Liberty & Loyalty

Freedom and liberty mean different things to everybody. For LeBron James, liberty equals testing the free agent waters of the NBA. James is free to sign with any team that entertains an offer to Cleveland’s All-Star MVP. For the Atlanta Hawks, liberty is loyalty to a 29 year old shooting guard. The Hawks offered Joe Johnson the highest contract of any on the market to keep him in Atlanta. The cost-conscious Hawks simply couldn’t afford to lose Johnson.
Liberty and loyalty often go hand in hand. Take the All-Star game voting, for example. Fans are prone to voting for players who are established in the league, and who play for their favorite teams. Every year, there are players dubbed All-Star “snubs”. Some of these omissions are afforded a chance to be placed on the team during the Final Man vote. It’s interesting to note there are no Red Sox in the starting lineup for the American League for the first time in seven years. Boston still boasts six All-star selections. The Yankees also have six All-stars, and the bulk of the American League is filled with players from the East. Andy Pettitte should be on the team, although most baseball fans outside of New York would disagree. Texas’ Michael Young is also a glaring snub in my opinion. I could go either way on whether Stephen Strasburg should have been named to the team. His 2-2 record is nothing to brag about, but the rookie’s ERA is 2.45 and he has already fanned 53 batters in 36 innings. Strasburg will have his time to shine at the mid-summer classic.
Brazil seems to understand liberty but clearly doesn’t grasp the loyalty concept. The Brazilian Football Federation fired head coach, Dunga (not sure if that is his last name, first name, or only name) after the country’s premature World Cup exit. The Dutch dropped the heavily favored Brazil team, 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Brazil hosts the 2014 World Cup and possible succesors include Mano Menezes, Wanderley Luxemburgo, Leonardo and Luiz Felipe Scolari.
A little hockey on a 96 degree July day never hurt. Paul Martin’s loyalty is not with New Jersey. The Devils lost Martin to the Pittsburgh Penguins and promptly replaced him with veteran defensemen Henrik Tallinder and Anton Volchenkov. Johan Hedberg was also snatched to backup goalie, Martin Brodeur, and replaceYann Danis. Volchenkov spent the past seven seasons in Ottawa but had the liberty to leave and sign for the next six with the Devils. The biggest prize in the NHL free agent sweepstakes is Ikya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk is the NHL version of Lebron James. He played his entire career with the Atlanta Thrashers before going to the Devils late last season. The star-hungry Los Angeles Kings were the team with eyes on the prize, but are no longer competing for Kovalchuk’s services. That leaves the Devils and New York Islanders in the running for the 27 year old winger. As both a Kings and Devils fan, I can’t say I would be too disappointed if he re-signs with New Jersey. The six time 40 goal scorer would be a fine fit. However, Kovalchuk is also free to leave the NHL entirely and enter Russa’s KHL. Isn’t liberty the best?

Parting Points: Update on Kovalchuk- The Devils signed him to a plausible seven year, $60 million dollar deal.