One Table, One Winner

After watching tonight's horrific 0-3 loss at RSL, it donned on me why the English game is so perfect.  The promotion/relegation for starters is genius, but on top of that, the one league table is absolute perfection.  A lot of purists have been calling for the one league table for quite some time here in America.  I know, I am a little biased after the beat down my team recieved tonight, but honestly, the Sounders went deeper than any other MLS team in tournament play this year.  Those are added minutes on tired and injured legs.  And yes I know that L.A. would've still won the cup this year in that format, but it makes the regular season matches that much more important.  Take the top four in the premier league.  They have their mandatory 38 games, plus the Carling cup, the FA, and their European matches.  That could be an extra 20 games this year.  Sure, they have a lot more depth than any MLS squad, but when the games count, their star players are in.  This year the Sounders won their 3rd straigh US Open Cup.  That right there is added games to an already expanded schedule, plus they had their CONCACAF Champions league matches, plus CCL group stage too.  And then, after it is all said and done, they have playoff games.  Let's just assume the Sounders win 4-0 this week, and make it all the way to the cup final.  They would end up playing their 34 regular season games, plus the 14 they played in the US Open Cup, plus the 6 CCL group matches, plus the CCL qualifying matches, plus the 5 MLS playoff mactches.  That's 63 matches in one year.  That's a lot of football, for any team in any league!  Now let's assume once again that the playoffs were abolished, leaving the team with the most points at the end of the regular season the champion.  This would cut down considerably the fatigue, aggression, and possible injuries on the players.  We all know that the MLS isn't the NFL, so the league won't be missing out on too much tv revenue from the playoffs anyway, and it could also be a chance to get some credibility from the rest of the world at the same time.  I mean seriously, we don't even do the aggregate goal thing correctly!  It's supposed to be away goals, but here, it's just accumulated goals.  I love watching the game of football.  I enjoy the English game the most, simply because of the passion the fans have for the game over there.  There is beginning to be that same feel here, especially in Seattle and Portland, but watching a FC Dallas game is just depressing to me.  They have this beautiful stadium, and I swear they only get 600 people to come watch them.  This year the Sounders would have been top 10 in attendance in England.  Where is the love America?  This is why we should adopt the promotion/relagation format once Montreal and the Cosmos enter the MLS.  There are plenty of teams over here for at least 3 divisions.  Then we could also use the one league table format as well.  There will always be cup compititions, and they make the game more fun, but playoffs do not belong in this game.  We do not have to Americanize everything over here to try to make it better.  Some things are just better off how they were.  They don't call it the beautiful game for nothing.

How Far is Too Far?

So I'm sure everybody has heard so far about the pending legal suit that Carlos Tevez is going to bring about on Mancini for defamation of character, but is it really a good case?  If I remember correctly, last year at the Christmas transfer period, Tevez spoke out about his hatred for the city of Manchester.  I believe he was quoted as saying that he wouldn't even vacation to the city after his current contract was up.  If I understand it correctly, he could have balked at the transfer when City bought him form United.  But instead, he took the money, and the fame and went cross town.  It has been a disaster ever since.  It's true that Tevez could be one of the top 20 strikers in the world, but that's when he isn't arguing with his manager about scarf wearing on the pitch.  If he has anybody in the world to blame for his defamation of character, it would be himself.  Take the fines, and the suspension like a man, and shut the hell up.  City will not lose anything when they finally do get rid of him.  Tevez is not Messi.  Not even close.  Hell he isn't even Maradona, but his ego might be a little closer on this one.  If I were in the front office at Mancheter City, I would try to work a deal with the Red Bulls of the MLS, or even worse, a non European qualifying club in Russia!  Let's see how well Mr. Tevez likes the real cold!  Now for a switch to football on our side of the pond, if there ever were a player who had a decent shot of suing his former club of defamation, it would be Jamarcus Russell.  Sure he was a fluke.  Sure he came to camp overweight and with the work ethic of my current co-workers.  But putting any quarter back in the NFL in the position that Russell was thrown into, they would've had the same results.  Oakland rivals the Kansas City Royals as the worst franchise of this short century.  They have had numerous high draft picks that have floundered before even being able to call their careers an actual career.  The late Al Davis may have been a so called football genius 40 years ago, but over the last 10 years, he was borderline moronic.  Russell was all hype after winning the national championship coming out of the toughest conference in the NCAA, sounds a lot like Cam Newton huh?  But unlike Newton, Russell was thrown to the wolves on a team with no line, no running game, and no recievers.  A recipe for disaster every time.  Sure there have been other busts with the same resumes; Leaf, and Mirer come to mind, and they happen to be on the top of the all time bust lists as well.  But I feel for Russell for some reason.  He was never given a proper shot at a NFL career.  I heard yesterday that he wants to make a comeback, and I hope he gets the shot honestly.  There's always room for a first round bust on a NFL roster.  Just ask the Eagles.  So I guess back to the main part of this whole thing.  How far is too far when dealing with under-performing athletes?  Should a player really be able to sue a franchise for defamation?  They still get paid the same until their contract is up.  I think it is asinine what Carlos Tevez is trying to do.  Another spoiled striker, hurt that his team has loaded up on talent, and forced to share the brunt of the goals.  Pathetic if you ask me.  I hope City dumps him the first chance they get.  Dzeko has already stepped up and is ready to fulfill the top striker position for the Citizens, let's just hope his ego doesn't get in the way as well.

