Mark McGwire finally gets it off his chest. Today Big Mac came clean and admitted that he used steroids throughout his career and in his home run record setting season in 1998. I guess it’s been looming. We all knew he did it, we all knew he was avoiding it. When the St. Louis Cardinals hired Mac on as their new hitting coach this year we thought it just may come out, and today was the day. In a prepared statement McGwire admitted to using steroids off and on for about 10 years, claiming that he used the drugs to recover from injury quicker and get back on the field. Much like Andy Pettitte’s excuse.
I always had a soft spot for The Big Mac. I think most baseball fans my age could relate to this. The man saved baseball. When the players came back from the 1994 strike, the fans didn’t get the memo. Parks were deserted across the country. Mark McGwire’s home run race with fellow outed steroid user Slammin Sammy Sosa brought the attention back to the game. Fans packed in by the thousands to see these two freaks blast 500 footers by the dozen. That’s what we wanted to see. We all know now, looking back, it was pretty obvious what was going on. They weren’t fooling anyone. We just didn’t care. So are they really the bad guys? We loved it at the time. But it just became too much. When steroids became a widespread epidemic it changed the game, in my eyes for the worse. Sure people dig the long ball, and attendances were booming. But I’m a baseball fan. I love the game, I respect the game, and I can’t condone cheating. There were no more great pitchers, tiny guys got bloated and started jacking 40+ homers a year. It wasn’t the same game. It’s kind of sad when you think about it, what could have been the best baseball story ever turned out to be a sham.
So this is the final nail in Mark McGwire’s Hall Of Fame hopes. If there was ever a shot that he’d get in down the road, it’s certainly gone now. No admitted steroid user belongs in Cooperstown. No way. I almost feel bad for the guy. He was the face of baseball for a decade. We loved him. We were blind, dumb, or naive to think he wasn’t using any drugs. We let it slide. We took him for all he was worth, chewed him up, and spit him out. Made a villain of him. Granted, he did it. He broke the rules, and now he has to live with the consequences. But the man kept baseball afloat until we could find a new hero in Alex Rodriguez, and look how great that turned out…
I’ll curse any proven or admitted user of a performance enhancing drug, but I will always have a place in my heart for what Mark McGwire did in the late 90s. He brought the fans back to the parks. He became somewhat of a martyr for us, for baseball, for the fans, and baseball is indebted to him for that.
We may have seen our last 300 game winner. “The Big Unit”, Randy Johnson, retired from baseball yesterday. Ending a 22 year career, 46 year old Johnson leaves us as the best left handed pitcher of all time.
When Nolan Ryan retired in 1993, it took no time at all for the void to be filled as a tall, lanky, unhittable, flame thrower. Intimidating as hell, 6-foot-10, untamed mullet hair, crazy 80′s mustache, Randy Johnson stares in for the sign from his catcher, but we all no whats coming, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t hit it. Before you know it a fastball that’s been consistently clocked at 100 miles per hour is in the catcher’s mit and you’re headed back to the dugout.
In the new age of baseball, I really don’t think we’ll ever see a pitcher compile anywhere near the achievements that The Big Unit has put together. I really think he is the last of the breed. The old school, hard nosed, hard working pitcher. Baseball has changed, maybe for the worse? Players are coddled, babied to a point where they don’t even have the opportunity to put together numbers that rival Johnson’s. How many current pitchers that just throw smoke, pitch after pitch, are going to be able to pitch into their mid 40s and actually hold their own? I don’t see any out there.
Randy Johnson dominated batters his entire career. He dominated both the American and National Leagues, winning at least one of his 5 Cy Young awards in each league. Johnson is a 9 time strike outs leader, second all time and the total strike outs leader for 2 separate decades even. Leading through both the 90s and 2000s, proving that he was blowing away batters over his entire career. A 10 time all star, I can’t understand how its only 10 really. He should’ve been a 15 time all star, there is no prolonged stretch of time where he wasn’t among the best pitchers in baseball. In 2002, Johnson won the pitching Triple Crown leading the National League in wins, earned run average and strikeouts.
