Today we heard the announcement that three of what most people consider to be amongst the greatest to ever play at their position in baseball, would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. They are deserving of this honor having been amongst the elite for their entire careers. Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves, and Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas of the Chicago White Sox (mainly) and a short stint with the Toronto Blue Jays.
I am watching now as some of my favorite players as an early adult (see the 90's) are now becoming eligible for the Hall of Fame. I grew up in the early cable years with only TBS and WGN to watch in the summer. Thus my love for my Chicago Cubs as well as the Atlanta Braves. I grew up with Sandberg, Dawson and Maddux before he was a Brave. Mark Grace, Rafael Palmiero briefly and Lee Smith. Bill Buckner, Jody Davis, Keith Hernandez and more. The Braves had Dale Murphy, Bruce Benedict, Bob Horner and some guy named Niekro. He was ok. :-)
Watching Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz was simply amazing. I was crushed when Maddux went to the Braves as a Cub fan but not terribly upset as I grew up liking the Braves anyway. The only thing better than seeing these two go in would have been for Smoltz to have decided against his ill fated 6 month comeback attempt that kept him from going in to the Hall of Fame with his teammates. This all being said I was happy with the inductees today, even if I am still pissy about Maddux not being unanimous (seriously...he won 355 games). Here comes the meat and potatoes of this blog.
Some asshat, with a Hall of Fame vote, cast their vote for Jacques Jones. Another for Armando Benitez (best known for his brawl against the Yankees, rather than his pitching), and one for Hideo Nomo. Nevermind that 16 baseball writers decided Greg Maddux, who won the World Series with the Braves in 1994 and who could arguable be the greatest pitcher of our generation, was not worthy of their vote. They used them on J.T. Snow....and Jacques Jones. NOT Craig Biggio. Who missed by TWO VOTES!!! One of the top 5 second basemen of all time. ALL TIME. I had to look up Jacques Jones tonight. No joke.
Dan Lebatard of the Miami Herald and ESPN (heavy emphasis on tard) GAVE his vote to Deadspin.com. Gave it away. Likely he will not have this vote next year and frankly thats a good thing as he himself admitted he was voting for all the steroid posterboys. At least Deadspin visitors got it right when they put the vote up in the form of a poll and voted Biggio. My point is that as is the same with most sports media today, the system for casting HoF ballots is inherently flawed. I'm not getting in to the steroid debate tonight. It's just time the Baseball Writers Association of America took a back seat to former players and managers, current players and managers, and the fans.
Yes the grumpy old men should still have a say. It shouldn't be as large as what it is now though. There are plenty of great baseball writers. Peter Gammons, Buster Olney, Jayson Stark, Tim Kurkjian and many others. There were 581 votes returned in 2010. FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ONE!! All members of the BBWAA. It's just ridiculous. Making it even more so is the fact that all of these cranky old men can only vote on 10 players maximum. According to ESPN all night tonight, one writer counted no less than 17 HoF worthy players that he wanted to vote for but could not. This means guys like Lebatard (heavy emphasis on tard) who are voting for all the guys on steroids like McGuire, Bonds, Clemens et al are not voting for Jack Morris, Alan Trammel, Craig Biggio (REALLY???), Lee Smith and others and it's going to get worse. Every year someone new, and in all probability very worthy is going to come up for a vote and because only ten can be voted on the ballot is going to become a log jam.
Want to guess who is coming up next year alone? John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson. World Series champions and again some of the best of our generation. Biggio will be up again and should make it especially after this years firestorm but my point is that there are 4 players gone off the ballot that **should** be in leaving only six players for the idiots in the BBWAA to vote on. Jack Morris didn't make it as this was his 15th year on the ballot but there are still guys like Tim Raines, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker to be voted on, still guys like Lee Smith, Mike Piazza, and all the roid freaks like Bonds and Clemens.
The system is broken beyond belief. Here's hoping that next year brings a change to the 10 vote maximum at the very least. While I think it's highly unlikely, I think that the BBWAA should take a back seat to retired players and managers, current players and managers with some level of tenure in the league, say ten years maybe, and finally the fans. Look not everyone is a Hall of Famer. I get it. Jacques Jones is not either however and if you voted for him you don't need to have a vote.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Football: Passing lane
The NFL season is winding down already. I hate that the season is so short as I love football more than any other professional sport. Week 13 is in the books and here are some things to mull over:
It's a QB league: Duh. The Cardinals are 4-9, the Eagles 4-9, the Jags and Chiefs 2-11. The theme here? Pretty obvious. The exceptions right now are the Lions, Saints, Raiders and Panthers. All woeful teams this season, but more due to horrific defenses than anything else. The jury is out (for me anyway) on the Titans. Jake Locker has shown flashes of potential. The Cardiac Cards are cardiac not for excitement but for killing their fans with the horrific play at QB. Ken Whisenhunt gets a pass from me as GM Rod Graves should be left holding the bag for this wipe-out. Kolb was a bust, Skelton has been less horrible(?) and rookie QB Ryan Lindley is in way over his head. They should have begged Kurt Warner to come back. I bet you Larry Fitz is still texting Warner as we speak.
