^
First Down
Alex Rodriguez says the last year has been a "nightmare." Poor, poor, pitiful him. I mean, could there be a less-sympathetic figure in sports than A-Roid?
Barry Bonds and Pete Rose look freakin' noble compared to this guy.
I'd rather root for Mike Tyson or Bill Belichick.
Why should anybody believe A-Rod didn't juice when he was a young player in Seattle? Because he says so? That's a good one! If he handed me a quarter, I'd assume it was counterfeit.
Second Down
I am seriously pissed at Time Warner Cable for denying me Showtime -- and the last few episodes of Dexter.
We'll all have the last laugh when cable companies are completely unnecessary, a time that is coming sooner than TWC and its brethren think.
Third Down
In his most recent "Real Time," Bill Maher used his main "New Rule" to rip the North Carolina GOP for its unapologetic, mean-spirited return of the state to the 1950s -- when blacks, Latinos and women knew their place (and knew it wasn't North Carolina).
And to think, I hated Chicago politics.
Fourth Down
Went into my local Costco the other day and they had a table with large, framed, autographed photos of NFL stars. The guy featured most prominently:
Tim Tebow.
In a Jets uniform.
No punchline. None necessary.
^
Showing posts with label Jets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jets. Show all posts
Monday, August 5, 2013
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Stuff yourself silly with the 2012 Turkeys of the Year
^
It's that time of the year, when thoughts turn to the turkey on our plates and the Turkeys who inhabit the sportosphere.
My tradition of choosing a Turkey of the Year goes back to my first year as Copley Newspapers' Chicago columnist, 1998, when Bears president Michael McCaskey was so inept that his mommy fired him.
2. ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Followed a bad season with an almost surreal postseason. The richest man in baseball history was benched for three playoff games and pinch-hit for six times. The good news for A-Dud is that the $114 million left on his Yankees contract can buy lots of HGH and plenty of masking agents.
And now, the 2012 Turkeys of the Year:
There are chokes, there are Cubbie chokes and then there was this, arguably the most complete choke-job in the history of professional sports.
The chokiest of chokers was Jim Furyk. His collapse in his pivotal match capped a year in which he also frittered away the U.S. Open and two PGA Tour events.
This result hardly could be pinned on Furyk alone, however. Tiger Woods didn't record a single point in the entire event. Neither did Steve Stricker, who was joined by Furyk, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson on the list of Americans who wet themselves down the stretch.
Holy Heimlich, Batman ... talk about a total team effort.
^
It's that time of the year, when thoughts turn to the turkey on our plates and the Turkeys who inhabit the sportosphere.
My tradition of choosing a Turkey of the Year goes back to my first year as Copley Newspapers' Chicago columnist, 1998, when Bears president Michael McCaskey was so inept that his mommy fired him.
Since then, it's been a parade of clowns, cads, chokers and chumps: Jerry Krause (1999); Bobby Knight (2000); David Wells & Frank Thomas (2001); Dick Jauron (2002); Sammy Sosa (2003 and 2004); Andy MacPhail, Jim Hendry & Dusty Baker (2005); Aramis Ramirez (2006); Charlie Weis (2007); Choking Cubbies (2008); Milton Bradley (2009); Mark McGwire (2010); Joe Paterno & Penn State Enablers (2011).
(You'll notice that from 1998-2009, most Turkeys of the Year had Chicago and/or Midwest connections because of where I lived and columnized. Now in my second full year as a Southern boy, the Turkey Countdown has a different flavor.)
As always, I dedicate this tradition to my absent friend, Gene Seymour, my Copley columnist predecessor, the founder of Copley's sports turkey awards and one of the great guys journalism has ever known.
10. RYAN KALIL: The Panthers center took out a full-page newspaper ad before the season promising Carolina fans that the team would win the Super Bowl. By the time the Panthers reached their bye week, they were 1-4 and Kalil was done for the season with a foot injury. Great. Now nobody will take out full-page newspaper ads. As if the business isn't in bad enough shape.
9. JEFFREY LORIA: The Marlins owner got taxpayers to foot the bill for a new ballpark and then filled it with expensive players ... for about half a season. When the team stunk, he dumped just about every player who made more than 12 cents and fired Ozzie Guillen for being what Ozzie Guillen always has been. And hey, even Loria's ballpark is ugly.
8. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Yeah ... I know ... it's only really a headline if a cyclist doesn't dope. Still ... this was Lance Freakin' Armstrong, all-American hero, who spent most of a decade cheating and lying.
8. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Yeah ... I know ... it's only really a headline if a cyclist doesn't dope. Still ... this was Lance Freakin' Armstrong, all-American hero, who spent most of a decade cheating and lying.
7. BOBBY VALENTINE: The biggest Boston disaster since Cheers went off the air.
6. NHL OWNERS, PLAYERS & COMMISH GARY BETTMAN: Working together marvelously to keep hockey an irrelevant, niche sport.
6. NHL OWNERS, PLAYERS & COMMISH GARY BETTMAN: Working together marvelously to keep hockey an irrelevant, niche sport.
5. REX RYAN: The Jets had just signed Mark Sanchez to a huge, long-term deal when Ryan traded for Tim Tebow -- ensuring that ever-patient New York fans would be calling for Tebow to play every time Sanchez threw an incomplete pass. Even Jets players know Tebow is terrible, but why should that stop fans from praying for a Tebow miracle?
4. MELKY CABRERA: He was All-Star Game MVP for the winning NL team, thereby giving his Giants homefield advantage in the World Series. Cabrera wasn't there to see the Series, though, having been suspended for juicing. The cool thing is that the Giants won without him. I wonder if he'll get a championship ring?
3. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS: By cheering when QB Matt Cassel got hurt, these yahoos proved that they belong in a second-rate sports town.
3. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FANS: By cheering when QB Matt Cassel got hurt, these yahoos proved that they belong in a second-rate sports town.
2. ALEX RODRIGUEZ: Followed a bad season with an almost surreal postseason. The richest man in baseball history was benched for three playoff games and pinch-hit for six times. The good news for A-Dud is that the $114 million left on his Yankees contract can buy lots of HGH and plenty of masking agents.
And now, the 2012 Turkeys of the Year:
U.S. RYDER CUP TEAM
There are chokes, there are Cubbie chokes and then there was this, arguably the most complete choke-job in the history of professional sports.
The chokiest of chokers was Jim Furyk. His collapse in his pivotal match capped a year in which he also frittered away the U.S. Open and two PGA Tour events.
This result hardly could be pinned on Furyk alone, however. Tiger Woods didn't record a single point in the entire event. Neither did Steve Stricker, who was joined by Furyk, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson on the list of Americans who wet themselves down the stretch.
Holy Heimlich, Batman ... talk about a total team effort.
^
Monday, October 29, 2012
Today's High 5: Frisco is Ex-Cubbie heaven!
^
5. Mike Fontenot and Mark DeRosa won World Series rings with the 2010 San Francisco Giants. Two years later, Ryan Theriot opened the 10th inning with a single and scored the championship-winning run.
If I'm Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney or any other Cubbie infielder, I want to be traded to the Giants pronto!
4. Jets players and coaches were ticked off that the home crowd was chanting for Tim Tebow to replace godawful Mark Sanchez during Sunday's lopsided loss to the Dolphins.
This is the price any team -- especially a New York team -- pays for acquiring the most popular backup quarterback in recent football history.
Never mind that Tebow has trouble completing routine passes. The circus is just beginning.
3. Three cheers for my Carolina Panthers, the best darn 1-6 team in football!
2. CEOs from more than 80 major U.S. corporations endorse raising taxes and reducing spending as part of a balanced deficit-reduction plan. In other words, they support the Simpson-Bowles commission's recommendation. (And psssst ... they ain't liberals!)
That support sets them apart from Barack Obama, who appointed the commission and then promptly rejected its findings. And it also sets them apart from Mitt Romney, who instead favors cutting taxes by trillions of dollars without detailing how our debt-crushed nation will pay for those cuts.
Is it too late to get a candidate do-over?
1. Just saw this headline: "Hurricane Sandy wreaks havoc on presidential race."
As somebody with two brothers living in Philly and lots of friends and relatives residing in the D.C.-to-Boston corridor, the absolute least of my concerns is how the storm will affect the campaign schedules of Obama and Romney.
^
5. Mike Fontenot and Mark DeRosa won World Series rings with the 2010 San Francisco Giants. Two years later, Ryan Theriot opened the 10th inning with a single and scored the championship-winning run.
If I'm Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney or any other Cubbie infielder, I want to be traded to the Giants pronto!
4. Jets players and coaches were ticked off that the home crowd was chanting for Tim Tebow to replace godawful Mark Sanchez during Sunday's lopsided loss to the Dolphins.
