dallas do have strong fan bases. The NHL in general is always pushed aside for leagues such as the NBA and NFL. Hockey did steal the spotlight in 2004 with the infamous NHL Lockout. Since the lockout has resided, the NHL is in full swing and is gaining more support every year. The NHL has always tried to please the players and fans, and this may be why it is sometimes considered “the greatest sport on Earth.” Going along with pleasing the players, the NHL has recently realigned the conferences. This realignment makes travel easier and shorter by putting teams in the same geographical region within the same conference. The realignment also lets the teams have a “home-and-home” with every other team in the league. The following chart displays the new conferences: (courtesy of yahoo sports)

Conf. A Conf. B Conf. C Conf.D

Anaheim Chicago Boston Carolina

Calgary Columbus Buffalo NJ Devils

Colorado Dallas Florida NY Islanders

Edmonton Detroit Montreal NY Rangers

Los Angeles Minnesota Ottawa Philadelphia

Phoenix Nashville Tamp Bay Pittsburgh

San Jose St. Louis Toronto Washington

Vancouver Winnipeg

This system is going to be a big change for all teams, but it can be assumed that this was a much needed plan. The only teams I see as “losing” in this deal are the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. These Florida teams have to travel to Canada AND the New England area to play the teams in their conference. They will travel to each team at least three times during the season, totaling 15 trips to the North.The other main miscue with this realignment is the loss of rivalries. Teams like Vancouver and Chicago will only meet twice in the season. The Boston Bruins also lose two rivalries in the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers. The playoffs start within the conference and the top four teams will play in the divisional playoffs. Overall the realignment was needed and it was known that it was going to come sooner or later. Hopefully this change will enable fans to commute to more of their favorite teams home AND away games giving the teams the support they deserve.

*David is an expert on all things hockey, ultimate frisbee, and Alabama Crimson Tide football. He grew up playing ice and roller hockey his whole life. He is currently a sophomore as Mississippi State studying Pre-Med. We are excited that he will be providing us with his hockey expertise as he will bring great insight to the game. You can follow him on Twitter at @david_caudle .

In This Cold and Flu Season, Grizz Fever is Contagious

There is no doubt the city of Memphis is a basketball town. Memphis Tigers basketball has always been the city's first love. On March 26, 2001 the Grizzlies relocated from Vancouver to Memphis. The city was ecstatic back then and has been ever since. I guess you could call it Grizz Fever. Just like any city, when things tend to go wrong, cities tend to rally around their teams. It brings the fans together. No matter the race, age, or social class, everyone is a fan of that one team come game night. Teams play a huge role in bringing cities together.

For example, the city of New Orleans rallied around the New Orleans Saints in 2006. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the city and wiped out many homes, business, and the place was unrecognizable. That 2006 season, the city rallied around their Saints all the way the NFC Championship Game. Did the Saints win the Superbowl that year?No. But it did give the city a sense of pride and something to cheer about while all of the rebuilding was going on.

The Grizzlies are getting ready to start up their season on December 26 vs. the Spurs. How ironic is it that the Grizzlies are starting off their season trying to recapture "Grizz Fever"vs the team that started "Grizz Fever" a year ago. As we all know, last year in the playoffs the eighth seed Grizzlies beat the first seed Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. I still get chills to this day thinking about it. The Grizzlies had to play hard all the way through the last game of the year just to get into the playoffs. It had been 2006 since the Grizz had last made it into the playoffs. The city was ecstatic just to be in playoffs. So when the Grizzlies pulled off the game 1 upset in San Antonio vs the #1 off of a game winning shot by Shane Battier, "Grizz Fever" was in full force. The city had a certain buzz to it wherever you went. As we all remember too vividly, the Grizzlies went on to win that series but lost in seven games to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals.

The city had rallied around the Grizzlies and it was something I had never seen in the city before. Every single person was rooting for the Grizzlies. A ton of people who don't usually go to Grizzlies games found themselves in the FedEx forum come playoff time. The city was in the middle of a rough patch. The economy had been down for a years. People were losing their jobs and companies were having to be shut down. Not to mention Memphis was experiencing flooding around the city at the time. The Mississippi River had gotten so high that Tom Lee Park was under water. The Grizzlies were a bright spot for the city at that time. Fans could get away from all the negative things going on in their personal lives for a few hours. They were able to leave all that stuff outside when they would head into the FedEx Forum to watch "Their Grizzlies".

