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.
Monday, January 21, 2013
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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