Packers need to move on

I knew Brett Favre wasn’t going to stay retired. I wrote that on this blog back in March. This is a guy who has played through injury, illness and personal loss. I don’t know if that makes him a great man or a selfish child but there’s no question about what it means on the football field. He’s a warrior.

A few years ago the Green Bay Packers were at fault, they were more concerned with building for the future than winning with Favre. I believe Favre wanted out so he could play for a Super Bowl contender. The Packers weren’t at that level so he was seriously considering calling it quits. The Packers wouldn’t give him an out, and Favre didn’t want to anger his fans. If you read between the lines of his recent retirement speech it was clear that Favre was “tired” and the only way he’d entertain playing another season was if he was virtually guaranteed a shot at winning a Super Bowl. In short, Favre wants a ring handed to him.

Well, Brett, you had your chance last year. The Green Bay Packers got everything they wanted when the New York Giants upset the Dallas Cowboys to shift the NFC Championship game to the frozen tundra. The Giants were plucky but playing in Green Bay during the month of January was bad news, everybody believed the Packers were going to win.

And they should have, but the Giants played hard and had a chance to win the game with a 36 yard field goal at the end of the fourth quarter. So at the end of regulation it was tied, with momentum clearly on the side of Green Bay. The Packers won the all important toss heading into overtime and with Brett Favre playing on his home turf a third Super Bowl appearance seemed a given. At least until Favre threw an interception in his own end on the second play of the overtime period. The Giants returned the pick to field goal range, ran a few plays to center the kick and won the NFC Championship game. Then they went on to upset the Patriots and forever sully the only 16-0 record in NFL history.

Everybody keeps talking about how great Favre is but ever since his first Super Bowl appearance way back in mid 1990s he’s been a sketchy post season performer. Part of the problem has been a lack of talent around him, but the problems go beyond dropped passes and poor second efforts. Favre has been lackluster when it counts the most. He’s hurt the Packers with erratic play. Favre likes his “gunslinger” reputation even though his lousy passes and reckless decision making have lost more close games than they’ve won.

Now he’s hurting the Packers again. This time he’s at fault. Favre retired back in March and insisted that he was done. He stated over and over and over again that he was not going to change his mind and come back. So the Packers moved on. They threw everything behind Aaron Rodgers and committed the entire organization to starting the post-Favre era. Now Favre’s trying to come back.

There’s no question that Favre has every right to come back, but rather than play this cat and mouse game with the Packers he needs to assert himself and jump back in with both feet. He needs to be upfront about his intentions. If he wants to be released he needs to demand it. It’s not fair for Favre to put one foot in the water and expect the Packers to turn the ship around to pick him up.

A lot of people are on Favre’s side, they can’t figure out why the Packers seem reticent to bring him back as the starter. I don’t understand it. Favre’s becoming quite the high maintenance princess and his most recent performance really left a lot to be desired. Yeah, the Packers got to the NFC title game but Favre completed only 19 of 35 passes and threw two interceptions, one of them directly resulted in the Giants winning the game.

It’s clear that Brett Favre believes he is bigger than the Packers. If the Packers pass on Favre he could indeed come back to haunt them by playing with the Bears or the Vikings and the fans would be livid, but after all is said and done such a move would say a lot more about Brett Favre’s selfishness that it does about the ineptitude of the Packers’ front office. Favre’s best years are long behind him. It’s hard to say what’s older, Favre or his pay-attention-to-me act. The more this drama plays out the more I’m convinced that the Packers should have given up on Favre long ago.

C-ya CC

CC Sabathia wasn’t a bad guy. He never got into trouble, didn’t create issues with his teammates and was always gracious toward Cleveland fans. He was also a very good pitcher for the Indians. That being said, from purely a baseball perspective, good riddance to him.

Everything you need to know about CC can be summed up with his performance last season. He went 19-7 and won the Cy Young Award for the American League. Then he stunk up the mound in the playoffs. Why? Because CC is a notorious rhythm pitcher who can be dominant for long stretches only to come unglued because of a rain delay. It would be unfair to call him a head case because he’s not outwardly loony but it’s pretty obvious that he does have certain psychological issues that make extended pitching slumps a factor in his game.

CC never really proved himself to be the dominant starter everybody in Cleveland had hoped for. He’s never won 20 games in a season, nor has he threatened to crest that vaunted 300 strikeout mark most power pitchers are held to. CC’s ERA was never eye-popping because of his tendency to give up runs in bunches when he gets off track. That’s not to say he’s not a good pitcher but CC is banking on becoming the highest paid pitcher in all of baseball even though his stats, especially those that measure individual performance, fall short of being the best.

There are some concerns over CC’s work ethic. He’s not exactly lazy but he does suffer from those nagging little injuries that can take him out of the starting rotation for a week or two and that’s when CC is likely to embark on a slump where he either can’t find the plate or he finds entirely too much of it. It’s a long season and power pitchers tend to tweak muscles along the way but CC’s a chubby guy whose weight more than likely contributes to his knack for getting dinged. Even if he manages to stay healthy, one has to wonder if he’ll ever be able to rise to the challenge of pitching in the playoffs.

Tribe skipper Eric Wedge stunned baseball analysts when he opted to extend his post season pitching rotation to maintain the continuity of the regular season. This was an attempt to keep CC on his normal pitching schedule. Most teams don’t do that and most pitchers don’t expect it. It’s the playoffs so you go out there and give it everything you’ve got night after night. Even so, CC struggled making the transition from the conclusion of the regular season to the playoffs. He got more days off between starts and it took the Sabathia Express right off its tracks. The result was another post season failure by the Indians. They lost as a team but it didn’t help that they didn’t get one solid performance from their so-called ace. Wedge exacerbated the problem by refusing to recognize that CC had left the reservation and minimize the damage.

So now the Brewers are banking on CC. Let’s hope for the sake of that franchise the gamble pays off. They gave up quite a few promising young prospects to acquire the temporary use of CC Sabathia. They know that they have no chance of retaining his services beyond this season and CC’s current salary is already pushing the team’s payroll past its limits. The Brewers are hoping that a pennant chase will drive attendance enough to help the club break even financially and that CC’s talents will drive the team deep into the playoffs. In all honesty this was a championship-or-bust move. The Brewers won’t dare speak of it but this trade was made to win it all. Anything less is failure.

The sad thing is that the Brewers can’t afford to fail. If CC comes up short…again…the Brewers will have sacrificed future stars for nothing. CC will end up with the Mets, or whoever else has 250 million to burn and the Brewers will be sitting on an aging team with nothing in the cupboard and nobody to trade. I don’t want to see that. I’m an Indians fan…I’ve been there. I don’t wish that on anybody. Except the Yankees.

Even though he’s gone, I’m pulling for CC. I want him to do well and for the sake of baseball I hope the Brewers do well too. If small market teams can find ways to win maybe the big market teams will stop trying to drown the league with money and actually resort to smart front office moves to build championship contenders. We can’t expect the League Office to do anything about it.

Of course, that won’t happen. CC Sabathia is a good pitcher, but he’s not great. The Brewers didn’t improve their chances enough to justify the trade and at the end of the year they’ll be kicking themselves for giving up so much for a hired gun with a soft head. Of course the Indians won’t be laughing because they still have too many holes to fill to be a serious contender. By the time the players they acquired in this trade start showing promise the Indians won’t be able to afford them either.

Help Wanted

Photo by David Liam Kyle/Contributor/Getty Images

The Boston Celtics got past the Cleveland Cavaliers. Barely. The triumvirate of Pierce, Garnett and Allen got a lot of help from Posey, Davis and Powe but credit for Boston’s game seven victory has to be given to players with names like Wallace, Ilgauskas and Szczerbiak. Honorable mention goes to Sasha Pavlovic for committing the dumbest fouls on the floor. When Danny Gibson negotiates a bigger contract he should give Pavlovic a percentage for making the case.

That was the big difference. Daniel Gibson has been the spot shooter who can help out on defense. A healthy Gibson kept the inconsistent Pavlovic on the bench through most of the season but when Gibson tore up his shoulder in game 6, Mike Brown had to put Sasha in the game. After James and Delonte West Pavlovic played more minutes than anybody else but delivered the least.

The thing is nobody expects anything out of Sasha. He’s a decent shooter who can pull the ball down and drive the lane once in a while but he gets lazy. He turns the ball over, makes bad decisions and lacks the heart to play any defense. This isn’t a surprise to the Cavs. The surprise came in the form of a magic act:

How do you make a giant disappear?

Put a #11 jersey on him.

Zydrunas Ilguaskas went 2 for 8 from the field scoring only 8 points. It seemed as though every time LeBron or Delonte West looked for the big guy he was somewhere out on the wing. The result was one of the biggest and most athletic players in the NBA pulling down only five rebounds. Z didn’t even come close to getting into foul trouble. With Paul Pierce taking the ball to the rack and Kevin Garnett finishing several pick and roll plays, Z failed to assert himself in the middle of the floor on either end.

The Cavaliers have been aware of Z’s penchant for getting lost in physical games which is why Ben Wallace seemed like a great acquisition. Big Ben let the ‘fro out for game seven but he left his game tied up. He seemed old and tired. Ben only blocked one shot and he tallied just four rebounds. More importantly he hurt the Cavs by refusing to take advantage of open looks at the basket. Nobody expects Wallace to split a double team and finish strong to the hole, but in 30 minutes he took one shot. LeBron zipped several nice passes to the human tree trunk only to have them kicked out to a cold shooter on the perimeter.

Wally Szczerbiak lost his shooting touch the minute his plane touched down in Cleveland and while he looked like he was getting into form in the first round, he went cold again in game 7. He was 0-3 from the floor and his lack of confidence compelled him to pass on open shots and drive the lane. The result was disastrous. Wally did play tough defense and he gave up good fouls to force the Celtics to the line when an easy bucket was imminent but Wally’s a hired gun and he was shooting blanks.

