The weather is (slowly...very slowly) getting better, and as the calendar turns to April, it signals the beginning of the 2013 Major League Baseball season. There are always interesting story lines to follow as the season opens, and many more talking points will arise throughout the next seven months in the baseball world. Before I address any individual stories, here is an American League division-by-division look at how I think things will play out in 2013.
AL East
This is clearly the best division in all of baseball. We are always used to the Red Sox and Yankees spending tons of money to bring players in, but they were both upstaged by the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason, who made major changes and appear to have gone all-in on a revival of the franchise and what they hope can be a trip back to the World Series for the first time in two decades.
Toronto Blue Jays - This was a tough choice, but I think the Jays are the team to beat here. They have a ton of speed with guys like Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, and Rajai Davis, and they also have mashers like Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista to drive in runs. On paper, this offense has the potential to be great.
The additions of R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle means that they have two proven commodities at the top of the rotation. If Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson can stay healthy (which, in their cases, is far from a certainty), the rotation could be great as well.
The bullpen doesn't feature any big names, but the guys they do have are very underrated, and I think they can get the job done. We learned last year from the Marlins that an offseason spending bonanza does not always work, but I'm inclined to think that this one will pay off with at least a berth in the postseason. They may not be World Series contenders, but I think this is a playoff team.
New York Yankees - Although this definitely is not the strongest Yankee team we have seen in recent years, they simply always are in the postseason discussion, and until that changes, I am not counting them out. Injuries will really be tough on the Yankees early on, as Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, and Mark Teixeira will all miss the first few weeks of the season. However, when those three return, this is still a very good offensive team.
As far as the pitching goes, C.C. Sabathia is still the definition of a workhorse, Andy Pettitte will still probably win at least 10 games despite being 439 years old, and Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova are both stellar as well.
In the bullpen, Mariano Rivera is back for one last ride, and he is hoping to go out in style just like Ray Lewis. David Robertson is one of the best setup men in baseball as well. As I said before, the Yankees are always in the mix when the season winds down, and no one should be surprised to see them playing into October once again in 2013.
Baltimore Orioles - This was a tough choice. You could make an argument for Baltimore to be higher in the division based upon the talent they have and what they did in making the playoffs last season, or you could say that they were the "team of destiny" in 2012, and they won't be able to catch all the breaks they seemingly caught daily last season. I am inclined to put them somewhere in between, but this has the potential to be a postseason contender.
The offense should be very good. Adam Jones and Matt Wieters lead the way, and youngster Manny Machado seems to be a star in the making. All through the lineup, the Orioles have guys that can hurt you in various ways.
The big question here is the rotation. Baltimore had a plethora of guys start games for them in 2012, but none of them were particularly effective over the course of the entire season. Jason Hammel is the "ace," but on many teams he would be a middle-of-the-rotation guy. The wild card here is much heralded prospect Dylan Bundy, who is probably too talented to be held back in the minor leagues for much longer. If he is able to have an immediate impact and provide a much needed spark for the rotation, it will do wonders for Baltimore's playoff chances.
The bullpen is above average, and Jim Johnson has become a top-notch closer. After what happened last year, it is impossible to count the Orioles out. Whether or not they win 93 games again remains to be seen, but I still think they can compete for a spot in the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Rays - The often disrespected Rays finish fourth here for me, but don't be surprised to see them finish higher than that when the season ends. Losing James Shields and B.J. Upton will obviously hurt, but the Rays have overcome longer odds before. Despite the loss of Shields, the strength of this team remains its rotation, which is led by former Cy Young winner David Price. Jeremy Hellickson is a strong #2 guy, and the Rays have a ton of options after that, including youngsters like Alex Cobb and Matt Moore.
As I already said, the loss of B.J. Upton will obviously hurt the offense (as well as the defense), but if the Rays can get an injury free season from Evan Longoria, it will go a long way in helping to ease the pain. Additions like Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson will help as well, and don't forget about jack-of-all-trades Ben Zobrist, one of the most underrated players in all of baseball. If the offense needs a boost, don't be surprised to hear the name Wil Myers, as he was the big return that Tampa Bay got in return for James Shields, and he may not spend much more time in the minor leagues.
In the bullpen, it would be unfair to expect Fernando Rodney to repeat what he did in 2012 in saving 48 games and posting an un-earthly 0.60 ERA. However, he is still very good at the back end of the 'pen, and the setup guys are good as well.
In any other division, this would be a very good team. However, since the AL East is so tough, the Rays will have to battle every night to win games. They have the talent to do so though, so don't be surprised to see this team in the playoff picture in September.
Boston Red Sox - Oh, how times have changed in Beantown. After a decade of success that included two World Series championships, Boston collapsed at the end of the 2011 season, and suffered through a last-place year in 2012. The team was highly criticized last year for what many perceived as a white-flag waving trade in which they sent Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers, and while those two will obviously be missed, Boston still has a lot of talent in their lineup.
Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia are both proven stars, and David Ortiz can still drive in runs. New faces like Stephen Drew and Shane Victorino will help as well. Also, Will Middlebrooks is a youngster of whom much will be expected. Boston can still score runs, do not doubt that,
The rotation is coming off a very poor year, and I think it is fair to say that Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz will not be as bad in 2013 as they were in 2012. Felix Doubront won 11 games last season, and if he repeats that in 2013, Boston should be thrilled. Ryan Dempster is on the downside of his career, and I have lost all hope for John Lackey.
In the bullpen, the Red Sox added Joel Hanrahan, who was a very underrated closer during his time in Pittsburgh. They also have useful arms like Andrew Bailey, Koji Uehara, and Craig Breslow. The bullpen is definitely respectable.
Like I have said throughout this AL East preview, the Red Sox will have a tough time in such a good division. However, this still can be a team that finishes at least near the .500 mark. I don't think fans in Boston should expect to be cheering their team into the playoffs, but they still have enough pieces to at least improve after a disastrous 2012.
AL Central
Unlike the AL East, the Central is a division that will most likely be far less competitive in 2013. Despite not being able to reach the peak and win a World Series, the Tigers have been the class of this division for the past few seasons, and I don't expect anything different this year.
Detroit Tigers - After a disappointing end to 2012 in which Detroit was swept by the San Francisco Giants in toe World Series, the Tigers field a team that will look much like the 2012 version, except they will get Victor Martinez back from injury, and Torii Hunter will be playing right field. Detroit still features arguably the best hitter and pitcher in all of baseball (although it is getting harder and harder to argue against those acclaims) in Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. The addition of Torii Hunter and the return of Victor Martinez, as well as the presence of guys like Prince Fielder, Austin Jackson, and Alex Avila make this offense very formidable.
Verlander obviously leads the rotation, but guys like Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, and Doug Fister combine to make this rotation excellent from top to bottom.
The biggest question here is in the bullpen, where the Tigers let Jose Valverde go, and now do not have any proven closer on the roster. Bruce Rondon was thought to be the closer-in-waiting, but after a bad spring, he was sent down to Triple-A. Phil Coke, Joaquin Benoit, Al Alburquerque, and Octavio Dotel are very good in middle relief, but can one of them take over as a full-time closer? That still remains to be seen.
However, despite the predicament at the back end of the bullpen, this team is simply too talented not to win this division.
Kansas City Royals - After years and years of struggles, the arrow is finally pointing up in Kansas City. The Royals are loaded with young talent, and they added James Shields in a big offseason trade. Shields will be counted on to lead the rotation.
Offensively, this team is loaded with potential. Much was expected from Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas in 2012, and the duo did not meet those expectations. However, going through tough seasons will probably work out well for them both, and I expect them to start reaching their potentials in 2013. In left field, Alex Gordon is very underrated, and do not be surprised to see a huge season from him. Billy Butler provides a whole lot of power, and Salvador Perez is one of the brightest young stars behind the plate in all of baseball. A lot of it is potential, but this offense could be very good.
Shields heads a rotation that may still not be great, but has a chance to at least be pretty good. Ervin Santana, Jeremy Guthrie, and Bruce Chen aren't flashy names, but I think they can all win at least 10 games, and that is more than Kansas City has been able to expect from the middle of its rotation for a long time. Kansas City also acquired Wade Davis from the Rays in the Shields deal, and while he has not met expectations yet during his career, he has the potential to be a very good #5 starter.
The bullpen features zero household names, but do not mistake that for meaning it is not a good group of pitchers. Greg Holland, Tim Collins, Kelvin Herrera...learn these names now because this 'pen definitely has some talent.
The Royals have been a bottom feeder in the AL Central for a long time now, but I think that the future is bright in Kansas City. Are they good enough to challenge Detroit for the top spot in the division? No. Are they good enough to surpass the .500 mark for the first time in a decade though? Absolutely.
Cleveland Indians - Coming off of a bad year in which the Indians won only 68 games, Cleveland now has a marquee name as their new manager (Terry Francona), and they added a multiple nice pieces in Nick Swisher, Drew Stubbs, Michael Bourn, and Mark Reynolds.
Bourn is arguably the best leadoff hitter in baseball, and he will instantly add a spark to the top of Cleveland's lineup. Stubbs adds speed and Reynolds adds power, although they both strike out at remarkably high rates. Swisher also will provide a nice presence in the middle of the lineup. Those four will all join a lineup that already featured guys like Jason Kipnis, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Carlos Santana. Potentially, this could actually be a very good offense.
The big question here is the starting rotation. Justin Masterson heads the staff, but he would not be a #1 starter on most teams. Ubaldo Jimenez is next in line, and we are getting close to the point that it is time to stop expecting the great things he did in 2009 and 2010. We're not there yet, but he had a bad year in 2012, and it would be wrong to expect big things from him in 2013. The wild card here is former Diamondback Trevor Bauer. He is loaded with potential, but he was not very good last year in his short stint with Arizona. He is still very young though, and I am still wary of the fact that the Diamondbacks trading him away could end up being a really bad move.
Cleveland's bullpen is actually very good, even if it doesn't feature marquee names. Chris Perez can be a very good closer, and guys like Vinnie Pestano, Joe Smith, and Bryan Shaw are good in middle relief.
Overall, I think this team has the potential to surprise some people, but most of it will depend upon how their questionable rotation fares. Cleveland won't challenge Detroit for the AL Central crown, but don't be surprised if they finish in a distant second place.
Chicago White Sox - After surprisingly staying atop the division for the majority of 2012, the White Sox were unable to hang on down the stretch, and they were eventually surpassed by the Tigers and Chicago watched the playoffs from home. However, there were a lot of positives that the White Sox were able to take away from the 2012 season, the first of which was new found ace Chris Sale. Whether or not Sale could make the transition from the bullpen to the rotation was a huge question, and Sale emphatically answered that with a yes. He won 17 games, had an ERA of 3.05, and is now the unquestioned #1 starter for the White Sox.
After Sale, the White Sox feature an above average rotation that features Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd, Jose Quintana, and (when he is healthy) John Danks. If Sale is able to come anywhere close to what he did in 2012, this rotation has the potential to be pretty good.
Offensively, the White Sox have some solid players. Paul Konerko is aging like a fine wine, and still driving in runs at 37 years old. Adam Dunn may not hit 41 home runs again like he did in 2012, but we all know what he can do. A lot of power and not much else. Alex Rios is coming off a huge year, and if he can come anywhere close to the .304/25/91 line he put up in 2012, White Sox fans should be thrilled. Dayan Viciedo and Tyler Flowers add some power potential, and Alejandro De Aza adds speed at the top.
Like the Royals and the Indians, the White Sox bullpen might not feature any household names, but it has the potential to be pretty good. Addison Reed will be the closer, and he will look to build on a nice 2012 in which he saved 29 games for Chicago. Nate Jones, Matt Thornton, and Jesse Crain are solid as well.
After the Tigers, this division is really wide open. I doubt that Chicago will spend the majority of the season in first place like they did in 2012, but I think that they could realistically expect to finish anywhere from second to fourth in the division.
Minnesota Twins - After winning over 90 games and making the postseason in both 2009 and 2010, the Twins have struggled mightily over the past two seasons, winning 63 games in 2011 and 66 games in 2012. In a division that is not very strong, I still find it hard to believe that the Twins will be good enough to compete once again in 2013.
The offense features two proven stars in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, but seeing both of them simultaneously make it through a 162 game season without missing time due to injury has been a rare occurrence. Josh Willingham is solid, and Trevor Plouffe is a nice player, but after that, Minnesota has a whole lot of unproven players. Pedro Florimon, Darin Mastroianni, Aaron Hicks...these are players who have proven little to nothing at the major league level, and the Twins will be hoping that they can play big roles in their success in 2013. There is potential, but until I see legitimate proof, I can't believe that these guys will be able to shoulder much of a load in 2013.
The starting rotation has a bit more overall proven experience than most of the lineup, the problem is, it is made up of proven mediocrities. Vance Worley, Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Scott Diamond have experience at the major league level, but none of them are more than middle-of-the-rotation pitchers, and guys like Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder will be salivating at the chance to face whoever is on the mound for the Twins. The bullpen is average at best. Glen Perkins and Jared Burton are serviceable, but nothing more.
In a weak AL Central, I think the Twins are still at the back of the class. They simply have too many mediocre players to have a realistic shot at competing in 2013. If Minnesota finishes anywhere above last in the division, I think they should consider it a good year.
AL West
Everyone in this division should be thankful of the addition of the Astros, as Houston will provide a new whipping boy for all other teams in the division. As far as the top of the division goes, I cannot see the Athletics repeating what they did in 2012, and I think that the fans in Anaheim should be expecting a deep run into October.
Anaheim Angels - First, let me get this out of the way; this is a legitimate World Series contender. The rotation took a definite blow with Danny Haren and Zack Greinke leaving, but I think their replacements are still good enough to provide enough support to an offense that is arguably the best in all of baseball.
