The Brett Favre-Green Bay Packers soap opera continues with new daily updates and 24/7 coverage. Today, details are emerging that the Packers are offering Favre around $20 million to stay retired.
The smartest decision for Brett is to take the money and stay in Mississippi. The reason can be summarized by two words: Madden Curse.
That’s right; No. 4 is this year’s cover athlete for EA Sports Madden NFL ’09 video game. Favre is a good choice coming off one of his best years statistically. In a record setting year he threw for 28 touchdowns, 4,155 yards with his highest completion percentage ever (66.5).
However, Brett just needs to examine what’s happened to other Madden cover athletes to see a dark omen.
In 2003, quarterback Michael Vick broke his leg just one day after the Madden game hit store shelves.
Two years later, another quarterback Donovan McNabb, suffered a sports hernia in the opening week and ended up throwing nine interceptions in nine games (one more than the previous season). Not to mention, there was all that drama with Terrell Owens that split Philadelphia apart.
Even league MVP’s have fallen to the curse. Running back Shaun Alexander had a monster 2005 season, rushing for a record 27 touchdowns and 1,880 yards. After gracing the Madden cover, Alexander broke his foot missing six games in ‘06 and then last year cracked his wrist and averaged a career low 3.5 yards per carry.
If the Packers are being serious with their million dollar offer, Favre should take the opportunity to preserve his legacy and move on with life.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
There’s no doubt about it
Two-thirds of the way through the 2008 MLB season and home teams have the highest winning figures in 30 years. That’s right if they don’t win this year, it is a shame.
Entering today’s games the team donning those home whites had a 870-659 record, which translates to winning 57 percent of games (.569). This advantage would be more evident without interleague play, because National League clubs went just 56-70 against their American League counterparts at home.
Look at some of these numbers: Boston is 36-11 at Fenway, the Cubs are 38-12 playing in the ivy confines of Wrigley and the Tampa Bay Rays are a terrific 40-16 at home. Three teams playing above .700 at home.
On the flip side there are only four teams with winning road records, the LA Angels, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Consequently all those teams are in the early pennant hunt.
So what’s going on here? Is this just an abnormality or is it a growing trend?
LA Angels manager Mike Scioscia took a shot at answering that question when he said “..you’re trying to play 81 games in the same ballpark, you certainly want to pay attention to the little nuances of your park and the type of offensive club you have to bring onto the field.”
Scioscia certainly strikes a chord. There are more quirks and unique features in today’s ballparks than in old stadiums of the last 20 years. So the types of players on the field matter.
The bigger factor here is the way teams manage close games at home versus when they’re on the road. If a game enters the ninth inning in a tie, the home team usually turns to their best bullpen player to pitch, the closer. The home team gets the last at bat, which typically comes against the second or third best bullpen player from the opposing team. That matters when one run determines the game.
It’s way too early to say this is a trend, but it is something to watch the rest of this year and into next season.
Entering today’s games the team donning those home whites had a 870-659 record, which translates to winning 57 percent of games (.569). This advantage would be more evident without interleague play, because National League clubs went just 56-70 against their American League counterparts at home.
Look at some of these numbers: Boston is 36-11 at Fenway, the Cubs are 38-12 playing in the ivy confines of Wrigley and the Tampa Bay Rays are a terrific 40-16 at home. Three teams playing above .700 at home.
On the flip side there are only four teams with winning road records, the LA Angels, Philadelphia, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Consequently all those teams are in the early pennant hunt.
So what’s going on here? Is this just an abnormality or is it a growing trend?
LA Angels manager Mike Scioscia took a shot at answering that question when he said “..you’re trying to play 81 games in the same ballpark, you certainly want to pay attention to the little nuances of your park and the type of offensive club you have to bring onto the field.”
Scioscia certainly strikes a chord. There are more quirks and unique features in today’s ballparks than in old stadiums of the last 20 years. So the types of players on the field matter.
The bigger factor here is the way teams manage close games at home versus when they’re on the road. If a game enters the ninth inning in a tie, the home team usually turns to their best bullpen player to pitch, the closer. The home team gets the last at bat, which typically comes against the second or third best bullpen player from the opposing team. That matters when one run determines the game.
It’s way too early to say this is a trend, but it is something to watch the rest of this year and into next season.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Perfect storm sinks M's
Closing in on the last third of the MLB season and the biggest disappointment in 2008 is none other than the Seattle Mariners. Picked by many ESPN experts to win their division the M’s are floundering with the worst record in the American League, just fractions ahead of having the worst record in all of baseball.