It’s not fair to say that LeBron didn’t have any help because Delonte West played hard for 45 minutes. He brought 15 points to the table and drilled a couple of threes to keep the game close. West also played tenaciously on defense. He’s not a pure defender because he lacks lateral mobility and explosion but he knows how to take away angles and stay between the ball and the basket. West also doesn’t shy away from contact and gives as good as he gets.

In fact, that’s the bright spot in this loss for the Cavs. West might be the point guard they’ve been looking for. He’s not exactly cut from the same cloth as a John Stockton or Steve Nash but he’s like a poor man’s version of Jason Kidd. If West can embrace being playing Pippen to LeBron’s Jordan and he puts in the off season work to get better West might be a key ingredient to a championship juggernaut.

The Cleveland Cavaliers fell short this year but Boston was supposed to go through the Eastern Conference with a broom and challenge the Spurs for NBA supremacy. Everybody dismissed Boston’s first round scare as a wake up call and most of the experts figured that was bad news for Cleveland. Now people are wondering if Boston was overrated or if Cleveland was better than they were given credit for.

The final verdict will come over the next couple of weeks but after winning 66 games over the regular season there’s no question that Boston was a very good team. They managed to make LeBron look mortal for a few games but the Cavaliers put up a fight. With two players showing up to play in Boston the Cavaliers almost pulled off the big upset. Imagine if Danny Ferry can find a third.

Spygate lost its Sizzle

Well the other shoe dropped and it looks like the New England Patriots are in the clear. There was no gunman on the grassy knoll; Deepthroat did not have the goods on Nixon; the revolution will not be televised.



And that's how the NFL wants it.



Do I think that there was more to the story than officially reported?



You betcha. I suspect that Matt Walsh had some pretty convincing evidence that Belichick's scheming went well beyond what the NFL made public but if the NFL can impose million dollar fines it can also pay people to "lose" DVDs and "forget" pertinent facts. Roger Goodell doesn't want to have the stink of Spygate clinging to his league heading into another season, especially when the Patriots are the sexy pick the rule the AFC again.



The thing is, what Belichick got caught doing isn't exactly that big a deal. There are differing opinions among people who have actual NFL experience but the sort of cheating Belichick practiced is commonplace. Perhaps Bill put more stock in it, but any coach who claims that he never tried to steal a few signals is a liar. We can focus on the Patriots and say that they won Super Bowls by tiny margins that could have been influenced by knowledge of certain plays and signals from the sidelines but anybody who watches football knows that play calling is often predictable. There are nuances within the game that telegraph plays. These are professional football players who study game film in their free time, on any given Sunday 60% of the plays are known by the other team. Football games are not won and lost because of secrecy or surprise. Football is about execution. The best teams will tell you exactly what play they're going to run and beat you anyway. Any high school player can tell you that.



What kills me is Arlen Specter. He knows there's something fishy about how all of this worked out but he's too much of photo op whore to consider that it just doesn't matter. He's ranting and raving and threatening to form a Congressional Committee to dig deeper into this matter. Why? It's a game. Congress should have more important things to do. It's a moot point anyway. The NFL makes its own rules and can enforce the rules as it sees fit. If an owner, player or even a fan feels that the rules have been interpreted unfairly the only option is to file a lawsuit against the league. Belichick didn't break any laws, and Goodell is not obligated to justify his managerial decisions to Specter.



I'm not a big fan of the Patriots but I don't hate them either. Being a Cleveland fan I could have told you Belichick was a snake but he's not my problem anymore. I wasn't concerned one way or the other about the Super Bowl. Living in Central Ohio I guess it's nice that I don't have to deal with another thing Mike Vrable can brag about, but I was able to watch the Super Bowl and just enjoy the game because I didn't have a favorite. Ultimately I guess I like the way it turned out because the Patriots have to live with crapping all over their perfect season and the crabby Dolphins who make such a big deal about '72 will be dead before long. It's all good.



People who are upset with how this worked out should just stop watching the NFL. It's not like you can complain and Roger Goodell will act. As long as the revenue is there he'll continue to run things the way he sees fit. Of course if enough fans are willing to turn their TVs off this fall and do something productive on Sunday the revenue will dry up and Goodell will have to do something about it. But that won't happen. It's just one of those little things people carp about until they have more important matters to attend to. By November nobody will remember Spygate.



Except for Arlen Specter...he's got to have the face time.

Letting the Baby Have His Own Way

In the sports world we hear lots of talk about biases. In college football most people believe there is an East Coast Bias which makes it difficult for teams on the West Coast to attain a favorable national ranking. As an avid student of the game I can tell you that there is no bias. There are simply more people living on the East Coast which means there are more high schools, more student athletes and more colleges.

The population density of the west gets pretty spare when you move eastward from the coast. All you have to do is compare the number of athletic conferences from region to region. The reason it seems that the East Coast has more nationally ranked teams is because they have more teams in the first place. If there was a bias USC wouldn’t have produced three of the last six Heisman Trophy winners.

There does seem to be a bias in major league baseball and that bias favors the Yankees and Red Sox. It’s not really that there’s a conspiracy afoot to ensure the success of these two teams so much as there’s a complete lack of vision on the part of Major League Baseball to protect the interests of smaller market teams. Baseball has always been a corrupt enterprise ruled by greedy men with selfish agendas which is why the Yankees and Red Sox can spend nearly half a billion dollars on payroll. The NFL doesn’t allow money to give teams an advantage and the NBA utilizes rigid salary caps to keep the playing field level.

Of course the NBA is the one place in sports where there is a true bias. The NBA as an organization has a relentless desire to see its big market teams succeed. The reason is because the NBA believes that big market teams bring big television ratings. The statistics bear that out but it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the NFL can enjoy fantastic ratings for the playoffs, regardless of where the teams are from, why can’t the NBA?

The problem is the NBA markets individual players rather than the league as a whole. Kevin Garnett has always been an outstanding basketball player but now that he’s in big market Boston the NBA is hell bent for leather putting his face out there. It’s obvious that the league wants to see Boston and LA back in the finals. To the NBA that symbolizes the entire country: East Coast versus West Coast…to hell with everybody in between.

That bias was part of the recent MVP voting. Kobe Bryant won it in spite of the fact that he spent the entire off season trying to force a trade. When that didn’t go through he threatened to skip the season and when the Lakers called his bluff he played, but not without holding a daily press conference to whine about being stuck in LA.

Kevin Garnett was hyped as the MVP all year because Boston went from being a joke to winning 66 games. The problem is that Boston didn’t miss a beat when Garnett was out of the lineup. It’s hard to call yourself the MVP when your team does so well without you.

LeBron James (and I’ll cop to my Cleveland bias now) finished the season with the scoring title. He also was at the top of the leader boards in assists and rebounds averaging close to a triple double yet again. Through sheer will power alone he kept a banged up team in the playoff hunt and carried a new look roster into the playoffs in hopes that they’d find some consistency.

All the while, LeBron kept his mouth shut. He wanted the Cavs to get aggressive in the trade market but he didn’t throw tantrums or call his teammates out in the media. LeBron just went out night after night and played his best. He’s always respectful of his teammates even if those teammates, like Larry Hughes, aren’t worthy of it. When the Cavs entered the playoffs people asked LeBron how it felt and he immediately talked about new teammate Joe Smith who, in all his years of playing, had never advanced in the post season.

Kobe Bryant is a phenomenal athlete and a multi-faceted basketball player but LeBron is better. In head to head matchups LeBron takes Kobe to task and when you sit back and look at the big picture LeBron is the kind of guy who you want leading a team. You know LeBron is always going to stand up for his team. Kobe has proven that he’ll throw them under the bus if he thinks it’s best for him.

So how does a certified jerk like Kobe win the MVP? Big City Bias. The NBA embraces columnist and commentators who refuse to hold players accountable for being jerks. Kobe’s getting credit for leading the Lakers to the top seed in the west when the Lakers succeeded in spite of him. It was the addition of Pau Gasol that made the different down the stretch, and the subtraction by addition stunt the Suns pulled in acquiring Shaq. The Lakers posted a better record than LeBron’s Cavaliers but without LeBron the Cavs would have been vying for that first pick in the draft.

Even if Kobe had to win the MVP because of seniority, which is not how it’s done, the voting should have been close. LeBron wasn’t even in the same ballpark. Kevin Garnett and Chris Paul finished ahead of James in the balloting. You could make a great case for Chris Paul, who was almost as important to his team as LeBron but KG’s finish was another example of that bias.

The message this sends to everybody is that class, poise, and tireless effort don’t matter nearly as much as making a scene and playing in a big market. Kobe was awarded the MVP because he whined the loudest. Let’s hope LeBron doesn’t follow suit.

BORING

There are certain endeavors that don’t generally garner a great deal of attention. Some people call them sports and while I agree that many of these endeavors do qualify as sports, most fall short of that moniker for me. Granted, I’m guilty of equating sports with athletics and when I define athleticism I believe there has to be some significant degree of exertion. I ride a bicycle but I don’t consider myself to be participating in a sport when I do.

So pardon me if I don’t think of various forms of racing, particularly the horse and automotive varieties, to be sports. The physical exertion of the athlete is not a direct component of the race. Jockeys and drivers can’t improve performances by hitting the gym. At least in horse racing the credit goes to the pony. In automotive racing we celebrate the guy who spent the better part of a Saturday turning left. WOOOO!

So here we have THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY which means its Kentucky Derby time. By the way, is anybody else just a little creeped out by the fact that Kentucky’s official abbreviation is KY? Squeal like a pig! And do you suppose that there’s a tobacco flavored intimate lubricant made for of dentally-impaired friends to the south?

It kills me that so many people become so enamored with the Kentucky Derby, just as millions of people will suddenly take an interest in Indy Car racing in a few weeks. The entire year goes by and nobody thinks about horse racing but this weekend everybody will be talking about it. There are two other horse races that people follow but that’s because there’s an infatuation with the TRIPLE CROWN. Interest in the Belmont Stakes depends on whether the Derby winner wins The Preakness.