This is the price any team -- especially a New York team -- pays for acquiring the most popular backup quarterback in recent football history.
Never mind that Tebow has trouble completing routine passes. The circus is just beginning.
3. Three cheers for my Carolina Panthers, the best darn 1-6 team in football!
2. CEOs from more than 80 major U.S. corporations endorse raising taxes and reducing spending as part of a balanced deficit-reduction plan. In other words, they support the Simpson-Bowles commission's recommendation. (And psssst ... they ain't liberals!)
That support sets them apart from Barack Obama, who appointed the commission and then promptly rejected its findings. And it also sets them apart from Mitt Romney, who instead favors cutting taxes by trillions of dollars without detailing how our debt-crushed nation will pay for those cuts.
Is it too late to get a candidate do-over?
1. Just saw this headline: "Hurricane Sandy wreaks havoc on presidential race."
As somebody with two brothers living in Philly and lots of friends and relatives residing in the D.C.-to-Boston corridor, the absolute least of my concerns is how the storm will affect the campaign schedules of Obama and Romney.
^
Monday, June 18, 2012
Today's High 5: Clemens "not guilty" ... but probably not Hall bound
^
5. OK, so Roger Clemens is officially "innocent." Can we please start spending tax dollars on something that actually matters to society?
Like, perhaps, appointing me Czar of Sports Hackery?
4. Yes, Jim Furyk imploded in a collapse that, while not quite Vandeveldeian or Normanian (or even Cubbian), certainly was impressive. And yes, some poser named Eldrick Woods fell apart on Saturday and Sunday, proving for the umpteenth time that he's nowhere near being Tiger again.
But give Webb Simpson credit. While others around him were fading away in the San Fran fog, he was shooting a 68-68 over the weekend on a course that seemed only slightly more fun than a Seamus Romney road trip.
Simpson not only outlasted everybody, he outplayed everybody. He made the most big shots on championship Sunday. And that, my friends, is how you win a U.S. Open.
3. I remember having a discussion at the end of the 2007 NFL season with another scribe during which we concluded that LaDainian Tomlinson was one of the top five running backs we had seen, right up there with Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith, O.J. Simpson and Barry Sanders. (We both are too young to remember Jim Brown.)
After that discussion, L.T. had an injury-plagued 1,100-yard season, followed by two sub-par (for him) years, followed by last season's slog as a specialty back for the mediocre Jets.
And now he has retired at the ripe old age of 32.
Life as an NFL runner is glamorous for a short spell but certainly isn't easy.
2. Finally, LeBron James is looking and acting and sounding and, most importantly, playing like a guy who cares more about winning than anything else.
He's only two wins away from proving he belongs to be mentioned in the same breath as the Michaels, Kobes and Magics.
Of course, he's also only three losses away from having more scorn rained down upon him than any Twitter-era athlete ever has experienced.
Kind of makes you root for him a little, no?
No? OK.
1. So now that Clemens has been found not guilty of perjury and all other charges against him in a trial that cost taxpayers a mere 3 million bucks, what are his chances of getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Answer: not too good.
Based on how voting has gone down the last few years, if a guy even is suspected slightly of having used steroids, he gets the short shrift from the Baseball Writers Association of America. And despite Monday's verdict, more than a little suspicion remains about Roger. He will be shunned big-time.
I am leaning toward voting for him because I believe he had a Hall of Fame record of accomplishment before his juicing reportedly began.
Having said that, I probably won't vote for him this December, when he appears on the ballot for the first time.
I've never been a voter who has differentiated between "regular" Hall of Famers and first-ballot Hall of Famers. It never bothered me that some of my peers reserved first-ballot status only for the best of the best, but I always felt that if a guy deserved a Hall vote, he deserved it ... period.
I think I'll change things up for the few Roid Boyz that I deem Hall worthy. If they're going to get my vote at all, they're going to have to wait for it.
Why? Because I have the power to make them wait, that's why.
^
5. OK, so Roger Clemens is officially "innocent." Can we please start spending tax dollars on something that actually matters to society?
Like, perhaps, appointing me Czar of Sports Hackery?
4. Yes, Jim Furyk imploded in a collapse that, while not quite Vandeveldeian or Normanian (or even Cubbian), certainly was impressive. And yes, some poser named Eldrick Woods fell apart on Saturday and Sunday, proving for the umpteenth time that he's nowhere near being Tiger again.
But give Webb Simpson credit. While others around him were fading away in the San Fran fog, he was shooting a 68-68 over the weekend on a course that seemed only slightly more fun than a Seamus Romney road trip.
Simpson not only outlasted everybody, he outplayed everybody. He made the most big shots on championship Sunday. And that, my friends, is how you win a U.S. Open.
3. I remember having a discussion at the end of the 2007 NFL season with another scribe during which we concluded that LaDainian Tomlinson was one of the top five running backs we had seen, right up there with Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith, O.J. Simpson and Barry Sanders. (We both are too young to remember Jim Brown.)
After that discussion, L.T. had an injury-plagued 1,100-yard season, followed by two sub-par (for him) years, followed by last season's slog as a specialty back for the mediocre Jets.
And now he has retired at the ripe old age of 32.
Life as an NFL runner is glamorous for a short spell but certainly isn't easy.
2. Finally, LeBron James is looking and acting and sounding and, most importantly, playing like a guy who cares more about winning than anything else.
He's only two wins away from proving he belongs to be mentioned in the same breath as the Michaels, Kobes and Magics.
Of course, he's also only three losses away from having more scorn rained down upon him than any Twitter-era athlete ever has experienced.
Kind of makes you root for him a little, no?
No? OK.
1. So now that Clemens has been found not guilty of perjury and all other charges against him in a trial that cost taxpayers a mere 3 million bucks, what are his chances of getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Answer: not too good.
Based on how voting has gone down the last few years, if a guy even is suspected slightly of having used steroids, he gets the short shrift from the Baseball Writers Association of America. And despite Monday's verdict, more than a little suspicion remains about Roger. He will be shunned big-time.
I am leaning toward voting for him because I believe he had a Hall of Fame record of accomplishment before his juicing reportedly began.
Having said that, I probably won't vote for him this December, when he appears on the ballot for the first time.
I've never been a voter who has differentiated between "regular" Hall of Famers and first-ballot Hall of Famers. It never bothered me that some of my peers reserved first-ballot status only for the best of the best, but I always felt that if a guy deserved a Hall vote, he deserved it ... period.
I think I'll change things up for the few Roid Boyz that I deem Hall worthy. If they're going to get my vote at all, they're going to have to wait for it.
Why? Because I have the power to make them wait, that's why.
^
Friday, June 15, 2012
What a lucky schlub I've been
^
It's a big year for personal anniversaries ...
50 YEARS AGO
I first cultivated my sense of adventure ... as captured in this Aug. 1, 1962 story in my hometown Milford Citizen:
Little 20-month-old Michael Nadel decided to go for a walk this afternoon at 5 o'clock and wasn't missed until the family saw his chair empty at dinner time.
Just as the family of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Nadel, of 59 Wheeler Avenue, went out to look for the boy, he rode up to the house a proud passenger in a police car.
Sgt. Frank Polizzi, who lives about a half mile away from the Nadels, explained he saw sun-suited Michael walking along Milford Point Road and didn't recognize him as being from the neighborhood. A few youngsters nearer the Nadels' home told the policeman where the boy lived.
My parents should have been soooo embarrassed. I mean ... a sunsuit?
40 YEARS AGO
The fall of '72 was incredibly thrilling as my team, the Miami Dolphins, became the first -- and still the only -- NFL squad to go through an entire season (including playoffs) unbeaten and untied.
How did a kid from Connecticut come to like the Dolphins instead of the Patriots, Giants or Jets?
Well, I was a late bloomer when it came to sports. In fact, I kind of hated them. But as I approached adolescence, I got to be good friends with a kid named Dave Kirschner, who was a huge sports fan. He convinced me to like his favorite basketball team, the Knicks, but I wasn't about to like the Jets because, well, they pretty much sucked.
No, I was an impressionable kid and I wanted to root for a great team, and the Dolphins were coming off a Super Bowl season (they lost to the Cowboys). Plus, they had the coolest aquamarine and orange uniforms. Larry Csonka was my favorite player.
So I became a Dolphins fanatic. Eventually, a Knicks and Yankees fanatic, too. And I started keeping scrapbooks on those teams, as well as the Rangers in hockey. Which, in turn, made me fall in love with writing.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
35 YEARS AGO
Marquette won the '77 national basketball title in Al McGuire's final game as coach.
