Black Ball Sports

As this Brett Favre situation drags on and on I think what the hell are the Green Bay Packers doing.  Mind you, I don’t mind seeing Favre get his, because the way he has gone back and forth with the Green Bay Packers the last couple of years has been selfish.  And hey he did retire just a couple of months ago when the team was asking him to come back.  But the one thing I can’t get out of my mind is that they were one interception away from going to the Super Bowl just 5 months ago.  And no matter how good you think Aaron Rodgers will be, he may not be as ready to win now as the team is.

 When the Bulls dynasty of the 90’s won their last title their general manager Jerry Reinsdorf famously said, “Organizations win championships.”  While yes there is some truth in that statement. Winning does start from the top and works it’s way down.  But I’ve seen over the years a lot of great owners who have never won a thing because they never had the players.  Think about it if you could start a franchise would you rather start it with Bill Bellichek and Scott Piolo or Tom Brady.  If you didn’t answer Brady stop reading this post.

 The Bulls organization thought they could rebuild and recapture the magic and some 10 or so years later they haven’t.  Building for the future should always be an integral part of any organization.  But if you’re on the doorstep of championships you sometimes have to sacrifice the future for the right now.  The future success isn’t always guaranteed.  But putting Jordan, Rodman and Pippen back on the court would’ve guaranteed another chance at the 7^th title. 

 This is why the Packer situation is so ridiculous.  I’ve not bee a huge Farve fan these last couple of years, but he was clearly one of the 5-10 best QB’s in the league last year.  And with him at quarterback you were one game away from the Super Bowl.  In this era of free agency and holdouts and season ending injuries, I’d have to go with what I know.  Aaron Rodgers could end up being the greatest quarterback in NFL History.  I just don’t think he is a better option right now to take the Packers over the top. 

 The Packers can say we have a young team and we want that team to grow with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.  But realistically you have Al Harris and Charles Woodson up in age at corner.  Having two lockdown corners in the NFL is something that doesn’t happen often.  So right now you’re on the doorstep of going to the Super Bowl in the NFC.  Yet, no matter how great Rodgers ends up being he more than likely will not play this year up to Favre’s current level.  So right now I’m not worried about how many years Favre is going to play or whether this will retard Rodger’s progress.  I just know at the most important position on the football field the Packers are going with a hope instead of something they know.  If the Packers are saying they want to go with the best player at the position then the obvious choice is Favre.

 This is different than the Steve Young Joe Montana situation.  Through playing time gained through Montana’s injuries, Young had already proved to be a Pro Bowl level QB.  It was hard to see Montana leave the 49ers, but it was made easier knowing what kind of player you had in Young.  Rodgers has only proved he gets hurt a lot and he looked good for one half against the Cowboys last year.

 I just hope Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy are ready to deal with the fallout that will come if the Packers have a bad year whether Favre stays retired or not.  And how their names and reputations are on the line based on Aaron Rodgers performance this year.  At this point I’d much rather put mine on the line with Favre than Rodgers.

With training camps opening league wide this week, teams are starting to rid themselves of disgruntled players.  The first two big names moved this week, Jason Taylor and Jeremy Shockey.

Jason Taylor has long been deemed unnecessary by Bill Parcells, and Taylor has been pushing for a trade for quite a while.  Finally, he was traded to Washington.  Interestingly, this was a deal that in my opinion 5-10 other playoff contenders should have made back at the draft.  If the Dolphins would have accepted a 2nd and 6th back then, than teams like Philadelphia, New Orleans etc, who are close should have made this move.  Yes, Taylor is starting to consider his post career options.  But, winning and cash could have and would have kept him around for his new team for a year or two.  Washington, which has been uncharacteristically frugal this offseason, stepped up to the plate when their best defensive lineman Philip Daniels went down for the season. Continue Reading »

Teams are orchestrating and trading and not resigning free agents in anticipation of 2010.  Why 2010 you ask?  Because that is the year Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and others from their great draft class will be available for free agency.

Teams are openly saying that they are positioning their salary cap and rosters to have space for these players.  Teams such as the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks are openly advertising that they’re moving their rosters around to get Lebron James.  I’m not a fan of either one of these teams (matter fact Hate the Knicks) but this is ridiculous.  How can teams be openly trading players and getting rid of salary in HOPE, HOPE I say of landing one of those big time players.  First off what does that say to the fans and season ticket holders of these teams?  There is no way that you can say the Nets trading Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian makes them a better team in the near future..  Right now, Richard Jefferson along with Vince Carter and Devin Harris makes the Nets a playoff contender.  By trading for Yi, you clear Jefferson’s salary for 2010 and can HOPE for Lebron.

I for one believe that teams should openly rebuild and say, “ as our team is constructed we can’t win a title.”  But if that is going to be the stance of the organization some kind of restitution needs to be offered to the fans and season ticket holders.  I would even be willing to support the team trying to get a great player if weren’t still forced to pay full price for a product that isn’t worth full price.  I don’t hear the owners in New Jersey saying “tickets cheaper this year, because we want Lebron in 2010.”

And the other problem with this philosophy is what if Lebron or D. Wade don’t leave and come to any of these teams.  So, now you have no superstar and you have retarded whatever process your team had made these last couple of years.  All these teams that are getting rid of salary can’t sign Lebron and or D. Wade.  And would signing Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh really be worth postponing your team’s progression?

