Subjectivity & Stories

Greatness and guts aside, Brett Favre is an easy target. Travesty has thumped his talent. He has become one of the most “mockable” professional athletes of this past decade because of his constant attention-seeking and fickle behaviors. Granted, the media should take half the credit for Favre Fever, much like the press is to blame for the equally oppressive, Bieber Fever that has swept through teenage nation. I admit it is amusing to poke fun at Favre because his “retirement” is so outplayed it’s hilarious. It’s like the obnoxious Bieber croons in “You can’t make up your mind, mind, mind…Please don’t waste my time, time, time”. Favre should take a good listen to “Eenie Meenie” because it certainly applies to his inconsistent approach to retiring from the NFL. I’m just waiting for Favre to pull a Michael Jordan and appear in some “Space Jam” knock-off. Oh, wait. Favre already made his big screen debut and it was actually funny. Maybe he should get into acting more.
Here are four things in sports I find more annoying/less interesting than Number 4:
1) NASCAR
2) Red Sox fans
3) Nick Saban
4) LeBron James tweets
Here are four current sports topics that should be ranking higher than the Favre-mobile backing into Minnesota:
1) The Little League World Series- I don’t know about anyone else, but I enjoy the LLWS. I especially like seeing Tom’s River take over Williamsport, PA. The Tom’s River team has a history of success in Little’s League’s version of the Fall Classic. This accomplishment is nothing new for the frequent visitors to the LLWS. The Mid-Atlantic champs open play Saturday versus the Great Lakes champs, Hamilton, OH. at Lamade Stadium. The Jersey boys advanced on Monday after topping Newton, Pennsylvania 8-5. Pinch-hitter, Michael Tiplady, led the charge with some big hits. (love that kid’s name so I had to give him a plug)
2) Bobby Thomson’s legacy- There are countless references to Thomson’s 1951 homerun throughout literature and film. The former New York outfielder died Monday at the age of 86, but will forever be remembered for the famed “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” that gave the Giants the pennant. Thomson’s one swing is often cited as the greatest homerun ever. Many people don’t recall it was Ralph Branca who yielded the famous homerun. Branca’s Brooklyn Dodgers lost the National League pennant in Game Three because of Thomson’s three-run, bottom-of-the-ninth walk-off at the Polo Grounds. How could any sports fan not get goose bumps just thinking about the feat?
3) C.C. Sabathia’s league –leading win total stands at 16. Yep, the Yankees stocky ace pitched another masterpiece last night against Detroit. Sabathia is undefeated in his last 14 starts. The line last night against the Tigers: 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 9 strikeouts. You can’t really ask for more than that.
4) Interesting story from college football: Clemson’s Kyle Parker reached an agreement with the Colorado Rockies. Parker, the Rockies’ top draft pick, can still play quarterback for the Tigers. He’s the first D-I athlete to throw 20 touchdown passes and knock 20 homeruns out of the park in the same academic year. The Rockies are no strangers to drafting quarterbacks. Todd Helton and Seth Smith were both college signal-callers who now call the Colorado diamond home. Smith was Eli Manning’s backup at Ole Miss. See how much you can learn about sports when the focus isn’t on Favre?

Parting Points: Today is National Bad Poetry Day!