If it’s not a fall from grace then what is it ?
They were all set to dominate and over the past few seasons these athletes in their own way have shone and then somehow flamed out. While still highly paid in the ultra- competitive world of professional sports, it’s hard to justify some of the salaries now being paid within the NBA , NFL and MLB . Say what you will, but I’ve long maintained a sport that barely has the Nielsen’s Rating flickering is simply not worth my time and so it goes in the world of professional hockey, otherwise known as the NHL .
Slide show.
When Dez Bryant was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys before the start start of the 2010 NFL season , it was felt the wide receiver would be a game-changer for the franchise. Taken as the twenty-fourth pick overall in the 2010 NFL Draft , initially he lived up to the hoopla, but over the past three years there has been a tail-off in productivity , while being paid handsomely in return by the franchise. Dez Bryant has two more years left on a five-year $70 million contract, but it would appear the player believes he’s in line for a pay raise. My own believe is that neither team owner and de-facto general manager Jerry Jones is willing to offer a new deal to the always rambunctious Bryant. The player and his agent , RocNation Sports will certainly try to prove the Cowboys’ front office wrong , if the rumors are to believed , that he will be cut. He has a cap hit to Dallas which will be over $14,000,000 for this upcoming season. Only Antonio Brown and Larry Fitzgerald will be better paid as wide receivers within the NFL for 2018.
From my own standpoint based on 2017 and 2016 , Dez Bryant has done nothing to suggest he’s even remotely in the class of either of those two players. Bryant being cut by the Dallas Cowboys might not be as big a loss as some might believe it to be. If he falls by the wayside , then I expect a number of teams likely to show some interest , but I seriously doubt that he will be able to get a big multi-year deal of over $100 million .
I have to hand it to Derek Jeter , not only has he been throwing out the bath water , but he’s also made the kitchen sink and all of the wares will be gone, along with alienating the Miami Marlins’ fans. No sooner have he and his business partners assumed control of the franchise , having paid over $1 billion for the privilege of owning the ball-club. He is now stripping it down to all but it’s essential bare bones as a playing staff . Jeter and senior managing partner Bruce Sherman have promised that the Marlins will be competitive in 2018, but I can’t see that happening when the team’s payroll will be way under $90 million .
Derek Jeter right is seen here with Marlins’ co-owner Bruce Sherman.
In this day age within baseball, $90 million might get you across the finish line,but in no way will it make you a leader of the pack, much less a viable contender for the World Series. Assuming there are no more trades to be made , the Miami Marlins’ roster is one with some experience but no real veteran leaders among the squad. Don Mattingly returns for another season to manage the Marlins and it will be interesting to see how the team fares against their divisional rivals this season. Mattingly and the team will begin with their exhibition games as part of Spring Training. The opening game of their regular season will see them face off against the Chicago Cubs at Marlins Ballpark in Miami , Florida on the 29th March ,2018. In terms of the Marlins being able to get the better of Washington Nationals or any of their rivals within the National League , I think it’s pretty safe to say they face an uphill battle , while their Derek Jeter seems so optimistic about the team’s chances.
Do athletes really need to be told, don’t do drugs? Don’t get caught with drugs and surely make sure if you’re going to get caught , make sure you have a sound explanation for your situation. Esteban Loaiza a seasoned veteran within the game, now faces some serious legal charges within the judicial system. Having plead not guilty on the charges of possession and the distribution of more than 10 kilograms (twenty-two pounds) of cocaine, Loaiza if found guilty, could be facing as much as twenty-five years in a California State Prison. Suffice to say his days within the game of baseball are essentially over.
A two-time NL Cy Young Award winner , it should tell you something when a pitcher of Tim Lincecum’s status now finds himself on the outside looking in , hoping to find himself on a Major League roster prior to the beginning of Spring Training. When he was let go by the San Francisco Giants, many were astonished by those turn of events. He was a mainstay on the team and part of the success when they won three World Series’ crowns within the space of five years, between 2010 and 2015. Lincecum found himself with the Los Angeles Angels in 2016 and his role with the team somewhat understated . Having been invited to the Spring Training Camp of the Seattle Mariners , it will be interesting to see if Tim Lincecum can make his way unto their starting lineup for 2018. There is a great deal of depth to the starting rotation as well as middle relief , but Lincecum will certainly have to prove himself if he going to make it unto the team’s final roster. Injuries and inconsistency were the issues which plagued pitcher , which led to his dismissal with the San Francisco Giants and his performances with the Angels at best , were never up to the expectations sought by managerial staff of Mike Scioscia and the front office .
For the Seattle Mariners this will be a make or break season , because over the past five years things have not gone in their favor. This franchise has not been to the MLB postseason since 2001 when they made to the ALCS , only to fall to the New York Yankees losing 4-1 in the best of seven-game series . The likes of Felix Hernandez , Robinson Cano and others will have to be front and center , playing great baseball if the Mariners are to make a return the postseason. Seventeen years is a long drought for a ball-club where former greats Alex Rodriguez , Ken Griffey Jr and Edgar Martinez made their names. I can see the Mariners vying for the AL West division in 2018 where their stiffest challenge is likely to come from reigning World Series champions the Houston Astros . Seattle will begin their regular season schedule with a game against the Cleveland Indians .
