Well, yesterday concluded our double sessions, and I'm sad to see them go. The week preceding spring classes is a brief glimpse into my dream, playing volleyball 4 hours a day, talking volleyball for probably another 4, eating, sleeping, rinse, repeat. Although I'm sure my body will enjoy having a bit more rest, I feel that the team has grown exponentially in the last week. It seems like we're really hitting our stride, and hopefully that will show in the next week.
My thumb is becoming a frustration, as after a week it still gives me some problems. I did a lighter tape job for this practice, and was pleased with a bit more solid contact with my hitting (previously, the amount of tape forced for an uneven platform when attacking, which led to more difficulty in hitting my target areas so to speak). However, I find myself extremely hesitant to serve receive with my hands, which is aggravating as I normally attempt to take the majority of my serves with my hands. The Electro-stim we've been doing on it seems to help, and I've iced it mercilessly, so hopefully come Thursday's game I'll be good to go.
Quick rant: I was watching ESPN yesterday, and there was a discussion involving the Baseball Hall of Fame inductees. One notable name that came up was Mark McGwire, who fell VERY short of the required 75 percent to be inducted (I believe he recieved 26 percent). Joe Morgan, a Hall of Famer himself as well as an ESPN analyst, said that although he expected the first few years to be difficult for Big Mac, he's surprised that he's still being blackballed getting into Cooperstown, citing that "he DID help bring the game back on its feet (after the strike).
This infuriated me. Where is the integrity? Look, I can tell you every little detail of what I was doing with McGwire hit his 62nd home run, a line drive shot down the left-field line. I was just as interested in the home run race as anyone, and I'm not exactly a huge baseball fan. But with all the controversy, as well as the famous "I'm not here to talk about the past" line, how can a player claim that McGwire cheating is overshadowed by helping baseball become popular again?
You may argue "Well, it isn't positive that McGwire cheated". I'm going to shut that down right now. When asked by the grand jury if he had taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs, McGwire said "I'm not here to talk about the past."
Picture yourself in a relationship with someone. You hear a rumor about them being unfaithful. If you point blank asked them if they cheated on you, and their answer was "I'm not here to talk about the past", what would you do?
Give me a break. I have no sympathy for the MLB, the fact that the union became greedy and forced a strike does not justify cheating in order to put up monster numbers to get the fans interested again. As someone who's interested in the league as a business I understand Morgan's perspective, as a fan and an athlete who thinks integrity of sports need to be respected, I think McGwire is right where he belongs: Away from Cooperstown.
That's it for now. Practice from 5-7, rumor has it there will be a lot of conditioning. Time for a quick power nap!
P.S.: I've gotten a couple people to agree to interviews, including a former Olympian. That being the case, I'm constructing the questions as we speak. If you're a reader and have anything you'd like to know from a player of that caliber, let me know and I'll be sure to include it!
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