Nice girls don't

Bless her heart, Hope Solo does not have a humble bone in her body. The goalkeeper for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team is on a media blitz promoting her new autobiography. She's the best female goalkeeper in the world and has been for several years. If you don't believe me, just ask her. Some of her comments make me cringe and I consider myself a fan of hers. And, I understand it takes a supreme confidence to be good at anything, much less a world class athlete. Honestly, it's not Solo's cocky-as-hell attitude that befuddles me. It's everyone's reaction to her cocky-as-hell attitude. Usain Bolt tells the camera to move in closer before he proclaims himself to be a legend, the greatest ever and number one forever. I laughed out loud, thought it was kind of cool. Solo states, matter-of-factly, that she's great at what she does and boasts of all the adversity she's overcome and I wince. What she's saying isn't as bad as what Bolt says but he comes off as charming and innocent. Why doesn't she? I guess it's the female thing. Maybe? Do we expect females to be shy, modest and quiet? Are women supposed to be humble creatures who cry at the sight of a spider while waiting for a man to rescue them? Is that what we expect? Why are strong women with opinions called bitches? If it's okay for Usain Bolt to say, "I am a legend" why do I shake my head when Hope Solo proudly talks about how good she is? It's not just me. I've heard others berate Solo for her comments. She's one of the most disliked female athletes out there. She's one of the most outspoken. She's also one of the best. But, if you put male and female athletes together in the same category, Hope Solo wouldn't crack the top 10 in the ego competition. Yet, somehow with her, it's different. I don't get it. I probably never will.

I love frosted flakes

Heard the quote of the year this morning on ESPN's First Take. Brainless Bayless and Stupid Ass Smith were comparing LeBron James to Michael Jordan ... again. They brought in Charles Oakley, who summed it up thusly in favor of his former teammate ... "it's like corn flakes and frosted flakes, they're both flakes but one's got some sugar on it." Yeah, six championship rings worth of sugar. Oakley was one of the best guests that show has ever seen. He needs his own show. In the Michael vs. LeBron debate, he hit the nail on the head. Corn flakes are good but frosted flakes are ... great!!!

Too bad she's a she

If Serena Williams isn't the lead story on ESPN, there's something wrong. She's not, by the way, the US men's basketball team was. I'm tired of preaching about the inequality in this country towards female athletes compared to their male counterparts. There is no more dominant athlete in the world, right now, male or female, than Serena Williams. If Serena had a penis and was named Sam, he'd be touted as the greatest athlete ever. She doesn't, of course, and is merely an afterthought in a world filled with Tigers and LeBrons and Phelps. It's not fair. Serena won the Olympic gold medal today in tennis. She beat Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1. I repeat, she beat Sharapova, the highest-paid female athlete in the world and former world No. 1, 6-0, 6-1. If you don't know much about tennis and you're not sure what that score means, let me explain - 6-0, 6-1 is an ass kicking. Serena beat world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-2. She beat former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 6-3. She beat former grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-0. She beat some Polish chick 6-2, 6-3 and she beat Jelena Jankovic, yet another former No. 1 player in the world, 6-3, 6-1. How dominant is that? She didn't drop a set, didn't lose more than three games in a set. She's won 17 matches in a row and 21 consecutive sets. Tiger Woods has never dominated like that. Michael Phelps has never been this dominant. Neither has LeBron or Kobe or Federer or Nadal or Tebow or any other athlete in the world. When a man, any man, runs over every other man in his sport, he's praised for his supremacy, elevated to almost God-like stature. When a woman, any woman, runs over every other woman in her sport, the other competitors are mocked and her accomplishments are diminished because of a lack of competition. It's a shame, really. You'd think in the year 2012, greatness would be appreciated no matter what form it came in. Title IX was a start. Without it, there would be no Serena Williams. But, you can't legislate sexism and gender bias. Those things are here to stay. It's too bad. Because all of the people who dismiss Serena Williams because she's a she and not a he, are missing out on one of the most dominant athletes of our lifetime.

Don't believe the hype

The point I was trying to make about Michael Phelps winning 19 medals to become the most decorated Olympian ever is, why is this record only now important? Why wasn't it a big deal when Larisa Latynina was the most decorated Olympian ever? If your answer is, because Phelps is an American, then you're proving my point about American-media hype. Sports shouldn't be about hype. That's the great thing about sports. You have a winner and a loser. The first swimmer to touch the wall wins. Period. Why can't we leave the hype out of it. If being the most decorated Olympian of all time meant that person was the greatest Olympian, why was Larisa Latynina not in the discussion four years ago when the Phelps' hype train first got on the tracks? As a media member, it's probably sacrilegious to say this but, I hate hype. The only intelligent thing to ever come out of Flavor Flav's mouth was, "Don't believe the hype." And, no, I'm not saying Michael Phelps is all hype. He's one of the greatest Olympians ever, one of the greatest swimmers ever. But why are we so quick to say he's the best of all time? Hell, he might not be the best Subway pitch man, right now. I kind of like Michael Strahan. The point is, hype is what makes people leap to conclusions. We can't wait to proclaim this athlete as the greatest ever, whether it's Tiger Woods or LeBron James or Brett Favre. We're so quick to forget about Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan and Joe Montana. We can't wait to sweep them to the side. We can't wait for the next big thing. Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian ever? Since, apparently, only Americans can qualify for this title, I'll say he's not the best American Olympian ever. I guess Carl Lewis didn't win gold in the 100, 200 and long jump in 1984, didn't win gold in the 100 and long jump in 1988, didn't win gold in 1992, didn't win gold in 1996. I'll do the math. That's 12 years of world class excellence. Did I dream Jackie Joyner Kersee won back-to-back golds in the heptathlon in 1988 and 1992 along with a long jump gold? She came back and won silver in 1984 and bronze medals in 1992 and 1996. I'll do the math again. That's more than a decade of world class excellence. Ever heard of Edwin Moses? Probably not. Well, all he did was go undefeated in the 400-meter hurdles from 1977 to 1987. I didn't stutter. He didn't lose a race for nine years, nine months and nine days, 122 consecutive races. He won gold in 1976 and 1984 and didn't win in 1980 because of the U.S. boycott. Along the way, he set four world records. But, yeah, you're right. What Phelps has done is much more impressive than an unbeaten streak that lasted a damn decade. I'm not even going to talk about Al Oerter winning Olympic gold in the discus in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968. Yeah, nobody has ever done what Michael Phelps has done. Except for Mark Spitz, who won every time he leaped into the pool in 1972. I was eight years old when Spitz went 7-for-7, seven gold medals, seven world records. It's not really his fault there are more races now than back then. Actually, I guess it is his fault. Back then, he didn't have the American-media hype machine lifting him up. He had to let his performance speak for him.

Phelps is the best?

Is Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian ever? Child please. I love how the American media annoints an American athlete as the top dog of them all when he breaks a record no one knew or cared about previously. I don't remember anyone hailing Larisa Latynina as the greatest Olympian of all the times. Latynina, a Soviet gymnast, won 18 medals from 1956-1960-1964. Who knew that? Better question, who cared? But, as soon as Phelps wins one more medal, all of a sudden, a record no one gave two shucks about is now the most important, most fabulous, most awesome feat ever accomplished. You gotta love ESPN and all the rest of the U.S. media hype machine. Their philosophy is simple. A record is only important if an American has it. Give me a break.