I had actually forgotten he was sick. I hadn’t seen a picture of him in a while and I could not believe the man who was in his final days was the same one who displayed the iPhone and its successors in his famous presentations. I couldn’t believe that was the man who gave this commencement speech in 2005. The world is less creative and innovative without Steve Jobs. We will all miss him whether we know it or not.
Unless you read ESPN.com or reside in the Bay area, you may have missed another man’s passing on Saturday. Al Davis, 82, was the longtime owner of the Oakland Raiders. Since 1962, he has guided the franchise, as a coach, GM, and owner, to 3 Super Bowls and decades of competitive football. He fostered an atmosphere that became the Black Hole.
He was the last remaining owner from the American Football League (merged with the NFL in 1970), and was a key figure in making the NFL what it is today.
He coined the phrase, “Just Win Baby!”
Davis wasn’t the most liked owner. He was probably too hands on and was difficult to work for. He had famous feuds with plays including with former Heisman Trophy winner, running back Marcus Allen. Allen even accused Davis of trying to ruin his career.
He looked strange in his old age. He had looked sick for a long time and dead for the last decade.
Davis was much more interesting than he was likable but his impact on the football should not go understated. His emphasis on speed and athleticism transformed the game.
For all of us that love football on Sundays, the camaraderie, the good times with friends (the money if you work in the service industry) – we owe a prayer, a drink, or maybe just a thanks to the guy that helped us get to where we are.
This Week In Sports
National League
My Arizona Diamond backs lost in a crushing defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the final deciding game of the series and its best player, 23 year-old Right Fielder Justin Upton, had multiple chances to be the hero and came up short.
The Brewers advance to face the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals beat the heavily favored Phillies to advance to the National League Championship Series.
Sunday, the Brewers won Game 1, 9-6. Monday the Cardinals struck back to knot the series after Albert Pujols went 4 for 5 with three doubles and a home run. The Caridnals won 12-3. They play Game 3 tonight in St. Louis.
American League
The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees last week to set up a series between it and the Texas Rangers. MVP candidate, pitcher Justin Verlander, finally came through after a less than stellar outing his first go around.
The Rangers are up 2 games to one. Nelson Cruz hit a spectacular 11th inning grand slam to win Game 2 7-3. Cruz’s grand slam was the first game ending grand slam in post-season history. The Tigers cut the Rangers’ lead in half with a win yesterday and play again this afternoon.
With all the corruption that exists in the world how did Milwaukee, St. Louis, Detroit, and Dallas end up as the final four markets left in baseball? Like the economy isn’t bad enough, they couldn’t have ONE of the Philly, New York, or Boston (the three biggest markets and three best teams in the league on September 1st) markets.
What does this mean?
With the big names out to root for/against, who should you root for?
This one is easy… the Milwaukee Brewers!
Their playoff slogan is “Fear the Beer!”
They have two bonafide stars. One, Ryan Braun, is your big city-swaggy-face guy, who is a rock star in Milwaukee (impressive considering Wisconsin is a football state) and he embraces it . The other is Prince Fielder who, besides having and awesome name, looks like an ewok.
They have never won a World Series and haven’t been there since 1982. This was its first year ever winning its division.
In addition, there is some bad blood and while Nyjer Morgan (A.K.A. Tony Plush) is kind of a douche and drops more F-Bombs than Johnny McEnroe ever did, the potential of him (5’11’’ 175 lbs) getting in a fight with, the best hitter alive, Albert Pujols (6’3’’, 220 lbs) is tough to pass up.
Football
After five weeks, the teams are starting to cement what they are.
The Green Bay Packers are the best team in the league and the only remaining undefeated team. Aaron Rodgers is making a good case for himself as the best quarterback in the league.
The Lions stayed unbeaten and are 5-0 for the first time since 1952.
The “dream team” Eagles are 1-4 and do not look good. Michael Vick gets a lot of credit for his highlights and fantasy stats but he is 1-6 in his last 7 games and his recently signed $100 million contract is starting to be worrisome five games into it.
The Romosexuals out there got to keep their hair this week. The Dallas Cowboys had a bye.
Rookie phenom and this year’s No. 1 pick, quarterback Cam Newton, looks great and is already one of the more exciting players in the league. His team, the Carolina Panthers, is only 1-4 but has been competitive in every game.
My team, the Arizona Cardinals, was down 28-0 after the first quarter. That’s only happened three times since 1970. Nice work guys. Its newly signed $62 million quarterback was benched for Richard Bartel, who has been cut by four teams.
We’ll take a look at the coming week tomorrow.
