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Downtime I'm ready for a vacation. But before I go for some long overdue R 'n' R, I have some thoughts about some of the topics which have been plentiful in the "down months" of June and July. It has been sad, tragic news which has dominated the headlines the last few weeks. The sudden passing of Steve McNair and boxing greats Arturo Gatti and Alexis Arguello. It has been a very strange couple of weeks. Gatti produced some of the most memorable fights in history, and Arguello was one of the great champs from yesteryear. But nothing was more puzzling and shocking than the death of former NFL QB Steve McNair. A guy that was one of the NFL's toughest performers and one of the best community service guys around, McNair was found dead compliments of his 20-year-old girlfriend. Unfortunately, his wife and four kids were left stunned and shocked by everything that took place in the Nashville condo. I thought it was ridiculous that McNair was praised as a "hero". There's no denying that he was a terrific player and evidently a solid citizen, when it came to charitable efforts. But his inability to stay loyal to his wife and kids was his ultimate downfall. McNair was certainly no hero. NASCAR has given us some interesting story lines this season. Unfortunately, it hasn't parlayed itself into ticket sales or TV ratings. Mark Martin's win at Chicagoland gives him four visits to Victory Lane this year.....not bad, for an "old man". He's one win away this year from tying Harry Gant as the most wins for a 50+ year-old driver in a season. Martin's latest victory also pushed him back into the hunt for qualifying for the Chase. Looking at the standings, there are 4 drivers within 10 points for the final three spots.....it is going to be a dogfight, coming down the stretch of the "regular season". One of the guys in the mix, unexpectedly, is Kyle Busch. The upstart driver of the 18-car has struggled in the past two months, and now his back is against the wall to qualify. While he has taken shots at Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart, it's time for the younger Busch to go on one of his patented win streaks. He has proven he can find Victory Lane (3 wins in '09), but he has been wildly inconsistent with bad breaks, bad decisions and bad finishes. Even Kyle has called this a lousy season...but he still has a lot to prove (and win), coming up in the next month and a half. I think it's safe to put Dale Jr. out to pasture for the rest of the year. He has been terrible, with or without Tony Eury, Jr. Speaking of Eury Jr., his comments last week were downright comical. After finally talking since his demotion, the former 88-car crew chief claimed that the media and fans were to blame for Junior's poor performance. How weak is that approach? The last time I checked, neither a media member nor a fan has been driving the 88 car while it missed its pit, or was getting lapped. Junior is 21st in points, with Hendrick equipment. It's so bad, that Junior has even lost his top merchandise sales lead to Tony Stewart. Somebody should let him party the rest of the year and come back to Daytona in February '10. Michael Vick technically becomes a free man on Monday the 20th. How long will it take Roger Goodell to reinstate the former Falcon QB? The NFL Commissioner just returned from his mountain climbing conquest, and he returns to a plethora of problems and issues. Not only does he have to rule on Vick, but he also has the Plaxico Burress and Donté Stallworth cases to deal with, too. More importantly, he has a collective bargaining deal to work out with the NFLPA. The NFL has been the best league in America because of dealings like the ones Goodell faces. If it wants to remain on top, Goodell has to do the right thing, and the CBA should be priority one. I can't believe both sides can't work out a deal, with so much money to divide between the two parties. The NFL without a salary cap is bad news....it's what has made it the country's number one sport. Parity, mediocrity, call it whatever you want, but everybody this side of Detroit believes they have a chance, and it is imperative that Goodell and the NFLPA keep it that way. Oh yeah, one more thing....Vick should be reinstated. The man made a serious mistake and he paid his dues. If he screws up again, he's history....but in the meantime, he should be allowed back into the NFL. Now that MLB has reached the All-Star break and readies for a second half that's loaded with good stories, it appears that I might have been wrong about one of my "Packman 9" teams. Each year during the first week of the baseball season, I give a list of 9 teams that have no chance at making the playoffs. This year, my teams included:
I still feel great about 8 of the 9 on my list.....but my favorite team in all of sports, the San Francisco Giants, have been playing lights out. It's amazing, how often they win 3-2, 2-1, or shut somebody out in the process. It might be true, what they say about "great pitching"...but if they want to keep this up, they need to find another bat with some pop in the line-up. I hope they continue to prove me wrong, in the 2nd half of the season. So, Artie Lange gets a DUI.....I wonder what Joe Buck thought about that news? It looks like Mike Krzyzewski is ready to go for another run at the gold for Team USA. I don't have a problem with that....the guy is an awesome basketball coach. If I were in charge of Duke University, I'd have a problem with his decision. It's one thing to be challenged and go after new goals, and that was certainly the case for K the first go-around with USA Basketball. His drive, leadership and great basketball instincts certainly were a factor in the USA winning the gold medal in Beijing, and restoring some pride in the process. But Mike Krzyzewski is employed by Duke University to bring that same championship style and substance to the Durham campus. K is paid more than any other person at the school....he makes millions more than the chancellor, for crying out loud. While K has been off caravanning with Kobe and LeBron; UNC's Roy Williams has been catching and surpassing his Duke program in the process. The numbers don't lie:
UNC has re-established itself as one of the elite teams in college hoops......Duke used to be. The Blue Devils are still good, but not great. While Roy Williams was picking up another NCAA national title, Coach K was loading up for a gold rush. I don't blame K....I blame Duke. I'll be back after my vacation. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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