Paul Tagliabue must be a comedian, because this is hilarious. Detroit Lions President Matt Millen calls a player on the Chiefs a "faggot" (twice!) and doesn't hear a word from the league. Giants linebacker Mike Barrow compares losing a football game to being raped and the worst he hears is a whisper from his soon to be ex-coach, simply because the media pressed him about it. Joe Horn pulls out a hidden cell phone after scoring a touchdown, so obviously the league is going to let that one slide, right? The all mighty NFL would never penalize someone for something so insignificant as an end zone stunt when a team President is running around using homophobic words for the whole world to hear, right?
Wrong.
Paulie is doing his best Bud Selig impression here, making the No-Fun-League start to look like something much worse. If the NFL wants to fine Horn, a player with a history or over the top celebrations, I have zero problem with that. But don't you dare send him a bill for $30,000 before handing Matt Millen one for at least twice as much. Tagliabue and his witless henchmen are probably waiting for the Lions to take some sort of action, but if that isn't hypocrisy I don't know what is.
If the NFL says they have to hand out various fines for a player's on the field behavior when they are representing the league, then you have to stay consistent and be equally as harsh on executives if their behavior warrants it. Please, lets not forget that Joe Horn didn't hurt anyone. It was certainly bad sportsmanship, but he didn't hit a quarterback late or spit on an official or throw something at a fan. He found a loophole to the league's "Terrell Owens" rule and exploited it. Mr. Tagliabue, you said players can't bring foreign objects onto the playing field, I'm pretty sure you never mentioned stashing said objects in the padding of the goal post.
When Owens created a stir with his Sharpie incident, he wasn't fined because he hadn't broken any rule. Warned? Absolutely. Fined? Not a cent. Meanwhile Millen will be able to apologize and everything is supposed to be forgiven. The NFL has shown they will forgive him, but there are millions of people out there that won't. Certainly most people would be fired, or at least suspended, if they dropped a Millen 'F' bomb. Luckily for the rest of the world, most people don't work for the NFL.
Tagliabue and Co. will say they must send a message to the rest of the players in the league about what kind of actions will and won't be tolerated.
It's time for Rangers owner Tom Hicks to realize he isn't going to be able to get the world for Alex Rodriguez. If Boston is offering Manny Ramirez straight up, he has to take it and count his blessings. Asking for the Sox to take A-Rod's monster contract AND to pay for part of Manny's is ridiculous. If he lets this deal fall though, there's another possibility out there that Mr. Hicks must look into.
Ship Alex Rodriguez to the Detroit Tigers.
Sure, maybe Alex and his super-agent Scott Boras will invoke the no-trade in his contract but you have nothing to lose by trying to make it work. Rodriguez obviously wants out of Texas and Hicks is ready to rid himself of that infamous contract. Detroit has nearly 20 million to spend this winter and with some minor tinkering of A-Rod's bloated contract this is a deal that can be made. All the while allowing both teams to come away looking like winners.
The contracts of Bobby Higginson (11.85 million), Dmitri Young (6.75) and Matt Anderson (3.2) make the numbers all but even out for a season. So in theory Tigers President Dave Dombrowski would still be able to go out and add a couple mid-level free agents to his 119 loss team. Detroit also has the young pitching to give that will help rebuild the Rangers, something Boston can't offer. Higginson, Young and Anderson don't equal A-Rod on a talent level, but will give Hicks enough financial flexability to be a real player in the free agent market this season and beyond.
It's obvious why the Rangers would be on board for such a deal, but what would be in it for Detroit? The Tigers have been one of the teams hot on Miguel Tejada's trail and are willing to throw more money at him than he's worth. If you're trying to salvage a franchise and are about to invest a large sum of money into a young SS, why not go for the homerun and bring in the best all around player in baseball. Rodriguez would bring the fans out in massive numbers to Comercia Park, something he was never truly able to do while in Texas.
Tiger's owner Mike Ilitch has said he is going to expand his payroll, but knows it'll take a lot to convince top tier talent (let alone the best player in the game) to make their way to Detroit. So much so that Ilitch is resigned to overpaying for a premier free agent, "It's unfortunate, but that's what happens, even if it means myself getting involved...I think you have to do that in sports." There's no doubt Ilitch is ready to make a splash, but he should realize there's more than one player out there to do it with.
If you're going to overspend to buy what you want, buy the best.
These days there isn't much hope around New York unless your checks are being signed by someone named Steinbrenner. The Knicks are finding new ways to lose every night, the Rangers lay an egg every time you start to think they are going to finally play consistently, the Mets big off season acquisition is going to be Reggie Sanders (Yes, that Reggie Sanders) and I think the Giants just turned the ball over again. The one team located outside of Yankeeland that carries the most hope for the future are the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.
Now before you get all huffy, I'm not suggesting that this team is making the playoffs. That would be borderline insanity. The Jets are only a game better than the Giants, but there's no reason to watch the G-Men for the rest of the season. None. Herm's boys are the most dangerous 5-7 team in the NFL and have already started throwing their wrench into the AFC playoff picture. Miami better have a playoff spot locked up by the time the Jets come to town or Ricky and Co. will be playing as many post season games as Jeff Blake.
Even Curtis Conway -- the poster child for the Jets early season misery -- knows how to keep things in perspective the rest of the season. "We're not looking beyond anything or anyone" Conway continued, "You can't look at what-ifs and what happened. We just want to keep winning games." One might pass it off as usual elimination rhetoric players feed to the press, but it sounds different coming from this team. From Herm Edwards all the way down to the Kevin Swayne's of the gang green, you can't help but actually believe all the 'one game at a time' lines.
They're realists and know they aren't going to the playoffs, but at the same time sense there could be something very special happening and they might be able to get the ball rolling for the 2004 season. Even with a strong finish they will get a quality draft pick and with some salary cap tinkering could be major players in a free agency market that will be headlined by Terrell Owens and Warren Sapp.
Unlike the men in blue, the Jets won't have to go through a search for a new coach before making key personnel decisions. They also differ from their roommates at the Meadowlands (as well as every other New York franchise outside the Bronx) in that they represent hope for 2004.
