Now in our ninth calendar year!
PCR #425 (Vol. 9, No. 20) This edition is for the week of May 12--18, 2008.
Favre On His Way Back to the South?
Brett Favre’s retirement earlier this year shocked many in the NFL realm, leaving a Packers team poised to win the Super Bowl, with their back-up quarterback. Ever since the retirement, there has been speculation that Favre will return when he’s sitting on the couch in mid-September, watching his team getting their asses handed to them. Well, that could be, but it’s most likely not going to happen in Green Bay. Brett Favre could be heading to Tampa Bay. Yes, it’s true Bucs fans. Forget the fact that Jon Gruden and Brett Favre worked together years ago in Green Bay when Gruden was an assistant coach, also forget that Gruden runs an offensive system that Favre won the Super Bowl in. But Favre’s retail price could be bigger than what the Buccaneers want to spend on ANOTHER QUARTERBACK! Green Bay reportedly would want a first round draft pick for Favre, plus more. Overlooking the fact that Gruden has 7 quarterbacks on his current roster, but what the heck, what's one more? If Favre were to go to Tampa, he would bring great experience to a Buccaneers team that has two players left from their Super Bowl year. Some say that the 39-year-old Favre wouldn’t be worth the 1st Round Pick because he’s still running on borrowed time if he does decide to play, but if you were managing the Bucs would you give your 1st Round Pick to make your under-achieving team an instant contender, or would you save it for a player that wouldn’t flourish for 2-3 years?
Rays Lighting Up MLB.
OK, when I was trashing the Rays in previous editions of Sports Talk, I kind of jumped the gun in determining how their season would go. It was looking grim, what can I say? At least I didn’t falsely report that the Patriots took video of the Rams’ Super Bowl practice (Boston Herald) but that’s a later story. The Tampa Bay Rays have taken a one and a half game lead in the American League over the reining World Series Champion Red Sox as of this writing. The Rays have beaten the pin stripers from New York in the past 2 games for a combined score of 9-2. But does that justify a new stadium? When the stadium deal was first brought up, critics said they wanted a winning product first, then we’ll talk. Well the Rays are winning but now it’s about economics. The Buccaneers were playoff contenders for 3 years before they got their new stadium, the Rays haven’t gotten through their very first winning season. I personally like the new stadium, I think it’ll be the best stadium in majors, but can they fill the seats there when they are only drawing around 13,000 at the Trop.
NFL vs. Arlen Specter
Matt Walsh, a mere video intern for the New England Patriots, met with the NFL commissioner and other high ranking NFL officials on Tuesday morning. The meeting was about the tapes Walsh had taken of opposing teams coaches on the sidelines of certain games. Walsh was grilled by NFL Commish Roger Goodell about why he took the footage and who he was supposed to give them to. After the meeting Goodell held a press conference and said that Walsh has given him no new evidence, not even the apparent video of the St. Louis Rams’ practice before the 2002 Super Bowl (01 Season). Walsh said he never made or has no knowledge of the Rams tape, and he doesn’t know where that rumor came from, but he did witness it, and he was able to tell that RB Marshall Faulk would be used on special teams, and that certain tight-end would be used in certain situations. The rumor came from the Boston Herald, newspaper for the city that the Patriots play in and they are the ones that started this cluster f**k. The Boston Herald has since retracted the story and apologized for the debacle, but they sir, have opened a can of worms. Senator Arlen Specter has a fever, and the only prescription is an investigation into the whole “SpyGate” scandal. This investigation would be Mitchell Report like, and you know what that did for baseball.
Scott Kazmir Signs Extension
Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir signed a contract extension with the team, keeping him here in the bay area until 2011 with an option for 2012, giving him $28.5 Million guaranteed and maybe up to $39.5 Million. Kazmir is the Rays’ all time leader in wins, strikeouts, and starts.
Sean Taylor’s Killers Will Not Fry
The four individuals who are responsible for the Redskins’ slain safety, Sean Taylor, will not face the death penalty. Florida prosecutors took the death penalty of the table for some reason, but they could still spend the rest of their pathetic lives in prison. Any thing less than LIFE would be an injustice in my mind, as we see people who murder, rape, and viciously attack other people get sentences around 5-10 years all the time.
Hornets Fans Bring Eva to the Game
In a playoff game held in New Orleans, between the Hornets and the Spurs, Hornets fans brought a cardboard cutout of Eva Longoria-Parker in Hornets gear. Eva Longoria Parker is married to the Spurs’ Tony Parker, and when he went to the free-throw line, they stood behind the basket post. This could be considered one of the best tactics in fans taunting a player, can't wait to the Jessica Simpson one for Tony Romo!!!
Thank you for reading this week's Sports Talk!
"Sports Talk" is ©2008 by Christopher Munger. All graphics this page, except where otherwise noted, are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2008 by Nolan B. Canova.
