To Baldly Go Where No Blog Has Ever Gone Before

I was watching a Cavaliers playoff game recently and a particular play caught my eye. LeBron James drove to the hole and was fouled so hard his headband fell off. The thing that struck me about this was not the intense pounding that The King takes night in and night out, but rather what was revealed by his relocated headband. I happened to notice that LeBron has a little bit of a receding hair line. This may sound pretty bad, but it made me really happy to see that. As someone who graduated from high school the same year as LeBron and also struggles with the same affliction, it made me feel a little more at ease. I started to think about other balding athletes that I admire, and decided to create a top ten list of follicly challenged dudes in sports. The list takes into account degree of baldness as well as how good they are at their particular discipline. I expect there to be some glaring omissions and issues with the order in which they are picked, so feel free to leave your comments in order to promote some discussion. So without further ado, here is my list.

10. Scott Van Pelt - I know he's not an athlete, but since he is my favorite Sportscenter anchor I felt I needed to include him in my list. This guy represents for the bald brotherhood well with his witty comments, his great delivery when reading highlights, and his very insightful analysis for golf. Not to mention he is in a number of classic Sportscenter commercials, my favorite being him and Jimmy Rollins studying his broadcasting tape. He fits your classic bald guy makes up for it by being funny mold.

9. Andres Iniesta - This Barcelona/Spain midfielder doesn't look like much off the pitch. If you had to guess his profession you might come up with Accountant or Science Teacher. But anybody who has seen Barcelona's Champions League run this year knows this guy is magic with the ball at his feet. He is the fulcrum to that devastating attack that captured 3 trophies this season.


8. Albert Pujols - This Cardinals slugger has many things. An MVP trophy, a World Series ring, and one of the nicest swings in the majors. However he also has a serious widow's peak from that receding hairline of his. He can shave his head as much as he wants, but he's not fooling anybody.


7. Matt Hasselbeck - This guy is holding it down for the pale bald white guy demographic. He embraces his baldness, and shaves his head completely clean. You have to respect a guy who doesn't care if he looks like a hospital patient. He takes this look and he owns it, and bald men everywhere respect that. Oh yeah, he's not a bad quarterback either.


6. John Smoltz - Smoltz's pitching accolades are amazing. This guy has some serious grit to dominate as a starter, have arm problems, dominate as a closer, and then finally come full circle as an effective starter. He is also one of the great postseason pitchers ever. Perhaps the thing that I love about Smoltz the most is his relationship with Tiger Woods. The two of them are good friends and play golf together often. This guy is so competitive he has the audacity to play Tiger for money, and Tiger affectionately refers to him as his personal ATM machine. On the baldness front, Smoltz gets points for duration of baldness. This guy has been rocking a long forehead for what seems like decades. He also honors the time honored tradition of making up for baldness with facial hair.

5. Brian Urlacher - This is our prototypical I'm such a bad ass I scared the hair off the top of my head character. One of the most physical and intimidating linebackers in the NFL today, Urlacher's hair follicles have been blasted off during countless collisions with Fullbacks and Running Backs in the hole. With Urlacher it just seems appropriate that a man that plays that mean, doesn't have much hair.


4. Tiger Woods - Eldrick may be a little behind some others on this list in the baldness category, but boy does he make up for it with his ability to make you say wow. If you read my Masters preview article you can tell how much respect I have for this guy as an athlete. Plus the before and after pics on Tiger are pretty telling. While his game has not regressed at all since winning his first major, his hairline certainly has.

3. Manu Ginobili - Now we start to see some serious baldness. Manu is unfortunately fighting the battle on two fronts. He not only contends with the receding hairline, but also the dreaded male pattern baldness. As we have seen throughout history, an army divided cannot prevail. Yet Manu continues to soldier through, and when healthy a very good basketball player. You might argue that in the Spurs most recent championship, he was more valuable to their success than Duncan or Parker.

2. Chris Kaman - The reason Kaman makes it this high is simply based on how excellent his baldness is. Don't get me wrong, he is one of the better big men in the NBA, but it is his impressive lack of hair that has escalated him here. Kaman has owned a rare but very powerful look, the Skullet. For those of you who don't know that is someone who has the vision and guts to pull off a mullet while simultaneously balding. Its hard to put into words what an aggressive look this is, but bald men everywhere salute Chris Kaman for will to persevere through his baldness and wear whatever hair style he pleases, however unflattering.

1. Mariano Rivera - Let's get the baseball stuff out of the way. Greatest reliever of all time, period, end of story. The man has been utterly amazing to watch. He absolutely dominates with one pitch. I have maintained that he is a sophisticated pitching robot sent back in time. There is no other way to explain his ability to repeat his delivery exactly the same every time, and always hit the spot he aims for. That being said, Mo is a great bald man. Like Ginobili he is also fighting the war on both fronts. Mariano's hair line is pushing pretty far back these days and his bald spot in the back is in the perfect shape of a yarmulke(pronounced Ya-ma-ka to all you non-jews out there). So as a balding, jewish, yankee fan, this one was a slam dunk for me.

So in addition to the many things LeBron James has to look forward to in the coming years like millions of dollars, NBA championships, global stardom, etc., he can also hope to spearhead the next crop of balding superstars and make my updated list. Let the debate begin!

The House That Jeter Built

Well I thought I was going to wait until tomorrow to post, but as the adage says you have to strike while the iron is hot. I may not be completely sober but I have an idea for a post and I'll be damned if I let that opportunity slide.