How bad have things gotten in Seattle? Their prospects of doing anything this season sailed away in June after being swept at home by the Washington Nationals. Now, the Mariners and their $117 million payroll (ninth highest in the majors) are left simply hoping to avoid 100-plus losses.
Former GM Bill Bavasi bears the brunt of responsibility for this Northwest mess. Bavasi blew millions on questionable free agent signings, chiefly on Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre. But there are also the pitchers he inked including Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, Carlos Silva and inexplicably Jeff Weaver.
Sexson, the biggest financial drain, was inept in all facets of the game from hitting to defense to baserunning. When the M’s recently released their first baseman, despite owning him the rest of his monster $14 million salary, there’s a glimmer of hope the organization is trying to right the ship.
The question begs though, what took so long?
A perfect storm of mismanagement, untimely injuries and overall poor play sunk the Mariners. With the influx of young talent into the AL West it may be years before we hear from them again.
How bad have things gotten in Seattle? Their prospects of doing anything this season sailed away in June after being swept at home by the Washington Nationals. Now, the Mariners and their $117 million payroll (ninth highest in the majors) are left simply hoping to avoid 100-plus losses.
Former GM Bill Bavasi bears the brunt of responsibility for this Northwest mess. Bavasi blew millions on questionable free agent signings, chiefly on Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre. But there are also the pitchers he inked including Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, Carlos Silva and inexplicably Jeff Weaver.
Sexson, the biggest financial drain, was inept in all facets of the game from hitting to defense to baserunning. When the M’s recently released their first baseman, despite owning him the rest of his monster $14 million salary, there’s a glimmer of hope the organization is trying to right the ship.
The question begs though, what took so long?
A perfect storm of mismanagement, untimely injuries and overall poor play sunk the Mariners. With the influx of young talent into the AL West it may be years before we hear from them again.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
All-Star madness
MLB commissioner Bud Selig’s blunder was nearly on full display Tuesday night, well, make that Wednesday morning.
Texas shortstop Michael Young and exhausted Pilly closer Bard Lidge spared Selig some embarrassment.
Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, gave the American League a 4-3 win, a mere 4-hours and 50-minutes after it started. For Lidge the sac fly was the end of insanity that saw him warm up and sit down about a half-dozen times.
The headache for both managers during this epic game was due to the fact that somebody had to win and they were both out of pitchers.
Talk about absurdity, a glorified exhibition game between a hodgepodge of stars determines who gets an advantage in October!?! What happened to the other 162 games that each team plays? They don’t really count anymore.
“This time it counts” dates back to 2003 when a terrible two-year experiment began awarding home-field advantage to the All-Star winning league. This Dr. Frankenstein-esque mistake came after Selig called the 2002 All-Star Game a tie. In part, MLB was to looking to help boost sagging TV ratings.
But it’s just more hype. If baseball were truly looking to really boost TV viewership they could try throwing out the first pitch before 8:45 ET. Isn’t All-Star weekend a great chance to attract young fans?
Baseball ought to give up on this madness. They need to follow all the other professional sports and award home-field advantage in the World Series to the team with the better regular season record.
I can’t say this would have been Selig’s biggest gaffe, but could you imagine Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew or Mets third baseman David Wright on the mound deciding which league gets home-field advantage?
We were almost there yesterday, and it’s a ridiculous prospect.
Texas shortstop Michael Young and exhausted Pilly closer Bard Lidge spared Selig some embarrassment.
Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, gave the American League a 4-3 win, a mere 4-hours and 50-minutes after it started. For Lidge the sac fly was the end of insanity that saw him warm up and sit down about a half-dozen times.
The headache for both managers during this epic game was due to the fact that somebody had to win and they were both out of pitchers.
Talk about absurdity, a glorified exhibition game between a hodgepodge of stars determines who gets an advantage in October!?! What happened to the other 162 games that each team plays? They don’t really count anymore.
“This time it counts” dates back to 2003 when a terrible two-year experiment began awarding home-field advantage to the All-Star winning league. This Dr. Frankenstein-esque mistake came after Selig called the 2002 All-Star Game a tie. In part, MLB was to looking to help boost sagging TV ratings.
But it’s just more hype. If baseball were truly looking to really boost TV viewership they could try throwing out the first pitch before 8:45 ET. Isn’t All-Star weekend a great chance to attract young fans?
Baseball ought to give up on this madness. They need to follow all the other professional sports and award home-field advantage in the World Series to the team with the better regular season record.
