Black Ball Sports

Shawn Merriman this week decided against the advice of four doctors about his ripped up knee and has made the decision to play. In football we always give the glory to the guy that plays through pain. Seriously, is there anyone more beloved or looked upon as a tough guy than Ronnie Lott who actually got a finger removed during a game so he could play.

We all understand the tough guy image of athletes and especially football fans. We as fans expect players especially football players to play through injuries that would have us out of work for 6 months. Not only is it the pressure from the fans but the pressure of their peers as well. Players have been run out of the league because they weren’t thought to be tough enough. So for players it is much better to be thought of as a warrior. This all leads to the thinking behind Merriman’s decision to play. If San Diego wasn’t a Super Bowl contender would he be playing? Plus as an established star he doesn’t need to play to make sure he has a job. He isn’t an undrafted free agent who might have to ignore his injury because that could lead to him being cut.

Merriman is taking a risk because he is coming up on his contract year. What is behind his decision to play? Does he worry that not playing will cost him money on his contract? It would seem that further injuring the knee or going down at some point during the season would cost him money. Would a team prefer to sign a player coming off of surgery before the season that would be ready for training camp or a player that goes down midway through the season and won’t be ready for the 2009 season?

Where is the organization on this in allowing this Man to play. The league put in a concussion rule a couple of years ago because they knew they had to protect the players. Players are always going to try to play through pain or take whatever drugs necessary to get on the field. In this situation where is the team in allowing a player to go against four doctor recommendations to play.

I’m even calling on the Commissioner to step in here. I know the Player’s Association is dealing with Gene Upshaw’s death and they always side with the player’s no matter what. But they need to step in here as well and reach out to Merriman. Not only is he putting his career on the line, but the rest of his life. This kind of knee injury could lead to a lifetime of knee issues and make simple things like walking a huge problem.

Losing a finger makes Ronnie Lott a legend. Losing a knee would make Shawn Merriman a tragedy, and one that could be prevented…

All the talk for four years has been the embarrassment of the US Men’s Basketball team not winning gold in the 2004 Olympics.  In general, the analysis has been that the rest of the world has caught the US team.  Well, this year proved that wasn’t true.

Sure, some national teams are able to compete with the US, and play them pretty well for most if not all of the games.  The thing to remember is the Olympic “tournament” is akin to a Hoop It Up tournament.  For the most part, these are all teams which are put together for this purpose only, and the day after they separate for their various professional teams.  This occurs for each and every country, and many of the better players from foreign teams return to the NBA.  The method of team building generally means, each country will have it’s moments where things come together.  For Argentina, this occurred four years ago, now they are a bit older, their best player Manu Ginobili is starting to age, and there is no one to replace him, because their talent pool isn’t very deep.  Conversely, the US team, if put together right, will always have replacements for their stars.

Consider the oldest US player, Jason Kidd is 35.  The next oldest player?  Kobe Bryant, at 30.  Even expanding the roster to look at the full squad from which the 12 were chosen, shows few players over 30, and most of them had little shot at making the final team.  Look down at the younger players, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.  That is the core for 2012, if they so choose, and the oldest of them is Wade at 26. By the way, add to that core, Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, Michael Beasley and possibly Derrick Rose.  How in the world is any team going to compete with them in four years?

Bottom line, the NBA and hence USA basketball really had a down period in development leading up to the 2004 team.    Many of the best players of that era, were individual players (Allen Iverson), knuckle heads (Stephon Marbury) and big men prone to whining (Tim Duncan).  Add to the mix, a hard nose coach who has a reputation for alienating players, and you have the right chemistry for failure.  Coach Brown did as he always does, and shunned young players such as Anthony, LeBron and Wade in favor of underwhelming veteran players such as Richard Jefferson, Shawn Marion and Lamar Odom.

I don’t usually give him much credit, but Mike Krzyzewski deserves kudos for getting these players on the same page.  They played defense, passed the ball and accepted roles willingly.  Part of this comes from a core which generally seem to like each other, and wanted to do whatever it took to wipe the bad taste out of USA basketball fans mouth.

