It lasted just under two months. That would be the length of Tom Brady’s announced retirement back in January. He’s back.
Tom Brady
Brady’s fans are likely split with their reaction. Many will be glad he is back. Some others are likely hoping his skills do not fade quickly and he becomes one of many who played their sport too long.
Maybe Brady really is just different. Perhaps advanced age, athlete-wise, simply will never affect him. Maybe Brady truly is immune to all of that.
One also has to wonder why Brady still wants to play. What’s left to prove? What’s left to gain? Is it worth risking the embarrassment of being another great athlete who stuck around too long. The list includes the likes of Peyton Manning, Willie Mays, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Muhammad Ali.
Will there be similarities with Manning? Manning, at the end, struggled with simple tasks like handing the ball off. Let alone throw the ball with any sort of velocity or accuracy. Will this happen to Brady? Brett Favre was another quarterback who stayed too long. Looking back, he has to ask if those final two years with the Jets and Vikings were truly worth it.
Brady could be invulnerable to all of this. You can understand why someone still playing at an MVP level might want to keep playing. Perhaps the GOAT is addicted to football.
Baseball Is Also Back
It took way too long but the MLB’s owners and players finally agreed on a Collective Bargaining Agreement. Baseball will play a 162 game season.
I believe both the owners and the players missed out on a chance to negotiate potential changes to the game.
I, for one, am concerned about the future of baseball. Fans seem to be turning away from the game. They are getting tired of all the strikeouts, all the pitching changes, the defensive shifts, and how long games now take.
Could they not have negotiated some rule changes to address these concerns? No, as always, it was about the money.
Could we speed up the game with a pitch clock and having batters remain in the batters’ box between pitches? How about having infielders having to stay in the infield? How about only allowing two infielders on each side of second base?
Both parties state they will address these items in the near future. I truly hope so.
