Ocho Cinco Still Threatening To Sit Out Bengals' Season?

Disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver, Chad Johnson, has decided to skip his current team’s voluntary offseason workouts that began today. Johnson has attended the workouts in recent years but is not attending this year because he is still hoping that the Bengals will trade him. Head Coach, Marvin Lewis, has repeatedly stated this offseason that the Bengals will not trade Johnson though.

This is an interesting situation on different levels to me. I am surprised that Marvin Lewis still has the head coaching job in Cincinnati to begin with, after two poor seasons in a row where the team has failed to qualify for postseason play despite winning the division with essentially the same team in tact from back in 2005. If the Bengals had not been such a joke through the 90's, and really since their inception into the NFL, Lewis probably would have been fired by now in all honesty but has been given one last chance for this upcoming season because he is viewed as someone who has brought the concept of “winning football” to Cincinnati. Despite the poor results he has gotten on the field, the largest problem that the organization has had, is the numerous off field problems that many of the organization’s players have been involved in over the past two seasons. The Bengals have been more so known for the bad things that they have done off the field than the bad things they have done on the field over the past few seasons. It does not make sense to me how someone who knows their job is gone if they do not make the playoffs this year, only won seven games last year, has not had any big upgrades over the offseason, can be adamant about refusing to trade a player who does not want to play for the organization anyways?

The Redskins, Cowboys, Eagles, and probably a handful of other teams would be interested if Lewis were to make Johnson available at some point. All three teams would be considered the favorite to finish at the top of the NFC, if they were to land the loud-talking wide receiver in their respective cities. I can understand that the Bengals are reluctant to part with one of the best five wide receivers in the NFL, but when your job is on the line as Lewis’ is, you do not have the luxury of being able to say that you will not consider any thing, much less trading your disgruntled wide receiver? If nothing else, they could probably rob the Redskins of their first three picks in April’s draft, and get them to pay the salary hit the team would take for trading Johnson. Those future players may not help Lewis, but whoever is coaching the team in a few seasons could benefit from such a deal for Johnson though.

Pacman To Play For Cowboys?

The Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and Detroit Lions have all been linked to troubled cornerback Pacman Jones over the past few weeks. All three have expressed interest in possibly trading for the former first round pick by the Tennessee Titans. Matt Millen has told the media that he considered the idea but the risk outweighs the possible reward essentially. It worries me when one of the top 10 worst general managers in major sports history does not think a move like this is a good one? Jones’ agent has mentioned a team like the Cowboys or the Patriots as potential great fits for Jones because of the structure and respect that characterizes both of the organizations.

I’m not going to say that the Dallas Cowboys are not a great organization, but I would think that the move makes more sense for the New England Patriots if you are going to use respect and character as the selling point here. The Patriots have been able to get troubled players like Corey Dillon and Randy Moss to leave their off-field troubles behind and become good teammates and contribute to the success of the organization over the past four seasons. The Cowboys had a very good season last year, but remember the early 90's, before there was the Cincinnati Bengals, Portland Trailblazers, and Indiana Pacers, there was America’s original team of trouble-making athletes, "The Jailboys." Back during the 90's, the Cowboys were winning Superbowls, but it seemed every week that somebody was getting locked up from the team. Michael Irvin was the poster boy of troubled Dallas Cowboys at that point in time. Due to Pacman Jones’ lengthy suspension, that is still indefinitely running mind you, if he is given another chance in the NFL he may be willing to clean up his act? I think that he makes sense in New England, and still has a chance at having a bright future on the field (if he can get to the field on Sundays), but the Cowboys should probably stay away from him if Matt Millen thinks that he is a bad character, because honestly, who has drafted more bad characters than Matt Millen?

My Final Four Prediction

Okay let me begin this by saying, unlike most sports where you can predict what is going to happen most of the time, March Madness is not one of them. If you put time and effort into watching the NFL, MLB, NBA, and a handful of other sports, there is a good chance that you have the ability to be right more often than not. Due to the craziness of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, between the match-ups, the six total victories it take to win it all during the course of three weeks, plus the fact that to be well educated you about the sport you would had have followed 300 eligible teams instead of around 30 like in most sports, it is impossible to call yourself an expert wether you work for ESPN or just consider yourself an aficionado of the game because of the aforementioned reasons. Heck, most of the people who do well in picking these brackets are people who know next to nothing about the game or have not seen a game all season. Every year, that little old lady wins the office pool, or that person who picks teams based on geographical location, team colors, and other rediculous criteria finishes higher than the guy who watches ESPN at least four hours a day and eight on Saturdays. Predicting all or most of your bracket correctly rests on astronomic chances, you would have a better while similarly difficult chance of predicting which drug or drugs they will find Courtney Love hopped up on the next time she is pulled over, it’s nearly impossible.

