Campaign to Bring Back the Nickname

Scott: Where? Where has the creativity gone? For whatever reason, it seems that most athletes these days and the individuals that cover them have lost any sense of creativity that their predecessors thrived on. Aside from Shaquille O’Neal and the annoying Chris Berman, the days of great nicknames have long since past. Gone are the likes of Walter “Sweetness” Payton, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Fred “The Crime Dog” McGriff, Dick “Night Train” Lane, Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Pete “Charlie Hustle” Rose, Daryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins and many more. In are Kobe “Black Mamba” Bryant, Dwight “Superman” Howard, Kevin “The Big Ticket” Garnett, Alex “A-Rod” Rodriquez, Chris “CP3” Paul and Baron “B Diddy” Davis.

Way too many current athletes have lost such a grip on what is creative that they can’t come up with anything greater for a nickname than using the first letter of their first name and the first syllable of their last name (See “A-Rod”, “K-Rod”, “D-Will”, "T-Mac" etc). I will however give credit where credit is due with current nicknames Lebron “King” James, Chris “Birdman” Anderson, Shaq “The Big Shaqtus” O’Neal, Amare “STAT” Stoudemire, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, Shawn “The Matrix” Marion and Randy “Big Unit” Johnson. But aside from that how many great nicknames are out there? And don’t tell me that Chad “OchoCinco” is a great nickname. OchoCinco isn’t even Spanish for eighty-five.

In a time where it is “cool” to be anti-mainstream it has become almost cliché to be anti-ESPN, anti-CNN or anything that has taken a hold of mainstream culture and ran with it. Remember the days when you really loved that band (Green Day or Blink 182 for example) and then once they blew up you accused them of selling out? In an effort to look tough, cool or whatever, people are keeping from going out on a limb. In reality it doesn’t make you look any smarter, sexier or cooler, it makes you look dumb, lacking confidence (or way too over confident in some cases) and unoriginal.

So in an effort to bring back the great days of “The Sultan of Swat” Babe Ruth, Willie “Hit’em Where They Ain’t” Keeler, “The Dunkin Dutchman” Rik Smits, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Reggie “The Minister of Defense” White, “Slingin” Sammy Baugh and friends, I want to start a “Campaign to Bring Back the Nickname”.

Since one person cannot successfully nickname everyone at once (as proven by Chris Berman) we must be diligent in our efforts during this methodical process by using the following guidelines to determining a nickname:

- Stature of the athlete (Is he a Lebron James or a Jerome James. Nicknames cannot be given to the third string QB on the Buffalo Bills or the 12th man on the Grizzlies)
- Significance of the athlete, sport and/or moment (Is he a top athlete in a major sport? Sorry guys, soccer, golf, tennis and NASCAR don’t qualify. Nicknames that surface during a moment of historical significance are even greater.)
- History of the athlete (Does he have a signature move, persona, etc?)
- Name recognition (goes with the stature of the athlete, but nicknames must have some relation the athlete’s name, sport, or style of play.)

As always, this list will be up for interpretation, but I have included a list of my All-Time favorite nicknames in the three major sports. Good luck and remember, “Bring Back the Nickname”!



NBA
Jerry “The Logo”/”Mr Clutch” West
Shaq “The Big Shaqtus”/”Diesel”/”Superman”/”The Big Aristotle” O’Neal
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe
“Pistol” Pete Maravich
George “Iceman” Gervin
Lloyd “World” B. Free
Daryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins
“The Hick from French Lick” Larry Bird
“The Worm” Dennis Rodman
Clyde “The Glide” Drexler
Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell
Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon
Michael “Air” Jordan
Dominique “The Human Highlight Film” Wilkins
Vinny “The Microwave” Johnson
Karl “The Mailman” Malone
“The Answer” Allen Iverson
“The Glove” Gary Payton
Shawn “The Matrix” Marion
Rafer Alston “Skip to my Lou”
Andrei Kirilenko “AK47”
“The Big Dipper” Wilt Chamberlain
“The Dunkin Dutchman” Rik Smits


