I'm back!

I’m back! Better than ever, fully recharged and reloaded with more of everything. So much has been going on since my last post, but conversely, there is so much more to come. 2015 promises a lot in the world of sports. Baseball is slowly going the way of boxing and horse racing and the people in that sport don’t even see it. College football has their first playoff and so far its been a success on every level. Track and field is going to have a big year in 2015, and with some new faces and the return of some old ones, I expect some great competitions this summer.

The Super Bowl is looming, both of my favorite NBA teams-the Knicks and Lakers are horribly, woefully bad and the University of Kentucky is assembling another all-star college basketball team to challenge for the title.

Lets not forget the UEFA Champions League, where several teams are vying for supremacy in the greatest club competition on the planet.

So where to begin?

Well, I think I will start with some fearless NFL predictions:

Seattle versus Green Bay, New England versus Indianapolis.

I really admire Russell Wilson and the way he carries himself on the field. That Seattle defense is starting to look like it did last year, and Kam Chancellor in particular (seen here)

 is playing like a man possessed. He has become the modern version of Ronnie Lott; a safety that puts a lick on you early and often and just takes opposing wideouts out of the game mentally.

Green Bay is a very good team, frankly I did not expect them to beat Dallas (that BS rule that cost Dallas a score on 4th and two helped!) but they did. I cant see them beating Seattle though. 24-17 Seattle wins.

Patriots against the Colts? New England can start making Super Bowl plans right now-I give Indy no shot of beating them. None. I expect a beatdown with at least one Revis interception and two Gronk endzone dances. 35-17 Patriots.

And for those who follow and enjoy the NBA, here’s a question:

If an all-alumni tourney was held with current NBA players, who would win? My money would be on the Kentucky pros. A potential team that would include John Wall, Demarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis would be very hard to beat.

And one more thing: Oregon wins their first college football title today. 

See you next week!

10 thoughts for the new NFL season:

I know, I know, my rantings have been missed! Well, its not because I ran out of things to say, so without much ado, here we go!

1.       Cincinnati is a terrible team, Andy Dalton is a decent quarterback, but they won’t be the worst team in football this year. More on that later…

2.       A man named Suh in Detroit is going to be Defensive player of the year. To me, Suh is Reggie White with a ‘tude. If healthy, he is going to be the gold standard of defensive linemen for years to come. I bet some of that comes from his mom’s Jamaican cooking…

3.       The Jets gained some players, lost some players, and overall I think they will take a step back this year. I think they will win the division, Mark Sanchez will have his best season statistically, but they failed to address their D-line needs with veterans and lost Brad Smith, a very underrated part of their team and success. They bow out early in the playoffs.

4.       The Detroit Lions make the playoffs this year. So does the Houston Texans, the Tampa Bay Bucs and the St. Louis Rams.

5.       The New England Patriots will as usual be very good, win at least 10 games and make it to the Super Bowl again. They will lose to Philly. 

6.       I’m not an Eli Manning fan, I don’t think he’s great, but I don’t think he is as overrated as Philip Rivers, Tony Romo or Jay Cutler. Those three are average at best and have seen their best days as professional QB’s

7.       Michael Vick and the Eagles are going to be a monster of a team this year, and if he goes down, I for one have a lot of faith in Vince Young’s ability. I’ll take Vince Young over the other three QB’s I mentioned in #6. In a heartbeat. No, im not crazy, they just aren’t that good.

8.       I like Donovan McNabb a lot. Classy, a gentleman and smart. When you are publicly challenged the way he was first by TO and then by that worm Mike Shanahan, you can do several things. You can react with words or deeds, but letting it go is never one of them. You MUST react, or your credibility as a team leader will forever be in question. Football is not a gentle game for gentle people, it is played by men and if men don’t respect you it’s a wrap. For what its worth, this is his last shot.

9.       Cam Newton is going to be a very good QB. The best young QB’s (3 years or less as a pro) in the game are Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez, Matt Ryan, Josh Freeman and Matthew Stafford. Newton will join that group. I think in a couple of years Sam Bradford will be the best QB in the game.

10.  Sad as it is to fathom, say goodbye to Peyton Manning. I don’t think he will be coming back from his second major neck surgery, and if he does, he will not be close to the player he was before. Its unfortunate and tragic, but we may have seen the last of him, and with that Indy may be the worst team in the league this year. Hey Andrew Luck, I hope you like Indianapolis.

