The BG News

January 31st, 2007

Barbaro…seriously, what the heck?

By Colin Wilson on January 31st, 2007

Can we please get over the death of Barbaro. This horse is well…a freaking horse. I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but well…I’m going to.

Barbaro was an animal, not a human, he was not a religious figure, a hero or a martyr- he was a racehorse. As a racehorse, he was also kind of like a slave. I won’t get into that argument but you should be able to get my drift without being offended.

In reality, we should look at this in a good light, some greyhound dog could eat dog food made from the remnants of Barbaro and win some sleazy guy at the racetrack some cashola.

I’ve just been sick of the whole subject, when Barbaro was injured, they spent countless time and money to try and help him live. When they realized his weak-willed body could not stay alive, they euthanized him. I don’t know how exactly they euthanize a horse but I imagine it’s rather expensive. When we got our dog put to sleep, I remember my dad complaining about how much money it would cost. He didn’t really complain, but according to this site it would cost $98. A horse is a lot bigger than a dog, that means that on top of the $300 bucks it will cost to cremate him, they spent X amount of dollars just to make him die. At least sell his carcass to Kibbles and Bits or something.
Barbaro may have been an inspiration to…horses, but to me he was just a wasted link on ESPN.com. Thank god he died during Super Bowl week, he might have been the main story. As soon as he died I immediately searched facebook groups and there are more RIP Barbaro groups than there are RIP James Brown, RIP Pope John Paul II, RIP Bo Schembechler and RIP Darrent Williams groups. That’s so stupid, the Pope didn’t even have any RIP groups, or any groups. Are you telling me that according to facebook, this dumb horse will be missed more than the most prominent religious figure in the world? Or the funkiest man to ever walk the earth for that matter?

It’s all relative I guess, people are more concerned about this dumb horse than they are about poverty, crappy schools, a bad economy and an increasing debt. Only in America. How much faster was Barbaro helped than the city of New Orleans? Chew on it my friends. A horse is a horse is a horse of course.

RIP sanity, humans caring about humans before horses, my journalistic credibility and my sensibility towards horse lovers.

Posted in Sports | No Comments »

January 19th, 2007

BGSU Basketball Reality

By Colin Wilson on January 19th, 2007

I think the fact that the BGSU men’s basketball team played a weak schedule to start the season blew a little smoke up a few people’s behinds.

They’ve just begun their MAC season and are 1-3, their only win coming against Buffalo at the buzzer. While they were 9-4 heading into conference play, people were really excited about their potential for the year. I can’t really say I was one of those people but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by their record.

I don’t really see many of their games because I cover the women, but I see the numbers they put up, it seems as though every game has a run in every game in which their opponent gains 15 points, their starting lineup is never the same, their shooting guard is third on the team in rebounds and they can only play their biggest player for 15 minutes a game.

No one was expecting a huge season out of these kids—they were picked to finish last in the conference. They seem to be a hard working group and they’ve got a great deal of raw talent, but it doesn’t seem like they have a great TEAM.

In the MAC, a team succeeds by having one great player (Martin Samarco) a go to guy down low (Erik Marschall) and a secondary scorer (Nate Miller/Ryne Hamblet). From what I’ve seen, the team really wants their offense to go through Samarco every time down the floor. Whether it is coaching or lack of execution, I’m not really sure. There are good shooters on the team, they may not have a stellar inside game, but it just seems as though the amount of talent on the floor is being projected onto the scoreboard.

BG fans know that Dan Dakich can succeed, but the sports world is ever-changing. Players have run the show in the professional ranks for a few years now and the way kids are switching schools nowadays, it has reflected upon tough love coaches and the amount of transfers. I’m not saying this is an epidemic throughout all of college basketball, but a few talented guys have left BG in the past two seasons.

I’m all for a tough coaching style. Players should listen to their coach, the college game has a much greater team concept than the pros. The thing is, if players are changing with the current trends, shouldn’t coaches try to ease up a little bit? If an Ohio player has a choice to play for a Thad Matta or even a guy like Gary Waters at Cleveland State, Dakich’s hard-nosed attitude may not be as appealing for a kid who knows he’s got enough talent to go wherever he wants.

Posted in Sports | 1 Comment »