Messi madness in full swing, s...

It’s been an exiting week for soccer fans both in The United States and throughout the rest of the world. I don’t think I remember any single 10 day period when soccer has had more positive media exposure in print, on line and in streaming networks. I’m not talking about the Woman’s National Team, who seem to be advancing thru the FIFA Woman’s World Cup with familiar regularity(although they are far from dominating like we’re used to) I’m talking about the game of soccer as a whole in it’s entirety. For the very first time I think I can safely declare that soccer has arrived in America and I can predict that it will one day be huge rivaling The NBA, Major League Baseball and maybe perhaps The NFL. Well, maybe not The NFL, but if you’re gonna make bold predictions why not go big right?

Everybody, and I mean everybody, is talking about Lionel Messi and his arrival and play at Inter Miami in the MLS. It has quite literally propelled the game to the forefront of every major sports media outlet. The signature pink shirts of Inter Miami with the number 10 and the international star’s name on the back are the hottest item for sale in South Florida since sun screen and Tom Brady’s #12 Jersey. Everyone wants one. I see people wearing them everywhere and I can tell you from personal experience they are hard to find and expensive when found. It’s hard not to get excited about it but I’m expecting big things to happen in the future. Argentinan food trucks are popping up everywhere. There’s a rumor floating around the wire that Publix has named a special Deli Sub in Messi’s honor apparently. I’m told it gonna be called “Pink Thunder”! Tickets to every Miami home game are sold out or are selling at sky high prices. I can only imagine that tickets to away games are selling at the same rates. The phenomenon that is Messi Mania has arrived in America. It’s comes with a huge dose of excitement and and a hefty price tag if you want to watch the games on Apple TV(69 bucks and rising)but it has arrived and is here to stay none the less. Hang on to your hats sports fans and enjoy the ride!

It’s hard to imagine going thru an entire Major League Baseball season without some form of drama. To me baseball has always been a sport I paid attention to in September and October, not in July or August when watching baseball is like watching the grass grow in your front lawn. In the end some form of excitement is needed to keep people watching until the fall when things get serious and yes I’m talking football here.

I think the New York Mets have finally figured out that you can’t buy your way to a World Series Title. With a star studded roster and a payroll that would bankrupt several states in America the Mets are once again a flaming, smoldering dumpster fire. It’s painful to watch. True to form they have the highest team salary in baseball and are going nowhere. Star pitchers like Jason Verlander and Max Scherzer are either injured or getting suspended or just having a lousy year throwing the ball. There was a lot of hope for the Mets this year but once again fate has given them a really bad hand of cards. Best of luck to them in the future.

Circling back to soccer (as they might say in a White House press briefing) the Woman’s World Cup has been action packed. Co-Host New Zealand who started the tournament with a startling upset over Norway were eliminated and failed to make it to the knock out stage. The Philapines, South Korea and The Republic of Ireland also failed in their bid to continue on. There have however been some major upsets with Columbia winning 2-1 over Germany and the ladies from Jamaica playing France to a draw (0-0) and handing Panama a loss (1-0). I’ve mentioned before I like the underdog in sports and I can tell you that these girls come to play. At 3 a.m in the morning it can be some serious TV. Who said nothing good ever happens after midnight right?!?

We have another 2-3 weeks of Woman’s World Cup soccer so bare with it and look at it this way; When it’s finally over we’ll be a mere 8-10 days away from football!!!

Speaking of football, there’s a bit of drama there as well and of course it involves the King of Drama Arron Rogers. Yes, you heard it right. His openly public feud with Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton was the talk of the town the past few days and to be honest I found it to be both hilarious and embarrassing at the same time. Arron Rogers gives himself a lot more credit then he deserves. He’s an attention seeker pure and simple. I’d have more respect for him if he simply kept his mouth shut, stayed away from the media and played football but being an overly self entitled narcissist he fails to even come close. In the words of some of the more famous sports journalists out there, “Just shut up and throw the brown ball Arron”.

Lucky for us there are many more football players in the NFL with bigger things to worry about then Arron Roger’s ego. Running backs are fighting tooth and nail to get the money they deserve as key players in the offense. Topping out near 10 million dollars a year seems very short money for a guy that takes as much of a pounding as any NFL running back does. It might be a sign of the times that running backs are not valued as much as they once were. With many quarterbacks making 8 or 9 times as much per year on contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars you have to dig deep to understand where it’s all going. Maybe owners are getting cheap. Maybe the players want more then they’re actually worth but in reality and in my opinion the New York Giants won’t make the playoffs without a healthy running back nor will The 49ers. I’m taking a wait and see attitude. Until then I’ll just say as I always do……play on!!

Kev

Kev's Corner Our Staffs Weekly Sports perspective (click here for more of Kev’s past articles)