MLB
“The Sultan of Swat” Babe Ruth
“The Splendid Splinter” Ted Williams
Willie “Hit em Where They Ain’t” Keeler
“Hammerin” Hank Aaron
“The Big Unit” Randy Johnson
“Charlie Hustle” Pete Rose
“The Georgia Peach” Ty Cobb
“The Say Hey Kid” Willie Mays
“Shoeless” Joe Jackson
“Oil Can” Dennis Boyd
“The Crime Dog” Fred McGriff
“The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas
“Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig

NFL
“Broadway” Joe Namath
“Sweetness” Walter Payton
Lester “The Molester” Hayes
“Mean” Joe Greene
Andre “Bad Moon” Rison
Lou “The Toe” Groza
“Prime Time” Deion Sanders
Dick “Night Train” Lane
Elbert “Icky” Woods
“Slingin” Sammy Baugh
“The Refrigerator” William Perry
Ed “Too Tall” Jones
“He Hate Me” Rod Smart
Jevon “The Freak” Kearse
“The Minister of Defense” Reggie White
“Galloping Ghost” Red Grange
“The Nigerian Nightmare” Christian Okoye
Dick “Night Train” Lane

First Family of Sports

Scott: In the spirit of Kanye West designating himself as the “King of Pop” now that Michael Jackson has past, I would like to keep with the trend of designating fictional positions to people who may or may not deserve them. We already have two very worthy members inducted into “The Rebuilding Project Hall of Fame”, now it is time to provide some leadership to the selection process.

During a recent interview Shaq mentioned how is teenage son is going to be the second coming of Dwight Howard. As crazy as that sounds, there is a fairly recognizable trend of either sons or younger brothers following in their elder family member’s footsteps. This got me thinking though, who is the first family of sports all-time? They could eventually be elevated to the chairmen of the board of the TRB HOF and sit at the head of the table during all future inductee meetings.

Is it the Barry family of the NBA with Hall of Famer Rick Barry and his sons Jon, Brent, Drew and Scooter? All of them have professional experience with three members of the family being first round draft picks. Check this out for more stats.

Is it the Manning family of the NFL with father Archie Manning and sons Eli and Peyton? While Archie struggled through a career mainly with the New Orleans Saints, Eli and Peyton each have won Super Bowls (Eli won the year after Peyton). Both Eli and Peyton were the top overall picks in the NFL draft and Peyton is a sure-fire Hall of Famer.

Is it the Griffey family of MLB with Ken Sr. and son Ken Jr.? Jr has had an injury ravaged, but still a Hall of Fame caliber career (and may remain as the only superstar in baseball that no one suspected of steroids...for better or worse) and Sr. had his high points too, winning an MVP and being inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Here is a list of some other families who have had stellar careers or are currently enjoying much professional success:

Alou: Moises, Felipe, Matty, Jesus
Barber: Tiki, Ronde
Bonds: Bobby, Barry
Boone: Bob, Bret, Aaron
Curry: Dell, Stephen, Seth
Earnhart: Dale Sr, Dale Jr
Federov: Sergei, Fedor
Fielder: Cecil, Prince
Gwynn: Tony Sr, Tony Jr.
Hull: Bobby, Brett
Long: Howie, Chris
Matthews: Bruce, Clay
Molina: Benji, Yadir, another one…
Payton: Walter, Jarrett
Ripken: Sr, Jr, Billy
Simms: Phil, Chris
Sutter: Brian, Daryl, Duane, Rich, Ron and Brent
Upton Family: BJ, Justin
Vick: Michael, Marcus, Aaron Brooks (cousin)
Winslow: Kellen Sr., Kellen Jr.
Wilkins: Dominique, Gerald

What about a scenario where you could pick your siblings or parents based on their last name? For example:

Larry Johnson (NFL – Kansas City), Larry Johnson (Ex NBA – New York/Charlotte), Magic Johnson, Joe Johnson (NBA – Atlanta), Chad Johnson (Ochocinco), Derrick Johnson (NFL – Kansas City), Andre Johnson (NFL – Houston), Calvin Johnson (NFL – Detroit), Randy Johnson (MLB – San Francisco).

