Because we created this monster, and now it just won’t go away. We’re all Dr. Frankenstein, and this one man will haunt us until the end of our days. We let this man get bigger than the game, and now he has a franchise and essentially an entire state of people who put more stock in who is the quarterback of their football team than they do the actual issues of the world.
People protested at Lambeau Field last week. Brett Favre’s interview last night wasn’t on ESPN, or even Fox Sports. It was on Fox NEWS. And it was the lead story instead of an interview with current Senator and Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain. As oil prices skyrocket, the housing market plummets, people lose house and home and employment, Brett Favre is the lead story on Fox News.
What the hell happened to this country?
I am a sports fan. I am a pretty avid one, at that. But I also take the time to read and pay attention to other things, like politics, the economy, and paying my own bills. I write a sports blog because I enjoy writing and I think I am particularly good at it. But I will never protest at the Metrodome if somehow the Twins trade Justin Morneau in his fading years (assuming they even spend enough to keep him that long). I certainly wouldn’t be the television producer who chooses to lead with an interview with Brett Favre over a Presidential Nominee, and I sure as hell don’t see why Brett Favre should be pandered to like this.
He’s only one man - a man who happens to play a game for a living, at that. A man who now, it seems, feels if his image isn’t included in the NFL logo (a la Jerry West), or at least in the Packer logo, his legacy is tarnished.
This may be an exaggeration, but I really am not so sure anymore. Brett Favre has spent this whole off-season going back and forth as to whether or not he wants to play, only to come to the final conclusion that, indeed, he is 100% committed to football just a couple of weeks before the beginning of Packers training camp. And he is stunned when he’s told, “Sorry, Brett, but we’ve moved on.”
He says he’s fine with them moving on. Yet, if he’s okay with that, why all this?
This should be seen as nothing short of unacceptable. But, here we are, with millions questioning what the Packers should do. Here Brett is, demanding not a trade, but an unconditional release, as he feels he has earned that right. He feels the Packers are not telling the whole truth about him. And yet, after hearing his interview with Greta Van Susteren, I am not sure what that truth really is.
Consider that Van Susteren is, in fact, a Favre family friend and an admitted Packer fan who owns stock in the team. Not surprisingly, he really didn’t have anything to say of any real consequence, for there were no hard questions forcing him to do so.
He said he felt pressured into giving an answer, an "honest" one, back in March. But he knew - he had to know - that if he made that decision at that time and were to change his mind later, it would create nothing but trouble. But he did not seem to take it into consideration. He says, “It’s unfortunate that it came to this.” But he does not make the connection, conveniently, that it came to this because of HIM.
Favre did his best to do a little damage control while clearly attacking Packers brass for lying to the media and, thus, the public about Brett Favre. In essence, he blames the Packers organization, specifically Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, for asking him for a decision too early for him to be able to make up his mind. Yet, he seemed pretty certain when he gave that tear-filled retirement press conference back in March.
Last night he was also abundantly clear on his current demands: “Give me my helmet, release me or attempt to trade me.”
Van Susteren’s comments to the AP ahead of the interview seem to indicate otherwise. From the AP story, Van Susteren said that, “while Favre said the Packers asked him for a list of teams to which he would accept a trade, he wants to be released to make sure he ends up on a competitive club.”
Only in sports are employees remotely allowed to give demands of their employers. Even then, if they do make a demand, they should be prepared to get an answer they do not like (just ask Terrell Owens). However, Favre did not speak as if he were a subordinate. Favre spoke as if he were the owner of the Packers. He compared himself to Bart Starr in the interview and seemed to speak as if he were Vince Lombardi himself back from the grave.
This is partly true, if only because it is currently Favre who is haunting Lambeau Field.
As I said before, I do not just blame Favre for this mess. I blame us all for making deities out of mortals paid to play a game. I blame the “Brett Favre is Brett Favre” attitude people like John Madden trot out there not only to extol the virtues of a player, but to excuse their otherwise unacceptable behavior. And I blame everyone else connected to the sports world, for we have created the hype machine Favre is feeding off of, and nobody’s truly called him out.
This may never happen, for Favre is insulated enough now to be able to pull a President Bush and choose who he speaks to and what softball questions he will answer, if any. Answers will never be extracted from this King of Beer Country. Why would you retire if you might have the itch? If you feel so entitled to making your own decision, why not tell the Packers you need more time and force them to leave the door open? Why agree to a press conference you know there’s a chance will look like a sham within just a few months time?
