Archive for June, 2011

Terrell Owens Is a Hall of Famer

Posted by klownboy in NFL, sports blogging on June 29, 2011

Terrell Owens is going to have surgery on a torn ACL this month – or if you believe agent Drew Rosenhaus, HAD surgery back in April.  Nevertheless, it’s likely that T.O.’s career is over.

The NFL will be a different place without such a great – and controversial – player.

Which begs the question: how should T.O. be remembered?

In spite of his on-the-field exploits (more on that later), he will be known more for he had done away from the gridiron.  Being such a distraction from his actions/things he’d say.  Being a “turrible” teammate (see Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo).  His ventures into reality television (isn’t it hilarious that he was said to have hurt his knee while filming one of those stupid-ass reality shows?).

Well, in spite of those things, I think T.O. is a Hall of Famer.  In fact, I think he will go in on the first ballot.

I mean, correct me if I am wrong but last I checked, the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame are stats-driven.  After all, as bad as a guy he was off the field, Lawrence Taylor got in during his first year of eligibility because of what he did ON THE FIELD.

Getting back to T.O., how could you deny a guy who had accomplished the following:

  • 6× Pro Bowl selection (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007)
  • 5× All-Pro selection (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007)
  • Receptions: 1,078 (5th all-time)
  • Receiving Yards: 15,934 (2nd all-time)
  • Receiving TDs: 153 (2nd all-time)
  • Currently, the only player in NFL history to score a receiving TD against all 32 NFL teams
  • Currently, the only player in NFL history to score 2 TDs against all 32 NFL teams
  • Oldest player to have a TD reception of 98+ yards (35 years, 350 days)
  • Oldest player to have a TD reception of 78+ yards (36 years, 300 days)
  • Oldest player to have a 200 yard receiving game (36 years, 300 days)
  • Consecutive Seasons with at least 6 or more touchdowns, 2000-2010 (11) – tied with Marvin Harrison 1996-2006, Jerry Rice 1986-1996, Cris Carter 1991-2001, Tim Brown 1991-2001, Don Hutson 1935-1945
  • Consecutive Seasons with at least 5 or more touchdown receptions, 2000-2010 (11) – tied with Marvin Harrison 1996-2006, Jerry Rice 1986-1996, Cris Carter 1991-2001, Tim Brown 1991-2001, Don Hutson 1935-1945
  • Consecutive Seasons with at least 5 or more touchdowns, 2000-2010 (11) – tied with Marvin Harrison 1996-2006, Jerry Rice 1986-1996, Cris Carter 1991-2001, Tim Brown 1991-2001, Don Hutson 1935-1945
  • Consecutive seasons with at least 4 touchdown receptions, 1996-2010 (15)
  • Consecutive seasons with at least 4 touchdowns, 1996-2010 (15)

Look, I am not a T.O. apologist.  In fact, I don’t like the guy.  I am just a firm believer in fairness.

Bottom line: if T.O. doesn’t get in on the first ballot, the voters should have their voting rights revoked effective immediately.

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2011 NBA Draft Results Damning for College Basketball

Posted by klownboy in college basketball, NBA, sports blogging on June 28, 2011

There was something peculiar about the 2011 NBA Draft.  Four of the first seven players drafted were international players.

What does this all mean?

Was it because of the “Dirk” effect?  Did Nowitzki’s performance in the NBA Finals put the end of the “soft European” talk?

Was it an indictment of the state of college basketball?

I think it’s more of the latter.

These days college basketball players do not stick around long enough to improve their games.  Guys are only in college for one year, the latter half of it not going to class.

Since these young men have not fully developed their skills, there are a lot of raw talent leaving the college ranks.  Aside from the Derrick Roses, Kevin Durants and John Walls, the majority of these “1 and dones” have not amounted to much in the NBA.

I have long said that if the NBA continues to impose an age limit, it should make those kids stay two years.  That should allow the kids enough time to improve their skills, which in turn would improve the quality of the college game.

(By the way, if you don’t think the college game is suffering, check out this past year’s national championship game between UConn and Butler)

A lot of NBA teams who consistently pick near the top of the draft are tired of waiting on these kids to realize their potentials.  Those same teams are pulling a “San Antonio Spurs” if you will by tapping into the foreign market.

Bottom line: if the NBA wants to improve the play of college basketball players, it needs to raise the age limit to 20 years old.  Otherwise, look for the foreign players to overtake the American college players soon rather than later.

 

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What in the Hell Was Riggleman Thinking?

Posted by klownboy in MLB, sports blogging on June 28, 2011

This one has me scratching my head.

Former Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman recently resigned after a win.

He felt disrespected and unwanted by management because it would not offer him an extension.  He figured that no one in the clubhouse will respect a lame duck manager.  So he gave the Nationals’ front office the good ‘ol “take this job and shove it”.

So how should he be remembered: a man of principle or a quitter?

My answer: a damn fool.

This clown had a losing record as manager of the “Natinals” (140-172).  Even though his team was over .500 for the first time in a million years, Riggleman had the balls to go to management and tell them either he gets a new extension or he walks.  The team balked, thinking he had the good sense to come to his senses and manage out the rest of the season.

