Faulk downplays Stafford's acheivements

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had an impressive season. He passed for 5,038 yards, 41 touchdowns, led the Lions to 10 wins and the playoffs, and won the NFL's comeback player of the year award. Mighty fine for someone the missed a good portion of his first two seasons.

Former St. Louis Ram and current NFL Network analyst Marshall Faulk doesn't see Stafford's accomplishments as a big deal. Instead Faulk said he wasn't impressed and called passing for 5,000 yards is the norm in today's NFL.

"Throwing for 5,000 yards in the NFL right now is nothing," Faulk said. "I don't want to take anything away from it. As much as people throw the football now, you better have 5,000 (yards) if you have Calvin Johnson."      

I'd like to ask what is Faulk smoking? The 5,000 yard plateau has only been done five times in NFL history and he calls it the norm? Drew Bledsoe had over 600 pass attempts on four occasions and never broke 5,000 yards. If you take away Calvin Johnson, Stafford still passes for about 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns. Still not that bad.

While I don't know that Faulk has an agenda, it's clear he's been dining on paint chips. Stafford's season is absolutely impressive. It's not run of the mill, even in this pass-happy league.

I imagine this was a classic case of overstatement. From what I can gather, without having seen him make the statement, his point was that it's not a big deal to throw for 5,000 yards, as it was in Marino's day. If that's what he meant, fine. I totally agree. It used to be a big deal to rush for 1,000 yards; it's not a huge statement any longer.

On the other hand, if Faulk is trying to dismiss Stafford's season altogether as somehow being par for the course, he has no leg to stand on. Jon Kitna had Calvin Johnson at his disposal. Peyton Manning, Daunte Culpepper, Joe Montana and MANY others had outstanding receivers at their disposal. It's not to say Stafford is the greatest thing since sliced bread, rather that he had a fantastic season, regardless of era or weapons. 

Oswalt could find himself without a home

There are teams in need of a proven veteran pitcher to round out their rotations. Some are contenders and there are some trying to climb the ladder in the standings. The Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox or Cincinnati Reds would be a good fit for the veteran hurler. Problem is Oswalt is being awfully picky to whom he plays for.

I know a player who has earned their right to be a free agent can take their time and assess which situation they want to go play in. That's a major part of being a free agent. But if you're a veteran trying for one last good contract and a shot at a championship then I figure you sign with who gives you the best chance at a title. Oswalt had a chance to win in Philadelphia, but the Phillies blew it as a collective. Now Oswalt is looking to move on to presumably stay close to his father in Mississippi or his Missouri farm. So it would seem the Cardinals would be a good fit for him. A report two weeks ago said the Cardinals locked up Oswalt but it obviously didn't happen.

The one time Houston Astro would also be a good fit for the Rangers who just lost their number one starter C.J. Wilson to the Los Angeles Angels. But he won't sign there either. He already said he won't go to Detroit and hasn't turned down the Red Sox but doesn't exactly want to play there either.

“He wanted to go to Texas. That’s not gonna happen. He wanted to go back to Philadelphia. That’s not gonna happen. He had some interest in the Reds. That doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. So his choices still come down to, I think, going to Boston, where they have a clear need but he doesn’t seem to want to play, and going to St. Louis, where all his friends say he would love to be. But to do that, he has to do it on their terms.”     


  Jayson Stark, ESPN

With pitchers and catchers due to report in another week, Oswalt could be left without a home or scuffling to take whatever a team offers him. Time is running out and Oswalt is taking his sweet time trying to find a team. I think it comes down to the Cardinals or Rangers and he won't exactly like the terms of the deal.

Jeremy Lin rookie cards are selling high

Jeremy Lin has been the hottest name in the NBA in the past two weeks. Name me one player who's garnered more interest since the Super Bowl. That's right Jeremy Lin. With the New York Knicks upstaging Kobe Bryant and the Lakers (Lin had 38 points) last night, Lin's stock is high.

You know what else is high? The stock on Lin's rookie card. Lin's rise is one of epic proportions. No one knows how long it'll last, but for now enjoy the ride.

From Paniniamerica.com: His name is Jeremy Lin. He plays point guard for the New York Knicks. And in the last 24 hours, his 2010-11 Panini America autographed Rookie Cards have sold for as much as $1,000. Another one sold for $799. Since Tuesday, nearly two dozen have been snagged for at least $200. Non-auto cards are selling at $100 apiece.     

“That’s why people like to collect,” Panini America NBA Brand Manager David Porter said. “You never know when someone like Jeremy Lin is going to have that opportunity to play and prove himself. Less than a week ago, his cards were at the bottom of collectors’ want lists. Now, the chase is on even for his base cards. That’s what makes collecting cards so unpredictable.”


