Blog #5: Year in Sports Review: 2013

Hey everyone! Thanks for stepping into the CPM Sports Zone! Well, it's that time of the year. It's the final two days of 2013, and during this week's blog we will look back one last time to review and remember the year that was 2013 in sports.

2013 MLB season: BOSTON STRONG

Boston Red Sox: 2013 World Series Champions

In a memorable worst to first season, highlighted by tragedy the Boston Red Sox captured their eighth World Series crown by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals four games to two, clinching the world series crown at Fenway Park for the first time since 1918. The season was remembered more so for the horrific tragedy that occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15th as the Sox finished a game with the Tampa Bay Rays about a half mile from the site of the incident.

2012 NFL season: Super Harbuagh Bros.

Baltimore Ravens: Super Bowl XLVII Champions

It a battle of the Harbuagh brothers, the Baltimore Ravens used a late goal line stand to hang on to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game of course was underscored by the lengthy thirty plus minutes power outage inside the Superdome in the early parts of the third quarter. Ray Lewis also went on to capture his second Super Bowl championship, and retired following the game.


2012/13 NBA season: Can you feel the Heat?!

Miami Heat: 2012/13 NBA Champions

In one of the greatest seven game NBA final series in recent memory, the Miami Heat repeated as NBA champions, pulling out the seven game series over the San Antonio Spurs. The series was highlighted by Lebron James playing without his headband that sent social media into a frenzy, and of course Ray Allen's game tying three pointer to send game six to Overtime. Miami beat San Antonio 95-88, giving them back to back titles for the first time in NBA history since the Los Angeles Lakers (1987/88-1988/89, 2009-2010) and the Houston Rockets (1994/95-1995/96)

2013 NHL season: The Lockout

Chicago Blackhawks: 2013 Stanley Cup Champions

For the fourth time in it's ninety seven year history, the NHL was once again locked out this past season as the league and the NHLPA failed to compromise on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, or CBA that forced the season into a close knit forty eight game season. In a meeting of two members of the "Original Six" the Chicago Blackhawks captured their fifth Stanley Cup in a dramatic six game series with the Boston Bruins. The Blackhawks became just the eighth team in NHL history to capture both the Stanley Cup and the President's Trophy, which is awarded to the team with the best record in the league.

2013 MLS season: Welcome to the Blue Hell

Sporting Kansas City: 2013 MLS Cup Champions

The 2013 MLS season will be remembered for the dramatic finish in the MLS Cup game. With a bone chilling 20 degree kickoff temperature at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Missouri, and after one hundred and twenty minutes, the game came down to a Penalty Kick shootout. Sporting Kansas City emerged victorious over Real Salt Lake 7-6 in the PK shootout to capture their second MLS Cup.

2013 PASL season: The Dynasty Continues

San Diego Sockers: 2013 PASL Champions

After having their United States professional sports record for most consecutive wins ended, the San Diego Sockers captured their fourth straight Professional Arena Soccer League Championship (PASL) with an 8-6 victory over the Detroit Waza Flo. The Sockers also captured their fourteenth Indoor Championship in the teams illustrious history. Sockers Forward Kraig Chiles took home PASL MVP as well, scoring 56 goals in the season.

2013 NASCAR season: Johnson does it again

Jimmie Johnson: 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion

Jimmie Johnson drove home with yet his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship this past season, out dueling both Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick. Johnson finished the season with 2,419 points, finishing 19 ahead of Kenseth and 34 ahead of Harvick.


2013 WNBA season: Los Lynx on top of the mountain

Minnesota Lynx: 2013 WNBA Champions

Pretty plan simple, the Minnesota Lynx dominated the WNBA this past summer, with a league best record of 26-8 and they became the second WNBA team to sweep through the playoffs since the league adopted the best of five finals format. The Lynx mauled the Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury and the Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Dream to capture their second WNBA title (2011, 2013)


2013 NCAA seasons: Football, Mens/Womens Basketball, Baseball

At the college level, AJ McCarron lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to the BCS National Championship with an impressive victory over Notre Dame. The Louisville Cardinals overcame adversity after the horrific injury to Kevin Ware to cut the nets down at the National Championship game against the Michigan Wolverines. Geno Auriemma's UCONN Huskies reclaimed their rightfully place ontop of the Women's Basketball ranks after pounding Notre Dame for the Women's national championship. And the UCLA Bruins reclaimed golden glory on the diamond, winning the College World Series, bringing another National title to sunny California.

Well, there's 2013 in the year of sports. We'll see you again in 2014!!

Thanks for stepping into the CPM Sports Zone,
Callan McClurg

Blog #4: The (NOT so) most wonderful time of the year!

