NFL Training Camps NBA Teams Settling In

NFL Training Camps NBA Teams Settling In.   It has been interesting to see how each team assembles in the NFL   Each team seems to do it just a little different.  There are always some hold outs.  Some unexpected cuts and some interesting comments.  That is just the way it goes in pro sports.  There is always someone waiting in the wings to take your job.  Everyone thinks that they can do a better job.  The MLB trade deadline is always something that confuses me.  This year they made it an actually deadline not a pretend one where trades could still be made after the deadline passes.  I really would not have a problem with leagues having no deadline at all but I get why they do it.  People, not all people mostly older people are making fun of e-sports. Not exactly sure why.  This past weekend showed that for elite gamers you really can earn a living playing video games.  I really don’t see it to be any different than playing sports.  All this and more in the Week That Was.

NFL Training Camps

It is time for everyone to get their undies in a bunch over some comment a player says. Or some action or non action of a player or coach.  That it what the pre season is for.  Oh you thought it was about getting ready for the season…  LOL Silly fans.

OBJ – says he was the only reason the Giants were a popular team the last few years.  Sure OBJ people did come out to see you.  I don’t know if you knew this or not.  The Giants won four Super Bowls.  All of them with out you OBJ.  Are you an exciting player.  Yes indeed you are.  Did you help the Giants win any games?  Yes I am sure you did.  However you did not make them a championship contender.  Football is one of the sports where it is extremely difficult for one player to make a huge difference in attendance or television viewing.  It can happen but those cases are few and far between.  Other sports are getting to the point where the player is more important then the team.  Football is not one of those sports.

Melvin Gordon and Ezekiel Elliott are both holding out for better deals.  They are following the lead set by Le’Veon Bell saying that they are prepared to sit out the whole year to get the money they deserve.  The problem is they are not in the same situation that Bell was.  He was a free agent.  The only money he lost last year was potential money.  He did not have a contract.  He could not be fined and he was not technically holding out.  He just chose not to play last year.  I have no problem with players trying to get what they feel they deserve.  Not sure that Gordon and Elliott are getting the best advice from there agents here.

Gordon is set to make $5.6 Million this year.  He feels he deserves more.  It is posible he does.  Pretty sure he is not going to get Todd Gurley or Le’Veon Bell money. He will be able to command more then the $5.6 million.  Not sure how much more.  I am pretty sure that it will not be with the Chargers either.  At least not this year.  Possible but really not probable.  Elliott is in a very different situation.  He is one of the top running backs in the NFL at this point in his career.

I have no problem with players getting as much as they can.  Sometimes though they think they can break the bank and they get broken by that idea.   They just need to know what the limitations are and what their actual expectations are.  Sometimes they let people plant seeds in their mind that are not realistic.  Can Elliott get the huge extension now? Maybe but he is really a year too early.   It will probably depend on how the Cowboys start the season.  If they go 0 – 2 like the year Smith held out then he will get his big deal. If they start out 2 – 0 then probably will have to wait till next year.

It was also pretty funny when Jerry Jones told the media that they were not to ask questions every day about the contract negotiations.  Like he gets to decide the questions they ask.   If I was in the group at the press conference I would have asked the same question about the contract in several different ways then.  Comments like that always just make me chuckle a bit.

NBA Meet and Greet

Teams are getting together after the busy off season.  There was the summer league last week.  No one other than the team that won will remember who won.  It will be remembered tat Zion Williamson played got hurt and stopped playing.  It happens.  Now we are getting the teams as they have been assembled getting together will their new mates and the owner.  With people like Steve Ballmer it is more like a side show act.  I am not saying that is bad just that it is funny.  He was like that when he was with Microsoft as well so there is nothing new here.  I think that he may add some to the NBA with the way he does things.  Not sure that he players share that same excitement.  It was really odd that he was trying to get the media covering the event to yell and scream like they were at a pep rally for the Clippers.  If nothing else it makes for a good show in the off season.  The man is worth more than $50 Billion so I suppose he can do what ever he wants.

