GarageGabs

Well, I haven’t posted in quite some time, but I had a very dear friend request my opinion on the whole Brett Favre situation.  I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I’ve followed this all too closely.  Quite frankly, I grew tired of the whole thing….several years ago.

See, as most people know, this isn’t Favre’s first time pulling this sort of stunt.  More than once he’s left the Packers in limbo as to whether he would return or not.  He’d mull around for half the summer and finally make a decision at the last moment.  I always had a problem with that.  Never really rung as a “team” player to me.  I mean, let’s be real….running an NFL franchise takes an immense amount of planning.  Probably one of the more important places to start is with your quarterback.  If you aren’t solid on him returning for an upcoming season, well, life is in limbo.

Also, Favre is the same guy that criticized Javon Walker for holding out a couple years back. Favre publically stated that Walker was hurting the team and needed to report to camp.  Something along the lines of “take whatever they’ll give you and just play”.  Commenting on a teammates contract situation (especially when you come out against the player) is a BIG NO NO.  Yeah, these guys get paid millions to play a game but the NFL presents one of the more unstable job atmospheres possible.  I don’t even know why they’re called contracts, because players can get cut anytime.  Also, how often to you hear ownership speaking out against ownership?  Never.  Players should stick together, or at worst, keep their mouths shut in regard to such situations.  Obviously, the idea of “if you can’t say nothing nice, don’t say nothing at all” was beyond Favre.  Brett was the LAST PERSON that should have commented on Walker’s situation.  JERK.

Anyway, back to the present.  I got wind of this deal when it all started.  ESPN big-timers started reporting that Favre was having “second thoughts” about his retirement.  Of course, Brett sat back and said nothing.  Packers brass said the rumors were untrue.  I could be wrong, but seems like Favre even came out and said it wasn’t true.  Next thing ya know, it was true.  Favre definitely had the itch to return to the football field.  Why did he take so long to confirm the rumors?

Problem was, the Packers had already planned to move on without Favre.  They’ve been grooming 1st round pick Aaron Rodgers to take over the team in 2008.  Remember, it was Favre who cried at a press conference while announcing his retirement.  Favre got dirty and said that the Packers somehow had him retire.  Rodgers played it perfectly, not saying a word.

One thing led to another.  Packers brass said, sure you can come back, but most likely in a backup role.  Favre stated that he didn’t want to be a backup.  He wanted the Packers to move him or release him.  Apparently the Packers offered him 30 million dollars to just quit.  They then agreed to move him to another team, which hasn’t happened.  Now, he’s been reinstated by the NFL and is gonna show up to Packers camp.  Honestly, I believe the Packers are dragging their feet to keep Favre out of an NFL camp, thus, keeping him from getting any sort of head start on the upcoming season.

What a HUGE mess.

My opinion?  Favre is the biggest cry-baby on the planet.  I get it that he wants to play.  But dude, seriously, make up your mind.  Imagine if year after year you threatened your boss that you were gonna quit.  Then, finally, one year they had a big going away party for you, complete with cake & ice cream, all your co-workers wished you off, and your replacement (an up and coming college graduate) stepped in to take over your duties.  After a couple months, you call up the office and say…”Hi, can I have my job back?”

Brett Favre Retires

How is your boss supposed to take that?  Brett Favre being Brett Favre obviously makes things somewhat difficult.  I mean, he is one of the more storied (and overrated) quarterbacks in NFL history.  Favre owns tons of NFL passing records, (including most interceptions) and is a shoe in for the Hall of Fame….whenever his time comes up.  Green Bay is scared to let the guy go.  Be it fear of ruining his legacy or fear that he’ll come back to beat them in 2008….they’re scared.

My advice?  Let the dude hit the road.  Send him to Kansas City or the Jets where he can have a mediocre season and more than likely miss the playoffs.  Keep in mind that last season was an abnormality on the radar for Favre.  His 28 TD’s and 15 Interceptions were well above the pace he was setting his previous two seasons (38 TD, 47 INT).  Favre isn’t gonna join some other team and blow up.  He’s going to struggle.  He’s going to get sacked.  Hell, he’ll probably get hurt.

