Welcome back, Plax

By Jeff

There is a whole heck of a lot going on right now. Especially since I go AWOL every month. So let's try and catch up!

• Plaxico Burress is coming home! The big wide receiver signed with the Steelers this week because Antonio Brown and Jerricho Cotchery are hurt. It's a good signing as long as we keep our expectations in check. Burress is 35 and isn't a deep threat anymore. But it is nice to have another red zone option other than Health Miller.


• The NHL is still stupid.


• The Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Frauds trade went through. The commissioner had no right to block the trade, so I'm glad he didn't. But the Frauds deserve to be ripped by fans, media and everyone on the planet. They promised a committment to winning and broke that promise in less than a year.


• Phil Jackson is a better coach than Mike D'Antoni, but he has quit twice before on the Lakers. There is nothing wrong with the Lakers moving in a different direction. They could have handled the situation better, but can you blame them for not bringing Jackson back when everybody knows it could be just a one-year thing?


• Philadelphia Eagles fans really hate Andy Reid. Philadelphia media is also going crazy. You should hear them talk about how they should find a new coach. Sal Paolantonio says they need to move Andy out, hire a consulting group that includes ex players and really show fans they are determined to bring legitimacy back to the Eagles. This is a little over a year after they made a huge splash in free agency and people were picking them as Super Bowl contenders. One mediocre year and one bad year do not warrant the panic that has set in over here. Just hire a new coach. Done.


• Just saw "Silver Linings Playbook" last night. I usually HATE BRadley Cooper, but he was great and stole just about every scene he was in. That is saying a lot considering he shared many scenes with Robert De Niro. The dialogue was the best I've heard since "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang". Not sure it should be getting the Oscar buzz it is as a whole, but Cooper's name should be tossed around. 


• I've been playing a lot of "LA Noire" for the PS3. It's a very cool and unique game, as it lets you play detective by searching for clues and trying to figure out if people are lying or not with some groundbreaking gaming technology. It gets a little redundant, but that's how all Rock Star games are.

• I get that Mike Golic played football and doesn't like that the game is focusing more on safety. I do. But it still bothers me that every time there is a hit to the head and a fine, he complains. We get it, Golic, you were a very tough man when you played. That doesn't mean that hits to the head have a place in the NFL with all this new research showing how dangerous headshots are. Maybe he should have manned-up and healed naturally instead of using steroids. Zing!

• I hate to say it, but Notre Dame deserves their ranking. They played a tough schedule, and despite some close games, they are the only undefeated team that matters (Ohio State hasn't lost, but they are on probation).

Big Country - The Promised Land

Give me back my hockey!

By Jeff

Yes, I'm channeling my inner Mel Gibson. No, not the anti-Semitic, anti-women drunk. I'm talking about the one in "Ransom" who wants his son back and kicks some ass to do it.

What the hell is wrong with the NHL? I would give the definition of insanity, but we've all heard the saying. But truly, the NHL is insane. They are pushing their fans to the brink.

We want hockey. We want to pay to go to games and we want to watch throughout the week. But it seems the NHL doesn't give a damn about those that make their business possible.

We've lost one season to CBA negotiations, and now three others have been shortened because owners and players can't agree.

There is not another major league in the country that has lost a season to labor disputes, yet the NHL may lose two in less than 10 years. That's embarrassing. It's a $3 billion business, and they can't find common ground?

One of the big sticking points right now is the contract rights. The league wants to limit the number of years a deal can have, as well as delaying free agency by a year.

I understand the idea behind limiting deals to 5 years, especially when you see they 10-year, mega-deals that circumvent the cap. Of course, the league could have hindered this by actually having a spine and rejecting all the deals like this, not just the Ilya Kovalchuk contract. At the same time, it was the OWNERS who gave these contracts in the first place!

As for delaying free agency until the 8th year of NHL service instead of 7, that's just stupid. If you have a player in your organization for 7 years and don't know if he is right for your team or ready for the NHL, then you need to fire your scouts/development team because they are failing.

Now, we don't officially know what's being said in these negotiations. But to me it seems like the players are being asked to give up more than the owners, again. You can only push a person so far until they can't take being pushed around anymore. That's where the players seem to be now.

If I lose the NHL this season, I will place all the blame on the owners. And I don't think I'm wrong.

David Essex - Rock On

Marlins are jokes

By Jeff

How are the Miami Marlins still a professional franchise?

For the third time in my lifetime, they have sent their best players packing to say boatloads of money. Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio are all headed to Toronto for Yunel Escobar, Jeff Mathis and three of the Blue Jays' top prospects.

Baseball should be furious. Other teams should be furious. Marlins fans should be furious. The three Marlins players left should be furious.

In the words of Donald Trump, we need a revolution! (Seriously, what a joke the Donald is. What's scary is some people think he makes good points.)

Marlins ownership lied to the public. In order to get more than $300 million of public money for their new stadium, they said they would field a competitive team. They tried for one year. Yes, they started with a bad year, but that's not reason to blow it up. The team had boatloads of talent. Maybe it just needed to gel. Maybe it just needed a manager who cared more about managing and less about attention.

Sad to say it, but the Pirates are in a similar boat. They received hundreds of millions of public dollars to fund PNC Park and promised a winning team. They haven't had one and have consistently made questionable baseball decisions.

This is a problem for baseball and fans in these cities. With no salary floor and revenue sharing, teams like the Marlins can make a lot of money while putting terrible teams on the field. It doesn't matter that people don't show up for games, because teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will fund the poor teams.

What a joke.

Now, as a Blue Jays fan, I am excited for Toronto. If Johnson and Reyes stay healthy, they could actually compete for the AL East for the first time in a long time.

As a fan of baseball, the deal angers me and just shows how silly this league can be. Teams that are not committed to winning should not be rewarded. If you don't have a payroll of X amount, then you should not be eligible for revenue sharing.

David Bowie - Heroes