Johnson leaves the game where he left behind so many great moments. The exploding bird, throwing at John Kruk’s head in the 93 all star game, the great Mariners teams of the 90s, the 2001 World Series when he earned 3 wins and pitched in relief in game 7 on no rest, and the most important of all: winning his 300th game. That 300th win was a thing of beauty. On the road facing the Nationals, the home fans were actually rooting against their Nats. Hearing “300!” chanted throughout the entire game and the standing ovation Johnson received was a true class moment in baseball that I won’t forget.
I think the most impressive part Randy Johnson’s career has been is the time period he worked in. It’s no secret that the past 20 years were marred by the use of steroids. But somehow that had no effect on Johnson’s ability to strike out batters with ease. It didn’t matter how jacked you were. You can’t hit what you can’t see. And Randy Johnson just reached back and threw it right past you. Never fearing any hitter, never backing down, always going for the throat. He’s the last of a breed. We won’t see another Randy Johnson.
Every season around weeks 15-17 there are teams who choose to rest their starters for the playoff run. Why shouldn’t they? Their spots in the post season are secured. Why would they risk the chance of injury or waste their time game planning on an irrelevant opponent? It’s the intelligent thing to do. After all, the goal is to get to the post season and win the Super Bowl. I’m predicting in the next couple years, we will see teams not even show up for that one last game at Buffalo or Oakland.
Ok, so maybe that is a bit much. Well…… is it?
Jim Caldwell essentially waived the white flag when his team was ahead by 5 points because they had already locked up home field throughout the playoffs. The game meant nothing to him. Nothing to play for. The only reason Caldwell suited up his players and put them out on the field is because he had to. Or did he? Technically, teams can forfeit if they so choose. “A forfeit occurs only when a game is not played because of the failure or refusal of one team to participate. In that event, the other team, if ready and willing to play, is the winner by a score of 2-0.” (check it out here: http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/emergencies) All the Jets had to do was show up in Indy, suit up, and say they were ready.
So why play? Why even suit up? The Patriots lost their most reliable offensive weapon, Wes Welker, yesterday in a meaningless game due to injury. There was really no reason for him, or any of their key players, to be on the field. And now he’ll be on the sidelines for when his team needs him the most. Sure, his injury could have happened week 7. It could have happened on the first play in their first playoff game (ala Palmer in ’07). But it didn’t. It happened the last week of the regular season after Welker worked his ass off to lead the league in receptions and take second in yards. He even missed two games to injury early on. His role is to take a beating over the middle of the field week in and week out. He should have been the first on the team to rest. I suppose he will get plenty now.
But I bet Welker wanted to play. I bet every player on the Colts wanted to play instead of getting yanked out of the game. I would wager every starter in the NFL wants to play every second of every game, no matter what scenario. And as much as I want to watch them play every snap of every game, because I HATE lame ass games that have players not even trying in them, I can’t blame coaches and owners for wanting to pull their players.
So for about a week now we’ve heard so much about this Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee deal. I don’t see what’s so hard to get here. The controversy is the Phillies are trading away Cliff Lee, their best pitcher by far from last season, unhittable, great personality, fan favorite, Cy Young winner, etc… I could go on about how great Cliff Lee is. But this isn’t just about Cliff Lee. This is about the Philadelphia Phillies now and their future, and I support the move.
The Phillies just completed a very complicated trade with the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays. Sending 3 of their top prospects to Toronto landing the Phils pitching stud Roy Halladay. GREAT! The Phillies not only have what is arguably the most dangerous batting order in baseball, but now TWO Cy Young winning starting pitchers… Not so fast. These 3 minor leaguers they just sent to Canada were highly touted talents, the future of the ball club. To re-coop that hit Philadelphia sent Cliff Lee to Seattle for their 3 top prospects, a monster outfielder and their 2 top pitching hopefuls. But why not keep Lee AND Halladay? It’s simple, MONEY. Roy Halladay just signed a 3 year, $60-million contract extension, which is much less than he would have earned on an open free agent market. Halladay took less money to play for a winning team with a shot at a championship, I love that. But with the Phillies resigning all their young talent the past few years their pay roll has been skyrocketing. Cliff Lee is a free agent after next season, and he’s already been saying how he wants a new contract comparable to CC Sabathia’s long term $100-million deal. The Phillies were in no way, shape or form ever entertaining the idea of giving a 33 year old pitcher who’s 2 years removed from a season ending surgery that type of money or length to his contract. So rather than keeping Lee and adding Halladay, they thought it’d be wiser to trade Lee to replenish the farm system.