Philly's Nick Foles is still a big question mark. He won a game against an abysmal (and I mean PUTRID) Tampa Bay secondary. It kills me to say that for what it's worth. Tampa is probably out of the playoffs now but I'll get to that. Foles got the job done and is auditioning for the rest of the season with Mike Vick on the bench. We'll see what Foles can do against teams not starting a 50 year old in the secondary. I have a feeling the Bengals, Redskins and Giants are going set Foles back years. Vick appears to be done in Philly and probably Andy Reid too so will Foles' development be hindered by this? Going to be tough to assess given the Eagles' remaining schedule.
The Chiefs continue to play around (see guess, throw darts at a picture, flip a coin) at deciding which is the lesser of two evils in Brady Quinn and Matt (product of a great system) Cassell. Both of these guys flat out suck. I'll say it. So will Chiefs fans. I really like GM Scott Pioli and some of the things he's done, but Cassell was an A number one bust. Cassell clearly benefited from the talent the Patriots had in place in the one season he led the team and has clearly shown he cannot lead a team by himself. Even with a player like Jamal Charles in the backfield, Cassell can't seem to keep opposing defenses even remotely honest. Brady Quinn was never, and I mean never, an NFL caliber QB to begin with. Period. End of story. Time for the Chiefs to jettison Cassell and Quinn and move on. The QB crop is not spectacular come draft time this year and Pioli better make something happen or he'll be following these flops out the door.
The Jags had moved up six spots in the NFL draft to grab Blaine Gabbert during a run of QB's in 2011. Gabbert thus far has been anything but a first round pick in his tenure so far with Jacksonville. The Jags went WR and again traded up in 2012 to get Gabbert help with their #1 pick in Justin Blackmon. They also signed away Laurent Robinson from the Cowboys to help Gabbert all to no avail. To be fair Gabbert hasn't had Maurice Jones-Drew at running back much at all this season but Gabbert's numbers are still pungent. I don't foresee much, if any improvement in Gabbert in the future and Jacksonville will pay a heavy price having traded up those six spots to get him.
The Chiefs and Cardinals are in the best position to draft a Matt Barkley, Geno Smith or Landry Jones. Will the Jags throw in the towel on Gabbert and hit the reset button to go get one of these guys? Is Foles going to be the guy in Philly? In my book anybody is better than Gabbert, but my point remains that you HAVE to have a stud QB in the NFL now. It;s more important than it's ever been to have someone that can move you up and down the field and the NFL has been maneuvering the league to be more pretty and fast paced for years. Adapt or die I suppose.
More later in the week with playoff scenarios, what the hell happened to my Buc's and why the Cowboys will not only get to the playoffs but win a game when they do.
Peace and elbow grease!
Opp
It's a QB league: Duh. The Cardinals are 4-9, the Eagles 4-9, the Jags and Chiefs 2-11. The theme here? Pretty obvious. The exceptions right now are the Lions, Saints, Raiders and Panthers. All woeful teams this season, but more due to horrific defenses than anything else. The jury is out (for me anyway) on the Titans. Jake Locker has shown flashes of potential. The Cardiac Cards are cardiac not for excitement but for killing their fans with the horrific play at QB. Ken Whisenhunt gets a pass from me as GM Rod Graves should be left holding the bag for this wipe-out. Kolb was a bust, Skelton has been less horrible(?) and rookie QB Ryan Lindley is in way over his head. They should have begged Kurt Warner to come back. I bet you Larry Fitz is still texting Warner as we speak.
Philly's Nick Foles is still a big question mark. He won a game against an abysmal (and I mean PUTRID) Tampa Bay secondary. It kills me to say that for what it's worth. Tampa is probably out of the playoffs now but I'll get to that. Foles got the job done and is auditioning for the rest of the season with Mike Vick on the bench. We'll see what Foles can do against teams not starting a 50 year old in the secondary. I have a feeling the Bengals, Redskins and Giants are going set Foles back years. Vick appears to be done in Philly and probably Andy Reid too so will Foles' development be hindered by this? Going to be tough to assess given the Eagles' remaining schedule.
The Chiefs continue to play around (see guess, throw darts at a picture, flip a coin) at deciding which is the lesser of two evils in Brady Quinn and Matt (product of a great system) Cassell. Both of these guys flat out suck. I'll say it. So will Chiefs fans. I really like GM Scott Pioli and some of the things he's done, but Cassell was an A number one bust. Cassell clearly benefited from the talent the Patriots had in place in the one season he led the team and has clearly shown he cannot lead a team by himself. Even with a player like Jamal Charles in the backfield, Cassell can't seem to keep opposing defenses even remotely honest. Brady Quinn was never, and I mean never, an NFL caliber QB to begin with. Period. End of story. Time for the Chiefs to jettison Cassell and Quinn and move on. The QB crop is not spectacular come draft time this year and Pioli better make something happen or he'll be following these flops out the door.
