With two weeks remaining until the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers battle it out with Bruce Springsteen in Super Bowl XLIII, I wanted to pay tribute to one of the classiest athletes in all of professional sports. 

That’s right, you guessed it:  Joe Sakic.

I know that hockey is not the first thing on the minds of most sports fans these days, particularly a player that is not even in his team’s lineup, but I feel with all the bad press circulating around professional athletes lately, it’s high time to highlight one of the good ones. 

Sakic did make news on December 10, 2008 for a rare off-the-ice altercation.  He broke three fingers and damaged tendons in his hand after fighting with…a snowblower.  Already out of the lineup with a herniated disc in his back, the 39-year-old Sakic is now out of the lineup until the end of February at the earliest.

Continue reading "Joe Sakic: the Man, the Myth, the quiet Legend"

Here we go again.

The Super Bowl is around the corner, conference play is heating up in college basketball and Punxsutawney Phil is testing my patience by even thinking about seeing his fat little shadow.  What, it’s 15 flippin’ degrees outside and I live in Tennessee!  I’m cold!

But I digress.  It’s also that special time of year where Brett Lorenzo Favre, possibly the greatest quarterback of this generation, keeps us on the edges of our seats while he decides his future.  Will he or won’t he?  Should he or shouldn’t he?  He loves us, he loves us not!

Obviously, this is not a new discussion.  Green Bay Packers fans have fought this off-season battle for years.  Now, it’s time for New York Jets fans to lock, load and prepare for a potentially draining off-season.  But cheer up all you green-and-white junkies, you do have a new coach to be optimistic about, defensive monster Rex Ryan.  And let’s not forget, Ryan just helped the Baltimore Ravens, a team with a rookie quarterback, get to the AFC Championship game. 

Continue reading "An Open Letter From Brett Favre"

Let it be said before I begin this blog:  I am from Dayton, Ohio, and I love the Cincinnati Bengals.  Wow, I feel so much better.  Now I’m ready to face the other 11 steps…

As you know, the NFL is getting ready for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida.  The last Super Bowl to feature the Bengals was Super XXIII in Miami, Florida.  For those who prefer their numerals to be numbers, the Bengals’ last Super Bowl trip was on January 22, 1989, twenty years ago today.

To mark this anniversary of mediocrity, I’ve decided to bring some hardware home to Cincinnati.  No, not the Lombardi Trophy.  Ha!  I’m talking about a Tony Award.

Yes, I’ve begun casting for the most entertaining piece of NFL artistry since the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle.  I’m talking about the brand-new Broadway smash, Who Dey: The Musical!  It’s a song-and-dance journey through 40 years of franchise ineptitude.

Continue reading "Who Dey: The Musical!"

Djokovic ended his Aussie Open run against American Andy Roddick four sets into their quarterfinal match Tuesday.  Despite winning the first set, the 105 degree heat on the court got to Djokovic and he decided to call it quits.  Yes, I said 105 degree heat.  In Melbourne.  Even Crocodile Dundee would have been asking for Gatorade and Gold Bond.

On top of all that, Roddick holds the record for the fastest serve in tennis history at 155 m.p.h.  That kind of power mixed with triple-digit heat?  No thanks.  A mid-August family reunion in Boca sounds more fun than that.

Continue reading "Where Have You Gone, Novak Djokovic?"

Caveat emptor, Los Angeles Galaxy, caveat emptor. 

Two years ago, in an effort to inflate the relevancy of Major League Soccer, the Galaxy signed international superstar David Beckham to an outlandish five year, incentive-laden contract worth as much as $250 million.  The sports world was abuzz about Beckham and his Spice Girl wife, Victoria, moving to L.A. to bring the world’s sport stateside, and to give TomKat another option for playdates.

From the beginning, Beckham delivered the hype, but not the results.  In his two years with the Galaxy, the team hasn’t made the playoffs.  His short career in L.A. has been marred by injury, and eventually disinterest.  At the time of his signing, former Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas said Beckham is a sound investment and will help bring the MLS to the next level.  Lalas is no longer with the team. 

Continue reading "Shhhhh. Just Go, David Beckham"