January 19, 2008...6:19 am
“Quite Frankly” , we have a lot to discuss in sports
From the NFL Playoffs to the conclusion of the college football bowl season and with March Madness just off the horizon, it’s safe to say there’s a lot happening in the world of sports. Here are just a few tidbits and thoughts I like to call “Quite Frankly”. So without further delay, “Quite Frankly”….
-Pete Carroll is crazy for even entertaining the idea of leaving USC. Think about it for a second. He’s in sunny, Southern California where he could spit and hit the beach. He’s built USC back into a perennial national title contender again. He’s had an endless number of mega-talented players (Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush, Matt Lienart just to name a few) and he’s able to recruit the best of the best in the college landscape. So, can somebody please tell me why he would be enticed or even entertain the idea of coming back to the NFL to coach the Atlanta Falcons ? Yeah, I have no idea either.
-That was one sad display put on by the Seahawks. To paraphrase a post game interview from Jim Mora if I may: They couldn’t run the ball, they didn’t try to the ball, everytime Green Bay got the ball they went down and got points. It sucked, it stunk. 200 yards of total offense, another stellar day on the ground for Shaun Alexander (9 carries, 20 yards) and Patrick Kerney was invisible. Imagine how much worse it would have been had Ryan Grant not gift-wrapped Seattle’s 2 touchdowns early on.
-I don’t think Philip Rivers will be barking at the fans a lot on Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, Rivers played great before he got hurt and couldn’t return and there’s nothing wrong with some healthy conversation with the opposing fans. The Colts fans probably gave as could as Rivers dished out, but I want to see just how much Rivers will be conversing with the Patriot faithful if San Diego is trailing by double digits.
-Nobody probably thought Eli’s post-season would last longer than Peyton’s. Yeah, we all lost money on that bet.
-I’m very much perplexed by Terrell Owens crying. Don’t get me wrong, you love when somebody stands up and shows passion about a teammate, that’s not what has me confused. My confusion comes from what he said. Owens, teary eyed and all, repeatedly stated if the media criticized Romo’s play on his getaway to Cabo that would be really unfair, and “that’s my teammate….and if you criticize him, it’s really unfair.” I love the guy’s talent and he’s been the best over the last decade at his spot, but where was this all-out, I got your back defense of his former quarterback Donovan McNabb after his spotty play in the Super Bowl loss to New England, and McNabb came under, shall we say, healthy criticism?
-Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina, and Memphis are the class of college basketball. They’re a combined 64-1 so far this year and all signs point to these 4 teams making hotel reservations for San Antonio. They’re deep, super-talented, and they can all play defense just as good as the next. Any combination of the 4 could easily run the table and go into the tournament undefeated. All 4 are easily looking at #1 seeds. However….
-All 4 previously mentioned squads won’t all make the Final Four. Especially if they all nail down #1 seeds. After all, it’s never happened in tournament history where all 4 #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. If the tournament is anything, it’s about 3 weeks of somewhat controlled chaos on the hardwood, where anything goes, including the most talented and/or best teams not always making it to the last weekend. If I were to guesstimate which one won’t be there, I’ll go out on a limb and say that if all 4 teams get 1 seeds, Kansas won’t be remembering the Alamo.
-The Toronto Maple Leafs and Mats Sundin need to part ways. Change for the Leafs ultimately will mean dealing away captain and icon Mats Sundin, and at this point, that’s probably best for all concerned parties. The Leafs are a flat out mess right now and I’d be hard pressed to come up with a strong rebuttal if someone were to tell me Toronto was the worst team in the league right now. Their management has no clear cut distinction on what direction the team is heading in. Forget this mini 2-game win streak this week, this team just came off getting smoked on a 3-game trip out West and they’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games. GM John Ferguson is a dead-man walking and his days are dwindling as we speak. I know trading Sundin officially signals Toronto is starting over, but the least could do is give this guy a chance at a Stanley Cup. He may not want to go, but Mats, believe me, no one will think less of you. The Bruins treated Ray Bourque will class and the utmost respect dealing him the eventual champion-Avalanche in 2001. It would be refreshing if Toronto did the same for their captain. The Oilers had to move on without Gretzky. The Rangers had to cope without Messier and Leetch. The Leafs must do the same, without Sundin.
-There will be some seriously sick talent left off the Western Conference All-Star team. It basically comes down to this at the guard position: 5 spots, 10 players to pick from. Good luck building a case against why any 5 of these players should be left off the team: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, Brandon Roy, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul, Tracy McGrady, Deron Williams, and Manu Ginobli.
-Wade Philips’ days in Big D are numbered. Look, say what you will about Jerry Jones, but he’s not foolish. He’s got a vision that consists of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett being the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the very near future and he wasn’t about to let Baltimore or Atlanta disrupt that. Lord knows I would of loved to have been a fly on the wall during the conversations between Jones and Garrett. Three years as an assistant and he’s now the highest paid assistant head coach/offensive coordinator in the NFL. What this boils down to is unless Phillips guides Dallas to a Super Bowl title next year, he’ll probably be looking for work elsewhere. I don’t even think a Super Bowl appearance would be good enough. It’s tough to argue with a 13-win season and Phillips certainly put the players in the position to win and he’s not responsible for both of Patrick Crayton’s crucial drops. Yet, at the same time, I don’t see many daggers flying in the direction of Garrett (the offensive coordinator) as to why this team failed offensively down the stretch.
-The Ovechkin deal is beyond impressive, but it won’t mean much if Washington doesn’t surround their star with proper ammunition. Alexander Ovechkin better get comfortable in Washington, as he just signed the richest contract in NHL history: a 13-year extension worth $124 million dollars. I won’t insulate anyone’s intelligence here, this guy already is a franchise player and one of the top 10 best in the game. He’s staying, he got his money, that’s all well and good. But in a team sport, one guy won’t win you championships. I’m not up on the Capitals monetary flexibility and all that jazz, but certainly that kind of money forked over to one player begs a huge question: can Washington afford to make the necessary moves improve the team beyond Ovechkin? If so, 10 years down the road they’ll look geniuses. If not, and I’m a betting man, if they struggle to go out and get the bodies to help this guy, he may not end up finishing his career in Washington.
-Tony Sparano may have no clue what he just got himself into. Sure he’s a Parcells type of guy and if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t of got the head coaching job in Miami to begin with. But Tony may be a glutton for punishment here. There’s no quick fix for the ‘Fins and I hope he, along with everyone in South Beach, else realizes that. This is going to be a tremendously, lengthy journey back to respectability. They still haven’t found Marino’s replacement. Their best, and maybe only playmaker, will be coming off knee surgery. Their best players on defense aren’t spring chickens anymore (Taylor, Thomas, and Porter). Simply put, there isn’t an abundance amount of qualities to like about this team right now. Sparano has stated he’s about “finishing” and if nothing else, that has to be wonderful news for the Dolphins. After all, Sparano’s predecessors, Nick Saban and Cam Cameron, were about looking for the exit rather than relishing the entrance. So, may the force be with you Tony Sparano. Roll up your sleeves and dive right in. The water’s frigid, but maybe you’ll have better luck warming up to it than Saban or Cameron did.
1 Comment
January 19, 2008 at 6:28 am
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Stanley
Leave a Reply