Talk about a guy that needs some love. Donovan McNabb has been the headline of the sports world the last two days as word leaked out that the Philadelphia Eagles were accepting offers for the Pro Bowl quarterback, as well as his sidekicks Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick. And thankless Eagles fans are eager to cheer for his departure.
McNabb's Days Are Numbered in Philly
Philadelphia is a disappointing sports town that just doesn’t seem to understand how to field a winner. The Eagles are the saddest of the group, having not produced a champion since 1960. While the team puts up wins, they haven’t delivered in the clutch. And to put this all on one guy’s shoulders in McNabb is classic Philly style.
After being profusely booed on NFL Draft Day in 1999, you knew that McNabb’s days in Philly were going to be rocky. But he rose to the challenge and delivered more wins in franchise history than any other quarterback before him. As it reads today, he is ranked 20th in wins and 7th in winning percentage for his career among all NFL quarterback.
Not too shabby for a bum that is perceived as the root to the team’s problems. Those wins and stats assure him a place in Canton upon his retirement.
Placing blame in Philly is a national pastime and it is amazing how Andy Reid consistently never gets the light shone on him except for when one of his kids run afoul with the law and gets sent to jail. It’s been Reid’s football philosophy, not McNabb’s performance that have led to the big game let downs. Andy Reid doesn’t believe in the running game and this is the true reason for the losses. The Eagles are easy to game plan for because they throw the ball every down and never leave the defense guessing.
Now the countdown is on.
The Eagles want a draft pick within the Top 42 spots of the draft in return for this future Hall of Famer quarterback that is no longer deserving of leading the team he brought to prominence. McNabb has made it known that he doesn’t want to play for the Raiders or Bills, but his desires will take a backseat because he is not going to a winner unless Brett Favre retires, which is unlikely.
For McNabb, he should want to take on the challenge of resurrecting a struggling squad, just as he did in Philly. It shouldn’t be about going to a team that gives him a chance at a Super Bowl. That ship sails as soon as he leaves the Eagles, as the Eagles are his bench chance at Super Bowl glory if they show a willingness to place talent around him. His goal should be to remind the Philly fans of what they once had as Kevin Kolb leads them into the abyss while he turns around an NFL doormat all by himself.
It’s the end of the year. Its the end of a decade. Nothing great ever ends without a list and a debate over that list. Today, we focus on the 10 biggest sports villians of the 2000 decade and the behaviors that defined their dastardliness.
10. Alex Rodriguez
Talk about a guy that everywhere he goes, trouble seems to find him. While Rodriguez has not run afoul with the law, his personal indiscretions and smug attitude made him a pariah. C’mon, the guy has paintings of himself in his home as a centaur. Talk about an ego. He became this highest paid athlete in sports and blamed his use of steroids on the pressure he felt for signing that contract. Let me shed a tear for A-Rod. Like we’re supposed to believe it didn’t start until then and the cyst in his hip wasn’t the result of steroid abuse. Rodriquez has assured himself the status of the anti-Derek Jeter in New York, no matter how many home runs he hits or Hollywood starlets he invites to sit along the baselines.
9. Plaxico Burress
Burress proved that one player can bring a team to its knees. His nightclub incident where he accidently shot himself in the leg not only cost the Giants possible back-to-back Super Bowl championships, it landed him in prison for two years. Burress’ trangressions are numerous, including speeding, damaging leased vehicles and not showing up for events while taking fees. He’s just an all around bad dude.
8. Adam “Pacman” Jones
Talk about a waste of talent. Pacman came out of West Virginia with huge expectations for NFL success. Jones was on the verge of greatness after a terrific 2006 season. Then the details hit the police blotters. Assault, vandalism, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, marijuana possession, obstruction of justice, speeding, car seizure for use in drug dealing, and causing a shootout in a Las Vegas nightclub that caused a death. A rap sheet a mile long. The Dallas Cowboys gave him one last chance and he squandered that when he beat up the security guard assigned by the Cowboys to keep him out of trouble. And to think, he was on the college same team with recently deceased Chris Henry and never did we hear about trouble in Morgantown.