Not long after that, I went to a college fair and the Marquette representative was very persuasive. She had to be to get a Jewish kid from Connecticut who had never been east of Lancaster, Pa., to agree to freeze his keister off in freakin' Milwaukee. Why I didn't go to Arizona State or Miami or Hawaii or UCLA, I'll never know!
There are those in academia who claim that the success of athletic programs doesn't really help a university's profile. Well, I wouldn't even have known Marquette existed if not for the Warriors -- and I'm guessing thousands of others who chose to matriculate there say the same thing.
After becoming a professional sportswriter, I gave up my allegiances to the Dolphins and Knicks and Yankees and Rangers. But I always will root for Marquette hoops.
Bottom line: I was never a Dolphin or a Yankee. I'll be a Warrior forever.
30 YEARS AGO
I graduated from Marquette and began my career with the AP in Milwaukee.
These days, it's tough for graduates to get a job. How difficult is it? In article after article, the authors almost always write something like: "This is the most difficult job market for college graduates since 1982."
Yep, the 1982 recession was a rough one. I was one of only a few Marquette J-school grads to get a job in the profession. I'd love to say it was because I was the best, but I know better. It was at least 75 percent luck.
How I got that first job with AP is a great story ... and maybe you'll read about it someday if I ever write that book!
25 YEARS AGO
I covered my first Stanley Cup Finals in 1987 -- Oilers vs. Flyers -- beginning a long stretch as AP's de facto national hockey writer.
Was I chosen because I was a hockey expert? Hardly. I was working in Minnesota, so I simply was closer to Canada than anybody else. "Hey, they have lots of ice in Minnesota, right? Let's send Nadel to Edmonton."
The association with hockey worked nicely for me, as I went on to cover seven more Stanley Cups and four Olympic hockey tournaments for AP. The only two national writing awards I received were for hockey-related stories.
These days, I'm not sure I could name a dozen NHL players. Is Chris Chelios still in the league?
20 YEARS AGO
I covered my first NBA Finals -- Bulls vs. Trail Blazers.
One of my favorite keepsakes is a Portland newspaper photo of a media session. Michael Jordan is looking up at me, answering one of my questions.
Someday, one of my grandkids will ask: "Who's that guy in the picture with grandpa?" That'll be cool.
I still had hair in 1992, though it was thinning rapidly. I also had my trusty Bic 4-color pen in hand ... and I still buy them by the multi-pack.
15 YEARS AGO
Jordan had his incredible "food-poisoning game" against the Jazz in the '97 NBA Finals.
It was the only playoff game during the Bulls' Jordan Era II that I didn't cover.
While in Utah for Game 4, I got the word that my mom had died. After that game, I flew to Philadelphia for the funeral. I watched Game 5 -- the sickness game -- while sitting on my brother's sofa a few hours after we buried my mom.
10 YEARS AGO
As a freshman, my daughter Katie helped her high school team win the city championship in its division. She was the leading scorer in the playoffs and made the title-clinching steal.
Katie would go on to be the first athlete in Walter Payton College Prep history to win four varsity letters in one sport.
I still display a great framed photo, snapped by a Chicago Tribune photographer during her freshman year. The one time in her life she drove left, it was captured for all eternity.
Obviously, I was proud of Katie's exploits ... and equally proud of my boy Ben's many, many athletic triumphs. Today, both are in their mid-20s, employed and on their own -- which also makes me very proud.
For a guy who never rooted for the teams he covered, being able to cheer on my kids' teams was huge. After Ben played his last high school baseball game in 2006, I went through withdrawal. Seriously. It took me a year to get over that void.
If you have young kids and they are into sports or acting or music or whatever, enjoy the hell out of it, because the time will go by far too fast!
5 YEARS AGO
GateHouse Media bought the Copley newspapers in Illinois.
That was the beginning of the end for me, because I knew it was only a matter of time before the weasels there deemed me a luxury they no longer could afford. After all, they needed to have plenty of money on hand to give themselves bonuses and double-digit raises. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
Thankfully, 2007 also was the year we sold our last Chicago home, an overpriced condo that we never should have bought in the first place.
Despite its glorious rooftop deck that provided a sterling view of the skyline, the condo didn't sell easily. It took six full months and the process caused lots of angst. Little did we know that the housing market was in the early stages of a total freefall and we were lucky to sell at all.
We moved into an apartment with the idea that we'd buy a house, maybe in the suburbs. But the market just kept getting worse ... and then I got laid off. It sure was nice knowing we didn't have a house we couldn't afford. That "temporary" apartment ended up being home for 3 1/2 years until we moved to Charlotte.
Wow. Lots of anniversaries. Next year's the biggie, though: 30 years of wedded bliss to my wonderful Roberta. Who'da thunk a schlub like me would be lucky enough to land and keep a babe like that?
You know, despite a bad break or two, I really have lived a charmed life.
^
It's a big year for personal anniversaries ...
50 YEARS AGO
I first cultivated my sense of adventure ... as captured in this Aug. 1, 1962 story in my hometown Milford Citizen:
Little 20-month-old Michael Nadel decided to go for a walk this afternoon at 5 o'clock and wasn't missed until the family saw his chair empty at dinner time.
Just as the family of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Nadel, of 59 Wheeler Avenue, went out to look for the boy, he rode up to the house a proud passenger in a police car.
Sgt. Frank Polizzi, who lives about a half mile away from the Nadels, explained he saw sun-suited Michael walking along Milford Point Road and didn't recognize him as being from the neighborhood. A few youngsters nearer the Nadels' home told the policeman where the boy lived.
My parents should have been soooo embarrassed. I mean ... a sunsuit?
40 YEARS AGO
The fall of '72 was incredibly thrilling as my team, the Miami Dolphins, became the first -- and still the only -- NFL squad to go through an entire season (including playoffs) unbeaten and untied.
How did a kid from Connecticut come to like the Dolphins instead of the Patriots, Giants or Jets?
Well, I was a late bloomer when it came to sports. In fact, I kind of hated them. But as I approached adolescence, I got to be good friends with a kid named Dave Kirschner, who was a huge sports fan. He convinced me to like his favorite basketball team, the Knicks, but I wasn't about to like the Jets because, well, they pretty much sucked.
No, I was an impressionable kid and I wanted to root for a great team, and the Dolphins were coming off a Super Bowl season (they lost to the Cowboys). Plus, they had the coolest aquamarine and orange uniforms. Larry Csonka was my favorite player.
So I became a Dolphins fanatic. Eventually, a Knicks and Yankees fanatic, too. And I started keeping scrapbooks on those teams, as well as the Rangers in hockey. Which, in turn, made me fall in love with writing.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
35 YEARS AGO
Marquette won the '77 national basketball title in Al McGuire's final game as coach.
Not long after that, I went to a college fair and the Marquette representative was very persuasive. She had to be to get a Jewish kid from Connecticut who had never been east of Lancaster, Pa., to agree to freeze his keister off in freakin' Milwaukee. Why I didn't go to Arizona State or Miami or Hawaii or UCLA, I'll never know!
There are those in academia who claim that the success of athletic programs doesn't really help a university's profile. Well, I wouldn't even have known Marquette existed if not for the Warriors -- and I'm guessing thousands of others who chose to matriculate there say the same thing.
After becoming a professional sportswriter, I gave up my allegiances to the Dolphins and Knicks and Yankees and Rangers. But I always will root for Marquette hoops.
Bottom line: I was never a Dolphin or a Yankee. I'll be a Warrior forever.
30 YEARS AGO
I graduated from Marquette and began my career with the AP in Milwaukee.
These days, it's tough for graduates to get a job. How difficult is it? In article after article, the authors almost always write something like: "This is the most difficult job market for college graduates since 1982."
Yep, the 1982 recession was a rough one. I was one of only a few Marquette J-school grads to get a job in the profession. I'd love to say it was because I was the best, but I know better. It was at least 75 percent luck.
How I got that first job with AP is a great story ... and maybe you'll read about it someday if I ever write that book!
25 YEARS AGO
I covered my first Stanley Cup Finals in 1987 -- Oilers vs. Flyers -- beginning a long stretch as AP's de facto national hockey writer.
Was I chosen because I was a hockey expert? Hardly. I was working in Minnesota, so I simply was closer to Canada than anybody else. "Hey, they have lots of ice in Minnesota, right? Let's send Nadel to Edmonton."
The association with hockey worked nicely for me, as I went on to cover seven more Stanley Cups and four Olympic hockey tournaments for AP. The only two national writing awards I received were for hockey-related stories.
These days, I'm not sure I could name a dozen NHL players. Is Chris Chelios still in the league?
20 YEARS AGO
I covered my first NBA Finals -- Bulls vs. Trail Blazers.
