Sports

NFL players don't act like role models

Letters to the Editor
Published August 28, 2005

---

Heard the football news recently? Randy Moss smokes pot. Ricky Williams returns after admitting drug use. And now, Tom Brady says he surfs the Net for porn.

We the fans of the NFL are supposed to adore and idolize these professional, overpaid "children"? What a "high" price we're paying for four quarters of football. I mean four quarters of illicit, immoral behavior.

I'd rather watch Bobby Brown.

-- Lynn York, Clearwater

Bucs need more than a Cadillac to win

I am a Bucs fan, however, the big hype on Cadillac Williams and all of the other vehicles in coach Jon Gruden's garage is overrated.

As I told all my friends, "It doesn't matter what kind of car you have in the garage. If you can't find the garage door opener, the car isn't going anywhere."

If the Caddy does get out of the garage, it looks like the gate at the end of the driveway is locked.

-- Ricky Reed, Pinellas Park

St. Louis doesn't deserve sympathy

After reading Tom Jones' article, "St. Louis in a can't-win situation," I couldn't help but ask: Why should we feel sorry for Martin St. Louis?

Jones alludes to the idea that he should be the highest-paid player in the league. Is he better than Markus Naslund, Peter Forsberg, Joe Thornton or Jarome Iginla? Maybe not points-wise (for a single season), but on the whole, you can bet he's not.

Winning an MVP does not make one the best player in anything. It's an acknowledgement of a job well done. Even Capitals goalie Jim Carey won the Vezina in the '90s.

If anything, shouldn't St. Louis owe the Lightning a thank you for it having given him those unexpected chances? What St. Louis did was take advantage of, and overachieve in, an opportunity he was given.

And ultimately, what's wrong with $4.5-million a year? Especially if it's a five-year deal. In five years, he's going to be 35 years old and making $4.5-million in this "new" economic market. Chances are he won't be putting up the same numbers as he did in 2003-04, and by then, he certainly won't be the most important member of this team.

That distinction will continue to remain with guys such as Vinny Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Pavel Kubina.

-- Melanie Formentin, Lutz

[Last modified August 28, 2005, 01:14:15]

[an error occurred while processing this directive]