Steve Smith (NFL – Carolina), Emmit Smith, Joe Smith (NBA – Cleveland), Andre Smith (NFL – Bengals), Steve Smith (Ex NBA – Atlanta), Alex Smith (NFL – San Francisco), Josh Smith (NBA – Atlanta).

Ted Williams (MLB – Boston), Deron Williams (NBA – Utah), Deangelo Williams (NFL – Carolina), Mario Williams (NFL – Houston), Bernie Williams (MLB – New York Yankees).

Which family possesses the greatest namesake ever? Just a something to ponder….

The Top 20 People You Don’t Want to Play

Football Version

Cody: Yup, it’s football season. Sure there is 3 months left in baseball but let’s be honest – once football training camps start up its football season. This means two things: 1. It’s football season so your girlfriend takes a backseat for the next few months 2. It’s also NCAA Football/Madden video game season. While this brings me immense joy and excitement every year there are a few shortfalls. Last year for the first time, I started playing online games to see where I stack up against people other than my friends. While it was an absolute blast to play against friends your buddy from down the street for bragging rights, it’s not so much fun to play against these 20 people:

20. The Over-Complimentary Opponent – Dude, I know I just made a 6-yard gain but please -you don’t need to let me know how good of a job Brandon Albert did with sealing off his guy. This guy will compliment just about every positive play made along with making his Madden-esque breakdown of why the play developed since you can’t do replays in online games.

19. “Oh, Man” Man - This gamer will say literally the same thing after every single play that goes the opposite way. He sounds like a Pat Summerall broken record circa 1999-2003 (“Flag on the play….flag on the play”).

18. The 10 Year Old – Nothing gives me more pleasure than really sending a 10 year old to bed upset because he just got educated in the ways of football, but the ones that complain about every call and the ones that quit once the ball bounces the other way really grind my gears.

17. Mike Leech – This guy doesn’t really bother me as much at all but others have complaints about him. He’s the one that drops back and passes for 50 times in a game. Kudos if you can make it work for you. The one thing that is frustrating is when he does do his 3 run plays that game – they all go for over 30 yards – yup, that’s frustrating.

16. Barry Sanders – This is the guy that will beat you absolutely senseless and he will never showboat or say a dang thing. He’s been there before and is a consummate professional. Why does he bother me? You can’t even rattle him with trash-talking – he’s just that good. C’mon man, just say something!

15. Stack the Right Side Guy – Self explanatory, he stacks the right side of the line and ever since you were able to audible at the line, he has been defeated.

14. Re-Arrange Guy – This guy will re-arrange his entire line-up several times a game. This isn’t baseball; you don’t play Madden for chess matches. Change your defense, stop running zone and buck up. So your quarterback threw 2 picks, do you really need the carousel to start in the second quarter?

13. 4 Plays Steve – This guy will run the same 4 plays over and over again hoping the success rate will rise with each play. Well, it doesn’t. The PA Boot Rollout doesn’t work this game Bud, I know you’re not handing off.

12. Darth Vader - He usually sounds like he has an upper respiratory problem in which he breathes heavily (if not unhealthfully) in to the mic. Something about Madden really gets this guy off (thank you, thank you I’ll be here all week!). He’s also the silent type as he won’t say anything the whole game except for the breathing. You half expect him to say “I am your father” once or twice to see if you laugh.

11. Post Route…Again – This guy takes the fastest receiver in the game and just has him run post routes…ALL DAY. This is also the type of gamer that will miraculously pull off the converted 4th and 35 after being sacked 3 times waiting for the post guy to get open.

10. Bo Jackson circa Tecmo Super Bowl – He just scampered 70 yards for a touchdo…wait…no…he stopped at the 1. He just turned around and decided to duck, dodge, dip, duck, and dodge the 11 defenders that have followed him to the goal line. Why don’t I stop him? Because my controller was thrown down once the last block was sealed. I refuse to waste energy on a race I can’t win. I Randy Moss it after he beats the safety.

