March 4th – March 10th

 

-Peyton Manning Moves On (March 7th): After months of speculation, the Indianapolis Colts released Peyton Manning, who has been their starting quarterback since the late nineties.  In a strangely emotional press conference, Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay both expressed their dismay at the parting of ways.  On one hand, the news was completely shocking.  In his fourteen seasons in Indianapolis, Manning took the Colts from the depths of athletic embarrassment and transformed them into a consistent powerhouse.  Along the way, he amassed over 50,000 passing yards, nearly 400 touchdowns, 4 MVPs (more than anyone in the history of the NFL), was picked to the Pro Bowl 11 times, won a Superbowl (of which he was the MVP), and became one of the most beloved marketing personalities in all of sports, which was synonymous with his status as the Colts’ quarterback.  On the other hand, the Colts had no choice, as Manning turns 36 this month, has just gone through a murderer’s row of neck surgeries (doing things that sound terrifying, like “fusing” bone together), and the Colts would have to pay Manning a 28 million bonus to keep him on the roster.  No one should doubt the sincerity of the press conference in which Manning’s release was announced, as Irsay and Manning seemed visibly torn up about the whole thing, but this situation was not a tragedy.  While some Colts fans condemn Manning’s release as heresy, because the Colts are a small town team that supposedly operates around traditional ethics and Midwestern common sense, with loyalty prized above all other virtues, it’s important to remember what the Colts actually owe their fans.  A competitive team.  That’s it.  I’ve read some articles that suggest sports teams owe nothing to their fans, as some franchises up and leave a city all together and popular players get disposed of fairly frequently, but I tend to think sports franchises do at least feel an obligation to compete.  Aside from that, it isn’t the Colts’ job or any other team’s job to satisfy the public’s longing for nostalgia.  Everything Peyton Manning has done has been worthy of his future in the Hall of Fame.  His legacy as the greatest Colt who ever played has been solidified through years of great play.  But that is all in the past.  Moving forward, the Colts have the number one overall pick in a draft that has a special quarterback prospect in it: Andrew Luck.  Regardless of how “right” it looks seeing Peyton at the helm in Indianapolis, the Colts had no choice but to bank on the future.  Relying on the past, and all Manning has accomplished, might get them two or three more competitive years (if that), but they would be sacrificing many more seasons of success if Luck turns out to be half the player the experts expect him to be.  The absolute worst case scenario is if you hang on to Peyton, pay him the 28 million you owe him, draft Luck, and Peyton isn’t the player he used to be.  Then Indianapolis would get stuck in the impossible situation of choosing between the hometown hero and the rising star.  In a situation like that, both Manning and Luck would suffer.  Instead, the Colts stepped up and did the unpopular thing now to try and avoid a sticky situation later.  While Manning’s release doesn’t assure success for anyone (Luck could be a bust and Manning could go fail somewhere else) at least that will be decided from on-field production.  The second public opinion controls the actions of an organization, the product declines.  The public is fickle – let’s not get too misty-eyed over Manning’s departure from the Colts.  Fans love Peyton Manning, but if the Colts can find a way to win without him, they’ll love Andrew Luck too.

 

-Gerald Green Looks Down at the Rim (March 10th):  Look up the video.  Stop what your doing right now and check out this dunk.  Pick your jaw up off the floor and stop mumbling to yourself, “Who the fuck is Gerald Green?”  He’s a nobody.  He was drafted straight out of high school by the Celtics in 2005 and has spent time with the T-Wolves, the Rockets, and was recently picked up by the Nets.  In between these stints in the NBA, he’s been a regular in the NBDL and has spent time playing oversees.  Green is just the typical story of a guy with unlimited athleticism, who never developed the skills necessary to compete at the NBA level.  There’s been thousands of guys like him.  But in one regard, perhaps Green stands out above all others: dunking.  His Wikipedia page shows four basketball-related awards: 2005 McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk Contest Champion, 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion, 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Runner-Up (to Dwight Howard), and 2008 Rocky Mountain Revue All-Revue Team.  Besides the surely prestigious honor of being one of the best basketball players in the Rocky Mountain area, Gerald Green has a dunking resume better than almost anyone.  So, I guess, it shouldn’t be that surprising when he throws down a dunk like the one on Saturday night against the Rockets.  But he still is a nobody.  Playing on a ten-day contract, it’s unclear if he will still be in the NBA in a week.  And when we see exceptional things (LIKE WHEN THE GUY’S HEAD IS FULLY ABOVE THE FUCKING RIM!) from unexceptional people, it brings into focus just how special professional athletes really are.  This is a guy who can maybe jump higher than any basketball player on the planet – and he’s not even worthy of a standard NBA contract.  We all like to critique athletes on a regular basis, on how “slow” they look or how “weak” they are, failing to realize that these monsters could jump over our fucking houses if they wanted to.