This Week in Review: Bryce Harper, Brett Favre, and Roger Clemens

Bryce Harper Signed

For the second year in a row, the Washington Nationals signed the number one overall pick in the draft in an eleventh hour deal just beating the deadline. A lot was made out of this because of the similarities between Harper and Stephen Strasburg and because of Strasburg's comments, but I do not think there was any real doubt that Harper was going to sign. His entire amateur career has been sped up so that he could get into the majors. He completed his GRE after his sophomore year in high school, he signed with a college that plays in a wood-bat league; I really had a hard time believing he was going to let the deadline pass and sit out a full year for next year's draft. This is just how agent Scott Boras operates. He drags out these talks so that he can get the best deal possible for his players.

Any tension between Strasburg and Harper was purely a media concoction. Strasburg was badly misquoted earlier this week regarding Harper's negotiations. Far from being a negative comment, Strasburg was being very neutral and unconcerned saying that if he wanted to play in Washington then the deal would get done and if not he could go elsewhere. That's all. It was not a shot at his now teammate, it was just him being unconcerned.

Now the story will be whether Harper can behave himself. He will no doubt start out in the minors next season and if he doesn't climb the ladder as quickly as he thinks he should, then there may be some trouble.

Brett Favre Comes Back...Again

After all the debate, after all the "indecision" Brett Favre announced he would be joining the Minnesota Vikings for another season. What a shock. Before you listen to any of his press conferences or any statements by him or the team, there are a few things that you need to bear in mind. First, he came back on the Tuesday after the first preseason game. This matters because that is the exact time he came back last season. I have a very hard time believing this is a coincidence. That means all the apparent indecision, all the soul searching, all of that was a blatant lie. He was stalling just so he could miss camp just like last year. The second thing you need to keep in mind is that I predicted this. I'm not pointing this out to stroke my ego, I'm pointing it out because everything he did was completely predictable. Everyone knew he was coming back which he did, everyone knew he was just trying to avoid training camp which he did. All this talk about it being about the team, everything he says he thought about and all the reasons he gave for coming back are false. This is what he was planning all along and most people saw it coming.

Now some people may say that he really was on the fence until some of his teammates came to Mississippi to beg him to come back. I do not know exactly what happened here, but it just goes to show you how big his ego is. Some of the best players on the team had to miss practice to get on their knees and beg him to come back. This is ridiculous.

If Favre can still play, which he proved last season, good for him. The reason I hate Favre is not because I do not think he should play or that he's old and should step aside, it's because he has made it all about him. You cannot sit out of training camp just because you don't want to do it. You cannot handcuff an entire organization by not telling them what you're planning to do. If Favre went to camp, listened to his coaches and teammates, and decided quickly whether he was staying or retiring, he would still be a great quarterback. Aren't you curious why head coach Brad Childress is on the hot seat despite having a team most people would classify as a Super Bowl contender? It is because he has completely mishandled the situation. If Minnesota does not make a deep post season run, he may be out of a job. What's more is that he has been a terrible influence to the younger players. Adrian Peterson reportedly left practice early because he did not want to participate anymore that afternoon. When your team leader can do it, the whole team gets the message. This whole situation has shown how selfish and egotistical he really is.

Roger Clemens Indicted

Speaking of egotistical, it is hard to have any sympathy for cheating baseball players desperately trying to repair their legacies. Roger Clemens has apparently decided to take the Barry Bonds route of denying ever taking steroids despite the fact that everyone knows he did. Clemens was indicted this week for making false statements to congress for which he faces a maximum of 30 years. He was offered a plea bargain in which he would receive no jail time if he simply admitted to using steroids and he refused. Maybe Bonds and Clemens can share a cell.

Yes, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I also think it is also worth mentioning that if I were charged of a crime I was innocent of, I would not admit to it just to avoid jail time either. But looking at the rampant cheating scandal through out baseball, Clemens' character, and the evidence against him it is hard to believe anything he says. The story began when the Mitchell report was released documenting the use of performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. Clemens was mentioned 82 times in the report. He denied ever using steroids even while numerous other players in the report were coming clean. Then former trainer Brian McNamee came forward saying he personally injected Clemens with steroids numerous times and reportedly brought forward several syringes he used on him and bloody gauze (why he would keep it is a good question). Again, Clemens denied it and even tried to sue McNamee but the case was thrown out.

So, you have a player named mutiple times in a credible report, accused by a former trainer who has a box of evidence, and who now faces 30 years in jail and he refuses to admit that he's done anything wrong. If he is telling the truth, then good for him. If not, and it is hard to ignore the evidence against him, I do not know what he's trying to prove. His reputation is in the toilet, what is he holding on to? I do not understand what fantasy land these players like Clemens and Bonds are living in. Nobody believes them, their reputations are in shatters, and at this point neither will be getting into the hall of fame. Is it worth going to jail to protect a lie that no one believes?

