Due to circumstances beyond my control (I was lazy), I was unable to write a Monday or a Tuesday column; so here are my thoughts over the past few days. *NFL Lockout. Apparently the NFL Lockout is over. So now I'm allowed to talk about the NFL. Let me just say a personal thing to the NFL, a Love Letter if you will:
"Thank you so much Football for coming back to me. I thought you may have been gone forever. I have have sat up nights and prayed that you would get better. Ever since your illness struck you 132 days ago, I never thought you were going to get better. But you have, and now I can go back to dreaming the impossible dream; A Jets Super Bowl berth. I know it's the dream of dreams, but if you could conquer this illness of Lockout, then you can make it true. Thank you again for getting well Football. You have been greatly missed."
More to come as we get closer to players being on the field. Even I can't resist the insanity of this NFL mini-offseason; I may not be able to contain myself.
*The Newest Cursed Franchise. Did anyone else find it odd that the Pirates had a long rain delay to start tonight’s game? The first time the Pirates were being featured in the National spotlight since like the mid-90's and here come the rains. They got that game in and won but then last night, more signs of a possible curse. The Bucs were involved in an intense 19 inning game that they lost on a horrendous call. Losing a big game on a blown call is one of the criteria for qualifying as a cursed franchise. With this blown call happening, if that Nationally televised game was cancelled, I would have been convince that the "curse" was in play here. Luckily the Pirates got to play on National TV the other night and they won and they sit 1 game behind the Cards for 1st place in the Central but if I were a Pirates fan, I would keep my eyes peeled for the other shoe.
*NFL in LA? It's been 16+ years of "NFL franchises coming to LA" sightings, but every time, nothing. It's like the Lochness Monster at this point. You think someone has seen it and then all you get is a report that's blown way out of proportion and maybe a fuzzy photograph if you're lucky. In this case the report is that there is a "memorandum of understanding," which is the equivalent of a pat on the back and a handshake with the government winking and saying "IF we ALL this happens, then you'll get your stadium" <wink, wink, nudge, nudge>; that's your blown out of proportion story. And then there's the fuzzy photo; a headline that reads "NFL Lockout Over, Next Step Is NFL in LA;" seems pretty straight forward right? Well when you read the whole truth, it's not. The deal is AT LEAST a year away and this "memorandum" is non-binding. So basically the government had this meeting with a team led by AEG with their fingers AND their toes crossed; that's playground s**t right there. AEG may be going home with bloody noses and wedgies before this thing is over.
*Tiger Woods Takes Another Hit. Tiger Woods dropped out of the World Top 20 rankings for the first time since he was a zygote. Is this a big deal? I have a different take on this Tiger Woods thing, maybe he doesn't care as much as we do. Has anyone ever thought that maybe Tiger just wants to f#*k some bitches and play Golf when he wants to? Look, I get the idea that great talents such as Tiger have a natural competitive streak and strive to be the best at all times. And Tiger was for like 7 years. Not just the best, but legendary. But now he's in his mid-30's and he's five Majors from being the best of all time. Maybe he made a poor decision or two by getting married and texting Waffle House waitresses while he was married, but that's what your 20's are for, right? So perhaps Tiger is just tired. And I don't mean the kind of tired that he needs a nap, or a two week vacation; I mean the 5 year type of rest. Look, he's rich beyond his wildest imagination (even after the divorce, I mean look at that house), he was the most dominant golfer ever (undisputed), and it's obvious even before all this crap went down that the non-major stuff was tedious and dull to him. He has roughly 15 more years at least to win 4 majors, and a guy that was as dominant as Tiger was can get it back whenever he wants. I just don't think he wants too right now. Maybe he had a private conversation with the Golden Bear 4 years ago and Jack said "please don't annihilate my record, PLEASE!!!! Maybe 20 Majors, then it's not SO bad." I originally thought after his divorce was final and he came back, that Augusta National should've just put strippers and a curtained area for Tiger to get his lap dances right on the greens. That's could've kept him interested but hey, some places just aren't fond of the lap dance section. You only get that kind of action on the public courses. Oh well.
*NFL Frenzy or MLB Trade Deadline? - I can't recall this ever happening, but the MLB trade deadline is getting very much overshadowed by the recent end of the NFL lockout and the free agent madness that's going to take place. The Riot! has been one of the few outlets that has refused to drone on and on about the lockout, but with it being over and the guarantee that my New York Jets will take the field in September to defend their 2nd place finish in the AFC (yes, that's all us Jets fans have; Super Bowl 3 and 2nd place in the AFC <yuck>) has me totally glued to the free agent madness that's happening right now. Now I'm sure on the 31st I will be glued to the MLB for about 20 minutes or so, but this stuff that's going down in the NFL is really remarkable. Stay tuned, everyone is moving. If you are a casual NFL fan, and you don't like study rosters and whatnot like we do, definitely pay attention this year. You may head out to your local stadium and see a whole different team. Even big name, mainstay QB's are on the move.
