Weiber's World Comes Crashing Down in London

Training mentally, physically and emotionally is what an Olympic athlete does for four years in preparation for the biggest moment of their lives. This moment can last just mere seconds, and usually the shorter the better. However sometimes a person who dedicates their life to a skill in hopes of appearing on the biggest stage comes up short. For world champion Jordyn Weiber, this was the sad reality.

No matter how big a favorite an athlete may be for an event, when you're up against the rest of the world that produces phenoms overnight, there are plenty of dark horses. While it was no surprise that the American Women's Gymnastic Team easily outpointed their competition on Sunday, what was a huge surprise was that Jordyn Weiber did not qualify for the women's all around final. Instead it was Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman who put together terrific performances. The 17 year could not hold back the tears while realizing her dream had been ruined.

As shocking as the results were, the judges were correct in their grading of Weiber as she did have her struggles. On the vault, Weiber was unable to keep her balance and was unable to stay in bounds after a landing. She then struggled greatly on the uneven bars and had trouble holding a consistent handstand. These first two lackluster performances resulted in a tightly contested finish against Douglas and Raisman. After again failing to put forward an impressive performance during the floor exercises, the gold medal favorite was denied the chance to show the world her true potential. These days 3rd place just isn't enough. But should it be?

Until 2004 the top three competitors in women's gymnastics qualified. But gymnastics isn't like swimming anymore. If only the top two qualified in swimming today Michael Phelps would have come up on the short end of the stick. This terrible situation for Wieber raises the question of whether the top three finishers should get the opportunity to compete. Given that the U.S. is one of the top if not the top women's gymnastics teams in the world, there is no doubt that Wieber could beat some of the other countries competitors at her worst. Some people believe the best gymnasts, regardless country, should advance. Unfortunately for Wieber, the rules today do not support that belief.

So as Jordyn Wieber watches others compete on the biggest stage in sports, she will wonder what could have been. The Olympics wouldn't be what they are without surprises. This fact has certainly been on display this past week with Wieber's meltdown as well as Michael Phelps failure to get a medal. But if I could tell Wieber and everyone else for that matter something, its all about how you respond to failure and adversity.


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When you get knocked down you have to get back up,
 Aaron Granoff

Steve Smith Showing the Heart of the NFL

I feel like this NFL offseason we have only heard about the negative side of the NFL.  All I see when I watch the news is which players are holding out or bad mouthing their team until they get more guaranteed money. Not to mention all of the arrests...we're looking at you Detroit.

Lions running back Mikel Leshoure has more arrests than rushing yards this season an Nick Fairley has more arrests than sacks. If you think thats impressive Lions cornerback (or shall I say former cornerback) Aaron Berry was arrested twice in the past month.

But while the Lions are trying to one up the movie "The Longest Yard" a Panthers wide receiver is trying to show that he cares about something other than himself. 

Now I'm not trying to make this a battle of the large cats, but Steve Smith's recent actions are showing that the Panthers have much more class than the Lions. It's been a week since the shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 dead and 58 more injured, and people are still desperate to find ways to help those who found themselves in the middle of that nightmare. Every penny to help these victims helps, but when one man steps up like Steve Smith did it makes quite a difference. Although he has no ties to the tragedy Smith donated $100,000 dollars to the victims. "As a father and husband I cannot imagine the pain and suffering the victims are going through," Smith said on his Twitter page. 

I think this is a tragedy that has grabbed everyone's attention around the world. One of the reasons for that is because so many of us go to the movies every month and realize it could have been one of us. Steve Smith is one of many leading by example and hopefully we can all be a little bit selfless and help the victims of this tragedy. 

While Steve Smith's kind gesture will make his wallet is a little lighter this week, giving 100,000 dollars to the victims in Colorado looks a lot better for the NFL than James Harrison being fined 100,000 for dirty hits on a Quarterback.

Steve Smith I salute you for being a kind individual and making a difference. 

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Little things go a long way,
Aaron Granoff

Don't Underestimate Me!!!

 

Two days ago Mets pitcher Matt Harvey and Pirates Starling Marte got the call they had been waiting for their entire lives. On the other end of the phone was their respected organizations saying that they had been called up to the big show.

Now usually when a minor league player is called up the media and fans expect early struggles from their prized prospects...well, you may want to think again because last night both of these kids proved that the major leagues is where they belong.

