The "Diva" Wide Receiver

There seems to be a nagging problem that stalks around some of the teams in the NFL. And no, I am not talking about the gigantic scoreboard (which I will now dub “JerryTRON”) at the new Cowboys Stadium. I am talking about the “diva” wide receiver in the NFL. This topic has sprung to mind because of all the drama I am hearing about in Denver. On Friday morning it was announced that the Denver Broncos suspended WR Brandon Marshall for the remainder of the preseason for conduct detrimental to the team. The situation will be reassessed when the preseason ends. Now this seemingly has been a long time coming. To get you up to speed on this guy, take a look at what has gone on with him:

* He had charges against him and was accused of beating his girlfriend. He did get acquitted, but he still put himself in a bad situation that caused a distraction to the team and made him miss the first preseason game.
* He asked for a trade during the summer after the Broncos declined to rework his contract which will pay him $2.2 million this season.
* He claims the team misdiagnosed a hip injury which required offseason surgery
* He comes back and pulls a hamstring so he misses more time, but then when he returns to practice, he admits that he does not know the team’s playbook and therefore has to be relegated to the scout team and miss another preseason game.

Now all of this led up to the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, which occurred on Wednesday. Video cameras caught Marshall being insubordinate during practice. His actions included walking around while the rest of the team was running during warmups, swatting away a ball that was thrown to him when he should have been catching it, and punting a ball away that should have been handed to one of the team’s ball boys. Marshall claims that this was just frustration boiled over and not an attempt to force a trade due to insubordination. I have to ask, what the hell is wrong with this guy?

Displeasure over your contract is absolutely no excuse for acting like a petulant 10 year old child at your job. How Marshall thinks that his actions will get him anywhere is beyond me. He is proving himself not to be very professional and he is only poisoning the waters when he would try to go to another team as a free agent. If he wants big money, this is not the way to get it. The Broncos are in a tough spot though because if they just sit the guy, then they will be paying him for nothing. Marshall is extremely talented, and his presence on the field would be needed if the Broncos have any hope of trying to be competitive this year. Not only is Marshall hurting himself, he is hurting the whole team and it stinks in my opinion.

It seems like Brandon Marshall is trying to take the malcontented “diva” WR to a whole new level. The King of that position in recent years has been Bills WR Terrell Owens. I am sure most of you reading this know about Owens’ antics. He ruined his relationship with Jeff Garcia and the 49ers. Then he moved onto the Philadelphia Eagles and found a way to poison things with Donovan McNabb. Then it was good times with the Cowboys for a while, but it once again fell apart with Tony Romo. Now T.O. is up in Buffalo with Trent Edwards. How long do you think that will last before something happens? The sad part about Owens is that the guy is amazingly talented. He ranks 2nd in NFL history behind Jerry Rice in receiving TDs and yet he always complains about not getting the ball enough or not being featured enough in the offensive. That seems very odd considering his stats. Well here is a news flash for you T.O., you are not Superman and you can’t beat double teams with regularity. The defenses focus on you and your QB trying to force the ball to you all the time is no way to win games. I’m sure Owens would tell you that all this drama is just overblown and he is misunderstood, but you can’t ignore the pattern of what goes on. It has to be all about him because he is one of the “divas” out there.

There are plenty of other examples out there of this trend concerning wide receivers. Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco seems to continually run his mouth and be mad or upset about something. He is another guy who has a great deal of talent and finds a way to try and put the focus more on himself than the team. He claims he is more focused this season and is embarrassed by his performance last year, so I guess we will see if he can shut his mouth and produce. Patriots WR Randy Moss has had his issues in the past as well. He regularly had drama occurring in Minnesota and even had some dust ups with John Law. He was a total malcontent in Oakland and found his way out of there to New England. Since he has been with the Patriots though, Moss has been a model citizen. So I can give him credit on that and say maybe he just wanted to win so badly that his frustrations just couldn’t help but come out until he got into a situation like he has in New England.

