Athlete says what most probaly are thinking

Finally someone says the sad truth..

Today I heard a college athlete at a "prestigiuos" athletic university say something that I am sure that most people in this country think. Cardele Jones, third string quarterback at Ohio St. University is being quoted as saying," why should we have to go to class if we came here to play football, we aint come here to play school, classes are pointless"!!! Now I added the exclamation points for emphasis. Clearly most people will point out the poor word choice and lack of grammatical integrity in his statement as a reason why he needs to go to school. The fact remains though many people around the college athletic profession I am certain have heard that sentiment. Most of these athletes are not going to college to get an education. They are going to school to enhance their ability to play professional sports. The unfortuneate reality is that not everyone gets an opportunity to play professional sports.

Espn aired a documentary called "broke" this week and the timing of the statement could not be better to explain why you need a college degree. Most young athletes think that they are going to be rich forever when they sign that contract and it is not the case. The NBA and NFL have put rules in place that limit the amount of money the rookies can make and have made contract improvements or raises only implemented after 3 or 4 years in each league. Gone are the days when a rookie can come into the league and get a 8 year, 60 million dollar contract. The new collective bargaining agreement has put a crimp into that. What Mr. Jones does not realize that is the average NFL career is 3and 1/2 years and the only money that is guranteed is a signing bonus. There are several sad tales of athletes who got paid under the old system and don't have any money left to live off of because of frivilous and loose spending. Iam not going to name names, but ESPN put out a list of athletes who filed for bankruptcy over the past 15 years and the list is shocking. Not everyone is Shaquille Oneal, Micheal Jordan or Cal Ripken. LLife does not end after your athletic career is over. You need to be able to take care of yourself and you family beyond your twenties and thirties.

Universities are now being punished for not graduating players. The NCAA passed a rule a couple of years ago that if you are below standards, you will not be able to play in the NCAA basketball tournament or benefit financially from the success of that. Some people speculate that Connecticut being placed on that list for this upcoming season is one of the reasons why Jim Calhoun retired. I laugh at the basketball portion of the NCAA because they allow for athletes to leave college when they 19 years old to pursue professional careers. Most athletes that know that they are going to leave school early stop going to class after spring break or the NCAA tournament. Why should they go to class if they know that next year they are not going to be there right?

YOU need to go to class young fella!!! Most adults will tell you the hardest part about life is that nothing last forever and you have to spend a lot of your life re-inventing yourself and finding out ways to earn money. The documentary "broke" showed the after affects of playing football for some of these guys because they were not only financially "broke", but spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically "broke" as well. Enjoy being a young man. Enjoy learning about life instead being forced to live life. I hope someone can reach him and tell him that he is one tackle in practice away from working at a clothing store or McDonalds. There is nothing wrong with those jobs, but I gurantee you he did not go Ohio St. to do that.

Wild card baseball keeps us riveted until the end

The Wild Card in Baseball keeps us Riveted until the end of the season..

One of the biggest critcisms of baseball is that the season is too long. There are 162 games that is spread out over 7 months. Most baseball fans dont have a problem with the amount of games but with the length of them. This year Major League baseball decided to implement another game so that the wild card could be significant and more teams would have a chance to get into the post season. Last year, Boston and Atlanta endured collapses that ransacked the Red Sox organzation and humiliated the Braves. Both teams had sizable leads over Tampa and St.Louis and lost them on the last day. This year in both leagues 4 teams had a chance to get into the postseason with 5 games left to play. The Dodgers, Cards, Braves, and Brewers were chasing down the final spots. In the A.L. the Angels, A's, Rays, and Orioles were doing likewise.

In the N.L. the Braves had clinched one spot with a week to go and they had their sites set on trying to win the division. The Nationals however had other plans and were able to get it done without the services of Steven Strasburg. The Nats decided to rest Strasburg who was coming off of Tommy John surgery and the teams put him on an innings limit. The Cardinals won the other spot after the Dodgers suffered a back breaking loss to the Giants. The previous night the Dodger had rallied in the ninth inning averting elimination and most of us thought that they could use that momentum to forge a one game playoff. It did not happen.

