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Before anything else, let it be known that while it's been a rather challenging two-week period, it has been worthwhile in many aspects.

Without going too deep into a non-sports topic, I have walked away from my recent civil service with a greater respect and understanding of the judicial system. Jury duty is a nuisance as it is a forced interruption into twelve independent and relatively unconnected lives.

It requires that each participant does more than just show up and collect a check, though there have been people who have done just that.

It requires that each participant consider more than the physical and verbal evidence (read back of testimony, for example), but to consider the intangible evidence such as body language and the words left unsaid.

Most importantly, it requires that no matter what prejudices and experiences each juror has with the legal system, (s)he must be as open-minded and fair towards both sides of a conflict.

Trying to meet all of those tasks is easier for some than others. It is admittedly a challenge that is far easier in theory than in practice, yet I can say that regardless of the outcome, myself and my fellow jurors made the best efforts. That’s all anyone – the judge, prosecution, defense or the citizens themselves – can ask for.

And now, for the topic du jour.

It’s supposed to have been an important (albeit, rainy) day in New York baseball history as both new stadiums will be unveiled to the public for the first time with their primary tenants. After batting practice, testing the dirt and signing some autographs last night at the new Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter talked to the media about his first impressions about the park. He also talked a bit about the anticipation of the Stadium’s first, being that he was the first to get a hit – a home run, apparently – in the building.

Yet, as asked by my editor, an article for this week’s New York Beacon (75 cents at select newsstands in New York City) discusses when he might get his last hit in pinstripes.

The likelihood that Jeter will be anything other than a Yankee – at least to this writer – is nil, unless one of two things happen. Either the team decides to show financial restraint and somehow decides to offer him an incentive-laden deal or the team believes that they can use a stronger arm on the left side of the infield. Yet, considering that Jeter is the Joe DiMaggio of this Yankee era both on and off the diamond, a divorce such as this could be far more embarrassing and heart-attack inducing to the fans than the Joe Torre debacle of 2007, the Billy Martin firings and George Steinbrenner’s feud with Dave Winfield combined.

Or maybe everyone will come to grips with the inevitable; there’s going to be a new guy between second and third some day. The question isn’t who so much as it is a question of when.

The Jeter Watch started recently as he will be a free agent after next season; a 35-year old shortstop whose defensive abilities have been criticized nonstop for a number of years, while his Hall of Fame offense will compel some team outside of the northeast corridor to make an obscenely rich contract offer.

While writing the Beacon piece, I couldn’t help but to think of how hard it’s going to be for the first After Jeter shortstop.

In fact, I couldn’t help but to conjure up the name Pete Myers.

If you can’t remember that name, Chicago Bulls fans might help you. He was the starting shooting guard after Michael Jordan retired in 1993. Myers wasn’t a bad player at all, he just wasn’t Mike.

Now, this isn’t saying that Jeter, whose marketability has grown over the past few seasons, is in the realm of Mike. Yet, at least within a team has storied as the Yankees, his eventual departure will cast a rather large shadow over those who will follow him.

This isn’t anything new. You can’t expect a franchise to suddenly fold when one of its most revered players (if not the most) calls it a career. However, when certain players walk away from the games, you can only hope that the fan base and management they leave behind are rather patient and welcoming.

Otherwise, you have an unsettling period as endured last spring and summer in Green Bay.

Thanks

2008 presented all sorts of wonderful and astonishing moments in not only the sports arena, but anywhere there was a camera, a voice recorder and an associated media outlet. Yet, the past 365 (soon to be 366) days also gave us head-scratchers, heart-breakers and fist-clenchers that will reverberate into the next twelve months. While it's not necessary to rehash what made us applaud, condemn, wonder and hope, it is necessary to capture the year as a whole to look ahead.

In this year, we've seen our fair share of challenges that may - if they have not already done so - affect our lives in ways that we have not witnessed in quite some time or ever before.