I can’t say this would have been Selig’s biggest gaffe, but could you imagine Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew or Mets third baseman David Wright on the mound deciding which league gets home-field advantage?
We were almost there yesterday, and it’s a ridiculous prospect.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Fans selections are far from perfect
We've reached the unofficial mid-point of the 2008 MLB season, which means it's time for break. Looking at this year's All-Star game rosters, one thing is crystal clear, fans aren't perfect.
Seven now eight Cubs will grace the National League bench. The predominant hat for the American League has a distinctive “B” on it, as seven players from Beantown will soil Yankee Stadium’s final season.
This is ridiculous, nearly one-quarter of this year’s All-Stars are from two teams. If fans wanted to see a Cubs-Red Sox match-up so bad, MLB should have just played an Interleague game between the teams at Fenway Park. Anyway, let’s get down to specifics mistakes here.
The most egregious fan mistake on the AL roster was voting Boston’s Dustin Pedroia a starter. This barely squeaks over voting fellow Red Sox Kevin Youkilis a starter. Honestly, fans picked Pedroia over a guy who’s putting MVP caliber numbers right now, Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler. Pedroia is having a very good year, just not a great year. Kinsler’s 84 runs scored dwarf Pedroia’s 67, plus the Rangers’ budding star has a higher batting average, more homers (by 5) and RBIs (by 11).
On the NL roster, the most outrageous fan mistake was selecting Chicago Cub Kosuke Fukudome a starter. Fukudome’s .279 average, with a measly 7 home runs and 36 RBIs is just plain sad. Voting Fukudome in was like voting Braves infielder Kelly Johson in (.272 BA, 10 HR, 38 RBIs). Why didn’t Kelly get any love?
And the least, least deserving All-star is Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. How in the world did he make the roster? Varitek’s batting average is rotten, .218, and he has 17 more strikeouts than hits this season. It’s a ridiculous selection.
Finally, if you’re a fan of baseball in Pennsylvania you have every right to feel abused. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield, arguably the most productive in the majors, received one All-Star selection. Deservedly, Nate McLouth is going to the Big Apple, but what about Jason Bay, Xavier Nady or Philly’s Pat Burrell? Bay ranks ninth in the majors in runs, Nady in the top 10 in batting average and Burrell fourth in homers. Any of them would have made great All-Star picks. There’s always next year, but probably not.
Enjoy the game!
Seven now eight Cubs will grace the National League bench. The predominant hat for the American League has a distinctive “B” on it, as seven players from Beantown will soil Yankee Stadium’s final season.
This is ridiculous, nearly one-quarter of this year’s All-Stars are from two teams. If fans wanted to see a Cubs-Red Sox match-up so bad, MLB should have just played an Interleague game between the teams at Fenway Park. Anyway, let’s get down to specifics mistakes here.
The most egregious fan mistake on the AL roster was voting Boston’s Dustin Pedroia a starter. This barely squeaks over voting fellow Red Sox Kevin Youkilis a starter. Honestly, fans picked Pedroia over a guy who’s putting MVP caliber numbers right now, Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler. Pedroia is having a very good year, just not a great year. Kinsler’s 84 runs scored dwarf Pedroia’s 67, plus the Rangers’ budding star has a higher batting average, more homers (by 5) and RBIs (by 11).
On the NL roster, the most outrageous fan mistake was selecting Chicago Cub Kosuke Fukudome a starter. Fukudome’s .279 average, with a measly 7 home runs and 36 RBIs is just plain sad. Voting Fukudome in was like voting Braves infielder Kelly Johson in (.272 BA, 10 HR, 38 RBIs). Why didn’t Kelly get any love?
And the least, least deserving All-star is Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. How in the world did he make the roster? Varitek’s batting average is rotten, .218, and he has 17 more strikeouts than hits this season. It’s a ridiculous selection.
Finally, if you’re a fan of baseball in Pennsylvania you have every right to feel abused. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfield, arguably the most productive in the majors, received one All-Star selection. Deservedly, Nate McLouth is going to the Big Apple, but what about Jason Bay, Xavier Nady or Philly’s Pat Burrell? Bay ranks ninth in the majors in runs, Nady in the top 10 in batting average and Burrell fourth in homers. Any of them would have made great All-Star picks. There’s always next year, but probably not.
