Everyone has a superstition or two. Whether it's wearing a specific tie to a job interview or growing a playoff beard to coincide with your team growing one, superstitions are a part of our lives.

Why do we do have them though? What makes us want to repeat a task or have some sort of special clothing or item that we need to make us feel like everything is going to be alright?

Sports fans might be some of the most superstitious people. We have to wear our team's jersey; we can't bet on our team; we need to be eating the same food at the same time at the same place with the same people every single week, just to feel like our team is going to win.

Basically a superstition is a way for us to find comfort. Every big game that our team faces brings us nervousness; superstitions help shield it. They just help to alleviate some of the problems going on and make us think that we can help our teams in a positive way.

We've all had the feeling at one time or another where we felt we were the cause for a miscue. Someone said something right before a play or we forgot to wear our lucky shirt. Finding blame is much easier to place on ourselves then to place on our teams.

Even announcers believe in superstitions. How many basketball games have you seen where the announcer talks about how great a free throw shooter the guy on the line is and then he misses one? They always take the blame and say they jinxed him.

I have plenty of minor superstitions. My worst superstition however is for my favorite team in all of sports; Duke Blue Devils basketball. Every game that Duke has I have to wear the same color shorts that they are wearing. I have about eight pairs of Duke shorts because of this and since Duke keeps changing their jerseys it becomes a task just to keep my wardrobe up-to-date. I don't know why I do it. It's not like I think I'm part of the team, I just think I'm helping the team by doing so. I also have to change the channel for a minute or two if they start to lose. Most people have done that a time here or there thinking the outcome will change if they're not watching.

The real reason sports fan have so many superstitions is that they help us feel like we're in control. There's nothing worse than just having to sit and watch your team fail. In the big moments of the game we want to feel like somehow, in some little way, we were partially responsible. It's our way of being part of the team, to show our support, and have a belief that our teams will always prevail.

Maybe I really can't control the game, but I can control my superstitious behaviors. If we can't believe in superstitions then what can we believe in? I know that statement sounds ridiculous, but superstitious are just our beliefs; transformed into a manner that allows us never to waiver in our thought process.

Everyone says you got to see it to believe it. I say you just got to feel it to believe it.

There are plenty of traditions in the sports world. The problem is that every tradition that exists is copied and used so often that they become commonplace.

Originality has gone out the window; most celebrations or conventions that are used now are basically slightly adjusted ones that have been done before. There are some iterations that work; ones that should stay in the limelight for the time being, but most of them are dull, overused, and unmemorable.

It's time for these traditions, celebrations, or whatever you want to call them to leave the sports world for good. Here's my list of sports traditions that have jumped the shark.

Rushing the Court - I have to begin with the obvious ones. This here is numero uno. This act of celebration has absolutely no meaning anymore. Students just rush the court for any chance possible. We need rush the court rules if we want to resuscitate this one. No team that is in the Top 25 should ever have fans rush the court for any matter. I don't care if it's #25 versus #1. Every week there is a new case of rushing the court. Please stop. The only instance when this should ever happen now is on a buzzer beat against a highly ranked team (Top 5) or a rivalry game. Not those fake rivals either. Read this if you don't know what I'm talking about.

The Gatorade Dump - We needed to get the big two out of the way. Another celebration that has totally jumped the shark for over a decade. This is the most unexciting, unmemorable tradition of them all. Nobody is impressed by it and it's actually annoying to see it now. It almost seems disrespectful; not just to the coaches, but to all the fans of the team that have to watch the television and think, "here we go again!"  It's terrible. Please end it or at least turn Gatorade into something else. Get out beer bongs and guzzle the juice or start doing Gatorade keg stands. I'm sorry, but the Gatorade dump is not G!

The Name-Your-Color-Out - Almost every single venue has tried to pull this one off. Have every fan in the stadium where a single color. Great marketing geniuses. This one invokes fear into the opponents. The only place that it looks good is a night game at Happy Valley. That's a rarity though since there's usually only one night game and it's 110,000 fans. I just don't think 6,000 Princeton students are causing havoc by wearing tiger print t-shirts to the game.

The Wave - A celebration that I have to stand up and sit down repeatedly every ten seconds is not a celebration; it's an annoyance.

NASCAR Turfing - There isn't a celebration that is more ridiculous then having NASCAR drivers do donuts in the grass and burn rubber all over the track after a win. Just think if other sports had the same concept. Baseball players would start digging out home plate, basketball players would cut the nets after every win, and football players would probably just take a piss all over the grass. Nothing says winning like damaging a stadium!

