BLOOMINGBURG, NY – Just like that, the unofficial end of summer is here and along with it there are sports-related stories that have seemingly come to an end as well.
The New York Mets. Poof. In the span of six home games against two teams ahead of them in the standings, the Braves and fellow Wild Card-hunting Cubs, the Mets couldn’t manage one win. Yup, they lost ’em all and in the process probably pissed away any chance at garnering a post-season birth. With the six-game skein, gone is the memory of a mostly torrid, feel-good month of August. This tease ripped the heart out of every Mets fan. I got sucked in, despite writing a recent piece warning against it. They indeed teased us. Big time. The bats went silent at the wrong time except for Wilson Ramos, who just extended his hitting streak to twenty five games. Yeah, that’s pretty much what we’re left with along with Pete Alonso’s assault on the rookie home run record. Big whoopdee. See you in February for when pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie.
Speaking of Florida…
Jachai Polite, most recently of the New York J-E-T-S, attended/took up space at the U of Eff. Apparently he didn’t learn much while playing football for the Gators. Viewed as a first round NFL talent, Polite performed miserably during the interview process at the combine and saw his stock fall to the third round, where the Jets selected him in the April draft. There were some red flags with the linebacker’s character, too. Add to the equation that even the backer-starved Jets couldn’t rotate him onto the field due to his poor performance and tardiness. Well, in the span of six months, Polite’s star has fizzled out to the point of being cut by Gang Green but don’t feel too sorry for this chap, as he gets to keep his million dollar signing bonus with late word that the Seahawks are taking a flyer on him.
Andrew Luck retired in stunning fashion last week and I haven’t weighed in on this one. As much as I want to use the word premature as it relates to a 29 year-old quarterback hanging them up, my knee-jerk reaction was to vilify Luck for doing so. I’ve softened on the stance of him sh*tting on Colts fans, ownership and teammates. Football is a macho game, even with occasional “coming out of the closet” reveals. When an exceptional talent chooses to retire in his prime, everybody feels cheated. To say Luck quit is unfair. A graduate of Stanford, he is smarter than most and as Dirty Harry once said, “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” That time has come for Luck but the news comes as more of a shock than Barry Sanders’ retirement. The QB is now forever-linked with the Detroit legend. Yeah, Sanders was toward the twilight of his career, but he was in pursuit of the all-time NFL rushing record.
Am I in the minority in thinking the Colts are a bit cursed for leaving Baltimore in Mayflower trucks during the early 80’s? Sure, they won a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning but they had the talent to win at least one more. This is the organization that was once burned by John Elway and forced into a subsequent horrible trade with Denver. Now this with another franchise-player in Luck. The Colts went from contenders to pretenders in that snap of a finger.
Feel free to add your thoughts below and come back tomorrow for a snappy Ben Whitney, tomorrow.
Happy Labor Day.
