This weekend was a pretty cool weekend. Living in Louisville I was caught up in all the Derby Festivities all weekend. I still managed to get my fix and share of Sports this weekend while enjoying the annual event. And below are some of my thoughts from this weekend and a statement that I am sure will draw some criticism from some. So without further ado… Let’s Go…
– The Kentucky Derby Festival Parade is not the same parade I was use to seeing when I was little. The floats weren’t great, and it looked like they just pulled some random people from the street and said, “You wanna be in the Parade today”? Louisville, we have got to do better. This event kicks off the weekend, and should be something that wows people. If you need my help for next year, hit me up, I would be happy to help organize…
– Celtics: Those who know me know I am a Celtics fan. And when the team went down 0-2 I received a lot of text messages and twitter post (ALFONSO SMITH). But I maintained they would not get swept, and in Game 3, they showed up. And when Rondo went down, I also thought they were done, but oh my, was that not the gutsiest play from a player all year? That was a player that wanted to play, needed to play, and nothing was going to keep him from playing. That showed HEART. And if they come back to win the series with Rondo at pg, he should when some kind of an award. Hell I may even get a plaque made and mail it to him myself.
– After that display, how in the H.E. double hockey sticks can the Lakers show up and play that way? Granted I am not taking anything away from the Mavs and Mark Cuban, who btw is one of my favorite owners in the NBA. But you couldn’t help but feel bad for arguably the greatest coach in NBA history. Not even the Zen Master could get the boys ready. And the two fouls at the end of the game, especially the one by Bynum was just despicable. And although my opinion means nothing, I respect him less. Truly uncalled for and no place for that in sports. He could have really hurt someone. And did he even apologize?
– SUGAR Shane Mosely… While I was not expecting too much from Shane. I did expect more. The whole fight card was blah at best. Even Pavlic’s fight was pedestrian. But Manny and Shane could have given the crowd more for their $54.95. I found myself excited maybe twice doing the whole fight. Shane looked like he really didn’t want to be there. Which we should have expected. Leading up to the fight, he was all smiles, and too friendly with Pac Man. It was a fight that looked like me and my friend Newby shadow boxing in the backyard. It was an expensive sparring match. But I couldn’t be to mad at him and his $5 Million dollar pay day. Didn’t want to get to beat up, because he had to go home to Bella Gonzalez.
– Which brings me to my next point. WOW… Before that fight I never heard of her, but when she stood up to root Shane on, everyone in the room let out a collective “DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNN”, including the females! Instantly she began trending on twitter, and just made some money in the near future. And suddenly you didn’t feel so bad for Shane after all. Bella, I know you have a manager, but if you need an agent… HIT ME UP…
– The Derby itself was a race. I really wasn’t that excited this year mainly because there wasn’t a horse that I could root for that had a legit shot of winning the Triple Crown. Don’t get me wrong, congrats to Animal Kingdom, and I wish him the best, but I just don’t see it happening. And to be honest, that is what the sport needs, that one HORSE that comes on the track and just “SHUTS IT DOWN”. He should be named “The Young Tyson”, and takes other horses out of the race before it even starts. I would follow that.
– Lastly, I will give my views on the lockout. And this is all I will say about it. During a recent poll that my friend conducted with 500 responses, one of the questions asked was, “Who’s fault is the lockout?” Surprisingly almost 80% responded, “DON’T CARE, JUST GET BACK TO FOOTBALL”. That really hit home, while the NFLPA and the Owners are still trying to win the PR battle with the fans, a lot of fans could care less about which side is right. You can get that feeling from Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc. I asked the question yesterday, “Have we gone from getting a fair deal done, to just trying to stick it to the other side?” They say it takes time, but haven’t we been preparing for 2 Years? I want a fair CBA just like the next person. But as an agent with players who did not hear their names called in the draft, I want a piece of mind more than anything.
These young men are out here in Limbo, and no one really seems to care. What people don’t understand is that some of these guys will contribute and turn out to be good football players, and it’s a shame that they have to go through this. So I suggest, no matter what happens in the courts, can the owners lift the lockout for the weekend. Sign Free agents Thursday and Friday, then UDFA rookies Saturday and Sunday. Monday go back to paying a ton of money to lawyers to argue over something that could be done in mediation for free. But give these players a piece of mind.
– Lastly, it’s being reported that agents are telling media sources that their players have been contacted by NFL teams during the lockout. And I have since been asked by some if I was one of them due to the clients I have, that SHOULD be PFA, but I personally have not been contacted by any teams during the lockout. There I am on the record as saying so. But to the agents, I do not agree with what you did, and I can only think you had other motives. I will explain… By already being contacted about your players, you essentially have a deal in place for your guy with a team.
Congrats, now you can give your player a piece of mind, and maybe you can sleep better tonight. But to go tell after you got your deal in place, leads me to believe that you did it so the NFL could crack down more, basically stopping teams from talking to other players, thus giving your guy an advantage. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good business, but it is also kind of a shady move in my opinion.
Unless, when the team you called you said, “Hold up Mr. GM GUY, this is against the rules, and I would not be a part of it.” But if you did that, wouldn’t you state your name and the team name? Maybe not, But my point is on behalf of the other 300 UDFA players that would LOVE to know a team is that interested in them, and give them a piece of mind because in their minds this whole lockout mess is silly anyway, THANK YOU… Thank You for telling on scouts and coaches on this incident that is harming the basic fundamental fabric of the NFL. Because yes this is a real issue, and if teams do this, then the NFL as we know will cease to exist.
Because heaven forbid coaches and scouts are looking out for the players that they have got to know, looking out for themselves and their families, and looking out to insure there is a quality product on the field when the NFL opens back its doors…
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