The Hat Trick - This one isn't as bad because they don't happen that often, but do we really need to prolong the game with a bunch of hats on the ice. No other sport celebrates for a hat trick. Baseball fans don't throw anything on the field if a guy hits three home runs, unless that guy is J.D. Drew in an opposing stadium and batteries will fly at him. Give it up.

The First Pitch - It's simple, it's nice, it's quick and easy, but I don't care for it one bit. I don't really need to see a corporate sponsor on the mound representing their baby formula, trying to toss the ball to the catcher. I will say that at least with this one we get some great YouTube clips. See below for my favorite.

Olympic Ceremonies - The most boring and expensive gala in all of sports are Olympic ceremonies. I'd much rather just get straight to the events and not have to watch every single individual involved, who we know about 1% of the faces, walk around in a circle. Actually anything where people are walking together in a set pattern is never a good thing. That brings me to my next one.

Championship Parades - Four teams win a major championship every single year. It's not like a parade is that special. Do we really need fake floats to carry players around through the streets just so they can say, "Thank you fans! This one’s for you!"? They're cool for about the four hours that they occur and then no one can remember them a week later. If you really want to do something for the fans then why not open up the stadium, have everyone come in and listen to a couple speeches, and then let the fans meet the players. This would eliminate all the blocked off streets and would be a much cheaper and nicer ceremony to pull off.

The ESPY's - Last, but not least. I don't even know if this one is really a tradition, but it's a celebration of sports over the past year. The ESPY's started in 1993 and I guess they're entertaining at times. All awards shows have basically jumped the shark though. We don't need a special telecast to decide awards that mean nothing. Especially in sports. On Sportscenter we have daily plays of the day, monthly plays of the monthly, best plays of the first half of a season, and plays of the year. They also break them down by sport and anything else they can to show all the highlights. We also have the Internet where every other blogger puts out their award list. It may not have the same merit, but it put out basically the same nominees. I guess the major difference with the ESPY's then the Grammy's or Oscar's is that at least when an actor or artist wins one of those awards it increases their pay and it's a great resume builder. I don't think Drew Brees is walking into his contract negotiations with his ESPY in hand to show how talented he is. Sports are great on their own and we get to experience them every day. We don't need a made up awards ceremony by ESPN to let us know that.

Every team wants a rival.

Every team and fan wants an opponent that instills a respected hatred.  That's what a rivalry comes down to, hate and respect.

The problem with some people in the sports world is that rivalries are trying to be pushed upon us instead of letting them form.  Rivalries aren't just created from annually scheduled games between two opponents; they aren't set in stone after one close affair.  Rivalries take years to form and a lifetime to be dismantled.  Once they are there, they can almost never be taken away.

Tonight Duke squares off against Maryland at the Comcast Center in College Park, MD in a match up that some would like to describe as a rivalry.

Sorry Maryland.  You are not our rival.

I'm a die hard Duke fan.  A few of you will love me for it, others may despise me because of it.  No matter how many close games we have with Maryland (there hasn't been that many lately) or how many times we play them each year, they will never be our rival.  Only UNC can take that name plate.

Even with UNC having a down year, Duke fans still respect UNC and are nervous every time we have to play them.  The game still means more then any regular season game on the schedule.  Losing means grief, winning means euphoria.  That's what a rivalry is all about.

Basketball seems to form rivalries much easier then football does.  Teams play multiple times every year and conference tournaments provide some great moments that really catapult some rivalries into existence.

College football is much different.  What's the last great new rivalry in college football?  Penn State/Ohio State maybe?   I can't really think of any others.

The Big Ten is looking to expand with a twelfth team to hopefully create two divisions and a conference championship game.  I'm telling you right now, whomever that new team is, will be hyped up by the media and a rivalry attempt will try to be instilled immediately.  There will be story lines created, history and traditions will be mentioned, and anything else that can be used to materialize the rivalry will be used.  There will be no rivalry though.

Lets stop trying to create rivalries for every team at every occasion possible and turn big games into something they aren't.  Rivalries are special for a reason, lets keep it that way.

So sorry Maryland, you can't manufacture a rivalry with us.  You can however compete in a big time conference match up that still has meaning, just not the meaning you're looking for. Maybe someday in twenty years or so we will think differently.

I highly doubt it though.