Credit also goes to Jerry Colangelo, who put together a quality team top to bottom.  One thing also overlooked, is the players selected were generally leaders, good locker room guys and players from teams which made the NBA playoffs (only Wade and Michael Redd’s teams didn’t).  He recognized that even though technically many of the players selected weren’t big men, they often played bigger then the European big men, in that they are athletically superior and aren’t soft.

One more thing, can we stop using the term “Redeem Team” and comparisons to the “Dream Team“?  Calling this a redemption would only be logical, if the core of this team was the same as 2004, and it wasn’t even close to the same roster.  The USA program may have needed redemption, but really what they needed was a plan, and they came up with one under the guidance of Colangelo.  Prior to that, the plan was put 12 of our best (or those willing) on the court and we’ll win.  That may work as it did in 1992, 1996 and 2000 or it will fail as in 2004.  However, a good plan as it was implemented over the past 3 years, placed the players and coaches in a better frame of mind and ready to win.  It was built as a team and hence succeeded as a team.

It is blatantly unfair to compare the 2008 team to the 2004 or 1992 teams.  Sports media has an obsession with comparing the past to the present (I’m guilty too of course). But in this scenario it isn’t even worth the effort.  All I have to do is list the players, Jordan, Bird, Barkley, Pippen, Magic, Stockton, Malone, Drexeler, Mullin, Robinson, Ewing and Laettner.   Each one of those players is legendary (albeit Mullin and Laettner mostly for their college years).  The 2008 team can only dream to be that legendary, and they certainly haven’t reach that level yet.  Only Bryant and Kidd have at this point had careers in which you would mention them in the same breath as those players.

Congratulations to the USA Basketball team on proper planning, coaching and dedicated on the court execution which brought the gold back home.  Will it always work this well?  No.  But this is the norm for the USA team and expect it again in 2012.

After reading William Rhoden’s book, Third and a Mile, I decided to rank and discuss most current NFL Black QB, before and after the season.  The NFL is still struggling with developing and handling black QBs.  But this isn’t really a surprise considering how awful the NFL develops and handles QBs of any race.

The following is my ranking of notable black QBs and their potential to start.  I have intentionally left out some of the deep backup QBs (the type that will likely end up on practice squads, or never have an impact this season).

1. Donovan McNabb, Eagles (100% chance) - If he can stay healthy over the next 4-5 seasons, McNabb will become the 2nd greatest black NFL QB, just behind Hall of Famer Warren Moon.   In a watershed year for the Eagles, they were unable to give him another quality receiver and he’ll have to depend again on an average at best corp.  Even with a lack of receiver, McNabb has consistently put up quality numbers across the board, and when he did have a star receiver, he put up amazing numbers.  He’s not a surefire Hall of Famer, but very, very close; either a Superbowl win or a few more quality seasons and he’s in.
2. David Garrard, Jaguars (100%) - He surprised most observers with his quality play as starter after the release of Byron Leftwich in the preseason.  Last year, he benefited from their quality running game, and took care of the ball with an impossible 18-3 td-int ratio.  If he can improve on this success, he could take the Jaguars deep into the playoffs.
3. Jason Campbell, Redskins (100%) - There is a great drop off after McNabb and Garrard, mostly due to the lack of experience at the position.  Campbell has shown he’s capable of playing at this level and now has a QB “guru” as coach in Jim Zorn.  However, he was injured last season, and his backup, journeyman Todd Collins led the Redskins to the playoffs.  If he struggles, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear similar doubt out of Redskins fans as Eagles fans have had the last few years since Jeff Garcia’s playoff run when McNabb was hurt.  However, he’s got the talent to move himself up this list, even surpassing McNabb. Continue Reading »

After watching the Hall of Fame induction and hearing Darrell Green say that only 2-5 current players are guaranteed Hall of Famers I had to check it out for myself. Hey, Darrell is one of my all time favorite Redskins but I had to check the rosters and see if he was correct…Just the offensive skill positions for now….

Quarterback’s

Slam Dunks – Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre

Layups – Donovan McNabb – I think he has been top 5 QB’s the last 10 years, but injuries and questionable performances in big games could hurt him

Three-pointers –

• Jeff Garcia – Good stats but not enough time left to improve his standing
• Matt Hasselback – Good Solid career, but don’t think enough big stats and moments to make it.
• Marc Bulger – Just don’t think Hall of Famer when I hear his name

Need More Info - Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger

Running Backs

Slam Dunk – LaDainian Tomlison

Layups

• Brian Westbrook – If he can stay healthy and on this pace the next 3-5 years he’s got a chance.
• Clinton Portis – Got good stats, but gets hurt too much.
• Fred Taylor – Very high on the career stats list, just think he needs a signature moment or game.
• Larry Johnson – Looked like he was headed in the right direction but was last year an abberation or not?

