Foil in the Oven: All Class

This is a little shorter today because I was up late last night writing a paper, there were no games last night, and I have work at 6 AM today. But, we'll be back to full length tommorow.



I was feeling a little uneasy as I drove to the grocery store yesterday. These off days are tough to take, and they are only a little taste of the tough times that lay ahead when Finals end. The withdrawal that one feels at the end of the NFL season is utterly depressing, and is characterized by weekend restlessness and emotional outbursts. However, the withdrawal that occurs at the end of the NBA playoffs is an all-out assault on the senses. You can't watch THAT much basketball THAT intensely every night for nearly two months and not feel physical withdrawal when the stimulation is removed. The prospect of this withdrawal being so near had me feeling pretty bummed out, and I was scanning WEEI in hopes of finding something exciting happening in the world of sports. My shoulders dropped as I was suddenly hit with the one headline I had spent months hoping would not come. Michael Strahan, 15-year New York Giant and key piece to a potential repeat Super Bowl championship, was retiring.

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting this news. As I stated a couple of weeks ago, I really thought that he was just trying to avoid training camp as he did last year. Ever since Michael first began pondering retirement, I believed that I would be angry if he decided to pass up the opportunity for a repeat Super Bowl title. After having played 14 seasons without a championship, how could he pass up the possibility of 2 in a row?

But, much to my surprise, I did not become upset when I heard this news. Instead, I thought about how much Michael Strahan has given to the Giants. I replayed in my mind the image of him finally hoisting that championship trophy in February, the final reward for 15 years of hard work and loyalty, and I was happy for him. The man is going out on top. What better ending could any Giants fan hope for?

Would I feel differently if the Giants hadn't won Super Bowl 42? Yes, I think I would. I believe that Michael can still play at a high level, and I wouldn't like knowing that there was more that he could have accomplished individually and new heights that he could have helped this team reach. I'd also probably be more emotional. I'd be waxing poetic about what a great warrior he was, and what a well-rounded defensive player he was, and anything else that I could think of to make sure that people knew what a great player that the league lost today. But things have been different since February 3rd. I don't need to say anything about what kind of player Michael Strahan was. If you don't know that he was one of the top defensive ends of all time, then you don't know pro football. But, what's more important than anything that you'll find in his career statistics (which are very impressive) is that he was a champion. I'm happy at peace with his decision because I believe that this is a very dignified and fitting way for him to go out.

As far as the Giants are concerned, it's going to be a big blow. The fact that Strahan would have still made such an impact after 15 years in the NFL speaks volumes about what kind of athlete and football player he is. The Giants defensive line was a complete nightmare for opposing teams last year. You had to help on Strahan. You had to help on Umenyiora. But, you couldn't help on both of them because you also had to worry about guys like Justin Tuck, Barry Cofield, and big Fred Robbins . The strength of this defensive line helped to cover up some pretty glaring holes at linebacker and in the secondary. This unit will still be excellent, but it will not be as dominant as it was last season.

I will touch on the Giants, particularly the Shockey situation, when the NBA Finals are finished. We are planning months of solid NFL preview for you. But, we have to take things one step at a time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------



I don't know what I can say about this game tonight that hasn't already been said. The Celtics are the better team in this series. They have a chance to crush the Lakers' souls with a win tonight. People keep saying that the series is going to change when it gets back to LA, but how much can it really change? The Lakers are not as physical as the Celtics, and that fact remains regardless of where the game is held. The only way that I can see a potential change in the series would be if the Celtics reverted back to their road form from the first two rounds of the post-season. But, I'm confident after seeing how much they improved on the road in the Detroit series. I'm not saying I'm expecting a sweep. But, I'm also not expecting, at any point, to think to myself "wow, maybe I was wrong. Maybe the Lakers really are better than I thought."

One story that has really not gotten enough attention in this series is the play of Ray Allen. He plays Kobe very well, and he clearly knows how to frustrate him. Even during the big 7 minute comeback on Sunday night, Kobe never really looked like himself. He was totally out of his element. I'm confident that Ray will continue to play Kobe tough. But, truth be told, Kobe will probably go off one of these next three games and it doesn't even matter. The Celtics played the one-man show Lakers twice in the regular season and stomped them both times. Kobe hasn't been the problem. It's everyone else that has been the problem for the Lakers. Kobe can't be as destructive if everyone else isn't executing.

I'd really like to see Eddie House unleashed at some point during these three games in Los Angeles. Every time that I see him on the bench, he looks like Doc has him on a leash bolted to the floor. One nice thing about having as much depth as the Celtics do is that Doc can suddenly insert a very capable high-energy guy like Eddie late in a series to inject the team with some adrenaline. Think about the Cleveland series, and what a difference he was able to make in that game 7. In LA for three games, unleashing Eddie could be just what we need to gain an edge.

