NBA Europe?

Obviously I am rooting for a NBA season to occur. I don't need it as much as a needed a NFL season, but I would prefer to see live basketball games come fall. It may actually benefit the NBA to not have a season though, or at least a delayed, shortened season. The unexpected influx of players willing to play overseas shouldn't be frightening the NBA, it should encourage them. Sure, in the short term, owners and players not willing to play overseas (and risk injury) are screwed. But in the long haul, an extended lockout with elite NBA players showing their talent in Europe is the best thing that could happen to the NBA.

A perfect example of what I am getting at is the MLS. Americans don't care about soccer. It's a fact. Some (like me) try to pretend during the World Cup and other big soccer events. Sure, there are some people that truly like the sport, but most really don't care. I try. I can easily sit through a game without knowing any of the players' names. And I would enjoy those 90+ minutes. But once that game is over, I don't care about the next one or other ones. I'm sorry. I wish it were different. Soccer seems awesome and the players seem like cool dudes to hang out with. I just can't, and I know I am not alone.

MLS is somewhat popular because of international stars coming to play in the US. David Beckham is the biggest star to play here and Thierry Henry playing in NY/NJ helps. Soccer in Europe doesn't need the US to expand its sport. Soccer is already the most popular sport on the planet. Basketball though isn't nearly as popular. It is the third most popular in the states at best. Hockey is gaining, and in the short term, a lockout may bump the NBA down to four. But remember about the long haul.

NBA players such as Kobe, Deron Williams, Meta Worldpeace, among others considering to be worldly travelled, benefit the NBA. To expand their market to Europe is huge. The NFL is doing the same with a possible team popping up in Londontown. If the NBA can get Europe excited about basketball and possibly have a league there, what would be so wrong with a lockout causing that? The NBA isn't even trying and they could see an entirely new market open up big time without even trying.

It's tough to say this with the NBA coming off one of its best season in years, but the NBA needs a lockout. The players are overpaid, and the league isn't making as much money as it could. A boost in revenue would benefit the NBA. So instead of freaking out about no NBA, rejoice in the NFL having a season and let the NBA just take a much needed break. Let the players spread the good word of alley-oops to Europe and see what happens. Let Meta Worldpeace reach superstar status in the UK and we'll see what happens when David Stern backs down.

My Apologies, LeBron

In response to http://omfgregg.com/post/6019835447/nba3

First of all, a Philly fan can never question my drug habits because of my love of the NY Yankees. I was born a Yankee fan. Win more than one title as a city every 25 years and then come at me bro. Now that's out of the way, I will apologize for hating LeBron. Kind of.

LeBron made the wrong "decision" in making "The Decision". There is no denying that hour long mockery of Cleveland turned him into a villain. I don't have an issue with him fleeing Ohio for South Beach. I would love to live in Miami. Choosing where you work is what we'd all like to do. But he made a promise to the city of Cleveland that he would deliver a championship. Then he bailed for beautiful weather, a better team, and to play with his friends. He also bailed while stringing along the Cavs as well as the Knicks, da Bulls, the Clippers, when all the while, this move to MIA was planned years ago. Not telling the Cavs from the beginning was his only mistake.

Michael Jordan played with 2 Hall of Famers, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen with a Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson. LeBron has played with scrubs. As D-Rose proved this year, one man can not win by himself. LeBron would have won with Cleveland, but he probably never would have won as many titles as Jordan, so he joined a team with two proven winners and in Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade. This was taking the easy way out. I'm going to join 2 all-stars to win as many titles as possible instead of sticking with my hometown to get them the championship they've been struggling to get since the 1940s.

LeBron would have never been compared to Jordan by only winning one or two titles in Cleveland. Sure, the city of Cleveland would build him statues and monuments, but he would never be Jordan. Now, in Miami, where he'll win not one, not two...but seven titles, he will have been elevated above Jordan. The nation outside of Cleveland will have forgotten about how or why he chose Miami in free agency and will declare him the best ever.

My hate for LeBron is waning. I will still be rooting against him, though that will likely be futile. He took the cowardly way out, which then turned him into a villain. It's also a lot easier to root against him since his jersey is black. Dirk Nowitski will retire ringless, at no fault to him. Great player, played on some good teams, with some good coaching, but could never put it all together. Kind of like Patrick Ewing. He was unfortunate to play in the Jordan era which allotted him only a couple of real chances at a ring. LeBron will win his first of seven this year and I don't know why I didn't see this happening from the beginning. The best athlete on the court is proving his decision to be validated. But, Go Mavs anyway!

