Jeff: Mini Rants

Yo. After today I'll be off the posting train for awhile. Starting middle of next week I'll be relying on good ol' dial-up internet (yes it still exists, and yes it's just as awful as you remember it) to surf this thing Al Gore invented called the interweb, but I'll continue posting. I wonder what posting from Canada's metric internet will be like? Will my words be worth 1.6 of the American words I've been using down here? Will I have to double every post and add 32? Will you be able to pick up my accent when I say "no doot aboot it eh!"? Well it's an adventure we'll all share together. Mmmmmmmm thanks adventure.

Ok so I've got about 46 things I want to talk about, but limited space and time to do so.

HALL-OF-FAME VOTING
The voting process is ridiculous on so many levels, for both baseball and football. How do Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken not get 100% of the vote? Whichever baseball writers did NOT put these gentlemen on their ballots should be fired on the spot because they obviously know nothing about the game. And what about former Vikings guard Randall McDaniel? 12 STRAIGHT PRO BOWL SELECTIONS as well as being named one of the two best guards in the decade of the 1990's, and he's NOT EVEN ON THE FREAKING BALLOT? Seriously, how ridiculous is that? This isn't a popularity contest, it should be about the best players getting in. I know Randall will make it but the man was clearly one of THE best at his position his whole career, and should be in as soon as he's eligible. Why is he left off? Because the writers hold this place of honor for "first ballot hall-of-famers". Writers think it's a big deal whether he gets in his first year, or how much of that vote he gets. Does anybody else? Can you tell me how many votes Kirby Puckett got? What about Harmon Killebrew or Alan Paige? See nobody cares! The only thing we care about is whether they get in or not!

THE HALL OF GOOD
In all sports, we're way too sentimental about this. The Hall of Fame for any sport should be for the best of the best, not the pretty good, or was good for awhile, but the greats. This is why each team has a Hall-of-Fame or Ring of Honor or whatever you want to call it. Honor the guys that meant something to your franchise and fan base, like Andre Reed or Andre Tippett. Good players who meant a lot to the Bills and Pats respectively, but weren't ever the best players at their positions in the league. Leave the Hall of Fame for the truly greats.

STEROID VOTING
Nevermind the double standard that we have between football and baseball. Nobody cares that Shawn Merriman was suspended for 4 games for using steroids, but everybody seems to care that Mark McGwire MAY HAVE used the same thing and now we're treating him like the worst human being on the planet. ESPN baseball scribe Buster Olney is bang-on in his belief that when it comes to Hall-of-Fame voting for this "Steriod Era" you either vote for everybody or nobody. Period. Although McGwire appears guilty of juicing up, we still have no hard evidence to prove it. Last I checked this is America, where you need actual evidence to prove somebody guilty. We have suspicion but no proof. Not only that, we have no idea how many of these guys were actually using. Yes we have the rumor mill of McGwire, Bonds, Sosa and others who we THINK used, but what about the leadoff hitters like Alex Sanchez or the relief pitchers like Juan Rincon who we KNOW used?!? If those guys are steriod users, then we truly have no idea who did or didn't, and you can't keep McGwire or Bonds out on suspicion, when some other players that are coming up for election very well could have been using too. If you're taking the high road, which is ridiculous in the first place BECAUSE STERIODS WEREN'T ILLEGAL IN BASEBALL AT THE TIME, then you can't vote for anybody because we'll never truly know who's a juicer. Otherwise, vote for the guys who look to be Hall-worthy and leave it at that.

NFL PLAYOFFS
Wow what a weekend, at least in the AFC. In the NFC, I'm hoping for a Chicago/New Orleans matchup next week, but you can't look at me with a straight face and tell me you believe that's going to happen. It's really a toss-up all the way around, and it's not because of how good these teams are, but because of how flawed. The AFC, on the other hand, has talent all over the place. Can Belichek and Brady knock out the superior Chargers, who have a terrible big-game coach and an inexperienced quarterback, as well as a solid D and the best player on the planet? Can Peyton Manning complete passes with both hands around his neck? Are the Ravens the best team in football? All intriguing questions that I can't wait to have answered.