Kaeding Update

Thursday, April 16:

We had a light practice today. I woke up at 7 and was in the training room by 7:30. More heating and out to the tennis courts for Soccer Tennis. It was supposed to be chill, but I'm a little too competitive and the game turned into a smack-talking fest. After an hour we watched film and I went to my lecture at 9:30. Got back home, ate a salami sandwich (my fave) and went to a captains meeting with Coach before my AWESOME PR class (which rob decided to skip). Grabbed ice cream with a friend and edited my paper that was due in my 4:30 class. After class I went right to work at Shorts. It was real busy, so it was a good night. Grabbed a quick beer with some regulars after work and was home around 11:00. Stayed up late, again, to watch my boy Stephen

"Life Itself is the Most Wonderful Fairy Tale"---Jackie Kaeding

Wednesday, April 15:

Woke up at 7 this morning with a raging headache…could have been because I was up until 1:30am watching Stephen Colbert (he’s my guy). Ate some Corn Chex and was out the door by 8…realized I forgot my cleats at home so I had to turn around and grab them – I didn’t have a lot of time for my daily treatment (throw a heat pack on the groin and get “magic sticked”…that’s what I call it when the trainer rubs out my quad with this weird, foot-long stick), but I pulled it together in time and went out to the field. Today was the first practice without long sleeves---It was money. After practice, lifting again, got a $15 parking ticket at Carver because those jerks don’t give us passes, and we were done a half hour early. That extra half hour was time spent shaving my legs…haven’t done that in a while. Walked to class at 1, stayed at AJB and worked on a paper between classes, went to my 5:30, done at 8, walked home and ate a late dinner, and by the time I showered again I was ready for bed. But I gotta finish this 4-page paper first…so now I’m sitting here in my pj's writing this daily diary to procrastinate a little bit more. Thanks, Robert

Jackie Kaeding: A Look Inside the Athlete

My final project for Sports Writing will be an in-depth profile piece on University of Iowa soccer player Jaclyn Kaeding. She does it all: Trains, takes a full-load of classes and works at the Iowa City pub "Short's Burgers and Shine." I will be following Jackie over the next few weeks to gain a perspective on her life both on and off of the soccer field. I have asked Jackie to keep a "diary" of random thoughts of her days, here is the first installment:

Monday, April 13:

Not happy because I woke up to a text from my coach at 7:00, a half hour before my alarm was supposed to go off. I had to spread the word that practice would be inside today...it was pouring rain and 20 degrees. 1.5 hours of practice and a 30 minute session from our sports psychologist. I ate about three pounds of ham on Easter Sunday so it took me a while to get my legs moving. Today’s practice was amazing because all we did was 5v5…a whole practice of straight competition. After that we drive to Carver for an hour of lifting. For 6 weeks we’ve been building up the weight on Olympic lifts like (squats, hang clean, etc), and this week we are unloading/taking it easy. After all the squats and core work, we break it down and by 12:00 I’m in my car and on my way to the second part of the day. I have a little less than an hour to shower and slap together a sandwich and I’m back out the door to my first class of the week. I grab some groceries and a birthday card for my buddy at CVS and I’m home in time for a nap and dinner. I work on a paper until ten and fall asleep to my T.V.

Tuesday, April 14:

I got to sleep in today. Woke up without my alarm at 8:30, had enough time to stop at Bruggers before my 9:30 lecture. Coach gave us the day off today (NCAA rules-have to have one day off every week, though I’m sure we’d be practicing 8 days a week if it weren’t for the guidelines), so I get a lot of time to relax. My room is in desperate need of a cleaning, checks need to be cashed, roommate needs a ride to class, I continue working on my paper, have a meeting with soccer teammates and go for a little shake out/mile run. Now that I’m nearing my 5^th year I’m sore most of the time. Recent injections in my inflamed hip make me feel like I’m an 80 year-old. I grab a shower and hit up a restaurant with my family – my cousin is in town from Philadelphia so it’s a nice chance to catch up. After dinner I head straight to a film screening for class at 8 and we’re there until 10:30 (long-winded professor). I have a little time to chat with my 7 roommates and I’m in bed watching Real Housewives of New York City-all of those shallow people make me feel better about myself.

