Things I think…
That the Arena Football League took 2009 off (instead of disbanding) so they can come back in 2010 with Mike Vick as QB for one of their franchises…fortunately for the league the New Jersey Red Dogs have already changed their name.
That I have the perfect title for a book about the lack of Italian-American athletes: ‘Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio?’
That New York teams are the most consistent boondoggle in sports—the Knicks, Mets, Yankees, and Jets all spend ridiculous amounts on free-agents each offseason only to disappoint. Only the Giants have made the effort to develop their own players. Not surprisingly the Giants are the only NY team that has won a championship in the last 8 years.
That the Giants have become the anti-Broncos. Instead of being able to plug any running back in and make him successful, they instead can constantly find running backs that would be successful anywhere. Not only do they currently have 3 backs that could start for a lot of other teams, but they traded away Ryan Grant before last season.
That the Cleveland Browns are the worst run organization in sports (worse than the Clippers, worse than the Bengals, worse than the entire NHL)…Step 1: give entire team infectious disease, alienate fans, sign overrated one-year wonder QB to long-term deal, have D-Lineman punch the fans’ choice for QB in the face in the locker room; step 2: ?; step 3: Profit.
That Eric Mangini needs to admit that no one loves their sister enough to move to Cleveland just to be near her.
That Trevor Ariza is the biggest difference between this Los Angeles Lakers team and the one in last year’s Finals.
That the last one was an exaggeration, Andrew Bynum has been the biggest difference maker, particularly in allowing Pau Gasol to play further away from the basket. But Ariza has been HUGE.
That the media’s willful ignorance of steroids in baseball has moved on to a willful ignorance about the possibility of corrupt referrees in basketball and football.
That NASCAR, golf, and soccer all have too long a season. If your season lasts more than 8 months, that is too long. You hear that MLB and NFL? You’re approaching a dangerous line: the World Series shouldn’t be in Nov, and the Super Bowl shouldn’t be in Feb.
That the best possible NFL stadium giveaway is: a bottle of water. It is better than a headband, probably cheaper, and a heck of a lot more useful.
That we should amend the California Constitution to require Phil Jackson to wear the soul patch at all times. Clean-shaven Phil just doesn’t look right.
That no player (that hasn’t committed a double-homicide) has ever changed the way we look at him more than Brett Favre.
That what has happened to Brett Favre this year is the most diabolical Madden curse ever.
That Brett Favre, despite being old, broken, and thrown under the bus by his teammates, saying he would take a few weeks before deciding if he will come back for another season has to be a cross between the indecision of Hamlet and the self-delusion of Rod Blagojevich (ok, last Favre comment. I promise).
That Scott Boras is about to reach the tipping point where he now costs his clients more money than he makes them because no team wants to deal with him.
That Ron Rivera turning down head coach interviews until after the Chargers’ season was finished was not only a classy act but a ballsy one. He has been waiting for years for his chance and he keeps getting passed over, but now that his stock is at its highest he’s waiting because he’s got a job to do. Meanwhile Tampa Bay’s defense went to hell as soon as Monte Kiffin agreed to go to Tennessee with his son (4 weeks before the end of the season).
That the World Baseball Classic was a brilliant move by an otherwise terrible commissioner.
That the NHL has been kicked out of “major American sport” status. It’s now the Big 3 with hockey, racing, soccer, competitive eating, tennis, and golf all battling for fourth place.
That the MLS will always be inferior to European Soccer and American fans won’t fully get behind a league they know is inferior.
That in the NFL, you’re only as good as your backup QB: just ask the Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, or Dallas Cowboys (all of whom had a backup QB start at least 3 games).
That not only should HBO take the reigns and create a new unified boxing league, but they should set up a direct competition between Golden Boy and Top Rank. They should have an award for best boxing “team,” the winner can be determined by a point system based on weight-classes won and come with a cash prize to be split among all the boxers in their stable. Not only will boxing improve from having an actual ruling body but the rivalry could propel the sport to new levels.
That the Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao fight is going to be epic.
That as punishment for their incompetence, the Detroit Lions should have their Thanksgiving game taken away from them.
That last year’s Kansas fiasco (when Kansas was the best football team in the conference) woke up the rest of the Big 12, which is now the best conference in college football.
That Texas Tech needs to stop plucking people out of the stands. First the kicker, then the 12-year making lay-ups; seriously this needs to stop.
That every NFL coach should be required to grow a playoff beard.
That every announcing crew can be improved by a guy with an Australian accent.
That if I were in charge on Monday Night Football, each week my two sideline reporters would be each team’s punter. They know all the guys, they have a lot of time on their hands, and they watch more football than anyone else.
That everybody believes we’re headed for a Laker-Celtic Finals.
That we’re not headed for a Lakers-Celtics Finals. Because LeBron won’t accept anything less than a trip to the NBA Finals.
That whether they play the Celtics or the Cavs, the Lakers will win it all.
That I’m biased towards Southern California teams.
And lastly:
That you should leave your sports thoughts in the comments section.