As far that offense, where do I begin? Is it with newly signed, former AL MVP Josh Hamilton? Or maybe three-time MVP first baseman Albert Pujols? Or what about the man who put up what could possibly be the best rookie season in the history of American sports in 2012, Mike Trout? No matter what, the Angels will boast one of the best lineups in baseball. With those three studs being supplemented by guys like Mark Trumbo, Howie Kendrick, and Erick Aybar, opposing pitching staffs should fear having to face this offense.
As I said before, the "weakest" part of this team is probably its starting rotation. However, when your rotation is led by an ace like Jered Weaver, you need to use the term "weakest" in a loose manner. Weaver is one of the best in the game, and C.J. Wilson is very good as a #2. Haren and Greinke are gone, but they have been replaced by Tommy Hanson and Jason Vargas, both of whom have the ability to be pretty good. Anaheim's 2013 rotation may not be its strongest in recent memory, but it is still very formidable.
Mike Scioscia's bullpens have long been excellent, and I don't see 2013 being any different. Ryan Madson is good, but not great, as a closer, but Anaheim boasts a strong middle relief corps that makes this bullpen very good.
Like I said, this team is good enough to win the World Series. Even after an unbelievably great 2012 season, the sky is still the limit for Trout. Is some sort of regression possible, or maybe likely? Yes. However, could he also be the next coming of Ken Griffey, Jr.? Yes. Willie Mays? Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. No matter what he does, he has plenty of support, and no one should be surprised to see this team lifting the World Series trophy in November.
Texas Rangers - After two straight AL pennants in 2010 and 2011, the Rangers returned to the postseason in 2012, only to be eliminated before reaching a third straight World Series. On paper, the 2013 version still looks formidable, but I would be surprised to see them reach the World Series for a third time in four years.
Obviously, the Rangers were dealt a huge blow this offseason when Josh Hamilton not only left, but at the same time signed with their biggest rival, the Anaheim Angels. Add to that the losses of Michael Young and Mike Napoli, and the Rangers offense took a serious hit. Texas was able to add A.J. Pierzynski, who is coming off a very good year, but he will not even come close to making up for the loss of Hamilton, Young, and Napoli. Texas is beginning to go with homegrown talent, as Leonys Martin is slated to be their starting center fielder, and it surely can't be long before we see Jurickson Profar, who is considered by many to be the top minor league prospect in all of baseball. The Rangers' infield is so stacked with Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, and Elvis Andrus though, the only problem might actually finding a spot for Profar to play. Nelson Cruz and David Murphy will play the outfield corners, but Martin has a long way to go in replacing Josh Hamilton in center.
The rotation is good, but not great. Yu Darvish has been good since coming over from Japan, and guys like Matt Harrison and Alexi Ogando are solid as well.
The bullpen took a hit when Mike Adams and Koji Uehara left, but Joe Nathan is a very good closer, and Joakim Soria could provide a huge spark when he returns from Tommy John surgery (the Rangers hope that will be some time in May).
This team is definitely good enough to make the playoffs. If the rotation can overachieve and some young position players can provide a spark, the Rangers could potentially make a run at another pennant. I don't see that happening, but I think we could at least see Texas playing into October.
Oakland Athletics - After a miraculous and completely unexpected division title in 2012, the A's return in 2013 with what will obviously be heightened expectations. Whether they will repeat their 2012 success is up for debate, but I am inclined to say no at this point.
The offense featured a ton of "no-names" who just simply seemed to continually come through in the clutch in 2012, and I have a hard time believing that will be the case again in 2013. Guys like Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes, and Brandon Moss are serviceable, but are they the centerpieces of legitimate, perennial contenders? I don't think so.
The strong point in Oakland should be their starting rotation. Between Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, A.J. Griffin, and Brett Anderson, the A's are loaded with young talent on the mound. Those four all have the potential to win at least 10-15 games in 2013.
As seems to be the case with any playoff team, the bullpen in Oakland was spectacular in 2012. The 'pen remains largely intact in 2013, with mainstays like Grant Balfour, Ryan Cook, and Jerry Blevins leading the way.
This team took its fans on a magical run last year, and it is unfair to expect similar results in 2013. Can they be good again? Yes. However, I don't think it is realistic to expect Oakland to finish any higher than third in the AL West this year. Texas and Anaheim are simply too talented. I think, at best, Oakland is a long shot to reach the playoffs, but even that would be asking a lot.
Seattle Mariners - Thanks to a very competitive division in 2012, the Mariners finished last, despite winning a respectable 75 games, which was the most for any last place team in baseball. However, as has been the case in recent years, I find it hard to expect much better than that in 2013. Seattle still boasts arguably the best starting pitcher in all of baseball in Felix Hernandez, but his supporting cast just remains too sub par to challenge for a spot in the postseason.
Offensively, the Mariners were one of the worst teams in the American League last season. They added Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse to a lineup that already included Kyle Seager, Jesus Montero, and Dustin Ackley. None of those name jump off the page to the casual fan, but the Mariners should at least be better offensively than they were in 2012 (although there is really nowhere to go but up).
The only thing more questionable than Seattle's offense is its rotation after Felix Hernandez. With guys like Hisashi Iwakuma, Erasmo Ramirez, and Blake Beavan, the Mariners have a rotation that is anything but proven. The bullpen is at least somewhat better, as guys like Tom Wilhelmsen and Charlie Furbush have made some marks at the major league level.
With an average offense and a questionable pitching staff after the ace, I find it hard to see the Mariners finishing anywhere above fourth place in this division. If the Astros weren't so terrible, I would have to slate Seattle in the fifth spot, but for now, I'll keep them out of the AL West basement.
Houston Astros - Welcome the the American League, Astros fans! Thanks to you, we now get interleague play throughout the season, and the Rangers, Athletics, Angels, and Mariners get a new team to beat up on.
After playing in a poor NL Central division, the Astros now move to an AL West division that is much better, and sadly, their team seems to be no more improved than it was in 2012. After being the worst team in baseball for the past two seasons, things do not seem to be looking up anywhere in the near future for Houston.
Unless you are a serious baseball fan, you would probably be at a loss if you were asked to name even half of the Astros' lineup. With names like Justin Maxwell, Matt Dominguez, and Chris Carter, it is tough to piece together a batting order for Houston. Carlos Pena is a respectable middle of the order designated hitter, and Jose Altuve is a nice second baseman, but aside from that, there is nothing much to be excited about when you look at Houston's lineup.
As if an uninspiring lineup weren't enough, things only get worse when you look at the Astros' starting rotation. Bud Norris is far from a #1 starter, but he heads Houston's rotation, and with guys like Lucas Harrell and Brad Peacock behind him, it is really tough to see this rotation being anything better than below-average.
As far as the bullpen goes? Well, that isn't exactly a strong point either. The best relief pitcher on the team in 2012, Wilton Lopez, is gone, and the bullpen now consists of mostly unknowns. Jose Veras could possibly be an average closer, but that might be asking a lot.
I have heard many people predict that this team could actually challenge the 1962 Mets for the worst regular season record of all time, when the Mets went 42-120. I have a hard time believing that the Astros will reach depths that low, but with the way this team looks now, it will take a miracle for them to finish anywhere above last place in the AL West, and anything better than 30th out of 30 teams should be considered a success. Sorry, Houston fans.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
The current king of the NFL
Coming off of a playoff performance for the ages that included 11 touchdown passes, zero interceptions, a Lombardi Trophy, and a Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco was rewarded yesterday with a shiny, new contract to the tune of $120 million over the next six years. When contracts with such large numbers are signed, it instantly brings about debates as to whether or not the player is worth all of that money, and Flacco's situation has been no different. Naysayers have said that he is not close to the best quarterback in the league, and there is no way that he deserves to be paid more money than guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. However, in the reality of the NFL, Flacco absolutely deserves the money that the Ravens just gave him, and I will tell you why.
There is a saying that, in real estate, the most important factor of the price of anything is its location. A one bedroom apartment in Des Moines (with no offense intended toward anyone who might live in a one bedroom apartment in Des Moines) is simply not as worthy of a high price as, say, the same one bedroom apartment on 59th Street in Manhattan with a view overlooking Central Park. In the world of sports, the key to getting a big contract for any player is often times, timing. And if there is one thing that supports the claim for Flacco's big money deal, it is an impeccable piece of timing on his part.
Coming into the season, Flacco was already a quarterback that was one of the most polarizing in the league in terms of talent and worth to his team. The regular season brought about a lot of highs for Flacco, but it also included some startling lows (see: October 21 vs Houston and a three week span in the beginning of December). However, when we look back at quarterbacks over the course of history, the first thing we look at is Super Bowl rings. Is Brett Favre the greatest quarterback to ever play the game? His statistics might say so, but I guarantee you that if you were to take a survey of any ten football fans and ask them who the greatest quarterback of all time is, Joe Montana's name would come up just as much as Favre's. Favre has the numbers, but Montana has the rings.
There are 31 quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl, and Joe Flacco is a member of that class. I'm not sure how many quarterbacks have ever played in the NFL, but to be a member of a class that contains only 31 means that you are in highly elite company. Out of those quarterbacks, only 20 of them have been named Super Bowl MVP, and once again, Flacco is a member of that class.
So, when you piece together what Flacco accomplished this past postseason, the fact that his contract was expiring, the retirement of former team leader Ray Lewis, the possible departure of Ed Reed, the need for a new face of the team, and the lack of available quarterbacks on the free agent market and in the draft, the timing was perfect for Flacco to cash in on a big money deal. The money that professional athletes make is based upon the need for their services and the market surrounding them. The quarterback position is, in the eyes of many sports fans (myself included), the most important position in all of sports. It is very rare to see a team win a Super Bowl with a quarterback that is not playing at an elite level. Hockey fans might argue that goaltender is the most important position in all of sports, and that would probably be the second most important position as far as a championship run is concerned, but I still believe that the quarterback position is more important. As far as basketball goes, the game has gone from one that was dominated by big men like Bill Russell to one that has been centered around all-around athletes like LeBron James. In baseball, my 2001 Diamondbacks were one of the best examples of how starting pitching can win a championship, and more recent teams like the San Francisco Giants have followed suit, but World Series winning teams are always centered around multiple great starting pitchers, and not just one player in particular. The fact is, if you don't have an elite quarterback, your chances of winning a Super Bowl are not very good.
Flacco is cashing in right now thanks to a remarkable postseason run at the perfect time, but being the highest paid player in any given sport does not necessarily mean you are the best player. As of today, the highest paid players in each of our four major professional sports are Kobe Bryant, Sidney Crosby, Alex Rodriguez, and now, Joe Flacco. Are any of those the best players in their respective sports? Aside from a possible argument that could be made for Crosby, the answer is definitively no. However, those guys were just in the right place at the right time, and therefore, they were able to cash in on big deals. The Lakers had to lock up Kobe Bryant. The Penguins had to lock up Sidney Crosby. The Yankees? Well, maybe they didn't have to lock up A-Rod, but they have so much money that they did anyway. And right now, because of what Flacco has done over the course of the past year, the Ravens have to lock him up as well.
There are only three active quarterbacks with more Super Bowl rings than Joe Flacco, and those are Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, and Eli Manning. Those three are all being paid handsomely. Brady just signed a deal with the Patriots at a significant discount, but it has been almost a decade since he last won a Super Bowl. Big Ben and Eli were already signed to long term deals before they won their last Super Bowls. Flacco's ring and his contract negotiations just happened to meet at the perfect time, and he deserves all of the credit in the world for cashing in when his value is at what is probably the highest it will ever be. The man won a Super Bowl, and had an outstanding postseason. He might not be the best player in the league, but in terms of the current market and his current value, there is no one who can claim to be worth more than Flacco. He bet on himself, and it paid off handsomely. And if someone thinks that he is unworthy of the money he got, well, I'm sorry that you are not sitting pretty with a Super Bowl MVP trophy on your mantle like the highest paid player in the league is today.
Daily Rangers Update: I got home from work last night to catch a thrilling third period at Madison Square Garden that eventually ended with the Rangers beating the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout. The team has still not come close to meeting my expectations for the year, but maybe last night's momentum can carry over into tomorrow night's game against the Flyers. Let's Go Rangers!
Daily Nets Update: The Nets remain in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference, and a loss against the Bulls last Saturday night does nothing to inspire confidence. Next up is a game against the Bobcats, who are currently sporting the worst record in the NBA, so obviously, anything other than a win will be a disappointment.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Opening Day is now less than a month away, and although the Spring Training schedule has gotten off to a rough start, I have learned over the years that Spring Training stats are absolutely worthless about 90% of the time. The team is getting work in, and that's all that matters. 28 days until the season opener against the Cardinals...
Daily Giants Update: The draft continues to get closer and closer, and free agency is well underway, but there is no major news to report for the Giants. In Jerry I trust...
There is a saying that, in real estate, the most important factor of the price of anything is its location. A one bedroom apartment in Des Moines (with no offense intended toward anyone who might live in a one bedroom apartment in Des Moines) is simply not as worthy of a high price as, say, the same one bedroom apartment on 59th Street in Manhattan with a view overlooking Central Park. In the world of sports, the key to getting a big contract for any player is often times, timing. And if there is one thing that supports the claim for Flacco's big money deal, it is an impeccable piece of timing on his part.
Coming into the season, Flacco was already a quarterback that was one of the most polarizing in the league in terms of talent and worth to his team. The regular season brought about a lot of highs for Flacco, but it also included some startling lows (see: October 21 vs Houston and a three week span in the beginning of December). However, when we look back at quarterbacks over the course of history, the first thing we look at is Super Bowl rings. Is Brett Favre the greatest quarterback to ever play the game? His statistics might say so, but I guarantee you that if you were to take a survey of any ten football fans and ask them who the greatest quarterback of all time is, Joe Montana's name would come up just as much as Favre's. Favre has the numbers, but Montana has the rings.
