August 02, 2004

Is the Actual Truly Factual???

By: Marty Coultas
Milwaukeeworld.com
MartyCoultas@Yahoo.com

Welcome back readers. What a week of whirlwind trades and fascinating “facts” we sports fans have experienced. As the Major League trade deadline has now come and gone, and the Chicago Cubs have proved to all baseball fans how freakin serious they are about going to the playoffs, I ask myself how silly is this passion we all share and do we really need to believe all that is thrown at us as the truth.

The Chicago Cubs on Saturday sent waves through the Windy City that could have knocked out power in all of the state of Illinois with that announcement that they had signed future free agent and Boston Red Sox SUPERSTAR, Nomar Garciaparra for the remainder of the 2004 baseball season. In a deal as sticky and confusing as the game itself, Nomar is now A Cubbie and this team is ready to prove that they are no longer the curse they are known as but, in their opinions, the next MLB World Series Holder.

Well, Dusty, as much as your name fits into the backscape of the Windy City, lets see what this deal means in about eight weeks. I have a feeling the only triumph Chicago may see in October will be that Baker, could possibly be Dust in the wind......

Yes Milwaukeeworlders, pun intended.

Another so-called valid item we learned over the last seven days is the “fact” that Ricky Williams, who I reported last week has decided to leave the NFL at the old patriarchal age of 27, to enjoy life and travel the world, was in “fact” hiding the “reality” that he had failed three MANDATORY NFL drug tests and was quite possibly about to fail his next.

This week we also learned that in many aspects, the athletes that are heading to Athens later this month to represent the great ole USA may not necessarily be the greatest athletes in their sport to represent our beautiful land of liberty.

And, as I said stated last week Milwaukeeworlders, is it very hard to give credence to the media as a new story is germinating and again what is reported as “factual” in all authenticity is quite often not close to the “actual” at all.

Oh Marty, you say, sometimes you can be so melodramatic. But, my friends please take this into consideration.....

Allow me to begin.....

If we could send anyone to represent the United States in the Olympics in basketball, how would you feel about sending the Lakers? That sounds good say you, but what about the Pistons you ask, or San Antonio? No, we can't do that I tell you because we made our decision two years ago. Well how freakin dumb is that?

Sorry, but we agreed with the world governing body for basketball (Including the French) and decided that we needed to be sure the teams were qualified properly so we set up rules that require a certain number of playoff appearances over the past two years. Only the Lakers qualify. But the Lakers are nowhere near as good as the best team we can put on the court you say. Sorry, those are the rules and the people in Europe won't allow them to change.

But Marty, this is so outrageously ridiculous, that there is no way this could happen.

Guess what Milwaukeeworlders?  Yes it could and yes it has.

It has also happened to the beach volleyball teams that will represent the USA in Athens. Due to a bizarre set of rules that require the amassing of points in international tournaments, only certain athletes can be ruled eligible to be Olympic competitors. Basically what has happened is that the USA has had a group of talented but not necessarily THE MOST TALENTED athletes in the sport of beach volleyball be ordained as our national representatives.

There is no leeway, no wiggle room. It is cut and dry.

Beach volleyball is a sport where teams are changed as often as J Lo’s last name and when a team really works well together, the players generally stick it out and play through their problems. Chemistry in this sport is essential since you have to be able to anticipate what your partner will do, how he will react and what his strengths and weaknesses may be. Plus, teams run hot and cold. But the best teams are usually long-term teammates. The USA has won both gold men's medals in the sport. Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes in Atlanta, then Eric Fanoimoana and Dain Blanton in Sydney. And by the way Milwaukeeworlders, one “fact” that is honest and valid is that Kiraly and Steffes were the best team to ever play the game of Professional Beach Volleyball. Just open any record book for the sport and the “facts” will overwhelm you.

So what is the problem?

