Author: Jamey Codding (Page 19 of 25)

      San Diego fans ready for Eli Manning

      September 22, 2005 /

      I wrote a column for Bullz-Eye.com in April of 2004 defending Archie Manning’s decision to tell the San Diego Chargers to not draft his son Eli with the first overall pick in the draft:

      “Coming out of Ole Miss, Archie Manning was destined for superstardom. But because the Saints failed to surround him with quality talent, he fell well short of those early expectations. Playing in the NFL is a dream come true for anybody who actually makes it, but looking back on his career you can bet Manning recognizes everything that those years in New Orleans cost him.

      So why wouldn’t Archie want to spare Eli that same fate with another abysmal franchise like the Chargers? As a parent, don’t we want our children to benefit from our own mistakes and misfortunes rather than repeat them?

      It’s simple: In San Diego, Eli could’ve become the next Archie Manning; in New York, he could be the next Peyton Manning.”

      Man, did I take a beating from Chargers fans. Not right after I wrote the column, though. No, San Diego fans decided to bombard my inbox with hate mail after the Chargers made the playoffs. They cleverly called Manning “She-li” and asked if I thought Archie would rather have his son playing in San Diego now. And then they called me names. A whole bunch of names. None of them as witty as She-li, but they came up with some doosies.

      My response at the time was, let’s see where the Chargers and Giants are in a couple of years. The Bolts were coming off a Cinderella season that ended with them making a surprise appearance in the playoffs. Of course, the way these San Diego fans made it sound, they all expected Drew Brees to lead their team to the postseason whereas everyone else expected a repeat of 2003’s 4-12 performance. And obviously, they expected continued success for their team and sustained failure for Eli and the Giants.

      I originally said to wait a couple of years before comparing the progress of Eli to that of the Chargers franchise, but maybe we only had to wait a few months. The Giants travel to San Diego this Sunday, a game that’ll be televised nationwide on ESPN at 8:30. Chargers fans are going to be all over Eli. It’s gonna be ugly. And he, rightfully so, expects it to be. This is the moment Bolts fans have been waiting for since last year’s draft, the chance to prove to the prima-donna She-li and his cry-baby daddy that they made a mistake.

      The only problem is, the Giants are 2-0 and the Chargers are 0-2.

      Plus, while Manning is still developing as a QB, the Giants look to have one of the better teams in the NFC. Tiki Barber has picked up right where he left off last year, the defense looks solid, Manning has been finding Jeremy Shockey and newcomer Plaxico Burress downfield, and they’re well-coached by Tom Coughlin. As for the Chargers, they lost two tough games to the Cowboys and Broncos by a total of seven points, they haven’t found a groove offensively, and you can bet they liked their 4-12 schedule more than their 12-4 schedule — the Patriots, Steelers, Raiders, Eagles, Chiefs, Jets and Bills await in the seven games following Sunday’s match-up with the G-men.

      It still may be too early to predict how this one will end up, but from the looks of things right now, I’d say I won’t be getting any hate mail from Chargers fans anytime soon.

      NFL

      Griffey done for the year

      September 22, 2005 /

      Well, it was good while it lasted, wasn’t it? Great, actually.

      .301 – 35 HR – 92 RBI

      And with that, in just 128 games, 491 at-bats, Ken Griffey Jr. proved to the baseball world that he still matters. The Reds may not, but Junior certainly does. Griffey’s rejuvenation came to an end on September 4, when he sprained his foot while running the bases against Atlanta. The injury wasn’t believed to be serious, and in truth it may not be, but with the Reds out of contention (were they really ever in contention?), the team decided to let Junior rest for the remainder of the season while also sending him in for surgery to clean out his left knee and the scar tissue surrounding his right hamstring.

      The 128 games are the most Griffey’s played since 2000, his first season with the Reds. Not so coincindentally, the 35 homers and 92 RBI also mark his highest end-of-year totals since 2000, while Junior hadn’t hit above .300 since his MVP campaign in 1997.

      Of course, just because Griffey was healthy for the majority of the season doesn’t mean he’ll be healthy next year or the year after that. But his production this year does prove that, as long as he’s out there, he’s still dangerous. His .576 slugging percentage ranked fifth in the NL, behind Carlos Delgado and MVP candidates Derrek Lee, Albert Pujols and Andruw Jones, and his .946 OPS (on-base + slugging) ranked seventh in the league. He may not run anymore (0-1 in stolen base attempts) and he’s certainly not the picture of health, but he’s still got that picture-perfect swing and when he’s out there, he can still mash.

