Saints Struggle with Brees Contract

The Saints are a joke.  They are a loosing franchise that will never contend consistently for a playoff birth let alone a Super Bowl.  Do you remember the days when we all heard and said those things about the Saints?  I have an easier time remembering the time those thoughts were thrown away a replaced with talk of the Saints as perennial front runners in their division and the NFC.  That all happened due to the arrival of Drew Brees from San Diego.  Now the Saints are reportedly not close to reaching an agreement with their saving grace.  Give him what he wants and get the deal done.

Drew Brees made headlines earlier this season for breaking Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record.  Since Brees has been in New Orleans he has passed for less than 4,400 just once and he missed it by 12 yards.  He has never thrown for less than 64% completions while wearing a Saints uniform.  With Brees at the helm they have been to the playoffs 4 out of 6 years, been to 2 NFC Championships, and won a Super Bowl.  Archie Manning, regarded as the best Saints QB ever, never made the playoffs.

Brees is more than just the QB of the New Orleans Saints; he is a pillar of that community.  After Katrina, Brees did more than show up for training camp and play football.  He embraced his new home and went out into the neighborhoods and participated in rebuilding the city.  He made himself more than an athlete to that city when he made them a priority in his life.  For that alone he deserves a medal, but it isn't something that he wants.  He did it because that's who he is not because he wants recognition for doing it.

For what Drew Brees has done on, but more importantly, off the field he should be rewarded in this contract.  In my opinion there shouldn't even be a negotiation.  The Saints should simply ask him what he wants and give it to him.  He is the second best QB in the league, one of the best of all time, and one of the few people in the league that deserves to be overpaid.  Make Brees happy or suffer from the consequences of being a joke yet again within the NFL.

Braun Right to Be Cleared

When it comes to baseball and steroids I have been of the attitude that it is what it is and it was what it was.  The game was dirty a decade ago and now, for the most part, it is clean.  We have had several years of players putting up great numbers without the cloud of steroids hanging over them.  Then Ryan Braun, MVP of the National League, tested positive for performance enhancing drugs at the end of the season and was suspended for 50 games.  Over the last day we have found that Braun's suspension has been lifted and his positive test has been thrown out.

When Braun was initially suspended it was due to to much testosterone showing up in his urine test.  It was the first test he had failed in his 7 year career.  As soon as the story was leaked to ESPN Braun went on the offensive.  He claimed that he had never taken anything that could have sparked a positive test.  His denial of wrong doing had little impact on the shelling he took from reporters, analyst, and fans.  MLB's testing had a reputation of never being wrong so it was simple to call Braun a liar.  Then today we found out how hew was able to save the first third of his season, his reputation, and possibly his career.

MLB's drug testing is the best of any professional sports league.  They are able to test for all drugs and they manage to stay on top of the newer hard to detect drugs.  However, in this case none of that matters.  Braun's urine sample was mishandled for the better part of 2 days.  His sample was given to a handler that then took it to a personal residence instead of immediately to a FedEx store.  That information alone should have resulted in a retest, but MLB ran their test and cast Braun as a cheater instead.

The process that MLB uses to test its' players was flawed in this case and MLB has no one to blame but themselves for their embarrassment.  Braun was right to appeal the suspension and the validity of the the test.  The urine sample spent 2 days unsupervised in the home of guy who had specific instructions to drop it off at the closest FedEx store and instead passed 12 location on his way back to his place.  That sounds weird to me and it definitely calls into question whether the sample was tampered with or not.  Why else would someone kidnap urine for 2 days?

I don't care if the sample was tampered with or not.  MLB never should have suspended Braun once they found that the sample taken had been mishandled for 2 days.  Their test's reputation is on the line every time they are administered and an event like this can kill its reputation.  This wasn't a "technicality".  A sample must be handled properly during all phases of the the testing process and if it isn't then it should be redone.  MLB can try and fight this all they want, but in the end it is their fault that they look foolish.  Braun was cleared for the right reasons and now it is up to him to make sure that the rest of his test are clean, like all the others he has taken.

