If you haven't seen any 30 for 30 documentaries on ESPN then you should really check them out.  Actually, just check out The U, that's the only really great one.  I love documentaries.  I don't know if it's because I feel like I'm obtaining credible information or I just like seeing different things from different peoples' perspectives.

The first 30 for 30 documentary was Kings Ransom directed by Peter Berg.  This is the description from the ESPN Films page:

On August 9, 1988, the NHL was forever changed with the single stroke of a pen. The Edmonton Oilers, fresh off their fourth Stanley Cup victory in five years, signed a deal that sent Wayne Gretzky, a Canadian national treasure and the greatest hockey player ever to play the game, to the Los Angeles Kings in a multi-player, multi-million dollar deal. As bewildered Oiler fans struggled to make sense of the unthinkable, fans in Los Angeles were rushing to purchase season tickets at a rate so fast it overwhelmed the Kings box office. Overnight, a franchise largely overlooked in its 21-year existence was suddenly playing to sellout crowds and standing ovations, and a league often relegated to “little brother” status exploded from 21 teams to 30 in less than a decade. Acclaimed director Peter Berg presents the captivating story of the trade that knocked the wind out of an entire country, and placed a star-studded city right at the humble feet of a 27-year-old kid, known simply as “The Great One.”

Everyone basically knows the story; the documentary definitely went much deeper into the hatred that the Oilers fan base had toward the owner and Gretzky's wife.  The trade not only changed the sport, but it changed the city as well.  There has never been a move been an acquisition like that since, in any professional sport.  There could be though.

Tomorrow at 3:00pm the NBA's trade deadline commences.  There's some trade rumors going around, but the major story is what the Cleveland Cavaliers will do.  Everything is about LeBron James.  Does LeBron like this move, will he resign if this move happens, is Lebron the one that is asking for this trade?  All these questions keep getting brought up over and over and all these questions are legitimate questions.  The Cavs have the best team in the NBA and still everyone thinks that the Cavs have to make a trade if they want to secure LeBron James this summer.

What will happen if they don't secure LeBron though?  Analysts have looked at the team perspective of how the organization will handle it, but how will the city handle it?  How will the NBA handle it?

I think if LeBron jumps to a different team than we will have a reincarnation of Kings Ransom, but this time it would be starring King James.

Cleveland is a diehard sports city that has seen so many irreconcilable moments.  They have the drive, the Jordan jumper, the annual draft day busts; this is a city that can't catch a break.  Can we name any player who has signed to the Cleveland Browns that became a star since the Browns have returned to the NFL?  This is a city that has put all their eggs in one basket and all their faith in one man.  LeBron James.

LeBron isn't just an athlete to the city of Cleveland; he's a sign of hope to a city that hasn't had much in a long time.  I think LeBron knows that; I think he recognizes what he means to a city and he wants that pressure.  Pressure seems like an evil word, but for some it's what motivates them every day.  I don't think LeBron has any qualms about being great and bringing a championship to Cleveland, he will however feel the burden of an entire state that watched him grow from a state championship high school player into the NBA's MVP.

Cleveland would riot.  There would be cars on fire, windows smashed; the huge LeBron James "Witness" facade would be off the building by the time the ink dried on his new contract. Fans would be in tears and the city would return to its past state of no prominence. It's kind of a morbid thing to think of, but we have to, we've seen it before with another Great One.

The NBA would thrive. LeBron would probably be in one the biggest markets and the notoriety would be unseen like never before in any other sport. He'd make more money than any sport athlete ever has.

Is it worth it though?  That's the question he's going to have to ask himself this offseason. He'll have to look at all the variables including money, endorsements, and is the team doing everything they can to win a championship?

At what point is doing the right thing for yourself and the wrong thing for so many others the best thing to do?

The NBA's trade deadline is tomorrow and we've heard hundreds of rumors of different players going to different teams. So much speculation about who gets who, where the player wants to go, if a team is trying to dump salary or make a run at a playoff push. Every hour of the day we have a new rumor conjured up by either some fact or fiction. Why do we think moving these players are such good moves for teams though? If you're already settled in as one of the best teams then why go out and grab someone?