Anyway, now, when you think of Brett Favre, you’ll think of this.  Gone will be his all or nothing playing style.  People will just remember him crying and then un-retiring, and then making a big deal out of it.  Maybe he’ll be remembered for leading the Chiefs (or some other run of the mill team) to a 6-10 record in his final season.  Maybe he’ll start for Green Bay?  Who knows.  Either way, it’s a big mess, he created it, and his team is paying for it.  For all the flack guys like Terrell Owens catch for being “distractions” Brett Favre tops them ALL.  Favre has thrown any idea of team player out the door in favor for selfishness and “I’m Brett Favre, let me play” attitude.  I’ve never been a big fan of the guy, always felt he was overrated, (1 Super Bowl Ring with all those great Packer teams) and at times, I’ve thought his gunslinger mentality hurt the team more than helping it.

Brett Favre wants to come back.  WHO CARES.  The guy was hyped too much when he played, and now we continually hear about him when he’s not.

This is perhaps the best take I’ve ever read on not only the Spurs/Suns, but the current state of the NBA as well:

Common Sense Vs. The NBA Rulebook (ESPN.com: Page 2)

I’m sure you’ve already heard about Broncos starting corner Darrent Williams being shot to death early Monday morning after leaving a Denver nightclub.  First my condolences go out to all of his family and friends.  I can’t imagine what they must be feeling.  I am not going to discuss the particulars of the even, I’m sure you’ve already read or heard them.  I imagine a lot more will come to light in the next few days as well.  What I would like to discuss is some of the fan reaction to the incident.

I frequent several message boards and blogs and the idea that some people are blaming Williams for what happened is not only insane, but it is just downright ignorant as well.  I’ve been reading things like “Well, he shouldn’t have been where he wasn’t supposed to be” OR  “another NFL street punk gets killed, big deal” OR “Why would someone who makes millions go to a nightclub!”.  If you don’t believe people are saying things like this read some of the comments to the story being posted on Fanhouse. 

People, Darrent Williams was a 24 year old kid.  It was New Years Eve.  Going to a club, especially on New Years Eve is something that lots of 24 year olds do.  Just because he was an NFL player doesn’t mean he shouldn’t go out into society and live his life.  It’s especially arrogant that these statements are being made before anyone really knows the nature of the crime….was it a random shooting?  If not, what was the motive?  If Williams shouldn’t have been there, what about other people in the car that weren’t NFL players?  I just believe that people often times lose decency when it comes to celebrities and athletes.  This guy is actually being persecuted by some people for going to a night club.  Folks he was shot and killed…and you are still persecuting him?  I’m not sure of the circumstances, but I do know that this could have happened to ANY of us that leaves our home.  Thoughts and prayers with the Williams family.

Miami Dophins defensive STUD Jason Taylor is on record as saying Shawne Merriman shouldn’t be this years defensive MVP because he tested positive for steroids.

For those that don’t know, I’ve always been a defender of Barry Bonds in concern to the whole steroid issue. I’ve said on multiple occasions that I don’t believe Bonds should have an asteric beside his statistics. There are a couple reasons I believe this:

1. He has never officially tested positive for steroids. The writing might be all over the wall, but until the guy tests positive, lets move on.

2. The MLB testing policy before 2004 was a joke. If Bonds were doing steroids, he probably wasn’t in the minority. Why put a star beside his name because he achieved his statistics while enhanced….vs. players that were enhanced.

