“The Difference Between Merri and Barry”
What a crazy week in football. The Eagles lost on a 62 yard field goal by Matt Bryant, a kicker that got MF’d by the announcers more than a handful of times during the broadcast. I guess a 62 yard field goal has a wonderful way of making a bunch of overpaid, useless sacks of “pretend” football geniuses, just shut up. But what does this mean for the Eagles? Whichever team wins on Monday Night Football, textCowboys or Giants, 1st place is theirs to be had. And how about Donovan McNabb puking under the center right before a second half timeout? Nice. Will my Eagles roll on the comeback trail?
First off, let me admit, Shawn Merriman is one of my favorite players in all of sports, but now that he’s failed the league’s steroid tests, what makes him any different than Barry Bonds? Let me tell you what; Baseball is a game of numbers, not wins and losses, but batting average, HR’s, RBI, SB’s, and other ridiculous things that don’t always translate to championships. So, an apparent steroid user looks worse to the public in baseball, because his “stats” look bloated, and therefore he gets a bad wrap. Barry, (and I’m assuming that he is indeed guilty), is part of a game in which physical strength isn’t nearly as important as it is in football. So, honestly, I think it’s a larger crime for a football player to test positive. In a sport where your ability to run, hit, jump, and smash opponents faces into the ground, steroids play a larger roll than in baseball, where you have to hit a little ball over a big fence. But no one will generalize Shawn’s career as the great player who used ‘Roids, no, not like Barry. Shawn won’t break any records, so stats won’t define his career. He’s not on a stage all by himself, he’s part of the team. When we look back at his career, we’ll see him as a great football player, and rarely will anyone even remember his 4 game suspension in 2006. We’re already forgiving him as I write this article. I hope he stays clean after this, but to me, he’s a guy who cheated to get ahead, and got caught. He’s in no way better than Mr. Bonds, he just plays a different sport. I’m not one to criticize Barry, because 90% of us would do the same thing, and the same goes for Shawn. And I’ll still watch Bonds hit balls out of Giant’s Park, and I’ll definitely stay tuned to see what Shawn does the first week back from suspension, but as far as I’m concerned there’s not much difference between Barry and Merri. Two superior athletes that would have been great without a “little extra help” and the only thing that separates them is the miles of California Coastline and a different shaped ball.
Congratulations to the Oakland Raiders, God knows I didn’t think I’d have to say those words until the draft, but apparently the Cardinals found a way to amaze me once again. ON that note, how bad has Edgerrin James been in Arizona. I’m not willing to give him all of the blame, because he’s getting drilled as soon as he touches the ball, but right now he’s not getting anything done for the Cardinals. And on that note, how does the firing of Arizona’s offensive coordinator look right now? 3 field goals against the Raiders defense, and another loss on the good ol’ record. Yeah, maybe not such a good decision Denny! And this decision could be the beginning of the end for Coach Green.
The Tigers, behind the seemingly unhittable Kenny Rogers, took Game 2 of the World Series last night in Detroit. After that stellar performance, look for the Tigers to perform like Champs. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the Tigers won the next 3 on way to becoming the World Series Champs. But once again, was their some cheating going on? Did Kenny Rogers have a “special substance” on the ball? You betcha, and to be honest, I didn’t give a damn. I’d rather athletes get back to spit balls and pine tarred bats than hitting the needle twice a day. Bottom line, he washed off his hand, and came out and didn’t give up another hit until the 8th inning. Wash this.
Applauding one of Lucky’s favoirtes, it was nice to see Chad Johnson make a huge play for the Bengals to beat the Panthers on Sunday. But is it just me or does Chad move a little slower lately? Chad knows what to do when the time comes however. Like Deion Sanders always says, “When a play comes, make it! A play don’t care who makes it. A pay isn’t picky. When it comes, make it!”
CHAMPIONSHIP!