In the American League, the Orioles and A's emerged as the two teams that were trying to upset the divisions that they are in. The Yankees and Rangers had been in first place all year and only the Yankees were able to topple the Orioles. The Athletics defeated Texas three straight head to head, which not only eliminated the Angels and Rays, but ascended them to the top of the A.L. west. This accomplishment is extraordinary if you consider that the A's have the lowest payroll of contending teams and no star pitcher. The A's have 18 players that make less than a million dollars. Only 12 players make over a million on the entire roster. Bob Melvin is the clear cut manager of the year for what his team achieved.

The wild card is significant this year because the winner of the play in game gets to host two games against the top seed which will put extra pressure on that top seed to win one game on the road or sweep all three games at home. The Yankees and Nationals are the top seeds. The two first round games pit the Atlanta Braves against the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals and the second game pits the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. The Rangers/ Orioles matchup is intriguing because both teams can score runs at any time and in bunches. The Orioles were 30-9 in one run games this year which is off the charts. The Orioles have won 15 straight extra inning games including winning earlier this season in 19 innings in Seattle. Texas's Josh Hamilton is looking for some vindication after he "flubbed" a routine fly ball that allowed two runs to score in the Oakland game that turned out to be the game in which the A's won the division over the Rangers. Hamilton also hit 4 home runs ina game this year against the Orioles in May.

In the N.L. the Braves are playing to allow certain first ballot hall of famer Chipper Jones an opportunity to prolong his career. The Braves this year were 5-1 against the Cards and are throwing Chris Medlin who does not know how to lose. the braves have 23 straight starts of Medlins and clearly he has been the best pitcher in baseball since August. The Cardinals are used to this role of playing spoiler based on last season's heroics. They not only roared through the playoffs with clutch pitching performances but David Frese is a "walkoff" hitting machine. Ask the Rangers in the World Series about his prowess.

So as much as most people don't like the wild cat format, you cannot dispute how riveted most of has been because of the importance placed on these games in September. Would the right teams have gotten into the playoffs this year? That is up to your interpretation of what the "right " teams are. Chipper getting onelast chance on the big stage is pretty cool and would have happened based on last years format. Baltimore and Texas would have had to have a one game playoff to determine who was in. who would not have been excited to see that. Next year the format will change and they will probably be more games added. If they are exciting like the season has been, I am all for it...

I am tired of..

You know what I am tired of in sports is hyperbole Monday or overreaction Tuesday. I listen to sports radio shows or talking hairdo shows on a daily basis and you would swear that the broadcasters are personally invested in each team and player around the leagues.  This past 10 months in sports we have heard every comment one can make about Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, Albert Pujols, Lebron James,Tim Tebow, just to name a few. I am so tired hear about these men.  I am tired of hearing radio hosts say that they don't buy into the hyperbole Monday or Overreaction syndrome of sports and then they do. Dan Patrick started this kick about Peyton Manning's arm strength is not what it should be.  Manning apparently cannot complete passes over 20 yards and that teams should just jam his receivers and dare the Broncos to beat them deep.  Even though this season Manning is averaging over 280 yards a game passing, something is still wrong with his arm.. Even though last week against the Raiders he was 30-38 for 338 yards something is still wrong with Mannings arm. The two losses against Atlanta and Houston( who are both unbeaten still) Manning played poorly in the first half but rallied his team back to have a chance to win each game and someone says something is still wrong with his arm. 
Then there is Mark Sanchez. Everyone criticized ESPN for all of this extra coverage of the New York Jets. Mark Sanchez is going to need therapy soon if he is not already in therapy.  The Jets have played Pittsburgh, San Fransisco, Miami, and Buffalo.  The first two teams are defensive machines that beat up every quarterback. San Fransisco has wins against Green Bay and Detroit who have two qb's that threw for a combined 9700 yards last year.  The Niners made them look foolish. Sancez is being set up to fail because the most important thing to the Jets is to be "Paper Champions" and get headlines instead of victories.  I can say this because they did nothing to improve their team on either side of the ball.  they brought in no weapons to help Sanchez.  They brought in Tebow to create problems for the team. i am tired of hearing about Tebow and quarterback controversies especially in New York. This is not Denver.  There is a quarterback in the division named Tom Brady who knows how to win games. There is no Carson Palmer, Matt Cassell or Phillip Rivers lurking in this division who all under achieve. The controversy is bad for football because it takes away from the good things that happening around the NFL.  Matt Ryan has been phenomenal.  Arizona is getting a redemptive performance from Kevin Kolb. Rookie quarterbacks are playing at a level that no one has ever seen. Sanchez deserves to be treated with much more respect than he gets.  He has no one to throw too.  Keller is always hurt. Holmes is a overrated diva. He has no running game.  Shon Greene was supposed to inherit the throw and he has disappointed.  I am tired of people blaming the wrong person.  Watch the games and learn something about them before you pinpoint the problems. 
Tony Romo on Monday night was 31-43 which is over 60 percetnt completeion ratio and Joe Theisman and the rest of America blames him for the loss.  Yes he threw 5 picks. How many balls did Dez Bryant drop that would have kept drives alive? I am tired of hearing about Romo did not do this or Romo did not do that.  How about the balls that Austin dropped? Dallas is 2-2 and tied with the Giants and the Redskins.  Mike Vick has 9 turnoversand the Eagles are in first place. The Eagle fans want to get rid of him too. The  Cowboys come back from their bye week with a game against the Ravens.  The Jets play Houston on Monday.   I cant believe that I am defending the Jets and the Cowboys.  I must be really tired..

