Mailbag

Heading into the season with optimism is a new feeling for me. Well I loved my time in Toronto I cannot believe the real hope I have here in Philly. I haven't been paying too much attention to the Blue Jay's offseason moves but could you give me a quick update?

Roy, Philadephia, PA

RWC:

The joy of being a Toronto Blue Jays fan. Their best pitcher is now pitching in the NL East for an ultra competitive bunch that has another chance to win a pennant and challenge for the World Series while his former team goes into yet another rebuilding phase. Every spring I try to talk myself into the Blue Jays and every summer I am left disappointed. Heading into the 2010 season with a core of Adam Lind, Aaron Hill, Vernon Wells, and Lyle Overbay does not overly excite this fan. What makes me more depressed is the starting rotation being anchored by Ricky Romero and a bullpen closed by Jason Frasor. If new GM Alex Anthopoulos is serious about rebuilding these Jays will be awful for a solid 2 seasons. All that we can hope for is Vernon Wells to play lights out for about 2 months so we can unload him and his awful salary to a contender. Enjoy your playoff race Roy, you'll be missed in Canada.

How come the media is all over me saying that I'm not an easy guy to get along with? All I ever did was deliver 2 super bowl rings to a city desperate for them and lead the Steelers through their most successful stretch in 30 years? What have I done to deserve this treatment?

Ben, Pittsburgh, PA



RWC:

If you are looking for sympathy Ben, you are barking up the wrong tree (or knocking on the wrong bathroom door, whichever you prefer). Heavy is the head that wears the crown and your large head is hanging pretty low. With reports surfacing from Pittsburgh now that Big Ben is tough to deal with and not well liked in his own locker room it would almost appear the Steelers are preparing an exit strategy for the beleaguered qb. But could you blame them? This is the third offseason where Roethlisberger has been a major distraction to the organization (notice I said organization, not team. The rest of the guys don't care, they just go about their business and hope he doesn't show up 30 pounds overweight again.) The guy you are paying millions of dollars to be the face of the franchise just cannot be getting into as much trouble as Roethlisberger has been. Regardless whether he is charged or not, the last month or so of headlines are not what championships are made of. Is it time to usher in the Tim Tebow era in Pittsburgh? Although, if this doesn't win over fans, I don't know what would!

How come everyone is hating on us? Neutral fans show up at our games rooting against us? All we have ever done is play hard and happen to win 76 straight games?

Connecticut Women's Basketball Team, Storrs, CN

RWC:

It's tough being on top. The only team that I can think of that was universally liked going through a dominant stretch like this was the Chicago Bulls and that's cause women loved Michael Jordan and almost all men wanted to be him. The Connecticut women do not have the same appeal. When you win the Elite 8 by 40 points you are going to get people cheering against you. America loves a good upset and they love to build people/teams up only to see them fail. You simply cannot have it both ways. Either you are the lovable losers or the big bad bullies rampaging through the NCAA tournament field. Understand that while you may not be universally liked right now, you will be remembered as arguably the best team in the history of sports. Or you'll be remembered as the team involved in the greatest upset in team sport. Either way you'll be remembered!


How come we are no good? I thought I had assembled a cast of players that no one could touch? Is my job in jeopardy?

Darryl, Calgary, AB



RWC:

Oh Darryl, this isn't like you to wallow in self pity. Just because your overpaid cast of stiffs can't get in the playoffs doesn't mean you are a complete failure. Look at it this way. You have them to thank for the past 5 years of a free pass that you have received. Lets go back in time for a second.

2003/04 - Flames make it within 1 game of Lord Stanley's Cup, losing a heartbreaker in 7 games to the Lightning. You get universal praise for making all the right moves (especially discovering Kipper). Iginla is the best player in the NHL, the next Mark Messier.

20004/05 - Lockout

2006 - 2009 - First round exits to Anaheim, Detroit, San Jose, and Chicago. You make little tweaks but take 4 years to realize that the core of Kipper, Iginla, Regher, and Phaneuf are simply not good enough. Also during that time you draft the following players in the first round: Kris Chucko, Matt Pelach, Leland Irving, Mikael Backlund, Greg Nemisz, and Tim Erixon. Not exactly a murderers row of prospects. On top of this, you killed your teams chemistry last year with the Jokinen trade, letting go Mike Cammalleri at the same time and than getting the poo poo platter of Kris Higgins and Ales Kotalik a year later for Jokinen. Essentially you have been granted immunity for the past 5 years due to one cup run and the promise of more. You must have pictures on ownership because they still love you and you bought yourself another year since you hired your brother. They can't get rid of both of you in one year. So enjoy this offseason for it will surely be your last unless your group of overrated and overpaid donkeys figure out a way to win games.

How come I get constantly overlooked when the conversation of best basketball coaches in America comes up? All I've ever done is win games, not get into trouble with the NCAA, and produce solid NBA players? Can I get some respect?

Tom, East Lansing, MI

RWC:

Coach Izzo, you will get the respect for the next 100 words or so. And I'm not even sure its you writing this email. It doesn't fit your personality. Not only are you one of the best coaches in America, you are one of the most respected amongst your peers. I think the reason you don't get the recognition is that you have stayed out of the limelight. You haven't had any real 'star' players over the past 7 or 8 years, you build your team around a personality that you like (hardworking, defensive, team first players). You have flirted with changing positions but always remained faithful to the Spartans. Your players do not get into trouble with the law or with the NCAA for the most part. You are just to consistent. Even this weekend there is more talk about Huggins turning around WVU or Coach K making it back to the final four, or the 32 year old whiz kid Brad Stevens taking Butler to the dance. You are getting overshadowed again. Its just not fair.

