You know what they say about opinions, right? Well....this is my freakin blog, and if you're going to take the time to read it--well by God you're going to get my opinion!
So....let's take a look at some news from the world of sports that have caught my eye.
1) Duante Culpepper traded from Vikings to Dolphins for # 2 draft pick. A lot of friends of mine here in south Florida have been asking me my thoughts on this one, trying to probe my borderline mystical devine Vikings mind for any sort of clue as to how Duante will perform for the 'Fins. Here's what I say. If the 'Fins get the Culpepper from 2004, the trade is a steal for them. That year, Pep was a solid # 2 candidate as NFL Player of the Year (behind Manning, who threw for like 50 t.d. passes). If they get that guy, they will have upgraded the position like they haven't since Dan Marino replaced DAVID WOODLEY (WHO?). The Pep from 2004 was a special player and a special talent. But........if they get the Pep from 2005, well........then I think the trade favors the Vikings. The 2005 Pep was surly, was having a crappy season (6 t.d. passes and 13 INT's)....and this was all BEFORE he ripped up his knee. Now, onto the knee. Let's keep in mind here....the guy didn't just rip up his knee. He did everything short of having it amputated. The knee has three essential ligaments. You have your ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), your MCL (medial cruciate ligament) and your PCL (posterior cruciate ligament). Folks, you are getting some top quality medical info for absolutely NO CHARGE, so I hope you appreciate it!! Anyway, its pretty bad when you tear ONE of the ligaments. Culpepper ripped ALL THREE. They talk about the average recovery time from an injury like that being one year. Pep ripped up his knee in October of last year. And during the off-season, he was not rehabbing his knee at team headquarters in Minnesota (which is what started him off on the wrong foot with the new coach)--he was doing it at home, including (I love this one)....running in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart by his house. That's not exactly what I would call "progressive sports rehab". So who knows how much rehab time the guy has cost himself by being a dumbass. Maybe instead of being ready by October, now he'll be a month or two behind where he could have been.
Oh, and did I mention the wholesex scandal on the boat? Duante did a couple of unseemly things in my mind. First of all, days after the whole fiasco, he reportedly went to the state attorney's office in Minnesota and offered to "name names" of his teammates if charges against him were dropped, supposedly so he could keep his "good name" with advertisers. This is not the sort of thing that you do if you want your teammates to like you, needless to say. 2nd of all, he plays the race card and says he's been the victim of racism. Well, in the words of Chris Rock---"this ain't about race, its about FAME". If it was (paraphrasing Rock again) Duante the bus driver, no one would care.
3rd, he admits in a pre-trial hearing that the reason he wasn't participating in the sex show was because....(the NFL had to LOVE this one).....he was shooting craps! For like $20 a throw! That's the ticket! I wasn't a pervert, I was a gambler! Man oh man, this story just keeps getting worse for the league. If there's one thing that they hate more than some degenerate sex addict.......its a degenerate gambler. Of course, since Duante had the lovely "Mrs. Pep" sitting next to him, you have to wonder if he was really gambling, or wondering if he fessed up to the sex show whether Mrs. Pep would be thinking about how much alimony she'd be able to skin him for.
He's all yours Dolphins fans....but somehow these things don't strike me as being the sort of things that Montana, Unitas, Favre & Elway did to inspire confidence from their teammates. By the way, did I mention he's fumbled 82 times in 82 games?
2) Well, its that time of year. Spring training, and out in Arizona the Cubs are preparing for yet another year of heartbreaking losses, decisions and injuries. Truly, a black cloud hangs over the franchise, and it isn't because of Steve Bartman reaching over and taking the ball from Moises Alou, or a goat that some guy brought to the stadium. Here's where the Cubs stand late in the spring. Kerry Wood, who's name is now usually prefaced by the words "injury prone" or "injured" is....you guessed it....still injured. This is the guy who had surgery in September with the thought that he would be ready in plenty of time for spring training. Well....it seemed like a good idea at the time. Mark Prior? Mark Prior....who looked like the 2nd coming of Jim Palmer a few years ago, now can'tsneeze or fart without somehow hurting himself. What it is with the Cubs and young pitchers anyway? How in the hell did guys like Cy Young and Walter Johnson throw 500 games and never get hurt? Its enough to drive you crazy. Speaking of Cubs luck....yesterday I watched a group of Cubs pitchers throw a no-hitter through nine innings....and not get credit for it. Why? Because the crappy Cub hitters hadn't produced a damn run for them!!! So they go into the 10th, the Oakland A's get one hit before the Cubs finally win the game in the bottom of the 10th. A one hitter. That's Cubs luck for you. The pitchers throw a no hitter....and their hitters don't get any runs.
It looks like another looooooong year at Wrigley.
3) My Florida Panthers might be the hottest team in the NHL. They've won like 8 in a row, or 9 out of 10....something like that. The last 4 or 5 wins have been by one goal.
They're like 5 points out of the playoffs with about 12 games to go. Its just amazing.
Their November was so bad.....so awful (one win for the whole month)....so bizarre (losses occurred when they gave up goals with like 4 seconds left in the game, or in O.T.--it was seriously the weirdest thing you've ever seen).....that it was like they were looking for strange new ways to lose every time out. And now....holy crap, its like they've become the Edmonton Oilers of the early 80's.....winning games in the most amazing ways. I don't think its a coincidence that all this began to happen after the team owner stepped up and signed captain Olli Jokkinen to a new contract---which was the first time in 5 years that the team has actually kept a player that had trade value to other teams. I don't know if they can make up enough ground and make the playoffs. But the future suddenly looks much brighter than it has in a long time for hockey in south Florida.....and if they do make the playoffs, they're going to be one of those teams that somebody is not going to look forward to playing.
4) Notre Dame basketball team loses in the 2nd round of the NIT. Amazing. I mean, amazing on a level that the Panthers were at in November. The Fighting Irish basketball team.....finished with record of 16-14. A very ordinary season. Well....maybe not.
All 14 losses? By less than 10 points. They lost 10 of those games by less than 4 points. Just insane. And their final loss? In the NIT? Double overtime against Michigan (YEECH).....one second left, they've played perfect team defense and the Michigan player throws it back to a guy who's like 5 feet behind the top of the key--who promptly throws up a prayer. 3 pointer. Game over. Season over. Amazing.
Its things like this that cause sports fans to have drinking problems....or lead to suicide.
Or in most cases to cause their hair to turn grayer at a quicker rate.
Which is why I shaved my beard off today.
Later,
Jeff
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