Cubs Quote of the Day

Alright, since the baseball season is long and can become tedious, I am going to try and post my "Cubs Quote of the Day" every few days, just to give me something random to look for on the endless sites I visit each day. Instead of posting after each game, I will post my thoughts on the games at the end of the series, for sake of space and my fingers' willpower.

"That's pretty classy," Piniella said. "Prince is a classy young man anyway."

Yes, Lou, that was classy, and the way baseball should be played. Anyone who has the same name as the man who sang the song "Purple Rain" is alright in my book. Stay Classy, Prince.

Cubs Steal Series Up North

After a give-away loss Friday night, the Chicago Cubs bounced back to win the series' final two games against the Milwaukee Brewers. Led by the bat of Alfonso Soriano (belting two long home runs and also joining a very exclusive club during the series) and the jumping ability of Reed Johnson, who robbed an otherwise game-tying Grand Slam by Brewers first basemen Prince Fielder on Sunday night, the Cubs actually won the series (Hold your breath here Cubs fans) on...PATIENCE. Yes, patience at the plate. The Brew Crew issued four (4) bases-loaded walks to the Cubs during Sunday night's game. It was a change of pace for Pinella, considering Kevin Gregg and the rest of the reliever's felt it necessary to throw 55-foot, 3-2 sliders to pinch hitter Chris Duffy, whose last contact with wood was the furniture he moved last week. For the series, the atmosphere was reminiscent of a playoff series in April and both Cubs and Brewers fans alike made the journey to Miller Park (which is an excellent ballpark, by the way). I refuse to call the Cubs/Brewers matchup THE RIVARLY OF THE CENTRAL quite yet, but it is definately becoming a great series to watch. Good baseball (for the most part) and good competition (See: Sportsmanship of Prince Fielder after Reed Johnson robbed that ball). All-in-all, great roadtrip for the Cubs to start 09 off. I'll take 4-2 with a smile.

Lastly, my good friend and former roommate, we will give him the alias Stewie Griffin, is an "avid" Milwaukee Brewers fan and was born and raised in Milwaukee. He is a stubborn fan and to my knowledge, the fan that no one likes: He acts like he is a die-hard (you know the type), but doesn't know when the Brewers play and couldn't name 30% of the total roster. On Friday night my cell was lighting up after I had just come down from my verbal assault of Kevin Gregg and the stupid mistake(s) the Cubs had just completed to give the Brewers the series opening win and it read "Stewie Griffin Calling...." I decided that in the best interest of our friendship that I need not take the call and promptly responded with a text message which read, "There is a reason they play 162 games..." Being the respectful fan that I am (I consider myself a diehard Cubs fan and don't feel it necessary to succomb to such ignorant sportsfanmanship), I decided not to call Joe, oops I mean Stewie, back on Saturday or Sunday night....Instead, we will just wait and see because the Cubs and Brewers still see each other 15 more times in 2009. But if you are reading this Stewie, here is my revenge, for all of my classmates and Cubs fans to see...

Onward to Wrigley on Monday! I'm guessing the weather will be beautiful as it always is in Chicago in April.

Mike Fontenot's Hair is Awesome

The Cubs' offensive onslaught of the Houston Astros Wednesday night in a 11-6 win captured a 2-1 series win to start off the 2009 season.  Kusuke Fukudome led the Cubs with four hits and a home run and The Bayou Basher (Fontenot) matched a career high with four RBI's.  Ted Lilly looked less than stellar, giving up four home runs, yet still receiving the win.  