Suck For Luck?

Well with both the trade deadline, and the bye week over with, what do we as Seahawks fans have to look forward to for the rest of the season?  Hopefully there's no more of the lackluster offensive showings like there were today in Cleveland.  That was just pathetic.  I'm sure all of you have heard of the "Suck for Luck" campaign that's being thrown around all over sports talk shows and radio.  That's fine, if he were to fall into our lap, but there is another qb that I would rather suck for this season though, but knowing the Seahawks personel, they won't draft one anyways.  Kellen Moore.  That man is a gun-slinger if I've ever seen one before.  That is what the Seahawks are in need of, not Luck, not Barkley, and thank God we already missed out on Palmer, because he wasn't the answer either.  Since the Seahawks already missed out on two great qbs the last two drafts in Locker and Colt, why not tank the rest of the season knowing that the Rams aren't going to be taking a qb, and shoot for Kellen Moore?  Of course, I would rather they were capable of winning out, and winning the NFC West again, but let's be real, I am a Seahawks fan, and I know terrible football when I see it.  And this is why I am looking forward to watching my team lose the majority of their games for the rest of the season.  Of course I would like to see them win the divisional matchup against the Rams on Monday Night Football, but other than that, the hell with the rest of the season.  It might even show coach Carroll the door a little earlier than normal too!  I am an optimist by nature, especially in sports, but as a realist as well, I know that our reign of the NFC West is over.  We are a team without an identity, and now with our only explosive back probably out for the year, the team will rely on T-Jack to lead us to the promised land: last place.  I have been an advocate for coach Carroll to start Charlie at qb all year, but for now I am recanting my proposal.  We need Jackson in there for the rest of the season to absolutely blow this thing.  Not that we are in any position to win the division, but we got some pretty steep competition in Arizona and St. Louis for bottom of the table.  The way I see it, even if we win only two more games the rest of the way, it will be too many.  St. Louis is possibly the worst team in the league, sorry Miami, and the Cardinals just can't catch a break.  There could actually be a three way tie for the cellar this year.  Not normally something one cheers for, but this isn't your ordinary qb draft class either.  Thankfully Cam Newton broke the curse of the awful first overall qb picks, and this leads the Seahawks to hopefully landing a great qb early.  I know the whole Rick Mirer fiasco still lingers in the back of the front office's minds, but we need to get back on the saddle and draft another big name guy early.  Either that or spend the next ten years in mediocracy in the worst division in football.  It's your call Mr. Allen, you sign the paychecks.  Don't become the next Al Davis please.

Pujols better than LaRussa? You kidding me?