The Jags had moved up six spots in the NFL draft to grab Blaine Gabbert during a run of QB's in 2011. Gabbert thus far has been anything but a first round pick in his tenure so far with Jacksonville. The Jags went WR and again traded up in 2012 to get Gabbert help with their #1 pick in Justin Blackmon. They also signed away Laurent Robinson from the Cowboys to help Gabbert all to no avail. To be fair Gabbert hasn't had Maurice Jones-Drew at running back much at all this season but Gabbert's numbers are still pungent. I don't foresee much, if any improvement in Gabbert in the future and Jacksonville will pay a heavy price having traded up those six spots to get him.
The Chiefs and Cardinals are in the best position to draft a Matt Barkley, Geno Smith or Landry Jones. Will the Jags throw in the towel on Gabbert and hit the reset button to go get one of these guys? Is Foles going to be the guy in Philly? In my book anybody is better than Gabbert, but my point remains that you HAVE to have a stud QB in the NFL now. It;s more important than it's ever been to have someone that can move you up and down the field and the NFL has been maneuvering the league to be more pretty and fast paced for years. Adapt or die I suppose.
More later in the week with playoff scenarios, what the hell happened to my Buc's and why the Cowboys will not only get to the playoffs but win a game when they do.
Peace and elbow grease!
Opp
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
NFL Week 8 - OPPinions!
The good, the bad and the ugly
NFC:
The good:
- Doug Martin RB Tampa Bay Buc's - Martin runs for 251 and 4 touchdowns as the Buc's win over the Raiders to move to 4-4. This is an amazing feat not only for the yardage and scoring by Martin but that he has done it without the services of all-world offensive lineman Carl Nicks on one side and minus Pro Bowler Davin Joseph on the other. Martin is the first RB in Buc history to run for 3 touchdowns longer than 40+ yards. Simply amazing.
- The Bears defense - The Monsters of the Midway forced 6 turnovers including a pick six by Brian Urlacher. The Bears humiliated the Titans from the word go today prompting owner Bud Allen to state all facets of the Titans will be evaluated for the remainder of the season from front office to coaches to players. The Bears also get a blocked punt for a TD just to rub salt in the wound.
- The Green Bay Packers - Are the Pack back? It certainly seems that way. After most of America had written the Packers off as the Packers were below .500 for the first time in recent memory, Green Bay has stormed back into contention. Aaron Rodgers has thrown 14 touchdowns to one interception over the last 3 games and is also getting done on his feet. This team's defense has confounded me over the last 2 seasons. They have a one man wrecking machine in Clay Matthews Jr., a mammoth on the line in B.J. Raji and and superstar in the secondary in Charles Woodson. Despite all this they rank nearly dead last in total team defense. Despite all this the Packers are now 6-3 and on a tear.
- The Dallas Cowboys - America's team is in a downward spiral and this week Tony Romo can't be blamed. The fact of the matter is that the 'Boys gave the Falcons everything they could handle and then some but in my opinion Felix Jones and the Dallas running game are completely ineffective. Felix Jones is just not an every down back and despite being given the opportunity with DeMarco Murray being hurt, Jones just continues to underwhelm. The Cowboys have a greatly improved defense and held Atlanta to just 16 points, but again they cannot close the deal in a game that matters. DeMarco Murray cannot back soon enough, but it's too little too late for Dallas at 3-5.
- The Washington Redskins - Washington loses to one win Carolina and looked bad doing so. Despite the emergence of rookie running back Alfred Morris, and soon to be superstar RG3, this team cannot put it together week to week. Injuries to Pierre Garcon, Brain Orakpo, Fred Davis and others have hindered this team, and today they lost WR Santana Moss to a concussion thinning an already weak WR corps. The Redskins came out flat at home to the Panthers however, and never recovered. The Redskins are headed n the wrong direction and quickly.
- The Minnesota Vikings - The Vikes started out on an improbable run winning four of their first five games. They've gone just 1-3 since and they get the Detroit Lions next week who seemingly have their ship righted and at just the right time. Minnesota should have lost to Detroit in their first match up and the fact that Minnesota looks completely one dimensional right now does not bode well for them as they prepare to face the Lions. Christian Ponder has regressed and Adrian Peterson is literally carrying this team. The Lions have a horrific secondary and a stout front seven which is worst case scenario for a team in Minnesota that relys so much on Peterson in the run game and who seemingly can't count on Ponder for anything. They may want to ponder getting a new QB next season.
- In Minnesota's loss to Seattle Sunday, Adrian Peterson had a whopping 144 yards rushing in the first half! Why is this ugly? Peterson only touched the ball 5 times in the second half registering just 40 yards. Christian Ponder was even worse falling from the top of the ugly tree and hitting every branch on the way down. He finished 11 for 22 for 63 yards. For the game. That's ugly.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Western Conference Finals
A lot more intelligent and important people have said this before me but this one goes out to the people of Seattle. Really happy for OKC, but that team was and always will be Seattle's. OKC owner Clay Bennett stole that franchise from Seattle and David Stern helped him do it. That being said this is a special, special group of players. Kevin Durant should be the league MVP and LeBron is somewhere scratching his head wondering how KD does it in the clutch. LeBron hasn't carried anything but Dwayne Wades cup since James beat the Pistons in 07. OKC is young, athletic and extremely talented. They are going to be a force to reckon with in the NBA for years to come.
Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka and co. form the core of a team that just hit their stride and at a very young age. Let's look at the contenders to the newly crowned champs' Western Conference Championship title:
The Thunder seem poised to ride this momentum to a title. I can't see either Boston or Miami beating OKC in seven games. The fatigue will be too much for the Celts and the pressure too much for LeBron and Co.
Thunder in six.
Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka and co. form the core of a team that just hit their stride and at a very young age. Let's look at the contenders to the newly crowned champs' Western Conference Championship title:
- Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe isn't getting any younger. He's been playing in the NBA since he was 17 years old (still think the then Charlotte Hornets regret trading him away?) and seems to become more prone to injury every season. Andrew Bynum and Meta World Peace are talented but both serious head cases that can't be counted on to be reliable, let alone clutch. Pau Gasol from all reports will likely be traded in the off season and the Lakers bench is thin and thats being polite about it. Whatever the Lakers get for Gasol won't be enough to restore them to playoff prominence. P.S. Don't think Kobe wasn't mad watching his friend former teammate, Derek Fisher, knock down clutch shot after clutch shot in the 4th quarter for OKC tonight.
- San Antonio Spurs: Everyone is talking about who has the real "Big Three" Boston, Miami or OKC. Did you forget about Duncan, Parker and Ginobli? I think the window for San Antonio is probably 2 more seasons tops. As I told my friend D Agee, the Spurs big 3 are "basketball old". Duncan looked like he was 21 again tonight in the 4th quarter but can he harness it and make it through another FULL NBA season and all the way through the playoffs? If Stephen Jackson isn't on the court for tonight's Game 6, the Spurs get blown out and are an afterthought. Again the bench is a factor for the Spurs. San Antonio needs to get young fast because that window is closing even faster.
- Los Angeles Clippers: As recently as two seasons ago we were still using the Clippers as the butt of most any sports joke...for any sport. Now they're on the way to establishing their own "big three". All indications are that Chris Paul wants to stay in L.A. and if he stays so will Blake Griffin. Eric Bledsoe could be the third piece but we need a full NBA season under their belts to make that call. Owner Donald Sterling, who has been ridiculed endlessly and openly mocked as being the worst owner in sports (yes IN SPORTS) seems to have finally loosened his grip on control of the franchise and also on the purse strings. Veterans Chauncey Billups (one of my all time favorite players) and scoring machine Caron Butler makes this a team to have to worry about.
- Dallas Mavericks: Nowitzki is still the player he always has been, just another year older. I think the Mav's caught lightning in a bottle last season and played far better than the talent now currently on their roster. Jason Kidd is clearly in the twilight of his career and now that he has his ring I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him walk off into the Texas sunset, trophy in hand. The Mavs let big pieces of their championship team walk in Tyson Chandler (the Knicks) and J.J. Barea (Timberwolves). They thought former Laker Lamar Odom was the answer and that blew up in Mark Cuban's face completely. The roster even voted NOT to give Odom his share of the playoff bonus. This team needs a couple of big pieces before they can be considered a contender again.
- Memphis Grizzlies: This team is a serious Jekyll and Hyde group. A Cinderella story a season ago, bigs Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol couldn't put it together consistently in the post-season. Rudy Gay is a solid all around PG even if he isn't on ESPN every night. Bet you didn't know that Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas is on this team did you? I don't think the Grizzlies do either unless they're looking at payroll. O.J. Mayo has never lived up to his draft hype. The NBA is all about match ups and Gasol and Randolph create a lot of mismatches but this team is still a couple of draft/free agent classes away from the Western Conference semi-finals.
The Thunder seem poised to ride this momentum to a title. I can't see either Boston or Miami beating OKC in seven games. The fatigue will be too much for the Celts and the pressure too much for LeBron and Co.
Thunder in six.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
Joe Paterno, former Head Coach at Penn State, passed away today. His passing away has generated some passionate and emotional responses. If you are an unabashed supporter of Mr. Paterno, be forewarned this blog may not sit well with you.
Today's topic is "moral obligation". Joe Paterno has been widely viewed not only as a great football coach, but as some sort of guru, a leader of men and as someone who regularly imparted life lessons to his players and not just football knowledge. So much so that he was quoted in textbooks in classes ranging from ethics in business, to communications and a number of other areas. There was actually a class at Penn State called "Joe Paterno: Communications and the media". He has a statue on campus and the Big Ten trophy once bore his name until recently. Penn State players, coaches and alumni today are decrying the fact that anyone dare speak a cross word about Joe Paterno given everything he has done for Penn State.