Can you name the last NBA championship team that had a trade deadline trade that helped them win the championship? Unlike baseball and hockey, which this scenario happens frequently, the NBA really hasn't been a league where adding a key player creates a path to the ring. The last time a significant deadline trade happened that led to the championship was in 2004 when the Detroit Pistons traded for Rasheed Wallace and Mike James. Mike James was deadly in the playoffs!!

Why is it so much easier in the MLB and NHL to make deadline trades that propel your team? The answer is chemistry. Chemistry is a factor in all sports, but it's the key in basketball. In baseball everyone is not touching the ball every play so chemistry isn't as much of a factor. In hockey, everyone will touch the puck while on the ice, but you have a specific line you play with so you can learn to gel with your line much easier. Basketball on the other hand, you have many different lineups that you have to learn to play with. Sometimes you have a tall lineup, short lineup, more guards, more forwards. There are so many different variables that adding that key player could almost be a detriment this late in the season.

I actually wanted to write this column for the sole purpose of one reason. I have a funny story that hopefully I can relate to sports, if not, you got a laugh out of it. The story is about one of my roommates in college. College wasn't that long ago for me; only three years. I went to Penn State and had an amazing time. During my junior and senior years I lived in a two floor, four bedroom townhouse with five other guys. You shouldn't get excited unless you're female or a male figure skater. Anyways, we had great times there, all of us meshed together perfectly. We were all friends since freshman year and it made it much easier to jump into a place where six gents had to live with each other. I'm sure if one person left and we had to add someone later on it just wouldn't be the same.

One roommate of mine, who is now a teacher in Philadelphia, was the type of person where no matter what he did or how hard he tried to make everything work out smoothly, it just wouldn't. Since he's a teacher I'll protect his identity here and call him, hmmm... John Heisey. Heisey's a great guy, well maybe not a great guy, but at least a good guy. He is a great teacher though. Heisey was a jinx, he was messy, he wore extremely dirty Homer Simpson slippers, but Heisey was a perfect fit for our abode. Maybe he wouldn't fit everywhere he went, but he fit with our place; we all fit with our place.

I was talking to another one of my fellow roommates yesterday and happened to hear an extremely hilarious story that involved Heisey. If you knew him, you would know it was true and it wouldn't surprise you at all. I guess Heisey lives in Philadelphia with a roommate or two, I'm not sure, I don't really care to talk to him that often. One of his roommates had to go out of town for the weekend. She asked him to watch over her dog that she loved oh so dearly during the weekend while she was gone. John being the kind guy that he is immediately said yes. He takes care of kids for a living, he has a pet snake, of course he could take care of a dog. She left and the weekend rolled around. Yohn invited over some of his friends to have a few cocktails before they went out for the evening. They had a few drinks and moved the party to the outdoors. They were all outside just having a gay old time, drinking beer, playing fetch with the dog, and everything was going great. The night got later and they decided to leave to go out for the night. They went to a few bars, got much more inebriated, and finally called it a night around 2am. The next day Heisey returned home to an empty apartment. Yes, Heisey lost her dog! How does someone lose a dog? Dogs escape, run away, hide for awhile, but lose a dog?

It gets even better. I guess Heisey was a wreck; who wouldn't be? Next, he did what every rational person would do to help try and console a person who just lost their precious pet. He went out and bought her another dog. I'm not sure if the dog looked like the same dog or was the same type of breed. Knowing him he probably just found a dog with the same name and called it a day. Would anyone really be satisfied with a replacement dog? This is a scene straight out of  Meet the Parents.

When she came back from the weekend, ready to see her pet, he finally broke the news to her. She was heartbroken, in tears, and mourning all day. He then thought the best move would be to say to her, and I quote from what I heard he said,

"I Understand If You Want Me To Move Out"

That's my old college roommate. The one I know and had so many great times with over my college days. Do I expect anything less of him? Nope. This is dedicated to him and hopefully his roommate's dog reemerges. At least if it does it will have another dog to play with now.

The moral of the story and to come back to the sports aspect is that some players work in certain situations. For the six of us in K2, Heisey worked. I guess for his new situation he just doesn't have the correct fit. The same could go with any of these NBA players who will get traded today and tomorrow. Myself and the rest of my old roommates know Heisey enough to not put him in a situation where he is taking care of anything. Unfortunately for his new roommate, she didn't know him well enough.

