Jeff George??!!

List of guys who were readily avaialable for the Raiders this offseason who I'd rather see quarterbacking my team instead of Jeff George (or Aaron Brooks) (I'm probably forgetting some...and in no particular order):

Guys we know were available as free agents or in trade this offseason:
1.) Drew Brees
2.) Steve McNair
3.) Daunte Culpepper
4.) Gus Frerotte
5.) Brian Griese
6.) Trent Dilfer
7.) Joey Harrington
8.) Jon Kitna
9.) Josh McCown
10.) Kelly Holcomb
11.) Todd Collins
12.) Patrick Ramsey

Guys they could have drafted:
1.) Matt Leinart
2.) Jay Cutler
3.) Kellen Clemons
4.) Tavaris Jackson
5.) Bruce Gradkowski

Other guys floating out there (i.e. available today!):
1.) Vinny Testaverde
2.) Tim Couch
3.) Kerry Collins (missed the boat here...)
4.) A.J. Feely (released yesterday)

Right under their nose:
1.) Andrew Walter
2.) Marques Tuiasosoppo

Happy Birthday!

A big congratulations going out to 3 Hamilton fave Julio Franco! Yesterday he celebrated his 48th birthday and is still going strong. He is currently hitting .271 in 114 at-bats for the Mets, and is an impressive 5 for 5 in stolen base attempts. I remember being a 7 year old in the Cleveland suburbs, and proudly replicating his unique batting stance. Here's to Julio, I hope he plays until he's 60.

Whatever happened to...

The person who is widely considered the greatest NFL bust of all time?

Why, he's mentoring college students how to play the position where he was considered a professional laughingstock.

ESPN caught up with Ryan Leaf.

Now - has anyone seen Harold Miner?

The Good Ol' Days...

Remember back in the day, say John Elway circa 1999, when players retired gracefully from professional sports with some dignity? When the word retired wasn't followed in the story by "psych!!" With the news here in Boston that the Patriots today signed Junior Seau, we may have officially set a record for shortest retirement, at least in recent memory. Even Mr. Ego himself, Michael Jordan, enjoyed a longer time out of the spotlight than Seau. And what makes it even more pathetic was Seau's fire and brimstone, telivangelist-like retirement speech. Oops.

It really is a sad testimony to the ego of a professional athlete that they cannot see the writing on the wall. I mean, the man is 37 years old, hasn't played 16 games since 2001, and, in my very untrained opinion, was vastly overrated throughout his 16 year career. I find it funny that LaVar Arrington has spent his career getting ripped for being a wreckloose, scheme-ignoring freelancer, yet Seau went to 12 Pro Bowls doing the same thing. Back to my point. What was my point? Oh, the writing on the wall, yeah, clearly someone needs to sit Junior down (and Favre too while we're at it) and break the news to him that he should have retired not on Monday, but after the 2003 season in San Diego.

Oh well, at least the companies selling the random throwback jerseys, think Unitas as a Charger, Namath as a Ram, Simpson as a 49er, Franco as a Seahawk, will have another one to add to the list. Maybe they'll see it as a two for one with the Jerry Rice VERY limited edition Bronco jerseys.

And, above all, this signing is a clear indication that all is not well in Foxborough (well, except here in my Steeler-loving household)!!

Coney Island's Finest

ESPN posted an article today talking about how Knicks PG Stephon Marbury is endorsing University Sports' new sneaker "Starbury One" which will retail at $14.98.

Now I have to admit that I've always had a soft spot for Steph. I drafted him in my keeper fantasy league and was impacted by his (at the time) successes and failures. I also am a reader of Slam (the only magazine I have a subscription to) who basically sees Steph as the quintessential Slam basketball player - from the 'hood to mainstream - still repping the 'hood. Slam would say, for better or worse, they grew up together. (See their recent 100th issue where they did just that).

That being said, I'm not naieve enough to not recognize his shortcomings. His proclamation last year of being the best PG in the league was laughable by any stretch. His media feud with Brown is childish at best. Good luck finding anyone on the Knicks who ISN'T vasty overpaid and the fact that Isaiah Thomas saw a bit of himself in him scares me. (not knocking Isaiah as a player...but he's soiled his entire rep these past few years).

So I'm no Steph backer...but that soft spot will probably always be there. And I could go anywhere with this shoe story. Is this a recent trend in the NBA to have shoe contracts that mirror on-court performance? Is it just a move from traditional shoe companies? (Damon Jones and now Shaq are repping Chinese shoes Li Ning). Is the quality that you can expect from Starbury's shoe the same quality you can expect from his game? Is AndOne dropping him and I hadn't heard of it? i.e. - was he forced to do this or is Steph intentionally providing an affordable urban alternative? (figuring they probably don't have a WalMart in the 'hood?).

Then I found this article linking me to the Starbury lineup. And it appears that it's the latter and I really kinda respect that. Whether Marbury ends up turning it on with the Knicks (under Isaiah?) or some other team or fades into obscurity, he will remain a hero to the kids in the streets of New York. And now he's reaching them in a way he never has.

T.O. has B.O.

At what point does ESPN change its name to ESTO? You cannot watch five minutes of ESPN News or Sportscenter without getting some sort of T.O. update, "from Cowboys camp today, Ed Werder reports that T.O. sits down to pee!!" It is beyond ridiculous at this point. Roger Goodell's first act as commissioner should be to ban all coverage of T.O. I mean, the guy is a crazy, sociopath that thrives on attention. How do you fix his attitude? STOP GIVING HIM ATTENTION 24-7!!! It is driving me insane to the point that I avoid ESPN now. What a shame.

Laird's Crib

So, I was watching TV last weekend and came across MTV Cribs. Always an entertaining option, even more so when our boy Laird is featured with wife Gabby Reese. Very entertaining. Laird is a funny dude.

...And So It Begins...

Yes, it's only pre-season. Yes, it's only one game. Yes, it's the Eagles and the Raiders and I've never been known to care about either of them. And yes, I'll probably lose interest after the first half at best.

But thank God! Let's get ready for some football.

I will be at BW3 tonight enjoying the prelude to the 2006 season. And I can't wait.