Josh Hamilton's recovery should continue in Texas

Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton has battled demons in his life. He has seen the darkest side of a life, but he's getting better.

Hamilton was a top prospect coming out of high school. His expectations only surpassed his potential. He was selected with the number-1 overall pick by the then expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But unlike many predicted, his highest of highs were not on the diamond playing the game of baseball, his addiction to a plethora of drugs took over his life.

What happened next in his life is not only inspirational, but divine and something people, in this unfortunately crazy world, should appreciate.

He hasn’t turned his life around, it’s actually far from it.

Hamilton literally cannot go anywhere without someone at his side. He just doesn’t trust himself enough to not give in to the pressures and evils that still haunt him to this day. The tattoos he dons on his forearms are signs of worse times, but they are too painful to remove. To comply with Major League Baseball’s drug testing policies Hamilton gives a urine sample at least three times a week.

He is growing up, overcoming and doing the most courageous thing you can do. He is learning to trust himself the same way a small child learns to walk.

So while he has stumbled several times in the past two years, and most recently last week. He gave into it, only as many as 4 or 5 drinks of alcohol and nothing more, almost subconsciously because that is what his brain was trained to urge for during his darkest days.

Hamilton is finishing up a 2-year, $24-million contract with the Rangers, who are coming off their best season in franchise history, and this latest incident is causing much hesitation on contract negotiations.

That addiction isn’t terminal. We all waver, and Texas should be able to overlook this isolated incident. His future is not his past, it's only a reflection of how much he can overcome.

Columbine wins rematch-original

Rebels win rematch 
Andy McDonnell The Denver Post

LITTLETON- The last game between Columbine and Dakota Ridge was a back-and-forth affair that took the full 32 minutes to decide. Eagle's senior Chris Poste hit nothing but nylon from distance to win the game in the final seconds 54-51.

"We knew it would be a dogfight coming in here," said Rebels head coach Clay Thielking. "And it was."

This time around Columbine (15-3, 10-1) was able to out-scrap an undersized but extremely quick Dakota Ridge (9-8, 7-4) team 68-55 at home in a Jefferson County League matchup.

"The loss over there hurt a ton," said Thielking who knows that although these kids don't go to school together, they're often friends off the hardwood. "The kids have bounced back really well since then."

Since that matchup on January 4th the Rebels have cruised in conference play, winning 8 straight games. "I can't give Columbine enough credit," said Dakota Ridge head coach Curi Yutzy. "They are a very solid team and they were definitely prepared for us."

In the rematch, the Rebels', who are No. 9 in The Denver Post Class 5A media poll, game-plan prevailed.

"They did a better job, especially in the first half of executing their game plan than we did," said Yutzy of his team who lacked the vertical stamina to stay with Chris Huth and Jon Snow, 6'7" and 6'6" respectively. "They took advantages that they have on us with their size."

But what the Eagles lack in height they made up in quickness and forced the opponent into dangerous plays.

"It is an interesting dynamic," said Thielking who entrusts much of the ball handling to Nick Carpinello. "That press makes it look that there are seven blue shirts out there and that makes things really tough."

"It was big, especially the last time for us seniors," said Carpinello with a wry smirk after handling the pressure against their rival. "It was just a good way to go out with them."

Dakota Ridge    11   8  22  14 - 55
Columbine        15  13  14  26 - 68

Dakota Ridge - Musleh 7 4-6 18, Hoffman 3 2-2 8, Anderson 1 0-2 2, Flores 1 0-0 2, Poste 3 0-0 9, Wallin 2 0-0 4, Genthe 0 0-0 0, Davis 5 2-2 12. Totals 22 8-12 55
Columbine - Carpinello 5 8-9 20, Daly 3 4-4 13, Hyde 0 0-0 0, Huth 4 4-4 12, McMinimee 1 0-0 2, Koop 0 0-0 0, Crowther 2 0-0 4, Snow 7 3-4 17. Totals 22 19-21 68
3-pt. goals: Dakota Ridge - Poste 3. Columbine - Daly 3, Carpinello 2.

Journalism limbo; Don't sell my education short

My education is in limbo, and it seems like the school I attend is setting the bar way too low.

I will be the first one to tell you that what is happening to the University of Colorado's journalism school is a travesty. The students that attend, have graduated and will graduated from the much less accomplished sounding 'Journalism Program' probably won't be given the same foothold in the industry as those at other institutions of higher education. But, although the process and utilities that CU has there are still very good and well-rounded "journalists" coming out of Boulder every semester.

Over the course of the last week we have seen two of the most disturbing events get blown out of proportion.

Rob Lowe reported via Twitter, "Hearing my fave, #18 Peyton Manning will not return to #NFL. Wow. #Colts." And the shock-wave rippled throughout the social media giant. Some people believed while more others found the information as an interesting note that could not be corroborated and thus was just another so-called-official report.

It started a storm that if you weren't paying close enough attention to you could have easily missed it. People, the average person was aware of what was being presented in front of them and they, in a matter of moments, were able to decipher the trustworthiness of the news and the source that it came from.

Then only days ago CBSSports.com reported, without a credible source in the real article mind you, that Joe Paterno had died. People could not handle the news, or were unable to take it in rationally. Twitter became overwhelmed with this article and fact, that later turned out to be wrong. They family spokesperson of the Paterno family said this information was "absolutely not true." And as the story turned on its head it only began to gain steam. You didn't know what to believe and who was saying what.

Social media is useful, it can be informative and it continues to push the bounds that traditional media outlets have been slow to move on. It is a transformative tool much the way the radio and television waves expanded the information platform. But that is where it stops. There is no credibility on a Twitter service; the little blue check is no overbearing cover for things that may or may not be true.

