It does appear that Jay Cutler has a knee problem; but as the Twitter-dust settles it's apparent that the Chicago Bears' quarterback has a credibility problem first and foremost. We have that and we wonder: What did Nik Kulemin ever do that Ron Wilson thinks he deserved a punch in the face? Meanwhile, we explain why Saskatchewan RoughRider fans may be cheering for the Green Bay Packers; consider the worst Leafs in the post-lockout era – so many to choose from! – and other stuff, so let's get on with it.
1. If this was high school, Jay Cutler would be the "not popular" one:
It is one thing for fans and media to come out and take outrageous and unsubstantiated swipes at an athlete's character – that's what makes them fans and media! But the on-going controversy about Cutler, the Chicago Bears quarterback who pulled himself from the NFC Championship game -- the Bears lost to Green Bay at home -- was different because it was players around the NFL, past and present, who wondered why, if his knee was so badly injured, he was standing around in no apparent discomfort; without even an icepack. This being 2011 these character swipes took place on Twitter and in real time.
Yesterday came the response from the Bears: Yes he was hurt and yes we believe in the toughness of our quarterback, and shame on all those who question him or his character.
But the bigger question, raised by Michael Wilbon, is why so many felt so free to attack Cutler: it's clear Cutler has a credibility problem, and not because he's not popular with the media. Those tweets are a small sample of what was communicated about Cutler and his failings during the NFC Championship Game. A lineman who played more than a dozen years and won multiple Super Bowls told me after the game that he was stunned Cutler was standing on the sideline, not on crutches, receiving no treatment while his team played on. And, the player said, what made it worse was that Cutler didn't appear to be counseling his backup, Todd Collins, or Hanie. And this all came on the heels of Mike Martz telling ESPNChicago.com's Jon Greenberg that criticism of Cutler's fundamentals, specifically his footwork, is "fair... You can't go through a lifetime with those kinds of habits and fix them in one season." Martz revealed that Cutler is still doing footwork drills twice a week, every week, and said the quarterback is working "diligently" and that "he'll get there."…But we don't hear those Peyton Manning-like stories about Cutler, how he comes early to practice and stays late and works systematically and demonically at getting better. What we hear, even from teammates in both Denver and Chicago, is that Cutler is an arrogant, pouting player who rates himself quite highly. It's a characterization that is believed totally throughout the league, through almost any pro football circle you wander into. And because it's believed wholly that Cutler is a guy with a big arm, an overrated sense of himself and little if any heart, precious few people in Cutler's own fraternity had any sympathy for him during the game.
It will be interesting, from what we know of Cutler, to see if he even notices.
2. Ron Wilson: Kulemin deserved punch in the face:
There is no word about exactly what happened when Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin got hit flush with an uppercut by Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason during the Leafs 6-4 loss to the Hurricanes; James Mirtle suggests a broken nose at minimum and perhaps a concussion. And while there's no doubt Wilson and the Leafs will miss their fourth leading scorer, I'd say it's to the coach's credit that he makes the point that if you're in a scrum and punch/facerub a guy, you should be prepared for the possibility that he might punch you in the face: "Well, they were in a fight," Wilson said. "He got it right in the face. The appropriate action happened. It wasn't a sucker punch or anything. Kulie was throwing punches with his gloves on and Gleason dropped his gloves and beat him to the punch."
Kulemin's teammates didn't feel the same way; arguing the Russian's status as a historical non-combatant should have given him a buffer from face punches, I guess: "I was disgusted with that," Kulemin's linemate Clarke MacArthur said. "There's certain match-ups on the ice and I don't care what [Gleason] says, you know when you're in the right match-up. A guy like Kulemin's never been a guy to fight and Gleason does it a lot. He knows better than that...I think Kulie just went in there to stick up for teammates," MacArthur said. "Gleason obviously isn't that smart, so. It was pretty cheap. Kulie didn't drop his gloves and you know he gets suckered like that. I don't know. I mean I have to look at it again I guess. It's tough losing him. Not a great trade off for us."
Mirtle has the video posted; judge for yourself.
3. Not to get toooo Leaf-centric; but this is pretty funny, even for Habs fans:
Leafs blog Pension Plan Puppets -- where Leaf fans go to talk themselves out of chugging arsenic most nights -- has a list of the worst ten players to dress for the Blue and White since the 2004-05 lockout. Why they do this to themselves, I'm not sure. A sample:
9. Jeff O'Neill
Charter member of JFJ's Final Contract Club. A luxury player from the 99-cent bin. Along with Jason Allison, formed two-thirds of the Entropy Line. I would say they skated backwards faster than they skating forwards, but of course I never saw them skating towards their own end. O'Neill was fingered as a likely suspect in the scandal about Leafs players being more concerned with postgame dinner reservations than their upcoming contest. I seriously doubt it was Jeff. As everyone knows, you don't need reservations at Arby's.
