When thinking of the elite teams in today's NFL the teams that generally come to mind are the Patriots, Colts, and Cowboys. There is one team, however, that is 9-1 and not on too many people's radar. They are the Green Bay Packers. Led by the ageless Brett Favre, the Packers are this year's Cinderella Darlings.
Brett Favre, who for the last 16 or so seasons has been contemplating retirement, has forced the Packers to make decisions for the future. The biggest example of this is when the team drafted Aaron Rodgers, who has yet to start a game. Meanwhile amid all the will Brett stay or will Brett go, the Packers find themselves atop the NFC North and with one of the best records in the league. The season has only added to the mystique of Favre's career. It has led me to ask whether or not Favre is the greatest quarterback of all time? Let's examine all the essential details
Rings: Favre has a Superbowl ring leading the Packers to a Superbowl win over the Patriots (feels weird to say). He has another Superbowl appearance in which he lost and was outplayed by counterpart John Elway. So he has more Rings than Marino and as many rings as Peyton Manning.
Stats: Favre has broken or is on his way to breaking all the prestigious Qb stat records in the game. He has the record for most TD Passes, yardage and wins and there are certainly to be more records broken.
Teammates: here is the most crucial part of the greatest quarterback ever argument. Who did he throw to and hand off to. Sure Marino wins for least talent behind him, but Favre is pretty close and has a ring to show for it. Favre never had a hall of fame target to throw to, you could argue Sterling Sharpe, but he does not have longevity in his favor. He certainly didn't have Jerry Rice or John Taylor to throw to like Joe Montana did. Favre didn't have Jim Brown running the ball for him either. Edgar Bennett, Dorsey Levens, and a couple good years from Ahman Green is the cast of characters. Elway had Terrell Davis, who for his short career, had hall of fame numbers. Elway also had a hall of fame tight end in Shannon Sharpe.
When this season is over for Green Bay regardless of how they fare in the playoffs, all the Favre retirement speculation will begin, but maybe this year there will be a sub plot of Favre being the greatest quarterback of all time.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Dopes for Doping?
Today in class we had a short discussion on athlete's doping. Dr. P asked us what are reactions when we hear of such news. Two feelings immediately came to my mind, I am not surprised and is it actually true. Oftentimes we hear athletes fail drug tests for certain substances and their response is that it was not their fault and it must be a mistake. Take outfielder Mike Cameron, Martina Hingis, and pro wrestler Chris Masters as the latest examples.
Mike Cameron was recently suspended for 25 games by Major League baseball for his second violation of a stimulants test. The first violation is not punishable and not made public, so it may have come as a surprise to some that he is a habitual offender or even an offender at all. I must say that I am not surprised. Quite frankly, if any baseball player tested positive I would not be totally surprised, but depeneding on who it is I may feel other emotions such as anger or sadness. Cameron claimed that a substance he was taking may have been tainted. This could be true in fact. It could also be true that he violated the stimulant policy for a second time thus warranting his 25 game suspension. Now regardless of guilt or innocence, "doping" is still rampant in professional sport. Whether or not the system that proves it is legit is another story.
It was reported that Martina Hingis, former tennis great, had tested positive for cocaine for a second time. Surprise, surprise she is denying the positive test. Now she did take a more legitimate and accurate hair test which proved to be negative, but still had 2 urine samples testing positive. Now this I was shocked to hear. A golden girl, future hall of fame tennis player with a potential drug addiction. After careful observation, I must consider the source. A pro athlete in any sport doing any form of illegal substance or narcotic cannot be that far fetched. With all this exposure to fame and money, the public should not be surprised that athletes test positive for these substances.
The WWE's Chris Masters is a story similar to Cameron's except a little more idiotic. Masters who had already failed WWE's Wellness policy once was suspended for 30 days. He was notorious for being called the "Masterpiece" because of his overly muscular physique. There were rampant rumors that this guy was juicing. So only a few days ago, Masters was found to be in violation of the Wellness policy again. Not a surprise, but clearly stupid. Masters denied it saying he had stuff left over in his system from his previous suspension. Not buying it and again not surprised by this news at all. With all the scrutiny put on WWE after the Chris Benoit tragedy, to clean up its act in more ways than one, they still have wrestlers getting suspended.
This leads me to one quick conclusion: no matter what rules are put in, athletes will do anything they want, whenever they want in order to gain a competitive edge or just live on the edge. It should no longer be a surprise if a borderline player like Mike Cameron tests positive for a banned substance. It should no longer be a surprise if a young athlete like Martina Hingis, who is still young for her standards, tests positive for cocaine or marijuana. It should not be a surprise if WWE wrestlers keep getting suspended for taking muscles relaxers because they are on the road for almost 300 days a year. And I would not be surprised if these tests were also incorrect or tampered with. I don't have a stance on the Floyd Landis case, but the more I read about it the more I feel like the test was tampered with. So much money is invested in athletes and in sports worldwide that doing whatever it takes, even messing with science, is what will be done to make sure someone's investment is protected.
Mike Cameron was recently suspended for 25 games by Major League baseball for his second violation of a stimulants test. The first violation is not punishable and not made public, so it may have come as a surprise to some that he is a habitual offender or even an offender at all. I must say that I am not surprised. Quite frankly, if any baseball player tested positive I would not be totally surprised, but depeneding on who it is I may feel other emotions such as anger or sadness. Cameron claimed that a substance he was taking may have been tainted. This could be true in fact. It could also be true that he violated the stimulant policy for a second time thus warranting his 25 game suspension. Now regardless of guilt or innocence, "doping" is still rampant in professional sport. Whether or not the system that proves it is legit is another story.
