Recently, Allen Iverson signed a one-year contract to play for the NBA’S Memphis Grizzlies. Iverson held out thinking that he might get a more substantial offer but none was forthcoming. Having said that, I congratulate Iverson for signing with Memphis, knowing that his role will be that of a backup player. I am sure that he realizes that his best days as a player are behind him and that he is in the twilight of an enormously successful career.
Hopefully, Iverson will be able to share his basketball knowledge and wisdom with some of the upcoming Grizzlies stars, such as Mayo, Gay, and Randolph. If he can do so, Allen Iverson would have completed an NBA career that only others can dream about.
Recently it was reported that the great running back Jim Brown said that Adrian Peterson is the best running back in professional football today. Tomlinson took that as a slight, and I really can’t blame him.
Peterson is truly a star, and will probably be one for years to come. However, he is relatively new to the league and still needs to post high numbers before he can be compared with Tomlinson.
LaDainian Tomlinson still is the player to beat, and even though his numbers have declined the last couple of years, and despite the fact that he has been a virtual no-show in the playoffs the last two seasons, he is still the best player around.
If LaDainian Tomlinson can continue to play for another five years, and he thinks he can, he will break the all-time touchdown record, rushing touchdown record, rushing yards, and total yards from scrimmage. Wow!
Well, the Rams will win six games. But how about the rest of the NFL?
The AFC always has quality teams. The Steelers, Patriots, Ravens, Chargers, Titans, and even the Colts and Texans should win a number of games. However, the teams that will be left standing to play in the AFC Championship game will be the San Diego Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens. That game will be a rematch of the second game of the season. Good offense verses good defense. Who will prevail? The Chargers.
In the NFC, the teams are not as good, but I predict that in the NFC Championship game it will be Minnesota against Washington. Yes, that is right. And I predict that Minnesota will make it to the Super Bowl.
Who wins the Super Bowl?
San Diego.
Okay, the NFL REGULAR season is finally here. Although the Cardinals rule the city, there are a couple of other professional teams here as well. The Blues will shortly have their day, too, but the Rams are upon us now.
I predict that our Rams will be a notch or two, or three, better than the product that was on the field the last couple of years.
So…what do I predict for the Rams? Let’s see…five or six wins? Oh, let’s go with six. Of course, they need to win about half of those in their division, but that is certainly doable.
You heard it from me. The Rams will win six games…and of course, miss the playoffs again.
Now that we are in September and there are close races for not only division titles, but wild card spots as well, people are beginning to take notice.
Well, if you rub the sleep out of your eyes, you will see that there are really only two runaway division winners, St. Louis in the National League Central and New York in the American League East. After that, it is really tight, and for the next month, not only will fans across the United States be watching the scoreboard and reading the sports pages, but the players as well.
Undoubtedly the races will go down to the last week before they are all decided and quite possibly even the very last day.
I have to hand it to Major League Baseball—the instituting of the “wild card” has been a phenomenal success. Yes, baseball does have its shortcoming (what sport doesn’t?), but with four or five teams in each league having a legitimate chance to capture the wild card spot in each league even now, Major League baseball did it right.
Well, it came and passed. Yes, after all the endless talk Michael Vick actually played in an NFL game, albeit a preseason game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Of course, he was only in the game for six plays, less than what was expected. To me, the arm still showed a little zip, but he did not show me any explosiveness in his feet. I have said that all along—he will have a tough time replicating the amazing speed he was noted for in Atlanta. After all, this is two years later, and surely he has lost a step or two.
So, how did Vick fare? I would give him a “B” rating.
Now let’s see when he will appear in a regular season game. Only Roger Goodell will decide that.
The St. Louis Cardinals have pulled away from the bunched-up pack of teams in the National League Central division. The Astros and Brewers are miles behind, and the Cubs are rapidly following them. I say “sorry” to all of those Cub fans who thought that this was the year for sure. Nope. Nine games behind and falling fast. Maybe next year, but we’ll see.
With the addition of John Smoltz the Redbirds would appear to even get better. Smoltz had a rough going in Boston, but hopefully a change of scenery to more familiar National League ballparks will help rekindle his winning ways. Smoltz is a class act whose presence on and off the field makes for a good fit with the team.
