Author Archives: Kevin York

The WNBA is Not a Lost Cause

I haven’t written in a while (I’m sorry to all of you that have been walking around with an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach over the past few weeks…ok, the past month…) and imagine my surprise at the topic that finally caused me to sit down and write. It’s not something I ever would’ve guessed. The WNBA. Yes, the Women’s National Basketball Association (that is what it stands for, right? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it completely spelled out). You can all thank Ryan for this.

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The NCAA Tournament, Bracketology and The Irrationality of It All

Photo Credit: (Kevin McGuire – https://twitter.com/KevinOnCFB)

By Kevin York

I’m writing this post right after filling out my NCAA March Madness bracket, but you’ll be reading it Thursday afternoon at a point where it already may well be completely destroyed. I spent the last 45 minutes plus agonizing over which teams to pick. And that’s an improvement over years past. Typically I’ll spend that much time completing my bracket in one sitting. Then the next day I spend another 20 minutes or so reviewing my bracket, changing picks, changing them back, and finally leaving them blank. The following day I’ll come back and spend at least another 20 minutes making final decisions. So, this year I streamlined (people love that word, don’t they?) the process, waited until the night before first-round games and finished the whole thing in one sitting.

I decided to do sort of a live journal, Bill Simmons style, talking through my picks. This will show how completely irrational filling out a bracket is, at least for me. But I venture it’s this way for everyone – man, woman, knowledgeable, unknowledgeable, superstitious, facts-driven.

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Quick Slant: Bob Kraft Speaks His Mind

By Kevin York

Slant: Kraft: Pats Wanted Welker Back

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I love this. Far too often, owners, players, agents, really everyone in sports, gives the safe answer. They give the answer that their PR guy told them to use. The non-answer. The non-offensive, non-confrontational, non-bulletin board answer. Kraft didn’t in this case. People (Wes Welker’s agents) were trying to make it seem like the Pats wanted to move on from their relationship with the receiver. With Kraft’s blunt and direct statements, he made it perfectly clear that wasn’t the case.

Not only did he clarify the situation, he stated that the Patriots actually offered Welker more money than the Broncos did (who Welker signed with). So why didn’t he sign with New England? Kraft felt Welker’s agents misrepresented his market value to their client, leading him to believe he could get more on the open market than he actually could. They gave the Patriots a salary number that was higher than New England was able to go. Sensing they wouldn’t be able to get Welker, the Pats signed Danny Amendola as an alternative. One day later, Welker called Kraft and New England head coach Bill Belichik to inform them of Denver’s offer. According to Kraft, had Welker placed the call one day earlier, they would’ve been able to re-sign him since they were originally offering more money. With Amendola signed, they couldn’t.

I love that Kraft went into such detail on the timeline to pursue Welker and Amendola. I wish more teams were this transparent.

One day after Kraft made his statements, Welker’s agents responded, almost as direct. We’re not exactly sure what happened now, but I love the fire both sides are spewing.

By Kevin York
Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevin_york
You can contact Kevin at kevin@thecouchletes.com

On Fire – Putting the Miami Heat’s Winning Streak into Context

By Kevin York

Photo Credit: (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images)

Yesterday someone asked me why none of us have written about the Miami Heat given their (at the time) 22 game winning streak. Good question. The obvious reason is that I’ve been swamped with work (the real work, the one that I get paid to do) so haven’t been writing as much lately (shout out to Hoa for carrying us with two strong posts in the past week). Busy isn’t the only reason I haven’t covered the Heat and their streak though; after all, I found the time to write a couple Quick Slants about the Seattle Seahawks. So why haven’t the Heat piqued my interest enough to write about them?

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Quick Slant: Seahawks Continue to Improve

(Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports)

By Kevin York

Slant: Sources say Seahawks and Cliff Avril agree on deal

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Yesterday I wrote about the first moves by the 49ers and Seahawks in the 2013 battle for the NFC West. I decided Seattle won round one with Percy Harvin being a more valuable addition for them than Anquan Boldin is for San Francisco.

Last night, news broke that Seattle did even more to improve its team, specifically an already potent defense. According to sources (you know, sources…) the Seahawks agreed to a deal to bring former stud Detroit defensive end Cliff Avril to the Pacific Northwest. Detroit franchised Avril once and we rarely see young defenders with high sack totals like him reach the open market. Avirl will join Bruce Irvin, Chris Clemons and Red Bryant, three very good defensive ends. An already scary defense just got scarier.

What have the Niners done to counter? Well, they’ve let defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga and tight end Delanie Walker walk away and sign with new teams – Philadelphia and Tennessee, respectively. That’s it. No new signings since Boldin.