It was reported that Martina Hingis, former tennis great, had tested positive for cocaine for a second time. Surprise, surprise she is denying the positive test. Now she did take a more legitimate and accurate hair test which proved to be negative, but still had 2 urine samples testing positive. Now this I was shocked to hear. A golden girl, future hall of fame tennis player with a potential drug addiction. After careful observation, I must consider the source. A pro athlete in any sport doing any form of illegal substance or narcotic cannot be that far fetched. With all this exposure to fame and money, the public should not be surprised that athletes test positive for these substances.
The WWE's Chris Masters is a story similar to Cameron's except a little more idiotic. Masters who had already failed WWE's Wellness policy once was suspended for 30 days. He was notorious for being called the "Masterpiece" because of his overly muscular physique. There were rampant rumors that this guy was juicing. So only a few days ago, Masters was found to be in violation of the Wellness policy again. Not a surprise, but clearly stupid. Masters denied it saying he had stuff left over in his system from his previous suspension. Not buying it and again not surprised by this news at all. With all the scrutiny put on WWE after the Chris Benoit tragedy, to clean up its act in more ways than one, they still have wrestlers getting suspended.
This leads me to one quick conclusion: no matter what rules are put in, athletes will do anything they want, whenever they want in order to gain a competitive edge or just live on the edge. It should no longer be a surprise if a borderline player like Mike Cameron tests positive for a banned substance. It should no longer be a surprise if a young athlete like Martina Hingis, who is still young for her standards, tests positive for cocaine or marijuana. It should not be a surprise if WWE wrestlers keep getting suspended for taking muscles relaxers because they are on the road for almost 300 days a year. And I would not be surprised if these tests were also incorrect or tampered with. I don't have a stance on the Floyd Landis case, but the more I read about it the more I feel like the test was tampered with. So much money is invested in athletes and in sports worldwide that doing whatever it takes, even messing with science, is what will be done to make sure someone's investment is protected.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Ultimate Collection
I've done it!!!! After weeks of trying to think how I could incorporate two of my most favorite things in life into one ginormous blog entry, the time has finally arrived. This post will pay tribute to one of the greatest American Musicians of all time, Bruce Springsteen. I will use his songs to describe the good, the bad, and the ugly in sport past and present. The songs I use will present an Ultimate Collection of the Boss's music sure to leave some of my readers with tears of joy, hopefully. Here's the track listing:
Start off with arguably his best and most well known song:
1. BORN TO RUN- Jose Reyes----The young phenom has done nothing but cause horror for opposing teams on the base paths. He stole a Met franchise record 78 bases in 2007 and looks to continue to put up impressive theft numbers. " Everybody's out on the run tonight
but there's no place left to hide." The everybody is Jose Reyes and there is no place to hide because he will most likely be on second base.
2. THE PROMISED LAND-Jerry Rice and Brett Favre----The end zone in football is often referred to as the promised land. Well no two other NFL players have been more prolific getting the oblong shaped ball into the promised land. A combined 644 touchdowns between these two warriors lands them on this very promising list.
3. DANCIN IN THE DARK-Mark Madsen----It is always a joyous occasion when the team you play for wins the world championship. Maybe it was a little too joyous in the case of Mark Madsen, who will forever be known not for how he played basketball, but for how poorly he dances in public. I guess he thought the lights were out or it was night time cuz he he definitely thought he was Dancin in the Dark. " You sit around getting older
there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me." Yes Mark you are getting older and the joke is still on you.
4. WAITIN ON A SUNNY DAY- Pete Rose---- Charlie Hustle is still waitin for that sun to come out and here is name finally announced as a member of the baseball hall of fame. I don't think it will happen anytime soon, but at least he can listen to an excellent song.
5.LIVIN IN THE FUTURE-Minnesota Timberwolves----It was a toss up between this and Youngstown because the Wolves area very young team but by trading their franchise player this team will be Livin in the Future for quite some time. " We're livin' in the future and none of this has happened yet." This is probably what the T-Wolves fans are going to be saying when their team is 8-74 at season's end and they are pretending that KG never actually got traded only hurt and that he will be back next year.
6.MURDER INCORPORATED-OJ Simpson---I know I'm sick, I apologize, but it just fits too well.
7. I WISH I WERE BLIND-My life as a sports fan----I wish I didn't have to witness all the shortcomings and failures of my favorite teams. I wish I could say that a championship was thrown in there to make everything okay but it hasn't.
8.MY BEAUTIFUL REWARD-the 1986 Mets and 1968 Jets----This is my antithesis to the previous song. My teams have won championships, just before I was actually alive to witness them. I would probably belt out this song as loud as I could, if the Mets or Jets won it all.
9.REASON TO BELIEVE-Bill Buckner----Gave millions of Met fans worldwide the biggest reason in sports history to believe. " Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe." When the Mets woke up the next day after a hard earned victory, they still found a reason to believe. Poetry, people, poetry.
10.THUNDER ROAD-Jeff Gordon----No ultimate collection of Bruce songs would be complete without this song. Plus Jeff Gordon is the first athlete that came to mind that had any real direct connection to a road.
11.BRILLIANT DISGUISE-Bobby Valentine----The only manager ever to have the audacity to come back in the dug out after begin ejected and wear a disguise. A brilliant bit of humor but I can't really say the same about the disguise. Bobby V " Is that you baby
or just a brilliant disguise."
12.GLORY DAYS-2006 National League East Champion New York Mets----Boy were those the glory days. 2007 not so much.