There are 31 quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl, and Joe Flacco is a member of that class. I'm not sure how many quarterbacks have ever played in the NFL, but to be a member of a class that contains only 31 means that you are in highly elite company. Out of those quarterbacks, only 20 of them have been named Super Bowl MVP, and once again, Flacco is a member of that class.
So, when you piece together what Flacco accomplished this past postseason, the fact that his contract was expiring, the retirement of former team leader Ray Lewis, the possible departure of Ed Reed, the need for a new face of the team, and the lack of available quarterbacks on the free agent market and in the draft, the timing was perfect for Flacco to cash in on a big money deal. The money that professional athletes make is based upon the need for their services and the market surrounding them. The quarterback position is, in the eyes of many sports fans (myself included), the most important position in all of sports. It is very rare to see a team win a Super Bowl with a quarterback that is not playing at an elite level. Hockey fans might argue that goaltender is the most important position in all of sports, and that would probably be the second most important position as far as a championship run is concerned, but I still believe that the quarterback position is more important. As far as basketball goes, the game has gone from one that was dominated by big men like Bill Russell to one that has been centered around all-around athletes like LeBron James. In baseball, my 2001 Diamondbacks were one of the best examples of how starting pitching can win a championship, and more recent teams like the San Francisco Giants have followed suit, but World Series winning teams are always centered around multiple great starting pitchers, and not just one player in particular. The fact is, if you don't have an elite quarterback, your chances of winning a Super Bowl are not very good.
Flacco is cashing in right now thanks to a remarkable postseason run at the perfect time, but being the highest paid player in any given sport does not necessarily mean you are the best player. As of today, the highest paid players in each of our four major professional sports are Kobe Bryant, Sidney Crosby, Alex Rodriguez, and now, Joe Flacco. Are any of those the best players in their respective sports? Aside from a possible argument that could be made for Crosby, the answer is definitively no. However, those guys were just in the right place at the right time, and therefore, they were able to cash in on big deals. The Lakers had to lock up Kobe Bryant. The Penguins had to lock up Sidney Crosby. The Yankees? Well, maybe they didn't have to lock up A-Rod, but they have so much money that they did anyway. And right now, because of what Flacco has done over the course of the past year, the Ravens have to lock him up as well.
There are only three active quarterbacks with more Super Bowl rings than Joe Flacco, and those are Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, and Eli Manning. Those three are all being paid handsomely. Brady just signed a deal with the Patriots at a significant discount, but it has been almost a decade since he last won a Super Bowl. Big Ben and Eli were already signed to long term deals before they won their last Super Bowls. Flacco's ring and his contract negotiations just happened to meet at the perfect time, and he deserves all of the credit in the world for cashing in when his value is at what is probably the highest it will ever be. The man won a Super Bowl, and had an outstanding postseason. He might not be the best player in the league, but in terms of the current market and his current value, there is no one who can claim to be worth more than Flacco. He bet on himself, and it paid off handsomely. And if someone thinks that he is unworthy of the money he got, well, I'm sorry that you are not sitting pretty with a Super Bowl MVP trophy on your mantle like the highest paid player in the league is today.
Daily Rangers Update: I got home from work last night to catch a thrilling third period at Madison Square Garden that eventually ended with the Rangers beating the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout. The team has still not come close to meeting my expectations for the year, but maybe last night's momentum can carry over into tomorrow night's game against the Flyers. Let's Go Rangers!
Daily Nets Update: The Nets remain in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference, and a loss against the Bulls last Saturday night does nothing to inspire confidence. Next up is a game against the Bobcats, who are currently sporting the worst record in the NBA, so obviously, anything other than a win will be a disappointment.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Opening Day is now less than a month away, and although the Spring Training schedule has gotten off to a rough start, I have learned over the years that Spring Training stats are absolutely worthless about 90% of the time. The team is getting work in, and that's all that matters. 28 days until the season opener against the Cardinals...
Daily Giants Update: The draft continues to get closer and closer, and free agency is well underway, but there is no major news to report for the Giants. In Jerry I trust...
Saturday, March 2, 2013
The court storming debate
Mike Krzyzewski recently brought up a subject that always seems to bring about numerous arguments at least once or twice during every college basketball season. His Duke team lost to Virginia last week, and as is usually the case when an unranked team wins a home game against a highly ranked opponent, the game ended with the Virginia fans rushing on to the court as the final buzzer sounded.
Krzyzewski exchanged heated words with some fans, and during his post game press conference, he addressed what he believed to be a lack of security at the arena. He wasn't critical of the concept of "court storming" in general, he was only critical of what he thought was a poor job by the security staff at the arena of getting his team and staff safely off the court and into the locker room.
As the coach of Duke, I'm sure that Krzyzewski has witnessed more than his share of court stormings during his lifetime, so if anyone has the authority to speak on the matter, Coach K is definitely the one to do so. I talk about "old school" and "new school" trains of thought a lot, and this court storming debate is just another one that seems to match those two ways of thinking against each other yet again. "Old school" thinkers would say that court storming should be banned because of the potential dangers it brings about, while "new school" thinkers would say that it is simply a way for teams and students to celebrate together, and there is nothing wrong with it.
On this matter, I must say that I have to side with the "old school" way of thinking. I just feel as if thousands of students storming on to a basketball court following a game is a recipe for disaster. I get the fact that it happens regularly and without any sort of incident, and I get the fact that the concept of it is in no way malicious or ill-willed. I just feel like the whole idea is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Some day in the future; it may be tomorrow, or it may be ten years from now, someone is going to be seriously injured (or, even worse) during one of these scenes, and we are going to look back at all of these previous minor incidents and wonder why we did nothing to stop what was obviously bound to happen.
Don't get me wrong here, I am all for celebration and exuberance in sports. I cannot stand the fact that penalty flags can be thrown for "excessive celebration" in football, and I think that any type of achievement in sports is worthy of celebration. However, there are lines that need to be drawn. A group of football players dancing or engaging in some sort of celebratory act after a touchdown is harmless. If a player gets mad because his or her opponent is celebrating on the field of play, then my only words of advice are this: play better. However, there is a major difference between players celebrating on the field/court/rink and thousands of fans joining in the celebration.
I have been in college before, and I have sat in student sections during both basketball and football games. I can tell you for a fact that, while the student sections are often times the most arduous in terms of team support, they are definitely not the best representation of a university as a whole. At UConn, where I watched basketball and football games from a student section, I can tell you without question that some students at games are not exactly on their best behavior. We get it though. These are college kids we are talking about, and there is a reason that they are in the stands and not on the field/court/rink. However, when a game ends and these kids rush on to the court, they are intermingling with the athletes, and this is where the problem arises.
The time it takes for a final buzzer to sound and a visiting team and its staff to find solace in the locker room in minute. However, when thousands of college students (some of whom are not sober) are storming on to a basketball court, that small amount of time seems to become longer and longer. As athletes, the players are trained to ignore hecklers and opposing fans. Team staffs are also taught to do the same. Nevertheless, we still have to face that fact that no matter what, these are all human beings we are talking about. Players and coaches can only turn a deaf ear to harassment for so long. Eventually, each individual will reach his or her breaking point, and I think that court storming brings that breaking point for opposing players far too close for comfort.
All it is going to take is one overzealous fan and one broken athlete for this matter to go from theory to reality. Maybe I sound like an old fogie in saying that I am afraid of that day, but let me sound like Nostradamus when I tell you that it will eventually happen. Maybe someone will get trampled. Maybe a coach or player will be involved in a physical altercation with a fan. Eventually though, something serious is going to happen, and the sports world is going to be kicking itself for not mitigating this problem while it still had the chance.
Not to say I told you so...but, eventually, I told you so...
Daily Rangers Update: Thanks to a new work schedule, I have been unable to watch the Rangers much recently. However, I have been EXTREMELY disappointed with the results over the course of the season so far. The team is trying to use injuries as an excuse, but I'm not buying it. This is a team that should be competing for a Stanley Cup THIS SEASON, and what I am seeing is nowhere near that level.
Daily Nets Update: It seems like the Nets will be competing for home court in the first round (the equivalent of a top four seed in the Eastern Conference) throughout the rest of the regular season. I have been saying for a while that if they can win a playoff series, this should be considered a good year, and I still think that is possible. Brooklyn visits Chicago tonight in a game between the #5 and #6 seed in the conference, so this is obviously an important game. Let's Go Nets!
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Opening Day just keeps getting closer and closer, and I couldn't be happier. The team is pretty much set, as I have said before, but there are a few roster spots still up for grabs. As I have also said, there will be plenty of baseball posts to come here, so I won't bore you all with any details today.
Daily Giants Update: The team just re-signed Will Beatty to a big deal, which is a move that I really like. There are still a lot of questions surrounding the Giants that need to be addressed, but with over a month to go before the draft, there is still time for the team to answer them. I probably won't focus on football too much until the draft rolls around, but so far, the Giants get a passing grade for their offseason, even though it is still far from over.
Krzyzewski exchanged heated words with some fans, and during his post game press conference, he addressed what he believed to be a lack of security at the arena. He wasn't critical of the concept of "court storming" in general, he was only critical of what he thought was a poor job by the security staff at the arena of getting his team and staff safely off the court and into the locker room.
As the coach of Duke, I'm sure that Krzyzewski has witnessed more than his share of court stormings during his lifetime, so if anyone has the authority to speak on the matter, Coach K is definitely the one to do so. I talk about "old school" and "new school" trains of thought a lot, and this court storming debate is just another one that seems to match those two ways of thinking against each other yet again. "Old school" thinkers would say that court storming should be banned because of the potential dangers it brings about, while "new school" thinkers would say that it is simply a way for teams and students to celebrate together, and there is nothing wrong with it.
On this matter, I must say that I have to side with the "old school" way of thinking. I just feel as if thousands of students storming on to a basketball court following a game is a recipe for disaster. I get the fact that it happens regularly and without any sort of incident, and I get the fact that the concept of it is in no way malicious or ill-willed. I just feel like the whole idea is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Some day in the future; it may be tomorrow, or it may be ten years from now, someone is going to be seriously injured (or, even worse) during one of these scenes, and we are going to look back at all of these previous minor incidents and wonder why we did nothing to stop what was obviously bound to happen.
Don't get me wrong here, I am all for celebration and exuberance in sports. I cannot stand the fact that penalty flags can be thrown for "excessive celebration" in football, and I think that any type of achievement in sports is worthy of celebration. However, there are lines that need to be drawn. A group of football players dancing or engaging in some sort of celebratory act after a touchdown is harmless. If a player gets mad because his or her opponent is celebrating on the field of play, then my only words of advice are this: play better. However, there is a major difference between players celebrating on the field/court/rink and thousands of fans joining in the celebration.
I have been in college before, and I have sat in student sections during both basketball and football games. I can tell you for a fact that, while the student sections are often times the most arduous in terms of team support, they are definitely not the best representation of a university as a whole. At UConn, where I watched basketball and football games from a student section, I can tell you without question that some students at games are not exactly on their best behavior. We get it though. These are college kids we are talking about, and there is a reason that they are in the stands and not on the field/court/rink. However, when a game ends and these kids rush on to the court, they are intermingling with the athletes, and this is where the problem arises.
The time it takes for a final buzzer to sound and a visiting team and its staff to find solace in the locker room in minute. However, when thousands of college students (some of whom are not sober) are storming on to a basketball court, that small amount of time seems to become longer and longer. As athletes, the players are trained to ignore hecklers and opposing fans. Team staffs are also taught to do the same. Nevertheless, we still have to face that fact that no matter what, these are all human beings we are talking about. Players and coaches can only turn a deaf ear to harassment for so long. Eventually, each individual will reach his or her breaking point, and I think that court storming brings that breaking point for opposing players far too close for comfort.
All it is going to take is one overzealous fan and one broken athlete for this matter to go from theory to reality. Maybe I sound like an old fogie in saying that I am afraid of that day, but let me sound like Nostradamus when I tell you that it will eventually happen. Maybe someone will get trampled. Maybe a coach or player will be involved in a physical altercation with a fan. Eventually though, something serious is going to happen, and the sports world is going to be kicking itself for not mitigating this problem while it still had the chance.
Not to say I told you so...but, eventually, I told you so...
Daily Rangers Update: Thanks to a new work schedule, I have been unable to watch the Rangers much recently. However, I have been EXTREMELY disappointed with the results over the course of the season so far. The team is trying to use injuries as an excuse, but I'm not buying it. This is a team that should be competing for a Stanley Cup THIS SEASON, and what I am seeing is nowhere near that level.
Daily Nets Update: It seems like the Nets will be competing for home court in the first round (the equivalent of a top four seed in the Eastern Conference) throughout the rest of the regular season. I have been saying for a while that if they can win a playoff series, this should be considered a good year, and I still think that is possible. Brooklyn visits Chicago tonight in a game between the #5 and #6 seed in the conference, so this is obviously an important game. Let's Go Nets!
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Opening Day just keeps getting closer and closer, and I couldn't be happier. The team is pretty much set, as I have said before, but there are a few roster spots still up for grabs. As I have also said, there will be plenty of baseball posts to come here, so I won't bore you all with any details today.
Daily Giants Update: The team just re-signed Will Beatty to a big deal, which is a move that I really like. There are still a lot of questions surrounding the Giants that need to be addressed, but with over a month to go before the draft, there is still time for the team to answer them. I probably won't focus on football too much until the draft rolls around, but so far, the Giants get a passing grade for their offseason, even though it is still far from over.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Nickname "controversy"
I caught the end of "Outside The Lines" this afternoon on ESPN, and the topic of discussion for the day was the nickname of an NFL team that plays its games in Washington, D.C. The Washington Redskins won the NFC East this past season, and were led by one of the most dynamic young stars in the league, Robert Griffin III. Was the discussion about how the team might improve this offseason and whether or not they could make a deeper run in the 2013-2014 season? No. The topic of the conversation was the origin of the "Redskins" name, and whether or not such a name was acceptable for a professional sports franchise.
