In no particular order, here are my ten most memorable moments in my life that involve sports or me being at sporting events.  This was inspired by my radio co-host JR Reed who wrote a list of his own.  You can see his list and many other great posts at http://www.sexandthesingledad.com.

Hockey Returns

I don’t remember the exact date, but it was right around when the Staples Center first opened for the Lakers, Clippers and Kings.  My uncle being in town on leave from Saudi Arabia is a hockey fan and invited me to a game at Staples between the Kings and Coyotes.  Just being in Downtown LA was a new experience, but being inside Staples Center was phenomenal.  The seats were around mid-ice in the middle level of Staples Center.  The game went to overtime in which the Coyotes beat the Kings, but it was the first hockey game I witnessed in person and I got hooked.

Yes the strike of 2004-05 did rub me the wrong way about the sport of Hockey and their TV contract with Versus and NBC is puzzling to this day, but the game is still what brought me back.  The players, atmosphere and that wonderful trophy.  The second time I attended a game was at Honda Center the home of the Anaheim Ducks.  Thanks to JR, I was brought in as a member of the media (KLBC).  Pre-game meal, great view and access to the “Great One” yeah, Wayne Gretzky.  A day I will never forget.

Being Sick at a Lakers Game

April 19, 1999.  I was home sick from school.  Really, I was, but when Dad comes home from work early and says he has tickets to the Lakers game that day, I say I’m okay to go.  The seats were located a few rows above one of the tunnels looking diagonally at one of the baskets.  This was at the Great Western Forum mind you.  The Lakers were playing the Vancouver Grizzlies.  Yeah, a crappy opponent, but what was I to say no to going to a Lakers game.  The Grizzlies were actually beating the Lakers early, but thanks to a little 12 year old sick boy yelling, “Defense” the Lakers started a nice comeback thanks to Shaq’s 35 points.  Tyronn Lue and Ruben Patterson combining for 26 points the Lakers did beat the Grizzlies.  I felt that I should have received some credit for that win, but I let the players have it that day.

My Team Wins

If you don’t know by now I am a huge San Francisco 49ers fan.  Not old enough to see Joe Montana in Niner red, but rather in Chiefs red.  January 29, 1995 was Super Bowl 29 with my Niners against the San Diego Chargers.  My aunt who lives near San Diego asked me if I wanted to take a bet on who would win.  I took her on that bet and the game got serious.  Of course the Niners won thanks to Steve Young’s six touchdown passes and San Diego no showing on offense.  Final 49-26.  Fittingly they score their nickname.  Not only did my team win, I won five bucks in the process.  I stopped rubbing it in about five years later, but I guess I broke that streak today.  San Diego, Chokin’ Chargers!

KLBC

I had already spent a semester at Long Beach City College learning about different careers I could be doing in Radio or Television.  I wanted to get some hands on experience and not find out about it in a book.  Hello KLBC.  The college had a freaking radio station.  I stepped in as the lone sports guy at the station in January 2007 and left in May 2010 with a tremendous sense of accomplishment.  I met some great people and will take advantage of my experiences there to better myself in the very near future in radio.  That first day on the air I was a nervous wreck, but it was definitely one of the best days ever.

Season Tickets

My oldest brother decided to buy season tickets in 2002 for the Anaheim Angels (that was their name).  The season started off as bad as it could.  The team went 6-14 in April its worst start ever.  We both thought, crap just our luck.  We buy season tickets and they’ll finish with the worst record in baseball.  To the contrary.  They started May with a bang.  Comeback victories and great pitching propelled the Angels to winning 99 games, a franchise record at the time.  Playoff tickets were a tad too expensive, but we didn’t miss a game on television.  They went on to win the first World Series in franchise history.  Unfortunately as I’ve joked since, the Angels haven’t been to a World Series since purchasing season tickets.  Some day I will Halos.  Some day I will.

April 14, 2009

The debut of the wesandjr blog.  Since then there have been playoff breakdowns, columns and previews of almost every sport.  It all couldn’t have happened without your continued support and for that I do thank you all.  Bigger things are planned as I speak.  Stay tuned.

History at KLBC

Thanks to these four people, Ken Borgers, John Doss, Nathan Fineman and JR Reed, history was made on March 20, 2008.  It was the first time an athletic game of any kind was broadcasted at Long Beach City College.  That game was baseball at Joe Hurst Memorial Field as the Long Beach Vikings hosted the Desert Roadrunners, a non-conference game.  The Vikings won the game 7-3 in what was a dream come true for myself being the play-by-play voice of Viking Atletics.  Me and JR teamed up to do Baseball and Football broadcasts in 2008.  I was by myself for the 2009 season in baseball and softball.  Every second of those broadcasts was truly special.