Don’t get me wrong, horses are awesome animals and as a country we owe a considerable debt of gratitude to these ready, willing and able creatures but I have trouble celebrating a horse as an athlete. I just don’t believe that horses are capable of making the conscientious sacrifices human athletes make. Michael Jordan could have easily called it a career after winning his third NBA title in a row. He was rich, at the top of his game and had nothing left to prove and he actually did step away for a while but he came back and won three more titles.

Horses don’t get themselves out of bed at 4am. They don’t spend 12 hours a day perfecting themselves because they want to be the best…horses follow orders. They train because that’s what they’re told to do. I’m not saying that horses don’t think, and that they don’t have personalities but it’s not on the same level as people. We can debate it all you want but until you show me a horse holding out for a better contract I’m not buying it.

Besides, I don’t much care for people races. Track and field events don’t excite me at all. I appreciate the effort and athleticism world class athletes exhibit but I just don’t much care to watch anybody or anything run around in circles as fast as they can.

Later this year we’ll be treated to the Summer Olympics where people get excited about more endeavors they usually couldn’t care less about. Pardon me for not jumping on the bandwagon.

REALITY CHECKS

CHECK ONE

I don’t really care much about racing but I caught a blurb on ESPN about Danica Patrick winning her first race. This is apparently a big deal because she’s a woman. Aside from played out jokes about women drivers I fail to see why gender matters in automotive racing.

The car does most of the work and the real key to victory is the pit crew. Races are won and lost because of the guys who change the tires and perform quick mechanical repairs when the driver guides the car into the pit. Most of the strategy is conveyed to the driver via radio from a crew chief who has a better vantage point of the action. The driver’s toughest task might be using diapers.

Now I know that I might get comments from racing fans who will go on and on about “feeling” the track and how the car is responding but no matter how you slice it the fact remains that the only thing that separates a race car driver from Connie Commuter is speed. The race car driver’s job is actually made a little easier by the fact that the track is carefully maintained to provide a safe racing surface and everybody is heading in the same direction as fast as they can. You don’t see a lot of brake lights on a race track.

Danica Patrick’s accomplishment is made even less significant by the fact that she won a race most race fans haven’t even heard of. When it comes to Indy-style racing there is one event that matters and it isn’t the Nippon Ham 300 or whatever Japanese race Danica won. If she wants to be relevant she has to win the Indianapolis 500. If she wants other races to count she needs to yank out a couple of teeth, marry a cousin and join the NASCAR circuit. Even then, the races won’t matter to most sports fans but at least she’ll have morbidly obese men in mullets cheering her on.


CHECK TWO

Shortly after finishing second in the Masters, Tiger Woods went in for surgery on his knee. He’ll be out for about six weeks possibly returning at the end of May to shake the rust off at The Memorial in Columbus Ohio.

It’s interesting that Tiger finished where he did on a bum knee but even more interesting will be the lack of interest in the upcoming events. Suddenly The Players Championship doesn’t seem as important. If you don’t believe that just compare the hype The Players Championship generates with that of wherever Tiger makes his post-surgery debut.

Golf purists will dismiss the Tiger lull as pop culture following a celebrity but Tiger isn’t a true celebrity. He’s popular because he’s the greatest golfer in the world. He doesn’t create his own hype, his game does. If anything Tiger is popular in spite of his personality. He’s characterized as cold and even surly. He doesn’t ham it up for the cameras but yet he’s the most marketable figure in golf if not sports in general. You might be able to make an argument that Tiger Woods isn’t the greatest golfer in history but he’s definitely the most important. The PGA wouldn’t be where it is today if Tiger hadn’t burst on to the scene 10 years ago.

CHECK THREE

I don’t believe in curses but that’s the only thing that describes what has happened to the Miami Dolphins. Last year Miami invoked the fury of its fans by passing on Brady Quinn and taking a gamble on the explosive Ted Ginn Jr. out of Ohio State. It wasn’t a dumb move by any stretch of the imagination. Miami thought that they’d get something out of Trent Green and that second round pick John Beck would develop into a quality starting QB. There were some serious doubts about Brady Quinn which is why he slipped to the 22nd spot where Cleveland scooped him up.

Ginn was the catalyst for a highly explosive Ohio State offense, Quinn put up great numbers but never delivered that big win against quality opposition at Notre Dame. Ted Ginn Jr. would provide an instant threat with his ability to return kicks and as he honed his skills at the wide receiver position he had the potential to be a game breaker. On paper the move made sense. In reality it fell apart like a wet paper bag.

Quinn didn’t see enough action to prove his worth and Ginn’s far from being a bust. The Dolphins just couldn’t stay healthy. Most of their losses were by less than a touchdown so you can’t say that they weren’t competitive. The Dolphins just couldn’t finish. That’s probably because they had serious issues at the QB spot. Green couldn’t keep his head together and it got worse from there.

Now, the Dolphins have the top pick in the draft and they don’t need it. This is one of those years where there’s plenty of great talent but no one or two players that stand out above the rest. It would be a great year to trade down and secure a few extra picks later in the draft but nobody wants to trade up. After last year’s debacle the Dolphins would love to excite their fans by drafting a hot commodity but the top players in this year’s draft are defensive linemen. That’s not going to sell season tickets. So the Dolphins might reach for RB Darren McFadden or QB Matt Ryan even though neither appear to be as solid as the triumvirate of defensive linemen.

No matter what the Dolphins do people will complain. Then the season will start and the Dolphins will look halfway decent. They might even make a run for the playoffs and people will give all of the credit to Bill Parcels even though the Dolphins weren’t nearly as lousy as last season’s record would have you believe.

Smack

CC as in Crispy Cream

As in doughnut…as in 0…as in how many wins last year’s AL Cy Young winner has this year….

CC Sabathia passed on a contract extension earlier this spring, opting to focus on the season and the riches awaiting him in free agency. A month into the season and the hefty lefty is 0-3 in four starts with an ERA mathematicians are still trying to calculate. Cleveland’s ace, who went off the reservation during last year’s playoffs has already walked 14 batters in just 18 innings worth of batting practice. We can’t call it work at this point because the Indians don’t pay him to help other teams get their hitters on track, which is just what he did for the Tigers. Detroit was struggling and Cleveland had a chance to send them into a panic, CC changed that by giving up nine runs on eight hits in four innings.

CC’s not a bad guy. Fans are giving him grief and he’s taking it like a man but he’s not pitching like one. (and yes, Karen, I know it’s supposed to be Krispy Kreme)

...As in Agent 0

Not to stay obsessed with Cleveland, but could Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards be any dumber? The Cavaliers might not be the pride of the Eastern Conference but they are still a better team than Washington. Nobody should enter a contest thinking they’re going to lose but you certainly don’t want to rile your opponent up before hand. Especially when your opponent has a guy like LeBron James who consistently puts up big numbers against your team. Do you really want him out to prove a point?

Not to stay obsessed with LeBron but if Kobe wins the MVP award after acting like a punk ass the last two years…


Are you Pucking with me?

Apparently the NHL playoffs have started and I thought I would start paying attention but my neighbor just painted his garage and I’ve been watching it dry.

Is it chilly in here?

There must be a draft. Like the NFL Draft coming up which will have millions of viewers. If you’re wondering why things pretty much suck in the world today it’s because more people watch the draft than show up for elections. The sad thing is that the vast majority of the players picked won’t ever matter. I’ve watched bits and pieces of previous drafts and I have to tell you it’s pretty much a waste of time. Nobody’s going to see anything amazing during the draft. 40 years from now people won’t be talking about watching Brady Quinn fall to the 22nd pick of the 2007 draft. Get a life.

Jackie Robinson Day

On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson played in his first Major League Baseball game. The league was founded in 1869 but when you consider the impact African American players have had on baseball it’s fair to say that professional baseball didn’t exist until Robinson crossed the color barrier. Racial problems continue to exist and the integration of baseball is hardly more important than the integration of schools and hospitals but Jackie Robinson made it easier for this society to move forward. His contributions both on and off the field always seem to be underappreciated.

What really made Robinson special is the fact that he didn’t break down the color barrier. He politely simply opened the door. He recognized that his place in history was to simply prove his equality. The forceful gestures and brash statements that were necessary in the 60s were only effective because Robinson understood the importance of what he was doing. Robinson resisted the urge to retaliate when people called him names and threatened his life. He refused to take the bait when other players provoked him.

It’s only a game and we often place too much significance on it. In Jackie Robinson’s case we don’t place enough. Serious consideration should be given to the idea of declaring April 15th a National Holiday. The IRS can push its deadline back a day to honor a true American hero.

Products of the System

Chad Johnson is in the news again. The timing makes it clear that this is by his own design. Chad’s making a lot of noise but when you get right down to it he’s just not saying much. Apparently he’s unhappy in Cincinnati which isn’t unusual. The Bengals have a long history with disgruntled players, which makes it clear that the team is horribly mismanaged. After an 11-5 run a couple of years ago Cincy has found its losing ways and seems poised to wallow in the depths of mediocrity for another decade and a half.

I can’t blame Johnson for wanting out. There are those who will demand that he shut his mouth and honor his contract but I submit that he signed his contract believing that the team would strive to get better. Also, players see their contracts terminate by teams all the time so I believe that players have every right to sit out and wait for more money. If they are willing to risk unemployment for the duration of the deal then they have that right.

I don’t know that I even have a problem with Chad taking his grievances public. If the team isn’t working with him he also has the right to put public pressure on them. Freedom of speech is an important right and people should exercise it.

My issue is that Chad is doing a lot of talking but he isn’t saying anything. He’s unhappy in Cincy but he’s not sure if he wants out. He wants the team to get better but he doesn’t have the guts to say what the problem is. It’s all very abstract which makes it pretty clear that this is all about attention. Chad’s a spoiled little brat who wants people to know he can pee in the big boy potty. And we’re the doting parents who spoiled him.

