Archive for July 24th, 2006

July24

NFL Players Lose A Little Leverage

By: the mighty mjd

I don’t know how the NFL gets away with this, and I don’t know why the players association lets it happen. As of yesterday, if an NFL player held out of training camp, he could be fined up to $5,000 per day. As of today, however, that same NFL player can now be fined $14,000 per day.

I understand that the league wants to do something about guys missing camp, that it’s bad for the league, it’s bad press, etc… but why does it have to come at the expense of the players? How does the NFLPA agree to this? It’s as if Gene Upshaw walks into every meeting with the NFL, extends his hand and says, “Hi, I’m Gene Upshaw. Flip me over and do me dry.”

The NFL generates more money than any league in America, probably the world, and it’s players get arguably the worst deal. Even NHL players get guaranteed money. There’s very little a player and agent can do if they feel like they’re getting a raw deal, and now, it just got even harder. The best option seems to be to just show up to camp, but do a Terrell Owens impersonation when you get there. Threaten to call the starting quarterback a homo on ESPN every day until you get a new deal.

And all of this contributes to me not feeling any sort of sympathy for the Saints when Reggie Bush threatens to sit out the year. Get what you can, while you can, young fella. The NFL isn’t going to cut him any slack along the way, so hey, whle you’ve got the leverage, use the hell out of it. He should hold out until the Saints agree to give him at least as much as he got as USC. And if he has to threaten to to miss camp, sit out the year, burn down the practice facility, nail Sean Payton’s wife, take Mickey Mouse hostage, and steal Katrina relief funds from the Red Cross offices… have at it, man. I couldn’t be mad at you.

Posted in: NFL16 comments

July24

Tiger Woods Is Incredible

By: the mighty mjd

I’m not talking, necessarily, about his near-flawless final round of 67 to wrap up the British Open. It was what happened immediately afterwards that I’ll remember.

If you were lucky enough to be watching, here’s what you saw: Tiger taps in for birdie, then hugs his caddie Steve Williams. Williams is ready to release the hug, but Tiger’s just getting started. He begins sobbing uncontrollably into Stevie’s shoulder, and can’t stop. Eventually, he lets go, finds his wife, and cries some more. And not just a few tears; it’s deep, belly crying. The emotion is just pouring from him.

And then two minutes later, he’s doing an interview with ABC, and it’s the same old Tiger. Calm and cool as ever, just perfectly normal, his voice didn’t waver a bit. He went back onto the green, remembered Chris DiMarco’s mother, talked about his own father, and not another tear came. Not one.

It was like, “Click, boom, emotions are now shut off.” When all was clear, he allowed himself a moment of vulnerability, and then it was immediately back to Tiger mode. I don’t know how he goes from heavy sobbing one minute, to not even look like he had cried the next.

I was amazed by this. Absolutely amazed. And I don’t think it’s at all coincidental to why Tiger Woods is so great at what he does. He is in control of himself, perhaps more than anyone else in sports. Both Nick Faldo and Paul Azinger expressed amazement about how Tiger was able to keep it together during the Claret Jug presentation.

It makes me believe that if he can keep it together through that situation, something so extremely emotional, that there is no chance in hell that any competitor, golf course, or situation that he faces will ever make him lose focus. Mentally, he’s damn near invincible.

Posted in: Golf13 comments

July24

Phil Mickelson Is Less Than Incredible

By: the mighty mjd

Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, will remember the British Open for a very different reason: the really hard pin positions.

“The pin positions were very challenging – that would be putting it nice,” said the Masters champion.

When asked whether they were bordering on the unfair, the left-hander said: “That is not my call but they were very difficult.”

Pussbag. It’s one thing if you’re playing at a sun-baked U.S. Open course, where the greens are like concrete, and +4 is leading the tournament. It’s quite another when the leader is -18, there are 46 players under par, 7 players in double digits under par, and the winning score is just one off of the lowest British Open score in recorded history.

