Penalties

you cannot say, in 9 out of 10 circumstances, that a player lost out on yardage or was denied the stats of a big play, because it was "called back" from a penalty.

Most of the time, the big run or big pass is made possible by the penalty. I read today that Blount had 59 add'l yards that were taken away because of holds. Holds on running plays = not possible to get the yards without the hold.

BCS Rankings

I want every person who has ever managed any website to know this fact:

When your headline reads something along these lines, "Auburn Moves to #1 in BCS, Mike Bird State University #47", that means the person is clicking on it expecting to see a list of some sort.

We don't want to read about the list in text form, we just want to see a list. 1 through whatever. Thanks

NFL Cont'd

I also want to mention the insanity that is out there regarding these big hits and the legislation around them.

There are people who are saying, "how can the league be trying to stop big hits - AND - want to increase the schedule to 18 games! That's a contradiction!"

What!?

Isn't it the opposite?

It's saying, "18 games is hard, it's significantly harder, so what can we do to make the game less physically taxing on these players? Well, one thing we can do is make more big giant hits illegal."

You can argue the premise, you can hate the rule change, but don't act like this is a contradiction, its the opposite. Its rule harmony.

A contradiction would be, "Lets get mad about hits - AND - increase the schedule to 18 games - AND - make hard hits rewardable in tokens to Chucky Cheese arcade games!"

NFL's Big Hit Lies

When I say "we" in the rest of this post, I am referring to everyone. And I don't mean everyone individually, I mean a giant "we" that is comprised of all NFL viewers - and what I mean more specifically is an average of the viewers of the NFL. Don't be offended, if you feel like you don't fit into this "we", then you are an outlier, and good for you.

I have grown comfortable the last 3 or 4 seasons with the fact that big hits are killing the NFL. Someone, I'm not sure who, wrote an article this week talking about how someday we will be watching a MNF game, like the Giants/Redskins game where Theisman got ruined, and we'll see a player get hit so hard not only will paralysis result, but eventually we'll see death.

It's incredibly morbid, it's horrifying, and its not likely, but the speed and size of these men is increasing, as the sport grows more popular, the world's best athletes are preparing weekly to inflict pain on a level we cannot fathom. Death will be the end result.

The NFL is attempting to get in front of this, and I am sad that I feel like the only one applauding.

The thing I don't understand is that if a linebacker was chasing down a RB, and he decided, in order to stop that person, he'd trip him with his leg, then that is a penalty and everyone is fine with it. To get a bit more violent, we know a player cannot flat out punch another player in the stomach, that would be a penalty too. As Randy Moss comes off the line, especially during a run or blocking down, it'd be easy for a DB to wind up and sock him as hard as he could in his unprotected tummy. We're all fine with that being a penalty, as it should be.

My point is, we have accepted lines. They are blurry, at times, but we do have a sense that sometimes the boundaries have been crossed. But for some reason, when it comes to flat out giant hits on players, we're very apprehensive about making a new line.

Everyone agrees a helmet to helmet hit is something that needs to be punished more severely. An arm to helmet hit as well. I am not sure how to legislate change, but I do applaud the league for trying.

What do you do about a shoulder to the chest, it's legal, right? Well, what if they say this, "A defensive player (LB or DB) cannot hit a receiving player above the stomach leading with the head or shoulder." I know you'll say I'm crazy. I know you'll say its too hard to control yourself. I think I was of that opinion before too. Football is a violent game, I know, but lets try to make it less violent.

This is where the naysayers fall into 2 camps. Camp 1 is that football is loved by millions of americans, and changing the game fundamentally would lead to less viewership. I'll talk about them later. Camp 2 is that you'll see a lesser brand of football - that the game is perfect the way it is, and even if viewers don't notice, fans will.

I don't think you'll see a lesser brand of football, you'll see a new brand. Nobody would argue the game was MORE violent, more wild west, in the 50s, 60s and 70s...thats just how it was. They cleaned up the game was much as they could, they have made rules about hitting defenseless receivers, taking away blows to the head, protecting the QB. The talent isn't lesser, the game hasn't suffered. It's amazing the way it is.

Then you get back to Camp 1, which are the folks that are somehow using the threat that people will watch it less, that it's perfect now, and softening it up will harm it. Oh my God that's bullcrap.

