Hey everybody….I’m back! Ya know, writers block can be a scary thing! It hits you when you least expect it, and like a wart on the tip of your nose, it won’t go away. I’m thinking of founding a non-profit charity that would research and find a cure for writers block. I’ll call it the Lonzo fund for buying games……I mean….Cure for Writers Block. If I could only convince our Legal department of it’s legitimacy!

Anyway…on to the blog. Unless you have no tv or radio, i’m sure you’ve heard of the Bret Favre situation. He retired from the Green Bay Packers, but changed his mind, and now they don’t want him back. There’s been back and forth between management and Bret about who said what and all that. I personally don’t care what the Packers management has to say.

Russ and I discussed this breifly on the air and he took the angle that ‘If you retire, you should stay retired!’. I totally disagree with this! It seems that whenever a story like this comes up, I always side with the player. Maybe I do!

As an athlete, the hardest thing to do is hang em up and leave the field. What’s wrong with realizing you’ve made a mistake. I think Bret should be allowed to play. There are a lot of teams out there who would love to have him for a couple of seasons. Unfortunately Packers management has made it personal by saying they don’t want to tarnish Bret’s legacy. Hello…that’s exactly what you’re trying to do. Other players from the Packers have moved on (Like Reggie White) and their legacy wasn’t tarnished. In fact, they are still revered in Green Bay.

I think in the end the Packers will do the right thing and let Bret go, but I predict that it won’t be to a team everyone believes it will be. I think there are suprises ahead. What do you think? Will the Packers let him go? Should they? Where will Bret Favre play next year?

Later!!

First of all….I know I haven’t blogged in months but I was protesting something I consider to be an atrocity. My friend Matt (Who can be heard every Saturday before Gamecock football games on The Warmup Show) was stripped of his blog. I will not divulge the reasons behind this, but I can tell you that it had nothing to do with the amount of hits his blog received. His was the most read blog on the WORD website and without a doubt, one of the most interesting. Still the man (or the mistress) had to take my friend down. I hope that you the reader of this blog and listeners of WORD will stand by me in protest by sending emails and posting on our message board. (Bmclain@entercom.com and twest@entercom.com)  Bring back Matt with the facts!

 Now that that business is out of the way, I want to tell you of an incident that occured last night. It wasn’t a major breaking news story or an unpassed bill in the senate, but instead, it was something that disturbed me on a personal level. My daughters softball team was scheduled to play the other Fountain Inn team in 9-10 softball. We were really looking forward to it because it’s the middle of the season and both teams were undefeated.

My daughters best friend plays for the other team and they were giving each other a hard time at school about who’s team was better. There is nothing more American than talking stuff about your team to your buddies. When we arrived to the field our coach addressed the parents and I couldn’t believe my ears. He said that the players had taken a vote and had decided to count the game as a scrimmage. A SCRIMMAGE!!!!

I expressed how lame this was and most of the parents agreed. I, of course, was ignored by the coach and my wife didn’t want me to make a scene. The reasoning was that there were friends on either side of the field and they didn’t want to hurt each others feelings. Huh??????

I have never seen (in person) such a blatant use of Political Correctness!

Hello!!!!!!! It’s a sport…..there are winners, and there are losers! Let’s play some ball!!! If you’re so worried about hurting someones feelings then you need to find another sport to coach, like water ballet or compettitve eating! No…..ya can’t do that either because someone might win and hurt someones feelings!

Maybe i’m wrong about this, but I thought sports was about learning to function as a team, experiencing the highs of a win and the lows of a loss, shaking hands and knowing you’ll getem next time. Besides, I’m not sure that what they did was within the rules of the league.

Am I wrong, or am I overeacting? What lesson could this possibly teach these children. They already have to deal with no winners during field day, and at my daughters school, no letter grades…only check marks!

I just don’t get it…………do you?

Yeah, it’s superbowl week.

I wish I could say that I’m excited but I’m not. I don’t like either team and I think I’m not alone.

Let’s break down the reasons, shall we?

The New York Giants: you have to start at the top with the coach. Tom Coughlin has a reputation of being the strictest coach in the league. Until this year, he was probably considered the most hated. (Just ask Tiki Barber, he’ll tell ya. In fact, he hasn’t shut up about it since he retired). Next in line is lil’ Eli Manning. I didn’t think he was that good of a college player and I thought his draft status was raised because of his family name. Then, of course, he refused to play for the team that drafted him. Come on people! I would’ve paid him to sit at home for four years! Rules are there for a reason! I guess you don’t have to obey them if your name is Eli.

The Giant receivers are a bunch of thugs but at least they catch the ball when mister inconsistency can get the ball somewhere near them. Strahan and the rest of the defense are definitely the strong half of the team. Every time I see the Giants I think of Phil Simms and my eardrums cringe. It is definitely a slight against your team, that the worst announcer in all of sports (And that includes ice skating and dodgeball) used to play for your team and is considered one of the best Giants of all time.

The New England Patriots: Cheaters!!! Yes, I know that they are undefeated going into the superbowl…..get your asterisks ready. Bill Belichick has got to be one of the grumpiest human beings alive. Talk about excitable, man I get goosebumps hearing him speak! (The previous sentence is steeped with sarcasm) Spygate is his legacy and every victory since, or before, are tainted and should be stricken from the record books!

Tom Brady is considered one of the best quarterbacks since Joe Montana….but I don’t think so! Honestly, I believe he is a great player but I can’t get past his alma mater. Unlike some people around here, I don’t believe you leave your school behind, just because you went to the pros. My scarlet and gray vision refuses to let me see Brady as anything other than a Michigan quarterback. I could never root for a player from Michigan! I know that Wolverine fans respect that because I wouldn’t expect them to root for a Buckeye.

Then there’s Randy Moss. Once a thug, always a thug! Just because you put a thug player on a good team, it doesn’t make him any less of a thug. It’s a shame that someone with that kind of talent, admittedly, takes plays off. I know he set a record this year but think of how good he could be if he played hard every play. Check out names like Steve Smith and Jerry Rice, Randy, and then you’ll understand what working all about.

Finally, we have the Patriot defense. One of the oldest defenses in the NFL, they have struggled as of late. The one redeeming value on the defense is Mike Vrabel. (who just happens to be a Buckeye)

Will I watch the superbowl….yeah, I’ll watch it, but I predict it will be one of the least watched superbowls in history.

All I can hope for Is that Paula Abdul will show up drunk and accidently trip Randy Jackson, who will fall on top of Tom Petty causing him to not perform all of his washed up nasally songs……and maybe this year the commercials won’t suck.

Giants 24 Patriots 20 I hope Tom Brady cries!!!!