Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Overrated Ronda, Maybe Racist Chip, the Metsies and Fantasy Tidbit

Don't take this the wrong way, but I am wholly uninterested in Rhonda Rousey's MMA dominance, and am confused by her popularity.

If you have not heard the latest, she'll be starring in a film based on her own autobiography. That's just weird to me.

Here's my issue with her fame, generally speaking: I don't think she's beating anyone that good, and while she is the best female MMA fighter, that's on par with being the best Floorball player. So to be treating this woman as if she's beyond anything we've ever witnessed, or that her star shines as bright as say Serena Williams, is just strange to me.

Women's MMA is less competitive than MMA was in 1993, when the UFC began. Robbie Lawler started training MMA in the late 90s, and now he's the champion, to give you an idea of how strong men's MMA has been over time. So while I'm all for her touting herself, color me confused when people speak and write about her as if she's on par with a Williams, or a Floyd Mayweather. For all we know she's about as talented a female athlete as Dottie Pepper.

Maybe I'll turn out to be wrong on this, but considering how easily she's rolling through people, I'm guessing competition isn't too tough.

*

Do I think Chip Kelly is a racist? No, I don't. But do I think certain black players feel uncomfortable around him because of the way they're treated? Yes, I do.

Lets cut to the chase here: there's something to be said for the way a person feels. And it's quite possible players feel Kelly treats them in a way that reminds them of how a racist might treat them. Maybe it's condescension? Maybe it's dismissive? Who knows? But maybe those types of behaviors feel an awful lot like racism to certain players, and that similar emotion makes them believe he's "racist." I think this is quite possible.

I also think it's possible to have black friends, etc, and still be racist. Heck, I think Ben Carson is a racist!

Anyway, you get my point. Chip Kelly coached and defended a lot of players of questionable character and lifestyle like LeGarette Blount, LaMichael James and Jeremiah Masoli, to name a few. All of these guys were his guys, and seemed to represent a similar lifestyle to the one LeSean McCoy believes Kelly has a problem with.

So while he's probably not an out and out racist, he may in fact just be a jerk to guys who aren't his guys, and most of them happen to be black. And to them it feels like racism.

*

Call me crazy, but I have a weird feeling the Mets are going to the World Series. It's a stretch to get past the Dodgers, Cards, Giants, etc, but they're trending, as is said. To think, just 2 weeks ago there was a discussion about Major League Baseball stepping in to force them to sell!

Think about it, this is a team who I watched score TWO runs in a 3 game series against the Cubs a bit more than a month ago. Since signing Yoenis Cespedas last week, they scored TWENTY against then division leader The Nationals. Now I'm not saying this is a sign of things to come, but keep in mind, that prior to the recent additions this team had the lowest team batting average in baseball and scored the fewest runs in the league.

And NOW THEY'RE IN FIRST PLACE!

None of this is science, but if this team starts believing in themselves, and begins to give their pitchers a little help, watch out. What team wants to face the 3-Headed Monster of deGrom, Harvey and Syndegaard? Each of those guys alone has the talent to win a series. Plus, David Wright returning, and without the pressure to carry the offense.

On top of all I provided above, the Mets have the easiest schedule in baseball of any team in the NL. They play 14 games against teams with a winning record, and most of these weaker teams have since become worse since the trade deadline.

I don't know, but I have a strange feeling.

*

Which gets me to my Cubbies.

I just don't see it. You can't have the second lowest Batting Average in the league and make the playoffs. By season's end they'll have the worst average in the league. And the irony is only their power hitters can get on base (Rizzo and Bryant), relatively speaking.

I'm just glad management didn't try to sell the farm to make the playoffs, or do something stupid. This team is still a couple of years away from anything significant. Now was not the time. Well done, Theo. Don't need a repeat of what they did to Mark Pryor.

*

Last year I told you to draft Jeremy Hill and Odell Beckham (yes, and Justin Hunter). Well, it worked out for my team.

This year I'm telling you not to draft Latavious Murray, and to highly consider TJ Yeldon as your 2nd back.

Murray is brittle. Draft him, and then trade him early. For a man who looks that big, he's too light. Which leads me to believe he has something called "light bones." This was a term we used to throw around in the UFC, wondering how a man could weigh so little, but look so big? The answer: light bones. Guys with light bones tend to break easily, and Murray always breaks.

On the other hand there's Yeldon, who while seemingly the smaller back at 'Bama, is still a very big guy. He measures at 6'2, 225, and ran a 4.52 40 at the NFL combine. Few running backs have the vision Yeldon has, and he can catch.

Remind you of anyone? Think about a guy who is 6'1.5", weighed 228lbs in college, ran a 4.6 in the 40, also slipped to the 2nd round in the NFL Draft, and has good hands...

Probably the first player picked in your fantasy draft: Le'Veon Bell.

Don't sleep on Yeldon. He will be a star.

*

Cheers.

No comments:

Post a Comment