Enjoy the game!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Conspiracies, expansion and other awesome stuff
For Pete’s Sake has been lacking in awesomeness (and posts) recently, mostly due to massive writer’s block. So while I go on a mini-sabbatical to recharge here are some links to other sports articles and blogs that you need check out…
In case you need any more evidence that owner Clay Bennett is a lying scum, SuperSonicSoul gives a chilling estimate of the “real” dollar amount it would have taken to keep an NBA team in Seattle.
Staying with basketball, Darren Rovell of CNBC's Sports Biz takes a look at a possible Olympic conspiracy. This potential plot has nothing to do with doping, it has to do with logo and player placement in Team USA’s photo.
Meanwhile, Fox Sports senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal examines how the CC Sabathia trade is ushering in a new-world order and reshaping baseball’s maligned economic system.
And if you’re getting that early football itch, there were some wild rumors circulating around about the Pac-10 Conference expanding to 12 teams. In a special report to Fox Sports, Greg Welch identifies the best expansion schools for the Pac-10.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times responds to the expansion idea, posing the question why the conference should expand? I’m wondering what the conference would call itself if it added more teams. The just Pac-12 doesn’t have a good ring.
Finally, the Bleacher Report tries to rank “The 10 Most Disliked Programs of the Past 25 Years,” also the most successful programs of the past 25 years.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
NBA sends booming message
FANS FORGOTTEN AS SONICS DEPART
“The NBA should be banned from using the phrase ‘NBA cares’ in any future public service announcement.” That’s how ESPN columnist J.A. Adande opened his remarks about the sad conclusion to the Seattle SuperSonics saga.
Hours before a federal judge was about to hand down a decision whether a lease would require the Sonics to play two more seasons in the Emerald City, Seattle officials waved the white flag.
The city agreed to let the team immediately pack up and move to Oklahoma City, Okla. in return for $45 million guaranteed and Seattle’s retention of the SuperSonics name, logos, colors and history.
I was disappointed that a ruling wasn’t handed out, because it would have carried some impact as legal precedent for future lease disputes.
Though I rarely rooted for Sonics, watching this franchise get yanked from its home just hurts. Seattle fans had no legal rights as their team got uprooted, although they were central to this business for 41 years. That’s the real travesty. It was the fans’ passion and loyalty that was trampled by owner Clay Bennett, a “man possessed,” for few million dollars of play money.
Commissioner David Stern's inaction speaks volumes for the future of the NBA. The league needs Seattle more than Seattle needs the NBA. Instead of serving the fans, Stern showed he was more interested in helping his buddy (Bennett) and establishing his own precedent and leverage to hold other NBA cities hostage over arena deals.
Seattle P-I columnist Art Thiel summed upped the mess in Northwest well when he wrote “Bennett is still a liar, Stern is still unconscionably remorseless, and the Sonics are gone.”
That’s right, today, basketball fans in Seattle are hoopless and have been left relatively hopeless. This should serve as warning to NBA fans everywhere, watch out, your team could be next.
“The NBA should be banned from using the phrase ‘NBA cares’ in any future public service announcement.” That’s how ESPN columnist J.A. Adande opened his remarks about the sad conclusion to the Seattle SuperSonics saga.
Hours before a federal judge was about to hand down a decision whether a lease would require the Sonics to play two more seasons in the Emerald City, Seattle officials waved the white flag.
The city agreed to let the team immediately pack up and move to Oklahoma City, Okla. in return for $45 million guaranteed and Seattle’s retention of the SuperSonics name, logos, colors and history.
I was disappointed that a ruling wasn’t handed out, because it would have carried some impact as legal precedent for future lease disputes.
Though I rarely rooted for Sonics, watching this franchise get yanked from its home just hurts. Seattle fans had no legal rights as their team got uprooted, although they were central to this business for 41 years. That’s the real travesty. It was the fans’ passion and loyalty that was trampled by owner Clay Bennett, a “man possessed,” for few million dollars of play money.
Commissioner David Stern's inaction speaks volumes for the future of the NBA. The league needs Seattle more than Seattle needs the NBA. Instead of serving the fans, Stern showed he was more interested in helping his buddy (Bennett) and establishing his own precedent and leverage to hold other NBA cities hostage over arena deals.
Seattle P-I columnist Art Thiel summed upped the mess in Northwest well when he wrote “Bennett is still a liar, Stern is still unconscionably remorseless, and the Sonics are gone.”
That’s right, today, basketball fans in Seattle are hoopless and have been left relatively hopeless. This should serve as warning to NBA fans everywhere, watch out, your team could be next.
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