I want the Cavs to trade for Amare, but does anyone really know if it will work? I just hope if they pull the move the chemistry works out, because if it ends up backfiring and the Cavs lose the new addition of Amare (Heisey) and the most beloved person on the team (the dog) then the whole entire household will be in a somber mood (Cleveland).

Who wants their kids taught by Mr. Heisey???

I completed my mission. If you don't know what I'm talking about then read my column from Friday, but basically I set out to watch my first NASCAR race, from start to finish, to try and find out why millions upon millions of fans watch the sport each week.

What I planned on doing is sitting on my couch for four to five hours to watch the Daytona 500 in hopes of finding a reason to love the sport. What I ended up doing is sitting on the couch for seven hours and recording a meticulous journal of all the events that took place from the opening concert, to the commentators, to the commercial, and of course the race. Did I enjoy the race? Did I find that thing that so many other people across the country love so much about NASCAR? You'll find out after you're done reading my Daytona Diary. Come on! I sat through seven hours to find out my answer the least you can do is read through one column to find out yours.

12:25pm - I returned home from the gym at noon; psychologically prepared for five hours of cars going around in circles. I turned on Fox and was pleasantly surprised to see a Tim McGraw concert happening at Daytona. Well not pleasantly surprised since I'm not the biggest T McG fan, but it wasn't too bad. I especially enjoyed the ridiculous Daytona 500 jackets that they gave to the celebrities there. I wasn't using my undivided attention on him so I don't even know any of the songs he played, but I did find it funny that he had to hop in a car window of a race car just to cruise about 50 feet off the stage. That's when I learned that this was definitely the Super Bowl of NASCAR. Whenever you have lots of unnecessary events and props then it's definitely a Super Bowl.

1:00pm - The concert finished and I got to experience some NASCAR pre-game at the "Hollywood Hotel". That's what they called it. I forgot to write down the names of everyone, but according to Wikipedia it was Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond in the studio. The broadcast booth, which I'll get to soon enough, consisted of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds. I already prepared with a little studying myself by watching Jimmie Johnson 24/7 on HBO and also I watched Inside NASCAR on Showtime. The entire analysis basically consisted of them talking about every team move by racers and that basically every team had a chance to win the race.

1:18 - The start of the Daytona 500! Right as the race began we heard the insightful words of Larry McReynolds, say, "Reach up there and pull those belts tight one more time!" Then the catch phrase of the day came. I had no clue it was a catch phrase by Darrell Waltrip until I looked it up, but I guess he starts every race with this gem.

"Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. Let's Go Racing Boys!"

The race got off pretty smooth. Mark Martin started out in front with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. second and Jimmie Johnson third. The placement stayed the same for a few laps. Mark Martin moved up to first as he crossed the fifth lap, which got the broadcast team really excited. That's like getting excited for receiving silverware when you go to dinner. It really doesn't mean anything.

1:26 - We got our first wreck! Finally! It took eight minutes for a wreck. I thought NASCAR was trying to make crashes happen more frequent. This was the start to many cautions throughout the day. The crash involved Regan Smith, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Brad Keselowski. Yeah, I didn't know who they were either. I did learn that basically every time there's a caution that once the race starts back up basically everyone goes to pit row for new tires and gas.

1:38 - Mark Martin got caught in the middle of the two lanes of cars. I thought this was hilarious. Picture yourself at the front of a buffet line and you forget a napkin so you go back in between the two lines and no one will let you back in. That's basically what happened to Mark Martin. He just stood in the middle as everyone passed him and lost a solid twenty spots.

1:57 - This is when I learned that this Super Bowl is nowhere near the football's Super Bowl. The commercials were horrible. I got my first glimpse of a new show coming to Fox called Sons of Tucson that is about three kids who pay a thirty-some year old guy who looks like he still lives at his parent's house to act as their father. I know I've seen a movie with the same premise before. I think Sinbad was in it. I can't remember though.

