Random Non-Knee Thoughts

I haven’t had this much free time since I back-packed around Europe after the Bar Exam. Unfortunately, this past month hasn’t been nearly as fun, because, you know, this little knee surgery thing has gotten in the way. But I’ve still managed to fill my time with more than just SportsCenter, Tyra Banks and reality TV. This is probably the most informed I’ve ever been, having read more news articles and watched more news programming in the past 30 days than I have the previous 6 months combined. My gut might be growing from inactivity, but so is my brain. Along those lines, here two observations/rants on current events:

The stimulus bill, hypocrisy, and politicians. I’m not an economist, so I have no clue whether $800 billion of gov’t spending will lead us out of this recession or hurt our country in the long-term. However, I find it troubling that the same people who blast John Thain for spending $35,000 to renovate a toilet remain conspicuously silent when some Congressman tries to sneak a $50 million pet pork project into a job creation bill. Along those same lines, the Illinois governor gets indicted for soliciting campaign donations in exchange for a Senate appointment, yet the New York governor openly touts the fundraising potential of Caroline Kennedy if she got appointed Senator. I realize the situations aren’t exactly identical, but, in my opinion, only a fine line separates them. Likewise, I don’t see a heckuva lot of difference between the governors’ Senate bartering and Jack Abramhoff seeking quid pro quos for his lobbying efforts or President Clinton pardoning Marc Rich after Rich’s wife’s donated millions to the Clinton Foundation, other than some were a bit more brazen and specific about their demands. Oh, and some of them got caught on tape.

This isn’t a Republican or Democratic thing, but rather a politician thing. It gets annoying when one side grandstands about the other political party’s shortcomings, while conveniently glossing over similar misdeeds by their political colleagues. While the Republicans dominated Congress from 2000-2006, the Democrats bitched that the Republicans shut them out of the legislative process and repeatedly bemoaned the lack of “bi-partisan” negotiations. The Republicans responded that they won the elections and, hence, to the victors go the spoils, much like an athlete saying, “scoreboard.” Well, times have changed and now the Democrats control Congress. And whaddya know, the roles are reversed. This time, the Republicans are complaining about not being able to help draft the stimulus bill, while the Democrats are responding, “tough cookies. You had your chance, now it’s our turn,” ironically cloaking their strong-arm tactics under the guise of “Change.” The faces change, but the complaints remain the same. Instead of wasting time – and insulting the public’s intelligence – by playing the spin game, I just wish politicians would craft solutions, instead of blaming the other side for the country’s problems.

Donovan McNabb chokes again. I’ve long-believed that McNabb was an above-average QB who benefitted from a phenomenal defense and the lack of a dominant NFC team, like the Pats, Colts and Steelers have been in the AFC this decade. He was just good enough to get his team to the playoffs, but not nearly good enough to win a big game on his own. He’s way too erratic, and never seemed capable of rallying his team when it counted. Plus, he was the master of putting up big numbers in ugly performances, which helped disguise his shortcomings.

His performance against the Cards in the NFC Conference Game symbolized McChunky Soup’s career. Look at McNabb’s numbers: 28 of 47 for 375 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, and 31 rushing yards. You’d think he was all-world in this game. Think again. He stunk up the joint in the first half, putting Philly in a major hole. When his team got down big and the Cards started playing prevent defense, McNabb chalked up monster numbers as Philly caught up, just like he did in his lone Super Bowl appearance against the Pats. Actually, his Super Bowl stats are eerily similar to the ones he put up in the Cards’ game, both games Philly lost. Anyway, his deep ball to Kevin Curtis and the TD bomb to DeSean Jackson against Arizona were things of beauty, a prime example of what McNabb can do when he’s hot. But those are simply flashes of brilliance that McNabb can never sustain. When Philly got the ball back with less than 3 minutes to go, did anybody seriously think McNabb would lead Philly for the game-tying score? Of course not. He’s the anti-clutch. The A-Rod of football, except Donovan can’t match A-Rod’s regular season accomplishments. By consistently missing open WRs on that final drive and failing to lead the Eagles to a TD with the game on the line, McNabb once again proved he doesn’t belong in the top tier of QBs. Unlike the earlier playoff games against the Vikings and Giants, Philly’s defense couldn’t bail out McNabb this time. People credit McNabb for consistently leading the Eagles deep into the playoffs, but there’s a reason the Eagles are 1-5 in Conference Championships and Super Bowls under McNabb’s watch.