The Sports Rumors

Little Things Go Along Way

Public perception.  Media saviness.  24/7 sports news coverage. 

We’re in 2008 people.  Every athlete knows how every action of theirs is watched, talked about, gossiped about, and written about.  Who you’re dating, your conflicts with teammates or coaches, what you say on the field, who you associate with off the field; all of this is public knowledge.  Bloggers like myself, millions of us, write about it every day.  Opinions are shaped and formed from all of these branches of media outlets. 

That being said, I have no doubt that Ladanian Tomlinson would give his heart and soul for his team.  I have no doubt that he is a tough player and he has the resume to back it up.  He has played through injury before, even when the games didn’t matter during the years of San Diego’s mediocrity.  I truly believe him when he says he thought he would be ready to go for the game, but simply couldn’t after the first two series.  I believe him. 

He is upset that people, such as Deion Sanders among other analysts, are questioning his heart and desire.  He is frustrated that people are looking at him as if he didn’t give it his all in the most important game of his career to date.  It doesn’t help that Philip Rivers is being touted for his bravery and passion by playing through his knee injury after having it scoped just days before.  I can understand his disappointment, but Tomlinson could have easily avoided it.  Easily. 

When you’re the star player of not just a team, but of the entire league as he is, you have to have understand that all eyes are on you.  Given that this was the AFC Championship game, even more eyes are on you.  If he didn’t want to be criticized for lacking heart, he should have shown some emotion on the sideline.  That’s what it comes down to.  Sitting on the bench, isolated from teammates for the majority of the game, having a big jacket on and wearing a helmet with a black tinted visor shows me and other viewers nothing.  You are being watched and judged based on your actions.  His actions the week before against Indianapolis included being caught on camera laughing on the sideline with a friend while the Chargers were down in the second half.  I’m not saying run around jumping up and down, because you can’t.  You have an injured knee.  However, standing near the coaches or talking to your offensive teammates between possessions shows that you are not only interested in the game, but trying to contribute the best you can.  If you can’t contribute physically, then contribute with your vast knowledge.  Tell Michael Turner what you’re seeing from the sideline, tell Rivers what kind of things you’re seeing from an angle that he can’t see, help your team the best you can.  By sitting on the bench and not communicating or showing interest and watching the game on the jumbotron, you’re showing that you don’t care.  I’m sure he does care, but what people see and hear on TV is what shapes their opinions about athletes. 

“Give it your all”.  How often do we hear that in sports?  Give it your best, your everything.  Well, I know that if I can’t contribute the way I normally do, I will find ways to try and help my team the best that I can.  Had LT taken off the helmet, put on a beanie, stood with his teammates and broken down what he saw or helped them with encouraging words, his character and passion would not have been questioned.  This would be a non story.  It needs to be pointed out that LT doesn’t owe anyone an explanation about how he was or wasn’t involved in the game.  However, if he’s going to be upset about how the media and fans are talking about him, he should take his actions, or lack thereof, into consideration.    

My opinion of Tomlinson has always been that he is an unselfish, team-first, genuine superstar that will go down as one of the best runningbacks who ever played.  But last Sunday, he was not a good teammate.  That’s my opinion, and my opinion is based on what I see. 

In sports, perception is reality. 

Favre vs Brady? Not So Fast

Unbelievable.  That’s the only word I can think of that accurately describes the Giants season, from start to finish.  I’m talking about when they were 0-2, down to the Redskins in game three with their season 30 minutes away from being finished.  They followed that up with a six game winning streak.  Then they began slumping towards the latter part of the season with everyone, including myself, saying that it’s the same old Giants who collapse in the final stretch of the season every year.  There was a point in the final two weeks where it looked as if the Giants could possibly miss the playoffs entirely.  Had they not beat Buffalo, it probably would have been the case.  However, they got through it and made the playoffs with a 10-6 mark.  The path to the Superbowl?  At Tampa Bay, at Dallas, at Green Bay. 

There is no one out there, including all the Giants fans, who thought that they could have won those three games when the playoffs started.  Nobody.  The Tampa Bay game was a 50/50.  I didn’t think it really mattered who won.  The Dallas game was one where I would have liked the Giants to win, but didn’t think it was all that likely.  The Green Bay game?  I gave the Giants no chance.  But here they are, winners of three straight road playoff games and on their way to the Super Bowl. 