      Let’s also not forget that now Junior is tied with Mickey Mantle for 12th on the all-time home run list with 536 career dingers. Two more seasons like this one (he’s still just 34), and Junior would sit behind just Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Barry Bonds (707, as of today) and Willie Mays (660) on the sport’s most revered list. Take into account his 12 All-Star games, 10 Gold Gloves (might another be on its way?) and his MVP award, and you wonder how anybody can argue that Ken Griffey Jr. is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

      Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Important Lance Armstrong update!

      September 21, 2005 /

      Lance Armstrong made an emergency trip to a Colorado-area hospital recently.

      Oh wait, it was Colorado State University’s veterinary hospital, and the patient was Armstrong’s nine-month-old puppy, Rex, who needed open-heart surgery to replace a defective valve.

      Whew…glad that crisis is over.

      Is this really what it’s come to? Do we really need to see stories on ESPN about athletes’ pets? Better yet, does Lance Armstrong really need to have a story like this show up on newswires across the country? What a joke. Why does this have to be reported? Who gives a crap? Are we really so star-struck that we need to be fed stories about celebrity pets?

      This may seem like a petty, pointless rant, but I’m so fed up with the outrageous attention devoted to celebrities these days. Lance proposes to Sheryl Crow and it’s all over the news. Lance goes on a bike ride and everyone’s writing about a possible return at next year’s Tour. And now, Lance takes his dog to the vet and some hack from the AP writes about it. Even worse, ESPN picks up the damn story.

      Oh, and I know you’re worried about Rex’s condition. I was too. But the surgery was a success, and thank God ESPN and the AP were there to give us the story.

      General Sports

      Sunday Recap: Week 2

      September 19, 2005 /

      When the Vikings dealt Randy Moss to the Raiders, many thought Daunte Culpepper’s numbers would fall. Coming off a monster 39-TD performance last season, a repeat performance with Moss now in Oaklnad seemed unlikely. Still, nobody could’ve expected what’s happened to C-Pep and the Vikings through two games. After throwing three picks and fumbling twice in a week-one loss to the Bucs, Culpepper tossed five interceptions in an ugly 37-8 loss to the Bengals this week. Of course, Culpepper’s atrocious start hasn’t hurt as much in leagues that don’t count interceptions, but the Minnesota QB has yet to throw for a touchdown (he did run for one against the Bengals) and his complete inability to get new #1 receiver Nate Burleson involved in the offense (6 catches, 93 yards through two weeks) has Culpepper and Burleson owners sweating bullets. (And rightfully so, according to G, who says the Vikings suck.)

      Not to be outdone, Detroit QB Joey Harrington matched Culpepper’s pick party by throwing five interceptions of his own while leading the Lions to an embarrassing 38-6 loss to the Bears Sunday. The Lions as a team looked pathetic in Chicago, with RB Kevin Jones managing just 22 yards on 8 carries. Roy Williams hauled in an early 51-yard touchdown pass but that was Detroit’s lone highlight. When Jeff Garcia went down with a broken leg during the preseason, many tabbed Harrington as a potential sleeper as the unchallenged starter in Detroit’s high-octane offense. Through two games, though, Harrington looks like waiver-wire fodder and the Lions look overrated.

      HEADLINERS

      Donovan McNabb: 342 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT
      While Culpepper and Harrington were busy throwing five interceptions, McNabb, whose status was up in the air all week following last Sunday’s chest injury, hit paydirt five times en route to a 42-3 pasting of the 49ers. McNabb was extremely efficient, completing 23 of 29 passes while connecting with TE L.J. Smith nine times and Terrell Owens five more.
      ALSO: Trent Dilfer (336 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT), Carson Palmer (337 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT)

      Thomas Jones: 20 carries, 139 yards, 2 TD; 2 catches, 19 yards
      Rookie Cedric Benson got 16 carries, but most of his work came after the Bears had opened up a big lead over the Lions. If Jones keeps running like this, Benson won’t be starting in Chicago anytime soon. As the situation currently stands, Jones looks like a solid #2 back, with his next three games coming against the Bengals, Browns and Vikings.
      ALSO: Stephen Davis (25 carries, 77 yards, 3 TD), Cadillac Williams (24 carries, 128 yards, 1 TD), Willie Parker (25 carries, 111 yards, 1 TD)

      Terrell Owens: 5 catches, 143 yards, 2 TD
      McNabb’s favorite target was L.J. Smith but T.O. was electric Sunday, scoring first on a 68-yard play and later on a 42-yarder. Nobody’s talking about Owens’ holdout anymore and he looks ready to once again challenge Randy Moss as the top receiver in football. Still worried about McNabb and T.O.’s on-field chemistry?
      ALSO: Steve Heiden (6 catches, 104 yards, 2 TD), Chad Johnson (7 catches, 139 yards, 1 TD)