First of all, people don't watch football. I know that sounds crazy, it gets huge ratings and it demolishes everything it touches on TV. People have football on, and people love TD's, and scores, and plays, and yes, hits...but on a Sunday, how many people watch every snap of football from 1-7, then 8-11? So few. So very few. People watch Football for 2 reasons.

1. Betting.

2. Fantasy Football.

Those 2 things will exist if tackling wasn't allowed at all. There are a lot of things that would have to change to make it so people wouldn't want to see if their RB got a TD.

I contend that people watch football more for the Gamebreaks, hence the immense viewership of RedZone TV on Sundays, which actually doesn't even show hits for the most part, just scores. Scores are what people want to see, not hits.

The other thing I'd say is that every single year we see an increase of player protection - the QB is practically wearing the "Dont hit me" red jersey in games, and viewership increases. We see fines for hitting increase, we see "defenseless receiver" calls increase - and viewers keep pouring in, in record numbers.

People want football to exist, people don't want football players to die. I know that for a fact. The damage that would be done to a few million fans who witness a superstar like Chris Johnson literally die on the field on a short pass because he was hit so hard, would far outweigh the temporary "wah wah" fans will blather on about if the rules change.

Sportsmanship Lies

This is one of those times where people actually think they believe something that they don't believe. Sports fans are literally channeling that inner toddler - recalling stories of George Washington & his cherry tree, and forgetting to apply the vast amount of knowledge they have acquired over their years on this planet.

This Derek Jeter nonsense is completely laughable. It is a joke, and I'm not talking about what he did.

In any given baseball game, you see 3 to 4 plays in which a player "sells" something that he or she didn't do.

In any given football game, you see a lineman decide to hold a defensive player, and hope to get away with it.

In any given basketball game, you see a player flop or act as if they got fouled.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the sport culture we have created, and you cannot have your cake and eat it, too. Every time Pedroia phantom swipes 2nd base on a double play, do we get up in arms? Every time Big Baby takes a soft hit to the chest and falls backwards, do we call the morality police?

The answers, as we all know, are no freaking way.

When it all boils down to it, Derek Jeter has 1 job - win World Series rings. He is better at that, I may add, than anyone in the last 20 years, maybe the last 40 years. He is a powerhouse, an epic Hall-of-Famer who has done everything, every single thing, that is asked of him by the organization.

Jeter knows he is getting old, and he knows he is slowing. His job is to get to first base, and he'll do whatever it takes. There are rules set up within the game, and if you can point to a rule that says, "no faking," I'll read it and respect it. Further, if there is consequence, then let that be applied.

But without rules and without consequence, in the context of a sport, I have no overarching issue with what Jeter tried to accomplish, aside from the fact that I would personally not choose to do something like that.

Do I dislike the dishonesty that takes place every single second on a sports field? Yes, I hate it. I despise it. Do I think that a player should be run out on a rail for accepting it as a reality, especially when dollars, legacy and championship are on the line? No way at all.

In any given Pro Sporting event there are lies. Dozens per game. Athletes, and pro sports, are blocks of time in which you try to accumulate all advantages you can, within the rules, in order to win. We set this system up, and we don't demand change, so what can we expect.

Next time you see your favorite Patriot trap a football and claim it was a good catch, or next time you see Garnett smack away at a player's arm and not call the foul on himself, try to align yourself with the fact that they're just looking out for No. 1, and that's all Jeter did against Tampa the other night.

Randy Moss Lies

I don't know why fans still think the sport - football in this case - starts and finishes between the white lines, during game play only.

Athletes are athletes on and off the field. Sports are sports in locker room, press room and the playing surface.

The Patriots won today. Good for them. They won 38-24, in week 1. They could go 14-2, and they could go 6-10. Neither would surprise me. Neither will have anything to do with what Randy Moss said after the game.

Moss was a big part of the win - he clearly is still a fantastic player. Their success will be in part due to how well he plays, and he has feelings. He has emotions. He also has a reasonable desire to take care of himself.

Moss isn't a Patriot only from 1pm - 4pm, Moss is a Patriot 24/7. He is allowed to complain about the organization, team and his situation as much as he wants.

Why aren't people killing Logan Mankins for his childlike antics. Why aren't people killing the Kraft oligarchy for theirs?