Chad’s been an unmitigated ass from day one. He’s been drawing attention to himself from the start. He gets cut too much slack because, unlike many of his Bengals teammates, he doesn’t tend to get arrested and he does seem to play hard, of course he will start rounding out his cuts and jogging through his patterns if the ball isn’t put in his hands early and often.

Chad is all about Chad. Everything he does draws attention to Chad. Chad is very aware of his personal accomplishments and will happily tell you how many touchdowns he’s scored. What he won’t tell you is that his dog and pony show is a constant distraction for the team and Chad’s infatuation with Chad prevents him from being a team leader.

Football isn’t just about talent. Football is about 53 guys being on the same page. That’s Why Terry Bradshaw has more Super Bowl rings than Dan Marino and Brett Favre and John Elway combined. Team is why Emmitt Smith rushed for more yards than Barry Sanders. Team is why Jerry Rice didn’t win Super Bowls after he left San Francisco.

Johnson thinks that his personal stats are all that matter but what about his behavior in the playoffs a few years ago when Carson Palmer went down with a knee injury? Did Johnson step up and lead his team through adversity? Nope. He pouted for the rest of the game because Jon Kitna couldn’t throw the ball as far as Palmer.

Chad cares about Chad. He wants people to look at him and because he teammates actually put the team first they won’t call him out on it. That’s the catch-22. Donovan McNabb sat there and took every nasty comment TO hurled his way without reacting because he wanted to put the team first. You’ll never get 52 guys to admit that one is bringing them down. That’s why teams hire General Managers and coaches.

Sadly, the NFL and it’s media partners create people like Chad Johnson. How many Fat Head commercials have you seen Marvin Harrison in? How many deodorant commercials has Hines Ward shot?

Check the ESPN studio and you’ll find Keyshawn “Throw me the Damn Ball” Johnson and Michael “Pass the Crack Pipe” Irvin getting paid a lot of money to talk about the game they made a mockery of. The reality is the jerks get rewarded.

Much of the blame falls on the NFL. The players who keep their helmets on and play with a little class blend into the background. No matter how brilliant they are on the field, the NFL owns them. Players like TO and Chad Johnson defy the NFL and create individual personas that become marketable outside of the NFL’s realm. So Jerry Rice settles for Dancing with the Stars while Shannon Sharpe get’s a studio assignment. It’s not fair.

Guys like Chad Johnson, TO and Randy Moss have been rewarded for being jerks and their predecessors continue to reap the rewards. The question isn’t why Chad Johnson acts the way he does, the question is why more people don’t.

Masculine Observations

Man up.

Tiger Woods is in the news again for losing his cool and hurling choice expletives at reporters after a camera flash interrupted his swing during the WGC-CA Championship. While Tiger’s not the only golfer to throw a tantrum over something stupid, it makes you wonder how athletes in other sports cope with thousands of people intentionally trying to rattle them. Maybe it’s time for golfers to grow some thicker skin. As for Tiger, before he gets too pissed about the throng following around the course he might want to take a look at the balance in his checking account.

Man out.

The exodus from Michigan has not subsided. Now starting offensive lineman Justin Boren has announced his decision to leave Michigan and possibly enroll at Ohio State. Boren stated that he feels Michigan’s values have gone off track. It’s a little cryptic and there’s a possibility Boren might not like the demands of the new system but given the fact that none of the Michigan players have seemed overly impressed with their new coach it could be an issue of diplomacy. Rodriguez hasn’t been very respectful of the Michigan program he inherited and with Michigan losing the recruiting war over Terrelle Pryor to Ohio State it looks like it could be a while before anybody can respect the program he’s trying to build. You know, it’s not as if Michigan was a bad team before Rich Rodriguez got there but there’s a good chance they will be before too long.

Whachutalkinbout, Man?

Somebody asked me what I thought about the NHL playoffs. What’s the NHL?

Southern Man.



Somebody else asked me why I never post anything about NASCAR. Well, here goes:
NASCAR is stupid. If I want to watch rednecks drive around in circles I’ll go to Walmart and watch the white trash cruise for a spot up front.

Oh Man.

Apparently Major League Baseball opened the season early in Japan. Yippee. Now we only have 161 more games until the playoffs. Dude, seriously, call me in August so I can see if I actually care about the teams in contention.

Man Oh Man.

Wouldn’t the NIT tournament be interesting the four regional finalists in the NIT bracket played the four regional semifinalists who lose the Elite Eight games? It would certainly boost the credibility of the NIT championship. I’m not saying the NIT Tournament is bad or boring but it’s hard to get excited about mid week basketball when more compelling games are being played on the weekend. Injecting teams that were good enough to advance in the NCAA Tournament into the less prestigious NIT would get my attention.

Wo-man.

I hate to say it but I just can’t get excited about women’s basketball. I think there are a lot of great players in the Women’s NCAA Tournament but unfortunately the talent isn’t that deep and it makes some of the games tough to watch.

Woe-man.

Count me among the handful of people that was excited about David Beckham coming to the US to play Major League Soccer. Now, I realized that he was always a bit overrated and I was also well aware of the fact that his skills had diminished considerably but he was still a very good international player and I believed that we would get a good look at the disparity between our foray into soccer and what everybody else plays. Sadly I think I saw more of Victoria Beckham than I did of David. It looks like hopping the pond did more for her career than it did for David’s or the future of Major League Soccer. We’ll see if that changes as the new season begins in the coming weeks but I’m not holding my breath…or buying advance tickets.

Manly Man.

Don’t count me among the millions of idiots who will actually make time to watch the NFL draft in April. Sure, I’ve tuned in when there was nothing better to do but there are people who actually schedule this as a “must see” event. That’s just sad. 16 hours of Mel Kiper’s hair is more than anybody should have to put up with. I’ll read about the draft on Monday and be just as informed as anybody else. I might not understand why Joe Theisman is all worked up about Brady Quinn’s tie but to be honest I never really cared why Joe Theisman is all worked up.

Big Man.

LeBron James got caught up in mild controversy when he posed with Gisele on the cover of Vogue. Apparently it’s supposed to be a racial issue because he’s depicted as King Kong clutching a fair blonde hoochie in one hand. As Lebron James once said, he’s 6’9” weighs 260…he’s OK. If King James doesn’t have a beef with the cover I don’t either. Let’s save the outrage for when it really matters.

The Vest Lands the Best

Terrelle Pryor finally announced his decision to accept a scholarship at THE Ohio State University. After all the hype it appears that the delay in signing his letter of intent was little more than a publicity stunt as Pryor failed to make good on his threats to visit Penn State and Oregon.

It’s hard to remember a high school football player who got more attention which means that the deck is already stacked against him. Combine that with Jim Tressel’s unique ability to destroy a promising young quarterback’s confidence and Pryor is a 3-1 favorite to be selling real estate in Central Ohio in between sporadic appearance on local sports radio shows.

Pryor’s delay in signing his letter of intent actually backfired. Reporters watched every move he made and interviewed just about everybody living within a 200 mile radius of Jeannette, Pa. hoping to get in inside track on what Pryor was thinking. The result was a lot of speculation that Terrelle has an attitude problem. Those theories are supported by Pryor’s involvement in two fights during his team’s run at a basketball championship.

Pryor seemed a little cocky in his press conference. He was pretty glib about not bothering to visit Oregon because it was too far from home and said that Penn State never had a chance because State College is too small a town for him. He did extend an apology to Michigan because he knew that a lot of people were hoping to build next year’s team around him and he seems to understand that he’ll be one of several talented quarterbacks vying for playing time at Ohio State. He made a comment about being a bad guy not mattering because he’s a good football player. That’s a little hairy but seeing as how he’s 18 you have to figure that he meant to say something more meaningful. Athletes tend to put their feet in their mouths all the time.

Judgment on what sort of person Terrelle Pryor is will have to wait. He spent the last six weeks under a microscope so we owe him the benefit of the doubt. That doesn’t mean that Pryor is not a big risk. He could be cut from the same cloth as Donovan McNabb and Peyton Manning or he might be an aspiring felon like Marcus Vick. It’s more likely that he’ll end somewhere in between. We’ll have plenty of time to scrutinize Pryor in the next couple of years.

The person to second guess right now is Jim Tressel. The Ohio State coach cultivates a squeaky clean image. He has the players line up in the end zone after every game and sing Ohio State’s Alma Mater, Carmen Ohio, to the band; He participates in a number of Christian-based fundraisers and evangelical events; He wears a tie and a Mr. Rogers-esque sweater-vest; but underneath it all is a guy focused on money and wins.

The NCAA has had cause to investigate Tressel on at least two occasions for similar reasons. At Younstown State Tressel was cited for failing to maintain institutional control of his program. A few years later the NCAA was investigating similar issues at Ohio State but the blame was placed entirely on the shoulders of Maurice Clarett. In both instances Tressel was, at the very least, guilty of looking the other way.

With Clarett Tressel and the Buckeyes ignored his problems on and off the field until they spiraled out of control. Once the NCAA got involved the Buckeye spin machine went into overdrive and the program was protected but that’s nothing new. The NCAA has a history of looking straight ahead when a money making program is in trouble.

Clarett exhibited similar traits to Pryor. Both have big egos, both speak their minds and both seem to have families with dollar signs in their eyes. Pryor might not be as self-destructive but after watching Maurice Clarett implode one would think that Tressel would be leary. Besides, Ohio State isn’t exactly hurting at the QB position anyway.

Tressel has had issues with other players as well. Under his watch former QB Craig Krenzel and WR Chris Gamble were tied to illicit funds. That issue was resolved when the money they received was donated to charity but Troy Smith took money as well and had to be suspended. Then you factor in a few arrests, excessive trash talking, some post game fights and Robert Reynolds trying to rip Jim Sorgi’s throat out and Tressel’s star loses a little luster. He’s not a character guy at all.

