Posted on October 15th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher, who is also president of the NBA Players Association, is a pretty sharp individual and has represented his side well in the ongoing lockout. But even smart guys can make dumb mistakes, and Fisher made a doozy as the NBA was canceling the first two weeks of the season.
Fisher thought that it would be a great idea if players flooded people’s Twitter timelines with the catchphrase “Let Us Play” and the hashtag #StandUnited. The NFL Players Association used a similar tactic last spring during that league’s protracted labor dispute.
But the responses were totally different because perceptions of the two leagues and their athletes are totally different. NFL players are in a violent, often debilitating sport where contracts aren’t guaranteed and fans are virtually rabid in their passion. Conversely, NBA players are considered spoiled and pampered in a driveway sport that nets them goo-gobs of guaranteed money for playing hard sometimes, which makes them much less sympathetic characters.
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Posted on October 12th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
The odds of most NBA players making a successful transition to the NFL are the equivalent of them making a length-of-the-court heave. But not for Miami Heat superstar LeBron James. It’s a virtual slam dunk that he’d become one of the NFL’s best tight ends the moment he signed a contract.
James caused a stir in the Twitterverse Tuesday when he inquired about the NFL deadline for free agent signings. Harmless fun after the NBA canceled the first two weeks of the regular season? Perhaps. But if he’s at all serious about trading his headband and sneakers for a helmet and cleats, he’d garner interest from plenty of teams.
We’re talking about a 6-foot-8, 250-pound athlete with freakish athleticism, speed and hands. That combination of size, coordination and agility would make him a nightmare for any defensive back and most linebackers. Even if James was used primarily as a red-zone specialist, featured when his team neared the opponent’s end zone, he’d have a dramatic impact on games.
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Posted on October 12th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Between its blighted houses, shrinking population, downsized auto industry, high crime rate and scandalous “hip-hop mayor,” Detroit has come to symbolize despair. The coolest thing about the Motor City lately had been those Chrysler commercials with the Eminem beats.
But the city is enjoying a revival of sorts under former NBA star and businessman Dave Bing, who was elected mayor in 2009. And now another athlete-turned-executive is doing his part for Detroit’s rebirth on the football field.
As general manager of the Detroit Lions, Martin Mayhew heads the NFL’s most resurgent team. Following their victory against Chicago on Monday Night Football, the Lions are 5-0 for the first since 1956. Just two seasons removed from an NFL-record winless campaign (0-16), the Lions have won nine consecutive games dating to last year.
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Posted on October 11th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
Wide receiver Terrell Owens has done a great job of marketing himself during his 15-year NFL career. En route to becoming an all-time great – No. 2 behind Jerry Rice in career receiving yardage and receiving touchdowns – Owens became a familiar name among casual fans, well-known for his touchdown celebrations, his sideline tantrums and his anti-establishment antics.
He parlayed that success into The T.O. Show on VH1 and celebrity outside the NFL. But that also made teams wary of bringing him aboard the last few seasons, concerned about the six-time Pro Bowler’s reputation for being a diva and divisive presence in the locker room.
Now, at 37 and unemployed, coming off knee surgery in April, Owens announced in a recent interview that he’ll return to the NFL “in a month or less.”
If only it were that simple. But Owens won’t be back in the NFL unless a team desires his services, which seems questionable at this point.
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Posted on October 6th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
He missed the cut in the PGA Championship a couple of months ago. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour in more than two years. And he’s dropped out of the world’s top 50 golfers for the first time in 15 years.
But he’s still Tiger Woods, and his name still resounds.
Forbes magazine ranks him as the top individual sports brand. Rolex just signed him to a multiyear endorsement deal. And now that his left knee and Achilles tendon have fully healed, he’s ready to resume a career that went sideways on Thanksgiving 2009, all while golf legends such as Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and Nick Price predict he’ll never win another major championship.
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Posted on October 5th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
From King David to Martin Luther King Jr. and — more recently in sports — from Michael Jordan to Tiger Woods, plenty of high-achievers have been known to commit adultery. Others in all fields have strayed, perhaps, without being busted. But all it takes in many cases is one dogged reporter interviewing 678 people over the course of 2 1/2 years to produce a 496-page biography.
That appears to be the case with a new book on the late NFL Hall of Fame running back, Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, written by Jeff Pearlman and excerpted in the current edition of Sports Illustrated. The author told SI.com that he “set out to write a definitive biography — period. When people would ask, ‘Well, is this going to be positive?’ I’d say, ‘Not positive, not negative — definitive,’ ” Pearlman said.
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Posted on October 5th, 2011
By DERON SNYDER
The NBA players’ union and league officials met Tuesday in a last-gasp attempt to save the upcoming season as Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant tried to finalize his contingency plan of playing in Italy if the lockout continues. Sadly, his maneuvering won’t help solve the labor situation, but it definitely could exacerbate the problem.
Roughly 60 players are going abroad to play, but the only big name thus far is New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams, who’s headed to Turkey. Bryant’s defection would be a blow to the players’ union and the 400 or so players who don’t have international options. They’ll be left at home, missing paychecks, while Bryant, Williams and the others hoop it up in Europe and elsewhere.
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