STOP....just stop
Posted by Khari Rose on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
There are some misconceptions floating around the sports world right now that need to stop. The need to be called out. They need to be debunked. they need a swift kick in the ass from the boot of common sense. Sorry, got carried away. Here we go:
STOP...
Telling us an NFL player is a "winner" based on college success. You know when you are a winner? When you are winning at what you are doing at that time. Tim Tebow. Great college career. Has done nothing in the NFL. Other recent "winners" include Vince Young, Jamarcus Russell, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Brady Quinn(inexplicably). Meanwhile guys like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers continue to thrive in the NFL despite modest college careers by comparison. Tebow may be good, but let's wait and see shall we?
Buying into the media's hype up/tear down routine. Minutes after Lebron James decided to join the Miami Heat, "experts" fabricated expectations out of thin air and proceeded to hold the Heat to their imaginary standard for the entire season. A joke was made about winning multiple titles, and it was immediately deemed a prediction that needed to be relived after every loss. They made the NBA Finals after less than one year together, and that was considered a failure. The same thing just happened with the Philadelphia Eagles. They are struggling (a lot) and suddenly they have failed to live up to their "Dream Team" moniker. Vince Young called them a "Dream Team"...consider the source people.
Blaming players for getting locked out. The NBA owners for example, lost a ton of money because they mismanaged horribly. They overpaid mediocre players. That's nobody's fault but their own, and they don't deserve sympathy for it. Any owner of a professional sports franchise who cannot turn even a modest profit in a time when more and more struggling Americans turn to sports for escape, doesn't deserve to own one.
Putting High School sports on mainstream television and in the ESPN top ten. Not only do I not care about a highlight run/dunk/pass/catch made against 15-16 year olds, but this may be the last time sports is truly a game to some of the more talented kids. Let them enjoy the purity of sports before they are shopped around and disenchanted.
Trying to justify Terrell Pryor's suspension. Sure he broke NCAA rules, but he broke NO NFL rules, and that's really where it ends. Goodell tried to say he damaged the integrity of the supplemental draft (what does that even mean?) by making himself ineligible to return to Ohio State, and he doesn't want players trying to escape NCAA punishment by jumping to the NFL. Sorry Roger, but that's none of your concern. And if he damaged your "draft lite" so much, you could have said "No. You are ineligible and cannot be drafted until next year". That would have solved the problem. Instead Roger moved the ENTIRE supplemental draft to allow Pryor to proven his ineligibility. Sounds to me like Goodell did more damage then Terrell. if you want to punish them for NCAA violations, you have to pay them for NCAA success. Which brings me to my next STOP...
Telling me we can't pay college athletes because we would have to pay ALL of them. When the women's water polo team signs a 5 year tv deal or pays for a new Athletic Complex, we can talk.
Acting like college sports aren't totally corrupt. While a player can get suspended for selling merchandise HE earned on the field of play, a school can uproot its entire athletic program with the sole goal of seeking a bigger payday in a different conference on the backs of those athletes. Slavery it isn't...but that doesn't make it right.
Listening to the NCAA. They care only about revenue, and will punish only those who draw enough spotlight. University of Miami sports had a booster pay for prostitutes, abortions, boat trips, clothes, jewelry etc. and they lost a few players for a few games. At the same time they made hundreds of millions from the football program. If the benefits of the crime far outweigh the punishment...why stop breaking the rules?
The Ryan brothers. Rex and Rob must not be paid enough, because they seem to continually write checks their large asses just can't cash. Rex Ryan has predicted Super Bowl victory for at least the past 2 years, but he hasn't been to one yet. Now his team is 2-3 and their only defense appears to be his mouth. Rob Ryan steps outside his mind and says Calvin "Megatron" Johnson would be the 3rd best receiver on the Cowboys. I know, hilarious. But it's even funnier because we all know the second best receiver on the Cowboys is usually one of the opposing team's defensive backs. How about they both shut up until they do something of consequence?
