Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Cowards Everywhere..

The ratings for the NFL have been down this season and the blame is going around as to why, but my opinion is that the sport is suffering from a major crisis in confidence. Coaches in every game, or at least it seems like are passing up opportunities for the big play down field for these miserable check down passes to running backs or tight ends or any eligible player that stays closer to the line of scrimmage. No team is more guilty of that than the Kansas City Chiefs. If Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith throws a ball passed 12 yards down field that's considered a hail mary for him. It has to be frustrating for most wide receivers in the NFL this season. Only about a handful of teams try to eat yards over the air most coaches would rather "play it safe" and be cowards than make a worthwhile play down field.

Let's forget about going for it on 4th and short. When it would keep their team on the field and help the team win the game, these cowards would rather punt the ball away or kick a field goal instead of trying for the fresh set of downs and potentially ice the game. Nowadays unless you're watching coaches with tenure a la Bill Belichick or Mike Tomlin, who are the only coaches who I've seen take risks on 4th and inches or 3rd and long, these highly paid cowards are going to dink and dunk to "line up the field goal or punt" this is why some folks are changing the channels or not even turning on the game in general. If your quarterback isn't good enough then bench him for one that has the skills to make the plays necessary for exciting football. Making football exciting again shouldn't be a term for the most popular sport in America.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Way to Stay Classy San Diego

One of the surprising results from this past election was not only a new president chosen, but San Diego shot down the measure to increase taxes to pay for a new stadium for the San Diego Chargers. Public funding should not be used to build for-private use structures. Patrons who have had their taxes raised shouldn't have to pay for tickets to games. They already paid for their tickets. Helping billionaires pocket money by having the middle class or lower cough up money to a stadium which they might never step into isn't fair. Ticket prices continue to increase and the financial help for the broke never arrives.

The backlash of the vote may be stiff. The Chargers may now look to move to Los Angeles where there's a facility that already holds an NFL team (the recently re-minted Los Angeles Rams). The Rams and Chargers can share a stadium just like the Giants and Jets do in New Jersey, and that would mean a lot of lost revenue for the city of San Diego, but that's better for the people of San Diego than would be a tax increase to save a billionaire money. You can still be a Charger's fan without having to pay an increase in taxes just to sit in some crummy seat that is going to be destroyed in about 10-15 years. More states should follow in San Diego's footsteps and make these billionaires come outta pocket if they want a brand new state of the art facility.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Congrats, but...

Last night Golden State Guard Stephen Curry broke the record for the most three pointers made in a game with 13. A record that I believe will be broken soon. The NBA game has changed a lot throughout the years with more emphasis on the three pointer than any other time. Stat geeks have made the three pointer the most precious thing in the game which is why I've seen traditional big players, who usually play in the paint, and have never even thought about chucking a three putting up shots from the arc. Sacramento Kings Center DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins has been shooting threes because the old school big man game is no longer an efficient way to score points. Why would you want two points when you can have three? It's a new world when you watch Memphis Grizzlies Center Marc Gasol throw up air balls from the arc.

Stephen Curry is the best shooter in the game, and he's going to break this record once again. Coming off an 0 for 10 shooting night the night before Curry came out on a mission and once Curry gets going he's damn near impossible to stop. And the poor Pelicans were the unfortunate team to get slaughtered. The game has changed three pointers are now the norm and every team is trying to find their own version of a consistent presence from behind the arc. The big man game in the paint is a thing of the past and the evolution of round ball has gone to the geeks and behind the arc.