Donovan McNabb Needs a “Braveheart” Moment
It’s one thing to take heat from Rush Limbaugh. Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb can deal with that.
But how about this salvo fired by Philadelphia boxer Bernard Hopkins, on Comcast SportsNet Monday Night Live:
“Some people are athletes, still good, but don’t have that extra ‘I’m willing to sacrifice my life. I’m willing to sacrifice what I have to sacrifice to win.’ … People never forgot when things happen, they see a guy crumble under pressure. Whether they throw up on the highway, whether they throw up on the court, whether they throw up on the football field, when people see that, that sticks in the back of their mind.
“Every athlete should have that killer instinct in him, especially if you’re the quarterback… If he’s not right here and here [pointing to heart and head], and don’t want it, the team feel the vibes…”
Mind you, McNabb has a pretty impressive track record. How much abuse would he take if he had Marc Bulger’s won-loss mark the last two seasons?
Until McNabb carries the Eagles to a World Championship while playing with one arm or a broken leg, he will not feel much love in Philadelphia.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while waiting for Manny Legace to see the puck again:
- With David Perron, Patrick Berglund and Lee Stempniak scoring, is it just a matter of time before the Blues resume winning?
- By predicting a “bloodletting” for the Billikens, is Rick Majerus just helping his young team build some confidence before conference play?
- Is it just us, or is Rams guard Jacob Bell actually shrinking during the season? Didn’t he weigh over 300 pounds when the team signed him?
THE CASE FOR YOUTH SOCCER
This video clip will make sports parents cringe over their coffee:
BOXING ETIQUETTE BREACHED
Apparently, Jesse Vargas does not enjoy being kissed during a clinch. Tipsheet would post it or link to this classic footage, but the commentary includes a bit of profanity.
Search for the clip at your own peril.
LETTERMAN’S LIST
CBS funnyman David Letterman had Terrell Owens come aboard to read his “TO’s Advice for Kids.”
See for yourself:
Chris Rock he is not. But he;s a good sport.
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The NHL claims it set an attendance record in October. Who counted the turnstiles - Bigfoot?”
Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “The New York Rangers argue they are owed a compensatory 2009 draft pick because of the tragic death of 2008 draftee Alexi Cherepanov, claiming they are unable to sign him but that, technically, he is eligible to be drafted again. (Aside to the club’s guy in charge of public relations: Resign, please.)”
Dan Daly, Washington Times: “So I’m reading about this amateur golfer in Illinois who recorded five holes-in-one in a week and I’m thinking: Who was his witness, Kim Jong Il?”
Jerry Greene, Orlando Sentinel: “There’s something wrong when the poker season is longer than the NBA season.”
Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoTribune.com: “The wonks who run the NFL are pushing the Bush administration to enact a ridiculous anti-online wagering law. The NFL doesn’t want you to be able to bet on games via the Internet, even though betting is the only reason the NFL is as popular as it is. What’s more, the sanctimonious hypocrites who run the NFL originally made injury lists public — and further, began fining teams for fudging — because the league knew that only the wired gamblers used to have access to that kind of information.”
MEGAPHONE
“Scott Boras said everything’s fine. He came down from Mars last week and, I guess, he’ll go back up and work on his stats.”
San Francisco Giants managing general partner Bill Neukom, claiming the bad economy will curtail team spending on free-agents. (Thanks to the Chicago Sun-Times for spotting this quote.)
For all of you who want to bring Martz back for some reason, let’s remember the facts:
1. While his overall record was good at 56 – 36, how many more games should his teams have won? I am going to say the number is 10 – 15, easy. Why were these games lost? Because of his lack of head coaching skills – clock management, wasted timeouts, no value for the football (turnovers), ridiculous play challenges and no attention to detail when regarding defense or special teams. No way the Rams get beat by the Patriots if Vermeil is the coach.
2. The 2008 version of the Rams has just as much to do with Martz than anyone. Should we start to count the number of absurd draft choices over the years? They by far out number the good or even reasonable ones. Starting in 2000 when he picked Trung Candidate. Not to mention, drafting quarterbacks to become wide receivers and safeties? We could go on all day. When your draft strategy is to pull names out of a hat, it catches up in a big way. The Rams will need at least 3 years of quality to make up for the damage he caused.
I got news for you Martz lovers, even if he was still here; their record would be basically the same. Name your coach, no way ANY COACH IN HISTORY WINS WITH THIS ROSTER. Thank you, Mike Martz.
Speaking of the Rams, the Blues are starting to look like them except for being on skates. You can’t win if your down by 3 goals every game boys, get it out of first gear.