Spend the holidays talking sports
For some, the holidays are a great time to catch up with family,
friends, and sleep.
But if you’re like me, the holidays are also a great time to
isolate yourself in the TV room, away from the family, the friends,
and that one guy you don’t know who brought Pabst but is drinking
Heineken.
Spend the holidays talking sports
For some, the holidays are a great time to catch up with family, friends, and sleep.
But if you’re like me, the holidays are also a great time to isolate yourself in the TV room, away from the family, the friends, and that one guy you don’t know who brought Pabst but is drinking Heineken.
It doesn’t have to be this way, of course. A good argument can bring any family together, and one that happens around the holidays is perhaps the best way to spread that gift-giving cheer.
If you’re the type who simply likes to discuss sports, talk sports, play sports and watch sports, you’re in luck. There is many an-argument for you to choose this holiday season, and I’ve provided several icebreaking questions to pitch to your Aunt Wendy, as well as some follow-up talking points that will make this the greatest winter break ever.
Enjoy.
Do you think they make the Pro Bowl selections too early in the regular season?
The New York Jets earned a league-high seven Pro Bowl selections this year, and there is a very good chance, at 9-6, the Jets will not even make the playoffs. Go figure.
Is there anyone in sports greedier than super agent Scott Boras?
Boras, who is representing such free agent power hitters as Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez this offseason, tends to overplay his hand in almost every situation – for better or for worse – in order to drive up the price between potential suitors.
But while some people may view him as greedy, as well as the embodiment of everything that is wrong with baseball, is he not, simply, a lawyer doing his job? Should we be angry at Boras for getting his clients the best deal, or should we be mad with baseball for not employing a salary cap?
Does Tom Cable have any chance of getting the interim tag removed from his title in Oakland?
The huggable Raiders coach is 3-8 since taking over for Lane Kiffin in Oakland, which, you’d think, is really great since he’s coaching the Raiders.
Well, it’s not. But the Raiders did have an impressive 27-16 victory over Houston last week. And when assistant offensive line coach James Cregg recently split to Tennessee with Kiffin, Cable channeled his inner Al Davis, perhaps in an attempt to warm up to the worst owner in sports.
“Quite frankly, I”m disappointed by all these things, mostly by the fact that someone would quit on this organization, this football team and this head coach at this juncture,” Cable said. “It’s wrong.”
Cable didn’t go as far as mentioning a “commitment to excellence” or “the greatness of the Raiders,” although the word “loyalty” was peppered throughout the rant, a Davis staple.
Should professional leagues have not only an MVP award, but also separate offensive and defensive player of the year awards?
Too often, it seems, there is that one standout athlete who performs really, really well for a really, really terrible team (read: Alex Rodriguez on the Texas Rangers). Or we see a great athlete, already on a team of near-all-stars, leading his squad to the playoffs (read: Peyton Manning on Indianapolis).
Are either of these scenarios MVP-worthy, though? The former says that this one great athlete isn’t valuable enough to lead his team to the playoffs, while the latter suggests that even if the team was without this great athlete, there team is so strong that it might not affect them from making the playoffs anyway.
It seems, sometimes, like they hand out the MVP award not to athletes who are necessarily “valuable” to the team, but ones who put up the greatest statistics.
Is Shaun Hill quarterbacking the 49ers next season?
The incomparable Hill (at least this season) is 6-2 as a starter dating back to last year, which is quite incredible when you think about what the Niners have done in that same time span.
But Hill is not blowing anyone away, and he’s playing on the cushy back end of the 49ers’ schedule.
In fact, Hill, with plenty of help from San Francisco’s defense, does just enough to pull out the win in most cases. His best asset may be that he isn’t losing games for the 49ers by throwing costly interceptions.
But is this a good thing or a bad thing? It may be fine in the NFC West, but what about when he plays the better opponents on San Francisco’s schedule? To date, the best win for Hill under center was when he led the 49ers to a 24-14 victory over the Jets.
And despite seven Pro Bowl selections, there is a very good chance New York, at 9-6, won’t even make the playoffs. Go figure.
