The middle of every week is always difficult for me because I am awaiting anything by Bill Simmons to come out to see if it is worthy of being mentioned in this space. I am a bit weary of looking for articles...or nothing has piqued my interest. Regardless, let's do some random tidbits:
1. Jemele Hill seems to think athletes should have a larger voice when it comes to politics and should be encouraged to give their opinion. I am not opposed to anyone having a voice when it comes to politics, but like celebrities, I can't help but think athletes/celebrities are not the most qualified people for anyone to listen to when it comes to candidates. I know they use their fame to sell products all the time and I have no problem with that, it just seems a bit different to me when the athlete/celebrity is selling a candidate to the public.
At least with the product, there is an outside chance the athlete has some type of in depth knowledge on the subject. I don't think Curt Schilling or Chad Johnson have enough knowledge of the candidate's positions where their opinion should really mean anything to me. How am I supposed to be trusting Donovan McNabb when he endorses Obama, yet doesn't know the rules of the sport he gets paid millions to play? It may sound stupid but I would just prefer athletes/celebrities shut up and just do what they paid to do, and that is entertain me. If they want to voice their opinion that is fine but someone would be ignorant to listen to them completely.
2. I may be beating a dead horse on this issue but Mark Teixeira is not going to be worth the money he will receive. Keith Law disagrees. I have seen him play numerous times and he is a great complimentary player. He is a Scottie Pippen that requires a Michael Jordan type player on his team, but can not and will not be able to carry a team to the World Series. He is going to get a ton of money in free agency and he will be a great addition to a team but he won't carry that team. Basically the Orioles are looking to sign him and this is a mistake.
3. More in the beating a dead horse department. Why do players sign with Scott Boras? Other than money, of course. Teams put his clients on the amateur draft board in different colors so they know what they are getting into and 80% of the league stays away from his clients like they have SARS. Other than any Red Sox clients who Boras may have (Lowe, Ramirez, Varitek...yet Bill Simmons still hates him), what has Boras ever done for his players but make them rich? Signing with Boras pretty much guarantees more teams are going to ignore you, rather than make offers to you, and it also guarantees that you have proven you are always out for the money. Everyone wants to be rich but how can Mark Teixeira look at himself in the mirror and say he wants to play for a winning team and then accept offers from Baltimore and ignore Atlanta/Anaheim/Texas when they make offers that are viewed below his "market value"?
4. We need to change these NFL overtime rules very, very soon. If Dallas loses the coin toss and never gets a chance to score a touchdown and lose a football game, I think the league would immediately change the rules. New England was strike one.
5. Dustin Pedroia won the AL MVP. He may have deserved it but this makes me want to vomit because I want to punch him in the face. Just because he seems like such a prick. He seems like the type of guy who will bait you into throwing a punch, then back away with his hands up like he can't believe what you did.
6. Simmons posted a column. He is remembering his favorite moment from 1976. The title says "Why Is a Classic A Classic? Because It Never Gets Old." I think that pretty much sums up everything that anyone would ever need to know about Bill Simmons perfectly. It may never get old to him, but his readers who like to see progress and don't enjoy reading the same column every week, suffer because of this.
7. Reilly massages Kerry Collins' ego. As a survivor of the "Kerry Collins was my starting QB and spent most of his time making racial slurs and drinking" era, I am really glad he does not make excuses and "tells it like it is," but that doesn't excuse his past behavior. I remember him playing like total ass in the 1996 NFC Championship game and then being a drunk for two years after that. I am glad he has taken the time to grow up and does not make excuses, I think Reilly should use a little bit of the millions of dollars ESPN gave him to do a little research though.
Here is what Collins said after using a racial slur to one of his offensive lineman in 1997, "His excuse was that that in his intoxicated state he thought the use of the racial epithet would help him and his teammates bond."
That is the Kerry Collins I remember, the one who made excuses at one time and now is "redeeming" himself. This isn't directed towards Collins because he does seem like a good guy now, but Rick Reilly needs to do a little research and read the litany of excuses Collins at one time made before making him seem like an angel. This is bad, bad journalism because he does not even mention Collins' past excuses in his column. It is a puff piece at best and he gets paid handsomely to do this. Very sad.
8. Am I the only one who thinks Eli Manning is going to start throwing the ball to the other team again? I feel like it could be any day now. It's Eli Manning, that is what he does best. I miss this.
9. It looks like Davidson and Duke are over ranked again. Not shocking, Duke always gets ranked high and then sweats out close games until they get shown up by a good team, while Davidson is officially a one man show now that Jason Richards is gone. UNC and Kansas somehow managed to get under ranked. I know UNC is #1 in the country but they are going to be way better than anyone thinks and Kansas is going to take some time but will make their mark in the NCAA Tournament I believe. This means the Sweet Sixteen. I really don't know what to think about Georgetown right now. I think my opinion will be based on what Greg Monroe looks against real competition.
