Dumb
As the headline suggests, we all say dumb things. That certainly includes me. I’ll even say them on the radio.
Last week, on the Rise Up Show with Big Will and Miss Melissa on Streetz 104.7, I said three really dumb things. I didn’t say them all at once. I spread them out over the week so I could sound even dumber, more often.
I don’t normally say really dumb things, but when I do, it eats at me for days. This time, dumbness has eaten at me long enough. I said it, it was dumb, and with that, let me apologize for…
Another Jose Calderon brick.
1. On Tuesday morning, I said I liked the way the Toronto Raptors played basketball. I said that. I said it out loud to a listening audience on Streetz that really likes basketball and knows a lot about the game.
I had just watched the Raptors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 97-87. Man they looked good. Amir Johnson beat up Kevin Love and had 11 points and 19 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani scored 31. Jose Calderon ran the offence and shut down Ricky Rubio on D and he didn’t even throw up too many of those Jose Calderon clang-bang bricks. It was a nice effort.
So I went on the radio and said that the 4-5 Raptors were playing “good basketball,” and should break out of their early-season struggles.
Yeah, right. What a bonehead.
The Raptors proceeded to lose 93-78 to the dog-ass Washington Wizards, 98-91 at home to the D-League level Sacramento Kings, 95-90 at home to Indiana, 77-64 in Chicago and 93-84 to Atlanta (which really isn’t embarrassing at the worst of times). In that entire stretch of five straight losses, the Raptors had, maybe, three good quarters and Bargnani, clearly their best player despite those stupid spaghetti commercials he does, injured a calf muscle and missed three games.
When I said I liked the way the Raptors played, they were 4-5. By today’s admission that I was really dumb to say that I liked the way they played, they are now 4-10.
So dumb.
Buck's Re-signing is not so obvious.
2. On Friday morning, I said two really dumb things. The first one was a doozy:
I said, “Blue Bombers general manager Joe Mack held a news conference yesterday to say that his off-season priorities were to sign a new offensive coordinator, quarterback Buck Pierce and offensive lineman Brendan LaBatte. Thank you Captain Obvious.”
Well, after a sober second thought, it wasn’t so obvious. The offensive coordinator part is obvious and Brendan LaBatte is really obvious, but Buck Pierce? Not so much.
Pierce wants big dough to return. Mack doesn’t really have to pay him big dough. With the seven other CFL teams set at quarterback next season, no other team is going to sign Pierce for the amount of money he wants ( a base of at least $200,000). Meanwhile, Mack knows that Pierce had virtually the same numbers as Michael Bishop did back in 2009 and we all remember that the local mainstream media laughed at Michael Bishop. There is no need to sign Pierce for more than he’s worth with Alex Brink and Joey Elliott ready to go.
In fact, you could argue that if Mack signs LaBatte and the offensive line continues to get better, Brink and Elliott could provide head coach Paul LaPolice with a great training camp battle at the QB’s position.
Joe Mack was not Captain Obvious because Buck Pierce, for too much money, is not an obvious signing.
Tom Brady: Shoulda had more faith.
3. Also on Friday, I said the New England Patriots would beat the Denver Broncos by two touchdowns. What an idiot.
Sure, I picked New Orleans and Green Bay to win on Friday morning during our weekly Streetz NFL picks with Tahl East, but we both hedged those bets. Neither one of us was quite convinced that the Packers or Saints were a guarantee, and we both said so. In fact, we both took New Orleans while holding our noses.
But New England? I came right out and said “the Pats win by two touchdowns.”
Wrong. They won by five touchdowns. And if Tom Brady and Bill Belichick hadn’t called off the dogs late in the game, it could have been seven or eight. New England was so much better than Denver it wasn’t even a fair fight.
I should have known better. And, yes, it was dumb to think that Denver could finish within two touchdowns of that New England team.
Because Baltimore won’t, either.