Bravado. For whatever reason, it would appear to be rampant in sports. I guess it makes some sense…athletes, especially those playing at the highest levels, are extremely competitive people by necessity. Sure, some of them motivate themselves quietly, finding everything they need to excel without having to make spectacles of themselves. Others need to play mind games, strut around like idiots, or taunt their opponents at every opportunity as ways to stoke their inner fires. On Sunday, the final day of the NFL’s regular season, there were several examples of bravado that were not only obnoxious, but also wildly misplaced, which is often another characteristic of this behavior.

Kyle Shanahan is the offensive coordinator for the woeful Washington Redskins. The guy has presided over an offense that is ranked 26th out of 32 teams in scoring offense in 2011, which is down a spot from their 25th ranked position in the 2010 season, Shanahan’s first with the Redskins. Beyond that, the team’s head coach happens to be his dad, Mike Shanahan. Yes, he had been the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans for two seasons before coming to work for Dad, but he had been hired in Houston by Gary Kubiak, who had been an offensive coordinator for the elder Shanahan when he coached in Denver, so there is certainly a lot of nepotism involved here. Despite all of that, this gem decided that he would mouth off before his team’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He was apparently offended by Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo’s statements about how they would have made the playoffs if the New York Jets had managed to beat the New York Giants last week, neglecting to factor in that the Eagles would have still had to beat the Redskins this week.

“F–k him, f–k these guys.  In 2012 the Redskins are gonna be the NFC East champions, and that starts right f–king today.”

Classy. Misguided, too. If you are going to throw out statements like that, it would be a good idea to do something to back it up. Instead, the ‘Skins managed just 10 points against an Eagles defense that underperformed all year and that was giving significant playing time to a bunch of guys who played very little this season, and with good reason.

As I have discussed previously, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is definitely the type who needs to pump himself up by acting like a fool. This week’s example did not involve him stomping on anyone or taking cheap shots at his opponents, though. This time, it involved a mocking sack celebration that Suh performed late in the third quarter of his team’s game against the Green Bay Packers. After making the sack, Suh imitated Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ usual touchdown celebration, where he pantomimes slapping on a championship belt as if he were a boxer. Clever, right? Not so much. First, Rodgers was not even playing, having been given the day off in order to avoid injury and get ready for the playoffs. Instead, the sack victim was backup Matt Flynn. Second, the Lions defense was in the process of being absolutely embarrassed by the Packers, who put up 550 yards of total offense, including 480 yards passing and six touchdown passes by Flynn. Maybe this was not the best time to be celebrating a sack.

Finally, the Jets’ resident moron, Santonio Holmes, was at it again. Late in the fourth quarter, Holmes was seen screaming at his teammates in the huddle. Shortly after, he was pulled from the game and put on the bench, where he remained through the final gun. I am not sure what he was yelling about, but judging by the fact that he had exactly zero catches in the game, a 19-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins that ensured that the Jets would miss the playoffs, I hope he was complaining about his own play. The fact that Holmes was a captain for the Jets this season is one of the most astonishing things I heard during a bizarre football season.

Bravado, when you win, is acceptable, I suppose. When you lose, and do so in humiliating fashion, you should probably leave the attitude at home.

Bad sports, continued:

2) Rick Tocchet, who went from NHL tough guy to scorer to head coach, is in trouble again. Four years after pleading guilty to running a gambling ring, Tocchet was arrested at an airport in the Bahamas for failing to declare his winning from a local casino.

3) Chris Draft, a linebacker who played twelve seasons in the NFL and retired after the 2009 season, lost his wife of only one month this week. Lakeasha Draft died of cancer after a long battle.

4) It wouldn’t seem right if we didn’t have at least one player using racial epithets against another during a game each week. This time, Krys Barch of the Florida Panthers did the honors. On Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens, Barch directed the comment at P.K. Subban, a player of Jamaican descent. Barch was ejected from the game.

5) Jorge Martinez crashed and died while riding a motorcycle in the Dakar Rally on Sunday in Argentina. Unfortunately, deaths at this race are not uncommon.

6) Maybe it was just me, but doesn’t it seem wrong that, in a year where college football is having 35 different bowl games (you read that right), a grand total of zero of them were on New Year’s Day? Due to the holiday being on a Sunday this year, and with the NFL’s regular season still happening, the usual January 1st games were moved to the 2nd. That just seems wrong to me.

Good sports:

1) New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees set the NFL’s single season record for passing yards on Monday night, breaking Dan Marino’s 27-year-old record on his final pass of the night. To put an exclamation point on it, Brees threw for 389 more on Sunday to close out the regular season.

2) Indiana University’s basketball team, so great back in the seventies and eighties but not so great since, is legitimately back this year. Three weeks after beating then number one Kentucky, the Hoosiers beat second-ranked Ohio State. They are currently 13-1.

Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02

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