Grizz Fever caught on last year. Now that the new season is approaching, the city is looking to continue it over from last season. The city still has its fever bottled up from the end of the playoffs, I know at least I do. We are ready to send our team further in the playoffs than they went last year. Get your thunder sticks and growl towels ready because Grizz Fever is about to hit the city again and it is contagious!

In the Midst of Rivalries, Classiness and Respect Still Exist

The definition of a rival according to the dictionary is "one who attempts to equal or surpass another, or who pursues the same subject as another; a competitor". We can all agree that when we think of the word rivals the first thing that comes to mind is sports. Usually it comes down to the proud traditions of each school, team, or person. Location plays a huge part in the rivalry. Most of the time the teams are located within the same city, state, or region. The closeness, location wise, of the schools and the split fan bases makes the hatred of the opposing team that much stronger. When you think of rivals the first to pop into your head are Alabama/Auburn, Ohio State/ Michigan, or Duke/ North Carolina. The schools are so close to each other. With a win a team/fans can have bragging rights until the game is played again. Most of the time the teams don't play again for another year. The fans live off of winning a rivalry game. Rivalries are usually full of dislike for the opposing team and school. There is usually not much respect or classiness involved. I am here to let you know that respect amongst rivals is still alive today. I witnessed a truly classy act over the weekend that I will remember forever.

Let me start with a little bit of background information on the schools. Christian Brothers High School (CBHS) and Memphis University School (MUS) are private schools here in Memphis. They are located about 4 miles down the road from each other. Both schools are tops in athletics among private schools every year. Those two schools make up most of the private school population in the city. When you ask a young man, of high school age, where he goes to school the answer most of the time is CBHS or MUS. This in a very intense rivalry due to the closeness of the school and most of the students knowing each other outside of school. My grandfather, step dad, and uncle all attended CBHS. My little brother is currently a freshman at CBHS. Now that we have a little background on to the story at hand.

My grandfather Jim Mathis, Coach (as players refer to him) or Pappy (as family refers to him) is 77. He played sports at CBHS and ran track for Memphis State University. He went on to coach basketball at St. Dominic School for decades. He also coached at St.Agnes for many years. Pappy is such a great person and is such an influential person in the Memphis sports community. He has made such an impact on everyone he has coached. I have talked to numerous former players that have said "He helped mold me into the person I am today". He has a great sense of humor and loves nothing more than to spend time with his family. Last week Pappy had a small seizure and was rushed to the emergency room. The initial scan showed nothing. They did a follow up scan with dye and found a mass on his brain. The next day they preformed a MRI and it showed that the mass was a glioma tumor. This is not the news we wanted to hear. Our whole family is devastated and we all have been trying to spend as much time with him at possible.

Sunday night the whole family went with Pappy out to eat. We enjoyed a great meal. As we were leaving a group of guys, probably around 10-12 guys, came up to us at the car. This group of young men were in the middle of their dinner with their group of friends. What was about to happen was one of the classiest things I have ever seen. The young man who was in front said "Coach Mathis, we play basketball at MUS. Coach Peters (the long time MUS basketball coach) told us about your battle and what you are going through. We just wanted you to know that you and all of your family are in all of our prayers". They then continued to go up and shake his hand. Not one or two of them, but every single one of them. My whole family just stood there in aww for a minute. Things like that usually dint happen much any more, much less from a cross town rival. These young men could have easily continued to enjoy their social hour with their friends. Instead they took the time to get up and offer prayers and get well wishes to a cross rival. They could have easily just told one of us family members that they were keeping him in their prayers, but they instead wanted to tell Pappy face to face. I still have chills thinking about it. It was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen. I now have a whole new respect for MUS and the leadership that is at the head of that program. It goes to show that in the midst of rivalries, classiness and respect can still exist!

Please continue to keep my grandfather in your prayers. There has been a caring bridge website set up to keep up with his journey.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimmathis/journal

Happy Thanksgiving! We are so blessed and thankful for all that we have. We hope you have a wonderful holiday spending time with the ones you love!

