The climax of the NFL season is now less than a week away, and with parties being planned, game plans being drawn up, and performances being rehearsed, there is also a whole lot of bets being thrown down. According to reports, almost $5 billion will be wagered on the Super Bowl this Sunday. You can bet on simple things like which team will win the game, or you can bet on things like how long it will take Pink to sing the national anthem and what color ties Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will be wearing.
Therefore, it seems that during this time of year the conversation always arises about whether or not the NFL, and all professional leagues, should begin to take steps to legalize gambling. Of that close to $5 billion being wagered, over 95% of it will be wagered illegally. That means that in a league like the NFL where, like pretty much every other business, money is the first priority, there is a whole lot of money to be had if gambling on the game were legalized. The NBA even recently took more steps in the direction of legalizing gambling on its product, and commissioner Adam Silver has said that he would be interested in eventually making it legal to bet on NBA games, so long as the league gets some percentage of the money that is wagered. It seems to me like Silver is praised for this stance more often than he is criticized, and with each passing day, it seems like legalized NBA gambling might actually one day happen. In a league that is already being infused with a ton of money, this would boost profits exponentially, and maybe it will happen. However, I am here to say that while it is probably tough to find fault with the stance of Silver and the NBA, this is entering territory that is full of slippery slopes.
Even though it is not officially decreed as one, Super Bowl Sunday is pretty much a national holiday in this country. Not only is it popular here, but the game will be watched throughout the entire world. Because of that attention, it seems like legalizing gambling so long as the NFL were able to take a portion of that money would make sense. Although that might make sense financially, as an ardent fan of the sport, I do not think it would make sense in my eyes. The stakes are too high, and the chance of manipulation is too much for me to ignore. I don't care how much money the players are making. Everyone in this world has a price, whether they want to admit it or not.
The most famous sports scandal of all is, in the eyes of most, the throwing of the 1919 World Series by multiple members of the Chicago White Sox team. The names of guys like Eddie Cicotte and Joe Jackson and Chick Gandil will forever be associated with being bought off to lose the 1919 World Series. Jackson should be in the Hall of Fame, but because of his role in that scandal, he never will be. "The integrity of the game" is a phrase thrown around in many different circumstances, but what those guys did in 1919 was ignore the integrity of the game. They laid down and threw games because they were enticed by gamblers and their money. That is why I believe that any professional sports league that legalizes gambling is opening itself up to all kinds of possibilities just like those of 1919.
I know what opponents of my theory will say. The salaries paid to those players in 1919 were nothing compared to what they would be making by throwing games today. Is that true? Yes. Does it make me somewhat understand why they chose to do so in 1919? Yes. However, times have changed. Athletes now make a lot more money than they did a century ago. One thing I do know though, is that people with a lot of money usually are mainly focused on one thing; making even more money. Like I said before, everyone in this world has a price. I don't care if you are the highest paid player on the team or the last man on the roster. And that does not even take into account the possibility of people not playing in these games and their effect on the outcome. If anyone should know that, it is the NBA.
Players surely have the biggest outcome on games being played, but they are not the only people who do impact those outcomes. Tim Donaghy was an NBA official for over a decade. In 2007, he resigned from the league because of allegations that he had bet on games and officiated in such a way that affected the outcomes of the games he worked. Following his resignation, he pleaded guilty in court to multiple federal charges and served time in prison because of what he did.
The salary of NFL referees is between about $25,000 and $70,000. Let's cut that down the middle and say that refs get paid about $50,000 per year. Practice squad players in the league, who are basically what would be defined as the "worst" players in the league, make about $7,200 each week that they are on a roster. If they stay with a team and never get into a game all season, that equals over $115,000. That means that the players on the back end of any roster are making almost $50,000 more than even the highest paid officials. So that begs the question, why are there not Tim Donaghys in every professional sports league? Is it because they have not been found guilty, or is it because the money they could potentially make is not large enough yet? I think it is the latter.
It does not stop with officials though. Rob Gronkowski suffered a hit to the head in the AFC Championship game and has been in the league's concussion protocol since then. Gronkowski is one of the best players in the game. When asked about whether or not he would be playing this Sunday (we all expect that he will), he said that is what not his decision or the decision of the coaches, it was a matter that was to be decided by the doctors. So what that means is that one doctor out there somewhere in the country supposedly has the status of Gronkowski sitting in the palm of their hands. If that doctor did not allow Gronkowski to play this Sunday, it would have enormous ramifications on the outcome of the game. Is whoever that doctor is most likely paid well? Yes, I would believe so. However, is that person paid well enough to where they never need to work another day in their life? No, I guarantee that they are not. So what would prevent that doctor from placing a bet against New England and then ruling Gronkowski out for the game this Sunday if gambling on the NFL were legalized? Nothing would prevent it.
I know that some of these ideas might be outlandish, but when there is large amounts of money involved, nothing is outlandish. I love sports because it is the ultimate reality show. Reality shows don't air on MTV or VH1 or any of those other stupid channels airing those stupid shows. Sports is the ultimate reality show, because literally anything is possible. I do not want that to be changed. Although legalizing betting may not immediately lead to that change taking place, I do think that it could at least plant the seeds for it taking place some day. For that reason, I dearly hope that, despite what could be huge profits, these leagues at least can put aside thoughts of their bank accounts for just a few seconds and realize that what they are giving the fans is beautiful, and we don't want our reality television to come in the form of a bunch of drunk people fighting in some house in front of television cameras and edited for hours and hours before being shown to the world. We want our reality television to happen in real time, and that is what we get with sports.
Daily Rangers Update: The team currently sits ninth in the Eastern Conference, but with still many games to play. Everyone will be rested following the All Star break, and next up for the Rangers is the Toronto Maple Leafs tomorrow night.
Daily NBA Update: James Harden went absolutely berserk last night, recording the first 60 point triple-double in the history of the league. In a league that has existed for decades and featured stat sheet stuffers like Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James, what Harden did last night is really spectacular.
Daily Giants Update: Nothing much new to report here, but once the season officially ends this Sunday night, all eyes will be focused on the draft, and now that the Giants have a front office and a coaching staff in place, I assume that they will be well prepared going into draft night on April 26th.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: This does not really affect Arizona, as I think our team is pretty much set to go into Spring Training, but there are still multiple free agents who have yet to sign with new teams, and we are now only a few weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting. J.D. Martinez is still out there and available, but I never expected him back with the Diamondbacks to begin with, and despite him still being available, I still do not expect the team to pay him the exorbitant amount of money that I assume he is asking for. In any case, I like the roster going into camp, and I am excited going into 2018.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
The Hall of Fame debate
The 2018 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame class was announced today, and with that, I think it would be a good time to express my thoughts on who is in the Hall, who is not in, and what I think about the most talked about members and non-members.
The elections of Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, and Jim Thome were announced today, and Alan Trammell and Jack Morris will also be inducted this summer. Jones received the highest percentage of votes out of all of those men, with 97.2% of voters listing him on their ballots. Are all six of these men deserving of election? Certainly, they are. However, as has been the case for multiple years now, the bigger story was who was still not elected.
