sports « eugene cho

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 • 12:01 am 13

big fan of this naked man

Isn’t this an incredible picture?

The photo was taken in 1999 by Annie Leibovitz and I thought it be fitting to share in light of Lance Armstrong’s jump into 3rd place in the Tour de France – taking place right now.

I’ve always been a big fan of Lance Armstrong. And became a bigger fan – like many others – after his triumph of testicular cancer. He was diagnosed in 1996 and later went on to win the Tour de France for seven consecutive years.

As most cycling, sports, or Lance fans may know, he’s back in racing again and currently racing in the Tour de France.

While I’m a fan, I also have those questions about doping and drug usage. I don’t really get it since it’s apparent that every cyclist uses something. But I digress. I’m just a big fan of sports but have never been able to see my Top 5 Sports Events before I die. Here’s my Top 5:

1. Attend an Olympics. Summer or Winter but preferably Summer. Can’t pay for Opening or Closing but would love to go see a few competitions not named Curling. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, Andy Roddick, Annie Leibovitz, Lance Armstrong, Nascar, Roger Federer, Tour de France

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 • 1:40 am 19

confessions with alex rodriguez

sidebox-alex-rodriguez

Like many others, I am not the biggest fan of Alex Rodriguez but he is an amazing talent. I once was a fan when he was played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners ages ago. Those were the days with A-Rod, Griffey, Buhner, and Edgar Martinez forming one of the more exciting lineups in baseball. But once he took the money to Texas and then to the NY Yankees, it was easy to dislike him – even if I don’t blame him at all for taking the money. But seriously, who wouldn’t? But I’m a little tired of folks that say, “It’s not about the money…and then go after the most money.”

I’d rather folks just be honest and say, “I’m looking for the most money…”

But as if A-Rod needed more reasons for people to boo him out of stadiums, reports leaked out that he tested positive for banned substances in 2003. Yesterday, he gave an exclusive interview w/ ESPN and confessed to using steroids over three seasons between 2001-2003 and profusely apologized for his stupidity, immaturity, and naivete. It doesn’t erase the facts that he cheated but Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, alex rodriguez, baseball, ESPN, steroids

Monday, October 6, 2008 • 12:56 am 15

seattle really sucks

Seattle is the antithesis of Boston – when in comes to sports. While they boast in excellence and champions, Seattle sports teams have been absolutely horrible. I don’t recall being in any city with such pathetic performance and fan morale. Don’t believe me?

[Baseball] The Seattle Mariners, who many expected to Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, seattle

Thursday, August 28, 2008 • 12:56 am 8

the closest i got to the olympics

I don’t share this too often because it’s a reminder of the ugly monster called the “fear of failure” that still occasionally creeps up in my life.

It’s good that I’m on sabbatical right now because my entire family and I got really consumed by the Beijing Olympics. Actually, it was a great family bonding event – watching the events, cheering for athletes, learning about stories, and soaking in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The Olympics were great but then again, when you [China] spend a total of 44 billion dollars on hosting the Olympics, it better be good.

Perhaps like many others, I had dreams of being a future Olympian when I was a young boy. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: family, sports, fencing, olympics

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 • 12:17 pm 29

LPGA will suspend memberships if golfers don’t learn english

Update: Great news. Facing heavy criticism, the LPGA has reversed their decision to suspend players an English speaking requirement.

******************************************************************

“We no speak good Engrish.”

Wow. So many thoughts but I guess I knew this was coming. It was inevitable because there are so many Korean ”international” women [45] now on the LPGA tour and truth be told, they’re simply kicking arse. On any given tournament, it’s not surprising to see half of the leaderboard peppered with the names of Korean golfers. And while I know that there are 121 foreign players on the LPGA, this somewhat seems indirectly directed to the Korean golfers as attested by the recent ”mandatory meeting” for the South Korean golfers. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, golf, korean, LPGA

Saturday, August 23, 2008 • 11:38 am 9

angel kicks judge in taekwondo match

You have a caption for this picture?