Professional sports nicknames are in many cases the equivalent of religion for some people. While there are some generic nicknames that are shared by many franchises and/or universities (Tigers, Giants, Bears), there are some nicknames that are very unique, and unquestionably identify one franchise. The Packers. The Lakers. The Maple Leafs. Any casual sports fan instantly knows the sport and the city being talked about when those nicknames are mentioned. Green Bay, Los Angeles, and Toronto cling to their unique nicknames and dearly love their teams. The Redskins are another franchise that holds a place in the class of unique and distinctive nicknames. Why the Redskins' name is unique just depends on how you view the situation.
Despite what many people might think (myself included), sports is not a way of life. Sports always has been, and always will be, entertainment. It is closer to reality than the movie business or the music business, but it is still more entertainment than reality. Even though many people might invest more time and money into following sports, the fact is, if the NFL ceased to exist, the world would still go on (as tough as that might be for me to swallow). It is because of this, that we have to realize there is a line between entertainment and reality that will never be blurred. Sports only exists as a close facsimile of reality because we, as consumers, demand for it to be that way.
If no one wanted to buy tickets to NFL games or watch them on TV, football would disappear. However, if no one wanted to vote in elections or watch CNN, we would still have a government. This is why I cannot stand when people over analyze each and every iota of the sports world as if it were the most important part of American culture. Could the term "redskin" be interpreted in a racist way? Sure. But, when it's 3rd & 10 in the fourth quarter of a tie game, are fans at FedEx Field thinking about that? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
This topic only seems to come up when games are not being played, and there is a reason for that. In the midst of Washington's run to the postseason in 2012, no one ever thought to mention whether or not the nickname of the team was in any way offensive or inappropriate, and there is a reason for that. The name simply ISN'T offensive or inappropriate in the eyes of about 99% of people out there. Does the city of Washington, D.C. have a history of challenging the nickname of its NFL team? No. It has a history of hailing players like Sonny Jurgensen and Art Monk and Robert Griffin III. The city and its fans aren't doing that to spite Native Americans who might be offended by the nickname of the team, and if anyone thinks differently, then they have no clue what they are talking about.
The city of Washington, D.C. loves its Redskins for what they do on the field. I have yet to find anyone who claims to be a Redskins fan simply because they despise Native Americans, and cheer for the team because of a "racist" nickname. Are the 2013 Redskins a team with a lot of young talent that is ready to take the next step toward Super Bowl contention? Or are they a franchise making money off of racism with a black quarterback and white coach who will never be able to co-exist because of the color of their skin and the deep-seeded racism that has been embedded within their franchise for decades?
Come on, people. Is that really a question? Stop being offended at the drop of a hat, and realize that the Redskins are a team on the rise, and they are not a franchise in need of a serious look in the mirror.
Daily Rangers Update: A shootout loss last night in Ottawa was not exactly fun to watch. Right now, the Rangers are sitting on the brink of playoff elimination, and the season has not gone nearly as well as I had anticipated. There is still plenty of time left, but I have been greatly disappointed by the play of the team thus far.
Daily Nets Update: Back-to-back wins against the Bucks got the second half of the year off to a great start, and the Nets are only one game out of the second spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rockets come to Brooklyn tonight in an interesting matchup featuring two very good teams that don't see each other very often. The Heat seem to clearly be the best team in the East, but by the end of the season, the Nets might have a chance to be the second best team in the conference.
Daily Giants Update: The combine is underway, and that means the draft is not far behind. There is still a whole lot to be done between now and the beginning of Training Camp, but Jerry Reese has earned my respect and loyalty, so I expect the right moves to be made. In Jerry We Trust.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Spring training games? Yes! They are just about to begin. Tyler Skaggs will take the mound tomorrow, and the battle for the final spots in our rotation will begin right away. I am super excited about the start of the baseball season (for many reasons), so there will be plenty of baseball posts in the weeks to come.
Professional sports nicknames are in many cases the equivalent of religion for some people. While there are some generic nicknames that are shared by many franchises and/or universities (Tigers, Giants, Bears), there are some nicknames that are very unique, and unquestionably identify one franchise. The Packers. The Lakers. The Maple Leafs. Any casual sports fan instantly knows the sport and the city being talked about when those nicknames are mentioned. Green Bay, Los Angeles, and Toronto cling to their unique nicknames and dearly love their teams. The Redskins are another franchise that holds a place in the class of unique and distinctive nicknames. Why the Redskins' name is unique just depends on how you view the situation.
Despite what many people might think (myself included), sports is not a way of life. Sports always has been, and always will be, entertainment. It is closer to reality than the movie business or the music business, but it is still more entertainment than reality. Even though many people might invest more time and money into following sports, the fact is, if the NFL ceased to exist, the world would still go on (as tough as that might be for me to swallow). It is because of this, that we have to realize there is a line between entertainment and reality that will never be blurred. Sports only exists as a close facsimile of reality because we, as consumers, demand for it to be that way.
If no one wanted to buy tickets to NFL games or watch them on TV, football would disappear. However, if no one wanted to vote in elections or watch CNN, we would still have a government. This is why I cannot stand when people over analyze each and every iota of the sports world as if it were the most important part of American culture. Could the term "redskin" be interpreted in a racist way? Sure. But, when it's 3rd & 10 in the fourth quarter of a tie game, are fans at FedEx Field thinking about that? ABSOLUTELY NOT.
This topic only seems to come up when games are not being played, and there is a reason for that. In the midst of Washington's run to the postseason in 2012, no one ever thought to mention whether or not the nickname of the team was in any way offensive or inappropriate, and there is a reason for that. The name simply ISN'T offensive or inappropriate in the eyes of about 99% of people out there. Does the city of Washington, D.C. have a history of challenging the nickname of its NFL team? No. It has a history of hailing players like Sonny Jurgensen and Art Monk and Robert Griffin III. The city and its fans aren't doing that to spite Native Americans who might be offended by the nickname of the team, and if anyone thinks differently, then they have no clue what they are talking about.
The city of Washington, D.C. loves its Redskins for what they do on the field. I have yet to find anyone who claims to be a Redskins fan simply because they despise Native Americans, and cheer for the team because of a "racist" nickname. Are the 2013 Redskins a team with a lot of young talent that is ready to take the next step toward Super Bowl contention? Or are they a franchise making money off of racism with a black quarterback and white coach who will never be able to co-exist because of the color of their skin and the deep-seeded racism that has been embedded within their franchise for decades?
Come on, people. Is that really a question? Stop being offended at the drop of a hat, and realize that the Redskins are a team on the rise, and they are not a franchise in need of a serious look in the mirror.
Daily Rangers Update: A shootout loss last night in Ottawa was not exactly fun to watch. Right now, the Rangers are sitting on the brink of playoff elimination, and the season has not gone nearly as well as I had anticipated. There is still plenty of time left, but I have been greatly disappointed by the play of the team thus far.
Daily Nets Update: Back-to-back wins against the Bucks got the second half of the year off to a great start, and the Nets are only one game out of the second spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rockets come to Brooklyn tonight in an interesting matchup featuring two very good teams that don't see each other very often. The Heat seem to clearly be the best team in the East, but by the end of the season, the Nets might have a chance to be the second best team in the conference.
Daily Giants Update: The combine is underway, and that means the draft is not far behind. There is still a whole lot to be done between now and the beginning of Training Camp, but Jerry Reese has earned my respect and loyalty, so I expect the right moves to be made. In Jerry We Trust.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Spring training games? Yes! They are just about to begin. Tyler Skaggs will take the mound tomorrow, and the battle for the final spots in our rotation will begin right away. I am super excited about the start of the baseball season (for many reasons), so there will be plenty of baseball posts in the weeks to come.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Can't we all just be friends?
Now that the NFL season has come to a close, much of the national sports spotlight has shifted to the hardwood. March Madness is getting closer and closer, but until then, the NBA has been leading most sports shows on both the radio and the television. Therefore, as should be the case, we are hearing a lot about guys like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant. There are different reasons that these names are in the news, but for right now, I want to focus on James and Durant.
Tonight is the final night of the "first half" of the NBA season, with two prime time games before the All-Star festivities get underway this weekend. The "first half" (I put that in parentheses because we are technically past the halfway point in the schedule, but the All-Star break is usually loosely referred to as the halfway point of the season) will go out with a bang, with James and the Miami Heat playing Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, followed by a battle of Los Angeles between the Lakers and the Clippers. Both of these are intriguing games. Miami and Oklahoma City is a rematch of last year's NBA Finals teams, and both teams seem like they could be on a path right back to another Finals showdown this season. It isn't exactly a rivalry, but it will be a game pitting two of the best teams in the league against one another, and those two teams are led by two of the best players in the game, in James and Durant. So, it sounds like it should be an exciting night of basketball that we should all be looking forward to seeing, right? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Often times, in all sports, we hear the terms "old school" and "new school." There are "old school" teams, players, coaches, fans, strategies, etc. Then, there are "new school" diametrics to match. An example of an "old school" player might be Bob Gibson or Kevin Garnett. An "old school" strategy might be the use of a fullback or the sacrifice bunt. There are countless things in the sports world that we can characterize as "old school" or "new school." However, one of the "old school" thought processes that I absolutely loathe is one that seemingly is mentioned a lot when it comes to the NBA these days, and especially when it comes time for the Heat to play the Thunder.
Proponents of "old school" basketball hang on to their belief that the best way for a team or an individual to be successful is to despise everyone and everything around them. These people say that the true competitor should have an unmitigated feeling of hatred they can direct towards each opponent. Not only should you want to win a game or an individual matchup, but you should want to embarrass and humiliate anyone who might stand in your way. "Old school" NBA fans point to teams like the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons, with players like Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn, who would not only want to beat you, they would want to hurt you (both mentally and physically) at the same time. These same people will tell you that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were such great rivals because they hated each other. Michael Jordan was so great because he hated the teams and players that he went up against. Now, I'm not going to try to dispute the fact that this "hate" (whether it was true or just imagined) may have played a role in helping guys like Bird and Jordan be great players, but it was not the main reason for their success.
"Old school" basketball fans cannot stand the fact that LeBron James and Kevin Durant are friends off the court. They think that just because James and Durant are the two best players in the game, and their teams have competed against each other for a title, that the two of them should be sworn enemies. Why? Because it will make them better basketball players? In my opinion, that way of thinking is laughable. LeBron James is in the midst of the prime of his career, and he is probably already a surefire Hall of Famer. Kevin Durant has already won multiple scoring titles, and is not even 25 years old yet. Will these guys improve on the court if they start acting like intolerable bastards who would rather give opponents an elbow to the rib cage than a respectful handshake? Of course not. If LeBron James goes up for a jump shot over Durant tonight, should Durant take out James' legs and figure that the best way to beat Miami is to injure their star players? Absolutely not. I hate when people say that in order for athletes to be competitive, they have to be driven by hate.
James and Durant are somewhat of an irregularity because not only are they good friends off the court, but they are also the two best players in their game on the court. During the offseasons, James and Durant often work out together. Do they do this because they are friends? Sure, but that isn't the only reason. These are two athletes at the top of their profession. They work out together because no one else in the league is able to train at the level they are accustomed to training. James and Durant are two extremely gifted and talented players. Their work ethics are equaled by only a very small amount of other players in the NBA. The two work out together in the offseason simply because it is impossible to find any other players with the same work ethic.
However, it is still impossible for some people to believe that James and Durant can work together off the court, yet still face each other on the court and compete head-to-head at the highest level. It was as if once Oklahoma City and Miami both reached the NBA Finals last season that James and Durant had already won. Since one of them would win the title, they would both win. Really? Is this a romance novel or is it the NBA? James didn't seem to feel like letting up as he was on his way to winning Finals MVP just because he felt bad that his friend on the other team was losing. And if the roles had been reversed, Durant would not have let up out of sympathy for James.
We live in a time now in which people can connect to one another through countless different means of communication. It's not as if this is the 1920's, and sports teams are traveling via steam locomotive from city to city without any communication with the outside world. That just isn't the way the world works anymore. Athletes have more free time and can easily keep in touch with fellow athletes in a variety of ways. And, despite what some people might think, that is a good thing. It is All-Star Weekend in the NBA starting tomorrow, and I always felt that All Star games and festivities (in all sports) were great examples of just how much we as fans don't get to see in terms of the co mingling of players. Whether it is the Slam Dunk Contest, the Home Run Derby, or whatever other kind of event we might get to see during All Star weekend, fans and players alike will both usually say that their favorite part of these events is just the gathering of so much talent in one place.
If all of the top players in the sport hated each other, then we would be in for a weekend full of fights and arguments. But that isn't what is going to happen. We are going to get a weekend of entertainment and enjoyment provided by the best basketball players in the world. On Monday, we will be looking back at the weekend and remembering the fun we had watching and the fun the players had participating. Then, it will be back to business as usual in the NBA. Friends or not, LeBron James and Kevin Durant will be faced with the unfathomable task of having to actually compete against one another, despite the fact that they are actually friends. Can they defy all of the odds and actually do it? It might be really tough to comprehend for some, but I think they'll both be able to do just fine.
Daily Rangers Update: Well, this game against the Islanders got off to a great start, but a 2-0 lead after one period has turned into a 3-2 deficit halfway through the second period. There is still plenty of time left though, so hopefully the Rangers can win again and continue to climb up the standings after a slow start to the season.
Daily Nets Update: After a bit of a slump, Brooklyn was able to finish the first half of the season strong, and they go into the All Star break in the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. There is still a lot of basketball to be played though, and there are a lot of teams battling for the top four spots in the conference. The Nets open up the second half with two games against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are currently in the eighth spot in the East, so they will be fighting for their playoff lives. 29 games left to play, and every one of them is important.