Roger Clemens received votes on 57.3% of ballots, and Barry Bonds received votes on 56.4% of ballots. In order to be elected into the Hall, a player must receive votes on at least 75% of all ballots. So while both of these men did garner a lot of votes, they are still seemingly quite far from gaining entrance into baseball's most hallowed museum. And I use the word museum quite literally there. It may not be the opinion of every baseball fan, but I believe that the Hall of Fame is a museum documenting the history of the sport. It is called the Hall of Fame for a reason. It isn't the Hall of Nice Guys or the Hall of Humanitarians. It is called the Hall of Fame because it represents the most famous people in the sport, and fame does not always come about through good will or good behavior.
If you look in the baseball record books, it is impossible to get very far without seeing the names of both Bonds and Clemens. One of the most sacred record in not only baseball, but all of sports, is the individual record for home runs in a career. If you are even a casual fan of the sport, you most likely know the career home run totals of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. Aaron's 715th home run, breaking Ruth's record of 714, was one of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport. And then when Bonds hit his 756th home run, it was just as historic. Bonds' single season record of 73 home runs is also nearly as historic. His name is at the top of two of the most significant lists in all of sports.
Roger Clemens won 354 games in his career and struck out 4,672 batters along the way. That ranks him 9th and 3rd respectively in both of those categories. Out of the top 14 pitchers in career strikeouts, Clemens is the only one not currently a member of the Hall of Fame. There are 24 pitchers that have won at least 300 games in their career. Out of all of them, Clemens is the only one not in the Hall of Fame. The numbers of both Bonds and Clemens are not borderline Hall of Fame numbers. They are numbers that absolutely warrant election. However, since both of these men have the dark cloud of steroids hanging over their heads, they have yet to been granted entry in the Cooperstown museum.
Do steroids give players an unfair advantage over others who do not use steroids? The answer is almost certainly yes. Are the suspensions for steroid use now extremely harsh? Yes. However, those regulations did not exist when Bonds and Clemens played, and therefore it should not be held against them that they were using performance enhancers that have been deemed illegal after their careers ended. I know what the detractors will say. These men, as well as other steroid users, knew they were gaining an unfair advantage over their competition. And they probably did know that. But if it was not against the rules when they were playing, why should these guys be punished?
All you need to do is a little bit of research and you can find multiple examples of how this argument can be used against many players who currently are in the Hall of Fame. Ask baseball fans if they have ever heard of Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn. If they have, then they most likely can tell you that he won 59 games during the 1884 season. And, you did not read that wrong. He won FIFTY-NINE games during the 1884 season. During his entire career, he won 309 games. But, the game of baseball was much different during Radbourn's career.
The current distance from the pitching rubber to home plate is 60 feet and 6 inches. A pitcher's foot must remain on the rubber from start to finish of any given pitch. So one would assume that any pitcher throwing from a distance other than that should not be compared to pitchers who threw from that distance. In the late 19th century when Radbourn played, the concept of a "pitching mound" did not exist. Instead, there was a "pitcher's box," somewhat similar to what we now call a batter's box. The box was much larger than a modern day pitching rubber, and its distance was 45 feet from home plate, a distance that is considerably less than the current day distance. Also, unlike modern day rules that state a pitcher's foot must be on the rubber at all times during any given pitch, players in the 19th century could throw from wherever they wanted as long as they were within that pitcher's box, which was considerably larger than a pitching rubber we use in the 21st century. So does that extra 15 feet give 19th century pitchers a clear advantage over 21st century pitchers? Without question it does. Should Radbourn be denied entry into the Hall of Fame because of that? Apparently not, because he has been a member since 1939.
Next up, we have Bob Gibson. Gibson is, in the eyes of many that watched him, arguably the greatest pitcher to ever play the game. Although he had many great seasons, his best was 1968, when won 22 games and had a historically great ERA of 1.12. In the 21st century, an ERA under 3.00 is considered great, but an ERA of 1.12? That is absolutely unbelievable. It is a record that will probably never be broken. Is Gibson a Hall of Famer? He most certainly is. But was the game different in 1968? Yes, it was.
In lieu of that pitcher's box I spoke of with Radbourn, later years brought about another change in pitching style. Pitchers found that they could throw pitches with more force while striding downhill, and eventually, what we know today as the pitcher's mound was formed. Originally, the height guidelines stated that mounds be no more than 15 feet high, but these rules were lightly enforced, and in some stadiums, mounds were higher than that. Throwing pitches from higher elevations gave pitchers a bigger advantage over hitters, and therefore these pitchers welcomed stadiums that were notorious for mounds of increased height. However, after Gibson's historic 1968 season, the league decided that, in an effort to lessen this advantage that pitchers had, they would set new regulations that would be enforced much more strictly. The pitching mound would be 10 inches high, and there were no more excuses for every mound at every stadium being that way. Was it a coincidence that these changes happened because of Gibson's historically low ERA? Some could say no, but it surely played at least some part in it happening. Does that sound familiar? Following a power outburst that brought about an era of unprecedented home run numbers, did the league make new rules? Yes, it did. Were Bonds and Clemens subject to these new rules? Yes, they were. However, since the rules were not in place while they were both setting records, those records still correctly remained.
There is still another example of how the game has changed though that I would like to use. In 1901, a rule was adopted by the league that foul balls counted as strikes. Up until that point, strikes were only called if a batter swung and missed, or a batter took a pitch that was judged to be in the strike zone. Therefore, striking batters out was much harder for pitchers to do than it is today, since foul balls were basically the equivalent of a do-over.
Giancarlo Stanton won the National League MVP award this past season. He struck out 163 times. Willie Keeler, a member of the Hall of Fame, played 19 seasons and struck out 136 times. That's right. The 2017 MVP struck out more times in one season than Keeler did in 19 seasons. The most times Keeler struck out in a single season was 13. Omitting seasons at both the beginning and ends of his career when he played limited amounts of games, Keeler had nine seasons in which he played at least 100 games and struck out less than 10 times. In the 21st century, it is not uncommon for a player to strike out 10 times within the course of one week. Did the rules back in the late 19th and early 20th century clearly favor Keeler and all other batters? They absolutely did. Is Keeler still a member of the Hall of Fame? He certainly is.
What I mean by telling you all of this is that the game of baseball, just like any sport and any part of life in general, evolves over time. The world of 2018 is far different from the world that was lived in over a decade ago, let alone a century ago, and that evolution should not affect the standing of guys like Bonds and Clemens. Did they do things that are now considered offensive and illegal in the baseball world? Yes, they did. But, were these things illegal when they were active players? No, they were not.
The Hall of Fame is a museum depicting the history of the sport of baseball. While there are all sorts of great baseball moments that are commemorated in Cooperstown, a true museum does not just focus on the positives. It focuses on the negatives as well, so long as those negatives were significant enough to be an integral part of history. There is no denying that the careers of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are integral pieces in the story of baseball. For that reason, they absolutely deserve induction into the Hall of Fame, and even though opinions may be very slowly changing and accepting of this idea, I doubt that these men will gain induction any time soon.
Ty Cobb, considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest player of all time was a member of the first ever Hall of Fame class. Cobb used to physically fight opponents, umpires, and sometimes even spectators. Cap Anson was a known and unapologetic racist. Orlando Cepeda served almost a year in prison for a drug conviction. Countless members of the Hall of Fame, including Babe Ruth, who has an entire room in the museum dedicated solely to him, were outright and unashamed alcoholics and carousers.
