A Bit Random

Well, I think it is time to concede defeat in the Vermont gubernatorial race. After spending no money and creating one amazing slogan, I guess it wasn't enough. I'm not really sure who I am conceding to yet, but I didn't want all of my supporters to be in suspense much longer.

In other news, it looks like Randy Moss has gotten himself kicked off another team as he was waived by the Vikings. Not a great year in Minnesota in terms of football. Brett Favre has been definitely less than stellar. Well, they had a good baseball team for the year. Also, speaking of waived players, former UVM standout Marqus Blakely is now playing for the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA Developmental League. Not quite the NBA, but since he was drafted 12th overall in the league, he should be one of the first players to get a call from the NBA at some point in the season. How awesome would it be to have a UVM athlete in the NBA? It has never happened before, but I think that this is the time. UVM has been improving every year, and Blakely was in the middle of it all.
Photo by Hotash on Flickr

Kick-Off Literally

The NFL had an interesting opening weekend. First, the Eagles had quite the game out of Michael Vick after Kevin Kolb went down with a concussion. Vick looked like his old self scrambling all over the field and moving the ball down the field with his arm as well as his feet. Also, I bet all those Cowboys fans are pretty furious that the final touchdown pass from Tony Romo got called back due to a holding call. After seeing the replay on ESPN this morning, it was most definitely a hold, so those fans cannot be too mad. Conversely, if you are Redskins fan, not only are you incredibly happy about that call, but I bet you're pretty happy that you signed Donovan McNabb away from the Eagles. Similarly to Vick, he looked a lot more mobile than he had been recently and his arm was looking good. Another stunner went down as the Colts got beaten by the Texans. We will see what happens with both of these teams down the road. So, it was an interesting opening week for the NFL. Unfortunately, I'm not playing fantasy football this year, but now I can just root for Philadelphia and be a fan for once.
Photo by Jayel Aheram on Flickr

Glad He Wasn't Hurt

First off, I just want to say that I am glad that Tom Brady was not seriously hurt in the car accident yesterday morning. Even though I am not a Patriots' fan, it would have been hard to have one of the brightest stars (and reportedly soon to be one of highest paid stars, if not the richest) out for the year or even for a few weeks. I definitely understand the fact that one man cannot make a team, but I also know that one man can sell a lot of tickets. Since he is one of the most popular players in the NFL, losing him would have meant a lot of lost ticket sales and fan support. There have been many careers derailed by injuries by accident. One that I particularly remember was Jay Williams. The Duke point guard was just starting to break into the NBA when a motorcycle accident put him on the sidelines as an announcer now. And Williams is not alone. That is why some contracts even forbid players from participating in risky activities such as motorcycle riding or others that similarly risky. So, I am very happy that Tom Brady is healthy. You hate to see players get seriously hurt when they had no control over the situation.
Photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

Season Extension

Rumor has it that the NFL owners are looking to expand to 18 week regular season. In order to do this, they intend to shorten the preseason to two weeks. As you might imagine, the players are not half as excited about this as the owners are. During the preseason, the starters normally get more breaks to relieve the wear and tear on the body as well as give the younger players a chance to get on the field. No matter what people think though, we all know the true reason behind any of this. As New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft said,

"There’s not a lot ways in this economic environment we can generate incremental revenues. That’s the best way."

Of course, it all has to do with money. There is a lot more money to be made on regular-season games than on the preseason. I wonder how wise this is however. I think that the injuries will increase quite a bit because by the end of the season with the current schedule, players are tired enough. Add two more weeks with the intensity of the regular season and I think you will have problems with fatigue. But I don't think that will slow down the owners, I think we will see more regular-season football in future seasons.
Photo by krisandapril on Flickr

Tom Brady Must Be a Shark

Maybe the Patriots should be renamed the Sharks because they have as much love of Jets as the Westside Story rivals. Many of you have probably heard of the HBO TV series "Hard Knocks" that goes inside the Jets' training camp. I even bet that many of you enjoy it (I do not have HBO, so I have no opinion on the show). Guess who doesn't love it? Earlier today, Tom Brady went on WEEI radio in Boston and said the following as quoted from an article by Howard Ulman of the Associated Press regarding the TV show.

"Honestly, I haven't turned it on. I hate the Jets, so I refused to support that show."

Pretty strong words coming from one of the biggest sports figures in New England. Granted, we all probably throw the word hate around way too much and too casually for the degree of intensity that that word conveys. However, it is one thing to say them that you hate something in the backyard talking to friends while it is another thing to be on the radio broadcasting to most of New England. Given his previous track record, I don't really think that Tom Brady meant much by this comment. It's not like he is going to try to hunt them down. However, maybe a bit more caution with word choice could be used when you know that the media, such as myself, just love to pick apart everything they say.
Photo by Keith Allison on Flickr

Will Brett Return?

Okay, first of all, I was a little bit premature on Scott leaving for Minnesota. I thought he left yesterday, but he is leaving today, so all of that stuff still applies. I was just a little bit early. On to the talk for today though. Is Brett Farve going to come back? We have asked this question every year, and every time I think that he is finally done, he proceeds to come back and have an amazing year that seems to defy age. However, I am going to predict again that he is finally done. I just wonder how long his body can hold up to the NFL. I know that NFL only plays a fraction of the games that all the other major sports leagues do, but I would daresay that football is the roughest sport on your body. Not only that, but he played football before the NFL. His body has been getting hit for a majority of his life, so he has to be wearing down. I have been known to be wrong though when it comes to predictions, so we will see, but right now all I know is that he is coming back if he is healthy.
Photo by GMO66 on Flickr

Leaving the Door Open

I have heard of people criticizing last night's Super Bowl advertisement featuring David Letterman and Jay Leno simply because they are each promoting their competition. However, I am more confused by the fact that the NFL Network will begin to broadcast a game of the week from Arena Football One according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. It seems like the NFL will be promoting their competition on their own network. Did anyone else watch the ESPN documentary "Who Killed the USFL?" In this TV special, the fact is emphasized that many key players, including turned MMA fighter Herschel Walker who was also the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, were abandoning the NFL for the new upstart. The USFL did this without the support of the NFL; I wonder if this could happen again. Granted, arena football is an entirely different breed of football, but I wonder why the NFL would promote competition. Arena Football One will only become a legitimate threat if they can find money to back them up. The only way the USFL competed with the NFL was because moguls like Donald Trump were able to come in and lure players away from the NFL. I would assume that this television exposure will help this league gather the sponsors it will desperately need. Also, playing in the spring just as the USFL did will give Arena Football One the opportunity to appeal to diehard football fans who need something to occupy their time between the Super Bowl and the preseason. Again, there is no way that Arena Football One will be able to compete with the NFL at any time soon; however, what I am saying is that if this new league can use ingenious marketing paired with innovative on the field action that will hopefully accompany a very fast-paced and exciting game might have the potential to eventually be appealing to NCAA athletes if they can gather enough money. Of course, there is the potential for this to turn into another XFL that was hyped as a more violent football game but turned out to be unsuccessful. Only time will tell if I am an amazing visionary or just a dreamer.