Daily Diamondback Update: Pitchers and catchers have reported, and spring is officially in the air (at least in Arizona). I'm sure I will be writing about baseball a lot in the near future, so I won't get into it too much here. It's official though, baseball season is about to begin!
Daily Giants Update: This is the time of the year when fans get to question what the heck their front office is doing, as rosters are being trimmed and re-shaped. It is still far too early in the offseason to draw any real conclusions about what the team will look like next season though, so Giants fans just have to sit back and let GM Jerry Reese do what he does.
Tonight is the final night of the "first half" of the NBA season, with two prime time games before the All-Star festivities get underway this weekend. The "first half" (I put that in parentheses because we are technically past the halfway point in the schedule, but the All-Star break is usually loosely referred to as the halfway point of the season) will go out with a bang, with James and the Miami Heat playing Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, followed by a battle of Los Angeles between the Lakers and the Clippers. Both of these are intriguing games. Miami and Oklahoma City is a rematch of last year's NBA Finals teams, and both teams seem like they could be on a path right back to another Finals showdown this season. It isn't exactly a rivalry, but it will be a game pitting two of the best teams in the league against one another, and those two teams are led by two of the best players in the game, in James and Durant. So, it sounds like it should be an exciting night of basketball that we should all be looking forward to seeing, right? Well, that depends on who you ask.
Often times, in all sports, we hear the terms "old school" and "new school." There are "old school" teams, players, coaches, fans, strategies, etc. Then, there are "new school" diametrics to match. An example of an "old school" player might be Bob Gibson or Kevin Garnett. An "old school" strategy might be the use of a fullback or the sacrifice bunt. There are countless things in the sports world that we can characterize as "old school" or "new school." However, one of the "old school" thought processes that I absolutely loathe is one that seemingly is mentioned a lot when it comes to the NBA these days, and especially when it comes time for the Heat to play the Thunder.
Proponents of "old school" basketball hang on to their belief that the best way for a team or an individual to be successful is to despise everyone and everything around them. These people say that the true competitor should have an unmitigated feeling of hatred they can direct towards each opponent. Not only should you want to win a game or an individual matchup, but you should want to embarrass and humiliate anyone who might stand in your way. "Old school" NBA fans point to teams like the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons, with players like Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn, who would not only want to beat you, they would want to hurt you (both mentally and physically) at the same time. These same people will tell you that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were such great rivals because they hated each other. Michael Jordan was so great because he hated the teams and players that he went up against. Now, I'm not going to try to dispute the fact that this "hate" (whether it was true or just imagined) may have played a role in helping guys like Bird and Jordan be great players, but it was not the main reason for their success.
"Old school" basketball fans cannot stand the fact that LeBron James and Kevin Durant are friends off the court. They think that just because James and Durant are the two best players in the game, and their teams have competed against each other for a title, that the two of them should be sworn enemies. Why? Because it will make them better basketball players? In my opinion, that way of thinking is laughable. LeBron James is in the midst of the prime of his career, and he is probably already a surefire Hall of Famer. Kevin Durant has already won multiple scoring titles, and is not even 25 years old yet. Will these guys improve on the court if they start acting like intolerable bastards who would rather give opponents an elbow to the rib cage than a respectful handshake? Of course not. If LeBron James goes up for a jump shot over Durant tonight, should Durant take out James' legs and figure that the best way to beat Miami is to injure their star players? Absolutely not. I hate when people say that in order for athletes to be competitive, they have to be driven by hate.
James and Durant are somewhat of an irregularity because not only are they good friends off the court, but they are also the two best players in their game on the court. During the offseasons, James and Durant often work out together. Do they do this because they are friends? Sure, but that isn't the only reason. These are two athletes at the top of their profession. They work out together because no one else in the league is able to train at the level they are accustomed to training. James and Durant are two extremely gifted and talented players. Their work ethics are equaled by only a very small amount of other players in the NBA. The two work out together in the offseason simply because it is impossible to find any other players with the same work ethic.
However, it is still impossible for some people to believe that James and Durant can work together off the court, yet still face each other on the court and compete head-to-head at the highest level. It was as if once Oklahoma City and Miami both reached the NBA Finals last season that James and Durant had already won. Since one of them would win the title, they would both win. Really? Is this a romance novel or is it the NBA? James didn't seem to feel like letting up as he was on his way to winning Finals MVP just because he felt bad that his friend on the other team was losing. And if the roles had been reversed, Durant would not have let up out of sympathy for James.
We live in a time now in which people can connect to one another through countless different means of communication. It's not as if this is the 1920's, and sports teams are traveling via steam locomotive from city to city without any communication with the outside world. That just isn't the way the world works anymore. Athletes have more free time and can easily keep in touch with fellow athletes in a variety of ways. And, despite what some people might think, that is a good thing. It is All-Star Weekend in the NBA starting tomorrow, and I always felt that All Star games and festivities (in all sports) were great examples of just how much we as fans don't get to see in terms of the co mingling of players. Whether it is the Slam Dunk Contest, the Home Run Derby, or whatever other kind of event we might get to see during All Star weekend, fans and players alike will both usually say that their favorite part of these events is just the gathering of so much talent in one place.
If all of the top players in the sport hated each other, then we would be in for a weekend full of fights and arguments. But that isn't what is going to happen. We are going to get a weekend of entertainment and enjoyment provided by the best basketball players in the world. On Monday, we will be looking back at the weekend and remembering the fun we had watching and the fun the players had participating. Then, it will be back to business as usual in the NBA. Friends or not, LeBron James and Kevin Durant will be faced with the unfathomable task of having to actually compete against one another, despite the fact that they are actually friends. Can they defy all of the odds and actually do it? It might be really tough to comprehend for some, but I think they'll both be able to do just fine.
Daily Rangers Update: Well, this game against the Islanders got off to a great start, but a 2-0 lead after one period has turned into a 3-2 deficit halfway through the second period. There is still plenty of time left though, so hopefully the Rangers can win again and continue to climb up the standings after a slow start to the season.
Daily Nets Update: After a bit of a slump, Brooklyn was able to finish the first half of the season strong, and they go into the All Star break in the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. There is still a lot of basketball to be played though, and there are a lot of teams battling for the top four spots in the conference. The Nets open up the second half with two games against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are currently in the eighth spot in the East, so they will be fighting for their playoff lives. 29 games left to play, and every one of them is important.
Daily Diamondback Update: Pitchers and catchers have reported, and spring is officially in the air (at least in Arizona). I'm sure I will be writing about baseball a lot in the near future, so I won't get into it too much here. It's official though, baseball season is about to begin!
Daily Giants Update: This is the time of the year when fans get to question what the heck their front office is doing, as rosters are being trimmed and re-shaped. It is still far too early in the offseason to draw any real conclusions about what the team will look like next season though, so Giants fans just have to sit back and let GM Jerry Reese do what he does.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Location, Location, Location!
While it isn't official yet, it seems as if the Sacramento Kings are on their way to Seattle. The owners of the Kings yesterday reached an agreement to sell majority ownership of the team to a Seattle-based group (that includes the CEO of Microsoft) that will move the team to Seattle for the start of next season. The team will take on the name of the SuperSonics, which is the name of the team that formerly resided in Seattle before moving to Oklahoma City and becoming the Thunder.
While the re-location of teams is not a foreign concept in the sports world, I do find it somewhat puzzling to see teams moved to cities that have previously been the home to other teams in the same sport, and this is a perfect example. Before the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City, they were by no means a bad team. They had a nice run during the 1990's with players like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, but they were never quite able to get over the championship hump. They were not perennial basement dwellers either though. After the Payton/Kemp era, the Sonics still had teams with good players like Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, and they were respectable. Despite that fact, they were sold and moved to Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder. While the move may have been questioned at the time, it has obviously worked out well for the franchise, because the Thunder now seem like they will be title contenders for the next decade. However, it left the people of Seattle feeling abandoned, and that is why this new ownership group has decided to move their new purchase back to Seattle; to bring the Sonics back to a city that has been yearning for professional basketball ever since the Thunder came into existence.
Now don't get me wrong, I know that there are countless reasons for the re-location of teams, and most of them do not have to do with the performance of the team. Finances is usually the biggest factor, but that can be influenced by a number of things. A team may be unable to generate enough fan support. A city may be unwilling or unable to allocate money to its team for the upkeep of its arena and facilities. Owners may just simply be unwilling to control a team anymore, and they might sell the team to a group intent on moving the franchise to a new city. There are all types of reasons that a franchise might be re-located. It's just that sometimes, re-locations seem to make no sense. This move is not necessarily one of those nonsensical cases, but it just made me think about the general idea of re-location, and how nonsensical it does seem to be sometimes.
The Sonics originally moved from Seattle because the city was unwilling to give money to the franchise to renovate the arena in which the team played, Key Arena. Oklahoma City had just been the temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets while New Orleans recovered from Hurricane Katrina, and the people of Oklahoma City came out in droves to support a team that they only had temporarily. In the eyes of the new owners of the Thunder, they saw Oklahoma City as a place that was craving a professional basketball team, and like I said before, they were proven correct. The Thunder have been extremely successful both on and off the court. For the new owners, the move made perfect sense.
In my eyes though, some moves that teams have made (not just NBA teams) have been somewhat puzzling. In 2002, the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans. The team was ranked last in attendance, so fan support was obviously minimal. However, when the NBA decided to add an expansion team in 2004 (only two years later), what city did they choose? Charlotte. Was the least supportive fan base in the NBA suddenly worthy of its own franchise again after just two seasons without one? The NBA obviously felt that way. How did Charlotte fans re-pay the league for its seemingly unfounded faith in the city? They have ranked an average of 24th (out of 30 teams) in the league in attendance since their inception, and they actually ranked 28th in the league in the first season of its existence. So much for a renewed enthusiasm for an expansion team in a city that was "starving" for a basketball team.
If we look at the National Hockey League, we can see similar circumstances with franchises like the Winnipeg Jets, Atlanta Thrashers, and Quebec Nordiques. During the 1990's, both Quebec and Winnipeg lost their NHL teams. The Nordiques re-located to Colorado to become the Avalanche, and the Jets re-located to Phoenix to become the Coyotes. Both of these moves were based largely upon financial troubles, as at the time the Canadian dollar was very weak, and Winnipeg and Quebec were very small markets in terms of professional American sports. Due to the declining value of the Canadian dollar and the inability of the teams to garner enough fan support, both of the teams were forced to re-locate.
So, with the loss of the Nordiques and Jets, Canada now could only claim to be the home of six NHL teams instead of eight. The Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Canucks, Oilers, Senators, and Flames. And while teams like the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, and Oilers are shrouded in historical significance, those other three teams are not quite the same. In fact, the Flames (who hail from Calgary) also play a role in yet another quizzical professional franchise re-location.
The Flames have not always been the Calgary Flames. Prior to playing in Calgary, they were known as the Atlanta Flames. From 1972 until 1980, the Flames were based in Atlanta. Following the 1980 season, due to poor attendance and a lack of fan support, the team moved from Atlanta to Calgary. This move seemed to make sense, as Calgary is seemingly a much more hockey-oriented city than Atlanta is. For years, Atlanta, because of the failure of the Flames, was without an NHL team. That was until 1999, when the Atlanta Thrashers played their first game in the NHL. Just like the NBA's Bobcats, Atlanta was not the destination of a re-located team, but it was the site of an expansion team. And just like the NBA, that terrible fan support for a team that a city showed previously meant that it was a perfect destination for a new team.
Therefore, in 1999, we had the Atlanta Thrashers. Just over a decade later though, a funny thing happened. The city of Atlanta once again demonstrated its lack of enthusiasm for hockey, and the Thrashers were sold to an ownership group that moved the team to Winnipeg, where they could again become the Winnipeg Jets.
Isn't history supposed to be used as a teacher? The NBA learned that Charlotte could not support a basketball team, and the NHL learned that Atlanta could not support a hockey team. Yet, despite the preponderance of evidence demonstrating those facts, both leagues ignored their historical lessons, and granted them another chance.
All I am trying to point out is that sometimes, we need to just face the reality of a situation and not get caught up in the enthusiasm of a few. There will always be people in cities without professional teams who believe that their city can change, and in some cases, maybe they are correct. However, if Seattle follows the same path of Charlotte and Atlanta, the NBA shouldn't be surprised. In 10 years, the Sonics might once again be lacking financial support and looking to re-locate. If they do, where would you suggest? Sacramento, maybe?
Daily Rangers Update: Well, the season could not have gotten off to a worse start. Two games and two losses. Obviously, it is still very early, but with a shortened season, we can't afford to lose too much ground early. I still have all of the confidence in the world in this team though. Next up is the Bruins on Wednesday.
Daily Nets Update: After thoroughly enjoying myself last Friday night in watching the Nets beat the Hawks, next up is a matinee at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks that is about to get underway. This is the 41st game of the season, meaning that it is officially the halfway point. Brooklyn is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, meaning that they would get home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The battle is still far from over, and if the team continues to click under P.J. Carlesimo, it might be possible to move even higher in the Eastern Conference standings.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Still no word of a Justin Upton trade, which means we are getting closer to Opening Day with our right fielder still on the roster. I feel like if we make it to Spring Training and he hasn't been traded, all will be safe. If that doesn't happen though, I will probably feel like getting on a plane, going to Arizona, and taking Kevin Towers' punishment into my own hands. Don't trade him Towers!
Daily Giants Update: Obviously, the focus of the NFL world is on the Super Bowl now, as it is official that the 49ers will face the Ravens in two weeks in New Orleans. The Ravens have seemingly defied all odds in their journey to the Super Bowl, but there is still one more game to play. Either way, this seems to be a good matchup, and I'm looking forward to it.