What I am trying to say is, Bonds and Clemens need to be in the Hall of Fame. They may not have been the nicest of friendliest men in the world, but the Hall of Fame is full of men just as, if not more so, angry and tempestuous. Will either of these guys eventually end up members of the Hall of Fame? Only time will tell. But one thing I can say without question is that if the story of the history of baseball is being told, it is not nearly complete without Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Daily Giants Update: James Bettcher was named today as the new defensive coordinator, while Thomas McGaughey is the new special teams coach. I'm not too familiar with either of them, but I do know that Bettcher favors a 3-4 style of defense, and I am not a fan of playing defense that way. Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul are studs as 4-3 defensive ends, and I would hate to see them standing up and playing as outside linebackers in a 3-4 system. Also, the Giants have not had any good inside linebackers in years, so shifting to a 3-4 would not only call for one good inside linebacker, but it would call for two. Bettcher has obviously not been in charge for very long, so hopefully he isn't stubborn in his methods, because I do not think that the Giants have the personnel in place to be able to effectively run a 3-4 defense.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: No new news here, but the countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting continues.
Daily Rangers Update: The last game for the Rangers ended in a 6-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Next up is a game in San Jose against the Sharks. It will end a four-game west coast trip that has thus far yielded nothing but losses for the team.
Daily NBA Update: Dan Gilbert is reportedly interested in selling the Cleveland Cavaliers, and there are a whole bunch of interesting ways to look at this that I will probably try to write about if and when this sale actually takes place. On the court, Ben Simmons posted a monstrous triple-double this past night, and he seems like an obvious choice for rookie of the year.
The elections of Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, and Jim Thome were announced today, and Alan Trammell and Jack Morris will also be inducted this summer. Jones received the highest percentage of votes out of all of those men, with 97.2% of voters listing him on their ballots. Are all six of these men deserving of election? Certainly, they are. However, as has been the case for multiple years now, the bigger story was who was still not elected.
Roger Clemens received votes on 57.3% of ballots, and Barry Bonds received votes on 56.4% of ballots. In order to be elected into the Hall, a player must receive votes on at least 75% of all ballots. So while both of these men did garner a lot of votes, they are still seemingly quite far from gaining entrance into baseball's most hallowed museum. And I use the word museum quite literally there. It may not be the opinion of every baseball fan, but I believe that the Hall of Fame is a museum documenting the history of the sport. It is called the Hall of Fame for a reason. It isn't the Hall of Nice Guys or the Hall of Humanitarians. It is called the Hall of Fame because it represents the most famous people in the sport, and fame does not always come about through good will or good behavior.
If you look in the baseball record books, it is impossible to get very far without seeing the names of both Bonds and Clemens. One of the most sacred record in not only baseball, but all of sports, is the individual record for home runs in a career. If you are even a casual fan of the sport, you most likely know the career home run totals of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. Aaron's 715th home run, breaking Ruth's record of 714, was one of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport. And then when Bonds hit his 756th home run, it was just as historic. Bonds' single season record of 73 home runs is also nearly as historic. His name is at the top of two of the most significant lists in all of sports.
Roger Clemens won 354 games in his career and struck out 4,672 batters along the way. That ranks him 9th and 3rd respectively in both of those categories. Out of the top 14 pitchers in career strikeouts, Clemens is the only one not currently a member of the Hall of Fame. There are 24 pitchers that have won at least 300 games in their career. Out of all of them, Clemens is the only one not in the Hall of Fame. The numbers of both Bonds and Clemens are not borderline Hall of Fame numbers. They are numbers that absolutely warrant election. However, since both of these men have the dark cloud of steroids hanging over their heads, they have yet to been granted entry in the Cooperstown museum.
Do steroids give players an unfair advantage over others who do not use steroids? The answer is almost certainly yes. Are the suspensions for steroid use now extremely harsh? Yes. However, those regulations did not exist when Bonds and Clemens played, and therefore it should not be held against them that they were using performance enhancers that have been deemed illegal after their careers ended. I know what the detractors will say. These men, as well as other steroid users, knew they were gaining an unfair advantage over their competition. And they probably did know that. But if it was not against the rules when they were playing, why should these guys be punished?
All you need to do is a little bit of research and you can find multiple examples of how this argument can be used against many players who currently are in the Hall of Fame. Ask baseball fans if they have ever heard of Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn. If they have, then they most likely can tell you that he won 59 games during the 1884 season. And, you did not read that wrong. He won FIFTY-NINE games during the 1884 season. During his entire career, he won 309 games. But, the game of baseball was much different during Radbourn's career.
The current distance from the pitching rubber to home plate is 60 feet and 6 inches. A pitcher's foot must remain on the rubber from start to finish of any given pitch. So one would assume that any pitcher throwing from a distance other than that should not be compared to pitchers who threw from that distance. In the late 19th century when Radbourn played, the concept of a "pitching mound" did not exist. Instead, there was a "pitcher's box," somewhat similar to what we now call a batter's box. The box was much larger than a modern day pitching rubber, and its distance was 45 feet from home plate, a distance that is considerably less than the current day distance. Also, unlike modern day rules that state a pitcher's foot must be on the rubber at all times during any given pitch, players in the 19th century could throw from wherever they wanted as long as they were within that pitcher's box, which was considerably larger than a pitching rubber we use in the 21st century. So does that extra 15 feet give 19th century pitchers a clear advantage over 21st century pitchers? Without question it does. Should Radbourn be denied entry into the Hall of Fame because of that? Apparently not, because he has been a member since 1939.
Next up, we have Bob Gibson. Gibson is, in the eyes of many that watched him, arguably the greatest pitcher to ever play the game. Although he had many great seasons, his best was 1968, when won 22 games and had a historically great ERA of 1.12. In the 21st century, an ERA under 3.00 is considered great, but an ERA of 1.12? That is absolutely unbelievable. It is a record that will probably never be broken. Is Gibson a Hall of Famer? He most certainly is. But was the game different in 1968? Yes, it was.
In lieu of that pitcher's box I spoke of with Radbourn, later years brought about another change in pitching style. Pitchers found that they could throw pitches with more force while striding downhill, and eventually, what we know today as the pitcher's mound was formed. Originally, the height guidelines stated that mounds be no more than 15 feet high, but these rules were lightly enforced, and in some stadiums, mounds were higher than that. Throwing pitches from higher elevations gave pitchers a bigger advantage over hitters, and therefore these pitchers welcomed stadiums that were notorious for mounds of increased height. However, after Gibson's historic 1968 season, the league decided that, in an effort to lessen this advantage that pitchers had, they would set new regulations that would be enforced much more strictly. The pitching mound would be 10 inches high, and there were no more excuses for every mound at every stadium being that way. Was it a coincidence that these changes happened because of Gibson's historically low ERA? Some could say no, but it surely played at least some part in it happening. Does that sound familiar? Following a power outburst that brought about an era of unprecedented home run numbers, did the league make new rules? Yes, it did. Were Bonds and Clemens subject to these new rules? Yes, they were. However, since the rules were not in place while they were both setting records, those records still correctly remained.
