Real Sports in a Virtual World

The Oculus Rift headset has been making a bit of a splash lately. The virtual reality headset has essentially been in development since the 1980's. But recent technological advancements have made it a polished product just about ready for consumer shelves. It played a fairly big role in this years South by Southwest festival and has wowed video game developers at conferences around the country. Oh and it's creator, Oculus VR, was recently acquired by Facebook for $2.4 Billion. So they're having a good 2014 so far.

So this got me thinking. With Facebook being the giant that it is, a lot of money could be poured into this technology over the next few years. Would it be a stretch to see the Oculus Rift headset in a sports context?

NBA Draft: Who's your first pick?

As I watch the NCAA tournament, I watch through a number of different eyes:

1. I watch through the eyes of a bracket owner (though that's been busted for a long time now so I don't look through those eyes for long).
2. I watch through the eyes of a fan of the tournament and everything that makes it great.
3. I watch through the eyes of a Sixers fan. Knowing that in a few months we'll be talking about a new season with a new franchise player.

And I think that's how we have to view these players as they enter the draft. No, the tournament isn't the end all be all of how a player will be in the NBA, but if a player really steps it up or shuts it down, it can be a telling sign.

Let's Dissolve the NCAA!

Get it? It's dissolving.

From the Johnny Manziel signing scandal to the Northwestern Football Unionization, there is one issue that is pretty resounding through college sports: Should we pay these kids?

The NCAA says resoundingly No. Because they are student athletes and it would ruin integrity and blah di blah blah blah.

I happen to agree that athletes should not be paid by the Colleges and Universities which they attend. Not because they don't deserve it, but because there is no logistic way to make it work (please comment below with all your logistic ways to make it work).

Do you pay the football team more than the basketball team? Swim Team? Do you pay the starting quarterback more than the third string offensive lineman? What happens if the quarterback gets injured? Does his money get allocated to the backup? And once you do pay athletes, how much is enough? How much is enough that they won't feel the need to take more money if they can get it? (spoiler: it will never be enough)

2014 Sixers: I Sure Hope This Works

Chart does not actually depict Sixers trends...just their lack of awesomeness.

I usually try not to do posts just about the home team, but I think the home team is enough of a national story laughing stock that a post is warranted.

The Tankdelphia Seventy Tankers are well on their way to a top draft pick after the end of this horrifically bad season. The end of a season that cannot get here any faster. The ends justify the means though, right? If the Sixers win a Championship in the next 5 3 years, no one will care that they tore the team down to the rafters to get there. They'll talk about it, because haters always gonna hate! But what will we care? Sixers will be champs again after all these years.

Except, I don't know if I'm cool with the tanking. It's lame...sooooper lame! Watching games is painful. I subscribe to a service that texts me reminders about Sixers games and final scores. I'm wondering how many variations of losing they have on tap. Sixers "slide". Sixers "fall". [Opponent] "top" Sixers. Sixers "come up short"..which is really the best one of all. They came up short? Like a cockroach comes up short to Shaq? Yeah I guess short covers it. Frankly, I'm surprised they are still sending me texts at all. If I see this one day I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.

The Bracket Battle is B-B-BACK!!!

It is the moment you've all been waiting for!

No, not the newest season of House of Cards...
No, not the next flavor of Lay's potato chips...
No, not the 2014 football season...


It's the NCAA TOURNAMENT!

Which is really cool and all. Basketball and colleges and heated competition. But what's REALLY cool about it is the return of the Sports Pro and the Average Bro Bracket Battle! (Password: battle)

BUT WAIT!

The 4th annual version of our world famous Battle comes with a new twist. The Big Dance is coming up, so who are you bringing with you?

Do you know any Famous Celebrities? D-List Celebrities? Sports Personalities? Some guy that more than 5 people have heard of? Get them to compete in our battle and you could win an extra prize!