3. I just happen to be a San Francisco Giants fan, so of course I probably have some bias.

As for Merriman, I have a different stance. I agree, 100% with Jason Taylor. Early this season my friend Mike and I were discussing the beastliness of Merriman. We talked of his size and speed, and how we’ve never seen an athlete quite like him. Mike looked at me and said…”he’s juicing, guys gotta be juicing”..A few weeks later, sure enough, BUSTED.
The NFL has, and has had a testing policy in place for quite some time. In theory, it catches everyone that cheats. (of course we all know this isn’t true) Merriman got caught. It was reported that BOTH of Merriman’s samples tested positive and that his suspension was definintely for steroids, not one of those supplement deals. I’ve heard through the grapevine that Merriman was suspended for nandrolone, also known as Deca-Durabolin. Merriman claims that he took this unknowingly as part of his daily supplement routine. Nandrolone is a banned anabolic steroid. It’s not something you take “by accident”. You’re going to tell me that a freakish athlete, that has been taking supplements for years, and probably has a trainer as well, took a banned anabolic steroid by accident? Hmmm, yeah, ok Shawne.

Why or how Merriman took the steroid doesn’t really matter until you consider Merriman’s reaction to Taylor’s comments. Merriman notes that he handled this matter correctly, apologized, and served his suspension. Yeah, sorta. Handling the situation correctly would have included saying you took the steroid, and that you wouldn’t do it again. Haven’t heard him say that, only that it was an accident.

All that being said, how does a player that tests positive for steroids get ANY acclaim? His numbers are amazing, but the thing that makes this situation different is that Merrimans play is a direct result of athletic freakishness. Him beating two blockers to a QB isn’t a result of great hand/eye coordination…it’s a direct result of strength and speed…..the two attributes that have ALWAYS made Merriman stand out from the crowd. When your superpower is exposed as being a farce…..how do you continue to be included in a premier group of NFL athletes? Barry Bonds has been nailed to the cross and has never even tested positive…..people can’t mention Bonds without the word steroids as well. Olympic athletes test positive and are immediately stripped of all awards and banned from further competition. That includes several that tested positive for nandrolone. Yet an NFL player fails a test…..that includes 2 samples, where a STRICT policy is in place, that they are well aware of (this isn’t like baseball where it’s drawn in the sand) and they get a slap on the wrist 4 game suspension, lose some pay, then come back later and finish leading a team to the playoffs. I don’t get it and I don’t like it.

I now find myself pulling against the Chargers and Merriman. I finally understand why the people that feel the way they do about Bonds….feel that way. Here’s to hoping Jason Taylor wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year. I applaud him for speaking out against Merriman in a sport where athletes aren’t so comfortable talking about other athletes.

If you are from another planet you don’t know that suspensions were handed out today to the players involved in the Nuggets/Knicks brawl, as well as a hefty fine for Terrell Owens.