Now that I have covered my bases, let me get to my picks. I have UNC, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and UConn making it to the Final Four this year. If you do not have your bracket in front of you, I have Georgetown beating UNC to make it to the title game and reluctantly picking Pittsburgh to advance to the title game over UConn. Then I have Georgetown winning the whole thing over Pittsburgh.

UNC in my opinion has been the best team in the country all year long overall. Roy Williams is one of the best coaches in the game and always has capable players. He may not have the single best player in the country, but in Tyler Hansbrough, he has possibly the most consistent. Unfortunately, I think UNC has worn themselves out during the regular season and were pretty lucky to just steal one from Virginia Tech last week. I think they will be out of gas by the time they make it to the Final Four, and will not have an answer nor the gas left in the tank to try to contain Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert.

I may very well be one of the few people who think that UConn is Final Four good. But trust me they are, while they stumbled out of the gate earlier on, Coach Calhoun does not coach quitters. He does not usually get the very cream of the crop or the flashiest kids as far as commitments are concerned, usually losing them to UNC and Duke, but he usually gets the most solid ones. Calhoun’s kids play defense, and come this time of year, defense is what holds up in late March above all else. This is why the man has national titles displayed at his school. I really feel bad about picking them to lose to Pittsburgh, but I feel that Pittsburgh is just a cut above, because they never seem to have a lack of motivation, always playing with a chip on their shoulders, which UConn clearly lacked earlier on.

Pittsburgh, year in and out finds a way to win big games that no one picks them to win during the regular season and the tournament. They are very well coached, but like I just mentioned, they play with a chip on their shoulders which combined with probably being the second most well-rounded team in the tourney, behind UNC, makes them extremely dangerous and a legitimate national title contender. They aren’t quite what I would call underdogs, but you usually do not hear them mentioned in the same breath as the other three teams I have in my Final Four. Due to the seeding, I love the fact that they have a chance to be matched up against the Georgetown Hoyas, who they have matched-up well against and taken big games from over the last few years. It is always a close and interesting game when these two teams meet, and could make for one of the best national title games that the sport has ever seen if it comes to fruition.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, this has got to be Georgetown’s year. Again, I will state that defense is what wins games come March, this team has it. They also have a good offense but have been inconsistent at times, even losing the Big East Tournament to Pittsburgh this past Saturday. However, they are coached by John Thompson III, who is one of the more clever match-up specialists in all of the game. They also have possibly one of the top and smartest backcourts in all of college basketball, in Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp. To further worry other teams, they are so good that they get to bring Patrick Ewing’s son off of the bench. The biggest reason I like them to win though, is their biggest reason for winning, Roy Hibbert. He is one of the best big men that the game has seen in a while. Hibbert has frustrated just about every team he has played against during his time at Georgetown. The teams that have been lucky enough to hold him or somewhat neutralize him, as a result, have left his teammates free due to blown coverage trying to defend him and ultimately losing the game to his supporting cast. Georgetown has been close to a national title for the past three seasons, pair that with a frustrating loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday, along with one of college basketball’s few experienced teams, and you have John Thompson III finally replicating a piece of what his father was able to do during his time at the school. Had Jeff Green not left Georgetown to declare for the NBA Draft after last season, I would say they were a lock to win it all. However there are no locks in college basketball come tourney time, but Georgetown is the closest thing to that in my opinion.