Cuba’s Angel Matos kicks the referee in the face after a controversy in the bronze medal match at the Beijing Olympics. I actually remember Matos from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He won the gold medal at those games and dedicated the medal to his mother who past away on the day of the Opening Ceremony.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those things he will regret for the rest of his life. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, angel ramos, olympics, taekwondo

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 • 12:39 am 129

my slanted eyes are beautiful

Update: Miley Cyrus [Hannah Montana] is still very young. No need to slam her for her slanted eyes photos but we should slam the slanted eyes gestures. Why? Because we don’t want 50 million teens around the world to think that slanting your eyes is affectionate. Nothing is more scary that a Hannah Montana with 16,000 fans slitting their eyes. Right?

—————————————-

I’ve received several emails this past week asking why I was making such a big deal in an earlier post of the photos of the Spanish Men’s AND Women’s Olympic Basketball Teams. I suppose we have to agree to disagree.

I’m in no position to judge any of the individuals or players involved as racists. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and I certainly do in this situation; Truthfully, I also really like Pau Gasol and Jose Calderon as NBA players…I intend to draft both of them for my fantasy basketball teams in the upcoming season. But having said that, I have no problems with calling the ACT racist. While the intent may have been to demonstrate an “affectionate gesture,” let’s make this very clear: slitting or slanting your eyes is NOT an affectionate gesture. You don’t mock physical appearance because you think it’s affectionate.

For example, when was the last time you saw someone do this as an “affectionate gesture?” Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: religion, sports, asian-american, asians, hannah montana, miley cyrus, olympics, racism

Thursday, August 14, 2008 • 12:03 am 67

those slanted eyed chinese people

Read Part 2: My slanted eyes are beautiful

Why is it that we make fun and poke others through caricatures. You want an example? How about the entire Spanish men’s Olympic basketball team [and supposedly the women's team as well] using their fingers to apparently make “their eyes like Chinese” [or Asian].

Depending on who you listen to, a common response is, “It’s no big deal.”

But, it’s always no big deal.

But it is. It is a big deal. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: politics, religion, sports, beijing, chinese, olympics, racism, spain

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 • 6:21 pm 9

olympic weightlifting must [not] see accident

Asides from the drama of swimming, I’ve been surprisingly intrigued by weightlifting but watching this particular weightlifter’s unfortunate injury was painful to say the least. I think it may be one of the worst sports injuries I’ve seen in my life.

Watch [YouTube video below] at your own discretion and if you do, make sure you don’t do so while eating.

What’s the worst injury you’ve seen? Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, beijing, olympics

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 • 6:39 am 8

olympics fever

My family -especially our kids – and I have Olympic Fever. We can’t stop watching. I’m even dressing the part…inspired by South Korean swimmer Park Tae Hwan who won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle and the silver medal in the 200m freestyle and obviously, Michael Phelps, and his quest for 8 gold medals.

Are you watching? Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: family, sports, beijing, olympics

Thursday, August 7, 2008 • 12:28 am 14

2008 beijing olympics

It would have been nice if we could have swung over to Beijing [from Korea] to catch the 2008 Summer Olympics. We tried and inquired but airplane ticket prices and lodging fees were insane. We could have stayed at friends’ homes in other cities China but we estimated the drive would have been about 72 hours and 36 hours each way.

But regardless, my entire family is very excited about the soaking in the Olympics over the next several weeks even though I’ll certainly miss the persona and voice of Jim McCay.

There’s something very special about the Olympics. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, beijing, olympics, summer olympics

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 • 1:38 pm 7

national basketball [blog] champion

Congratulations to Kansas for winning the national men’s basketball championship. What’s the lesson here kids? Practice your free throws.

Also, kudos to Tyler over at Man of Depravity who finished in first place in this blog’s tourney pool. To be honest, no one really kicked butt but he did manage to get 45 out of 63 picks right for 147 points which was 20 points higher than the runner up. Where did I finish? A pathetic 10th place and 27% of all particpants on Yahoo. Tyler: send me your address and I’ll send you your prize – couple free lattes at the world famous Q Cafe.

But having said that…I am making one more prediction. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: , sports

Sunday, March 16, 2008 • 11:46 pm 5

ncaa basketball tourney pool, tiger woods, and 168

I’m hosting this blog’s 2nd annual pool for the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. Click here to register and make your picks. You’ll need to have or create a Yahoo account. Last year’s blog champion, Sandra, finished in 118th place – overall – out of 1.7 million participants in Yahoo. Crazy! Sign up and I’ll come up with a good prize for the overall champion.