There is still another example of how the game has changed though that I would like to use. In 1901, a rule was adopted by the league that foul balls counted as strikes. Up until that point, strikes were only called if a batter swung and missed, or a batter took a pitch that was judged to be in the strike zone. Therefore, striking batters out was much harder for pitchers to do than it is today, since foul balls were basically the equivalent of a do-over.
Giancarlo Stanton won the National League MVP award this past season. He struck out 163 times. Willie Keeler, a member of the Hall of Fame, played 19 seasons and struck out 136 times. That's right. The 2017 MVP struck out more times in one season than Keeler did in 19 seasons. The most times Keeler struck out in a single season was 13. Omitting seasons at both the beginning and ends of his career when he played limited amounts of games, Keeler had nine seasons in which he played at least 100 games and struck out less than 10 times. In the 21st century, it is not uncommon for a player to strike out 10 times within the course of one week. Did the rules back in the late 19th and early 20th century clearly favor Keeler and all other batters? They absolutely did. Is Keeler still a member of the Hall of Fame? He certainly is.
What I mean by telling you all of this is that the game of baseball, just like any sport and any part of life in general, evolves over time. The world of 2018 is far different from the world that was lived in over a decade ago, let alone a century ago, and that evolution should not affect the standing of guys like Bonds and Clemens. Did they do things that are now considered offensive and illegal in the baseball world? Yes, they did. But, were these things illegal when they were active players? No, they were not.
The Hall of Fame is a museum depicting the history of the sport of baseball. While there are all sorts of great baseball moments that are commemorated in Cooperstown, a true museum does not just focus on the positives. It focuses on the negatives as well, so long as those negatives were significant enough to be an integral part of history. There is no denying that the careers of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are integral pieces in the story of baseball. For that reason, they absolutely deserve induction into the Hall of Fame, and even though opinions may be very slowly changing and accepting of this idea, I doubt that these men will gain induction any time soon.
Ty Cobb, considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest player of all time was a member of the first ever Hall of Fame class. Cobb used to physically fight opponents, umpires, and sometimes even spectators. Cap Anson was a known and unapologetic racist. Orlando Cepeda served almost a year in prison for a drug conviction. Countless members of the Hall of Fame, including Babe Ruth, who has an entire room in the museum dedicated solely to him, were outright and unashamed alcoholics and carousers.
What I am trying to say is, Bonds and Clemens need to be in the Hall of Fame. They may not have been the nicest of friendliest men in the world, but the Hall of Fame is full of men just as, if not more so, angry and tempestuous. Will either of these guys eventually end up members of the Hall of Fame? Only time will tell. But one thing I can say without question is that if the story of the history of baseball is being told, it is not nearly complete without Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Daily Giants Update: James Bettcher was named today as the new defensive coordinator, while Thomas McGaughey is the new special teams coach. I'm not too familiar with either of them, but I do know that Bettcher favors a 3-4 style of defense, and I am not a fan of playing defense that way. Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul are studs as 4-3 defensive ends, and I would hate to see them standing up and playing as outside linebackers in a 3-4 system. Also, the Giants have not had any good inside linebackers in years, so shifting to a 3-4 would not only call for one good inside linebacker, but it would call for two. Bettcher has obviously not been in charge for very long, so hopefully he isn't stubborn in his methods, because I do not think that the Giants have the personnel in place to be able to effectively run a 3-4 defense.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: No new news here, but the countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting continues.
Daily Rangers Update: The last game for the Rangers ended in a 6-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Next up is a game in San Jose against the Sharks. It will end a four-game west coast trip that has thus far yielded nothing but losses for the team.
Daily NBA Update: Dan Gilbert is reportedly interested in selling the Cleveland Cavaliers, and there are a whole bunch of interesting ways to look at this that I will probably try to write about if and when this sale actually takes place. On the court, Ben Simmons posted a monstrous triple-double this past night, and he seems like an obvious choice for rookie of the year.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
The definition of self-centered
On February 11th, the Cleveland Cavaliers will go to Boston to play the Celtics. It will be a battle of two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and possibly a preview of the Conference Finals that will take place this coming summer. However, this night will be significant for another reason as well.
Paul Pierce played the first 15 seasons of his career with Boston, and was a crucial part of the team that won a championship in 2008. Therefore, on February 11th, the Celtics are going to retire his #34 jersey, as he will join 22 other former team members to be honored in such a way.
And just as a side note here, the fact that the Celtics have 22 numbers retired is amazing and shows how great a franchise they have been for so long.
But getting back to Pierce, he recently announced that he wanted the night to belong to him. The team had scheduled a video tribute to honor Isaiah Thomas' time as a Celtic since he now plays for Cleveland, but Pierce did not agree with the decision. Even though Thomas was a beloved figure in Boston during his time there, and even though he gave his heart and soul to the team in the playoffs just days after his sister was tragically killed in a car accident, Pierce seemingly doesn't care about that.
I have seen video tributes to players by teams before. They usually last at most about two minutes. Two minutes. That means that Pierce is unwilling to have to see a two minute video praising Isaiah Thomas' time with Boston. I have four words for Paul Pierce: Are you kidding me? Is he so egotistical that he can't have his special day interrupted for 120 seconds? I cannot believe that Pierce has a problem with this.
Does Pierce deserve to have his jersey retired? He absolutely does. Are there special honors that come with having your jersey retired? Yes, there are. But the fact that Pierce will somehow be offended by a short video tribute to Isaiah Thomas comes across to me as unbelievably narcissistic. Pierce will be honored by having his jersey retired that night. But does he know that something else will happen that night as well? Apparently not. There is also going to be a basketball game between two of the best teams in the NBA. Pierce's tribute is not going to be the only thing going that night, so I don't understand how he could believe that the night should be about him and nothing else.
The Cavaliers did visit Boston in early January, but Isaiah Thomas was injured and did not play in the game. Could they have played the video tribute then even though he was hurt? Yes, they could have, but they did not because he was not playing in the game. Could the team have scheduled Pierce's jersey retirement on a different night? Yes, they could have, however it isn't like Pierce is coming out of hiding from his retirement to make one last public appearance in Boston. Pierce is employed by ESPN and his face is on television all the time. People still see him and remember him as one of the great Boston Celtics, so the fact that Pierce is self-centered enough to demand the team not play a short video tribute to Thomas during what he believes should be "his night" is ridiculous.
I'm not sure how long Pierce's jersey retirement ceremony will last, but I'm about 99% sure it won't last 48 minutes. The game is going to last 48 minutes, unless Pierce wants to attempt to call that off and focus even more on himself. Jersey retirement ceremonies are special. I understand that. But in this case Paul Pierce comes off as so egotistical and selfish that it changes my perception of him.
God, forbid someone from stealing his spotlight for a few minutes. We might as well let Pierce play the game against Cleveland by himself with no one on the floor for the Cavaliers so we can watch an entire game of him winning one last time and taking all the glory for himself. For him to demand that the spotlight shine only on him is so selfish and absurd, and even though he obviously does not recognize that right now, I hope that some day eventually he does.
Daily Rangers Update: Nothing to report here as the team is off today. Tomorrow brings a game against Buffalo, who currently own the worst record in the Eastern Conference, so it should be a game that the Rangers win.
