The 5th Annual Brewskies
by rick olivares
At the end of every year, Bleachers’ Brew hands out the Brewskie Awards to people, athletes, and teams that have made the world of sports even more interesting if not controversial.
Heel of the Year – LeBron James. He took his talents to South Beach and his popularity went south faster than a temperature drop. If people weren’t convinced of his greatness before switching jerseys not even an NBA title with the Miami Heat will now change that.
The Larry Brown Award – Rafa Benitez. Named after the nomadic NBA coach who changed the fortunes of his teams as soon as he arrived but left after less than desirable circumstances. Benitez whether by his own design or not won at Valencia, Liverpool, and Intermilan but as in his last stop in Italy, he was out after a few months. Jose Mourinho he isn’t.
The Tough Guy of the Year Award – Floyd Mayweather Jr. Unwilling to fight Manny Pacquiao, he instead picked a fight with a girlfriend and got hit with eight counts of coercion, robbery, grand larceny, battery, and harassment. Then he compounded matters by assaulting a security guard a few weeks after that.
Peace Prize of the Year – Jose Mari Martinez. He unwittingly united the warring factions within the Philippine Football Federation to the point that even his former allies voted against him in the 7th PFF Ordinary Congress. The voting went 26 for his removal and replacement with four abstentions. As Martinez sought the help of AFC President Mohammad Bin-Hammam that saw FIFA and AFC lawyers fly to the Philippines in a fact finding mission, previous opponents such as former NCRFA president Pocholo Borromeo and PFF Chairman Emeritus Johnny Romualdez shook hands as they joined the move to prevent Martinez from regaining his post. It must be more than the Holiday spirit.
Cheap Shot of the Year – New York Jets Strength and Conditioning Coach Sal Alosi. Alosi tripped up Miami Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll as the player went out of bounds. Not only was Alosi fined but the team suspended him indefinitely after it was learned that he ordered players on the sidelines to form a wall to potentially impede opponents.
Jose Canseco Award – Floyd Landis. Took dope. Denied it. Life went into the crapper. Suddenly discovered he had a conscience enough to rat on teammates. Once a dope always a dope.
Fair Play Award – FIFA. With their referees bungling so many calls during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the calls for the use of goal line technology and instant replay became louder. Incredibly, FIFA exonerated their dumbass referees from any wrongdoing.
Shooting Guard of the Year - Gilbert Arenas. Should change his nickname of “Agent Zero” to “El Pistolero” for his penchant for guns. He even brought firearms inside the locker room of the Washington Wizards where he got into a dispute with a former teammate. In case you didn’t know, the former name of the franchise was “the Bullets.”
Instant Karma Award – Les Bleus. The French National Football Team advanced to the 2010 World Cup by ousting Ireland after an unlikely handball by Thierry Henry to teammate William Galas who scored a the marginal goal. Once the team got to South Africa, they didn’t win a match, were ousted in the first round, and got embroiled with an embarrassing spat with former coach Raymond Domenech. The coach removed striker Nicholas Anelka for his petulance and the team responded by striking. Domenech ended the most forgettable tournament by refusing to shake hands with his South African counterpart Carlos Alberto Parreira whose squad booted out the lackluster French.
Raymond Domenech Award for Sportsmanship – Vietnam national football team head coach Henrique Calisto. After his defending Suzuki Cup champions were on the business end of a 2-nil upset (one of the most massive in footballing history) to the Philippines, Calisto reprised disgraced French coach Raymond Domenech by refusing to shake the hand of Azkals’ head coach Simon McMenemy and blasting him over the next two press conferences of the tournament. Even worse, he took offense at the media’s portrayal of his team’s loss to the point where he angrily challenged a British writer during a press conference.
Best Scouting Report – Minnesota Vikings c/o Randy Moss. Moss, who played his first seven years with the Vikings, led them to big wins while racking up huge scores and bushel loads of touchdowns. Even as he couldn’t lead Minnesota to the Super Bowl, Moss got into all sorts of off-field problems that eventually led to his trade to Oakland. He did go to the Super Bowl with New England but the Patriots lost to the New York Giants. He was traded back to Minnesota this past season but waived after a few games after a series of off-field problems. Vikings officials claimed that Moss had an attitude. You mean after seven years in the Metrodome, they only just learned about it? Methinks Minnesota officials are suffering from amnesia after suffering numerous concussions owing to post-season playoff failures.
With Friends Like This Who Needs Enemies Award – NCAA Philippines. They claim that they are one big family. They “knew” that University of Perpetual Help Dalta System had some players with “questionable papers” (that are highly debatable) as early as the summer leagues but did not say anything until right before the start of their Season 86 which severely damaged their chances of competing. Worse, even as Perpetual Help presented proof, they sat on it and did a lousy job of ferreting the truth. After San Beda lorded it over the league with an unprecedented 18-0 sweep, they conducted a meeting without the Mendiola school’s presence to curtail the “imports” that have proved vital to the Red Lions’ hoops success.
FEU Storyline of the Year – Season 73 Finals loss. Every year something’s up with the FEU Tamaraws. If it isn’t a batok incident with an opposing team manager who lost his composure, then it’s disbanding the team after not making the Final Four, a player getting shot for still unexplained circumstances, and a player getting tossed for allegedly throwing games. This year it’s a meltdown in the worst possible time capped by a high-blood pressure incident suffered by their former head coach in their final game of the season. So what’s in store for 2011?
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