Sadly, we know the answers, just as we all know where this is headed. Brett Favre will return to the Packers, lest the front office feel the wrath of their rabid fan base, willing to march on Lambeau Field rather than allow the team to make decisions on its own. And in a year, this whole drama will play itself out yet again, as the Packers wring their hands through another offseason and Favre sits in his home in Mississippi, sipping on a drink, riding his Snapper lawn mower, content to hold an entire organization hostage for one more year.
And the most we have gotten out of Brett Favre in this whole mess is a venting session with, basically, an influential fan….
They pressured me into a decision.
I wasn’t committed then.
“Give me my helmet, release me or attempt to trade me.”
Sounds like a lot of whining and demanding to me. This is, essentially, a tantrum from a 30-something millionaire quarterback. Brett Favre wants his way.When it’s all said and done, Brett Favre will have whined his way back into a Packer uniform. Lucky for him, there’s a lot of cheese up in Wisconsin to pair it with.
Good thing there aren’t more important things going on in the world, huh?
As promised (for all 3 of you who read this regularly), I shall speak (briefly) in regard to our trip to Milwaukee to take in the Twins interleague matchup with the Brew Crew a few weeks back.
First of all, I love Miller Park. What a nice place to see a baseball game. Mind you, I have not been to the more hallowed grounds in MLB – pilgrimages to Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee Stadium, are on my short list of things I want to do before I die. I have been to exactly 3 stadiums for major league ballgames; two of which were outdated domes (Toronto and Minneapolis) and now Miller Park. Needless to say, Miller Park wins the beauty contest hands down, like if you were comparing Sam Cassell with, say, Jennifer Connelly.
Is there a bad seat in that place? Please, Milwaukee fans, help me out. I looked around and I couldn’t see a seat where I would say, “Man, I really wouldn’t want to be sitting there.” It was great to see birds flying around above the stadium, see the SUN through the OPEN ROOF, see the outside world beyond the fence. Well. The view in there is nice. Spectacular? No, but very nice, and a welcome change from all the cement and Teflon nonsense in the Metrodome. It was so nice to be outside breathing fresh air while watching a baseball game, it softened the blow of watching the only loss the Twins had in that series.
However, the duo of douchebags sitting in the row in front of us could have ruined the day, were they not so bizarrely innocently stupid. These two doofuses were part of a much larger party, clearly a rare family outing of some sort, judging from the way they spoiled their children rotten. One kid, I swear, was two-fisting an ice cream cone and a lemonade slushee when he was asked if there were ANYTHING ELSE HE WANTED.
Perhaps some towels and a tranquilizer? Thanks.
In particular, one douchebag seemed to have a rather high opinion of himself, as evidenced by his need to wear a button-up shirt wide open with nothing underneath, exposing his less than impressive chest and…”abs”.
This gentleman made various idiotic cracks throughout the game, but the two cherries on top were thus:
1. 1. As a handicapped relative accidentally lost control of her crutch, which went over the railing above us and landed on a chair close to him, he turns back and says, “Hey, careful there, we don’t want to be crippled, too!”
2. As I was gone to procure more beer for the Wife and I, he asks, to no one in particular, “What the #### is a Mariner?” To which, my wife proceeds to explain that it is, essentially, a sailor. To which he replies, “Then why doesn’t their symbol have anything to do with the sea?”
Yes, because nobody uses a compass on the ocean.
I weep for the future.
We actually had a damn fine time in Milwaukee, and will make the pilgrimage again in the future, maybe even next year, schedule permitting. There was a fantastic bar in the downtown area I hope survives its first year of operation. They had a pair of superb brews from the Lakefront Brewery exclusive to their joint. Really excellent stuff. If I happen to remember what the name of it was, I’ll include it in a future post.
FREE JOE NATHAN!!! Last night’s loss to the Red Sox was rather frustrating. Just as I think perhaps the Twins will tie this series and make everyone forget the pain of losing a 1-0 game to open the series, the bullpen (Matt Guerrier) implodes. Again. Good thing we didn’t use Joe Nathan, eh? He’ll certainly be good and rested for the next save opportunity Gardy reserves him for that doesn’t come….
