The college football season begins in earnest tonight with a huge game at 10:15 pm ET on ESPN featuring #14 Oregon at #16 Boise State. Since the season is now upon us, I just wanted to offer up a few thoughts about the college football scene this year. I believe that the 2009 college football season has the potential to be an epic one. All you have to do is start at the top. I can’t recall a time when 3 excellent players and Heisman Trophy contenders from arguably the top 3 schools in the nation all returned to school and put the NFL off for a year. Florida QB Tim Tebow, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, and Texas QB Colt McCoy should make things very exciting for college football fans in ‘09. And without question, these three will be instrumental in guiding their teams toward a national championship.
While I expect a great season of football and some awesome games, I think there are only a handful of contenders for the title and I do not anticipate a dark horse making a run. Florida is clearly the favorite to repeat as National Champion. They are returning all 11 starters on defense and the return of Tebow will keep their high powered offense rolling. I have stated before that I do not like Tim Tebow, mostly because of how the media tends to portray the guy as perfect. I respect his will to win and compete, but I feel that he will just turn out to be one of those college phenoms who eventually fall flat when they get to the NFL. With that said though, the guy is a beast on the college level and I don’t think he will let the team get lazy. I see Florida cruising to win the SEC East and then most likely matching up with Alabama, LSU, or Mississippi for the SEC Championship which they should also win. Due to the SEC being the toughest conference, Florida should be able to withstand one loss as long as it is not in the SEC Championship game. Someone could surprise them, which does seem to happen every year, but they will be favored to win every single game and make it to the BCS Title game.
Florida’s likely opponent in that game could be decided on October 17th when Texas takes on Oklahoma. Last year, Texas won the game 45-35, but due to a crazy rule in the Big 12 that uses BCS standings as one of the tiebreakers to determine a division champion, Oklahoma beat out Texas for the Big 12 South Division Title and were then able to parlay that into a Big 12 Championship win and a shot at the National Title. I don’t expect such shenanigans this year and the winner of this game will likely win the Big 12 South and be able to get to the BCS Title game. The game should be one hell of a shootout between Bradford and McCoy. McCoy is the trendy pick this year for the Heisman Trophy and many people are taking Texas to make it to the BCS Title game. I tend to agree and have to jump on the bandwagon. I believe Texas will find enough motivation from last year’s disappointment to win the game and the Big 12 and get their shot this year. If that happens, McCoy will most likely have the inside track on the Heisman and it will be a spread the wealth situation: voters could be hesitant to give out a 2nd Trophy to Bradford or Tebow and all three could end up with one by December. If Oklahoma is able to beat Texas in this game though, expect Oklahoma to take on Florida in a BCS Championship rematch from last year.
I honestly believe that the only other team outside of the “big 3” this year to have a shot at the National Championship is USC. The Trojans always have a wealth of talent and Pete Carroll is a master at recruiting, so USC will always have a good team. Over the past few seasons though, they have fallen short and I expect the same this year. USC has handed the QB job to freshman Matt Barkley. Now Barkley was the most sought after recruit last year and by all estimates, the kid is very talented. But he is still a true freshman and I believe that USC will suffer one Pac 10 loss in the middle of season and that will kill their title chances. I think Barkley will end up having one game where he makes too many mistakes and it will cost USC. I expect Cal and Oregon to try and make a run at the Trojans for the Pac 10 title, but USC should be able to hold them off and win the Pac 10.
Outside of those four teams, the football will still be great and so will some of the teams. I just think that no one else will have a shot at the National Title. The Big 10 conference should come down to a great battle between Ohio State and Penn State. The two teams will meet at Penn State on November 7th and the game could decide who wins the Big 10 Title. Penn State was able to go to Ohio State last year and win for the 1st time since joining the conference. So you can expect Ohio State to be looking for payback this year. I think Ohio State has the better team by a slight margin, but playing away from Columbus could make this dead even. I have no idea who will win this game, but no matter what happens, I believe that both of these teams will not be able to do enough to get into the BCS Title game.
The ACC should have a pretty balanced conference this year, but no BCS Title contenders to speak of. Virginia Tech is the favorite in the Coastal Division, but the loss of star RB Darren Evans to a torn ACL is a big blow. Georgia Tech seems like they will be able to offer a challenge to Virginia Tech in the division and the game at Georgia Tech on October 17th could be the decider. Florida State seems to be on the upswing and should be able to win the ACC Atlantic Division and play either VA or GA Tech for the ACC Championship. I think Florida State might be able to pull the “upset” on Virginia Tech this year if that becomes the matchup. Obviously when it comes to the ACC, I am a Maryland Terrapins fan, but it seems like it will be a down year for them. I have heard no talk about them contending in the ACC so it seems like 7 or 8 wins is probably the ceiling, but hopefully they can still make a bowl game this year.
Outside of those big conferences, I don’t think there will be any legitimate contenders or huge surprises. I don’t see the Big East being particularly strong this year. There is a lot of talk about Rutgers taking a step forward and knocking off Cincinnati for the Big East Conference Title, but no team from the conference will be a player for the national title. I have heard a TON of talk about Notre Dame being a real dark horse this year, but I don’t envision that happening at all. The Fighting Irish are returning most of their team which did show flashes of brilliance last year, but I can not picture them going undefeated and making the National Championship game like Lou Holtz is trying to push on ESPN. QB Jimmy Clausen and the offense should be good and I think 9 or 10 wins is a strong possibility and maybe they might sniff a BCS game, but they will lose at least once and that will kill any national title hopes.
And finally, there is always talk of the smaller schools making a run at the BCS and it seems like BYU and Boise State are once again in the running and being talked about as trying to make it happen this year. That makes tonight’s opener against Oregon an extremely crucial game for Boise State. Boise State almost went undefeated last year and if they are able to beat Oregon tonight, then they will have a great chance of not being beaten in 2009. Considering they are starting the year ranked #16, they could make a serious claim for getting to the title game if they win out. The strength of schedule will obviously hurt them, but a BCS game would be all but guaranteed if they finish off a perfect season. Oregon will be looking for revenge after losing to Boise 37-32 in 2008, so it should be one great game tonight.
So the bottom line is that the college football season should be a great one this year and I am really looking forward to all the great games. In the final analysis, I have to put the best odds on a Florida vs. Texas matchup in the BCS Title game. Oklahoma and USC have a chance to play spoiler in my opinion, but clearly Florida has the advantage in trying to repeat as National Champions this year.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- The Vancouver Canucks and G Roberto Luongo agreed to a 12-year contract extension worth $64 million over the life of the deal and costing an average yearly salary cap hit of $5.35 million. Luongo was entering the final year of his previous contract, so this staves off him entering free agency next year. Even though this is a huge deal and one of those funky front-loaded deals that the NHL has said they will monitor, I have to say it is definitely a smart move for the Canucks. Luongo is arguably the best goalie in the NHL and elite goaltenders are hard to come by. If Vancouver let him walk next year, they would likely spend years and years trying to replace Luongo. If you watched his performance against the Blues in the first round of the playoffs last year, you will see how good this guy is. He is a game changer and can literally steal numerous games for the Canucks over the course of the season and the playoffs. I believe that he is good enough to carry a team on his back to a Stanley Cup and if Vancouver is able to keep the team together and add another piece or two, they will be dangerous and serious contenders to win the Cup for years to come.
- Well, this Ricky Rubio story continues to try and cling to the news wires. Rubio stated Wednesday that he is still committed to the NBA, but he wants to keep playing in Spain right now because a move to the Timberwolves would be “too risky and complicate his life.” Wow, ok. So you have a team in the best league in the world wanting to bring you over and pay you millions of dollars to play basketball and that would just mess up your life? Am I hearing that right? I guess this guy really is still an 18 year old kid. Maybe I am being too hard on the guy and he just wants to stay close to home. But on the other hand, he is already making big money and he made the decision to enter the NBA draft and says the NBA is his goal, so this is just looking like a joke now. The Timberwolves are looking like fools in all this and should have traded Rubio’s rights to another team who could afford to wait or find another way to get the buyout done. Instead, a team that is hurting for talent just wasted a top 5 draft pick this year…brilliant!
- The fun just keeps rolling on for Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez. Days after allegations surfaced that Michigan violates NCAA rules which limit the amount of time players can practice, it is now being reported that Rodriguez was business partners with a banned Clemson booster in a failed real-estate venture that led to a $3.9 million lawsuit. The details of this are pretty boring, so I won’t get into them, but this seems to be just another distraction for Michigan and it makes you wonder if anything else will be dug up now that people are looking at Rodriguez intensely. Some financial adviser is claiming that Rodriguez is a victim of a fraudulent real estate Ponzi scheme in all this and he has done nothing wrong. We’ll see, but if Clemson banned this guy as a booster, then who knows what underhanded dealings might have been done in the past. And as a semi-related note, players from Michigan’s bitter rival Ohio State, as well as Coach Jim Tressel, came out in support of Michigan and said they believe that Michigan is following the rules and the players who want to be better are going above and beyond the 20 hour per week limit in order to become better. The more I am hearing about this, the more I believe that Michigan might not be guilty of anything. Every top college program is going to have players who are workaholics and are going to push themselves and I don’t think the coaches are necessarily making it mandatory. In anything, you have to put in the work to get better.
