There is something happening in the universe and I have yet to put my finger on it. I looked up at the open sky and the sun and moon were rotating, as they should. I am still convinced that there’s a phenomenon taking place. I know I cannot be the only one witnessing the downward spiral of the Indianapolis Colts and more specifically, their future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, Peyton Manning.
If there is someone I have to explain this significance to, okay, here it is: Manning is considered to be among the top 2 (maybe 4 if you’re considering Vick and Rivers) quarterbacks in the League and he has held this reign for some time now. Unlike many teams and quarterbacks, for that matter, a deficit to Manning was nothing as he scored viciously in 4th-quarter come backs and flawlessly executed 2-minute drills. Along with donning NFL’s highest jewel (the ring), he also comes from thorough pedigree stock… So, you have the cliff notes of his pro career… Which adds the bigger question mark to the end of what is going on?
It makes me sit back and wonder if he was always this tremendous pocket passer or if it was all the doing of his supporting cast. Manning was part of an outstanding dynasty of names and grandeur that reclaiming that roster (the talent at least) would be near to impossible. Well, that’s where he seems to live these days… impossible that they’ve loss another game; impossible that the receiver just isn’t Jerry Rice; impossible that all his weapons (I mean all) live outside the lines now with injuries. Manning blames himself for the Colts’ losses and that’s an honorable move as it acknowledges his athletic mortality and the awareness that without his supporting cast, his top rankings are bottoms up.
Okay, so Miami Heat’s LeBron James is a finalist for TIME magazine’s Person of the Year (Yes, you’ve guessed it, I’m drained already.). This honor has previously been given to Dr. Martin Luther King and Ghandi… so, choosing LeBron for consideration would only be natural, right?
I’m with the analyst who say’s win a championship first and then maybe the consideration would be warranted. It’s just a funny representation of where these United States of America (like the way I said that, huh?) spend their time.
Now, in all fairness, this “honor” is based on who made the most news within the particular year and with that in mind, LeBron is definitely a contender (Was I the only one to think of Marlon Brando here?). He’s in good company with President Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Sarah Palin, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, conservative commentator Glenn Beck, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan… LeBron fits right in, right?
A part of me is happy that he’s living his life like it’s golden, but the other side just wishes he would earn the level of celebrity that he has garnered.
Any time a professional player says some variation of “I’ll do what I want”… I think you can expect trouble.
I’m definitely an afar-off-admirer of Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver Randy Moss (His locale could be changing any time while reading this post.), but his behavior is suspect. I guess more specifically, he is just a primadonna with tremendous skill and I’m not sure why it’s still tolerated within the National Football League, or professional sports for that matter.
What does it say to aspiring athletes or young people as a whole?… As long as I have skill I can act however I choose?? It is a poor example of sportsmanship and it shows a great lack of character. I have watched Moss back when he was with the Raiders and his antics were the same… I don’t get my way, I don’t play. I often get into friendly disputes over the Randy versus T.O. battle and my message is the same. Yes, both are talented and some say Randy is the better player, but T.O., within the lines, is the professional you’ve paid him to be. Forget age, or that balls have been dropped, or even his off-the-field frolicking… On the field, he takes the hard hits, he’s not afraid of the middle, and he doesn’t give up on plays. Now for Moss, it’s just the opposite. Let him not like the quarterback or feel that his number isn’t being called enough, or of late, that he was fined and now he’s not taking questions from the press… He won’t play. He sits on the sidelines with the quality-quilted towel gently tossed over his head and looks out into nothingness.
I hope Moss finds a place where he can spend his last years … A place where he can, hopefully, display sportsmanlike conduct and maturity. Otherwise, his legacy as a Hall of Famer will always resound, “When he wanted to play he was one of the best at his position…”
I must say, I was actually shocked to hear about Minnesota Vikings’ veteran quarterback, Brett Favre, being in the media fire for inappropriate behavior.
A realist in nature, I believe everyone falls from grace or has the propensity to, but I guess the question in my mind is to what level. Favre has allegedly (only in America do you always have to add this word) sent inappropriate messages and pictures to a former Jets hostess (I believe that’s her title. It’s so vague.). And since this initial accusation, two other women (who remain anonymous) have come out to say similar things happened to them.
