Blake Griffin Whining

Griffin is calling what Andrew Bogut did to him during the last game "cowardly basketball." Strong words. Let's see. Here's what I saw. Griffin posted up, got the ball and started his patented backing in, knocking the defensive man back as far as possible in order to lower his shoulder, slam into the defender, make heavy contact, then use his incredible leaping ability to score over the defense. I've watched the Clippers a lot this year. Most players on other teams, finding themselves in this position backed down by Griffin in the paint, succumb easily to the high flying and powerful Clipper forward. Andrew Bogut, however, is not a backing down type of guy. He fought to keep his position. Is this cowardly? As for the tangle that followed the play, I saw Griffin initiate it by hooking Bogut around the waist. OK, so once the tussle started, Bogut grabbed Griffin's shirt. If' I'd been playing I would have grabbed his nose. Blake Griffin is no small man. He'd better prepare himself to be beaten on for the rest of his career. Anyone who plays the low post game has to accept physical punishment. You give (And Griffin gives a lot) so you better learn to take and stop crying about "cowardly" basketball. I've watched Andrew Bogut play ball for many years, and the big Aussie is hardly a coward. The fact is, I've never seen an Aussie basketball player who isn't as tough as nails. Stop whining, Griffin. Grit your teeth and man-up.

It's all about television, I know, but aren't these Bowl Games ridiculous? Teams that won only fifty  percent of their games are playing in Bowls. The Bowls have to be pretty enormous to hold all the food they represent: Beef O' Brady's, Pizza from Little Caesars, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chicken fil-A and a  bunch of Idaho potatoes, mashed I hope. Totally ridiculous.

Congratulations to Serena Williams and LeBron James for being selected AP male and female Athletes of the Year for 2013. Can you imagine if LeBron and Serena had married and had children, what perfect athletes they would have produced. Scary, scary.

So-called Major sports dominate our sports pages. But let's hear it for Shaun White, the Olympic medalist in snowboarding for being one of the great athletes of our time. Winter Olympics is coming up and I'm looking forward to seeing the Winter Games sports dominate the front page of our sport's section. No second page or third page coverage. Give our winter athletes the respect they deserve.

Here's an unconventional poem about skiing by Martin Steingesser. I like the way his words imitate the motion of skiing.

Shhussssss

             sssss! stop -steel
edge/to/ice/edge
                  d
                     o
                        w       up
                           n
                                        over
                                 the world
                    between outstretched arms

                              below
                       trees like dark fur
                  on a small 
                                bear

                          so
                    still
                           closely gray barkblur&sun
                                                            -lightflash-
                                                                              ing

                             the distance
still
                         and clear
             clear as a
                                  tink 
                                        of  ice
                             across the blue
                                     snow mountain
air