Allow me to say that if I were to hire any coach in America to run my basketball program it would be you. I love the way your teams play, I love the way you treat your kids, and you consistently produce a winner.

So, what did you think of my arm? Should the Rams take me first overall?

Sam, Norman, OK

RWC:

I think your arm looked great yesterday Sam, but I don' think the Rams should take you first overall. They have way too many holes to fill that I would be worried about putting you behind their O-line with your surgically repaired shoulder. I think they should trade down with Washington as was suggested by Peter King yesterday and start filling some of those holes withe extra draft picks. This has nothing to do with you Sam, but everything to do with the Rams. There is a willing dance partner (Washington Redskins) who would love to make a big splash on draft day and the Rams could tread water for another year at the qb position with Marc Bulger. Either way, I do believe your name will be the first announced on draft day. You have bulked up (13 extra pounds) and have shown yourself to be healthy If I were you I would be insulted that some are mentioning Jimmy Claussen in the same category. Does no one remember your 50 td/4int heisman year? Does no one remember your accuracy and velocity on all NFL type throws? You are heads and shoulders better than any other qb in the draft and it'll show when you step onto an NFL field this fall.

I am a Duke Blue Devil Fan

And I will now go light myself on fire.....

In 1990, I started becoming a fan of basketball. I grew up in a hockey loving house where I knew every Edmonton Oiler and thought I was going to be the next Jari Kurri. Something changed with my first taste of March Madness when I watched the Duke Blue Devils overcome overwhelming odds to defeat the UNLV Runnin Rebels in the 1990 Final. I was a huge UNLV fan, with the likes of Larry Johnson, Stacey "Plastic Man" Augmon, Greg Anthony, Anderson Hunt, and so on...My dad was a huge Duke Blue Devil fan with the likes of Christian Laetnner, Brian Hill, Thomas Hill, Bobby Hurley, etc..I hated that dad liked them. Cheering for Duke was like cheering for the Yankees or the Cowboys (oh wait, he also cheers for them!). Duke is a private school where rich kids go to train for careers where they'll make a lot money. It is not a culture that I have a lot of desire to be apart of. But something has happened over the past few years. College basketball has changed.

For years, the Blue Devils were the easy team to hate. They all had nicely groomed hair (minus Cherokee Parks),, they all sprinted to the bench when they had a timeout or a substitution, their coach was in every commercial ever produced, their coach looked like the Penguin, their coach's voice is annoying, Christian Laettner played there, their nick name is dumb, the coolest team in America, the North Carolina Tar Heels, plays just down the road and is their main rival, and so on and so on...there are so many good reasons not to cheer for Duke. But watching this NCAA tournament I started to have an odd feeling towards the boys in blue and white. No longer did I resent their team play or their lack of individuality. I began to respect them. Yes, respect them. Maybe its because their coach hasn't been found in the bathroom of a local Italian restaurant with another women and then tried to throw money at her to cover up the mistake. Or maybe its that their coach doesn't recruit one and dones like John Calipari and have smart cousins write his kids SAT tests for them. Unlike Jim Calhoun, Coach K doesn't call out reporters who ask him about how much money he makes or doesn't get DUI's like Bob Huggins. With so much scandal surrounding the NCAA now it has become easy to gain a certain level of respect for Coach K.

I liken it to my feelings towards Peyton Manning. For so many years it was easy to hate him. He was from a family of wealth, he had every opportunity to be successful and he was, he licks his hands more than any human being should (especially when they spend so much time near his centers rear end), he appears in so many television commercials that you get tired of seeing his face. But after awhile, he wears you down. You get to the point where hating him becomes more about you than him. While his counterparts are off running dog fighting rings, sexually assaulting young co-eds (allegedly), impregnating mutliple women, getting shot by girlfriends, retiring/unretiring/retiring, he just keeps working on his game and getting better. You move from disliking him to being thankful that there are people like Peyton Manning in the NFL. And I'm saying this as a Patriots fan. I wasn't even openly routing against him when he went up against the Saints this past year. I've moved on. How can you not root for Manning now?

I have the same feelings about Duke. Coach K has ignored offers from many NBA teams (most notably the Lakers) and remained loyal to Duke. He has run an incredibly clean program that doesn't even come close to being sanctioned by the NCAA. His players play the game the right way, are all about team, and are very fundamental. When there are people like John Calipari getting paid millions to coach a professional team in the NCAA and he can't make it to the final four, you all of a sudden find yourself rooting for the Dukes of this world.

For loyal Duke followers this might be a backhanded compliment. I think Dukies liken themselves to the big bad Yankees, Cowboys, or Patriots. Winning machines that cannot be stopped. But realistically they are more like the Colts, Red Wings, or Atlanta Braves. They consistently win, consistently have great teams, and stay out of the news. For that reason and many others, I will have a hard time rooting against them this weekend as they journey to Indianopolis. Maybe, just maybe, Peyton will be there, licking his hands, watching them hoist the national championship on Monday night.