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As we have progressed through the summer and begin progressing into training camp, Tim Tebow, the 25th-overall selection in April's draft, has now signed his five-year, $11.25 million contract with $8.7 million guaranteed. The man has is already the top-seller in the NFL in jerseys sold, he's pitching drawls for Jockey, he's the face for EA Sports NCAA Football '11 and Nike is rolling out its football campaign with Tebow as its focus.
However, for a man who's played in an Urban Meyer offense that has never produced a quality NFL quarterback (if you think Alex Smith is a quality NFL QB then your face should have a conversation with my 5 fingers), for a man who stole won the Heisman only because Oregon's Dennis Dixon tore his ACL, and for a man who's QB skills are "in progress"...the media, Broncos' head coach Josh McDaniels, and the general public has crowned this man as the next big thing...will he be? The question is, why have we let it get this far?
Forgive me for swiping the Philadelphia Daily News headline, but honestly, that's exactly what this upcoming NFL season is for Philadelphia and the die-hard Eagles fans. For the first time since 1998, Donovan McNabb won't be reporting to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, for training camp, won't be under center or manning the huddle for the Eagles, won't be attached at the hip to Andy Reid.
I can go on and on and on about how much I hated the trade, especially to division rival Washington, and how much Donovan McNabb has accomplished and meant to the Philadelphia Eagles franchise. I have been and always will be a McNabb guy. I own only two Eagles jerseys — a No. 5 Donovan McNabb and No. 99 Jerome Brown. I loved watching him take a moribund franchise and turning it into a perennial contender, even if the team always came up just a little bit too short. I appreciate everything he's done here, and always will. But this isn't about Donovan McNabb. Not anymore, for better or worse.
Over the years, there are two men in my life who have given me an infinite amount of “old-school wisdom.” Those two men are my father, and Willie McCullough, my old-school buddy who I used to work with at UPS, back in the day. Willie schooled me then, and still schools me now, on the game of life, when it comes to how to be a man, take care of money, and how to deal with women. Most of it, if not all of it, is humorous, and is really just him talking about how my generation doesn’t get it, how our music sucks, and other stuff like that.
My old man gives me words as well, but his are a little more subdued than Willie’s. A few years back, the old man sat me down, for a little bit of “Old Man Wisdom.” There’s one piece of advice he gave me a few years back, that has stuck tried and true, and will until the end of time:
Don’t allow people to give you high blood pressure.
This is what I get to deal with living in Cincinnati...
"Why in the hell do we need Terrell Owens? He's just an egotistical jackass who along with all the THUGS we have on the Bengals, I can't believe I still keep my season tickets every year. They're a disgrace to the NFL."and...
"The Bengals are real idiots if they sign T.O., are they trying to ruin their season before it ever gets started?"
Now, this is not an indictment on ALL of Cincinnati and of Bengals fans, but over the last 48 hours this type of response has been what I've heard around here in the Queen City. My question to you is this, do you care about winning the Super Bowl? If so, then shut up and appreciate what's really going on with the Bengals. They're trying to win in all right now.
It’s that time of the year when we at ETSF partake in shocking the world all over the sports landscape. Our respective travels go all over, and it’s all in the spirit of good times, competition, and war stories. This trip had me traveling down I-35 South, en route to The Alamodome for the first two days of Dallas Cowboys training camp.
To understand this particular journey, one must go back to its inception. Nine years ago, while I was back home on summer vacation from college, three of my friends and I decided to pile up in a car, and drive to Wichita Falls, for training camp. Two of us were die-hard Cowboy fans, while the other two didn’t care for them at all, but since we were all united in the name of football, we made it work just fine. Sure, Wichita Falls was hot as hell, and the Cowboys sucked then, but the road trip with my boys was well worth it. The next year, the Cowboys changed the location to San Antonio, and we followed them. Since then, as long as the ‘Boys have been in San Antonio, I have made the trek solo, as well as with company.
So the time has now come that the best point guard in the NBA (Kenny will probably not read any more of this post, but oh well) Chris Paul has decided to request a trade out of New Orleans. From CBSsports.com...
"He wants out," said a source, who has been briefed on Paul’s strategy but spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it publicly. "He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron’s model of teaming up with other great players." Paul’s list of preferred destinations consists of the Knicks, Magic and Lakers, and members of his inner circle already have sent word to the Hornets of his desire to be traded to one of those teams, sources say. If Paul has his way, he’s played his last game in a Hornets jersey.
For all of you who went in and talked down on LeBron for making the move to the N.W.O. Miami Heat, are you going to talk crazy about Chris Paul too? My dude Bryan Crawford of SLAM says that Chris Paul would just be a follower. if My question is two-fold...does this show the true power of LeBron James in enabling these NBA players to essentially make power moves? Moreover, can we blame Chris Paul at all for wanting to get out of New Orleans?