Daily Giants Update: Now that it seems "unofficially official" that Pat Shurmur is going to be the new head coach, the focus should shift to who he hires as his assistants. Steve Spagnuolo hired Shurmur as one of his assistants during his short term as the head coach of the Rams, so it is likely that Shurmur might return the favor here and keep Spagnuolo as the defensive coordinator. There were serious issues both on and off the field with the defense this past year, and I'm not sure how much Spagnuolo had to do with those, so this may or may not be a good thing.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Nothing new here as well since Spring Training is still far away, but the San Francisco Giants just acquired Andrew McCutchen, so it seems like the NL West is going to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest division in all of baseball in 2018.
Daily NBA Update: Yesterday was a light night in terms of the number of games, but Anthony Davis was the standout with 45 points and 16 rebounds in a Pelicans win over the Celtics (I'm terribly sorry Mr. Pierce). There are 10 games tonight though, so it will be much busier during NBA talk shows tomorrow morning.
Paul Pierce played the first 15 seasons of his career with Boston, and was a crucial part of the team that won a championship in 2008. Therefore, on February 11th, the Celtics are going to retire his #34 jersey, as he will join 22 other former team members to be honored in such a way.
And just as a side note here, the fact that the Celtics have 22 numbers retired is amazing and shows how great a franchise they have been for so long.
But getting back to Pierce, he recently announced that he wanted the night to belong to him. The team had scheduled a video tribute to honor Isaiah Thomas' time as a Celtic since he now plays for Cleveland, but Pierce did not agree with the decision. Even though Thomas was a beloved figure in Boston during his time there, and even though he gave his heart and soul to the team in the playoffs just days after his sister was tragically killed in a car accident, Pierce seemingly doesn't care about that.
I have seen video tributes to players by teams before. They usually last at most about two minutes. Two minutes. That means that Pierce is unwilling to have to see a two minute video praising Isaiah Thomas' time with Boston. I have four words for Paul Pierce: Are you kidding me? Is he so egotistical that he can't have his special day interrupted for 120 seconds? I cannot believe that Pierce has a problem with this.
Does Pierce deserve to have his jersey retired? He absolutely does. Are there special honors that come with having your jersey retired? Yes, there are. But the fact that Pierce will somehow be offended by a short video tribute to Isaiah Thomas comes across to me as unbelievably narcissistic. Pierce will be honored by having his jersey retired that night. But does he know that something else will happen that night as well? Apparently not. There is also going to be a basketball game between two of the best teams in the NBA. Pierce's tribute is not going to be the only thing going that night, so I don't understand how he could believe that the night should be about him and nothing else.
The Cavaliers did visit Boston in early January, but Isaiah Thomas was injured and did not play in the game. Could they have played the video tribute then even though he was hurt? Yes, they could have, but they did not because he was not playing in the game. Could the team have scheduled Pierce's jersey retirement on a different night? Yes, they could have, however it isn't like Pierce is coming out of hiding from his retirement to make one last public appearance in Boston. Pierce is employed by ESPN and his face is on television all the time. People still see him and remember him as one of the great Boston Celtics, so the fact that Pierce is self-centered enough to demand the team not play a short video tribute to Thomas during what he believes should be "his night" is ridiculous.
I'm not sure how long Pierce's jersey retirement ceremony will last, but I'm about 99% sure it won't last 48 minutes. The game is going to last 48 minutes, unless Pierce wants to attempt to call that off and focus even more on himself. Jersey retirement ceremonies are special. I understand that. But in this case Paul Pierce comes off as so egotistical and selfish that it changes my perception of him.
God, forbid someone from stealing his spotlight for a few minutes. We might as well let Pierce play the game against Cleveland by himself with no one on the floor for the Cavaliers so we can watch an entire game of him winning one last time and taking all the glory for himself. For him to demand that the spotlight shine only on him is so selfish and absurd, and even though he obviously does not recognize that right now, I hope that some day eventually he does.
Daily Rangers Update: Nothing to report here as the team is off today. Tomorrow brings a game against Buffalo, who currently own the worst record in the Eastern Conference, so it should be a game that the Rangers win.
Daily Giants Update: Now that it seems "unofficially official" that Pat Shurmur is going to be the new head coach, the focus should shift to who he hires as his assistants. Steve Spagnuolo hired Shurmur as one of his assistants during his short term as the head coach of the Rams, so it is likely that Shurmur might return the favor here and keep Spagnuolo as the defensive coordinator. There were serious issues both on and off the field with the defense this past year, and I'm not sure how much Spagnuolo had to do with those, so this may or may not be a good thing.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Nothing new here as well since Spring Training is still far away, but the San Francisco Giants just acquired Andrew McCutchen, so it seems like the NL West is going to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest division in all of baseball in 2018.
Daily NBA Update: Yesterday was a light night in terms of the number of games, but Anthony Davis was the standout with 45 points and 16 rebounds in a Pelicans win over the Celtics (I'm terribly sorry Mr. Pierce). There are 10 games tonight though, so it will be much busier during NBA talk shows tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
A (very) far-fetched idea
Over the past few months, story after story has come out about sexual abuse in the world of entertainment. It started in Hollywood and in politics, and eventually it surfaced in the world of sports. The stories are sad and shameful in a multitude of ways and it has come to the point where we should not be surprised if they continue to come out. I don't want to focus on the stories as a whole, but I do want to focus on one in the sports world. However, I only want to talk about the effects that it will have on the world of football, and not the individual details that are, like I said, both sad and shameful.
Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Carolina Panthers, was named as one of the offenders, and it made him and his franchise look so bad that he is now putting the team up for sale. While the sale has not taken place yet, and is most likely far from taking place since we are talking about a $2.3 billion investment that someone, or more likely, some group of people will have to make, it will have an impact on the NFL. In all likelihood, the new owners will be people that are unknown in the world of sports but just have a whole lot of money. And by a whole lot of money, I don't mean millions of dollars, I mean billions of dollars.
Stephen Curry is a known Panthers fan. Sean "Puffy" Combs is known for his musical career as well as a very successful line of clothing. Both of them have claimed to have interest in joining together to buy the team. And today, the most popular NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. threw his name into the ring as willing to go into part ownership of the team. Even Colin Kaepernick, the exiled NFL quarterback, has said he would like to be part of this ownership group. It's nice that these guys are showing interest in breaking into the world of sports business as a team, but I have a sad thing to say to them. I'm sorry, but you guys have no chance of actually making this happen. It isn't even worth giving it a second thought either.
Curry is worth about $77 million. Kaepernick is reportedly worth about $39 million. Combs is by far the wealthiest of the three men, being worth over $800 million. Earnhardt is worth around $300 million. While these values are far from chump change, I hate to break it to these guys, but they are numbers that make them nowhere near owning an NFL franchise.
Paul Allen owns the Seattle Seahawks. His net worth is almost $18 billion. That is billion with a B. Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, is worth about $7.5 billion. The owners of the Oakland Raiders, the children of Al Davis, are the LEAST valued owners, and they are worth about $500 million. And these two are only the owners because they took over the team when their father died, but his net worth was over $500 million. The Green Bay Packers are the outlier here because they are a publicly owned team by over 360,000 stockholders, but the estimated value of the franchise is over $1 billion.