We are dealing with very selfish people. Ego people. This is always going to be a difficult pill for fans to swallow, but you have to swallow it. We used to live in a world where you could enjoy an old fashioned ball game on the field and that was that...but that isn't sports life anymore.

Sports is the game, the contract, the negotiation, and everything in between.

What Moss did in the press conference today was no more offensive to me than a dropped ball on the field. I think the coaching staff, GM, President and players themselves feel the same way, but that's just me.

In his own words, which fans need to hear, "This is not football, football leaves you in college and high school. This is a job, Man."

Randy is right. Listen to him and get used to it. You're going to hear a lot of that this season and into the off-season, and you'll be hearing it 12 months from now when all of these greedy gentlefolk are complaining about how to divide up the cash pie. Randy will look like a saint compared to these owners, and you'll be pining for his crooked Giants cap.

The New York Jets lies

I am so excited for this. I am so excited for an immense collapse, a train wreck before even leaving the station, an egg-on-the-face embarrassment of epic proportions.

The NY Jets were 7-7 last year when the Colts quit. They removed Manning from the game, the Jets won, and then they won their final regular season game v. a Bengals team who was sitting just about everyone. Carson Palmer's little brother was QB, no joke, his little brother.

The Jets are starting on HBO's Hard Knocks this week. The show is awesome no matter who the team is, but it has had its good and bad years. Good years were the Ravens, which was the first year of the show. Bad years were Campo's Dallas Cowboys, b/c they were clearly in it for the show, and not for football.

The Bengals last year were in it for football, and they had a challenging year, but it was clear Marvin Lewis wasnted to win games, while Campo wanted to be on TV.

Everything, every piece of evidence, is pointing towards Rex Ryan joining the Campo club. On a side note, I find it so sad that you were at one time a team's head coach now you are on the sidelines as their Secondary Coach. Thats just really sad, nice career progression, Campo.

The lies that are taking place are partially a media creation, and partially a Rex Ryan creation. The Jets made the AFC Championship, which we know in the case of January 2010 really meant that they played 3 good weeks of football - they didn't put together a season for the ages, they didn't put together a historic run - they played a few good weeks of (defensive) football.

Darrelle Revis is the real deal. I wrote a post last year praising him and it was justified. They enter camp with him on the bench. He is like Troy Polumolu, he is the kind of player that completely changes the way a team plays defense. Without him, the lies of the Jets success will be greatly misprognosticated. They are a bad football team without Revis, period.

Even with Revis, they have their question marks. Aside from Shonn Greene, who looks to be incredible at RB, they have nothing. Tomlinson is toast, and beyond that they cobble a team together. Mark Sanchez hasn't proven anything yet at QB, he doesn't even really have control of the offense, not yet at least.

I don't need to go position by position, but the fact that Rex Ryan wrote a book, is calling the Jets out to be the championship team, and that he cannot get his best player in camp to be with the team as their TV show is about to start - its all the sign of a prima donna team, clutching to the Broadway Joe Jets identity, but this time without actually upsetting the Colts.

The Jets will finish 7-9, any other prediction is a lie.

Bill Simmons Lies

I have a weird past with reading Bill Simmons - I remember when he was the Boston Sports Guy, in 2001, 2002-ish, and I didn't like his stuff.

I have a few emails I found that reference my feelings for him, and in one of them I said, "I only tend to agree with the stuff he says about the NBA, not the other sports", which I find funny because now he is almost exclusively an NBA talking head, and his book is as close to my favorite 1/2 reference, 1/2 observation book I've ever read.

If I were an artist, which I'm not, my sports book reading progression would be like Radiohead's first 4 album progression - none of them are the same but you can see similarities...going back to the Baseball Encyclopedia which was purely numbers, and leading all the way up to now which is The Book of Basketball.

But that's not why I'm here, I'm here to sympathize with our old pal Bill Simmons and work through what I think is really an unfortunate series of lies he is convincing himself of, all in the name of...well, in the name of I don't know what.

This is not a popular thought process, but it's sorta how I feel, and it isn't just about Bill & his feelings, but its sorta about how people approach things that irk them in general. I am trying to really find out what bothers Bill the most about this fiasco - see through the lies he has convinced himself of - and figure out what really bothers him.