Cabrera or Mike Trout

Today is the final act of the epic stories of Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.  The season for both Detroit and Anaheim have been disappointing in a lot of ways, but at least Detroit is going to the playoffs.  The Angels invested a cruiseship of money on their team this season.  They gave Albert Pujols the second richest contract in professional sports.  He has been very good this season.  a slow start in April curtailed his numbers, and he has most people out here chomping at the bit for next season.  The person from the Angels that emerged as the "man" on that team this year has been a 20 year old Rookie named Mike Trout.  Trout has become the first rookie in baseball history to hit 30 homeruns and steal 40 plus bases. He is second in the league in batting average, has scored over 120 runs and has played the best defensive centerfield that most has seen since Jim Edmonds roamed the outfield for the Angels. Trout did not even make the club in  April which makes his number even more extraordinary.  He easily could have been a 40-50 guy which is ironic because before the season started Matt Kemp of the Dodgers pledged that he could go 50-50. Injuries of course derailed his quest after an epic start. Trout is drawing comparisons to Micky Mantle because of his look, epic power, speed, and the way  he simply plays baseball. He is a gifted young player and the sky is the limit.  He is geeting a lot of consideration because of this new stat in baseball called WAR, which is an anacrynom for Wins Above Replacement.  Since he has been on the Angel roster the team has a great winning percentage and the turn around of the Angel season literally started when he was implemented into the everyday lineup.  Next year the Angels if they stay healthy will be the team to beat undoubtedly.
Miguel Cabrera has been in hell and has found a way to turn it around and become the positive story of the season.  He has battled alcoholism and had arrest issues in the last few off seasons.  He has been criticized for his weight gain and lack of fitness.  The one thing that no could or can take away from him is that the man can flat out hit a baseball.  Ever since he was a 20 year old helping Florida win the world series in 2003, he has been a beast.  He will probably get 3000 hits and hit 500 plus homeruns, whch would be extraordinary since he plays in a pitcher friendly park.  This season he is on the verge of making baseball history by winning the triple crown.  No one has won the triple crown in baseball since Carl Yastremski did it in 1967.  Only 10 players have ever won the triple crown in baseball history.  In the National League no one has done it since 1937. Joe Medwick was the last one to achieve that feat.  Cabrera is leading in all of the major categories in baseball.  He has the most homeruns, r.b.i's, and has the best batting average.  He has over 200 hits and has not been the liability on the defensive side like most people presumed he would be. The kicker is that his team is oing to the post season and to me that carries the most weight. 
So in my opinion the M.V.P. will be Cabrera because of the fact that he is about to do something that no one thought could be done again because of the steroid era.  Most people feel that since homerun numbers were going up that that stat would hurt anyone's chance of winning the triple crown.  Players today don't care about how many times they strike out.  Curtis Granderson and Adam Dunn strike out a lot but both this season have hit over 40 home runs and driven in 100 runs but have crappy batting averages.  Edwin Encarnacion has 42 homeruns and has carried the Blue Jays this year but he has a lot of solo homers.  The point is that you have to be a player who can hit for average and most homerun hitters don do that.  Barry Bond had a high batting average because he was walked 200 times a year.  He would not be allowed to hit in r.b.i. situations. So what Cabrera is doing is extremely special. He is lucky to have a guy like Prince Fielder hitting behind him so teams have to pick their poison.  Unfortuneately they have chosen wrong this season and Miguel Cabrera will be your American League M.V.P..