Summer of 2008

Thanks in large part to those historical broadcasts at Long Beach City College, me an JR were brought on to broadcast for the Long Beach Armada.  2008 was a special summer as my dream of doing play-by-play for a professional baseball team seemed so much closer.  The Armada made it to the postseason, but were knocked out in the first series against the Orange County Flyers.  However, former Major Leaguer Steve Yeager being the manager of the Armada was all I needed as he shared some funny and memorable stories on the road with me and JR.  We also saw the Armada win four in a row via the walk-off celebration.  Once in a lifetime summer.

Chick and Vin

I don’t remember when I first heard or saw them on radio/television, but when I did, the light bulb went off.  They make it look so easy and fun to be a broadcaster.  Seeing Chick in person at the Forum was great.  As he signed my oldest brother’s sign which said this:

“Cure for the Lakers: Elden Campbell’s Game and a serving of Chick’ N Stu on Prime Ticket!”

Chick chuckled signed it and handed it to Stu so he could sign it.  Seeing him up there with his headphones was the coolest thing ever.  I’ve never seen Vin in person, but I’m sure it would be the same.  His stories during the games are the best.  You will learn something new every time you watch a Dodgers game.  I guarantee it.  Two icons that I’m truly grateful I’ve had the opportunity of hearing and seeing.

October 3, 2009

This was the day as a family we celebrated the 100th birthday of our Father, Grandfather, Uncle, Great Uncle and Friend.  My Great Uncle Joe Komjathy was and always will be a huge part of my life.  I saw so many great sport moments with him since I returned to the states after my Dad retired from the Marines Corps in 1994.  Monday Night Football was a tradition me and my Dad started with Uncle Joe when we returned.  We didn’t just watch Football either.  We would watch Baseball, Basketball, Golf, you name it we saw it.  Joe cared not only about you, but what you were doing as well.  To this day what he said to me before I graduated from High School, when I had no clue as to what I wanted to do, I will never forget.

“No matter what you do, you will be good at it.” – Great Uncle Joe Komjathy

I’ve gone on record before in saying that politics has no place in sports whatsoever.  In rare occasions it does call for both to come together.  Examples; Jackie Robinson’s number retired throughout baseball, Congress threatening action if MLB didn’t clean up the sport of PEDs, boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Russia.  There are countless other examples, but when it comes to a state passing a law that a select few disapprove of, it has no reason to be injected into the sports realm.

Arizona over a week ago passed a law that they hope will help lessen the blow illegal immigration has done to their state.  There is no doubt that it affects them and the other border states (California, New Mexico and Texas).  And in many ways; Economic, Resources, Crime, Medical and on and on.  I will go ahead and tell you what those who disagree loudly with the bill don’t want to discuss.  The bill (which you can read here) doesn’t advocate a police officer to hunt down brown skinned people.  When a police officer asks you for your license and registration when pulling you over for speeding or running a red light, you show him/her that license and registration.  If you do not have it, you’re in trouble.  American or not.  It simply puts emphasis on an already existing federal law.  That’s it.

I would like to ask point guard Steve Nash, Suns owner Robert Sarver and Suns GM Steve Kerr if they read the bill.  If they had, they wouldn’t be making these statements:

“However intended, the result of passing the law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question and Arizona’s already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them.” – Robert Sarver

“I think the bill opens up the opportunity for racial profiling, racism. I think it puts the police in an incredibly difficult position that isn’t fair to them. It’s an infringement on our civil liberties to allow the possibility for inequality to arise in our community,” – Steve Nash

“It’s hard to imagine in this country that we have to produce papers.  It rings up images of Nazi Germany” – Steve Kerr

Yeah, there are stupid politicians who should have dealt with this problem a long time ago, but now this issue is coming to the forefront in Arizona.  Sarver has decided to promote the fact that the Phoenix Suns will be wearing their “Los Suns” jerseys tonight against the Spurs.  That’s fine.  You want to promote diversity and goodwill, that’s great.  Don’t try to shove your view on the issue into it though.  Keep it out.

Nash was an adamant voice against the War in Iraq by the United States.  That’s fine too.  I respect your right to protest.  When you state your opinion when you’re about to play a game, you begin to delve into some rough territory.  I could care less of celebrities opinions on certain issues, because frankly they won’t sway my decision.  The same goes for athletes.  No one cares, shut up and play.

Kerr’s came as a surprise.  Trying to stem a problem instead of letting it get worse is considered being a Nazi.  Hmmm.  I have to say, this is probably the worst quote to come from an athlete/GM since Patrick Ewing’s “we make a lot of money, but we spend a lot of money” quote from the ’99 NBA lockout.  You’ve lost my respect as a person Mr. Kerr.  I and those who want to take action are now Nazi’s.  Have fun trying to win a championship as an executive good sir.

