Guess who's back......

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the times. I got a little busy, things got sidetracked, etc. Anyway, I'm back, and it's time to rip some people!

Did anyone else think the whole US speed skating was given WAY too much media coverage? Come on , NBC, let it go already! So Davis and Hedrick don't get along, big stinking deal! So Davis wanted to focus on his event rather than do the team pursuit, big deal. Sounds to me like Hedrick was counting on riding the coattails of his teammates through some of the Olympic events. At the end of the day, they both won medals, and isn't that the ultimate goal? US athletes went to Turin, and won some hardware. Big congrats to them, pats on the back, high fives, etc. If they don't like each other, who cares? Someone should tell NBC to leave the soap opera business to Days of Our Lives, and not the Olympic games.
While we're calling people on the carpet, would someone tell Bode Miller to pick up the nearest white courtesy phone. It's Dan and Dave of Reebok decathlon fame.......or shame. I've never seen such a build-up of an athlete since the Dan or Dave campaign, and, just like that build-up long ago, Miller fell flat on his face. Well, not exactly fell, but to be a World Cup champion, you'd think he'd know how to get around a slalom gate. All he did was go to Italy, and stink up the joint. Someone from the USOC should ask for reimbursement for the plane fare! Bode Miller......get him off of my TV!
Did anyone else see the action in Minnesota last night? To paraphrase, the T-Wolves Kevin Garnett gets a double tech, and gets tossed. Well, before getting tossed, he throws a ball into the stands. The ball actually creams a guy sitting courtside, and they come get this guy out of the arena ON A STRETCHER, PEOPLE!!!!! Come on, doesn't the ticket warn people with seats so close to the action to be ready for something? You can just smell the potential lawsuit on this one. I mean, a guy in Chicago threatened a million dollar lawsuit on then-Knick Antonio davis because Davis went into the stands to defend his wife. Some words were passed, yadda, yadda. If I, as a fan, go up to an NBAer's wife, and harrass her, I deserve what I get, especially if it's her husband rushing into the stands to defend his wife. And, I know what you're asking: What about the Malice at the Palace incident? Two TOTALLY different things. For one, people didn't rush the floor, thinking it was "Challenge an NBA Player To A Fight" night. For another, this one was rather compact, in that Davis went to where his wife was sitting, security showed, and it was done. The other incident had, well, you all saw it. David Stern should still have Artest out of the league, but Jackson should be right there with him. If anyone has a right to be upset, it's that kid on the cover of SI right after the incident. Look it up. You'll see what I'm talking about.
While I'm on the NBA, is there anyone out there more disgruntled, more of a malcontent than Steve Francis? Go back to the night he was drafted by the Vancouver Grizzlies. What did he do, and on national TV, no less? He pouted like a third grader, told Craig Sager he didn't want to go to Vancouver, and forced a trade out to Houston. Anyway, he gets to Houston, and what does he do? Just like most NBA guards today, he hogs the ball. See also: Bryant, Kobe, Iverson, Allen, Marbury, Stephon. It ends up getting the Rockets a whole lot of nothing, so he gets traded to Orlando. Same song, different city. Then, and here's the puzzling thing: He gets traded to the Knicks, where he's in the same backcourt with Stephon Marbury! In his press conference, what was Francis doing? You guessed it: pouting like a third grader. I know the real reason Marbury and Francis won't get along. It's an ACC thing. Marbury from Georgia Tech, Francis from Maryland. Would someone please release these me first players and go on about the business with people that want to be team players. If Stevie is "The Franchise", then that franchise will go down the tubes in a hurry, trust me on that one.
I'll leave you with this.....what NFL teams need to go get in the upcoming draft/free agency market. If you're not paying attention, this might all be tossed out without a labor agreement in the NFL, so this is all subject to change. Anyway, we;ll look at the AFC East.
Miami- needs a starting QB (Brees would look great in coral and aqua). Upgrade the defense- Thomas and Taylor aren't getting younger. Get some WR help. Quick, name me three of the Dolphins WR's. And, of course, wahs your hands of that waste of a career Ricky Williams.
New England- re-sign Vinatieri. He's the guy responsible for two of those shiny tophies. Upgrade their LB corp. Bruschi probably shouldn't be playing, but that's my opinion. Get help in secondary. Law is available again. And, for their sake, skip training camp altogether. The Pats were a walking MASH unit by the end of the season.
New York- Where do I start? A shorter list would be to name what's right with them. Jonathan Vilma. There it is. These guys are sad in the worst way. They need help everywhere, and without it, J-E-T-S will again stand for Just End The Season!
Buffalo- Come on.....if you bring Marv Levy away from the Early Bird special in South Beach to run the franchise, you've got more problems than you realize. The Buffalo owner, Ralph Wilson, is hoping Levy can capture some of the old Bills magic. Well, last I checked, Jim Kelly, Don Beebe, Andre Reed, Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith weren't walking through the door, so that's out. Mularkey was smart to jump ship when he did. And, though some might not think this way.....if you're Thurman Thomas, what does it say about your legacy as a Bill when you try to squeeze one more year out of the NFL with the Bills' nemesis, the Miami Dolphins? I can think of two words for it: Sell Out! Buffalo is in a tailspin. Pity Takeo Spikes, too. He leaves Cincinnati to "join a winner", as he puts it, and what happens? Bufalo stinks, and Cincy went to the play-offs. Take that as you will.

