What a year!

Well, I’m sad to say this is my last go round for the year. I don’t know what I’m going to do without my weekly spot; life just isn’t going to be the same. It’s bittersweet in a way.

Before I go off on my weekly rant, I have to thank a few people. First and foremost, my main man Tristan Aird made this entire thing possible. This man is just a grinder, the Bill Belichick of the Mustang Daily. He wrote more stories for the Mustang Daily than the rest of the staff combined (I’m not kidding).

I have to give some love to my boy Frank Stranzl, who was also a big reason my column is in this paper every week. He’s another main reason the sports section has been what is for the last two years. He’s the reason my first article got in two years ago.

I have to give some love to Cal Poly athletics media relations for always updating me with pointless information that I thrive off of. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Eric Burdick’s tutorial in the world of sports writing. This guy is the ultimate professional, unlike me.

Last but not least, I have to give some love to Team 306. Aaron Warshawsky, the man who patented the name “Johnny in the Box,” made sure my name will forever live on.

By no means do I consider myself a journalist – just a sports fan who has had the opportunity to vent to you every Thursday. I thank everyone for reading my ramblings and making this whole thing possible. To all those students coming back next year, no worries, my friends, I’m not going anywhere.

What a year, huh? So much has happened that I don’t even know where to start. Here are my winners and losers of 2006-07.

Winners

 Cal Poly Athletics – The Mustangs sent multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament, had individuals win All-American honors and even hosted a women’s volleyball regional. The most successful year the school has had in my four years of enrollment. The sky looks bright in this town, my friends.

 Peyton Manning – Let’s face it, he was a loser his entire life until he won the Super Bowl. He never had won a big game in high school, college or the NFL. This was a man that people used to refuse to sit by at the Kentucky Derby because he was bad luck. Congrats Peyton, you needed that one bad!

 Reggie Bush/New Orleans – Does the name “Mario Williams” sound familiar?

 Golden State Warriors – Wow, how this team made the list is beyond me. But I couldn’t leave them off. I’ll never forget Baron Davis’ throwdown on AK-47 as long as I live.

 Leonardo DiCaprio/Tom Brady – Lets start with DiCaprio. He may be the only man who can dump maybe the hottest supermodel on the planet and then upgrade. Even though Brady did not win the big game this year, DiCaprio handed him a pretty nice consolation prize. I think her name is Gisele. Life doesn’t get much better.

 University of Florida – I never want to hear “The Ohio State University” again. Billy Donovan is turning down some serious coin for this school.

 Roger Clemens/Barry Bonds – A combined age of 90 and combined salaries of

$43 million.

 Jake Peavy – Let me state one thing: I hate the Padres. But I ABSOLUTELY love this guy! He is unreal.

 LeBron James – This man is on another level. He’s 22 and in the NBA Finals. That game where he dropped 48 was a thing of beauty. We don’t just root for this man because he is so good, but partly because his team is that bad.

Losers

 Michael Vick/Pacman Jones/Cincinnati Bengals – Between dog fighting, strip club addiction and jail-bird central, Roger Goodell should have himself one heck of an offseason.

 USA Basketball/Baseball – Was not our finest hour as a country.

 Lindsay Lohan/Paris Hilton/Britney Spears – Lohan just got a DUI and was caught with a white substance. (What could that be?) Hilton is serving 40 days in Maui, I mean jail. Spears just admitted to hitting rock bottom. Who would have thought that K-Fed was the normal one? Popozoa Baby, we’re all rooting for you, Kevin!

 USC Football – Don’t forget that UCLA ruined the Trojans’ chances of being a national champion. Don’t act like last season was a success.

 Floyd Landis – I would say that Landis falls on the other side of the Bonds/Clemens coin.

 Yankee fans – Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I’ll end on this. Sometimes we lose our perspective on sports and their superstars. We spend so much time talking about athletes that just aren’t that important (chalk me up in the guilty column). Sometimes we put too much on these men and make them out to be heroes, which they are not.

We all love sports, especially me, but at the end of the day, there is more to life. I’m just not really sure how much more.

Stay classy, Cal Poly, and until next year, I’m out!