HEY! Welcome back and thanks for stepping into the CPM Sports Zone! Here's a recap of what you may have missed over the past three weeks. Week one we discussed the growing interest being shown in Women's pro basketball and how a few players locked me in to their product. Week two, we relieved the most fulfilling moment of my athletic career as my baseball team travelled to New York and won the entire tournament. This past week, we discussed the idea behind those athlete edits you've see me post on Instagram with the story of my #CityPride artwork. This week, I'll tell you why it's NOT the most wonderful time of the year.

It's December, so everyone has their Christmas trees up, lights and stockings hung and their pajamas on waiting for Christmas morning, but in the world of College Football, it's turned into the NOT so most wonderful time of the year. It's Bowl season with yet another month and a half with the ever convoluted Bowl Championship Series (BCS) computer generated standings system selects which teams will partake in the so call "National Championship Game" while the remain X number of teams are shoved to either the Rose, Sugar, Orange or Fiesta Bowl. Oh yeah, then there's the other thirty one (31) no valued added bowl games, where it seems EVERYONE gets into a bowl game nowadays.

Do ANY of my readers remember a point in time when there was maybe 8-10 bowl games every year? Nowadays there's thirty five (35) bowl games. The reason why I feel like this isn't the most wonderful time of the year, is due to the fact:

1. Of the current BCS system (Computer generated)

AND

2. The grand total of games played: 35

The new proposed BCS Playoff system would feature either 4 or 8 teams
in a bracket styled tournament to determine the National Champion.

Thankfully, the NCAA has decided to get rid of the current BCS system with a panel of acclaimed personnel to decide who will partake in a newly formulated four (4) or eight (8) team playoff tournament format. The panel will include current school athletic directors, famous players and a whole boat load of others to determine the teams that will qualify for the BCS bowl games (Title, Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Orange). With this newly formulated playoff format, we will never be succumbed to the travesty that was the original BCS bowl system format that was determined by computers based a whole criteria of categories, with a more simpler and more productive system with a panel of accomplished dignitaries selecting the best 4 or 8 teams to play in the BCS Bowl games.

READER'S POLL QUESTION: What system works the best in your mind?

A. The current BCS system
OR
B. The 2014 system with the 4/8 team playoff bracket

Thanks for stepping into the CPM Sports Zone!
Callan McClurg

Blog #3: The story behind #CityPride

Read Blog #2 about the San Diego Bucs
victory in Cooperstown, NY

Hey! Thanks for stepping back into the CPM Sports Zone! If you're making your debut in the Sports Zone, here's what you've missed in the Zone. The opening blog discussed the growing interest being shown in Women's professional basketball, and how watching a couple of players locked me into their product. Last week, we relieved one of the greatest accomplishments I've achieved as an athlete when my 12 and under baseball team traveled to Cooperstown, New York and achieved baseball immortality by winning the 2006 Cooperstown All-Star Village Tournament of Champions Tournament.

In this weeks blog, I'll discuss the inspiration, concept and reason behind a series of athlete photos you've probably seen posted by myself on Instagram (@goseecal3) and on my personal Facebook and Twitter pages.

Candace Parker, 2013 WNBA MVP in the
 #CityPrideLA album

It was a normal night like my nights normally are, FaceTime a friend, watch some TV, host my sport shows among other things. But there was a night where I actually didn't do anything listed above (I had an off night from my shows). So I was on my iPod one night and an idea hit me, to use the PaintFX app and bust out some art (If you want to call it art). The first ever piece I did was a photo of San Diego Sockers player and PASL MVP Kraig Chiles who was placed against the Sockers team crest as the background, sketched and filtered in blue. I ended up posting the photo to my Instagram account (@goseecal3) and little did I know that the next morning when I woke up and check Facebook that Kraig had made the piece I made his Facebook profile picture. It was from there my ideas began swirling to take athletes and place them in the shadow of the city that they play in, it was that day that #CityPride was born.

Stepehn Curry & Klay Thompson of the
Golden State Warriors.

The first #CityPride album featured all the members of the San Diego Sockers, with a distinct San Diego landmark in their background. At first, it was a struggle to make this photo edits whether the backgrounds where too light or too dark, or the player wouldn't show up well with his assigned background. The first album was more of a dry run to see what worked, and what didn't work as far as my photo edits. Eventually, I began to expand my horizons and start doing art and albums for other cities around the country. Those albums fall under the category of being called #CityPride followed by the cities initals (LA, OC, SF, etc.) And the edits have ranged from Mike Trout, Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Candace Parker, Lindsey Harding, Jenna O'Hea, Angel McCoughtry and more. As time goes on, you will see more athletes from other pro leagues (I promise) but it's been mainly WNBA players due to a huge following of WNBA fans that are following me on Instagram and they have requested there favorite players for the albums.

Kristi Toliver winning entry into a
Toliver edit contest.

If you want to see more of my #CityPride edits, be sure to follow me on Instagram (@goseecal3) to see all the edits that have been made.

Thanks for stepping into the CPM Sports Zone,
Callan McClurg