Instead, he quit on his team – a team that was starting to do well and may have given him some leverage if he had stuck around.  I wonder how pissed those players are at him for deserting them during the season when things were going well.

I hope Riggleman’s “take this job and shove it” moment was worth it, because this mo-fo is not going to get another shot as a manager in the majors.

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The Winnipeg Jets Are Back – FINALLY…

Posted by klownboy in NHL, sports blogging on June 25, 2011

The team formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers announced at the NHL Draft that they will be known as the Winnipeg Jets.  The NHL is finally back in Winnipeg where it belongs.

Talk about righting a wrong.

I know what you all are thinking: why in the hell do you care so much negro?  Whelp, I’ll tell you.

I remember when the original Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1996.  I didn’t understand how the move was devastating to the folks in Manitoba until I spoke with a couple of good friends of mine in college.  Both ladies grew up in Manitoba and were enraged and saddened by the move.  On a scale from 1 (indifferent) to 10 (very pissed), I’d say they were a “15″.

Couple with all these hockey teams in the Sun Belt region (hockey in Nashville?  Really?), I just thought that Canada was getting a raw deal from the NHL.  I could sort of understand the Quebec Nordiques moving to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche back in the day.

But leaving Winnipeg for Phoenix?  Again I say, really?  How is that working out Gary Bettman?

Well, at least Winnipeg has its Jets back.  My two college buddies are smiling their asses off as I type…

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No Sympathy for Tiki Barber

Posted by klownboy in NFL, sports blogging on June 22, 2011

I am already getting tired of Tiki Barber.

Seriously.

In an attempt to explain his desire to return to the NFL, Barber said football represents a necessary anchor in a life turned upside down by depression.  He said the depression came from a divorce and disintegration of his television career.

First of all, I do not have any sympathy for Barber.

Barber did this to himself and has no one else to blame for his missteps.  No one made him leave his pregnant wife for a 25-year-old NBC intern.  No one made him announce his intentions to retire in the middle of the 2006 NFL season, which caused a HUGE distraction for the New York Giants.  No one made him question Eli Manning’s leadership abilities in the media THE YEAR AFTER HE RETIRED.  No one made him issue that stupid “Anne Frank” remark.

This is not to poo-poo depression.  Depression is quite serious and is to be taken as such.  I’ve been there and would not wish that on anybody.

I just believe the saying “you reap what you sew”.  Barber needs to man up, own what he did, and keep it moving.

Memo to Barber: keep your mouth shut, and continue to work towards a return to the NFL.  And PLEASE, for the love of God, stay away from my Steelers…

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Rory Is not the New Tiger – Yet…

Posted by klownboy in golf, sports blogging on June 20, 2011

Congratulations to Rory McIlroy for winning the 111th U.S. Open yesterday in Washington, D.C.

Not only did the kid win in a landslide (by eight strokes), he also did so in historic fashion.  His 16-under par score was the most ever in the U.S. Open.

That was what was so amazing about McIlroy.  U.S. Opens are supposed to be extremely difficult, challenging and humbling, yet this kid made the course look like a Putt-Putt.

Having said that, let’s not crown this kid too soon.  Sure this kid was one meltdown at the Masters away from having two majors this year.  Sure this kid is also humble and loose on the course, a stark, welcoming contrast from Tiger Woods.

But there is only one Tiger.  Tiger was not only a winning machine, he turned a lot of people into casual golf fans at the very least .

Look, I am not a fan of Eldrick “Tiger” Woods.  But I’ll be honest, I didn’t give two damns about golf until Tiger won the Masters in 1997 by 1,000 strokes.  I loved the way he intimidated the hell out of the other golfers.  It seemed to be always Tiger vs. the field in every major tournament, if there is one thing I love in sports, is dominance.  It also didn’t hurt that he is not only an American, but an American of COLOR.  Let’s be honest, we were all accustomed to older white dudes (American or European) winning title after title.

While McIlroy is a special player who will win more future major tournaments, he has not captured the fascination of the average golf fan.  We are not going to be “McIlroy-ized” the same way we were “Tiger-ized” (terms courtesy of ESPN’s Mike Greenberg).  It hurts McIlroy that he is a European player, and last I checked Americans do not give a damn about Europeans in any sport.

The only thing that will change that perception of McIlroy is if he wins more – as in at least five to six more – majors.  Otherwise, he will become no better than the next Phil Mickleson.

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Paying Student-Athletes Does not Solve the Problem

Posted by klownboy in college basketball, college football, sports blogging on June 16, 2011

There has been a lot of talk of student-athletes of the high-revenue sports (football and men’s basketball) receiving compensation.

Conference commissioners are pondering whether it should be monthly or in the case of college football after every game.  The Big Ten (now 12) commissioner Tom Delaney introduced the idea.

South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier, a.k.a. “the ‘Ol Ball Coach”, wants to pay players out of this own salary after every game during the season.  Turns out that all of the coaches in the SEC would sign off on that.