13.MARY'S PLACE-Mary Lou Retton----She pretty much owned the 1984 Summer Olympics by winning 5 medals. It pretty much was Mary's Place. " Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain
Meet me at Mary's place, we're gonna have a party." She definitely let it rain during those Olympics, in a much different way than Pacman I'm sure and definitely had a party at her place after the event.
14.BORN IN THE USA-the sport of baseball----America's greatest game in tandem with America's greatest song. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I am pretty sick and tired of that annoying 3 total word John Mellencamp song we see in every commercial relating to America. Change it up and add some anger, fire, and pure emotion; all words that describe baseball and BORN IN THE USA.
I'd like to thank my main man Bruce Springsteen for being great and I credit www.brucespringsteen.net for the lyrics (all lyrics are in quotes). Hopefully I shed a different light on some of the great things this country has to offer, Bruce and sports. And I hope this blog is interesting enough that even Dan Cassavaugh will read it.
Peace!!
Start off with arguably his best and most well known song:
1. BORN TO RUN- Jose Reyes----The young phenom has done nothing but cause horror for opposing teams on the base paths. He stole a Met franchise record 78 bases in 2007 and looks to continue to put up impressive theft numbers. " Everybody's out on the run tonight
but there's no place left to hide." The everybody is Jose Reyes and there is no place to hide because he will most likely be on second base.
2. THE PROMISED LAND-Jerry Rice and Brett Favre----The end zone in football is often referred to as the promised land. Well no two other NFL players have been more prolific getting the oblong shaped ball into the promised land. A combined 644 touchdowns between these two warriors lands them on this very promising list.
3. DANCIN IN THE DARK-Mark Madsen----It is always a joyous occasion when the team you play for wins the world championship. Maybe it was a little too joyous in the case of Mark Madsen, who will forever be known not for how he played basketball, but for how poorly he dances in public. I guess he thought the lights were out or it was night time cuz he he definitely thought he was Dancin in the Dark. " You sit around getting older
there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me." Yes Mark you are getting older and the joke is still on you.
4. WAITIN ON A SUNNY DAY- Pete Rose---- Charlie Hustle is still waitin for that sun to come out and here is name finally announced as a member of the baseball hall of fame. I don't think it will happen anytime soon, but at least he can listen to an excellent song.
5.LIVIN IN THE FUTURE-Minnesota Timberwolves----It was a toss up between this and Youngstown because the Wolves area very young team but by trading their franchise player this team will be Livin in the Future for quite some time. " We're livin' in the future and none of this has happened yet." This is probably what the T-Wolves fans are going to be saying when their team is 8-74 at season's end and they are pretending that KG never actually got traded only hurt and that he will be back next year.
6.MURDER INCORPORATED-OJ Simpson---I know I'm sick, I apologize, but it just fits too well.
7. I WISH I WERE BLIND-My life as a sports fan----I wish I didn't have to witness all the shortcomings and failures of my favorite teams. I wish I could say that a championship was thrown in there to make everything okay but it hasn't.
8.MY BEAUTIFUL REWARD-the 1986 Mets and 1968 Jets----This is my antithesis to the previous song. My teams have won championships, just before I was actually alive to witness them. I would probably belt out this song as loud as I could, if the Mets or Jets won it all.
9.REASON TO BELIEVE-Bill Buckner----Gave millions of Met fans worldwide the biggest reason in sports history to believe. " Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe." When the Mets woke up the next day after a hard earned victory, they still found a reason to believe. Poetry, people, poetry.
10.THUNDER ROAD-Jeff Gordon----No ultimate collection of Bruce songs would be complete without this song. Plus Jeff Gordon is the first athlete that came to mind that had any real direct connection to a road.
11.BRILLIANT DISGUISE-Bobby Valentine----The only manager ever to have the audacity to come back in the dug out after begin ejected and wear a disguise. A brilliant bit of humor but I can't really say the same about the disguise. Bobby V " Is that you baby
or just a brilliant disguise."
12.GLORY DAYS-2006 National League East Champion New York Mets----Boy were those the glory days. 2007 not so much.
13.MARY'S PLACE-Mary Lou Retton----She pretty much owned the 1984 Summer Olympics by winning 5 medals. It pretty much was Mary's Place. " Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain, let it rain
Meet me at Mary's place, we're gonna have a party." She definitely let it rain during those Olympics, in a much different way than Pacman I'm sure and definitely had a party at her place after the event.
14.BORN IN THE USA-the sport of baseball----America's greatest game in tandem with America's greatest song. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I am pretty sick and tired of that annoying 3 total word John Mellencamp song we see in every commercial relating to America. Change it up and add some anger, fire, and pure emotion; all words that describe baseball and BORN IN THE USA.
I'd like to thank my main man Bruce Springsteen for being great and I credit www.brucespringsteen.net for the lyrics (all lyrics are in quotes). Hopefully I shed a different light on some of the great things this country has to offer, Bruce and sports. And I hope this blog is interesting enough that even Dan Cassavaugh will read it.
Peace!!
Monday, October 22, 2007
ESPN Continues World Domination
On June 1, 2008 ESPN will add another marquee name to their laundry list of employees. Famed Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly will join ESPN as a back page writer, television and internet reporter. As a former subscriber to Sports Illustrated, I always looked forward to reading the Life of Reilly. It had a very interesting perspective on the world of sports. My favorite article of his was him detailing his life as a girls basketball coach. The way he described his frustration was priceless. But now it will be hard for me to take his article seriously in a publication like ESPN the magazine. In Sports Illustrated, Reilly's column was a nice change or pace from the often serious and sometimes morose cover stories in SI. I find ESPN the Mag to be more pop culture and hip hop and that his column in that magazine won't fit as well because of how similar it would be to the material covered in ESPN. I view Sports Illustrated to be more civilized and somewhat nostalgic (in a good way).