Who are the morons that are protesting the Arizona Diamondbacks?  Please go back to the cellars you came from.  The team has nothing to do with a states policies.  Yes, manager A.J. Hinch can’t stand the fact that he has 7 Latin players on his active roster.  GM Josh Byrnes has his scouts avoid the entire Carribean Peninsula to find new talent.  Punishing a team for a states decision is just plain stupid and it should be shunned more often.

Regardless of your political outlook, I for one am sick and tired of this.  Trying to punish or boycott sports teams for politicians decisions is wrong.  Loudly voicing your opinion without knowing or understanding both sides to the issue disturbs me even more.  Just because you have a microphone in front of you doesn’t make you the all knowing power on the planet.  What you spew will not be fact.  I know that first hand.  You must know what you’re going to say and be honest about it.

Please for the love of God, stop spewing crap out of your mouths.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life, it’s that you have to know there are two answers to every question or problem.  If we all knew that, maybe things can change for the better.

In the next few days yours truly will be posting a massive MLB preview the likes of which no one has seen before. A preview by a fan for the fans. One division will be previewed a day. All of which will contain projected Lineups and Rotations. I will be giving my insight and analysis on all 30 MLB teams with a projection on how they will place in the standings. To finish the preview I will give you my picks for the World Series, MVP, Cy Young, Rookie and Manager of the Year for both the American and National Leagues. Stay tuned for the first division to be previewed will be the NL East.

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger. What was the purpose of that 15 minute confession…er ugh…press conference this past Friday? Was it really a press conference? There were no journalists in sight. Questions weren’t being taken by Tiger. Afterwards his mother was the only one who seemed to truly forgive him. His friends (if they are still) looked uncomfortable to be there. Personally I don’t care about his personal life. I’m not here to dwell on his misfortunes. We all have skeletons in our closets, but we only indulge on his because of who he is. It’s fascinating that a person that was deemed untouchable by the tabloids could partake in so much adultery and keep it quiet for so long. Those knuckle heads critiquing Tiger’s speech gave you biased info. Personal opinions of course, but totally one sided. I neither know Tiger or care about him. Whose a better person to critique him than me?

The Bad

I wrote back on December 3rd of last year about the Thanksgiving incident with his wife Elin and gave my version of the events. By no way were they true, but I felt that you needed to hear a different side to it since he wasn’t telling it himself. That’s where this ultimately began to spiral out of control. Others were telling the story for him. Big mistake. You never want anyone to tell a story for you. They will always miss some of the most important details.

“Some people have speculated that Elin somehow hurt or attacked me on Thanksgiving night. It angers me that people would fabricate a story like that. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever.”

That’s fine, but what happened? It became a public matter when the police got involved and you destroyed a fire hydrant. Yes it is nothing, but there needs to be an explanation. The police wanted one and you said screw you to them. On top of that, you were barefoot and asleep when they arrived. Answer that one question and most of the sane folks will let this go, move on and forget about it.

“Whatever my wrongdoings, for the sake of my family, please leave my wife and kids alone.”

That went right out the door as soon as you stopped talking. They’ve had a strangle hold on this story right from the jump and won’t let go of it anytime soon. I’m in total agreement that you and anyone else has the right to protect your family from the gutter snipes who patrol the media now a days, but if you don’t grab it first and control it, you will lose 99.9 percent of the time.

The Good

He gets points for finally speaking, but it was 3 months too late. Way too many spoke for him and it has been a train wreck to say the least. However, he seems to have come to grips with his problems and is looking to try and change his ways. He spoke of being selfish, irresponsible, entitled and wrong.

“I recognize I have brought this on myself, and I know above all I am the one who needs to change. I owe it to my family to become a better person.”

It is very hard doing public speaking especially when you are admitting you were wrong. Tiger did the right thing here. Put the focus on you and say that you will change. Whether or not you do is up to you. He will always have those that support him no matter what and those that will never forgive him no matter what. This was a good first step.

“When I do return (to golf), I need to make my behavior more respectful of the game.”

Absolutely he should. My father, who golfs every weekend, respects Tiger’s game, but not the way he conducts himself while playing the game. He’s seen young golfers with talent that slice a ball, hit one in the bunker or hit a bad drive, begin to curse up a storm, swing their club or throw their tee. It doesn’t add anything to the game. Tiger should know that. Yet he had let it get out of hand, but at least he now acknowledges it. Hopefully it will stop because it was getting old. So bad that it was becoming stupid when TV commentators were covering for him.

He seems to have gotten the hint and finally spoke from the heart, but it was clearly written for him. He ultimately signed off it, but most of it was written for him. Whatever happens from here on out will be entirely on him. The things he says he will do to change he’d better do. The things he wants others to change for him will never happen. What’s done is done. You should have grabbed the story before it grabbed you.