What these numbers all mean are that the world of NFL owners is a world that not many people can be a part of. If you are not a billionaire, or your father did not pass a team onto you when he died, you are not getting into that club. And that is the reality of what Curry, Combs, Earnhardt, and Kaepernick are claiming they can make happen. If they all combined every penny that they reportedly owned, they would be worth just over $1 billion. The Panthers are supposedly on sale for over double that value. I'm sorry to break the news to those men, but this dream they have is nothing more than that: a dream. But this dream will never come true. And that isn't even taking into account the most preposterous part of this proposition.
Colin Kaepernick is seemingly going to end up being remembered as a pariah in the football world. Some believe that he was blackballed from the league because of his political stances, but I don't believe that is true. I do not believe that 32 owners colluded to keep Kaepernick out of the league. I believe that 32 owners came to that decision on their own and did not need to be convinced by anyone else. Say what you want about him, but he currently is unemployed and cannot even get a job as a backup quarterback in a league where simply competent quarterbacks are hard to come by. If he can't get a job as a backup QB, do you think that at least 24 of the 32 owners (that is the number needed for approval to become even part of the owner of any given team) would grant him the chance to be even a minority owner of the Panthers? There is absolutely no chance that would happen. If there was a percentage lower than zero, that would be how likely it would be that Kaepernick would be granted permission to own any percentage of any NFL team.
You can think whatever you want about Kaepernick and realize that this idea has no chance at all of working. I happen to think he is certainly at least a backup level quarterback, and he did take a team to the Super Bowl, even though the 49ers ultimately lost to the Ravens. Can he kneel during the singing of the national anthem? Sure, I have absolutely no problem with that. It is totally harmless, and in my opinion anyone who somehow takes offense to it has a pre-conceived agenda against Kaepernick for whatever reason they might choose to use. But that doesn't change the fact that the owners of these teams have clearly shown they do not want any part of employing Kaepernick.
It is nice that Combs and Curry and Earnhardt have aspirations to one day own a team. It is not every day that we know the owners of any sports franchise, and that is because most of us do not live in a world where millionaires are considered to be close to nothing in terms of value. Whoever ultimately buys the Carolina Panthers is going to be another one of those billionaires that have hardly any connection to the world of sports. And that is why this idea of these guys is far-fetched just like I claimed. In fact, it is even more than far-fetched. It is about as possible as a human civilization on Neptune. We have not even gotten to Mars yet, so I guarantee you that the idea of getting to Neptune is not going to happen in the lifetime of anyone reading this. It is just as realistic as Combs, Curry, Earnhardt, and Kaepernick owning the Carolina Panthers. The percent chance of it happening is clearly and absolutely zero.
Daily Giants Update: Whenever the Minnesota Vikings season ends, it seems like a given that Pat Shurmur will be the new head coach of the Giants. Whether or not this hire works out is unknown, but one thing that surely is known is that the Giants are behind the 8-ball when it comes to offseason improvement. Shurmur has yet to even meet the players on the team let alone begin thoroughly examining the roster going into the draft. Here is to selfishly hoping that the Vikings season ends on Sunday so the Giants can put all of their focus on improving the team going into next year.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers put in a nice effort in beating the Flyers 5-1 today, ending a three game losing streak. There are still 37 games left to play, and at this point the Rangers sit in the 8th and final spot for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Next up is a home game with the Sabres on Thursday.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Nothing new to report here as the roster is pretty much set for the 2018 season. We still have a long way to go until the games actually count, but we know who will be vying for the 25 roster spots that will be available.
Daily NBA Update: It was a light night in the NBA, as only four games were on the schedule. Anthony Davis stood out, going for 45 points and 16 rebounds in a win for New Orleans over the Boston Celtics. Boston still remains 3.5 games clear of the field in the East, while it seems likely the Pelicans will be vying for a playoff spot, but destined to lose in the first round even if they do make it to the postseason.
Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Carolina Panthers, was named as one of the offenders, and it made him and his franchise look so bad that he is now putting the team up for sale. While the sale has not taken place yet, and is most likely far from taking place since we are talking about a $2.3 billion investment that someone, or more likely, some group of people will have to make, it will have an impact on the NFL. In all likelihood, the new owners will be people that are unknown in the world of sports but just have a whole lot of money. And by a whole lot of money, I don't mean millions of dollars, I mean billions of dollars.
Stephen Curry is a known Panthers fan. Sean "Puffy" Combs is known for his musical career as well as a very successful line of clothing. Both of them have claimed to have interest in joining together to buy the team. And today, the most popular NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. threw his name into the ring as willing to go into part ownership of the team. Even Colin Kaepernick, the exiled NFL quarterback, has said he would like to be part of this ownership group. It's nice that these guys are showing interest in breaking into the world of sports business as a team, but I have a sad thing to say to them. I'm sorry, but you guys have no chance of actually making this happen. It isn't even worth giving it a second thought either.
Curry is worth about $77 million. Kaepernick is reportedly worth about $39 million. Combs is by far the wealthiest of the three men, being worth over $800 million. Earnhardt is worth around $300 million. While these values are far from chump change, I hate to break it to these guys, but they are numbers that make them nowhere near owning an NFL franchise.
Paul Allen owns the Seattle Seahawks. His net worth is almost $18 billion. That is billion with a B. Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, is worth about $7.5 billion. The owners of the Oakland Raiders, the children of Al Davis, are the LEAST valued owners, and they are worth about $500 million. And these two are only the owners because they took over the team when their father died, but his net worth was over $500 million. The Green Bay Packers are the outlier here because they are a publicly owned team by over 360,000 stockholders, but the estimated value of the franchise is over $1 billion.
What these numbers all mean are that the world of NFL owners is a world that not many people can be a part of. If you are not a billionaire, or your father did not pass a team onto you when he died, you are not getting into that club. And that is the reality of what Curry, Combs, Earnhardt, and Kaepernick are claiming they can make happen. If they all combined every penny that they reportedly owned, they would be worth just over $1 billion. The Panthers are supposedly on sale for over double that value. I'm sorry to break the news to those men, but this dream they have is nothing more than that: a dream. But this dream will never come true. And that isn't even taking into account the most preposterous part of this proposition.
Colin Kaepernick is seemingly going to end up being remembered as a pariah in the football world. Some believe that he was blackballed from the league because of his political stances, but I don't believe that is true. I do not believe that 32 owners colluded to keep Kaepernick out of the league. I believe that 32 owners came to that decision on their own and did not need to be convinced by anyone else. Say what you want about him, but he currently is unemployed and cannot even get a job as a backup quarterback in a league where simply competent quarterbacks are hard to come by. If he can't get a job as a backup QB, do you think that at least 24 of the 32 owners (that is the number needed for approval to become even part of the owner of any given team) would grant him the chance to be even a minority owner of the Panthers? There is absolutely no chance that would happen. If there was a percentage lower than zero, that would be how likely it would be that Kaepernick would be granted permission to own any percentage of any NFL team.
You can think whatever you want about Kaepernick and realize that this idea has no chance at all of working. I happen to think he is certainly at least a backup level quarterback, and he did take a team to the Super Bowl, even though the 49ers ultimately lost to the Ravens. Can he kneel during the singing of the national anthem? Sure, I have absolutely no problem with that. It is totally harmless, and in my opinion anyone who somehow takes offense to it has a pre-conceived agenda against Kaepernick for whatever reason they might choose to use. But that doesn't change the fact that the owners of these teams have clearly shown they do not want any part of employing Kaepernick.
