A reminder of how great Cy Young was

The 100th anniversary of Cy Young's last win (he hasn't won a game in a 100 years? What a slacker.) was this past week. When you look at Cy Young's numbers, you realize just how special he was. One thing I find interesting, and this probably has to do with how many pitches he had to throw, was that he was not a strikeout pitcher (only 3.84 strikeouts per 9 innings). He very much pitched to contact, walking just 1 per 9 innings in his career. His career ERA was 2.36, and his FIP (fielder independent ERA) was just 2.57. His career WHIP was a very nice 1.130. Then there is the sheer fact that this guy pitched for 22 seasons! 5 of those years he threw over 400 innings (no one really throws 250 any more), and 16 years he threw at least 300 innings.

Don't do situps in your driveway: the Terrell Owens story

It is being reported that Terrell Owens has torn his ACL and already had surgery on it. At the earliest, he will be able to return in November. He appeared to have torn it while taping a show for VH1. There is concern that this may be the end of the road for Owens, as he is already 37. It is perhaps a fitting end to Owens' very flamboyant career. However, its not like there are any other signs that say he can't play anymore. Last year he played with the Bengals, and had a decent season with nearly a thousand yards on 72 catches with a quarterback that couldn't throw more than 15 yards. Depending on how his knee heals, one would think he would still be able to be a positive contributer on any team. I would be shocked if he never plays again.

Now the debate is as to whether Terrell Owens should be a Hall of Famer. When you look at the numbers, there is no debate. Career-wise, Owens ranks behind only Jerry Rice in all-time receiving yardage and is third behind Rice and Randy Moss in receiving touchdowns. In fact, in basically every receiving category, if he is not 2^nd, he is in the top 5. Statistically, he is probably the 2^nd best receiver of all time. Now one can make the legitimate argument that in the past 10-15 years, rules have made it easier to pass, therefore, its easier to be a receiver. The only problem with this is that Owens is the best receiver of this pass happy era, with only Randy Moss even in the running of challenging him. Make no mistake, Owens was the best receiver of the 2000s. The only reason anyone is questioning whether he is a Hall of Famer or not is because he is kind of an ass. Yeah, he did some sit-ups in his driveway while the media was trying to talk to him, and stood at midfield on the Cowboy's star, but its not like he was ever in trouble with the law. He didn't kill a bunch of dogs, his wife, or shoot some guy in a bar. He hasn't even got in the trouble that many athletes get in trouble with, like petty drug offenses, or getting into fights. Not to mention that this is a guy who played in the Super Bowl with a broken leg, and played an entire season with the Cowboys with a broken hand. One would think this makes up for carrying a sharpie in his sock, but I guess we will see what crybaby football writers decide to do.



Bold Prediction: Terrell Owens gets 4 more reality shows this year.