SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH – “Thank you for asking about my stomach. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks fo’ askin’… ” A glimpse of the utter stupidity and permissible behavior exhibited by Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch.
In Roger Goodell’s NFL, anything short of a gangland hit is OK. Even then, well-you get the idea. And by the way, remember to tune in to Court TV – or whatever it’s called now – for live coverage of Aaron Hernandez‘s murder trial! Anyway, yesterday word came down that Lynch would NOT be fined for toying with the sycophant media by uttering blathering nonsense in response to their blathering, nonsensical questions. With the NFL season officially over for the year, three – count ’em, 3 – NFL players were arrested on Wednesday. My favorite was the arrest of D’Qwell Jackson, the fine LB for the Colts, who was charged with assault for punching a pizza delivery guy in the face over a parking spot. Jackson’s former team, the Cleveland Browns have been in the news quite a bit the past few days.
The NFL season ended 4 days ago. In that time, the Browns saw their 2014 #1 draft pick and “franchise” quarterback, Johnny Manziel, enter something called “Rehab.” I know what “Rehab” was in the 1980s and 90s, but today I take it to mean that an athlete or personality has failed miserably at his job and now will slink away until people stop talking badly about him. Yes, I know “Johnny Football” has all the symptoms of being a Texas fall-down-drunk for whom the white hot spotlight of Cleveland, Ohio was too much. Browns All-Pro Receiver Josh Gordon was suspended this week for at least one year for violating the NFL’s drug policy – whatever that may be. Gordon was probably the best offensive player in Cleveland since Albert Belle.
To top all of this “Cleveland-y” stuff off, have you heard the one about Ray Farmer, the Browns’ General Manager? Apparently Farmer spent this past season texting play calls, strategy and other bits of advice to Browns coaches from his office during games. The NFL frowns upon THIS kind of meddling and now the Browns face the loss of a draft pick as a penalty and Farmer himself may be suspended. Of course given that spit does roll downhill, one doesn’t need to look any farther than team owner Jimmy Haslam, who has been committing fraud for years and only avoided federal prosecution by paying a $92M settlement to the government. Quite an organization, those Brownies.
On the other end of the spectrum, I present the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. While I’ve always been an NBA “watcher and follower” I can’t claim to have been engaged or entertained by pro hoops over the last 15 years or more. I much prefer the college game where effort is always on display and a more “pure” version of the game is more common than in the NBA.
This year’s Warriors though have been a revelation, though. I can’t remember enjoying a pro basketball team more. The league’s best backcourt of Klay Thompson, (Mychal’s son) who put up 37 points in ONE QUARTER recently; and Stephen Curry (Dell’s kid), who should be MVP and league’s best player and put up 51 just last evening, are amazing to watch.
This is the best shooting backcourt I have ever seen and both are beautiful passers and able defenders as well. The Splash Brothers are THE story in the NBA this season. Led by the world’s luckiest man, Steve Kerr – who dodged the Knicks’ disaster – there is something brewing in OAK-town. It is fun watching a well-run, well-coached team that plays the right way.
The Warriors are the anti-Browns. Fun to watch and easy to root for.