Opining on sport's rich and famous, Bills GM Buddy Nix's legacy, Donovan McNabb's jersey retirement and more

Spraying opinions to all fields:

·         Sports Illustrated’s “Fortunate 50” list of the highest-paid American athletes is out and the leader is boxer Floyd Mayweather at close to $90 mil. Very surprising, considering the Sweet Science’s dramatic decline in popularity. There apparently still are big bucks to be made in close-circuit TV contracts – which explains where the lion’s share of Mayweather’s money came from. He didn’t earn a single dollar in endorsements, which, again, speaks to boxing’s precipitous decline.

Rounding out the Top 10 were LeBron James, Drew Brees, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson, Derrick Rose, Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez and Zack Greinke.

The Top 50 featured 25 baseball players – including four Yankees – 13 NBA players and only eight NFL players, despite the fact pro football is by far the most popular sport in the land.

Given Tiger’s rebound from his personal problems I wouldn’t be surprised to see him regain the No. 1 spot he’s had a strangle-hold on for several years.

The Bills have a representative on the list. Defensive end Mario Williams ranks No. 18 with his $50-million signing bonus. Who says the Bills are cheap?

Interestingly, to make this exclusive fraternity you had to earn – and I use that word “earn” loosely in dishonor of A-Rod – at least $18,2000,000 – which is what Cubs slugger Alfonso Soriano pocketed last year.

·         As evidenced by the hiring of coach Chan Gailey, the foolish contract extension of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, some big whiffs in the draft and free agency and a 16-32 won-lost record, Buddy Nix’s legacy as the Bills general manager is pretty underwhelming. But final grades can’t be issued for another couple of years. The old scout’s brief tenure as the man in charge of Buffalo’s football operations could receive a big boost if quarterback EJ Manuel and coach Doug Marrone pan out. Of course, those are big “if’s.”

·         I think it’s great that Syracuse University is going to retire the No. 5 football jersey worn by Donovan McNabb, the greatest quarterback in Orange history. His number will be hung from the rafters along with the 44 of Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little, the 39 of fullback Larry Csonka and the 88 of tight end John Mackey. I hope someday No. 47 also will be retired. It was worn with distinction by Little Joe Morris, who remains the all-time leading rusher in the school’s storied history.

·         We were supposed to tape an interview with Rochester Red Wings first baseman Chris Colabello yesterday for the baseball radio show I co-host on WYSL, but some extra hitting practice prevented that from happening. Chris is a class act who called later to apologize. The additional BP obviously paid huge dividends as Chris clubbed his 9^th and 10^th home runs of the season. The Wings are struggling with just 15 wins in their first 40 games, but Colabello has been a bright spot, and one of the true feel-good stories of minor-league baseball. Here is a guy who is 29 years old and toiled in the independent leagues for seven seasons. He could have given up on the dream many times in recent years, but persevered and now is looking at a possible promotion to the Minnesota Twins. I love these kind of stories and will be rooting for him to make it to big leagues.

·         Just in case you want to start filling out your 2014 NCAA basketball brackets early, Joe Lunardi has the SU basketball team as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest.     

Behind the book-writing process with rock legend Lou Gramm

As I mentioned on my Facebook post this morning, my right wrist is sore from signing so many books last night at the launch of Lou Gramm’s “Juke Box Hero” at the Monroe Community College Theatre. Like another rocker once sang, “It hurts so good.”

                I’ve been blessed to do many booksignings in my time, but none as successful as this one. It clearly speaks to the popularity of Rochester’s own “Juke Box Hero” and the lasting impact of his music. The love for Lou was palpable in that Theatre and it crossed generations as parents who rocked to Lou’s music three decades ago were accompanied by children who have just discovered his classic rock.

