Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Prince vs. Cecil

Remember Cecil Fielder? He was that huge Detroit Tiger that came back after playing in Japan and then dominated in the MLB for a few years. It wasn’t long before he completely fell off the radar. I was in Melbourne, FL a few weeks ago and my friend took me by his old house he bought while playing for the Tigers. He no longer lives there because he gambled all his money away.

Well, his son, Prince Fielder, of the Milwaukee Brewers hit his 50th HR yesterday to become the youngest player at age 23 to hit 50 HRs.

Prince said he wants to hit 52 homers in a season and win the MVP because his father never accomplished either. Doing that, Prince Fielder said, would "shut him up."

What was Cecil’s reply? "I just don't think my son knows how to let it go," Cecil Fielder said."I don't think he's grown up yet. Until he can move on and talk to me like he's my son, we don't need to talk."

And now back to Prince: "You've got to look at who's saying it," Fielder said. "Let's be honest, he's not really the brightest guy."

Why is it that the top Father-Son HR families can’t get along? (Griffey, Bonds)
Maybe these guys are so used to dropping bombs, they drop them on their kids too. Like father like son.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Is Donovan Getting McNabbed?

On Tuesday, an interview with Donovan McNabb aired on HBO. In the interview McNabb made comments that black NFL quarterbacks "have to do a little bit extra" and "people didn't want us to play this position."


Ironically, the Eagles are off to an 0-2 start and Donovan has not looked like the QB we are used to. McNabb's comments seem to be out of frustration. When a QB gets flack from his hometown fans it's because he's playing lousy, not because he is black. McNabb's QB rating this season (68.8) is 16 points below his career average (84.8).

Does Rex Grossman constantly come under fire because he's white, or because he fumbles away every other game? Peyton Manning has taken a ton of heat in recent years because he couldn't win the big one. That same heat was also given to McNabb because he led his team to so many NFC Championship games and the one Super Bowl, yet without winning it all. McNabb may also come under more fire than others when he plays bad because Philadelphia is one of the toughest sports towns to play in.

Black QB of the Washington Redskins, Jason Campbell doesn't agree with McNabb's comments. See full story.

I'll agree that at one time many were very skeptical of a quarterback that ran all the time, which of course, was introduced along with the black quarterbacks (Randall Cunningham). However, that's a fair question. A rushing quarterback has yet to lead his team to a Super Bowl championship, with the exception of Steve Young. Doug Williams doesn't count, he had -2 yards rushing in the Super Bowl he led the Redskins to. So yes, in that respect black quarterbacks did come under fire back in the 80's and 90's. Yet, now they are embraced...look at how NFL fans loved to watch the athleticism of Michael Vick. Over the last 10 years we loved watching Duante Culpepper, Vince Young and McNabb.

The criticism has always been about winning with a mobile quarterback, not what color they were. Yes, the two may be connected, but that's life! Here is a list of the quarterbacks from the last 20 years.
  • Peyton Manning
  • Ben Roethlisberger
  • Tom Brady
  • Brad Johnson
  • Trent Dilfer
  • Kurt Warner
  • John Elway
  • Brett Favre
  • Troy Aikman
  • Steve Young (mobile QB)
  • Mark Rypien
  • Joe Montana
  • Jeff Hostetler

Friday, September 7, 2007

The Aints Are Back!

What do you call a receiver that can't catch? A defensive back. What do you call a defensive back that can't catch up with the receiver he's covering? Jason David. David was burned 3 times by Reggie Wayne for TDs this past Thursday. OUCH!

Last year was a great story we all got to enjoy from the New Orleans Saints. However, many analysts have questioned how good the Saints really were. I've listened to many ESPN analysts say last year the Saints played on adrenaline and that they would struggle this year. It's only one game, but they looked bad on Thursday night.

The way they were using Reggie Bush it looked like a pickup game. Just give it to our fast playmaker kid, he'll do the rest. That doesn't work in the NFL. If the Colts defense is really that good, then the season is already over.
+ + +
Anyone else sick of the World Series of Poker always taking up air time on ESPN? Poker is not a sport. Hot dog eating is more of a sport than Poker. I can't eat 20 hot dogs in 5 mins, but I can put on cool glasses and look real "focused". What a tremendous athlete.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Wolverines are Upset

And they have reason to be. Losing to Appalachian State? I didn't even know they had a team...I just thought it was a trail. Appalachian isn't even a state, so even the name of the school is messed up. This just goes to show you that the Big Ten isn't really that Big. As if we needed reminding after last years BCS romping by Florida over Ohio State.

Yet, we all know somehow Lee Corso will make the Ohio State-Michigan game another one for "the ages". Gimme a break.