The Decision
www.grantland.com
Backlash politics do not disappear by themselves, not as long as there remains an audience for them. They hide. They camouflage themselves. And the audience doesn’t disperse. It takes refuge in euphemism and deceit. Backlash politics must be crushed, and the audience must be rendered politically inert. Self-congratulation is the worst possible context in which this can happen. Watch how quickly “Jason Collins” becomes a conjuring spell on the political right. Watch them invent a “Jason Collins” that they can use to their own purposes. Watch it happen. It will look like magic.
Charlie Pierce is one of the most outstanding social commentators of this era, and it's a credit to Grantland that they feature his writing. His overarching point here is that we, as a society, shouldn't be as self-congratulatory as many of us would like to be, just because Jason Collins's announcement has been met with mostly positive public reactions. For most of the non-bigots among us, it's easy to have respect and understanding for Collins, and we assume that everybody else is just like us.
Pierce believes that the announcement is being received less well in quieter quarters, and he's almost certainly correct that a backlash will follow. Society still has a ways to go, even if many of us have evolved.
Why NBA center Jason Collins is coming out now
sportsillustrated.cnn.com
No one wants to live in fear. I’ve always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don’t sleep well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly. It takes an enormous amount of energy to guard such a big secret. I’ve endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie. I was certain that my world would fall apart if anyone knew. And yet when I acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole for the first time. I still had the same sense of humor, I still had the same mannerisms and my friends still had my back…
...Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start. It all comes down to education. I’ll sit down with any player who’s uneasy about my coming out. Being gay is not a choice. This is the tough road and at times the lonely road…
...The most you can do is stand up for what you believe in. I’m much happier since coming out to my friends and family. Being genuine and honest makes me happy.
It is our hope that the positive reception given Collins's news continues, and is extended to the fellow openly gay athletes who are to follow.
Jets' release of Tim Tebow could be blessing in disguise if QB is willing to take stock
sports.yahoo.com
Coaches and players who were with him in Denver say that Tebow would get to the line and immediately lose track of the play call from the huddle in the jumble of what he was told and what he saw across the line.
John Fox famously claimed two years ago that Mike Silver must have been speaking to the cook when he said Tebow was the Broncos' fourth best quarterback, behind Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn, and Adam Weber.
As always...Thank You, John Elway.
Friday NFL draft picks for Denver Broncos may produce gems
www.denverpost.com
This could be different.
There is a decent chance the Broncos will select starters in the second and third rounds in the NFL draft Friday, while they got a backup defensive tackle in the first round Thursday.
In the second and third rounds, expect the Broncos to seek two players that play cornerback, running back or strong safety.
These fools are continuing to beat their drum about cornerback, running back, and strong safety. I guess that's to be expected, although I think they're all wet. When did Sylvester Williams necessarily become a backup DT, though? Did training camp and the preseason already happen, and I missed it? Aren't these the same bozos who've been yelling for a DT for years now?
Also, is it better to draft D.J. Hayden twelfth overall, and also get the 42nd pick of the draft, or is it better to draft D.J. Hayden third overall, and forgo the second-rounder out of some stubborn groupthink idea of what constitutes acceptable value for the third pick? And really, does it take three DP writers to write that one stupid article?
Day 1 of the NFL Draft left Mr. Bartlett with nothing but questions, because he made the mistake of reading the Denver Post.
Mohrmann: The Broncos left something on the table
milehighsports.com
With a hole at middle linebacker, it seemed that they had their choice between Alec Ogletree and Manti Te’o. The Broncos passed and instead opted to bolster their defensive line with Sylvester Williams. And for the life of me I can’t figure out why…
...For all we know, Williams could go on to have a hall of fame career and help lead the Broncos to multiple Super Bowls. But for me, Alec Ogletree would have instantly changed the tone set by the defense. There is already a pass rushing threat when it comes to Von Miller, but Ogletree plays with the fierceness and speed that will have an impact on every down. Ogletree possesses the tools that made him a standout in the SEC, the next closest thing to NFL.
If you've read through the latest edition of Chewing the Fat, you'll know I wanted the Broncos to choose Alec Ogletree at #28.