2:06 - Lap 50 is completed. At this point I'm thinking the race is going pretty well. It's only been 48 minutes to reach 50 laps so I'll be done watching this race in about three hours or less. Everyone decided to pit again. I was a little disappointed with the pit crew displays. I thought they'd focus some more on how quick they were changing tires and everything. They put times up for pit stops, they displayed how many tires they exchanged, but that was about it. I just heard so much emphasis on how crucial the teams were so I thought they'd talk about them a little more. I did think it was cool how quick they filled up gas. I'd definitely like to roll through a gas station where some dude was out there with this huge plastic gas container and just poured it down the gullet really quick to cap me off.

2:11 - A preview for a new show on FX called Justified had a pretty cool commercial. The one guy from The Shield is in it and it showed him searching around a house with a shotgun and as he turns the corner the other guy points a pistol right into his face. Looked like some cool effects and FX has definitely been on point with television shows.

2:13 - We got to see an in-studio display of the front of a race car. They showed how the racers have some tape on the front of the grill of the car to block intake, which makes the car more stable. They said if you have the piece of tape on it's like having two new wheels, but some guys had to take it off due to overheating. I never knew 1/8" of tape could mean so much.

2:19 - We got our second wreck and this one was fatal. I'm kidding, but I wish it was. Okay, I'm kidding again. This one involved just Joe Nemecheck who was knocked out of the race from the damage. Somehow he didn't hit anyone else. Do NASCAR's have air bags?

2:25 - Another pitiful commercial. This one was from Nationwide Insurance where they tried to persuade the "World's Greatest Spokesperson" to come and market for them. The end result was that you had to go to a web site to see the rest of the video. I don't want to watch your commercial. Why would I want to visit a web site to see more of it?

2:40 - We get our second Sons of Tucson commercial. Still looks just as bad. We also got our third caution on the 81st lap.

2:55 - The excitement begins! Jeff Gordon passes Kyle Busch to take the lead and for the first time all day, the inebriated fans find the strength and ability to stand and cheer. I lifted my head off the pillow!

2:56 - Lap 100 of 200. Not too shabby. Still on pace to end before 5pm. I'm going strong at this point and starting to learn all the race cars now and getting into it a little more.

3:08 - I learn that every car out there is loose. This is supposedly because the track hasn't heated up enough yet so you don't get as much grip. Very interesting.

3:10 - A trailer for the movie Cop Out. Quick name me a good movie with Tracy Morgan?

3:12 - We get back from commercial and the racers are on their fourth caution. John Andretti hit a wall or something. Of course we missed it during a commercial. Just my luck.

3:23 - Red Flag is out! It is at this point where everything completely changes in the race. The pace, the broadcasting booth, the teams, and most importantly, my attitude. A decent sized piece of asphalt has been displaced from the track and therefore the race has come to a halt. It's a healthy pothole around the one corner of the track. The broadcast team says that they just have to fill it with concrete and it will be about 10-12 minutes before racing begins. I thought it would take much longer. I was right. Anyone who complains about sitting through baseball instant replays should have to sit through this.

I then learn that the track hasn't been repaved since August 1978. Are you kidding me? I understand you want heritage and tradition, but I can't believe during the past 30 years there haven’t been improvements in pavement to make the track better so stupid stuff like this doesn't happen. Maybe they just want to keep Dale Earnhardt's blood stains there forever.

3:24 - I'm much happier. I flip to the Penguins game and I lucked out because overtime is just about to begin. Ten to twelve minute break is no problem anymore since I get to watch the Pens play the Predators in OT.

3:30 - The Pens get a 4 on 3 power play in OT due to a holding penalty. They have to win now.

3:40 - The shootout ends abruptly after the Pens miss two straight shootout shots and Nashville makes both of theirs. Back to NASCAR.

3:45 - Still no racing.

3:52 - The third and still horrible Sons of Tucson commercial.

3:55 - Racers are finally allowed to leave their car to grab a bite to eat or take a piss break. They had to sit in their car the whole time before that. This pothole could still be awhile.

4:23 - An hour later and still no racing! I'm losing my patience with this sport.

4:41 - The broadcasters don't have much to talk about so they're interviewing any racer they can. We get a nice interview about the Speed Channel.

4:42 - A Larry the Cable Guy sighting.

4:53 - I flipped on the USA Women's Hockey game versus China. The score was 9-0 USA. There really needs to be a mercy rule for any Asian hockey teams.

5:04 - Cars finally begin to move again after a 1 hour and 41 minute delay. At least when there are rain delays in baseball we get to watch Mark Buhrle slip and slide across the tarp. This was just unbearable.

