WHY SOME FANS RUIN IT FOR EVERYONE ELSE...LETS TWEET DEATH THREATS!

When I read that Kyle Williams had received death threats via Twitter I was shocked and sad. Now everyone who knows me knows that I am not a 49er fan, but this type of fanatic behavior is what makes me not want to be a part of the Cali football nation whether it be Niners or Raiders. After the pre-season exhibition game it became clear that these two teams have extreme fans who feel the need to pull out a gun and kill people of the opposing team. I hate the fact that these two teams are often associated with the thug element in general,and that is why I don't support them. I am a Saints fan, and am even sad that a Saints fan took it to the extreme outside a restaurant shooting at two Niners fans. I often wonder if the gang affiliated thugs who sport these jerseys and hats even watch the damned football games? Apparently an extreme sect of them do and that my fellow football fans makes for a deadly mix. I have never really gotten the gang scene and think so many people with potential waste their lives in that reality. I did think I was a "chola" for a brief moment in time and man looking back on that how stupid was that.
My children have never had too many issues regarding gang situations, although when my middle daughter was in 7th grade she was threatened because she wore the color red a lot, just happened to be her favorite color...fortunately she told me and the little asshole, a boy no less, was dealt with.
So we all know little assholes grow up and they make life miserable for those who just want to enjoy it. Football fans are probably some of the craziest fans there are, next to the Little League Parents I know. They have a loyalty like no other and will go to extremes to show it. Killing the opponents fan should not be one of them...now players themselves have to worry about these dumbass people.
Williams feels badly and will forever beat himself up over those two crucial errors, that is what an athlete does. The fact of the matter is football players are skilled athletes that have pushed their limits for their fans, and for themselves and for their team. I would love to see that fan try to make that play. The elements alone that day were a big enough factor to change the odds for any team. I believe redemption will come for him, really how do you stop a ball from bouncing on your leg people? Thats like telling the sperm not to find the egg, its just one of those things.
I hope the FBI or FCC or who ever is in charge of monitering these types of threats finds the loser(s) who made them. I think they should be taken seriously. People everywhere lost a lot of money on that game, thats what they get for betting.
Williams has a family and the threats have even gone there....this is a serious situation, why should anyone in this day and age have to tolerate that? I believe the REAL fans of Williams and his teammates have been supportive of him. That's fan loyalty and team loyalty a lesson these so called thugfans need to learn and I would LOVE to see what would happen if these extreme fans were placed in the locker room with his team mates.
I think Kyle Williams should keep his head up, because the two games that I saw in the last two weeks did prove to me that the 49ers are a force on the field, and he should be proud to be a part of that. No, No! I am not becoming a fan of theirs, just someone who can admit that I know a good team when I see one...No one will take the place of my Saints!

Unlikely Heroes; Where Would Jimmy Graham, Michael Oher, and Dorial Green-Beckham be today if no one believed in them?

My beloved Saints lost their game last week taking them out of contention for the Super Bowl, but I still get to see the Pro Bowl for my final post-season glimpse of my favorite Saint, Jimmy Graham. I was never big into following football until my daughter Makenzee started playing youth football. When the Saints went to the Superbowl we watched and cheered them along because they were the underdog story, led by Drew Brees their quarterback who had come back from injury and had been overlooked and let go by the San Diego Chargers, himself an underdog story. That year is when my daughter began to play football and ever since then I have been a screaming fanatic not only for her but the Saints as well.
I didn't want her to play but then remembered my own dreams as a young girl who could throw and kick a football better than most boys. I remember my dad telling me "no" when I asked to play football. Her first year playing she was a defensive standout and was a leader on a team of boys, they went undefeated and won their Championship, her second year was mediocre and a let down for her. This, her last year in youth league was a repeat of the first, being one of the team leaders and defensive standouts again and playing a perfect season and Championship win.

 It was never easy financially for us to pay the 50 and now 75 dollar fee, and on top of that buy cleats or shoes and in her case sporting bras and compression shorts. It was a pretty penny, but if I had to sacrifice something for her I would, and I would make enchiladas and sell them for her to be able to play her favorite sports. I beam with pride at my girl. I am soo proud of her and often imagine where this ability will take her. These wins are something she will remember forever. Making all those enchiladas was worth it!