9. Mr. Use it All – This guy will use every second of the play clock every time. No question about it, he treats Madden like he’s really in the game. Maybe it’s the headset that gets him confused. This is not a control the clock situation, it’s a game homie.

8. 1? No, 2 – This guy only goes for two no matter the circumstance. I have found that these people will line up for the extra point and then fake it as a last resort. Why is it these gamers have a 68% Did Not Finish rating? Hmmmm…

7. The Mystery Man – This gamer only appears to talk after he is up a touchdown. He turns off his headset as soon as the score is even or he gets behind.

6. F-Bomb Bomber – His commas are replaced by F-bombs. The game rating may change due to online interactions you say? Well, it’s because this lusty teenager cusses (expletive) screams (expletive) and uses more curses to describe the play (I told you he dropped the use of commas in favor for F’s) – “Hey man, did you **** see that *** catch? **** right, man!”

5. The “Down by Two Scores, But I’ll Offer a Friendly Quit” Guy – Not a chance young man, especially if you don’t have a headset to tell me why. If you have to do a friendly quit because your mother just dropped dead in the next room I suppose I’ll allow it. But because you’re down by 14? Yup, now I’m going for the jugular.

4. The Guy Who Replaces the QB With the Fastest Guy On the Team – Do I really have to say more? Ok, we get it; you’re going to run the option. You’re going to run around in the pocket for a full-fledged minute pretending you’re going to throw before you just run the ball anyway. I’m annoyed just thinking about this guy.

3. Mr. Freeze – The guy that pauses the game 5 times each half for absolutely no reason. He also doesn’t wear a headset either so he’s like Chazz Rineholt’s mom in Wedding Crashers; you never know what he’s doing in there.

2. The “Whoever was the Last National Champion is my Team” Guy – They won the crown for a reason. They also had bandwagons fans like you clinging onto them like the last chopper out of ‘Nam. 90% of people playing are Florida (it’s a stat look it up) mainly because they have Tebow (I’m sorry QB #15, Sam Keller don’t worry, it’s not really Tebow), who actually has done some extra-curricular activities (I was completely unaware of this, I wish FOX had brought it to my attention during the National Championship), that can run AND throw (despite what the scouts say – check out NCAA Football 10 and tell me he can’t throw). This guy encompasses several on the Top 20.

1. The Ryan Colston Offense – Let me preface this by saying Ryan Colston was my roommate for two years in college. Our first year in college we played 15 seasons of Madden and there literally was no players left that were real from NCAA that were able to be imported and the real NFL players had all retired. We outlasted reality. Our group of friends had been playing Madden seriously for years and we knew each other’s game plans to a T. However, Ryan was the one that everyone hated to play. He combined several members of the top 20 to earn the coveted Number One spot. Ryan’s game plan was predictable and beatable but he perfected his craft (crap) to where it became an art form. His strategy was as follows: He always had the fastest quarterback in the game, he always darted backwards 20 yards after the snap and dodged lineman for about 40 minutes then made his way towards the line of scrimmage where he would throw a 70 yard bomb (or scramble never intending to throw – see #4) off of his back foot (perfect spiral no less) to a receiver who was triple covered who was running a post pattern. You could tip the ball, his receiver would catch it. You could sack him but the ball would always leave his hand as he was parallel to the ground. Every time we played it was for a trophy we hung in our apartment and I think the all-time series was like 167-4 (chalk a few up for Mr. Kennedy) and we had some very close games but every time a game was on the horizon I was immediately perturbed to face this evil foe. The last thing I will say about it was that he NEVER quit a game. I once beat him 66-9 and I didn’t even give him the satisfaction of getting a touchdown. He once was late for his first Valentine’s date with his future fiancé because of a classic Nebraska – K-State showdown, a game in which he lost due to a Flutie-type Hail Mary. Ask his fiancé, it ruined the mood but he was a warrior in the end.

TRB HOF 2009 Inaugural Class Nominee #2 - Andre Rison

Scott: Great nomination Cody! Barry Bremen is a fine representative for the inaugural class of “The Rebuilding Project Hall of Fame”. While there is no clearly defined criteria for gaining entry to “The Rebuilding Project Hall of Fame” (not unlike the NFL, MLB or NFL….but I digress), shenaniganry is obviously an overriding factor into one gaining an invitation. Thus, I nominate Andre “Spiderman/Bad Moon” Rison.

