August 12, 2015
Summer is supposed to provide some time away from reality; some time away from work for vacation, and certainly a time away from school lessons.
However, the past few weeks have been a time to take some notes from the world of sports. The past few weeks have provided a virtual classroom of information, and here are some things you should have learned at this summer’s school lessons.
First off, whether it was his fault or not, you should have learned that quarterback Geno Smith will never be a leader – and the Jets will always be a circus.
Smith is the latest clown in the never-ending parade of comics to climb out of the green and white carnival ride. This was particularly informative because it gave us a pair of players acting like morons – Smith and IK Enemkpali.
In the NFL if you punch a quarterback in the face you are gone, but of you hit a woman, well, the punishment seems to depend whether or not if it’s caught on video.
For the sake of spellcheck mayhem, we shall just call him IK, the Jets sixth-round pick who sucker punched Smith over a $600 debt. It was truly stupid to punch the team’s quarterback, even if he was upset Smith would not repay a $600 debt over a cancelled appearance at IK’s summer camp.
Whatever the reason, IK should not have thrown the punch, but more importantly to the Jets, Smith should never have allowed the situation to get to that point. If Smith is going to be a quarterback who leads a team, he cannot let a situation like that get out of hand.
We read time and again about quarterbacks who treat teammates to all sorts of gifts, because they realize the status of their position as the leader of a team. The fact that Smith would let this situation get to this point should alert the Jets that this guy couldn’t lead a team.
Maybe the punch will serve to knock some rocks loose in his head and things will change. But until that time, the Jets should consider that they have a bigger problem with Smith than just his interception ratio.
As for IK, he pretty much wrote his ticket out of town, and perhaps out of the NFL.
Then again, if you want another lesson consider this:
In the NFL if you punch a quarterback in the face you are gone, but of you hit a woman, well, the punishment seems to depend whether or not if it’s caught on video.
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The next lesson we learned is that the Phillies have finally turned the page on their stars of the recent past, and are in a better direction for the future.
Case in point: Maikel Franko.
The Phils’ young third baseman was plunked by a pitch from Jeremy Hellickson on Tuesday night in Arizona, and two innings later revenge was taken when power hitter Paul Goldschmidt was hit by a pitch.
No big deal as the Phillies were crushed in the game, but was an indication of having the back of a teammate, and not a star such as Chase Utley or Ryan Howard.
Nope, this was one of the young guys, and another sign that the page has really turned toward the future for the Phillies.
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Another lesson learned is that Ronda Rousey is nobody to be trifled with – but Eagles center Jason Kelce isn’t scared of her. Well, at least that what he told tight end Zach Ertz.
Ertz spend much of his off-season engaged in martial arts training to learn better balance and leverage to block. Through that training he quickly figured out he would have no chance against Rousey in the Octagon. However, he has revealed that Kelce thinks he could get the better of Rousey.
Doubt it, but one thing is for sure. The match would probably please coach Chip Kelly because it would be over fast. Like under 30 seconds.
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This summer has also provided an almost daily lesson that Donald Trump should legally change his name to Donald T. Rump.
Time and again, he sounds like the south end of a northbound horse, and yet he climbs in the polls.
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The medical lessons we have learned concern two issues with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The first is that you do not need a voice to run a franchise, and most fans seem to have no problem with the fact that general manager Sam Hinkie has hit the mute button in terms of information.
The other lesson appears to be that Joel Embiid does not agree with the notion that he needs another surgical procedure on his foot. It has been several weeks since the club acknowledged the foot needed to be repaired again via a bone graft, but so far – no surgery.
The only logical conclusion is that Embiid feels fine, and he is doctor shopping until he finds a doctor who thinks he can proceed with his career without having the surgery.
Mind you, this is just a guess, but when there is a cloak of secrecy around an organization all you can do is guess.
***
Finally, we learned that like most of the country, the NFL rules the city of Philadelphia like no other team. One day after the Green Bay Packers drew over 65,000 to a family fun day in Wisconsin, the Eagles drew a crowd of over 43,000 to the Linc to see the team run through a practice.
No matter what happens, the NFL continues to prove itself an idiotproof organization.
Despite all the bad actors, poor decisions and embarrassing incidents, the bottom line is that it is NFL football, and that is all that matters.