While the re-location of teams is not a foreign concept in the sports world, I do find it somewhat puzzling to see teams moved to cities that have previously been the home to other teams in the same sport, and this is a perfect example. Before the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City, they were by no means a bad team. They had a nice run during the 1990's with players like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, but they were never quite able to get over the championship hump. They were not perennial basement dwellers either though. After the Payton/Kemp era, the Sonics still had teams with good players like Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, and they were respectable. Despite that fact, they were sold and moved to Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder. While the move may have been questioned at the time, it has obviously worked out well for the franchise, because the Thunder now seem like they will be title contenders for the next decade. However, it left the people of Seattle feeling abandoned, and that is why this new ownership group has decided to move their new purchase back to Seattle; to bring the Sonics back to a city that has been yearning for professional basketball ever since the Thunder came into existence.
Now don't get me wrong, I know that there are countless reasons for the re-location of teams, and most of them do not have to do with the performance of the team. Finances is usually the biggest factor, but that can be influenced by a number of things. A team may be unable to generate enough fan support. A city may be unwilling or unable to allocate money to its team for the upkeep of its arena and facilities. Owners may just simply be unwilling to control a team anymore, and they might sell the team to a group intent on moving the franchise to a new city. There are all types of reasons that a franchise might be re-located. It's just that sometimes, re-locations seem to make no sense. This move is not necessarily one of those nonsensical cases, but it just made me think about the general idea of re-location, and how nonsensical it does seem to be sometimes.
The Sonics originally moved from Seattle because the city was unwilling to give money to the franchise to renovate the arena in which the team played, Key Arena. Oklahoma City had just been the temporary home for the New Orleans Hornets while New Orleans recovered from Hurricane Katrina, and the people of Oklahoma City came out in droves to support a team that they only had temporarily. In the eyes of the new owners of the Thunder, they saw Oklahoma City as a place that was craving a professional basketball team, and like I said before, they were proven correct. The Thunder have been extremely successful both on and off the court. For the new owners, the move made perfect sense.
In my eyes though, some moves that teams have made (not just NBA teams) have been somewhat puzzling. In 2002, the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans. The team was ranked last in attendance, so fan support was obviously minimal. However, when the NBA decided to add an expansion team in 2004 (only two years later), what city did they choose? Charlotte. Was the least supportive fan base in the NBA suddenly worthy of its own franchise again after just two seasons without one? The NBA obviously felt that way. How did Charlotte fans re-pay the league for its seemingly unfounded faith in the city? They have ranked an average of 24th (out of 30 teams) in the league in attendance since their inception, and they actually ranked 28th in the league in the first season of its existence. So much for a renewed enthusiasm for an expansion team in a city that was "starving" for a basketball team.
If we look at the National Hockey League, we can see similar circumstances with franchises like the Winnipeg Jets, Atlanta Thrashers, and Quebec Nordiques. During the 1990's, both Quebec and Winnipeg lost their NHL teams. The Nordiques re-located to Colorado to become the Avalanche, and the Jets re-located to Phoenix to become the Coyotes. Both of these moves were based largely upon financial troubles, as at the time the Canadian dollar was very weak, and Winnipeg and Quebec were very small markets in terms of professional American sports. Due to the declining value of the Canadian dollar and the inability of the teams to garner enough fan support, both of the teams were forced to re-locate.
So, with the loss of the Nordiques and Jets, Canada now could only claim to be the home of six NHL teams instead of eight. The Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Canucks, Oilers, Senators, and Flames. And while teams like the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, and Oilers are shrouded in historical significance, those other three teams are not quite the same. In fact, the Flames (who hail from Calgary) also play a role in yet another quizzical professional franchise re-location.
The Flames have not always been the Calgary Flames. Prior to playing in Calgary, they were known as the Atlanta Flames. From 1972 until 1980, the Flames were based in Atlanta. Following the 1980 season, due to poor attendance and a lack of fan support, the team moved from Atlanta to Calgary. This move seemed to make sense, as Calgary is seemingly a much more hockey-oriented city than Atlanta is. For years, Atlanta, because of the failure of the Flames, was without an NHL team. That was until 1999, when the Atlanta Thrashers played their first game in the NHL. Just like the NBA's Bobcats, Atlanta was not the destination of a re-located team, but it was the site of an expansion team. And just like the NBA, that terrible fan support for a team that a city showed previously meant that it was a perfect destination for a new team.
Therefore, in 1999, we had the Atlanta Thrashers. Just over a decade later though, a funny thing happened. The city of Atlanta once again demonstrated its lack of enthusiasm for hockey, and the Thrashers were sold to an ownership group that moved the team to Winnipeg, where they could again become the Winnipeg Jets.
Isn't history supposed to be used as a teacher? The NBA learned that Charlotte could not support a basketball team, and the NHL learned that Atlanta could not support a hockey team. Yet, despite the preponderance of evidence demonstrating those facts, both leagues ignored their historical lessons, and granted them another chance.
All I am trying to point out is that sometimes, we need to just face the reality of a situation and not get caught up in the enthusiasm of a few. There will always be people in cities without professional teams who believe that their city can change, and in some cases, maybe they are correct. However, if Seattle follows the same path of Charlotte and Atlanta, the NBA shouldn't be surprised. In 10 years, the Sonics might once again be lacking financial support and looking to re-locate. If they do, where would you suggest? Sacramento, maybe?
Daily Rangers Update: Well, the season could not have gotten off to a worse start. Two games and two losses. Obviously, it is still very early, but with a shortened season, we can't afford to lose too much ground early. I still have all of the confidence in the world in this team though. Next up is the Bruins on Wednesday.
Daily Nets Update: After thoroughly enjoying myself last Friday night in watching the Nets beat the Hawks, next up is a matinee at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks that is about to get underway. This is the 41st game of the season, meaning that it is officially the halfway point. Brooklyn is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, meaning that they would get home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The battle is still far from over, and if the team continues to click under P.J. Carlesimo, it might be possible to move even higher in the Eastern Conference standings.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Still no word of a Justin Upton trade, which means we are getting closer to Opening Day with our right fielder still on the roster. I feel like if we make it to Spring Training and he hasn't been traded, all will be safe. If that doesn't happen though, I will probably feel like getting on a plane, going to Arizona, and taking Kevin Towers' punishment into my own hands. Don't trade him Towers!
Daily Giants Update: Obviously, the focus of the NFL world is on the Super Bowl now, as it is official that the 49ers will face the Ravens in two weeks in New Orleans. The Ravens have seemingly defied all odds in their journey to the Super Bowl, but there is still one more game to play. Either way, this seems to be a good matchup, and I'm looking forward to it.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
What to make of Manti Te'o?
I thought we were through with hearing about Notre Dame until the 2013 college football season. After they were demolished by Alabama in the National Championship game, it seemed like that was all she wrote. However, as always seems to be the case with Notre Dame, they have found their way into the national spotlight once again. The reason this time though, is one that none of us could have seen coming.
A story was released yesterday stating that their star linebacker, Manti Te'o, had been involved in some sort of false relationship with a girlfriend he claimed to have had. I won't go into detail about what this so-called "relationship" was all about, because it seems like most news outlets in the country have been doing that this morning. My biggest problem with this entire story at this point is whether or not this is really as important as some people are making it out to be. I understand that this is the news of the day, and we all like to immediately react (and often times, overreact) to something without looking at it in any kind of retrospective way. We usually want to label things instantaneously, and I think that many people are at fault of doing so in this case.
Is this really a huge deal that should cause such widespread unrest? I'm not so sure that it is. Many people seem to be overwhelmed by the fact that someone would be able to form what they feel to be such a close bond with a person that they met through the internet. Yet, if you turn on the television, you see commercials for numerous different types of online relationship sites, and I have heard of many marriages coming about thanks to such websites. Now, I don't know where on the internet Te'o met his alleged girlfriend, but there are definitely places out there that would allow him to do such a thing. So, it is absolutely legitimate to believe that Te'o could have formed an online relationship with someone. He wouldn't have been the first to do so, and he will not be the last.
Next, we have the idea of people assuming false "online personalities." This is also something that I am 100% sure happens all the time. I always believed that the cardinal reason for this was to allow the person assuming a false personality to gain some sort of monetary or sexual benefit from doing so. We hear all types of admonitory stories being told about exercising caution when forming relationships online because you have no way of knowing who exactly it is that you are communicating with when it is being done via message board or chat room, etc. Therefore, this is another reason for me to believe that this entire story is being blown completely out of proportion. Tales like the one that is being told about Te'o right now happen all the time. The only reason this particular tale matters is because of the victim.
Thirdly, and I just learned this yesterday, not only do things like this happen frequently, but assuming a false personality through the internet and duping someone into believing you are someone you aren't actually has a name. It is called "catfishing."
Why is it called catfishing? I have no idea. Is it because a catfish is really a fish pretending to be a cat in order to fool its underwater brethren? That is my best guess, but I have no clue as to whether or not that is actually the basis of the term.
In addition, not only does this phenomenon have a name, but it also has a TELEVISION SHOW on MTV that tells stories of the many people who have been involved in "catfishing." (And really, MTV, is there anything that you WON'T make a show about? Because it sure seems like you are open to any and all suggestions).
Once again, more proof that what happened to Te'o is far from an isolated incident, and it happens much more than most of us are probably aware of. Was Te'o just a "catfish" victim? It's possible.
I don't mean for this to sound like I am in the corner of Te'o in this case. I believe that it is far too easy to poke far too many holes in his story to be able to believe that he was not, in some way, involved in the promotion of this story. Whether it was concocted in order for him to receive sympathy or attention is something that only he can answer. The struggles and subsequent death of this alleged girlfriend during the season all played into making Te'o and Notre Dame seem to be the feel-good story of the college football season. However, now that we have learned that at least parts, and possibly all of the story may be untrue, a shadow has been cast over Te'o.
All I want to say is, three years from now, if Te'o is the starting middle linebacker on an NFL team somewhere, I doubt that this will be much of an issue, and it may end up being completely overlooked. All professional sports (the NFL especially, but all sports are included here) are based more upon performance than they are off-field stories and/or "scandals" like this. There are extenuating circumstances (a.k.a. performance enhancing drugs) that overshadow talent, but that is because the drugs have a direct correlation to play on the field.
What did Kobe Bryant do that got him in trouble off the court? What about Ben Roethlisberger? Ray Lewis? Lakers fans, Steelers fans, Ravens fans, and sports fans in general may know the answer to those questions, but the large majority of those fans (at least those who do not have some kind of deep-seeded personal vendetta against any of those athletes) overlook those things. When Kobe flashes those championship rings, when Roethlisberger and Lewis flash those Super Bowl rings, we speak of them for their on-field ability, not their life off of the field.
That is why, in the long run, I feel like this story about Te'o is being totally blown out of proportion. Sure, it might hurt some people because they were deceived by something he may have made up, but does that really make any sort of difference in your day-to-day life? The answer to that is likely, no. This bizarre story may give some organizations pause when thinking about drafting Te'o, but trust me, if he hits the field in September and starts making plays like he did for the majority of his career at Notre Dame (January 7, 2013 not included), the team he plays for and its fans will be very quick to forgive him for whatever sort of effect the news of today had on them.
Daily Nets Update: Well, you can't win them all, and the Nets finally suffered their first loss of the 2013 calendar year last night in Atlanta. The team is still 9-2 under interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo, and I think he has earned the right to have that "interim" tag removed from his title. Atlanta comes to Brooklyn tomorrow night for the back end of a home-and-home series with the Hawks (and I will be there!). Hopefully, last night was just a bad day at the office and the team gets back on the right track tomorrow night before taking off for its longest road trip of the season up until this point.
Daily Rangers Update: As unlikely as it seemed only a few weeks ago, we are now only two days away from finally getting to see some hockey. Rick Nash is the shiny new toy that has been added to the Rangers' arsenal, and I have extremely high hopes for this season.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The minutes keep ticking away until the start of the season, and hopefully when that countdown finally reaches zero, Justin Upton will still be our starting right fielder. The saga seems to be never-ending, but he is still on the roster, and hopefully it remains that way for a long time.
Daily Giants Update: Nothing much new here. Eli Manning has been announced as Aaron Rodgers' replacement for the Pro Bowl, but the Pro Bowl at this point is pretty much not even worth watching. It is a nice resume builder for looking back on your career after retirement though, so I'm happy for Eli that he got selected. More importantly, September 8th will be the first Sunday of the 2013 regular season, so let's start counting down until that day.
A story was released yesterday stating that their star linebacker, Manti Te'o, had been involved in some sort of false relationship with a girlfriend he claimed to have had. I won't go into detail about what this so-called "relationship" was all about, because it seems like most news outlets in the country have been doing that this morning. My biggest problem with this entire story at this point is whether or not this is really as important as some people are making it out to be. I understand that this is the news of the day, and we all like to immediately react (and often times, overreact) to something without looking at it in any kind of retrospective way. We usually want to label things instantaneously, and I think that many people are at fault of doing so in this case.
Is this really a huge deal that should cause such widespread unrest? I'm not so sure that it is. Many people seem to be overwhelmed by the fact that someone would be able to form what they feel to be such a close bond with a person that they met through the internet. Yet, if you turn on the television, you see commercials for numerous different types of online relationship sites, and I have heard of many marriages coming about thanks to such websites. Now, I don't know where on the internet Te'o met his alleged girlfriend, but there are definitely places out there that would allow him to do such a thing. So, it is absolutely legitimate to believe that Te'o could have formed an online relationship with someone. He wouldn't have been the first to do so, and he will not be the last.
Next, we have the idea of people assuming false "online personalities." This is also something that I am 100% sure happens all the time. I always believed that the cardinal reason for this was to allow the person assuming a false personality to gain some sort of monetary or sexual benefit from doing so. We hear all types of admonitory stories being told about exercising caution when forming relationships online because you have no way of knowing who exactly it is that you are communicating with when it is being done via message board or chat room, etc. Therefore, this is another reason for me to believe that this entire story is being blown completely out of proportion. Tales like the one that is being told about Te'o right now happen all the time. The only reason this particular tale matters is because of the victim.