I’m not doubting that the pin positions were difficult, but 21 players managed to find a way to deal with them better than Phil did, including such luminaries as Greg Owen, Brett Rumford, Robert Rock, and Mikko Ilonen.

I’ve only heard one guy complaining about the course this week. Now, I’ve heard a lot of people saying it was a thinking-golfer’s course, that it required some forethought and course management skills. Perhaps ol’ FIGJAM didn’t bring those things to the table with him this week.

I have no idea why this guy is so popular.

Posted in: Golf5 comments

July24

Starbury X

By: the mighty mjd

The MSG Network in New York broadcast a summer league game between the Knicks and the Suns. And on the broadcast, Stephon Marbury put on a headset and sat in with Clyde Frasier and Gus Johnson. What followed was a special treat for the viewers. I’ll just cut and paste from Bob Raissman’s Sunday New York Daily News article.

Marbury must have thrilled Knicks fans when he proclaimed: “I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. The only person I’m competing against is myself.” I’m sure all NBA players also breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that.

Marbury, in an introspective mood, went on to alert viewers that he “became a man” during his public feud with Brown. “I was pro-active,” Marbury said. “Somebody told me I went from Gandhi to Malcolm X.”

This vivid imagery reflected the self-absorbed path Marbury was driving on. Perhaps sensing that, and not wanting the interview to degenerate any further, Frazier challenged Marbury. Clyde made an excellent point that needed to be made. He reminded Marbury that Brown had put the same kind of verbal heat on Chauncey Billups and Allen Iverson.

“(Brown) always tested guys,” Frazier told Marbury. “That’s what he was looking for. He wanted to see what you were able to come up with to be a man, to handle it.”

Marbury developed a sudden case of amnesia.

“No, I’m not giving (Brown) that much credit,” Marbury said. “I’m sorry, Clyde.”

Instead of letting Marbury off the hook, Frazier dug in.

“Then where did (the motivation to become a man) come from?” Frazier, his voice raising, asked. “If (Brown) didn’t do it….”

Marbury cut off Frazier. “No, I’m not giving (Brown) that much credit,” Marbury said. “And I’m not even supposed to be talking about it. He doesn’t get that much credit.”

Sensing this confrontation could escalate, Johnson sounded relieved to go to commercial. Still, what viewers had witnessed was Marbury contradicting himself. Before Frazier even mentioned Brown, Marbury admitted the feud had helped make him a “man.” But when Frazier said Brown had used tough love as a motivating force before, Marbury didn’t want to hear it.

I remember the grand old days when a player had to be good before the could be that arrogant. I really don’t have anything new to add on Marbury; I’ve said it all before. He’s still in denial about being a bad point guard, he still doesn’t get anything, and he’s still the absolute last player I would select if I was putting together a team of NBA players.

But it did give me a new appreciation for Clyde Frasier, who, according to Bob Raissman, could possibly lose his job over something like this. Odd that a commentator could lose his job for criticizing Stephon Marbury, when that should be a prerequisite for anyone who ever wants to call an NBA game.

Posted in: Dickheads, NBA5 comments

July24

Penguins Say No To Cuban

By: the mighty mjd

There are five groups that have put together bids to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins. All of them have offered more than $150 million for the club. A group headed by Mark Cuban and Dan Marino offered $170 million. Two groups bid about $175 million, and one of them is from a guy who wants to put a hockey team in Kansas City, and another is buy a guy who wants to put a team in Hartford. The Cuban/Marino bid, which would certainly keep the Pens in Pittsburgh, has been rejected.

I guess that’s how it goes. The current owners are businessmen, and I was never a great student in any of my accounting courses, but I know that $175 million is more than $170 million. I don’t blame them, certainly, for selling to the highest bidder. But at the same time, I’d hate to see the city of Pittsburgh lose a hockey team that could be very good in the near future, because the current owners wanted to squeeze $5 more million out.

Posted in: Hockey10 comments

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