10. Which college basketball player is Bill Simmons going to jump on the bandwagon of this year and claim no one thought this guy was any good? I have my money on either B.J. Mullens, Jrue Holiday, or DeMar DeRozan. Oh yes, those are three of the top 5 recruits in the country, but that is the type of bandwagon Bill likes. If I had to pick I would say it will be DeRozan.
10 comments:
that same year wasnt Jacksonville in the 96'AFC Championship game against the Pats? I only remember this because I remember both franchises were in their second year of existence. That would have been an interesting superbowl, if both Jacksonville and Carolina made it. QB'ed by Kerry Collins and Mark Brunell, no less.
Yeah, it was. That was the year Jesus Favre won his first (and only) Super Bowl. I wish both Jacksonville and Carolina had made it, though it would have set a horrible precedent for future first year franchises to have to meet.
It is crazy to think if that happened again today. The Texans have not even made the playoffs yet and they have been in existence for 6 years. That was when Mark Brunell was a "Steve Young Lite" type QB and they shocked the Broncos at Mile High.
yeah, that was before John Elway was introduced to Terrell Davis to make them an unstoppable force for 2 years.
Also before John Elway realized having Terrell Davis around and having a great running back meant he would not have to win the games himself. It made him a better QB and the Broncos were of course better. The moral to this story is always give your quarterback a running game and teach your offensive lineman to chop block.
(Sound of Dan Marino's head banging on a solid object in the background)
I know it have hurt the Dolphins to spend a 1st or 2nd round pick to trade for a running back. They never even gave him a chance. Bobby Humphrey, Sammie Smith...ugh.
Great blog man. Really enjoy it. I will, however, respectfully disagree with point 3. It's completely unfair for anyone to complain about someone giving themselves the best chance to maximize their earning potential. We wouldn't blame say, a realtor, that decides to try and sell homes in an affluent suburb as opposed to a down and out city, would we? Why should we take offense to an athlete hiring someone they believe gives them an excellent opportunity at monetary success? Truth is, somehow Boras has outwitted baseball execs for years. How he does it, I can only imagine. I never understand why people look at his success with disdain. Anyway, if I am Mark T or anyone else I'd rather have a guy who opens several doors for me. I'd rather know that top dollar is available before I decide to take less $$$ and play for a team that is more my speed. I think I'd enjoy the options. I don't know what you do but I bet you don't work for under market wages. Neither does Simmons and neither do an overwhelming majority.
Boy, I hope you're wrong about Eli. This year has been quite a pleasure for fans of Big Blue. Some of us needed it after the conclusions of 2007 and 2008 NYM seasons.
Cheers.
Thanks for liking the blog. I am also glad you disagree with me on this, I like a little disagreement. I can absolutely see where you are coming from on this and I am a free market type person as well. I don't blame him for hiring Scott Boras and I agree he should probably know what the maximum amount he is worth might be.
My point is that I think Boras actually closes doors to where teams don't want to deal with him, so a team that may be more Mark T's speed won't even make an offer. I could be wrong but I think Boras chases GMs away. I don't blame Tex for wanting to see what he is worth on the free market, I just think if I were in his shoes I would go with a different agent because my goal would be to find the team I could help win the most championships. Of course I would also want to get paid a lot of money for my services, but not to the point it inhibits the team's ability to sign other good players around me.
I expect Baltimore to be bidding for his services and I think it is insane to accept an offer from them for more money when you know they are not going to compete for World Series titles. Unless he wants to get paid and doesn't care about titles.
I see your point though and I would not want to inhibit my ability to get paid, I may just pick a different agent, that's all.
I feel like I work under market wages but I don't have an agent, maybe I should hire Scott Boras. I actually really like Eli Manning and want him to succeed (until he plays my team of course), but I am amazed at how the light has seen to come on for him. I don't think Eli will ever approach his brother in terms of performance at the QB position but I think you will get to see him play like this for a long while.
Yeah, I think we tend to take that kind of $$$ for granted, you know? What's the difference between $100M and $140M, we say. Jeez, they have so much $$$ already, we think. Well, the truth is the difference is $40M. A guy like Tex has maybe 12 years left at this type of earning level. To not capitilize is foolish. In addition, you get guys like Giambi, ARod, and any other high priced free agent that flees his long time team for greener pastures and the alienated fan base, including writers that cover the team, start looking for a culprit. Invariably they wind up with the agent. Since Boras has made his living on de-pantsing clueless GM's he gets the bulk of the blame. I think the blowback he receives is akin to good players getting booed at opposing ballparks. He's excellent so he gets noticed. Totally different to Juan Pierre who gets ignored at opposing ballparks and booed at home. Cuz he sucks.
The agent is always the culprit, you are right, whether it is Manny or any other player. I blame Tex for hiring Boras but other than that whatever Tex decides is his own choice. Really Boras works for Tex and they have the right to get as much money as possible. I would just not personally hire Boras but I am also not in the position to make a choice between millions of dollars.
I am sure there are much worse agents out there, they just don't have the clients and the reputation of Boras.
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