Thirdly, and I just learned this yesterday, not only do things like this happen frequently, but assuming a false personality through the internet and duping someone into believing you are someone you aren't actually has a name. It is called "catfishing."
Why is it called catfishing? I have no idea. Is it because a catfish is really a fish pretending to be a cat in order to fool its underwater brethren? That is my best guess, but I have no clue as to whether or not that is actually the basis of the term.
In addition, not only does this phenomenon have a name, but it also has a TELEVISION SHOW on MTV that tells stories of the many people who have been involved in "catfishing." (And really, MTV, is there anything that you WON'T make a show about? Because it sure seems like you are open to any and all suggestions).
Once again, more proof that what happened to Te'o is far from an isolated incident, and it happens much more than most of us are probably aware of. Was Te'o just a "catfish" victim? It's possible.
I don't mean for this to sound like I am in the corner of Te'o in this case. I believe that it is far too easy to poke far too many holes in his story to be able to believe that he was not, in some way, involved in the promotion of this story. Whether it was concocted in order for him to receive sympathy or attention is something that only he can answer. The struggles and subsequent death of this alleged girlfriend during the season all played into making Te'o and Notre Dame seem to be the feel-good story of the college football season. However, now that we have learned that at least parts, and possibly all of the story may be untrue, a shadow has been cast over Te'o.
All I want to say is, three years from now, if Te'o is the starting middle linebacker on an NFL team somewhere, I doubt that this will be much of an issue, and it may end up being completely overlooked. All professional sports (the NFL especially, but all sports are included here) are based more upon performance than they are off-field stories and/or "scandals" like this. There are extenuating circumstances (a.k.a. performance enhancing drugs) that overshadow talent, but that is because the drugs have a direct correlation to play on the field.
What did Kobe Bryant do that got him in trouble off the court? What about Ben Roethlisberger? Ray Lewis? Lakers fans, Steelers fans, Ravens fans, and sports fans in general may know the answer to those questions, but the large majority of those fans (at least those who do not have some kind of deep-seeded personal vendetta against any of those athletes) overlook those things. When Kobe flashes those championship rings, when Roethlisberger and Lewis flash those Super Bowl rings, we speak of them for their on-field ability, not their life off of the field.
That is why, in the long run, I feel like this story about Te'o is being totally blown out of proportion. Sure, it might hurt some people because they were deceived by something he may have made up, but does that really make any sort of difference in your day-to-day life? The answer to that is likely, no. This bizarre story may give some organizations pause when thinking about drafting Te'o, but trust me, if he hits the field in September and starts making plays like he did for the majority of his career at Notre Dame (January 7, 2013 not included), the team he plays for and its fans will be very quick to forgive him for whatever sort of effect the news of today had on them.
Daily Nets Update: Well, you can't win them all, and the Nets finally suffered their first loss of the 2013 calendar year last night in Atlanta. The team is still 9-2 under interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo, and I think he has earned the right to have that "interim" tag removed from his title. Atlanta comes to Brooklyn tomorrow night for the back end of a home-and-home series with the Hawks (and I will be there!). Hopefully, last night was just a bad day at the office and the team gets back on the right track tomorrow night before taking off for its longest road trip of the season up until this point.
Daily Rangers Update: As unlikely as it seemed only a few weeks ago, we are now only two days away from finally getting to see some hockey. Rick Nash is the shiny new toy that has been added to the Rangers' arsenal, and I have extremely high hopes for this season.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The minutes keep ticking away until the start of the season, and hopefully when that countdown finally reaches zero, Justin Upton will still be our starting right fielder. The saga seems to be never-ending, but he is still on the roster, and hopefully it remains that way for a long time.
Daily Giants Update: Nothing much new here. Eli Manning has been announced as Aaron Rodgers' replacement for the Pro Bowl, but the Pro Bowl at this point is pretty much not even worth watching. It is a nice resume builder for looking back on your career after retirement though, so I'm happy for Eli that he got selected. More importantly, September 8th will be the first Sunday of the 2013 regular season, so let's start counting down until that day.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
A blank ballot
Hall of Fame eligibility is a subject that brings about quite a bit of arguments, no matter the sport. However, it always seems that the biggest arguments arise when we talk about membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Yesterday, that was again the case. For the first time since 1996, no one was inducted into the Hall by the voters. Despite a ballot that included some of the most acclaimed names in the history of the sport, not one player received the required 75% of the vote to gain election.
The only seven-time MVP in baseball history was denied entry into the Hall of Fame. The only seven-time Cy Young award winner was denied entry. One of only eight players in the history of the game to hit over 600 home runs was denied entry. The man who broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record that had stood for almost 40 years was denied entry. A member of the 3,000 hit club was denied entry. One of only four players in the history of the sport to record both 3,000 hits AND 500 home runs was denied entry. Is this blasphemy? Is it justice? Well, it depends on who you ask.
I have said this before, and I will say it again to get it out of the way. I believe that records should never be changed retroactively. If rules change, we should not apply them to the past. Major League Baseball was by far the biggest culprit in allowing a "steroid culture" to grow during the 1990's. Yes, the players that were taking the drugs did gain a competitive advantage by doing so. Yes, when we look back at their actions now, we wish we could change the past. But, we just can't do that.
When baseball was facing financial problems during the 1990's and Mark McGwire (who has since admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs) and Sammy Sosa (who was named in reports detailing players that had tested positive for PED's) were hitting home runs, fans were flocking to the gates and to their television sets to watch. Was baseball worried about drugs then? Absolutely not.
As both men chased the single season home run record in 1998, "McGwire vs Sosa" was the new age version of "Mantle vs Maris" that the baseball world had loved in 1961. When Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were hitting home runs left and right in 1961, the entire sports world was enthralled. Coming off a season that ended due to player's strike in 1994, the new-school home run race was exactly what Major League Baseball needed. Sosa and McGwire were hitting home runs. That was all that mattered. No one (the league, the media, the fans) cared whether or not these guys were using steroids.
The same members of the baseball media that are now crucifying Sosa and McGwire for "gaining unfair advantages" were lining up to talk to these guys. For the baseball writers to act now like they were looking down on these accomplishments from some sort of higher moral ground is extremely hypocritical. That is why I find it extremely distasteful for these Hall of Fame voters to act like guys such as Sosa, McGwire, Bonds, Clemens, and any other player who, at this point, seems to have even the slightest inkling of a connection to PED's, should be banned forever from the Hall of Fame.
The "steroids era" or whatever you want to call it is something that happened. We all witnessed it with out own eyes, and as far as I can remember, I don't recall anyone standing up and saying that we were watching a bunch of illegitimate achievements. It is easy to look back on what these players' did now and see things in 20/20 hindsight. But if that were always the case, then Bill Buckner would have kept his glove on the ground and the Portland Trail Blazers would have passed on Sam Bowie and taken that kid from North Carolina instead. That isn't reality. It's not how the world works, and we have to deal with it.
I understand that each and every voter has his or her own individual criteria for what makes a player worthy of the Hall of Fame. I know that some people will never vote for anyone who has been linked with PED's. I understand that there will never be a day in which we can all agree on these things.
However, I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that names like Clemens, Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa kept the sport of baseball afloat for the better part of a decade. If the Hall of Fame and its voters want to pretend that didn't happen, then they can go right ahead and do that. The fact remains though, these men are as much a part of the history of baseball as guys like Ted Williams and Babe Ruth. Some may look at that as an insult to the sport, but it's not a joke. It's the truth.
If you want a joke, then just look at the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot. I don't mean the top either, I mean the bottom. Read the fine print and you'll see that Aaron Sele actually received a vote. Now I think it's funny enough that people believe the all-time home run king shouldn't be allowed in the Hall of Fame. But you know what is even funnier? Claiming that Aaron Sele should ever be even considered for election to that same museum.
Daily Nets Update: The climb back up the Eastern Conference standings continues, as a game tomorrow night against the Suns could hopefully put Brooklyn back into the top four in the conference. Hopefully that bad stretch was just something temporary, because I think the Nets can be good enough to get home-court in the first round of the playoffs.
Daily Rangers Update: Rumor has it that the Bruins will be the first opponent of the season, and the games will be starting in under two weeks. There is still no official word yet, but I think we are still actually going to get some hockey.
The only seven-time MVP in baseball history was denied entry into the Hall of Fame. The only seven-time Cy Young award winner was denied entry. One of only eight players in the history of the game to hit over 600 home runs was denied entry. The man who broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record that had stood for almost 40 years was denied entry. A member of the 3,000 hit club was denied entry. One of only four players in the history of the sport to record both 3,000 hits AND 500 home runs was denied entry. Is this blasphemy? Is it justice? Well, it depends on who you ask.
I have said this before, and I will say it again to get it out of the way. I believe that records should never be changed retroactively. If rules change, we should not apply them to the past. Major League Baseball was by far the biggest culprit in allowing a "steroid culture" to grow during the 1990's. Yes, the players that were taking the drugs did gain a competitive advantage by doing so. Yes, when we look back at their actions now, we wish we could change the past. But, we just can't do that.
When baseball was facing financial problems during the 1990's and Mark McGwire (who has since admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs) and Sammy Sosa (who was named in reports detailing players that had tested positive for PED's) were hitting home runs, fans were flocking to the gates and to their television sets to watch. Was baseball worried about drugs then? Absolutely not.
As both men chased the single season home run record in 1998, "McGwire vs Sosa" was the new age version of "Mantle vs Maris" that the baseball world had loved in 1961. When Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were hitting home runs left and right in 1961, the entire sports world was enthralled. Coming off a season that ended due to player's strike in 1994, the new-school home run race was exactly what Major League Baseball needed. Sosa and McGwire were hitting home runs. That was all that mattered. No one (the league, the media, the fans) cared whether or not these guys were using steroids.
The same members of the baseball media that are now crucifying Sosa and McGwire for "gaining unfair advantages" were lining up to talk to these guys. For the baseball writers to act now like they were looking down on these accomplishments from some sort of higher moral ground is extremely hypocritical. That is why I find it extremely distasteful for these Hall of Fame voters to act like guys such as Sosa, McGwire, Bonds, Clemens, and any other player who, at this point, seems to have even the slightest inkling of a connection to PED's, should be banned forever from the Hall of Fame.
The "steroids era" or whatever you want to call it is something that happened. We all witnessed it with out own eyes, and as far as I can remember, I don't recall anyone standing up and saying that we were watching a bunch of illegitimate achievements. It is easy to look back on what these players' did now and see things in 20/20 hindsight. But if that were always the case, then Bill Buckner would have kept his glove on the ground and the Portland Trail Blazers would have passed on Sam Bowie and taken that kid from North Carolina instead. That isn't reality. It's not how the world works, and we have to deal with it.
I understand that each and every voter has his or her own individual criteria for what makes a player worthy of the Hall of Fame. I know that some people will never vote for anyone who has been linked with PED's. I understand that there will never be a day in which we can all agree on these things.
However, I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that names like Clemens, Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa kept the sport of baseball afloat for the better part of a decade. If the Hall of Fame and its voters want to pretend that didn't happen, then they can go right ahead and do that. The fact remains though, these men are as much a part of the history of baseball as guys like Ted Williams and Babe Ruth. Some may look at that as an insult to the sport, but it's not a joke. It's the truth.
If you want a joke, then just look at the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot. I don't mean the top either, I mean the bottom. Read the fine print and you'll see that Aaron Sele actually received a vote. Now I think it's funny enough that people believe the all-time home run king shouldn't be allowed in the Hall of Fame. But you know what is even funnier? Claiming that Aaron Sele should ever be even considered for election to that same museum.
Daily Nets Update: The climb back up the Eastern Conference standings continues, as a game tomorrow night against the Suns could hopefully put Brooklyn back into the top four in the conference. Hopefully that bad stretch was just something temporary, because I think the Nets can be good enough to get home-court in the first round of the playoffs.
Daily Rangers Update: Rumor has it that the Bruins will be the first opponent of the season, and the games will be starting in under two weeks. There is still no official word yet, but I think we are still actually going to get some hockey.
Monday, January 7, 2013
To play or not to play?
As the first weekend of NFL playoff games came to a close yesterday, the biggest story of the weekend was probably the last of the four games. The Seattle Seahawks went to Washington and beat the Redskins by a score of 24-14. To most, this outcome was not too much of a surprise, but the biggest news from the game centered around Washington's quarterback, Robert Griffin III.
Griffin (a.k.a. RG3) had an unbelievable rookie season, and a case could be made not only for him to win the Rookie of the Year award, but even the league MVP as well. Griffin burst onto the scene as a senior at Baylor University, and his ability to throw the ball as well as run with the ball earned him the Heisman Trophy, and he was selected second overall by the Redskins. As if he had not entered the league with enough hype already, RG3 managed to surpass any realistic expectations, and he led the Redskins to the division title in the NFC East. The season as a whole was a tremendous success for Griffin and the Redskins, but I have to admit that I was troubled by some of the things I saw from the Redskins yesterday.
Throughout the final month of the season, Griffin was hobbled due to a knee injury he suffered in a December game against the Baltimore Ravens. What looked like an injury that could have possibly been very serious ended up not being as bad as expected, and although Griffin did miss the end of the Baltimore game and the entire game the following week, he was able to return much quicker than it appeared would initially be the case.