Once again, it's that time of the year where football fans have to be subjected to the “Will he? Won’t he” talk that has come to personify Brett Lorenzo Favre. If you’re a football fan who is unfamiliar with this lingo, what the talk consists of is every sports outlet participating in Favreapalooza. They all cover Lorenzo, as if their lives depend on it, with the intention of finding out if and when Lorenzo Favre will return to football. It’s as if there’s a signal that goes off in their collective minds that says “it’s that time again,” and they all go nuts, and follow this man around like the rock star that he is. Well, speaking as one who is very familiar with this time of the year, allow me to handle this for you, so you will not feel compelled to follow Farveapalooza: Lorenzo will return when he’s good and damn ready.
"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,' " Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. "But that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."
There are so many flaws in the recent response by Michael Jordan andhis old man friends Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson, that I just can't take any of this seriously. The problem is the majority of folk will hear Jordan's words and affirm them to be literally the spoken word, because if it comes out of MJ's mouth, it's the gold standard. Well let me be first (and maybe the last, please don't let me be struck by lightning) to tell Mike: shut the hell up.
There are times in your life when you have to say “enough is enough.” Those times are amplified even more when you truly have no say-so in the matter, whatsoever. No matter what you do or say, folks are going to do what they are going to do anyway, and, in the words of The Rock, there are two things you can do about it: nothing, and like it.
When it comes to being a fan of boxing, this slogan can be taken and should be taken to heart, as it pertains to the two biggest names in the sport today; Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Once again, they are unable to come to agree on a proposed bout in November, and my tolerance with this cockamamie has officially run out.
Over the course of the last six months, there hasn't been a team that has sparked my interest as much as the New York Jets. In my opinion, the Jets have by far the most complete team in the NFL. From the additions of former Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Cromartie, two stellar 2010 draft picks Kyle Wilson & Joe McKnight, and the risky addition of split end Santonio Holmes, the Jets are going all out to win a title right now. I love it. All the rage in NFL circles is awaiting with baited breath for the return of Hard Knocks on HBO. Rex Ryan will probably put on a show and make us appreciate these Jets even more.
However, at the end of the day this engine doesn't run without #6 pushing all the right buttons; you know him as Mark Sanchez. I'll admit that I've always thought highly of Sanchez since his USC days (eff USC). He has all the characteristics you want in a franchise quarterback: size, arm strength, pocket presence, and even charisma. Yet, we've somehow forgotten that this man is just 23 years old and in just his second season. Is he headed for the inevitable sophomore slump, or can he take Gang Green to the promised land?
I have been chastised and ridiculed because I have not written about the Atlanta Braves all season, hell even baseball in general, and you know what? Its hard for me to write about baseball, because I can't take the game seriously until at least sometime after the All-Star break. The season is too long, and I got too much going on in this sports world to give my brain all 162 games.
However, once again the Atlanta Braves have found a way to get me focused again, and I am already prepared to have my heart ripped out one more time.
It’s one thing to sit in a room and have heated debates, passionate conversation, and original exchanges with your boys about what’s going on in the sports world. That’s a given, something that’s totally and completely expected and accepted by the mainstream. However, it’s an entirely different matter when you see a woman involved in these debates, and not only is she involved, she holds her own, and ends up proving she belongs. Where this came from, I have no idea. At this rate, it doesn’t even matter. I, along with plenty of my boys who love sports, simply thank God every single day for creating the specimen that is the female sports fan.
Last year, we ran a post on our site about women and football, how much women love the game, along with the trials and tribulations they experience in participating in the sacred time that is football season, but it doesn't stop there. There are women who are fans of baseball and basketball, and even some who like hockey. We don’t really talk hockey much at ETSF, though, so we'll stick with the big three for now.
Note: Today's post is presented by our brother, The Rev, the mastermind behind The House that Glanville Built. He gives us his recollection on new Texas Rangers ace, Clifford Lee.
On Friday, I woke up in Atlantic City with Philadelphia’s favorite rental pitcher still firmly entrenched in Seattle stuck on the underachieving Mariners. When I walked in my front door in Philadelphia a few hours later, Buster Olney was on ESPN telling all the world that Clifton Phifer Lee was about to become a New York Yankee.
Sports fans everywhere have ways of identifying with the sports they follow, the players they love, hate, and the ways we follow the game. Some of us love to watch games at home, while others love to go to ballparks, stadiums, and arenas all over and partake in everything that comes with it. There are even folks who love to follow the game on Twitter, and partake in Twitter watch parties with other folks they follow, and the same can also be said of Facebook. These factors all contribute to the existence of us as fans.