- The Denver Broncos are said to be “carefully monitoring” any public comments the New York Jets make that might indicate the team is trying to tamper with suspended WR Brandon Marshall. There is talk that the Jets might try to make a play for Marshall, but there has been no contact between the two teams about a trade and the Broncos want it known to Marshall that the only outcome to his behavior improving is playing for the Broncos. However, later in the day it was reported that if the Broncos were to do a trade with the Jets, they would want LB David Harris to be a part of deal because they would want a player back who could immediately contribute. So I guess there are no “talks” until there are talks huh? Hell, if I were the Broncos I might welcome the tampering! Marshall seems like he just wants to be a headache for them and he could become a poison to the team. The guy is very talented though and they can not give him away for nothing to another team, so this just seems like it will continue to be a bad situation.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Sources are saying that people within the Philadelphia Eagles organization believe that Commissioner Roger Goodell will make a decision on Saturday about Michael Vick’s possible full re-instatement to the NFL. These sources are also saying that the Eagles believe Vick will be suspended for the first 2 games of the season. This is pretty much exactly what I expected would happen, so it will be interesting to hear what news comes out over the weekend…Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams negotiated his own 1-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through 2010. Williams has had his share of problems in the past, but I will give him credit for turning things around and still being a productive RB at 32. His coaches and teammates have praised his work ethic and leadership, so I will just say good luck to him on a good season…Bengals QB Carson Palmer, who is recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered on August 14th, will not play in the team’s final preseason game, but will be ready for week 1. Sources indicate he has finally made significant strides and is doing everything now in practice. Well the Bengals needed some good news. They stand no chance of being any good without Palmer, but the fact remains that even with him, I say that Cincinnati will have a mediocre year again, especially with the Ravens and Steelers in the division…And it seems now that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL will not be signing Adam “Pacman” Jones after all. Real great reporting yesterday then by whoever said it was a done deal…
- U.S. Open Update: Women’s #17 seed and two-time Grand Slam winner Amelie Mauresmo was the latest notable upset victim at the U.S. Open, getting crushed 6-4, 6-0 by Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in the second round. The women’s side of the draw also saw the #14, #15, and #20 seeds go down in a tough day on the courts for some of the ladies. The men’s side of the draw saw no notable upsets on day 3 and included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal advancing.
Showing posts with label ricky rubio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ricky rubio. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Rise and Fall of WCW Review
I finally got a chance to watch the documentary part on the WWE’s new DVD release “The Rise and Fall of WCW” and I wanted to share my thoughts on it without trying to give an exhaustive and comprehensive review of the whole thing. This DVD set has been highly anticipated ever since the WWE put out the “Rise and Fall of ECW” a few years back. Obviously, WCW had a much richer history than ECW and I’m sure fans were expecting a really great set chronicling the history of the company. And since WCW fought the WWE tooth and nail through the mid to late 1990’s, one had to wonder if there would be any revisionist history and would the documentary try to take any cheap shots or try to really bury their former rival. So the question is, did the set meet expectations?
For the most part, “The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a very good and well produced documentary, but I think it fell short of being something truly special. All of the documentaries that the WWE makes are a good watch in my opinion, but some stand out as being better than others. I feel this documentary was a notch below the ECW one and I believe it could have been more in depth. The documentary only clocked in at about 1 hour 45 minutes and I think it could have been much longer and more comprehensive. With that said, some areas of the history of the company were well documented and overall it was a nice stroll down memory lane.
The beginning of the documentary part was very good and the viewer was able to gain a good sense of how WCW was built up from the territory days. You were able to see how things slowly morphed from Jim Crockett Promotions to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and then finally to WCW. It was obvious how much talent was present throughout the 70’s and 80’s and you got a very good look at how WCW was instrumental in creating the “big time” wrestling event and also how they helped to shape Pay Per Views. The documentary made you realize just how big things were back then for the company and the sky seemed to be the limit. Many of the people interviewed made reference to the 6:05 pm to 8:05 pm time slot on Saturday nights and how that became required viewing for fans back in the day. I was pleased to hear this myself because even though I don’t have sharp memories of things, I know I used to tune into TBS and watch when I was a little kid. I can remember being mesmerized by the athletic skill of the wrestlers and the larger than life personalities of guys like Sting. And even though I did not have an appreciation for the talents of a legend like Ric Flair at the time, those shows did seem like a big time thing and something special for a kid.
After a really good telling of how WCW slowly grew into a phenomenon, the main theme (from my perspective at least) of the documentary was introduced, which was no matter how good things looked for WCW on the surface, there was always trouble brewing behind the scenes that threatened the company. The first of these problems was that the company tried to expand too much too fast, and even though the money was pouring in, the company could not keep up with expenses. So after failed partnerships with Ted Turner and even Vince McMahon, Jim Crockett was forced to sell the entire company and operations to Turner and allow him to take over. Once Turner got his hands into things, it was only the beginning of the major problem which plagued WCW: people with no knowledge of the product screwing things up and then later allowing the “inmates to run the asylum” even when you had smart enough people in power positions.
In the early 1990’s, WCW had a wealth of talent with the likes of Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, the Steiners, Vader, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, and the list could go on and on. But sadly, extremely bad decisions and bad management held the company back. The people who gained control of the booking just could not find a way to gain any momentum at the best and didn’t know what the hell they were doing at the worst. The morale of the performers slowly started to disappear and the fun vanished. Many wrestlers just saw dollars and a paycheck and the ship was not righted until Eric Bischoff came along.
Bischoff was mostly portrayed in a positive light for what he did with WCW, and rightly so. He was a very smart and creative business man and he had enough sense to listen to other people and also channel Ted Turner’s money effectively. I don’t need to go into detail about how WCW was able to lure away WWE stars like Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage. The WWE made these guys into stars and when they came to WCW, the company was legitimized and people took notice. The NWO was then formed and WCW took off like a rocket. The company dominated in the ratings for almost 2 years and WCW seemed to be unstoppable. They featured cruiserweights like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko, and these performers gave fans an exciting style that the WWE was not offering. Goldberg also hit the scene during this period and his rise to stardom only helped WCW along.
So, things were great for the company until the same old problems as before crept up. Bischoff and other management people within WCW started to become arrogant and cocky. They really had no longer term vision and they only cared about the ratings and doing whatever it took to beat the WWE. Bischoff foolishly thought that he could actually put Vince McMahon out of business. On top of that, the wrestlers were getting huge contracts and too much creative control. The hiring of Vince Russo, who was pretty much killed in this documentary, was the beginning of the end. As many people probably know, Russo slung every stupid idea that he could against the wall until nothing stuck anymore. We got to see the infamous “finger poke of doom”, Jeff Jarrett laying down for Hulk Hogan, and David Arquette: WCW World Champion, among other things. Truly, things just spiraled out of control and the company was forced to fold under the weight of horrible decision making and the amount of money that was being lost.
All in all, this was a solid timeline of events which did show the rise and fall of the company. In my opinion, I would say that the facts are pretty much accurate, but you can never assume that you are getting the full story. In fact, I would have loved to see more of the story. I think this could have easily been a more comprehensive documentary and should have clocked in at about 3 hours. WWE could have spent more time talking about how Ric Flair and the Horsemen carried the company in the mid to late 1980’s and how they were able to develop more and more big events. I would have also liked to have seen more about the feuds that bridged the gap from the early 90’s until the NWO came along. Even through the bad management, WCW had a great in-ring product and it would have been nice to see some of those feuds highlighted. I admit to being a big mark for the NWO, so I would have liked seeing a more comprehensive look at how the faction evolved and then how it basically devolved into a farce and a joke which hurt the product. A greater examination of the cruiserweight division should have been included in my opinion. And lastly, I believe the documentary should have discussed the major angle that WCW tried which pitted the “New Blood” against the “Millionaires Club”. This storyline was not even mentioned and I feel it should have been talked about along with more information about the final months of the company’s existence.
“The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a good documentary, but it could have been better. Maybe the brevity of the whole thing is just yet another “jab” that Vince McMahon likes to do sometimes. For a wrestling junkie, this documentary was not as big of a “fix” as it should have been. I haven’t gotten around to watching the matches yet, but there appears to be some really good stuff on it. I am sure the earlier matches from the late 80’s and early 90’s will be better than the later material, but that is to be expected. With all that being said, I do recommend a purchase of this set. While it may not be perfect, I feel that it does deserve a place in your wrestling DVD library.
The Game’s Quick Hits:
Monday Night RAWind: I thought that Monday Night Raw this week was much better than last week’s offering. There seemed to be a little more focus on building toward the Breaking Point PPV and it was nice to see a greater emphasis on in-ring action as opposed to pointless and stupid backstage segments and “comedy” bits. Now this makes sense since Dusty Rhodes was the guest host. I have to admit…I like Dusty and always was a fan of the “common man” shtick and there is no question that Dusty could talk on the mic and bring it to ya. The opening segment involving Dusty, Randy Orton, and Cody Rhodes, which set up the main event title match between Orton and Cody Rhodes with Dusty in his corner and John Cena as the referee, was infinitely better than last week’s DX birthday celebration for Vince McMahon. In fact, I think it was a good move to keep DX in the back with Dusty this week and only have them do a little harmless merchandise schilling. Yes, I did laugh at the Shockmaster segment which featured Arn Anderson doing the Shockmaster’s voice. I thought it was fairly funny and saved the segments as a whole. As for the “main event” itself, I was cool with it being a bait and switch.