Perhaps, much like the Free Jason Kubel campaign Twins fans got behind in the last couple of years, a new campaign should start to Free Joe Nathan...
BASKETBALL
Glad to see the Mario Chalmers trade went to good use. All that financial flexibility the Timberwolves got in return for trading their gift PG to the Miami Heat went to Philly in order to acquire Rodney Stuckey, Calvin Booth and a future first rounder. That first round pick isn’t all that shiny once you realize that the pick actually comes from Utah and is believed to be top-15 protected in 2009.
So, to recap: the Wolves trade away the point guard who hit the game winning shot in the national championship game just a few months back to the Miami Heat for, basically, cash. This same point guard then proceeds to show a fair amount of savvy in owning Bulls #1 draft pick Derrick Rose in his debut in the summer league down in Orlando.
They then take this financial flexibility and turn it into yet another swingman, yet another backup center, and a future first rounder that might be in the high twenties. Meanwhile, the Wolves have helped yet another Eastern Conference team become a contender. The 76ers now look poised to challenge Detroit, Cleveland and Boston for the top spots in the East.
And I guarantee you when the Wolves make that selection some mid-summer day in the near future, they will not get a point guard as good as Mario Chalmers.
I realize a lot of people actually like this deal, but I am not one of them, especially when I look back at the reasons for the trade in the first place.
Yes, this trade exception actually comes from the deal the Wolves made with the Heat last year to rid themselves of Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. But The Wolves used this exception not to address their currently most glaring weakness (backup PG) and instead use it to acquire more of the same parts they already have a glut of.
This is likely a a move made to set up other moves to address this weakness, as Jerry Zgoda points out in the StarTribune. But I keep thinking, "You know what? All this extra movement would not have been necessary had they kept Chalmers in the first place." Plus, stockpiling draft picks would not be such a priority had the Wolves not given up a pick to acquire (the now departed) Marko Jaric from the Clippers a couple seasons ago. I get that the Wolves seem to be trying to address their past mistakes, but that doesn't mean we should excuse them. It really means we have to keep an even closer eye on the proceedings as these moves continue to be made, if only to gauge whether or not it might be worth following this team over the next couple of years as McHale continues the rebuilding process.
Oh, and what must it be like to be Baron Davis? Assuming he cares about wins and losses after agreeing to a deal that makes him worth as much as the GNP of several small countries, it can’t be a good sign to Mr. Davis that just days after he agrees to said deal, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette are headed elsewhere. Might be a long, lonely but very rich few years in L.A….
FOOTBALL
When his career’s finally over, be it 2008 or 2028, can we make the inevitable movie of the Brett Favre Story the next installment of the Friday the 13th series? Seriously. The guy just won’t go away.
I bet Ted Thompson’s not getting text messages just from Favre. I would bet Aaron Rodgers’ agent’s been blowing up Thompson’s cell in the last 24 hours, as well. If he hasn’t, it’s time for Rodgers to get a new agent.
That’s all for now. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a Twins WIN to talk about. Perhaps Joe Nathan will actually pitch? We shall see...
Did you ever have that on again, off again relationship you just couldn’t shake? I know I did. My high school sweetheart and I broke up and got back together something like 8 times over the course of almost 3 years before she finally said what might have been some of the most important words in both of our lives:
This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.
Looking back I know I was being an ####, breaking up because I “needed space” and then crawling back when I got lonely. Every once in a while, she would need her space too and we’d take a break and then she’d call and talk to me “just to catch up” and in a few days we were back together and everything would be fine again. For a few months, anyway.
I think it was the beginning of the end of my own innocence when she decided she’d had enough and needed to move on for good. I remember talking to her that night and hearing the determination in her voice, and it made everything crystal clear. I never called again. I knew she was taking control of her life and growing up without me, and that I needed to do the same.
It’s time Green Bay makes that call. This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.
This is hard for Packer fans to accept, for Brett Favre is the only quarterback many of them know, and those who have known other Packer QB’s are probably not old enough to recall with true clarity the greatness of the Lombardi era with Bart Starr under center. In fact, Brett Favre is probably the only QB most of the personnel in the front office have known. Like that first boyfriend or girlfriend, your first franchise QB is a hard thing to let go.
