Friday Fryer (March 2, 2007)

It is correct that Howard was only paid $355,000 last year. Thus, this contract nearly triples his salary for the upcoming season. Many, however, expected Howard to be paid over a million for this upcoming season. From the looks of things, this will not happen.

The real loser, long-term, could be the Phillies in this situation. This is because Howard may be offended by this contract, and rather than opt to sign a long-term deal with the club, will go each year to arbitration, followed by free agency. But for now, Howard, with the low-ball contract figure this year, is the one who is hurting. This, however, at least earns him a Friday Fryer nomination.

The problems with Pacman began years ago in college. Since then, they have only blossomed. Sadly, Pacman is to the point where he thinks he can do whatever he wants, without the fear of any repercussions. Repercussions, however, are on verge of hitting Pacman hard.

First and foremost will be the likely release Pacman will receive from the Tennessee Titans. Second, it is quite possible that Pacman will become the poster child of what happens to those players who lose control, e.g., no other team will sign him.

Pacman has a lot of physical talent, however, he has no control over any of his actions. Therefore, he is a wasted talent. But at least being a wasted talent earns Pacman a nomination for this week’s Friday Fryer.

Pro sports are already on the decline due the impact of outrageous money being thrown to players. Before, pro athletes would play because they loved the sport, had heart, and wanted their team to win. The popularity and women that came along with it were also nice. This was of course before contracts worth millions were being signed. Now, in the immortal words of Ricky Waters, the typical pro athlete thinks: “For who, for what”, and acts accordingly.

Using performance enhancing drugs is just another example of this “For who, for what” mentality. Unfortunately, this mentality will lead to the destruction of pro sports, for at some point, fans will have had enough, and will themselves say “For who, for what”, as they find a new hobby to pursue.

The Suns have an outstanding offensive team. Defense, however, wins championships. For some reason, the Suns are allergic to idea of playing defense. This will only lead to their defeat in the Western Conference playoffs.

With that said, how can the Suns lose to the Sixers? Come on now, the Sixers have the third worse record in the NBA. They are playing out the season. They already have tee times set up for the morning after their last game in April. Yet, the Suns come to town and get whacked by the Sixers. For their effort in the Sixers game, the Phoenix Suns gets the Friday Fryer Chair this week!

Until next Friday, AMF.