My Top Ten Sports Convictions

The Oregon Ducks recently unveiled their 2009 jersey line-up which includes four sets of helmets, pants and tops. The combinations are endless. Why on earth do we have to have so many different color jerseys?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been repeat offenders in the NFL, and yes I know it is to sell more jerseys, but I do not like it. It is pointless.

My Conviction: Each team should have three jerseys. This would include the home jersey, away, and alternate. The alternate serves as the primetime or throwback jersey for primetime games, playoffs or championship games.

PSI Net Stadium, Invesco Field at Mile High, Monster Park, the names go on and on. Can any of us honestly really remember our stadiums names?

All for the money. Corporations are willing to pay whatever it takes to get their company name and logo on our beloved stadium. In the end, does it really make us by their product? Do we really buy their product because we remember seeing their name on the stadium entrance?

The last and only hallowed ground is without a doubt Green Bay. If they ever sell naming rights, the town will riot. A few years back I remember the board of directors had looked into it, but for whatever reason it did not happen. Thank God.

Yes, the board of directors. Not an owner.

My Conviction: If these companies are willing to pay top dollar, than make them pay up front, with a minimum of a 10 year commitment. If their product or services are that good and that reliable, then they will have no problem slapping their name up in lights. New names every three years just creates local radio show fodder and creative variations of the name.

The inmates are running the asylum. Fan voting needs to get under control. There must be a system in place to get these players a fair vote.

It is simply nothing more than a popularity contest. In the NFL we start voting so early, these players have not warranted enough to be put in yet, or they suddenly drop off while others come on strong late in the season. In baseball, it is always vote for your favorite player on the team as many times as you want.

So if my teams second baseman is garbage compared to the entire league, but decent on my team, he may get into the All Star game because my states fans clicked, or rigged enough votes on the computer to get him in there? What a joke!

My Conviction: The votes get split in several different ways. A percentage comes from Hall of Famers, fans along with current coaches and media. Then the vote would carry more weight then just being a 100% popularity contest.

Hall of Famers would factor the highest percentage of the vote. Who knows talent like Hall of Famers? The fans second. Who else loves these players more than the fans? The coaches and media last. Who else can critique them better than the media and coaches?

Current case model, Lebron James. After a playoff defeat, he did not shake hands with any players of the Orlando Magic.

Nothing exemplifies sportsmanship like the post game hockey handshake. After a hard fought battle, whether it's winning or losing, getting blown out or winning by a point, you shake hands out of respect to your opponent for a well played game.

They may be a bitter rival, but in the end it's about respect for the game and setting an example for kid's by showing them it is a team sport. There is no "I" in team and James' "That's just the way I am" statement is no excuse.

After football games it's more like a post game reunion. Take the coaches for example, they barely look at each other sometimes but they meet halfway, shake hands and say something into the others ear. It is called respect.

My favorite football story is after the Packers won the Super Bowl against the Patriots, Mike Holmgren had run out to shake Bill Parcells' hand. In the midst of celebration, he was picked up and carried across the field. While on his player’s shoulders, he caught Parcells' eye and Bill had waved him off. As to say "Enjoy your moment, I've been there before."

I remember some made a stink about it, but in the end that should be the only reason a handshake does not occur.

My Conviction: Show some class and shake hands, tell the opponent "great game" and move on. You can be upset because you lost the game, or too excited after a victory, but you have all been on each side of winning and losing.

This may just be the old school side of me coming out, but there is no reason to pick up an opponent after a big hit.

It seems like these players are star-struck now. Asking for autographs, tapping an opponents helmet after a play they made, it is just not right. I realize some players have come up together or know each other, but it seems like there is no killer instinct anymore.

One of my favorite stories is during a game, Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga comes in on a blitz and the opponents fullback is supposed to pick him up. They collide and Poppinga lays him out. I mean "Jacked up!" The fullback gets up and says "Great hit!" and extends his hand to Poppinga. Brady looks at it, then shoves it away, does not say a word, and goes back to the huddle. No celebration, no look at me, just walks back and gets ready for the next play.

That is how you play. That is how you carry yourself. Act like you have been there before. No celebration, no show off stuff, and no dance moves. You let your opponent know by your actions during the play. That's why you don't ga-ga over home runs and you don't dance in the end zone.

My Conviction: In any sport, when the uniform goes on and the game starts, your teammates are the only one you help up, smack on the butt, or smile at. During gametime, the opponent is the enemy and you do not even give them the time of day much less a compliment. When they are laying at your feet, you walk away. That's what their teammates are there for.

Brett Favre wants you to believe he is just a straw suckin', tractor ridin', good ol' country boy. The truth is he is, but deep down does not want people to hate him.

If he would commit to an answer each year, that would mean a large portion of his fans would either like him, or not like him. If he goes back and forth and talks out of both sides of his mouth, then everyones happy. It's just Favre being Favre right?

Wrong. He knows what he is doing. The bottom line is that after 17 years, he does not want to do training camp. He does not want to do OTA's and he does not want to sweat it out in July and August.

In his mind he has earned the right to show up before week one of the season, strap on a helmet and play. I'm sure a part of him truly cannot decide on retirement, but he knows that if he plays the games as he did the past three years, he can skip the camps and start late.

With the Jets he got in just enough to make it through pre-season. I'm not saying he misses all of camp because he does not. However, he pushes it off as long as possible. He watches television and he knows what is going on. So why not just come out ala' Michael Strahan and say "I don't want to do camp."

