Mom knows best

Ever notice how sports stars always thank their moms during any and every thank-you speech they make? \nI’ve taken notice and I think it’s time for me to thank my mom. No, I haven’t achieved anything yet. I want to thank my mom for knowing more about sports than you do.\nHere are 10 reasons why my mom knows more about sports than you do:\n10. She cheers for the best NFL team – the Indianapolis Colts. She suffered through the bad seasons and she currently goes to most games. She has even caught a pass thrown by former Colt Aaron Moorehead. \n9. Not only can she pronounce Sarunas Jasikevicius, Dirk Nowitzki and Zydrunas Ilgauskas but she knows what countries they are from and who they play for.\n8. When she hears the word “icing,” she doesn’t think of a cake. Thanks to my many years of playing hockey, she not only knows the rules, but she knows many common injuries that result from playing hockey.\n7. Last year she bought the NBA package from DirecTV and spent many nights watching random games. She has also been to more Indiana Pacers games in her lifetime than any student on campus. Hands down. No contest. Don’t even try.\n6. She is loosely following the Cincinnati Reds this season and she’s afraid that Ken Griffey Jr. is going to get hurt soon. This is impressive because not only does she care about baseball more than I do, but she has a very probable prediction. \n5. She was just as angry at Phil Mickleson at the last U.S. Open as the rest of the golfing world was. \n4. For the past 10 years, she didn’t watch the “Today Show.” Instead she watched “SportsCenter” every morning and sometimes watched it twice in a row. \n3. She’s given up most hope on the Pacers. She thinks coach Rick Carlisle and Larry Bird, president of basketball operations, are part of the problem, along with Jamal Tinsley’s attitude. Even though I’m a big fan of J.T. and the way he plays, I can’t disagree with her at all.\n2. She’s not a Kobe fan. This is one area we disagree upon in sports. Even though I’m a big Kobe fan, as all my long-time readers (or anyone who read last week) know, she was able to give me statistical reasons why she doesn’t like him. And she almost sold me on hating him until I remembered that I get paid to write about sports and I have every reason to like him. Of course I then remembered that my parents still pay my credit-card bill, so I don’t like Kobe.\n1. She weekly makes a very smart decision by religiously reading my column.\nWith that said: Dear Mom, The Indiana Daily Student doesn’t pay me enough. I need money. Send Dad and Rocky my best. Thanks. Love, Mike