Leaving this year behind, we are well aware of the global recession that threatens the way we consume, produce and entertain going forward. Again, this is not just in the sports realm as the overall economy continues to take Miguel Cotto-like body shots.

This year made it rather clear that no matter how much we clamor for change - and beyond this seminal political moment, many of us do the best we can as individuals day by day - some things (as this, this, this and certainly this) are resistant to actual change.

This year, we were given new faces of realized dreams, vindication and outerworldly triumphs while familiar ones gave us another reason to take notice. Yet, there were new names to file under 'WTF' and the reemergence of people whose singular strength is the ability to tick off the masses.

There was a reason or 55 to fall in love with sports in 2008. There was a reason or likely more than 55 to absolutely abhor the sports realm in 2008.

If anything, the blog has taken a significant part of your sports consumption in 2008 than in the last four years since the medium’s mainstream arrival in 2004. The blogopshere has served your sports sunny-side snarky, scrambled in über-analysis, over-easy fanboy, straight & no-chaser serious and chopped-up speculative. As the folks at Yahoo! Sports put it, this was the year of the sports blog and while few have had the resources and/or success as the folks behind Big League Stew and Puck Daddy, millions of bloggers are doing whatever they can to become famous or more often, infamous.

When I began A Sports Scribe back in May of 2007, the number one goal was to join the realm of the most recognized independent blogs such as Awful Announcing, Kissing Suzy Kolber and the like. Understanding that some of those sites discuss sports in a far different manner than I do, I accepted the challenge of going forward with a less typical media-driven an admitted pro-athlete slant, despite being a member of the most infamous group in the industry, the New York media. This past year, Scribe has found its voice, but not in the way that I expected.

I found that for some people, the allure of the blog is that the content comes from a New York City native that doesn’t exactly kowtow to the stereotypical “Noo Yawk” perspective. For others, the carrot on the stick happens to be the visits to various ballparks in my travels, whether I have attended a game in another city or had the chance to provide construction updates in person. Many appreciate that there isn’t the sarcastic and jaded view of sports that they come to expect from someone who is apparently in-the-know. For all, however, I hope that Scribe has achieved its singular goal; to be a blog that combines the action, discussion, culture, business and politics of sports… without being an ass.

With that said, this long post is my way of saying thank you. The audience isn’t earth-shattering, but there has been a noticeable and steady growth. Some of you are personal connections; family, friends and co-workers who have supported me on this journey to provide the best possible content. Some of you are rediscovered connections; former classmates and colleagues who have wondered if I’m still the kid who made playoff trees and kept index cards of player statistics (before the Internet made that a little bit easier). Others have come to Scribe through the sheer power of randomization or the shameless promotions on Facebook and MySpace, wondering why does this guy have something to say, let alone what. No matter how you found Scribe, I want to thank you for sticking with it and I will do my best to retain your intrigue and trust in this forum.

I want to say a special thanks to Ken Fang and Paul Sen, the respective proprietors of Fang’s Bites and Sports Media Watch. Both gentlemen have not only added me to their blog rolls (which is still unbelievable considering that many on their rolls are well-established writers), but have provided food for thought along with direct and indirect support.

Also, I want to say thanks for the various scribes, talkies and faces of the industry that actually make being a part of the press worthwhile. To those who I have emailed, chatted with and met in person, it’s been a thrill and I hope to approach your levels of talent and experience.

Finally, though they say that they don’t read the papers, watch television, listen to talk radio or check the blogs, I’d like to thank the players that make what I’m doing possible.

To all of you out there, Happy New Year and please celebrate safely. May the challenges, lessons and fortunes of 2008 make us all better in 2009 and beyond. And to bring it back to the college radio show and former blog that helped start it all, take care of your own and they’ll take care of you.

Greenish

If you caught any sort of television over the past week, you may have seen the new Wrangler commercial with one of their leading spokesmen, Brett Favre. It seems as if the Green Bay Packers and their fans moved on from that ugly divorce, but the rugged jeans brand has not.