Now I’m not entirely in love with the idea. I think the current Phillies roster is loaded with young stars and they aren’t starving for prospects because they don’t have many players on their way out. What good are a bunch of minor leaguers when the big club is packed with youth who are all under contract for a few years each? I think the best thing the Phils could have done is keep Lee with Halladay and make a huge run at another World Series Championship. But I do think they upgraded in the trade. Tons of media are questioning if the Phillies got better at all with this trade, really? Really?! Roy Halladay, ever heard of him? He’s only been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball for about 10 years now. A shoe-in Hall of Famer, Cy Young winner, career 3.43 earned run average. Need I go on? Yea, Cliff Lee was great last year, but Roy Halladay has been great his entire career. They’re very similar pitchers in my opinion. Everything Lee has been made famous for the past 2 years, Halladay has been doing forever. They’re the same age, both have overpowering stuff, ground ball pitchers(which is a big deal playing in Philly’s small Citizens Bank Park), they’re both innings eaters, both boast low ERA’s and high strike out totals. But the thing is Halladay does everything Lee does just a little better and is a more proven pitcher by far. Like I said, they’re the same age, but Halladay has been in the bigs 4 seasons longer, has 60 more wins, Halladay has had 7 seasons with a sub 3.50 ERA, Lee has done it twice. Roy Halladay has three 200 strike out seasons, Cliff Lee has never gotten to 200. Halladay has 49 complete games, the most of any active pitcher, and three times more than Cliff Lee, this is a very easy thing to over look, but in Philly, with a shaky bullpen, this is huge. Roy Halladay is just a career elite pitcher and while Cliff Lee has been big as of late, he is just not on the level that Halladay is.
Like Lee, I could go on about how great Roy Halladay is. So do I think the Phillies improved? Yes. Cliff Lee is great, he dominated the last two seasons. But he is not Roy Halladay, who has dominated the last decade. Every Phillies fan would have loved to see both pitchers in the red pin stripes, but the Phillies’ brass opted to get something in return for Lee rather than let him walk away into free agency. The Phillies are still the best team in the National League and are still in every way World Series contenders.
With the regular season winding down, and me clinching a first round bye in my family fantasy football league playoffs (we don’t have to discuss the other 3 leagues I am in), this week I will just be sitting back and enjoying football the old fashioned way: gambling on the games. And since the holidays are upon us, I thought I would share the wealth. Bet these games, you’ll thank me later.
New England -13.5 vs Carolina. Panthers have no shot. Questions at qb and rb aren’t going to help them either
New Orleans -9.5 at Atlanta. Same thing here as the Panthers. Atlanta is a mess and New Orleans came too close to losing last week.
Green Bay -3 at Chicago. Packers defense is playing very well and the Bears offense, not so much. Aaron Rodgers would be MVP if his line would protect him.
Oakland +1 vs Washington. HUGE win last week for OAK on the road. Will pull out a victory at home against the Skins and their new kicker.
Miami +3 at Jacksonville. Miami beat the Patriots sans Wildcat. They’re a real team. Will be a close game.
And since I like you all so much, I will give you one more gem. Cleveland +10 at home against Pittsburgh. Cleveland is playing more loose and the Steelers are missing their key player on defense in Troy Polamalu. Cleveland may not pull out a W, but take those 10 points.
Since 1957, there have only been three times the award has not been handed out to either a quarterback or a running back(1972 Alan Page Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle, 1982 Mark Moseley Washington Redskins placekicker, 1986 Lawrence Taylor NY Giants linebacker). So it is no surprise that the leaders in the race for MVP, in my opinion, are three quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Brett Favre. Through 12 weeks, these three quarterbacks have lost a combined total of 1 game, and that was on the road against the defending superbowl champs who had to get lucky to win. They are all carrying qb ratings greater than 100, and the lowest completion percentage among them is 68.8%(Brees). Their teams are all in the top five for offense and points per game. You would be kidding yourself if you didn’t think the quarterback is the most important position on the field, and these three are clearly at the top.