                I’ve also been blessed to collaborate with good people in some of my recent books. Although they rose to the top of different professions, Lou, major league baseball star Johnny Antonelli and Buffalo Bills legend Steve Tasker took somewhat similar paths. Despite their fame and fortune, they remained true to their humble, small-town roots. They may have left their old neighborhoods, but their old neighborhoods never left them. They never forgot the people nor places that helped them realize their dreams.

                I’ve always been fascinated about people’s journeys. I’m intrigued by the circumstances and people that shaped them – for better and worse – along the way. I equate being a ghost writer to being the Sherpa that leads the mountain climbers to the summit and safely back down to base camp.

                It’s been about two years since I took Lou to lunch and convinced him that he had a powerful story to tell and that the timing for telling it was right. We’d meet once a week for a few hours and I would ask him to recount specific events and people. Some of the sessions were emotional as I probed difficult subjects. Ultimately, I wanted the book to be an honest recounting of Lou’s life and fortunately Lou agreed.

                The goal was not to be one of these salacious, sensational tell-alls, like too many rock memoirs. We definitely delved into the trappings of wealth and fame that can overwhelm a person at a young age. And how life as a rock star isn’t always as glamorous as it might look from the outside. But to have told this in the manner of say a Keith Richards would have been inaccurate and disingenuous. It would not have been true to Lou.

                The best compliment I’ve received about the Gramm and Antonelli books is that they are conversational, that the reader feels as if the subject has pulled up a chair and is speaking to them one-on-one. “Here, let me tell you my story.”

                 People ask me about capturing voice and it is a difficult thing to explain. I think it’s something you develop from hours upon hours of interviewing a person and truly listening to not only what they are saying but how they say it. You learn their phraseology, their personal story-telling technique, and you attempt to tell it in their words, not yours.

                I’m proud of the finished product. I’m biased but I think it is a candid, compelling story that Lou tells. Hopefully, it takes readers behind the scenes and into the head of one of rock’s great singers and songwriters.

                Ultimately, I see it as a story of dreams and nightmares and redemption. 

                I’m thankful that it has risen to the third bestselling rock book on amazon.com and that our publisher has just ordered a second printing.

                And I’m grateful that Lou trusted me to help him bare his soul and recount a life journey that wound up being inspiring on several levels.    

Time will tell if Bills finally got the QB position straightenned out with EJ Manuel

Some of the so-called draft gurus – including ESPN’s Todd McShay – have dumped a foot or two of lake effect snow on the Bills draft parade. McShay, along with Sports Illustrated, which awarded Buffalo a grade of D-plus, acknowledge that the Bills first-round pick EJ Manuel has great size (6-foot-5, 237 pounds), athleticism and a powerful arm. But they also believe the quarterback from Florida State is deeply flawed. McShay used the term “slow eyes,” meaning EJ is not quick enough in diagnosing where he should go with the football, which can be fatal in the high-speed decision-making world of pro football where the difference between a completion and an interception can be a split-second.

                So be it.

                One of the things I’ve learned from 28 seasons of covering the NFL is that it’s often foolhardy to rush to judgment on draft picks. It usually does take a few years to assess them (unless, of course, it’s an obvious miss like Aaron Maybin, the Penn State linebacker who thought sack time meant sleeping on the job, or an obvious hit like Jim Kelly, who had me convinced on the first long bomb he delivered during his very first Bills practice that he was Canton-bound.)

                I think the selection of Manuel was a bold move by new head coach Doug Marrone and the Bills, who successfully put up a smokescreen that had us believing he might go with Ryan Nassib, the record-setting QB he had coached for four seasons at Syracuse.

                My first impression of Manuel is that he has the charisma and confidence you like to see in such a leadership position. Of course, none of this will matter unless he delivers the ball on-time to the right receiver and finds the end zone often on game day.

                Some of the negative reaction to the Bills selection clearly has to do with the team’s putrid draft record for more than a decade. No secret, really, why they’ve missed the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons. They’ve done a terrible job assessing talent. Simple as that.

