Josh Hamilton: The Real Winner

July 15, 2008May 23, 2010Danny Vinik 2 Comments

I’m guessing that even if you wanted to watched the Home Run Derby last night, you may not even know that Minnesota Twins’ first baseman Justin Morneau won. That’s because Morneau wasn’t the main story. He wasn’t even a story. The night belonged to Josh Hamilton and rightfully so. Unfortunately for Hamilton, his historic first round performance did not result in a Home Run Derby victory. The Texas Rangers’ outfielder hit a record 28 home runs in the first round and didn’t even have to hit in the second round since he had already clinched a spot in the finals (he took a couple of hacks anyways though). The finals didn’t go so well for Hamilton as he smashed just three home runs and lost to Justin Morneau who hit five homers in the final round. In the end though, Hamilton walked away with something much more important than the trophy: He walked away with the respect and admiration of everyone watching.

Hamilton was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 1999 MLB Draft and was the Rays’ top prospect until he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He lost years of his life to his addiction. He didn’t play baseball and his major league baseball career, all of that potential, seemed to have come to an end. He didn’t even workout, because he spent so much time using needles. Yet, in a harsh confrontation with his grandmother, Hamilton finally came to realize his problem. He turned to God, faith, and Christianity to change his life. All of a sudden, Hamilton was back on the rise. He straightened his life out. He hung out with better people and stayed away from drugs at all costs. Even today, Hamilton brings someone with him wherever he goes, because he doesn’t trust himself. Continue reading “Josh Hamilton: The Real Winner” →

Did Brand Betray The Clippers?

July 15, 2008May 23, 2010Danny Vinik 4 Comments

I know this post is a couple days late, but I think its worth writing about anyways. So here’s the story. After verbally agreeing to a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, Elton Brand turned the other way and signed a five-year deal worth approximately $80 million with the Philadelphia 76ers. This took the Clippersby shock and deeply hurt the organization, which has been crippled by bad luck and poor support for their entire history. Now the questions is: Did Brand betray the Clippers? Even more so, should players take home-town discounts or go to where the money is best? Should players feel some responsibility to their teams or after the contracts expire, should they be completely separated from their former team? Is it a business or a game?

Brand is just one of many big time players who are expected to stay with their team for no apparent reason. Why should superstar players be attached to their particular team? In Brand’s case, it is different, because he had already agreed to a contract with the Clippers. The Clips seemed to have locked up Brand and felt content that they could finally compete in the tough Western Conference. Yet, Brand turned around and signed a lucrative deal with the 76ers. The Clippers weren’t offering maximum money to the big man, something they thought wouldn’t be the breaking point in the deal. They thought they were going to get a hometown discount and be able to keep Brand while also using some extra money to sign Baron Davis. Well they signed Davis, accommodating one of Brand’s wishes: to build a winning team. Now all Brand had to do was sign on the dotted line. Los Angeles wasn’t offering the maximum salary and though Brand seemed okay with that at first, he wasn’t okay with it in the end. So was it fair for Elton Brand to suddenly shock the Clippers and sign with the 76ers? Continue reading “Did Brand Betray The Clippers?” →

Why I Am Sick of Brett Favre

July 10, 2008May 23, 2010Danny Vinik Leave a comment

This post isn’t really against Brett Favre, but it is more against the insane media coverage that hangs on every crazy rumor coming from Favre’s camp. I’m sick of the saga, of the endless waiting, of the rumors and lies. Favre stated that he was done playing football after the 2006 season. During that off season, the media spent countless hours speculating on whether Favre was actually done. They followed his every move and continued to try to predict his final decision. This dragged on for months as Favre continued to make up his mind. Why do we need to spend every waking second obsessing over a player’s decision to retire or to continue playing. Is it going to make him decide faster? Doubtful. Maybe it will influence his decision. Once again, doubtful. And that was just the 2006 off season.

Not that surprisingly, Favre chose to play in 2007. It took months for him to make up his mind, but I would expect nothing less from an NFL great on the brink of retirement. It can’t be easy for Favre to stop playing a sport that he loves and I understand that the decision must be agonizing. He can’t just make it in a day, a week, or a month. He’s not going to know in January how his body is going to feel in September. How can he make a proper decision without seeing how his body and how his mind reacts to a couple of months off. He absolutely should be able to and is able to take an entire off season to decide his future, but does the media coverage need to be so relentless? Continue reading “Why I Am Sick of Brett Favre” →