My Opinion on Richard Sherman (Because I Know You Want to Know)

After the Seahawks defeated the 49ers on Sunday, cornerback Richard Sherman had a microphone thrust in his face a few minutes after making a game-saving play and thus sending his team to the Superbowl. His, um, exuberant response has been the talk of the sports world and beyond ever since with every one giving their opinion and adding racial tilts and personal attacks. So of course I knew it was time for me to weigh in.

I don't have a problem with Richard Sherman acting like a WWE wrestler after a nationally televised game. It made for interesting TV and I know why he was excited. I mean, it is the Superbowl.

But I do have  a few problems with his actions-and a few of his words. First of all, the whole choke signal at the opposing team. No bueno. This isn't just a team he might play every once in a while. It's a team he will play twice a year and will probably face in the playoffs quite a bit. Sherman can never know when one game or one play will shape a season--it could mean the difference between a first and sixth seed in the playoffs. So egging his divisional rivals on with a gesture that will FOR SURE remember it for the next two times (if not every time) he plays them, not a good idea in general. This wildly inappropriate gesturing and snubbing goes for coaches too.

Second, calling out Crabtree. I have rarely seen a rivalry be one-sided. It's why it's called a rivalry. And private smack talk is one thing, but know that words are meant to be eaten. I think just about every person that called themselves the greatest of all time has fallen from grace. Want to know some of the company he's in now that he's done that? LL Cool J and Will Smith. Richard Sherman just put himself in the same category as them. Congrats.

Lastly on the negatives, the gesture cost the team 15 yards. Sure, it meant jack squat here, but sometime it's gonna mean something and then the team won't find it quite as amusing.

On the positives, Richard Sherman is a genius (and if you haven't heard it yet, he went to Stanford so that helps prove it). Cornerback is not exactly the highest of profile positions on the football field and in one short interview, he just became a nationally known entity. That's pretty genius in my book.

All that said: I'm still rooting for Peyton. I just can't quit him. Unless he's playing the Colts. Then he means nothing to me.

Reasons Why I Don't Want Peyton Manning to End Up At Tennessee

My friend and Nashville resident,
Patty Clements, sent me this
screenshot from the media coverage
of the Pope, I mean, Peyton's visit.

My Nashville friends will probably not like this. Most have been letting me know Peyton's whereabouts in town while he's been there. Frankly, I'm a little surprised he got a direct flight from Indy to Nashville because I never could (Yes, I know he probably has a private plane. I'm kidding). Here are my selfish reasons why I don't want Peyton to end up with the Titans.

1. He'd have to play the Colts twice a year. And while that may only be four games, it would be four very painful games for my psyche.
2. I couldn't imagine cheering for the Titans when they aren't playing the Steelers or Ravens. Those were the only two games I cheered for them on. Unless the Colts needed them to beat the Jags or Texans for a division purposes.
3. I don't live in Nashville anymore. How can he move to town when I've moved out??
4. If he signs with Denver, he will have to play in San Diego at least once and Oakland at least once, which exponentially improves my chances of seeing him play.
5. It would kill me to not work with the Titans any more (who were fabulous) when I would have had the chance to meet Peyton. The highlight of my time working with the Titans was meeting David Thornton, because he was a former Colt.

So, since Peyton reads my blog, as I know he probably checks in daily (why wouldn't he?), here's my plea to him: Please pick the Broncos. Sorry, Nashville friends!

Rich People Arguing About Money is Not "Winning"

I'm getting a little sick and tired of all these rich people arguing about staying rich or getting richer. Is anyone else feeling a little less sympathy towards people complaining about money when they probably already pay 6 figures in taxes?

Here are a couple of recent cases:

Charlie Sheen: If you look at his twitter account, he calls himself an "unemployed winner". Yet he lives in a very lavish estate and continues to kvetch about his lack of work. Sorry, Charlie, you get no sympathy from me. I mean, you were fired because of your own stupidity. There are few people who can show up to work intoxicated and still expect to have a job. There are even fewer that can scare a hooker into locking herself in a hotel bathroom and make it out of the situation with a paycheck.

Two of the hour-long specials have now stated his monthly child support payments. I don't care, Charlie. It's not my responsibility to help you get a job because you have 5 kids and two live-in goddesses to support. Show up to work. Do the job. And stop being a baby. If you did all that and didn't make enough, I'd still probably not feel sorry for you because there are millions of people all over the US in far worse situation with far more education and far more to contribute to society than a few catchphrases.

NFL Players and Owners: The lowest paid member of your players union and the lowest earning NFL owner still makes about 10 to 100 times more than the average person. If I got into a labor debate with my company, I certainly wouldn't expect you to care. So, why should I care that you can't decide which side has more money? I don't and neither do most fans. What we have figured out is that you all want us to love you because in the end the extra money you want to make is coming out of our pockets in the form of higher ticket prices and increased concession stand charges. And probably higher taxes when you need a new stadium.

I absolutely adore football, but I'm tired of hearing each side whine. It feels like a back and forth battle for public opinion when the public opinion is this: We want football. We pay about $9 billion to support football. Split it up however you want, but just make sure there's football.

