Lose the pacifier already, Favre.
“If Brett Favre is a brat, then what does that make John Elway? Both quarterbacks wanted to play football and wanted their own way. Both men ended up forcing a team’s hand. Favre did so at the end of a distinguished NFL career. Elway did so as an unproven draft choice. So who’s the bigger brat?”
Jerry, Centennial
Kiz: When New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called him “Jet” Favre, it was enough to turn every Packers lover a sickly shade of green. If an athlete is going to act like a spoiled brat, shouldn’t he get it out of his system before all his hair turns gray? And give Elway this: He knew when to quit.
Timeout corner might work, too.
“After reading the new NFL policy regarding fan behavior, I am glad I won’t be able to afford any games this year. Why would anyone pay $50 or more for a ticket to sit on your hands and remain sober as your team struggles? The No Fun League seems to be the perfect name for this white-collar, rich man’s spectator sport. Please give the fans a break before the league is forced to play games in front of a giant “green” screen with fans from the 1960s and ’70s projected on it.”
Greg, Denver
Kiz: Roger Goodell sends misbehaving players to their rooms without supper. He wags an admonishing finger at rowdy fans. Tell me again what Goodell’s job is with the NFL. Commissioner? Or nanny? But Nanny Roger is correct. What some obnoxious fans really deserve is a good spanking. Plunking down 50 bucks for a ticket should not buy any drunk the right to slosh his beer and spill curse words on everybody around him in the stadium.
That name . . . Elam . . . rings a bell.
“It was terrible when the Broncos let kicker Jason Elam go, but this treatment of John Lynch is my last straw in the love for the team. The way coach Mike Shanahan treats players irritates me. I hope the teams where Elam and Lynch are this season beat the Broncos.”
Marilyn, too blue to bleed orange
Kiz: In the era of free agency, the turnover rate in an NFL locker room is so quick that most teams have almost no institutional memory. And maybe that’s a good thing for Shanahan, who’s quick to give loyal vets a cold shoulder.
The ball is in Cutler’s hands now.
“Team sports are all but dead. Everyone is playing for himself, from Lynch to Shanahan. I will be displaying a new bumper sticker: Ex-Bronco Fan. The Little Czar has gone too far!”
Bob, Brighton
Kiz: Al Wilson. Rod Smith. Elam. Lynch. The wise, old heads in the Denver dressing room are conspicuous by their absence. The Broncos belong to quarterback Jay Cutler now. He must not only lead scoring drives, but get teammates to follow him.
Let’s count our blessings.
“What’s really disturbing is many of these developments with the Rockies were foreseeable at last year’s World Series. Franklin Morales looked like a scared rookie who wouldn’t blossom. Jeff Francis looked very beatable. Clint Hurdle looked too conservative to guide a team with big expectations. Despite all that, the Rockies had a chance to trade for some great arms, either in the offseason or in July, yet sat idle.”
Derek, Thornton
Kiz: OK, we interrupt our regularly scheduled bashing of the Pet Rocks to stand up and cheer the way shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has put the pieces back together after playing so poorly in the first half of the season that he wanted to hurt somebody. With Matt Holliday inching closer toward the clubhouse exit every day, all the hopes and dreams of the Rockies in 2009 must rest with pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and Tulo.
