Is History "Classless"?

For weeks, the possibility of a broken record in the NFL has been on the minds of many. Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a season was in reach of a few quarterbacks, but none more than Saint's quarterback, Drew Brees. On Monday night, Brees only did what he always does, play like one of the best in the game.

He weaved, side-stepped, and danced around in the pocket all night long. He threw with an accuracy that would frighten a military trained sniper. The sound from the pounding linemen could scarcely be heard before the ball had already hit one of his receivers. All this was just a typical night for Drew Brees.

Brees continues to be one of the best around.
(AP-Bill Feig)

Even with his impressive abilities and already a Super Bowl ring on his finger, Brees has been nothing if not humble throughout his career. His quick to give credit where credit is due, or to put blame on his own failure. He has long been considered a "classy" guy.

This especially irked some people on the conclusion of his final drive of Monday night's game. With 5:08 remaining in the game and the Saints already up 38-16 on rival Atlanta Falcons, Brees marched once more. The defense had turned the Falcons over on downs on their own 33-yard line. That distance is easily within striking distance of Drew Bress, but that isn't the point.

Some felt that the Saints should have tried to run out the clock. Let's start there. There's five minutes left in the game. Yes, many teams might decide to coast in that situation and let the running backs take over. Of course, most teams don't have one of the best quarterbacks in the game who is only 30 yards away from breaking a legend's record set in 1984.

Now the issue of the score. Yes, the Saints were up 22 points, and often, in any sport, it's thought of as unsportsmanlike to run-up a score on a blowout late in a game. However, that's not the point here, and shouldn't be. Drew Brees is shooting for history. Does it really matter whether the Saints won by 22 or 29? Either way it's a blowout. The Falcons got embarrassed either way, and can use it for motivation when the two teams likely meet in the playoffs.

Drew Brees and the Saints had every reason to push for history.
(AP-Rusty Costanza)

The final touchdown actually had no true relevance to record at all, it was merely icing on the cake. If Brees started on his own 1-yard line. I would have loved for him to just get the 30 yards and then he could hand it off the rest of the night. However, he has handed a circumstance that put both him and his coach in a tough position.

Instead, he was able to cap off a very short drive that put his name in the record books and, because of the touchdown, was able to enjoy the moment. He stood there smiling and acknowledging his teammates who helped him and the fans that supported him.

Anyone who thinks that this was a classless move, such as members of the Atlanta Falcons, is probably looking at this out of frustrated emotion. They're going to look back on this and think of how stupid that statement sounds. One of the classiest men in sports was given one of the best opportunities that he could ask for, and we're supposed to care what the score was? The score will be the furthest afterthought in the future. The National Football League and its fans will remember a talented, humble, and "classy" man who simply did his best and joined history.

In Control?

Wait, What?

In a week of deals in the MLB, the NBA decided to weigh in, and the NBA did so directly. The league shut down a deal to send Chris Paul to the Lakers in what would have been a three team deal that would have spread many on the Laker roster around.

Instead, the NBA, which now owns the New Orleans Hornets, nixed the deal that the Hornets organization had been piecing together. Almost as quickly as word got out that the trade would happen, the announcement came that it was actually not going to happen.

Does David Stern even realized what just happened?

I understand that the NBA has obvious stake in what goes on in New Orleans, but does that mean it should shut down a deal by the people that are involved in its day-to-day operations?

The situation stinks. It appeared that the deal would have actually hurt the Lakers the most, giving up guys like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, and Chris Paul could get a trade. It's not clear what the NBA and David Stern's official stance is on the decision, but there's not much he could say that would make a lot of sense.

Even though the NBA owns the Hornets, they've mostly seemed distant to anything related to the Hornets but this one move is drastically different.

Funny enough, Bill Simmons and I (and probably Chris Paul) had the same reaction of "Wait, what?" to this whole scenario.

Of course, Bill Simmons can do a much better job of breaking it down and what it could mean than I can. So, I differ to him.