I'll see you all soon.


Patrick

Torino, NHL, Get Him Outta Here!!!!!!

How's everyone doing? Starting off, the Winter Olympics are finally underway from Torino. The USA team is already off to an arousing start, what with suspending their skeleton coach and finally firing him over a sexual harrassment scandal. They also lost their best slider, skeleton event, due to a failed drug test. Now, I know what you're thinking: What kind of drug do you have to take to be good at sliding down a hill? Well, for my money, it would be something that makes your grip tighter, since these skeleton sleds reach speeds over 90 MPH. But the drug that has gotten our guy suspended is a hair loss drug. The IOC claims that this drug is also used as a masking agent, defending their decision to suspend our best slider. That's a kick in the teeth, isn't it? I mean, you spend countless hours training for a particular event, only to get busted on something that you can pick up at any corner drugstore. My advice to any future Olympians out there is this: Once you begin your training, and you start competing in these national events, if you get sick.......chicken soup and orange juice.....that's it! It's not worth the risk to throw so many years of training down the tubes.
Speaking of throwing a career down the tubes, a grand jury has chosen to indict Maurice Clarett on charges of robbing two people behind a bar and carryng a concealed weapon. You remember Clartee from such fiascos as challenging the NFL over eligibility rules, filing a false police report at Ohio State concerning a car that was broken into (provided by a booster, of course), and failing to disclose information to investigators from the NCAA who decided to look into the Ohio State athletic program a little further. Oh, by the way, then-AD Andy Geiger suddenly resigned around that time, saying he wanted to pursue other opportunities. Remember that analogy about rats leaving a sinking ship? Anyway, Clarett is now behind bars, and I, for one, say good riddance. I keep hearing how sad a story this is, and I'll admit it's sad, but Clarett did all this to himself. He showed up at the NFL combine out of shape one year. He milked a hamstring injury when Denver took a flyer on him, and subsequently released him. Come on, how many shots do you give a guy? Don't give me that he had a tough childhood. Don't give me that he didn't have a chance in life. He had a full ride to a prestigious NCAA institution, and he threw it all away because he had too many people in his ear, and had his hand out for far too long. Put his name on the pile along with Lawrence Phillips, Cecil Collins, and J.R.Rider. Use this case as an example to future athletes. Maybe one of them will pay close attention as to what happens when you choose the wrong path. As for Clarett, we all have to pay the piper sometime. Coaches always talk about accountability, well Clarett is going to learn a hard lesson in accountability.
With the recent NHL gambling incident, one question comes to mind: Would this really be as big of a deal as it is now if the name Gretzky weren't involved? I mean, come on......when the story broke, and every news agency was reporting the name Rick Tocchet, nobody outside of die-hard hockey circles picked up on it. But now, add the name Gretzky to the mix, and now you have yourself a story! For those that don't know, here's the condensed version: Gretzky coaches the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL. Tocchet is one of his assistants. Tocchet is under investigation in New Jersey for being involved in a gambling ring. The ring is not all that large, but now when it involves an assistant coach, plus the Gretzky name, everyone is on board. The big question now is were any NHL games fixed during this ring to cover someone's bets. If they were, the NHL can close its doors. Gretzky's wife, Janet, is reported to have made bets in this circle. The perception there is that she's making wagers for her husband, so none of this will stick to him when it all hits the fan. And, for those of you out there who think I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth, stop it! Baseball has CLEAR, WRITTEN RULES on every clubhouse door about betting on baseball. And when there is evidence that bets were made from the manager's office, there's your case! This is totally different from the Pete Rose deal, which, by the way, he's not going into the Hall, so that's a happy day for me. Anyway, with the NHL coming off the season-long strike, and them doing their best to try to win fans, this may knock a large hole into he bridge of goodwill that was being built between hockey and fans.

