This may be coming from a region of my body that usually only extracts sounds and smells that have been described as not human, or it could be that 5 years of destroying my brain in college has caught up with me, but I can't help but think that athletes today have a hidden agenda when it comes to their use of Twitter. Sure, there are some that just like to have their business and thoughts out there because they love them some them, and others were told it would be a good marketing move and make them more personable to their fans, but I know there has to be a few athletes out there with the understanding that they will need to make money once they retire and what better way for them to make money than to get paid to talk about the sport they once played.
It's no secret that Twitter isn't going away, and in a society that wants the latest news and updates immediately, with the push for being the first person to crack a story, there isn't anyone closer to the action than athletes. If someone can tweet something polarizing enough to spark a conversation or be the first to break the news about someone being fired, hired, traded, signed, arrested, injured... the list goes on... then what better source is there than the people that were just there?
I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that people will start to get paid for breaking stories on Twitter and sharing their thoughts throughout championship games and other major sporting events. Hell, they do it now for free!
But, like I said, I could be just be talking out one of my loud and smelly orifice.
You can listen to me talk sports every Thursday night from 6-8pm Central on www.slaminternetradio.com and read some of my other work on www.bleacherreport.com.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
He didn't die? Inconceivable!
I don't have any questions about Jay Cutler's toughness. The idea that he is a wuss and soft and quit on his team is ridiculous and anyone that believes he took the easy way out should be taken out back and roughed up old school Vegas-style. He has been sacked 85 times the last two seasons, the most of any NFL quarterback over that span, with 52 of them coming this year (second most sacked QB this season was Joe Flacco with 40). And let's not forgot the 9 sacks his took in the 1st half against the Giants that led to a concussion and him missing the first game of his 5-year career the next week. What's amazing to me is this doesn't even include the number of times he has been hit while delivering a pass. The man has been put on his back more than a college girl when Ben Roethlisberger is around and he is still seen as soft.
What is most disturbing about the backlash Cutler has received is the amount that has come from current players around the league. Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars, Darnell Dockett of the Cardinals and Bruce Gradkowski (yes, he's still in the league and no, I don't know how) of the Raiders all had something to say about Cutler not returning to the game. MJD tweeted, "...All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee ... I played the whole season on one." Dockett wasn't as nice with his tweet, "If I'm on chicago team jay cutler has to wait till me and the team shower get dressed and leave before he comes in the locker room! #FACT." What Gradkowski said isn't worth the time to find and post because, well, he's Bruce Gradkowski; second-string quarterback behind Jason Campbell... but he was damn glad to meet you.
MJD's comment made me chuckle after I read it; not because I thought it was funny, but because this man missed the final two games of the regular season, with his team in playoff contention, because of... wait for it... a KNEE INJURY! Oh yeah, he came out the next day and said he was trying to make a joke and that his comments were taken the wrong way. Uh huh, and Jack Burton was just kidding when he said it was all in the reflexes.
What Dockett said is the reason PR people will never be out of work. His tweet was a prime example of someone having the ability to share his thoughts when clearly he needs someone to tell him what to say to not sound like a moron. So much for solidarity and respecting the brotherhood of being an NFL player...
Everyone in the country had an opinion of what Jay Cutler should have done and how he felt with none of them knowing the facts. None knew that, according to his center Olin Kreutz, his leg was shaking during the 2nd quarter after he suffered the injury and yet he finished the half. Then there was the minor detail of how he talked the training staff to let him give it a go to start the 3rd quarter, even though they told him to not go back onto the field, but I suppose that doesn't count either. Like a friend of mine said, he should have called for a stretcher to be taken off the field instead of trying to man up and tough it out to help his team win. And apparently Jay Cutler is so disliked around the league that he even caught static for going out to dinner that night and using the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Because trying to not get your head torn off by very large, very strong and very angry men on the football field requires the same mobility and agility as walking up a flight of stairs and then sitting down to eat dinner.
In the end, all this has become is a convenient story for the Cutler haters out there to pound their chest in exhalation to proclaim that they were right about him being a bum and that the Bears should have never traded away Kyle Orton (how did Denver fair this year?) for him. Never mind that he has had the best two-year stretch of any quarterback in Bears history; forget the fact that he got a team picked to finish no better than .500 by most people to the NFC title game. After all, it was all his fault that the Bears lost the game. It had nothing to do with Lovie Smith and Mike Martz getting out coached, the special teams unit getting beat by an inferior squad, or the Packers being a better and more talented team. Nope... the loss goes squarely on Jay Cutler's shoulders. He quit on the team and that's why they lost.
It's going to be a long offseason...
What is most disturbing about the backlash Cutler has received is the amount that has come from current players around the league. Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jaguars, Darnell Dockett of the Cardinals and Bruce Gradkowski (yes, he's still in the league and no, I don't know how) of the Raiders all had something to say about Cutler not returning to the game. MJD tweeted, "...All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee ... I played the whole season on one." Dockett wasn't as nice with his tweet, "If I'm on chicago team jay cutler has to wait till me and the team shower get dressed and leave before he comes in the locker room! #FACT." What Gradkowski said isn't worth the time to find and post because, well, he's Bruce Gradkowski; second-string quarterback behind Jason Campbell... but he was damn glad to meet you.