One of my favorite keepsakes is a Portland newspaper photo of a media session. Michael Jordan is looking up at me, answering one of my questions.
Someday, one of my grandkids will ask: "Who's that guy in the picture with grandpa?" That'll be cool.
I still had hair in 1992, though it was thinning rapidly. I also had my trusty Bic 4-color pen in hand ... and I still buy them by the multi-pack.
15 YEARS AGO
Jordan had his incredible "food-poisoning game" against the Jazz in the '97 NBA Finals.
It was the only playoff game during the Bulls' Jordan Era II that I didn't cover.
While in Utah for Game 4, I got the word that my mom had died. After that game, I flew to Philadelphia for the funeral. I watched Game 5 -- the sickness game -- while sitting on my brother's sofa a few hours after we buried my mom.
10 YEARS AGO
As a freshman, my daughter Katie helped her high school team win the city championship in its division. She was the leading scorer in the playoffs and made the title-clinching steal.
Katie would go on to be the first athlete in Walter Payton College Prep history to win four varsity letters in one sport.
I still display a great framed photo, snapped by a Chicago Tribune photographer during her freshman year. The one time in her life she drove left, it was captured for all eternity.
Obviously, I was proud of Katie's exploits ... and equally proud of my boy Ben's many, many athletic triumphs. Today, both are in their mid-20s, employed and on their own -- which also makes me very proud.
For a guy who never rooted for the teams he covered, being able to cheer on my kids' teams was huge. After Ben played his last high school baseball game in 2006, I went through withdrawal. Seriously. It took me a year to get over that void.
If you have young kids and they are into sports or acting or music or whatever, enjoy the hell out of it, because the time will go by far too fast!
5 YEARS AGO
GateHouse Media bought the Copley newspapers in Illinois.
That was the beginning of the end for me, because I knew it was only a matter of time before the weasels there deemed me a luxury they no longer could afford. After all, they needed to have plenty of money on hand to give themselves bonuses and double-digit raises. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
Thankfully, 2007 also was the year we sold our last Chicago home, an overpriced condo that we never should have bought in the first place.
Despite its glorious rooftop deck that provided a sterling view of the skyline, the condo didn't sell easily. It took six full months and the process caused lots of angst. Little did we know that the housing market was in the early stages of a total freefall and we were lucky to sell at all.
We moved into an apartment with the idea that we'd buy a house, maybe in the suburbs. But the market just kept getting worse ... and then I got laid off. It sure was nice knowing we didn't have a house we couldn't afford. That "temporary" apartment ended up being home for 3 1/2 years until we moved to Charlotte.
Wow. Lots of anniversaries. Next year's the biggie, though: 30 years of wedded bliss to my wonderful Roberta. Who'da thunk a schlub like me would be lucky enough to land and keep a babe like that?
You know, despite a bad break or two, I really have lived a charmed life.
^
Monday, January 2, 2012
Rating QBs ... from Tebow to Rodgers to Romo to Hanie
^
Nobody says "The check's in the mail" any more. For one thing, nobody under the age of 80 writes checks. And pretty much nobody mails anything other than junk.
Another saying that should go into permanent hiatus: "The quarterback gets too much credit when you win and too much blame when you lose."
QB is the single most important position in team sports. (You might say hockey goalie, but let's stick to sports that people actually watch.) A team with a great quarterback has a chance to excel and a team that lacks even a good quarterback has little chance at all. Of course, there have been a few exceptions over the years in the NFL. Very few.
The QB handles the football on every play, makes dozens upon dozens of critical in-game decisions and must execute every play properly -- be it a handoff, pitch or pass -- for an offense to function. When a close game comes down to crunch time, the ability and demeanor of the quarterback usually is the one deciding factor.
Fact is, the QB never can get too much credit or blame.
I still don't think Tim Tebow can be a winning QB in the NFL over time, but he deserves credit for the Broncos' surprising success during the eight-week stretch that put them in position to back into the playoffs. And Tebow deserves at least as much blame for the team's complete collapse during the final three weeks.
If he and his passionate-bordering-on-bonkers fans don't think such scrutiny is fair, Tebow should become a linebacker or tight end.
Which, by the way, would be better positions for him.
But enough about Tim Tebow for today. There are plenty of other QBs to talk about now that the regular season has ended:
TOM BRADY: It's hard to imagine choosing another quarterback if you have to win one game.
DREW BREES: Unless it's this guy, who is almost impossibly accurate. He and the Saints are too much fun to watch.
AARON RODGERS: Then again, maybe it's this guy, the shoo-in for league MVP. If there's a Mount Rushmore of today's ridiculously good quarterbacks, Rodgers, Brees and Brady are the equivalent of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln.
PEYTON MANNING: The perfect example of the importance of having a great QB. But he isn't healthy, so right now Teddy Roosevelt would have to be ...
BEN ROETHLISBERGER: I'm fairly sure he's a jerk, and he rarely looks pretty on the field. But he has won two Super Bowls and he's got a decent chance for a third. He plays tough, he plays hurt and he usually plays really well.
ELI MANNING: Were I a Giants fan, I'd love to hate this guy. For big chunks of every game, he plays ugly. But he absolutely carried the team this year and he has a knack for pulling games out at the end. In that way, he's similar to Tebow. Except Eli's actually a QB.
MARK SANCHEZ: By far, New Jersey's worst pro QB.
CAM NEWTON: A young Steve Young, but already as polished a passer as Young became well into his career. I actually looked forward to Panthers games every week just to watch this guy.
PHILIP RIVERS: Just good enough to be not quite great enough for a Chargers team that never has quite enough.
CARSON PALMER: Still waiting to see what all the hype is about.
MIKE VICK: The rest of the NFC is glad Vick and his Philly teammates didn't realize the lockout had ended until the season was 12 weeks old.
TONY ROMO: You know this guy is talented, but there's just something missing. He's sort of Eli Manning's opposite because he far too often finds a way to lose.
REX GROSSMAN: A very, very, very poor man's Romo.
KYLE ORTON: After coming off the scrap heap to lead the Chiefs to victory over the Packers, and then helping knock off Tebow in the season finale, Orton probably earned a very nice paycheck for himself next season. And speaking of guys who earned a big payday ...
MATT FLYNN: Aaron Who? Brett Who?
MATTHEW STAFFORD: Looks like he can be pretty special, at least as long as he can stay healthy -- and as long as Calvin Johnson is on the field with him.
MATT SCHAUB: A shame he got hurt just as the Texans were starting to get good.
ALEX SMITH: Finally came into his own in San Fran under Jim Harbaugh. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does under playoff pressure.
ANDY DALTON: Obviously skilled ... but will he be more than Carson Palmer?
SAM BRADFORD: Not enough information to know if he's a superstar in the making or an injury-prone bust in the making.
CHRISTIAN PONDER: A great big "We'll see."
JOE FLACCO: Eli Manning Lite.
JAY CUTLER: Another Romo-type who can make all the plays but often doesn't. Still, Chicago fans learned the hard way this year that there are a lot worse QBs than Cutler. Such as ...
CALEB HANIE: Sure, I'll have fries with that.
^
Monday, November 28, 2011
Stevie Johnson = clown; Caleb Hanie = dud
^
My favorite sports story from the weekend has to be Bills receiver Stevie Johnson catching a TD pass, doing a celebration that mocked convicted felon Plaxico Burress and then suffering the consequences.
First, Johnson was penalized 15 yards for his silliness, a penalty that directly led to a Jets TD -- by Burress, no less.
Then, with the Bills desperately trying to drive for the winning score, Johnson dropped a perfectly thrown long pass that hit him right in the hands.
Finally, with one last chance to redeem himself, Johnson failed to make what would have been a very nice play on a catchable ball in the end zone.
Karma is a bitch.
Oh, and Johnson later said that when he pretended to shoot himself in the leg, he really wasn't trying to mock Burress' infamous nightclub-gun-fun episode. Oy.
Look, I like TD celebrations. Many are fun and clever -- and most are no more disruptive or planned than the Lambeau Leap.
If you're gonna do them, however, you have to own them. You can't later deny your intentions. More than anything else, you have to be good enough to back up your actions with deeds on the field.
Little Stevie, as immature as his name suggests, failed on all counts.
----
----
And speaking of failing ...
For all those who really think the Bears would be better off without Jay Cutler, well, may I present to you ... Caleb Hanie.
NFL executives screw up sometimes. For example, nobody drafted Kurt Warner. Not many other QBs who weren't drafted at all even have played a down in the league, let alone been any good.
What I'm trying to say is that Hanie wasn't drafted for a reason.