Equal, but not the same

Gareth Thomas, gay rugby player. Talk about breaking the mold of a stereotypical gay man.

Sean Avery has bravely come out in defense of the gay community, speaking out for gay marriage and standing by any NHL player that would come out as being gay. He is the first New York athlete to openly voice support to the gay community.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGGH3M9NKBI

There has only been one professional athlete to be openly gay while being a current player- Gareth Thomas, a rugby player from Wales, who is so tough that anyone who would try to bully him would like end up crippled.

Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has also voiced his support to the gay community as well as started a campaign to make the NFL a more open business to gay athletes. Baby steps are being made, but giant leaps are necessary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5IpTdbE5ts

A day after Avery's video was released, NHL agent,; Todd Reynolds tweeted his opposition to Avery's statements. "Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender "marriage". Legal or not, it will always be wrong." He goes much further in his disdain to gay marraige, while also claiming to not be a bigot. I can't understand the logic. That’s like saying, “I respect who you are, but not enough to give you certain rights I am allowed."

Sounds familiar to me; a group of people being discriminated against because they are a minority. We fought for equal rights. We fought for women's rights. Now it's time to fight for gay rights. Gays and lesbians are not marching to the Vatican and forcing the Pope to agree that Jesus would approve. They are simply asking that the US government recognize that they are equals to heterosexuals. They should be allowed to marry and live their life how they see fit in the "Land of the Free". The religious world has no right to decide what rights a free democratic country can give. All of this sanctity of marriage nonsense if very hypocritical. Divorce rate are over 50%, people remarry, and commit adultery. What is this "sanctity of marriage are they referring to?

Unfortunately, it is doubtful that any American athlete will come out of the darkness. While a majority of their teammates would be accepting, there will be some that fight back. The biggest resistance though would be from the fans. The same fans that rock out to Freddie Mercury at games, would throw insults at their favorite player. Fans are ruthless and, if given any ammunition, their trigger fingers would be relentless.

Brendon said what I was thinking perfectly. I don't believe this subject is up for discussion. If the United States wants to claim that everyone is created equal, gays and lesbians need to be allowed to marry. We need to be accepting and embrace the fact that everyone in this country is just striving for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Well done Avery and Ayanbadejo, among others, for stepping up. Hopefully others will follow suit.

Moment of Zen

Now that the Lakers were disgraced and Phil Jackson has begun his "retirement", speculation has already begun as to when and where he will make his triumphant return. He will likely take a year off, if not more. The NBA will take a year off with him as their collective bargaining situation is even worse than the NFL. The obvious landing spot for Phil Jackson would be with the New York Knicks, not just because that is what I want, but because NY is close to his heart. NY is where he won his first championship, as a player. How fitting would it be that he closes out his professional career by bringing a title to the "Mecca of Basketball".

The front office of the Knicks have quite a challenge ahead of them. After the lockout, they will likely relieve Chauncey Billups. That leave Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemine, and a team of scrubs. The Lakers are proof that you can't settle with having a bench of Matt Barnes and Steve Blake. Depth is necessary, and the Celtics are trying to prove that against the Heat. More than depth though, the Knicks' fans are clamoring for more superstars. In this era, one superstar is not enough.

Dwight Howard, according to the lamestream media will be taking his talents to Los Angeles. Following in Shaq's footsteps, Howard would team up with Kobe, without Phil Jackson. This makes no sense to me. Obviously the Lakers would try to do as the Yankees did from 2001-2009. Instead of rebuilding, the Lakers need to retool. With Kobe as the centerpiece, the only one on the team that showed heart, the Lakers will need to convince Howard, among others that Kobe is not old. An old Kobe and an unproven coach does not seem like a desired location.

Howard should probably head to the concrete jungle where dreams are made of. With Amar'e there to bang the boards with him, and Carmelo's daggers, Howard would not be double teamed. Obviously NY has a reputation for being a hot mess because of Isiah Thomas, but Amar'e and Carmelo have made the team respectable again. An addition of Howard, and/or Chris Paul, would clearly make staying retired very difficult for the Zen Master, hopefully too difficult.

