Living Legends

             

    

    Every sport has its legends and superstars. Whether its Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, or Sandy Koufax in baseball, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird in basketball, or Joe Montana, Jim Brown, or Emmit Smith in football. The greatest about every sport is that all of their players are so different it’s what makes each sport so special. The difficult question I have is who is the greatest living retired player of each sport? Tough question. As much as I am about the present and future of all sports, I am also about honoring its past. If it wasn’t for the players of the past, what present or future would each sport have now?

    Baseball, in my opinion, is the hardest to choose. It is so rich in history that all living (retired) players know the impact they have had on the game. Last year, when the All-Star game was in Cincinnati, they honored the 4 greatest living players. They had Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. At the time, I had a major issue with what transpired. Yogi Berra was still ALIVE at the All Star game. He should have been there over Johnny Bench!! No disrespect to Johnny Bench, but how do you disrespect a 10 World Champion, 3 time MVP who was overshadowed by both Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle?  This why baseball is so tough. Today, on August 10, 2016, I feel that the best living baseball player is Willie Mays. He was a five tool, all-around player. If it was not for him, we would never have the likes of Ken Griffey, Jr. or Barry Bonds.  Willie Mays really knew how to stick it to his opponents. If it wasn’t for the Yankees, he would probably have just as many rings as Yogi has now. He was also one of the most athletic ball players in history.

     The difference between baseball, football, and basketball is that baseball has a longer history than both football and basketball. With that said, that is why it is tougher to choose for either sport. Football has such a rich history, especially when it comes to quarterbacks. Guess what though? My best living legend in football is Jim Brown! He retired at the age of 30 and on top of his game! He won the MVP in his last season! Even though he never won or played in a Super Bowl, but did win a championship, is irrelevant. When the Cavaliers won the NBA Finals, guess who was right there. . . you were right, Jim Brown! Jim Brown tore down defenses, broke (and held) rushing records(until Barry Sanders came along), and played the game really smart. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and Terry Bradshaw are all-time greats, but no one compares to Jim Brown.

  Basketball, similarly to football, has a shorter history. I believe that Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball to ever play the game, but with all due respect, Bill Russel is 11-0 in championships. If it was not for him, there would be no Michael, or Magic or Larry. He is the greatest living basketball player. He transcended the game for everyone else. You may be thinking, “How can you say that Russell is the greatest living basketball player, if you think Michael Jordan is the best ever?” Michael Jordan forever changed the game once he played, but Russell knew what he was doing in the game and his overall game was not to be questioned.

  As much as I am not a huge hockey fan, this is probably the easiest one of all the 4 major sports. Wayne Gretzky was by far the best hockey player to play the game. Even though it was towards the end of his career, I was excited when he came to play for the Rangers. He just knew how to play. Wayne Gretzky changed the dynamic of all the teams he played for, no matter what part of his career. Wayne Gretzky will go down as the best hockey player of all-time. 

    No matter who the athletes are, no matter what sport or city they played for, these ballplayers I mentioned above really transcended their sports, cities, and teams. Are each one of them the greatest athlete/player of their sport? With the exception of Gretzky and Brown, Russell and Mays are not the GREATEST to ever play their sport. I remember meeting Earl Weaver on a cruise. He was one of the greatest managers of all time! When he passed away a few years later, my heart dropped. He was such a nice guy(and a legendary manager). Everyone should take advantage now of who we have around. For all of those who think there was no basketball before LeBron or football before Brady, look again. Watch the footage. If you so happen to luckily run into anyone, take advantage.

What happened Alex?

 

   Sunday came, Sunday went. What happened Sunday? Olympics in Rio were happening, baseball was being played, and football season was in reach. O Yea. . . Alex Rodriguez announced he will be playing his last game for the Yankees (and maybe baseball) this coming Friday. With all of the transition the Yankees are going thru, I find it only fit that this happened. Even though this was right to happen, why is his last come on Friday? Why not take the Mark Teixeria path and wait until the end of the season? There are so many questions to ponder. Let’s get some popcorn and dig into this topic.