Now, Wrangler deserves the benefit of the doubt here. This ad must have been made prior to the start of the season and unless they were completely out of the loop, they didn't think that Favre would be wearing Jets colors, let alone change his mind about retirement. Maybe they were in denial. Nice colors there.

Sticking with commercials, can anyone here define drinkability?

No, seriously, please define drinkability.

Grounded

The question has been asked in every direction. As much as the Olympics – for better or worse – deserve more attention on this space, keeping up with familiar sports and learning some rarely viewed ones is a daunting task that many others have valiantly taken on (some rather well). And so despite what the caption below the new photo asks (and a general reluctance to discuss too much from the New York area), here’s the answer to the Question of the Year of the Moment.

Brett Favre’s arrival to the Meadowlands has given excitement to the New York Jets’ fan base, the metro area media (what a shock) and anyone who has a major financial investment in the franchise. The future Hall of Famer forced himself back into the game and away from the organization that he shared a once-glorious, now-acrimonious relationship. Where the future of the Green Bay Packers in Aaron Rodgers becomes the present, its past moves on to a team that for various reasons has never grabbed the attention of the country’s biggest market.

In the business of cynics and critics, many have asked if Favre knew what he was getting into. Favre actually admitted that much in his introductory press conference last week:

"I haven't faced anything like this. I don't know anyone in this locker room. To a certain degree, I really don't know what I'm getting into."

While he referred mostly to his new teammates, anyone with a sports pulse in this city may have been thinking about the hornet’s nest that this place can be when a player slips up. Considering that no one has ever batted 1.000, had the 158.3 passer rating, shot 100% from the field or scored a goal in every period of a hockey game in a season, Mr. Favre will be booed for an errant pass at some point this year. However, in the face of the doom-and-gloom predictions for Favre himself, he’ll be fine.

If you haven’t heard, he’s pretty deft with dealing with the media and as it has been known for years, he has a few die hard fans in the press box and broadcasting booth. He also knows what it means to be the signal-caller for a high-profile team. Despite playing in a town whose population is almost one-fourth of that of Staten Island (no joke), Green Bay is home to one of the few franchises in American sports that enjoys a national following. So in terms of playing in the NYC metro area, Favre has a unique perspective compared to other major stars that have come here. The bright lights are nothing new to him, even if those who shine them here are far quicker to highlight something wrong than elsewhere.

As for him knowing the playbook and getting to know his new teammates, this is also something that while it will take some time, he will be in sync with them sooner than later. He’s an unknown to some of these players already because they have gone through the trenches with Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens for a couple of years now. He’s a complete unknown to the team’s biggest free agent acquisitions, offensive linemen Damien Woody and Alan Faneca. Woody split his first seven seasons with New England and Detroit, having protected Tom Brady for four and a rotation of QBs in the Motor City. Faneca left Pittsburgh after ten seasons blocking for Kordell Stewart, Charlie Batch, Tommy Maddox and Ben Roethlisberger, but giving Jerome Bettis, Deuce Staley and Willie Parker major holes to run through. With the emergence of D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, the improved line will give Favre and running back Thomas Jones the time they need to execute on offense. He’ll develop chemistry with Lavernues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery over the coming weeks. The vastly underrated fullback Tony Richardson has laid down major hits for various runners and gunslingers in his thirteen-year career. Whoever would have been the quarterback of this team before Favre’s arrival would have found success, albeit with shorter passes and trying to win the time of possession battle. With Favre, the team will be able to test secondaries with deep routes, though the counter on his 288 interceptions will keep clicking for sure. Favre will be fine under center for New York. The light may not come on until late September considering how much time he has missed since the unretirement saga began. Offense is not so much of a concern as defense should be.