And finally how does the NBA allow teams to openly be talking about these players that are still under contract with their current teams?  Do you think Cleveland fans are looking to renew season ticket packages for years to come when it appears that their franchise player is heading to New York.  All they hear is that Lebron is heading to New York how does that make the Cleveland fan base feel about its franchise?  There is nothing the NBA can do about the media speculation and rumors of the Jay-Z influence on Lebron.  But they can make it a point for all their teams to be trying to win ASAP and not praying for a miracle.  Last year the Celtics were hoping for a miracle in landing Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.  That miracle didn’t happen and they became aggressive and put together a team in one off-season that won the title.  Miracles can happen, but in reality that isn’t the way to make your franchise a champion.  And maybe it’s just in the fans minds, but isn’t that what it’s really all about. 

I’m glad Brandon Jennings made this decision. Whether or not he realizes the implications of his action, I think he is on the verge of starting a new trend. If Jennings is able to go to Europe, and play one or two quality seasons and return to the NBA as an already well paid lottery pick, then maybe this will impact high school stars to evaluate the “you must go to college and pretend to be a student” system currently in place.

Jason Whitlock in his column points out how the NCAA basically pimps black athletes into making the college campuses money. While these athletes do have an opportunity to earn a college degree, many have no intentions of using the opportunity while others really don’t deserve the opportunity academically. Whitlock rightly demonstrates how only in basketball and football are kids forced to go to college in order to then become a pro in their sport.

Tennis, golf, hockey, soccer and baseball all allow teenagers to sign contracts and play against “grown men” as young as 14 years old. Interesting how no one in the media seems to take those sports to task for exploiting such youngsters.

Only in a sport dominated on the college and pro levels by black players (including some from disadvantaged backgrounds) is there this concern about their “well-being” and maturity level.  Guaranteed if there was talented white high school players projected to be NBA stars and considered lottery picks, there would be little conversation about age restriction. Continue Reading »

Brett Farve is a jerk, and has been for years. Yes, I’m calling him a jerk, and I’m one of “those” people who think he’s overrated and flat out annoying.

I also happen to think he’s a great QB, but he also is great at being a jerk. For the past few years, he’s played yo-yo with his playing career. He’s been constantly fueling speculation of retiring, or not. Farve is beloved by the media and fans, which is why he doesn’t get as railed for this as he should.

Should anyone be surprised that he’s talked to the Packers about coming back. I’m not. I knew the day he announced his retirement, that he was speaking off emotion. That same emotion they helped him become great, while simultaneously throwing some of the biggest bonehead interceptions in history.

Farve pulled a Kobe the last few years whining, about the team around him not being good enough. This attitude culminated with his “retirement” after being disappointed for a second time that the Packers were unable to acquire Randy Moss.

Listen, Farve has the right to choose his career path. But what is tiring, is the fact he places his team in a bad predicament each time he’s unable to reasonably make a decision. Previously, he kept them in limbo even through the draft. Now, less than two weeks before training camp, he appears to be reversing field once again.

He called Javon Walker out publicly a few years back for essentially putting himself above the team during a contract negotiation. What exactly is Farve doing now? Oh, right, he’s placing the Packers into a position, where they will either have to accept him back, and put Aaron Rodgers back on the bench after an off-season of trying to position him as the starter and team leader; or forcing them into releasing him, which would of course be a PR disaster for the team.

He’s risking splintering the locker room and killing Rodgers confidence. Think about this distinct possibility, the Packers tell Farve that they’d rather him stay home, and rather than pushing the issue he semi-quietly remains retired, however, he also semi-quietly makes it known that the Packers weren’t accommodating to his planned return. Fast forward to say week 5 and the Packers drop to 1-4 after Rodgers has another bad game. How is that going to play out? It’s hard enough for a QB to replace a legend, but what happens when the legend has an itch to continue playing?

I think Farve has years left in him, as he’s never had any serious injuries, and he seemed as good as ever last season. However, he needs to stop being a jerk and make a decision. Do what is best for the team, and either come back and live out the two years remaining on your contract, or stay retired and give the team an opportunity to move on.

*yawn*, wake me up when it is over.

The NFL and MLB have truly exciting off seasons, with plenty of free agents and trades to go around.  Unfortunately, the NBA has more player movement restrictions then the NCAA has recruiting restrictions.  While the salary cap is designed to help all teams be fiscally viable and produce some form of parity, it also makes it extremely difficult for teams to make moves.

Consider this, if for some reason the San Antonio Spurs wanted to trade Tim Duncan, they generally would only be able to move him to either a team with salary cap space (currently Memphis, LA Clippers or Sixers) or take back enough garbage to even out the salary exchange.

A rule such as this is intended to prevent teams with unlimited access to cash (such as the Knicks) from trading picks and the like while acquiring high priced talent and heading far over the cap.    While it works in theory, teams are so restricted from making trades, that one of the best bargaining chips isn’t a player with talent, but rather a player with an expiring contract.  For example, the Jason Kidd to Dallas deal last year, only went through because the Mavericks were able to include high priced waste, Keith Van Horn who is essentially retired.

The cause of all this drama is mostly the guaranteed contracts.  Continue Reading »