Food for Thought 10-18-2011

Photo courtesy of detnews.com. Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz (pictured above) captured all of the headlines following Detroit's first loss of the season.

By Josh Kramer

It was another wild weekend in the wide world of sports made up of great football and exciting baseball. In addition, the conference realignment uproar continued, while the NBA Labor discussions did anything but get better. There is so much to discuss.   Here are the main topics that have my attention.

Schwartz is loco

-Sunday was a great day of football.  Some real nail-biting affairs.  A fair share of upsets.  And of course drama.  This drama though was somewhat atypical.  I mean how many times does a game between two divisions leader that goes down to the wire become more about the post-game activities than the actual game that was played?  Well the sole focus after the 49ers upset of the previously undefeated Lions was the skirmish that transpired between the two head coaches during the post game bonanza.

-Most people are pointing the finger at first year 49ers Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh.  Well I am not most people and must say that I disagree with the majority.  Harbaugh did shake the opposing coaches hand (Schwartz) a little harder than your typical hand shake.  Did he push him away as Schwartz so adamantly claims?  No way.  Check out the tape.  Schwartz proved that though his players appear ready to take the next step and become a real contender, he is not ready.  Schwartz could not deal with losing on Sunday.  Most people, even those who are extremely competitive, grow out of the sore-loser face by their teenage years.  Well Jim Schwartz, the current head coach of the Detroit Lions, appears to still be a cry baby.  He claims there is a “protocol” in this League.  I guess chasing an opposing coach down and bumping him is part of that “protocol.”

-The simple fact of the matter is Jim Harbaugh is pulling off a David Blaine like act in San Francisco, and was extremely fired up.  Sure he shook the opposing coaches hand a little harder than he should have, but that is no excuse for the “losing” coach to chase him down.  And let’s be entirely honest.  Despite being a linebacker at Georgetown, Schwartz would stand no chance against Harbaugh in a man to man tussle.  Not only did the former Michigan quarterback thoroughly outcoach the psycho Schwartz on Sunday with a less talented team, he also out classed him on how he handled this post-game drama.  All fingers point to Jim Schwartz being loco.

LaRussa is not likeable

-We finally have the matchup set for the Fall Classic.  And I will admit that not too many people saw this one coming.  Sure the Rangers were the defending AL Champs, but many expected the Yankees to claim the AL Pennant for a 41st time this year.  In addition, back on August 25th, St. Louis was 10.5 games back in the NL Wild Card race.  Now they are appearing in their 18th World Series.  Who really saw this coming?

-Believe me, if you ask Tony LaRussa, he would probably claim to have seen this one coming.  LaRussa is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.  And if you look at the numbers, this praise is warranted.  Tony has managed three different Major League clubs.  He has won two World Series titles and was named the Manager of the Year on four different occasions (3 times in the AL and 1 time in the NL).  His numbers look very good.  But not too many people like this guy, unless he is the one running the show for your team.

-LaRussa is a constant drama case.  He typifies what it means to be a “micro” manager.  And frankly, he is not all that likeable.  In many ways, Tony LaRussa embodies all that is wrong with the game of baseball.  The way he manages is a major reason why games no longer ever finish before the three-hour mark.  In addition, players on his previous teams were obvious users of steroids.  Considering LaRussa considers himself to be one of the greatest baseball minds of all time, he surely knew that his stars in Oakland, Canseco and McGuire were juicing.  Yet he turned a blind eye despite his amazing intelligence.  Next, he has had his fair share of off-the-field issues such as DUI in 2007 and his Twitter drama case in 2009.  Lastly, he is the one manager in baseball that will dare to bat his pitcher in the eight hole.  Apparently he knows something that no other manager in baseball history is aware of.

-Now I will admit that the St. Louis turnaround has been astonishing.  And LaRussa definitely deserves some of the credit.  But I could not bare to see this guy take home his third World Series title and grow his already nauseating legend.  I am not a Texas Rangers fan by any means.  But you better believe I am pulling for Nolan Ryan’s team to bring this one home.

Brady owns the 4th

-Tom Brady was by no means having the best game of his career this past Sunday.  In actuality, he was having one of his worst games in recent memory.  But when he got the ball with 2 minutes and 31 seconds left in the 4th quarter down by three points, did you really think losing was an option?

-Even on off days, Brady finds a way to win.  That is the sign of a true champion.  A guy who can get the job done even when he is not at his best in the most pressure-packed situations.  Brady has now led New England to 31 straight wins in games he has started at Gillette Stadium.  You better believe that if I am a contender in the AFC, I want to do all in my power to make sure New England does not clinch home-field throughout.  If they do, it may be lights out for the rest of the AFC.

Just some “Food for Thought.”

Let me hear your thoughts though.  Please comment below with any questions or insights that you may have or shoot me an email at contact@thesportskraze.com.

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

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