It is nice that Combs and Curry and Earnhardt have aspirations to one day own a team. It is not every day that we know the owners of any sports franchise, and that is because most of us do not live in a world where millionaires are considered to be close to nothing in terms of value. Whoever ultimately buys the Carolina Panthers is going to be another one of those billionaires that have hardly any connection to the world of sports. And that is why this idea of these guys is far-fetched just like I claimed. In fact, it is even more than far-fetched. It is about as possible as a human civilization on Neptune. We have not even gotten to Mars yet, so I guarantee you that the idea of getting to Neptune is not going to happen in the lifetime of anyone reading this. It is just as realistic as Combs, Curry, Earnhardt, and Kaepernick owning the Carolina Panthers. The percent chance of it happening is clearly and absolutely zero.
Daily Giants Update: Whenever the Minnesota Vikings season ends, it seems like a given that Pat Shurmur will be the new head coach of the Giants. Whether or not this hire works out is unknown, but one thing that surely is known is that the Giants are behind the 8-ball when it comes to offseason improvement. Shurmur has yet to even meet the players on the team let alone begin thoroughly examining the roster going into the draft. Here is to selfishly hoping that the Vikings season ends on Sunday so the Giants can put all of their focus on improving the team going into next year.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers put in a nice effort in beating the Flyers 5-1 today, ending a three game losing streak. There are still 37 games left to play, and at this point the Rangers sit in the 8th and final spot for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Next up is a home game with the Sabres on Thursday.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Nothing new to report here as the roster is pretty much set for the 2018 season. We still have a long way to go until the games actually count, but we know who will be vying for the 25 roster spots that will be available.
Daily NBA Update: It was a light night in the NBA, as only four games were on the schedule. Anthony Davis stood out, going for 45 points and 16 rebounds in a win for New Orleans over the Boston Celtics. Boston still remains 3.5 games clear of the field in the East, while it seems likely the Pelicans will be vying for a playoff spot, but destined to lose in the first round even if they do make it to the postseason.
Monday, January 15, 2018
The gift and the curse of social media in sports
Baseball has walk off home runs. Basketball has buzzer beating shots. However, this past Sunday football gave us a buzzer beating, walk off play that we very rarely see. We do get field goals to win the game as time expires, but the Minnesota Vikings beat the New Orleans Saints to advance to the NFC Championship game in a way that surely is not a common occurrence.
When Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs connected for a 61 yard touchdown pass as the clock ran out, I can say that it was arguably the most improbable ending to a game I have ever seen. I'll still say that the Tennessee Titans beating the Buffalo Bills thanks to the "Music City Miracle" is the most unfathomable ending to a game that I have ever seen, but if you wanted to argue that Sunday's game takes over that top spot, you would have a damn good rebuttal to my argument.
As Stefon Diggs was on his way to the end zone and time was expiring, I could not believe what I was seeing. Fans in Minnesota were going wild, and fans in New Orleans were stunned with disbelief. It was a true example of why sports is the best reality television that there is. Diggs breaking down in tears during an interview only minutes after he scored the biggest touchdown of his life was proof of just how great the game of football can be. However, there were two teams out there on the field, and with the elation of the Vikings came absolute heartbreak and devastation for the Saints, and in particular for Marcus Williams.
I didn't truly realize how much devastation that play would cause for Williams until I saw the replay of what had just happened. In real time I was focused so closely on Diggs making the unbelievable catch and run that I didn't really realize what Williams had done, or more frankly, failed to do.
Former athletes lament the way that their sports are currently played all the time. The "get off my lawn" and "back in my day" complaints get old very quickly, but on Sunday, I'm sure there were a whole lot of former defensive backs stunned and ashamed by what Williams did, and they were right to make that assumption.
All the Saints had to do was not get beat on a deep pass. There was likely not enough time for the Vikings to get two plays off, so New Orleans just needed to make one stop. But it didn't happen. And who was to blame for it not happening? It was Marcus Williams. He put his head down and dove for Diggs' legs, completely missed, and that was it. A still shot of Diggs going up to make the catch, and Williams not even looking at him while trying to throw a shoulder and make the tackle will be a picture that lives on forever in the minds of everyone who saw it.
I know that games are not won and lost on one single play. New Orleans played bad in the first half. They were down 17-0 at halftime, so Williams' missed tackle didn't play into that terrible start for the Saints. However, his missed tackle was what ended the game, and when epic games like that end, we tend to try to put the blame on one player when in reality football is the ultimate team sport. The Vikings didn't beat Marcus Williams. They beat the New Orleans Saints. But that isn't what many fans wanted to focus on. They wanted to focus on one person to blame for the loss, and Williams was the person they chose.
I'm sure there were probably plenty of expletives hurled his way by Saints fans all over the country, but what I want to focus on is what was hurled his way on social media. Following the game, Williams disabled his comments sections on Instagram and Twitter because he was getting nothing but hate from Saints fans. All you have to do is Google search the messages people were sending him before he disabled those comments and you can read what was being said to him and about him. What all of those comments did was show how social media can sometimes be a gift or sometimes be a curse.
The gift is all of the positive messages that Stefon Diggs received after the game. The gift is all of the positive messages that Ryan Shazier received after he was injured in front of millions of people on national television. However, the curse of what social media can be was exemplified by the messages that Marcus Williams received. Hiding behind a computer screen and a keyboard can enable people to believe that they have a whole lot of muscle that in reality they do not have.
Out of all the hateful messages that Williams received, I'm sure that at maximum about one percent of those people would have the guts to confront him face to face. It is the exact reason that social media and the intimacy it provides is often times unbelievably bad. While there were some messages of support for his mistake, the overwhelming majority of the messages were extremely negative, and reason for him to disable all comments on his accounts.
Did Williams make a bad play? Yes. In all honesty, it was a terrible play. However, does it warrant death threats by angry fans? No. It absolutely does not. What it was though, is a chilling example of how the age of social media has changed the way that fans look at, and interact with, the people we watch on television and often times aspire to be.
Before Twitter and Instagram, fans could write handwritten letters to these people and only hope to get a response weeks later. Now, we can instantly connect with them, and even if we don't get a response, we know that at least they have the ability to see what we say to them and think of them.
Williams is only a rookie, and his season overall was pretty good for such a young player. However, it is going to be hard for him to overcome such a huge failure in the eyes of the football public. Maybe it will happen, and maybe it won't. As of today though, Williams has quite a mountain to climb in order to gain redemption and erase that missed tackle from the minds of football fans everywhere.
I could not comprehend sending the hateful messages that he received to any athlete ever, but I do know that if I were a Saints fan, I would not be happy with Marcus Williams today. Here is to hoping that he can re-write his legacy in the eyes of Saints fans everywhere, because right now that game-winning touchdown on Sunday will go down in history, and every time it is shown, people will wonder how he could make that mistake on that play in that game.