      FLATLINERS

      Jake Delhomme: 154 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
      Of course, no quarterback looked worse than Culpepper or Harrington this week, but Delhomme didn’t look much better. The Panthers beat the Patriots 27-17 but Stephen Davis deserves the credit. Delhomme’s looked rather ineffective the last two weeks, making him a shaky play at this point.
      ALSO: Peyton Manning (122 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT), Drew Brees (175 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT), Culpepper, Harrington

      Michael Bennett: 3 carries, 36 yards
      Bennett looked good early, ripping off a 23-yard run in the first quarter, but then he lost two fumbles and was benched for the second half. This could be the opportunity Mewelde Moore owners were waiting for. The Vikings were down early so they didn’t run the ball all that much but Moore still got eight carries on the day compared to Bennett’s three and one for Moe Williams. Stay tuned.
      ALSO: Jamal Lewis (10 carries, 9 yards; 4 catches, 32 yards), Corey Dillon (14 carries, 36 yards), Ronnie Brown (12 carries, 35 yards), Kevin Jones

      Lee Evans (2 catches, 12 yards) and Eric Moulds (1 catch, 8 yards)
      The Bills faced a tough Tampa defense so the low numbers aren’t all that surprising, but Sunday’s performance by Evans and Moulds proves just how unreliable all Bills receivers will be this year as long as J.P. Losman is throwing them the ball. Losman completed just 12 of his 29 attempts for 113 yards and actually sat out a fourth-quarter series in favor of backup Kelly Holcomb. Losman returned to finish the game but unless (until?) Holcomb takes over full time, Buffalo’s receivers are all marginal plays.
      ALSO: Joey Galloway (0 catches), Andre Johnson (4 catches, 20 yards), Michael Jenkins (1 catch, 22 yards)

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      AL races heat up as Guerrero goes down

      September 16, 2005 /

      Tough day for the Angels yesterday. Hoping to get some help from Curt Schilling and the Red Sox, the Halos instead saw the A’s rough Schilling up for four runs in 6.2 innings en route to a 6-2 win. Then, with ace Bartolo Colon on the mound, the Angels still managed to lose to Detroit 8-6 despite two homers from reigning MVP Vlad Guerrero. The Oakland win and LA loss created a deadlock atop the AL West standings with the A’s and Angels both sitting at 81-65.

      But even worse for LA, Guerrero left the game early after injuring his shoulder and is currently listed as day-to-day. It’s the same shoulder he dislocated in May, an injury that shelved the right fielder for three weeks. The Angels say this injury isn’t nearly as severe (they’re calling it a jammed shoulder), but we’ll see. The Angels have been staggering of late, getting swept in Seattle before losing to Detroit last night, and they’re dead in the water if Guerrero is out for an extended period of time.

      Meanwhile, the Yankees continued to exact some revenge from the pesky Devil Rays last night, finishing off the series sweep 9-5, their fourth-straight win and eighth in their last 11 games. With the Indians idle Thursday night, the Yankees now sit a half game behind Cleveland in the Wild Card standings while the A’s and Angels are three back.

      The interesting thing about the AL standings is, while the Yanks, Indians and, up until last night, A’s are all fighting for the Wild Card, all three teams are still very much alive in their division races. The Yankees sit just 1.5 games behind the Red Sox, Cleveland is 4.5 behind Chicago in the Central and, as I noted earlier, the A’s and Angels are in a dead heat in the West.

      Even better, the schedule makers deserve some credit for the drama that’s about to unfold. Oakland and LA meet for a four-game series from September 26-29, the Yankees and Red Sox close the season with a three-game series in Fenway, and the Indians and White Sox meet up twice more: in Chicago for three (Sept. 19-21) and then in Cleveland for the final three games of the year.

      Admittedly, I’m an Indians fan so this may sound biased, but the Tribe is getting into the playoffs, whether it’s via the AL Central crown or the Wild Card. Aside from those six games against the Sox, Cleveland closes with seven against the Royals and three more against Tampa Bay. Their starting pitching has been sensational, they’ve got the best bullpen in the AL and they can swing the lumber. This team is too hot, too hungry and too talented to not finish it off. In the West, I would’ve given the edge to the Angels because the A’s are still without hot-shot starter Rich Harden, who’s better than Barry Zito right now, but this Guerrero injury could swing the advantage back to Oakland. And in the East, I don’t see the Sox blowing it. The Yankees are hot right now and Randy Johnson has been much more effective in his last four starts but they still have too many holes in their rotation to pull off the comeback. It may not happen until that final series in Boston, but the Sox will finish off the Yankees at some point.

      My picks?

      EAST: Boston
      CENTRAL: Cleveland
      WEST: Oakland
      WC: Chicago

      An October without the Yankees? How fucking sweet would that be?

      MLB

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