Team management traded LB Jonathan Vilma to New Orleans and Dewayne Robinson to Denver in order to bring in players the felt would suit their 3-4 scheme (three down linemen, four linebackers) better. Nose tackle Kris Jenkins and linebacker Calvin Pace were signed in return, and with Shaun Ellis and Kerry Rhodes being the team’s best defenders, the Jets hope that they can emulate the New England Patriots with a defense that relies more on confusing the opponent than physically overwhelming them. That said, they may have been the ninth-best defense against the pass, but they were horrendous against the run (29th of all 32 teams). Much of this can be traced to being on the field too long because the Jets’ offense sputtered so much. However, this coming season finds them facing upper-echelon backs (San Diego’s LaDanian Tomlinson, Cincinnati’s Rudi Johnson, St. Louis’ Steven Jackson and San Francisco’s Frank Gore), teams with two very good backs (Miami, Oakland), a New England team that runs when they need to with Laurence Maroney and a Denver team with an offensive line that always leads the way for out-of-nowhere 1,000-yard runners. Teams know that to beat the Jets, they have to put pressure on their offense and constantly run on their defense.

What should also prevent fans from printing Super Bowl t-shirts for these Jets is that in they will have to fight at least four other teams for what could be just one playoff spot. Besides the Jets, there are eleven legitimate playoff contenders (only Oakland, Kansas City, Baltimore and Miami seem to be in complete rebuilding mode). Contrary to popular belief, Favre cannot be the sole reason why the Jets can eclipse last year’s Wild Card team’s (Tennessee and Jacksonville) or teams that just missed the postseason (Cleveland and Buffalo).

You can argue that the Packers were the most complete team in the NFL last season with a great offensive line, solid wide receivers, unexpected fortunes with Ryan Grant as the running back and a talented defense that had the desired mix of speed and power. Favre may have made a drastic turnaround from two seasons of sub-par football (29 picks in 2005 and 18 in 2006) and heard a few calls to hang up the cleats, yet he got within a game of the Super Bowl because of an elite defense and a very timely discovery of a running game.

Those will be the same factors that determine if he’ll get closer to another one or if he’ll break out the hunting rifle back home after the December 28th finale against Miami.

Nuggets

Moments ago, an Facebook ad just promoted a sale on new Jets jerseys promoting their newest acquisition.

Before lightning stopped the preseason game between the Jets and the Cleveland Browns, CBS showed a shot of this new guy running out in Jets apparel.

Whether you're a sports fan or not, a Cheesehead or member of Gang Green, there is a consensus on this:

It's bizarre to see this picture.

On that note, here are a few articles that will tickle your fancy. As you are aware by now, Scribe doesn't just give commentary and quick-witted remarks on sports, but it points you to the various aspects of the business that finances them and the culture that consumes it. Enjoy.

• From Wired Magazine's How-to-Wiki: How and where to watch the Olympics beyond the NBC umbrella's broadcasts. Expect some of these sites to be shut down or overloaded by the time Feres twins dip in the pool for syncronized swimming [Warning: hypersexed, Krazy-Glued-to-the keyboard males (and some females, probably) run amok]
• Also from Wired, but slightly older: Could these become the future of head protection for American football players?
• From Advertising Age: This is a noble idea (even if there may be something behind it) from these college coaches who want to curb alcohol advertisements in TV broadcast, it's going to be awfully tough to get the NCAA to listen. There's a joke that was to follow this, but it's far too easy.
• From the New York Times: If you're rocking Under Armour, this guy thanks you.
• Yahoo! Sports Dan Wetzel wonders will they or won't they.
• Also from Yahoo!: Jeff Passan discusses the future of television blackouts in baseball.
• Found somewhat randomly on Google: an interesting question posed by a writer from Botswana (yes, Botswana).

Apprenticeship

You’ve wanted football talk? You got it!