I am going to get very amateur psychologist on you, but I think this all comes back to his dad. He references his Dad at least once in every work he does, and I don't think thats en exaggeration. He loves his Dad and his Dad's opinion, and that's admirable.

I think that at the end of the day, "The Decision" as well as the follow up on Day 2, which was equally, if not more offensive, Press Conference with Dry Ice, really hit Bill's sensibilities pretty hard. Bill's Dad really is not about what those 2 days were about, and I feel like Bill is grabbing at straws instead of purely admitting that, above all else, those 2 days of regalia were just too much for his Dad to handle.

Bill will point out really odd things, like he did yesterday on Brian Kenny's Radio show on ESPN Radio. This really didn't make sense to me. He was going on and on about how great it would be if Chris Paul was traded to the Knicks or Celtics - how his addition would be fantastic for both squads, without a hint of anger or acrimony towards any parties out there.

Kenny immediately called him on this hypocrisy - why is it okay for Chris Paul to bolt to another player in order to get better, why is that acceptable? His answer was twofold:

1. Because Chris Paul isn't the best player in the league and he isn't expected to have the same pedigree as Jordan - the killer "i want you dead" instinct. Well, that's stupid, Bill. That's a lie to yourself. All of them want to win really badly, and I don't see, aside from cheating, how they get there should effect anything.

2. (this one killed me) Because Chris Paul & Amare compliment each other - they aren't the same style, so it is okay if they compliment each other. He feels Wade & LeBron are too similar in the way they play hoops.

Lets break that one down.

First of all, that's purely a judgement call. What if you happen to like the style of 2 slashers kicking out to jumpshooters, like they'll do with Mike Miller & James Jones. Why does 1 style (big/small) v. (2 slashers) have to be more accepted than other?

Second of all, LeBron may reinvent himself. LeBron can be Magic, he really can. Magic was a point guard in a PF body, right? Yes. This notion that they don't compliment each other is really, really embarrassingly bad logic.

Bill is also jumping on the Jordan & Magic bandwagon when talking about, "that's not how it was in my day!" argument, which again is really terrible. I've been over this before, but in the last day or 2 I realized a HUGE flaw with this thinking, a lie the press and those veteran players are perpetuating.

The press is asking Magic if he'd play with Larry. Of course he wouldn't. That guy's entire life is based on his rivalry with Larry Bird. From the time he was 18 to the time he was ... now, he's been compared to Larry Bird. What they didn't ask Magic was, "if you were on a team that won 32 games a year for 4 years, would you play with Isaiah?"

LeBron joined forces with 2 guys who were drafted in his class, they were his peers. Does LeBron have a true rival? I don't know - I do know that Kobe & LeBron have been part of the discussion for a long time - would LeBron play with Kobe? I don't know, it wasn't part of the discussion b/c it wasn't financially feasible. No team has ever set them up for this kind of "thing" like the Heat have - if the Lakers set themselves up this way or if the Pistons did in the 80's, we may have seen something fantastic.

If Scottie Pippen played like the position he was drafted, and if Horace Grant played like a dork in goggles, and if Dennis Rodman didn't join the team as the best rebounder in 40 years, there could have been a situation in which Jordan would have combined with Ewing or Hakeem or someone else, let's not lie to ourselves about that reality. Remember, Jordan went to play at North Friggen Carolina, why didn't he Indiana State his way to the NCAA Finals?

Cuz he wanted to win, and wanted to succeed.

Which brings me to my final point. For years, basically as long as contracts have been a part of sports conscious, there has been a calling by sports fans to imagine scenarios in which players sacrifice dollars to form a mega-team. Now, of course its always something we want in our home town. It was something you always heard people say, "why can't these guys just admit enough is enough and join a mega-team?!"

The Rockets tried it with Barkley, Olajuwon and Drexler in 1996, and it didn't work. Drexler retired, they tried to bring in Pippen but the chemistry was bad and age won out. In 2004 the Lakers tried with Gary Payton, Shaq, Kobe & Karl Malone - but again, age was defeated in the Finals...they didn't quite have the legs to make it happen.

I am sitting here watching Matt Barnes sign with the Lakers for less money, in order to join a team to win it. I am stunned that I am forced to question that thinking. It is something we have all been asking for, forever, and its happening. Its admirable, isn't it?