"Best receiver to ever play the game. I can’t show my highlights because I don’t own NFL Films."

Do I need say more than the guy had his house burned down by his girlfriend (Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes of TLC no less!) for his shenaniganry. (Yes, I will send an entry to Webster’s for the word Shenaniganry to be placed into the dictionary…but to save you the time it is defined as one who is a repeat offender of constant shenanigans.)

No one disputes what Rison was – an athletic and sure-handed receiver in his prime which resulted in 5 Pro Bowls and a superb Super Bowl performance with the Green Bay Packers in 1996. What can be disputed (with anyone but Rison) is his rank among the all-time NFL great receivers. This quote about his legacy from an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution serves as another qualification for entry to the TRB HOF…an over-inflated sense of accomplishment.

“Best receiver to ever play the game. I can’t show my highlights because I don’t own NFL Films, but all my coaches in college, in high school, in junior college, they all told me I could be the best. But they must’ve lied because that title was already given to Jerry Rice. Just because you have stats doesn’t mean you’re the best. Can’t nobody tell me that Andre Reed isn’t better than Jerry Rice. I’m seeing cornerbacks on the 75th anniversary team that I used to demolish. But I’m coming out with my own hall of fame.”

Here is a list of teams that the self-proclaimed best receiver ever played for, and didn’t fully appreciate his skills: Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. (He did lead the Argonauts to a Grey Cup Championship (the only championship of his career) so there’s that. Good for him. That’s 1 more championship than Dan Marino, Barry Sanders and Fran Tarkenton combined.)

Don’t forget he was a Pro on SpikeTV’s “Pros vs Joes”.

Though he has had his problems such as his house being burnt down, being jailed three times for offenses ranging from failure to pay child support ($130k’s worth) to public intoxication on San Antonio’s Riverwalk; Rison is being an honest and good contributor to society. In fact, Rison wants to pursue a career in coaching.

“I coached a little bit in my hometown, Flint, Mich.,” Rison said. “I felt like I was a coach when I was a player. When you’re the go-to guy, you end up being a player-coach anyway. I get a kick out of a seeing a kid who has no clue and then, after 72 hours with me, they have all the clues in the world.”

With the nomination of Rison, paired with Barry Bremen, we now have one guy who constantly tries to be someone else and another guy who thinks he is someone else. This is great! Can we find someone who actually turned into someone else in a Rupalesque manner or something of the like?

I’ll leave you with this quote from Rison when asked what he preaches to his players, no explanation is required. Just enjoy it.

“Don’t be a follower. President Clinton did some things wrong with that whole adultery thing. Martha Stewart did some things wrong. Kobe Bryant did some things wrong. They all made mistakes here and there, and I relate that to them.”

(Editors Note: Rison had a distinguished career by many accounts. He caught 743 passes for 10,205 yards and 84 TDs plus a 54-yard score that sparked Green Bay’s Super Bowl win over New England; he went to five Pro Bowls and was the Chiefs’ MVP for a 13-3 team in 1997.)

Barry Bremen – An All-Star Salute to Shenanigans

Cody: With Major League’s All-Star Game taking place this past Tuesday and all sports eyes tentatively tuning in (partly due to default), I began researching about the history of exhibition and All-Star games and quirky happenings within them. One of the best stories is known as The Mystery of the 1977 American League All-Star Team Photo. Every All-Star team takes a photo documenting the team. (Here and here as a bonus, is anything you ever wanted to know about the 1977 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Don’t say I never gave you nothin’.) The All-Star photo was taken much like any other that had been done with one exception: there was a mystery person who snuck into the photo posing as a player who has yet to be identified thirty-two years later. ESPN writer Paul Lukas recently tried to nail down an explanation (including pictures) of the mystery here. How perfectly if fits the formula that an event that happens in the middle of the summer is coupled with shenanigans. What formula you ask? The Summer Shenanigan Occurrence Formula (the SNNOF) goes as this:

Mid-summer + abundance of unsupervised free time = outrageous ideas (probable outcome of trouble/lack of logical thinking)

Q: When does school start in the fall?
A: When kids start getting into trouble because they have run out of other things to do. It moves up further every year. The most trouble I ever got into was ALWAYS in the summer – because I simply ran out of things to do.