   We all know that A-Rod is not the player he was 5 years ago, or even 3 years ago. He has had 2 hip surgeries (thanks to PEDs), which limited him to the DH role. There was a whole debacle that happened 3 years ago when everything with Biogenesis occurred. He was on a mission at that time. He was suing the Yankees, their doctors, and MLB. When he realized there was no fluidity, the suspension was finally accepted. Come spring training of last season, he said and did all the right things. He had a monster come back year hitting .250 with 33 home runs. During the World Series, he had critical acclaim while being an analyst for Fox. What a comeback of a season right?

  Now let’s fast forward to the 2016 season. He comes into spring training assuming the DH role. He starts out the season not really hitting so well. If you had someone of A-Rod’s caliber on your team, wouldn’t you give him a chance regardless of age and health? I certainly would. Carlos Beltran gets injured and is limited in the field, so after his DL stint he starts at the DH role. Beltran becomes red hot and Joe keeps him there. The question then became, “What happens to Alex?” Joe was trying to put the best team on the field in order to contend. Something like that is very understandable.

   Coming out of the All Star Break, Yankees seemed like they were still on fire. Then they played the lowly Rays and got swept. This is when Hal gave Brian Cashman the go ahead to start selling before the trade deadline. First came Chapman, Miller and then Beltran. It was obvious the team was in transition. Even after trading Beltran, Joe still did not start Alex. What is going on here?? Rumors started circulating that maybe the Yankees would release him.

  After all of this, we find out this past Friday that Mark Texeira is going to retire at the end of the season. He felt like his body betrayed him. As much as he loved baseball, he could not handle it. I remember putting my son to sleep on Saturday night and a report comes out that there will be a press conference with A-Rod on Sunday. The speculation really began to fly around the media. Low and behold, we find out on Sunday that Friday against Tampa will be his last game and he will become a “Special Advisor” to the Yankees. This is when all the questions started flying.

  Here’s my first and most important question, why not wait until the end of the season? Why now? I understand that he has not been playing much, but the rosters expand on September 1^st. Wouldn’t it be beneficial for the younger players if he was on the roster until of the end of the season. He can continue to mentor Didi, Starlin Castro, and Gary Sanchez. More importantly, what is the FREAKIN difference between A-Rod and Tex taking up a roster spot? When Tex announced his retirement, how come they didn’t ask him to step away now? They could have brought up 2 players to the Majors instead of 1.

   Yesterday, I was listening to the Michael Kay Show and Hal Steinbrenner was on the show. He said that it was mutual and gave A-Rod as many as 4 or 5 days to make a decision. He said if A-Rod came back and said no, he would go to Cashman and Girardi and go to the drawing board again. I know A-Rod has been a headache for the Yankees over the years, even though he won 2 MVPS and a World Series ring, but wouldn’t you be doing him and your team an injustice with this release now?

   I don’t agree with everything that A-Rod has done to enhance his career, but if you’re going to this to him why not everyone else? I am a huge Yankees fan and overall I love the direction they are going in with the team. My only issue is that management needs to be on the same page on how to execute everything. After seeing everything unravel, the Yankees should have let A-Rod play the season out, like Tex, and then do this at the end of the season. As well, if they are doing this with Alex, Tex is retiring, I will not be shocked to CC next on the chopping block! Can we say officially say the New Young Yankees and not New York Yankees? Let us see if this works.

Dear Kevin

                                                        

Dear Kevin,

   Thank you so much for your hard work over the past 8 years with us. An MVP award, a trip to the NBA Finals, some scoring titles, and almost being the 73 win Warriors to make it to the finals. You have done a lot to make us a noticeable market. You have also done a lot off the court for us as well. Thank you for all your work with the community.

   As thankful as I am for all that you have done for us, here is why I am upset as to why you went to the Bay Area. There are people who say you are not selfish for what you decided to do. There are people who say you are selfish. Here is why I am in the group that thinks you are selfish. You signed a 1 year deal with an option for a 2^nd year to play with the likes of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. There is no denying that Golden State has championship caliber team, but so does Oklahoma City. You had an elite point guard in Russell Westbrook, who happens to be a free agent after next season. Why couldn’t you sign a 1 and 1 deal with Oklahoma City. You would stay with Russ 1 more year and if you then decided you wanted to leave than leave after next season.