From the moment Matt Harvey toed the rubber last night, he was in total control. Half-way through the game they were comparing his debut to the likes of Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver. It turns out that he was better than both of them. Fans expected Harvey to struggle with a hot Diamonbacks team facing a lowly Mets team going through a terrible losing streak. Harvey completely wowed every Met fans (as well as myself). Common logic would make you believe the kid isn't that great, the mets are tanking and have a glaring need a pitcher, and who gets a promotion after giving up six runs in their last start? And then Harvey, the former first-round Draft pick, went out there and struck out 11 batters, a franchise record for a Major League debut, blanked the D-backs over 5 1/3
innings Thursday and lead the Mets to a much needed 3-1 victory at Chase Field.

The only player who was as equally impressive as Harvey was Pirates center fielder Starling Marte. The ever aggressive Marte told his teammates before the game in the dugout "if he throws a fastball in the middle, I'm going to take a hack at it." Well on the first pitch Marte was a man of his word and swung for the fences. The ball jumped off his bat and landed over the center field wall. It's always impressive for your first hit to be a home run, but to have it occur on the first pitch of your career is almost unheard of. Marte became the 13th player since 2000 to hit the first big league pitch he saw out of the park.

Both of these guys showed last night that although you are a rookie, you are there to produce and be an integral part of the team. I think its safe to say that these guys set the bar pretty high.
  
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Don't underestimate a newcomer, 
Aaron Granoff

MARLINS CLEANING HOUSE

This season things are definitely not going the way the Miami Marlins and owner Jeffrey Loria had hoped. Who would have thought after such a busy offseason, the result would be seven games under 500? You would think the acquisitions of shortstop Jose Reyes and manager Ozzie Guillen (or at least the new uniforms and new stadium) would have began an organizational transformation...but alas, they have not

Its now almost August and clear that none of these improvements have amounted to much. At some point when it is clear that you aren't going to the postseason, you have to shake things up. The Marlins have all but admitted that they are not a winning team and are cleaning house. Lorea has admitted that no player in the organization is off limits. It started with the trade of Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez for young prospect Jacob Turner. If that trade wasn't serious enough, today they shipped Hanley Ramirez and Randy Choate to the Dodgers for a young pitcher in Nate Eovaldi

Its amazing to think how quickly you can go from a vital piece of an organization to expendable. It doesn't seem that long ago that Ramirez was a hot shot kid with incredible talent offensively and defensively, but that is how baseball and sports as a whole works. In a "what have you done for me lately business," Ramirez hasn't done much. 

I do believe in playing for pride, but it appears the Marlins don't have any left. With Giancarlo Stanton on the DL, Ramirez heading to LA and Reyes not producing, you may want to go to the stadium in South Beach and ask if you can tryout.

To say this season in Miami has been a disaster may be an understatement and to make it all worse, their self destruction has been captured by the new HBO show "The Franchise."

Maybe it will be one of those instructional shows on exactly what to do.

You may not have the best team Mr. Loria, but hey you do have a pretty nice stadium.

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Have a Great Day,

Aaron Granoff

Ray Rice Got 40 Million Bucks For Beating Me in Madden

 

Unless you've been hiding under your Dre Beats Headphones for the last 6 months, you many have noticed that Ray Rice finally got paid. And while some may think that he got paid for the incredible performance he has displayed on the field since the 2008 season, I think beating me in the Madden NFL 2013 video game last week was what compelled the Ravens to reward their franchise running back.

I had the pleasure of getting to meet Ray last week at a Dre Beat promotional event. Most of the time when you meet an athlete its a simple handshake and maybe a signature. Ray Rice however definitely took things to the next level and provided an incredible fan/player interaction. After signing everybody's memorabilia and taking countless photos, Ray Rice just wanted to be a normal guy and relax and play Madden. Instead of bringing one of his friends to play with him while fans approached him, Rice said "Hey who wants to play". Being the avid football fan I am, I immediately jumped at the chance and said "I'll play Ray!!!" Even though I'm a Patriots fan, I definitely wanted to make the game a little bit more competitive. So I picked the Steelers because regardless of if its a video game or a dream, Ray Rice isn't going to accept losing to the Steelers. 