After the opening segment, I figured that either Orton would just decide to attack Cena and make the match a no contest (and then Legacy would come help) or Orton and Rhodes would just stop the match mid-stream and go after Cena. So, I was pleasantly surprised that they had Dusty do the heel turn right away and Legacy went right after Cena. DX made the predictable save, but Dusty knocking out Triple H with his cowboy boot and then eating an RKO at the end for his troubles was a nice touch. This ending worked because Legacy was able to get their heat back from Cena and DX and the fact that Cody wanted to beat the hell out of Orton for dropping Dusty but whimped out will be effective down the road. At this point, Rhodes and Dibiase continue to look like puppets and totally under Orton’s control. So when they do turn and stand up to him, it will hopefully be a major break for the two and the audience will get behind them. Maybe the whole ending segment was not perfect, but I thought it worked.
The action involving the divas was not that exciting, but at least it was good to see an immediate payoff for a change and a greater focus on some wrestling. Beth Phoenix won a 6 diva battle royal early in the evening and then got a shot at Divas Champion Mickie James later in the night. Beth was booked to look like a beast again and it was pretty effective. The dead crowd did not help the match and the sudden win by Mickie off of a DDT seemed uninspiring to me. I actually would have liked to see Beth win the title. It would have been a surprise and they could have immediately cemented Beth as a dominant bad ass again. I have no idea what the longer term build is now since Gail Kim keeps losing, so I guess we will have to wait and see.
I thought they did the logical move of having Chris Jericho vs. MVP and Big Show vs. Mark Henry to try and build the Unified Tag Team Championship match coming up at Breaking Point. They needed to do something since this match was just thrown together, and opting for some matches instead of pointless bantering or brawling was nice to see. Jericho and MVP put on a good match and Show vs. Henry was a slow and plodding snooze fest as one would predict. But both matches did their job of trying to prove that MVP and Henry are capable of hanging with JeriShow.
The fatal four way match for the United States Championship was also a nice little affair that featured some good action and allowed the contenders to be showcased. Again, I think a sudden title change would have been awesome to see, but maybe they are saving that for Smackdown this week, when I fully expect Rey Mysterio to drop the Intercontinental Title to Dolph Ziggler. The match did a great job of making Kofi Kingston the plucky “underdog” champion who works hard and finds a way to persevere and win. I was glad to see The Miz in there trying to be a sneaky heel and also glad that Carlito, not Miz, was the one who took the pinfall. I still think The Miz needs to complete his quest and win the U.S. Title in the near future.
And finally, the Chavo Guerrero and Hornswoggle angle has just moved into being stupid and absurd. It was funny the first 2 or 3 times, but now it is total crap and I want it off my TV. And speaking of stupid…why in the hell is Bob Barker hosting Raw next week? That makes absolutely NO sense for the last Raw before a PPV.
ECW Thoughts: I didn’t get a chance to catch ECW live as it aired, so I am only able to discuss the results. I am seeing that Sheamus defeated Goldust in a no count out, no disqualification match. These two have meshed together surprisingly well in the ring and the matches have been pretty good. Sheamus going over is obviously the right result and hopefully he will get a chance to move onto a new feud. I think Sheamus has the potential to be a player down the road, as long as they don’t start putting him into stupid matches or involving him with Hornswoggle. Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov squashed two jobbers and then tried to beat them down more along with William Regal before Christian and Tommy Dreamer made the save. This set up a tag team match for next week between Christian and Dreamer and Jackson and Kozlov. I will be very interested in this match to see how Jackson and Kozlov can hang. The feud between Christian and Regal is heating up nicely, so hopefully it continues. Shelton Benjamin defeated Zack Ryder last night as well. I am hoping that Benjamin is somehow able to break out of the mid card and move up the ladder again. Of course he needs to either get on Raw or Smackdown to have a shot at a secondary title or maybe he can somehow challenge Regal if he takes the belt from Christian down the line. I think Benjamin has been working hard to improve and I would like to see him get a bigger push.
- Reports today are saying that PG Ricky Rubio backed out of an agreement that was in place to bring him to the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Minnesota had reached an agreement with Rubio’s agent and his Spanish pro team, but then Rubio came to the Wolves and told them he would prefer to stay in Spain for 2 more years to better prepare himself for the NBA. I don’t know, but this could start smelling fishy. Who knows, maybe in 2 years he decides that he still wants to stay in Europe and tries to squeeze as much money out of Minnesota as he can. Timberwolves president David Kahn is saying that the team was always willing to wait a year or two to bring Rubio over and Rubio is on record saying he has a desire to play for Minnesota, so Kahn had better hope Rubio still has that desire in 2011. As everyone knows however, a lot can change in 2 years, so I’m sure we will have to deal with this in the news for a while to come.
- Brace yourself Canada and get some extra security at those nightclubs because Adam “Pacman” Jones has just agreed to a 1 year contract with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This was the next best option for Jones after the Dallas Cowboys released him in February and no NFL team even bothered to invite him to training camp. My short and sweet opinion on this guy? He is a total idiot. Here is another young player (still only 25) who is trying to flush his career and talents down the toilet due to stupid behavior. Since Jones was drafted in 2005, he has been arrested 6 times and involved in 12 instances that required police intervention. That is just plain stupid and it is amazing this guy is still getting opportunities out there. I am all for second chances, but Jones refuses to stay out of trouble and try to better himself. But that is what happens when you are an athlete and you have talent. If you can still play and a team has a need for what you can do, you will most likely get another shot. Maybe Jones can finally realize this might be his last shot to get to the NFL or else he will be stuck in Canada the rest of his career.
- Quick NFL notes: Patriots QB Tom Brady tested his throwing arm and shoulder in practice on Tuesday and showed no ill effects. Seems like the whole injury “scare” is now overblown and people in New England can breathe easy…Oakland Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha is expected to be sidelined about two weeks with a chipped bone in his left wrist. Asomugha is arguably Oakland’s best player and this kind of injury could very well limit how effective he would be in bump-and-run coverage this year. The Raiders didn’t need any more bad news since they will still be terrible this season…New York Giants DE Osi Umenyiora returned to practice on Tuesday after going AWOL on Monday and giving no reason on why he did. This is just a strange occurrence and there is obviously more to this story and I want to hear it…Bengals rookie OL Andre Smith will be out a few weeks after fracturing a bone in his foot. This looks like a case of bad karma to me after Cincinnati tried to lowball Smith with his rookie contract. I read that they have a weight clause in it though, so maybe Smith reported to the team not in the greatest of shape. No matter how you slice it though, it is typical Bungles…
- U.S. Open Update: Women’s #1 seed Dinara Safina barely survived and avoided becoming the first #1 seed to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open by beating 147th-ranked Olivia Rogowska 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4. As I stated before, I have no idea what in the hell they do to get these rankings but Safina should not be a #1 seed at these majors. It is one thing to rack up points at smaller events, but the major tournaments are where the best come through and she has proven nothing yet. The only upset of note on the second day was women’s #11 seed and former world #1 Ana Ivanovic losing in 3 sets.
For the most part, “The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a very good and well produced documentary, but I think it fell short of being something truly special. All of the documentaries that the WWE makes are a good watch in my opinion, but some stand out as being better than others. I feel this documentary was a notch below the ECW one and I believe it could have been more in depth. The documentary only clocked in at about 1 hour 45 minutes and I think it could have been much longer and more comprehensive. With that said, some areas of the history of the company were well documented and overall it was a nice stroll down memory lane.
The beginning of the documentary part was very good and the viewer was able to gain a good sense of how WCW was built up from the territory days. You were able to see how things slowly morphed from Jim Crockett Promotions to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and then finally to WCW. It was obvious how much talent was present throughout the 70’s and 80’s and you got a very good look at how WCW was instrumental in creating the “big time” wrestling event and also how they helped to shape Pay Per Views. The documentary made you realize just how big things were back then for the company and the sky seemed to be the limit. Many of the people interviewed made reference to the 6:05 pm to 8:05 pm time slot on Saturday nights and how that became required viewing for fans back in the day. I was pleased to hear this myself because even though I don’t have sharp memories of things, I know I used to tune into TBS and watch when I was a little kid. I can remember being mesmerized by the athletic skill of the wrestlers and the larger than life personalities of guys like Sting. And even though I did not have an appreciation for the talents of a legend like Ric Flair at the time, those shows did seem like a big time thing and something special for a kid.
After a really good telling of how WCW slowly grew into a phenomenon, the main theme (from my perspective at least) of the documentary was introduced, which was no matter how good things looked for WCW on the surface, there was always trouble brewing behind the scenes that threatened the company. The first of these problems was that the company tried to expand too much too fast, and even though the money was pouring in, the company could not keep up with expenses. So after failed partnerships with Ted Turner and even Vince McMahon, Jim Crockett was forced to sell the entire company and operations to Turner and allow him to take over. Once Turner got his hands into things, it was only the beginning of the major problem which plagued WCW: people with no knowledge of the product screwing things up and then later allowing the “inmates to run the asylum” even when you had smart enough people in power positions.
