shawne merriman

As reported by several news outlets, Chargers' LB Shawne Merriman has been accused by MTV reality star Tila Tequla of two felonies including battery and false imprisonment. While we need to let the law run its course before we try to judge the entire situation, it's far too apparent looking at Merriman's past that there seems to be a common trend in having off-field issues. First, it was the knee injury that cost him his entire 2008 season. Then he strained relations with the Chargers brass by failing to communicate with them properly. Now this. When does a guy realize how lucky he is to be reeling in millions of dollars to play a game he loves? Apparently, never. Looking at how guys like Plaxico Burress and Mike Vick have completely thrown away their careers when they were at their peak makes me think these guys will never learn. I'll never know what it's like to grown up in the projects or a rough neighborhood, and I can see why it would be hard to throw aside your old neighborhood friends. But at some point in your life and career, you need to realize how fortunate you are to make more money than I will in my entire life to play a game you love. I can't understand why these guys can't buckle down during their brief careers (10-15 years max in the NFL), work hard, stay out of trouble, and make more money than I can count. But, what do these guys do? Bring unlicensed guns to the clubs, beat their girlfriends, and engage in elaborate interstate dog-fighting rings. Are you kidding me? The point is we need to let the law run its course for Merriman, but the unfortunate trend with these NFL players lately makes me not willing to hold my breath.

tim lincecum

Too often in sports, certain players, no matter what numbers they put up, or what impact they really had on their team, get over looked for a number of reasons. Maybe they don't have the name recognition, the star power, or maybe they don't play in a large market. But, it finally happened: the most deserving person who undoubtedly deserved the award was given it. Think Webb deserved it? How about a 3.30 ERA to convince you otherwise? Or maybe Johann Santana? 16-7 with 206 k's. Certainly, very solid numbers, but let me dish out a few of my own on Lince to convince you.

Lincecum led the Giants with 17 wins, led the NL in strikeouts (265, that's 10.51 k's per 9 innings!), and posted a tidy 2.62 ERA. These may be some very impressive numbers, but they don't begin to tell the true story of his dominance. By the end of the season, his bullpen had blown 6 saves, so that's 23 potential wins right there. In addition, he led the league in the oft-overlooked stat of hits per 9 innings: 7.22 per 9 inning. In additon, not once in 2008 did he give a batter a 3-0 count. To lead the league in strikeouts and have the incredible control to not give one single batter a 3-0 count is remarkable. But, none of that really fully shows his dominance. How about this stat: Dating back to last year, when the Giants score 3 or more runs, Lince is 20-0! Think about that. 3 runs is average. I can only imagine what he could accomplish on a team like the Red Sox or Angels.

Stats don't always tell the whole story, nor should they. Speaking in solely emotional terms, watching batters whiff wildly as Lince's nasty changeup is like watching helpless defensive backs try to hit Barry Sanders in the open field. It's not happening. I have never seen a pitcher make so many batters look so bad, and do it all at the age of 24.

the LJ holdout

whenever i hear of an athlete holding out for a larger contract, i can't help but see it from two perspectives. one, as a college student aspiring to be an agent, i see holdouts as an often-effective way of gaining deserved money for an athlete. but, the other side of me, which more than often wins the internal debate, sees holdouts such as a selfish, rich athlete seeking to become richer. as a devout fan of the nfl i believe that when a player takes the conscious leap in deciding to holdout from his team, he creates a distance between himself and fans of the game. in the case of lj, however, i will make an exception. still under a contract with the chiefs that he signed as a rookie out of penn state, lj has given the chiefs as great a return on their investment that they could ever ask for. in 2005, his first year as the full-time starter, he rushed for 1,750 yards (a franchise record), all despite not starting 7 games of the season. after making the pro bowl in 2005, he entered 2006 as the feature back and did not disappoint, rushing for a whopping 1,789 yards, second only to LT and breaking the record for most carries in a single season. again, he made the pro bowl, his second straight appearance. he is now widely regarded as the second best rb in the league, second only to the remarkable LT, with his closest competitor being stephen jackson. he has accomplished all of this on a rookie contract, in which he has one year left. this year, he is set to be paid a meager $1.7 million, a steal for such a high caliber rb in an age where the running game is so vital. for the past several weeks, the chiefs have said they are prepared to allow lj to holdout and have refused to re-structure his deal. this ignorance on the part of the chiefs front office leads me to believe that they don't know the talent that he posseses. in addition, while refusing to re-negotiate is the chiefs' right, they force themselves into a corner, leaving themselves only two choices:

1.) trade LJ before the season, or midseason at a lower value. this option is seemingly unthinkable, as there is no way to get equal value for him, both because there are few backs with as much youth and talent, and because he is approaching a contract year, and could certainly sign elsewhere if he so desired, limiting his trade value.
2.) let him go in the offseason and receive nothing for him. this option is even less viable, because i don't think cheifs' fans would ever forgive such a thing

so, in this case, i believe that the chiefs' front office needs to get off their ass, and resign arguably the second best back in the league. without him, they are left with priest holmes (who, in my opinion, will never see the field again) and a few backups, none of which will give the young brodie croyle the help he needs to mature properly.

the whole vick situation

first, with so many people commenting on the situation with "superstar" mike vick, i feel the need to throw in my two cents. with fucking morons like jemelle hill of Page 2 from espn.com constantly and unnecessarily fueling the racial fires, we need to look at the issue from a practical perspetive. some may say that, unlike past athletes who have come under fire, vick didn't harm any humans, thus this shouldn't be an issue as big as, say, Pacman Jones. am i the only one who sees the flawed thinking here? did mike "he'll break through next year" vick not break a federal law? regardless of what law he broke, and who or what he injured or killed, he knew the laws and willingly broke them. also, how can one make an argument that the whole case is as big as it is solely because the purpetrator is an african american? the man broke a federal law, and knowingly did so for years (allegedly). now, his three "friends" are going to roll over on him faster than you can say badnews kennels. did the duke community, namely the few lacrosse players who were all but crucified in the media, ever recieve an apology from the black community in durham? no. while i don't believe that vick should be suspended yet, and i don't believe the media should jump the gun quite yet (again); the media, including some of the moronic writers at espn (the trash-spewing Hill), should stop making the case a racial issue. the man allegedly broke a federal law with several of his "friends" and is now facing a very public and fair trial, and let's leave it at that.