I keep hearing that they're about a $100 million apart in negotiations. If they really want to "be there for the fans", how about taking that $100 million and giving it back in the way of discounted tickets? Don't want to play 18 full season games? Fine. Stop charging full season price for the 4 pre-season games and make the games free scrimmages for fans who can't afford to watch the NFL in person.

Oddly enough, no one wants to give back money. Weird. I think the US needs to collectively bargain. You can always vote with your dollar. For me, I'm not going to support Charlie Sheen, but that's not a big change. I didn't watch his show and the only movies of his that I've seen were Major League and Young Guns, so I'm in the clear on that one.

As for the NFL, I'm waiting to see which side offers me the best deal before I figure out where my vote is going. So far, no one is WINNING!

Brett, You Should've Left a Year Ago

I'll admit I'm a Monday Morning Quarterback on this one. But considering what came out today, I would say that it's appropriate.

As he deadpanned into the camera and assured America he knew it was time to go, I couldn't help but think Brett Favre was at least a year too late in coming to that realization. I mean, America was ready to see him go about 3 years ago.

Look, Brett Favre owns a lot of records and sold a lot of Wrangler jeans in his day, but the guy sucked wind this year. If you ask most fans (except for Vikings fans), they would've preferred the guy left when the Packers went to Aaron Rodgers. Because after he left the Packers, Brett Favre went from "cowboy" and "gunslinger" to a joke. Him NOT retiring was kind of like the annual spurning of Susan Lucci at the Daytime Emmys. It became a farce of its own.

And while we're at it, can all the sportswriters, commentators, and anyone who makes a comment on Brett Favre, please refrain from calling him a "gunslinger". It's tired, old and not creative at all. Instead of "gunslinger" say what you really mean "A guy who can throw really hard and either is very accurate or an interception nightmare."

So, Favre says he's going to retire and we all want to believe him. We want to think that no idiotic teammates will make the trek to Mississippi and fluff his super big ego to make him think that his best year is just on the horizon. He just has to show up. No training camp or physical workout required.

We want to believe things about guys who've reached a certain level of fame. We want to believe that Brett Favre didn't sexually harass Jen Sterger or the two new team massage therapists that came forward today. We know deep down the truth probably lies between the wild allegations and the even wilder denials. There was probably some overly sexualized flirting and things that would get a C-level executive fired from a normal company. But Brett isn't a C-level executive and the NFL is not a normal company. (Plus with the ladies making the accusations in the same breath as they're trying to get settlements, it makes the allegations easier to brush off for the average or die-hard fan).

So Brett, if you wanted to avoid this ridiculousness, you should've taken the ego hit that Green Bay served you and retired without really playing for any other team. But you went to the Jets. You had an okay year. Then you went to the Vikings. You had one great year and one year that made fishing in Mississippi look nice.

But just because Brett Favre didn't listen to me or half of America, doesn't mean that there aren't a few lessons to be learned:

1) Never put your sexual harassment in digital form. Tiger learned that one the hard way.

2) If you're going to sexually harass someone, make sure it's a money-hungry, hot girl. Their stories will bring up the most doubts.

3) If 90 percent of the people you talk to are telling you something, don't do the opposite JUST because you don't believe in crowdsourcing your life decisions.

Bye bye Brett.

When in Doubt, Cling to Sports

I watched the IU game today. It was simultaneously happy and sad. Happy that they did so well. Sad that Kentucky (and particularly Calipari) is still winning.

On Thursday, I watched the Colts-Titans game. It made me simultaneously happy and sad. Happy that I was able to watch the game when I was clearly out of market and happy for the win. Sad that the game was in Nashville and I thought of all my friends who were there. Also a little sad that the game got so close.

My love of sports has been strong since I was a kid. It grew exponentially when I moved to Nashville. Part of it was out of the new, strong Football environment. Part of it was out of necessity to stay away from boredom. I didn't have cable TV for the first two years I was in Nashville. If you know anything about TV on Saturdays on your big 4 networks, you know that sports is on AT LEAST one of them. When you have nothing else to watch, you don't mind pro tennis so much.

So, it comes as no surprise that I'm clinging to sports once again. When everything else changes in your life, the consistency of NFL Sunday is at least something to cling on to. Sports Talk radio in a different market or just tuning into Sportscenter. Its the same. The stories are the same in Tennessee or Indiana or California. Plus I know more about sports than the average girl. I know WAY more about sports than the average California girl. Not even close. That wasn't so much the case in Tennessee. Most of the girls there at least know SEC Football. The guys here in California don't really know football. Maybe pro football or USC (which is essentially the same, right?). Anyway, I like the element of surprise. It takes guys aback here when I spout out anything sports related. I'd missed that a little.

Maybe I can use it to my advantage. . .

Only a few more nights of crappy TV

Seriously. Is anyone else tired of this crappy TV? I mean, Sunday and Monday nights aren't too bad because we have Mad Men, Entourage, True Blood, Weeds and The Big C (which is my new favorite). There are a couple things that suck: 1) That's only two nights in a week and 2) they were all on hiatus except Mad Men because of Labor Day.