I don't particularly like Cutler, one of the more overrated, overhyped guys in recent Chicago sports history. But at least he's got viable NFL quarterbacking skills.
Frankly, I'm amazed the Bears were able to stay as close to the Raiders as they did.
^
Monday, July 25, 2011
Lockouts, shooting sprees and everything in between
^
This Week's Top Ten:
10. Congrats to NFL owners and players for settling on a collective bargaining agreement in time to save the season. Now if they only could do something important and get Congress and the White House to agree on a debt-ceiling package. How 'bout it, Jerry Jones and Tom Brady?
9. Republicans are afraid that ending tax loopholes and enacting other revenue-producing steps will hurt the economy (as well as piss off their rich -- oops, sorry, their "job-creating" -- friends). Democrats, meanwhile, believe entitlement programs can grow forever and ever without hurting the economy at all. Compromise, of course, is the obvious solution ... but apparently obvious only to those of us who aren't in position to make such decisions.
8. The Tour de France has ended. Tune in tomorrow for the Tour de Doping Scandal.
7. Good news, folks: It looks like we're about to use millions more in taxpayer dollars on a second Roger Clemens trial that's bound to be at least as satisfying and meaningful as the first. And we wonder why our nation is in hock up to its collective eyeballs.
6. I have a timeshare I'm thinking about giving away just so I no longer will have to pay the annual fee. Kind of like the Cubs' thoughts regarding Alfonso Soriano ... except I think I'll be able to avoid having to pay $40 million just to get somebody to take my week in Myrtle Beach.
5. Maybe you've noticed (but probably you haven't) that I've been blogging pretty infrequently lately. You'll be pleased to know that somehow I've managed to survive the financial consequences of such inactivity.
4. Here's something interesting: LeBron went on ESPN to announce he's taking his talents to South Beach to do nothing.
3. Someday I'm going to figure out why South Korean women dominate the LPGA Tour but hardly any of their male counterparts even play on the PGA Tour.
2. On the same weekend the NFL lockout effectively ended came the first rumors of Brett Favre's next un-retirement. Talk about perfect timing.
1. To draw attention to his belief that Muslims are evil murderers, a gun-loving evangelical Christian murdered dozens of innocent non-Islam children. The human race is so screwed.
^
This Week's Top Ten:
10. Congrats to NFL owners and players for settling on a collective bargaining agreement in time to save the season. Now if they only could do something important and get Congress and the White House to agree on a debt-ceiling package. How 'bout it, Jerry Jones and Tom Brady?
9. Republicans are afraid that ending tax loopholes and enacting other revenue-producing steps will hurt the economy (as well as piss off their rich -- oops, sorry, their "job-creating" -- friends). Democrats, meanwhile, believe entitlement programs can grow forever and ever without hurting the economy at all. Compromise, of course, is the obvious solution ... but apparently obvious only to those of us who aren't in position to make such decisions.
8. The Tour de France has ended. Tune in tomorrow for the Tour de Doping Scandal.
7. Good news, folks: It looks like we're about to use millions more in taxpayer dollars on a second Roger Clemens trial that's bound to be at least as satisfying and meaningful as the first. And we wonder why our nation is in hock up to its collective eyeballs.
6. I have a timeshare I'm thinking about giving away just so I no longer will have to pay the annual fee. Kind of like the Cubs' thoughts regarding Alfonso Soriano ... except I think I'll be able to avoid having to pay $40 million just to get somebody to take my week in Myrtle Beach.
5. Maybe you've noticed (but probably you haven't) that I've been blogging pretty infrequently lately. You'll be pleased to know that somehow I've managed to survive the financial consequences of such inactivity.
4. Here's something interesting: LeBron went on ESPN to announce he's taking his talents to South Beach to do nothing.
3. Someday I'm going to figure out why South Korean women dominate the LPGA Tour but hardly any of their male counterparts even play on the PGA Tour.
2. On the same weekend the NFL lockout effectively ended came the first rumors of Brett Favre's next un-retirement. Talk about perfect timing.
1. To draw attention to his belief that Muslims are evil murderers, a gun-loving evangelical Christian murdered dozens of innocent non-Islam children. The human race is so screwed.
^
Friday, January 21, 2011
Prediction: A Super Sunday Parity Party
^
Whichever QB gets pounded less will win.
It says here that will be Aaron Rodgers, who also happens to be a significantly better QB than Jay Cutler.
Packers 17, Bears 13.
Also: Jets 20, Steelers 17. Why? Why not?
Two No. 6 seeds in the Super Bowl ... Pete Rozelle's dream finally will have come true.
^
Whichever QB gets pounded less will win.
It says here that will be Aaron Rodgers, who also happens to be a significantly better QB than Jay Cutler.
Packers 17, Bears 13.
Also: Jets 20, Steelers 17. Why? Why not?
Two No. 6 seeds in the Super Bowl ... Pete Rozelle's dream finally will have come true.
^
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Belichick: From genius to choker
^
Umm ... how do I put this subtlely? How 'bout this:
Bill Belichick choked.
With his Patriots trailing the Jets by 10 with 12:55 to play, ol' Hoodie McHoodster let Tom Brady and the great Pats offense take their sweet time meandering down the field. The ChowdahHeads kept running the ball, kept taking full huddles, kept milking the clock.
Tick ... tick ... tick. If you didn't know any better, you'd have thought the Pats were up by 10 points rather than down 2 scores.
Nearly 8 minutes later, the Patriots gave up the ball on downs. Didn't even get off a stinkin' field-goal attempt. Game over.
Yes, Brady had a less-than-stellar game. Still, on New England's previous possession, he guided the team 80 yards in less than 4 minutes, passing on almost every down.
There seemed to be plenty of time left for some patented Brady magic ... until Belichick & his offensive braintrust used up nearly all the time, 3 and 4 yards at a time.
It was a choke of Cubbian proportions, and it's all on Hoodie.
^
Umm ... how do I put this subtlely? How 'bout this:
Bill Belichick choked.
With his Patriots trailing the Jets by 10 with 12:55 to play, ol' Hoodie McHoodster let Tom Brady and the great Pats offense take their sweet time meandering down the field. The ChowdahHeads kept running the ball, kept taking full huddles, kept milking the clock.
Tick ... tick ... tick. If you didn't know any better, you'd have thought the Pats were up by 10 points rather than down 2 scores.
Nearly 8 minutes later, the Patriots gave up the ball on downs. Didn't even get off a stinkin' field-goal attempt. Game over.
Yes, Brady had a less-than-stellar game. Still, on New England's previous possession, he guided the team 80 yards in less than 4 minutes, passing on almost every down.
There seemed to be plenty of time left for some patented Brady magic ... until Belichick & his offensive braintrust used up nearly all the time, 3 and 4 yards at a time.
It was a choke of Cubbian proportions, and it's all on Hoodie.
^
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Today's High 5 - NFL Playoff Edition
^
5. Just wondering if Cam Newton's father will be his agent in the NFL, too. And, if so, will Mr. Newton manage to get his son even more money than he did at the Triple-A level?
4. Ray Lewis vs. Ben Roethlisberger ... now there's a matchup of upstanding citizens. Can we root for both buses to run out of gas on the way to the stadium? As good as the Steelers are, they were no better at home this season (5-3) than the Ravens were on the road. So I'm smelling a road upset here. Either that, or Troy Polamalu needs to change shampoo brands again. Ravens 20, Steelers 19.
3. If the Packers really do have a running game, as certainly seemed to be the case in their playoff opener, they could run the table this postseason. Aaron Rodgers and their D are that good. Won't be easy to win in Atlanta, though. I mean, just ask any of the Atlanta franchises how difficult it is to win playoff games there! Packers 24, Falcons 20.
2. Despite going 7-9, the Seahawks got to host the Saints in their playoff opener. If only they had gone 4-12, they'd have gotten to host the Bears this Sunday, too. I'm trying to figure out if there is any possible way the Bears can blow this one, and I'm failing. We'll see if Jay Cutler proves me wrong by throwing to the same DB 4 times. Bears 27, Seahawks 10.
1. Gotta love all the trash-talking leading up to the Jets-Pats game. But enough about Rex Ryan. Given that Mark Sanchez usually messes up about four times a game ... and Tom Brady doesn't ... I'm going with Brady. Besides, without that player-tripping dude on their sideline, what chance do the Jets really have? Patriots 23, Jets 13.
^
5. Just wondering if Cam Newton's father will be his agent in the NFL, too. And, if so, will Mr. Newton manage to get his son even more money than he did at the Triple-A level?