Allow me to introduce to you to the King of Shenanigans and the first (and only, so far) member into The Rebuilding Project Hall of Fame, ladies and gentleman, Barry Bremen. Why would an insurance salesman and marketing executive from West Bloomfield, Michigan get a nod into the Hall of Fame you ask? Well sir, this master of disguise swindled his way into the World Series as an umpire, an MLB and NBA All-Star Game as a player, the Dallas Cowboys sideline as a cheerleader, Super Bowl XV as a referee, and the 1985 Emmy Awards as the Best Supporting Actress. That’s why he’s in – he’s legit.

The 1979 All-Star Game in Seattle is where legend first took place. With the help of George Brett, took the field and managed to get into the All-Star Team photograph before he got the boot. That same year he wore a Kansas City Kings uniform and was on the floor for pregame warm-ups for the NBA All-Star game. Two years later he donned Houston Rockets duds and was again ushered out. In a 1980 issue of People, he was profiled and his wife Margo reasoning for why stating he was “fulfilling a grand fantasy to be in the limelight. He feels if you have no guts you have no glory in your life". In 1980 he got together a complete umpire’s outfit and football referee’s uniform and walked out onto the field with the other officials DURING THE WORLD SERIES AND THE SUPER BOWL and was given the boot when he was discovered. As if this wasn’t enough he decided in 1985 to go to the Emmy’s and when the Best Supporting Actress was named (Betty Thomas for her role in Hill Street Blues), he got up and accepted the award for her. Not a big deal right? The icing on the cake of all of his shenanigans came when he dropped 23 pounds, shaved his legs, and practiced drag dancing routines with his wife in order to land the role of his life. He spent $1,200 to get a replica Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform made and get everything just right. Barrynita made it onto the field and yelled “Go Dallas!” before he was sacked by the Cowboys security team. They then nailed him with a $5,000 lawsuit for trespassing and creating a nuisance. Can you really put a price tag on pretending to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader when YOU’RE A DUDE? Yes, yes you can actually. In 1980, it cost $6,200.

Barry retired from gate-crashing in 2005. The terrorist attacks of September 11 have made security nearly impossible and have made it a serious offense to do such impostering. The Rebuilding Project does not endorse activities such as this (legally) but does recognize the amount of work Barry went through to make shenanigans fun for everyone. Barry was unable to make it to our Hall of Fame ceremony but we didn’t realize it until we gave his son, who has followed in his father’s footsteps, the acceptance plaque. Okay, I made that up but that would have been sweet. Congrats Barry, or whoever you are pretending to be today.

RE: WHAT’S CRO-MAGNON KAMANISH

Scott: I couldn't agree more about the way things have played out with Steve McNair. I definitely think that in efforts to gain ratings too many media outlets go for shock value at the expense of authentic and accurate reporting. We know that McNair was killed and that his girlfriend likely killed him. So let's break down what we KNOW for a fact: McNair had an affair, McNair was killed by the mistress who then killed herself. That's it. Anything beyond that is speculation and the major media outlets spend way too much of their time on what may happen (and eventually 80% of the time it doesn't) as opposed to what actually does happen. The reporting based on "Sources close to person x" or "anonymous sources" are some of the biggest flaws in media in general today. It leads to inaccurate reporting or the people in the news refuting the story, in which case once everything plays out someone ends up looking either stupid or a liar.

With that being said, talking about what may happen is fun and for the fans so if I can play devils advocate for a second I can see it from that angle. In a changing world of Twitter, Facebook and text messaging; being ahead of the curve is an important aspect of gaining respect as a media outlet. That's where a lot of the reporters go awry by trying to be the first to report that they often jump the gun.

