Too easy, but I'll take it

The Penn State men's basketball team lost their main arena for a week in February so that the band Bon Jovi could practice. I don't think any amount of rehearsal could help Bon Jovi sound better.

Trent Dilfer is a champion

Any argument that plays to an exception, rather than a rule, annoys me. In sports, I don't hear any example more than when someone says that any lousy quarterback can win a Super Bowl, and point to Trent Dilfer. I have no choice but to veto its use in any discussion.

Dilfer played with perhaps the best defense ever assembled. But was he really that bad? Let's compare him to the man generally known as the best QB never to win a Super Bowl, Dan Marino...

Dilfer 2000-01 playoff stats (fun with small sample sizes): 3 TD, 1 INT, 83.7 Rating.

Marino career playoff stats: 32 TD, 24 INT, 77.1 Rating. (8-10 career playoff record)

For comparison, Marino's career regular season record was 147-93, with 420 TDs to 252 INTs, and an 86.4 QB rating.

Dilfer had an okay career, but this speaks to the importance of playing your best in the postseason, and especially the Super Bowl.

And even if you still consider him a scrub, using the Dilfer argument just affirms that you realize 43 of the other 44 Super Bowls were won with a good-to-great QB. Take any other QB who won even one ring in his career, and I have respect for him as a champion. Doug Williams, Len Dawson, Ken Stabler, anyone...except Tom Brady who was cheating.

Yes, this is the kind of worthless sports drivel I occupy my mind with while the NFL is locked out. Next week, helmet power rankings! Wait, never mind, that's already been done. Uuuggghhhh.

The unease of dealing with aging stars

Things are getting ugly with two Yankee legends, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. Posada is hitting .183 (with a .672 OPS) as of today, and Jeter is hitting .257 (.636 OPS). These two are the last remaining parts of the Yankee dynasty - along with Mariano Rivera of course - but Mo is as good as ever so doesn’t belong in this discussion.

So, what to do about Posada and Jeter? In a way, the Yanks are in danger of becoming victims of their own success. You can’t just boot a legend out the door, can you? To what point do you let them dictate their final years? As South Park's Funnybot said..."Awkward."

Posada and Jeter gave the Yankees many great seasons that will never be forgotten. But no one owes anybody here - they were paid handsomely for those years, and no one is above the team. I forgot who I first heard say it, but I'll repeat it here: If a legend, rather than a team, was the one to choose when it's time to go, Reggie Jackson would still be playing left field for the Yankees.

I’ve almost accepted the fate that the Yankees are going to miss the playoffs this year, thanks largely in part to Jeter and Posada being so subpar that they’re going to cost the Yankees several wins this season that “league average” players would not have lost in their place. And if these two suddenly go on a tear and play like it’s 1998 again, I’ll be happy to be wrong. But if they don’t recapture their career averages or anything close to them by the end of the season, I hope they’ll do the right thing and retire.

Thanks for the memories guys. But it’s almost time to go.

Side note: Whenever I hear the term “Core Four” used in reference to Rivera, Jeter, Posada, and Andy Pettitte, even now that Pettitte is retired, I always feel like they’re overlooking Bernie Williams. Williams also came up through the Yankees minor league system, was present for all four championships between 1996 and 2000, and played as big a part in winning them as anybody. But unlike Pettitte, Williams didn’t run off to Houston for 3 years with his buddy Roger Clemens (who was totally NAWT a true Yankee).

Tired

No, this post isn't about the Foo Fighters' 2002 song "Tired Of You" featuring a guitar track contribution from Brian May. (By the way, their new album is terrific if you haven't heard it yet.) Rather, I wonder which is a more tired joke at this point: Charlie Sheen, or Donald Trump? In fact, if someone was to combine the two subjects, he'd have one unstoppable, worn out super-joke! I'm looking in your direction, Jay Leno. "Ehhh, Charlie Sheen in the news again, have you heard about this, have you seen this? He said Obama's birth certificate is WINNING!" {Audience cheers mindlessly}

Also, if I can get on the record on Trump, I believe his "birther" angle was a work. He's actually on President Obama's side, and wants him re-elected. What better way than to portray Obama's opponents as stupid as possible? He played right into the exact stereotype of that tiny minority of conservatives that make the vast majority of conservatives shake their heads in embarrassment. (If you even want to count the birther movement as "conservative" in nature - I don't, but whatever.) See, if I want to make Cowboys fans look bad (as if they needed help), I don't just wear a Giants jersey and list logical reasons why Cowboys fans are not good...I wear a Cowboys jersey, and do the most idiotic thing I can, like kick a bunch of kittens or something.