Chipper may go out in style

As an avid and disappointed Met fan today I have to say something that makes me sick to my stomach. Last year like most Met fans, I sat in my home and watched the Atlanta Braves choke away a playoff spot and be eliminated on the last day of the season.  I laughed and cheered so loudly because of all the Braves have done to my teams over the years.  (what also gave me much joy was the Red Sox were collapsing at the same time).  I thought Chipper Jones was going to retire because of his knee injuries and the fact that he was not around to give his team that supportive net or timely hit made it a sad end to a career that most deem a hall of fame one.  Still in all I was pleased that St. Louis got in and later won the World Series and ths looked like they were in a decline.  Finally right?
The Braves have been the National Leagues best regular season team over the last 20 years.  They have won 13 division titles i think and played in 5 World Series.  They have been on television during the Chipper Jones era as much as much as the Yankees and Red Sox have been. In fact the two consistent names over that period that we have heard most about are Chipper Jones and Derek Jeter. They both have become the symbols of dedication and loyaty in sports.  Think about all sports.  How many players have started with one team and finished with that team over the last 20 years? Tim Duncan. John Stockton. Kobe Bryant. Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Leborn James left their teams to chase rings and greener pastures. Chipper Jones has been the face of the Atlanta Braves for 20 years and last night his team got him back to the big stage one last time.  He led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a double and the Freddie Freeman hit a monsterous homerun and the Braves won 4-3 and are in the playoffs.
The funny thing is that Chipper has been getting a send off like no one has seen since Kareem left basketball. Every team has given him gifts. Motorcycles here. Free food there. Trips around the world. Merchandise and commemorative items that he will never forget.  i always thought that Chipper Jones was Public enemy number one around the league.  He was booed as much as any star player can be.  He beat up every team in the league. He could have been a candidate for 500 homeruns if he did not suffer injuries late in his career and if he had played the year the Braves wanted to bring him up.  Remember he wrecked his knee his first season and did not play. Chipper has really been a thorn in the side of the Mets in the regular season as well as the post.  The bigger question that most people have is why did the Baves fail so often in the post season with all of that pitching and annoying timely hitting? How many times did Chipper come up and deliver the big hit to start a rally or win the games for the Braves. How many times did he frustrate your team over the years?
Is he a first ballot hall of famer? Of course he is.  He played on great teams, with great players and had an impact on games like few others before him.  He will probably be ranked in the top 5 or 6 thrid basemen ever to play the game. Brooks Robinson mayhave been a better defender but I would rather face him over Chipper Jones with the game on the line. He is the George Brett of this generation. Brett haunted the Yankees and Chipper haunted the Mets. Atlanta Brave baseball has been blessed over the last 20 years to have had Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Chipper. they also had Bobby Cox who made sure that this fine machine would function properly on all levels.  So I reluctantly wish the Braves well this Post season.  i can take comfort that my team will never have to face Chipper again.  It is an end of a great era of baseball. Get it done Atlanta. You have the pieces...

Is the nfl becoming pro boxing?

