One of the great things about sports is that every week fans are provided with a plethora of new topics to think about and discuss. Along with my other posts, starting today, and continuing every Sunday for the foreseeable future, I am going to supply my readership with an opportunity to peer inside my oversized cranium and take a peek at what I’m mulling over.
These are the five sports questions I’ve been pondering this week and will continue to think about while I eat my breakfast and fail at the Sunday crossword. I present to you the inaugural edition of The Sports Don’s Sunday Musings...
1.) Former Gonzaga standout and current NBA bust Adam Morrison was traded alongside Shannon Brown to the Los Angeles Lakers last night for Vladimir Radmanovic. Morrison is further proof that a great college game doesn’t necessarily translate into a stellar professional career, and this has me thinking, was the 2006 NBA draft the worst of all-time? Of the 60 players selected in that year’s draft, just Portland’s Brandon Roy (pick #6) has been an all-star, and only Boston’s Rajon Rondo (#21) and Utah’s Paul Millsap (#47) have had seasons warranting all-star consideration. Morrison was the third pick, and Brown was choice number 25 in a draft that saw Italy’s Andrea Bargnani go first to Toronto. I challenge you to find one worse. So I ask again, was the 2006 draft the worst ever?
2.) The Houston Texans coaching staff has come under some tepid heat this week for ignoring the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement and forcing their players to practice in pads earlier in the preseason than allowed last summer. I bring this up because I have a bone to pick with former Pro Bowl guard Mark Schlereth. Schlereth, now an analyst on ESPN’s NFL Live, stated on Thursday’s program that the Texans disregard for the CBA stipulation was no big deal, it’s how it is in the NFL, and it’s a rule every team ignores. I don’t think it’s a big deal, either, but my problem is Schlereth’s blasé attitude screams hypocrisy. Schlereth formerly chastised Bill Belichick and the New England organization over Spy Gate and called many of their accomplishments into question. While NFL coaching greats like Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson said the Patriots’ taping practices were no big deal, common, and being blown far out of proportion, Schlereth was at the forefront of ESPN’s crusade to blemish Belichick & Co.’s legacy. Does the holier-than-thou Schlereth have a hidden agenda?
3.) It appears David Beckham wants to return to Europe to play soccer for the Italian club team AC Milan. Surprise, surprise. I write that sarcastically because the real surprise was that Beckham wanted to play in the States in the first place. For those of you who don’t recognize the MLS even exists, a player of Beckam’s magnitude opting for the Los Angeles Galaxy is like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning bidding adieu to the NFL to go revive the XFL or Albert Pujols leaving the St. Louis Cardinals to play in the minors. Beckham is a great player, albeit on the down slope of his career, who should be playing in Europe. Nothing can make soccer relevant in the United States short of the Red, White and Blue winning the World Cup, and if Beckham Spice didn’t realize this before, he does now. Beckham wants to go back to a place where he is revered as a god and play on the highest level. Can you blame him?
4.) Although this isn’t the most current of sports topics, it has been something I’ve been questioning for years now, and I began thinking about again two weeks ago when Scott Pioli fired Horrendous Herm in Kansas City: How does Marvin Lewis still have a job in Cincinnati? With the unemployment rate skyrocketing, there has to be some coach or layman somewhere who can perform as well, if not better, than Lewis. Of course I’m being slightly facetious, but the Bengals are 46-50-1 overall since Lewis took the reins, haven’t won a single playoff game, and his team’s record has gotten progressively worse since 2005. Not to mention his lack of control. Aside from Chad Johnson’s antics, Lewis has had so many players get arrested HBO could resurrect the series “Oz” only casting formerly incarcerated Bengals. In a league where great coaches are fired for one sub par season, someone please tell me which member of management Lewis has naked pictures of?
5.) I’m disappointed, yet unsurprised, by the latest allegations of a positive steroid test for one of baseball’s superstars. I’ve never been an Alex Rodriguez fan, but it’s not because he’s a Yankee, and I’m a Red Sox fan. It was something about his egomaniacal personality that I first noticed when he emerged in Seattle circa 1996 or maybe it was the blonde tips. Regardless, I had always respected his skill, because prior to yesterday, he was unquestionably one of the greatest ballplayers anyone had ever seen. No one could argue that. Unfortunately, for A-Rod and baseball, now they can. A-Rod was always going to be a player you told your kids and grandkids about watching, and while he still will be, now that story of days-gone-by will come with an unsightly asterisk. I guess Jose Canseco was right (I just threw up in my mouth a little). It makes you appreciate Manny and his quirkiness a little bit more, doesn’t it?
If you disagree with my opinion, would like to share your own or want to tell me this is the most intelligent post you've ever read, email TheSportsDon@gmail.com.