Catching Up

As I've been gone for over a week a lot has happened in the world of sports so here are some quick stories to get me up to date:

Strasburg Dazzles in First Major League Starts
Stephen Strasburg made his highly anticipated MLB debut on June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and put together a performance that left Nationals' fans excited more than ever about their young franchise. He pitched 7 innings allowing only 4 hits and striking out 14. In his second start against Cleveland on Sunday, he put together what many analysts consider to be an even more impressive outing. Strasburg battled a hostile crowd and a disintegrating pitcher's mound for 8 strikeouts and 2 hits in over 5 innings. The Nationals may have something really special in this kid and they need to start building around him. Excitement in the team has not been this high since they moved to Washington from Montreal, and it won't last forever. If the Nationals hope to build on the current interest, they will have to build a team around Strasburg sooner rather than later.

Nationals Select Harper with Top Overall Pick in the Draft
With all the excitement over Strasburg, it is easy to forget that there are other things happening in baseball, but the draft did take place the Nationals hope they have just taken another step forward by selecting Bryce Harper. Harper is the first junior college player ever selected number one overall in the MLB draft, but his talent and performance last season makes this no real surprise. In 66 games he has hit 98 RBIs and 31 home runs, breaking the previous school record of 12. The league in which he played, the Scenic West Athletic Conference, uses wooden bats so there is no issue of inflated batting stats as you see with players in division one baseball who use aluminum bats. There are questions, however, about Harper's character. Harper was ejected twice in 2010, including during the National Junior College World Series. After being struck out, Harper drew a line in the dirt with his bat indicating where he thought the pitch actually was and was ejected. As this was his second ejection of the year he was suspended for two games and his team lost the series. Many have described Harper as an arrogant jerk and scouts have reported he has a disturbingly high sense of entitlement. Well, that will happen when your parents allow you to get your GED after two years of high school so you can start your professional career sooner and you get drafted number one overall at the age of 17. That's right, 17. Harper may have some growing up to do before he shows up in the Nationals' lineup.

USA Manages a 1-1 Draw with Favored England
USA opened up the 2010 World Cup with their highly anticipated game against England on Saturday and managed an impressive 1-1 draw. England always comes into the World Cup with high expectations and talent to match, but remain dreadfully inconsistent in international play (they failed to qualify for the last Euro Cup). USA came into the tournament with high hopes after an impressive second place finish in the Confederation's Cup a year ago, but also with the cloud of the last World Cup's terrible finish (0-2-1, including a loss to Ghana) and the daunting task of facing England to start. Four minutes in, England embarrassed the US team with a goal from captain Steven Garrard which made the defense look outmatched, unprepared, and just plain sloppy. The US really picked things up after that and matched England step for step. What many no doubt remember from this game, is goalie Robert Green's failure to corrale Clint Dempsy's innocent shot which tied the game at 1. Most would say the US was lucky to walk away with a tie, but after England's quick start, the US looked much better and even had the better chances. Late in the second half, Jozy Altidore burned England's defensemen and banged a shot off the post that would have given the Yanks the lead. Tim Howard, who was just cleared to play in Friday's game against Slovenia, looked very solid in net and US looked every bit England's equal late in the game.

What is important now is for USA not to have any feelings of "mission accomplished." True, they walked away with a point against the best team in their group, but the pressure is on after Slovenia's win over Algeria. In the last World Cup, the US managed to tie eventual champion Italy 1-1, but then lost to Ghana 2-1 in a game that could have earned them a spot in the second round. A 1-1 draw against England means little if the USA cannot follow up against Slovenia and Algeria.

College Shake Ups
When I left, there was talk of Big 10 expansion. When I came back, all of the sudden college conferences seemed to be breaking at the seams. While there seems to be a new story everyday, here is what has happened so far: Colorado is leaving the Big 12 for the Pac 10, Nebraska is leaving the Big 12 for the Big 10, and Boise State is leaving the WAC for the Mountain West. The Texas shakeup has been avoided for the time being, keeping Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State in the Big 12. I was surprised by how deep this story went. When I heard the Big 10 extended offers to Nebraska, Notre Dame, Missouri, and Rutgers, the only team I thought would consider the move was Rutgers. I was very surprised not only that Nebraska accepted, but that they did so because most of the conference was considering moving as well. The Big 12 is considered second only to the SEC in college football and I was shocked that so many were considering leaving the conference. Silly me, I forgot what drives all these decisions: money. In the end, the Big 10 Network and the money it brings is what won Nebraska over.

And let's not forget Boise State who has gotten lost in all the speculation over Texas. The Pac 10 really dropped the ball by not getting Boise State. I do not know all the details of how this happened, but if the Pac 10 did not do absolutely everything they could to bring Boise State in, then they messed up. Boise State is a major competitor in college football and seemingly the only thing keeping them out of the National Championship game was their non BCS conference. Boise State would have brought a lot of interest, media coverage, and revenue to a conference who's traditional powerhouse has now been banned from postseason play for 2 years. It may have turned out that the Pac 10 did pursue Boise State and they chose the Mountain West anyway to help out fellow "ignored by the BCS" contenders TCU, BYU, and Utah. If that's the case, then you cannot fault the Pac 10, but this really seemed like a good fit to me and they must be kicking themselves now for not getting it done. What this means for the Mountain West is that they are going to push hard for a BCS bid and no doubt, because the BCS is run by morons, they will be ignored until conference expansion destroys the Big 12 or the Big East. Still, the Mountain West is now poised to become a power conference very soon.