With this move, ESPN continues to lock in its choke hold on the global sports industry. Last year ESPN started broadcasting Monday Night Football, which had been a staple of its parent company ABC for many decades. ESPN also announced that this coming spring it will broadcast the first 2 rounds of Golf's biggest event, the Masters. Within the past 5 years ESPN has added basketball and stock car racing among other sports to their growing empire of daily sports television. It would not surprise me if one day ESPN took over the entire sports market and had a channel for every sport that would broadcast every regular season game.
On the positive side, the acquisition of Reilly now gives ESPN a 1, 2 CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona like punch of Rick Reilly and Bill Simmons as columnists for the company. Both are arugably the two top sports humor columnists in the country. Hell, ESPN may even eliminate Kornheiser and Wilbon from PTI and replace them with Reilly and Simmons. Or maybe even just give those tow guys their own show to replace Jim Rome is Burning.
Sports Illustrated, which has been the model sports publication in this country for a long time, is going to take a major hit with this loss. Many people read SI solely for Reilly's column at the end. I know from personal experience that Reilly's column has been the only part of the magazine I have read on certain occasions. Sports Illustrated has their work cut out for them in trying to replace Reilly. Maybe ESPN will just buy out their competitor and combine both magazines into one super sports magazine. Or maybe Reilly will join the MNF booth as an added 4th member that knows nothing strategically, but injects what he wants to see as a fan. Oh wait, isn't that Mr. Kornheiser's job? In the end, ESPN continues to add star power to their burgeoning empire and it may just put them over the top. But as us fans have seen with the Yankees, it is not how much you spend on stars, it's the quality in which you utilize them.
With this move, ESPN continues to lock in its choke hold on the global sports industry. Last year ESPN started broadcasting Monday Night Football, which had been a staple of its parent company ABC for many decades. ESPN also announced that this coming spring it will broadcast the first 2 rounds of Golf's biggest event, the Masters. Within the past 5 years ESPN has added basketball and stock car racing among other sports to their growing empire of daily sports television. It would not surprise me if one day ESPN took over the entire sports market and had a channel for every sport that would broadcast every regular season game.
On the positive side, the acquisition of Reilly now gives ESPN a 1, 2 CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona like punch of Rick Reilly and Bill Simmons as columnists for the company. Both are arugably the two top sports humor columnists in the country. Hell, ESPN may even eliminate Kornheiser and Wilbon from PTI and replace them with Reilly and Simmons. Or maybe even just give those tow guys their own show to replace Jim Rome is Burning.
Sports Illustrated, which has been the model sports publication in this country for a long time, is going to take a major hit with this loss. Many people read SI solely for Reilly's column at the end. I know from personal experience that Reilly's column has been the only part of the magazine I have read on certain occasions. Sports Illustrated has their work cut out for them in trying to replace Reilly. Maybe ESPN will just buy out their competitor and combine both magazines into one super sports magazine. Or maybe Reilly will join the MNF booth as an added 4th member that knows nothing strategically, but injects what he wants to see as a fan. Oh wait, isn't that Mr. Kornheiser's job? In the end, ESPN continues to add star power to their burgeoning empire and it may just put them over the top. But as us fans have seen with the Yankees, it is not how much you spend on stars, it's the quality in which you utilize them.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
10 Reasons to Still Watch the MLB Playoffs if your Favorite Team isn't in it
Many baseball fans are in the similar position as me in trying to think of reasons why they should still watch the MLB playoffs after their teams have either been eliminated or never even made it. So I did my best to come up with 10 reasons as to why a fan of a team other than the Sox, Tribe, Snakes, or Rox might wanna watch the League Championship Series and onward.
10. Kaz Matsui- one of the biggest disasters in Met history is getting a chance to show exactly why the Mets paid him all that money. Except now he is on the Colorado Rockies and killing the ball. Is it possible this man can actually win the Rockies a pennant for the first time in their short history?
9. Watch the D'Backs succeed without a superstar player- Sure Justin Upton and Stephen Drew will become top talents one day, but right now the state of this team is a bunch of blue collar players who love the game. They seemingly find a way to win ball games. Yes they have Brandon "Lockdown" Webb, but after him name 3 other pitchers they have on their active playoff roster. Do the same for the position players sans Drew and Upton. Makes you wonder why a team like the Pirates can't win with unspectacular players.
8. The Yankees have been eliminated- It's always a joyous occasion when the highest spending team is weeping and getting an early start on their golf games. Especially for the 3rd consecutive year. This team has a ton of unanswered questions for next season, including who the manager is going to be.
7. Only because it fits with the number it's at is why it's not lower on this list. But the potential for the two greatest words in sport: GAME 7. Now with series being best of 7, there is a chance that heroes can be born in the clutchest of situations.
6. Can the Rockies stay hot?- This team's improbable run can add another chapter if they can stay hot and defeat a superior Diamondbacks team. As shown with the Cardinals in last years NLCS, it's not always the best team who wins, but who's playing the best. The Rockies are riding a Tsunami of Momentum right now that just might lead them to a World Title.
5. Football is only on tv on Sunday's and one game on Monday. So the sports fan can get their fix of exciting action multiple times during the week with baseball while being able to quickly feed their need for some gridiron greatness on Sunday.