8. Rikki Wallin
Couldn't provide enough offence to stick with the Minnesota Wild, but Leafs picked him up after a couple of point-a-game seasons in the Swedish Elite League, which raises the question: What the #*%& happened to the Swedish Elite League? Was brought over to help Jonas Gustavsson adapt to the NHL game. It probably would have done a lot more good for the Monster's confidence, and numbers, if Wallin had been playing for Montreal or Boston. He did adapt well to the North American game in one respect: depsite the smaller ice surface, had no problem making himself completely invisible.
4. In Saskatchewan they're calling them the Pittsburgh Stealers:
A number of CFL players have managed to parlay their success north of the border into NFL opportunities recently and more may follow; among the most prominent is the league's outstanding Canadian in 2010, Andy Fantuz, who had a favourable workout with the Steelers before Christmas, among among other clubs since. As a result fans of the Roughriders may be looking at the Super Bowl a little differently, writes Rob Vanstone: It is not a stretch to suggest that several starting receivers in the NFL are not as reliable as Fantuz when it comes to catching a football. His mechanics are textbook material. Have you ever seen him cradle the ball against his body? He routinely, unerringly plucks the football from the air.All things considered, Fantuz had to give the NFL a shot. Who can blame him for doing so? The option was to spend the rest of his life wondering, "Could I have made it?'' It is an itch that simply had to be scratched.Fantuz's fallback position, if it can be so termed, is a return to Saskatchewan and the resumption of a stellar CFL career. The NFL tryout may cost him a half-season of CFL wages, but that is not a huge factor when the big picture is examined ...It should also create a buzz. Fantuz's bid to crack the Steelers' roster — presuming that there aren't any snags — will be a compelling story in the months to come.If you are a true Andy Fantuz fan, how do you root against him?
5. The good news: The Raptors are now tied for fourth worst record in the NBA
The Raptors strategy to improve their draft position by placing banana peels all over their practice floor and sneezing on each other at every opportunity is working, as the injuries and illnesses keep mounting. This is working out well as Toronto has lost eight straight after falling 100-98 to the Memphis Grizzlies last night, but they maintain their dignity because their lineup has been hit so hard by injuries and illness. You try winning in the NBA without Joey Dorsey, okay?: It's been weeks since the Toronto Raptors have been anywhere close to healthy. The injured list is routinely long, beat reporters have become well versed in knee anatomy, flu-like symptoms and "fractures of the fifth metatarsal," and head coach Jay Triano has occasionally stooped to using cheat sheets to rhyme off his list of maimed players…. "I don't even know what to classify as health any more," Triano said.
6. A list of the worst players in the NBA – strangely Raptor-free?
There are a few former Raptors on this compilation, as Marco Belinelli and Sean Marks get mentions, but no current members make the cut. It's very hard to pick the worst player in the league. We have excluded rookies because that's just not fair. Also, contract size was not taken into account, or else this would turn into an exercise in showing off and saying stuff like "imagine him in four years!" about mid-level guys. We are going on pure gut here.
7. So you want to be a sports writer?
Never fails; a couple of times a year someone or someone's kid sends me an email about wanting to be a sports writer. They love to write and they love sports is generally the theme, so they want to pursue a career when they can do both? Fine. But do they love trying to find their way around dark, decrepit arenas in a race to catch a flight to Buffalo in a snowstorm? This tale from Buffalo Sabres beat writer Mike Harrington captures the other side of the job, as he attempts to escape from Long Island (hat tip to Puck Daddy): The doors to the parking lot were locked. I was stuck in the vestibule. Picture an area roughly the width of the gate area inside the HSBC Arena pavilion. So I started banging on the doors leading back inside and yelling. No one around. Not a soul. There's a stairway leading downstairs by a couple restaurants and the MSG studio. No one around. Not a soul.My flight from JFK was in the 10 p.m. range so that wasn't an issue -- unless I spent hours inside. And how was I getting out? I had no choice. I dialed 911. Nassau County 911 was a little confused.
"There's nothing going on at the Coliseum." Um, there was a hockey game.
"Why didn't you leave with the crowd?" Um, I'm a reporter from Buffalo.
"Just see if you can find an open door." Um, why do you think I'm calling you?