So tonight I was reading ESPN.com as I am known to do, and I took the sportsnation poll, as I am also known to do, but tonight, something struck me funny.  The question was something along the lines of who will be better respected among their peers when their career is said and done.  Pujols or LaRussa.  The poll results were not as this boy would have guessed.  59% of America said that Pujols would be more respected by his peers!  That is extremely astounding to me, especially coming in a year when Pujols was so quiet, and it was LaRussa's unorthodox managerial skills that led the Red Birds to the World Series.  LaRussa could be blamed for the length of modern baseball games, specifically post-season baseball games, for his late inning match-em-up pitching and double switches, at least three to four times a game in the 7th or later.  But talk about a ballsy call to invite one of the most hated men in the post steriod-era into his locker room, clubhouse, and god forbid, dugout, to be a coach.  That's right, I'm talking about Big Mac himself.  What did Albert do this year?  Whine about a contract, get injured, and have a mediocre year for a player wanting to be the next highest paid player in the United States.  Don't get me wrong, Albert Pujols is a wonderful player, and any fan of the game would relish the chance to have him on their big league club, but how many World Series has Pujols led his teams to, one and a half i believe.  I only give him half a credit for this one, as he is the premier player in St. Louis.  How many has LaRussa led his teams to?  Well let's see,  besides the fact that only 5 other managers in the whole history of baseball have won pennants in both leagues, he was the first to win multiple pennants in both leagues, and one of only two managers to win a world series in both leagues, the other being the great Sparky Anderson.  That right there should end all arguments of who will be better when all is said and done.  Three consecutive World Series appearences in Oakland, and now a third with the Cardinals.  This is a travesty for the baseball fans of America to not give Tony LaRussa his fair share of the glory for being the second best World Series manager of all time.  Maybe the game has changed since I was a kid, or maybe it's just the fans not wanting to give up on the long ball.  The "steroid era" did come alive, live, and die around LaRussa's clubs, but if they're not going to put an asterisk by Barry Bonds, Big Mac, or Slammin' Sammy's records, then they should not with LaRussa's accomplishments either.  We should, as fans, cherish moments like these, it only comes around once every two or three generations that we get to witness baseball greatness unfold before our very eyes.  Shame on you America, Tony LaRussa will get the vote in my book every time.

The fantasy blues.

So this season sucks for fantasy football.  I know i've said it before, but this season sucks, plain and simple.  I made one simple trade this year for a under performing player, and it has totally backfired on me.  I'm 0-6 in one league, and 2-4 in the other.  Not a good way to follow up a championship and second place finish from my two leagues last year.  Oh, well.  Such is my life i guess.  Now I got some guy who won't leave me alone about aquiring my only good player, Mathew Stafford.  After 3 attempts at a trade, I finally just told him I'm 0-6, I'm not giving up my best god damned player!  I countered with Flacco and a 1st round pick, but he turned it down, countering with Calvin Johnson and Bradshaw for Stafford.  That is the best deal he has sent me so far, but I don't think I can rely on my backups to lead me the rest of the way, Flacco and Schaub.  Neither of them are slouches by any means, but Stafford is my man, and I will not part with him.  Selfish?  Maybe.  Stupid?  Probably.  But I am a stick to your guns type of person, and am stubborn as all hell when I want to be.  And this occasion calls for my stubborness I think.  Did I mention I was 0-6 yet?  Come on, seriously.  Don't kick a man when he's down! 

Rush Was Right!

As much as this pains me to admit, Rush was right.  On his opinion of McNabb that is.  McNabb looked horrible tonight, as he has the past 4 seasons too.  An average qb, at best, is giving him too much credit.  I think the local qb for Lake Havasu High School could of looked just a little bit better against the Bears tonight.  I know that Rush threw out the race card on his judgment, that's just the kind of person he is though; a brash, shove his opinion down your throat type of commentator.  I for one, have never been a fan of Rush, or black qb's either.  I don't like how the college game preps these qb's for their system, and then they do not have what it takes to compete in a throwing league.  Correct me if I am wrong, but the only two black qb's who have ammounted to any sort of greatness were Doug Williams, and Warren Moon.  They were pocket passers.  The NFL uses a qb to throw the ball, or hand off.  Scramble when in dire situations, but be sure to slide, because you are the most valuable player on the field.  Sure there are some instances where a qb sneak is needed on very short yardage situatiions, and those are only a short burst right behind all of the linemen, so injuries are not common.  Guys like McNabb, Cullpepper, McNair, and everybody's favorite Jamarcus Russell, are built like linebackers.  They were taught in the college game to be option qb's.  Vick, because Cam Newton really hasn't proven anything just yet, might be the only exception.  And look at him now under Andy Reid, he isn't anything like he used to be.  Reid wants to throw the ball, or hand off.  Vick has been heard whining about non calls, because he's on the damn ground on most of the passing plays.  He's not a scrambler, he's a runner.  When trouble comes, he falters because he wasn't brought up with the abilities to avoid a pass rush and still make a play.  This may sound racist, but I can honestly assure you that I am not a racist like Rush Limbaugh is.  One of my favorite qb's of all time was in fact Warren Moon.  I know, I know, I am biased because he does color for my Seahawks, played for my Seahawks and for my Huskies, but I fell in love with his grit and determination while he was a member of the Houston Oilers.  For all you youngsters out there, that is what the Titans used to be called.  Same goes for Doug Williams.  A true warrior on the football field.  And, a Super Bowl champion to boot.  Back to McNabb now that I'm on the subject of Super Bowls.  What kind of leader blows chunks on the field during a game winning drive in the Super Bowl?  No wonder the Eagles opted for Kevin Kolb.  He may throw the occasional 3-4 interceptions a game, but he gets right back up and throws again.  He doesn't cower, or make excuses, or vomit, or pick a fight with his coach, or a crazy radio talk show host.  Andy Ried was right for shipping McNabb off to Washington.  He is a washed up qb who never really was as good as everybody says he was anyways.  But I guess if I'm gonna rip a guy who never won the big game with as many chances as McNabb had to get it done, I have to add Jim Kelly to this list of losers too.  See, I can hate on white qb's too.  In fact there are more white qb's that I hate that black ones.  As a matter of fact I was extremely saddened today by the loss of Jason Cambells season, another black real qb.  This is going to be a major blow for the Raiders the rest of the way.  I am not a racist, I am just a purest.  And that doesn't mean the pure white race, it means the pure qb of the good old days. 