Trent Baalke, Jim Harbaugh, as I said yesterday, we’re waiting for your move. And we’re still waiting…

So far, Seattle – 2, San Francisco – 0

By Kevin York
Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevin_york
You can contact Kevin at kevin@thecouchletes.com

Quick Slant: Seattle Takes Round 1 in the 2013 Battle for the NFC West

By Kevin York

Photo Credit: (Andy King/AP)

Slant: Seahawks trade for Percy Harvin & Ravens trade Anquan Boldin to 49ers

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We knew the NFC West was going to be a slugfest this year between San Francisco and Seattle. In the last week both teams made moves to upgrade their receiving corps with Seattle trading for Vikings receiver Percy Harvin and then San Francisco quickly countering by trading for Baltimore receiver Anquan Boldin. I actually like both moves, but the Seahawks made the much stronger play.

Percy Harvin is not just a receiver, he’s an offense. He can line up in the slot, at running back, at the wing, even at tight end. Don’t forget he can also return punts and kicks. Oh yeah, and he’s only 24. Anquan Boldin is a solid receiver, but at 32, provides diminishing returns at this stage of his career. Don’t get me wrong, he’s certainly a step up over Randy “I’m the greatest wide receiver ever” Moss, but I question just how much impact he’ll have on this Niners team. He’s not a blazing deep threat (which they could use) and he’s not that Wes Welker-type slot guy (which they also could use). He reminds me of an older, slower Michael Crabtree.

I don’t want to get too deep into what each team gave up to get Harvin and Boldin, but I think the deals were fair. In this year’s draft, at the position they’re picking, I don’t see the Seahawks getting anything near the ability or impact of Percy Harvin in the first round. It was a deal worth making. And for San Francisco, a sixth round pick for Boldin? He’s worth more than that. Good value for them. Too often when ‘experts’ analyze deals like this they get too caught up on potential, especially for teams giving away draft picks. Look at the reality. The now. The 2013 draft is weak unless you need an offensive or defensive lineman or a linebacker.

In Harvin, the Seahawks now have a bona fide number one receiver to pair with a number of other offensive weapons – stud running back Marshawn Lynch, developing quarterback Russell Wilson, underrated receivers Golden Tate and Sydney Rice, and tight end Zach Miller. Combine that with what’s possibly the best defense in football (yes, better than San Francisco whose secondary let in down a lot toward the end of the season) and I have to say, they have a leg up on the Niners at this point. The battle for the NFC West will be fun to watch this year. Your move, San Francisco…

By Kevin York
Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevin_york
You can contact Kevin at kevin@thecouchletes.com

Say it Ain’t So, Rory

By Kevin York

Photo Credit: (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

I’m a Rory McIlroy fan. He’s not my absolute favorite golfer, and I actually like his fellow countryman Graeme McDowell better, but I like Rory and respect what he’s doing for golf. A young, good, potentially dominant golfer with his head screwed on straight. The game means something to him and winning a tournament is still an emotional event for him. I thought he would be the answer to what Tiger Woods has given us the last ten years (ok, more like the ten years previous to the last two, when he’s been a shell of his former self) – cold, robotic dominance from a man that appears to have no emotions other than anger or self pity.

This morning that all may have changed. As ESPN reported, McIlroy walked off the course in the middle of his second round at the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens in Florida.

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Quick Slant: Sports are Most Definitely a Business

By Kevin York

Slant: Jermichael Finley won’t take pay cut & Tom Brady takes a pay cut

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Remember when professional athletes played their game because they loved it? When money wasn’t at the forefront of their decisions, trumping everything else, including winning? You’re not alone in having a foggy memory about this; I’m having a tough time remembering those days too.

Most athletes these days care about their pay day, just making as much money as they can. It doesn’t matter who they play for. It doesn’t even matter if they win. They just want to be shown the money. Jermichael Finley isn’t a culprit as much as he is the norm, just the latest in a long line of athletes that are in it for themselves.

But who are we to criticize that? Isn’t that how we all approach our careers on a smaller, much less lucrative scale? To a certain degree, yes, although there are exceptions. I’m not in a day job where I’m making as much as I possibly can. To me, there are other things more important than money. I think many others fall into this category as well. Us normal people have a number of other things that we weigh with jobs, including insurance, benefits, work environment and co-workers. The comparison of us as normal people to a Jermichael Finley won’t work because too many normal people really are doing what they can to scrape by for their families. When a pro athlete makes a comment about needing to support his family it makes me want to gag. When you’re making millions you’re able to support your family. Unless you have no idea how to manage money (granted, some definitely do not…) those few extra million don’t make that much of a difference in the life you give your wife/girlfriend/baby mama and kids.