To keep it simple: you take away Peyton Manning from the Colts and they are struggling to stay around .500. He is everything to that offense. I wonder when the last time their offensive coordinator actually did any work? If my team has 1:30 left in the game, down by 5, and I’m starting the drive at our own 20, I don’t want anyone but him leading the way. And not only is Manning controlling an offense the way no other can, he is posting numbers that may end up to be career bests. He’s ranked 1st in yards, 2nd in tds, and completing 70.4% of his passes. Granted he has arguably the best WR(Wayne) and TE(Clark) in the game catching balls, but he also has guys like Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon to throw to. His primary run option has been a health risk and his secondary run option, who is a rookie, is turning out to be a health risk also. Manning definitely elevates that team to a point where they can never be counted out of a game.
Drew Brees is insane. I think he legally is considered a midget? Yet somehow has enough in that arm to get the ball downfield 50 yards just about every other play. I think it is safe to say that his early career injuries, which got him shipped to the Saints in the first place, are not affecting him the way the Chargers thought they might. The Saints offense operates at a very high level and love to spread the ball around through the air. Overall, I think they have the most talent to work with. Colston: freak. Pierre Thomas is a bruiser who has picked up nicely where Deuce McCalister left off. Shockey can still make is presence known when needed. Reggie Bush is still dangerous. But if Brees was not there to tie all these weapons together, the Saints would not have a chance. Is Mark Brunell really your backup? Really? Brunell to Meachem is not going anywhere. Brees is 1st in the league in qb rating as well as touchdowns. He also has a chance, like Manning, to lead his team to an undefeated season. And after they destroyed(understatement?) the Patriots, I really don’t see a team remaining on their schedule who can hang with them.
We were all sick of Brett Favre before this season started. After retiring for the 17th time, he decided to, again, return to the NFL. This time it was for the job he has wanted for the past two years. And as soon as Brad Childress picked him up from the airport, we had a feeling this is gonna be something different. This is not the New York Jet Brett Favre. This is the final season with the Packers Brett Favre, only better. Favre is 3rd in tds, 2nd in qb rating, is completing 69.3% of his passes, and has only thrown 3 ints. And this is on a team who has the best running option in the game. Favre came in to a perfect situation: great defense, great O-line, great running back. The reason he is in the race for MVP is because he has transformed that team. Adrian Peterson still has great games, but he is not running as well as he did last season. He doesn’t have to. Did you know who Sydney Rice was before this season? Or Visanthe Shiancoe? You do now. Favre is valuable because he is taking a team who was pretty close and making them the best in the NFL. Seriously. There is not a more complete team out there. He’s not making the stupid Brett Favre mistakes. He’s elevating the play of his surrounding cast. He is redeeming himself from last season in NY.
Last week I, along with thousands of Monarch faithful, watched Old Dominion University Football wrap up their inaugural season in Lexington, Virginia when they visited the VMI Keydets. The 12th Monarch was alive and well, with an estimated 4,000 ODU fans running wild in the VMI stands. This was BY FAR the most intense, high octane game yet. Tons of offense and a complete lack of defense on both sides. Tommy DeMarco had his way with the Keydets, responsible for 5 of the 6 Monarch touchdowns. While on the other sideline the VMI offensive line just abused the ODU defense. Old Dominion gave up an inexcusable 422 yards on the ground. But Coach Bobby Wilder’s squad squeaked out a 42-35 victory, giving the Monarchs a record setting 9-2 win-loss record in their first season(the previous record for a first year football program was 7 wins).
This year was a success on any one’s standards. No one could’ve guess that ODU would be playing so well. 9 wins is a great way to start up your football program. Such a hot start should keep the fans in the seats and the recruits in the door. Without being a top 25 team, Old Dominion didn’t reach the FCS playoffs but put quite an impression on the league. The Monarchs received several top 25 votes on a few different occasions, and that says a lot with ODU’s schedule being full of somewhat soft opponents.
