I love sports! Let me repeat that (think of Saturday Night Live’s Joe Biden) I LOVE SPORTS! I love ALL sports!

I believe it goes back to my childhood in Greece, where one of my favorite early memories was of my dad reading the sports newspaper. Although Greece is a small country, it has 15 newspapers that deal exclusively with sports. That’s right, no news, politics, entertainment or business. All sports all the time -- the country is crazy about sports!

My dad was from the old country and very "old school." He even looked like the dad from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (minus the Windex)! He was tough from the outside, but I didn't realize until I was much older that his toughness hid a very sensitive heart.



He was a man of few words and certainly no "I love you son" comments. The best part of my day was after he would finish reading his paper, and he would hand it to me. The newspaper was so big that I couldn’t even hold it in my little hands, so I would lay it down on the floor. Once unfolding its magical pages, I would begin reading. Actually, this is how I learned to read, and it became a lifelong daily habit. I have always read the newspaper from cover to cover and thereby learned about the world.

 My way of connecting with my dad was always through sports. When I was 6, he literally threw me in the pool one day and told me to start swimming -- and so I did, following in the footsteps of my older brother. Luckily, I had a natural talent for the sport and excelled almost from the start.

I remember my first big race at the nationals (7 and under). It was a 50-meter freestyle race in an outdoor Olympic-size pool right underneath the ancient ruins of the Parthenon. For a little kid like me, 50 meters was a long distance. We got on the starting blocks. The booming voice said "Get set," and then the starter's gun went off!  I started swimming as fast as I could and gave it my best. When I touched the wall at the other end of the pool everyone was cheering. I couldn't believe it -- I had gotten first place!

I remember standing at the podium holding the trophy and wearing the gold medal around my neck with a big smile. Most importantly, I remember my dad up in the stands, cool as always, but with a proud smile looking down at me.

From that moment on, I was hooked. In the next few years we moved to America and I had an opportunity to swim and train with some of the best swimmers in the world in the swimming mecca of Southern California. Many more national championships followed as well as many silver and bronze medals. Swimming was one of the main reasons my family moved to the United States. If it wasn't for sports I wouldn't be here.

Now that you know the background to my love affair with sports, a few comments, my preferences and the reasons why.

1. UCLA (both my brother and I graduated from there and my family's tradition goes back to the class of 1959). We're blue and gold all the way in every sport!
2. BYU -- My wife graduated from there (she was accepted on an academic scholarship as a non-member) and I've taught at BYU Education Week for the past several years. If UCLA isn't playing, I'm rooting for the Cougars! Our family motto is "BYU: We Love YOU!"
3. Anyone playing against USC -- the reason is obvious!
   

Current events:

College football: Did Utah deserve a share of the national championship? After beating every team on their schedule, including a very good Alabama team, the answer is "yes!" I don't root for the Utes, but fair is fair! In what other sport do you go undefeated all season only to finish second when the first team has lost a game?

Tim Tebow: He's an amazing young man! He just declared that he's coming back to Florida to defend the Gators' national championship. He's already won two championships AND a Heisman Trophy. He has nothing left to prove, but should he win again next year, he will go down in history as one of the greatest players  to ever play college football!

And what's the deal with the Gators anyway? Has any school ever won two NCAA basketball championships AND two football championships in such close proximity? If any of you sports fans out there have an answer, please let me know.

NFL playoffs: One of the good guys in the NFL is Titans' coach Jeff Fisher. His quest to return to the Super Bowl was derailed on the very same day as another good man, Kurt Warner, and his Cardinals advanced. How ironic -- it was Warner who deprived Fisher of winning the big one nine years ago in one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever.

AFC Championship: Can the Steelers beat the Ravens for the third time this year? The first two victories were by a total of seven points and a VERY controversial touchdown. Beating a good team three times in a row is extremely difficult.

NFC Championship: Sentimentality galore on this one: the Eagles and Donovan McNabb reach the title game for the fifth time in seven years. As for the Cardinals, it’s the first title game since most of us were born: 1947! Wouldn't it be a great story if  Kurt Warner leads them to the promised land?

Well, that's it for now. Keep rooting for your teams, and always Keep the Faith!