2013: A Brave New World of Sports

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It’s been a while since our last post and a lot has happened since. The world is changing. We’ve seen some firsts in the world of sports and we’re only a few weeks in to 2013.

We followed the Manti Te’o saga from start to finish—and some people have chased it even further. MTV made a show called “Catfishing” which documents teens who are in love with the phantom at the other end of their Ethernet cable. Nev Schulman, host of the series and fellow online relationship victim, helps teenagers find and reveal the identity of their online muses. Like Te’o, most of these love-struck morons end up finding out their relationships were a lie. It’s a weird show. Check it out.

(From a journalistic standpoint, it really makes you wonder why editors and writers don’t check their facts more thoroughly)

Then there’s the Super Bowl. The Harbaugh Bowl. Ravens vs. 49ers. Well that’s all fun and games—and commercials. What really matters, though, is the Ravens’ superfan: aka Michael Phelps. That’s right. Michael Phelps the winningest Olympian of all time is the self-proclaimed biggest Ravens fan. In light of recent fact errors (remember the above paragraph? Te’o, fake girlfriend, still published) we have gone to great lengths to ensure that Phelps is in fact, a diehard Ravens fan. And here is the evidence:

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He tweets about them all the time:

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So we’ve made it clear that Phelps is a big fan. Why does this matter? Because we here at Not Your Typical Sports are curious about what this guy does, now that he’s retired and all.

One thing he’s done is change is style:

michael-phelps-hipster-450x237Phelps: so hip it hurts.

And apparently all he does besides trying new styles is play golf. Not a bad life, huh?

Now these only make up two of thousands of recent events, but there you have it folks, a brief review of the wacky world that is sports. Stay tuned for much, much more.

Lolo Jones Wins Silver in Bobsled World Cup Opener

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Lolo Jones and her bobsled teammate, Jazmine Fenlator, won a silver medal at the World Cup series opener in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Jones left the London Olympics empty-handed but now has a medal to her name in an entirely new sport during an entirely new season. Given her, and all track stars’, ability to reach top speed almost instantly, Jones is predicted to be contender in future bobsled races.

Todd Hays, the women’s coach, plans to rotate athletes in the upcoming months before the Olympic team is decided but he will announce the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic team. The World Cup series has stops in Germany Austria, France and Switzerland.

14-Year-Old Guan Tianlang Invited To Play In The Masters

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Augusta National, what was once America’s most exclusive men’s club, has invited 14-year-old Guan Tianlang from China to play in the Masters. Guan Tianlang is now the youngest player ever to receive the invite.

Traditions have been shaken up at Augusta National. Formerly an exclusively male club, it now has women and teenaged members. Augusta National invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first female members since the club was founded in 1932.

John Strege, a writer for Yahoo Sports, believes this is the most recent example of China’s growing capability to dominate worldwide sports. Guan likely, almost certainly even, won’t win the Masters in April, but he will make history and continue to grow the sport in Asia.

Speaking of golf, did you see the ridiculous 159-foot putt that Michael Phelps made?

Blind Students Learning To Play Tennis

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“Keep your eye on the ball!” yells almost every coach you’ve ever had, whether it’s tennis baseball or football.

Tennis is hard enough to play, but imagine learning when you can’t see. That’s what the students at the California School for The Blind are doing.

The school started teaching adapted tennis, a version invented in Japan in the 1980s. It features a smaller court, junior style rackets with larger faces and smaller handles, and a lower net. Boundaries are marked with string so players can feel them.

The game uses a foam ball filled with beads that rattle each time it is hit or bounces. The player must return the ball before it bounces three times.

“Keep your ear on the ball,” is the adapted sport’s slogan.

Sejal Vallabh, the 17-year-old founder of Tennis Serves, says teaching players the correct timing is the most difficult part of the sport. But it goes to show that the boundaries of what the blind can do are expanding.

Here’s a video of some players who have mastered the sport, seems pretty effortless:

 

 

 

Lolo Jones Feels the Rhythm, Feels the Rhyme

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The Disney movie is already in pre-production. Lolo Jones making the US World Cup bobsled is the biggest news in the sport since … well … a few Jamaican track athletes slid to fame in the 1988 games (and were immortalized in the film Cool Runnings)

Jones is no stranger to making news, but she actually didn’t go out looking for this one. US coach Todd Hayes invited a group of track Olympians to training camp to add some competitiveness and Olympic experience to the mix. Plus it didn’t hurt that track athletes are quick and powerful, making them the perfect “push-athletes.”

Jones won’t be the only track star on the team. 4X100 gold medalist Tianna Madison will be joining her. No word from Lolo-hater Dawn Harper on whether she thinks this is one big publicity stunt, but we are pumped that we get a little more Lolo in our lives.

Missy Franklin Commits to Cal

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Missy Franklin, the most sought after swimmer in recent history, verbally committed to the University of California on Saturday.

Missy has already had some experience with her “new” coach, Teri McKeever who directed the women’s national team at the London Olympics. It seems a little unfair to Texas, Georgia and USC (other schools on Missy’s college list). McKeever had quite the “in” with Missy as her coach in London. But clearly the two work well together seeing that Missy medaled 5 times.

Also on the team is fellow Olympian, Rachel Bootsma. Dana Vollmer and Natalie Coughlin also swam at Cal.

Although Missy will swim in the NCAA, it appears the endorsement deals were enticing enough for her to decide she will only swim with Cal for two years. After which, she will turn pro the year before the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Fellow Bears have been tweeting Missy, congratulating her on her commitment. Here is a tweet from US soccer star, Alex Morgan:

Ryan Lochte Plays “Sex Idiot” on 30 Rock

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This could be it. After all the terrible interviews, after his terrible fashion sense, after all of the one-night stands, Ryan Lochte has finally been accurately portrayed as a “Sex Idiot” on NBC’s 30 Rock.

Olympic champion? Sure. But let’s face it, Lochte is no actor.