Darrelle Revis Signs (and puts his college education on display)

2010-09-06T03:47:00.000-07:00

Before you call me a stick-in-the-mud let me be clear, I get the whole Twitter craze. People get to share their thoughts with the world. Users get to stay on top of breaking news. Fans get to hear directly from their favorite players. So when I see a link on a major website to a player's Tweet about a topic of discussion I'm always curious to hear what he has to say. In many cases this can prove quite entertaining (Chad Ochocinco to the white courtesy phone please). Well this morning, I read the news that Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis had come to terms with the Jets and ended the holdout that has gripped the city of New York like a wet noodle... well except for Jets fans who wouldn't shut up about it.

Well after signing a contract for $46M you'd be pretty happy too. Revis, though excited, was also apologetic to the fans for what they had been through. Read for yourself:

it not has only been hard on u guys but it has for me too. I just want to tell yall that I'm sorry for this process - Revis Twitter Feed

Yes ladies and gentlemen this fine piece of literary work comes to you courtesy of the fine public education system in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania as well as the tireless English department at the University of Pittsburgh. Now I'm not blaming either entity for Revis' literacy and I know many people would argue it's just a tweet and grammar isn't important. Bull! This guy is a role model for a lot of young people and the gem he posted this morning isn't a case of itchy Twitter finger as much as it is a sad statement about many professional athletes. I know this happens all the time but something about it just stuck in my craw.

In the meantime Jets fans are ecstatic, Rex Ryan can feel like Revis' balls dropped (yes it sounds crude, but it seems to be one of his favorite things to discuss) and Revis can go light cigars with hundred-dollar bills. Hopefully not too many people about what he has to say as much as I did.

Cowboy Up for Turning the Idiots Down!

2010-08-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

Those who know me understand I have no love lost for the city of Boston and most of its professional sports teams. Most grating to me was a group of baseball players known as "The Idiots" that helped the Red Sox finally emerge from 86 years of MLB futility in 2004. The lead idiots were Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon. Naturally my tune on Damon changed when he joined the Yankees. Sure, he may be an idiot, but he was my idiot. Now with Damon in Detroit and a recent shunning of his former club, it's Bostonians that are slinging names at Damon and in the process making themselves look like the idiots.

In case you missed it, the Tigers placed Johnny Damon on waivers and the Red Sox claimed him. You could argue that the move was simply to block their rivals in New York and Tampa from getting Damon for the rest of the year but with a litany of injuries to Boston's outfield it's entirely possible the Sox really thought they needed Damon to stay in the playoff race. Whatever the motivation, Boston was rejected as Damon used his no-trade clause to block the move. It'd be one thing if it was Boston fans doing all the complaining on this, but the media has also taken their frustration out on Damon. The problem here is they're missing a few things:

The Sox were the first party doing the shunning by showing little urgency in bringing Damon back in 2005 when he bolted for New York.
This is exactly the reason players negotiate no-trade clauses. Whatever Damon's motivation is for staying in Detroit, he has it and it's his right to do so.
This gives me some small pleasure to say, but the Sox aren't exactly in the heat of a playoff race themselves. At the time I write this they sit five games behind Tampa for the AL wild card with 35 games to play. Even if Tampa plays .500 ball the rest of the way (18-17) the Sox would have to go 24-11 to beat them out.

The most interesting part of this all is the new crown for coastal bias sitting atop the head of Boston. As a New Yorker, I'm used to being blamed for considering most of the U.S. as flyover country. Thanks to people like Dan Shaughnessy, New York is coming up roses compared to Boston for that title now. Of particular note is Shaughnessy's assertion that Damon would be so much better off in the city of Boston than Detroit:

Think about it: For the next five weeks, you could live in downtown Boston and your wife could shop on Newbury Street. Or you could live in downtown Detroit, amid the boarded-up buildings and the proverbial skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets. Is this really a tough call?

In all of that Shaughnessy forgot one check in the box of Detroit over Boston. In Detroit he won't be surrounded by bitter fans and writers who can't accept anything other than what they know as pleasing or even passable. For that I say to Damon: Cowboy Up for turning the Idiots Down.

Tackling Dummies

Darrelle Revis Signs (and puts his college education on display)

Cowboy Up for Turning the Idiots Down!