So, the launch of college football season helped to satisfy my need for new programming a little. Plus the Hoosiers won big, so YAY. And really, the NFL season kicks off on Thursday, so there's only one more night of crap-filled "Kate Plus 8" and "South Park" reruns. Unfortunately, I have a work thing so I'll miss the official Kick off of the New Orleans-Vikings game. And the crap thing is that the Titans play at the same time as the Colts, so no Indy game this week. I'm relegated to NFL.com recaps. I need the NFL Network's Red Zone channel.

And the beginning of the NFL season also brings the return of Chef and my's favorite new show: The League. It's hilarious. If you haven't seen it--even if you aren't a fantasy football fan--it's well worth it. Also, the new fall season kicks off, so the rest of my stories will begin. What should I get to replace Lost?

An Open Letter to the NFL

Dear NFL (and all related broadcasters),
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I think you did some additional marketing research or something this year, but I choose to believe this was something done on purpose and not a random act.

I want to thank you because I am an Indianapolis Colts fan. However, I live in Nashville, TN. So, naturally there is a disconnect between what team is supposed to be on the TV and what team I wish would be on the TV. In years past, I've had to strategically plan trips to Indiana on weekends of big games that weren't big enough to be on ESPN or NBC telecasts. I've invested in Sirius radio because if I couldn't see the game, at least I could listen and watch my computer for live updates on the computer with graphics that look like an old football handheld video game my brother used to have as a kid.

However, this year I've gotten to see every Colts game so far this season. Today will be the 8th. I choose to believe that in an effort to support its very lucrative broadcasting and sponsorship contracts that the NFL did a little research on secondary markets. Seeing that each of its 32 teams have a primary media market that LOVES to see their team (and in the case of probably all but maybe Oakland it tends to be where the team calls home), there are also other pockets of geography that have a strong affinity for teams.

For example, Nashville has a very high level of Colts fans because of their allegiance to all things Tennessee Volunteer related and its favorite prodigal son, Peyton Manning. Couple that with being in the same division (AFC South) and it nearly guarantees that any game played by the Colts outside of the Tennessee Titans schedule will garner some great ratings. Really it's a win-win-win scenario.

I choose to believe in research, money and planning than the randomness of TV schedules. Because I want there to be a pattern and not to think that I'm just the luckiest non-Indiana living Colts fan. Either way, it's almost game time and I've got a front row seat.

Sincerely,
your satisfied fan

Couldn't They Have Let Him Shower? He just finished mowing the lawn

I realize when your team has Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson as their hopeful quarterbacks that landing Brett Favre is such a coup that you want to announce it on the highest mountain tops immediately, but can't you let a man shower?

Does he not look like he hopped off his lawn mower to get on a plane and announce that he's back? Maybe it's just the red hat. Or maybe it's just that he's had about 30 "will he or won't he or HE IS!" press conferences in the last couple of months that his attire no longer matters if he's holding a jersey in front of him.I was in Dallas, TX the first time Favre retired and remembered being touched by the sincerity of his tears. He won't get that emotion from me any more. The only emotion he's stirring up lately is the eye-roll inducing fed up emotion.

It's exciting for Vikings fans, but for the rest of us, can we focus on more important issues? Like the Colts o-line that has more holes than Favre's lawn mowing shoes (I'm sure he wore them to the press conference too--I just can't find a picture. Sports journalists are too caught up in drama to care about shoes)?

If I were a Titans fan, I'd be pissed

Remember that guy in 2004 that was the League co-MVP? No, not Peyton. Steve McNair. Well, he originally agreed to host a Baltimore Ravens Pep Rally on friday night. Oh, and it was scheduled to be in Nashville across the street from LP Field.

Are you kidding me? Who on Steve McNair's staff thought it would be a good idea for him to host a pep rally before the first Titans home play off game in years for the opposing team? He played for the Oilers/ Titans organization for more than 10 years. He played in Baltimore for one. His name was just entered into the Ring of Whatever at LP Field.

Yes, I know originally the pep rally was for charity--but hosted by a sports radio station in Baltimore. I've got lots of experience with events like these. They typically raise a lot of awareness but not a ton of money. It's nice of him to want to give back, but if he's smart, he should write a check directly and not risk alienating the thousands of fans he has in Nashville--where he still lives.

Since the word hit Music City, he has since backed out. His agent denies that he was involved or knew it was a Ravens event. The radio station hosting/ coordinating the event says he knew. When it comes down to it, he probably did. I know there really isn't a lot of loyalty in sports these days. We hear that every day. However, it's a little different after you retire. After you retire, you are forever linked in the eyes of fans with the team that you spent the most time with. This team gave you the bulk of your earnings and those fans helped fund that team. It's not hard leap to make.

Most sports fans don't require retired players to be overtly loyal. They just expect them to not be overtly disloyal. And the charity probably doesn't want that either. Even though the Ronald McDonald house in Baltimore is benefiting, there could be some backlash to the same charity here. Trust me, it's not right, but it happens.

Here's hoping Peyton never does a pep rally for the Patriots. Even if it is for charity.