Posts Tagged ‘sports’
Dad Concerned Son’s E-Gaming Career May Not Last Forever
The headline “Dad Concerned Son’s E-Gaming Career May Not Last Forever” may sound like it belongs on The Onion, but it’s real. Here are some quotes from an article that was on the FRONT PAGE of the New York Times a few weeks back.
(Note: the photo below is from a a DOTA Championship back in 2005. Remember 2005? Good times, good times. OK, not really.)
English: The top three finalists in DotA Allstars, from WCG 2005 (a computer gaming championship). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
His obsession with video games was a sore point with Mr. Dager’s parents during his teenage years, as it was for the parents of many top gamers.
“I, and many players like me, sacrificed everything,” said Mr. Dager, who is almost a senior in college but is not attending school now. “We gave up on sports and friends and school just so we can play more.”
Mr. Dager’s income was meager last year, amounting to less than $20,000. But he estimates his income so far this year at more than $200,000.
He recently looked at a condominium to buy in Fort Wayne. His father, Joe Dager, said he was proud of his son’s success but uncertain about the longevity of his son’s career.
“There’s hardly a week that goes by when we don’t reiterate the fact that that’s all fine and good, but at some point you do have to make provisions to finish school,” his father said. “We say that, but I don’t know if Bill Gates’s parents are still saying that to him.”
(Note: emphasis added above.)
Quick comment: making money playing video games does not mean you are Bill Gates. It doesn’t even mean you’re a programmer, or know a thing about how to start a successful business, much less the multibillion dollar Microsoft. So let’s not get too crazy.
What I say to kids who tell me they want an e-gaming/e-sports career is the following: start really young, keep your expectations realistic, and don’t skip college unless you’ve got something tangible happening where you are making actual money. Not potential money. Actual money. And any money you make? Save it. Put it in the bank. Invest it in something low-risk. (Unless you have a trust fund or something. In that case, be a mensch and donate your winnings. That would be a nice thing to do.) Because the game that you happen to be a master of could easily disappear as quickly as it became popular. Maybe even faster.
In E-Sports, Video Gamers Draw Real Crowds and Big Money – NYTimes.com.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Gaiam Tai Chi Beginner Kit (Amazon Lightning Deal)
Get this Amazon Lightning Deal on the Gaiam Tai Chi Beginner Kit. $14.99, regular price is $19.98. You save $4.99. And we did the math for you. Such a deal! And it’s a Lightning Deal, which means it won’t last forever. So buy it already! And you too can one day be a Tai Chi master. Or at least get some exercise.
Tai Chi in the street, China, May 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Amazon.com: Gaiam Tai Chi Beginner Kit: Sports & Outdoors.
Goalrilla Spring Trainer – Amazon Lightning Deal
Act fast or you’ll miss this great Amazon Lightning Deal on the Goalrilla Spring Trainer, a device that could help your child be a better baseball player.
Jeff says: Buy this now!
Basically the Goalrilla Spring Trainer looks like a way for your kid to practice batting without a pitcher. Which is handy. (I misread this item as Gorilla Spring Trainer, which is funnier. Maybe it’s a gorilla that pitches to your kid. That too would be handy, although messier since you’d have to feed the gorilla and clean up it’s poop.)
The regular price is $286.13, as of this writing Amazon is selling it for $149.99. That’s over 50% off. (63% to be precise. And no, I did not do the math. Amazon did it for me. Thanks Jeff!)
If you want it, here it is, come and get it. It’s a Lightning Deal, and those actually do expire quickly.
Amazon.com: Goalrilla Spring Trainer: Sports & Outdoors.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content. One of these links is actually not related at all but we couldn’t resist the headline.)
Return Of The Son Of Tweets We Like Today
Here are more tweets that we like. At least today. By which we mean that we will probably still like these tweets tomorrow, but tomorrow there will be even MORE tweets.
