The Bad Ash Blog

  I hope that you voted on Tuesday, or the day before that, or the week before that, or made sure your mailed-in ballot was counted for. I want to shed some love and light on your timeline today ... and what better way to do that than to talk some football? I know, many of Bad Ash's blog posts talk NFL football so consider yourself learning a fun fact about me.   We are heading into Week 9 of the NFL season and there have been some games postponed/rescheduled, but the season seems to be going smooth given the pandemic circumstances. We are fortunate enough to be watching games every week and that is a good sign.  Hopefully you all remember when I discussed the sad reality of no more postgame jersey swaps for the 2020 season. The latest on that is there is a new and improved (if you will) way to jersey swap. After much rebuttal, rightfully so, from players the NFL met halfway and came up with a way for players to carry on this beloved tradition. Jersey swaps are now c...

  Where is Paul George? What's going on with PG13? Has PG lost his touch? Is the shoulder soreness too much to handle?  These are the questions that have consumed many minds who have been tuning into the NBA playoffs. Paul George was off ... to say the least. On Tuesday, August 25, the day of Game 5 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks ... something clicked for PG.  "I mean, I just felt it. My energy, my spirit was changed. That's all it needed" said George when referring to his chat with the team psychiatrist. "That's all I needed. I came here, I know what my job was. Left it all on that court. Ready to move forward." 35 points in 25 minutes was certainly needed. Paul George became the only player to score 35 in 25 minutes or less in the shot clock era (1954-55).  PG was hearing it all within the world of social media. All of the comments, the doubts, the criticism, he heard it all. In a postgame interview after Tuesday night's fran...

  Let me get this straight ... during this global pandemic, college football players should risk their lives for our entertainment and other peoples' paychecks. Essentially, college football players should be treated like the pros without receiving any of the incentives that the pros receive. That sounds pretty bold doesn't it? Good, it was meant to.  40% of the Power 5 conferences have canceled their football season with intentions of planning a spring season. It sounds weird, but it is necessary. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have thrown in the towel due to their large concerns about the health and safety of student-athletes. Student comes first and athlete comes second, but they are not treated as such.  We have seen a mixture of interviews, tweets and comments regarding the upcoming college football season ... or lack thereof. We have even witnessed Dabo Swinney mentioning that the downsize of college football participation does not sway the playoff picture. "Whoever wins it...

It is no secret that the NBA bubble works, and whatever the MLB is doing does not work. Baseball began play on July 23 and the NBA tipped off their restart on July 30. MLB, players and personnel, have had over 30 positive COVID-19 cases and 20 games postponed. The NBA has not had a positive COVID test since July 13. Out of 343 tests, zero have been positive.  One is not like the other. Shoutout to the bubble. One league has a commissioner that puts forth an effort to make sure its players are looked out for, and their families. This commissioner makes them aware that their health is actually the priority and money is spent in all of the right places in order to appease all parties (you and I included). This other commissioner lacks the effort in taking responsibility for being blind to reality because of the inconvenience that may come with it.  Robert Manfred may not be a "quitter," but also does not appear to be the most rational either.  It took the MLB quite some...

This generation, we have all heard it before that social media is the devil. It's not just me, right?  Would it be crazy of me to bring light to the positive impact of social media? Some may say absolutely, but I am going to give it my best shot.  I know first-handed the impact of social media. From personal experience, I have felt extreme encouragement from social media; Twitter mostly. I would almost go as far as saying that Twitter is like my niche. A blessing? Yes, most definitely a blessing for me.  Twitter is an amazing opportunity for professional athletes and/or those who are in the business to interact with some of their greatest fans. And there are MANY that do just that!  Luke Winn, Senior writer for Sports Illustrated. With that being said, I would like to give my readers a few of my personal experiences that give me the right to say how much I appreciate social media. A couple of iconic people who I highly admire that have interacted ...

The man who really lived up to being "as cool as the other side of the pillow" was the man who brought the phrase to life.  Stuart Scott. Upstanding individual seems like an understatement, but it's the best I've got. It's a shame that I was never able to know him personally, but like many other fans and viewers of him, Stuart Scott has inspired me. Doug Ulman, president and CEO of the Livestrong Foundation, stated, "One thing Stuart may never really understand is the impact that he has had on people all around the world." When I heard the news, I was stunned. Instantly shocked and heartbroken. What Stuart Scott brought to the organization of ESPN and to the world of sports is indescribable... And that's not even the most upstanding part of his life. Many who knew him personally spoke on Scott's role as a father and just as a person in general.  Many of Stuart Scott's colleagues spoke on the father that he was to his two daughters,...