Veterans/Military....Thank You!

We here at ROWYJO would like to send out a big THANK YOU to all the Veterans and military out there on this Veterans Day! It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Sometimes we all just need to slow down, take a step back, and realize how blessed we are to live in this great county. Men and women of the military, past and present, put their own lives on the line so we could have the freedom to live our lives the way we would like. They sacrificed thier own lives for our country. There is no greater self-less act than that. If it weren't for them we would not be able to go out and enjoy the things in life we enjoy. Today we reflect on the pride and heroism of those that have come before us and those that still serve today. All of us know someone who is has served or who is currently serving. So make sure you give them a call, send them a text, or just shoot them an email latting you know they are appreciated. They fought for our freedom, so the least we can do is tell them thank you. If you are out and about and see a Veteran, make sure you shake their hand, look them in them in the eye, and tell them thanks for their service. There is no better way to start off a great sports weekend than to pay respect and thanks to those who allowed it to be possible. Here is to a great sports weekend and an even better Veterans Day. We are and will always be the greatest county in the world. Thank you for your service and God Bless America!

How old is too old for a fan to cry over a sporting event?

While watching Saban bowl V over the weekend, the tv crew for CBS caught one of the most unbelieveable things I have seen in a long time. An Alabama fan was caught crying at the end of the game. Before you give me the "Well kids cry at games all the time when their teams lose"nonsense, the guy looked to be in the 18-25 age range. Which is unaccetable. With about 30 or so seconds left in the game, LSU was in field goal territory and preparing to kick the game winner. The camera starting panning the crowd , and all of the sudden ..BOOM! It stopped on this guy, who looked to be in a fraternity due to sporting a tie at a football game, who was tearing up pretty bad. He was accompanied by his girlfriend, who was also crying. So my question to you is how old is too old to cry when your favorite team loses?

I totally understand getting upset when your favorite team loses. It hurts worse when your team has national title/championship aspirations. I get that. But as a fan you cannot cry at a sporting events. If you do end up crying, you cant get caught on TV. There are a few exceptions. Here are my rules about crying over sporting events:

1. No crying at the stadium
There is no crying in the stadium. If you are not part of the team or a family member of someone on the team, than you are not allowed to cry at the stadium. You can at least wait until you get in the car to let the water works begin.

2. No crying is allowed during a regular season game
No game during the regular season is worth crying over. The only game during the regular that you can even think about crying is senoir day/night and it is your favorite player's last game. Even then it is not allowed.

3. No crying over professional sports
No matter what you cannot cry over professional sports. If the players don't get upset enough after the big game loss, neither should you.

4. No crying after the age of 12
One should not be crying anyway. At that age, kids are still young. It is hard to accept a loss. I can understand being a kid getting into a sport and watching your team win all the time and being very upset when they lose. I grew up in the late 90's and early 2000's. Tennessee football hardly ever lost in that time span. So when they would lose, it would ruin my weekend. I never cried though.

5. No crying on TV
If there is a chance you might cry, do not sit on the first row. There is a better chance you will make it on TV by sitting on row one. If you are on the first row and crying, there is a great chance you will make it on TV and most likely get embarassed. Especially if your girlfriend is sitting next to you and crying right along with you.

Lesson of the Day: If you are older than 12, learn to control your emotions. If you cant, at least wait until you are somewhere not on TV in front of the world to start crying.

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Band of the Day: Arms of the Sun

Following in the footsteps of Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots (pre 1999), Arms of the Sun brings back a sound of a lost generation. Their blend of grunge and alt rock will have you remembering the days when radio stations, well actually played ROCK music. Simply for their dedication and respect for a, well let's be honest, dying genre, I felt inclined to write about just how good this band is. Their self titled album is one, that after the first listen, will have you remembering the times when it wasn't rare and abnormal to hear distorted guitars or the raspy, voices of Layne Staley or Chris Cornell on the national airwaves. Here is to a band bringing back a classic sound that should NEVER be forgotten, and doing it rather well. Arms of the Sun FTW!

http://www.armsofthesun.com/ARMS/index.html