Thursday, December 18, 2008

Thursday 12/18 A.M. Quickie:
Celtics, Favre, Tebow, Baugh, CP3, More

Now that they have that pesky first title behind them, the Celtics can focus on making history -- I would hope that is what is motivating them at this point, tying the NBA record for best start after 26 games. And they have ripped off the last 16 (straight) wins so effortlessly (though the Hawks gave them a hell of a game -- as usual!) that numbers like "72" don't seem unreasonable.

Celtics and Sharks (who ruined a perfectly good storyline by losing last night in OT) lead today's SN column.

There's also some stuff in the column about a weariness with Brett Favre (go figure!) and Tim Tebow's NFL draft prospects (actually relevant this time!), but both are eclipsed when you take a deep dive into the career of Sammy Baugh.

Instant History demands that we not look too closely at players like Baugh -- hell, I can barely remember what happened last month -- but when you read the obits, the guy was about as revolutionary a player (certainly as revolutionary a QB) as ever played the game.

All these historical rankings that put Brady and/or Peyton and/or Montana and/or Elway ahead of Baugh (even the ones that put Unitas ahead of Baugh -- usually at the top of the list, actually), they all need an asterisk that those QBs wouldn't exist without Baugh's influence on the game.

What baffles me is that we're talking about a player for whom if you aren't at least 70 years old (and if you're over 70 and reading this blog PLEASE email me), you have no active memory of the guy. You may have seen clips. You may have heard his name. But it's not the same.

It's easy to put Tom Brady in a pantheon -- the era in which he played is remarkable for nothing as much as the 24/7 hyper-access we had to following him, which inflates his value -- but let's tip our caps and have a moment of thought for Slingin' Sammy.

Travel day today, so posting might be light until tonight. Complete SN column here.

-- D.S.

1 comment:

WuzUpG said...

I'm proud of you, Dan, for finally mentioning my Sharks! I realize the overtime loss ruined a storyline, but the Sharks are looking at the bigger picture because they face the Stanley Cup champs tonight on a backend of a back-to-back, while the Wings were resting.