No Fun League, Indeed

(This post is contingent on an agreement not being met by 11:59 PM on March 3, 2011.)

When the clock runs out tonight on the negotiations between the soon to be decertified NFLPA and the owners, the clock runs out for any chance of seeing professional football in the fall. Sure, we can hope for a miracle and see an agreement between the two sides, but that's what it would have to be, a miracle. Obviously neither side wants to skip a season or miss a few games during the season, but neither side wants to budge and the primary issue is money.

Sure, the owners want to lengthen the season to 18 games even though fans don't care for that. Obviously we'd like to see more football games and the NFL would clearly make more money from it, but if given the choice between 18 game seasons and this upcoming season being locked out, I'm sure we'd all choose to keep the current 16 game system in place.

Players get injured all of the time. Not all of those injuries come from illegal hits. Many come from freak accidents where a player lands on another player. Adding two games to the schedule increases a player's chance of getting injured. Obviously they'd be opposed to lengthening the season.

There is also the institution of a rookie pay scale. Currently, the number one pick in the NFL draft can bring in $50 million in guaranteed money. That's obviously wrong. You're awarding a player without him proving his worth. Yes, he was great in college, but that doesn't always translate. I agree with lowering rookie wages so that proven talent can rake in more dough.

The main issue is the $9 billion "pie" that the NFL makes each year. The owners want more and the players want more. It always comes down to money and they can try to hide that with the other issues as much as they want, but it's simply about money.

So if you want to follow football when August rolls around, you better start brushing up on law because all we'll be hearing about is lawsuits, injunctions and lockouts.

(Side note: ESPN is doing an excellent job at exciting people for the draft while this lockout drama in unfolding. Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay are definitely bringing in viewers for round 1 of the draft even though there may not even be a season.)

2012

Wake me up in a couple of years. That's when the Knicks will have a chance at winning a championship. Not this year, not next year. This trade needed to happen, but it needed to happen not for a chance to win this year, but to attract the free agent class of 2012.

Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.

Both will become Knicks as the team is beginning their slow rebuild and becoming the Boston Celtics version 2.0. In 2012, after signing Howard and Paul, the Knicks will have fully assembled a team of ring less stars yearning for that championship to validate their careers. Howard and Paul won't be winning a title this year or next year. There is no doubt in my mind that these two will vacate their current homes and will likely move into the Garden.

OK, maybe there is some doubt, but there's a lot of hope, and that hasn't been a word in the Knicks' vocabulary recently.

Chris Paul has already expressed desire to be traded and with the uncertainty of the Hornets' franchise, he will likely leave if given the chance. Dwight Howard is the second coming of Shaq. Both started their careers with the Magic and became the best centers of their generations. Shaq left the Magic for La La Land and Dwight will leave the team for New York, New York.

The Knicks had to make this trade. Sure it weakened their depth by losing Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and Timofey Mozgov, but they're gaining a superstar now and maybe more in the future. They couldn't back down from this trade just because they didn't want to give up the players they already have. The players they have are good, but Carmelo is great. There's no guarantee their players may not become great, but with this much potential for greatness, you have to make it happen.

Because of their lack of depth, the Knicks simply do not have a chance at winning the championship. The Celtics are too deep. The West is too deep. Heck, even the Heat is too deep. Without Carmelo, they wouldn't be winning this year or anytime in the future. You need stars to win. Lakers have stars, Celtics have stars, Spurs, Heat, Mavericks, Bulls. The Knicks wouldn't win with just Amare, and they won't win with just Amare and Carmelo.

So I'm looking to 2012. By then, either the Knicks will have Amare, Melo, Howard, and Chris Paul. Or the Knicks will have Amare, Melo and depth. Amare has brought some magic back to the Garden, Melo brings super high ticket prices. Howard and Paul will see that along with the allure of rings and bring their talents to NY. Until 2012, Knicks' fans just have to be patient and be satisfied with a very competitive and exciting team. Just not a champion.

Winning is Everything, Part Deux

LeBron James is on pace to win another MVP this year. That elusive ring is dangling in his face but he needs to navigate through the postseason first, which he has yet to prove. The MVP, though, seems prime to return to him. Sure, there are contenders for the crown who will take away votes, but LeBron is a sure thing, as much as it pains me to say.

