Faith

One of the longest running battles between sports media and sports participants has been waged over religion and spirituality or at least the reverence towards something ‘above us’. Often, a player will praise God in a post-game interview after his or her team walked away with a win. Yet, it’s the scribe that frustratingly or sardonically asks why the player can’t give equal praise in defeat. It’s an understandable qualm being that ideally, sports is the equalizer of all who play, whether one is a devout Jehovah’s Witness, a non-practicing Jew or a respectful, but skeptical atheist.

When Art Monk, the last of the 2008 inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, spoke about his long, long, long overdue honor, he spoke to a heavy Washington Redskins crowd that probably swore something fierce in celebration of the wide receiver’s moment. Where most of us fans and media who revere the game wanted to slap the proverbial face of the PFHoF for taking seven years to elect him, Monk reflected on the peace he made with the long wait by claiming that “as great as this honor is, it’s not what defines who I am or what I have been able to accomplish in my life”

Instead, he discussed where he’d like his identity to show the strongest; through his faith.

“That's right. And even now as a Hall of Famer, the one thing I want to make very clear is that my identity and my security is found in the Lord. And what defines me and my validation comes in having accepted his son Jesus Christ as my personal savior. And what defines me is the word of God and it's the word of God that will continue to shape and mold me into the person that I know he's called me to be.”

As you can tell from the rest of the clip and transcript, Monk was hoping to relay to the crowd that something beyond him allowed for him to have this moment.

The cynical sports writer would have found a way to lampoon Monk for bringing faith into what was supposed to be a celebration for the sport. Yet, maybe because this was one of the most respected wide receivers the game has ever known, there wasn’t a loud cry about his choice of words. In a volatile media market that is analyzing and criticizing the John McCain ad implying that Barack Obama believes himself to be a messiah, you would think that someone on sports talk radio would have gone on a tangent about it all. And maybe someone has.

However, Monk has probably shown us that any problem with sports and faith isn’t always about faith itself, but the person and the timing.

Say What?!?!: Speaking of Monk, an interesting fan question coming out of Jacksonville. Found this on the Jaguars’ website:
Tommy from Atlantic Beach, FL
What effect, if any, does Art Monk finally making it into the Hall of Fame have on Jimmy Smith's chances of making it in?
Vic: Their numbers are comparable. Monk has 78 more catches and 434 more yards, but Jimmy Smith is right with the best of them when it comes to stats. Jimmy’s problem, and it’s the same for all wide receivers, is that the Hall of Fame is starting to become the Hall of Fame of Wide Receivers, and Monk just added another name to the list. I think you’re going to see the Hall of Fame committee turn away from wide receivers for awhile. I think you’re going to see the committee begin turning toward the defensive side of the ball, which does not have enough representation, especially at linebacker.

Besides

So besides the Beijing Olympics, what else is there to keep up with in August?

Here's something to start with this weekend:

Tomorrow: Pro Football Hall of Fame

Could you be a Hall-of-Famer and underrated at the same time? Or overlooked? If you take a look at this year's class, you could make the case for all of these players.

• Fred Dean made his name known to the masses as a San Francisco 49er, but it was in the shadow of San Diego's highly potent aerial attack led by Dan Fouts that he emerged as one of the most feared pass rushers in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• Before offensive linemen grew in profile (mainly because of criticism of those who underperformed), Gary Zimmerman was a dominant offensive lineman whose lone champion for a long time was famed analyst John Madden (only because of how much the former Raiders coach loves his OLs).
• Emmitt Thomas was a top-flight cornerback for Kansas City whose 58 interceptions are fourth all-time among pure corners (his passes defensed must be pretty impressive if that statistic was kept in the sixties and early seventies).
• Most people forgot there was a football team in New England until the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI, but Andre Tippett was a beast at outside linebacker on a team that other than a SB appearance in '86 ('85 season), was just awful. Playing in the same era as Lawrence Taylor didn't help his profile over the years, but any quarterback who felt his wrath could tell you of his ferocity.
• Twenty seasons in the NFL, let alone twenty seasons as a cornerback for one team is an accomplishment in itself. Yet, Darrell Green was one of the best in the business with wide receiver-like speed and free safety vision for the ball. Oh, wasn't too shabby returning the ball, either.
• Jerry Rice will officially be enshrined into the Hall in 2011; one of the few guarantees in life, let alone sports. Art Monk's addition to the Hall in some ways is still a surprise considering how long he had to wait to get the call. The prototype to today's big wideouts, Monk utilized his speed and quickness on any and every route. How three Super Bowl titles and career records (many broken by Rice) were not enough for media members who love to talk about numbers and major markets as HOF qualifiers is still beyond me.

All week: Same faces, new places
Yes, Manny Ramirez is a Dodger, Mark Texieira is an Angel, Ken Griffey, Jr. is a White Sock (Sox is still plural, right?), Jason Bay is a Rod Sock, Ivan Rodriguez is a Yankee and I'm headed to the Brewers... However, to get a better sense of how your favorite team will adjust with new players, you have to look beyond the first weekend series after the trading deadline and keep at least the first week in focus. Each team will have at least one home series and one road series to give their new managers an idea of how their newest ballplayers are going to either adjust to unfamiliar teams and parks (or reaquaint themselves). As August rolls along, you may see some adjustments (especially in the case of Boston and Los Angeles, who need Bay and Ramirez to learn new leagues) to the lineups.
Or maybe all of the GMs were playing MLB '08 on XBox/PS3 and won't save the rosters to memory after it's all over.