Skip Bayless. It's not funny. It's not clever. It's a tired, predictable act and it's old.
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Feels good to be back.
STOP...
Telling us an NFL player is a "winner" based on college success. You know when you are a winner? When you are winning at what you are doing at that time. Tim Tebow. Great college career. Has done nothing in the NFL. Other recent "winners" include Vince Young, Jamarcus Russell, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Brady Quinn(inexplicably). Meanwhile guys like Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers continue to thrive in the NFL despite modest college careers by comparison. Tebow may be good, but let's wait and see shall we?
Buying into the media's hype up/tear down routine. Minutes after Lebron James decided to join the Miami Heat, "experts" fabricated expectations out of thin air and proceeded to hold the Heat to their imaginary standard for the entire season. A joke was made about winning multiple titles, and it was immediately deemed a prediction that needed to be relived after every loss. They made the NBA Finals after less than one year together, and that was considered a failure. The same thing just happened with the Philadelphia Eagles. They are struggling (a lot) and suddenly they have failed to live up to their "Dream Team" moniker. Vince Young called them a "Dream Team"...consider the source people.
Blaming players for getting locked out. The NBA owners for example, lost a ton of money because they mismanaged horribly. They overpaid mediocre players. That's nobody's fault but their own, and they don't deserve sympathy for it. Any owner of a professional sports franchise who cannot turn even a modest profit in a time when more and more struggling Americans turn to sports for escape, doesn't deserve to own one.
Putting High School sports on mainstream television and in the ESPN top ten. Not only do I not care about a highlight run/dunk/pass/catch made against 15-16 year olds, but this may be the last time sports is truly a game to some of the more talented kids. Let them enjoy the purity of sports before they are shopped around and disenchanted.
Trying to justify Terrell Pryor's suspension. Sure he broke NCAA rules, but he broke NO NFL rules, and that's really where it ends. Goodell tried to say he damaged the integrity of the supplemental draft (what does that even mean?) by making himself ineligible to return to Ohio State, and he doesn't want players trying to escape NCAA punishment by jumping to the NFL. Sorry Roger, but that's none of your concern. And if he damaged your "draft lite" so much, you could have said "No. You are ineligible and cannot be drafted until next year". That would have solved the problem. Instead Roger moved the ENTIRE supplemental draft to allow Pryor to proven his ineligibility. Sounds to me like Goodell did more damage then Terrell. if you want to punish them for NCAA violations, you have to pay them for NCAA success. Which brings me to my next STOP...
Telling me we can't pay college athletes because we would have to pay ALL of them. When the women's water polo team signs a 5 year tv deal or pays for a new Athletic Complex, we can talk.
Acting like college sports aren't totally corrupt. While a player can get suspended for selling merchandise HE earned on the field of play, a school can uproot its entire athletic program with the sole goal of seeking a bigger payday in a different conference on the backs of those athletes. Slavery it isn't...but that doesn't make it right.
Listening to the NCAA. They care only about revenue, and will punish only those who draw enough spotlight. University of Miami sports had a booster pay for prostitutes, abortions, boat trips, clothes, jewelry etc. and they lost a few players for a few games. At the same time they made hundreds of millions from the football program. If the benefits of the crime far outweigh the punishment...why stop breaking the rules?
The Ryan brothers. Rex and Rob must not be paid enough, because they seem to continually write checks their large asses just can't cash. Rex Ryan has predicted Super Bowl victory for at least the past 2 years, but he hasn't been to one yet. Now his team is 2-3 and their only defense appears to be his mouth. Rob Ryan steps outside his mind and says Calvin "Megatron" Johnson would be the 3rd best receiver on the Cowboys. I know, hilarious. But it's even funnier because we all know the second best receiver on the Cowboys is usually one of the opposing team's defensive backs. How about they both shut up until they do something of consequence?
Skip Bayless. It's not funny. It's not clever. It's a tired, predictable act and it's old.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feels good to be back.
Tags: stop tebow ncaa eagles pryor nfl goodell
