Maddux Sports Blog

1. Can someone please explain to me what the NFL offensive player of the year award means. I thought I knew – it seem self-evident – but this year’s voting leaves me totally mystified. Peyton Manning won the MVP award in a landslide because he was far more dominant and effective than any other player. It wasn’t really a debate. I’m pretty sure he’s an offensive player. If he’s the best player in the league then he should, I would think, be one of the best offensive players in the league. Apparently not. Chris Johnson won the award with 38.5 votes, while Manning was third with just 1.5 votes. Johnson won this award overwhelmingly, yet he didn’t get a single vote for MVP. Not one. There’s a logic problem here.

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Last week, I considered where teams were in the American League when it came to making the 2009 playoffs. In this blog, with less than 60 games left in the season, I take a look at the National League. Here’s the way that things are shaking down on the senior circuit.

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Arizona Diamondbacks – 86.5 - I am all over the under here. A lot of people like this team this year, but I am not one of them. Beyond Brandon Webb I don’t trust their pitching, and there is a fair bit of the lineup that doesn’t excite me. They will be a solid team, but this is too many wins for them.

Cincinnati Reds – 78.5 – I wanted to be optimistic about this team. They have a lot of talent that is easy to like. I just think this number is too big, though. If it was 72.5 I would be all over the over, but this seems ambitious. I’d probably lay off entirely here, but if I had to take a side I would go under.

Colorado Rockies – 77.5 – This number is silly. They are going to have pitching problems, and they will seriously miss Jeff Francis. Todd Helton is getting old, and the rest of the starters have a lot to prove. I will be very surprised if they go anywhere close to this number, never mind going over.

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Justine Henin retired suddenly yesterday despite the fact that she was number one in the world rankings. A couple of things arise from that. First, it’s sad where we have gotten to as a society of sports watchers – an athletes leaves suddenly and I can’t help but wonder what she was about to be caught doing. That’s probably not the case here, but we can’t help but wonder. Second, there goes one of the easiest bets in tennis. She had won three straight French Opens. The tournament starts in a couple of weeks. She hasn’t been playing well lately, but she still would have been an automatic bet for a few rounds.

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