5:07 Lap 122 finally begins.

5:09 - The second "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity" is spoken by Darrell Waltrip. Maybe the delay was worth it!

5:17 - The announcers tried to take any positives they could out of the delay. They said that because the track heated up now that this would be an entire different race with cars racing three lanes at a time and speeds would increase. Speeds didn't increase and there never were three lanes of cars.

5:24 - First fire of the day and fifth caution due to #43 A.J. Allmendinger having some car problems. I love going by car numbers, but even the racers call everyone by their number.

5:34 - 50 laps to go! The race really should be over by now.

5:42 - Sixth caution. I was thinking, wouldn't it be a great idea if Google just sponsored every single race car? They could basically purchase the whole sport. Plus if you see any interview with a race car driver the first words out of their mouth is their sponsor’s name. Anytime they would be asked a question they could just respond with Google It.

5:49 - Please God NO! The pothole is back and worse than ever. More and more pieces around it eroded it. This is where I really get pissed. We hear from the broadcasters that this time they're going with a different option that dries much faster and is a very durable epoxy. Why wouldn't you do that in the first place? Completely idiotic. This better not last long.

6:20 - Fourth Sons of Tucson commercial. I think the show has been canceled already.

6:34 - Drivers are in their cars and getting ready to move again.

6:36 - The race is back on with the normal caution to begin with.

6:38 - Every single driver pits, except for one. The badass who didn't is named Scott Speed. If there's going to be the one tough guy during a race I'm glad his name is Scott Speed.

6:44 - The caution is about to end and it immediately goes back up due to debris on the course. This is more of an ordeal then I could have ever dreamed of.

6:47 - Race finally begins again without a caution and there are about 33 laps to go.

6:53 - There are 25 laps to go and Scott Speed is still in the lead!

6:56 - We have to have another commercial break with 20 laps left.

7:00 - Jimmie Johnson, the racer I wanted to win, blows a tire thanks to that sweet epoxy pothole and he's done for the day.

7:03 - Darrell starts getting really excited about Kevin Harvick.  He yells out a "That car is crazy fast!" and proclaims him the fastest car on the track.  He wasn't even in first place.

7:05 - 10 laps to go!  The end is in sight.  I think.

7:07 - 7th caution of the day/night.  Ryan Newman just destroyed his car with about six laps to go.

7:16 - Due to the wreck the caution has been out and we only have two lefts to go. I learned that NASCAR has installed some new rule that makes it so that with two laps left there is a green flag, then with one a white flag, and then the checkered. If there is an accident before the white flag then it restarts to the same rotation again for up to three times.

7:17- 8th Caution. Did I expect it not to happen?  The rule is fully on display as Bill Elliot takes out Joey Logano.

7:22 - Breaking news!  A deal has been cut between Jamie McMurray & Kevin Harvick so that McMurray will draft behind Harvick and push him towards the lead. I didn't know there were so many politics between teams. This deal stuff just seems a little shady and unfair. Not sure if I like it.

7:24 - The green flag is back up. 2 laps to go. The best move of the day came here. The deal paid off and Harvick jumps to first.

7:24 - Harvick is in first for about 20 seconds and then caution number 9 is out!  Sucks for him. Jeff Gordon decided to bump Kasey Kahne a couple times and he flew off the track into the grass.

7:31 - The final green, white, checkered flag sequence will finally happen!

7:32 - We finally reach a white flag. Last lap!

7:33 - Waltrip really wants Dale Jr. to win. Jr. jumps from 10th to 2nd. I think it was all from the encouragement he got from Waltrip yelling "Look out Jr., Come on Jr. Come on!"

7:33 - Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500!  I have officially witnessed an entire NASCAR race that lasted 6 hours and 15 minutes

I just witnessed my first NASCAR race and I spent over seven hours doing so. I can't remember the last time I spent seven hours doing anything from start to finish. It was a wild ride for sure. I learned a lot from the day; probably more then I'd like to learn. I learned that I can stick to a commitment even when things change unexpectedly. I found out many new interesting things about NASCAR that I never knew before and I realized that you never know what to expect during a race. I don't know how anyone could gamble on this sport.