So I'm going to try and be a fan for a second and say I can't wait for the next few weeks of the NBA off-season where a lot of the lesser free agents (Glen Davis, Channing Frye, etc) will be rumored to all sorts of teams from Europe to the Grizzlies. Not only that, but once the trade talk gets serious and teams start treating expiring contracts like superstar players.

In the spirit of this time of the year I have outlined the top expiring contracts which are most likely to be as sought after as Raef Lafrentz and the awful contracts which keep these teams from competing because of offering average to good free agents superstar contracts.

EXPIRING CONTRACTS




ALL-AWFUL CONTRACT TEAMS

WHAT’S CRO-MAGNON KAMANISH

Cody: Here’s what’s ugly on the sports front. Sadly there has been more negative light shed on athletes than the positive that they do. Quick, how many Bengals have been arrested in the past 5 years? More importantly though, how much have Bengals players donated to their charities? Of course the negative story always gets the glory. The drama, the speculation and the attention it generates.

Steve McNair will always be remembered for his ability to play with pain. The Walking Injury Report played with a bruised sternum, a sprained ankle, and bruised ribs AT THE SAME TIME. Four weeks ago I broke a couple of toes after stubbing them on a doorway. I still was able to play Xbox that night, don’t worry. The point is he donated over $30,000 to Boys and Girls Club charities, established the Air McNair Katrina Relief Fund, and The Steve McNair Foundation dedicated to bringing football and positive influences to underprivileged children.

While all these things have given him high marks on character and recognition, he will largely be remembered for being shot by his extramarital affair. No one can fully grip the pain and the thought process of his family after finding out about the death, let alone the pain that an extra affair causes. Let’s focus on the good, the camaraderie, the heart, and the passion of the games. Let’s hear more of the ‘hero’ stories and less of the scoundrels.

WHAT’S UGLY (WHAT’S SHELDON WILLIAMS)

Scott: You think Sheldon Williams is ugly, check this out.
Cody: Wow, you are right Chris Kaman is pretty (searching for right word) Cro-Magnon-ish. Sorry for the dig Sheldon, you have been pardoned! The section is now re-named "What’s Cro-Magnon Kamanish".

WHAT’S GOOD – The Resilience of Michigan

Cody: Dear Michigan,

I am sorry for your current economic situation. I am also sorry for the turn to negative town that the auto industry has taken. I am also sorry for mentioning the following but please hear me out:

• 2009 Stanley Cup – Red Wings loss in 7 games
• 2009 Final Four National Championship – Michigan State pummeling
• 2008-09 Detroit Lions go winless
• 2008-09 University of Michigan goes 3-9
• 2009 Tigers Stadium Demolished
• 2008 Detroit Tigers go 74-88

You know what. Life isn’t that bad. The University of Michigan made it to the Frozen Four for the 23rd time since 1948 last year. You’re like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino; you’re keeping your neighborhood yours.
You will repaint the houses, you’ll clean out the gutters, and you’ll take out the trash. That’s what you’ll do. You’re in a slump right now, so what? You pull yourself together and embrace your neighbors and you’ll figure a way out of this mess.

People look to sports to generate an escape from reality. That’s why we go to a movie, that’s why the video game industry is booming. People look for a way out of reality except for right now, Michigan’s sports world is mimicking their real world.

But that’s it – just wait for when things turn around. Watch what it will mean to the fans when the teams get over the top and bring home a championship. The proud folks of Michigan are looking for something, a glimmer a hope to turn things around. The Red Wings have decided to stay in old downtown in Joe Louis Arena (named after hometown boxing legend Joe Louis), while the Lions and Tigers have fled to the west side of the city.

That’s the Michigan spirit – to name an arena after a hometown hero. Not just a high school, not just a road – and arena. That’s what Michigan does – they support their own. The Tigers may very well win the AL Central this year. We are pulling for you Michigan. Keep your heads up, because after all, that’s what Michigan does.