Need more examples? How about WR Anquan Boldin in Arizona? He continues to complain about wanting out of Arizona and wanting more money. I can understand that he feels he should get more, but he keeps talking about wanting Larry Fitzgerald money. Sorry Anquan, you are good, but Fitzgerald is one of the elite WRs out there and you are a notch below. When Keyshawn Johnson played in the NFL, he was another good example of a “diva” and a guy who seemingly wanted more focus on himself than the team. If you remember, things got so bad in Tampa Bay that they paid him just to go and sit home. Let’s not even get into what has happened with former Giants WR Plaxico Burress. That is a whole other story, but he is another guy who showed flashes of “diva”. And the next crop of “divas” might be starting with 49ers rookie WR Michael Crabtree. I have already shared some thoughts on this guy, who is pissed that he is only due #10 pick money and thinks he should be getting more. Tough crap Crabtree, get your ass to the team and stop making it all about you.

So basically, I am wondering why the WR position in the NFL seems to be so chock full of these types of guys. Don’t get me wrong here either. I am not saying that WRs are the only ones who act out or try to portray themselves as bigger than the team as a whole. But does a WR, more so than any other position, really need to believe that they are THAT good to be a dominant force? Maybe…but why should that be different than any other position? A pro athlete needs to have the mentality that they are the best and that they can get the job done at the highest level, but that doesn’t mean they need to act like children. These players are making damn good money playing a kid’s game, but they need to act like a professional. Jerry Rice did it the right way and that’s why he will always be considered the greatest of all-time (at least at this point and for the foreseeable future). As I stated above, I also believe that Larry Fitzgerald is cut from the same mold and he is doing things the right way. More young players need to pattern themselves after Rice and Fitzgerald and not try to be the next “superstar” like Terrell Owens.

I am not sure how this Brandon Marshall situation is going to play out, but it will most likely be full of drama. Marshall is making his choice to act out and it seems to be what he wants. If I were him, I would be very careful though. You are not truly great yet Mr. Marshall and you may never get the opportunity to be with your actions. Grow up and act like a man, not a child.

The Game’s Quick Hits

Friday Night Smackdown Thoughts: Well if you wanted proof that Smackdown is much better than Raw these days, then all you have to do is compare the first half hour of both shows this week. Raw wasted the time with a DX birthday “celebration” for Vince McMahon that dragged on too long and generally fell flat. Smackdown on the other hand featured another great promo from CM Punk, who rubbed his victory over Jeff Hardy in everyone’s face and continued his crusade of “straight edge means I’m better than you.” Jeff Hardy joined him in the ring and this led to a “loser leaves WWE” stipulation being added to their Steel Cage Championship match later in the evening. Hardy may not be that great on the mic, but his connection with the fans and energy he creates with them makes up for it. All of this was followed by a tag team match between Matt Hardy and John Morrison and the Hart Dynasty. Even though this match was short, it filled out the first half hour nicely and had some good action. I would like to see the Hart Dynasty make a run at the Unified Tag Titles to really cement them as players in the WWE. Maybe DX could beat JeriShow and then the Hart Dynasty comes along and beats DX...would love to see that but I am not optimistic WWE creative would make that happen.

I saw some other really good things on the show as well. Drew McIntyre debuted and beat up R Truth before the match even started. He was only on screen for about 60 seconds, but the guy has a good look and possibly a good gimmick as a mean British bastard. If he can perform in the ring, he could be a good one. Kane and Rey Mysterio had a decent match, but sadly The Great Khali made an appearance and it looks like his feud with Kane will continue. Chris Jericho and The Big Show also mixed it up with Cryme Tyme again and had a good match. Finally, the main event Steel Cage match for the World Heavyweight Championship was a great match. It had a great deal of drama throughout it and Hardy put in a great performance even though most people knew it was going to be his last match. I will miss the feud that Punk and Hardy had and we can only hope we get a good feud between Punk and The Undertaker.