If you're like me then going to the gym is a task where you want to get in, complete your workout, and get out.  I don't need to mingle with people, I don't need to show off to anyone, and I don't need to do twelve different butt lunges to feel like I got a full workout.  All I want to do is listen to my music, get my sweat on, and go home.

There's one other thing I love to do though.  I love to watch people.

I think most people enjoy watching others while at the gym.  You want to see how fast they're running, how much they're lifting, or what they're doing.  It's not really a competitive thing, just an intrigue thing.  If you're going to the gym then you're basically putting yourself out there for everyone to watch you in a vulnerable state anyway.  You might as well make the most out of it.

Some people at the gym are a little on the peculiar side to say the least.  These are the people that catch your eye every time you're there. These aren't fat people, these aren't weak people; these are the people who just can't act normal while at the gym. I don't care what you look like at the gym, I care more about how you act while you're there.

Here are the top ten types of people I see:

10) The Portly Friend

This is the guy that you randomly see walking around to every machine, following his friend who is the member at the gym. He's typically out of shape and thinks that this one workout is about to change his life. Usually he has no clue what he's getting into and you can tell this from the attire. Jeans, T-shirt, backwards hat are the normal garb. Sweat rag draping the shoulder to catch all the perspiration. You won't see the same guy again, but you'll see many just like him.

9)  The Senile Senior

Not to attack the elderly, but gyms these days aren't like the 1950's. Community showers are out-of-date and so is walking around with your balls hanging out. These are the men that clamor around the tight locker room butt naked rubbing all up against anything in their path. They'll seriously just stand in the middle of the walkway having a conversation with a friend or themselves just feeling the breeze on the nether regions. Everyone knows this guy. Hopefully people don't turn into it.

8) The Know-It-All Trainer

Trainers are fine when they don't bother me. Actually I hate trainers. This is a job that takes absolutely no brain power; stop acting like it does. There is nothing more annoying then finishing a set of weights and you see this tool looking dude start strutting over to you to tell you that your deltoid didn't hit a 90 degree angle. He then proceeds to hop on the bench to show you what a clean jerk looks like. If I don't ask for help, which I never do, then I don't want it. Go back to making protein shakes behind the counter.

7) The Gossip Girls

Typically these are middle aged women who think its BFF time while at the gym. They walk around the cardio area until they can find two treadmills together, since everyone needs a buddy while on the treadmill. They grab their People or US Weekly magazines and proceed to have a conversation for the twenty minutes that they are power walking. I don't need to hear about Brangelina and I'd rather not hear your voice either. Thankfully God invited iPods.

6) The Gay Guy

I'm not a homophobe. Not a fan, but not a hater. I understand gay people need to work out too, but just tone it down a tad. You can spot these guys from a mile away with their tight little shorts and their tank top on. They never come by themselves either. They always bring their entourage of one other guy. You'll see them chatting up a storm with a bunch of females as well, since females love gay guys. I guess they could be grouped with the gossip girls actually.

5) The Juicehead

Every gym has them; they all look ridiculous. I get it, you have humongous muscles and it's your passion in life. Congratulations son! All these brutes workout together, sharing supplement secrets and cycle stories. They're actually pretty entertaining to watch. If they add a single pound to their squat then the entire group rejoices and will reminisce about it for the whole week after.

4) The Anorexic Alien

I'm sorry, but someone needs to tell this girl that bony isn’t a good look. This is the girl that is on the elliptical for at least an hour everyday and she is already 80 lbs and thinning. I guess this is the reciprocal of the juicehead. I don't know what's worse, the muscular chick that could beat you in arm wrestling or this weird looking thing that is shriveling up day by day.

3) The Treadmill Tool

I never experienced this type of guy until recently. I'm on the treadmill doing my normal workout and a guy jumps on next to me. That's fine. This dude proceeds to turn the treadmill into his own jungle gym. He's running backwards on it, doing spin moves, running sideways. Seriously, what is wrong with some people? It got worse when his friend jumped on next to him and started doing the same moves. It felt like synchronized tread millers pulling off the worst dance moves I've ever seen. These are guys in their mid 30's too. I don't know what anyone could be training for that they would need to do spin moves on a treadmill. Maybe they're playing Madden football on the Wii or something.

2)  The Buterface

Everything is great but her face. So many of these girls at the gym. These are the girls that look great from the neck down. They are always working out and are always toned nicely, but their face looks like a constant fart is coming out of it. I know they can't control their facial features per say, but they also think they are queen shit. They're constantly just walking around the gym trying to chat it up with every dude that wants to give them attention, which there are many. They look like snots and probably are. Someone grab a paper bag, tell them it's Gucci, and have it become the new fad to wear it over your head.