For me, those Levi commercials and his speckled beard just don’t ring out another-professional-athlete-superstar-misusing-his-power (ding ding) to me. A saint, no, but this?… And that’s my point… I mean, okay, have a bar fight or even drag racing, but sending racy pictures a.k.a “sexting” is disgusting. Favre isn’t exactly L.L. Cool J. I guess I need to up the barometer for realist-ism.
My question is… Do you believe players are still afraid [intimidated, fearful] of Baltimore Ravens’ veteran defensive player, Ray Lewis?
I started off with this question because it’s been piercing my mind for a few days now. I respect the man. A veteran of 15 years in the NFL—and still being effective—is nothing to sneeze at. But I do wonder just what is in the mind space of the opponent standing across from Ray.
He’s held every defensive title possible and has garnered the respect of the League. He’s a father figure, professional role model, a brother to a lot of these players, someone who has faced trouble and rebounded, and he’s never been void of passion. I do remember a time, though, when different variations of the word “intimidate” laced his name as dominating adjectives when talking about the man on the field. I am by no means calling Ray a has been or over the hill, his smacks on opponents this season alone renders that argument moot. I am asking, still, is there a fear present in the opponents’ eyes?
I asked a few football fans and they said no… That maybe rookies did, but for the most part, no. I feel like I’m leaning toward yes… I say this because you just never know with Ray, and for me, one should fear that. When you least expect to be laying on your back, that’s when you are. I do know there’s a resounding respect for him, if anything else… But, yep, this one is a yes for me.
I’m feeling some type of way, y’all, about what I’ve been seeing on major networks… and some commercials in general. Man, my thing is, just let sleeping dogs lie (Uh, maybe poor choice of idioms, but my intention held no malice. LOL!)…
So, if you’ve watched a single segment of any sports’ program recently, you know that Michael Vick is now apparently the second coming. As the latest crowned quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, Vick has perfected his game—accelerating his passing game and perfecting his running prowess—is being mentioned with the great veteran quarterbacks. I love it! I’m glad he’s back and because he spent a good deal of time off the field, he’s fresher than the average 30-year-old quarterback who may have had an uninterrupted career.
Surely, if you’ve lived on this planet for any amount of time you’ll know that Vick was part of this horrific group who funded and operated dog fighting rings (hence the poor usage above) and obviously supervised while animals were injured and killed. He served his time, along with attending various help classes, and he also donated to several charities. Now, you fast forward to today and Vick has all the analysts’ tongues wagging (OMG! Another one… I’m telling you, I guess you just don’t know how much you use dogisms to make a point.) and team officials wishing they’d chosen him. So, now that he’s the man on top, there are some haters out there who want to bring his past back to the nations’ attention by displaying just how horrible the superstar NFL player really is. Really?
Why? He served his time. I’m sure he’s learned a great deal and now he’s trying to get on with his life… Shouldn’t everyone else, too? There are so many examples I could pose here for conversation sake, but I’m sure you all can go through your mental rolodex to note a handfull, too. With not minimizing his actions, I want to add that the man didn’t kill another person. And, as a pet lover I was disgusted by this entire story, but at the same time I’m not trying to be his judge and jury each time his face or stats go across the screen in a positive manner… Why can’t people create commercials and such that relay the message that he’s a real life example of how you can make bad decisions, deal with the consequences, and still make it? Man, sometimes I just wonder what planet I’m really on.
What 18-year-old do you know who… if given the opportunity to better his family’s situation… while having someone totally handle any potential heat… and all the while doing what he or she loves… would turn down the chance to do so (I’ll wait…)? You don’t know any either, right? So, please tell me why one really fast bus is leaving skid marks on one superstar NFL football player?
In general, I’m not a fan of being thrown under the bus, but this one is for the record books, literally… Or, at least, was for the record books. Reggie Bush, 2005 Heisman Trophy winner from University of Southern California (USC), is now a superstar player with the New Orleans Saints… He also had to return that trophy this week. Some argue that he should be able to keep the trophy, based solely on his performance on the field… That the allegations surrounding his situation, then, were off-the-field issues.
I think I’m gonna agree with that side of the fence. How many years removed are we from this presentation of the trophy, and please enlighten me on how this removal is taking away from any stat he accumulates or charity work he does today? It’s a shame and honestly, too much to get into in this post, but the punishment (I feel) doesn’t necessarily fit the “crime”.