Tiger Woods Not Far From Back

This weekend I watched Tiger woods surge to the top of the leader board at the AT&T Pro/Am at Pebble Beach only to fall short on the final day.  It was a sight that was eerily similar to the last tournament that Tiger played in in which he played well for the first 3 days and had a sub-par Sunday.  Unlike most who saw this weeks tournament, I see the performance by Woods as a step in the right direction.

Last season I saw Woods struggle to put 1 good round of golf together let alone be in contention on the last day of a tournament.  He was dealing with physical problems, mental problems, and family problems.  His private life was being thrown out into the public and his family was dissolving.  He was dealing with a knee injury and rehab for most of the year.  All of that mess lead to the fragile psyche that we saw last year and is still evident on Sundays this year.  The good news is that 75% of his mental toughness has returned.

Physically Tiger has been looking very good on the course so far this year.  He is hitting fairways and greens on a regular basis.  He came out a few weeks ago and said that he is finally back to a place where he can train instead of just rehab.  He is capable of putting in the work that made him the best in the world and once he gets comfortable with his game, it will be fun to watch him on Sundays again.  The question now is how long will it take?

Woods seems to be getting better every week, but the fact is he will probably never be as dominant as he was.  That has more to do with the talented golfers in the game today than Tiger's diminished skills.  Honestly, I'm not sure Tiger's skills have diminished.  We haven't seem him at 100% in last 2-3 years so if he is healthy, then he could be just as good as he was.  What is lost from Tiger's game is the mystique that surrounded him.  He no longer holds that mental edge over other players since they have seen him as an average golfer.  It was that feeling that you couldn't beat him that actually made him unbeatable for at least a decade and though he can still win without that, it might prove to be more difficult.

Tiger will win a tournament this year, probably more than 1.  His game is progressing and with the added time he will put in training I believe that he will get to a point where he is in contention on a regular basis.  The more success he has the better his game will get and if he can continue to put 3 solid rounds together in the next few tournaments then he will get the all important 4th to show up as well.

Giant Contribution

Last night the New York Giants won their second Super Bowl in 4 years and did it by, again, beating the New England Patriots.  It was an exciting game that ended a very exciting season for all fans but especially Giants' fans.  Looking back at the season it is easy to say that Eli Manning stepped into the role or leader and commander of the offense so well as to be named the MVP of the team, however, it is the contributions made by another player that I feel lead to the Giants appearance in the post season and ultimately the Super Bowl.

Chase Blackburn had been a New York Giant backup linebacker and special teams star for several years.  Blackburn was released before the start of the season this year.  Why?  I have no idea, but he was and the Giants went through a large part of the season without him.  After suffering a massive number of injuries on defense and experimenting with different combinations of players to try and find a way to improve a squad that was ranking near the bottom of the league in defense, the Giants needed to look towards an old friend.

Blackburn was asked back to the team in the first week of December to be the starting middle linebacker.  He made his presence felt in his first game back by racking up 7 tackles and intercepting a pass from Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.  With Chase back on the field the Giants went 7-2 and the their ability to stop the run was greatly improved.  He was always around the ball and the energy he brought to the defensive side of the ball appeared to be contagious.

In the post season Blackburn was steady in his play and critical in the Giants victories against the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers.  Both teams were at the top of the league in rushing offense and, though the 49ers ran for 150 yards, both teams were kept in check and weren't allowed to dominate the games with their ability to rush the ball.  Blackburn's 16 tackles in those 2 games were a big part of helping the Giants get the opposing team off the field without scoring a lot of points.

In the Super Bowl, Blackburn was exposed in the passing game against the Patriots tight ends, but he managed to have a big impact in the game.  On a 1st down play in the second half, Tom Brady was scrambling and spotted Rob Grankowski deep down the field.  Blackburn was in coverage on Grankowski and allowed the tight end to slip behind him.  Brady threw the ball at Grankowski, but left the ball just a little short.  Blackburn was able to recover from his earlier mistake and locate the ball in the air and come down with an impressive interception.  The Giants would end up scoring points on the possession gained from take away.

While Manning had the best year of his career and was no doubt the teams MVP.  Chase Blackburn's contribution during his shortened season where equally as significant and his presence was definitely felt on the defensive side of the ball.  From the time he was injected into the lineup the defense performed better and appeared to have found the leadership outside the defensive line that it was looking for most of the season.  Eli was the MVP, but I think Chase was the catalyst.