  Who wants to be a NFL referee now? One week ago, I blogged about the the NFL being too full of itself.  I talked about the bounty scandal involving the Saints.  Look what has happened to the Saints.  They are 0-3 and the Packers coming this week who are angrier than hell because of what happened last night.  ked about the importance of making a deal with the referees.  The NFL is a multi billion dollar money making machine.  People will pay to watch games anywhere at any time if it was necessary.  Most football fans spend an entire week getting ready to watch their favorite team play, then flip around on the satellite feed and watch division rivals play, favorite players play, fantasy football team players play, or watch the marquee matchup of that week. Last nights game should have been the last straw as to why the real officials are needed to monitor these games.  One call in a game should not have the impact of winning and losing a game.  The Packers to their credit did not use the end of the game as an excuse. They physically got beat up last night in the first half and had a chance to get one first down to end the game. The Packers have not been the same team this year as last year so blaming the refs is probably why they have not said a word.  I am glame the refs and there is ample evidence to support my theories..
I had a discussion two weeks ago with a a couple of people and we were talking about what is the problem with the replacement refs. I listened as they spoke and other pundits did as well on espn about the levels of competeition some of these refs have been in.  The first thing that we agreed on was that the speed of thegame is way to fast for these guys. The speed of the game is too fast for the real guys too.  The difference is that the real refs have figured out ways to position themselves on the field so that they can make as close to the right call as they can. Last night the game winning touchdown call was made by a ref who was behind the play and he was in no position to make that call. The ref that came running in and was waving his arms should have been closer to the play since there was no action in his area and he could have made the correct call.  There was a call for pass interference on the defense when clearly the the offensive player created and caused all of the contact.  If the referee was in the right position maybe he gets that call right.  The NFL should have taken precautions and instructed these guys that being in the right place could help them get calls right. They are not fast enough to keep up with guys so positioning is key.
The second thing that is frustrating is that the refs seem to not know the rules of the game or make poor judgement calls.  The roughing the passer penalty when the Packers made an interception in the 4th quarter was horrible.  Marking an unsportsmanlike penalty for 27 yards instead of 15 is not acceptable.  The pass interference call against Seattle on a crucial third down that eventually lead to a score is hurting the integrity of the game. What has killed Boxing in this country is tthe officials.  People tune hoping for a trainwreck and they get chaos and an earthquake instead. Manny Pacquiauo is still wondering how Timothy Bradley has his titles. Ken Norton is wondering how Muhammad Ali has a winning record against him. The NFL does not want turn into a sham.  The NBA in recent years has had to deal with a scandal of a referee fixing games utting itself further under a micrscope. There are several examples from the weekend of missed calls, poor judgement, and game mismanagement by these guys.  Kyle Shanahan and Jack Del Rio were fined for abuse toward an official. Bill Bellechek tried to chase one down and get an explanation of whether or not the game winning field goal was actually good or not.  All you have to do is watch the sideline and read the lips of the coaches to know whether or not a call is correct or not.  The Harbaugh brothers are must see tv.
There are estimations that last nights call cost people worldwide over 250 million dollars.  The betting line was Packers -31/2 and if the call was reversed the people who took the Packers would have won because they were up by 5. The speculation is that over 70% of the betting population took the Pack last night.  We all know that the only reason for injury lists is for the betting population.   The NFL does not "care" about wagering on the games, but it most definitely cares about people watching the games.  I am 100% certain that they are loving that there millions of bloggers today writing about a football related incident than talking about the pennant races or that Brandt Snedeker won the PGA  Fedex Cup. I wonder what would happen  if a team told its players to walk off the field because they were a victim of too many bad calls? As long as we the fans watch, the NFL will not care what happens on the field.  They talk about safety and integrity. They talk about protecting the shield and the legacy of the game.  We are all addicted to the NFL drug and wont abandon the game.  They better start to listen reall soon or the rehab centers of sports will be full of football addicts..  This is why HOCKEY you should not lockout your players. The quote of the day goes to BUbba Watson.  He said that" football fans watch golf this weekend and support team usa in the ryder cup, we have no refs". Absolutely hilarious..