First, I’d like to deal with Terrell Owens getting fined $35,000 by the NFL.  Once again, I’ll say I don’t agree with spitting on a player.  However, no official saw him do it, and it isn’t on tape, so we really don’t know the severity of the spit….what I mean is, did he really hock one at Hall, did some spit just fly out of his mouth….just how bad was it?  We don’t know.  Owens said today that it wasn’t entirely intentional and that Hall was making a bigger deal out of it than it really was.  No one saw it, Owens said it was just a result of talking in another players face….and spit flying out…Sounds a pretty fishy, but  Owens has always been a truth-teller so who knows.  I just don’t get the amount of the fine.  Sean Taylor was fined $17,000 last year for doing the same thing and they SAW HIM DO IT.  I have to believe that Owens received a higher fine because he is Owens.  Does this mean fines are going to start growing for every on-field incident?  Of course, I could care less how much money they charge Owens, all I care is that he plays.
Now, do yourself a favor and click the link I provided above….First, read the nonsense that Joe  Theisman is babbling…I’ll print it here:  Theisman’s take:  Joe Theisman thinks T.O. should have been suspended for a minimum of two games for spitting in the face of DeAngelo Hall. He also believes T.O. will do something at some time to hurt the Cowboys during their playoff run. My god man, are you serious?  Yo Joe, no one has EVER been suspended for spitting on another player!  Why should Owens be the first?  I’ve always thought Joe Theisman was a first class idiot but this takes the cake.  This is the same guy that changed the pronunciation of this name so it would rhyme with heisman….from THEEZ-man to THIZE-man.  Joe, a lot of people probably agree with you about Owens, but you are a bumbling fool, no one respects you.  I wonder if it occurs to anyone that Joe was a Redskin, and naturally despises Dallas….Gee, I don’t guess a 2 game suspension during a tight playoff race would bother the Cowboys would it Joe?  Nothing Theesman says can get the Redskins in the playoffs….or Bret Favre, Joe’s lovechild.  I dare anyone reading this post to tell me they actually enjoy Joe Theiman as an NFL analyst.  Check out this post on Deadspin for some other Monday Night Football Rants.
Now, click the ESPN video and sit through  Merril Hodge and Sean Salisbury go on about the situation.  The bias of these guys is so obvious…..“when you have 25 million reasons not to commit suicide, 35,000 is nothing”.…Did Hodge seriously say that?  The way he says it is almost like he has a bone to pick…..I think Hodge is seriously upset about this….also, who in gods name cuts this mans hair??  Hell, who dresses him for that matter, he’s wearing a purple table cloth!   Salisbury went as far to say “the NFL would be a better place without Owens”…man, seriously, get a life.  Hey Sean…..the NFL is a better place without YOU and your 19 career passing Touchdowns! (and 19 picks)  Also, why is Salisbury trying to grow a goatee, it makes him look sick.  Salisbury says he would rather be sucker punched than spit on…..ha ha, I’d like to be the one to sucker punch him.  He always tries to be so “out there” with his picks and predictions that he comes off looking like a moron.  It’s no wonder the only person he can ever out debate is John Clayton.   The NFL is full of arrogant jerks, Owens just happens to be an attention wanting, dynamic wide receiver of a big jerk…and oh yeah, he leads the NFL with 11 receiving TD’s….funny, they mention all his drops, but I haven’t heard one analyst mention his 11 TD’s?? Big deal, he spit on a prima-donna corner back.  Hall should have waited for Owens after the game and settled the score on his own rather than whining to the media.

In case you were wondering, I used a debate technique that I learned in an English class a year or so ago…it is called “attack your opponent”….when your case is in need of help you can always attack the character of the person who disagrees with you to make their point of view seem weaker.  Politicians do it all the time, I’d like to officially welcome the tactic to my blog.

In conclusion, I liked Mike Ditka’s comments on the situation from today’s USA Today:  “If I was DeAngelo Hall, I would have gotten dressed real quick and would have gotten right in front of that locker room.  When he came out, I would have hit him as hard as I could”.   

Now, on to the NBA suspensions.    Man, I really don’t know what else to say about this.  I think the entire thing is getting blown WAY out of proportion.  People are suggesting that Isiah Thomas should have gotten suspended for urging his team to foul Denver hard.  Well, I don’t see anything wrong with a hard foul, and although I think Thomas is a moron for complaining about the situation after the fact, the idea that his team fouled the other team while they tried to dunk is not that big of a deal to me.  I felt the suspensions were suitable but not equal.  A punch thrown is a punch thrown…everyone throwing punches should have gotten the same suspension.  Why didn’t every player that threw punches get the same amount of games as Anthony?  Yeah, his was a sucker punch, but fighting is fighting in my eyes.

I think that Carmelo Anthony, Nate Robinson, JR Smith, Mardy Collins, and Jared Jeffries  should have each been suspended 15 games for fighting.  Everyone else that came off the bench should have gotten a game  (which was the case).  Anyway, I believe our Denver correspondent Ruben Romero is going to have more on this story later, so I’m gonna end my rant here.