Let's just put it right out there. God will be Paterno's final judge. People are still entitled to their OPPinions however. Paterno had an OBLIGATION to do more than the bare minimum in reporting Jerry Sandusky. He told his boss. Thats it. He met the "legal obligation" and did only what the law required at the minimum and NOTHING more. Jerry Sandusky was Joe Paterno's best friend...his right hand man. It had been since 2002 that a grad student had brought to Paterno an issue so large that no normal person could ignore. Paterno's reaction? He told his boss. The next day. He didn't ask any other questions. Not one. Didn't ask McQueary anything, didn't ask Sandusky anything, didn't follow up with his boss or his bosses boss. He simply went on about his business, including working with Sandusky and McQueary as if nothing ever happened.
No one has been able to explain why Paterno failed to act at any point after. Paterno continued to meet with Sandusky on football related issues and other things. If my best friend, who just happened to work for me, who happened to travel with me, game plan with me, frequent my house and hang out with me and my family, was accused of conduct like Sandusky was, that relationship would change dramatically. To say the least. Friend or not, if I was told my best friend was seen raping a little boy, I would act. I would act out of a MORAL OBLIGATION to make sure NO ONE ELSE was hurt. Joe Paterno failed. Failed to act, failed to protect other innocent victims of Sandusky. Failed in adhering to an antiquated code. The "good ol' boys" club. Paterno's lack of caring for anyone or anything other than his friend, and his rule of the realm at Penn State, will forever tarnish, and perhaps even bury, whatever good he did for his precious Nittany Lions. He could have protected those kids. By asking a few simple questions he could have saved lives that have now been destroyed or damaged to the point of no return. Many children who are abused in this fashion go on to become abusers themselves. See the case of Bernie Fine, assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University. One of Fine's alleged victims is on trial (he has now plead guilty) for criminal sexual conduct involving minor boys.
Paterno held more power at Penn State than the University President Graham Spanier, AD Tim Curley, and Vice President Gary Schultz. No one did or said anything at Penn State without Paterno's knowledge or approval. He could have ended this horrific situation with a few well placed phone calls or questions and yet...he did nothing. He would later say "I didn't know what to do. I had never heard of rape and a man before." Paterno knew enough to know that he needed to go to Spanier so why, if he felt such a sense of urgency to go to the figurehead President, did he not feel that obligation to notify the authorities? This was his EMPLOYEE. Paterno also knew Sandusky's role with the Second Mile, which kept Sandusky involved with little boys constantly, and yet...he did nothing.
Do I feel sorry for Joe Paterno's wife and children and can I empathize with them in their grief? Certainly. That doesn't change the fact that Joe Paterno inexorably changed the lives of multiple young boys and their families. He failed to protect innocent children while protecting his friend and his power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Paterno should have faced criminal and civil charges for his actions...or lack thereof. I am not sad that Paterno is gone. Anything he did for his players will forever be tainted, perhaps outright forgotten, due to what he didn't do for those children. Unless you've been through the nightmare of having your family experience the pain and humiliation of having someone betray you in this manner, you will not be able to understand my point of view. My condolences go out to the Paterno family for the loss of their father, a husband and friend. My thoughts and prayers however will be with the children that Joe Paterno turned his back on.
Today's topic is "moral obligation". Joe Paterno has been widely viewed not only as a great football coach, but as some sort of guru, a leader of men and as someone who regularly imparted life lessons to his players and not just football knowledge. So much so that he was quoted in textbooks in classes ranging from ethics in business, to communications and a number of other areas. There was actually a class at Penn State called "Joe Paterno: Communications and the media". He has a statue on campus and the Big Ten trophy once bore his name until recently. Penn State players, coaches and alumni today are decrying the fact that anyone dare speak a cross word about Joe Paterno given everything he has done for Penn State.
Let's just put it right out there. God will be Paterno's final judge. People are still entitled to their OPPinions however. Paterno had an OBLIGATION to do more than the bare minimum in reporting Jerry Sandusky. He told his boss. Thats it. He met the "legal obligation" and did only what the law required at the minimum and NOTHING more. Jerry Sandusky was Joe Paterno's best friend...his right hand man. It had been since 2002 that a grad student had brought to Paterno an issue so large that no normal person could ignore. Paterno's reaction? He told his boss. The next day. He didn't ask any other questions. Not one. Didn't ask McQueary anything, didn't ask Sandusky anything, didn't follow up with his boss or his bosses boss. He simply went on about his business, including working with Sandusky and McQueary as if nothing ever happened.
No one has been able to explain why Paterno failed to act at any point after. Paterno continued to meet with Sandusky on football related issues and other things. If my best friend, who just happened to work for me, who happened to travel with me, game plan with me, frequent my house and hang out with me and my family, was accused of conduct like Sandusky was, that relationship would change dramatically. To say the least. Friend or not, if I was told my best friend was seen raping a little boy, I would act. I would act out of a MORAL OBLIGATION to make sure NO ONE ELSE was hurt. Joe Paterno failed. Failed to act, failed to protect other innocent victims of Sandusky. Failed in adhering to an antiquated code. The "good ol' boys" club. Paterno's lack of caring for anyone or anything other than his friend, and his rule of the realm at Penn State, will forever tarnish, and perhaps even bury, whatever good he did for his precious Nittany Lions. He could have protected those kids. By asking a few simple questions he could have saved lives that have now been destroyed or damaged to the point of no return. Many children who are abused in this fashion go on to become abusers themselves. See the case of Bernie Fine, assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University. One of Fine's alleged victims is on trial (he has now plead guilty) for criminal sexual conduct involving minor boys.