In the early 1990’s, WCW had a wealth of talent with the likes of Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, the Steiners, Vader, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, and the list could go on and on. But sadly, extremely bad decisions and bad management held the company back. The people who gained control of the booking just could not find a way to gain any momentum at the best and didn’t know what the hell they were doing at the worst. The morale of the performers slowly started to disappear and the fun vanished. Many wrestlers just saw dollars and a paycheck and the ship was not righted until Eric Bischoff came along.
Bischoff was mostly portrayed in a positive light for what he did with WCW, and rightly so. He was a very smart and creative business man and he had enough sense to listen to other people and also channel Ted Turner’s money effectively. I don’t need to go into detail about how WCW was able to lure away WWE stars like Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage. The WWE made these guys into stars and when they came to WCW, the company was legitimized and people took notice. The NWO was then formed and WCW took off like a rocket. The company dominated in the ratings for almost 2 years and WCW seemed to be unstoppable. They featured cruiserweights like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko, and these performers gave fans an exciting style that the WWE was not offering. Goldberg also hit the scene during this period and his rise to stardom only helped WCW along.
So, things were great for the company until the same old problems as before crept up. Bischoff and other management people within WCW started to become arrogant and cocky. They really had no longer term vision and they only cared about the ratings and doing whatever it took to beat the WWE. Bischoff foolishly thought that he could actually put Vince McMahon out of business. On top of that, the wrestlers were getting huge contracts and too much creative control. The hiring of Vince Russo, who was pretty much killed in this documentary, was the beginning of the end. As many people probably know, Russo slung every stupid idea that he could against the wall until nothing stuck anymore. We got to see the infamous “finger poke of doom”, Jeff Jarrett laying down for Hulk Hogan, and David Arquette: WCW World Champion, among other things. Truly, things just spiraled out of control and the company was forced to fold under the weight of horrible decision making and the amount of money that was being lost.
All in all, this was a solid timeline of events which did show the rise and fall of the company. In my opinion, I would say that the facts are pretty much accurate, but you can never assume that you are getting the full story. In fact, I would have loved to see more of the story. I think this could have easily been a more comprehensive documentary and should have clocked in at about 3 hours. WWE could have spent more time talking about how Ric Flair and the Horsemen carried the company in the mid to late 1980’s and how they were able to develop more and more big events. I would have also liked to have seen more about the feuds that bridged the gap from the early 90’s until the NWO came along. Even through the bad management, WCW had a great in-ring product and it would have been nice to see some of those feuds highlighted. I admit to being a big mark for the NWO, so I would have liked seeing a more comprehensive look at how the faction evolved and then how it basically devolved into a farce and a joke which hurt the product. A greater examination of the cruiserweight division should have been included in my opinion. And lastly, I believe the documentary should have discussed the major angle that WCW tried which pitted the “New Blood” against the “Millionaires Club”. This storyline was not even mentioned and I feel it should have been talked about along with more information about the final months of the company’s existence.
“The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a good documentary, but it could have been better. Maybe the brevity of the whole thing is just yet another “jab” that Vince McMahon likes to do sometimes. For a wrestling junkie, this documentary was not as big of a “fix” as it should have been. I haven’t gotten around to watching the matches yet, but there appears to be some really good stuff on it. I am sure the earlier matches from the late 80’s and early 90’s will be better than the later material, but that is to be expected. With all that being said, I do recommend a purchase of this set. While it may not be perfect, I feel that it does deserve a place in your wrestling DVD library.
The Game’s Quick Hits:
Monday Night RAWind: I thought that Monday Night Raw this week was much better than last week’s offering. There seemed to be a little more focus on building toward the Breaking Point PPV and it was nice to see a greater emphasis on in-ring action as opposed to pointless and stupid backstage segments and “comedy” bits. Now this makes sense since Dusty Rhodes was the guest host. I have to admit…I like Dusty and always was a fan of the “common man” shtick and there is no question that Dusty could talk on the mic and bring it to ya. The opening segment involving Dusty, Randy Orton, and Cody Rhodes, which set up the main event title match between Orton and Cody Rhodes with Dusty in his corner and John Cena as the referee, was infinitely better than last week’s DX birthday celebration for Vince McMahon. In fact, I think it was a good move to keep DX in the back with Dusty this week and only have them do a little harmless merchandise schilling. Yes, I did laugh at the Shockmaster segment which featured Arn Anderson doing the Shockmaster’s voice. I thought it was fairly funny and saved the segments as a whole. As for the “main event” itself, I was cool with it being a bait and switch.
After the opening segment, I figured that either Orton would just decide to attack Cena and make the match a no contest (and then Legacy would come help) or Orton and Rhodes would just stop the match mid-stream and go after Cena. So, I was pleasantly surprised that they had Dusty do the heel turn right away and Legacy went right after Cena. DX made the predictable save, but Dusty knocking out Triple H with his cowboy boot and then eating an RKO at the end for his troubles was a nice touch. This ending worked because Legacy was able to get their heat back from Cena and DX and the fact that Cody wanted to beat the hell out of Orton for dropping Dusty but whimped out will be effective down the road. At this point, Rhodes and Dibiase continue to look like puppets and totally under Orton’s control. So when they do turn and stand up to him, it will hopefully be a major break for the two and the audience will get behind them. Maybe the whole ending segment was not perfect, but I thought it worked.
The action involving the divas was not that exciting, but at least it was good to see an immediate payoff for a change and a greater focus on some wrestling. Beth Phoenix won a 6 diva battle royal early in the evening and then got a shot at Divas Champion Mickie James later in the night. Beth was booked to look like a beast again and it was pretty effective. The dead crowd did not help the match and the sudden win by Mickie off of a DDT seemed uninspiring to me. I actually would have liked to see Beth win the title. It would have been a surprise and they could have immediately cemented Beth as a dominant bad ass again. I have no idea what the longer term build is now since Gail Kim keeps losing, so I guess we will have to wait and see.
I thought they did the logical move of having Chris Jericho vs. MVP and Big Show vs. Mark Henry to try and build the Unified Tag Team Championship match coming up at Breaking Point. They needed to do something since this match was just thrown together, and opting for some matches instead of pointless bantering or brawling was nice to see. Jericho and MVP put on a good match and Show vs. Henry was a slow and plodding snooze fest as one would predict. But both matches did their job of trying to prove that MVP and Henry are capable of hanging with JeriShow.
The fatal four way match for the United States Championship was also a nice little affair that featured some good action and allowed the contenders to be showcased. Again, I think a sudden title change would have been awesome to see, but maybe they are saving that for Smackdown this week, when I fully expect Rey Mysterio to drop the Intercontinental Title to Dolph Ziggler. The match did a great job of making Kofi Kingston the plucky “underdog” champion who works hard and finds a way to persevere and win. I was glad to see The Miz in there trying to be a sneaky heel and also glad that Carlito, not Miz, was the one who took the pinfall. I still think The Miz needs to complete his quest and win the U.S. Title in the near future.
And finally, the Chavo Guerrero and Hornswoggle angle has just moved into being stupid and absurd. It was funny the first 2 or 3 times, but now it is total crap and I want it off my TV. And speaking of stupid…why in the hell is Bob Barker hosting Raw next week? That makes absolutely NO sense for the last Raw before a PPV.
ECW Thoughts: I didn’t get a chance to catch ECW live as it aired, so I am only able to discuss the results. I am seeing that Sheamus defeated Goldust in a no count out, no disqualification match. These two have meshed together surprisingly well in the ring and the matches have been pretty good. Sheamus going over is obviously the right result and hopefully he will get a chance to move onto a new feud. I think Sheamus has the potential to be a player down the road, as long as they don’t start putting him into stupid matches or involving him with Hornswoggle. Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov squashed two jobbers and then tried to beat them down more along with William Regal before Christian and Tommy Dreamer made the save. This set up a tag team match for next week between Christian and Dreamer and Jackson and Kozlov. I will be very interested in this match to see how Jackson and Kozlov can hang. The feud between Christian and Regal is heating up nicely, so hopefully it continues. Shelton Benjamin defeated Zack Ryder last night as well. I am hoping that Benjamin is somehow able to break out of the mid card and move up the ladder again. Of course he needs to either get on Raw or Smackdown to have a shot at a secondary title or maybe he can somehow challenge Regal if he takes the belt from Christian down the line. I think Benjamin has been working hard to improve and I would like to see him get a bigger push.
- Reports today are saying that PG Ricky Rubio backed out of an agreement that was in place to bring him to the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Minnesota had reached an agreement with Rubio’s agent and his Spanish pro team, but then Rubio came to the Wolves and told them he would prefer to stay in Spain for 2 more years to better prepare himself for the NBA. I don’t know, but this could start smelling fishy. Who knows, maybe in 2 years he decides that he still wants to stay in Europe and tries to squeeze as much money out of Minnesota as he can. Timberwolves president David Kahn is saying that the team was always willing to wait a year or two to bring Rubio over and Rubio is on record saying he has a desire to play for Minnesota, so Kahn had better hope Rubio still has that desire in 2011. As everyone knows however, a lot can change in 2 years, so I’m sure we will have to deal with this in the news for a while to come.
