TIER 1: Bo Jackson...

Read it, don't read it, I don't care...just needed to get some things off my chest.


In no particular order of chronology or importance...


1) I will start with this.  At this point, it is just a positive test that is being heavily disputed, but I truly hope this positive test for Ryan Braun is B.S.  The players have made progress in the post-roids era.  We, as the fans, have made it somewhat back to watching the game's great players and not being suspicious.  If this thing is truly a positive result, it is a huge speed bump for both sides.  It is a travesty if it ends up being legit.


2)  In previous rants, I have been a big fan of Xavier's Tu Holloway.  I have tried to make readers also a big fan.  He is an incredible basketball player.  He has an underrated backcourt mate, Lyons, and a solid roster that make them legitimate Final Four contenders.  It sucked the Xavier/ Cincy fight happened at all.  It sucked that Kevin Frease got sucker punched.  It sucked that two solid basketball teams have to have this happen in a game.  What bothers me is Lyons and Holloway's reactions at the post game conference.  Not caught in the moment anymore, they made it sound like they regretted nothing and would do it again.  They commented on how "gangsta" their team was.  Shut up, both of you, and realize the things you need to take from this.  Luckily, Coach Mack got Holloway in front of a mic the next day to let him show some regret, but I think he slid a little off of that pedestal he was building so nicely.  Get it together, bro.  To get to the finish line, you are going to have to be one of the calming heads in that locker room, not the gangsta one.


3) The Knicks.  They are doing some nice work right now.  True, I thought they were going to go harder after CP3, but what they are doing makes more sense.  What did they lack?  Defense.  So, they go pick up the defensive master who pretty much put the Mavs over the top-Tyson Chandler.  Clever pick ups.  They waive Chauncey Billups to make room for Chandler, then turn around and pick up Mike Bibby to help Toney Douglas at the point.  Mike Bibby is now in a perfect situation for his aging skills.  He can take his lost step, and just focus on running the offense, passing to guys who have NO problem in shooting it up, and make sure his 3 pt. shot is sharp, because that guy is going to get a LOAD of kick-outs on the wing.


4)  One more thing on this topic.  Can you IMAGINE if the Knicks made noise this year?  Tyson Chandler would be the hottest topic in the NBA.  One player TOTALLY transforming two very different teams...  If the Knicks win the title anytime soon, Tyson can just go find a horse and ride off into the sunset...or he can just picked up by the Heat the year after that if they are still failing.  


5)  I heard it on the radio.  I am the farthest thing from an addict.  I don't even rank this person in my top 5 chicks on earth (Halle Berry, Megan Fox, Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Charlize Theron would occupy those spots if you are curious off the top of my head). All that being said, I think I might have to purchase the new Playboy with Lindsey Lohan in it.  Yup.  Think I will.


6)  Terence Jones is writing the wrong legacy.  The kid is a baller and has the skills, athleticism, and body to be a solid NBA player.  But disappearing during the big Indiana game and getting benched?  Not the right thing to be googled for, bro.  Lock up and don't be known as one of THOSE guys.  As far as the game itself, I am SO excited for Tom Crean.  He is at his dream job, rescuing them after NCAA violations, and getting them back on track.  Cody Zeller didn't even get the ball as much as I think he should in the second half of that game, but the supporting cast is coming along fine.  Oh, and by the way, #2 nationally ranked recruiting class coming in next year.  Look out.


7)  The Odom trade to the Mavs.  Interesting.  The Lakers get some salary relief.  They get a few draft picks back.  Meanwhile, they help reload the defending champions after Dallas loses Chandler to the Knicks.  Rick Carlisle is going to have a great time with those lineups, and Brandon Haywood better finally start playing up to potential, because Dirk plays the four, he would expend too much energy guarding any of the true centers in the league, and luckily Odom has some ball skills to play the 3.


8)  How the hell do the refs miss an obvious facemask...on the quarter back no less...in a close game with a furious Vikings comeback?  Confused.


9)  I scored 100 points in my fantasy football playoff game.  Unfortunately, this isn't golf, because the punk I played against scored a measly 150 pts.  Whatever.  Schaub going down screwed me, but not by 50 points.


10)  The Tampa Bay Rays just gave their stud prospect Moore an 8 year contract.  Damn, Mom, why didn't I ever get into baseball?  You should have put pressure on me to quit that expensive tennis game I liked so much in the springtime.


11)  This is for my buddy.  My friend, Vince, would like all athletes to study cliches and get them correct when speaking.  By the way, LeBron, on the same line of thought, stop telling us that you have tricks up your hat.