I’m really starting to get irritated with this whole “nfl network” thing…..I won’t be able to watch the Cowboys play this Saturday…these games have always been on major networks!!  In it’s latest attempt to make the cable companies look like the bad guys, the NFL is offering cable 1 free week of nfl network programming.  Pretty much puts the cable companies in a lose/lose situation.  Take the offer and cable is forced to make a deal with the league, as fans are gonna want the opportunity to have the NFL network.  Don’t take the offer and fans will balk at cable companies skipping on a free week of coverage.

Read the story here 

Tom…I mean really.  Tom Brady is suing Yahoo! for using his likeness in fantasy adds.  Normally, I’d side with the player, but after my youtube experience I’m gonna have to call Brady a big whiny baby in this one.  Also, it appears he might not legally have a leg to stand on because it appears yahoo had permission from the NFLPA to run the adds.

Check out the story in The SmokingGun, it includes a copy of the court document.  Ridiculous reading.

Click Here To Read Story 

I TOLD YA SO!

The media is already putting a spin on this one saying that Josh Brown’s 50 yard game winning field goal ruined Jay Cutler’s debut…..uhhhh, Jay Cutler ruined Jay Cutler’s debut! Cutler was flat out AWFUL tonight, fumbling once, throwing 2 picks (1 returned for a TD), and only completing 10 of 21 passes. Seriously, the guy had only thrown for 72 yards until late in the 4th quarter when he hit Brandon Marshall with a 71 yard TD pass…..Marshall broke several tackles on his way to the end zone….I guess that 71 yard “burst” was the big play offense the ESPN heads were talking about when they salivated over Cutler’s “big play ability”. Please. Well Denver fans….you wanted to know; what could be worse than Jake Plummer? Now you know…..starting a rookie in December.

I’d also like to personally thank Mike Shanahan for making this change. By inserting Cutler, you have made one of my fantasy WR’s (Javon Walker) virtually useless. So, THANKS SHANNY!

Just like I told you a few weeks ago, Florida will play Ohio State for the National Championship.  Florida of course, beat out Michigan for the #2 spot.  I’m not even going to get into the argument of who actually deserves to be #2.  Maybe the NCAA likes the BCS system because it stirs up a lot of conversation about college football?  I really don’t get why it hasn’t been fixed yet, especially given the success of other college tournament formats.

I’m going to spare linking you to a bunch of stories about who should have played, or why wasn’t this team included.  We all already know this routine.  I’ll have a more in-depth preview of every bowl game a little later.
Anyway, here are how the BCS bowl games fell out-  (what a moronic system)

Tostitos BCS Championship Game- Florida vs. Ohio St.  (1-8-07)

Rose Bowl- USC vs. Michigan- (1-1-07)

Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma vs. Boise State (1-1-07)
Orange Bowl- Louisville vs. Wake Forest  (1-2-07)

Sugar Bowl- LSU vs. Notre Dame (1-3-07)

Finally, here is PART of the reason why this system can’t be gotten rid of:  Ohio State coach Jim Tressel “With a 12-game season, it would be next to impossible to have a 16-team playoff,” he said Sunday. “We’ll continually improve the system. As you look at it over the past few years, it has gotten better and better.”

As a North Carolina State fan it’s always been a pet peeve of mine when people see what state I’m from and automatically assume I’m either a Carolina fan, or a Duke fan. There are other college teams in the state folks. As a child, I HATED UNC. Absolutely hated them! As I grew older, and began to understand the game a little more, I found respect for UNC. Still despise them, but not on the level I once did.

Duke was a little different. Duke was fun and refreshing to watch during the Johnny Dawkins and Tommy Amaker years. They were helping the Wolfpack stand up to hated UNC. However, the older I got….I really began to despise Duke. Then I took a look around…all my friends hated them also. My friends were graduates and fans of various other schools….none of them really hated NC State, Carolina, or Wake Forest…but they all hated Duke. In fact, unless they attended Duke, or for some reason fell into “duke fandom”, pretty much everyone I know….hates Duke basketball. So, if you are from another state and run into someone from North Carolina. Please don’t assume that we like Duke basketball….we probably don’t.

Here’s why:

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