4. Two teams, whose inception into the league occurred after my birth, have a chance to win the world series- Usually teams with already storied histories look to add to their resumes, but this time a team with a fairly naked resume has a chance to add a large ink blot to it should they win it all. Yes the D'backs have already won a world series, but honestly, what else have they done prior to or after that. Nada.
3. A chance to see just how badly closers Joe Borowski, Jose Valverde, and Manny Corpas can possibly blow it- I give John Papelbon a pass here because he has been dominant since being turned into a closer. It's very possible he could melt down in the postseason as well, but with these other 3 it's much more likely. Joe Borowski led the AL with 45 saves, but had a 5 plus ERA. Valverde is a head case and has never been here before, and Corpas has been a closer for all of two and a half months. None of them are at Trevor Hoffman like levels of sucking in huge situations, but they have the chance to gain ground on him this year.
2. Manny being Manny- Not only are his antics worth watching, but he is starting to swing a lethal bat again. When Manny is on, he is a monster at the plate. Arguably the greatest run producer of our generation has the ability to put on a clinic that will bring smiles to the eyes of of everyone in Red Sox Nation and many a souvenir to people up in the Monstah seats.
1. Touch Em All Joe, the ball gets by Buckner, Mr. November- The potential for a history making moment for the ages. Kaz Matsui taking Paps deep into the cold Colorado night while they cap off one of the most improbable runs in sports history. Asdrubal Cabrera grounds one softly down to first only for it to go through the legs of 7'5" first basemen Tony Clark to keep the Tribe alive for another day.
Hey it could happen.......again!
10. Kaz Matsui- one of the biggest disasters in Met history is getting a chance to show exactly why the Mets paid him all that money. Except now he is on the Colorado Rockies and killing the ball. Is it possible this man can actually win the Rockies a pennant for the first time in their short history?
9. Watch the D'Backs succeed without a superstar player- Sure Justin Upton and Stephen Drew will become top talents one day, but right now the state of this team is a bunch of blue collar players who love the game. They seemingly find a way to win ball games. Yes they have Brandon "Lockdown" Webb, but after him name 3 other pitchers they have on their active playoff roster. Do the same for the position players sans Drew and Upton. Makes you wonder why a team like the Pirates can't win with unspectacular players.
8. The Yankees have been eliminated- It's always a joyous occasion when the highest spending team is weeping and getting an early start on their golf games. Especially for the 3rd consecutive year. This team has a ton of unanswered questions for next season, including who the manager is going to be.
7. Only because it fits with the number it's at is why it's not lower on this list. But the potential for the two greatest words in sport: GAME 7. Now with series being best of 7, there is a chance that heroes can be born in the clutchest of situations.
6. Can the Rockies stay hot?- This team's improbable run can add another chapter if they can stay hot and defeat a superior Diamondbacks team. As shown with the Cardinals in last years NLCS, it's not always the best team who wins, but who's playing the best. The Rockies are riding a Tsunami of Momentum right now that just might lead them to a World Title.
5. Football is only on tv on Sunday's and one game on Monday. So the sports fan can get their fix of exciting action multiple times during the week with baseball while being able to quickly feed their need for some gridiron greatness on Sunday.
4. Two teams, whose inception into the league occurred after my birth, have a chance to win the world series- Usually teams with already storied histories look to add to their resumes, but this time a team with a fairly naked resume has a chance to add a large ink blot to it should they win it all. Yes the D'backs have already won a world series, but honestly, what else have they done prior to or after that. Nada.
3. A chance to see just how badly closers Joe Borowski, Jose Valverde, and Manny Corpas can possibly blow it- I give John Papelbon a pass here because he has been dominant since being turned into a closer. It's very possible he could melt down in the postseason as well, but with these other 3 it's much more likely. Joe Borowski led the AL with 45 saves, but had a 5 plus ERA. Valverde is a head case and has never been here before, and Corpas has been a closer for all of two and a half months. None of them are at Trevor Hoffman like levels of sucking in huge situations, but they have the chance to gain ground on him this year.
2. Manny being Manny- Not only are his antics worth watching, but he is starting to swing a lethal bat again. When Manny is on, he is a monster at the plate. Arguably the greatest run producer of our generation has the ability to put on a clinic that will bring smiles to the eyes of of everyone in Red Sox Nation and many a souvenir to people up in the Monstah seats.
1. Touch Em All Joe, the ball gets by Buckner, Mr. November- The potential for a history making moment for the ages. Kaz Matsui taking Paps deep into the cold Colorado night while they cap off one of the most improbable runs in sports history. Asdrubal Cabrera grounds one softly down to first only for it to go through the legs of 7'5" first basemen Tony Clark to keep the Tribe alive for another day.
Hey it could happen.......again!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen
I remember as a fellow sports illustrated for kids subscriber looking forward to receiving my sports cards and posters each week. One poster stands out to me a little more than some others. It was a poster of this female athlete who excelled in basketball and track and field at the University of North Carolina. Her name was Marion Jones.
Marion Jones was the first real big time women's athlete of my time. Sure there was Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova before her and the Williams' sisters right after her but, but Marion Jones was the next big thing. Deciding to pursue track and field, Jones left great impression on the sport. At the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Jones won an impressive 5 medals including 3 golds. Jones dominated the sport and won the prime events such as the 100 meters. Jones became a much celebrated female athlete and she was very deserving of the praise. Now after seven years plus removed from her triumph in Australia, Jones is now one of the biggest frauds in the history of sport. Why is this? Three simple words: performance enhancing drugs.
