The Corner of Controversy and Criticism- 11/2/2014
This past week the Major League Baseball season ended when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in seven games against the Kansas City Royals. This was an intriguing series that was a lot better then I thought it would be. I was really hoping for a Kansas City World Series win because it’s been far too long since they have won a title. What concerns me now is that this team will probably be broken up because they are a small market team and won’t be able to afford the contracts that these guys are going to want to have after proving they can win. The Giants can now consider themselves a dynasty winning their third championship in five years. I was impressed with Madison Bumgarner and what he did in the series. He definitely deserved to be the MVP of the series. Baseball season has come to an end and now we have an interesting off-season to look forward to.
Even though baseball ended, the NBA season kicked off this past week. The big story heading into the season is Lebron James coming back to Cleveland. I expect Cleveland to be a great team but it’s going to take time. If people are expecting instant results of them blowing teams out they are sadly mistaken. It takes time to work together as a unit and develop some chemistry. The thing that has shocked me the most is that the Lakers have started off 0-4 and they really aren’t doing much to help Kobe winning anymore championships. If I was Kobe I would start asking for some more help so I could end my career on a high note. The other winless teams are the Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, and Orlando Magic. Hard to believe that 10-15 years ago the four winless teams all had great teams who could compete for a championship. It’s crazy how the NBA changes like that overtime. It is still a long season ahead so who knows maybe one of these four winless teams can turn it around and make the playoffs.
It is a little over halfway into the NFL season and if someone would have told me that the top two teams in the NFC at this point were the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions I would have called you a fool. There are teams like the Eagles, Cowboys, Chiefs, Bills, Dolphins and Browns who are surprising me this year by competing and keeping themselves as a playoff contender up to this point in the season. I really don’t think there is a clear cut front runner to win it all. I mean think of this possibility. What would happen if the Super Bowl happen to be the Cleveland Browns against the Detroit Lions? Could you ever imagine that happening? Well these two teams have been the laughing stock for a long time and they are winning games and building for the future. I think that’s where teams like the Steelers, Saints and Patriots are having their struggles. They are not doing much to get younger and build for the future. They all have been coasting off what they have done for the last ten years. They have to make changes or it’s going to take a long time for these teams to rebuild once certain players call it quits. With eight weeks left in the season the playoff battles in both conferences are tight. I am sure there will be some surprises when it is all said and done.
Speaking of playoffs, the NASCAR playoffs have been wild, crazy and very unpredictable. I have not seen the drivers race this hard in a long time. Every race in the playoffs mean something but I still think the whole season should mean something. I know NASCAR is going for ratings and more competition but what about rewarding drivers that perform well the first 26 races. Jimmie Johnson’s win a Texas Motor Speedway plays spoiler for the other eight drivers that are trying to fight for a final four spot in the championship race. After the race emotions boiled over between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski. All I can say is Brad Keselowski is not making any friends. He’s been involved in multiple incidents this year so one has to wonder how much longer NASCAR is going to tolerate his behavior. I have a feeling that next week in Phoenix emotions are going to be higher then they ever been in the sport. Four drivers will move on to the championship and four drivers will be eliminated. Phoenix is going to be hot and the emotions will be too.
One thing about professional sports is you can never go a week without something crazy happened. There is always a fight, there is always tempers boiling over and there is always something to talk about. This is why I love sports and discussing all that happens. Until next week be safe, be strong and believe in yourself. Controversy Doesn’t Come Without Criticism!