- A ruling from the NFL came in on Friday about the JerryTRON in Cowboys Stadium. If a punt hits the video boards, the down will be replayed and the officials, along with the coaches, have the ability to initiate a booth review. This ruling is only good for this season and it can be reviewed in the future. Well score one for Jerry Jones, but I suspect that the NFL will make them raise the JerryTRON in the future. I still wonder who will pay for it and my vote is for Jerry himself since you know he is rolling in dough.

- In a mini update from a few days ago, the Lions have announced that QB Daunte Culpepper, not rookie QB Matthew Stafford, will start the team’s 3rd preseason game against the Colts. The QB competition is ongoing and a decision has not been made. It seems like Peyton Manning thinks Stafford should start week 1, while some former NFL coaches like Mike Martz and Steve Mariucci think he should be on the bench for a bit. As I stated earlier, I believe that Culpepper needs to start and get the Lions a win to take the pressure off the team. Stafford can come in sometime during the middle of the year and start gaining his experience.

- Tiger Woods continued to “struggle” at The Barclays, the first FedEx Cup Playoff event, shooting a 1-over par 72 on Friday to leave him at even par for the tournament and 8 strokes behind “Spider” Webb Simpson. Tiger has never really liked this course and has not played great golf on it and that looks to be continuing. The conditions were much tougher on Friday than they were on Thursday and Tiger was actually able to move up a few positions on the leaderboard, but not in relation to the amount of strokes behind the leader. Over the years I have usually been able to tell when Tiger is not “on” and it seems like this is one of those weeks. Going to take a miracle for him to win this weekend and I am not expecting it.

- The NBA has suspended Denver's J.R. Smith for 7 games without pay and Phoenix's Jason Richardson for 2 games without pay after both were recently convicted of driving offenses (Smith for reckless driving and past poor driving record and Richardson for drunken driving). Props to the NBA on this for penalizing bad behavior and poor decisions. I think the NFL should be the model for how to deal with these situations. These athletes live a good and privileged life, so they should strive to be role models and good citizens and they need to suffer the consequences for mistakes.

- NASCAR announced that qualifying for the 2010 Daytona 500 will be moved to Saturday, February 6 to avoid being on the same day as Super Bowl XLIV. Traditionally, Daytona 500 qualifying starts on the first Sunday of “Speedweeks”, but the whole NFL season was pushed back a week this season, creating the overlap. I have to say very smart move on NASCAR’s part. You need to bow to the King that is the NFL and the crown jewel of the Super Bowl.

- And on a final note…I watched the first half of the Redskins/Patriots preseason game and Tom Brady and Randy Moss looked like they were in midseason form. Barring more injuries, it looks like the Patriots could be back to reclaim their spot on the top of the AFC and maybe the whole league. And speaking of possible injuries…it was reported after the game that Brady had a sore throwing shoulder after being hit by Albert Haynesworth late in the first half of the game. Stay tuned…

A Rose Not in Bloom

The Hall of Fame. Truly it is the final stop for any athlete who dominated his sport for years and it is the final recognition that you were one of the best and your legacy is cemented. It seems as if there has been a great deal of talk these past few months about the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. And this past weekend, I couldn’t help but be drawn into a story on ESPN about Pete Rose. It has been 20 years since Commissioner Bart Giamatti banned Rose for life due to his betting on baseball. It is my opinion that even though Pete Rose has generally been a buffoon in all this, he still deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Without question, Pete Rose was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. To this day, he is still baseball’s all-time hit king and the mark may never be broken. Pete Rose was Charlie Hustle. He gave it his all on the field and he played with reckless abandon and passion. Unfortunately for Pete though, he also took that passion and applied it to sports gambling. I don’t need to retell Rose’s story of betting on games while he was managing the Reds. He screwed up and received a lifetime ban from MLB and he is still paying the price to this day. To me however, it seems wrong to not have Rose in the Hall of Fame based on his on field accomplishments.

