So as I sat down to write this I had the intention of ranting on Tim Tebow being named the starter in Denver. It seemed like a good topic since Bronco fans were all geeked about a guy that went 4 for 10 with 79 yards and wasn't even a great quarterback in college, a guy whose own coaching staff ranks him as the 3rd best quarterback on the team. Plenty to talk about with Saint Timothy. As I started though I was continually referencing some the asinine things Id heard different sportscasters and analysts talk about. Which led me to a much better and more fun topic, the analysts and commentators in sports. I mentioned some of it to my friend Bill (probably the only person that will ever read this, but whatever) and he agreed this is fun topic. Unfortunately I was forced to endure more airtime from Skip Bayless this morning and instead have been stuck on this all day, at least in my head.
When Darnell Dockett, a law abiding, tax paying citizen living in the state of Arizona, tweeted a few weeks back that he almost took one of his guns to work with him he was immediately made into a media star. Dockett has tweeted often about his guns, he loves living in a state that allows him to arm and protect himself. I'm can also say from experience that guns can be fun and a great way to remove stress. You go to the range, unload a couple hundred rounds into paper targets then go grab some food. Its a satisfying day. So Skip immediately starts tweeting and commenting that Dockett should be fined by the league, the Cardinals should fire him, he should be held accountable. For what, exactly? Legally owning firearms in a right to carry state? For being honest about forgetting to leave it at home? (The Cardinals do not allow weapons on their facilities, which was the only thing Dockett could have gotten in trouble for) I sent some tweets to Skip about this, since Dockett retweeted everything Bayless was saying.
Here is the tweet that got Dockett the most upset from Bayless “Darnell Dockett shld be fined for gun tweets. Came off as boasting about artillery he owns. Sends terrible message to kids, NFL sponsors.
Fined for gun tweets... Made to pay money to the NFL because he tweeted that he almost brought it with him to work. Really? Bayless says that Dockett boasts about his guns, which is true. If you missed the piece on Sunday NFL Countdown 2 weeks about Dockett you'd understand why. Here was part of his reason, which he tweeted back to Bayless.
@RealSkipBayless stop acting like a Chump! you or the NFL can't protect me or my family. I haven't broke the law! Fine me for what?
Dockett's mom was murdered when he was younger. He was raised in the ghettos of Florida, where drugs and guns were part of every day life. The fact that he stayed so focused and has managed to succeed is amazing. I don't blame him for deciding to take his families safety into his own hands. As a father and husband I agree with him completely. Police can only react after the fact, but as an aware and motivated person Dockett can do something at the time its needed, especially since he rolls around Phoenix in a Lambo pretty frequently.
This event passed, Skip faded back into the hole he came from. Life was good again! Then this morning I am flipping through ESPN channels and stopped on First Take. I had never seen the show but was happy to see someone ranking NFC football teams. I don't even remember who was ranking his top five anymore, that hows badly I wanted to choke Skip Bayless when he came running in from off camera to argue about the top 5. They were listed as 1. Green Bay 2. New Orleans 3. Detroit 4. Washington 5. San Francisco Skip ran on stage to bring in a Dallas helmet to replace the Washington and San Francisco helmets based on the logic that Dallas beat them both. That is correct. Dallas also lost to the 1-3 Jets and the 5-0 Lions. Dallas lost in typical Romo fashion, through turnovers and a second half collapse. Based on a 2-2 record as well as the epic choke jobs it took to lose those two games I don't understand how anyone could think Dallas is better than Washington. Personally I'm still not sold on San Francisco but time will tell. Either way, to say only that Dallas was killing the Jets and Lions in the first half and they beat those other two teams means they should be considered better than their 2-2 record is just stupid. Whoever the guy was he would answer Bayless with one word: So? That seemed to make Skip mad, which made me laugh. Skip Bayless clearly has a hard-on for the Cowboys, very possibly Jerry Jones (and who doesn't since Jones got all that work done a few years back?). Yes, lets just ignore the two 2nd half meltdowns and the two losses in 4 games, they're clearly a better team that those with more wins. Lets ignore a quarterback that has shown many times over the past 3 years that he can lose any game in heartbreaking fashion! He'll fumble, he'll throw it right to the most dangerous cover man in the game, he'll pull an “Eli” and opt to dive instead of slide and he'll make his teammates cry in public because they know he'll do it again soon.
I know for a fact that Skip Bayless has said plenty of other stupid things, I just don't listen to him. I hear his voice and I turn the channel or station. I often wonder why ESPN continues to pay guys like him and Matt Millen. Is it really just the shock factor that he brings? It worked, here I am at 11pm ranting and wishing I could get close enough to take my old Jose Canseco bat to his head. Until then I'll just watch reruns of My Wife and Kids, which is seemingly always on.