4. Ray Lewis vs. Ben Roethlisberger ... now there's a matchup of upstanding citizens. Can we root for both buses to run out of gas on the way to the stadium? As good as the Steelers are, they were no better at home this season (5-3) than the Ravens were on the road. So I'm smelling a road upset here. Either that, or Troy Polamalu needs to change shampoo brands again. Ravens 20, Steelers 19.
3. If the Packers really do have a running game, as certainly seemed to be the case in their playoff opener, they could run the table this postseason. Aaron Rodgers and their D are that good. Won't be easy to win in Atlanta, though. I mean, just ask any of the Atlanta franchises how difficult it is to win playoff games there! Packers 24, Falcons 20.
2. Despite going 7-9, the Seahawks got to host the Saints in their playoff opener. If only they had gone 4-12, they'd have gotten to host the Bears this Sunday, too. I'm trying to figure out if there is any possible way the Bears can blow this one, and I'm failing. We'll see if Jay Cutler proves me wrong by throwing to the same DB 4 times. Bears 27, Seahawks 10.
1. Gotta love all the trash-talking leading up to the Jets-Pats game. But enough about Rex Ryan. Given that Mark Sanchez usually messes up about four times a game ... and Tom Brady doesn't ... I'm going with Brady. Besides, without that player-tripping dude on their sideline, what chance do the Jets really have? Patriots 23, Jets 13.
^
Monday, January 3, 2011
Today's High 5 - NFL Edition
^
5. Interesting strategy by Lovie Smith: preparing for the playoffs by letting the Bears' QB get pummeled again and again and again in a meaningless game. Maybe he was thinking that if Jay Cutler gets smacked upside the head often enough, he'll stop throwing the football to the other team.
4. Several other coaches whose teams previously had clinched playoff positions didn't play their QBs the whole way and gave numerous starters the week off. Every year, there is a debate about which strategy is the best, and the evidence is pretty inconclusive. Still, were I in this situation, I would minimize the risk to my QB and other important players. But hey, I'd also make my players stop carrying guns into nightclubs, so what do I know?
3. How would you like to be a Panthers season-ticket holder? The owner, Jerry Richardson, threw away the season by employing a lame-duck coach and letting some of the team's best players leave last offseason without getting any compensation in return. A contrite Richardson thanked fans for their loyalty and said he'd make it up to them by building a team they can be proud of again, but I'm guessing he won't reduce ticket prices. He's also one of the hard-line owners in the fight against the union that could cancel the 2011 season. Yep, a real man of the people. Makes me proud to be a Carolinan.
2. Eagles-Packers is going to be a great first-round playoff game. Mikie Vick is fun to watch and the Eagles have a lot of offensive talent, but I wouldn't want to be playing the Packers right now. They bring it on D, and have a pretty good QB themselves.
1. Given that Brett Favre looked 41 going on 65 this season, I finally believe him when he says he is retiring for good. In many ways, it's a shame he didn't leave after last season, when he was sensational, but it's hard to blame him for returning to try for an encore. Although Favre came out of 2010 looking like a scumbag for some off-the-field shenanigans, nothing that happened on the field diminished his legacy as one of the great QBs and competitors of all time. I'll miss watching him play.
^
5. Interesting strategy by Lovie Smith: preparing for the playoffs by letting the Bears' QB get pummeled again and again and again in a meaningless game. Maybe he was thinking that if Jay Cutler gets smacked upside the head often enough, he'll stop throwing the football to the other team.
4. Several other coaches whose teams previously had clinched playoff positions didn't play their QBs the whole way and gave numerous starters the week off. Every year, there is a debate about which strategy is the best, and the evidence is pretty inconclusive. Still, were I in this situation, I would minimize the risk to my QB and other important players. But hey, I'd also make my players stop carrying guns into nightclubs, so what do I know?
3. How would you like to be a Panthers season-ticket holder? The owner, Jerry Richardson, threw away the season by employing a lame-duck coach and letting some of the team's best players leave last offseason without getting any compensation in return. A contrite Richardson thanked fans for their loyalty and said he'd make it up to them by building a team they can be proud of again, but I'm guessing he won't reduce ticket prices. He's also one of the hard-line owners in the fight against the union that could cancel the 2011 season. Yep, a real man of the people. Makes me proud to be a Carolinan.
2. Eagles-Packers is going to be a great first-round playoff game. Mikie Vick is fun to watch and the Eagles have a lot of offensive talent, but I wouldn't want to be playing the Packers right now. They bring it on D, and have a pretty good QB themselves.
1. Given that Brett Favre looked 41 going on 65 this season, I finally believe him when he says he is retiring for good. In many ways, it's a shame he didn't leave after last season, when he was sensational, but it's hard to blame him for returning to try for an encore. Although Favre came out of 2010 looking like a scumbag for some off-the-field shenanigans, nothing that happened on the field diminished his legacy as one of the great QBs and competitors of all time. I'll miss watching him play.
^
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Today's High 5
^
5. NFL commish Roger Goodell loves to crack down big-time on players, even those who have paid their debts to society after acts that have nothing to do with football. Then, when he had the chance to lay down the law against that Jets strength coach who intentionally tripped a defenseless Dolphins player during a game, Goodell barely delivered a slap on the wrist. Instead of getting fired and barred from working in the NFL again - a punishment that would have fit a heinous football crime - the guy got suspended for a few games. Talk about a pathetic double-standard.
4. Thanks to the popped pimple that is the Metrodome, the Bears and Vikings will play next Monday at the University of Minnesota's new field. Beautiful. Two bad cold-weather teams forced to play in miserable conditions just a mile or so away from the domed stadium that turned the Viqueens into wimps in poor weather. Somehow poetic, no?
3. Is anybody with even half a brain still wondering why the Vikings didn't bench Brett Favre to play Tarvaris Jackson?
2. No matter what one thinks of Favre, his consecutive-games streak truly was one of the great accomplishments in sports history. Even if he needed performance-enhancing drugs (illegally obtained painkillers) to keep it going over the years.
1. Even Philly fans will have trouble booing Cliff Lee after he accepted significantly less - in both money and security - from their team while rejecting the Yankees and Rangers. Lee is a hero in Philly ... and he's still filthy, stinkin' rich. Makes you wonder why more athletes don't do this kind of thing.
^
5. NFL commish Roger Goodell loves to crack down big-time on players, even those who have paid their debts to society after acts that have nothing to do with football. Then, when he had the chance to lay down the law against that Jets strength coach who intentionally tripped a defenseless Dolphins player during a game, Goodell barely delivered a slap on the wrist. Instead of getting fired and barred from working in the NFL again - a punishment that would have fit a heinous football crime - the guy got suspended for a few games. Talk about a pathetic double-standard.
4. Thanks to the popped pimple that is the Metrodome, the Bears and Vikings will play next Monday at the University of Minnesota's new field. Beautiful. Two bad cold-weather teams forced to play in miserable conditions just a mile or so away from the domed stadium that turned the Viqueens into wimps in poor weather. Somehow poetic, no?
3. Is anybody with even half a brain still wondering why the Vikings didn't bench Brett Favre to play Tarvaris Jackson?
2. No matter what one thinks of Favre, his consecutive-games streak truly was one of the great accomplishments in sports history. Even if he needed performance-enhancing drugs (illegally obtained painkillers) to keep it going over the years.
1. Even Philly fans will have trouble booing Cliff Lee after he accepted significantly less - in both money and security - from their team while rejecting the Yankees and Rangers. Lee is a hero in Philly ... and he's still filthy, stinkin' rich. Makes you wonder why more athletes don't do this kind of thing.
^
Monday, December 13, 2010
Of Bear Weather and a bearish wait for the next Dexter
^
The Bald Truth
"Bear Weather."
Is there a bigger myth in all of sport?
About once every three years or so, the Bears play a late-season game at Soldier Field against an inferior, warm-weather team ... and when that team pisses down its collective leg, all we hear about is "Bear Weather."
But how many times does what happened Sunday against the Patriots happen? How often are the Bears overwhelmed at Soldier Field in conditions supposedly made for the home squad? More often than I can count.
In this case, Tom Brady and the Patriots were coming off an emotional victory over a division rival only six days earlier. They had every reason to suffer a letdown against a Bears team that supposedly was ready to prove doubters wrong. And to top it off, it was snowy and windy and very, well, Bear Weatherish out there.
Then the game started. And pretty much ended by midway through the second quarter. Bear fans couldn't even muster the energy to boo the home team.
Hey, that the Bears aren't as good as the Patriots isn't exactly a stop-the-press declaration. Once again, the Patriots are football's best team ... and it really isn't close.
Still ...
Being humiliated on your home field in "your" weather? Well, that has to be almost too much for Lovie's lads to bear.
The Balder Truth
Here in Charlotte, CBS turned off the Patriots-Bears game in the third quarter and switched to Dolphins-Jets.