62,000 and Counting!

Move over New York Cosmos, There's a new home for NFL stadium soccer: Seattle, aka soccer city!  I was at the Machester United-Sounders game in July, and that was 66,000+ attendence, but that is expected when our lovely little MLS squad gets to face one of the premier clubs in all of the world.  But 62,000+ for a regular season, non international club friendly, non international cup match, non playoff, non domestic cup match against San Jose in unheard of!  Yes, we all know it's Keller's last regular season match, but come on now, the US hasn't seen this kind of support since the days of Pele at the Meadowlands.  I have always been proud of the city of Seattle for their unquestioned faith in their home teams.  As a child who grew up with season tickets to the Seahawks, I have seen first hand how much support we can give.  Even in defeat, like game 6 of the '95 ALCS, which I was in attendence, we stood and cheered for over an hour after the last out was made.  My seats were 6 rows back from the Indians bullpen, and I will never in my lifetime forget the joy the players had as they jumped up to rush the mound in celebration.  At the same time though, I will also never forget the sheer feeling of pride that I had, as I tried to shield the tears running down my face from my Dad, as my Mariners finally ran out of gas on the wild ride we fans called "Refuse to Lose."  I have since moved away from the great state of Washington, and have only managed to attend 3 M's games, and 1 Sounders game.  The Kingdome was imploded on my birthday, which was fitting as most of my favorite memories as a child came in that building.  It's true that the Supes move didn't affect me probably as much as it would have had I still lived up there, but at the same time, I have adopted the Sounders as my own in place of the Sonics.  I love the game of football, and am proud to include myself with the world class fan base that is Emerald City Supporters.  No where in America can you witness the game with the passion of an English crowd like in Seattle.  So farewell Kasey, you will surely be missed.  A great send off for a world class footballer. 

Hello Raider Nation, Get Ready to Welcome Another 1st Rd Bust!

What is the going rate for an underachieving former 1st round bust?  Evidently a 7th, and mid round pick over the next two years.  Today the Seahawks finally got rid of former top 10 pick Aaron Curry to the Raiders for a couple of picks over the next two drafts.  While some people, mainly me, had wanted the Hawks to make a move for home dude holding out in Cincy, they opted for the quick and easy dump for some picks.  Curry now joins a long list of Seahawks former 1st round picks whose careers never came to fruition.  I will not name names of some of the others as it is too painful to relive over and over again, but lets just say the biggest ones both came out of mid west schools.  With both the Seahawks and Raiders coming off of huge wins this past weekend, this move will help define the way they conduct business for the rest of the season.  It is true that the NFL trade deadline does not make the huge splash that the other big 3 do, with the exception of the Herschel Walker deal 21 years ago today, but it is in fact more or less to swap for a injury replacement for draft picks.  There was another deal today as well in the NFL world, but since I only care about the Seahawks, I will not discuss it.  It was player for player though.  So there is, or at least should be, singing in the streets of Seattle tonight.  The Curry experiment is over.  And what did we learn from this experiment?  That we shoulda given Mike Holmgren the money he wanted when we had the chance!  That is the only resonable explantation for the current mess we are in.  Holmgren good.  Carroll bad.  And don't even get me started on this whole LeBron James bs.  That pic literally made me sick to my stomach.  Go back to southern California Pete.  We don't like cheaters in Seattle.  This is why Neuhiesal, A-Rod, and Shawn Kemp were all shown the door.  We learned what hard nose football was all about under Holmgren.  We had a MVP, and a Super Bowl appearence with too many pro-bowlers to even begin to name.  A ture football guy who learned under the greatest football coach of all time, Mr. Bill Walsh.  But, in typical Seattle fashion, we lost Mike to the Browns, along with Seneca Wallace, and a chance at Colt McCoy.  Sure Holmgren may have had a 1st round bust or two in his day, but none of them were as memorable as Aaron Curry.  So long Mr. Curry, and thanks for all the boos.