                History has not been kind to the Bills when it has come to selecting quarterbacks. In 53 years, they’ve gotten it right just a few times – the drafting of Kelly in 1983 and Joe Ferguson in 1973; the claiming of Jack Kemp off waivers in 1962, and the free agent signing of Doug Flutie in 1998. Manuel probably has a better chance of being the next J.P. Losman, Trent Edwards, Matt Kofler or Gary Marangi than he does of being the next Jimbo or Fergy.

                I guess you could look at the odds two ways. Either history is about to repeat itself or the Bills finally have gotten it right.

                                                                                              ***

                Again, I don’t bother giving a grade to draft picks because it doesn’t mean a thing at this point. I will say this, though, I liked the fact the Bills addressed some pressing needs – quarterback and wide receiver. And I do like the fact they went for speedy, versatile players.

                                                                              ***

                I think Nassib wound up in a good place when he was selected by the New York Giants. He’ll be learning from one of the best quarterbacks in the game, in Eli Manning, and there won’t be any pressure to play right away, unless the durable Manning gets hurts. The reality, though, is that Manning is just 32 and figures to have many more years as the Giants main man. Which means Nassib’s best chance probably will come down the road with another team. This is hardly unprecedented. Kevin Kolb, Matt Flynn and Matt Cassel all wound up getting their shots with teams other than the ones that drafted them.

               

A sweet gesture by Neil Diamond and my take on the Bills draft

                Before shooting the breeze about the upcoming NFL draft, I just wanted to say how cool that was that Neil Diamond showed up at Fenway Park yesterday to sing the Red Sox anthem – “Sweet Caroline.” What makes the story even sweeter is that this wasn’t pre-arranged. About an hour before the game, Diamond arrived at Boston’s baseball cathedral and called the Sox front office to ask if he could sing his song live during the seventh-inning stretch.

                Other than David Ortiz’s F-bomb in his opening remarks - Big Papi can be forgiven for getting caught up in the emotions of the moment – it was a marvelous way for a wounded city to start the healing process after the Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent spell-binding manhunt.

                I experienced first-hand the galvanizing power of sports in New York City in the aftermath of 9/11 when my son and I attended the World Series game at Yankee Stadium in which President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch. Baseball provided respites from the tragedy of the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center towers and murdered 3,000 people. It helped bring people together.

                The same was true yesterday at Fenway. And Diamond’s trip to one of baseball’s most hallowed diamonds made the day even more memorable.

                                                                                ***

                Here’s my take on the Bills in the upcoming draft: If you believe, as General Manager Buddy Nix says he does, that there are two or three potential franchise quarterbacks in this draft, then you better not wait; you better take the one you’re most in love with right away.

                A lot of people believe that guy is Ryan Nassib because of his familiarity with Bills head coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, whom he played for at Syracuse. Some see this as similar to the Miami Dolphins taken Ryan Tannehill higher than projected last year because the Fish had just hired his former college coach, Mike Sherman, as offensive coordinator.

                Some of the mock drafts also have the Bills taking Matt Barkley of USC or Geno Smith of West Virginia. I’m not enamored with either of those quarterbacks. I’m really hesitant to take a QB from Southern Cal, given the track record of Trojan alumni Mark Sanchez, Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer, etc. What I saw of Barkley was a guy who benefitted greatly from having athletic receivers. Smith seems to be a popular choice because of the recent success of Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson – guys who can run the read option with great efficiency. But I think, given RGIII’s serious injury, the read option is going to be a short-lived fad deemed too dangerous to a quarterback’s health.

                There’s also talk about using the eighth overall selection on an offensive lineman to replace free-agent departure Andy Levitre. Alabama’s Chance Warmack and UNC’s Johnathan Cooper are possibilities. It’s definitely a need, as is linebacker, where Georgia’s Alec Ogletree has been mentioned.

                But if they do that they run the risk of losing out on their QB, which they desperately need.

                Again, if they’ve identified one they love, they best not wait.