Have you been watching the Little League World Series? Wow! It’s always great to see these young men (and a couple or women, too), participate. I actually saw a couple of players on opposing teams shaking hands—during the game! Now do you think that would ever happen during a Yankees—Red Sox game? Sure it would.
Some of these players have the signs of being future big leaguers. If you have the opportunity to watch some of the games, do yourself a favor and do so. And by the way, watch the parents in the stands. They actually are able to control themselves.
Did I think that Michael Vick was going to be signed by the Eagles? No.
Do I think that the Eagles are a good fit for him and vice versa? I don’t know.
Because any negotiations with him were kept hush hush for whatever reason, I really did not want to think too much about it. Too much information or TMI as my wife calls it, can be harmful to my health.
I actually did think that some NFL team would take a chance on him, and I guess it begs the question: “Why not the Eagles?”
I do not think that Vick will have much of an impact this year. Maybe next year, but not this year. Simply put, I feel it is very difficult for an athlete to come back after a two year separation, to resume where he left off. In football, not only do skills diminish, but speed as well.
In a sport such as football where speed is so important, Michael Vick will not be the impact player he once was.
Watch it Eagle fans. Other teams will be catching up with Michael Vick.
Hooray for the St. Louis Rams. I really mean that. I will take a victory, even in preseason games, anytime, anywhere.
Hogwash to those who say that all preseason games are meaningless. Well, my friends, there are some notable exceptions, and the Rams victory over the Jets, and on the road, too, falls in that category.
In St. Louis we have a new regime, with new faces everywhere. Sure, the Rams have a lot of decisions to be made even before the start of the season on September 13, as well as do all of the other teams in the NFL.
But I am glad what I saw, and let’s see if they can build on that preseason opener when they face Atlanta on Friday.
In the meantime, let’s be happy with a victory, a statistic that has been few and far between the last couple years.
Hey, half the teams in the NFL lost their first game.
The buzz around St. Louis town is the play of Matt Holliday, hitting around .500 as a Redbird, and the speculation as to whether he will be wearing the Cardinals jersey next year. I say to take one thing at a time.
Holliday’s pickup from Oakland was huge, and he has performed, let’s say, beyond expectations. My feeling is that the Cardinals will be the National League’s entry in the World Series. If I am right, and I should say modestly that some people jokingly have said I am a modern day Swami representative you can bet on it that Matt Holliday is not going anywhere next year. Sure, the New York team that wears pinstripes will throw a truckload of money at him, but the Cardinals will throw enough his way to keep him.
Players like wearing rings. Ask any Swami.
The other day Josh Hamilton, the modern-day poster boy against alcohol, admitted that he took a step backwards one night this past spring training. He fessed up, admitted publicly what he had done, and said that he was not perfect. End of story?
I hope so. Josh Hamilton was once the best young baseball player in the country. Substance abuse set his career reeling, but after a few years, the Reds took a chance on him. After doing well in Cincinnati, he was part of a trade to Texas, where he has performed admirably.
Yes, he did have a setback. But the guy came forward and took responsibility, instead of being vague and ambiguous. America still wants you to be the poster boy.
With the recent induction of Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, some fans have already started talking about the interesting question associated with the upcoming voting for the 2010 induction.
What makes this next voting unique is that Edgar Martinez’s name will be on the ballot for the first time. So what’s the big deal?
Well, Edgar Martinez was undoubtedly the best designated hitter in history. Should a DH, who doesn’t play the field, be elected?
Will the opponents of the DH keep him out? It could happen.
As for me, I’m for getting him in the Hall of Fame. He played within the rules. He mastered the art of hitting. After all, it was a long time before relief pitchers got inducted, and now there is Sutter, Eckersley, and many more to come, including Hoffman and Rivera.
Is Edgar Martinez a first ballot Hall of Famer? Probably not, but at the same point he certainly should be given his due in Cooperstown.
Okay, okay, now we hear about David Ortiz’s being named as taking steroids. Maybe I was naïve, but I simply never thought about him using them before now. Probably I wanted to just give him the benefit of the doubt.
But let’s face it. Unless he had an extraordinary amount of Wheaties, how could Big Pappi have tripled his homerun production virtually overnight merely because he changed his residence to Fenway Park?
