The San Francisco 49ers came into this season with many predicting they'll easily win the NFC West division. The winner of the division the past two years, the Arizona Cardinals, lost their starting QB Kurt Warner to retirement. Then they released backup QB Matt Leinart and had to roll with QB Derek Anderson, who other than his 2007 Pro Bowl season, has been awful. The St. Louis Rams drafted #1 after going 1-15 last season and the Seattle Seahawks had an infusion of young talent through the draft. In this easy division, it was almost certain if the 49ers somehow didn't win the division, coach Mike Singletary would be fired.
What do you know? The 49ers jumped off to a horrible 0-5 start, and they now stand at 5-10, eliminated from playoff contention. Last week, at 5-9 against the Rams, they had a chance to keep their playoff hopes alive by beating them. The Rams surprisingly are in position to win the division now, a year after going 1-15. After QB Alex Smith struggled, Singletary went with QB Troy Smith, a favorite with the Baltimore Ravens during his time there. QB Troy Smith got the start for this game, and it got ugly. He didn't play well in their 25-17 loss, and at one point during the game, QB Troy Smith got into a heated argument with Singletary, prompting Singletary to replace him with QB Alex Smith. A day later, Singletary was fired.
C'Mon Man! QB Troy Smith should know to respect his coaches. His sideline tirade against his coach was disrespectful and uncalled for. The more troubling aspect of the argument is the fact that you can clearly see QB Troy Smith is telling his coach, "I'm not perfect!" Everyone knows no one is perfect. However, if you don't have any confidence to the point where you have to yell at your coach those words, maybe you shouldn't be in the National Football League. This is a league where you have to be confident you can get the job done. Singletary is completely tired of this team underachieving. For Smith to come back with that response is troubling. I liked him with the Ravens. At one point, I thought he should've been starting over QB Joe Flacco when he was a rookie. Now, I don't think he's fit to lead any team at this point.
F Lebron James is one dynamic athlete, and the Miami Heat and their fans are finally starting to see the damage he and G Dwyane Wade can do together. James, Wade, and F Chris Bosh all signed $100 million deals in the offseason to join forces in hopes of winning championships. Halfway through the season, Miami is looking like an opponent not to be reckoned with. They blasted the defending champions in their building on Christmas day, something I expected. However, the Heat aren't done proving themselves. They haven't played the league's best team in the San Antonio Spurs, and they have already lost twice to the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks win in Miami was very impressive, considering the fact it halted a 12-game winning streak for the scorching Heat.
In the offseason, after James, Wade and Bosh joined forces, there was plenty of talk about G Chris Paul and F Carmelo Anthony joining F Amar'e Stoudemire in New York to form another big three. The Celtics already have their big three with F Paul Pierce, G Ray Allen and F Kevin Garnett. So that topic was brought up again last week to James, and James said he's certainly for "contraction." James also explained if the league took good players off of specific teams and got rid of them, it would make it like the 80s again, to the dislike of some people. However, a couple of days later, after a lot of negative attention for those statements, James admitted he had no idea what contraction meant, believe it or not. James clarifies that's not what he meant when he was talking about contraction.
C'Mon Man! I know your highest education level of high school, but with all eyes on you, you have to be able to make statements with certainty. You have to know what you're talking about. Then to admit you don't know what you're talking about adds to your problems. He shouldn't have touched the issue again. Everyone is salivating at the next opportunity to hate James, so this gives people more ammunition. James "contraction" argument also was unfounded, as players didn't necessarily sign contracts with other superstars to join forces and win championships in the 80s. For instance, the Lakers won five titles that decade, but drafted most of their stars, with the exception of C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Celtics drafted F Larry Bird, C Kevin McHale and C Robert Parrish. They didn't join forces via free agency. This is not joining forces. This is merely going to the team who drafted you, and both franchises drafted very well en route to a combined eight titles in the 80s.
The NFL have supposedly been investigating this whole Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger incident since it became an issue back in September and October. Sterger alleged sexual harrassment at the workplace when Favre was a member of the New York Jets back in 2008. Many questions arose from the allegations. Why is she just coming out with this now? What will the NFL do with Favre? How will Favre's wife react to all of this? Commissioner Roger Goodell said Favre was subject to disciplinary actions under the conduct rules from the NFL. Guys like QB Michael Vick, QB Ben Roethlisberger, and CB Adam "Pacman" Jones have been victims of disciplinary actions from the code of conduct. Favre's situation was unique, as he was doing these things to a team employee, but there was no real crime being done here .
Sexual harrassment at the workplace is something many employers take very seriously. Others sweep it under the rug, which many thought would happen here. The employer of both Sterger and Favre in 2008, the Jets, were powerless in this situation because Favre was no longer with the Jets. Now a member of the Minnesota Vikings, the NFL is now to get involved in investigating the events. Goodell met with Favre supposedly a couple of times, most notably when Favre made a trip to the New York area for the Vikings' Monday night game against the Jets earlier this season. Earlier this week, Goodell announced his decision for the punishment for Favre: a $50,000 fine and no suspension. Goodell explained that Favre was not candid and forthcoming in his investigation, and that was the reason for the fine. He also explained there wasn't enough forensic evidence to prove Favre's guilt.
C'Mon Man! There are a couple of problems I have with Goodell on this one. First of all, if Favre was not forthcoming in his investigation, how can you determine that there isn't enough evidence to prove his guilt? Also, why did Goodell decide to hand down a light punishment, at the end of the season in which most likely is Favre's last year? As expected, Sterger and her attorney are highly upset. However, I don't believe this is the end for Sterger. She might bring this to the Courts for help, even though it isn't clear if anything will actually be done in her benefit. At the end of the day, Goodell delayed the punishment to the end of the season because Favre is iconic and didn't want to suspend him earlier and end his consecutive starts streak. But Goodell's explanation brings up another point. How does Favre's wife feel about the fact Favre wasn't forthcoming in the investigation?
Happy New Year's!
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