Bleacher Report - Articles by Brandon Call

Open Mic: No Money in Retirement

Brandon Call — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:58:45 -0400

Someone should really get these guys some Geritol, or at the very least, a walker and some reading glasses.

At 47 years old, Atlanta Falcons' kicker Morten Andersen is the oldest active player in the NFL. Andersen is the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 565 career field goals and 2,544 career points. If the Falcons pick him up next season, he’ll be in his 26th season.

Or there's 39-year-old Dallas Cowboys' backup quarterback Brad Johnson, who boasts 164 career touchdown completions in 16 seasons. Johnson was 7 for 11 in passing for 79 yards in the Cowboys' 27-6 loss to Washington during Week 17.

Or famed Green Bay Packers' quarterback Brett Favre, 38, entering his 18th season in the NFL. Last season, Favre led his Packers to the NFC Championship game with a 14-4 record on 356-of-535 passing and 4,155 yards for 28 touchdowns.

Take your pick. These guys are all legends, but they're dinosaurs, too.

Why can't they just buy a Porsche, bleach their hair, and get 21-year-old girlfriends like most middle-aged men going through a midlife crisis?

Why not call it a day and retire?

The answer is simple: money.

Last year, there was a salary cap of $3 billion leaguewide, meaning the average player's salary was almost $2 million. Accordingly, the average annual payout to an NFL retiree in 2005 was $14,500.

To give you some perspective, baseball's average pension payout in 2006 was a little more than $34,000 per player. To give further evidence of this discrepancy, a 10-year veteran of Major League Baseball will get an annual stipend of $175,000. The same 10-year veteran from the NFL will be looking at $32,000.

There are also no health insurance plans for retirees of arguably the most dangerous sport.

The NFL is the gold standard for professional sports, and by far the most profitable and popular. Because of the multi-billion dollar television contracts and endorsement deals, there is not a single team that is not in the black before a single ticket is sold.

It is an embarrassment that the founders of the game are being left with pensions practically below the poverty line in the United States. With the average NFL career lasting 3.6 years and the average coaching stint lasting six years, something has to change.

NFL players' union leader Gene Upshaw—who told ESPN "...the retired players are ungrateful" and "I do not work for the retired players, only the current ones"—is obviously unwilling to change benefits for the better.

How about spreading out Michael Vick's $130 million, 10-year contract between retirees as punishment for his dog-fighting charges? They could also throw in his now-void $7 million per year Nike endorsement deal for good measure. Or better yet: How about every time Stuart Scott says "Booya," "Bam" or "Did you see that?" on air, the NFL has to dish out $1 million.

Now that would be justice.

Australian Open: Lindsay Davenport's Comeback Abruptly Ended

Brandon Call — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:42:11 -0500

Melbourne, Aus. — Lindsay Davenport's comeback hit a speed bump Wednesday in the second round of the Australian Open.

Playing in her first Grand Slam event since giving birth to son Jagger last June, Davenport was dismissed from the tournament by Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-3.

In a match worthy of a semifinal, the young, feisty Russian controlled many of the baseline rallies and was extremely effective on serve to hold on for the win in 1:06.

Sharapova wasted little time imposing her game on the 31-year-old American. From the opening serve, Sharapova was dominating. She broke Davenport's first two service games and had little trouble holding enroute to a 6-1 first set schellacking in just 26 minutes.

The second set saw Davenport battle to 3-all. But again, Sharapova's movement and quickness gave her the edge over the veteran Davenport's power.

Sharapova's serve was another major factor in the win-- serving four aces and eight service winners-- as Davenport struggled to find rhythm on her return game.

The loss marked just the second loss in 20 matches back for Davenport, who was trying to become the first mother to win a Grand Slam event since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.

Both former world No. 1's, the match also marked the earliest meeting between former world No. 1's at a Grand Slam in Open Era.

No doubt Davenport could have made a deeper run in the tournament had she not faced the No. 5 player in the world in the second round.

On the positive side, the match served as a benchmark for Davenport's game in relation to other top players on tour. Davenport's world ranking of No. 51 will likely rise giving the new mother added reason to continue playing this season.

Davenport has confirmed she will play through the U.S. Open in August, skipping the clay court season mid-May to June.

New Mexico Basketball: Lobos Lose Tough One on the Road to TCU

Brandon Call — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:18:15 -0500

Forth Worth, Texas-- Ex-Lobo Ryan Wall nailed a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left, lifting Texas Christian to a 74-72 victory over New Mexico on Tuesday.

Wall, who played for UNM from 2002-05, scored his lone basket of the night to top off the come-from-behind win that saw the Lobos lead by as much as 18 points in the second half.

It was also the first lead for TCU since being up 8-6 with 14:06 remaining in the first half.

UNM held a 41-28 advantage heading into the lockerroom.

Careless ballhandling and poor free-throw shooting were the Lobos' downfall in the second half. UNM was 11-of-21 from the charity stripe and gave up 20 turnovers in the game-- two of which came on the Lobos' last three possessions-- to seal the deal.

The loss also marks the second-straight game that UNM gave up a double-digit halftime lead to lose the game.

The Lobos led 24-10 over San Diego State on Jan. 12 in The Pit before losing 72-67.

Senior Darren Prentice led UNM's offense, sinking 6-of-8 from three-point land and scoring 19 points in the loss.

Three other Lobos scored in double digits. Senior J.R. Giddens had 12 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Junior Daniel Faris added 11 points and Sophomore Roman Martinez chipped in 10.

UNM falls to 14-4 overall and 1-2 in the Mounatin West Conference. TCU improves to 10-6 and 2-1 in the MWC.

The Lobos look to rebound Saturday when they face off against Air Force at 4 p.m. in The Pit.