Will Boston fans, or should I say, baseball fans in general, really care that he allegedly took those no-no substances? Except for Yankee fans, the whole matter will blow over. Unfortunately, most fans only care about victories.
Well, surprise, surprise.
To my sheer amazement, Brett Favre decided to remain retired. I am sure that the talk show pundits will talk about this story for days. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. His era had to end sometime, but I truly felt that he was going to give it another year or two. At least now there will not be any more distractions regarding whether he will play or not this year. And forever.
Now, let’s see, we can tick off Brett Favre and move on to T.O., Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, Chad Ochocinco, etc., etc., too many to count as far as I’m concerned, most of their news is not even related to the actual playing of the football game itself.
Let the preseason begin already.
Do the St. Louis Cardinals have enough to win the National League Central division? I think so.
The acquisitions of Matt Holliday along with Mark DeRosa and Julio Lugo are enough to keep ahead of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Houston. As we head in to the final two months of the season, the Redbirds certainly have enough offensive power, even if it does not match that of Philadelphia.
If there is a problem it is in the middle relief corps, and possibly their starting rotation.
But with their firepower of Pujols, DeRosa, Holliday, Ludwick, Rasmas, and even Ankiel and Molina—I’ll take my chances. And that’s not even including Ryan, Thurston and possibly Greene and Glaus.
Oh, if only the pitching can hold up.
Management wants to win this year, and if they do, who wouldn’t want to stay around next year?
Just a few days ago ESPN conducted a survey on who was/is a better ballplayer, the Mick or Manny? After all, when you look at their numbers to date, and may Mantle RIP, they are strikingly similar. And Ramirez is still playing and posting productive numbers.
Surprisingly, Mantle won out by a 4-1 margin. I think it was surprising considering the fact that most voters only have heard of Mantle and never witnessed his greatness. Oftentimes, voters have short memories, but not in this case.
I was pleased with the result. Mantle was a complete player, and was expected by many New Yorkers in particular to fill the shoes of one Jumpin’ Joe DiMaggio. It is true that Mantle is an icon nowadays, and his popularity has never waned. The value of his collectibles places him easily in the top five of collectible athletes.
So, yes, Manny has had a splendid career, and much more is yet to come. But he cannot, and should not, be compared favorably to Mickey Mantle at this time.
I tip my hat to the ESPN voters this time.
Wasn’t it great for golfers worldwide to see the drama unfold in last week’s Open at Turnberry? In a sport where one golfer – Tiger Woods- has dominated, and captivated fans like no other athlete in recent memory, along comes a 59 year old golfer ranked something like 1, 385th in the world, and is ever so close to winning.
Now granted, Tom Watson is no ordinary weekend golfer, but the fact that he mastered the elements last week, better than anyone else including Tiger, except for Stewart Cink, is a testimony to the great game that golf is. Golf is literally a game for, and by, all ages.
Now I don’t profess to be Tom Watson’s age, but I will be someday. I don’t even profess to play the game, although Lord knows I have tried. But I can profess that there is no better testament to a sport than to witness what Tom Watson did last week.
Only action, not words, can reveal the greatness of a game. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Watson’s masterpiece must be worth a million words.
Bravo, Tom Watson.
The past few weeks I have gotten calls on the radio about the Cardinals’ acquisition of Mark DeRosa. We all know that he was picked up to not only play both the outfield and infield positions, but also to hopefully give Pujols some better pitches to hit. It is too early to tell whether the loss of Chris Perez will outweigh the acquiring of DeRosa. Personally, I think that Mark DeRosa is an outstanding player and may very well lead the Cardinals to the World Series.
On another subject, don’t be too disappointed with Khalil Greene quite yet. He is a very intense player, and throughout his career has always been very hard on himself. I think he will be a valuable Cardinal for several years.
The U.S. Open golf tournament clearly showed that there are quite a few up and coming golfing stars. Even though a Lucas Glover or a Ricky Barnes will probably never reach the level of a Tiger Woods or a Phil Mickelson, you might be wise to look out for a signed magazine cover of them, or a signed golf ball. Besides Glover and Barnes, the U.S. Open also showcased the likes of Ross Fisher, Hunter Mahan, and Soren Hansen. You never know how far some of these players may go.