What is worth writing about in the sports world? Tom Brady’s 2 year/$50 million contract to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Well, it’s ludicrous for a 42 year old QB, no matter how good he has been (and he is the G.O.A.T.). I think of Joe Montana, who left San Francisco because he had to—Steve Young was waiting in the wings. He had some success in Kansas City the following season, but it was clear that Montana was far from the dominant Super Bowl winner the 49’ers had at QB. And Brady is coming off a final season in New England season he would like to forget.
Sure, Brady plays in the NFC now, in a division with New Orleans and their older QB, Drew Brees; Atlanta, which picked up former UGA standout Todd Gurley II when the Rams jettisoned him; and Carolina, where the team is in flux and has a new coach who does not want the rehabbing Cam Newton. Plus his home games will be in warmer weather; Carolina is of moderate temperature in the fall, and Atlanta and New Orleans have domes. Clearly a better climate than frigid Foxborough in December and January. Then again, there are also domes in Arizona, Dallas, Detroit and Minnesota, which is helpful come playoff time. However, it is no joy to play in the cold of Chicago, Green Bay, Seattle, New York, Philadelphia and Washington compared to San Francisco and Los Angeles.
No matter. This was a calculated move from a couple of years ago, designed to get Brady the best deal possible. A guaranteed $50 million, a no trade clause, no franchise tag and $ 4 million in incentives is a nice retirement package should he choose to close out his career at age 44, one year less than his desire to play QB in the NFL at age 45.
Sure, there is cheering in Buffalo, Miami and New York with Brady’s departure. Fans in those cities really believe that New England will finally be dethroned without Brady at the helm, despite the legendary genius of Bill Belichick.
Not so fast, guys and gals. It is only March and a lot can happen. Look at the world as it is now before making such outrageous pronouncements; a month ago we had not heard of COVID-19 and look where we are today—on virtual lockdown.
So Tom, the wife and kids can reside in the warmth of Florida as his football career continues. He won’t have Rob Gronkowski anytime soon playing tight end. Rumor has it that Julian Edelman might make his way to Tampa, augmenting an already solid, veteran corps of WR’s. Brady also has a veteran coach in Bruce Arians, who worked with Peyton Manning at Indianapolis, and who will promote the passing attack.
For me, it is simple. I don’t have to watch Brady destroy the Jets twice a season. Not even once this upcoming football year—if the coronavirus is under control come football season. Do I wish him success? Nope. No matter how good he is and has been—he is Tom Brady and he will always be a NYJ nemesis.
Will we see a lot of him on TV as TV exec salivate over a 42 year old icon with diminished abilities? Yes. There other QB’s I’d ratter watch—Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees come to mind. Maybe even Kirk Cousins, who picked up a nifty multi-year contract extension of his own. Not Baker Mayfield. This is the big story on a sports-starved week 2 without games.
Yankees news is good and bad. The bad is that two minor leaguers were hit with the coronavirus. All minor leaguers were sent home and will receive pay into April.
Which leads to our ever-changing Aaron Judge update. Judge had a CT scan which showed the rib is healing slowly. He remains in Tampa for rehab. What was disclosed came as a surprise—that he also had a partially collapsed lung on the same side as the rib. Something more to be concerned about.
There was a Pete Alonso sighting in a video for an elderly Mets fan. Hopefully, Yoenis Cespedes won’t do something stupid while he, like his teammates, bide their time until there is an all clear for a return to baseball.
With a limited sports section in the Star-Ledger, consisting of mostly articles from other newspapers, there is very little to read about. Ditto ESPN.com and CBSSports.com. Largely because a crowded news room is verboten right now.
Every once in a while I check out Sports Center on ESPN. It is mostly devoted to pro football as the NFL heads to a fan-less draft in April. Otherwise, there is the UFC, which persists in continuing its bloodletting in quiet arenas. The WWE is still producing its programming, but not from the big arenas. Instead they have a place in Florida they are using. It is all about the money.
Instead of watching games, we await the inevitable next big name to be found to have the coronavirus. Kevin Durant was the last and that has led to the Lakers being tested since they were the last team to play the Nets, which had 3 other players test positive in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Instead of making three point shots, we watch Atlanta star Trae Young shooting socks into his laundry basket, starting the #InHouseChallenge phenomenon. Dewayne Wade and Gabrielle Union, lately of Gatorade commercial fame, shared a video of their highly competitive #InHouseChallenge game of hoops on their 1 year old’s toy basket.
We are fed a diet of reruns of classic games. There is no PTI. Just like there aren’t any late night shows or even Ellen DeGeneres during the daytime. We were treated to a Steph Curry golf trick shot challenge inside of his home. Which he won. Of course. This is Steph Curry. He can score from close in as well as outside the arc.
So many walkers, joggers and bicyclists populate the half mile oval we live on. My wife and I improvise in our basement with our light weights, chairs snd mats. She power walks. I am restricted with my ankle, and I am missing needed physical therapy. There is a video circulating of a homebound jogger greasing his kitchen floor and running barefoot. I feel your pain. Even the daily weigh-in and the bi-weekly blood pressure readings are now competitive.
I observe a group of builders frame an addition onto a house in rapid fashion. One day the old portion is gone. The next day the new wood is being hammered. Today a roof is covering the entire building. With the absence of competition, this now qualifies as spectator sport.
We learned the Division 1 All America teams in basketball, with accolades going to Myles Powell of Seton Hall for making the first team. I am not going to disagree with the selections. Nonetheless, I thought Cassius Winston of Michigan State was better than Powell.
Or there is a simulated NCAA bracket which, in The New York Post, has led to a Seton Hall—Duke championship game. Only in a pandemic could this fantasy arise, especially for two overrated teams.
So I trudge on in what is now called “The New Normal.” Unfortunately, in lieu of hearing Jim Nantz and Bill Raftery calling NCAA games, the esteemed Dr. Anthony Fauci, our nation’s expert on infectious diseases, is getting far more TV time than A-Rod and J-Lo and the Kardashians combined. We make do, we make sacrifices while we are sequestered in our homes for what might be a long time to try to do what needs to be done to stem the surge of cases infecting all our lives.
Businesses and sports are taking a real hit with the downturn in the economy. The collective psyche of the country is absorbing an onslaught that could never have been expected with this manifestation of ill-dubbed COVID-19.
I don’t know what I will comment on with next week’s blog. Usually I don’t know and I let the week unfold before fixating on some topics which catch my eye.
I shudder to think how much worse this coronavirus can be. I am chilled to think what I will be facing next week. sc
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