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SPORTS OF SORTS NASCAR THIS WEEK By Monte Dutton Letting Fans Call The Shots
We all have lapses in judgment ... well, except maybe Drew Brees. Every Sunday, his name is a reliable one across the TV scroll -- 300-plus yards, five touchdowns and another win for the New Orleans Saints. It’s only natural that he gets a lot of talk when it comes to MVP consideration. I don’t consider him the MVP. I consider him a sick maniac that somehow figured out his craft in ways that should land him in a laboratory somewhere so he can be studied, the findings published in a journal. (Because he’s really good.) The other obvious MVP candidate -- and likely winner, in my estimation -- is Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the team that lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in week 14 (the Packers). Rodgers is the complete package in that he can throw and run, and throw while running. He’s levelheaded and accurate; he’s good in the beginning and good at the end. Then things start to get wacky. For whatever reason, there has been more talk about the MVP this year than in recent memory. I don’t remember it being such reliable water-cooler talk before ... not this consistently. Until his crappy game against the Redskins going down the stretch, I was pointing to Eli Manning. With Ahmad Bradshaw hurting and Brandon Jacobs a non-factor, it was Eli who kept the Giants in the playoff hunt. They have the league’s 29th-ranked defense as of this writing, so the other side of the ball hasn’t been much help. Overlooked, because it’s a boring story by now, is Tom Brady. As of this writing, New England has won six in a row, exposed their cartoonish rivals the Jets as wannabes and glided into the playoffs. The Patriots can be beaten, but don’t be surprised if you see Brady holding the Lombardi aloft yet again. Like the Giants, Brady’s stock goes up when you consider that the Pats are last in the league (as of this writing) in passing defense. But, nah, it can’t be Brady this year. And, though you’re not going to want to hear this, Tim Tebow is in contention. Come on, the Broncos weren’t going to be playoff contenders without him, it’s just that simple. Credit coach John Fox with making the offensive adjustments to accommodate the glorified fullback, but Tebow got the job done. And if you equate “value” with money, nobody sells more jerseys or had as great an impact on the bottom line of a franchise this year than Tebow. There would be riots if he won the MVP. But if we’re going to get really silly -- and honest -about things? This year’s MVP is Peyton Manning. The Colts went from Super Bowl contenders to the team that will draft Andrew Luck, all because he didn’t play a down this season. Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who lives in Kansas City. (c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.
Monte Dutton covers motorsports for The Gaston (N.C.) Gazette. E-mail Monte at nascarthisweek@yahoo.com. (c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.
1. Name the four N.L. pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in consecutive years. 2. It took just 1,303 innings for pitcher Kerry Wood to record 1,500 career strikeouts. Who held the mark for fewest innings to reach that mark before Wood? 3. Who holds the NFL record for most TD passes caught in a season? 4. Three No. 11 seeds have advanced to the NCAA Final Four in men’s basketball. Name two of them. 5. True or false: Until the 2010-11 NHL campaign, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Los Angeles Kings had never gone to the playoffs in the same season. 6. How many total medals did U.S. boxers tally in the Olympics between 2000 and 2008? 7. Who was the last senior golfer before John Cook (2010-11) to win the last tournament of one Champions Tour season and the first tournament of the next season?
Answers 1. Dan Uggla (2007-11). 1. Sandy Koufax (1965-66), Greg Maddux (1992-95), Randy Johnson (1999-2002) and Tim Lincecum (200809). 2. Pedro Martinez did it in 1,337 innings. 3. Randy Moss had 23 TD receptions for New England in 2007. 4. LSU (1986), George Mason (2006) and Virginia Commonwealth (2011). 5. True. 6. Seven medals (one gold, two silver and four bronze). 7. Gil Morgan, 1997-98.
And the Winner Is ...
Technically speaking, I’m really not a fan. It’s impossible to write about something and be a fan. To be a fan, I’d have to have outrageous expectations and jaded analyses. I have often been advised to “think like a reader,” which, given my small corner of the world, is similar to “think like a fan.” I try to do so. I mingle. I return emails. More than ever before, this task is made easier by the social networking of Facebook and Twitter. I hear from a lot of fans. I feel their pain and, quite commonly, their anger. So here’s my thinking ... about what fans are thinking. The racing of 2011 seems much better now than it actually was. The expectations for the next season are higher than they have any right to be. But it’s good and easy to have positive thoughts when no racing is actually going on. Naturally, the fans miss it. There are so many references to how many days remain between now and the Daytona 500, you’d think they were shopping days until Christmas. This is the very best time of the year to be a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Maybe things will be better. As long as things don’t actually get appreciably better, this sentiment will be the same every winter. Come to think of it, it probably doesn’t matter. If he wins the championship, they’ll want him to win 10 races and the championship. Then every race and the championship. Those who like any current driver named Busch believe the most important issue is their talent. Those who dislike drivers named Busch believe the most important issue is behavior. This, in a nutshell, is why behavior is so important. The overwhelming majority of fans desperately want something done about tag-team drafting at Daytona and Talladega. A vocal minority likes it just fine. Most of Tony Stewart’s detractors have either gone or gone silent. Those he hasn’t won over, he’s shut up. Other than an Earnhardt Jr. championship, the most popular item on wish lists is a fifth Jeff Gordon championship. The longer Jimmie Johnson goes without a sixth championship, the more popular he will become. This is unquestionably too high a price to pay. He will be more popular next year because a) for once he didn’t win, and b) his last name isn’t Busch.