People who aren’t fans will never understand how we can spend hours talking about sports and athletes like we personally know them. They sit back and criticize, get agitated, annoyed, disgruntled and disgusted at the seemingly relentless assault of sports talk, and while they are well within their rights to state their opinion, there are times when I want to look at them and, while sympathizing with their plight, tell them three words: too damn bad.
I couldn't escape being snake-bitten...not even in the World Cup.
You all know me, you know that I am a nomad of sorts when it comes to my sports allegiances. It's not my fault, I was born and raised in the Sooner State and because of that I am a fan of the entire state of Oklahoma. (Sooners, Cowboys, and the Thunder) Outside of that, my fandom takes me to Jacksonville for the NFL, Atlanta for the MLB, Philadelphia for the NHL, even to North London for Arsenal in the Premier League. I'm all over the map, I have my reasons for choosing these teams, but I'll save that for another post. Fact of the matter is this...even when it comes to international soccer, I have a team. That team is Holland aka Clockwork Oranje. See, even an international squad like the Netherlands has something in common with the other teams I commonly root for, and it is this.
They have the tendency of breaking my heart, again and again and again...
What we witnessed last night was the culmination of something that’s been in the works for the past few years. Last night, LeBronapalooza came to an end, with LeBron James announcing he is joining Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach, to play for the Miami Heat. This truly is Showtime 2.0, Showtime on Steroids, Showtime Reincarnated, and any other way to define Showtime you can think of. Initially, the thought here is they will be great to watch, but they won’t win a championship next season, because they have zero veterans on their team, and even though winning is the most important thing, I don’t see it happening immediately, but we’ll get back to that in a minute.
Signing Day is an event that sports fans have known for years. We get a chance to see our favorite players sign on the dotted line to play for the institution of their choice. It’s a time-honored tradition in high school football. It’s something that ESPN televises every single year around the beginning of the calendar year. However, leave it to someone who once played football, was an all-state wide receiver in high school, but left for greener pastures and became one of the biggest basketball stars on the planet to flip the script, and turn signing day into something of ridiculous proportions.
So its come down to this...
Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are now joining forces and will try to bring another title to South Beach, let all 37 Miami Heat fans rejoice and sing praise in this momentous occasion in bringing an elite big man to your squad. Chris Bosh turned down $30M from a sign and trade deal opportunity from Toronto to go to Cleveland because well...its Cleveland. Miami now has their next big superstar to play alongside Dwyane Wade. No baby mama drama for him in Chicago, no sir. Staying in WDade County.
Has the power shifted to South Florida? Is Miami the team to beat now? So many questions...I think I've got some answers.
Note: I'm kinda passionate about athletes not being fully respected, and as a post was written in a similar vein about Philip Rivers last year, this Respect post is as follows...
Last weekend, something mind-blogging took place. in between people hanging on every word of every analyst about NBA free agency, as well as some fantastic soccer at the World Cup, Serena Williams won yet another Wimbledon championship, by smashing Vera Zvonareva into oblivion in 67 minutes. Let’s put it this way: it takes me about 40-50 minutes (on a good day) to get to Rudy’s to get some chicken. That’s just to get there; I still have to go home. By the time of all of that gets done, Serena was done playing, showered, did her interview, and was off to kick it. It’s Serena’s 13th Grand Slam, but if you look around enough, you would think it was no big deal. People aren’t talking about it nearly as much as they should, which leads me to wonder what the hell else she has to do to get some respect around here.
Note: Today's post is written by special contributor, Phillip Barnett, who gives us his opinion of day one of the 2010 NBA free agency period.
For years now, Esquire Magazine has been one of my favorite periodicals. The columns, the essays, the covers, the topics, the writers – it’s all top of the line stuff. One of my favorite features they have every month is the “What I’ve Learned” section. They interview someone famous, and post quotes from the interview. Yesterday, I was educated by NBA General Managers during the course of the first day of free agency, and I’d like to share with you guys What I’ve Learned.
Ha! When you came to ETSF this morning, I bet you thought there would be a post about basketball free agency, didn’t you? To be totally honest, I’m burnt out from free agency talk. Last night on Unsportsmanlike Conduct Radio, as well as the last few days on Twitter, the sports discussion that’s dominated both forums is free agency. To make matters worse, players can’t sign until next Thursday anyway. On top of THAT, Ed said it perfectly yesterday by saying no one knows what the hell they’re talking about anyway, so it’s time to direct a majority of our energies toward The Shield and embrace the fact that training camp starts up in a few weeks.