But Brett Favre needs to go away, and the Packers need to make sure he does. I am glad he’s responded to the reports of his return and said there’s nothing to it. But you know what he really needs to do? Sign and turn in his retirement papers and make it official. To the best of my knowledge and my Google skills, I don’t believe he’s done that yet, and this is damn near 6 months since he had that teary press conference where he told the world he was finished. Green Bay ought to demand that he make it official.
The fact is this yearly drama – will he or won’t he – is getting more tired than Pam Anderson’s numerous marriages. I liked Brett Favre as a player. His love for the game, his “gunslinger” style, his willingness to play through injuries and show up every day to do his job through all kinds of adversity is something to be admired in all walks of life. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you act when you’re a professional ANYTHING.
On the other hand, his willingness to get into other people’s business and hold the franchise hostage year in and year out as he mulls whether or not to continue being the consummate professional tarnishes that very image. And with each year this saga continues, the more dents you find on that trophy.
Professional sports are an all or nothing proposition. You have to take the whole thing, lock, stock and barrel, in order to be a part of it. To start allowing players to take training camps off or not actually travel with the team when they’re not in use undermines the very thing that should make sports inspiring – the concept of team.
I am an actor. Now, I only do live theatre, so I can only speak from that experience. Say I were to be cast in a show, play that role for a while, decide I am done playing it then leave long enough for them to find a replacement for me, that would be it for me and that show. The show has moved on. They sure as hell wouldn’t bring me back.
Brett finally decided to let the show move on, and that’s exactly what the Packers did. Aaron Rodgers has spent an entire offseason being the man. The team has spent an entire offseason with Rodgers as the man. The coaching staff has put in the time and effort to change their game plan to live life without Brett Favre and you know what? They’ll be fine. The Green Bay Packers were a great franchise before Favre took his first snap and it will be long after he’s gone.
In particular, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t deserve this. Recent comments aside, Rodgers has done nothing but conduct himself appropriately while waiting in the wings. It’s not his fault the Packers drafted him, and it’s certainly not his fault he’s in the middle of this whole mess. Think about this – if this continues, Rodgers could be a first round (albeit late) QB selection who spends the bulk of his prime as a backup through no fault of his own whatsoever. If you think for a minute that Rodgers would be the starter if he “won the competition” between himself and Favre, you’re out of your mind. So long as Favre is lacing them up, the Packers coaching staff is starting him. No way do they take the kind of PR hit that would come along with benching the football icon that is Brett Favre.
Look at his stats from two seasons ago, when Favre logged a 1-1 touchdown to interception ratio, or the season before that when Favre threw nine more touchdowns than interceptions. Favre still played and started all 16 games in both seasons. Yes, in the same article, I can venerate Favre for being the consummate pro, ready to play every day. But I can also point out that it’s pretty damn easy to do so when nobody’s trying to tell you no.
It’s time for that. Green Bay needs to tell Brett no. They need to make a statement of their own and say, once and for all, that they have moved on and are ready to start a new era at Lambeau Field. If he decides he wants to return and the Pack brings him back, Rodgers should demand a trade next offseason. It’s time Rodgers gets a chance to prove himself as a player, and I am sure there are several teams that would be willing to give him this chance.
If Green Bay allows this to happen, it damns the franchise to mediocrity for years to come as they draft and groom yet another heir to the throne of Brett Favre while throwing away the time they spent annointing Aaron Rodgers as that heir in the first place.
Please, Green Bay, stop stunting your own growth. Let that boyfriend go and move on to something new and different. Tell Brett that it’s stopping now and you’re moving on without him. You’ll be glad you did.
Much has been said about the Super Bowl. Did the Patriots lose the game? Did the Giants win it? All you need to know about that game was summed up in The Play - Manning's escape of an almost assured sack, leading to a high-arching pass to David Tyree who uses his helmet to aid in making one of the most spectacular catches in Super Bowl history. That two Patriots almost had Manning in their hands only to lose their grip is the ultimate metaphor for the overall story of the Patriots' season.
More interesting, however, is what happened to the game-watching public. In a sports world where fans, players and pundits alike all talk ad nauseam about striving for and celebrating excellence, we should have been rooting for the Patriots to make history Sunday.
But we weren't.
The reasons why are myriad. Americans love the underdog, especially the underdog to a seeming wave of destiny. You could say the flip-side is also true, that Americans can only stand to see someone play the role of top-dog for so long before growing tired, like the general malaise regarding San Antonio Spurs and their run of "boring" excellence.