My Conviction: Deep down he is that country boy, but he is wise beyond his years and always has been. He knows when to do the interviews, when to speak publicly about his situation and when to talk through his agent Bus Cooke. He just can't commit to a decision in fear of people not liking him.

He knew all along he wanted to go the Vikings and used the Jets as his way around the no trade embargo made by Ted Thompson. Why do we hate Ted again?

Looking back, good move.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. When will the madness stop? Hey Royals fan, when is your team going to the World Series? Baltimore? How about you over there Pittsburgh? Nationals?

Now management has a lot to do with it also. If these teams could get people to run the team correctly it would go a long way. Even longer if there were money to do it. Like it or not this league needs parity.

The NFL has almost perfected it. Each year there is a worst to first and a team can truly come out of nowhere to win it all. Arizona did it this past season. The Patriots and Steelers are revered because of how they run their teams in these times of free agency and salary cap.

Imagine if baseball was capped. The owners would focus more on the draft and scouting rather than buying their championship roster. Teams that cannot afford to make moves rely on the draft and scouting to develop talent. They could sign the one or two players that may put them over the hump. When the owners and poor mangement cannot do that, those are the teams that suffer the most.

These teams cannot compete financially or competitivley. As fans, we are tired of losing records, poor management, and players that never develop.

My Conviction: Your either for parity or against it. It creates a level playing field financially and leaves it up to the teams to rise from mediocrity. Smaller markets need to be competitive. There are teams that do make it, and come out of nowhere, but when you look at the Yankees roster in terms of dollars, it is ridiculous. You can't buy championships, you need players. Players that you bring in with money available, and players you develop as the result of a good system in place.

Vince Lombardi coached his first season in Green Bay in 1959. From 1959 through 1967 he went 89-29 and 4 ties. Resulting in a win percentage of .734%. In 1959, the Packers went 7-5 to earn their first winning season since 1947. In all, he won two Super Bowls, three NFL Championships, and six division championships.

His only post-season loss came in his second season in 1960 against the Philadelphia Eagles. His next nine post-season appearances were all victories. He led the Packers to three consecutive NFL Championships in 1965, 1966 and 1967. When the Super Bowl arrived, all he did was win the first one and make it one of the most iconic games in NFL history known as the "Ice Bowl," and the second was won in dominating fashion with a 33-14 drubbing of the Oakland Raiders.

After his death in 1970, the trophy was named in honor of him. His famous quote "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing," goes down as one of the most famous of all time. He demanded the best and got the best out of his players whether they loved him or hated him.

My Conviction: The Lombardi Trophy is the most recognized trophy in sports today. It is one football and one team will win it, but it represents an entire team playing together to earn it, not one person. Football is truly a team sport and while there may be a dominating player at one position, that player alone cannot win his team the Super Bowl. They may factor into it, but it is each of the eleven players on offense, defense and special teams that determine wins, losses and plays made.

A great play happens as the result of another player winning his positional battle. A great run happens because of great blocking. A great catch happens because of pass protection. A great interception happens because of pressure, and so on. Each individual’s performance affects another’s.

Vince Lombardi is a legendary coach and is the example of winning in the NFL. His method was intense and in your face, but it produced results.

The most heated and discussed topic in sports today? The asterisk and the baseball Hall of Fame. What do we do?

Some fans could care less; some are very serious about it. Baseball holds the most sacred records of any sport for a reason. Individuals and their integrity. These individuals played the game as themselves. Not as walking drug stores.

The Hall of Fame must have a separate wing that is called the "Asterisk Wing." The timeline for when it officially begins is not specific, but for the sake of argument let's say 1990 to present. I am not saying everyone was on the juice, but this is the point where we all seriously question records that were broken.

It came to light in the 90's and Jose Cansecos' infamous book was the icing on the cake. Then the Mitchell report, congress hearings and endless ESPN coverage. It sucked the integrity right out of the sport and current Hall of Famers are sick about it.

My Conviction: Current members have good reason to be upset. They gave all they had for this game and did it the right way. To have the next generation come in and cheat is simply not acceptable. The bottom line is that steroids are a banned substance and the league has done a poor job of monitoring it. Too little, too late.

The Hall of Fame holds the most sacred records in sports today. When you walk in you can admire the greats of the past and then simply move on into the steroid wing. It will be explained that fame was simply not enough for these players. They needed the money, the coverage, the records and obtained it at any cost. If that cost means steroids, then their integrity must be sacrificed.

They can be in the hall, but at a price.

The asterisk.

Enough is enough with polls and computer rankings. Why does it have to be so complicated?

Imagine a playoff format with each game sponsored by (insert your corporate billing here) for each round. That way each sponsor has their name on one of the games. They would follow the same format and seeding as the NFL.

There is already too much time between the bowl games and the championship. These teams need to be in because of their play during the year. Not a ranking system or poll that allows an undefeated team not to play in the national championship, when the teams playing each have one loss.

The playoff system could be hyped and just as exciting as March Madness. You would have your college football bracket with an additional wild card round for the cinderella teams and sleepers. The road to the BCS Championship game. A true winner who has beat the best teams and deserves to be there.

My Conviction: The only reason the BCS does not have a playoff is money. These schools get paid off of the current sponsored bowl game system and the teams that deserve the higher ranking suffer. You can still have your sponsors on each round, but you can't tell me all of these current bowl games are not inundating. It would be more exciting to have a playoff system where each game means more, and the teams there are the best of the best.