I think people sometime forget how they’d like to be treated if they found themselves in certain situations. And, just like honest people looted in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina to provide for their family, I’m not sure I’ll ever meet an 18-year-old who would be willing to see their family’s struggle remain if they could do something to change it for the better.
So, I was sitting on the couch with a friend (a guy; valuable for later) and Hubby just shooting the breeze, nothing special. Hubby went upstairs and then came back down with an excited, “expectant” look on his face.
He says, “Honey, guess who was traded to the Ravens?”, and we all starred at each other. I was totally unsure of the answer, secretly hoping that T.O. had been miraculously traded from the Cincinnati Bengals. I guess I was just taken aback by his overall expectation that I’d just know… period. After the stare was obviously getting us no where and Hubby wasn’t answering our question of what the position was being filled, I yelled out (sorta squinting my eyes in doubt) “Houshmandzadeh” (yes, I checked the spelling)!
Ding, ding, ding… I was right! Who knew? I couldn’t believe it. Why was “Houshmandzadeh” even in my vocabulary (Crack up!)? And, Hubby was completely overjoyed as I’m sure he felt the glee of hoisting the my-wife-knows-sports trophy over his head. For me, it was more of a process of elite-player elimination… In which T.J. fit the bill with being part of the shocking ones (at least for me) who were let go from their respective roster.
I mean, I love sports (It’s obvious.) and with this time of year coming up (Uh football, not fall… Ugh!), I could just run naked outside with the deer and chickens (well almost…). And although it was pure sports’ knowledge for me, it was much more for him. Significant others, I’m telling you, it’s worth the hoisting of the trophy… Especially when you’re the only lady in the room (major shopping points… Hey, I’m still a woman, too!).
Man… it is still Rodney King who said it best… Okay, so you all know I’m not the biggest LeBron James‘ fan, but after reading an article about a man suing LeBron (and his mom), I’m sorta hoping he comes out on top on this one (Uh, well, if it’s not true).
D.C. lawyer, Leicester Bryce Stovell (funny and similar letters, huh?), is suing LeBron and his mom, Gloria, basically because he says he’s LeBron’s father and they’re saying he’s not. That’s it in a nutshell. Stovell is saying he met Gloria in a Washington bar and restaurant (Uh rah, she was like 15 or 16 at the time, but let’s go along with it.), hooked up with her, and didn’t see her again… Obviously, creating LeBron. Stovell appears to be a bit salty because he’s being denied paternity (Paternity? Crack up! Isn’t LeBron like 62? Doesn’t this happen when the child is like 3 months?).
LeBron’s attorneys are like, really dude, you didn’t want anything to do with this kid (apparently) and now he has one of the biggest contracts in NBA history and it is simultaneously lining up with you wanting to be in your alleged kid’s life? Wow… (NOTE: This was me paraphrasing the attorneys’ words… Not sure if “dude” was actually in the court notes.).
Integrity and dignity are the only two things I’m bringing up… I hope these traits prevail.
Hey Readers, this is Hubby. Let me apologize for the lull in posting… Wife and I are enjoying the warm ocean waves in the Dominican Republic and this excellent experience on the Punta Cana resort doesn´t feed the desire to stop and post, but the beat goes on, right?… Anyway, here are my vacation ponderings…
As you may know my wife, the standard blogger here, has never denied her love for the L.A. Lakers. We happened to be watching ESPN and the story about Pau Gasol truly intrigued us. As a young man, Pau had two things he wished to become and do: a basketball player and a doctor. Here is the interesting thing… the catalyst for his desire to become a doctor was watching one of his basketball idols, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, announcing his retirement because he had contracted HIV. I remember watching that same press conference and feeling that same sense of loss that I am sure Pau felt at that moment. It is in these times of loss that we, human beings, tend to find real appreciation in a person, place, or thing. It is also in these times of loss that we resolve to make changes and hopefully changes that benefit our family, our community, our nation… you get it? But anyway…
According to the story Pau decided to pursue his dream of professional basketball and put his medical studies on hold. He could not continue his rigorous schedule of both medical and basketball training. What came to my mind reading his story is the fact that no matter how famous, successful, or prominent we become we still all have to make choices that will affect our present and future reality. According to Pau, he believed that he would be able to pursue his medical career after his basketball playing days were over. Even if he gets the chance to accomplish this, he still had to choose at one point in his life.
