Sports Agenda for Tuesday (9/17/13)
Top Stories:
The Marlins are a mess, gee I'm shocked. The Dolphins are quickly catching the attention of the national media, but still not getting much respect. The Panthers are back on the ice, yes, as in hockey. The Bucs and Jaguars are flat out awful. All that and a special comment on the DC shooting in the agenda.
Quote of the Day:
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." – Albert Einstein
Miami Marlins: (@Philadelphia Phillies, 7:10 p.m., Fox Sports Florida)
Wow this team is a complete mess from top to bottom.
The hitter can't hit, outside of Jose Fernandez the pitchers have trouble pitching.
Last night they gave up 12 runs to the Phillies in Philadelphia.
That sent the Marlins record in 2013 to 55-95, or something like that.
The best news for the Marlins is that only a few games remain and they can't set the franchise record for most losses in a season.
But they'll come close.
At this point, they'll likely lose at least 100 games, joining the Houston Astros in the ignominious club this year.
FYI, the record for most Marlins losses in a season is 108 set in the 1990's after Huizenga forced a fire sale of talent after the first World Series championship.
While the team is a mess on the field, the front office is an even bigger snafu.
Jeffrey Loria is making more personnel decisions, which means a childish owner who does things for spite, is now taking more control.
Great. Oh, and he doesn't spend money. Double great.
Seriously, the Marlins front office is likely to lose its best baseball mind, Larry Beinfest and Loria's son-in-law, David Samson, not that losing Samson would be a big deal.
Loria is bound and determined to field the worst team in baseball year in and year out.
The only thing that keeps him from doing it is the Astros ownership which is even cheaper, if that's possible.
Seriously, at this point the only thing Loria has left to do is package Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez in a trade to anyone for a player to be named later and a bag of Cracker Jacks.
Normally, when a team bottoms out, there's hope for the future and the ownership is ready to spend big to get back to the top.
I said normally, because the Marlins are anything but normal and in exchange for a $2 billion investment, Loria is happily giving the finger to everyone in Miami and Miami-Dade County.
There's always next year…or the hope he might sell the team.
Heck, Alex Rodriguez would be a better owner than Jeffrey Loria.
Miami Dolphins: (next game Sunday, vs. Falcons)
The Dolphins return home to face a very tough Falcons team on Sunday.
It's the stiffest test the Fins have faced this season and likely the toughest game before the bye week.
The Falcons have weapons across the field, most notably Julio Jones at wide receiver.
He's a beast and lives up to his reputation each week. He will likely be blanketed by Brent Grimes, which will be an interesting matchup.
The Falcons keep coming with Roddy White at the other receiver spot and Tony Gonzalez at tight end.
Oh and the offense is keyed by a guy nicknamed Matty Ice for his coolness under pressure.
But, the Flacons defense has been susceptible to giving up lots of points and yards this season…which should play to Miami's strength.
First key for dolphins receivers, don't get hit by a spinebuster by William Moore….look it up and cringe when you see the hit.
Second key, get lots of pressure on Ryan throughout the game.
He's vulnerable to mistakes when the rush is in his face, so expect to see more blitzing and a bigger role for Dion Jordan this week.
Tampa Bay Bucs and Jacksonville Jaguars:
Want to see the two worst teams in football?
They are right up the road in Tampa and Jacksonville.
Tampa is a disaster and the head coach is to blame. He's the most overrated college to pro coach in recent memory, Greg Schiano.
He couldn't produce a big time winner at Rutgers and then he's magically ready to field an NFL squad.
Yeah, not so much.
It doesn't help that the Bucs are led by the most overrated quarterback in the league not named Philip Rivers…Josh Freeman.
I told people after watching him play in the Big XII that he was overrated and would flame out fast in the NFL.
Hate to say I'm right, but he's hitting bust potential at a rate Tim Tebow would be impressed with.
The thing is, Tampa has a lot of talent, but a lot of knuckleheads too.
They commit too many dumb penalties and make too many dumb mistakes each week.
In Jacksonville, it's just a mell of a hess.
They have a little talent on the offensive line, a little talent at receiver, a solid tight end…no quarterback, an injury-prone running back, no defensive line, no linebackers, and no secondary.
Other than that, it's not bad.
Jacksonville is already in the lead to go down for Clowney or the get ready for Teddy sweepstakes in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Yes, it's week 3 and they should already be looking at next year's draft.
Finally, a quick note about the Navy Yard Shooting on Monday…
First and foremost, thoughts and prayers are with everyone who was impacted by the shooting.
It's awful what happened and we can only hope they can start to put the pieces of their lives back together soon.
…
But, how much is enough?
How many people have to die before there is some sort of meaningful gun control legislation?
There have been 20 plus mass shootings since 2009 including:
12 dead on Monday; 7 dead in Hialeah; 6 dead in Santa Monica, Cali; 5 dead in Manchester, Ill; 5 dead in Federal Way, Washington; 5 dead in Herkimer County, NY; 27 dead in Newtown; 7 dead in Minneapolis; 7 dead in Sikh Temple in Wisconsin; 12 dead, 59 injured in Aurora, Colo.; 6 dead in Seattle; 7 dead in Oakland; 5 dead in Norcross, Ga; 8 dead, 1 injured in Seal Beach, Cali; 6 dead, 14 injured in Tuscon; 9 dead, 2 injured in Manchester, Conn; 5 dead in Parkland, Washington; 13 dead, 30 injured in Fort Hood, Texas; 14 dead, 4 injured in Binghamtom, NY; 11 dead, 6 injured in Geneva County, AL; 8 dead, 3 injured in Carthage, N.C.
That's a total of 170 people dead and 119 injured in mass shootings since 2009.
Is there a magic number we have to get to before the NRA backs off and lets gun control legislation through?
Please, share that with the nation.
You know, one of the things each generation tries to do is leave the world in a better place than the previous generation.
Tell me, how many people have to die before the older generation finally gets it through their thick skull that things as they are right now with regards to gun control aren't working.
Plus, don't give me the video games and media made them do it.
That may help push them, but the gratuitously easy access to weapons in this country makes the option that much more appealing to people going downhill.
It's a sad statement on America and it is unjustifiable at any level for people to say gun control isn't needed.
Tell that to the families of the 170 people who have died in mass shootings and the tens of thousands who die in individual shootings every year. Better yet, look their children in the eye and tell them, sorry, your mommy or daddy had to die because we had to protect the rights of people to buy a machine gun with a 100 round clip….because when you're hunting, you always need a 50 or 100 round clip.