Apparently, there were two voices in the wilderness.
Over the next few days, weeks, and months, you're going to hear a lot about Sylvester Williams being a great pick. Perhaps he will be. With the draft being a bit more lottery and a lot less skill, anything can happen.
But a year from now, don't come crying to ol' uncle TJ when Ogletree wins Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Someone has to be a contrarian around here.
Cowboys’ Jones boys deflate their own football people with draft ‘philosophy’
sports.yahoo.com
And Frederick, for his part, told a Dallas radio station that even he didn’t believe he’d be taken when he was.
“I thought I was a second-round offensive lineman,” he told Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “I thought somewhere in the second round would be more of a fit for me. I truly didn’t expect this.”
Sometimes, you can’t make this stuff up.
At least Travis Frederick is a humble young man?
You Got Served: Draft groupthink
www.itsalloverfatman.com
Understand this – every team wants to say they took the BPA on every pick. The media environment is such that instant analysis MUST happen after a draft, despite the fact that it’s completely worthless. Look at a team like Pittsburgh, which took G David DeCastro and T Mike Adams in the first two rounds. The media says that both picks represented good “value” because each player was mocked by various media members to go higher in the draft. They say that Pittsburgh went the BPA route, only because no consensus had formed that the Steelers would go for offensive linemen.
For our newer readers, and for those who forgot, I thought I'd wheel out this reminder from last year about groupthink, and why the smartest people won't make any absolutist pronouncements about what happens this weekend. Don't play yourself talking about the draft like a lot of these media fools play themselves, you heard?
Broncos' Quinton Carter has felony gambling charges dropped in Nevada
www.denverpost.com
Quinton Carter, a Denver Broncos safety, had felony gambling charges against him dropped by prosecutors on Monday.
Carter, 24, was charged March 9 with three felony counts of a fraudulent act against a gaming casino in North Las Vegas.
Carter was accused of placing $5 chips on a craps table at the Texas Station casino after the dice was rolled. Security officers said he was videotaped adding three bets to the table too late, according to the police report.
What happens in Vegas apparently really does stay in Vegas.
Willis McGahee Believes He’s Still a Part of Denver’s Plans, Says He’s Got Five Years Left in Him
sportsradiointerviews.com
How confident are you that the Broncos believe in you to be their go-to running back?: “Every day you’ve got to reinvent yourself, they say. The older you get, the more of a step you lose, so regardless of the situation, I’m going to have to reinvent myself and go out there and show the world — not just the Broncos, but the world — that I can still play this game. I think that’s the mentality I have. I don’t think nobody’s going to tell me when I’m done playing. I’ll make that decision for myself.”
But do you still feel you’re a part of this team’s plans?: “I’m still a part of the team’s plans, but at the end of the day anything can happen. Regardless if I’m healthy or not, I can’t control that. That’s something that the team has to evaluate. I’ve been in the business a long time and I’ve seen how it goes, so it’s nothing new.”
Would it bother you if the Broncos went after a running back in the draft?: “No, it don’t matter to me, because, like I said, it’s a business. My position, running backs only last, they say, three or four years, so of course they’re going to bring somebody in. Whether it’s the first three rounds or the last three rounds or free agency, they’re going to bring a running back in. … At the end of the day, the position I play, you’re going to always have to fight for your spot.”
As a competitor and as a veteran, would we expect McGahee to say anything else?
And he's right about one thing: running backs just don't last very long.
Schedule-makers strive for fairness
espn.go.com
For years, teams complained about three-game road trips. In 2010, five teams played three-game road trips. In 2011, the number went to seven. Last year, only the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans had three consecutive games on the road. This year, it’s only the Titans and Eagles.
...By putting a penalty into the program for such result, any team playing away for Monday night doesn’t have to worry about going on the road the next week.
Denver was one of those 2010 teams that endured a three-game road trip, and that did not turn out so well.
As we noted last week, the Broncos were treated kindly by the schedule makers, as they'll get an extra three days to prep for the Giants in Week 2, have the benefit of a bye prior to their stretch of three road games in four weeks, and receive the benefit of staying home for both ends of their Sunday/Thursday short week.