This does not, however, explain the anger much of the country seemed to harbor toward the Patriots, nor the amazing amount of schadenfreude people feel regarding their loss. This wasn't just about David vs. Goliath. It was about the big bully finally getting what they deserve.
This is about LaDanian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers calling the Patriots "classless". Remember that? Over a year ago, the best running back in the NFL deigned to blast this team the whole of the media crowned as the team that "played the right way" (to use Larry Brown's phrase) and was practically laughed Tomlinson off the podium in the presser after the game. This year, their parting shots continued, with Chargers players calling the Patriots "dirty". The Patriots scoffed at these accusations, but the evidence was already beginning to mount.
From Belichick's boring press conferences to his team running up the score on everyone, to the dismissals of Eric Mangini and Tony Dungy after losses, to Spygate, Belichick has become the George W. Bush of the NFL coaching fraternity. He's good at what he does, whatever that is, and it seems to lead to success. But the ends never justified the means. And the more we learn, the more we don't like about the means.
And don't think for a minute that it didn't hang in the back of some people's minds that this team acquired Randy Moss essentially as a one-year rental in hopes of winning a championship. Bringing Randy Moss in is different from their acquisition of Corey Dillon a few years back. There was a feeling Dillon was seen as not being a good teammate largely because he hated toiling for a team that was never in contention. Moss was a cantankerous player even on dominant teams in Minnesota. In his time up north, this man tried running over a female police officer, "mooned" the Green Bay Packers during an end zone celebration and most famously walked out on his team at the end of a loss before the end of the game. A game, mind you, still potentially up for grabs, had the Vikings been able to receive the onside kick. In retrospect, maybe Belichick saw a little of himself in Randy's attitude after all - both have proved to be as sore of winners as they are losers. Belichick's early exit with one second left in the Super Bowl may very well have been his last action on a football field for a long time, depending on the results of the upcoming Congressional hearings regarding the Patriots taping practices.
OK, so we hate the coach. And it's easy to find reasons to hate Randy Moss. What of the other venerable players the Patriots trot out onto the field? Richard Seymour, a 5 time Pro-Bowler, has been called out by Chargers and Giants players as being dirty and soft several times over . Plus, it was Seymour who famously told Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer to go home, for they were done.
What about veteran Junior Seau, who yet again missed his chance at getting that Super Bowl ring all NFL players covet? Well, what of the aforementioned San Diego Chargers organization, who held a huge event in Seau's honor after he announced his retirement? Sure, it was the Chargers who let him go as he signed as a free agent in Miami, but it also was the Chargers who held the retirement party for him, signing him to a one-day deal so he could retire in a Bolt-lined helmet.
Yet, the Patriots called, and his "graduation" became a mercenary last gasp for a title. Imagine if Emmitt Smith had pulled a similar move after signing his contract with the Dallas Cowboys only to go play running back for the Eagles in a quest for a title. The media would have roasted the man for turning his back on the Cowboys, for eschewing loyalty for another chance at glory.
But perhaps the biggest reason the Patriots were vilified in my living room was Mr. Gisele Bundchen himself - Tom Brady. As my fiancée pointed out, she couldn't stand the guy because of his off the field issues; namely, his abandonment of his expecting girlfriend Bridget Moynahan and quick hook-up with Bundchen. This is the stuff of the tabloids, something one would expect of Britney Spears, not Tom Brady, the "Greatest Quarterback Ever".
Contrary to what columnist Jason Whitlock might think, this had nothing to do with jealousy. The anger much of the country felt toward the Patriots was born of discovery, for we began to see this team for what it really is, a win at all costs team whose success bred arrogance, not class and confidence. No longer are they the upstarts that toppled the high-powered Rams in 2002. Those days are long gone, and the time to end that era had come.
The city of Boston has become what it once hated. The Red Sox are the evil empire, already out-spending the rest of the league and yet willing to go to a six-man rotation to make room for a possible Santana trade. The Boston Globe printed the "19-0" book before the game had been played. The Celtics used their connections to the 2nd WORST (NBA) GM EVER, a former Celtic, to vault themselves to the top of the Eastern conference, and the rest of the country got tired of it all. Even if it meant rooting for a New York team, we were going to do it. Because we all want to see karma make it right.
