Jwill's Log

Source: Reiss’s Pieces (Boston.com blog)
Read Post

Matt Cassel, the backup quarterback for the New England Patriots who played the entire season since Tom Brady sustained an injury, had some rounds with the media on Thursday 1/22. When asked if there may be a quarterback competition in New England next season, he said:

This is Tom’s team. The Patriots have been Tom’s team. He’s built that franchise up with his own two hands. He’s the guy, and he was the MVP the year before. I realize that. He’s been such a mentor for me that I would say ‘No, there is no quarterback competition.’ But I’ve learned so many things from Tom, and hopefully it’ll help me in my career.

This is such an honorable response from a man with such class. Also, when asked about whether he’d return to the Patriots as Brady’s backup, he said:

If the situation is what it is, then I would accept it and I would continue to do what I have done my entire career which is work hard, put my best foot forward and continue to work on the things that I need to and put out my best effort.

As much as he does not mind being Brady’s backup, I feel like Cassel’s performance, for his sake, should get him playing time on another team. For his sake, it would be nice for him to go somewhere else to advance his own career. But perhaps he is so much more into his team and the pride he has for it that he does not mind staying where he is. Unfortunately, things like this don’t get a lot of press, but Patriots fans, and football fans in general who may read about it, should respect and honor his decision. I know I will.

Source: Yahoo
Original Page

I personally think it’s fake. It’s not the best one I’ve seen, either. Worth sharing, though.

Source: Yahoo.com
Read Article

Yesterday, the officials at Wimbledon used marksmen to shoot down pigeons to prevent them from dive-bombing on courts during the games. They state that this is their plan B method after using hawks to drive the pigeons away; according to Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins, “The hawks are our first line of deterrent, and by and large they do the job”.

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, expressed their grievances to the police and people in charge of the tournament and stated that Wimbledon’s behavior was “cruel and illegal” and that the killing of the pigeons by marksman was more of a first choice than a last resort. I can see where PETA’s coming from on this as they’re literally shooting birds out of the air that don’t deserve to die, but Wimbledon’s not going to take a lot of flak for this. This is just a short passing complaint.

Source: ESPN
Read Article

The word is that Major League Baseball will try to incorporate instant replay to determine debatable homerun calls in the Arizona Fall League, and if they have success, they will extend it to the Majors. I think that instant replay would be a great addition to baseball. There was one time I was watching a Red Sox game in which a play that was actually a homerun was determined not to be one by the umpires, and instant replay from the broadcasters showed that it was in fact a homerun and the umpires got it wrong. Things like this happen because let’s face it, these umpires are human. Sometimes they make errors about what’s a homerun and what isn’t as well as things such as whether the base runner made it to the bag before the baseman caught the ball. Things like this should be reviewable when a manager or player believes the call was wrong. Such debates would ensure the call was right or wrong and it would also prevent those very violent-looking arguments between managers and umpires. Sure, instant replay will slow down the game a little, but I’d rather spend a few extra minutes making sure something is right than making a game speedier with the chance of a bad call.

The MLB should give it a shot. I’d be surprised if they didn’t like it.

Sources: Boston Metro, SI.com (read article)

I found an article in the Boston Metro today (and I also found it on SI.com) reporting that the guard for the Knicks, Stephon Marbury, defended Vick and said that dogfighting is a sport. He even had the nerve to compare it to hunting. His words:

I think, you know, we don’t say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It’s just behind closed doors.

No Mr. Marbury. No. First of all, things that are hunted are sometimes eaten. Also, animals that people hunt are not pets. There are millions of pet owners who look at this dogfighting case in disgust, because dogs, unlike deer, are domesticated animals. They weren’t designated to be hunted down, they weren’t designated to be eaten, and they definitely weren’t designated to be put in death matches with each other. Two dogs biting the life out of each other has nothing on hunting; it’s worse. No one says anything about people who eat chickens, cows, and other animals, either, and guess what? They get shot too. Dogs just aren’t meant to be put through things like what Vick and his comrades put them through. There’s nothing else to say and nothing to justify. Now, to the second part of Marbury’s quote:

I think it’s tough that we build Michael Vick up and then we break him down. I think he’s one of the superb athletes, and he’s a good human being. I just think that he fell into a bad situation.

It is tough, Mr. Marbury. But athletes, or anyone famous, for that matter, should know their status. People pay more attention to you when you’re famous. Hanging out with your old friends that do things as stupid and illegal as dogfighting is inexcusable. Vick is supposed to be a role model. Role models don’t do stuff like this. It’s definitely tough on him, and yes, he did fall into a bad situation. He could have very easily pulled himself about of it, though, and he should have. Now he’ll have to face jail time and all those pit bulls he bought are probably going to be terminated since they’re unsuitable as pets. He’s definitely a superb athlete; there’s no denying that. Good human being? Let’s see how many people think that now. I’m not one of them. He broke himself down. Now he has to face the consequences.

I have a question for Marbury: why is he even talking about this? Just hush and let justice do its thing. He pleaded guilty, okay? Doesn’t that tell you something?