Attention

Attention Loyal Readers:

Around The Corn Sports Blog will not be posting until after Shark Week has concluded.

Sincerely,

K. Becks

No, I'm just kidding. However, it does seem like everything else on TV does take a backseat when Shark Week is on the Discovery Channel. Twice during work today I changed the channel to ESPN and came back thirty minutes later with the TV mysteriously switched to the Discovery Channel. In other words, I'm going to have to put the DirecTV controller somewhere no one else can find it tomorrow.

Sharks may be taking center stage this week, but a certain "island" is competing for the spotlight, for better or worse. The island I'm talking about is "Revis Island", or more specifically, Darrelle Revis. Today the New York Jets began training camp without their All-Pro cornerback, who is sitting out due to a contract dispute. Revis wants to become the highest paid cornerback in the league, and go figure, the Jets don't really want to pay him enough for that to happen. I think the Jets are handling this situation very smartly. For Revis to become the highest paid cornerback in the league, his contract would have to exceed Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha's three year, 45.3 million dollar contract extension that he signed last season. The Jets don't want to pay that kind of money because, quite frankly, Oakland made a poor decision in dishing out that much money to a defensive player. It is true that Revis is possibly the best defensive player in the league, and it is also true that if the Jets don't have him on the field, their defense will likely suffer at least a little bit. However, he isn't worth more than 45.3 million dollars to the Jets, or any other franchise. Nnamdi Asomugha, for as good as he is, isn't worth that kind of money either; he just is lucky enough to play for a franchise with a dysfunctional front office (seems contradictive, right?) that agreed to pay him that outrageous sum of money. The Jets don't have to worry; they'll sign Revis, and for a reasonable amount.

So, on a scale of one to ten, how silly does Albert Haynesworth look now? A month ago, Haynesworth made a huge deal about having to play in a 3-4 defense, and now he is too out of shape to complete the Redskins conditioning test. I don't think this is really about Haynesworth's lack of conditioning. This is about him learning that Coach Mike Shanahan runs the show, and if you don't like the way it is run, too bad. Shanahan is humbling Haynesworth, and we all know that the big defensive tackle is in dire need of some humble pie. When he finally does pass the conditioning test, I don't think we'll be hearing much from Albert Haynesworth until the season is underway. After this humiliation, Haynesworth should get the message that he isn't bigger than the Redskins, especially with Shanahan at the helm.

The more I think about it, the more I am starting to believe that the Ochocinco and T.O. marriage could be a great thing both off the field and on the field. Whenever I see them in an interview together, there is no denying that they are cocky as hell. However, it also is apparent that both men are aware of what kind of things can be achieved if they put aside their personal agendas and work together. In a sense, it's almost like the Miami Heat situation, only on a much smaller scale. Cincinnati is in no way the overwhelming favorite to win the Super Bowl like the Heat will be to win the NBA championship, but the Bengals do have the offensive weapons to overwhelm almost any defense that they will have to face. They also seem to realize that if they demand less for themselves and sacrifice for the good of the team, that they have the ability to reach heights that neither of them could reach on their own at this point in time. Could T.O. really have matured, and realized that this is his last chance at a Super Bowl ring? We'll be able to tell early on, as Cincinnati has to play New England and Baltimore in their first two regular season games.

About seventy-five percent of my readership (in other words, three of the four of you) have already told me that you are anxiously anticipating my college football preview. Well, I have good news for you all; tomorrow I will begin my college football preview by breaking down one conference per day until I have covered each major conference (major in my eyes, of course). I will be working across the United States from East to West, which means that all you Pac-10 fans (come to think of it, I don't know if I have any readers who fit the bill) will have to wait awhile before I tell you all that I think that a team who is ineligible to participate in postseason play will win your conference. Oops. Anyway, college football will be the focus of many of my future posts for at least the next week. Hopefully I will get some conversation started either here or on the Facebook fan page, or as always, you can email me at aroundthecornsportsblog@gmail.com. Thanks everyone.



- K. Becks

Okay, I Guess I Understand, But...

Utah leaving the Mountain West Conference on Thursday for the Pac-10 makes me scratch my head a little bit. They are leaving a conference where they and Boise State would have been the class of a very respectable football lineup, which also features TCU and BYU. I understand that the Pac-10 has the automatic bid to the Rose Bowl, but with all the conference swapping and uncertainty, things could change quickly. I still believe that this conference swapping will lead to the institution of a college football playoff, which would make having an automatic bid to a BCS bowl meaningless. Also, with the lineup that the Mountain West would have had, I think that they would have been given an automatic bid in a playoff. Also, the top of the Mountain West is much more stable and predictable year in and year out than the Pac-10. Every year, you can count on Boise State, TCU, and BYU to put together a competitive team. In the Pac-10, USC and Oregon are really the only teams that have been good most years during the past decade. In fact, here is a stat that backs up this claim: the Mountain West Conference's record against the Pac-10 in bowl games in the last ten years? Try 6-5. What I'm saying is that I understand why Utah moved to the Pac-10. The automatic bid is there, and the Pac-10 gets more respect from the media than the Mountain West. However, it's instant gratification, because in a few years, there won't be any more automatic bids to BCS bowl games. With Utah, the Mountain West would have been better than the Pac-10, and might have even secured an automatic bid to a BCS bowl game while automatic bids are still around. Now, all we have are two conferences that both need another good team to legitimize their claim as a true elite football conference.

I think that Boston's Glen Davis needs to give up the nickname "Big Baby" so that the man who truly deserves the name can have it. That man would be Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Haynesworth, who signed the biggest contract ever by a defensive player last year, decided not to show up to the team's mandatory minicamp this week because he is unhappy with the Redskins instituting a 3-4 defense. His teammates are right; he is being completely selfish here. Not only has he decided not to show up to practice, but he has also reportedly demanded a trade out of Washington. Well, Albert, your ticket out of Washington would be giving back the one-hundred million dollar contract that you signed last year. Considering his selfishness, he won't do it, and will likely come back to the Redskins stomping his feet like a little kid whose mom didn't buy him a candy bar at the store. Albert, while you're making a stink about the defense you'll have to play in, consider this: Mike Shanahan has a Super Bowl Ring, and you don't. Maybe you should just do what he says, and you'll have a chance of getting one too.

Today at the U.S. Open, both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson failed to make even one birdie. That's not exactly a way to attract the attention of the casual golf fan, but on the bright side, Tiger is only five shots off the lead. Considering the difficulty of the course, and the fact that Tiger had a very mediocre first round, I wouldn't be surprised if Tiger is right in the thick of things as we head into the weekend. Maybe, just maybe, he can save the U.S. Open after all.

Tomorrow morning's soccer match between the United States and Slovenia will determine whether or not the majority of the United States will continue to follow the World Cup. A tie is not enough, and the U.S. already received their gift. Hopefully Clint Dempsey & Co. can pull through, because I don't want to be the only person left still wanting to talk about the World Cup.



- K. Becks