What about the kids that never get the opportunity to play a sport? Maybe in school their grades aren't good enough, or financially their parents cannot afford it. Do you know that statistically childrens grades improve if they are involved in an extra curricular activity like sports. As I drive my bus through my little town I see more kids playing ball in the street on the Eastside than the Westside. Thats because their parents can afford to put them in youth football or Little League on the Westside. I wonder how many hidden talents are out there who will get lost to the thug life, or end up pregnant or worse. Sports should be made available to everyone. I do commend my cities John Wells Youth Center for giving kids the opportunity to box or learn dance for free that is a step in the right direction. Their are some great people in my community, friends of mine and friends of theirs that jump at the opportunity to help out a young athlete in need. A friends son needed wrestling shoes and she posted that he would do yard work or whatever he could to earn money for them on Facebook. I had some old wrestling shoes but they were too small. So I made a call to my friend Johnny a frequent buyer of my enchiladas. I had recently seen his brother Danny who saw me in the grocery store and and had told me if my daughter ever need sponsorship to let him know. So a couple of days later my friends son had wrestling shoes. Things like that are so simple to make happen. My daughter and I have talked about creating a foundation to help kids who otherwise may not be able to afford sports, by getting sponsors and even collecting old sports gear to distribute. We hope to start it soon.

So back to Jimmy Graham, when I watched him play this year he caught my eye with his remarkable talent. When I learned his story he became the hero in my house. How do you play only 6 months of college ball as a graduate student to become the a tight end with 99 receptions and a record breaking 1310 receiving yards in your second NFL season? By having someone believe in you and making you believe in yourself. Watch Jimmy Grahams story below...

Those opportunities are all around us. Look at Michael Oher of the Ravens and his story "The Blindside", he is also a big hero in our house, look at Parades All American Dorial Green-Beckham whose story is similar to Ohers. You don't know his name, but you will. He broke a 15 year old national record by having a highschool career recieving record of 6,447 yards. Green-Beckham and his brother like Oher were adopted by a family, after having been in foster care and living sometimes in motels and vans. It touches my heart because my daughters too, had to live in motels, a mission, and we even slept in our van a few times. These are people who are survivors no matter what. Those are quite honestly the people I would want on my team if I was a coach!
So the next time you see a kid playing ball in the street look at their face and remember it, they may be the next NFL or MLB star.

Some Little Leagues offer fee waivers, so that no child misses the opportunity to play check with your local Little League. http://www.littleleague.org/Little_League_Online.htm

How PCOS & Menstruation Almost Held My Football Playing Daughter Hostage...

Well many changes happening in the last few weeks that I have not really focused on working on my blog...but here it is football season....and if you follow me you know that my youngest daughter plays football. I am so amazed by this kid o mine! I am proud of her for many reasons. Football season almost did not happen this year. About 2 months ago my daughter who is 11 was sick for about three days with stomach pain, laying in bed, refusing to eat, no tv, no computer, nothing could get her out of bed not even the year end party for the Little League Minors team she was on before being called up to a Majors team. I thought it was the stomach flu. By the third day I decided to take her into the doctor because I began to worry she had appendicitis. So off we went to the emergency room. We spent hours, waiting for lab results which led the doctor to order more tests, her blood work was a little off and the doctor thought it may be appendicitis also. He ordered a lower GI MRI which involves the colon, a balloon and dye...needless to say my daughter was begging me not to let them do this test. I reassured her and told her it was important that this test needed to be done to see if she in fact had appendicitis. She relented and actually did better than some grown men would do. We waited and waited some more and finally when we were put in a room the doctor came in and gave us her diagnosis. PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome. He said she had rather large cysts on her ovaries, cysts that form as the egg is released to the fallopian tube. Instead of being released the egg stays in the follicle creating cysts, when these cysts rupture or grow they cause severe pain. This was the reason for her pain.

He handed me a sheet with some information, and basically sent me on my way.....telling her to expect her period soon. With that news she sat in a funk for a while thinking her "thingy" as she called it, was going to arrive and ruin her life as she knew it...playing baseball with the boys....playing football with the boys....hanging out being one of the boys. I was just thankful it was summer and prayed if she did get her "thingy" that it would be during summer break. She had withered, the spark absent from her after this diagnosis.

As I learned more about PCOS I learned that she may never menstruate, that diabetes was highly likely as the body builds insulin resistance over time. I learned that testosterone is at higher levels in girls and women with PCOS, that body fat distribution is more masculine and that this is probably why it has been harder for her to loose weight. I also learned that facial hair, hair loss and acne can occur. I learned that she may never get a period or that she could have problems with fertility. I realized that PCOS had probably been at work in her body for the last few years, had PCOS sabotaged her or enhanced her athletic ability?

