Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Stirring the Pot, the Sporting Way


One of the main subjects in sports today was the US Open golf tournament, which begins tomorrow. One sports programs I always try to catch is Around the Horn with Tony Reali and the somewhat regular rotation of sports writers, my favorite of which is Woody Paige.

The question was brought up as to whether Tiger Woods should be considered the US Open favorite. Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe argued vehemently and convincingly that Tiger's best days are behind him. Since Tiger's infamous Thanksgiving dinner, as he called it, every major golf tournament has been won by a different person. Therefore, no one can be considered the favorite in this year's Open. When I heard it, it seemed like a pretty hard argument to refute.

Yet when Channel 7 gave its one minute of coverage to the start of the Open, they showed Tiger Woods at a press conference, and the caption under his name read “US Open favorite.” I guess they figured it was easier to call him the favorite rather than explain to the audience why he isn't.

At Jets minicamp today the talk was, and will continue to be, about the two quarterbacks competing for the starting job. Mark Sanchez had a subpar season last year and, in my opinion, regressed as a quarterback. Tim Tebow was a media darling and the hottest topic in the entire NFL from the moment he stepped into the starting spot on the Denver Broncos.

In the offseason, the Broncos took a gamble and signed Peyton Manning, which has got to be an upgrade from Tebow's uneven performance. Tebow suddenly became expendable, so Denver unloaded him to the Jets, who picked him up for several reasons, some which seem sound and some which seem like they badly want to take the spotlight off the Giants, won their fourth Super Bowl in very unlikely fashion.

It seems almost certain that Tim Tebow will get his chance to start at least a few Jets games, which will most likely give those games a tremendous ratings boost and give the Jets a chance to shed their second citizen status, which they have unwillingly held for at least 25 years.

I know that I will be tuning in to see if Tebow can handle the New York spotlight. The initial reports are that Tebow has made some significant strides in the offseason, which will fuel the speculation as to how quickly he will replace Mark Sanchez. I would hate to be in Mark's shoes.

Personally, I feel that Tebow should be given his chance as soon as possible. The young man has incredible charisma and leadership abilities. He has also shown that he can come through in clutch situations, something the Jets need badly. Given the stellar example of both sportsmanship and citizenship he has demonstrated, he would be a very refreshing frontman for Jets publicity, a welcome change from the vulgar behavior of the head coach and a large swath of his teammates.

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