After pleading guilty last week for lying to federal investigators and simultaneously retiring from the sport that put her on the athletic map, Jones is now fighting for the rest of her reputation. The news of a major Olympic athlete doping should not come as a surprise nowadays. How often do we here of athletes dominating in the Olympics' only to be caught cheating sometime thereafter? It is very unfortunate, but leads me to think how many Olympic athletes actually dope. If its a near majority, then why not just make it legal and be every man or women for themselves. By enabling everyone to be on a level playing field, but not actually being on a level playing might be the only thing that can prevent track and field and other dominant Olympic sports from being completely destroyed.
And I don't want to just single out Marion Jones. There are other instances where athletes have dominated a sport and have had doping allegations against them (i.e. Barry Bonds). Bonds is in a very similar situation to Jones because he has been dominating in his sport, has been accused of doping, and has gone in front of a federal grand jury and denied knowingly taking steroids. The only thing keeping Bonds' very large head above water is an extremely loyal friend named Greg Anderson.
So am I surprised that a successful athlete has done this? Absolutely not. And I think there are many more athletes that have doped or are currently doping. And what happened to Jones can just as easily happen to them, but if they are not as prominent then they will get nowhere near the same amount of media coverage (Tim Couch). Under no circumstance do I support or promote doping and would be very devastated if one of my favorite athlete's on my favorite teams got caught doping (Mota doesn't count).
Where does the sporting society go from here in terms of the consequences that will be faced by Jones? The IOC is still deciding whether or not to strip her of her 5 medals from 2000, but a possible statute of limitations, which is 8 years, may play into that. Jones is also going to face an uphill legal battle. Not to mention the irreparable damage done to her reputation in the court of public opinion, possibly the "biggest fraud ever" to quote IAAF President Lamine Diack.
Another interesting note about this issue that I have noticed in at least the earlier coverage of this story is that race and gender really haven't played an overbearing role. I think this is primarily because doping is doping, there is no two ways about it. If you get caught doping, it doesn't matter who you are, where you are from, or what sport you play, the persecution will be equally as tough. Now some athletes may get more coverage like Bonds or Jones, but the punishments are the same. Just ask Jason Grimsley, Mark McGwire, and Brady Anderson who have all been either accused or caught doping. They all have forever tarnished reputations and have fallen off the face of the earth. In very extreme cases, doping mixed with other illegal drugs can lead to death, like with the case of Ken Caminiti.
This is not the last time we will hear of a major sports star either accused or caught doping. The only thing we can hope for with Jones is that she is able to get past this and get her life and credibility back, the latter is much more unlikely. I don't want another day where I have to lose respect for an athlete who's poster from Sports Illustrated for Kids went up on my wall.
Marion Jones was the first real big time women's athlete of my time. Sure there was Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova before her and the Williams' sisters right after her but, but Marion Jones was the next big thing. Deciding to pursue track and field, Jones left great impression on the sport. At the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Jones won an impressive 5 medals including 3 golds. Jones dominated the sport and won the prime events such as the 100 meters. Jones became a much celebrated female athlete and she was very deserving of the praise. Now after seven years plus removed from her triumph in Australia, Jones is now one of the biggest frauds in the history of sport. Why is this? Three simple words: performance enhancing drugs.
After pleading guilty last week for lying to federal investigators and simultaneously retiring from the sport that put her on the athletic map, Jones is now fighting for the rest of her reputation. The news of a major Olympic athlete doping should not come as a surprise nowadays. How often do we here of athletes dominating in the Olympics' only to be caught cheating sometime thereafter? It is very unfortunate, but leads me to think how many Olympic athletes actually dope. If its a near majority, then why not just make it legal and be every man or women for themselves. By enabling everyone to be on a level playing field, but not actually being on a level playing might be the only thing that can prevent track and field and other dominant Olympic sports from being completely destroyed.
And I don't want to just single out Marion Jones. There are other instances where athletes have dominated a sport and have had doping allegations against them (i.e. Barry Bonds). Bonds is in a very similar situation to Jones because he has been dominating in his sport, has been accused of doping, and has gone in front of a federal grand jury and denied knowingly taking steroids. The only thing keeping Bonds' very large head above water is an extremely loyal friend named Greg Anderson.
So am I surprised that a successful athlete has done this? Absolutely not. And I think there are many more athletes that have doped or are currently doping. And what happened to Jones can just as easily happen to them, but if they are not as prominent then they will get nowhere near the same amount of media coverage (Tim Couch). Under no circumstance do I support or promote doping and would be very devastated if one of my favorite athlete's on my favorite teams got caught doping (Mota doesn't count).
Where does the sporting society go from here in terms of the consequences that will be faced by Jones? The IOC is still deciding whether or not to strip her of her 5 medals from 2000, but a possible statute of limitations, which is 8 years, may play into that. Jones is also going to face an uphill legal battle. Not to mention the irreparable damage done to her reputation in the court of public opinion, possibly the "biggest fraud ever" to quote IAAF President Lamine Diack.
Another interesting note about this issue that I have noticed in at least the earlier coverage of this story is that race and gender really haven't played an overbearing role. I think this is primarily because doping is doping, there is no two ways about it. If you get caught doping, it doesn't matter who you are, where you are from, or what sport you play, the persecution will be equally as tough. Now some athletes may get more coverage like Bonds or Jones, but the punishments are the same. Just ask Jason Grimsley, Mark McGwire, and Brady Anderson who have all been either accused or caught doping. They all have forever tarnished reputations and have fallen off the face of the earth. In very extreme cases, doping mixed with other illegal drugs can lead to death, like with the case of Ken Caminiti.
