RANDOM RANT

RANDOM RANTING

It’s been a while since my last Rant, so here are some thoughts regarding the sporting world, quarterbacks in it, and certain 4-letter stations that report it.

BRETT FAVRE

This one has been boiling for a while, since he came back for this “final” season. Brett Favre has played in something like 700 straight games, which is an NFL record. All the hype a few weeks back was that if he missed a game with his broken ankle, the streak would be snapped. Okay, let’s dissect that last thought.

First, this action by Favre trying/wanting to play illustrates his career in a nutshell. He wanted to keep his personal record in tact and was willing to do so, despite what was best for his team’s chance to win. He already held the record. He was not chasing it. I could possibly understand his desire to play if he was closing in on the record, but he is not. He is more than 100 games ahead of the next closest player on the active games streak. Eventually, this record will be snapped. Eventually, Favre will ACTUALLY retire and no longer play. I cannot wait for that date! Oh yeah, he played with a BROKEN ANKLE!

And we wonder why the Vikings are currently sitting at 3-6 in a year they were expected to compete for the NFC title. They are playing a 40+ year old QB with 2 broken bones in his ankle, and he is all but running the team because the pathetic coach doesn’t have the guts to stand-up to him. I am starting to think that Favre decided to play for Minnesota as one last move as a true Packer. He knew he could no longer play at the NFL level, so rather than retiring, he went to the Vikings to destroy the only real threat the Packers had in the NFC North. That is the only reasonable explanation.

Brett, please do us all a favor, and leave. Go back to Mississippi. Play football in your Wranglers. Go do whatever you want. Just quit trying to play in the NFL. I know that the people in Bristol will be upset when you finally do that because the will have to find REAL programming, but everyone else who enjoys sports will be grateful. You are ruining what was, at one point, a great career.

CAM NEWTON

Okay. Let’s move on to the next overblown QB story. Reports over the past few weeks are basically saying that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s dad, Cecil, told Mississippi State that it would cost anywhere between $100K to $180K for his son to play in Starkville. Frankly, I think that is being generous, I would want more if I were going to put my son on that shitty team. But seriously, what is wrong with his dad saying this? Why is this an issue? Why is this news?

Cam Newton plays at Auburn. He does not play at Mississippi State. There are not currently, nor have there been, any reports/rumors that he accepted any money to go to Auburn. Until that happens, this is not a story!

This would be like anyone else getting a job offer to do the job you currently do in Baghdad. Not sure about you, but I’m pretty sure my response would be something like, “You’d have to pay me between $100K and $180K for me to go there.”


THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES

First, I must say that not only did I not get the managerial job with the Pirates, but they did not even contact me for an interview. I am very upset and disappointed by this.

The Pirates hired Clint Hurdle as their new manager. He is the 6th manager for the organization since they decided to stop trying to win. It is an absolutely terrible hire, which makes it perfect for Neil Huntington, Frank Coonley and Bob Nutting. In an odd managing circle, Clint Hurdle takes over a position once held by Jim Tracy. In 2 seasons with the Bucs, Tracy went 135-189. He is now the current manager of the Colorado Rockies, a spot he took over from Clint Hurdle. He has since gone 157-121 in nearly 2 full seasons in Denver. In 2009, Tracy went 74-42 after replacing Hurdle, who had that same team at 18-28. Just basic math tells me Hurdle was 10 games under .500 and Tracey was 32 games above .500 with the same exact players. That is a 42 game difference. At that rate, we should expect the Pirates to win a total of 51 games over the next 2 seasons. So, the Pirates are basically hiring a guy who is a much worse manager than Jim Tracy; the same Jim Tracy who was fired after 2 seasons in Pittsburgh. Hmm, interesting!

The hire that I wanted (other than me) was Bobby Valentine. This guy must be black-balled by Major League teams. He is the only guy since Davey Johnson to win with the Mets. After getting canned there, he went overseas and won in Japan. He led the Chiba Lotte Mariners to their first pennant in 31 years and first Japan Series Title since 1974. That is about the same drought the Pirates have been in. Seems like a perfect fit for me. Yet he doesn’t even get an interview?

As a Pittsburgh sports fan, this weekend has been difficult for me. Pitt looked embarrassing on Thursday night, opening the door for what will be the typical Panther collapse that their fans are oh-so-familiar with. The Pirates have just committed to losing for another 5 years, minimum. And the Steelers were completely exposed by the Patriots. At least we have Pitt hoops!