12)  Sometimes you read the recruiting scouts, and sometimes you should gamble on a little bloodline concept.  Todd Mayo might have only been a 3 star recruit coming out of high school, but after watching the two games that I have of Marquette, I think I would have picked him up just for being the brother of one of the top 3 prospects of the last 10 or 15 years (OJ Mayo, LeBron, and Tracy McGrady off the top of my head).


13)  UNC wins the men's soccer title.  and UVA loses in the PRELIMINARY round to DELAWARE???  What is this, the Bizarro world?  Up is down?  Down is up?  Hello when we leave, and good bye when we leave.  Geez.


14)  I am stealing this from my buddy, Mike, but I LOVE the idea.  What did we all learn from the NFL and NBA lockout?  Yes, I know there are many obvious things, but here is an off the cuff idea to debate.  Because of the lockouts, the free agency time period was/ is compressed in both sports to only a couple of weeks.  What if we did this frenetic nonsense EVERY year?  Have no tampering throughout the off season, and then have JUST 3 weeks of free agency every year.  It would be maddening for the teams, but a heck of a lot of fun if you ask me.  I am LOVING opening up the sports websites each morning with the daily chance that there was a huge trade or pick-up.  Love it.


15)  The Indiana Pacers are making some noise.  Lot of trust in the older Mayo kid though also.  I like it.  They pick up David West, OJ Mayo, and give up only the underachieving Josh McRoberts and Brandon Rush to do it.  Solid stuff.  They got one proven veteran, and one they hope will someday live up to his ridiculous skills.


16)  Speaking of the bizarro world, congrats to the Texans, the first AFC team to win its division.  They have a great shot at getting the #1 seed.  They get Carolina this week.  Weird.  They could be the #1 seed and have the biggest question mark at QB of anyone in the league.  Well, besides Chicago.  Anyone doubt all of those defensive draft picks and the change of mentality Kubiak has brought on board?  Mario Williams doesn't look so bad now.  Picking up Jonathan Joseph instead of breaking the bank on Asomugha looks pretty good, too.   How about playing under THAT team's leadership, and getting all the patience in the world that you can to build a team the RIGHT way?  LOVE to have those bosses in that business.  Way to stick to your guns.  Great story.  Badbye.


17)  The grass is green, the sky is blue, and Reeves Nelson has been dismissed from the UCLA basketball team.  I will miss watching him play.  He just LOOKED like he was a headcase on the floor.  The whole picture in the dictionary joke thing...


18)  Sure, I don't know all of the salary and amnesty rules (I don't think people in the NBA do either), but if I am a team looking for backcourt help, I am picking one of these guys up IMMEDIATELY.  One guy past his prime, still with skills, incredible leadership, and a class act.  The other in his prime, mad scoring skills, and an absolute headcase in his own right with a horrible track record.  Chauncey Billups and Gilbert Arenas.  In that order.  By the way, if you pick up Arenas, have your incentives built around assists, not points.


19)  I am pretty sure the Angels did this a few times before.  I know that Guerrero back in the day was one of them.  I am talking about Anaheim swooping in from NOWHERE and snagging two HUGE free agents when they weren't even in the conversation.  Great pickups in Pujols and Wilson.  Fantastic.  Changes not only the AL West, but the entire AL playoff scenario totally.  Oh, and Howie Kendrick (the guy who will most likely bat in FRONT of Albert), congratulations.  Fantasy owners are drooling over you right now for next year.  The Angels pulled a party/ bar move.  They let all of the guys buy drinks for the lady all night, and then swooped in at last call and took her home.  No, Albert and CJ, I am not calling you ladies.  I was just making a comparison.  A metaphor I am pretty sure, since it didn't have "like" or "as" in it.


20)  Unless I went to Illinois, I am less interested in hearing about the school hiring Toledo's Beckman, and much more interested in finding out which struggling ex-football power will bring on board Ron Zook to "resurrect" the program.


21)  Syracuse basketball, the new #1 team in the nation, because these younger badass team's are having growing pains, has a stat that blows me away, especially since they play a freaking 2-3 zone.  They have TWO players, Triche and Waiters, averaging more than 5 steals per game.  They lead the nation in steals per game.  Sure, we are early in the season and we need a much larger control group, but that is still a LOT of steals per game.


22)  James Harrison.  Dude, come on.  I get it.  You are one of the fastest big guys out on the field, and play the game at the highest level.  I love you as a Steelers fan.  That being said, your hit on McCoy was a clear spear hit.  Lead with your shoulder, dude.  Or stop bitching when you get fined and suspended.  It is not an aberration if it happens a lot.  It is called a pattern.  And you, my friend, are a pattern.