Injuries

This is what happens when the NFL owners want to be greedy billionaires.  Camps cut short, rush to pre-season games, and injuries galore.  This is by far the worst fantasy season in my 3 years of compition.  Every week I lose somebody for an extended period of time.  It's not broken bones, or any weakness on the players part, it's the lack of conditioning the players had in getting ready for the season.  How many hamstring injuries have there been this year?  Too many to keep track of, that's for sure.  The lockout showed the fans how much the owners actually care about their players.  It's more like an old west cattle run really.  The players are just a number on the field, just like the cows have the number tags pierced through their ear lobes.  These players are not part of the NFL owners family, they are just a means for more money to be earned by ticket and jersey sales (I write this as I am wearing my Seahawks jersey).  It is ludacris to think even for the slightest second that the players were the greedy ones during the labor dispute this off-season.  Just like in the NBA lockout, the players are the ones who are willing to barter with the owners to get a deal done.  The owners of these franchises, and any owner of any business for that matter, are greedy, money loving, sell your souls to the devil type of people.  Once again, they do not care about the players on the field.  I've heard the NFL be compared to modern day slavery before, and everything except their salaries, reflects this.  Back during the real slavery days, the blacks were used like machinery.  They were forced to work long hours in the heat without water breaks; just like the NFL during training camps, forced to work til they couldn't produce anymore; just like the NFL, and once they were all used up, they were tossed aside for a new, younger worker who could produce twice as much as they could; just like the NFL.  Does anybody else see this pattern that I just layed out before you?  It's a business, is what the owners say.  A black market human trading business is more like it.  Just with more money involved.

Finally!

So today my beloved Seahawks finally got a win against the Giants in Jersey.  I believe it has been 30 years since that has happened.  The game was pretty tight, and once again came down to the final defensive stand before the game was over.  I'm kinda glad that I live in Arizona and am not able to see any of these games, my hair is gray enough as it is, I don't think I could handle watching these close games week after week.  But, a win is a win, and I'll take it however it may come.  Two weeks ago I was hoping for an injury to Tavaris Jackson, but he has since won me over now that he has decided he could play football again.  I was a bit worried when I heard he in fact had been injured in todays game knowing that Charlie hadn't had any game snaps this season.  But the clipboard, I mean, touchdown Jesus came through in the end, verifying that he is ready to be a starting NFL qb.  To come in in a high pressure situation on the road, down late in the game, and pull off the come from behind upset, is something to be discussed in the next two weeks for the coach's.  My beloved Seahawks won a non-divisional game on the east coast at a PST kickoff of 10:00 am!  Seachickens no longer!  Maybe Pete Carroll knows what he's doing afterall.  A boy can hope, at least.

Football Saturday

Well after another long day of work, watching all the other people having fun, I am glad to finally be home.  At least the U.S. Mens National team got a much deserved win today, and unfortunately, my Sounders did not.  Football is what seems to fuel me anymore.  As little as five years ago I could care less about the sport, but thanks to FSC, I have fallen in love with it.  The Sounders have recently replaced the Mariners as my favorite team to cheer for.  I still love my Mariners, but the older I get, the farther away I fade from the sport I loved growing up.  Maybe if I still lived up in Washington I would care more about them, but it's hard to follow a losing team in when they don't get any TV or newspaper coverage down here in Arizona.  But enough about baseball, back to my new found love of the beautiful game.  Of course we got busy at work right as the opening kick-off of the USA v Honduras game got underway.  Typical of my luck when I want to watch something at work.  I miss Clint's goal, and pretty much all of the second half, but was pleased to see us get the needed 3 points finally.  I am new to this blogging thing, this is my very first submission.  I love to write, I love sports, and I am thinking about switching my major from business to english so I can go into sports journalism instead of sports business.  I have at least narrowed it down to the fact that I want to work in sports, that is a good thing I guess.  If anybody wants, they can follow me and my rants on Twitter, @clinto77.  Till tomorrow, or the next day, Clinto signing out.