COMPETE - The Gay Sports Magazine

Congratulations to Boise State on their exciting victory against Virginia Tech last night. It was hard-fought, and the Broncos proved they have a good program. Va Tech is no slouch; they're a legitimate Top 10 team, so there are plenty of reasons for fans to be singing the praises of Boise State.

HOWEVER -- as nice as it feels to root for the "little guy" and hope that they can go far, this win does not - I repeat, DOES NOT - put BSU in the running for a shot at the national title. (At least, it SHOULD not.) Take a look at the remainder of the Broncos' schedule: they have non-conference games left against Wyoming, Oregon State and Toledo, and their slate of games against a less-than-mediocre WAC. Oregon State is currently ranked 24th, and Fresno State is coming off a nice win over Cincinnati. Still, this schedule doesn't even come close to matching up against any schedule that a team from the six major conferences will face.

Simply consider the current #1 ranked team: Alabama. After a Week 2 showdown with a ranked Penn State squad, they will enter SEC play - where they will face Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, LSU and Auburn (among others). Then, they will presumably play in the SEC title game. Anyone who thinks that a 12-0 Boise State team would deserve a chance in the BCS Championship Game over an Alabama team with one loss is living in a fantasy world. The same argument can be made for any of those other SEC teams, not to mention Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Oregon and probably a half-dozen others.

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Those poor Tampa Bay Rays. They've been extremely competitive in the toughest division in baseball for three years now ... and yet they still can't get a decent crowd out to their games.

This week, the Rays played an important series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays are no slouch, either, sporting a record just north of .500, trying to stay relevant in a division with the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox. It was important 3-game series, as the Rays were trying to keep pave with the Yankees for the division lead, not to mention the best record in baseball. Basically, there was A LOT at stake.

Announced attendance for the three games: 11,968; 12,972; and 14,859. Actual attendance: probably somewhere between 5 and 7 thousand.

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While I am anxiously awaiting the start of college and professional football (it's so close I can't stand it!) I am closely following the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, which began this week. (Tennis is actually one of my favorite sports; it just so happens that EVERY other sport pales in comparison to football, in my eyes.) This year's tournament is lacking a few important storylines, however.

For one, the world's best female player is not present. Serena Williams cut her foot earlier this summer, which forced her to pull out of the event she has won three times. Her absence clears the way for defending champion Kim Clijsters to win her third Open, or perhaps for number one seed Caroline Wozniacki to experience the breakthrough many have been anticipating. Me? I'm not putting too much stock in the Dane just yet. Like the Serbs (Ivanovic/Jankovic) a few years ago and Safina last year, Wozniacki could prove to be just another promising young player who fails to live up to that promise. If Clijsters falters, look for one of two other former champs to take it: Maria Sharapova or Svetlana Kuznetsova. America's best hope to keep the trophy on home soil lies with Venus Williams (not playing her best this summer) and young Melanie Oudin.

On the Men's side, defending champion Juan Martin del Potro is also out due to injury. That means the top storyline once again is which of the world's two dominant players will win this one. Will Roger Federer claim his fifth title in Flushing Meadows, or will world number one Rafael Nadal win his first? My money is on Nadal, who I expect to approach Federer/Sampras status in terms of grand slams in the next 3-4 years. Give an outside chance to Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko or Robin Soderling; one of them could upset matters and make it to the final. If an American reaches the quarterfinals, that will be a great accomplishment.

Last week (and weekend) I had the pleasure of attending the Gay Softball World Series in Columbus, Ohio. Wow - what an event! The folks in Ohio really know how to throw a nice party. Every detail was taken care of, and I know all the players and teams were extremely satisfied with how things ran - even if they weren't quite satisfied with their placement.

Nearly 150 teams competed for hardware in four divisions over five days. That's a lot of softball! Luckily, Columbus's Berliner Park has 31 fields, and was able to accommodate every team for the entire week. There's no other municipal park in the country with that capability, which will make it difficult for future World Series planners to top this one.

In the end, the top honor had to be shared by the L.A. Vipers and Orlando Force, since a Saturday afternoon rainstorm forced the cancellation of the "if necessary" Championship game.

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When the Denver Broncos took Tim Tebow with the 25th pick of the latest NFL draft, people across the country raised eyebrows. Experts shook their heads. Other teams laughed. The Broncos, however, believed they had someone special on their hands, and stood by their choice. Despite most people's belief that the former Heisman Trophy winner was not prepared to run an NFL offense, and didn't have the skills to play the position at an elite level, the Broncos made it known that they had every intention of grooming him as such. (Many predicted Tebow would more accurately be a tight end or h-back, or perhaps simply a special teams player.)

Well, all Tebow has done since training camp opened is earn the respect of his coaches and teammates, worked hard to prove his worth, and shown his detractors that he WILL have an impact on his team. Oh, and he's pretty much wrestled away the backup quarterback slot from Brady Quinn. In Saturday night's preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Tebow went 8-13 for 105 yards, and scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown in the closing seconds. Yes, it was against scrubs and, yes, most of his completions were dumps ... but Tebow showed he can run a pro-style offense. (Anyone still unconvinced of Tebow's arm should refer to January's Sugar Bowl performance against the Cincinnati Bearcats, in which Tebow lit up the stat sheet with 482 passing yards.)

