Well so long football season—-you once again lived up to the hype. You were exciting, unpredictable and for many fans frustrating– leaving so many of us wanting more. We always have the NFL Draft and Spring Football to look forward to but let’s face it those two are hardly the real deal. The other sports are great but don’t deliver the post dramatic stress disorder that the end of football season provides. Ok a little dramatic but I know you understand—as I type this 225 days till the start of next NFL season—not that i’m counting.
WIth that said February revs up a whole new list or priorities in and out of sports. For me—if I can survive my daughter and wife’s birthdays along with Valentine’s Day—–I feel my bank account can survive anything. Time to save money and keep on churning out Blogs—-here is this week’s offering.
SIGNING DAY: OK what do Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco and Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Manziel have in common? Neither was a 5 star recruit. Neither was a 4 star recruit—-how about this—both guys were 3 star recruits. What does this mean? Signing Day is a crap shoot and is as overrated as Tony Romo.
Its an event that has grown more and more each year and at times gets uglier with the passing season, You would think colleges would get it, but like NFL Scouts they sometimes rely too much on experts whom aren’t experts and put too much of a priority on measurables instead of work ethic. I equate this to colleges judging students solely on SAT scores not the whole academic resume. Now you have overbearing parents refusing to sign letter of intents while others are seen on camera rolling their eyes at their son’s school of choice on overblown nationally televised press conferences. I’d like to see this Day scaled back but it won’t happen, we have created a monster that will continue to grow.
SUPER LEFTOVERS: What a great Super Bowl huh? Well except for 35 minutes of it. I really enjoyed my week in New Orleans which despite the blackout proved its back as one of the Best Super Hosts and should be in position to host again in 2018. Here are a few post-Super thoughts from the Big Easy…..
BLACK EYE: Sitting in what they call the auxiliary press box and seeing the lights go out in the Superdome, I and many of my peers around me had a different take than many of the national pundits. My first reaction was what on earth will the NFL do if they can’t fix it??? Its not like baseball where you have a rain delay and you play again the next day—football players are used to playing through almost anything. As the lights slowly came back, I was thinking well its light enough to play now right? My other thoughts were with the Superdome officials who have spent years preparing for this moment—they must be pulling their hair out. Unlike many National media types who were thinking it may be some terrorist attack, that was the last thing on my mind and to be honest—something I didn’t even think about?
GOAT: Randy Moss surprised many by proclaiming he is the GOAT—Greatest Of All Time at his position. Hey Randy—nice try but you need to put a sock in it. The greatest of all time wouldn’t get kicked off the FSU football team for drugs, wouldn’t be questioned his whole career for not giving 100 percent and frankly playing for himself above the team. And oh Randy the Greatest of All Time would actually be a difference maker in the Greatest Game of All Time—that would be the Super Bowl. Its a game Moss is 0-2 in and a game the real GOAT Jerry Rice dominated. Hey Randy—you have more natural talent than Jerry Rice but you proved to us all you will never be better than him in any category except for one—running your mouth.
MVP?: Nice game from Joe Flacco but for my money he wasn’t the MVP—-gotta be Jacoby Jones. His Super Bowl record 108 yard kickoff return and unbelievable TD catch and more impressive run after the catch were the difference for the Ravens. Flacco may have proved to be the most member of the Elite QB club–a moniker he earned—but without Jones I don’t think Baltimore wins the game.
SAPP: Kudos to the Hall of Fame Voters who deservingly voted Warren Sapp into the Hall of Fame on his first try despite Sapp being such a rude and classless guy off the field. Voting for players into the Hall should never be personal. Its not surprising though that the aftermath has seen countless Tampa Bay residents call in droves to local sports talk stations about their unfortunate run ins with the former Buc. He could have easily been the most popular player in the history of Tampa Bay Sports but its clear he could care less about that—Sapp only cares about Sapp.
HOWARD’S HIJINKS: Speaking of spoiled athletes, Dwight Howard doesn’t treat you like Warren Sapp, he’s much more sneaky. In his defense, I have never heard of Dwight treating kids or fans bad, he saves his venom for coaches, General Managers and now teammates. I get that he is the best center in the NBA but who would want this guy on their team? In Orlando there wasn’t a more disingenuous athlete in sports. He made Lebron look like Mother Teresa. Fans don’t like it when you don’t want to play for them, but they dislike it much more when you try to lie about it. Fast Forward a year later and what a shock Dwight is causing havoc on the left coast. His defenders say he’s hurt and while its true, its obvious this guy can’t get along with anybody. Kobe Bryant is hardly a Saint but the guy would do anything to win, it appears Dwight Howard will do anything to cause problems unless he’s the center of attention. That’s not good for any team—-I can’t wait for the next case study—-good luck Dallas or New Jersey?!
BILLY BALL: I bet not having to deal with Dwight Howard is one of many reasons Florida Basketball coach Billy Donovan wakes up every morning and is thankful he stayed a Gator. Funny, the few years after his back to back National Titles, its hard to believe some thought the Head Gator had lost some of his mojo or maybe peaked with the likes of Noah, Horford, Brewer, Humphrey and Green. We know now that was ridiculous. Billy, who is no longer a Kid, was only a few shots away from the last two Final Four’s and now appears to have his best team since his repeat offenders.
I do think the recent loss of forward Will Yeguete is huge for a Florida team which has been rolling in the SEC. He is their best defender and a key role player who seems to just complete this team. When he was injured last year, it took awhile for the Gators to rebound—we will now see the impact of his loss a second time around.
NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: Regardless of your politics, you have to appreciate New Jersey Governor Chris Christie‘s recent candor on David Letterman. Christie has been lampooned for months on his weight but countered the King of Late Night with the rare ability to laugh at himself. He told Dave his cholesterol and his blood pressure are fine where he claimed, “I am the healthiest fat guy in the country.” He even armed himself with jelly doughnuts in his suit pocket to snack on and told Dave his favorite Late Night joke was ” What does the Governor wish for when he blows out the candles on his birthday cake? He wishes for another cake” Great stuff—-a rarity for a public figure to poke fun at himself and not take himself so seriously. The funniest interview I’ve seen in awhile.
EXTRA POINT: I admit its tough to say goodbye to football but good news is on the way folks—-Spring Training is the on deck circle!
UNTIL NEXT BLOG,
Mike