On Football:
As if we didn’t already know how this story would unfold, as if it isn’t totally anticlimactic, Brett Favre says he’s coming back for his 17th season in the NFL.
The Packers are, metaphorically speaking, a franchise lacking in balls. Two years ago, when Favre posted his worst season as a pro QB, the Packers should’ve told him that it was transition time. Instead, they hemmed and hawed and let Favre walk all over what was once a respectable franchise.
Now the Packers have 2005 1st round draft choice Aaron Rodgers stuck on the bench making top draft pick money and the kid’s got no foreseeable future in the NFL. He’ll likely be a 5th or 6th year pro before he’s comfortable enough to be relied upon and that’s operating under the assumption that 2007 will be Favre’s last year in the league.
Favre might be a Hall of Famer and one of the 10 best to ever play the position but he’s killing the franchise he supposedly loves. If I were a Packers fan (and thank heavens I’m not), I’d secretly root for Favre to get injured in training camp. It’s the only way to keep him off the field and let the natural course of progress carry forward.
On Baseball:
The Yankees are faced with a similar issue regarding one of their veteran players. Bernie Williams has been offered a non-guaranteed minor league contract to come to spring training.
Unlike the Packers, the franchise has made its decision to move on without Bernie. However, just like the Packers, the Yanks seem unwilling to cut the cord completely. Someone – Brian Cashman or Joe Torre – should quietly pull Bernie aside and tell him that they’ll let him run around and throw one last time but that this is his chance to go away gracefully. The Yanks should not be put in the uncomfortable public relations position of having to cut Bernie, nor should they feel like they owe him any loyalty at the expense of some younger (and better) options.
I’ve been hard on Bernie over the past several seasons. The truth is his skills had slipped to the point that he shouldn’t have been an everyday player going back to 2002 or 2003. But I hope Bernie does the right thing and calls it a career. Then we can celebrate him and thank him for his 16 memorable seasons.
On Basketball:
Switching gears for a moment, I have to say that after half a dozen years away from the game, I’m back into the NBA. Not only have the Phoenix Suns reinvigorated my interest in pro hoops but my local team is actually fun to watch on most nights. Sure they’re not a playoff team and, yes, they have their flaws, but the Knicks are showing promise that reminds me of 1987 (the dawn of the Ewing era).
I saw this in the paper today and it sort of irked me:
“Magic Johnson suggested last night that the Knicks’ treatment and subsequent firing of Larry Brown may have hurt Eddy Curry’s chances of making the All-Star team this season.” – New York Daily News
I don’t see what the firing of Larry Brown has to do with Eddy Curry making the All-Star team. If the other Eastern Conference coaches are holding it against the Knicks for firing a lousy coach who showed no class, they are entitled to their opinion. But to hold it against players who play for the franchise? That’s petty and pathetic.
In truth, it would’ve been hard for Curry to make it to the All-Star Game. Shaq was voted in by the fans (ridiculous, since he’s only played 7 games this year) and Dwight Howard and Jermaine O’Neal are very deserving. Curry was snubbed, but it’s hard to see who he should’ve made it over.
Besides, even though Curry is having a breakout season and is showing encouraging signs of maturity and talent, I’m sort of happy that he didn’t make it to Las Vegas this year. It’ll motivate him for next year, especially if the snub was because of some small-minded vendetta against Isiah Thomas and the Knicks.
As if we didn’t already know how this story would unfold, as if it isn’t totally anticlimactic, Brett Favre says he’s coming back for his 17th season in the NFL.
The Packers are, metaphorically speaking, a franchise lacking in balls. Two years ago, when Favre posted his worst season as a pro QB, the Packers should’ve told him that it was transition time. Instead, they hemmed and hawed and let Favre walk all over what was once a respectable franchise.
Now the Packers have 2005 1st round draft choice Aaron Rodgers stuck on the bench making top draft pick money and the kid’s got no foreseeable future in the NFL. He’ll likely be a 5th or 6th year pro before he’s comfortable enough to be relied upon and that’s operating under the assumption that 2007 will be Favre’s last year in the league.
Favre might be a Hall of Famer and one of the 10 best to ever play the position but he’s killing the franchise he supposedly loves. If I were a Packers fan (and thank heavens I’m not), I’d secretly root for Favre to get injured in training camp. It’s the only way to keep him off the field and let the natural course of progress carry forward.
On Baseball:
The Yankees are faced with a similar issue regarding one of their veteran players. Bernie Williams has been offered a non-guaranteed minor league contract to come to spring training.
Unlike the Packers, the franchise has made its decision to move on without Bernie. However, just like the Packers, the Yanks seem unwilling to cut the cord completely. Someone – Brian Cashman or Joe Torre – should quietly pull Bernie aside and tell him that they’ll let him run around and throw one last time but that this is his chance to go away gracefully. The Yanks should not be put in the uncomfortable public relations position of having to cut Bernie, nor should they feel like they owe him any loyalty at the expense of some younger (and better) options.
I’ve been hard on Bernie over the past several seasons. The truth is his skills had slipped to the point that he shouldn’t have been an everyday player going back to 2002 or 2003. But I hope Bernie does the right thing and calls it a career. Then we can celebrate him and thank him for his 16 memorable seasons.
On Basketball:
Switching gears for a moment, I have to say that after half a dozen years away from the game, I’m back into the NBA. Not only have the Phoenix Suns reinvigorated my interest in pro hoops but my local team is actually fun to watch on most nights. Sure they’re not a playoff team and, yes, they have their flaws, but the Knicks are showing promise that reminds me of 1987 (the dawn of the Ewing era).
I saw this in the paper today and it sort of irked me:
“Magic Johnson suggested last night that the Knicks’ treatment and subsequent firing of Larry Brown may have hurt Eddy Curry’s chances of making the All-Star team this season.” – New York Daily News
I don’t see what the firing of Larry Brown has to do with Eddy Curry making the All-Star team. If the other Eastern Conference coaches are holding it against the Knicks for firing a lousy coach who showed no class, they are entitled to their opinion. But to hold it against players who play for the franchise? That’s petty and pathetic.
In truth, it would’ve been hard for Curry to make it to the All-Star Game. Shaq was voted in by the fans (ridiculous, since he’s only played 7 games this year) and Dwight Howard and Jermaine O’Neal are very deserving. Curry was snubbed, but it’s hard to see who he should’ve made it over.
Besides, even though Curry is having a breakout season and is showing encouraging signs of maturity and talent, I’m sort of happy that he didn’t make it to Las Vegas this year. It’ll motivate him for next year, especially if the snub was because of some small-minded vendetta against Isiah Thomas and the Knicks.
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