It can spread information like wildfire and burn the entire forest down, and for that we cannot ignore it. But we can tear down and trample over the same forest by looking and believing in information that is not true.

The world needs good, hard-working journalist. They have to be there double-checking and triple-checking with facts and sources. So don't sell my education short.

A Brady guarantee

When Tom Brady beat the Broncos, 41-23, in Week 15 of the NFL season he did so with ruthless conviction. He didn't hush the critics that were righteously jumping aboard the Tim Tebow bandwagon. He blatantly turned them against himself, he made them into socks puppets that harassed himself as motivation.

So it's no surprise that he told Tebow after the game, "I hope to see you again (in the playoffs)." He wanted Tebow again, he wanted or envied the opportunity. And he got it; again he turned outsiders against him and he went out and made a mockery of the Broncos defense.

Now as the Patriots head to their fourth Super Bowl in the last 11 years their quarterback should practically Joe Namath-guaranteeing a win.

The Patriots and Giants will play the game, but one side will have all the advantages. New York has little to no chance of doing the unthinkable twice against the most accomplished head coach-quarterback combination that ever was apart of football. And it's not due to their lack of, well, anything. They may be the most qualified team in the playoffs to take on the Patriots. They have everything they need, a stout defensive line to put pressure on Brady, a decent secondary, an Eli quarterback and a coach that has experience and knows what it takes.

But they have no chance.

You do not ruin Brady's perfect season, his name forever, furthermore etched in the history of football, in the most dramatic way possible and get away with it. You just don't.

Brady and Belichick will make your wait, answer 'no comment' on what it would mean to win this game seeing as the Giants were the team to take away their last ring, and then come out on February 5th with no remorse. The Patriots won't be ashamed when they waltz to the victory, because in their minds it's the natural order of things.

Lincecum arbitration complication

Asterisk, arbitration and absolute zero, to baseball fans and astrophysicists alike, they are, in a word, "arbitrary". Their definitions and emcancipations elude the greatest minds of the sports world and beyond.

In a fit, and legal argument that could not be avoided Tim Lincecum got the worst of the deal.

He did get offered $17-million by the San Francisco Giants, but it feels like a slap in the face. Like getting hit by your girlfriend with a silk pillow. (But I guess I really wouldn't know. Beside the point, moving on.... Like always. Tear.)

But the two-time Cy Young award winner was asking for four-million dollars MORE, a whopping $21-million a year, deservedly or not, grander than the team was offering.

Arbitration is like the MLB divorce court. There is nothing pleasant about it; arguing the worth of a player using, in some cases, any means necessary to prove their value or rather lack there of. The inevitable tug-of-war, hurt feelings and testy in-laws.

And this legal off-season battle doesn't happen often but it should be taken notice of by the public. A good player, and agent cannot come to terms on an agreement with their team and are forced into court to resolve these issues. During the NFL Lockout the court went as far as to assign a mediator to try to loosen the grip of the school-age-kid-like-adults trying to swap pudding packs.

This won't end pretty for either side; it would be hard to iron out all four-million of those differences. The whole situation, including the conception of arbitration, between Lincecum and the Giants is a shady situation. A bit arborous if you ask me.

College basketball revolving door

Does it really still count as the Glass Slipper if what Cinderella's searching for in March is more like a worn bowling shoe?

In the first 10 weeks of the college basketball season (There's been over 2 months of college basketball?!?) there were three teams that have accompanied the top spot in the polls. North Carolina was toppled, Kentucky nipped and now Syracuse is trying to remain as the #1 team as it heads into Big East Conference play. Not to mention seven total teams have recieved votes for the number-one spot. And this is just the beginning of a revolving door in college basketball.

This is by no means a resurgance of the little school, the Patriot league team that makes a miraculous run into March past the high-heel, highly touted one-and-done school. This is the overall ambiguity of top-class, top-tier talent.

The Big 6 Conferences, soon to be widdled down, seeing to more and more conference opponents will inevitably face of in the Sweet-Sixteen and beyond.

Conferences and the teams that reside in them will only get stronger. They will swivel on top of each other forcing the overall strength of the league to increase. Smaller schools without the visibility of ESPN or upcoming conference networks won't be able to get the looks, and respect of outsiders. At-large bids will go to schools in-large conferences.

Some big schools will still topple like an cruiseliner in a bubble bath when the drain is pulled, yes, but that is due to a lack of maturity that seems to becontagious throughout the NCAA. Smaller schools don't have as many opportunities as they once had, theirs only so many 'Magic Beans' to sell to the Jacks of the college basketball realm.

College basketball is big business, it's "this town ain't big enough of the two of us" country western. So, little schools I wish you luck in the near future, tighten those neon velcro straps and just try to sqeeze in the swiveling front door.

Andy becomes a Paper Boy

"Looks like you got yourself one heck of a paper route," says the loving brother to his plad-clad-tad, his inferior in only age, who is now employed by the voice of the Rocky Mountains.

I will be working over the course of the semester at the Denver Post. I'll be helping out in the preps department, high school sports, formatting and inputing scores of games. I'll also get the opportunity to write, short pieces on selected games and events, that will be put into the physical paper as well as online in digital form.

After 5 straight semesters of working for the grand total of 'experience' this will be nice change of pace.

I've see the inside of a radio station (104.3 The Fan), the workings of the two biggest television stations in the Denver market (9NEWS and CBS 4 Denver) and now I will get the taste of a newspaper. The art of the written word has been preached, prodded like a stock show steer, and beaten into me. Now I get to see it in action, where it all began, back to the beginning of journalism.

I'm happy to be here, excited about the opportunity, and now all I need it seems now is a guide so I don't get lost on this unimpeded rambling of mine.