- Brace yourself Canada and get some extra security at those nightclubs because Adam “Pacman” Jones has just agreed to a 1 year contract with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This was the next best option for Jones after the Dallas Cowboys released him in February and no NFL team even bothered to invite him to training camp. My short and sweet opinion on this guy? He is a total idiot. Here is another young player (still only 25) who is trying to flush his career and talents down the toilet due to stupid behavior. Since Jones was drafted in 2005, he has been arrested 6 times and involved in 12 instances that required police intervention. That is just plain stupid and it is amazing this guy is still getting opportunities out there. I am all for second chances, but Jones refuses to stay out of trouble and try to better himself. But that is what happens when you are an athlete and you have talent. If you can still play and a team has a need for what you can do, you will most likely get another shot. Maybe Jones can finally realize this might be his last shot to get to the NFL or else he will be stuck in Canada the rest of his career.
- Quick NFL notes: Patriots QB Tom Brady tested his throwing arm and shoulder in practice on Tuesday and showed no ill effects. Seems like the whole injury “scare” is now overblown and people in New England can breathe easy…Oakland Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha is expected to be sidelined about two weeks with a chipped bone in his left wrist. Asomugha is arguably Oakland’s best player and this kind of injury could very well limit how effective he would be in bump-and-run coverage this year. The Raiders didn’t need any more bad news since they will still be terrible this season…New York Giants DE Osi Umenyiora returned to practice on Tuesday after going AWOL on Monday and giving no reason on why he did. This is just a strange occurrence and there is obviously more to this story and I want to hear it…Bengals rookie OL Andre Smith will be out a few weeks after fracturing a bone in his foot. This looks like a case of bad karma to me after Cincinnati tried to lowball Smith with his rookie contract. I read that they have a weight clause in it though, so maybe Smith reported to the team not in the greatest of shape. No matter how you slice it though, it is typical Bungles…
- U.S. Open Update: Women’s #1 seed Dinara Safina barely survived and avoided becoming the first #1 seed to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open by beating 147th-ranked Olivia Rogowska 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4. As I stated before, I have no idea what in the hell they do to get these rankings but Safina should not be a #1 seed at these majors. It is one thing to rack up points at smaller events, but the major tournaments are where the best come through and she has proven nothing yet. The only upset of note on the second day was women’s #11 seed and former world #1 Ana Ivanovic losing in 3 sets.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday Night FavreBall
* Note: I had planned to offer some thoughts on the documentary portion of WWE’s new DVD release, “The Rise and Fall of WCW”. However, today was so packed full of sports tidbits that my intended post grew to be very long. Therefore, I am deciding to delay posting the review until tomorrow. I will also offer up my thoughts on Monday Night Raw and ECW at that time. Stay tuned!
Monday Night Football Thoughts: Well tonight was really the big “debut” and test of new Vikings QB Brett Favre, but there was news even before Monday Night Football. Favre told ESPN that he believes he may have a cracked rib. Wow, that would be just a great omen already for the Vikings huh? The team had not officially examined Favre though and head coach Brad Childress stated right before kickoff that Favre was fine and ready to go. With all that swirling around, Favre was expected to play the entire 1st half of the game against the Houston Texans, so how did he look?
In my estimation, it was a solid performance for Favre, but it was not spectacular. But that is the whole point with this Vikings team. They have the pieces in place to be a great football team and they do not need spectacular QB play. All they require is solid and reliable efforts, which they have not had in years, and it looks like Favre will finally give it to them. He went 13-of-18 for 142 yards and 1 TD and did an effective job of moving the ball, not turning it over, and already showcased his ability to move the team and score points in the 2 minute drill. Not bad for a guy who has been with the team for 12 days.
I thought that Favre looked very good. He showed great mobility for a guy almost 40 years old and he actually was able to create a few plays moving his feet and escaping the pocket. The arm strength is still there and his accuracy was fairly decent last night as well. I would suggest that the Vikings try to work on their blocking however, because I thought Favre had to scramble a little too much and a few throws were rushed. To have a great season, the Vikings will need to keep Favre off his back and give him the time he needs to pick apart defenses. The only mistake Favre made last night was throwing a pretty bad crackback block, which he got flagged for. I don’t believe it was a dirty play at all, but it certainly was a bad decision for him to be trying that.
From what I saw, the Vikings could actually be real contenders after all if they play to this level. Adrian Peterson is an absolute beast and he will take a great deal of pressure off of Favre. If he improves in the passing game and players like rookie WR Percy Harvin develop as the season goes along, then the sky could be the limit. I saw Favre make some really nice decisions last night as well. That is another key to success. Favre does not have to be a reckless gunslinger on this team. If he manages the game and does not turn the ball over, the Vikings will be rolling. Throw in a stout defense and you have the makings of a dangerous team. The only big question out there now: can Favre stay healthy and not wear down like he did last season? I really did not notice any ill effects of a potentially cracked rib. Favre took 2 sacks and got hit numerous times and I did not see him wincing in pain at all. So I guess we will just have to wait and see if he can survive and if any new reports surface about the ribs.
On a final note, the Houston Texans still look like they will be a .500 team at best this year. QB Matt Schaub has had his own injury issues and questions and he goes out there and sprains his ankle just running out of bounds. The Texans do have weapons on offense but an injury to Schaub will not help, especially when the defense still looks like it has a ways to go. The Texans have a good pass rush with DE Mario Williams, but if they can not get pressure on the opposing QB, it looks like they will get picked apart in the secondary. I hear some people talking playoffs for the Texans this year, and I am not sure that I buy that yet.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- Word has finally come in that Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel has a sprained MCL in his knee and could miss 2-4 weeks. This puts him in jeopardy of missing the Chiefs’ season opener against the Ravens on September 13. While I don’t like seeing players getting hurt, this is certainly good news for Ravens fans. Baltimore didn’t really need any extra help to beat the Chiefs come opening day, but if QB Tyler Thigpen is behind center for Kansas City, it could be an ugly day out there for them and a dominating performance for the Ravens to start the year. The Chiefs also fired offensive coordinator Chan Gailey on Monday, seemingly in response to the team’s poor offensive efforts in the preseason and dating back to last year. Truly, it seems as if the Chiefs are in a bit of turmoil here.
- In more injury news, Baltimore Ravens CB Samari Rolle was placed on the physically unable to perform list and will miss at least the first 6 weeks of the season. Rolle continues to have problems with his neck that plagued him last year and he intends to have more surgery to stabilize it and allow him to continue his career and not retire. Obviously, this is not news that Ravens fans wanted to hear, but hopefully Rolle will be able to recover and rejoin the team for the stretch run. I have to say, the Ravens look like they do not miss Rolle with the way the defense has looked this preseason. He has not practiced with the team and did not even make it to training camp, so this news does not come as any type of blow to the team. However, Rolle would be able to provide more depth and tons of experience, so I hope that the Ravens don’t suffer a rash of injuries in the secondary. I would like to wish Rolle well on his recovery. He has always been an effective player and good citizen of the NFL, so here’s to hoping he makes it back this year.
- New England Patriots QB Tom Brady finally broke his silence and told Boston radio station WEEI that he expects to play in the regular season opener and is ready to play this week in the team’s final preseason game if he is allowed. Don’t expect that however since the Patriots usually sit their starters in the final preseason game. So slowly this story and injury seem to be much ado about nothing. Have to wonder if some of those defensive ends and linebackers try to target Brady’s shoulder though.
-And in other Patriots news, LB Tedy Bruschi retired today as expected. Bruschi told everyone that his work was finished in the game and he achieved everything that he wanted to achieve. Sources are also saying that Chiefs LB Zach Thomas will also retire. Being a Ravens fan and being able to watch the excellence of LB Ray Lewis for years has allowed me to have a great deal of appreciation for the linebacker position. Bruschi and Thomas are two class acts and were highly effective players, so they will be missed. Hearty congratulations to them both for excellent careers.
- It also seems like the injury story on Buffalo Bills WR Terrell Owens is coming to an end. Owens returned to the practice field on Monday and the Bills could start hoping he would revive an offensive that has looked dead in the preseason since he went down with a sprained toe. I still believe it is only a matter of time before Owens runs his mouth or blows up totally after the team struggles or QB Trent Edwards starts to not get him the ball.
- In an update to the story on possible NCAA rules violations by University of Michigan football, former Michigan WR Toney Clemons, who has since transferred to Colorado, went on record and told ESPN that the allegation about Michigan violating NCAA rules on limiting how much time players can spend on training and practice are true. In fact, upwards of 10 players have spoken out and none dispute the report. Clemons told ESPN that he spent upwards of 12 hours on Sundays doing team activity and regularly went over the limits of 20 hours per week and 4 hours per day. As I speculated yesterday, these players have no reason to throw their team and University under the bus unless this story is true and it seems like it is. I am not surprised at all because Michigan football has been on a downward trend recently and Coach Rich Rodriguez has to be feeling the pressure. At a press conference on Monday, Rodriguez got teary several times and became emotional and flatly stated that he cares about the players, the coaches and the University know the rules and abide by them, and all this speculation is just an attempt to “tear up” the rebuilding efforts of the team. The University will have to try and argue that much of this time being put in by the players does not count against the “organized” time allotted because it is voluntary and they can claim that strength and conditioning personnel are only monitoring the workouts for safety purposes, which is allowed. To me, this is obviously an excuse to skirt the rules, so it will be interesting to see what ultimately goes down here. I hate to be cynical and all and maybe Rodriguez had nothing to do with any of this, but it seems obvious that the players got some kind of message to put in longer hours than they should have been. Or maybe it was just confusion and the time these players are putting in really is voluntary. My guess is that Michigan may “self-report” themselves for “minor” violations down the road and probably end up losing a scholarship or two.
- Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has stated that C Yao Ming is progressing well from foot surgery and there is a slight chance he could actually return during the 2009-2010 season. Doctors have also stated that the injury does not appear to be career threatening any longer. Not much else to say on this except I am pleased to hear that Yao’s career is not in danger. He definitely is a dynamic player when healthy and one of the top centers in the league. Houston has seemingly had trouble, along with bad luck, finding a way to build a championship team around Yao, so they can only hope that he comes back healthy and they can begin to make progress.
- The Minnesota Timberwolves failed to reach an agreement to buyout PG Ricky Rubio’s contract and his rights were traded to FC Barcelona in Spain and he will not be able to join the Timberwolves until the summer of 2011. I have no desire to get into the specifics of the money and dealings and only wish to reiterate that the Timberwolves look like fools in this, in my opinion. This now becomes a wasted draft pick for 2 years and for a team that needs immediate help, I believe they should have traded this headache to another team because they had to have knowledge that this scenario could go down. I suppose the only consolation is that Rubio can still work on his game and will only be 20 years old in the summer of 2011. If this guy develops into a star, then I guess the whole thing will be worth it.
- Recently released P Brad Penny has cleared waivers and intends to sign with the San Francisco Giants. He is expected to immediately go into the starting rotation and replace Joe Martinez. Considering that I have never heard of Martinez and he is sporting a 7.52 ERA this year, this seems like an upgrade. If Penny can pitch 5 innings per outing and keep the Giants in games, then it is probably a good move. The Giants are now tied for the Wild Card with the Rockies, so maybe this move will put them over the top. Only time will tell…
- And staying in the NL West, the Dodgers tried to keep pace with the wheeling and dealing and last minute acquisitions of their rivals by trading for Jim Thome and P John Garland. They completed these transactions before the midnight deadline so that Thome and Garland are eligible to be on the Dodgers’ postseason roster. Thome has been strictly a DH the past two years with the White Sox, so who knows how they will be using him. Without question, it seems like LA is determined to try and win it with offense though. Garland could be an effective pickup and any added help when it comes to the rotation is welcomed. Only one more month to go until the postseason and things are certainly heating up.
- U.S. Open Update: #1 seed Roger Federer extended his U.S. Open winning streak to 35 matches by beating wild-card entry Devin Britton 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. A little surprising to see Federer get pushed to 7-5 in the 3rd against a wild-card, but obviously it is nothing of concern. No other big upsets occurred in today’s action, with only a few lower 20’s seeded players losing on the men’s and women’s side. The biggest surprise was probably the fact that #3 seed Venus Williams needed 3 sets and 2 hours, 43 minutes to win her first round match against 47th-ranked Vera Dushevina 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3.
Monday Night Football Thoughts: Well tonight was really the big “debut” and test of new Vikings QB Brett Favre, but there was news even before Monday Night Football. Favre told ESPN that he believes he may have a cracked rib. Wow, that would be just a great omen already for the Vikings huh? The team had not officially examined Favre though and head coach Brad Childress stated right before kickoff that Favre was fine and ready to go. With all that swirling around, Favre was expected to play the entire 1st half of the game against the Houston Texans, so how did he look?
In my estimation, it was a solid performance for Favre, but it was not spectacular. But that is the whole point with this Vikings team. They have the pieces in place to be a great football team and they do not need spectacular QB play. All they require is solid and reliable efforts, which they have not had in years, and it looks like Favre will finally give it to them. He went 13-of-18 for 142 yards and 1 TD and did an effective job of moving the ball, not turning it over, and already showcased his ability to move the team and score points in the 2 minute drill. Not bad for a guy who has been with the team for 12 days.
I thought that Favre looked very good. He showed great mobility for a guy almost 40 years old and he actually was able to create a few plays moving his feet and escaping the pocket. The arm strength is still there and his accuracy was fairly decent last night as well. I would suggest that the Vikings try to work on their blocking however, because I thought Favre had to scramble a little too much and a few throws were rushed. To have a great season, the Vikings will need to keep Favre off his back and give him the time he needs to pick apart defenses. The only mistake Favre made last night was throwing a pretty bad crackback block, which he got flagged for. I don’t believe it was a dirty play at all, but it certainly was a bad decision for him to be trying that.
From what I saw, the Vikings could actually be real contenders after all if they play to this level. Adrian Peterson is an absolute beast and he will take a great deal of pressure off of Favre. If he improves in the passing game and players like rookie WR Percy Harvin develop as the season goes along, then the sky could be the limit. I saw Favre make some really nice decisions last night as well. That is another key to success. Favre does not have to be a reckless gunslinger on this team. If he manages the game and does not turn the ball over, the Vikings will be rolling. Throw in a stout defense and you have the makings of a dangerous team. The only big question out there now: can Favre stay healthy and not wear down like he did last season? I really did not notice any ill effects of a potentially cracked rib. Favre took 2 sacks and got hit numerous times and I did not see him wincing in pain at all. So I guess we will just have to wait and see if he can survive and if any new reports surface about the ribs.
On a final note, the Houston Texans still look like they will be a .500 team at best this year. QB Matt Schaub has had his own injury issues and questions and he goes out there and sprains his ankle just running out of bounds. The Texans do have weapons on offense but an injury to Schaub will not help, especially when the defense still looks like it has a ways to go. The Texans have a good pass rush with DE Mario Williams, but if they can not get pressure on the opposing QB, it looks like they will get picked apart in the secondary. I hear some people talking playoffs for the Texans this year, and I am not sure that I buy that yet.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- Word has finally come in that Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel has a sprained MCL in his knee and could miss 2-4 weeks. This puts him in jeopardy of missing the Chiefs’ season opener against the Ravens on September 13. While I don’t like seeing players getting hurt, this is certainly good news for Ravens fans. Baltimore didn’t really need any extra help to beat the Chiefs come opening day, but if QB Tyler Thigpen is behind center for Kansas City, it could be an ugly day out there for them and a dominating performance for the Ravens to start the year. The Chiefs also fired offensive coordinator Chan Gailey on Monday, seemingly in response to the team’s poor offensive efforts in the preseason and dating back to last year. Truly, it seems as if the Chiefs are in a bit of turmoil here.
- In more injury news, Baltimore Ravens CB Samari Rolle was placed on the physically unable to perform list and will miss at least the first 6 weeks of the season. Rolle continues to have problems with his neck that plagued him last year and he intends to have more surgery to stabilize it and allow him to continue his career and not retire. Obviously, this is not news that Ravens fans wanted to hear, but hopefully Rolle will be able to recover and rejoin the team for the stretch run. I have to say, the Ravens look like they do not miss Rolle with the way the defense has looked this preseason. He has not practiced with the team and did not even make it to training camp, so this news does not come as any type of blow to the team. However, Rolle would be able to provide more depth and tons of experience, so I hope that the Ravens don’t suffer a rash of injuries in the secondary. I would like to wish Rolle well on his recovery. He has always been an effective player and good citizen of the NFL, so here’s to hoping he makes it back this year.
- New England Patriots QB Tom Brady finally broke his silence and told Boston radio station WEEI that he expects to play in the regular season opener and is ready to play this week in the team’s final preseason game if he is allowed. Don’t expect that however since the Patriots usually sit their starters in the final preseason game. So slowly this story and injury seem to be much ado about nothing. Have to wonder if some of those defensive ends and linebackers try to target Brady’s shoulder though.
-And in other Patriots news, LB Tedy Bruschi retired today as expected. Bruschi told everyone that his work was finished in the game and he achieved everything that he wanted to achieve. Sources are also saying that Chiefs LB Zach Thomas will also retire. Being a Ravens fan and being able to watch the excellence of LB Ray Lewis for years has allowed me to have a great deal of appreciation for the linebacker position. Bruschi and Thomas are two class acts and were highly effective players, so they will be missed. Hearty congratulations to them both for excellent careers.
- It also seems like the injury story on Buffalo Bills WR Terrell Owens is coming to an end. Owens returned to the practice field on Monday and the Bills could start hoping he would revive an offensive that has looked dead in the preseason since he went down with a sprained toe. I still believe it is only a matter of time before Owens runs his mouth or blows up totally after the team struggles or QB Trent Edwards starts to not get him the ball.
- In an update to the story on possible NCAA rules violations by University of Michigan football, former Michigan WR Toney Clemons, who has since transferred to Colorado, went on record and told ESPN that the allegation about Michigan violating NCAA rules on limiting how much time players can spend on training and practice are true. In fact, upwards of 10 players have spoken out and none dispute the report. Clemons told ESPN that he spent upwards of 12 hours on Sundays doing team activity and regularly went over the limits of 20 hours per week and 4 hours per day. As I speculated yesterday, these players have no reason to throw their team and University under the bus unless this story is true and it seems like it is. I am not surprised at all because Michigan football has been on a downward trend recently and Coach Rich Rodriguez has to be feeling the pressure. At a press conference on Monday, Rodriguez got teary several times and became emotional and flatly stated that he cares about the players, the coaches and the University know the rules and abide by them, and all this speculation is just an attempt to “tear up” the rebuilding efforts of the team. The University will have to try and argue that much of this time being put in by the players does not count against the “organized” time allotted because it is voluntary and they can claim that strength and conditioning personnel are only monitoring the workouts for safety purposes, which is allowed. To me, this is obviously an excuse to skirt the rules, so it will be interesting to see what ultimately goes down here. I hate to be cynical and all and maybe Rodriguez had nothing to do with any of this, but it seems obvious that the players got some kind of message to put in longer hours than they should have been. Or maybe it was just confusion and the time these players are putting in really is voluntary. My guess is that Michigan may “self-report” themselves for “minor” violations down the road and probably end up losing a scholarship or two.
- Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has stated that C Yao Ming is progressing well from foot surgery and there is a slight chance he could actually return during the 2009-2010 season. Doctors have also stated that the injury does not appear to be career threatening any longer. Not much else to say on this except I am pleased to hear that Yao’s career is not in danger. He definitely is a dynamic player when healthy and one of the top centers in the league. Houston has seemingly had trouble, along with bad luck, finding a way to build a championship team around Yao, so they can only hope that he comes back healthy and they can begin to make progress.
- The Minnesota Timberwolves failed to reach an agreement to buyout PG Ricky Rubio’s contract and his rights were traded to FC Barcelona in Spain and he will not be able to join the Timberwolves until the summer of 2011. I have no desire to get into the specifics of the money and dealings and only wish to reiterate that the Timberwolves look like fools in this, in my opinion. This now becomes a wasted draft pick for 2 years and for a team that needs immediate help, I believe they should have traded this headache to another team because they had to have knowledge that this scenario could go down. I suppose the only consolation is that Rubio can still work on his game and will only be 20 years old in the summer of 2011. If this guy develops into a star, then I guess the whole thing will be worth it.
- Recently released P Brad Penny has cleared waivers and intends to sign with the San Francisco Giants. He is expected to immediately go into the starting rotation and replace Joe Martinez. Considering that I have never heard of Martinez and he is sporting a 7.52 ERA this year, this seems like an upgrade. If Penny can pitch 5 innings per outing and keep the Giants in games, then it is probably a good move. The Giants are now tied for the Wild Card with the Rockies, so maybe this move will put them over the top. Only time will tell…
- And staying in the NL West, the Dodgers tried to keep pace with the wheeling and dealing and last minute acquisitions of their rivals by trading for Jim Thome and P John Garland. They completed these transactions before the midnight deadline so that Thome and Garland are eligible to be on the Dodgers’ postseason roster. Thome has been strictly a DH the past two years with the White Sox, so who knows how they will be using him. Without question, it seems like LA is determined to try and win it with offense though. Garland could be an effective pickup and any added help when it comes to the rotation is welcomed. Only one more month to go until the postseason and things are certainly heating up.
- U.S. Open Update: #1 seed Roger Federer extended his U.S. Open winning streak to 35 matches by beating wild-card entry Devin Britton 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. A little surprising to see Federer get pushed to 7-5 in the 3rd against a wild-card, but obviously it is nothing of concern. No other big upsets occurred in today’s action, with only a few lower 20’s seeded players losing on the men’s and women’s side. The biggest surprise was probably the fact that #3 seed Venus Williams needed 3 sets and 2 hours, 43 minutes to win her first round match against 47th-ranked Vera Dushevina 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Start or Sit: The Rookie QB Dilemma
The excitement of a new NFL season is starting to build and I have an interesting topic today that I wanted to talk a little bit about. It centers around one of the classic football debates out there: rookie QBs…should they start right away or should they ride the pine for a while? This sprang to mind for me after learning that the Jets named Mark Sanchez their starting QB (more on that later). There are some who will say that there is no better way to learn the position, or any other way for that matter, than to be thrown right into the fire and start right away. Others will tell you that it is best for a QB to sit back and learn what it takes to be successful in the NFL. The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle and in my opinion, each situation is unique and there is no truly correct answer.
First and foremost, the talent needs to be there before you throw a rookie QB into the starting lineup week 1. The QB in question needs to be able to make all the throws, understand the offense, and effectively be able to execute the offense. Now of course there will be struggles and setbacks, but effectively managing the offense means that you generally make good decisions and do not look lost out there. Not every QB who is drafted in the first round, even in the top 10, deserves to be slotted into the starter’s role. Just ask Bengals fans about Akili Smith for example.
I think the most important determining factor is maturity. A rookie QB needs to be able to step onto an NFL field and take charge of the team. They need to take control and earn the respect of the players around them. This can be a daunting task for a 22 year old kid, but those who can do it will have taken the first step toward success. A successful rookie QB will also have a short term memory and be able to handle adversity and bounce back from mistakes. Mistakes are a 100% guarantee for a rookie QB…how they handle those errors and adjust their play will determine first year success.
Last season, Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco and Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan seemed to break the mold for rookie QBs. Both stepped right into action week 1 and they lasted all season, guiding their teams to success and the playoffs. But make no mistake, these two are the exception, not the rule. Joe Flacco was ready for the job due to his physical tools and also his calm demeanor. As I talked about above, he was able to combine a rocket arm with good decision making to achieve success. Flacco managed the game well and while he did not produce eye popping stats, he did not kill the Ravens with costly turnovers. The same can be said for Matt Ryan. The consensus was that Ryan was one of the most polished QBs to come out of college in a long while and he was ready to start right away. Those predictions rang true as Ryan showed a great deal of talent and did the same thing that Flacco did. He managed the game well, made some plays, and recovered from the few mistakes that he did make. That is how a rookie QB can be successful.
Before Flacco and Ryan, the last rookie QB to make that big of an impact was Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning. But as we all know, Manning is a once in a lifetime type of QB and a sure fire Hall of Famer. He had a great rookie season, but again, he was ready and almost no other rookie would have his pedigree and skills coming out of college. For every Peyton Manning, there are numerous Ryan Leaf’s who will be a bust. For those who end up not cutting it in the NFL, it would not make a different whether they started right away or were held back. Truly, these things need to be decided on a case by case basis.
If you draft a rookie QB very high in the draft and pay him tons of money, then I would suspect you consider him a franchise player and want to get him into the starting lineup right away. This is the situation with the Jets and Mark Sanchez. The Jets traded up to get Sanchez at #5 this year and are paying the guy $50 million dollars. That is a huge investment and you don’t want him just sitting on the bench. However, all reports indicate that Sanchez has the physical skills PLUS the maturity to handle the role. Now as I mentioned a few days ago, the Ravens defense made Sanchez look like a rookie in the first quarter of their preseason game. However, Sanchez was able to bounce back and he threw a touchdown pass to end the final series that he played. This shows a good short term memory and the ability to shake off mistakes. When you throw in the fact that QB Kellen Clemens will not set the world on fire and that the Jets have a decent amount of talent spread throughout the whole team, it is easy to see why the Jets went with Sanchez as their starter. Based on what I have talked about, I agree with the move and think it was the right choice.
On the other hand, it is a different story in Detroit. The Lions took QB Matthew Stafford with the first pick in the draft, so you would think he would be anointed the started right away. Not so fast. I have been hearing reports that Stafford does look good in practice and has earned the respect of the team, but he really struggled in the last preseason game when he got the start. Let’s face it; the Lions still have a long way to go to even be respectable. They are not loaded with talent and the team is desperate to just win a game. Veteran QB Daunte Culpepper has come into this season motivated and in the best shape of his career. He is still not that old, has some good skills, and has tasted success before in the NFL. I believe that the Lions should start Culpepper week 1 and let Stafford wait a little while. Culpepper gives the Lions the best chance to win a game or two and then when that monkey is off their backs, they can put in Stafford.
So while it might seem like a cop out in this debate to say that there is no right answer, I believe it really rings true. Teams need to be smart with young players because there is always the chance of ruining a good thing. I think QB David Carr is a prime example. The expansion Houston Texans took him at #1 and threw him to the wolves. The result: he was pounded into the ground behind a porous offensive line and he struggled badly. Now I am not saying that David Carr would have become an elite level QB. In retrospect however, the Texans may have been better served to try and develop him more slowly and put in a veteran QB. Carr has shown flashes of skill and ability, but the beating he took may have ruined his confidence and chance to develop into something more.
Every NFL team is looking for that franchise QB who can lead the team to glory. When you think you have one, you will always be faced with the start or sit dilemma. Without question, the teams who make the right choices and do the right things will be on a quicker path to success and the ones who don’t will just have to keep searching.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- Sources are saying that Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre is now threatening to ruin team chemistry and that a “schism” is forming in the locker room. People with knowledge of the Vikings locker room are saying Favre has “little support” and there are groups who believe either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels gives the team a better chance to win. Is this really a surprise to anyone? Of course people will be resentful because Favre just breezed in the door and did not suffer through training camp with the rest of the players. There is only one solution to this and that is Favre winning games for Minnesota. As I have speculated though, there might be too much pressure on the team and I think the Vikings will not make it all the way to the Super Bowl. I think they need to give Favre some more slack, but he better produce or it will get ugly in Minnesota, especially for Brad Childress.
- Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino lashed out at the media yesterday and said the ordeal he has been going through has been “pure hell” for his family. His angry comments came out after police released a video interview of the woman who claimed Pitino raped her and who also is accused of trying to extort him. You know…this kind of thing makes me angry. What the hell does Pitino expect? He had sex with a woman in a restaurant while his assistant coach looked out and then he gave her $3000 for “health insurance” when he most likely knew she would be getting an abortion…and this is a religious and married man here folks. Sorry Rick, but you are the one who did this to your family and now you have to suffer the consequences based on your celebrity and juiciness of the story. You have no one to blame but yourself and I can’t have much sympathy for you.