This is the freakin problem people! Kerri Walsh and Misty May have worked together for two years and have been the best team on the beach for women during that time. Now, Misty is injured and Kerri, who is the best woman player in the world, cannot choose a partner that will compliment her game and play well with her. She has to pick from the pool of qualified candidates. That pool has four athletes. Two are marginally decent and one doesn't have anything in her game that would compliment Kerri Walsh, so her only choice is Jenny Johnson-Jordon, a talented athlete but hardly the best to felicitate Kerri. The choice is to have no chemistry or try to go ahead and play with an injured player. Kerri could probably team up with Rachel Wacholder  (they won the Australian Open this weekend in the last tune-up before Athens)  and represent our nation properly but Rachel doesn’t have the necessary appearances in France and Germany and Japan to compete. It is not that she isn't good enough, she just has not traveled enough. To be fair, the USA will also be represented by Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs who are two of the best in the world but prior to the injury to Misty May, there was one team they could not have beaten. If your guess is Kerri and May, then you would be right on the freakin money.

It is a dumb system and one that was crammed down our throats by the Europeans.

Finally, where the men are concerned, the overall quality of USA men's beach volleyball has been stalled these last few years while the rest of the world has advanced at a rapid pace. The two USA teams this year who qualified for the Olympic points are 2000 Olympian Dain Blanton along with Jeff Nygaard and Dax Holdren along with Stein Metzger. These are fine fellows, who took the time to travel and see the world, and oh yes, participate in a few minor matches while they were there.

They didn't win much of anything worldwide or in the USA. Matt Jennings and Casey Fuerbringer and believe this or not Karch Kiraly along with Mike Lambert are the two best USA teams. In case you don't know, Kiraly is 43 years old and already has three Olympic gold medals. Two were for indoor volleyball in 1984 and 1988 plus the aforementioned inaugural beach gold in 1996.  But Milwaukeeworlders, the “fact” is neither of these teams will represent us in Athens. And the “fact” is, they should.

Maybe the teams that do represent us will step up and be great, and Holly and Elaine are certainly capable of being Olympic champions but we are not sending our best representatives and that isn't the way things are supposed to be done in this country. At least, it isn't the way it used to be. But things are different now and if the powers that be tell us it is better this way, who are we, the United States citizens and avid volleyball fans to demand any explanation or accountability?  We just need to take their word for it (The National Olympic Committee), it is better this way.

Um, yeah!  Sure it is.

By the way, did you notice Carlos Franco in the Buick Invitational playing with the Tiger and being right there at the end? Vijay and Daly both spit it up on the 18th and had they done it two holes earlier, your US Bank Open winner would have been there to catch them. Remember that next year during the “Greater Milwaukee Open” or whatever the hell it will be named, but in the meantime; be sure to spend way too much for tickets, food and trinkets while you rush to the overpriced Whistling Staights next week. You could have seen it here in Milwaukee, but the national media wouldn't have validated your observations. They wouldn't have called it a major and showered it with attention, so it would not have been as important. Case in point Milwaukeeworlders, and “fact” being they couldn't charge you three times what everything is worth and make you like it.

But, “fact” is  things are different now aren't they?

So, yet again my friends, we are brought back to the idea that the professional world of sports is so untruthful and impractical that the only thing that matters to the owners, the General Managers, and the Sports Authorities who run these so-called franchises, are nothing but “factual” impostors, and the actuality of it all is that nothing we hear that is stated as “fact” is that at all. There is no “fact” that American Sports is on the downfall, in “fact” many sports professionals may say it is in its glory days. The only “fact” is that for all of us who enjoy the games and spend our valuable free-time and hard-earned dollars are getting screwed every time we purchase a ticket, turn on a game, or buy merchandise.

The “FACT” is Milwaukeeworlders, we are getting lied to every time we turn around and we are either not noticing or quite frankly are not caring!!!

Until next week, where one “fact” is true, that being that I will return with another edition of Marty the Sports Chick, remember to always keep your ears open and your noses clean and email me with your thoughts, ideas, and of course, all of your “factual” information!

Marty the Sports Chick
Milwaukeeworld.com
MartyCoultas@yahoo.com

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