Early this evening on ESPNews, Michelle Bonner moderated her nightly roundtable discussion; this evening bringing about the latest chapter in the Brett Favre saga. Unanimously, these three sports talkies said that the Green Bay Packers – the team that Favre and others (including Reggie White) brought back from the dead –should do everything possible to not only bring him back, but to delay the development of Aaron Rodgers for another season by returning the future Hall of Famer to his starting role.



One of the talkies (whose name doesn’t come to memory at the moment) said that having Rodgers, the fourth-year quarterback from California, wait out another season as Favre returns would be similar to a scenario played out in San Francisco in the early 90s: when Steve Young waited for his time to shine behind Joe Montana. Again, unanimously, all pointed to the sudden fortunes for the 49ers once Young took over behind center. Not only did he add the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title after the 1994 season, but won the league’s MVP award twice, led the league in passing rating six times, was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame three years ago.



While it’s all well and good (and this Scribe will freely admit to Young being the personal favorite signal-caller of all time), the logic that these apprenticeships are similar is a bit off.



Way off.

For starters, let’s look at how the Montana-Young combination was created in the first place. Young, whose success at BYU led him to becoming one of the major signings for the short-lived USFL, had bombed out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When the Bucs drafted Vinny Testaverde in 1987, Young was traded to San Francisco for the Niners’ second- and fourth-round draft picks.



For four seasons from 1987-1990, Young served as Montana’s backup, but with various injuries to #16, the scrambling leftie had some significant playing time. As the number 2 QB, Young threw 23 touchdowns to just six interceptions. In the 1989 season where Montana won his second league MVP and fourth Super Bowl, Young still amassed 1,001 yards, eight TDs and just 3 picks.



With Montana having missed the 1992 season due to an elbow injury suffered in the ’91 NFC title game, Young was the undisputed starter. When Young himself was erratic or injured, he was replaced by another Steve, this one being Bono. Bono played well enough in a few games that season that it warranted some discussion on not only who should be the starting signal caller, but how much better the team performed with Montana. Though Montana was returning to full strength, he was unable to do so for the start of 1992 season, allowing Young to hold on to the starting role. It was a blessing in disguise as #8 overcame another show start to take home his first MVP award, first Pro Bowl and first playoff appearance (defeating Washington, but losing to Dallas in the NFC Championship). This gave the front office the confidence to stick with Young by trading Montana to Kansas City before the 1993 campaign.



Of course, Young exceeded everyone’s expectations by not only winning another MVP and a Super Bowl of his own, but carved his own legacy in the Bay Area.

The situation is much different for Rodgers. Unlike Young, who entered the league with collegiate and USFL brilliance to be humbled in his first few years in the NFL, Rodgers’ success in California was scrutinized heavily from the moment his NCAA career ended. As discussed previously, it was essentially a coin flip between him and Utah’s Alex Smith, by none other than… the lusterless San Francisco 49ers. Once the Niners chose Smith with the top overall pick in 2005, he was passed over by twenty teams whose immediate need was not at the quarterback position. Instead, he was selected to reside on Green Bay’s bench until the last whim of Favre would lead him to retirement.



Yet, Favre’s record streak of 275 consecutive starts under center (253 regular season and 22 playoffs) proved that he still had something in that right arm.



Favre, for all of his grit and toughness, was fortunate to never have endured an injury that would sideline him for a significant amount of time (or at all, actually). Yet, Rodgers found significant playing time in one of the mere six games Favre had been unable to finish in his career. After just throwing 35 passes (completing fifteen for 46 yards and one pick), Rodgers had a stellar backup effort in a 37-27 loss in Dallas last fall. In 2 ½ quarters of play, he went 18-for-26 with 201 yards and his first touchdown toss. While he was sacked three times, it gave Packers management a better idea of how their potential heir apparent could perform when the game still matters.



The moment that Favre announced his farewell in March, rumors and prayers were abound in hopes that he would not file his retirement papers. Green Bay, having gone through Favre’s flirtations with retirement for years, seemed to be poised to finally let Rodgers lead the team. Despite reaching the NFC title game last season, it appeared as if management was willing to let him take the reins with what is arguably the most complete starting roster in the NFL.



