Tiki Barber is going to retire after this season. If I were a Giants fan, I'd likely be on my knees with arms in the air yelling, "WHY! WHY! WHY!". But who can blame him? He's been paid nicely. He's a famously successful football player and already has television broadcaster on his resume (Fox and Friends on FoxNews). There are plenty of guys that cut their careers short so they can move to the next chapter in life. They choose life over cripple as many NFL players are at the end of lengthy careers.
So when Michael Irvin said that Tiki was a quitter, it made me think that Irvin was madly jealous. If there was an opening in Irvin's day at crack houses offering second rate whores, I believe Irvin would have taken the Tiki route and joined his true calling.
Recently overheard.
Irvin: What do you mean that you is going to return fum da ew?
Tiki: It's pronounced, "the U, you freaking retard".
In other NFL musings.
Jason Whitlock. We all know the guy. Most likely a lot of you avoid him like the drunk girl at a party that lights the butt of her cigarette and laughs hysterically about it. But did Whitlock hit the nail on the head with Michael Vick?
And I know Vick threw four TD passes last week. Fool's gold.
And I don't have a problem with Michael Vick. I have a problem with people who kiss Vick's butt and don't demand that he reach his full potential by committing to the game. As long as Vick prepares like a wide receiver, his play at quarterback will always be spotty.
Vick, spotty quarterback play? Prove it.
In other NFL musings.
I grew up in Minnesota where Cris Carter was only behind the late Kirby Puckett as "star" in the Twin Cities. He was a great receiver. But how is he as a columnist (I refuse to call him journalist)? He said, "Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson is looking forward to this game because he thinks Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall is overrated."
Umm, Cris. It's Ocho Cinco, NOT Chad Johnson. Shesh. Pay attention. Since we're "paying attention", Cinco has never said -- seriously -- or believed that Hall was over-rated. This is what Ocho does. If he believes you're a great corner, he'll talk and talk and talk and..... If anything, being ripped by Ocho is an honor because he believes you're really good.
Ocho: I own the blog world. Who's this Kirkendall guy?
T.J.: The longest running and best Bengals blogger in Cincinnati history.
Ocho: Whatever. My blog is soooo much better.
T.J.: True dat Ocho.
I love Ocho.
In other Bengals musings.
What did offensive line coach Paul Alexander do (ESPN Insider) over the bye week?
The Bengals need to get this guy signed for a long time.
In Monday Night Football musings.
I detest Mike Tirico. I'd much rather hear Joe Theismann as the only voice on MNF. No, seriously. It's not that I like Joe; I just don't like Tirico THAT much. He has zero personality, calls the game by the book (i.e. Steve Stewart) and brings up every legal problem if a player has a rap sheet. We hear it all the time during the "news show" (SportsCenter), but really, do we need to hear about America's Most Wanted during the broadcast? He cuts off his colleagues to make these points. You don't hear conversations in the booth and the analysis of plays are poor. For example, during the Bears/Cardinals game Brian Urlacher was making plays on nearly every down. We didn't know until the post-game interview that he was NEVER BLOCKED!
Monday Night Football is horrible - my nomination for most obvious comment in 2006.