Kyle Orton may still have a lock on the starting position in the Mile High City; however, if the Broncos struggle - and that is a real possibility - then expect Tebow to be taking snaps from center by the end of the season.

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The recent dust-up involving U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin and Golf Channel reporter Jim Gray serves to illustrate an annoying trend in sports journalism, and in journalism in general.

If you haven't heard, earlier this week Gray reported that Pavin told him he would absolutely add golfer Tiger Woods to the roster of the Ryder Cup team. (Woods is currently outside the Top 8, which automatically qualifies for the team.) After Pavin denied the report and accused Gray of making up the story, Gray went on the defensive, calling Pavin a "liar" and confronting him. Pavin says Gray got in his face and yelled at him "You're going down!"

There's no telling (at this point) what really happened between these two individuals.  But what I do know is that Jim Gray has a history of trying to make himself the story, instead of simply reporting the story, dating back a decade. In 1999, after Game 2 of the MLB World Series, Gray grilled baseball legend Pete Rose about his ban from the game. His questioning was very aggressive, and resulted in backlash from the league, fans and players.

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Last night I was at my local watering hole, enjoying a few beers, having some appetizers and waiting for my team (the Dallas Cowboys) to appear on the television in the annual Hall of Fame Game. This year - like I say most years, except I may actually be right this time - my 'Boys actually have a great shot at the Super Bowl.  So, naturally, I was excited to see them take the field against the Cincinnati Bengals. I mean, this Dallas team is set at virtually every spot. Romo, Barber, Austin, Witten, Jones, Ware, Spears, an O-Line that remains one of the best in the league. How excited was I to get an initial glimpse at these 2010 Cowboys?!

Well, that didn't last long. Most of the starters ended up playing only the first series.  The game turned in to a total snoozer, as the only points that went on the scoreboard in the first half were courtesy of two Dallas field goals. Their 297 total yards of offense would be an embarrassment for this team, if not for the fact that the Bengals countered with a measly 179.

If ever there was a case to be made for eliminating two preseason games and adding them to the regular season, this is your case. With each team playing four games before any of them actually count and starters barely seeing ANY playing time, the preseason has become not just a waste of time, but a scam perpetrated by owners, who charge fans full price to see these contests.

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You may not be aware, but this week in Irvine, Calif. the U.S. Championships of Swimming are taking place. You're probably not aware because there is virtually no media coverage of this event. I have to find daily updates from the Championships website; I certainly won't find them when I tune into Sportscenter every night.

Of course, Sportscenter will make mention of the event when Michael Phelps competes (which he has - winning both the 200 free and 200 fly so far this week) or if another mainstream name (like Dara Torres) had been competing. But outside of a few swimmers, it is assumed that most American sports fans know little and care little about Swimming. While the former may be true, the latter isn't necessarily so.

For a network that routinely shows Poker, Billiards and Fishing, I would think they could find at least 30 minutes per night to showcase highlights from this week's Championships. Not only would that serve to satisfy sports geeks like me, if will help increase the popularity of the sport. It is impossible to feature an event like this live, as the down time between events would make it unwatchable (for most, but not for me). Still, I believe there's enough daily action to warrant a highlight show that will keep everyone updated.

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Earlier this week a (rather bold) fan proudly wore his brand new LeBron James Miami Heat jersey to a Cleveland Indians baseball game. The outcome was rather predicatble. He and his girlfriend ended up being escorted out of the stadium -  for their own safety - because others in the crowd bombarded them with name-calling, threats and other childish yells. This is pretty typical of the vitriol towards LeBron since he announced he was leaving the city to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. (Remembers Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert's childish remarks about LeBron after the announcement?) At this point, there is no telling when - and if - LeBron will be welcomed back to the state he grew up in.

It is incidents like this that really want to make you step back, take a look at the sports world we live in, and shout: "GET SOME PERSPECTIVE, PEOPLE!"

It isn't just that LeBron has a right to leave Cleveland for Miami, to make his own life decisions, and do what he deems best for himself and his career. It isn't just that, instead of villifying LeBron, Cleveland fans should thank him for giving 7 great years and basically making their team (and city) relevant. It's more than those things. What it boils down to is: it's just sports.

The backlash to LeBron's departure reminds me of how fans in other countries react to their soccer teams. We've all read the stories and even seen the videos of soccer stadiums engulfed in riots. And that's when the home team wins! When they lose, things can get real scary. Last month I watched an ESPN special titled "The Two Escobars" that depicted what can happen in some countries when their soccer team doesn't live up to expectations. Such was the case with Andres Escobar and the Colombian National Team in 1994. Long story short, Escobar paid the ultimate price for scoring an own goal that elminated Colombia from the World Cup - his life.

No doubt LeBron has received serious threats from fanatical Cleveland fans. Let's hope that the furor dies down soon, and people can get some perspective.