Most importantly, I learned that I will never watch a NASCAR race again; from start to finish. I don't know how anyone does it. I know people say they only need to watch the end of the game for baseball and I totally disagree with them, but in racing it seems like you only need to watch towards the end. There are no home runs or web gems that can change the outcome of the game early on. In racing it doesn't matter at all if you have the lead. I guess the wrecks are cool and those people are out of the race so it's good to know who's left, but it's not like any moment in the first 150 laps meant anything significant. If you don't wreck and stay with the pack until the end then you have a shot to win. I can see watching the end of races and paying attention to standings throughout the year, but that's about it.

I gave it a shot though. I really wanted to love NASCAR. I didn't find the thing that other NASCAR fans love. Instead I did enjoy the sport and respect what these drivers and teams do. I'll probably pay attention to the standings and flip to the event each week from now on. I enjoyed it at times, but not enough to become a fan. Maybe loving a new sport is much tougher then I thought. Maybe I just have to take baby steps. I've never tried to love a new sport before; most people have never attempted it either.

I'm happy I did it though and I'm still waiting for that good Tracy Morgan movie answer.

Yes, I know what I just said. I am watching my first Super Bowl on Sunday. Disappointing to some of you, I am not talking about football. This Sunday at 1:00pm on Fox I will be sitting on my couch for probably a solid four to five hours to experience my first NASCAR race. My thinking is that if I'm going to force myself to watch one, why not make it the Daytona 500?

That's not my only thinking though.

I've never got car racing. I don't know if I don't understand, don't like it, or just don't want to like it. I know it's more than just driving around in circles making left turns, but it still doesn't seem captivating. Over 15 million people will be watching the Daytona 500 on Sunday; I have to know the reason for this.

I love sports; the competition, the drama, the little nuances in different sports. I love knowing stats and facts that other people don't and I love appreciating sports for the game itself, not just liking a player or team, but actually loving the game. I think the diehard NASCAR fans are the same way, so there has to be something I'm missing that isn't drawing me to one of the biggest sports in America.

I liken people not wanting to watch NASCAR to a lot of people not liking to watch baseball. It's long, it's boring, nothing’s going on; the typical excuses for baseball are very much in the same for NASCAR. I will defend my love for baseball and the greatness of the game to anyone. I don't really need to get into it now, but there's so much more to it then a pitcher throwing a ball and a batter trying to hit. There are games within the game, there's an abundance of strategy, and there's a lot of skill and athletic ability involved to play baseball.

I can't believe that others can't see what I see, but am I ignorant in having those same thoughts about NASCAR?

What really got me thinking about finally sitting down and watching a racing event was HBO's 24/7 with Jimmie Johnson. I've always been a fan of the 24/7 series on HBO where they follow two boxers as they lead up to fight night. The series is great; the narrator is what really grabs your attention though. Jimmie Johnson 24/7 wasn't as good as any of the boxing ones, but it was still very entertaining. HBO could've really made it much better if they focused on two drivers and made it more of a competition similar to the boxing series. If they would've had Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon together on the show then we would've gotten to see how each team acts differently and prepares in their own way for a race. I think it's a dynamic they need in any 24/7 series.

I've learned a little from the show, but I still haven't seen anything that really makes me want to watch NASCAR. I understand how it's not an individual sport and how important the team is. I know that the littlest problem in the car can screw up the race in a split second for not only the racer of the car, but other racers as well. I even appreciate how knowledgeable and efficiently the entire crew works together and how hard they train for the races. I just don't see how watching any of this for five hours could be exhilarating.

There has to be a reason though. I could go out and read other blogs to see their reasons for loving NASCAR, but I won't. I don't really care to. I want to learn on my own. If I'm going to figure out why millions of other people love the sport, then I want to find a way to love it myself. I'm going to be rooting for Jimmie Johnson; I'm going to be giving it my full attention; and I'm really going to try to find something in it to try and appreciate it like I appreciate the other sports that I love.

I won't be the average person who just says they hate a sport without fully attempting to like it. I also won't be the person who just loves a sport because others like it either. Will the Super Bowl this weekend be the only race I ever watch for the rest of my life?

I don't know, but I'll find out late Sunday. You'll find out Monday.