Daily Giants Update: It isn't official yet, but all signs point to Pat Shurmur becoming the next head coach of the Giants. I am not exactly thrilled with this hire, but I am more than willing to give him a chance to prove he deserves the job. His previous head coaching experience was with the Cleveland Browns, and all you need to do is ask Hue Jackson how unreasonable it is to expect any sort of success coaching that team.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers followed up and ugly 7-2 loss to the Islanders with another ugly 5-2 loss to the Penguins. After two home games, the team will head out west for a stretch of six of seven games against Western Conference teams, so here is to hoping that the Rangers can make it to the All-Star break still within shouting distance of a somewhat good seed in the playoffs.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Arizona was able to reach arbitration deals with multiple important pieces of a team that made the playoffs last season including Jake Lamb and Robbie Ray. Spring training is getting closer and closer, and expectations will surely be higher than they were going into last season. The NL West is going to be very tough this year, and it will be interesting to see how the team responds to loftier expectations in what I believe to be the best division from top to bottom in all of baseball.
Daily NBA Update: The defending champion Warriors beat the Cavaliers last night and the Cavs are in the midseason crisis mode that they seem to go through every year before righting the ship and reaching the Finals once the playoffs roll around. Russell Westbrook is also putting up big numbers again on an Oklahoma City team that has not met expectations up to this point in the season. I like Westbrook, but my opinion of him is changing a bit watching him and his team this year, and I will have to get in to that some time in the near future.
When Case Keenum and Stefon Diggs connected for a 61 yard touchdown pass as the clock ran out, I can say that it was arguably the most improbable ending to a game I have ever seen. I'll still say that the Tennessee Titans beating the Buffalo Bills thanks to the "Music City Miracle" is the most unfathomable ending to a game that I have ever seen, but if you wanted to argue that Sunday's game takes over that top spot, you would have a damn good rebuttal to my argument.
As Stefon Diggs was on his way to the end zone and time was expiring, I could not believe what I was seeing. Fans in Minnesota were going wild, and fans in New Orleans were stunned with disbelief. It was a true example of why sports is the best reality television that there is. Diggs breaking down in tears during an interview only minutes after he scored the biggest touchdown of his life was proof of just how great the game of football can be. However, there were two teams out there on the field, and with the elation of the Vikings came absolute heartbreak and devastation for the Saints, and in particular for Marcus Williams.
I didn't truly realize how much devastation that play would cause for Williams until I saw the replay of what had just happened. In real time I was focused so closely on Diggs making the unbelievable catch and run that I didn't really realize what Williams had done, or more frankly, failed to do.
Former athletes lament the way that their sports are currently played all the time. The "get off my lawn" and "back in my day" complaints get old very quickly, but on Sunday, I'm sure there were a whole lot of former defensive backs stunned and ashamed by what Williams did, and they were right to make that assumption.
All the Saints had to do was not get beat on a deep pass. There was likely not enough time for the Vikings to get two plays off, so New Orleans just needed to make one stop. But it didn't happen. And who was to blame for it not happening? It was Marcus Williams. He put his head down and dove for Diggs' legs, completely missed, and that was it. A still shot of Diggs going up to make the catch, and Williams not even looking at him while trying to throw a shoulder and make the tackle will be a picture that lives on forever in the minds of everyone who saw it.
I know that games are not won and lost on one single play. New Orleans played bad in the first half. They were down 17-0 at halftime, so Williams' missed tackle didn't play into that terrible start for the Saints. However, his missed tackle was what ended the game, and when epic games like that end, we tend to try to put the blame on one player when in reality football is the ultimate team sport. The Vikings didn't beat Marcus Williams. They beat the New Orleans Saints. But that isn't what many fans wanted to focus on. They wanted to focus on one person to blame for the loss, and Williams was the person they chose.
I'm sure there were probably plenty of expletives hurled his way by Saints fans all over the country, but what I want to focus on is what was hurled his way on social media. Following the game, Williams disabled his comments sections on Instagram and Twitter because he was getting nothing but hate from Saints fans. All you have to do is Google search the messages people were sending him before he disabled those comments and you can read what was being said to him and about him. What all of those comments did was show how social media can sometimes be a gift or sometimes be a curse.
The gift is all of the positive messages that Stefon Diggs received after the game. The gift is all of the positive messages that Ryan Shazier received after he was injured in front of millions of people on national television. However, the curse of what social media can be was exemplified by the messages that Marcus Williams received. Hiding behind a computer screen and a keyboard can enable people to believe that they have a whole lot of muscle that in reality they do not have.
Out of all the hateful messages that Williams received, I'm sure that at maximum about one percent of those people would have the guts to confront him face to face. It is the exact reason that social media and the intimacy it provides is often times unbelievably bad. While there were some messages of support for his mistake, the overwhelming majority of the messages were extremely negative, and reason for him to disable all comments on his accounts.
Did Williams make a bad play? Yes. In all honesty, it was a terrible play. However, does it warrant death threats by angry fans? No. It absolutely does not. What it was though, is a chilling example of how the age of social media has changed the way that fans look at, and interact with, the people we watch on television and often times aspire to be.
Before Twitter and Instagram, fans could write handwritten letters to these people and only hope to get a response weeks later. Now, we can instantly connect with them, and even if we don't get a response, we know that at least they have the ability to see what we say to them and think of them.
Williams is only a rookie, and his season overall was pretty good for such a young player. However, it is going to be hard for him to overcome such a huge failure in the eyes of the football public. Maybe it will happen, and maybe it won't. As of today though, Williams has quite a mountain to climb in order to gain redemption and erase that missed tackle from the minds of football fans everywhere.
I could not comprehend sending the hateful messages that he received to any athlete ever, but I do know that if I were a Saints fan, I would not be happy with Marcus Williams today. Here is to hoping that he can re-write his legacy in the eyes of Saints fans everywhere, because right now that game-winning touchdown on Sunday will go down in history, and every time it is shown, people will wonder how he could make that mistake on that play in that game.
Daily Giants Update: It isn't official yet, but all signs point to Pat Shurmur becoming the next head coach of the Giants. I am not exactly thrilled with this hire, but I am more than willing to give him a chance to prove he deserves the job. His previous head coaching experience was with the Cleveland Browns, and all you need to do is ask Hue Jackson how unreasonable it is to expect any sort of success coaching that team.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers followed up and ugly 7-2 loss to the Islanders with another ugly 5-2 loss to the Penguins. After two home games, the team will head out west for a stretch of six of seven games against Western Conference teams, so here is to hoping that the Rangers can make it to the All-Star break still within shouting distance of a somewhat good seed in the playoffs.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Arizona was able to reach arbitration deals with multiple important pieces of a team that made the playoffs last season including Jake Lamb and Robbie Ray. Spring training is getting closer and closer, and expectations will surely be higher than they were going into last season. The NL West is going to be very tough this year, and it will be interesting to see how the team responds to loftier expectations in what I believe to be the best division from top to bottom in all of baseball.
Daily NBA Update: The defending champion Warriors beat the Cavaliers last night and the Cavs are in the midseason crisis mode that they seem to go through every year before righting the ship and reaching the Finals once the playoffs roll around. Russell Westbrook is also putting up big numbers again on an Oklahoma City team that has not met expectations up to this point in the season. I like Westbrook, but my opinion of him is changing a bit watching him and his team this year, and I will have to get in to that some time in the near future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)