Paterno held more power at Penn State than the University President Graham Spanier, AD Tim Curley, and Vice President Gary Schultz. No one did or said anything at Penn State without Paterno's knowledge or approval. He could have ended this horrific situation with a few well placed phone calls or questions and yet...he did nothing. He would later say "I didn't know what to do. I had never heard of rape and a man before." Paterno knew enough to know that he needed to go to Spanier so why, if he felt such a sense of urgency to go to the figurehead President, did he not feel that obligation to notify the authorities? This was his EMPLOYEE. Paterno also knew Sandusky's role with the Second Mile, which kept Sandusky involved with little boys constantly, and yet...he did nothing.
Do I feel sorry for Joe Paterno's wife and children and can I empathize with them in their grief? Certainly. That doesn't change the fact that Joe Paterno inexorably changed the lives of multiple young boys and their families. He failed to protect innocent children while protecting his friend and his power. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Paterno should have faced criminal and civil charges for his actions...or lack thereof. I am not sad that Paterno is gone. Anything he did for his players will forever be tainted, perhaps outright forgotten, due to what he didn't do for those children. Unless you've been through the nightmare of having your family experience the pain and humiliation of having someone betray you in this manner, you will not be able to understand my point of view. My condolences go out to the Paterno family for the loss of their father, a husband and friend. My thoughts and prayers however will be with the children that Joe Paterno turned his back on.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Separation of church and turf
Ok here it is:
Tim Tebow from all appearances is a man of good character, integrity and will power. His charitable contributions are to be commended as is his willingness to display and discuss his faith in God. He ranged anywhere from "great" to "amazing" while playing in college for the Florida Gators.
It is time however, to call a spade a spade. Football teams win football games. Not one man. Peyton Manning being on injured reserve is not the reason the Colts are 0-16 anymore than Tebow is the reason the Broncos are 7-1 under Tebow. The Colts have mismanaged their team from a personnel perspective and they have been consistently out coached. The Broncos, on the flip side, have played great to fantastic defense during these last eight games and have seen a rejuvenated (my word for the night, see my FB post) Willis McGahee power the ground game and keep defenses honest while facing Tebow.
McGahee's contribution cannot be understated. If you have no running game outside of Tebow, teams are going to dare you to throw and make you beat them through the air. McGahee has ensured that defenses have to play the run and allow Tebow to do what he does best.....scramble and improvise. Playing the Bears through three quarters Tebow was a horrific 8-23 for 106 yards, 2 turnovers and a whopping FIVE...yes five passing first downs. Through THREE quarters. In the final three drives Tebow was 13-17 for 130 yards, as the Bronco's scored 13 points versus the zero the first 12 drives.
This is NOT an NFL quality quarterback. Tebow's ability to improvise gives defenses a reason to pause but why the Chicago Bears pulled up their skirts and peed on the turf at the site of Tebow in the 4th quarter is beyond me. Tebow did nothing differently through 12 drives than the last 3. Chicago simply decided to rest on their laurels thinking the game was over. It was late in the game and to that moment they has shut Tebow dow...and they relaxed. The Bears have no excuse and if anything they now have to "bear" the burden of adding to the urban legend of Tim Tebow.
I'll give Tebow this. He does not throw interceptions. This is crazy to me for as much as he scrambles and ad libs but this makes him a mobile version of Neil O'Donnell and Trent Dilfer, not Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers. This season Tebow has a 38.7% completion percentage. 38.7%!!!! Ridiculous by the lowest of NFL standards. You can argue that Tebow is legitimately killing the Broncos through three quarters of the game. John Elway is not sold on Tebow as his QB of the future and I can almost guarantee that while Tebow will be on an NFL roster nest year, it won't be with the Broncos.
I know I'll have Tebow fans "crucify" me over this and I am prepared for that feedback. At the end of the day, the Denver Broncos are winning DESPITE Tim Tebow and not because of him. The Broncos on the season are 31st (31st!!!!!) in passing yards, and (wait for it...wait for it......) 1st in rushing yards. In Tebow's eight games as a starter they have beaten Miami (4-9), Oakland (7-6), Kansas City (5-8), the Jets (8-5), San Diego (6-7), Minnesota (2-11), and Chicago (7-6). Only 3 of these 8 teams have winning records and the Broncos were destroyed by the Detroit Lions and in Denver's house. Two of those eight teams are BARELY over .500.
Tebow has only FIVE more completions through eight games than Kyle Orton had through four. Tebow only has three more TD's through those same 8 games than Orton did through his 4.
Bottom line: Randall Cunningham could come out of retirement and run this team as well as Tim Tebow if not better. Cunningham has the same faith, professes it loudly, has overcome adversity and can throw the ball a hell of a lot better (oops. Sorry to Tim and Randall for the slip up) than Tebow. The Broncos will continue to win despite Tebow and not because of him.