There's Amare Stoudemire, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. All would be worthy for the MVP award if LeBron weren't playing. Amare is the best Knickerbocker since Patrick Ewing. He is consistently scoring 20+ and has singlehandedly brought the Knicks back to relevance. They are sliding as of late and just barely playing over .500, but I thought they'd barely be able to sneak into the playoffs. If they can 'right the ship', the Garden will be an exciting place to be come playoff time.

That's not enough though. The Knicks would have to work their way past the Hawks, past the Magic and obtain home court advantage to give Amare a shot. That's not going to happen. Amare may get a couple East Coast voters, but that's it.

Kevin Durant is one of the three best players in the NBA, grouped in with Kobe and LeBron. The Thunder will probably win the division they're in. Sure, he is the most valuable player on his team but without Westbrook, this team is not winning their division, especially being that they play in the West. Durant and Westbrook are probably the best combo since Stockton and Malone. How many MVPs did Malone win?

Derrick Rose is probably the toughest competitor, both for the MVP and a Finals appearance this season. The Bulls are nothing without him and he carried the team through early injuries to Carlos Boozer (great name) and Joakim Noah. If Noah can somehow guide his squad to the number one seed in the East, the MVP is definitely his. I don't see the Bulls overcoming the Heat and Celtics in the regular season though, so he loses votes for the Bulls finishing below the Heat.

The easy answer is LeBron. The Heat didn't make the playoffs last year, and now they're battling the Celtics and Bulls for the top seed in the East. The Cavaliers were a number one seed last year and they're now the worst team in the NBA. LeBron was thought to be giving up on personal achievements by taking his talents to Miami. He has seen his numbers drop slightly, but not enough to lose votes. Assuming the Heat finish number one in the East, the MVP is his. The Heat will then need to do what they have been unable to do all season though. Beat Boston.

Winning the MVP won't hurt LeBron's image, obviously. Winning the championship is his main goal though and until that happens, he is the number one villain in the NBA. Because winning is everything.

Winning is Everything: Part One

Every athlete can attest to the value of a championship. Athletes are judged solely on statistics and the primary stat is number of rings, (majors, gold medals, etc). Championships validate an athlete's career or tarnish one when their trophy case remains empty. Not only do the 'ships validate a career, but they also fix prior mistakes. Ben Roethlisberger had a "mistake" needing fixing, but was foiled by a man looking to validate himself from a legend's shadow.

Dan Marino was statistically the best quarterback ever before Number Four came along. However, he was unable to win a Super Bowl, which was no fault to him. Football is a team sport, so putting up those crazy numbers and not winning the big one can't really be blamed on the QB. That's how QB's are judged though, by the amount of rings.

Brett Favre has one. Aaron Rodgers has one and a whole career ahead of him. Aaron officially stepped out from Favre's shadow, though many would say he already owned Green Bay's heart before the ring. That it came in a season that saw Favre, the traitor's, demise can only make it that much sweeter for fans. Rodgers likely owes Favre a debt of gratitude for what he learned as his backup. Just as Steve Young waited patiently for Joe Montana to retire/flee to Kansas City, Rodgers was patient. And that patience paid off with a trip to Disney World.

Roethlisberger's career was immediately validated with two Super Bowl wins before he turned 27. Then, he made questionable decisions resulting in two rape accusations and a four game suspension. Apparently, his teammates did not come to his defense when Roger Goodell questioned them and Steelers fans were OK with getting rid of him before the season. Big Ben's career looked as if it could be done before he could prove himself worthy of a yellow jacket.

Then he came back from suspension and led the Steelers to a division title and a first round bye. He took the Steelers to their 3rd Super Bowl since 2005. The first Super Bowl Ben starred in was won in spite of him, the second was won because of him and this one was lost because of him. He did not play well in this matchup, throwing a couple interceptions and failing to produce a game winning drive as he did against the Cardinals.

This was his chance to truly validate his career. He will likely be a Hall of Famer assuming he plays out his career with the numbers he's been averaging and makes the playoffs consistently. He's already the owner of two rings and that is huge in the voters' eyes. He still needs to do a lot of work to change the perception of many, that he may be a rapist.