Local Teams Get To Tourney

First off, let me say how excited I am to see my school playing in mid-March for the second time in the past three years. Had George Mason not blown the game in last year’s CAA Tournament Finals, it would be three straight years in a row with an appearance in The Big Dance, but I won’t live in the past here. It’s amazing to see a smaller program have the chance to shake the world up. The thing you have to love about sports, like very few competitions in life, is when the underdog actually has a chance. Football usually gets the praise as the sport where anything can happen at anytime, which is evidenced by the term “any given Sunday.” I think boxing should be right there with football or close to it, seeing as how at any time, the underdog can hit the champion with a good shot and that’s it, and there really isn’t too much or a game plan that could have prevented that, so I think boxing has got to be right there.” Think Ali’s upset over Foreman at the Rumble in the Jungle or Buster Douglas’s shocking knockout over the baddest man on the planet at the time, Mike Tyson during the early 90's. But College Basketball has got to be the best example overall. Every year, without fail, there are at least a few opening round games where schools that were expected to go very deep in the tourney end up getting knocked out by a school that really did not spend a lot of time on television during the past season. You have to love the unpredictability of the whole thing!

I have to say I love seeing that American University got into the tournament for their first time. I think the obvious comparison is that they are this year’s George Mason. I highly doubt they are going to take down Bruce Pearl’s team in the first round, but it is still amazing to see that such an obscure school across the nation make it in with the big dogs like Duke and UNC. Maybe they too will serve as inspiration for other smaller or lesser known schools across the country. It seems this year that a lot of the mid-majors have been getting love from the tournament committee by getting more invites than in years past, probably some of those years added together. This only adds to the excitement and craziness that is March Madness because anyone and everyone has a chance to win it all. It is especially exciting for kids who enroll at these smaller schools or get rejected from the bigger ones, because they feel more inclined to follow their teams because they have a chance at doing something special like going deep in the tourney and getting their school some recognition at some point.

Now let me get to Virginia Tech, every year there is between three and five teams who get snubbed. Virginia Tech and a lot of fans and analysts will argue that Virginia Tech got the shaft on this one, but I do not think that they did. Virginia Tech definitely ended their season strong, but they lost at least a few games that they should have played much better in or even won. Tech pretty much controlled their destiny had they beaten Clemson on March 9th, but they lost by a point. While they are unquestionably a good football school, they were not able to win at least one game this season against a team who was ranked, so I am not ready to get upset over a team who controlled their own destiny and are not even a basketball school to begin with. They lost to Butler, Duke, UNC, and Clemson, all of who were ranked during the regular season. I can’t fault them for giving up that fatal basket to Tyler Hansbrough, he is one of the best in the college game right now, but had they been able to stop him from hitting that basket, they were one good showing in overtime away from a tourney birth. I would be more sympathetic had they won a game against a team who was ranked this year, but they did not, so I am not.

The Georgetown Hoyas are the only team in the Virginia/D.C. area who could legitimately be considered a favorite for a Final Four appearance. Despite that, this should be a very exciting week for an area that has never been known for its basketball like the state of North Carolina. Perhaps, this is an omen to the future of the sport in a state that is not so far from North Carolina though?

The Flash Is Out

Two days ago Dwayne Wade announced that he is going to sit out the final 21 games of the Heat’s season in order to nurse his surgically repaired knee back to health. Even though Wade injured the knee during last year’s first round playoff exit to the Chicago Bulls and underwent a routine operation immediately after, it has been clear that Wade has not been healthy all season long. The decision to hold Wade out of the lineup for an extended amount of time, which has ended up being the season, comes at least twenty-something games too late. All year long Wade has not looked like himself and I know the logic behind keeping him in was to keep the Heat’s playoff chances alive by this time, but clearly if he is not close to healthy there is no chance that he can carry this team on his back anyways. If nothing else, former teammate Shaquille O’ Neal mailed his season in around December, and once they traded O’ Neal a few weeks ago, the Heat should have just explained to Wade that they were mailing this season in too.

I refuse to understand even with injuries, an unhealthy Wade, an unhealthy and uncaring Shaquille O’ Neal up until recently, how Hall of Fame coach, Pat Riley can only have 11 wins and play in the Eastern Conference at this point in the season? Even the Timberwolves and Grizzlies, who play in the much more difficult West, have three and four more wins respectively than the Heat. While I do not fully intend to blame Pat Riley for this or question his past achievements, I do think that a lot of this falls on him. He has chosen the players on this team and decided to put the knife in Stan Van Gundy’s back to put one more ring on his finger a few years ago, which was probably unethical, but there is no chance they would have gotten it without Riley, so he made a good decision for him and the city of Miami. Other than the Championship the Heat won, or I should say the championship that the Mavericks gave them, Riley has been unsuccessful in Miami following his tenure with the New York Knicks in the early 90's. When he arrived in Miami, he pretty much got owned by his former team the New York Knicks, year in-and-out come playoff time. That is what eventually led to him stepping down as the head coach of the Miami Heat. Then once he landed Shaquille O’ Neal, he decided his team was a title contender and wanted to step in and take over again. It makes me wonder if Riley is as good as we think he is, or if he has was just lucky to coach a team like the Showtime Lakers, or the Ewing-led Knicks, both of which were already very good teams no matter who called the plays like Phil Jackson has been accused of over the years?