LeBron, Wade & Bosh all took less money, none of them put themselves inside the top 20 in salary. TOP 20!!! They are all NBA top 20 - 2 of them are NBA top 5. They are sacrificing, and they are simply choosing to do it earlier in their careers.

Bill and Co., I understand disliking the LeBracle to the point where you lost respect for him. I can understand wanting to defeat that Goliath. I could, for a brief moment, understand the "they'll have no money" argument. But once the guys said, "i'll take less than max", you didn't believe them and said, "not possible" but you were wrong.

The fact remains what these guys have done, and are trying to do, is unprecedented in sports, and much like the on field historic never before seen crap we all love, I'm in love with this new formula, and we all should be.

1. Give Up Money

2. Play With Friends

3. Expand Your Own Personal Skill Set

4. Change The Game

Good on you, Miami.

The Heat Lies

My inaugural post will be about the most talked about sports story in decades - LeBron to the Heat. But this one isn't going to be about him, its going to be about some recent commentary, and how it stems from a dishonest place.

First of all, the following teams in the last 5 years have proven you cannot win a title alone, as a lone superstar:

2010 - We see the Celtics rip and plow through individuals (Howard, LeBron) and we are again reminded of how a combo of players, Pau & Kobe can overcome anything. It also needs to be mentioned that their chemistry and captainship stems from D. Fisher, who is the textbook definition of role player.

2009 - Lakers put the team together, win their first.

2008 - Boston Celtics defeat the Lakers, who saw the Celtics as a team beast, and acquired Pau in order to help All-Universe-All-Time Kobe. Kobe couldn't do it alone, and in his first try he can't even do it with Pau.

2007 - The Spurs are a consummate team. Tony Parker and Duncan led the pack, but Manu may have had his finest, if not most impactful season, in 2007.

2006 - You have to remember that Shaq was a monster back then, and he was injured a lot of this season, and the Heat STUNK. His health v. Detroit and Orlando in the playoffs was huge, and against the Mavs he gave D. Wade the freedom to win MVP. D. Wade, contrary to popular belief, didn't win that alone.

So that's just the last 5 years.

This past weekend, Mike Jordan was quoted as saying the following about the Heat situation:

"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, lets get together and play on one team."

I will now dissect the lies.

1. Yes, you would have. Had the opportunity arisen to play on those teams, you would have.
2. Magic and Larry, specifically, were past their peak when you reached yours. Talk about your peak contemporaries. This would be like LeBron saying, in 20 years after 6 Cavs championships, "There's no way I would have ever called up Micheal & Shaq and said, let's get together...."
3. In a way, you DID exactly what you said you wouldn't do in the Olympics in 1992. Why is this any different? You chose to join forces with all the best players, and dominate.
4. Michael refuses to admit that Pippen was dominant, on both sides of the floor, and if he was on any team other than the Bulls, he would possibly be thought of as the 2nd best player of the 1990's. Jordan had his Wade.
5. I don't know if the league is different, but Wade & James want to win, and they recognize from the past 5 years, the way to do that is to join with another great player.

I am starting to get really pissed off at this whole situation, because people are holding to their original points, which don't make any sense anymore. Here are some more lies that are being spouted by the public & press, daily:

1. On the day they signed, the "The Heat won't have any money!" argument started to appear. Nobody would listen to the fact that James, Wade & Bosh were stating, out loud, "We will take less money!" and they did. The roster in Miami is clearly strong enough to win, this year.
2. People are still insisting there is no way LeBron can be in the pantheon of the all-time greats. I may have believed this at first blush, and I certainly held venomous feelings towards him for the insanely juvenile production he put on for 48 hours announcing. But, remember the following things. (1) He is 25, what if him and Wade win 5 of the next 8, or more? (2) What if he averages a Triple Double? (3) What if he has a series like he did v. Detroit in '07? I don't care who is teammates are, that was insanely amazing and repeating would be unreal.
3. The biggest lie is that the jealousy of a person of what we would consider sub-acceptable human intelligence at our daily jobs, is able to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars and make life choices that suit him and his family the best. The public & press needs to admit that is the motivation behind most of the anger, and the hope of failure.

Good luck to you, LeBron and D.Wade. I wish you no ill-will.