    We do not see the  form of players staying with one team for their career much anymore. There was Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan recently. Kevin you could have cemented your legacy if you decided to stay for at least 1 year with the Thunder. Rumor has it you were fed up with Westbrooks personality. Kobe dealt with Shaq and Jeter with A-Rod, but you can’t deal with Westbrook? Granted Kobe got Shaq traded but that was AFTER they won 3 titles in a row! It takes time man. I know you could have made it work with the Thunder.

   I saw that after your decision, fans were giving you the LeBron treatment and burning your jersey. I don’t think you deserved that treatment. What do I think you deserved? Boos from fans when you returned to OKC, yes. Did you deserve to get bashed by LOCAL(not national)  media? Possibly. Listen man, if you win a title with Golden State or any other team moving forward, good luck! You are an awesome player! You will definitely be a hall of fame player once your career is finished. Thank you for all the good times. Please do us one favor though. If you ever decide to come back and play with the Thunder, let us know how we can defeat Golden State to make it to the Finals and win it!

Sincerely,

Abe

NBA Finals: Collapse or Comeback?

                                             

    What a way to end the NBA Finals!! Between both teams, during the last 3 minutes only 1 Field Goal was made. What a way to end a championship drought for the city of Cleveland. Next city is either Minneapolis or Buffalo, you choice. King James kept on his promise and brought a championship to the city. There were so many questions going into the Finals, for example, who is the better player Curry or James? Who has the better defense? The only real question I had coming out of the Finals: Was this a bigger comeback(Cavs) or bigger collapse(Warriors)? For you information, I am not even entertaining whether the Finals was rigged(which it was not!).

   Through the first 4 games of the series, Golden State was in complete control. No team in NBA Finals history had ever come down from 3-1 deficit to win the series. Only 2 teams down 3-1 had ever forced Game 7, only to lose. After coming back down 3-1 in the Conference Finals, a lot of people figured Golden State had the momentum going into the Finals. They cruised through the first 2 games without any hesitation. After splitting in Cleveland, it looked all but over.

   It appeared the one thing Cleveland did right through the first 4 games was really shut down the "Splash Brothers." Curry was not living up to his unanimous MVP award. The great thing about those first 4 games for Golden State was that other players were picking up the slack. It seemed like the Cavaliers were heading for another lose in the Finals. All of a sudden, Draymond Green gets suspended for game 5 after receiving another flagrant foul on LeBron.
 
   Game 5 came and LeBron and Kyrie Irving killed it in that game with 41 points apiece. Leading into Game 6, Green stated that had he been in Game 5 the series would have been over. That is a little bit unfair to say. Game 6 and the Cavs just blew out the Warriors. Game 7 was probably the best game of  the series. It was back and forth for most of the game. The last 3 minutes or so really had me at the edge of my seat. Only 1 Field Goal in the last 3 minutes of the game! That's how edgy I was acting. Finally, we see all the Cavs congregate around LeBron to celebrate. It was a nice to site to see, even if it was on the road.
 
   If you want my honest opinion, I feel like it was more of collapse for the Warriors than a comeback for Cavilers. Why do I say that? The Warriors already had to come back from a 3-1 deficit against OKC and were not really playing like themselves. Curry and Thompson were not playing like themselves and already had to rely on other teammates(I know its a team sport, but the at least 1 of their 2 best players needed to show up). If you noticed in Games 5-7 LeBron really stepped up his game. Through Games 1-7, Curry did not play like his MVP self. What happened to Warriors I like to compare to what happened to the Yankees in 2004 against the Red Sox, they made mistakes they never would have made before this series.

  Even though Lebron, Kryie, and the rest of Cleveland absolutely deserve this title, I felt like the Warriors gave it to them. They were falling right beneath us. They made mistakes they never would make earlier in the season. Lebron was a beast and at the best of his game! He deserved MVP whether they won or lost. I was thinking last night, "If the Warriors won, who would be MVP?" Immediately, I thought "LeBron." In my opinion, this is the worst collapse in sports history. Why do I say that? I say that because they were supposed to be the '98 Yankees, 95-96 Bulls, 72 Dolphins, not the 2007 Patriots. Scottie Pippen said this morning on "Mike and Mike" he was happy the Cavs won the Finals, because that means his Bulls are still the best.