Eli Manning hasn’t played at a level that is unforeseen, but he has played good enough to keep the Giants in every ball game.  He has stayed away from the mistakes that have cost him to be called out by any and everybody.  He’s not fumbling the ball, not throwing interceptions, he’s managing the clock, and he’s throwing the ball away when needed.  You can’t ask for much more at this point.  The Giants defense has played superb.  You take away that one 90 yard touchdown pass that Favre had and you can see that the Packers had a miserable game offensively.  They couldn’t run the ball.  They were inconsistent in their passing game.  Even the Giants special teams played decent.  Most of all, this team has confidence that is through the roof right now.  That’s dangerous. 

Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin have shut up the critics in New York, at least for the next two weeks.  As much as I hate the Giants, given they are an arch rival of my Redskins, it is a lot harder to route against them than I thought.  I guess it’s because America loves the underdog.  It’s hard to route against a team that was already officially a 14 point underdog in the Superbowl before they even got to thaw out their fingers.  Sometimes it’s nice to see a great story rather than a great team win a title.  The Giants are a great story. 

And oh by the way… Tiki Barber.  Eli Manning says what’s up. 

The Magic Was Bound to Run Out

As much as I would have love to see my Washington Redskins make it all the way to the Super Bowl and pull off the upset of ages by taking down the evil New England Patriots, I knew that the streak was bound to end at some point. Winning the final four games to finish at 9-7 was hard in itself; winning 3 more games and a Super Bowl would have been impossible.

I watched the game from a hotel in Manhattan rather than the comforts of my family room couch, which I partially blame as the reason for the Skins losing (my superstitions getting the better of me). As bad as the final score looked, there is no doubt that there was still a little magic left in the Skins season. Down 13-0 going into the fourth quarter and unable to muster any offense, it looked like Washington had no chance at coming back. However, the fourth quarter summed up the tumultuous season that the burgundy and gold faced all year. They scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 13-7, followed by an interception and an aggressive play action pass to Santana Moss for their second touchdown in less than three minutes. The Skins were up 14-13 and I was in utter disbelief of what just happened, as was the entire city of Seattle. What happened on the ensuing kickoff gave me even more reason to believe that this ride wasn’t over just yet. Shaun Suisham kicked off and the ball hung in the air longer than it was supposed to, completely throwing off returnman Nate Burleson. The ball bounced right into the hands of a Redskins special teamer as he waltzed into the end zone for another touchdown. Unfortunately, the rules state that wherever the ball is recovered, it becomes a dead ball. Still, the Skins had the ball inside the 20 and were in position to put the nail in the coffin. However, three plays later, Shaun Shuisham came on to attempt a 30 yard field goal. He missed. His shortest miss in two seasons. After that, the Seahawks marched down the field to score a touchdown, followed by two touchdowns run back by their defense giving them a 35-14 win.

Though it was a tough loss to swallow, as most are, I was proud of the Redskins. I was proud that they gave everything they had considering everything they had to deal with. I am glad that they gave the Seahawks a run for their money and I’m happy at how we made progress this season. It will be another long offseason, but I feel confident that we are only a healthy offensive line and a healthy cornerback (Carlos Rogers) away from being a NFC Championship contender. All that aside, I am glad that this season of more lows than highs has finally come to an end. If it as mentally fatiguing for me, I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for the guys rockin the warpath colors. Go Skins.

Perfect Pats, Red Hot Redskins, and Slumping Cowboys

What many believed could never happen in a 16 game season…happened. The New England Patriots went undefeated by holding off the pesky Giants in a 38-35 win, giving them their 19^th straight victory (one of their many NFL records) dating back to last season. Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning’s single season touchdown record with a touchdown pass to Randy Moss, who also broke an NFL record held by Jerry Rice for most touchdown catches in a season. The Patriots also broke the NFL record for most points scored in a season.