23)  Brandon Roy retires.  We have different levels in feeling sorry for players who have to get out of their sport early because of injuries.  
-TIER 1:  Bo Jackson.  He might have gone on to be the best of all time.
-TIER 2:  Grant Hill.  Players who continue to play, and are not all they could be, but MIGHT have easily been a Hall of Fame player.
-TIER 3:  Terrell Davis.  Players who were no one, then had 3-4 of the best seasons ever at their position, won the title MULTIPLE times, and then have to bow out.
-TIER 3a:  Greg Oden.  This tier is unofficial.  I just have a feeling that we will have to create it.
-TIER 4:  Brandon Roy.  Players who have to quit at a young age, and we only saw flashes of how brilliant they were going to be.  Happy trails, bro.  You might have been special.


**********DISCLAIMER-If you comment on this, feel free to ADD to it, but don't bitch me out for forgetting people.  This was improv, not thought about beforehand, and are the first "tiers" I thought of.  No googling was involved in this take.


24)  Article I didn't open, but I still laughed at.  "The Nets' Owner to run in Russian Presidential election."  Kind of funny in a lot of ways.


25)  Damn.  Sidney Crosby is out again.  Sidney, I don't want to create a new "tier" for you.  Please, dude, get healthy.  The game is SO much better with you, and yes, you would be a slot above Bo Jackson if you are wondering.  Easily.  Bo knows no rings...or cups.


26)  This is how I know the Packers are REALLY good.  If I tried to step into the mind of a Packer fan, I STILL am not worried whether Greg Jennings might miss a playoff game or two.  I think they will be just fine.  I would like him on the field for the Saints game, but it is not a deal breaker in the machine that is that team.


27)  With Lamar Odom going to Dallas, is anyone starting a pool in how long him and that Kardashian chick are going to last?  Is she moving out of her comfort zone in LA to go to Dallas?  


28)  Useless fact that I am passing along that I know you have been losing sleep by not knowing.  75% of Colt McCoy's passes are thrown within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, by far the most in the NFL.  Is it bad that although I love that that stat, I really want to meet the person who compiled that stat for the network?  I have a feeling that we would have fun having beers.


29)  At halftime of the Steelers/ Browns game, the announcers were discussing what this meant to the Steelers' year with the loss of Big Ben.  Without even an MRI or X-Ray result.  Ummm.  Did anyone else even THINK he was not coming back?  I wasn't worried (k.  a LITTLE).  Dude is tough as nails.  Motorcycles?  Loser.  College chicks?  Loser.  Injuries?  Ain't nothing.  I actually was more concerned about Pouncey, analyst people.  We will be fine for the playoffs, people, but need Pouncey to make me feel secure.  Plus, who doesn't love Charlie Batch?  Money.


30)  Ohio State still is #2 in the basketball rankings.  I think that is fair.  They lost at Kansas without arguably the best player in the country (ASTERISK in its purest form), and it isn't a long term injury.  Keep them there.  All good.


31)  You win some, schedule makers, and you lose some.  I am writing a freaking SPORTS rant, and am admittedly watching reruns of Family Guy instead of MNF.  Rams/ Seahawks?  EEWWW...


32)  So the trendy pick won the Heisman.  Nice work, Griffin.  As I mentioned before, I can't bitch, because you could have made an argument for ANY of those guys.  Like the acceptance speech also, bro.  Simple, to the point, humble, classy, and VERY genuine.


33)  I was going to put a Tebow backdrop for this rant out of sarcasm.  I didn't.  I was scared I would have a new reader who might not understand my EXTREME sarcasm.  More on this shortly.  Side note.  I am on my 7th straight week of not buying a local sports page.  Can't do it.


34)  Harvard basketball falls to UCONN last week by 6 pts.  Obviously, there is a difference in athleticism.  However, I like the run they gave them, and there is NO WAY I would want any part of that team come March.  Tommy Amaker, your ceiling is low as a squad, and I don't think you will ever pull a George Mason, but you will either score an upset or scare the shit out of someone.

35)  I have not seen them play, but Dayton took down Bama.  That really proves absolutely nothing to me.  I think Dayton is dangerous, and I think Bama is overrated.  Admittedly, I haven't seen either play yet this year (but know who everyone got back and watched them lots last year), but plan on catching them soon to figure out the truth in this result.


36)  In my embarrassing opening up segment, I am 39 years old, and thought that "will do" when responding to a need for action was actually "we'll do."  I figured it out a week or two ago.  Sad.


37)  My thoughts and prayers go out to Fred Thompson's family.  He was the Oregon State football player who died from a heart attack this last week.  Too young.  Sucks.  