Sincerely,
Cody

WHAT’S BAD – Baseball Player Injuries

Scott: Not because it kills me when a professional baseball player suffers an injury but because something I will never understand is how baseball players are more injury prone than football or basketball players. They have a 15 Day DL for guys who get back spasms coughing (Sammy Sosa) or injuring your wrist flinging sunflower seeds (Greg Harris). See this article for a complete list.

These types of things happen in every sport and in every walk of life, but when a baseball player gets injured for a month after sliding into a base and tweaking an ankle are they really that serious are baseball players bigger pansies than soccer players?

WHAT’S GREAT – NBA Free Agency

Scott: If for nothing else it is great for the moves that teams make and the contracts they hand out thinking that a certain player will be their savior, or at least a major piece of the puzzle.

How else do you explain Brian Cardinal getting a two-year, $13 million deal (All remaining amounts)? Or Keith Van Horn getting a six-year, $73 million extension? Or Kenyon Martin robbing the Nuggets for a seven-year, $96 million contract? Shall I keep going??? Ok…

Andrei Kirilenko ($16.4 next season) making more than Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming, Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, LeBron and Carmelo? Or Gerald Wallace making $43 million over 4 years? This could go on forever, but the point is some of these teams are so desperate to have a game changer they will fork up huge cash for a player who had one good season in a contract year (Tim Thomas) or a guy who was a standout on a crappy team (Gerald Wallace) to lead them. But in reality they set the franchise back years because of the poor investment. This year’s poor investment? Hedo Turkolu and Trevor Ariza. Both are great role players on great teams, but ask them to carry a team for a whole season and they can’t do it. This is why NBA free agency is so great!

TRP - Disclosure

Scott: As I was sitting down to write my first post I have already figured out the roles that we will each play as we go forward with this whole blog thing…I can already see us being a “Tony Kornheiser – Michael Wilbon” like combination. Cody being the one bringing the comedy and entertainment value (Kornheiser) [Side note, did you know when you spell check Kornheiser the only suggestion you get is Cornhusker? That should make your heart swell Cody.] and me trying to keep up with facts and stats (Wilbon) to balance it out. Though those two are titans in their field and we are lowly peasants in the blogging industry I feel it is a fair analogy.



But before I start my side of the posting in this venture, I must provide the disclaimer that my favorite teams (and sports) which will most likely the ones to be the most commented on are NFL – Kansas City Chiefs, NBA – Phoenix Suns, MLB – Kansas City Royals, and NCAAB & NCAAF – Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 football & basketball). Now that that’s out of the way let’s begin…….

Welcome to the Stage of Constant Rebuilding

To Our Peeps,

Welcome to our first blog! We have taken off the diapers and discovered this thing called the internet. Short and sweet – Scott and I (Cody, nice to meet you) have set up The Rebuilding Project to voice our thoughts on sports stories, personalities, uniforms, video games, everything inbounds, out of bounds, and everything in between. Hate it, love it? Post comments or send us a shout to therebuildingproject@gmail.com. We will constantly be adding updates, pictures, links, and all sorts of goodies (and/or crap) to flood your brains.

Say our government’s executive branch had a special department for athletics and sports alike. Fortunately, this branch does not oversee cheerleading, golf, or NASCAR as they do not qualify under said categories. The United States Department of Sports would have to file reports, hold hearings, and discuss issues pertaining to sports, personalities, and happenings. In my perfect vision it would be much like those Man Laws commercials where the meetings were held in an undisclosed underground location in a sound proof glass box (yes, there would be beer served – PBR anyone?). With other government agencies and buildings like NORAD and the Pentagon having underground segments to their buildings this surely would have to be buried deep and only seen by the elected committee (more on the committee to come later). This glass case will be called “The Cube of Enlightenment”. Once a year the USDS would have to file their annual State of the Sports Nation Address. Each member is cloaked and faces unseen until they step to the podium for their specific address. ….(seriously more to follow on this on another day)

Basically sci-fi sports fantasies set aside, this ladies and gentlemen is what Scott and I are reporting on for our first State of the Sports Nation Address. We have made it easy to follow for all you Bill Snyder-ites out there. 4 simple categories: What’s Great, What’s Good, What’s Bad, and What’s Ugly (aka What’s Sheldon Williams).