7. Allen Iverson
Iverson will never be able to live down his infamous 2002 press conference rant when he repeatedly scorned reporters for questioning him about “practice”. He became the poster child of selfishness and the lack of sportsmanship that exists in American professional sports. He was also a key member of the USA Olympic Basketball teams that fell from grace during the decade due to their inability to play a team sport as a team. Iverson is the epitome of what you should teach children not to become when they get older.
6. Barry Bonds
A sure bet, first ballot Hall Of Famer if not for his refusal to acknowledge his use of steroids. The guy was great even without the juice. Tied to the hip of the BALCO steroids case, Bonds smashed the single season and career home run records during the decade. Fans could have cared less. Bonds stopped endearing himself to the people whose admission price paid his salaries before the decade began, but made matters worse with his anger towards the media for essentially doing their job and fans for their desire for the truth. He now faces prison time for obstruction of justice and non-entry into the Hall Of Fame for simply not telling the truth about something that most everyone already believes he did anyways.
5. Terrell Owens
Who can forget the press conference in his driveway working out while his agent ran at the mouth? Or how about calling his quarterback in San Francisco a homosexual. Or questioning the commitment of his quarterback in Philadelphia after a Super Bowl loss. Or accusing his quarterback and tight end in Dallas of conspiring to not throw him the ball and crafting up their own plays in their hotel room on the road. The guy was a walking highlight real of paranoia that ripped apart every team he has played for from the inside out. Shockingly, his stay in Buffalo thus far has been relatively smooth…but lets give it more time. Owens always seems to be a lightning rod in season two of any stay.
4. Tim Donaghy
Did he make critical calls on games he bet or didn’t he? The FBI says no, but we’ll never truly know unless Donaghy decides to purge himself. Donaghy sticks by his story he made bets based on NBA referees and their known bias against certain players (see Villian #7 above for prime example). He also said he made bets based on how referees reacted to word coming down from headquarters on officiating improvements. Donaghy’s behavior placed a black eye on a sport where one foul call can make the difference in a game’s outcome. His behavior no doubt has contributed to the attendance slide and lack of fan interest in the NBA, even if he stands by his story that he never made a call to help with his bets.
3. Marion Jones
Another BALCO client that made millions through the use of PEDs to earn gold medals and become the darling of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Jones lied both to the public and under oath, sticking to the story that she never used steroids until the evidence mounted too high. Not until her pending court date did Jones finally repent in October 2007, admitting she used steroids prior to her Olympic stardom as part of a plea bargain to avoid a lengthy jail sentence. Jones spent 4 months in prison for perjury in the BALCO case and filed for bankruptcy. Jones’ story shows that cheating holds no gender boundaries and that the consequences can be steep when you refuse to repent.
2. Michael Vick
The behavior of Vick was needless to say despicable. And it goes well beyond his conviction of bankrolling and overseeing a dog fighting operation and personally killing some of losers of the fights. In 2005, Vick got his first taste of public scorn under his pseudonym Ron Mexico, accused of knowingly transmitting genital herpes to an Atlanta woman. Vick was detained and forced to surrender a water bottle with a hidden compartment during a airport security check in 2007. Vick also failed drug test for marijuana use. Given the run-ins, you gotta ask yourself how many chances does on guy get? Even if Tony Dungy vows you are a changed man and PETA cuts you some slack.
1. Bud Selig
The Commissioner of Major League Baseball sewed up his status as the top villain in sports very early in the decade and it was going to take a mass-murderer to knock from the throne. Selig has presided over the darkest days in the sport since 1919m as he looked the other way while baseballs flew out of ballparks and turnstiles were spinning at record levels. Baseball was a sport built on the foundation of stats and its greatest hitters failed 7 out of 10 times. While the owners and players got rich, the fans got the shaft. Selig’s retirement announcement could not have come sooner. Here’s hoping that the next decade will bring baseball back to its brighter days as Selig heads off out to the sunset.