I began to understand why my youngest lovee was who she was. My tomboy, sportsnut, laidback go with the flow, likeable, wonderful kid. A girl who could throw a baseball so hard that when it hit her coaches foot his big toenail fell off the next day! A girl who plays tackle football with the boys and who was not just good at it but a stand out. A girl who is known by all the local youth sports teams and coaches for her talent. A girl who was and is admired by little girls and big girls alike.

So when my lovee announced she did not want to play football on the heels of this diagnosis my heart was heavy and I was sad... Menstruation had taken another female hostage. I was probably sad for selfish reasons because as I have said before my kid is just that dang good! I love to watch her play on the offensive and defensive lines smashing them boys! I had the registration papers for football and even asked her more than once. Hmmmphh, there I sat resigned that she would not play this year, she said maybe next year. I was content, at least we still had baseball, right? A few weeks passed and still no arrival of the "thingy". I took her to her pediatrician and I got a referral to the Endocrinology and Diabetes Clinic at Childrens Hospital in Madera, a wonderful hospital that we are so lucky to live close to. I had to really press the doctor for a special referral. But Mamabear gets what Mamabear wants when it comes to her cubs. My girl was returning out of her slump...blossoming into the girl she once was.

I had read in the paper about the last bit of signups and still held out hope. I had planned to go to college night classes since she was not going to play and it was when her sister told me that she had mentioned playing again but that she knew I was doing something. That something being school. So I asked her if she wanted to play? She sheepishly said "Well I wanted too...but", I stopped her in mid sentence and said OK. So I raised the money for her $75.00 registration fee by selling BBQ rib dinners and the next day, the last day of sign ups we made it down to the park to sign her up.

Today was her first game and she took the field as a co-captain with two of her team mates and I was beaming with pride. As fate would have it we just moved into a house across from the high school stadium where ironically games are being played this year instead of at the neighboring Jr. High. So I made this great sign to greet everyone especially the team they were going to play today. I sat in the stands and cheered her in this terrible miserable heat and my chest was filled with pride as I watched my three year old grandson cheer her on! I lost my voice and sweated like a pig as I watched her break from the triple teaming the other team was imposing on her, because lets face it two ole regular boys were't gonna take her down, as she broke and made a run for the quarterback pressuring him he threw it right into the hands of her team mate. BEAUTIFUL! Nope PCOS or the "thingy" will not hold this baseball, tackle football playing girl o mine hostage again....The game was a tie and thats ok we will take that, it was a hardfought game, but you better be ready next time boys!

DON'T COUNT THIS GIRL OUT.......

At first glance my daughter Mak would appear to look like a boy to you. Long hair with a backwards baseball cap, size 10.5 men’s shoe and a large presence. In fact my daughter is what the AMA classifies as obese. She is 5’5” and 185 pounds at 11 years old. To look at her you would think she sits on the couch eating junk food and playing video games all day. What you don’t see when you look at her is an athlete with great skill, that is until you see her play any of her chosen sports. Her athletic ability was something I noticed when she was in kindergarten one day playing baseball in between the orchard and vineyard we lived in. I noticed that she could throw better than her older sister who we were practicing with, and that she could hit the ball pretty well too. It wasn’t until she was in second grade and brought home a flier for Bobby Sox that I thought, what the heck. She was placed on a team and was tried out at several positions and eventually piped up that she wanted to play catcher, so here we go she finds her niche. She was a natural with her large powerful thighs and ability to throw to second base from home, not any easy feat. So I was happy to see her active and enjoying herself, she was bigger than her sisters at that age and I worried her weight would be an issue for her. She played again the next year and then onto travel softball. I was so invested in her because it was then that she told me, “Mom! I am going to Fresno State on a softball scholarship!” This was after she had seen the team in action. I spent 250 dollars on catcher’s equipment that I bought large enough for her to grow into at least into high school, I thought. Wrong, here it is 4 years later and that gear is not going to make it to Jr. high.

My softball playing girl came up to me and asked me two years ago if she could play tackle football, to which I voiced some concern that it might not be for her. That is when I heard my Dads voice in my head telling me “no” when I asked to play football and I decided to go and take her to signups. Other girls had come before her to my surprise and we were excited at the prospects. She was first pick for her team after coaches saw her in the drafts they held over a weekend. She played offensive and defensive lineman, though in her heart she was hoping for quarterback. All they saw was her size and her standout ability to be quick and agile and mow ‘em down. She was one of the key reasons they went undefeated to the championship game. Everyone cheered her name in the stands but none louder than me. She played again this year and though her team was mediocre she still was a standout. She has said that she wants to play in high school and I have no doubt that she will. She plays her last season of community football this fall and then it is onto Jr. high. Most girls want to lose weight for vanity reasons. Not mine. She has said she wants to trim down and get noticed for her throwing ability so she can be a quarterback.
 