Big Ben will have learned that athletes are now judged as guilty until proven innocent. And even if 'proven' innocent, the public perception doesn't change. Kobe is still viewed by many as a rapist, though that number is dwindling with him continuing to win rings. Vick is still a dog fighter, Big Ben is still a Big Rapist. Any time an athlete is connected to drugs, they're a performance enhancer regardless if that is never proven.

Though Michael Vick did not win a championship this season, he has won over some people to his side both with his play on the field and work off. He has truly been an upstanding citizen and his whole situation can actually be turned into good as the spotlight on dog fighting is brighter than ever due to his conviction. Big Ben on the other hand seemed to do only what was required by Goodell and deflects any question about what occurred. Both had winning seasons, but there are too many questions left unanswered with Big Ben's situation. What exactly happened on those nights? Where are those girls now and why haven't they released memoirs or talked to TMZ?

For most people, a player's indiscretions are absolved as the player continues on with their life and works to a championship. It happens all of the time and it has with Big Ben. As much as I don't agree with it, the city of Pittsburgh and mostly every fan of the Steel Curtain, has allowed Big Ben to atone for his mistakes. Providing he continues his career as a "upstanding Christian" as he claims to be currently, Ben will be remembered more for his playing ability than his off the field because "Winning is Everything".

His Dog Days are Over

Word on the streets is that Andy Pettitte will be announcing his retirement tomorrow. The first of the 'Core Four' to hang up his cleats, Pettitte has provided countless moments for the Yankees, (and some for the Astros). He leaves the Yankees with a gaping hole in their rotation but leaves with his head held high and will be remembered as one of the best Yankees ever.

Andy Pettitte has finished his career with a 240-138 record and an amazing 19-10 record in the postseason. Mariano Rivera will be remembered for his dominance in critical situations, but the Yanks relied as heavily on Pettitte in those moments as they did with Mo. You can see that reliance even as his career was winding down. In their 2009 Championship season, Pettitte won the clinching game in all three playoff series.

Sure, Pettitte has his flaws. I remember going to a game in the scorching heat, sitting upper deck, under the sun. Pettitte got clobbered and that was my only memory of leaving a game early. I left in the 3rd inning. His biggest flaw though is the usage of HGH. He did an excellent job at deflecting the attention once his name was found to be in the Mitchell Report. He told the 'truth' and the media turned their eyes on those denying the charges. His 'truth' was that he only used HGH to bounce back from injury quicker so that he could help his team.

(I say 'truth' instead of truth because it is hard to fully believe what an athlete says at this point. Even when it's as heartfelt as Pettitte's excuse.)

His number will certainly be retired and he will be immortalized in Monument Park, as will Mo, Jeter and Posada. Whether he makes it into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is in question. His numbers may have been just good enough had he not taken HGH, but the HOF voters are adamantly against performance enhancers. I'd like to see him voted in, but I grew up rooting for him, so I may be just a tad biased. Hopefully his playoff numbers and his menacing stare will sway just enough writers.

Him retiring essentially leaves the Yankees screwed. Going into the offseason, the Yanks had a potential of CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and Phil Hughes. The Phillies stole Lee and Pettitte retired. The Yanks rotation now consists of CC, Burnett, Hughes, and a toss up of Sergio Mitre, Ivan Nova, (who I like), Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, and any other pitcher who wants to put his name in the hat. What looked so good about a rotation containing CC, Lee and Pettitte is that they are all proven lefties. The Yanks needed that to counter the Red Sox's lefty heavy lineup. (Ellsbury, Crawford, A-Gone, Ortiz, JD Drew, Varitek). It is ridiculous to declare a division winner before pitchers and catchers show up, but congratulations Boston.

What a Weekend

This may have been one of the best weekends in the sports world. Tennis, PGA, NBA, NHL, NFL and NCAA basketball were all producing pretty big stories over the span of 4 days.

We'll start with golf. This weekend was the first big golf tournament of 2011, the Farmers Insurance Open. It was newsworthy because Tiger Woods was playing in it. Golf remains newsworthy so long as Tiger is still playing. He doesn't have to be good, he just has to show up, as he did this weekend. He played well enough on the first two days, keeping himself in contention to make a run in his red shirt. Instead, his play collapsed on Saturday and Sunday rather than improving. He clearly still needs work to win anything, let alone try to match Jack Nicklaus' major record.