Whether Rodgers turns out to be a flop or first-ballot Hall of Famer in his own right remains to be seen. There are a few active quarterbacks who had to wait longer than others before becoming The Man for their franchises, such as Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck (a former Favre backup), Houston’s Matt Schaub, San Diego’s Philip Rivers and Jacksonville’s David Garrard. While none had to ‘wait for the old man to retire’, they have proven to have the goods to win in the NFL (though Hasselbeck and Schaub had to be traded for their chances). Rodgers could be the next to join this group.



As Young watched Montana nearly twenty years earlier, Rodgers must have learned a ton by observing Favre, albeit with reluctance and anxiousness. As Young, he spent a few years understanding the exacting West Coast offense with a clipboard, practices, preseason games and mop-up duty. As Young, he came to a team that while loaded with emerging talent that could contend for titles in the future, it was anticipating the sunset on a legend that could have gave them at least one. Yet, the common thread ends there.



Injuries set the wheels in motion for Steve Young to supplant Joe Montana. Competitiveness and/or stubbornness of Brett Favre could be keeping Aaron Rodgers in limbo.



And maybe the Green Bay Packers’ future.



Say What?!?!: Well, if the Pack is serious about moving forward with Rodgers, they might want to take off Favre from that current players' masthead on the team website.

T! (I)

So today, you'll get a look at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. While the views may not be as close as they were for PNC Park, I'll do the absolute best I can to give the best look into what's supposed to be a pretty cool park. This will be the last game before most of the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox take an All-Star break tomorrow through Wednesday.



It had been a rather long day yesterday from leaving the crib at 5:30AM to woofing down a bacon cheeseburger somewhere along the George Bush Highway to passing out in Plano at some undetermined time. Yet, by Monday morning, you'll be treated to something great out of this foray into that bandbox Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton call home.



In the meanwhile, a few recommended articles. Some from the usual suspects, some born from taking a layover in Minneapolis/St. Paul and being here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

• Alan Schwartz's (New York Times) piece about the aforementioned Rangers headed to The Bronx for the All-Star Game


• USA Today tells you how phenomenally pricey the ASG gatherings are this year


• Also from USA Today, you can debate if these truly are the faces of the thirty MLB franchises


• Dan Wetzel (Yahoo! Sports) has some recommended summer reading in this 'slow' sports period (and slow is quoted for those who follow just the major North American sports)


• Everyone's favorite Cowboys head coach is back! Well, at least mine, anyway. Did someone just throw a bobblehead at me?


• Since it's closing in on training camp time, if you didn't think that there wouldn't be a spin on the latest Brett Favre saga for one of Green Bay's rivals, you're a bit off.

Oh, and go see Hellboy II. I do recall seeing that last night. I also recall that when I landed in DFW that it was 100 degrees. Not... cool.

Ethic

If you noticed a day ago, there was a slight error in the poll. Unintentional, of course, but bad enough all the same. Because of general curiosity from those who come upon Scribe, the poll will remain here until April 1st.

One of the strangest and most baffling occurences in sports takes place in barbershops, workplace kitchenettes and message boards across the globe. It's the moment when the mere mention of a particular athlete's name invites the most absurd comments about his or her work ethic.

When did Shaquille O'Neal first become out-of-shape and fat?

When did Tyler Hansborough become the hardest working basketball player in the rich history of college basketball?

When did Vince Carter or his third cousin, Tracy McGrady ever look as if they were dogging it?

When did the now-retired Brett Favre become the toughest player to ever strap on a football helmet?

When did the Williams sisters

When did Miguel Cabrera or Andruw Jones fall to the "one Angus Deluxe away from eating his baseball career away" category?