Tom Brady is a throwback. He took less money so that New England can continue to build a winning team around him. I applaud that. We need more professional athletes like him. However, I’m smart enough to see we won’t see many Brady’s in sports anymore. Sports have most definitely become a business. Athletes play to make money, not necessarily to win. Is there anything wrong wit that? Not entirely, it’s just the reality of sports today.

As a Packer fan, don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Jermichael. You’re far too expensive for the production you’ve given us the last few years.

By Kevin York
Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevin_york
You can contact Kevin at kevin@thecouchletes.com

Quick Slant: Golf’s Rule Problem

By Kevin York

Photo Credit: (Getty Images)

Slant: The U.S. Golf Association (USGA) and Royal & Ancient Club (R&A) both want to ban the belly putter. The PGA Tour does not.

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This is really an interesting predicament. For years, the USGA and R&A have been golf’s governing bodies. Everyone in America followed the rules set by the USGA, and in Europe, everyone followed the R&A’s rules. No questions were asked, the rules were just followed.

Think about that for a minute before I move on. The USGA and R&A hold exactly two professional golf tournaments – The US Open and The British Open. That’s it. Every other tournament in the world is associated with a different governing entity. In America we’re most familiar with the PGA Tour. They run all the other big money professional tournaments. The PGA Tour is like the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL. The difference is that all those other leagues set and enforce their own rules. They aren’t listening to someone else’s rules and guidelines. They want something changed, they change it. In my view, it’s a very odd situation for the PGA. They have to follow the USGA’s rules.

The USGA and R&A want to outlaw the belly putter, arguing it gives those using it an unfair advantage because it gives them an anchor and takes some skill out of the game. For the record, I agree with them. Use a real putter! The PGA, on the other hand, doesn’t think there’s any evidence to support that the belly putter provides an advantage to those using it. Interestingly enough, as this article mentions, three of the past five major winners have used a belly putter.

Instead of just taking the USGA and R&A rulings laying down, the PGA is being vocal about their opposition to this rule change. The question now is, how much influence does the PGA have over rule changes? Neither the USGA nor R&A has officially passed the belly putter rule change through – yet. Will the PGA and commissioner Tim Finchem’s public comments in opposition to it change things?

I’m typically all about preserving history, but on this topic, even though I hate belly putters, I side with the PGA. A professional league should be able to set its own rules, the same way the NFL or NBA can.

By Kevin York
Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevin_york
You can contact Kevin at kevin@thecouchletes.com

Improvements and a Milestone

By Kevin York

Dear readers,

You may have noticed over the past couple days that The Couchletes site is looking a little different. Over the weekend we migrated from a free community server to a privately hosted one. This move will allow us to make some aesthetic changes to the site to improve your reading experience. You may have already noticed a few of these changes, like a wider post column. Now our posts, which sometimes get lengthy, are more spread out and don’t stretch as long vertically, which previously forced you to scroll and scroll and scroll. We also are able to add a ‘Continue Reading’ link to those long posts from the homepage so that you’re able to view more of our recent posts on the homepage.

Unfortunately, we experienced an unintended downside to the move – our subscription feeds were changed. If you were previously subscribing to The Couchletes, either by email or by a feed, you’ll need to re-subscribe. That can be done on the right side of the homepage. We know that’s not ideal and we apologize for any inconveniences.

A recent content change we’ve made is the addition of Quick Slants, daily short-form posts that touch on current popular topics. Like I mentioned earlier, we know that some of our posts, while thorough, can get pretty long. Quick Slants offset our regular posts by giving you shorter, more quickly digestible posts. Yes, we’re now publishing multiple posts per day. We’re like a “real” site. Well, almost.

In the coming weeks you’ll notice additional changes to the site, all designed to improve things on your end. Please bear with us as we make these improvements. We really appreciate all of you who keep coming back to the site.

I’m also happy to report that yesterday we reached a milestone. Why the 49ers Should Let Dashon Goldson Walk was our 100th post. Yes, we’re just surprised as you are that we’ve made it this far. We couldn’t have done it without all of you actually reading what we publish. Apparently there really are people interested in what we have to say.

Lastly, we’ve added two new authors to the site. Josh and Jeff each published their first posts recently. Josh questioning if the NFL has reached the peak of its popularity and Jeff assessing the current state of his Dallas Cowboys. Exciting things are happening here at The Couchletes and we hope you continue this ride with us.

By Kevin York
Follow Kevin on Twitter at @kevin_york
You can contact Kevin at kevin@thecouchletes.com