Children of Bodom covering the Final Countdown. These guys are sick guitar players.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Often times when I am up late writing a paper, like last night, I like to listen to old editions of the Basketball Jones podcasts. I listened to a great one last night recapping the action from one of my favorite nights of the season, the night when the Celts ended the Rockets winning streak in Houston and everyone in the world agreed that Glen Taylor was a complete ass for his KG comments. So, I definitely recommend listening to this, episode 279. The highlights are Tas' comment about Jessica Simpson at the start, and JE Skeets reading Glen Taylor's comments about Garnett and then exclaiming "WHAT A FUCK!"

Expect a very extensive Foil in the Oven tomorrow.

Favre's Retirement & Mismanagement 101

I'm sure someone will write a nice post about Brett Favre and his storied career in professional football. Yes, he was an awesome player. Yes, he was one of the best ever to play the game. Yes, he was the man. I loved the guy and the way he played football. No debate there.

But I'd rather write about bad blood in Packer-land and the total screw-up between Favre's agent, the team, and their leadership. That's the juicy stuff. It revolves around free agency, so I'll start with the ESPN article that says:

"Favre had spoken to Moss late last week and was willing to commit to more than just this season if Moss and the Packers could come to an agreement. But the Packers did not pursue Moss, who re-signed with the Patriots on Monday (emphasis mine).”

But then ESPN quotes McCarthy as saying, "But I can tell you one thing, never once in all my conversations with Brett this off season has he ever asked or told me that we had to have Randy Moss for him to come back and play...Randy Moss' name never came up once. And it bothers me that [Favre's agent] has made this an issue."

Something fishy is going on here. First of all, why is Favre playing GM, running around making overtures for free agents? Second of all, why wouldn't Favre tell McCarthy that he would return if they picked up Moss? I suspect that if McCarthy and Favre had a healthy relationship, none of these quotes would filter through ESPN; they would have been dealt with internally. The obvious conclusion is that someone is lying. Here is what probably happened:

1. Favre did tell the Packers that he wanted Moss and that he would probably retire unless they made that personnel decision. I’m sure Favre lobbied for other high-profile players, too. (And do you blame Favre for wanting his team to sign better players to win now?)

2. McCarthy and the Packers didn't have the guts to tell Brett flat out that they didn't want him next season. They instead refused to meet his demand for resigning Moss, which meant he wouldn't play next season.

Of course Favre wants to retire on a positive note, but he did understate the problem when he said, “Do I agree with them all the time? No. But the bottom line is, none of that stuff affected my decision.” Yeah right. If the Pack had signed Moss or Chad Johnson, I promise you that Favre would be out there again.

(And let’s not forget about Donald Driver. How do you think he feels when he reads that his QB is retiring because the Pack won’t sign a big-name receiver? Like it or not, this mess is a slight to Donald Driver, Lee, and Franks)

The reality is that the Packers wanted Favre out this season, but couldn't force the decision due to his wild popularity in Green Bay. While everyone was obsessing over Favre’s retirement, the team signed a ton of young players, a green coach, and managed their cap situation for future draft choices (a new QB?). The writing is/was clearly on the wall for him to retire.

But Favre and his agent clearly took advantage of his popularity and pressed the Packers to adopt the “win now” mentality. They used strong-arm tactics, but they ultimately backfired. And as a fan, it’s very interesting to see Favre and his agent play good cop / bad cop with the Packers, a team he’s been with for 2000 years. The bitterness of Favre not getting his receiver is tangible:

"I talked to Brett this morning and I told him, 'nobody forced you to make this decision to retire, but the flip side is nobody encouraged you to play…Two years ago, Ted [Thompson, the Packers' GM] encouraged him to play, but there was nothing this time around from them offering encouragement or him to come back."

Does "offering encouragement" mean signing big-name receivers? On the one hand you have Favre saying he’s tired and doesn’t want to play anymore, but on the other hand, you have his agent saying that the Pack left him in the dust. Bad blood anyone? Something doesn't add up here and for the Pack's best player to retire like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My questions are the following:

1. If Favre wants to play with a big name receiver, why doesn't he sign with another team?
2. How did McCarthy and Favre's relationship suddenly go down the tubes?
3. Why doesn't anyone criticize Favre for acting like a GM while he's a player?
4. Will he ever come back, considering how badly this retirement has gone with the Pack and the quote above which states he would have come back for multiple seasons had they signed a good player?
5. How do Packers fans feel about this debacle?

Anyone?