What was even more fun than getting the opportunity to play Madden with one of my favorite players, was getting to ask him any question I wanted and listen to how he sees the game. We talked about thing such as college, Billy Cundiff's missed kick, and his touchdown against the Patriots in the playoffs. I have to admit Ray Rice is pretty good at Madden and beat me 21-6. 

And after beating the Steelers and I, Rice received a 5 year 40 million dollar contract the next day.

The big thing I took away from this experience is that pro athletes really are just normal people. Everyone looks up to players they would want on their fantasy team as gods. As great as Ray is, I don't think he would take any offense to being thought of as a normal person with an exquisite talent. Some guys walk around with an attitude that suggests that they are better than everyone else. Rice is certainly not one of those guys. While this offseason has been filled with more arrests, DUI's, assaults, Rice is busy giving fans memories that they will never forget. Although I like to think I was a good luck charm to Rice getting a new contract in my head, I know that nobody deserved a new deal more than him. Besides his amazing play, Ray has been extremely durable and has shown terrific character.

I had an awesome experience meeting Ray and I just want to say - Mr. Rice, we will meet again one day and on that day I will bring my A game and win.

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Have a great day,

Aaron Granoff

Victory For Kris Humphries

It wasn't too long ago when the only team that was interested in offering Kris Humphries a contract was an AHL hockey team. The media swirling around Humphries last year was almost unbearable and turned off all NBA teams. However after putting his head down this season and playing hard, Humphries has been greatly rewarded yesterday as he received a 2 year 24 million dollar deal.

You have to give Kris Humphries a lot of credit for not breaking under the pressure this season. I don't think anybody's life became more public or embarrassing than Humphries. After getting married to reality TV star Kim Kardashian, the couple got divorced after 72 days. What made the situation even worse was that "Keeping up With The Kardashians" captured the breakdown of the relationship. 

Regardless of how many times she denies it, Kim Kardashian completely played Humphries to better her TV ratings. You can't blame a guy for going after a girl like Kardashian, but unfortunately he paid the ultimate price. After getting divorced and falling in love with a girl who didn't love him, Humphries easily could have decided to disappear from the public eye. Who could blame him?

But instead of giving up, Humphries decided to return to the court where he has excelled his whole life. Humphries, 27, averaged 13.8 points and 11.0 rebounds for the Nets last season, and averaged a double-double in back-to-back seasons for the first time.

I think that the contract that was given yesterday was extremely well deserved. The players who deserve the largest contracts are players who are not only talented, but also loyal and committed. Humphries was put in a very unusual situation last season and instead of quitting, he persevered through the public embarrassment and put together a great season.

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You get what you deserve,

Aaron Granoff

The Reign of Robert Griffin III Has Officially Begun

Today marks a very important day in Redskins history. This morning, the Redskins announced that they have come to an agreement with the RG3. The Redskins, being a team that hasn't had a legitimate quarterback since Joe Theisman are putting all of their faith in Griffin to be the savior of the team.

Griffin's signing comes just a day after USC quarterback Matt Barkley stated that had he decided to come out this year (he most likely would have been drafted ahead of Griffin). Although Griffin isn't getting the 86 million dollar contract that Sam Bradford got, he is getting a fully guaranteed contract of 21.1 million dollars, ensuring financial stability.

Although its a risky move to give a player like Griffin a fully guaranteed 4 year contract, the fact that they gave up two first round picks and a second round pick may be an even bigger risk. But the Redskins feel that Griffin has the talent and the personality to accomplish things the NFL has never seen. Griffin brings blazing speed, a strong arm, and tremendous character to an organization which has tasted mostly defeat and disappointment in recent years.

Although Griffin has so much talent, he will experience a great deal of growing pains this year. It has now become a luxury in the NFL to have the opportunity to sit on the bench and learn from a seasoned veteran for a season or two. Players such as Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Eli Manning all had to sit and watch for a period of time and learn. Griffin will have to learn on the fly and take the good with the bad. The question of whether he will put together a season like Cam Newton or a season like Blaine Gabbert is still uncertain.

Regardless of how RG3 does in year one, this marks a historic day for the Redskins. Fans and coaches will have to remain patient with the humble former Baylor QB. If Griffin is brought along correctly I think he does have the potential to change the game. 

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Have a great day,
Aaron Granoff