People with the best intentions often make mistakes and that could be the case with Jim Tressel but even if it is, why take a chance on somebody like Terrelle Pryor?

It’s hard to root against Pryor. He’s a kid who still has a lot to learn and quite a bit of growing up to do. The question is whether or not Jim Tressel will put Pryor’s development as a young man ahead of his performance as a football player. If Pryor fails will Jim Tressel accept responsibility for his part? Or will he walk away with his hands in his pockets like he did when Maurice Clarett crashed and burned?

Chip Shots

Favre from over.

Brett Favre's tired. Physically he feels great but mentally he's just tired of having to prepare to play football week after week. It's interesting that everybody is denying that Randy Moss signing with the Patriots had anyhting to do with it even though the official announcement came after Moss' deal was announced.

Brett was a great quarterback who would have been so much better if the Packer's had actually surrounded him with more talent. Favre and Marino are two guys who did great things with mediocre help. Elway, Young and Montana were lucky to play with some of the best players in the game. Imagine what Favre would have done if the Packers had signed a great running back or a consistent receiver.

Of course, Favre's not done. He's burned out right now but after a few months off he'll get the itch, and by the time the season starts he'll have a burning desire to play. A contender will lose their starting QB in the second or third week of the season and Favre will sign a one year deal to take over. If Vinny Testaverde and Kurt Warner keep getting mid season offers can Favre really stay away? No way. Especially if a team like Indy or New England loses their franchise QB for the season.

Favre's retirement seems more like closing the Green Bay chapter of his career. He still wants to win a Super Bowl and if a good team suffers a tough break on the way to the playoffs, Favre will be lacing them up before you can say Strahan.


Long Knight

Bob Knight is going to bring his sense of entitlement to ESPN as a studio analyst covering college basketball. A lot of reporters think this is ironic because now he's one of them. Nope. Bobby's got a multi-million dollar contract. Bobby doesn't have to stay up late trying to get his story finished by midnight. Bobby won't have to interview Bobby.

Knight's going to park his fat ass in a chair and do what he does best: tell everybody how smart he is. Never mind that he got so full of himself that Indiana had to fire him, and forget about the past 20 years where Knight's teams have done nothing of consequence.

This is just another fine example of ESPN padding the studio with big names and small brains.

Spring Fever

Excited about Spring Training? Why?

Baseball doesn't matter until the end of August. Take up a hobby, losers.

DRAFT

The NFL draft is coming up and we'll see how committed teams are to character when Darren McFadden gets drafted in the top five. His numerous brushes with the law, aggressive social disposition and disdain for birth control won't matter as much as that 4.28 second time in the 40. And nobody's going to ask about steroids or HGH. In the NFL everything's legal as long as you don't get caught. Just ask Shaun Merriman.

MADNESS

Dick Vitale can whine about players leaving early for the NBA but you can't take anything away from the NCAA Championship Tournament. 65 teams get a shot at winning it all. Forget about the bubble teams that don't make it. If you can't stay on the inside of the top 50 you're lucky to be in the conversation at all. Next time play harder.

As for the Tourney, how can you not enjoy it? This is simplicity at it's best. Win and you're in, lose and you get to watch the rest of the BIG DANCE on TV. There's no "best of" series. Teams have one chance to prove themselves. That's the way it should be.

Good vs. Evil

Kobe Bryant threw a preseason tantrum because he thought his team was crappy. He bitched and moaned and demanded to be traded. The Lakers were close to dealing Kobe to Chicago but the teams couldn't agree on the details. Now the Lakers are playing well, players Kobe called out are stepping up and they even made a big trade before the deadline. Now the Lakers are the sexy pick to win the West, even though Tim Duncan and the Spurs are the ugly chick you'll go home with at closing time.

LeBron James didn't throw any tantrums. Rumors circulated that he was frustrated that the Cavs hadn't improved but King James refused to throw his teammates under the bus and stopped well short of demanding anything. Danny Ferry tried to find LeBron the help he needed but deals for Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd fell through. The Nets didn't want Kidd staying int he East and the Kings wanted too much in return for Bibby. LeBron kept his mouth shut, played his ass off and was rewarded with an overhaul. Now the Cavs have workhorses who can compliment James by doing the dirty work, rather than get in his way.

So why is there any discussion about MVP? James wins it hands down. Beside averaging close a a triple double all season long, James has been the ultimate team player. Kobe might be a dynamic scoring machine but he's got the mentality of a spoiled little boy, James is a man among men. James is everything right with sports, and Kobe is a good bit of what's wrong with them.

Tiger Woods

Can't have a title like Chip Shots and not mention golf and with Tiger playing a game with which most people aren't familiar, it's worthwhile. There's not only talk of Tiger sweeping all four majors this year, some people wonder if he can win every event on his schedule. Tiger has run away with victories and he's come from behind to steal them. Sure, it's early but The Masters is right around the corner and he looks unbeatable. He's in his early 30s which means he's just entering what most people consider to be a golfer's prime.

Tiger's so good that he's made the rest of the PGA Tour irrelevant. Golf analysts lament that Tiger doesn't have a chief rival the way Jack had Arnie. It's not that the talent isn't there, it's that Tiger is that much better than everybody else.

Tiger's success makes him the golfer people love to hate. Traditionalists discredit his victory tally because he's played in a number of special invitation events that may or may not have excluded golfers who can beat him. Tiger has long talked about defining his career in terms of major victories and he's already in double digits there. He's on pace to bury Jack Nicklaus within the next three or four years and given Tiger's commitment to fitness, he could be a physically dominant golfer when he's in his 50s. Before he retires Tiger might have more major wins than most golfers can claim in regular PGA events.

Tiger has a reputation for being arrogant and rude but so have a lot of great athletes. Tiger is focused when he's on the course and doesn't have time to mug for the cameras. That's why he wins. Outside of golf and a few commercials Tiger lives a very private life. His swimsuit model wife has even stepped out of the limelight. Like him or not you have to give the guy credit for his commitment to excellence and consistency in his behavior.

Don't Believe the Hype

Once upon a time in a little town called Jeannette, there lived a boy named Terrelle Pryor. Now Terrellle was young but he wasn’t little. He was as tall as the day is long and stronger than a team of oxen. Terrelle could outrun a bolt of lightening, catch the thunder on the tip of his pinky finger and throw the entire storm to the other side of the world.

News of Terrelle’s athletic feats traveled far and wide. As he came of age kings from distant lands begged Terrelle to come lead their armies. They made him promises, gave him gifts and offered him his choice of the most beautiful women in the kingdom.

Which is why he won't choose Michigan.

Unless he likes sheep, they love their sheep in Michigan. Ba-a-a-a.

Being in Columbus I get treated to a front row viewing of one of the most ridiculous events in sports: college football recruiting. Sometimes fans get credit for being smart, too often sports columnists do and most people assume that coaches have a head for the game but when you witness a recruiting frenzy first hand you realize that everybody is an idiot.

I don’t know Terrelle Pryor. I’ve never seen him play. He could be a great guy and a phenomenal athlete. He could be a total jerk and a complete bust. Knowing what I do about reality I figure he’s somewhere in between on both counts. Knowing what I do about football I seriously doubt he’s going to make or break any of the college programs that are courting him.

A few years ago the Ohio State Buckeyes landed one of the hottest quarterbacks in the country. Everybody loved Justin Zwick. He was tall, athletic, smart and had a cannon for an arm. He looked like a young Bret Favre. Of course he was picking apart high school defenses and he played on a pretty good team that had a dominant line and receivers who could actually catch the passes he was throwing. Justin enrolled at Ohio State and learned Jim Tressel’s program. After a couple of years Ohio State was led to a perfect season by a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. It wasn’t Zwick.

Troy Smith might not have received a scholarship from Ohio State if Tressel didn’t think that signing the athletic young man would all but guarantee the Buckeyes could lock up Ted Ginn Jr. the following season. Such are the politics of the recruiting trail. Smith was told he could try his luck at QB but that he might better serve the team as a defensive back. Or waterboy. Smith put in his time and emerged as the best quarterback in Ohio State history. You could argue that point but you’d be arguing against his Heisman. No other Buckeye signal caller can lay that trump card down. Sorry, Art.

It’s not Terrelle’s fault that he’s the object of so much hype. He’s a great athlete and football fans are so bored with every other aspect of their lives that they have to obsess about a high school senior who is trying to finish his basketball season. He’s got a full plate and a lot to ponder but fans seem to think that this is an egotistical game. Even if it is, he’s in high school. He should be enamored with the publicity. He might as well ride that wave now because they won't be singing his praises when he gets redshirted.

Buckeye fans are wringing their hands over the possibility of Pryor spurning Ohio State in favor of Michigan, Penn State or Oregon. If he chooses Michigan most fans are ready to write off the next four years. How can the Buckeyes beat Pryor?

It’s almost as though the Buckeyes don’t have anybody at the QB position right now. Sure, that Antonio Henton character had everybody excited when he was recruited but now Pryor is the toast of the town. And there is this Boeckman guy who started every game last year but at 23 he’s too old to do improve this year. Pryor is the key. Without him all is lost.

In basketball it makes sense to get excited about one player. LeBron James single-handedly makes the Cavaliers a contender. Take him away and the Cavs become a 25 win team. In football a player is just 1/11th of whatever side of the ball he's on. And that's simplifying it a bit because when it comes to football the whole is GREATER than the sum of the parts. That's why the Giants upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Pryor draws comparisons to Vince Young because of his athleticism and size but Vince Young was successful because Texas had a great line, a solid defense and talented backs and receivers. Young added a dimension that made it hard to stop Texas but if the only weapon teams had to stop was Vince Young the Longhorns would have lost every game.

That’s why we have busts. So many great college players trade Heisman Trophies for clipboards when they get to the NFL. The reason they looked so good in college is because thy played for a great team. We thought Reggie Bush was going to make us forget all about Barry Sanders but Reggie’s NFL team isn’t head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. It turns out that all of the flash we saw in Reggie at USC was the product of a loaded program. Reggie’s a great athlete but he’s not exactly a threat to get into Canton without paying full admission.

