The Bad Ash Blog

Remember when you were growing up and you, of course, had your favorite football team and someone asked you who your favorite player was? I do not know about you, but I felt like the world was crashing down on me when I was asked that question because I could not choose. My answer would always be, "All of them." Even though every single one of the Pittsburgh Steelers hold a special place in my heart, there was this one guy... And on Saturday evening, August 8th, that one guy received his Gold Jacket. It is about time, my friends. Fifth time is a charm, right?  Bettis and his presenter, AKA his big bro Oh, and guess who will be attending? My mom, dad and I. Every child's dream to see their favorite National Football League player being inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Or is that just me? Regardless, I could not be happier for the running back and his family.  The Bus, what a fitting nickname that is, ended his career the way anyone would want to. In 2006, the ...

Well, one thing that we know for sure, unlike DeAndre Jordan's decision, is that these free agents got PAID. Within the first few days of the free agency frenzy $2.35 billion was handed out to 60 players. I don't know about you, but I could have at least used a million of that.  One thing we knew for sure was that LeBron was certainly coming back to the Cavaliers. Breath, Cleveland. Dwyane Wade is returning to Miami for his 13th season... I mean, could we really have seen Wade in any other uniform but the Heat? No, no we could not have.  There was no way he was leaving. Most of every franchise's superstar who became a free agent is sticking around. The Portland Trailblazers keep Damien Lillard... They lost the other four of their starting five, but hey, they have their superstar back. Not only did the Cavaliers sign the King back to a max deal, but Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert decided to stick around as well. Apparently they have some "unfinished business....

It is that beautiful time of year once again. On Thursday we will be one step closer to the kickoff of the NFL regular season... Take a minute to soak that in.  Just look at the beauty.  Now I am not going to give you my personal mock draft because, quite frankly, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr.'s mock drafts are the only ones that matter. Make sure you pay attention to which running back goes first because it really is a classic case of one guy battling injury, but seems to be the most NFL-ready versus a back who has proven himself and whose Pro Day was fantastic, but does not seem AS ready.  Now I know you all are confused why I am actually talking about two other players other than the projected number one and number two pick. Believe it or not there are more than just Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston heading to the NFL, but we will get to those other guys later.  Marcus Mariota smoked Winston in the 40-yard dash, the vertic...

I am assuming that you all have filled out your billion dollar bracket, right? March Madness might just be the most unpredictable thing in the entire world. Just ask Duke.  Last year's Champions, UCONN Huskies.  The four number one seeds include Kentucky, Wisconsin, Duke, and Villanova. Going solely off of records, I'm placing a bet on Calipari's Wildcats. Although maybe not going through a loss this whole entire regular season could hinder them. Some say that you must go through defeat to get to success... This team literally has not suffered a defeat this season. Notre Dame, the ACC Champions, are in the Midwest with Kentucky and could cause potential trouble with how they showed up in the ACC Tournament, beating Duke and North Carolina. Their play was impressive. The Fighting Irish held the Blue Devils to just 26 points in the first half. The second time that Duke was held to their season low of any half this whole season. That's not to say that Duke did ...

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,...