Tim Tebow from all appearances is a man of good character, integrity and will power. His charitable contributions are to be commended as is his willingness to display and discuss his faith in God. He ranged anywhere from "great" to "amazing" while playing in college for the Florida Gators.
It is time however, to call a spade a spade. Football teams win football games. Not one man. Peyton Manning being on injured reserve is not the reason the Colts are 0-16 anymore than Tebow is the reason the Broncos are 7-1 under Tebow. The Colts have mismanaged their team from a personnel perspective and they have been consistently out coached. The Broncos, on the flip side, have played great to fantastic defense during these last eight games and have seen a rejuvenated (my word for the night, see my FB post) Willis McGahee power the ground game and keep defenses honest while facing Tebow.
McGahee's contribution cannot be understated. If you have no running game outside of Tebow, teams are going to dare you to throw and make you beat them through the air. McGahee has ensured that defenses have to play the run and allow Tebow to do what he does best.....scramble and improvise. Playing the Bears through three quarters Tebow was a horrific 8-23 for 106 yards, 2 turnovers and a whopping FIVE...yes five passing first downs. Through THREE quarters. In the final three drives Tebow was 13-17 for 130 yards, as the Bronco's scored 13 points versus the zero the first 12 drives.
This is NOT an NFL quality quarterback. Tebow's ability to improvise gives defenses a reason to pause but why the Chicago Bears pulled up their skirts and peed on the turf at the site of Tebow in the 4th quarter is beyond me. Tebow did nothing differently through 12 drives than the last 3. Chicago simply decided to rest on their laurels thinking the game was over. It was late in the game and to that moment they has shut Tebow dow...and they relaxed. The Bears have no excuse and if anything they now have to "bear" the burden of adding to the urban legend of Tim Tebow.
I'll give Tebow this. He does not throw interceptions. This is crazy to me for as much as he scrambles and ad libs but this makes him a mobile version of Neil O'Donnell and Trent Dilfer, not Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers. This season Tebow has a 38.7% completion percentage. 38.7%!!!! Ridiculous by the lowest of NFL standards. You can argue that Tebow is legitimately killing the Broncos through three quarters of the game. John Elway is not sold on Tebow as his QB of the future and I can almost guarantee that while Tebow will be on an NFL roster nest year, it won't be with the Broncos.
I know I'll have Tebow fans "crucify" me over this and I am prepared for that feedback. At the end of the day, the Denver Broncos are winning DESPITE Tim Tebow and not because of him. The Broncos on the season are 31st (31st!!!!!) in passing yards, and (wait for it...wait for it......) 1st in rushing yards. In Tebow's eight games as a starter they have beaten Miami (4-9), Oakland (7-6), Kansas City (5-8), the Jets (8-5), San Diego (6-7), Minnesota (2-11), and Chicago (7-6). Only 3 of these 8 teams have winning records and the Broncos were destroyed by the Detroit Lions and in Denver's house. Two of those eight teams are BARELY over .500.
Tebow has only FIVE more completions through eight games than Kyle Orton had through four. Tebow only has three more TD's through those same 8 games than Orton did through his 4.
Bottom line: Randall Cunningham could come out of retirement and run this team as well as Tim Tebow if not better. Cunningham has the same faith, professes it loudly, has overcome adversity and can throw the ball a hell of a lot better (oops. Sorry to Tim and Randall for the slip up) than Tebow. The Broncos will continue to win despite Tebow and not because of him.
Monday, December 12, 2011
First sports blog
Going to give this a shot and try to keep this as original as possible. It'll be a work in progress.
Headlines:
Kansas City Chiefs fire Todd Haley. I've done some reading on this. GM Scott Pioli and Haley reportedly have had some heat for a while now. Not sure why Pioli is pissy as this was his first hire as new GM for the Chiefs. Unless he's pissy that his first hire didn't pan out the way he wanted. This bears a striking resemblance to how Bill Belichick got started with the Cleveland Browns (not the new Browns, the old pre-Ravens Browns owned by Art Modell). Here's the thing, Haley won the AFC West with that team last year. I know, I know it's the AFC West. It's still a division title. This team has been ravaged by injuries. Even the late Col. Harry Potter said this team should have copyrights to "walking M.A.S.H. unit". Star safety Eric Barry, all-world RB Jamaal Charles, Tight End Tony Moeaki, and QB Matt Cassel all have season-ending injuries. It was a miracle Haley got them to 5-8. The Colts are 0-fer and only lost one impact player.
Bottom Line: Haley deserved to finish out the year. GM Scott Pioli will take a lot of heat for this and barring rehab setbacks the incoming coach will have a lot of talent at his disposal. I am, and have been, on record as stating that QB Matt Cassel was the product of an amazing offensive scheme in New England with a TON more talent than is available in K.C. Cassel will be gone soon and the Chiefs will be on the hook for his salary.