These are just a few of the many instances where we tend to believe that a player isn't giving his all or a player is so passionate that - to borrow from the excellent new Nike campaign's slogan - his better is better than someone else's in terms of work ethic. Yet, there is something inherently wrong about trying to gauge someone's efforts on the playing surface.


Well, there are a few things wrong with this, to be real with you.

First of all, despite the great recreational runners and pick-up ballers that read Scribe, fans in general are not exactly embodiments of athletic excellence. In fact, the most athletic thing most of us actually does is roll out of bed. This isn't intended to be a slam or a mock at all, so much that this brings up a point. There are very few people in the world that can carry their athletic aspirations beyond their high school gymnasiums and neighborhood parks. It took some sort of persistence to be the best around the block, even if we probably had a good game against them at some point. Yet, they had desire and enough talent to build upon to the next level, from AAU and high school to some form of college (four-year or JuCo) to the elite professional stratosphere. Some work so hard to be so good that is seems easy and effortless when in fact, it took years of crafting their skills.

Secondly, these statements tend to be regurgitated from media reports and commentary, but rarely understood and questioned. Sports media has a lengthy history of members who made names for themselves by being vitriolic or overly flattering of certain athletes and leagues. Yet, most of this happened with only editors and stockholders as the defining check and balance of their expressions. Now, with immediate response from fans and colleagues through readily avaiable media, you would think that media heads and players-turned-analysts would be held a little more accountable or at the very least, be more discriminating with their opinions and word choice. Sadly, nothing has really changed except that there are more people involved. Sadly, there are more people believing the hype or repeating what they've heard. In the words of SPJ, "just turn off (insert media outlet here) and think for yourself".

Temperment plays a significant role in how a player's ethic is received. Think of how suddenly, Eli Manning has a legion of fans believing in him after his Giants' Super Bowl win last month. Manning had been derided by beat writers (not this one), columnists, talkies (again, not this one) and TV analysts for not having the personality of a quarterback who would kill his mother for a victory. His body language showed nonchalance when the Giants, notably he, struggled over the past two years. He was never found to scream in complete lunacy as Dan Marino did in his career, yet, even in good or great games outside of Super Bowl XLII, you didn't see a Tiger Woods triumphant fist pump, either. Because there was nothing for the camera to pan to, did this mean that he didn't care or that he wasn't into the moment? Did this mean that Manning did not put his work in during the week to prepare for Sundays? Manning's successful final weeks should serve as a reminder that you don't need to be a "rah-rah" athlete to win, let alone play at all.

The last reason for the absurdity of questioning a player's work ethic comes from something that has no statistic behind it: outside influence. How often do we hear about the player's personal life - for better or worse - seeping into their play? Family concerns, bad breakups and divorces, legal woes, adjusting to new locations - all of these play tremendous roles in how a player appears during a game. We may not learn of all of these travails publicly, but we still mouth off without having the slightest clue. Case in point: the infamous Allen Iverson "Practice" press conference. While he has laughed about it since, reading the full transcript should give you a glimpse of what was going on in his head at the time. Yet, when he was on the court, it was impossible to say that he wasn't giving his full effort; sometimes, you can say he put too much of himself on the line at the expense of his physical health and teammates' development.

Athletes receive the recognition that they do for a reason, whether many in society approve of this or not. Where most of us were limited by life-altering decisions or by lack of talent or physicque or just didn't have aspirations to take our games to the next level, any athlete who is playing in a highly-recognizable league has to have had a strong work ethic to get there. There are few people on earth who are willing to use their entire physical being to play a game or for a chance to make a living from doing so. To assume how hard they work is a little difficult considering that we're just observers, not actually playing with them.

Or maybe that's just one person's opinion.

So you probably think this post is hogwash and that's okay. After all, we might be right when we say that someone isn't trying hard enough or one player 'just wants it more' than another. Yet, for as much as we pick up on body language and the insiders tell us about what may be going on between games, do we really know?

Doubt it.