This is not the last time we will hear of a major sports star either accused or caught doping. The only thing we can hope for with Jones is that she is able to get past this and get her life and credibility back, the latter is much more unlikely. I don't want another day where I have to lose respect for an athlete who's poster from Sports Illustrated for Kids went up on my wall.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Amazin Mess
Can I fix the amazin mess? Probably not. I can, however, as a die hard and extremely disappointed Mets fan, offer my perspective on the teams' new direction for 2008 and beyond. So we are going to play a little Here today, Gone tomorrow.
Here Today:
David Wright-became the team's leader and best player since the start of the season. Had a 30/30 season, hit well over .300, and had a great on base percentage. He's not even 25 years old yet. Says all the (W)right things and plays hard. Will be the face of the franchise and possibly the sport for years to come.
Jose Reyes-when going well, he is the game's most exciting player and arguably the NL's most valuable player. When he goes, the Mets go, when he struggles, the Mets struggle, bottom line. Also at 24 years old, set the club record for stolen bases this season with 78 and scored 119 runs. He is a very good defensive player as well. After the dreadful end of the season fans wanted Reyes traded for the likes of Johan Santana. Hold your horses people, we need Reyes on this team. 2008 will be a bounce back year for Reyes and him and Wright will anchor the left side of the Mets infield into the glory years of the new Citi Field.
Carlos Beltran-great all around player. Led the Mets in homers and RBIs for the second straight season. Stole 23 bases as well. Gold glove center fielder. Not to mention he is being paid $119 million. At age 30 is in the prime of his career and is the anchor to the outfield. Trading him is not the answer. Provides a very capable bat and good protection for Wright. We will see Beltran finish out his contract with the Mets.
Pedro Martinez-He's the reason for the revival of the Mets franchise. Stole the show when he came here in 2005 and part of 2006 until he got inured. Came back in September of this year after major surgery and went 3-0 and still knows how to pitch. Even if he can only pitch 6 innings, he will still be the anchor that this rotation needs.
John Maine-showed flashes of brilliance all season. Won a career high 15 games, had an era under 4 and 180 strikeouts. He struggled in the second half but showed the Mets they have a solid number 2 starter.
Oliver Perez-thrived in his first full year as a Met, winning 15 games like his teammate John Maine. He struck out 174 batters. He's the perfect lefty compliment to this rotation and will be our third starter next year. Has the stuff to be a number 1.
Billy Wagner-in an area of tremendous weakness, the bullpen, Wagner was a lone bright spot. Wagner dominated almost the entire season, but had some struggles toward the end. Doesn't always say the right things and is owed a lot of money. But he has to be back next year, as a dominating closer is not easy to come by these days.
Gone Tomorrow:
Tom Glavine: It's unfortunate that he will always be remembered by Met fans for his lousy last start, and not for winning his 300th game here or being a first class professional. His post game reaction from his last start was very surprising for Glavine's standards and it's time to move on. Thank you Tom for the 4 years of work you put in here.
Carlos Delgado: As much as I hate to say this, Carlo Delgado may have played his last game as a Met. He left the season's final game with a fractured wrist which is a pretty serious injury and that may reduce his value in management's eyes. Said some pretty staggering remarks given the situation at the end of the year and overall had a down year statistically. He could definitely be back, but don't be surprised if Omar tries very hard to move him to an American League team.
Paul Lo Duca-the Met with the most fire and passion is most likely not going to be a part of the team in 2008. He is a free agent who wants to come back, but I don't know if the Mets will pay him what he wants. He's getting up in age and offensively, even though had more homers and RBI's as compared to last year, he is not what he once was and same defensively. It will be interesting to see where the Mets go at the Catching position next year, as backup Ramon Castro is not under contract next year either. Jorge Posada? Pudge?
Aaron Heilman-wants to start. Free agent. Will probably take less money from a team to start. Adios.
Shawn Green-Much like Glavine, a consummate professional, who unfortunately has been relegated to a part time role. Will be passed up in favor of younger talent in the corner outfield spots.
Aaron Sele, Guillermo Mota, Jorge Sosa-all maddeningly inconsistent and none made any case to be brought back next year. Anything this team can get for Mota will be a welcome addition.
JURY IS STILL OUT:
Lastings Milledge-his antics and attitude frustrate many, but he clearly has the tools to be a good major league player. I want him to stay and play everyday next year, but if he can be packaged in a deal for pitching then by all means pull the trigger.
Moises Alou-team's best hitter down the stretch. Incredibly fragile at age 41. Has an option for next year and wants to comeback. A possible platoon with Endy Chavez or Carlos Gomez could happen next year.
El Duque-has showed signs of brilliance, but like Alou is very fragile. My gut says he will be back either in a long relief role or a short relief role.
Luis Castillo-wants to return, is a free agent and there were rumors of him being a bad influence on Reyes. Has a bum knee and is getting up in age. Reason to bring him back is because of the lack of a better all around alternative at second base.
Jose Valentin-very interesting case. Will not under any circumstance come back as a player, but I can see the Mets offering him a coaching position to help work with younger players. Was said to be a great influence for Reyes.
Mike Pelfrey-is way closer to Here Today rather than to Gone Tomorrow. Showed signs of dominance and could win a job as the 4th or fifth starter. But also could as easily be packaged in a trade for a Roy Oswalt or Johan Santana. If he's not dealt, will be on the opening day roster next year.
Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis, Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley, Ramon Castro, Endy Chavez, Carlos Gomez, Joe Smith, Philip Humber are all up in the air for returning next year. Although I believe Feliciano has the best chance of being back.