This one was won, barely, by Bubba Watson. Watson just edged out Phil Mickelson and Jhonattan Vegas by scoring birdies on the final two holes. It was a great finish to see Mickelson go for an eagle on the final hole, but people still watch for Tiger. He was untouchable at his peak and fans want to see him regain that form. Until he proves he is completely washed up, fans will watch to see when he turns his career back around.

The Australian Open also culminated this weekend without Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in the final. Instead, the next best in the world, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, entered the final match geared for an epic showdown. Murray was a big let down however and Djokovic disposed of him easily. Though it may be hard for most of the American public to follow the Aussie Open due to the time difference, it was pretty thrilling to follow Murray's run to the final as well as Federer's attempt to work back up to the number one spot.

On the women's side, Kim Clijsters is proving to be a fan favorite while clawing her way to number one. The "pregnant" interview was quite funny, showing her sense of humor off the court. Winning it all displays her seriousness on it. Another woman may have been more entertaining, Francesca Schiavone. If you want proof of that, listen to this.

The Aussie Open was a great start to what could be an interesting tennis season.

On Friday night in the NBA the Heat lost to the Knicks in what will be remembered as the "Goggle Game". Dwyane Wade wore a specially designed pair due to migraines caused by bright lights. They seemed to help for the first three quarters as he was unstoppable. The Knicks were able to quiet him in the fourth quarter and finally took down the Heat this season.

On Sunday, the marquee matchup of the season took place. The Lakers hosted the Celtics in a Finals' rematch. Only one team showed up for this one however as the Celtics easily took the win. The Lakers may still be the team to beat as they are defending champions, but they have been beaten by all of the teams that will need to beat them when it really matters. They'll need to stop showing their age if Phil Jackson wants to coach his way to a fourth three-peat.

In NCAA basketball, Duke was one of a bunch of top teams to lose. They went into Madison Square Garden, home away from home, and lost to St. John's University for the first time in eight years. SJU has been in a rebuilding process for what seems like forever, but now it may actually be working. A couple more wins like that and they can sneak their way into 'Madness'. This is another season without a clear favorite which will lead to another unpredictable Final Four. In my brackets last year, I basically picked all Big East teams and they let me down. I will likely do the same this year as that is clearly the best conference in the NCAA.

That leaves us with the NFL and NHL both having their All-Star weekends. While the NFL Pro Bowl is generally considered to be a joke, 8 million people watched the game. The game was terrible, as expected, and if you need any proof of that, watch the final play of the game.

The NHL revamped their All-Star game to playground rules. The players who were voted in had to vote for captains. The captains then selected teams. Team Staal vs. Team Lidstrom. The NHL and NBA All-Star Games are very similar in that the offense thrives. The final score saw double digits for both teams. Exhilarating. Before the game, players participated in skills competitions, which is always fun, and the NFL should take note.

Such a great weekend in sports, I don't know how any weekend can top that.

...

Oh, right. The Super Bowl is next weekend. I guess that will be entertaining enough.

The Luxurious Troy Polamalu

"With all due respect, I honestly think Troy Polamalu is probably the greatest player I’ve ever played with or even seen play in person. The things that he did in my four years of being there … he’s jumping over the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball. He’s tackling runners in the backfield. He’s jumping up, intercepting the ball one handed [and] returning it for touchdowns. Keeping the ball away from him … can definitely keep him from disrupting our team." - Santonio Holmes

As a New York fan, I have been nervous going into each playoff matchup. First, the Jets had to beat Peyton Manning and the Colts. Before the Wild Card game, Rex Ryan could not figure out how to stop Manning, losing five straight games as the coach of his teams' defenses. Rex finally got a win last year in a game that the Colts laid down for. Even though Rex made it personal to amp up his team, somehow it worked.

Then came a trip to Foxboro where the Jets last walked away with their tails between their legs.

45-3.

Playoff teams are not supposed to lose that badly. Again, Rex made it personal and the rest of the team followed suit and talked so much trash that their training facility in Florham Park started to smell like the Staten Island Dump. Few believed the Jets could back up that much talk with a victory, but Rex definitely outcoached and the Jets outplayed.