I'm going to talk a bit about the new stadium they just built in the bronx. I'm going to preface this by saying that A) I am an avid Yankee fan and B) I've only been to 3 major league stadiums besides this one(Old Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, and Olympic Stadium in Montreal when the Expos were there). I have to say, the new stadium in the bronx is phenomenal. There are several reasons why I love this place, but the main reason is that I never feel the Yankees are out of a game there. They are catching a lot of crap for this stadium being "homer friendly" but in my opinion, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Take a look at the way this team is constructed. Potent offensive lineup with power, and a pitching staff that records a lot of strikeouts. If ever there were a model for a successful team in that ball park, I'd say that's it. In addition, who won the World Series last year? The Phillies did, in the most "homer friendly" park in the bigs. So this notion that a home field that is susceptible to the long ball is a kiss of death is wrong. Just take a look at these Yankees, they have a serious swagger lately(when they aren't playing Boston). They lead the majors in come from behind wins and they really feel that they can overcome any deficit.

Take for example the game on Friday night. Say what you will about it being lucky(it certainly was) but the Yanks found a way to pull it out. I was at the stadium, and I have to say the atmosphere was simply electric. There has been a lot of talk about the empty seats and lack of energy in the stadium but for a big game like the subway series the house was rockin'. You could feel the full range of emotions pouring out during that last at bat. The sheer disappointment and despair when A-Rod popped that ball up, and the elation when Luis Castillo gift wrapped that victory for them. I've been to many a Yankee game, and I have to say this might have been my favorite moment. I went to the game with three friends, two Yankee fans and a Met fan. So throughout the entire 9th inning this kid is needling us for every single strike K-Rod gets. To have that payoff after that was simply priceless.

Obviously there is a down side to the new stadium. First of all, I didn't feel the same way I did when I first walked into the old stadium. There is something about that building that is magical. I can't really put it into words but when I first stepped out of that tunnel, and you see the lush green grass and smell the hot dogs and peanuts you can't help but get goosebumps. Just thinking about all the historic things that have occurred there is enough to get you choked up. I just didn't feel that at the new house. Everything is also ridiculously expensive, putting a damper on things. I've been to two games this year, and both times I fell into a ticket through a friend and I still ended up spending at least a hundred bucks. I'm not much of a political activist but there should be some law against charging 10 dollars for a beer.

I have to say though, there are a lot of really cool things about this new ball park. First of all the sheer variety of food you can get there is awesome. Definite upgrade from the old park. Pretty much anything you can imagine is available from philly cheesesteaks, to sushi, to nachos, to chinese food, and even a deli where you can get freshly sliced meat. There are also several bars throughout the stadium that you can hang out in. They have Tommy Bahama's bar and the Hard Rock which are both nice but the prize piece is the Mohegan Sun Bar in center field. In there you can actually watch the game through tinted glass with a pretty nice view(once again a pretty hefty expense $50 on top of your ticket I believe). Luckily my buddy knows a guy that works at the stadium who got us in there for free. Another great feature is that the field is viewable from almost anywhere. The way that the stadium is laid out allows for you to see the action from anywhere even behind the seats. Its pretty common to see upper deck ticket holders hanging out on the field level behind home plate to catch a great view of the action. So basically as long as you're in the stadium you can catch a glimpse from a spot that you can't really afford to sit. Another nice feature is being able to walk anywhere throughout the stadium. In the old stadium the bleachers(cheapest seats) had a separate entrance and was closed off from the rest of the ball park. Now you can walk anywhere freely. Which brings me to my next point, there is no bad seat in this ball park. The first time I went there, I got there early and walked around the park. Even the last bleacher seat has a great view of the field. I remember sitting in the last row of the left center bleachers in the old stadium and thinking the players looked like ants. Not in this park. Anywhere you are you have an excellent view. I mentioned earlier that I didn't feel the same goosebumps as the old house. That's true but I have to say they did a pretty nice job of reminding everybody what happened in the old place. From the great hall, to monument park, to the yankee museum, this place has a great sense for the triumphs of the past.

Overall I have to say I am pleased with the way the new stadium came out. Yeah it sucks that it's so expensive but I guess that's just the price you pay for being a Yankee fan. Everything in New York is at a premium, so why should baseball be any different. I'm pretty happy with that stadium being my baseball Mecca for probably the rest of my life. I look forward to seeing Citi Field (the new home of the Mets) soon and I'm sure I'll share my thoughts on that experience as well. I've even heard from Yankee fans that it's nicer but lacks the sense of history(it has an exhibit dedicated to Jackie Robinson even though he never played for the Mets, and yeah I found that weird too). In this recession, it might not have been the most prudent idea to open up a ridiculously expensive new stadium. You might compare it to your cleanup hitter popping up to second base on 3-1 fastball down the middle, but just like Friday night the Yankees found a way to make it work.

I have to apologize to all my faithful listeners for my posting hiatus, between birthdays, graduations, applying to colleges, trips to new orleans, working and the like I have been inable to blog to my liking. I pledge to hop back on that trail and post about a whole host of stuff(I was just remarking to a friend of mine that it has been quite the year in sports). So I promise to throw in my two cents on a whole bunch of issues, including Federer and the French Open, New Yankee Stadium, Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Real Madrid, The NBA finals, and perhaps even the Stanley Cup Finals. Expect something within the next few days, until then, I bid you adieu