Actually, there are 500 million tweets tweeted every day, according to this source. That’s a lot of tweeting! Who has time to read all those tweets? How many times can I use a variation of the word tweet in one post? Tweet tweet tweety tweet?
Anyway, here are a few we read today that we liked: Read more »
And Then There’s This
From Yahoo Sports and Deadspin, video and tweets about a high school basketball game in which there was some fighting on the court. Notable because of the involvement (not in the fighting) of WNBA player Skylar Diggins, who is repped by Jay-Z. (The latter answers my question of “is Jay-Z the agent for anyone other than Robinson Cano?” The answer would appear to be yes.) Diggins was at the game because her jersey was being retired. It’s unclear if this story would be newsworthy without her presence, although we are talking about a high school basketball game that involved after the whistle fighting and there’s video, by which I mean ya never know.
I would explain what happened but (a) I’m not 100% certain and (b) it’s mostly “she tweeted this and then another person tweeted that” and Deadspin did a fairly straightforward wrap up. One thing worth noting is that while the video posted on Yahoo Sports (taken from WSBT-TV) focuses on the punch that knocked a player to the ground, this quote from Deadspin more accurately describes the full incident:
Diggins’s former Washington High School (Ind.) was facing Oregon-Davis (Ind.) when Lexi Minix, a player from Oregon-Davis, shoved a Washington player after the whistle. The Washington player smacked Minix in the face, and Minix fell to the floor.
Emphasis added. Not that it’s OK to hit people, but it does change the story from “she hit her for no reason” to “she hit her when she got shoved after the whistle”, meaning that it wasn’t during the playing of the game.
Also, this:
Oregon-Davis head coach Terry Minix is Lexi’s father, and Washington head coach Maurice Scott is Diggins’ stepfather. (via Yahoo)
As I’ve said before – ah, sports.
Oh, something else worth noting. The twitter accounts of some of the folks involved are listed as “protected”. However, their tweets are embedded on Deadspin’s site. I’m not talking about screenshots, I mean actually embedded directly from Twitter as far as I can tell. My point here is that “protected” doesn’t necessarily mean no one can see your tweets. In general, if you’d prefer not to have the public read your words, tweeting them is a bad idea. But it is interesting that despite the “protected” nature of the account, the tweets can still be embedded. Note: I am not making any accusation(s) against anyone, merely mentioning something I noticed.
Happy New Year! Peace!
Girls’ Basketball Game Turns Ugly With Some Help From Skylar Diggins – Deadspin
See also Yahoo Sports – Prep Rally
Baby Named “Krimson Tyde Steele”
From Deadspin, news of a baby named Krimson Tyde Steele.
Why? Because ROLL TIDE! (Cough.)
From Deadspin:
A couple in Alabama named their newborn boy “Krimson Tyde.” In case you couldn’t figure it out from their kid’s name, they’re big Bama fans.
Deadspin writer Samar Kalaf then goes on to offer suggestions for a different name for the child that would still honor their fandom. “Yellow” and “Ess E. See” are my personal favorites. To be fair, the list does start with “Nick.”
Ah, sports.
A List Of Baby Names Better Than “Krimson Tyde” – Deadspin
Denis Leary And Son, 1st World Series Game
Here is a tweet from comedian, actor, writer and father Denis Leary:
Game Six. Go Sox. Me and my son – 1st WS game together. pic.twitter.com/3nQ2zyM78h
— Denis Leary (@denisleary) October 30, 2013
No matter who you’re rooting for, even if you don’t care about the World Series and/or baseball in general, this is something that almost any father can relate to. I know I have memories of going to special events with my kids, some of them sports related. This tweet definitely resonated with me.
For a lifelong Red Sox fan like Mr. Leary, this is a long time coming. Even though the Sawx reversed the curse in 2004, they haven’t won the World Series at home since 1918. (Read more about this at MassLive.com if you want.) If the Red Sox win tonight, the fans at Fenway Park are going to go nuts. Leary being able to share that with his son is a cool thing.