If only my friends back in Chicago could have been treated to such mercy.
THE BALDEST TRUTH
On a much sadder note ...
With Sunday night's finale, another season of Showtime's Dexter has come and gone. And now we must go months and months without TV's most complex character - portrayed brilliantly, as always, by the spectacular Michael Hall - and his incredible supporting cast.
Bummer.
Dexter truly is one of the great shows in television history, so every season is great. With sensational guest-star turns by Julia Stiles and Peter Weller and with more twists and turns than the Blue Ridge Parkway, this season was especially thrilling.
Which, of course, makes the wait for Season 6 all the more excrutiating!
^
The Bald Truth
"Bear Weather."
Is there a bigger myth in all of sport?
About once every three years or so, the Bears play a late-season game at Soldier Field against an inferior, warm-weather team ... and when that team pisses down its collective leg, all we hear about is "Bear Weather."
But how many times does what happened Sunday against the Patriots happen? How often are the Bears overwhelmed at Soldier Field in conditions supposedly made for the home squad? More often than I can count.
In this case, Tom Brady and the Patriots were coming off an emotional victory over a division rival only six days earlier. They had every reason to suffer a letdown against a Bears team that supposedly was ready to prove doubters wrong. And to top it off, it was snowy and windy and very, well, Bear Weatherish out there.
Then the game started. And pretty much ended by midway through the second quarter. Bear fans couldn't even muster the energy to boo the home team.
Hey, that the Bears aren't as good as the Patriots isn't exactly a stop-the-press declaration. Once again, the Patriots are football's best team ... and it really isn't close.
Still ...
Being humiliated on your home field in "your" weather? Well, that has to be almost too much for Lovie's lads to bear.
The Balder Truth
Here in Charlotte, CBS turned off the Patriots-Bears game in the third quarter and switched to Dolphins-Jets.
If only my friends back in Chicago could have been treated to such mercy.
THE BALDEST TRUTH
On a much sadder note ...
With Sunday night's finale, another season of Showtime's Dexter has come and gone. And now we must go months and months without TV's most complex character - portrayed brilliantly, as always, by the spectacular Michael Hall - and his incredible supporting cast.
Bummer.
Dexter truly is one of the great shows in television history, so every season is great. With sensational guest-star turns by Julia Stiles and Peter Weller and with more twists and turns than the Blue Ridge Parkway, this season was especially thrilling.
Which, of course, makes the wait for Season 6 all the more excrutiating!
^
Friday, October 23, 2009
The bald truth about Cedric Benson
^
The Bald Truth
Cedric Benson says that Bears players resented him while he was in Chicago and that Bears honchos badmouthed and blackballed him after he left. Lovie Smith says they didn't. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who has benefited from Benson's emergence, says Smith actually spoke up on Benson's behalf. What really happened?
Aside from Benson pissing off the Bears by not inviting any of them on his party boat, that is?
Well, here goes ...
Immediately after the Bears drafted him, Benson played the poor-poor-pitiful-me routine, actually crying because he was ready to prove all the naysayers wrong.
He wasn't all that ready, though, because he held out and missed the start of camp. Then, upon signing, he was arrogant and aloof.
So it was all Benson's fault then? Not exactly.
Thomas Jones, obviously threatened by the presence of a top draft pick at his position, was very popular with the other players and took every opportunity to turn his teammates against Benson. Defensive players relished the opportunity to take extra-hard shots at the cocky Benson during training camp.
Just because Benson is paranoid doesn't mean many of his teammates weren't out to get him.
As for blackballing ...
Because Benson offered not even a sliver of evidence, it's pretty tough to give his charge much credence. He's bitter and has an ax to grind. Of course, the fact that the Bears wasted the fourth-overall draft pick and a lot of money on Benson gave some front-office types motive to do a little blackballing.
We probably never will know the truth about that part of the story. So let's just say that if Benson's Bengals beat the Bears in Cinci this Sunday, he's right. And if he loses, he's wrong.
Sounds fair to me.
For what it's worth, the Bengals say they love Benson, who is the league's third-leading rusher. They praise his work habits and say he's a good guy in the locker room. The Bears probably think that if Benson had been this dedicated way back when, things would have been different for him in Chicago.
In the end, this clearly is one of those deals in which everybody won.
Benson needed to get out of Chicago.
The Bears needed to move on.
The Bengals needed a good tailback.
Benson has helped Cincinnati become one of the NFL's surprise teams.
And Matt Forte has the Bears' running game going in high gear. As long as "reverse" also is considered a gear.
The Balder Truth
One could say that Mike Scioscia pulled his starter too early and that Joe Girardi pulled his starter too late.
Or one could say that the pitchers employed by both ALCS teams should have done better at the jobs they are paid handsomely to do.
Egads! Actually holding zillionaire athletes accountable! Have I lost my mind?
As it turned out, after blowing a 4-0 lead, the Angels rallied for a 7-6 victory over the Yankees, sending the series back to New York for Game 6 ... and making their manager look less stupid.
By the way, we all should be as stupid as Scioscia and Girardi.
THE BALDEST TRUTH
It's so sad to hear that Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas are having a spat.
I mean, isn't it time for them to kiss (again) and make up?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Bears: Scared of the dark
^
This Week's NFL Top Ten Things:
1. Good news for the Bears: They only have one more Sunday night game scheduled.
And if they have a chance to be "flexed" into another, they should politely turn it down.
Weird stuff happens on Sunday nights to Lovie's Lads - who are 3-0 during the day and 0-2 in prime time, with losses at Green Bay to start the season and now at Atlanta.
Jay Cutler is Mr. Franchise in the afternoon, Mr. Not So Much at night. Matt Forte, who just about never fumbles, coughs up the football on consecutive goal-line plays. Pisa Tinoisamoa gets hurt on the first play of the season at Green Bay, misses the next three games and then gets hurt again at Atlanta. Orlando Pace, the 119-year-old statue of a left tackle, costs the Bears dearly when he loses his balance for a penalty on a late fourth-and-1 snap at the Georgia Dome. The special teams, sensational in the three afternoon games, are mistake-prone, penalty-prone and what-the-f-just-happened prone at night.
And it doesn't get any weirder than this:
Lovie actually admits to NBC's Andrea Kremer that he and his defense have been bamboozled by Atlanta's no-huddle offense.
2. With the Patriots leading the Titans 45-0 in the third quarter, Hoodie Belichick still had Tom Brady in the game.
Not only that ... Brady, who missed all but a few plays of 2008 with a knee injury, was still dropping back, still planting his surgically repaired knee in the New England snow and still flinging passes.
If anything happened to Brady, Pats owner Bob Kraft would have had little choice but to fire Hoodie immediately.
Either that, or shoot him.
3. Quote of the day (and perhaps the season) from Titans tight end Bo Scaife:
"I don't think anybody in this league is 59 points better than us."
Way to stand proud, Bo!
4. It's fun to watch the way great QBs such as Drew Brees and Brett Favre trust their receivers to make big plays.
The receivers in New Orleans and Minnesota aren't always wide open but Brees and Favre put the ball in places that let their guys jump or dive or stretch or do whatever they have to do to catch passes - and to make great QBs look even greater.
Guys like Brees and Favre don't just "take what the defense gives us." That's what losers do.
Brees and Favre try to take what needs to be taken. Not coincidentally, their teams have yet to lose.
5. Obviously inspired by Rush Limbaugh's ouster from a potential ownership group ...
The Rams went out and almost didn't suck.
6. Only time will tell if Rex Ryan is as big a head-coaching fraud as his old man was.
He's off to a good start.
7. Goat of the day:
You could almost hear Steve Hauschka's knees knockin' as the young Ravens kicker lined up for the 44-yard field goal that would have beaten the Vikings.
8. My wife thinks Falcons coach Mike Smith "kinda looks like Paulie Walnuts."
And, you know what? Add a few streaks of black dye to Smith's hair, and she's kinda right!
9. It seems statistically impossible that the Redskins have faced only winless teams in their first six games.
Bad as the Redskins are, it seems just plain impossible that they actually have won twice.
10. One week after going 2-of-17 for 23 yards with a 15.1 rating, Derek Anderson really lit it up for the Browns:
9-of-24 for 122 yards with a 51.0 rating as the Browns managed to get outgained by a mere 346 yards against the Steelers.
Anderson, by the by, is entrenched as Eric Mangenius' QB.
Um ... how bad must Brady Quinn be?
BONUS THING: If they were playing the Phillies, the Eagles would have lost 11-9.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Lofa Tatupu and then Jay Cutler? Please!