Only time will tell how the 2008 Mets turn out. You can expect big changes to be made and a revamped bullpen. The team's expectations are still very high and in Shea Stadiums' last year of existence, expect the magic of 2006 to return to the friendly confines. Let's go Mets in 2008.
Here Today:
David Wright-became the team's leader and best player since the start of the season. Had a 30/30 season, hit well over .300, and had a great on base percentage. He's not even 25 years old yet. Says all the (W)right things and plays hard. Will be the face of the franchise and possibly the sport for years to come.
Jose Reyes-when going well, he is the game's most exciting player and arguably the NL's most valuable player. When he goes, the Mets go, when he struggles, the Mets struggle, bottom line. Also at 24 years old, set the club record for stolen bases this season with 78 and scored 119 runs. He is a very good defensive player as well. After the dreadful end of the season fans wanted Reyes traded for the likes of Johan Santana. Hold your horses people, we need Reyes on this team. 2008 will be a bounce back year for Reyes and him and Wright will anchor the left side of the Mets infield into the glory years of the new Citi Field.
Carlos Beltran-great all around player. Led the Mets in homers and RBIs for the second straight season. Stole 23 bases as well. Gold glove center fielder. Not to mention he is being paid $119 million. At age 30 is in the prime of his career and is the anchor to the outfield. Trading him is not the answer. Provides a very capable bat and good protection for Wright. We will see Beltran finish out his contract with the Mets.
Pedro Martinez-He's the reason for the revival of the Mets franchise. Stole the show when he came here in 2005 and part of 2006 until he got inured. Came back in September of this year after major surgery and went 3-0 and still knows how to pitch. Even if he can only pitch 6 innings, he will still be the anchor that this rotation needs.
John Maine-showed flashes of brilliance all season. Won a career high 15 games, had an era under 4 and 180 strikeouts. He struggled in the second half but showed the Mets they have a solid number 2 starter.
Oliver Perez-thrived in his first full year as a Met, winning 15 games like his teammate John Maine. He struck out 174 batters. He's the perfect lefty compliment to this rotation and will be our third starter next year. Has the stuff to be a number 1.
Billy Wagner-in an area of tremendous weakness, the bullpen, Wagner was a lone bright spot. Wagner dominated almost the entire season, but had some struggles toward the end. Doesn't always say the right things and is owed a lot of money. But he has to be back next year, as a dominating closer is not easy to come by these days.
Gone Tomorrow:
Tom Glavine: It's unfortunate that he will always be remembered by Met fans for his lousy last start, and not for winning his 300th game here or being a first class professional. His post game reaction from his last start was very surprising for Glavine's standards and it's time to move on. Thank you Tom for the 4 years of work you put in here.
Carlos Delgado: As much as I hate to say this, Carlo Delgado may have played his last game as a Met. He left the season's final game with a fractured wrist which is a pretty serious injury and that may reduce his value in management's eyes. Said some pretty staggering remarks given the situation at the end of the year and overall had a down year statistically. He could definitely be back, but don't be surprised if Omar tries very hard to move him to an American League team.
Paul Lo Duca-the Met with the most fire and passion is most likely not going to be a part of the team in 2008. He is a free agent who wants to come back, but I don't know if the Mets will pay him what he wants. He's getting up in age and offensively, even though had more homers and RBI's as compared to last year, he is not what he once was and same defensively. It will be interesting to see where the Mets go at the Catching position next year, as backup Ramon Castro is not under contract next year either. Jorge Posada? Pudge?
Aaron Heilman-wants to start. Free agent. Will probably take less money from a team to start. Adios.
Shawn Green-Much like Glavine, a consummate professional, who unfortunately has been relegated to a part time role. Will be passed up in favor of younger talent in the corner outfield spots.
Aaron Sele, Guillermo Mota, Jorge Sosa-all maddeningly inconsistent and none made any case to be brought back next year. Anything this team can get for Mota will be a welcome addition.
JURY IS STILL OUT:
Lastings Milledge-his antics and attitude frustrate many, but he clearly has the tools to be a good major league player. I want him to stay and play everyday next year, but if he can be packaged in a deal for pitching then by all means pull the trigger.
Moises Alou-team's best hitter down the stretch. Incredibly fragile at age 41. Has an option for next year and wants to comeback. A possible platoon with Endy Chavez or Carlos Gomez could happen next year.
El Duque-has showed signs of brilliance, but like Alou is very fragile. My gut says he will be back either in a long relief role or a short relief role.
Luis Castillo-wants to return, is a free agent and there were rumors of him being a bad influence on Reyes. Has a bum knee and is getting up in age. Reason to bring him back is because of the lack of a better all around alternative at second base.
Jose Valentin-very interesting case. Will not under any circumstance come back as a player, but I can see the Mets offering him a coaching position to help work with younger players. Was said to be a great influence for Reyes.
Mike Pelfrey-is way closer to Here Today rather than to Gone Tomorrow. Showed signs of dominance and could win a job as the 4th or fifth starter. But also could as easily be packaged in a trade for a Roy Oswalt or Johan Santana. If he's not dealt, will be on the opening day roster next year.
Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis, Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley, Ramon Castro, Endy Chavez, Carlos Gomez, Joe Smith, Philip Humber are all up in the air for returning next year. Although I believe Feliciano has the best chance of being back.
Only time will tell how the 2008 Mets turn out. You can expect big changes to be made and a revamped bullpen. The team's expectations are still very high and in Shea Stadiums' last year of existence, expect the magic of 2006 to return to the friendly confines. Let's go Mets in 2008.
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