You shouldn't win championships that even have the air of controversy to them. You shouldn't hold esteemed records on the juice. You shouldn't be allowed to play in a contest when you have violated the rules, and the Patriots didn't just violate the rules, they flaunted their violation, and the NFL allowed it to happen. Roger Goodell destroying the "Spygate" tapes reeked of something bigger on the horizon, and tainted the Patriots for good. But us fans, we had no control over that. All we could hope for was The Upset.
The Patriots legacy was not yet secure, and so long as there was a game to be played, balance could be restored. Indeed, David toppled Goliath once again, the Giants turned in one of the great Big Game performances of all time, and we who rooted against the Patriots were satisfied.
This may very well be merely the beginning, too. Patriots fans may have this moment etched in their minds for a long, long time. They might see visions of Eli Manning to David Tyree in their heads like Yankees fans see Luis Gonzalez vs. Mariano Rivera in theirs. This might be the moment it all goes south for the Patriots, the Yankees of the NFL.
If I know the people who read this blog previously, I guess nothing should happen to "Tank" Johnson if he's convicted on his gun charges either. Or maybe the NFL should make sure they're playing the Lions when they suspend his ####, so at least it's not a meaningful game.
But, I digress. Here's why I am writing this morning. I have a letter to send to the Target Center.
Time to Put Up or Shut Up, Minnesota
Dear Glen Taylor, Kevin McHale, Fred Hoiberg and everyone else in the Target Center:
Look, I'm just going to say it: if you don't trade for AI, trade Garnett. With all this trade talk, you have a
good idea who's looking to deal what...so you really should have a good
indication of who's available. (Assuming, Mr. McHale hasn't just been
throwing darts at pictures on the wall all week.) If you don't get AI, give Garnett an out. Trade him to a contender -
maybe Chicago. Get some of their young talent back. If you get into the
lottery this year, I think you're still lottery protected through the
top 8(?) or something like that and it looks to be a draft chock full
of potentially great big men - first such crop in a long, long time.
Might not be a bad year to be bad.
Not trading for AI means
you're clearly hanging onto your future, as all accounts are Philly
wants young talent in return if they can't get expiring contracts. That
future could take some time to build. Why keep Garnett around for that?
Make this your final move, Kevin McHale, and walk away. Mr. Taylor, do your fans a favor and find someone who knows what they're doing to take his place. You
can even keep grooming Hoiberg for a GM job or something like that if
you feel like it, I don't care. But let this be the end of the Garnett era, if you're not going to give him anything to work with.
Don't keep Garnett just for the sake of
keeping him. The Wolves are losing $20 mil by all accounts this year
anyway (if you don't get AI)...might as well make losing all that money
worth something down the line.
I haven't blogged in a long while, primarily because I haven't had a lot of time. But, recent developments in the NFL are so worth noting that there's no way I can continue my silence, so I'll take a moment out of my day at work to examine the state of Hipocrisy in America's Game: Football. Specifically the NFL. I'll start most recent and work backwards, because that's just how I roll.
MAYBE TIKI ISN'T THE GIANT WHO SHOULD RETIRE?
Yes, I am talking about Michael Strahan, who could fill that gap in his teeth with the b.s. he spewed at the media yesterday.
Now, with all due respect to the NFL Czar, who actually gets paid to offer his opinions on this site, this one's for free. The Czar is somewhat missing the point of this incident between Strahan and the ESPN reporter reporter: This isn't about Strahan wanting to be a "leader". He just wanted to feel powerful. He doesn't feel powerful in the locker room, partly because he's injured and partly because nobody in the locker room seems to be willing to listen to anyone else. So, he took out his frustrations on a reporter who was just doing her job.
Moreover, she wasn't really asking a "divisive" question. It's a valid question; what's potentially divisive is the answer, and that all rests on Strahan's shoulders. First of all, the reporter didn't criticize her teammates in the press, Strahan did. If you open your mouth, you better be ready to accept the consequences.
As to the question itself: if he did talk to Plaxico about it, then it's a done deal, a dead issue. If he hasn't, then that might be divisive, as it would show Strahan as a man willing to say stuff about his teammates in the media, but not eye-to-eye. He didn't want to be seen that way, so he turned it around on the reporter.
