When it comes to thinking-man running backs, only Tiki Barber inhabits the same rarified plane as Emmitt Smith. (I don’t mean “Emmitt Smith: Wordsmith,” per Jimmy Kimmel, just his playing style.) When he started his career with the New York Giants in 1997, Barber was thought by his coaches to be too small for an every-down back and the workload was divided between him and other backs. Soon, though, he became a starter and, over the course of his career, built himself up. (PEDs? Not today. He’s got enough problems for now.)
Not especially gifted with speed, power, or quickness, Barber developed the patience to wait for holes to open and, with his superior field vision, specialized in cutting back against the flow of the defense. He thus avoided taking big hits and the major injuries that ensue. Responsive to coaching and renowned for his grueling off-season workouts, Barber encapsulated my single favorite attribute in a pro athlete: he found a way to improve every season.
His signature (second to last) 2005 season has seldom been fully appreciated. His 2,390 total yards was, at that time, the second highest in NFL history and he had three (count ‘em — three!) 200-yard games that season. Barber even had the good sense to retire in his prime, a la NFL “icons” Jim Brown and Barry Sanders.
His professed loss of zest for the game might have been hastened by the broadcasting opportunities offered him. Four major stations — ABC, FOX, the NFL, and NBC — competed for his services. He chose NBC and became a correspondent for the Today show an analyst for Football Night in America. But it soon became apparent that Barber was too preoccupied with his presentation — in other words, he came across as slick. After one season on Football Night in America, he was moved off the set and exiled to reporting from empty fields.
During his career, Barber stirred up controversy by speaking his mind on issues like star defensive end Michael Strahan’s holdout, Eli Manning’s leadership abilities, and Coach Tom Coughlin’s play-calling. But they were tempests in a teapot compared to taking up with a 23-year-old former NBC intern and leaving his wife on the eve of their fourth child’s birth. Finally, citing a morals clause, NBC — no doubt jumping at the opportunity — terminated its contract with him. Now he’s out a $300,00 job just as his wife is reportedly making exorbitant divorce-court claims.
Barber’s post-football life, characterized by professional failure, sleaze, and likely onerous alimony and child support payments, hasn’t shaped up as he carefully planned. While his football career remains for me perhaps the most rewarding I’ve ever witnessed, he’s just too slick for his own good.
Copa Mundial is nearing the end of group play, with a few elimination round qualifiers already determined. Tomorrow’s featured match (featured here, anyway) sees the US taking on an Algeria side that’s outgunned on paper, with a spot in the Round of 16 awaiting if we can get the W. Of course, as England learned in its match against Algeria a few days ago, the games aren’t played on paper. So we’ll see. 
The calm before the storm
Tonight really kicks off the start of what has been built up to be nothing short of a true “silly season” in the NBA. We’ve already seen the “:LeBron sweepstakes and US tour”, the turnover in Cleveland’s front office, the (unofficial) courtship by the Bulls of Phil Jackson and the Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Cavs and Heat being mentioned as potential destinations for LeBron James – he being the so-called domino that would determine where fellow free agents Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer (not to mention Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki – all of whom are presumed to stay put except for maybe Allen) end up.
And with the free agent period due to start in a week, the “where will they go” stories will certainly be plentiful. But one thing that is getting a lot LESS exposure is the 2011 free agent class – one that may not have the biggest of the big names, but certainly Carmelo Anthony, Tony Parker, David West and Kevin Durant are substantial prizes for whatever team can sign or resign them.
One of the biggest mistakes that a team can do (and I fully expect the Knicks to do this as they have proven to be so adept as screwing up over the past decade, making it all but impossible for a fan like myself to stay excited) is spend money just because they have it. On this end, only Wade and Bosh are the game changers, while Boozer, Johnson and Stoudemire are excellent players but aren’t the number one player on a championship team. If the Knicks let David Lee go (one of the most underrated great players in the NBA), only to sign Stoudemire and Johnson (or even Bosh and Johnson), that could be a huge mistake. Why not sign Bosh, keep Lee, trade for a Tony Parker and make a run next year at one of the other big name FAs? But this is the Knicks we are talking about.
Read More »