No one saw this coming and if they did I want that person to pick out some lottery numbers for me. Lin is a great story and I'd like to see his meteoric rise continue. It just goes back to what I always say. If you can play, you can play.  

Mitch Mustain signs with the White Sox

Former USC and Arkansas quarterback, Mitch Mustain, was once a five star high school prospect. Mustain was highly thought of and was handed the reins to the Arkansas kingdom for a eight games. His removal from the starting job there led to him transferring to USC.

Fast forward to 2012 and Mustain is trying out a different avenue in the world of professional sports. He's going back to baseball. After the college stints at USC and Arkansas, and a brief foray in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Georgia Force in the Arena Football League, the next chapter in Mustain's life will be him trying to latch on with the Chicago White Sox.

Mustain signed a minor league deal with the White Sox as a pitcher. The last time he pitched was in high school back in 2004. Good thing Mustain had a connection in the White Sox organization. A friend who plays in the White Sox system contacted a scout to watch Mustain's throwing session at the University of Arkansas.


“I didn’t think it was going to happen,” he said.


“He hit me up on a Friday and said the scout could be here the next Friday,” Mustain said. “So I went out on Tuesday and played long toss to stretch out my arm.”


“I was hitting my spots and my curve ball was on,” he said. “I’m hoping to eventually get to 94 or 95 [miles per hour],”. I’m excited to see where it goes.”


Not many have been able to make the transition from one sport to the other with such a long layoff. I'm pretty sure Mustain will be beating the bushes for a while he fine tunes his arm and gets his location down. There will be plenty that will want to get their licks in on him while he's still trying to get his feet under him in a different sport.

       

Kevin Love to enter the Three Point Contest

Kevin Love has surprised me by being a highly productive NBA player. I thought he would be a solid player, but not this good. He has turned himself into a double-double machine and was recently named to his second All-Star game.

If that wasn't enough, Love says he will be participating in the the league's Three Point Contest. A surprise to many, but not to Love.

 "I think I got a good shot at anything I do," Love said. "I’m a pretty competitive guy." 

Love is shooting 37.8 percent from deep this year so i say he's got a chance.

Derrick Rose asks Isiah Thomas for some winning advice

Say what you want about Isiah Thomas, but he was one of the all time greats of the NBA. In my opinion, he gets overlooked during the "golden years" of the 80s. They always mention Magic, Bird, and Jordan, but fail to mention Thomas. He was one of the fiercest competitors that ever played. For a little guy, he had a lot of heart and was one of the toughest players in the league.

Current Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose wants to win. He wants to win some championships and wants to be one of the greatest to play the game. He just doesn't go around beating his chest saying it.

After losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals last summer, Rose sought out Chicago legend Thomas for some counsel and advice.  


Isiah Thomas said he met Rose last year after a game in Detroit and that Rose contacted him after the Bulls' season had ended.


"He was pretty down," Thomas told ESPNChicago.com by phone on Wednesday. "He asked me 'How did you do it? How did you win back-to-back championships at this size?' And my response to him was that once you understand your opponent and know your opponent better than you know yourself, you'll win."


Translation: Study film like your life depends on it.

Rose looks up to Thomas and despite his front office troubles, he knows that Thomas knows what it takes to win.

"... He's somebody where in Chicago, you definitely got to look up to, especially being a guard, winning championships in this league," Rose said. "[I] try to take things out of his game and put them into mine. But [he's] a cool dude. I played against his son in AAU. And he's from Chicago so I got to look up to him."


"It's hard to pattern your game after somebody that's great like that," Rose said. "If anything, he was a winner. His will to win, no matter how big he was on the floor, he was a small guy, but his passion for the game and how dedicated he was to playing the game."


Rose, like Thomas, is enduring his share of bumps and bruises in pursuit of an NBA championship. But like Thomas he is more than willing to pay the price. Growing up in a tough Chicago environment will give you that  kind of attitude. That means being tough and doing whatever it takes to win.  

Victorino to appear in a Hawaii Five-O episode

Anyone who pays attention knows that Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino is a ntive Hawaiian. So I guess it would be a natural fit to appear in an episode of the CBS television show "Hawaii Five-O".

Victorino will be appearing in the February 20 episode.

According to CBS, Victorino stars as a business executive on a company retreat. Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno also appears in the episode as a Hawaiian history buff. The episode centers around the murder of a man dressed as a Hawaiian NaKoa warrior.

We'll see if Victorino has the chops to get a few more acting jobs in the future.