It is my opinion that Pete Rose never did anything on the baseball field as a player that jeopardized the integrity of the game. In fact, the way Rose played is how every player should strive to play the game. His accomplishments deserve to be recognized in the Hall. Now Rose is no saint, but the Hall of Fame is not meant to be for people you nominate for Sainthood. I understand that Rose compromised the game with his betting and he screwed up by lying about the whole ordeal for so long. But again, none of this has to do with what he did as a player for all those years.

Rose’s good friends Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt feel that Pete has suffered enough. I tend to agree. Murderers and rapists get less time in jail for their actions. Now I am not naïve here thinking that is a straight up comparison, but Rose has basically been in jail for 20 years in baseball terms and at this point, I think time has been served.

However, former MLB Commissioner (and deputy commissioner at the time of Rose’s ban) Fay Vincent said in the ESPN piece that it is not about whether Rose has suffered enough. He claimed that again, the integrity of the game needed to be upheld and he said something to the effect of, we need to show that what Rose did will not be treated lightly as an example to future players. Really? So let me get this straight. Is Joe Schmo out there going to decide that he wants to bet on baseball and take the risk and if he gets caught, he will just chill out for 20 years and be able to come back? Are you telling me some young player wants to throw away their playing career and then assume he can come back when he is 45 and maybe manage? Come on, let’s be serious. No one is going to choose to go down that road because they think Pete Rose got a “light” sentence.

Now make no mistake, I don’t particularly have any love for Pete Rose and I certainly do not condone his gambling or his lying for all those years. Like everyone, Rose obviously has his flaws and faults and he should not just expect to be shown mercy or given chance after chance, especially when he will not help himself. But again the fact remains, Rose never compromised the game as a player and his on field performance is deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame.

After seeing the story and reading a few articles though, it seems Rose will never get his induction day. Truly, it seems like the ship has sailed and Pete will have to live out his days in baseball exile. I truly hope that if MLB is determined to stick to their guns, then they do make it stick forever. I think it would be pretty disgraceful if they put the man in after he dies. In theory, it would be Rose’s lifetime and he would be eligible again right? That may sound cold, but I think it would be cold on MLB’s part to do something like that. Who knows what will happen, but it is just another sad tale in the great American pastime.

I, for one, have grown weary of all the steroid talk and the leaking of names from the infamous “survey testing” back in 2003. This also continues to be a sad tale when it comes to the Steroid Era. And in talking about the Hall of Fame, I think it will be sad that some other players get held out of the Hall. Let’s take baseball’s all-time home run king Barry Bonds. Sure, everyone knows he was on the juice. But if you look back on his career, you can argue that he was a lock for the Hall of Fame before he started with performance enhancers. I believe he had around 400 homers, along with multiple gold gloves and all-star appearances. He would have made the Hall without steroids. Alex Rodriguez could be in the same boat. Even before 2003, the guy was cruising toward 500 homers and was considered one of the best all-around players in the game. Now, the taint of steroids might keep him out. Add Roger Clemens to the list. He will take it to the grave that he never did anything, but the evidence seems to be there. And before he would have ever used PEDs, he was worth of induction.

I am not trying to give these guys a pass for stupid actions, but it is what it is and I still believe these players proved enough when there was no steroid cloud over them. To me, it just becomes sad how great players can ruin their legacies. This is all just my opinion though and I have no problem with baseball purists out there who would NEVER give these guys consideration because of steroids. I just think that they clearly proved they were the best of their era before the “steroid portion” of their careers. If you do cast these players aside, history may tell us that Ken Griffey, Jr., Frank Thomas, and Jim Thome were the best sluggers of this era. If injuries didn’t get to Griffey, I believe he would easily be challenging Bonds’ home run record. And with every cloud there is a silver lining and his name is Albert Pujols. He may end up being the very best of all and surpass all of these guys when he is done.

