RV's day-to-day rumblings : CBSSports.com Blogs

Wendell Clark: Good player on a bad team

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 0:52:04 EST

Good Evening all! Tonight's blog is about something that has really been bothering me recently. As you may know, I am a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. And as a Leafs fan it has been rather tough the the majority of my life listening to fans of other teams repeatedly bring up the whole "When was the last time the Leafs won the Cup?" quote, while watching teams like Montreal win a Cup every 10 years or so. In present day with the Leafs rebuilding it becomes even tougher to listen to, but I manage to hold my own and let it be known that through thick and thin, good teams and bad, Stanley Cup or no Stanley Cup, the Leafs are my team. But what happened on the night of Saturday November 22, 2008 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, had even me questioning my loyalty.

Who is going to beat Lesnar?

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 3:11:53 EST

Well it's been a long time since I added any thoughts to this site so I figured I'd talk tonight about the thing that took up most of my sports conversations for the last 3 months or so... Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture.

I first want to admit, when Couture first announced that he was coming back to the UFC on a three fight contract, and his first of the three fights was going to be against Lesnar, I thought, "awesome, Couture will teach this cocky S.O.B. a lesson!". As you might have figured, after watching Lesnar completely dominate Heath "the Texas Crazy Horse" Herring and then the big "You see me now!" outburst, I am not one of Lesnar's biggest fans. But the more I read about what the two fighters were doing and how they matched up, I started asking myself and others, "How can Couture beat Lesnar?". It just seemed like all the things that Couture had going for him when fighting a heavyweight, were the same things Lesnar had going for him as a heavyweight such as their wrestling backgrounds and their quickness. So Couture is the more experienced fighter and is a master game planner; Brock Lesnar we knew, was going to over power him with strength and size. It just didn't seem like the right recipe for Couture. I suppose this is all easy to say after the fact but weighing all these factors, I decided to make a couple of friendly wagers with some friends I had over to watch the fight that night. Me, an admitted Lesnar hater, made an actual bet on him. I don't think in all of my years of "friendly wagers" have I ever cheered against myself so vigorously. It was the perfect Rocky IV set up. The massive man against the puny fan favorite (I know in the movie Rocky was the hated one, but I'm talking OUR fan favorite). Watching them stand in the middle of the ring getting instructions, I was completely ready for the old ref from the Rocky movies, Lou Filipo, to come out and give his "I want no low blows, rabid punches, or kidney punches. In case of a knock down you go to your corner and wait for my instruction." Then the fight started. Couture didn't look too out matched in the first round, and in the second when Couture hits Lesnar with a couple of early punches and cut him, I literally jumped to my feet!! This was actually going to happen!! Rocky was going to win for real!! Unfortunately I was still on my feet when Lesnar through the, what looked to me as a lazy overhand right hook, and BAM! As excited for this fight as I was for three months, I must say I was just as disappointed with the finish. The result, it was not great, but I could have handled it if had of been a great finish. I guess they said that Couture got hit in the temple or somewhere around there that warranted him being knocked down, but really, that was it? No punching someone into a somersault, no hidden submission? Just a seemingly perfectly placed punch! Well I guess not all was lost... I did cash in on my bets that night, thanks guys!!!

Oh DeShawn!!!

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:14:35 EDT

Happy Hump-day readers!

When I first thought about starting to write a blog nightly, I didn't realize that I when I finally decided to start writing it, work would become busier than ever. With the rapid down turn in the economy in the last few days, and my job in the auto industry coming under fire I have been unable to log an entry, and I apologize.

For today's blog I thought I'd touch on something that I'm sure has been talked about in great lengths the last couple of days... Deshawn Jackson's fumble at the half yard line during Monday night's NFL game between the Eagles and the Cowboys. When I first saw Jackson make the catch I sort of just turned away to resume talking fantasy football with some of my fantasy pals with whom I was watching the game, thinking sure TD. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw some guys at a table beside start to laugh histarically at something they were seeing on the TV. When I turned back to see what they were laughing at, I saw the replay of Jackson's backward throw of the football BEFORE he crossed the goal line. Along with joining the bar in laughter, I instantly became concerned for what this young man had just done to what I thought was shaping up to be a fine start to his young NFL career. I thought back to Leon Lett running with his arms straight out with the football exposed during the Super Bowl, just before getting caught by Buffalo's Don Beebe. Or the following season when he slipped and kicked a football that if left alone, the game would have ended, and the Cowboys would have won. Both of those things Leon Lett will be remembered for always, which is sad considering he was one of the best nose tackles of his time. I said I was concerned only because the next clip I saw showed DeShawn Jackson as a Cal player in college, trying to do a flip into the end zone while running uncontested to the end zone, only to lose the ball at the 1 yard line. This shows that not only did he cost his team a game in college but he brought his selfishness to the pros. Luckily for him on the next play Brian Westbrook ran the ball in for the score. I also was disappointed to see Jackson on the sideline, appearing to be defending himself. Andy Reid should have turned around and benched Jackson for at least 1 game. That was just sure fire case of a young player putting himself before the team. I am personally starting the "DeShawn Jackson for jackass of the year" campaign. Football has long been the epitome of a team sport, and moves like Jackson pulled is not only just him making a bad example for young football players everywhere, but also looks poorly on the league. Although, it was pretty funny. And pro sports are for entertainment, so maybe I'm just being too sensitive as I for one always enjoy the humor in a pro athlete looking human for a change.

The hap-less Oakland Raiders

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 0:08:27 EDT

I'd like to start my first blog on a little bit of a sad note. The Oakland Raiders. Really I almost feel stupid for feeling bad for Raiders fans, being a Denver Broncos fan myself, but wow, it's not even fun ribbing them anymore. I was trying to tell a Raiders fan who works with me that the Raiders are like the university teams that MLB teams play before spring training just to warm up for spring games. To my surprise, the guy didn't even flinch. He kind of just looked at me, sad-eyed and beaten and asked me if I thought he would disagree? Since the 2002 Super Bowl, the "Committment to Excellence" has become the "Committment to getting top draft choices". It all fine and good when you draft big armed quarterbacks, or top speed running backs, but it's still not going to turn anything around if the offensive line is swiss cheese. On Monday, every snap JaMarcus Russell took on offense was a jail-break for the Broncos defense, and we're talking about a very mediocre defense at best. On the few snaps where Russell did seem to have a little time to drop back and make a read, he looked like he could be a pretty good QB in the future. But if Denver gave the Raiders OL any trouble, I can't imagine what the rest of the league is going to do the Raiders. I can think of at least a couple of number 1 overall drafted QB's who spent their first season or two on their backs, and where they are now... it's not looking good for old JaMarcus. If you're not sure what I mean, see David Carr, Tim Couch, or Alex Smith.