Mad + Hockey Stick - Brain = Poor Sport of the Week

Have you ever been mad? Have you ever been really mad?

Well, apparently, Keith Ballard was really mad this past Monday. And when Ballard gets angry, I guess his brain stops working.

The Florida Panthers played the Atlanta Thrashers in a close game on Monday night. With the game tied early in the first period, Ballard, who plays for the Panthers , let Ilya Kovalchuk of the Thrashers get by him and eventually score against goalie Tomas Vokoun.

That made Ballard mad. Really mad.
(Cue brain shutdown.)

Ballard had to let some of the steam out afterwords, so he decided to swing his stick really hard at the goal post.

While swinging, Ballard must not have noticed Vokoun sitting in front of the goal.

In front of the goal. Sitting there like he was paid to do it. Directly in front of the goal.

The result? Vokoun gets carted off the ice in a stretcher and has to go to the hospital.





It's funny how the jersey that someone wears changes everything. If Vokoun was wearing a Thrashers' jersey instead of a Panthers' jersey, Ballard would definately be suspended for a serious amount of time.

But it only matters when you hit someone on the other team. So hit your own players without any consequence. It was just an accident. And there is no need to punish accidents, as long as you say you're sorry.

Congratulations Keith Ballard, you're the Poor Sport of the week. Also, you're in the running for the least smart person award. And I'm sure the praise and accolades will keep coming.

Old and Grouchy

Sometimes it's nice to hear about people with power getting punished for their actions. You know, just a nice reminder that the big guys and girls can get into trouble too.

Well, Bud Adams is our focus today. In case you don't know who Adams is, I'll give you a few facts real quick:

• Owner of the Tennessee Titans
• Co-founder of the AFL
• Rich Texas oil man
• Really old (86)
• Looks good in baby blue

This past week, Adams' lowly Titans beat the Buffalo Bills at Buffalo. Adams, who was attending the game, was thrilled by the win. He was so thrilled that he decided that he needed to let everyone in Ralph Wilson Stadium know how he felt . Well, follow this link to see the result: Crazy Bud Adams Video

Wow. This is a real video, and this is on YouTube, and this is the age of technology. So what does all this mean for Bud Adams?

One Big Fine.

How does $250,000 sound?

Since I'm not as rich as Mr. Adams, I like to think of all the things that $250,000 could be used for. Things like:

• College Tuition
• Cars
• Houses
• Really cool expensive gadgets, like these.
  

That's just me though.

At least the NFL isn't joking around when it comes to good behavior. Good for them. It's about time athletes and people involved in the sporting realm are held accountable for their actions.

So, Bud Adams, you got what you deserved. And seriously, your team is only 3-6. Was it really worth it?

Women Playing Soccer: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

In case you hadn't heard, New Mexico Women's Soccer player Elizabeth Lambert went absolutely nuts against BYU last Thursday. Almost unabashedly, Lambert kicked and punched her opponents, also yanking one opponent to the ground by her pony-tail.



Ouch.

Lambert was later suspended by her team and the conference. Probably a good move.

Well, women's soccer craziness this week doesn't stop there. In a game on Tuesday night, a pair of Rhode Island girls high school teams got into a brawl. Rhode Island? Yeah, Rhode Island. Anyways, this fight was definately the real deal.





So what's the issue with females playing soccer this past week? Eh, I say nothing. Now, Elizabeth Lambert went too far. WAY TO FAR. But, when you play a physical sport like soccer, sometimes your emotions get the best of you. Same with the Rhode Islanders. It was an important game and a hard foul triggered some anger.

Is it acceptable? No. Is it a part of the sport? Yes.

Oh, and you will probably think this is pretty interesting. The New Mexico State Women's Soccer team has not won a game this entire season. Not one. The girl that started the brawl was on the losing team. They lost 0-5.

So I think it is pretty safe to say that we have some extreme cases of frustration, here.

With that said, the "Poor Sportie Awardie" of the week goes to both Elizabeth Lambert and the only two girl's high school soccer teams in the state of Rhode Island. Enjoy!

Welcome to Poor Sports!

On any given day, it is not very hard to find an example of someone in the world of sports behaving badly. From temper tantrums to tirades, to shouting matches and violence, athletes around the world show their true colors quite often; and when they do, we'll let you know. Poor Sports will scour the sports world every week to find the best of the worst, in essence, the poorest of sports. Here are some examples of some of the sporting worlds finest:














So, as you can see, there is a plethora of examples of athletes that misbehave. Stay tuned every week to find out who has been bad and why they are Poor Sports!