NASCAR Drivers Aren't Athletes?

Hey All,

Today I'm going to be discussing a topic that not a lot of people have a lot of opinions about. That would be if the NASCAR drivers are real athlete's? I would have to say that everyone who watches sports would have to say that they are not, but they aren't looking deeper into the sport. You people are in luck, because I am here to give you the facts and let you decide (while giving you my opinion).

This all came about when, former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb, said that drivers are not athletes. He was mainly talking about six time cup winner Jimmy Johnson. "He's not an athlete," said McNabb. "He sits in a car... What athletically is he doing?" This would have to be one of the most ignorant quotes I've ever heard. What is he doing? Try racing a hard-to-handle a 3,400 pound stock car at nearly 200 MPH in steaming hot conditions. Sprint Cup drivers also experience  incredible G-forces while inside the car, during the race. Not to mention the risk of injury if they should crash the car, while driving 400- or 500 miles over the span of three hours, give or take. Now tell me, do you think any regular Joe could do that off the street?

Johnson did respond to McNabb's quote. "Yes, I am an athlete, and so is every driver in one of these racecars. Even Tony Stewart, even though he's carrying a little (weight), he's an athlete." Johnson went on to say, "That's just fuel for his engine." To tell you the truth, I love Johnson's response to McNabb. He got to the point and he stuck up for every driver in the sport. To make matters better, for the side of racecar drivers being athletes, car owner Rick Hendrick also had something to say to McNabb. "I'd like to see McNabb come run the Boston marathon with him or swim the lake out here," Hendrick said, referring to Johnson's fitness level. "Guys like that don't know what they are talking about." I also like what Hendrick had to say about his driver. He also added in that Johnson wouldn't have been named Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press if he wasn't an athlete.

With the facts there, the comments by McNabb, Johnson, and car owner Rick Hendrick, and the award for Athlete of the Year it's clear to say is an athlete. The facts are there people, it's hard to say that they are not athlete's. My deffinition of what isn't an athlete is if you can take a normal average Joe off the street and do the "sport". Let's take Golf, for sake of argument, anyone can do that. They might not be that good at it, but you can take anyone off the street and they can make it through 18 holes of golf. Yes, I know, everyone is going to say " but they have to walk the course". Okay, that is true, and to that I say but their not carrying their bags, someone does all the "hard" work for them, and they don't even have to pick their own clubs. Given, they might not make any final cuts, but they would finish 18 holes of golf. If you cannot take anyone off the streets and put them into the sport, and have said person finish the event, then the person who actually does the sport is an athlete. Nothing else needs to be said.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Issue With Sports at A Young Age?

Hey All,

Now I know I haven't been posting anything for a while, but I am writing for another site as well. The site is www.fantasysportswearhouse.com and you can get the competitive edge that you need in your fantasy leagues from this site. I am going to be doing both from here on out as well, so no need to worry, I will be giving you everything you need about sports. So with that being said, let's get to today's topic at head.

It's come to my attention that a lot of parents, now a days, aren't letting their kids participate in sports at a young age. This just blows my mind that this is happening. Pop Warner football has lost 20,000 kids this year alone. That's way to high of a number for kids these days. Studies think it's because of the parents seeing all the injuries and they are afraid to let their kids play this sport. Studies have also shown that the injuries in professional sports, especially football, have increased since performance enhancing drugs became a big issue. Although one study said there was a huge decrease in football, no other studies have shown any significant increase from any other sport.

If kids aren't participating in activities at an early age, their chances of becoming active in criminal or drug related activities increases by a remarkable 76%. These adults need to realize that your influencing kids all over the world. Stop Performance enhancing drug sales! That's the real issue here. It's not that football at a young age is bad for kids, it's that if you don't teach them from a young age that if you want to get somewhere it takes hard work, not drugs. Everyone thinks that "oh it'll give me an edge over everyone else", and that couldn't be further from the truth according to these studies. These studies show that everyone who did it right and didn't take any illegal drugs or supplements aren't getting injured. It's that simple.

I know everyone knows that performance enhancing drugs do give you and "edge" over everyone else, but you have to think of the side-affects. Yes, it does make you bigger, yes, it does make you stronger, and yes it does give you an "edge", but what it also does is hurt your body by breaking it down to try and build it back up. If you are bigger, faster, stronger you do have a higher risk of hurting yourself. Because one thing it doesn't make bigger, faster, stronger, is your head. Yes, your mussels will grow and you will feel good, but one hit to the head and boom your out. I'm surprised it took me this long to hear about this to get it to you good people.

Know I do know there are some people out there that do it right, and this post is not meant for you. It's meant for everyone out there who's not looking at the facts and just looking at what it could do for them. Believe me, it does sounds great if that's all you hear about it. You mean to tell me there's something out there that will take me to the next level and I won't have to work any harder then I already am? Who wouldn't want to do that? But what you need to do is know that everything has Pro's and Con's. Just take a minute, sit down, and really take a look at these things.

If you don't believe me take a look at all the professional athletes who are getting suspended or fined and even kicked off of teams for taking these drugs. Now, if they were really giving you an edge why wouldn't they be legal? If they actually helped you, every professional sport would make them legal to take. I know it's so simple it's hard.

To take these kids out of sports at a young age is wrong. That's the message here. It's flat out wrong. Kids now a days all they want to do is sit in, play there Xbox's, PlayStation's, and whatever. They don't want to go out and get active. Now not only do they get involved with drugs, if they aren't in sports at a young age, but obesity grows as well. I don't think I need to go into that in this post, because that has been a issue for a long time. I'm not going to waste any more time with that. It speaks for itself.

The moral of the story is, get your kids out, get them active, and get them into sports at a young  age. There's nothing wrong with it, it will help them, and make them a better person in the long run. It shows them team work, and how to work well with others. I've always been a firm believer in sports at a young age. I've played sports my entire life, up until I graduated college. And I think I turned out just fine. I did it right, I didn't take any illegal drugs or performance enhancing drugs, and I rarely got hurt. Now I know it still can happen if you play a sport, you can get hurt. That's a fact. Nothing is going to stop your kids from getting hurt parents. Even if you keep them out of sports, they will find a way to hurt themselves. Trust me, it will happen. So all I'm trying to say is get your kids in sports and open  your eyes parents. It's not a sporting issue, it's a you issue. Look at the facts before you act.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.