All the stats and records aside, it’s time for everyone to stop and recognize what the Patriots accomplished. For the next week at the very least, we shouldn’t talk about the “formula” for beating the Patriots. I heard week after week, people talking about how you can beat the Patriots and what works against them and so forth. Yes, Einstein, we know that if you sack Tom Brady and make him throw interceptions, you’re going to win the game. Yes, we understand that if you shut down Randy Moss, run and pass on the Pats effectively, and play well on special teams, you are going to win the game. It’s not a matter of “how” you can beat the Patriots. It’s a matter of IF. The Patriots have had the red bulls eye on their back since game one and nobody has brought them down. Give them their props. Stop with your scheming (unless you’re a playoff team). If you are a Baltimore fan, stop talking about how you almost beat the Pats. Almost doesn’t matter. If you are an Eagles fan, yes you had a great effort but great efforts don’t always translate to victories. Final scores do. So congratulations to New England and their fans. You accomplished a great feat and should be commended for it. I still hate you though and will continue to pray for your demise. Happy New Year.

I don’t want to brag… who am I kidding. I love to brag. Ask anyone that knows me. Back on a wintry December 18^th, I wrote an article. The article was titled “Overrated Vikings and NFC Playoff Predictions”. This was the week before the Redskins had to travel into Minnesota and play the red hot Vikings, who EVERYONE was penciling in for the sixth and final seed in the playoffs. “You definitely do not want to play Minnesota if you’re Seattle or Tampa Bay because this team is playing great right now and Tavaris Jackson is getting it done” said Mike Golic, repeating the sentiments of many others. I scoffed at the notion of Tavaris Jackson being anything better than a third string quarterback. He sucks, is basically what I believed.

Why is everyone suddenly hopping on Minnesota’s bandwagon? Because they’ve won 5 straight games, 4 of which are against teams with losing records? Tavaris Jackson is playing good? Really? 5 touchdown and 5 interceptions is good? Wow. I guess NFL quarterbacks really are that bad if Tavaris Jackson is suddenly considered “good”.

I’m sure there were many people who felt I was just being a Redskins fan and putting down the other team. I wasn’t. Tavaris Jackson really does suck. I also said the Vikings and Saints were overrated, overhyped, and on their way to missing the playoffs. I said the Skins would make it and even my closest friends laughed at my foolish predictions. In case you forgot, here’s what I said:

Here’s what’s going to happen. Minnesota is going to get beat at home by Washington, then go on the road and lose to Denver, putting them at 8-8. The Giants will go into Buffalo and win, then lose to New England, putting them at 10-6 and secure 5^th place in the playoffs. New Orleans is going to lose to Philadelphia, and then win at Chicago, putting them at 8-8. Washington will beat Minnesota and then beat Dallas in Washington, putting them at 9-7 and the final spot of the playoffs.

Okay so I thought New Orleans would beat Chicago. I was wrong on one of my seven predictions. Needless to say, I told you so. I went on to talk about how I thought the Skins would lose to the Seahawks in round one of the playoffs. Well, I definitely don’t feel that way anymore and will go into more detail about that later this week. I’ll leave you with one stat that you need to know. Seattle has beaten only one team all season with a record above .500. One team. And that was in week 1. We’ll talk Washington-Seattle, as well as the other matchups later this week though.

Dallas is in trouble. I’m telling you right now, Dallas is in trouble. You cannot go into the playoffs playing as badly as they are playing. They were supposed to play their starters a quarter against the Skins, with the hope that they’d score a touchdown and maybe a field goal, feel good about themselves and rest up for the playoffs. Well guess what. They got spanked. Their starters played well into the third quarter and got SPANKED. They came away with 1 rushing yard…for the entire game. They converted zero third downs. They had 27 points scored on them. Tony Romo had his third bad game in a row.

“Okay take it easy Shaun. You’re overplaying the Dallas Cowboys struggles a bit. They won 13 games for a reason. They’ll be fine in the playoffs.”

That might be so, but you can’t be feeling very confident if you have lost 2 out of your last 3 games after losing only one out of the first thirteen. You can’t be feeling very good if you’ve averaged 8 points a game for the past three weeks. You can’t be feeling very good if your superstar quarterback has thrown one touchdown and five interceptions in his last three outings. I’m not saying that the Cowboys are toast; I’m just saying that if the Redskins beat Seattle and come into Dallas riding a 5 game winning streak and the most confidence of anyone in the NFC, watch out. Watch out.