Enjoy the Olympics. More to come soon.

Patrick

Super Bowl Letdown

Did you feel as cheated as I did last night? We didn't even get that good of a commercial set, although the FedEx commercial and the streaking sheep spot were pretty funny. Back to what I was saying, though. The NFL should take a lesson from last night's game and stop scheduling the Super Bowl two weeks after the AFC/NFC title games. All we got this year was a HUGE letdown. I mean, if you're a Steelers fan, you loved it. Any other football fan looked at it like it was a Week 2 game. You can't tell me that a coach that has won a title before couldn't manage the clock any better than he did in that game. You can't tell me that an offense that was the best in red zone scoring this season suddenly couldn't find the end zone. And would someone please tell Jerramy Stevens that its OK for him to remove his foot from his mouth now. That is, if he can get a good grip on it. With all the butter on his hands, he might have a hard time ermoving said foot.
Jerome Bettis rides off with a title. Good for him. But, is he really a Hall of Fame running back? Yes, he is popular. Yes, he is an icon in Pittsburgh, though many forget, he started with the L.A. Rams out of Notre Dame (his choice of colleges is another reason for me to keep him out of the Hall, but that's another story for another day). He's amassed a LOT of yards since coming into this league (over 13,000 to be exact), but I just sometimes question if he's worthy of the Hall. From the position he played, and gaining that many yards, he'll probably make it. After all, longevity is something the voters take into consideration (see also: Davis, Terrell). We'll see in five years if he makes the cut.
Take a look at list night's winner. They join Dallas and San Francisco as the only five-time winners of the NFL's big game. If you look back, only a handful of teams can say they've won Lombardi's trophy. Between the aforementioned teams, that's fifteen trophies. Add to that Green Bay (3), New England (3), Washington (3), and Oakland (3), that makes twelve more trophies, taking us up to twenty-seven. Add the two-time winners of Denver, NY Giants, and Miami, that takes us up to thirty-three. Throw in Tampa Bay, Chicago, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City, St. Louis, NY Jets, and the Baltimore Colts, that gives you the forty titles. I know I mentioned Baltimore twice, but I'm from the old school. Looking back at it, its not a lot of teams that can lay claim to the title. I know parity is important in this league, and if you look at the early years, teams could actually build dynasties. Now, in the salary cap era of the NFL, that's almost impossible.
With another season in the books, it's time to make some predictions for next year's NFL season. In the AFC, I like New England in the East, Pittsburgh in the North, Indy in the South and Denver in the West, with Miami and Kansas City as the wild cards. In the NFC, I like New York in the East, Carolina in the South, Chicago in the North, and Seattle in the West, with Philadelphia and Washington as the wild cards. That all may change as the off-season rolls along. The draft is coming, and free agency is just around the bend. Plus, with some teams having players come back from injuries, I reserve the right to change said picks right up until the season opener this fall.

See you next time.

Patrick