38)  Testing my theory that some people are just MADE to be offensive or defensive coordinators and not head coaches, Charlie Weis was hired by Kansas this week.  This one might work.  They have no history, there isn't much pressure there, and they can only go up.  Hope it works out for you, Charlie.  Offensive genius, yes.  Man who might not be able to handle high expectations when you are the last word?  Also, yes.


39)  The Heat picked up Shane Battier.  Great pick up, but I am interested to see who will be on the floor at the end of games.  Is he going to play a small 4 with Bosh at center?  Will he be the 3, with LeBron playing point forward?  Once again, that team has big names, but the roles continue to confuse me.  They have 5 different positions for a reason, guys.  Where is Hank Winter when I need him?  Can you make up a "rectangle" offense?  Actually, if you do that, call it a "rhombus" or "trapezoid" offense.  MUCH catchier.


40)  It was news that Greg Oden just accepted a deal with the Blazers.  Of course he did, and don't bother reporting anything else on this anytime soon.  The guy is one more tweak from being done again this year, and of course he will say yes to more money.  This is not angry, people.  I am rooting for him.  Just saying it can be a blurb rather than on the wire.


41)  Jared Allen ripped the town of Detroit before visiting this past week.  I went to Detroit for the Final Four a few years ago.  Got to agree.  Sorry.  The redeeming factor for me was that it was my first Final Four, I was hanging with my best friend, and Michigan State was in it, making it a party.


42)  If I am an NFL team drafting, can I just give up a player or two and then either take the Alabama secondary or the LSU secondary?  All of them?


43)  Sandusky is out on bail.  Sandusky's wife got his back.  The whole thing makes me sick enough to not comment on it for another rant.


44)  The Saints will be fine in their pass first offense without him, but I hope Mark Ingram's toe heals ok.  Since they are the only team over in that conference with a prayer of taking the Packers, I think they need him healthy to give them a run.  They already have the problem of going to their crib.  They need all the running backs they can get if cold weather takes some zip off of Brees passes.


45)  With the win this weekend over Gonzaga, anyone else notice that the Spartans are 8-2 after their two season opening losses to UNC and Duke?  Izzo doesn't care about early season rankings.  He just wants his team to be seasoned by March.  Love your style, Tom.  Side note.  Hey, Boeheim, I am a fan, but have you ever played a true road game in your first 12 games in the last...10 years?


46)  The Dolphins fire Sparano.  Poor dude.  If there was a squad that is outmanned most weeks, it is that one.  I think you did alright, bro.  They were still playing for you after starting 0-7.  How can you get down on this guy about that?


47)  The Chiefs fire Haley.  Although I feel bad that he had to deal with the Cassel injury, I don't feel bad for him.  He kind of seems like a jackass.


48)  This whole Chris Paul is very exciting and confusing, but the best is yet to come, people.  The Paul trade is kind of dominating the headlines, but if Dwight Howard gets traded to any decent team, the balance of power somewhere could immediately change.  In these weeks of some teams only having enough players on their roster to have 3-on-3 practices, we still have some excitement to come.  Trust me.


49)  The Giants beat the Cowboys Sunday night.  Crazy.  The Giants are 7-6 and totally control their own destiny.  Must be nice to be in that powerhouse NFC East.


50)  I purposely am doing the Tebow take last so I don't have much time or energy for it.  I have succeeded.  Things I have learned.
-I miss reading sports pages.  Let the mania end.
-I still don't think this thing is going to work.  At all.
-I admit I had a funny Facebook message to send when the Broncos were down 10-0 with 5 minutes left...that I was unable to send.
-I have announced myself as VP of all Tebow hating.  Stephen A.  Smith is President, as he is on TV and famous.
-I don't hate Tebow as a person.  I hate the Divine Intervention thing. God would love ALL teams, and I don't think he cares that much about football even if he decided to pick favorites.
-Tim, don't thank God when asked about Marion Barber runnning out of bounds.
-Denver people think that Tim plays on defense also.
-I will have a much longer take on this next week after the Pats absolutely SMOKE them.
-I am excited that it is lining up that the first playoff game for Denver would be Baltimore or Pittsburgh.  I want my boys to end this shit.
-While this whole mania thing is going on, I will do my best to watch Bronco games at home to not bring down Bronco fans in my vicinity.
-I will admit it.  This is ALL I admit.  I am NOT for it, but this IS the most compelling sports story that I can recall in a LONG time.


I just reread that take.  I am proud of myself.  I got some points out, but didn't come across as TOO angry.  Baby steps.


51)  That is it.  As one shepherd said to the other, I am getting the flock out of here.  Talk to you Thursday.  Peace.