This is relatively the same team that “won” the Championship not too long ago. Even then they were filled with many players who were past their respective primes, everyone could see that they were a two man team between O’ Neal and Wade and eventually headed towards problems. Riley should have made moves to get younger over the last two off seasons, but largely has not moved towards that, perhaps due to his age he was unwilling to start over with a very young team? I love that the Heat managed to get Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O’ Neal before the trade deadline, this will ensure that the Heat will move towards getting younger during the upcoming seasons and field a supporting cast around Wade. Pulling Wade out for the rest of the season, will ensure that they get more balls in the lottery (and probably three more wins max. this year) and that should result in a higher pick in this year’s draft. That should lead to the team getting another young player who can immediately step in and help Wade and Marion get the Heat back to being a playoff team relatively soon. My guess is that Riley will give it one more season as head coach, staying around primarily to see how far Wade can get a team without O’ Neal. This time we should get a better picture of what Wade is capable of without a presence in the middle, unlike before when he was the star of the team as a rookie without O’ Neal, his experience in the league should make everything much clearer this time. Providing that Wade fully recovers from his knee injury, the recent addition of a solid number two player for any team in Shawn Marion, and the almost guaranteed addition of a top five player in the upcoming draft, remember the Heat still play in the East, I can almost guarantee that the Heat will be in the playoffs at the end of next season avenging this disastrous one.

Jeff Hardy Will Miss Wrestlemania XXIV

Perhaps pro-wrestling’s greatest daredevil of all-time, Jeff Hardy, has been suspended for 60 days which will cause him to miss the biggest show of the year in the form of Wrestlemania XXIV on March 30th. Jeff Hardy has been suspended for violating the WWE’s wellness program. It is not yet known which drug or drugs he has taken to put him in violation of the company’s policy.

While I have always found Jeff Hardy (and even more so his totally untalented brother, Matt) somewhat annoying, I have found his in-ring work highly entertaining. In 2003 it seemed that he had all but squandered his career in the WWE due to taking drugs, refusal to go to rehab, and no-showing events, which earned him his release from the company in April of that year. He was then given a second chance and re-signed more than three years later by the WWE. Before they let him go the first time, he was being pushed to main eventer status within the company, despite his small frame. This push was evidenced by the fact that he held his own in a Rocky-esque fashion after just barely losing a ladder match to the Undertaker (who was then heel) and earning his respect. Again, it would seem that Hardy has squandered his chances to be the top guy or in the top tier of guys in the company after having the best past six months that anyone has had in the WWE. The fact that Hardy was given a feud with the top guy in the company (wether he holds the belt or not) Triple H, and got a clean win over him (which Triple H rarely allows) showed us that Jeff Hardy may not be too much further away from a world title run at some point. But now, there is large likelihood that Jeff Hardy may not get that chance again, and if he does, he will have to wait numerous months and prove himself to Vince McMahon over and over again.

This past week on RAW, Hardy dropped the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Jericho. I guess it is a good thing that Hardy did not take the world title off of Randy Orton during their feud not too long ago. How embarrassing would it have been for the company to have to suspend the world champion right up until Wrestlemania or through it? It remains to be seen what will happen with Hardy’s career. However he could manage to get another chance at the title one day, Randy Orton had “shot himself in the foot” numerous times before ascending to the top during this past year. It makes me wonder what drug or drugs Jeff Hardy got suspended for though? It is no secret that he has been nursing injuries for at least the last few months and due to his high-flying style he is a lot more likely to get injured and stay injured than many of the other guys in the company. As he approaches 30, I wonder if the high-flying style that has made him a standout in the company will continue or for how much longer he will be able to do it? I would almost bet every dollar in my pocket that the injuries he has sustained from his high-flying style are the reason(s) for his drug use. As I watch Wrestlemania at the end of the month, I won’t be able to help but wonder what crazy moves Hardy would have been able to execute in the Money In The Bank match he has been pulled from? There is no doubt that he would have hit at least one big move (probably off of a ladder) that would have stolen the show (and gotten one of the most excited calls from Jim Ross in a while that was non-Steve Austin related) I’m sure. Oh well, he has only been suspended at this point, not released, so he will get another chance to do some crazy stuff off a ladder at some point, the question is, is will that match be for a World Championship, a lesser title, or nothing at all?