For Ballmer and the Clippers it seems to look like it will pay off.  A lot of the pre season power rankings are picking the Clippers as the team to beat in the west.  A lot of those are also picking them to win the title.  It will all depend on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.  Leonard has already shown that he can take a team full of roll players to a championship.  It will be interesting to see if he can do it with another star on the team in George.

What we do know for sure it that the Warriors run of finals is going to come to an end.   Of course not all of the Duo’s that have been created will work out.  For the first time in a while there are probably six teams that could come out of the west.  Only one of those teams will be considered to be successful.  Of course if one of the teams in the East put it together and win the Championship then all the teams in the West will be considered a failure.

MLB Trade Deadline

The MLB trade deadline has always been very confusing to me.  They had the “Trade Deadline” Then a few months later they had the Waiver Trade Deadline.  I still never fully understood the difference.  I kind of do but it was really kind of stupid the way they did it.  If you are going to do that then just get rid of the deadline completely.

This year it seems that the deadline is going to be pretty dead.  By saying that it will end up being crazy with a lot of players moving.  Once again pitching will be at the top of the trade list.  With teams that are contending.  Getting to the playoffs is a grind.  Getting through the playoffs it a sprint.  With one really good pitcher and two good pitchers you really can set yourself up for a deep run in the playoffs.  It all depends on what you are willing to give up to get there.  We always say that if you have the chance you should go for it.  It is better to win today at the expense of tomorrow since you never know if you are going to get back.  It will be interesting to see what happens this week.

NASCAR Changes

NASCAR is finally going to make a change at a race.   They have asked Pocono if they would be willing to run two shorter races next season on consecutive days.  They would also have to give up their second race date.  It is unclear if that date is going to go unfilled or be filled by a different race.  It would be nice if they did not fill and it shortened the season.

The NASCAR season as we have talked about many times is just way to long.  I would really like to see them cut at least six weeks out of the season and eight would be better.  They are not going to do that so cutting four would be acceptable.  I like the idea of running two shorter races on the same weekend at one track.  The IRL has done this in the past and has had some great success with it.  People seem to like the shorter races.  They are more exciting and keep people interested.  Of course like always NASCAR has to throw in a wrinkle that makes no sense.  They want to invert part of the field from the first race at the start of the second race.  So if you finish first in the opening race you could start twentieth in the second race.  They have not said what the incentive would be to prevent people from lagging in the first race to have a higher starting spot in the second race.   The way I see it just put them out there and let them race.  The gimmick part makes no sense at all.  Hopefully they will come out with more information soon so we know what the actual plan is.

E-Sports on the Rise

If you have not been paying attention to the changing landscape in sports and entertainment.  Then you probably have no idea how large e-sports have become.  This past weekend there was a Fortnight tournament where the winner Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf won the $3 million grand prize.  The person who finished in tenth place won $225,000.  That is an impressive haul.  It rivals a lot of golf tournaments.  It will not be long before the e-sports passes golf.  There are more and more young people that are more interested in the e-sports than other sports out there.

I hear a lot of people say things about e-sports and how they need to get out more and get their eyes off the screen.  That would be like saying to a football player they need to get off the field and out of the weight room.  They are just spending too much time in there.  Just because it is different from what you do or like to watch does not mean it is a bad thing.  e-sports is here to stay.  There are people that are making a good living from it.  It is not just for the super elite.  There are other people out there making money from playing them too.  And now they are supporting a huge infrastructure that supports the tournament and creating jobs the same way that other pro sports do.

On The Tube TV Not You

NBC has brought back a comedy competition.  Bring the Funny is the replacement for Last Comic Standing.  It is basically the same show but added skits to the mix so it is not just individual comedians anymore.  Which to my surprise has actually added quite a bit to the show.  I do wish that we would see more full sets.   I get that it is not possible to always do that in this format.   It is a mindless fun show that is good for any hour distraction.

We also finished Stranger Things season Three.  This season was fine.  It was not as good as season one but it was better than season two.  The monsters were bigger the special effects were more complex.  Seems to happen when shows have success.  I get it they go with bigger is better.  It happens every where.  People forget about what go them there.  While that is fine.  I would rather have them put that money into story development and go with the creative effects like they did in season one when their budget was not as large.  That is probably just me though.

You can find last weeks post here.