First, let me state that I am a bit old fashioned in that I believe that a scholarship at a high-profile institution is nothing to sniff at.  A lot of the scholarship recipients would not have a chance to attend a college – let alone a major university – if it weren’t for those scholarships.

However, I do understand why people are campaigning for these kids to be paid.  While it’s all good that some suits in college football and basketball would want to give these young men stipends, it still won’t fix what’s corrupt about those two sports.  In fact, it will make things worse.

Most schools’ athletic programs lose money every year.  An NCAA report shows that just 14 of the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision (that’s Division 1-A) schools made money from campus athletics in the 2009 fiscal year.

So the question is, where in the world would administrators get the money?  Most, if not all schools use money from football and basketball to fund the other non-revenue generating sports programs such as baseball, softball, volleyball, and lacrosse.  Most school would have to “86″ those programs in order to pay for student-athletes.

Throw in Title IX programs and you’d open up a new can of worms.

And let’s face it, even if they started paying student-athletes, it will not stop students from receiving additional “benefits”.  For one thing, no matter how much they will be paid, it would never be enough.  There are big-money boosters who would happily throw hundreds and thousands of dollars to recruit and appease the five-star, blue-chip athletes.

So what’s the solution you ask?

It’s simple, but it will never be done: cut out the boosters.  Boosters are the ones who tend to give these kids money under the table.  Check out ESPN’s “30 for 30″ film titled “Pony Excess” if you do not believe me.

Boosters will never be kept away from those student-athletes because they have two things you and I will never have – lots of influence and even more money.

And as ESPN’s Chris Broussard once said about money: not only does it talks, IT HOLLERS.

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Ranking the Best of All-time: Power Forwards

Posted by klownboy in NBA, sports blogging on June 14, 2011

Another day, another silly rant on who is the best in whatever the hell.

Inspired by the hate and vitriol from readers on my other NBA all-time great rankings – and Dirk Nowitzki’s play in the NBA Finals – I decided to rank the best power forwards in NBA history.  This should be good…

  1. Tim Duncan
  2. Karl Malone
  3. Charles Barkley
  4. Dennis Rodman
  5. Kevin Garnett
  6. Dirk Nowitzki
  7. Elvin Hayes
  8. Bob Petit
  9. Pau Gasol
  10. Buck Williams

Honorable mention: Charles Oakley.  He didn’t put up many stats scoring-wise, but his “badass-ness” alone earns him an honorable nod.

What’s your list ?   Let the hate begin…

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Miami’s Season Was not a Failure

Posted by klownboy in NBA, sports blogging on June 13, 2011

Sure the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs were the better team, and there is no shame in Miami losing to them.

I also think we should chill on the “Miami’s 2010-2011 season was a failure” bull(spit).

First of all, how many NBA experts had the Heat making it to the NBA Finals?  Remember most of the sports world thought the Boston Celtics were the team to beat in the Eastern Conference (and would have been if they didn’t trade Kendrick Perkins).  Hell, my dumb ass picked the Orlando Magic to come out of the East before the season began (what in the hell was I thinking with that one)!

We all thought that it would take a year for the Heat to gel, and expected them to start making title runs NEXT YEAR.  As far as I am concerned, the Heat were a year ahead of schedule.  Miami making the Finals this year was a success in of itself.

Now, in analyzing the Finals, Miami probably underachieved a bit.  Let’s be honest here, the Heat should have won the first three games of the series.  In Game 2, they fell asleep after leading by 15 with seven minutes and change left to go in the game.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh played well enough to win the series.  They will be back and contend for more rings.  Miami just needs to add a big man and a legit point guard and it will be ok.

As for LeBron James, someone needs to get Dr. Phil on the phone because I do not know where that negro’s head was at.

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Dallas Was the Better Team with Better Guys

Posted by klownboy in NBA, sports blogging on June 13, 2011

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks.

They won their first NBA title last night in convincing fashion on the road, beating the Miami Heat in six games (so much for that “Heat in six” prediction).  Sure the Mavs won by 10, but the score does not indicate how one-sided this game was.  Aside from Miami’s 14-0 run in the second quarter, Dallas dominated this game from start to finish.

The reason was plain and simple: the Mavericks were the better team.  Sure Miami was better ON PAPER, but Dallas was the better TEAM.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle coached rings around Erik Spoelstra.  Jason Terry manned up after Game 3 and basically carried the Mavs last night.  Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler were tough.

An how about Dirk Nowitzki?  In the Finals (and throughout these playoffs) he proved that he is no longer a soft European player.  He called teammates out, worked hard, and made shots in the clutch.  Hell he outscored Miami’s “Big Three” in the fourth quarter the entire series!

As for Miami, what can you say?  The Heat let this one get away.  Over-confidence, cockiness and arrogance did this squad in.  Either the Heat took the Mavs for granted or they ran out of gas.  It’s going to be a long summer for the Heat.

(Oh, and remember that “the team with the most stars win in the playoffs most of the time” gem I spat out in my Finals preview?  Mmm-kay…)

In the meantime, it’s time to give some love to the Mavericks for doing something no one expected them to do this season.  Congrats to the Mavs!

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