Favre Calls It A Career

Green Bay’s favorite son has chosen to hang his cleats up after 17 seasons in the NFL. No, he did not get to leave the game with another Lombardi trophy, but considering the season that he had the year before and the fact that he played on such a young team over the last few seasons, I’d say the ending was just as good. Brett Favre held a press conference today where he announced his retirement and broke into tears. To paraphrase the former gunslinger, he announced that even though he felt as if he could still play, he just did not want to do it anymore. Favre leaves the game as one of the most beloved players to ever compete in any major sport and arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, but where does he or where should he actually rank in comparison to some of the other all-time greats at the same position?

I have to say the thing that I find most impressive about Favre is his 253 consecutive regular season starts (the streak is 275 if you count playoff starts). Cal Ripken Jr. is one of the few athletes that I actually consider a hero, and most people would define him by his 2,632 straight games, but I have to say Favre’s streak is more impressive. While it obviously takes a degree of luck to be able to play in that many games in a row for either streak, the fact that Favre did it in a violent and contact based sport is truly amazing. On top of that, he plays the position of quarterback, where it is pretty much considered the job of the defense to make sure that quarterback cannot continually play the game. The fact that he played in that many straight games is a testament to him being a true tough guy, despite the many tears he shed in retirement press conference (just kidding, it’s okay for a man to have an occasional cry if he has three MVP’s I suppose).

Favre was definitely great, but I do think that he has been overrated to a certain degree. I can not argue that he did not have a strong arm or was not able to get the ball into the end zone on a regular basis, but there is a good list of Hall of Famers who were also capable of doing that. My argument here is not that he does not deserve to be a Hall of Famer at his position, because he definitely does, but it is totally illogical to argue that he is one of the best five players ever at his position, perhaps you could make an argument that he goes in somewhere from five to ten, but 10 to 15 would probably be more fair. Despite his 3 MVP’s, he was not a better player overall than Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, or Dan Marino, ring or no rings.

While most arguments in sports and where players rank all-time are based on championships, I think what defines a player is when you talk about if you were the coach or manager of a team and you were playing in the biggest game of the year, who would you want the game to rest on? Favre is one of the most undisciplined players I have ever seen, and it would make it difficult for me to even consider him for that scenario. For every big game he won, he lost one with a big interception, in fact he holds the record for most interceptions by a quarterback during the course of a career. I almost wonder to myself, if Favre were just starting out today in the NFL as a younger player with his same skill set, depending on the city, I am not absolutely certain that his career would span 17 seasons. Today the younger players have a much shorter leash than he ever had, consider quarterbacks like Rex Grossman, Patrick Ramsey, and up until recently, Eli Manning when it comes to interceptions and the benching process. What generally makes someone great is their decision making process, today Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are the two names you would hear from a coach if asked who they would want leading their team down the field if they needed six points and only had two minutes left. The reason for that is not because they have such strong arms, which they do, but because both are smart with the football. Their two of the best decision makers that the game has ever seen. Too many times Favre tried to win the game with a pass in too small of a space and cost his team the game instead. Players like Unitas and Montana built their top 10 quarterback reputations on being smart with the football and triumphing by being patient when the chips were down. Because of this, despite the greatness that Favre did achieve at Lambeau Field and other stadiums, he will never be the guy who comes up in the conversation of hypothetical last drives, thus does not deserve an argument on his behalf for all-time top five quarterback consideration.

The skills that Favre did have being paired with his emotions as a player and the excitement that he brought to anyone who has ever watched him play are what will define him and his greatness in our memories, and the emotions he brought will largely define that success specifically. In reality though he is not even the greatest quarterback to ever lead the Green Bay Packers, but due to his emotions and character he will probably has and will continue to outshine the person for whom that honor should be considered, Bart Starr. I do however find it ironic that the future Hall of Famer’s last pass in the NFL was an interception that also cost his team the NFC Championship.