I'm not sure what's more gutless: calling out a teammate on the radio and not speaking to him directly about it, or belittling a reporter who is only doing her job in order to make you feel better about yourself. Maybe if this guy can't take the heat of being a professional football player in New York, dealing with the NY media, he should follow Tiki out the door and never look back. I'm sure some network will be waiting with a chair for him, and then you'll hear a different tune about the media coming out from between those two front teeth.
YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE STINKS? GETTING YOUR #### KICKED FOR USING A LAPTOP.
Speaking of gutless, how about Ricky Manning and his buddies getting into a fight with a guy in a restaurant over the summer simply because the guy was working on a laptop. You remember being a kid, and the kid with the funny glasses got beat up on all the time? Well, some of them become Bill Gates, and some of them still have to take #### from the jocks.
Now, you didn't hear a lot about it this weekend, but Brian Urlacher aparrently seems to think a big game against the New England Patriots is more important than, oh, I don't know...an assault conviction.
I don't know much about the law, but "tangentially involved" doesn't seem to mean a whole lot to the U.S. Legal System when it comes to assault. It didn't seem to mean enough for Manning to stick to his original "not guilty" plea, either.
But, if you ask Brian Urlacher, none of this matters. All that matters is the NFL should have picked a game against the Raiders or Cardinals for the one Manning should have sat out as punishment for his involvement in an assault.
Hey, maybe he shouldn't have been punished at all! I mean, what's the big deal? Just a fight in a restaurant with a guy whose only offense is the fact that he's intelligent enough to use a laptop, something clearly beneath Manning and his friends and obviously worth not only ridicule but assault, to boot.
Urlacher is often looked to as one of the NFL's greatest players, a role model for what a linebacker should be. If only his perspective on the importance of the game matched the esteem many hold him in on the field.
WILL THE REAL MARVIN HARRISON PLEASE STAND UP?
But maybe the most surprising showing of an NFL player's true colors came from the Colts' All-World Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison. If you happened to miss what he did on Sunday, you're not the only one. NBC, with all their coverage and all their cameras and Pink dancing on top of buildings somehow conveniently missed Marvin Harrison acting more like a wide receiver than he ever has before.
That was MARVIN HARRISON walking to the locker room before the end of the half with his offense about to put another 3 points on the board.
You probably did see the same MARVIN HARRISON pulling much the same kind of no-effort to make a tackle on an interception junk Plaxico Burress is getting burned for in New York. Yet, you hear nothing about it. In fact, after the game, his coach seemed inclined to just write it off and move on.
Why didn't anyone get a better answer from Tony Dungy about Harrison's actions? It almost sounded like he didn't care that Harrison quit on a play and ducked out before halftime while the rest of the team stayed to watch that field goal.
If this had been done by "T.O." or "Ocho Cinco", I guarantee you, we'd be hearing more about it. Maybe it's easier for those in the press conference room, or those covering the NFL at NBC FOX, ESPN or ABC to let it slide because the Colts won big and Harrison doesn't have the nickname and reputation the other guys do, because they need at least one star Wide Receiver who isn't seen as a prima donna.
In any case, it's hypocrisy at its highest for the media to let this slide while skewering another guy somewhere else in the league for doing basically the same thing. Maybe Michael Strahan should be a member of the media, he'd have no problem calling Harrison out for this, right?
I am a native Iowan and avid sports fan who somehow found his way to Minneapolis and am now innundated with all things Minnesota sports related. I've even developed my first real rooting interest - the Minnesota Twins. This blog is all about my observations on the world of sports, from the unique perspective of my grandfather's recliner. I have to write about them here, otherwise the sound of my own thoughts bouncing around in my head with nowhere else to go might drive me nuts.
John McCain. As oil prices skyrocket, the housing market plummets, people lose house and home and employment, Brett Favre is the lead story on Fox News.
Miller Park wins the beauty contest hands down, like if you were comparing Sam Cassell with, say, Jennifer Connelly.
is, essentially, a sailor. To which he replies, “Then why doesn’t their symbol have anything to do with the sea?”
fact, Brett Favre is probably the only QB most of the personnel in the front office have known. Like that first boyfriend or girlfriend, your first franchise QB is a hard thing to let go.
whole thing, lock, stock and barrel, in order to be a part of it. To start allowing players to take training camps off or not actually travel with the team when they’re not in use undermines the very thing that should make sports inspiring – the concept of team.