So those are my thoughts of the day. Like your parents teach you, it is best to own up to your mistakes and not lie about them. Unfortunately for Pete Rose, it seems like he didn’t learn that lesson and instead, he has to remain in exile and he will most likely never get his day in the Hall of Fame sun. Sadly, he looks like he might not be alone.

The Game’s Quick Hits

ECW Thoughts: I thought that last night’s ECW was a decent show, but nothing to write home about. The best parts of the show were the beginning and the end, which conveniently featured ECW Champion Christian and William Regal. As expected, the feud between these two will continue after Regal pinned Christian in the main event match (with a little help from Vladimir Kozlov) to earn a future Championship match. The opening promo between the two was very good and the match had some solid wrestling and action, so kudos to the WWE on that one. The middle portion of the show was pretty pedestrian with nothing that exciting happening. I was happy that Abraham Washington did not grace my screen this week and I wish I could have said the same about Tyler Reks. Unless Washington has some great wrestling ability, the guy is a waste. I don’t think he is that great on the mic and his delivery is too whacked in my opinion. And Reks’ bland surfer dude persona just does nothing for me. Unless he really starts to pull off some moves in the ring, he just will remain boring and not get over with the audience.

- P Billy Wagner was traded from the Mets to the Red Sox for 2 players to be named later just under the final deadline after Wagner decided to “throw caution to the wind” and waive his no-trade clause. Well I guess at this point, Boston will take any help that they can get even though I think they need more help on the offensive side of things. As I have already said, the Yankees should cruise to the AL East title and Boston will have to fight for the Wild Card spot. It will be interesting to see what Wagner has left and he probably made a smart decision to get the hell away from the Mets and go to pitch in a pennant race. He is only 11 months removed from Tommy John surgery and he can only pitch every few days, but he did hit 96 mph on the gun recently. Intriguing indeed…

- Speaking of the Mets, P Johan Santana is now out for the season after opting for surgery to clear out bone chips in his left elbow. Damn, the Mets are cursed by the injury bug this season. This was a smart move to shut him down and get it fixed before something more serious happens to the guy. This is just a lost season for the Mets and they can only hope their ace pitcher recovers for next season. Probably won’t help though and they will still choke it up next year!

- Time for your daily dose of Michael Vick news…as expected, Eagles coach Andy Reid confirmed that Vick will play in Thursday’s preseason game. Reid says that Vick looks good in practice and he wants to see how he will respond to the speed of the game after 2 years away. Well now that it is confirmed, it should be an absolute show in Philly come Thursday night. I expect Vick to look decent and not embarrass himself, but I would be shocked to see some game breaking, jaw dropping play. On the animal rights front, the meeting between Eagles officials and local animal rights groups seems to have gone well. Of course these groups are still skeptical and they are “demanding” the Eagles donate a match of Vick’s salary to local charities. Ahhh, got to love that try at extortion LOL. Like I said before, these groups should be happy to try and work for solutions. They don’t need to “hug” Vick and become his best friend, but they should not be so critical when people want to reach out and try to help.

- Roger Federer and Dinara Safina were named the #1 seeds for the 2009 U.S. Open which begins Monday. American Andy Roddick was seeded #5, while Serena Williams and Venus Williams were #2 and #3 respectively. Roger looks to be in fine form and deserving of the seeding, but someone needs to look at these women’s rankings because Safina continues to get pounded at the Grand Slam tournaments. How she is STILL ahead of Venus and Serena is beyond me. I always like checking out the Grand Slam tennis tournaments so I am hoping for some good and compelling matches.

- Quick notes from the NFL injury front…Bills WR Terrell Owens will miss this Saturday’s preseason game against Pittsburgh, while Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will be back in action after reportedly coming back to practice and showing no ill effects from his foot injury last week. At this point, Buffalo needs to hope that Owens can be ready for the regular season because this toe injury seems like it was fairly serious. And I guess the Ravens and the rest of the AFC North catch no break with Big Ben *sigh* LOL