The Monarch offense was everything it was advertised to be. High powered, spread offense, with plenty of excitement on every snap. The Monarchs scored 385 points, 6th most in the league. ODU also finished 10th in rushing and 20th in total offense putting up 399 yards per game. Quarterback Tom DeMarco is the hands down MVP. DeMarco averaged 256 total yards a week while rushing for 17 touchdowns and passing for another 21 scores. That’s just ridiculous, he was responsible for 38 of ODU’s 50 offensive touchdowns. I calculated DeMarco’s passer rating, with his 53% completion percentage, 1,921 passing yards, 21 TD and only 4 interceptions and he posted an AMAZING 107.4 passer rating. And to put that into perspective, DeMarco had a better 2009 rating than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees have right now. His 107.4 rating would be 2nd best in the NFL. Obviously I don’t mean to imply that Tom DeMarco is on the same level as Peyton Manning, this is just a way to show you that DeMarco is dominating his competition in the same way that Manning, Brady and Brees do it on the big stage.
Now it wasn’t all great for ODU this year. The defense could use a lot of work. The Monarch defensive front was man handled week in and week out. The undersized line was steam rolled on a regular basis. Opposing offenses averaged 365 yards a game, and did it mostly on the ground. ODU proved that they could not stop any team’s rushing attack. Every week they faced a run heavy scheme that got the job done. It seemed like ODU’s offense was their best defense. When ODU would jump out to a lead it forced their opponents to abandon the run in hopes of a quick score and that’s when the Monarch defense did their work. While the ODU defense seems weak, they come up huge when it counts. They feast on mistakes, the defense forced 30 turnovers and buckled down on several key 4th quarter stands. The “bend and not break” defense was very frustrating to watch, but it did work as their record proves.
This season was a hit. 6 home field wins in front of a sell out 20,000 fans every week. 9-2 overall and what I’ve witnessed to be a well traveled fan base. We couldn’t ask for much more, just a little respect. Old Dominion booked a soft schedule for year 1, and they came out huge. But now it’s time to play some of the big boys. Next years season opens September 4th, and you’ll find a few legitimate football teams in it this year. The Monarchs have added William and Mary and Cal Poly for next year, and traveling to Monmouth this season, the Hawks could pose an even bigger threat than they did this year at Foreman Field. It’s not going to be this easy next year, but with an extremely young team and no graduating players, the Monarchs should be prepared for the next step. Now it’s time for ODU basketball, who are the early favorite to crush VCU and win the CAA while earning a spot in the NCAA tournament.
NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell, fined Bengal’s Wide Receiver Chad Ochocinco $20,000 today for attempting to “bribe” a referee in last week’s Ravens/Bengals game. I have supported Goodell since his first day on the job. His first act as Commissioner was shortening the time teams have to decide on draft day. We all know how unbearable that was. Goodell has ruled with an iron fist, and I love that. The league needs this. Athletes and their attitudes have gotten out of control. BUT, fining 85 $20,000 for this is ridiculous. Chad has been a model citizen of the NFL lately. Yes, he’s had his past issues, but he’s been nothing but fun and great to watch this year. He’s having a career year and showing how fun the game can be. His post game interviews have been great, his celebrations have been creative and not at all offensive, he’s turned around his game and his outlook on football. And with that he’s turned around the Bengals.
So Rodger Goodell, you need to chill out. Don’t look too much into this. No one took his $1 bribe of an official seriously. It did not make the NFL look bad at all, if anything it would have shown how fun loving the league can be. It was just a joke and everyone knew it. There are plenty of players around the league who deserve fines more than Chad… Deangelo Hall for trying to fight a head coach, Matt Millen and the NFL Network for their terrible broadcasts, Jay Cutler for throwing 5 picks against the 49ers, etc… Chill out Rodger.
We are ESPN SportsNation’s link of the day today. This is exciting. I hope our server can handle whatever hoopla this will generate. Michelle Beadle…. sup?
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