MLB
I don’t like to dish on the “local” baseball
teams, especially when mine (Atlanta)
has been disappointing the last couple
seasons, but what a wake-up call the last
nine games must be for Nationals fans. It
seems like every year since Washington
received its baseball team, fans blindly
assume the Nats will magically be good.
Of course, the 3-0 start gave them hope.
But the nine-game losing streak that has
followed has brought them back down
to Earth-and with good reason. Folks,
in the end of the day we’re talking about
the Montreal Expos. How many times
could we legitimately say, “Man, those
Expos are going to win the pennant”?
That’s exactly what’s happening and will
continue to happen with Washington. The
same thing really goes for the Baltimore
Orioles, which start the season by leading
the American League East, only to finish
in last by a wide margin. The O’s currently
lead the division-and I’m willing to bet
they are in last within three weeks.
NFL
As I was driving around aimlessly (lost
. very lost) in Virginia Beach Saturday
afternoon, I heard the phrase “salary
cap” discussed on sports radio. I wasn’t
immediately drawn in, but the discussion
turned to talks of a potential deal between
the player’s union and the league that
would remove the salary cap. Talk about
a bad idea. Sure this would be great from
a player’s point of view-they could ask
for more money than they normally would
be able to because there would be no limit
on a team’s ability to spend. But let’s be
realistic here. The removal of the salary
cap would ultimately turn the NFL into
an extraordinarily top-heavy league. In
every professional sport, there are owners
who are willing to stretch the salary cap
and spend as much money as possible,
and there are those who prefer to be
cheap regardless of the available talent.
Lifting the salary cap isn’t going to change
this-rather, it will make the rich richer
and the cheap will stay the same. It’s safe
to say a move of this type wouldn’t be
for the league but for the players. At this
point, if the players don’t think they are
getting paid enough, then that is another
problem all together. NFL players are paid
more for a season’s work than many people
will ever be paid for a career. Looking at
it like that, maybe it’s time to stop being
greedy and just play ball.