CP3 seemingly untradeable. At least according to the NBA league offices:
New Orleans Hornet PG Chris Paul, one of the premier players in the league, has apparently been traded twice within the last 72 hours, only to have league commissioner David Stern step in and block one trade and sabotage another. The "man behind the curtain" of the struggling, NBA owned, New Orleans Hornets has apparently decided that he'd be a much better General Manager than say, gee, someone designated to resolve labor disputes with his players and union. Paul was set to be traded to the Lakers (which caused me to flip out btw. It may as well have been Paul being traded to the Yankees.) but Stern had a bunch of whiny, small market owners (see Cav's owner Dan Gilbert) in his ear screaming about how unfair it was.
The problem is that Stern doesn't know a good trade any more than Val Kilmer knows to avoid the buffet. The trade would have garnered several top flight players for New Orleans, and at least one top draft pick if not more. Apparently the fear of L.A. getting Paul was so great that Stern was convinced to step in and squash the deal. This despite Hornet's G.M. Dell Demps being told he both authority and autonomy to do what was best for the Hornets.
Paul was then set to be traded today to the L.A. Clippers for a bevy of talent. Stern again made his presence felt, indicating that the Clippers should trade center Chris Kaman, an unprotected 1st round draft pick acquired from Minnesota, 2 prospects, AND franchise player Eric Gordon. This along with 3 parking lot attendants, a cheerleader to be named later and the Clippers insisting that the Hornets take owner Donald Sterling as part of the deal. The whole thing is ludicrous. Stern has no business interceding here. He has no experience as an NBA GM and it makes the owners look even worse, if thats possible. It's also indicating to any other team interested in dealing for Paul that they'll have to give up half of their franchise to get him.
Bottom Line: Sell the Hornets to a legit owner and let Paul play for the Hornets until this can be worked out. Paul is not staying in New Orleans after this season regardless. The NBA has a serious conflict of interest here as it appears they're trying to dictate where Paul gets traded to. And I thought the NBA couldn't possibly look worse after the lockout....
Headlines:
Kansas City Chiefs fire Todd Haley. I've done some reading on this. GM Scott Pioli and Haley reportedly have had some heat for a while now. Not sure why Pioli is pissy as this was his first hire as new GM for the Chiefs. Unless he's pissy that his first hire didn't pan out the way he wanted. This bears a striking resemblance to how Bill Belichick got started with the Cleveland Browns (not the new Browns, the old pre-Ravens Browns owned by Art Modell). Here's the thing, Haley won the AFC West with that team last year. I know, I know it's the AFC West. It's still a division title. This team has been ravaged by injuries. Even the late Col. Harry Potter said this team should have copyrights to "walking M.A.S.H. unit". Star safety Eric Barry, all-world RB Jamaal Charles, Tight End Tony Moeaki, and QB Matt Cassel all have season-ending injuries. It was a miracle Haley got them to 5-8. The Colts are 0-fer and only lost one impact player.
Bottom Line: Haley deserved to finish out the year. GM Scott Pioli will take a lot of heat for this and barring rehab setbacks the incoming coach will have a lot of talent at his disposal. I am, and have been, on record as stating that QB Matt Cassel was the product of an amazing offensive scheme in New England with a TON more talent than is available in K.C. Cassel will be gone soon and the Chiefs will be on the hook for his salary.
CP3 seemingly untradeable. At least according to the NBA league offices:
New Orleans Hornet PG Chris Paul, one of the premier players in the league, has apparently been traded twice within the last 72 hours, only to have league commissioner David Stern step in and block one trade and sabotage another. The "man behind the curtain" of the struggling, NBA owned, New Orleans Hornets has apparently decided that he'd be a much better General Manager than say, gee, someone designated to resolve labor disputes with his players and union. Paul was set to be traded to the Lakers (which caused me to flip out btw. It may as well have been Paul being traded to the Yankees.) but Stern had a bunch of whiny, small market owners (see Cav's owner Dan Gilbert) in his ear screaming about how unfair it was.
The problem is that Stern doesn't know a good trade any more than Val Kilmer knows to avoid the buffet. The trade would have garnered several top flight players for New Orleans, and at least one top draft pick if not more. Apparently the fear of L.A. getting Paul was so great that Stern was convinced to step in and squash the deal. This despite Hornet's G.M. Dell Demps being told he both authority and autonomy to do what was best for the Hornets.
Paul was then set to be traded today to the L.A. Clippers for a bevy of talent. Stern again made his presence felt, indicating that the Clippers should trade center Chris Kaman, an unprotected 1st round draft pick acquired from Minnesota, 2 prospects, AND franchise player Eric Gordon. This along with 3 parking lot attendants, a cheerleader to be named later and the Clippers insisting that the Hornets take owner Donald Sterling as part of the deal. The whole thing is ludicrous. Stern has no business interceding here. He has no experience as an NBA GM and it makes the owners look even worse, if thats possible. It's also indicating to any other team interested in dealing for Paul that they'll have to give up half of their franchise to get him.
Bottom Line: Sell the Hornets to a legit owner and let Paul play for the Hornets until this can be worked out. Paul is not staying in New Orleans after this season regardless. The NBA has a serious conflict of interest here as it appears they're trying to dictate where Paul gets traded to. And I thought the NBA couldn't possibly look worse after the lockout....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)