Say What?!?!: I knew cheerleaders were hardcore... well, except the ones I knew in high school (I kid, I kid). Yet, now, I have come to an important conclusion. Even though they're no joke athletically, they're just nuts. What a cheerleader does scares me more than the prospect of going man-to-man against Bruce Smith in his prime. Dead serious.
Speaking of regurgitation, another nugget from Newsweek- I wish I can give you an appropriate description to how much I HATE this phrase. I say appropriate because despite my colorful in-person language, I prefer to not dig in the nasty word thesaurus on Scribe, even if it is the Internet. So thank you, T.O., sports media, news media, the political arena and every working space in the United States for taking this phrase to such insightly levels.

Finally!

He must have learned a ton from watching along the sidelines.

He must have taken every practice snap asked of him.

He must have watched more film than he ever planned to.

Yet, no matter how cordial or cool the relationship may have been between the long-time lead and the prodigious understudy - no one outside of the organization really knows - deep down, this has to be the happiest man on Earth thanks to the retirement of no. 4.



You might remember reading about him somewhere...

Unfiltered

Forgive the expression, but the Internet can be a public exercise in brain-farting. To elaborate with some elegance after that visual; when we make comments to some web article, blog or other comments, most of those who participate tend to say the first thing on their mind. While there are a good lot of us that can make those keystrokes into something worth discussion, the majority of words on the web are straight garbage. Unfortunately, as the adage goes in the creative industries, negativity sells. Sports columnists would say “at least they’re talking about me!”

The problem is nothing new. Though we constantly tout current technology as the reason for the explosion in communication between consumer (fan) and business (media, players), there has always been some major advance that has tried to close the gap between the groups and create more awareness. Yet, the instantaneous feedback that exists now has little governance behind it. Without a doubt, what’s great about blogging or perusing the web for news stories and humorous twists or broadcasting online is that the walls are coming down. However, just as sports radio’s emergence in the nineties, the growing outlet attracts losers, yahoos and jerks that spend all of their time stirring up trouble. They are the one that bring up unsavory and inappropriate subjects to make a joke. They complain about race every five seconds or complain about race being brought up every five seconds though it has nothing to do with the subject at hand. They are obnoxious with their ‘FIRST!’ posts and need to capitalize their points.

This exists in any subject people are passionate about, of course. Personally because of the craft, it’s easier to notice how it affects sports discussions more. Whereas other forms of entertainment such as movies and music (ideally) reflect the human condition – emotions, thoughts, wants and desires, struggles, etc. – without tests of the physique, sports reflect the human body in spontaneous motion without digging for the person inside. Fair or not, it’s easier to make personal statements and attack someone’s taste in other forms of entertainment because most people latch onto a story that has similarities or dreams in their own lives. In general, we make equally damning statements about sports when the games themselves lend little to nothing regarding who the athletes are. Even worse, their off-field lives seem to be fair game if a player has a bad stretch (Alex Rodriguez) or if a player heaps credit and adoration without truly deserving it (Brett Favre).

A case in point of the unnecessary: Jim Leyritz, the former major league catcher for several teams, is likely to face charges of DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage in the death of a 30-year-old woman. The conversation lends itself to a logical parallel as St. Louis Rams’ defensive end Leonard Little walked down the same path several years ago. You can also read about how some fans fashion themselves as ‘legal experts’ based not only on personal experience with being reckless behind the wheel, but on all of their observations of other athletes who have been in trouble with the law. Yet, you’ll find people trying to make some connection to his playing career, his specific stints with the New York Yankees (because the war against the Red Sox just doesn’t fade) and the recently convicted Michael Vick.

In reading the comments, how many times did the acronym ‘WTF?!?!’ cross your mind?

Is this fair?

Is this right?

Is it the nature of the beast?

Most importantly, as you are all readers of Scribe amongst other blogs and websites, is there a need for policing beyond the authors and administrators?

Say What?!?!: Speaking of policing and blogging...