And oh yeah, Go Raiders! Hope springs eternal.....

Goodbye (again) to Brett? Ozzie being Ozzie & Independence Day

Brett Favre is one of all time favorite NFL players. He’s clearly a diva, he can be reckless in his style and his waffling has (once again) proven harmful to his team as they get ready for a new season. But to watch him play is to understand why the NFL is the biggest sport in this country. His style of play, his enthusiasm and the fact that he gives his team a chance to win every single time out is unlike anyone else.

There are some players who when they perform in their sport, the energy, joy and abandon with which they play transcends the game and cannot be scripted. Ken Griffey Jr., before injuries derailed his career trajectory as the greatest of all time, Magic Johnson, Leonel Messi (below,) Kevin Garnett, Usain Bolt, Derek Jeter (R.) Players who you would never question their drive, their desire or their 100% commitment. As the old timers say, the ones who play the right way. Brett Favre goes in that category.

NFL football is possibly the most violent organized sporting contest on the planet. Some may say rugby, but I guarantee that if the average rugby player put on pads and steps on the field in an NFL game he would be destroyed-the speed and size of the NFL players, the abusively violent physical contact in every game is not matched by any other sport. Nineteen years after he first started playing professionally, Brett Favre says again that he is retiring. And in nineteen years he has never missed a game. That to me is the most remarkable record in all of sports.

He plays a position where he is hit all game, by 200 pound + guys coming at full speed. Lesser guys have had shoulders, knees, arms, legs give out over time. Lesser people have had one play end it all for them. Favre played in every game. And won a lot of them. If I were to explain to someone who has never watched the game what makes it so interesting, I’d invite them to watch Favre play. If this is indeed the end of the road, he will be missed.

I like Ozzie Guillen. I liked him as a player and I like him as a manager. He often says some things that on the surface may appear to be inflammatory, but usually have some nugget of truth in them. His most recent comments regarding Latin players, Asian players and PED education seems a little off base. The situation he described with Latin players in baseball is exaggerated, because the numbers of Latin American players in the game now shows that overwhelming support is being provided to these players, often at the expense of many others, including American players. Asian players come to the US usually as polished professionals, not 16 year old kids learning the game. There are no more than a dozen total Asian born players in MLB. There are probably a dozen Latin players on every baseball team. Not to mention coaches, managers and trainers. I think an interpreter may be needed for the ones speaking English. Sorry, but Ozzie is very wrong on this topic.

Other players in baseball-mostly black players have complained about the treatment of minorities in the game, and personally it is disgusting to me that baseball teams are building academies in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and other countries and not doing the same here in the US. The stated reasons for that and the obvious reasons should provide outrage, but it doesn’t.

It should come as no surprise that the percentage of black athletes playing baseball is now under 10%. I wonder how Jackie Robinson would feel about that?

I’m posting this video because its been generating a lot of buzz recently. I may be in a decided minority here, but I actually have very little issue with what transpired. A little back story to this whole affair:

The man on the ground in this video was apprehended by the police. He apparently-in front of witnesses-stabbed his wife to death and then attacked and stabbed others who came to her aid. He was also laying on the ground throwing stones at the ’arresting’ officer, as seen on the video. And according to news reports, he had recently been released from prison after serving time for other violent crimes. In other words he is not a law abiding member of any society by any definition you choose to use. He is, was, and to the end remained a criminal.

While I do not think that the police should be judge, jury and executioner, if we are going to be distraught at the loss of life and barbarism of this situation, let it be centered on his dead wife. He acted like an animal and was put down like one.

The police officer was arrogant in his approach, considering the incident was being watched by a crowd and as we now know being videotaped. He should be punished for what he did, which was murder an unarmed man in cold blood and he and the other officers abused their power. But the lowlife in question stabbed a woman to death, and stabbed those who came to her defense. I cannot feel a second of sympathy for him, as far as I’m concerned, he got his just due.

Two criminals met up that fateful day last week. One didn’t make it and the other will most likely get his just desserts soon, but the only victim here is Loveta Wilson. Save the sympathy for her.

And oh, yeah, this video is one of the funniest things i've seen recently. Some people do some really dumb ish dont they?

 

This week its all about Jamaica...Happy 48th birthday!  The first 47 years of independence may have been rocky, but our people, our spirit and our identity remains stronger than ever......in the words of Sizzla, solid as a rock.