Allow me to Introduce Myself...
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With this being my first article, I think it's only fitting that I do what I can do to sum myslef up, both as a sports fan and as a person in general. So here it goes...
-I grew up in Atlanta and support the hell outta the home teams. Yes, that means I will likely point out that your favorite baseball team never won 14 straight division titles. Yes, that means I will tell you that no team in the 1998 NFL season would have kept Super Bowl XXXIII close against the Broncos. And, yes, that means I am one of the dozens and dozens of loyal Hawks' fans; get used to it.
-I was born into the Alabama/Auburn rivalry and will not be convinced that there is a better rivalry in all of sports, college or pro.
-As of right now, if I had to win one baseball game I would rather have Josh Beckett on the mound than any other pitcher...ever.
-Baseball players are by far the most overpaid athletes on the planet. I realize that Ted Lilly had a great 2007, but $10 million a year for a pitcher who was a .500 hurler up until this year is a bit...what's the word I'm looking for...insane. If that's standard operation for baseball GMs, I'm learning how to throw lefthanded and setting up a tryout for Major League scouts tomorrow.
-I've been accused of being a fickle, pompous college football fan because that's the stereotype of Alabama football fans. The fact is, stereotypes of fan bases only apply to about 10% of that fan base. It's a shame, because its that 10% that gets the other 90% into bar fights.
-Here's another fun mathematical breakdown: Sports Message boards = 70% knowledgable, logical fans who can clearly and concisely put together an argument and counter-arguement all while doing it in a civil manner + 20% knowledgable fans who believe so whole-heartedly that they are right and everyone else is wrong that when their point or argument is disagreed with, they fly off the hook and revert to immature name-calling as a defense of their stance + 8% the bipolar flip-flopper who's favorite team is a lock for a championship after beating down 1-AA teams/cellar-dwellers and is the worst team in school/franchise history after losing a 1 score game to an upper-echelon team + 2% complete idiots who ramble on for no reason and are blind to any negativity about their team or school. Sadly, the bulk of posts on these boards come from everyone but the 70% and everyone that posts on message boards believes they're part of that 70%.
-The NBA Draft is sports' biggest crap shoot...unless its 2003 and you have the #1 pick, or its 1985 and Portland actually just took Sam Bowie...
-Florida winning back-to-back national championships in basketball is the single greatest accomplishment in college sports since Duke repeated in '91 and '92.
-Is winning the Heisman a gift or a curse for your NFL career? Guess only time will tell for Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.
-I don't care if a team runs up the score. To quote my high school basketball coach after we trounced some poor team 114-61 on their Homecoming game, "It's not our fault they're that bad!"
-Either legalize marijuana or get it the hell out of athletes' hands. I swear, the next time I see an athlete ruin his career because he can't quit toking the hippie lettuce, I'm going to go postal on someone. Memo to Travis Henry: you have prior run-ins with the league's substance abuse policy...STOP BLAZING THE BLUNTS!!
-Speaking of ruining careers, I have absolutely no sympathy for Michael Vick. When your contract is good for over $100 million, and that's not even including a fat Nike endorsement, you have no business tossing around $30 or $40 grand in a dog fighting ring. Need a hobby? Get an XBOX! And for everyone that says he shouldn't be in jail, get over yourself! The man committed a felony which means he's gotta do time. If you think the law sucks, write to your local representative or start a petition or something. I respect the hell out of Jamie Foxx for his talents, but come on dude, did you really say what I think you said about Inmate #7? [For the record, the exact quote was: "... Mike probably just didn't read his handbook on what not to do as a black star."]. Seriously? Black, white, purple, yellow, red or what-the-hell-ever color you are, as an American citizen we all have the same handbook of what to do and not to do - its called the f'ing LAW!!! Making the whole thing about race is a cheap cop out. I will not devote another minute of my life discussing this; the whole thing is simple: Michael Vick commited a FELONY and the law states that he must go to jail to pay his debt to society. When that debt is paid, I have no problem with him returning to the NFL, and in fact, I wouldn't even care if he came back to the Falcons; personally, I'm a second chance kind of guy. That is my final word on Inmate #7.
-If the Falcons bomb this season, got a top 3 draft pick and Bobby Petrino chooses Brian Brohm over Darren McFadden, I will physically remove him from his coaching position. Bobby, do you feel lucky?
-The most overused word in college sports, by far, is "class." Every fan base claims that they and their players have way more class than their rivals and that's laughable. Some Georgia fans blasted me for having no class after a few 'Bama fans tossed cups at celebrating Georgia players, yet they conveniently forgot doing the exact same thing to Auburn a few short years ago. This goes back to the, "Few jackasses making everyone look bad" phenomenon.
-Poker is not a sport. When you can drink a beer while perofrming the activity, you are not participating in a sport.
-ALL contracts should be renegociable at the end of each season. This way, fans can't bitch and moan about someone's insane contract for 5+ years and GMs won't be under as much scrutiny. Imagine if Theo Epstein could pay Drew what he's actually worth to the Sox instead of finishing out a 5-year, $70 million absurdity.
Hopefully you now have some insight into who I am. I'll be back Sunday with an NBA previwe, including the division races, playoff picture and individual awards. Thanks for reading.
Much Love
Please tell me if you have heard. Has there been any rumblings about Big Boi of Outkast and the Mike Vick dogfighting ring? I know Big Boi breeds rotties and was tight with Vick for a while. Is there any connection? I have been curious about this since Day One!
And for the millionth time - Get off Portland's nuts - They made the right choice AT THE TIME in Bowie - THEY HAD CLYDE DREXLER already!!! They filled a need with a very good player that just happened to get hurt.
No one ever bitches about Houston taking (H)akeem at #1 - Isn't Jordan better than Dream?
And don't blame baseball players because they sign a contract that someone OFFERS to them...
Welcome aboard!!!