Let me begin with the five worst performances in the NFL last weekend. And there were plenty to choose from…
5. Bucs: Two weeks ago, they kicked a field goal with no time remaining to avoid a shutout. On Sunday, they had a shutout at halftime against Atlanta; the Falcons’ top two RBs were hurt in the third quarter; the Bucs still coughed up the game. Pathetic.
4. Lions: They had a total of minus-3 yards rushing for the game; they turned the ball over 6 times. Their record is 2-11; no surprise there.
3. Jets: They had an easy path to the playoffs if they just beat the teams on the schedule with lesser records. Now they have an uphill road ahead of them. They gave up TD plays of 57 and 77 yards and had an interception returned 58 yards for a TD. Feh!
2. Patriots: This is their inaugural appearance on this list. The Dolphins shut them out and held them to a net of 66 yards passing. ‘Nuff said…
1. Colts: This is their inaugural appearance on this list. They gave up 375 yards rushing on Sunday. That’s a lot even if the opponents are driving racecars.
There were reports that the NFL is considering exercising an option in its contract with the folks in Hawaii who stage the Pro Bowl and moving the game out of Honolulu. This is part of the “globalization strategy” of the NFL; they think they can play this game in some foreign venue and “grow the brand”. Look, players invent excuses not to go to Honolulu to play in this waste of time and Honolulu is a garden spot. Imagine playing this game in February in Beijing where it’s freezing cold or in Adelaide where it’s boiling hot. That’ll get All-Pro players to go there… I can see it now; starting at QB for the Eastern Conference team … Chris Weinke…
Here’s an idea for the Pro Bowl that has synergy. It solves a couple of problems at the same time. I’ll give it to the NFL for free:
NFL signs a partnership agreement with NASA
When NASA builds that permanent base at the South Pole of the Moon, they can play the Pro-Bowl there.
That takes NFL football extra-terrestrial not just international AND it gives NASA something to do with that base on the Moon. If they don’t use if for that, maybe they can build a Federal penal colony there with no guards. No jailbreaks here; once outside, there’s no – - oxygen.
The word is that the Philadelphia 76ers will trade Allen Iverson. Long-term readers of these rants will recall that I have thought that the Sixers should trade Iverson for the last four seasons – and I am not an Allen Iverson hater. I actually enjoy watching Iverson play for the simple reason that he plays hard every minute he’s on the floor and that just is not the case for 90% of the players in the NBA. Now, the reports are that Iverson has demanded a trade and the team will accommodate him.
Let’s get something out of the way at the beginning. The Sixers will not receive anything close to “equal value” for Iverson. That does not happen when big NBA stars are traded; that does not happen when the team is forced to make a trade; that makes it a “buyers’ market”. Even though the Sixers are last in the putrid Atlantic Division, they will likely be worse after the trade. But that’s what the team has to do if it is going to accumulate a roster that might actually challenge for a playoff spot in the future. They have to get worse; jettison Chris Webber; draft wisely, jettison Chris Webber; pick up some free agents who really do have the ability to play as well as they did in their contract years; jettison Chris Webber; and be ready to lose for a couple of years before they win again.
There are two important points in that last paragraph that I don’t want you to miss so let me emphasize:
The Sixers have to jettison Chris Webber. He is so far over the hill, you can’t even contact him by radio.
The Atlantic Division is putrid. The Sixers are in last place with a record of 5-15 at the moment. Nevertheless, they are only 3 games out of first place in the division; the Nets lead this pack of dogs with a record of 8-12. Pass the Lysol spray, folks…
The NBA Western Conference is the dominant conference by a huge margin. In the Eastern Conference, there are only four teams with winning records this morning. In the Western Conference, there are only five teams with losing records. Of course, none of this matters even a whit now because NBA teams need to be at their best in April, May and June. Wake me as March Madness is coming to a close…
Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle had an interesting analysis on why his team seemed so prone to turnovers:
“Sometimes we’re trying to throw the ball through a defender’s nose and have it come out his rear end and go to a teammate.”
For the record, that’s just not all that likely to work real well…
Finally, here’s syndicated columnist, Norman Chad, on what’s wrong with basketball:
“Everyone’s flopping around. The block/charge call ruins the game. Do you see Champ Bailey trying to draw a charge from Chad Johnson in the NFL? And nobody can ever agree on the block/charge. Heck, Marbury v. Madison was an easier decision than, say, Marbury v. Bavetta.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…