Everyone has addictions.  People who tell you otherwise are addicted to lying.  For some its drugs, for Tiger and Steve Phillips it's supposedly sex, for me its sports.

Now what people fail to understand about addictions is that there are different levels of severity.  I begrudgingly always have to listen to about fifteen minutes of Dr. Phil when I get home from work since my parents enjoy the rhetoric that he spews.  A couple days ago there was some typical Dr. Phil guest.  You know, the kid whose life is about to end unless Dr. Phil swoops in to save the day.  He either scares them straight or sends them to boot camp.

While on this episode, it was some girl that came on the show addicted to Oxycontin.  Her mother was so concerned for her that she felt she needed to be displayed on national television so Dr. Phil could berate her enough to straighten her out.  Not only was she that supporting, but also, just to get her to come to the show, she actually gave her Oxycontin pills because she wouldn't attend the show without being high.  Great job mom!

I mean I wish my mom would do that.  What Gene?  You don't even want to attend church on Easter?  How about I give you a fifth of whiskey during mass and we call it a deal?  Thanks mom. Love ya! Make it Jack please.

So this girl wasn't just addicted to Oxycontin, she was smoking the pills.  I didn't even know you could smoke pills.  I mean is snorting not giving her the rush that she needs?  I guess it's the new crack or something.  The point is her addiction was so severe that she took it to a new level that I didn't even know you could take it to.  I think people are taking their sports addictions to new levels now as well.

My addiction to sports is that I have to always know what's going on.  I need the scores, I need the highlights, I need to watch all my teams play anytime they're on.  Does it take over my life?  Somewhat, but not enough that it's a burden; at least I don't think so.  I think it's a healthy addiction because I use it in a positive manner.

Some peoples' sports addictions aren't healthy.  There's nothing wrong being in a few fantasy leagues or throwing a few bucks down on the Super Bowl or mingling with fellow fans on Twitter, but when does it become too much?  I guess this is my intervention to some of the folks out there that can't appreciate the game anymore without one of these resources.  

So here's my list of examples to find out if you are too addicted to sports (broken into classes):

The Chill for a Little Class

1.  If you have any money already wagered on any Winter Olympic Sporting Event, the H-O-R-S-E event, or you wagered on the Pro Bowl

2.  If you saw a great highlight in any game and immediately check your Twitter Page to see other peoples' responses

3.  If you wear a professional sports jersey to church

4.  If you listen to the game on a pair of headsets while attending a sports event (personal pet peeve)

5.  If you belong to a fantasy bowling, billiards, or volleyball league

6.  If you and another person both tweeted about the same gross looking fat lady that you saw in the crowd

The Turn Off the TV for a Month Class

1.  If you ever applied to try to Stump the Schwab

2.  If you had to pay taxes on any of your fantasy winnings

3.  If you looked at the pictures of Greg Oden's or George Hill's penis

4.  If you can name the gold medalist male figure skater from the 2006 Olympics

5.  If you tweeted a game analysis while attending a high school basketball game

6.  If you parlayed the coin flip, National Anthem length, Gatorade color, and Thank You response (and won)

The Creepy Sports Fan Class

1.  If you have ever written to an athlete to tell them how they have changed your life and you're over 10 years old

2.  If you bet on USA's Evan Lysacek to pull off a Quadruple Lutz next week (I swear to God I had to look up any name)

3.  If you're still rocking a starter jacket or Michael Jordan #45 jersey

4.  If you can't watch a sports event without Tweeting the whole time (especially when it's your favorite team)

5.  If your whole source of income for the year is based off fantasy NASCAR winnings

6.  If you're reading this contemplating if you belong in this category

All I'm trying to say is that sports are great and we should enjoy them to their fullest, but don't go overboard.  Too many people can't even watch a NFL game anymore without having money on it or tweeting about it the entire time.  We've always heard the rule to not bet on your own team, I don't think you should tweet during your favorite team's game either.  Anyone who isn't on Twitter really should try it out though.  It's a great resource to see great articles and share thoughts with fellow fans, but some people go completely overboard with nonstop tweets during games.  Enjoy your fantasy sports, or Tweeting, or even betting some money, but do it in moderation.  Just enjoy a great competition once in awhile without having to have your own separate competition at the same time.

By the way Follow @FavreDollars Thanks!