- Reports are out saying that Ricky Rubio’s intent to play in Spain next season is not a done deal yet. It seems like deep pocketed European clubs are going after him and the Minnesota Timberwolves would need to buyout his contract and they can only contribute $500,000, which seems like it would not nearly be enough. You know, I could care less about this drama they are trying to make. I think the Timberwolves are destined to be closer to the cellar than a championship after they could not get the job done with Kevin Garnett and traded him away. I am not sure why they drafted the guy and took on this mess, but at least they were smart enough to draft Jonny Flynn as well, so maybe they expected it.
- I thought that I could possibly get away from no Michael Vick news, but nope, not going to happen LOL. Today’s news is something I agree with though. Local civil rights groups, including the NAACP, are planning a demonstration and march around Lincoln Financial Field prior to tomorrow night’s preseason game. "We believe Michael Vick has served his time, paid his debt to society and deserves a second chance and the animal rights groups want to hold him hostage for the rest of his life," J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, said Wednesday. "We think that's patently unfair. It denies Michael Vick's basic civil rights, denies him his ability to make a living." Kudos to this man for saying that. I have stated in this blog before that Vick deserves a shot to resume his life and make amends and he should only be criticized and protested on if he drops the ball on what he has said he will do.
- A federal appeals court has ruled that investigators were wrong to seize a list of 104 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the 2003 season. The court stated that they only had the right to seize information on the 10 people listed in their search warrant. Well, it is nice to see a ruling like that which makes sense, but the damage is already done. That list got into the wrong hands and people will continue to leak names every so often so they can get their hands on some money. The entire list needs to come out because every time a name is leaked, it distracts from the play on the field.
First and foremost, the talent needs to be there before you throw a rookie QB into the starting lineup week 1. The QB in question needs to be able to make all the throws, understand the offense, and effectively be able to execute the offense. Now of course there will be struggles and setbacks, but effectively managing the offense means that you generally make good decisions and do not look lost out there. Not every QB who is drafted in the first round, even in the top 10, deserves to be slotted into the starter’s role. Just ask Bengals fans about Akili Smith for example.
I think the most important determining factor is maturity. A rookie QB needs to be able to step onto an NFL field and take charge of the team. They need to take control and earn the respect of the players around them. This can be a daunting task for a 22 year old kid, but those who can do it will have taken the first step toward success. A successful rookie QB will also have a short term memory and be able to handle adversity and bounce back from mistakes. Mistakes are a 100% guarantee for a rookie QB…how they handle those errors and adjust their play will determine first year success.
Last season, Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco and Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan seemed to break the mold for rookie QBs. Both stepped right into action week 1 and they lasted all season, guiding their teams to success and the playoffs. But make no mistake, these two are the exception, not the rule. Joe Flacco was ready for the job due to his physical tools and also his calm demeanor. As I talked about above, he was able to combine a rocket arm with good decision making to achieve success. Flacco managed the game well and while he did not produce eye popping stats, he did not kill the Ravens with costly turnovers. The same can be said for Matt Ryan. The consensus was that Ryan was one of the most polished QBs to come out of college in a long while and he was ready to start right away. Those predictions rang true as Ryan showed a great deal of talent and did the same thing that Flacco did. He managed the game well, made some plays, and recovered from the few mistakes that he did make. That is how a rookie QB can be successful.
Before Flacco and Ryan, the last rookie QB to make that big of an impact was Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning. But as we all know, Manning is a once in a lifetime type of QB and a sure fire Hall of Famer. He had a great rookie season, but again, he was ready and almost no other rookie would have his pedigree and skills coming out of college. For every Peyton Manning, there are numerous Ryan Leaf’s who will be a bust. For those who end up not cutting it in the NFL, it would not make a different whether they started right away or were held back. Truly, these things need to be decided on a case by case basis.
If you draft a rookie QB very high in the draft and pay him tons of money, then I would suspect you consider him a franchise player and want to get him into the starting lineup right away. This is the situation with the Jets and Mark Sanchez. The Jets traded up to get Sanchez at #5 this year and are paying the guy $50 million dollars. That is a huge investment and you don’t want him just sitting on the bench. However, all reports indicate that Sanchez has the physical skills PLUS the maturity to handle the role. Now as I mentioned a few days ago, the Ravens defense made Sanchez look like a rookie in the first quarter of their preseason game. However, Sanchez was able to bounce back and he threw a touchdown pass to end the final series that he played. This shows a good short term memory and the ability to shake off mistakes. When you throw in the fact that QB Kellen Clemens will not set the world on fire and that the Jets have a decent amount of talent spread throughout the whole team, it is easy to see why the Jets went with Sanchez as their starter. Based on what I have talked about, I agree with the move and think it was the right choice.
On the other hand, it is a different story in Detroit. The Lions took QB Matthew Stafford with the first pick in the draft, so you would think he would be anointed the started right away. Not so fast. I have been hearing reports that Stafford does look good in practice and has earned the respect of the team, but he really struggled in the last preseason game when he got the start. Let’s face it; the Lions still have a long way to go to even be respectable. They are not loaded with talent and the team is desperate to just win a game. Veteran QB Daunte Culpepper has come into this season motivated and in the best shape of his career. He is still not that old, has some good skills, and has tasted success before in the NFL. I believe that the Lions should start Culpepper week 1 and let Stafford wait a little while. Culpepper gives the Lions the best chance to win a game or two and then when that monkey is off their backs, they can put in Stafford.
So while it might seem like a cop out in this debate to say that there is no right answer, I believe it really rings true. Teams need to be smart with young players because there is always the chance of ruining a good thing. I think QB David Carr is a prime example. The expansion Houston Texans took him at #1 and threw him to the wolves. The result: he was pounded into the ground behind a porous offensive line and he struggled badly. Now I am not saying that David Carr would have become an elite level QB. In retrospect however, the Texans may have been better served to try and develop him more slowly and put in a veteran QB. Carr has shown flashes of skill and ability, but the beating he took may have ruined his confidence and chance to develop into something more.
Every NFL team is looking for that franchise QB who can lead the team to glory. When you think you have one, you will always be faced with the start or sit dilemma. Without question, the teams who make the right choices and do the right things will be on a quicker path to success and the ones who don’t will just have to keep searching.
The Game’s Quick Hits
- Sources are saying that Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre is now threatening to ruin team chemistry and that a “schism” is forming in the locker room. People with knowledge of the Vikings locker room are saying Favre has “little support” and there are groups who believe either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels gives the team a better chance to win. Is this really a surprise to anyone? Of course people will be resentful because Favre just breezed in the door and did not suffer through training camp with the rest of the players. There is only one solution to this and that is Favre winning games for Minnesota. As I have speculated though, there might be too much pressure on the team and I think the Vikings will not make it all the way to the Super Bowl. I think they need to give Favre some more slack, but he better produce or it will get ugly in Minnesota, especially for Brad Childress.
- Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino lashed out at the media yesterday and said the ordeal he has been going through has been “pure hell” for his family. His angry comments came out after police released a video interview of the woman who claimed Pitino raped her and who also is accused of trying to extort him. You know…this kind of thing makes me angry. What the hell does Pitino expect? He had sex with a woman in a restaurant while his assistant coach looked out and then he gave her $3000 for “health insurance” when he most likely knew she would be getting an abortion…and this is a religious and married man here folks. Sorry Rick, but you are the one who did this to your family and now you have to suffer the consequences based on your celebrity and juiciness of the story. You have no one to blame but yourself and I can’t have much sympathy for you.
- Reports are out saying that Ricky Rubio’s intent to play in Spain next season is not a done deal yet. It seems like deep pocketed European clubs are going after him and the Minnesota Timberwolves would need to buyout his contract and they can only contribute $500,000, which seems like it would not nearly be enough. You know, I could care less about this drama they are trying to make. I think the Timberwolves are destined to be closer to the cellar than a championship after they could not get the job done with Kevin Garnett and traded him away. I am not sure why they drafted the guy and took on this mess, but at least they were smart enough to draft Jonny Flynn as well, so maybe they expected it.
- I thought that I could possibly get away from no Michael Vick news, but nope, not going to happen LOL. Today’s news is something I agree with though. Local civil rights groups, including the NAACP, are planning a demonstration and march around Lincoln Financial Field prior to tomorrow night’s preseason game. "We believe Michael Vick has served his time, paid his debt to society and deserves a second chance and the animal rights groups want to hold him hostage for the rest of his life," J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, said Wednesday. "We think that's patently unfair. It denies Michael Vick's basic civil rights, denies him his ability to make a living." Kudos to this man for saying that. I have stated in this blog before that Vick deserves a shot to resume his life and make amends and he should only be criticized and protested on if he drops the ball on what he has said he will do.
- A federal appeals court has ruled that investigators were wrong to seize a list of 104 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the 2003 season. The court stated that they only had the right to seize information on the 10 people listed in their search warrant. Well, it is nice to see a ruling like that which makes sense, but the damage is already done. That list got into the wrong hands and people will continue to leak names every so often so they can get their hands on some money. The entire list needs to come out because every time a name is leaked, it distracts from the play on the field.
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