Now to the important stuff:  As I watched the win last night, I couldn't help but notice how sweet Mike Fontenot's blonde locks were!  I think he should just grow em' out for the remainder of the season, Al-la Matt Clement's chin-beard of the 2003 season.  Chicks dig it, Mike!  

Athletes in the past have had some serious up-do's, mullets, shaved heads, "the chinstrap" beard and many more...

Give me a few of your favorites!  

Why the Strike of 1994 was Inevitable

• 

They picked a bad season to be having career years.

Tony Gwynn was closing in on Ted Williams' batting average record, the up-and-coming phenom Ken Griffey Jr. ended the season with 40 home runs and the Montreal Expos were the front-runner to win the World Series with a record of 74-40.

In the blink of an eye it was gone: The records, the averages, the home runs and the money.

The Major League Baseball strike of 1994 was as inevitable as Phil Jackson drawing-up a last second shot for Michael Jordan in a timeout.

The Major League Baseball strike ultimately cost owners millions of dollars in lost revenue and the disillusionment for fans across the country.

The tension between owners and the MLBPA didn't happen overnight and could have been avoided if the owners would have been more flexible in the early days of salary negotiations and free agency issues. The owners across Major League Baseball have one interest and that is the bottom-line. Cash is king in Major League Baseball and the owners wanted it all for their own endeavors. As Helyar notes in Lords of the Realm, owners such as Gussie Busch wanted exclusive rights on advertising, specifically his Budweiser beer ads. In Atlanta, Ted Turner was building a behemoth television network that brought in more money for his franchise then had been seen up to date. The owners were making money and the players were unhappy at their compensation program.

As the Collective Bargaining Agreement expired in December of 1993, the foundation of the house began to crumble. The main issue stalling the two parties was the owners desire to implement a salary cap and the players did not feel that a salary cap was fair compensation for their on-the-field attributes.

In June of 1994, the owners presented their Collective Bargaining Agreement to the MLBPA:

• Seven year contract that split total revenue 50/50, while "phasing in" a salary cap over a span of four years
• Provided revenues didn't fall, players would be guaranteed $1 billion total in salary and benefits during 1994
• Limited salary arbitration, but allowed players with 4-6 years experience to become a free agent

This proposal contained several shortcomings:

• Players "share" of revenue would decrease from 56% to 50%
• Players did not want to share revenue and the loss of arbitration would remove major impetus' to higher paid and more deserving salaries
• Free agency was becoming liberalized, but only on the catch that a club could retain a player by matching the seeking clubs offer
• Health care, pensions and other benefits would be taken from the players' 50% revenue share

However, these shortcomings would not matter to the owners of Major League Baseball. They wanted to sign players for fair market value and sign them to contracts that they thought the players deserved. The owners thought that free agency was flooding the market for players and allowing under-performing players to sign lucrative deals. In the case of revenue sharing, the owners felt that fans were coming to their stadiums, to watch their players and enjoy their product. In the eyes of the owner, the players were out of touch and out of line.

As Heylar notes, Curt Flood was traded because of his desire to an increased salary. He was a landmark in St. Louis and Gussie Busch, the Cardinals owner, refused to pay him fairly. The debate on "fair market value" for players could have been avoided in 1994 if owners' from earlier generations had been more flexible to the idea of fair compensation plans. As ticket prices soared and advertisements streamed in, the revenues that the owners saw were becoming increasingly higher. Economically speaking, as supply (revenues) goes up, so does demand (the players right to higher compensation programs).

The strike of 1994 caused serious distress for America's national past-time. Along with the loss of revenue, the loss of regular season games and playoffs, the fans became disenchanted with Major League Baseball.

Where does it end? How do you diagram a fair compensation program? Who should be paid what? These are all questions that are out of my ballpark. I do know one thing, however, the owners can sit in their luxury box and say Player A should be paid 'this' and Player B 'that', but they are not on the field, leaving their emotions onto the field. They are financially devoted, yes.

But when do you draw the line on a game?