A big part of Washington's success this past season was the offense that they implemented once RG3 became their starting quarterback. Paired with fellow rookie running back Alfred Morris and an offense that Washington's coaching staff seemed to pull straight out of a college playbook, the Redskins were able to keep opponents off balance with an option-based running game. Each time the ball was snapped, there was a legitimate threat of Morris running the ball, Griffin running the ball, or Griffin throwing the ball. Option attacks have been used at various times over the years in the NFL, and, for a number of reasons, they have usually failed. However, the main reason for these failures has usually been the inability of the quarterback to pose a legitimate dual-threat. In college, offenses that run the option usually do so because they are trying to hide their quarterback's throwing deficiencies. If defenses are forced to worry about the quarterback running, it will force them to use extra players to stop the run, which would then make it easier for quarterbacks to find open receivers.
If a quarterback is used to throwing on the run, moving him around in the backfield on each play would increase his chances for success. Also, since defenses would be forced to respect the running ability of such quarterbacks, they would have to have most of their players focus on stopping the running game, and this would open up more space for receivers down the field, as they would likely face single coverage more often than not. For now, we can call this the "Tim Tebow offense." In theory it sounds good, but theory and reality do not exactly always go hand-in-hand.
The next type of mobile, "non-prototypical" NFL quarterback could lead what we could call the "Michael Vick offense." When Vick was in college, he was an out-of-this-world superstar who seemed destined for greatness in the NFL. He seemed to be the best of both worlds. Not only was he faster than the typical, option-style college quarterbacks, he was often times the fastest person on the field, no matter the position. However, instead of just being a one-trick pony, Vick had a rocket arm as well. So not only did you have to seriously respect his ability to run, but you also had to seriously respect his ability to throw. When Vick came into the league as an Atlanta Falcon, he became a phenomenon that was unlike anything we had ever seen before. He didn't run an option offense, but he did run a lot, as well as throw a lot. Vick was able to win a lot of games with Atlanta, including leading a road team to a win in a playoff game in Lambeau Field for the first time ever. However, thanks in large part to a prison term (but other factors as well), Vick was never able to lead the Falcons to any Super Bowls.
So next came RG3. He had the arm strength and agility of Vick, plus he could lead a legitimate, Tebow-like, option-based offense that did not involve constant improvisation and "playground mentality" football. Griffin seemed like he would be able to protect himself better than Vick, but throw better than Tebow. However, seeming to be able to do something and actually doing it are two vastly different things.
As much as players and coaches in the NFL (and in all of professional sports for that matter) like to try to make us think that they pay no attention to what the outside world is saying, it simply isn't true. They know who is being talked about, and why it is they are being talked about. Players don't just gain reputations based upon the feelings of their fellow players, they also gain reputations based upon the feelings of fans and the media. Since guys like Vick and Tebow gained support for playing the game in an "unusual" style, opposing players want to get a shot to stop these guys.
Sure, a defensive lineman could sack someone like Carson Palmer, who has little to no mobility at all. But they would much rather sack someone like Vick, who is known for his ability to elude defenders. It's a feather in their cap. It is the same way with defensive backs. Sure, they could intercept one of Kevin Kolb's passes and it would be nice, but what they really want to do is intercept one of Tom Brady's passes. Even though some players might not admit it, it's true.
It is the same in any facet of life. Sure, it's nice to get an A in the easy class, but it's a heck of a lot nicer to get that A in the advanced class. You could buy a reasonably priced car and save that extra money for something else, or you could use it to buy that luxury car that you've always wanted. We might not want to admit it, but it's true.
What I'm trying to say is that opponents know what kind of hype Griffin has been getting all season. They know he has the ability to beat them with his feet and his arm. Therefore, even though they may not all admit it, they are going after to Griffin with a little extra burst whenever they see him out on the field. It may not be the intent to injure, but it's the intent to put just a little bit extra behind each hit, and as all of those "little-extras" build up over the course of a season, we see a quarterback that is noticeably impeded by injury. That is just what we saw yesterday in Washington.
It was tough to watch Griffin at some points because of how obvious it was that he was in pain and not nearly at full strength. I understand that it is very rare a player (especially the team leader like Griffin) will take himself out of a game. I understand that the NFL is all about a win-now mentality that starts at the top of the organization and filters all the way down to the bottom. But there comes a point where someone has to step in and protect the player from himself and the team from itself.
Some people have equated this scenario to what the Washington Nationals did with Stephen Strasburg at the end of this season. I was a huge critic of the Nationals' decision to shut down Strasburg in early September when they had a legitimate chance at playing for the World Series, and I still stand strong in that belief. The difference was that there was no obviously noticeable decline in Strasburg's performance prior to him being shut down for the season. The Nationals had a chance to advance in the postseason, and they took their best pitcher off the active roster without any sort of infallible proof that it was in his own best interest to do so.
Yesterday, Griffin and the Redskins were going for broke in the midst of a playoff game, and I completely understand that scenarios such as that do not come around all the time. However, the entire nation had infallible visual evidence that Griffin's physical condition was not only sub par, but it was at the same time declining. He was obviously nowhere near his usual self, and he should have been pulled from the game.
After watching yesterday's game, I found myself believing that Griffin might end up taking too much of a punishment each and every week to last as long as he potentially could in the NFL. I hope I am wrong, because RG3 is great for the city of Washington, and the NFL in general, but there is a reason that "pocket" quarterbacks have been so successful in the league for so long, and mobile quarterbacks seem to come and go. Teams and coaches can teach young quarterbacks when to slide and when to run out of bounds instead of taking a hit, but they can't take away the natural instincts of these players that makes them believe that they are strong enough to take the fierce hit from a defender. Sure, they might be tough enough to have taken the last one, and to take this one, but how many times will they be able to continue to get up?
Daily Giants Update: Well, watching Wild Card weekend without the Giants surely was a disappointment, but with the way the team ended the season, they simply did not deserve to make the postseason. The defense will need a lot of work over the next eight months, but I will be going into next season with high hopes for this team.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: We are just over a month away from the beginning of spring training, and while I still think there will be another move or two made before that time, I don't think it is going to involve Justin Upton, and that makes me feel a whole lot better than I did when the season ended. The regular season begins at home on April 1st.
Daily Nets Update: Following the dismissal of Avery Johnson, Brooklyn has actually looked very good under P.J. Carlesimo, winning five of their last six games. The next game is tomorrow night in Philadelphia.
Daily Rangers Update: Rangers? Hockey? Could it be??? Hockey is finally back! I had little hope that a collective bargaining agreement would get done in time to save this season, but it appears that it will. Nothing is set in stone yet, so I don't want to push my luck, but if we do officially get a season in place, then I will be ecstatic for a number of reasons.
Griffin (a.k.a. RG3) had an unbelievable rookie season, and a case could be made not only for him to win the Rookie of the Year award, but even the league MVP as well. Griffin burst onto the scene as a senior at Baylor University, and his ability to throw the ball as well as run with the ball earned him the Heisman Trophy, and he was selected second overall by the Redskins. As if he had not entered the league with enough hype already, RG3 managed to surpass any realistic expectations, and he led the Redskins to the division title in the NFC East. The season as a whole was a tremendous success for Griffin and the Redskins, but I have to admit that I was troubled by some of the things I saw from the Redskins yesterday.
Throughout the final month of the season, Griffin was hobbled due to a knee injury he suffered in a December game against the Baltimore Ravens. What looked like an injury that could have possibly been very serious ended up not being as bad as expected, and although Griffin did miss the end of the Baltimore game and the entire game the following week, he was able to return much quicker than it appeared would initially be the case.
A big part of Washington's success this past season was the offense that they implemented once RG3 became their starting quarterback. Paired with fellow rookie running back Alfred Morris and an offense that Washington's coaching staff seemed to pull straight out of a college playbook, the Redskins were able to keep opponents off balance with an option-based running game. Each time the ball was snapped, there was a legitimate threat of Morris running the ball, Griffin running the ball, or Griffin throwing the ball. Option attacks have been used at various times over the years in the NFL, and, for a number of reasons, they have usually failed. However, the main reason for these failures has usually been the inability of the quarterback to pose a legitimate dual-threat. In college, offenses that run the option usually do so because they are trying to hide their quarterback's throwing deficiencies. If defenses are forced to worry about the quarterback running, it will force them to use extra players to stop the run, which would then make it easier for quarterbacks to find open receivers.
If a quarterback is used to throwing on the run, moving him around in the backfield on each play would increase his chances for success. Also, since defenses would be forced to respect the running ability of such quarterbacks, they would have to have most of their players focus on stopping the running game, and this would open up more space for receivers down the field, as they would likely face single coverage more often than not. For now, we can call this the "Tim Tebow offense." In theory it sounds good, but theory and reality do not exactly always go hand-in-hand.
The next type of mobile, "non-prototypical" NFL quarterback could lead what we could call the "Michael Vick offense." When Vick was in college, he was an out-of-this-world superstar who seemed destined for greatness in the NFL. He seemed to be the best of both worlds. Not only was he faster than the typical, option-style college quarterbacks, he was often times the fastest person on the field, no matter the position. However, instead of just being a one-trick pony, Vick had a rocket arm as well. So not only did you have to seriously respect his ability to run, but you also had to seriously respect his ability to throw. When Vick came into the league as an Atlanta Falcon, he became a phenomenon that was unlike anything we had ever seen before. He didn't run an option offense, but he did run a lot, as well as throw a lot. Vick was able to win a lot of games with Atlanta, including leading a road team to a win in a playoff game in Lambeau Field for the first time ever. However, thanks in large part to a prison term (but other factors as well), Vick was never able to lead the Falcons to any Super Bowls.
So next came RG3. He had the arm strength and agility of Vick, plus he could lead a legitimate, Tebow-like, option-based offense that did not involve constant improvisation and "playground mentality" football. Griffin seemed like he would be able to protect himself better than Vick, but throw better than Tebow. However, seeming to be able to do something and actually doing it are two vastly different things.
As much as players and coaches in the NFL (and in all of professional sports for that matter) like to try to make us think that they pay no attention to what the outside world is saying, it simply isn't true. They know who is being talked about, and why it is they are being talked about. Players don't just gain reputations based upon the feelings of their fellow players, they also gain reputations based upon the feelings of fans and the media. Since guys like Vick and Tebow gained support for playing the game in an "unusual" style, opposing players want to get a shot to stop these guys.
Sure, a defensive lineman could sack someone like Carson Palmer, who has little to no mobility at all. But they would much rather sack someone like Vick, who is known for his ability to elude defenders. It's a feather in their cap. It is the same way with defensive backs. Sure, they could intercept one of Kevin Kolb's passes and it would be nice, but what they really want to do is intercept one of Tom Brady's passes. Even though some players might not admit it, it's true.
It is the same in any facet of life. Sure, it's nice to get an A in the easy class, but it's a heck of a lot nicer to get that A in the advanced class. You could buy a reasonably priced car and save that extra money for something else, or you could use it to buy that luxury car that you've always wanted. We might not want to admit it, but it's true.
What I'm trying to say is that opponents know what kind of hype Griffin has been getting all season. They know he has the ability to beat them with his feet and his arm. Therefore, even though they may not all admit it, they are going after to Griffin with a little extra burst whenever they see him out on the field. It may not be the intent to injure, but it's the intent to put just a little bit extra behind each hit, and as all of those "little-extras" build up over the course of a season, we see a quarterback that is noticeably impeded by injury. That is just what we saw yesterday in Washington.
It was tough to watch Griffin at some points because of how obvious it was that he was in pain and not nearly at full strength. I understand that it is very rare a player (especially the team leader like Griffin) will take himself out of a game. I understand that the NFL is all about a win-now mentality that starts at the top of the organization and filters all the way down to the bottom. But there comes a point where someone has to step in and protect the player from himself and the team from itself.
Some people have equated this scenario to what the Washington Nationals did with Stephen Strasburg at the end of this season. I was a huge critic of the Nationals' decision to shut down Strasburg in early September when they had a legitimate chance at playing for the World Series, and I still stand strong in that belief. The difference was that there was no obviously noticeable decline in Strasburg's performance prior to him being shut down for the season. The Nationals had a chance to advance in the postseason, and they took their best pitcher off the active roster without any sort of infallible proof that it was in his own best interest to do so.
Yesterday, Griffin and the Redskins were going for broke in the midst of a playoff game, and I completely understand that scenarios such as that do not come around all the time. However, the entire nation had infallible visual evidence that Griffin's physical condition was not only sub par, but it was at the same time declining. He was obviously nowhere near his usual self, and he should have been pulled from the game.
After watching yesterday's game, I found myself believing that Griffin might end up taking too much of a punishment each and every week to last as long as he potentially could in the NFL. I hope I am wrong, because RG3 is great for the city of Washington, and the NFL in general, but there is a reason that "pocket" quarterbacks have been so successful in the league for so long, and mobile quarterbacks seem to come and go. Teams and coaches can teach young quarterbacks when to slide and when to run out of bounds instead of taking a hit, but they can't take away the natural instincts of these players that makes them believe that they are strong enough to take the fierce hit from a defender. Sure, they might be tough enough to have taken the last one, and to take this one, but how many times will they be able to continue to get up?
Daily Giants Update: Well, watching Wild Card weekend without the Giants surely was a disappointment, but with the way the team ended the season, they simply did not deserve to make the postseason. The defense will need a lot of work over the next eight months, but I will be going into next season with high hopes for this team.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: We are just over a month away from the beginning of spring training, and while I still think there will be another move or two made before that time, I don't think it is going to involve Justin Upton, and that makes me feel a whole lot better than I did when the season ended. The regular season begins at home on April 1st.
Daily Nets Update: Following the dismissal of Avery Johnson, Brooklyn has actually looked very good under P.J. Carlesimo, winning five of their last six games. The next game is tomorrow night in Philadelphia.
Daily Rangers Update: Rangers? Hockey? Could it be??? Hockey is finally back! I had little hope that a collective bargaining agreement would get done in time to save this season, but it appears that it will. Nothing is set in stone yet, so I don't want to push my luck, but if we do officially get a season in place, then I will be ecstatic for a number of reasons.
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