^
Wow. Not a single Chicago Bear is ranked in the top 56 on Sporting News' 2009 list of the NFL's 100 greatest players. And get this: Jay Cutler is No. 68, right between Lofa Tatupu and Kris Jenkins.
Sixty-freakin'-eight!!!
This is all the information anybody needs to realize that the list is a complete sham, my friends.
Peyton Manning No. 1? Just wait 'til he has to go head-to-head in the Super Bowl against a team not quarterbacked by Rex! Bears 40, Colts 1.
Tom Brady No. 2? Let's see if he even makes it to Week 2 this year.
Adrian Peterson No. 3? Clearly, this selection was influenced by the superior Bears tailback of the same name.
I mean, who did these rankings? Packer fans, cloistered monks and Josh McDaniels' Cutler-hating staff?
Obviously, this should have been the NFL's top 10:
1. Jay Cutler. Nuff said.
2. More Jay Cutler. He throws so nice, he gets ranked twice.
3. Devin Hester. That speed ... Jay's arm ... pure magic!
4. Earl Bennett. You know that age-old football saying: There's no passer-catcher combo like one from Vanderbilt.
5. Greg Olsen. Was a great tight end even with Orton throwing to him.
6. Dez Clark. Ditto.
7. Matt Forte. Delightfully nuanced with a delicate bouquet ... nobody hands off like Cutler.
8. Olin Kreutz. The only center lucky enough to have Jay's hands you-know-where.
9. Orlando Pace. Knowing he must protect Cutler's blind side is all the motivation any left tackle needs.
10. Brian Urlacher. Just for being Jay's pal.
There. Glad that's settled. Now let's do the list of NFL teams that will go undefeated, untied and unscored-upon in 2009:
1. Bears.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
It is Favre's life, isn't it?
^
The Bald Truth
Nobody likes a waffler, a flip-flopper, a dude who can't make up his stinkin' mind. But enough about Barack Obama and his health plan.
Seriously, why all the hate for Brett Favre?
Obviously, most folks in Minnesota are loving their newest Viking hero. And most people in Green Bay don't appreciate Favre now throwing for the enemy. And, of course, most Chicagoans would spit on Favre no matter his team (unless it was da Bears, my friend).
Otherwise, what's the big deal? Why are so many people so upset that Favre can't bring himself to walk away from the game he loves?
The Bald Truth
Nobody likes a waffler, a flip-flopper, a dude who can't make up his stinkin' mind. But enough about Barack Obama and his health plan.
Seriously, why all the hate for Brett Favre?
Obviously, most folks in Minnesota are loving their newest Viking hero. And most people in Green Bay don't appreciate Favre now throwing for the enemy. And, of course, most Chicagoans would spit on Favre no matter his team (unless it was da Bears, my friend).
Otherwise, what's the big deal? Why are so many people so upset that Favre can't bring himself to walk away from the game he loves?
Michael Jordan felt some of the same hate way back when. So did Sugar Ray Leonard. It made no sense.
Once upon a time, we hated quitters. Now, apparently, we hate guys who won't quit.
If Favre ends up stinking up the Humptydome, that's his problem (and the Vikings' massive problem). He's the one taking the risk (though perhaps not as big a risk as Minny's taking).
Some would argue that he's just being selfish. Well ... duh! If you can name one pro athlete who isn't at least a little selfish - and three who aren't a lot selfish - I'll be very impressed.
Bottom line: If you retired from your job but almost immediately had misgivings, and then a different employer in the same field offered you big money, killer benefits and ideal working conditions ... I'm guessing you'd make a comeback, too.
And I, for one, wouldn't hate you because you waffled.
The Balder Truth
Viking fans haven't been this giddy since 1989, when an already good team brought in Herschel Walker as the final piece of its championship puzzle.
That turned out pretty well, no?
THE BALDEST TRUTH
And speaking of old jocks who keep on keeping on ...
Nice move by the Cardinals to pick up John Smoltz - and for a heck of a lot less money than the Vikings are paying Favre.
If Smoltz works out as the No. 5 starter, he could be the difference in the pennant race.
If he fails, he likely will not have been hit any harder than the other bottom-of-the-rotation noodle-arms the Cards have been trotting out there. In other words, the team probably will have been no worse off.
Besides, this is starting to feel like one of those stretches in which just about everything the Redbirds touch turns to gold.
So figure Smoltz for a few wins - no doubt backed by Matt Holliday homers, Mark DeRosa RBIs and Julio Lugo fielding plays.
Why, Tony La Russa will be so happy, he actually might think about smiling for a second.
Once upon a time, we hated quitters. Now, apparently, we hate guys who won't quit.
If Favre ends up stinking up the Humptydome, that's his problem (and the Vikings' massive problem). He's the one taking the risk (though perhaps not as big a risk as Minny's taking).
Some would argue that he's just being selfish. Well ... duh! If you can name one pro athlete who isn't at least a little selfish - and three who aren't a lot selfish - I'll be very impressed.
Bottom line: If you retired from your job but almost immediately had misgivings, and then a different employer in the same field offered you big money, killer benefits and ideal working conditions ... I'm guessing you'd make a comeback, too.
And I, for one, wouldn't hate you because you waffled.
The Balder Truth
Viking fans haven't been this giddy since 1989, when an already good team brought in Herschel Walker as the final piece of its championship puzzle.
That turned out pretty well, no?
THE BALDEST TRUTH
And speaking of old jocks who keep on keeping on ...
Nice move by the Cardinals to pick up John Smoltz - and for a heck of a lot less money than the Vikings are paying Favre.
If Smoltz works out as the No. 5 starter, he could be the difference in the pennant race.
If he fails, he likely will not have been hit any harder than the other bottom-of-the-rotation noodle-arms the Cards have been trotting out there. In other words, the team probably will have been no worse off.
Besides, this is starting to feel like one of those stretches in which just about everything the Redbirds touch turns to gold.
So figure Smoltz for a few wins - no doubt backed by Matt Holliday homers, Mark DeRosa RBIs and Julio Lugo fielding plays.
Why, Tony La Russa will be so happy, he actually might think about smiling for a second.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Vikes insist on wearing purple, so Favre takes a pass
^
The List
Top five reasons Brett Favre decided against coming out of retirement to play for the Vikings:
5. "If I can't play with the Bears' Adrian Peterson, I don't want to play with any Adrian Peterson at all!"
4. "Purple only looks good on Whoopi, Barney and Prince."
3. "It's my dream to play baseball, and Jerry Reinsdorf has a spot for me on the Birmingham Barons."
2. "That control freak Roger Goodell won't let me wear Wranglers during games!"
1. "I don't want anything to happen on the field that might tarnish my Jets legacy."
The Bald Truth
A walk and a hit?
After only 15 perfect innings?
Boy, Mark Buehrle sucks!
The Balder Truth
We got a look at what makes a perfect game so damn near impossible - and even a shutout an outstanding accomplishment.
Though he pitched masterfully again Tuesday, Buehrle was charged with five runs and a loss because neither LF Scott Podsednik nor 2B Chris Getz could make what should have been routine plays.
Ah, but give Podsednik and Getz a break. They aren't perfect, you know.
THE BALDEST TRUTH
Twinkie fans at the Humpty Dome cheered for Buehrle after he walked Alexi Casilla with two outs in the sixth, gave him a standing O again after he gave up a single to the next batter, Denard Span, and cheered long and loud until he tipped his cap after he was taken out of the game in the seventh.
I wish I could say I was surprised by the classiness of Minnesotans, but having spent a very enjoyable decade of my life there, I'm not.
Folks there are nice. Period.
Seems the cold weather keeps the riffraff out.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Bo-ring!
^
The day after the MLB All-Star Game is the worst day in sports.
No major league ballgames.
NFL training camp hasn't opened yet.
It's offseason for the NBA and NHL (and well after the opening of free agency in those leagues, so there isn't even much news).
Wimbledon is over and The Open Championship hasn't started.
When WNBA games, Brett Favre silliness and speculation about Allen Iverson signing with the Clippers are the day's big-ticket items, well, we might as well have slept in.
The beautiful thing: The siesta is a short one. Even as I write this, Tiger & Friends are mere hours away from teeing it up over the pond.
Baseball will be back, too, replete with folks talking about their team being only x games out "in the loss column" and y games out of the wild-card lead. (Or, in the case of the Nationals, zzzzz games out of fourth place.)
Soon enough, the All-Star festivities will be but a distant memory ... and humidity will descend upon St. Louis with enough force to curl those porn-star 'staches the Cardinals are growing.
Yes, all will be right with the world.
In the meantime ... hey, how 'bout that Chamique Holdsclaw, huh? With her putting 28 points on the board for the Dream, those lamentable Lynx never had a chance!
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