 

So here it is baseball season and yes I said baseball, she has forgone softball to play with the boys. She is in her second year of Little League, because she has not come up in the ranks here she has to prove herself, so for now she plays on a triple A team, not a Majors team, but my bet is it won’t be long before they know who she is. Her first year her old travel team coach picked her up for American Little League and it was not a memorable season, he tried her at pitcher, but she was too wild and his coaching style did not bring out the best in her. He was more worried about getting his grandson playing time anyway. So this year her old football coach picked her up as we moved and she ended up in National Little League. He saw her at the last tryout and picked her when he saw that she threw as fast as a grown man. He knew he had a future pitching star in his midst. We have several good pitchers which is great we keep them guessing, but my girl is by far the fastest pitcher. At one of the first practices she threw the ball so hard it hit one of the coaches feet, the next day he told us she split his toenail and it fell off. She can be cocky and full of herself and practice after practice she began to have attitude. One of our assistant coaches who is used to coaching kids from the Chicago projects and not Central Cali Valley farmland kids has a gruff exterior. Immediately he irritated her by singling her out. After all, her coach made her team leader and she was the player to look up to. She was put first in the line to lead her teammates in a run. She came up to me and said, “I know why he put me first, it is because of my size.” I said, “Then run too fast for the boys to keep up.” He got to her so much one day when she was sick I told her let’s leave after being there for five minutes. I spoke with the head coach and told him I did not like the assistant coaches tactics. So he said things would change and they did but then she started having attitude. She hated it and started complaining that she was bored because they were working on fundamentals, and after one day when she was particularly embarrassing I went off on her.

I had this loud tirade that started as we left practice in our van, and ended 10 minutes later in our front yard. I told her that her behavior was unacceptable, that she had embarrassed me. That she was not a know it all when it came to baseball. She said she did not want to pitch, the position they were grooming her for, she didn’t want to play. I yelled about how much money I had spent on her, and the enchilada dinners and fundraisers I had so she could participate in these sports. The time I had given up, and I added how I did not do any of this for her two older sisters. She started to whine and cry. “Is it too much pressure, what is it?”  I asked. She just shrugged. I told her that people were always going to judge her by her size, that they were going to have expectations of her. I told her I was not going to be there to intervene for every coach she did not like. I told her what a God given talent she had. I told her that she could be the fastest pitcher out there but if she didn’t want it someone else who was less talented would work harder to get it. I finished my tirade by saying, “If you quit this and let your team mates down don’t ever ask me for anything again! Sit here and think long and hard about what you want and let me know!”

Was I wrong? Probably, well yes, I was guilty of bad parent behavior, but I was right. The next day after apologizing to the assistant coach and getting one on one pitching practice she threw fast and accurate pitches. I will give him credit for helping her to develop her technical skills; she is a better hitter and definitely a better pitcher!

                                                       

                                                     

So here we are only two games in due to the rain, and my baseball playing girl has pitched a total of 4 of the 10 innings we have played thus far. We play five per game, in the first game she only allowed one hit which she threw out at first and then she allowed a few walks but struck everyone else out no runs were scored this day. Our last game she pitched the last inning and after beaning a poor kid she struck out the next three players and we won 5 to 1. We left the game in good spirits with grins on our faces and shared our high fives. Today I spoke to one of the parents whose son is on our team and she told me that after our game she stayed to watch the next one and people in the stands asked, “Who is that guy? Who is he? We need to test him for steroids because he throws so fast?”  To which she smiled and said, “That’s no boy, that’s a girl and she is on my sons team!” I relished the story second hand. When I got home I told her “You are already becoming a legend!” Needless to say she is raring to go this weekend. So don’t ever count this girl out when she plays with the boys!

good morning football fans....is that a girl in that helmet?