We give Mike Shanahan credit for being so crafty when it comes to finding successful running backs but the talent d0oesn't lie with Shanahan or the backs, it's always been the offensive line. Look at the difference between Steve Young in a 49ers shirt and the guy who played for Tampa. Great players are often the product of great teams. There are a few rare exceptions, like Barry Sanders, but generally the all time great players played for all time great teams. In the NFL, lousy teams are rewarded for their failure by getting the best picks in the draft. So every year we see the top collegiate performers get plucked from great teams and plugged into miserable circumstances. Then we blame the players for failing to meet expectations.

We don’t notice it so often during the transition from high school to college but that’s only because we don’t spend our Saturdays watching 10 high school games on 8 different ESPNs. We don’t look up high school stats and standings online every Monday when we should be working. If we did we’d notice a staggering number of great high school players dropping off the radar at the collegiate level. People who follow recruiting will sometimes ask what happened to a certain recruit but they always chalk his failure up to effort or attitude. We never consider the fact that the player was evaluated on the merits of his high school team rather than his own ability. And that's why some of the better players in the NFL have been coming from some of the weaker teams in college football. Those mid majors have to evaluate talent differently so they find more dynamic players.

I hope Terrelle Pryor has a fantastic career. I hope he exceeds all expectations but when it comes to football I know better. Even if he is all that he has been made out to be he will only be as good as the rest of the players around him. That’s why football’s so much better than other sports. It’s too bad fans can’t keep that in mind.

The Rocket's Red Glare

"Well yeah, my balls got smaller but I can still throw 96..."






I’m tired of hearing about HGH and steroids. I’m angry that Congress is involved. It’s a waste of time, resources and money. Athletes will do anything to gain an advantage over the competition. They’ll cinch their urethras closed to boost ureic acid in their bloodstream, they’ll risk serious medical complications by pumping a little extra blood into their bodies to increase platelet counts. Of course they’ll risk everything to take steroids and hormones. And then they’ll lie about it. Even when they tell the truth they qualify it with a lie. Now the most popular lie is that they broke the law and cheated only for a little while to recover from injury.

And Bill Clinton didn’t inhale.

Roger Clemens is an ass. That’s being polite. Most major league pitchers are jerks. Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson...these are guys who built their careers around breaking the rules to gain an edge. Look, it might be part of the game but it’s still against the rules to throw a fastball at somebody’s head and every one of these guys is known for using the dreaded high and tight fastball to keep hitters off balance. Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan were ruthless when it came to drilling hitters and Randy Johnson milked his reputation as a wild hurler long after he got control of his 100 mph heater. When you consider the velocity of these pitches it’s not a stretch to call it lethal force. A 95 mph fastball can kill, but this form of cheating is largely accepted and pitchers seldom try to connect with the noggin. It happens but not too often.

Steroids and HGH aren’t on par with high cheese but a pitcher who would put another man’s life in danger just to gain an edge on the next pitch probably won’t hesitate to inject a little extra mojo into their bodies to gain an edge on every pitch. Especially when the pitcher in question is an egomaniacal drama queen like Rocket. After what he did last year, holding out for the best contract in baseball only to throw like a girl all season long, Rocket has got to be loving the attention the steroid scandal has given him. Most people wouldn’t want their integrity questioned but Roger has taken the spotlight and run with it.

Like the arrogant whiner who threw a chunk of shattered bat at Mike Piazza a few years ago, Clemens is throwing an epic media tantrum. He’s making threats, calling people names and kissing every butt that might have a chance to help him save his reputation. The problem is that nobody believes him. He’s a liar and a cheater. A selfish bully who wants to have his way. Unlike fellow cheater Mark McGwire, Clemens refuses to accept his legacy and wait for people to forgive and forget.

The thing is all of it is for nothing. The hype over steroids and cheating is just a show. Years ago people made a stink about steroids in the NFL, so the NFL fell on its sword and adopted a testing policy many former players have characterized as a sham. The public takes the NFL’s side because every year or two a couple of players serve a paltry four game suspension but the fans are willing to believe that bloated freaks like San Diego’s Shaun Merriman and journeyman drug addict David Boston come by their athletic prowess naturally. Fans actually believe that a player can stop taking steroids and maintain the same level of performance. Or they want to believe it.

Even if professional sports leagues in this country drafted aggressive testing procedures like those used in the Olympics and the Tour de France, players would still take their chances. Marion Jones did it, and actually beat the system. She was able to reduce her risk of getting caught and felt that the ends justified the means. Unfortunately she left a paper trail.

So there are no fool proof methods. However, the IOC and the Tour de France offset the technological gap by imposing steep penalties. Floyd Landis and a host of other bikers thought they could beat the system used by the Tour de France but when they got caught they paid a steep price. When you get caught cheating on the international stage your suspension is measured in years, not days. They don’t care about excuses or reasons. If you test positive you get stripped of all titles and sit in limbo for a significant portion of your career.

More over, merely being associated with cheating can cost you dearly. International athletes who find themselves linked to labs or doctors who aid and abet cheaters are typically suspended until they can prove themselves innocent. It’s accepted that athletics are not the real world and the notion of due process is checked at the door. So international athletes have to be cautious. Domestic professionals do not. NHL player Bryan Berard was suspended from international competition for two years for testing positive for a steroid leading up to the 2006 Olympics but the NHL couldn’t suspend him because the Olympic test exceeded the scope of their program. I wonder how many MLB or NFL players could pass the Olympic smell test.

Steroids are illegal but law enforcement officials don’t care about steroids. Criminal penalties for steroid use are virtually non-existent. Steroid distributors are a different story but mostly because they don’t pay taxes. Nobody arrested Shaun Merriman when he tested positive a couple of years ago. In fact, he even made the Pro Bowl. The NFL virtually encourages steroid use. And why not? The money keeps rolling in. If fans weren’t ready to boycott the NFL over Michael Vick, Roger Goodell would have worked with prosecutors to enroll Vick in a work release program.

Major League Baseball should go back to 1990, which is the year most people agree that steroids became a commodity in baseball, and just compartmentalize the whole era. Players saw Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco parlay steroids into MVP caliber seasons and got in on the act. Ironically that was the same year steroids were criminalized by the US Government. Sure, not everybody was taking them but players knew about it and they did nothing. Just take every player who played the majority of his career between 1990 and today and disqualify them from the Hall of Fame.

Going forward professional sports leagues in the US should impose a minimum suspension of one year and not let the player return until the beginning of the season following the suspension. Then impose a stiff fine and a reinstatement fee. And forget about appeals and excuses. If you test positive or your name comes up in a provider’s black book you get suspended and if you text positive for any performance enhancing substance a second time you can kiss your career goodbye. Players might be able to afford those designer steroids that don’t show up on every test but would they want to take chances if the price was that high?

Some would. That’s why Marion Jones is going to prison…and she didn’t even test positive. She was linked to a steroid scandal through a law enforcement investigation. And technically she isn’t going to prison for taking steroids, she was stupid enough to lie about it under oath.

Roger Clemens should take notes on that. Right now he’s in the middle of an inquest and he’s denying any wrongdoing. By the time it’s all said and done, Rocket could be watching his own Hall of Fame induction from a television in his minimum security prison cell. We all know he cheated, but now he’s making matters worse by committing a felony.

18-1

Man. Super Bowl week came and went and I missed out on publishing snarky commentary denouncing all of the hype. I also missed an opportunity to impress everybody with my prediction. In all honesty I really believed that the Patriots were going to win by 20. I figured the Patriots would take away the run and force Eli Manning to make mistakes. As it turned out the Patriots did take away the run but Eli Manning stepped up in a big way. His lone interception was a tipped ball that should have been caught and any throw he missed was more than made up for when he willed himself out of coverage to connect on a clutch conversion. Even though he didn’t put up eye popping stats, Eli was the MVP. He might have been more deserving of that distinction than his brother was last year.

The interesting thing about that game is the way the Patriots played. They gave up three points on long time consuming Giants’ drive to start things off but they responded with a touchdown and held onto the lead for most of the game. Still, you could sense that the Giants were comfortable with a defensive struggle whereas the Patriots were nervous. That feeling manifested when Belichick opted to go for it on fourth and 13 even though he was within field goal range. After that play blew up I was pretty sure that the Patriots were doomed.

Tom Brady looked average. With no running game to soften the Giants front and his line struggling to give him the eons of time he had grown accustomed to, Brady looked a lot more like Jim Kelly than Joe Montana. It pretty much closed the book on the argument over who the better QB is. The Colts are successful because Peyton Manning is spectacular. Tom Brady is spectacular because the Patriots are successful. There’s a big difference and we saw it in the Super Bowl. Eli Manning showed us what maintaining one’s composure can do. It looks like Eli might be related to Peyton after all and Tom Brady, well after that performance I think we see a lot more of Jan than we do Marcia.

The difference in the Super Bowl was quarterback play. Everything else was just about even. Manning had Patriot defenders in his face all game long. The Giants couldn’t establish the run. The reason the Giants won is because Eli Manning stayed focused on the task at hand and came up with the plays when they mattered most. He threw two beautiful passes for touchdowns, one was a dagger that demonstrated his arm strength and the other was a nifty game winning fade that showed us Eli can read a defense as well as anybody. And while nobody will forget the amazing hand to helmet grab Tyree came down with, it was Eli’s amazing tackle-breaking scramble that made it possible.

The Patriots looked old and tired. They looked like a team that passed its prime somewhere in the first quarter. Belichick started that game a genius and ended it as the dour little troll who dismantled the Cleveland Browns back in the early 1990s. He couldn’t even stomach going back on the field to play out the last second of official time.