Here we go again..

The PGA season is about to come to an end and the people trying to get attention one last time are out with their comments.  The player of the year in golf based on winning 4 events inclduing a major is Rory Mcilroy.  No one disputes his achievements this year.  Yes he had a stretch earlier this year when he missed several cuts and other than the PGA was not impressive at the Masters, U.S. Open or even the British. Yes if Tiger wins this event starting tomorrow he will win the Fedex Cup and tie Mcilroy for most wins and may steal the award from Mcilroy, but lets face it that is a big obstacle to overcome based on how well Mcilroy has been playing. Greg Norman made a comment recently where he feels that Tiger Woods is intimidated by Mcilroy because he is friendly with him and is realizing that the torch is basically being passed down to Mcilroy.  I find his statements blog worthy only because of how silly they are.  Tiger has several friends on the tour.  People for years have been tryingand Phil, Ernie, and Lee Westwood out to be enemies.  Tiger goes fishing every year with Darren Clarke and Mark O'meara.  He gave Phil a ping pong table for a wedding gift saying that he looks forward to many matches on the table with Phil. He just can't be a normal guy ever can he? He has to be great every second of every day and He has to automatically have perfected his swing changes in haste so he can make you, me, and everyone else care about golf. 
He has outplayed McIlroy in 3 of the 4 majors this year.  When they have been paired together, Woods has shot a better score more than Rory has.  Rory is smart.  Out play Tiger when he is not paired with Tiger and then force Tiger to catch him.  Tiger has no reason to be intimidated by McIlroy.  Remember when Vijay had that magical year a few years back when he beat Tiger head to head jsut about every week and everyone said that Vijay was about to take over golf?  What happened the very next year?  Who won the most that year? Majors that year?  Who was the player of the year that year?  Who won the Fedex Cup that year as well?  It wasn't me.  It wasn't Vijay.  I don't think it was Phil either.  I know who it was and so does Greg Norman.  It was Woods.  In my opinion the fact that Woods has reascended to the top 2 in the world in one year is amazing.  He was awful to watch last year.  He was either always hurt or playing "in the woods" in every tournament.  He could hit a fairway if the fairway was a thousand feet wide. He contended a few times but could not finish what he started.  He was fixing his life, swing, and mind and he couldn't beat club pro's.  This year he has found some success, but the majors have been a weekend calamity.  Over the past few weeks, he has played sensational golf for 3 rounds and has been plagued by one bad round.  These next two weeks will be indicators as to how far he has come since last year.  He had the clinching match victory in the President's cup last September. He was a controversial pick, but he did not let his country down.   He will be counted on to lead us in the Ryder Cup next week.  He and McIlroy will be paired probably alot over the next two weeks and I am sure they are very familiar with each others games and styles of play.
Lastly, Tiger Woods has 74 wins and 14 major titles.  Mcilroy has 2 majors and what 5 PGA wins? At the same age in their careers Tiger has more wins worldwide (13-6).  Tiger had 68.19 scoring average at age 23. Mcilroys is 69 and change.  Mcilroy has already missed more cuts 5. Woods in 18 years has missed 9 cuts. Woods is approaching the 100 million dollar prize pool for money earned on tour. McIlroy has barely 5 million.   Tiger said it best when he said that there are no 255 linebacker going to tackle him in the fairway so he has nothing to be intimidated about.  Maybe Greg Norman was intimidated by Nick Faldo when he gagged away a 6 shot lead at the Masters.  Remember that Greg?  You were the hands down best golfer in the world and the green jacket was yours for the taking.  You would have validated as one of the best golfers in the history of the game.  You had the record for longest tenure at number 1 until Tiger destroyed that mark by almost 300 weeks!!!! Greg you are still one of my favorites, but lets let this bud into a rivalry.  Golf fans are sick of hearing about the next to challenge Tiger and they do it for one year and we never hear from them again. What happened to Vijay? He wins occasionally on the tour.  This has been a disappointing year for Phil in terms of wins and losses and missed cuts.  Lets see what happens over the next two weeks and into the international season finales.