*The Circle may be Complete. As I said above rumors are abound in the NFL. With teams literally unloading players to get under the salary cap, and trades already in the works, the action has been fast, furious, and even somewhat shocking. I would have to say that the most shocking story that I've heard float around is the Brett Favre possibly signing with the Eagles. First off a collective UGH! at this story again right? Favre? Again? Really? Does anyone else look at him like he's a drug addict with this football thing? It's like he weens himself off the pigskin, and he's good for a few months. But then he's at a family function or something and someone slips him a Nerf to throw around with the kiddies and before you know it he's up in his closet with full pads on, a helmet strapped (green bay of course) and his Super Bowl XXXI jersey. His wife is wondering the house looking for him, and then she walks into their bedroom and hears talking coming from the closet. She opens it and Brett yells "BREAK!" and claps his hands. Then he goes over to the bed, crouches down and puts his hands between the mattresses and starts barking signals "BLUE 24, BLUE 24, HUT! HUT!" Then he rifles a 10 yard out pattern to the mirror on the wall. He gives his wife a pat on the ass, and she says "fine, you can play this season." Sounds about right to me.
The second thing that I find interesting about this Favre story is Michael Vick coming out in support of it. Michael said something to the effect that it would be great to have such an experienced back-up. Well, I don’t want to rain on you parade Mike, but isn’t that like the same thing that Donovan McNabb said about you, and what happened. I’m not saying that having a player like Brett Favre IS actually a bad thing, but don’t think he’s going to just sit quietly if you start off slowly this season. Favre is there to play, not to watch with a clipboard. Also Vick is very prone to injury. What do you think happens if he goes down with one of his leg injuries and Favre leads them on a 7 game winning streak? Do you think Reid is putting Vick back in in Week 15 to set up for the postseason? I don’t know man. If I were Vick I would steer clear of this situation before they start calling you Drew. (As in Bledsoe, the last prominent QB to lose his job to injury)
Back to Donovan McNabb for a second and the potential circle that will be completed if the Favre to Philly thing pans out. McNabb was traded from the Redskins to the Vikings today for some draft picks thus making the circle nearly whole. McNabb left Philly when Favre went to Minnesota when most, including myself, thought McNabb would’ve been a better fit in Minnesota than in Washington and that Favre should’ve hung it up two years ago, after the Jets failed experiment with him. Anyway, McNabb is in Minnesota now, and Favre is still on his tractor, but for how long? That is the question.
*The Jets Fly Again – I know Jay said it earlier, but it’s worth repeating; the new Winnipeg Jets logo is badass. When I heard that a new logo was coming, I was apprehensive. I was worried that it would look like a World League Football jersey, you know all modern and Teal with swishes all over it. No, this is bold and strongly Canadian. Good job True North, and thank you for bringing back my hockey memories.
*Holmes is Back – The other Jets that I live and die with, the Gang Green, have resigned Santonio Holmes. So now what should the Jets do fans? Braylen Edwards is a free agent and is somewhat of a question mark to me. He made so HUGE catches last season and seems to be a favorite target of Sanchez’s, but he also has a case of the dropsies that has lasted 3+ seasons now. With guys like Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress around who may not cost too much and both have a lot to prove this season; it may be a very difficult decision for the Jets to decide. Edwards is going to want a lot of money, and he may mean a lot to the chemistry of that offense. On the other hand when you have a very strong personality at the head of this team like Rex Ryan, and a QB that’s emerging as the leader of this team, plus very strong personalities on the defensive side of the ball as well; the Jets may already have enough chemistry to deal with a Moss or a Burress. This is why this is fun, and a little terrifying.
*18 Losses in a row – God the Mariners suck, just saying. The good news for Seattle fans, all 2,000 of you, is that Felix Hernandez is officially off the trade market, so that’s something. The Mariners can lose every fifth game 1-0 instead of 8-1.
*Wednesday Afternoon Delight – In Cleveland, Ervin Santana pitched the first solo no-hitter for the Angels since 1984. Even though he gave up a run due to an error, it was a masterful performance by Santana. It is the 9th in team history (Nolan Ryan has 4 of those) and was the first solo no-no by an Angel pitcher since Mike Witt did it in 1984. In 1990, Mark Langston and Mike Witt held the Mariners hitless.
*…..and finally – did anybody see the dress that Katy Perry wore to the “Smurfs” premiere on Monday night? She plays the voice of Smurfette in the movie. I don’t care much for her music but my God she is very, very tasty. I always had a crush on Smurfette when I was a kid and I now I feel a regression coming on. I will look at Smurf reruns in a whole different light now.
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