Big splash in New York, when he was acquired by the New York Knicks , but no one within the front office knew what to do in order to complement the talents of Carmelo Anthony . At the time , it was thought the trade that brought him to the Knicks from the Denver Nuggets would be the stepping stone needed for Anthony to prove himself among the elite players within the NBA. Instead , he has now become an afterthought while barely contributing to his present team the Oklahoma City Thunder .
While the Oklahoma City Thunder are challenging within their division and there’s been a spirited run within the Western Conference . There is a belief had Carmelo been contributing more, the team would be in a much better position all-round.
Well he’s now on this third team inside of a year , having been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving as the Boston Celtics moved to get younger and more productive at the point guard position. Isiah Thomas’ stint in Cleveland barely lasted the first half of the season and now he’s with the Los Angeles Lakers , where he will be teamed up alongside Lonzo Ball in the Lakers’ back-court . This should prove to be very intriguing as the team looks to make a push for a playoff berth within the West Conference . The depth of talent is far greater than anything they faced last season and even with the belief that Luke Walton and the coaching staff can motivate the players, against the top teams in the conference , I just don’t think there isn’t enough talent at Walton’s disposal. When the team resumes its schedule , they will face the Dallas Mavericks in a home game on the 23rd February. This will mark the return of the league in the aftermath of the All Star Break .
It’s not often I choose to be political when it comes to sports, but in light of the venal attacks seen from politicians and their demeaning remarks about athletes. I believe there comes a time when you have to stand up and take note. America has become a legitimate cesspool of garbage, with much of it on display not only from the politicians but also media whores, notably from the right and left of the political aisle. We have seen the President Donald Trump with his ham-fisted portrayals of patriotism and well-orchestrated acts of compassion after the recent tragic events in Parkland , Florida. With that in mind, the comments recently made by Laura Ingraham , a doyenne of the Conservative arc of idiocy and racial bigotry. I can only surmise that Ingraham must feel that she’s the wife of a white slave owner from the Deep South , who likes to see her niggers slaves kept in place . Her comments about high profiled NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant were not only demeaning, but it was clear that Ingraham simply didn’t care about what either of the players had to say concerning the social injustice being seen within the country at present.
Courtesy of New York Daily News
How Black America dispelled Laura Ingraham’s racist comments about LeBron James in a single weekend
By Carron J Phillips
In 1926, Carter G. Woodson started “Negro History Week,” today it is known and celebrated as Black History Month.
LeBron James (left) and Laura Ingraham
And this past weekend, multiple events took place that prove why Black History Month is still so necessary, because even when African-Americans have the shortest month of the year to celebrate our history and culture, we still have to deal with intolerance and ignorance.
You would think that asking America not to be racist for 28 days would be a simple task, but this past weekend proved that even in 2018 it’s a big favor to ask that of a country that once counted us as three-fifths of a human being.
Before last week, the only time I’d ever heard of Laura Ingraham was when she made headlines for appearing to give a Nazi salute at the end of her speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump — which is why her infuriating words on Thursday about a video of LeBron James and Kevin Durant discussing Trump with ESPN’s Cari Champion shouldn’t have been a surprise when you think about it.
LeBron James responds to Laura Ingraham on Trump comments
By now, you know that Ingraham referred to James as a “dumb jock,” said his elocution skills were “barely intelligible” and “ungrammatical,” wrongly described a video segment as a podcast, falsely claimed that James attempted to leave high school early, and doesn’t think athletes should speak on politics — even though her network has had the likes of Joe Namath, Bobby Knight, Curt Schilling, and even Dog the Bounty Hunter come on air to discuss politics — and still refuses to believe the President makes racist comments.So, when Ingraham told James to “shut up and dribble,” it was just further proof that she views black athletes as nothing more than court jesters.
And for all of you who are still in shock and don’t understand how someone like James, who’s the best basketball player on the planet, could have the N-Word spray-painted on the front gate of his L.A. home last summer, Ingraham is a big reason why these things still happen.
After the incident, people immediately started to weigh in to defend James, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Michele Roberts quickly adding their names to the list.
Chris Long takes Laura Ingraham to task over LeBron gripe
“I’m incredibly proud of our players for using the platform they have as players in the NBA and on social media to speak out on issues that are important to them,” Silver said. “I was proud of LeBron and Kevin’s response to the comments that were made about them.”“Between LeBron’s 40 million followers and Kevin Durant’s 17 million followers on Twitter, Laura Ingraham has now introduced herself as intolerant and narrow-minded to 57 million people and the world,” Roberts added. “We stand with our players.”
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LeBron James’ response to Laura Ingraham’s comments were insightful and very polite without taking aim directly as to the commentator’s racial biased overtones and comments. Needless to say , her supporters have suggested she said nothing out-of-place while , the players’ fans have voiced their concerns and thoughts via social media platforms of both James and Steph Curry .
Five decades ago Muhammad Ali , Tommie Smith and John Carlos were vilified by the press and nation at large for their outspokenness. Much of the criticism came from white America because they were simply afraid and in fear of anything a black man has to say. Circa 2018 and not much has changed other than the fact we now have a President who feasts off this divisiveness and racial bigotry , while Laura Ingraham is emboldened to carry on with that type of behavior and behind it all, as freedom of speech.
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