Sports rambling roundup

So I haven't complained about sports for awhile. Got a couple things on my mind.

First, the Super Bowl. Yes, it's coming. No, I cannot wait. But the thing I'd like to talk about is media during Super Bowl week. (Yes, I'm aware I'm a media nerd, but as a member of the media, I feel appalled by where my profession — on the large scale — is heading.)

It's almost unbearable. Today's "news," coming from the likes of TMZ:

Big Ben takes his linemen out to a piano bar. SCANDAL. GASP. DISGUST.

That's how we're supposed to react, I suppose. TMZ also tried to say they were out past their curfew, which they denied, so I find that humorous. First question: Why is ESPN reporting on TMZ's postings? ESPN is the greatest and most credible news organization out there — sports or not. I find it an insult to media that they'd take TMZ reports as truth.

Also: Who cares? He went to a bar. Going to a bar does NOT mean he went to a bar, hit on girls and raped them in the bathroom (which he wasn't charged on anyway, so that's neither here nor there). He's not 14 years old. He's not even barely legal to drink. There's nothing here.

I'm currently listening to Pardon the Interruption, and Mike Wilbon, a new columnist for ESPN and a fantastic writer, called the media "morons" for caring about this. They're bored. There's nothing left to discuss because they've been talking about the matchup for two weeks, Wilbon said. Point proven, from a true member of the media who's willing to speak his mind.

Now, college

Yes, college football. I realize that's not relevant right now, aside from national signing day being yesterday, and we had a couple local guys sign with a Division II school.

But all over ESPN (OK, apparently I'm attacking major news networks today) were images of high school players signing to major schools. ESPN! High schoolers! Some of which may not even be 18 years old yet!

Let that sink in.

The scandal that we saw all over the place was Cam Newton getting paid (or not) to go to college, and not in scholarship terms. We all know that story. So why is ESPN feeding the "star" treatment, which I guarantee is why Cam thought he could get money for college football, for others?

These football players have never been told no. And now they've been featured on ESPN, a network which reports on money scandals and discusses schools making money off unpaid football players, which many find unsavory. Schools sell jerseys and use athletes' names, but those athletes never see a dime. No, I don't like that. And no, I don't think college players should be paid money outside of scholarships.

But how is ESPN any different than those schools? They sold commercials for their live signing day coverage. They got ratings for it. They ran stories online which produces page hits and Internet advertising.

Until ESPN chills on high school prospects and stops feeding the beast — namely the big-man-on-campus ideal — Reggie Bush scandals will continue, and football players will continue to take money because they feel they deserve it.

I call that unsavory.

The need to play dirty...

...because the Red Wings are doing it right. 

I think the Pens forgot that in the playoffs, refs don't call anything. And the Wings know exactly what they can get away with. We need to learn that, and go for it, even if it's against our moral beings as hockey players, because otherwise, there's no way we win this series.

Screen the goalie, because there's no other way to get past Osgood. Especially not when they miss a million blatant penalties that could have resulted in fantastic scoring opportunities for the Pens. Lay in front of the goal. The Wings do it all the time! Why not us? As soon as the puck gets near the goal, lay down, make sure there's no possible way the puck can get through the wall of players. Isn't your goalie fat enough to do this on his own?

We need to test the waters. Throw some elbows. Toss some sticks. Push the envelope with penalties, just to see what we can get away with, because until we figure that out and start playing with a little toughness and urgency, the Wings are going to win this one, because they already figured this out a long time ago, and we all see where that led them last season.

The end of school, the beginning of life

Schooling seems to last forever. And frankly, it kind of does, considering after finishing 13 years (if you count kindergarten) you have to go to college. That's a lot of learning. How are people still so dumb? That's another discussion altogether.

But I'm almost done with school. And I couldn't be happier. I'm sick of hearing from everyone that this is the best time of our lives, and you should cherish college, and you don't want to go out into the real world, it's boring! Sick. Of. It.

How do they know what I want and don't want? I'm sorry your lives are boring, but they certainly don't have to be. My college life is boring. I go to work and class all day, then come home and, instead of making dinner and relaxing, I microwave something and do homework into the wee hours. Where's the fun? I work hard to get good grades -- so this generally continues on my weekends, with a side of hitting Lucky's for a hockey game or home to get away from Athens.

Maybe everyone else slacked off in college -- that's where the fun was. But this isn't the fun part of my life, I can feel it. Getting married in July and starting my adult job and paying taxes and bills doesn't make me a boring, old married person. I'm excited to do that. Making dinner with my husband, sitting down and watching stupid television shows, then laying around until we go to bed -- how is that not fun? I'm not doing HOMEWORK!

I want that life. I want to be young and married, sharing my growing up years with my husband, traveling as long as we're able, enjoying the outdoors, eating at fantastic dive restaurants along the Oregon Coast. Why are people so cynical?

I'm also sick of hearing from many, many people who have been married for many years that we're going to hate being around each other in about 5 or 10 years, and that we'll cherish time away. Everyone is different, and your unhappy marriage is no reason to impose your rude comments on me and my fiance. I don't care about your life, your lack of fun, respect and sex in your relationship. The aligning element to all of these people who have passed on this wise advice is that none of them are married to their best friend, someone they need to be around constantly. You talk to your best girlfriend on the phone all the time, go out to lunch and shop. The men go to the bar and watch sports and talk about sports and food. Guess what? I do all of those things with him, because we have all of those things in common. Maybe you should have considered that before you got married. Sharing things with your spouse is allowed, believe it or not, no matter what American society with their 50 percent divorce rate would tell you.

He's my best friend, and I'll be damned if everyone tries to throw our future marriage under the bus before we've even said our vows.

So despite all your amazingly helpful adages about being an adult, I'll intelligently ignore them all and live my life the way I've always imagined it. Have fun being boring.