Currently, I have North Carolina and the winner of Stanford/UCLA IV in the final game. I’m a Pac 10 diehard…

**********************************************************

Is Tiger Woods the greatest individual athlete ever – in history? Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, ncaa basketball tournament, tiger woods

Tuesday, February 5, 2008 • 2:07 am 9

super bowl idolatry

My family and I spent the weekend in Vancouver, British Columbia to mark our wedding anniversary. It felt foreign but refreshing to not be at church with any responsibilities. And conveniently, it happened to be Super Bowl Sunday. Great game, eh? The kids and the wife weren’t so interested but I enjoyed the game. By now, you’ve all heard about what may come down as one of the greatest upsets.

As I was watching the game, I mentioned to my wife that it’s been six years since I’ve watched the Super Bowl. I’ve caught the last few minutes here and there but this was first time I’ve seen the game in its entirety in six years. I enjoy sports but the reason is because Quest began with a 5pm gathering and has continued to host the 5pm service [along with a 9.15am and 11am].

And every year during Super Bowl Sunday, the church staff gets our share of inquiries, emails, prayer requests, and bribe money Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: religion, sports

Monday, January 14, 2008 • 12:21 am 11

football predictions and the seattle seahawks

Update: Umm, maybe I need to keep my day job since I clearly don’t have a future as a sports prognosticator. My four predictions for the 2nd week were all wrong. I chose Seattle, Dallas, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville. At this point, how can you not root for Green Bay and Patriots to face off in the Super Bowl. Brett Favre vs. Tom Brady = dream matchup.

As for the Seattle Seahawks, could you have asked for a better dream start? Two turnovers resulting in two touchdowns to be up 14-0 on a road game? But it wasn’t meant to be. I have no complaints because the better team clearly won — unlike the Superbowl game with the Pittsburgh Steelers two years ago. I’m still bitter about that loss!

So where do the Seahawks go from here? Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports, football, NFL, playoffs, seattle seahawks

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 • 1:16 am 3

heart of the game

After attending the first night of the Faith & Race Depth class last night, I came home and enjoyed a great documentary entitled, Heart of the Game. Coincidentally, there were many conversations dealing with Race Matters in the film. If you haven’t seen this film yet, please do. Heart of the Game ”captures the passion and energy of a Seattle high school girls’ basketball team, the eccentricity of their unorthodox coach, and the incredible true story of one player’s fight to play the game she loves.”

And I admit…I’m a sucker for redemptive endings. Unlike the ending of the equally powerful 1994 hoops documentary, Hoop Dreams, I was simultaneously cheering and crying about the principal character in the documentary – Darnellia Russell – and her story of courage and triumph.

I’m inspired now to get my girls back to practicing their cross-over dribbles and left-hand layups. It’s possible that in 5 years, my oldest daughter will be playing point guard for Ballard High School! Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: entertainment, seattle, sports

Monday, August 20, 2007 • 11:17 am 4

blog fantasy football league

Dear blog visitors, friends, subscribers and Sports fan from around the world,

This blog isn’t meant to always be serious. It’s good to have fun together and talk trash. I’ve set up a fantasy football league [Salary Cap format] via Yahoo Sports. The league is called Blog Football. Group ID# is 6455 and the password is: blog. If you want to join in on the fun, register here. Anyone is welcome to join.

Here are the basic rules: Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: sports

Tuesday, August 7, 2007 • 9:30 pm 9

in honor of barry bonds *

Congrats to Barry Bonds.* Was fortunate enough to be watching ESPN tonight to see Bonds hit his 756th homerun to become the all time home run king. Although I grew up in San Francisco cheering for the likes of Jack Clark, Willie McCovey, Kevin Mitchell, Jose Uribe, Matt Nokes, Dave Dravecky and some other folks you’ve never heard of, I just can’t fully celebrate Barry Bonds and his legacy. Maybe, time will provide many skeptics wrong. He’s an incredible player but just not #1 in my neophytic opinion especially in light of all the controversy surround Bonds. Here’s my top 5 players of all time and Chris Rock’s commentary about the Bonds situation on the Letterman Show. It’s hilarious… Read the rest of this entry »