Of course, who cares? The clock ran down after Brady desperately heaved another pass out of reach on fourth and the end of a dynasty. Everybody was on the field because they thought the game was over. Why somebody opted to get persnickety over the final second is anybody’s guess but it wasn’t Belichick’s fault. Nobody likes to lose and expecting somebody to run all the way back to his sideline to relive a tough loss is just ridiculous.

There are plenty of downsides to this Super Bowl. First of all New Yorkers have something to be happy about which will keep them cheerful for about 15 minutes. Then they’ll go back to their routine of arrogance and self-pity. By the time spring rolls around the Super Bowl will be ancient history and the Yankees will be the center of attention. By August people will hate Eli Manning and a sense of entitlement will start to build in the heart of every spoiled fan. It’s too bad the football Giants didn’t pack up and leave with their baseball counterpart decades ago. They’d be easier to root for.

Then we have the handful of loudmouths from that 1972 Dolphins team. In case you were wondering what the sound was, they spent Monday and Tuesday patting themselves on the back. It’s OK to let them have their last little vestige of glory because they gave up any semblance of class and dignity 25 years ago. The best response to their demands for attention is the honest one: They played football back in 1972?

The upside to this Super Bowl is that we don’t have to listen to the Patriots extol their own virtues for the next 30 years. Of course some of the guys on HGH (Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison for example) probably won’t make it another 5 years but Matt Light sure seemed to enjoy the camera in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. Surely a win would have made him a major celebrity. Given the manner in which he got worked by the Giants he might want to consider a career as a door mat.

Another interesting dynamic to this outcome is how far the Patriots have fallen in public esteem. A few weeks ago every sports pundit was making a case for the Patriots as the greatest team of all time and the question was when the winning streak would end. With one loss in a tightly contested game these Patriots, who set records that might not be broken fell not into obscurity but infamy. Nobody remembers Super Bowl losers unless they do it in grand fashion. The Buffalo Bills lost four straight; Dan Marino lost in his only appearance; Fran Tarkenton and his Vikings were consistently turned away in the final game. Nothing comes close to this. This loss, coming off of one of the most remarkable regular season performances in history eclipses everything the Patriots have done. It’s a loss that will loom larger over the franchise than the three Super Bowl wins they acquired since Bill Belichick and Tom Brady became household names.

It almost seems unfair. Can we really take everything away from this team because they came up short in the championship game? This is a team that defeated the best the AFC had to offer and lost by three points to a team that they beat in the final game of the season. Should they be punished so severely for falling 3 points short of history?

You bet. That’s the way it’s done. There’s no best of seven series in football. One shot, winner takes all. That’s why almost a billion people watch the NFL’s championship game and nobody watches the World Series until game seven. The Patriots knew that going in. The schedule didn’t change. Right after they beat the Chargers they knew when, where and who they were going to play. They had two weeks to get ready.

The thing of it is, the Patriots didn’t look flat, or tired, or like they didn’t take the Giants seriously. They simply looked like the lesser of two teams. The game was close but the Giants seemed to have a better handle on things. The Giants got better as the game went on.

Sometimes you’ll witness a big upset and walk away believing that if you played that game over 100 times the favored team would win 99 of them. Appalachian State’s upset of Michigan last year had that sort of feel to it. Other times you’ll see a close game and figure it would be a coin too every time. But the Giants finished the Super Bowl looking like a much better team than they were when they started it. If the Patriots and Giants were to square off in a rematch there’s little doubt that the Giants would win.

What’s more is the fact that the Giants were banged up. They were without their All Pro tight end, their top receiver was playing a bad ankle and the New York secondary was held together with a little spit and tape. The Patriots, on the other hand, were healthy. So that makes the Giants upset even more convincing.

Of course, it’s a little premature to throw dirt on the Patriots grave just yet. They looked bad in the Super Bowl but they don’t need to tear the roster apart and start from scratch. It might be time to let Rodney Harrison go and sign some younger linebackers but overall the Patriots are a solid team and will remain competitive. Belichick might have been outcoached for the first time in nearly 10 years but he’s still a smart guy who can set up a game plan. The dynasty might have ended but there’s still some life left in New England. Whether or not it’s enough life to get back to the Super Bowl and win is another story.

Don't confuse Buckeye BCS Blunder with Big 10

Ohio State waltzed into its second consecutive BCS Championship game with the nation’s best record and a number one ranking only to get clobbered by an SEC opponent. Is the SEC better than the Big 10? Stats can be produced that prove it’s not but at the end of the day the SEC has claimed back to back national championships via the convoluted system people accept in lieu of playoffs.

Of course the BCS wins don’t really point to superior talent or greater team speed. One need only check the NFL to see that the Big 10 does quite well when it comes to recruiting talent. Ohio State can produce an impressive list of players who have enjoyed successful careers at the NFL level. Speed is not an issue. NFL scouts are always impressed with the physical attributes of players coming from Ohio State. So why does the Big 10 seem so sluggish on game day?

Coaching…and let’s be fair, Ohio State is giving the Big 10 a bad name. Michigan matched Florida’s speed and Wisconsin was far from overwhelmed by Tennessee’s quickness. Last year Penn State was able to beat Tennessee and Wisconsin stifled Arkansas in bowl games. The Big 10 does just fine against the SEC. It’s Ohio State that fairs poorly and the culprit is Jim Tressel.

Who else are you going to blame? Last year Ohio State was a juggernaut featuring a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback who could beat you with his arm or his legs. Florida crushed the Buckeyes. People wondered if Ohio State took the game seriously and it was widely accepted that the Buckeyes were fat and happy. That wasn’t the case this year. Ohio State might have been number one but outside of Columbus nobody had any respect for Ohio State. The Buckeyes had something to prove. Not only did they have the BCS beat down suffered at the hands of Florida to motivate them, every national pundit was calling Ohio State a fraud.

So the Buckeyes came in ready to send a message and two plays into the game Chris Wells exploded for a 65 yard touchdown run. The bruising 235 pound back blew right past the speedy LSU secondary proving in one play that the disparity in speed was a myth. LSU seemed hobbled by the opening blow and self-destructed on its opening drive. Ohio State quickly responded with another big play but the promising drive ended in a field goal.

Nobody expected Ohio State to jump out to a 10-0 lead with nearly 10 minutes left in the first quarter but LSU found its composure and the coaches made adjustments on both sides of the ball. First LSU neutralized Ohio State and then they started to tip the scales back in their own favor. The final result was a 38-24 LSU victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the score seems to indicate. LSU simply dominated. They humiliated Ohio State’s offensive line, rattled Ohio State’s quarterback and picked apart the vaunted Buckeye defense.

Ohio State helped LSU with stupid penalties. LSU saw drives extended deep into OSU territory thanks to 15 yard personal fouls. Ohio State even stymied its offense with a 15 yard foul but the biggest boner of the night came when Ohio State finally put the screws to LSU’s offense in the second half and forced a punt on fourth and forever. That’s when some dumb reserve linebacker came flying through the line and into the punter. Automatic first down. Ball game. Yes, that play pretty much sealed it. Ohio State came up with a big defensive stop and was poised to start a comeback but LSU managed to score again.

Of course Ohio State’s biggest problem was a lack of production on offense. Sure, they put up some yards but they didn’t score. LSU stopped the Buckeyes when it mattered. Ohio State tried to connect on big plays and missed. Rather than staying composed and using quick passes to keep the LSU defense honest, Ohio State tried to go vertical. Once LSU realized that the Buckeyes weren’t going to attack the short and intermediate zones, the Tigers pinned their ears back and attacked. That resulted in turnovers. Boeckman was a nervous wreck in the pocket and the coaching staff did nothing to help him regain his composure.

It’s so simple, really. Teams use short passes to create manageable situations. Connecting on a four yard pass on first and 10 creates a second and six, picking up three yards on a run presents a third down and three situation. Third and three is much harder to defend than third and 10 which is why LSU won the game. The Tigers didn’t try to pick up 50 yards on every play, they were content to slowly peck away at the field and take what the defense offered. As a result, Ohio State struggled to pressure LSU’s quarterbacks and the LSU line got to beat up the Buckeye front seven. In the end, LSU won because they didn’t try to force things.

Buckeye fans will lament that this wasn’t even supposed to be Ohio State’s year. The Buckeyes were supposed to be rebuilding. But when the season started Chris Wells was in the Heisman discussion, Jim Laurenitis was the defensive player everybody was talking about and Todd Boeckman wasn’t your typical first year starter. Even though Ohio State was picked to finish third in the Big 10, nobody was stunned to see their stock rise as the season progressed, especially given the caliber of their competition. The Buckeyes have always been one of those programs that reloads rather than rebuilds so a BCS Championship bid was not exactly out of the question. Inexperience is no excuse. In fact, that’s an insult to the players. Besides, wasn’t LSU coming off the departure of its starting quarterback and wide receivers from last year as well?

Ohio State’s talent is a as good and as deep you will find anywhere in the country. LSU was a better team when they played for the BCS Championship but that doesn’t mean that LSU is really the better team. What it means is that Les Miles is a better coach.

Jim Tressel gets a lot of credit for running a successful program and much of it is deserved. Since taking over the Ohio State football program he has amassed five seasons of 10 or more wins, three BCS Championship appearances and of course a legacy of dominance over arch rival Michigan. Just before embarking on another collision curse with disaster in the BCS Championship Tressel notched his fourth straight win over Michigan. When you consider that players as good as Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Jake Long are leaving Michigan with 0-4 records against Ohio State, that is quite the feather in Tressel’s cap.

But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Ohio State has been a miserable failure against the SEC in bowl games. Trivialize the conference chest-puffing all you like but in today’s world of college football perception is reality. LSU got into the BCS Championship game because it won the SEC. The conference reputation was the tie-breaker. And if perceived inferiority can influence bowl pairings, what do the top recruits think?

That’s where Tressel’s BCS failures are unacceptable. The reputation of the conference was riding on Ohio State’s performance and once again Ohio State looked like a junior college trying to pull off a season-opening upset. The players weren’t out-classed, the coaches were. Jim Tressel and his staff came in with a plan and stuck to it. Even after LSU figured that plan out. Les Miles, on the other hand, kept making adjustments and never let Ohio State draw a bead on them.