MJD's comment made me chuckle after I read it; not because I thought it was funny, but because this man missed the final two games of the regular season, with his team in playoff contention, because of... wait for it... a KNEE INJURY! Oh yeah, he came out the next day and said he was trying to make a joke and that his comments were taken the wrong way. Uh huh, and Jack Burton was just kidding when he said it was all in the reflexes.
What Dockett said is the reason PR people will never be out of work. His tweet was a prime example of someone having the ability to share his thoughts when clearly he needs someone to tell him what to say to not sound like a moron. So much for solidarity and respecting the brotherhood of being an NFL player...
Everyone in the country had an opinion of what Jay Cutler should have done and how he felt with none of them knowing the facts. None knew that, according to his center Olin Kreutz, his leg was shaking during the 2nd quarter after he suffered the injury and yet he finished the half. Then there was the minor detail of how he talked the training staff to let him give it a go to start the 3rd quarter, even though they told him to not go back onto the field, but I suppose that doesn't count either. Like a friend of mine said, he should have called for a stretcher to be taken off the field instead of trying to man up and tough it out to help his team win. And apparently Jay Cutler is so disliked around the league that he even caught static for going out to dinner that night and using the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Because trying to not get your head torn off by very large, very strong and very angry men on the football field requires the same mobility and agility as walking up a flight of stairs and then sitting down to eat dinner.
In the end, all this has become is a convenient story for the Cutler haters out there to pound their chest in exhalation to proclaim that they were right about him being a bum and that the Bears should have never traded away Kyle Orton (how did Denver fair this year?) for him. Never mind that he has had the best two-year stretch of any quarterback in Bears history; forget the fact that he got a team picked to finish no better than .500 by most people to the NFC title game. After all, it was all his fault that the Bears lost the game. It had nothing to do with Lovie Smith and Mike Martz getting out coached, the special teams unit getting beat by an inferior squad, or the Packers being a better and more talented team. Nope... the loss goes squarely on Jay Cutler's shoulders. He quit on the team and that's why they lost.
It's going to be a long offseason...
·
Monday, January 3, 2011
Don't hate the players...
If I have to hear one more person say that they feel bad for Tampa Bay
Neither the Buccaneers nor the Giants are going to enjoy watching the 7-9 Seahawks host a playoff game while they are home or on vacation, but that’s life in the NFL.Seattle
If you’re going to say that only teams with a winning record should be allowed in the playoffs then what is the point of having divisions? Aren’t you supposed to reward your division winner by allowing them to advance to the playoffs? Isn’t that why there aren’t just two conferences with the top 6 teams from each battling it out? In a society that loves the underdog more than some members of their own family, shouldn't the Seahawks be embraced for being the first team with a sub .500 record to make the playoffs since the strike-shortened year of 1982? Maybe if they had a few ex-felons on their roster then the public would accept them more; does it help that Pete Carroll was one of the dirtiest college coaches the nation has ever seen? How about that Mike Williams is back after eating himself out of the league?
True, the Seahawks are probably one of the worst teams to ever make the playoffs and would need to win the Super Bowl to even finish with a winning record, but that doesn't mean they aren't deserving of a playoff berth. They came out and beat the newest golden boy of the NFL, Sam Bradford, with their backup quarterback and a roster that had the greatest turnover from last season. The Seahawks played one of their best games of the year and did so when the pressure was the greatest. Their 30th ranked defense held the Rams to under 200 total yards on offense and their franchise record-settingly bad running game racked up over 140 yards. Plain and simple, Seattle played like a playoff team Sunday night and earned the right to represent their division.
You wanted parity, NFL? Thy name is Seattle.
Neither the Buccaneers nor the Giants are going to enjoy watching the 7-9 Seahawks host a playoff game while they are home or on vacation, but that’s life in the NFL.
If you’re going to say that only teams with a winning record should be allowed in the playoffs then what is the point of having divisions? Aren’t you supposed to reward your division winner by allowing them to advance to the playoffs? Isn’t that why there aren’t just two conferences with the top 6 teams from each battling it out? In a society that loves the underdog more than some members of their own family, shouldn't the Seahawks be embraced for being the first team with a sub .500 record to make the playoffs since the strike-shortened year of 1982? Maybe if they had a few ex-felons on their roster then the public would accept them more; does it help that Pete Carroll was one of the dirtiest college coaches the nation has ever seen? How about that Mike Williams is back after eating himself out of the league?
True, the Seahawks are probably one of the worst teams to ever make the playoffs and would need to win the Super Bowl to even finish with a winning record, but that doesn't mean they aren't deserving of a playoff berth. They came out and beat the newest golden boy of the NFL, Sam Bradford, with their backup quarterback and a roster that had the greatest turnover from last season. The Seahawks played one of their best games of the year and did so when the pressure was the greatest. Their 30th ranked defense held the Rams to under 200 total yards on offense and their franchise record-settingly bad running game racked up over 140 yards. Plain and simple, Seattle played like a playoff team Sunday night and earned the right to represent their division.
You wanted parity, NFL? Thy name is Seattle.
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