Three pointers

• Warrick Dunn – Been consistent, but not enough big stats
• Edgerrin James – Should’ve stayed with the Colts and got a title and might have had a chance.
• Shaun Alexander – I know he has the stats but I just remember him running out of bounds too much and avoiding hits.

Need More Info - Adrian Peterson

Wide Receivers –

Slam Dunk – Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce

Layups

• Chad Johnson – If he stays with Carson he will get one of those yellow jackets one day
• Terrell Owens – As long as he doesn’t do the same thing in Dallas as he did in Philly and San Fran
• Randy Moss – A couple more years with Brady and he becomes first ballot
• Steve Smith – If he stays a receiver and doesn’t become a full-time boxer.

Three pointers – Its so many guys with good starts to their careers like Braylon Edwards, Reggie Wayne etc, but they have a lot more years to show and prove.

Tight Ends -

Slam Dunks – Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez

Three Pointers – Once again a whole lot of guys like Jason Witten, Jeremy Shockey and Chris Cooley who haven’t put up the numbers long enough.

Here are some random sports thoughts I haven’t gotten much of a chance to post about.

NFL

I still think Brett Farve is a jerk for pulling this, but the Packers have handled this awfully.  The latest move is reminiscent of the Godfather movies.  Apparently they are trying to give him an offer he cannot refuse, $20 million over 10 years to stay retired.  Honestly, that is ridiculous, they basically are spitting on his legacy.  He’s been reinstated by the league, and likely to report to camp on Monday.  The Packers are going to have to eat their pride and get him on the field again.

NFL Hall of Fame

One good thing about the Hall of Fame inductions is by the time a player makes it, he’s been retired for several years.  And as such, you don’t feel guilty for being happy for a rival player.  I’m glad Art Monk finally made it to the Hall.  He’s as deserving as anyone, and unfortunately played the majority of his career in the shadow of Jerry Rice.  Never the scorer Rice was, Monk was the model of consistency.  To make it worse, I also have to give credit to Darrell Green, who for about 20 years was one of the top corners in the league.  Good guys, who for at least one day despite them being Redskins I can be happy for.

MLB

Trade deadline came through with a bang.  Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ivan Rodriguez traded within a few hours of each other.  All certain Hall of Famers, all were traded to premier markets.  All three players, should have a big impact on their new teams, but none more so than Manny.  He’s still the most feared right handed hitter in the league and while he’s been flaky at times, he can carry an offense, and the Dodgers needed a guy like him.  Hopefully, he can spark some life back into Andruw Jones.  The Red Sox took a big risk trading him, but I think they did well in getting a young player back, Jason Bay who is an established pro and can help them immediately.

Olympics

One thing we should know by now, is that despite all the hoopla over steroids in baseball, performance enhancing drugs are everywhere.  The Olympics point this out more so than anything.  Think about it, an Italian fencer was flagged.  The Olympics do stringently test, and has more doping rules than the NCAA has recruiting violations, but the mere fact that swimmers, runners, gymnasts etc are all being caught on various rules demonstrates the extent that athletes (and their trainers and supporting organizations) are willing to go to cheat.  So should we be surprised when a baseball player takes HGH to extend his multimillion dollar career?  Oh, and by the way, this is now the fifth Olympics for NBA players, and they have exactly zero disqualifications.

NCAA Football

West Virginia QB, Pat White stated he never joined the WVU baseball team because the coach, Greg Van Zandt, “wasn’t interested” and was “not too high” on having black players on his team.  He came out and apologized for his statements, saying he “overstated” his feelings on the program.  The thing that is overlooked here, is White’s statements are probably due to the perception of black athletes at WVU.  White was unfortunately likely speaking from rumors and gossip he’d heard on campus.  Whether Zandt actually wants or doesn’t want black players will never truly be known, but he should consider reaching out to black players and ensure that this perception is false.