It looked like a promising heavy weight fight between a top contender and the defending champion. Ohio State delivered a staggering opening blow and had LSU on the ropes. They got a few more good licks in before LSU covered up, cleared its head and worked back into the fight. Like a true heavyweight champ, LSU didn’t go for the early knockout. They battled back with jabs and body shots, slowly taking the wind out of Ohio State’s attack. LSU was crafty and didn’t deliver a big blow until Ohio State dropped its hands.

Tressel and his coaching staff were lost. They kept calling the same plays. They tried to duplicate Wells’ big run and got stuffed. They tried to connect on that sideline pass to Saine and got sacked. Tressel threw a haymaker and Miles hit him in the ribs. In the end, the fight was a TKO. Ohio State never had a chance. Not for lack of talent, but for lack of brains.

History in the making

The NFL might be the most competitive sports league in the world. Very little separates the winners from the losers. The Miami Dolphins finished the season 1-15 while the New England Patriots achieved regular season perfection winning all 16 of their games…Including two victories over the hapless Dolphins. Still these teams were much closer than the 15 game difference in their final records.

Consider that six of the Dolphins’ losses came courtesy of a three point margin. Even games where the Dolphins lost by more points they were pretty competitive. The Dolphins just didn’t get any breaks. They lost key players to injuries, had big plays called back by penalties and saw the ball bounce the other team’s way in more than one contest. Looking back over the Dolphins’ season it’s hard not to believe in luck.

The Patriots didn’t seem lucky. They were just good. They obliterated opponents all season long. Granted there was a stretch where the Patriots seemed to lose motivation and they found themselves in close games down the stretch but when they needed a defensive stop or a long scoring drive they managed to get it. Still, luck was on their side. Imagine how the Patriots might have fared if they’d have lost Tom Brady to a severe concussion or Randy Moss to a torn ACL. Although the Patriots made their own luck on the field, the fact that their key players managed to stay healthy all season was remarkable.

The 1972 Dolphins weren’t that lucky. They lost their starting QB early in the season and had to rely on their backup QB. Of course that back-up happened to be a wily veteran who had intimate knowledge of Don Shula’s game plan but Earl Morrall was still a reserve. How many teams could qualify for the playoffs, let alone win every game with a reserve QB calling the signals?

Of course football was different in 1972. Players didn’t have as much power as they do today and teams were able to load up on talent and Shula’s Dolphins were loaded. They had a fantastic line and a powerful running game. They weren’t known as a passing team back in the 1970s. Bob Griese wasn’t the greatest QB in NFL history. Larry Csonka was the weapon of choice and Miami’s line allowed him to build up a head of steam. In fact, of all the players the Dolphins could lose to injury, the QB was probably the one they needed least. When you think about the way the game was played back then and the way it’s played today the Patriots 16-0 is far more impressive than Miami’s 14-0 run.

Of course the regular season feat doesn’t matter. Miami continued the perfection into the post season winning the divisional playoffs, the conference title and finally sealed the deal with a 14-7 Super Bowl win over the Redskins. New England has to match that feat and in today’s NFL there’s very little separating one playoff team from another. If New England doesn’t beat all three of its post season opponents the 16-0 regular season record will become a running joke. Teams are judged by the championships they win, not overall records. Just ask the Buffalo Bills who dominated the 1990’s by winning 4 straight AFC Championships, but the albatross the members of those teams will forever wear is the 0-4 record they hold in the Super Bowl. Nobody cares that they made the playoffs every year from 1988 through 1993 or that they won 70 regular season games in that span…an average of more than 11 wins per season.

If the Patriots make good on the promise their 16-0 season committed them to, there’s no denying where they stand in NFL lore. The nature of today’s game makes their accomplishment so much more significant than anything anybody’s done before. Football is at its pinnacle. Players in the league are more athletic and work harder at the game than the players in seasons past. There’s very little difference in talent. Now more than ever the “any given Sunday” adage is true. The Patriots ran a gauntlet to get to 16-0 and now they will face three monumental tests. If they succeed there will be no denying how great this team is.

In fact, it’s hard to deny it now. When you think about how fierce the competition is in the NFL, the fact that they actually went 16-0 should be enough to hold them in high esteem. If the Patriots fall in the playoffs or come up short in the Super Bowl, is it fair to relegate them to anonymity? Can we make fun of a team that goes 18-1?

Sadly, the answer is yes. If the Patriots don’t win in the post season people will speculate that they were so focused on that perfect regular season record that they lost site of winning a championship and in the world of professional sports that’s a cardinal sin. Teams don’t start training camp in the middle of summer so they can win 16 games, they do it because they want to win the Super Bowl. That’s the prize. Now the Cleveland Browns can take solace in winning 10 games, and the Packers can bask in the glory of capturing a division title but ultimately every player on every team starts the season with the goal of winning a Super Bowl. Out of all the games a team plays throughout the season the only one that matters is the one that ends the journey. For the Patriots that game hasn’t arrived yet, for the Browns that was last week when they lost to the Bengals, for the Dolphins, Raiders, 49ers, Bears and Ravens, that game came along months ago.

9-7, 11-5, 16-0...Those are just numbers. The only thing that matters is whether or not you get to the playoffs. The Tennessee Titans are as successful as the Patriots at this point. Now it’s a single elimination tournament. The only thing that matters is winning. Everything else is just talk. The team that wins it all will be the team that wants it more. Stats, rest, injuries fatigue, home field advantage…none of that really matters. It’s a new season and the best team will win. Everybody has a chance to make history.

Browns Made Big Strides in 2007.

The Cleveland Browns surprised almost everybody this year. Regardless of whether they win or lose their final game, the outcome of which has no impact on their playoff aspirations, this 2007 campaign has been a success. Granted, this is a team that shot itself in the foot several times over the course of the season and the defense leaves a lot to be desired but back in April, when the Browns traded for Dallas’ pick to land Brady Quinn, a lot of people wrote the Browns off as a bust.

Joe Thomas has proven himself to be as good as advertised. That’s big. Plenty of teams have played it “safe” in the draft by selecting a highly-touted lineman with a top five pick only to find themselves struggling to mitigate that selection years later. Thomas is going to be a stalwart tackle in the NFL. For every Chris Samuels there is a Robert Gallery. Thomas is the real deal. That was a smart move. The Browns also got a lot of mileage out of Eric Wright and Ben McDonald. The rookie corners made big strides throughout the season.

Landing Quinn with the 22nd pick was a coup for the Browns who needed to take out an insurance policy against the Charlie Frye experiment. Frye narrowly won the starting job over a lackluster Derek Anderson in preseason only to find himself run out of town on a rail after regressing in the season opener against Pittsburgh. Anderson stepped in and stepped up, elevating his game to a remarkable level. Now the only question about Quinn is whether he’ll ever get a chance to lead the Browns.

But Anderson is a sketchy proposition. As impressive as his stats appear at first blush, a closer look reveals a very raw QB who could very well end up playing in the AFL if he doesn’t make some improvements. Anderson can be reckless at times, firing the ball into tight coverage. He’s been bailed out by great receivers and aided by a resurgent Jamal Lewis. But what happens when defenses start keying on his weaknesses? Anderson’s four interception performance against the Bengals is an indication that the NFL might be on the verge of figuring him out. We’ve seen it happen a hundred times before. The fact is that there are more Kerry Collins stories than Tom Brady epics. The law of averages tells us that Anderson is on a collision course with mediocrity. Anderson can’t throw short and intermediate passes with any consistency. That’s bad news for an NFL team with any hope of winning a title.

But that doesn’t mean the Browns should cut him loose. Until he hits that wall he’s a great player. The Browns need to hedge their bets and that means keeping Anderson and Quinn on the same team. If somebody outbids the Browns for Anderson’s services so be it. Take the compensatory draft picks and move on but don’t let Anderson slip away for a song. The best move for the Browns is to start the 2008 season with a lively battle of the starting spot and hold onto a promising backup for another year. If Anderson proves to be a flash in the pan, you got exactly what you wanted: a solid year of preparation for the future of the team. If Anderson improves and becomes the franchise the Browns have been looking for Quinn will still command some value on the trade market. GM Phil Savage has already indicated that they will offer Anderson the maximum tender which means that the Browns will receive first and third round picks if another team scoops him up. It’s doubtful that a team would want to beat the Browns offer and give up two picks in the draft but stranger things have happened. Look at what the Dolphins did.

The Browns look good on offense. Edwards and Winslow matured a lot heading into this season and should get better next year. They’ll anchor one of the best receiving corps in the NFL for a few more years. Retaining Jamal Lewis is a good idea, especially if they can keep him as hungry as he was in 2007. LeCharles Bentley is rehabbing his knee and should be ready to bolster a much improved line. Finding an explosive compliment to Lewis is a nice idea but it won’t be feasible without a first round pick. The real focus needs to be the defense. Romeo Crennel earned his chance to coach the Browns because of his pedigree as a championship-caliber defensive coordinator. Since he took the helm, the Browns have been struggling to implement the 3-4 defensive scheme employed by the Patriots. The Browns are awful against the run and generate no pressure on the QB during the two minute drill. Teams seem capable of moving the ball at will.

While there’s no question that the Browns could use some help on the defensive line, blaming the deficiencies on talent alone is unfair. There are some solid athletes on that defense but they aren’t being deployed effectively. The Browns are running a 3-4 defense with 4-3 personnel. Something has to change. If the Browns aren’t willing to overhaul the defensive personnel in the off season then a change will have to be made with the coaching staff. Crennel might have to relinquish control of his defense to 4-3 guru.

For the Browns it’s great to be in this position. For the first time in ages it looks as though the Browns can stop rebuilding the franchise and start tweaking the team for a championship run. It’s still a long road ahead but long roads are much easier to deal with when the engine is finally running.