Now they head to the Steel City and I am nervous for only one reason. His name is Troy Polamalu. His hair is luxuriously large and his talent is even bigger. He is clearly the best defensive player left in the playoffs. I would put Polamalu just above Ed Reed as the best defensive player in all of football. He just knows what the QB is thinking and where the ball will be thrown before the QB thinks of it. Just as the best QB's in the league can read a defense, Polamlu can read the offense.

The Jets have already proven they can take down the two best quarterbacks in the NFL in consecutive weeks. While Ben Roethlisberger is a good QB, he's no Peyton or Brady. Big Ben has had the good fortune, just as Eli Manning had and Mark Sanchez is having, of playing on a team with an excellent defense. Aside from rings, tell me the difference between Sanchez and Big Ben. Both play for teams with superb defenses, both can evade sacks pretty well, both have made big plays when it matters and both have played well in the playoffs. (Big Ben: 9-2, Sanchez: 4-1) Sure, Sanchez needs to cut down on the turnovers, but if the Jets can stop Peyton and Brady, especially in the 2nd half, why wouldn't they be able to stop Ben?

Proof of Ben being worthless is how this season and last season played out. This year, the team was minus Big Ben for four games because of his off-the-field struggles with keeping his pants on. The Steelers barely noticed. Last year, Polamalu was injured and the team suffered pretty badly. Make no mistake, teams win games, not just QB's. Eli won his Super Bowl because of his defense, as did Big Ben. Sure, both needed to play well and make ridiculous plays, but their respected defenses shut down the undefeated Patriots, who broke records for offense, and the Cardinals, who had Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald basically playing Madden vs. the rest of the league.

The Steelers are Polamalu's team, not Big Ben's. The Jets may be able to shut down the Steelers offense as they did to the Colts and Pats, but shutting down Polamalu will be a different story entirely.

Hall of Question Marks

(I will begin with saying this is not my idea. I read of it years ago, but I do not remember the source. If I were to take a guess, it would be The Star Ledger sports section.)

The Hall of Fame needs adjustment. There will always be arguments as to who should be in and who should be out. Plenty of hitters are elected in while the all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, is kept out. That aspect will never change and it is part of the appeal of the Hall. Not one player has ever been unanimously elected and that shows agreements can never be made, even if the player is an obvious choice, like Hank Aaron, Ricky Henderson, Nolan Ryan.

Pause for a second and let the soak in. No baseball player has EVER been unanimously elected.

It is that fact, and the amount of years a player is eligible. The players' stats don't change after they retire. Burt Blyleven retired with 287 wins. That number hasn't gone up or down, only the flip-flopping sportswriters' votes have. Blyleven, in my opinion, should have been elected immediately but had to be patient while the writers wavered. Jim Rice was elected last year, which I disagreed with, but also probably should have been elected immediately.

I'm being distracted though. I came here to discuss to plan to revamp the Hall, not argue who should be in or out, though that is fun. I want the Hall to have tiers, and the eligibility to be cut down to three years. That is all. No big deal.

The tiers can be broken down into three. The top tier would include the upper echelon of talent. Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron. Guys who completely dominated their generation and any baseball fan knows instantly. The second level includes the guys that are still first ballot Hall of Famers. Joe DiMaggio, Willie Stargell, Tom Seaver. The bottom tier includes players who excelled in their career, but don't have the flashy numbers, or might not be worthy of a 1st ballot induction under the current format. Andre Dawson, Burt Blyleven, Robin Yount.

And secondly, as I said earlier, reduce the years of eligibility to three. Sportswriters get power hungry when given a chance to decide where to put a player. Roberto Alomar was the best second baseman of the 1990s. He should not have had to wait a year for the writers to teach him a lesson. If a player has to wait more than three years, I don't think they should be in. Sorry Donny Baseball, that means you.

I want this revamping because you can't compare Babe Ruth to Dave Winfield to Kirby Puckett. You can't compare Bob Feller to Burt Blyleven. While Kirby and Blyleven deserve praise, they don't deserve the same honor as Hank Aaron or Sandy Koufax.

The players above are examples I would use for my tiers. Who would you put in your three tiers? Are there players in the Hall that you would remove if given the chance? Would you elect Pete Rose? (I would).

Oh, and congratulations Burt Blyleven and Roberto Alomar Jr. for being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Credit @si_vault on twitter for these photos. Follow them if you want to see classic photos such as these.