1)  The Creepster

Nothing is worse than the creepy middle aged man at the gym. He's not just creep to the girls; he's creepy to the guys to. Typically I see this type of guy wearing some ridiculous sweat pants or windbreaker. Most of the time he will be working out at a machine and you'll see him at the same machine a half an hour later still staring down something. I always look for the guy who is wearing a watch on one hand and a bracelet on the other while he is working out. Don't know why that is the stereotype, but any guy I see with this combo is creepy. If I could rid the gym of any type of person, this would be the one. For my sake, your sake, and every girl or guy he is creepin on.

I woke up yesterday morning, grabbed the Erie Times-News (that's the local paper in Erie, PA for those who don't know about this editorial juggernaut), opened up the sports section and read the headline:

"Amid his giving, Sanders displays another side"

That's my city; where the front page of the sports section is lead by a column attacking a local sports hero for giving to charity.  I guess our NBA D-League team was off Saturday night.

You can check out the column here if you'd like, but I'll summarize it for you.  At least how I perceive it.

First of all, I'm not a Bob Sanders fan.  Never was, never will be.  I'm glad a guy from Erie, PA made it the NFL and was successful, but I could care less about his upbringing, his career, or about the money he's made.  After reading John Dudley's column yesterday, I did care what was said though.

In the column, John Dudley attempted to paint a picture of Bob Sanders as a charitable man, who should be a role model to all, except for his one flaw; he won't talk to John Dudley.  He lamented throughout the piece about how Bob wouldn't answer any questions about his amount of donations, his injuries, his salary, or anything else he didn't want to talk about.  The column stated how a local television station made a DVD for him in a rushed manner and how Bob wanted submitted questions when he requested an interview for him.  Dudley passed on the interview. I guess he had too much pride or his ego was too big to have an interview where questions were submitted.

What the piece was really about is that Bob can give to so many people; he just won't give to John Dudley.

Maybe I'm not in the media world so I don't understand the politics of it fully, but to write a piece making it sound like Bob Sanders owes us, the local people of Erie, answers to the questions you want answered is ridiculous.

Bob Sanders doesn't owe me anything.

I think too many people these days feel that all athletes should act a certain way towards the media.  People act like it's an injustice to society if an athlete doesn't want to answer questions or accept an interview.  Media members really think that they are partly responsible for helping an athlete get to where they're at and they should be owed something for it.  Do people ever just think that some athletes don't want the attention and others just want their private life to be private?

Bob Sanders was back in Erie, PA for Bob Sanders weekend.  During the weekend he provided money to start computer labs at two schools.  A reporter from the Erie Times-News asked for the amount donated and Bob got upset because he either didn't want to answer it or he didn't have the figure on hand.  Now Bob's a bad guy.

I think Bob Sanders doesn't want his charitable efforts to become publicized.  He gives money away and provides goodwill because of his character, not because it makes him look good to society.

Here's a little information that was never publicized about Bob.  A couple years ago a relative of mine was injured severely in a car accident.  He had brain damage and was in a coma for a long period of time.  Till this day he is still unable to walk, unable to speak normally, and he still has permanent brain damage.  Bob learned about his situation and found out that he's the favorite player of my relative.  When Bob was home in Erie he went and visited him, brought him a jersey, and spent a little of his time with him.  A year later he flew him and his entire family in a private flight out to Indianapolis for a game.  Was this publicized in the Erie Times-News? No.  Probably because Bob didn't want it publicized.

Just because an athlete acts like they're controlling the media and not providing all the answers that a columnist wants doesn't mean they're a bad person, it could just mean that they want to focus on who's receiving the goodwill, not who's providing it.

John Dudley ended his fit by stating that he'd probably be able to get over Bob not talking to him, but there's someone who may not.  He wrote,

"I'll get over it, I suppose.

Great role model for your son there John, way to stay classy. I hope his son reads his column, but I hope he reads mine too.

Sometimes what's portrayed by one individual isn't the same as what's portrayed by another. Mr. Dudley can continue to hold a grudge against Sanders because Sanders won't give to him like he does to others, but make your own decision on Bob, don't read either of our columns and think you know the real individual.

I hope John Dudley didn't sell his son's Sanders jersey on eBay or use it in a birdcage. Everyone knows that newspapers are a much easier cleanup.