Summer Doldrums

Yeah, summer has inhibited my ability to update.  Not because of how busy I've been, or how many cool places I've seen, but because there's not really been enough to talk about.  

• The MLB All-Star Game was last night.  The National League won for the first time in 13 seasons.  That is definitely noteworthy.  However, it was eclipsed in importance by the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.  George was a great businessman, and saved the Yankees from dropping off the face of the baseball world in the 70's.  He will be missed.

• The World Cup has finally come to an end.  Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time to capture their first championship.  Hopefully this will ease some of the civil tensions within Spain.  Spain needed some good news, and this was it.  Congratulations.

• As I mentioned previously in this blog, Thierry Henry has finally signed with New York Red Bull of Major League Soccer.  He is by far the biggest signing in recent history.  Recent meaning dating back to 2007 when David Beckham signed. 

• Vanderbilt head football coach Bobby Johnson is resigning from his position.  In 2008, he led the Commodores to a 5-0 record to start the season, and a No. 13 ranking in the national polls.  The Commodores then lost 5 of their last 6, but still managed to defeat Boston College in the Gaylord Music City Bowl for their first bowl victory in 53 years.  

Now, for some PERSONAL opinions:

• LeBron James made a decision that best suited his personal career.  Too bad he won't be able to set foot in Cleveland ever again.  He'll be 80, and still unable to find solace in his hometown.  Wonder if he thought of that before he jumped ship?

• Bob Bradley made huge tactical errors in the United States' final Cup match against Ghana.  He should be held accountable for these mistakes.  Should he be replaced by popular pick Jurgen Klinnsman?  I daresay, he should.  You can't make those mistakes in what should have been the most successful World Cup appearance in the history of American soccer.  The United States, not Uruguay, should have been in the semifinal against the Netherlands.  

• The Cincinnati Reds didn't try hard enough to land lefty ace Cliff Lee before the All-Star break.  Now, he'll lead the Texas Rangers to the playoffs, and not the Reds.  If the Reds don't make the playoffs this year, it will be because of their pitching.  

• The Columbus Blue Jackets will not sell-out a home game (with the exception of opening night) until after the New Year.  There are too many question marks for a team with so much to prove this coming year.  Forget 2008-09, 2010-11 will be the most important year in club history.  It will make or break the Columbus fan base.  Another losing season, and most will give up.  Win a playoff series, and the Jackets will be embraced more than ever.

PLDS: Post-Loss-Depression-Syndrome

So, since the U.S. lost in their Round of 16 game last weekend, I became quite depressed when it came to sports.  It's only now, a week later, that I've been able to get up the gumption to actually write on this blog. 

What have I learned?  

Well, I've discovered this new medical condition called PLDS (Post-Loss-Depression-Syndrom).  It's that gut-wrenching feeling that settles in after a colossal sports loss by one of your favorite teams, and it doesn't go away for a while.  For me, after last weekend's loss to Ghana, it took about 5 or 6 days to fully recover and stop thinking about it.  

When Ohio lost to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament in March, it took a good two weeks to finally realize that they weren't good enough to beat Tennessee, following their upset of Georgetown.  

In another fine example, it took me only a few days to fully recover from the Bengals' loss to the Jets in the 2o10 NFL Playoffs.  Perhaps that was because I knew the Winter Olympics were on their way, and I needed to save my energy for when it came time to recover from the sudden death loss by Team USA in the gold medal hockey game against Canada.  That one took a good two weeks. 

This is a curious condition, because now that I've finally realized that it occurs often enough to diagnose on a regular basis, I've noticed that it occurs to people I know as well, and their friends, and THEIR friends, and so on.

I was reminded of a story this past week that my old roommate told me when the Bengals lost that weekend in January.  

He told me that his grandfather, a huge Cleveland Browns fan, would be unapproachable if his beloved Browns lost on Sunday during football season.  You wouldn't be able to talk to him until the next weekend, at least.  

Poor Cleveland.  I feel like you guys and gals have had PLDS more often than any other city of sports fans in the history of modern competition.  

And with the pending departure of LeBron James to a bigger city, Cleveland may be in store for another couple weeks of PLDS to go along with that sting of losing to the Boston Celtics not even two months ago.  Let's just leave it at that.   We won't delve into the disturbed psyche of a Cleveland sports fan.  

So folks, here's the remedy for PLDS, as I found to be sufficient:  Sleep a lot, drink a lot (what beverage you actually drink is up to you), listen to depressing music for a couple of days, and have a good cry if necessary.  

Before you know it, you'll be back on your feet and in good spirits!