Change Is Good?

  I am not going to waste too much time on Tom Brady and his retirement. His records are insane—nobody comes near what he accomplished playing football. Which is what he chose to do. 

Brady was the last Montreal Expos draft choice still playing a professional sport. He could have opted to play baseball, he was a fairly good catcher. A good match for Brady would have the Houston Astros; he could have applied his “Deflategate” skills with the Astros, a team which knows a bit about cheating 

Carlos Beltran, one of the architects responsible for the nefarious activity which Astros players and coaches engaged in, has rebounded from having to give up the New York Mets managerial job because of his untoward behavior.  He first reemerged as an analyst on YES Network broadcasts. Maybe I’m a bit prejudiced, but I didn’t find him to be at the level of David Cone, Paul O’Neill or Ken Singleton. 

But now Beltran is being rewarded by Steven Cohen, the owner of New York’s National League franchise. Beltran has a job in the hierarchy of the Mets administration. If I were Buck Showalter, I might start thinking my job security as manager of the ball club might be in jeopardy if the team has a long losing streak. 

Moreover, there are plenty who believe that Beltran is Hall of Fame worthy. Yes, he had good statistics in his career. Yet I will remind those who look through rose-colored glasses that numerous cheaters who used steroids will not get close to sniffing the rarified air inside the building in Cooperstown which is the repository of those who rightfully make it into the Hall as the best baseball had ever produced.  Plus, there is Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader and he seemingly will never get voted into the Hall of Fame while he is alive.

You get the picture as to how I think of Beltran. Unfortunately, those standards will not apply to Brady. 

Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. is the Golden Boy. He’s the best in his sport by a wide margin. Brady has a winning record versus EVERY NFL franchise. Jets fans are well-acquainted with losing to him; Buffalo fans had to endure a 3-33 record when he played the Bills. 

Luck has plenty to do with his success. An injury to the incumbent quarterback thrust him into the starting role for New England. He was fortunate enough to have great role players surrounding him and a head coach who has amassed the greatest winning record in the history of the NFL.

As devotees of this blog might know, I still feel that the supposed tuck of the football against the Oakland Raiders was a fumble. That key play changed the fortunes of the Patriots and led Bill Belichick to the Super Bowl, where they excelled. 

And how about the mind-scratching pass thrown by Russell Wilson at the goal line which was picked off by Malcolm Butler to save a win over Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX? Or the Atlanta Falcons failing to preserve a 25 point lead with 18 minutes to go and then losing to the Patriots in OT in Super Bowl XL?

Look, Tom Brady is going make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On the first ballot. That HOF admitted Paul Hornung of Green Bay and Alex Karras of Detroit. Both were suspended one year for gambling. Obviously there is a lesser standard for entry than in baseball.

I don’t wish him misery—he did enough with his personal life which was the result of his all-encompassing need to play football until age 45. It’s just that I wouldn’t want to spend any time with him if offered. Notwithstanding his talents and good fortune, Tom Brady is not my kind of guy.

Speaking of a guy who I despise, that would be Kyrie Irving. Unable to reach an agreement on a long term extension, the Enfant Terrible of the NBA demanded a trade. The Nets accomplished the request by making a trade with the Dallas Mavericks, pairing Irving up with the young star of the Mavs, Luka Doncic. 

Irving now becomes the headache for Dallas head man Jason Kidd, a superior point guard, and the egomaniacal team owner, Mark Cuban. This isn’t going to work for so many reasons, beginning with Irving’s desire that the offense runs through him. Which it shouldn’t because, while Irving, when he wants to play can be the best point guard in the league, Doncic is the superior talent. 

Plus I expect Kyrie to pout when things aren’t to his liking. He showed that in Cleveland when he played with Lebron James, Boston, where he wore out his welcome, and now in Brooklyn. 

Nets ownership couldn’t wait to be rid of him. Despite the great record the Nets have thus far with Irving and another malcontent, Kevin Durant, too many instances arose where the Nets had enough of Irving’s antics. 

In one last piece of hubris, Nets ownership denied Irving’s preference to play in Los Angeles with James and Anthony Davis, sending him to Dallas, a locale where he really wanted to be. Don’t feel badly for the Nets—they still have Durant until he now demands a trade while he is out with an injury—Phoenix is hot to trot for him if he is available. The Nets knew what they were getting into with Durant, Irving, James Harden and Ben Simmons—all unwelcome at their former teams. The moves the Nets have made weren’t going to work—too many selfish players are not going to stay together for a long time. 

Steph Curry is injured again. It is a lower leg injury which sounds semi-serious. There is no mention of surgery for the Warriors star. His absence is going to hurt the team as February turns into March and it is crunch time for the playoffs. Currently in 8th place, the difference between the Warriors and 13th place Lakers is only 2.5 games. An extended time on the injured list might prove fatal to Golden State’s chances to even play-in for a playoff spot. 

I looked at the college basketball rankings. Rutgers moved back in, listed at #24. That might last one week, as the Scarlet Knights play at #18 Indiana, which just knocked off #1 Purdue. Then they travel to Illinois, where the Knghts have never won. 

What struck me was the fact that the blue bloods of the sport—Duke and North Carolina—are nowhere to be found in the rankings.  What makes that seem so egregious is that UNC made the Championship game last year against current #9 Kansas, which won the tournament, and Duke was #9. Kentucky and Syracuse, fixtures in the Top 25, aren’t even close. Georgetown and Patrick Ewing cannot evoke the level of play when the big guy played for the Hoyas. 

Sure, UCLA is there (#7), along with familiar names like Arizona (#4), Virginia (#8) and Marquette (#10). But Houston (#2), Alabama (#3), Texas (#5) and Tennessee (#6) are in higher than normal spots. Gonzaga, picked to be possible champion, resides at #16 after losing in OT to now #15 St. Mary’s. 

There are four teams from the state of Texas in the Top 25 (Texas, Houston, Baylor, TCU). The once-vaunted ACC has Virginia, Miami (#19) and NC State (#22) and the Big East has Marquette (#10), Xavier (#13), UConn (#21) and Creighton (#23) as ranked teams. With the addition of Rutgers, the Big Ten has three teams (Purdue #1, Indiana #18 and Rutgers #24). 

Worry not, basketball aficionados, this is going to change. We still have plenty of basketball to be played until Selection Sunday, which is March 12th. 

By then, Kyrie Irving will have spouted off and Tom Brady may have rescinded his retirement to play again for the Patriots. Change is good?