It is a beautiful California classic day outside and I am gearing up to go to my daughters football game. I cannot wait to be out there cheering my girl on. This is my daughters 2nd year playing tackle football. Thats right tackle.... no she is not on some girls league. She plays with the boys. She plays in a local youth league ages 6 through 12. I will say that I think this is the best thing I could have ever allowed her to do. Not just because she ROCKS on the field, but because it has taught her important life lessons that she otherwise might not have learned. When she asked me I will admit I was concerned, but when she played it was just a thing of beauty to watch. Last year her peewee team went undefeated and won every game that they played. She learned the importance of teamwork, and how to be proud of her accomplishments. This year she is in the 5th and 6th grade division called the pups, and they have not won all of their games. This has taught her that you are not always going to be a winner and that loosing gracefully is something great players do. She has walked around on the sidelines mopey and irritated when something has not gone her way and man that really annoys me as a parent. I say that because I know my daughter has leadership qualities that you do not find in a lot of other kids at this early an age. When she mopes she sends out vibes to her teammates the "lets give up" vibe. That is not a quality that will get you anywhere in life. We have discussed this and she realizes what it does to her self esteem and her teams.

Self esteem, such a powerful phrase and not so easily attainable for young people especially young girls and young women. It is as if your whole idea of success hinges on that phrase in these teen and tween years. I do know firsthand that being involved in sports has created a child more different than her two older siblings. She is more vocal, more confident and relates better to other kids. Not that I have shrinking violet, antisocial, doormat, daughters in my other two. Other things have created strengths in them that sports did not. I just feel sports has been beneficial to the social development of my youngest daughter. She also plays softball and baseball and is now setting her sites on basketball.

The possibilities are endless for my daughter and yours. It was not long ago that  playing football was a  dream in some little girls head. In the 70's while Title IX was being passed without reference to sports but rather education, Billie Jean King was breaking a barrier for women everywhere with her infamous "Battle of the Sexes" match. It was also at this time in my backyard that I was doing cartwheels like Nadia Comaneci and learning to throw a football like Roger Staubach. When I asked if I could play football with the boys I was told a resounding "NO!" My father broke my spirit and created a monster by telling me "no". It was from that day on that I vowed that if I ever had a daughter I would never say "no" to any traditional male sport or occupation, if they asked me if they could do it. Heck girls can pee standing up as far as I am concerned! So as fate would have it and a lot of prayers that I would not have a boy, I would not have a boy, no I would not have a boy to leave some machismo legacy for my father, I had 3 beautiful daughters! What was I thinking? When my oldest was little we put her in t-ball which she quickly lost interest in even before the first game. My middle daughter wrestled in fourth grade and though she did not win a lot of her matches, she won a very important meet match at the local highschool in front of hundreds of screaming kids all cheering her on. Her braids trailing down her back, she amazingly TKOed and pinned her opponent. I was so extremely proud  of her at that moment and she was proud of herself. After a neck injury and as the boys got stronger she lost interest. She still has that competitive heart. I would love to see her do MMA.

I respect all the trailblazers out there making it easier for the next generation of girls to reach for that brass ring and shatter more glass ceilings in the world of sports. Did you know that as early as 1722 a woman stepped in the boxing ring for the first time? Her name was Elizabeth Wilkins. Muhammad Ali's daughter Laila followed in her fathers footsteps. Two local MMA fighters introduced to martial arts by their father are sisters Zoila and Stephanie Frausto. Zoila has a record of  9 wins and 1 loss. I think that is awesome!  The first pro female pitcher has already happened in 1898, Lizzie Arlington pitched for the Philadelphia Reserves, and 12 year old Chelsea Baker with a 70 MPH fastball pitched her second perfect game in April of this year. Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias blazed the trails for Wilma Rudolph who blazed the trail for Marion Jones today. A local highschool standout Alicia Brown has a promising future in track. Janet Guthrie participated in the Indy 500 long before Danica Patrick. Holley Mangold, New York Jets lineman Nick Mangold's little sister played varsity football and earned her letter, she now pursues weightlifting and has lifted over 500 pounds. Katie Nhida a kicker for Division 1A team New Mexico scored two points in 2003. Learn more about women in sports, and Title IX at http://www.girls-explore.com/  and  http://womenssportsfoundation.org/. In the eighties and nineties provisions were made in Title IX that said female sports programs should be equal and proportionate to males sports programs in schools. Recently it has added community league sports to be inclusive in this ruling as well like the one my daughter plays in.

We lost our game today and though it was a crushing loss my daughter who plays both offense and defense played her heart out as did her teammates. I cannot wait for next year her last year in community league football, after that it will be junior high and then high school. Will she still have the passion for the game that she has now? I think she will and thats what inspires me to learn as much as I can about women in sports to show her that she too is a pioneer in a traditionally male sport. So CHEERS to all the girls out there that will be opening doors for the next generation of female athletes. You make me proud, you make me inspired, you lead the way! I wanna be like you when I grow up!