The sports world has been active yet again, especially on the National Football League front, and especially in the NFC East, where DeSean Jackson, Donovan McNabb, Mike Shanahan and every team in the division has made recent headlines. This sounds like a job for Throwing Tomatoes!
So as the holiday season continues, the stories pile up and more sports frustration emerges. Don’t sweat it, The Wife Hates Sports has them all covered – in lycopene, that is.
Throwing Tomatoes: December 22, 2010
DeSean Jackson
…for being “like school on Saturday” – no class.
DeSean Jackson needs to “shut up and play”
Jackson is a playmaker and a fiery player, in every case a perfect fit for the City of Brotherly Love. But the showboating and taunting has got to stop. Multiple times over recent weeks, the Eagles receiver has refrained from simply walking across the goal line, but instead falling backwards, dancing along the end zone, and so on. As they say, shut up and play – or who knows, some player may eventually pop him for his antics – and think the eventual fine would be 100% worth it.
Donovan McNabb
…for playing the “disrespected” card one time too many.
Certainly, Shanahan could have handled the situation better (you’ll get yours soon enough, Mike), but Donovan McNabb needs to realize this: This is the National Football League – the best of the best – and as a player, you need to continue to perform at a high level or you can be replaced. Reputation won’t always take you where you need to go – and this year’s performance by McNabb was… simply put, going nowhere.
Mike Shanahan
…for mishandling a franchise in need of a savior.
McNabb and Shanahan are likely not getting along these days
Consider this “soon enough”. Shanahan brought respect and a reputation to Washington, but the only result during his young tenure has been another train wreck for the Redskins faithful – from Albert Haynesworth to Donovan McNabb – and so on. One more abysmal season and we can start calling this the “Curse of Daniel Snyder”.
New York Giants
…for having the biggest meltdown of the 2010 NFL season.
It is days since the Giants’ monumental fourth quarter collapse against the Eagles, but the wound left will be fresh for weeks – and heck, maybe years for some folks. The only way out of this one is if the team can get revenge on the Eagles in the playoffs. That is, if the team can recover, refocus and make the playoffs in the first place.
The NFC West
…for bathing in a sea of football mediocrity.
Actually, that’s putting it kind. The NFC West is a joke and we all know that. Sadly, one of these teams is not only going to make the playoffs, but also get a home game! We all know by now that the division winner can be no better than 8-8, and there’s an outside chance that the eventual winner could finish 7-9. Many critics have discussed this over the last month, but this is a situation that the NFL should address in the offseason, with a potential rule that could eliminate a division winner with a sub-.500 record.
The Rex Ryan Foot Fetish Story
…for being TOO MUCH INFORMATION.
Rafael Cabrera-Bello
…for an empty feeling – and an empty bag.
It’s unbelievable that a professional golfer can actually run out of balls during a tournament, but that’s just what happened here, and it’s a safe bet that Cabrera-Bello will NEVER let this happen again.
And finally…
…a quick-strike Throwing Tomatoes pelting of red to the following teams…
Denver Broncos – Make that 5-19 over the franchise’s last 24 games
Washington Redskins – 4 straight losses and nothing but turmoil within the franchise
Orlando Magic – Once 15-4, the Magic are 1-8 over its last 10 games
Washington Wizards – The Wiz are now an abysmal 0-13 on the road
Sacramento Kings – 9 losses in 10 games, and only 5 wins on the season
New Jersey Devils – Only 9 wins in 33 games (plus losers of 8 of the last 10)
This has been Throwing Tomatoes, where red is the color of the holidays.
TOP–
I’m very surprised by the way the Shanahans have handled everything. I get that they are trying to be authoritative figures, and that Haynesworth was a mess, but everything else is a disaster – and the team is not responding well.
Thanks… and the same to you and yours my friend. Be safe.